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 THE LIFE 
 
 REV. CHARLES WESLEY, M. A. 
 
 SOME TIME STUDENT OF CHRIST-CHURCH, OXFORD I 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 A REVIEW OF HIS POETRY ; 
 SKETCHES OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF METHODISM ; 
 
 WITH 
 
 NOTICES OF CONTEMPORARY EVENTS AND CHARACTERS. 
 
 BY THOMAS JACKSON. 
 
 These abilities are the inspired gift of God, rarely bestowed ; and are of power to allay 
 the perturbations of the mind, and set the affections in right tune ; to celebrate in glorious 
 and lofty hymns the throne and equipage of God's almightiness, and what he works, and 
 what he suffers to be wrought, with high providence, in his church. — Milton. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY G. LANE & P. P. SANDFORD, 
 
 FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AT THE CONFERENCE 
 OFFICE, 200 MULBERRY-STREET. 
 
 J Collord, Printer. 
 1842.
 
 1 
 
 . 
 
 s 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 The present work makes its appearance at a time 
 when the facts which it develops are of special interest 
 to the church and the world. Any thing calculated to 
 reflect additional light upon the history and times of the 
 Wesleys becomes more important with the lapse of 
 years. For as the magnitude and grandeur of that revi- 
 val of primitive Christianity which has been the fruit of 
 their labours extend, the various causes in which it had 
 its origin, and to which, under the divine Hand, it owed 
 its efficiency, become matters of increased interest not 
 only to the Christian, but to the philosopher. This fact 
 induced the keen-eyed Southey to make " Wesley and his 
 coadjutors" the subject of a work which, by interesting 
 the reading public, he shrewdly calculated would en- 
 hance the amount of Iris reputation and of his income. 
 But the special emergency which the present work is 
 designed to meet has been occasioned by the produc- 
 tions of a new class of theorists, who have taken their 
 cue from Hildebrand, Loyola, Bancroft, and Laud, and 
 very naturally commenced a crusade against all Pro- 
 testant Dissenters, and more especially against Method- 
 ists. These pseudo-Catholics have thought it a matter 
 of importance to show to the present age the high- 
 Churchmanship and the strict canonical regularity of the 
 Wesleys. This they have often done at the expense 
 of liistorical truth. By supposing facts which have no 
 
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 541 km;
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 existence except in their own imagination ; by bringing 
 matters into juxtaposition which are separated by dis- 
 tance of time and by diversity of circumstances ; by 
 viewing facts in an isolated state which can only be 
 understood in their proper connections and relations ; 
 and by misconstruing, either from ignorance or per- 
 verseness, the declarations of the Wesleys, and the 
 fundamental principles by which they were actuated 
 from the first, they have laboured hard to prove that 
 the present generation of Methodists have widely and 
 fatally departed from Methodism as it was in the days 
 of its founder. In Mr. Jackson's Life of Charles Wes- 
 ley, we have an ample remedy for the wounds inflicted 
 upon us by these Jesuitical manoeuvrings. 
 
 The work in its present form, for circulation in this 
 country, it is hoped, is an improvement upon the ori- 
 ginal. Though it has been somewhat retrenched, no- 
 thing is left out that has been thought to be of material 
 interest to American readers, while occasionally a note 
 of explanation is given for the purpose of obviating 
 obscurities. The present edition is therefore most 
 earnestly and confidently commended to the attention 
 of the American public, with fervent prayer that it may 
 greatly subserve the cause, not merely of Methodism, 
 but of our common Christianity. 
 
 GEORGE PECK. 
 
 Neiv-York, April 27, 1842.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 More than fifty years have passed away since the eminent man . 
 whose personal history is traced in these volumes finished his min- 
 istry and life ; and it will perhaps, to some persons, be a matter of 
 surprise that no previous attempt has been made to give a complete 
 view of his character and eventful career, distinguished as he was 
 by his fidelity and zeal, and still more by his poetic talents. Vari- 
 ous causes have led to this delay. The principal one is, that his sur- 
 viving children, who possessed his papers, carefully concealed them 
 from the eye of those who were the most likely to do justice to his 
 memory. The Methodists were the only people that could be sup- 
 posed to take a lively interest in his biography ; and as he differed 
 from his brother, and from a large body of the preachers and socie- 
 ties, on questions to which they attached a deep importance, it was 
 probably thought that if a writer could be found who would duly 
 appreciate the opinions and motives of this extraordinary man, the 
 Wesleyan body generally would not give him that place in their 
 esteem to which he is entitled. As an unbending Churchman, it 
 was doubtless supposed that many of the Methodists would cherish 
 toward him an unfriendly feeling, at least till the controversies 
 with which he stood connected should have generally subsided. 
 This was, in all probability, the reason why the family papers were 
 so long kept in entire secrecy. 
 
 Miss Wesley died in the year 1828 ; and the most valuable of 
 those papers then became the property of the Wesleyan conference, 
 by purchase from her brother Charles, to whom they belonged, as 
 his father's heir. They were exceedingly numerous, and of very 
 superior importance ; comprehending several volumes of original 
 poetry, in the handwriting of the venerable Charles Wesley, with a 
 large mass of other documents, which not only illustrate the history
 
 6 PREFACE. 
 
 of the Wesley family, but also of the religious connection to which 
 the family name is applied. Of these documents the writer of this 
 narrative has availed himself; and hence its copiousness, as com- 
 pared with the limited accounts of Mr. Charles Wesley that have 
 been previously published. 
 
 From several esteemed friends the author has also received 
 valuable assistance in preparing this work for the press. To Miss 
 . Tooth, of Stamford-hill, his acknowledgments are especially due. 
 From early life this lady was one of the most intimate friends of 
 Miss Wesley, and her brother Charles. Her father, the late Mr. 
 Samuel Tooth, was for many years the steward of the City-road 
 society, and the personal friend of the Rev. John and Charles 
 Wesley, who were accustomed through him to receive their quar- 
 terly salaries. Miss Tooth was possessed of many papers relating 
 to the family of Mr. Charles Wesley, which she kindly placed in 
 the hands of the author ; and these, with her verbal communica- 
 tions, have served greatly to enrich his pages. 
 
 His cordial thanks are also due to Thomas Marriott, Esq., of 
 London, who for many years has taken a lively concern in every 
 thing relating to the Wesleys, and whose collection of books and 
 papers connected with their history is very extensive. To his 
 liberality several previous publications of a similar description have 
 been indebted ; and he has shown equal kindness in reference to 
 the work now before the reader. His books, papers, and memo- 
 randa were lent with a cheerful promptitude, which greatly 
 enhanced the favour, and proved that his stores have been amassed 
 not merely for personal gratification, but the public benefit. 
 
 The author has also the grateful task of acknowledging his obli- 
 gations to Mrs. Gidley Howden, of Hoxton-square, and to her 
 excellent sister, Mrs. Nancarrow, of Clapton ; who are among the 
 honoured descendants of the Rev. Vincent Perronet, of Shoreham, 
 in Kent ; between whom and the Rev. John and Charles Wesley 
 an intimate and confidential friendship long subsisted. They kindly 
 lent several documents relating to their renowned ancestor, who 
 was one of the holiest and best men of his age. 
 
 With these materials the author has used his best endeavour to
 
 PREFACE. 7 
 
 place before the public a comprehensive and faithful record of one 
 of the most remarkable men the world has ever seen : one of the 
 three devoted and self-denying ministers, by whose instrumentality 
 it pleased God one hundred years ago to begin that revival of de- 
 cayed piety, the benefits of which are at this day felt in every 
 quarter of the globe. 
 
 The publication of this work at the present time is contemplated 
 with the greater satisfaction, because it supplies a fit medium 
 through which to correct several misstatements which have recently 
 been put into extensive circulation. After Lady Huntingdon had 
 adopted the theological views of Calvin, she is well known to have 
 withdrawn from Mr. John Wesley the friendship which she had 
 cherished toward him from the commencement of her religious 
 course, and from which she had derived much spiritual advantage. 
 Greatly was she offended because he declined to follow her exam- 
 ple. Her ladyship's biographer inherits her prejudices ; and there- 
 fore in the valuable and interesting work which he has published 
 he avails himself of every convenient opportunity of depreciating 
 that eminent man. He is perfectly welcome to entertain his own 
 opinion respecting Mr. Wesley, and is at liberty to defend it by 
 every just means in his power ; but as he has in various instances 
 misrepresented facts, to the injury of the man whom he dislikes, it 
 has been deemed requisite to meet several of his allegations with 
 counter-statements, of the force of which the reader will form his 
 own judgment 
 
 A still greater offender in the same way is the Rev. Edwin Sid- 
 ney, the biographer of the Rev. Samuel Walker, of Truro, and of 
 the brothers, Sir Richard and the Rev. Rowland Hill. If his 
 statements be correct, Mr. John Wesley was so far from being a 
 man of God, that he was destitute of even heathen honesty. To 
 pass over in silence the bold and palpable calumnies to which he 
 has given currency, would have been inexcusable. Other speci- 
 mens of his unfair dealing might have been adduced ; but the pas- 
 sages animadverted upon are sufficient to show the faithlessness of 
 his statements respecting the Rev. John Wesley. 
 
 There is a propriety in vindicating the character of this great and
 
 9 PREFACE. 
 
 good man in the Life of his brother Charles, with whom he was 
 always one in heart. Charles differed from him on some questions 
 affecting the established Church, and freely remonstrated with him ; 
 but he had a perfect conviction of John's uprightness, and would 
 allow no other person to cast a censure upon him. 
 
 Within the last few years much has been both said and written 
 concerning Wesleyan Methodism, especially in relation to the 
 Church of England, but often with a very imperfect knowledge of 
 the facts of the case. Upon this subject it is hoped that this vol- 
 ume will serve to correct several mistakes. In what manner 
 the Methodists were led to act independently of the Church's 
 authorities, to open separate places of worship, and administer the 
 sacraments in their own chapels, is here shown. Mr. Charles 
 Wesley, who in theory was a much stricter Churchman than his 
 brother, was the first that administered the holy communion to the 
 Methodists separately. He did this in the school which had been 
 built for the colliers' children at Kingswood, when he and the con- 
 verted colliers were forcibly repelled from the Lord's table by the 
 clergy of Bristol ; and he continued the practice from that time till 
 the day of his death. Methodism throughout the country, at this 
 day, is but an assimilation to Methodism as it was administered by 
 him in London for nearly half a century. 
 
 It has been deemed requisite to state at large Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley's strong and persevering opposition to the general administration 
 of the sacraments in the Methodist chapels, and the irrepressible 
 desire for that privilege which prevailed in many of the societies 
 soon after their formation. For more than thirty years Mr. John 
 Wesley resisted this claim, though often, as he confesses, with a 
 doubting conscience ; but at length he clearly saw that the desired 
 boon could not be finally withheld. He therefore conceded the 
 point in some instances to his societies in England ; and he fully 
 yielded to their spiritual necessities and wishes, on this subject, 
 both in America and Scotland. In doing this he deeply grieved his 
 brother ; but so strong was his sense of duty, that he sacrificed his 
 tenderest feelings, and chose rather to wound his most endeared 
 friend than absolutely deny his spiritual children the means of edifi-
 
 PREFACE. 9 
 
 cation. His ordinations, viewed in this light, demonstrate the 
 strength of his conviction that he was bound thus far to violate the 
 order of the established Church. 
 
 The design of the writer in compiling this volume, and in 
 committing it to the press, is not merely the correction of mis- 
 takes in matters of opinion and history, much less the gratification 
 of a vain curiosity by the relation of a series of singular and strik- 
 ing facts, but the advancement of Christian piety. Personal histo- 
 ries more instructive than those of John and Charles Wesley have 
 seldom been offered to the consideration of mankind. They were 
 both religiously educated, strictly moral in their lives, and for many 
 years rigorously exact in the performance of their various duties ; 
 yet they felt that they were neither holy nor happy : and never did 
 they attain lasting peace of mind, and power over inward sin, till 
 they sought these blessings in the exercise of a lively faith in the 
 sacrifice of Christ. From that time, till the end of their lives, it 
 was their great business and concern to recommend this salvation 
 as universally attainable by the same means. The nation was 
 deeply sunk in ignorance, profligacy, and irreligion, when they, 
 with their estimable friend Mr. Whitefield, entered upon their won- 
 derful career of apostolic labour. Their strenuous and persevering 
 exertions, accompanied by a large amount of personal sacrifice, were 
 ceaselessly directed, not to party purposes, but to the one object 
 of turning men from sin to holiness. The weapons of their warfare, 
 like those of the apostles, were exclusively spiritual. They con- 
 quered the world by the power of truth and love. The doctrine 
 which they constantly preached, and upon which the seal of the 
 divine blessing was visibly impressed, was that of present deliver- 
 ance from sin, its guilt, and miser)'-, and power, by faith in the Lord 
 Jesus ; and ten thousand happy converts, reclaimed from every 
 evil, attested the truth of their report. The singleness of purpose 
 with which these men laboured, the spirit of prayer and of absolute 
 trust in God which marked their entire course, their burning love 
 to Christ, their solemn conviction of the truth of the gospel, their 
 yearning affection for the souls of men, must be apparent to every 
 reader. All these peculiarities of character were a direct effect of
 
 10 PREFACE. 
 
 that rich anointing of the Holy One which rested upon them, and 
 which produced in them so striking a resemblance to Him who 
 " had compassion upon the multitudes when they fainted, and were 
 as sheep having no shepherd." It is by a ministry exercised in the 
 same spirit of pious zeal and enterprise that the world will be 
 turned to righteousness. 
 
 There never was a time at which it was more needful to incul- 
 cate the leading doctrines of the Protestant Reformation, than in the 
 present day, when so many agencies are at work to revive and 
 extend the unscriptural dogmas of Popery. In what manner John 
 and Charles Wesley exerted themselves to counteract this system 
 of spiritual wickedness, both in its theological tenets and its 
 assumption of secular domination, the subjoined narrative declares. 
 They believed the Church of Rome to be the greatest corrupter of 
 evangelical truth, the most formidable enemy to the liberties of man- 
 kind, and the most bloody and persecuting power that ever exercised 
 the divine patience and tormented mankind ; and therefore the de- 
 clared object of God's righteous malediction. Faithfully did they 
 labour to counteract the sorceries of Rome, by exciting a spirit of 
 universal inquiry on the subject of religion, and by calling attention 
 from merely outward forms and ceremonies, to the spiritual worship 
 of God. In life and death they declared, with all the confidence that 
 inspiration itself can give, " Circumcision is nothing, and uncir- 
 cumcision is nothing, but faith that worketh by love." 
 
 London May 2\st, 1841.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's birth — Discipline of the Wesley family at Epworth — 
 Charles's removal to Westminster school — His brother Samuel — Bishop Atterburv — 
 Offer to Charles of Mr. Garret Wesley's property in Ireland — Charles's removal to 
 Oxford — Becomes deeply serious — Is called Methodist — Origin of the name — Infidelity 
 at Oxford — The Oxford Methodists — Mr. Whitefield's early life — Mr. Morgan — Samuel 
 Wesley's removal to Tiverton — Letter of Charles to him — Death of the rector of Ep- 
 worth — Letter from Charles to Samuel on the subject Pages 21-48 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The colony of Georgia — General Oglethorpe — Samuel Wesley's poem of " Georgia" 
 — John and Charles Wesley consent to go to that colony as missionaries — Charles 
 Delamotte — Voyage to Georgia — The Moravian Brethren — Arrival at the place of 
 their destination — Charles Wesley's application to his clerical duties — Want of suc- 
 cess — Defectiveness of his theological views — Conspiracy formed to effect his ruin — 
 Unkindness of Oglethorpe — Dangerous illness of Churles Wesley — Mr. Oglethorpe 
 expresses regret for his conduct, and gives Charles a diamond ring — Alarms of the 
 colonists — Charles Wesley's removal from Frederica to Savannah — The Methodists at 
 Oxford — Mr. Whitefield's ordination — Charles Wesley arrives at Charleston 48-74 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley embarks for England — Perilous voyage to Boston — Brutal cha- 
 racter of the captain — Serious illness at Boston — Embarks again for England — Profli- 
 gate character of Appee, a young Dutchman — Charles Wesley lands at Deal — Arrival 
 in London — Letter to him from his brother Samuel — Failure of his health — Engage- 
 ments in London — Visits Oxford — Persecution against Mr. John Weslev at Savannah 
 — Mr. Whitefield embarks for Georgia — Letter of Charles Wesley to his brother John 
 — John's arrival in England — Mr. Matthew Wesley's death — Charles Wesley's intro- 
 duction to royalty — Escape from a highwayman — Letter from Mr. Ingham, in York- 
 shire .A 74-98 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Spiritual state of John and Charles Wesley on their return from America — The 
 Delamotte family at Blendon — The Rev. Henry Piers — The Rev. John Gambold — 
 Miss Kezzy Wesley — Charles visits Mr. Law at Putney — Count Zinzendorf arrives in 
 England— Archbishop Potter and Bishop Seeker declare that the Moravian Church ha? 
 the true succession — The count's usefulness in England — Arrival of Peter Bohler in 
 England— Publication of the first Methodist Hymn-book — Charles Wesley dangerously
 
 12 CONTENTS. 
 
 ill of the pleurisy — He is visited by Peter Bohler, and receives the doctrine of present 
 salvation by faith — The Hutton family — Return of Charles Wesley's illness — He finds 
 peace with God by believing in Jesus Christ — His brother John obtains the same 
 blessing — Charles's hymn of congratulation addressed to him — Remarks on the con- 
 version of the brothers Pages 99-127 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Charles Wesley's labours for the spiritual good of others — Mr. Ainsworth, John 
 Byrom, Mr. and Mrs. Piers, Mr. Stonehouse, the vicar of Islington, and various mem- 
 bers of the Delamotte family, receive the truth — Mr. Broughton zealously opposes it — 
 Letter from Mr. John Wesley during his visit to Hernhuth — Charles's successful labours 
 among the felons at Newgate — He visits Oxford, and is admonished by the dean of 
 Christ-Church — John Wesley's return from Germany — Charles begins to preach ex- 
 tempore — Question of rebaptizing the Dissenters — Interviews with the bishop of Lon- 
 don, wdio condemns the practice — Charles Delamotte and Mr. Whitefield return from 
 America — Letter of censure from Samuel Wesley 127-152 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's expulsion from the curacy of Islington — Mr. Whitefield 
 preaches in the open air at Bristol and other places — Mr. John Wesley follows his 
 example — Charles does the same at Thaxted, in Essex — He is summoned to appear 
 before the archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth — He is admonished, and threatened 
 with excommunication — He preaches in Moorfields, and on Kennington-common — At 
 Oxford — Prosecuted for walking across an open field to Kennington-common — Remarks 
 on field-preaching — Visit to Mr. Law — Mr. Charles Wesley at Bengeworth — Mr. 
 Benjamin Seward — Charles at Gloucester — At Bristol — Description of his preaching 
 by Mr. Williams, of Kidderminster — The brothers publish two additional hymn-books 
 — Remarks on Mysticism - 152-175 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Death of the Rev. Samuel Wesley, of Tiverton — Letter from his mother on that 
 subject — Opening of the Foundery, as a place of worship — Formation of the first of 
 the United Societies — Charles Wesley at Bengeworth — Violence of Mr. Henry Seward 
 — The doctrine of " stillness" inculcated by Molther in the Fetter-lane society — Op- 
 posed by the two Wesleys — " Conferences" with the awakened — Letter from Thomas 
 Keen — Hymn on the means of grace — The Delamotte family discard the Wesleys, and 
 join the Moravians — Separation of the Wesleys from the society in Fetter-lane — Charles 
 Wesley at Bristol and Kingswood — The Bristol clergy refuse the Lord's supper to the 
 Methodists — Charles Wesley and the Kingswood colliers turned out of the Temple 
 church — Dishonourable conduct of the Bristol magistrates — Failure of Mr. Charles 
 Wesley's health — Dr. Middleton — Charles Wesley quells a riot among the colliers at 
 Kingswood — He visits Wales — Howell Harris — Riot at Cardiff — The Wesleys pub- 
 lish a fourth hymn-book 176-204 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 School for the colliers' children at Kingswood — John Cennick embraces the tenets 
 of Calvinism, and divides the Kingswood society — Letter of Charles Wesley to him —
 
 CONTENTS. 13 
 
 Mr. John Wesley's sermon on Free Grace— Mr. Wliitefield's answer to it— Letter from 
 him to Charles Wesley— He separates from the Wesleys— Misstatement of Lady 
 Huntingdon^ biographer— Charles Wesley's decided anti-Calvinism— His " Hymns on 
 
 God's Everlasting Love" — Reconciliation between Mr. Whitefield and the Wesleys 
 
 Hymn for all three— Letter from Mrs. Wesley to Charles— He leans toward the Mora- 
 vians, but soon recovers himself— His " Account of Hannah Richardson"— Gambold, 
 Hall, and Stonehouse join the Moravians, and renounce the Church of England— Sub- 
 sequent respect for the Moravian Church Pao-es 204-231 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Happy deaths of many members of the society in Bristol and Kingswood— Doctrine 
 of reprobation — Charles Wesley visits Wales, and forms a friendship with Robert 
 Jones, Esq., of Fonmon-castle — The Rev. Mr: Hodges, Wells, Thomas, and Richards 
 — Preaches to the felons at Cardiff, and attends them to the place of execution — Mr 
 Jones accompanies him to Bristol and Kingswood — Interview with a magistrate, who 
 threatens to seize the school at Kingswood — Mr. Charles Wesley carries the gospel 
 into Staffordshire and Yorkshire — He joins his brother in the publication of a fifth 
 hymn-book — " Wrestling Jacob" — Dr. Watts's remark upon it — Charles preaches be- 
 fore the University of Oxford, and publishes his sermon — Public affront offered to Mr. 
 Piers, by the dean of Arches, when preaching at the visitation of the clergy at Seven- 
 oaks — Death of Mr. Jones, of Fonmon-castle — Elegy on him — Death of Mrs. Susanna 
 Wesley — Her character 232—258 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's labours among the prisoners in Newgate — Pastoral letter to 
 the society at Grimsby — Preaches in Staffordshire — Riots at Sheffield — Visits Birstal. 
 Armley, and Leeds — Arrives at Newcastle — Discourages physical excitement among 
 the people — Successful ministry in the north — Returns to London, preaching at Sclby, 
 Epworth, Nottingham, and Birmingham in his way — Visits Cornwall, and preaches in 
 the midst of riotous opposition — Hymn composed at the Land's End — Returns to 
 London, to attend a meeting of Methodists, Calvinists, and Moravians — Mr. Whitefield 
 and the Moravians refuse to meet — Unjust censure of Lady Huntingdon's biographer 
 upon Mr. John Wesley — Illness of Mr. Piers — Riots at Wednesbury — Charles Wesley 
 visits Bristol and Wales — Returns to London — Death of Mr. Witham 259-287 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Unsettled state of the nation in 1743 — " Hymns for Times of Trouble" — Mr. Charles 
 Wesley preaches at Birmingham, Dudley, Wednesbury, Nottingham, Sheffield, Ep- 
 worth, and Leeds — Arrives at Newcastle — Remarkable providence — Address to the 
 king — Persecution at Nottingham — John Healy and Thomas Westall examined by the 
 magistrates — Charles Wesley accused of high treason — Meets the society at Leeds, 
 and the floor of the room gives way — Several persons injured — Goes to Wakefield, to 
 meet the magistrates — He is honourably acquitted — Hymns on the occasion — Returns 
 to London, taking Nottingham on his way, where the magistrates had been rebuked b;, 
 Judge Abdy — Raises a subscription in London for the sufferers in Staffordshire — Im- 
 pressment of John Nelson, who is sent into the army — John Dovvnes impressed for a 
 soldier — Case of Thomas Beard — The first Methodist conference — Mr. Hodges, Piers. 
 Samuel Taylor, Meriton — Principles agreed upon in this assembly 287-31 1
 
 14 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Charles Wesley visits Cornwall, accompanied by Mr. Meriton — John Slocome pressed 
 for a soldier — Charles's ministry in various parts of Cornwall — Fervent love of the 
 young converts — Preaches his farewell sermon at Gwennap — Affecting scene at his 
 departure — Three clergymen confirm his testimony in a church — Visits Wales and 
 Bristol — Accompanied by Mr. Meriton, he meets his brother and Mr. Piers at Oxford — 
 Mr. John Wesley preaches his last sermon before the university — Wicked slanders 
 propagated by Thomas Williams — Labours at Newcastle and its vicinity — Terrible 
 persecution in Cornwall — Dr. Borlase — Williams, stricken in his conscience, retracts 
 his slanders, and asks forgiveness — Marmaduke Gwynne, Esq. — Mr. Meriton pressed 
 for a soldier at Shrewsbury — John Bennet, and other Methodists, in Derbyshire, treated 
 in the same manner — The second Methodist conference — Charles Wesley receives an 
 injury at Shepton-Mallet — Confined some time in Wales by his lameness — Repelled 
 from the Lord's table by a Welsh clergyman — He and his brother publish their hymns 
 on the sacrament, and on the Christian festivals Pages 312-336 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The rebellion of 1745 — The committal of Jonathan Reeves to York-castle for preach- 
 ing the gospel — Loyalty and patriotism of the Wesleys — Mrs. Rich — Mr. Lampe, the 
 musician — Charles Wesley's itinerancy in the west of England — Labours and success 
 in Cornwall — Mr. Eustick and Dr. Borlase — Hymn of thanksgiving for the success of 
 the gospel in Cornwall — The Rev. Vincent Perronet, of Shoreham — Riot in the church 
 when Charles Wesley preached there — The battle of Culloden — Hymns of thanks- 
 giving for the defeat of the rebels, and the restoration of peace — Mr. Grimshaw — 
 Edward Perronet dangerously ill of the small-pox, at Newcastle — Charles Wesley 
 preaches at Hexham — Hymn of thanksgiving for the success of the gospel at New- 
 castle 336-357 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley preaches at various places in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Derby- 
 shire, and Staffordshire — Terrible riot at Devizes — Charles Perronet ill of the small- 
 pox in Bristol — Charles Wesley visits Ireland — State of religion in that country — 
 Success of the gospel in Dublin, and Tyrrell's-pass — Riot at Athlone — Returns to 
 Dublin, and embarks for England 357-380 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Mr. Gwynne and his daughter Sarah visit the Methodist society m London — Charles 
 Wesley embarks again for Ireland — Mr. Lunell — Singular opening at Cork, where Mr. 
 Charles Wesley preaches to thousands daily — Hymn, for the Roman Catholics of Ire- 
 land — He preaches at Bandon, Kinsale, Youghall, Middleton, Cashel, Athlone, &c. — ■ 
 Meets Mr. and Mrs. Lampe in Dublin — Disastrous voyage to England — Visit to Garth 
 — The family and establishment of Mr. Gwynne 380-400 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Charles Wesley makes a proposal of marriage to Miss Sarah Gwynne — Letter from 
 Mr. Perronet respecting the literary property of the Wesleys — John secures ono
 
 CONTENTS. 15 
 
 hundred pounds a year to his brother — Charles's marriage — Letter from his sister 
 Martha — Charles's arrival in Bristol — Illness — Letter to his brother — The Gwynne 
 family remove from Garth to Ludlow — Destructive riots in Cork — Charles Wesley 
 presented by the grand jury as " a person of ill-fame, and a vagabond" — Rents a small 
 house in Bristol — Consecrates it to the Lord — Mrs. Grace Murray — Charles Wesley 
 and Mr. Whitefield prevent Mr. John Wesley's marriage — John Bennet — Mr. Charles 
 Wesley publishes his " Hymns and Sacred Poems," in two volumes .. Pages 401-422 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Earthquakes in London in the year 1750 — Excitement created by them — Charles 
 Wesley publishes a sermon on the occasion — His " Hymns on the Earthquakes" — 
 Death of Mrs. Wright — Letter illustrative of her character — Mrs. Vazeille — Infamous 
 slander of Salmon in his " Foreigner's Companion" — Marriage of Mr. Waller and Miss 
 Elizabeth Gwynne — Mr. John Wesley's marriage — Unhappy temper of his wife — Case 
 of James Wheatley — Charles Wesley's journey to the north of England — Singular trial 
 of a Methodist constable at Leeds — The chapel there in danger of being pulled down — 
 William Darney — Charles Wesley holds a conference at Leeds — Mr. Grimshaw, Wil- 
 liam Darney, and William Shent — Charles Wesley goes to Manchester — Mrs. Charles 
 Wesley travels extensively with her husband — Anecdotes connected with her itine- 
 rancy 422-455 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Specimens of Mr. Charles Wesley's letters to his wife — His pastoral duties in Lon- 
 don — Intimacy with Mr. and Mrs. Venn — Mr. Venn's religious history — The evange- 
 lical clergy benefited by the Messrs. Wesley and Whitefield — Letter from Mr. White- 
 field on the erection of the Tabernacle in Moorfields — Death of the Rev. John Meriton 
 — Hymn on the occasion — Mr. Charles Wesley visits Cornwall — Letters from thence 
 to his wife — The hour of secret prayer observed by the Wesleys, father and sons — 
 Admonitory letter from Mr. John Wesley to his brother— Dangerous illness of Mr. 
 John Wesley — Charles's visit to him in London — Affecting interview between them — 
 Deep concern manifested by the public — Mrs. Charles Wesley seized with the small- 
 pox — Kindness of Lady Huntingdon — Letters of sympathy from Mr. Whitefield — Ill- 
 ness and death of Mr. Charles Wesley's only son — Hymns on the occasion, and on 
 the recovery of his wife — Mr. John Wesley retires to the Bristol Hot-well, and writes 
 his Notes on the New Testament — Retirement of Charles Skelton from the itine- 
 
 rancy . 
 
 456^182 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley visits Norwich with his brother — Wickedness of James Wheat- 
 ley — Charles Wesley's ministry in that city — Death and character of Grace Bowen — 
 Hymn on the occasion — Letter from Mr. Whitefield in America — Difficulties of the 
 Wesleys with respect to the established Church — Attempt to introduce the Lord's 
 supper into the Methodist chapels — Mr. Charles Wesley's alarm, and resistance of this 
 measure — Letters to Mr. Sellon on this subject — John Hutchinson, and the Rev. 
 George Stonehouse — The Wesleys closeted together at Birstal, where they canvass 
 Towgood's book on Dissent — Conference at Leeds — Thomas Walsh, Joseph Cownley. 
 and the Perronets, engage to desist from administering the Lord's supper — Charles 
 Wesley's abrupt departure from the conference — Publishes a poetical " Epistle to the
 
 16 CONTENTS. 
 
 Rev. John Wesley" — Letters from Mr. John Wesley to Charles concerning the Church 
 — Correspondence with the Rev. Mr. Walker and Mr. Adam on the same subject — 
 Mr. Charles Wesley visits Margate and Canterbury — Paralytic seizure of Wright, the 
 brother-in-law of the Wesleys — Marriage of Mr. Stonehouse, and of Miss Degge — 
 Earthquake at Lisbon — Threatened invasion of England — Charles Wesley's manu- 
 script epistles to Howell Harris, Mr. Whitefield, Count Zinzendorf, and others. 
 
 Pages 483-519 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Calamitous state of Great Britain in the year 1756 — Charles Wesley publishes 
 hymns for the fast-day — The conference held in Bristol — Mr. Charles Wesley visits 
 the societies in Staffordshire, Yorkshire, and Lancashire — Uneasiness in various places 
 on the subject of the sacraments, and service in Church hours — Mr. Crook, of Hunslet 
 — Division in the society at Leeds by Mr. Edwards — Charles Wesley at York — Mr. 
 Ingham — Mr. Grimshaw — Mr. Whitefield — Titus Knight — John Whitford — John By- 
 rom — Unsettled state of the society in Manchester— Letters of Charles Wesley to Mr. 
 Grimshaw, and the society at Leeds, concerning the Methodists and the Church — Mr. 
 Clayton — Mr. Charles Wesley returns by Wednesbury to Bristol — Roger Ball and 
 James Wheatley — Remarks on Methodism and the state of the Church — Several 
 Methodists in Yorkshire and Lancashire, being denied the sacraments in their own 
 chapels, become Dissenters 519-547 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley desists from his itinerant ministry — The probable reason of this 
 determination — Unfavourable effect upon his own mind — Mr. John Wesley publishes 
 his " Reasons against Separation from the Church" — Charles's hymns ou the subject — 
 Serious accident — Illness of Thomas Walsh — Charles Wesley unjustly accused of un- 
 kindness toward him — Letters from Mr. Walsh — His death — Hymns on the occasion — 
 Mr. Charles Wesley visits the daughter of his brother Samuel, at Barnstaple — Letters 
 from thence to Mrs. Wesley — Samuel Wesley's widow — Charles Wesley publishes 
 " Hymns of Intercession for all Mankind" — He publishes his " Funeral Hymns" — 
 Death of the Rev. James Hervey — His " Eleven Letters" — Lines on refusing to write 
 an epitaph on him — Renewed alarm of invasion — Hymns on the subject — Victory over 
 the French fleet — Murder committed by Earl Ferrers upon his steward — Letter from 
 his brother, the Rev. Walter Shirley — The trial of the earl — His obduracy, and exe- 
 cution — Three of the Methodist preachers begin to administer the sacraments at Nor- 
 wich — Mr. Charles Wesley's distress on the occasion — His letters to Nicholas Gilbert, 
 John Nelson, and Mr. Grimshaw, upon the occasion — Mr. Grimshaw's answer — Ex- 
 treme views taken by him and Charles Wesley — The licensing of the preachers and 
 chapels — Desire of the Methodists to have the Lord's supper among themselves, 
 and divine service in Church hours — Charles Wesley's desire to get the preachers 
 episcopally ordained — Letter to him by Joseph Cownley on the subject — Moderation 
 of Mr. John Wesley — Letter from Mr. Perronet to Mr. Charles Wesley, when ill at 
 Bath 548-587 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley publishes his " Short Hymns on Select Passages of Scripture" 
 — Matthew Henry — Dr. Gell — Bengelius — Spiritual darkness — Christian perfection — 
 Irregularities in the London society, caused by George Bell and others — Mr. John
 
 CONTENTS. 17 
 
 Wesley's views of Christian perfection — He disapproves of his brother's altered opin- 
 ions — Letter from Mr. Perronet, intimating that Charles was too severe in his censures 
 — Death of Mrs. Perronet — Death of Mr. Grimshaw — His character — Death of Lady 
 Selina Huntingdon — Letters from Mr. Perronet on the mischief done by Maxfield in 
 London — Letter from Mr. Whitefield, in America — Mr. John Wesley's letters to his 
 brother, urging him to diligence — Charles's labours and usefulness in London — He 
 publishes his " Hymns for Children" — His " Hymns on the Trinity" — Unjust censure 
 upon Mr. John Wesley, by the Rev. William Jones, of Nayland — Charles Wesley's 
 " Hymns for the Use of Families" — Specimen — Death of his son John James — Conso- 
 latory letter addressed to his wife — Anxieties respecting Samuel Pages 587-619 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Letter from Mr. Whitefield, in America — Death and character of that eminent man — 
 Charles Wesley's " Hymns of Preparation for Death" — Mr. John Wesley cautions his 
 preachers concerning their doctrine at the conference of 1770 — Publishes various doc- 
 trinal propositions in the Minutes — Lady Huntingdon is offended with them, and dis- 
 misses Mr. Benson, the classical tutor in her college — Mr. Fletcher retires from the 
 presidency of that institution — Mr. John Wesley writes a letter of admonition to her 
 ladyship, which she resents — Under her direction Mr. Shirley publishes a circular 
 letter, inviting Churchmen and Dissenters to assemble in Bristol, at the time of the 
 next conference, and demand of Mr. Wesley and his preachers a recantation of the 
 Minutes — Haughty letter of Lady Huntingdon to Mr. Charles Wesley, enclosing the 
 circular — He is justly offended with her proceedings and spirit — Advises his brother 
 immediately to publish something in opposition to the peculiarities of Calvinism — 
 Churchmen and Dissenters refuse to obey the summons contained in the circular — 
 Lady Huntingdon and Mr. Shirley send letters of submission to Mr. Wesley — A few 
 of her dependants and personal friends attend the conference with his permission — 
 Mr. Wesley and the preachers sign a " declaration," disavowing the sense which had 
 been erroneously affixed to the Minutes — Mr. Shirley apologizes for his conduct, and 
 confesses that he had mistaken their true meaning — This affair misrepresented by 
 Lady Huntingdon's biographer — Publication of Mr. Fletcher's " Letters to Mr. Shir- 
 ley" — Thomas Olivers — Mr. Wesley vindicated in putting his friend's " Letters" to the 
 press — Misleading statements of Lady Huntingdon's biographer corrected — Mr. Flet- 
 cher is encouraged in his authorship by Charles Wesley — Mr. Shirley publishes his 
 " Narrative," and then retires from the controversy which he had provoked — Mr. John 
 Wesley writes to Lady Huntingdon, who intimates that he is either dishonest, or in his 
 dotage — Mr. Fletcher answers Shirley's " Narrative" — Richard Hill, Esq., engages in 
 the controversy, but soon proposes to destroy all that he had written, if Mr. Fletcher 
 would do the same — He retires from the controversy with Mr. Fletcher, and is suc- 
 ceeded by the Rev. Rowland Hill, Mr. Berridge, and Mr. Toplady — Mr. Madan affords 
 secret help to Mr. Fletcher's opponents — The Messrs. Hill and Toplady assail Mr. 
 John Wesley's personal character, to the grief of the more respectable Calvinists — 
 Dr. Haweis's testimony in his favour — Charles Wesley's epigrams on the slanderers 
 of his honoured brother — Thomas Olivers — Mr. Fletcher's character as a polemical 
 writer — Unjust censures upon him by Lady Huntingdon's biographer, the Rev. Edwin 
 Sidney, &c. — Mr. Charles Wesley's decided concurrence in the judgment of Mr. 
 Fletcher on the questions at issue, and advice in the entire controversy — Lady Hunt- 
 ingdon regrets the part which she had acted toward her earliest religious friend, Mr. 
 
 John Wesley 619-663 
 
 2
 
 18 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Removal of Mr. Charles Wesley's family to London — Letter from Mr. Fletcher- 
 Mr. John Wesley's dangerous illness in Ireland — Report of his death — Mr. Fletcher's 
 letter to Charles, urging him to take his brother's place, and offering his aid — Letter 
 from Mr. Perronet — Case of King Charles I. — Mr. Fletcher's dangerous illness — 
 Death of Charles Perronet — Letter from his father — Case of Dr. Dodd — Mr. Charle? 
 Wesley visits him, with his brother, in prison — Letters of Charles Wesley to his 
 daughter — Prayer for his brother's life — " The Protestant Association" — Lord George 
 Gordon — Riots of 1780 — Letters from Mr. Charles Wesley, describing the scenes of 
 outrage — He publishes a poem on the occasion — Conference of 1780 — Charles Wes- 
 ley's fears lest the Methodists should leave the Church Pages 663-680 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's children — Musical genius of his two sons — Sketch of the 
 early life of Charles — Mr. Kelway — Dr. Boyce — Elegy on the doctor's death — Early 
 life of Samuel Wesley — Character of the two brothers — Their select concerts — The 
 earl of Mornington — General Oglethorpe — Letter of spiritual advice from Mr. Charles 
 Wesley to Mr. Kelway — Letter from the earl of Mornington — Death of that nobleman 
 — Charles and Samuel Wesley singularly unsuccessful in their attempts to obtain 
 lucrative situations as musicians — Anecdotes of George III. and George IV. — Bishop 
 Burgess — Letters to Charles, from his uncle and his father — Letter to Samuel from 
 his father — Mary Freeman Shepherd — Samuel embraces the tenets of Popery — The 
 dutchess of Norfolk discloses the fact to his father — Mr. Charles Wesley's deep dis- 
 tress, "expressed in several stanzas — Mr. John Wesley's letter to the unhappy youth — 
 Letter to his nephew Charles on the subject of Samuel's Popery — The spirit of the 
 Church of Rome — Samuel Wesley deeply injured by his godfather Madan — Miss Sarah 
 Wesley — Mr. Charles Wesley's intimacy with Lord Mansfield, Dr. Johnson, &c. — He 
 was not the sabbath-breaking clergyman, whom Cowper has satirized under the name 
 of Occiduus — Mr. Madan was most probably designed by that name 680-715 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Mr. John Wesley gives an identity to the conference by the " Deed of Declaration" 
 — Offence taken by some parties at this important instrument — Mr. Fletcher at the 
 conference of 1784 — State of the Methodists in America when the war of independence 
 had ceased — Dr. Seabury — Dr. Coke — Mr. John Wesley appoints the doctor and Mr. 
 Asbury joint superintendents of the Methodist Church in America, and ordains Mr. 
 Vasey and Mr. Whatcoat elders — He also ordains three of his preachers to administer 
 the sacraments in Scotland — The principles by which he was guided in these acts — 
 Views of Mr. George Lawson on the alleged episcopal succession — Charles Wesley 
 is greatly offended with his brother's ordinations — His letter to Dr. Chandler on the 
 subject — Correspondence with his brother — Remarks upon it — Mr. John Wesley or- 
 dains several others of his preachers at the Bristol conference of 1786, and in certain 
 cases allows the opening of Methodist chapels in Church hours — Mr. Charles Wesley 
 writes from this conference to Mr. La Trobe, the Moravian minister in London — He 
 mistakes the character of the preachers generally — Discrepancy between his theory of 
 Churchmanship and his practice — He was an advocate of lay-preaching — His strong 
 censures upon ungodly clergymen — Becomes less hostile to his brother's proceedings — 
 
 2*
 
 CONTENTS. 19 
 
 Mr. John Wesley confesses his inability to keep the whole of his people in union with 
 the Church, in consequence of the character and doctrine of several of the clergy — 
 He ordains three of his preachers to administer the sacraments in England — Misstate- 
 ments of Dr. Pusey and the Messrs. Wilberforce — Some of the Rev. Edwin Sidney'? 
 misrepresentations answered Pages 715-751 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Character and death of the Rev. Henry Piers, Ebenezer Blackwell, and the Rev. 
 Vincent Perronet — Letters to Miss Briggs — Death of the Rev. John Fletcher — Mr. 
 Charles Wesley's health begins to decline — His ministry at the close of life — Regard 
 for malefactors — Letter to Mr. William Marriott — Departure of Mr. John Wesley from 
 London — His letters to his brother and to Miss Wesley — Charles's increasing weak- 
 ness — Mr. John Wesley's letters concerning his brother — Charles's death — Mr. John 
 Wesley's letter to his bereaved sister-in-law — Miss Wesley's letter to her uncle, con- 
 taining the particulars of her father's illness and death — The funeral — Consecrated 
 ground — Letter of Mr. Bradburn on the character and death of Mr. Charles Wesley — 
 Various letters from Mr. John Wesley to his sister-in-law and his niece — Mr. Charles 
 Wesley's manuscripts — Unjust censure upon the Methodists by Mr. Wilberforce — Mr. 
 Charles Wesley's family — Mr. John Wesley's intended Life of his brother — Charles's 
 epitaph 751-774 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's personal appearance — Scholarship — Power as a satirist — As 
 a translator of verse — Cordiality of his friendships — Undeviating friendship for his 
 brother — Exemplary kindness in the domestic relations — Loyalty to the house of 
 Brunswick — Character as a preacher — Peculiarity in his mental constitution — Cha- 
 racter of his Methodism and Churchmanship — He was the first that administered the 
 holy communion to the Methodists separately — Advocacy of lay-preaching — Attach- 
 ment to the Methodists — Self-denial after he ceased to itinerate — Literary accom- 
 plishments — General character of his poetry — Occasionally adopted the thoughts of 
 other writers — Dr. Brevint, and Dr. Young — Peculiarities of his versification — Com- 
 prehensive range of his subjects — The evangelical character of his hymns — Their 
 influence upon the Methodist body — Superior to those of Dr. Watts — Are adapted to 
 all occasions — Are introductory to the songs of the blessed 775-797
 
 THE LIFE 
 
 THE REV. CHARLES WESLEY, M. A. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Charles Wesley was the youngest son of the Rev. Samuel Wes- 
 ley, rector of Epworth, in Lincolnshire, and of his estimable wife 
 Susanna. He was born December 18th, 1708 ; being about sixteen 
 years younger than his brother Samuel, and about five younger than 
 John. His birth was premature ; so that at first he appeared rather 
 dead than alive. He neither cried nor opened his eyes, and was kept 
 wrapped up in soft wool until the time at which he should have been 
 born according to the course of nature, when he opened his eyes, and 
 caused his voice to be heard. 
 
 The income of the rector of Epworth was comparatively small, and 
 his children were very numerous. Twice the parsonage house was 
 unfortunately burned down, and rebuilt at his own expense. His cir- 
 cumstances, therefore, were painfully embarrassed ; and the children 
 were far from having any superfluity of either diet or clothing. The 
 hardy manner in which they were necessarily trained prepared them 
 to contend with the trials of life ; and, in the arrangements of a wise 
 providence, fitted John and Charles for the privations and labours which 
 they were destined to endure as itinerant teachers of religion. Their 
 venerable mother, in a letter dated January 20th, 1722, and addressed 
 to her brother, Mr. Samuel Annesley, says, " Mr. Wesley rebuilt his 
 house in less than one year ; but nearly thirteen years are elapsed since 
 it was burned ; yet it is not half furnished, nor are his wife and children 
 half clothed, to this day." 
 
 Perhaps no family in the kingdom was placed under better regula- 
 tions than the Wesley family at Epworth. The father was a man of 
 great learning, and of studious habits. He also spent much of his 
 time from home, attending the sittings of the convocation in London : 
 so that the care of the children devolved principally upon their excel- 
 lent mother ; a woman of sincere piety, and of a. strong and well- 
 cultivated understanding. They were all placed under her tuition;
 
 22 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 and the laws by which she governed them reflect the highest honour 
 upon her character. They are thus stated by herself: — 
 
 " The children were always put into a regular method of living, in 
 such things as they were capable of, from their birth ; as in dressing, 
 undressing, changing their linen, &c. The first quarter commonly 
 passes in sleep. After that, they were, if possible, laid in their cradles 
 awake, and rocked to sleep ; and so they were kept rocking, till it was 
 time for them to awake. This was done to bring them to a regular 
 course of sleeping ; which at first was three hours in the morning, and 
 three in the afternoon ; afterward two hours, till they needed none 
 at all. 
 
 " When turned a year old, (and some before,) they were taught to 
 fear the rod, and to cry softly ; by Avhich means they escaped abun- 
 dance of correction they might otherwise have had ; and that most 
 odious noise of the crying of children was rarely heard in the house : 
 but the family usually lived in as much quietness as if there had not 
 been a child among them. 
 
 " As soon as they were grown pretty strong, they were confined to 
 three meals a day. At dinner their little tables and chairs were set by 
 ours, where they could be overlooked ; and they were suffered to eat 
 and drink (small beer) as much as they would, but not to call for any 
 thing. If they wanted aught, they used to whisper to the maid which 
 attended them, who came and spake to me ; and as soon as they could 
 handle a knife and fork they were set to our table. They were never 
 suffered to choose their meat, but always made to eat such things as 
 were provided for the family. 
 
 " Mornings they had always spoon-meat ; sometimes at nights. But, 
 whatever they had, they were never permitted to eat, at those meals, 
 of more than one thing ; and of that sparingly enough. Drinking or 
 eating between meals was never allowed, unless in case of sickness ; 
 which seldom happened. Nor were they suffered to go into the kitchen 
 to ask any thing of the servants, when they were at meat. If it was 
 known they did, they were certainly beat, and the servants severely 
 reprimanded. 
 
 " At six, as soon as family prayers were over, they had their supper ; 
 at seven, the maid washed them ; and, beginning at the youngest, she 
 undressed and got them all to bed by eight : at which time she left 
 them in their several rooms awake ; for there was no such thing allowed 
 of in our house as sitting by a child till it fell asleep. 
 
 " They were so constantly used to eat and drink what was given 
 them, that when any of them was ill, there was no difficulty in making 
 them take the most unpleasant medicine : for they durst not refuse it, 
 though some of them would presently throw it up. This I mention, to
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 23 
 
 show that a person may be taught to take any thing, though it be never 
 so much against his stomach. 
 
 i "In order to form the minds of children, the first thing to be done is 
 to conquer their will, and bring them to an obedient temper. To inform 
 the understanding is a work of time, and must with children proceed by 
 slow degrees, as they are able to bear it ; but the subjecting the will is 
 a thing which must be done at once ; and the sooner the better. For 
 by neglecting timely correction, they will contract a stubbornness and 
 obstinacy which is hardly ever after conquered ; and never, without 
 using such severity as would be as painful to me as to the child. In the 
 esteem of the world they pass for kind and indidgent whom I call cruel 
 parents, who permit their children to get habits which they know must 
 be afterward broken. Nay, some are so stupidly fond, as in sport to 
 teach their children to do things which, in a while after, they have 
 severely beaten them for doing. Whenever a child is corrected, it 
 must be conquered ; and this will be no hard matter to do, if it be not 
 grown headstrong by too much indulgence. And when the will of a 
 child is totally subdued, and it is brought to revere and stand in awe 
 of the parents, then a great many childish follies and inadvertencies 
 may be passed by. Some should be overlooked, and taken no notice 
 of, and others mildly reproved ; but no wilful transgression ought ever 
 to be forgiven children, without chastisement, less or more, as the 
 nature and circumstances of the offence require. 
 
 " I insist upon conquering the will of children betimes, because this 
 is the only strong and rational foundation of a religious education ; 
 without which both precept and example will be ineffectual. But when 
 this is thoroughly done, then a child is capable of being governed by 
 the reason and piety of its parents, till its own understanding comes to 
 maturity, and the principles of religion have taken root in the mind. 
 
 " I cannot yet dismiss this subject. As self-will is the root of all 
 sin and misery, so whatever cherishes this in children ensures their 
 after- wretchedness and irreligion. Whatever checks and mortifies it 
 promotes their future happiness and piety. This is still more evident, 
 if we further consider that religion is nothing else than the doing the 
 will of God, and not our own : that the one grand impediment to our 
 temporal and eternal happiness being this self-will, no indulgences of 
 it can be trivial, no denial unprofitable. Heaven or hell depends on 
 this alone. So that the parent who studies to subdue it in his child 
 works together with God in the renewing and saving a soul. The 
 parent who indulges it does the devil's work, makes religion impracti- 
 cable, salvation unattainable ; and does all that in him lies to damn his 
 child, soul and body, for ever. 
 
 " The children of this family were taught, as soon as they could 
 
 r^
 
 24 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 speak, the Lord's Prayer, which they were made to say at rising and 
 bed-time constantly ; to which, as they grew bigger, were added a short 
 prayer for their parents, and some collects, a short catechism, and some 
 portion of Scripture, as their memories could bear. 
 
 " They were very early made to distinguish the sabbath from other 
 days, before they could well speak or go. They were as soon taught 
 to be still at family prayers, and to ask a blessing immediately after, 
 which they used to do by signs, before they could kneel or speak. 
 
 " They were quickly made to understand they might have nothing 
 they cried for, and instructed to speak handsomely for what they wanted. 
 They were not suffered to ask even the lowest servant for aught with- 
 out saying, ' Pray give me such a thing ;' and the servant was chid if 
 she ever let them omit that word. Taking God's name in vain, cursing 
 and swearing, profaneness, obscenity, rude, ill-bred names, were never 
 heard among them. Nor were they ever permitted to call each other 
 by their proper names, without the addition of brother or sister. 
 
 " None of them were taught to read till five years old, except Kezzy, 
 in whose case I was overruled ; and she was more years learning than 
 any of the rest had been months. The way of teaching was this : — 
 The day before a child began to leam, the house was set in order, every 
 one's work was appointed them, and a charge given that none should 
 come into the room from nine till twelve, or from two till five ; which 
 were our school hours. One day was allowed the child wherein to 
 learn its letters ; and each of them did in that time know all its letters, 
 great and small, except Molly and Nancy, who were a day and a half 
 before they knew them perfectly ; for which I then thought them very 
 dull ; but since I have observed how long many children are learning 
 the horn-book,* I have changed my opinion. But the reason why I 
 thought them so then was, because the rest learned so readily; and 
 Samuel, who was the first child I ever taught, learned the alphabet in 
 a few hours. He was five years old on the 10th of February : the 
 next day he began to learn ; and, as soon as he knew the letters, began 
 the first chapter of Genesis. He was taught to spell the first verse, 
 then to read it over and over, till he could read it off-hand without any 
 hesitation ; so on the second, &c, till he took ten verses for a lesson, 
 which he quickly did. Easter fell low [came late] that year ; and by 
 Whitsuntide he could read a chapter very well ; for he read continually, 
 and had such a prodigious memory, that I cannot remember ever to have 
 told him the same word twice. 
 
 " What was yet stranger, any word he had learned in his lesson he 
 
 * A card, containing the alphabet, covered with a transparent piece of horn, through 
 which the child can see his letters, and by which they are kept from being soiled. — 
 Amer. Ed.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 25 
 
 knew wherever he saw it, either in his Bible, or any other book ; by 
 which means he very soon learned to read an English author well. 
 
 " The same method was observed with them all. As soon as they 
 knew the letters, they were put first to spell and read one line, then 
 a verse ; never leaving till perfect in their lesson, were it shorter or 
 longer. So one or other continued reading at school-time, without 
 any intermission ; and before we left school, each child read what, he 
 had learned that morning ; and ere we parted in the afternoon, what 
 they had learned that day. 
 
 "There was no such thing as loud talking or playing allowed of; 
 but every one was kept close to their business for the six hours of 
 school : and it is almost incredible what a child may be taught in a 
 quarter of a year by a vigorous application, if it have but a tolerable 
 capacity and good health. Every one of these, Kezzy excepted, could 
 read better in that time than the most of women can do as long as 
 they live. 
 
 u Rising out of their places, or going out of the room, was not per- 
 mitted, unless for good cause ; and running into the yard, garden, or 
 street, without leave, was always esteemed a capital offence. 
 
 " For some years we went on very well. Never were children in 
 better order. Never were children better disposed to piety, or in more 
 subjection to their parents, till that fatal dispersion of them, after the 
 fire, into several families. In those they were left at full liberty to 
 converse with servants, which before they had always been restrained 
 from ; and to run abroad, and play with any children, good or bad. 
 They soon learned to neglect a strict observation of the sabbath, and 
 got knowledge of several songs and bad things, which before they had 
 no notion of. That civil behaviour which made them admired, when 
 at home, by all which saw them, was, in great measure, lost ; and a 
 clownish accent, and many rude ways, were learned, Avhich were not 
 reformed without some difficulty. 
 
 " When the house was rebuilt, and the children all brought home, 
 we entered upon a strict reform ; and then was begun the custom of 
 singing psalms at beginning and leaving school, morning and evening. 
 Then also that of a general retirement at five o'clock was entered upon ; 
 when the oldest took the youngest that could speak, and the second the 
 next, to whom they read the psalms for the day, and a chapter in the 
 New Testament ; as, in the morning, they were directed to read the 
 psalms and a chapter in the Old. After which they went to their pri- 
 vate prayers, before they got their breakfast, or came into the family. 
 
 " There were several by-laws observed among us : 
 
 "1. It had been observed that coAvardice and fear of punishment 
 often lead children into lying, till they get a custom of it, which they
 
 26 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 cannot leave. To prevent this, a law was made, that whoever was 
 charged with a fault, if they would ingenuously confess it, and promise 
 to amend, should not be beaten. This rule prevented a great deal of 
 lying. 
 
 " 2. That no sinful action, as lying, pilfering, playing at church, or 
 on the Lord's day, disobedience, quarreling, &c, should ever pass 
 unpunished. 
 
 " 3. That no child should ever be chid or beat twice for the same 
 fault ; and if they amended, they should never be upbraided with it 
 afterward. 
 
 " 4. That every signal act of obedience, especially when it crossed 
 upon their own inclinations, should be always commended, and fre- 
 quently rewarded, according to the merits of the cause. 
 
 "5. That if ever any child performed an act of obedience, or did any 
 thing with an intention to please, though the performance was not 
 well, yet the obedience and intention should be kindly accepted ; 
 and the child with sweetness directed how to do better for the future. 
 
 " 6. That propriety [ownership] be inviolably preserved, and none 
 suffered to invade the property of another in the smallest matter, 
 though it were but of the value of a farthing, or a pin ; which they 
 might not take from the owner without, much less against, his consent. 
 
 " 7. That promises be strictly observed ; and a gift once bestowed, 
 and so the right passed away from the donor, be not resumed, but 
 left to the disposal of him to whom it was given ; unless it were con- 
 ditional, and the condition of the obligation not performed,"* 
 
 The intrinsic value of this document justifies its insertion in this 
 place, notwithstanding its length. Any biographical' account of either 
 John or Charles Wesley would be defective, if this plan of their early 
 education were not given. Whatever excellence their characters pre- 
 sented, and whatever benefit the world derived from their example and 
 labours, it is easy to perceive that the foundation of the whole was laid 
 in the instruction which they received from their intelligent and devout 
 mother, and in the salutary discipline to which she subjected them at 
 the outset of life. They were trained to habits of regularity, diligence, 
 order, self-denial, honesty, benevolence, seriousness, and devotion ; 
 and well did they, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, reward the pious 
 toil of their accomplished preceptress. To the last moment of her life 
 they paid a profound and filial deference to her judgment. Wherever, 
 therefore, their zeal and usefulness are acknowledged, the godly and 
 enlightened assiduity of their mother, to whom, under God, they were 
 indebted for those habits which qualified them to become a public bless- 
 ing, should be gratefully remembered, and told for a memorial of her. 
 * Wesley's Works, vol. iii, pp. 265, 266.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 27 
 
 In addition to the religious and scholastic instruction which they 
 daily received, Mrs. Wesley was accustomed, once a week, to con- 
 verse with each of her children separately, concerning the things of 
 God, and their spiritual interests. " I take such a proportion of time 
 as I can spare every night," says she, in a letter to her husband, " to 
 discourse with each child apart. On Monday, I talk with Molly ; on 
 Tuesday, with Hetty ; Wednesday, with Nancy ; Thursday, with 
 Jacky ; Friday, with Patty ; Saturday, with Charles ; and with Emily 
 and Sukey together on Sunday." 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wesley, aware of their inability to lay up fortunes for 
 their children, resolved that they should enjoy the advantages of a su- 
 perior education. The daughters were well instructed by their mother ; 
 and their three sons were all graduates of the University of Oxford. 
 Having received the rudiments of learning imder his mother's tuition. 
 Charles was sent to Westminster School in the year 1716, being then 
 about eight years of age. John had then been about two years at the 
 Charterhouse School in London, where his proficiency was most en- 
 couraging. At Westminster, Charles was placed under the care of his 
 brother Samuel, who was then one of the ushers in that establishment, 
 and, for a time, bore the expense of Charles's maintenance and educa- 
 tion. Samuel was an excellent classical scholar, a poet, a wit, and a 
 man of unimpeachable honour arid integrity. He was the personal 
 friend of Bishop Atterbury, a prelate of great abilities, of elegant scho- 
 larship, and one of the finest writers of the age. The bishop was 
 withal restless, aspiring, and disaffected to the house of Brunswick, 
 one of whose princes had been recently placed on the British throne. 
 A bill of pains and penalties was brought into parliament, charging 
 Atterbury with attempts to subvert the reigning dynasty, and to restore 
 to the Stuart family the crown of Great Britain. He solemnly avowed 
 his innocence, and defended himself with extraordinary ability and 
 spirit before the House of Lords. The bill, however, passed, and 
 Atterbury was sent into banishment. Samuel Wesley's love to his 
 friend suffered no abatement in consequence of this act of the legisla- 
 ture. He was therefore naturally suspected of entertaining the bishop's 
 political views ; especially as he freely lampooned Sir Robert Walpole, 
 the Whig minister of the day, in several poetic satires. Yet no proof 
 exists that he was opposed to the reigning family ; and positive testi- 
 mony is given, by competent witnesses, especially by his brother John, 
 that his loyalty was unshaken. His father, the rector of Epworth, 
 wrote the first defence of the government of William and Mary that 
 appeared in print after their accession to the throne ; art'd that his son 
 Samuel entertained the father's views concerning the Revolution, is 
 manifest from the following lines, which refer directly to that event : —
 
 28 > LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " Lo ! Orange sails, the prudent and the brave, 
 Our fears to scatter, and our rights to save. 
 This Briton's pen first pleaded William's cause, 
 And pleaded strongly for our faith and laws." 
 
 Samuel Wesley doubtless believed the bishop's solemn protestations 
 of innocence, which were the more credible, because he was not pro- 
 ceeded against by impeachment, which is the usual mode of bringing 
 traitors to justice. Be this as it may, he was a high and unbending 
 Churchman, steady in his adherence to his principles, and unswayed 
 by the popular voice. He sacrificed his hopes of preferment by an 
 unwavering regard for his exiled friend, and by lashing his friend's 
 political adversaries. While he succeeded in making his brother 
 Charles an excellent classical scholar, he imbued him also with his 
 own views of Episcopal authority, and of ecclesiastical prerogative. 
 
 When Charles Wesley had been about five years at Westminster he 
 was admitted as one of the king's scholars, and his expenses were 
 borne by the foundation. Being both lively and clever, he was put 
 forward to act dramas ; and his progress in learning procured him the 
 favour of his master. 
 
 During his stay at Westminster an incident occurred which might 
 have been of the most serious consequence both to himself and the 
 world. Garret Wesley, Esq., a gentleman of large fortune in Ireland, 
 wrote to the rector of Epworth, inquiring whether or not he had a son 
 named Charles ; and stating that it was his wish to adopt a youth of 
 that name as his heir. The answer appears to have accorded with his 
 views ; for a person in London brought money for Charles's education 
 for several years. One day another gentleman called upon him, who 
 is supposed to have been Mr. Garret Wesley himself. He talked 
 largely with Charles, and asked if he was willing to accompany him 
 to Ireland. Charles wrote to his father for advice ; and the father, who 
 answered immediately, referred the matter to the son's own choice. 
 Thus left to decide for himself, he resolved to remain in England, and 
 to decline the flattering offer. Mr. John Wesley, who wrote this ac- 
 count a few months before his death, and left it among his manuscripts, 
 calls his brother's decision " a fair escape." 
 
 The matter was more momentous than even his sagacious mind 
 perceived. Disappointed in this quarter, Garret Wesley offered to 
 lequeath his property to one of his kinsmen, on condition that he 
 should receive the name of Wesley, to which he consented. That 
 kinsman was Richard Colley, who was subsequently known as Richard 
 Colley Wesley. He held the offices of auditor and registrar of the 
 Royal Hospital of Kilmainham, and second chamberlain of the Irish 
 Court of Exchequer. In the year 1734 he was sheriff* of Meath ; and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 29 
 
 he sat for many years in parliament, as representative of the borough 
 of Carysford. He was raised to the peerage, in the year 1747, by 
 George II., under the title of Baron Mornington. This eminent man, 
 who inherited the property in the county of Meath which had been 
 offered to Charles Wesley, was the grandfather of the Marquis Wel- 
 lesley, and of the duke of Wellington. Of the second Lord Morning- 
 ton, the father of the duke, we shall have occasion to speak in a sub- 
 sequent part of this narrative. 
 
 Had Mr. Charles Wesley accepted the proposal that was made to 
 him, he would have been far removed from the religious friends who 
 were the instruments of his conversion and subsequent piety ; and 
 Richard Colley would never have possessed the property of Garret Wes- 
 ley. According to all human calculation, therefore, the world would 
 never have enjoyed the benefit of Charles Wesley's ministry ; his 
 incomparable hymns would never have been written ; the extension of 
 the British empire in India, under the administration of the Marquis 
 Wellesley, might not have taken place ; and the general who con- 
 quered Napoleon Buonaparte, and thus overthrew one of the greatest 
 tyrannies that ever existed, might never have been born. What a 
 thought, that events so immensely important, and involving the tem- 
 poral and spiritual interests of millions, should have been contingent 
 upon the volition of an impetuous boy, who was left to decide whether 
 he would remain in England, with the prospect of poverty and labour 
 before him, or go to Ireland to enjoy the luxuries and honour of wealth ! 
 That the hand of God was in the determination, none but an infidel 
 can doubt. The youth decided under the secret guidance of divine 
 mercy, exercised not only toward him, but toward the world. 
 
 In the year 1726 Mr. Charles Wesley, being about eighteen years 
 of age, removed from Westminster School to the university, being 
 elected to Christ-Church College, Oxford. His brother had lately left 
 the same college, having obtained a fellowship in that of Lincoln. 
 John was now more than ever intent upon the improvement of his time, 
 as his conviction of the importance of personal religion had become 
 very deep and solemn. On removing to Lincoln College, he broke off 
 all connection with light and gay company, declining to return their 
 visits, and resolved, by the grace of God, to be a Christian indeed. 
 This alteration in his views and feelings he states to have been pro- 
 duced by the reading of Bishop Taylor's " Rules and Exercises of Holy 
 Living and Dying ;" Kempis's " Christian's Pattern ;" and the Rev. 
 William Law's " Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life." From 
 these impressive books he learned that true religion does not consist 
 in orthodox opinions, nor in correct moral conduct, nor in comformity 
 to the purest modes of evangelical worship ; necessary as the whole
 
 30 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of these things are in their place ; but in the possession and uninter- 
 rupted exercise of the mind that was in Christ. He was anxious, be- 
 yond expression, to attain inward and outward holiness as the great 
 end of his being. 
 
 At this time Charles was differently minded. For some months 
 after his arrival in Oxford, though moral in his conduct, and very 
 agreeable in his spirit and manners, he was far from being severe and 
 earnest in his application to study ; the strict authority over him which 
 his brother Samuel exercised, as his tutor and guardian, being now 
 withdrawn. To a considerable extent, he was at his own disposal. 
 After a while, however, he became studious ; but his spirit was unde- 
 vout. " He pursued his studies diligently," says John, " and led a 
 regular, harmless life : but if I spoke to him about religion, he would 
 warmly answer, ' What, would you have me to be a saint all at once V 
 and would hear no more." 
 
 Such was the state of the two brothers when, in the year 1726, 
 John, having obtained deacon's orders, left Oxford, for the purpose of 
 serving his father in the curacy of Wroote, in Lincolnshire, where he 
 remained nearly three years. It was during this interval that Charles 
 became deeply concerned for the salvation of his soul. "While dili- 
 gently pursuing his studies, a spirit of more than ordinary seriousness 
 came upon him, apparently without the use of any particular means ; 
 and he also earnestly desired to be a spiritual worshipper of God. 
 That he might keep his heart with all diligence, according to the 
 direction of the wise man, he resolved to maintain a strict watch over 
 all its movements, as well as over his words and actions. Apprehend- 
 ing that the keeping of a diary would be likely to further his designs, 
 and knowing that his brother had kept such a record for some years, 
 he wrote to him, requesting his advice on the subject. " I would will- 
 ingly write a diary of my actions," says he, " but do not know how to 
 go about it. What particulars am I to take notice of? Am I to give 
 my thoughts and words, as well as deeds, a place in it ? I am to mark 
 all the good and ill I do ; and what besides ? Must I not take account 
 of my progress in learning, as well as religion ? What cipher can 1 
 make use of? If you would direct me to the same or like method to 
 your own, I would gladly follow it; for I am fully convinced of the 
 usefulness of such an undertaking. I shall be at a stand till I hear 
 from you. 
 
 " God has thought fit (it may be to increase my wariness) to deny 
 me at present your company and assistance. It is through him strength- 
 ening me, I trust to maintain my ground till we meet. And I hope that, 
 neither before nor after that time, I shall relapse into my former state 
 of insensibility. It is through your means, I firmly believe, that God
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 31 
 
 will establish what he hath begun in me ; and there is no one person 
 I would so willingly have to be the instrument of good to me as you. 
 It is owing, in great measure, to somebody's prayers, (my mother's, 
 most likely,) that I am come to think as I do ; for I cannot tell myself 
 how or when I awoke out of my lethargy : only, that it was not long 
 after you went away."' Such was the manner in which he spoke of 
 himself in the beginning of the year 1729. 
 
 No sooner was he concerned for the salvation of his soul, than he 
 became solicitous for the spiritual good of others ; and he soon suc- 
 ceeded in producing in the minds of one or two students the feelings 
 by which he himself was actuated. Writing to his brother, therefore, 
 in May, 1729, he says, " Providence has at present put it into my power 
 to do some good. I have a modest, humble, well-disposed youth lives 
 next me, and have been, thank God, somewhat instrumental in keeping 
 him so. He was got into vile hands, and is now broke loose. I 
 assisted in setting him free, and will do my utmost to hinder him from 
 getting in with them again. He was of opinion, that passive goodness 
 was sufficient ; and would fain have kept in with his acquaintance and 
 God at the same time. He durst not receive the sacrament, but at the 
 usual times, for fear of being laughed at. By convincing him of the 
 duty of frequent communicating, I have prevailed upon both of us to 
 receive once a week." He was, nevertheless, sensible of his need of 
 further spiritual help, and therefore desired his brother's return to Ox- 
 ford. Hence he adds, " I earnestly long for, and desire, the blessing 
 God is about to send me in you. I am sensible this is my day of 
 grace ; and that upon my employing the time before our meeting, and 
 next parting, will in great measure depend %iy condition for eternity." 
 
 It was about this period, and while John was absent from Oxford, 
 that the name of " Methodist" was first given to Charles Wesley and 
 his thoughtful companions. They were diligent and methodical in the 
 prosecution of their studies, and in the improvement of their time ; 
 unusually sober in their spirit and general deportment ; and very regu- 
 lar in their attention to religious duties, particularly the Lord's supper, 
 which they received every week. The consequence was, that their 
 conduct excited general observation ; and a young gentleman, a student 
 of Christ-Church, remarked, " Here is a new set of Methodists sprung 
 up." The name was new and quaint ; so it took immediately ; awl 
 the Methodists, though not more than three or four in number, were 
 known all over the university. Mr. John Wesley generally spoke as 
 if he thought that the name was borrowed from a sect of ancient phy- 
 sicians, who were opposed to the Empirics, and who bore this designa- 
 tion on account of the peculiar method in which they treated their pa- 
 tients. Yet in his " Character of a Methodist" he speaks doubtingly
 
 32 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 on the subject. " This is not a name," says he, " which they take to 
 themselves, but one fixed upon them by way of reproach, without their 
 approbation or consent. It was first given to three or four young men 
 at Oxford, by a student of Christ-Church ; either in allusion to the an- 
 cient sect of physicians so called, from their teaching, that almost all 
 diseases might be cured by a specific method of diet and exercise ; or 
 from their observing a more regular method of study and behaviour than 
 was usual with those of their age and station." Dr. Bentley uses the 
 word in the first of these senses in his very spirited and energetic 
 u Remarks upon a late Discourse of Free-Thinking." The infidel 
 Collins having said, " Till all agree, I will stand neuter ;" the doctor 
 says, " Very well ; and till all the world speaks one language, pray be 
 you mute and say nothing. It would be much the wiser way, than to 
 talk as you have done. By this rule, the Roman gentry were to learn 
 no philosophy at all, till the Greeks could unite into one sect ; nor 
 make use of any physician, till the Empirics and Methodists con- 
 curred in their way of practice." 
 
 It is, however, a fact, that the name of Methodist, as a religious 
 designation, was not new in England. It was borne, by various classes 
 of people in this country before it was applied to Mr. Charles Wesley 
 and his Oxford friends. In a sermon preached at Lambeth in the year 
 1639, and quoted by Mr. Watson, it is said, " Where are now our Ana- 
 baptists, and plain pack-staff Methodists, who esteem all flowers of 
 rhetoric in sermons no better than stinking weeds, and all elegances 
 of speech no better than profane spells 1" Toward the close of the 
 seventeenth century the term Methodist was also applied to Dr. Daniel 
 Williams, and some otheradivines among the Nonconformists, on ac- 
 count of the views which they maintained concerning the method of 
 man's justification before God. Their opinions, which were substan- 
 tially those of Baxter, occasioned a controversy of considerable length 
 and ardour, in which the principal writers were Dr. Williams and Mr. 
 Isaac Chauncy. The questions at issue were at last referred to Bishop 
 Stillingfleet for adjudication. In this controversy a pampldet was pub- 
 lished, bearing the following title : — " A War among the Angels of the 
 Churches : wherein is showed the principles of the New Methodists 
 in the great Point of Justification. Also a Form of Prayer according 
 to those principles. With the Orthodox Doctrine about a believing 
 Sinner's actual Justification, wherein is the Countryman's Method re- 
 presented to view. As also a Form of Prayer for actual Justification 
 according to those principles. By a Country Professor of Jesus Christ. 
 1693." The nameless author of this tract, though opposed to Dr. Wil- 
 liams and his friends, candidly says, " We would believe that these 
 new Methodist diviues intend not what others interpret their notion
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 33 
 
 unto ; for it is evident to us, that their real design is to promote holi- 
 ness, and not willing to derogate any honour from Christ, and take it to 
 self-righteousness." 
 
 " The word," says an anonymous writer of the last century, " is de- 
 rived from fiedodog, ratio docendi, vcl nsdodiKOC, qui methodum sequitur, 
 and signifies ' a person who disposes things in a regular manner.' 
 Methodists in botany are persons who study a judicious and nice 
 arrangement of plants. Methodists in the history of medicine were a 
 set of ancient physicians, who adopted and strictly followed certain 
 rules in their diet and practice. Methodists in ecclesiastical history 
 were a set of polemical doctors, who arose in France, in the seven- 
 teenth century, in opposition to the Protestants." The Wesleys and 
 their friends at Oxford " were precise in regulating their conduct, and 
 arranging their time : on which account their fellow-collegians cried 
 out, ' They are quite Methodists :' that is, no man of science can be 
 more exact in methodizing his knowledge than they are in arranging 
 their duties ; no careful physician more earnest in regulating the con- 
 duct of a patient, that his health be not impaired, than these in regu- 
 lating their conduct, that neither their religion, their souls, nor their 
 neighbours may suffer. From such an innocent application of a name, 
 formerly applied to physicians, and always, in a qualified sense, to men 
 of science, sprang the denomination which has been given to serious 
 persons of all sects and parties, which, as the dean of Canterbury 
 'justly observes, in such cases always signifies what the imposers 
 please to mean."* 
 
 The term " Methodists" was also formerly applied to those theo- 
 logians who describe the work of the Holy Spirit in strict conformity 
 with the doctrine of absolute predestination ; or, of God's appointment 
 of men to eternal happiness, by a decree totally irrespective of their 
 personal conduct. Hence, in the year 1741, a volume in opposition to 
 this tenet was published under the title of, " The Use of Reason in 
 Religion, in Answer to the Methodists ; the Doctrine of Free-Grace 
 being explained in the Medium, according to the Church of England. 
 By G. Nelson, rector of Oakley." 
 
 In the sixth edition of Phillips and Kersey's English Dictionary, 
 entitled " The New World of Words," and published in the year 1706, 
 the word Methodist occurs, and is thus explained : " One that treats 
 of method, or affects to be methodical." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley, to whom the name was first applied in its 
 modern acceptation, says, in one of his letters, that it had reference to 
 the strict conformity to the method of study and of practice laid down 
 
 * The Account of an Appeal from a Summary Conviction on the Statute of 22 Car 
 II., c. 1, to the Hon. Court of King's Bench, pp. 52, 53. 
 
 3
 
 34 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 in the statutes of the university, at which he and his religious friends 
 professed to aim. 
 
 From Avhich of these sources the student of Christ-Church, who 
 gave this name to the serious youths at Oxford, derived the appella- 
 tion, it is impossible now to determine ; nor is the solution of the ques- 
 tion of any great importance. Mr. John Wesley turned the word to a 
 good account, when, in the small dictionary which he published about 
 the middle of the last century, he explained it as the designation of 
 " one that lives according to the method laid down in the Bible." 
 
 The conduct of Charles Wesley and his companions at this period 
 was the more exemplary, because of the laxity of discipline which then 
 prevailed, and the evils which were springing up in the university. 
 Of these evils infidelity was not the least. Strenuous and successful 
 efforts were made among the members of that learned body to bring the 
 Holy Scriptures into disrepute, and to exalt human reason as in itself 
 a sufficient guide in religion, as well as morality, without any direct 
 revelation from God. The matter at length became so serious, that 
 the authorities deemed it requisite to interfere ; and the vice-chancellor, 
 with the concurrence of the proctors and the heads of houses, issued a 
 warning declaration, of which the following is a copy : — 
 
 " Whereas there is too much reason to believe that some members 
 of the university have of late been in danger of being corrupted by ill- 
 designing persons, who have not only entertained wicked and blas- 
 phemous notions contrary to the truth of the Christian religion, but have 
 endeavoured to instil the same ill principles into others ; and, the more 
 effectually to propagate their infidelity, have applied their poison to the 
 unguarded inexperience of less-informed minds, where they thought it 
 might operate with better success ; carefully concealing their impious 
 tenets from those whose riper judgments and more wary conduct might 
 discover their false reasoning, and disappoint the intended progress of 
 their infidelity : and whereas therefore it is more especially necessary 
 at this time to guard the youth of this place against these wicked advo- 
 cates for pretended reason against divine revelation, and to enable them 
 the better to defend their religion, and to expose the pride and impiety 
 of those who endeavour to undermine it : Mr. Vice-Chancellor, with 
 the consent of the heads of houses and proctors, has thought fit to 
 recommend it, as a matter of the utmost consequence, to the tutors of 
 each college and hall in the university, that they discharge their duty 
 by a double diligence, in informing their respective pupils in their 
 Christian duty, as also in explaining to them the articles of religion 
 which they profess, and are often called upon to subscribe, and in re- 
 commending to them the frequent and careful reading of the Scriptures, 
 and such other books as may serve more effectually to promote Chris- 
 
 3*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 35 
 
 canity, sound principles, and orthodox faith. And further, Mr. Vice- 
 Chancellor, with the same consent, does hereby forbid the said youth 
 the reading of such books as may tend to the weakening of their faith, 
 ihe subverting of the authority of Scripture, and the introducing of 
 Deism, profaneness, and irreligion in their stead." 
 
 The dean of Christ-Church, on some account or other, would not 
 allow this document to be exhibited in the hall of his college. At that 
 time the vice-chancellor little suspected that Almighty God was even 
 then providing among the youths of that university an agency which 
 would for ages offer a determined and effectual resistance to the poison 
 of infidelity, against which his warnings were directed. To this evil 
 in all its forms, whether it be of continental or of home growth, Meth- 
 odism has ever been a spirited and efficient antidote. 
 
 Infidelity was not exterminated in Oxford by this interference of the 
 vice-chancellor. In the beginning of the year 1731-2, the master of 
 University College preached two sermons before the university, which 
 he afterward published, and dedicated to " the younger students in the 
 two universities." In this dedication he says, " You cannot but be 
 sensible, gentlemen, that there is at this time a set of people in the 
 world, and particularly among ourselves, who are endeavouring to turn 
 you aside from those ways, and lead you into the crooked ones of vice 
 and irreligion ; to serve what ends, except the awkward pleasure of 
 drawing disciples after them, and defending themselves with numbers, 
 I confess I cannot imagine." 
 
 While these elements of evil were actively at work in the university, 
 Mr. John Wesley was induced, by the earnest solicitations of Dr. Mor- 
 ley, to resign the curacy which he held under his father, and return to 
 Oxford, that he might undertake the education of some young gentle- 
 men in whose welfare the doctor was deeply interested. He arrived 
 in November, 1729, to the great joy of Charles and his companions ; 
 who immediately formed themselves into a society, under John's super- 
 intendence, that they might, in a manner more regular and systematic 
 than ever, promote each other's intellectual, moral, and spiritual im- 
 provement. Their entire number at first only amounted to four: Mr 
 John Wesley, who was fellow of Lincoln College ; his brother Charles, 
 student of Christ-Church; Mr. Morgan, commoner of Christ-Church, 
 the son of an Irish gentleman ; and Mr. Kirkham, of Merton College. 
 They agreed to spend three or four evenings in a week together, in 
 reading the Greek Testament, with the Greek and Latin classics. On 
 the Sunday evenings they read divinity. 
 
 At this time Mr. Charles Wesley had just completed his twenty-fort 
 year, taken his degree as bachelor of arts, and become a college tutor. 
 Having fairly entered upon the duties of life, his father addressed to
 
 36 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 him the following characteristic letter in the month of January, 1730, 
 a few weeks after John's arrival in Oxford : — " I had your last ; and 
 you may easily guess whether I were not well pleased with it, both on 
 your account and my own. You have a double advantage by your 
 pupils, which will soon bring you more, if you will improve it, as 1 
 firmly hope you will, by taking the utmost care to form their minds to 
 piety as well as learning. As for yourself, between logic, grammar, 
 and mathematics, be idle if you can. I give my blessing to the bishop 
 for having tied you a little faster, by obliging you to rub up your 
 Arabic : and a fixed and constant method will make the whole both 
 pleasing and delightful to you. But for all that, you must find time 
 every day for walking, which you know you may do with advantage to 
 your pupils ; and a little more robust exercise, now and then, will do 
 you no harm. You are now launched fairly, Charles. Hold up your 
 head, and swim like a man ; and when you cuff the wave beneath you. 
 say to it, much as another hero did, — 
 
 Carolum vehis, et Caroli forlunam.* 
 
 But always keep your eye fixed above the pole-star ; and so God send 
 you a good voyage through the troublesome sea of life, which is the 
 hearty prayer of your loving father." 
 
 The number of Methodists in the university soon began to increase, 
 but not rapidly. In 1730 two or three of Mr. John Wesley's pupils 
 requested permission to meet with them ; and afterward one of Charles's 
 pupils. Mr. Benjamin Ingham, of Queen's College, and Mr. T. Brough- 
 ton, of Exeter, were added to them in 1732. In the spring of the 
 same year they were joined by Mr. Clayton, of Brazennose, and two 
 or three of his pupils. About the same time Mr. James Hervey, of 
 Lincoln College, was permitted to meet with them; and in 1735 Mr. 
 Whitefield, of Pembroke. 
 
 The manner in which Mr. "Whitefield became connected with the 
 Wesleys he has himself related with great simplicity and frankness. 
 The narrative which he has given of his early life also throws consi- 
 derable light upon the character of the Oxford Methodists. " Before 
 I went to the university," says he, " I met with Mr. Law's ' Serious 
 Call to a Devout Life,' but had not then money to purchase it. Soon 
 after my coming to the university, seeing a small edition of it in a 
 friend's hand, I soon procured it. God worked powerfully upon my 
 soul, as he has since upon many others, by that and his other excellent 
 treatise, upon ' Christian Perfection.' 
 
 " I now began to pray and sing psalms twice every day, besides 
 morning and evening, and to fast every Friday, and to receive the 
 
 * "Thou earnest Charles, and Charles's fortune."
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 37 
 
 sacrament at a parish church near our college, and at the castle, where 
 the despised Methodists used to receive once a month. 
 
 " The young men, so called, were then much talked of at Oxford. 
 1 had heard of and loved them before I came to the university ; and so 
 strenuously defended them when I heard them reviled by the .students, 
 that they began to think that I also in time should be one of them. 
 
 •' For above a twelvemonth my soul longed to be acquainted with 
 some of them ; and I was strongly pressed to follow their good example, 
 when I saw them go through a ridiculing crowd to receive the holy 
 eucharist at St. Mary's. At length God was pleased to open a door. 
 It happened that a poor woman in one of the workhouses had attempted 
 to cut her throat, but was happily prevented. Upon hearing of this, 
 and knowing that both the Mr. Wesleys were ready to every good 
 work, I sent a poor aged apple-woman, of our college, to inform Mr. 
 Charles Wesley of it, charging her not to discover who sent her. She 
 went; but, contrary to my orders, told my name. He, having heard 
 of my coming to the castle, and a parish-church sacrament, and having 
 met me frequently walking by myself, followed the woman when she 
 was gone away, and sent an invitation to me by her, to come to break- 
 fast with him the next morning. 
 
 " I tflankfully embraced the opportunity ; and, blessed be God, it was 
 one of the most profitable visits I ever made in my life. My soul, at 
 the time, was athirst for some spiritual friends to lift up my hands when 
 they hung down, and to strengthen my feeble knees. He soon dis- 
 covered it, and, like a wise winner of souls, made all his discourses tend 
 that way. And when he had put into my hands Professdr Franck's 
 treatise against the fear of man, and a book entitled ' The Country Par- 
 son's Advice to his Parishioners,' (the last of which was wonderfully 
 blessed to my soul,) I took my leave. 
 
 i; In a short time he lent me another book, entitled ' The Life of God 
 in the Soul of Man ;' and though I had fasted, watched, and prayed, and 
 received the sacrament so long, yet I never knew what true religion 
 was, till God sent me thai excellent treatise by the hands of my never- 
 to-be-forgotten friend. 
 
 " At my first reading it, I wondered what the author meant by Bay- 
 ing, ' that some falsely placed religion in going to church, doing hurt 
 to no one, being constant in the duties of the closet, and now and then 
 reaching out their hands to give alms to their poor neighbours.' \ 
 thought I, if this be not religion, what is 7 God soon showed me : for 
 in reading a few lines further, that ' true religion was a union of the 
 soul with God, and Christ formed within us,' a ray of divine light was 
 instantaneously darted in upon my soul ; and from that moment, but not 
 till then, did I know that 1 must be a new creature. 
 
 a54(M«»
 
 38 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " Upon this I had no rest in my soul till I wrote letters to my 
 relations, telling them there was such a thing as the new birth. I 
 imagined they would have gladly received it ; but, alas ! my words 
 seemed to them as idle tales. They thought that I was going beside 
 myself. 
 
 " From time to time Mr. Wesley permitted me to come to him, and 
 instructed me as I was able to bear it. By degrees he introduced me 
 to the rest of his Christian brethren. They built me up daily in the 
 knowledge and fear of God, and taught me to endure hardness as a 
 good soldier of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " I now began, like them, to live by rule, and to pick up the very 
 fragments of my time, that not a moment of it might be lost. Whether 
 I ate or drank, or whatsoever I did, I endeavoured to do all to the glory 
 of God. Like them, having no weekly sacrament (although the rubrick 
 required it) at our own college, I received every Sunday at Christ- 
 Church. I joined with them in fasting Wednesdays and Fridays, and 
 left no means unused which I thought would lead me nearer to Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 " Regular retirement, morning and evening, at first I found some 
 difficulty in submitting to ; but it soon grew profitable and delightful . 
 As I grew ripe for such exercises, I was from time to time engaged to 
 visit the sick and the prisoners, and to read to poor people, till I made 
 it a custom, as most of us did, to spend an hour every day in doing 
 acts of charity. 
 
 " The course of my studies I now entirely changed : whereas before 
 I was busied in studying the dry sciences, and books that went no 
 further than the surface ; I now resolved to read only such as entered 
 into the heart of religion, and which led me directly to an experimental 
 knowledge of Jesus Christ, and him crucified. The lively oracles of 
 God were my soul's delight. The book of the divine laws was seldom 
 out of my hands. I meditated therein day and night ; and ever since 
 that, God has made my way signally prosperous, and given me abun- 
 dant success. 
 
 " God enabled me to do much good to many, as well as to receive 
 much from the despised Methodists, and made me instrumental in con- 
 verting one who is lately come out into the Church, and I trust will 
 prove a burning and a shining light. 
 
 " Several short fits of illness was God pleased to visit and to try me 
 with after my first acquaintance with Mr. Wesley. My new convert 
 was a help meet for me in those and all other circumstances ; and, in 
 company with him, and several other Christian friends, did I spend 
 many sweet and delightful hours. Never did persons, I believe, strive 
 more earnestly to enter in at the strait gate. They kept their bodies
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 39 
 
 under, even to an extreme. They were dead to the world, and willing 
 to be accounted as the offscouring of all things, so that they might win 
 Christ. Their hearts glowed with the love of God; and they never 
 prospered so much in the inward man, as when they had all manner 
 of evil spoken against them falsely without. 
 
 " Many came among them for a while, who in time of temptation fell 
 away. The displeasure of a tutor, or head of a college ; the chang- 
 ing of a gown from a lower to a higher degree ; above all, a thirst for 
 the praise of men, more than that which cometh from God, and a ser- 
 vile fear of contempt ; caused numbers that had set their hands to the 
 plough, shamefully to look back. The world, and not themselves, 
 gave them the title of ' Methodists ;' I suppose, from their custom of 
 regulating their time, and planning the business of the day every morn- 
 ing. ' Mr. John and Charles Wesley were two of the first that tin is 
 openly dared to confess Christ. They had the pleasure of seeing the 
 work of the Lord prosper in their hands. 
 
 " The first thing I was called to give up for God, was what the world 
 calls my fair reputation. I had no sooner received the sacrament pub- 
 licly on a week-day, at St. Mary's, but I was set up as a mark for all 
 the polite students that knew me to shoot at. By this they knew that 
 I was commenced Methodist ; for though there is a sacrament at the 
 beginning of every term, at which all, especially the seniors, are by 
 statute obliged to be present, yet so dreadfully has that once-faithful 
 city played the harlot, that very few masters, no undergraduates, except 
 the Methodists, attended upon it. 
 
 " Mr. Charles Wesley, whom I must always mention with the great- 
 est deference and respect, walked with me, in order to confirm me. 
 from the church even to the college. I confess, to my shame, I would 
 gladly have excused him ; and the next day, going to his room, one of 
 our fellows passing by, I was ashamed to be seen to knock at his door. 
 But, blessed be God, the fear of man gradually wore off. As I had 
 imitated Nicodemus in his cowardice, so, by the divine assistance, 1 
 followed him in his courage. I confessed the Methodists more and 
 more publicly ever}- day. I walked openly with them, and chose 
 rather to bear contempt with those people of God than to enjoy the 
 applause of almost-Christians for a season." 
 
 After some time Mr. Whitefield was strongly tempted to entertain 
 the delusion of Quietism ; discontinuing his efforts to do good, and his 
 attendance upon the religious meetings of his friends. " Instead of 
 meeting with my brethren, as usual," says he, "I went out into the 
 fields, and prayed silently by myself. Our evening meeting 1 neg- 
 lected also, and went not to breakfast, according to appointment, with 
 Mr. Charles Wesley the day following. This, with many other con-
 
 40 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 curring circumstances, made my honoured friend, Mr. Charles Wesley, 
 suspect something more than ordinary was the matter. He came to 
 my room ; soon found out my case ; apprized me of my danger, if I 
 would not take advice ; and recommended me to his brother John, as 
 more experienced in the spiritual life. God gave me, blessed be his 
 holy name ! a teachable temper. I waited upon his brother ; with 
 whom, from that time, I had the honour of growing intimate. He 
 advised me to resume all my externals, though not to depend on them 
 in the least. From time to time he gave me directions, as my various 
 and pitiable state required. At length, by his excellent advice, and 
 management of me, under God, I was delivered from those wiles of 
 Satan. Praise the Lord, O my soul ; and all that is within me, praise 
 his holy name !" 
 
 The conduct of the devout men with whom Mr. Whitefield was con- 
 nected, considering their age, their circumstances, and the times in 
 which they lived, was very peculiar, and formed a perfect contrast to 
 the laxity of practice and speculation which generally prevailed. 
 They carefully avoided all superfluity of personal expense, that they 
 might have the more to give to the poor : they supported a number of 
 destitute and neglected children at school ; they instructed the igno- 
 rant, and reproved the wicked, at all opportunities ; and for this end, 
 went into the cottages and garrets of the poor, urging them to attend 
 the public worship of God, and supplying them with Bibles, Prayer- 
 books, the Whole Duty of Man, and other religious publications : they 
 regularly visited the prisoners in the common jail, for the purpose of 
 prayer, and religious instruction ; Mr. John Wesley preaching to them 
 every sabbath : they assisted each other in their studies, and watched 
 over each other's spiritual interests with affection and fidelity. At the 
 same time they aimed at an elevated standard of holiness, feeling that 
 they ought to be entirely devoted to God. That they might attain to 
 this state, they used frequent fasting, and availed themselves of all the 
 means of grace, particularly the Lord's supper, which they attended 
 every week, regardless of public opinion and example, and unmoved 
 either by the laughter of the profane, or the scorn of infidelity. In go- 
 ing to the weekly sacrament at Christ-Church, and in returning from 
 that sacred service, they often had to make their way through a crowd 
 of people who assembled for the purpose of treating them with insult 
 and ridicule. "I daily underwent some contempt at college," says Mr. 
 Whitefield. " Some have thrown dirt at me." 
 
 In visiting prisoners, and poor people in their cottages, Mr. John 
 Wesley acquired that plainness and simplicity of style in which he 
 afterward so greatly excelled. As the learned collegian, he used 
 words of Greek and Latin origin, which the uneducated cottagers did
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 41 
 
 not understand. He observed that they stared at him, and wondered what 
 he meant. As he spoke to be understood, he soon perceived the ne- 
 cessity of using words to which the common people were accustomed ; 
 and he readily perceived that he could do this without offending per- 
 sons of the most refined taste. Thus was he in a course of preparation 
 for the great work that lay before him.* 
 
 * The following scheme of self-examination to which these young men a<reed, and 
 which they constantly used, gives a striking view of their spirit, and of the principles 
 by which they were governed. 
 
 " Sunday. — Love of God and Simplicity : Means of lohich are, Prayer and 
 Meditation. 
 
 " 1. Have I been simple and recollected in every thing I said or did 1 Have 1(1.) 
 been simple in every thing, that is, looked upon God, my good, my pattern, my one 
 desire, my disposer, Parent of good ; acted wholly for him ; bounded my views with 
 the present action or hour ? (2.) Recollected 1 that is, has this simple view been dis- 
 tinct and uninterrupted ! Have I, in order to keep it so, used the signs agreed upon 
 with my friends, wherever I was 1 Have I done any thing without a previous percep- 
 tion of its being the will of God 1 or without a perception of its being an exercise or a 
 means of the virtue of the day ! Have I said any thing without it ? 
 
 " 2. Have I prayed with fervour 1 at going in and out of the church I mornincr and 
 evening in private ? Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with my friends, at rising 1 be- 
 fore lying down 1 on Saturday noon ] all the time I am engaged in exterior work in 
 private ? before I go into the place of public or private prayer, for help herein \ Have 
 I, wherever I was, gone to church morning and evening, unless for necessary mercy I 
 and spent from one hour to three in private 1 Have I, in private prayer, frequently 
 stopped short and observed with what fervour 1 Haye I repeated it over and over, till I 
 adverted to every word ? Have I at the beginning of every prayer or paragsaph owned 
 I cannot pray 1 Have I paused before I concluded in his name, and adverted to my 
 Saviour now interceding for me at the right hand of God, and offering up these prayers ? 
 
 " 3. Have I duly used ejaculations 1 that is, have I every hour prayed for humility, 
 faith, hope, love, and the particular virtue of the day 1 considered with whom I was 
 the last hour, what I did, and how 1 with regard to recollection, love of man, humility, 
 self-denial, resignation, and thankfulness 1 considered the next hour in the same re- 
 spects, offered up all I do to my Redeemer, begged his assistance in every particular, 
 and commended my soul to his keeping 1 Have I done this deliberately, not in haste ; 
 seriously, not doing any thing else the while, and fervently as I could 1 
 
 " 4. Have I duly prayed for the virtue of the day * that is, have I prayed for it at 
 going out and coming in 1 deliberately, seriously, fervently ? 
 
 " 5. Have I used a Collect at nine, twelve, and three ? and grace before and after 
 eating 1 aloud at my own room 1 deliberately, seriously, fervently 1 
 
 " 6. Have I duly meditated 1 every day, unless for necessary mercy] (1.) From 
 six, &c, to prayers ? (2.) From four to five ? What was particular in the providence 
 of this day 1 How ought the virtue of the day to have been exerted upon it 1 How 
 did it fall short 1 (Here faults.) (3.) On Sunday, from six to seven, with Kempis ? 
 from three to four on redemption, or God's attributes '? Wednesday and Friday, from 
 twelve to one, on the Passion 1 after ending a book, on what I have marked in it ? 
 
 " Monday. — Love of Man. 
 " 1. Have I been zealous to do, and active in doing, good! that is, (1.) Have I 
 embraced every probable opportunity of doing good, and preventing, removing, or
 
 42 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Young men who are thus strict and universally conscientious must 
 of necessity, even in ordinary times, excite great attention ; and espe- 
 cially in an age like that of which we are now speaking, when Chris- 
 tianity was by many regarded as a fable, and not a few had adopted 
 the maxim, " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." We are 
 not, therefore, surprised to find that the Oxford Methodists were objects 
 both of ridicule and censure, and were known in the university as the 
 Reforming Club, the Godly Club, the Holy Club, Sacramentarians, 
 Bible Moths, Supererogation Men, and the Enthusiasts ; so that some 
 of them found it difficult to maintain their ground amidst the raillery 
 and invective with which they were treated. Happily for them, Mr. 
 John Wesley was their leader ; and he possessed through life a firm- 
 ness of purpose in all matters of duty, which no difficulties and dis- 
 couragements could subdue. 
 
 lessening evil? (2.) Have I pursued it with ray might? (3.) Have I thought any 
 thing too dear to part with, to serve my neighbour? (4.) Have I spent an hour at 
 least every day in speaking to some one or other ? (5.) Have I given any one up till 
 he expressly renounced me 1 (6.) Have I, before I spoke to any, learned, as far as I 
 could, his temper, way of thinking, past life, and peculiar hinderances, internal and ex- 
 ternal ? fixed the point to be aimed at ? then the means to it ? (7.) Have I in speak- 
 ing proposed the motives, then the difficulties, then balanced them, then exhorted him 
 to consider both calmly and deeply, and to pray earnestly for help"! (8.) Have I in 
 speaking to a stranger explained what religion is not ? (not negative, not external ;) 
 and what it is 1 (a recovery of the image of God ;) searched at what step in it he stops, 
 and what makes him stop there ? exhorted and directed him ? (9.) Have I persuaded 
 all I could to attend public prayers, sermons, and sacraments, and in general to obey 
 the laws of the Church of England, the state, the university, and their respective col- 
 leges? (10.) Have I, when taxed with any act of obedience, avowed it, and turned 
 the attack with sweetness and firmness? (11.) Have I disputed upon any practical 
 point, unless it was to be practised just then? (12.) Have I in disputing, (i.) Desired 
 him to define the terms of the question ; to limit it ; what he grants, what he denies ? 
 (ii.) Delayed speaking my opinion? let him explain and prove his? then insinuated 
 and pressed objections ? (13.) Have I after every visit asked him who went with me, 
 'Did I say any thing wrong?' (14.) Have I, when any one asked advice, directed 
 and exhorted him with all my power? 
 
 " 2. Have I rejoiced with and for my neighbour in virtue or pleasure ? grieved with 
 him in pain, for him in sin ? 
 
 " 3. Have I received his infirmities with pity, not anger? 
 
 " 4. Have I thought or spoken unkindly of or to him ? Have I revealed any evil 
 of any one, unless it was necessary to some particular good I had in view ? Have I 
 then done it with all the tenderness of phrase and manner consistent with that end ? 
 Have I any way appeared to approve them that did otherwise ? 
 
 " 5. Has good-will been, and appeared to be, the spring of all my actions toward 
 others ? 
 
 "6. Have I duly used intercession? (1.) Before, (2.) After speaking to any? 
 (3.) For my friends on Sunday ? (4.) For my pupils on Monday ? (5.) For those who 
 have particularly desired it, on Wednesday and Friday ? (6.) For the family in which 
 I am, every day ?"
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 43 
 
 The censures which were passed upon these young disciples, on 
 account of their efforts to do good, gave them great uneasiness. It 
 was felt that their pious exertions reflected discredit upon the clergy, 
 to whose pastoral care the prisoners and the several parishes of Oxford 
 and its neighbourhood were confided ; and the Methodists, most of 
 whom were as yet but undergraduates, and therefore not in holy orders, 
 were condemned as presumptuous and irregular. Wishful to give no 
 just offence, and at the same time to preserve a pure conscience, they 
 consulted the bishop's chaplain, the venerable rector of Epworth, and 
 one or two other clergymen of age and experience. The result was, 
 that they were encouraged to proceed in their labours of zeal and 
 charity. The father of the Wesleys especially, with his characteristic 
 energy and frankness, urged them to perseverance. The inquiries of 
 his sons brought to his remembrance the occurrences connected with 
 his own college life ; for he too, when at Oxford, had cared for the 
 souls of felons and convicts. " I visited those in the castle there," says 
 he, " and reflect on it with great satisfaction to this day." He adds, 
 " And now as to your own designs and employments, what can I say 
 less of them than, Valdi probo ? [" I greatly approve,"] and that I have 
 the greatest reason to bless God, that he has given me two sons 
 together at Oxford, to whom he has given grace and courage to turn 
 the war against the world and the devil, which is the best way to con- 
 quer them ?" 
 
 At a subsequent period he said, " My daily prayers are, that God 
 would keep you humble ; and then I am sure that if you continue to 
 ' suffer for righteousness' sake,' though it be but in a low degree, ' the 
 Spirit of glory and of God' shall, in some good measure, ' rest upon 
 you.' Be never weary in well-doing. Never look back ; for you 
 know the prize and the crown are before you : though I can scarce 
 think so meanly of you as that you would be discouraged with ' the 
 crackling of thorns under a pot.' ' Be not high-minded, but fear. Pre- 
 serve an equal temper of mind under whatever treatment you meet with 
 from a not very just or well-natured world. Bear no more sail than 
 is necessary, but steer steady. The less you value yourselves for 
 these unfashionable duties, (as there is no such thing as works of su- 
 pererogation,) the more all good and wise men will value you, if they 
 see your actions are of a piece ; or, which is infinitely more, He by 
 whom actions and intentions are weighed will both accept, esteem, 
 and reward you." / 
 
 One of the most zealous, charitable, and devout of all the Oxford 
 Methodists was Mr. Morgan. He it was who first visited the felons 
 and debtors in the prison, and the poor in their habitations, and then 
 induced his brethren to follow his example. He used also to collect
 
 44 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 together the children of the neglected peasantry in the neighbouring 
 villages, giving them religious instruction, and distributing among them 
 books of piety, with such small sums of money as he had saved, and 
 were at his disposal. Having prevailed upon the little band with whom 
 he was united to join in these honourable labours, he sickened, sunk 
 into a state of deep mental depression, the effect of disease, retired to 
 Ireland, and at length died in great peace and resignation. After 
 his death, his father, who had in his correspondence greatly blamed 
 him for being "righteous overmuch," accused Mr. John Wesley of 
 having contributed to shorten the days of the deceased youth by 
 excessive fasting. Mr. Wesley defended himself very successfully in 
 a letter which he published ; and Samuel Wesley, the younger, wrote 
 a spirited poem on the death of Mr. Morgan, in a strain of unqualified 
 eulogy. 
 
 Mr. Morgan died on the 25th of August, 1732. The letter which 
 Mr. Wesley addressed to the father of this excellent youth bears the 
 date of October 18th. We may well suppose that a death so peaceful 
 would deeply impress the minds of Mr. Morgan's companions, and 
 stimulate them to a renewed application to that course of pious labour 
 and self-denial upon which they had entered. When the requisite 
 explanations were given, the father of Mr. Morgan was so satisfied 
 Avith the conduct of the Wesleys, that he placed his surviving son under 
 the care of Charles at Christ-Church. The youth, however, was very 
 different from his deceased brother. He was neither pious nor govern- 
 able ; so that Charles was glad to transfer him to the care of John, who 
 was deemed better qualified to subdue his untractable spirit, and train 
 him to scholarship and virtue. 
 
 The year 1735 deprived the Wesley family of its head. The vener- 
 able rector of Epworth died on the 25th of April. His sons John and 
 Charles were present ; and the scene was one of deep and solemn 
 interest. The aged minister, worn out with domestic care, pastoral 
 duties, and hard study, was cheered and strengthened by the truth and 
 grace of God in his last moments, and presented an edifying example 
 of Christian hope and resignation. His intelligent and pious wife, too, 
 in the prospect of widowhood, when the hour of separation arrived, was 
 calm and submissive. Often had he taught his sons how to live ; and 
 now they learned from his example how to suffer and die. They felt 
 deeply ; and some years afterward John, when preaching in Georgia, 
 repeated the dying sayings of his father in such a manner as to show 
 that they had made a permanent impression upon his heart. 
 
 The fact is, that, at the close of life, the father was far in advance 
 of his sons, both in evangelical knowledge and spiritual attainments. 
 He enjoyed the Christian salvation, the nature and method of which
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 45 
 
 neither John nor Charles at that time understood. When their views 
 of divine truth were corrected and matured, and the love of God was 
 shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost which was given unto 
 them — when their preaching produced such mighty effects in everv 
 part of the land — they simply taught what their venerable parent expe- 
 rienced and testified upon the bed of death. Mr. John Wesley, there- 
 fore, some years afterward, writing to an anonymous opponent, who 
 assumed the name of Smith, says, " My father did not die unacquainted 
 with the faith of the gospel, of the primitive Christians, or of our first 
 reformers ; the same which, by the grace of God, I preach, and which 
 is just as new as Christianity. What he experienced before, I know 
 not; but I know that, during his last illness, which continued ei^ht 
 months, he enjoyed a clear sense of his acceptance with God. I heard 
 him express it more than once, although at that time I understood him 
 not. ' The inward witness, son, the inward witness,' said he to me ; 
 ' this is the proof, the strongest proof, of Christianity.' And when 1 
 asked him, (the time of his change drawing nigh,) ' Sir, are you in 
 much pain?' he answered aloud, with a smile, ' God does chasten me 
 with pain, yea, all my bones with strong pain ; but I thank him for all. 
 I bless him for all, I love him for all !' I think the last words he spoke, 
 when I had just commended his soul to God, were, ' Now you have 
 done all.' And, with the same serene, cheerful countenance, he fell 
 asleep, without one struggle, or sigh, or groan. I cannot therefore 
 doubt but the Spirit of God bore an inward witness with his spirit, that 
 he was a child of God." 
 
 Five days after his father's death, and when the funeral had taken 
 place, Charles addressed the following letter to his brother Samuel : — 
 
 " Epworth, April 30th, 1735. Dear Brother, — After all your desire 
 of seeing my father alive, you are at last assured you must see his face 
 no more till he is raised in incorruption. You have reason to envy us, 
 who could attend him in the last stage of his illness. The few words 
 he could utter I saved, and hope never to forget. Some of them were, 
 ' Nothing too much to suffer for heaven. The weaker I am in body, 
 the stronger and more sensible support I feel from God. There is but 
 a step between me and death. To-morrow I would see you all with 
 me round this table, that we may once more drink of the cup of bless- 
 ing, before we drink of it new in the kingdom of God. With desire 
 have I desired to eat this passover with you before I die.' 
 
 " The morning he was to communicate, he was so exceeding weak 
 and full of pain, that he could not, without the utmost difficulty, recflfre 
 the elements ; often repeating, ' Thou shakest me ; thou shakest me :' 
 but immediately after receiving, there followed the most visible altera- 

 
 46 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY 
 
 lion. He appeared full of faith aiid peace, which extended even to his 
 body ; for he was so much better, that we almost hoped he would have 
 recovered. The fear of death he had entirely conquered, and at last 
 gave up his latest human desires, of finishing Job, paying his debts, 
 and seeing you. He often laid his hand upon my head, and said, ' Be 
 steady.' ' The Christian faith will surely revive in this kingdom. You 
 shall see it, though I shall not.' To my sister Emily he said, ' Do not 
 be concerned at my death. God will then begin to manifest himself 
 to my family.' When we were met about him, his usual expression 
 was, ' Now let me hear you talk upon heaven.' On my asking him, 
 whether he did not find himself worse, he replied, ' O my Charles, I 
 feel a great deal ! God chastens me with strong pain ; but I praise him 
 for it ; I thank him for it ; I love him for it.' 
 
 " On the 25th his voice failed him, and nature seemed entirely spent ; 
 when, on my brother's asking, whether he was not near heaven, he 
 answered distinctly, and with the most of hope and triumph that could 
 be expressed in sounds, ' Yes, I am.' He spoke once more, just after 
 my brother had used the commendatory prayer. His last words were. 
 ' Now you have done all !' This was about half an hour after six, from 
 which time, till sunset, he made signs of offering up himself, till my 
 brother, having again used the prayer, the very moment it was finished 
 he expired. His passage was so smooth and insensible, that, notwith- 
 standing the stopping of his pulse, and ceasing of all sign of life and 
 motion, we continued over him a considerable time, in doubt whether 
 the soul were departed or no. My mother (who, for several days 
 before he died, hardly ever went into his chamber but she was carried 
 out in a fit) was far less shocked at the news than we expected, and 
 told us, that now she was heard, in his having so easy a death, and her 
 being strengthened so to bear it. 
 
 " Though you have lost your chief reason for coming, yet there are 
 others which make your presence more necessary than ever. My 
 mother (who will hardly ever leave Epworth) would be exceeding glad 
 to see you as soon as can be. She does not administer, so can neither 
 sue nor be sued. We have computed the debts as near as can be, and 
 find they amount to about one hundred pounds, exclusive of cousin 
 Richardson's. Mrs. Knight, her landlady, seized all her quick stock, 
 valued at above forty pounds, for fifteen pounds my father owed her, 
 on Monday last, the day he was buried ; and my brother this afternoon 
 gives a note for the money, in order to get the stock at liberty to sell ; 
 for security of which he has the stock made over to him, and will be 
 paid as it can be sold. My father was buried very frugally, yet de- 
 cently, in the churchyard, according to his own desire. It will be 
 highly necessary to bring all accounts of what he owed you, that you
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 47 
 
 may mark all the goods in the house, as principal creditor, and thereby 
 secure to my mother time and liberty to sell them to the best advantage. 
 Chartas omnes et epistolas precipuas appositd sera in adventum tuum 
 reservo* 
 
 " If you take London in your way, my mother desires you would 
 remember she is a clergyman's widow. Let the society give ht-r 
 what they please, she must be still, in some degree, burdensome to you. 
 as she calls it. How do I envy you that glorious burden, and wish I 
 could share in it ! You must put me in some way of getting a little 
 money, that I may do something in this shipwreck of the family for 
 somebody, though it be no more than furnishing a plank. 
 
 " My mother sends her love and blessing. We all send our love to 
 you, and my sister, and Phill, and hope of meeting you all once more 
 at Epworth. 
 
 " I should be ashamed of having so much business in my letter, 
 were it not necessary. I would choose to write and think of nothing 
 but my father. Ere we meet I hope you will have finished his elegy. 
 Pray write, if there be time. — I am your most affectionate brother." 
 
 The Life of Mr. Wesley, sen., has been written by the late Dr. Adam 
 Clarke, who, with an assiduity peculiar to himself, has explored almost 
 every accessible source of information, and has done justice to the 
 piety, learning, ministerial fidelity, and uprightness of this venerable 
 man. There is, however, one publication that throws great light upon 
 his character, which appears never to have come under the doctor's 
 notice. It is a long letter addressed to his curate, and containing 
 directions relative to the various branches of clerical study and duty 
 The writer makes several statements respecting his own proceedings 
 as a parish priest, and especially his manner of maintaining discipline 
 among his people. In giving his opinion of the principal theological 
 writers whose works should have a place in the clerical library, he in- 
 troduces several curious and valuable notices concerning the leading 
 men of his times, both Episcopalians and Nonconformists, with whom 
 he was personally acquainted, and whose preaching he had attended. 
 This very rare and interesting tract was published soon after the writer's 
 death, and with a short preface, which was doubtless written by his 
 son John. The publication is thus referred to in a letter from Samuel 
 Wesley, jun., to Charles, under the date of August 7th, 1737: — " John 
 sent me down one of my father's ' Instructions to a Curate ;' but it was 
 so torn in the passage, that good part was not legible. It is odd 
 I should not have that." This is a sufficient authentication of the 
 book. 
 
 * " All papers and letters of importance I have sealed up, and keep till you come "
 
 48 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 The death of a beneficed clergyman is generally the signal for the 
 removal of his family, and often for its dispersion. So it was in the 
 present instance. The rector of Epworth had earnestly requested, in 
 the event of his decease, that his son John would apply for the living. 
 The chief reasons were, that the parishioners were strongly attached 
 to him, and were therefore likely to profit by his ministrations ; and 
 that he would thus be able to keep the family together. John, how- 
 ever, was inflexible in his refusal ; thinking that he should be more 
 holy and useful as a college tutor than as a parish priest : but the true 
 reason unquestionably was, though it did not appear even to his own 
 mind, that God, in the wise arrangements of his providence, designed 
 him to be, not the instrument of spiritual good merely to a parish, but 
 to the world ! The living of Epworth was therefore presented to an- 
 other person, and the Wesley family was scattered. The widowed 
 mother took up a temporary residence at Gainsborough, with her daugh- 
 ter Emily ; and John and Charles returned to Oxford, where they re- 
 mained till the following year, when they embarked as missionaries for 
 the infant colony of Georgia. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 As the history of the Wesleys is intimately connected with the 
 colony of Georgia, a few brief notices concerning that settlement will 
 not be deemed irrelevant in this place. It was formed under the sanc- 
 tion of a royal charter, which was granted in the year 1732, and com- 
 prehended the tract of country lying between the rivers Savannah and 
 Alatamaha, on the American continent. The name of Georgia was 
 given to it in compliment to George the Second, under whose auspices 
 it was commenced. The management of the colony was vested in 
 trustees, who were required annually to report their proceedings to the 
 lord high chancellor of England, and the lord chief justice of the court 
 of Common Pleas. The design of the undertaking was two-fold. It 
 was to be an outlet to the redundant population at home, especially 
 of London ; and to be an asylum for such foreign Protestants as were 
 harassed by popish persecution. James Oglethorpe, Esq., a military 
 man, who was afterward raised to the rank of general, was made the 
 governor. He was also one of the original trustees, and appears to 
 have taken an active part in obtaining the charter. He was a humane 
 man, public spirited, and of an enterprising character. Among the 
 trustees there were several pious Presbyterians, as well as Churchmen^
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 49 
 
 The scheme excited great attention at the time, and obtained very 
 encouraging patronage. The parliament voted a sum of money, to 
 enable the trustees to carry their designs into effect. The trustees 
 who were themselves to receive no pecuniary benefit from the under 
 taking, called also upon the public for voluntary help. Dr. John Bur- 
 ton, fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, who was one of the 
 trustees, published a discourse in behalf of the project, entitled, " The 
 Duty and Reward of propagating Principles of Religion and Virtue 
 exemplified in the History of Abraham. A Sermon preached before 
 the Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia, at their Anniver- 
 sary Meeting, at the parish church of St. Mary-le-Bow, on Thursday, 
 March 15th, 1732." 
 
 " It remains," says the preacher, " that I mention one circumstance 
 relating to the establishment of our colony ; and that is, the seasonable- 
 ness of such a provision in these times ; when we hear such complain- 
 ing in our streets, of many unfortunate, distressed families ; when we 
 hear of so many thousand Protestants driven out of their country by the 
 persecution of their popish governors ; in the literal sense pilgrims and 
 strangers in the world ; and in this respect resembling the circum- 
 stances of the wandering patriarch, who is said to have been driven 
 out from Ur of the Chaldees, for not conforming to the idolatry of his 
 superstitious countrymen, the Chaldeans. Such circumstances of dis- 
 tress plead not only for private compassion, but national relief. Acts 
 of humanity and charity to our persecuted brethren will best express 
 the sincerity of our zeal for the reformed religion. Without such ex- 
 pressions, what avails our boasted affection for the Protestant interest, 
 for the Protestant religion 1 What are all our specious professions, but 
 abused, noisy words, and upbraiding denominations ? But if there be 
 any sincerity in our professions, let the effects of it redound to the 
 succour and support of persons groaning under the oppression of our 
 common adversary. Let us rather remember that we are Christians ; 
 and that in the great day of retribution, when all personal distinctions 
 and relations cease, our acts of charity will be particularly inquired into, 
 and our good works shall then follow us. 
 
 " An opportunity is now offered of conferring at once a double bene- 
 fit ; a benefit both personal and public ; both to the poor sufferers, 
 whose necessities we relieve, and to the community, which will reap 
 the benefit of an increasing, industrious people. We at once behold 
 numbers of miserable men destitute of habitations, and an uncultivated 
 country destitute of inhabitants. May this critical coincidence of cir- 
 cumstances be improved to the common advantage !" 
 
 Soon after the publication of this sermon there appeared a handsome 
 quarto pamphlet, entitled, " Reasons for establishing the Colony of 
 
 4
 
 50 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Georgia, with regard to the Trade of Great Britain, the Increase of our 
 People, the Employment and Support it will afford to great numbers 
 of our Poor, as well as foreign persecuted Protestants. With some 
 Account of the Country, and the Design of the Trustees. 1733." In 
 this official tract great stress is laid upon the case of foreign Protest- 
 ants. The writer says, 
 
 " As liberty of conscience will be granted, it cannot be doubted but 
 a well-regulated government, in a country so temperate, so pleasant, 
 and so fruitful, will draw thither many of the distressed Saltzburghers. 
 and other persecuted Protestants ; and by giving refuge to these, the 
 power and wealth of Great Britain, as a reward for her hospitality, 
 will be increased by the addition of so many religious and industrious 
 subjects. 
 
 " The Protestant interest in Europe hath declined very much since 
 the treaty of Westphalia. In France there were several flourishing 
 Protestant churches, which are now entirely destroyed. There were 
 five hundred churches in Poland ; but being neither permitted to rebuild 
 or repair the places of assembly, they are now reduced to forty, who 
 are harassed on every pretence, of which Thorn has been a bleeding 
 instance. In Hungary they are at this time depriving the Protestants 
 of their churches ; and it is to be feared that a persecution now rages 
 as openly there as ever it did in France. Every one must know, and 
 there can be few but feel, the miseries which the Saltzburghers have 
 lately undergone. Their hardships could only be equalled by their 
 resolution in meeting, and their patience in bearing them. Many of 
 these have been dragged from prison to prison, till they perished by 
 want : the rest, men, women, and children, forced to renounce their 
 faith, or drove vagrants from their country. There have been above 
 twenty-three thousand of these exiles ; and by advices received here 
 lately, the number of converts among them to the Protestant religion 
 increases every day. 
 
 " In the Palatinate a concealed persecution is on foot. Deux-Ponts, 
 Bergues, Juliers, and all the Palatinate, were formerly under Protestant 
 princes, and are now subject to a zealous Roman Catholic. The head 
 of the house of Saxony, that was formerly the great support of the 
 Protestant interest in Germany, is firmly attached to the Romish reli- 
 gion. The Church of Rome hath also gained the chiefs of many other 
 families in Germany. The preferments in the Teutonic and Maltese 
 orders, the rich benefices, and great ecclesiastical sovereignties, the 
 elective crown of Poland, and the imperial dignity itself, are used by 
 that court to gain or keep the nobility, and even the sovereigns, of 
 Germany dependant upon their supremacy. And when the sovereigns 
 are of their profession, they think they can make more converts in a 
 
 4*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 51 
 
 day by force, than in whole ages by preaching : for if tht prince orders 
 his Protestant subjects to renounce their religion, they must submit, 
 resist, or fly. Resistance is in vain, unless they are assisted by Pro- 
 testant princes ; which these cannot do, without raising a religious war 
 through Europe ; which is not to be expected on every oppression for 
 religion, since it could not be procured in the flagrant instances of 
 Thorn and Saltzburgh. They have no remedy, then, but Sight. Whi- 
 ther shall they fly ? Not to other Roman countries ; and the Protestant 
 ones are not capable of giving assistance to a great number. Sweden, 
 the great bulwark of the Protestant religion in the north, having lost all 
 Livonia, and the chief of her corn-bearing provinces, is reduced to a 
 weak condition, and has more men than she can well support, as have 
 many of the Protestant dominions in Germany. Our king, as elector 
 of Hanover, has indeed wisely and generously given reception to a 
 thousand Saltzburghers. The king of Prussia has likewise established 
 some of them in regular colonies on his frontiers ; but he has declared 
 he will take no more. 
 
 " At a time when the Protestants are so persecuted, how much will 
 it be for our honour, that the crown of England, which in Queen Eliza- 
 beth's reign, and at some times since, has been looked on as the head 
 of the Protestant interest in Europe, should still preserve the same 
 title ! And at this time, when his majesty is elector of Hanover, when 
 Holland and Prussia have offered relief to so many of them, how mucb 
 is our honour concerned, that England should not be the last to open 
 her arms to receive her unhappy brethren, grant them a support, and 
 allow them the valuable privilege of worshipping their great Creator 
 in the way which they think will best secure their interests in eter- 
 nity* As men, can we refuse them relief? As Christians, can we 
 neglect the offering it ?" 
 
 These appeals, so honourable to the parties who put them forth, 
 were cordially responded to by the more pious among the people of 
 England. Pecuniary subscriptions, to a considerable amount, with 
 books, and goods of various kinds, were placed, by the charitable and 
 humane, at the disposal of the trustees, for the purpose of enabling 
 them to execute their benevolent plans. Mr. Samuel Wesley, ih»- 
 younger, took a lively interest in this project. In the list of subscribers 
 and benefactors appended to Dr. Burton's sermon, he appears, not only 
 as a receiver of subscriptions, but as a contributor of £5 5s. He also 
 presented "a pewter chalice and patine for present use in Georgia, 
 until silver ones were had." His example produced the desired effect. 
 Soon after his pewter communion service had been sent to the place 
 of its destination, he had the gratification of presenting, from " an un- 
 known benefactor, a silver chalice and patine, for the use of the first
 
 52 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 church in the-town of Savannah." From June, 1732, to June, 1733, 
 the trustees received from the public the sum of £3,723 13s. Id. ; be- 
 sides large quantities of Bibles, Testaments, books of piety, horn-books, 
 household furniture, &c. 
 
 The trustees, having made their arrangements, invited all classes 
 of people to whom emigration was desirable, Roman Catholics only 
 excepted, to avail themselves of the advantages which this new colony 
 offered. The unemployed poor, bankrupts, and such other persons as 
 were in circumstances of hopeless embarrassment, were offered a free 
 passage ; and Mr. Oglethorpe, who was to conduct the first embarka- 
 tion, superintend the formation of the settlement, and be its future 
 governor, was spoken of as a man of almost unexampled kindness and 
 generosity. The climate was said to be mild and healthy, and the soil 
 rich and productive. Under these circumstances, many poor people, 
 having tasted the bitterness of adversity, and possessing nothing that 
 they could lose, embraced the opportunity of acquiring all the enjoy- 
 ments of life. On the first day of February, 1732-3,* Mr. Oglethorpe 
 arrived at Georgia with the first company of settlers, consisting of forty 
 families, making upward of one hundred persons ; all of whom were 
 brought over and supported at the public charge. The governor ap- 
 plied himself with diligence in apportioning the land among the settlers, 
 and in arranging the plans for building the requisite towns and fortifi- 
 cations for their accommodation, and defence against the Indians and 
 the Spaniards. In the mean while, a vessel with about twenty fami- 
 lies of Jews arrived, to all of whom lots of land were assigned. An- 
 other vessel came, bringing forty Irish convicts, who had been refused 
 at Jamaica. These also were received ; although they were not 
 remarkable for the peaceableness of their habits. They afterward 
 occasioned considerable disturbance in the colony. 
 
 After remaining in Georgia about fifteen months, Mr. Oglethorpe 
 returned to England ; and the report of success which he gave on his 
 arrival served greatly to increase the popularity of the undertaking. 
 The fame of the colony spread far and wide, and still greater numbers 
 of people, from Germany as well as England, left their homes, and has- 
 tened to this desired spot. Among these were persons of some prop- 
 erty, who hoped to turn their capital to good account. While the 
 governor was making his arrangements for conducting a second com- 
 pany of emigrants to Georgia, application was made to some of the 
 Oxford Methodists, to settle in the colony as clergymen. Dr. Burton 
 pressed Mr. John Wesley especially to undertake a mission among the 
 Indians in the neighbourhood of the colony. Mr. Oglethorpe well 
 
 * Up to the year 1752, the year, in some parts of England began in March, in 
 others in January. — Amcr. Ed.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 53 
 
 knew the sterling worth of the Wesleys, having long been a personal 
 friend of the family. He was a regular correspondent of the rector of 
 Epworth ; and two complimentary poems addressed to him are found 
 in the volume which was published by the younger Samuel Wesley. 
 After considerable hesitation, and taking the advice of friends, Mr 
 John Wesley consented to go as a missionary to the Indians ; and it 
 was finally arranged that Charles should accompany him, as secretary 
 to the governor. Up to this time, Charles had declined entering into 
 holy orders ; but he was now ordained, that he might be able to offici- 
 ate as a clergyman in the colony, where the spiritual interests of the 
 people had been unavoidably neglected. 
 
 The conduct of the two brothers, in tearing themselves away from 
 their friends, and embarking for the distant wilderness, excited great 
 surprise in many quarters, as might be expected. Of the purity of 
 their motives, indeed, no doubt can be entertained. They were both 
 happily and usefully employed as college tutors ; and had they sought 
 preferment in the Church, considering their acquirements, talents, and 
 connections, they might doubtless have obtained it. But the fact is, 
 by reading the writings of Mr. Law, and others of a similar kind, they 
 were deeply impressed with the necessity of holiness. According to 
 their apprehensions, true holiness is attained principally by means of 
 sufferings, mental and bodily ; and hence they adopted this mode of 
 life, resolved to do and suffer whatever it should please God to lay 
 upon them. Their theological views were not only defective, but erro- 
 neous. They understood not the true nature of a sinner's justification 
 before God ; nor the faith by Avhich it is obtained ; nor its connection 
 with sanctification. Holiness of heart and life was the object of their 
 eager pursuit ; and this they sought, not by faith, but by works, and 
 personal austerity, according to the misleading doctrine of Mr. Law. 
 " Our end in leaving our native country," says Mr. John Wesley, 
 " was not to avoid want, (God having given us plenty of temporal 
 blessings,) nor to gain the dung and dross of riches or honour; but 
 singly this, — to save our souls ; to live wholly to the glory of God." 
 
 Mr. Samuel Wesley, jun., who had from the beginning taken a lively 
 interest in the colony, about the time of his brothers' embarkation pub- 
 lished a poem for the furtherance of its objects. Poets are prophets 
 by profession ; and Samuel Wesley, while he eulogizes Oglethorpe 
 and his undertaking, prognosticates the future greatness of Gei 
 He describes it in distant prospect as a second Britain ; and thought 
 that it would, in the mean while, supply the gentlemen of England with 
 wine, and the ladies with silks. In these views he was not singular. 
 Some people from among the Vaudois were carried over, to assifll in 
 the breeding and management of silk-worms.
 
 54 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Far different thoughts occupied the minds of the devoted brothers, 
 John and Charles, who embarked as missionaries to Georgia, on board 
 the "Simmonds," Oct. 14th, 1735. Questions of commerce they left 
 to secular men. To raise up a holy people in that distant land was 
 their anxious concern. They were accompanied by Mr. Benjamin 
 Ingham, one of the Oxford Methodists, and by Mr. Charles Delamotte, 
 the son of a merchant in London. The case of this young man was 
 peculiar. Mr. Wesley, in his Journal, says, that he " had offered him- 
 self some days before ;" but for what purpose, and under what circum- 
 stances, the writer's modesty forbade him to state. The fact is, that 
 Delamotte's mind was under deep religious convictions ; his heart clave 
 to Mr. Wesley, of whose piety and wisdom he had formed the highest 
 conceptions. When he heard that Mr. Wesley was going as a mis- 
 sionary to Georgia, he could not bear the thought of being separated 
 from him, and therefore requested permission to accompany him as a 
 servant. To this, as might be expected, the parents and friends of the 
 young man were strenuously opposed. His father, who was a man of 
 high respectability, and held the office of a magistrate, offered to settle 
 him in a handsome way of business, if he would remain at home. No 
 persuasions, however, could alter the youth's purpose ; so that his 
 parents at length gave a reluctant consent. Charles Delamotte, there- 
 fore, went abroad ; lived with Mr. Wesley ; served him as a son in the 
 gospel ; did much good ; and endured great hardships for the sake of 
 the Lord Jesus .* He Avas particularly useful in teaching the children of 
 the settlers, and in serving the poor and afflicted. It is probable that 
 the impressions which led to these results were made upon his mind 
 by Mr. Wesley's preaching in London, when he was there preparing 
 for his mission. 
 
 The ship in which the Wesleys embarked contained one hundred 
 and twenty-four persons, men, women, and children, including Mr. Ogle- 
 thorpe, and twenty-six Germans, members of the Moravian Church, with 
 David Nitschman, their bishop. These pious strangers were going to 
 Georgia, in compliance with the invitation given to persecuted Protest- 
 ants ; that they might there enjoy, in undisturbed tranquillity, their own 
 peculiar religious rites, and extend the blessings of Christian knowledge 
 to the Creek, Chickasaw, and Cherokee Indians. Sixteen of their 
 brethren were already engaged in this enterprise of Christian mercy, 
 having emigrated to Georgia for that purpose during the preceding year, 
 under the guidance of their ministers, Mr. Spangenberg, John Toel- 
 schig, and Anthony Seyffart ; and a portion of land had been assigned 
 to them for their occupation. This was the third mission which the 
 Brethren had instituted. They had one in the Danish island of S» . 
 * Whitefield's Journal.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 55 
 
 Thomas, and another in Greenland, in successful operation. David 
 Nitschman had been personally concerned in the establishment of that 
 in the West Indies ; and for some time had supported himself and his 
 fellow-labourer, Leonard Dober, by working as a carpenter. 
 
 The meeting of the Wesleys with this primitive evangelist, and the 
 pious refugees that accompanied him, appeared to be casual ; but it was, 
 in fact, one of those providential arrangements from which the most 
 momentous consequences arise. It was from a learned member of the 
 Moravian Church that the two brothers were subsequently taught the 
 all-important doctrine of present salvation from sin by faith in the Lord 
 Jesus : a doctrine to which all their public usefulness is to be distinctly 
 traced; but of which, as yet, they had no just conception. Their 
 intercourse with David Nitschman and his flock, who accompanied 
 them to Georgia, prepared them for the enlightened instructions of 
 Peter Bohler, which they gratefully received on their return to Eng- 
 land. Bishop Nitschman, and a few of his German brethren, during 
 the voyage, applied themselves to the study of English. For nothing- 
 were the Wesleys more remarkable than for diligence in their sacred 
 calling. They were always employed either in doing or receiving 
 good, according to the degree of religious light which they possessed. 
 No sooner did they commence their voyage, than they entered upon 
 their missionary labours, occupying every hour with some useful work, 
 connected with the great object to which their lives were now devoted. 
 Mr. Ingham and Delamotte were both like minded. From four to five 
 in the morning each member of this exemplary brotherhood used pri- 
 vate prayer. From five to seven they read the Bible together, carefully 
 comparing it with the writings of the earliest ages. At seven they 
 breakfasted; and at eight were the public prayers. From nine to 
 twelve Mr. John Wesley learned German, that he might be able to 
 converse with the Moravians ; and Mr. Delamotte learned Greek. Mr. 
 Charles Wesley wrote sermons, having been newly appointed to the 
 sacred office ; and Mr. Ingham instructed the children of the emigrants. 
 At twelve they met to give an account to one another of what they had 
 done since their last meeting, and of what they designed to do before 
 the next. About one they dined. The time from dinner till four they 
 spent in reading to those persons on board whom each of them had 
 taken in charge ; or in speaking to them severally, as need required 
 At four were the evening prayers ; when either the second lesson was 
 explained, or the children were catechised, and instructed before the 
 congregation. From five to six, they again used private prayer. I row 
 six to seven, they read, in their several cabins, to two or three of the 
 English passengers. At seven, Mr. John Wesley joined with the < ier- 
 mans in public worship; and Mr. Ingham read between the deckfl to
 
 o6 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 as many as were willing to hear. At eight, the little company again 
 met, to exhort and instruct one another ; and between nine and ten, 
 retired to rest. 
 
 During their stay in the Downs, they went alternately to the other 
 ship that sailed with them, for the purpose of preaching to the people, 
 and of praying with them. They were at length joined by the ship of 
 war which was to accompany them, and were fully ready for their 
 voyage ; but being detained by contrary winds, Mr. Charles Wesley 
 complied with the request of the clergyman at Cowes, and preached 
 three or four times in his church ; while Mr. John Wesley, Mr. Ing- 
 ham, and Mr. Delamotte distributed tracts among the more serious part 
 of the congregation. 
 
 The deportment of the Moravian Brethren, when on their voyage to 
 Georgia, was truly Christian, and appears to have made a deep impres- 
 sion upon the susceptible and observant minds of the two Wesleys, 
 especially upon that of John. The philosophic mysticism which the 
 brothers had mistaken for Scriptural Christianity left them unacquainted 
 with the peace, the inward purity, the joyous hope, which spring from 
 a lively faith in the sacrifice of Christ. The Moravians exhibited a 
 different spirit. In them were seen meekness, humility, and love, 
 blended with resignation, and a heavenly hope which was unmoved by 
 immediate danger. The contrast was strikingly seen during a storm 
 which came upon them when within about ten days sail of the Ameri- 
 can continent. The waves of the sea were mighty, and raged horribly. 
 The winds roared ; and the ship not only rocked to and fro with the 
 utmost violence, but shook and jarred with so unequal and grating a 
 motion, that the passengers could with difficulty keep their hold of any 
 thing, nor stand a moment without it. Every ten minutes came a shock 
 against the stern or side of the ship, which seemed as if it would dash 
 the planks in pieces. In this state of things, Mr. John Wesley says, 
 " I went to the Germans. I had long before observed the great seri- 
 ousness of their behaviour. Of their humility they had given a con- 
 tinual proof, by performing those servile offices for the other passengers, 
 which none of the English would undertake ; for which they desired 
 and would receive no pay ; saying, it was good for their proud hearts ; 
 and, their loving Saviour had done more for them. And every day had 
 ;riven them occasion of showing a meekness, which no injury could 
 move. If they were pushed, struck, or thrown down, they rose again 
 and went away ; but no complaint was found in their mouth. There 
 was now an opportunity of trying whether they were delivered from the 
 spirit of fear, as well as from that of pride, anger, and revenge. In the 
 midst of the psalm wherewith their service began, the sea broke over, 
 split the main- sail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 57 
 
 the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terri- 
 ble screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sung 
 on. I asked one of them afterward, ' Was you not afraid ?' ' I thank 
 God, no.' I asked, ' But were not your women and children afraid V 
 He replied mildly, ' No ; our women and children are not afraid to die.' " 
 
 On Thursday, Feb. 5th, 1736, the " Simmonds" arrived in the 
 Savannah river ; and on the following day the passengers landed in 
 America, upon a small uninhabited island. Mr. Oglethorpe led the first 
 company that left the ship, including the Wesleys, to a rising ground, 
 where they all kneeled down to give thanks to God for their preserva- 
 tion. He then took a boat for the settlement of Savannah ; and when 
 the rest of the people came on shore, they also were invited to unite 
 in praise and thanksgiving to their almighty Preserver. For about 
 five weeks the Wesleys remained together at Savannah : during which 
 period John had much intercourse with the Moravian Brethren, who 
 had been previously settled there : and his mind was deeply impressed 
 with their pious simplicity, zeal, union, self-denial, diligence, and holy 
 cheerfulness. Whether Charles was equally attentive to their charac- 
 ter and order does not appear. 
 
 Early in March the brothers were separated ; Charles removing to 
 Frederica, in the island of St. Simon, where he was to have the spi- 
 ritual charge of the people, and where the governor, to whom he was 
 secretary', had fixed his residence. This island is about one hundred 
 miles south of Savannah, where John remained. It is about twenty 
 miles long, and varies from two to five in breadth. 
 
 "Tuesday, March 9th, 1736, about three in the afternoon," says 
 Charles, " I first set foot on St. Simon's island ; and immediately my 
 spirit revived. No sooner did I enter upon my ministry, than God 
 gave me, like Saul, another heart. So true is that saying of Bishop 
 Hall : ' The calling of God never leaves a man unchanged ; neither 
 did God ever employ any one in his service, whom he did not enable 
 to the work he set him : especially those whom he raises up to the 
 supply of his place, and the representation of himself.' The people, 
 with Mr. Oglethorpe, were all arrived the day before. 
 
 " The first who saluted me on my landing was honest Mr. Ingham, 
 and that with his usual heartiness. Never did I more rejoice at the 
 sight of him : especially when he told me the treatment he has met 
 with for vindicating the Lord's day : such as every minister of Clin-t 
 must meet with. The people seemed overjoyed to see me. Mr. Ogle- 
 thorpe, in particular, received me very kindly. 
 
 "I spent the afternoon in conference with my parishioners. With 
 what trembling ought I to call them mine ! At seven we had evening 
 prayers in the open air. at which Mr. Oglethorpe was present. The
 
 58 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 lesson gave me the fullest direction, and greatest encouragement. At 
 nine I returned, and lay in the boat." 
 
 Few men sustaining the clerical oflice have ever applied themselves 
 with greater assiduity and diligence to the discharge of their duties 
 than Mr. Charles Wesley at this period of his life, or with a more fixed 
 purpose to promote the spiritual good of the people. He conducted 
 four religious services every day, for the benefit of those who chose 
 and had leisure to attend ; and he was in the habit of giving an extem- 
 porary exposition of the daily lessons at the morning and evening 
 prayer. These services were conducted in the open air when the 
 weather wovdd permit ; and as the people had no public clock to guide 
 them, (for as yet they dwelt in tents, having no houses,) nor any 
 " church-going bell" to summon them to their devotions, they were 
 apprized of the hour of prayer by the sound of the drum. Notwith- 
 standing all this application to religion, Charles's mission to Frederica, 
 like that of his brother at Savannah, was in the main a failure ; and 
 his life there was little more than one continued course of vexation and 
 sorrow. He laboured with all his might, by private admonition, as 
 well as public worship and instruction, to make the people holy ; yet 
 few appear to have attended divine service at all ; and fewer still came 
 to the Lord's supper, or were indeed prepared to receive that holy 
 sacrament. The upright among them respected him for his disin- 
 terestedness and fidelity ; but others formed conspiracies to ruin him 
 with the governor ; and attempts were even made to get rid of him by 
 assassination. 
 
 The principal, cause of his want of success is doubtless to be found 
 in the defectiveness of his theological views, and consequently of his 
 own piety. Several of the sermons which he preached at Frederica 
 are still extant in his own neat and elegant handwriting. The doc- 
 trines which they contain are precisely those of Mr. Law. The 
 pleasures of this world are all vain and sinful, and therefore to be 
 renounced ; the evils of our nature render us unfit for the service and 
 enjoyment of God, and are to be mortified by fasting, prayer, and a 
 constant course of universal self-denial ; we are the creatures of God, 
 and are therefore to devote ourselves to him, in body, soul, and spirit, 
 with the utmost fervour, simplicity, and purity of intention. In these, 
 discourses, as in the eloquent volumes of Law, we look in vain, for cor- 
 rect and impressive views of the atonement and intercession of Christ, 
 and of the offices of the Holy Spirit. It cannot here be said, " Christ 
 is all, and in all." No satisfactory answer is given to the question, 
 " What must I do to be saved ?" Men are required to run the race of 
 Christian holiness with a load of uncancelled guilt upon their con- 
 sciences, and while the corruptions of their nature are unsubdued by
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 59 
 
 renewing grace. The preacher has no adequate conception of a sin- 
 ner's justification before God. He sometimes confounds this blessing 
 with sanctification ; and at other times he speaks of it as a something 
 which is to take place in the day of judgment. Never does he repre- 
 sent it as consisting in the full and unmerited forgiveness of all past 
 sins, obtained not by works of righteousness, but by the simple exer- 
 cise of faith in a penitent state of the heart ; and immediately followed 
 by the gift of the Holy Ghost, producing peace of conscience, the filial 
 spirit, power over all sin, and the joyous hope of eternal life. On the 
 contrary, he satisfies himself with reproving the vices and sins of the 
 people with unsparing severity, and with holding up the standard of 
 practical holiness ; denouncing the divine vengeance against all who 
 fall short of it ; but without directing them to the onlv means l>v which 
 they can obtain forgiveness and a new heart. The consequence was, 
 that the more serious part of the people were discouraged ; for they 
 were called to the hopeless task of presenting to God a spiritual 
 service, while they were themselves the servants of sin ; and of loving 
 him with all their heart, while they were strangers to his forgiving 
 mercy, and laboured under a just apprehension of his wrath. Charles's 
 ministry, like that of his brother, at this time did not imbody those 
 great doctrines of the evangelical dispensation which constitute " the 
 truth as it is in Jesus," and upon which the Holy Ghost is wont to set 
 his seal, by making them instrumental in the conversion and salvation 
 of men. The quickening energy of the Spirit, therefore, without which 
 all human efforts are unavailing, was in a great measure withheld. 
 The brothers, with the best possible intentions, laboured to repair the 
 " old garment," by " sewing" upon it " new" and unfulled M cloth," 
 which was stiff and unwrought ; but as it neither agreed with the old 
 in colour, nor in quality, it '■• took from the old, and the rent was made, 
 worse." To use another illustration deduced from our Lord, they spent 
 their time and strength in " putting new wine into old" leathern " bot- 
 tles ;" where it no sooner began to ferment than "the bottles were 
 marred, and the wine was spilled." 
 
 The ecclesiastical discipline which Charles enforced was risid and 
 repulsive. He denied the validity of baptism when administered by 
 any except the Episcopal clergy, to whatever section of the universal 
 church the administrator might belong; calling it "lay-baptism," and 
 urging upon those who had received it the necessity of being rebap- 
 tized. Healthy children he insisted upon baptizing by trine immersion. 
 plunging them three times into water. It is not surprising that things 
 of this kind shocked the feelings and prejudices of many of the emi- 
 grants, and produced in them an indisposition to follow the advices of 
 their spiritual guide.
 
 60 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 While his mind was uneasy on account of his want of ministerial 
 success, his outward condition became increasingly painful. The 
 governor was an able man, and generous and persevering ; but infalli- 
 bility of judgment, and absolute command of temper, entered not into 
 the composition of his character. He was passionate and revengeful, 
 and liable to be imposed upon by designing men. When any of the 
 people offended him, his answer generally was, " I will hang you !" 
 very unseemly language for a governor, deriving his authority from the 
 British crown. Among the emigrants at Frederica were some women 
 of lax morality, who were particularly hostile to their clergyman, 
 because of the strictness of his doctrine and discipline, and the faith- 
 fulness with which he administered reproof. These mischievous per- 
 sons, whose revenge knew no bounds, induced their husbands and 
 friends to use their influence with the governor for the purpose of 
 effecting Mr. Charles Wesley's ruin. To get rid of him, after he had 
 been fired at among the trees, the governor was told, that his clerical 
 secretary was secretly stirring up the people to mutiny, and persuad- 
 ing them to leave the colony. Oglethorpe had the indiscretion to 
 believe these idle tales, and, without either inquiring into their truth, 
 or mentioning them to the man who was falsely accused, he adopted 
 such a course of harsh and cruel treatment of Mr. Charles Wesley as 
 was nearly fatal to his life. The innocent and unsuspecting sufferer 
 was saved from impending death by the seasonable interference of his 
 brother, who was fetched from Savannah by their mutual friend Mr. 
 Ingham. The following extracts from Charles's private journal place 
 these transactions in a striking light : — 
 
 " March 11th. In the evening I heard the first harsh word from Mr. 
 Oglethorpe, when I asked for something for a poor woman. The next 
 day I was surprised by a rougher answer, in a matter that deserved still 
 greater encouragement. I know not how to account for his increasing 
 coldness. My encouragement was much the same in speaking with 
 M. W., whom I found all storm and tempest. The meek, the teachable 
 M. W. (that was in the ship) was now so wilful, so untractable, so 
 fierce, that I could not bear to stay near her. I did not mend myself 
 by stumbling again upon Mr. Oglethorpe, who was with the men under 
 arms, in expectation of an enemy. I stayed as long as I could, however 
 
 ' unsafe within the wind 
 Of such commotion :' 
 
 but at last the hurricane of his passion drove me away. 
 
 " Tuesday, March 16th, was wholly spent in writing letters for Mr. 
 Oglethorpe. I would not spend six days more in the same manner for 
 all Georgia. 
 
 " March 18th. I went to my myrtle-walk, where, as I was repeating,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 61 
 
 ' I will thank thee, for thou hast heard me, and art become my salva- 
 tion,' a gun was fired from the omer side of the bushes. Providence 
 had that moment turned me from that end of the walk which the shot 
 flew through ; but I heard them pass close by me. 
 
 " March 25th. Mr. Oglethorpe called me out of my hut. I looked 
 up to God, and went. He charged me with mutiny and sedition ; with 
 stirring up the people to desert the colony. Accordingly, he said, they 
 had had a meeting last night, and sent a message to him this morning, 
 desiring leave to go ; that their speaker had informed against them, 
 and me the spring of all ; that the men were such as constantly came 
 to prayers, therefore I must have instigated them ; that he should not 
 scruple shooting half a dozen of them at once ; but that he had, out of 
 kindness, first spoke to me. My ans.wer was, ' I desire, sir, you would 
 have no regard to my brothers, my friends, or the love you had for me, 
 if any thing of this is made out against me. I know nothing of their 
 meeting or designs. Of those you have mentioned, not one comes 
 constantly to prayers or sacrament. I never incited any one to leave 
 the colony. I desire to answer my accuser face to face.' He told me, 
 my accuser was Mr. Lawley, whom he would bring if I would wait 
 here. I added, ' Mr. Lawley is a man who has declared he knows no 
 reason for keeping fair with any man, but a design to get all he can by 
 him ; but there was nothing to be got by the poor parsons.' I asked 
 whether he himself was not assured that there were enough men in 
 Frederica to say or swear any thing against any man that should be in 
 disgrace ; whether, if he himself was removed, or succeeded ill, the 
 whole stream of the people would not be turned against him ; and even 
 this Lawley, who was of all others the most violent in condemning the 
 prisoners, and justifying the officers.* I observed, this was the old 
 cry, ' Away with the Christians to the lions !' mentioned H. and his 
 wife's scandalizing my brother and me, and vowing revenge against 
 us both; threatening me yesterday, even in his presence. I asked 
 what redress or satisfaction was due to my character ; what good I 
 could do in my parish, if cut off by their calumnies from ever seeing 
 one half of it. I ended with assuring him I had and should still make 
 it my business to promote peace among all. I felt no disturbance while 
 speaking, but lifted up my heart to God, and found him present with 
 me. While Mr. Oglethorpe was fetching Lawley, I thought of our 
 Lord's words, ' Ye shall be brought before rulers,' &c, and applied to 
 him for help, and words to make my defence. 
 
 * The prisoners here referred to were some of the settlere at Frederica, who had 
 been taken into custody for shooting on the sabbath, in violation of the governor's 
 order. Mr. Charles Wesley had been greatly censured for their imprisonment, though 
 he had no concern in it whatever.
 
 62 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " Before Mr. Oglethorpe returned, I called in upon Mr. Ingham, and 
 desired him to pray for me. Ther^l walked, musing on the event. 
 Mr. Ingham coming, I related all that had passed. On sight of Mr. 
 Oglethorpe and Lawley he retired. 
 
 " Mr. Oglethorpe observed the place was too public. I offered to 
 carry him to my usual walk in the woods. In our way God put it into 
 my heart to say, ' Show only the least disinclination to find me guilty, 
 and you shall see what a turn it will give to the accusation.' He took 
 the hint, and instead of calling upon Lawley to make good his charge, 
 began with the quarrel in general ; but did not show himself angry 
 with me, or desirous o find me to blame. Lawley, who appeared full 
 of guilt and fear, upon this dropped his accusation, or shrunk it into 
 'my forcing the people to prayers.' I replied, that the people them- 
 selves would acquit me of that ; and as to the officers' quarrel, I ap- 
 pealed to the officers for the truth of my assertion, that I had had no 
 hand at all in it. I professed my desire of promoting peace and obe- 
 dience ; and as to the people, was persuaded their desire of leaving 
 the colony arose from mistake, not malice. 
 
 " Here Mr. Oglethorpe spoke of reconciling matters ; bade Lawley 
 tell the petitioners, he would not so much as ask who they were, if they 
 were but quiet for the future. ' I hope,' added he, ' they will be so : 
 and Mr. Wesley here hopes so too.' ' Yes, sir,' says Lawley, ' I really 
 believe it of Mr. Wesley, and had always a very great respect for him." 
 I turned, and said to Mr. Oglethorpe, ' Did not I tell you it would be 
 so V He replied to Lawley, ' Yes ; you had always a very great respect 
 for Mr. Wesley ! You told me he was a stirrer up of sedition, and at 
 the bottom of all this disturbance.' With this gentle reproof he dis- 
 missed him ; and I thanked him for having first spoken to me of what 
 I was accused, begging he would always do so. This he promised. 
 He then left me, and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 
 
 " I went to my hut, where I found Mr. Ingham. He told me this 
 was but the beginning of sorrows. ' Not as I will, but as thou wilt.' 
 About noon, in the midst of a violent storm of thunder and lightning, I 
 read the eighteenth psalm, and found it gloriously suited to my circum- 
 stances. I never felt the Scriptures as now. Now I need them, I find 
 them all written for my instruction and comfort. At the same time I 
 felt great joy in my expectation of our Saviour thus coming to judg- 
 ment, when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed, and God shall 
 make my innocence as clear as the light, and my just dealing as the 
 noon-day. I walked with Mr. Ingham, and read him the history of 
 this amazing day. We rejoiced together in the protection of God. and 
 through comfort of the Scriptures. 
 
 " Meeting with Mr. Hird, I persuaded him to use all his interest with 
 
 •
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 63 
 
 the people to lay aside all thoughts of leaving the colony. He told me 
 he had assured Mr. Oglethorpe that this was always my language 
 toward him and the rest, and that I had no hand in the late disturbance : 
 but was answered short with, ' You must not tell me that : I know 
 better.' 
 
 " After spending an hour at the camp, in singing such psalms as 
 suited the occasion, I went to bed in the hut, which was thoroughly 
 wet with to-day's rain. 
 
 " March 29th. Knowing I was to live with Mr. Oglethorpe, I had 
 brought nothing with me from England, except my clothes and books : 
 but this morning, asking a servant for something I wanted, (I think a 
 tea-kettle,) I was told, Mr. Oglethorpe had given orders that no one 
 should use any of his things. I answered, that order, I supposed, did 
 not extend to me. ' Yes, sir,' says she, ' you was excepted by name.' 
 Thanks be to God, that it is not yet made capital to give me a morsel 
 of bread. 
 
 " March 30th. Having laid hitherto on the ground, in a corner ol 
 Mr. Reed's hut, and hearing some boards were to be disposed of, I 
 attempted in vain to get some of them to lie upon. They were given 
 to all besides. 
 
 " March 31st. I begin now to be abused and slighted into an opinion 
 of my own considerableness. I could not be more trampled upon was 
 I a fallen minister of state. The people have found out that I am in 
 disgrace. My few well-wishers are afraid to speak to me. Some 
 have turned out of the way to avoid me. Others desired I would not 
 take it ill, if they seemed not to know me when we should meet. The 
 servant that used to wash my linen sent it back unwashed. It was 
 great cause of triumph my being forbidden the use of Mr. Oglethorpe's 
 things, and in effect debarred of most of the conveniences, if not the 
 necessaries, of life. I sometimes pitied and sometimes diverted my- 
 self with the odd expressions of their contempt ; but found the benefit 
 of having undergone a much lower degree of obloquy at Oxford. 
 
 "April 1st. In the midst of the morning service a poor scoutboat- 
 man was brought in, who was almost killed by the burst of a cannon. 
 I found him senseless and dying. All I could do was to pray for him, 
 and try by his example to wake his two companions. He languished 
 till the next day, and died. 
 
 " Hitherto I have been borne up by a spirit not my own ; but ex- 
 hausted nature at last prevails. It is amazing she held out so long. 
 My outward hardships and inward conflicts, the bitterness of renmarb 
 from the only man I wished to please, 
 
 ' down 
 At last have worn my boasted courage.'
 
 64 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Accordingly, this afternoon, I was forced by a friendly fever to take 
 my bed. My sickness I knew could not be of long continuance ; but, 
 as I was in want of every help and convenience, must either shortly 
 leave me, or release me from further suffering. 
 
 " In the evening Mrs. Hird and Mrs. Robinson came to see me, and 
 offered me all the assistance in their power. I thanked them, but 
 desired they would not prejudice themselves by taking this notice of 
 me. At that instant we were alarmed with the cry of the Spaniards 
 being come ; heard many guns fired ; and saw the people fly in great 
 consternation to the fort. I felt not the least disturbance or surprise : 
 bade the women not fear ; for God was with us. Within a few minutes 
 news was brought us, that the alarm was only a contrivance of Mr. 
 Oglethorpe, to try the people. My charitable visitants then left me, 
 and soon returned with some gruel, which threw me into a sweat. 
 The next morning they ventured to call again. At night, when my 
 fever was somewhat abated, I was led out to bury the scoutboat-man, 
 and envied him his quiet grave. 
 
 " Sunday, April 4th. Many of the people had been ill of the bloody 
 flux. I escaped hitherto by my vegetable diet ; but now the fever 
 brought it. Notwithstanding this, I was obliged to go abroad, and 
 preach, and administer the sacrament. My sermon, on ' Keep inno- 
 cency, and take heed to the thing that is right, for that shall bring a 
 man peace at the last,' was deciphered into a satire against Mrs. H. 
 At night I got an old bedstead to lie on, being that on which the 
 scoutboat-man had died. 
 
 " April 5th. At one this morning the sand-flies forced me to rise, 
 and smoke them out of the hut. The whole town was employed in 
 the same manner. My congregation in the evening consisted of two 
 Presbyterians and a papist. I went home in great pain, my distemper 
 being much increased with the little duty I could discharge. 
 
 " April 6th. I found myself so faint and weak, that it was with the 
 utmost difficulty I got through the prayers. Mr. Davison, my good 
 Samaritan, would often call, or send his wife to tend me ; and to their 
 care, under God, I owe my life. 
 
 " To-day Mr. Oglethorpe gave away my bedstead from under me, 
 and refused to spare one of the carpenters to mend me up another. 
 
 " April 10th. At six Mr. Delamotte and my brother landed; when 
 my strength was so exhausted, I could not have read the prayers once 
 more. He helped me into the woods ; for there was no talking among 
 a people of spies and ruffians : nor even in the woods, except in an 
 unknown tongue. He told me that Mr. Oglethorpe received him with 
 abundant kindness. I began my account of all that has passed, and 
 continued it till prayers. It were endless to mention all the scriptures
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 65 
 
 which have been for so many days adapted to my circumstances ; but 
 I cannot pass by this evening's lesson, Hebrews xi. I was ashamed 
 of having well nigh sunk under mine, when I beheld the conflicts of 
 those triumphant sufferers ' of whom the world was not worthy.' 
 
 " Sunday, April 11th. I had just recovered strength enough to con- 
 secrate at the sacrament : the rest my brother discharged. We then 
 got out of the reach of informers, and proceeded in my account ; being 
 fully persuaded of the truth of Mrs. W.'s information against Mr. Ogle- 
 thorpe, Mrs. H., and herself. 
 
 "April 14th. By a relation which my brother gave me, of a late 
 conference he had with her, I was again, in spite of all I had seen 
 and heard, half persuaded into a good opinion of Mrs. H. For the 
 lasting honour of our sagacity be it written ! 
 
 " April 16th. My brother brought me off a resolution, which honour 
 and indignation had formed, of starving rather than ask for necessaries. 
 Accordingly I went to Mr. Oglethorpe, in his tent, to ask for some little 
 things I wanted. The next day my brother and Mr. Delamotte set out 
 in an open boat for Savannah. 
 
 " April 24th. At ten I was sent for by Mr. Oglethorpe. He began, 
 ' You know, Mr. Wesley, what has passed between us. I took some 
 pains to satisfy your brother about the. reports concerning me, but in 
 vain. He here renews his suspicions in writing. I did desire to con- 
 vince him, because I had an esteem for him ; and he is just as consi- 
 derable to me as my esteem makes him. I could clear up all ; but it 
 matters not. You will soon see the reason of my actions.. 
 
 " ' I am now going to death. You will see me no more. Take this 
 ring, and carry it from me to Mr. Vernon. If there is a friend to be 
 depended upon, he is one. His interest is next to Sir Robert's. What- 
 ever you ask, within his power, he will do for you, your brother, and 
 your family. I have expected death for some days. The letters show 
 that the Spaniards have long been seducing our allies, and intend to 
 cut us off at a blow. I fall by my friends : Gascoin, whom I have 
 made ; the Carolina people, whom I depended upon to send their pro- 
 mised succours. But death is to me nothing. T. will pursue all my 
 designs ; and to him I recommend them and you.' 
 
 " He then gave me a diamond ring. I took it, and said, ' Hear what 
 you will quickly know to be true, as soon as you are entered upon the 
 separate state. This ring I shall never make any use of for myself. 
 I have no worldly hopes. I have renounced the world. Life is bitter- 
 ness to me. I came here to lay it down. You have been deceived, as 
 well as I. I protest my innocence as to the crimes I am charged with ; 
 and take myself to be now at liberty to tell you what I thought never 
 to have uttered.' 
 
 5
 
 66 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " When I had finished this relation he seemed entirely changed, fuli 
 of his old love and confidence in me. After some expressions of kind- 
 ness, I asked him, ' Are you satisfied V He replied, ' Yes, entirely.' 
 ' Why, then, sir, I desire nothing more upon earth, and care not how 
 soon I follow you.' He added, he much desired the conversion of the 
 heathen, and believed my brother intended it. ' But I believe,' said I, 
 ' it will never be under your patronage ; for then men would account 
 for it without taking in God.' He replied, ' I believe so too :' then 
 embraced and kissed me with the most cordial affection. I attended 
 him to the scoutboat, where he waited some minutes for his sword. 
 They brought him first, and a second time, a mourning sword. At last 
 they gave him his own, which had been his father's. ' With this 
 sword,' says he, ' I was never yet unsuccessful.' ' I hope, sir,' said I, 
 ' you carry with you a better ; even the sword of the Lord and of 
 Gideon.' ' I hope so too,' he added. 
 
 " When the boat put off, I ran before, into the woods, to see my last 
 of him. Seeing me and two others running after him, he stopped the 
 boat, and asked whether we wanted any thing. Captain Mackintosh, 
 left commander, desired his last orders. I then said, ' God is with you. 
 Go forth.' ' You have,' says he, ' some verses of mine. You there 
 see my thoughts of success.' His last word to the people was, ' God 
 bless you all !' The boat then carried him out of sight. I interceded 
 for him, that God would save him from death, would wash out all his 
 sins, and prepare before he took the sacrifice to himself. 
 
 " Easter-day, April 25th. The people were alarmed at night by the 
 sight of two great fires on either side of the town, not knowing if they 
 were made by friends or enemies. Next morning news was brought 
 of a boat coming up. Every one seemed under a consternation, though 
 no one but myself was fully apprized of our danger. At night the 
 watch was doubled by Captain Mackintosh. The people being unwill- 
 ing to comply with his orders, I was forced to tell Mr. Hird, the con- 
 stable, that there might be danger which Mackintosh alone knew of; 
 and therefore they ought to obey. He promised it for himself and the 
 rest. Though I expected every hour that the Spaniards would bring 
 us the news of Mr. Oglethorpe's death, yet I was insensible of fear, 
 and careless of the consequence. But my indifference arose from 
 stupidity rather than faith. There was nothing I cared for in life ; 
 and therefore the loss of it appeared a trifle. 
 
 " April 29th. About half-hour past eight, I went down to the bluff, 
 to see a boat coming up. At nine it arrived, with Mr. Oglethorpe. 
 I blessed God for still holding his soul in life. In the evening we 
 took a walk together, and he informed me more particularly of our past 
 danger. Three great ships, and four smaller, had been seen for three 
 
 5*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 67 
 
 weeks together at the mouth of the river ; but, the wind continuing full 
 against them, were kept from making a descent, till they could stav 
 no longer. I gave him back his ring, and said, ' I need not, sir, and 
 indeed I cannot, tell you how joyfully and thankfully I return this.' 
 ' When I gave it you,' said he, ' I never expected to receive it again, 
 but thought it would be of sen-ice to your brother and you. I had 
 many omens of my death, particularly their bringing me my mourning 
 sword : but God has been pleased to preserve a life which was never 
 valuable to me ; and yet, in the continuance of it, I thank God, I can 
 rejoice.' ' I am now glad of all that has happened here,' [I rejoined,] 
 ' since without it I could never have had such a proof of your affection 
 as that you gave me when you looked upon me as the most ungrateful 
 of villains. ' While I was speaking this he appeared fidl of tenderness, 
 and passed on to observe the strangeness of his deliverance, when 
 betrayed on all sides, without human support, and utterly defenceless. 
 He condemned himself for his anger, (God forgive those who made me 
 the object of it !) which he imputed to his want of time for considera- 
 tion. [I said,] ' I longed, sir, to see you once more, that I might tell 
 you some things before we finally parted : but then I considered, that 
 if you died, you would know them all in a moment.' ' I know not,' 
 [said he,] • whether separate spirits regard our little concerns. If they 
 do, it is as men regard the follies of their childhood, or as I my late 
 passionateness.' 
 
 " April 30th. I had some further talk with him in bed. He ordered 
 me whatever he could think I wanted ; promised to have me a house 
 built immediately; and was just the same to me he had formerly been. 
 
 " May 3d. The people had observed that I was taken into favour 
 again, which I found by their provoking civilities. 
 
 "11th. I had now so far recovered -my strength, that I again ex- 
 pounded the lesson. In the lesson next morning was Elisha encom- 
 passed with the host at Dothan. It is our privilege, as Christians, to 
 apply those words to ourselves : ' There be more that be for us, than 
 those that be against us.' God spoke to us yet plainer in the second 
 lesson : ' Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves,' &c. 
 ' Fear ye not, therefore ; for there is nothing covered that shall not be 
 revealed, and hid, that shall not be known.' In explaining this, I dwelt 
 on that blessed topic of consolation to the innocent, that however he 
 suffers under a false accusation here, he will shortly be cleared at 
 God's righteous bar, when the accuser and the accused shall meel face 
 to face, and the guilty person acquit him whom he unjustly charged, 
 and take back the wickedness to himself. Poor Mrs. W., who was 
 just over against me, could not stand it ; but first turned her back, and 
 then retired behind the congregation."
 
 68 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 These extracts, copied from the journal of Mr. Charles Wesley, in 
 his own handwriting, show the situation in which he was placed during 
 his residence at Frederica. The people were unsettled ; they were 
 under continual alarms from the Spaniards ; many of them were with- 
 out moral principle, regarded his ministry as an attack upon private 
 character, and acted toward him as spies and informers, with little 
 respect for either truth or probability ; his health was not good ; he 
 was destitute of almost every personal accommodation, living in a hut, 
 mostly lying upon the ground, conducting public worship sometimes in 
 the open air, under the shade of a tree, and at other times in the place 
 where the public stores were kept : while, at the same time, the governor 
 was capricious, passionate, and under the influence of wicked people. 
 The firing of the gun when he was in the wood, and when the shot 
 came whistling by him, just after he had changed his position, Mr. 
 Charles Wesley believed to be an attempt upon his life ; while the act 
 itself was intended to appear as a casualty. Happily for him, he did 
 not long continue in this painful condition, which was rendered doubly 
 distressing by the natural sensitiveness of his mind, and the absence 
 of his friends. 
 
 On the 15th of May, some duties connected with his secretaryship 
 called him to Savannah ; and from thence he was sent with despatches 
 to England, so that he never again visited Frederica, where he had met 
 with such unworthy treatment. " At four," says he, " I set out for 
 Savannah, whither the Indian traders were coming down to meet me, 
 and take out licenses. I was overjoyed at my deliverance out of this 
 furnace, and not a little ashamed of myself for being so." 
 
 Still intent upon the duties of his mission, he says, " Sunday, May 
 16th, we landed at Skiddoway. I then went round, and asked the few 
 people there were upon the island to come to prayers : which accord- 
 ingly I read, and preached to about ten, in the guard-room; and pro- 
 mised so to contrive, if possible, that they should be supplied once a 
 month. At four we returned to our boat, and by six reached Thunder- 
 bolt; whence I walked the five remaining miles to Savannah. Mr. 
 Ingham, Mr. Delamotte, and my brother, were surprised at my unex- 
 pected visit. But it being late, we each retired to his respective corner 
 of the room, where, without the help of a bed, we slept soundly till the 
 morning." 
 
 On the following Wednesday Mr. John Wesley embarked for Fre- 
 derica, to supply his brother's place, and Charles took charge of 
 Savannah. " The hardest duty imposed upon me," says he, " was the 
 expounding the lesson, morning and evening, to one hundred hearers. 
 I was surprised at my own confidence, and acknowledged it not my 
 own. The day was usually divided between visiting my parishioners,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 69 
 
 considering the lesson, and conversing with Mr. Ingham, Delamotte, 
 and Appee." The last of these persons was a young Dutchman, of 
 whom we shall hear more in the progress of this narrative. 
 
 While the Wesleys and their faithful friend Mr. Ingham were thus 
 labouring with exemplary zeal, their brethren, the Oxford Methodists, 
 continued their religious meetings, and still pursued their plans of spi- 
 ritual improvement, and of usefulness to others ; though some who had 
 belonged to their brotherhood were removed from the university to other 
 fields of pious labour. Mr. Whitefield, who appears to have taken the 
 lead among them, was ordained by Dr. Benson, the bishop of Glouces- 
 ter, who treated him with great kindness. When he was retiring from 
 the cathedral of that city, where he had been attending divine worship, 
 he says, " One of the vergers called after me, and said the bishop 
 desired to speak with me. I immediately turned back, considering 
 within myself what I had done to deserve his lordship's displeasure. 
 When I came to the top of the palace stairs, the bishop took me by the 
 hand, and told me he was glad to see me ; and bid me to wait a little, 
 till he had put off his habit, and he would return to me again. This 
 gave me an opportunity of praying to God for his assistance, and adoring 
 him for his providence over me. 
 
 " At his coming again into the room, the bishop told me he had 
 heard of my character, liked ray behaviour at church ; and inquiring 
 my age, ' Notwithstanding,' says he, ' I have declared I would not 
 ordain any one under three-and-twenty; yet I shall think it my duty to 
 ordain you whenever you come for holy orders.' He then made me a 
 present of five guineas, to buy me a book. 
 
 " The only thing now in dispute was. into what part of my Lord's 
 vineyard I should be sent, to labour first. God had given me much 
 success in Gloucester ; and my friends being desirous of having me 
 near them, I had thoughts of settling among them. But when I came 
 to Oxford, my friends urged several reasons for my continuing at the 
 university. ' The Mr. Wesleys had not long been gone abroad, and 
 now no one was left to take care of the prison affairs,' &c. They 
 further urged, ' That God had blessed my endeavours there, as well 
 as at Gloucester ; that the university was the fountain-head ; that every 
 gownsman's name was Legion ; and that if I should be made instru- 
 mental in converting one of them, it woidd be as much as converting a 
 whole parish.' At the same time, unknown to me, some of them sent 
 to that great and good man, the late Sir John Phillips, who was a great 
 encourager of the Oxford Methodists ; and though he had never seen, 
 but only heard of me, yet he sent word he would allow me thirty 
 pounds a year, if I would continue at the university. Upon this, find- 
 ing the care of the prisoners would be no more than, under God, I could
 
 70 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 undertake with pleasure, and knowing the university was the best place 
 to prosecute my studies, I resolved, God willing, to wait at Oxford a 
 blessing on the first-fruits of my ministerial labours." 
 
 Having returned again to Gloucester, two days before the time fixed 
 for the ordination, Mr. Whitefield says, " I waited on the bishop. He 
 received me with much love ; telling me he was glad I had come ; that 
 he was satisfied with the preparation I had made, and with the allow- 
 ance given me by Sir John Phillips. ' I had myself,' said he, ' made 
 provision for you of two little parishes ; but since you choose to be at 
 Oxford, I am very well pleased. I doubt not but you will do much 
 good.' 
 
 " This, I think, was on Friday. The day following I continued in 
 abstinence and prayer. In the evening I retired to a hill near the 
 town, and prayed fervently for about two hours, in behalf of myself, 
 and those that were to be ordained with me. 
 
 " On Sunday morning I rose early, and prayed over St. Paul's Epistle 
 to Timothy, and more particularly over that precept, ' Let no man de- 
 spise thy youth.' When I went up to the altar, I could think of nothing 
 but Samuel's standing a little child before the Lord with a linen ephod. 
 When the bishop laid his hands upon my head, my heart was melted 
 down, and I offered up my whole spirit, soul, and body, to the service 
 of God's sanctuary. I read the gospel at the bishop's command, with 
 power ; and afterward sealed the good confession I had made before 
 many witnesses, by partaking of the holy sacrament of our Lord's most 
 blessed body and blood. 
 
 " In the afternoon I read prayers to the poor prisoners, being Avilling 
 to let the first act of my ministerial office be an act of charity. I 
 preached the Sunday following, to a very crowded audience, with as 
 much freedom as though I had been a preacher for some years. 
 
 " O the unspeakable benefit of reading to the poor, and exercising 
 our talents, while students at the university ! Such previous acts are 
 very proper to prepare us for the work of our Lord, and make us not 
 unapt to teach in a more public manner. It is remarkable that our 
 Lord sent out his apostles on short missions before they were so 
 solemnly authorized at the day of pentecost. Would the heads and 
 tutors of our universities follow his example, and, instead of discou- 
 raging their pupils from doing any thing of this nature, send them to 
 visit the sick and tbe prisoners, and to pray with and read practical 
 books of religion to the poor, they would find such exercises of more 
 service to them, and to the church of God, than all their private and 
 public lectures put together. 
 
 " Thus God dealt with my soul. At the same time, by his gracious 
 providence, he supplied me with all things needful for my body also :
 
 LIFE OF REY. CHARLES WESLEY. 71 
 
 for he inclined the bishop's heart to give me five guineas more ; and by 
 this time a quarter's allowance was due to me from Sir John Phillips ; 
 both which sums put together fully served to defray the expenses of 
 my ordination, and taking my bachelor's degree ; which was conferred 
 on me at Oxford the week after my being ordained, when I was about 
 one-and-twenty years of age . 
 
 " These changes from a servitor to a bachelor of arts, from a common 
 drawer to a clergyman, were no doubt temptations to think more highly 
 of myself than I ought to think ; and some were therefore jealous over 
 me, as I trust they always will be, with a godly jealousy; God, who is 
 rich in mercy, thereby forewarned me of my danger, stirred up my heart 
 to pray against spiritual pride, and kept me (as I hope he will to the 
 end) in some measure always humbled before him. 
 
 " Thus did God, by a variety of unforeseen acts of providence and 
 grace, train me up for, and at length introduce me into, the service of 
 his church."* 
 
 Some of the facts which Mr. Whitefield has here described with his 
 characteristic frankness and simplicity, are more fully explained in the 
 following extract of a letter which he addressed to his friend Mr. John 
 Wesley in Georgia. It is dated London, Sept. 2d, 1736 : — 
 
 " Very Dear and Rev. Sir, — Being informed by Mr. Hutton, that a 
 ship would soon sail toward your coasts, I thought it would be unpar- 
 donable in me not to write to my spiritual father in Christ. But what 
 shall I begin with first ? How shall I have room or time to relate to 
 you a thousandth part of those mercies which God, of his infinite good- 
 ness in Christ Jesus, hath conferred upon me since I wrote last ? If I 
 mistake not, my last was dated from Gloucester, whence, after the Lord 
 Jesus had made me an instrument of forming a society of some sincere 
 souls, (O free, free grace in Christ Jesus!) God called me to Oxford 
 again. From thence, after a stay of three months, I returned to Glou- 
 cester. Directed by divine Providence, accompanied with the earnest 
 solicitations of my friends, I entered into holy orders. O pray, Rev. 
 Sir, that I may be a faithful minister of Christ ! You will naturally 
 ask, ' Where hath it pleased God to settle you V Hear, Rev. Sir, and 
 admire the divine goodness toward the worst of sinners. My friends 
 had laid a plan, and I find since that the bishop had united with thtin. 
 to have me settled in Gloucester. But I had made it my earnest pr;iy< r 
 to Almighty God, through Christ, that I might either not go into orders. 
 or continue at Oxford some time longer, to fit me for the work of the 
 ministry. God was pleased to answer this prayer wonderfully : for, 
 
 * A short Account of God's Dealings with the Rev. George Whitefield, A. B , late 
 of Pembroke College, Oxford, pp. 63-71. Edit. 1740.
 
 ,72 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 upon my return to Oxford, most of our friends being called away to 
 other parts of the country, the Lord put it into the heart of our dear 
 friend Mr. Morgan to inform Sir John Phillips of our affairs ; who im- 
 mediately sent me word, that he would allow me thirty pounds a year, 
 if I would continue at Oxford, and superintend the affairs of the Meth- 
 odists. Providence directed me to accept of his kind offer : accord- 
 ingly I preach every Sunday to the prisoners ; and follow your steps 
 as close as possible. 
 
 " I am now at London, supplying the place of dear Mr. Broughton, 
 who is curate at the Tower ; he being gone to Dummer, in Hampshire, 
 to assist dear Mr. Hutchins, who is gone to put his brother under the 
 care of pious Mr. Clayton. 
 
 " Sir John Phillips is very much in our interest, and a blessed 
 instrument of supplying our wants, and of encouraging us in our weak 
 endeavours to promote the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. But few friends are left at Oxford ; yet the Lord hath given 
 me great encouragement out of his holy word, so that I hope that some 
 gownsmen will yet be added to our number. The greatest opposition 
 comes from the laity at present. Yet there is much good done. Our 
 fellow-students are pretty quiet, though our names stink among them. 
 The Lord make us humble and thankful. 
 
 "-The stock for the prisoners is put into my hands. The Lord give 
 me wisdom and grace to distribute it as I ought. 
 
 " Farewell, Rev. and dear Sir. God be with you and prosper you 
 in all your undertakings. May you be made a happy instrument of 
 converting the Gentiles ; and after you have served your blessed Master 
 the appointed time on earth, sit down with him in eternal rest and 
 glory in heaven."* 
 
 These documents show the state of the Methodists at Oxford when 
 the Wesleys were labouring in Georgia ; and the manner in which Mr. 
 Whitefield was prepared for that course of public usefulness to which 
 he was called in future life. He evidently cherished toward the 
 devoted brothers, now in a distant land, the most profound and cordial 
 affection. Toward him they manifested the same feeling. While 
 Charles remained in Georgia he wrote to Mr. Whitefield, inviting him, 
 doubtless with the concurrence of John and Mr. Ingham, to come and 
 join them in that colony. This he distinctly states in the poetical 
 letter which he addressed to Mr. Whitefield many years afterward. 
 
 " In a strange land I stood, 
 And beckon'd thee to cross th' Atlantic flood. 
 With true affection wing'd, thy ready mind 
 Left country, fame, and ease, and friends behind ; 
 
 * Supplement to the Methodist Magazine for the year 1797, pp. 8-10.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 73 
 
 And eager all Heaven's counsels to. explore, 
 
 Flew through the watery world, and grasp'd the shore." 
 
 While at Frederica, the life of Mr. Charles Wesley, as we have 
 seen, was endangered by fever, and the unkindness of the governor. 
 At Savannah it was once or twice in equal peril from other causes. 
 " July 7th," says he, " between four and five this morning Mr. Dela- 
 motte and I went into the Savannah. We chose this hour for bathing, 
 both for the coolness, and because the alligators were not stirring so 
 soon. We heard them indeed snoring all around us ; and one very 
 early riser swam by within a few yards of us. On Friday morning we 
 had hardly left our usual place of swimming, when we saw an alligator 
 in possession of it. Once afterward Mr. Delamotte was in great dan- 
 ger ; for an alligator rose just behind him, and pursued him to the land, 
 whither he narrowly escaped." 
 
 The time now drew near when Mr. Charles Wesley was called to 
 return to England, as the bearer of despatches from the governor to 
 the trustees of the colony. The following are the circumstances con- 
 nected with his departure from Georgia, detailed by himself: — "July 
 10th. I was waked by the news my brother brought us, of Miss Bovy's 
 sudden death. It called up all my sorrow 'and envy. ' Ah, poor 
 Ophelia !' was continually in my mind ; ' I thought thou shouldst have 
 been my Hamlet's wife.' Mr. Appee was just set out for Charleston, 
 [on his way to] Holland ; intending to return, when he had settled his 
 affairs, and marry her : — 
 
 ' But death had quicker wings than love.' 
 
 The following evening I saw her in her coffin, and soon after in her 
 grave. 
 
 "July 21st. I heard by my brother that I was to set sail in a few 
 days for England. 
 
 " July 22d. To-day I got their licenses signed by Mr. Oglethorpe, 
 countersigned them myself, and so entirely washed my hands of the 
 traders. 
 
 " July 25th. I resigned my secretary's place, in a letter to Mr. 
 Oglethorpe. After prayers he took me aside, and asked me whether 
 all I had said was not summed up in the line he showed me on my 
 letter : — 
 
 Magis apta tuts tua dona rclinquo. 
 
 ' Sir, to yourself your slighted gifts I leave ; 
 Less fit for me to take than you to give.' 
 
 I answered, I desired not to lose his esteem, but could not preserve it 
 with the loss of my soul. He answered, he was satisfied of my regard 
 for him ; owned my argument drawn from the heart unanswerable ;
 
 74 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ' and yet,' said he, ' I would desire you not to let the trustees know of 
 your resolution of resigning. There are many hungry fellows ready 
 to catch at the office ; and in my absence I cannot put in one of my 
 own choosing. The best I can hope for is an honest Presbyterian, as 
 many of the trustees are such. Perhaps they may send me a bad man ; 
 and how far such a one may influence the traders, and obstruct the 
 reception of the gospel among the heathen, you know. I shall be in 
 England before you leave it. Then you may either put in a deputy, 
 or resign. You need not be detained in London above three days ; 
 and only speak to some of my particular friends, (Vernon, Hutchinson, 
 and Towers,) to the Board of Trustees, when called upon, and to the 
 Board of Trade. On many accounts I should recommend to you mar- 
 riage, rather than celibacy. You are of a social temper, and would 
 find in a married state the difficulties of working out your salvation 
 exceedingly lessened, and your helps as much increased.' 
 
 " July 26l>h. The words which concluded the lesson, and my stay in 
 Georgia, were, ' Arise, let us go hence.' Accordingly at twelve I took 
 my final leave of Savannah. When the boat put off I was surprised 
 that I felt no more joy in leaving such a scene of sorrows." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was accompanied by his brother in a boat from 
 Savannah to Charleston, a port belonging to the neighbouring colony 
 of Carolina. Thence he intended to embark for England. At Charles- 
 ton he was pleased to find his friend Appee, in whose company he 
 expected to have an improving and pleasant voyage to Europe ; though 
 he was surprised to find that the sudden death of Miss Bovy, from 
 whom Appee had just parted, and to whom he had made a promise of 
 marriage, had apparently made little impression upon the mind of that 
 young Dutchman. Mr. Charles Wesley remained eleven days in 
 Charleston. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 On the 5th of August, 1736, Mr. John Wesley took leave of his 
 brother at Charleston, whence he returned to Savannah ; and on the 
 1 1th Charles went on board to commence his voyage to England. On 
 his entrance upon the ship, he had a specimen of the treatment which 
 awaited him ; but he little suspected the dangers that he would have 
 to encounter. Had it not been for the skill and fidelity of the mate, 
 according to all human probability, the ship and all its hapless inmates 
 must have perished. " I found," says Mr. Charles Wesley, " the 
 honest captain had let my cabin to another. My flux and fever that
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 75 
 
 have hung upon me forced me, for some nights past, to go into a bed ; 
 but now my only bed was a chest, on which I threw myself in my 
 boots, and was not overmuch troubled with sleep till the morning. 
 What was still worse, I had no asylum to fly to from the captain ; the 
 most beastly man I ever saw : a lewd, drunken, quarrelsome fool , 
 praying, and yet swearing continually. The first sight I had of him 
 was upon the cabin-floor, stark naked, and dead drunk." 
 
 Toward the end of the month, the perilous situation of the ship's 
 company became apparent. " August 28th," says our voyager, " after 
 a restless, tempestuous night, I hardly rose at eight. Our happier 
 captain, having got his dose, could sleep a day and a night upon the 
 stretch, and defy either pumps or squall to wake him. 
 
 " August 30th. At noon we were alarmed by an outcry of the sail- 
 ors, at their having continued pumping several hours, without being 
 able to keep the water under. They desired the captain to put into 
 some port, before they were got out to sea too far for returning ; but he 
 was too drunk to regard them. At five the sailors came down in a 
 body to the great cabin, waked and told him, it was as much as their 
 lives were worth to proceed on the voyage, unless their leaks were 
 stopped : that he remembered it was as much as ever they could do to 
 keep the ship above water in their passage from Boston, being forced 
 to pump without ceasing : that the turpentine fell down upon and 
 choked up the pumps continually ; nor was it possible for them to get 
 at it, or to hold out in such continual labour, which made them so 
 thirsty, they could not live on their allowance of water : that they must 
 come to shorter still, through his neglect to take in five more hogsheads 
 of water, as his mate advised him : that he owned they had no candles 
 for half the voyage. On all which accounts they begged him to con- 
 sider whether their common safety did not require them to put in at 
 some land for more water and candles ; and, above all, to stop their 
 leaks. The captain, having now slept out his rum, replied, 'To be 
 sure, the men talk reason ;' and, without consulting any of his officers, 
 immediately gave orders to stand away for Boston. 
 
 " Sept. 15th. This is the first time I have heard a sailor confess ' a 
 was a storm.' We lay under our mainsail, and let the ship drive, being 
 by conjecture about sixty leagues from Boston, upon George's Bank, 
 though, as we hoped, past the shoals upon it. The captain never 
 troubled himself about any thing ; but lay snoring, even in such a night 
 as the last, though frequently called, without ever stirring, either for 
 squalls, soundings, or shoals. 
 
 " In the afternoon the mate came down, having sounded, and found 
 forty, and soon after twenty, fathoms ; told the captain he apprehend- 
 ed coming into shoaler water still ; and therefore it would be necessary
 
 76 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 to reef the foresail and mainsail in readiness, that in case we fell foul of 
 the shoals, (being upon George's Bank, and in a storm,) the ship might 
 have headway to get clear again. This the captain absolutely re- 
 fused ; and though told it could do no possible harm, and might be the 
 saving of the ship and us, persisted in his obstinacy; so that the mate 
 I. ft him to sleep, and the ship to take care of itself. But it pleased 
 God to abate the storm, and on Thursday, about twelve, entirely to 
 remove it. 
 
 " Sept. 20th. At seven Mr. Graham, the first mate, came to ask for 
 directions, as he constantly does, the captain as constantly shifting him 
 oil', and leaving the whole management of the ship to him, or chance, 
 or any body. The conversation being somewhat remarkable, I took it 
 down in short-hand as they were speaking it. 
 
 "Mate. Captain Indivine, what would you have us do? What 
 course would you have us steer to-night 1 
 
 " Captain. Even what course you will : we have a fair wind. 
 
 " M. Yes, sir ; and it drives us full upon the land, which cannot be 
 many leagues off. 
 
 " C. Then, I think, you had best keep forward. 
 
 " M. Would you have us go on all night, and venture running upon 
 the land ? 
 
 " C: I do'nt know. Go on. 
 
 " M. But there are shoals and rocks before us. 
 
 " C. Why then, have a good look out. 
 
 " M. But you can't see twice the ship's length. What would you 
 order me to do ? 
 
 " C. These rebels and emissaries- have excited you to come to ask 
 for orders. I don't know what you mean. 
 
 " M. Sir, nobody has excited me. I come, as it is my duty, to my 
 captain for directions. 
 
 " C. Have you a mind to quarrel with me ? 
 
 " M. I have a mind to know what you will do. 
 
 " C. Nay, what will you do, if you come to that ? 
 
 " M. Am I your captain, or you mine ? 
 
 " C. I am your captain, and will make you know it, Mr. Man. Do 
 what I order you ; for you must and shall. 
 
 " M. Why, sir, you order me nothing. 
 
 " C. You would not have me come upon deck myself, sure ? 
 
 " M. If you did, I should not think it would be much amiss. Some 
 captains would not have stirred off deck a moment in such a night as 
 this. Here you lie, without so much as ever once looking out, to see 
 how things are. 
 
 " C. Yes, I have been upon deck this very day.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 77 
 
 " M . But you have taken no account of any thing, or given yourself 
 the least trouble about the ship, for many days past. 
 
 " C. It is all one for that. I know where we are exactly. 
 
 " M. How far do you think we may be from land ? 
 
 " C. Why, just thirty-five leagues. I am sure of it. 
 
 " M. How is that possible ? You have taken no observation this 
 fortnight; nor have we got one these four days. 
 
 " C. No matter for that. I know we are safe. 
 
 " M. Sir, the most skilful sailor alive cannot know it. Be pleased 
 only to declare what you woidd have done. Shall we sail on ? Shall 
 we lie by ? Shall we alter our course ? Shall we stand in and off 7 
 
 " He went on repeating such questions again and again : but as to 
 giving an answer, the captain chose to be excused ; till the mate quite 
 out of patience, having waited an hour to no purpose, left him ; and the 
 captain concluded with, • Jack, give me a dram.' 
 
 " Sept. 21st. The sailors, who were upon deck all night, saw three 
 large ships, as they supposed, coming out of the bay ; but in vain 
 attempted to speak with them. At three I was waked by a cry of 
 ' land !' The mate said we were just upon it, for he saw the light of 
 the watch-house ; and if they did not tack about immediately, they 
 would be upon the rocks, which lay just before them, under the water. 
 At the same time it blew a storm. The uproar was so great, that it 
 even waked the captain, who started up, ran to his rum, drank a hearty 
 draught, and then looked upon deck ; but, not much liking things there, 
 came down again immediately, cried, ' Ay, ay, all will be well ;' and 
 dropped to sleep again. 
 
 " Sept. 22d. Having sailed some hours without discovering land, we 
 began to think the light which the mate had seen was of some ship, 
 and not the light-house. At two we made land ; which the men soon 
 found to be Cape-Cod, about eighteen leagues from Boston. 
 
 " Sept. 24th. Being within sight of the light-house, at nine in the 
 morning, the pilot came on board. At two I gladly obeyed his hasty 
 summons, and went into his boat, with the other passengers, bidding a 
 hearty farewell to our wretched ship, and more wretched captain ; who 
 for the two last days had, most happily for us, lain dead drunk on the 
 floor, without sense or motion." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley remained in Boston, waiting to re-embark, for 
 more than a month. During this time he was treated with great kind- 
 ness by several respectable residents, whose spiritual benefit he 
 laboured to promote. He preached in two or three of the churches ; 
 and once, in a private company, he was delighted to meet with a lady 
 who had taken her views of religion from the writings of William 
 Law ; his own " guide, philosopher, and friend." " While I was talk-
 
 78 LIFE OF REV. CHARLKS WESLEY. 
 
 ing at Mr. Cliichcley's," says he, "on spiritual religion, his wife 
 observed that I had much the same way of thinking with Mr. Law. 
 GUd i was, and surprised, to hear that good man mentioned ; and con- 
 feaeed, all 1 knew of religion was through him. I found she was well 
 acquainted with his ' Serious Call,' and has one of the two that are in 
 New-England, I borrowed it, and passed the evening in reading it to 
 the family (Mr. Williams's) where I have been some days. His 
 daughter and he seemed satisfied and affected." 
 
 Of the Mr. Chicheley who is here mentioned Mr. Charles Wesley 
 says, '• He seems to have excellent natural parts, much solid learning, 
 and true primitive piety : is acquainted with the power, and therefore 
 holds fast the form, of godliness : obstinate as was my father in good, 
 and not to be borne down by evil." 
 
 While Mr. Charles Wesley remained at Boston, the illness which he 
 so frequently mentions increased, so as to cause great suffering, and 
 even to endanger his life. He was attended by three or four physi- 
 cians, one of whom came from Charlestown to afford his advice ; yet 
 for some days he obtained little or no relief. At one period of his ill- 
 ness he seems to have been apprehensive that his end was near ; and 
 states that, in his extremity, he obtained spiritual strength and comfort 
 in the use of Pascal's prayer in affliction. As the time of embarkation 
 drew near, his friends urged him to give up all thought of proceeding 
 on his voyage till his health was greatly improved. But he was deaf to 
 their entreaties, declaring that nothing but death should hinder him 
 from fulfilling his charge. He was intrusted with important despatches 
 to the trustees of Georgia, in his official character as secretary to the 
 governor, and for Indian affairs ; and he would neither commit them to 
 the care of any other person, nor delay the delivery of them himself, 
 whatever might be the effect upon his own life and health. For 
 nothing was he more remarkable than a noble hardihood and daring 
 in all matters that concerned his conscience and duty. 
 
 " Oct. 5th. I waked," says he, " surprisingly better, though not yet 
 able to walk. This morning Dr. Greaves came over from Charles- 
 town, to see me ; gave me physic and advice, which he likewise left 
 in writing. The same civility I have received from Dr. Gibbons, Dr. 
 Gardener, and others. A little after Mr. Chicheley came, and brought 
 me a summons to go aboard. Mr. Price drove me to the wharf, having 
 called by the way on some of my new friends, from whom I have 
 received all the instances of kindness in their power to show. 
 
 " When we came to the wharf, the boat was not ready ; so we were 
 forced to wait half an hour in the open cold air. Mr. Chicheley helped 
 me into the boat, and covered me up. In about two hours we reached 
 the ship, and, with Mr. Zouberbuhler, Mr. Appee, Mr. Cutler, and Mr.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 79 
 
 Brig, went on board. I laid down in the state-room, less fatigued with 
 the passage than 1 expected." 
 
 During Mr. Charles Wesley's stay in Boston the ship underwent 
 some repairs ; and it was now hoped that the voyage to England would 
 not be attended with any of those calamitous results with which the 
 crew and passengers were before threatened. He, however, wisely 
 refused to re-embark if the ship were to be still under the command of 
 Indivine, the notorious drunkard, who had been intrusted with her and 
 the passengers from Charleston. Another captain, therefore, was ob- 
 tained, of the name of Corney, who appears to have been intelligent 
 and obliging. Yet they had not proceeded far on their way before it 
 was discovered that the vessel was still far from being sea-worthy, and 
 was ill adapted to meet the fierce and terrible storms that awaited 
 them. A correct judgment of their perilous and distressing situation 
 will be best formed from Mr. Charles Wesley's own description, 
 written at the time, and without any reference to publication. His 
 account is concise and forcible ; for, like his brother, he was never 
 addicted to verbosity. His concern for the spiritual good of his fellow- 
 passengers is very apparent in the narrative which he has given. 
 
 " Oct. 27th. I began public prayers," says he, " in the great cabin. 
 We had seldom any present but the passengers. I had not yet 
 strength to read the lesson, nor attention for any harder study than 
 Clarendon's History. In the night I was much disquieted by the 
 colic. 
 
 " Oct. 28th. The captain warned me of a storm approaching. In 
 the evening at eight it came, and rose higher and higher after I thought 
 it must have come to its height ; for I did not lose a moment of it, 
 being obliged, by the return of my flux, to rise continually. At last the 
 long-wished-for morning came, but brought no abatement of the storm. 
 There was so prodigious a sea, that it quickly washed away our sheep, 
 and half our hogs, and drowned most of our fowl. The ship had been 
 new caulked at Boston : how carefully, it now appeared ; for being 
 deeply laden, the sea streamed in at the sides so plentifully, that it was 
 as much as four men could do, by continual pumping, to keep her 
 above water. I rose and lay down by turns, but could remain in no 
 posture long. I strove vehemently to pray, but in vain. I persisted 
 in striving, yet still without effect. I prayed for power to pray ; 
 for faith in Jesus Christ ; continually repeating his name, till I felt 
 the virtue of it at last, and knew that I abode under the shadow of the 
 Almighty. 
 
 " It was now about three in the afternoon, and the storm at the 
 height. I endeavoured to encourage poor Mr. Brig and Cutler, who 
 were in the utmost agony of fear. I prayed with them and for them
 
 80 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 till four; at which time the ship made so much water, that the captain, 
 finding it otherwise impossible to save her from sinking, cut down the 
 ittMnmut. In this dreadful moment, I bless God, I found the com- 
 fort of hope, and such joy in finding I could hope, as the world can 
 neither give nor take away. I had that conviction of the power of God 
 present with me, overruling my strongest passion, fear, and raising me 
 above what I am by nature, as surpassed all rational evidence, and 
 gave me a taste of the divine goodness. 
 
 " At the same time, I found myself constrained in spirit to bear wit- 
 ness to the truth, perhaps for the last time, before my poor friend 
 Ippee. I went to him; declared the difference between him that 
 feareth God, and him that feareth him not; avowed my hope, not 
 because I had attained, but because I had endeavoured ; and testified 
 my expectation, if God should now require my soul of me, that he 
 would receive it to his mercy. 
 
 '• My poor friend was convinced, but stupid ; owned the happiness 
 of the most imperfect Christian, a happiness he himself was a stran- 
 ger to ; and therefore, he said, all his refuge was, in the time of dan- 
 ger, to persuade himself there was none. Mr. Cutler frequently call- 
 ing upon God, to have mercy upon his soul, Appee confessed he 
 oreatly envied him, as he had no manner of concern for his own. I 
 advised him to pray. He answered, it was mocking God to begin 
 praying in danger, when he had never done it in safety. I only added, 
 I then hoped, if God spared him now, he would immediately set him- 
 self about working out his salvation. 
 
 " I returned to Mr. Brig and Mr. Cutler, and endeavoured from their 
 fear to show them their want of religion, which was intended for our 
 support on such occasions ; urged them to resolve, if God saved them 
 from this distress, that they would instantly and entirely give them- 
 selves up to him. 
 
 " The wind was still as high as ever, but the motion rather less vio- 
 lent since the cutting the mast ; and we did not ship quite so much 
 water. I laid me down, utterly exhausted ; but my distemper was so 
 increased, it would not suffer me to rest. Toward morning the sea 
 heard and obeyed the divine voice, ' Peace, be still !' 
 
 " Oct. 31st. My first business to-day (may it be the business of all 
 my days !) was, to offer up the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. 
 Then we all joined in thanks for our deliverance. Most of the day I 
 was on the bed, faint, and full of pain. At night I rose to prayers, but 
 could not read them. 
 
 "Nov. 1st. In the afternoon the wind rose, and promised a storm. 
 I endeavoured to prepare myself and companions for it. It did not fail 
 our expectation ; but was not so violent as the last. The sea broke
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 81 
 
 over us every ten minutes ; and the ceaseless noise of the pumps either 
 kept off sleep, or continually interrupted it. 
 
 " Nov. 2d. Still the poor sailors could have no respite ; and as their 
 strength abated, their murmuring increased. At night, when almost 
 exhausted, they were relieved by a calm. 
 
 " Nov. 3d. In the evening the wind arose again, and with that the 
 sea ; which at ten broke in through one of the dark-lights, and filled 
 the great cabin. It was vain to look for rest in such a hurricane. I 
 waited till two in the morning for its abatement, but it continued all the 
 following day in full majesty. 
 
 " Nov. 5th. We met a ship bound for Boston, which had been ten 
 weeks on her passage from Bristol, and forced in the last storm to 
 throw most of her cargo overboard. Being short of provisions, they 
 desired a barrel of beef, which our captain very readily sent them ; 
 (though at the expense of much time and pains ;) and a keg of rum, to 
 encourage the sailors to pump. 
 
 " Nov. 9th. The men came down, and declared, they could keep the 
 water under no longer, it gaining upon them every moment. There- 
 fore they desired the captain woidd be pleased to lighten the ship. 
 He told them, he knew what he had to do ; bade them return to their 
 pumping ; and ordered others to take in all the sails but the mainsail. 
 He stayed some time, (as he since told us, that he might not discourage 
 us,) and then went up, and as Ave lay by stopped several leaks upon 
 deck. This did considerable service ; though it was still the constant 
 business of four men to keep the ship from filling. 
 
 " During this time I often threw myself upon the bed, ' seeking rest, 
 but finding none.' I asked of God to spare me a little, that I might 
 recover my strength ; then cast my eye upon the word : ' For my 
 namesake will I defer my anger, and for my praise will I refrain from 
 it, that I cut thee not off.' My sold immediately returned to its rest, 
 and I no longer felt the continuance of the storm. 
 
 "Nov. 13th. Never was calm more seasonable than that which 
 Providence this day sent us. The men were so harassed they could 
 work no longer ; and the leaks increased so fast, that no less than their 
 uninterrupted labour could have kept the vessel from foundering. All 
 hands were now employed in stopping the leaks. The captain him- 
 self told us, he had been heartily frighted yesterday with a danger he 
 would now acquaint us with, since it was over, — the total stoppage of 
 one of the pumps. He further informed us that he had stopped several 
 openings in the sides of the ship, wide enough to lay his fingers in ; 
 so that he wondered the poor men had been able to keep her above 
 water: and added, that the utmost he hoped for was, that they 
 might hold out till they could reach some of the western islands. 
 
 6
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 .lust ;is the men had finished their work, the calm gave place to a fair 
 
 wind." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's voyage from America became less painful as 
 he approached his native land. His health appears to have improved ; 
 and the perilous storms which had so greatly distressed him and his 
 fellow-passengers were succeeded by fine weather and fair winds. 
 
 ( toe of the most remarkable events connected with his return to 
 England was the disclosure of the real character of Appee, the young 
 Dutchman, of whom frequent mention has already been made. This 
 adventurer, who had resided some time at Savannah, assumed there a 
 very strict profession of religion, and enjoyed the confidence of Mr. 
 John Wesley, to whose rules of holy living he paid a sedulous atten- 
 tion, and was present at every public religious service. He was a man 
 of parts, and of liberal education, so that he was respected by the 
 coventor, with whom he was intimate. During Mr. Charles Wesley's 
 residence at Fredefica, he was visited by this foreigner, who, having 
 readily discovered Charles's views of episcopacy, professed to be very 
 unhappy on account of his own baptism. As this sacrament had been 
 administered by one of the Dutch clergy, who had only received Pres- 
 byterian ordination, Appee said that he could only regard it as lay- 
 baptism, which he believed to be invalid. He therefore applied to 
 Mr. Charles Wesley, as one who had received Episcopal ordination, 
 to baptize him, according to the rites of the English Church. Charles 
 concurred in these principles, but deferred the administration to a 
 future time, having some doubts respecting Appee's preparation for the 
 service ; nor does he appear to have ever fulfilled the request of the 
 young foreigner. He was, however, so far impressed in his favour, as 
 to lend him twenty -four pounds, which he needed for present exigences. 
 Appee was now professedly on his way to Holland, to settle his affairs, 
 and Avas engaged to return with all speed to Georgia, which he really 
 intended never more to see. Having nothing further now either to 
 hope or fear from his friends the two Wesleys, he was no longer under 
 any temptation to conceal his principles, and stood before Charles, as 
 they advanced in their voyage, an infidel, a libertine, a misanthropist, 
 a liar, a thief, a scofTer at religion and morality, whose obscene and 
 ungodly conversation was a source of daily grief and annoyance. 
 
 Charles's notices concerning this evil genius are worthy of being 
 placed upon public record, as an exhibition of fallen human nature. 
 They also illustrate, in no small degree, the character of the two 
 brothers. Appee, it will be observed, makes various statements con- 
 cerning Mr. Oglethorpe ; but his testimony is unworthy of credit. It 
 was found that he had propagated the most abominable falsehoods, both 
 at Charleston and Boston, to the disadvantage of Mr. Charles Wesley,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 83 
 
 from whom he had received nothing but kindness, and toward whom 
 he was at the time making the strongest professions of personal 
 friendship. 
 
 Soon after their departure from Charleston, Mr. Charles Wesley 
 says, in his private journal, " This morning Mr. Appee laid aside his 
 mask. He began telling me all Mr. Oglethorpe had ever said to him, 
 particularly his inmost thoughts of my brother and me. That he ridi- 
 culed our pretended fasting in the ship : that he took all my abstemi- 
 ousness for mere hypocrisy, and put on for fear of my brother ; for he 
 saw how very uneasy I was under the restraint : that he much blamed 
 my carelessness, my closeness, my frightening the people, and stirring 
 them up to mutiny, &c. : that he found I apprehended being turned out 
 of my office, and therefore pretended to be weary of it : that, to save 
 my reputation, he had found me an errand to England ; but never ex- 
 pected my return, any more than my brother's going to the Indians, 
 which he well knew he never intended ; but he would make his own 
 use of him : that he greatly admired his finesse, in offering to go to the 
 Choctaws in all haste, but at the same time procuring the Germans to 
 dissuade him. In a word, he believed him to have a little sincerity, 
 but more vanity: me, to have much vanity, but no sincerity at all. 
 
 " I asked Appee whether his judgment was the same. He answered, 
 ' Yes :' that my brother, he believed, was labouring to establish a cha- 
 racter for sanctity, was exceeding subtle, keeping me in the dark, as 
 well as all others ; yet credulous, and easy to be imposed upon him- 
 self : that he pitied his ignorance, in tal^nghim (Appee) to be sincere, 
 particularly in regard to his breaking off with Miss Bovy ; which he 
 intended, not in pursuance of his ghostly counsel, but of Mr. Ogle- 
 thorpe's, who told him she was below one of his aspiring genius : that 
 after his fine talk with my brother, he never made the least alteration 
 in his own behaviour, or thought any further about it. 
 
 " While he was -giving this blessed account of himself, I could not 
 help reflecting on the profound sagacity and spiritual discernment of 
 my brother and myself; particularly his, who was born for the benefit 
 of knaves. For my own part, I will ever ' beware of men,' as He who 
 best knows them advises. I will not think all men rogues till I find 
 them otherwise ; but I will insist upon a far different probation from 
 what my brother requires, before I take any one into my confidence. 
 
 " I next inquired what his thoughts were of me. He frankly replied, 
 he took me to be partly in earnest ; but I had a much greater mind to 
 please myself than to please God. Yet as for money I did not much 
 value it ; but in my eagerness for pleasure and praise, I was a man 
 after his own heart : that, as I could not hold it, he wished I would 
 leave off my strictness, for I should then be much better company.
 
 84 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 '• As for himself, he said, his only principle was, an insatiable thirst 
 ( ,f glory : thai Georgia was too narrow a sphere for him, and that there- 
 fore be should never see it more: that he desired my friendship, be- 
 cause I had learning, was sincere, and of his temper; but he should 
 likf me much better if I were not a parson. I had before let him into 
 my own affairs, and read him my letter of resignation to Mr. Oglethorpe. 
 His remark upon that was, ' It is finely calculated for the end you pro- 
 pose, — ilu' engaging Mr. Oglethorpe's opinion and interest : but he will 
 understand you.'" 
 
 This conversation took place on the 26th of August. The following 
 occurred about a month afterward : — " The fineness of the weather 
 invited even xVTr. Appee upon deck, who usually disposes of twenty- 
 three of the twenty-four hours in .bed. His vanity betrayed him into 
 further discoveries of himself. He laboured to show that the only 
 difference between us lay in externals, through the difference of our 
 education. I had the same vices that he had, but was forced, by the 
 restraints of a narrow education, to dissemble those inclinations which 
 he had given a loose to. The case was the same with my brother ; a 
 much better hypocrite, he said, than me, and who would have made an 
 excellent Jesuit. But Mr. Oglethorpe understood him ; though, for his 
 own convenience, he would not seem to do so. 
 
 " Upon my asking him how he accounted for the great pains my 
 brother had taken with him, he readily answered, that was all grimace. 
 My brother could not but be mightily pleased with the reputation such 
 a convert would gain to his sanctity, which had charms to win over so 
 wild a young gentleman of his parts. ' But how could you bear him 
 so long, if you had no esteem for him, or regard to his advice ?' ' Why, 
 it was so new a gratification to* me to be thought religious, that I found 
 no difficulty in keeping on the mask ; and I had got such a knack of 
 going to prayers and sacrament, that I do not know but I should have 
 been actually caught at last.' " 
 
 While the ship was under repairs at Boston, Appee " gave out that 
 his design in coming to Georgia had been to take charge of the people 
 there ; but finding Mr. Oglethorpe just such a genius as himself, he 
 thought his own stay there was not so necessary, but he might safely 
 quit the interest of the colony ; which, had it not been to such a hand, 
 he could never have prevailed on himself to do : that at present he was 
 unresolved where to bestow himself; only it should be on that part of 
 mankind which needed him most : that he was going to England about 
 matters of the last importance : two or three letters of no moment, he 
 said, I carried ; but all secret despatches to the duke of Newcastle, 
 and other ministers of state, he was charged with. From the court of 
 Great Britain he was to be sent envoy to Spain. His money, a few
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 85 
 
 hundreds of pounds, he had sent before him to England. To others, 
 he said he had turned it into silver, and freighted Indivine's ship." 
 
 The discovery of Appee's character, of course, induced Mr. Charles 
 Wesley to resolve upon breaking off all future intercourse with him. 
 Accordingly, Nov. 23d, says he, " I imparted to Mr. Zouberbuhler my 
 intention of discarding Appee as soon as we landed. He told me, he 
 wondered I had not done it before ; for he was such a man, so unpro- 
 fitable, so pernicious, that he himself would not be bound to go another 
 voyage with him for all the world : that he was so excessively vain, 
 he thought himself admired wherever he came ; and I was so fond of 
 him, that, for all my talk of parting, I could not live without him. He 
 added, he was so notorious a liar, that he had long since ceased to 
 believe one word he said ; and so utterly irreligious, that it was im- 
 possible to make a friend of him. He told me Appee had proffered, 
 if his Spanish embassy failed, to attend him to Switzerland ; but he 
 would never more trust such a man near him, or his people : such an 
 abominable liar, scoundrel, and thief; one who had been forced to fly 
 his country, and the pursuit of justice, for robbing his father of three 
 hundred guineas. 
 
 " A fair account of my friend Appee, and of the twenty-four pounds 
 I have lent him ! That a Dutchman should cheat me is nothing strange ; 
 but how did he evade the wary eye of Mr. Oglethorpe ? Happy Miss 
 Bovy, to be delivered by death from such a man !" 
 
 " Ecce iterum Crispinus ! [Behold Crispinus again !] Mr. Zouber- 
 buhler came to me full of abhorrence, Nov. 27th. ' That Appee,' said 
 he, ' is a very devil, made up of falseness and lies ! He is ever railing 
 against you, behind your back, to the captain and passengers, ridiculing 
 the prayers, &c. He tells the captain, as he did every body at Boston, 
 that you are so ignorant, Mr. Oglethorpe was forced to send him to 
 take care of you. At Charleston he declared in all companies, he 
 was come with full powers to put an end to the dispute between them 
 and Georgia. Last night I overheard him giving a blessed account of 
 you to Mr. Brig.' " 
 
 Two days afterward, " while I was walking upon deck," says Mr. 
 Charles Wesley, " Appee came up to me ; began with many professions 
 of friendship ; hoped all little misunderstandings would be forgot ; fell 
 into familiar discourse, as formerly ; was sure I should never return 
 to Georgia, where Mr. Oglethorpe would allow none but his creatures, 
 or such as were some way or other subservient to his glory: ' which, 
 take my word for it,' says he, ' is the principle of all his actions, as 
 well as mine. Christianity he has about as much of as myself. I have 
 given him some unanswerable reasons against it !'" 
 
 As the vessel drew near the English shore, this wretched man at-
 
 86 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 tempted ;i renewal of his acquaintance with Mr. Charles Wesley. 
 •• Appee took me aside once more." says he, " to try his skill upon me : 
 ghl me not to alter my behaviour toward him when we should 
 eome to land ; denied, as ever he hoped for salvation, that he had ever 
 spoke or wrote disrespectfully of me ; detested the thought of such 
 treachery, with so many horrid imprecations, as I believe I even a 
 Dutchman would have trembled at. The burden of all was, John Bull 
 and Nicholas Prog were too dear friends ever to think of parting. But 
 John Bull begged to be excused. Though I stood in adoaration of his 
 parts, I did not choose they should any longer be exorcised on me. 
 In vain did he resume our lodging together. I was deaf on that ear. 
 and shitted the discourse, which he still brought back again. ' Well. 
 mv dear friend, wherever you are,' said he, ' I will take a lodging 
 next door.*" 
 
 Such was the profound deceit of this clever and versatile stranger, 
 who for a time gained the confidence of the Wesleys, and cheated 
 Charles of his money. A confiding simplicity of mind, which sus- 
 pected evil of no one, is well known to have been a characteristic of 
 Mr. John Wesley ; and for that he is censured by his brother, who 
 speaks of him as " born for the benefit of knaves ;" yet in this case 
 Charles, with all his shrewdness and suspicion, was the greater suf- 
 ferer. Serious blame is perhaps not to be imputed to either of them, 
 however thev might condemn themselves. It is no dishonour to any 
 man, that he is so far actuated by a generous charity, as to believe that 
 other people are upright and sincere, until they are proved to be base 
 and dishonest. 
 
 Further discoveries of Appee's consummate wickedness and inge- 
 nuity were made after the parties arrived in London. Young as this 
 faithless man was, he had already been in Surinam, where he had 
 gambled away an estate which was given to him by his father. 
 Other instances of his licentiousness and dishonest}- are too gross for 
 description. On his arrival in London he was imprisoned in Newgate 
 for his passage money, of which he attempted to defraud the captain. 
 After his liberation, he stole a watch, and made his escape to Paris. 
 The last time that Mr. Charles Weslev saw him was in the year 1744. 
 He was then a prisoner in the Tower, under sentence of transportation ; 
 but for what crime we are not informed. During the interval he had 
 been in the army. On taking leave of this abandoned infidel, Charles 
 gave him kind and faithful advice, and made him a present of some 
 books, hoping that they would not be lost upon him. Appee was to 
 embark the next day for the place of his destination. 
 
 On the 3d of December, 1736. Mr. Charles Wesley landed at Deal. 
 As soon as he had left the shattered vessel which conveyed him from
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 87 
 
 America, and set his foot upon British ground, he kneeled down, under 
 the strong impulse of grateful feeling, and offered thanks to God for his 
 preservation by land and by water, in pain and sickness. He then 
 repaired to an inn, where the re&i cf the passengers united with him in 
 adoring thankfulness and praise to their almighty Deliverer. From Deal 
 he went by coach to Canterbury ; and thence to Sittingbourne, where 
 he spent the night. On the next day he reached London, where he was 
 received with surprise and cordiality ; a report having been some time 
 prevalent that the ship in -which he was known to have sailed was lost 
 at sea. The first house to which he repaired was that of Mr. Charles 
 Rivington, the bookseller, in St. Paul's Churchyard ; between whom 
 and the two Wesleys a very affectionate friendship had for some time 
 subsisted. This gentleman was the publisher of their father's Latin 
 folio on the Book of Job ; of his Letter of Advice to his Curate ; of 
 John's edition of Thomas a Kempis ; and of the Sermon on the Trouble 
 and Rest of Good Men, which John had committed to the press before 
 he went to Georgia. Mr. Rivington took a lively interest in the affairs 
 of the Methodists. " My namesake," says Charles, " was much rejoiced 
 to see me, and gave me great cause of rejoicing by his account of our 
 Oxford friends." 
 
 Before he landed, Mr. Charles Wesley addressed a letter to his 
 brother Samuel at Tiverton, who immediately sent him the following 
 welcome to his native country. It Avas addressed to him " at the Rev. 
 Mr. Hutton's, College-street, Westminster." 
 
 " Dec. 7th, 1736. Dear Charles, — This moment almost I received 
 yours. I believe, by the date of it, you may be at London by that 
 time this can get thither. I heartily blessed God for your safe arrival, 
 having heard many flying reports of your being lost ; though I never 
 read newspapers, being otherwise, at least, if not better, employed ; 
 yet ill tidings would find me out. I fancy you like business no better 
 than I ; yet I do not much regret your being employed in it, provided 
 always no part of it relate to your going back to the place from whence 
 you came, since I do not care for two partings. I would not have 
 mentioned this, in the present joy, only I thought it best to declare 
 myself soon enough. I am mightily obliged to Mr. Hutton, who is 
 apprentice to Mr. Innys ; for the minute he heard of your arrival at. 
 Boston, he sent me word of it, for fear I should give too much credit 
 to the story of your being cast away. I desire you would give my 
 service and thanks to him ; and tell him that I take it particularly kindly 
 of him, and was just going to write a letter to assure him of it ; but now 
 I have a better way of conveyance. I have had a deliverance from 
 danger lately : God only knows whether as imminent as yours, but I
 
 88 LIFE OF KEY. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 have been jrery low. My strength is now returning, almost sensibly; 
 and when I see your face I shall in a more especial manner rejoice for 
 seeing the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. My mother 
 with me. You may easily guess whether she is partaker of 
 the general joy that your little scrip brought along with it. She 
 sends her blessing, and longs to see you. I would certainly have sent 
 you what you mentioned over sea, if I had not heard of your coming 
 over. Nor should I the first time in my life have grudged expense to 
 benefil a friend. I hope you will now be able to fit yourself in Lon- 
 don ; but if not, come to Tiverton, and see what that affords. You will 
 find me pretty much the same man, though not the same usher, still. I 
 could wish for all our sakes the archi-didascalus had as large an in- 
 come as the hypo- had. Phill is extraordinary well in her bodily 
 health. My wife has been almost gone during my illness, but begins 
 to pick up again as I recover. I wish she would hold it on, and mend 
 as long and as much as I believe I shall do. We join heartily in love. 
 Little Phill sends her duty. Service to all friends that ask after me. 
 I hope you Avill keep your holy days here. Where is Mr. Oglethorpe ? 
 We are, dear Charles, 
 
 " Your faithful and affectionate friends, and brother and sister." 
 
 At the bottom of this brotherly epistle Charles has written, " Faithful 
 and affectionate indeed !" and on the back of it he has inscribed, " Notus 
 in fratris anima paterni. Let my widow preserve this precious relic." 
 
 It was Saturday night when Mr. Charles Wesley arrived in London; 
 and the next morning, in full accordance with his devotional habits, he 
 repaired to St. Paul's cathedral, where he received the holy communion. 
 After the service he was pleased to hear that Mr. Oglethorpe was daily 
 expected in England. In the course of the day he waited upon " good 
 old Sir John Phillips," who had kindly supported Mr. Whitefield at 
 Oxford, for the religious benefit of the junior members of the univer- 
 sity, and the prisoners. By the pious and venerable baronet, he says 
 that he was " received as one alive from the dead." He adds, " Here 
 I heard a most blessed account of our friends at Oxford; their increase 
 both in zeal and number. I then hastened to Mr. Vernon, to deliver 
 my letters. He received me very affectionately, and pressed me to live 
 
 ith him during my stay in London. 
 • While we were talking young Hutton called, having traced me 
 'tiither, in order to carry me home with him. We took coach for my 
 good old friend and host, his father. I entered with fear and trembling. 
 My reception was such as I expected from a family that entirely loved 
 mi', but had given me over for dead, and bewailed me as their own 
 child. A captain had told them that fifty per cent, assurance had been
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 89 
 
 refused for Indivine's ship ; and a report was spread abroad that she 
 had been seen sink to the bottom." 
 
 This day his health again failed. The motion of the coach which 
 conveyed him from Sittingbourne to London, and of the coaches in 
 which he was carried first to the house of Mr. Rivington, and then to 
 Mr. Hutton's, occasioned a return of his complaint ; so that he was 
 neither able to preach, nor to engage largely in conversation with his 
 admirers. " Many such," he says, " I have gained by Mr. Ingham's 
 magnificent journal. My brother's journal too (the last I hope will 
 ever be sent hither) is in every one's hands." 
 
 Two days after his arrival in London he went to his uncle, Mr. Mat- 
 thew Wesley, a surgeon, who had brought up his sister Martha. Here, 
 he says, " I was equally welcome and unexpected. They told me, my 
 brother Hall was gone to a curacy, very melancholy, and impatient at 
 the mention of Georgia." 
 
 For some time he suffered greatly in his health. The medical men 
 who attended him found it difficult to confine him to his room, without 
 which they declared his recover)' to be hopeless. Notwithstanding his 
 pain and weakness, his spirit was ardent, and his habits active. He 
 had many duties to discharge, arising out of his official connection with 
 the colony. He was also anxious to do all the spiritual good in his 
 power ; as well as to visit his friends both in town and country. In 
 almost every direction he was annoyed by the manuscript journals 
 which his brother and Mr. Ingham had transmitted from Georgia, and 
 which he found the people reading with avidity. On the 15th of De- 
 cember, says he, " I waited upon the trustees at the office. It put me 
 past my patience to hear they were reading Mr. Ingham's and my bro- 
 ther's journals. I was called in, and delivered my letter for the trus- 
 tees. Lord Carpenter, being in the chair, desired me to speak so that 
 all the gentlemen might hear me. Mr. Towers interposed, and told 
 them I was so weakened by my illness, that I could not speak aloud ; 
 and desired me to deliver my papers one by one to be read by Mr. 
 Verelst. At dinner they fell into discourse about the missioners, whom 
 as yet they mightily commend, and wish for more of them ; as that 
 their journals might be forthwith printed, that the world might receive 
 the benefit of their labours." 
 
 As his health improved, and his engagements in London became 
 less pressing, Mr. Charles Wesley went to Oxford, where he visited 
 the prisoners, and, held various meetings with the junior members of 
 the university, instructing, encouraging, and admonishing them, as then- 
 several states required. Soon after he went to Wooton, near Salis- 
 bury, on a visit to Mr. Hall, and his sisters, Martha and Kezzy. From 
 Wooton he hastened to Tiverton, to see his brother Samuel and his
 
 90 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 family, where he also expected to meet his mother. On his arrival he 
 s:ivs. • I ran op stairs to my sister, who received me with tears of joy. 
 I saw Phil] next, and last my brother, who seemed at least as well as 
 when he left me at London three years before. I went to comfort my 
 mother, indisposed in her chamber." 
 
 While Mr. Charles Wesley was employed in correspondence with 
 his friends, and religious visits, he was not aware that his brother John 
 was on his way to England, having come to the determination of leav- 
 ing the colony for a time, in consequence of a persecution which was 
 raised against him at Savannah. Of this persecution Charles was 
 aware, having received intelligence of it immediately after his arrival 
 in London. It is, not necessary here to enter into the particulars of 
 this case. Some account of it was given by Mr. John Wesley, in his 
 printed Journal, thus inviting the public scrutiny ; but his forbearance 
 toward certain parties concerned, who were then living, induced him 
 to suppress some circumstances, the knowledge of which is necessary 
 to a full understanding of the affair. The best account is that which 
 Mr. Moore has given in his Life of Mr. Wesley, which shows that the 
 whole proceeding arose out of a design which was formed, and in which 
 Mr. Oglethorpe himself was concerned, to lower the spirituality of Mr. 
 Wesley's character, and place it more on a level with their own. Not 
 that the governor intended to inflict upon Mr. Wesley the injuries that 
 he endured ; but he furnished the occasion, of which other persons, 
 less honourable than himself, gladly availed themselves. The princi-' 
 pal adversary of Mr. Wesley was Mr. Causton, one of the highest 
 authorities in the colony, next to the governor, but utterly unworthy of 
 that distinction. He had left England in disgrace, having been de- 
 tected in practising a fraud upon the public revenue. Mr. Oglethorpe 
 made him bailiff, and in his own absence invested him with the 
 supreme authority. The very pompous, harsh, and overbearing man- 
 ner in which he exercised his powers raised an outcry in the colony, 
 after Mr. Wesley had left ; and being also detected in the misapplication 
 of some of the public funds, the governor was compelled to depose him. 
 Such is the testimony of independent witnesses, living on the spot, 
 who themselves were unfriendly to Mr. Wesley ; not because they 
 saw in him any thing morally wrong, but because they thought him 
 righteous overmuch. His views of ecclesiastical order led him to 
 trench upon the just rights and privileges of the Dissenters, many of 
 whom were among the settlers : a fault Avhich he afterward very dis- 
 tinctly acknowledged. 
 
 The intelligence of the persecution by Avhich he was harassed at 
 Savannah, Mr. John Wesley conveyed in a journal, which he sent to 
 his brother Charles through the medium of their friend Mr. Rivington.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 91 
 
 " I read it through," says he, " without either surprise or impatience. 
 His dropping my fatal letter I hope will convince him of what I never 
 could, — his own great carelessness ; and the sufferings that brought 
 upon him, of his inimitable blindness. His simplicity in telling what 
 ■ and who were meant by the two Greek words was outdoing his oxen 
 outdoings. Surely all this will be sufficient to teach him a little of the 
 wisdom of the serpent, of which he seems to be utterly void." 
 
 When Charles wrote these animadversions upon his brother John, 
 and took credit to himself for his superior discernment, he seems to 
 have forgotten the twenty-four pounds of which he had just been 
 cheated by the pious professions of one of the most impudent knaves 
 that ever lived. 
 
 Mr. Whitefield, to whom Charles Wesley addressed a letter from 
 Georgia, requesting his assistance there, wrote to Charles in the month 
 of December, declaring his readiness to embark for that colony. This 
 zealous and enterprising man was as prompt in action as he Avas fluent 
 and impressive in speech. On the 28th of September he says, in 
 one of his letters, " I know not why we go not to Georgia ; but there 
 is no likelihood of it yet, as I see. Friends universally dissuade me 
 from going myself; but I hope it will not be long now before we shall 
 launch into the deep." A month afterward he says, writing from Lon- 
 don, " God still works here. The collections for all the charity schools, 
 in all the churches where I preach, are very large. All London is 
 alarmed. Many youths here sincerely love the Lord Jesus Christ; and 
 thousands, I hope, are quickened, strengthened, and confirmed, by the 
 word preached." November 14th, he says, "I now begin to preach 
 charity sermons twice or thrice a week, besides two or three on Sun- 
 days ; and sixty or seventy pounds are collected weekly for the 
 poor children. Thousands would come in to hear, but cannot." On 
 the 23d of December he says, " We sail, God willing, next week. 
 Great things have been done for us here. Perhaps upward of one 
 thousand pounds have been collected for the poor, and the charity 
 schools ; and I have preached above a hundred times since I have been 
 here. A visible alteration is made also in hundreds [of people.] Last 
 Sunday, at six in the morning, when I gave my farewell, the whole 
 church was drowned in tears. They wept, and cried aloud, as a mo- 
 ther weepeth for her firstborn. Since that, there is no end of persons 
 coming and weeping, telling me what God has done for their souls. 
 Others, again, beg little books, and desire me to write their names in 
 them. The time would fail me, was I to relate how many have been 
 awakened, and how many pray for me. The great day will discover all." 
 
 A few days afterward he addressed the following letter to his friend 
 Mr. Charles Wesley : —
 
 92 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 •Oxoii. IK'ccmber 30th, 1736. Dearest Sir, — Last night I re- 
 turned from a weeping flock at Dummer, and met with a grateful, 
 sw. . t reception from my Oxon friends. But, alas! how transcient 
 m- our visits in this life! for to-morrow I purpose, God willing, to 
 set out for Gloucester; or otherwise I shall hardly see the bishop, 
 who, I hope, will contribute something toward assisting the Americans. 
 Add to this, that friends promise not to dissuade me from my enter- 
 prise ; and I have a brother I # believe now there, that comes on purpose 
 to see me ; so that all here bid me hasten away. O may such speedy 
 removes teach me to be eveiy moment ready at my blessed Master's 
 call ; and remind me that I have here no continuing city, but seek one 
 to come ! I have great reason to bless God (and do you also) for sending 
 me to Dummer. It has, I think, been an excellent preparative for Georgia, 
 [t has brought me to live alone, and much improved both my outward 
 and inward man. O may these instances of divine love strengthen my 
 weak faith, and make me ready to follow the Lamb whithersoever he 
 goi'th! I have wrote to Salmon, and will, God willing, shortly send to 
 
 H . No one but myself is ready to go from Oxford. Dear Mr. 
 
 Hutchings will go hereafter, I believe ; but his time as yet is not fully 
 come. If you should be taken off, (and O happy then, dear Mr. Charles !) 
 I trust, notwithstanding, God will give me strength to throw myself 
 blindfold in his hands, and permit him to do with me whatsoever seem- 
 eth good in his sight. All friends like the German hymn admirably. 
 Happy shall I be if my lot is cast among such pious souls ; but I 
 think God calls me in a particular manner to assist your brother. 
 
 " My friend will not take it amiss, if I inquire why he chooses to be 
 secretary to Mr. Oglethorpe ; and not rather go where labourers are so 
 much wanted, in the character of a missionary? Did the bishop ordain 
 us, my dear friend, to write bonds, receipts, &c, or to preach the gos- 
 pel ? Or dare we not trust God to provide for our relations, without 
 endangering, at least retarding, our spiritual improvement ? But I go 
 too far. Habe me excusatum. [Excuse me.] You know I was always 
 heady, and self-willed. I hear you are to be in Gloucester next week. 
 Will dear Mr. Charles take a bed with me at Mr. Harris's ? I believe 
 he will be welcome. You will write next post, if convenient, and 
 direct for me at Mr. Harris's, junior, bookseller, in Gloucester. All 
 friends here kindly salute and long to see you. Mr. Kinchin is all 
 heart. Dear Mr. Charles, adieu. Let us wrestle in prayer for each 
 other ; and believe me to be, dearest sir, 
 
 " Your affectionate brother in Christ. 
 
 " P. S. Is it expedient to go into priest's orders ? Tell me, that I may 
 acquaint the bishop."
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. . 93 
 
 Such was the state of holy excitement in which this able but youth- 
 ful minister of the Lord Jesus left his native land. He went on board 
 the ship Whitaker, at Gravesend, where he was met by Mr. Charles 
 Wesley, Westley Hall, and many other friends, who affectionately 
 commended him to the divine mercy and protection. 
 
 As Charles was apprehensive at this time that his brother John was 
 still suffering unjustly at Savannah, he addressed to him the following 
 letter of encouragement, which he appears to have brought with him to 
 Gravesend, and committed to the care of their mutual friend. It will 
 be observed, that, although Charles condemned what he considered bis 
 brother's indiscretion, he had the fullest confidence in his purity and 
 uprightness. 
 
 "College-street, Jan. 2d, 1738. Dear Brother, — From my soul I 
 congratulate you upon the late glorious treatment ; nor do I less envy 
 you it. It is now that you begin to be a disciple of Christ. I have just 
 read over the returned papers without any emotion, but that of joy. 
 Had I even resolved to have set up my rest here, your present trial 
 would have broke my resolution, and forced me back to America, to 
 partake with you in your sufferings for the gospel. Such you may 
 most assuredly reckon what you now labour under : I should rather 
 say, what you now rejoice and glory in ; for it is not the mixture of 
 infirmity that can prevent God's accepting them as endured for his 
 sake. If you have the testimony of a good conscience, your sufferings 
 are interpretatively his ; and human wisdom can never dispute you out 
 of it. We know the worldly, and even practically good men, the 
 strangers as well as the enemies to the cross of Christ, observing some 
 failings in God's children, ascribe the whole of their persecutions to 
 those only. The scandal of the cross with them is ceased ; the re- 
 proach of Christ no longer subsists ; the contrariety between his light 
 and darkness, between his Spirit and the spirit of the world, is at an 
 end ; and our conformity to our persecuted Master is all resolved into 
 want of prudence. In vain do we press them with the plain words of 
 Scripture : ' All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer perse- 
 cution ;' ' The disciple is not above his Master ;' ' If they have perse- 
 cuted me, they will also persecute you ;' and a thousand others. Ex- 
 perience only can convince them that the sense of these scriptures is 
 literal and eternal. But this I need not tell you. You know the abso- 
 lute impossibility of being inwardly conformed to Christ, without this 
 outward conformity, this badge of discipleship, these marks of Christ. 
 You marvel not, as if some new thing had happened unto you ; but 
 rejoice in tribulation, as knowing that hereunto you are called, and can 
 only be made perfect through these sufferings. 
 
 " These are the trials that must fit you for the heathen ; and you
 
 .» i LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 shall suffer greater things than these. When your name is by all cast 
 out as evil, and it is not fit for such a fellow to live; when you cannot 
 live among them, but are driven out from your own countrymen; then 
 is your time for turning to the Gentiles. 
 
 " That time may still be at a great distance. As yet the bridle is in 
 their mouths, and all the arrows they shoot out are bitter words. But 
 stay till those words are credited, and seconded by actions ; till he that 
 letteth letteth no longer, but the whole storm burst upon you, and the 
 fiery trial commences ; and then will be shown how you have learned 
 Christ, and whether you have chosen to teach him to the heathen. 
 
 " You remember the case of Athanasius contra mundum. [Athanasius 
 against the world.] The charge brought against him was worth bring- 
 ing : treason, adultery, and murder, at once ! I wonder no more is said 
 against you. The devil himself could not wish for fitter instruments 
 than those he actuates and inspires in Georgia. Whatever he will 
 suggest, they will both say and swear to. But things are not yet ripe 
 on your part. You have but begun the lesson of meekness, and gentle- 
 ness, and love ; and God, in pity to your weakness, has sent you a 
 fellow-labourer, and fellow-sufferer. Here are many now who long to 
 be partakers with you in the sufferings of the gospel. I too would be 
 of the number, and shall follow in sure and certain expectation of your 
 treatment. The fiery furnace, I trust, will purify me ; and if emptied 
 of myself, I would defy the world and the devil to hurt me. We would 
 then join in turning the war against them, and make them fear us." 
 
 To this spirited, affectionate, and somewhat mystical letter, which 
 exhibits the defective theology of the writer, Mr. Charles Wesley added 
 the following postscript after his arrival at Gravesend : — 
 
 " Gravesend, Jan. 3d. I am here with G. Whitefield, my brothers 
 Hall and Hutton, and many other zealous friends. God has poured 
 out his Spirit upon them, so that the whole nation is in an uproar. 
 Tell dearest Charles Delamotte, that we dined on our way at Dummer, 
 where we found his sisters, brother William, and mother, exceedingly 
 zealous for the Lord of hosts. William has raised up a party for God 
 at Cambridge. They are already stigmatized for Methodists. We see 
 all about us in an amazing ferment. Surely Christianity is once more 
 lifting up its head. O, that I might feel its renovating spirit, and be 
 thereby qualified to diffuse it among others ! I trust you pray without 
 ceasing for me. I long to break loose ; to be devoted to God ; to be in 
 Christ a new creature !" 
 
 It is not probable that this letter was conveyed to Georgia. Before 
 Mr. Whitefield had passed the Downs he heard that Mr. John Wesley, 
 whom he was going to assist, had already arrived in England. Mr. 
 Wesley addressed a letter to him, advising him to return. To this
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 95 
 
 Mr. Whitefield answered, from on board the ship, "Downs, Feb. 1, 
 1738. I received the news of your arrival (blessed be God!) with the 
 utmost composure ; and sent a servant immediately on shore to wait 
 on you, but found you was gone. Since that, your kind letter has 
 reached me. But I think many reasons may be urged against my 
 coming to London. For, first, I cannot be hid, if I come there-: and 
 the enemies of the Lord will think I am turning back, and so blaspheme 
 that holy name wherewith I am called. Secondly, I cannot leave the 
 flock committed to my care on shipboard : and perhaps while I am at 
 London the ship may sail. Thirdly, I see no cause for not going for- 
 ward to Georgia. Your coming rather confirms (as far as I can hitherto 
 see) than disannuls my call. It is not fit the colony should be left 
 without a shepherd. And though they are a stiff-necked and rebellious 
 people ; yet, as God hath given me the affections of all where I have 
 been yet, why should I despair of finding his presence in a foreign 
 land ?" 
 
 With these views Mr. Whitefield pursued his course to Georgia, 
 where he found Mr. Delamotte engaged as a teacher of youth, and 
 greatly endeared to many of the people by his fine spirit, and active 
 benevolence. Mr. Whitefield arrived at Savannah on the 7th of May; 
 and on the 2d of June Mr. Delamotte took his leave of the colony, on 
 his return to his native land. Mr. Whitefield had now been a month 
 in Georgia, had visited the principal places connected with the colony, 
 and conversed with the different parties. He confesses that there 
 were " many divisions among the inhabitants ;" and then, with refer- 
 ence to Mr. Wesley and his friend Delamotte, makes the following 
 statement : — " This evening I parted with kind Captain Whiting, and 
 my dear friend Delamotte, who embarked for England about seven at 
 night. The poor people lamented the loss of him, and went to the 
 water-side, to take a last farewell. And good reason they had to do 
 so ; for he has been indefatigable in feeding Christ's lambs with the 
 sincere milk of the word ; and many of them, blessed be God, have 
 grown thereby. Surely I must labour most heartily, since I come after 
 such worthy predecessors. The good Mr. John Wesley has done in 
 America, under God, is inexpressible. His name is very precious 
 among the people ; and he has laid such a foundation, that I hope 
 neither men nor devils will ever be able to shake. O that I may follow 
 him, as he has Christ !" 
 
 The mission to Georgia, undertaken by the Wesleys and their friends, 
 excited much attention at the time ; and men's minds were affected 
 toward it according to their peculiar religious views and feelings. 
 Among those who regarded it with indifference, if not with dislike, 
 was Mr. Matthew Wesley, the brother of the late rector of Epworth,
 
 96 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 and uncle of the brothers who led the way in this enterprise of mercy. 
 Under the tlate of Dec. 21st, Charles says in his journal, "I dined at 
 my uncle's, who bestowed abundance of wit on my brother, and his 
 apostolical project. He told me, the French, if they had any remark- 
 ably dull fellows among them, sent them to convert the Indians. I 
 checked his eloquence by those lines of my brother : — 
 
 ' To distant realms th' apostle need not roam ; 
 Darkness, alas ! and heathens are at home.' 
 
 He made no reply; and I heard no more of my brother's apostle- 
 ship." 
 
 By several other persons, and some of the highest distinction, this 
 " apostolical project" (for such indeed was its character) was contem- 
 plated with lively and joyous interest ; so that for several weeks after 
 Charles Wesley's arrival in London he was almost daily employed in 
 answering inquiries concerning it. Among various other persons with 
 whom he had interviews on the subject, besides the gentlemen and the 
 nobility who were officially connected with the colony, were the arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, the bishop of London, the bishop of Oxford,. Lord 
 Egmont, and Lady Betty Hastings, of pious memory. " At her desire," 
 says he, " I waited upon Lady Betty Hastings. Her inquiries about 
 Georgia were interrupted by the bishop of Gloucester's coming." 
 
 It was still Mr. Charles Wesley's, intention to return to Georgia ; 
 not indeed as secretary to the governor, but as a missionary. In this 
 he opposed the wishes of his venerable mother, who urged him to 
 remain in his native land. He resigned his secretaryship, yet main- 
 tained a distinct understanding with the trustees of the colony, that he 
 would go back again ; and he did not finally abandon this design till 
 the month of May in the following year, when, at the time of his pur- 
 posed embarkation, he had a dangerous illness. He has made one 
 entry in his journal relating to the colony, which is highly honourable 
 to the generosity and public spirit of Mr. Oglethorpe, and therefore 
 deserving of a permanent record. Many of the emigrants were desti- 
 tute both of property and character ; and having, in the land of their 
 exile, few of the conveniences and comforts of life, were restless, 
 dissatisfied, and ungovernable ; yet one day, after a meeting of the 
 council of trustees had been held, and it was uncertain what would be 
 the future fate of the colony, Oglethorpe declared to Charles, that " if 
 the government had dropped Georgia, he would not let the poor people 
 perish ; but sell his estate, which he could do for forty-five thousand 
 pounds, and support them upon the interest." 
 
 Three occurrences, of considerable importance to Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley, took place near the middle of the year 1737: the death of his 
 uncle, Mr. Matthew Wesley ; his introduction to royalty ; and his pro-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 97 
 
 vidential escape from the hands of a highwayman. They are thus 
 related by himself: — 
 
 "June 8th. I called upon my uncle, and found him exceeding ill. 
 June 10th. I found my uncle dying. He pressed my hand ; showed 
 much natural affection ; and bade me give his love to his sister. June 
 11th. I heard that my uncle died a little after I left him. June 16th. 
 On Thursday night I attended my uncle to his grave." 
 
 " August 26th. I waited upon his majesty at Hampton- Court, with 
 the Oxford Address, by the advice of Mr. Potter. The archbishop told 
 me, he was glad to see me there. We kissed their majesties' hands, 
 and were invited to dinner. I left that and the company, and hasted 
 back to town. The next day I waited upon his royal highness, and 
 dined all together at St. James's." 
 
 " Oct. 11th. I set out [from Oxford] for London. In a mile's riding 
 my horse fell lame. I sung the ninety-first psalm, and put myself 
 under the divine protection. I had scarce ended, and turned the hut 
 on Shotover-Hill, when a man came up to me, and demanded my 
 money ; showing, but not presenting, a pistol. I gave him my purse. 
 He asked how much there was. ' About thirty shillings.' ' Have you 
 no more ?' ' I will see :' put my hand in my pocket, and gave him 
 some halfpence. He repeated the question, ' Have you no more ?' 
 (I had thirty pounds in a private pocket.) I bade him search himself, 
 which he did not choose. He ordered me to dismount, which I did ; 
 and begged hard for my horse again, promising not to pursue him. 
 He took my word and restored him. I rode gently on, praising God. 
 My bags, and watch, and gold, the robber -was forced to leave me. In 
 the evening I reached Westminster." 
 
 About this time he addressed a letter to Ms friend Mr. Ingham, who 
 had returned from Georgia, and was now in Yorkshire. He received 
 the following stirring reply. It is a fine illustration of the energetic 
 spirit by which the Methodists of that day were actuated, notwithstand- 
 ing the defectiveness of their theological views. 
 
 " Osset, near Wakefield, Oct. 22, 1737. My Dear Brother, — Your 
 letter is just come to my hands. I rejoiced over it, because it came 
 from you. I was afraid you had been almost lost ; but since I see you 
 are desirous to make full proof of your ministry, I greatly rejoice. 
 Blessed be the Lord, who by his grace preserves me from falling, 
 amidst the deceitful and alluring, bewitching temptations of worldly 
 preferment. May he still continue his loving-kindness toward you! 
 May he throughly settle and establish you ! May you have power to 
 overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, and, like a brave soldier, 
 manfully to fight under Christ's banners ! May your one desire of 
 living be for Christ's sake, and the gospel's ! 
 
 7
 
 98 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " I have no other thoughts, but of returning to America. When 
 the time comes, 1 trust the Lord will show me. My heart's desire is, 
 that the Indians may hear the gospel. For this I pray both night and day. 
 
 " I will transcribe the Indian words as fast as I can. I writ 
 to Mr. William Delamotte three weeks ago. If he did not receive 
 the letter, it miscarried. I wish you could inform me, that I might 
 write again. 
 
 " I have been just now talking to Mr. Godley, curate of Osset. 
 (You know, I believe, that he is mis-named.) I was all on a tremble 
 while I talked to him, and for a good while after. He took my reproof 
 very uneasily. But, however, he trembled as well as me. I have lent 
 him ' The Country Parson' to read ; and since he went away I have 
 been praying for him in an agony. I seem to be full of hope, as if God 
 would turn his heart ; and O that he may ! One of the wickedest 
 women in all Osset is turned since I came down ; and I believe she 
 will make a thorough convert. She says she is sure God sent me to 
 turn her heart. To his holy name be the glory. There is another poor 
 soul too here that is under the most severe agonies of repentance. 
 Cease not to pray for these, and the rest of your Christian friends at 
 Osset, who pray constantly for you. 
 
 " Last Sunday I preached such a sermon at Wakefield church as has 
 set almost all about us in an uproar. Some say the devil is in me : 
 others, that I am mad. Others say no man can live up to such doc- 
 trine ; and they never heard such before. Others, again, extol me to 
 the sky. They say it was the best sermon they ever heard m all their 
 life ; and that I ought to be a bishop. 
 
 " I believe indeed it went to the hearts of several persons ; for I 
 was enabled to speak with great authority and power ; and I preached 
 almost the whole sermon without book. There was a vast large con- 
 gregation, and tears fell from many eyes. To-morrow I preach there 
 again. 
 
 " Every day I undergo several changes within me. Now I am 
 under sufferings, sometimes just ready to sink ; then again I am filled 
 with joy. Indeed I receive so much pleasure in conversing with some 
 Christians here, that I have need of sufferings to counterbalance it. 
 Last Saturday night we were sixteen that sat up till after twelve. We 
 are to meet again to-night, after the rest are gone ; and we shall pray 
 for you, and the rest of our Christian friends everywhere. You would 
 think yourself happy to be but one night with us. 
 
 " Give my sincere love to Mr. Hutton's family, whom I never forget. 
 Are they all well ? The Lord bless them all ! Greet brother White- 
 field. My heart will be with you on the seas, and everywhere Never 
 be discouraged. Yours sincerely and affectionately."
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 99 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 When the Wesleys returned from America their spiritual state was 
 peculiar, and far from being satisfactory to themselves. Their moral 
 conduct was irreproachable ; they had an intense desire to please God, 
 by the practice of universal holiness ; and, in order to this, they dili- 
 gently used every means of grace, and submitted to a course of strict 
 self-denial. Yet they felt that they had not attained to the state of 
 holiness which they had long sought, and their consciences were not 
 at rest. Theirs was not the happy religion which is described in the 
 New Testament as having been realized by the whole body of be- 
 lievers, after the Lord Jesus had entered into his glory, and had sent 
 down the Holy Ghost the Comforter to supply his place. Both of them 
 speak of obtaining mental relief in prayer, in reading the Scriptures, 
 and in the celebration of the Lord's supper ; but their spiritual enjoy- 
 ments were not lasting ; a cloud rested upon their minds ; they were 
 often harassed by unbelief and doubt ; and, to a great extent, they 
 were held in bondage by the sin that dwelt in them. At this period of 
 their lives they never speak of the joy which arises from an application 
 of the blood of Christ to the conscience, and from the distinct and 
 abiding witness of the Spirit of God, that they were his adopted chil- 
 dren ; nor- do they ever declare, with the primitive disciples, " The 
 law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the 
 law of sin and death." With these essential elements of the Christian 
 character they were as yet unacquainted ; but they earnestly desired to 
 know the will of God, that they might obey it ; and He who, by the 
 power of his grace, had " wrought them for this self-same thing," mer- 
 cifully provided for them the necessary light and guidance. Yet God, 
 in his compassionate sovereignty, sent them help from a quarter where 
 their prejudices and habits would not otherwise have suffered them to 
 look for it. The two brothers, high and unbending Churchmen as they 
 were, having received from their teacher, Mr. Law, " the instruction 
 which causeth to err," were providentially brought into intercourse 
 with devout members of the Moravian Church. As Aquila and Pris- 
 cilla, meeting with Apollos, who at that time " knew only the baptism 
 of John," " taught him the way of the Lord more perfectly," and thus 
 gave a right direction to his eloquence and fervour of spirit ; so did 
 these pious strangers communicate to John and Charles Wesley princi- 
 ples of truth, which exerted the most salutary influence upon their 
 hearts, and which in future life formed the principal subjects of their 
 effective ministry. The sons of the Anglican Church were undesign-
 
 100 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 cdly led to the Moravian Brethren with the plea, " Give us of your oil f 
 for our lamps are gone out." 
 
 Ou his return to England Mr. John Wesley expressed at large the 
 feelings of his burdened mind in his printed Journal. From that, affect- 
 ing record we gather, that with all his sincerity and moral goodness, 
 bfl had not the filial spirit, nor the power over every sinful affection and 
 habit, which are directly consequent upon the true Christian faith. 
 His feelings were servile. He rather feared God than loved him, and 
 delighted in him ; for he was neither saved from the guilty dread of 
 future wrath, nor from the dominion of inward sin. 
 
 Charles, though less communicative on the subject, was evidently in 
 a state similar to that of his brother ; though he does not seem to have 
 been equally sensible of the manner in which deliverance was to be 
 obtained. He makes no distinct reference to the faith by which 
 the conscience is purged from dead works, and the heart purified 
 from sin. 
 
 On the 18th of December, 1736, he says, "I began my twenty- 
 seventh year in a murmuring, discontented spirit ; reading over and 
 over the third of Job ;" and on the 22d of January following he adds. 
 " I called upon Mrs. Pendarvis, while she was reading a letter of my 
 being dead. Happy for me, had the news been true ! What a world 
 of misery would it save me !" 
 
 While in this state of mind, and about this period of his life, he 
 appears to have written the following " Hymn for Midnight," which is 
 strikingly descriptive of his defective creed and gloomy feelings. He 
 had no hope of permanent happiness, but by the dissolution of his 
 earthly frame. 
 
 While midnight shades the earth o'erspread, 
 And veil the bosom of the deep, 
 
 Nature reclines her weary head 
 
 And Care respires and Sorrows sleep : 
 
 My soul still aims at nobler rest, 
 
 Aspiring to her Saviour's breast. 
 
 Aid me, ye hovering spirits near, 
 
 Angels, and ministers of grace ; 
 Who ever, while you guard us here, 
 
 Behold your heavenly Father's face ! 
 Gently my raptured soul convey 
 To regions of eternal day. 
 
 Fain would I leave this earth below, 
 
 Of pain and sin the dark abode ; 
 Where shadowy joy, or solid wo, 
 
 Allures or tears me from my God ; 
 Doubtful and insecure of bliss, 
 Since Death alone confirms me his.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. i01 
 
 Till then, to sorrow born, I sigh, 
 
 And gasp and languish after home ; 
 Upward I send my streaming eye, 
 
 Expecting till the Bridegroom come : 
 Come quickly, Lord ! thy own receive, 
 Now let me see thy face, and live ! 
 
 Absent from thee, my exiled soul 
 
 Deep in a fleshly dungeon groans ; 
 Around me clouds of darkness roll, 
 
 And labouring silence speaks my moans : 
 Come quickly, Lord, thy face display, 
 And look my midnight into day. 
 
 Error and sin and death are o'er, 
 
 If thou reverse the creature's doom ; 
 Sad Rachel weeps her loss no more, 
 
 If thou the God, the Saviour, come : 
 Of thee possess'd, in thee we prove 
 The light, the life, the heaven of love. 
 
 To this fine composition his brother afterward gave an evangelical 
 character, by substituting the word " faith" for " death" in the last line 
 of the third stanza. Thus altered, it no longer appears as the despond- 
 ing language of a real Christian, expecting to be made free from sin 
 and its attendant misery only by the body's dissolution ; but as the 
 prayer of a weeping penitent, who is convinced of his guilt and corrup- 
 tion, and is looking for a present deliverance from them through faith 
 in the blood of atonement. 
 
 While he was thus " walking in darkness," " under the law," and 
 " feeling after" his Saviour, he had " a zeal for God," which puts to 
 *hame the sinful supineness and timidity of many who boast of their 
 greater light. When he travelled in stage-coaches he read pious books 
 to his fellow-passengers, .endeavoured to convince all people that reli- 
 gion is an inward and divine principle, and that every one should 
 make it his first and great concern. In private companies he pursued 
 the same course, and often with the happiest results. He was a fre- 
 quent visitant at the house of the Delamottes, at Blendon, in the parish 
 of Bexley, where he often met the Rev. Henry Piers, the vicar, whom 
 he engaged in spiritual conversation, prayer, and singing psalms and 
 hymns. Here also he was a means of great religious benefit to Mr. 
 William Delamotte, the brother of Charles, then an under graduate of 
 the University of Cambridge. Two of this yoimg gentleman's sisters 
 were so impressed, that their mother, afraid of their conversion, sent 
 them to London, that they might be out of the reach of Charles Wes- 
 ley's influence. But here, being no longer under her direct control, 
 they had the freest intercourse with him, to their great advantage. 
 
 It was not among strangers only that he thus laboured. Various
 
 102 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 members of his omi family shared in his solicitude. Thus he speaks 
 of his sister Kezzy, when she was visiting the sister of Mr. Gambold, 
 at Stanton-Harcourt : — "Sept. 16th, 1737. I walked over with Mr. 
 Gtanbold to Stanton-Harcourt. After much talk of their states, we 
 Bgxeed that I should not speak at all to my sister on religion, but only 
 to his. Calling accidentally in the evening at my sister's room, she fell 
 upon my neck, and, in a flood of tears, begged me to pray for her. I 
 did not know but this might be her time, and sat down. She antici- 
 pated me, by saying, she had felt here what she had never felt before ; 
 and believed now there was such a thing as the new creature. She 
 was full of earnest wishes for divine love ; owned there was a depth in 
 religion she had never fathomed ; that she was not, but longed to be, 
 converted ; would give up all to obtain the love of God ; renewed her 
 request with great vehemence, that I would pray for her, often repeat- 
 ing, ' I am weak ; I am exceeding weak.' I prayed over her, and 
 blessed God from my heart ; then used Pascal's prayer for conversion, 
 with which she was much affected, and begged me to write it out 
 for her. 
 
 " After supper (at which I could not eat for joy) I read Mr. Law's 
 account of redemption. She was greatly moved, full of tears, and 
 sighs and eagerness for more. Poor Mrs. Gambold was quite un- 
 affected. 
 
 "Sept. 17th. I prayed with Kezz, still in the same temper; con- 
 vinced that all her misery has proceeded from her not loving God." 
 
 With some other members of the family he was not equally success- 
 ful. Thus he speaks on the 25th of November following : — " At Mrs. 
 Hutton's this evening, my brothers Lambert and Wright visited me." 
 (Lambert had married Miss Anne Wesley ; and Wright Miss Meheta- 
 bel.) " The latter has corrupted the former, and brought him back to 
 drinking, after all the pains I have taken with him. I was full, yet 
 could not speak. I prayed for meekness ; and then set before him the 
 things he had done, in the devil's name, toward reconverting a soul to 
 him. He left us abruptly. I encouraged poor J. Lambert to turn again 
 unto God." 
 
 At this period Mr. Charles Wesley addressed a letter of spiritual 
 instruction to his sister Kezzy, which she answered in the following 
 manner : — 
 
 " My Dear Brother, — Though I am very ill, yet nothing can prevent 
 my returning my sincere thanks for your kind letter. My dear brother, 
 you have not a friend in the world that will be gladder to be directed 
 or reproved (in the spirit of meekness) than I shall be. I own it is a 
 great fault ; but my mind, and body too, are so much weakened, with
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 103 
 
 ill usage, that I cannot bear any roughness, without either being angry, 
 or quite dejected. I have not heard from my mother this two months ; 
 nor have had any letter or receipt for you. I cannot write to her, 
 because I do not know how to direct. If you can still have patience, 
 and retain any love and tenderness for 
 
 ' A weak, entangled, wretched thing,' 
 
 you may, by your prayers and direction, add much to the happiness of 
 " Your sincere friend, and affectionate sister. 
 "November 15, 1737." 
 
 Mr. Samuel Wesley, of Tiverton, at this time had a very severe 
 illness, from which he recovered slowly. He expected Charles's 
 speedy embarkation for Georgia, and had many fears that he should 
 see him no more. Under the influence of the tender feelings which 
 such a state of things was calculated to inspire, he addressed to him 
 the following epistle : — 
 
 " Dear Charles, — Since letters lie so long, (why or wherefore I can- 
 not comprehend,) I will lose no time in writing ; though it is the most 
 inconvenient, just now, of the whole week. You may be very sure 
 my sister and I should be glad to see you before you go ; and she bid 
 me tell you so ; but I believe the fatum Carthaginis [fate of Carthage] 
 will hinder. We have naturally less hope of seeing your return than 
 before ; though we do not despair of either, if you hold your resolution. 
 I will not believe you will break it in haste. I have not heard at all 
 from Wiltshire ; and my illness has prevented me from writing to my 
 mother, as I proposed. 
 
 " I have read Law against the ' Plain Account,'* borrowing it of my 
 neighbour, Mr. Pyke, the Presbyterian teacher. I think it an excellent, 
 hook. I have seen Hoadley demonstrated heretofore into a Deist, pretty 
 plainly ; but I never saw him so thoroughly proved an Atheist. The 
 fall and redemption are exceeding well represented, though some diffi- 
 culty will always remain in such a subject. As it was in the begin- 
 ning, I believe it will continue to the end, in another sense. Darkness 
 will be, when the Spirit of God moveth upon the face of the waters. 
 It is enough for us, that we are not concerned to tell how these things be. 
 
 " My illness has not been so uninterrupted, but I have been able to 
 read a little between whiles ; though I was past writing for a good 
 while together. I have not yet ventured a foot out of my own house ; 
 (for I count my school but as a room in it ;) but I hope next Sunday 1 
 shall be stout enough to ride to church, and stay there without catching 
 
 * Bishop Hoadley's " Plain Account of the Lord's Supper ;" which was answered 
 by the Rev. William Law.
 
 104 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 cold, by the help of a warm Presbyterian cloak, which I have used 
 before upon that occasion. 
 
 '• Mr ( in ■« n way, my usher, who bore evidence against a young man 
 who was going into orders, for two small faults, Arianism and treason, 
 is to have his final hearing on Wednesday next; and if I am able, I 
 shall not fail to go along with him, to keep him in countenance, which 
 is all I can do. 
 
 " I did not think I should have had time to write you so long a letter. 
 The truth is, I have smarted for it. Service to all friends. We join 
 heartily in love. I am, dear Charles, 
 
 " Your affectionate and faithful friend and brother. 
 "Nov. 16, 1737. Tiverton, Devon." 
 
 Bishop Hoadley, who is so severely censured in this letter, was the 
 friend and eulogist of the Arian Dr. Samuel Clarke, the rector of St. 
 James's, Westminster. He was a prelate whose orthodoxy was more 
 than doubtful. 
 
 While Mr. Charles Wesley was attentive to the spiritual interests 
 of others, he was not forgetful of his own. He had the highest opinion 
 of William Law, upon whose writings he might be said to meditate day 
 and night. This eloquent but erring man was then resident at Putney, 
 a few miles from London ; and, for the purpose of being benefited by 
 his counsel, Charles visited him there on the 31st of August, and the 
 9th of September, 1737. Mr. Law is said to have been a tall, thin, 
 bony man, of a stern and forbidding countenance ; sour and repulsive 
 in his spirit and manner ; resembling, in this respect, the religion which 
 he taught. Their interviews led to no beneficial result. They are 
 thus described by Mr. Charles Wesley : — 
 
 " I talked at large upon my state with Mr. Law, at Putney. The 
 sum of his advice was, ' Renounce yourself, and be not impatient.' " 
 
 " I consulted Mr. Law a second time, and asked him several ques- 
 tions. ' With what comment shall I read the Scriptures V ' None.' 
 ' What do you think of one who dies unrenewed, Avhile endeavouring 
 after it V ' It concerns neither you to ask, nor me to answer.' ' Shall 
 I write once more to such a person V ' No.' ' But I am persuaded it 
 will do him good.' ' Sir, I have told you my opinion.' ' Shall I write 
 to you?' 'Nothing I can either speak or write will do you any 
 
 HHl."' • 
 
 There was more truth in this concluding remark than Mr. Law was 
 aware of. While he avoided all reference to the atonement of Christ, 
 which he appears never to have understood, his advices concerning 
 spiritual religion only tended yet more to lacerate the conscience, and 
 discourage the anxious inquirer. He set his pupils upon the hopeless
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 105 
 
 task of attaining to holiness while they remained in a state of guilt, 
 and while the regenerating Spirit was therefore uncommunicated. 
 
 Happily for Mr. Charles Wesley, by the merciful providence of God, 
 he was brought into intercourse with other men, who were better qua- 
 lified to instruct him in divine things. The evangelical doctrine of 
 present salvation from sin, through faith in Jesus Christ, was not only 
 held by the Moravian Church, but actually realized by many of its 
 members. Count Zinzendorf had then for some time been a minister 
 in that community, where he had acquired a leading influence ; and 
 he was earnestly requested to accept the office of a bishop. Yet he 
 was not satisfied, with the ordinations which were practised by his own 
 people. Having doubts respecting their validity, he resolved, before 
 his formal appointment to the episcopate, to consult the heads of the 
 Church of England on the question. For this purpose he left Ger- 
 many, and, having visited Holland on his way, arrived in London in 
 January, 1737, about seven weeks after Mr. Charles Wesley's return 
 from America. Dr. John Potter, the archbishop of Canterbury, and 
 Seeker, the bishop of Oxford, both declared, that, in their judgment, 
 the Moravian ordinations were valid, inasmuch as they were in the 
 regular order of " succession." The count's scruples were therefore 
 removed, great deference being paid to the opinion of the archbishop, 
 because of his accurate and extensive researches into antiquity. On 
 the count's return to the continent, therefore, he was invested with 
 the episcopal character. During his stay in England, he admitted 
 persons who were religiously disposed to attend family worship with 
 him and his household. The consequence was, that some of them 
 were seriously impressed, and requested further spiritual advantages. 
 For their benefit the count drew up the following regulations, to Avhich 
 the little company who were attached to him affixed their signatures : — 
 
 " 1. We will believe and practise only what is clearly expressed in 
 the Holy Scriptures ; and this we will believe and teach, whether it 
 accords with our reason and ideas or not. 
 
 " 2. We will converse and associate with each other in a simple 
 dnd childlike maimer, and assemble once a week for that purpose ; on 
 which occasion we will merely pray, read the Scriptures, and edify 
 ourselves from them, without bringing forward the smallest thing which 
 might occasion dispute or variance. 
 
 " 3. We will sincerely speak what we think of each other, and not 
 seek to conceal our faults, that no one may think more highly of the 
 other than he deserves. 
 
 " 4. We will serve each other according to the gifts we possess, 
 and quietly prepare ourselves for promoting the Lord's cause among 
 others.
 
 106 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " 5. We will not interfere in any religious or ecclesiastical matters, 
 hut only attend to three simple things: — To become saved and sancti- 
 Sed by the blood of Jesus, and to love each other cordially."* 
 
 \\ bile the coun| remained in London Mr. Charles Wesley had seve- 
 ral interviews with him, which he has thus described in his private 
 journal : — 
 
 •.Ian. 19th, 1737. Count Zinzendorf, just arrived from Germany, 
 sent for me. When I came, he saluted me with all possible affection, 
 and made me promise to call every day. From him I went to the 
 bishop of Oxford,, where I met with an equally kind reception. He 
 desired me to come as often as I could, without ceremony, or further 
 invitation. We had much talk of the state of religion, and Count Zin- 
 zendorf's intended visit. Their bishops he acknowledged to have the 
 true succession. 
 
 " Jan. 20th. I wrote and delivered my own state in a letter to the 
 count. He sent me to Mr. Oglethorpe, who talked much of the mis- 
 chief of private journals, all which ought to be published, or never sent. 
 A letter from my brother he read and argued. I could not but think 
 the writer much too free, too bold, too credulous. 
 
 " Jan. 23d. I met Bishop Nitschman at the count's, and was intro- 
 duced to the countess : a woman of great seriousness and sweetness. 
 I was present at their public services, and thought myself in a choir 
 of angels. 
 
 " Feb. 1st. I was again with the bishop of Oxford, and told him the 
 bishop of London had declined having any thing to do with Georgia ; 
 and said, it belonged to the archbishop only to unite the Moravians 
 with us. He replied, it was the bishop of London's proper office ; but 
 bade me assure the count, we should acknowledge the Moravians as 
 our brethren, and one church with ours. 
 
 " Feb. 2d. At nine I was with the count, who seemed resolved to 
 carry his people from Georgia, if they might not be permitted to preach 
 to the Indians. He much pressed me to go with him to Germany; 
 which I am very willing to do, if I can get clear of the trustees. 
 
 " Feb. 6th. I had much conversation with the count. Some of his 
 words were, ' The Christian cannot yield to sin ; cannot long fight 
 against it ; but must conquer it if he will.' Speaking of his own case, 
 he said, ' For ten years past I have not done my own will in any thing, 
 great or small. My own will is hell to me. I can just now renounce 
 my dearest friend, without the least reluctance, if God require it.' He 
 kissed and blessed me at parting. 
 
 " Feb. 7th. Before I set out for Oxford, I called upon the count, and 
 desired his prayers. He commended himself to our friends there, and 
 * Spangcnburg's Life of Count Zinzendorf, pp 228, 229.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 107 
 
 promised, if any of them would write to him, or the Brethren, thev 
 would answer them. 
 
 " Feb. 8th. I came to Oxford, and took up my lodgings with Mr. 
 Sarney. In the evening I met and encouraged our friends by the 
 count's and the Moravians' example. Mr. Kinchin I found changed 
 into a courageous soldier of Christ. I read them my brother's journal. 
 
 " Feb. 12th. By nine at night I got back to the count in London, 
 and consulted him about my journey to Germany. 
 
 " Feb. 20th. Being to set out the next day for Tiverton, I went to 
 take my leave of the count ; who invited me again to Germany ; bade 
 me not despair ; and dismissed me with his blessing. My last words 
 were, Sit pax vobiscum : [Peace be with you :] to which he replied. 
 Et cum spiritu tuo. [And with thy spirit.]" 
 
 From these notices it is manifest that Count Zinzendorf had, to .a 
 great extent, commanded the confidence and affection of Mr. Charles 
 Wesley. The spirit and manner of this interesting stranger, the pious 
 cheerfulness of his lady, the holy simplicity and fervour of their wor- 
 ship, all contributed to make an impression upon his susceptible heart. 
 Finding also that the prelates of his own Church acknowledged the 
 Moravian ministers to be in the true " succession," Charles laid aside 
 all reserve, and disclosed to the count, both in conversation and writing, 
 his most secret thoughts and feelings ; at the same time soliciting spi- 
 ritual counsel. Yet, whether the count did not understand the case 
 thus submitted to him, and therefore gave advice which was inappli- 
 cable ; or whether he failed in investing his advice, if sound, with due 
 weight and authority, we presume not to determine : certain it is, that 
 n.- left Mr. Charles Wesley, as he found him, still under the misleading 
 power of William Law's Mysticism, and " ignorant of the righteousness 
 of God." The anxious inquirer after truth parted from the count in a 
 manner the most affectionate and touching, but without any just con- 
 ception either of the Christian salvation, or of the faith by which it is 
 obtained. 
 
 Count Zinzendorf left England on the 6th of March, having made 
 arrangements with the trustees of Georgia, Mr. Oglethorpe, and the 
 associates of Dr. Bray, for sending Moravian missionaries to Carolina, 
 and the neighbouring settlement of Georgia. On the 20th of May he 
 was ordained to the episcopal office at Berlin, by the two bishops of 
 the Moravian Church, Daniel Ernest Jablonsky and David Nitschman. 
 He subsequently received congratulations from the king of Prussia and 
 the archbishop of Canterbury. " Most sincerely and cordially," says 
 the primate, " I congratulate you upon your having been lately raised 
 to the sacred and justly-celebrated episcopal chair of the Moravian 
 Church, (by whatever clouds it mav be now obscured,) by the grace
 
 108 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of divine Providence, with the applause of the heavenly host : for the 
 opinion we have conceived of you does not suffer us to doubt it. It is 
 the subject of my ardent prayer, that this honour, so conferred, and 
 which your merit so justly entitles you to, may prove no less beneficial 
 to the Church, than at all times acceptable to yourself and yours. 
 For, insufficient as I am, I should be entirely unworthy of that high 
 station in which divine Providence has placed me, were I not to show 
 myself always ready to use every exertion in my power for the assist- 
 ance of the universal church of God : but to love and embrace, even 
 preferably to others, your Church, united with us in the closest bond 
 of love ; having hitherto, as we have been informed, invariably main- 
 tained both the pure and primitive faith, and the discipline of the first 
 church; being neither intimidated by dangers, nor seduced by the 
 manifold temptations of Satan. I request, in return, the support of 
 your prayers ; and that you will salute in my name your brother 
 bishops, as well as the whole Christian flock over which God has 
 made you an overseer. Farewell. Given at Westminster, the 10th 
 day of July, 1737."* 
 
 One of the first episcopal acts of the count was the ordination of 
 Peter Bohler, whom he sent forth with his blessing as a missionary 
 to Georgia, and to the negroes in Carolina, on the 16th of December 
 following. Bohler was a young man of deep and enlightened piety, 
 and of sound learning, having been educated at the university of Jena, 
 from which he was called to undertake this mission to negro slaves. 
 It was under his instruction, more than that of any other man, that the 
 two Wesleys were made acquainted with the evangelical method of a 
 sinner's justification before God, and deliverance from the power of his 
 evil nature. This very excellent man arrived in England, on the way 
 to his allotted field of labour, early in February, 1738, accompanied by 
 two of his brethren. From the very first his fine spirit, and superior 
 intelligence, appear to have deeply impressed the mind of Mr. John 
 Wesley ; who thus speaks of his introduction to him : — " Feb. 7th. A 
 day much to be remembered. At the house of Mr. Weinantz, a Dutch 
 merchant, I met Peter Bohler, Schulius Richter, and Wensel Neiser, 
 just then landed from Germany. Finding they had no acquaintance in 
 England, I offered to procure them a lodging, and did so, near Mr. 
 Hutton's, where I then was. And from this time I did not willingly 
 lose any opportunity of conversing with them while I stayed in 
 London." 
 
 Peter Bohler did not finally leave London till the beginning of May ; 
 and during this interval he was very active and zealous in his efforts to 
 do good. As he did not understand English, (for he put himself under 
 * Crantz's Hist, of the Brethren, translated by La Trobe. Editor's Preface, 1780.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 109 
 
 the care of Mr. Charles Wesley, to learn that language,) and appears to 
 have mostly spoken Latin, his sphere of labour was limited ; but he 
 made the best use of his opportunities, and his success was great. 
 Count Zinzendorf had prepared his way ; and he had the pleasure of 
 seeing a goodly number of people so far brought under the influence of 
 divine truth and grace, that he formed them into a religious society, 
 who agreed to meet once a week for spiritual improvement. They 
 used afterward to assemble in Fetter-lane. He accompanied Mr. John 
 Wesley to Oxford ; and wherever he went he was a blessing to the 
 people ; labouring with all fidelity and meekness to convince them, that 
 peace of conscience, and holiness of heart, are only attainable by faith 
 in the sacrificial blood of Christ. During Border's stay in England, 
 Mr. John Wesley introduced him to William Law. The pious German 
 gives a characteristic account of their interview. He says, " I began 
 speaking to him of faith in Christ. He was silent. Then he began 
 to speak of mystical matters. I spake to him of faith in Christ again. 
 He was silent. Then he began to speak of mystical matters again. I 
 saw his state at once." This state, Border declared to be " a very 
 dangerous one." 
 
 It appears to have been about this period that the Wesleys published 
 their first Hymn-Book, probably for the use of this society, at its 
 weekly meetings, as well as for private, domestic, and social use ; 
 for they were accustomed to devotional singing in their general inter- 
 course with their friends. It is a small duodecimo volume of eighty- 
 four pages, and bears the title of " A Collection of Psalms and Hymns. 
 London : printed in the year mdccxxxviii." It has no printer's name, 
 and no preface, to determine its authorship ; but its general cast of 
 sentiment is exactly that of the two Wesleys, just before they obtained 
 the Christian salvation. The hymns are selected from various authors, 
 chiefly Dr. Watts ; but some are original, and these they afterward 
 published in their joint names. Five are from the German, and one is 
 from the Spanish. Most of these Mr. John Wesley subsequently 
 inserted in the collection which he formed for the use of the Methodist 
 congregations. With the German and Spanish languages he is well 
 known to have been familiar. When enumerating the advantages 
 which had arisen from his mission to Georgia, he says, " Hereby my 
 passage is opened to the writings of holy men in the German, Spanish, 
 and Italian tongues. I hope too some good may come to others 
 thereby." 
 
 Mr. John Wesley has inserted in his published Journal several 
 interesting notices of his interviews with Peter Border, and of the 
 manner in which he was led, under the guidance of this intelligent 
 German, to receive the doctrine of present salvation by faith. The
 
 110 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 following are selected from the private journal of Charles, who was 
 now at Oxford, where he was joined by his brother John, and their new 
 friend : — 
 
 ■ Feb. 18th. I rode over to Stanton-Harcourt, to see John Gambold 
 and iny sister [Kezzy, then on a visit there.] My brother met us. 
 \\< prayed and sung together. In the evening I prayed at Mr. 
 < inn v's, with some scholars and a Moravian." This was doubtless 
 Peter Bolder. 
 
 " Feb. 20th. I began teaching Peter Bbhler English. 
 
 • Feb. 22d. I had some close conversation with Peter Border, who 
 pressed upon our scholars the necessity of combining ; and instanced 
 in many awakened, but fallen asleep again for want of it. He talked 
 much of the necessity of prayer and faith. 
 
 " Feb. 24th. At six in the evening, an hour after I had taken my 
 electuary, the tooth-ache returned more violently than ever. I smoked 
 tobacco, which set me a vomiting, and took away my senses and pain 
 together. At eleven I waked in extreme pain, which I thought would 
 quickly separate soul and body. Soon after Peter Border came to my 
 bed-side. I asked him to pray for me. He seemed unwilling at first ; 
 but beginning very faintly, he raised his voice by degrees, and prayed 
 lor my recovery with a strange confidence. Then he took me by the 
 hand, and calmly said, ' You will not die now.' I thought within my- 
 self, ' I cannot hold out in this pain till morning. If it abate before, I 
 believe I may recover.' 
 
 " He asked me, ' Do you hope to be saved ?' ' Yes.' ' For what 
 reason do you hope it V ' Because I have used my best endeavours to 
 serve God.' He shook his head, and said no more. I thought him 
 very uncharitable, saying in my heart, ' What, are not my endeavours 
 a sufficient ground of hope ? Would he rob me of my endeavours 1 I 
 have nothing else to trust to.' 
 
 " By the morning my pain was moderated. Ted Bentham calling 
 then persuaded me to be blooded. I continued in great pain. In the 
 evening he brought Dr. Manaton. The next morning I was blooded 
 again ; and at night, a third time. 
 
 " Feb. 26th. Mr. Wells brought my sister Kezzy. Dr. Fruin 
 came. I dictated a letter to Dr. Cockburn, and James Hutton. On 
 Monday evening, Feb. 27th, the scale seemed to turn for life. 1 
 had prayed that my pains might not outlast this day, and was 
 answered. 
 
 "'Feb. 28th. My dear James Hutton came post from London, and 
 brought me Dr. Cockburn's letter and directions. As soon as I was 
 able, I sent my brother, at Tiverton, the following account : — 
 
 " Dear Brother, — I borrow another's hand, as I cannot use my own.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 1 1 1 
 
 You remember Dr. South's saying, / have been within the jaws of Death ; 
 but he was- not suffered to shut his mouth upon me. I ought never to 
 forget it. Dr. Manaton told me, he expected to have found me dead at 
 his second visit. This several remarkable incidents concurred to hin- 
 der. I had kept in a week before the pleurisy came, and taken physic- 
 twice. At midnight it seized me so violently, that I did not expect to 
 see the morning. In the preceding afternoon I had taken Dr. Cock- 
 burn's electuary ; and an hour after was visited with so outrageous a 
 tooth-ache, that it forced me to the abominable remedy of a pipe. This 
 quickly made me discharge my astringent, and in all probability saved 
 my life ; binding medicines being poison in a pleuritic fever. I took 
 my illness for the flux, and so never thought of sending for a physician. 
 T. Bentham fetched him against my will ; and was probably the instru- 
 ment of saving my life a second time. Dr. Manaton called in Dr. 
 Fruin. They bled me three times, and poured down draughts, oils, 
 apozums, without end. For four days the balance was even. Then, 
 as Spenser says, 
 
 ' I overwrestled my strong enemy ' 
 
 Ever since I have been, slowly gathering strength ; and yesterday took 
 my first journey to my sister's room ; who has been with me from the 
 beginning, and no small comfort to me. 
 
 " ' One consequence of my sickness you will not be sorry for : its 
 stopping mv sudden return to Georgia ; for the doctor tells me, to 
 undertake a vovage now would be certain death. Some reasons 
 for his not going immediately, my brother will mention to you in 
 person.' 
 
 " Before I was taken ill my brother set out for Tiverton ; but came 
 back, instead of proceeding on his journey ; stayed a week with me : 
 and then went with Mr. Kinchin to Manchester." 
 
 This statement accords with Mr. John Wesley's printed Journal. 
 The letter just given was addressed to Samuel. John was then on a 
 visit to Mr. and Mrs. Hall, at Salisbury, with whom their venerable 
 mother appears to have been residing. It was here that John received 
 intelligence of Charles's situation : he therefore says, under the date of 
 Feb. 28th, "I saw my mother once more. The next day I prepared 
 for my journey to my brother at Tiverton ; but on Thursday morning. 
 March 2d, a message that my brother Charles was dying at Oxford 
 obliged me to set out for that place immediately." 
 
 During the whole of this very distressing and dangerous illness, Mr. 
 Charles Wesley was favoured with the kind attendance of his sister 
 Kezzy, who, like himself, was supremely anxious to be a Christian 
 indeed. When he began to recover, she became dangerously ill, so 
 that she was placed under the care of a physician. She and her now
 
 1 12 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 partially-recovered brother received the holy communion together 
 almost every day. The two following hymns, which were composed 
 upon this occasion, are not only a fine specimen of his poetic genius, 
 unimpaired by disease, but also a striking description of the state of 
 his heart. They were published in the course of the following year. 
 A part of the second of these hymns is well known ; but even that part 
 will be read with superior interest when viewed in connection with 
 the impressive circumstances which called it forth. 
 
 WRITTEN IN THE BEGINNING OF A RECOVERY FROM SICKNESS. 
 Peace, fluttering soul ! the storm is o'er, 
 
 Ended at last the doubtful strife : 
 Respiring now, the cause explore, 
 
 That bound thee to a wretched life. 
 
 When on the margin of the grave, 
 
 Why did I doubt my Saviour's art 1 
 Ah ! why mistrust his will to save 1 
 
 What meant that faltering of my heart 1 
 
 'Tvvas not the searching pain within 
 
 That fill'd my coward flesh with fear ; 
 Nor conscience of uncancell'd sin ; 
 
 Nor sense of dissolution near. 
 
 Of hope I felt no joyful ground, 
 
 The fruit of righteousness alone ; 
 Naked of Christ my soul I found, 
 
 And started from a God unknown. 
 
 Corrupt my will, nor half subdued, 
 
 Could I his purer presence bear ? 
 Unchanged, unhallow'd, unrenew'd. 
 
 Could I before his face appear 1 
 
 Father of mercies, hear my call ! 
 
 Ere yet returns the fatal hour ; 
 Repair my loss, retrieve my fall, 
 
 And raise me by thy quick'ning power. 
 
 My nature re-exchange for thine ; 
 
 Be thou my life, my hope, my gain ; 
 Arm me in panoply divine, 
 
 And Death shall shake his dart in vain. 
 
 When I thy promised Christ have seen, 
 
 And clasp'd him in my soul's embrace, 
 Possess'd of thy salvation, then — 
 
 Then let me, Lord, depart in peace ! 
 
 A few days after writing this beautiful hymn, Mr. Charley Wesley 
 poured forth the feelings of his heart in the following sublime and 
 pious strains ; the power of which must be felt by every reader of taste 
 and judgment : —
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 113 
 
 AFTER A RECOVERY FROM SICKNESS. 
 
 And live I yet by power divine 1 
 And have I still my course to run 1 
 
 Again brought back, in its decline, 
 The shadow of my setting sun 1 
 
 Wond'ring I ask, Is this the breast, 
 Struggling so late and torn with pain! 
 
 The eyes that upward look'd for rest. 
 And dropp'd their weary lids again ! 
 
 The recent horrors still appear : 
 
 may they never cease to awe ! 
 Still be the king of terrors near, 
 
 Whom late in all his pomp I saw. 
 
 Torture and sin prepared his way, 
 
 And pointed to a yawning tomb ; 
 Darkness behind eclipsed the day, 
 
 And check'd my forward hopes of home. 
 
 My feeble flesh refused to bear 
 
 Its strong redoubled agonies : 
 When Mercy heard my speechless prayer, 
 
 And saw me faintly gasp for ease. 
 
 Jesus to my deliv'rance flew, 
 
 Where sunk in mortal pangs I lay : 
 
 Pale Death his ancient conquerer knew, 
 And trembled, and ungfasp'd his prey ! 
 
 The fever turn'd its backward course, 
 
 Arrested by almighty Power ; 
 Sudden expired its fiery force, 
 
 And Anguish gnaw'd my side no more. 
 
 God of my life, what just return 
 
 Can sinful dust and ashes give ? 
 I only live my sin to mourn, 
 
 To love my God I only live ! 
 
 To thee, benign and saving Power, 
 
 1 consecrate my lengthen'd days ; 
 While mark'd with blessings, every hour 
 
 Shall speak thy co-extended praise. 
 
 How shall I teach the world to love, 
 Unchanged myself, unloosed my tongue ? 
 
 Give me the power of faith to prove, 
 And mercy shall be all my song. 
 
 Be all my added life employ'd 
 
 Thy image in my soul to see : 
 Fill with thyself the mighty void ; 
 
 Enlarge my heart to compass thee ! 
 8
 
 15 4 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 give me, Saviour, give me more ! 
 
 Thy mercies to my soul reveal : 
 Alas ! I see their endless store, 
 
 Yet O, I cannot, cannot feci ! 
 
 The blessing of thy love bestow : 
 
 For this my cries shall never fail ; 
 Wrestling, I will not let thee go, 
 
 I will not, till my suit prevail. 
 
 I'll weary thee with my complaint, 
 
 Here at thy feet for ever lie, 
 With longing sick, with groaning faint, 
 
 O give me love, or else I die ! 
 
 Without this best, divinest grace, 
 
 'Tis death, 'tis worse than death, to live ; 
 'Tis hell to want thy blissful face, 
 
 And saints in thee their heaven receive. 
 
 Come then, my hope, my life, my Lord, 
 
 And fix in me thy lasting home ! 
 Be mindful of thy gracious word, 
 
 Thou, with thy promised Father, come. 
 
 Prepare and then possess my heart ; 
 
 take me, seize me from above ! 
 Thee do I love, for God thou art ; 
 
 Thee do I feel, for God is love ! 
 
 On the recovery of his health, Mr. Charles Wesley read the Lite of 
 Mr. Haliburton, which his brother had just abridged, and published in 
 a cheap form. With the perusal of this tract, he states that he " was 
 greatly moved ;" although he was scarcely less tenacious of Law's 
 Mysticism than he had ever been. But the time now drew near when 
 more correct views of divine truth were about to be disclosed to his 
 anxious and inquiring mind. Up to this time the resignation of his 
 secretaryship, though often tendered, had not been accepted ; and he 
 still entertained the purpose of returning to Georgia as a missionary, 
 the trustees having voted him fifty pounds as an acknowledgment of 
 his past services. But he was now compelled, by the effects of his 
 late illness, to abandon his design ; though Mr. Oglethorpe urged him 
 to retain the office of secretary, and provide a deputy to discharge its 
 duties. The subjoined extracts from his journal show the temper of 
 his mind, and the manner in which he was employed. He had hith- 
 erto withstood all the attempts which had been made to convince him 
 that salvation from sin is attainable only by faith. At length, however, 
 he yielded to the power of truth. 
 
 " April 1 5th. Drs. Fruin and Manaton called, and forbade my voyage. 
 Both as physicians and friends, they advised me not to go, but stay at 
 college ; since I might, as senior master, expect offices and preferment. 
 
 8*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 115 
 
 " April 19th. I came up to town, to take my leave of Mr. Oglethorpe, 
 who received me with his accustomed kindness. The next day I had 
 the satisfaction of once more meeting that man of God, Peter Border. 
 
 " April 24th. I took a ride to Blendom In the afternoon we made 
 Mr. Piers a visit ; and, returning, found Mr. Broughton and my brother 
 at Blendon. 
 
 " April 25th. Soon after five, as we were met in our little chapel, 
 Mrs. Delamotte came to us. We sung ; and fell into a dispute whether 
 conversion was gradual or instantaneous. My brother was very posi- 
 tive for the latter, and very shocking ; mentioned some late instances 
 of gross sinners believing in a moment. I was much offended at his 
 worse than unedifying discourse. Mrs. Delamotte left us abruptly. 
 I stayed, and insisted, a man need not know when first he had faith. 
 His obstinacy in favouring the contrary opinion drove me at last out 
 of the rdom. Mr. Broughton was only not so much scandalized as 
 myself. After dinner, he and my brother returned to town. I stayed 
 behind, and read them the Life of Mr. Haliburton ; one instance, but 
 only one, of instantaneous conversion. 
 
 " April 26th. I passed the day at Mr. Piers's, in singing and reading, 
 and mutual encouragement. In the evening we finished Haliburton. 
 The meltingness it occasioned in me (like that before) soon passed 
 away as a morning cloud. Next morning I returned to London. 
 
 " April 28th. No sooner was I got to James Hutton's, having re- 
 moved my things thither from his father's, than the pain in my side 
 returned, and with that my fever. Toward midnight I received some 
 relief by bleeding. In the morning Dr. Cockburn came to see me ; 
 and a better physician, Peter Border, whom God had detained in Eng- 
 land for my good. He stood by my bed-side, and prayed over me ; 
 that now, at least, I might see the divine intention in this and my late 
 illness. I immediately thought it might be, that I should again consi- 
 der Border's doctrine of faith ; examine myself whether I was in the 
 faith ; and if I was not, never cease seeking and longing after it, till 
 I attain it. 
 
 "May 1st. Mr. Piers called to see me. I exhorted him to labour 
 after that faith which he thinks I have, and I know I have not. After 
 receiving the sacrament I felt a small anticipation of peace, and said, 
 ' Now I have demonstration against the Moravian doctrine, that a man 
 cannot have peace, without an assurance of pardon. I now have peace, 
 yet cannot say of a surety that my sins are forgiven.' The next, and 
 several times after, that I received the sacrament, I had not so much 
 as bare attention ; God no longer trusting me with comfort which I 
 should immediately turn against himself." 
 
 Under the date of this day, Mr. John Wesley says, " The return of
 
 116 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 mv brother's illness obliged me again to hasten to London. In the 
 evening 1 found him at James Hutton's, better as to nTs health than I 
 expected; but strongly averse from what he called 'the new faith."' 
 In this state, however, he did not remain; for John adds, " May 3d. 
 my brothel had a long and particular conversation with Peter Border. 
 And now it pleased God to open his eyes ; so that he also saw clearly 
 vrhat waa the nature of that one true living faith, whereby alone, through 
 grace, we are saved." 
 
 On the day following, May 4th, Mr. John Wesley says, " Peter Bohler 
 left London, in order to embark for Carolina. O what a work hath 
 God begun since his coming into England ! Such a one as shall never 
 come to an end till heaven and earth pass away." This declaration 
 seems to be little less than prophetic ; and considering the circum- 
 stances of the case, it is very remarkable. Perhaps all the persons 
 that were directly influenced by Border's instructions scarcely amounted 
 to fifty. His usefulness at this time consisted chiefly in preparing 
 instruments for carrying on the work : and yet the two principal in- 
 struments had not obtained the salvation which they sought, and which 
 they were destined to preach. 
 
 Charles therefore goes on to say, " For some days following I felt a 
 faint longing for faith, and could pray for nothing else. My desires 
 were quickened by a letter from Mr. Edmunds, seeking Christ as in 
 an agony. 
 
 " May 6th. God still kept up the little spark of desire, which he 
 himself had enkindled in me ; and I seemed determined to speak of, 
 and wish for, nothing but faith in Christ. Yet could not this preserve 
 rrfe from sin, which I this day ran into with my eyes open : so that after 
 ten years' vain struggling, I own and feel it absolutely unconquerable. 
 
 " By bearing witness to the truth before Mrs. Delamotte, Mr. Bald- 
 wyn, and others, I found my desires of apprehending Christ increased. 
 
 " May 11th. I was just going to remove to old Mr. Hutton's, when 
 God sent Mr. Bray to me : a poor ignorant mechanic, who knows 
 nothing but Christ ; yet by knowing him knows and discerns all things. 
 Some time ago I had taken leave of Peter Bohler ; confessed my un- 
 belief and want of forgiveness ; but declared my firm persuasion that I 
 should receive the atonement before I died. His answer was, ' Be it 
 unto thee according to thy faith !' 
 
 " Mr. Bray is now to supply Border's place. We prayed together 
 for faith. I was quite overpowered, and melted into tears ; and hereby 
 induced to think it was God's will that I should go to his house, and 
 not to Mr. Hutton's. He was of the same judgment. Accordingly I 
 was carried thither in a chair.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 117 
 
 ** His sister 4 found in earnest pursuit of Christ ; his wife well in- 
 clined to conversion. I had not been here long, when Mr. Broughton 
 called. I hoped to find him altered, like myself. As to Mrs. Turner, 
 he gave her up ; ' but for you, Mrs. Bray,' said he, ' I hope you are still 
 in your senses, and not run mad after a faith Avhich must be felt.' He 
 went on, contradicting and blaspheming. I thought it my duty to with- 
 stand him, and confess my want of faith. ' God help you, poor man !' 
 he replied : ' if I could think you have not faith, I am sure it would 
 drive me to despair.' I put all my hopes of ever attaining it, or eternal 
 salvation, upon the truth of tins assertion : / have not now the faith of 
 the gospel. 
 
 " As soon as he left us, Mr. Bray read me many comfortable scrip- 
 tures, which greatly strengthened my desire ; so that I was persuaded 
 I should not leave his house before I believed with my heart unto 
 righteousness." 
 
 The change of Mr. Charles Wesley's lodgings, as here stated, 
 seemed necessary, both with regard to his personal comfort, and his 
 spiritual interests. From the time at which Samuel left Westminster, 
 whenever John and Charles visited London, the house of Mr. Hutton, 
 a clergyman residing in College-street, Westminster, was their home ; 
 and here they were treated with kindness and hospitality. But the 
 case was now altered. Their host and hostess were exceedingly 
 averse to those evangelical views of conversion, justification, and the 
 new birth, which the brothers entertained. Mr. and Mrs. Hutton had 
 two children, now advanced to years of maturity, both of whom were 
 strongly attached to the Wesleys, and, with them, received the truth 
 as it was expounded by Peter Bohler. This the parents regarded as 
 a great calamity, and were offended beyond endurance. One of their 
 children, James, was a printer and bookseller, whose shop stood a little 
 to the westward of Temple-bar. When Mr. John Wesley abridged the 
 Life of Haliburton, he wished James to print and publish it ; but this 
 his father and mother absolutely forbade him to do, because Halibm^pn 
 was a Presbyterian, and talked of religious " experiences." At the 
 same time, they charged him not to publish any books of a similar 
 kind. Charles was now so far weakened by sickness as to be unable 
 to walk, and was therefore carried from place to place in a chair. 
 While in Georgia, and since his return to England, he had suffered 
 greatly from an exhausting disease ; and the terrible attacks of pleurisy, 
 to which he was still subject, kept him in constant suspense between 
 life and death. While it was thus uncertain whether he could survive 
 many days, his heart was tender ; his spirit contrite, and bowed down 
 under a sense of guilt, corruption, and demerit. He was desirous, 
 above all things, to recover the favour, the peace, and the image of
 
 118 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 God, before he went hence to be no more seen. It w*s natural, there- 
 fore, for him to retire from a house where he was likely to be harassed 
 by controversy and opposition, and choose a quiet residence where his 
 religious friends could have free access to him, and where he was 
 likely to have every help and encouragement in obtaining the Christian 
 salvation, which he felt that he did not as yet possess. He speaks of 
 Mr. Bray, to whose house he was carried, as an illiterate mechanic. 
 He was a brazier, who lived in Little-Britain, near Smithfield ; but he 
 was a happy believer in the Lord Jesus, living in the spirit of faith 
 and prayer, and holy love ; and was able, from his own personal expe- 
 rience, as well as from the sacred volume, to teach even the accom- 
 plished collegian " the way of the Lord more perfectly" than he had 
 hitherto known it. 
 
 At every opportunity Mr. Bray read the Holy Scriptures to the afflicted 
 and anxious inmate of his family, joined with him in supplication to 
 the Father of mercies, and by his advice and sympathy greatly assisted 
 him in the pursuit of the " one thing needful." Ten days after his re- 
 moval to the residence of this humble but devout man, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley entered into that state of spiritual liberty and enjoyment 
 which he prefened to every thing else, both in earth and heaven. 
 During this interval he was visited by several persons, some of whom 
 had obtained " the pearl of great price," and others were pressing hard 
 after it ; for a spirit of inquiry on the subject of religion was then ex- 
 tensively excited, partly by the recent preaching of Mr. Whitefield ; 
 partly by the private labours of Peter Bohler, who had lately left Lon- 
 don ; and partly by the preaching of Mr. John Wesley, who was ad- 
 mitted into several of the London pulpits, and was followed by immense 
 crowds of people. Among those who visited Charles, at this time, 
 was the learned Mr. Ainsworth, author of the Latin Dictionary which 
 bears his name. He was now venerable through age, and attended 
 the Methodist meetings for prayer and spiritual converse, in the spirit 
 of a little child. 
 
 As an illustration of the manner in which Mr. Charles Wesley waited 
 upon God for the gift of faith, and of the salvation connected with it. 
 the following selections from his journal are given : — 
 
 " May 12th. I waked in the same blessed temper, hungry and 
 thirsty after God. I began Isaiah, and seemed to see that to me were 
 the promises made, and would be fulfilled ; for that Christ loved me. 
 I found myself more desirous, more assured, I should believe. This 
 day (and indeed my whole time) I spent in discoursing on faith, either 
 with those that had it, or those that sought it ; in reading the Scrip- 
 tures, and in prayer. 
 
 " I was much moved at the sight of Mr. Ainsworth, a man of great
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 119 
 
 learning, above seventy, who, like old Simeon, was waiting to see the 
 Lord's salvation, that he might depart in peace. His tears, and vehe- 
 mence, and childlike simplicity, showed him upon the entrance of the 
 kingdom of heaven. 
 
 " In the afternoon I read Isaiah with Mr. Edmunds ; saw him full 
 of promises ; and that they belonged to me. In the midst of our read- 
 ing Miss Claggetts came, and asked that they might hear us. We 
 were all much encouraged to pursue the glorious prize, held out to us 
 by the evangelical prophet. When the company was gone, I joined 
 with Mr. Bray, in prayer and the Scripture ; and was so greatly affected, 
 that I almost thought Christ was coming that moment. I concluded 
 the night with private vehement prayer. 
 
 " May 1 3th. I waked without Christ ; yet still desirous of finding 
 him. Soon after William Delamotte came, and read me the sixty- 
 sixth psalm, strangely full of comfortable promises. Toward noon 
 I was enabled to pray with desire and hope, and to lay claim to 
 the promises in general. The afternoon I spent with my friends, in 
 mutual exhortation to wait patiently for the Lord, in prayer and 
 reading. At night my brother came, exceeding heavy. I forced 
 him (as he had often forced me) to sing a hymn to Christ; and almost 
 thought he would come while we were singing : assured he would 
 come quickly. At night I received much light and comfort from the 
 Scriptures. 
 
 " May 14th. The beginning of the day I was heavy, weary, and unable 
 to pray ; but the desire soon returned, and I found much comfort both 
 in prayer and in the word : my eyes being opened more and more to 
 discover and lay hold upon the promises. I longed to find Christ, that 
 I might show him to all mankind ; that I might praise, that I might 
 love him. Several persons called to-day, and were convinced of un- 
 belief. Some of them afterward went to Mr. Broughton, and were soon 
 made as easy as Satan and their own hearts could wish. 
 
 " May 17th. To-day I first saw Luther on the Galatians, which Mr. 
 Holland had accidentally light upon. We began, and found him nobly 
 full of faith. My friend, in hearing him, was so affected as to breathe 
 out sighs and groans unutterable. I marvelled that we were so soon 
 and so entirely removed from him that called us into the grace of 
 Christ, unto another gospel. Who would believe our Church had been 
 founded upon this important article of justification by faith alone ! I 
 am astonished I shoidd ever think this a new doctrine ; especially while 
 our articles and homilies stand unrepealed, and the key of knowledge 
 is not yet taken away. 
 
 " From this time I endeavoured to ground as many of our friends as 
 came, in this fundamental truth,' — salvation by faith alone: not an idle.
 
 I 
 
 120 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 dead faith ; but a faith which works by love, and is necessarily pro- 
 ductive of all good works, and all holiness. 
 
 • 1 spent some hours this evening in private with Martin Luther, 
 who was greatly blessed to me, especially his conclusion of the second 
 . ■haptcr. I laboured, waited, and prayed to feel, 'who loved me, and 
 «ave himself for mc? When nature, near exhausted, forced me to bed, 
 i opened the book upon, ' For he will finish the work, and cut it short 
 in righteousness ; because a short work will the Lord make upon the 
 earth.' After this comfortable assurance that he would come, and 
 vvould not tarry, I slept in peace. 
 
 " May 18th. In the approach of a temptation, I looked up to Christ, 
 and confessed my helplessness. The temptation was immediately 
 beaten down, and- continually kept off, by a power not my own. About 
 midnight I was waked by a return of my pleurisy. I felt great pain, 
 and straitness at my heart ; but found immediate relief by bleeding. I 
 had some discourse with Mr. Bray ; thought myself willing to die the 
 next moment, if I might but believe this : but was sure I could not die 
 till I did believe. I earnestly desired it. 
 
 •• May 19th. At five this morning the pain and difficulty in breathing 
 returned. The surgeon was sent for ; but I fell asleep before he could 
 bleed me a second time. I received the sacrament, but not Christ. 
 
 " Mrs. Turner came, and told me I should not rise from that bed till 
 I believed. I believed her saying, and asked, ' Has God then bestowed 
 faith upon you V ' Yes, he has." ' Why, have you peace with God?' 
 ' Yes, perfect peace.' ' And do you love Christ above all things V ' I 
 do ; above all things incomparably.' ' Then, are you willing to die V 
 'I am ; and would be glad to die this moment ; for I know all my sins 
 are blotted out ; the hand-writing that was against me is taken out of 
 the way, and nailed to the cross. He has saved me by his death ; he 
 has washed me with his blood ; he has hid me in his wounds. I have 
 peace in him, and rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.' 
 
 " Her answers were so full, to these and the most searching ques- 
 tions I could ask, that I had no doubt of her having received the atone- 
 ment ; and waited for it myself with a more assured hope. Feeling an 
 anticipation of joy upon her account, and thanking Christ as I could, 
 1 looked for him all night, with prayers, and sighs, and unceasing 
 desires." 
 
 Such was the manner in which Mr. Charles Wesley waited upon 
 <Tod for that great change in his state and character, upon which he 
 felt that his peace and safety both in time and eternity depended. He 
 was humble, penitent, teachable, and persevering. He read the Holy 
 Scriptures ; studied the promises of God ; was diligent in prayer, both 
 social and private ; and almost daily received the Lord's supper. In
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 121 
 
 obedience to the divine direction, he continued asking, that he might 
 receive ; seeking, that he might find ; knocking at the door of mercy, 
 that it might be opened ; labouring to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 in the earnest hope that the Holy Spirit would impart the full power 
 of faith, and then witness his adoption, and purify his heart. 
 
 The frequent returns of his pleurisy, and his very enfeebled state, 
 appear to have alarmed his friends, who began to be apprehensive that 
 his end was near. His brother, therefore, and a few others, met to- 
 gether on Saturday evening, and spent the night in prayer. The next 
 day was Whit-Sunday, on the morning of which he was enabled to 
 believe to the saving of his soul. The great change which then passed 
 upon him, and the circumstances connected with it, he has described 
 in his private journal. The following is his own account : — 
 
 " THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 
 
 " Sunday, May 21st, 1738. I waked in hope and expectation of His 
 coming. At nine my brother and some friends came and sung a hymn 
 to the Holy Ghost. My comfort and hope Avere hereby increased. In 
 about half an hour they went. I betook myself to prayer : the sub- 
 stance as follows : — ' Jesus, thou hast said, / will come unto you. 
 Thou hast said, I will send the Comforter unto you. Thou hast said, 
 My Father and I will come unto you, and make our abode with you. 
 Thou art God, who canst not lie. I wholly rely upon thy most true 
 promise. Accomplish it in thy time and manner.' Having said this, 
 I was composing myself to sleep, in quietness and peace, when I heard 
 one come in, (Mrs. Musgrave, I thought, by the voice,) and say, ' In the 
 name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise, and believe, and thou shalt be healed 
 of all thy infirmities !' I wondered how it should enter into her head 
 to speak in that manner. The words struck me to the heart. I sighed, 
 and said within myself, ' O that Christ would but speak thus to me !' 
 I lay musing and trembling ; then I rung ; and Mrs. Turner coming, 
 desired her to send up Mrs. Musgrave. She went down, and return- 
 ing, said, Mrs. Musgrave had not been here. My heart simk within 
 me at the word ; and I hoped it might be Christ indeed. However, I 
 sent her down again to inquire, and felt in the mean time a strange pal- 
 pitation of heart ; and said, yet feared to say, ' I believe ! I believe !' 
 
 " She came up again, and said, ' It was I, a weak, sinful creature, 
 that spoke ; but the words were Christ's. He commanded me to say 
 them ; and so constrained me, that I could not forbear.' 
 
 " I sent for Mr. Bray, and asked him whether I believed. He an- 
 swered, I ought not to doubt of it: it was Christ that spoke to me. 
 He knew it, and willed us to pray together. ' But first,' said he, ' I 
 will read what I have casually opened upon : Blessed is the man whose
 
 122 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto 
 whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile: 
 Still I i'elt a violent opposition, and reluctance to believe ; yet still the 
 Spirit of God strove with my own, and the evil spirit, till by degrees he 
 chased away the darkness of my unbelief. I found myself convinced, 
 I knew not how nor when ; and immediately fell to intercession." 
 
 The fact is, this plain, illiterate woman, had a deep and solemn con- 
 viction that she ought thus to address the afflicted penitent, who was 
 weeping and praying for pardon, peace, and holiness ; but recollecting 
 that he was a scholar and a clergyman, she was afraid to do it. She 
 durst not speak to him in this manner face to face, and with difficulty 
 prevailed upon herself to utter these words as she stood upon the stairs. 
 By this humble instrumentality it pleased God to produce in the heart 
 of his servant the vital faith which he so earnestly desired. 
 
 " On Sunday morning," says Mr. Charles Wesley, " she took Mr. 
 Bray aside, burst into tears, and informed him of the matter ; objecting, 
 she was a poor, weak, sinful creature ; and should she go to a minister ! 
 She could not do it, nor rest till she did. He asked her whether she 
 had ever found herself so before. ' No, never.' ' Why, then,' said he, 
 ' go. Remember Jonah. You declare promises, not threatenings. Go 
 in the name of the Lord. Fear not your own weakness. Speak you 
 the words. Christ will do the work. Out of the mouths of babes and 
 sucklings hath he ordained strength.' They prayed together ; and she 
 then went up, but durst not come in till she had again prayed by her- 
 self. About six minutes after she had left him, he found and felt, while 
 she was speaking the words, that Christ was with us. 
 
 " I never heard words uttered with like solemnity. The sound of 
 her voice was entirely changed into that of Mrs. Musgrave. (If I can 
 be sure of any thing sensible.) I rose, and looked into the Scripture. 
 The words that first presented were, ' And now, Lord, what is my 
 hope ? Truly, my hope is even in thee.' I then cast down my eye, 
 and met, ' He hath put a new song in my mouth, even a thanksgiving 
 unto our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall put their trust in 
 the Lord.'* Afterward I opened upon Isaiah xl, 1 : ' Comfort ye, com- 
 fort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusa- 
 lem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity 
 is pardoned : for she hath received at the Lord's hand double for all 
 her sins.' 
 
 " I now found myself at peace with God, and rejoiced in hope of 
 loving Christ. My temper, for the rest of the day, was mistrust of my 
 
 * Here, and in many other places, Mr. Wesley quotes the Prayer-Book version. — 
 Amer. Ed.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 123 
 
 own great, but before unknown, weakness. I saw that by faith I stood ; 
 and the continual support of faith, which kept me from falling, though 
 of myself I am ever sinking into sin. I went to bed still sensible of 
 my own weakness, (I humbly hope to be more and more so,) yet con- 
 fident of Christ's protection." 
 
 When Mr. John Wesley left the sick-bed of his brother this morning, 
 he went to one of the churches in London, to hear the celebrated Dr. 
 John Heylyn preach ; and afterward assisted the doctor in the admi- 
 nistration of the Lord's supper, the curate having been taken ill during 
 the service. On leaving the church, says he, " I received the sur- 
 prising news, that my brother had found rest to his soul. His bodily 
 strength returned also from that hour. ' Who is so great a God as 
 our God ?' " 
 
 When Mr. Charles Wesley first believed with the heart unto right- 
 eousness, his faith was weak ; so that, to use his own expressive lan- 
 guage, he held the Saviour " with a trembling hand." But by prayer, 
 spiritual conversation, and the practical study of the inspired volume, 
 his confidence waxed stronger, and his evidence of the divine favour 
 became increasingly distinct and vivid. He was now more sensible 
 of his own weakness than he had ever been before, even when sin 
 had the dominion over him. He felt that all his sufficiency was of the 
 Lord ; so that he realized the apostolic paradox, " When I am weak, 
 then am I strong." Indeed, the very act of faith is a renunciation of 
 self, and a laying hold upon Christ as our 
 
 " strength and righteousness, 
 Our Saviour, and our all." 
 
 Mr. John Wesley was doubtless greatly encouraged, by his brother's 
 happy experience, in the pursuit of the same salvation, for which he 
 had long intensely hungered and thirsted ; and with respect to him 
 also the time of liberty drew near. On the day after Charles had 
 found peace, he says, " My brother coming, we joined in intercession 
 for him. In the midst of prayer, I almost believed the Holy Ghost 
 was coining upon him. In the evening we sung and prayed again." 
 They did not pray in vain. 
 
 " In the evening" of the following Wednesday, says John, " I went 
 very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate-street, where one was read- 
 ing Luther's ' Preface to the Epistle to the Romans.' About a quarter 
 before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in 
 the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. 
 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. 
 
 " I began to pray with all my might for those who had in a more
 
 124 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 especial manner despitefully used me, and persecuted me. I then tes- 
 tified openly to all there, what I now first felt in my heart. But it was 
 not long before the enemy suggested, ' This cannot be faith ; for where 
 is tliv joy V Then I was taught that peace and victory over sin are 
 essential to faith in the Captain of our salvation ; but that, as to the 
 transports of j°y th at usually attend the beginning of it, especially in 
 those who have mourned deeply, God sometimes giveth, sometimes 
 withholdeth, them, according to the counsels of his own will." 
 
 Charles was not present at the meeting where his brother entered 
 into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. He was confined to his 
 room in Little-Britain, and had spent the whole day in a most devout 
 and pious manner. "At eight" o'clock, says he, "I prayed by 
 myself for love, with some feeling, and assurance of feeling more. 
 Toward ten my brother was brought in triumph by a troop of our 
 friends, and declared, ' I believe !' We sung the hymn with great joy, 
 and parted with prayer. At midnight I gave myself up to Christ, 
 assured I was safe, sleeping or waking." 
 
 " The hymn" which the party sung upon this joyful occasion was 
 doubtless one which Charles has mentioned in his journal, as being 
 written by him two days before, on the subject of his own conver- 
 sion. He has not stated which of his hymns it was ; but the probability 
 is, it was either the thirtieth or the two hundred and first of the [London] 
 Wesleyan Collection. Both these hymns are appropriate, and they 
 were published a few months after the conversion of the brothers. 
 The first of them begins thus : — 
 
 Where shall my wondering soul begin 1 
 
 How shall I all to heaven aspire 1 
 A slave redeem'd from death and sin, 
 
 A brand pluck'd from etenial fire, 
 How shall I equal triumphs raise, 
 Or sing my great Deliverer's praise 1 
 
 O how shall I the goodness tell, 
 
 Father, which thou to me hast show'd 1 
 That I, a child of wrath and hell, 
 
 I should be call'd a child of God, 
 Should know, should feel my sins forgiven, 
 
 Bless'd with this antepast of heaven ! 
 
 The second of these hymns concludes Avith the following stanzas : — 
 
 Long my imprison'd spirit lay 
 
 Fast bound in sin and nature's night ; 
 Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray ; 
 
 I woke ; the dungeon flamed with light ; 
 My chains fell off, my heart was free, 
 I rose, went forth, and follow'd thee.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 125 
 
 No condemnation now I dread ; 
 
 Jesus, and all in him, is mine ! 
 Alive in him, my living Head, 
 
 And clothed in righteousness divine, 
 Bold I approach th' eternal throne, 
 And claim the crown through Christ my own. 
 
 The following fine verses appear to have been addressed by Charles 
 to John, upon the holy and joyous occasion of his acquiring the true 
 Christian faith. They were published during the next year, under the 
 title of 
 
 CONGRATULATION TO A FRIEND UPON BELIEVING IN CHRIST. 
 
 What morn on thee with sweeter ray, 
 
 Or brighter lustre, ere hath shined? 
 Be bless'd the memorable day 
 
 That gave thee Jesus Christ to find ! 
 Gave thee to taste his perfect grace, 
 From death to life in him to pass ! 
 
 how diversified the scene, 
 
 Since first that heart began to beat ! 
 Evil and few thy days have been 
 
 In suffering and in comfort great : 
 Oft hast thou groan'd beneath thy load, 
 And sunk — into the arms of God ! 
 
 Long did all hell its powers engage, 
 
 And fill'd thy darken'd soul with fears : 
 Baffled at length the dragon's rage, 
 
 At length th' atoning blood appears ; 
 Thy light is come, thy mourning's o'er ; 
 Look up ; for thou shalt weep no more ! 
 
 Bless'd be the Name that sets thee free, 
 
 The -Name that sure salvation brings ! 
 The Sun of righteousness on thee 
 
 Hath rose, with healing in his wings. 
 Away let grief and sighing flee ; 
 Jesus hath died for thee — for thee ! 
 
 To the principles which John and Charles Wesley recognised in the 
 act of their conversion, they steadily adhered to the end of their lives. 
 The careful study of the Holy Scriptures, their acquaintance with Pro- 
 testant theology, and their observation of the work of God in his church, 
 all served to strengthen their conviction that they had not been misled 
 in submitting to the test of experience the doctrine of salvation by faith, 
 which they had first learned from Peter Border. They saw with 
 increasing clearness, that the Christian faith which is described in the 
 Acts of the Apostles, and in the apostolical Epistles, is not a mere
 
 126 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 assent to the general truth of the gospel, nor a mere belief of its 
 essential doctrines, but a personal trust in the sacrificial blood of the 
 Son of God, exercised in a penitent state of heart, and productive both 
 of peace of conscience, and of inward and outward holiness. This 
 became the principal topic of their ministry ; and while its truth was to 
 •Inn! matter of personal consciousness, they saw it exemplified in the 
 character of thousands of their spiritual children. It was, in fact, 
 under God, the great secret of their power, both as preachers and 
 writers. Under the divine sanction and blessing, they illustrated, 
 enforced, and defended this doctrine with unexampled energy and 
 effect. It was a happy day, not only to themselves, but for the world, 
 when, after a protracted course of painful preparation, they received 
 this truth, and were qualified to preach it to all men, out of the fulness 
 of a heart purified by faith from its guilt and natural corruption. 
 
 For the long space of ten years had Charles been labouring after 
 holiness, without attaining to it ; and for the longer space of twelve or 
 thirteen years had John been engaged in the same pursuit, and with the 
 same want of success. They were still in the state which is described 
 in the seventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. They were " car- 
 nal, and sold under sin." Their struggles to get free from it were 
 powerless and unavailing ; so that after a thousand resolutions and 
 efforts, they could only lament, in the bitterness of disappointed hope, 
 " wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of 
 this death ?" Now they were translated from the legal to the evan- 
 gelical state ; and could testify with the apostle, " Being justified by 
 faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by 
 whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, 
 and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." " The law of the Spirit of 
 life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." 
 " Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again unto fear ; but ye 
 have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 
 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the chil- 
 dren of God." " Whom, having not seen, ye love ; in whom, though 
 now ye see him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and 
 full of glory : receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your 
 souls." Their friend, the Rev. John Gambold, incumbent of Stanton- 
 Harcourt, and one of their Oxford companions, received the truth at the 
 same time, and through the same instrumentality. Like them, he had 
 long been wandering in the labyrinths of Mysticism, wearying himself 
 for very vanity ; and on emerging into light, he appositely denominated 
 the evangelical method of justification by faith, " the sinner's short way 
 to God." 
 
 Next to the study of the Holy Scriptures, the Wesleys were esta-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 127 
 
 blished in the truth by reading the Homilies of the Church of England. 
 They wondered, as well they might, that they had so long overlooked 
 the obvious meaning of their own formularies. While the doctrine of 
 present salvation from the guilt and power of sin, by faith in the Lord 
 Jesus, meets the wants of fallen man, and is thus of universal applica- 
 tion, it is the most effectual antidote to popery ; and in this light it was 
 regarded by all the Protestant reformers. Against the advocates of this 
 vital truth, therefore, the papal Council of Trent levelled its bitterest 
 anathemas ; and the same important tenet is now assailed by misre- 
 presentation and unmeaning verbiage by the men who are attempting 
 to revive the dogmas of Romanism in the Church of England, and to 
 supersede the Scriptural theology of the Reformation.* 
 
 * CHAPTER V. 
 
 The day on which Mr. Charles Wesley came to Christ, weary and 
 heavy laden, and found rest to his soul, was unquestionably the most 
 important period of his existence. He then felt that he passed from 
 death unto life. His spiritual enjoyments now began, in all their rich- 
 ness and depth; and he entered upon a course of ministerial useful- 
 ness, of which, up to this period, he had no conception. It is easy to 
 trace, in his subsequent spirit and practice, all the Scriptural marks of 
 a renewed nature. His conscience was exceedingly tender. He 
 watched the workings of his heart with unremitting care, fearful lest he 
 should sin against God, by pride, or any other evil temper. The 
 means of grace were his delight ; for in the use of them he enjoyed 
 communion with God. Before the end of the month his health was so 
 far improved that he was able to go abroad ; and he was then every 
 day an attendant at church, where he received the Lord's supper at 
 every opportunity. He appears indeed to have still communicated with 
 his friends almost daily. The Bible was his constant companion. He 
 read it, and meditated upon it, day and night. In consequence of his 
 
 * Allusion is here especially intended to Dr. Pusey's Letter to the bishop of Oxford, 
 and Mr. Newman's Lectures on Justification. The first of these publications contains 
 such misstatements concerning the Wesleyan tenets as it is hard to reconcile with 
 honesty of purpose. As to many passages in the latter of these works, conjectures 
 may indeed be formed respecting their import ; but what the author really intended to 
 teach, on the all-important subject of justification before God, it would be difficult to 
 decide. It cannot be here said that the trumpet does not give an uncertain sound. 
 Like the true theologues of the Roman school, the author 
 
 " Leads to bewilder, and dazzles to blind."
 
 128 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 lon<* and severe afflictions, he was, as yet, unable to address large con- 
 
 gregations in public; but, like the apostles at Jerusalem, "daily, and 
 
 in every house," where he could gain access, " he ceased not to teach 
 
 and preach Jesus Christ." . In private companies, where many resorted 
 
 id liini, he read the Scriptures, sung hymns, related his religious ex- 
 
 (m rit nee, and urged upon all the duty and privilege of an immediate 
 
 application to Christ, in faith, for pardon, and peace, and holiness. 
 
 \cvrr did he forget the bright and joyous days which immediately 
 
 followed his espousal to Christ ; and every remembrance of them was 
 
 refreshing to his heart. The most perfect picture of his feelings and 
 
 character at this period is that which was drawn many years afterward 
 
 by his own inimitable hand. It was not under the mere influence of a 
 
 lively and poetic imagination, but of deep and holy feeling, that he 
 
 thus sung : — 
 
 How happy are they who the Saviour obey, &c. 
 
 A few extracts from his journal will best show the spirit by which 
 he was actuated ; the manner in which he spent his time ; the oppo- 
 sition which he had to encounter ; the success with which his efforts 
 to convert others were crowned ; and the unction from God which 
 rested upon the people around him. Among other persons who re- 
 ceived spiritual benefit from his instrumentality at this time, were the 
 learned Mr. Ainsworth, already mentioned ; Mr. Piers, the vicar of 
 Bexley ; Mr. John Byrom, the poet of Manchester, author of a system 
 of short-hand, who was a member of the University of Cambridge ; and 
 different members of the Delamotte family at Blendon. 
 
 " May 24th. I was much pleased to-day at the sight of Mr. Ains- 
 worth ; a little child, full of grief, and fears, and love. At our repeat- 
 ing the line of the hymn, 
 
 ' Now descend and shake the earth,' 
 he fell down, as in an agony. 
 
 " May 26th. We joined this morning in supplication for the poor 
 malefactors, while passing to execution ; and in the sacrament com- 
 mended their souls to Christ. The great comfort we found therein 
 made us confidently hope, some of them were received as the penitent 
 thief at the last hour. 
 
 " May 27th. I felt a motion of anger from a trifling disappointment ; 
 but it was no sooner felt than conquered. 
 
 " June 3d. In the evening Mr. Brown, Holland, and others, called. 
 I was very averse to coming among them ; but forced myself to it, and 
 spent two or three hours in singing, reading, and prayer. This exer- 
 cise a little revived me, and I found myself much assisted to pray. 
 We asked particularly that, if it was the will of God, some one might 
 now receive the atonement. While I was yet speaking the words, Mr
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 129 
 
 Brown found power to believe. He rose, and told me, my prayer was 
 heard, and answered in him. We were all full of joy and thanksgiving. 
 Before we parted, I prayed with Mr. Brown, and praised God, to the 
 great confirmation of my faith. The weight was quite taken off. I 
 found power to pray with great earnestness. 
 
 " June 5th. I waked thankful, with power to pray and praise. I had 
 peace at the sacrament, and some attention in public prayer. In the 
 afternoon I met Mrs. Sims, with Mr. and Mrs. Burton, at Islington. 
 He told me God had given him faith while I was praying the last night ; 
 but he thought it would do hurt to declare it then. Upon finding his 
 heart burn within him, he desired God would give him some token of 
 his faith, and immediately opened on, ' Let there be light ; and there 
 was light.' We rejoiced together in prayer and singing ; and left the 
 rest of the company much stirred up to wait for the same unspeakable 
 gift. 
 
 " June 7th. Returning home, I found Dr. Byrom ; and, in defiance 
 of the tempter, simply told him the great things Jesus had done for me 
 and many others. This drew on a full explanation of the doctrine of 
 faith, which he received with wonderful readiness. Toward midnight 
 I slept in peace. 
 
 " June 8th. I took coach for Blendon, with Mr. Bray. I had much 
 talk with a lady about the fall, and faith in Christ. She openly main- 
 tained the merit of good works. I woidd that all who oppose the 
 righteousness of faith were so ingenuous : then would they no longer 
 seek it as it were by the works of the law. Before seven we came 
 to Eltham. In riding thence to Blendon, I was full of delight, and 
 seemed in a new heaven and a new earth. We prayed, and sung, 
 and shouted all the way. We found Miss Betsy and Hetty at home, 
 and prayed that this day salvation might come to this house. In the 
 lesson were these words, ' This is the accepted time ; this is the day 
 of salvation.' 
 
 " June 9th. I prayed with fervour for the family. The second lesson 
 was blind Bartimeus. In riding to Bexley with Mr. Piers, I spake of 
 my experience with simplicity and confidence, and found him very ready 
 to receive the faith. We spent the day in the same manner ; Mr. Bray 
 relating the inward workings of God upon his soul ; and I, the great 
 things he had lately done for me, and our friends at London. He 
 listened eagerly to all that was said, not making the least objection ; 
 but confessing, it was what he had never experienced. We walked, 
 and sung, and prayed in the garden. He was greatly moved, and 
 testified his full conviction, and desire of finding Christ ; ' but I must 
 first,' said he, 'prepare myself by long exercise of prayer and good 
 works.' 
 
 9
 
 130 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " At night wc joined in prayer for Hetty. Never did I pray with 
 greater earnestness, expecting an immediate answer, and being much 
 disappointed at not finding it. I was in great heaviness for her, and 
 could not sleep till morning. Waking full of desire for her conversion, 
 those words were brought to my remembrance : ' The Spirit and the 
 bride say, Come ; and let him that heareth say, Come ; and whosoever 
 will, let him come, and take of the water of life freely.' 
 
 " Yesterday Miss Betsy plainly informed me, that after her last re- 
 ceiving the sacrament, she had heard a voice, ' Go thy way ; thy sins 
 are forgiven thee ;' and was filled thereby with joy unspeakable. She 
 said within herself, ' Now I do indeed feed upon Christ in my heart 
 by faith ;' and continued all the day in the spirit of triumph and exulta- 
 tion. All her life, she thought, would be too little to thank God for 
 that day ; yet soon after this it was that the enemy got so great advan- 
 tage over her, in making her oppose the truth with such fierceness. 
 For many days she did not know that she had in herself demonstration 
 of that she denied. But after we had prayed that God would clear up 
 his own work, the darkness dispersed, and those fears that her conver- 
 sion was not real, by little and little were all done away. 
 
 " June 10th. In the morning lesson was that glorious description of 
 the power of faith, Mark xi, 22-24. We pleaded this promise in be- 
 half of our seeking friends, particularly Hetty and Mr. Piers. He 
 came with his wife. The day before our coming he had been led to 
 read the Homily on Justification, which convinced him, that in him 
 dwelt no good thing. Now he likewise saw that the thoughts of his 
 heart were only evil continually; forasmuch as whatsoever is not of 
 faith is sin. He asked of God to give him some comfort, and found it 
 in Luke v, 23, &c. : ' Whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven 
 thee ; or to say, Rise up and walk V This was the very miracle, I told 
 him, from which God had shown his intention to heal me ; and it was 
 a sign of the like to be done for him. Mr. Bray moved for retiring to 
 prayer. We prayed again and again, and asked him whether he be- 
 lieved Christ could just now manifest himself to his soul. He an- 
 swered, ' Yes.' We read him the promise made to the prayer of faith. 
 Mr. Bray bade me speak some promise to him authoritatively, and he 
 should find Christ make it good. I had not faith to do it. He made 
 me pray again, and then read the sixty-fifth psalm. I felt every word 
 of it for my friend ; particularly, ' Thou that hearest the prayer, unto 
 thee shall all flesh come. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, 
 and receivest unto thee. He shall dwell in thy court, and shall be 
 satisfied with the plenteousness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. 
 Thou shalt show us wonderful things in thy righteousness, O God of 
 our salvation, thou that art the hope of all the ends of the earth.' 
 
 9*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 131 
 
 " Seeing the great confidence of Mr. Bray, and the deep humility 
 of Mr. Piers, I began to think the promise would be fulfilled before we 
 left the room. My fellow- worker with God seemed full of faith, and 
 of the Holy Ghost ; and told him, ' If you can but touch the hem of his 
 garment, you shall be made whole.' 
 
 " We prayed for him a third time, the Spirit greatly helping our 
 infirmities ; and then asked if he believed. He answered, ' Yes :' the 
 Spirit witnessing with our spirits, that his heart was as our heart. 
 Bray said, ' I now know of a truth that Christ is in you.' We were 
 all filled with joy. We returned thanks, and prayed for a blessing 
 upon his ministry; and then brought him down in triumph. Miss 
 Betsy was greatly strengthened hereby, and bold to confess she ' be- 
 lieved.' All her speech now was, ' I only hope that I shall never lose 
 this comfort.' 
 
 " The day was spent in prayer and conference. Mrs. Piers was 
 with all ease convinced of unbelief. After supper I discoursed on faith 
 from the lesson. The poor servants received the word gladly. 
 
 "June 11th. While Mr. Piers was preaching upon death, I found 
 great joy in feeling myself willing, or rather desirous, to die. After 
 prayers we joined in intercession for Mr. and Mrs. Delamotte ; then 
 for poor Hetty. I received much comfort in reading Luther. We took 
 coach for church. In singing I observed Hetty join with a mixture 
 of fear and joy. I earnestly prayed, and expected she should meet 
 with something to confirm her in the service. Both the psalms and 
 lessons were full of consolation. 
 
 " We adjourned to Mr. Piers's, and joined in prayer for a poor woman 
 in despair, one Mrs. Searl, Avhom Satan had bound these many years. 
 I saw her pass by in the morning, and was touched with a sense of her 
 misery. After pleading His promise of being with us to the end of the 
 world, we went down to her in the name of Jesus. I asked her whe- 
 ther she thought God was love, and not anger, as Satan would per- 
 suade her. Then I preached the gospel, which she received with all 
 imaginable eagerness. When we had for some time continued together 
 in prayer, she rose up another creature, strongly and explicitly de- 
 claring her faith in the blood of Christ, and full persuasion that she 
 was accepted in the Beloved. Hetty then declared that she could not 
 but believe, Christ died for her, even for her. We gave thanks for 
 both with much exultation and triumph. 
 
 " After family prayer I expounded the lesson, and going up to my 
 chamber, asked the maid, (Mary,) how she found herself. She an- 
 swered, ' O sir, what you said was very comfortable, how that Christ 
 was made sin for me, that I might be made the righteousness of God 
 in him ; that is, he was put in my place, and I in his.' ' Do you then
 
 ] 32 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 believe this, that Christ died for you V ' Yes ; I do believe it ; and I 
 famd myself as I never did before, when you spoke the word.' ' But 
 do you find within yourself that your sins are forgiven V ' Yes ; I do.' 
 These and the like answers, which she made with great simplicity, 
 convinced me that faith had come to her by hearing. We joined in 
 grang glory to God ; for we perceived and confessed, it was his doing. 
 It pleased him likewise to bless me with a deep and hitherto unknown 
 dread of ascribing any thing to myself. 
 
 "June 12th. This morning Mrs. Piers told me, she had always 
 doubted her having true faith.; but now declared with tears, she was 
 convinced her sins were forgiven, and she did believe indeed. We all 
 went to Mrs. Searl, in strong temptation, nothing doubting but we should 
 see the power of Christ triumphing over that of Satan. The enemy had 
 wot no advantage over her, though he had laboured all night to trouble 
 and confound her. As often as she named the name of Jesus, he was 
 repelled, and her soul at peace. We were much edified by her deep 
 humility ; and preached the gospel to her and her husband, who re- 
 ceived it readily. After prayer she rose with, ' How shall I be thankful 
 enough to my Saviour V We parted in a triumphant hymn. 
 
 " June 13th. Mr. Piers was sent for to a dying woman. She was 
 in despair, ' having done so much evil, and so little good.' He declared 
 to her the glad tidings of salvation; that as all her good, were it ten 
 thousand times more, could never save her : so all her evil could never 
 hurt her ; if she could repent and believe ; if she could lay hold on 
 Christ by a living faith, and look for salvation by grace only. This 
 was comfort indeed. She gladly quitted her own merits for Christ's. 
 The Holy Ghost wrought faith in her heart, which she expressed in a 
 calm, cheerful, triumphant expectation of death. Her fears and agonies 
 were at an end. Being justified by faith, she had peace with God, and 
 only entered further into her rest by dying a few hours after. The 
 spectators were melted into tears. She calmly passed into the hea- 
 venly Canaan, and has there brought up a good report of her faithful 
 pastor, who, under Christ, hath saved her soul from death. These 
 were the first-fruits of his ministry ; and I find him strengthened hereby, 
 and more assured that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to 
 every one that believeth. 
 
 " June 14th. After morning prayer in the little chapel, I kept Hannah 
 from going, that we might first pray for her ; but we quickly found 
 there was great cause of thanksgiving. She told me she was read- 
 ing a collect last night, which gave her vast pleasure : ' Almighty 
 God, whom truly to know is eternal life, grant us perfectly to know 
 thy Son Jesus Christ, to be the way, the truth, and the life.' ' To 
 be sure, sir,' said she, ' I found myself so easy immediately, that I
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 133 
 
 cannot tell you.' A few questions fully satisfied us, that she was a true 
 believer. 
 
 " On the road I overtook Frank, and asked what he thought of these 
 things. He answered, ' I was greatly delighted with one thing you 
 said, how that Christ was made sin for us, that we might be made the 
 righteousness of God in him.' Upon further examination, I found him 
 manifestly in the faith. We talked and rejoiced together till we came 
 to Eltham. He there left me, resolved to publish everywhere what 
 great things Jesus had done for him. 
 
 " The coach was filled with young ladies. I was forced to leave 
 off reading, that I might interrupt their scandal. At London I was in- 
 formed that my brother was gone, with Mr. Ingham and Toelchig, to 
 Hernhuth. The news surprised, but did not disquiet, me. 
 
 "June 16th. After dinner Jack Delamotte came for me. We took 
 coach ; and by the way he told me, that when we were last together at 
 Blendon, in singing, 
 
 ' "Who for me, for me hath died,' 
 
 he found the words sink into his soul ; could have sung them for ever, 
 being full of delight and joy. Since then he has thought himself led, 
 as it were, in every thing. He feared nothing so much as offending 
 God ; could pray with life ; and, in a word, found that he did indeed 
 believe in the Lord Jesus. While the coach stopped I got out to re- 
 prove a man for swearing. He thanked me most heartily. We took 
 up Hetty at Blendon, and went on to Bexley. The next day we saw 
 and I prayed with Mrs. Searl, to oiir mutual encouragement. Mr. Searl 
 heard us gladly. The afternoon we passed with our friends at Blen- 
 don. Here I was stopped by the return of my pain, and forced to bed. 
 Desires of death continually rose in me, which I laboured to check, 
 not daring to form any wish concerning it. June 18th the pain abated, 
 and the next day left me. 
 
 " June 21st. I was concerned at having been here several days, and 
 done nothing. I preached forgiveness to Mr. Piers's man, who seemed 
 well disposed for receiving it by a true simplicity. We prayed to- 
 gether, and went to public prayers. In the second lesson was the 
 paralytic healed. I came home with the Miss Delamottes, Mrs. Searl, 
 and the man, who declared before us all, that God had given him faith 
 by hearing the sick of the palsy healed. We returned hearty thanks. 
 The Lord gave us more matter for thanksgiving at Blendon, where I 
 read my brother's sermon on faith. When it was over, the gardener 
 declared faith had come to him by hearing it ; and he had no doubt of 
 his sins being forgiven. ' Nay, was I to die just now,' he added, ' I 
 know I should be accepted through Christ Jesus.' 

 
 134 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " June 22d. I comforted Hetty under a strong temptation, because 
 she was not in all points affected like other believers, especially the 
 poor, who have generally a much larger degree of confidence than the 
 rich and learned. I had a proof of this to-day at Mrs. Searl's, where, 
 meeting a poor woman, and convincing her of unbelief, I used a prayer 
 for her, that God, who hath chosen the poor of this world to be rich in 
 faith, would now impart to her his unspeakable gift. In the midst of 
 the prayer she received it ; avowed it openly ; and increased visibly 
 therein. In the evening we had a meeting at Mr. Piers's. I read my 
 brother's sermon. God set his seal to the truth of it, by sending his 
 Spirit upon Mr. Searl and a maid servant, purifying their hearts by 
 faith. This occasioned our triumphing in the name of Jesus our God. 
 
 " June 24th. Riding to Blendon in the morning, I met William De- 
 lamotte, just come from Cambridge. He had left town well disposed 
 to the obedience of faith ; but now I observed his countenance altered. 
 He had been strongly prejudiced by the good folk at London. At 
 Blendon I found Mrs. Delamotte not over cordial, yet civil. I met 
 letters from my mother, heavily complaining of my brother's forsaking 
 her, and requiring me to accept the first preferment that offered, on pain 
 of disobedience. This a little disquieted me. I was not much com- 
 forted by William Delamotte, but extremely moved for him. I could 
 not refrain from tears. His sisters joined us. I began preaching faith 
 and free grace. His objection was, that it was unjust in God to make 
 sinners equal with us, who had laboured perhaps many years. We 
 proposed singing a hymn. He saw the title, ' Faith in Christ ;' and 
 owned he could not bear it. 
 
 " In our way to church I again proclaimed to him the glad tidings 
 of salvation. He was exceeding heavy, and by his own confession 
 miserable ; yet could he not receive this saying : ' We are justified 
 freely by faith alone.' 
 
 " June 25th. I stayed to preach faith to Mrs. Delamotte, whom Pro- 
 vidence brought home yesterday, I trust for that very purpose. I was 
 so faint, and full of pain, that I had not power to speak ; but I had no 
 sooner begun my sermon than all my weakness vanished. God gave 
 me strength and boldness ; and after an hour's speaking, I found myself 
 perfectly well. I went and accosted Mrs. Delamotte in her pew: just 
 as shy as I expected. Let it work. God look to the event ! After 
 evening prayer she just spake to me. Betsy wondered she could 
 bring herself to it. 
 
 " June 26th. I waited upon Mrs. Delamotte, expecting what hap- 
 pened. She fell abruptly upon my sermon, for the false doctrine 
 therein. I answered, I staked my all upon the truth of it. She went 
 on : 'It is hard, people must have their children seduced in their ab-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 135 
 
 sence. If every one must have your faith, what will become of all the 
 world ? Have you this assurance, Mr. Piers V ' Yes, madam, in some 
 degree ; I thank God for it.' ' I am sorry to hear it.' One of the 
 company cried, ' I am glad to hear of it ; and bless God for him ; and 
 wish all mankind had it too.' 
 
 " She moved for reading a sermon of Archbishop Sharpe. Mr. 
 Piers read. We excepted continually to his unscriptural doctrine. 
 Much dispute ensued. She accused my brother of preaching an in- 
 stantaneous faith. ' As to that,' I replied, ' we cannot but speak the 
 things which we have seen and heard. I received it in that manner ; 
 as have above thirty others in my presence.' She started up ; said, 
 she could not bear it ; and ran out of the house. Will protested against 
 her behaviour. In the beginning I had found the old man rise ; but 
 grew calmer and calmer the longer we talked. Glory be to God 
 through Christ! I offered to go; but they would not let me. Betsy 
 went, and at last prevailed upon her to come in. Nothing more was 
 said. At six I took my leave. Poor Hannah and Mary came to the 
 door, and caught hold of my hand. Hannah cried, ' Do not be dis- 
 couraged, sir : I hope we shall all continue steadfast.' I could not 
 refrain from tears. Hetty came in. I exhorted her to persevere. I 
 took horse. Will seemed much better disposed than his mother. He 
 promised to come and see me the next day. I joined with Mr. Piers 
 in singing, 
 
 ' Shall I, for fear of feeble man, 
 The Spirit's course in me restrain V 
 
 and in hearty prayer for Mrs. Delamotte. 
 
 " June 27th. William Delamotte came to Mr. Piers's. I was full 
 of hope for him. He told me he had written two sheets against the 
 truth ; but in seeking after more texts, he had met one that quite 
 spoiled all : ' Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but 
 according to his mercy he saved us.' This convinced him ; and 
 immediately he burnt all he had written. I asked what it was he still 
 stuck at. ' Nothing,' said he, ' but God's giving faith instantaneously.' 
 I replied, that alone hindered his receiving it just now ; no more pre- 
 paration being absolutely necessary thereto than what God is pleased 
 to give. 
 
 " We went to prayers ; pleaded the promises for him with great 
 earnestness and tears : then read 2 Thess. i, 1 1 . I observed the work- 
 ings of God strong upon him, and prayed again. While we were 
 praying, and singing, and reading, alternately, a poor man, one Mr. 
 Heather, came to talk with me. He had heard and liked the sermon 
 upon faith. I asked whether he had faith. ' No.' Whether forgive- 
 ness of sins. ' No.' Whether there was or could be any good in him
 
 136 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 till he believed. ' No.' ' But do you think Christ cannot give you 
 faith and forgiveness in this hour V ' Yes ; to.be sure he can.' ' And 
 do you believe his promise, that where two of his disciples shall agree 
 upon earth, as touching any tiling they shall ask of him, he will give 
 it them V ' I do.' ' Why, then, here is your minister, and I agree 
 with him to ask faith for you.' ' Then I believe I shall receive it 
 before I go out of this room.' 
 
 • We went to prayer directly; pleaded the promise; and, rising, 
 asked him whether he believed. His answer was, ' Yes ; I do believe 
 with all my heart. I believe Christ died for my sins. I know they 
 are all forgiven. I desire only to love him. I would suffer any thing 
 for him : could lay down my life for him this moment.' I turned to 
 my scholar, and said, ' Do you now believe that God can give faith 
 instantaneously V He was too full to speak ; but told me afterward, he 
 envied the unopposing ignorance and simplicity of the poor, and wished 
 himself that illiterate carpenter. 
 
 " Next day I returned to town, rejoicing that God had added to his 
 living church seven more souls, through my ministry. ' Not unto me, 
 Lord, not unto me, but to thy name be the praise, for thy loving 
 mercy and for thy truth's sake.' 
 
 " June 30th. Thanks be to God, the first thing I felt to-day was a 
 fear of pride, and a desire of love. Betsy Delamotte called, and gave 
 me the following letter from her brother William : — 
 
 " ' Dear Sir, — God hath heard your prayers. Yesterday, about twelve, 
 he put his fiat to the desires of his distressed servant ; and, glory be to 
 him, I have enjoyed the fruits of his Holy Spirit ever since. The 
 only uneasiness I feel is want of thankfulness and love for so unspeak- 
 able a gift. But I am confident of this also, that the same gracious 
 hand which hath communicated will communicate, even unto the end. 
 
 " ' I am your sincere friend in Christ. 
 
 " ' O my friend, I am free indeed ! I agonized some time between 
 darkness and light ; but God was greater than my heart, and burst the 
 cloud, and broke down the partition- wall, and opened to me the door of 
 faith.' 
 
 " In reading this I felt true thankfulness ; and was quite melted down 
 with God's goodness to my friend. 
 
 " July 4th. I received a letter from my brother at Tiverton, full of 
 heavy charges. I took coach for Bexley. In the way I was enabled 
 to pray for my brother. I heard a good account of Mrs. Delamotte, 
 that she was almost beaten out of her own righteousness. Honest 
 Frank made one of our congregation this evening, and gave a comfort- 
 able account of the little flock at Blendon. I received a fuller from
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 137 
 
 Hetty, informing me that her mother was convinced of unbelief, and 
 much ashamed of her behaviour toward me. 
 
 " July 7th. Mrs. Delamotte followed me from church ; sent for me 
 down ; hoped she did not interrupt me. Her third sentence was, 
 ' Well, Mr. Wesley, are you still angry with me V ' No, madam,' I 
 answered ; ' nor ever was. Before I gave myself time to consider, I 
 was myself so violent against the truth, that I know how to make 
 allowance for others.' Here we came to a full explanation. I pro- 
 duced the scriptures which prove our justification by faith only; the 
 witness of the Spirit, &c. By these, and an excellent sermon of Bishop 
 Beveridge on the subject, she seemed thoroughly convinced. All she 
 stuck at was, the instantaneousness of faith ; or, in other words, the 
 possibility of any one's perceiving when the life of faith first began. 
 
 " She carried me in her coach to Blendon, where the poor servants 
 were overjoyed to see me once more. While we were praying for 
 her, she sent for me up to her closet. I found her quite melted into 
 an humble, contrite, longing frame of spirit. She showed me several 
 prayers, attesting the true faith, especially that of Bishop Taylor : — 
 ' I know, O blessed Jesus, that thou didst take upon thee my nature, 
 that thou mightest suffer for my sins ; that thou didst suffer to deliver 
 me from them, and thy Father's wrath. And I was delivered from this 
 wrath, that I might serve thee in holiness and righteousness all my 
 days. Lord, I am as sure thou didst the great work of redemption for 
 me, and for all mankind, as that I am alive. This is my hope, the 
 strength of my spirit, my joy, and my confidence. And do thou never 
 let the spirit of unbelief enter into me, and take me from this rock. 
 Here will I dwell, for I have a delight therein. Here I will live, and 
 here I desire to die.' 
 
 " She asked me, what she could do more, being convinced of her 
 want of faith, and not able to give it herself. I preached the freeness 
 of the grace, and betook myself to prayer for her, labouring, sighing, 
 looking for the witness of the Spirit, the fulness of the promises, in her 
 behalf. I conjured her to expect continually the accomplishment of 
 the promise, and not think her confessed unworthiness any bar. Next 
 morning I returned to town. 
 
 " July 11th. At Bray's I found a letter from William Delamotte, and 
 read with joy and thankfulness as follows : — 
 
 " ' I cannot keep pace. The mercies of God come in so abundantly 
 upon our unworthy family, that I am not able to declare them. Yet as 
 they are his blessings through your ministry, I must inform you of them ; 
 as they will strengthen your hands, and prove helpers of your joy. 
 
 " ' Great, then, I believe, was the struggle between nature and grace 
 in the soul of my mother ; but God, who knoweth the heart and reins,
 
 138 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 hath searched her out. Her spirit, like Naaman's flesh, is returned 
 as that of a little child. She is converted, and Christ hath spoken 
 peace to her soul. This work was begun in her the morning you left 
 us though she concealed it from you. When she waked, the follow- 
 ing scripture was strongly suggested to her : Either what woman having 
 ten pieces of silver, if she lose one, doth not light a candle, and sweep the 
 house, and seek diligently till she find it ? She rose immediately, took 
 up Bishop Taylor, and opened upon a place which so strongly assisted 
 this living faith, that she was fully convinced. But the enemy preached 
 humility to her, that she could not deserve so great a gift. However, 
 God still pursued, and she could not long forbear communicating the 
 emotion of her soul to me. We prayed, read, and conversed for an 
 hour. The Lord made use of a mean instrument to convince her of 
 her ignorance in the word. Throughout that day her mind was more 
 and more enlightened ; till at length she broke out, Where have I been ? 
 I know nothing. I see nothing. My mind is all darkness. How have 
 I opposed the Scripture ! The tempter, thus enraged, excited all his 
 powers to persuade her she was labouring after something that was 
 not to be attained : but Christ suffered her not to fall. She flew to 
 him in prayer and singing ; and though Satan damped her much, yet 
 could he not conquer her. She continued agonizing all the evening. 
 But how can I utter the sequel 1 The first object of her thoughts the 
 next morning was Christ. She saw him approaching ; and seeing, 
 loved, believed, adored. Her prayers drew him still nearer ; and 
 every thing she saw concurred to hasten the embrace of her Beloved. 
 Thus she continued in the Spirit till four ; when, reading in her closet, 
 she received the kiss of reconciliation. Her own soul could not con- 
 tain the joys attending it. She could not forbear imparting to her 
 friends and neighbours, that she had found the piece which she had 
 lost. Satan in vain attempted to shake her ; for she felt in herself 
 
 ' Faith's assurance, hope's increase, 
 All the confidence of love.' 
 
 " July 25th. William Delamotte came, and carried me to Bexley. 
 July 26th, at Blendon, Mrs. Delamotte called upon me to rejoice with 
 her in the experience of the divine goodness. In the evening I met 
 several sincere seekers at Mr. Piers's ; with some who knew in whom 
 they have believed. We had great power in prayer, and joy in thanks- 
 giving. William Delamotte often shouted for joy. Before nine we got 
 back to Blendon. Mrs. Delamotte then confessed that all her desire 
 had been to affront or make me angry ; that she had long watched 
 every word I said ; had persecuted the faith, and all who professed it." 
 
 While the different members of the family thus received the truth, 
 and were saved by it, Mr. Delamotte himself remained unmoved. In
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 139 
 
 one of his visits Mr. Charles Wesley says, " I told Mr. Delamotte he 
 was not converted, nor had the Spirit, or faith ; and begged him to pray 
 to God to show him wherein he was wanting. He could not receive 
 my saying ; yet was not angry." Mr. Charles Wesley continues, 
 
 " July 27th. In the coach to London I preached faith in Christ. A 
 lady was extremely offended ; avowed her own merits in plain terms ; 
 asked if I was not a Methodist ; threatened to beat me. I declared, I 
 deserved nothing but hell : so did she ; and must confess it before she 
 could have a title to heaven. This was most intolerable to her. The 
 others were less offended; began to listen; asked where I preached. 
 A maid-servant devoured every word." 
 
 These extracts, extending through a period of about eight or nine 
 weeks, will serve to show the spirit of Mr. Charles Wesley, the manner 
 in which he laboured, and the wonderful success with which his efforts 
 were crowned, immediately after he had embraced the doctrine of 
 justification by faith. He was still in an infirm state of health ; the 
 pain in his side, occasioned by the pleurisy, not unfrequently returned 
 with great severity ; and his brother John, who had hitherto been his 
 guide and counsellor, was in Germany ; so that most people would 
 have excused him, if he had spent his time in retirement, lamenting, 
 as in a cloister, the general ignorance and wickedness of mankind. 
 But he had a mighty faith ; and the doctrine of present salvation from 
 sin, by faith in the Lord Jesus, was like fire in his bones. His heart 
 burned with love to Christ, and with zeal for the advancement of his 
 work and glory ; his bowels yearned in pity for the souls of unregene- 
 rate men ; while his faith set at defiance all opposition, come from 
 what quarter it might. The extracts just given relate principally to 
 Bexley and Blendon ; because it was desired, as much as possible, to 
 preserve the continuity of the narrative ; but in London, where the 
 greater part of his time was spent, his exertions were equally strenuous, 
 persevering, and successful. Scarcely a day passed but one or more 
 persons were convinced of the truth, and believed to the saving of their 
 souls. At Bexley, as we have seen, the vicar and his lady were both 
 made happy in God ; and at Blendon, nearly the whole of the Dela- 
 motte family, including the servants, were made subjects of the same 
 gracious change. In different parts of London the same effects were 
 witnessed, not only among the poor and uninstructed, but also in some 
 of the clergy. Mr. Stonehouse, the vicar of Islington, and Mr. Spark, 
 who appears to have been the curate of St. Helen's, both received the 
 truth, and began to preach it. They introduced Mr. Charles Wesley 
 into their pulpits, when his health permitted him to preach. Mr. Stone- 
 house pressed him to become his curate, to which he consented ; and 
 Mr. Spark submitted some of his sermons to Charles's correction, be-
 
 140 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 fore they were delivered. Both these clergymen professed to have 
 received the abiding assurance of God's pardoning mercy. Generally 
 speaking, wherever he went, the houses were crowded with people ; 
 some inquiring what they must do to be saved ; others rejoicing in the 
 pardoning love of God; and a third class disputing against justification 
 by faith, and all feeling in matters' of religion; so that great was his 
 labour, patience, and exultation. The most determined opponent of 
 Charles's doctrine was his old friend, Mr. Broughton, who had been 
 one of the Oxford Methodists, and was now the curate of the church 
 in the Tower, and afterward obtained the secretaryship of the Society 
 for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. He occasionally 
 allowed his friend to occupy his pulpit, but strenuously denied that 
 sinners are justified by faith. One day, when Charles pressed him 
 with the book of Homilies, Broughton confessed, that was a work 
 which he had never read. After Mr. Charles Wesley had consented 
 to become Mr. Stonehouse's curate, he read prayers almost every day 
 in the church at Islington, and then went forth holding private meet- 
 ings in various directions, practically exemplifying the principle which 
 his brother afterward put forth, " The world is my parish." 
 
 One of the places to which he most frequently resorted, for the pur- 
 pose of holding religious meetings, was the house of Mr. Sims, in the 
 Minories, where much good was done. This house of prayer is often 
 mentioned in the Journal of Mr. John Wesley. Charles states, that 
 sometimes as many as two hundred people met him there, for the pur- 
 pose of religious worship and instruction. 
 
 It was probably about this time that the vicar of Islington attempted 
 to introduce something of the primitive discipline into his parish. In 
 pursuance of this design, he repelled from the Lord's table a rich man 
 of notoriously wicked habits. The wealthy offender instituted a suit 
 against the vicar, which was likely to be his ruin, had not God in his 
 providence interposed. The prosecutor died before the matter was 
 brought to an issue ; but it had assumed a form sufficiently serious, 
 says Mr. John Wesley, who relates the anecdote, to deter any other 
 clergyman from taking the same liberty with rich men of similar 
 character. 
 
 In the midst of all this religious excitement and success, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley was still mindful of the settlers in Georgia ; and, on the 3d 
 of August, states, that he met Lord Egmont, and declared his intention 
 of returning to that colony, if his health should permit ; with which his 
 lordship was much pleased. On the same day he corrected for the 
 press the journal of Mr. Whitefield, which had been transmitted to 
 England ; his advice for its suppression being overruled by others, 
 whom he could not control.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 141 
 
 While Mr. Charles Wesley was rejoicing in the God of his salva- 
 tion, and successfully labouring to bring all around him into the same 
 state of happiness and purity, his brother John was pursuing his reli- 
 gious inquiries among the pious Moravians in Germany, and almost 
 daily gaining an increase of knowledge, faith, and holy love. He 
 corresponded frequently with his mother and with Charles ; and his 
 letters, written in the fulness of his heart, contain the most cheering 
 intelligence. Addressing his brother from Utph, on the 7th of July. 
 1738, O. S., he says, — 
 
 " I am now with the count, at his uncle's, the count of Solms, five 
 or six hours from Marienbourn, and have stole an hour to let you know, 
 that hitherto God hath been very merciful to us in all things. The 
 spirit of the Brethren is beyond our highest expectations. Young and 
 old, they breathe nothing but faith and love, at all times, and in all 
 places. I do not therefore concern myself with smaller points, that 
 touch not the essence of Christianity, but endeavour, God being my 
 helper, to grow up in these, after the glorious examples set before me : 
 having already seen with my own eyes more than one hundred wit- 
 nesses of that everlasting truth, ' Every one that believeth hath peace 
 with God ; and is freed from sin ; and is in Christ a new creature.' 
 
 " See, therefore, my brethren, that none of you receive the grace of 
 God in vain ! but be ye also living witnesses of the exceeding great 
 and precious promises, which are made unto every one of us through 
 the blood of Jesus ! Adieu !" 
 
 In a second letter, dated Hernhuth, August 4th, 1738, he says, — 
 
 " Dear Brother, — Thus far God hath greatly helped us in all things. 
 An account of the people here you must not expect, till we come face 
 to face ; when I hope we shall part no more. O that, after I have 
 proved all things, I may be enabled throughly doKi/xd^ecv ra dia<pe- 
 povra, [to approve the things that are excellent,] and, calling no man 
 master, in faith, practice, and discipline, to hold fast that which is good ! 
 
 " Salute our brethren in London and Oxford by name ; and exhort 
 them all, in the name of the Lord Jesus, that they love and study the 
 oracles of God more and more ; that they work out their salvation with 
 fear and trembling, never imagining they have already attained, or are 
 already perfect ; never deceiving themselves, as if they had now less 
 need than before to be serious, watchful, lowly-minded ; and that, above 
 all things, they use great plainness of speech, both with each other, 
 and toward all men. 
 
 " My dearest brother and friend, I commend you to the grace of God, 
 to be more and more renewed in the image of his Son ! Pray ye all 
 for me continually ! Adieu !"
 
 
 1 i • LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY 
 
 In behalf of no class of sinners were Mr. Charles Wesley's sympa- 
 thies more deep and tender, than of condemned culprits. When he 
 u is confined to the house by affliction, and heard of executions, he 
 called upon the family to unite with him in prayer for the unhappy 
 aufferera ; and when he was able to go abroad, he was a frequent visiter 
 at Newgate. In those times the criminal law of England was horribly 
 sanguinary. Thefts and highway robberies were common ; and little 
 mercy was shown to the offenders, when they were detected, though 
 few of them were able to read, or had received any religious instruc- 
 tion. Journeys were then mostly prosecuted on horse-back ; there 
 were few public coaches ; and the roads were dreadfully bad ; so that 
 travellers, moving slowly, were an easy prey to those whose neces- 
 sities, idleness, or cupidity, prompted them to deeds of plunder. There 
 was no efficient police, and the probability of escape was a motive to 
 crime. Petty thefts were punished with death, as well as more serious 
 violations of law. In this state of things, the execution of eight, or 
 ten, or even more men, on one day, was no strange occurrence. Many 
 a poor convict did Mr. Charles Wesley teach the way of salvation, and 
 commend in prayer to the pity of his Saviour. As an example of his 
 labours, in this department of Christian usefulness, his own account 
 of the first company of convicts to whom he ministered the word of 
 life may be appropriately given. He saw in the gospel provision made 
 for the salvation of every class of transgressors, convicted felons not 
 excepted ; and he had no misgivings in offering pardon and eternal 
 life to the worst of men, on the Scriptural terms of repentance toward 
 God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 " July 10th. At Mr. Sparks's request, I went with him, Mr. Bray, 
 and Mr. Burnham, to Newgate, and preached to the ten malefactors 
 under sentence of death ; but with a heavy heart. My old prejudices 
 against the possibility of a death-bed repentance still hung upon me ; 
 and I could hardly hope there was mercy for those whose time was 
 so short. But in the midst of my languid discourse, a sudden spirit of 
 faith came upon me, and I promised them all pardon in the name of 
 Jesus Christ, if they would then, as at the last hour, repent, and be- 
 lieve the gospel. Nay, I did believe they would accept of the prof- 
 fered mercy ; and could not help telling them, I had no doubt but God 
 would give me every soul of them. 
 
 "July 11th. I preached with earnestness to the prisoners, from the 
 second lesson. One or two of them were deeply affected. 
 
 " July 12th. I preached at Newgate, to the condemned felons ; and 
 visited one of them in his cell, sick of a fever : a poor black, that had 
 robbed his master. I told him of One who came down from heaven, 
 to save lost sinners, and him in particular : described the sufferings of
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 143 
 
 the Son of God, his sorrows, agony, and death. He listened with all 
 the signs of eager astonishment. The tears trickled down his cheeks, 
 while he cried, ' What ! was it for me? Did God suffer all this for so 
 poor a creature as me V I left him waiting for the salvation of God. 
 
 "July 13th. I read prayers and preached at Newgate, and adminis- 
 tered the sacrament to our friends, with five of the felons. I was 
 much affected and assisted in prayer for them ; and exhorted them 
 with great comfort and confidence. 
 
 " July 14th. I received the sacrament from the ordinary ; spake 
 strongly to the poor malefactors ; and to the sick negro in the con- 
 demned hole. I was moved by his sorrows, and earnest desire of 
 Christ Jesus. July 15th, I preached there again with an enlarged 
 heart ; and rejoiced with my poor happy black, now believing the Son 
 of God loved him, and gave himself for him. 
 
 " July 17th. At Newgate I preached on death, which they must 
 suffer the day after to-morrow. Mr. Sparks assisted in giving the 
 sacrament. Another clergyman was there. Newington asked me to 
 go in the coach with him. At one I was with the black in his cell, 
 James Hutton assisting. Two more of the malefactors came. I had 
 great help and power in prayer. One rose, and said, he felt his heart 
 all on fire, so as he never found himself before ; he was all in a sweat ; 
 believed that Christ died for him. I found myself overwhelmed with 
 the love of Christ to sinners. The black was quite happy. The other 
 criminal was in an excellent temper ; believing, or on the point of it. 
 I talked with another concerning faith in Christ. He was greatly 
 moved. The Lord, I trust, will help his unbelief also. 
 
 " I joined at Bray's with Hutton, Holland, Burton, in fervent prayer 
 and thanksgiving. At six I carried Bray and Fish to Newgate again. 
 I talked chiefly with Hudson and Newington. Newington declared 
 he had felt some time ago, in prayer, inexpressible joy and love ; but 
 was much troubled that it was so soon withdrawn. The Lord gave 
 power to pray. They were deeply affected. We have great hopes 
 of both. 
 
 "July 18th. The ordinary read prayers and preached. I adminis- 
 tered the sacrament to the black, and eight more ; having first instructed 
 them in the nature of it. I spake comfortably to them afterward. In 
 the cells one told me, that whenever he offered to pray, or had a 
 serious thought, something came and hindered him ; was with him 
 almost continually ; and once appeared. After we had prayed for him, 
 in faith, he rose amazingly comforted, full of joy and love ; so that we 
 could not doubt his having received the atonement. 
 
 " At night I was locked in with Bray, in one of the cells. We 
 wrestled in mighty prayer. All the criminals were present, and all
 
 144 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 delightfully cheeffiil. The soldier, in particular, found his comfort and 
 joy increase every moment. Another from the time he communicated 
 has been in perfect peace. Joy was visible in all their faces. We 
 
 sungy — 
 
 ' Behold the Saviour of mankind, 
 
 Nail'd to the shameful tree ! 
 How vast the love that him inclined 
 To bleed and die for thee !' &c. 
 
 It was one of the most triumphant hours I have ever known. Yet on 
 
 "July 19th, I rose heavy, and backward to visit them for the last 
 time. At six I prayed and sung with them all together. The ordinary 
 would read prayers, and preach most miserably. Mr. Sparks and Mr. 
 Broughton were present. I felt my heart full of tender love to the 
 latter. He administered. All the ten received. Then he prayed, 
 and I after him. 
 
 " At half-hour past nine their irons were knocked off, and their hands 
 tied. I went in a coach with Sparks, Washington, and a friend of 
 Newington's ; Newington himself not being permitted. By half-hour 
 past ten we came to Tyburn. We waited till eleven. Then were 
 brought the children appointed to die. I got upon the cart with Sparks 
 and Broughton. The ordinary endeavoured to follow, when the poor 
 prisoners begged he might not come ; and the mob kept him down. 
 
 " I prayed first, then Sparks and Broughton. We had prayed before, 
 that our Lord would show there was a power superior to the fear 
 of death. Newington had quite forgot his pain. They were all cheer- 
 ful, full of comfort, peace, and triumph ; assuredly persuaded Christ had 
 died for them, and waited to receive them into paradise. Greenaway 
 was impatient to be with Christ. The black espied me coming out 
 of the coach, and saluted me with his looks. As often as his eyes 
 met mine, he smiled with the most composed, delightful countenance I 
 ever saw. Read caught hold of my hand in a transport of joy. New- 
 ington seemed perfectly pleased. Hudson declared he was never 
 better, or more at ease in mind and body. None showed any natural 
 terror of death : no fear, or crying, or tears. All expressed their desire 
 of our following them to paradise. I never saw such a calm triumph, 
 such incredible indifference to dying. We sung several hymns, par- 
 ticularly, — 
 
 ' Behold the Saviour of mankind 
 Nail'd to the shameful tree !' 
 
 and the hymn entitled ' Faith in Christ,' which concludes, — 
 
 ' A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, 
 
 Into thy hands I fall ; 
 Be thou my life, my righteousness, 
 My Jesus, and my all,'
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 145 
 
 We prayed Him, in earnest faith, to receive their spirits. I could do 
 nothing but rejoice ; kissed Newington and Hudson ; took leave of 
 each in particular. Mr. Broughton bade them not be surprised when 
 the cart should draw away. They cheerfully replied they should not ; 
 expressed some concern how we should get back to our coach. We 
 left them, going to meet their Lord, ready for the Bridegroom. When 
 the cart drew off, not one stirred or struggled for life, but meekly gave 
 up their spirits. Exactly at twelve they were turned off. I spoke a 
 few suitable words to the crowd, and returned full of peace, and con- 
 fidence in our friends' happiness. That hour, under the gallows, was 
 the most blessed hour of my life. 
 
 " At Mr. Bray's we renewed our triumph. I found my brother and 
 sister Lambert there, and preached to them the gospel of forgiveness, 
 which they received without opposition." 
 
 Having been actively employed for several weeks in London and its 
 neighbourhood, Mr. Charles Wesley visited his friends at Oxford, where 
 he endeavoured to bring them all into the state of spiritual liberty and 
 peace which he himself enjoyed. He pressed the subject of present 
 justification by faith upon the attention of his sister Kezzy, whom he 
 found still living with Mr. and Miss Gambold, at Stanton-Harcourt. 
 On waiting upon the dean of Christ-Church, he says, We " could not 
 quite agree in our notions of faith. He wondered we had not hit 
 upon the Homilies sooner. He treated me with great candour and 
 friendliness." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley returned to London, where he resumed his 
 public ministry, and private labours ; endeavouring to convince of un- 
 belief all who were strangers to the peace and holiness of the gospel, 
 as the first step in the process of their salvation. More churches were 
 now opened to him ; and once he preached his great and favourite 
 doctrine of present salvation from sin by faith in Christ in Westmin- 
 ster Abbey ; where he also assisted in the administration of the Lord's 
 supper. 
 
 He was thus diligently engaged in his work, when his brother re- 
 turned from Germany. Their meeting was one of deep and solemn 
 interest. After they had obtained the Christian salvation, they had 
 little intercourse with each other till this time. The object of John's 
 visit to Germany was, that he might see and converse with the mem- 
 bers of the Moravian Church at Hernhuth : " the place where the 
 Christians lived." With their godly discipline and order he was much 
 affected ; but still more so with their sound and Scriptural experience. 
 He inquired of the leading members of the church the manner in 
 which they had been led, by the providence and grace of God ; and 
 they all declared, as with one voice, that, after long and in vain seeking 
 
 10
 
 146 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 rest to their souls, they had obtained permanent peace of conscience, 
 deliverance from the dominion of sin, and power to walk in the ways 
 of God, by believing in the Lord Jesus. His own experience accorded 
 with their united testimony; and hence he was strengthened and en- 
 couraged in his pious course, and instructed how to preach, so as to 
 convert and save the people. He returned to England, pondering these 
 thing s in his heart, and deeply impressed with a conviction that all 
 men are in bondage to sin and misery, except those whom " the Son" 
 has made free by the gift of a living faith. 
 
 After an absence of more than three months, the brothers met in the 
 evening of September 16th. In the course of the day Charles had 
 been at Newgate, preaching to four convicted felons under sentence 
 of death. " At night," says he, " my brother returned from Hernhuth. 
 We took sweet counsel together, comparing our experiences." At 
 Hernhuth John had just seen Christianity in its beauty, simplicity, and 
 blessedness, so as to be filled with wonder and delight ; and Charles 
 had witnessed in Blendon, Bexley, and various parts of London, scenes 
 which were equally striking and impressive. Here the arm of the 
 Lord had been made bare ; and such effects of his power and mercy 
 were made manifest, as warranted the conclusion, that in Great Britain 
 holy societies were about to be raised up, rivalling that at Hernhuth in 
 spirituality and brotherly affection. What each of the brothers had 
 felt, and what they had seen, during the period of their separation, 
 doubtless formed the subjects of their conversation, and called forth 
 mutual thanksgivings to the God of all grace. John had conversed 
 with men of long and deep experience in the ways of God. Charles 
 had seen a considerable number of formalists, and ungodly people, 
 suddenly transformed into holy and happy Christians. Each of them, 
 though in a different manner, saw the grace of God, and was glad. 
 Thus were both of them trained, by means the most unexpected, for a 
 course of extensive and long-continued usefulness. 
 
 From this time the brothers began to co-operate with each other for 
 the advancement of true religion ; John adopting Charles's mode of 
 procedure, preaching in such churches as were open to him, and hold- 
 ing meetings for conversation, prayer, singing, mutual exhortation, and 
 Scriptural exposition. The " religious societies," then existing in dif- 
 ferent parts of London and its vicinity, afforded them considerable faci- 
 lities for the furtherance of their designs. These " societies" consisted 
 of strict Church people, and the objects of their union were purely re- 
 ligious. Some of them were of long standing, having been patronized 
 and encouraged by Dr. Horneck, and other clergymen of similar cha- 
 racter. They met together weekly, for reading and prayer ; suitable 
 forms of address to God having been prepared for their use. The 
 
 10*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLfiS WESLEY. 147 
 
 members bound themselves to a strictly moral conduct ; to practise 
 secret devotion several times every day ; and to receive the Lord's 
 supper at least once a month. At their meetings they presented pecu- 
 niary donations, for pious and charitable purposes, which were mostly 
 expended in the support of schools for the children of the poor, in 
 neglected districts. It was at a meeting of one of these societies in 
 Aldersgate-street, that John had obtained " the faith of God's elect," 
 with its accompanying peace and power. At the meetings of some of 
 these " societies" the Wesleys were received with a hearty welcome. 
 Here Charles practised himself in extemporary speaking, especially in 
 the exposition of Scripture ; for up to this period he had always read 
 his sermons from the pulpit. Having acquired a becoming boldness 
 and facility of speech ih these more private exercises, he began to 
 introduce extempore passages into his public discourses, as the sub- 
 jects presented themselves, and his heart was impressed and enlarged ; 
 till at length he became one of the most fluent and impressive preachers 
 of his age. It was at St. Antholin's church, on Friday, the 20th of 
 October, that he first delivered an entire sermon without notes. " See- 
 ing so few present," says he, " I thought of preaching extempore : 
 afraid : yet I ventured on the promise, ' Lo, I am with you always ;' 
 and spake on justification, from Romans iii, for three quarters of an 
 hour, without hesitation. Glory be to God, who keepeth his promise 
 for ever !" As he acquired greater self-command, he appears to have 
 been surprised at himself. Hence he remarks, under the date of 
 February 10th following, " I preached without notes, on blind Barti- 
 meus," in the church at Islington ; " the Lord being greatly my helper. 
 Let him have all the glory." 
 
 But it was not among moral and devout people only that the brothers 
 laboured with success, in raising up a spiritual people by inculcating 
 the doctrine of salvation by faith. Persons of profligate habits were 
 also brought to repentance, and became examples of uprightness and 
 purity, including not a few lewd women. 
 
 In the midst of these extraordinary efforts, to which the brothers 
 were prompted by the love of Christ, neither of them had the slightest 
 intention to depart from ecclesiastical order ; and hence they waited 
 from time to time upon the bishop of London, and the archbishop of 
 Canterbury, soliciting their advice and sanction, and answering the 
 reports and charges which were made to their disadvantage. Their 
 interviews with these dignitaries Charles has thus described in his 
 private journal : — 
 
 i( Oct. 20th. I waited with my brother upon the bishop of London, to 
 answer the complaints he had heard against us, that we preached an 
 absolute assurance of salvation. Some of his words were, ' If by
 
 ] IS LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEV. 
 
 assurance vou moan, an inward persuasion whereby a man is conscious 
 in himself, after examining his life by the law of God, and weighing 
 his own sincerity, that he is in a state of salvation, and acceptable to 
 God, I do not see how any good Christian can be without, such an 
 assurance.' ' This,' we answered, ' is what we contend for ; but we 
 1 1 i \ «■ been charged as Antinomians for preaching justification by faith 
 only.' ' Can any one preach otherwise, who agrees to our Church, and 
 the Scriptures? Indeed by preaching it strongly, and not inculcating 
 good works, many have been made Antinomians in theory, though not. 
 m practice ; especially in King Charles's time. But there is a heavy 
 charge against us bishops, by the bringing of the archbishop's authority 
 for re-baptizing an adult.' My brother answered, that he had expressly 
 declared the contrary ; ' yet,' added he, ' if a -person, dissatisfied with 
 lay-baptism, should desire episcopal, I should think it my duty to 
 administer it, after having acquainted the bishop, according to the 
 canon.' ' Well, I am against it myself, where any one has had the 
 Dissenters' baptism.' 
 
 " Next, my brother inquired, whether his reading in a religious 
 society made it a conventicle. His lordship warily referred us to the 
 laws ; but upon our urging the question, ' Are the religious societies 
 conventicles V he answered, ' No ; I think not. However, you can 
 read the Acts and laws as well as I. I determine nothing.' We 
 hoped Ms lordship would not henceforward receive an accusation 
 against a presbyter, but at the mouth of two or three witnesses. He 
 said, ' No ; by no means : and you may have free access to me at all 
 times.' We thanked him, and took our leave. 
 
 "Nov. 14th. I had another conference with his lordship of London. 
 ' I have used your lordship's permission to wait upon you. A woman 
 desires me to baptize her ; not being satisfied with her baptism by a 
 Dissenter. She says, sure and unsure is not the same.' He immedi- 
 ately took fire, and interrupted me : ' I wholly disapprove of it. It is 
 kregular.' ' My lord, I did not expect your approbation. I only came, 
 in obedience, to give you notice of my intention.' ' It is irregular. I 
 never receive such information, but from the minister.' ' My lord, the 
 rubrick does not so much as require the minister to give you notice, 
 but any discreet person. I have the minister's leave.' ' Who gave 
 you authority to baptize V ' Your lordship ; and I shall exercise it in 
 any part of the known world.' ' Are you a licensed curate V ' I have 
 the leave of the proper minister.' ' But do not you know that no man 
 can exercise parochial duty in London without my leave 1 It is only 
 sub silcntio' [in silence.] ' But you know many do take that permis- 
 sion for authority ; and you yourself allow it.' ' It is one thing to con- 
 nive, and another to approve. I have power to inhibit you.' ' Does
 
 LFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 149 
 
 your lordship exert that power ? Do you now inhibit me V ' O why 
 will you push things to an extreme ? I do not inhibit you.' ' Why 
 then, my lord, according to your own concession, you permit or author- 
 ize me.' ' I have a power to punish, and to forbear punishing.' ' That 
 seems to imply, that I have done something worthy of punishment. I 
 shall be glad to know, that I may answer. Does your lordship charge 
 me with any crime V ' No, no ; I charge you with no crime.' ' Do 
 you then dispense with my giving you notice of any baptisms for the 
 future ?' ' I neither dispense, nor not dispense.' 
 
 " He railed at Laurence on Lay-Baptism ; blamed my brother's ser- 
 mon, as inclining to Antinomianism. I charged Archbishop Tillotson 
 with denying the faith. He allowed it, and owned they ran into one 
 extreme, to avoid another. He concluded the conference with, ' Well, 
 aUTj you knew my judgment before, and you know it now. Good mor- 
 row to you.' " 
 
 "Feb. 21st, 1739/ With my brother I waited upon the archbishop. 
 He shoAved us great affection ; spoke mildly of Mr. Whitefield ; caution- 
 ed us to give no more umbrage than was necessary for our own defence ; 
 to forbear exceptionable phrases ; to keep to the doctrines of the Church. 
 We told him we expected persecution ; would abide by the Church till 
 her articles and homilies were repealed. He assured us, he knew of 
 no design in the governors of the Church to innovate ; neither should 
 there be any innovation while he lived ; avowed justitication by faith 
 only ; and his joy to see vis as often as we pleased. 
 
 " From him we went, to the bishop of London, who denied that he 
 had ever condemned us, or even heard much of us. George White- 
 field's Journal, he said, was tainted with enthusiasm, though he himself 
 was a pious, well-meaning youth. He warned us against Antinomian- 
 ism, and dismissed us kindly." 
 
 Notwithstanding the decided judgment of the bishop of London, a 
 few days after his interview with the prelate, Mr. Charles Wesley re- 
 baptized a person in the church at Islington ; denominating the ordi- 
 nance, " hypothetical baptism ;" that is, Christian baptism, provided the 
 former administration of the ordinance by a Dissenting minister were 
 not in accordance with the mind of God. Thus in his mistaken zeal for 
 episcopacy he violated the order of his own Church, which while it has 
 since the time of the Hampton- Court Conference in the reign of James 
 I. discountenanced lay-baptism, has nevertheless acknowledged its 
 validity. 
 
 At the same time, his ardent spirit, and his doctrine of faith, gave 
 great offence in different places, and provoked opposition. Some of 
 the parishioners at Bexley complained of his preaching, and of the 
 excitement which it produced: the good vicar was frightened; gave
 
 150 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 up his wook-night service ; and told Mr. Charles Wesley, that he 
 could not in future admit him into the pulpit. Charles uttered strong 
 words ; telling Mr. Piers that if his testimony to the truth were rejected, 
 he should discontinue his visits altogether. This remonstrance pro- 
 duced the designed effect. He was soon after invited to preach twice 
 there in one day. A part of the congregation in the morning retired in 
 the course of the sermon. They came, however, in the afternoon, and 
 remained during the entire service. 
 
 It had been arranged by Charles, before his brother's return from 
 Georgia, that his sister Kezzy should board with Mr. and Mrs. Piers ; 
 and when this opposition was raised against him in Bexley, she was 
 among those who objected to his doctrine of justification by faith. She 
 adhered to the notion, that she was a true believer, though destitute 
 of those fruits of faith, without which, the brothers contended, the princi- 
 ple itself did not exist. " My sister," says he, " would not give up her 
 pretensions to faith ; told me, half-angry, ' Well, you will know in the 
 next world whether I have faith or no.' I asked her, ' Will you then 
 discharge me, in the sight of God, from speaking to you again ? If you 
 will, I promise never more to open my mouth till Ave meet in eternity.' 
 She burst into tears ; fell on my neck ; and melted me into fervent 
 prayer for her." 
 
 In the midst of their labours the brothers were cheered by the sight 
 of old friends. Charles Delamotte arrived from America in November, 
 1738, and Mr. Whitefield in the following month. Under the date of 
 Nov. 18th, Mr. Charles Wesley says, "I had a joyful meeting with 
 my dear Charles Delamotte, just returned from Georgia. I found, in 
 conversation, that he had received forgiveness five months ago, and 
 continued in peace and liberty." 
 
 The immediate object of Mr. Whitefield's return to England was, the 
 raising of pecuniary supplies for the erection of an Orphan House in 
 Georgia, on a plan somewhat similar to that which Professor Francke 
 had founded at Halle, in Saxony. The project had been formed by 
 Charles Wesley and Mr. Oglethorpe, long before, as Mr. Whitefield 
 acknowledges.* Of this the trustees of the colony were aware ; and 
 had therefore requested Charles, while Mr. Whitefield was abroad, to 
 prepare a plan for such an institution. It was, however, reserved for 
 Mr. Whitefield to carry the generous scheme to its completion. 
 
 Stories to the disadvantage of John and Charles Wesley were still 
 industriously circulated ; and their brother Samuel, who knew not 
 their absolute deference to the Holy Scriptures, and regarded them with 
 
 * " It was first proposed to me by my dear friend, Mr. Charles Wesley, who, with 
 General Oglethorpe, had concerted a scheme for carrying on such a design, before I 
 had any thoughts of going abroad myself." — Whitefield.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 151 
 
 equal pity and displeasure, as the dupes of a vain enthusiasm, addressed 
 to Charles at this period the following letter, containing a singular 
 mixture of sarcasm and of fraternal affection : — 
 
 " Dear Charles, — I should not write to you, much less desire an an- 
 swer, if it were no satisfaction to hear from you. How Jack's last to me, 
 or mine to him, should make yours unnecessary, is to me incomprehen- 
 sible, unless you persist in neither owning nor disowning the sensible 
 information from God. I have written to you, because I thought you 
 liked I should, even when I knew it was unnecessary. In short, what 
 Pym said to Strafford in hatred, I will say to you in love, — ' No need 
 of words to show you have a mind to leave us ; but we will never leave 
 you while you have a head upon your shoulders !' as I told my mother 
 lately upon a like occasion. 
 
 " New matter must have new expostulation. New visions grow 
 apace ; though I, like a Nicodemus, may ask, ' Hoav can these things 
 be V But of these when I hear from Jack, who, it seems, is going into 
 Lincolnshire, &c, &c. Emily writ a letter to him, (querulous enough, 
 no doubt,) and he sent her word what glorious churches were in Ger- 
 many ! She wants me to explain it to her, which I will when you can 
 make me understand it. I am afraid you are only stationed at Oxford 
 for a time ; because he, it seems, is to be itinerant ; though he says, 
 Ingham or Whitefield must be at London. My sister stares, as well 
 she may. I wish you were settled at Christ-Church, as a tutor ; but 
 I believe time is past with you and me. 
 
 " If Jack gives away any of his sermons to those that can afford to 
 buy them, I desire he woidd order his printer to let me have one, 
 whenever he publishes. There is a most monstrous appearance of 
 dishonesty among you : your sermons are generally three-quarters or 
 an hour long, in the pulpit, but when printed are short snips, rather 
 notes than sermons. This you must give public notice of when more 
 is spoken than printed, else it will be accounted flat knavery ; nay, and 
 in me it woidd be so too. I never added a line that I thought would 
 give offence, but I carefully writ it down, that it might be forthcoming ; 
 leaving a blank page for that very purpose, among others. 
 
 " My wife joins in love to you. We are all pretty well, and have 
 lived to see one more December's day, on which we designed to be 
 heartily merry, and, I hope, not unwise. I think I have little less than 
 direct command for it : 'In the day of prosperity rejoice ;' and I am 
 sure it is to me a dav of prosperity! I am, dear Charles, 
 
 " Your sincere friend, and affectionate brother. 
 
 "December 1, 1738."
 
 152 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Strenuous attempts were now made to settle Mr. Charles Wesley, 
 first ai ( Ixford, and afterward as a parish priest ; but both these projects 
 were overruled. On the 5th of January, 1739, he says, " My brother, 
 Mr, Seward, Hall, Whitefield, Ingham, Kinchin, Hutchins, all set upon 
 me ; hut I could not agree to settle at Oxford without further direction 
 from God." On the 13th of February following he adds, "I read a 
 Letter from Sarah Hurst, pressing me to Oxford, and Cowley, which 
 is now vacant. Quite resigned, I offered myself: opened the Book 
 ■pon those words: 'With stammering lips and with another tongue 
 will I speak to this people.' I thought it a prohibition, yet continued 
 without a will." He made no application, and the living of Cowley 
 was given to another person. A different kind of service was assigned 
 to him in the secret arrangements of divine Providence. While his 
 brother and all their friends thus attempted to fix him in one particular 
 place, they little thought of the itinerant ministry upon which he was 
 destined soon to enter. But in this, as well as in other things of a 
 similar kind, in which he and his brother departed from ecclesiastical 
 order, they not only acted without a preconcerted plan, but were abso- 
 lutely overruled in their own prejudices and inclinations. They were 
 led by a strong sense of duty, and violated their original purposes and 
 feelings. 
 
 Neither of the brothers, it Avill be observed, was yet free from the 
 very objectionable practice of suddenly opening the Bible, and regard- 
 ing the text upon which the eye might happen first to rest as containing 
 an indication of the mind of God, intended to guide them in any given 
 emergency. They had no just authority to expect a communication of 
 the divine will to be made to them in this manner ; and were therefore 
 ultimately led to abandon the habit, as at once presumptuous and en- 
 thusiastic. And yet it is not improbable that " the Father of mercies" 
 might, in some instances, thus condescend to own a sincere but erring 
 piety. Mr. John Wesley's sermon on Enthusiasm is an antidote to this 
 practice, and to every other of a similar kind. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 It has been already remarked, that when Mr. Whitefield returned 
 from Georgia, after a very short residence there, his design was, by 
 an appeal to British charity, to raise a sum of money for the purpose 
 of erecting an Orphan House in that colony. God, however, had an- 
 other and a higher object in view in bringing him to England at this 
 time, as the event proved, though his servant knew it not.. For a while
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 153 
 
 the Wesleys were freely admitted into many of the churches in London 
 and its vicinity; but the case was at length altered. Seldom did Mr. 
 John Wesley preach in a church, but at the conclusion of the service 
 he was told that he must occupy the pulpit there no more. Two rea- 
 sons were generally assigned for the prohibition. First, he preached 
 the intolerable doctrine of salvation by faith ; and, secondly, such 
 multitudes attended his ministry as to subject the regular seat-holders 
 to serious inconvenience. They could not bear so much heat and 
 crowding ! 
 
 Charles met with opposition still more determined in the discharge 
 of his clerical duties at Islington. He only held his curacy there by 
 virtue of a private arrangement with the vicar ; the bishop never having 
 given his sanction : and as Charles's ministrations were offensive to 
 the churchwardens, they resolved to get rid of him and his Methodism 
 altogether. In order to this, they first adopted a system of petty and 
 insulting annoyance, and afterward proceeded to acts of direct violence. 
 They began their course by meeting him in the vestry, before the 
 commencement of divine service, and in a sarcastic tone and manner 
 requested a sight of the bishop's license, which they knew he did not 
 possess. He bore their unseemly conduct with meekness, making 
 little or no reply. A few days afterward they met him again in the 
 same place, and proceeded to reviling. They told him that he Avas 
 full of the devil ; and that this was the case also Avith the other clergy- 
 men who thought and acted as he did ; specifying several of them, and 
 their own A r icar among the rest. Having failed by these means to drive 
 him aAvay, they engaged tAvo men to guard the pulpit-stairs, when the 
 prayers were read, and push him back when he attempted to ascend. 
 On subsequent occasions the churchwardens took this office upon 
 themselves, and forcibly prevented his entrance into the pulpit, regard- 
 less of the presence of the congregation. They did this once Avhen 
 Sir John Gunson, Avho was at the head of the London magistrates, and 
 Mr. Justice Elliott, were present. Both these eminent men went into 
 the vestry, and expostidated Avith the churchwardens, but without effect. 
 The A r icar, who possessed little firmness, yielded to the storm, and 
 consented to dismiss his curate. The matter Avas laid before the 
 bishop of London, Avho justified the churchAvardens in the measures 
 which they had adopted. Charles Avas therefore compelled to Avith- 
 draAv, and seek other fields for the exercise of that ministry which he 
 had received of the Lord, and which he felt that he could not neglect 
 but Avith the certain prospect of perdition. Thus ended all the prefer- 
 ment that the brothers ever possessed in the established Church. John 
 was his father's curate about three years ; and for a few months Charles
 
 151 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 held the curacy of Islington, from which he was expelled by force of 
 arms, under the sanction of the diocesan. 
 
 Mr. Whitefield met with similar treatment in Bristol, whither he had 
 gone m the hope that he should be allowed to make congregational 
 collections in behalf of the projected Orphan House in Georgia. In 
 a little while he was excluded from every pulpit in Bristol connected 
 with the established Church, even that of the common prison, where 
 be had been accustomed gratuitously to address the felons. Preaching 
 the new birth, even to thieves, was deemed an intolerable evil by the 
 civil and ecclesiastical authorities of that city. Mr. Whitefield was 
 not a man whose spirit could be daunted by slight difficulties ; nor were 
 his views of church-order so high and rigid as those of his friends the 
 Wesleys. He therefore went into the fields, in the most neglected 
 districts, and after the example of his Lord, under the wide canopy of 
 heaven, called sinners to repentance. His success surpassed his ex- 
 pectation ; so that he was soon induced to extend his labours to Bath, 
 and to the proverbially ignorant and wicked colliers of Kings wood, 
 where he was attended by immense crowds of people, some of whom 
 climbed into trees to see and hear him ; while others placed themselves 
 upon walls, or upon the roofs of houses, listening, with the most eager 
 and fixed attention, to the word of life. Many were deeply impressed, 
 and inquired with tears, and every sign of genuine contrition, what they 
 must do to be saved. 
 
 As Mr. Whitefield was intent upon a speedy return to America, he 
 could not remain in Bristol ; nor could he bear the thought of leaving, 
 as sheep without a shepherd, the people there, in Kingswood, and in 
 other places, who had been awakened under his preaching. He there- 
 fore wrote to Mr. John Wesley, then in London, requesting him to 
 come to his help without delay. Mr. Charles Wesley was opposed to 
 this arrangement. " We dissuaded my brother," says he, " from going 
 to Bristol ; from an unaccountable fear that it would prove fatal to him. 
 A great power was among us. He offered himself willingly to what- 
 soever the Lord should appoint. The next day he set out, commended 
 by us to the grace of God. He left a blessing behind. I desired to 
 die with him." 
 
 On his arrival, on Saturday, March 31st, 1739, Mr. John Wesley 
 says, " In the evening I reached Bristol, and met Mr. Whitefield there. 
 I could scarce reconcile myself at first to this strange way of preach- 
 ing in the fields, of which he set me an example on Sunday ; having 
 been all my life (till very lately) so tenacious of every point relating to 
 decency and order, that I should have thought the saving of souls almost 
 a sin, if it had not been done in a church. 
 
 "April 1st. In the evening, Mr. Whitefield being gone, I began ex-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 155 
 
 pounding our Lord's sermon on the mount : one pretty remarkable pre- 
 cedent of field-preaching, though I suppose there were churches at that 
 time also. 
 
 " Monday 2d. At four in the afternoon I submitted to be more vile, 
 and proclaimed in the highways the glad tidings of salvation, speaking 
 from a little eminence in a ground adjoining to the city, to about three 
 thousand people." 
 
 From Bristol Mr. Wesley extended his labours to Kingswood, Bath, 
 and other towns and villages in the neighbourhood, with a success 
 resembling that of his honoured predecessor, till about the middle of 
 June following, when he was sent for to London, to assist in the adjust- 
 ment of some differences which had arisen in the society at Fetter- 
 lane. Mr. Whitefield was then in London, preparing for his immediate 
 departure for Georgia. He had preached in Moorfields, on Kenning- 
 ton-common, Blackheath, and in various other places, sometimes to 
 upward of twenty thousand people at once. On the 14th of June Mr. 
 Wesley says, " I went with Mr. Whitefield to Blackheath, where were, I 
 believe, twelve or fourteen thousand people. He a little surprised me, 
 by desiring me to preach in his stead ; which I did (though nature re- 
 coiled) on my favourite subject, ' Jesus Christ, who of God is made 
 unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.' I was 
 greatly moved with compassion for the rich, to whom I made a par- 
 ticular application. Some of them seemed to attend, while others drove 
 away their coaches from so uncouth a preacher." 
 
 In reference to this occasion Mr. Whitefield says, " I had the plea- 
 sure of introducing my honoured and reverend friend, Mr. John Wesley, 
 to preach at Blackheath. The Lord give him ten thousand times more 
 success than he has given me ! I went to bed rejoicing that another 
 fresh inroad was made into Satan's territories, by Mr. Wesley's follow- 
 ing me in field-preaching, as well in London as in Bristol. Lord, give 
 tho word, and great shall be the company of such preachers !" 
 
 In the meanwhile Charles was neither silent, nor inattentive to the 
 example of his brother, and of their mutual friend Whitefield. On the 
 21st of May, at the house of one of his friends in London, he met with 
 a person, who appears to have been a clergyman. He was very kind, 
 and, without being duly aware of the consequence, gave Charles a press- 
 ing invitation to go with him to Broadoaks ; a village in Essex, about 
 forty miles from London, where some members of the Delamotte family 
 resided. Two days after he says, " Mr. Clagget pressed me now, with 
 the utmost importunity, to go with him to-morrow." The next day hi' 
 says, " At noon I set out on horseback ; our sisters in the chaise. By 
 two the next day we surprised Miss Betty at Broadoaks. I was full 
 of prayer, that God would gather a church in this place. Sunday,
 
 156 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 May 27th, still Mr. Clagget opposed my preaching. We went to 
 church, where I preached the new birth. Mr. Clagget was still more 
 violent. I told him he was doing the devil's work. Between jest and 
 earnest, he struck me ; raged exceedingly to see the people come 
 flocking to the word. God gave me utterance to make known the 
 mystery of the gospel to four or five hundred listening souls. May 
 29th, Franklyn, a fanner, invited me to preach in his field. I did so, to 
 about five hundred, on ' Repent ; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 
 I returned to the house rejoicing. 
 
 • May 31st. A Quaker sent me a pressing invitation to preach at 
 Thaxted. I scrupled preaching in another's parish, till I had been 
 refused the church. Many Quakers, and near seven hundred others, 
 attended, while I declared in the highways, ' The Scripture hath con- 
 cluded all under sin.' 
 
 " June 1st. My subject, to above one thousand attentive sinners. 
 was, ' He shall save his people from their sins.' Many showed their 
 emotion by their tears." The next day he returned to London, " with 
 a quiet mind ;" satisfied that in preaching Christ in the open air, he 
 was in the path of duty. These appear to have been his first efforts in 
 field-preaching in England. 
 
 About this time some of the heads of the Church seem to have enter- 
 tained serious thoughts of proceeding to extremities with the Wesleys 
 and Mr. Whitefield. The churchwardens of Islington, having obtained 
 the sanction of the bishop for the expulsion of Charles Wesley from 
 the pulpit, intended to pursue-the same course toward Mr. Whitefield ; 
 who, with all his seriousness and piety, had no objection occasionally 
 to an innocent joke. Being aware of the churchwardens' design, and 
 perceiving, when the prayers were ended, that these gentlemen had 
 placed themselves at the bottom of the pulpit stairs, in an attitude of 
 defence, he quietly walked into the church-yard, the whole congrega- 
 tion following him ; and there, from a tomb-stone, preached to the 
 people, leaving the churchwardens, in all the solemn dignity of their 
 office, guarding the pulpit without an assailant, or any one to witness 
 their valour. 
 
 The vicar of Bexley and Mr. Charles Wesley were summoned to 
 appear before the archbishop of Canterbury, to answer for the frequent 
 preaching of Charles in that parish. Under the date of June 19th he 
 has given the following statement in his journal : — 
 
 " I was at Lambeth with Mr. Piers. His grace expressly forbade 
 him to let any of us preach in his church : charged us with breach of 
 the canon. I mentioned the bishop of London's authorizing my forci- 
 ble exclusion. He would not hear me ; said he did not dispute. He 
 asked mc what call I had. I answered, ' A dispensation of the gospel
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 157 
 
 is committed to me.' ' That is, to St. Paul ; but I do not dispute ; and 
 will not proceed to excommunication YET.'' ' Your grace has taught 
 me, in your book on Church government, that a man unjustly excom- 
 municated is not thereby cut off from communion with Christ.' ' Of 
 that I am the judge.' I asked him if Mr. Whitefield's success was not 
 a spiritual sign, and sufficient proof of his call ; and recommended Ga- 
 maliel's advice. He dismissed us ; Piers, with kind professions ; me, 
 with all the marks of his displeasure. I felt nothing in my heart but 
 peace. I prayed and sung at Bray's : but, some hours after, at West's, 
 sunk down in great heaviness and dicouragement." 
 
 This interview with the archbishop took place on the Thursday. On 
 the Saturday Mr. Charles Wesley says, " I dined at Mr. Stonehouse's. 
 My inward conflict continued. I perceived it was the fear of man ; 
 and that by preaching in the field next Sunday, as George Whitefield 
 urges me, I shall break down the bridge, and become desperate. I re- 
 tired, and prayed for particular direction ; offering up my friends, my 
 liberty, my life, for Christ's sake, and the gospel's. I was somewhat 
 less burdened ; yet could not be quite easy, till I gave up all." 
 
 On the following day, which was the sabbath, relief came in the 
 manner which he thus describes : — 
 
 " Sunday, June 24th, St. John Baptist's Day. — The first scrip- 
 ture I cast my eye upon was, ' Then came the servant to him, and said, 
 Master, what shall we do V I prayed with West, and went forth in 
 the name of Jesus Christ. I found near ten thousand helpless sin- 
 ners waiting for the word in Moorfields. I invited them in my Master's 
 words, as well as name, ' Come unto me all ye that labour, and are 
 heavy laden ; and I will give you rest.' The Lord was with me, even 
 me, his meanest messenger, according to his promise. At St. Paul's 
 the psalms, lessons, &c, for the day, put fresh life into me. So did 
 the sacrament. My load was gone, and all my doubts and scruples. 
 God shone upon my path, and I knew this was his will concerning 
 me. At Newington the rector, Mr. Mott, desired me to preach. My 
 text was, ' All have sinned and come short of the glory of God ; being 
 justified freely,' &c. I walked on to the common, and cried, to multi- 
 tudes upon multitudes, ' Repent, and believe the gospel.' The Lord 
 was my strength, and my mouth, and my wisdom. O that all would 
 therefore paise the Lord for his goodness !" 
 
 At night " I was refreshed with the society at a primitive love- 
 feast." 
 
 The scenes through which Mr. Charles Wesley was called to pass 
 at this period were diversified and peculiar. On Thursday he was at 
 the palace of Lambeth, where the threat of excommunication was held 
 out to him by the archbishop ; he was forbidden the use of his friend
 
 ]58 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Piers's pulpit, and was dismissed with anger by the primate of all 
 England. On -Sunday he preached in the morning to ten thousand 
 sinners in the open air at Moorfields ; in the forenoon he attended 
 divine service, and received the Lord's supper, at St. Paul's cathedral ; 
 in the afternoon he preached at Newington-butts, and went directly 
 from the pulpit to Kennington-common, where he addressed " multi- 
 ■ tides upon multitudes" in his Lord's name; and in the evening he 
 attended a Moravian love-feast in Fetter-lane, where he felt as if he 
 were in one of the primitive churches. On the following Sunday he 
 nreached with " great boldness," in his turn, at St. Mary's, before the 
 University of Oxford, choosing for his subject the leading doctrine of 
 all Protestant chinches, justification by faith ; which was then revived 
 in all its freshness and power under the name of Methodism. Con- 
 cerning his learned auditory he states, that " all were very attentive ;" 
 and " one could not help weeping." In the evening he expounded a 
 passage of Holy Scripture in a private meeting, at which many gowns- 
 men were present, some of whom " mocked" the expositor of God's 
 word, and the service in which he was engaged. 
 
 During Mr. Charles Wesley's stay in Oxford he had interviews with 
 the vice-chancellor of the university, and the dean of Christ-Church, 
 of which he gives the following account : — " I waited upon the dean, 
 who spoke with unusual severity against field-preaching, and Mr. 
 Whitefield. He explained away all inward religion, and union with 
 God. That the world, and their god, abhor our manner of acting, I 
 have too sensible proof. This whole week has the messenger of Satan 
 been buffeting me with uninterrupted temptation. 
 
 " I visited the vice-chancellor at his own desire ; gave him a full 
 account of the Methodists, which he approved ; but objected the irre- 
 gularity of our doing good in other men's parishes ; charged Mr. White- 
 field with insincerity, and breach of promise ; appealed to the dean, and 
 appointed a second meeting there. All were against my sermon, as 
 liable to be misunder stood. At night I had another conference with the 
 dean, who cited Mr. Whitefield to judgment. I said, ' Mr. Dean, he 
 shall be ready to answer your citation.' He used his utmost address 
 to bring me off from preaching abroad ; from expounding in houses ; 
 from singing psalms. He denied justification by faith only ; and all 
 vital religion : promised me, however, to read Law and Pascal." 
 
 Having finished the service which had brought him to Oxford, Mr. 
 Charles Wesley returned to London, where he resumed his extraordi- 
 nary labours, especially on the sabbath, when he preached to vast 
 assemblies of people at Moorfields and Kennington-common, to the 
 great joy and spiritual benefit of many. Yet his pious zeal was not 
 admired by every one. There were men who were ready to gnash
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 159 
 
 upon him with their teeth, and who wanted nothing but the power to 
 inflict upon him the deepest injury. It may convey some idea of the 
 feeling which then existed, to state, that on the morning of the Sunday 
 after his return from Oxford, he preached at Moorfields to about ten 
 thousand people ; and to twice that number in the afternoon upon 
 Kennington-common. When he was walking across an open field to 
 his afternoon appointment, he was met by a man who threatened to 
 prosecute him for a trespass. Accordingly, a few days afterward, he 
 says, " I was served with a writ by Mr. Goter, for walking over his field 
 to Kennington. I sent Oakley to the lawyer, who confessed he did 
 not so much as know Avhat his client sued me for." The suit, how- 
 ever, was no trifle. A Methodist preacher was to be punished, in 
 spite of justice and mercy. The bill of this most disgraceful affair has 
 been preserved, with the receipt, in the hand-writing of the lawyer. 
 The following is a copy : — 
 
 " Goter versus Westley. Damages, j£10 ; costs taxed £9 16s. 8d. 
 July 29, 1739, received of Mr. Westley, by the hands of Mr. Joseph 
 Verding, nineteen poimds sixteen shillings and sixpence, for damages 
 and costs in their cause. 
 
 " William Gason, attorney for the plaintiff." 
 At the bottom of this instrument Mr. Charles Wesley has written, " I 
 paid them the things that I never took ;" and on the back, the signifi- 
 cant sentence, " To be re-judged in that day." 
 
 Both the Wesleys had preached and conducted divine worship in the 
 open air when in Georgia, where the climate was warm, and ecolesiasti- 
 cal buildings had not been erected ; but they had no thought of resum- 
 ing the practice in England, till Mr. Whitefield set them the example. 
 Nor did any of these good men adopt this method of reaching the 
 ignorant, till the chinches were generally closed against them. But 
 when they had entered upon this course, they at once perceived its 
 utility, and would not discontinue it on any account. Had all the 
 churches in the land been open to them, they would still have felt it 
 their dufy to preach abroad ; for this plain reason, that there were tens 
 of thousands of people to whom they were intrusted with the message 
 of mercy, but to whom they could otherwise have no access. Some 
 lived at an inconvenient distance from the churches ; others had no 
 inclination to attend ; and many of the abject poor, had they attended, 
 could have had no accommodation there. In an age of general profli- 
 gacy and ungodliness, it was impossible to meet the spiritual necessi- 
 ties of the people, but by following them to the places where they were 
 accustomed to congregate, and there warning them to flee from the 
 wrath to come. In many places chinches, whichhad been all butdeserted, 
 were filled with worshippers of God, and attentive hearers of his word.
 
 160 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Notwithstanding the benefits resulting from field-preaching, when 
 these three devoted men became thus "irregular," Archbishop Potter 
 talked of " excommunication ;" but he re-considered the subject, and 
 wisely forbore to execute his threat. Perhaps he recollected that the 
 Son of God preached upon a mountain, and on a plain, and addressed 
 multitudes on the sea-shore as he sat in a fishing-boat ; and that the 
 apostle of the Gentiles preached Jesus and the resurrection to the 
 inquisitive Athenians as he stood upon Mars' hill. It would indeed 
 have been an unseemly thing for a man invested with ecclesiastical 
 authority, and professing to derive that authority from the Lord Jesus, 
 in a direct line from the apostles, to impose silence upon Christian 
 ministers, and even expel them from the congregation of the faithful, 
 for doino- that which the Lord himself, and the holy apostles under his 
 direct sanction, had recommended by their daily practice. The Pro- 
 testant Church of England was preserved from the deep dishonour of 
 an act so thoroughly antichristian. It is indeed a grave question, 
 whether field-preaching is not the duty of every Christian minister ; 
 and whether any man to whom a dispensation of the gospel is commit- 
 ted can be blameless, either before God or man, who refuses to admin- 
 ister the warnings and invitations of the gospel to the multitudes of 
 people around him, who demonstrate, by the profanation of the sabbath, 
 and neglect of the house of prayer, that they are walking in the broad 
 way that leadeth to destruction. The charge is, "Preach the gospel 
 to every creature," as the instrument of salvation ; and to suffer men to 
 perish, without ever applying the remedy, is to incur guilt of the most 
 fearful magnitude. The field-preacher is not the party that needs an 
 apology. He that sacrifices the souls of men, redeemed by the blood 
 of God's incarnate Son, for the maintenance of an " order," of which 
 the Bible knows nothing, is the man whose conduct is more than ques- 
 tionable, and who ought to " consider his ways." 
 
 It is a surprising fact, that Mr. Charles Wesley, who had been so 
 long worn down by disease, and who seemed for some months to be 
 preserved alive by miracle, should be able to endure the labour which 
 now devolved upon him. He still visited the prisoners in Newgate ; 
 prayed almost daily with penitents in distress ; expounded the Scrip- 
 tures in private houses ; and often preached in the open air, to masses 
 of people which it was fearful even to contemplate. From the time of 
 his ordination, till very recently, he was accustomed to read his ser- 
 mons from the pulpit ; and he was astonished when he found himself 
 able to speak extempore with tolerable fluency and correctness to an 
 orderly congregation in a church. Where then, it may be asked, did 
 he find the requisite firmness of mind, in the absence of notes, to 
 address upward of twenty thousand people in the open air ? The
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 161 
 
 answer is, as he distinctly acknowledges, he received assistance from 
 above. He lived in the spirit of prayer; he laid hold upon the strength 
 divine by a mighty faith ; and he realized the fulfilment of the promise, 
 " I am with you always/' His mind was often exercised by fierce 
 temptations ; but the Lord was his helper ; and for some years he was 
 surpassed perhaps by no man, since the apostolic times, in power and 
 efficiency as a Christian preacher. The people everywhere fell under 
 his word like grass under the sythe of the mower. 
 
 The following letter, addressed to Mr. Whitefield, will show in what 
 manner he was now employed, with the feelings of his heart. Mr. 
 Whitefield was in the immediate neighbourhood of London : — 
 
 " London, August 10th, 1739. Dear George, — I forgot to mention 
 the most material occurrence at Plaistow ; namely, that a clergyman 
 was there convinced of sin. He stood under me, and appeared through- 
 out my discourse under the strongest perturbation of mind. In our re- 
 turn we were much delighted with an old spiritual Quaker, who is clear 
 in justification by faith only. At Marybone a footman was convinced 
 of more than sin ; and now waits with confidence for all the power 
 of faith. Friend Keen seems to have experience, and is right in the 
 foundation. 
 
 " I cannot preach out on the week-days for the expense of coaches, 
 nor accept of dear Mr. Seward's offer ; to which I should be less back- 
 ward, if he would take my advice. But while he is so lavish of his 
 Lord's goods, I cannot consent that this ruin should in any degree seem 
 to be under my hand. 
 
 " I am continually tempted to leave off preaching, and hide myself 
 like J. Hutchins. I should then be freer from temptations, and at 
 leisure to attend to my own improvement. God continues to work by 
 me, but not in me, that I can perceive. Do not reckon upon me, my 
 brother, in the work God is doing : for I cannot expect he should long 
 employ one who is ever longing and murmuring to be discharged. 
 I rejoice in your success, and pray for its increase a thousand fold." 
 
 Three days afterward, in a letter to Mr. Seward, he says, " Yester- 
 day I preached to more than ten thousand hearers ; and was so buffeted, 
 both before and after, that were I not forcibly detained, I should fly 
 from every human face. If God does make a way for me to escape, 
 I shall not easily be brought back again. I cannot lrke advertising. 
 It looks like sounding a trumpet. I hope our brother Hutchins will 
 come forth at last, and throw away, what he seems to have taken up, 
 my mantle of reserve. But then he will no longer make Mr. Brough- 
 ton his counsellor." 
 
 11
 
 162 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Now that the leading men among the original Oxford Methodists 
 had renounced tlic- .Mysticism of William Law, received the opposite 
 doctrine of salvation by faith, and were making such gigantic efforts 
 to propagate this important truth, it is curious to know what their 
 former guide and adviser thought of their present views and proceed- 
 ings. He was still resident at Putney; and on Friday, August 10th, 
 Mr. Charles Wesley paid him a visit, taking his friend Bray with him. 
 It will be seen that this eloquent ascetic was as blind as ever to all the 
 glorious peculiarities of evangelical religion. 
 
 " To-day," says Mr. Charles, " I carried T. Bray to Mr. Law, who 
 r« solved all his feelings and experiences into fits, or natural affections, 
 and advised him to take no notice of his comforts, which he had better 
 be without than with. He blamed Mr. Whitefield's Journals, and way 
 of proceeding ; said he had great hopes that the Methodises would 
 have been dispersed by little and little in livings, and have leavened 
 the whole lump. I told him my experience. ' Then am I,' said he, 
 ' far below you, (if you are right,) not worthy to bear your shoes.' He 
 agreed to our notion of faith, but would have it, that all men held it ; 
 was fully against the laymen's expounding, as the very worst thing 
 both for themselves and others. I told him, he Avas my schoolmaster, 
 to brino" me to Christ ; but the reason why I did not come sooner to 
 Him was, my seeking to be sanctified before I was justified. I dis- 
 claimed all expectation of becoming some great one. Among other 
 things he said, ' Was I talked of as Mr. Whitefield is, I should run 
 away, and hide myself entirely.' ' You might,' I answered, ' but God 
 would bring you back, like Jonah.' Joy in the Holy Ghost, he told us, 
 was the most dangerous thing God could give. I replied, ' But cannot 
 God guard his own gifts V He often disclaimed advising, seeing we 
 had the Spirit of God ; but mended upon our hands, and at last came 
 almost quite over." 
 
 It was now agreed that the Wesleys should exchange places. John 
 was to come to London, and Charles was to succeed him at Bristol. 
 On his way to that city, Charles visited Oxford, Evesham, Bengeworth, 
 and Gloucester. His design in going to the second and third of these 
 places was to see Mr. Benjamin Seward, with whom he had recently 
 become acquainted, and who lived at Bengeworth, near Evesham. He 
 was a man of large property, and of liberal education, having been 
 bred at Cambridge. He had been correct in his morals, and charitable 
 and humane ; but strenuously opposed to spiritual religion ; having in- 
 tended to write against what he conceived to be the enthusiastic notions 
 of Mr. Law, contained in his treatise on Christian Perfection. Early 
 in the spring of this year he had been severely afflicted, and, in con- 
 nection with much bodily suffering, endured great mental perplexity 
 
 11*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 163 
 
 ?md anguish. A poor travelling woman, who obtained a livelihood by 
 selling toys for children, found him thus distressed both in mind and 
 body, and taught him the nature and necessity of the new birth. 
 Having recovered his health, and obtained some knowledge of the 
 truth, he resolved to enter into holy orders, that he might teach others 
 what he himself had learned respecting the things of God. In this 
 state he heard Mr. Whitefield preach, when his heart clave to him ; 
 and he was ultimately induced to accompany that man of God to Ame- 
 rica. Soon after he had heard Mr. Whitefield he came to London, 
 where he was introduced to Mr. Charles Wesley, who admired his 
 spirit, but speaks of him at this time as " knowing only the baptism 
 of John." He proposed to bear the expense of Mr. Charles Wesley's 
 coach-hire, in his preaching excursions in London and its vicinity, 
 which Charles respectfully declined. The wife of this young convert 
 was a zealous predestinarian, and far more remarkable for her attach- 
 ment to her creed, than her regard either for good manners or hospi- 
 tality. 
 
 On Monday, August 20th, Charles addressed the following letter, 
 from Bengeworth and Evesham, to his brother John : — 
 
 " Dear Brother, — We left the brethren at Oxford, much edified ; and 
 two gownsmen, besides C. Graves, thoroughly awakened. On Saturday 
 afternoon God brought us hither. Mr. Seward being from home, there 
 was no admittance for us, his wife being an opposer, and having refused 
 to see George Whitefield before me. At seven Mr. Seward found tis 
 at our inn, and carried us home. I expounded at eight in the school- 
 room, which contains two hundred. On Sunday morning I preached 
 from George Whitefield's pulpit, the wall : ' Repent ye, and believe 
 the gospel.' The notice being short, we had only a few hundreds ; 
 but such as those described in the morning lesson, ' These were more 
 noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with 
 all readiness of mind.' In the evening I showed to near two thousand 
 the Saviour in the good Samaritan. .Many, I am persuaded, found 
 themselves stripped, and wounded, and half dead ; and are therefore 
 ready for the oil and wine. Once more God enabled me to open the 
 new covenant at the school-house, which was crowded with deeply- 
 attentive hearers." 
 
 To this account he adds, in his journal, " August 30th. I spoke from 
 Acts ii, 37, to two or three hundred market-people and soldiers, all as 
 orderly and decent as could be desired. I now heard that the mayor 
 had come down on Sunday t© take a view of us ; and soon after an 
 officer struck a countryman in the face, without any provocation. A
 
 164 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 serious woman besought the poor man not to resist evil ; ' as the other 
 only wanted to make a riot.' He took patiently several repeated blows, 
 telling the man he might beat him as long as he pleased. 
 
 " I took a walk with Mr. Seward, whose eyes it has pleased God to 
 open, to see he would have all men to be saved. His wife, who re- 
 fuses to see me, is miserably bigoted to the particular scheme. We 
 had the satisfaction of meeting with Mr. Seward's cousin Molly, whom 
 I had endeavoured to convince of sin at Islington. The Spirit had 
 now convinced her of righteousness also. To-day she told us, a young- 
 lady here upon a visit had been deeply struck on Sunday night, under 
 the word, seeing and feeling her need of a Physician, and earnestly 
 desired me to pray for her. We immediately joined in thanksgiving 
 and intercession. After dinner I spoke with her. She burst into tears ; 
 told us, she had come here thoughtless, and dead in pleasures and sin, 
 but fully resolved against ever being a Methodist ; that she was first 
 alarmed at seeing us so happy, and full of love ; had gone to the 
 society, but never found herself out till the word came with power to 
 her soul ; that all the following night she had been as in an agony : 
 could not pray ; could not bear our singing, nor have any rest in her- 
 self. We betook ourselves to prayer, and God hearkened. She re- 
 ceived forgiveness in that instant, and triumphed in the name of the 
 Lord her God. We were all upon the mount the rest of the day. 
 
 " At six I explained the nature of faith, from, ' Not I, but Christ 
 liveth in me : who loved me, and gave himself for me.' Afterward I 
 showed them, in the school-house, their own case in dead Lazarus. 
 Some of those that were dead, I trust, begin to come forth. Several 
 serious people from the neighbouring towns came home with us. We 
 continued our rejoicing till midnight. 
 
 " August 22d. I besought my hearers to be reconciled unto God. 
 I found Miss P. had been greatly strengthened by last night's expound- 
 ing, and could scarcely forbear crying out, she was that Lazarus ; and 
 if they would come to Christ, he would raise them as he had her. All 
 night she continued singing in her heart ; and discovers more and more 
 of that genuine mark of his disciples, love. 
 
 " I was prevailed upon to stay over this day. God soon showed me 
 his design in it. Our singing in the garden drew two sincere women 
 to us, who sought Christ sorrowing. After reading the promises in 
 Isaiah, we prayed, and they received them accomplished in themselves. 
 We were upon a mount, which reminded us of Tabor, through the joy 
 wherewith our Master filled us. How shall I be thankful enough for 
 his bringing me hither ! While we were singing, a poor drunken ser- 
 vant of Mr. Seward was struck. His master had last night given him 
 warning ; but now he seems effectually called. We spent the after-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 165 
 
 noon most delightfully in Isaiah. At seven the society met. I could 
 hardly speak through my cold ; but it was suspended while I showed 
 the natural man his picture in blind Bartimeus. Many were ready to 
 cry after Jesus for mercy. The three that had lately received their 
 sight were much strengthened. Miss P. declared her cure before two 
 hundred witnesses, many of them gay young gentlewomen. They re- 
 ceived her testimony ; flocked round about her ; and pressed her on all 
 sides to come and see them. By this open confession she purchased 
 to herself great boldness in the faith. 
 
 " August 22d. This morning the work upon poor Robin appeared to 
 be God's work. The words that made the first impression were, — 
 
 ' 'Tis mercy all, immense and free ; 
 For, O my God, it found out me !' 
 
 He now seemed full of sorrow, and joy, and astonishment, and love. 
 The world, too, set to their seal, that he belongs to Christ. 
 
 " I cannot but observe the narrow spirit of those that hold particular 
 redemption. I have had no disputes with them ; yet they have me in 
 abomination.. Mrs. Seward is irreconcilably angry with me ; ' for he 
 offers Christ to all !' Her maids are of the same spirit ; and their Bap- 
 tist teacher insists that I ought to have my gown stripped over my ears. 
 When Mr. Seward, in my hearing, exhorted one of the maids to a 
 concern for her salvation, she answered, it was to no purpose : she 
 could do nothing. The same answer he received from his daughter, 
 of seven years old. See the genuine fruits of this blessed doctrine !" 
 
 From Evesham Mr. Charles Wesley went to Gloucester, the birth- 
 place of his friend Mr. W r hitefield. Here he writes : — 
 
 " August 23d. By ten last night the Lord brought us hither, through 
 many dangers and difficulties. In mounting I fell over my horse, and 
 sprained my hand. Riding in the dark, I bruised my foot. We lost 
 our way as often as we could. Two horses we had between three ; 
 for Robin bore us company. Here we were turned back from a friend's 
 house by his wife's sickness. Last night my voice and strength wholly 
 failed me. To-day they are in some measure restored. At night I 
 with difficulty got into the crowded society : preached the law and the 
 gospel from Romans iii. They received it with all readiness. Three 
 clergymen were present. Some without attempted to make a disturb- 
 ance, by setting on the dogs ; but in vain. The dumb dogs rebuked 
 the rioters. 
 
 " August 25th. Before I Avent forth into the streets and highways, 
 1 sent, after my custom, to borrow the church. The minister (one of 
 the better disposed) sent back a civil message : would be glad to drink 
 a glass of wine with me, but durst not lend me his pulpit for fifty
 
 166 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 raineas. Mr. Whitefield durst lend me his field, which did just as 
 well. For near an hour and a half God gave me voice and strength to 
 exhort about two thousand sinners to repent, and believe the gospel. 
 My voice and strength failed together ; neither do I want them when 
 mv work is done. Being invited to Painswick, I waited upon the Lord, 
 and renewed my strength. We found near one thousand gathered in 
 the street. 1 discoursed from 2 Cor. v, 19, 'God was in Christ, re- 
 conciling the world unto himself.' I besought them earnestly to be 
 reconciled; and the rebels seemed inclined to lay down their arms. 
 A young Presbyterian teacher clave to us. I received fresh strength 
 to expound the good Samaritan, at a public-house, which was full above 
 stairs and below. 
 
 " August 25th. I showed them, in the street, that to them and their 
 children was the promise made. Some are, I trust, on the point of 
 receiving it. Three clergymen attended. I prayed by a young woman, 
 afraid of death, because it had not lost its sting. I showed her, the 
 promise was to those that are afar off, even before they actually receive 
 it. This revived her much ; and we left her patiently waiting for the 
 salvation of God. At nine I exhorted and prayed with a house-full of 
 sincere souls ; and took my leave, recommended by their affectionate 
 prayers to the grace of God. 
 
 " At Gloucester I went to the field at five. An old intimate acquaint- 
 ance (Mrs. Kirkham) stood in my way, and challenged me : ' What, 
 Mr. Wesley; is it you I see \ Is it possible that you, who can preach 
 at Christ-Church, St. Mary's, &c, should come hither after a mob ?' 
 I cut her short with, ' The work which my Master giveth me, must I 
 not do it V and went to my mob ; or, (to put it into the Pharisees' 
 phrase,) ' this people which is accursed.' Thousands heard me gladly, 
 while I told them their privilege of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, 
 and exhorted them to come for him to Christ, as poor lost sinners. 
 I continued my discourse till night." 
 
 From Gloucester Mr. Charles Wesley went to Runwick, where his 
 wonted success attended him. He says, " The minister here lent me 
 his pulpit. I stood at the window, which was taken down, and turned 
 to the larger congregation, of above two thousand, in the church-yard. 
 They appeared greedy to hear, while I testified, ' God so loved the 
 world, that he gave his only begotten Son,' &c. These are, I think, 
 more noble than those at Evesham. After sermon a woman came to 
 me, who had received faith in hearing Mr. Whitefield. She was terri- 
 fied at having lost her comfort., I explained to her that wilderness 
 state, into which the believer is generally led, by the Spirit, to be 
 tempted, as soon as he is baptized by the Holy Ghost. This confirmed 
 her in a patient looking for His return whom her soul loveth. We
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 167 
 
 dined at Mr. Ellis's, of Ebley ; and met our brother Ellis, who has the 
 blessing of believing parents, two sisters awakened. One only brother 
 continues an abandoned prodigal. 
 
 " In the afternoon I preached again to a Kennington congregation. 
 The church was full as it could crowd. Thousands stood in the 
 church-yard. It was the most beautiful sight I ever beheld. The 
 people filled the gradually-rising area, which was shut upon three 
 sides by a vast perpendicular hill. On the top and bottom of this hill 
 was a circular row of trees. In this amphitheatre they stood, deeply 
 attentive, while I called upon them, in Christ's words, ' Come unto me, 
 all that are weary.' The tears of many testified that they were ready 
 to enter into that rest. God enabled me to lift up my voice like a 
 trumpet, so that all distinctly heard me. I concluded with singing an 
 invitation to sinners. It was with difficulty we made our way through 
 this most loving people, and returned amid their prayers and blessings 
 to Ebley. Here I expounded the second lesson for two hours, and 
 received strength and faith to plead the promise of the Father. A 
 good old Baptist pressed me to preach at Stanley, on my way to Bris- 
 tol. Accordingly, 
 
 " August 27th. I set out at seven. The sky was overcast, and we 
 were wetted to the skin. This, I thought, portended good. We could 
 not stay to dry ourselves, there being, contrary to our expectation, a 
 company of near a thousand waiting. I preached from a table, (having 
 been first denied the pulpit.) upon, ' Repent, and believe the gospel.' 
 The hearers seemed so much affected, that I appointed them to meet 
 me again in the evening. The minister was of my audience. 
 
 " I rode back to Ebley, and was informed by brother Oakley, that 
 he had fastened upon the poor prodigal, and spoke to his heart. His 
 convictions were heightened by the sermon. We prayed and sun° 
 alternately, till faith came. God blew with his wind, and the waters 
 flowed. He struck the hard rock, and the waters gushed out ; and the 
 poor sinner, with joy and astonishment, believed the Son of God loved 
 him, and gave himself for him. ' Sing, ye heavens ; for the Lord hath 
 done it ! Shout, ye lower parts of the earth !' In the morning I had 
 told his mother of St. Austin's conversion. Now I carried her the 
 joyful news, ' This thy son was dead, and is alive again,' I expounded 
 at a gentlewoman's house, on my way to Stanley, but could hardly 
 speak through my cold. I went forth in faith, and preached under a 
 large elm tree, on the prodigal son. I returned to Ebley rejoicing, 
 where I expounded the woman of Samaria." 
 
 In the evening of the next day Mr. Charles Wesley met his brother 
 in Bristol, where they rejoiced together on account of the glorious 
 things which they had witnessed, and of which they had been the in-
 
 168 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Mima. nts. since they parted with each other in London. They spent 
 the next day chiefly in visiting the people, of whom Charles was for a 
 time to take the charge ; and on the following morning, when John 
 took his leave of them, Charles says, " His short absence cost them 
 many tears." 
 
 This appears to have been the first time that Mr. Charles Wesley 
 bad ( vor been in Bristol. He had not come to inspect its antiquities, 
 nor to gratify his taste by surveying the beautiful scenery with which 
 it is surrounded. Upon the salvation of souls his undivided attention 
 was ixed; and this he desired with a passion the full depth and in- 
 tensity of which it would be difficult to describe. His burning zeal 
 was a direct effect of his union with Christ. It was an emanation from 
 him who is emphatically the lover of souls. On entering upon his 
 ministry at Bristol, he found that " other men had laboured," and he 
 had " entered into their labours." His brother and Mr. Whitefield had 
 here " gone forth weeping, bearing precious seed ;" and by God's bless- 
 ing upon their combined exertions, " the fields were" now everywhere 
 " white imto the harvest." With a diligence and fidelity worthy of 
 such a state of things, and of which there have been few examples, 
 Charles " thrust in his sickle ;" and then " came again with rejoicing, 
 bringing his sheaves with him." 
 
 When the Wesleys and Mr. Whitefield first gave indications of an 
 extraordinary zeal for the spread of religion, it was said to them, " If 
 you wish to convert heathens, go to Kingswood ;" a place principally 
 occupied by colliers, for whose salvation no man seemed to care, and 
 who were therefore brutally ignorant and wicked. The challenge was 
 accepted. Mr. Whitefield was the first that undertook the unpromis- 
 ing service ; and his success was such as to demonstrate that a more 
 than ordinary influence of the Holy Spirit rested upon him and the 
 people. He stood, and under the open sky called upon them " to re- 
 pent, and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance ;" offering to 
 them, at the same time, without money and without price, the inesti- 
 mable mercies of redemption, — pardon, with its attendant peace and 
 holiness. Multitudes listened to the call, and not a few willingly re- 
 sponded to the invitation ; their deep sighs, and the white streaks 
 caused by the tears which flowed down their blackened faces, attesting 
 the strength of their inward emotions. 
 
 Mr. Whitefield was succeeded by Mr. John Wesley ; and Charles 
 now followed both with equal steps. His zeal, his faith, his courage, 
 his love to souls, his perseverance, were most exemplary ; and he was 
 signally owned of God, in awakening among the people a concern for 
 divine things, and in turning them to Christ. He remained in Bristol 
 somewhat more than two months, preaching in the most neglected parts
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 169 
 
 of the city and its neighbourhood during the day, and in the evenings 
 expounding the Holy Scriptures in private houses, and large rooms, 
 where the people could be accommodated to hear him. He also ex- 
 tended his labours to Kingswood, Pensford, Bearfield, Bradford, and 
 other places, proclaiming the word of life in the open air, and often in 
 the midst of heavy rain. While he was thus employed, some of the 
 clergy in Bristol inveighed against him from their pulpits with great 
 vehemence ; and others complained bitterly of the intolerable increase 
 of their labour, when he brought large companies of reclaimed profli- 
 gates to the churches to receive the Lord's supper ; an ordinance which 
 they had generally neglected, till they were enlightened and impressed 
 under his ministry. 
 
 At this period Mr. Joseph Williams, of Kidderminster, a pious and 
 upright man, whose published Journal is well known, visited Bristol, 
 and attended Mr. Charles Wesley's ministry, of which he has given a 
 valuable and striking account. Being a Dissenter and a Calvinist, he 
 found it difficult to credit the accounts which he heard of the godly 
 labours and usefidness of the Methodists, because they belonged to the 
 Church of England, and did not entertain his views on the controverted 
 questions relating to God's predestination. He had now an opportunity 
 of judging for himself; and the result, he declared in a letter which he 
 wrote for insertion in the Gentleman's Magazine. He submitted it to 
 the inspection of Mr. Charles Wesley, who appears to have prevented 
 its publication. It was found among his papers after his decease, in 
 Mr. Williams's hand-writing. The following is an extract : — 
 
 " Hearing that Mr. Charles Wesley would preach in the afternoon, 
 just out of the city, I got a guide, and went to hear him. I found him 
 standing upon a table, in an erect posture, with his hands and eyes 
 lifted up to heaven in prayer, surrounded with, I guess, more than a 
 thousand people ; some few of them persons of fashion, both men and 
 women, but most of them of the lower rank of mankind. I know not 
 how long he had been engaged in the duty before I came, but he con- 
 tinued therein, after my coming, scarcely a quarter of an hour ; during 
 which time he prayed with uncommon fervency, fluency, and variety 
 of proper expression. He then preached about an hour, from 2 Cor. v, 
 17-21, in such a manner as I have seldom, if ever, heard any minister 
 preach ; that is, though I have heard many a finer sermon, according 
 to the common taste, yet I have scarcely ever heard any minister dis- 
 cover such evident signs of a most vehement desire, or labour so ear- 
 nestly to convince his hearers that they were all by nature in a state 
 of enmity against God, consequently in a damnable state, and needed 
 reconciliation to God; that God is willing to be reconciled to all. . v&a 
 the worst of sinners, and for that end hath laid all our sin on Christ,
 
 170 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 and Christ hath borne the punishment due to our sins in our nature 
 and stead ; that, on the other hand, the righteousness and merits of 
 ( hrist are imputed to as many as believe on him ; that it is faith alone, 
 exclusive entirely of any works of ours, which applies to us the right- 
 eousness of Christ, and justifies us in the sight of God ; that none are 
 excluded but those who refuse to come to him, as lost, undone, yea, as 
 damned sinners, and trust in him alone — that is, in his meritorious right- 
 eousness and atoning sacrifice — for pardon and salvation. These points 
 he supported all along, as he went on, with many texts of Scripture, 
 which he explained and illustrated ; and then freely invited all, even 
 the chief of sinners, and used a great variety of the most moving argu- 
 ments and expostulations, in order to persuade, allure, instigate, and. 
 if possible, compel all to come to Christ, and believe in him for pardon 
 and salvation. Nor did he fail to inform them thoroughly, how ineffectual 
 their faith would be to justify them in the sight of God, unless it wrought 
 by love, purified their hearts, and reformed their lives : for though he 
 cautioned them with the utmost care, not to attribute any merit to their 
 own performances, nor in the least degree rest upon any works of their 
 own ; yet, at the same time, he apprized them, that their faith is but. a 
 dead faith, if it be not operative, and productive of good works, even 
 all the good in their power. 
 
 " Afterward I waited on Mr. Wesley, asked him many questions, 
 and received much satisfaction from his answers. I then went with 
 him to a religious society, which met about seven in the evening ; 
 and found the place so thronged, that it was with very great difficulty 
 we got to the centre of it ; where was a convenient place provided for 
 him, either to stand or sit. When we came to them, they were singing 
 a hymn ; but ceased on Mr. Wesley's mounting the rostrum. He first 
 prayed ; then expounded part of the twelfth chapter of St. John's Gos- 
 pel ; then sung a hymn ; then proceeded awhile in the exposition ; 
 then sung another hymn; then prayed over more than twenty bills, 
 which were given up by the society, respecting their spiritual con- 
 cerns ; and concluded with the usual benediction. Never did 1 
 hear such praying, or such singing, — never did I see and hear such 
 evident marks of fervency of spirit in the service of God, — as in that 
 society. At the close of every single petition, a serious amen, like a 
 rushing sound of waters, ran through the whole society ; and their 
 singing was not only the most harmonious and delightful I ever heard, 
 but as Mr. Whitefield writes in his Journals, they ' sung lustily, and 
 with a good courage.' I never so well understood the meaning of that 
 expression before. Indeed they seemed to sing with melody in their 
 hearts. It is impossible for any man to try another's heart ; neither 
 would I dare to invade the divine prerogative ; but this I will venture
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 171 
 
 to say, such evident marks of a lively, genuine devotion, in any part 
 of religious worship, I never was witness to in any place, or on any 
 occasion. If there be such a thing as heavenly music upon earth, I 
 heard it there. If there be such an enjoyment, such an attainment, as 
 that of a heaven upon earth, numbers in that society seemed to possess 
 it. As for my own part, I do not remember my heart to have been so 
 elevated in prayer and praise, either in collegiate, parochial, or private 
 worship, as it was there and then. 
 
 " I found, upon inquiry, that great numbers in Bristol, by attending 
 the religious ministrations of Mr. Whitefield and the Wesleys, have 
 been reformed from a vicious course, who now, without neglecting their 
 necessary employments, (as has been invidiously suggested,) make 
 religion their principal concern ; and particularly, that the case is 
 remarkably thus with many of the colliers in Kingswood, whose wick- 
 edness, a few years since, was notorious. If, therefore, any inquire, 
 as Nathaniel, ' Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ?' ' Can 
 any good come out of Methodism V I only answer, as Philip, ' Come 
 and see.' " 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley thus speaks of the religious services which made 
 so deep and favourable an impression upon the mind of Mr. Williams : — 
 " Oct. 8th. I called on the dying man with whom I prayed last night, 
 and found him a new creature. He told me he now tasted the peace 
 I spoke of, the joy and comfort of a living faith. I asked whether he 
 was still afraid to die. ' No, no,' he replied ; ' I desire to die. I want 
 to get away.' ' Why, do you love Jesus Christ V ' Yes, dearly,' said 
 he, with his voice and looks. I left him ready for the Bridegroom, 
 and published the word of reconciliation at the Bear-yard. God in 
 Christ was with us of a truth. I never spoke more clearly. The same 
 power was in the society. Mr. Williams, of Kidderminster, was much 
 edified among us. He followed a letter he wrote inviting me thither. 
 Of what denomination he is I know not ; nor is it material ; for he has 
 the mind which Avas in Jesus. I met my brother, just returned from 
 London." 
 
 About three weeks before this time Mr. Williams had written to Mr. 
 Charles Wesley, requesting him to visit Kidderminster ; and he was so 
 impressed in favour of the Wesleys, in consequence of what he now 
 saw, and heard, and felt in Bristol, that he renewed his application, and 
 that with greater importunity. In a letter to Mr. Charles Wesley, 
 under the date of Oct. 17th, he says, "I forgot, at parting, to renew 
 my humble request to you, for a line at your convenience, which I now 
 humbly desire, to let me know when we may expect you or Mr. John 
 Wesley here. I have provided you a field, larger than any bowling- 
 green, and enclosed with a high wall, to preach in ; and cannot but
 
 172 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 i hope, it' you could continue a while with us, your and our Lord 
 BKgfct reap a plentiful harvest here and hereabout; and that a wide and 
 effectual door would be opened to you. But you may be sure of many 
 adversaries, and none more violent than our vicar. 
 
 " The more I have thought of your definition of justifying faith, which 
 is what I humbly trust God hath given me, the more I am inclined to 
 believe it right ; though different from what I have been all along taught ; 
 and I want to be furnished with further proofs and arguments for it, as 
 it is what meets with a general opposition from those good people I 
 have mentioned it to : yet two or three seem to give in to it. I there- 
 fore beg of you, as soon as you have leisure, to be a little particular on 
 that head, which will, I hope, turn to good account, and more and more 
 endear you to your obliged servant, and unworthy brother in Christ. 
 
 " I dearly love your religious society. My heart is knit to them : 
 and my prayers are daily for you and them, that they may abound more 
 and more in every grace, in every good word and work ; and that the 
 God of hope would fill them with all joy and peace in believing, that 
 they may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 The devout and joyous spirit of Mr. Charles Wesley's children in 
 the Lord, who had but recently been reclaimed from ignorance and sin 
 by the divine blessing upon his ministry, did not universally command 
 the admiration with which it was contemplated by Mr. Williams. 
 Among them were various persons who had been brought up among the 
 Quakers and Baptists, who now felt it their duty to offer themselves as 
 candidates for Christian baptism. Accordingly Charles says, under the 
 date of Oct. 13th, "I waited, with my brother, upon a minister, about 
 baptizing some of his parish. He complained heavily of the multitude 
 of our communicants, and produced the canon against strangers. He 
 could not admit that as a reason for their coming to his church, that 
 they had no sacrament at their own. I offered my assistance to lessen 
 his trouble ; but he declined it. There were a hundred new communi- 
 cants, he told us, last Sunday ; and he added, ' I am credibly informed, 
 some of them came out of spite to me.' We bless God for this cause 
 of offence, and pray it may never be removed." 
 
 When Mr. Williams attended the religious meetings of the Method- 
 ists in Bristol, he states that he was greatly impressed with the sweet- 
 ness and power of the singing. This was a part of divine worship in 
 which the brothers took a lively interest from the beginning of their 
 public labours ; and as they both possessed the gift and spirit of sacred 
 poetry, they applied themselves to the composition of. hymns adapted 
 to the use and edification of those who united with them in the worship 
 of God. Soon after their return from Georgia, as we have already 
 seen, they published a volume of hymns, for this purpose ; and this
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 173 
 
 year they added two others, of a similar kind, but more varied in their 
 subjects, and more evangelical in their character. To both these vol- 
 umes they gave the same title : " Hymns and Sacred Poems. Pub- 
 lished by John Wesley, M. A., Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford ; 
 and Charles Wesley, M. A., Student of Christ-Church, Oxford." They 
 were " printed by W. Strahan ;" and sold by their friend " James Hut- 
 ton, bookseller, at the Bible and Sun, without Temple-Bar ; and at Mr. 
 Biay's, a brazier, in Little-Britain." Such was the demand for these 
 volumes, that one of them passed to a second edition the same year ; 
 and the other to a third. That which appears to have been first pub- 
 lished begins with " Eupolis's Hymn to the Creator," written by the 
 rector of Epworth ; and also contains some poems by Mr. Gambold, 
 with several hymns and other compositions altered from Herbert, Dr; 
 Hickes, and Dr. Henry More. 
 
 The preface to this volume is a document of very superior value, and 
 distinctly points out the change which had taken place in the theologi- 
 cal views of the writers. They say, " Some verses, it maybe observed, 
 in the following collection, were written upon the scheme of the Mystic 
 divines. And these, it is owned, we had once in great veneration, as 
 the best explainers of the gospel of Christ. But we are now convinced 
 that we therein ' greatly erred, not knowing the Scriptures, neither the 
 power of God.' And because this is an error which many serious minds 
 are sooner or later exposed to, and which indeed most easily besets 
 those who seek the Lord Jesus in sincerity, we believe ourselves indis- 
 pensably obliged, in the presence of God, and angels, and men, to 
 declare wherein we apprehend those writers not to teach ' the truth as 
 it is in Jesus.' 
 
 " And first, we apprehend them to lay another foundation. They are 
 careful indeed to pull down our own works, and to prove that, ' by the 
 deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified.' But why is this ? Only 
 to establish our own righteousness in the place of our own works. 
 They speak largely and well against expecting to be accepted of God 
 for our virtuous actions ; and then teach that 'we are to be accepted for 
 our virtuous habits or tempers. Still the ground of our acceptance is 
 placed in ourselves. The difference is only this : Common writers 
 suppose we are to be justified for the sake of our outward righteousness. 
 These suppose we are to be justified for the sake of our inward right- 
 eousness. Whereas, in truth, we are no more justified for the sake of 
 one than of the other. For neither our own inward nor outward right- 
 eousness is the ground of our justification. Holiness of heart, as well 
 as holiness of life, is not the cause, but the effect, of it. The sole cause 
 of our acceptance with God (or that for the sake of which, on the 
 account of which, we are accepted) is the righteousness and the death
 
 174 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of Christ, who fulfilled God's law, and died in our stead. And even 
 the condition of it is not, as they suppose, our holiness either of heart 
 or life ; but our faith alone ; faith contradistinguished from holiness, as 
 well as from good works. Other foundation, therefore, can no man lay, 
 without being an adversary to Christ and his gospel, than faith alone ; 
 faith, though necessarily producing both, yet not including either good 
 works, or holiness. 
 
 " But supposing them to have laid the foundation right ; the manner 
 of building thereon which they advise is quite opposite to that prescribed 
 by Christ. He commands to build up one another. They advise, ' To 
 the desert ! to the desert ! and God will build you up.' Numberless 
 are the commendations that occur in all their writings, not of retirement 
 intermixed with conversation, but of an entire seclusion from men, per- 
 haps for months or years, in order to purify the soul. Whereas, accord- 
 ing to the judgment of our Lord, and the writings of his apostles, it is 
 oidy when we are ' knit together,' that we have ' nourishment' from him, 
 and ' increase with the increase of God.' Neither is there any time 
 when the weakest member can say to the strongest, or the strongest to 
 the weakest, ' I have no need of thee.' Accordingly our blessed Lord, 
 when his disciples were in their weakest state, sent them forth, not 
 alone, but two by two. When they were strengthened a little, not by 
 solitude, but by abiding with him and one another, he commanded them 
 to wait, not separate, but being assembled together, for the promise of 
 the Father. And they were all with one accord, in one place, when 
 they received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Express mention is made in 
 the same chapter, that when there were added unto them three thousand 
 souls, all that believed were together, and continued steadfastly, not 
 only in the apostles' doctrine, but also in fellowship, and in breaking 
 of bread, and in praying with one accord. Agreeable to which is the 
 account the great apostle gives of the manner in which he had been 
 taught of God, for the perfecting of the saints, for the edifying of the 
 body of Christ, even to the end of the world. And according to St. 
 Paul, all who will ever come, in the unity of the faith, unto a perfect 
 man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, must 
 together grow up into him. From whom the whole body fitly joined 
 together and compacted (or strengthened) by that which every joint 
 supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every 
 part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love, 
 Eph. iv, 15, 16. 
 
 " So widely distant is the manner of building up souls in Christ 
 taught by St. Paul, and that taught by the Mystics ! Nor do they differ 
 as to the foundation, or the manner of building thereon, more than they 
 do with regard to the superstructure. For the religion these authors
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 175 
 
 would edify us in, is solitary religion. ' If thou wilt be perfect,' say 
 they, ' trouble not thyself about outward works. It is better to work 
 virtues in the will. He hath attained the true resignation who hath 
 estranged himself from all outward works, that God may work inwardly 
 in him, without any turning to outward things. These are the true 
 worshippers, who worship God in spirit and in truth.' For contempla- 
 tion is with them the fulfilling of the law, even a contemplation that 
 ' consists in a cessation of all works.' 
 
 " Directly opposite to this is the gospel of Christ. Solitary religion 
 is not to be found .there. ' Holy solitaries' is a phrase no more con- 
 sistent with the gospel than holy adulterers. The gospel of Christ 
 knows of no religion but social ; no holiness, but social holiness. Faith 
 working by love is the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of 
 Christian perfection. This commandment we have from Christ, that 
 he who loves God love his brother also ; and that we manifest our love, 
 by doing good unto all men, especially to them that are of the household 
 of faith. And in truth, whosoever loveth his brethren, not in word only, 
 but as Christ loved him, cannot but be zealous of good works. He feels 
 in his soid a burning, restless desire of spending and being spent for 
 them. ' My Father,' will he say, ' worketh hitherto, and I work ;' and 
 at all possible opportunities, he is, like his Master, going about doing 
 good." 
 
 In full accordance with these Scriptural principles are the following 
 remarks upon the very defective theology of William Law, which Mr. 
 Charles Wesley entered in his private journal during his stay at Bris- 
 tol : — " I read part of Mr. Law on Regeneration to our society. How 
 promising the beginning ! how lame the conclusion ! Christianity, he 
 rightly tells us, is a recovery of the divine image ; and a Christian is a 
 fallen spirit restored, and reinstated in paradise ; a living mirror of Fa- 
 ther, Son, and Holy Ghost. After this he supposes it possible for him 
 to be insensible of such a change ; to be happy, and holy, and translated 
 into Eden, renewed in the likeness of God, one with the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghost, and yet not know it. Nay, we are not to expect, or 
 bid others expect, any such consciousness, if we listen to one who too 
 plainly demonstrates, by his wretched inconsistency, that his knowledge 
 of the new birth is mostly in theory." 
 
 In this manner did these faithful men bear testimony to the truth, and 
 retract the errors which had long held them in spiritual bondage. Their 
 teaching was now derived from the Holy Scriptures, to which they 
 subordinated every principle and opinion ; feeling the full force of the 
 inquiry, " What is the chaff to the wheat ? saith the Lord."
 
 176 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 There is a chasm in Mr. Charles Wesley's private journal from the 
 6th of Nov. 1739, to the 14th of March following; and hence it is dif- 
 ficult to ascertain the whole of his movements during this period. He 
 appears to have left Bristol early in November, and to have gone to 
 Oxford, being summoned thither by the authorities of the university, to 
 respond in the divinity disputations. Here, it is probable, the following 
 letter was addressed to him, containing the intelligence of his brother 
 .Samuel's death. It was written by an intimate friend of the deceased, 
 Mr. Amos Matthews : — 
 
 " Tiverton, Nov. 14, 1739. Rev. and Dear Sir, — Your brother, and 
 my dear friend, (for so you are sensible he was to me,) on Monday, the 
 5th of November, went to bed, as he thought, as well as he had been 
 for some time before. He was seized about three o'clock in the morn- 
 ing very ill ; when your sister immediately sent for Mr. Norman, and 
 ordered the servant to call me. Mr. Norman came as quick as he pos- 
 sibly could ; but said, as soon as he saw him, that he could not get over 
 it, but would die in a few hours. He was not able to take any thing, 
 nor to speak to us ; only ' yes,' or ' no,' to a question asked him ; and 
 that did not last half an hour. I never went from his bed-side till he 
 expired, which was about seven the same morning. With a great deal 
 of difficulty we persuaded your dear sister to leave the room before he 
 died. I trembled to think how she would bear it, knowing the sincere 
 affection and love she had for him. But, blessed be God, he hath heard 
 and answered prayer on her behalf; and, in a great measure, calmed 
 her spirit, though she has not yet been out of her chamber. Your 
 brother was buried on Monday last, in the afternoon ; and is gone to 
 reap the fruit of his labours. I pray God we may imitate him in all 
 his virtues, and be prepared to follow. I should enlarge much more, 
 but have not time ; for which reason I hope you will excuse him who 
 is under the greatest obligations to be, and really is, with the greatest 
 sincerity, Yours in all things." 
 
 On receiving this intelligence of their brother's death, Mr. John and 
 Charles Wesley hastened to Tiverton, to sympathize with their widowed 
 sister. They arrived on the 21st ; and John says in his Journal, " My 
 poor sister was sorrowing almost as one without hope. Yet we could 
 not but rejoice at hearing from one who had attended my brother in all 
 his weakness, that several days before he went hence God had given 
 him a calm and full assurance of his interest in Christ. may every 
 one who opposes it be thus convinced, that this doctrine is of God !" 
 
 This concluding sentence refers to a correspondence between Sam-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 177 
 
 uel and John concerning justification by faith, and the witness of the 
 Holy Spirit to the personal adoption of believers. Samuel had 
 received some very erroneous impressions respecting the tenets 
 and proceedings of his brothers, from letters addressed to him by Mrs. 
 Hutton, containing exaggerated statements, and written under the influ- 
 ence of irritated feelings. John had attempted to convince him of the 
 truth ; and rejoiced to find, that, before his brother's spirit returned to 
 God, he received that assurance of the divine favour which is the fruit 
 of a vital faith in the atonement of Christ. In cases of this nature, the 
 conviction which arises from personal experience is immensely more 
 important than that which arises from mere argument. " If any man 
 will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, 
 or whether I speak of myself." 
 
 Mr. Samuel Wesley was tenderly beloved by his aged mother, who 
 was now hastening to the close of her earthly pilgrimage. Nor is this 
 surprising; for he was an example of filial reverence and affection. 
 Under the painful bereavement this venerable woman thus poured forth 
 the feelings of her heart to the younger of her now-surviving sons : — 
 
 " Nov. 29th, 1739. Dear Charles, — Upon the first hearing of your 
 brother's death, I did immediately acquiesce in the will of God, without 
 the least reluctance. Only I somewhat marvelled that Jacky did not 
 inform me of it before he left, since he knew thereof; but he was un- 
 acquainted with the manner of God's dealing with me in extraordinary 
 cases, which indeed is no wonder ; for though I have so often experi- 
 enced his infinite power and mercy in my support, and inward calm- 
 ness of spirit when the trial would otherwise have been too strong for 
 me, yet his ways of working are to myself incomprehensible and 
 ineffable ! 
 
 " Your brother was exceeding dear to me in his life ; and perhaps I 
 have erred in loving him too well. I once thought it impossible for me 
 to bear his loss ; but none know what they can bear, till they are tried. 
 As your good old grandfather often used to say, ' That is an affliction, 
 that God makes an affliction.' For surely the manifestation of his pre- 
 sence and favour is more than an adequate support under any suffering 
 whatever. But if he withhold his consolations, and hide his face from 
 us, the least suffering is intolerable. But blessed and adored be his 
 holy name, it hath not been so with me, though I am infinitely unwor- 
 thy of the least of all his mercies ! I rejoice in having a comfortable 
 hope of my dear son's salvation. He is now at rest, and would not 
 return to earth, to gain the world. Why then should I mourn ? He 
 hath reached the haven before me ; but I shall soon follow him. He 
 must not return to me ; but I shall go to him, never to part more. 
 
 12
 
 178 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " I thank you for your care of my temporal affairs. It was natural 
 to think that I should be troubled for my dear son's death on that 
 account, because so considerable a part of my support was cut off. 
 But to say the truth, I have never had one anxious thought of such 
 matters : for it came immediately into my mind, that God, by my child's 
 loss had called me to a firmer dependance on himself ; that though 
 my son was good, he was not my God ; and that now our heavenly 
 Father seemed to have taken my cause more immediately into his own 
 hand ■ and therefore, even against hope, I believed in hope that I should 
 never suffer more. 
 
 " I cannot write much, being but weak. I have not been down stairs 
 above ten weeks, though better than I was lately. Pray give my kind 
 love and blessing to my daughter and Philly. I pray God to support 
 and provide for her." 
 
 Within a few weeks of the death of Samuel Wesley, two events of 
 crreat importance, connected with the public labours of the brothers, 
 took place in London. One of these was the opening of their first 
 separate place of worship ; and the other, the formation of the first 
 society that was exclusively under their pastoral care. The preaching- 
 house here referred to was the Foundery in Moorfields, the history of 
 which is curious and interesting. It was a large and shapeless brick 
 building, which stood near the present site of Finsbury-square. For- 
 merly it was in the occupation of the government, and used for the 
 casting of cannon for the army. Hence the name by which it was 
 known. It was inconveniently near to London, crowds being some- 
 times drawn to witness the process of casting ; and an accident having 
 occurred, by means of an explosion, in which some lives were lost, and 
 many persons greatly injured, the establishment was removed to the 
 neighbourhood of Woolwich, and the Foundery in Moorfields was left 
 unoccupied. 
 
 In the autumn of the year 1739 two gentlemen, of the name of Wat- 
 kins and Ball, neither of whom was then known to Mr. John Wesley, 
 came to him, and urged him to rent this building for religious purposes. 
 Their reason doubtless was, to provide a shelter for him, and the thou- 
 sands who attended his ministry in Moorfields, especially during the 
 winter months, which were then fast approaching. He was unwilling 
 to engage is such an undertaking, his income being limited, and the ex- 
 pense of fitting up such a ruinous building considerable. At the same 
 time he had to provide the requisite pecuniary supplies for the erection 
 of the " Room" in Bristol, and the school for the children of the colliers 
 in Kings wood, both of which were in progress. The gentlemen pro- 
 posed immediately to advance the money, he giving them security for 
 
 12*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 179 
 
 ihe re-payment. To this offer he at length consented ; and, after ex- 
 tensive repairs and alterations, the Foundery was opened as a house of 
 God in the month of November. " The United Society," says Mr. 
 Wesley, " began soon after." Several persons, impressed by his preach- 
 ing, came to him for spiritual advice. He appointed Thursday evening, 
 as the time at which he would meet them all together, for the purpose 
 of counsel and prayer. Twelve came the first night ; forty, the next ; 
 soon after, a hundred. This was the rise of the United Societies, 
 which now constitute what is usually called the Wesleyan Con- 
 nection. 
 
 The formation of this society, especially at this period, was very 
 opportune and providential ; that which met at Fetter-lane being greatly 
 agitated and injured by the introduction of novel and dangerous opin- 
 ions. It was mostly under the care of the Moravians ; two of whose 
 ministers, Molther and Spangenberg, were then in London, intent, as it 
 would seem, upon forming in England a church in immediate connec- 
 tion with their own community, and as an integral part of it. Molther 
 was the most active and strenuous in propagating the errors by which 
 many were misled to their ruin. He contended, that there are no de- 
 grees in faith ; so that those who have not the full and unclouded 
 assurance of the divine favour, whatever they may possess besides, have 
 no faith at all. Another principle which he distinctly avowed and 
 defended was, that till men have faith, they are not to use any of the 
 means of grace, such as the reading of the Scriptures, attendance upon 
 the ministry of the gospel, and receiving the holy communion ; these 
 ordinances being rather injurious than beneficial, till men have a true 
 and vital faith. It does not appear that these are the authorized tenets 
 of the Moravian body ; but they were not only avowed, but publicly 
 enforced, by Molther, with the concurrence of his brethren. With 
 these principles, and some others of a similar kind, the Wesleys and 
 Mr. Ingham were justly offended ; and in the enforcement of Christian 
 duty, as well as in the encouragement of weak believers, they with- 
 stood Molther and his associates to the face. Many were carried 
 away with the delusion and great heartburnings and strife ensued. It 
 was not likely that the Wesleys, with their strong and declared attach- 
 ment to the Church of England, and their correct views of practical 
 religion, could remain permanently connected with the Moravians in 
 Fetter-lane. They were deeply grieved, especially when they found 
 that some of their best and most pious friends were drawn aside from 
 the simplicity of the gospel, to their great spiritual loss. With their 
 friend, Mr. Ingham, they did what they could to arrest the progress of 
 these errors ; but they had numerous engagements in other places ; 
 and they found that, during their absence, their efforts were neutralized,
 
 180 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 and practical Christianity was supplanted by a soothing and self-indul- 
 gent quietism. 
 
 During the month of March, 1740, Mr. Charles Wesley went to 
 Bengeworth, to visit his friend Mr. Seward, and preach in the neigh- 
 bourhood, where he had formerly been favoured with great success. 
 The brutal treatment which he there met he thus describes : — 
 
 "March 15th. Between two and three we came to Bengeworth. 
 I sent for Mr. Seward : answer was returned, that he had taken physic, 
 but would send his brother Henry to me. Mr. Henry followed me to 
 Mr. Canning's, and fell upon me without preface or ceremony. I was 
 the downfall of his brother ; had picked his pocket ; ruined his family ; 
 come now to get more money; was a scoundrel, rascal, and so forth; 
 and deserved to have my gown stripped over my ears. He concluded 
 with threatening how he would beat me, if he could but catch me on 
 Bengeworth-common. I spoke little, and with temper. 
 
 " All letters, I find, have been intercepted since Mr. Seward's ill- 
 ness ; his fever is called madness ; his servants are set over him as 
 spies, &c. Be sure, he is to know nothing of my being here ; but I 
 mean to give him a hint of it to-morrow, by shouting from the top 
 of his wall. 
 
 " Sunday, March 16th. I preached the law and gospel last night, 
 with much freedom and power ; and appointed the usual place for 
 preaching. Mr. Henry came to dissuade me ; said, ' Four constables 
 are ordered to apprehend you, if you come near my brother's wall ; so 
 come at your peril.' I walked toward the place. An officer from the 
 mayor met me, and desired me to come to him. I said, I would first 
 wait upon my Lord, and then upon him, whom I reverenced for his 
 office' sake. I went on. Mr. Henry met me with threats and revilings. 
 I began singing, — 
 
 ' Shall I, for fear of feeble man, 
 The Spirit's course in me restrain !' 
 
 He ran about, raving like a madman, and quickly got some men for his 
 purpose, who laid hold on me. I asked by what authority. Where 
 was their warrant ? Let them show that. I would save them the 
 trouble of using violence. They said, they had none ; but I should 
 not preach there ; and hurried me away amid the cries of the people. 
 Truly their tongues were set on fire of hell. Henry cried, ' Take him 
 away, and duck him.' I broke out into singing, with Thomas Maxfield, 
 and let them carry me whither they would. At the bridge-end of the 
 lane they left me. There I stood, out of the liberty of the corporation, 
 and gave out, — 
 
 ' Angel of God, whate'er betide, 
 Thy summons I obey.'
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 181 
 
 Some hundreds they could not frighten from hearing me on, ' If God 
 be for us, who can be against us V Never did I feel so much what 
 I spoke. The word did not return empty; as the tears on all sides 
 testified. 
 
 " Then I waited on Mr. Mayor. The poor sincere ones followed 
 me treinbling. He was a little warm at my not coming before. I gave 
 him the reason ; and added, that I knew no law of God or man which 
 I had transgressed. If there was any such, I desired no favour. He 
 said, he should not have denied me leave to preach, even in his own 
 yard, but Mr. Henry Seward and the ' pothecary' had assured him it 
 would quite cast his brother down again. I said, it would rather re- 
 store him; for our gospel was life from the dead. 
 
 " A lawyer began declaiming against my making the poor gentleman 
 mad. I granted, you fools must count his life madness. Here a clergy- 
 man spoke much and nothing. As near as I could pick out his mean- 
 ing, he grumbled at Mr. Whitefield's speaking against the clergy in his 
 Journal. I told him, if he himself was a carnal, worldly-minded clergy- 
 man, / might do what he called railing, — warn God's people to beware 
 of false prophets. I did not say, (because I did not know him,) that 
 he was one of those shepherds that fed themselves, not the flock ; of 
 those dumb dogs, that could not bark ; of those greedy dogs, that could 
 never have enough. If he was, I was sorry for him, and must leave 
 that sentence of Chrysostom with him : ' Hell is paved with the skulls 
 of Christian priests.' 
 
 " He charged me with making a division in Mr. Seward's family. 
 I asked, ' Are you a preacher of the gospel ; and do not know the effect 
 it has among men 1 There shall be five in a house ; two against three ; 
 and three against two.' He laughed, and cried to his companion, ' Did 
 not I tell you, he would bring that V I urged the necessity of persecu- 
 tion, if one of the family was first awakened. ' Awakened !' said he ; 
 ' I do not know what you mean by that.' ' I mean, your speaking truth, 
 when you tell God that the remembrance of your sins is grievous to 
 you, the burden intolerable.' I turned from him, and asked the mayor 
 whether he approved the treatment I had met with. He said, ' By no 
 means ;' and if I complained, he would bind the men over, to answer 
 it at the sessions. I told him, I did not complain ; neither would 1 
 prosecute them, as they well knew : assured him, I had waited upon 
 him, not out of interest, for I wanted nothing of him ; not out of fear, 
 for I had done no wrong, and wanted no human support ; but out of 
 true respect, and to show him I believed the powers that be are or- 
 dained of God. 
 
 " In the church, the minister I had talked with seemed utterly con- 
 founded at the second lesson, John iii. That saying in the epistle
 
 182 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 likewise was sadly inconsistent with some of his : ' But as then, he 
 that was bom after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the 
 Spirit : even so it is now.' 1 In the pulpit (Nicodemus's strong-hold) he 
 Btrained hard to draw a parallel between the Pharisees and Methodists. 
 " In the evening I preached without interruption. Our Lord was 
 present. None stirred for the rain. The school-house was crowded 
 at seven. I spoke convincingly to some scoffers in particular, who 
 could not long stand it. 
 
 ' Sing ye to our God above 
 Praise eternal as his love !' 
 
 We have seen wonderful things to-day! 
 
 " March 17th. My yesterday's treatment has provoked many to love. 
 They receive me the more gladly into their houses, because Mr. 
 Seward's is shut against me. I breakfasted at a loving Quaker's, and 
 preached at three by the river-side. God put strong words into my 
 mouth, and inclined the people's hearts to hearken. 
 
 " Mr. Henry Seward, mad with passion at my stay, spreads the news 
 of it everywhere, and much increases my audience. To-night I pro- 
 ceeded in the Beatitudes. When I came to the last, ' Blessed are they 
 which are persecuted,' &c. ; our enemies, not knowing the Scriptures, 
 fulfilled them. A troop poured in from a neighbouring alehouse, and 
 set up their champion, a schoolmaster, upon a bench, over against me. 
 For near an hour, he spake for his master, and I for mine ; but my 
 voice prevailed. Sometimes we prayed, sometimes sung and gave 
 thanks. The Lord our God was with us, and the shout of a King was 
 among us. In the midst of tumult, reproach, and blasphemy, I enjoyed 
 a sweet calm within, even while I preached the gospel with most con- 
 tention. These slighter conflicts must fit me for greater. 
 
 " March 18th. Last night's disturbance, we now hear, was contrived 
 at the alehouse by the 'squire and rector. I preached at the usual 
 place. I set my eyes on the man that had been most violent with me 
 on Sunday, and testified my love. He thanked me, and seemed melted. 
 "While I was concluding, my friend, the schoolmaster, set up his throat. 
 We had recourse to singing, which quite spoiled his oration. Henry 
 had kept him in town, warm with drink for this purpose. I could hardly 
 restrain the people from falling upon him. I went up to my other 
 rough friend, the sergeant, and shook him by the hand with hearty 
 good-will. He could not well tell how to take it ; said he had only 
 done what he was ordered ; and seemed glad to get out of my hands. 
 Some had come merely to make a riot ; but my God was stronger 
 than theirs. 
 
 " I had a message before preaching from the minister, that if I did 
 not immediately quit the town, Mr. Henry Seward could easily raise a
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 183 
 
 mob ; and then let me look to myself. Mr. Canning and others dis- 
 suaded me from going to the society ; for my enemies were resolved 
 to do me a mischief, which I ought to avoid by going out of the way 
 for a while. I answered, in the words of Nehemiah, ' Should such a 
 man as I flee ?' not in self-confidence ; (for I am naturally afraid of 
 every thing ;) but I was told in the morning psalms, ' Whoso dwelleth 
 under the defence of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of 
 the Almighty,' &c. I went, and set upon the opposers ; bade them 
 glory of me, for they had terrified me now. I was really afraid — to 
 leave Evesham. I durst no more do it, than forsake my Captain, or 
 deny my Master, while any one of them opened his mouth against the 
 truth. No man answered a word, or offered to disturb me in my fol- 
 lowing exhortation. Many were convinced. Mrs. Canning was in the 
 depth of mourning. We spent an horn in songs of triumph. Some 
 Quakers joined us, and found their giving God praises with their lips 
 did not at all obstruct the melody of the heart." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley left Evesham on the 20th, for the purpose of 
 visiting Oxford and some other places, where he was grieved to find 
 that the " diabolical stillness," as he calls it, which had infected the 
 society in London, had been recommended to his spiritual children, to 
 their mortal injury. He laboured with all his might to convince them 
 of their errors, and induce them to work out their own salvation with 
 fear and trembling, according to the Scriptural direction ; and returned 
 to Evesham on the 25th. He says, " I met Mr. Henry. He asked 
 me to step into the Crown. I answered, I did not frequent taverns. 
 ' What business have you with my brother V ' Can you imagine, if I 
 have any business with him as a Christian, I shall communicate it to 
 you V ' Why not to me V ' Because you are a natural man.' ' Why, 
 are not you a natural man, as well as If ' You are a mere natural 
 man, in your sins, and in your blood.' ' What do you mean by that? 
 I say, have you any particular business V ' I have business at present 
 somewhat different from talking with you.' 
 
 " March 26th. News was brought us that Mr. Benjamin Seward was 
 carrying out to Badsey, there to be secured, no donbt, till I turn mv 
 back on Evesham. 1 walked out that way, and met Henry. He ex- 
 cused his past behaviour : said anger was rooted in his nature. ' But, 
 indeed, sir, you are the downfall of my brother Benjamin. He has 
 certainly been out of his senses.' ' Yes ; and so have I been before 
 now in a fever.' ' 0, but we all really think him mad, through means 
 of you gentlemen.' ' Very likely you may ; and if it should ever please 
 God to make you a Christian, you will be thought mad too.' ' God 
 make me a Christian ! I am a better Christian than you are.' ' You 
 was once in the way of being one ; but you have stifled your convic-
 
 184 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 tions.' 'I say, I am a better Christian than you are. I have good 
 ministers and the Scriptures to teach me.' ' Yes ; and those Scriptures 
 say, a man that loves money is no more a Christian than an adulterer.' 
 ' What, sir, must not a man love money ? How shall he go to market 
 without it ' Not that I value it, not I. But what do you mean by 
 making divisions in our family ? You come now to get money.' ' In- 
 deed, sir, you know not what I come for. You cannot tell what to 
 make of me. You have no standard to measure me by, but yourself. 
 I do not wonder at your outcries. Micah cried after them that ran 
 away with his gods ; and should they ask him what ailed him ? Money 
 is your god ; and you tlunk I come to rob you of it.' He rode to a 
 good convenient distance ; then turning back, cried out, ' You are a 
 rascal, and a villain, and a pick-pocket !' and, setting spurs to his horse, 
 made off as fast as he could. Brother Maxfield and I walked on, calmly 
 praising God. 
 
 " Mr. Canning's little daughter told us, she had watched in the lane, 
 and put a note into Mr. Benjamin Seward's hand. Soon after, his 
 chariot stopped at our door, and I went out, and found my friend. He 
 invited me to his house. Henry was upon the coach box, a place he 
 full well became ; and which nothing could make uneasy to him, but 
 my presence. Yesterday he told me, I should never see his brother : 
 and to-day he ljimself brings him to me. 
 
 " March 27th. I dined at Mr. Keech's, who is somewhat awakened ; 
 his daughter, more so ; his wife, a true mourner. I drank tea with one 
 that was a sinner, but now looks unto Jesus. I walked out with bro- 
 ther Maxfield to the river-side, and spent a comfortable hour in prayer 
 and singing. Then we went to Mr. Benjamin Seward's. We found 
 Henry and his wife with him ; both surprisingly civil, and full of 
 apology. Henry begged my pardon, and waited upon me to the gate. 
 " I finished Matthew v, with the society. All was quiet till the last 
 hymn. Then I heard the enemy roaring, and gave out another. They 
 left off first ; and the people departed, not all, I hope, in peace ; for the 
 strong man armed is disturbed in many. 
 
 " March 28th. I met Mr. Henry at his brother's, and with all plain- 
 ness and love endeavoured to convince him of sin. Never have I found 
 a man of so little sense with so many evasions. I simply told him, 
 that if he died in his present condition, he must die eternally ; that he 
 railed in vain ; my hook was within him ; I had warned the sinner, 
 and delivered my own soul. ' Your hook !' cried he ; ' what do you 
 mean by your hook V Benjamin answered, smiling, ' You know, bro- 
 ther, Mr. Wesley is a fisher of men.' As a minister, I added, I now 
 showed him his lost estate ; and that, whether he would hear, or 
 whether he would forbear.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 185 
 
 " In the school-house I summed up all I had said, and encouraged 
 them to build up one another, promising to see them again when the 
 Lord directed my way to them. Our parting was as it ought to be. 
 
 " March 29th. I took my leave of Mr. Seward. Henry fell upon me 
 for advising his brother to keep up the society. ' Rogue, rascal, villain, 
 pick-pocket,' were the best titles he could afford me. Mr. Benjamin 
 interposed. I begged him not then to answer a fool according to his 
 folly. Henry started up and courageously took me by the nose. The 
 cries of Mrs. Seward stopped any further violence. I was filled with 
 comfort, felt the hand of God upon me, and sat still. I said to Mrs. 
 Seward, ' Be not disquieted, madam : I have learned to turn the other 
 cheek.' Henry was as the troubled sea. Benjamin, perfectly com- 
 posed, said to me, ' You have now received one mark of Christ :' to his 
 brother, ' Was I what you are, I should turn you out of my house this 
 moment.' I would not let him proceed ; begged Mrs. Seward's pardon 
 for the disturbance I had been the innocent occasion of; and departed, 
 rejoicing that I was counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of 
 Christ." 
 
 From Evesham, where he had been thus treated with insult, and 
 where many people had received the truth with much contention, Mr. 
 Charles Wesley, accompanied by Thomas Maxfield, hastened to Wescot, 
 where Mr. Morgan, the clergyman, received him with respect and kind- 
 ness ; and while Charles was expounding the Epistle to Philemon, 
 Mrs. Morgan received the power to believe with the heart unto right- 
 eousness, and was enabled to rejoice in God her Saviour. Taking Ox- 
 ford in his way, he then returned to London, where he found the Fet- 
 ter-lane society more and more infected with Molther's corrupt leaven. 
 Some were spending their time in wrangling and disputation, depre- 
 ciating the means of grace ; and others were quiet and easy in the 
 open and avowed neglect of the most obvious duties of Christian piety. 
 He did what he could to rouse the careless ones to a penitent sense of 
 their sad loss, and to guard from the popular evil those who still stood 
 fast in the Lord ; but he saw that a permanent union with men who 
 systematically opposed the observance of God's ordinances was im- 
 possible. A separation, he perceived, must ensue. His journal more 
 than confirms all that his brother has published on this melancholy 
 subject. 
 
 " I talked," says he, " with poor perverted Mr. Simpson. The still 
 ones have carried their point. He said some were prejudiced against 
 the Moravian Brethren ; and particularly against Mr. Molther ; but that 
 he had received great benefit from them. I asked whether he was 
 still in the means of grace, or out of them. ' Means of grace !' he 
 answered: 'there are none. Neither is there any good to be got by
 
 186 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 those you call such ; or any obligation upon us to use them. Some- 
 times I go to church and sacrament, for example' sake ; but it is a thing 
 of mere indifference. Most of us have cast them off. You must 
 not speak a word in recommendation of them. That is setting people 
 upon working.' 
 
 " What shall we say to these things ? I then said little, but thought, 
 ' Ah, my brother, you have set the wolf to keep the sheep !' 
 
 " April 4th. I called with Maxfield on Molther, in the afternoon. 
 He did not much open himself; only talked in general against running 
 after ordinances. We parted, as we met, without either prayer or sing- 
 ing. The time for these poor exercises is past. 
 
 " April 5th. I spent an hour with Charles Delamotte. The Philis- 
 tines have been upon him, and prevailed. He has given up the ordi- 
 nances, as to their being matter of duty. Only his practice lags a little 
 behind his faith. He uses them still. He would not have me plead 
 for them. ' They are mere outward things. Our brethren have left 
 them off. It would only cause divisions to bring them up again. Let 
 them drop, and speak of the weightier matters of the law.' I told him 
 I would hear them of their own mouth, who talked against the ordi- 
 nances : first, have my full evidence ; and then speak and not spare. 
 
 " I breakfasted with my mother, who has been dealt with ; but in 
 vain. Bishop Beveridge would as soon have given up the ordinances ! 
 
 " I disturbed Mr. Stonehouse before his time. It was but eight 
 o'clock. However, he rose, and came to me. 
 
 " If thou art he ! but how changed ! how fallen ! a mere, mere 
 Moravian all over ! He is now taught to teach, that there are no de- 
 grees of faith ; no forgiveness, or faith, where any unbelief remains ; 
 any doubt, or fear, or sorrow. He himself was never justified ; is going 
 to leave his parish, and transport himself — to Germany ! I have given 
 an account of his wife in him. 
 
 " From eleven to one is devoted to conference. The first that came 
 was Stephen Dupee, a soldier, who informs me he received forgiveness 
 this week in hearing the word, and could lay down his life for the truth 
 of it. But forasmuch as faith came not by hearing the Moravians, I 
 suppose, in his first temptation, they will remand him to the prison of 
 Satan ; and not allow him to have faith, till he submits to theirs. 
 
 " I walked with brother Maxfield, praying and praising God. A 
 sweet confidence he gave us, that he would not leave us alone ; but by 
 us weak things confound the things that are strong. 
 
 " S. Jackson called, and much strengthened my hands. Most of the 
 women have renounced the ordinances. Our sister Munsey has left 
 their society, for their treatment of her ministers. A separation I fore- 
 see unavoidable. All means have been taken to wean our friends from
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 187 
 
 their esteem for us. God never used us, say they, as instruments to 
 convert one soul. Indeed I have just received a noble testimony of 
 William Seward, to the contrary. But he and George Whitefield are 
 reprobated, as unbelievers. In a letter now received, George writes, 
 ' Remember what Luther says, Rather let heaven and earth come toge- 
 ther, than one tittle of truth perish.' " 
 
 In this firm and decided manner did Mr. Charles Wesley unite with 
 his brother, in maintaining Scriptural views of the ordinances of God, 
 and in preserving their spiritual children from principles which, if 
 reduced to practice, must have been destructive of piety. It is gratify- 
 ing to find, that the most eager talkers against the means of grace, still 
 waited upon God in the use of them ; and that others, with a singular 
 inconsistency, professedly attended public worship, and the sacrament 
 of the Lord's supper, " for the sake of example ;" thus assuming, in 
 direct contradiction of their own avowed opinions, that, with respect to 
 people in general, danger is to be apprehended from the neglect of these 
 ordinances, and benefit is to be realized in attending them. If the 
 ordinances were useless, and of no obligation, why should they be 
 recommended by " example," any more than by preaching 1 The hearts 
 of these erring men were better than their understandings ; yet their 
 influence was mischievous in a high degree. It is difficult to avoid the 
 impression, that these foreign ministers, then in London, wished to get 
 rid of the Wesleys, that they might, without difficulty, form a distinct 
 and independent society, in strict connection with the Moravian Church : 
 a scheme which could never be accomplished while these two energetic 
 and zealous Church-of-England clergymen stood in the way. 
 
 It was a mighty advantage to the Wesleys, in this emergency of 
 their affairs, that they had the Foundery in their own hands, as a com- 
 modious place of religious worship. Often were they reminded, that 
 " the room in Fetter-lane was taken for the Moravians ;" but in the 
 Foundery they had perfect freedom of speech. Here they lifted up the 
 warning voice against sin, and eveiy form of error, in the presence of 
 multitudes of people, who not unfrequently crowded the place both 
 within and without ; some inquiring what they must do to be saved, and 
 others wishful to know whether or not there were any means of grace. 
 Charles was in the habit of delivering expository discourses upon entire 
 books of Scripture. At Bristol, he expounded publicly the Epistle to 
 the Romans ; and at the Foundery, the Gospel of St. John. Both the 
 brothers laboured to produce strong feeling in the hearts of their hear- 
 ers ; but the means which they employed, in order to this end, were 
 not the arts of oratory and declamation. They aimed, in all their min- 
 istrations, to communicate solid instruction. 
 
 Yet attempts were made to interrupt them in the peaceable occupa-
 
 188 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 tion of their plain and humble house of prayer. On the 31st of May. 
 1740, says Mr. Charles Wesley, "I heard that the Foundery was lately 
 presented at Hick's Hall, for a seditious assembly. Sir John Gunson 
 interposed, and objected that no persons were named in the presentment. 
 Upon this they presented Charles Wesley, clerk ; James Hutton, book- 
 seller ; Timothy Lewis, printer ; and Howell Harris, alias the Welsh 
 apostle. But our friend Sir John quashed the whole." 
 
 " Easter-day, April 6th. At the Foundery," says Charles, " I strongly 
 preached Christ, and the power of his resurrection. My intention was, 
 not to mention one word of the controverted points, till I had spoken 
 with each of the seducers. But God ordered it better. My mouth was 
 opened to ask,. ' Who hath bewitched you, that you shoidd let go your 
 Saviour ? that you should cast away your shield, and your confidence, 
 and deny you ever knew him V More to this purpose I said ; and then 
 followed a burst of general sorrow. The whole congregation was in 
 tears. I called them back to their Saviour, even theirs, in words which 
 were not mine ; pressed obedience to the divine ordinances ; and prayed 
 my Lord to stay his hand, and not set his seal, unless I spake as the 
 oracles of God. After preaching he sent me a witness of his truth, 
 which I had delivered. A sister, long in darkness through doubtful 
 disputations, came, and declared Christ had again imprinted forgiveness 
 on her heart. My heart, for the time, was as hers. Brother Maxfield 
 was in the full triumph of faith. 
 
 " I dined at Hiland's, halting between two. Bell, Simpson, and 
 others, when the bell rung for church, said, ' It is good for us to be 
 here.'' ' Well, then,' said I, ' I will go myself, and leave you to your 
 antichristian liberty.' Upon this, they started up, and bore me com- 
 pany. 
 
 " The Foundery at night was filled both within and without. I 
 showed them their natural estate, and the way to come out of it, in 
 blind Bartimeus, who sat by the way-side begging. I could not have 
 so spoken of the ordinances, had not God instituted them. Every word 
 brought its own evidence to their hearts." 
 
 The preaching at Moorfields and at Kennington-common was still 
 continued ; and Mr Charles Wesley devoted two hours daily to what 
 he calls " conferences :" that is, from eleven to one o'clock he was 
 accessible to all who chose to apply to him for spiritual advice. In 
 this exercise instances of spiritual good received through his ministry 
 often came under his notice, which greatly encouraged him in his work. 
 " Many poor sinners," says he on the 8th of April, " came to confer 
 with me to-day about their souls. Two hours is full too little for this 
 work." On the same day he adds, — 
 
 " At one the women bands met by my appointment. I began pray-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY 189 
 
 ing, and we were all overwhelmed. I spoke largely of their being 
 brought into the wilderness ; of their folly and ingratitude, in giving up 
 not his ministers only, but their Saviour himself. My love and sorrow 
 ran through them all. I told them that their forsaking the ordinances 
 sufficiently accounted for their being forsaken by Christ ; warned them 
 against disputing, against vindicating me, or saying, ' I am of Paul, and 
 I of Apollos ;' against the double extreme of resting in the means, or 
 slighting them ; but, above all, of stopping short of the glorious image 
 of God. Jane Jackson and others witnessed what God had done for 
 their souls through our ministry. If Christ be not with us, who hath 
 begotten us these ? His power overshadowed us at this time : therefore 
 our hearts danced for joy, and in our song did we praise him. 
 
 " I preached at the Common to six thousand poor, maimed, halt, and 
 blind. Glory to Him who is with his messengers always ! 
 
 " April 22d. I met Molther at Mrs. Ibison's. He expressly denies 
 that grace, or the Spirit, is transmitted through the means, particularly 
 through the sacrament. This, he insists, is no command ; is for be- 
 lievers only ; that is, for such as are sanctified, have Christ fully formed 
 in their hearts. Faith, he teaches, is inconsistent with any following 
 doubt, or selfish thought. He mentioned it as a sign of my carnal state, 
 that I complained of our brethren for withdrawing the people's love 
 from me and my brother. I answered, ' So did St. Paul, on a like 
 occasion. They zealously affect you, but not well : yea, they would exclude 
 us, that ye might affect them. If I desired their love for my own sake, 
 it was wrong and carnal ; if for theirs, it was right and apostolical.' " 
 
 In the midst of these agitations, Thomas Keen, " a mild and candid 
 Quaker," of Thaxted, in Essex, addressed the following letter to Mr. 
 Charles Wesley. Charles had preached in the field of this devout man, 
 about twelve months before, when on a visit to Broadoaks ; and Keen 
 had then believed to the saving of his soul. 
 
 "May 15th, 1740. My Friend, — I hear there are divisions among 
 you ; for some say, ' I am of Wesley ;' and others, ' I am of Molther.' 
 But I say, ' I am of Christ ; and what he bids me do, I will do, and not 
 trust in any man.' Here some will say, ' What Christ bids you do, is, 
 to believe, and be still ;' but does he bid me do nothing else ? He bids 
 me ' let my light so shine before men, that they may glorify my Father 
 which is in heaven.' He likewise says, ' The scribes and Pharisees 
 sit in Moses's chair : all, therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, 
 that observe and do.' But how can I know what they bid me do, except 
 I go to hear them ? Again, Christ bids me observe all things which 
 he commands the apostles ; and with such he will be to the end of 
 the world : but if I do not observe and do his commands, he will not
 
 190 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 be with me. He bids me ' do this in remembrance of him. Now, if 
 any man can prove this is not a command, I will obey it no longer. 
 But whosoever ' breaketh one of these least commandments, and 
 teacheth men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.' 
 
 " As to stillness, our Saviour saith, ' The kingdom of heaven suffer- 
 eth violence, and the violent take it by force ;' and, ' Strive to enter in 
 at the strait gate.' And St. Paul saith, ' Work out your own salvation 
 with fear and trembling;' and, ' God is a rewarder of them that diligently 
 seek him.' Now, these scriptures imrJly somewhat more than barely 
 silting still. Some deny that there are any means of grace ; but I will 
 be thankful for them, since it was in them I first heard you preach 
 faith in Christ ; and, had I not been there, I must have been without 
 faith to this day. One told me, when you preached, you had nature in 
 your face. So will every one who speaks with zeal ; but no matter 
 for that, if he has but grace in his heart. 
 
 " My friend, there are many teachers, but few fathers. But you are 
 my father, who begat me by the gospel; and, I trust, many more. 
 May the Lord lead you into all truth ! So prays your friend, 
 
 " Thomas Keen." 
 
 The fine hymn* [commencing] " Long have I seem'd to serve thee, 
 Lord," was written by Mr. Charles Wesley in the midst of these dis- 
 putes. It guards against extremes both on the right hand and the left ; 
 and imbodies those just views on the subject which the brothers 
 steadily maintained to the end of their lives. He used to call upon the 
 right-minded people in his congregations at the Foundery, to unite with 
 him in singing it ; and it is difficult to conceive how any enlightened 
 Christian could refuse to join in the holy exercise. Its effect, at the 
 time, must have been very powerful. 
 
 While the controversy respecting the ordinances was agitated, the 
 Wesley s still preached in Moorfields and on Kennington-common, to 
 vast multitudes, and with undiminished success. Conversions were 
 numerous, and the society connected with the Foundery increased con- 
 tinually. It was commenced about the end of November, 1739, with 
 twelve members ; and by the middle of June following they were 
 increased to three hundred, nearly the whole of whom professed saving 
 faith in Christ, and exhibited its fruits in their lives. Among others, 
 who at this time obtained the Christian salvation, were Mrs. Hall, the 
 sister of John and Charles Wesley, and Grace Murray, to whom John 
 some years afterward made an offer of marriage. Yet amidst all their 
 usefulness, their hearts were wrung with anguish when they saw their 
 most valued friends alienated from them, and the children of their faith 
 
 * Most of this hymn is included in hymnr 79 and 81, of our Hyinn-Book. — Am. Ed.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 191 
 
 and prayer perverted by error in one of its most mischievous forms. 
 Mr. Piers, who was a timid Christian, retained his integrity ; but the 
 family of the Delamottes were all led into the prevalent delusion, and 
 withdrew their affection and confidence from the man whose ministry 
 and conversation had been to them a means of the greatest spiritual 
 good. Under the date of June 10th, he says : — 
 
 " I rode with Maxfield to Bexley, and was greatly comforted with 
 my brother Piers. The weak stand when the strong fall. In spite of 
 all the still ones, he has held fast the truth ; neither forsaking the ordi- 
 nances, nor denying his weak faith. I went thence to Blendon ; no 
 longer Blendon to me. They could hardly force themselves to be 
 barely civil. I took a hasty leave, and with a heavy heart, weighed 
 down by their ingratitude, returned to Bexley. Here I preached the 
 gospel to a little flock, among whom the grievous wolves have not 
 entered. 
 
 "June 11th. I was constrained to bear my testimony for the last 
 time at Blendon. Maxfield accompanied me. I desired to speak with 
 Mrs. Delamotte alone. She did not well know how to refuse, and 
 walked with me into the hall. I began : ' Three years ago God sent 
 me to call you from the form to the power of godliness. I told you 
 what true religion was : a new birth, a participation of the divine na- 
 ture. The way to this I did not know myself till a year after. Then 
 I showed it to you, preaching Jesus Christ, and faith in his blood. 
 You know how you treated me. God soon after called you to a living 
 faith by my ministry. Then you received me as an angel of God. 
 Where is now the blessedness you spake of? Whence is this change ? 
 this jealousy, and fear, and coldness 1 Why are you thus impatient to 
 hear me speak V She offered several times to leave me ; said she did 
 not know what I meant ; did not want to dispute, &c. ' I do not come 
 to dispute. Why are you afraid of me ? What have I done 1 You 
 gave, as a reason for not seeing me in town, that you did not care to be 
 unsettled. Once I unsettled you, through the strength of the Almighty ; 
 stirred you up from your lees : took you off from your works ; and 
 grounded you upon Christ. Other foundation than this can no man lay. 
 I only desire to settle you more firmly upon him ; to warn you against 
 the danger of being removed from the hope of the gospel. Our breth- 
 ren, whom now you follow, are making a schism in the Church. Fol- 
 low them not in this.' She would not hear any more, but hurried into 
 the parlour. When I came in, Betty left it, but afterward returned. 
 She has not been at the sacrament for several months. I warned ihem 
 against casting off the ordinances, which were divine commands, bind- 
 ing all, whether justified or unjustified. 
 
 " They continually interrupted me, asking why I talked to them. I
 
 192 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 answered, because I durst not forbear, but must deliver my own soul. 
 Betty said, she had received great benefit from Molther, and should 
 therefore hear none but him. I told her I had nothing to say against 
 her hearing him, unless when he spoke against the ordinances. 
 
 " Upon their again and again bidding me silence, I asked, ' Do you 
 therefore, at this time, in the presence of Jesus Christ, acquit, release, 
 and discharge me from any further care, concern, or regard for your 
 souls ? Do you desire I would never more speak unto you in his name V 
 Betty frankly answered, ' Yes.' Mrs. Delamotte assented by her 
 silence. ' Then here,' said I, ' I take my leave of you, till we meet at 
 the judgment-seat !' With these words I rendered up my charge to God. 
 " Then said I, after leaving them, ' I have laboured in vain ; I have 
 spent my strength for naught : yet surely my judgment is with the 
 Lord, and my work with my God.' Surely this is enough to wean and 
 make me cease from man. With Blendon I give up all expectation of 
 gratitude upon earth. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity ; even friendship 
 itself! 
 
 " I rode on softly to Eltham, cast out by my dearest friends. I pray 
 God, it may not be laid to their, or to their seducers,' charge ! Pity 
 and grief for them was uppermost in my heart ; and these were much 
 relieved by the scripture that first offered : ' And Paul went down, and 
 fell on him, and, embracing him, said, Trouble not yourselves ; for his 
 life is in him.' " 
 
 This is merely a specimen of the bitter fniits which were produced 
 by the new doctrines which it was now attempted to introduce. 
 
 The questions at issue between the Wesleys and the leading men 
 among the Moravians, at this time in London, were not, as every one 
 must perceive, matters of mere opinion, concerning which good men 
 might innocently differ, but affected the very substance of practical 
 religion. The brothers found it difficult to believe that Molther and 
 his friends really did intend to depreciate the ordinances of God, and 
 persuade those who did not possess saving faith to a disuse of them, as 
 being injurious rather than beneficial ; and that they in reality meant to 
 teach that believers may, or may not, at their own option, wait upon 
 God in the use of the means which he has appointed. The thing 
 seemed incredible. Every precaution was therefore employed, to guard 
 against mistake. Mr. John Wesley, especially, conversed repeatedly 
 with Molther ; took down his words in writing ; then read them to him, 
 and laid them before him, to guard against all possibility of a misunder- 
 standing in a subject so weighty. Molther, however, steadily and 
 unequivocally maintained the principles which he had been understood 
 to avow ; and the melancholy effects of his teaching were manifest in 
 the spirit of unsanctified disputation, and the carelessness and levity
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 193 
 
 which prevailed among those of the young converts who entertained 
 his views. Mr. John Wesley, therefore, preached a series of discourses 
 on the means of grace, proving from the Scriptures that they are ordi- 
 nances of God's appointment, which cannot be neglected without sin ; 
 and showing the manner in which they ought to be used by all who 
 desire to please God, and to secure their own salvation. Finding that 
 all his efforts to establish the truth were resisted by the opposite party, 
 and that evil rather than spiritual benefit was likely to ensue from his 
 continued union with the society in Fetter-lane, where he had been a 
 private member rather than a minister, he attended a love-feast in that 
 place on Sunday, July 20th, 1740, and at the close of the service read 
 a paper declaratory of his conscientious dissent from the principles 
 which for about nine months had been there entertained relative to the 
 ordinances of God. He adds, " I then, without saying any thing more, 
 withdrew, as did eighteen or nineteen of the society." 
 
 There can be no doubt, that the withdrawal of the Wesleys, and 
 especially of John, from the society in Fetter-lane, was a matter of 
 satisfaction to Molther and his friends. They were now at liberty to 
 carry out their own plans without restraint. Hitherto the society in 
 general had professed to be in union with the Church of England, and 
 had gone as a body, accompanied by the two Wesleys, to St. Paul's 
 cathedral, to receive the holy communion ; but from this time they 
 assumed the character of a distinct community, belonging, not to the 
 Church of England, but to that of the United Brethren. The Wesleys, 
 and those who adhered to them, resolved to abide by their former prin- 
 ciples ; and from this time the parties were distinct. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was not in London when this formal separation 
 from the society in Fetter-lane took place ; but he had repeatedly de- 
 clared that such an event was inevitable. He was now in Bristol, 
 labouring with his wonted zeal in that city, and especially among the 
 Kingswood colliers, whose teachableness and piety afforded him the 
 highest gratification, and formed a perfect contrast to the coldness and 
 self-sufficiency of the disputers whom he had just left. About five or 
 six weeks before the secession he took an affectionate leave of the 
 prosperous society connected with the Foundery, and set out for Bris- 
 tol, calling at Oxford on his way. He was accompanied by Thomas 
 Maxfield, who seems to have been his constant companion ; and by one 
 of his nephews, whom he intended to apprentice in Bristol. On his 
 way he had a narrow escape from a highwayman, which he thus de- 
 scribes : — 
 
 " We stopped half an hour at brother Hodges's ; lost our way through 
 Kensington ; baited an hour at Gerard's-cross. Three miles short of 
 Wycomb, several people met us, and asked us if we had seen a high- 
 
 13
 
 194 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 wayman, who had shot a man t on the road, not an hour ago. In a 
 mile's riding we found the poor man, weltering in his blood. The 
 minister of Wyeomb informed us, that he was a little behind, and heard 
 the highwayman threaten to shoot him, if he did not deliver his money 
 that instant. He answered, ' You shall have all the money I have, but 
 it is not much ;' and the other, without any more words, shot him through 
 the head. I could not but observe the particular providence of God 
 over us. Had we not delayed in the morning, — had we not called 
 on Hodges, — had we not stopped at Gerard's-cross, — we had just met 
 the murderer. 
 
 "June 19th. Hearing he was apprehended at a farrier's, (his horse 
 having cast a shoe,) I went this morning to tell him Christ died to save 
 murderers ; but his heart was harder than the nether millstone." 
 
 When travelling between Malmsbury and Bristol, he says, " Such an 
 unaccountable heaviness came over me on the road, that I was forced 
 to light, and lie down for a quarter of an hour. I rose refreshed with 
 the little sleep, and rode forward till we met a poor old man of eighty. 
 I was enabled to preach the gospel to his heart. We left him looking 
 up to Jesus, and went on praising God." So intent was he upon his 
 Master's work and honour ! 
 
 In the evening of the same day he arrived at Kingswood, and preached 
 in what he calls " the malt-room." He exclaims, " O what simplicity 
 is in this childlike people ! A spirit of contrition and love ran through 
 them. Here the seed has fallen upon good ground. 
 
 " Sunday, June 22d. I went to learn Christ among our colliers, and 
 drank into their spirit. We rejoiced for the consolation. O that our 
 London brethren would come to school to Kingswood ! These are 
 what they pretend to be. God knows their poverty ; but they are rich, 
 and daily entering into rest, without being first brought into confusion. 
 They do not hold it necessary to deny the weak faith, in order to get 
 the strong. Their soul truly waiteth still upon God, in the way of his 
 ordinances. Ye many masters, come, learn Christ of these outcasts ; 
 for know, ' except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye 
 cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.' 
 
 " I met several of those whom I had baptized, and found them grown 
 in grace. Some thousands waited for me at Rose-green ; and surely 
 the Lord passed by, and said to some in their blood, ' Live !' I con- 
 cluded the day at the men's love-feast. Peace, unity, and love are 
 here. We did not forget our poor distracted brethren. 
 
 " How ought I to rejoice at my deliverance out of their hands and 
 spirit ! My soul is escaped, as a bird out of the snare of the fowler. 
 And did I not love the lambs of Christ, indeed the grievous wolves, I 
 would see your face no more ! I am no longer a debtor of the gospel 
 
 13*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 195 
 
 to you. Me ye have fairly discharged : but if you reject my testimony, 
 others receive it gladly, and say, ' Blessed be he that cometh in the 
 name of the Lord.' " 
 
 While preaching in the open air, and enjoying the communion of 
 saints with the colliers at Kingswood, not many of whom were able to 
 read, the learned collegian was summoned to the University of Oxford. 
 There, he says, " I spent a week to little purpose, but that of obedience 
 to man for the Lord's sake. In the hall I read my two lectures on 
 Psalm cxxx, preaching repentance toward God, and faith in Jesus 
 Christ. But learned ' Gallio cared for none of these things.' " 
 
 He returned, therefore, with great pleasure to Bristol and Kingswood, 
 where his word was attended by an especial blessing, and the people 
 received it with eagerness and joy. " I dare not," say's he, on his 
 arrival, " depart from the work, while God so strengthens me therein. 
 We walked over the waste to the school, singing and rejoicing. It 
 was their love-feast. Two hundred were assembled in the spirit of 
 Jesus. Never have I seen and felt such a congregation of faithful souls. 
 I question whether Hernhuth can now afford the like." 
 
 One day, when he was preaching here, a man in the congregation, 
 feeling the force of the word, cried out vehemently, " What do you 
 mean by looking at me ? and directing yourself to me ? and telling me, 
 I shall be damned ?" " I did then," says the preacher, " address myself 
 to him ; but he hurried away with the utmost precipitation." 
 
 The conversion of the colliers of Kingswood, from their wicked and 
 barbarous habits, to the enjoyment of spiritual religion, and the prac- 
 tice of a pure morality, has often been referred to, as an occasion of 
 gratitude, and a specimen of the general benefit which the nation has 
 derived from the labours of the Wesleys, and of their friend Mr. White- 
 field. This work, however, at the time, was not viewed with satisfac- 
 tion in every quarter. Some of the men who ought the most to have 
 rejoiced in it, regarded it with aversion, and threw all the difficulties 
 they could in the way of its progress. The brothers pressed the peo- 
 ple to attend the religious services of the national Church, and set the 
 example themselves. The clergy in Bristol at first complained of the 
 increase of their labour in the administration of the Lord's supper. 
 When they found that complaints addressed to the intruders were of no 
 avail, and that the inconvenience rather increased than diminished, they 
 entered into an agreement among themselves to repel from the Lord's 
 table, both the Wesleys and the people whom they brought to church. 
 After this, the Methodists attended the public service of the Church ; 
 but they were compelled to receive the Lord's supper in their own 
 separate places of worship, that they might not violate the command of 
 Christ. Charles declared that, under the circumstances of the case, he
 
 196 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 should have felt himself justified in administering it in the midst of 
 the wood, and in the open air, could he have obtained no better 
 accommodation. The following are some of his notices on this painful 
 subject : — 
 
 " Our poor colliers being repelled from the Lord's table by most of 
 the Bristol ministers, I exhorted them, notwithstanding, to continue 
 daily with one accord in the temple, where the wicked administrator 
 can neither spoil the prayers, nor poison the sacrament. 
 
 " Sunday, July 27th. I heard a miserable sermon at Temple church, 
 recommending religion as the most likely way to raise a fortune. After 
 it, proclamation was made, that all should depart who were not of the 
 parish. While the shepherd was driving away the lambs, I stayed, 
 suspecting nothing, till the clerk came to me, and said, ' Mr. Beecher 
 bids you go away; for he will not give you the sacrament.' I went 
 to the vestry door, and mildly desired Mr. Beecher to admit me. He 
 asked, ' Are you of this parish V I answered, ' Sir, you see I am a 
 clergyman.' Dropping his first pretence, he charged me with rebel- 
 lion, in expounding the Scripture without authority, and said, in express 
 words, ' I repel you from the sacrament.' I replied, ' I cite you to 
 answer this before Jesus Christ, at the day of judgment.' This enraged 
 him above measure. He called out, ' Here ! take away this man /' The 
 constables were ordered to attend ; I suppose lest the furious colliers 
 should take the sacrament by force. But I saved them the trouble of 
 taking away ' this man,' and quietly retired." 
 
 Some of the civic authorities in Bristol were equally hostile to the 
 self-denying men who were wearing out their lives in disinterested 
 efforts to raise the morals, as well as save the souls, of the common 
 people. Two unhappy convicts, under sentence of death, requested to 
 have the counsel and prayers of Mr. John Wesley before their execu- 
 tion, but were peremptorily refused by Alderman Beecher. Catherine 
 Highfield, a servant-maid, who was connected with the Methodists, 
 was charged with robbing her master of three hundred pounds. Mr. 
 Charles Wesley says that Alderman Day, and others, " threatened to 
 put her in irons, if she would not confess that she had given the money 
 to my brother. When no proof could be brought against her, they 
 were forced to discharge her : and soon after her master found the 
 money where he himself had lodged it." 
 
 In the midst of his labours, and of the deep anxiety connected with 
 them, Mr. Charles Wesley's health again failed him. That he should 
 have been able thus far to endure such wasting toil and care was 
 indeed surprising ; but the providence and grace of God are strikingly 
 displayed in this part of his personal history. On the 6th of August 
 he says, —
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. .197 
 
 " In great heaviness I spoke to the women bands, as taking ray- 
 farewell. We sung the hymn which begins, — 
 
 ' While sickness shakes the house of clay, 
 And, sapp'd by pain's continued course 
 My nature hastens to decay, 
 And waits the fever's friendly force.' 
 
 After speaking a few faint words to the brethren, I was immediately 
 taken with a shivering, and then the fever came. The next morning I 
 was bled, and carried by Mrs. Hooper to her house. There I looked 
 into the Bible, and met with, ' The Lord will strengthen him upon the 
 bed of languishing ; thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.' My 
 pain and disease increased for ten days ; so that there was no hope of 
 my life : but then Jesus touched my hand, and rebuked the fever, and 
 it left me. I had no apprehension of death myself. It was reported I 
 was dead, and published in the papers ; but God had not finished (O 
 that he had effectually begun !) his work in me-: therefore he held my 
 soul in life, and made all things work together for my recovery. 
 
 " Dr. Middleton, an utter stranger to me, God raised up, and sent to 
 my assistance. He refused taking any fees, and told the 'pofhecary, 
 he would pay for my physic, if I could not. He attended me con- 
 stantly, as the divine blessing did his prescriptions ; so that in less than 
 a fortnight the danger was over. 
 
 " For the next fortnight I recovered slowly ; but had little use of my 
 legs, and none of my head. One of our colliers, taken ill of the same 
 fever, since me, has died in full triumph of faith. When I was just 
 able to stand, my brother came from London. We rode out most days 
 in Mr. Wane's (or a hired) chariot, comparing our dangers, temptations, 
 and deliverances. 
 
 " I found myself, after this gracious visitation, more desirous and 
 able to pray ; more afraid of sin ; more earnestly longing for deliver- 
 ance, and the fulness of Christian salvation. As soon as my bodily 
 weakness would permit, I returned to my old hours of retirement ; but 
 with fear, and earnest prayer that I might not rest in my own works or 
 endeavours. 
 
 " Mr. Carey's curate informed us, that Mr. Carey had ordered him 
 to repel my brother and me from the sacrament. 
 
 " I passed two or three days at Mr. Arthur's, in Kingswood ; and by 
 the blessing of God recovered the use of my understanding, which was 
 so clouded, that I could neither read nor think." 
 
 The personal history of Dr. Middleton was peculiar and instructive. 
 His morals were correct, his temper and habits generous and benevo- 
 lent, his uprightness undeniable ; but he appears to have been in a great 
 measure a stranger to Christian piety till he was brought to the close
 
 198 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of life. Having attended many of the Methodists in Bristol and its 
 vicinity, he was a witness of their holy resignation in pain and sick- 
 ness, and of their peace and hope in death. In the presence of gain- 
 sayers and accusers, therefore, he was accustomed to defend them; and 
 frequently said, " A people who live and die so well must be good." 
 From the poor of the society he would accept no fee ; but always re- 
 quested an interest in their prayers. When he had become a gray- 
 headed man of seventy years, and was induced through age and in- 
 firmity to anticipate his removal into another world, he felt his need 
 of that inward witness of God's adopting love, the cheering effects of 
 which he had often seen in his Methodist patients. In this manner the 
 prayers of the people in his behalf were answered by the God of all 
 grace. The man of science, humanity, and virtue, saw that he was a 
 mere sinner ; and in the spirit of deep penitence and self-abasement, 
 he cried for mercy through the sacrifice of Christ. After a long and 
 painful delay, he received the gift of faith, and with it the salvation 
 revealed in the gospel. He was filled with peace, and joy, and holy 
 love ; manifested the gentleness and sweetness of a little child ; de- 
 clared with rapturous gratitude what the Lord had done for his soul ; 
 uttered earnest benedictions upon all around him ; and at length, full 
 of triumphant hope, he yielded up his spirit into the hands of his mer- 
 ciful Saviour. He died in the arms of his friend Dr. Robertson,* on 
 the 16th of December, 1760; and on the occasion of his death Mr. 
 Charles Wesley wrote a hymn of considerable length, full of affection, 
 and of admiration of the grace of God. He left it among his inedited 
 manuscripts. It is probable that Dr. Middleton's attendance upon Mr. 
 Charles Wesley, on the occasion just described, led to this signal dis- 
 play of the divine mercy. 
 
 Under the care of this skilful physician, Mr. Charles Wesley just 
 recovered his health in time to prevent a riot among the colliers of 
 Kingswood, which, but for his interference, would in all probability 
 have been followed by calamitous consequences. " I was setting out," 
 says he, " for the Downs, when one asked me to ride out toward Mr. 
 Willis's. At the end of the town I was informed the colliers were 
 risen. Above one thousand of them I met at Lawrence-hill. They 
 came about me, and saluted me very affectionately, not having seen 
 me since my illness. The occasion of their rising, they told me, was 
 the dearness of corn. I got to an eminence, and began speaking to 
 them. Many seemed inclined to go back with me to the school ; but 
 the devil stirred up his oldest servants, who violently rushed upon the 
 
 * This was, in all probability, the Dr. Robertson to whom Mr. John Wesley ad- 
 dressed the letter concerning Chevalier Ramsay's " Philosophical Principles of Reli- 
 gion," which is inserted in the sixth volume of his Works, pp. 720-724.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 199 
 
 others, beating and tearing and driving them away from me. I rode 
 up to a ruffian, who was striking one of our colliers, and prayed him 
 rather to strike me. He would not, he said, for all the world ; and was 
 quite overcome. I turned upon one who struck my horse, and he also 
 sunk into a lamb. Wherever I turned, Satan lost ground ; so that he 
 was obliged to make one general assault, and by the few violent col- 
 liers forced on the quiet ones into the town. 
 
 " I seized on one of the tallest, and earnestly besought him to follow 
 me : that he would, he said, all the world over. About six more I 
 pressed into Christ's service. We met several parties, stopped, and 
 exhorted them to join us. We gleaned a few from every company, 
 and grew as we marched along, singing, to the school. From one till 
 three we spent in prayer, that evil might be prevented, and the lion 
 chained. Then news was brought us, that the colliers were returned 
 in peace. They had quietly walked into the city, without sticks, or 
 the least violence. A few of the better sort went to the mayor, and 
 told their grievance. Then they all returned as they came, without 
 noise or disturbance. All who saw were amazed ; for the leopards 
 were laid down. Nothing coidd have more shown the change wrought 
 in them than this rising. 
 
 " I found afterward that all our colliers, to a man, had been forced 
 into it. Having learned of Christ not to resist evil, they went a mile 
 with those that compelled them, rather than free themselves by vio- 
 lence. One the rioters dragged out of his sick-bed, and threw him 
 into the fish-ponds. Near twenty of Mr. Willis's men they got by 
 threatening to fill up their pits, and bury them alive, if they did not 
 come up, and bear them company." The next day he says, " I carried 
 Mr. Seward to our colliers, before whom I set the things they would 
 have done, in the late rising, had not grace restrained them. One poor 
 man declared, when they forced him away, he would much more will- 
 ingly have gone to the gallows." So mighty was the change which 
 divine truth and grace had wrought in the spirit of these once fierce, 
 ungovernable, and wicked men ; and so substantial was the proof 
 afforded to the Wesleys, that they had not laboured in vain. 
 
 Hitherto Mr. Charles Wesley, as an itinerant preacher, had confined 
 his labours mostly to London and Bristol, with their respective neigh- 
 bourhoods ; but he now resolved to pay a visit to Wales, as his brother 
 had done some time before. A remarkable revival of religion was now 
 begun in the principality, chiefly through the efforts of Howell Harris, 
 a pious layman of great zeal, and of undaunted resolution. He had 
 entered himself at the University of Oxford, but did not remain there 
 long enough to take his first degree, being offended with the ungodli- 
 ness which he witnessed among the members of that learned body.
 
 200 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 He returned home, and opened a school ; but having obtained peace 
 with God, by faith in the Lord Jesus, he became greatly concerned for 
 his fellow-countrymen, and began to preach in private houses, and in 
 the open air, as Vavosour Powell had done eighty or ninety years 
 before, and as the Wesleys and Mr. Whitefield were then doing in 
 England ; although, at first, he had no acquaintance either with them 
 or their proceedings. Notwithstanding his irregularity, he lived and 
 died in communion with the Church of England, to whose services he 
 was inviolably attached. His simple, energetic, and faithful ministra- 
 tions were highly successful in calling the public attention to religion, 
 and in turning many to righteousness. His theological views were 
 Calvinistic ; but his charity Avas expansive. He visited the Wesleys 
 in London ; preached in the Foundery ; attended various meetings in 
 Fetter-lane, and urged upon the people there a diligent attendance 
 upon the ordinances of God, in opposition to the refinements which 
 Molther and his friends were attempting to introduce. The Wesleys 
 loved him sincerely, notwithstanding the difference in their views of 
 the knotty " five points." A few of the Welsh clergy, too, were at this 
 time disposed to countenance these extraordinary efforts for the revival 
 of decayed religion. They were friendly with Mr. Harris, whom they 
 encouraged in his labours of love ; and they cordially welcomed the 
 Wesleys to their respective pulpits. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley landed at Cardiff on the evening of November 
 6th, with the voice of praise and thanksgiving. Mr. Wells, the clergy- 
 man, at whose invitation he had come, was waiting to greet him on his 
 arrival. He remained a fortnight in Wales, preaching with great en- 
 largement of heart in many of the churches, and taking sweet counsel 
 with two or three clergymen of kindred spirit, especially Mr. Wells, 
 Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Hodges, the minister of Wenvo. Finding that 
 Howell Harris's Calvinism had given offence at Cardiff, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley says, " God opened my mouth to declare the truth of his ever- 
 lasting love to all mankind. At the same time he enlarged my heart 
 to its opposers. I took occasion to speak of Howell Harris ; bore such 
 a testimony of him as he deserves ; and mildly upbraided them for their 
 ingratitude toward the greatest benefactor their country ever had. We 
 all expressed our love by joining in hearty prayer for him." 
 
 On the same day he sent a messenger to Harris, with the following 
 i '.mracteristic note ; finding that some of the advocates of absolute pre- 
 destination were attempting to fill his mind Avith unjust suspicion, and 
 thus produce an alienation of heart between him and the Wesleys : — 
 
 " My Dearest Friend and Brother, — In the name of Jesus Christ, I 
 beseech you, if you have his glory and the good of souls at heart, come
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 201 
 
 immediately, and meet me here. I trust we shall never be two, in 
 time or eternity. O my brother, I am grieved that Satan should get a 
 moment's advantage over us ; and I am ready to lay my neck under 
 your feet for Christ's sake. If your heart is as my heart, hasten, in 
 the name of our dear Lord, to 
 
 " Your second self." 
 
 In a few days Howell Harris arrived. " All misunderstandings 
 vanished at sight of each other, and our- hearts were knit together as at 
 the beginning. Alas, poor world, poor Baptists ! We sung a hymn 
 of triumph. God had prepared his heart for this meeting. At the 
 sacrament he had found the spirit of martyrdom falling upon him ; and 
 immediately I was brought to his remembrance. His heart overflowed 
 with love ; and he thought we were going hand in hand to the stake.'' 
 
 A similar spirit actuated the pious clergy, especially Mr. Hodges. 
 " At parting," says Mr. Charles Wesley, he, " in great simplicity, de- 
 sired my prayers, and a kiss." 
 
 In other breasts, however, very different feelings prevailed. The 
 players at Cardiff were deeply offended, that the people went to the 
 church in preference to the theatre ; and some among the moral part 
 of the community were at least equally offended at the preacher's 
 strong statements concerning the universal corruption of human nature, 
 and the consequent necessity of the new birth. Many bound them- 
 selves by a curse, during the last Sunday of his stay, that they would 
 hinder him from preaching. In this they were disappointed ; but many 
 of them, during the sermon, rushed out of the church together. Soon 
 after, a physician arose from his seat, and walked out, with evident 
 signs of disapprobation. " I called after him in vain," says Charles ; 
 and " then earnestly prayed for him, and the rest, the Spirit helping 
 my infirmity." 
 
 This was a prelude to greater disturbance. " The captain giving 
 me notice," says Mr. Charles Wesley, " that we should sail the next 
 day, I determined to spend the night in taking leave. We supped at 
 the friendly Mr. Wells's, and then called at Captain Phillips's. Be- 
 tween ten and eleven, just as I was going, Satan began to show his 
 wrath. The physician who had gone out of church on Sunday, stirred 
 up by his companions, and unusually heated with wine, came, and de- 
 manded satisfaction of me for calling him Pharisee. I said, I was ready 
 to acknowledge my mistake, if he would assure me, he had gone out 
 of church to visit his patients. He replied, he had gone out because 
 he disliked my discourse. 'Then, sir,' said I, 'I cannot ask pardon 
 for telling you a truth.' ' But you must for calling me a Pharisee.' I 
 still insisted, ' You are a Pharisee, and cannot endure sound doctrine.
 
 
 202 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 My commission is, to show you your sins ; and I shall make no apology 
 for so doing, to you, or any man living. You are a condemned sinner 
 by nature, and a Pharisee, like me ; and this testimony I should bear 
 before rulers and kings. You are a rebel against God, and must bow 
 your stiff neck to him, before you can be forgiven.' ' How do you know 
 my heart V ' My heart showeth me the wickedness of the ungodly.' 
 ' Sir, I am as good a Christian as yourself.' ' You are no Christian at 
 all, unless you have received the Holy Ghost.' ' How do you prove 
 that you have the Holy Ghost ?' ' By searching your heart, and showing 
 you that you are a Pharisee.' Here he lifted up his cane and struck me. 
 Mrs. Phillips intercepted and broke the blow. Felix Farley tripped 
 up his heels, and the company rushed in between. My soul was im- 
 mediately filled with the calm, recollected boldness of faith. There 
 was a great outcry among the women. Several of them he struck and 
 hurt, and raged like one possessed, till the men forced him out, and 
 shut the door. 
 
 " Soon after it was broken open by a justice, and the bailiff or head 
 magistrate. The latter began expostulating with me upon the affront 
 offered the doctor ; and said, as it was a public injury, I ought to make 
 him public satisfaction. I answered, ' Mr. Bailiff, I honour you for 
 your office' sake ; but was you yourself, or his majesty King ^George, 
 among my hearers, I should tell you both, that you are by nature con- 
 demned sinners. In the church, while preaching, I have no superior 
 but God, and shall not ask man leave to show him his sins. As a 
 ruler, it is your duty to be a terror to evil-doers, but a praise to them 
 that do well.' Upon my thus speaking he became exceeding civil ; 
 assured me of his good will ; that he had come to prevent my being 
 insulted ; and none should touch a hair of my head. 
 
 " While we were talking, the doctor made another attempt to break 
 in, and get at me ; but the two justices and others, with much trouble, 
 at last got him out. They went ; and we continued our triumph in the 
 name of the Lord our God. The shout of a King was among us. We 
 sung on, unconcerned, though those sons of Belial, the players, had 
 beset the house. They were armed, and threatened to burn the house. 
 The ground of their quarrel with me is, that the gospel has starved 
 them. We prayed and sung with great tranquillity, till one in the morn- 
 ing. Then 1 lay down till three ; rose again ; and was scarcely got 
 into the room, when they discovered a player just by me, who had 
 stolen in unobserved. They seized him, and Felix Farley wrested 
 the sword from him. There was no need of drawing it ; for the point 
 and blade were stripped a hand-breadth of the scabbard. 
 
 " When the sword was brought in, the spirit of faith was kindled at 
 the sight of the danger. Great was our rejoicing within, and the uproar
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 203 
 
 of the players without, who strove to force their way after their com- 
 panion. My female advisers were by no means for my turning out, 
 but deferring my journey. I preferred Mr. Wells's advice, of going 
 with him through the midst of our enemies. I called in on the poor 
 creature they had secured. They talked of warrants, prosecutions, &c. 
 On sight of me, he cried, ' Indeed, Mr. Wesley, I did not intend to do 
 you any harm.' That, I answered, was best known to God, and his 
 own heart ; but my principle was, to return good for evil ; wherefore 1 
 desired he might be released ; assured him of my good wishes ; and 
 with Mr. Wells walked peaceably to the water-side, no man forbidding 
 me. Our friends stood on the shore, while we joined in hearty thanks- 
 giving." 
 
 The vessel was unable to proceed for want of water : so between 
 five and six in the morning Mr. Charles Wesley returned to the house 
 of Captain Phillips, where he found Howell Harris and the other friends 
 still assembled. He preached to them on the promise of sanctification 
 in Ezek. xxxvi. He then says, " I took leave of my dear Howell ; and 
 Mr. Wells waited upon the bailiff; acknowledged his last night's civi- 
 lities ; and left him, as a trophy, the player's sword. In public prayer 
 Mr. Wells returned thanks to God for our late deliverance. 
 
 " At two I took my leave of the society, and preached the pure gos- 
 pel from the woman of Canaan. A spirit of love constrained me to 
 beseech them with tears to receive Christ Jesus. It ran through all. 
 Some of the greatest opposers wept, especially a young lady for whose 
 entertainment the players had acted me. She sung, and prayed, and 
 trembled exceedingly. The word was as a fire that melteth the rocks. 
 I saw why God had brought me back. Our parting was such as it 
 ought to be. 
 
 " About four Mr. Wells and others attended me to the vessel. I laid 
 me down and slept, and took my rest ; for it is thou, Lord, only, that 
 makest me dwell in safety. By five the next morning, Thursday, Nov. 
 20th, He who blessed my going out blessed our coming into Bristol." 
 Here he remained, preaching and exercising the pastoral charge over 
 the societies, till the latter end of December, when he resumed his 
 labours in London. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, that while Mr. Charles Wesley was inces- 
 santly employed in ministerial duties, preaching in the open air, ex- 
 pounding the Scriptures in private circles, visiting the sick, travelling 
 from place to place, and encountering opposition in all its forms of 
 menace, calumny, and violence, he was almost daily exercised in 
 the composition of hymns. His thoughts flowed in numbers j and his 
 deep feelings of joy, and confidence, and zeal, could find no adequate 
 expression but in poetry. His sermons appear to have been generally
 
 204 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 extempore. What he wrote was mostly in sacred verse. His hymns 
 were not the productions of a lively imagination, gazing upon external 
 objects ; nor were they the fruits of hard mental toil. They were the 
 irrepressible effusions of his heart, burning with love to God, reposing 
 with absolute and joyous confidence in the divine truth and mercy, 
 yearning with affection for the souls of redeemed men, and anticipating 
 the visions of future glory. Three volumes of hymns he and his brother 
 had already published; and this year (1740) they added a fourth, not 
 at all inferior to its predecessors in poetic merit, or Christian feeling. 
 It bears the same title as the last two volumes which they had sent 
 forth ; and contains several admirable translations from the German, 
 which doubtless came from the pen of John. The original hymns, 
 among which are some of the finest in the English language, display 
 a deep pathos, with all the energy and daring of Charles's genius. 
 The following stanzas, which occur in a hymn describing a storm at 
 sea, exhibit the writer's mighty faith, and power of expression. They 
 were probably addressed to Mr. Whitefield on his embarking a second 
 time for America. 
 
 Headlong we cleave the yawning deep, 
 
 And back to highest heaven are borne, 
 Unmoved, though rapid whirlwinds sweep, 
 
 And all the watery world upturn. 
 
 Roar on, ye waves ! our souls defy 
 Your roaring to disturb our rest ; 
 In vain t' impair the calm ye try, 
 The calm in a believer's breast. 
 
 The volume comprises a fine hymn " for the Kingswood colliers ;" 
 another, for " the anniversary of one's conversion ;" and one on " walk- 
 ing over Smithfield." But the most remarkable hymn in the volume is 
 one entitled, " The just shall live by faith ;" which describes Mr. Charles 
 Wesley's religious history up to this period of his life. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The difference of opinion between the Wesleys and the Moravian 
 Brethren avIio met in Fetter-lane, respecting the ordinances of God, and 
 which led to their separation, was quickly succeeded by disputes at 
 Kingswood on the subject of predestination : one of the most perplex- 
 ing questions, viewed in all its bearings, that ever vexed the Christian 
 church. It was not to be expected that controversy on this topic could 
 be permanently avoided in the religious societies which were now rising
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 205 
 
 up in various directions. It had been mooted in some of the meetings 
 of the young converts in London, when Mr. John Wesley was in Ger- 
 many ; but Charles opposed the Calvinian view with such firmness, as 
 prevented all further attempts at that time to unsettle the minds of the 
 people respecting the universality of God's love to men. He was not 
 equally successful in Kingswood, where strenuous attempts were made, 
 by a man whom the Wesley s themselves had invested with influence, 
 to leaven the society with Calvin's bold and repulsive peculiarities. 
 
 As Mr. Whitefield was the first that carried the truth to the Kingswood 
 colliers ; so a school for the instruction of their children Avas first pro- 
 posed in connection with his pious and disinterested labours there. 
 He knelt down and prayed upon the spot, commenced the fund by means 
 of subscriptions and congregational collections ; and then, being on the 
 point of leaving England, he resigned the whole concern into the hands 
 of Mr. John Wesley, who took the entire responsibility upon himself. 
 He completed the design under many discouragements, and with a con- 
 siderable sacrifice of his own property; upward of thirty pounds of 
 the sum which had been contributed toward the building having been 
 stolen by a young man, who confessed the fact when under sentence 
 of death for another felony. " You call Kingswood your own house," 
 said Dr. Church : " So I do," rejoined Mr. Wesley ; " that is, the school- 
 house there. For I bought the ground where it stands, and paid for 
 the building it, partly from the contribution of my friends, one of whom 
 contributed fifty pounds ; partly from the income of my own Fellow- 
 ship." The school here intended was erected for the instruction of the 
 colliers' children, and of such adults as chose to attend for the purpose 
 of learning to read. The establishment which has long been known as 
 Kingswood school, where the sons of Wesleyan ministers are educated, 
 was a distinct concern, and not built till several years afterward. 
 
 When the school for the colliers' children was opened, Mr. Wesley 
 secured the best teachers that he could obtain ; and he also used the 
 place for preaching, the administration of the Lord's supper, and for 
 society-meetings, as well as meetings for prayer. Among other per- 
 sons whom he engaged to assist in the school was Mr. John Cennick. 
 whom he also employed in visiting the sick, and, in the absence of the 
 brothers, holding meetings for prayer and exhortation. Like Thomas 
 Maxfield in London, he also soon began to preach, and was well 
 received by the congregations. Cennick was a native of Reading ; a 
 man of sincere piety and zeal ; of respectable education ; and though 
 not distinguished by extraordinary power of understanding, was pos- 
 sessed of useful talents. He visited' the Wesleys in London in the 
 year 1739; and having then written several hymns, the effusions of 
 his devout feelings, Charles Wesley, pleased with the spirit of the
 
 .. 
 
 206 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 man, corrected these compositions, and prepared them for publication. 
 Cennick was in want of some useful employ ; and hearing of the erec- 
 tion of the school at Kingswood, he applied to Mr. Wesley for the 
 situation of master, and was accepted. When he made the application, 
 he confesses that he was treated with great kindness. For some time 
 things went on with smoothness and comfort. He was .respected for 
 his piety and usefulness ; and the Wesleys especially regarded him 
 with affection and confidence. On the 27th of July, 1740, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley, preaching at Kingswood in his warm and strong manner on 
 the subject of the universal redemption of mankind, declared to the 
 people that John Cennick, whom they all esteemed and loved, was of 
 the same mind with himself on this encouraging point of doctrine. 
 Cennick confirmed this statement, and recited a hymn of his own com- 
 posing in proof of his cordial belief of this animating truth. " Never," 
 says Mr. Charles Wesley, " did I find my spirit more knit to him." 
 Soon after, however, he began to waver, then became a decided Cal- 
 vinist, and contradicted the tenets of the Wesleys in their own pulpit, 
 so as to cause great strife and contention among the people. Mr. 
 Charles Wesley remonstrated with him, and pledged himself to pre- 
 serve an entire silence on the controverted points, if Cennick would do 
 the same. To this proposal, which was certainly a great concession, 
 considering the relative situation of the parties, Cennick would not 
 accede. He attached so much importance to his new opinions, that 
 he would publicly teach them at all hazards. The consequence was, 
 what might be expected, — heart-burnings and unhallowed disputation 
 in the society. 
 
 On the 30th of November, says Mr. Charles Wesley, " I prayed 
 Christ, our teacher, to enlighten the people and me ; and began my 
 discourse with fear and trembling. The Spirit gave me utterance. I 
 calmly warned them against apostacy, and spake with great tenderness 
 and caution. But who can stand before envy, bigotry, and predestina- 
 tion? The strong ones were offended. The poison of Calvin has 
 drunk up their spirit of love. Ann Ayling and Ann Davis could not 
 refrain from railing. John Cennick never offered to stop them. Alas ! 
 we have set the wolf to keep the sheep. God gave me great modera- 
 tion toward him, who for many months has been undermining our doc- 
 trine and authority." 
 
 It is impossible to justify the conduct of Cennick in this case. His 
 right to change his opinions, and to declare and defend his honest con- 
 victions, was indisputable ; but to oppose the men to whom he had 
 offered his services, and who had generously treated him as a brother, 
 in their own house, and among their own people, attempting to alienate 
 from them their spiritual children, was a course which Cennick him- 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 207 
 
 self, under other circumstances, would have indignantly condemned. 
 Yet he wrote a letter to Mr. Whitefield in America, urging him to return 
 without delay, to assist in maintaining the contest against the brothers, 
 whose zeal in defending the doctrine of God's universal love, and in 
 opposing that of absolute predestination, was ardent and uncompromis- 
 ing. Having stirred up the people to rail against the Wesleys, Cennick 
 confesses that he was silent when he ought to have defended these 
 his best friends. Matters at length came to a crisis. Cennick, and 
 those who entertained his views, formed themselves into a separate 
 society, and held meetings apart from their breihren ; and were thus 
 evidently making arrangements for becoming a distinct people. 
 
 After various warnings and expostulations, and bearing for some 
 months with these mischievous irregularities, Mr. John Wesley met all 
 the parties at the conclusion of a love-feast in Bristol. Here he com- 
 plained of the practices which had been carried on, and produced a 
 copy of the letter which Cennick had addressed to Mr. Whitefield ; 
 and Cennick accused the Wesleys of teaching popery, because they 
 asserted general redemption, and opposed the Calvinian doctrine of 
 unconditional election to eternal life. Continued forbearance, in the 
 present state of things, Mr. Wesley declared to be impossible ; and 
 called upon the people to make their choice between the society which 
 had existed from the beginning, and that which had been formed out of 
 it by Cennick and his friends. Cennick, and about half of the people 
 present, withdrew. About fifty-two persons connected themselves with 
 him, and upward of ninety remained under the care of their former 
 pastors. From this time the Wesleyan and the Calvinistic Methodists 
 became two distinct bodies. 
 
 At this period Mr. Charles Wesley addressed the following charac- 
 teristic letter to his unfaithful friend. It is a fine exhibition of the 
 frankness and integrity which marked his spirit through life : — 
 
 " My Dearest Brother, John Cennick, — In much love and tenderness 
 I speak. You came to Kingswood upon my brother's sending for you. 
 You served under him in the gospel as a son. I need not say how 
 well he loved you. You used the authority he gave you to overthrow 
 his doctrine. You everywhere contradicted it. Whether true or 
 false, is not the question : but you ought first to have fairly told him, 
 ' I preach contrary to you. Are you willing, notwithstanding, that I 
 should continue in your house gainsaying you ? If you are not, I have 
 no place in these regions. You have a right to this open dealing. I 
 now give you fair warning. Shall I stay here opposing you, or shall 
 I depart V 
 
 " My brother, have you dealt thus honestly and openly with him ?
 
 208 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 No ; but you have stolen away the people's heart from him. And when 
 some of them basely treated their best friend, God only excepted, how 
 patiently did you take it ! When did you ever vindicate us, as we have 
 you ? Why did you not plainly tell them ? — ' You are eternally indebted 
 to these men. Think not that I will stay among you, to head a party 
 against my dearest friend — and brother, as he suffers me to call him, 
 having humbled himself for my sake, and given me (no bishop, priest, 
 or deacon) the right hand of fellowship. If I hear that one word more 
 is spoken against him, I will leave you that moment, and never see 
 your face more.' 
 
 " This had been just and honest, and not more than we have de- 
 served at your hands. I say we; for God is my witness how conde- 
 scendingly loving I have been toward you. Yet did you so forget 
 yourself, as both openly and privately to contradict my doctrine ; while, 
 in the mean time, I was as a deaf man that heard not, neither answered 
 a word, either in private or public. 
 
 " Ah, my brother ! I am "distressed for you. I would — but you will 
 not receive my saying. Therefore I can only commit you to Him who 
 hath commanded us to forgive one another, even as God, for Christ's 
 sake, hath forgiven us." 
 
 John Cennick renounced his connection with the Wesleys, because 
 of their opposition to the peculiar tenets of Calvinism, and united him- 
 self to Mr. Whitefield ; but he was not long satisfied with this new 
 relation. In about two or three years he forsook Mr. Whitefield, and 
 joined the Moravians ; although some of them, to say the least, held 
 doctrines far more remote from Calvinism than were those of John and 
 Charles Wesley. But consistency of principle was no characteristic 
 of this good man ; for such he was, notwithstanding his weaknesses. 
 The evils resulting from his proceedings at Kingswood were long felt 
 and lamented. Nearly twenty years after this separation, Mr. John 
 Wesley says, " I visited the classes at Kingswood. Here only there 
 is no increase ; and yet, where was there such a prospect till that weak 
 man, John Cennick, confounded the poor people with strange doc- 
 trines ? O what mischief may be done by one that means well ! We 
 see no end of it till this day." 
 
 When Mr. Wesley perceived that the minds of several persons be- 
 longing to his societies in Bristol and the neighbourhood were un- 
 settled on the subject of predestination, he preached a sermon on the 
 question ; and afterward published it, under the title of " Free Grace." 
 The object of the discourse is to prove that, as the saving grace of God 
 is perfectly free in all the persons to whom it is vouchsafed; so it is 
 also free for every child of Adam, the liOrd Jesus having given himself
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 209 
 
 a ransom for all. This was the third sermon that he had ever published. 
 The first was that on " The Trouble and Rest of Good Men," which 
 he left as a sort of parting memorial when he went to Georgia ; the 
 second was that on " Salvation by Faith," which he committed to the 
 press soon after he had believed with the heart unto righteousness. 
 The sermon on " Free Grace" is the most powerful and impassioned 
 of all his compositions. The reason is obvious. That Almighty God, 
 by a sovereign act of his will, without any respect to the conduct of 
 his creatures, should absolutely, and from everlasting, have appointed 
 some men, personally considered, to eternal life, and others to eternal 
 death ; — that he should then declare, in every form of expression, that 
 he gave his Son to die for the redemption of every one of them, that 
 his mercies are over all his works, and with him is no respect of per- 
 sons ; — that he should command his ministers to offer his mercy indis- 
 criminately to all ; — that he should, in the most impressive manner, 
 invite all to come to him for salvation, and expostulate with the utmost 
 tenderness with those who refuse compliance with his will ; — that he 
 should set life and death before them, and bid them choose life that 
 they may live ; — that he should patiently bear with them, and even 
 swear by himself that he has no pleasure in their destruction, and would 
 have them all to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth ; — 
 that he should, at last, condemn the impenitent and unbelieving for their 
 disobedience to his gracious calls, earnestly and often repeated, and 
 thus charge their misery upon themselves ; — and that they should be 
 " speechless" under his sentence of condemnation, thus confessing that 
 they were the authors of their own ruin ; — appeared to Mr. Wesley, of 
 all incredible things, the most incredible, and the foulest aspersion upon 
 the attributes of God that was ever invented by perverted intellect. 
 Under this impression he wrote ; every view of the subject serving to 
 heighten his astonishment, and excite his feelings. Dr. Southey has 
 given a large extract from this sermon ; and when the late earl of 
 Liverpool read it in the doctor's work, he declared that, in his judg- 
 ment, it was the most eloquent passage he had ever met with in any 
 writer, either ancient or modern. By some men Mr. Wesley has been 
 severely censured, for the very strong and animated manner in which 
 he wrote on the awful subject of predestination. This was to be ex- 
 pected. When irresistible argument is proposed with all the advan- 
 tages of appropriate expression and illustration, it is doubly painful to 
 the men whose favourite opinions are overthrown. That the force of 
 Mr. Wesley's reasoning has been felt, is evident from the fact, that, 
 since the publication of his sermon, few writers have attempted to re- 
 fute his argumentation, but many have endeavoured to evade it, by 
 changing and modifying the principles which he assailed. 
 
 14
 
 210 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 To this discourse Mr. Charles Wesley affixed a hymn of thirty-six 
 stanzas, which he poured forth in the fulness of his heart in praise of 
 God's universal love to man. The following is a specimen : — 
 
 Stir up thy strength, and help us, Lord, 
 
 The preachers multiply ; 
 Send forth thy light, and give the word, 
 
 And let the shadows fly. 
 
 if thy Spirit send forth me, 
 The meanest of the throng, 
 
 1 '11 sing thy grace divinely free, 
 
 And teach mankind the song. 
 
 Grace will I sing, through Jesu's name, 
 
 On all mankind bestow'd ; 
 The everlasting truth proclaim, 
 
 And seal that truth with blood. 
 
 Come, then, thou all-embracing Love, 
 
 Our frozen bosoms warm ; 
 Dilating fire, within us move, 
 
 With truth and meekness arm. 
 
 Let us triumphantly ride on, 
 
 And more than conquerors prove, 
 With meekness bear th' opposers down, 
 
 And bind with cords of love ! 
 
 No one was more deeply offended with the sermon on " Free Grace" 
 than Mr. Whitefield, who was then in America, and had become a de- 
 cided convert to Calvin's theological views. One or more copies were 
 sent over to America ; and at the Orphan House in Georgia, Mr. White- 
 field wrote an answer to it, which he published under the title of, " A 
 Letter to the Rev. John Wesley." This pamphlet was manifestly 
 written under the influence of conflicting feelings, and is a remarkable 
 example of lingering affection mixed with unkindness. The author 
 often introduces the name of his opponent, and in almost every instance 
 calls him " dear Mr. Wesley ;" yet he publishes the substance of pri- 
 vate and confidential letters, which had nothing to do with the questions 
 at issue, and the publication of which he knew would wound Mr. Wes- 
 ley in the tenderest part. The committing of these documents to the 
 press could have no object, but that of reflecting discredit upon Mr. 
 Wesley's judgment ; and their exposure to the public, without the 
 writer's leave, was a violation of Christian honour. Mr. Whitefield 
 did not at first receive the creed of Calvin as it has been softened by 
 modern metaphysicians. He avowed the doctrine of limited redemp- 
 tion ; and contended for an absolute decree of reprobation, as well as 
 for a decree of election. Yet in doing this it is undeniable that his 
 
 14*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 211 
 
 pious and compassionate heart remonstrated against his opinions. It 
 is easy to perceive that, when traversing the regions of Calvinian re- 
 probation, he walked with 
 
 " uneasy steps 
 Over the burning marie ;" 
 
 and was anxious to place his foot upon ground less painful to the tread ; 
 for he passes over some of Mr. Wesley's principal arguments in entire 
 silence. One of his favourite authors, at this period, was Dr. John 
 Edwards, of Cambridge : an able and learned man, but a sour and re- 
 pulsive theologue of the true Genevan school. 
 
 In the composition of this pamphlet Mr. Whitefield was assisted by 
 some American ministers ; yet neither by fairness, nor logical acumen, 
 did it gain much credit for any of the parties who were concerned in it. 
 Mr. Whitefield was unrivalled in oratory ; but in dialectics, though not 
 deficient in confidence, he was feeble, and easily worsted by an oppo- 
 nent of ordinary skill. Some singular instances of the want of discri- 
 mination, and of correct theological knowledge, occur in this pamphlet. 
 One specimen may be given. The writer identifies the doctrine of 
 general redemption, as held by Mr. Wesley and others who were like- 
 minded with him, with the tenets of those who deny redemption alto- 
 gether, and who even repudiate the Holy Scriptures. Addressing Mr. 
 Wesley, he says, " Infidels of all kinds are on your side of the ques- 
 tion. Deists, Arians, Socinians, arraign God's sovereignty, and stand 
 up for universal redemption." It is painful to see a man of undoubted 
 piety, who was designed in the arrangements of divine Pnmdence for 
 extensive and permanent good to the world, thus confounding things 
 that are essentially different, and exposing himself to ridicule by en- 
 gaging in a service for which he was utterly unqualified. He ought to 
 have known, not only that Socinians deny all proper redemption, but 
 that, with scarcely any exception, Deists and Socinians are philoso- 
 phical Necessitarians, and therefore fatalists, like himself. 
 
 Having finished his answer to Mr. Wesley's sermon, and committed 
 it to the press, both in Charleston and Boston, Mr. W r hitefield embarked 
 a second time for England, intending to raise fresh supplies in behalf 
 of the Orphan House. During his voyage he wrote a letter to his 
 friend Mr. Charles Wesley, dated Feb. 1st, 1741, in which he says, 
 " My dear, dear brethren, why did you throw out the bone of conten- 
 tion? Why did you print that sermon against predestination? Why 
 did you in particular, my dear brother Charles, affix your hymn, and 
 join in putting out your late Hymn-Book ? How can you say you will 
 not dispute with me about election, and yet print such hymns, and your 
 brother send his sermon over, against election, to Mr. Garden and 
 others, in America ? Do not you think, my dear brethren, I must be
 
 212 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 as much concerned for truth, or what I think truth, as you 1 God is my 
 judge, I always was, and hope I always shall be, desirous that you 
 may be preferred before me. But I must preach the gospel of Christ ; 
 and that I cannot now do without speaking of election." In relation to 
 his answer, he adds, " If it occasion a strangeness between us, it shall 
 not be my fault. There is nothing in my answer exciting to it that I 
 know of. O my dear brethren, my heart almost bleeds within me ! 
 Methinks I could be willing to tarry here on the waters for ever, rather 
 than come to England to oppose you." 
 
 On his arrival in London, in the month of March, he submitted the 
 tract which he had written against the sermon on free grace to the 
 inspection of his friend, Mr. Charles Wesley, who returned it to the author 
 endorsed with these significant words : " Put up again thy sword 
 into its place." In consequence of this advice, the publication of the 
 pamphlet was for a while suspended ; but the writer, deeply impressed 
 with the truth and importance of the theological principles which it 
 was designed to defend, at length resolved to commit it to the press. 
 He requested James Hutton to print and sell it ; but James had now 
 attached himself to the Moravian body, who held the doctrine of gen- 
 eral redemption as tenaciously as the Wesleys themselves : hence he 
 refused to connect his name with a tract in which that tenet was 
 assailed. Mr. Whitefield was therefore compelled to seek another 
 publisher. This was an unimportant repulse ; yet he felt it somewhat 
 painfully ; for he knew that the sale of his Journal had put some hun- 
 dreds of pounds in Hutton's pocket. 
 
 Mr. Whitefield's pecuniary embarrassments, arising from the outlay 
 of money upon the Orphan House in Georgia, at this time distressed 
 him exceedingly ; and Mr. William Seward, of Bengeworth, on whose 
 aid his chief reliance had been placed in this emergency, was dead ; 
 so that all hope from that quarter was cut off. But his greatest grief 
 arose from the loss of his friends. His defence of absolute reprobation 
 gave great offence to many ; and the betrayal of the secrets confided to 
 him by his friend Mr. John Wesley was regarded as an act of flagrant 
 injustice. Several of the people who had formerly run with the great- 
 est eagerness to hear him, now shunned his ministry. When he 
 resumed his preaching under one of the trees in Moorfields he wit- 
 nessed a sad falling off in his congregations. At first he had not so 
 many hundreds to hear him as on former occasions he had thousands. 
 
 On the 28th of March Mr. Wesley says, " Having heard much of 
 Mr. Whitefield's unkind behaviour since his return from Georgia, I 
 went to him, to hear him speak for himself, that I might know how to 
 judge. I much approved of his plainness of speech. He told me, he 
 and I preached two different gospels ; and therefore he not only would
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 213 
 
 not join with, or give me the right hand of fellowship, but was resolved 
 publicly to preach against me and my brother, wherever he preached 
 at all. Mr. Hall, who went with me, put him in mind of the promise 
 he had made but a few days before, that, whatever his private opinion 
 was, he would never publicly preach against us. He said, that promise 
 was only an effect of human weakness, and he was now of another 
 mind." Accordingly he did preach against the Wesleys by name, 
 both in Moorfields, and in all other public places. So earnest was he 
 in enforcing the peculiarities of the creed which he had now adopted, 
 that when he was invited to occupy che pulpit of his friends in the 
 Foundery, before some thousands of people, and while Mr. Charles 
 Wesley was sitting by him, " he preached the absolute decrees in the 
 most peremptory and offensive manner." 
 
 Under the influence of irritated feelings, occasioned by disappoint- 
 ment and vexation, Mr. Whitefield addressed a private letter of reproof 
 and admonition to Mr. John Wesley. He complained that his designs 
 with respect to the school for the colliers' children at Kingswood had 
 not been fully accomplished ; and that the room where the brothers 
 preached in Bristol was too richly ornamented. To the first of these 
 charges Mr. Wesley says, " One master and one mistress have been in 
 the house ever since it was capable of receiving them. A second 
 master has been placed there some months since ; and I have long 
 been seeking for two proper mistresses ; so that as much has been 
 done, as matters stand, if not more, than I can answer to God or man. 
 
 " Hitherto then there is no ground for the heavy charge of pervert- 
 ing your design for the poor colliers. Two years since your design 
 was to build them a school, that their children also might be taught to 
 fear the Lord. To this end you collected some money, more than 
 once. How much I cannot say, till I have 7ny papers. But this I 
 know, it was not near one half of what has been expended on the work. 
 The design you then recommended to me ; and I pursued it with all 
 my might, through such a train of difficulties as, I will be bold to say, 
 you have not met with in your life. For many months I collected money 
 wherever I was ; and began building, though I had not then a quarter 
 of the money requisite to finish. However, taking all the debt upon 
 myself, the creditors were willing to stay : and then it Avas that I took 
 possession of it in my own name ; that is, when the foundation was laid : 
 and I immediately made my will, fixing my brother and you to succeed 
 me therein." 
 
 On the other subject of complaint, Mr. Wesley remarks, " The 
 society room at Bristol, you say, is adorned. How ? Why, with a 
 piece of green cloth nailed to the desk ; two sconces for eight candles 
 each in the middle ; and — nay, I know no more. Now which of
 
 214 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 these can be spared, I know not ; nor would I desire either mor* 
 adorning or less." 
 
 In reference to Mr. Whitefield's answer to the sermon on " Free 
 Grace," Mr. Wesley says, " If you had disliked my sermon, you might 
 have printed another on the same text, and have answered my proofs 
 without mentioning my name. This had been fair and friendly. 
 
 " You rank all the maintainors of universal redemption with Soci- 
 nians themselves. Alas ! my brother, do you not know even this, that 
 the Socinians allow no redemption at all ? that Socinus himself speaks 
 thus : Tota redemptio nostra per Christum metaphor a ? [Is not our whole 
 redemption through Christ a figure ?] and says expressly, Christ did 
 not die as a ransom for any, but only as an example for all mankind ? 
 How easy were it for me to hit many other palpable blots, in that 
 which you call an answer to my sermon ; and how above measure con- 
 temptible would you then appear to all impartial men, either of sense 
 or learning ! But I spare you. Mine hand shall not be upon you. 
 The Lord be judge between me and thee ! The general tenor both of 
 my public and private exhortations, when I touch thereon at all, — as 
 even my enemies know, if they would testify, — is, ' Spare the young 
 man, even Absalom, for my sake.' " 
 
 On the 4th of April these eminent men had another personal inter- 
 view. Mr. Wesley says, " I believed both love and justice required that 
 I should speak my sentiments freely to Mr. Whitefield, concerning the 
 ' Letter' he had published, said to be an answer to my sermon on 
 ' Free Grace.' The sum of what I observed to him was this : 1. Thai 
 it was imprudent to publish it at all, as being only the putting of weap- 
 ons into their hands, who loved neither the one nor the other. 2. That 
 if he was constrained to bear his testimony (as he termed it) against 
 the error I was in, he might have done it by publishing a treatise on 
 this head, without ever calling my name in question. 3. That what he 
 had published was a mere burlesque upon an answer, leaving four of 
 my eight arguments untouched, and handling the other four in so gen- 
 tle a manner, as if he was afraid they would burn his fingers. How- 
 ever, that, 4. He had said enough of what was wholly foreign to the 
 question, to make an open (and probably irreparable) breach between 
 him and me : seeing ' for a treacherous wound, and for the bewraying 
 of secrets, every friend will depart.' " 
 
 Up to this period the Wesleys and Mr. AVhitefield were as " a three- 
 fold cord Avhich is not easily broken ;" but from this time, though their 
 hearts still clave to each other, and they freely forgave each other the 
 offences that had been given, their labours were no longer united. The 
 separation took place, not with the free consent of the brothers ; but 
 through the importunity of Mr. Whitefield's friends, and in consequence
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 215 
 
 of the manner in which he was resolved to inculcate his peculiar 
 opinions. This Mr. Wesley positively declares ; and his testimony 
 was never contradicted by any competent authority. " In March, 1741," 
 says he, " Mr. Whitefield being returned to England, entirely separated 
 from Mr. Wesley and his friends, because he did not hold the decrees. 
 Here was the first breach, which warm men persuaded Mr. Whitefield 
 to make, merely for a difference of opinion. Those, indeed, who be- 
 lieved universal redemption had no desire at all to separate ; but those 
 who held particular redemption would not hear of any accommoda- 
 tion, being determined to have no fellowship with men that ' were in 
 so dangerous errors.' So there were now two sorts of Methodists, so 
 called ; those for particular, and those for general, redemption."* 
 
 He adds, on another occasion, " Did not Mr. Whitefield proclaim, 
 upon the house-top, the difference between us and him ? And yet it was 
 not merely the difference of doctrine that caused the division. It was 
 rather the manner wherein he maintained his doctrine, and treated us, 
 in gvejy place. Otherwise difference of doctrine would not have 
 created any difference of affection ; but he might lovingly have held 
 particular redemption, and we general, to our live's end." 
 
 What, then, is to be thought of the following statement, which is 
 made by the anonymous writer of the countess of Huntingdon's " Life 
 and Times ?" — " Mr. Charles Wesley, who was more kind and gene- 
 rous, less positive and hostile to Calvinism, than his brother, wept and 
 prayed that the breach might be prevented ; but John Wesley seems 
 to have parted with his old companion with great coolness. Mr. White- 
 field is said to have told him, ' You and I preach a different gospel :' 
 then they turned, one to the right hand and the other to the left. Mr. 
 Whitefield was only once allowed to preach in the Foundery ; and ' at 
 Bristol' (he says) ' I was forbidden to preach in the house I had 
 founded.' " 
 
 The reflections which are here cast upon Mr. John Wesley are noto- 
 riously unjust. That Mr. Whitefield, at this time, " once preached in 
 the Foundery, and no more," he has himself stated ; that he was " only 
 once allowed to preach" there, is the unauthorized assertion of Lady 
 Huntingdon's biographer. By whom was he, at this or at any other time. 
 "forbidden to preach," either in " the Foundery," or in the " house at 
 Bristol V Not by Mr. Charles Wesley ; for Mr. Whitefield himself 
 says, " It would have melted any heart, to have heard Mr. Charles 
 Wesley and me weeping, after prayer, that if possible the breach might 
 be prevented." Nor was he " forbidden" by Mr. John Wesley ; who 
 avers that neither he nor his friends who held general redemption had 
 any " desire at all to separate." Mr. Whitefield never charged either 
 * Works, vol. v, p. 247.
 
 216 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of the brothers with any thing of the kind ; although he was accustomed 
 to preach against them by name in Moorfields, and had vehemently 
 opposed them in their own pulpit at the Foundery. He was grieved 
 and chafed in his spirit, as might be supposed, considering the diffi- 
 culties by which he was beset ; yet he states the case in a manner 
 that was worthy of his pure and elevated character, when time had 
 calmed his irritated feelings. Having described the loss of his congre- 
 gation at Moorfields, he says, " A like scene opened at Bristol, where 
 I was denied preaching in the house I had founded. Busy-bodies, on 
 both sides, blew up the coals. A breach ensued. But as both sides 
 differed in judgment, and not in affection, and aimed at the glory of our 
 common Lord ; though we hearkened too much to tale-bearers on both 
 sides, we were kept from anathematizing each other, and went on in 
 our usual way ; being agreed in one point, endeavouring to convert 
 souls to the ever-blessed Mediator." 
 
 It is freely conceded that Mr. Charles Wesley was " kind ;" but at 
 uo period of his life was he more distinguished by this Christian grace 
 than was his brother. He was also " generous," in a high degree ; 
 and yet he did not exercise that virtue in so great perfection as did his 
 brother John. Charles could readily forgive ; but when once his friends 
 had betrayed the trust which he reposed in them, he would rarely re- 
 ceive them a second time to his confidence. Whereas John, through 
 the whole of his public life, was known to carry his " generosity" thus 
 far, for which he was often rebuked by his more cautious brother. 
 That Charles " was less positive and hostile to Calvinism than his 
 brother," is an affirmation which no one would make, who knows the 
 facts of the case, and respects his own reputation. No man ever lived 
 who had a more deep and solemn conviction than he, that the pecu- 
 liarities of what is called Calvinism are unscriptural, of dangerous ten- 
 dency to the souls of men, and are only neutralized in their effects by 
 the admixture of saving truth with which they are generally proposed. 
 He preached against absolute predestination, and in defence of God's 
 universal love, much oftener, and with far greater warmth, than his 
 brother, and expressed himself in language much stronger than John 
 ever employed in reference to this subject. He loved Mr. Whitefield 
 with an ardour that nothing could quench ; but what he thought of Mr. 
 Whitefield's creed may be readily perceived from the following lines, 
 which he wrote in a letter to a friend, not in the heat of controversy, 
 but two years after the separation had taken place : — 
 
 Whitefield begins his course, and rises fair, 
 And shoots and glitters like a blazing star. 
 He lets his light on all impartial shine, 
 And strenuously asserts the birth divine,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 217 
 
 While thousands listen to th 1 alarming song, 
 And catch conviction darted from his tongue. 
 Parties and sects their ancient feuds forget, 
 And fall and tremble at the preacher's feet ; 
 With horror in the wise inquiry join, 
 " What must we do t' escape the wrath divine V 
 
 Meek, patient, humble, wise above his years, 
 Unbribed by pleasures, and unmoved by fears, 
 From strength to strength the young apostle goes, 
 Pours like a torrent, and the land o'erflows ; 
 To distant climes his healing doctrine brings, 
 And joins the morning's with the eagle's wings ; 
 Resistless wins his way with rapid zeal, 
 Turns the world upside down, and shakes the gates of hell. 
 
 had he kept the post by Heaven assign'd, 
 Sent to invite and waken all mankind ! 
 O had he 'scaped that plague that deadly draught, 
 Which rigid Calvin from old Dominic caught ! 
 Unless to heathen Zeno we ascribe 
 W'hat Mahomet taught his wild elected tribe. 
 Shall Whitefield too mis-spend his noble might, 
 To wash the Ethiop Reprobation white ? 
 Shall Whitefield too to prop the doctrine try, 
 The hellish, blasphemous, exploded lie, 
 The " horrible decree," the foulest tale, 
 The deadliest that was ever hatch'd in hell ! 
 Ajid shall I spare the doctrine 1 spare the fiend 1 
 Th' old Fatalist, the murderer of my friend 1 
 No : while the breath of God these limbs sustains, 
 Or flows one drop of blood within these veins, 
 War, endless war, with Satan's scheme I make, 
 Full vengeance on the hellish doctrine take, 
 Its sworn eternal foe for my own Whitefield's sake ! 
 
 A conviction and feelings equally deep and strong Mr. Charles 
 Wesley manifested in his " Hymns on God's Everlasting Love," which 
 he published during the year 1741, and which were afterward enlarged, 
 and often reprinted. Several of them are eminently beautiful, and 
 breathe a spirit of enlightened and fervent piety : a considerable pro- 
 portion of them, therefore, were inserted in the collection which is in 
 general use in the Wesleyan congregations. They were published not 
 long after the sermon on " Free Grace," the leading principles of which 
 they imbody ; and at the time of their appearance they could scarcely 
 be less powerful in their influence upon the public mind than was that 
 very impassioned and argumentative discourse. One specimen may be 
 given. It is entitled, " The Cry of a Reprobate ;" not of one who \\ u 
 from eternity an absolute outcast from the divine mercy; but one who 
 had been redeemed by the blood of the Saviour, and in opposition to
 
 218 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 repeated warnings, and the gracious strivings of the Holy Spirit, had 
 spent his day of probation in wilful impenitence, unbelief, and rebellion 
 against Christ. While he sinks into perdition, therefore, he confesses 
 that the justice, faithfulness, and compassion of God are unimpeach- 
 able. The composition is a striking example of the writer's energy 
 and spirit. [We retain the last six stanzas.] 
 
 " Hear an incarnate devil preach, 
 
 Nor throw, like me, your souls away, 
 While heavenly bliss is in your reach, 
 
 And God prolongs your gracious day. 
 
 " Whom I reject, do you receive, 
 
 The Saviour of mankind embrace ; 
 He tasted death for all ; believe, 
 
 Believe, and ye are saved by grace. 
 
 " Ye are, and I was once, forgiven ; 
 
 Jesus's doom did mine repeal ; 
 I might with you have come to heaven, 
 
 Saved by the grace from which I fell. 
 
 " A ransom for my soul was paid ; 
 
 For mine, and every sou! of man, 
 The Lamb a full atonement made, 
 
 The Lamb for me and Judas slain. 
 
 " Before I at his bar appear, 
 
 Thence into outer darkness thrust, 
 The Judge of all the earth I clear, 
 
 Jesus, the merciful, the just. 
 
 " By my own hands, not his, I fall, 
 
 The hellish doctrine I disprove ; 
 Sinners, his grace is free for all, 
 
 Though I am damn'd, yet God is love !" 
 
 The reader may now judge whether the comparison between Mr. 
 John and Charles Wesley, to which reference has just been made, is 
 or is not founded in truth. The fact is, Lady Huntingdon's biographer 
 is a decided admirer of Calvin's theological system, of which Mr. John 
 Wesley was, without exception, the most successful opponent that ever 
 lived; and hence the unwillingness to do justice to his excellences. 
 Even Charles's character must be misrepresented, to dishonour John. 
 It is high time that, among all Christian men, such a mode of writing- 
 history was abandoned for ever. It is not true that Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley was either " more kind and generous," or " less positive and hos- 
 tile" to Calvinism, than his brother. In generosity he excelled most 
 men, yet fell short of John ; but in hostility to Calvinism he far sur- 
 passed him. 
 
 " Anger resteth in the bosom of fools ;" but it found no permanent
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 219 
 
 residence in the heart of George Whitefield, and of his brethren John 
 and Charles Wesley. The effervescence of feeling occasioned by the 
 first publication of their respective pamphlets at length subsided, and 
 they wisely " agreed to differ." Mr. Whitefield united with John Cen- 
 nick in the erection of another school in Kingswood, where they could 
 teach their favourite tenets without restraint. In London his friends 
 also rallied round him ; and, having obtained the loan of a piece of 
 ground near the Foundery, he employed a carpenter to raise a tempo- 
 rary building, which they called a " tabernacle," to shelter him and his 
 hearers during his stay in England. Two years before he had declared 
 himself strongly at Fetter-lane against lay-preaching ; but now his views 
 were changed, and feeling his need of help, he called to his aid the 
 unordained brethren, Cennick, Harris, Seagrave, Humphries, and others. 
 In the low and slender " tabernacle" these excellent men preached 
 " electing love," and the Wesleys, with their assistants, in the Foun- 
 dery, " universal redemption," to their hearts' content. Yet, while 
 they gave a due prominence to their peculiarities of opinion, they were 
 all mindful of the great end of preaching : the turning of men to right- 
 eousness. They all insisted upon the guilt and corruption of mankind, 
 and the consequent necessity of justification and the new birth. Equally 
 faithful w r ere they all in maintaining, that there is no justification, but 
 through faith in the blood of Jesus ; and no holiness, but that which 
 results from the Holy Spirit's influence. " All was wonderfully over- 
 ruled for good," says Mr. Whitefield, " and for the furtherance of the 
 gospel. A fresh awakening immediately began. The congregations 
 grew exceeding large." 
 
 Toward the close of the following year Mr. Whitefield wrote to Mr. 
 John Wesley to this effect : — " I long to hear from you ; and write this 
 hoping to have an answer. I rejoice to hear the Lord blesses your 
 labours. May you be blessed in bringing souls to Christ more and 
 more ! I believe we shall go on best when we only preach the simple 
 gospel, and do not interfere with each other's plan. Our Lord exceed- 
 ingly blesses us at the tabernacle. I doubt not but he deals in the same 
 bountiful manner with you. I was at your letter-day on Monday. Bro- 
 ther Charles has been pleased to come and see me twice. Behold 
 what a happy thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity ! That 
 the whole Christian world may all become of one heart and one mind ; 
 and that we, in particular, though differing in judgment, may be exam- 
 ples of mutual, fervent, undissembled affection, is the hearty prayer of. 
 Rev. and dear Sir, 
 
 " Your most affectionate, though most unworthy, younger brother in 
 the kingdom and patience of Jesus."
 
 220 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Mr. Wesley's answer to this truly Christian letter has not been pre- 
 served ; but that it breathed the same spirit of candour and of fraternal 
 love, is manifest from the manner in which it was immediately acknow- 
 ledged by Mr. Whitefield. " I thank you," says he, " for your kind 
 answer to my last. Had it come a few hours sooner, I should have 
 read some part of it among our other letters.* Dear sir, who would be 
 troubled with a party-spirit ? May our Lord make all his children free 
 from it indeed !" 
 
 Such was the kindly spirit of the noble-minded Whitefield, after he 
 had felt it necessary so to withdraw from the Wesleys as to pursue an 
 independent course of labour ; and the same affection and esteem they 
 reciprocated toward him, till their work was done, and their disembodied 
 spirits met in the world of perfect light and holiness. It was rather 
 from other parties than themselves that their differences were exas- 
 perated and magnified. They could hold their peculiar opinions with 
 entire and uninterrupted charity. After this mutual reconciliation Mr. 
 Charles Wesley poured out the feelings of his heart in the following 
 
 HYMN FOR THE REV. MR. WHITEFIELD AND MR. WESLEYS. 
 
 Come, Saviour, from above, 
 
 Our dear redeeming Lord, 
 And twist us by thy dying love 
 
 Into a threefold cord, 
 
 Friendship that shall endure 
 
 Long as the life of God, 
 Indissolubly strong, and pure 
 
 As thy cementing blood. 
 
 Thy love which passeth thought 
 
 In every heart reveal, 
 And by a common ransom bought, 
 
 We one salvation feel ; 
 
 We one salvation given 
 
 To desperate sinners show, 
 And preach the throne of God in heaven, 
 
 Set up in man below. 
 
 For this raised up by thee, 
 And on thy message sent, 
 With primitive simplicity, 
 
 To the highways we went ; 
 
 * Mr. Whitefield, as well as the Wesleys, used to hold meetings on particular daye 
 for the purpose of reading to his people extracts from his correspondence, relating par- 
 ticularly to the advancement of the work of God. Many advantages arose from this 
 practice. The people were encouraged, and their sympathies and prayers in behalf 
 of their distant brethren were called forth.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 221 
 
 Nor scrip nor purse we took, 
 But cast the world behind, 
 But cheerfully our all forsook, 
 Our all in thee to find : 
 
 Our sole desire and aim 
 
 Perishing souls to win, 
 Collect the outcasts in thy name, 
 
 And force them to come in ; 
 
 As thunder's sons to rouse 
 
 The dead that cannot die, 
 And fill with guests the lower house, 
 
 And fit them for the sky. 
 
 For this we still remain, 
 By labours undepress'd, 
 And feel the love revive again 
 
 That warm'd our youthful breast : 
 Thou dost the zeal regive, 
 The first uniting grace, 
 , And bid us to thy glory live 
 
 Our last and happiest days. 
 
 Thy mind we surely know, 
 
 In which we now agree, 
 And hand in hand exulting go 
 
 To final victory : 
 
 Obedient to thy will, 
 
 We put forth all our fire, 
 Our ministerial work fulfil, 
 
 And in a blaze expire. 
 
 While the controversy respecting predestination was agitated, Mr. 
 Charles Wesley's pious zeal still prompted him to labour in every pos- 
 sible way to advance the cause of Christ. His exertions were in per- 
 fect consistency with his creed. He felt that Christ was both able and 
 willing to save, and he was anxious to fix the attention of all mankind 
 upon the Redeemer's sacrifice, compassion, and saving power. Of his 
 mother's strength of understanding, and general sincerity and upright- 
 ness, he had no doubt ; but he appears to have had serious apprehen- 
 sions that she had only inadequate views of the Christian salvation, 
 and of the faith by which it is obtained ; and that therefore her spi- 
 ritual state coidd not be contemplated with entire satisfaction. Under 
 these impressions he addressed to her a letter on the subject, which 
 she immediately answered. His letter has not been preserved, and 
 only a part of hers is forthcoming ; but that part is of very superior 
 value and importance. It proves that her apprehensions of religion 
 were more evangelical than her sons supposed. The spiritual enjoy- 
 ments with which they were only recently made acquainted, she had
 
 222 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 known many years before, but had unhappily lost them through unfaith- 
 fulness. Her hints to Charles, not to undervalue the good that was in 
 him before he obtained the abiding witness of his personal adoption, 
 show a just discrimination, and were especially seasonable : — 
 
 " October 2d, 1740. Dear Charles, — I do heartily join with you in 
 giving God thanks for your recovery. He hath many wise reasons for 
 every event of providence, far above our apprehension ; and I doubt 
 not but his having restored you to some measure of health again will 
 answer many ends which as yet you are ignorant of. 
 
 " I thank you for your kind letter. I call it so, because I verily be- 
 lieve it was dictated by a sincere desire of my spiritual and eternal 
 good. There is too much truth in many of your accusations ; nor do I 
 intend to say one word in my own defence ; but rather choose to refer 
 all things to Him that knoweth all things. But this I must tell you : 
 You are somewhat mistaken in my case. Alas ! it is far worse than 
 you apprehend it to be ! I am not one of those who have never been , 
 enlightened, or made partaker of the heavenly gift, or of the Holy 
 Ghost ; but have many years since been fully awakened, and deeply 
 sensible of sin, both original and actual. But my case is rather like 
 that of the church of Ephesus. I have been unfaithful to the talents 
 committed to my trust, and have lost my first love. ' Yet is there hope 
 in Israel concerning this thing.' I do not, and by the grace of God I 
 will not, despair ; for even since my sad defection, when I was almost 
 without hope, when I had forgotten God, yet I then found he had not 
 forgotten me : for even then he did by his Spirit apply the merits of 
 the great atonement to my soul, by telling me that Christ died for me. 
 And shall the God of truth, the almighty Saviour, tell me that I am 
 interested in his blood and righteousness, and shall I not believe him ? 
 God forbid. I do, I will believe ; and though I am the greatest of 
 sinners, that does not discourage me : for all my transgressions are the 
 sins of a finite person ; but the merits of our Lord's sufferings and 
 righteousness are infinite ! If I do want any thing without which I 
 cannot be saved ; (of which I am not at present sensible ;) then I be- 
 lieve I shall not die before that want be supplied. 
 
 " You ask many questions which I care not to answer ; but I refer 
 you to our dear Lord, who will satisfy you in all things necessary for 
 you to know. I cannot conceive why you affirm yourself to be no 
 Christian ; which is, in effect, to tell Christ to his face, that you have 
 nothing to thank him for ; since you are not the better for any thing he 
 hath yet done or suffered for you. O what great dishonour, what won- 
 drous ingratitude, is this to the ever-blessed Jesus ! I think myself far 
 from being so good a Christian as you are, or as I ought to be ; but
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 223 
 
 God forbid I should renounce the little Christianity I have : nay, rather 
 let me grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 " I know not what other opinion people may have of human nature ; 
 but, for my part, I think, that without the grace of God we are utterly 
 incapable of thinking, speaking, or doing any thing good ; and, there- 
 fore, if in any part of our life we have been enabled to perform any thing 
 good, we should give God the glory. If we have not improved the 
 talents given us, the fault is our own. But I find this is a way of 
 talking much used among these people, which has much offended me ; 
 and I have often wished they would talk less of themselves, and more 
 of God. I often hear loud complaints of sin, &c, but rarely, very 
 rarely, any word of praise and thanksgiving to our dear Lord, or ac- 
 knowledgment of his infinite ." 
 
 This letter shows that Mrs. Wesley's spirit was not pharisaical. 
 She distinctly acknowledges the entire corruption and helplessness of 
 human nature ; and confesses, that she had deeply felt her own de- 
 pravity, guilt, and demerit before God. Although she does not speak 
 of the nature and method of deliverance with the clearness that charac- 
 terized the teaching of her sons, when their views were matured, and 
 their hearts were established with grace ; yet she expected salvation 
 only from the mercy of God, through the death and intercession of the 
 Lord Jesus. At this period both the brothers undervalued the grace 
 which they had previously received, and which led them to do and 
 suffer many things for the glory of God, and the benefit of mankind. 
 It is, nevertheless, undeniable, that until they received and exemplified 
 the doctrine of present salvation from the guilt and power of sin by 
 faith in Christ, they had neither of them attained to the true Christian 
 character, as it is described in the apostolical epistles. This the ex- 
 cellent mother herself afterward perceived, and entered by faith into a 
 higher state of spiritual enjoyment and of holiness than she had here- 
 tofore experienced. 
 
 The biographers of Mr. John Wesley have represented his situation, 
 for a little while after the withdrawal of Mr. Whitefield from him, as 
 one of peculiar difficulty and trial, arising from the leaning of his 
 brother toward the Moravians, and consequent inclination to retire 
 from the "itinerant ministry in which he had been so signally owned of 
 God. On this subject much misapprehension has prevailed. All the 
 information that we possess concerning it lies in a very small compass. 
 It is contained in a passage of Mr. John Wesley's Journal ; in a letter 
 which he addressed to Charles ; and in a paragraph of one of Lady 
 Huntingdon's letters. They are as follows : —
 
 224 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 "Jan. 22d, 1741. I began expounding," says Mr. John Wesley, 
 speaking of the Foundery in London, " where my brother had left off; 
 namely, at the fourth chapter of the first Epistle of St. John. He had 
 not preached the morning before; nor intended to do it any more. 
 ' The Philistines are upon thee, Samson.' But the Lord is ' not de- 
 parted from thee.' He shall strengthen thee yet again, and thou shalt 
 be ' avenged of them for the loss of thy eyes.' " 
 
 In a letter which Mr. John Wesley addressed to Charles on the 21st 
 of April following, it is said, " O my brother, my soul is grieved for 
 vou. The poison is in you. Fair words have stolen away your heart. 
 ' No English man or woman is like the Moravians !' So the matter is 
 come to a fair issue. Five of us did stand together a few months 
 since ; but two are gone to the right hand, Hutchins and Cennick ; and 
 two more to the left, Mr. Hall and you. Lord, if it be thy gospel which 
 I preach, arise, and maintain thine own cause ! Adieu !" 
 
 During the same year Lady Huntingdon, who was then a personal 
 friend of the Wesleys, and had belonged to the society in Fetter-lane, 
 writing to Mr. John Wesley, under the date of October 24th, somewhat 
 obscurely says, " Your answer to the former part of mine has quite 
 silenced me on that subject. But I believe your brother's journal will 
 clear up my meaning more fully to you ; for I should labour very much 
 to have as few snares in his way as possible. Since you left us, the 
 still ones are not without their attacks. I fear much more for him than 
 for myself, as the conquest of the one would be nothing to the other. 
 They have, by one of their agents, reviled me very much ; but I have 
 taken no sort of notice, as if I had never heard it. I comfort myself very 
 much, that you will approve a step with respect to them your brother 
 and I have taken. No less than his declaring open war with them. 
 He seemed under some difficulty about it at first, till he had free liberty 
 given him to use my name, as the instrument in God's hand, that had 
 delivered him from them. I rejoice much at it, hoping it might be a 
 means of working my deliverance from them. I have desired him to 
 enclose to them yours on Christian perfection. The doctrine therein 
 contained I hope to live and die by. It is absolutely the most com- 
 plete thing I know. God hath helped your infirmities. His Spirit 
 was with you of a truth. You cannot guess how I in spirit rejoice 
 over it. 
 
 " Your brother is also to give his reasons for quite separating ; and I 
 am to have a copy of the letter he sends them, to keep by me. I have 
 great faith, God will not let him fall. He will surely have mercy on 
 him ; and not on hiin only ; for many would fall with him. I feel he 
 would make me stagger through his fall. But I fly from them as far as 
 pole from pole ; for I will be sound in my obedience. His natural
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 225 
 
 parts, his judgment, and the improvement he has made, are so far above 
 the highest of them, that I should imagine nothing but frenzy had 
 seized upon him. But when I consider him, with so many advocates 
 for the flesh about him, having the form of angels of light, my flesh 
 trembleth for fear of him ; and I should have no comfort, did I not 
 know assuredly, that He that is for him is greater than he that is against 
 him. 
 
 " When you receive his journal you will rejoice much when you 
 come to Thursday, October 15th. I think you must have felt our hap- 
 piness. It was more than I can express. I will not allow you to call 
 me a still branch. I spoke so strongly against boasting, I can desire 
 nothing at present, but that my name may be cast out from among men ; 
 and that you and your brother might think on me as you do on no one 
 else. I am sure God will reward you ten thousand times for your 
 labour of love to my soul. I am sine of your prayers. You are con- 
 tinually borne upon my heart to God, as well as the flock over whom 
 the Holy Ghost has made you overseer." 
 
 From these statements it appears, that in the month of January, 
 1741, Mr. Charles Wesley was engaged in the public delivery of ex- 
 pository discourses on the first Epistle of St. John, at the early hour 
 of five o'clock, in the Foundery, when he suddenly desisted, and 
 expressed his intention to proceed no further in that service. He did 
 this under an influence foreign from himself. " The Philistines were 
 upon him." Yet his brother perceived that his piety was not lost. In 
 this instance he was acting under a mistaken sense of duty, and not 
 under the power of a corrupt motive. He was not forsaken by God, 
 who would deliver him from the temporary delusion, and " avenge 
 him for the loss of his eyes," by enabling him to resume his very 
 effective ministry, and bear a decisive testimony against the mischiev- 
 ous novelties which were then entertained. 
 
 The influence under which Mr. Charles Wesley acted at this time 
 was doubtless of a Moravian character. Molther, whose doctrine was 
 the most bold and revolting, was recalled to Germany ; and his place 
 was supplied by Peter Bdhler, who had now returned to England, 
 where he had formerly been a means of spiritual good to many. He 
 would not disavow the tenets which Molther had maintained, but ex- 
 pressed his persuasion that Molther had been misunderstood ; of which, 
 indeed, there is no probability, his doctrine being thoroughly sifted at 
 the time, and too clearly explained by the conduct of the people who 
 received it. Mr. Hall, the brother-in-law of the Wesleys, was now in 
 London, and also their esteemed friend Mr. Gambold, of Stanton-Har- 
 court ; both of whom avowed and advocated the views of the Moravian 
 Church ; and they appear to have succeeded in partially warping 
 
 15
 
 226 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Charles's better judgment. A few days after he had discontinued 
 his morning services at the Foundery, these two Moravian converts 
 waited upon the brothers. Their visit is thus described by Mr. John 
 Wesley : — 
 
 " Our old friends, Mr. Gambold and Mr. Hall, came to see my brother 
 and me. The conversation turned wholly upon silent prayer, and quiet 
 waiting for God ; which, they said, was the only possible way to attain 
 living, saving faith. 
 
 Sirenum voces, et Circes pocula nosti 1* 
 
 Was there ever so pleasing a scheme ? But where is it written 1 Not 
 in any of those books which I account the oracles of God. I allow, 
 if there is a better way to God than the Scriptural way, this is it. But 
 the prejudice of education so hangs upon me, that I cannot think there 
 is. I must still wait in the Bible way, from which this differs as light 
 from darkness." 
 
 These plausible teachers of a smooth and easy way to heaven, Avho 
 alarmed no sinner, and confounded no Pharisee, — who encountered no 
 mobs, and carefully shunned all the shame and inconvenience of field- 
 preaching, quietly leaving the world to sleep on, and take its rest, — 
 appear to have been " the Philistines," who, if they did not " put out" 
 Charles's " eyes," dimmed his perceptions of truth and duty, and led 
 him to falter in his glorious career of evangelical labour. But not long ; 
 his strength was yet unimpaired ; and scarcely had a week passed 
 before he was found again in the pulpit of the Foundery ; and John 
 bore the following testimony to his faithfulness : — " My brother returned 
 from Oxford, and preached on the true way of waiting for God : thereby 
 dispelling at once the fears of some, and the vain hopes of others ; who 
 had confidently affirmed, that Mr. Charles Wesley was still already, 
 and would come to London no more." 
 
 But it has been concluded, from Mr. John Wesley's letter of April 
 21st, that Charles was again inclined to what was called "the German 
 stillness." This, however, is by no means clear. John was then in 
 London, and Charles in Bristol ; so that their intercourse was not per- 
 sonal. Charles had said, most probably in a letter, " No English man 
 or woman is like the Moravians ;" and John, knowing what had occurred 
 a few weeks before, immediately inferred that, a second time, " fair 
 words had stolen away" his brother's " heart." That John was mis- 
 taken in this, we have direct and positive proof. On the very day that 
 he wrote this letter, and under the influence of strong feeling said, " O 
 my brother, my soul is grieved for you ; the poison is in you ;" Charles, 
 as if to refute the imputation, was actually writing his " Short Account 
 
 * " Know'st thou th' enchanted cup, and Siren's song V 
 15*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 227 
 
 of Airs. Hannah Richardson;" which John afterward inserted in his 
 own Works, and which is unquestionably one of the most striking and 
 effective antidotes to the peculiarities which were taught by Molther, 
 that the brothers ever published. Hannah was convinced of sin, and 
 entered by faith into Christian liberty, under Charles's early ministry 
 in Bristol. Some time after she was brought into what Mr. John Wes- 
 ley describes, in one of his sermons, as "the wilderness state." Her 
 mind was deeply depressed under a conviction of the guilt and power 
 of original sin. All this while Charles describes her as a child of God, 
 holding fast her confidence, and, of course, as still accepted in the 
 Beloved : in opposition to the tenets of those Moravians who would 
 have contended that she had no faith, becaiise she was distressed with 
 doubts and fears. In this state she sought and waited for deliverance, 
 not in stillness and quietude, as Molther recommended in similar cases, 
 but in a diligent and prayerful use of all the means of grace, and in the 
 discharge of every religious and moral duty ; for which Charles com- 
 mends her in the strongest manner. 
 
 " For many days and months," says he, " she walked on still in dark- 
 ness, and had no light, but against hope believed in hope ; staggering 
 oftentimes, but not falling through unbelief. Still she bore up under 
 her continual fears of being a castaway. She Avaited in a constant use 
 of all the means of grace, never missed the communion, or hearing the 
 Avord ; though all Avas torment to her ; for she never found benefit. 
 Nothing, she said, affected her: there was none so Avicked as her. I 
 am a witness of her many complaints and Availings. Yet she persisted 
 Avith a glorious obstinacy ; and followed on to know the Lord, Avalking 
 in all his commandments and ordinances blameless. She went on 
 steadily in the Avay of her duty, never intermitting it on account of her in- 
 Avard conflicts. Not slothful in business, but working almost continually 
 with her oavu hands. Most strict was she and unblameable in all her 
 relative duties, and in all manner of conversation. Those who lived 
 Avith her never heard a light and trifling word come out of her mouth. 
 She did not sit still till she should be pure in heart ; but redeemed the 
 time, and bought up every opportunity of doing good. To do good she 
 never forgot, but spoke to all, and warned all, both children and grown 
 persons, as God delivered them into her hands. She was exceeding 
 tender-hearted toward the sick, whether in body or soul. She covdd 
 not rejoice with those that rejoiced, but she Avept with those that wept, 
 and encouraged them to Avait upon God, who hid his face from her, 
 never to be Aveary in well-doing : for in the end, said she, they Avould 
 reap, if they fainted not. 
 
 " See here a pattern of true mourning ! a spectacle for men and 
 angels ! a soul standing up under the intolerable Aveight of original sin ;
 
 228 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 troubled on every side ; perplexed, but not in despair ; persecuted by 
 sin, the world, and the devil, but not forsaken ; cast down, but not 
 destroyed ; walking on as evenly under the load of darkness, as if she- 
 had been in the broad light of God's countenance. Whosoever thou 
 art, that seekest Christ sorrowing, go thou, and do likewise." 
 
 In this state of mind and of Christian diligence, Hannah was seized 
 with mortal sickness, when the Lord restored to her " the joy of his 
 salvation," in all its richness and plenitude ; and she died in a most 
 peaceful and triumphant manner. The entire tract, giving an account 
 of her life and end, is written with singular terseness and spirit. It 
 quickly passed through many editions, and ought never to be out of 
 print. 
 
 The practice of Mr. Charles Wesley at this time fully agreed with 
 the principles which he imbodied in this admirable pamphlet. He 
 exercised his ministry with unimpaired efficiency and power. No man 
 upon earth, not even his brother in London, more fully exemplified the 
 apostolic admonition, " Preach the word ; be instant in season, out of 
 season ; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine." 
 
 What then, it may be asked, does Mr. Charles Wesley mean by the 
 sentence which his brother quotes from one ofhis letters, " No English 
 man or woman is like the Moravians ?" This question admits of an 
 easy solution. He was accustomed to express himself, not in measured 
 and logical tenns, but with warmth and abruptness. The comparison 
 is not between all the professed members of the Moravian Church, and 
 the Arminian and Calvinistic Methodists ; for all the " English," with- 
 out exception, including the English Moravians, are spoken of in lan- 
 guage of comparative disparagement. The fact is, Mr. Charles Wesley 
 was now labouring in Bristol and Kingswood, where strenuous attempts 
 were made to imbue with the doctrine of predestination a people who 
 had but just emerged from a state of semi-barbarism, and who managed 
 their disputes with violence. The bitterness of some was almost incre- 
 dible. One instance may be mentioned, which occurred near the time 
 of which we are speaking. " While I was passing by the Bowling- 
 green," says he, " a woman cried out, ' The curse of God light upon 
 you !' with such uncommon bitterness, that I could not but turn, and 
 stop to bless her. When I asked her why she cursed me, she an- 
 swered, ' For preaching against Mr. .' I had indeed a suspicion, 
 
 from her dialect, that she was one of the self-elect ; but stayed, heap- 
 ing coals upon her head, till at last she said, ' God bless you all.' " 
 
 In the midst of such contention, and strife of words, it would appear 
 that Mr. Charles Wesley recollected, perhaps in a fit of temporary 
 impatience, the meek and gentle Moravians with whom he and his bro- 
 ther sailed to Georgia, and whose sweetness of spirit shone with greater
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 229 
 
 lustre when viewed in comparison with that of the angrv disputants by 
 whom he was now surrounded, and of others who had recently tried 
 his patience in London and elsewhere. It was acknowledged, on all 
 hands, that the genuine Moravians excelled in the passive graces of the 
 Christian character ; and these would appear to be of supreme import- 
 ance to a man whose mind was vexed with the pertinacity of persons 
 who would rather dispute, than either pray, or govern their tempers. 
 
 From Lady Huntingdon's letter we learn, that in the autumn of the 
 year 1741 Mr. Charles Wesley had returned to London, where strenu- 
 ous attempts were made to alienate him from his brother, and connect 
 him with the Moravians ; but all in vain. He sent them a letter of 
 absolute and final refusal. To effect his strict and permanent union 
 with them was indeed a hopeless task. It would have been an open 
 abandonment of the principles which he had most sacredly held through 
 life. The Moravians in England were now a distinct sect; and he 
 had ever been most tenacious of his membership in the established 
 Church, from which nothing could induce him to swerve. He longed 
 for retirement, and often passionately desired to die ; and their quiet 
 doctrine and habits were in full accordance with his inclination ; but 
 he could not reconcile these with the Scriptures, and with his sense 
 of duty. Greatly also was he offended with their views of the ordi- 
 nances of God, and Avith their irreverent phraseology, in reference to 
 the most sacred subjects, especially in investing the Holy Spirit with 
 a female character. He was also deeply grieved with the manner in 
 which they separated from him the dearest of his friends, denying them 
 the slightest intercourse with him, when once they had become mem- 
 bers of the Moravian Church. William Delamotte, the Cambridge 
 student, who was Charles Wesley's own son in the gospel, with the 
 rest of the family, joined the Moravians. The pious youth soon after 
 died ; but even when languishing upon the bed of mortal sickness, he 
 was not allowed to see either of the Wesleys, or any of his former 
 friends who retained their connection with these men of God. Nothing 
 coidd justify such exclusiveness as this. 
 
 Mr. John Gambold, a man of fine genius, and an accomplished scho- 
 lar, was one of the most intimate and confidential friends of John and 
 Charles Wesley ; but he no sooner joined the Moravians, than he 
 resigned his living, renounced all connection with the Establishment, 
 and declined all further intercourse with his old companions. He told 
 Mr. John Wesley that he was ashamed to be seen in his company. His 
 usefulness to the world was now limited indeed. This amiable man 
 and accomplished scholar was sent to an obscure place, Broadoaks in 
 Essex, and intrusted there with the management of a small Moravian 
 school ; thus hiding his talents in the earth, and leaving his friends,
 
 230 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 the Wesleys and Mr. Whitefield, to wear themselves out in the unaided 
 attempt to turn an ungodly nation to righteousness. At Broadoaks Mr. 
 Gambold entered into the labours of Mr. Charles Wesley, who had 
 carried the truth to that place some years before, and successfully 
 preached in the open air. The branches of the Delamotte family, who 
 resided there, transferred their confidence and affection from the Wes- 
 leys to the Moravian Brethren. The Rev. George Stonehouse, of 
 Islington, departed further from the truth than even Mr. Gambold had 
 done. He resigned his vicarage and his ministry, and retired to a vil- 
 lage in the neighbourhood of Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, where he 
 appears to have spent the residue of his days in inglorious " stillness," 
 enjoying the benefits of a quiet religion, and a harmless life. The feel- 
 ings of grief and mortification with which Mr. Charles Wesley contem- 
 plated these things he has strongly expressed in his manuscript poetry. 
 
 The details respecting the practical and speculative errors in the 
 Moravian Church, at the time of its rise in England, are not introduced 
 here with the design of perpetuating ancient feuds, but merely for the 
 purpose of placing the history of Mr. Charles Wesley in its true light. 
 It is but just to all the parties to state, that, in the subsequent years of 
 his life, he was accustomed to speak of these evils as being temporary. 
 He used to remark that, after these unhappy times, a decided improve- 
 ment took place in the Moravian body ; and he cultivated toward its 
 members a kindly feeling to the end of his days. The evils complained 
 of were introduced chiefly by Molther ; and they were perpetuated for 
 some time by Count Zinzendorf, whose theology, as he advanced in 
 life, became more and more unsound, and his influence increasingly 
 mischievous. He drew many aside from that godly simplicity in 
 which they had walked. Indeed it is hardly possible to speak in terms 
 too high of the Christian spirit of the Moravians who accompanied the 
 Wesleys to Georgia, and of their brethren at Hernhuth, when Mr. John 
 Wesley visited them to his great spiritual advantage. They were holy, 
 cheerful, diligent, and devout ; and their discipline was scarcely infe- 
 rior to that of the apostolic churches. 
 
 Mr. John Wesley also, after his formal separation from the Moravian 
 Church, cherished a profound respect for the sound members of that 
 community. On the 1st of May, 1741, he says, " I went to a little love- 
 feast which Peter Bohler made for those ten who joined together this 
 day three years, to confess our faults one to another. Seven were pre- 
 sent ; one being sick, and two unwilling to come. Surely the time will 
 return when there shall be again 
 
 ' Union of mind, as in us all one soul.' " 
 
 The Wesleyan Connection owes to the Moravian Brethren a debt of
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 231 
 
 respect and grateful affection which can never be repaid. Mr. John 
 and Charles Wesley, with all their excellences, were neither holy nor 
 happy till they were taught by Peter Border, that men are saved from 
 sin, its guilt, dominion, and misery, by faith in Christ ; a faith which is 
 the inspired gift of the Holy Ghost, exercised in a penitent state of 
 heart, and immediately followed by the inward witness of God's adopt- 
 ing mercy. The application to themselves of this doctrine was with 
 them the beginning of the Christian life, and the grand qualification for 
 that ministry which was destined to turn the world upside down. Had 
 they not been made acquainted with that master-truth of Christianity, 
 they would never have been itinerant and field-preachers, nor have had 
 companies of awakened sinners to form into religious societies. Dur- 
 ing the last hundred years this doctrine has ever been the most promi- 
 nent subject of the Methodist ministry, in the United Kingdom, on the 
 American continent, and in the wide mission field. The faithful, 
 affectionate, and experimental inculcation of this doctrine has unques- 
 tionably been, under God, the great secret of the power and success 
 of Methodist preaching. God, in the merciful dispensations of his 
 providence, might indeed, by other means, have given the Wesleys a 
 knowledge of this essential element of evangelical truth ; but he did 
 not. Peter Bohler was his honoured instrument of imparting this 
 benefit to the brothers, and consequently to the millions of their spiritual 
 children. 
 
 The Moravian Brethren are at present comparatively few in number ; 
 and yet. their missions, which are widely diffused through the hea- 
 then world, are carried on with exemplary zeal and patience. In sup- 
 porting this noble enterprise of charity their sacrifices and privations 
 must be great and painful. Few things, it is conceived, would be more 
 becoming in itself, or more acceptable to the adorable Saviour and 
 head of all " the churches of the saints," — or be a finer example of 
 catholic love, in these days of bitter exclus'iveness, — than a pecuniary 
 contribution from the Wesleyan body in behalf of the Moravian mis- 
 sions, as an acknowledgment of God's goodness in sending Peter 
 Bohler so opportunely to England, when Mr. John and Charles Wes- 
 ley were anxiously inquiring, " What must we do to be saved ?" The 
 writer of this narrative hopes that his Wesleyan brethren will give due 
 attention to this suggestion ; which is advanced with all deference and 
 respect, but with great earnestness and sincerity.
 
 232 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 We have already seen the part which Mr. Charles Wesley took in 
 the controversies concerning predestination, and the nature of Christian 
 ordinances as means of grace, which agitated the societies in London, 
 Bristol, and Kingswood. In full concurrence with his brother, he 
 steadily adhered to the doctrine of general redemption ; and, with the 
 exception of a momentary hesitation, occasioned by the smooth and 
 self-pleasing representations of Mr. Hall, Gambold, and Stonehouse, he 
 not only enforced the duties of religion with unflinching fidelity, but 
 was an example of what he taught. There is a chasm in his journal 
 from January 1st to the 4th of April, 1741 ; when we find him at Bris- 
 tol, Kingswood, and the vicinity, preaching with undiminished zeal 
 and success. He did not return to London till the autumn. During 
 the summer he paid three visits to Wales, not for the purpose of finding 
 relaxation in its moimtain scenery, but to minister the word of life to 
 dying men. 
 
 Many were the spiritual children which he had in Bristol and its 
 neighbourhood, whose improving piety and upright conduct he wit- 
 nessed with gratitude, and who, he was pleased to believe, would be 
 his joy and the crown of his rejoicing in the day of the Lord. He was 
 now called to visit many of them on the bed of death, and to witness 
 their departure from the toils and afflictions of mortality. Several of 
 them died during his stay in Bristol ; and their " latter end" was indeed 
 such as to strengthen his conviction, that the conversions which had 
 taken place in connection with his ministry, and that of his fellow- 
 labourers, were, as he had ever regarded them, " the work of God." 
 The people died in the faith and hope of the gospel, " looking for the 
 mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life ;" and their funerals, 
 like those of the primitive Christians, were celebrated as solemn festi- 
 vals, where tears of sorrow were mingled with tears of joy. The 
 members of the society used to assemble in considerable numbers, and 
 follow the remains of their departed friends to the grave. Mr. Charles 
 Wesley often attended ; he composed hymns suited to the occasions, 
 which he called upon the people to sing ; and he addressed them on the 
 subject of death and eternity. The civil authorities in Bristol were 
 then remiss, and unfriendly to the Wesleys and their converts ; so that 
 when 'the Methodist funerals passed along the streets of that ancient 
 and pious city, the mourners and their friends were pelted with mud 
 and stones, by persons of " the baser sort," who knew that they could 
 perpetrate the outrage with impunity. A few examples, selected
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 233 
 
 from Mr. Charles Wesley's journal, will show the power of religion 
 among the Methodists at this period. 
 
 "April 11th. I found a dying sinner rejoicing in God her Saviour. 
 At the sight of me she cried out, O how loving is God to me ! But he 
 is loving to every man. He loves every soul as well as he loves mine.' 
 Many like words she uttered in triumphant faith, and witnessed in death 
 the universal love of Christ Jesus. 
 
 " April 12th. To-day He called forth another of his dying witnesses : 
 the young woman whom at my last visit I left in utter despair. This 
 morning she broke out into, ' I see, I see it now, that Jesus Christ died 
 for me, and for all the world.' From that time she testified, with much 
 assurance, that Christ gave his life a ransom for all. Some of her 
 words to me were, ' Death stares me in the face ; but I fear him not. 
 He cannot hurt me ; 
 
 'And Death may shake his dart in vain !' 
 Your report is true. God is love ; pure love ; love to every man. 
 The Spirit which is in me tells me, that Jesus Christ died for me, and 
 the whole world.' 
 
 " The next I saw was our brother S — , 
 
 ' With joyful eyes, and look divine, 
 Smiling and pleased in death.' 
 
 He likewise had in himself the witness of God's all-redeeming love ; 
 and could stake his soul upon the truth of it. 
 
 " April 20th. Returning from Baptist-mills, I heard that our sister 
 Richardson had finished her course. My soul was filled with strong 
 consolation, and struggled as it were to go out after her, ' as heaven- 
 ward endeavouring.' Jesus ! my time is in thy hand. Only let me so 
 follow her, as she has followed thee. The voice of thanksgiving was 
 in the congregation while I spake of her death. Our sister Parnel has 
 proved a true prophet, that many of the society would quickly follow 
 her ; but God would first finish his work, and cut it short in righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 " April 22d. I hastened to the joyful funeral of our sister Richard- 
 son. The room was crowded within and without. My subject was, 
 ' I know that my Redeemer liveth,' &c. Job xix, 25. I spoke 
 searchingly to the hearsay believers ; and then largely of her whose 
 faith they might safely follow. Great was my glorying and rejoicing 
 over her. She being dead, yet spoke in words of faith and love, which 
 ought to be had in remembrance. Surely her spirit was present with 
 us, and we were in a measure partakers of her joy ; a joy unspeakable 
 and full of glory. 
 
 " The whole society followed her to her grave, through all the city.
 
 234 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Satan raged exceedingly in his children, who threw dirt and stones at 
 us ; but the bridle was in their mouths. After the burial we joined^ in 
 the following hymn : — 
 
 Come let us who in Christ believe, 
 
 With saints and angels join ; 
 Glory, and praise, and blessing give, 
 
 And thanks, and grace divine. 
 
 Our friend, in sure and certain hope, 
 
 Hath laid her body down, 
 She knew that Christ will raise her up, 
 
 And give the heavenly crown. 
 
 To all who his appearing love, 
 
 He opens paradise ; 
 And we shall join the hosts above, 
 
 And we shall grasp the prize. 
 
 Then let us wait to see the day, 
 
 To hear the welcome word, 
 To answer, — ' Lo ! we come away, 
 
 We die to meet our Lord !' 
 
 " May 1st. I visited a sister dying in the Lord ; and then two others, 
 one mourning after, the other rejoicing in, God her Saviour. 
 
 " May 4th. I passed an hour in weeping with some that wept ; then 
 rejoiced over our sister Hooper. The more the outward man decayeth, 
 the inner man is renewed. For one whole night she had wrestled with 
 all the powers of darkness. This is that evil day, that fiery trial. But 
 having done all, she stood unshaken. From henceforth she was kept 
 in peace, and that wicked one touched her not. 
 
 " I saw my dear friend again, in great bodily weakness, but strong 
 in the Lord, and in the power of his might. \ The Spirit,' said she, 
 ' bears witness every moment with my spirit, that I am a child of God.' 
 I spoke with her physician, who said he had little hope of her re- 
 covery : ' Only,' added he, ' she has no dread upon her spirits, which 
 is generally the worst symptom. Most people die for fear of dying ; 
 but I never met with such people as yours. They are none of them 
 afraid of death ; but calm, and patient, and resigned to the last.' He 
 had said to her, ' Madam, be not cast down.' She answered, smiling, 
 ' Sir, I shall never be cast down.' 
 
 " May 6th. I found our sister Hooper just at the haven. She ex- 
 pressed, while able to speak, her fulness of confidence and love ; her 
 desire to be with Christ ; her grief at their preaching the other gospel. 
 Some of her words were, ' Does Mr. Cennick still preach his wretched 
 doctrine ? what has he to answer for, for turning his poor sister out
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 235 
 
 of the way ! But my Lord will pity, and not suffer her to die in that 
 delusion.' 
 
 " At my next visit I saw her in her last conflict. The angel of death 
 was come ; and there were but a few moments between her and a 
 blessed eternity. We poured out our souls to God for her, her chil- 
 dren, and ourselves, the Church, and ministers, and all mankind. I 
 had some perception of her joy. My soul was tenderly affected for 
 her sufferings ; yet the joy swallowed up the sorrow. How much 
 more then did her consolations abound ! The servants of Christ suffer 
 nothing. I asked her whether she was not in great pain. ' Yes,' she 
 answered ; ' but in greater joy. I would not be without either.' ' But 
 do you prefer life or death ?' She replied, ' All is alike to me. Let 
 Christ choose. I have no will of my own.' This is that holiness, or 
 absolute resignation, or Christian perfection. 
 
 " Two days ago I asked her if she expected to recover. She an- 
 swered, God had, at the beginning of her sickness, given her notice 
 of her departure. And I now remember, she told me, some months 
 ago, that Mrs. Parnel, on her death-bed, said, ' You shall shortly fol- 
 low me.' 
 
 " A few moments before her last, I found such a complication of 
 grief, joy, love, envy, as quite overpowered me. I fell upon the bed, 
 and in that instant her spirit ascended to God. I felt our souls were 
 knit together by the violent struggle of mine to follow her. 
 
 " When I saw the breathless temple of the Holy Ghost, my heart 
 was still, and a calm resignation took place. We knelt down, and gave 
 God thanks from the ground of our heart. 
 
 " After her death they found a memorandum in her hand-writing : 
 ' On such a day Mr. Wesley came to town. The next day I received 
 a fresh witness. Nov. 2d, early in the morning, I received such a 
 manifestation of God's love as is not to be expressed.' 
 
 " One night, I remember, she told me, she knew, while coming to 
 us, we should have that extraordinary power among the bands : that in 
 the way, God had given her a sight of the new Jerusalem. This she 
 did not mention to others, nor indeed many manifestations of Christ, 
 being exceedingly jealous lest she shoidd take any glory to herself. 
 O that all who tell what God hath done for their souls would tell it 
 with like humble reverence ! 
 
 " May 8th. We solemnized the funeral of our sister Hooper, and re- 
 joiced over her with singing ; particularly that hymn which concludes, 
 
 ' Thus may we all our parting breath 
 Into the Saviour's hands resign ! 
 sister ! let me die thy death, 
 And let thy latter end be mine !'
 
 236 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " My text was, ' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.' 
 A great multitude attended her to her grave. There we sung another 
 hymn of triumph ; and I found myself pressed in spirit to speak to those 
 who contradicted and blasphemed. While I reasoned on death, and 
 judgment to come, many trembled. One woman cried out in horrible 
 agony. We returned to the room, and continued our solemn rejoicings, 
 desiring all to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. 
 
 " May 14th. I visited our sister Lillington, whom her Saviour had 
 brought to a bed of sickness before she knew he was her Saviour. She 
 told me, two nights ago she saw herself as it were dropping into hell, 
 when suddenly a ray of light was darted into her soul, and filled her 
 with all joy and peace in believing. All fear of hell, death, and sin, 
 fled away in that same moment. 
 
 " I saw two more of our sick sisters, then two of the brethren, in 
 Kingswood, who were all rejoicing in hope of a speedy dissolution. 
 
 " May 15th. I saw our sister Lillington again, still without fear, de- 
 siring nothing but to be with Christ. ' I never felt,' said she, ' such 
 love before. I love every soul : I am all love ; and so is God. He is 
 loving unto every man. He would have all men to be saved.' 
 
 "May 16th. I visited another of our sisters, who was triumphing 
 over death. I asked her, ' Do you know Christ died for you V ' Yes,' 
 she answered joyfully ; ' for me, and for the whole world. He has 
 begun, and he will finish, his work in my soul.' ' But will he save 
 you,' I said, ' from all sin V She replied, ' I know he will. There 
 shall no sin remain in me.' 
 
 " I was sent for to another, who had lately heard a preacher of 
 reprobation. The tempter would not lose his advantage ; and imme- 
 diately suggested, ' You are one of those for whom Christ did not die.' 
 This threw her into a fever. I found her dying in despair ; preached 
 the true gospel ; (gospel to every creature ;) prayed ; and left her a 
 prisoner of hope. 
 
 " May 20th. I was called to a dying woman, who confessed she had 
 often railed on me in her health ; but was now constrained to send for 
 me, to ask my pardon, or she could not die in peace. We prayed our 
 Lord to speak peace and pardon to her soul. Several such instances 
 have we had of scoffers, when their feet came to stumble on the dark 
 mountains. 
 
 " May 22d. I preached a funeral sermon over sister Lillington, and 
 attended her to her grave ; where we rejoiced in hope of quickly fol- 
 lowing her. I gave an exhortation to repentance, though Satan greatly 
 withstood me ; thereby teaching me never to let go unwarned the poor 
 sinners that come on such occasions." 
 
 Such was the spirit in which Mr. Charles Wesley visited the afflicted
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 237 
 
 people of his charge, and the manner in which he laboured for the 
 benefit of the living. These cases, which occurred in the course of a 
 very few weeks, are given merely as a specimen. His journal abounds 
 with similar accounts. The anointing of the Holy One rested upon 
 him in its richest plenitude. In the exercise of his ministry he laid 
 great stress upon the universality of Christ's atonement, and with the 
 most perfect confidence offered to all a full, a free, and an immediate 
 deliverance from sin, and from the torment connected with it. Some- 
 times in preaching he was almost overpowered with feelings of mingled 
 reverence and joy ; and the truth of God, delivered by him, was so 
 clothed with supernatural energy, that, as he distinctly states, almost 
 every day intelligence was conveyed to him from one or more persons, 
 that they had received by faith the salvation which he recommended, 
 with a request that he would offer thanks to the Lord in the public 
 congregation on their account. 
 
 "April 14th. While I was, in great love," says he, "warning the 
 bands, the Spirit of power came down ; the Fountain was set open ; 
 my mouth and heart were enlarged ; and I spoke such words as I can- 
 not repeat. Many sunk under the love of Christ crucified, and were 
 constrained to break out, ' Christ died for all !' Some confessed, with 
 tears of joy, they were going to leave us, but could now die for the truth 
 of the doctrine. 
 
 " April 23d. I sharply reproved three or four inflexible Pharisees ; 
 then prayed the Lord to give me words of consolation ; and imme- 
 diately I was filled with power, which broke out as a mighty torrent. 
 All our hearts caught fire as in a moment ; and such tears and strong 
 cryings followed as quite drowned my voice. I sat still, while the 
 prayer of the humble pierced the clouds, and entered into the ears of 
 the Lord of Sabaoth. All present received an answer of peace ; and 
 from his love in their hearts testified that Christ died for all. 
 
 " The Spirit of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. One prophesied in 
 words that pierced my soul. At last I lifted up the book, and cried, 
 ' The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. Bow down 
 to the written word.' Immediately there was a profound silence, while 
 I read Elijah's contention with the priests of Baal. The God that 
 answereth by fire received my appeal ; and at those words, ' Then the 
 fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice,' a prisoner of 
 hope broke loose, and cried, ' Christ died for all !' She was soon filled 
 with faith, and the Holy Ghost. Not one soul was sent empty away. 
 We were all amazed, and glorified God the Saviour of all men, saying, 
 ' We never saw it on this fashion.' 
 
 " April 25th. I rode to Kingswood, where many were come from far, 
 to spend the night in watching and prayer. We had much of the divine
 
 238 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 presence ; but I remained myself like Gideon's fleece ; till at midnight 
 a cry, ' Behold the Bridegroom cometh !' The flame was kindled, and 
 the Lord our God was among us, as in the holy place of Sinai. 
 
 " April 27th. God every day adds fresh seals to my ministry, as many 
 testify in their notes of thanksgiving. 
 
 " May 3d. At Kingswood, as soon as I had named my text, ' It is 
 finished !' the love of Christ crucified so constrained me, that I burst 
 into tears, and felt strong sympathy with him in his sufferings. In 
 like manner, the whole congregation looked upon Him whom they had 
 pierced, and mourned. 
 
 " I joined our society in thanksgiving for our departed sister, E. 
 Smith, who went home in triumph. She witnessed a good confession 
 of the universal Saviour ; and gave up her spirit in those words : ' I go 
 to my heavenly Father.' We found where she was, by the sweet 
 power and solemn awe with which the divine presence filled us. 
 
 " May 19th. I am more and more confirmed in the truth, by its mise- 
 rable opposers. I talked largely with Mr. H., and urged him with 
 this dilemma : ' For what did God make this reprobate ? to be damned, 
 or to be saved V He durst not say, God made even Judas to be damned ; 
 and would not say, God made him to be saved. I desired to know for 
 what third end he could make him ; but all the answer I could get was, 
 ' It is not a fair question.' 
 
 " Next, I asked him, whether he that believeth not shall not be 
 damned, because he believeth not. ' Yes,' he answered : and I replied, 
 ' Because he believeth not what V Here he hesitated ; and I was forced 
 to help him out with the apostle's answer, ' That they all might be 
 damned who believed not the truth.' ' What truth V I asked again, 
 ' but the truth of the gospel of their salvation. If it is not the gospel 
 of their salvation, and yet they are bound to believe it, then they are 
 bound to believe a lie, under pain of damnation ; and the apostle should 
 have said, That they all might be damned who believed not a lie.' This 
 drove him to assert that no man was damned for actual unbelief, but 
 only for what he called original : that is, for not believing before he was 
 born. ' But where,' said I, ' is the justice of this V He answered, not 
 over hastily, ' I confess there is a mystery in reprobation :' or, to put 
 it in Beza's words, which I then read to him, ' We believe, though it 
 is incomprehensible, that it is just to damn such as do not deserve it.' 
 
 " Further I asked him, ' Why does God command all men everywhere 
 to repent ? Why does he call, and offer his grace to reprobates ? Why 
 does his Spirit strive with every child of man for some time, though not 
 always ?' I could get no answer, and so read him one of his friend Cal- 
 vin's : ' God speaketh to them, that they may be the deafer ; he gives 
 light to them, that they may be the blinder ; he offers instruction to
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 239 
 
 them, that they may be the more ignorant ; and uses the remedy, that 
 they may not be healed.' 
 
 " Never did I meet with a more pitiful advocate of a more pitiful 
 cause ; and yet I believe he could say as much for reprobation as 
 another. I told him his predestination had a millstone about its neck, 
 and would infallibly be drowned, if he did not part it from reprobation. 
 
 " At Kingswood I preached from those much-perverted words, ' I 
 pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me ;' that 
 is, his apostles. He does not take in believers of future ages till 
 verse 20. Then, in verse 21, he prays for the unbelieving world, that 
 (to use Mr. Baxter's words on the place) ' by their concord, the world 
 may be won to Christianity.' (Paraphrase on the New Testament. 
 See again on verse 23.) ' That this lustre of their excellency and con- 
 cord may convince the world that thou hast sent me.' So far is .our 
 Lord from not praying for the world at all, that in this very chapter he 
 prays once for his first disciples ; once for believers in after ages ; and 
 twice for the world that lieth in wickedness ; that the world may believe, 
 that the world may know. 
 
 " He who prays for all men himself, and commands us to pray for 
 all men, was with us, and showed us, with the demonstration of his 
 Spirit, that he is not willing any should perish, but that all should come 
 to the knowledge of the truth. 
 
 " May 22d. I passed the night with my brother at Kingswood, in 
 watching unto prayer. I would this custom were revived among all 
 our brethren. The word of God encourages us to be ' in watchings 
 often.' 
 
 "May 31st. I read in the society my account of Hannah Richard- 
 son's death. She, being dead, yet spoke so powerfully to our hearts, 
 that my voice was lost in the sorrowful sighing of such as be in capti- 
 vity. To several God showed himself the God of consolation also ; 
 particularly to two young Welshmen, whom his providence sent hither 
 from Carmarthen. They had heard most dreadful stories of us Armi- 
 nians, free-willers, perfectionists, Papists ; which all vanished like 
 smoke when they came to hear with their own ears. God applied to 
 their hearts the word of his power. I carried them to my lodgings, 
 and stocked them with books, and sent them away, recommended to 
 the grace of God, which bringeth salvation to all men. 
 
 "June 16th. I spoke with one of the bands, most barbarously used 
 by her husband, because she will not forsake God and his people. A 
 hundred times, she said, has he carried a knife to bed with him, to cut 
 her throat. Her soul is alway in her hand. She sleeps in the shadow 
 of death, and fears no evil. She ventures her life upon that word, 
 4 How knowest thou, O woman, but thou mayest save thy husband ?'
 
 240 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " July 11th. I preached at Bristol ; then among the colliers ; a third 
 time, at Bath ; a fourth, at Sawford ; and yet again, in the wood. Let 
 God have the glory. Preaching five times a day, when he calls me to 
 it, no more wearies the flesh than preaching once. 
 
 " Satan took it ill to be attacked in his own quarters, that Sodom of 
 our land, Bath. While I was explaining the trembling jailer's question, 
 he raged horribly in his children. They went out, and came back 
 again, and mocked, and at last roared, as if each man's name was 
 Legion. My power increased with the opposition. The sincere were 
 melted into tears, and strong desires of salvation." 
 
 In this manner was Mr. Charles Wesley employed in what may be 
 properly called his Bristol circuit, till the 13th of July, when he paid 
 another visit to Wales, where he preached with his wonted energy, 
 and was glad to renew his acquaintance with the three clergymen who 
 had formerly treated him with respect. It was during this visit that he 
 was for the first time introduced to Robert Jones, Esq., of Fonmon- 
 castle, which was a means of permanent spiritual good to that gentle- 
 man, and led to a most affectionate friendship between them. Mr. 
 Jones obtained for Mr. Charles Wesley the use of a neighbouring 
 church, where a minister was offended with the largeness of the con- 
 gregation, and with the doctrine and manner of the Methodist itinerant. 
 It was with great difficulty that he could so far restrain his angry feel- 
 ings as to behave with decency, either to the 'squire, or the stranger. 
 The following notices from Mr. Charles Wesley's journal present a 
 lively view of his preaching, and of the effects which it produced : — 
 
 " July 13th. I set out with our brother Hooper, and by three reached 
 Cardiff. At six I met and laboured to stir up the society ; and the Lord 
 was with my mouth. 
 
 "July 14th. I warned them against apostacy ; and preached in the 
 afternoon to the prisoners, on, ' How shall I give thee up, Ephraim V 
 Above twenty were felons. The word melted them down. At night, 
 for near three hours, I described the grace of God, which bringeth 
 salvation to all men. 
 
 " July 15th. I encouraged them to expect salvation from indwelling 
 sin, from that blessed promise, ' Who art thou, O great mountain 1 Be- 
 fore Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain.' 
 
 " I rode to Wenvo, and asked my brother Hodges, if he had forbid 
 letting me preach. He told me his church, while he had one, should 
 be always open to me. It was full at so short a warning. I read 
 prayers, and preached from Isaiah Hi, ' Awake, awake, put on thy 
 strength, O Zion,' &c. 
 
 " I rode on five miles further with Mr. Wells, Hodges, and others, 
 to Fonmon-castle. Mr. Jones, who had sent for me, received me very 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 241 
 
 courteously. He civilly apologized for his first questions, which he 
 asked me as a magistrate, whether I was a Papist ; whether I was a 
 member of the established Church of England, &c. ; was fully satisfied 
 with my answers ; and found we were cotemporaries at the same 
 college. 
 
 " After dinner he sent to Porthkerry, where, at his desire, the minis- 
 ter lent me his pulpit. After Mr. Richards had made him a promise 
 of it, he sent again, desiring him to act without bias, or constraint, by 
 either granting or refusing the church, as his conscience directed. I 
 read prayers, and preached on, ' God so loved the world !' God was 
 among us, and a mighty tempest was stirred up round about him. He 
 shook many souls out of their carnal security. Never hath he given 
 me more convincing words. The poor simple souls fell down at the 
 feet of Jesus. Their shepherd also was deeply affected, and hid his 
 face, and wept * especially while I was praying for him. After sermon 
 he begged my pardon for believing the strange reports concerning me. 
 God had spoken the contrary to his heart, and the hearts of his peo- 
 ple ; for when we were gone out of the church, it was still filled with 
 the cries of the wounded. 
 
 " I yielded to Mr. Jones's importunity, and agreed to delay my return 
 to Bristol, that I might preach here once more, and pass a night at the 
 castle. Mr. Richards pressed me first to come to his house. I hastened 
 back to Cardiff, and in great bodily weakness showed unawakened 
 sinners their state in dead Lazarus. The word was quick and 
 powerful. 
 
 "July 16th. I discoursed on Lazarus raised; dined at Lanissan, 
 and preached to the society, and a few others, chiefly predestinarians. 
 Without touching the dispute, I simply declared the Scriptural marks 
 of election ; whereby some, I believe, were cut off from their vain con- 
 fidence. The sincere ones clave to me. Who can resist the power 
 of love 1 A loving messenger of a loving God might drive reprobation 
 out of Wales, without once naming it. 
 
 " In the evening, at Cardiff, Mr. Wells and Hodges shamed me by 
 patiently sitting by to hear me preach. My subject was wrestling 
 Jacob. Some whole sinners were offended at the sick and wounded, 
 who cried out for a physician. But such offences must needs come. ' 
 
 " July 17th. I expounded the narrative of the woman healed of the 
 bloody issue. The power of the Lord was present. We took leave 
 of each other with many tears ; and I earnestly exhorted them to con- 
 tinue in the grace of God. 
 
 " I dropped most of my company on the road, that I might meet Mr. 
 Jones at Mr. Richards's. He came with Mrs. Jones ; and was met by 
 a minister, whom, with some others, he had invited to his house, with 
 
 16
 
 242 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 a view of reconciling them to me. None but Mr. Came accepted his 
 invitation. His address was not so smooth as theirs who dwell in 
 King's palaces ; but I said little till I could speak as one having autho- 
 rity. With difficulty Mr. Jones restrained him from breaking out. 
 
 " He flew out on sight of the multitude in the church-yard, and a 
 motion made for my preaching there. It was then proposed to take 
 down one of the windows, that those without might hear ; but on Mr. 
 Carne's again threatening to go away, we went into the church, as many 
 as could, and the rest stood without. 
 
 " Mr. Carnes stood up all the prayers and sermon-time. I never read 
 prayers with more inward feeling. Like strength was given to me to 
 explain the good Samaritan for two hours. Out of the abundance of 
 my heart my mouth spake. Great was the company of mourners, 
 whose tears God put into his bottle : and they shall reap in joy. 
 
 " I could not help smiling at Mr. Came, who had come, as he said, 
 on purpose to judge me ; and his judgment was, ' Sir, you have got 
 very good lungs ; but you will make the people melancholy. I saw 
 them crying throughout the church.' Then he turned on Mr. Jones, 
 and told him, he would make himself ridiculous all over the country, 
 by encouraging such a fellow. I was afraid of despising him ; and 
 therefore pressed on, and left them together. Mr. Jones almost over- 
 came his evil with good ; but could not prevail upon him to come under 
 the same roof with me. 
 
 " However, the poor people were glad to accept of his invitation to 
 hear me again at the Castle. We ate our bread with gladness and 
 singleness of heart ; and at seven I preached to some hundreds in the 
 court-yard. My three brethren, Richards, Wells, and Hodges, stood 
 in the midst of them, and knelt on the ground in prayer, and cried after 
 the Son of David. He breathed into our souls strong desires. O that 
 he may confirm, increase, and satisfy them ! 
 
 " The voice of praise and thanksgiving was heard in this dwelling- 
 place. Before, at, and after supper, we sung, and blessed God with 
 joyful lips. Those in the parlour and kitchen were continually honour- 
 ing, by offering him praise. I thought it looked like the house of 
 faithful Abraham. We called our brethren of Kingswood to be present 
 with us in spirit, and continued rejoicing with them till morning. 
 
 " July 18th. I took sweet counsel with Mr. Jones alone. The seed 
 is sown in his heart, and shall bring forth fruit unto perfection. His 
 wife, a simple, innocent creature, joined us. I commended them to the 
 grace of God in earnest prayer, and then, with my Cardiff friends, went 
 on my way rejoicing. 
 
 " I consented that some should ask Mr. Coldrach for the use of his 
 pulpit. He civillv answered, that he would readily grant it, but the 
 
 16* 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 243 
 
 bishop had forbidden him. ' Doth our law judge any man before it 
 hear him, and know what he doeth V 
 
 "At two I set out for the Passage. The boat was just ready for us. 
 By nine I found my brother at the room ; the Lord having blessed 
 my going out, and coming in." 
 
 Soon after his return from Wales Mr. Charles Wesley had a narrow 
 escape with his life ; and svas called to witness another triumphant 
 death in the society, on occasion of which he himself passionately 
 desired to enter into rest. 
 
 " August 2d. I got unawares, with my chaise, among the coal-pits. 
 We were going to alight, when the horse started, and overturned us. I 
 leaped over both horse and chaise, but our sister Gaseath was thrown 
 out upon her head, and the chaise turned topsy-turvy over her. She 
 lay between the wheels, untouched by either. The horse lay quiet 
 upon his back. We all rose unhurt. ' Lord, thou shalt save both man 
 and beast.' How excellent is thy mercy ! 
 
 " I preached a funeral sermon over our sister Rachel Peacock, who 
 died in the Lord most triumphantly. She had continual joy in the 
 Lord, which made her cry out, ' Though I groan, I feel no pain at all ; 
 Christ so rejoices and fills my heart.' Her mouth also was filled with 
 laughter, and her tongue with joy. She sung hymns incessantly. 
 ' Christ,' said she, ' is in my heart ; and one minute with the Lord is 
 worth a million of ages. O how brave it is to banquet with the Lamb !' 
 She was always praising God for giving her such patience. All her 
 desires were unto the Lord ; and she continued calling upon him, in 
 all the confidence of love, till he received her into his more immediate 
 presence. 
 
 " At the sight of her coffin my soul was moved within me, and strug- 
 gled as a bird to break its cage. Some relief I found in tears ; but 
 still was so overpowered, that unless God had abated the vehemence of 
 my desires, I could have had no utterance. The whole congregation 
 partook with me in the blessedness of mourning." 
 
 Toward the latter end of August Mr. Charles Wesley returned again 
 to Wales. It was the time of the assizes at Cardiff, so that he had 
 many strangers to hear him ; and before his return he preached to the 
 prisoners, and attended some convicts to the place of execution. Those 
 who heard him in the evening were so impressed, as to come to the 
 preaching at five o'clock the next morning. 
 
 " I found our dear friend and brother at Wenvo," says he, " nothing 
 terrified by his adversaries. Their threats, instead of .shaking, have 
 more deeply rooted him in the truth. They have had the same effect 
 upon Mr. Jones. The poor prodigals, who are not yet come to them- 
 selves, say of him, that he is beside himself ; but he is content that
 
 244 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 they fools should count his life madness ; only when any of them come 
 in his way, he speaks such words of truth and soberness as they can- 
 not resist. 
 
 " For three hours we sung, rejoiced, and gave thanks ; then rode to 
 Porthkerry, where I read prayers, and preached near two hours on the 
 pool of Bethesda. The whole congregation were in tears. I returned 
 to the Castle, and met some hundreds of the poor neighbours in our 
 chapel, the dining-room. I exhorted them to build up one another, 
 from Malachi : ' Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to 
 another,' &c. We kept on rejoicing till one in the morning. 
 
 " August 27th. Great power was among us at Cardiff, while I spake 
 on the walls of Jericho falling down ; but much more at the prison, 
 where I recommended to two condemned malefactors the example of 
 the penitent thief. Both were melted into tears. The congregation 
 sympathized, and joined in fervent prayer, that our Lord would remem- 
 ber them, now he is come into his kingdom. 
 
 " I went to a revel at Lanvane, and dissuaded them from their inno- 
 cent diversions in St. Peter's words : ' For the time past of our life may 
 suffice us, to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked 
 in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, and abominable idol- 
 atries.' An old dancer of threescore fell down under the stroke of the 
 hammer. She could never be convinced before that there was any 
 harm in these innocent pleasures. that all her fellows might like- 
 wise confess, ' She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth !' 
 
 " August 28th. I preached again at Porthkerry church. Many cried 
 after Jesus, with the woman of Canaan. It was a time of great refresh- 
 ing. I returned in the coach with Mr. and Mrs. Jones. 
 
 " At six I expounded Isaiah liii, in the court-yard, and was greatly 
 assisted to purge out the leaven of Calvin. I spent the evening in 
 conference with those who desired to be of the society, which was now 
 begun in the name of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all men. I sung and 
 prayed with them till ten ; with the family till midnight. 
 
 " August 29th. I preached on our Lord's seven last cries on the 
 cross, and spoke to the men under sentence of death. God showed 
 my thoughts were not his thoughts ; for the most hardened, whom I 
 had least hopes of, appeared truly justified. He told Mr. Wells and 
 me, he was quite easy ; had no fear of death ; no ill-will to his prose- 
 cuters. ' But had you never any fear of it ?' I asked. ' Yes,' he 
 replied ; ' till I heard you preach : then it went away ; and I have felt 
 bo trouble ever since.' 
 
 " I took horse with Mr. Wynn and Farley ; reached the Passage by- 
 seven ; the English shore by nine ; and Bristol before midnight." 
 
 It would seem that, at this time, opposition of a somewhat formidable 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 245 
 
 kind was raised against the Methodists at Kingswood ; and perhaps 
 this was the reason why Mr. Charles Wesley returned so speedily from 
 Wales, where a wide door of usefulness was opened before him and 
 where he intended soon to rejoin his friends. On the 5th of Septem- 
 ber he says, " I heard that Justice Cr — , and forty more, both of the 
 great vulgar and small, had seized upon Mr. Cennick's house ; and 
 threatened to take ours on Tuesday next. They forget whose bridle 
 is in their jaws." 
 
 Count Zinzendorf was now in London, where he carried the doc- 
 trines of Antinomianism to a greater length than even Molther had 
 done, to the serious injury of the Moravian Church, in which he had 
 acquired a leading influence. The very lax principles which he avowed, 
 in conversation with Mr. John Wesley, are well known, having been 
 published in Mr. Wesley's Journal. On receiving from his brother, in 
 a letter, the substance of that conversation, Mr. Charles Wesley makes 
 the following entry in his journal : — " Sept. 6th. I was astonished by 
 a letter from my brother, relating his conference with the apostle of 
 the Moravians : 
 
 ' If thou art he ! but O how fallen !' 
 Who would believe it of Count Zinzendorf, that he should utterly deny 
 all Christian holiness ! I never could, but for a saying of his, which 
 I heard with my own ears. Speaking of St. James's Epistle, he said, 
 ' If it was thrown out of the canon, I would not restore it? " 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley hastened back again to Wales, which had now 
 evidently become a favourite field of labour. 
 
 " Sept. 9th," at Cardiff, he says, " I preached to the two condemned 
 malefactors, and found them in the passage from death to life eternal. 
 
 " I rode by Wenvo to Fonmon, and rejoiced with that household of 
 faith. I went to fetch our little society from Aberthaw, and returned 
 singing to the Castle ; where I explained the apostle's answer to the 
 jailer, ' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' 
 God gave me words to awaken some, who were lulled fast asleep by 
 the opiate of final perseverance. 
 
 " Sept. 10th. I read prayers at Porthkerry, and applied our Lord's 
 words, Matt, xi, 5 : ' The blind receive their sight,' &c. I preached 
 again from Acts iii, to the self-righteous predestinarians chiefly. Some 
 of them afterward complained to me, that I should say, if they fell from 
 grace after justification, they had better never have been justified at all. 
 Hinc ilia lachryma. [Hence those tears.] I cannot allow them Christ's 
 righteousness as a cloak to their sins. 
 
 "Sept. 11th. I besought my guilty brethren at Cardiff, especially 
 those who are to be executed to-morrow, to be reconciled unto God. I 
 set out directly for Lantrissent, eight Welsh miles from Cardiff, and
 
 246 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 pointed them to the Son of man, lifted up, that whosoever believeth in 
 him might not perish, but have everlasting life. I hasted back, shifted 
 my wet clothes, and attended Mr. Wells and Thomas to the prison. I 
 asked one of the malefactors, ' Are you afraid to die V ' No,' he an- 
 swered ; ' I should rejoice to die this moment.' Both behaved as 
 believing penitents. We had strong consolation in prayer, the amen 
 and answer in our hearts. 
 
 " Sept. 12th. I had only time at the society to offer up a prayer for 
 the prisoners. At five I went to them ; the sheriff being resolved to 
 hurry them away at six, some hours before the usual time. He would 
 hardly let them stay to receive the sacrament. Then he ordered them 
 out, not allowing time to strike off their fetters. 
 
 " They were very calm and composed ; nothing afraid of death or its 
 consequences. One of them assured me, if it was now left to his 
 choice, he would rather die than live. I asked the reason ; and he 
 answered, ' Was I to be any longer in this world, I might sin again.' 
 He also acknowledged that his punishment was just ; not on account 
 of the theft for which ne was condemned, (as to which he persisted in 
 his innocence to the last,) but for another offence of the same sort, for 
 which the justice of man had never taken hold of him. 
 
 " Mr. Wells rode by the side of the cart : Mr. Thomas and I, with 
 the criminals, in it. The sheriff's hurry often endangered our being 
 overturned ; but could not hinder our singing, till we came to the place 
 of execution. I spoke a few minutes to the people, from Gal. iii, 13 : 
 ' Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse 
 for us : for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.' 
 Still I could not observe the least sign of fear or trouble on either of 
 the dying men. They confessed their steadfast faith in Christ cruci- 
 fied ; and are now, I make no doubt, with him in paradise. 
 
 " I preached at night to a numerous congregation of gentry and others. 
 God gives me favour in their sight. O that I coidd make them dis- 
 pleased with themselves ! 
 
 "Sept. 13th. I preached at Cardiff; then at Wenvo; a third time, 
 at Porthkerry ; and the last, at Fonmon. The remainder of the night 
 passed, admonishing one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual 
 songs. 
 
 " Sept. 14th. We sung on till two ; then I rode to a revel at Den- 
 nis-Powis. It was one of the greatest in the country; but is now 
 dwindled down to nothing. I preached Jesus, the Saviour of his peo- 
 ple from their sins. 
 
 " Sept. 15th. I was at another famous revel in Whitchurch, which 
 lasts a week, and is honoured with the presence of the gentry and 
 clergy far and near. I put myself in their way, and called, 'Awake. 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 247 
 
 thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee 
 light.' I trust there was a great awakening among the dead souls. 
 So again at Cardiff, while I showed the state of modern Christians in 
 the church of Laodicea. 
 
 "Sept. 16th. I exhorted the society in private. One accursed thin g 
 is discovered and removed ; their abominably wicked custom of selling 
 on Sundays. I kept a watch-night at Fonmon, and expounded the ten 
 virgins. We continued singing and rejoicing till two in the morning. 
 O that all the world were partakers with us !" 
 
 On the next day Mr. Charles Wesley left Wales, taking Mr. Jones 
 with him, that this wealthy stranger, who was recently turned to Christ, 
 might witness the poAver of religion in the Bristol society, and among 
 the converted colliers of Kingswood. He was greatly impressed and 
 strengthened by what he saw and heard. Mr. Charles Wesley says. 
 " I carried Mr. Jones to Kingswood, where the Lord was mightily pre- 
 sent in his own ordinance. At Baptist-mills I expounded the account 
 of the bloody issue. Great disturbance was made behind me, till I 
 • turned upon the disturbers, and by the law first, and then by the gospel, 
 entirely silenced them. 
 
 " It was a glorious time at the society, where God called forth hie 
 witnesses. Our guest was fdled with consolation, and acknowledged 
 that God was with us of a truth. I introduced him to the leaders of 
 the colliers, with whom he had sweet fellowship. I met the bands, 
 and strongly urged them to press toward the mark. I read them a letter, 
 full of threatenings to take our house by violence. Immediately the 
 power came down, and we laughed all our enemies to scorn. Faith 
 saw the mountain full of horsemen and chariots of fire. Our brother 
 from Wales was compelled to bear his testimony, and declare before 
 all what God had done for his soul. At that time, when the power of 
 the Holy Ghost so overshadowed him, (he assured them,) all bodilv 
 sufferings would have been as nothing. Neither would they feel them, 
 if made partakers of the Holy Ghost in the same measure. He warned 
 us to prepare for the storm, which would surely fall upon us, if the 
 work of God went on. His artless words were greatly blessed to us 
 all ; and our hearts were bowed and warmed, by the Spirit of love, as 
 the heart of one man. 
 
 " Sept. 22d. He would have carried me to some great friends of his 
 in the city, and particularly to a counsellor, about the threatened seizure. 
 I feared nothing but helping myself, and trusting to an arm of flesh 
 Our safety is to sit still. However, at his importunity, I went with 
 him a little way ; but stopped, and turned him back ; and at last agreed 
 to accompany him to Justice Cr — , the most forward of all our ad- 
 versaries.
 
 248 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " He received us courteously. 1 said, I came to wait upon him, in 
 respect to his office, having heard his name mentioned among some 
 who were offended at the good we did to the poor colliers ; that I 
 should be sorry to give any just cause of complaint ; and was willing 
 to know from himself if such had been given ; that many idle reports 
 were spread, as if we should countenance the violence of those who 
 had seized Mr. Cennick's house, and now threatened to take away the 
 colliers' school. 
 
 " I caught up an expression he dropped, that it would make a good 
 workhouse ; and said, ' It is a workhouse already.' ' Ay, but what 
 work is done there V ' We work the works of God, which man cannot 
 hinder.' ' But you occasion the increase of our poor.' ' Sir, you are 
 misinformed. The reverse of that is true. None of our society is 
 chargeable to you ; even those who were so before they heard us, or 
 Avho spent all their wages at the alehouse, now never go there at all, 
 but keep their money to maintain their families, and have to give to 
 those that want. Notorious swearers have now only the praises of 
 God in their mouths. The good done among them is indisputable : 
 our worst enemies cannot deny it. None who hears us continues either 
 to swear or drink.' ' If I thought so,' he hastily replied, ' I would come 
 and hear you myself.' I desired he would ; said, the grace of God was 
 as sufficient for him as for our colliers ; and who knew but he might 
 be converted among us ? 
 
 " I gave him to know, Mr. Jones was in the commission ; who then 
 asked him on what pretence they had seized Mr. Cennick's house. 
 He utterly denied his having any hand in it ; (his own servant, by the 
 way, was one of the foremost in pulling up the hedge, &c. ;) said, he 
 should not at all concern himself; ' for if what you do, you do for gain, 
 you have your reward : if for the sake of God, he will recompense you. 
 I am of Gamaliel's mind : if this counsel or work be of men, it will 
 come to naught.' ' But if it be of God,' I proceeded, ' ye cannot over- 
 throw it ; lest, haply, ye be found to fight against God. Therefore, 
 follow Gamaliel's advice. Take heed to yourselves : refrain from these 
 men, and let them alone.' 
 
 " He seemed determined so to do ; and thus, through the blessing 
 of God, we parted friends. 
 
 " On our way home I admired that Hand which directs all our paths. 
 I rejoiced, at Bristol, to hear that God had laid hold on poor William, 
 .vfr. Jones's man, who is under strong convictions of sin, and continually 
 in tears. In the evening we found, under the word, that there is none 
 like unto the God of Jeshurun. It was a time of sweet refreshment. 
 Just when I had concluded, my brother came in from London, as if 
 sent on purpose to be comforted together with us. He exhorted and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 249 
 
 prayed with the congregation for another half-hour. Then we went to 
 our friend Vigor's, and for an hour or two longer our souls were satis- 
 fied as with marrow and fatness, while our mouths praised God with 
 joyful lips." 
 
 There is a chasm in Mr. Charles Wesley's journal from this time 
 till the 1st of January, 1743. This is the more to be regretted, because 
 it would appear that, during this interval, he entered upon service 
 which was somewhat new to him. As a field-preacher, he had not led 
 the way, but followed in the path of his brother, and of their mutual 
 friend Mr. Whitefield ; and, generally speaking, he had only laboured 
 in those places where they had been before him. But in the course 
 of this year there is reason to believe that he carried the truth into 
 extensive districts where they had never been, and that at the hazard 
 of his life ; especially in Staffordshire, where the colliers, and the men 
 who were employed in the iron-works, greatly needed evangelical light, 
 but were unwilling to receive it. With the particulars connected with 
 his first visit to this county, and to other places in the north, (for he 
 was also at Leeds, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne,) we are not acquainted. 
 But though we cannot trace him through the year 1742, in his various 
 journeyings, nor describe his ministerial labours in detail, several inci- 
 dents occurred during this period which possess a superior interest. 
 
 He united with his brother in the publication of a fifth volume of 
 hymns, the greater part of them written by himself ; for in the midst 
 of his incessant labours, and high spiritual excitement, his thoughts 
 flowed the most naturally in sacred verse. A few months previously 
 he had preached, with deep interest, on " wrestling Jacob ;" and in the 
 volume of this year his incomparable hymn on that subject first ap- 
 peared. It applies, with admirable ingenuity and tact, the patriarch's 
 mysterious conflict, and the happy result to which it led, to the process 
 of an awakened sinner's salvation. The absence of company, the night 
 season, the length of the struggle, the lameness inflicted upon the 
 patriarch, the return of the morning, the communication of the desired 
 blessing, are all brought co bear upon the penitent's deliverance from 
 sin, obtained by praying, agonizing faith, and followed by the joy of 
 pardon and holiness, and by the race for eternal life. The language 
 of this composition is thoroughly English. It is terse and poetical, 
 and the thoughts are as important as they are in accordance with 
 evangelical truth. The sentiments of this hymn are as true to fact, 
 as they are to soimd theology. The divine Angel with whom Jacob 
 wrestled was unquestionably the Son of God ; and that the patriarch 
 received, in the course of that memorable conflict, not merely the 
 assurance of temporal preservation, but actual salvation from sin, is 
 undeniable. From that time his conduct proves him to have been a
 
 250 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 new man. The entire volume is rich in poetry and Christian expe- 
 rience. 
 
 The venerable Dr. Watts was living when this volume appeared, 
 and had acquired a high degree of respect, especially in his own 
 denomination, for the excellent hymns which he had published, 
 and for his version of the psalms of David, adapted to congregational 
 use. He was too generous and pious a man to regard with envy and 
 dislike the gifts which the Author of all good had conferred upon 
 Charles Wesley. " Wrestling Jacob" is said to have especially 
 arrested his attention ; and, with a magnanimity worthy of his talents 
 and character, he exclaimed, " That single poem, ' Wrestling Jacob,' 
 is worth all the verses I have ever written !" Without adopting this 
 sentiment as literally true, every one must admire the feeling by which 
 it was dictated. Whether these two honoured servants of Christ, and 
 of the universal church, ever met in this world, we are not informed. 
 One thing, however, is certain, — no feeling of unholy rivalship existed 
 in either of their minds. The doctor was then in the decline of life. 
 Charles was in all his freshness and vigour. 
 
 On the 4th of April, 1742, Mr. Charles Wesley preached again in 
 his turn before the University of Oxford. When his brother was 
 engaged in that service the preceding year, Charles was in Bristol ; 
 and he says in his journal, under the date of July 25th, " We met at 
 ten to pray for a blessing on my brother's sermon, which he is preach- 
 ing at this hour before the university." John, who was in London, 
 was equally mindful of Charles. " About two in the afternoon," says 
 he, " being the time my brother was preaching at Oxford, before the 
 university, I desired a few persons to meet with me, and join in prayer. 
 We continued herein much longer than we at first designed, and be- 
 lieved we had the petition we asked of God." 
 
 The text upon which Mr. Charles Wesley founded his discourse was 
 Eph. v, 14 : " Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and 
 Christ shall give thee light." The sermon was afterward published ; 
 though not " by request" of the learned body to whom it was addressed. 
 It is plain, simple, and unadorned ; but withal energetic and earnest 
 almost beyond example. The preacher points out the resemblance 
 between sleep, and that state of guilty insensibility and indifference 
 into which the sin of Adam has plunged his posterity ; and he calls 
 upon all who are in this condition to awake out of their fatal lethargy, 
 to contemplate their wretchedness and peril, as fallen creatures, and by 
 a timely application to Christ, and compliance with his will, to avert 
 their impending doom ; assuring them of the willingness of Christ to 
 bestow upon the most unworthy the light of life. The discourse is full 
 of Scripture imagery and expression ; and is addressed with great
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 251 
 
 fidelity and power to the consciences of unconverted men. The ac- 
 complished collegian is lost in the Christian minister, whose heart is 
 all on fire to turn the people from sin, worldliness, and miser)-, to 
 Christ, and holiness, and heaven. It is doubtful whether any sermon 
 in the English language, or in any language upon earth, has passed 
 through so many editions, or has been the means of so much spiritual 
 good. Within seven years of the time of its publication it had passed 
 to a sixteenth edition ; and ever since it has been in constant demand. 
 
 Whether Mr. Charles Wesley ever preached again in the same place 
 does not appear. Some time afterward John was informed that when 
 his next turn came to occupy the university pulpit, a substitute would 
 be provided for him. It is likely that Charles received a similar notice. 
 Yet there is no reason to believe that he was otherwise treated with 
 personal disrespect. 
 
 In this he was more fortunate than his friend Mr. Piers, the pious 
 vicar of Bexley, who was appointed on the 21st of May following to 
 preach at Sevenoaks, in Kent, " before the right worshipful the dean 
 of Arches, and the reverend the clergy of the deanery of Shoreham, 
 assembled in visitation." He selected as his text 1 Cor. iv, 1, 2 : 
 " Let a man account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards 
 of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a 
 man be found faithful." From these words he undertook to show the 
 doctrines which those who sustain the sacred office ought to teach ; the 
 tempers which they should possess and cherish ; and the manner in 
 which they ought to live ; confirming all his statements by quotations from 
 Scripture and the formularies of the Church ; and laying great stress 
 upon those blessed truths of the Reformation which the Wesleys were 
 labouring to revive. Having finished the argumentative part of the 
 sermon, the preacher proposed to inquire, " whether we preach these 
 doctrines, and have such tempers, and lead such lives, as become the 
 high character we bear, ministers of Christ, and stewards of the myste- 
 ries of God ?" The effect of this announcement was such as he had 
 not anticipated. The learned part of the auditory could bear him no 
 longer. The dean rose from his seat, in all the dignity of his office, 
 and walked out of the church ; and the clergy, in a body, followed his 
 example ; leaving their faithful monitor to address himself to the laity, 
 and practically confessing that they could not endure the proposed 
 scrutiny. This untoward occurrence, of course, produced great excite- 
 ment in many quarters ; and Mr. Piers felt it his duty to publish his 
 sermon in self-defence. 
 
 It was therefore printed without delay, accompanied by a faithful 
 and affectionate dedication to the clergy who at the time of its delivery 
 had offered him the public affront. A note at the bottom of the 28th
 
 252 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 page states, " It was just here that the right worshipful the ordinary, 
 together with the clergy, rose up and left me to finish my discourse to 
 the laity." Between the dedication and the sermon there is a list of 
 " books published by the Rev. Mr. John and Charles Wesley, and sold 
 at the Foundery, near Upper Moorfields ;" thus identifying the author 
 with those holy and devoted men who were " everywhere spoken 
 against." There was a propriety in this which did not openly appear. 
 To a certain extent Mr. John Wesley was answerable for the sermon ; 
 for he had been requested to revise it before it was delivered. Hence 
 xhe following notice in a letter to Charles, dated May 17th : " I think 
 of going early in the morning to Bexley, and correcting Mr. Piers's 
 sermon." This, it will be observed, was four days before the sermon 
 was preached. 
 
 Between the delivery of the sermon, and its appearance in print, the 
 pious author addressed a letter to his friend Mr. John Wesley, then in 
 the west of Yorkshire, containing a description of the scene which 
 occurred in the church at Sevenoaks. It is dated, Bexley, May 24th, 
 1742. The following is an extract : — 
 
 " I found the beginning of my discourse listened to gravely ; but the 
 things that I took for granted, seemed matter of novelty to most of them. 
 The division was received with shrewd looks, hems, indignant smiles, 
 and laughter. As the tragical scene arose, that is, as the doctrines of 
 their Church were laid before them, the dislike increased in loud whis- 
 pers, changes of countenance and posture, and other symptoms of 
 uneasiness ; some having been heard to say, ' The man is mad, crazy, 
 a fool ;' till coming to my third head, to inquire whether these doctrines 
 were preached, whether we had such tempers, and led such lives, the 
 ordinary could bear no longer ; beckons to the apparitor to open his 
 pew door, and to the minister of the church, who sat in the desk under 
 me, to bid me stop ; who, putting up his hand to the pulpit cushion, 
 said something so cowardly, that I could not hear. After this, the 
 ordinary, or chancellor, desires me to dismiss the people with the 
 blessing ; ' for there was enough.' I took no notice, but went on with 
 my discourse. Away he sweeps his clergy, (except one or two who 
 .had the face to hold out to the end,) and collects their procurations, 
 while I finished my discourse to an attentive lay audience. 
 
 " After I had done I went to the chancellor's court, a place within 
 sight and hearing of the pulpit, to show them that I was not ashamed 
 of the gospel, the power of God unto salvation. But having nothing to 
 do there, I (who in the morning was honoured with his right 
 worshipful's coach) went on foot to my inn, attended by about twenty 
 of my friends, who came from Bexley. After he had ended his 
 court, he came to his inn, and sent for me very civilly. When I
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 253 
 
 came I was surprised to find him as complaisant as in the morning. 
 He makes me a compliment of my procurations, (a favour always 
 granted to the preacher,) and tells me he ' liked my sermon exceeding 
 well, but that it was too long ; and then entering upon a third head, I 
 found inconsistent with my business.' ' Sir,' said I, ' you seem not to 
 know that the sermon, together with the prayers of the Church, is the 
 most important part of the business of the day. As to the objected 
 length of my discourse, it is altogether a pretence ; for I was but about 
 fifty minutes in all ; and you interrupted me when I had not preached 
 above thirty-five. Sir, I must tell you, you have done what you can- 
 not justify.' I found he had nothing to say ; and do believe that he 
 heartily wishes he had not done what he did, for fear the sermon 
 should appear in print : for, as he recollects, the doctrines being all of 
 the Church of England, he thinks it may make a bad figure in the eyes 
 of the world, that the ordinary of an ecclesiastical court, together with 
 his clergy, cannot bear the doctrines of their own Church, which they 
 have so often subscribed. 
 
 " Indeed I believe it to be an unprecedented thing ; nay, a breach of 
 the law of the land, and that by a judge in the execution of his office : 
 not to say that here are none of the foolish objections to be pleaded in 
 excuse, of ' field-preaching,' or ' breaking in upon the regulations of 
 parishes.' Here, it is plain, nothing can give offence but the gospel of 
 Christ ; the very Scriptural doctrine of our Church. 
 
 " I am acquainted with a clothier's wife, at Wakefield, or Halifax, 
 whose name is Farrar. If you will give my sendee to her, it may be 
 a means of bringing you acquainted with the family, and I hope of 
 bringing salvation to the house. You may tell her that I was acquainted 
 with her when a curate of Winwick. 
 
 " My dear brother, I am for ever indebted to you and dear Charles 
 for having brought me acquainted with our Lord. May he ever knit 
 our hearts to himself, above all things, and to one another in his love !" 
 Two deaths, which took place in the summer of 1742, greatly affected 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's mind. One of these, and the first that occurred, 
 was that of Mr. Jones, of Fonmon-castle, in Glamorganshire, to whom 
 he had been a means of salvation in his late visits to Wales. The 
 other was his venerated mother, Mrs. Susanna Wesley ; a woman 
 never to be mentioned but with profound respect. 
 
 Whether Mr. Charles Wesley ever saw his friend Jones, after they 
 parted in Bristol, toward the close of the preceding year, we are not 
 informed. It is, however, satisfactory to know that this young convert 
 suffered no religious declension, and died in peace and hope. In March 
 he came to Cardiff, to meet Mr. John Wesley, and conduct him to the 
 Castle, where Mr. Wesley preached, as well as in some of the neigh-
 
 254 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 bouring churches, to which he was accompanied by Mr. Jones, who 
 was yet warm in his first love. Mr. Wesley says that he was " still 
 pressing on into all the fulness of God." On the 6th of July following, 
 being again in South Wales, Mr. Wesley says, " I rode over to Fon- 
 mon, and found Mrs. Jones throughly resigned to God, although feeling 
 what it was to lose a husband, and such a husband, in the strength of 
 his years." 
 
 This is all the information that we possess concerning the end of 
 this very excellent man ; who, as we have already seen, sustained the 
 office of a magistrate, and was Mr. Charles Wesley's fellow-collegian 
 at Oxford. Though he was moral in his habits, and a man of polished 
 manners, he lived without God in the world, taking the lead, in his 
 own vicinity, in unhallowed pleasure and gayety, till he heard Mr. 
 Charles Wesley preach ; when he discovered his guilty and fallen 
 condition, and felt that he was a stranger to the peace and holiness of 
 genuine Christianity. By coming to Christ, he found rest to his soul, 
 and was made a new creature. A society was formed of persons like- 
 minded with himself, who held their meetings in his mansion ; and 
 with them he used to unite in prayer, in reading the Holy Scriptures, 
 and in singing hymns and spiritual songs. He also became a faithful 
 witness for God, reproving sin, recommending spiritual religion, and 
 defending divine truth in all circles where he found it assailed ; espe- 
 cially the Godhead and atonement of his Saviour. With the pious 
 colliers of Kingswood, to whom he was introduced by Mr. Charles 
 Wesley, this regenerated man of family, education, and fortune, realized 
 the true communion of saints ; and with all simplicity and fervour he 
 declared to them what God had done for his soul. When laid upon 
 the bed of death his joys were rich and abundant ; and he yielded up 
 his spirit into the hands of his Redeemer with holy confidence and 
 resignation. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley, who was deeply affected with the compara- 
 tively sudden removal of his friend and son in the gospel, and impressed 
 with the excellence of his character, poured forth the feelings of his 
 heart in an elegy of considerable length, which he immediately pub- 
 lished in a duodecimo pamphlet. It was afterward inserted by his 
 brother in the third volume of his " Collection of Moral and Sacred 
 Poems." This elegy, which is written with great spirit, describes Mr. 
 Jones's early life, conversion, subsequent piety, exemplary conduct as 
 a husband and a father, his attachment to the Church of England, 
 catholic spirit, fidelity to his Christian profession, and triumphant 
 death. 
 
 In the midst of his severe labours, it must have afforded Mr. Charles 
 Wesley the most solid satisfaction, that his ministry was a means of
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 255 
 
 carrying into effect the blessed end for which the Son of God was in- 
 carnated, and died upon the cross ; the end for which the apostles 
 travelled, and preached, and bled ; the conversion of men from sin to 
 holiness ; making them useful and happy in life, and conducting them 
 through the valley of the shadow of death, not only " calm and undis- 
 mayed," but full of joy and hope. 
 
 Scarcely had the grave closed upon the remains of Mr. Jones, when 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was called to mourn and rejoice on account of his 
 mother's peaceful removal to the heavenly paradise. She died in 
 London, on the 23d of July, 1742. Three days previously Mr. John 
 Wesley says, " I found my mother on the borders of eternity. But she 
 had no doubt or fear, nor any desire but (as soon as God should call) 
 to depart, and to be with Christ." On the day of her dissolution he 
 adds, " About three in the afternoon I went to my mother, and found 
 her change was near. I sat down on the bed-side. She was in her 
 last conflict ; unable to speak, but. I believe quite sensible. Her look 
 was calm and serene, and her eyes fixed upward, while we commended 
 her soul to God. From three to four the silver cord was loosing, and 
 the wheel breaking at the cistern ; and then, without any struggle, or 
 sigh, or groan, the soul was set at liberty. We stood round the bed, 
 and fulfilled her last request, uttered a little before she lost her speech : 
 ' Children, as soon as I am released, sing a psalm of praise to God.' " 
 
 Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Lambert, Mrs. Harper, and Mrs. Elli- 
 son appear to have been present when their honoured mother passed 
 through her last conflict. Kezzy was not living. She died on the 9th 
 of March, 1741. Where Charles was, we have no means of ascertain- 
 ing. That he was not in London is unquestionable ; for his brother 
 and Mrs. Lambert both wrote to him, giving him an account of their 
 mother's last hours. As these communications contain particulars 
 which have never before been published, an extract from each of them 
 will not be unacceptable. " Yesterday," says John, " about three in 
 the afternoon, as soon as intercession was ended, I went up to my 
 mother. I found her pidse almost gone, and her fingers dead, so that 
 it was easy to see her spirit was on the wing for eternity. After using 
 the commendatory prayer, I sat down on her bed-side, and with three 
 or four of our sisters, sung a requiem to her departing soul. She con- 
 tinued in just the same way as my father was, struggling and gasping 
 for life, though (as I could judge by several signs) perfectly sensible, 
 till near four o'clock. I was then going to drink a dish of tea, being 
 faint and weary, when one called me again to the bed-side. It was 
 just four o'clock. She opened her eyes wide, and fixed them upward 
 for a moment. Then the lids dropped, and the soul was set at liberty, 
 without one struggle, or groan, or sigh. I shall write Lady Hunting-
 
 256 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 don word of my mother's death to-night. She is to be buried to- 
 morrow evening." 
 
 Addressing her brother Charles, Mrs. Lambert says, " This comes 
 to return thanks for all favours, which I ought to have done some time 
 ago ; but I trust the fatigue which I have had will, in some measure, 
 excuse my silence. A few days before my mother died, she desired 
 me, if I had strength to bear it, that I would not leave her till death, 
 which God enabled me to do. She laboured under great trials, both of 
 soul and body, some days after you left her ; but God perfected his 
 work in her- above twelve hours before he took her to himself. She 
 waked out of a slumber ; and we, hearing her rejoicing, attended to the 
 words she spake, which were these : ' My dear Saviour ! Are you 
 come to help me, at my extremity at last V From that time she was 
 sweetly resigned indeed. The enemy had no more power to hurt her. 
 The remainder of her time was spent in praise." 
 
 Mrs. Wesley died of the gout, a complaint to which her husband, 
 and her two sons, John and Charles, were all more or less subject. 
 
 The remains of this venerable woman were interred on Sunday, 
 August 1st, in Bunhill-fields. " Almost an innumerable company of 
 people being gathered together," says Mr. Wesley, " about five in the 
 afternoon, I committed to the earth the body of my mother, to sleep 
 with her fathers. The portion of Scripture from which I afterward 
 spoke was, ' I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from 
 whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was found 
 no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
 God ; and the books were opened : and the dead were judged out of 
 those things that were written in the books, according to their works.' 
 It was one of the most solemn assemblies I ever saw, or expect to see, 
 on this side eternity. 
 
 " We set up a plain stone at the head of her grave, inscribed with 
 the following words : ' Here lies the body of Mrs. Susanna Wesley, the 
 youngest and last surviving daughter of Dr. Samuel Annesley. 
 
 In sure and certain hope to rise, 
 And claim her mansion in the skies, 
 A Christian here her flesh laid down, 
 The cross exchanging for a crown. 
 
 True daughter of affliction, she 
 Inured to pain and misery, 
 Mourn'd a long night of griefs and fears, 
 A legal night of seventy years. 
 
 The Father then reveal'd his Son, 
 Him in the broken bread made known ; 
 She knew and felt her sins forgiven, 
 And found the earnest of her heaven.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 257 
 
 '■ Meet for the fellowship above, 
 
 She heard the call, ' Arise, my love !' 
 
 ' I come,' her dying looks replied, 
 
 And Lamb-like, as her Lord, she died." " 
 
 Mrs. Wesley was honourably descended. Her father was one of the 
 most pious ministers of his age. He was nearly related to the noble 
 family of Anglesey ; and was one of the two thousand clergymen who 
 at the time of the Restoration, chose rather to endure ejectment, with 
 pains and penalties, than violate their consciences by a compliance 
 with what they conceived to be antiscriptural terms of communion. 
 She was well educated ; possessed a very superior understanding, con- 
 nected with independent habits of thought, which she early acquired ; 
 and is said to have been distinguished by great personal beauty. When 
 very young, she renounced the Dissenting community, to which her 
 father belonged, and united herself to the established Church. At one 
 time she entertained the fatal errors of Socinianism, from which she 
 was happily reclaimed by one of the English prelates. Such boldness 
 of speculation in a young la'dy, and that on subjects the most difficult 
 and sacred, is not to be commended. It would have been far more 
 becoming, especially at this early period of her life, to have paid a 
 greater deference to the judgment of her holy and wise father. Her 
 husband was the first man in England that wrote in favour of the revo- 
 lution of 1688 ; but she decidedly disapproved of that great national 
 change ; and, for a time, so disobliged him, as to induce him to leave 
 her, because she would not say " amen" when he prayed for King 
 William ; refusing to acknowledge him as her lawful sovereign : for 
 after her marriage, as well as when she was in her teens, she cherished 
 the habit of thinking for herself. 
 
 As the wife of the . rector of Ep worth, hers was a life of sorrow. 
 Their family was very large, and their income limited. Their embar- 
 rassments were distressing ; and for some time the head of the family 
 was confined for debt in the castle of Lincoln. Though Mrs. Wesley 
 could not say that she had ever absolutely wanted bread, she told 
 the archbishop of York, when he questioned her on the subject, 
 that she had often experienced so much difficulty in obtaining it, and 
 in paying for it when it was obtained, as nearly equalled the pain of 
 destitution. 
 
 As a mother she was, perhaps, never surpassed in sound discretion. 
 It is questionable whether any children in the kingdom were better 
 governed and trained than hers. She formed them to habits of piety, 
 virtue, and decorum ; and so commanded their respect, that to the end 
 of their lives they cherished toward her the most sincere esteem and 
 affection ; for they had an entire confidence in her judgment. 
 
 17
 
 258 LIFE OF -REV. CHARLES WESLEY 
 
 Notwithstanding her temporary alienation from the truth, through the 
 greater part of her life she had a deep sense of the importance of reli- 
 gion, and was conscientiously strict in the discharge of its duties. She 
 knew that for many years her father had walked in the unclouded light 
 of God's countenance ; but she was not aware that this is the common 
 privilege of believers in Christ ; and hence she confessed, that she 
 never dared to ask of God the abiding witness of his Spirit that she 
 was accepted in the Beloved. Hers was rather a religion of fear, than 
 of joyous love. It was a legal night, and not the bright shining of evan- 
 gelic day. But when her two sons, being justified by faith, had peace 
 with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and began to preach this 
 great truth of apostolical Christianity, she fully entered into their views, 
 and waited upon God in the earnest expectation of receiving the same 
 blessing. It was done to her according to her faith. While her son- 
 in-law, Mr. Hall, was presenting to her the sacramental cup, and pro- 
 nouncing the words, " The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was 
 shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life," she 
 was filled with peace and joy in believing, and was assured, beyond all 
 painful doubt, of the pardoning mercy of God to her soul. 
 
 She spent the latter years of her life in the humble dwelling connected 
 with the Foundery, attended the religious meetings which were held 
 there, and even anticipated her sons in the ecclesiastical irregularities 
 which they introduced. When Thomas Maxfield, a pious layman, 
 began to preach, and Mr. John Wesley determined to resist this en- 
 croachment upon the clerical office, she interposed ; warned her indig- 
 nant son against the act which he meditated ; and declared, that the 
 devoted and intelligent Maxfield was as surely called of God to preach 
 the gospel, as John himself was. He took her advice, heard the man 
 himself, and then concurred in her judgment ; as did also his brother 
 Charles. Mrs. Susanna Wesley was as much a Methodist as either 
 o( her sons ; and Charles, who wrote her epitaph, and John, who 
 approved of it, evidently dwelt with delight upon the fact, that, after all 
 her sorrows and fears, she died in the possession of that vital faith in 
 Christ which brings perfect tranquillity to the conscience, and is con- 
 nected with an assured hope of eternal life. It was a high gratification 
 to the sons, that God made them the instruments of conveying to such 
 a mother a blessing so rich and substantial. 
 
 17*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 259 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1743, we find Mr. Charles Wesley in 
 London, preaching in all directions, visiting the prisoners, and labour- 
 ing with unabated diligence in the spread of divine truth. In his 
 attempts to benefit the poor outcasts in Newgate, he met with much 
 vexatious opposition, not from the civil authorities, but the keeper, and 
 the ungodly turnkeys, who acted under the keeper's direction. Though 
 he had a written order from the sheriff, these underlings of office threw 
 every obstruction in his way. Undismayed, however, he persevered 
 in his attempts to convert and save the men that were appointed to die. 
 He was not allowed to enter their cells, but was merely admitted into 
 the yard of the prison. There he used to stand upon a bench ; and the 
 unhappy inmates of the different cells, who knew the voice of this 
 faithful friend, presenting their faces at the iron gratings, listened to the 
 words of truth and mercy. When he preached a present salvation from 
 sin, by faith in Christ, no man withstood him with greater pertinacity 
 than his old friend, Mr. Broughton, one of the Oxford Methodists, and 
 then a clergyman in London. Wherever he could obtain access, 
 whether into Newgate or elsewhere, this zealous opponent of the truth 
 bore a vehement testimony against the doctrine of salvation by faith ; 
 denying to all classes of men the enjoyment of the divine favour. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was doubtless more frequent in his visits to 
 Newgate than he otherwise would have been, because of the ineffi- 
 ciency of the clergymen to whose care the spiritual interests of the 
 prisoners were confided. He reproved some convicts for their levity ; 
 and adds, " They seemed humbled, and awakened to a sense of their 
 condition. Their lightness had been occasioned by that poor creature, 
 the ordinary ; who is worse than no minister at all. Six times they 
 were forced to wake him before he got through the prayers. He 
 might just as well read them in Latin. His life and actions are worse 
 than even his words." 
 
 At this time the apostles of Antinomianism were labouring in different 
 parts of the kingdom to propagate their plausible errors ; and not a few 
 of the Methodist societies were in danger of imbibing the insidious 
 poison. Of this the brothers were aware, and therefore exerted them- 
 selves with all zeal and fidelity to establish them in the belief of the 
 truth. For this purpose they employed the pulpit and the press ; and 
 when they could not personally visit the people who were under their 
 care, they addressed them by letter, in cases of peculiar emergency.
 
 260 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 The following document is a sample. It was sent by Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley to the society in Grimsby, and bears the date of April 27th, 1743 :— 
 
 " My Dear Brethren and Sisters, — I rejoice in your behalf, that our 
 Lord hath given you ears to hear, and a heart to obey, the word of 
 God, rather than man. The foundation standeth sure. The Lord 
 knoweth those that are his ; even all obedient believers ; every one 
 who nameth the name of Christ, and departs from iniquity. Little 
 children, (saith the Spirit expressly,) let no man deceive you. He 
 that doeth righteousness is righteous ; and no unrighteous person, 
 none who doth not do good, shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Jesus 
 is the author of eternal redemption to all them, and them only, that obey 
 him. There can be no true faith, where there is not love : and this 
 is love, that we walk after his commandments. Look to yourselves, 
 therefore, my brethren, that ye lose not those things which ye have 
 wrought ; but that ye receive a full reward. I need only say concern- 
 ing them that would seduce you, and bring not this doctrine, ' Receive 
 them not into your house ; neither bid them God speed ; for he that 
 biddeth them God speed is partaker of their evil deeds.' 
 
 " May the God of all grace, after you have suffered awhile, make 
 you perfect, (for he is able and willing,) strengthen, stablish, settle you. 
 I do not fear your listening to the other gospel, (preached by poor Mr. 
 Parker, and his German friends,) till you listen to flesh and blood, and 
 cast off the yoke of Christ, and all the Scriptures. All the Scriptures 
 are point-blank against them ; and therefore they are wise in refusing 
 to stand by the law and the testimony. They have cast out St. James 
 from the canon. They all reject the whole Old Testament, and most 
 of the New. Nay, some of them have said they saw no occasion for 
 any more than the Epistle to the Romans. Now shall we give up 
 them, or the word of God ? Whether it be right in the sight of God to 
 hearken unto man, rather than God, judge ye. 
 
 " Our Lord fasted, and prayed, and did good. His apostles were in 
 fastings often, prayed without ceasing, confessed Christ before men, 
 did all manner of good, and suffered all manner of evil. In their steps 
 would I rather tread, than in Mr. Parker's. We need say and think 
 no more of them, except to pray for them. Leave them to the Opener 
 of eyes ; and look you unto Jesus, by walking as he walked. Let his 
 word be a lantern to your feet, and a light to your path. Let all Scrip- 
 ture (seeing all is given by inspiration of God) be equally dear to you : 
 but at present you should more especially study what is more especially 
 wanted by you. Read again and again the Epistle of St. James, [that 
 you may have a just view] of stillness. If any of you have even drunk 
 the deadly thing, St. James will help him to an antidote. Should any
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 261 
 
 deny the glorious liberty of the sons of God, (liberty from all sin, liberty 
 to fulfil the whole law,) St. John's Epistles will confirm you in the hope 
 of the gospel. Hold fast, then, my beloved brethren, the sword of the 
 Spirit, which is the word of God. Hold fast the beginning of your 
 confidence unto the end ; for ' to him that overcometh,' saith the Son 
 of God, ' and keepeth my words unto the end, to him will I give power 
 over the nations, even as I have received of my Father ; and I will give 
 him the morning star.' 
 
 " I trust to find you shortly none otherwise minded. Pray ye that 
 the Lord would direct my way unto you To him I now commend you, 
 and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give 
 you an inheritance among them that are sanctified through faith which 
 is in Jesus. 
 
 " We acknowledge ourselves your debtors and servants for Christ's 
 sake. 
 
 " My Dear Brother and Sister Blow, — I pray God strengthen and keep 
 you in your resolution, to be guided by his holy word. Satan desired 
 to have you, that he might sift you like wheat ; but our Lord prayed 
 for you ; and still he liveth to make intercession. Be not henceforth 
 as children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of 
 doctrine ; but speaking the truth in love, (that is, obedience,) let us 
 grow up in all things into Christ our head, till we all come in the unity 
 of the faith, unto a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the 
 fulness of Christ. Remember my kindest love to sister Scudamore. 
 Bid her in all her ways acknowledge God ; and he will direct her 
 paths. I warn Henry Simpson and his wife, in much love, to return 
 to our Lord, in his own way of ordinances and commandments ; for 
 thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Be pleased to give my 
 kind love to every one in particular who inquires after me, or is willing 
 to believe my report. May the Spirit of Jesus dwell with you all, till 
 he is in you a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Pray for 
 " Your affectionate brother in the Lord." 
 
 From London Mr. Charles Wesley went to the west of England ; 
 and after preaching at Bath, Painswick, Evesham, and other places, 
 on the 20th of May, he says, " I got once more to our dear colliers at 
 Wednesbury. Here the seed has taken root, and many are added to 
 the church. A society of above three hundred are seeking full redemp- 
 tion in the all-cleansing blood. The enemy rages exceedingly, and 
 preaches against them. A few have returned railing for railing ; but the 
 generality have behaved as the followers of Christ Jesus. I preached 
 in a garden, on the first words I met : 1 Cor. ii, 1. While I spake of 
 his suffering he looked upon us, and made us look upon him and mount.
 
 262 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Many wept as one that mourn eth for his first-born. I exhorted and 
 entreated the very lively society. Surely among this people I have 
 not run or laboured in vain. 
 
 "May 21st. At five I commended the woman of Canaan as an ex- 
 ample of prevalent importunity. A young man who had been grievously 
 vexed of the devil was now set at liberty. I spent the morning in 
 conference with several who have received the atonement under my 
 brother, &c. I saw a piece of ground, given us by a Dissenter to build 
 a meeting-house upon, and consecrated it by a hymn. 
 
 " I walked with many of the brethren to Walsal singing. We were 
 received with the old complaint, ' Behold, they that turn the world up- 
 side down are come hither also.' I walked through the town amid the 
 noisy greetings of our enemies. I stood on the steps of the market- 
 house. A host of men was laid against us. The floods lifted up their 
 voice, and raged horribly. The street was full of fierce Ephesian 
 beasts, (the principal man setting them on,) who roared, and shouted, 
 and threw stones incessantly. Many struck without hurting me. I 
 besought them in calm love to be reconciled to God in Christ. While 
 I was departing a stream of ruffians was suffered to bear me from the 
 steps. I rose, and, having given the blessing, was beaten down again. 
 So the third time, when we had returned thanks to God for our salva- 
 tion. I then, from the steps, bade them depart in peace, and walked 
 quickly back through the thickest rioters. They reviled us, but had no 
 commission to touch a hair of our heads." 
 
 Having preached at Birmingham and at Wednesbury, he took his 
 leave of the people in Staffordshire, and hastened to Sheffield, preach- 
 ing at Melbourne, Coleorton, and Nottingham-cross on his way. In 
 Sheffield the clergy had succeeded in inflaming the public mind, so 
 that during his stay a mob assembled, and pulled down the Methodist 
 chapel, which had been erected by the liberality of a poor people. He 
 states that, on his arrival, he found them " as sheep in the midst of 
 wolves : the ministers having so stirred up the people, that they were 
 ready to tear them in pieces." He adds, " I went to the society-house, 
 next door to our brother Bennett's. Hell from beneath was moved to 
 oppose us. As soon as I was in the desk, with David Taylor, the 
 floods began to lift up their voice. An officer (Ensign Garden) con- 
 tradicted and blasphemed. I took no notice of him, and sung on. 
 The stones flew thick, hitting the desk and people. To save them 
 and the house, I gave notice I should preach out, and look the enemy 
 in the face. 
 
 " The whole army of aliens followed me. The captain laid hold of 
 me, and began reviling. I gave him for answer, ' A Word in Season, 
 or Advice to a Soldier ;' then prayed, particularly for his majesty King
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 263 
 
 George, and preached the gospel with much contention. The stones 
 often struck me in the face. After sermon I prayed for sinners as 
 servants of their master the devil ; upon which the captain ran at me 
 with great fury, threatening revenge for my abusing, as he called it, 
 the king his master. He forced his way through the brethren, drew 
 his sword, and presented it to my breast. My breast was immediately 
 steeled. I threw it open, and fixing mine eye on his, smiled in his 
 face, and calmly said, ' I fear God, and honour the king.' His counte- 
 nance fell in a moment ; he fetched a deep sigh ; put up his sword ; 
 and quickly left the place. To one of the company, who afterward 
 informed me, he said, ' You shall see, if I do but hold my sword to his 
 breast, he will faint away.' So perhaps I should, had I only had his 
 principles to trust to ; but if at that time I was not afraid, no thanks to 
 my natural courage. 
 
 "We returned to our brother Bennett's, and gave ourselves unto 
 prayer. The rioters followed, and exceeded in their outrage all I have 
 seen before. Those of Moorfields, Cardiff, and Walsal, were lambs to 
 these. As there is ' no king in Israel,' (no magistrate, I mean, in Shef- 
 field,) every man does as seems good in his own eyes. Satan now 
 put it into their hearts to pull down the society-house ; and they set 
 to their work while we were praying and praising God. It was a 
 glorious time with us. Every word of exhortation sunk deep ; every 
 prayer was sealed ; and many found the Spirit of glory resting on them. 
 One sent for the constable, who came up, and desired me to leave the 
 town, since I was the occasion of all this disturbance. I thanked him 
 for his advice, withal assuring him, I should not go a moment the sooner 
 for all this uproar ; I was sorry for their sakes that they had no law or 
 justice among them : as for myself, I had my protection, and knew my 
 business, as I supposed he did his. In proof whereof he went from 
 us, and encouraged the mob. They pressed hard to break open the 
 door. I would have gone out to them, but the brethren would not suf- 
 fer me. They laboured all night for their master, and by morning had 
 pulled down one end of the house. I could compare them to nothing 
 but the men of Sodom ; or those coming out of the tombs, ' exceeding 
 fierce.' Their outcries often waked me in the night : yet I believe I 
 got more sleep than any of my neighbours. 
 
 " May 26th. At five I expounded the pool of Bethesda, and stayed 
 conversing with the society till eight. I breakfasted with several of 
 the brethren from Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire. 
 I met a daughter of affliction, who had long mourned in Zion. God 
 gave me immediate faith for her, which I made proof of in prayer ; and 
 in that instant she received the comfort. It being agreed that I should 
 preach in the heart of the town, I went forth, nothing doubting. \ e
 
 264 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 heard our enemies shouting from afar. I stood up in the midst of them, 
 and read the first words that offered, ' If God be for us, who can be 
 against us ?' &c. God made bare his arm in the sight of the heathen, 
 and so restrained the fierceness of men, that not one lifted up hand or 
 voice against us. 
 
 " I took David Taylor, and walked through the open street, to our 
 brother Bennett's, with the multitude at my heels. We passed by the 
 spot where the house stood. They had not left one stone upon another. 
 ' Nevertheless the foundation standeth sure,' as I told one of them ; and 
 our house not made with hands is eternal in the heavens. The mob 
 attended me to my lodgings with great civility ; but as soon as I was 
 entered the house, they renewed their threatenings to pull it down. 
 The windows were smashed in an instant ; and my poor host so fright- 
 ened, that he was ready to give up his shield. He had been for a 
 warrant to Mr. Buck, a justice of peace in Rotherham, who refused it 
 him, unless he would promise to forsake ' this way.' 
 
 " The house was now on the point of being taken by storm. I was 
 writing within when the cry of my poor friend and his family, I thought, 
 called me out to those sons of Belial. In the midst of the rabble I 
 found a friend of Edward's with the Riot Act. At their desire I took 
 and read it, and made a suitable exhortation. One of the sturdiest 
 rebels our constable seized, and carried away captive into the house. 
 I marvelled at the patience of his companions ; but the Lord overawed 
 them. What was done with the prisoner I know not ; for in five min- 
 utes I was fast asleep in the room which they had dismantled. I feared 
 no cold, but dropped asleep with that word, ' Scatter thou the people 
 that delight in war.' I afterward heard, that, within the hour, they 
 had all quitted the place. 
 
 " May 27th. At five I took leave of the society. We had the extra- 
 ordinary blessing I expected. Our hearts were knit together, and 
 greatly comforted. We rejoiced in hope of the glorious appearing of 
 the great God, who had now delivered us out of the mouth of the lions. 
 David Taylor informed me that the people of Thorpe, through which 
 we should pass, were exceeding mad against us. So we found them 
 as we approached the place, and were turning down the lane to Barley- 
 hall. The ambush rose, and assaulted us with stones, eggs, and dirt. 
 My horse flew from side to side, till he forced his way through them. 
 David Taylor they wounded in his forehead, which bled much. His 
 hat he lost in the fray. I returned, and asked what was the reason a 
 clergyman could not pass without such treatment. At first the rioters 
 scattered ; but their captain, rallying, answered, with horrible impreca- 
 tions and stones, that would have killed both man and beast, had they 
 not been turned aside by a hand unseen. My horse took fright, and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 265 
 
 hurried away with me down a steep hill, till we came to a lane, which 
 I turned up, and took a circuit, to find our brother Johnson's. The 
 enemy spied me from afar, and followed shouting. Blessed be God, I 
 got no hurt, but only the eggs and dirt. My clothes indeed abhorred 
 me, and my arm pained me a little by a blow I received at Sheffield. 
 David Taylor had got just before me to Barley-hall, with the sisters, 
 whom God had hid in the hollow of his hand. 
 
 " We met many sincere souls assembled to hear the word of God. 
 Never have I known a greater power of love. All were drowned in 
 tears, yet very happy. The scripture I met was, ' Blessed be the Lord 
 God of Israel ; for he hath visited and redeemed his people.' We 
 rejoiced in the God of our salvation, who hath compassed us about with 
 songs of deliverance. 
 
 " By four we came to a land of rest ; for our brethren at Birstal have 
 stopped the mouths of gainsayers, and fairly overcome evil with good. 
 At present, peace is in all their borders. The little foxes that spoil the 
 vineyard, or rather the wild boars out of the wood that root it up, have 
 no more place among them. Only the Germans still prowl about the 
 fences, to pick up stragglers. My mouth was opened to declare God, 
 who spared not Ms Son, &c. A great multitude were bowed down by 
 the victorious power of his love. It was a time much to be remembered 
 for the gracious rain wherewith our God refreshed us." 
 
 Having preached to the people twice at Birstal, and once at Armley, 
 on Saturday, May 28th, Mr. Charles Wesley went to Leeds, where he 
 was treated with great respect by the clergy. This was the more 
 remarkable, because when he was introduced to them he had preached 
 to some thousands of people in the principal street. He evidently 
 possessed their esteem. The following is his own account of his visit 
 to this town. William Shent, at whose door he preached, kept a bar- 
 ber's shop in Briggate. " Not a year ago I. walked to and fro in these 
 streets, and could not find a man : but a spark is at last lighted in this 
 place also ; and a great fire it will kindle. I met the infant, society, 
 about fifty in number, most of them justified ; and exhorted them to 
 walk circumspectly, since so much depended on the first witnesses. 
 At seven I stood before William Shent's door, and cried to thousands, 
 1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters !' The word took 
 place. They gave diligent heed to it, and seemed a people ready pre- 
 pared for the Lord. 
 
 " I went to the great church, and was showed to the ministers' pew. 
 Their whole behaviour said, ' Friend, go up higher.' Five clergymen 
 were there, who a little confounded me by making me take the place 
 of my elders and betters. They made me help to administer the sa- 
 crament ; would not let me steal into a corner ; but placed me at the
 
 266 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 table opposite to him that consecrated. I assisted, with eight more 
 ministers, for whom my soul was much drawn out in prayer. But I 
 dreaded their favour more than the stones in Sheffield. 
 
 " At two I found a vast multitude waiting for the word. I strongly 
 exhorted them to repent and believe, that their sins might be blotted 
 out. At Birstal I called the poor, and maimed, and halt, and blind, to 
 the great supper. My Lord disposed many hearts, I doubt not, to 
 accept the invitation. He shows me several witnesses of the truth, 
 which they have even now received in the love of it. I had a blessed 
 parting with the society." 
 
 It is an interesting fact, that while Mr. Charles Wesley was preach- 
 ing three or four times a day, during the intervals of public worship he 
 was almost constantly engaged in the composition of hymns. This 
 fact appears not only in the number of hymns which he published from 
 time to time, on a great variety of subjects ; but also from the following 
 incident, which occurred when he was on his way from Birstal to New- 
 castle. " Near Ripley," says he, " my horse threw and fell upon me. 
 My companion thought I had broken my neck ; but my leg only was 
 bruised, my hand sprained, and my head stunned : which spoiled my 
 making hymns, or thinking at all, till the next day, when the Lord 
 brought us safe to Newcastle. 
 
 " At seven I went to the room, which will contain above two 
 thousand. It was filled from end to end. God gave testimony to 
 the word of his grace. We rejoiced for the consolation of our mutual 
 faith." 
 
 On Mr. Charles Wesley's arrival at Newcastle, he found that the 
 bodily excitement into which some persons had been thrown there, as 
 in Bristol, under his brother's preaching, had given offence in different 
 quarters. He had long been accustomed to look upon things of this 
 nature with jealousy ; and few instances of the kind appear to have 
 ever attended his preaching, powerful and impressive as it was. If 
 they did occur, they were discouraged by him ; and in relating the 
 success of his ministry he has passed them over in silence. His 
 brother attached no more importance to them than he did ; but he used 
 greater caution in suppressing them, lest he should in any degree de- 
 stroy the good which was unquestionable, and the fruit of the Holy 
 Spirit's influence, with effects which had no higher origin than the 
 physical constitution of human nature. Charles was more bold and 
 decided. That which appeared to him to have no necessary connec- 
 tion with the work of God, and which he saw to be a cause of offence, 
 he did not hesitate firmly to discountenance ; and yet his usefulness 
 was not thereby impaired. In what manner he proceeded at Newcas- 
 tle in the suppression of irrregularities he has stated in the following
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 267 
 
 extracts, which also contain a striking view of his continued fidelity 
 and zeal : — 
 
 "June 3d. Our room was crowded at the watch-night. Several 
 gentry from the races stood with great attention, while I set forth Christ 
 crucified. It was a season both of grief and love. 
 
 " June 4th. I went on at five expounding the Acts. Some stum- 
 bling-blocks, with the help of God, I have removed, particularly the 
 fits. Many no doubt were, at our first preaching, struck down, both 
 soul and body, into the depth of distress. Their outward affections 
 were easy to be imitated. Many counterfeits I have already detected. 
 To-day one who came from the alehouse drunk was pleased to fall 
 into a fit for my entertainment, and beat himself heartily. I thought it 
 a pity to hinder him ; so, instead of singing over him, as had often 
 been done, we left him to recover at his leisure. A girl, as she began 
 her cry, I ordered to be carried out. Her convulsion was so violent as 
 to take away the use of her limbs, till they laid and left her without the 
 door. Then immediately she found her legs, and walked off. Some 
 very unstill sisters, who always took care to stand near me, and try 
 which should cry loudest, since I had them removed out of my sight, 
 have been as quiet as lambs. The first night I preached here, half 
 my words were lost through their outcries. Last night, before I began, 
 I gave public notice, that whosoever cried, so as to drown my voice, 
 should, without any man's hurt, or judging them, be gently carried to 
 the furthest corner of the room. But my porters had no employment 
 the whole night ; yet the Lord was with us, mightily convincing of sin 
 and righteousness. 
 
 "June 5th. My soul was revived by the poor people at Chowden ; 
 and yet more at Tanfield, where I called to great numbers to behold 
 the Lamb of God. To the society I spake words not my own. At 
 Newcastle, one just come from the sacrament received the seal of for- 
 giveness among us. 
 
 " I preached in the crowded square, chiefly to backsliders, whom I 
 besought with tears to be reconciled to God. Surely Jesus looked upon 
 some of them, as he looked upon Peter. I wrestled in prayer for them 
 in the society, and found it is for their sake principally that God hath 
 brought me hither. 
 
 " June 6th. I had the great comfort of recovering some of those that 
 had drawn back. They came confessing their sin. I trust we shall 
 receive them again for ever. 
 
 " June 8th. I spake to the bands severally, and tried if their faith 
 could bear shaking. We have certainly been too rash and easy in 
 allowing persons for believers, on their own testimony ; nay, and even 
 persuading them into a false opinion of themselves. Some souls it is
 
 268 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 doubtless necessary to encourage ; but it should be done with the ut- 
 most caution. To tell one in darkness, he has faith, is to keep him in 
 darkness still ; or to make him trust in a false light ; a faith that stands 
 in the words of men, not in the power of God. 
 
 " June 13th. I wrote thus to a son in the gospel : ' Be not over sure 
 that so many are justified. By their fruits you shall know them. You 
 will see reason to be more and more deliberate in the judgments you 
 pass on souls. Wait for their conversation. I do not know whether 
 we can infallibly pronounce at the time, that any one is justified. I 
 once thought several in that state, who, I am now convinced, were 
 only under the drawings of the Father. Try the spirits, therefore, lest 
 you should lay the stumbling-block of pride in their way ; and by allow- 
 ing them to have faith too soon, keep them out of it for ever.' 
 
 " June 15th. I observed at Newcastle that many more of the gentry 
 come now that the stumbling-block of the fits is taken out of their way ; 
 and I am more and more convinced it was a device of Satan, to stop 
 the course of the gospel. Since I preached it, (if I can discern any 
 thing,) it never had greater success than at this time. Yet we have 
 no fits among us ; and I have done nothing to prevent them, only de- 
 clared that I do not think the better of any one for crying out, and 
 interrupting my work. 
 
 "June 16th. I set out for Sunderland, with a strong aversion to 
 preaching. But I am more and more convinced that the freedom of 
 heart, which the Moravians and Quakers so much talk of, is a rule of 
 the devil's inventing, to supersede the written word. I dragged myself 
 to about a thousand wild people, and cried, ' O Israel, thou hast de- 
 stroyed thyself ; but in me is thy help.' Never have I seen greater 
 attention in any at their first hearing. 
 
 " We rode on to Shields. I went to church, and the people flocked 
 in crowds after me. The minister could not be heard in reading 
 prayers ; but I heard him loud enough afterward, calling for the church- 
 wardens to quiet the disturbance which none but himself raised. I 
 fancy he thought I should preach there, like some of the first Quakers. 
 The clerk came to me, bawling out, it was consecrated ground, and I 
 had no business to preach on it ; was no minister, &c. When he had 
 cried himself out of breath, I whispered him in the ear, that I had no 
 intention to preach there ; and he stumbled upon a good saying, ' Sir 
 if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak it to them 
 without.' 
 
 " I did so at my leisure, a huge multitude waiting in the church-yard ; 
 many of them fierce, and threatening to drown me, and what not. I 
 walked quietly through the midst of them, and discoursed in strong, 
 awakening words, on the jailer's question, 'What must I do to be
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 269 
 
 saved V The church-wardens and others laboured in vain to interrupt, 
 by throwing dirt, nay, and money, among the people. Having deli- 
 vered my message, I rode to the ferry ; crossed ; and met as rough 
 friends on the other*side. The mob of North- Shields waited to salute 
 me, with the minister at their head. He had got a man with a horn, 
 instead of a trumpet, and bade him blow, and his companions shout. 
 Others were almost as violent in their approbation. We went through 
 honour and dishonour ; (but neither of them hurt us ;) and by six, with 
 God's blessing, came safe to Newcastle. 
 
 "June 19th. I asked the multitudes in the square, 'Will ye also go 
 away V The word prospered in the thing whereunto it was sent ; 
 namely, the bringing back the wanderers. We concluded the day with 
 our first love-feast. Jesus was with his disciples. 
 
 " I took my leave in those words : ' What ye have already, hold fast 
 till I come.' It was a hard parting with the society. Their hearts 
 were all as melting wax, and will, I trust, retain the impression then 
 made by every word spoken. Some cried aloud ; others knelt down 
 for my blessing ; most laid hold on me as I passed ; all wept, and made 
 lamentation. 
 
 " I preached at Swalwell. Never were people better disposed, or 
 more eager of instruction ; and their love was such, that they would, if 
 possible, have plucked out their eyes, and given them me. 
 
 "June 21st. I set out between three and four; and was met by 
 several parties of the society, who had walked before some miles to 
 watch my passing. I travelled but slowly through them, blessing and 
 being blessed. I rode to Sandhutton. The poor people filled the 
 house where I was. I showed them the way of salvation, in the cred- 
 itor and debtors. They returned me many thanks." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley now returned to London, preaching at a few 
 intermediate places by the way. At Selby he dined " in a mixed com- 
 pany," probably at an inn, where he was asked if there was any good 
 in the rite of confirmation. Ever intent upon the inculcation of spirit- 
 ual religion, as opposed to mere formality, he answered, " No ; nor in 
 any outward thing, unless you are in Christ a new creature." " I con- 
 founded all my hearers by relating my own experience under the 
 law. I left some books, and went on my way rejoicing. Still the 
 Spirit was upon me ; and I felt stronger faith for myself than I ever 
 did before." 
 
 From Selby he went to Epworth, where he spent a few days, preach- 
 ing in the open air, and admonishing the society in private. Here he 
 was treated with great respect. Eight years had now elapsed since 
 the death of his honoured father, and the dispersion of the family ; and 
 many tender recollections were doubtless suggested to his mind by the
 
 270 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 sight of the church, the parsonage-house, and other objects ; but he was* 
 too intent upon saving the souls of the people to indulge in mere sen- 
 timentality. The Methodists of Grimsby came to Epworth, that they 
 might be edified by his ministry and counsel. Th#y parted with great 
 affection, and with the peace of God. 
 
 On his way to Nottingham he states, that he was favoured with 
 " the best company that either earth or heaven could furnish." On his 
 arrival he says, " I found my brother in the market-place, calling lost 
 sinners to him that justifieth the ungodly. He gave notice of my 
 preaching in the evening. From him I had the first account of our 
 brethren's persecution at Wednesbury. Their unhappy minister was 
 the contriver of all. The Lord opened my mouth at seven. Many 
 thousands attended in deep silence. Surely the Lord hath much people 
 in this place. We began a society of nine members." 
 
 He spent Sunday, the 26th of June, at Birmingham, where he was 
 met by several persons belonging to the persecuted society at Wednes- 
 bury, whom he endeavoured to strengthen and comfort. The cruel 
 opposition which they had experienced was but " the beginning of sor- 
 rows." In the course of a few months several of them were horribly 
 maltreated, and lost the greater part of their property. Mr. Charles 
 Wesley preached in Birmingham, at eight o'clock in the morning, 
 without interruption ; and again to several thousands in the evening ; 
 " many of whom," says he, " I observed by their tears, were pricked at 
 the heart, and ready to say, ' I will arise, and go to my Father.' " He 
 adds, " In the name of the Lord Jesus I began our society. The num- 
 ber at present is thirteen." 
 
 From Birmingham he went to London, where he scarcely remained 
 a fortnight, before he set out on horseback, in a heavy rain, for Corn- 
 wall, taking Bristol in his way. A brother, whose name he has not 
 mentioned, accompanied him twenty miles beyond Exeter, where he 
 was left to prosecute his journey alone. By wandering, he states, he 
 made it threescore miles to Bodmin. Here both horse and rider were 
 worked down, so as greatly to enjoy the rest of the night. The next 
 morning he says it cost him four hours to reach Mitchell ; and the pain 
 of his colic made them seem four days. After taking a little rest, he 
 pursued his way through Redruth to St. Ives. " Two tinners," says 
 he, " met me first, and wished me good luck in the name of the Lord. 
 My next meeting was from the devil's children, who shouted as I 
 passed, and pursued me like the men out of the tombs. Between 
 seven and eight I entered St. Ives. The boys and others continued 
 their rough salutes for some time at brother Nance's ; but I was too 
 weary to regard them." 
 
 The next day was the sabbath. " I rose," says he, " and forgot I
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 271 
 
 had travelled from Newcastle. I spoke with some of this loving, simple 
 people, who are as sheep in the midst of wolves. The priests stir up 
 the people, and make their minds evil affected toward the brethren. 
 Yet the sons of violence are much checked by the mayor, an honest 
 Presbyterian, whom the Lord hath raised up. I preached in the room 
 at eight, on, ' Thou shalt call his name Jesus ; for he shall save his 
 people from their sins.' We found his presence sensibly among us. 
 So did the opposers themselves. 
 
 " I heard the rector preach. His application was downright railing 
 at the ' new sect,' as he calls us ; those ' enemies of the church, se- 
 ducers, troublers, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.' I had prayed for 
 a quiet heart, and a steady countenance ; and my prayer was answered. 
 My calmness was succeeded with strong consolation. 
 
 " I rode to Wednock, with almost all the brethren. Mr. Hoblin, the 
 curate, entertained us with a curious discourse on, ' Beware of false 
 prophets.' I stood up over against him, within two yards of the pulpit, 
 and heard such a hotch-potch of railing, foolish lies, as Satan himself 
 might have been ashamed of. I had asked that my countenance might 
 not alter, and was kept in perfect peace. The poor people behaved 
 very decently ; and all followed me to hear the true word of God. I 
 stayed, and mildly told the preacher he had been misinformed. ' No,' 
 he answered ; ' it was all truth.' ' Sir,' said I, ' if you believe what 
 you preach, you believe a lie.' ' You are a liar,' he replied. I put him 
 in mind of the great day ; testified my good-will ; and left him for the 
 congregation. God opened a door of utterance, to preach the gospel 
 of Christ Jesus. I know they found that difference between the chaff 
 and the wheat." 
 
 Such were the stirring occurrences of the first sabbath which Mr. 
 Charles Wesley spent in Cornwall. He remained in this county about 
 three weeks, when he was suddenly called to London. During this 
 period his labours were incessant, and were signally owned of God in 
 the conversion of men, although the opposition was formidable and 
 appalling. The clergy preached against him with great vehemence, 
 and represented his character and designs in the worst possible light ; 
 and the people were ready everywhere to congregate in mobs, and 
 perpetrate any outrage. His doctrine not only interfered with their 
 prejudices, but with their habits, and exposed the dishonest practices 
 by which many of them obtained their livelihood. But nothing moved 
 him from his purpose. Ease, liberty, honour, life itself, were of no 
 account in his estimation, when compared with the salvation of the 
 ignorant and wicked multitudes with whom the country abounded. 
 He was willing to endure any reproach and hardship, and even to die 
 by the hand of violence at any hour, if Christ were only honoured by
 
 272 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 the spread of his religion. No better view of his spirit and exertions 
 can be given than that which his own journal supplies. The following 
 selections are a specimen of his daily labours. The difference between 
 the irreligious, fierce, and daring Cornishmen of those times, and their 
 devout and moral successors of the present age, is very striking. 
 
 "July 18th. I went forth toward the market-house at St. Ives. 
 When Ave came to the place of battle, the enemy was ready, set in 
 array against us. I began the hundredth psalm, and they beating their 
 drums and shouting. I stood still and silent for some time, finding they 
 would not receive my testimony. I then offered to speak to some of 
 the most violent ; but they stopped their ears, and ran upon me, crying, 
 I should not preach there ; and catching at me, to pull me down. They 
 had no power to touch me. My soul was calm and fearless. I shook 
 off the dust of my feet, and walked leisurely through the thickest of 
 them, who followed like ramping and roaring lions : but their mouth 
 was shut. We met the mayor, who saluted us, and threatened the 
 rioters. I rejoiced at my lodgings in our almighty Jesus. 
 
 " I preached at three on Cannage-downs to near a thousand tinners, 
 who received the word into honest and good hearts. While I pointed 
 them to the Lamb of God, many wept ; and particularly the captain- 
 general of the tinners ; a man famous in his generation for his acts of 
 valour and violence, and his usual challenge to fight any six men with 
 his club. He is known through the west by the title of the Destroyer. 
 This leopard will soon, I trust, lie down with the lamb. 
 
 "July 19th. I preached at Pool, in the heart of the tinners. A 
 drunkard got within two or three yards, designing, I suppose, to push 
 me down the hill. I was forced to break off my prayer, and warn him 
 to take care of himself. He attempted to lay hold on me ; upon which 
 a tinner cried, ' Down with him !' In a moment the Philistines were 
 upon him. I strove to rescue him, and besought them not to hurt 
 him ; otherwise I should go away, and not preach at all. They were 
 entreated for him ; and, taking him by the legs and arms, quietly 
 handed him down from one to another, till they had put him without 
 the congregation ; and he was heard no more. I published the faith- 
 ful, acceptable saying ; and their hearts seemed all bowed and opened 
 to receive it. God, I nothing doubt, will call these a people, who were 
 not a people. Our prayers for the opposers also begin to be answered; 
 for the fiercest of them came this evening to the room, and behaved 
 with great decency. 
 
 " July 20th. I spake with more of the society ; most of whom have 
 the first knowledge of salvation, as their lives show. A. G. tells me 
 that faith, as he thinks, came by hearing yesterday morning. He has 
 been a sinner above other sinners, till within this fortnight God called,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 273 
 
 and made him equal with those who have borne the burden and heat 
 of the day. 
 
 " I preached at Zunnor, one of Mr. Symon's four parishes, which is 
 come in to a man at the joyful news. Some hundreds of the poor 
 people, with sincerity in their faces, received my saying, ' The king- 
 dom of heaven is at hand : repent ye, and believe the gospel.' 
 
 " I began at eight expounding the good Samaritan ; but could not 
 proceed for pity to the poor mockers. Many of them were present ; 
 but their mocking was over. I urged, and besought, and with tears 
 even compelled them to come in. The Spirit made intercession for 
 them, that God might grant them repentance unto life. 
 
 " July 22d. I rode in the rain to Morva, a settlement of tinners, to 
 whom I preached nothing but the gospel. I had just named my text 
 at St. Ives, ' Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God,' when 
 an army of rebels broke in upon us, like those at Sheffield or Wednes- 
 bury. They began in a most outrageous manner, threatening to mur- 
 der the people if they did not go out that moment. They broke the 
 sconces, dashed the windows in pieces, bore away the shutters, benches, 
 poor-box, and all but the stone walls. I stood silently looking on ; but 
 mine eyes were unto the Lord. They swore bitterly I should not 
 preach there again ; which I immediately disproved by telling them 
 Christ died for them all. Several times they lifted up their hands and 
 clubs to strike me ; but a stronger arm restrained them. They beat 
 and dragged the women about, particularly one of a great age, and 
 trampled on them without mercy. The longer they stayed, and the 
 more they raged, the more power I found from above. I bade the 
 people stand still, and see the salvation of God, resolving to continue 
 with them, and see the end. In about an hour the word came, ' Hitherto 
 shalt thou come ; and no farther.' The ruffians fell to quarrelling 
 among themselves, broke the town-clerk's (their captain's) head, and 
 drove one another out of the room. Having kept the field, we gave 
 thanks for the victory ; and in prayer the Spirit of glory rested upon 
 us. Going home, we met the mayor, with another justice, and went 
 back to show them the havoc which the gentlemen and their mob had 
 made. He commended our people as the most quiet, inoffensive sub- 
 jects ; encouraged us to sue for justice ; said he was no more secure 
 from such lawless violence than we ; wished us success ; and left us 
 rejoicing in our strong Helper. 
 
 " July 23d. I cannot find one of this people who fears those that can 
 kill the body only. It was next to a miracle that no more mischief 
 was done last night. The gentlemen had resolved to destroy all within 
 doors. They came upon us like roaring lions, headed by the mayor's 
 son. He struck out the candles with his cane, and began courageously 
 
 18
 
 274 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 beating the women. I laid my hand upon him, and said, ' Sir, you ap- 
 pear like a gentleman. I desire you would show it by restraining these 
 of the baser sort. Let them strike the men, or me, if they please ; but 
 not hurt poor helpless women and children.' He was turned into a 
 friend immediately, and laboured the whole time to quiet his associates. 
 Some, not of the society, were likewise provoked to stand up for us, 
 and put themselves between. Others held the ruffians, and made use 
 of an arm of flesh. Some of our bitterest enemies were brought over 
 by the meekness of the sufferers, and malice of the persecutors. They 
 had sworn to drive us all out, and then take possession of our house ; 
 but their commission did not go so far. One was overheard saying to 
 his companions, as they were going off, ' I think the desk was insured. 
 We could not touch it, or come near it.' 
 
 " I preached at Gwennap to near two thousand hungry souls, who 
 devoured the word of reconciliation. Half my audience were tinners 
 from about Redruth, which, I hear, is taken. God gives us their hearts. 
 If any man speak against us, (they say,) he deserves to be stoned. I 
 again expounded in the room at St. Ives, and advised the society to 
 possess their souls in patience, not threatening, or even mentioning the 
 late uproar, but suffering all things for the sake of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " July 24th. At Wednock many listened to my description of our 
 Lord's sufferings. After evening service, I would have finished my 
 discourse, but the minister's mob fell upon us, threatening and striking 
 all they came near. They swore horribly they would be revenged on 
 us, for our making such a disturbance on the sabbath day, our taking 
 the people from the Church, and doing so much mischief continually. 
 They assaulted us with sticks and stones, and endeavoured to pull me 
 down. I bade them strike me, and spare the people. Many lifted 
 up their hands and weapons, but were not permitted to touch me. We 
 were now encompassed with a host of men, bent on mischief, with no 
 visible way of escape ; but the Lord hath many ways. He touched 
 the heart of one of our persecutors, who came up to me, took me by 
 the hand, and besought me to depart in peace, assuring me he would 
 preserve me from all violence. Another gentleman said the same. I 
 thanked them, and told them I had an unseen Protector ; but as I saw 
 there was no door, I should not attempt preaching at this season. I 
 stayed some time to make my observations. Ten cowardly ruffians I saw 
 upon one unarmed man, beating him with their clubs, till they felled him 
 to the ground. Another escaped by the swiftness of his horse. My 
 convoy they set upon for dissuading them, and forced him to fly for his 
 life. I walked on slowly, with all the rabble behind. One of the 
 brethren attended me. The Lord hid us in the hollow of his hand. 
 The pillar came between the Egyptians and us. About six we rested 
 
 18*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 275 
 
 at brother Nance's. The enemy still pursued. I went out and looked 
 •hem in the face ; and they pulled off their hats and slunk away. The 
 right hand of the Lord hath the pre-eminence ; and therewith hath he 
 got himself the victory. 
 
 " The society came. Our hearts danced for joy ; and in our song 
 did we praise Him. 'We all longed for his last glorious appearing, 
 and with an eye of faith saw the Son of man as coming in the clouds 
 of heaven, to confess us before his Father, and the holy angels. 
 
 " July 25th. The mayor told us, that the ministers were the principal 
 authors of all this evil, by continually representing us in their sermons 
 as Popish emissaries, and urging the enraged multitude to take all 
 manner of ways to stop us. Their whole preaching is cursing and 
 lies. Yet they modestly say, my fellow-labourer and I are the cause 
 of all the disturbance ! It is always the lamb that troubles the wafer. 
 Yesterday we were stoned as Popish incendiaries. To-day it is our 
 turn to have favour with the people. I preached at Cannage-downs to 
 a multitude of simple-hearted tinners, on, ' Who is this that cometh 
 from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah V They received the 
 word with all gladness and gratitude ; wondered at the St. Ives people, 
 that could endeavour to hurt us for teaching them such blessed truths. 
 At St. Ives I had warning of an approaching trial, and was led to pray 
 that the fierceness of men might be at this time restrained. I had 
 scarce begun at the room when news was brought that all the gentle- 
 men were coming to pull it down. We looked for them every moment 
 About half a dozen came first, and threw eggs in at the windows. 
 Others cast great stones, to break what remained of the shutters. 
 Others struck the women, and swore they would have the house down. 
 I prayed, and dismissed our people. John Nance was gone to the 
 mayor. I followed to stop him, and met the mayor at the head of his 
 posse. At first hearing of the tumult he had started up, charged all he 
 met to assist him, and was coming to the room, when I desired him to 
 save himself the trouble of a walk in the rain. He behaved with great 
 civility and resolution ; declaring before all, that none should hurt us. 
 This disappointed and scattered our adversaries ; and I met the society 
 without molestation. Glory be to God, that we are once more delivered 
 out of the mouth of these lions. They were sure of accomplishing 
 their design this night : but the Lord beheld their threatening* ; and 
 stilled the raging of the sea, the noise of the waves, and the madness 
 of the people. 
 
 " July 26th. At the Pool one stopped, and demanded my lettor> (A 
 orders. I marvelled at Mr. Church-warden's ignorance, gave him my 
 Oxford sermon, and rode on. He followed me, with another gentle* 
 man, and vowed I should not preach in his parish. When I began, he
 
 276 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 shouted, and hallooed, and put his hat to my mouth. We went to 
 another place. He followed us, like Shimei. I told him I should 
 surely deliver my message unless his master was stronger than mine. 
 After much contention, I walked away with near two thousand people, 
 most part tinners, to the next parish, as my wise church-warden sup- 
 posed. He followed us another mile ; and a warm walk he had of it, 
 but left us on the border of the neighbouring parish. However, to take 
 my leave of it, I preached in what he called his. In spite of Satan, 
 the poor had the gospel preached to them, and heard it joyfully. Great 
 was their zeal and affection toward me. I marvel not that Satan should 
 light for his kingdom. It begins to shake in this place. 
 
 " All was quiet at St. Ives, the mayor having declared his resolution 
 to swear twenty new constables, and suppress the rioters by force of 
 arms. Their drum he has sent and seized. All the time I was preach- 
 ing he stood at a little distance, to awe the rebels. He has set the 
 whole town against him, by not giving us up to their fury : but he 
 plainly told Mr. Hoblin, the fire-and-fagot minister, that he would not 
 be perjured to gratify any man's malice. He informed us that he had 
 often heard Mr. Hoblin say, they ought to drive us away by blows, not 
 arguments. 
 
 " July 28th. I dined at our brother Mitchell's, a confessor of the faith 
 which once he persecuted ; and rode on to St. Hilary-downs. Here 
 the careless hearers were kept away by the enemy's threatenings ; but 
 near one thousand well-disposed tinners listened to the joyful tidings, 
 ' Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people.' That word of grace, ' Thine 
 iniquities are pardoned,' quite melted them down into tears on all sides. 
 
 " I began explaining the Beatitudes at St. Ives. None interrupted. 
 I do not despair but some of our persecutors themselves may yet, before 
 we depart, receive that damnable Popish doctrine, as Mr. Hoblin calls it, 
 of justification by faith only. 
 
 " July 29th. I rode to Morva, and invited the whole nation of tinners 
 to Christ. I took the names of several who were desirous of joining 
 in a society. The adversaries have laboured with all their might to 
 hinder this good work \ but we doubt not our seeing a glorious church 
 in this place. 
 
 " July 30th. I believed a door would be opened this day : and in the 
 strength of the Lord set out for St. Just, a town of tinners, four miles 
 from Morva, and twelve from St. Ives. My text was, ' The poor have 
 the gospel preached unto them/ I showed, the sum thereof is, ' Thine 
 iniquity is pardoned. God for Christ's sake hath forgiven thee.' The 
 hearts of thousands seemed moved, as the trees of the forest, by the 
 wind which bloweth as it listeth. The door stood wide open, and a 
 multitude were just entering in. Here it is that I expect the largest
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 277 
 
 harvest. We rode four miles further to Zunning, and took up our lodg- 
 ing at a hospitable farmer's. 
 
 " I walked with our brother Shepherd to the Land's End, and sung,* 
 on the extremest point of the rocks, — 
 
 Come, divine Immanuel, come, 
 
 Take possession of thy home, &c. 
 
 " I rode back to St. Just, and went from the evening service to a 
 plain by the town, made for field-preaching. I stood on a green bank, 
 and cried, ' All we like sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every 
 one to his own way ; and the Lord hath laid upon Him the iniquity of 
 us all.' About two thousand, mostly tinners, attended, no one offering 
 to stir or move a hand or tongue. The fields are white unto harvest. 
 Lord, send forth labourers ! 
 
 " We returned to our host at Zunning. He is just entering the 
 kingdom. I went early to bed, having lost most of my senses, through 
 the constant fog in which we have laboured to bretthe this fortnight 
 past. 
 
 "August 1st. I saw a strange sight, the sun shining in Cornwall! 
 I explained at nine the song of Simeon. Several aged people were 
 present, whom I left waiting for the Consolation of Israel. I took my 
 leave of Cannage-downs, and returned to St. Ives in peace. I showed 
 the blessedness of persecution ; then exhorted the society to pray 
 without ceasing for humility, the grace which draws all others after it. 
 
 " August 2d. I carried my tinners from the Pool to the nearest par- 
 ish. It was a glorious sight, the wide-spread multitude walking up the 
 hill, eager for the word of life ; hungry and thirsty after righteousness ! 
 I met with that in St. Matthew, ' A certain man had two sons,' &c. 
 These publicans know the time of their visitation, and bring forth fruit 
 meet for repentance. An elderly man pressed us to turn into his house, 
 near Camborne. It was a large old country seat, and looked like the 
 picture of English hospitality. When he could not prevail on us to 
 stay longer, he would ride two or three miles on our way with us, and 
 listened all the while to the ministry of reconciliation. 
 
 " August 3d. I took my leave of the dear people of Zunnor, in our 
 Lord's words, ' Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown 
 
 * This hymn was not selected for the occasion, but was " written at the Land's 
 End." (Hymns and Sacred Poems. By Charles Wesley. Vol. i, p. 329.) It is 
 founded upon the following passage : " And the stretching out of his wings shall fill 
 the breadth of thy land, Immanuel," Isaiah viii, 8. Tradition states that the hymn 
 beginning, 
 
 " Thou God of glorious majesty," 
 
 was also written at the Land's End ; but of this there is no direct proof. It was 
 published in the volume just mentioned, but is simply entitled, " A Hymn for Se- 
 riousness."
 
 278 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of life.' With many tears they besought us to come again ; and evi- 
 dently showed that our labour has not been in vain in the Lord. 
 
 "August 5th. I preached my farewell sermon to our sorrowful 
 brethren in Morva. Many from St. Just increased the lamentation. 1 
 shall think it long till I see them again ; but my comfort is, that I leave 
 them following hard after God. 
 
 " I took my leave of the friendly mayor, to whom we acknowledged, 
 under God, our deliverance from the hands of unrighteous and cruel 
 men. He expressed the same affection for us, as from the beginning , 
 listened to our report ; (for which our Lord gave us a fair opportunity ;) 
 ordered his servant to light us home ; and, in a word, received us, and 
 sent us away, as messengers of peace. 
 
 " August 6th. I rode to Gwennap, and with many words exhorted 
 them to save themselves from this untoward generation. They were 
 exceedingly moved, and very urgent with me to know when I should 
 return ; when myi brother, or any other, would come, Surely they are 
 a people ready prepared for the Lord. 
 
 " I began at St. Ives before the usual time, ' And now, brethren, I 
 commend you to God,' &c. I had no thought of the rioters, though the 
 mayor had informed us, they were so impudent as to tell him to his 
 face, they would have a parting blow at us. As soon as we were met 
 in society, at brother Nance's, they came to the room, ready to pull it 
 down. The drunken town-clerk led his drunken army to our lodgings , 
 but an invisible power held them from breaking in, or hurting our bro- 
 ther Nance, who went out to them, and stood in the midst, till our King 
 scattered the evil with his eyes, and turned them back by the way thai 
 they came. The great power of God was, mean time, among us, over- 
 turning all before it, and melting our hearts into contrite, joyful love. 
 
 " August 7th. At four I took leave of the society, with that apostoli- 
 cal prayer, ' And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly,' &c. 
 Great grace was upon them all. Their prayers, and tears of love, I 
 shall never forget. I nothing doubt, if I follow their faith, that I shall 
 meet them in the new Jerusalem. At six we left the lions' den, with 
 about twenty horse. Some would have us take a back way ; but I 
 would not go forth with haste, or by flight ; and therefore rode slowly 
 through the largest street, in the face of our enemies. At eight I 
 preached faith in Christ to many listening souls in Veiling- Varine, They 
 received the word with surprising readiness. Their tears and hearty 
 expressions of love convince me, that there is a work begun in their hearts 
 
 " I rode on rejoicing to Gwennap. As soon as I went forth I saw 
 the end of my coining to Cornwall, and of Satan's opposition. Such a 
 company assembled as I have not seen, excepting sometimes at Ken- 
 nington. By their looks I perceived they all heard, while I lifted up
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 279 
 
 my voice like a trumpet, and testified, ' God sent his Son to be the 
 Saviour of the world.' The convincing Spirit was in the midst, as I 
 have seldom, if ever, known. Most of the gentry from Redruth were 
 just before me, and so hemmed in, that they could not escape. For 
 an hour my voice was heard by all, and reached further than their out- 
 ward ears. I am inclined to think, that most present were convinced 
 of righteousness or of sin. God hath now set before us an open door, 
 and who shall be able to shut it ? 
 
 " At four we rode to Mitchell ; my brother having summoned me to 
 London, to confer with the heads of the Moravians and predestinarians 
 We had near three hundred miles to ride in five days. I was willing 
 to undertake this labour for peace, though the journey was too great 
 for us, and our weary beasts, which we have used almost every day for 
 these three months." 
 
 As the time was so short, Mr. Charles Wesley had not many oppor- 
 tunities for preaching on his journey to London. At the inns, however, 
 where he called to obtain refreshment, he recommended Christ and his 
 salvation to almost ever}- one that came in his way ; and upon the public 
 roads he was not silent, when he met with any persons either rich, or poor, 
 who were willing to receive the evangelical message with which he 
 was intrusted. At Bridport, for instance, he says, " I met with a poor 
 creature, ready for the gospel. It was glad news indeed to her. 
 When I said, ' God sent me to you,' she cried, ' And did he indeed !' 
 and fell a trembling and weeping. We prayed together ; and she 
 seemed not far from the kingdom of God. She innocently asked me, 
 what church she should be of. I showed her the excellence of our own." 
 
 On his arrival at Exeter he met with his friend Felix Farley, from 
 Bristol; and there he says, "I called to about one thousand sinners, 
 mostly gentlemen and ladies, with some clergy, ' Behold the Lamb of 
 God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' God gave me favour in 
 their eyes, although I did not prophesy smooth things. I found, as 
 soon as I began to speak, that the fear of the Lord was upon them. 
 Many followed me to my inn, to take their leave ; and wished me good 
 luck in the name of the Lord. I left one behind me, to keep up the 
 awakening, and pursued my journey alone to London." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley finished his journey to London in the evening 
 of August 12th; and had the mortification to find, that the meeting 
 which he had been at so much pains to attend would not be held. 
 " By nine at night," says he, " I hardly reached the Foundery. Here 
 I heard, the Moravians would not be present at the conference. Span- 
 genberg indeed said he would, but immediately left England. .M\ 
 brother was come from Newcastle, John Nelson, from Yorkshire, and 
 I, from the Land's End, to good purpose !"
 
 280 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Mr. John Wesley is silent concerning this abortive attempt to obtain 
 the contemplated conference. But in his printed Journal, relating to 
 this period, he has inserted a paper of considerable length, stating the 
 points of difference between himself and Mr. Whitefield,. and the con- 
 cessions which he was ready to make for the purpose of meeting the 
 views of his friend. From this document, which was doubtless drawn 
 up to be laid before Mr. Whitefield, compared with Mr Charles 
 Wesley's private journal, weiearn, — 
 
 1. That it was proposed to hold a conference, in London, between 
 the leading men of the three communities who were then exerting 
 themselves to effect a revival of evangelical religion : the Calvinistic 
 Methodists, the Moravians, and the Arminian Methodists ; — Mr. White- 
 field, with some of his friends, to represent the first ; Mr. Spangenberg, 
 and a few members of the Fetter-lane society, to represent the second ; 
 John and Charles Wesley, with John Nelson, and perhaps a few other 
 laymen, the third. 
 
 2. That the object of this conference was, by mutual explanations 
 and concessions, to cultivate a better understanding with each other ; 
 so that the parties might avoid all unnecessary collision, and unite, as 
 far as was practicable, in advancing what they all believed to be the ,. 
 work of God. Mr. Charles Wesley states, that "peace" was the 
 avowed design of the meeting. 
 
 3. That the project had its origin with Mr. John Wesley. It was 
 not proposed by Charles, who was " summoned" by his brother to 
 attend ; nor by the Moravians, who declined the conference after Mr. 
 Spangenberg had promised to be present ; nor by Mr. Whitefield, who 
 does not appear to have even accepted the invitation', although he was 
 in London immediately after the time proposed for the interview. 
 
 4. That Mr. John Wesley and his brother were anxious to enter 
 into a general agreement with their friends from whom they had been 
 unexpectedly and painfully separated. They came on horseback from 
 the two extremities of the kingdom for this purpose. Charles was 
 " willing to undertake the labour for peace ;" although he felt that " the 
 journey was too great" for his strength, and that of his horse. John, who 
 invited the parties to meet him, drew up a statement of the questions 
 at issue between himself and Mr. Whitefield, in a spirit the most kind 
 and conciliatory, with the concessions which he was willing to make. 
 Some of the concessions which he offered to Mr. Whitefield, in favour 
 of the peculiarities of Calvinian theology, he would have found it diffi- 
 cult to defend. He introduces the subject by declaring that he had 
 " found, for some time, a strong desire to unite with Mr. Whitefield, as 
 far as possible." 
 
 This transaction, viewed in all its bearings, furnishes additional proof
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 281 
 
 of the flagrant injustice done to Mr. John Wesley by Lady Hunting- 
 don's biographer, who insinuates that Mr. Wesley " parted with his old 
 companion," Mr. Whitefield, " with great coolness." We have already 
 seen, that after Mr. Whitefield had begun zealously to preach the doc- 
 trine of the absolute and unconditional predestination of some men to 
 eternal life, and of others to eternal death, Mr. Wesley declared his 
 readiness still to labour in immediate connection with him ; and when 
 Mr. Whitefield, under the advice of his -friends, had withdrawn, (for 
 the act of separation was unquestionably his,) Mr. Wesley published 
 to the world his " strong desire" for a re-union with his " old compan- 
 ion ;" but his proposal was not met in the spirit of concession of which 
 he set the example. The " coolness" was on the other side, as it was 
 when they " parted asunder." Mr. Whitefield was cordial in his per- 
 sonal friendship with the Wesleys ; but he would concede nothing for 
 the sake of a union of operation with them. 
 
 Mr. John and Charles Wesley were men of peace, for they were 
 men of love. They did what they could to restore concord among 
 brethren, and to put an end to the unseemly bickerings which had been 
 a stumbling-block to many ; but having failed in the attempt, they re- 
 sumed their itinerant ministry with a pure conscience, and unabated 
 zeal. John repaired to Cornwall, accompanied by John Nelson ; and 
 on his arrival at St. Ives, the late scene of Charles's labours and per- 
 secutions, he makes the following remarks : — 
 
 " I spoke severally with those of the society, who were about one 
 hundred and twenty. Near a hundred of these had found peace with 
 God. Such is the blessing of being persecuted for righteousness' sake ! 
 As we were going to church at eleven, a large company at the market- 
 place welcomed us with a loud huzza : wit as harmless as the ditty 
 sung under my window, (composed, one assured me, by a gentlewoman 
 of their own town,) 
 
 1 Charles Wesley is come to town, 
 To try if he can pull the churches down.' " 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley remained for some weeks in London, preaching 
 daily in one place or another, particularly at the Foundery, and at the 
 chapel in Snow's Fields, Southwark, of which he and his brother had 
 recently taken possession. He speaks in strong language concerning 
 the Spirit of power which generally rested upon the congregations, 
 awakening the careless, comforting the mourners, and renewing the 
 strength of those who had already believed. He lived as a man whose 
 great concern was to save souls ; so that in passing along the streets. 
 he reproved profane swearers, and invited loiterers to attend the house 
 of God ; sometimes with the most, encouraging success. On the 24th 
 of September he says, " I reproved one for swearing, among an army
 
 282 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of porters and carmen. I spoke to them for some time, till all were 
 overpowered. Two I carried away with me to the Foundery. They 
 received my saying and books, and departed with their eyes full of tears 
 and their hearts of good desires." 
 
 At this time his sympathy was strongly excited in behalf of Mr. 
 Piers, of Bexley, who had a dangerous illness, and was restored almost 
 by miracle. " I rode to Bexley," says he, " and found my friend on a 
 sick-bed, but full of peace and comfort." Two days after he adds, " I 
 was sent for to Mr. Piers, who lay dying in convulsions. I prayed for 
 him first with a friend, who said, ' If he is not dead already, he will not 
 die now.' I got to Bexley by three. My brother had recovered his 
 senses about the time we were praying for him. I was much comforted 
 by his calm resignation ; and in prayer saw, as it were, heaven opened ; 
 having seldom had greater freedom of access." Eight days afterward 
 he says, " News was brought me again that Mr. Piers was dying. 
 Next morning I found him more than conqueror in a mighty conflict 
 he had had for eight hours with all the powers of darkness. ' Now,' 
 he told me, ' I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the 
 Lord.' " 
 
 On the 17th of October, Mr. Charles Wesley left London for Not- 
 tingham, where he expected to meet his brother. He was gratified to 
 find that the society, which had been begun in that town half a year 
 before, consisting then of only eleven members, was now increased to 
 fifty. Here he continued for some days, preaching abroad with his 
 wonted energy and success. His brother appeared on the 21st, having 
 just escaped out of the hands of the Staffordshire rioters, who seem to 
 have been intent upon shedding his blood. Of the terrible persecutions 
 which he and the society endured at Wednesbury and the neighbour- 
 hood, Mr. John Wesley published a circumstantial narrative, at the 
 time, both in his Journal, and in a separate pamphlet. The principal 
 agent in exciting these murderous tumults was Mr. Egginton, the parish 
 minister at Wednesbury. This does not appear in any account that 
 the brothers published ; (for they ever showed a great delicacy in con- 
 cealing the delinquencies of their brethren the clergy ;) but in a private 
 letter, written soon after these riots had occurred, Mr. John Wesley 
 says, " When I preached at Wednesbury first, Mr. Egginton (the vicar) 
 invited me to his house, and told me, the oftener I came, the welcomer 
 I should be ; for I had done much good there already, and he doubted 
 not but I should do much more. But the next year I found him another 
 man. He had not only heard a vehement Visitation-Charge ; but had 
 been informed that we had publicly preached against drunkards, which 
 must have been designed as a satire on him. From this time we found 
 more and more effects of his unwearied labours, public and private,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 283 
 
 in stirring up the people on every side, to ' drive these fellows out of 
 the country.' One of his sermons I heard with my own ears. I pray 
 God I may never hear such another ! The minister at Darlaston, and 
 the curate of Walsal, trod in the same steps ; and these were they who, 
 not undesignedly , occasioned all the disorders which followed there." 
 
 The following is Mr. Charles Wesley's account, drawn up on the 
 spot ; for he immediately went to the place where the outrages had 
 been perpetrated : — 
 
 " My brother came, delivered out of the mouth of the lions ! He 
 looked like a soldier of Christ. His clothes were torn to tatters. The 
 mob of Wednesbury, Darlaston, and Walsal, were permitted to take 
 him by night out of the society-house, and carry him about several 
 hours, with a full purpose to murder him. But his work is not finished , 
 or he had been now with the souls under the altar. 
 
 " Oct. 24th. I had a blessing at parting from the society ; set out 
 at five, and by night came weary and wet to Birmingham." The next 
 day, he says, " I was much encouraged by the faith and patience of our 
 brethren from Wednesbury, who gave me some particulars of the late 
 persecution. My brother, they told me, had been dragged about for 
 three hours by the mob of three towns. Those of Wednesbury and 
 Darlaston were disarmed by a few words he spoke, and thenceforward 
 laboured to screen him from their old allies of Walsal, till they were 
 overpowered themselves, and most of them knocked down. Three of 
 the brethren and one young woman kept near him all the time, striving 
 to intercept the blows. Sometimes he was almost borne upon their 
 shoulders, through the violence of the multitude, who struck at him 
 continually that he might fall : and if he had once been down, he 
 would have risen no more. Many blows he escaped through his low- 
 ness of stature ; and his enemies were struck down by them. His feet 
 never once slipped ; for in their hands the angels bore him up. 
 
 " The ruffians ran about, asking, ' Which is the minister V and lost 
 and found and lost him again. That hand which struck the men of 
 Sodom and the Syrians blind withheld or turned them aside. Some 
 cried, ' Drown him ! Throw him into a pit !' some, ' Hang him up upon 
 the next tree !' others, ' Away with him ! Away with him !' and some 
 did him the infinite honour to cry, in express terms, ' Crucify him '' 
 One and all said, ' Kill him !' but they were not agreed what death to 
 put him to. In Walsal several said, ' Carry him out of the town. Don't 
 kill him here ! Don't bring his blood upon us !' 
 
 " To some who cried, ' Strip him ! Tear off his clothes ;' he mildly 
 answered, 'That you need not do. I will give you my clothes, if you 
 want them.' In the intervals of tumult, he spoke, the brethren assure I 
 me, with as much composure and correctness as he used to do in their
 
 284 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 societies. The Spirit of glory rested on him. As many as he spoke 
 to, or but laid his hand on, he turned into friends. He did not wonder 
 (as he himself told me) that the martyrs should feel no pain in the 
 flames ; for none of their blows hurt him, although one was so violent 
 as to make his nose and mouth gush out with blood. 
 
 " At the first justice's, whither they carried him, one of his poor 
 accusers mentioned the only crime alleged against him, ' Sir, it is a 
 downright shame. He makes people rise at five in the morning to 
 sing psalms.' Another said, ' To be plain, sir, I must speak the truth. 
 All the fault I find him with him is, that he preaches better than our 
 parsons.' Mr. Justice did not care to meddle with him, or with those 
 who were murdering an innocent man at his worship's door. A second 
 justice, in like manner, remanded him to the mob. The mayor of 
 Walsal refused him protection, when entering his house, for fear the 
 mob should pull it down. Just as he was within another door, one 
 fastened his hand in his hair, and drew him backward, almost to the 
 ground. A brother, at the peril of his life, fell on the man's hand, and 
 bit it, which forced him to loose his hold. 
 
 " The instrument of his deliverance, at last, was the ringleader of 
 the mob, the greatest profligate in the country. He carried him through 
 the river upon his shoulders. A sister they threw into it. Another's 
 arm they broke. No further hurt was done our people ; but many of 
 our enemies were sadly wounded. 
 
 " The minister of Darlaston sent my brother word, he would join 
 with him in any measures to punish the rioters ; that the meek be- 
 haviour of our people, and their constancy in suffering, convinced him 
 the counsel was of God; and he wished all his parish were Methodists. 
 
 " They pressed me to come, and preach to them in the midst of the 
 town. This was the sign agreed on between my brother and me. If 
 they asked me, I was to go. Accordingly we set out in the dark, and 
 came to Francis Ward's, whence my brother had been carried last 
 Thursday night. I found the brethren assembled, standing fast in one 
 mind and spirit, nothing terrified by their adversaries. The word given 
 me for them was, ' Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit yourselves 
 like men, be strong.' Jesus was in the midst, and covered us with a 
 covering of his Spirit. Never was I before in so primitive an assembly. 
 We sung praises lustily, and with a good courage ; and could all set to 
 our seal to the truth of our Lord's saying, ' Blessed are they that are 
 persecuted for righteousness' sake.' 
 
 " We laid us down, and slept, and rose up again ; for the Lord sus- 
 tained us. We assembled before day to sing hymns to Christ, as God. 
 As soon as it was light I walked down the town, and preached boldly 
 on Rev. ii, 10: ' Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer.
 
 LEFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 285 
 
 Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be 
 tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto 
 death, and I will give thee a crown of life.' It was a most glorious 
 time. Our souls were satisfied as with marrow and fatness ; and we 
 longed for our Lord's coming, to confess us before his Father and his 
 holy angels. We now understood what it was to receive the word in 
 much affliction, and yet with joy in the Holy Ghost. 
 
 " I took several new members into the society, and among them the 
 young man whose arm was broken ; and (upon trial) Munchin, the late 
 captain of the mob. He has been constantly under the word since he 
 rescued my brother. I asked him what he thought of him. ' Think 
 of him !' said he : ' that he is a mon of God ; and God was on his side, 
 when so many of us could not kill one mon.' 
 
 " We rode through the town unmolested, to Birmingham, where I 
 preached, and one received faith. I rode on to Evesham, and found 
 John Nelson preaching. I confirmed his word, and prayed in the 
 Spirit." 
 
 Having preached at Evesham, Quinton, Guthberton, and Cirencester, 
 Mr. Charles Wesley came once more to Bristol, where he had spent 
 only one day during the last six months. He preached a few times in 
 the city, and to the colliers of Kingswood, gladdening their hearts by 
 an account of the success of the gospel in various places ; and then 
 paid a visit to South Wales ; acknowledging a signal interposition of 
 Providence in crossing the Channel. " When we came to the Pass- 
 age," says he, " the boatmen refused to venture in such a storm. We 
 waited till four ; then committed ourselves to Him whom the winds 
 and seas obey ; and embarked with Mr. Ashton, and faithful Felix 
 Farley. The rest of the passengers stayed on the safe side. The 
 waves of the sea were mighty, and raged horribly. When with much 
 toiling we were come near the opposite shore, the storm caught the 
 vessel ; our sails were backed, and we were driving full on the black 
 rock, where thirty-two persons lost their lives a few weeks since. But 
 the answer of prayer, after much fatigue, brought us to the haven. ' O 
 that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare 
 the wonders that he doeth for the children of men !' It was dark when 
 we landed. However, we had a good Guide, (the darkness is no 
 darkness to him,) who conducted us through the heavy rain to the 
 Rock and Fountain. I spoke a word in season to the poor young 
 women servants, who dwell as in the confines of hell, in the midst of 
 human devils. 
 
 " Nov. 1st. I took horse some hours before day, and by ten reached 
 Cardiff. The gentlemen had threatened great things if I ever came 
 there again. I called in the midst of them, ' Is it nothing to you, all
 
 286 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ye that pass by V &c. The love of Christ constrained me to speak, 
 and them to hear. The word was irresistible. After it one of our 
 most violent opposers took me by the hand, and pressed me to come 
 to see him. The rest were equally civil all the time I stayed. Only 
 one drunkard made some disturbance ; but when sober, sent to ask my 
 pardon. The voice of praise and thanksgiving was in the society. 
 Many are grown in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus. I 
 passed an hour with the wife and daughter of the chief bailiff, who are 
 waiting as little children for the kingdom of God." 
 
 During this short stay in Wales Mr. Charles Wesley preached in 
 the castle at Cardiff, where he made a collection for the prisoners, and 
 distributed religious books among them. He also visited his faithful 
 friend, Mr. Hodges, the minister of Wenvo, and preached in his church. 
 In recrossing the Channel, on his return to Bristol, he says, " The 
 floods lifted up their voice ; but faith saw Jesus walking on the water, 
 and heard his voice, 'It is I. Be not afraid.' In eight minutes Ave 
 were brought safe to land by Him who rides in the whirlwind." 
 
 About the middle of November he took leave of the societies in 
 Kingswood and Bristol, and, preaching at Bath, Cirencester, Guthber- 
 ton, Evesham, Quinton, in his way, came to London, where he con- 
 cluded the year in happy intercourse with God, and with the lively 
 societies, among whom he was a joyful witness of the power of religion. 
 " I called upon Mr. Witham," says he, " given over by his physicians ; 
 trembling at the approach of the king of terrors ; and catching at every 
 word that might flatter his hopes of life." On the day following he 
 adds, " I prayed with him again, and found him somewhat more re- 
 signed." Eleven days afterward he says, " I prayed in great faith for 
 Mr. Witham, the time of whose departure draws nigher and nigher." 
 The following statement closes this death-bed scene : — " At half-hour 
 past seven in the evening he broke out, ' Now I am delivered ! I have 
 found the thing I sought. I know what the blood of sprinkling means !' 
 He called his family and friends to rejoice with him. Some of his 
 last words were, ' Why tarry the wheels of his chariot 1 I know that 
 my Redeemer liveth. Just at twelve this night my spirit will return to 
 him.' While the clock was striking twelve he died like a lamb, with 
 that word, ' Come, Lord Jesus.' " 
 
 A case somewhat different occurred at Bexley, a few days afterward, 
 when Mr. Charles Wesley was on a visit to the pious vicar of that 
 place. " I heard," says he, "that one of our fiercest persecutors, who 
 had cut his throat, and lay for dead some hours, was miraculously re- 
 vived, as a monument of divine mercy. Many of his companions have 
 been hurried into eternity, while fighting against God. He is now 
 seeking Him whom once he persecuted ; was confounded at the sight
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 287 
 
 of me ; much more by my comfortable words, and a small alms. He 
 could only thank me with his tears." 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, that Mr. Egginton, the clergyman of Wed- 
 nesbury, died almost immediately after the beginning of the destructive 
 riots of which he had been the principal cause. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The riots at St. Ives and Wednesbury were only a prelude to similar 
 outrages in various parts of the kingdom ; and to opposition the most 
 systematic and determined, by which the Methodist preachers and 
 societies were harassed. The country was in a very unsettled state. 
 It was at war with France and Spain ; and was threatened with an 
 invasion by the French, for the purpose of deposing the reigning 
 monarch, George the Second, and of placing upon the British throne 
 the exiled representative of the house of Stuart ; under whose govern- 
 ment it was understood, should the project succeed, Popery and arbi- 
 trary power were to be restored. The people, of course, dreaded the 
 loss of their liberty, civil and religious ; and a feverish anxiety was 
 generally prevalent. -^ 
 
 The national danger was made a pretext for persecution the most 
 bitter and undisguised. To rouse the popular vengeance against the 
 Wesleys, and their fellow-labourers in the gospel, it was only neces- 
 sary to represent them as Papists, who were supported by the money 
 of the Pretender, and were endeavouring to prepare the way for his 
 assumption of the crown which his fathers had forfeited. This expe- 
 dient was successfully adopted in various places. In several instances 
 magistrates and constables interfered, not to protect an unoffending 
 people, but to tear Methodist preachers away from their families, and 
 send them into the army. Mr. John and Charles Wesley were both 
 of them subjected to unjust charges, and examined before the civil 
 authorities : one in Cornwall, and the other in Yorkshire. Yet men 
 of purer loyalty did not exist. There is no reason to believe that they 
 received from their mother in early life any bias in favour of the Stuarts ; 
 and their attachment to the house of Brunswick, through the whole 
 of their public life, was unimpeachable. In this emergency of the 
 national affairs they used all their influence in support of the reigning 
 family. They inculcated loyalty wherever they preached ; and in the 
 principal societies under their care, they appointed weekly meetings 
 of intercession with God for the maintenance of public tranquillity. 
 and of the Protestant constitution. Both of them employed the press 
 

 
 288 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 for the same purpose. Charles poured forth the feelings of his pious 
 and loyal heart in sacred verse ; and published a tract, which was very 
 widely circulated, under the title of " Hymns for Times of Trouble." 
 In these very spirited compositions the national sins are confessed and 
 lamented ; the mercy of God is earnestly implored in behalf of a guilty 
 people ; civil war is deprecated as a great and terrible calamity ; the 
 preservation of the Protestant religion, and a revival of its primitive 
 spirit, are both solicited as the most important of all blessings ; and 
 the kin<r is especially commended to the divine protection, not as the 
 creature of the popular will, but as God's vicegerent, and his minister 
 for good to the people. 
 
 It was upon this occasion that Mr. Charles Wesley wrote and pub- 
 lished the three fine hymns, beginning, 
 
 " Sovereign of all, whose will ordains" — 
 " Lord, thou hast bid thy people pray" — 
 " Sinners, the call obey." 
 
 With the purest sentiments of Christian loyalty and patriotism, and 
 a heart yearning with affection for the souls of men, Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley left London on the 30th of January, 1744, and commenced his 
 journey to Newcastle, preaching at Birmingham, Dudley, Wednesbury, 
 Nottingham, Sheffield, Epworth, Leeds, and other places on his way. 
 This was one of the most eventful journeys he ever took. The coun- 
 try was unsettled ; fear was everywhere excited ; daring wickedness 
 abounded ; persecution lowered in all directions ; Dissenters, as well 
 as Churchmen, were prepared to engage in acts of riot ; yet his spirit 
 was undaunted, and he was even ready to die for the Lord Jesus, 
 should such be the divine will. 
 
 The following selections from his private journal will present the 
 most correct view of his circumstances, spirit, and labours : — 
 
 " Sunday, Jan. 29th. I assisted my brother and Mr. Gordon in ad- 
 ministering the sacrament to almost our whole society of above two 
 thousand. 
 
 " Jan. 30th. I set out, with our brother Webb, for Newcastle, com- 
 mended to the grace of God by all the brethren. Wednesday afternoon 
 we found our brother Jones at Birmingham. A great door is opened in 
 this country ; but there are many adversaries. At Dudley our preacher 
 was cruelly abused by a mob of Papists and Dissenters : the latter 
 stirred up by Mr. Whitting, their minister. Probably he would have 
 been murdered but for an honest Quaker, who helped him to escape 
 disguised with his broad hat, and coat. Staffordshire at present seems 
 the seat of war. 
 
 " Feb. 2d. I set out, with brother Webb, for Wednesbury, the field
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 289 
 
 of battle. I met with a variety of greetings on the road. I cried in 
 the street, ' Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the 
 world !' Several of our persecutors stood at a distance ; but none 
 offered to make the least disturbance. I walked through the blessings 
 and curses of the people to see Mr. Egginton's widow. Never have I 
 observed such bitterness as in these opposers ; yet they had no power 
 to touch us. 
 
 " Feb. 3d. I preached and prayed with the society, and beat down 
 the fiery self-|venging spirit of resistance, which was rising in some, 
 to disgrace, if hot destroy, the work of God. I preached unmolested 
 within sight of Dudley. Many Shimeis called after me ; and that was 
 all. I waited on the friendly Captain Dudley, who has stood in the 
 gap at Tipton-green, and kept off persecution, while it raged all around ; 
 and returned in peace through the enemy's country. 
 
 " On Tuesday next, they have given it out, that they will come with 
 all the rabble of the country, and pull down the houses and destroy all 
 the goods of our poor brethren. One would think there was ' no king 
 in Israel.' There is certainly no magistrate who will put them to 
 shame in any thing. Mr. Constable offered to make oath of their lives 
 being in danger ; but the justice refused it ; saying, he could do nothing. 
 Others of our complaining brethren met with the same redress, being 
 driven away with revilings. The magistrates do not themselves tear 
 off their clothes, and beat them. They only stand by and see others 
 do it. One of them told Mr. Jones, it was the best thing the mob ever 
 did, so to treat the Methodists ; and he would himself give five pounds 
 to drive them out of the country. Another, when our brother Ward 
 begged his protection, himself delivered him up to the mercy of the 
 mob, (who had half murdered him before,) threw his hand round his 
 head, and cried, ' Huzza, boys ! Well done ! Stand up for the Church !' 
 No wonder that the mob, so encouraged, should say and believe that 
 there is no law for Methodists. Accordingly, like outlaws they treat 
 them, breaking their houses, and taking away their goods at pleasure ^ 
 extorting money from those that have it, and cruelly beating those that 
 have not. 
 
 " The poor people from Darlaston are the greatest sufferers. The 
 rioters lately summoned them, by proclamation of the crier, to come to 
 such a public house, and set to their hands that they would never hear 
 the Methodist preachers, or they should have their houses pulled down. 
 About one hundred they compelled by blows. Notwithstanding which, 
 both then, and at other times, they have broken into their houses, rob- 
 bing and destroying. And still, if they hear any of them singing, or 
 reading the Scriptures, they force open their doors, by day and by 
 night, and spoil and beat them with all impunity. They watch their 
 
 19
 
 -90 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 houses, that none may go to Wednesbury ; and scarce a man or woman 
 but has been knocked down in attempting it. Their enemies are the 
 basest of the people, who will not work themselves, but live more to 
 their inclination on the labours of others. I wonder the gentlemen who 
 set them on are so short sighted as not to see, that the little all of our 
 poor colliers will soon be devoured ; and then these sons of rapine 
 will turn upon their foolish masters, who have raised a devil they 
 cannot lay. 
 
 "Feb. 4th. I discoursed from Isaiah liv, 17: 'No weapon that is 
 formed against thee shall prosper.' This promise shall De fulfilled in 
 our day. I spoke with those of our brethren who have this world's 
 goods, and found them entirely resigned to the will of God. All 
 thoughts of resistance are over, blessed be the Lord ; and the chief of 
 them said unto me, ' Naked came I into the world ; and I can but go 
 naked out of it.' They are resolved, by the grace of God, to follow my 
 advice, and suffer all things. Only I would have had them go round 
 again to the justices, and make information of their danger. Mr. Con- 
 stable said, he had just been with one of them, who redressed him 
 with bitter reproaches ; that the rest are of the same mind, and cannot 
 plead ignorance of the intended riot, because the rioters have had the 
 boldness to set up papers in the towns, particularly Walsal, inviting all 
 the country to rise with them, and destroy the Methodists. 
 
 " At noon I returned to Birmingham, having continued two days in 
 the lions' den unhurt. 
 
 " Feb. 5th. I preached in the Bullring, close to the church, where 
 they rung the bells, and threw dirt and stones all the time. None 
 struck me till I had finished my discourse. Then I got several blows 
 from the mob that followed me, till we took shelter at a sister's. I re- 
 ceived much strength and comfort with the sacrament. I preached 
 again in Wednesbury to a large congregation, many of whom come to 
 hear the word at the hazard of their lives. I encouraged them from 
 Isaiah li : ' Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord,' &c. 
 Here and in the society our Captain, we found, doth not send us a 
 warfare at our own charge. 
 
 " Feb. 6th. We commended each other to the divine protection ; 
 and at five I set out for Nottingham. Our way lay through Walsal, 
 the enemy's head-quarters. I would rather have gone a mile another 
 way. Entering the place we heard one hallooing with might and 
 main ; and a great noise followed, as if the town had taken the alarm. 
 I cannot say, the sound was very musical in my ears ; but I looked up, 
 and rode onward. The noise was made by a gentleman huntsman, a 
 bitter enemy of ours. We fell in with him and his dogs, it being just 
 day-break, and passed for very good sportsmen. Brother Webb would 
 
 19*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 291 
 
 needs ride through the market-place, to see the flag and paper our 
 enemies had set up, and to show his courage. Had he returned with 
 a broken head, I should not have greatly pitied him. By six our Lord 
 brought us safe to Nottingham. I met the society, on whom he laid 
 the burden of our persecuted brethren. 
 
 " Here also the storm is begun. Our brethren are violently driven 
 from their place of meeting ; pelted in the streets, &c. ; and mocked 
 with vain promises of justice by the very men who underhand encour- 
 age the rioters. An honest Quaker has hardly restrained some of the 
 brethren from resisting evil ; but henceforth I hope they will meekly 
 turn the other cheek. 
 
 " Feb. 7th. I waked in great heaviness, which continued all day, for 
 our poor suffering brethren ; yet with strong confidence that the Lord 
 will appear in their behalf. I joined the society at five in fervent in- 
 tercession for them ; and in preaching both administered and received 
 comfort. I sent my humble thanks to the mayor, for his offer of assist- 
 ance. He pities our brethren, and would defend them ; but who dares 
 do justice to a Christian ? We are content to wait for it till the great 
 day of retribution. 
 
 " At the brethren's desire I began preaching in the market-place. 
 The holyday-folk broke in among the hearers. I gave notice, I 
 should preach at the Cross, just by the mayor's. In the way the mob 
 assavdted us with dirt and stones, making us as the filth and offscourinff 
 of all things. My soul was caught up, and kept in calm recollection. 
 I knocked at the mayor's door. He let me in himself; gave us good 
 words ; threatened the rabble ; and led me to his front door, where the 
 people were waiting. I walked up to the Cross, and called them to re- 
 pent. They would not receive my testimony ; were very outrageous ; 
 yet not permitted to hurt me. The mayor at the same time passed by 
 us, laughing. Just such, protection I expected ! 
 
 " After fighting with wild beasts for near half an hour, I went down 
 into the thickest of them ; who started back, and left an open way to 
 the mayor's house. Mrs. Mayoress led me through the house with 
 great courtesy and compassion. The mob pursued us with stones, as 
 before. J. Webb and I were strangers to the town, but went straight 
 forward, and entered a house prepared for us. The woman received 
 us, and shut the door, and spoke with authority to the mob ; so that 
 they began to melt away. Then the brethren found and conducted us 
 to our friendly Quaker's. We betook ourselves to prayer for our fellow- 
 sufferers in Staffordshire, who have not been out of our thoughts the 
 whole day. I expounded the Beatitudes, and dwelt upon the last. 
 Never have I been more assisted. I rejoiced with our brethren in 
 the fires.
 
 292 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " Feb. 8th. I cannot help observing, from what passed yesterday, 
 that we ought to wait upon God for direction when and where to preach 
 much more than we do ; a false courage, which is the fear of shame, 
 may otherwise betray us into unnecessary dangers. Further, we may 
 learn not to lean upon that broken reed, human protection. To seek 
 redress by law, unless we are very sure of obtaining it, is only to dis- 
 cover our own weakness, and irritate our opposers. What justice can 
 be expected from the chief men of this place, if, as I am informed, they 
 are mostly Arian Presbyterians ! 
 
 " I exhorted the brethren to continue in the faith, and through much 
 persecution to enter the kingdom. Four were missing; the rest, 
 strengthened by their sufferings. I called at brother Sant's, and found 
 him just brought home for dead. The mob had knocked him down, 
 and would probably have murdered him, but for a little child, who, 
 being shut out of doors, alarmed the family by his cries. It was some 
 time before he came to himself, having been struck on the temples by 
 a large log of wood. We gave thanks to God for his deliverance, and 
 continued in prayer and conference till midnight. 
 
 " Feb. 9th. Our messenger returned from Lichfield with such an 
 account as I looked for. He had met our brother Ward, fled thither 
 for refuge. The enemy had gone to the length of his chain. All the 
 rabble of the country was gathered together yesterday, and laid waste 
 all before them. A note I received from two of the sufferers, whose 
 loss amounts to about two hundred pounds. My heart rejoiced in the 
 great grace which was given them ; for not one resisted evil ; but they 
 took joyfully the spoiling of their goods. We gave God the glory, that 
 Satan was not suffered to touch their lives. They have lost all be- 
 sides, and ' rejoice with joy unspeakable.' 
 
 " By five in the afternoon we came to Sheffield. I marvelled what 
 was come of them, that we had not one stone in riding through all the 
 town. Peace was in all their borders, and has been for some time. 
 The brethren are not slack during this rest, but walk in the fear of God. 
 I preached on, ' Ye are come to Mount Sion.' The power of God was 
 remarkably present ; but the power of the adversary quite restrained. 
 At nine I passed through Thorpe ; asked my companion, ' Where are 
 the pretty wild creatures, that were for braining me and my horse the 
 last time I came this way?' He told me, they had lost their spirit with 
 their captain ; a woman, the bitterest of them all, who died lately, in 
 horrible despair. This quite terrified our enemies. Her daughter is 
 now a believer, and several others in the place. Nay, they have even 
 got a society among them. I preached at Barley-hall, and found the 
 great power and blessing of God with the church in that house. A son 
 of my host attended me to Birstal.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 293 
 
 "Feb. 11th. I preached at five from, 'I am come that they might 
 have life ; and that they might have it more abundantly.' We were 
 greatly comforted by our mutual faith. The little flock increases both 
 in grace and number. The Lord fights for Israel this day against the 
 deceitful workers. I was glad to hear of one of our English brethren, 
 lately brought back by a little child, who told his father, something 
 came and disturbed him, so that he could not sleep at nights, since they 
 left off family prayer. 
 
 " I preached at Adwalton on our Lord's final coming. It was a 
 glorious season of rejoicing and love. In the afternoon I preached at 
 Armley. Arthur Bates, of Wakefield, who showed me the way, in- 
 formed me that his minister, Mr. Arnett, repelled him from the sacra- 
 ment ; and said, he had orders from the archbishop so to treat all that are 
 called Methodists. The time, we know, will come, when they shall 
 put us out of the synagogues ; but I much suspect Mr. Arnett has 
 slandered the good archbishop. In Leeds also some begin to abuse 
 their authority, and to exclude the true (yea, the truest) members of the 
 Church from her communion. 
 
 " Feb. 12th. I preached at Leeds, to many serious hearers, on, ' Fear 
 not, little flock ; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the 
 
 kingdom.' I went to Mr. M 's church, and heard him explain away 
 
 the promise of the Father. But he stopped at the application to the 
 Methodists ; perhaps out of tenderness to me, whom he may still have 
 some hopes of. I called on a larger and equally quiet congregation, 
 ' Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?' It was a blessed season. 
 Many looked upon Him whom they had pierced. 
 
 " I found John Nelson's hill quite covered with hearers. In the 
 midst of my discourse a gentleman came riding up, and almost over the 
 people. Speaking of temperance, and judgment to come, I turned and 
 applied to him, ' Thou art the man.' His countenance fell, and he 
 fled before the sword of the Spirit. The power of God burst forth, 
 and a cry was heard throughout the congregation. I continued my 
 discourse, or rather prayer, till night. 
 
 " Feb. 14th. I rode to Epworth. The Lord gave his blessing to 
 my word in the Cross. At the society the Spirit came down as 
 in the ancient days. My voice was lost in the mournings and re- 
 joicings on every side. All present, I believe, were either comforted 
 or wounded. 
 
 "Feb. 16th. I rode to Selby; the next day to Darlington. My 
 horse fell with me from a high causeway, and threw me, unhurt, into 
 deep mud, Feb. 17th. 
 
 " Feb. 18th. I got to Newcastle ; preached at night on, ' Our gospel 
 came to you ,not in word only ; but also in power, and in the Holy
 
 294 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Ghost, and in much assurance.' The people received me with that 
 joy and love which the world knoweth not of. 
 
 " Feb. 19th. I heard of a remarkable providence. A poor drunkard, 
 who has left us for some time, was moved this morning to rise and 
 come to the preaching ; by which he escaped being crushed to death 
 by the fall of his house. He had no sooner left it than it was blown 
 down, the greatest part of it. Just before it fell his wife took one with 
 her to the window, to sing a hymn, and so escaped. A sister was 
 overwhelmed with the ruins ; yet the rafters fell endways, and a cavity 
 was made archwise over her head. She stayed there some hours, 
 before they could dig her out, rejoicing in God her Saviour. 
 
 " I told a huge multitude in the Square, ' Ye shall be hated of all 
 men for my name sake.' I stood at the door of the Orphan House, and 
 took in many of the disturbers ; to whom I then preached without op- 
 position ; and exhorted the brethren to prepare for the fiery trial. 
 
 " Feb. 20th. 1 heard without any surprise the news of the French 
 invasion ; which only quickened us in our prayers, especially for his 
 majesty King George. In the evening I expounded what the Spirit 
 saith to the church of Ephesus, and received extraordinary power to 
 warn them of the sword that is coming, and to wrestle with God in 
 prayer for the king. 
 
 " Feb. 26th. I preached at Tanfield. My mouth and heart were 
 opened to this people, who seem now to have got the start of those at 
 Newcastle. I called at the Square, with greater utterance than ever, 
 ' Wash ye, make ye clean,' &c. I urged them earnestly to repent ; to 
 fear God, and honour the king ; and had the clearest testimony of my 
 own conscience, that I had now delivered my own soul. I found a 
 great mob about our house, and bestowed an hour in taming them. A 
 hundred or more I admitted into the room ; and when I had got them 
 together, for two hours exhorted them, in the power of love, to repent. 
 The rocks were melted on every side ; and the very ringleaders of the 
 rebels declared they would make a disturbance no more. 
 
 " March 4th. The people of Newcastle were in an uproar through 
 the expectation of a victory. They got their candles ready, and gave 
 thanks (that is, got drunk) beforehand ; and then came down to make 
 a riot among us. Some of the brethren they struck, and threatened to 
 pull down the desk. We were sensible that the powers of darkness 
 were abroad, and prayed in faith against them. God heard, and scat- 
 tered the armies of the aliens here. Afterward news came, that at this 
 very hour they were pulling down the house at St. Ives. 
 
 " March 5th. I passed an hour with Mr. Watson, one of the town- 
 sergeants, and lately the greatest swearer in Newcastle. Now God 
 hath touched his heart, both his fellows, and his masters, the aldermen.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 295 
 
 are set against him as one man. The mayor, he tells me, asked him 
 publicly, ' What, Mr. Watson, do you go to hear these men V He an- 
 swered, ' Yes ; at every proper opportunity ; and I wish you would 
 hear them too.' One of the aldermen expressed his impatience by 
 cursing 'that fellow Watson. We can neither make him drink nor 
 swear.' " 
 
 At this time Mr. John Wesley was urgently pressed to forward a 
 loyal and dutiful address to the king, in behalf of the Methodists, de- 
 claring their real character and designs. He consulted Charles on the 
 subject, who gave his opinion in the following letter : — " My objection 
 to your address in the name of the Methodists is, that it would consti- 
 tute us a sect. At least, it would seem to allow that we are a body dis- 
 tinct from the national Church. Guard against this ; and in the name 
 of the Lord address to-morrow." 
 
 Agreeably to this suggestion, Mr. John Wesley prepared an address, 
 remarkable for its frankness and simplicity ; but states that, " on fur- 
 ther consideration, it was judged best to lay it aside." He has given 
 the document in his printed Journal. The following is an extract : — 
 " We think it incumbent upon us, if we must stand as a distinct body 
 from our brethren, to tender for ourselves our most dutiful regards to 
 your sacred majesty ; and to declare, in the presence of Him we serve, 
 the King of kings, and Lord of lords, that we are a part (however 
 mean) of that Protestant Church, established in these kingdoms : that 
 we unite together for this, and no other end, — to promote, as far as we 
 may be capable, justice, mercy, and truth ; the glory of God, and peace 
 and good-will among men : that we detest and abhor the fundamental 
 doctrines of the Church of Rome, and are steadily attached to your 
 majesty's royal person and illustrious house." 
 
 On the 8th of March Mr. Charles Wesley took leave of the society 
 in Newcastle, who were all in tears at his departure ; and on the 1 Oth 
 arrived with John Downes at Epworth. " On the Common," says he, 
 " Thomas Westall overtook us, being driven out of Nottingham by the 
 mob and mayor. I preached at the Cross, on, ' Enter into the rock, 
 and hide yourselves, as it were for a little moment, until the indigna- 
 tion be overpast,' to a people willing to take the warning. 
 
 "I took John Healey's account of their treatment at Nottingham. 
 The mayor sent for Thomas Westall. John went with him. Thomas 
 desired time to read the oath which they offered him ; upon which Mr 
 Mayor threatened to send him to prison. While he was making his 
 mittimus, John Healey asked, ' Does not the law allow a man three 
 hours to consider of it?' This checked their haste ; and they permit- 
 ted him to hear first what he should swear to. He said it was all v< rv 
 good, and what he had often heard Mr. Wesley say, that King George 

 
 296 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 was our rightful king, and no other ; and he would take this oath with 
 all his heart. 
 
 "They had first asked John Healey, if he would take the oaths. 
 He answered, ' I will take them now ; but I would not before I heard 
 Mr. Wesleys ; for I was a Jacobite, till they convinced me of the truth, 
 and of his majesty's right.' ' See the old Jesuit !' cries one of the ven- 
 erable aldermen : ' he has all his paces, I warrant you.' Another, on 
 Thomas Westall's holding his hands to his eyes, cried, ' See ! see ! he 
 is confessing his sins !' They treated them like Faithful and Christian 
 at Vanity Fair ; only they did not burn them yet, or even put them 
 into the cage. They demanded their horses for the king's service ; 
 and would not believe them that they had none, till they sent and 
 searched. 
 
 " Not finding any cause to punish, they were forced to dismiss them ; 
 but soon after, the mayor sent for Thomas Westall, and commanded him 
 to depart the town. He answered, he should obey his orders ; and 
 accordingly came to Epworth. Here, he told me, he found out who 
 the Pretender was ; for Mr. Gurney told him, many years ago, there 
 was one King James, who was turned out, and one King William 
 taken in his place ; and that then the parliament made a law, that no 
 Papist shoidd ever be king ; by which law King James's son, whom he 
 had now discovered to be the Pretender, was justly kept out." 
 
 Hitherto the Methodists had been assailed principally by lawless 
 mobs, by whose violence several of them had sufTered the loss of all 
 their worldly property, and others had endured great bodily harm, hav- 
 ing their limbs broken, and their lives endangered. But at this time 
 persecution assumed a more systematic form. The magistrates had 
 generally refused to act, and had left the Methodists at the mercy of 
 violent and cruel men. Now they interfered ; and endeavoured, by an 
 abuse of their power, and the perversion of law, to crush a defenceless 
 people, whose real crime was that of attempting to effect a national 
 reformation, by a revival of true religion. The Methodists carried the 
 truth of God into quarters where it was unwelcome ; and innocently 
 provoked the hostility of men, who ought rather to have repented in 
 sackcloth and ashes. Mr. Charles Wesley had the honour of being 
 selected as the first victim. A charge of treason was preferred against 
 bim, and a warrant was issued, summoning witnesses to appear against 
 hiin. He has given the following account of this affair, and of the 
 circumstances connected with it. He had preached at the Cross in 
 Epworth, and then gone to Birstal, near Leeds. 
 
 " March 14th. One told me, there was a constable with a warrant, 
 in which my name was mentioned. I sent for him, and he showed it 
 me. It was ' to summon witnesses to some treasonable words, said to
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 29? 
 
 be spoken by one Westley.' The poor man trembled ; said he had no 
 business with me ; and was right glad to get out of my hands. He 
 was afterward of my audience, and wept, as did most. I was then 
 taken horse, but found such a bar or burden crossing me, that I could 
 not proceed. At the same time the brethren besought me to stay, lest 
 the enemies should say I durst, not stand trial. I knew not how to 
 determine, but by a lot : we prayed ; and the lot came for my stay. It 
 was much upon my mind, that I shoidd be called to bear my testimony, 
 and vindicate the loyalty of God's people. By the order of Provi- 
 dence, several justices are now at Wakefield. A woman stands to it, 
 that she heard me talk treason ; but there is an overruling Providence. 
 I found it hard not to premeditate, or think of to-morrow. 
 
 " I met the brethren at Leeds, and many others, in an old upper 
 room. After singing, I shifted my place, to draw them to the upper 
 end. One desired me to come nearer the door, that they might hear 
 without. I removed again, and drew the weight of the people after 
 me. In that instant the floor sunk. I lost my senses, but recovered 
 them in a moment, and was filled with power from above. I lifted up 
 my head first, and saw the people under me, heaps upon heaps. I 
 cried out, ' Fear not ! The Lord is with us. Our lives are all safe ;' 
 and then, 
 
 ' Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.' 
 
 I lifted up the fallen as fast as I could, and perceived by their coun- 
 tenances which were our children; several of whom were hurt, but 
 none killed. 
 
 " We found, when the dust and tumult was a little settled, that the 
 rafters had broken off short, close by the main beam. A woman lay 
 dangerously ill in a room below, on the opposite side ; and a child in a 
 cradle just under the ruins. But the sick woman calling the nurse a 
 minute before, she carried the child with her to the standing side ; and 
 all three were preserved. Another of the society was moved, she 
 knew not why, to go out with her child just before the room felt. 
 Above one hundred lay with me among the wounded : though I did 
 not properly fall, but slid softly down, and light on my feet. My hand 
 was bruised, and part of the skin rubbed off my head. One sister had 
 her arm broken, and set immediately, rejoicing with joy unspeakable. 
 Another, strong in faith, was so crushed, that she expected instant 
 death. I asked her, when got to bed, whether she was not afraid to 
 die. She answered, that she was without fear, even when she thought 
 her sou] was departing ; and only said, in calm faith, ' Jesus, receive 
 my spirit !' Her body continues full of pain, and her soul of love. 
 
 " A boy of eighteen was taken up roaring, 'I will be good! I will
 
 298 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 be good !' They got his leg set, which was broken in two places. 
 He had come, as usual, to make a disturbance, and struck several of 
 the women going in, till one took him up stairs, for Providence to teach 
 him better. 
 
 " The news was soon spread through the town, and drew many to 
 the place, who expressed their compassion by wishing all our necks 
 had been broken. I preached out of the town, in weariness and pain- 
 fulness. The Lord was our strong consolation. Never did I more 
 clearly see, that not a hair of our head can fall to the ground without 
 our heavenly Father. 
 
 "March 15th. I baptized a Quaker, who received forgiveness in that 
 hour." 
 
 After administering this sacrament, and rejoicing to find " the out- 
 ward and visible sign" attended by " the inward and spiritual grace," 
 Mr. Charles Wesley mounted his horse, and set off for Wakefield, to 
 meet his accusers before the magistrates, and answer the charge of 
 treason which had been preferred against him. Upon the road he 
 composed the following hymn, which is beautifully descriptive of his 
 faith, meekness, and calm resignation to the divine will. He published 
 it a few years afterward, with the title, " Written in going to Wake- 
 field to answer a charge of treason." 
 
 Jesus, in this hour be near ; 
 On thy servant's side appear ; 
 Call'd thine honour to maintain, 
 Help a feeble child of man. 
 
 Thou who art thy creature's bar 
 Didst thy Deity declare, 
 Now my mouth and wisdom be, 
 Witness for thyself in me. 
 
 Gladly before rulers brought, 
 Free from trouble as from thought, 
 Let me thee in them revere, 
 Own thine awful Minister. 
 
 All of mine be cast aside, 
 Anger, fear, and guile, and pride ; 
 Only give me, from above, 
 Simple faith, and humble love. 
 
 Set my face, and fix my heart ; 
 Now the promised power impart ; 
 Meek, submissive, and resign'd, 
 Arm me with thy constant mind. 
 
 Let me trample on the foe, 
 Conquering and to conquer go, 
 Till above his world I rise, 
 Judge th' accuser in the skies.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 299 
 
 Proceeding in his narrative, Mr. Charles Wesley says, " I rode to 
 Wakefield, and at eleven waited upon Justice Burton, at his inn, with 
 two other justices, Sir Rowland Wynne, and the Rev. Mr. Zouch. I 
 told him I had seen a warrant of his, to summon witnesses to some 
 treasonable words, said to be spoken by one Westley ; that I had put off 
 my journey to London, to wait upon him, and answer whatever should 
 be laid to my charge. He answered he had nothing to say against me, 
 and I might depart. I replied, that was not sufficient, without clearing 
 my character, and that of many innocent people, whom their enemies 
 were pleased to call Methodists. ' Vindicate them !' said my brother 
 clergyman, ' that you will find a very hard task.' I answered, ' As 
 hard as you may think it, I will engage to prove that they all, to a man, 
 are true members of the Church of England, and loyal subjects of his 
 majesty King George.' I then desired they would administer to me 
 the oaths, and added, ' If it was not too much trouble, I could wish, 
 gentlemen, you would send for every Methodist in England, and give 
 them the same opportunity you do me, of declaring their loyalty upon 
 oath.' 
 
 " Justice Burton said, he was informed that we constantly prayed for 
 the Pretender in all our societies, or nocturnal meetings, as Mr. Zouch 
 called them. I answered, ' The very reverse is true. We constantly 
 pray for his majesty King George byname. These are such hymns as 
 we sing in our societies ; a sermon I preached before the university ; 
 another my brother preached there ; his Appeals, and a few more trea- 
 tises, containing our principles and practice.' Here I gave them our 
 books, and was bold to say, ' I am as true a Church-of-England man, and 
 as loyal a subject, as any man in the kingdom.' ' That is impossible,' 
 they cried all ; but as it was not my business to dispute, and as I 
 could not answer till the witnesses appeared, I withdrew without 
 further reply. 
 
 " While I waited at a neighbouring house, one of the brethren 
 brought me the constable of Birstal, whose heart God hath touched. 
 He told me he had summoned the principal witness, Mary Castle, on 
 whose information the warrant was granted, and who was setting out 
 on horseback, when the news came to Birstal, that I was not gone for- 
 ward to London, as they expected, but would be in Wakefield. Hear- 
 ing of this, she turned back, and declared to him that she did not hear 
 the treasonable words herself, but another woman told her so. Three 
 more witnesses, who were to swear to my words, retracted likewise, 
 and knew nothing of the matter. The fifth, good Mr. Woods, the ale- 
 house-keeper, is forthcoming, it seems, in the afternoon. 
 
 " Now I plainly see the consequence of my not appearing here to 
 look my enemies in the face. Had I gone on my journey, here would 

 
 300 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 have been witnesses enough, and oaths enough, to stir up a persecution 
 against the Methodists. I took the witnesses' names, Mary Castle, 
 W. Walker, Lionel Knowles, Arthur Furth, Joseph Woods ; andacopy 
 of the warrant, as follows : — 
 
 " ' West Riding of Yorkshire. — To the constable of Birstal, in the 
 said Riding, or deputy. — These are in his majesty's name to require 
 and command you, to summon Mary Castle, of Birstal, aforesaid, and 
 all other such persons as you are informed can give any information 
 against one Westlcy, or any other of the Methodist speakers, for speak- 
 in°- any treasonable words, or exhortations, as praying for the banished, 
 or for the Pretender, &c, to appear before me, and other his majesty's 
 justices of the peace for the said Riding, at the White-hart, in Wake- 
 field, on the 15th of March instant, by ten of the clock, in the forenoon, 
 to be examined, and to declare the truth of what they and each of them 
 know touching the premises ; and that you make a return hereof before 
 us on the same day. Given under my hand the 10th of March 1743. 
 
 "'E. Burton.' 
 
 " Between two and three, honest Mr. Woods came, and started back 
 at the sight of me, as if he had trod upon a serpent. One of our broth- 
 .ers took hold on him, and told me he trembled every joint of him. 
 The justice's clerk had bid the constable bring him to him as soon as 
 ever he came : but notwithstanding all the clerk's instructions, Woods 
 frankly confessed, now he was come, he had nothing to say ; and 
 would not have come at all, had they not forced him. 
 
 " I waited at the door, where the justices were examining the disaf- 
 fected, till seven. I took public notice of Mr. Oherhaasen, the Mora- 
 vian teacher, but not of Mr. Kendrick. When all their business was 
 over, and I had been insulted at their door from eleven in the morning 
 till seven at night, I was sent for, and asked, ' What would Mr. Wes- 
 ley desire ?' Wesley. — ' I desire nothing, but to know what is alleged 
 against me.' Justice Burton said, ' What hope of truth from him ? He 
 is another of them.' Then addressing himself to me, ' Here are two 
 of your brethren : one so silly, it is a shame he should ever set up for a 
 teacher ; and the other has told us a thousand lies and equivocations upon 
 oath. He has not wit enough, or he would make a complete Jesuit.' 
 1 looked round, and said, ' I see none of my brethren here, but this 
 gentleman ;' pointing to the reverend justice ; who looked as if he did 
 not thank me for claiming him. Burton. — ' Why, do you not know this 
 man ?' showing me Kendrick. Wesley. — ' Yes, sir, very well : for 
 two years ago I expelled him our society in London, for setting up for 
 a preacher.' To this poor Kendrick assented ; which put a stop to 
 further reflections on the Methodists. 
 
 " Justice Burton then said, I might depart ; for they had nothing
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 301 
 
 against me. Wesley. — ' Sir, that is not sufficient. I cannot depart 
 till my character is fully cleared. It is no trifling matter. Even my 
 life is concerned in the charge.' Burton. — ' I did not summon you to 
 appear.' Wesley. — ' I was the person meant by one Westley ; and my 
 supposed words were the occasion of your order, which I read signed 
 with your name.' Burton. — ' I will not deny my order. I did send to 
 summon the witnesses.' Wesley. — ' Yes ; and I took down their 
 names from the constable's paper. The principal witness, Mary Cas- 
 tle, was setting out ; but hearing I was here, she turned back, and 
 declared to the constable, she only heard another say that I spoke 
 treason. Three more of the witnesses recanted for the same reason ; 
 and Mr. Woods, who is here, says he has nothing to say, and should 
 not have come neither, had he not been forced by the minister. Had 
 I not been here, he would have had enough to say ; and ye would have 
 had witnesses and oaths enough. But I suppose my coming has pre- 
 vented theirs.' One of the justices added, ' I suppose so too.' 
 
 " They all seemed fully satisfied, and would have had me so too ; 
 but I insisted on their hearing Mr. Woods. Burton. — ' Do you desire he 
 may be called as an evidence for you V Wesley. — ' I desire he may 
 be heard as an evidence against me, if he has aught to lay to my 
 charge.' Then Mr. Zouch asked Woods what he had to say : what 
 were the words I spoke. Woods was as backward to speak as they 
 to have him ; but was at last compelled to say, ' I have nothing to say 
 against the gentleman. I only heard him pray that the Lord would 
 call home his banished.' Zouch. — ' But were there no words before or 
 after, which pointed to these troublesome times V Woods. — ' No ; 
 none at all.' Wesley. — ' It was on February 12th, before the earliest 
 news of the invasion. But if Folly and Malice may be interpreters, 
 any words which any of you, gentlemen, speak, may be construed into 
 treason.' Zouch. — ' It is very true.' Wesley. — ' Now, gentlemen, 
 give me leave to explain my own words. I had no thoughts of praying 
 for the Pretender ; but for those that confess themselves strangers and 
 pilgrims upon earth ; who seek a country, knowing this is not their 
 place. The Scriptures you, sir, know,' (to the clergyman,) ' speak of 
 us as captive exiles, who are absent from the Lord while in the body. 
 We are not at home till we are in heaven.' Zouch. — ' I thought you 
 would so explain the words ; and it is a fair interpretation.' I asked 
 if they were all satisfied. They said they were, and cleared me as 
 fully as I desired. 
 
 " I then asked them again to administer to me the oaths. Mr. Zouch 
 looked on my Sermon ; asked who ordained me ; (the archbishop ^and 
 bishop the same week ;) and said, with the rest, it was quite unneces- 
 sary, since I was a clergyman, and student of Christ-Church ; and had 

 
 302 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 preached before the university, and taken the oaths before. Yet 1 mo- 
 tioned it again, till they acknowledged in explicit terms my loyalty 
 unquestionable. I then presented Sir Rowland and Mr. Zouch with the 
 ' Appeal,' and took my leave." 
 
 Mr. Coleby, the clergyman of Birstal, who was also a magistrate, 
 appears to have been the principal instigator in this plot to ruin Mr. 
 Charles Wesley. The treasonable words were said to have been ut- 
 tered at Birstal ; and it was Mr. Coleby that urged Woods the publican 
 to appear as a witness at Wakefield. This teacher of Christianity, and 
 guardian of the public peace, was concerned a few weeks afterward in 
 acts of persecution still more criminal. After retiring from the presence 
 of the magistrates, Mr. Charles Wesley poured forth the feelings of his 
 heart in the following strains of thankfulness and faith : — 
 
 Who that trusted in the Lord 
 
 Was ever put to shame ? 
 Live, by heaven and earth adored, 
 
 Thou all-victorious Lamb : 
 Thou hast magnified thy power, 
 , Thou in my defence hast stood, 
 
 Kept my soul in danger's hour, 
 
 And arm'd me with thy blood. 
 
 Satan's slaves against me rose, 
 
 And sought my life to slay ; 
 Thou hast baffled all my foes, 
 
 And spoil'd them of their prey : 
 Thou hast cast th' accuser down, 
 
 Hast maintain'd thy servant's right, 
 Made mine innocency known, 
 
 And clear as noon-day light. 
 
 Evil to my charge they laid, 
 
 And crimes I never knew ; 
 But my Lord the snare display'd, 
 
 And dragg'd the fiend to view : 
 Glared his bold malicious lie ! 
 
 Satan, show thine art again ; 
 Hunt the precious life, and try 
 
 To take my soul in vain. 
 
 Thou, my great redeeming God, 
 
 My Jesus, still art near ; 
 Kept by thee, nor secret fraud, 
 
 Nor open force, I fear : 
 Safe amid the snares of death, 
 a Guarded by the King of kings, 
 
 Glad to live and die beneath 
 
 The shadow of thy wings.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLE3 WESLEY. 303 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley goes on to state, " Half hour after seven we set 
 out for Birstal ; and a joyful journey we had. Our brethren met us on 
 the road ; and we gathered together on the hill, and sung praises lustily 
 and with a good courage. Their enemies were rising at Birstal, full 
 of the Wednesbury devil, on presumption of my not finding justice at 
 Wakefield ; wherein they were more confirmed by my delay. They 
 had begun pulling down John Nelson's house, when our singing damped 
 and put them to flight. Now I see, if I had not gone to confront my 
 enemies, or had been evil entreated at Wakefield, it might have occa- 
 sioned a general persecution here, which the Lord hath now crushed 
 in the birth. No weapon that is formed against us shall prosper ; and 
 every tongue that shall rise against us in judgment we shall condemn." 
 
 Leaving the society at Birstal greatly encouraged by the decision 
 at Wakefield, Mr. Charles Wesley entered upon his journey to London, 
 taking Derby, Sheffield, Nottingham, and other places, on his way, 
 where he gladly preached the word of life. He says, " By night we 
 came to Nottingham ; and well for us that it was night. The mob are 
 come to a great height through the encouragement of the mayor. We 
 knew not the way to brother Sant's, and could not inquire ; but our 
 horses carried us straight to his door. The house was immediately 
 beset, as usual. I was troubled for these few sheep in the wilderness. 
 The wolf has made havoc of them : the magistrates being the perse- 
 cutors, not only refusing them justice, but cruelly abusing them as 
 rioters. They presented a petition to Judge Abdy, as he passed through 
 the town. He spake kindly to them, and bade them, if they were fur- 
 ther molested, present the corporation. He chid the mayor, and made 
 him send his officers through the town, forbidding any one to injure 
 the Methodists. He told him, ' If you will begin, why do not you put 
 down the assemblies contrary to law ? Instead of that, if there be one 
 religious society, you must set upon that to destroy it.' 
 
 " As soon as the judge was out of the town, they returned to perse- 
 cute the Methodists more than ever ; and when they complained to the 
 mayor, he insulted them with, ' Why do you not go to my lord judge V 
 He threatens, when the press-warrants are out, to take Daniel Sant, 
 an industrious founder, with four children ; whose crime is, that he 
 suffers the poor people to pray in his house." 
 
 On the 22d of March Mr. Charles Wesley arrived at the Foundery, 
 in London, where, he says, " the society helped me to give hearty thanks 
 to God for the multitude of his mercies." Four days afterward Mr. 
 John Wesley set out for Cornwall, where the preachers and societies 
 were grievously persecuted. At St. Ives he found the preaching-house 
 demolished by the mob ; and boards nailed over the windows of John 
 Nance's house, where the preachers lodged ; the glass, it would seem,
 
 304 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 being already destroyed. The people were rendered furious by the 
 preaching of two clergymen, Mr. Hoblin and Mr. Simmons ; and Dr. 
 Borlase, the historian of the county, and a clerical magistrate, being 
 equally hostile, was unwilling to protect the sufferers. 
 
 When Mr. Charles Wesley was sheltered from the storm in London, 
 he was not unmindful of his persecuted friends in the country. They 
 were not less the objects of his prayers than of his sympathy; and in 
 a few weeks he raised the sum of sixty pounds in behalf of the Meth- 
 odist families in Wednesbury, some of whom were deprived, by wicked 
 and cruel men, of all the property they had in the world. This sum 
 he committed to the care of Mr. Butts, and sent him to distribute it 
 among the most destitute. The body of Methodists in London at this 
 time, and especially those of them who were connected with the 
 Foundery, were people after Charles Wesley's own heart. They were 
 pious and loyal, as well as generous. On the 30th of March he says, 
 " At the time of intercession we were enabled to wrestle for the nation 
 with strong cries and tears. At the chapel the Spirit of supplication 
 fell upon us more abundantly still." He adds, on the 12th of April, 
 " The Foundery was filled by four, with those who came to keep the 
 national fast. I preached at the chapel in great weakness, both of soul 
 and body. In the midst of my discourse the floor began to sink, with 
 our people on it ; but none of them cried out, or made the least dis- 
 turbance, while they got off it." There was need for these applications 
 to God in prayer ; for on the 14th he adds, " We were alarmed by news 
 of a second invasion. The French, we hear, are now in the Channel. 
 Yet this infatuated people will not believe there is any danger, till 
 they are swallowed up by it. But he that taketh warning shall deliver 
 his soul." 
 
 The increase of the national danger produced no abatement in the 
 spirit of persecution, which was now rampant in various parts of the 
 land. Scarcely had the messenger, who was sent with relief to the 
 suffering society at Wednesbury, returned from his errand of mercy, 
 before John Nelson was wickedly separated from his family and sent 
 into the army, for the crime of teaching his neighbours the holy religion 
 of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Nelson was a native of Birstal, and brought up to the business of a 
 stone-mason. That he might get rid of his ungodly companions, he 
 went to London, where he attended the preaching of the Wesleys in 
 Moorfields, and was deeply impressed under their word. He saw that, 
 notwithstanding his morality and form of godliness, he was guilty, and 
 his nature corrupt ; so that, unless he obtained the pardoning mercy 
 and renewing grace of God, it had been good for him if he had never 
 been born. He received the doctrine of present salvation from sin,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 305 
 
 and realized its truth in his own heart. During his subsequent stay 
 in London, he constantly attended the ministry of the Wesleys, and 
 adorned his religious profession by a pious and upright life. His spirit 
 was naturally fearless ; and though an uneducated man, he possessed 
 very strong sense, great quickness of apprehension, and a ready wit. 
 In London he had full employment, and good wages ; but the impres- 
 sion upon his mind that he should return to Birstal Avas so strong, he 
 could not rest till he had gone thither. On his arrival he had no 
 thought of preaching, but declared his enjoyment of the divine favour. 
 This was soon noised abroad ; and people crowded to his house in the 
 evenings, some to make inquiries concerning the new religion which 
 they understood he had learned in the metropolis, and others to dispute 
 the correctness of his views. He referred them to the Scriptures, and 
 to the formularies of the Church of England ; proving that what thev 
 thought to be new was, in fact, the old religion of the apostles, and 
 of the Protestant refonners. In this manner he became a teacher of 
 others, and under Mr. Wesley's sanction was at length induced to 
 travel through various parts of England, declaring with all earnestness 
 and fidelity the evil and danger of sin, and the way of salvation by Jesus 
 Christ. In the course of his itinerant ministry, when his funds were 
 exhausted, he occasionally worked at his business, after the example 
 of St. Paul. When he was at home he wrought as a stone-mason, 
 often preaching during his dinner-hour, as well as in the evenings, and 
 on the Lord's day. 
 
 In this manner was he employed, when, on the 4th of May, 1744. 
 he was pressed for a soldier. Bail, to a large amount, was offered for 
 his appearance at the time required, but in vain. The next day he 
 was formally and officially doomed to the military life. The whole ap- 
 pears to have been the contrivance of Mr. Coleby, the clergyman of 
 Birstal, who was concerned in the attempt to fasten upon Mr. Charles 
 Wesley the charge of treason. Written testimonies in John's behalf 
 were forwarded to the commissioners, and several of his neighbours 
 appeared to give evidence in his favour ; but when John, with all the 
 confidence which uprightness inspires, appealed to these, the answer 
 was, " Here is your minister" (who was himself a magistrate, and one 
 of the commissioners.) " He has told us of your character ; and we 
 will hear no more." These gentlemen in office had thus the boldness 
 to declare, that they had decided the case beforehand, without hearing 
 a word of what the accused and his friends had to urge in his defence. 
 Ail this while they knew that they were not only acting unjustly toward 
 an innocent man, but were violating the law ; for when the inquiry 
 was proposed, whether the documents in John's favour should be filed, 
 one of them answered, " No ; for if they be called for, they will make 
 
 20
 
 306 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 against us." The whole business was managed with disgusting levity. 
 The magistrates, while, deciding the case, drank spirituous liquors, and 
 indulged themselves in profane swearing and unseemly laughter ; which 
 led Nelson to say, " Gentlemen, I see there is neither law nor justice 
 for a man that is called a Methodist ; but all is lawful that is done 
 against him. I pray God forgive you ; for you know not what you do." 
 Addressing his principal adversary, he continued, " Mr. Coleby, what 
 do you know of me that is evil ? Whom have I defrauded ? or where 
 have I contracted a debt that I cannot pay V He answered, " You 
 have no visible way of getting your living." To this the injured man 
 replied, " I am as able to get my living with my own hands as any man 
 of my trade in England ; and you know it. Have I not been at work 
 yesterday, and all the week before ?" 
 
 He was then committed to the care of the captain, who read to John, 
 and to the other unfortunate men who were condemned with him, the 
 articles of war ; adding, " You hear that your doom is death, if you 
 disobey us." Nelson, who possessed as brave a heart as ever beat in 
 a human breast, answered, " I do not fear the man that can kill me, 
 any more than I do him that can cut down a dogstander.* For I know 
 that my life is hid with Christ in God ; and he will judge between me 
 and you one day : but I beseech him not to lay this sin to your charge." 
 To Mr. Coleby he said, " Sir, I pray God forgive you ; for you have 
 given me such a character as not another man in England will that 
 knows me." 
 
 With several friendless men John Nelson was then marched through 
 Bradford and Leeds to York, and thence to Newcastle ; being treated 
 with great harshness, ar 4 often imprisoned. His case produced strong 
 excitement wherever he went. The streets were crowded with people, 
 who were eager to see the Methodist preacher in a red coat. Some 
 were ready to gnash upon him with their teeth ; while others were 
 grieved to see justice and humanity outraged for the gratification of 
 intolerance. Nelson, who was as fine a specimen of an Englishman 
 of his class as the nation ever bred, sustained by the power of divine 
 grace, and cheered by the sympathy of his friends, (and he had many,) 
 passed through his trials without a stain upon his reputation. With 
 honest faithfulness he reproved the officers for swearing, and availed 
 himself of every opportuny to declare the truth of God for which he 
 suffered ; and the hearts of many of the people clave to him wherever 
 he went. 
 
 Mr. John and Charles Wesley knew the sterling worth of this per- 
 secuted man, and gave him substantial proofs of their friendship. 
 Charles brought his case before the society in London, and united with 
 
 * The name of a tall weed, well known to the peasantry in that part of Yorkshire. 
 
 20*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 307 
 
 them in prayer for the pious sufferer. " We prayed mightily," says he, 
 " for our dear brother Nelson, pressed for a soldier, and a prisoner in 
 York." Mr. John Wesley had interviews with Nelson, both at York 
 and Durham, and encouraged him to speak and spare not, in the name 
 of the Lord, especially to the soldiers. One of the brothers, it would 
 appear, requested Lady Huntingdon to use her influence with men in 
 power in his behalf; and the result of her application was made known 
 by Charles in a letter to Nelson, informing him that the earl of Stair 
 had assured her ladyship that he should be liberated in a few days. 
 The fact, however, is, that this injured man was not set at liberty be- 
 cause of any acknowledged injustice or illegality in his impressment. 
 He was liberated by a substitute, who was hired to take his place ; the 
 money being, in all probability, contributed by the Methodists of Lon- 
 don, at the instigation of Mr. Charles Wesley ; who says in his journal, 
 under the date of June 6th, " Toward the end of my discourse, at the 
 chapel, Mr. Erskine was sent to receive a soldier brought by William 
 Shent to redeem John Nelson. He immediately took him to Lord 
 Stair, and got a discharge for John Nelson. Our brother Downes also 
 we received out of the mouth of the lion. Our prayers return thick 
 upon us." 
 
 The case of Mr. Downes was similar to that of John Nelson. He 
 was preaching at Epworth, when a constable came, and pressed him 
 for the king's service. In what manner he obtained his liberty we are 
 not informed. Under the date of May 12th, Mr. John Wesley says, 
 " I rode to Epworth, and immediately went to Mr. Maw's, to return 
 him thanks for his good offices to Mr. Downes ; and his honest and 
 open testimony for the truth before the worshipful bench at Kirton. It 
 was not his fault that those honourable men regarded not the laws either 
 of God or the king. But a soldier they were resolved he should be, 
 right or wrong, — because he was a preacher. So, to make all sure, 
 they sent him away, — a prisoner to Lincoln gaol !" 
 
 Another Methodist preacher in Yorkshire, Thomas Beard, was 
 forced into the army at the same time. He and John Nelson (two 
 honest confessors !) met in the north of England ; and were both re- 
 leased near the same period, though in a different manner. Beard's 
 tale of oppression is soon told. Mr. John Wesley, who saw him at 
 Durham with John Nelson, says, he was a " quiet and peaceable man, 
 who had lately been torn from his trade, and wife and children, and 
 sent away as a soldier ; that is, banished from all that was near and 
 dear to him, and constrained to dwell among lions, for no other crime, 
 either committed or pretended, than that of calling sinners to repent- 
 ance. But his soul was in nothing terrified by his adversaries. Yet 
 the body, after a while, sunk under its burden. He was then lodged
 
 308 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 in the hospital, at Newcastle, where he still praised God continually 
 His fever increasing, he was let blood. His arm festered, mortified, 
 and was cut off: two or three days after which, God signed his dis- 
 charge, and called him up to his eternal home. 
 
 ' Servant of God, well done ! Well hast thou fought 
 The better ficdit ; who singly hast maintain'd, 
 Against revolted multitudes, the cause 
 Of God, in word mightier than they in arms.' " 
 
 Perhaps the following letter, addressed by Thomas Beard to Mr. 
 Whitefield, is the only document extant that proceeded from the pen 
 of this persecuted man : — 
 
 " Berwick-upon-Tweed, Sept. 17th, 1744. Sir, — It has been often 
 upon my mind to write to you, since I have been in this state of life, 
 which is not at all agreeable to my inclinations. I have but little ac- 
 quaintance with you ; yet I hope you will not be offended at my writing. 
 The children of God, while on this side of the grave, always stand in 
 need of one another's prayers, especially such of them as are under per- 
 secution, or temptations, for the truth's sake. I find I stand in need of 
 the prayers of all the children of God. I was pressed in Yorkshire, for 
 preaching, and so sent for a soldier. I earnestly pray for them that 
 were the occasion of it. All my trust and confidence is reposed in 
 Jesus, my Saviour. I know he will not leave nor forsake me. His 
 blood has atoned for my sin, and appeased his Father's wrath, and 
 procured his favour for such a sinful worm as I ; and herein is my 
 comfort, though men rage at me, that my Saviour did not leave nor 
 forsake me. I have lately been on a command in Scotland, and met 
 with many that inquired concerning you. I preached at Cowdingham. 
 Some of your friends came to see me from Coppersmith. Many thought 
 it strange to see a man in a red coat preach. I beg you would write 
 to me in General Blakeney's regiment of foot, in Captain Dunlop's 
 company. I am 
 
 " Your unworthy Brother." 
 
 The case of Beard, of John Nelson, John Downes, and others, 
 viewed in connection with the bitter railing of several of the clergy in 
 their sermons, by which the minds of the people were inflamed, and 
 the direct encouragement given by magistrates to lawless mobs, to mal- 
 treat the Methodists and destroy their property, made a deep impression 
 upon the generous and susceptible heart of Mr. Charles Wesley. He 
 wrote two beautiful hymns on the occasion of Beard's death ; and 
 afterward enlarged the tract which he had published under the title of 
 " Hymns for Times of Trouble ;" giving it the name of " Hymns for 
 Times of Trouble and Persecution." The state of many of the socie-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 309 
 
 lies called for such a publication ; and its effect at the time must have 
 been great. Some of the hymns are remarkable for their tenderness. 
 Others of them are expressive of absolute and triumphant confidence in 
 God, and the utmost fixedness of purpose at all hazards to persevere in 
 his service. Four of them were designed " to be sung in a tumult:" 
 and one was " a prayer for the first martyr ;" for it was highly probable 
 that some would die by the hand of violence. 
 
 Th» walls of Jerusalem were built in troublous times ; and it was 
 in the midst of persecution and national perplexity that the Wesleys 
 and their friends held their first conference for the purpose of canvass- 
 ing their doctrines, and the principles upon which they had proceeded 
 in the exercise of an itinerant and field ministry, and in the formation 
 of societies. No layman was present in this assembly. All its mem- 
 bers were episcopally ordained. Their place of meeting was the 
 Foundery, in London ; and their sittings were held by adjournment from 
 Monday, June 25th, 1744, till the end of the week. On the first of 
 these days Mr. Charles Wesley preached, and baptized an adult person, 
 who received " the inward and spiritual grace" in direct connection 
 with the " outward and visible sign." On the day which preceded the 
 opening of the conference Mr. Charles Wesley says, " Our brethren, 
 Hodges, Taylor, and Meriton, assisted us at the sacrament. We 
 received it with the whole society, to our mutual comfort. At our love- 
 feast we were six ordained ministers." He adds, 
 
 " June 25th. We opened our conference with solemn prayer, and the 
 divine blessing. I preached with much assistance, and baptized Sam- 
 uel Holloway, who felt in that moment the great burden taken off. 
 We continued in conference the rest of the week, settling our doctrine, 
 practice, and discipline, with great love and unanimity." 
 
 Mr. Hodges was the rector of Wenvo, in South Wales, whose heart 
 and pulpit were always open to the Wesleys whenever they visited 
 that part of the principality. The brothers often mention him in their 
 Journals, and always with respect and affection. He stood by them 
 when they preached in the open air, and cheerfully bore a share in 
 their reproach. 
 
 Of Mr. Henry Piers, the vicar of Bexley, several notices have been 
 given in this narrative. He and his excellent wife were both brought 
 to the knowledge of the truth by the instrumentality of Mr. Charles 
 Wesley, and were cordially attached both to him apd his brother. There 
 is reason to believe that some of John's early publications were written 
 in Mr. Piers's house, to which he retired as a quiet asylum from the 
 public toils in which he was generally engaged. 
 
 Mr. Samuel Taylor was the vicar of Quinton, near Evesham. He 
 is said to have been a descendant from the justly celebrated Rowland
 
 310 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Taylor, who was burned alive for Protestantism in the reign of Queen 
 Mary ; and in piety he greatly resembled his renowned ancestor. The 
 Wesleys became acquainted with him when they visited their friend 
 Mr. Seward, of Bengeworth, in the same neighbourhood. They gen- 
 erally preached in his church when passing through that part of the 
 country. The wife of Mr. Taylor also received those views of personal 
 religion which the brothers so strenuously inculcated. He was a very 
 powerful and impressive preacher, and successfully exercised himself 
 as an itinerant evangelist. 
 
 Of Mr. John Meriton little comparatively is known. He assisted 
 Mr. John Wesley in the year 1741, by reading prayers for him at 
 Wapping ; and is spoken of as " a clergyman from the Isle of Man." 
 A few weeks before the conference was held, Mr. Charles Wesley met 
 with him in Bristol, and thus speaks of him : " I dined at Felix Far- 
 ley's, with Mr. Meriton, longing to escape to us out of the hands of 
 Calvin." He was a man of sincere piety, and of ardent zeal, and for 
 several years travelled extensively, both in England and Ireland, as a 
 preacher of the gospel. 
 
 These six clergymen constituted the first Methodist Conference. 
 They agreed, during their sittings, to avoid all visits, except to the 
 sick ; to conduct all their deliberations as in the immediate presence 
 of God ; and to improve every opportunity, in the intervals of their 
 meetings, for secret prayer. In discussing the question of justification 
 they express a fear that they had " unawares leaned too much toward 
 Calvinism," and even " Antinomianism." They mean, that they had 
 done this, not by speaking lightly of holiness and good works, as the 
 fruit of faith, and as following justification ; but by inadvertently speak- 
 ing of the imputation of Christ's personal righteousness, literally and 
 strictly. They had not always represented the perfect righteousness 
 of Christ, (including his active and passive obedience,) as that by the 
 merit of which believers are justified before God ; but as formally 
 transferred to them. This was true, especially so far as Mr. Charles 
 Wesley was concerned. No man was more strenuously opposed to the 
 tenet of absolute predestination ; yet in speaking of justification, in 
 these early periods of his itinerant ministry, he often used a Calvinis- 
 tic, and even an Antinomian, phraseology, which he had derived from 
 the writings of Saltmarsh and Dr. Crisp, as he afterward confessed. 
 This objectionable phraseology occurs in some of his early hymns, and 
 he sometimes inadvertently countenances the unscriptural notion of 
 universal pardon. Great benefit doubtless resulted from the free and 
 confidential intercourse which these devoted men had with each other 
 in the course of this memorable week. They learned the necessity of 
 expressing themselves with precision, and of avoiding extremes.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 311 
 
 On various questions of practice the conclusions which were adopted 
 by the conference were eminently liberal, and very remote from what 
 is usually called high Churchmanship. With respect to " a false or 
 railing sermon" that might be inflicted upon them at church, they say, 
 " If it only contain personal reflections, we may quietly suffer it. If it 
 blaspheme the work and Spirit of God, it may be better to go out of the 
 church. In either case, if opportunity serve, it would be well to speak 
 or write to the minister." In answer to the question, " How far is it 
 our duty to obey the bishops ?" it is said, " In all things indifferent. 
 And on this ground of obeying them we should observe the canons, as 
 far as we can with a safe conscience." 
 
 In regard to the suggestion, that the Methodists might ultimately be- 
 come a distinct sect, especially when their clerical leaders were no 
 more ; these servants of God declare, " We cannot with a safe con- 
 science neglect the present opportunity of saving souls while we live, 
 for fear of consequences which may possibly or probably happen after 
 we are dead :" thus assuming, that the salvation of souls is of far greater 
 importance than external unity, or the maintenance of any system of 
 ecclesiastical order whatever : a principle which few men will dispute, 
 who take into the account the joys of heaven, and the misery of per- 
 dition. It was better that the people should be awakened out of the 
 sleep of their sins, and turned in penitence and faith to Christ, thus 
 attaining to Christian holiness, even if they should never enter their 
 parish church again, than that they should remain nominal Churchmen, 
 seldom or never attending public worship, the slaves of ignorance, vice, 
 and wickedness, — drunkards, profane swearers, and sabbath-breakers, 
 till they should lift up their eyes in hell. It was upon this ground that 
 the first Methodists proceeded, when by preaching in the open air, 
 forming societies, building chapels, and calling in the aid of pious and 
 gifted laymen, they endangered the external unity of the established 
 Church. They knew that " without holiness no man shall see the 
 Lord," whatever may be his profession. It was their hope ultimately 
 to secure external unity, in connection with the advancement of spirit- 
 ual religion ; and they laboured with all their might to do this ; but 
 they were defeated, chiefly by their clerical brethren, who in mam- 
 places repelled the converted outcasts from the Lord's table, and 
 preached against them with greater vehemence than against sin in its 
 worst forms.
 
 312 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 When the business of the conference was ended, Mr. Charles "Wes- 
 ley hastened to Cornwall, accompanied by Mr. Meriton, whom he calls 
 his " friend and companion." They spent a few days at Bristol, preach- 
 ing to the people, and enjoying much of the divine presence in their 
 assemblies. On their arrival at Middlesey they found a fresh instance 
 of the hateful spirit of persecution which was so extensively abroad in 
 the country. " We set out," says Mr. Charles Wesley, " with our 
 guide, John Slocome, a poor baker's boy, whom God has raised up to 
 help these sincere souls ; and not only to labour, but also to suffer for 
 them. When the press-warrants came out, the world would not lose 
 the opportunity of oppressing the Christians. He was taken, and by 
 his own uncle dragged away to prison. They kept him a week, and 
 then brought him before the commissioners, who could find no cause 
 to punish or detain him ; being of Zaccheus's stature, and nothing terri- 
 fied by his adversaries. They were obliged at last, notwithstanding all 
 their threatenings, to let him go." 
 
 John Slocome, the interesting youth here mentioned, whose low 
 " stature" was a means of exempting him from a military life, after- 
 ward became an itinerant preacher. He finished his course at Clones, 
 in Ireland, in the year 1777 ; and is described by Mr. John Wesley as 
 " an old labourer, worn out in the service of his Master." 
 
 At Sticklepath Mr. Charles Wesley called upon some Quakers. He 
 says, " My heart was drawn out toward them in prayer and love ; and 
 1 felt, ' He that doeth the will of my Father, the same is my brother, 
 and sister, and mother.' We met an aged clergyman, whom Mr. 
 Thompson had sent to meet us, and found, in conversing, that he had 
 been an acquaintance and cotemporary with my father. Upon Mr. 
 Thompson's preaching salvation by faith, he had received the kingdom 
 of God as a little child ; and has ever since owned the truth in its fol- 
 lowers. He conducted us to his house, near Trewint." 
 
 The following selections from Mr. Charles Wesley's journal will 
 show his spirit, and the success of his labours, during this visit in 
 ( ^ornwall : — 
 
 " July 17th. I came by nine at night with Mr. Bennet and Meriton, 
 through the pits and shafts, to our host near Gwennap. Here a little 
 one has become a thousand. What an amazing work hath God done 
 in one year ! The whole country is alarmed, and gone forth after the 
 sound of the gospel. In vain do the pulpits ring of Popery, madness, 
 enthusiasm. Our preachers are daily pressed to new places, and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 313 
 
 enabled to preach five or six times a day. Persecution is kept off till 
 the seed takes root. Societies are springing up everywhere ; and still 
 the cry from all sides is, ' Come, and help us !' 
 
 " I preached near Gwennap to about a thousand followers of Christ, 
 on, ' Fear not, little flock.' Love and joy appeared in their faces, such 
 as the world knoweth not of. When I came to meet the society, I found 
 almost the whole congregation waiting quietly without the door, long- 
 ing to be admitted with the rest. I stood at the window, so as to be 
 heard of all. I felt what manner of spirit they were of, and had sweet 
 fellowship with them, and strong consolation. 
 
 " July 19th. I found the same congregation at five, and pointed them 
 to the Son of man, lifted up as the serpent in the wilderness. I spake 
 to each of the society, as their state required. I breakfasted with one 
 who was a fierce persecutor when I was last in the country, but is now 
 a witness of the truth she so bitterly opposed. I preached at Crowan 
 to between one and two thousand sinners, who seemed started out of 
 the earth. Several hid their faces, and mourned inwardly, being too 
 deeply affected to cry out. I concluded with a strong exhortation to 
 continue in the ship, the shattered, sinking Church of England ; and 
 my brother Meriton, whose heart I spake, seconded and confirmed my 
 saying. The poor people were ready to eat us up, and sent us away 
 with many a hearty blessing. 
 
 " We then set our faces against the world, and rode to St. Ives. 
 Here the mob and ministers together have pulled down the preaching- 
 house ; and but a fortnight ago went round in the dead of the night, 
 and broke the windows of all who were only suspected of Christianity. 
 We entered John Nance's house without molestation. Four of our 
 sisters there, on sight of me, sunk down, unable to utter a word through 
 joy and love : but they welcomed me with their tears. It was a so- 
 lemn, silent meeting. In some time we recovered our speech for prayer 
 ;md thanksgiving. I got an hour by myself in the garden, and was 
 suffered to feel my own great weakness. Without were fightings ; 
 within were fears ; but my fears were all scattered by the sight of my 
 dear brethren and children. I rejoiced over them with singing; but 
 their joy and love exceeded. We all rejoiced in hope of meeting Him 
 in the air. The Spirit of glory rested upon the sufferers for Christ's 
 sake. My brother Meriton added a few words to mine, and their hearts 
 clave to him. Such a feast I have not had for many months. Even 
 our Father's hired servants had at this time bread enough, and to spare. 
 We laid us down in peace, and took our rest ; for the Lord only made 
 us dwell in safety. 
 
 " July 20th. While I applied our Lord's most comfortable words, 
 (John xiv, 1,) we were all dissolved in tears of joy, desire, love; and
 
 314 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 seemed on the wing to our heavenly Father's house. I walked through 
 the town, to church, with Mr. Meriton. Our warm friend, the curate, 
 saluted us courteously, and none opened his mouth against us. Mr. 
 Meriton's stature and band kept them in awe. Or, rather, the fear of 
 God was upon them, restraining them, though they knew it not. We 
 met at one, in obedience to our Church, and lifted up our voice for the 
 remnant that is left. We tasted the blessedness of mourning, and doubt 
 not, however God may deal with this sinfid nation, but our prayers for 
 Jerusalem will one day be answered. 
 
 "July 21st. While we were walking near the quay, our friend the 
 mob set up a shout against us ; and gave plain marks of their Cainish 
 disposition, if permitted. Only one stone was cast at us. We passed 
 through the midst of them, and set out for St. Just. I preached on the 
 plain, and brother Meriton after me. Our Lord rides on triumphant 
 through this place. Upward of two hundred are settled in classes, 
 most of whom have tasted the pardoning grace of God. 
 
 " July 22d. At nine I cried in the street, ' Ho, every one that thirst- 
 eth, come ye to the waters !' The word ran very swiftly. When God 
 gives it, who can hinder its course ? I had an opportunity of commu- 
 nicating with a sick brother, whence we all went to church. It was 
 crowded with these schismatical Methodists, who have not all, it 
 seems, left it through our means. The curate is looked upon by his 
 brethren as half a Methodist, only because he does not rail at us, like 
 them. 
 
 " I preached at Morva without, since I might not within, the church 
 walls. I told a man who contradicted me, that I would talk with him 
 by and by. A visible blessing confirmed the word. Afterward I took 
 my rough friend by the hand, carried him to the house, and begged him 
 to accept of a book. He was won ; excused his rudeness ; and left 
 me hugely pleased. 
 
 " I preached at Zunnor, where very few hold out against the truth, 
 notwithstanding the minister's pains to pervert the right ways of the 
 Lord. None are of his but who are evidently on Satan's side, even 
 his drunken companions, whom he secures against the Methodists, and 
 warns at the ale-house not to forsake the Church. I hastened back to 
 Morva, and rejoiced over many who were lost, and are found. One 
 hundred and fifty are joined in society, and continue steadfastly in the 
 apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in 
 prayers. 
 
 " July 24th. I preached near Penzance, to the little flock, encom- 
 passed by ravening wolves. Their minister rages above measure 
 against this new sect, who are spread throughout his four livings. His 
 reverend brethren follow his example. The grossest lies which are
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 315 
 
 brought them, they swallow without examination, and retail the follow- 
 ing Sunday. One of the society (James Duke) went lately to the 
 worshipful the Rev. Dr. Borlase, for justice against a rioter, who had 
 broken open his house, and stolen his goods. The doctor's answer 
 was, ' Thou conceited fellow ! art thou turned religious ? They may 
 burn thy house, if they will. Thou shalt have no justice.' With those 
 words he drove him from the judgment-seat. 
 
 " July 25th. I found the brethren at Morva beginning to build a 
 society-house. We knelt down upon the place, and prayed for a bless- 
 ing. Before preaching at St. Ives I was so weighed down, that I 
 would gladly have sunk into the earth, or sea, to escape my own 
 burden. But God lifted me up by the word I preached, and filled us 
 with a hope full of immortality. We looked through the veil of things 
 temporal, to things eternal, and the mount of God, where we trust 
 shortly to stand before the Lamb. Every soul did then, I believe, 
 taste the powers of the world to come, in some measure, and longed 
 for the appearing of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " One of our sisters complained to the mayor of some who had thrown 
 into her house stones of many pounds' weight, which fell on the pillow 
 within a few inches of her sucking child. The magistrate cursed her, 
 and said, ' You shall have no justice here. You see there is none for 
 you at London, or you would have got it before now.' With this saying 
 he drove her out of his house. 
 
 " July 27th. I preached at Gulval, and admitted some new members, 
 particularly one who had been the greatest persecutor in all this 
 country. 
 
 " July 28th. The last midnight assault upon our brethren, I am now 
 informed, was made by the townsmen, and a crew that are here fitting 
 out for privateers ; who thought it prudent to make the first proof of 
 their courage upon their own unarmed countrymen. They made their 
 regular approaches with the beat of the drum, to take the poor people's 
 houses by storm. But they were only permitted to batter them with 
 stones, and endanger the lives of a few women and children. Wo 
 be to the first French or Spaniards, who fall into the hands of men so 
 flushed with victory ! They only want the captain who drew upon me 
 to head them, and then they would carry the world before them ! 
 
 " July 29th. I expounded Isaiah xxxv, at St. Just ; and many hands 
 that hung down were lifted up. From church I hasted to Morva, and 
 preached to a vast congregation, on, ' Blessed are they that hear the 
 word of God, and keep it.' At Zunnor I explained the parable of the 
 sower. Brother Meriton added a few words much to the purpose. I 
 concluded with exhorting them to meet God in the way of his judgments. 
 We had our first love-feast at St. Ives. The cloud stayed the whole
 
 316 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 time on the assembly. Several were so overpowered with love aini 
 joy, that the vessel was ready to break. I endeavoured to moderate 
 their joy by speaking of the sufferings which shall follow ; and they 
 who were then with Him as on Mount Tabor appeared all ready to fol- 
 low him to Mount Calvary. 
 
 " July 30th. I cried to a mixed multitude of wakened and unawa- 
 kened sinners, near Penzance, ' Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass 
 by ?' and prayed with the still-increasing flock, whose greatest perse- 
 cutor is their minister. He and the clergy of these parts are much 
 enraged at our people's being so ready in the Scriptures. One fairly 
 told Jonathan Reeves, he wished the Bible were in Latin only, that 
 none of the vulgar might be able to read it. Yet these are the men 
 that rail at us as Papists ! 
 
 " July 31st. I expounded the woman of Canaan to a house full of 
 sincere souls, who had set up all night to hear the word of God in the 
 morning. I spake with some who have tasted the good word of grace, 
 though they live in Penzance, where Satan keeps his seat. I rode to 
 St. Just ; and climbed up and down Cape-Cornwall, with my brother 
 Meriton, to the needless hazard of our necks. I preached in the after- 
 noon to a larger congregation than ever, and continued my discourse 
 till night, from Luke xxi, 3"4. The spirit of love was poured out abun- 
 dantly, and great grace was upon all. I walked to the society ; stood upon 
 the hill, and sung, and prayed, and rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 
 I concluded the day and month as I would wish to conclude my life. 
 
 " August 1st. I preached in a new place, to near two thousand lis- 
 tening strangers : ' Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for 
 ever.' I returned to St. Ives, and found our beloved brother Thompson, 
 who was come to see us, and the children whom God had given us. 
 Our enemies were alarmed by his coming, and the brethren strength- 
 ened. At night I set before them the example of the first Christians, 
 who continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, &c. For two 
 hours we rejoiced as men who divide the spoil. 
 
 " August 2d. I rode with Mr. Thompson and Meriton to a large gen- 
 tleman's seat, near Penrhyn. We saw the people come pouring in 
 from Falmouth and all parts. The court-yard, which might contain two 
 thousand, was quickly full. I stood in a gallery, above the people, and 
 called, ' Wash ye, make ye clean,' &c. They eagerly listened to the 
 word of life ; even the gentlemen and ladies listened while I preached 
 repentance toward God, and faith in Jesus Christ. I exhorted them in 
 many words to attend all the ordinances of the Church ; to submit to 
 every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake ; to stop the mouth of gain- 
 sayers, by fearing God, and honouring the king ; and to prevent the 
 judgments hanging over our heads by a general reformation.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 317 
 
 " August 4th. I preached at Gwennap, where the awakening is gen- 
 eral. Very many, who have not courage to enter into the society, have 
 yet broken off their sins by repentance, and are waiting for forgiveness. 
 The whole county is sensible of the change ; for last assizes there was 
 a jail deliver}', not one felon was to be found in their prisons, which 
 has not been known before in the memory of man. At their last revel, 
 they had not men enough to make a wrestling-match ; all the Gwen- 
 nap men being struck off the devil's list, and found wrestling against 
 him, not for him. 
 
 " August 5th. I preached my farewell sermon at Gwennap, to an 
 innumerable multitude. They stood mostly on the green plain before 
 me, and on the hill that surrounded it. Many scoffers from Redruth 
 placed themselves on the opposite hill, which looked like Mount Ebal. 
 O that none of them may be found among the goats in that day! I 
 warned and invited all by threatenings and promises. The adversary 
 was wonderfully restrained, and I hope disturbed in many of his chil- 
 dren. My Father's children were comforted on every side. They 
 hung upon the word of life ; and they shall find it able to save their 
 souls. I spoke on for two hours, yet knew not how to let them go. 
 Such sorrow and love as they there expressed the world will not be- 
 lieve, though a man declare it unto them. My brother Thompson was 
 astonished, and confessed he had never seen the like among Germans, 
 predestinarians, or any others. With great difficulty we got through 
 them at last, and set out on our journey. Several men and women kept 
 pace with our horses, for two or three miles, then parted in body, not 
 in mind." 
 
 It is impossible, in this affecting scene, not to recognise the revival 
 of that pure and fervent love which characterized the Christians of the 
 apostolic age ; especially the love which they cherished toward their 
 teachers, who had been the instruments of their salvation ; and the love 
 of those teachers toward their spiritual children, over whom their hearts 
 yearned with a more than paternal affection. In both cases it was a 
 love inspired by the Holy Ghost, infinitely surpassing every feeling of 
 mere nature. Thus St. Paul preached to the Christians at Troas till 
 midnight, and then till the break of day ; for they knew not how to 
 part. And when taking leave of the Ephesian elders, " he kneeled 
 down and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell 
 on Paul's neck, and kissed him. And they accompanied him to the 
 ship." The strong affection of the young converts, which induced 
 them to run for miles by the side of Mr. Charles Wesley's horse, 
 unwilling to take their last farewell, deeply affected his tender spirit. 
 
 After leaving Gwennap, Mr. Charles Wesley preached in the church 
 of his friend Mr. Bennet, where a scene took place which shows the
 
 318 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 rudeness of the people, and the freedom with which he was accustomed 
 to address his congregations. " Upon my speaking against their drunken 
 revels," he says, " one contradicted and blasphemed. I asked, ' Who 
 is he that pleads for the devil V and he answered in these very words, 
 1 1 am he that plead for the devil.' I took occasion from hence to show 
 the revellers their champion, and the whole congregation their state by 
 nature. Much good I saw immediately brought out of Satan's evil. 
 Then I set myself against his avowed advocate, and drove him out of 
 the Christian assembly." This was not the only irregularity that oc- 
 curred in the course of this evening's religious service in the church. 
 Mr. Charles Wesley, in warning the people against what are usually 
 called " harmless diversions," declared that by them he had been kept 
 dead to God, asleep in the arms of Satan, and secure in a state of 
 damnation, for the space of eighteen years. Mr. Meriton cried aloud, 
 " And I for twenty-five !" " And I," exclaimed Mr. Thompson, " for 
 thirty-five !" " And I," added Mr. Bennet, " for above seventy !" Thus 
 was the truth confirmed by four clerical witnesses, who were more 
 anxious to instruct and impress a rude, unthinking people, than to main- 
 tain a nice decorum. 
 
 On the 11th of August, Mr. Charles Wesley, accompanied by Mr. 
 Meriton, embarked for Wales, in a sloop which Mrs. Jones, the widow 
 of his late friend of Fonmon-castle, had sent for his conveyance. After 
 a delightful passage, they landed at Aberthaw, where, says he, we 
 " were received by our dear friend, and three of her little ones, with 
 some sisters from Cardiff. We went on our way, singing and rejoic- 
 ing, to the castle. At night I met many faithful children whom the 
 Lord hath given us, and discoursed to them on my favourite subject, 
 ' These are they that came out of great tribulation, and have washed 
 their robes in the blood of the Lamb,' &c. The God of all consolation 
 was mightily with us, even the God who comforteth us in all our tempt- 
 ations. O how delightfully did we mourn after Him whom our soul 
 loveth ! not with the noisy turbulent sorrow of newly-awakened souls, 
 which most times passes away as a mourning cloud ; but with the 
 deep contrition of love ; till the congregation was in tears, in silent tears 
 of desire or joy. This is the mourning wherewith I pray the Lord to 
 bless me till he wipes away all tears from my eyes." 
 
 During his short stay in Wales Mr. Charles Wesley preached at 
 Wenvo, Fonmon, Cardiff, and Cowbridge, with great power and en- 
 largement ; for the Lord was eminently with him. At Cardiff he wit- 
 nessed the happy death of a member of the society, who had some time 
 before practically received the doctrine of Christian perfection. The 
 peaceful and triumphant departure of this witness for God greatly 
 cheered the preacher in his incessant and exhausting labours. " I was
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 319 
 
 much revived," says he, " by our dying brother, who is now ready to 
 be offered up. I asked him whether he would rather die or live. He 
 answered, ' To depart, and to be with Christ, is far better . ; He has 
 been, both before and since his illness, a pattern of all Christian graces ; 
 was the first in this place who received the gospel of full salvation. 
 Now he only waits the most welcome word, ' Come up hither.' 
 
 " I prayed with him again some hours after, and rejoiced over him 
 with triumphant faith. He said, there was something near him which 
 would make him doubt ; but could not ; for he knew his Saviour stood 
 ready to receive his spirit. I desired his prayers, kissed him, and took 
 my last leave. He looked up, like Hannah Richardson, and broke out, 
 ' Lord Jesus, give him a double portion of thy. Spirit.' We were all in 
 tears. Mine, I fear, flowed from envy and impatience of life. I felt 
 throughout my soul, that I would rather be in his condition than enjoy 
 the whole of created good. 
 
 " August 14th. We had prayed last night with joy full of glory for 
 our departing brother, just while he gave up his spirit, — as I pray God 
 I may give up mine. This morning I expoimded that last, best triumph 
 of faith, ' I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course,' &c. 
 The Lord administered strong consolation to those that love his ap- 
 pearing. We sung a song of victory for our deceased friend, then 
 went to the house, and rejoiced and gave thanks, and rejoiced with 
 singing over him. The spirit at its departure had left marks of its 
 happiness upon the clay. No sight upon earth, in my eyes is half so 
 lovely." 
 
 From Wales Mr. Charles Wesley went to Bristol and Kingswood, 
 where he preached, and administered the Lord's supper. Still accom- 
 panied by Mr. Meriton, he next repaired to Oxford, where he met his 
 friend Mr. Piers, of Bexley, and Mr. John Wesley, who was come to 
 preach before the university. It was the time of the races ; so that 
 the city was full of strangers ; and as the itinerant and field preaching 
 of the Wesleys was now a matter of notoriety, great interest was ex- 
 cited among all classes, gownsmen, citizens, and pleasure-takers. The 
 excitement was increased by Mr. Charles Wesley, who, burning with 
 zeal for the honour of Christ, and regardless of public opinion, preached 
 to a vast concourse of people in the yard of an inn, the day before his 
 brother addressed the members of the university. The entire scene is 
 thus described by himself: — 
 
 " August 23d. I went to Christ-Church prayers, with several of the 
 brethren, who thought it strange to see men in surplices talking, laugh- 
 ing, and pointing, as in a play-house, the whole time of service. I got 
 two or three hours' conference with my brother, and found the Spirit 
 which had drawn us formerly in this place. I preached to a multitude
 
 320 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of the brethren, gownsmen, and gentry from the races, who filled our 
 inn and yard. The 'strangers that intermeddled not with our joy' 
 seemed struck and astonished with it, while we admonished one an- 
 other in psalms and hymns, singing and making melody in our hearts 
 to the Lord. O that all the world had a taste of our diversion ! 
 
 " August 24th. I joined my brother in stirring up the society : at ten 
 walked with my brother, and Mr. Piers and Meriton, to St. Mary's, 
 where my brother bore his testimony before a crowded audience, much 
 increased by the racers. Never have I seen a more attentive congre- 
 gation. They did not let a word slip them. Some of the heads stood 
 up the whole time, and fixed their eyes on him. If they can endure 
 sound doctrine, like his, he will surely leave a blessing behind him. 
 The vice-chancellor sent after him, and desired his notes, which he 
 sealed up and sent immediately. We walked back in form, the little 
 band of us four ; for the rest, durst none join us. I was a little divert- 
 ed at the coyness of an old friend, Mr. Wells, who sat just before me, 
 but took great care to turn his back upon me all the time ; which did 
 not hinder my seeing through him. At noon my brother sat out for 
 London, and. I for Bristol." 
 
 Thus ended the ministry of the two Wesleys in connection with the 
 University of Oxford. Neither of them was allowed from that time to 
 occupy the pulpit of St. Mary's. Faithfully, however, did John im- 
 prove the present opportunity, as if anticipating such a result. The ser- 
 mon was greatly misrepresented by the reports which were circulated 
 concerning it, from one end of the kingdom to the other , so that, con- 
 trary to his intention, he was compelled to publish the whole of it, 
 including the application, which was singularly pointed and impressive. 
 He remarks in his Journal, that it was " St. Bartholomew's day ;" and, 
 of course, the anniversary of the ejectment of two thousand ministers 
 from the national Church by the Act of Uniformity. He adds, " I 
 preached, I suppose the last time, at St. Mary's. Be it so. I am now 
 clear of the blood of these men. I have fully delivered my own soul. 
 The beadle came to me afterward, and told me the vice-chancellor had 
 sent him for my notes. I sent them without delay, not without admir- 
 ing the wise providence of God. Perhaps few men of note would 
 have given a sermon of mine the reading, if I had put it into their 
 hands ; but by this means it came to be read, probably more than once, 
 by every man of eminence in the university." 
 
 The sermon is entitled " Scriptural Christianity ;" and contains a 
 beautiful and forcible description of spiritual religion, with the manner 
 in which it is acquired by individuals, and then spreads from one to 
 another, till it shall cover the earth. The concluding application to the 
 heads of colleges and halls, to the fellows and tutors, and to the body
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 321 
 
 of the undergraduates, assumes their general and wide departure from 
 the true Christian character, and abandonment to formality, worldliness, 
 levity, and sloth. It contains nothing sarcastic and irritating ; nothing 
 that was designed to give unnecessary pain or offence ; but is marked 
 throughout by seriousness, fidelity, and tender affection. 
 
 On his return to Bristol Mr. Charles Wesley, accompanied by a 
 friend whose name does not appear, carried the truth into places which 
 he and his brother had never previously visited ; willing to encounter 
 every form of obloquy and violence, if he could only bring ignorant and 
 wicked men to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Under the 
 date of the 9th of September, he says, " I rode in heavy rain to Churchill, 
 with Mr. Sh — . The justice threatened him with terrible things, in 
 case I preached. Many poor people ventured to hear, while I cried, 
 ' Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world !' 
 Out of the abundance of my heart my mouth spake. When I had ended, 
 Mr. Justice called out, and bade them pull me down. He had stood 
 at a distance, striving to raise a mob ; but not a man would stir at his 
 bidding. Only one behind struck me with a stone. While I was in 
 my prayer, he cried again, ' Pull him down.' I told him I had nothing 
 now to do but to pray for him. He answered, ' I have nothing to do 
 with prayer.' 'So I suppose, sir,' said I; 'but we have.' He came 
 up and laid hold on my gown ; but I stepped down, to save him trouble. 
 He told me he was a justice of peace. ' Then, sir,' said I, ' I reve- 
 rence you for your office' sake ; but must not neglect my own, which 
 is to preach the gospel.' ' I say,' said the justice and captain, ' it is an 
 unlawful assembly.' ' Be so good, then,' I replied, ' as to name the 
 law, or act of parliament, we break.' He answered, unhappily enough, 
 1 The Waltham Act.' ' How so, sir V I asked : ' I am in my own pro- 
 per habit ; and you see none here in disguise.' He insisted I should 
 not preach there. I told him I had license to preach throughout Eng- 
 land and Ireland by virtue of my master's degree. ' That I know, sir,' 
 said he ; ' and am sorry for it. I think you are fellow of a college 
 too.' ' Yes, sir,' I answered, ' and a gentleman too ; and, as such, 
 should be glad to wait upon you, and to have a little conversation with 
 you yourself.' He answered, he should be glad of it too ; for I had 
 behaved more like a gentleman than any of them. I had charged the 
 people to say nothing, but go quietly home ; so Mr. Justice and I parted 
 tolerable friends. 
 
 " Sept. 13th. I rejoiced to hear of the triumphant death of our sister 
 Marsh, in London, whose last breath was spent in prayer for me. 
 None of our children die without leaving us a legacy. I received it 
 this evening, in answer to her prayer. The word was as a fire, and as 
 a hammer. The rocks were broken in pieces, particularly a hardened 
 
 21
 
 322 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY 
 
 sinner who withstood me some time before he was struck down. Many 
 were melted down. Some testified their then receiving the atonement." 
 
 On Monday, September 24th, Mr. Charles Wesley left Bristol for 
 London, where a wretched man, of plausible demeanour, Thomas Wil- 
 liams, was actively employed in propagating the foulest slanders against 
 him and his brother. They had greatly befriended this reviler, till, 
 having found him to be incorrigibly wicked, they publicly disowned 
 him ; and now he created considerable uneasiness in the society by 
 preferring against his former benefactors the most scandalous charges : 
 so that many of their spiritual children were staggered, and others were 
 actually turned out of the way. For several months he persevered in 
 this course, inventing the most enormous falsehoods, affecting the mora! 
 character of the brothers, and especially that of Charles. 
 
 On his arrival in London, Charles preached to the different congre- 
 gations with all the confidence that innocence inspires ; at the same 
 time solemnly denying the charges which Williams had invented, and 
 which the credulous were too apt to believe. He then departed for 
 Newcastle, taking Nottingham, Epworth, Sheffield, Birstal, Leeds, 
 Bradford, and other places in his way. During this journey he suffered 
 much from personal affliction. A physician whom he consulted de- 
 clared, that a few days of rest were indispensable, in order to the pre- 
 servation of his life. 
 
 At Newcastle he found many of the people in a somewhat lukewarm 
 and languid condition. He spent a night in watching and prayer in 
 their behalf ; met and purged the classes; ministered the word with 
 his wonted zeal and faithfulness ; and soon rejoiced to witness a 
 general improvement. The slanders of Williams he could bear without 
 difficulty ; but that any of his own children in the Lord should deem 
 him guilty of the crimes imputed to him, grieved and depressed his 
 spirit. From this feeling, however, he was at length delivered by 
 those secret spiritual refreshings to which he was no stranger. On 
 the 9th of November he says, " I retired to read my letters from Lon- 
 don ; offered up myself to the divine disposal ; met with Psalm cxliv ; 
 then with Balak's hiring Balaam to curse Israel. I went down to the 
 congregation, where the Lord answered for himself; and sent an 
 account to the brethren in London. ' My Dearest Brethren, — Last 
 night I was informed that the Philistines shouted against me ; and the 
 Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon us. To him give all the glory, 
 that I find my heart so enlarged toward you, as never before. Now I 
 can truly say, Ye are not straitened in me. All my pining desires after 
 rest are vanished ; and I am at last content to do what is more than 
 dying for you, even to live for you, and suffer out my time. Here then 
 I give up myself your servant for Christ's sake, to wait upon you till 
 
 21 #
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 323 
 
 all are gathered home. Where ye go, I will go ; and where ye lodge, 
 I will lodge ; where ye die, will I die ; and there will I be buried. 
 Neither shall death itself part you and me. Such a night of consola- 
 tion as the last I have seldom known. Our souls were filled with faith 
 and prayer, and knit to yours in love unchangeable. Lift up holy 
 hands, that I may approve myself a true minister of Jesus Christ in 
 all things.'" 
 
 The special influence of the Holy Spirit, which is so strongly indi- 
 cated in this letter, accompanied Mr. Charles Wesley's labours during 
 the whole of his stay in Newcastle and the neighbourhood. The early 
 part of the winter was very severe ; and the " baser sort" of the people 
 were bitterly hostile and riotous ; but such was the glow of holy feel- 
 ing which then prevailed, that neither the heavy falls of snow, the 
 piercing winds of the north, nor the fierce opposition of blaspheming 
 mobs, could restrain him from the exercise of his itinerant ministry, or 
 prevent inquiring multitudes from attending it, even at the early hour 
 of five o'clock in the morning. At midnight also he was 1 accustomed 
 to rise, for the purpose of supplication and thanksgiving to the God of 
 his mercies, whom he loved and delighted to honour. 
 
 " Nov. 18th. I enlarged on that word," says he, " ' A soldier pierced 
 his side, and. forthwith there flowed out blood and water.' We looked 
 upon Him, and could have continued looking and mourning till he 
 appeared in the air. I walked to Sunderland, and back again. The 
 storm of hail and snow was so violent, that I was often going to lay me 
 down in the road, unable either to walk or stand. 
 
 " Nov. 19th. I brought back a wandering sheep, who had forfeited her 
 pardon by unforgivingness. I received comfort, and wept for joy at 
 the prosperity of our Bristol children, which I heard of in several let- 
 ters. I walked over the fields to Wickham. The snow was in most 
 places above our knees. After preaching I set out for Horsley, in most 
 bitter weather. I rode and walked till I could do neither ; yet got to 
 Horsley by night ; but my jaw was quite stiffened and disabled by the 
 snow. I lay down, and got a little strength to preach. 
 
 " Nov. 20th. I waded back to Newcastle by one, ofttimes up to my 
 middle in snow. I rode, or rather walked, to Plessy, and preached on, 
 *■ It is finished.' Nov. 22d, I got back to Newcastle, and thence to 
 Wickham, where I spoke of that ' great and terrible day of the Lord.' 
 Many trembled ; and some rejoiced in hope of the glory of God. I 
 rode thence to Spen, being so feeble that I could not walk ; yet I was 
 forced to it the last mile, being almost chilled to death in the next to 
 impassable ways. I was led, I know not how, by the brethren, up to 
 the knees in snow, the horses ofttimes sinking up to their shoulders. 
 I was surprised at the great number got together in such a season.
 
 324 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 They did not come in vain ; for the Lord comforted their hearts abun- 
 dantly, and mine also. These were all gathered by John Brown, a 
 simple man, whom the Lord has wonderfully raised up for his work. 
 
 " Nov. 27th. At Biddick we had close fellowship with Him in his 
 sufferings, while he cried, ' Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by V 
 I returned praying to Newcastle, but almost perished with cold. In 
 the word the Spirit was poured out upon us from on high, and bore 
 down all before it, as a mighty flood. 
 
 " Dec. 4th. An hour before preaching-time the mob were so violent 
 that we thought there could be no preaching that night. They came 
 nigh, to break the door. I began speaking abruptly, without a text ; 
 and God gave me strong words, that stilled the madness of the people. 
 Neither was there any breath of opposition during the society. 
 
 " Dec. 11th. I had asked, that at midnight I might rise and praise 
 Him, because of his righteous judgments ; and was waked exactly at 
 twelve. I prayed a few minutes, and slept again in peace. I rose 
 again at four ; prayed earnestly, and almost rejoiced. I was without 
 light or fire, yet felt no cold. At five I preached on, ' Whatsoever 
 things ye ask in prayer, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall 
 have them.' We were carried out in fervent prayer for ourselves and 
 the whole nation. I visited Walter Brass on a bed of sickness. He 
 was once of the society, but lately turned scoffer and disturber of the 
 word. The Lord hath now set his misdeeds before him ; and he cries 
 out vehemently for mercy. Another rioter, J. Wilson, is humbled in 
 like manner, in immediate answer to our prayer last night." 
 
 While Mr. Charles Wesley was thus labouring day and night in the 
 north, and contending with men worse than wild beasts, his brethren 
 in the west, and especially in Cornwall, were harassed by opposition 
 of a still more formidable kind. Some of the magistrates violated all 
 law and justice in their treatment of the Methodist preachers ; so that 
 the " hymns for times of trouble and persecution" were increasingly 
 applicable to the societies, and must have been in general demand. 
 Thomas Westall was seized when preaching at Camborne on the Lord's 
 day ; and having, in opposition to the law, been required to answer 
 upon oath several questions which were proposed to him, he was com- 
 mitted by Dr.'Borlase, the clerical magistrate, and the historian of the 
 county, to Bodmin jail, as a vagrant. Thomas Maxfield, also, was 
 taken into custody, and offered by the magistrates to the captain of a 
 man-of-war, to serve in the navy. The captain, however, declined to 
 receive him, saying, " I have no authority to take such men as these, 
 unless you would have me give him so much a week to preach and 
 pray to my people." Mr. Maxfield was then imprisoned in the dungeon 
 at Penzance ; and Dr. Borlase, having understood that the mayor was
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 325 
 
 inclined to set him at liberty, went thither, read the articles of war in 
 the court, and delivered up the Methodist preacher, as a soldier, to one 
 who was to act as an officer. The war against the hapless Methodists 
 was carried on with greater vigour than that against the Spaniards ; 
 yet, under the superintending care of God's providence, all these 
 things, though painful in their nature, were overruled for the advance- 
 ment of his work. ' 
 
 John Nelson having arrived at Newcastle about the middle of De- 
 cember, 1744, Mr. Charles Wesley committed to him the care of that 
 station, and commenced his journey to London, spending a few days at 
 Epworth on his way. Here he addressed to a friend the following 
 letter, which doubtless refers to the scandals which were industriously 
 circulated against him in London, and which deeply affected his mind : — 
 " My greatest trouble is, that I have innocently brought such a bur- 
 den upon my friends, especially one : neither can I conceive it possible 
 that this trouble should be Avholly removed here. The joint may per- 
 haps be set, but the halting will continue till I come to the land where 
 all things are forgotten. God, who hath known my soul in adversity, 
 causes me also to know it. That he loves me, I can no more doubt 
 than of his being. He has likewise given me to love others with a 
 pure love ; particularly one person, from whom I never expect or desire 
 any further communication of good than I do from my mother, or other 
 spirits of just men made perfect. And however Providence may work, 
 I mean never more to see that person (if without sin I may forbear) till 
 we stand together at the judgment-seat." The person here intended 
 was doubtless Thomas Williams. 
 
 On his way to London Mr. Charles Wesley preached at Leeds. 
 Morley, Birstal, Sheffield, and Nottingham ; and was greatly cheered, 
 on arriving at St. Alban's, to find that two of his friends had come to 
 meet him there, and welcome his return to the metropolis. Here he 
 resumed his ministry with unabated power and success, the prejudices 
 which had prevailed against him having been removed. God had taken 
 into his own keeping the character of his injured servants. The con- 
 science of their accuser became so alarmed, that, of his own accord, 
 he wrote and signed a full retractation of the slanders which he had 
 propagated against them, and with every indication of penitence asked 
 pardon of the men whom he had maliciously attempted to ruin. Wil- 
 liams afterward embraced the doctrine of absolute predestination ; and 
 hence he is eulogized by the biographer of Lady Huntingdon. That 
 very partial writer states, that " for some slight offence" Williams was 
 " excluded from the Methodist society." He wished to obtain epis- 
 copal ordination, and requested Mr. Charles Wesley to recommend him 
 to one of the bishops. Charles had doubts concerning him, and re-
 
 326 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 fused. Under the influence of resentment, Williams propagated the 
 most injurious falsehoods against him, till his stricken conscience ex- 
 torted from him a full confession of his guilt. To denominate wicked- 
 ness like this a " slight offence," is inexcusable. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley shared largely in the blessedness of those who 
 are persecuted for righteousness' sake, and against whom all manner 
 of evil is spoken falsely. He served the Lord with a pure conscience, 
 and with uprightness of purpose ; and the seal of the divine approval 
 was daily impressed upon his ministrations. The love of Christ con- 
 strained him, as it did his devoted brother, to undertake services too 
 severe for unsanctified human nature ever to endure ; but to him they 
 were not only tolerable, but joyous. Through evil report, and through 
 good report, he steadily persevered in his Master's work. He thus 
 proceeds to describe his daily toil, with the instances of good by which 
 it was rendered light and easy. 
 
 "Feb. 17th, 1745. I was strengthened by a zealous Quaker, who 
 informed me he had received the Spirit of adoption in hearing me a 
 year ago, and has walked in the light from that time to this. 
 
 " Feb. 26th. I gave the sacrament to one on Saffron-hill, and found 
 faith that the Lord was at work. Going down, they asked me to see 
 another dying in the room below. As I entered I heard her make 
 confession of the faith which she received that moment, as, she had told 
 those about her she should ; and that she could not die in peace till she 
 saw me. She was full of triumphant joy, and said to me, ' I am going 
 to paradise. It will not be long before you follow me.' My soul was 
 idled with her consolation. 
 
 " March 16th. I spake with one of the society, lately a Papist, who 
 is much haunted by her old friends, especially her confessor, who 
 thunders out anathemas against her, and threatens to burn me, — if he 
 could catch me at Rome. I sent my respects to the gentleman, and 
 offered to talk with him, before her, at my own lodgings, or wherever 
 he pleased ; but received no answer. 
 
 " March 31st. I visited, at her own desire, a Roman Catholic gentle- 
 woman, at Islington, who had refused her priest, and would have none 
 but my brother or me. She readily gave up her own merits, (which 
 she owned was hell,) and the merits of all the saints, for those of Jesus 
 Christ, her only hope, Mediator, and Saviour. I prayed in faith, and 
 left her not far from the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 " We kept a watch-night. Dear Howell Harris I carried into the 
 desk ; and we sung together, and shouted for joy, till morning. 
 
 " May 17th. I preached at Brentford, on our way to Bristol. The 
 moment our society met, Jesus appeared in the midst ; and we lay a 
 happy hour weeping and rejoicing at his feet.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 327 
 
 "June 21st. I sent an account of our affairs to a friend: — 'The 
 work of God goes on successfully. Great is the constancy of them 
 that believe. Neither error nor sin can shake them. Several since I 
 left this place have witnessed a good confession in death, particularly 
 a girl of thirteen, and an old sinner of threescore. We had expelled 
 him the society for drunkenness ; and he went on sinning, and repent- 
 ing, and sinning again, till God laid his chastening hand upon him. 
 After a great agony he found redemption in the blood of Jesus. He 
 lay some time rejoicing, and testifying the grace of Christ to the chief 
 of sinners. When one said, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, 
 he replied, interrupting him, Even so, saith the Spirit in me. I am just 
 entering the haven on a broken piece of the ship. 
 
 " ' I am just come from giving the sacrament to a young woman, 
 rejoicing in death Avith joy unspeakable. The day before my first visit 
 the Lord revealed himself in her. Her soul seemed all desire and 
 love, ready to go tfris moment, as she often testified ; yet willing to tarry 
 the Lord's leisure, or even to recover, if it were his will. 
 
 " ' I have observed that all our people, without exception, be they 
 ever so dark or weak before, when they come to die recover their con- 
 fidence. Would to God every soul of every Christian denomination 
 might witness the same confession of eternal life in them when they 
 turn their faces to the wall !' 
 
 " June 23d was a day much to be remembered. I preached to our 
 colliers, and received strong faith for the desolate Church of England. 
 In the sacrament the Spirit of grace and supplication came down, and 
 we prayed to God that it might reach all our absent brethren. The 
 backsliders we never forget at such gracious opportunities. Near four 
 hours we were employed in doing this ; and not one soul, I am per- 
 suaded, thought it long. 
 
 " I had just time to reach Conham chapel by two. While I was 
 speaking of our Lord's appearing, we were alarmed with the loudest 
 clap of thunder I ever heard. I thought it must have cleft the house. 
 Most of the congregation shrieked out, as if the day of the Lord were 
 come. A thought darted into my heart as quick as the lightning, 
 ' What, if it should be the day of judgment !' I was filled immediately 
 with faith stronger than death, and rejoiced in hope of the glory of 
 God. The same spirit rested on all the faithful, while I broke out 
 into singing, — 
 
 4 So shall the Lord the Saviour come, 
 And lightnings round his chariot play ! 
 Ye lightnings, fly to make him room ; 
 Ye glorious storms, prepare his way !' 
 
 I went on for half an hour describing that final scene. The heart
 
 328 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of every person present, I believe, either rejoiced or trembled. A 
 mixed cry of horror and triumph was heard till I dismissed them with 
 the blessing. Afterward we heard that a house on one side our chapel 
 was almost demolished, both roof and walls, by the thunder-clap ; the 
 lead of the windows melted, and six persons were struck down to the 
 ground. On the other side of us a gibbet was split into a thousand 
 pieces. 
 
 " July 3d. I took horse for London ; the first night preached at Ciren- 
 cester ; the two next at Evesham, where I found the society increased 
 in grace and number. I was welcomed to London on Saturday evening 
 with the joyful news of Thomas Maxfleld's deliverance. 
 
 " July 31st. I joined with my brother to examine the society in 
 Bristol. Mr. Gwynne, of Garth, accompanied us, and rejoiced greatly 
 in the grace given them." 
 
 This appears to have been Mr. Charles Wesley's first introduction to 
 Marmaduke Gwynne, Esq., a gentleman of family and fortune, resident 
 at Garth, about sixteen miles from Brecon, in South Wales. A few 
 years before this period Mr. Gwynne had been brought to a saving 
 knowledge of Christ, by the preaching of Howell Harris, with whom 
 he maintained an intimate friendship. When this apostolic man began 
 his itinerant ministry in South Wales, Mr. Gwynne, who was a strict 
 Churchman, was alarmed at the irregularity ; and apprehending that 
 this preaching layman might hold the tenets which were ascribed to 
 the Independent Dissenters under the reign of Oliver Cromwell, and 
 be dangerous both to the Church and state, he determined, being a 
 magistrate, to interfere. He left home with the intention of sending 
 Harris to prison ; but remarked to his lady, " I will hear the man my- 
 self, before I commit him." Accordingly he made one of the congre- 
 gation, having the Riot Act in his pocket. The sermon was so truly 
 evangelical, and the preacher's manner so zealous and affectionate, 
 that Mr. Gwynne thought he resembled one of the apostles. He was 
 so convinced of the purity of Mr. Harris's doctrine, and the benevo- 
 lence of his motives, that, at the end of the discourse, he went up to 
 him ; shook him by the hand ; told him how much he had been misled 
 by slanderous reports ; avowed his intention of committing him, had 
 those reports been true ; asked his pardon ; and, to the amazement of 
 the assembly, entreated him to accompany him to Garth to supper. 
 Hence the origin of their affectionate acquaintance. 
 
 Mr. Gwynne was a man of a fine spirit, deeply pious, kind to his 
 tenantry, beneficent to the poor, and exemplary in all the relations in 
 life. He retained a chaplain in his house, who daily read the 
 morning and evening service in the family. The authority and 
 countenance of Mr. Gwynne were of much importance to Howell
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 329 
 
 Harris, who would have suffered persecution from the higher 
 classes, had he not been supported by one of their own order, who 
 generously stood forth in his defence, regardless of public and private 
 censure. If the same scenes of outrage and barbarity through which 
 the Wesleys and their preachers passed, did not occur in the county of 
 Brecon, it was, under the divine blessing, owing to Marmaduke 
 Gwynne. This upright magistrate, and sincere Christian, afterward 
 gave one of his daughters in marriage to Mr. Charles Wesley. 
 
 Unhappily for the Methodists, and even for the national honour, there 
 were few magistrates, either in England or Wales, who were like him. 
 Many of them were indifferent to the sufferings of the Methodists, and 
 therefore unwilling to afford them protection ; and others took an active 
 part in harassing an unoffending people. In various quarters, therefore, 
 persecution raged from year to year, with unabated violence. The 
 press-warrants, which were sent forth by the government, were still 
 employed as a means of annoyance and oppression against some of the 
 most upright and loyal men in the land. In the month of May, this 
 year, Mr. Meriton, accompanied by a pious young man of the name of 
 Jones, spent a night in Shrewsbury, on his way to the Isle of Man. 
 While he was preaching in the evening, in a private house, a constable 
 entered into the congregation, seized upon Jones, dragged him out of 
 the room, and declared the youth to be his prisoner, impressed for the 
 king's service. Mr. Meriton followed his friend into the street, and 
 began to expostulate with the constable. A crowd soon assembled ; 
 and Jones, seeing the constable engaged in eager conversation, watched 
 for a favourable opportunity, and succeeded in making his escape. He 
 ran from one street to another, till, seeing the door of a respectable 
 house open, he rushed in, related the particulars of his case to the 
 family, and cast himself for protection upon their generosity. The 
 house was occupied by an elderly lady, who pitied the persecuted 
 stranger, and locked him up in a closet. About midnight she made 
 arrangements for his horse to meet him, beyond the limits of the town, 
 and sent him forth disguised in female apparel. On coming to the 
 extremity of the town, he watched till the sentinels went into a public 
 house, when he silently passed the bridge which they were appointed 
 to guard, found his horse, and effected his escape. He was the son 
 of a respectable farmer, and had just made arrangements for becoming 
 an itinerant preacher. Whether this unpromising adventure abated 
 his ardour, or confirmed his resolution, we have no means of knowing. 
 When the constable, who was a cunning fellow, saw that his prisoner 
 was gone, he said to Mr. Meriton, that he did not like to argue the 
 case with him in the street, and in the presence of a crowd of people ; 
 but that if he would step with him for a little while into a public-house
 
 330 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 which was opposite, he would gladly listen to all that he had to say. 
 Meriton, not suspecting any evil, acceded to the suggestion ; and when 
 the wily constable had thus separated the stranger from the crowd, he 
 immediately declared him to be a prisoner, impressed for military ser- 
 vice, and kept him in durance vile for the night. In the morning the 
 mayor and other magistrates assembled in the town-hall, for the pur- 
 pose of confirming what the constable had done, and of committing the 
 Methodist preacher to the care of an officer in the army. Mr. Meriton 
 declared himself to be a clergyman, and therefore illegally impressed 
 for a soldier. Proof of this fact was demanded ; and the prisoner pro- 
 duced his letters of orders, bearing the bishop's official seal. This 
 document was decisive ; and the magistrates, perceiving that the law 
 had been violated, declared that, there was no just ground for his deten- 
 tion ; and that he was therefore at liberty to retire forthwith, and go 
 where he pleased. Meriton, finding that he had the magistrates in his 
 power, and seeing the hall crowded with people, resolved to improve 
 the opportunity for the spiritual good of all present. He informed the 
 worshipful bench that he had been a member of one of the universities 
 thirty years, and a clergyman twenty ; and said it was an intolerable 
 grievance, that such a man could not pass through the town of Shrews- 
 bury without being impressed for a soldier. The magistrates were 
 submissive, and owned that they could not justify what had been done ; 
 they therefore meekly waited while the pious stranger delivered his 
 evangelical message to a much larger congregation than he had in the 
 preceding evening. He then retired, and proceeded on his journey. 
 
 In Cheshire John Bennet, one of the itinerant preachers, and some 
 members of the societies under his care, met with similar treatment. 
 The particulars of their case are contained in the following interesting 
 letter, which Bennet addressed to Mr. Charles Wesley : — 
 
 " Chinley, July 30th, 1745. Dear Brother, — Though I have not writ 
 to you for some time, nor seen your face in the flesh for months past, 
 yet in spirit we have been one ; and I doubt not but it shall be so to 
 our live's end. I am constrained to love you, and to bless God on 
 your behalf, making mention of you in my prayers continually. O that 
 your faith may not fail ! May the Lord strengthen you for the work 
 he has called you to. 
 
 " I doubt not but you remember us in Derbyshire, Cheshire, and 
 Lancashire. The word is gladly received (though with much conten- 
 tion) by some : others are turned aside. All these things shall work 
 for good to them that love God. Those that have been faithful to the 
 grace of God now find the benefit of it ; to wit, the peaceable fruits of 
 righteousness. The late persecutions we have had, have been as fires,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 331 
 
 to purify them from dross ; so that many are much more bold to speak 
 what the Lord has done for their souls. 
 
 " At Woodley, in Cheshire, I and three of our brethren were pressed 
 for soldiers. But the Lord sat in heaven, and laughed his enemies to 
 scorn ; for they dared not keep me. I insisted upon seeing the war- 
 rant, which was only a common warrant, to take up strollers and vaga- 
 bonds, &c. I said to them, ' Surely you will not dare to seize upon 
 me. You all know that I am no stroller. Consider what you are 
 doing. If you will run the hazard, I am here. Do your pleasure.' 
 They soon let me go ; but my three brethren had their trial, and all 
 were delivered. Glory be to God ! 
 
 " Since then the officers of that township have made themselves 
 busy in searching houses, under the pretence, that they wanted the 
 Methodists. I find this was to affright our people from meeting. It 
 was so. They neglected to meet for some time, which brought them 
 to be miserable ; and many resolved to meet, let the event be what it 
 woidd. No sooner did they take up this cross, than many were filled 
 with joy and peace. I preach there out of doors, and our congregation 
 increases. The justices have consulted how to suppress this. I can- 
 not hear that the way is clear to them as yet. 
 
 " This persecution was begun by the Dissenters. Many of the 
 society at Woodley are Dissenters, and many of our people are com- 
 municants. The minister of that place seemed very free a considera- 
 ble time ; but as soon as our people began to take notice of the lives 
 and conversation of several, and speak freely, they began to be uneasy 
 with them ; and thus, as I have said above, set about preventing our 
 meetings ; for most of the press-gang were Dissenters. Our people 
 have been with the minister, desiring him in love that he would use 
 means to prevent such disturbance. His answer was, he thought 
 they were not to be blamed ; and he should never defend our erroneous 
 cause. 
 
 " The ministers of the Church persecute with all their strength. I 
 desire your advice in this affair. With whom shall we join ? • 
 
 " The society are some miles from the church, and cannot have fel- 
 lowship with this people. They have a desire to know whether you 
 or your brother, once or twice in a year, would not deliver them the 
 sacrament. As to my own soul, I am weakened much for want of 
 partaking of the ordinance ; and the minister of Chapel-en-le-Frith 
 flatly denies me the sacrament ; and has ordered me and some others 
 to be put out of the church. Dear sir, consider these things well, and 
 let me have your answer speedily. 
 
 " A friend in Woodley has a desire to license a house for preaching, 
 and thinks I should preach at the same hour that the Dissenting minis-
 
 332 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ter does. Would this be well ? Can a penalty be laid upon any man 
 for suffering preaching in his house unlicensed ? 
 
 " It is much the same with us at Chinley. Dr. Clegge does much 
 harm among our people. Many both see it, and feel it ; but how to 
 help themselves, they know not. He has affirmed, that your brother 
 has led me into an error, in drawing me to the Church. He shows, 
 in a letter to me, wherein the Church is wrong in discipline ; and that 
 in eioht particulars. He says, had I read the Scriptures, Mr. John 
 Wesley could not have deceived me. Dr. Clegge's son, who is de- 
 signed for a minister, has read your books, and has a strong desire to 
 see Mr. John Wesley. I think he will be at London in a little time. 
 I shall then give him directions to find you. Farewell. 
 
 " I hear there is little or no disturbance in Yorkshire. I have not 
 been there since brother Nelson came away. If you think it well for 
 me to remove to any place, where I can bring glory to God, I hope I 
 shall always be ready to obey you. 
 
 " I am kept from turning my back. Peace be to the brethren, and 
 love, with faith, from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Amen. I am 
 
 " Your affectionate brother, and son in the gospel." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley labelled this letter, " Persecution by the Dis- 
 senters." His very intelligent daughter significantly added, " And the 
 Church ;" for both were verily guilty in this matter. 
 
 The second Methodist conference commenced in Bristol on the 1st 
 of August, 1745. The persons present were John and Charles Wesley, 
 John Hodges, Thomas Richards, Samuel Larwood, Thomas Meyrick, 
 James Wheatley, Richard Moss, John Slocome, Herbert Jenkins, and 
 Marmaduke Gwynne. With all the subjects that were discussed in 
 this assembly we are not acquainted. Doctrinal questions only, with 
 the results to which they lead, are contained in the printed account of 
 this conference ; nor does it appear that any record of its proceedings 
 aftfcr the second day has been preserved : whereas, according to Mr. 
 Charles Wesley, its deliberations were continued for five days. " We 
 began our conference," says he, " with Mr. Hodges, four of our assist- 
 ants, Herbert Jenkins, and Mr. Gwynne. We continued it five days, 
 and parted in great harmony and love." 
 
 Soon after the conference concluded Mr. Charles Wesley went to 
 Shepton-Mallet, where a great religious awakening had begun, and 
 where he met with a painful accident. " They desired me," says he, 
 " to meet their little society at an unusual place, to disappoint the mob. 
 I walked forward, toward the town, then turned back over the field to 
 drop the people ; and springing up a rising ground, sprained or broke
 
 LIFE OF HEV. CHARLES WESLEY. 333 
 
 my leg, I knew not which ; but I fell down when I offered to set my 
 foot to the ground. The brethren carried me to . a hut, which was 
 quickly filled with poor people. It was soon noised about the town 
 that I had broken my leg ; some said my neck ; and that it was a 
 
 judgment upon me. The principal man of the place, Mr. P , sent 
 
 me a kind message, and his Bath-chair to bring me to his house. I 
 thanked him, but declined his offer, on account of my pain, which un- 
 fitted me for any company, except that of my best friends, the poor. 
 With these I continued singing, praying, and rejoicing, for two hours. 
 Their love quite delighted me. Happiest they that could come near, 
 to do any thing for me. When my strength was exhausted, they laid 
 me on their bed ; the best they had ; but I could not sleep for pain. 
 
 " August 12th. I met the society at six, and took in twenty new 
 members. About eight the surgeon from Oakhill came, and found, in 
 dressing my leg, that it was not broken, but violently sprained. Many 
 being come from far to hear the word, I got the brethren to carry me 
 out in a chair, which they set on a table, and I preached kneeling. 
 I thought of Haliburton's best pulpit, which alone seemed preferable to 
 this. For near an hour I forgot my maim, and appointed to preach 
 again at Oakhill. The brethren carried me thither by noon, in Mr. 
 
 P 's chair. My congregation was mostly Dissenters, not wise and 
 
 rich, but poor and simple, and longing to be taught the first elements 
 of Christ's doctrine. They stood listening in the hard rain, while I 
 showed them ' the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the 
 world.' The word was not bound, but ran very swiftly through their 
 hearts. For an hour I preached kneeling, as before, and felt no pain 
 or weariness till it was over : then my flesh shrunk at the twenty 
 measured miles to Bristol. They set me on the horse ; and by night 
 I performed the journey; but in such extreme pain as I have not known 
 with all my broken bones, and sicknesses. 
 
 " August 13th. I preached from, ' They that wait upon the Lord shall 
 renew their strength ;' and then, confiding in the promise, went in my 
 chair, and lay at Mr. Wigginton's, by the water-side. Between four 
 and five next morning I was carried to Captain Phillips's vessel, which 
 was filled with our own people chiefly. We spent the day in singing 
 and reading ; and by six on Thursday morning, August 1 5th, landed at 
 Cardiff". At night most of the gentry of the town were at the room. 
 I laboured to trouble the careless, as well as comfort the troubled hearts. 
 
 " August 18th. Our greatest persecutor (that had been) lent his chair 
 to carry me to Wenvo. Indeed the whole place, at present, seems 
 turned toward us. But we do not depend upon this peace as lasting. 
 I preached at Wenvo, to a weeping audience. My brother ThomJS 
 and Hodges administered the sacrament. The room at Cardiff was
 
 334 LIFE OF REV. CHARLEi WESLEY. 
 
 crowded with high and low. I invited them to come thirsty to the 
 waters. The same spirit was with us as in the months that are past. 
 Our love-feast was a feast indeed. 
 
 " August 20th. At the request of the prisoners, I had promised to 
 preach in the jail ; but Mr. Michael Richards came first, and threatened 
 and forbade the jailer. If these souls perish for lack of knowledge, 
 Mr. Michael Richards, not I, must answer it in that day. Carried to 
 Fonmon, with Mr. Hodges, and Mrs. Jones, I once more met the church 
 in her house. We were all melted down by the fire of the word. 
 
 " August 21st. This and every evening I got down to the chapel in 
 my crutches, and preached to the family, with fifty harvesters, and 
 others that came from far." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley spent several weeks in this part of Wales, being 
 unable to take any long journey because of his lameness ; yet he con- 
 stantly preached twice a day. Repeated attempts were made to remove 
 him to the house of Mr. Gwynne, at Garth ; but without effect : for he 
 was not able to bear the motion. During his comparative confinement, 
 he addressed the following letter to his brother, on the discouraging 
 aspect of public affairs. The flames of civil war were just about to 
 burst forth in all their destructive energy ; yet wickedness generally 
 abounded, and the pious were persecuted, not merely by the ignorant 
 populace, but by the clergy and magistrates, who resisted the attempts 
 that were made to turn the common people from ungodliness and sin. 
 Hence the gloomy forebodings which he indulged. The natural bent 
 of his mind was to despondency. His joyous anticipations with re- 
 spect to the prosperity of religion were exclusively the effect of his 
 own piety, and of the .striking displays of God's power and mercy in 
 the conversion of sinful men, which came under his daily observation. 
 
 He says, " I wrote thus to my brother : ' Once more hear my raven's 
 note, — and despise it. I look most assuredly, unless general repent- 
 ance prevent it, for the day of visitation. Whether my apprehensions 
 have aught divine in them, I never presume to say ; neither am I con- 
 cerned for the credit of my prophecy, or conjecture ; but none of you 
 all will more rejoice at my proving what you may call a false prophet 
 than I. For should I prove a true one, I expect Balaam's fate. In 
 great weariness of flesh and spirit, I conclude, 
 
 ' Your Mdvng fta/cuv.' " [Prophet of evils.] 
 
 It appears to have been during this confinement that Mr. Charles 
 Wesley wrote the following letter to his friend Howell Harris. The 
 gloomy forebodings which he cherished, with respect to public affairs, 
 (Jjd not obstruct the joyous intercourse which he held with his Saviour, 
 nor interrupt the current of his brotherly affection : —
 
 LIFE OF R»V. CHARLES WESLEY. 335 
 
 " My Dear Friend and Brother, — Your kind and most brotherly letter 
 
 I had answered long ago, but for my hopes of seeing you, and deliver- 
 
 • ing the enclosed with my own hand. A violent sprain has retarded 
 
 my motions, and confined me close prisoner to this castle. ' It is the 
 
 Lord, let him do what seemeth him good.' 
 
 " The word is not bound, if I am, but runs very swiftly. I have 
 been carried to preach, morning and evening, till very lately, when my 
 foot swelled, and pained me so, as to force me to lie still, lest I should 
 lose the use of it. Let me hear how my dear sister, your wife, does ; 
 and how the glorious cause of our Lord prospers among you. Your 
 last I read on our thanksgiving-day, and thereby refreshed many sin- 
 cere souls, who earnestly labour after peace and holiness. Mx. Erskine 
 writes me dreadful news ; and infers, ' Is it not. time for the Lord's 
 people to lay aside the peculiarities in opinion ? Will nothing but a 
 scourge drive them to unite V Would to God they all loved one another 
 only as well as you and I do (to begin) ; but I want more love, more 
 faith, more patience ; as much more as an ocean is more than a drop. 
 Pray for me, my dear fellow-soldier, and for our other brethren in tribu- 
 lation, that we may be counted worthy to escape all these things which 
 shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." 
 
 Before Mr. Charles Wesley left Wales he received another proof of 
 the hostility with which he was regarded by some of his brethren in 
 the ministry. A clergyman refused to admit him to the table of the 
 Lord ; while, at the same time, he gave the sacred elements to a man 
 who, at the time of receiving them, was notoriously drunk, and made a 
 disturbance in the church ! No sin was so grievous as that of Chris- 
 tianity in the form of Methodism. 
 
 Neither affliction nor ministerial labour could induce Mr. Charles 
 Wesley to neglect the cultivation of his poetical talents. In the course 
 of this year, he united with his brother in the publication of a volume 
 of hymns on the Lord's supper, the whole of which appear to have been 
 their own compositions. To these they prefixed a brief spiritual trea- 
 tise of Dr. Brevint, a clergyman of a former age, entitled, " The Chris- 
 tian Sacrament and Sacrifice ;" explaining the nature of this ordinance, 
 and giving directions for the right receiving of it. This very pious 
 manual was in great request, and was in increasing demand as long as 
 the authors lived. Few of the books which they published passed 
 through so many editions ; for the writers had succeeded in impressing 
 upon the minds of their societies the great importance of frequent 
 communion. They administered the Lord's supper in London every 
 sabbath day ; and urged the people everywhere, at all opportunities, to 
 " eat of this bread, and drink of this cup," in " remembrance" of their
 
 336 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Redeemer's death. The sacramental hymns are sixty-six in number ; 
 and although they all refer to one subject, they are distinguished 
 throughout by a remarkable variety of thought and expression. The 
 flame of devotion by which they are animated is bright and intense. 
 
 It was about this time that Mr. Charles Wesley began to publish, in 
 the form of small tracts, for the use of Methodist societies and congre- 
 gations, hymns adapted to the principal festivals of the Christian church, 
 and other special occasions ; such as the " Nativity" of Christ, his 
 " Resurrection," " Whitsunday," " New-Year's Day," and " Watch- 
 nights." Other poetical tracts he also published, containing graces 
 before and after meat, and doxologies addressed to the Holy Trinity. 
 
 The watch-night services which were conducted by Mr. Charles 
 Wesley in those times were usually seasons of great solemnity and 
 power. Amidst the silence of the night, and in the absence of riotous 
 people and triflers, he and his fellow-worshippers anticipated the sound 
 of the trumpet which shall awake the dead, and proclaim the appear- 
 ance of the almighty Judge. His prayers, and impressive addresses 
 to the people, with the appropriate hymns which they unitedly sung at 
 his dictation, seemed to bring them near to the day of the Lord ; and 
 they rejoiced before him with the deepest reverence. The following 
 well-known hymns were all composed to be sung upon these occasions : — 
 
 Thou Judge of quick and dead ; 
 
 Ye virgin souls, awake ; 
 
 Join all ye ransom'd sons of grace ; 
 
 Oft have we pass'd the guilty night ; 
 
 How happy, gracious Lord, are we, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The state of the country was now alarming. Charles Stuart, the 
 grandson of James II., having attempted, without success, to land a 
 French army on the coast of Kent, for the purpose of regaining the 
 British crown, made his appearance in Scotland, where many of the 
 disaffected clans flocked to his standard. The task of resisting him 
 was confided to General Cope, who had the command of the royal 
 army ; but his plans were weakly laid, and feebly executed ; so that 
 Charles was in a little while master of Edinburgh. He soon after 
 defeated the king's troops at the battle of Preston-pans, where the brave 
 Colonel Gardiner lost his life. This youthful claimant of the British 
 crown was a man of genteel and graceful appearance, affable and en-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 337 
 
 gaging in his manners, and of an enterprising spirit. His professions 
 to all classes of people were, of course, liberal and flattering ; but he 
 was a tool of the Papacy, and a pensioner upon France ; so that, were 
 he to succeed in his project, it was easy to perceive that genuine 
 liberty, both civil and religious, would be no more. Popery and arbi- 
 trary power, an iron despotism in church and state, would have been 
 the sad inheritance of &_ people who enjoyed constitutional freedom in 
 a higher degree than any other nation whatever. , v The Pretender's 
 progress and success in Scotland, therefore, filled all sound and intelli- 
 gent Protestants with just alarm. 
 
 In this feeling both the Wesleys participated. They had already 
 put into extensive circulation several loyal and Protestant publications, 
 both in prose and verse, adapted to the exigency of the times ; they 
 enforced the duty of loyalty wherever they went; they called upon 
 their societies in all places to unite in prayer for the preservation of 
 the reigning monarch, and the establishment of his throne ; and they 
 urged upon all their congregations the necessity of repentance, as the 
 only means of averting the impending judgments of God, and of obtain- 
 ing national tranquillity. The following selections from the journal of 
 Charles will show the strength of his attachment to the Protestant 
 king, with whose mild and constitutional sway the nation was blessed ; 
 and the manner in which he laboured to sanctify the public danger. 
 He was still in Wales. 
 
 " Sept. 6th, 1745. At the hour of intercession we found an extra- 
 ordinary power of God upon us, and close communion with our absent 
 brethren. Afterward I found, by letters from London, that it was their 
 solemn fast-day. The night we passed in prayer. I read them my 
 heavy tidings out of the north. ' The lion is come up from his thicket ; 
 and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way.' 
 
 " Sept. 8th. The spirit of supplication was given us in the society 
 for his majesty King George ; and in strong faith we asked his de- 
 liverance from all his enemies and troubles. 
 
 " Sept. 9th. My three weeks' delightful confinement ended, and I 
 returned to Cardiff. 
 
 " Sept. 11th. I rose after a restless night, with a fever upon me ; but 
 was forced to take my bed again. How gladly would I have been taken 
 from the evil to come ! but, alas ! my sufferings are scarcely begun. 
 
 " Sept. 14th. My fever left me, and my strength so far returned, that 
 1 could sit on a horse, with one behind me. Almost as soon as we set 
 out my supporter and I were thrown over the horse's head, but neither 
 hurt. My lameness was much mended by three or four days' rest. 
 
 " Sept. 22d. I preached at Wenvo, ' that ye may be found of Him in 
 peace ;' then at Fonmon, on that great and terrible day of the Lord. 
 
 22
 
 338 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 His fear was mightily upon us : but at the society his love constrained 
 and quite overpowered us. For two hours we wept before the Lord, 
 and wrestled for our Sodom. We shall hear of these prayers 
 another day. 
 
 " Sept. 25th. After a tedious and dangerous passage, I got to shore, 
 and soon after to Bristol. I heard the news confirmed of Edinburgh 
 being taken by the rebels ; and saw all around in deep sleep and se- 
 curity. I warned our children with great affection. Our comforts we 
 expect will increase with our danger. 
 
 " Sept. 26th. Tidings came, that General Cope was cut off,* with 
 all his army. The room was crowded in the evening. I warned 
 them, with all authority, to flee to the mountains ; escape to the strong 
 tower ; even the name of Jesus ; and seemed to have strong faith that 
 the Romish antichrist shall never finally prevail in these kingdoms. 
 
 " Sept. 29th. My subject at Kingswood was, ' Because thou hast 
 kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee in the hour of 
 temptation,' &c. ; at Bristol, ' Fear God, and honour the king.' 
 
 " Oct. 8th. Having left the society fully warned, I rode to Bath, and 
 exhorted them also to meet God in the way of his judgments. At noon 
 I preached repentance and faith at the Cross, to the people of Road. 
 They drank in every word. When I said, ' Put away the evil of your 
 doings,' several cried out, ' We will, we will !' When I said, ' Be 
 drunk no more ; swear no more ;' they answered, ' I will not swear ; I 
 will not be drunk again as long as I live !' The alehouse-keepers, and 
 profligate young men, are the most exemplary in their repentance. I 
 dined at the 'squire's, who seemed amazed, and half-converted, at their 
 change. I preached at four to a barn-full of simple, hungry, seeking 
 souls. They sunk under the hammer, and melted before the fire of the 
 word. Oct. 9th. I met them again in the barn, and wept with them 
 that wept. All were stirred up, and made haste to escape into the ark, 
 because of the stormy wind and tempest. 
 
 " After preaching in Bath a woman desired to speak with me. She 
 had been in our society, and in Christ, but lost her grace through the 
 spirit of offence, left the fellowship, and fell by little and little into the 
 depth of vice and misery. I called Mrs. Naylor to hear her mournful 
 account. She had lived some time at a wicked house in Avon-street ; 
 confessed it was hell to her to see our people pass to the preaching ; 
 knew not what to do, or how to escape. We bade her fly for her life, 
 and not once look behind her. Mrs. Naylor kept her with herself till 
 the morning, and then carried her with us in the coach to London, and 
 
 * In those times correct intelligence travelled slowly. General Cope was not " cut 
 off" in the battle here referred to. He was defeated, and many of his men were slain ; 
 but he escaped. 
 
 22*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 339 
 
 delivered her to the care of our sister Davey. ' Is not this a brand 
 plucked out of the fire V 
 
 " Oct. 13th. I warned them earnestly, both at the chapel and the 
 Foundery, of the impending storm. 
 
 "Oct. 17th. We had twenty of our brethren from Flanders to dine 
 with us at the Foundery, and rejoiced in the distinguishing grace of God 
 toward them. 
 
 " Nov. 8th. I preached first in Bexley church, then in the front of the 
 camp near Dartford. Many of the poor soldiers gave diligent heed to 
 the word. One of the most reprobate was pricked in the heart, and 
 entered the society. 
 
 " Nov. 9th. A regiment passing by our door, I took the opportunity 
 of giving each soldier a book. All, excepting one, received them 
 thankfully. 
 
 "Nov. 10th. I expounded Psalm xlvi, with great enlargement. 
 An officer was present, and by his tears confessed the emotion of his 
 heart. 
 
 " Nov. 1 1th. We had some of our brethren of the army at the select 
 society, and solemnly commended them to the grace of God before 
 they set out to meet the rebels. They were without fear, or disturb- 
 ance, knowing the hairs of their head are all numbered. 
 
 " Dec. 6th. In reading my brother's last Appeal I was drawn out 
 into fervent prayer for him, myself, and all the children whom God 
 hath given us." 
 
 The concluding part of Mr. John W T esley's " Earnest Appeal to 
 Men of Reason and Religion" was finished at this time, and appears to 
 have been read by Charles in manuscript. It is a powerful and an 
 impressive work, written with great force of argument, and yearning pity 
 for the souls of ignorant and wicked men. The doctrines which the 
 author and his brother taught are here explained and defended, with the 
 means which they adopted to effect a revival of pure Christianity. A 
 paragraph at the close shows that, notwithstanding the national danger, 
 the Methodist preachers were still persecuted with unrelenting severity. 
 Dr. Borlase, in Cornwall, was not the only clerical magistrate who 
 abused his authority to gratify his prejudices. 
 
 " Just now," says Mr. Wesley, " on the 4th of this instant December, 
 the Reverend Mr. Henry Wickham, one of his majesty's justices of 
 peace for the West-Riding of Yorkshire, writes an order to the consta- 
 ble of Keighley, commanding him to ' convey the body of Jonathan 
 Reeves' (whose real crime is, the calling sinners to repentance) ' to 
 his majesty's jail and castle of York ; suspected,' saith the precept, ' of 
 being a spy among us, and a dangerous man to the person and govern- 
 ment of his majesty King George.'
 
 340 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " God avert the omen ! I fear this is no presage either of the 
 repentance or deliverance of our poor nation !" 
 
 Unterrified by persecution and by national danger, the two Wesleys- 
 persevered in their work with firmness of purpose. How long they 
 might be permitted to labour, they knew not. The Popish representa- 
 tive of the Stuart family had already acquired a power which rendered 
 him formidable ; and should he gain the object of his guilty ambition, 
 they well knew that their opportunities of usefulness would be restricted, 
 if not for ever cut off. They applied themselves, therefore, with unex- 
 ampled diligence and energy to the work of saving souls, and were 
 cheered in every place by manifest tokens of the presence and blessing 
 of God. " In season, and out of season ;" in churches, chapels, barns f 
 private houses, fields, market-places ; in sunshine, rain, hail, and snow ; 
 in towns, cities, villages, hamlets ; from the Land's End to the Tweed ; 
 their voices, and those of their fellow-labourers, were heard, proclaim- 
 ing the sinfulness of sin, the mercy of the SaAdour, and the necessity 
 of a vital faith in him, as the only means of pardon, holiness, and safety. 
 How Charles was employed during the eventful year of 1746 will best 
 appear from his own account, contained in the following brief extracts 
 from his interesting journal : — 
 
 " Feb. 4th. I wrote to a friend as follows : — ' I cannot help expect- 
 ing the sorest judgments to be poured out upon this land, and that sud- 
 denly. You allow us one hundred years to fill up the measure of our 
 iniquity. You cannot more laugh at my vain fear, than I at your vain 
 confidence. Now is the axe laid to the root of the tree ; now is the 
 decree gone forth ; now is the day of visitation. It comes so strong 
 and continually upon me, that I almost think there is God in my pros- 
 pect of war, famine, pestilence, and all the vials of wrath bursting on 
 our heads.' 
 
 " March 24th. In riding to Brentford with our sisters Davey, Alcroft, 
 and Rich, our coach broke down. The only courageous person among 
 us was the only person afraid. I prayed in our return by a dying 
 prisoner of hope ; and felt an humble confidence that his eyes shall 
 see the salvation of God. 
 
 " March -28th, Good-Friday. Every morning of this great and holy 
 week the Lord was at his own feast, but especially this. The word, 
 ' Let us also go, and die with him,' was written on our hearts. We 
 passed from two to three in solemn prayer at Short's gardens. I drank 
 tea at my sister Wright's, with Mrs. Rich and her two youngest daugh- 
 ters ; one, the greatest miracle of all accomplishments, both of mind 
 and body, that I have ever seen. 
 
 " March 29th. I administered the sacrament to a dying sinner, who 
 did run well, but was now groaning out her last breath under the guilt
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 341 
 
 of sin, and cur9e of God. I preached to her the sinners Advocate. 
 She received the faithful saying, and believed the Lord would save her 
 at the last hour. I passed the afternoon at Mrs. Rich's, where we 
 caught a physician by the ear, through the help of Mr. Lampe, and 
 some of our sisters. This is the true use of music." 
 
 A few remarks respecting two of the persons here mentioned will not 
 be inappropriate. Mrs. Rich's husband was the proprietor of Covent- 
 garden theatre. She was a lady of great personal beauty, of superior 
 accomplishments, and excelled as an actress. Having heard Mr. 
 Charles Wesley preach at West-street chapel, near the Seven-dials, 
 she was convinced of sin, renounced the theatre, sought salvation 
 through Jesus Christ, and became " a new creature." Her conversion 
 greatly displeased her husband, who insisted upon her re-appearance on 
 the stage, and persecuted her on account of her Methodistical scruples. 
 She declared, that if she ever went there again, she would bear her 
 testimony against theatrical amusements. Seeing her resolution, he at 
 length discontinued his importunities. He left her a widow in affluent 
 circumstances, and she retained a peculiar respect for Mr. Charles 
 Wesley to the end of her life. Her daughters were taught music by 
 Handel. 
 
 Mr. Lampe, whom Mr. Charles Wesley met at Mrs. Rich's house, 
 was a musician of considerable talent and celebrity. His name was 
 John Frederick Lampe : he was a native of Germany ; studied music 
 at Helmstadt, in Saxony ; came to England about the year 1725, and 
 obtained employment in the opera band ; but was afterward engaged 
 by Mr. Rich to compose some dramatic music. He was the author of 
 a quarto volume, entitled, " A Plain and Compendious Method of teach- 
 ing Thorough-Bass after the most rational Manner, with proper Rules 
 for Practice," which he published in 1737. In the " Musical Miscel- 
 lany," published by Watts in six volumes, are many songs composed 
 by Lampe at different times. While thus connected with the theatre, 
 he was an infidel ; but he was convinced of the truth and importance of 
 Christianity by reading Mr. John Wesley's " Earnest Appeal to Men of 
 Reason and Religion ;" when he became a sincere Christian ; applied 
 his fine talents to the service of God, by setting many of the Wesleyan 
 hymns to music ; and maintained his truly Christian character to the 
 close of life. 
 
 The following letter gives an interesting view of the piety of Mrs. 
 Rich, and of the discouragements with which she had to contend, aris- 
 ing from her ungodly connections : — 
 
 "London, Nov. 27th, 1746. Dear and Rev. Sir, — I am infinitely 
 obliged to you for your kind letter. It gave me great comfort, and at a
 
 342 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 time I had much need of it ; for I have been very ill both in body and 
 mind. Some part arose from my poor partner, who, I fear, has in a 
 great measure stifled his convictions which God gave him. 
 
 " As to myself, God has been pleased to show me so much of my 
 own unworthiness and helplessness, that the light has almost broken 
 my heart; and I might truly be called a woman of a sorrowful spirit. 
 
 " O think what it is to be obliged to conceal this from the eyes of 
 those that know nothing of these things, but call it all madness ! The 
 Lord teach them better ; at whose table I have been greatly strength- 
 ened ; and through his grace I still hope to conquer all the enemies of 
 my soul. 
 
 " The enclosed is a copy of a song Mr. Rich has sung in a new 
 scene, added to one of his old entertainments, in the character of Har- 
 lequin Preacher, to convince the town he is not a Methodist. O pray 
 for him, that he may be a Christian indeed ; and then he will be no 
 more concerned about what he is called ; and for me, 
 
 " Your unworthy daughter in Christ." 
 
 Having gone from London to Bristol, and thence to Road, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley says, — 
 
 " April 30th. I preached with double effect. One poor mourner had 
 been crying for mercy all night in the society-house. I conferred with 
 several who have tasted of the love of Christ, mostly under the preach- 
 ing or prayers of our lay-helpers. How can any one dare deny that 
 they are sent of God ? O that all who have the outward call were as 
 inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to preach ! O that they would 
 make full proof of their ministry, and take the cause out of our weak 
 hands ! 
 
 " May 2d. I rode back to Bristol, and was met with the news of our 
 victory in Scotland* I spoke at night on the first words that presented : 
 ' He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.' We rejoiced unto him 
 with reverence, and thankfully observed the remarkable answer of that 
 petition, — 
 
 ' All their strength o'ertuni, overthrow ; 
 
 Snap their spears, and break their swords ; 
 Let the daring rebels know 
 The battle is the Lord's !' 
 
 O that in this reprieve, before the sword return, we may know the time 
 of our visitation ! 
 
 " June 4th. Driving down a steep hill, in our way to Sherburn, the 
 
 * The " victory" here referred to was that which the king's troops gained over the 
 rebel army at the decisive battle of Culloden. From that time the cause of the Pres 
 tender was hopeless.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 343 
 
 horse stumbled, and threw me out of the seat. I fell on my back upon 
 the wheel ; my feet were entangled in the chaise ; but the beast stood 
 stock still ; so I received no harm, but was only stunned and dirtied. 
 We were four hours in going five miles. It rained incessantly, and 
 blew a hurricane, this and the day following. By nine at night we 
 were glad to reach W. Nelson's house in Portland. 
 
 " June 6th. I preached to a house-full of staring, loving people. 
 Some wept, but most looked quite unawakened. At noon and night I 
 preached on a hill in the midst of the island. Most of the inhabitants 
 came to hear ; but few, as yet, feel the burden of sin, or the want of a 
 Saviour. 
 
 " June 8th. After evening service we had all the islanders that were 
 able to come. I asked, 'Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by V 
 About half a dozen answered, ' It is nothing to us,' by turning their 
 backs ; but the rest hearkened with greater signs of emotion than I had 
 before observed. I found faith at this time that our labour would not 
 be in vain. 
 
 " June 9th. At Southwell, the furthest village, I expounded the song 
 of Simeon. Some very old men attended. I distributed a few books 
 among them ; rode round the island ; and returned by noon, to preach 
 on the hill : and by night, at my lodgings. Now the power and bless- 
 ing came. My mouth and their hearts were opened. The rocks were 
 broken in pieces, and melted into tears on every side. I continued 
 exhorting them, from seven till ten, to save themselves from this unto- 
 ward generation. We could hardly part. I left the little society of 
 twenty members confirmed and comforted." 
 
 It was " before preaching at Portland," where the people are mostly 
 employed in the stone quarries, that Mr. Charles Wesley wrote the 
 hymn beginning, — 
 
 " Come, O thou all-victorious Lord, 
 Thy power to us make known, 
 Strike with the hammer of thy word, 
 And break these hearts of stone." 
 
 If the hymn were written on occasion of the visit just described, 
 which is highly probable, an immediate answer was given to the prayer 
 which it contains. 
 
 Having visited Axminster and Exeter, on the 14th of June Mr. Charles 
 Wesley says, " I went forth at Tavistock, to call sinners to repentance. 
 A large herd of wild beasts were got together ; and very noisy and 
 tumultuous they were. At first I stood on a wall ; but their Adolence 
 forced me thence. I Avalked to the middle of the field, and began call- 
 ing, ' Wash you, make you clean,' &c. The waves of the sea raged 
 so horribly, that few could hear; but all might see the restraining hand
 
 344 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of God. I continued in prayer mostly for half an hour, and walked 
 quietly to my lodgings, through the thickest of the king's enemies. 
 
 "June 15th. I offered Christ once more to a larger audience, who 
 did not seem like the same people. The power of the Lord was pre- 
 sent to convince. I endeavoured to strip them of all pretensions to 
 good ; insisting that the natural man has absolutely nothing of his own 
 but pure evil, no will or desire to good, till it be supernaturally infused. 
 After chinch 1 expounded the prodigal son ; and many listened to their 
 own history. 
 
 (i June 22d. I preached on a hill in Stoke church-yard. It was covered 
 with the surrounding multitude, upward of four thousand by computa- 
 tion. I expounded the good Samaritan. Some reviled at first, on 
 whom I turned, and with a few words silenced them. The generality 
 behaved as men fearing God. They followed me with their blessings. 
 One only cursed, and called me Whitefield the second. I took my 
 leave of Mrs. Wheatley and others, whom I greatly love for their love 
 to my brethren, Graves, Grinfill, Maxfield, on whose bonds they had 
 compassion. The Lord recompense them in that day ! Our own chil- 
 dren could not have expressed greater affection to us at parting. They 
 could have plucked out their eyes, and given them us. Several offered 
 me money ; but I told them I never accepted any. Others would have 
 persuaded Mr. Waller to take it ; but he walked in the same steps, and 
 said their love was sufficient. 
 
 " June 26th. I came to Gvvennap, and encouraged the poor persecuted 
 sheep. The Lord smiled upon our first meeting. 
 
 " June 29th. Upon examination of each separately, I found the soci- 
 ety in a prosperous way. Their sufferings have been for their further- 
 ance, and the gospel's. The opposers behold and wonder at their 
 steadfastness and godly conversation. I preached the gospel to the 
 poor at Stithians. The poor received it with tears of joy. My even- 
 ing congregation was computed upward of five thousand. I preached 
 the pardoning God from the returning prodigal, and felt as it were the 
 people sink under the power of Him that sent me. They all stood un- 
 covered ; knelt at the prayers ; and hung on the word from my mouth. 
 For an hour and a half I invited them back to their Father, and felt no 
 hoarseness or weariness afterward. I spent an hour and a half more 
 with the society, warning them against pride and the love of the crea- 
 ture, and stirring them up to universal obedience. 
 
 " June 30th. Both sheep and shepherds had been scattered in the 
 late cloudy day of persecution ; but the Lord gathered them again, and 
 kept them together, by their own brethren, who began to exhort their 
 companions, one or more, in every society. No less than four have 
 sprung up in Gwennap. I talked closely with each, and find no reason
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 345 
 
 to doubt their having been used by God thus far. I advised and charged 
 them not to stretch themselves beyond their line, by speaking out of 
 the society, or fancying themselves public teachers. If they keep 
 within their bounds, as they promise, they may be useful in the church ; 
 and I would to God that all the Lord's people were prophets like 
 these ! In the evening I preached to our dearest children at St. Ives. 
 
 " July 6th. At Gwennap near two thousand listened to those gra- 
 cious words that proceeded out of His mouth, ' Come unto me, all ye 
 that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Half of 
 them were trom Redruth, which seems on the point of surrendering to 
 the Prince of peace. The whole country finds the benefit of the gos- 
 pel. Hundreds who follow not with us have broken off their sins, and 
 are outwardly reformed, and, though persecutors once, will not now 
 suffer a word to be spoken against this way. Some of those who fell 
 off in the late persecution desired to be present at the society. I ad- 
 dressed myself chiefly to the backsliders. God touched their hearts. 
 Several followed me to my lodgings, and desired to be admitted again. 
 I received them back upon trial. 
 
 " July 13th. At St. Ives no one offered to make the least disturbance. 
 Indeed the whole place is outwardly changed in this respect. I walk 
 the streets Avith astonishment, scarce believing it St. Ives. It is the 
 same throughout all the country. All opposition falls before us, or, 
 rather, is fallen, and not yet suffered to lift up its head again. This 
 also hath the Lord wrought. 
 
 " July 19th. I had a visit from Captain Trounce, the man who last 
 year hindered my brother from preaching, and threw him over the wall. 
 I rode to Sithney, where the word begins to take root. The rebels of 
 Helstone threatened hard. All manner of evil they say of us. Papists 
 we are ; that is certain ; and are bringing in the Pretender. Nay, the 
 vulgar are persuaded I have brought him with me ; and James Waller 
 is the man. But a law is to come from London to-night, to put us all 
 down, and set one hundred pounds upon my head. We had, notwith- 
 standing, a numerous congregation, and several of the persecutors. I 
 declared my commission ' to open their eyes, and turn them from dark- 
 ness to light, and from the power of Satan to God.' Many appeared 
 convinced, and caught in the gospel net. 
 
 " July 20th. Near one hundred of the fiercest rioters were present, 
 who a few months ago had cruelly beaten the sincere hearers, not 
 sparing the women and children. They were hired by the pious minis- 
 ter for that purpose. Now these very men, expecting a disturbance, 
 came to fight for me ; and said they would lose their lives in my de- 
 fence. But there was no occasion for their service. All was quiet, as 
 it generally is when Satan threatens most.
 
 346 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " I crossed the country to Redruth ; walked through the town a mile 
 to the church ; and was surprised by the general civility. I drew the 
 congregation alter me to the field ; more than eight thousand, as was 
 supposed. I expounded the good Samaritan. Surely He has a multi- 
 tude of patients here. 
 
 " July 21st. I had heard sad accounts of St. Just people ; that, being 
 scattered by persecution, they had wandered into by-paths of error and 
 sin, and been confirmed therein by their covetous, proud exhorter, 
 J. Bennet. From St. Ives I came on Wednesday noon, July 23d, to 
 his house in Trewallard, a village belonging to St. Just. I found about 
 a dozen of the shattered society, which quickly increased to fifty or 
 sixty. I perceived, as soon as we kneeled down, that there was a 
 blessing in the remnant. We wrestled with God in his own strength 
 from one till nine, with only the preaching between. I acknowledged 
 God was with them of a truth. My faith for them returned ; and I 
 asked, nothing doubting, that the door might again be opened, and that 
 he who hinders might be taken out of the' way, as God knew best. 
 This man was once a gentleman of fortune, but is now a poor drunken 
 spendthrift, brother to Dr. Borlase, and retained by this dispenser of 
 justice to supply the defect of the laws. This champion they send 
 forth drunk on all occasions. It was he that pressed my brother for a 
 soldier ; dragged away Edward Grinfill, though past age, from his busi- 
 ness and family, for a soldier and sailor ; assaulted Mr. Meriton, to 
 serve him the same way ; seized on Mr. Graves, the third clergyman, 
 in bed, and hurried him on board a man-of-war. In a word, he seems 
 raised up by Satan to support his tottering kingdom ; and swears con- 
 tinually, there shall never be any more preaching at St. Just. For a 
 year and a half Satan seemed to triumph in his success : so much good 
 may one sinner hinder, if armed with the sins of God's people ! In 
 praying for this poor soul I thought heaven and earth would meet. 
 The Spirit of prayer bowed down all before God. We believed the 
 door woidd be opened for preaching at this time. Between six and 
 seven I cried in the street, to about a thousand hearers, ' If God be for 
 us, who can be against us V The wall of brass surrounded us. None 
 opened his mouth, or appeared on Satan's side. The little flock were 
 comforted and refreshed abundantly. 
 
 " I spake with each of the society, and was amazed to find them just 
 the reverse of what they had been represented. Most of them had 
 kept their first love, even while men were riding over their heads, and 
 they passed through fire and water. Their exhorter appeared a solid, 
 humble Christian, raised up to stand in the gap, and keep the trembling 
 sheep together. 
 
 " I was ready for rest, but none could I find all night. At four 1
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 347 
 
 talked with more of the society, and adored the miracle of grace which 
 has kept these sheep in the midst of wolves. Well may the despisers 
 behold and wonder. Here is a bush in the fire, burning, and yet not 
 consumed ! What have they not done to crush this rising sect 1 but, 
 lo, they prevail nothing ! For one preacher they cut off, twenty spring 
 up. Neither persecutions nor threatening, flattery nor violence, dun- 
 geons, nor sufferings of various kinds, can conquer them. Many waters 
 cannot quench this little spark, which the Lord hath kindled ; neither 
 shall the floods of persecution drown it. 
 
 " July 25th. From one to three we poured out our souls in prayer 
 for a nation laden with iniquity. I was led undesignedly to pray for 
 our drunken persecutor ; and the Spirit came pouring down like a river. 
 We were filled with the divine presence. I had left my hymn-book in 
 my chamber, and stepped up for it. One came after me with the news, 
 that Mr. Eustick was just coming to take me up. I went down to the 
 congregation ; but my friend Eustick was gone, without beating man, 
 woman, or child. He only asked if Mr. Wesley was there ; for he had 
 ' a warrant to apprehend him.' He went out at the other door, and told 
 those he met, he had been searching all the house for Wesley, but 
 could not find him. We supposed he had not got sufficient courage, 
 that is, drink, for his purpose, and expected his return. I began preach- 
 ing an hour before the appointed time. The flame was kindled in a 
 moment. I had only to speak, and leave God to apply. He filled us 
 up to the brim with faith, and love, and joy, and power. The Spirit 
 of the Lord lifted up, and caused us to triumph, and tread on all the 
 power of the enemy. 
 
 " After a short interval, I received strength to preach again in the 
 court-yard, on, ' Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me V The two-edged 
 sword did great execution. 
 
 " July 27th. I met the society at Morva ; went to church at St. Just ; 
 and then to my old pulpit, the large stone, by brother Chinhall's house. 
 All was quiet till I came to those words : ' And the remnant took his 
 servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.' Then one 
 began throwing stones ; but I went on, exhorting them to save them- 
 selves from this untoward generation. My discourse was as mixed as 
 the multitude ; law, gospel, threatenings, promises ; which I trust the 
 Spirit applied to their several cases. 
 
 " August 3d. From evening service at Redruth I rode back to my 
 own church, the valley near our room at Gwennap ; and found at least 
 five thousand sinners waiting for the glad tidings of salvation. I bade 
 them to the great supper, in my Master's name and words, and even 
 compelled them to come in. 
 
 " August 10th. At Gwennap nine or ten thousand, by computation,
 
 348 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 listened with all eagerness while I commended them to God, and the 
 word of his grace. For near two hours I was enabled to preach ' re- 
 pentance toward God, and faith in Jesus Christ.' I broke out again 
 and again in prayer and exhortation. I believed not one would return 
 empty. Seventy years' suffering would be overpaid by one such oppor- 
 tunity. Never had we so large an effusion of the Spirit as in the 
 society. I could not doubt, at that time, either their perseverance or 
 my own ; and still I am humbly confident that we shall stand together 
 among the multitude which no man can number. 
 
 " August 11th. I expressed the gratitude of my heart in the following 
 thanksgiving: — 
 
 All thanks be to God, 
 
 Who scatters abroad, 
 
 Throughout every place, 
 By the least of his servants, his savour of grace ! 
 
 Who the victory gave, 
 
 The praise let him have 
 
 For the work he hath done ; 
 AU honour and glory to Jesus alone ! 
 
 Our conquering Lord 
 
 Hath prosper'd his word, 
 
 Hath made it prevail, 
 And mightily shaken the kingdom of hell. 
 
 His arm he hath bared, 
 
 And a people prepared 
 
 His glory to show, 
 And witness the power of his passion below. 
 
 Our heathenish land 
 
 Beneath thy command 
 
 In mercy receive, 
 And make us a pattern to all that believe ; 
 
 Then, then let it spread 
 
 Thy knowledge and dread, 
 
 Till the earth is o'erflow'd, 
 And the universe fill'd with the glory of God." 
 
 In this spirit of grateful and holy exultation Mr. Charles Wesley took 
 his leave of Cornwall, and returned to London, preaching at Plymouth, 
 Tavistock, Bristol, and several other places on his way. In Cornwall, 
 )t will be perceived, he found that all the societies had been severely 
 tried by persecution ; the preachers having been torn from them, and 
 committed to prison, for the purpose of being sent into the army or 
 navy. Under these circumstances a new class of labourers had been 
 raised up, in almost every place, bearing the name of exhorters. They 
 did not preach, in the usual sense of that term ; but held meetings for
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 349 
 
 prayer, and addressed the people on the subject of religion, giving them 
 requisite encouragement and admonition, and calling " them that were 
 without" to repentance. In this he saw the hand of God, raising up 
 instruments to carry on his own work ; the exhorters being generally 
 men of superior sense, and of unquestionable piety. By the labours of 
 these men the societies were kept together, and in some instances en- 
 larged, when scarcely a preacher was left at liberty in the whole 
 county ; being seized by constables, dragged to prison, and committed 
 to the custody of military officers, and captains of men-of-war, for the 
 king's service. Thus the work was carried on, in despite of opposi- 
 tion, till persecutors themselves, if not convinced, saw their efforts to 
 be hopeless, and agreed to " refrain from these men, and let them 
 alone." 
 
 On Mr. Charles Wesley's arrival in London, Thomas Williams, the 
 miserable man who, a few months before, had invented the most in- 
 famous falsehoods, for the purpose of ruining his character, and that 
 of his brother, waited upon him to solicit pecuniar}* relief. He stated 
 that the bishop of London had agreed to ordain him as a missionary ; 
 and he wanted the means, in the mean while, of paying a visit to his 
 father. " I got Mr. Watkins to assist him," says Charles, " although 
 his promises of repentance had little weight with me.'' Whether the 
 man now spoke the truth, or not, we have no means of ascertaining. 
 Mr. Charles Wesley relieved him, though he had little confidence in 
 his veracity. 
 
 A few days after his return to London, Mr. Charles Wesley paid a 
 visit to the Rev. Vincent Perronet, vicar of Shoreham, in Kent, which 
 led to the formation of an intimate and confidential friendship with that 
 very intelligent, pious, and amiable man. Mr. Perronet was, on his 
 father's side, of Swiss descent, though he was born in London, where 
 his father then lived. His mother was an English lady. He was 
 educated at the University of Oxford ; in his younger years was greatly 
 addicted to metaphysical studies ; and soon after his settlement at 
 Shoreham wrote in defence of Locke, against Bishops Butler and 
 Browne. Having heard partial and exaggerated accounts of the Wes- 
 leys, he entertained an unfavourable opinion concerning them ; but his 
 views were greatly changed by a conversation with Mr. Watkins. a 
 member of the Methodist society in London, who was on a visit to the 
 neighbourhood of Shoreham. It is probable that this was the Mr. 
 Watkins who is mentioned in the preceding paragraph, and who was 
 one of the two men that advised Mr. Wesley to engage the Foundery 
 as a place of worship, and supplied him with the necessary funds. In 
 consequence of the information received from Mr. Watkins, Mr. Per- 
 ronet expressed a wish to be acquainted with Mr. John and Charles
 
 350 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Wesley. John was accordingly introduced to him on the 14lh of 
 August, 1744. Under this date he says, "Mr. Piers rode over with 
 me to Shoreham, and introduced me to Mr. Perronet. I hope to have 
 cause of blessing God for ever for the acquaintance begun this day." 
 
 From this time Mr. Perronet's religious character was decidedlv 
 improved. He entered fully into those views of divine* truth which the 
 Wesleys inculcated, and became a spiritual and holy man. Two of his 
 sons were afterward itinerant preachers ; he wrote various tracts in 
 defence of the Wesleyan tenets ; to him Mr. Wesley's " Plain Account 
 of the People called Methodists" was originally addressed ; and to the 
 end of his very protracted life he was the cordial friend, and the wise 
 adviser, of Mr. John and Charles Wesley, under all their public and 
 domestic cares. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley thus speaks of his first visit to this upright and 
 liberal man: — "Sept. 16th, 1746. I set out in a chaise, with Mr. 
 Edward Perronet, Mr. Watkins, and others, for Shoreham. I preached 
 in our way at Sevenoaks, where we were much threatened, but nothing 
 hurt. At Shoreham Mr. Green read prayers. As soon as I began 
 preaching, the wild beasts began roaring, stamping, blaspheming, ring- 
 ing the bells, and turning the church into a bear-garden. I spoke on 
 for half an hour, though only the nearest could hear. The rioters fol- 
 lowed us to Mr. Perronet's house, raging, threatening, and throwing 
 stones. Charles Perronet hung over me to intercept my blows. They 
 continued their uproar after we were housed. Our sisters from Seven- 
 oaks feared to go home : but our Lord, in some time, scattered the 
 beasts of the people, so that they escaped unhurt." 
 
 Edward Perronet, who conducted Mr. Charles Wesley to Shoreham, 
 and Charles, who so generously attempted to shield him from the blows 
 of the rioters, were the sons of the vicar, who afterward became travel- 
 ling preachers. Mr. Charles Wesley appears to have taken Edward 
 • back again with him to London ; for a few days after his return, he 
 says in his journal, " I prayed with Edward Perronet, just on the point 
 of receiving faith." 
 
 At this period the nation was called to acknowledge the goodness 
 of God in its deliverance from the calamity of civil war. Flushed by 
 their early successes in Scotland, the rebels, resolved, if possible, to 
 proceed directly to London, for the purpose of dethroning the king. 
 Having passed through Carlisle, Manchester, and other intermediate 
 places, as far as Derby, they held a council of war, and resolved to 
 return. William Duke of Cumberland pursued them at the head of the 
 king's troops, and at length succeeded in bringing them to a general 
 engagement at Culloden, near Inverness, where they sustained a com- 
 plete defeat, and the hopes of the Pretender were annihilated. Most
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 351 
 
 of the rebel chiefs, who had joined him, were either brought to punish- 
 ment, or fled to France ; to which country he himself also made his 
 escape. The battle of Culloden was fought on the 16th of April ; and 
 the day of public thanksgiving was October 9th. It was a day of pious 
 and solid joy to all sound-hearted Protestants ; and many loyal sermons 
 were preached and published on the occasion. In the expression of 
 gratitude to God, and of unfeigned attachment to the reigning family, 
 the Methodist congregations were behind no class of their fellow- 
 citizens. Mr. John Wesley says, " The day of public thanksgiving for 
 the victory of Culloden w#s to us a day of solemn joy." Mr. Charles 
 Wesley preached. " The Foundery was filled," says he, " at four in 
 the morning. I spoke from those words, ' How shall I give thee up, 
 Ephraim V Our hearts were melted by the long-suffering love of God, 
 whose power we felt disposing us to the true thanksgiving. It was a 
 day of solemn rejoicing. O that from this moment all our rebellions 
 against God might cease !" 
 
 This was not the only service that Mr. Charles Wesley rendered to 
 the good cause of Protestant loyalty upon this most interesting occa- 
 sion. He composed seven " hymns for the public thanksgiving-day," 
 and printed them for general circulation, and especially for, the use of 
 the Methodist congregations. They are all of a thoroughly Protestant 
 character, are written with singular strength of thought and expression, 
 and must at the time have produced a strong sensation. The writer 
 evidently felt that the nation had passed a momentous crisis ; France 
 and Spain having been ready to aid the design of placing the British 
 crown upon the head of a slave of Papal Rome. 
 
 On the morning after the day of public thanksgiving Mr. Charles 
 Wesley says, " I set out for Newcastle, with my young companion and 
 friend, Edward Perronet, whose heart the Lord hath given me. His 
 family were kept from us so long, by their mistaken notion, that we 
 were against the Church." Three days after he had commenced this 
 journey he says, " Riding on, I had a narrow escape. A man dis- 
 charged a gun just over my head, and shot a bird on the opposite hedge, 
 which fell dead at my feet. The shot flew within a few inches of my 
 face. One of our company told us, his father had been killed by such 
 an accident." 
 
 Having preached at Quinton, Evesham, Birmingham, and Tipton- 
 green, he came to Penkridge, " at the invitation of a brother." Here 
 he was encouraged by the success of his ministry, and had to encounter 
 that kind of opposition with which he had long been familiar. He says, 
 speaking of " the brother" who accompanied him, " He comforted my 
 heart on the way by informing me, that his father, aged seventy, and 
 a great opposer lately, had come last night to the preaching, and re-
 
 352 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 turned to his house justified." He adds, " We were hardly set down 
 when the sons of Belial beset the house, and beat at the door. I 
 ordered it to be set open, and immediately they filled the house. I sat 
 still in the midst of them for half an hour. Edward Perronet I was a 
 little concerned for, lest such rough treatment, at Ids first setting out, 
 should daunt him ; but he abounded in valour, and was for reasoning 
 with the wild beasts before they had spent any of their violence. He 
 got a deal of abuse thereby, and not a little dirt, both which he took 
 very patiently. 
 
 " I had no design to preach ; but being called upon by so unexpected 
 a congregation, I rose at last, and read the first words I met : ' When 
 the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with 
 him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.' While I reasoned 
 with them of judgment to come, they grew calmer by little and little. 
 I then spake to them one by one, till the Lord had disarmed them all. 
 One who*stood out the longest, I held by the hand, and urged with the 
 love of Christ crucified, till, in spite of both his natural and diabolical 
 courage, he trembled like a leaf. I was constrained to break out in 
 earnest prayer for him ; and surely the Lord heard and answered. Our 
 leopards were all become lambs ; and very kind we were at parting. 
 Near midnight the house was clear and quiet. We gave thanks to the 
 God of our salvation, and slept in peace. I rose, much refreshed, at 
 four, and preached to a house-full of listening souls. 
 
 " October 21st. I preached at Dewsbury, where John Nelson had 
 gathered many stray sheep. The minister did not condemn them un- 
 heard, but talked with the persons wrought upon, and narrowly ex- 
 amined into the doctrine taught them, and its effect on their lives. 
 When he found that as many as had been affected by the preaching 
 were evidently reformed, and brought to church and sacrament, he 
 testified his approbation of the work, and rejoiced that sinners were 
 converted unto God. 
 
 " At Leeds I called a lamb-like multitude to repentance. Many of 
 the society were unable to suppress their concern. Others, who had 
 more power over themselves, were no less deeply affected. Wednes- 
 day, Oct. 22d, I preached in a yard at Keighley, on, ' God so loved the 
 world,' &c. Here also is the promise of a plentiful harvest. I went 
 on to Haworth, and called upon Mr. Grimshaw, a faithful minister of 
 Christ, and found him and his wife ill of a fever. She had been a 
 great opposer, but lately convinced. His soul was full of triumphant 
 love. I wished mine in its place. We prayed believingly that the 
 Lord would raise him up again for the service of his church. I read 
 prayers, and expounded Isaiah xxxv. All listened ; many wept ; some 
 received comfort. I returned, and exhorted the steady society at Keigh-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 353 
 
 ley. We lay at a public-house ; and I slept in spite of the serenaders, 
 who entertained my fellow-traveller till the morning." 
 
 Mr. Grimshaw, with whom Mr. Charles Wesley appears at this time 
 to have commenced a personal acquaintance, was a clergyman of a 
 somewhat extraordinary character. He was born at Brindle, near 
 Preston, in Lancashire, and educated at Oxford for the sacred office, 
 of the nature and responsibilities of which, for some time after he had 
 entered upon it, he had no just conception. In early life he was under 
 the influence of religious impressions ; but these had long been oblite- 
 rated from his mind ; and he became a drunkard, a profane swearer, 
 and in every respect an ungodly man. In this state he was appointed 
 to a curacy, and intrusted with the care of souls. For about six years 
 he was a blind leader of the blind ; filling up the measure of his own 
 iniquities, and guiding the people in the broad way that leadeth to de- 
 struction. By the mercy of God his religious convictions again returned. 
 The fearful amount of guilt which he had contracted pressed heavily 
 upon his conscience, and the evils of his own nature held him in bond- 
 age, so that he " could not do the things that he would." Though pro- 
 fessedly a teacher of others, he was " ignorant of God's righteousness," 
 and sought in vain to obtain salvation from sin by the works of the law. 
 For fifteen months he groaned under the terrors of an awakened con- 
 science, till at length life became a burden, and he was strongly tempted 
 to put an end to it by his own hand. Under very singular and peculiar 
 circumstances he was led to see that it is not the righteous, but the 
 ungodly, whom the Almighty justifies ; and that not by the merit of 
 their own works, but by faith in the sacrifice of Christ. A strong repre- 
 sentation being made to his mind of the Lord Jesus dying in his stead, 
 and interceding with God in his behalf, he believed with the heart unto 
 righteousness, and found permanent rest to his soul. 
 
 At this time he had no acquaintance with the Methodists ; but hav- 
 ing been led to entertain the views of divine truth which they held, and 
 to enjoy the salvation of which they also were the happy partakers, he 
 resembled them in the leading features of his character, and adopted 
 such plans of usefulness as they employed under the constraining 
 power of the love of Christ. He travelled through the surrounding 
 country, among a rude, ignorant, and neglected people, calling them to 
 repentance, and everywhere insisting upon the absolute and universal 
 necessity of the new birth. Of the Wesleys and Mr. Whitefield he 
 became a decided friend ; and to the end of his life he laboured with 
 most exemplary zeal, and with corresponding success, in turning men 
 to righteousness. 
 
 Leaving the west of Yorkshire, Mr. Charles Wesley went directly 
 to Newcastle, where his young friend, Edward Perronet, was seized 
 
 23
 
 354 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 with an affliction which for a time created considerable alarm. Under 
 the date of Sunday, October 26th, Mr. Charles Wesley says, " My 
 companion was taken ill of a fever. We prayed for him in strong faith, 
 nothing doubting. Monday and Tuesday he grew worse. On Wed- 
 nesday the small-pox appeared ; a favourable sort ; yet on Thursday 
 evening we were much alarmed by the great pain and danger he was 
 in. We had recourse to our never-failing remedy, and received a most 
 remarkable, immediate answer to our prayer. The great means of his 
 recovery was the prayer of faith. 
 
 "Oct. 31st. I rode to Wickham, where the curate sent his love to 
 me ; with a message that he was glad of my coming, and obliged to me 
 for endeavouring to do good among his people ; for none wanted it 
 more ; and he heartily wished me success in the name of the Lord. 
 He came with another clergyman, and stayed both during preaching 
 and society meeting. It was the exemplary behaviour of our society, 
 with the deaths of two or three, which convinced the ministers that this 
 new sect, everywhere spoken against, is no other than the sect of the 
 Nazarenes, or real Christians. 
 
 " Nov. 2d. I preached in the street, close to the Popish chapel, from 
 Isaiah i, 9, ' Except the Lord of hosts had left us a very small remnant, 
 we should have been as Sodom, and like unto Gomorrah.' I put them 
 in mind of their late consternation and deliverance, in answer to the 
 mourning, praying few. God gave weight to my words, which there- 
 fore sunk into their hearts. Many in the place, I am persuaded, will 
 thank him Avith their lives, and not be terrified when the scourge 
 returns. 
 
 " Nov. 3d. Prayer has been made to God without ceasing for my 
 young man, and God hath showed he heard. To-day the small-pox 
 turned, and he is better than we could hope in so short a time. It is the 
 Lord's doing, who has given him to his church. Whether he has not 
 also received the sense of his pardon in his sickness, let his life, rather 
 than my words, witness. 
 
 " Nov. 4th. I preached at Biddick, on, ' How shall I give thee up, 
 Ephraim?' and the numerous congregation were dissolved in tears. 
 At one I spoke from those words, ' Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, 
 they will not see ; but they shall see,' &c. Again my voice was 
 drowned in the general sorrow. We poured out a prayer while his 
 chastening was upon us, and all lay at his feet weeping. At night 
 many followed the example of the importunate widow. 
 
 " Nov. 9th. I was very sensible of the hard frost in riding to Burnup- 
 field ; but did not feel it while calling a crowd of sinners to repent- 
 ance. At my return I found Edward Perronet rejoicing in the love 
 of God. 
 
 23*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 355 
 
 n Nov. 23d. At night I could not preach through the usual uproar, 
 but only exhort the society, to which I admitted the backsliders. 
 
 " Nov. 24th. They were greatly moved under the morning word. 
 We observed the day as a day of humiliation. We had a solemn 
 hour of prayer with the mourners. God did not manifest himself so 
 much in joy and comfort, as in power and firmness, which he put into 
 our hearts against sin. 
 
 " Nov. 27th. I rode to Hexham, at the pressing instance of Mr. 
 Wardrobe, a Dissenting minister, and others. I walked straight to the 
 market-place, and began calling sinners to repentance. A multitude 
 of them stood staring at me, but ail quiet. The Lord opened my mouth, 
 and they drew nearer and nearer, stole off their hats, and listened. 
 None offered to interrupt, but one unfortunate 'squire, who could get 
 none to second him. His servants and the constables hid themselves. 
 One he did find, and bade him go take me down. The poor constable 
 simply answered, ' Sir, I cannot have the face to do it ; for what harm 
 does he do V Several Papists attended, and the Church minister, who 
 had refused me his pulpit with indignation. However, he came to hear 
 with his own ears ; and I wish all who hang us first would, like him, 
 try us afterward. 
 
 " I walked back to Mr. Ord's through the people, who acknowledged, 
 ' It was the truth ; and none can speak against it.' A constable fol- 
 lowed, and told me, ' Sir Edward Blacket orders you to disperse the 
 town,' (depart I suppose he meant,) ' and not raise a disturbance there.' 
 I sent my respects to Sir Edward, and said, if he would give me leave, 
 I would wait upon him, and satisfy him. He soon returned with an 
 answer, that Sir Edward would have nothing to say to me ; but if I 
 preached again, and raised a disturbance, he would put the law in exe- 
 cution against me. I replied, I was not conscious of breaking any law of 
 God or man ; but if I did, I was ready to suffer the penalty ; that, as I 
 had not given notice of preaching again at the Cross, I should not 
 preach again at that place, or cause disturbance anywhere. I charged 
 the constable, a trembling, submissive soul, to assure his worship, I 
 reverenced him for his office' sake. 
 
 " The only place I could get to preach in was a cockpit ; and I ex- 
 pected Satan would come, and fight me on his own ground. 'Squire 
 Roberts, the justice's son, laboured hard to raise a mob ; (for whose 
 riot I was to answer ;) but with a strong hand did our Lord hold down 
 him that is in the world. The very boys ran away from him, when 
 the poor 'squire persuaded them to go down to the cockpit, and cry 
 ' Fire.' I called, in words then first heard in that place, ' Repent, and 
 be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.' God struck the hard 
 rock, and the waters gushed out. Never have I seen a people more
 
 356 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 desirous at the first hearing. I passed the evening in conference with 
 Mr. Wardrobe. O that all our Dissenting brethren were like-minded ! 
 then would all dissensions cease for ever. 
 
 " Nov. 28th. At six we assembled again in our chapel, the cockpit. 
 I imagined myself in the Pantheon, or some heathen temple, and almost 
 scrupled preaching there at first ; but we found, ' the earth is the Lord's 
 and the fulness thereof.' His presence consecrated the place. Never 
 have I seen a greater awe, of sense of God, than while we were re- 
 peating his own prayer. I set before their eyes Christ crucified, and 
 crying from the cross, ' Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by ?' The 
 rocks were melted into gracious tears. We knew not how to part. I 
 distributed some books among them, which they received with the 
 utmost eagerness, begged me to come again, and to send our preachers 
 to them. 
 
 " Nov. 30th. I went into the streets of Newcastle, and called the 
 poor, the lame, the halt, the blind, with that precious promise, ' Him 
 that cometh unto me, I will in nowise cast out.' They had no feeling 
 of the sharp frost, while the love of Christ warmed their hearts. I took 
 my leave of the weeping flock at Burnup in that of Jude, ' Now unto 
 Him that is able to keep you from falling," &c. Nothing can be more 
 comfortable than our parting, except our last meeting to part no more. 
 I preached before the usual time at Newcastle : yet the mob paid their 
 usual attendance ; our Lord still permitting them to try us. 
 
 "Dec. 10th. I waked between three and four in a temper I have 
 rarely felt on my birth-day. My joy and thankfulness continued the 
 whole day, to my astonishment. I rode to Hexham, and preached, at 
 the Cross, repentance toward God, and faith in Jesus Christ. All op- 
 position was kept down, and the Lord was with us of a truth. At four 
 I attempted to preach at the cockpit. Satan resented it, and sent, as 
 his champions to maintain his cause, the two butlers of the two justices. 
 They brought their cocks, and set them fighting. I gave them the 
 ground, and walked straight to the Cross, where we had four times as 
 many as the other place could hold. Our enemies followed, and strove 
 all the ways permitted them to annoy us. Neither their fire-works, 
 nor their water-works, could stop the course of the gospel. I lifted up 
 my voice like a trumpet, and many had ears to hear. 
 
 " Dec. 19th. I took my leave of the dear people at the cockpit. I 
 
 called upon Mr. , at Wickham, whose countenance was changed. 
 
 He had been with the bishop, who forbade his conversing with me. I 
 marvel the prohibition did not come sooner." 
 
 That very spirited hymn beginning, 
 
 Ye neighbours, and friends of Jesus, draw near ; 
 was written by Mr. Charles Wesley " after preaching to the Newcas-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 357 
 
 tie colliers ;" and most probably during his present visit to that town. 
 Under the date of Sunday, Nov. 30th, it will be observed, he uses in 
 his journal the phraseology upon which the hymn is founded. On that 
 day he preached in one of the streets of Newcastle to listening crowds, 
 who forgot the sharpness of the frost while engaged in the worship of 
 God, and hearing the word of life and mercy. 
 
 The very animated and emphatic hymn beginning, — 
 
 " See how great a flame aspires, 
 Kindled by a spark of grace," 
 
 was also written by Mr. Charles Wesley, on the joyful occasion of his 
 ministerial success, and that of his fellow-labourers, in Newcastle and 
 its vicinity. Perhaps the imagery was suggested by the large fires 
 connected with the collieries, which illuminate the whole of that part 
 of the country in the darkest nights. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley entered upon the year 1747 with a zeal 
 which shunned no labour, feared no reproach, and met every form of 
 opposition with meekness and unswerving fidelity. Much persecution 
 he had already endured, in various parts of the kingdom, especially 
 from misguided mobs, sometimes urged to deeds of violence by clergy- 
 men, and even by magistrates, as well as by their own misconception 
 and hatred of the truth. Perils equally formidable still awaited him in 
 various directions ; yet he cheerfully Avent, in the name of his great 
 Master, wherever the wants of the people required his aid, and the pro- 
 vidence of God pointed out his way. From Newcastle he travelled to 
 Lincolnshire, and was rudely treated at Grimsby, where he forced un- 
 welcome truth upon the attention of many who were in love with error 
 and sin. 
 
 "Jan. 6th, 1747. We got to Grimsby," says he, "by three, saluted 
 by the shouting mob. At six I began speaking at the room ; and the 
 floods lifted up their voice. Several poor wild creatures, almost naked, 
 ran about the room, striking down all they met. I gave myself to 
 prayer, believing God knew how to deliver us. The uproar lasted near 
 an hour, when I told the poor wretches that I shook off the dust of my 
 feet against them. Several of them caught at me, to drag me down. 
 Others interposed, and kept their companions off. I laid my hand on 
 their captain ; and he sat down like a lamb at my feet the whole time. 
 One struck at me, and J. Crawford received my blow, which left on his
 
 358 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 face the mark of the Lord Jesus. Another of the rebels cried out, 
 k What, you dog, do you strike a clergyman V and fell upon his com- 
 rade. Immediately every* man's hand was against his fellow. They 
 fell to fighting and beating one another, till, in a few minutes, they had 
 all driven one another out of the room. I then preached without mo- 
 lestation for half an hour, and walked into the next room. I stayed 
 reading the Scripture, while the rioters at the door cried they would 
 come in, and take their leave of me. I ordered them to be admitted ; 
 and the poor drunken beasts were very civil, and very loving. One of 
 the ringleaders, with a great club, swore he would conduct me to my 
 lodgings. I followed him, and he led me through his fellows, to our 
 brother Blow's. They threw but one stone afterward, which broke the 
 windows, and departed. 
 
 " Jan. 7th. All was quiet at five. I met the society, and expelled 
 two disorderly walkers, by reason of whom the truth had been evil 
 spoken of. Immediately the Lord returned to his people, and began 
 reviving his work, which had been stopped among them some time. 
 At eight I preached again, no man opposing. I heard an excellent 
 sermon at church, it being the national fast-day. I preached repent- 
 ance the third time at the room, where many of the rioters stood bourjd 
 by the restraining hand of God. God never lets Satan shut the door 
 in one place, but that it may be opened in another. The violence of 
 our enemies at night drove us to preach in the neighbouring towns, 
 where the seed fell into good ground. 
 
 " Jan. 8th. I preached at Grimsby in the morning, and strongly ex- 
 horted our society to adorn the gospel of Christ in all things. At part- 
 ing, our friend the rabble saluted us with a few eggs and curses only. 
 At Hainton I set forth Jesus Christ before their eyes, as crucified. My 
 congregation was mostly Papists ; but they all wept at hearing how 
 Jesus loved them. 
 
 " Jan. 9th. I talked severally with the little society, who are as sheep 
 encompassed with wolves. Their minister has repelled them from the 
 sacrament, and laboured to stir up all the town against them. And 
 they Avould have worried them to death, had not the great man of the 
 place, a professed Papist, hindered these good Protestants from destroy- 
 ing their innocent brethren. By three I came safe to Epworth, and 
 was received by Edward Perronet and the brethren as one alive from 
 the dead." 
 
 From Epworth Mr. Charles Wesley went to Sikehouse, Leeds, Bir- 
 stal, and Haworth. At the last of these places he preached in a large 
 house, which was not sufficient to contain the people who came to 
 hear ; Mr. Grimshaw being afraid to allow him the use of his church. 
 He lodged, however, at the house of his " dear brother Grimshaw ;"
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 359 
 
 and the next morning he says, " I told my host at parting, that he had 
 feared where no fear was ; there being no law, either of God or man, 
 against his lending me his pulpit. He was much ashamed at having 
 given place to his threatening enemies. I set out to preach in what 
 were called William Darney's societies ; and preached at different 
 places, morning, noon, and night, with much freedom." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley next proceeded to Manchester, and thence to 
 va nous places in Derbyshire, to Sheffield, Rotherham, Penkridge, Dar- 
 laston, Wednesbury, and London. At Sheffield, he says, " The rioters 
 threatened much, but did nothing. Concerning some other places, he 
 makes the following observations : — 
 
 " Feb. 1st. I rode to Rotherham, where I had been stoned through 
 the town, the first time of my passing it. I heard a curious sermon, 
 of which I was the unworthy subject. The accuser of the brethren 
 was very fierce indeed. I sat quite composed till he had concluded ; 
 then walked up to the table, expecting to be repelled, as he had threat- 
 ened. I prayed the Lord to turn his heart ; and he was not suffered 
 to pass me by. From church I went to our brother Green's, and 
 preached repentance, and faith in Jesus Christ. Many of the principal 
 people of the town were in a private room. The convincing Spirit went 
 forth, and restrained the madness of the people. I departed in peace. 
 
 " I warned the hardened sinners at Sheffield, from those awful words, 
 ' Except the Lord of hosts had left us a very small remnant, we should 
 have been as Sodom, and like unto Gomorrah.' He filled my mouth 
 with judgments against the people, except they repent, which I trem- 
 bled to utter. So did most who heard, particularly some of our fiercest 
 persecutors. I found relief and satisfaction in having delivered my own 
 soul, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. I repeated 
 my warning to the society ; and believe they will escape into the ark 
 before the flood comes. 
 
 " Feb. 2d. I never met with worse way and weather, than in riding 
 to Penkridge. About eight at night I was taken down from my horse, 
 and found the congregation just going. The Lord gave me strength 
 from above, though I could neither stand nor go, and held me up to call 
 lost sinners to him. I rode the next day to Wednesbury. 
 
 " Feb. 5th. I baptized the child of a Dissenter, which their minister 
 refused to do, because the parents heard us. I preached at Darlaston, 
 at the door of our brother Jones's house, which had been pulled doAvn 
 in the former riot. The persecutors in this place were some of the 
 fiercest in Staffordshire. I saw the marks of their violence, and thereby 
 knew our people's houses, as I rode through the town. Their win- 
 dows were all stopped up, &c. The word was a two-edged sword. 
 The ringleader of the mob was struck down, and convinced of his lost
 
 360 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 estate. I preached again with double power. The minister's wife I 
 had some talk with afterward. Her husband has been, in the hand of 
 God, an instrument of quelling the mob. They have been all quiet 
 since their captain drowned himself. 
 
 " Feb. 8th. At Wednesbury I expounded Acts ii, 42. The word 
 was sent home to many hearts. Feb. 10th, God brought me safe to 
 London. • 
 
 "Feb. 17th. I heard of our second house being pulled down at 
 Sheffield, and sympathized with the sufferers. Every day this week 
 our Lord has given testimony to the word of his grace. 
 
 "Feb. 23d. I set out with Mr. Meriton for Bristol. Feb. 24th, 
 between three and four in the afternoon we came to Mr. Clarke's at the 
 Devizes. I found his daughter there, our sister Taylor, (who has won 
 him to Christ without the word,) and a sister from Bath. We soon 
 perceived that our enemies had taken the alarm, and were mustering 
 their forces for the battle. They began with ringing the bells back- 
 ward, and running to and fro in the streets, as lions roaring for their 
 prey. From the time my brother told me in London, ' There was no 
 such thing as raising a mob at the Devizes,' I had a full expectation of 
 what would follow ; but saw my call, and walked with my brother 
 Meriton and M. Naylor to a house where the society used to meet. 
 
 " The curate's mob had been in quest of me at several places, par- 
 ticularly Mrs. Phillips's, where I was expected to preach. They 
 broke open and ransacked her house, but not finding me, marched away 
 to our brother Rogers's, where we were praying, and exhorting one 
 another to continue in the faith, and through much tribulation enter the 
 kingdom. The chief gentleman of the town headed the mob ; and the 
 zealous curate, Mr. Innys, stood with them in the street the whole 
 time, dancing for joy. This is he who declared in the pidpit, as well 
 as from house to house, that he himself heard me preach blasphemy 
 before the university, and tell them, ' If you do not receive the Holy 
 Ghost while I breathe upon you, ye are all damned.' He had gone 
 about several days, stirring up the people, and canvassing the gentry 
 for their vote and interest ; but could not raise a mob while my brother 
 was here. The hour of darkness was not then fully come. 
 
 " While his friends were assaulting us, I thought of their ancient 
 brethren, whom we read of Gen. xix, 4 : ' Before they lay down, the 
 men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house about, 
 both young and old, all the people from every quarter. And they called 
 upon Lot, and said unto him, ' Where are the men that came unto thee 
 this night ? Bring them out unto us.' My own name I heard frequently 
 repeated, with, ' Bring him out ! Bring him out !' Their design was 
 first to throw me into the horse-pond. They continued raging and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 361 
 
 threatening the first hour, and pressed hard upon us to break the door. 
 The windows they did break to pieces, and tore down the shutters of 
 the shop. The little flock were less afraid than I expected. Only 
 one of our sisters fainted away ; but beneath were the everlasting arms. 
 Our besiegers had now blocked up the door with a wagon, and set up 
 lights, lest I should escape. Yet a brother got out unobserved, and 
 with much entreaty prevailed upon the mayor to come down. He 
 came, with two constables, one a faithful brother, the other a perse- 
 cutor, and threatened the rioters ; but so softly, that none regarded him. 
 It was the Lord who for the present rebuked the madness of the people. 
 They hurried away from us to the inn, where our horses were ; broke 
 open the stable-door, and turned out the beasts, which were found some 
 horns after in a pond, up to their chin in water. We were at a loss, 
 meantime, what to do, when God put it into the heart of our next-door 
 neighbour, a Baptist, to take us through a passage into his own house, 
 offer us his bed, and engage for our security. We accepted his kind- 
 ness, and slept in peace. 
 
 " Feb. 25th. A day never to be forgotten ! At seven I walked 
 quietly to Mrs. Philips's ; began preaching a little before the time 
 appointed ; and for three quarters of an " hour invited a few listening 
 sinners to Christ. Then the boys, with their bells, like the devil's 
 infantry, began ; and soon after his whole army assaulted the house, 
 to bring us forth. We sat in a little ground-room, and ordered all the 
 doors to be thrown open. They brought a hand-engine, and began to 
 play into the house. We kept our seats, and they rushed into the 
 passage. Just then Mr. Borough, the constable, came, seized upon 
 the 6pout of the engine, and carried it off in spite of them all. They 
 swore if he did not deliver it, they would pull down the house. At 
 that time they might have taken us prisoners ; for we were in their 
 sight, close to them, and none to interpose ; but they hurried out to 
 fetch the larger engine. 
 
 " Meantime we were advised to send to Mr. Mayor ; but Mr. Mayor 
 was gone out of town in the sight of the people. This was great en- 
 couragement to those who were already wrought up to a proper pitch 
 by the pains-taking curate and gentlemen of the town, particularly Mr. 
 Sutton, and Mr. Willey, the two leading men, Dissenters. Mr. Sutton 
 lived next door, and frequently came out to the mob, to keep up their 
 spirits. Mr. Innys was there too, and quite happy on the occasion. 
 Mr. Sutton sent word to Mrs. Phillips, that if she did not turn that fel- 
 low out to the mob, he would send them to drag him out. Mr. Willey 
 passed by again and again, assuring the rioters, he would stand by 
 them, and secure them from the laAV, do what they would. 
 
 " They now began playing the larger engine, which broke the win-
 
 362 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 dows, flooded the rooms, and spoiled the goods. We were withdrawn 
 to a small upper room, in the back part of the house, seeing no way to 
 escape their violence. They seemed under the full power of the old 
 murderer. Our brother who keeps the society they laid hold on first ; 
 dragged him away, and threw him into the horse-pond ; and broke his 
 back, as was reported. But another of the society ran in resolutely 
 among them, and rescued him out of their hands, by little less than a 
 miracle. His wife fell into fits again. 
 
 " We gave ourselves unto prayer, believing the Lord would deliver 
 us ; how or when we saw not, nor any possible way of escaping. 
 Therefore we stood still, to see the salvation of God. As soon as the 
 mob had emptied the engine, they ran to fill it again, keeping strict 
 watch on all sides lest we should escape. One advised to attempt it 
 through the garden of a persecutor ; and I put on my coat on purpose ; 
 but could not think it the Lord's way of bringing us forth. I laid aside 
 the design, and saw a troop of our enemies coming up the very way 
 we should have gone. 
 
 " Every now and then some or other of our friends would venture to 
 us, but rather weakened our hands, so that we were forced to stop our 
 ears, and look up. Among the rest, the mayor's maid came, and told 
 us her mistress was in tears about me, and begged me to disguise my- 
 self in women's clothes, and try to make my escape. Her heart had 
 been turned toward us by the conversion of her son. Just on the brink 
 of ruin, God laid his hand upon the poor prodigal ; and, instead of run- 
 ning away to sea, he entered into the society, to the great joy and sur- 
 prise of his parents. 
 
 " The rioters without continued playing their engine, which diverted 
 them for some time ; but their number and fierceness still increased ; 
 and the gentlemen plied them with pitchers of ale, as much as they 
 would drink. Mr. Meriton hid his money and watch, that they might, 
 do good to somebody, he said ; for, as to the mob, they should have 
 nothing of him, but his carcass. They were now on the point of 
 breaking in, when Mr. Borough thought of reading the proclamation. 
 He did so at the hazard of his life. In less than the hour, of above 
 one thousand wild beasts, none were left but the guard. They re- 
 treated, as we suppose, by the advice of the old serpent, who sat 
 observing us at an opposite house,, in the shape of a lawyer. We had 
 now stood siege for about three hours ; and none but the Invisible 
 Hand could have kept them one moment from tearing us in pieces. 
 Our constable had applied to Mr. Street, the only justice in town, who 
 would not act. We found there was no help in man, which drove us 
 closer to the Lord ; and we prayed by his Spirit, with little intermis- 
 sion, the whole day.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 363 
 
 " Our enemies, at their return, made their main assault at the back- 
 door, swearing horribly they would have me, if it cost them their lives. 
 Many seeming accidents concurred to delay their breaking in. The 
 man of the house came home, and, instead of turning me out, as they 
 expected, took part with us, and stemmed the tide for some time. 
 Then they got a notion that I had made my escape, and ran down to 
 the inn, and played their engine there. They forced the innkeeper to 
 turn out our horses, which he immediately sent to Mr. Clarke's. This 
 drew the rabble and their engine thither ; but the resolute old' man 
 charged and presented his gun till they retreated. 
 
 " Upon their revisiting us, Mr. Meriton was for surrendering our- 
 selves before the night came on, which, he said, would make them 
 more audacious ; and that there might be witness of whatever they did 
 by daylight. But I persuaded him to wait till the Lord should point 
 out the way. Now we stood in jeopardy every moment. Such threat- 
 enings, curses, and blasphemies I had never heard. They seemed 
 kept out by a constant miracle. I remembered the Roman senate sit- 
 ting in the forum when the Gauls broke in upon them ; but thought 
 there was a fitter posture for Christians, and told our companions, they 
 shoidd take us off our knees. 
 
 " We were kept from all hurry and discomposure of spirit by a divine 
 power resting upon us. We prayed and conversed as freely as if we 
 had been in the midst of our brethren ; and had great confidence that 
 the Lord would either deliver us from the danger, or in it. One of my 
 companions, M. N., cried out, ' It must be so. God will deliver us. If 
 God is true, we are safe.' I told my friend Meriton, Et h&c olim memi- 
 nisse juvabit ; [And these things it will hereafter delight thee to have 
 remembered ;] that our most distant friends were praying for us ; and 
 our deliverance would soon occasion many thanksgivings unto God. 
 In the height of the storm, when we w r ere just falling into the hands 
 of the drunken, enraged multitude, he was so little disturbed, that he 
 fell fast asleep. They were now close to us, on every side, and over 
 our heads, untiling the roof. I was diverted by a little girl, who called 
 to me through the door, ' Mr. Wesley ! Mr. Wesley ! creep under the 
 bed ! They will kill you. They are pulling down the house.' Our 
 sister Taylor's faith was just failing, when a ruffian cried out, ' Here 
 they are, behind the curtain !' At this time we fully expected their 
 appearance, and retired to the furthermost corner of the room ; and I 
 said, ' This is the crisis !' In that moment Jesus rebuked the winds 
 and seas, and there was a great calm. We heard not a breath without, 
 and wondered what was come to them. The silence lasted for three 
 quarters of an hour before any one came near us ; and we continued 
 in mutual exhortation and prayer, looking for deliverance. If ever we
 
 364 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 felt faith, it was now. Our souls hung upon that arm which divided 
 the sea. I often told my companions, ' Now God is at work for us. 
 He is contriving our escape. He can turn these leopards into lambs ; 
 can command the heathen to bring his children on their shoulders ; and 
 make our fiercest enemies the instruments of our deliverance.' 
 
 " In about an hour after the last general assault, the answer of faith 
 came, and God made bare his arm. Soon after three Mr. Clarke 
 knocjked at the door, and brought with him the persecuting constable. 
 He said, ' Sir, if you will promise never to preach here again, the 
 gentlemen and I will engage to bring you safe out of town.' My 
 answer was, ' I shall promise no such thing.' ' But will you not tell 
 me, you have no intention of returning hither V ' Not till you are 
 better disposed to receive me ; for, in obedience to my Master, if you 
 persecute me in one city, I will flee to another. But, setting aside my 
 office, I will not give up my birthright, as an Englishman, of visiting 
 what part I please of his majesty's dominions.' ' Sir, we expect no 
 such promise, that you will never come here again : only tell me that 
 it is not your present intention ; that I may tell the gentlemen, who 
 will then secure your quiet departure.' I answered, ' I cannot come 
 now, because I must return to London a week hence ; but observe, I 
 make no promise of not preaching here when the door is opened ; and 
 don't you say that I do.' 
 
 " He went away with this answer, and we betook ourselves again 
 to prayer and thanksgiving. We perceived it was the Lord's doing ; 
 and it was marvellous in our eyes. Our adversaries' hearts were turned. 
 Even Mr. Sutton and Willey laboured to take off the mob, and quench 
 the fire themselves had kindled. Whether pity for us, or fear for them- 
 selves, wrought strongest, God knoweth. Probably the latter ; for the 
 mob were wrought up to such a pitch of fury, that their masters 
 dreaded the consequence, and therefore went about appeasing the mul- 
 titude, and charging them not to touch us in our departure. I knew 
 full well, it was not in their power to lay the devil they had raised ; 
 and none but the Almighty could engage for our security. We had 
 hoped to make our escape in the dead of the night, if the house was 
 not pulled down first ; and had therefore sent our horses toward Seen, 
 intending to walk after them ; but now we sent for them back, and 
 recovered them before they were got out of the town. 
 
 " While the constable was gathering his posse, we got our things 
 from Mr. Clarke's, and prepared to go forth. The whole multitude 
 were without, expecting us. Now our constable's heart began to fail, 
 and he told us, he much doubted if the mob could be restrained ; for 
 that thirty or more of the most desperate were gone down the street, 
 and waited at the end of the town for our passing. He should there-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 365 
 
 fore advise us to hide ourselves in some other house, and get off by 
 night. Mr. Meriton's counsel was, to escape by the back-door, while 
 the mob were waiting for us at the fore-door. I asked counsel of the 
 Lord, and met with that word, ' Jesus said unto her, Said I not unto 
 thee, If thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God V 
 After reading this I went forth as easy as Luther. to the council. 
 
 " We were saluted with a general shout. The man whom Mrs. 
 Naylor had hired to ride before her was, as we now perceived, one of 
 the rioters. This hopeful guide was to conduct us out of the reach 
 of his fellows. Mr. Meriton and I took horse in the face of our ene- 
 mies, who began clamouring against us, and I answering them, when 
 the constable begged me to forbear. The gentlemen were dispersed 
 among the mob, to bridle them. We rode a slow pace up the street, 
 the whole multitude pouring along on both sides, and attending us with 
 loud acclamations. Such fierceness and diabolical malice I have not 
 seen in human faces. They ran up to our horses, as if they would 
 swallow us; but did not know which was Wesley. We felt great 
 peace, and acquiescence in the honour done us, while the whole town 
 were spectators of our march. 
 
 " After riding two or three hundred yards, I looked back, and saw 
 Mr. Meriton on the ground, in the midst of the mob, and two bull-dogs 
 upon him. One was first let loose, which leaped at his horse's nose ; 
 but the horse with his foot beat him down. The other fastened on his 
 nose, and hung there, till Mr. Meriton, with the butt-end of his whip, 
 felled him to the ground. Then the first dog, recovering, flew at the 
 horse's breast, and fastened there. The beast reared up, and Mr. 
 Meriton slid gently off. The dog kept his hold till the flesh tore off. 
 Then some men took off the dogs ; others cried, ' Let them alone.' 
 But neither beast nor man had any further commission to hurt. I 
 stopped the horse, and delivered him to my friend. He remounted, 
 with great composure, and we rode on leisurely, as before, till out 
 of sight. 
 
 " Then we mended our pace, and in an hour came to Seen, having 
 rode three miles about ; and by seven, to Wrexall. The news of our 
 danger was got thither before us ; but we brought the welcome tidings 
 of our own deliverance. Now we saw the hand of Providence in suf- 
 fering them to turn out our horses ; that is, to send them to us against 
 we wanted them. Again, how plainly were we overruled to send our 
 horses down the town, which blinded the rioters without our designing 
 it, and drew off their engines and them, leaving us a free passage at 
 the other end of the town ! We joined in hearty praises to our Deli- 
 verer, singing the hymn beginning, — 
 
 " Worship, and thanks, and blessing."
 
 366 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was not at all disheartened by the violence of 
 mobs, either at Devizes, or in any other place ; and the deliverances 
 which were vouchsafed to him, and which in some instances were all 
 but miraculous, served greatly to strengthen his confidence, and urge 
 him forward in his career of duty. Having, with his friend Mr. Meri- 
 ton, escaped from tha hands of these " wicked and unreasonable men," 
 he went to Bath, Bristol, and Kingswood. In riding to the last of these 
 places he says, " Satan had another thrust at me. We were singing 
 the Thanksgiving for our deliverance when the coach overturned. All 
 six were hurt, but none dangerously. The voice of-joy and thanksgiv- 
 ing was heard among our beloved colliers, both in the word and sacra- 
 ment." 
 
 From the beginning of March, to the latter end of August, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley was employed alternately in London and Bristol, with their 
 respective neighbourhoods. He preached frequently to large congre- 
 gations in Moorfields ; great power continued to attend his word ; and 
 many were turned from the love and practice of sin to their compas- 
 sionate and almighty Saviour. In the month of May Charles Per- 
 ronet accompanied him to Bristol ; and soon after his arrival there, he 
 was seized with the small-pox, as his brother Edward had been at 
 Newcastle. For some time he was in great danger ; but prayer was 
 made for him without ceasing, and he was spared for future usefulness 
 to the church and the world. Speaking of him, Mr. Charles Wesley 
 says, " May 12th, I gave the sacrament to my patient, who grows worse 
 and worse. May 19th, expecting the turn of the distemper, I sat up 
 with Charles. The Lord is pleased to try our faith and patience yet 
 further. May 22d, at our watch-night I asked in faith that the Lord 
 would give his beloved sleep ; and he heard and answered the prayer 
 immediately. Our Perronet was then in the utmost danger, through 
 the second fever ; and delirious for want of rest ; ready to enter his rest 
 eternal. But the Lord rebuked the fever, and he fell asleep, and waked 
 late the next morning, as one raised from the dead." The pious youth, 
 thus raised up from the bed of sickness, became a useful preacher, and 
 one of the holiest men of the age. 
 
 In September this year Mr. Charles Wesley entered into a new field 
 of evangelical labour, and one which greatly needed such an energetic 
 and enlightened ministry as that which he had long exercised. Ireland 
 was then eminently a land of Popery, ignorance, and crime. Hearing 
 that a Methodist society had been formed in Dublin, Mr. John Wesley 
 crossed the Irish Channel, and spent a few weeks in that city, preach- 
 ing twice a day, regulating and strengthening the society, assisted by 
 John Trembath, one of the lay-preachers, then an upright and devoted 
 man. Mr. Wesley returned to England in the month of September ;
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 367 
 
 and it was arranged that his brother should forthwith proceed to Dub- 
 lin, to assist in carrying on the work. 
 
 On his way to Ireland Charles passed through Wales, where he was 
 introduced to the family of his friend Mr. Gwynne, of Garth, with 
 whom he remained some days, preaching in the vicinity. Of this kind 
 and pious family, into which he afterward married, he says, " My soul 
 seemed pleased to take acquaintance with them." 
 
 He landed in Dublin on the 8th of September, and remained in Ire- 
 land till near the end of March following. During this period he visited 
 some of the most neglected districts of the country, preaching in every 
 place with uncommon power, and encountering a violence of opposition 
 which seemed to surpass all that he had previously witnessed. This 
 was an important period to Ireland, Avhere a nominal Protestantism, 
 slumbering under the protection of the civil power, and strong only in 
 legislative enactments, exerted little influence upon the common peo- 
 ple, who were left an easy prey to " the man of sin, the son of perdi- 
 tion." Had it not been for the living spirit which was infused into 
 Irish Protestantism by the Wesleys and their fellow-labourers, there is 
 little reason to believe that, even the forms of the system would at this 
 day have existed in the country. Light then began to shine upon the 
 popular mind ; and agencies were called into operation, before which 
 Popery must ultimately expire. The struggle may be sharp, and long- 
 continued ; but Popery cannot permanently stand against the truth of 
 God, when it is faithfully and perseveringly applied by men of prayer, 
 and faith, and love. 
 
 The following extracts from Mr. Charles Wesley's journal will show 
 the nature of the war which he successfully carried on in opposition to 
 this system of idolatry, ungodliness, and spiritual tyranny. A hundred 
 such preachers in Ireland would, by God's blessing, speedily turn the 
 nation upside down. He applied all his energies, not to controvert 
 opinions, and establish mere articles of faith, but to convince the peo- 
 ple that they were sinners, under the wrath and curse of God ; and then 
 bring them to Christ, believing in him " with the heart unto righteous- 
 ness." The best antidote to Popery, beyond all comparison, is the 
 evangelical doctrine of free and present justification by faith in the blood 
 of atonement. The happy believer, the pardon of whose sins is attested 
 to his conscience by the Spirit of adoption, laughs at the pretended 
 sacrifice of the mass, the assumed power of priestly absolution, and the 
 unreal fires of purgatory. They have no foundation in the Scriptures 
 of truth ; and they are utterly useless to him who, being justified by 
 faith, has peace with God, and can rejoice in the unclouded hope of 
 eternal life. In this manner has many an Irish Papist been rescued 
 at once from the dominion of error and of sin.
 
 368 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 On his arrival in Dublin Mr. Charles Wesley says, " Here the first 
 news we heard was, that the little flock stands fast in the storm of per- 
 secution, which arose as soon as my brother left them. The Popish 
 mob has broken open their room, and destroyed all before them. 
 Some of them are sent to Newgate ; others, bailed. What will be the 
 event, we cannot tell, till we see whether the grand jury will find the bill. 
 
 " Sept. 9th. I walked at five in the evening to the shattered room in 
 Marlborough-street, where a few people were met, who did not fear 
 what men or devils could do unto them. God has called me to suffer 
 affliction with his people. The Popish mob, encouraged and assisted 
 by the Protestant, are so insolent and outrageous, that whatever street 
 we pass through, it is up in arms. The mayor would assist us, but 
 cannot. The grand jury have had the plainest evidence of the riot laid 
 before them ; that a mixed rabble of Papists and Protestants broke open 
 our room, and four locks, and a warehouse, stealing or destroying the 
 goods to a considerable value ; beat and wounded several with clubs, 
 &c. ; tore away the pulpit, benches, window-cases, &c. ; and burned 
 them openly before the gate, swearing they would murder us all : yet 
 it is much doubted whether the grand jury will find the bill ! But doth 
 not the Most High regard ? I began my ministry with, ' Comfort ye, 
 comfort ye my people,' &c. None made disturbance till I had ended. 
 Then the rabble attended us with the usual compliments to our lodg- 
 ings. 
 
 " I met the society ; and the Lord knit our hearts together in love 
 stronger than death. We both wept and rejoiced for the consolation. 
 God hath sent me, I trust, to confirm their souls, and keep them to- 
 gether in the present distress. 
 
 " Sept. 11th. I met the society at one for the first time, and spent an 
 hour in intercession for our nation and Church. We shall hear of these 
 prayers again, another day, even the day of the great slaughter, when 
 the towers fall. I preached morning and evening this and the follow- 
 ing day, no man forbidding me, though every one reviled us both com- 
 ing and going. 
 
 " Sept. 13th. In the strength of the Lord I went forth to Oxmantown- 
 green. I stood under the wall of the barracks, and preached Christ 
 crucified. They all, both Protestants and Papists, gave diligent heed, 
 as to words whereby they may be saved. I received the sacrament at 
 St. Patrick's, and from evening service returned to the Green. Thou- 
 sands were now assembled to hear the word, and many to hinder them. 
 Our dying Lord applied his own words, ' Is it nothing to you, all ye 
 that pass by ?' In vain did the poor blind Papists rage, and shout, and 
 cast stones. None were suffered to hurt me, or any of the hearers. 
 The mob waited for me on a bridge. We tried in vain to get a coach,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 369 
 
 and were therefore forced, when it was dark, to walk home another 
 way, without calling upon our Catholic friends. 
 
 " Sept. 15th. Wo is me now, for my soul is wearied because of the 
 murderers which the city is full of! The Ormond mob, and Liberty 
 mob, seldom part till one or more are killed. A poor constable was the 
 last whom they beat, and dragged about, till they had killed him, and 
 then hung him up in triumph. None was called in question for it ; but 
 the earth covered his blood. Last week a woman was beaten to death 
 by the rabble ; but that was all fair ; for she was caught picking a 
 pocket : so there is an end of her. No wonder if in such a place there 
 should be no justice for Christians. A poor weakly man, of Mr. Cen- 
 nick's society, was so abused by his neighbour, who knocked him 
 down, and stamped upon his stomach, that he died soon after. The 
 murderer was indeed brought to trial, but acquitted, as usual. 
 
 " I preached in the evening without interruption ; the mob being 
 awed for the present, while our bill is depending. The utmost applica- 
 tion has been made by them to the jury, and none at all by us. We leave 
 the matter to God. If man does us justice, it is more than we expect. 
 
 " Sept. 17th. I got a particular account of the late riot. On Sunday, 
 August 30th, a mob of Papists and Protestants assaulted the house, 
 when the society was met after evening service. They met them, 
 going out, with sticks and stones, knocked down several, both men 
 and women, and beat them in a barbarous manner. Some escaped the 
 back way. Others retreated to the house, and shut the door. The 
 mob broke it open, and another inward door, tore down the desk and 
 forms, carried two large counters, chairs, and part of the wainscot, into 
 £he street, and openly burned all, but what they stole. There was a 
 warehouse over the preaching-room, which they broke open, and ran- 
 sacked. Above one hundred pounds' worth of goods they seized as 
 lawful prize, and committed the rest to the flames. 
 
 " They have often threatened our lives. Mr. Patterson they knocked 
 down, and cut in several places while on the ground ; then threw him 
 into a cellar, and cast stones on him. Mrs. Young and many others 
 they treated in the same manner. Half-hour past nine the mayor came 
 with his guard, and saw with his own eyes the havoc the mob had 
 made. He readily granted warrants to apprehend them. Some of the 
 poorest Papists mostly were sent to Newgate ; but the better sort made 
 a mock of his authority, and walked about the town from alehouse to 
 alehouse, with the constables, whom by drink and money they had 
 secured of their party. 
 
 " Our hour of intercession was a solemn season, most present receiv- 
 ing a manifestation of the Spirit, even the Spirit of contrition and 
 prayer. I dined at Mr. Powell's, the printer, who informed us that the 
 
 24
 
 370 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 jury have thrown out the bill. It was no surprise to me. My soul 
 was filled with comfort, and confidence that the Lord would now take 
 the matter into his own hands. 
 
 " Sept. 19th. After commending our cause to God, I walked to the 
 Green. I believed the Lord would make bare his arm in our defence. 
 I called in his name, ' Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy 
 laden ; and I will give you rest.' His power was upon the hearers, 
 keeping down all opposition. I spoke with great freedom to the poor 
 Papists, urging them to repentance, and the love of Christ, from the 
 authority of their own Kempis, and their own liturgy. None lifted 
 up his voice, or hand. All listened with strange attention. Many 
 were in tears. I advised them to go to their respective places of wor- 
 ship. They expressed general satisfaction, especially the Papists. 
 This also hath God wrought. Returning, we were insulted by a gath- 
 ering mob, when a Baptist came by, and desired us to take shelter in 
 his house. We stayed and breakfasted ; and left him quite happy in 
 having protected us from the violence of the people. 
 
 " The holyday folk were at the Green before me ; it being the scene 
 of all manner of diversions on Sunday afternoon. I lifted up my voice, 
 and cried, ' Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters !' A 
 great multitude of serious hearers encompassed me, while those who 
 had not ears to hear withdrew on every side to the opposite hill, sat 
 down in rows on the grass, and there remained the whole time. I 
 never saw the hand of God more visible. 
 
 "Sept. 21st. I began examining the classes, and met several who 
 received forgiveness under the word last week. But, justified or un- 
 justified, all are in earnest, and seem made without fear. I have not 
 seen such soldiers before ; so young, and yet so valiant. 
 
 " Sept. 23d. I heard that on Sunday last, after I was gone, the 
 Popish mob fell upon the women, but were beaten off by the soldiers. 
 They threaten to come with all their forces next Sunday. Going to 
 the room, the mob insulted us, and forced us to take refuge at Mr. Ag- 
 gitt's. He was scandalized at such treatment of a minister of the 
 established Church, and very sure a Popish priest so used would be 
 succoured by the magistrate. I believe so too. Error of every kind 
 may meet with favour ; but the world never did, nor ever will, tolerate 
 real Christianity. In our return the people gaped upon us with their 
 mouths like ramping and roaring lions. What restrains them from 
 tearing us to pieces 1 They want neither will nor power. The jury 
 have taken off the reins from the many-headed beast ; and our Protest- 
 ant brethren have sold us into their hands ; who think they would do 
 God service, and merit heaven, by killing us. 
 
 " Sept. 25th. I passed the evening very agreeably at a Baptist's : a 
 
 24*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 371 
 
 woman of sense and piety, and a great admirer of my father's ' Life of 
 Christ.' 
 
 " Sept. 27th. Never have I seen .a quieter congregation at the 
 Foundery than we had at the Green, both morning and afternoon. 
 Many of the soldiers Avere within hearing, though behind the doors and 
 walls, for fear of their officers. The Papists stood like lambs. I 
 quoted Kempis, which makes some of them confident I am a good 
 Catholic. 
 
 " Sept. 28th. Our landlady yesterday nailed up our preaching-room ; 
 but we had it open for the word this morning. We are now come to 
 close quarters with the enemy, who threatens hard to drive us out of 
 his kingdom. I had an hour's conference with two serious Quakers, 
 who hold the Head with us, and build on the one foundation. 
 
 " Sept. 29th. My subject in the evening was, ' The kingdom of 
 heaven is at hand : repent ye, and Relieve the gospel.' I was led 
 unawares to describe the glorious appearing of our Lord ; and the word 
 came with power irresistible. The cries cf the wounded almost 
 drowned my voice. 
 
 " Oct. 8th. Several soldiers ventured to the word, notwithstanding 
 the prohibition. Now and then an officer came, and stopped to see if 
 any of their men were there. Then they skulked down, kneeling or 
 sitting on the ground behind the women. 
 
 " Oct. 11th. None has made the least disturbance for a week past, 
 whether Protestants or Papists. Only one of the latter flung away in 
 a rage, crying I ought to be stabbed for lumping them all together, and 
 telling them they might all be saved, of whatever church or party, if 
 they would return, like the prodigal, to their heavenly Father. I began 
 preaching with great reluctance at Mary-le-bone-lane, where the Spirit 
 came pouring down like a flood. All present were in tears, either of 
 sorrow or joy. We continued above an hour singing and crying. A 
 more refreshing time I have not known since I left England. 
 
 " Oct. 17th. I passed the day at the house we have purchased, near 
 Dolphin's-barn, writing and meditating. I could almost have set up 
 my rest here ; but must not look for rest on this side eternity. I 
 heard, as I do every day, of more sinners who have received the 
 atonement. 
 
 " Oct. 19th. I dined at a gentleman's, who offered us a large piece 
 of ground to build upon, at a very moderate price. It seems as if the 
 time for building were at hand, now the magistrates are so favourable. 
 The mayor has declared, he will send any man to Newgate, who only 
 calls after us in the streets ; but we are not so vain as to think all the 
 authority of man can long screen those who will live godly in Christ 
 Jesus from suffering persecution.
 
 372 LIFE OF REV". CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " Oct. 25th. I passed two hours at St. Patrick's, under my usuaJ 
 burden, among the dry bones of the house of Israel. I seldom enter 
 this place, but they are ready to drag me out as a profaner of the tem- 
 ple. The dean I *nust except, who has always treated us with great 
 courtesy ; looks pleased to see us make the bulk of the communicants ; 
 appointed us a seat by ourselves ; and constantly administers to me 
 first, as the rubric directs. I opened our new house, at Dolphin's-barn, 
 by preaching to a great multitude within and without. After preaching 
 five times to-day I was as fresh as in the morning. 
 
 " Oct. 27th. I prayed by our sister Baker, whom I had lately checked 
 for her too great contempt of death, as it seemed to me. The trying 
 time is come ; yet she keeps her confidence. 
 
 " Oct. 30th. In our return from intercession we were stoned for the 
 length of a street or two. Charles Perronet interposed his back to 
 screen me. Here I received the first blow since I came to Dublin. 
 At our lodgings the mob took their leave of us, without hurting either. 
 
 " Oct. 31st. I heard the best news of any since our coming hither, 
 that our sister Baker is departed in full triumph. To one who asked 
 her this morning how she did, she answered, ' Bravely, bravely ; never 
 better.' The pains of death had then got hold on her ; but she smiled 
 on the welcome messenger ; took leave of her husband and children 
 with calm joy ; expressed great satisfaction 'at having chosen to suffer 
 affliction with the people of God ; confirmed those about her in the 
 same happy choice ; and soon after fell asleep, and awoke in paradise. 
 I called at the house, as well to exhort the survivors, as to see the late 
 temple of the Holy Ghost. The happy soul had left a smile upon the 
 clay, to tell where she was gone. We were all comforted in prayer 
 and thanksgiving. I preached for the last time in Marlborough-street, 
 on, ' These are they that came out of great tribulation,' &c. It was a 
 time of solemn rejoicing, in hope of His coming to wipe away all tears 
 from our eyes. 
 
 " Nov. 1st. At St. Patrick's Mr. K entertained us with a dis- 
 course so full of low, pitiful lies, and nonsense, as I never heard from 
 any, except the ingenious Mr. Hoblin. Preaching five times is not 
 more than twice a day, when the order of Providence calls us to it. 
 My strength do I ascribe unto thee, and all my success, and all my 
 blessings ! 
 
 " Nov. 2d. I admitted five or six into the society, and among them 
 the soldier who was put under arrest last Sunday for the high crime 
 and misdemeanor of hearing a sermon at the Green. The officer, after 
 much threatening, let him go : but he continues refractory still ; that is T 
 resolved to work out his salvation. 
 
 " Nov. 7th. I prayed by a man near death. When we first visited
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 373 
 
 Mm he was quite unawakened; but is now saved from the fear both 
 of death and hell, and waiting for the great salvation of God. We have 
 several such instances of persons departing in the Lord, who never 
 heard the gospel till we preached it to them on their death-beds. 
 
 " Nov. 10th. I preached at a new place in Hanbury-lane, next door to 
 
 a warm antagonist, the Rev. Mr. N . Therefore we did not expect 
 
 to be long unmolested. Three nights, however, we have had peace. 
 
 " Nov. 13th. Hearing the minister had procured a mob to hinder our 
 preaching, I would not suffer any of the preachers or people to expose 
 themselves at Hanbury-lane. At night our adversaries, who till then 
 had expected us in vain, broke into the house, and took possession. 
 
 " Nov. 26th. I spent the day in walking about, and taking subscrip- 
 tions for the building. At night I proposed it to the society, who were 
 glad to give of their little. This and the following day was subscribed 
 upward of seventy pounds. 
 
 " Dec. 23d. I had a conference with two clergymen, concerning this 
 way, which they seemed to believe was no schism, or new religion, 
 but the faith once delivered to the saints. One of them invited me to 
 his lodgings in the college. 
 
 " Christmas day. The people met at my lodgings between three and 
 four. It was a day of rejoicing ; so were the three following ; suitable 
 to the solemn occasion. 
 
 " Jan. 14th, 1748. I heard more good-news from the country, whither 
 we had sent some of our preachers. At Tyrrell's-pass, and the neigh- 
 bouring towns, there seems to be a great awakening. 
 
 " Feb. 9th. I took horse for Tyrrell's-pass. "We overtook a lad, 
 whistling one of our tunes. He was a constant hearer, though a Ro- 
 man, and joined with us in several hymns, which he had by heart. 
 Near seven we got, half choked with the fog, to Mr. Force's. The 
 town immediately took the alarm, and crowded in after us. I discours- 
 ed on, ' A certain man had two sons,' &c. These are the publicans 
 that enter before the Pharisees. Never have I spoken to more hungry 
 souls. They devoured every word. Some expressed their satisfac- 
 tion in a way peculiar to them, and whistled for joy. Few such feasts 
 have I had since I left England. It refreshed my body more than 
 meat or drink. 
 
 " God has begun a great work here. The people of Tyrrell's-pass 
 were wicked to a proverb ; swearers, drunkards, sabbath-breakers, 
 thieves, &c, from time immemorial. But now the scene is entirely 
 changed. Not an oath is heard, or a drunkard seen, among them. 
 They are turned from darkness to light. Near one hundred are joined 
 in society, and following hard after the pardoning God. I rode to Mr. 
 Jonathan Hanby's, at Temple-Macqueteer, seven miles from Tyrrell's-
 
 374 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 pass, February 10th, and pointed several of his poor neighbours to the 
 Lamb of God. 
 
 "Feb. 11th. At eight I took horse for Athlone. We were seven in 
 company, and rode mostly abreast. Some overtook us, running in great 
 haste ; and one horseman, riding full speed. We suspected nothing, 
 and rode on, singing, till within half a mile of the town. Mr. Samuel 
 Handy and John Healey happened to be foremost, three or four yards 
 out of the line, though I had led the company till then. We were 
 mounting a little hill, when three or four men appeared at the top, and 
 bade us go back. We thought them in jest, till the stones flew. John 
 Healey was knocked off his horse with a stone, fell backward, and lay 
 without sense or motion. Mr. Handy, setting spurs to his horse, 
 charged through the enemy, and immediately turned upon them again. 
 There were only five or six ruffians on the spot ; but we saw many 
 gathering to us from all sides. 
 
 " I observed the man who knocked down John Healey, striking him 
 on the face with his club, and cried to him to stop ; which drew him 
 upon me, and probably saved our brother's life, whom another blow 
 might have despatched. They had gathered against our coming great 
 heaps of stones, one of which was sufficient to beat out our brains. 
 How we escaped them, God only knows, and our guardian angels. I 
 had no apprehension of their hurting me, even when one struck me on 
 the back with a large stone, which took away my breath. One struck 
 Mr. Force on the head ; at whom Mr. Handy made a full blow. He 
 turned, and escaped past ; yet it knocked him down, and for the pre- 
 sent disabled him. As often as we returned, we were driven off by 
 showers of stones. Some were for returning home ; but I asked if we 
 should leave our brother in the hands of his murderers. 
 
 " We rode back to the field of battle, which our enemies had quitted, 
 the Protestants beginning to rise upon them. It seems the Papists had 
 laid their scheme for murdering us, at the instigation of their priest, 
 father Ferril, who had sounded an alarm last Sunday, and raised his 
 crusade against us. The man who wounded John Healey was the 
 priest's servant, and rode his master's horse. He was just going to 
 finish the work with his knife, swearing desperately that he would cut 
 him up, when a poor woman from her hut came to his assistance, and 
 swore as stoutly, that he should not cut Mm up. The man half killed 
 her with a blow from John Healey's whip ; yet she hindered him till 
 more help came. One Jameson, a Protestant, ran with a pitchfork, 
 and stuck the clerk in the shoulder. The bone stopped it. The man 
 made a second push at him, which was broken by Mr. Handy, returned 
 to save his enemy's life. The hedges were all lined with Papists, 
 who kept the field till they saw the dragoons coming out of Athlone.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 375 
 
 Then they took to their heels, and Mr. Handy after them. In the 
 midst of the bog they seized the priest's servant, carried him prisoner 
 to Athlone, and charged the high constable with him ; who quickly let 
 him go. A Protestant met and beat him unmercifully ; but he escaped 
 at last, and fled for his life sorely wounded. 
 
 " We found John Healey, in his blood, at the hut, whither the 
 woman and her husband had carried him. He recovered his senses 
 at hearing my voice. We got him to Athlone ; had him blooded ; and 
 his wounds dressed. The surgeon would take nothing for his pains. 
 
 " The people of the town expressed great indignation at our treat- 
 ment. The soldiers flocked about us. They had been ordered by 
 their officers to meet and guard us into the town. But we came before 
 our time, which prevented them, and our enemies likewise, or we 
 should have found an army of Romans ready to receive us. The 
 country, it seems, knew beforehand of the design ; for the Papists made 
 no secret of it. But by the providence of God none of our enemies 
 lost their lives. 
 
 "I walked down to the market-house, which was filled by a third 
 of the congregation. I removed to a window in a ruined house, which 
 commanded the market-place. The gentlemen, with the minister, and 
 above two thousand hearers, gave diligent heed while I strongly invited 
 them to buy wine and milk without money and without price. The 
 congregation waited on us to our inn, and many of them out of town, 
 with our trusty soldiers. But first the minister and collector came to 
 see us, and inquire after our wounded man ; got us to leave informa- 
 tion ; and promised us justice. The minister acknowledged it was the. 
 doctrine of our own Church, accepted some of our books, and bade us 
 God speed. 
 
 " We marched very slowly for the sake of our patient, till we came 
 to the field of battle. It was stained with blood abundantly. We 
 halted, and sung a song of triumph, and praise to God, who giveth us 
 the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Here we sent back our 
 guard, and went on our way rejoicing to Moat. I proclaimed in the 
 street the faithful saying, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save 
 sinners. A few- stones were cast, and a drum beat, to entertain the 
 ladies. In spite of the genteel devil, some impression was made on 
 the vulgar, as their tears testified. We rode through the noisy ones to 
 Mr. Handy's. The voice of joy and thanksgiving was heard in his 
 dwelling; and we magnified the God by whom we escape death. 
 Among my hearers was the mother of my host, who after a moral life 
 of near eighty years, is now convinced of unbelief, and quietly waiting 
 for the salvation of God. 
 
 " Feb. 12th. At Tyrrell's-pass our barn was filled at night, with
 
 376 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 high and low, rich and poor, whose curiosity brought them from all 
 parts. I showed them their case and their Physician, in the wounded 
 traveller, and good Samaritan. They listened for two hours, and 
 seemed to feel the weight of the word. Counsellor Lowe followed us 
 home, and had much serious discourse with us. 
 
 " Feb. 13th. I spent the morning in conference with the strangers. 
 One, a sensible Roman, seemed satisfied with my answers to his objec- 
 tions, and not far from the kingdom of heaven. Another, who has been 
 a notorious sinner, but a man of reading, went away convinced, and 
 longing to be converted. The counsellor, we heard, had sat up the 
 whole night searching the Scriptures, if these things were so. At 
 Mr. Samuel Handy's I invited many to the great supper. Two hours 
 passed unperceived before I could give over. 
 
 " Feb. 14th. A poor publican was drowned in tears, who constantly 
 attends the word of grace, on which all his hopes depend. I preached 
 at Tullamore, on, ' O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is 
 thy help.' They received both the legal and gospel saying as the truth 
 of God. Many of the soldiers from Dublin followed us into the house, 
 for further instruction ; to whom I again declared, ' The poor have the 
 gospel preached unto them.' It was a time of refreshing, like one of 
 the former times. 
 
 " Feb. 15th. At Philip's-town I expounded the prodigal son. Above 
 forty dragoons joined me in singing and conference, both before and 
 after. These are all turned from darkness to light, that they may re- 
 ceive forgiveness. 
 
 "Feb. 16th. I visited several at Tyrrell's-pass, particularly Mrs. 
 Wade, aged ninety-five, who counts all things but loss, so she may 
 win Christ, and be found in him, not having her own righteousness. 
 She has continued in the temple for near a hundred years, and in fast- 
 ing every Friday. How does this shame the young professors, who 
 say they have faith, yet live in a total neglect of Christ's ordinance ! 
 She looks every moment for the seal of her pardon, that she may 
 depart in peace. The next I saw was a venerable couple indeed ; the 
 man ninety-six, the woman ninety-eight. He had rejoiced to hear of 
 the great change wrought in the town ; and said, if he could but see 
 us lifting up our hands in prayer for him, he doubted not but the Lord 
 would give him the blessing. Till within these two years he has 
 worked at his loom. He was in all the actions of the last century ; 
 at the siege of Londonderry, Limerick, &c. ; the greatest tory-hunter 
 in the country; full of days and scars. She wept for joy while we 
 prayed over them, and commended them to the pardoning grace of God. 
 
 " Feb. 17th. I came to Dublin, half dead with the rain and snow. 
 
 " Feb. 22d. I visited a poor wretch in Newgate, who is to be burned
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 377 
 
 next week for coining. The proof against her was not very full ; but 
 her life and character cast her. She had lived in all manner of wick- 
 edness, and narrowly escaped death before for killing her son-in-laV. 
 Justice has now overtaken her ; and she cries she is lost for ever. 
 I could not well discern whence her sorrow flowed, but found hope 
 for her in prayer. 
 
 " Feb. 23d. She was much the same ; but vehemently desired our 
 people's prayers, and told me, had she continued hearing the word, she 
 had never come to that misery: but her neighbours had laughed her 
 out of it ; and now God had left her to herself. At the barn I ex- 
 pounded Matt, ix, 20 ; and many seemed not only to press, but to touch 
 Him. Their cries pierced the clouds. Three testified that they were 
 healed of their plague. A greater blessing followed us in the society. 
 Glory be to God, who so Avonderfully revives his work among us ! I 
 trust many shall yet be added to the church before we part. 
 
 " Feb. 25th. We had wrestled in prayer for the poor criminal ; and 
 to-day I plainly saw the answer returned. Her heart was broken in 
 pieces. She had nothing to plead or pay ; and all her concern was 
 for her soul. She received the word of reconciliation as the thirsty 
 land doth the dew of heaven ; and resolved to spend her last breath in 
 crying to the Friend of sinners. Feb. 26th and 27th, I was again with 
 the woman. Near twenty of the poor wretches pressed in after me. 
 Her tears and lamentations reached both their hearts and mine. 
 
 " Feb. 28th. I did not wonder, while passing Newgate, that one 
 struck me on the head with a stone. I preached at two and six at the 
 barn. The great blessing came at last. My subject was, the woman 
 washing our Saviour's feet ; and never was he more sensibly present 
 with us. A woman could not forbear declaring openly, that her faith 
 had saved her. 
 
 " Feb. 29th. I received fresh comfort by a letter from a Dissenter, 
 testifying that she had found again, under the word, the peace which 
 she had lost for many years. Every day we hear of more children 
 born, which reconciles as to the contrary winds, though it keeps my 
 brother from us. I sent a brother to the condemned woman, who told 
 him, she had been visited by a Romish priest. On his bidding her 
 pray to the Virgin Mary, she snswered, ' I have an Advocate with the 
 Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.' The ordinary was also with her 
 for the first time ; and she told him the reason of the hope that was 
 in her. 
 
 " I heard from the keeper that a reprieve was come down, and a 
 pardon expected. I feared it might stop the work of God in her ; and 
 was agreeably surprised to find her full of fear and trouble at the news. 
 ' 0,' said she to me, ' I am afraid, if my life be spared, that I shall fall
 
 378 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 from God. I know he would have mercy on me, if I die now.' In 
 discoursing further I perceived very comfortable signs. Some of her 
 words were, ' Two days ago I found such a change as I cannot describe. 
 My heart is so lightened ; my trouble and grief quite gone. And in 
 the night, when I pray to my Saviour, I feel such a strange comfort 
 and confidence as cannot be expressed. Surely God has forgiven me 
 my sins.' I believed it ; but took no notice till the work should prove 
 itself. Only I exhorted her to watch and pray, lest she should fall 
 from those good beginnings. 
 
 " March 1st. I met the woman released from her chains, both soul 
 and body. She threw herself at my feet, and cried, ' O sir, under God, 
 you have saved my soul ! I have found mercy when I looked for judg- 
 ment. I am saved by a miracle of mercy.' In the evening I preached 
 on that most important word, ' It is finished ;' and God set to his seal. 
 One received forgiveness. A man and a woman testified that they had 
 found it at the last preaching. The power of the Lord was wonderfully 
 in the society. I asked, ' Who touched him V not doubting but some 
 had then received their cure. One, and another, and another, wit- 
 nessed a good confession. Our sister Blamires declared, with great 
 struggling, that she then found power to believe, and blessed the day 
 that ever she saw my face. Others spake in the same manner ; and 
 last, Thomas Barnes told me he recovered his pardon while I was re- 
 peating, ' There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one 
 sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just men that 
 need no repentance.' The number of witnesses this night was nine. 
 
 " March 2d. At Mrs. Gilmore's, a serious Dissenter, I met three 
 others of the same communion, who had been lately justified under 
 the word. 
 
 " March 5th. I showed the poor felons in Newgate what they must 
 do to be saved. One man I have often observed much affected by the 
 word, and extremely officious to wait upon me. This was the execu- 
 tioner, who is half-converted by the woman, and shows the most pro- 
 found reverence for her. I gave him several of our books, which he 
 has read over and over. By profession he is a Papist. 
 
 " March 6th. I do not remember when we have had a greater bless- 
 ing than we had this evening in the society. Near twenty declared 
 the manifestation of the Spirit then vouchsafed to them. 
 
 " March 7th. I spoke with eleven of them who had received a clear 
 sense of pardon. Another went to his house justified when I discoursed 
 on wrestling Jacob. 
 
 " March 8th. My brother landed, and met the society, God confirm- 
 ing the word of his messenger. March 9th. I passed a comfortable 
 hour in conference with some others who have lately stepped into the
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 379 
 
 pool. One was begotten again this evening by the word of His power. 
 March 10th. Three more received their cure. 
 
 " March 11th. My text in the morning was, 'The Spirit and the 
 bride say, Come.' After great stragglings, one was constrained to cry 
 out, ' He is come ! He is come ! I have him now in my heart !' A 
 stranger, who stood with his hat on upon the stairs, with all the marks 
 of carelessness, cried out, in great astonishment, ' Lord bless me ! 
 What is this V and ran away, as if the avenger was at his heels. 
 Another testified her having lately found favour, who was some days 
 since a grievous sinner. But she is washed ! God grant she may 
 hold out ! 
 
 "March 13th. In our garden I once more invited mem to the 
 great supper. Many tears were shed at parting ; yet was it a 
 blessed mourning, because we expect to meet again at the great white 
 throne. 
 
 " March 14th. The wind turning full against us, gave me an oppor- 
 tunity of preaching again in Ship-street. I heard that our sister Pres- 
 ton was yesterday delivered of her burden of sin in singing. This 
 evening Mrs. Gilmore received the love of God shed abroad in her 
 heart. A month ago she was a warm opposer ; but venturing out of 
 curiosity to hear me, the Lord applied his word, and stripped her all at 
 once of her self-righteousness, faith of adherence, and good works. 
 She mourned after him till now, that Jesus has received her among his 
 witnesses." 
 
 These selections from Mr. Charles Wesley's private journal will serve 
 to show the very faithful, self-denying, and energetic manner in which 
 he discharged the duties of his ministry during this his first visit to 
 Ireland ; and the honour which the Lord put upon his servant in the 
 success of his labours. A revival of true religion had indeed begun in 
 Dublin, by the ministrations of other men, before his appearance there ; 
 but it was greatly extended by his faithful labours. In the rooms which 
 were fitted up for divine worship, he regularly preached at five o'clock 
 in the morning ; and he was most exemplary in meeting the infant 
 society for exhortation and prayer, watching over their spiritual pro- 
 gress with true pastoral faithfulness and affection. Regardless of the 
 winter's cold, and of the bitter scorn and violence of bad men, he often 
 stood up in the open air, calling the outcasts to repentance, and urging 
 them to behold the Lord Jesus as their God and Saviour. In extend- 
 ing the knowledge of Christ, his life was often in peril ; but of this he 
 made little account. Wicked Protestants and Papists, formalists, and 
 sinners of every class, not excepting even felons, convicts, and common 
 harlots, — all had a share in his compassionate sympathy ; and their 
 conversion inspired him with a joy which, in its fervour and intensity,
 
 380 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 was second only to that which is expressed by the angels of God over 
 one sinner that repenteth. 
 
 On March 20th he embarked for England, accompanied by John 
 Haughton, and the next day landed at Holyhead. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The spring of 1748, when Mr. Charles Wesley returned from Ire- 
 land, formed a sort of crisis in his personal history. It was then that, 
 for the first time in his life, he began seriously to entertain the thought 
 of entering into the marriage relation. When he landed at Holyhead 
 he was in a state of extreme suffering ; and this was greatly increased 
 by the severity of the weather, and the want of accommodations on his 
 journey to South Wales, where he intended to rest a little while. On 
 his arrival at Garth he was received by the Gwynne family in the most 
 kind and hospitable manner. Here he remained nearly a fortnight, 
 enjoying comparative rest, and receiving the most affectionate attention. 
 On his departure for London, he was accompanied for the first hour of 
 his journey by Mr. Gwynne, and his daughter Sarah, whose gentle 
 spirit and amiable manners had made a deep impression upon the heart 
 of their grateful guest. As yet, however, he had made no disclosure 
 of his feelings, either to her, or to any other member of the family. 
 
 Soon after his return to London he made the following entry in his 
 journal, in reference to the same subject : — " I had communicated mv 
 embryo intentions to my brother, while in Ireland, which he neither 
 opposed nor much encouraged. It was then a distant first thought, not 
 likely ever to come to a proposal ; as I had not given the least hint 
 either to Miss Gwynne, or the family. To-day I rode over to Shore- 
 ham, and told Mr. Perronet all my heart. I have always had a fear, 
 but no thought, of marrying, for many years past ; even from my first 
 preaching the gospel. But within this twelvemonth that thought has 
 forced itself in : ' How know I whethe# it be best for me to marry, or 
 no ? Certainly better now than later : and if not now, what security 
 that I shall not then ? It should be now, or not at all.' Mr. Perronet 
 encouraged me to pray, and wait for a providential opening. I ex- 
 pressed the various searchings of my heart in many hymns on the im- 
 portant occasion." Seventeen hymns, which he wrote at this time, on 
 the subject of his marriage, have been preserved in his neat handwrit- 
 ing. They express deep submission to the will of God, with earnest 
 prayer for providential guidance. It is not improbable that others were
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 381 
 
 published in a somewhat altered form, so as to give them a more gene- 
 ral application. 
 
 At this period one of his friends, Mrs. Sparrow, of Lewisham, died 
 in the Lord, and bequeathed to him a legacy, the exact amount of which 
 is not specified. He received fifty pounds as a part of it a few months 
 afterward. He fulfilled her request by preaching a sermon on the oc- 
 casion of her death. In discharging this duty he gave a striking proof 
 of that integrity by which his whole life was characterized. " I spake 
 as freely of her faults," says he, " as of her virtues : her love of the 
 world, and final victory over it. The hearers appeared deeply af- 
 fected." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley went to Bristol early in June ; and was there 
 joined by Mr. Gvvynne and his daughter. After visiting the more 
 pious members of the society in the city, and in Kingswood, and wit- 
 nessing the godly order of the people, they accompanied him to Lon- 
 don, and took up their residence in the dwelling-house which was 
 connected with the Foundery. He introduced these welcome visitants 
 to the family of Mr. Perronet, of Shoreham ; to the family of Mr. Black- 
 well, of Lewisham, who were related to the late Mrs. Sparrow ; and 
 to several other friends. In London they had pleasing demonstrations 
 of the reality and greatness of the work of God, in raising up a spirit- 
 ual people, of which the two devoted brothers had been the chief 
 instruments. They saw large congregations assemble for divine wor- 
 ship, not only on the sabbath, and the week-day evenings, but almost 
 every morning besides, at the early hour of five o'clock ; and heard 
 them, with every appearance of true devotion, lift up their voices, like 
 the sound of many waters, in the service of their Maker. On the morn- 
 ing of their departure they witnessed a signal interposition of divine 
 Providence, in preventing the destruction of the Foundery, the loss of 
 which, at that time especially, would have been a very serious calamity. 
 Under the date of July 19th, Mr. Charles Wesley says, "I rose at 
 three, and called our friends. The Lord sent us a great deliverance 
 as a token for good. Mary Naylor had shut the door of their bed- 
 chamber, and left the key in the inside. Sally wanted something out, 
 which Mary Naylor would have put her by ; but Sally still demanding 
 it, she called the man to break open the door. He said, he would go 
 see his horses, and come. She insisted on his doing it just then ; 
 which he did : and they found the sheet on fire, through Molly's drop- 
 ping the snuff of a candle. Had the man stayed, the whole Foundery 
 might have been in a flame." 
 
 At four o'clock in the morning Charles left London for Bristol, ac- 
 companied by his two friends from Wales. They travelled on horse- 
 back ; and having arrived at Windsor, he says, " My horse threw me
 
 382 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 with violence over his head. My companion fell upon me. The 
 guardian angels bore us in their hands, so that neither was hurt. We 
 saw the castle and palace with insensibility. No sight, we trust, will 
 satisfy us, but that of Moses from Mount Pisgah." At Oxford he ac- 
 companied his friends in their visits to the different colleges ; but the 
 object that most interested him was the unexpected sight of " a poor 
 servitor of St. John's, James Rouquet, who was not ashamed to confess 
 Christ before men ;" and who afterward became a clergyman of emi- 
 nence. While preaching in a yard at Cirencester, he says, " I was 
 pierced through with desires of complete redemption, which broke out 
 in tears and words that affected them in like manner. I could gladly 
 have dropped the body in that hour." 
 
 This special influence from above still rested upon him ; so that, on 
 the following Sunday, at Kingswood, he says, " I began the sacrament 
 with fervent prayer, and many tears, which almost hindered my read- 
 ing the service. I broke out into prayer again and again. Our hearts 
 were all as melting wax. I administered to sisters Robertson and 
 Rutter, sorely bruised by an overturn into a pit ; yet they would not 
 lose the sacrament. I received letters from Cork, loudly calling me 
 thither. My heart was at once made willing, and I had my commis- 
 sion. We joined in earnest prayer for success. I preached a third 
 and a fourth time in our house with supernatural strength. 
 
 " July 26th. I dined at the Fishponds with faithful Felix Farley. At 
 night I preached in the orchard to many serious souls. There was a 
 coach with Mrs. Knight, Miss Cheyne, Mr. Edwin, and Sir William 
 Bunbury. The latter challenged me, for his old school-fellow, in 
 the face of the sun, and was not ashamed to join heartily in our 
 hymns. 
 
 " July 28th. I waited upon Miss Cheyne first, and then on Mrs. 
 Knight, at the Wells. Both assented to the truth. The latter sent for 
 her brother, my old friend Robinson, of Christ- Church. He called me 
 to defend the lay-preachers, and would fain have brought me to confess, 
 we sent them. I declared the matter of fact : that when God had sent 
 any one forth, and owned him by repeated conversions, then we durst 
 not reject him. He talked with great candour, and remains of his old 
 kindness for me." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley accompanied Mr. Gwynne and his daughter to 
 Garth ; and then hastened to Holyhead, where he embarked for Ireland. 
 Here he found that doors were opened in all directions for the preach- 
 ing of the gospel ; and, although " there were many adversaries," they 
 were placed under an unaccountable restraint, and in every place where 
 the truth was proclaimed, it had free course, and was glorified in the 
 salvation of men. He applied himself to his work with his wonted
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 383 
 
 energy, and was, if possible, even more laborious and successful than 
 he was during his former visit. A few selections from his private 
 journal will be the best record of his ministry, and of the effects which 
 it produced under the blessing of God : — 
 
 " God sent us a wind out of his treasury, the fairest we could have, 
 which brought us smoothly and safely into Dublin Bay. 
 
 " August 14th. At five I walked to the preaching-room, and gave 
 them a welcome word of exhortation. Great was our rejoicing, and 
 mutual faith, and fellowship in the Spirit. I met them again, and my 
 brother, at St. Patrick's. The number of communicants was much 
 increased since my departure. I preached in our garden at two. The 
 power of the Lord was present, as at the beginning. I met all our 
 lively society, to our mutual consolation : consolation which words 
 cannot express. Mr. Lunell could not be satisfied without my lodging 
 under his roof. I mourned with him that mourned under Ezekiel's 
 trial : ' Son of man, behold, I take away the desire of thine eyes with 
 a stroke.' She died triumphant. He lost his Benjamin too : the child 
 accompanying the mother to paradise.* 
 
 " August 17th. I set out in the hard rain. My horse, the roughest I 
 ever rode, shook all the strength out of me before I got to Tyrrell's- 
 pass. There our sister Force, and the rest, received me right gladly. 
 I preached on the blood of sprinkling, and met the poor neglected 
 society. Our preachers had all left them for Cork, where is now the 
 widest door. 
 
 " August 1 8th. I rode to Balliboy, where an honest Quaker received 
 us with open arms. I broke through my great reluctance, and preached 
 in his house the atoning Lamb of God. He opened my mouth, and the 
 hearers' hearts. 
 
 "August 19th. It rained the whole day. The road was one con- 
 tinued quagmire. I made a hard shift to reach Roscrea by ten. Some 
 of the town caught me leaving it, and demanded their debt of the gos- 
 pel. A mixed crowd of Papists and Protestants filled the market- 
 house. I called them (never with more authority) to Jesus Christ , 
 then rode on in the rain rejoicing with my dropping companion. By 
 nine we hardly reached Cashel. Here we met with poor entertain- 
 ment, having no way to dry ©ur clothes. I put off my great coat, and 
 got a little sleep. 
 
 " August 20th. I rose cheerfully between two and three, and put on 
 my clothes, wet and weighty enough. We had some intervals of fair 
 
 * Mr Lunell, who kept a banking establishment in Dublin, greatly befriended the 
 Methodists at this period. He is said to have contributed the noble sum of four hun- 
 dred pounds toward the erection of their chapel in Whitefriar-street, which still stands 
 as a monument of the pious zeal and liberality of the first Methodists in that city.
 
 384 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 weather, and got by seven in the evening to Cork. I was wishing for 
 rest at some private house, when Mr. Harrison, the printer, came, and 
 invited me to his. I took a sweat, and rose at my usual time. 
 
 " August 21st. At five I found a congregation of some thousands on 
 the Marsh. They devoured every word with an eagerness beyond 
 description. I advised them all to go to their several places of worship, 
 and went myself to Christ church. It is the largest church in Cork, 
 yet was quite full. The communion kept us till near ten. 
 
 " Much good has been done already in this place. Outward wicked- 
 ness has disappeared ; outward religion succeeded. Swearing is 
 seldom heard in the streets : the churches and altars are crowded, to 
 the astonishment of our adversaries. Yet some of our clergy, and all 
 the Catholic priests, take wretched pains to hinder their people from 
 hearing us. 
 
 "At five I took the field again: but such a sight I have rarely 
 seen! Thousands and thousands had been waiting some hours, 
 Protestants and Papists, high and low. The Lord endued my soul and 
 body with much strength to enforce the faithful saying, that Jesus 
 Christ came into the world to save sinners. I cried after them for an 
 hour, to the utmost extent of my voice, yet without hoarseness, or 
 weariness. The Lord, I believe, hath much people in this city. Two 
 hundred are already joined in a society. 
 
 " August 22d. The congregation was on the Marsh before me, near 
 three thousand loving, listening, unawakened souls, whom I urged to 
 repent, that their sins might be blotted out. At present we passed 
 through honour and good report. The chief persons of the town favour 
 us. No wonder then that the common people are quiet. We pass 
 and repass the streets, pursued by their blessings only. The same 
 favourable inclination is all round the country. Wherever we go, 
 we are received as angels of God. Were this to last, I would escape 
 for my life to America. Many are turned from their outward sins ; 
 and if they went no further, the saints of the world would like them 
 well enough. When the power of godliness, the forgiveness of sins, 
 the gift of the Holy Ghost, is preached, many will fall off. But as yet 
 the work is very superficial. Not one justified person have I yet found. 
 
 " Passing by the Marsh at five, I saw hundreds waiting there for the 
 word, and was told it was their custom from the beginning ; and that 
 last Sunday many were there from one in the morning. I declared, 
 with divine aissistance, ' One thing is needful.' The sin-convincing 
 Spirit was present. He struck the hard rock, and the waters gushed 
 out. The Assizes brought many strangers. I did not spare them ; 
 and they bore my plainness of speech. Several of the better sort, par- 
 ticularly two justices, thanked and wished me success.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 385 
 
 " August 23d. I laboured to convince the hearers of unbelief. More 
 and more are awakening out of sleep. In the evening near a dozen 
 clergymen attended. I would all our brethren would do us the same 
 justice, of hearing us, before they judge us. 
 
 " August 24th. By a clergyman's advice, I went to wait on the 
 bishop. He was not at his palace. The housekeeper begged to have 
 a few words with me. She trembled exceedingly, and struggled to 
 speak ; and at last told me her whole life. From twelve years old she 
 had violent conflicts with the old murderer. She seemed a chosen 
 vessel ; one who, like Obadiah, had served the Lord from her youth. 
 I told her what she wanted, even faith and forgiveness. She received 
 my saying with all readiness of mind ; begged of me to let her have 
 the prayer I used for her ; wept and rejoiced ; and sent me away with 
 many thanks and blessings. 
 
 " In the evening I expounded blind Bartimeus to as genteel an audi- 
 ence as I have ever seen. Several ministers, of all denominations, the 
 governor's lady, and many strangers, attended out of various motives. 
 The word did not return void. Some of the clergy acknowledged it 
 was the truth. I designed to have met about two hundred, who have 
 given in their names for the society ; but such multitudes thronged 
 into the play-house, that it occasioned great confusion. I perceived 
 that it was impracticable, as yet, to have a regular society. 
 
 " August 25th. Here is indeed an open door, such as was never set 
 before me till now. Even at Newcastle the awakening was not so 
 general. The congregation last Sunday was computed above ten 
 thousand. As yet there is no open opposition, though the people have 
 had the word two months. Nay, it is not impossible but their love 
 may last two months longer, before any number of them rise to tear us 
 in pieces. 
 
 " I met a neighbouring justice, and had much serious conversation 
 with him. He seems to have a general kindness for religion, and 
 determined to use all his interest to promote it. For an hour and a 
 half I continued calling the poor blind beggars to Jesus. They begin to 
 cry after him on every side ; and we must expect to be rebuked for it. 
 
 " August 26th. I spake severally with the candidates for a society. 
 All seemed awakened, none justified. But ' who hath despised the 
 day of small things V This is, I doubt not, the seed of a glorious 
 church. I waited on the bishop at Riverstown ; and was received 
 with great affability by himself and family. After dinner I rode back 
 to Cork. I drank tea with some well-disposed Quakers, and borrowed 
 a volume of their dying sayings : a standing proof that the life and 
 power of God was with them at the beginning ; as it might again, were 
 they humble enough to confess their want. 
 
 25
 
 386 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " August 27th. I had much discourse with Mr. C , a sensible, 
 
 pious clergyman ; one after my own heart in his love to our desolate 
 mother. He is clear in the doctrine of faith. He gave me a delightful 
 account of the bishop : yet I do not find it good for me to be counte- 
 nanced by my superiors. It is a snare and burden to my soul. All 
 day long I was bowed down by my late conversation, and stripped of 
 every good desire, especially of preaching. Sometimes our waiting 
 upon great men may do good, or prevent evil : but how dangerous the 
 experiment ! How apt to weaken our hands, and betray us into undue 
 deference, and respect of persons ! The Lord send to them by whom 
 he will send ; but hide me still in disgrace and obscurity. 
 
 " I was set upon in the street by a Romish priest for words which 
 he was told one of our preachers spoke against him. 1 tried to unde- 
 ceive him ; but he was too loud, and too fond of showing his learning, 
 (as far as Latin went,) to hear reason. However, we parted without 
 coming to blows. 
 
 " August 28th. From early sacrament I went to Mr. H — , an honest 
 attorney, and with him to Passage, five miles from Cork. There Jus- 
 tice P — received us, and used all his authority with others to do the 
 same. He sent word to the Romish priest, that if he forbade his 
 people hearing me, he would shut up his mass-house, and send him to 
 jail for one year at least. Several of the poor Romans ventured to 
 come, after the justice had assured them he would himself take off the 
 curse their priests had laid upon them. I exhorted all alike to repent- 
 ance toward God, and faith in Jesus Christ ; and staked my own salva- 
 tion upon it, that he who believes, whether Papist or Protestant, shall 
 be saved. I hastened back to the Marsh. On seeing the multitudes, 
 I thought on the old prior, — 
 
 ' Then, (baseness of mankind !) then of all these, 
 Whom my dilated eye with labour sees,' — 
 
 how few will own God's messengers when the stream turns ! Now 
 they all received me with inexpressible eagerness. I discoursed on 
 the good Samaritan ; and took occasion to vindicate the Methodists 
 from that foulest slander, that they rail at the clergy. I enlarged on 
 the respect due to them ; prayed particularly for the bishop ; and laid 
 it on their consciences to make mention of them in all their prayers. 
 I had appointed part of the society to meet me in a private house ; but 
 the people so crowded in, there was no room for me. Their love at 
 present as effectually prevents our assembling, as their hatred will by 
 and by. 
 
 " August 30th. Mr,. Stockdale drove me to Rathcormuck. Mr. Lloyd, 
 the minister, offered me his church ; but agreed with me that I had 
 better preach out, or I should lose all the Papists. They flocked with 
 
 25*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 387 
 
 the Protestants to the market-house, where I strongly urged them to 
 repentance, and the obedience of faith. The great man of the place, 
 and his lady, employ all their authority to promote true, vital Chris- 
 tianity. The Romish priest is so intimidated, that he dares not forbid 
 his people hearing us. Were every magistrate in Ireland like this, what 
 a multitude of poor Catholics might be turned from darkness to light ! 
 
 " August 31st. In conference I found one who had received forgive- 
 ness in the sacrament. Two or three more have been justified under 
 the word : another* last Monday. I passed a useful hour with Mr. 
 C — . He rejoiced at my having preached in his parish last Sunday. 
 If our brethren were like-^ninded, how much might their hands be 
 strengthened by us ! But we must have patience, as he observed, till 
 the thing speaks itself; and, the mist of prejudice being removed, they 
 see clearly that all our desire is, the salvation of souls, and the estab- 
 lishment of the Church of England. 
 
 " I talked with a poor innocent girl, who constantly hears the word, 
 but in great fear of the priest. I hope in a little time she will be bold 
 to judge for herself, and save her own soul, without asking any man's 
 leave. I invited many sinners at the Marsh to Him who has promised 
 them the rest of pardon, holiness, and heaven. They seem to taste 
 the good word. One told me, after it, that from the time I spake to her 
 at the palace, she had expected the blessing every moment ; and was 
 sure, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that she should have it. ' I 
 seem,' said she, ' to be laying hold on Christ continually. I am so 
 light, so happy, as I never was before. I waked two nights ago in 
 such a rapture of joy, that I thought, surely this is the peace they 
 preach. It has continued ever since. My eyes are opened. I see all 
 things in a new light. I rejoice always.' Is not this the language of 
 faith ? the cry of a new-born soul ? But I prayed over her, that the Lord 
 might confirm it, and was greatly comforted with her consolations. 
 
 " Sept. 1st. I met the infant society, for the first time, in an old 
 play-house. Several were there from two in the morning. One re- 
 ceived forgiveness in Jonathan Reeves's first prayer. Our Lord's pre- 
 sence consecrated the place. I explained the nature of Christian fel- 
 lowship. God knit our hearts together in the desire of knowing him. 
 The people are now ripe for the gospel, which I therefore preached to 
 the poor hungry mourners. I heard of one who received the atonement 
 on Monday. Behold, a troop cometh ! The angel is come down ; the 
 water is troubled ; and many are just stepping into the pool. I spoke 
 with some who told me they had wronged their neighbours in time 
 past ; and now their consciences will not let them rest till they have 
 made restitution. I bade them tell the persons injured, it was this 
 preaching that compelled them to do justice. One poor wretch told
 
 388 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 me, before his wife, that he had lived in drunkenness, adultery, and all 
 the works of the devil, for twenty-one years ; had beaten her every day 
 of that time ; and never had any remorse till he heard us : but now he 
 goes constantly to church, behaves lovingly to his wife, abhors the 
 thing that is evil, especially his old sins. This is one instance out 
 of many. 
 
 " An alderman heard me to-night in a covered chair. I met part of 
 the society, who are fully convinced, that without present forgiveness 
 they cannot be saved. I called upon Mr. C — , who told me he had 
 had a great battle with his brethren, who confidently averred, affidavit 
 was made of that wicked brother of mine^running away with another 
 man's wife at Athlone. I rejoiced at the report, as a sign that the god 
 of this world is alarmed for his kingdom in danger. How will he and 
 his servants rage by and by ! Hitherto they seem asleep ; but the 
 witnesses of Jesus are rising to rouse them. 
 
 " Walking to the Marsh, I overtook Mrs. N — , who broke out into 
 strong confession of the faith she received yesterday morning under 
 the word. I marvel not that her daughter says, she is gone distraeted. 
 You might as well stop the tide, as her testimony. She rides on the 
 high places of the earth ; she speaks in the plerophory of faith ; she 
 lives in the spirit of triumph. One of her expressions was, ' I do not 
 walk, but fly ; and seem as if I could leap over the moon.' The Marsh 
 was covered with high and low, rich and poor. The gospel had free 
 course. Not a word returned empty. One followed, and told me he 
 had found the Lord in the word this morning. I had much discourse 
 with the young woman above mentioned ; and found she was in Christ 
 before me ; but her not using my expressions hindered my perceiving 
 it. Some of her words were, ' From the time you spake to me of for- 
 giveness, I have been praying for it, day and night, in continual joy. 
 I am inexpressibly happy. All my temptations are gone. I tread on 
 all the power of the enemy. From twelve years old I have walked 
 with God, and found him in all my ways, in every place, and business, 
 and company. In all my words I find him prompting me. From my 
 infancy he has been my guide and instructer. When I would have 
 spoken to the bishop, or others, He checked me with that thought, 1 
 will bear all my burdens till the Lord himself delivers me. Many 
 things he has taught me to pray for, which I did not myself understand 
 at the time of my asking, nor fully till the answers came. I have been 
 urged with that question, Can you die for the gospel of Jesus Christ ? 
 and when I have put it by, it still followed me ; and the Lord insisted 
 upon my answer. While I have sat at work, it came into my mind, 
 These fingers urill never corrupt in the grave. I must die for the truth. 
 I replied, But how can it be, Lord? We are all Christians. Who is
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 389 
 
 there to persecute us now ? This thought pursues me still, that I am to 
 suffer for my Saviour ; and I should grudge the dying in my bed.' 
 
 " I never felt more powerful, piercing words. They brought their 
 own evidence, and left me no room to doubt God's special love to this 
 soul. They also confirmed my continual expectation of sufferings. 
 
 " Sept. 3d. My text was, ' I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy 
 transgressions for my own sake.' I felt, as it were, their spirits sunk 
 under the word. From six to eight I attend those that would speak 
 with me. The first who accosted me was a poor soldier, with, ' O sir, 
 I have found the blessing !' I asked what blessing. ' Why, the bless- 
 ing you preach ; the forgiveness of my sins.' ' How do you know 
 that V ' I am sure of it. I cannot doubt of it. I feel it in my heart.' 
 ' When and how did you receive it ?' ' Yesterday morning, under the 
 word. I strove and strove hard before I could lay hold on it. But at 
 last I did venture upon Christ. I put on boldness, and did believe ; and 
 that moment all my sins were taken away, — as you would take the coat 
 from my back. I went home rejoicing, and told my wife, and per- 
 suaded her to believe like me. She fell a crying and praying for an 
 hour together ; and then she got it too. My mother is not far from it : 
 only for fear of one sin she dares not venture.' His artless confession 
 was confirmed by his wife, who found the pearl at the same time with 
 him. His brother found it last Sunday. Joyce Bailey informs me, 
 she received the blessing yesterday morning through the Spirit apply- 
 ing that word, ' Ask, and it shall be given you.' I exhorted some of 
 the society, and found them all on full stretch after Christ. 
 
 " Sept. 4th. I expounded the prodigal son to thousands of listen- 
 ing sinners ; many of whom, I am assured, are on their return, and will 
 never rest, until they rest in the anns of their Father. 
 
 " Sept. 5th. More, I hear, are added to the church : two at the sacra- 
 ment yesterday : two in the society. One overtook me going to the 
 cathedral, and said, ' I have found something in the preaching, and can- 
 not but think it is forgiveness. All my sins sunk away from off me in 
 a moment. I can do nothing but pray, and cry, Glory be to God ! I 
 have such a confidence of his love as I never knew. I trample all sin 
 and sorrow under my feet.' I bade him watch and pray, and expect 
 greater things than these. 
 
 " Our old master, the world, begins to take it ill that so many desert, 
 and clean escape its pollutions. Innumerable stories are invented to 
 stop the work, or rather repeated ; for they are the same we have heard 
 a thousand times, as well as the primitive Christians. All manner of 
 wickedness is acted in our society, except the eating of little children. 
 My advice to the people is, ' Answer them not a word.' The Romish 
 priests go more secretly to work, deterring their flock by the penalty
 
 390 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of a curse. Yet some venture to hear us by stealth. I took horse for 
 Bandon, with my loving lawyer, and his wife, who has lately received 
 Christ, as her language and life declare." 
 
 On the road Mr. Wesley made a hymn for the Roman Catholics in 
 Ireland, of which we retain the following stanzas : — 
 
 If thou wilt work a work of grace, 
 
 Who shall the hinderer be 1 
 Shall all the human hellish race 
 
 Detain thy own from thee 1 
 Shall Satan keep, as lawful prize 
 
 A nation in his snare 1 
 Hosts of the living God, arise, 
 
 And try the force of prayer ! 
 
 The prayer of faith hath raised the dead, 
 
 TV infernal legions driven, 
 The slaves from Satan's dungeon freed, 
 
 And shut and open'd heaven. 
 Our faith shall cleave the triple crown, 
 
 Shall o'er the beast prevail, 
 And turn his kingdom upside down, 
 
 And shake the gates of hell. 
 
 " By ten we came to Bandon, a town of Protestants only. Several 
 Papists from the neighbourhood attended me to the market-house. I 
 stood on a scaffold, and called, to about a thousand wild people, ' Be- 
 hold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world !' Four 
 ministers confessed it was the truth. All seemed hugely pleased, and 
 rejoiced that I should preach again in the evening at the other end of 
 the town. The whole town was then gathered together, with many 
 out of the country. Three of the ministers were present again, and 
 the provost, or governor of the town, with many of the better sort, in 
 the opposite houses. I was enabled to speak closely both to Pharisees 
 and publicans. Many of the latter wept. 
 
 " Sept. 6th. In the morning, between four and five, I was surprised 
 to find as numerous an audience as last night's. I breakfasted with 
 the only family of Quakers in the town. They behaved with that love 
 and zeal which we meet with in all the Friends, till their worldly-wise 
 and envious brethren pervert them, and make their minds evil affected 
 toward us. Two men from Kinsale came to press me thither. I ex- 
 pounded the prodigal son, but could not get through half of it. They 
 drank in every word. In the evening I began again with a soar throat, 
 a heavy heart, and a feeble body. To them that have no might God 
 increaseth strength. For an hour and a half I strongly called the 
 weeping prodigals to their heavenly Father. Many Romans were pre-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 391 
 
 sent, and others who had not been near a church for years. I spent 
 an hour in the town-hall with some hundreds of them, in prayer and 
 singing. They were impatient to have a society, and to take the king- 
 dom of heaven by violence. I commended them to the grace of God, 
 and departed, laden with their blessings. 
 
 " I rode to Kinsale with my trusty lawyer, and at noon walked to the 
 market-place. The windows were filled with spectators, rather than 
 hearers. Many wild-looking people stood with their hats on in the 
 street. The boys were rude and noisy. Some well-dressed women 
 stood behind me, and listened. I did most earnestly invite them all to 
 the great supper. It was fallow ground ; yet the word was not all lost. 
 Several settled into serious attention : others expressed their approba- 
 tion : a few wept. I was followed to my lodgings by a devout soldier, 
 one of our society in Dublin, who keeps his integrity. Some others 
 called, and convinced me God had not left himself without witness in 
 this place. 
 
 " In the evening the multitude so trod one upon another, that it was 
 some time before they could settle to hear. I received a blow with a 
 stone on the side of my head ; and called on the person to stand forth, 
 and, if I had done him any wrong, to strike me again. This little cir- 
 cumstance increased their attention. I lifted up my voice like a trum- 
 pet, and showed the people their transgressions, and the way to be 
 saved from them. They received my saying, and spake well of the 
 truth. A sudden change was visible in their behaviour afterward ; for 
 God had touched their hearts. Even the Romans owned, ' none could 
 find fault with what the man said.' Only one did most bitterly curse 
 me, and all that should ever pray for me. 
 
 " Sept. 8th. The rain drove us to the market-house, a far more con- 
 venient place for preaching. I was surprised to find such a multitude 
 in such weather. They sunk down on every side into a just sense of 
 their wants. The next time the better rank of Romans came to hear 
 for themselves, and a whole army of soldiers. All were profoundlv 
 silent as soon as I opened my mouth in the words of our dying Lord, 
 ' Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by V The love of Christ crucified 
 bore down all before it. A lady of the Romish Church would have me 
 to her house. She assured me, the governor of the town, (called the 
 sovereign,) as soon as he heard of my coming, had issued out orders 
 that none should dare disturb me ; that a gentleman who offered to in- 
 sult me would have been torn to pieces by the Romans, had he not fled 
 for it ; and that the Catholics in general are my firm friends. 
 
 " It is worth observing, that in Kinsale I am of every religion. The 
 Presbyterians say I am a Presbyterian ; the Church-goers, that I am a 
 minister of theirs ; and the Catholics are sure I am a good Catholic in
 
 392 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 my heart. I returned to Cork. Here the witnesses increase, so that 
 we lose count of them. 
 
 " Sept. 9th. I got the whole morning to myself, and my beloved 
 friends in Wales. I had sweet fellowship with them in reading their 
 letters, and saw them, as it were, all about me at the throne of grace. 
 
 " Sept. 10th. A man and his wife laid hold on me, and said, 'We 
 have followed you from Ban don to Kinsale, and hither ; and if we had 
 not found you here, we would have followed you to Dublin, and all the 
 world over.' They urged me to come once more to Bandon, so that I 
 could not refuse. Some from Middleton and Youghall pressed me to 
 them also. 
 
 " Sept. 11th. I heard a plain, useful sermon, at St. Peter's, against 
 judging. Such crowds at church and sacrament were never seen be- 
 fore ; so immediately is the gospel the power of God, saving from sin. 
 Multitudes, from their first hearing it, left off to do evil, and learned to 
 do well. I was much refreshed by part of the bishop of Exeter's late 
 charge to his clergy, worthy to be written in letters of gold. 
 
 " ' My brethren, I beg you will rise up with me against only moral 
 preaching. We have been long attempting the reformation of the 
 nation by discourses of this kind. With what success 1 Why, with 
 none at all. On the contrary we have very dexterously preached the 
 people into downright infidelity. We must change our voice. We 
 must preach Christ, and him crucified. Nothing but the gospel is, 
 nothing will be found to be, the power of God unto salvation. Let me 
 therefore again and again request, may I not add, let me charge you, to 
 preach Jesus, and salvation through his name ; preach the Lord who 
 bought us ; preach redemption through his blood ; preach the saying 
 of the great High Priest, He that believeth shall be saved. Preach re- 
 pentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.' 
 
 " Sept. 12th. I got to Bandon by eleven. My poor woman and her 
 husband soon found me out, and carried me to their house in triumph. 
 The neighbours flocked in ; and we had indeed a feast of love. A pro- 
 digal came, who had been a monster of wickedness for many years, 
 but is now returned to his Father. So are more of the town, who were 
 wicked to a proverb. I spake with a woman, whom the word has 
 wounded, and convinced that God is among the Protestants. She was 
 bred a Protestant, but turned when young to the Romans, and has con- 
 tinued with them these twenty years. She told me she never could rightly 
 believe that any man could forgive her her sins : but Jesus Christ has 
 the power, she is persuaded, and therefore returns to those who preach 
 forgiveness in his blood. 
 
 " I invited above four thousand sinners to the great supper. God 
 hath given them the hearing ear. I went to Mrs. Jones's, a widow-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 393 
 
 gentlewoman, as teachable as a little child ; determined to promote the 
 work of God to the utmost of her power. All in the place seem like 
 minded — except the clergy. O why should they be the last to bring 
 home their King ? It grieved me to hear the poor encouragement given 
 last Sunday to the crowds that flocked to church, which some of them 
 had never troubled for years. We send them to church, to hear our- 
 selves railed at, and, what is far worse, the truth of God. 
 
 " Sept. 13th. We parted witb many tears, and mutual blessings. I 
 
 rode on to Kinsale. Here also the minister, Mr. P , instead of 
 
 rejoicing to see so many publicans in the temple, entertained them with 
 a railing accusation of me, as an impostor, incendiary, and messenger 
 
 of Satan. Strange justice ! that Mr. P should be voted a friend 
 
 of the Church, and I an enemy ; who send hundreds into the church, 
 for him to drive out again ! At noon I discoursed on the prodigal son. 
 Many approved by silent tears. I could not dismiss them without a 
 word of advice, how to behave toward their enemies, persecutors, and 
 slanderers. 
 
 "Sept. 15th. After proclaiming liberty to the captives, at Cork, I 
 took horse for Middleton, and preached there at noon to an attentive 
 congregation, who pressed me much to come again. I rode on to 
 Youghall, a seaport town, twenty Irish miles from Cork. I went forth 
 to the strand : a wild multitude following almost crowded me and one 
 another to death. While I described our Lord's passion the waves 
 subsided, the noise ceased, and they earnestly listened to his last dying 
 cries. The minister (as well as people) testified his approbation, say- 
 ing, as I am told, ' These gentlemen have done a great deal of good. 
 There is need enough of them in Youghall.' I lodged at Mr. Price's, 
 a friendly Dissenter, who, with his family, received me cordially for 
 my work's sake. 
 
 " Sept. 16th. The rain quickened our pace to Middleton. Here my 
 audience was thrice as numerous as yesterday. The town-hall could 
 not contain them. All listened to their own history in the prodigal, 
 and begged hard for a continuance of the gospel. The power of the 
 Lord was in the society at Cork. I marvel not that Satan so hates it. 
 We never meet but some or other is plucked out of his teeth. 
 
 " Sept. 17th. After a restless night of pain, I rose to confer with 
 those who desired it. A woman testified that the Lord had spoken 
 peace to her trembling soul at the sacrament : Thomas Warburton, that 
 faith came by hearing ; and now he hates all sin with a perfect hatred ; 
 and could spend his whole life in prayer. Stephen Williams witnessed 
 that, ' Last night I found my heart burdened and bursting in your 
 prayer ; but I repeated after you, till my speech was swallowed up. 
 Then I felt myself as it were fainting, falling back, and sinking into
 
 394 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 destruction; when on a sudden I was lifted up; my heart was light- 
 ened ; my burden gone ; and I saw all my sins, so black, so many, bur 
 all taken away. I am now afraid of neither death, devil, nor hell. I 
 am happier than I can tell you. I know God has, for Christ's sake, 
 forgiven me.' Two others, in whom I found a real work of grace begun, 
 were Papists till they heard the gospel ; but are now reconciled to the 
 church, even the true invisible church, or communion of saints, with 
 whom is forgiveness of sins. A few of these lost sheep we pick up ; 
 but seldom speak of it, lest our good Protestants should stir up the Pa- 
 pists to tear us in pieces. 
 
 " At Mr. RofT's, a pious Dissenter, I heard of the extreme bitterness 
 of his two ministers, who make it their business, from house to house, 
 to set their people against the truth, and threaten all who hear us with 
 excommunication. So far beyond the Papists are these moderate men 
 advanced in persecution. 
 
 " Sept. 18th. I rose, as I lay down, in pain, which confined me the 
 whole day. I prayed God to suspend it, if it was his will I should 
 speak a useful word at parting with his people. I went to them at five 
 for a few minutes. The Marsh was quite covered. Above ten thou- 
 sand people, as was supposed, stood fixed in deep attention. Not a 
 breath was heard among them all. I faintly read my text, Acts ii, 42, 
 ' And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellow- 
 ship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.' They observed my 
 weakness, and prayed me strong. I urged them to walk as the first 
 followers of Christ. My words sunk into their hearts, and melted them 
 into tears. For two hours we wept and rejoiced together ; and com- 
 mended each other again and again to God. I mentioned with honour 
 the behaviour of our own clergy ; not one of whom has publicly spoken 
 the least word against us. I had told them before, and now I told them 
 again, that persecution will arise because of the word. Great confi- 
 dence and love the Lord gave me for them ; and we parted most tri- 
 umphantly with the voice of joy and thanksgiving. 
 
 " Sept. 19th. I rose at two, greatly refreshed, and set out with Ro- 
 bert Swindells. My pain was kept off by the prayers of those I left 
 behind. We reached Cash el by night. Our host, a serious Roman, 
 and his neighbour, a hearty, loving Quaker, made us forget our journey. 
 
 " Sept. 20th. We reached T — by nine. I met several clergy, who 
 were attending the archbishop, come to confirm. I preached at my 
 inn door. The people behaved better at the end than the beginning. 
 I found the twelve miles to Roscrea good six hours' riding ; the rain 
 attending us all the way. At five I came to Mr. White's, sated with 
 travelling ; but had not time to rest, the people demanding me. My 
 knees and eyes failed me, so that. I could neither stand nor see. I
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 395 
 
 leaned on a door, and called, ' Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by V 
 The word was not weak, like me. 
 
 "Sept. 21st. By four I got to Mount-Mellick. I preached in the 
 market-place to a crowd of poor convinced sinners. I could mention 
 nothing but pure promises. They received the word as souls gasping 
 for God. 
 
 " Sept. 22d. I took in thirty new members. I rode to B — , at the 
 pressing instance of a clergyman, who met me, carried me home, and, 
 after fairly proposing his objections, and attending to my answers, 
 allowed me to speak with great closeness, and particular application. 
 By four we came to Mr. Jackson's, in Birr. I preached ' the Lamb of 
 God, that taketh away the sin of the world.' The power of the High- 
 est overshadowed us. One gentlewoman sunk down at Jesus's feet. 
 Most seemed affected. Sept. 23d, I talked with my host's brother, a 
 publican indeed ! a monster of wickedness lately, but now so changed, 
 that all the town is alarmed by it. At five I preached in a barn of Mr. 
 Wade's, near Aghrim, seldom with greater power. 
 
 " Sept. 24th. By one the Lord brought us safe to our beloved 
 brethren in Athlone. No Father Ferril or his volunteers withstood our 
 entrance. The door is wide opened, at the expense of one life indeed, 
 if not more ; for the first news I heard was, that the poor woman who 
 shielded John Healey from his enemy is lately dead of the blows she 
 then received. I preached in the market-house, and met the society 
 in a barn, which a well-disposed Roman lends us, to the great dis- 
 satisfaction of his fellows. Our poor lambs were all in tears, mourning 
 after Jesus. 
 
 " Sept. 25th. I examined each of the society, who make upward of 
 two hundred. A soldier followed and told me, that while I was talking 
 to them, a horrible dread overwhelmed him ; he knew I was a servant 
 of God ; saw himself as called to the bar ; felt the burden of all his sins ; 
 shook, every bone of him ; and trembled exceedingly for fear of God's 
 judgments. I could not hinder his falling down again and again at my 
 feet under the most piercing apprehensions of God, the righteous Judge. 
 
 " I accepted an invitation from the Rev. Mr. T . I comforted 
 
 the mourners at the market-house by all the precious promises of the 
 gospel summed up in Isaiah xxxv. I dined with Mr. R , a gentle- 
 man of the Romish persuasion till he heard my brother : since which 
 both he and his house, with several others, are come over to the Church 
 of England ; and, what is far better, to the power of godliness. In the 
 evening preaching the great blessing came. The cries of the wounded 
 spirits cannot be described. The place rung with loud calls for ' mercy, 
 mercy !' I concluded, and began again, and again ; then sung and 
 prayed, and prayed and sung, not knowing how to give over.
 
 396 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " Sept. 26th. I took my leave in those solemn words, which reached 
 their hearts, ' And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the 
 word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an 
 inheritance among all them that are sanctified.' At three I came to 
 our dear friends at Tyrrell's-pass. It should not be forgotten, that the 
 condemned soldier told me, at parting, that the Lord had absolved 
 him. 
 
 " Sept. 27th. I found much life in applying those words, ' Behold I 
 stand at the door, and knock,' &c. I took horse for Dublin. Young 
 Mr. Wade accompanied me three or four miles. His mother died last 
 week in peace. He is swiftly following her, through the last stage of 
 a consumption ; has not yet attained ; but knows he shall not depart till his 
 eyes have seen His salvation. I commended him to the Lord Jesus, 
 and promised to meet him next in paradise. 
 
 " I rode alone, yet not alone. My noon hour of prayer refreshed my 
 spirit. My absent friends were never less absent. I came before night 
 to Dublin." 
 
 Such was the manner in which Mr. Charles Wesley was employed 
 during his second visit to Ireland. He travelled extensively through 
 the southern part of the island, where Popery held the great body of the 
 people in its iron grasp. Here his labours were characterized by an 
 energy and devotedness of which there have been few examples. He 
 preached to immense assemblages of people, of every rank and descrip- 
 tion, morning, noon, and night, reserving a certain period almost every 
 day to converse in private with those who sought his counsel, and 
 forming those that were awakened into religious societies, in order to 
 their spiritual edification. Many of the societies which he then formed 
 continue to this day, breathing the same spirit of piety as that which 
 was produced under his preaching ; and not a few of the people that 
 formerly belonged to them now sleep in Jesus. An influence from God 
 rested upon the people generally, wherever he went, and caused his 
 voice to be heard ; so that there was little opposition to the spread of 
 the truth. Ungodly men, both Papist and Protestant, were under a 
 supernatural restraint. The exceptions were a few of the clergy and 
 Dissenting ministers, whose gentle slumbers were disturbed by the 
 rousing sermons of this itinerant stranger. He induced great numbers 
 of careless and wicked people to attend the religious services of the 
 Church ; and their faithless pastors, instead of welcoming the wander- 
 ers to the fold, drove them away by their bitter revilings. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley remained a few days in Dublin, where he found 
 the society in a very prosperous state. Several persons entered into 
 Christian liberty during his stay. Here he unexpectedly met his 
 friends Mr. and Mrs. Lampe, from London ; and remarks concerning
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 397 
 
 them, " They were overjoyed to see me. I cannot yet give up my 
 hope that they are designed for better things than feeding swine ; that 
 is, entertaining the gay world." 
 
 On the 8th of October he embarked in the packet foi England. The 
 voyage was most disastrous ; as will appear from the following letter, 
 which he addressed to a friend, on his arrival at Holyhead. It is 
 dated the 10th of October, and appears to have been sent to a person in 
 Ireland, probably Mr. Lunell, the banker in Dublin, who had received 
 the truth. 
 
 " My Very Dear Brother, — I did not tell you, at parting, that I never 
 had a stronger apprehension of evil near. On Saturday evening, half- 
 hour past eight, I entered the small boat. We were two hours getting 
 to the vessel. There was not then water to cross the bar ; so we took 
 our rest till eleven on Sunday morning. Then God sent us a fair wind, 
 and we sailed smoothly before it, five knots an hour. All things 
 promised a speedy, prosperous passage ; yet still I found the burden 
 upon my heart, usual in times of extreme danger. Toward evening the 
 wind freshened upon us ; and we had full enough of it. 
 
 " It was now pitch-dark, and no small tempest lay upon us. The 
 captain had ordered in all the sails. I kept mostly upon deck, till half- 
 hour past eight, when, upon my inquiry, he told me he expected to be 
 in the harbour by nine. I answered, we would compoimd for ten. 
 While we were talking, the mainsail (as I take it) got loose, and flew 
 overboard, as if it would drag us all after it. The small boat, at the same 
 time, for want of fastening, fell out of its place. The master called, 
 ' All hands upon deck !' and thrust me down into the cabin. Within a 
 minute we heard a cry above, ' We have lost the mast !' A passenger 
 ran up, and brought us worse news, that it was not the mast, but the 
 poor master himself ; whom I had scarcely left, when the boat, as they 
 supposed, struck him overboard. From that moment he was seen and 
 heard no more. My soul was bowed before the Lord. I knelt down, 
 and commended the departing spirit to his mercy in Christ Jesus. I 
 adored his distinguishing goodness : ' The one shall be taken, and the 
 other left.' I thought of those lines of Young : — 
 
 ' No warning given ! unceremonious death ! 
 A sudden rush from life's meridian joys, 
 A plunge opaque beyond conjecture !' 
 
 " The sailors were so confounded, they knew not what they did. 
 The decks were strewed with sails, boat, &c. : the wind shifting about, 
 the compass they could not get at ; nor the helm, for some time. We 
 were just on the shore ; and the vessel drove where or how they knew 
 not. One of our cabin passengers ran to the helm, gave orders, as
 
 398 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 captain, till they had righted the ship. But I ascribe it to our Invisi- 
 ble Pilot, that we got safe to the harbour soon after ten. The storm 
 was so high, we doubted whether any boat would venture to fetch us. 
 At last one answered, and came. I thought it safer to lie in the ves- 
 sel ; but one calling, ' Mr. Wesley, you may come,' I followed, and by 
 eleven found out my old lodgings at Robert Griffith's. 
 
 " Oct. 10th. I blessed God that I did not stay in the vessel last night. 
 A more tempestuous one I do not remember." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's dangers and inconveniences were not ended 
 when he landed at Holyhead, and sung the praises of his almighty 
 Preserver. The following is his own account of the perils and troubles 
 of the next day : — " At half-hour past nine, I took horse, with my host, 
 in a perfect hurricane. We were wet through in less than ten 
 minutes : but I rode on, thankful that I was not at sea. By one I 
 reached the Bull's-head ; paid off my extorting guide ; and trusted 
 Providence to conduct me over the Welsh mountains. I rode near 
 three miles before my genius for wandering prevailed. Then I got out 
 of the way to Baladan-ferry ; but was met by a Welsh child, and set 
 right again. Near five I entered the boat, with a clergyman and 
 others, who crowded our small crazy vessel. The water was exceed- 
 ing rough ; our horses were frightened ; we looking to our vessel every 
 moment. The minister acknowledged he was never in like danger. 
 We were half drowned in the boat. I sat at the bottom, with him, 
 and a woman who stuck very close to me ; so that my swimming would 
 not have helped me. But the Lord was my support ; and I cried out 
 to my brother clergyman, ' Fear not. Christum, et,fortunas vchis ! [You 
 carry Christ and his fortunes.] The hairs of our head are all num- 
 bered. Our Father sits at the helm.' 
 
 " Our trial lasted near half an hour. Then we landed, wet and 
 weary, in the dark night. The minister was my guide to Carnarvon ; 
 and by the way entertained me with the praises of a lay-preacher he 
 had lately heard, and talked with. He could say nothing against his 
 preaching, but heartily wished him ordained. His name, he told me, 
 was Howell Harris. He carried me to his own inn, and at last found 
 me out ; which increased our intimacy." 
 
 Leaving Carnarvon the next morning at the break of day, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley directed his course to Garth, travelling on horseback through 
 an open country, with such guides as he could obtain ; some of whom 
 exercised his patience by leading him out of the way, so as even to 
 endanger his life. " We wandered over the mountains," says he, "at 
 random ; and I was quite reconciled to the thought of taking up my 
 lodging there. But Providence sent us directors again and again when
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 399 
 
 we most wanted them. We rode down such precipices, that one false 
 step would have put an end to all our journeys : yet the Lord brought 
 us through all." At Rhayader the curate undertook to be his con- 
 ductor to Garth ; and not being able to obtain a horse for either love or 
 money, this kind-hearted and unassuming clerical brother walked by 
 his side, and brought him safe to the family of Mr. Gwynne, where he 
 met with a cordial welcome. 
 
 Here he remained a week, preaching in the house of his host, and 
 in the neighbouring churches, many people coming from a considerable 
 distance to attend his ministry, and to receive the Lord's supper at his 
 hands. On Tuesday, Oct. 18th, he says, "I rode to Maesmynis, with 
 most of the family, and enforced those triumphant words of the depart- 
 ing apostle, ' I have fought a good fight ; I have finished my course ; 
 I have kept the faith,' &c. Great consolation was thereby adminis- 
 tered to us. Forty sincere souls, whom the storm could not discourage, 
 joined in receiving the Lord's supper. It was a passover much to be 
 remembered. All were melted down in prayer. We were not un- 
 mindful of our absent brethren, or of those that travel by water. The 
 church about us was rocked by the tempest ; but we had a calm within. 
 O that it might last till we all arrive at the haven !" 
 
 Mr. Gwynne's establishment at Garth was large and princely. He 
 had nine sons and daughters, and twenty servants, besides the chap- 
 lain ; and had seldom less than ten or fifteen guests residing in the 
 house. Mrs. Grace Bowen, whom Charles Wesley has immortalized 
 by a hymn dedicated to her memory, was the nurse of the family. Mrs. 
 Gwynne was one of six heiresses, each of whom had a fortune of thirty 
 thousand pounds, and was married into a family of rank. She was a 
 lady of superior understanding, generous to the poor, and in the earlier 
 years of her life indulged strong prejudices against Dissenters. When 
 her husband brought Howell Harris to Garth, and in the presence of 
 the family begged the forgiveness of the itinerant preacher, treating 
 him with as much respect as if he had been a bishop, she thought that 
 he must have lost his senses. In grief and consternation she quitted 
 the room, and would not return till the unwelcome stranger had left the 
 house. When her daughter Sarah, following her father's example, be- 
 came a delighted attendant upon Harris's preaching, Mrs. Gwynne was 
 still more deeply mortified and offended, and passed much of her time 
 in tears at what she considered to be the infatuation of her family. 
 Her prejudices were at length removed by reading Mr. John Wesley's 
 " Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion," and by the testimony of 
 some gentlemen who had known the Wesleys at Oxford. Under the 
 influence of her altered views and feelings, she was induced to hear 
 Howell Harris for herself; and when Mr. John Wesley visited South
 
 400 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Wales, he was hospitably entertained by her, as well as by her husband^ 
 and was allowed to preach in the house. It was about two years after 
 that Charles visited Garth, when he and the whole family at once 
 formed a strong attachment to each other. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley took leave of this distinguished and kind family 
 in the evening of October 19th, and early the next morning commenced 
 his journey to Bristol, accompanied by a Welsh clergyman of kindred 
 spirit. " I set out," says he, " wjth brother Phillips in the dark and 
 rain. We had not rode a quarter of a mile before I was struck through 
 with pain, as with a dart. Whether it was the rheumatism in my 
 shoulder, or what else, I know not ; but it took away my breath in an 
 instant, and stopped my progress. I lay some time on my horse, un- 
 able to bear the least motion ; but determined not to turn back, till I 
 fell off. In a few minutes I could bear a foot-pace, and then a small 
 trot. As the rain increased, my pain decreased. I was quickly wet 
 to the skin ; but some fair blasts dried me again, and in five hours I 
 got well to Bwlch. After an hour's rest, we took horse again, and 
 came swiftly to Usk before five. We went early to bed, and rose at 
 three the next morning." 
 
 He spent nearly three weeks in Bristol, preaching in that city, in 
 Kingswood, and in several neighbouring places, greatly encouraged 
 with the spiritual state of the societies, and the success which attended 
 his ministrations. Of labours, privations, and dangers, he had his full 
 share ; but he was generally so happy in God as even to glory in them 
 all. " I rode to Coleford," says he, " under a great burden. What 
 would I ngt have given to escape preaching ! but as soon as I opened 
 my mouth, the skies poured down righteousness. In the society we 
 seemed all wrapt up. A cloud of witnesses arose. Five or six re- 
 ceived forgiveness, and testified it. We rejoiced with joy unutterable. 
 My body was quite spent. Mr. Phillips did not much commend our 
 accommodations. Our chamber looked very ghastly, scarcely affording 
 a prophet's furniture. Our bed had but one thin quilt to cover us. 
 
 " I rode to Paulton, where my horse cast me to the ground with 
 such violence, as if I had been shot out of an engine. I lay breathless 
 for some time. They set me on the horse, and led me to Bristol. I 
 got a surgeon to dress my arm and hand, which were much bruised, 
 and my foot crushed." 
 
 This accident caused no interruption of his labours. Weary and 
 bruised he arrived in London, where he expounded the thirty-fifth 
 chapter of the prophecies of Isaiah in the Foundery ; and, as he ex- 
 presses himself, " lost all his burdens among his brethren."
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 401 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The thoughts of marriage which Mr. Charles Wesley had for some 
 time cherished led him now at length to resolve, that, if Providence 
 should open his way, he would, without any considerable delay, enter 
 into that holy and honourable relation^; and every successive visit that 
 he paid to Garth served to strengthen his persuasion that Miss Sarah 
 Gwynne would be the most suitable object of his choice. Her family 
 and connections were highly respectable ; she was agreeable in her 
 person, temper, and manners ; a fine singer ; and had renounced the 
 world, with all its gayeties and pleasures, to gain Christ and his salva- 
 tion. The ministry of Howell Harris, and that of the Wesleys, had 
 been a means of great spiritual benefit to her ; and she delighted to 
 accompany them in their preaching excursions whenever they visited 
 South Wales. Mr. Charles Wesley was now forty years of age ; and 
 he justly thought that if he were to marry at all, it would be better at 
 this time than at a later period of life. 
 
 When he and his brother returned from Georgia they entered into 
 an agreement, that neither of them would marry, or take any direct 
 steps toward marriage, without the knowledge and consent of the other. 
 On his arrival in London, in November, 1748, he fulfilled his part of 
 the covenant, by informing his brother that it was his intention to offer 
 himself as the future husband of Miss Gwynne. He was agreeably 
 surprised to find that his brother not only offered no objection, but had 
 actually anticipated his wishes in this affair. John had entertained 
 the thought of recommending to Charles three young ladies of their 
 acquaintance, any one of whom he deemed suitable for Charles's wife ; 
 and Miss Gwynne was one of the number : so that he decidedly ap- 
 proved of the choice which Charles had made. They consulted to- 
 gether concerning every particular, and were of one heart and mind in 
 all things. On the day after their interview Charles received from 
 Dr. Cockburn the sum of fifty pounds, as part of a legacy which had 
 been bequeathed to him by his " old friend Mrs. Sparrow." 
 
 Thus encouraged, he left London for Garth, to solicit the heart and 
 hand of Miss Gwynne, and the consent of her parents to accept him as 
 their son-in-law. It was an understanding between him and his bro- 
 ther, that a refusal from the young lady, or even one of her parents, 
 should be regarded as an absolute prohibition, and the suit shoidd be 
 for ever abandoned. Happily for him, his former attentions to Miss 
 Gwynne, and the sterling excellences which she had long seen in him, 
 had already won her affections. The matter was then disclosed to the 
 
 26
 
 402 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 mother by Miss Becky Gwynne, anotl r of the daughters, who was 
 also in favour of the match. Mrs. Gwynne answered, " I would rather 
 give my child to Mr. Wesley than to any man in England." She after- 
 ward spoke to him with great friendliness ; and said, that she had " no 
 manner of objection, but the want of fortune." At the same time Mr. 
 Gwynne gave his free and unhesitating consent, and left all the arrange- 
 ments to his wife, who was well qualified for the task by her natural 
 shrewdness and business habits. Mr. Charles Wesley asked her 
 whether or not she would be satisfied, provided he could, before the 
 marriage, secure an income of one hundred pounds a year. Her an- 
 swer was, " My daughter can expect no more." If any new objection 
 or difficulty arose, she promised to apprize him of it ; and confessed 
 that he had in all things acted like a gentleman. 
 
 Mr. Phillips, the Welsh clergyman, and a personal friend of all the 
 parties, was present, and very strenuous in his opposition to the pro- 
 ject. He left no means untried to put an end to the negotiation ; being, 
 as it appears, mainly apprehensive that Mr. Charles Wesley's marriage 
 would curtail his usefulness, by depriving many of the congregations 
 and societies of his very effective ministry. " Them also I told him," 
 says Charles, " my brother and I had taken into the account ; and I 
 had taken no one step without my brother's express advice and di- 
 rection." 
 
 Pleased with his success thus far, he took a friendly leave of the 
 family at Garth, to whom he now stood in a new and peculiar relation, 
 and returned to London, preaching at Bristol and Bath in his way. 
 From the last of these places he set out on the 16th of December, soon 
 after four o'clock in the morning, in thick darkness, and hard rain, ac- 
 companied by Mr. Jones. He says, " We had only one shower ; but 
 it lasted from morning till night. By half-hour past eight we got in sad 
 plight to Calne ; and left it within an hour, as wet as we came to it, 
 sore against my companion's will ; who did not understand me when I 
 told him, ' I never slack my pace for way or weather.' In a quarter 
 of an hour we were wet from head to foot, the rain driving in our faces. 
 On the Downs the storm took my horse off his legs, and blew me from 
 his back. Never have I had such a combat with the wind. It was a 
 labour indeed to bear up against it. 
 
 'No foot of earth unfought the tempest gave.' 
 
 Many times it stopped me as if caught in a man's arms. Once it blew 
 me over a bank, and drove me several yards out of the road before I 
 could turn. For a mile and a half I struggled on till my strength was 
 quite spent. There was little life in either me or my companion when 
 we came to Hungerford. We dried ourselves ; and I scarcely per- 
 
 26*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 403 
 
 suaded him to go on to Newbury. There I was forced to leave him, 
 and push forward to Worthampton by seven. 
 
 " Dec. 17th. I took horse at four by starlight. Such cheerfulness 
 of heart, srtch a sense of joy and thankfulness, I have seldom known. 
 For five hours I quite forgot my body. T. Hardwick met me at Mai- 
 denhead with a post-chaise, and carried me to Brentford, when my last 
 reserve of strength was gone. By four I found my brother at the Foxin- 
 dery, and rejoiced his heart with the account of my prosperous jour- 
 ney. Hitherto it seems as if the way was opened by particular provi- 
 dence." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's next journey was to Shoreham, for the purpose 
 of consulting his " wise and worthy friend," Mr. Perronet ; who con- 
 gratulated him on the course which he had so successfully taken, and 
 encouraged him to proceed. The pious vicar had evidently formed a 
 high opinion of Miss Gwynne's character, from the intercourse which 
 he had with her when she visited Shoreham in company with her 
 father. 
 
 The task of securing an income of one hundred pounds a year next 
 engaged the attention of Mr. Charles Wesley, his marriage being sus- 
 pended upon this condition. The first friend that he consulted on the 
 subject was Mr. Ebenezer Blackwell, of Lewisham, who had a banking 
 establishment in Lombard-street, London. This wealthy Methodist 
 was somewhat abrupt in his manner, but of high moral worth ; so that 
 he was usually called " the rough diamond." He was generous and 
 upright ; and sometimes placed considerable sums of money in the 
 hands of Mr. John Wesley, and probably of Charles too, to be distri- 
 buted among the deserving poor. 
 
 Mr. Blackwell promptly entertained the question, and promised to 
 assist in a subscription for raising in perpetuity the sum required ; Mr. 
 Charles Wesley deeming it better that he should be thus dependant 
 upon ten or twelve confidential friends than upon the societies gene- 
 rally. When the plan of such a subscription was laid before Mr. John 
 Wesley, by his brother, and their mutual friend the rich banker, he 
 declared his disapprobation of it ; perhaps thinking that his brother's 
 permanent dependance upon a number of wealthy men might interfere 
 with his ministerial fidelity ; it being difficult to reprove offenders, and 
 thus incur their displeasure, when the reprover is indebted to them for 
 his subsistence. To meet the case, he offered to give his brother secu- 
 rity for the yearly payment of one hundred pounds out of the profits of 
 their books. They had already unitedly published several volumes and 
 tracts in verse ; and John had written and sent forth into the world 
 three volumes of Sermons, his powerful " Appeals to Men of Reason 
 and Religion," with several smaller works, original and selected, which
 
 404 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 he was continually increasing, and the proceeds of which were consi- 
 derable. This plan was acknowledged to be a decided improvement 
 upon that which was first suggested ; and both the brothers- wrote to 
 Mrs. Gwynne, wishing to know from her whether or not she would 
 consider such an arrangement satisfactory. She was aware of the ex- 
 tensive circulation of these publications, but doubted whether the sale 
 of them would be lasting ; and therefore declined to give her consent 
 to the marriage till a more certain source of income was provided. 
 Charles received this intelligence with regret, but was not discouraged ; 
 and he again hastened to consult the vicar of Shoreham, whose sub- 
 stantial friendship he had often proved. Mr. Perronet immediately ad- 
 dressed the following admirable letter to Mrs. Gwynne : — 
 
 "Shoreham, Jan. 14th, 1748-9. Madam, — As the trouble of this 
 proceeds from the most sincere friendship, I have reason to believe you 
 will easily excuse it. 
 
 " Give me leave then, madam, to say, that if you and worthy Mr. 
 Gwynne are of opinion that, the match proposed by the Rev. Charles 
 Wesley be of God, neither of you will suffer an objection drawn from 
 this world to break it off. Alas ! madam, what is all the world, and 
 the glories of it ? How little does the world appear to that mind whose 
 affections are set on things above ! This state, I trust, is what you are 
 seriously seeking after. I am sure it is a state worth every Christian's 
 seeking after, and what every Christian must seek after, if ever he hopes 
 to get to heaven. 
 
 " I have a daughter now designed for a pious gentleman, whose for- 
 tune is not half that of our friend's ; and yet I would not exchange him 
 for a star and garter. I only mention this that I might not appear to 
 offer an opinion which I would not follow myself. 
 
 " However, I have been hitherto speaking as if Mr. Wesley's cir- 
 cumstances really wanted an apology ; but this is not the case. The 
 very writings of these gentlemen are, even at this time, a very valuable 
 estate : and when it shall please God to open the minds of people more, 
 and prejudice is worn off, it will be much more valuable. I have seen 
 what an able bookseller has valued a great part of their works at, which 
 is .£2,500 ; but I will venture to say, that this is not half their value. 
 They are works which will last and sell while any sense of true religion and 
 learning shall remain among us. However, as they are not of the same 
 nature as an estate in land, they cannot be either sold or pledged with- 
 out the most manifest loss and inconvenience. 
 
 " I shall trouble you, madam, no further than only to add, that from 
 the time I had the pleasure of seeing Miss Gwynne at my house, I have 
 often had her upon my mind. I then perceived so much grace and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 405 
 
 good sense in that young lady, that when this affair was first mentioned 
 to me, I could not help rejoicing at what promised so much happiness 
 to the church of God. 
 
 " May that God, in whose hands are the hearts of the children of 
 men, direct all of you in such a manner as may tend to the promoting 
 his honour, and the kingdom of his dear Son ! I am, with great respect 
 to worthy Mr. Gwynne, yourself, and good family, madam, 
 
 " Your very sincere and affectionate friend and servant." 
 
 This epistle, which is characterized throughout by soundness of 
 judgment, kind feeling, and Christian politeness, produced the desired 
 effect. In ten days letters came from Garth, declaring Mrs. Gwynne's 
 acceptance of the proposed security. Every hinderance to the mar- 
 riage was therefore removed. 
 
 A few days afterward Mr. Charles Wesley says, " I married 
 William Brigs and Elizabeth Perronet ; who seem quite made for each 
 other." 
 
 After the lapse of a fortnight, during which he regularly preached 
 twice every day, Mr. Charles Wesley paid another visit to Garth, 
 accompanied by his brother, and by Charles Perronet. At the com- 
 mencement of his journey he experienced a signal interposition of 
 divine Providence. They set out at four o'clock in the morning. In 
 passing through Kensington he says, " My horse threw me. My foot 
 hung by the spur. My companions were gone before ; when a servant 
 flew to my help, and I rose unhurt." When the party arrived at Garth, 
 they found Mr. Howell Gwynne, the eldest brother of Sarah, visiting 
 the family, and vehemently opposed to the union of his sister with the 
 Methodist clergyman. The mother expostulated with him ; and Miss 
 Becky told him point-blank, that he ought to consider the offer of his 
 sister's suitor an honour done to himself, as one of the family. Mr. 
 John Wesley renewed his proposal, which Mrs. Gwynne accepted ; 
 and it was arranged that Mr. Gwynne and the Rev. Vincent Perronet, 
 vicar of Shoreham, should be the trustees of the property thus secured 
 to Mr. Charles Wesley and his bride. He remained a week at Garth 
 after his brother and Charles Perronet had left, preaching, as usual, 
 twice every day. Mr. Howell Gwynne was soon divested of his 
 hostility, and became as affable and friendly as the rest of the family. 
 Mrs. Gwynne attempted to extort from her future son-in-law a promise 
 that he would not again trust himself in Ireland ; but Sally would not 
 suffer him to give this, saying, that she should be glad herself to visit 
 the many pious people in that country, of whom she had heard. 
 
 The preliminaries being thus settled in the month of , February, it 
 was agreed that the marriage should be solemnized in the following
 
 406 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 April. During this interval Mr. Charles Wesley applied himself to his 
 ministerial labour with unabated diligence and zeal ; and at the same 
 time he carried on a correspondence with Miss Gwynne, remarkable 
 for its piety. A considerable part of his letters to her were written in 
 verse : a vehicle in which his thoughts flowed in the most natural 
 manner, especially when his feelings were excited. These composi- 
 tions are exceedingly animated, and breathe the most pure and fervent 
 devotion. They call upon the object of his affection, to whom he now 
 stood in so tender a relation, to unite with him in an unreserved dedi- 
 cation of herself to their common Saviour ; and express many fears 
 lest the, love of the creature should at all interfere with that supreme 
 love to God, which is the very end of the commandment, and therefore 
 the soul of religion. Never was wedded love more strong and decided 
 than that which he cherished ; and never was it more thoroughly sanc- 
 tified by a perfect and constant reference to God, who has instituted 
 marriage for purposes connected with his own glory. 
 
 His spirit and conduct, after he had taken leave of his friends at 
 Garth, will best appear by a few extracts from his private journal. 
 Having arrived at Bristol, he says, — 
 
 " March 3d. I met George Whitefield, and made him quite happy 
 by acquainting him with my design. 
 
 " March 6th. I mentioned it to the select band, desiring their prayers, 
 not their advice. 
 
 " March 10th. I prayed by happy Sally Huntington. The approach 
 of death has put all her troubles to flight. Miss Burdock, to whom I 
 told my affair, expressed the strongest approbation. We had a very 
 solemn watch-night. 
 
 "March 16th. I rode with Charles Perronet in a day and a half to 
 London. In bodily weakness I expounded Hab. iii, 17, 18. The 
 power of the Lord was present, and great love was felt toward each 
 other. 
 
 " March 18th. Returning from Shoreham, I narrowly escaped being 
 crushed to death by a dray on London bridge. 
 
 " March 19th. An extraordinary blessing attended the word preached, 
 both at the chapel, and every other place. In the sacrament I was 
 constrained to pray again and again, with strong cryings and tears. 
 So it was every day of this great and holy week. 
 
 " March 26th. The convincing and comforting Spirit reached our 
 hearts both in the word and sacrament. In the evening I took my 
 leave of the society, who express a general satisfaction at my inten- 
 tions. Surely both Jesus and his disciples are bidden. 
 
 " March 29th. Having, by the help of Mr. Lloyd and his lawyer, 
 settled every thing to Mrs. Gwynne's wish, I set out with Charles Per-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 407 
 
 ronet for Bristol, on my way to Wales. We lodged the first night at 
 Oxford. 
 
 " March 30th. We took horse again at seven, and God prospered 
 our journey to Cirencester. I expounded Rom. viii, 32, and met the 
 society, to our mutual comfort. 
 
 " March 31st. My text in the morning was, ' If ye then be risen with 
 Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the 
 right hand of God.' He strongly drew our hearts after him, as the 
 tears of many testified. I stopped to pray by an aged woman, who lay 
 dying, and knew not God. She then received faith to be healed. By 
 two we came to Felix Farley's, and soon after to Kingswood, where 
 we found our beloved sisters, Murray and Davey, who joined us in 
 prayer and joyful thanksgiving. 
 
 " April 1st. Just as we were setting out for Wales, my brother ap- 
 peared full of scruples, and refused to go to Garth at all. I kept my 
 temper, and promised, if he could not be satisfied there, to desist. I 
 saw all was still in God's hands, and committed myself to him. 
 
 " April 2d. The Lord opened my mouth to apply those weighty 
 words, ' If ye then be risen with Christ, seek the things which are 
 above.' I had written our friends notice, that I should be at Cardiff to- 
 morrow, and Tuesday or Wednesday at Garth ; but found my brother 
 had appointed to preach at several places till Friday ; which I did not 
 take kindly. 
 
 " April 3d. He seemed quite averse to signing his own agreement : 
 yet at five we set out with a heavy heart. Our brother Thomas met 
 us on the Welsh side. Before five I came weary, faint, oppressed, to 
 Cardiff, and lay down, being unable to stand. 
 
 " April 4th. I met Mr. Hodges at Fonmon. He asked me, ' My 
 brother, what are you seeking in this thing ? Happiness ? Then you 
 will be sadly disappointed. If a help and comfort only, lookup to God, 
 and he will surely give it you.' I heard my brother at the Castle, 
 and again in the morning. 
 
 " April 6th. I was his hearer at five, and nine, and twelve in Aber- 
 thaw church. By seven we got to Brecknock. An hour after Mr. 
 James came. I waited with him on Mr. Williams, the surrogate, for 
 a license. He was extremely civil, refusing his fees from a brother 
 clergyman. 
 
 " April 7th. I rose at four, and got an hour for prayer and the Scrip- 
 ture. We came to Garth by nine, and found them at breakfast. We 
 were almost equally welcome to all. We talked over matters with 
 Mrs. Gwynne ; and all my brother's fears were scattered. We read 
 over the settlement. Mrs. Gwynne proposed a bond, till it could be 
 signed. My brother signed the bond. Miss Becky and Miss Mus-
 
 408 
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 grave witnessed it. We crowded as much prayer as we could into the 
 day." 
 
 From these statements it appears, that when the time of Mr. Charles 
 Wesley's marriage drew near, his brother expressed some misgivings 
 on the subject. In the first instance he declared an unwillingness to 
 go to Garth, and be present at the ceremony ; and afterward, when he 
 consented to attend, he was reluctant to fulfil his engagement with 
 respect to Charles's income. The reason of this hesitation is not dis- 
 tinctly stated ; but it is said to have arisen from his " fears ;" and those 
 " fears" were removed when he conversed freely with Mrs. Gwynne. 
 Hence it is probable, he was apprehensive that this very clever and 
 managing lady would impose upon Mr. Charles Wesley some restric- 
 tions which would limit his usefulness as an itinerant preacher ; per- 
 haps fix him in a parish for life. She had already attempted to extort 
 from him a promise that he would never visit Ireland again. To no 
 arrangement of this kind could Mr. John Wesley be a party ; and if he 
 were to be deprived of Charles's assistance, it would have been highly 
 unreasonable that he should, to the end of his life, be answerable for 
 Charles's support. Of no unkindness does Charles accuse him, but 
 that of proceeding slowly to the wedding, by preaching at several 
 places on his way ; so that he did not arrive at Garth, where alone his 
 " fears" could be removed, till the day before the marriage was to take 
 place. That any doubts should remain, on such an occasion, till so 
 late a period, must have been sufficiently painful to Charles's mind. 
 Every doubt and scruple, however, being taken away, Mr John Wes- 
 ley says, " I married my brother and Sarah Gwynne. It was a solemn 
 day, such as became the dignity of a Christian marriage." Mr. Charles 
 Wesley's account is strikingly characteristic. He was all heart and 
 feeling. 
 
 " Saturday, April 8th, 1749. 
 
 ' Sweet day ! so cool, so calm, so bright, 
 The bridal of the earth and sky !' 
 
 Not a cloud was to be seen from morning till night. I rose at four ; 
 spent three hours and a half in prayer, or singing, with my brother, 
 with Sally, and with Beck. At eight I led my Sally to church. Her 
 father, sisters, Lady Rudd,* Grace Bowen, Betty Williams, and I think 
 Billy Tucker, and Mr. James, were all the persons present. Mr. 
 Gwynne gave her to me, under God. My brother joined our hands. 
 It was a most solemn season of love ! I never had more of the divine 
 presence at the sacrament. My brother gave out a hymn. He then 
 prayed over us in strong faith. We walked back to the house, and 
 
 * Lady Rudd was the wife of the eldest son of Mr. Gwynne.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 409 
 
 joined again in prayer. Prayer and thanksgiving was our whole em- 
 ployment. We were cheerful, without mirth ; serious, without sad- 
 ness. A stranger that intermeddleth not with our joy said, it looked 
 more like a funeral than a wedding. My brother seemed the happiest 
 person among us." 
 
 In the course of the same day Mr. Charles Wesley addressed the 
 following letter to his faithful friend, Mr. Ebenezer Blackwell : — 
 
 " Gafth, April 8th, 1749. My Dear Friend, — Pray for me. I want 
 your prayers, rather than your congratulations. Yet I believe God has 
 lent me a great blessing this day ; and that I ought to be thankful, and 
 employ every blessing, and every moment, to his glory. 
 
 " I live in hopes of spending the holydays with my friends in Lon- 
 don. . A week hence I propose returning to Bristol. On Monday my 
 brother proceeds to Ireland. In great love he joins to salute you and 
 our two friends at Lewisham, as does Mr. Gwynne. 
 
 " Your ever faithful and affectionate friend and brother." 
 
 On the day after the marriage, Mr. Charles Wesley received the 
 sacrament of the Lord's supper, with his bride, and the other members 
 of the family. " Our souls," says he, " were satisfied with His com- 
 forts." The ordinance was doubtless administered by his brother, who 
 preached to them in the evening. 
 
 The next morning, at the early hour of four o'clock, this indefatigable 
 minister of Christ left the festivities of Garth to encounter the perils of 
 the sea, and the mobs of Ireland. Charles spent the greater part of the 
 day in prayer with his wife. In the afternoon the family were visited 
 by a relation, Mr. Gwynne, of Glanbran, who gave proof that whoever 
 approved of the marriage, he did not. " He took no notice of me," 
 says Charles, " nor I of him." 
 
 The happy bridegroom remained nearly a fortnight at Garth before 
 he took his departure. Yet he was not unmindful of his sacred office 
 and calling, but generally preached every morning and evening, either 
 in the mansion of his father-in-law, or in the neighbouring towns and 
 villages. Among other congratulatory letters which he received during 
 this period was one from his meek and intelligent sister, Mrs. Hall, 
 now separated from her wretched husband, and residing in the house 
 of her brother John, connected with the Foundery in London. Thus 
 she speaks : — 
 
 " April 13th, 1749. My Dear Brother, — I thank you for the last 
 letter you ever sent me. Surrounded as I am with distress on every 
 side, I find that my heart can rejoice for you. I verily believe the
 
 410 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 glory of the Lord- is risen upon you, and your sun shall no more go 
 down. It is well you was so happily disappointed ; but I cannot say 
 I am ; for I could not help believing, the Master would once more 
 honour his own ordinance with his sacred presence. May the God 
 of our fathers bless you both, and enable you to glorify him all your 
 days, by showing forth to all men what he wills marriage to be ! 
 
 " Pray give my kindest love to my sister ; and tell her, I heartily 
 wish her all the happiness her heart desires. You do not say whether 
 you will give us the pleasure of seeing her along with you, or no. I 
 wish you would let us know, if you intend to bring her hither till you 
 can provide a better place, that we may provide for her the best accom- 
 modation this place affords.* 
 
 " Your affectionate sister." 
 
 On the 21st of April Mr. Charles Wesley left Garth, that he might 
 resume his itinerant ministry. He was accompanied by his wife, Miss 
 Betsy, and their father, to Abergavenny, where they spent the night. 
 The next day he says, " I cheerfully left my partner for the Master's 
 work, and rode on with Harry to Bristol. We made so much haste, 
 that I left all my strength behind me, and was glad to go to bed as 
 soon as I came in." The following day was the sabbath ; but he was 
 unable to preach, as he intended ; and on Monday also he attempted 
 to preach, but, he says, " my body failed." 
 
 In a little while he was able to resume his labours ; and with grate- 
 ful joy he remarks, " Never since I preached the gospel have I been 
 more owned and assisted of God than now. He is always with me in 
 the work of the ministry ; therefore, / live by the gospel." 
 
 On the recovery of his health, he addressed the following letter to 
 his brother, who was still in Ireland. It is dated 
 
 " Bristol, April 29th. I hope this will find you prospering in Ire- 
 land. I left Garth yesterday se'nnight. Mr. Gwynne, with Sally and 
 
 * If the house to which Mrs. Hall invited her sister-in-law were no better than it 
 was at a later period, it possessed few attractions as a residence. In the Rev. James 
 Creighton's "Poetic Miscellanies," published in the year 1791, there is "A Medita- 
 tion at the old Foundery, near Moorfields, London, while the rain was pouring through 
 the roof, and burst down part of the ceiling of the chamber where the author lay 
 confined by sickness. Nov. 10th, 1785." The "Meditation" is in blank verse, and 
 thus begins : — 
 
 " This tottering fabric, with its mouldering walls, 
 Its beams decay'd, bent rafters, shatter'd roof, 
 Minutely paints, exactly represents, 
 My poor, my frail, my weak, my earthen frame." 
 
 Such, for many years, was the town residence of the Wesleys ! " As poor, yet making 
 many rich."
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 411 
 
 Betty, accompanied me to Abergavenny. There I left them on Satur- 
 day morning, and got hither by one. Over-riding occasioned a fever : 
 but Jesus rebuked it by the means of bleeding, vomiting, and sweating ; 
 and on Monday I was just able to preach. Much of His hand have I 
 seen since we parted. Our fears of Mrs. Gwynne were altogether 
 needless. She had assured her daughters, that rather than we should 
 come into any danger of inconvenience, by her son, or any man, Mr. 
 Gwynne should leave us ourselves executors. He made his will, to 
 which I was witness, and even then proposed making me his executor. 
 I desired, as you may well suppose, that he would appoint Mrs. Gwynne, 
 which he did. She leaves Becky hers ; to whom I think you can have, 
 no exception. Her tenderness toward me increased as long as I stayed 
 at Garth. I cannot but believe she will one day be a great blessing to 
 the church. 
 
 " I was too eager for the work, and therefore believe God checked 
 me by that short sickness. Till on Wednesday evening, at the hall, 
 my strength and understanding did not return ; but from that time the 
 Lord has been with us of a truth. More zeal, more life, more power, 
 I have not felt for some years ; (I wish my mentioning this may not 
 lessen it ;) so that hitherto marriage has been no hinderance. You 
 will hardly believe it sits so light upon me. I forgot my wife (can you 
 think it ?) as soon as I left her. Some further proof I had of my heart 
 on Saturday last, when the fever threatened most. I did not find, so 
 far as I can say, any unwillingness to die on account of any I should 
 leave behind. Neither did death appear less desirable than formerly; 
 which I own gave me great pleasure, and made me shed tears of joy. 
 I almost believe, nothing shall hurt me ; that the world, and the flesh, 
 and the devil, shall keep their distance ; or, assaulting, leave me more 
 than conqueror. 
 
 " Here is a small, convenient house, eleven pounds a year, next 
 Mrs. Vigor's. I have written to Garth for counsel ; but my mother 
 is unexpectedly against, our keeping house for some time, if not years. 
 You, I think, will not hinder our living as pilgrims. Write your mind, 
 and turn the scale. 
 
 " On Thursday I propose setting out for London, by Oxford, with 
 Thomas Maxfield ; (if they will give me a year of grace, I shall won- 
 der, and thank them ;) visit the classes the next week, keep the octave, 
 and return to the press. Farley* and the school go on well. More 
 scholars. Where will you stow them? Come, and build. 
 
 " I hope you came time enough to save Joseph Cownley, &c. Set 
 your time for returning. Whenabouts, at least, will you meet me at 
 Ludlow? It is a thousand pities you should not be here when the 
 * Felix Farley, of Bristol, Mr. Wesley's printer.
 
 412 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ' Library'* makes its first appearance. The Lord cut short your work, 
 and his, and make a few weeks go as far as many months ! 
 
 " What say you to Thomas Maxfield and my taking a journey (when 
 you return) through all the societies, northern and western, and settling 
 correspondences with the stewards, alias booksellers, &c. His heart 
 is whole with us, to my great satisfaction. Take an exact account 
 how many of my book must be sent, to Ireland bound. My kindest 
 love to Mr. Lunell, Mr. Lloyd, (with thanks for his letter, and my 
 promise of a speedy answer,) Mrs. Fowkes, Mr. Gibbons, and all friends 
 at Cork and Dublin, &c. 
 
 " We make mention of you in all our prayers. Be not unmindful 
 of us. The Lord preserve us all unto his day ! Farewell." 
 
 Having ministered the word of life at Cirencester and Oxford on his 
 way, he came to London on the 6th of May, and the next day preached 
 both at West-street and the Foundery. " At the chapel," says he, " my 
 subject was, ' The end of all things is at hand ;' and at the Foundery, 
 ' Thou shalt show me the path of life.' The word was really a means 
 of grace to our souls. I met the society in very great love, which was 
 only increased by my change of condition. I am married to more than 
 one, or one thousand, of them." 
 
 At no period of his life was he more active than at this time. 
 Having spent a few more days in London, he went to Bath, Bristol, 
 Kingswood, and Hereford, where he was joined by his wife. Thence 
 he went to Ludlow ; to which place he says " the family lately removed. 
 My mother, and sisters Becky, Betsy, Baldwyn, received me as I ex- 
 pected. Brother Duke and the captain could not be civiler. 
 
 " June 4th. The pulpit was refused me, but not the sacrament. In 
 the afternoon the boys began gathering and throwing eggs and stones. 
 Mr. Gwynne sent for the bailiff, who himself fetched the refractory 
 constable, and seized the ringleader of the mob. This quelled the in- 
 creasing riot. I preached with tolerable quiet on, ' Repent ye, and 
 believe the gospel.' 
 
 " June 5th. I preached with more enlargement, and to a better be- 
 haved congregation, from, ' Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh 
 away the sin of the world !' I stood at the door, and got one stone 
 at last. 
 
 " June 6th. I drove my wife to visit Captain Baldwyn, and very 
 gently overturned, without hurting her in the least. My hearers at 
 night were very tumultuous, yet could do no mischief." 
 
 Mrs. Wesley now began to accompany her husband in his various 
 
 * The " Christian Library," the first volume of which was now in the press. It 
 was completed in fifty volumes.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 413 
 
 long and rapid journeys, bearing with cheerfulness the inconveniences 
 of an itinerant life, with the scorn and violence of profane men, when 
 he preached to them in the fields, highways, and other places of public 
 resort. As she was greatly admired by him, he expressed a satisfac- 
 tion which was perfectly natural and allowable in saying, " All look 
 upon my Sally with my eyes." She went with him to Bristol, Bath, 
 London, and several other towns, and was everywhere treated with the 
 utmost respect as the amiable wife of one of the most useful men of 
 his age. She usually rode behind him on horseback, and experienced 
 with him the watchful care of an ever-merciful Providence. Soon 
 after she had become an itinerant, he says, " I was riding over Houns- 
 low-heath, with my wife behind me, when a highwayman crossed the 
 road, passed us, and robbed all the coaches and passengers behind us." 
 
 On the 9th and 10th of August Mr. John Wesley met them by ap- 
 pointment at Ludlow, where the Gwynne family now resided ; and 
 there signed the legal instrument, securing to Charles and his wife a 
 yearly income of one hundred pounds. The brothers then parted ; John 
 going to Birmingham, and Charles to Evesham. They met at Oxford, 
 and went together to London, where they had the " satisfaction," as 
 Charles expresses it, " of two hours' conference, at Mr. Watkins's, with 
 that loving, mild, judicious Christian, Dr. Doddridge." 
 
 It will be recollected, that when Mr. Charles Wesley was last in 
 Ireland, he was treated with the utmost respect in the city of Cork, 
 where he preached from day to day to thousands of people, and that 
 with encouraging success ; many persons being brought to a saving 
 knowledge of the truth. Opposition, in every form, was suspended ; 
 and all classes of the community, from the highest to the lowest, listened 
 to his ministry with silent attention, and regarded him with apparent 
 esteem and kindness. Yet he had a strong impression that this state 
 of things would not last ; and therefore warned the infant society to 
 prepare for persecution. This at length appeared in a form more ter- 
 rific, outrageous, and destructive than there is reason to believe even 
 he had anticipated. While he was making arrangements for his mar- 
 riage, the cloud was gathering ; and after he was made happy in the 
 relation of a husband, he received such accounts of the cruelties inflicted 
 upon his spiritual children there, as awakened his deepest sympathies ; 
 and he repeatedly brought these accounts before the societies where he 
 went, for the purpose of calling forth their prayers in behalf of their 
 suffering brethren in the sister island. 
 
 A worthless ballad-singer, of the name of Nicholas Butler, was 
 allowed by the civil authorities to set all law at defiance for several 
 weeks together. He went about the city, holding his ballads in one 
 hand, and the Bible in the other, calling upon the people to assist him
 
 414 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 in the suppression of the Methodist heretics. Many of the baser sort 
 joined him, -and from time to time cut and beat both men and women 
 to the hazard of their lives. They carried the benches of the house 
 where the Methodists worshipped into the street, and burned them in 
 triumph. It was dangerous for any member of the society to be seen 
 abroad. The magistrates refused to protect the innocent and oppressed 
 people who applied to them for redress, and gave direct encouragement 
 to the rioters in their destructive and bloody career. At length the 
 Assizes came on, when twenty-eight depositions were laid before the 
 grand jury relative to the riots which had taken place ; but these guar- 
 dians of the public peace threw them all out ; and then, in violation of 
 law and usage, they themselves assumed the character of accusers, and 
 specified the sentence which they wished to be passed upon the alleged 
 offenders, before they had been tried, or had even heard of any indictment ! 
 " We find and present," say they, " Charles Wesley to be a person of 
 ill fame, a vagabond, and a common disturber of his majesty's peace ; 
 and we pray he may be transported." They made the same present- 
 ment with respect to seven other Methodist preachers, most of whose 
 names they mis-spelled. In the estimation of these men, the wanton 
 destruction of other people's property, beating them with clubs, and 
 stabbing them with daggers, were no crimes at all ; and they assumed 
 that, at their simple request, Methodist preachers were to be tried and 
 condemned in their absence, and punished without being allowed to 
 utter a word in their own defence. Such were their apprehensions of 
 law and justice. Well might Mr. John Wesley pronounce this " memo- 
 rable presentment" " worthy to be preserved in the annals of Ireland 
 for all succeeding generations." Mr. Charles Wesley was in London 
 when these enlightened Hibernians gave judgment concerning his 
 character, and declared him worthy of a felon's doom. He wrote a 
 hymn of triumph on the occasion, which has been preserved among 
 his manuscripts. 
 
 Soon after his marriage he rented a small house in Stoke's-croft, 
 Bristol, near the residence of his esteemed and very intimate friend 
 Mrs. Vigor, a pious member of the society in that city ; and on the 1st 
 of September he and Mrs. Wesley took possession of it, and com- 
 menced house-keeping. Referring to its dimensions, he remarks it 
 was " such a one as suited a stranger and pilgrim upon earth." He 
 says, " I saw my house, and consecrated it by prayer and thanksgiv- 
 ing. I spent an hour at the preaching-room in intercession. We began 
 the hour of retirement with joint prayer. When alone, I was in some 
 measure sensible of the divine presence. I opened the book on those 
 words, ' While they spake, Jesus stood in the midst of them, and said. 
 Peace be unto you.' At six our first guests, Mrs. Vigor and her sis-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 415 
 
 ters, passed a useful hour with us. I preached on the first words I 
 met, Rom. xii, 1. The power and blessing of God were with us. At 
 half-hour past nine I slept comfortably in my own house, yet not my own. 
 
 " Sept. 2d. We had family prayer at eight, and began the New 
 Testament. I passed the hour of retirement in my garden, and was 
 melted into tears by the divine goodness. 
 
 " Sept. 4th. I rose with my partner at four. Both under the word, 
 and among the select band, we were constrained to cry after Jesus, 
 with mighty prayers and tears. 
 
 " In the evening was that word fulfilled, • Him that cometh unto me 
 I will in no wise cast out,' by the reception of a poor sinner to the 
 favour of God in Christ Jesus. 
 
 " Sept. 7th. As often as I minister the word, our Lord ministers his 
 grace through it. He blesses me also in private, as well as family 
 prayer, and conference with my Christian friends. In a word, what- 
 soever I do prospers." 
 
 After Mr. Charles Wesley became possessed of a house in Bristol, 
 he and his excellent lady were accustomed to accommodate the itine- 
 rant preachers in their visits to that city. John Nelson, John Downes, 
 William Shent, and other men of kindred spirit and habits, were among 
 their frequent guests. To the end of her life she used to speak of them 
 with considerable emotion. She often remarked that she never met 
 with persons better behaved, or more agreeable in their spirit and man- 
 ners. They were so many eminent proofs how well divine grace can 
 supply the fictitious aid of education and high breeding. She described 
 them as humble, obliging, simple-hearted men, who lived above the 
 world ; full of meekness and of holy love. 
 
 It is a pleasing indication of the readiness with which Mrs. Wesley 
 adapted her mind to her altered circumstances, that, on leaving the 
 ample mansion of Garth, and taking up her residence in an humble 
 cottage, she wrote with her own hand, in a manner the most neat 
 and elegant, an inventory of the furniture with which they were pro- 
 vided in their new habitation. This document has been preserved 
 among the family records, an interesting proof of her care and economy, 
 and of the limited scale of their establishment. They had, however, 
 more than the prophet's " table, stool, and candlestick." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's happy marriage appears to have been at least 
 one means of deepening his brother's conviction that it is not good for 
 man to be alone, and of inducing him to form the resolution of entering 
 immediately into the same state. He had indeed intended to marry 
 in the course of the preceding year, but was hindered by means with 
 which we are unacquainted. The object of his choice was a widow, 
 of the name of Mrs. Grace Murray, who for her piety, holy zeal, sim-
 
 416 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 plicity, and Christian usefulness, was not unwofthy of his confidence 
 and affection. She was a native of Newcastle, and at a very tender 
 age knew the Lord ; but for want of the requisite discipline and helps 
 departed from the God of her youth. Her first husband, Mr. Alexander 
 Murray, was a sea-faring man, and like herself lived in carelessness 
 and sin. Coming to London, she repeatedly heard Mr. Whitefield 
 preach in the open air, and was seized with such a conviction of her 
 guilt and danger as embittered her very life, and rendered it insupport- 
 able. In this state she heard Mr. John Wesley explain, with his cha- 
 racteristic clearness and power, the way of salvation through faith in 
 the sacrifice of Christ ; and thus, being led to trust in the Saviour, she 
 found rest to her soul. Not long afterward she addressed the follow- 
 ing letter to Mr. Charles Wesley, in compliance with a request, which 
 he made to those who had recently been brought to a knowledge of the 
 truth, that they would give him in writing the particulars of their con- 
 version. It was written in May, 1740. 
 
 " Reverend Father in Christ, — My heart being now open before 
 God, I will write as in his presence. 
 
 " The first gift of faith I received, after I had seen myself a lost 
 sinner, bound with ten thousand chains, and dropping into hell. Then 
 I heard the voice, ' Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee ;' and 
 could say, ' The Son of God loved me, and gave himself for me.' I 
 thought I saw him at the right hand of the Father, making intercession 
 for me. I went on in great joy for four months ; then pride crept in ; 
 and I thought the work was finished, when it was but just begun. 
 There I rested, and in a little time fell into doubts and fears, whether 
 my sins were really forgiven me, till I plunged myself into the depth 
 of misery. I could not pray ; neither had I any desire to do it, or to 
 read or hear the word. My soul was like the troubled sea. Then 
 did I see my own evil heart, my cursed, devilish nature ; and feel my 
 helplessness, that I could not so much as think a good thought. My 
 love was turned into hatred, passion, envy, &c. 
 
 " I felt a thousand hells my due, and cried out, in bitter anguish of 
 spirit, ' Save, Lord, or I perish.' 
 
 " In my last extremity I saw my Saviour full of grace and truth for 
 me, and heard his voice again, whispering, ' Peace, be still.' My peace 
 returned, and greater sweetness of love than I ever knew before. 
 
 " Now my joy is calm and solid, my heart drawn out to the Lord 
 continually. I know that my Redeemer liveth for me. He is my 
 strength and my rock, and will carry on his work in my soul to the day 
 of redemption. 
 
 " Dear sir, I have spoken the state of my heart, as before the
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 417 
 
 Lord. I beg your prayers, that I may go on, from strength to strength, 
 from conquering to conquer, till death is swallowed up in victory." 
 
 When Mr. Charles Wesley received this letter, she says, " He re- 
 quested that I would come and speak with him the next morning, which 
 I did ; but shall never forget his piercing look. He examined me very 
 closely : I answered him with simplicity, as far as I knew. When I 
 was coming away, he said, ' I will propound you to be a member of our 
 society.' The next meeting, therefore, I was desired to stay ; and a 
 happy meeting we had." 
 
 Her conversion and consequent connection with the Methodists gave 
 huge offence to her ungodly husband, especially when she refused to 
 accompany him to places of worldly amusement. He swore that Mr. 
 Wesley had destroyed all his happiness in this world ; absolutely for- 
 bade her to attend the religious meetings of her new associates ; and 
 protested, that, if she would not renounce all intercourse with them, he 
 would confine her in a madhouse. This threat he was at length in- 
 duced to withdraw. She had a dangerous illness ; and in the extremity 
 of her sufferings, he gave full permission to her Methodist friends to 
 visit her, for the purpose of prayer and pious conversation. Having 
 undertaken another voyage, he was no more permitted to visit his home, 
 but died at sea. The intelligence of his death filled her with grief un- 
 utterable. 
 
 Being now a widow, Mr. Wesley engaged her as his housekeeper 
 at Newcastle, where she discharged her official duties with fidelity, and 
 was very useful in promoting spiritual religion among persons of her 
 own sex. She also visited various parts of England and Ireland, under 
 Mr. Wesley's direction, regulating and encouraging the female classes, 
 and was a blessing wherever she came. Her unassuming manners, 
 and devout spirit, endeared her to the people, and made her a messen- 
 ger of good. But she acknowledges that the caresses with which she 
 was received at length proved hurtful to her piety. She lost much of 
 her simplicity and godly fervour, and her spiritual enjoyments were 
 proportionably decreased ; yet as she still retained her religious habits, 
 neither Mr. Wesley nor her friends in general were aware of her spi- 
 ritual declension. This she afterward confessed, as her son has stated 
 in the biographical aocount of her which he published. The Christian 
 excellences which adorned her character excited Mr. Wesley's esteem 
 and affection, and induced him to make her an offer of marriage. Some 
 years before he had written a tract in favour of celibacy ; but he never 
 imagined that a single life is the best for all men, or for the same men 
 at all times ; and in the midst of his multiplied labours and cares he 
 felt that he greatly needed the sympathy and aid of an intelligent, 
 
 27
 
 418 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 active, and pious wife. The offer which he made to Mrs. Murray was 
 accepted. She declared her readiness to accompany him to the ends 
 of the earth ; and confessed that the honour of being thus allied to him 
 was a distinction for which she had not dared to hope. 
 
 The marriage was to have been celebrated early in October, 1749 ; 
 but on the third day of that month she was married to John Bennet, one 
 of the itinerant preachers ; Mr. Charles Wesley and Mr. Whitefield 
 being present on the occasion, and persuading her to take this step. 
 That Mr. Wesley was deeply distressed at the disappointment, is mani- 
 fest, from a letter which he immediately addressed to a confidential 
 friend, Mr. Thomas Bigg, of Newcastle, and from some verses which 
 he wrote on the occasion, which are published in his Life by Mr. 
 Moore. 
 
 All the circumstances of this case have never been disclosed, so that 
 the affair is still involved in considerable mystery. It would appear 
 that the same parties who persuaded Mrs. Murray to marry John Ben- 
 net in the year 1749 had prevented her union with Mr. Wesley the 
 preceding year. Charles, whom his brother calls his " own familiar 
 friend," was doubtless the principal hinderance. The reason of his 
 opposition is not distinctly stated, but may be collected from collateral 
 circumstances, and the nature of the case. Mr. Watson thinks that 
 Charles was actuated by a feeling of family and official dignity ; and 
 imagined that it would be dishonourable to his connections, were his 
 brother to form a matrimonial alliance with a woman of humble birth, 
 as Mrs. Murray was known to be. But of this there is no proof. The 
 fact is, Mr. Charles Wesley regarded his brother as providentially 
 called to superintend that extensive revival of religion which had now, 
 for several years, been carried on by their joint labours, and that of 
 their fellow-helpers. To preserve this work in unimpaired efficiency, 
 and extend it according to their hopes, he knew would require his bro- 
 ther constantly to itinerate through Great Britain and Ireland ; and such 
 incessant journeying was incompatible with the comfort of a married 
 life. The correctness of this opinion was amply proved by the subse- 
 quent events of Mr. John Wesley's personal history. That these were 
 Charles's views will appear when we come to speak of his brother's 
 marriage with another lady, which took place about seventeen months 
 after this time. 
 
 In addition to this it should be stated that an attachment, of many 
 years' continuance, subsisted between Mrs. Murray and John Bennet. 
 In the year 1745 he had a long and dangerous illness in Mr. Wesley's 
 house at Newcastle, of which she had the charge ; and from that ill- 
 ness he believed himself to be raised up in answer to her prayers. 
 From that time he regarded her as destined by Providence to be his 
 
 27* 

 
 LIVE OF ilEY. Cil.YKLES WESLEY. 419 
 
 a'uvre wife:; and they corresponded together with reference to their 
 marriage. This is stated* by her son. in the biographical account of her 
 which he published after her death ; and it is confirmed by documentary 
 evidence still existing. That she vacillated in reference to Bennet, 
 when Mr. Wesley made her an offer, and at the time accepted his pro- 
 posal, as the more desirable of the two, may be readily conceived ; 
 although such a conduct was not consistent with Christian simplicity 
 and honour. After she had given her pledge to Mr. Wesley, why 
 should she have married Bennet, but that she was previously attached 
 to him, and engaged by promise ? Mr. Charles Wesley and Mr. White- 
 field had no power to compel her to marry any man against her will. 
 All that they could do was to reason and persuade. It is highly pro- 
 bable that Bennet. when he obtained information of this new engage- 
 ment, and perceived that she was likely to escape out of his hands, laid 
 the case before Mr. Charles Wesley and Mr. Whitefield, and requested 
 their interference ; for it is not likely that Mr. John Wesley, after being 
 hindered by his brother twelve months before, would communicate to 
 him his present arrangement. 
 
 Though Mr. Charles Wesley's motives are above suspicion, (for a 
 more upright man never lived,) yet it must be conceded that the man- 
 ner of his interference was indefensible. He had no right absolutely 
 to judge and determine for his brother in a matter so sacred. Counsel 
 and remonstrance he might have given, and that with all the earnest- 
 ness of which he was capable ; but beyond this he was not justly au- 
 thorized to proceed. Had it been proved to Mr. John Wesley that the 
 woman whom he was engaged to marry was betrothed to another man, 
 it is not to be conceived that he would have persevered in his design 
 of making her his wife. 
 
 The very sensible and affectionate vicar of Shoreham interposed 
 upon this painful occasion, to prevent a permanent breach between the 
 brothers. It was the first serious misunderstanding that had ever taken 
 place between them. Addressing Charles, who had, perhaps with the 
 best intentions, given just ground of offence, Mr. Perronet says, " Yours 
 came this day to hand. I leave you to guess how such news must af- 
 fect a person whose very soul is one with yours and your friend. Let 
 me conjure you to soothe his sorrows. Pour nothing but oil and wine 
 into his wounds. Indulge no views, no designs, but what tend to the 
 honour of God, the promoting the kingdom of his dear Son, and the 
 healing of our wounded friend. How would the Philistines rejoice, 
 could they hear that Saul and Jonathan were in danger from their own 
 swords !" 
 
 For nothing was Mr. John Wesley more remarkable than the forgive- 
 ness of injuries, especially when he saw in the offender signs of regret,
 
 420 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 or was convinced that the offence had been given rather through infir- 
 mity of judgment, than obliquity of purpose. What explanations took 
 place between Mr. Charles Wesley and Mr. Whitefield, and the gene- 
 rous man whom they had disappointed, and wounded in the tenderesl 
 part, we know not ; but he cherished toward them no feelings of unholy 
 resentment. They all met in Leeds in the evening of the day after the 
 marriage of Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Murray, when he doubtless received 
 the first intelligence of what had been done at Newcastle. Deeply 
 wounded as were his feelings, he went the next morning at five o'clock 
 to hear Mr. Whitefield preach in Leeds ; and then accompanied him to 
 Birstal, where he also heard him in the evening. His remark is, " God 
 gave him both strong and persuasive words ; such as, I trust, sunk 
 deep into many hearts." Having himself preached the next morning, 
 he says, " I then returned to my brother, whom I had left at Leeds." 
 During this day he saw John Bennet and the bride ; and writing to a 
 friend he says, " I believe you never saw such a scene." Yet he was 
 not unmindful of his public duty. " At noon," he says, " we spent an 
 hour with several of our preachers, in exhortation and prayer. About 
 one I preached to a crowded audience of high and low, rich and poor ; 
 but their number was abundantly enlarged at five, as was my strength 
 both of soul and body. I cried aloud to them all, to look unto Jesus, 
 and scarce knew when to leave off." 
 
 From Leeds Mr. Wesley went to Newcastle, where he still speaks 
 of Mr. Whitefield in the most friendly manner. " I was now satisfied," 
 says he, " that God had sent Mr. Whitefield thither in an acceptable 
 time ; many of those who had little thought of God before, still 
 retaining the impressions they received from him." 
 
 As if he intended to demonstrate the entire absence from his mind 
 of all wrathful dispositions, now that the matter could not be reversed, 
 Mr. Wesley returned to Leeds, and at John Bennet's request accompa- 
 nied him to Rochdale, for the purpose of preaching to the rioters of that 
 town ; and he afterward went with him to Bolton, in Lancashire. This 
 kindliness was not reciprocated. Bennet at length embraced the Cal- 
 vinian theory ; spoke against Mr. Wesley with great vehemence, and 
 endeavoured to alienate the societies from him. He then settled as a 
 Dissenting minister, in Derbyshire, where he spent the rest of his life. 
 After his death his wife returned to the society of her former friends, 
 and to the end of her life expressed great respect for Mr. Wesley, 
 whom she survived several years. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley speedily returned from the north, and spent the 
 residue of the year in preaching and other pastoral duties in London 
 and Bristol, and at several of the intermediate and surrounding places 
 The following are the principal entries in his journal : —
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 421 
 
 " Oct. 24th. Among my hearers to-day at Bath were a son of the 
 Lord Chief Justice Lee, my old school-fellow Sir Danvers Osborn, and 
 Lord Halifax. They behaved decently, and were particularly taken 
 with the singing. In the evening God sent forth his awakening power, 
 and his fear fell on all that heard the word. 
 
 " Nov. 8th. I set out for London, with my brother and Ned Perronet. 
 We were in perils of robbers, who were abroad, and had robbed many 
 the night before. We commended ourselves to God, and rode over the 
 Heath singing. 
 
 " Dec. 1st. I hardly reached my own house, quite exhausted as I 
 was with pain of body, and vexation of spirit. I had little power for 
 several days, and less inclination, to preach. My greatest comfort was 
 the conversation of a few faithful friends, such as Mrs. Vigor, Sarah 
 Perrin, Mrs. Davis, and Sukey Burdock. 
 
 " Dec. 18th. My birth-bay. Forty years long have I now grieved 
 and tempted God, proved him, and seen his works. I was more and 
 more sensible of it all day, till I quite sunk under the burden. 
 
 " Christmas-day. The room was full as it could contain. We 
 rejoiced from four to six, that to us a child is born, to us a son is given. 
 We received the sacrament at the college. In the evening all were 
 melted down at our solemn love-feast." 
 
 Toward the close of this year, 1749, Mr. Charles Wesley published, 
 by subscription, two additional volumes of " Hymns and Sacred 
 Poems." The hymn-books which he and his brother had before sent 
 forth into the world bore their joint names ; and no other intimation 
 was given respecting the authorship of the different compositions. 
 The reader is not informed which were written by John, and which by 
 Charles. The two volumes which were now first published bore 
 Charles's name only, and v/ere thus authenticated as his own. Some 
 of them are founded upon particular texts of Scripture ; others express 
 the author's religious feelings in particular states of mind ; not a few 
 were written upon special occasions, as the death of friends, providen- 
 tial deliverances, the success of his ministry, the persecution and 
 opposition with which he had to contend. Several of them are intend- 
 ed for the use of persons in peculiar circumstances, such as ministers 
 of the gospel, medical practitioners, widows, the afflicted, and the 
 dying. More than one-fourth of the second volume consists of " hymns 
 for Christian friends." Many of these were originally addressed to 
 Sarah Gwynne, before his marriage with her, and others after their 
 union : a few verbal alterations' being occasionally made, for the pur- 
 pose of giving them a more general character, and of adapting them to 
 popular use. While these volumes exhibit his piety and genius to 
 great advantage, they throw considerable light upon his personal 

 
 422 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 history, and his prevalent habits of thought. As a witness for Christ, 
 he freely sacrificed his reputation as a man of letters and of genius ; 
 and of life itself, comparatively speaking, he made no account. 
 
 Among the papers left by him is a small manuscript volume, 
 containing the names of the subscribers to these two volumes of 
 hymns, written by himself with singular neatness. Of the persons 
 who thus encouraged him in his authorship five hundred and thirteen 
 lived in London ; one hundred and thirty-six in Bristol ; three hundred 
 and sixty-seven in other parts of England and Wales ; and one hundred 
 and twenty-nine in Ireland : making, in the whole, eleven hundred and 
 forty-five. Many societies, as such, subscribed for these admirable 
 volumes, particularly in Leeds and its neighbourhood. Hence we 
 infer, that they had circulating libraries for the use of the members : 
 an arrangement which must have been attended with many important 
 advantages, especially where the people were poor, and unable to pur- 
 chase books for themselves. The following societies appear in this 
 honourable list : — Leeds, Armley, Hunslet, Rothwell, Oulton, Wood- 
 side, Seacroft, Woodhouse, York, Acomb, Thirsk, Hornby, and Selby. 
 They were supplied by the agency of William Shent. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 At the beginning of the year 1750 Mr. Charles Wesley was at Bris- 
 tol, as was also his friend Mr. Grimshaw, of Haworth. Though he 
 was greatly blessed in his ministry, especially on particular occasions, 
 yet at times he was subject to strong mental depression. To this 
 indeed he was constitutionally prone, and from this period to the end of 
 his life he was more or less affected by it. When he was daily employed 
 in preaching, and in travelling from place to place, he was carried 
 above all feelings of despondency, and lived in a state of high spiritual 
 enjoyment ; but when he sat down in domestic quiet, those feelings 
 often returned in unabated power. 
 
 " Jan. 1st. At four in the morning," says he, " our room was excess- 
 ively crowded, while I proclaimed the gospel year of jubilee. We did 
 not part without a blessing. 
 
 "Jan. 12th. I preached, with the old power, on, 'Said I not unto 
 thee, that, if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God V 
 Generally my hands hang down, and I am so feeble in mind that I 
 cannot speak. 
 
 " Jan. 14th. The Spirit helped our infirmity at Kingswood sacrament. 
 A daughter of our brother Grimshaw was just departed in the Lord, 
 
 ■m
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 423 
 
 being perfected in a short space. I brought my friend Grimshaw 
 home with me, comforted for his happy daughter. 
 
 " Feb. 8th. There was an earthquake in London. 
 
 " Feb. 13th. I preached with a little strength at Bearfield, and the 
 next day with more at Freshford. The spirit of the people helped me. 
 An old lady of fourscore received me into her house. We spent the 
 time in prayer and singing. Stephen Naylor, a poor backslider, had 
 another call to repentance, and seemed resolved to close with it. I 
 invited at night many burdened souls to Christ ; and his healing power 
 was present, and refreshed every weary spirit. 
 
 "Feb. 18th. I carried my sister Betsy to Kingswood, where the 
 Lord visited us again, and feasted us at his table. 
 
 " Feb. 19th. My wife had recovered strength for her journey. We 
 set out with our sisters Betsy and Peggy. We coidd not reach New- 
 enham-passage till past seven. It was then quite dark. The boat on 
 the other side refused to come over. We were got to the edge of the 
 bank, the usual place of embarking, when Providence sent a man to 
 stop us. He informed us, that the rains had choked up- the river with 
 two banks of sand ; and where Ave were going was all quicksands. 
 We followed him, with great difficulty, to another part of the river. 
 My horse sunk up to the shoulders, but with a violent plunge struggled 
 out. The boatmen at last took pity on us, came over, and with much 
 pains carried us into the boat, and landed us safe on the opposite shore. 
 By noon, Feb. 21st, God conducted us safe to Ludlow. For the five 
 following days I received fresh strength for the work, and rejoiced in 
 some measure that the gospel had free course. 
 
 " March 4th. I visited old Lydia White, on her death-bed. She 
 accosted me, ' Thou blessed of the Lord, art thou come 1 I did not 
 expect to see my dear minister till we met in paradise. You and your 
 brother are the instruments of my salvation. I have known the grace 
 of the Lord Jesus long ago : now I am entering into his glory. He 
 has told me so. I am full of his joy now.' Her words strengthened 
 my hands, as I found at the chapel, speaking on those words, ' Blessed 
 is the man that endureth temptation.' They sunk into many hearts." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's visit to London at this time was one of pecu- 
 liar interest. He remarks, as we have seen, that, on the 8th of Feb- 
 ruary, " there was an earthquake in London." He was then in Bristol ; 
 but his brother, who was in London, or its immediate neighbourhood, 
 gives the following account of this alarming event : — " It was about a 
 quarter after twelve that the earthquake began at the skirts of the town. 
 It began in the south-east, went through Southwark, under the river, 
 and then from one end of London to the other. It was observed at 
 Westminster and Grosvenor-square a quarter before one. Perhaps, if
 
 424 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 we allow for the difference of the clocks, about a quarter of an hour 
 after it began in Southwark. There were three distinct shakes, or 
 wavings to and fro, attended with a hoarse, rumbling noise, like 
 thunder." 
 
 On the 8th of March Charles, who was now in London, addressed 
 the following account to his brother in Bristol : — " This morning, at a 
 quarter after five, we had another shock of an earthquake, far more 
 violent than that of February 8th. I was just repeating my text, when 
 it shook the Foundery so violently, that we all expected it to fall upon 
 our heads. A great cry followed from the women and the children. 
 I immediately cried out, ' Therefore will we not fear, though the earth 
 be moved, and the hills be carried into the midst of the sea : for the 
 Lord of hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is our refuge.' He filled 
 my heart with faith, and my mouth with words, shaking their souls, as 
 well as their bodies." 
 
 The earth moved westward, then east, then westward again, through 
 all London and Westminster. It was a strong and jarring motion, at- 
 tended with a rumbling noise, like that of distant thunder. Many houses 
 were much shaken, and some chimneys thrown down, but without any 
 further hurt. The alarm which it occasioned, as might be supposed, 
 was deep and general ; many apprehending a return of the calamity in 
 a more destructive form. The folloAving selections from Mr. Charles 
 Wesley's journal give a striking view of the excitement which pre- 
 vailed : — 
 
 " March 9th. Many flocked to the morning word, and were yet more 
 stirred up thereby. I have scarce ever seen so many at intercession. 
 At the chapel I preached on the occasion, from Psalm xlvi, with very 
 great awakening power. 
 
 " March 10th. I expounded Isaiah xxiv, a chapter I had not taken 
 much notice of, till this awful providence explained it : ' Behold, the 
 Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it up- 
 side down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. The founda- 
 tions of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down ; the 
 earth is clean dissolved ; the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth 
 shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cot- 
 tage ; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it ; and it shall 
 fall, and not rise again.' I preached at Snowsfields, and urged them to 
 ( ater into the Rock, now the Lord is risen to shake terribly the earth. 
 
 " March 11th. My spirit, and many others', seem revived by the late 
 judgment. The word is with the accustomed power, both at London 
 and Deptford, and wherever I minister it. 
 
 " April 4th. Fear filled our chapel, occasioned by a prophecy of the 
 earthquake's return this night. I preached my written sermon on the 
 
 m
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 425 
 
 subject with great effect, and gave out several suitable hymns. It was 
 a glorious night for the disciples of Jesus. 
 
 " April 5th. At four I rose, after a night of sound sleep, while my 
 neighbours watched. I sent an aecount to Mrs. Gwynne, as follows : — 
 ' The late earthquake has found me work enough. Yesterday I saw 
 the Westminster end of the town full of coaches, and crowds flying out 
 of the reach of divine justice, with astonishing precipitation. Their 
 panic was caused by a poor madman's prophecy. Last night they 
 were all to be swallowed up. The vulgar were in almost as great 
 consternation as their betters. Most of them watched all night; mul- 
 titudes in the fields and open places ; several in their coaches ; many 
 removed their goods. London looked like a sacked city. A lady, just 
 stepping into her coach, to escape, dropped down dead. Many came 
 all night knocking at the Foundery door, and begging admittance for 
 God's sake. Our poor people were calm and quiet, as at another 
 time.' " 
 
 This account is confirmed by a letter which was written on the same 
 day by Mr. William Briggs, the son-in-law of Mr. Perronet, and ad- 
 dressed to Mr. John Wesley, who was still in Bristol. " This great 
 city," says he, "has been, for some days -past, under terrible apprehen- 
 sions of another earthquake. Yesterday thousands fled out of town, it 
 having been constantly affirmed by a dragoon, that he had a revelation, 
 that great part of London and Westminster, especially, would be de- 
 stroyed by an earthquake the 4th instant, between twelve and one at 
 night. The whole city was under direful apprehensions. Places of 
 worship were crowded by frightened sinners, especially our two chapels, 
 and the Tabernacle, where Mr. Whitefield preached. Several of the 
 classes came to their leaders, and desired that they would spend the 
 night with them in prayer ; which was done ; and God gave them a 
 blessing. Indeed all around was awful. Being not at all convinced 
 of the prophet's mission, and having no call from any of my brethren, 
 I went to bed at my usual time, believing I was safe in the hands of 
 Christ ; and likewise, that, by doing so, I should be the more ready to 
 rise to the preaching in the morning ; which we both did : praised be 
 our kind Protector ! 
 
 " Though crowds left the town on Wednesday night, yet crowd* 
 were left behind ; multitudes of whom, for fear of being suddenly over- 
 whelmed, left their houses, and repaired to the fields, and open places 
 in the city. Tower-hill, Moorfields, but above all Hyde-park, were 
 filled best part of the night with men, women, and children, lamenting. 
 Some, with stronger imaginations than others, mostly women, ran cry- 
 ing in the streets, ' An earthquake ! An earthquake !' Such distress, 
 perhaps, is not recorded to have happened before in this careless city. 

 
 426 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Mr. Wliitefield preached at midnight in Hyde-park. Surely God will 
 visit this city. It will be a time of mercy to some." 
 
 Several persons, ministers and others, who were concerned for the 
 spiritual and moral benefit of the people of London, and of the nation 
 generally, were anxious to perpetuate the solemn impressions which 
 were produced by this providential visitation. A prayer was composed, 
 suited to the occasion, and appointed, " by his majesty's special com- 
 mand," to be read in the churches, " after prayer against the mortality 
 of the cattle," which was then in use. Forms of prayer " for the use 
 of families, on occasion of the late earthquakes, and other judgments 
 of God upon this nation," issued from the press at the same time. The 
 bishop of London published " A Letter to the Clergy and People of 
 London and Westminster, on occasion of the late Earthquakes." Seve- 
 ral other tracts, bearing upon the same subject, were also put into cir- 
 culation, calling upon the people to acknowledge the hand of God in 
 the alarming concussions which had so recently occurred ; to praise 
 him for his forbearance, in that so little real injury had been sustained ; 
 and to turn away from the sins which were calculated to awaken the 
 divine displeasure, so that future judgments might be averted. 
 
 In this kind of service Mr. Charles Wesley took an active and useful 
 part. In the extracts which have been given from his journal, relative 
 to the earthquakes, he mentions the " written sermon" which he 
 preached to one of his congregations, and " several hymns" suited to 
 the service, which the people sung at his dictation. The whole of 
 these he committed to the press. The sermon, which is entitled, 
 " The Cause and Cure of Earthquakes," was first published anony- 
 mously ; perhaps that it might find its way into quarters where the 
 name of " Wesley" was unwelcome. To the second edition he pre- 
 fixed his name. In this singularly terse and forcible discourse he 
 proposes to prove from the Scriptures, that earthquakes are the work 
 of God. He then describes a few striking examples of these judg- 
 ments of the Almighty, especially those which took place in Sicily and 
 Jamaica in the year 1692, and in Lima and Callao in 1746. 
 
 In the application of the subject the preacher speaks with his cha- 
 racteristic energy, and power of conviction. Thus he addresses his 
 hearers, when calling them to repentance : — " How slow is the Lord 
 to anger ! how unwilling to punish ! By what leisurely steps does he 
 come to take vengeance ! How many lighter afflictions before the 
 final blow ! 
 
 " Should He beckon to the man on the red horse to return, and say, 
 ' Sword, go through the land,' can we complain he gave us no warn- 
 ing 1 Did not the sword first bereave abroad ? and did we not then see 
 it within our borders ? Yet the merciful God said, ' Hitherto shaft thou
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 427 
 
 come, and no further.' He stopped the invaders in the midst of our 
 land, and turned them back again, and destroyed them. 
 
 " Should he send the man on the pale horse, whose name is Death, 
 and the pestilence destroy thousands and ten thousands of us, can 
 we deny that first he warned us by the raging mortality among our 
 cattle ? 
 
 " So, if we provoke him to lay waste our earth, and turn it upside 
 down, and overthrow us, as he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, shall 
 we not have procured this unto ourselves 1 Had we no reason to expect 
 any such calamity ? no previous notice ? no trembling of the earth be- 
 fore it clave 1 no shock before it opened its mouth ? Did he set no 
 examples of so terrible a judgment before our eyes ? Had we never 
 heard of the*destruction of Jamaica, or Catania, or that of Lima, which 
 happened but yesterday 1 If we perish at last, we perish without excuse ; 
 for what could have been done more to save us ? 
 
 " Yes ; thou hast now another call to repentance, another offer of 
 mercy, whosoever thou art that hearest these words. In the name of 
 the Lord Jesus, I warn thee once more, as a watchman over the house 
 of Israel, to flee from the wrath to come. I put thee in remembrance 
 (if thou hast so soon forgotten it) of the late awful judgment, whereby 
 God shook thee over the mouth of hell. Thy body he probably awoke 
 by it ; but did he awake thy soul ? The Lord was in the earthquake, 
 and put a solemn question to thy conscience, ' Art thou ready to die ? 
 Is thy peace made with God V Was the earth just now to open its 
 mouth, and swallow thee up, what would become of thee 1 Where 
 wouldest thou be ? in Abraham's bosom, or lifting up thine eyes in tor- 
 ment 1 Hadst thou perished by the late earthquake, wouldest thou not 
 have died in thy sins, or rather gone down quick into hell ? Who pre- 
 vented thy damnation ? It was the Son of God ! O fall down and 
 worship him ! Give him the glory of thy deliverance, and devote the 
 residue of thy days to his service." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's other publication, which he sent forth at the 
 same time, was entitled, " Hymns occasioned by the Earthquake, March 
 8th, 1750. In Two Parts." The hymns are nineteen in number, and 
 are written with the author's peculiar spirit, and fervent piety. They 
 describe in strong and glowing terms the power and sovereignty of 
 God ; his merciful and righteous government over men ; national and 
 personal sins ; the divine forbearance and long-suffering ; the uncer- 
 tainty of life, and of all earthly possessions ; and the durable nature of 
 the joys which are connected with Christian godliness, both in time 
 and eternity. The whole of them are thoroughly devotional, and appear 
 to have emanated from a heart deeply affected with the perilous state 
 of the nation, arising from its cold formality, and daring wickedness ;
 
 J 
 
 428 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 and in the midst of surrounding evils calmly reposing in the unchanging 
 fidelity and almighty power of Christ, as the Ruler of all worlds. 
 
 Flamsteed's " Letter concerning Earthquakes" was now printed, 
 apparently for the purpose of allaying the public alarm ; that author con- 
 fining his attention exclusively to second causes, and avoiding all refer- 
 ence to God whatever. In opposition to the godless speculations of 
 such theorists, Mr. Charles Wesley sings, — 
 
 From whence these dire portents around, 
 
 That strike us with unwonted fear 1 
 Why do these earthquakes rock the ground, 
 
 And threaten our destruction near ? 
 Ye prophets smooth, the cause explain, 
 And lull us to repose again. 
 
 " Or water swelling for a vent, 
 
 Or air impatient to get free, 
 Or fire within earth's entrails pent," — 
 
 Yet all are order'd, Lord, by thee ; 
 The elements obey thy nod, 
 And nature vindicates her God. 
 
 The pillars of the earth are thine, 
 
 And thou hast set the world thereon ; 
 They at thy threat'ning look incline, 
 
 The centre trembles at thy frown, 
 The everlasting mountains bow, 
 And God is in the earthquake now. 
 
 Now, Lord, to shake a guilty land, 
 
 Thou dost in indignation rise, 
 We see, we see thy lifted hand 
 
 Made bare a nation to chastise, 
 Whom neither plagues nor mercies move, 
 To fear thy wrath, or court thy love. 
 
 Therefore the earth beneath us reels 
 
 And staggers like our drunken men, 
 The earth the mournful cause reveals, 
 
 And groans our burden to sustain ; 
 Ordain'd our evils to deplore, 
 And fall with us to rise no more. 
 
 Such was the faithful and earnest manner in which this devoted ser- 
 vant of the Lord Jesus endeavoured to improve, to his country's benefit, 
 this remarkable dispensation of divine Providence. It was upon occa- 
 sion of the earthquakes in London that the exquisitely beautiful hymn 
 in the Wesleyan Collection was written, beginning, — 
 
 How weak the thoughts, and vain, 
 Of self-deluding men ;
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 429 
 
 Men who, fix'd to earth alone, 
 
 Think their houses shall endure, 
 Fondly call their lands their own, 
 
 To their distant heirs secure ! 
 
 The following letter, which was addressed by Mr. Charles Wesley 
 to his wife, and was written on the 17th of March, relates principally 
 to the same subject. It shows that the excitement produced by the 
 earthquake still continued. 
 
 " My Dearest, Dearest Friend, — Grace and peace be multiplied upon 
 you and yours, who are mine also. One letter in a week does not half 
 satisfy me, under your absence. I count the days since we parted, and 
 those still between us and our next meeting. Yet I dare not promise 
 myself the certain blessing ; so many are the evils and accidents of life. 
 Accidents I should not call them ; for God ordereth all things in hea- 
 ven and earth. Who knows his will concerning this wicked city ? or 
 how near we may be to the fate of Lima or Portugal ? Blessed be 
 God, many consider this day of danger and adversity. The bishop of 
 London has published a seasonable, solemn warning. Our churches 
 are crowded, as at the beginning. Last night I preached, for the first 
 time, at the French chapel, in Spitalfields : my scruples being at last 
 removed. It was full as it could hold. ' The poor have the gospel 
 preached unto them,' was my text : and the Lord was with us of a 
 truth. 
 
 " I preached again this morning, on, ' God is our refuge and strength, 
 a very present help in the time of trouble : therefore will we not fear 
 though the earth be removed, and the hills be carried into the midst of 
 the sea.' The poor weavers, English and French, filled the place, and 
 heard me gladly. Here is surely a door, great and effectual, and as yet 
 not manv adversaries. I must endeavour to keep up the awakening, 
 by preaching every morning of next week : then I shall probably go 
 for two or three days to Canterbury, carrying Dudy Perronet* behind 
 me, instead of ■. 
 
 " Last night Charles Perronet set out for Bristol, to see my brother, 
 before he departs for Ireland. Dudy and Ned pine after you. We 
 must bestow a month or two on them at Canterbury. Mrs. Stotesbury, 
 Blackwell, Dewal, and many others, express great love for you ; not 
 for my sake, but your own ; or, rather, His to whom you belong." 
 
 Under the excitement which was produced by the earthquakes in 
 London, Mr. Charles Wesley witnessed the death of his beloved sister 
 
 * Dudy was a pet name of the unmarried daughter of the vicar of Shoreham. Her 
 proper name was Damaris. She was a lady of deep piety.
 
 -130 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Mrs. Wright. She was a woman of an elegant and cultivated mind ; 
 and possessed a superior talent for poetry, of which many beautiful 
 specimens have been published. It was her misfortune to be married 
 to a man who was utterly unable to appreciate her worth, and was every 
 way unworthy of her hand. He was illiterate, rude and vulgar in his 
 maimers, intemperate, and preferred the society of swearers and drunk- 
 ards in common alehouses to the conversation of his amiable and intel- 
 ligent wife, whom he treated with unkindness and neglect. After 
 enduring much sorrow, she found effectual relief and comfort in the 
 -riving knowledge of Christ, in which she lived for some years, and 
 then died in the Lord. The following notices concerning her latter 
 end were inserted by Mr. Charles Wesley in his journal. They are 
 brief, but instructive, touching, and affectionate. 
 
 " March 5th. I prayed by my sister Wright, a gracious, tender, 
 trembling soul : a bruised reed, which the Lord will not break. 
 
 " March 14th. I found my sister Wright very near the haven ; and 
 again on Sunday the 18th; yet still in darkness, doubts, and fears, 
 against hope believing in hope. 
 
 " March 21st. At four I called on my brother Wright, a few minutes 
 after her spirit was set at liberty. I had sweet fellowship with her in 
 explaining at the chapel those solemn words : ' Thy sun shall no more 
 go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be 
 thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.' 
 All present seemed partakers both of my sorrow and my joy. 
 
 " March 26th. I followed her to her quiet grave, and wept with them 
 that wept." 
 
 This gifted but suffering woman wrote the following epitaph on 
 herself: — 
 
 " Destined while living to sustain 
 An equal share of grief and pain, 
 All various ills of human race 
 Within this breast had once a place. 
 Without complaint she learn'd to bear 
 A living death, a long despair, 
 Till, hard oppress'd by adverse Fate, 
 O'ercharged, she sunk beneath its weight, 
 And to this peaceful tomb retired, 
 So much esteem' d, so long desired ! 
 The painful mortal conflict's o'er ; 
 A broken heart can bleed no more !" 
 
 Her brother, Mr. John Wesley, states, with respect to Mrs. Wright, 
 " It is but justice to her memory to observe, that she was at rest before 
 she went hence ; being for some years a witness of that rest which 
 remains, even here, for the people of God."
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 431 
 
 A few years after the society in Bristol had been formed, Mrs. Wright 
 visited the friends in that city, where she was treated with great affec- 
 tion and respect, and received much spiritual profit. Some time after 
 her return, she addressed to her brother Charles the following letter, 
 Avhich is beautifully illustrative of her gentle and tender spirit, now 
 humbled and subdued by sanctified affliction : — 
 
 " Frith-street, Oct. 4th, 1745. Dearest Brother, — I received both 
 your kind letters, and thank you for them ; but am surprised you 
 have heard no account of my better health, though I could not write 
 myself; since many have seen me, who I know correspond with you ; 
 and some of them are gone to Bath and Bristol lately ; especially sister 
 Naylor, and Mrs. Wigginton. Indeed I continue exceeding weak, 
 keeping my bed, except when I rise to have it made; and it is almost 
 incredible what a skeleton I am grown, so that my bones are ready to 
 come through my skin ; but, through mercy, the fever that immediately 
 threatened me (with a violent cough, and some fatal symptoms) is 
 gone off, and I am more likely to recover than ever : nay, if I could 
 once get my strength, I should not make a doubt of it. 
 
 " This ease of body and great calm of mind, I firmly believe, is owing 
 to the prayer of faith. I think this support the more extraordinary, 
 because I have no sense of God's presence, ever since I took my bed ; 
 and you know what we are Avhen left to ourselves, under great pain, 
 and apprehensions of death ; yet though I am yet in desertion, and the 
 enemy is very busy, I enjoy so great a measure of quietness and thank- 
 fulness as is really above nature. Hallelujah ! Whether or no the 
 bitterness of death is past, I am perfectly easy and resigned, having 
 given up this, with dear Will's spiritual welfare, and all other things, 
 to the sovereign Physician of souls and bodies. 
 
 " Dearest brother, no selfish consideration can ever make me wish 
 your stay in this most dangerous, diabolical world ; yet we must always 
 say, ' Thy will be done ;' and I am pleased still to think, God will per- 
 mit us to meet again, though I cannot say I desire life a minute longer, 
 even upon those terms. Willy gives his love, and would be un- 
 feignedly glad to see you. Pray join in prayer with me still, that he 
 may persevere. Molly too gives her duty, and desires your prayers. 
 Neither of their souls prospers as I could wish them. Strange, that 
 though we know sanctification is a gradual work, we want our neigh- 
 bours to go faster than we can ourselves ; but poor Willy only waits 
 for the first gift. I have not one fear for those who are truly in 
 earnest. 
 
 " If the nation is run stark mad in politics, though never a jot the 
 wiser or holier, no wonder that the person you mentioned in your last
 
 432 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 is brim full of them, though she keeps within bounds, and does not talk 
 treason, whatever she may think. I am glad the believers I know 
 seem to run into no extremes about the present affairs, either of losing 
 the one thing needful, by talking too much, or praying too little. The 
 Lord give us a right judgment in all things ! 
 
 " My prayers, love, and best wishes attend all dear friends at Bristol, 
 from whom I have received innumerable obligations ; but above all 
 Mrs. Vigor and her family, who showed unwearied love in serving and 
 humouring me, with my never-to-be-forgotten friend, and sister in spirit, 
 Sally Perrin, who, if possible, showed more kindness in the latter end 
 than beginning. Give my particular love and humble service to Dr. 
 Middleton ; poor Nancy Perrot, my companion in misery ; Mrs. and 
 Miss Burdock, who were most wonderfully civil to me ; and Mr. and 
 Mrs. Wigginton ; with Stephen and Betty Maxfield ; poor sister Spear, 
 and Mrs. Williams, who spared no pains to serve me ; and Sally Colt- 
 son, Sukey Peck, and Mrs. Halfpenny, with her daughter, who have 
 all been very loving and obliging : and may our best Master reward 
 their labour of love a thousand fold. It has been one of my heaviest 
 crosses, that I have been unable to' write to them all ; but if ever I re- 
 cover, I despair not of doing it yet, if acceptable from a novice. You 
 think, perhaps, I may write to them as well as you : but, dear Charles, 
 I write now in bed ; and you cannot believe what it costs me. I trust 
 to remember and bless you many times yet before I die ; wishing we 
 may have another happy meeting first, if it is best. So, with prayers 
 for the universal church, ministers, assistants, and all mankind, I take 
 leave to subscribe myself, 
 
 " Your most obliged and loving sister. 
 
 " Forgive all blunders. Adieu." 
 
 It will be observed, that this daughter of sorrow and affliction sur- 
 vived the writing of this letter several years. 
 
 Mrs. Wright's death appears to have made a salutary impression 
 upon the mind of her husband. Three days after her interment, Mr. 
 Charles Wesley, in a letter to his wife, says, " Last Monday I followed 
 our happy sister to her grave. Her husband is inconsolable, not know- 
 ing Jesus Christ. I was much affected by his saying, with tears, he 
 hoped I should not forsake him now that my sister was dead." 
 
 In the same letter he says, speaking of a servant whom he intended 
 to bring with him to Bristol, " He had a wonderful deliverance the 
 other night ; when five rogues seized him, crossing the fields, and were 
 about to rob, if not murder, him. He prayed them, in his simple man- 
 ner, to let him alone ; when one of them held up his lantern to his 
 face, and cried, ' I believe he is a Wesley. He has a very innocent
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 433 
 
 look. Let him go ; let him go.' Which accordingly they did ; and he 
 walked quietly home." 
 
 He adds, " The alarm here continues and increases, through the 
 daily accounts we receive of more earthquakes. I am printing more 
 hymns, and a sermon, on the occasion." 
 
 It was about the time of Mrs. Wright's death, that an intimacy com- 
 menced between Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wesley and Mrs. Vazeille, a 
 widow lady, to whom Mr. John Wesley was afterward married. 
 Charles had been introduced to her some months before ; and he then 
 spoke of her as " a woman of a sorrowful spirit." In May, 1750, he 
 took her with him to Ludlow, on a visit to the Gwynne family. " Dur- 
 ing our nine days' stay," says he, " they showed her all the civility that 
 they could ; and" she seemed equally pleased with them." She accom- 
 panied Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wesley to London, taking Evesham, Blen- 
 heim, and Oxford on their way. He showed her the buildings and 
 gardens belonging to the colleges. On their arrival in town he says, 
 *' We took up our quarters for eight or nine days at Mrs. Vazeille's." 
 At this time they had not the most distant apprehension that she was 
 ever to become their sister-in-law. 
 
 At this period he met with a foul libel upon himself, which had been 
 in circulation two years without his knowledge. He thus describes 
 and refutes the scandalous and wicked falsehood : " I met with Mr. 
 Salmon's ' Foreigner's Companion through the Universities of Cam- 
 bridge and Oxford,' printed in 1748, and made the following extract: — 
 ' The times of the day the university go to this church are ten in the 
 morning, and two in the afternoon, on Sundays and holydays ; the ser- 
 mon usually lasting about half an hour. But when I happened to be 
 at Oxford, in 1742, Mr. Wesley, the Methodist of Christ-Church, enter- 
 tained his audience two hours ; and having insulted and abused all 
 degrees, from the highest to the lowest, was, in a manner, hissed out 
 of the pulpit by the lads.' 
 
 " And high time for them to do so, if the historian said true ; but, 
 unfortunately for him, I measured my time by my watch, and it was 
 within the hour. I abused neither high nor low, as my sermon in print 
 will prove. Neither was I ' hissed out of the pulpit,' or treated with 
 the least incivility, either by young or old. 
 
 " What, then, shall I say to my High-Church friend, whom I once 
 so much admired ? I must rank him among the apocryphal writers, 
 such as the judicious Dr. Mather, the wary Bishop Burnet, and the 
 most modest Mr. Oldmixon." 
 
 While he was reviled, it was his comfort to find that his ministry 
 was in everyplace sanctioned by the divine blessing; and that the 
 spiritual children, whom the Lord had given him and his brother, still 
 
 28
 
 434 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 attested the truth and power of their religion by living and dying as 
 did the Christians in the apostolic times. Their lives were holy, up- 
 right, and useful, and their deaths full of resignation, joy, and hope. 
 Several of them about this time passed into the world of spirits ; and 
 their dying testimonies were most satisfactory and cheering. " I 
 prayed," says he, " by our sister Lewis, quietly expecting her release." 
 
 " I saw several happy souls, in spite of their feeble, sick, or pained 
 bodies. One I visited yesterday died in the faith soon after." 
 
 " I visited a dying sister, speechless, yet full of earnest love, as her 
 looks and signs confessed." 
 
 " I buried our brother Somerset, who came to the grave as a ripe 
 shock of corn in its season. He has now overtaken his companion, 
 and death can no more separate them." 
 
 " Another was gathered into the garner. I buried her earthly part — 
 for a short season." 
 
 " Sally rejoiced my heart with her account of Mrs. Leyson, whom 
 she saw triumphant in her last hour. Here is another blessed soul 
 gone to paradise, with a good report of us." 
 
 " I prayed by our faithful brother Hogg, just departing in the Lord, 
 and to him." " I visited the widow Hogg, in her affliction, and tried 
 to turn it into the right channel." " I buried our late brother Hogg, 
 and preached at the grave to a countless multitude, on, ' These are 
 they that came out of great tribulation,' &c. The Lord gave me utter- 
 ance, and them the hearing ear." " I preached a written sermon, at 
 Spitalfields, on my beloved friend and brother Hogg. The chapel was 
 crowded ; and the house of mourning was turned into a house of great 
 rejoicing." 
 
 " I administered the sacrament to a dying believer, lately called ; 
 but now made equal to them that have borne the heat and burden of 
 the day." 
 
 These cases, which mostly occurred in London, and all of them in 
 the course of a few weeks, must have afforded a rich encouragement to 
 the men whose ministrations produced such results. In the midst of 
 the reproaches with which they were daily loaded, they felt, that thus 
 to people heaven with sanctified spirits was worth all their labour, and 
 the sacrifice of their reputation. Conversions were still happily fre- 
 quent in their congregations, and some of them were attended by cir- 
 cumstances of peculiar interest. The following is an example : — 
 
 " June 22d. I met a daughter of my worthy old friend, Mr. Erskine, 
 at the Foundery. She was deeply wounded by the sword of the 
 Spirit ; confessed she had turned many to Deism ; and feared there 
 could be no mercy for her. 
 
 "July 18th. I had the satisfaction of bringing back to Mr. Erskine 
 
 28*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 435 
 
 his formerly disobedient daughter. She fell at his feet. It was a 
 moving interview. All wept. Our heavenly Father heard our prayers. 
 I preached immediately after, on, ' And I, if I be lifted up from the 
 earth, will draw all men unto me.' We had a double blessing and 
 power. Poor Jane Cox said she was even compelled to receive 
 Christ." While he was thus successful in bringing sinners to Christ, 
 he says, " I believe God owned me more this day on account of one 
 who, in an abusive letter, had affirmed that the Lord was departed 
 from me." 
 
 About the middle of August he was in Bristol, where he met with 
 his unfortunate sister Hall, who, it appears, had been recalled from 
 the asylum which her brothers provided for her at the Foundery. He 
 took her with him to the preaching, when her wretched husband, now 
 ahandoned to every vice, understanding where she was, came and 
 fetched her away. Charles refused to have any intercourse with the 
 sensualized apostate, who had renounced the clerical character, and 
 become hardened in infidelity. He says, " I met my sister Hall ifl the 
 church-yard, and carried her to the room. I had begun preaching, 
 when Mr. Hall walked up the room, and through the desk, and carried 
 her off with him. I was somewhat disturbed, yet went on." The next 
 day " he came up again, calling me by my name. I fled ; and he pur- 
 sued ; but could not find me in my lurking-place." 
 
 On the 1st of September he says, " I finished Rapin's History; which 
 has cured me, in some degree, of the prejudices of education." 
 
 From the time of his marriage, up to this period, Mr. Charles Wesley 
 had only once visited the north of England. He now made arrange- 
 ments for returning to the former scenes of his ministerial labour in 
 that part of the kingdom, but was providentially hindered. His wife 
 retired to her friends at Ludlow, and he came to London ; where he 
 met Mr. Hervey at Mr. Whitefield's Tabernacle, " in the fellowship of 
 the Spirit of love," and rejoiced at the sight of his old college friend. 
 He says, — 
 
 " Sept. 16th. A great number of communicants perceived the Lord's 
 presence. He gave us his blessing at our love-feast also. I had a 
 restless night through a boil rising in my neck. 
 
 "Sept. 17th. I rose at two, and set out for the north. Beyond Isling- 
 ton my mare threw and fell upon me. I held on as far as St. Alban's, 
 and was then forced to lie down ; yet could not sleep day or night. 
 
 " Sept. 18th. With much difficulty I got back to London. I conti- 
 nued in great pain for several days, till the boil broke. I passed three 
 days at Newington-green, and found benefit from my physic and fresh 
 air. Mr. Waller and his sisters frequently called, and rejoiced with 
 the church in our house.
 
 436 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " Oct. 7th. I got to the chapel on this and every Lord's day ; the 
 rest of the month I was confined to the house mostly. Dr. Wathen 
 attended me constantly, till both my neck and swollen hand were quite 
 well." On the recovery of his health he went to Ludlow, where he 
 remained a whole month with his wife's relations. While he con- 
 tinued at Ludlow he was not unemployed in his Master's work, nor 
 an inattentive observer of what was passing around him, in connection 
 with the cause of religion. " I encouraged a poor girl," says he, " to 
 seek her cure from Him Avho had wounded her. She has the outward 
 mark too ; being daily threatened to be turned out of doors by her 
 master : a great swearer, and strict Churchman ; a constant communi- 
 cant, and habitual drunkard." 
 
 At the beginning of the year 1751 Mr. Charles Wesley was in 
 London, preaching, administering the Lord's supper, and visiting the 
 sick, with his wonted diligence and success ; being sustained by the 
 power of God, and borne along in his work by a tide of hallowed 
 and joyous feeling. While thus employed, a temporary gloom was 
 cast upon his mind by his brother's marriage ; from which he was 
 led to indulge the most painful forebodings. A few extracts from his 
 journal will serve to show his views and emotions upon the occasion. 
 He says, — 
 
 " Feb. 2d. My brother returned from Oxford ; sent for and told me, 
 he was resolved to marry. I was thunderstruck, and could only answer, 
 he had given me the first blow ; and his marriage would come like the 
 coup de grace. Trusty Ned Perronet followed, and told me, the person 
 was Mrs. Vazeille : one of whom I had never had the least suspicion. 
 I refused his company to the chapel, and retired to mourn with my 
 faithful Sally. I groaned all the day, and several following ones, under 
 my own and the people's burden. I could eat no pleasant food, nor 
 preach, nor rest, either by night or by day. 
 
 " Feb. 7th. My excessive cough helped to pull me down, and then 
 a sore throat. My companion sympathized with me too sensibly. 
 Feb. 14th. She was often in great pain, especially to-day. I watched 
 by her in great distress, but could not remove her pain by sharing it. 
 I sent for Dr. Wathen, who prescribed what gave her immediate relief. 
 I gave God, who heareth prayer, the glory. 
 
 " Feb. 17th. I dragged myself to the chapel, and spoke on those 
 words : ' Thy sun shall no more go down,' &c. The whole congrega- 
 tion seem infected by my sorrow. Both under the word, and at the 
 sacrament, we wept and made supplication. It was a blessed mourn- 
 ing to us all. 
 
 " Feb. 27th. My brother came to the chapel-house with his wife. I 
 was glad to see him ; saluted her ; and stayed to hear him preach.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 437 
 
 " March 15th. I called on my sister; kissed her, and assured her I 
 was perfectly reconciled to her, and to my brother. 
 
 " March 19th. I brought my wife and sister together; and took all 
 opportunities of showing the latter my sincere respect and love. 
 
 " May 12th. With Sally at Kingswood I was greatly quickened by 
 that promise, ' The third part I will bring through the fire.' In the 
 sacrament Ave were swallowed up in the spirit of prayer. I met my 
 sister at the horse-fair, and behaved to her as such. I gave an earnest 
 exhortation to repentance. 
 
 " May 14th. I showed her, both at my own house, and the houses 
 of my friends, all the civility in my power." 
 
 From these notices it is manifest, that when Mr. Charles Wesley 
 received intelligence of his brother's resolution to marry, he felt at 
 once the greatest repugnance at the thought. His spirit sunk within 
 him. He was overwhelmed with grief; and for several successive 
 days and weeks he could scarcely do any thing but weep and pray in 
 solitude. His distress could not proceed from any feeling of personal 
 or family dislike toward Mrs. Vazeille ; for it arose in his mind before 
 he had even the slightest suspicion that she was the object of his 
 brother's choice. A friendship also subsisted between her and the 
 Gwynne family, whom she had recently visited ; and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Charles Wesley had lately spent several days at her house. Nor could 
 his grief arise from any aversion to the marriage state ; for he himself 
 was eminently happy in that relation. His wife was amiable, devout, 
 and cheerful ; and perhaps no husband ever excelled him in tenderness 
 and affection. 
 
 In all probability, the true reason of his unwillingness that his bro- 
 ther should marry is to be found in the declaration, " I groaned 
 
 under my own and the peopl-e's burden." Thirteen years had now 
 elapsed since the brothers, after long and anxious inquiry, received 
 correct views of evangelical doctrine, and realized its truth in their own 
 experience. During this period their labours had been strenuous and 
 incessant ; they were directed to the one object of making men holy 
 and happy by believing in Christ ; and in these labours they had been 
 successful far beyond their highest hopes. They had the most deep 
 and solemn conviction, that their ministrations were carried on under 
 the direct sanction of God ; and that he had thus far employed them in 
 the revival of primitive Christianity. In all parts of the kingdom, from 
 the Land's End to the Tweed, and in various parts of Ireland, they had 
 societies of spiritual children, the fruit of their faith and prayer. All 
 these needed constant pastoral care, that they might not depart from 
 the good Shepherd, but remain in the fold, and be multiplied. Many 
 sons in the gospel had been raised up as their fellow-helpers; but
 
 438 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 these, not having been trained to the sacred office, stood in need of in- 
 cessant superintendence, encouragement, and direction. The discipline 
 of the connection was not then formed, and both the preachers and the 
 societies looked up to the Wesleys as their guiding head. Charles felt 
 that he could not take the charge of all these people. At no period of 
 his life was he qualified for the task. About three years after this time 
 Mr. John Wesley was alarmingly ill, and his death was generally anti- 
 cipated by his friends. In this emergency Charles, when urging the 
 society in London to unite in prayer for his brother's recovery, solemnly 
 declared to them, that should his brother be taken away, according to 
 their apprehensions, they would be inevitably left as sheep without a 
 shepherd ; for that he could not possibly sustain the pastoral charge 
 of them. He well knew that government was not his forte ; and as 
 soon as he became a husband, he at once perceived that his labours 
 and influence would be unavoidably restricted. His wife was ready to 
 accompany him wherever he went, and at this time actually proposed 
 to go with him to Newcastle ; but her presence with him in his travels 
 was often inconvenient and expensive, especially when the weather 
 was severe, and the journeys were long. Since his marriage Charles 
 had never been either to Cornwall, or Ireland, where a great work of 
 God was begun, and in delightful progress. If Mr. John Wesley's 
 marriage should be a means of confining his labours within the same 
 comparatively narrow circle, there was no hope that the cause of true 
 religion would advance as it had done. Many of the Methodist socie- 
 ties, there was reason to believe, would become Independent churches ; 
 a wide separation from the national Establishment would ensue ; and 
 the kingdom be deprived of that extensive reformation which the bro- 
 thers had hoped by God's blessing to effect. 
 
 These appear to have been the apprehensions of Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley with respect to his brother's marriage ; and if so, they were hon- 
 ourable to his judgment and his piety. A due attention to his wife was 
 unquestionably inconsistent with that rapid and extensive itinerancy to 
 which Mr. John Wesley was providentially called, as the general 
 superintendent of the growing Methodist societies and ministry. For 
 any thing that we certainly know to the contrary, Mr. Charles Wesley 
 was influenced by similar motives in the part which he took relative to 
 the marriage of Mrs. Grace Murray. In that case he had gone further 
 than duty would warrant ; and he saw that he had inflicted a wound in 
 his brother's mind which time had scarcely healed. Measures so 
 extreme he did not now attempt to repeat. When his brother was 
 married, and the paroxysm of his own grief had in part subsided, he 
 showed all possible respect to his brother's wife, and requested that all 
 past differences, of whatever kind, might be forgotten. He earnestly
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 439 
 
 desired that mutual confidence and love might be cherished between 
 his brother's family and his own, and that he and his brother mioht 
 labour together with their former cordiality. 
 
 The fears of Mr. Charles Wesley respecting the consequences of 
 his brother's marriage proved to be unfounded. Mr. John Wesley's 
 itinerant ministry was maintained in unimpaired efficiency to the end 
 of his life ; his regular visits to the principal societies in Great Britain 
 and Ireland were continued, and productive of the greatest good ; and 
 his control over the preachers was increasingly paternal and salutary 
 till he ceased to breathe. Yet while these important objects were 
 secured, though he was a married man, he was a stranger to the com- 
 forts of wedded life. His wife, after tormenting herself and her hus- 
 band for some years, retired altogether from his society, and left him 
 to pursue his course of duty in his own way. 
 
 Mrs. Vazeille was the widow of a London merchant, whose country 
 residence was at Wandsworth. She was a woman of good property, 
 the whole of which was secured to herself and her children before her 
 union with Mr. Wesley, who refused to have any control over her for- 
 tune. Neither in understanding nor education was she worthy of the 
 eminent man to whom she was united ; and her temper was intolerably 
 bad. During the life-time of her first husband she appears to have 
 enjoyed every indulgence ; and, judging from some of his letters to her, 
 which have been preserved, he paid an entire deference to her will. 
 Her habits and spirit were ill adapted to the privations and inconve- 
 niences which were incident to her new mode of life, as the travelling 
 companion of Mr. John Wesley, whose journeys were long and inces- 
 sant, and generally prosecuted with great rapidity. 
 
 Nothing could surpass his cheerfulness and equanimity. With him 
 it was a fixed principle, to see and acknowledge the hand of God in all 
 the events of life, small as well as great ; so that in his estimation 
 every murmur was a sin, being an expression of dissatisfaction with 
 the arrangements of divine Providence. For some time after his mar- 
 riage his wife accompanied him in his itinerancy, not always as a help 
 meet for him, but too often as a source of vexation. When her mind 
 was irritated, nothing could please her. The weather was either 
 intolerably cold, or insufferably hot. The roads were bad, and the 
 means of conveyance unbareable. The people by whom they were 
 accommodated were rude and unpolite. The provisions were scanty, 
 or ill prepared. The beds were hard, and the covering insufficient. 
 Her husband's official duties, preaching two or three times daily, visit- 
 ing the sick, regulating the societies, carrying on an extensive corre- 
 spondence, and writing constantly for the press, occupied so much of 
 his time, that he could not pay her all the attention that she required.
 
 440 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 She therefore deemed herself neglected. He could not relax in his 
 diligence, so as to conform to her views and habits, without violating 
 his conscience ; and she could not reconcile her mind to his ceaseless 
 travelling and application. They were married in February ; and in 
 the June following she carried her complaints against her husband to 
 Charles, who kindly attempted to soothe her spirit, and reconcile her to 
 the inconveniences which she could not avoid. He says, — 
 
 " I found my sister in tears ; professed my love, pity, and desire to 
 help her ; heard her complaints of my brother ; carried her to my 
 house, where, after supper, she resumed the subject, and went away 
 comforted. « 
 
 " June 22d. I passed another hour with her, in true affection and 
 conference ; then with my brother ; then with both together. * Our 
 explanation ended in prayer and perfect peace." 
 
 It will be perceived that the ladies whom Mr. John and Charles 
 Wesley married were very dissimilar. Miss Gwynne was young, and 
 had only a comparatively small fortune ; Mrs. Vazeille was rich, and 
 considerably advanced in life. Miss Gwynne was prepared to give her 
 heart, with all its warmth of original affection, to her husband, who 
 returned her love with an ardour equal to her own. To her, therefore, 
 it was a pleasure to meet all his views, and adapt herself to all his 
 habits and engagements. Mrs. Vazeille's affections had been long 
 occupied by a former husband, and the children Avhom she had borne 
 to him. Her love to Mr. Wesley was not sufficiently strong to induce 
 her patiently to submit to a life of self-denial on his account ; and nei- 
 ther her piety nor philosophy coidd reconcile her to her altered circum- 
 stances. Before she married him she knew that his parish was the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ; and if she thought that 
 she could confine his ministry within narrower limits, it is certain that 
 she understood not his character. Charles's labours became gradually 
 local. Happily for the world, John possessed greater firmness of bodily 
 and mental constitution. His was a fixedness of purpose, in all matters 
 of duty, from which nothing could induce him to swerve. The frowns 
 of men in authority, the allurements of ease, the pleasures of learning, 
 the violence of mobs, the caresses and even the tears of a wife, were 
 all equally powerless, when directed to the obstruction of his efforts to 
 save souls. Unless he had married a woman of a truly kindred spirit, 
 it would have been far better for him to remain single. With a wife 
 of Mrs. Vazeille's temper it was impossible that he should be happy ; 
 for he could not accommodate himself to her will without sinning 
 against God, by the neglect of that work to which he believed himself 
 divinely called, and the prosecution of which he therefore felt to be 
 matter of absolute duty.
 
 LIFE OF REY. CHARLES WESLEY. 441 
 
 It has been thought by some persons, that Mr. John Wesley treated 
 his fretful wife with coldness and reserve ; and that on this ground she 
 had just reason to complain. But the reverse of this is the fact. 
 Several of his letters to her, which were written after their marriage, 
 have been preserved. They display the utmost tenderness of affection, 
 such as few female hearts could have withstood, and justify the opinion, 
 that, had it been his happiness to be married to a person that was 
 worthy of him, he would have been one of the most affectionate hus- 
 bands that ever lived. Those who think that he was constitutionally 
 cold and repulsive utterly mistake his character. But nothing that he 
 could either do or say would his wife kindly receive. In almost every 
 word that he uttered, and every action that he performed, she found 
 fresh ground of dislike and complaint. According to Charles's testi- 
 mony, (and he was a competent judge,) nothing could surpass the 
 patience of his brother, in bearing with his perverse and murmuring 
 spouse. At first she carried her complaints to Charles ; but soon even 
 he and his wife became objects of her bitter hostility ; so that her lan- 
 guage to them was scarcely less severe than that which she applied to 
 her hapless husband. Some scores of documents in her hand-writing 
 are still in existence, which attest the violence of her temper, and 
 would warrant the conclusion that there was in her a certain degree of 
 mental unsoundness. The name by which Mr. Charles Wesley gen- 
 erally called her was, " My Best Friend :" for no other person told him 
 of his faults with half the vehemence and particularity which charac- 
 terized her rebukes and admonitions. 
 
 When Mr. Charles Wesley was first called to soothe the mind of his 
 discontented sister-in-law, he received complaints from Bradford, in 
 Wiltshire, affecting the moral character of James Wheatley, one of the 
 preachers whom he and his brother had appointed to assist them. Some 
 months before this, he had entertained strong doubts respecting Wheat- 
 ley, and had seriously admonished him, but without effect. The man 
 was sullen and obstinate. He had indeed become a thorough Antino- 
 mian, both in principle and action. At first he denied the charges 
 which were preferred against him ; then confessed them, when con- 
 fronted with his accusers ; then attempted to justify the acts of wicked- 
 ness of which he had been found guilty ; and, last of all, declared that 
 the preachers in general were addicted to the same practices. Ten of 
 them met him in the presence of the Wesleys, and challenged him to 
 the proof of the allegation ; but in this he entirely failed. Having con- 
 victed him of slander, in addition to his other crimes, and perceiving in 
 him no signs of repentance, the brothers solemnly cut him off from all 
 future connection with them and their fellow-labourers. After his dis- 
 missal he went to Norwich, where he was comparatively unknown.
 
 442 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES .WESLEY. 
 
 There he commenced an independent ministry ; for some time endured 
 bitter persecution ; and then became very popular ; till his wickedness, 
 which he continued to practise, was brought to light, and awakened the 
 public indignation. Wheatley was, there is reason to believe, the first 
 preacher that was ever expelled from the Methodist body. His life 
 was a tissue of inconsistencies. At the beginning of his public labours, 
 he gave satisfactory proof of deep piety and exemplary zeal ; and Mr. 
 John Wesley expressed, in a private letter to Howell Harris, his admi- 
 ration of Wheatley's spirit. While he was stationed in Ireland he 
 contracted an acquaintance with some Antinomians, and imbibed their 
 unholy principles. He immediately changed his mode of preaching, 
 expatiating almost exclusively upon the sufferings of Christ, and the 
 mercy of God, with little or no reference to practical holiness as essen- 
 tial to the Christian character. Confining his attention, and that of his 
 hearers, to the merits of Christ's passion, overlooking the spirituality 
 of Christ's law, and the righteousness of his government, this wretched 
 man silenced the voice of conscience, and, apparently without remorse, 
 abandoned himself to practices which have left an indelible brand upon 
 his memory. His very preaching was sensual, being addressed to the 
 passions of his hearers, rather than to their understandings and con- 
 sciences. 
 
 While Wheatley's case was under examination Mr. Charles Wesley 
 says, " I carried my brother home, and offered to join with him heartily 
 and entirely." He adds, that Wheatley's accusation " put my brother 
 and me upon the resolution of strictly examining into the life and moral 
 behaviour of every preacher in connection with us ; and the office fell 
 upon me. I set out for this purpose on Saturday, June 29th, 1751." 
 
 It is but justice to the preachers of that day to say, that Mr. Charles 
 Wesley's inquiries concerning them, prosecuted in various parts of the 
 kingdom, completely contradicted the statement of Wheatley. When 
 he was removed from their fraternity no other instance of moral delin- 
 quency could be found among them. Two or three Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley speaks of as deficient in abilities ; and expresses an opinion that 
 his brother had not exercised sufficient caution in their appointment. 
 One of them, Michael Fenwick, he directed to return to his secular 
 business, as being destitute of the talents requisite for the Christian 
 ministry. But he records not a word of complaint respecting the piety 
 or the deportment of any of the men who were regularly employed in 
 the itinerant work. His silence is their eulogy ; for to detect sin among 
 them, if there were any, was the direct object of his mission. 
 
 The following selections from the journal which he wrote during this 
 excursion will show the spirit by which he was actuated, and the state 
 of religion in various parts of the kingdom. He was still characterized 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 443 
 
 by that zeal and devotedness which had marked his course from the 
 commencement of his itinerant ministry. 
 
 " July 5th. Between six and seven I set out with sister Perrin, my 
 wife, sister Beck, and honest Francis Walker. Coming to Worcester 
 in the afternoon, we heard, the rioters had been at the room on Mon- 
 day evening, in expectation of me, and made great disturbance. I 
 doubted all along whether I had any business here at this time ; yet at 
 the desire of the poor people I went to their room at seven. Almost 
 as soon as I began, the mob interrupted ; but in spite of their lewd, 
 hellish language, I preached the gospel with much contention. They 
 had no power to strike the people, as usual ; neither did any molest us 
 on our way home. 
 
 " July 6th. We were hardly met when the sons of Belial poured in 
 upon us, some with their faces blacked ; some without shirts ; all in 
 rags. They began to ' stand up for the Church,' by cursing and swear- 
 ing, by singing and talking lewdly, and throwing dust and dirt all over 
 us ; with which they had filled their pockets, such as had any to fill. 
 I was soon covered from head to foot, and almost blinded. Finding it 
 impossible to be heard, I only told them I should apply to the magis- 
 trates for redress, and walked up stairs. They pressed after me ; but 
 Mr. Walker and the brethren .blocked up the stairs, and kept them 
 down. I waited a quarter of an hour ; then walked through the midst 
 of them to my lodgings ; and thence to the mayor's. 
 
 " I spent an hour with him, pleading the poor people's cause. He 
 said he had never before heard of their being so treated ; that is, pelted, 
 beaten, and wounded ; their house battered, and windows, partitions, 
 and locks broken : that none had applied to him for justice, or he should 
 have granted it : that he. was well assured of the great mischief the 
 Methodists had done throughout the nation ; and the great riches Mr. 
 Whitefield and their other teachers had acquired : that their societies 
 were quite unnecessary, since the Church was sufficient : that he was 
 for having neither Methodist nor Dissenter. 
 
 " I easily answered all his objections. He treated me with civility 
 and freedom ; and promised, at parting, to do our people justice. Whe- 
 ther he does or not, I have satisfied my own conscience. 
 
 " At ten we took horse for Tipton-green. Our brother Jones gave 
 us a melancholy account of the society at Wednesbury, which from 
 three hundred is reduced to seventy weak, lifeless members. Those 
 who had borne the burden and heat of the day. and stood like a rock 
 in all the storms of persecution, were removed from their steadfastness, 
 and fallen back into the world, through vain j anglings. Well it had 
 been for them if the predestinarians had never come hither. 
 
 " July 7th. I preached out to a numerous congregation, whom I could
 
 444 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 not look upon without tears. My text was, Rev. iii, 3 : ' Remember 
 therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.' 
 Out of the abundance of my heart my mouth spake, and called them 
 back to their first love, and first works. It was a solemn season of 
 sorrow. The Lord, I trust, knocked at many hearts, which will hear 
 his voice, and open to him again. He stirred up the faithful remnant 
 to pray for their backsliding brethren; and their prayers shall not 
 return empty. Another hour I employed in calling the society to re- 
 pentance. 
 
 " July 8th. I preached at five with much freedom, and hope of their 
 recovery. In the afternoon the curate met me ; a well-disposed youth, 
 just come from college, where his tutor, Mr. Bentham, gave him an 
 early prejudice for true religion. He invited me to his lodgings, joined 
 with us in serious conversation, and singing, and seeming ready for all 
 good impressions. At six I preached on Bromwich-heath to a multi- 
 tude of the poor, who heard me gladly; and I knew not when to 
 leave off. 
 
 " July 10th. I exhorted them at Wednesbury to lay aside every 
 weight, &c. I joined with the brethren in fervent prayer for a general 
 revival. 
 
 "July 11th. I examined the classes, and rejoiced to find them all 
 orderly walkers. I received some backsliders upon trial, and prayed 
 by a sick sister, quietly waiting for full redemption. 
 
 " I dined at Darlaston, at our brother Jones's uncle's. The master 
 
 was gone to his house not made with hands, and left a good report 
 
 behind him. He was a good and hardy soldier of Jesus Christ ; bold 
 
 to confess him before men ; for whose sake he suffered the loss of all 
 
 things, and continued faithful unto death. The people are a pattern to 
 
 all the flock. 
 
 ' Meek, simple followers of the Lamb, 
 
 They live, and speak, and think the same.' 
 
 .' 
 By their patience and steadfastness of faith they have conquered their 
 
 fiercest adversaries. God gives them rest ; and they walk in his fear 
 
 and comfort, increasing daily both in grace and number. 
 
 " I preached to most of the town, and pressed them to come boldly 
 to the throne of grace. My spirit was greatly assisted by theirs. 
 Those without seemed all given into my hands. The society was all 
 in a flame of love. They made me full amends for my sorrow at 
 Wednesbury. 
 
 " July 12th. I took my leave of them at Wednesbury, exhorting them 
 to continue in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of 
 bread, and in prayers. Sister Perrin met and found much grace among 
 the women. Half a dozen more wandering sheep I gathered in, and
 
 LIFE OF RE V. CHARLES WESLEY. ■ 445 
 
 restored to their brethren. I preached at Birmingham to several of the 
 better rank, who received the word with a ready mind. 
 
 " July 13th. At morning and at noon my mouth was opened to make 
 known the mystery of the gospel. 
 
 " July 14th. I examined the society, who adorn the gospel of Christ. 
 I heard a good sermon at church, about using the world as not abus- 
 ing it. But, alas ! it supposed the congregation to be Christians. I 
 preached at five before brother Bridgens's door. We expected a dis- 
 turbance ; but the power of the Lord was over all. The cloud stayed 
 on the assembled society. The word of exhortation went from my 
 heart to theirs. The Spirit helped us to pray, especially for some at 
 Bristol ; and our souls were like a watered garden. 
 
 "July 15th. At five I took horse with our brother Bridgens, an old 
 disciple, past eighty, and*lodged at Duffield. July 16th, at two, I 
 rejoiced to meet some of our dear children in Sheffield. I encouraged 
 them by that most glorious"* promise, ' Behold, He cometh with clouds, 
 and every eye shall see him !' The door has continued open ever 
 since Mr. Whitefield preached here, and quite removed the prejudices 
 of our first opposers. Some of them were convinced by him, some 
 converted, and added to the church. ' Him that escapes the sword of 
 Jehu shall Elisha slay.' 
 
 " July 17th. I preached at Rotherham, and met, to my comfort, 
 several solid believers. I talked severally with the growing society. 
 I returned and preached, in the streets at Sheffield, without life or 
 power, to a wild, tumultuous rabble. I was equally dead at the society. 
 
 " July 18th. I rode toward Barley-hall. I baited three hours at our 
 sister Booth's, and laboured all the time to strip an old self-righteous 
 Pharisee. At last our Lord got himself the victory. We left her in 
 tears and deep convictions : a greater miracle of grace than the con- 
 version of a thousand harlots ! 
 
 " I dined at Barley-hall with our dear sister Johnson, (a widow in- 
 deed,) and her six sons and daughter, all believers. I had heard at 
 Sheffield that the society here was come to nothing ; yet the word was 
 attended with the blessing which never failed me in this place ; and I 
 felt the Lord was not departed. I was still more agreeably surprised, 
 in examining the society, to find near seventy earnest souls, most of 
 them believers, and grown in grace. But who can stand before envy ? 
 The preacher that brought an evil report of them had it from some of 
 Sheffield, who through prejudice and jealousy would always hinder 
 our preaching at this place. How cautious should we be in believing 
 any man ! I marvel not now that my mouth was stopped at Sheffield. 
 
 "July 19th. I preached once more to this lively, loving people, 
 and left them sorrowful, yet rejoicing. We had a pleasant ride to
 
 446 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Wakefield, where our brother Johnson received us joyfully. He himself 
 was sick of a fever ; but the Lord makes his bed ; and he waits upon 
 Him without trouble, care, or choice. By five we were welcomed to 
 Leeds by our sister Hutchinson and others. I preached at eight to many 
 more than the house could hold. The Lord gave us a token for good. 
 
 " July 20th. The leaders informed me, that of the two hundred and 
 fifty members of the society every one could challenge the world, 
 ' which of you convinceth me of sin V I visited a faithful brother, whose 
 wife and sister were drawing back. We laboured to restore them in 
 the spirit of meekness, and the Lord added weight to our words. They 
 departed for a while, we trust, that we might receive them again for 
 ever. At eight I preached the gospel to a multitude of poor sinners, 
 unfeignedly poor, and hungering after righteousness. 
 
 "July 21st. I preached in the shell of our house, on Zech. iv, 9: 
 ' The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, his 
 hands shall also finish it ; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts 
 hath sent me unto you.' I rode to Birstal, where John Nelson com- 
 forted our hearts with an account of the success of the gospel in every 
 place where he has been preaching, except Scotland. There he has 
 been beating the air for three weeks, and spending his strength in vain. 
 Twice a day he preached at Mussleborough to some thousands of 
 mere hearers, without converting one soul. 
 
 " I preached at one to a different kind of people. Such a sight have 
 I not seen for many months. They filled the valley, and side of the 
 hill, as grasshoppers for multitude. Yet my voice reached the most 
 distant, as I perceived by their bowing at the holy name. Not one ap- 
 peared unconcerned. I directed them to ' the Lamb of God that taketh 
 away the sin of the world.' God gave me the voice of a trumpet, and 
 sent the word home to many hearts. After evening service I met them 
 again, but much increased, and lifted up my voice to comfort them by 
 the precious promises which were then fulfilled in many. The eyes 
 of the blind were opened ; the ears of the deaf unstopped ; the lame 
 men leaped like harts ; and the tongue of the dumb sung. The society 
 collected from all parts, filled their new room ; whom I earnestly ex- 
 horted to walk as becometh the gospel. 
 
 " July 23d. I showed the believers of Leeds how they ought to 
 walk, from, ' Ye are the salt of the earth,' &c. In the evening I 
 preached repentance and forgiveness in the name of Jesus to a mixed 
 multitude of rich and poor. I visited a sick sister, destitute of all 
 things, yet triumphing over want, sickness, death. 
 
 " July 24th. I preached at Woodhouse, faint and ill, as before a fever. 
 So I told Sally, yet strove to hold up till I had written, with many tears, 
 to my dear J. Hutchinson. At eight the fever came. 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 447 
 
 " July 25th. I was carried to Miss Norton's, who quitted her house 
 for us, and Sarah Perrin. 
 
 " July 26th. John Nelson assured me that above seventy had died in 
 triumph out of Birstal society only. 
 
 " July 29th. Dr. Milner constantly attended me. I had some dis- 
 course with Paul Greenwood, an Israelite indeed ; glad to work with 
 his hands, as well as to preach. 
 
 " August 1st. M. Polier, a minister from Switzerland, was brought 
 to me by my doctor. He inquired thoroughly into our affairs. I told 
 him all I knew of the Methodists, with which he appeared fully satisfied. 
 He seemed a man of learning and piety. In the evening we were 
 strangely drawn out in prayer for him. 
 
 " August 6th. I prayed with the society, in solemn fear of God pre- 
 sent. It seemed as if he spoke with an articulate voice, ' Return unto 
 me, and I will return unto you.' My faith was greatly strengthened 
 for the work. The manner and instruments of carrying it on I leave 
 entirely to God. 
 
 " August 8th. I took horse for Newcastle, with Sally, sister Perrin. 
 Miss Norton, and William Shent. We could get no further than Topliff. 
 I found an aged woman reading Kempis, and asked her the foundation 
 of her hope. She simply answered, ' A good life.' I endeavoured to 
 teach her better, and preached Christ the atonement, as the only found- 
 ation. She received my saying with tears of joy. We joined in 
 fervent prayer for her. All the family seemed much affected. I found 
 myself refreshed in body, as* well as soul, and easily rode on to Sand- 
 hutton. 
 
 " August 9th. By noon our travels ended at Newcastle. My com- 
 panions are better, both in mind and body, for their long journey. I 
 preached, but very feeble, on, ' The third part I will bring through the 
 fire.' Preaching, I perceive, is not now my principal business. God 
 knoweth my heart, and all its burdens. that he would take the mat- 
 ter into his own hand, though he lay me aside like a broken vessel ! 
 
 "August 11th. I felt the fever hanging about me all day, notwith- 
 standing the bark, which I continue taking. The society appeared 
 lively and solid. I vehemently exhorted them to watch and pray, as 
 well for the labourers as themselves, that none of us might bring a 
 reproach upon the gospel. 
 
 " August 12th. I had much discourse with a brother from Scotland, 
 who has preached there many weeks, and not converted one soul. 
 ' You may just as well preach to the stones,' he added, ' as to the Scots.' 
 Yet to keep my brother's word, I sent William Shent to Mussleborough. 
 Before he went, he gave me this memorable account of their late trial 
 at Leeds : —
 
 448 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " ' At Whitecoat-hill, three miles from Leeds, a few weeks since, as 
 our brother Maskew was preaching, a mob arose, broke the windows 
 and doors, and struck the constable, Jacob Hawley, a brother. On 
 this we indicted them for an assault ; and the ringleader of the mob, 
 John Illingworth, indicted our brother the constable, and got persons to 
 swear the constable struck him. The grand jury threw out our indict- 
 ment, and found that against us. So we stood trial with them on Mon- 
 day, July 15th, 1751 ; and the recorder, Richard Wilson, Esq., gave it 
 in our favour, with the rest of the court. But the foreman of the jury, 
 Matthew Priestley, with two others, Richard Cloudsley and Jabez Run- 
 nel, would not agree with the rest, being our avowed enemies ; the 
 foreman, Mr. Murgatroyd's great friend and champion against the Me- 
 thodists. 
 
 " ' However, the recorder gave strict orders to a guard of constables, 
 to watch the jury, that they should have neither meat, drink, candles, 
 nor tobacco, till they were agreed in their verdict. They were kept 
 prisoners all that night, and the next day till five in the afternoon, when 
 one of the jury said he would die before he would give it against us. 
 Then he spoke closely to the foreman concerning his prejudice against 
 the Methodists, till at last he condescended to refer it to one man. Him 
 the other charged to speak as he would answer it to God in the day of 
 judgment. The man turned pale, and trembled, and desired another 
 might decide it. Another, Joseph Hardwick, being called on, imme- 
 diately decided it in favour of the Methodists. After the trial, Sir 
 Henry Ibison, one of the justices, called a brother, and said, You see 
 God never forsakes a righteous man. Take care you never forsake him. 
 
 " ' While the trial lasted, hundreds of our enemies were waiting for 
 the event, who showed by their fierceness what they designed, had we 
 lost our cause. They intended to begin with pulling down our house ; 
 but thanks be to God, who hath not delivered us over as a prey into 
 their teeth. 
 
 " ' The judge of the court was Richard Wilson, Esq., recorder of 
 Leeds. Justices : J. Frith, mayor ; alderman Micklethwaite ; alder- 
 man Denison ; alderman Sawyer ; A. Smith ; A. Brooks. Jury : Mat- 
 thew Priestley, Richard Cloudsley, Jabez Bunnel, U. Briscoe, William 
 Wormill, Richard Cockell, Joseph Naylor, Joseph Inkersley, George 
 Dixon, Richard Sharp, William Upton, and Joseph Hardwick. There 
 were four witnesses against, and six for, us.' 
 
 "August 13th. I rode with my little family to Sunderland. I ex- 
 amined the society of about one hundred, most of whom received the 
 atonement in meeting their classes : an argument for such meetings as 
 I cannot get over. At seven I preached in a large, convenient room, 
 filled with attentive souls, on Avhom I called, ' Behold the Lamb of God, 
 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 449 
 
 which taketh away the sin of the world !' For an hour and a half my 
 strength held out. 
 
 " Aug-ust 14th. At nine we set out, and in half an hour's riding over- 
 took a woman and girl leading a horse. She begged us to help them 
 up, and forward them on their way. We did so ; but the horse turned 
 with them again, and rode back toward Sunderland. We had the riders 
 to pick up again, and remount. Their horse we put between us ; but 
 he broke through a gap, and galloped back. When he had shaken 
 them off he stood still. I bade my companion take up the girl behind 
 him, hoping the horse- would carry the woman alone: but in vain; 
 though we all beat the poor beast, to drive him on, he kicked and 
 flounced till he had dismissed his rider. I then said, ' Surely, good 
 woman, God withstands you. You are going somewhere contrary to 
 his will. I can compare your horse to nothing but Balaam's ass. What 
 can be the meaning of it V She answered, ' Sir, I will tell you all ; for 
 there must be something extraordinary in the great pains you have 
 taken with me. That child I had by a gentleman who promised me 
 marriage, but since married another, because richer than I. I am going 
 to try if he will do any thing for the child and me : but I fear it is not 
 pleasing to God.' I asked what she had to live upon. She told me. 
 she was married to a blacksmith ; had a child by him ; and it was but 
 low with them. I advised her to take God's warning, and utterly re- 
 nounce the first wicked man ; to spend the rest of her days in repent- 
 ance, and working out her salvation ; gave her something ; and recom- 
 mended her to a sister in Sunderland. She seemed overwhelmed with 
 joy and gratitude, mounted with her child, and the horse carried them 
 quietly home. 
 
 " August 16th. At three I was sent for by the jailer's wife, to a poor 
 wretch under sentence of death, for murdering his own daughter of 
 fourteen. Never have I spoken to a more hardened, ignorant, stupid 
 sinner. He utterly denied the fact. I prayed for him, but with little 
 hope. After preaching at the Orphan-house, I commended him to the 
 prayers of the congregation, and we found free access to the throne. 
 At my next visit I perceived little change in him ; only he suffered me 
 to speak, and said nothing of his innocence. 
 
 " August ] 8th. I heard Jonathan Reeves at Sheephill, and added a 
 few words in confirmation of his. I returned to Newcastle comforted. 
 I preached in great weakness. At our love-feast the spirit of supplica- 
 tion was given, and the poor murderer brought to our remembrance. I 
 have not been more refreshed for many a day. 
 
 " August 20th. I preached in the prison, on, ' Christ hath redeemed 
 us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for us.' Still 
 I could not discern any signs of true repentance in the poor man, though 
 
 29
 
 450 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 he is to die to-morrow. He persists in his innocence ; but confesses 
 he deserves far worse punishment at the hands of God. I prayed over 
 him with tears ; and told him, our next meeting would be at the judg- 
 ment-seat. I was ready to wonder why Providence had directed me 
 to him, and engaged his people to pray for him, when one informed me, 
 that while I was earnestly praying for him in the congregation, a woman 
 had received forgiveness. Many other good ends may be answered, 
 which we do not know : at least, our prayers shall return again into 
 our own bosom. At night I was drawn out in prayer again for him, 
 and continued instant therein for half an hour. The people were deeply 
 affected. It is impossible for so many prayers to be lost. 
 
 "August 21st. The first news I heard this morning from Jonathan 
 Reeves was, that he had been with John Downes and others, visiting 
 the poor malefactor ; and they verily believed he had found mercy. 
 He told them his heart was so light, he could not express it ; and he 
 was not in the least afraid to die. Two days before, Jonathan Reeves 
 had talked an hour and a half with him, and put him in great fear ; but 
 now he appeared quite calm and resigned, and so continued to the last 
 moment. I took horse at nine for Horsley, leaving Jonathan to attend 
 the execution, and bring us word. He overtook us in the afternoon, 
 with the same account of his convert, who showed all the marks of 
 repentance and faith in death. I passed the afternoon with Mr. Carr, 
 a young minister from Scotland, and our brother and sister Ord, from 
 Hexham. I preached at seven, quite overcome with the heat. By 
 noon I returned to Newcastle. 
 
 " August 23d. I spake with our brother Allen, an exhorter, whom 
 one would fain have persuaded to forsake his business. I persuaded 
 him to continue in it. 
 
 " August 24th. At one I set out with Sally, sister Perrin, Miss Norton, 
 &c. I preached at Durham repentance, and faith in our Lord Jesus. 
 
 " August 25th. We communicated at the Abbey. I preached in a 
 yard to many quiet hearers, on, ' Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh 
 away the sin of the world !' I enlarged much at the society. 
 
 "August 26th. I set out at six with Miss Norton, S. Perrin, &c. 
 We lodged at Thirsk, and dined the next day at York. I preached at 
 six to many deeply-attentive hearers ; and passed a restless night, ex- 
 pecting the return of my fever. 
 
 " August 28th. I received strength to preach in the afternoon, and 
 meet the society. Next morning, Miss Norton and S. Perrin set out 
 with William Shent for Leeds, and we for Epworth. It happened to 
 be the fair-day, which increased our evening congregation. I exhorted 
 them to come boldly to the throne of grace ; and the word did not 
 return empty. 
 
 29*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 451 
 
 "August 31st. I rode with S. W, to Misterton ; and prayed by an 
 old believer, who had saved all her house by prayer. Before the °-os- 
 pel came, she had in faith asked life for them ; and as soon as the 
 Methodists preached here, her sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, 
 and all her kin, who are the principal persons in the town, received the 
 truth, and entered into the society. I found a multitude of gracious 
 souls, who greedily drank the word, ' I have blotted out thy transgres- 
 sions as a thick cloud.' It was a time of great refreshing, both for them 
 and me. 
 
 " Sept. 1st. I met the society from six to eight, and rejoiced over them 
 as over our Kingswood colliers in their first love. I preached at nine 
 with double power. Many cried after Jesus. One fainted through 
 vehemence of desire. I was forced to leave them, and return to 
 the dead souls in Epworth. There I preached at the Cross, and met 
 the society, whom I endeavoured to stir up, to the recovery of their 
 former zeal." 
 
 From Epworth Mr. Charles Wesley went to Sykehouse, and thence 
 to Leeds, where he joined the faithful friends from whom he had parted 
 at York. He remained about a fortnight in Leeds and the neighbour- 
 hood, preaching to the people ; holding private conversations with the 
 preachers, whom he collected together from all quarters, that he might 
 hear them preach, and ascertain their views and spirit. Robert Swin- 
 dells he found inclined to Calvinism, but teachable ; David Trathen 
 and John Webb, confirmed predestinarians ; and John Bennet, grieved, 
 and strongly prejudiced against Mr. John Wesley, in consequence of 
 some untruths which had been insidiously stated to him. Here he 
 also met with William Darney, a man of considerable notoriety in his 
 day. William was a native of Scotland, of blunt manners, and of great 
 energy and perseverance, who itinerated through an extensive district 
 of country, in Yorkshire and Lancashire, preaching, and forming reli- 
 gious societies. His theological views were Calvinistic. In the pious 
 vicar of Haworth he had a friend and patron ; but he does not appear 
 to have been in strict communion with any body of religious people. 
 The persons whom he collected together were generally called 
 " Wiliam Darney's societies." This eccentric evangelist had a con- 
 siderable facility in versification, and thought some of his poetic 
 musings sufficiently important for publication. They are among the 
 most rude and unpolished compositions that were ever committed to the 
 press. 
 
 During his stay in Leeds Mr. Charles Wesley held a conference of 
 the preachers, of which he has left the following curious account in his 
 private journal : — 
 
 "Sept. 11th. Mr. Grimshaw came, and soon after Mr. Milner. At
 
 452 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ten we began our conference ; at which were present John Nelson, 
 William Shent, Christopher Hopper, Thomas Colbeck, Jonathan 
 Reeves, John Bennet, Paul Greenwood, Michael Fenwick, Titus 
 Knight, from Halifax, Robert Swindells, and Matthew Watson. All 
 these I had invited, and given them notes. Webb and Trathen came 
 afterward, but were net admitted. Brother Mortimer also, and Wil- 
 liam Darney, whom I appointed to talk with before we met again in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 " Had any one asked me the end of our conference, I could not have 
 told him ; only that I came to make observations, to get acquainted 
 with the preachers, and see if God had any thing to do with us, or by us. 
 
 " After prayer (in which I found much of the presence of God) 1 
 began, without design, to speak of the qualifications, work, and trials 
 of a preacher ; and what I thought requisite in men who act in concert. 
 As to preliminaries and principles, we all agreed. This conversation 
 lasted till one. I carried Mr. Grimshaw, Milner, and Bennet to dinner 
 at Miss Norton's. 
 
 " At three we met again. But first I talked to Mortimer, whom I 
 admitted ; and to William Darney, whom I rejected. Two hours more 
 we spent in friendly, profitable conference. I told them my heart, freely 
 and fully, concerning the work and the workmen. We parted in the 
 spirit of love. 
 
 " At six I preached to thousands in the new house, from, ' Behold, 
 He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him !' We have not 
 had such a time together since I came. The same power rested on 
 the society. Our souls were as a watered garden. Thanks be to God 
 for his unspeakable gift ! 
 
 " Sept. 12th. I took a delightful leave of them at five. We all 
 agreed to postpone opinions till the next general conference, settled the 
 affairs of the church, the best we could, and parted friends. 
 
 " At three I took horse with Mr. Grimshaw, Milner, Shent, Bennet, 
 for Birstal. I expounded Isaiah xxxv, with great enlargement and 
 assistance. I rejoiced with the steadfast society, and concluded the 
 happy day with John Bennet in prayer. 
 
 " Sept. 13th. I let him preach in the morning ; which he did to the 
 satisfaction of all. I rode with Jonathan Reeves to Bradford ; preached 
 repentance and remission of sins in the street, to many seemingly seri- 
 ous people ; baptized a Dissenter's child ; and rode on to Skircoat- 
 green. It was near sunset before I began there. The house would 
 not contain one-fifth of the hearers. I stood out, (the wall sheltering 
 me, and a hill the people, from the high wind,) and invited them to 
 Christ, the Justifier. Great life I perceived among them ; and very 
 little in the society ; whom I therefore sharply reproved.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 453 
 
 " Sept. 14th. I heard John Bennet again. He spake sound words, 
 that could not be reproved ; and they had a visible effect on the hear- 
 ers. I reached Keighley by noon ; preached at four to about one thou- 
 sand as well-behaved hearers as I have lately seen ; on whom I called, 
 with an open mouth and heart, ' Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye 
 to the waters !' Great life I also found in the society. 
 
 " Sept. 15th. I bestowed an hour on the leaders, a dozen steady, 
 solid men. I left Paul Greenwood to preach, and hastened to Haworth. 
 I never saw a church better filled : but after I had prayed in the pulpit, the 
 multitude in the church-yard cried out, they could not hear, and begged 
 me to come forth. I did so, and preached on a tomb-stone. Between 
 three and four thousand heard me gladly. At two I called again, to 
 above double the number, ' Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh 
 away the sin of the world !' The church leads and steeple* were filled 
 with clusters of people, all still as night. If ever I preached gospel, 
 I preached it then. The Lord take all the glory ! 
 
 " I took horse immediately, and followed our nimble guide, Johnny 
 Grimshaw, to Ewood. His father came panting after us. Sarah Per- 
 rin and her namesake met us from Birstal, and brought Mr. Shent. 
 We passed a comfortable evening together. 
 
 " Sept. 16th. I preached at nine, in a convenient field, to about a 
 thousand believers, or conscious unbelievers ; and again at three to 
 about three thousand. Their spirit carried me beyond myself. Such 
 a lively people I have not met with, so simple, loving, zealous. I could 
 have gladly stayed to live and die with them." 
 
 Here Mr. Charles Wesley took leave of his friend Mr. Grimshaw, 
 and ' of William Shent and Darney ; giving written instructions, that 
 unless Darney would abstain from railing, begging, and printing non- 
 sense, he should not be allowed to preach in any of the Methodist soci- 
 eties and meeting-houses. William Shent was charged with the exe- 
 cution of this order. The indulgence conceded to Darney, with these 
 limitations, was granted solely at the instance of Mr. Grimshaw, to 
 whom it was difficult to deny any thing. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's next remove was to Manchester, where he 
 preached to large congregations, and was pleased with the society, 
 many of its members being in all the simplicity and ardour of their first 
 love. Here he spent some time in friendly conversation with his old 
 acquaintance, John Byrom, the poet, who received the doctrine of sal- 
 vation by faith with the Wesleys, but was now an admirer of the unin- 
 telligible lore of Jacob Behmen. He freely censured what he thought 
 to be wrong in the Methodists ; and Charles listened with all deference 
 
 * The roofs of the old churches in England are covered with lead instead of slate. 
 The steeple is generally a square tower with a flat roof. — Amer. Ed 4
 
 454 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 and respect to the reproofs which were administered ; remarking, 
 *' Of such reprovers, how shy are we by nature ! yet such are our best 
 friends." 
 
 He was accompanied by John and Grace Bennet to Bolton, where 
 he found the peace of the society partially disturbed by the Calvinistic 
 sermons of Robert Swindells and John Webb. He endeavoured to 
 promote peace and forbearance among those who held jarring opinions. 
 Leaving Lancashire, he preached with enlargement and power to his 
 old persecuted friends at Wednesbury ; he held the first watch-night at 
 Birmingham ; he ministered to his friends at Evesham and Oxford ; 
 and arrived in London on the 4th of October, accompanied by his faith- 
 ful and devoted wife. a Our long journey," says he, " ended there as 
 prosperously as it began. The people were ready, and joined heartily 
 with us in prayer and thanksgiving." 
 
 It will be observed that Mr. Charles Wesley speaks of John Bennet 
 with great respect and affection. Some of the preachers at the Leeds 
 conference doubted the soundness of John's theological principles, and 
 would fain have instituted an inquiry into the subject ; but Charles 
 screened him from their attacks. His temper was indeed soured ; but 
 Charles thought that he might be reclaimed by kindness ; especially as 
 Bennet disavowed all intention of retiring from the itinerant ministry 
 in connection with his old friends. In this, however, Charles was mis- 
 taken. Before the end of the year Bennet became more violent ; 
 avowed his belief of the Calvinian theory ; and ultimately became an 
 Independent minister ; to the grief of his wife, who had been brought 
 to God through the ministry of the Wesleys, and sincerely loved them 
 for their work's sake. 
 
 From this date there is a chasm in Mr. Charles Wesley's journal till 
 September, 1756, with the exception of one or two short fragments. 
 
 During this interval Mrs. Wesley took many extensive journeys with 
 her husband, riding mostly behind him on horseback, enduring not a 
 few inconveniences, and meeting with adventures which she was ac- 
 customed to relate, in the society of her friends, to the end of her very 
 protracted life. In the gallery of the chapel at Leeds she found two 
 rooms partitioned off, for the accommodation of the preachers in their 
 regular visits to the town. In the evening they were expected to preach 
 and meet, the society, to resume their pulpit labours the next morning 
 at five o'clock, and then pass on to their next appointment. To sleep 
 in the chapel therefore was a convenience. When Mrs. Wesley 
 visited Leeds, one of these rooms, to save expense, was occupied by 
 a number of labouring men ; and in going to her apartment in the 
 evening she had to pass through the room where these weary and 
 unpolished men were sleeping. This untoward circumstance shocked
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 455 
 
 her delicacy more than any thing that she met with in her new mode 
 of life. 
 
 Once, in returning to the south, she rode behind her husband in one 
 day from Manchester to Stone, in Staffordshire, passing through Mac- 
 clesfield, Congleton, and Newcastle-under-Line. Having taken some 
 refreshment at the inn where they intended to pass the night, she retired 
 into the garden, and there sat down to rest herself. It was a fine sum- 
 mer evening ; and though wearied with a journey of fifty miles, thus 
 inconveniently taken, a heavenly calm came over her spirit, correspond- 
 ing with the scene around her. She raised her sweet and melodious 
 voice in a hymn of praise to her Saviour, who had so freely shed abroad 
 his love in her heart. Her singing attracted the ear of some young 
 ladies in an adjoining garden, who stood in silent attention on the other 
 side of the hedge, listening to strains which were equally devout and 
 tasteful. Their father was a clergyman, who came and joined them 
 with equal delight. When Mrs. Wesley had finished, he complimented 
 her upon her voice and skill, and invited her to sing in his church on 
 the following sabbath. But having learned who she was, and being 
 given to understand that if he would have her in his choir, he must 
 allow her husband to occupy the pulpit, he declined the services of both. 
 A Methodist sermon, even from a clergyman, he could not tolerate upon 
 any terms. 
 
 On another occasion she accompanied her husband to Norwich, 
 where a furious mob assembled to maltreat the preacher and his com- 
 panions. Lest she should receive any harm, as the wife of Mr. Charles 
 Wesley, it was deemed requisite that she should not pass along the 
 street with him, but in company with a female friend. That friend was 
 the lady of Colonel Galatin, who, being tall and handsome, attracted 
 general attention, and was grievously annoyed : while Mrs. Wesley, 
 being, like her husband, little of stature, was overlooked by the crowd, 
 and passed to her lodgings uninjured. 
 
 Few ministers, it is presumed, have been subject to greater variation 
 of feeling than Mr. Charles Wesley. When travelling from place to 
 place, preaching the word of life, and witnessing the power of divine 
 grace in the conversion of ungodly men, his joy sometimes rose to rap- 
 ture, and at other times his energies were paralized by despondency, 
 and he earnestly desired to descend into the grave.
 
 45 6 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Mrs. Charles Wesley was the mother of eight children. It may 
 therefore be supposed that she could not long accompany her husband 
 in those very extensive journeys to which he had been accustomed. 
 His labours indeed became gradually limited, till they were almost 
 exclusively confined to London and Bristol. As it was requisite that 
 he should spend much time in the metropolis, and the family residence 
 was in Bristol, he was often separated from her. During their absence 
 his letters to her were numerous ; and they were uniformly character- 
 ized by tender affection and fervent piety. Many of them have been 
 preserved ; but unhappily scarcely any are fully dated, so that it is 
 impossible to ascertain the time at which they were written. A few 
 selections will show the spirit of the writer to great advantage. They 
 are equally honourable to the man, the husband, and the minister of 
 Christ. 
 
 " The Foundery, May 10th. I had not time the last post to tell my 
 dearest Sally what comfort I had in doing the last office to an old child 
 of mine, who came this week to the grave as a ripe shock of corn. 
 From her grave I hastened to preach our Lord's ascension ; and we 
 shared in his triumph, and rejoiced in hope of receiving all the gifts 
 he has received for us. 
 
 " Our meeting of the leaders was a most solemn assembly. The 
 Lord is surely teaching us how to worship him. All perceived, they 
 were met in his name. All were bowed down at his feet. His Spirit 
 made intercession for us, and for you. For one blessed hour our flesh 
 did indeed keep silence before him. 
 
 " This morning I strongly insisted upon selling all, if we would buy 
 the pearl. Mr. Venn breakfasted with me at Mrs. Boult's, and com- 
 forted my heart by assuring me that Mr. Madan is entirely clear of 
 predestination ; that one Mr. Hawes, a Hutchinsonian, preaches in a 
 church, in Oxford, Christ crucified, with amazing success ; both towns- 
 men and gownsmen flocking in crowds to hear 'him. I administered 
 the sacrament to one who has been long confined to his restless bed 
 of pain and death ; but happy in the midst of all his sufferings, and 
 patiently waiting for the consummation of his bliss. 
 
 " My next stage was to brother Hammond's ; a poor wandering 
 sheep, that did run well for years, but left us upon his marriage, and 
 Christ too. The last time I was in town I persuaded him, after twelve 
 years' interruption, to come to Spitalfields chapel. He came ; and the 
 Lord laid hold of him again, and brought him back to the fold. Since
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 457 
 
 then he has constantly attended every ordinance with his old compa- 
 nions ; and we have, I trust, received him for ever. 
 
 " I met poor Miss Dyer, that was, who has gone through a sea of 
 sorrows since her fatal marriage to Mr. Cayley. Relly and Wheatley 
 confirmed him in Iris Antinomian principles. He soon acted up to his 
 principles ; and discarded his wife with all aggravations of the blackest 
 ingratitude. I took great delight in mourning with her. 
 
 " I have been praying with Mrs. Chambers, who draws nearer and 
 nearer her end. She was quite calm, and even desirous to depart. 
 We have often wrestled for her, and cannot doubt." 
 
 " My ever Dearest Sally, — Your illness would quite overwhelm me, 
 were I not assured that it shall work together for your good, and en- 
 hance your happiness through eternity. How does this assurance 
 change the nature of things ! 
 
 ' Sorrow is joy, and pain is ease, 
 If thou, my God, art here !' 
 
 The slightest suffering received from, him is an inestimable blessing : 
 another jewel added to your crown. Go on, then, my faithful partner, 
 doing and suffering his blessed will, till out of great tribulation we both 
 enter his kingdom, and his joy, and his glory everlasting. 
 
 " I do not doubt your punctually observing your good and wise 
 mother's advice, both in this and all things : and I rejoice in hope of 
 finding you on Wednesday se'nnight well in all senses. 
 
 " Will you allow me to own I envy poor happy Miss L ? if the 
 
 time of her departure is indeed at hand. Surely she is taken from the 
 evil to come ; and we shall find her again in the New Jerusalem, where 
 is no more death, or curse, or pain, or sighing ; but all tears are wiped 
 away from our eyes. 
 
 " Yesterday my brother and I passed with our friends at Shoreham. 
 All inquired after you in the kindest manner ; but Mr. Perronet's lan- 
 guage concerning his daughter* would lose much by repetition. They 
 all join with us in the most affectionate salutations. So does Mrs. 
 Blackwell, and Mrs. Dewal, and Grace Murray, and T. Butts, and 
 many more than I have room to mention." 
 
 " My Dearest of Friends, — Happy, happy Mr. Parkinson ! I feared 
 he would take his flight before I saw him. Yet I seem to feel he 
 blessed me at his death. Let my last end be like his ! Comfort his 
 poor sister till I come. 
 
 " I parted with Miss Bosanquet, Mrs. G , and Miss Edwards 
 
 to-day at the Lord's supper. It was a feast indeed ! We called on 
 our absent friends to be partakers." 
 
 * The name by which this venerable man used to call Mrs. Charles Wesley.
 
 
 458 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " My Dearest Friend, — It is late ; yet I must write to tell you how 
 impatient we all are to see you. The preachers will guard you to town. 
 Do not refuse even brother Oddie, or brother Oliver. If none of them 
 are ready, brother Sheen, or Mr. Lewis, will, I know, attend you as far 
 as Marlborough. Shall not Isaac meet you at Reading 1 on what day? 
 
 " I have preached three times within five days : on Tuesday evening 
 at the Foundery, on looking unto Jesus : afraid I spoke too plain. This 
 evening Mr. Grimshaw preached at Zoar. My strength continues. 
 Thank God for that. 
 
 " Bring my account-book. We depend on having you with us next 
 week. The Lord prosper your journey ! Adieu !" 
 
 " My dear partner will look for me at the heels of my letter. Yes- 
 terday I saw Mrs. Bird. At her baptism she was quite overpowered, 
 and struck speechless. Now she tells me, in going home that night, 
 such joy sprung up in her heart as she never felt before : a joy un- 
 speakable, and full of heaven. It lasted all night. She could have 
 rejoiced to give up her spirit then, knowing she should be saved eter- 
 nally. Since then she has been frightened at the withdrawing, or, at 
 least, abatement, of her happiness. I told her she must expect tempta- 
 tion, as well as comfort ; and our Lord's own baptism was immediately 
 followed by temptation. She grows in grace. Her husband, a poor 
 backslider, is much stirred up. They earnestly invite you to their 
 house in town' or country. Mrs. Hogg joins. She also is awakened 
 by a loud and extraordinary call to prepare for her dissolution. 
 
 " Yesterday I visited our loving Miss Hervey, who breathes nothing 
 but love to you. I spent two hours with Mrs. and Mr. Venn. The 
 former stands her ground as yet. I saw Miss Chambers and Mr. 
 Downing ; drank tea at Vauxhall, with Mrs. Kiteley ; got two hours' 
 useful conversation with our friends at Lewisham ; and, returning, found 
 at my lodgings faithful John Downes. I have already seen cause for 
 rejoicing in my longer continuance here." 
 
 " London, Easter-eve. May the choicest blessings of God go along 
 with these lines, and meet you well at Ludlow ! On Friday I trust he 
 will grant me my heart's desire, even the sight of one I love next to 
 himself. I am apt to believe you left our happy friend waiting still for 
 the consummation of her happiness. She may hover some time at the 
 gate of paradise. I cannot oppose 'her wish, for nurse and you to go 
 with her,' if I might make the third. But my best-beloved friend has 
 many happy days yet to employ in that service which is perfect freedom. 
 
 " O what great troubles has He showed you ! and yet did he turn and 
 refresh you ; yea, and brought you up from the depth again ! He will 
 also bring you to great honour, and comfort you on every side. And if 
 he makes me an instrument, I cannot but be comforted myself.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 459 
 
 " My strength is as my day. George Whitefield has taken off great 
 part of my labour. I let him preach yesterday at the chapel, Seven- 
 Dials, reserving myself for the watch-night. In consideration whereof 
 -we had service this morning an hour later. These things I mention in 
 proof of my great carefulness, and in hope you will follow a good 
 example. 
 
 " The Founder^-. My Most-beloved Friend, — Our last Lord's day 
 deserves to be had in remembrance. I read the whole service, except 
 the first lesson ; preached near an hour, and never with greater 
 enlargement. After the sacrament we could have prayed for ever. 
 The Spirit rested upon us ; and it seemed as if every soul was a wa- 
 tered garden. 
 
 " Although the number of communicants was so great, I dismissed 
 them at one ; laid hold on Miss Wells, and carried her to dine with 
 me at sister Phips's ; and then to sister Boult's, and the Foundery. 
 There again my mouth was opened, to warn, and to encourage. My 
 subject was, ' If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of 
 the land ; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured by the sword : 
 for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.' In the society I was un- 
 expectedly required to pray for Mr. Lindsey, for Mr. Waller, and for a 
 friend in Bristol, and her two children. Those prayers were given, 
 and therefore sealed, prayers. We continued in fellowship and in 
 prayers till eight. Then I was less weary than in the morning. 
 
 " The pain in my face, which began to revisit me on Saturday, was 
 carried off this night. I rose with it on Monday morning ; yet it did 
 not hinder my expounding the forty-sixth Psalm, and meeting the select 
 band. I rode over to Low-Leyton, and spent an agreeable day with 
 loving Lady Piers, and courteous Mr. Howard, both of them full of kind 
 inquiries concerning you and your family. In the evening I met on 
 the road my friend Mr. Lloyd, and rode another hour with him. I 
 received strength to preach this morning at the Foundery ; and the 
 Lord of hosts was with us. Mr. Phene took his last leave of me, full 
 of gratitude, both to me, and our children ; who, out of their little, have 
 contributed sixty pounds for the relief of their distressed brethren in 
 Germany : besides five guineas for himself. The Lord Jesus be your 
 portion, and bless you and yours for ever ! Adieu !" 
 
 " Frith-street, near Seven-Dials, April 16th. My Very Dear Friend. 
 — We go on well. I administered the sacrament yesterday morning 
 at five in Spitalfields, and here at nine. The Lord was confortably 
 with us. A third time I preached to a vast congregation at the Foun- 
 dery, and bestowed an hour or two on the whole society. They are in 
 no manner of danger of loving me too little. We had a blessed time 
 of it, which so renewed my bodily strength, that I walked on harts'
 
 460 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 feet to Mr. I'anson's : he, his wife, and a troop accompanying us. Many 
 kind inquiries, be sure, there were after you and your family. I 
 preached at five this morning, and had a good number of communicants. 
 Brother Wright and his sister salute you. Him I shall probably bring 
 with me to Bath ; but more probably Robert Windsor. On this day 
 three weeks we purpose taking horse, not without hopes of meeting you 
 at Bath. My stay at Bristol will be very short ; yet my stay may be 
 longer at Brecknock. But observe ! we come and go together : there- 
 fore give our friends no expectation of my leaving you behind me. 
 Look you to nurse Sennick : as much air and sunshine as you please ; 
 but not a grain of salt, or a bit of meat, for Jackey. 
 
 " I have met Lady Piers at my host's. She bids me say to you, in 
 her name, every thing that is kind. I must break off. The Lord bless 
 you with the Spirit of grace and supplications ! Adieu !" 
 
 "Seven-Dials, Feb. 15th. My Dearest Partner, — Abide under the 
 shadow of the Almighty. Let us trust him for each other. He never 
 faileth them that seek him. And whoso putteth his trust in the Lord, 
 mercy embraceth him on every side. 
 
 " At one yesterday my host took me in his chariot to Lady Hunt- 
 ingdon's. Not finding her, we drove on to Major Galatin's. Here we 
 dined and drank tea. She carried me to the chapel. Mr. Simpson 
 read prayers. I preached, from, ' And the Spirit and the bride say, 
 Come,' &c. Great power was with the word. Many cried after 
 Christ, yet not so as to disturb us. I was much refreshed myself. I 
 stayed till nine, conversing with Mrs. Galatin and William Perronet. 
 I lodged rather than slept at the chapel-house. An old woman's hoop- 
 ing-cough made me keep a watch-night against my will. 
 
 " I breakfasted this morning with William Wright's poor widow, and 
 Betty Duchesne. Then I found my friend in New Norfolk-street. 
 Our joy at meeting was equal. We soon got to her Isaac ; and my 
 soul was all sympathy. 
 
 " On friends deceased full heartily we wept ; and prayed too, accord- 
 ing to God. Before twelve she carried me to Sir Charles Hotham, 
 just snatched again from the brink of the grave. Young Lady Hotham, 
 and Gertrude, Miss Melly, with Mrs. Cartaret, and Cavendish, joined 
 me in fervent prayer and love. There were many kind inquiries after 
 you, be sure, and after Mrs. Grinfield. We had above an hour of close 
 conversation. I dined at Major Galatin's ; and am now got away to 
 salute my dearest Sally. And now let me inquire concerning our son 
 Charles ; 
 
 ' The last, not least, in love.* 
 
 How many more teeth can he show ? Can you bear to hear him in 
 the night, and not rise to — help him ? no : but to hurt yourself. Can
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 461 
 
 you forbear listening after his cries, or hearing them in your dreams 1 
 Mrs. Galatin drank her son's health to-day, and wished it too, and his 
 and his mother's company. Many are of her mind. I can give them 
 no hopes of seeing you, till, if it please God, you have weaned your 
 child. In the summer her ladyship promises you a visit. My heart 
 is with you all, and yet in the work here. I trust the Lord sent me 
 hither. Help together by your prayers. Be very particular about 
 yourself. The Lord be your strength and peace ! Adieu !" 
 
 " Feb. 18th, 19th, Westminster. My Dearest Friend, — My strength 
 suffices for my moderate work. As I do not expose myself to the night 
 air, my teeth, head, limbs, are very quiet. I am' sorry that poor Mrs. 
 Vigor has been so ill ; but hope she has quite lost her pain. 
 
 " Mrs. Galatin sends her hearty love. The major desires to be 
 kindly remembered to you ; and again he gives his love. I send his 
 words ; which you ought to value, as he never deals in formal saluta- 
 tions. 
 
 " Yesterday morning my text was, ' Learn of me.' The great Pro- 
 phet was in the midst of us, applying his own word. He is never 
 absent from his supper. Our hearts were warmed with his presence, 
 and drawn out in mighty prayer for our Church and nation, and all 
 mankind. 
 
 " Mr. Fletcher read prayers again in the afternoon. I testified, ' If 
 the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.' Our chapel was 
 crowded, as on the fast-day. Lady Huntingdon, Lady Gertrude, Mrs. 
 Cartaret, and a multitude of strangers attended. I continued my dis- 
 course for a whole hour ; the Lord being my strength, and giving me 
 utterance. In the society we were greatly refreshed and quickened. 
 Mrs. Galatin carried me home, and a very comfortable evening we had 
 together. 
 
 " Monday. I breakfasted with our most faithful friend, Lady Hunt- 
 ingdon ; dined at the major's ; whither I returned at night, from preach- 
 ing on the death of the righteous. 
 
 " Tuesday. I called on Mrs. Cartaret, and Cavendish, who have not 
 lost their first love, either for the Master or servants. We prayed, and 
 parted — in body. 
 
 " Tuesday night I dined at Lady Huntingdon's, with Miss Shirley, 
 and Mr. Jones. The latter I came to talk with ; but I only saw him 
 with my eyes. Just before dinner we were alarmed with the chimney 
 being on fire. Lady Huntingdon calmly ordered a wet blanket to be 
 applied close to the chimney, so as quite to exclude the air. It 
 quenched the fire instantaneously. After dinner Lord Huntingdon 
 came, and I went. The Lord bless my dearest Sally and Charles ! 
 Adieu !"
 
 462 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " July 3d, Moorfields. Last Wednesday Miss Gideon carried me to 
 preach at Welling. It was a day comparatively well spent. 
 
 " Thursday, June 28th. I called to see sister Pearson, speechless 
 and expiring. At the name of Jesus she recovered her speech and 
 senses. I asked, ' Are you afraid to die V ' O no,' she answered ; 
 ' I have no fear ; death has no sting ; Jesus is all in all.' 
 
 How did I even contend to lay 
 
 My limbs upon that bed ! 
 I ask'd the angels to convey 
 
 My spirit in her stead." 
 
 " June 3d. From conferring with our preachers, I took my progress 
 to Betsy, Mrs. Cartaret, Miss Gumley, Mr. Romaine, and brother 
 Butcher. I found the greatest blessing at the last house — of God. 
 
 " Sunday, July 1st. My morning subject was, ' Ye have sold your- 
 selves for naught ; and ye shall be redeemed without money.' He 
 convinced our hearts that thus saith the Lord. I prayed at the table 
 for poor, happy, dying J. Matthews. I met near two thousand of the 
 society at the Foundery, and rejoiced as in the months that are past, 
 when the candle of the Lord was upon our head. 
 
 "Monday. I passed two useful hours at Miss Bosanquet's. Eight 
 orphans she has taken to train up for God. I dined at brother Ham- 
 mond's and walked with Peggy Jackson and Nancy to a poor back- 
 slider, rejoicing, and triumphing over death and hell. I picked up a 
 stray sheep, and delivered him into the hands of his old leader, brother 
 Parkinson. I walked home, near three miles. Adieu !" 
 
 " Friday night, London. Can I threaten my bosom friend with any 
 evil 1 No ; but I sometimes mind her of that blessed day when we 
 shall put off these tabernacles. But I do not think we shall be long- 
 divided. Yet, if it gives you pain, I shall endeavour to forbear. Has 
 our dear Molly got the start of us both ? I expect the next post will 
 bring me news of her triumphant departure. If she is yet in the body, 
 tell her my spirit is with her spirit, never to be divided. If she has 
 taken her flight, — in a few moments we shall overtake her. 
 
 " On Wednesday afternoon our cousin Betty was to visit me at the 
 chapel. I called first on her, and found her confined to her bed by a 
 fever. We had much close talk : when I asked her why she hoped to 
 be saved. She gave me the usual answer : ' Because I never commit- 
 ted any great sin; and because I have done my best,' &c. I soon beat 
 her out of her plea, and showed her the true way of salvation. She 
 made very little opposition, and seemed desirous to know Jesus Christ. 
 Yesterday I saw her again, and left her a guinea. I have wrote to her 
 mother, and to ours. Mrs. Dudley, I hope, will be able to get her a
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 463 
 
 place, if she recovers ; which is most probable. She must make me 
 amends for the short loss of her sister. 
 
 " I fear you are in great trouble, from the extraordinary depression I 
 have felt all this day. Surely you have cause of rejoicing in our 
 happy friend. 
 
 ' For can we mourn to see 
 Our fellow-prisoner free V 
 
 If she is in Abraham's bosom, she is there as our forerunner. The 
 Lord prepare my better soul, and me, for our translation ! then farewell 
 sin and pain. Then all our soul shall be love, and all our business 
 praise !" 
 
 " July 25th, Knightsbridge. My Beloved Friend, — Yesterday I dined 
 with Miss Darby and Billy Ley. Ask Mr. Brown, Mr. Rouquet, or 
 whom else you meet, if they can get him a curacy at or near Bristol. 
 I walked with him to the Lock, where Mr. Madan sincerely desired 
 and pressed me to preach ; but in vain. If I cannot do the poor rich 
 people good, I would not hinder him from doing it. I attended an hour 
 to the singers ; and heard Mr. Madan for another hour or more, on 
 searching the Scriptures. His chapel is always crowded, and many 
 souls will doubtless be saved through his ministry. He showed me a 
 young woman, lately acquitted of murdering her child, though the fact 
 was undeniable. She seems now under deep convictions. 
 
 " I got a good deal of rest last night ; breakfasted this morning with 
 Mrs. Gumley, who made me an offer of Drayton living, in Oxfordshire, 
 the drunken incumbent being near death. I neither refused nor ac- 
 cepted it ; for I had not consulted you. I dined at Mrs. Gideon's. We 
 spent half an hour before dinner in the best way. She is setting out 
 for Brighthelmstone, weak in body, as weak can be, but strong in faith 
 working by love. The gospel ministers have thrown away upon her 
 much pains, to alienate her from my brother and me. She is too humble 
 to imbibe their envious spirit. 
 
 " Sunday afternoon. I preached in the morning on, ' I will bring the 
 third part through the fire ;' and many rejoiced for the consolation. We 
 had a vast number of communicants ; and the Spirit of supplication was 
 abundantly poured out." 
 
 " London, August 17th. I often reflect on that hard saying, ' Son of 
 man, behold, I take away the desire of thine eyes with a stroke ;' and 
 ask myself, ' Could I bear Ezekiel's trial V Whether I shall ever be 
 called to it, God knoweth ; for known unto him are all his works. But 
 it is far more probable that my beloved Sally will see many days in 
 the vale after my warfare is accomplished, and my weary soul at rest. 
 Here indeed we have laid the foundation of an eternal friendship, and 
 hasten to our consummation in bliss above. Till then we scarcely
 
 464 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 begin to know the end of our meeting upon earth. O that we may fully 
 answer it, by helping each other on to heaven, and by bringing very 
 many with us to glory ! 
 
 " God, I humbly hope, will hear my prayers, and give me to find you 
 well on Wednesday. On this day se'nnight, at twelve, I have appointed 
 to preach at Leominster. Please to send them notice, if opportunity 
 serves. I fully designed to bring Salthouse with me ; but he cannot 
 leave the books at this time, without great loss, and disappointment of 
 my subscribers. But be not frightened, as if I should come alone. 
 Mr. Waller guards me the first day's journey ; and some friends from 
 Worcester I expect to meet me at Evesham. Besides, and above all, 
 you know the ministering spirits will wait upon me, if you ask their 
 Master to send them. 
 
 " From Ludlow to Bristol, I presume you will spare us Harry, or 
 some other ; and i depend upon our sister's company, according to pro- 
 mise. I must be in Bristol the last day of this month. Observe, I give 
 you legal notice, that you may order your matters accordingly. My 
 heart is with you, and your dear worthy parents and relations. Blessed 
 be God that they are mine also. O that we all may be joined to the Lord 
 in one spirit with him ! My brother is deeply engaged with his classes. 
 God owns and blesses him much. Last Sunday was a time of great 
 refreshing. Many here inquire after you out of true affection, and 
 bewail your settling in Bristol. 
 
 "Thursday afternoon. Yours of August 13th has just now brought 
 me the mournful news of your increasing illness. Yet would I say, ' It 
 is the Lord ; let him do as seemeth him good.' Still my hope of you 
 is steadfast, that hereby you shall be partaker of his holiness, who in 
 kindest love chastens you for your good. And you may be bold to 
 say, ' When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.' 
 
 " Thursday night. I am just returned from Lewisham, where Mrs. 
 Dewal joined us in a hymn for you, and sends her kindest love. On 
 Monday she and Mrs. Blackwell travel to Oxford : so I am in no dan- 
 ger of wanting company so far. 
 
 " How has God dealt with poor, dear Mrs. L ? I shall think it 
 
 long till you inform me. Neither can I let go my hope of seeing you 
 better, if not quite recovered, on Wednesday. It would break my heart 
 to leave you behind me, even at Ludlow, while compelled to Bristol 
 myself. I hope to reach the Hundred-House by ten on Wednesday ; 
 and do not despair of meeting there some kind guides to Ludlow. 
 
 " My time is out. Farewell, and a thousand times farewell in the 
 Lord, thy peace, thy strength, thy life eternal !" 
 
 These selections from the private letters which were addressed by 
 Mr. Charles Wesley to his wife, through a series of years, demonstrate
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 465 
 
 the strength and tenderness of his affection as a husband and a father, 
 and his ceaseless solicitude for her spiritual welfare. He is perpetu- 
 ally reminding her of the great end for which life was given ; of the 
 nearness of eternity ; and of her privilege, by supplication, and a mighty 
 faith in Christ, to hold uninterrupted communion with God, and partake 
 of the divine nature. To the providence and grace of God, as the 
 grand and only means of comfort and salvation, he is constantly direct- 
 ing her attention. 
 
 His social and pastoral habits are also here strongly exhibited. He 
 had an extensive circle of friends, by whom he was tenderly beloved. 
 With them and their families he sympathized in all the joys and afflic- 
 tions of life. When they were in sickness and sorrow he visited them, 
 for the purpose of encouragement and prayer ; and he brought their 
 respective cases before the Lord, in the assemblies of his people, espe- 
 cially upon sacramental occasions, when they were commended to the 
 divine mercy by the united intercessions of the brotherhood. The 
 society in London was numerous, and deaths among the members were 
 frequent. The calm and triumphant manner in which he often saw his 
 spiritual children, and those of his brother, die in the Lord, filled him 
 with humility, thankfulness, and solemn joy ; and his earnest hope of 
 future glory led him to desire immediately to follow them to the hea- 
 venly paradise. Lady Huntingdon opened her house in London for 
 divine worship, and the ministry of Christ's gospel. Here Mr. White- 
 field and other eminent ministers held forth the word of life, and were 
 heard by several of the nobility and gentry, Avho cultivated a taste for 
 spiritual religion. In these holy exercises Mr. Charles Wesley occa- 
 sionally took part, and was equally esteemed and beloved by those who 
 had an opportunity of attending his ministrations. His intercourse 
 with persons of rank, who sought his acquaintance for the purpose of 
 religious edification, was frequent ; but never abused. He asked for 
 no worldly preferment. He " coveted no man's silver, or gold, or appa- 
 rel." He affected not the delicacies of rich men's tables. He lowered 
 not the dignity of the ministerial character, by flattering the great, con- 
 niving at their vices, softening the truth of God, or assuming an effemi- 
 nacy of manners. There was in him a simplicity, a generous frankness, 
 and a warmth of affection, which endeared him to all who were able to 
 appreciate moral worth. * 
 
 His official services in London were numerous. His labours were 
 divided among four principal chapels, besides subordinate places of 
 worship, and occasional services, of which he was not sparing. He 
 regularly preached in the Foundery ; in the West-street chapel, Seven- 
 Dials ; in the Snowsfields chapel, Southwark ; and in that which the 
 French Protestants had formerly occupied at Spitalfields, but had now 
 
 30
 
 466 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 vacated for a larger in the same neighbourhood. In one or other of 
 these chapels he appears, when in London, to have administered the 
 Lord's supper every sabbath-day ; and sometimes in two of them, be- 
 ginning one of these sacred services at the early hour of five o'clock in 
 the morning. He and the society were exemplary in their attendance 
 upon this ordinance ; and they generally found it to be accompanied 
 by an especial blessing. In the administration of this sacrament, as 
 well as in that of baptism, he always used the form contained in the 
 Book of Common Prayer ; but he did not confine himself to it. He 
 was often drawn out largely in extemporary prayer. His " Hymns for 
 the Lord's Supper," accompanied by an extract from Dr. Brevint's trea- 
 tise, and from Thomas a Kempis, were freely used by the society. 
 Thus employed, he was blessed, and made a blessing. The anointing 
 of the Holy One rested upon him in sensible and rich effusions ; for he 
 was happy and useful ; people crowded in great numbers to hear him ; 
 and the members of the society walked in faith and love. Between 
 his doctrine and his practice there was a beautiful harmony. 
 
 It will be observed, that among his personal friends, with whom he 
 was accustomed in those times to meet by appointment, were Mr. and 
 Mrs. Venn, whom he has also mentioned with respect in others of his 
 letters. This excellent clergyman, who was afterward successively 
 vicar of Huddersfield and of Yelling, now held the curacy of Clapham, 
 and the lectureship of two or three churches in London. His wife was 
 the daughter of Dr. Bishop, of Ipswich, who preached the Lady Mover 
 Lectures in 1724-5 : a divine of considerable attainments. The son 
 and grandson of Mr. Venn, who have written his life, seem very anxious 
 to sever him, in the public estimation, from all connection with the 
 Methodists in the early periods of his religious career. 
 
 The grandson, speaking of Mr. Venn, and of his contemporaries 
 among the evangelical clergy, says, " I apprehend it may be shown, 
 that, for the most part, these men derived their views of the truth 
 directly from the word of God ; that their labours were chiefly devoted 
 to the revival of true religion in the Church ; and that those labours 
 were, under God, the main cause of the revival which followed. 
 
 " I am aware that a different view of the case is often given ; and 
 that the labours of Mr. Whitefield and the Wesleys are regarded not 
 only as the means of the revival of religion among persons connected 
 with their societies, but also of that which took place among the clergy. 
 A preface, and more especially a preface to a somewhat bulky volume, 
 is not the place for entering at large into a question which may be con- 
 troverted ; but I may be permitted, perhaps, to point out how far the 
 present volume seems to support the view of this question which I have 
 ventured to suggest. 
 
 30*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 467 
 
 " The case of Mr. Venn himself is clearly stated in the Memoir, in 
 these words : — ' This change of his sentiments was not to be ascribed 
 to an intercourse with others : it was the steady progress of his mind. 
 in consequence of a faithful and diligent application to the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, unbiased by an attachment to human systems. It was not till 
 some years afterward that he became acquainted with any of those 
 preachers who are usually known by the name of evangelical ; that is, 
 in conformity with the motives and hopes held out to us in the gospel 
 of Christ.' "* 
 
 It is added, with reference to the same subject, " As far as we can 
 trace the operation of human agency, it seems to me, that the effects 
 of the labours of the Wesleys, and their immediate coadjutors, were 
 chiefly manifest in the extension of Methodism ; as the effects of the 
 evangelical clergy were in the improved tone of religion in the esta- 
 blished Church : that, there were thus two kindred, but separate and 
 independent, streams of light, penetrating the gloom which brooded 
 over the Christian community. That which flowed in the channel of 
 Methodism burst forth, indeed, in a more resplendent and sudden blaze : 
 the other proceeded by a more gradual and quiet, but progressive, 
 course."! 
 
 All this doubtless appears plausible and satisfactory to a Churchman, 
 who deprecates every deviation from his own ecclesiastical order ; but 
 it is merely a matter of theory and opinion, which we believe no man 
 ever did or can prove. No revival of religion appeared in the national 
 Church, until some years after the Wesleys and Mr. Whitefield entered 
 upon their bold and irregular course : and certainly the means whicb 
 they employed to rouse a slumbering Church and people were no se- 
 cret. This thing was not done in a corner. Preaching in fields and 
 market-places, as well as in private houses, barns, and churches, and 
 travelling through the length and breadth of the land, they caused their 
 voices to be everywhere heard, and forced religion upon the attention 
 of all classes of the community. Their doctrines, proceedings, and 
 character, therefore, became subjects of general inquiry and discussion. 
 The very fact, that gentlemen of education and talent voluntarily ex- 
 posed themselves to the violence of mobs, and stood forth under the 
 summer's sun, and the winter's snow, calling the outcasts of mankind 
 to repentance, was in itself calculated to make a deep impression upon 
 every thoughtful mind. At the same time these apostolic men widely 
 dispersed tracts, pamphlets, and books, of various sizes, in prose and 
 verse, explaining the nature of. Christian godliness, recommending it as 
 the one thing needful, and enforcing the universal necessity of repent- 
 ance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. How far 
 * Preface to the Life of the Rev. Henry Venn. \ Ibid.
 
 468 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 the excellent clergymen who were raised up to revive religion more 
 immediately in the Church were influenced by these means, in the 
 beginning of their religious inquiries and convictions, perhaps they 
 themselves were not able, in every instance, to ascertain. Most of 
 them, however, in the progress of their course, were brought into direct 
 personal intercourse with the Wesleys and Mr. Whitefield, and were 
 enlightened, animated, and encouraged by the conversation, ministry, 
 and example of these men of God. 
 
 So far as Mr. Venn is concerned, the case is clear. He became 
 deeply serious about the time of his ordination in 1747; a period at 
 which Mr. Whitefield and the Wesleys had been distributing their 
 writings, and preaching in all directions, for several years, and had 
 succeeded in making a deep impression upon the public mind. Mr. 
 Venn was born in London, and partly educated there, and the neigh- 
 bourhood, and partly in Bristol ; and these cities are well known to 
 have been the principal scenes of Methodistical labour and excitement, 
 in those times. He must have been both blind and deaf, neither to 
 have seen nor heard any thing of the men who, in his immediate vici- 
 nity, were actually " turning the world upside down." For some time 
 after his ordination, Mr. Venn's views of evangelical truth -were very 
 defective ; yet, as he addicted himself to prayer, fasting, and the study 
 of the Bible, his light increased, and he saw more distinctly the way 
 of salvation through the great and only atonement. In 1754 he ac- 
 cepted the curacy of Clapham, and obtained his London lectureships ; 
 in 1757 he married Miss Bishop ; and in 1759 he was appointed to the 
 vicarage of Huddersfield. When resident in London he had frequent 
 intercourse with John and Charles Wesley ; as is manifest from various 
 notices in John's Journal, and other writings,* and from Charles's let- 
 ters : and it is acknowledged by the biographers of Mr. Venn that, 
 during this period, his knowledge of divine things, and his personal 
 piety, were greatly improved. They say, " In 1756 he laboured under 
 a severe illness, which incapacitated him for duty, for more than eight 
 months. This, however, was a most important season to him. He 
 had time to reflect upon his principles and his conduct ; and he used 
 to observe, that, after that period, he was no longer able to preach the 
 sermons which he had previously composed. His views of eternal things 
 had now become clearer ; his meditations on the attributes of God 
 more profound ; his views of the greatness of the salvation of Christ 
 more distinct ; and the whole of his religion had received that tincture of 
 
 * In a letter addressed by Mr. John Wesley to Mr. Blackwell, and dated, Bandon. 
 July 12th, 1758, it is said, " You people in England are bad correspondents. Both 
 Mr. Downing, Mr. Venn, and Mr. Madan, are a letter in ray debt." — Wesley's 
 Works, vol. vi, p. 703.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 469 
 
 more elevated devotion, which rendered his conversation and preaching 
 doubly instructive."* 
 
 The endeavour to prove that Mr. Venn acquired and maintained his 
 enlightened and effective piety, independently of Methodistical influ- 
 ence, is therefore a hopeless task. Nor is the attempt itself to be com- 
 mended. Whatever spiritual good exists in any man, he has received 
 it from the God of all grace, who, in the exercise of his sovereign wis- 
 dom and mercy, selects and employs what instrumentality he pleases 
 in the accomplishment of his own designs ; nor have any of his crea- 
 tures a right to say to him, " What doest thou ?" The fact is undeniable, 
 that John and Charles Wesley were the personal friends of Mr. Venn, 
 when this justly-celebrated clergyman obtained his best and highest 
 qualifications for the sacred office. Charles was also a spiritual adviser 
 of Mr. Venn's amiable and intelligent wife, at the commencement of 
 her pious course. If they were both benefited by the counsel, prayers, 
 and spirit of the brothers, neither their posterity, nor the members of 
 the Church to which they belonged, have any reason to be ashamed. 
 But whether they are or not, the case is not altered. The biographers 
 of Mr. Venn may " wash him with nitre, and take much sope," yet they 
 will never be able to remove from his character and memory the glo- 
 rious reproach of Methodism. 
 
 Though the Wesleys and Mr. Whitefield were still unable to think 
 alike concerning the five perplexing points at issue between the disci- 
 ples of Calvin and Arminius ; and it was requisite, on this account, that 
 they should pursue an independent course ; yet they still remained one 
 in heart ; and in this respect set before the world an edifying example 
 of Christian forbearance. Up to the year 1753, Mr. Whitefield and 
 his people worshipped in their wooden tabernacle, near Moorfields ; but 
 at this period they united to form a more substantial and commodious 
 erection upon the same site. While this work was in progress the 
 Wesleys favoured them with the use of the Foundery. This seasona- 
 ble kindness Mr. Whitefield acknowledges in the following character- 
 istic letter to Mr. Charles Wesley, which he evidently wrote in the 
 fulness of his grateful and generous heart : — 
 
 " London, March 3d, 1753. My Dear Friend, — I thank you and 
 your brother, most heartily, for the loan of the chapel. The favour 
 shall be returned, if ever you have the like occasion to borrow. Blessed 
 be God, the work goes on well. On Thursday morning the first brick 
 was laid, with a sweet solemnity. I preached from Exodus xx, and 
 the latter part of the 24th verse. Afterward we sung, and prayed for 
 God's blessing upon ; all places where' his glorious ' name is recorded.' 
 * Life of Venn, p. 24. Sixth edition.
 
 470 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 The wall is now about a yard high. The building is to be eighty feet 
 square. It is upon the old spot. We have purchased the house ; and, 
 if we finish what we have begun, shall be rent-free for forty-six years. 
 We have above eleven hundred pounds in hand. This, I think, is the 
 best way to build. Mr. Steward's death so affected me, that, when I 
 met the workmen that night, to contract about the building, I could 
 scarce bear to think of building tabernacles. 
 
 " Strange that so many should be so soon discharged, and we con- 
 tinued ! Eighteen years have I been waiting for the coming of the Son 
 of God : but I find we are immortal till our work is done. O that we 
 may never live to be ministered unto, but to minister ! Mr. Steward 
 spoke for his Lord as long as he could speak at all. He had no clouds, 
 or darkness. I was with him till a few minutes before he slept in 
 Jesus. I have good news from several parts. A door is opening at 
 Winchester. Surely the little leaven will ferment, till the whole king- 
 dom be leavened. Even so, Lord Jesus. Amen ! Pray, how does our 
 elect lady 1 I hope to write to her ladyship next post. 
 
 " My poor wife hath had another plunge. We thought she was taken 
 with a palsy ; but, blessed be God, she is now recovering. Our joint 
 love attends you, and yours, and your brother, and his household. That 
 you all may increase with all the increase of God, is the earnest prayer 
 of, my dear friend, 
 
 " Yours most affectionately in our common Lord." 
 
 In the loss of his friends by death Mr. Whitefield suffered only a 
 common lot. The Wesleys drank largely of the same bitter cup. On 
 the 10th of August this year Mr. John Meriton closed his earthly career. 
 It will be recollected, that this clergyman was a member of the first 
 Methodist conference ; he travelled extensively as a minister of the 
 truth ; and meekly bore his share of the reproach and violence which 
 were awarded to all those faithful men who attempted to awaken and 
 convert a slumbering and guilty people. 
 
 It appears to have been in the autumn of the year 1753 that Mr. 
 Charles Wesley paid his last visit to Cornwall, leaving his wife in 
 Bristol, with his only child, a son about twelve months old. All the 
 information that we have concerning this journey is contained in the 
 two subjoined letters, addressed to his wife, and a fragment of a third, 
 in which he says that he was going to see the Land's End. The 
 letters breathe his usual spirit of zeal and enterprise, and intimate that 
 the work of God was in a state of encouraging progress. 
 
 " Redruth, Oct. 4th. Here I am — mourning under my disappoint- 
 ment. I comforted myself all the way with assured hopes of a letter
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 471 
 
 waiting here to welcome a poor traveller. But my beloved Sally has 
 missed an opportunity of comforting me. Yet I will not forbear writing, 
 in the midst of my best business, to one whom my soul loves, whose 
 perfection I long for, whom I trust to meet at the marriage of the Lamb. 
 " It would have done you good to have been with us at St. Mewan's, 
 on Monday evening, while the great congregation felt 
 
 'Th' o'erwhelming power of saving grace.' 
 
 Next morning we were in like manner refreshed at St. Ewe. Last 
 night at Penrhyn oSir hearts were comforted with our Lord's presence. 
 I find my way prepared in every place, and want nothing but you to be 
 a partaker of our joy. 
 
 " A dear friend of ours brought up an evil report of this land. It 
 flows with milk and honey. I scarce believe it to be Cornwall, the 
 accommodations everywhere are so good, and the people so cleanly : 
 not a whit inferior to those in the north. Very many loving friends of 
 yours, whom you never saw, inquire after you. By and by I shall 
 allure you hither, especially if Becky will bear you company. This 
 day se'nnight I expect to revisit this place. If I do not first hear from 
 you, I question whether I shall have the heart to write again before 
 my return to Bristol. You may suppose me something eager to know 
 what is become of our son and heir, our sister, friends in Garth, Lon- 
 don, Bristol, &c. What are you about ? How do you go on in your 
 family ? whether my brother is come ? whom have you heard at the 
 room ? what visits have you made, or received 1 and, above all, how 
 your own soul prospers ? and what benefit you reap from daily retire- 
 ment? John Trembath cleaves to me. He sends his love. Give mine 
 to dearest Beck, &c. Remember me in all your prayers. I am in my 
 calling, quite contented, and cheerfully labouring in the vineyard. May ' 
 the peace and love of God spring up in your hearts, and keep them 
 always ! Farewell. 
 
 " Wednesday night. I am come from preaching to a most attentive 
 multitude. This place seems quite subdued to our Lord. Their hearts 
 are all bowed before him. He gives me uncommon strength. A very 
 great door is opened. The poor people have got in their harvest, and 
 are now at leisure to be gathered in themselves. The heavens smile 
 upon us, and the weather seems made on purpose for preaching. I 
 generally begin a quarter before six, and continue till past seven. It 
 is now past nine, my hour of rest. The everlasting arms be under- 
 neath you ! Adieu." 
 
 " Gwennap, Oct. 11th. My Very Dear Sally, — I bless God in your 
 behalf, that you are better in body, and more languishing for spiritual
 
 472 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 health. Pray that my coming may be a furtherance, not hinderance. 
 to this. My bodily strength increases, the more I use it for my Lord. 
 Every day brings its blessing, both to me, and to those that hear me. 
 It is pleasant travelling with such an errand. Nothing but the com- 
 pany of my true yokefellow could make it pleasanter. The next time 
 you hinder me in my work will be the first time. But we may learn 
 even from our enemies what to guard against. The more heartily I 
 labour in the vineyard, the longer I shall continue with you. Let us 
 join with greater earnestness than ever to seek the kingdom of God 
 together. And let our dearest Beck make up the three-fold cord. 
 
 " You do not consider, I lodge most nights in little towns, where is 
 no post. It is much I can write so often. 
 
 " We must shut up our doors at five o'clock, if we can no otherwise 
 get retirement. But most of our friends would favour our retreat from 
 them at that hour. If resolution be not wanting on our part, we shall 
 find the custom as practicable as my father did for forty years. 
 
 " I am creeping toward you, and rejoice to be thirty miles nearer 
 than on Sunday. If nothing extraordinary retard me, I hope to see 
 you, — let me see, — whenabouts will it be ? — about Tuesday, Oct. 24th, 
 N. S. ; or, at the furthest, some time- the week after next. Direct, 
 after receiving this, to Tiverton. 
 
 " I wish my horse may escape the staggers. Many horses about us 
 fall down dead in a moment. But thou, Lord, shalt save both man and 
 beast. Remember me at family prayers, and in private. I am afraid 
 of myself, that, when I return, I shall cumber the ground as heretofore. 
 Preaching once a week in the country might be a means of preventing 
 it : but nothing will do without private prayer. Pray me a successful 
 journey. The Lord bless you and yours, and keep us to our happiest 
 'meeting around his throne !" 
 
 The reference to five o'clock, as the hour of secret devotion, is not 
 the least interesting part of this letter. It would seem that Mrs. Wes- 
 ley had complained that her intercourse with the Lord at this sacred 
 time had been interrupted by visitants ; and her husband intimates, that 
 if they could not otherwise secure their hour of private prayer, they 
 must fasten the door of the house. The rector of Epworth, it is here 
 stated, employed this part of the day in secret converse with God for 
 ilie long space of forty years. His example in this was followed by 
 his two sons. 
 
 The friendship which subsisted between Mr. John and Charles 
 Wesley was very tender and confidential. It was also marked by 
 Christian fidelity. They entertained precisely the same views con- 
 cerning the nature and importance of true religion, and the manner of
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 473 
 
 its attainment. Yet their characters were very dissimilar. Charles 
 was the child of feeling and emotion ; and John of intellect, who de- 
 manded a reason for every thing. This difference of temperament 
 occasioned in some instances a diversity in their courses of action ; 
 and they did not hesitate to tell each other what they deemed erroneous 
 or reprehensible in their conduct. After John's marriage their personal 
 intercourse was for some years less frequent than it had formerly been ; 
 his wife cherishing toward her brother- and sister-in-law feelings of 
 strong dislike, which she was seldom backward to express. Her in- 
 vectives were more impassioned tban welcome, and served to keep 
 apart those whose hearts were one, and who lived and laboured for 
 the same object. 
 
 Toward the close of the year 1753 Mr. John Wesley deemed it his 
 duty to address his brother in the language of reproof and caution, but 
 without any approach to anger or unkindness. Under the date of 
 Oct. 20th he says, " I came back from Bedford last night. I know not 
 whether it Avas your will or no ; (I believe not ;) but I am sure it was 
 God's will, for you to call there. How do you judge whether a thing 
 be God's will or no ? I hope not by inward impressions. Let us walk 
 warily. I have much constitutional enthusiasm ; and you have much 
 more. I give you a dilemma. Take one side, or the other. Either 
 act really in connection with me, or never pretend to it. Rather dis- 
 claim it, and openly avow you do not, and will not. By acting in 
 connection with me, I mean, take counsel with me once or twice a 
 year, as to the places where you will labour. Hear my advice before 
 you fix, whether you take it or no. At present you are so far from 
 this, that I do not even know when and where you intend to go : so far 
 are you from following any advice of mine ; nay, even from asking it. 
 And yet I may say, without vanity, that I am a better judge in this matter 
 than either Lady Huntingdon, Sally, Jones, or any other ; nay, than 
 your own heart ; that is, will. I wish you all peace, zeal, and love." 
 
 On the 31st of the same month he wrote again, pressing the necessity 
 of acting by united counsels. He concludes by saying, " Why do you 
 omit giving the sacrament in KingsAvood ? What is reading prayers at 
 Bristol, in comparison of this 1 I am sure, in making this vehement 
 alteration you never consulted me." 
 
 When these letters were Avritten Mr. John Wesley was in a declin- 
 ing state of health. He thought, indeed, Avhen he wrote the last of 
 them, that the disease was subdued, and he Avas convalescent. *" My 
 fever intermit! t;d," says he, " after twelve hours. After a second fit, 
 of about fourteen hours, I began taking the bark, and am now recover- 
 ing my strength." In this, however, he was mistaken. The complaint 
 returned with greater violence, and, in a feAv Aveeks, it Avas generally
 
 474 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 thought that his case was hopeless. He continued, with his wonted 
 zeal, to preach, administer the Lord's supper, and meet classes, under 
 great personal suffering and weakness, till the 26th of November, when 
 Dr. Fothergill, the celebrated Quaker physician who attended him, 
 declared that he could not remain in London another day, but at the 
 certain hazard of his life. " If anything does thee good," said the doc- 
 tor, " it must be the country air, with rest, asses' milk, and riding daily." 
 His symptoms were those of confirmed consumption : a severe cough, 
 pain in the breast, fever, with the loss of strength. Not being able to 
 sit upon his horse, he was conveyed in a coach to the house of his 
 faithful friends, Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell, of Lewisham, where h§ found 
 every accommodation that his circumstances required. 
 
 In the mean while the news of his danger spread, and caused a deep 
 and general sympathy. Charles was in Bristol when the distressing 
 intelligence was communicated to him. He was the less prepared for 
 it, because of the impression which he had received from recent letters, 
 that his brother was decidedly improved in his health. A valuable 
 fragment of his journal, which he wrote at the time, will give the best 
 view of his feelings, of his brother's condition, and of the excitement 
 which was produced by this unexpected visitation of divine Providence. 
 On his way to London, and during his stay there, it will be observed, 
 his trouble was increased by the company and care of Mr. Hutchinson, 
 a friend of the family, who was suffering both from bodily disease and 
 mental aberration. 
 
 " Nov. 29th, 1753. Between nine and ten," says he, " Lady Hunt- 
 ingdon surprised us by bringing Mrs. Galatin to see us. She had met 
 with her at Bath, and conducted her to our house, with the mournful 
 news of my brother's danger. I concluded, from several letters last 
 received, and mentioning his recovery, and design of officiating at the 
 chapel, that he was out of all danger ; but Mrs. Gallatin assured us, 
 she thought he would have expired at the altar last Sunday. 
 
 " Mr. Sims, a clergyman, followed Lady Huntingdon, full of his first 
 love. We joined in the Lord's supper, and found much power to pray, 
 particularly for my brother. 
 
 " At two, as Mr. Hutchinson and I were setting out, we were met 
 by a letter from Mr. Briggs, informing me that I must make haste, if I 
 would see my brother alive. This made us all renew our entreaties to 
 Mr. Hutchinson, not to accompany me, lest he should retard me in my 
 journey. But he would not be dissuaded, resolving, if I left him, to 
 follow me in a post-chaise. I was therefore forced to take him, sorely 
 against my will, in a chaise to Bath. We got to Mrs. Naylor's with 
 the night. He could not sleep for cold. Nov, 30th, we prayed with 
 great earnestness for my brother. My heart was melted into warm
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 475 
 
 desires of liis recovery. Between seven and eight we set forward, in 
 a post-chaise, and came safe to Newbury before night. 
 
 "Saturday, Dec. 1st. My companion was strengthened to set out 
 again before seven. Soon after seven we were brought safe to Mrs. 
 Boult's. She had no expectation of us, and was therefore quite unpre- 
 pared. I had no other place to lodge my poor friend than the noisy 
 Foundery. He had not more sleep than I expected." 
 
 On his arrival at the Foundery, Mr. Charles Wesley addressed the 
 following hasty letter to his wife. From Bath he had sent her a short 
 note, requesting her to hold herself in readiness to follow him to Lon- 
 don, should this be necessary. 
 
 " My Dearest Sally, — God has conducted us hither, through an easy, 
 prosperous journey. My companion is better for it, not worse. But, 
 first, you expect news of my brother. He is at Lewisham, considerably 
 better : yet still in imminent danger, being far gone, and very suddenly, 
 in a consumption. I cannot acquit my friends of unpardonable negli- 
 gence, since not one of them sent me word of his condition, but left me 
 to hear it by chance. I hasten to him to-morrow morning, when I 
 have stationed my patient at Mrs. Boult's. To-night he lodges in the 
 green-room ; I in sister Aspernal's. Send this immediately to sister 
 Jones, and bid her see to it, that Wick be not neglected on Monday 
 night. I passed my word, that I or John Jones shoidd preach there. 
 Frank Walker, or whoever supplies our place, must inform them that 
 we hasten to see my brother before he dies. If my brother recovers, 
 his life will be given to our prayers. Pray always, and faint not." 
 
 " Sunday, Dec. 2d. The first news I heard last night in Moorfields 
 was, that my brother was something better. I rode at nine to Lewis- 
 ham ; found him with my sister, and Mrs. Blackwell, and Dewal. I 
 fell on his neck, and wept. All present were alike affected. Last 
 Wednesday he changed for the better, while the people were praying 
 for him at the Foundery. He has rested well ever since ; his cough is 
 abated, and his strength increased : yet it is most probable he will not 
 recover, being far gone in a galloping consumption ; just as my elder 
 brother was at his age. 
 
 " I followed him to his chamber, with my sister, and prayed with 
 strong desire, and a good hope of his recovery. All last Tuesday they 
 expected his death every hour. He expected the same, and wrote his 
 own epitaph. ' Here lieth the body of John Wesley, a brand, not once 
 only* plucked out of the fire. He died of a consumption, in the fifty- 
 first year of his age ; leaving, after his debts were paid, not ten pounds 
 
 * Mr. Wesley, after his recovery, inserted this epitaph in his printed Journal, leaving 
 out the clause, "not once only," which contains an allusion to his almost miraculous 
 escape from the parsonage-house at Epworth, when it was on fire.
 
 476 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 behind him ; praying, God be merciful to me, an unprofitable servant. 
 He desired this inscription, if any, should be put upon his tomb-stone.' 
 He made it his request to his wife and me, to forget all that is past, 
 which I very readily agreed to ; and once more offered her my service 
 in great sincerity. Neither will I suspect hers ; but hope she will do 
 as she says. 
 
 " I have been generally blamed for my absence in this time of dan- 
 ger. Several asked, ' Does Mr. Charles know of his brother's illness V 
 and were answered, ' Yes, yes ; many have informed him.' All my 
 correspondents agreed in their accounts that my brother was much 
 better : of which his ministering last Sunday at the chapel left me no 
 doubt. Then they might have apprized me of his danger ; but none 
 thought of me till Tuesday, when they looked for his death every hour. 
 He had ordered letters to be wrote by Charles Perronet to the preach- 
 ers to meet on the 21st instant ; but not a word of notice was sent to 
 me. Now I hear, several letters were wrote me on Tuesday night ; 
 but I have left them unreceived at Bristol. 
 
 " I attended my brother while he rode out for the air, and was sur- 
 prised to see him hold out for three quarters of an hour, and even 
 gallop back the whole way. In the afternoon I met the leaders, and 
 spoke them comfort ; then called on my patient, J. Hutchinson, whose 
 journey has done him more good than harm. 
 
 "My text at the Foimdery was, 1 John v, 14, 15. Whether the 
 congregation received benefit I know not, being myself confused, and 
 overwhelmed with trouble and sorrow. 
 
 " God made me to the society, I trust, a son of consolation. I 
 showed them the cause of my brother's danger, even our own unprofi- 
 tableness, and the nation's rejecting his testimony. I strongly exhorted 
 them to repent, and do their first works ; and on no other condition to 
 hope for my brother's recovery. I told them I was persuaded his time 
 was come ; and he would have died now, had not the prayer of faith 
 interposed, and God commanded the shadow to go backward : that still 
 his life was altogether precarious, and they must wrestle on, before the 
 decree brought forth, for a full reverse of the sentence. In prayer God 
 gave us strong cries and tears, and consolation of hope. I told them 
 that I neither could nor would stand in my brother's place ; (if God took 
 him to himself;) for I had neither a body, nor a mind, nor talents, nor 
 grace, for it. 
 
 " The whole society appear alive, so stirred up, so zealous, so pray- 
 erful, as I never knew them. Many backsliders are returning to us. 
 Many secret friends now show themselves. The strangers stop us in 
 the streets with their inquiries ; and the people jn general seem to find 
 out the value of a blessing they are going to lose.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 477 
 
 " I carried Mr. Hutchinson to a quieter lodging, which the friendly 
 Mr. Lloyd offered us at his house. John Jones comes post-haste from 
 Bristol ; spent the useful evening with us ; and then slept with me at 
 the Foundery. 
 
 " Monday, Dec. 3d. I was at a loss for a subject at five, when I 
 opened the Revelation, and with fear and trembling began to expound 
 it. Our Lord was with us of a truth, and comforted our hearts, with 
 the blessed hope of his coming to reign before his ancients gloriously. 
 Martin Luther, in a time of trouble, used to say, ' Come, let us sing the 
 forty-sixth Psalm.' I would rather say, ' Let us read the Revelation of 
 Jesus Christ.' What is any private or public loss, or calamity ; what 
 are all the advantages Satan ever gained, or shall gain, over particular 
 men, or churches, when all things, good and evil, Christ's power, and 
 antichrist's, conspire to hasten the grand event, to fulfil the mystery 
 of God, and make all the kingdoms of the earth become the kingdoms 
 of Christ ? 
 
 " I asked each of the select band, whether they could pray in faith 
 for my brother's life. God has kept them all in darkness and suspense. 
 Those who have most power with him have received no certain answer, 
 being constrained to give him up first, if haply they may then receive 
 him again, as from the dead. Some have told me it was parting with 
 a right eye, with one much dearer than their natural father. Many 
 have found strong increasing hope of his recovery ; and a few, whose 
 experience I less depend on, are confident of it. 
 
 " I called on loving, faithful Damaris Perronet, and then visited my 
 patient at Mr. Lloyd's. With him I stayed till near one, the time I had 
 appointed for prayer at the Foundery. Many faithful souls then joined 
 me in behalf of my brother ; or, rather, of the Church and nation. 
 Neither was our Lord absent. Great comfort and confidence we re- 
 ceived, that all shall work together for good ; even for the glory of God, 
 and furtherance of the gospel. 
 
 " From intercession I waited on my sister to Dr. Fothergill, who is 
 much pleased with his patient's present case, and greatly approves of 
 his hastening to the Hotwells at Bristol. To-morrow afternoon he 
 promises to visit him at Lewisham." 
 
 In the course of this day, Mr. Charles Wesley addressed the follow- 
 ing letter to his wife. It contains some particulars which he has not 
 inserted in his journal, relative to his present circumstances and those 
 of his brother : — 
 
 " Dearest Sally, — I hope you have recovered your fright. My bro- 
 ther may live, if he hastens to Bristol. Prayer is made daily by the 
 church to God for him : yet no one, that I can find, has received his 
 petition. Whether he comes or not, I am stationed here till after 

 
 478 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Christmas. My brother entreated me yesterday, and his wife, to forget 
 all that is past, on both sides. I sincerely told him I would, for his 
 sake, as well as Christ's sake. My sister said the same. 
 
 " Mrs. Blackwell and Dewal send you a loving heart. They have 
 but one, you know, between them. Dudy Perronet salutes you in great 
 love, as does Mr. Lloyd. 
 
 " Next Friday we spend in prayer for my brother, meeting at five, 
 seven, ten, and one. Join all who love him for his work's sake. 
 
 " Who is your chaplain ? When none is near, you should read 
 prayers yourself, as my mother, and many besides, have done. Be 
 much in private prayer. What the Lord will do with me I know not : 
 but am fully persuaded I shall not long survive my brother. Farewell.*" 
 
 He adds, in his journal, " Dec. 4th. I proceeded in the Revelation, 
 and found the blessing promised to those who read or hear the words 
 of that book. From six to seven I employed with the preachers in 
 prayer for my brother and the church. 
 
 " This morning I got the long-wished-for opportunity of talking fully 
 to him of all which has passed since his marriage : and the result of 
 our conference was, perfect peace and harmony. 
 
 " Mrs. Dewal and Blackwell observed what a fair opportunity my 
 wife might have had for inoculating with her sister. I answered, that 
 I left every one to his own conscience ; but for my part, I looked 
 upon it as taking the matter out of God's hands ; and I should choose, 
 if it depended on me, to trust her entirely to him. Before five I re- 
 turned to the Foundery, and found two letters from Lady Huntingdon : 
 the first informing me they apprehended my wife was taken ill of the 
 small-pox, as soon as I left her : the second, that it was come out, 
 and the confluent kind. She had been frightened, after my departure, 
 with one's abruptly telling her my brother was dead, and sickened im- 
 mediately." 
 
 On receiving the sad intelligence of his wife's dangerous illness, 
 Mr. Charles Wesley consulted his friend Mr. Lloyd, of Devonshire- 
 square, who advised him by all means to fly where his heart directed. 
 He preached in the evening on John xiv, 1, 2. The next morning, 
 taking the advice of his friend, he left London for Bristol, where he 
 arrived about four o'clock in the afternoon of the next day. " I found 
 my dearest friend," says he, " on a restless bed of pain, loaded with 
 the worst kind of the worst disease. Mrs. Vigor and Jones were minis- 
 tering to her day and night. Sister Burgess, a most tender, skilful 
 Christian woman, was her nurse. Good Lady Huntingdon attends her 
 constantly twice a day, having deferred her journey to her son, on this 
 account. 
 
 " She had expressed a longing desire to see me just before I came.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 479 
 
 and rejoiced for the consolation. I saw her alive, but O how changed ! 
 ' The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint ! From the sole 
 of the foot, even unto the head, there is no soundness in her; but 
 wounds, and putrefying sores.' Yet under her sorest burden she blessed 
 God that she had not been inoculated, receiving the disease as imme- 
 diately sent from God. I found the door of prayer wide open, and 
 entirely acquiesced in the divine will. I would not have it otherwise. 
 God choose for me and mine, in time and eternity !" 
 
 For the long space of twenty-two days Mrs. Wesley continued in 
 imminent danger from this dreadful disease, uncertain respecting the 
 issue. A part of this anxious time her husband was compelled to spend 
 in London, supplying the chapels there ; his afflicted brother being 
 still laid aside from his ministry. He preached comfort to others while 
 his own heart was sad ; daily apprehending that the next post would 
 bring the intelligence that his wife was no more. In this emergency 
 Mr. Whitefield gave striking proof of that generous and sympathetic 
 spirit by which he was actuated. He wrote a letter to Mr. John Wes- 
 ley, full of encouragement and affection, which has been often printed, 
 and is well known. Two letters of a similar kind he also addressed to 
 his friend Charles, which are equally worthy of being preserved as an 
 honour to his memory. They were both written in London, and sent 
 to Charles in Bristol. 
 
 " Dec. 13th, 1753. My Dear Friend, — The Searcher of hearts alone 
 knows the sympathy I have felt for you and yours ; and in what sus- 
 pense my mind hath been concerning the event of your present circum- 
 stances. I pray and inquire, inquire and pray again ; always expecting 
 to hear the worst. Ere this can reach you, I expect the lot will be 
 cast, either for life or death. I long to hear, that I may partake, like a 
 friend, either of your joy or sorrow. Blessed be God for that promise, 
 whereby we are assured that all things work together for good to those 
 who love him ! This may make us, at least, resigned when called to 
 part with our Isaacs. But who knows the pain of parting, when the 
 wife and the friend are conjoined ? To have the desire of one's eyes 
 cut off with a stroke, what but grace, omnipotent grace, can enable us 
 to bear it ? But who knows I perhaps the threatened stroke may be 
 recalled ; and my dear friend enjoy his dear yoke-fellow's company a 
 little longer. Surely the Lord of all lords is preparing you for further 
 usefulness by these complex trials. We must be purged, if we would 
 bring forth more fruit. 
 
 " Your brother, I hear, is better. To-day I intended to have seen 
 him ; but Mr. Blackwell sent me word, he thought he would be out for 
 the air. I hope Mr. Hutchinson is better. But I can scarce mention 
 any body now, but dear Mr. Wesley. Pray let me know how it goes
 
 480 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 with you. My wife truly joins in sympathy and love. Night and day 
 indeed you are remembered by, my dear friend, Yours," &c. 
 
 " Dec. 20th, 1753. My Dear Friend, — I most sincerely rejoice, and 
 have given private and public thanks, for the recovery of your dear 
 yoke-fellow. My pleasure is increased by seeing your brother so well 
 as I found him on Tuesday at Lewisham. O that you may both spring 
 afresh, and your latter end increase more and more ! Talk not of 
 having no more work to do in the vineyard. I hope all our work is 
 but just beginning. I am sure it is high time for me to begin to do 
 something for Him who hath done and suffered so much for me. Near 
 forty years old, and such a dwarf! The winter come already, and so 
 little done in the summer ! I am ashamed, T blush, and am confounded ; 
 and yet God blesseth us here. Truly, his outgoings are seen in the 
 Tabernacle. The top-stone is brought forth. We will now cry, 
 ' Grace ! grace !' I must away. Our joint respects attend you all. I 
 hope Mr. Hutchinson mends. I hear his brother is dead. Lord, make 
 us, make me also ready ! My most dutiful respects await our elect 
 lady. God willing, she shall hear soon from, my dear friend, 
 
 " Yours," &c, " in our common Lord." 
 
 Scarcely was Mrs. Wesley so far recovered as to be considered out 
 of danger, when her infant son was attacked by the fearful disease. 
 This was a severe affliction to both the parents ; for he was their only 
 child ; their first-born ; one year and four months old. He had shown 
 a mental precocity with regard to music of which there are few exam- 
 ples, having both sung a tune, and beaten time, at the age of twelve 
 months. He bore the honoured name of John Wesley. Intelligence 
 of his sickness was conveyed to the father in London by the following 
 letter, written by Miss Rebecca Gwynne, Mrs. Wesley's sister : — 
 
 " Sunday night, December 30th. As we suppose my dear brother 
 Wesley will be glad to know how the poor little boy does, I cannot help 
 writing by this post to inform you, that he rested tolerably last night ; 
 but has the distemper very thick ; and the doctor says he cannot tell 
 what sort it will prove till the ninth day is passed, being so treacherous 
 a disorder. About Wednesday we hope the worst will be over. My 
 sister desires her love and thanks to all friends who were so kind as 
 to remember her. My eyes are so weak, that I can only add our love, 
 and desires to see you as soon as possible." 
 
 To this letter Mrs. Wesley affixed the following postscript : — " Many 
 thanks I return my dearest friend for his last; and I trust all your 
 prayers will be answered on me. Nothing is worth living for, but to.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 481 
 
 enjoy and glorify our God. that this may be the end for which my 
 life is lengthened ! I found no desire for a longer continuance on earth, 
 than till I found my soul meet for the inheritance of the saints in light ; 
 and that I firmly believe Christ would have granted even me, had he 
 called me hence in my late dangerous illness. To walk always in the 
 light of God's countenance is most desirable ; but some seem more 
 highly favoured in that than others. I long to be one of those ; but 
 when will it be 1 You have been short in gratitude in not writing to 
 my worthy doctor, who is daily here to see dear Jacky. My heart 
 yearns for him so, that I wish I could bear the distemper again, iustead 
 of him: but he is in our great Preserver's hands, who cares for him. 
 The Lord bless you. Farewell." 
 
 The suffering little innocent only survived the writing of this letter 
 eight days, when his redeemed spirit entered into rest. His remains 
 were interred before the father returned to Bristol. Some of his light 
 and delicate hair, folded in paper, lies before the writer of this narra- 
 tive. This sacred family relic bears the following inscription, neatly 
 written by the bereaved mother : — " My dear Jacky Wesley's hair : 
 who died of the small-pox, on Monday, Jan. 7th, 1753-4, aged a year, 
 four months, and seventeen days. I shall go to him; but he never 
 shall return to me." 
 
 It was not to be expected that Mr. Charles Wesley could pass 
 through these scenes of domestic affliction, bereavement, and deliver- 
 ance, — of chastisement and mercy, — without pouring forth the feelings 
 of his heart in sacred verse. It was in devotional poetry that his 
 emotions, both of joy and sorrow, found their most natural and appro- 
 priate expression. Accordingly he composed two hymns, under the 
 title of " Oblation of a sick Friend," which describe the working of his 
 mind while the wife of his bosom was suspended between life and 
 death. They are remarkable for their tenderness and piety. 
 
 Of the severity of Mrs. Wesley's sufferings from the small-pox ample 
 proof has already been given. Her husband said, that there was no 
 sound part in her entire frame, from the soles of her feet to the crown 
 of her head. Some private letters state, that, after the disease had 
 generally disappeared, it was a considerable time before her nose was 
 healed. The consequence was, that, after her recovery, her features 
 were so completely changed, that her most intimate friends could not 
 know her, by merely looking at her countenance ; so deep was the 
 impress which the malady had left of its virulence. Her husband 
 showed the tenderness and strength of his affection by declaring, that 
 he admired her more than he had ever done before. She was about 
 twenty years younger than himself; and now that she had lost her 
 beauty, she had also lost her very youthful appearance ; so that the 
 
 31
 
 482 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 unseemly disparity between their ages was no longer perceptible. This 
 delicate remark, which he often repeated, was highly characteristic of 
 the man, and well calculated to remove any imeasy feeling that might 
 perchance have arisen in her mind. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley had another ground of grateful joy, besides that 
 of his wife's recovery. His brother also began to regain his lost strength, 
 and was likely soon to resume his Avonted labours. Under the advice 
 of his physicians, Mr. John Wesley retired to the Hot well, near Bris- 
 tol ; and being for a time unable either to travel or preach, he applied 
 himself to writing explanatory notes upon the New Testament : a work 
 which he had long meditated ; but which, in all probability, he would 
 not have undertaken, had it not been for this unexpected sickness. 
 When he had made some considerable progress in his work, he was 
 visited by Charles from London ; and they spent several days together, 
 comparing the translation of the gospels with the original Greek ; and 
 reading Dr. Heylyn's Lectures, and Doddridge's Family Expositor, of 
 which important use was made in the publication. Charles, who was 
 an excellent critic, and possessed a fine taste in composition, afforded 
 his brother more assistance in this work than in any other with which 
 John's name was connected. The revisal of the book, some years 
 after it had been printed, was greatly indebted to his piety, taste, and 
 judgment. 
 
 As the spring and summer advanced, John was able to resume his 
 ministry, and he went forth to his labour with increased spirituality 
 and power. At the same time Charles Skelton, an itinerant preacher 
 of some standing, and of useful talents, resigned his connection with 
 the Wesleys, and became an Independent minister. This awakened 
 considerable jealousy among his brethren, lest others should follow his 
 example. They therefore entered into a written agreement at the 
 ensuing conference, not to act independently of each other ; so that 
 the breach which had caused uneasiness among them served to put 
 them upon their guard, and unite them more closely together. Skelton 
 appears to have begun his course as an Independent minister at Bury 
 St. Edmund's. He afterward became the pastor of a small congrega- 
 tion in Southwark, which is said to have become extinct long before 
 his death. As an itinerant preacher he was very useful ; and his 
 secession was a cause of deep regret. When he left his old friends 
 he changed his creed ; but from that period he appears to have been 
 of little benefit to the world. His light was hid under a bushel, and 
 his influence scarcely felt. 
 
 31*
 
 LIFE OK REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 483 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 L\ the month of July, 1754, Mr. Charles Wesley accompanied his 
 brother to the neighbourhood of Norwich, where he continued several 
 weeks, preaching in the open air with superior zeal and effect. John 
 remained in a delicate state of health, so as to be unable to bear either 
 a rapid journey, or frequent preaching. He therefore soon left Charles, 
 to prosecute his work with such help as he could obtain, and retired 
 again to the Bristol Hotvvell, by the advice of Dr. Fothefgill. Their 
 design in leaving London together at this time appears to have been, 
 partly the improvement of John's health ; and partly that they might 
 unitedly revise and transcribe the Notes on the New Testament, at the 
 house of their friends, Captain and Mrs. Galatin, of Lakenham, Avho 
 were both pious, and their personal fritmds. At this period the Wes- 
 leys had no place of worship in Norwich ; and if they had any society, 
 it was very small. 
 
 Norwich was at this time in a state of violent excitement. When 
 the Wesleys expelled James Wheatley from their community, he came 
 to this city, where he appears to have been an entire stranger. He 
 began to preach in the midst of bitter opposition, but succeeded at 
 length in collecting a considerable number of people, whom he called 
 his " lambs," and became somewhat honourable. His doctrine and 
 manner were smooth and soft, addressed to the tender passions of the 
 people, rather than to their understandings and consciences ; and in his 
 private conduct he was a perfect libertine. Hitherto he had succeeded 
 in the concealment of his wickedness ; but it was now brought to light, 
 and the successive disclosures that were made awakened the public 
 indignation, and armed the mob with tenfold fury. The populace un- 
 derstood not the niceties of theological controversy ; but they knew that 
 a teacher of Christianity ought not to be a wholesale adulterer. 
 
 Such was the state of things when Mr. Charles Wesley arrived. 
 The following brief notices, which he wrote at the time, will show the 
 situation in which he was placed. They prove, too, that his spirit as 
 a field-preacher was unimpaired. He was still able to brave the noise 
 of the waves, the madness of the people, and maintain the truth of God 
 amidst the fiercest opposition. There was in him a living energy 
 which nothing from without could either subdue or intimidate. He 
 usually preached twice a day during his stay in Norwich ; and the 
 result was, the opening of a Methodist chapel in that city. 
 
 " July 8th, 1754. At four I took horse for Norwich, with my brother, 
 Charles Perronet, and Robert Windsor. We were in fear for my bro-
 
 484 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ther, lest the heat and the journey should be too great for him ; but the 
 rain which God sent down all yesterday had laid the dust, and cooled 
 the air. The clouds also Avere ordered to attend us all the day ; so that 
 we had an easy and a pleasant ride to Braintree. 
 
 " July 9th. Still God, in the weather, favoured us, and brought us 
 safe to Bury, and ten miles beyond it. 
 
 '■ July 10th. Our leisurely travelling allowed us many hours for writ- 
 ing. Between seven and eight we set out, and by eleven reached 
 Attleborough. Here our brother Edwards met us, and brought us in 
 the evening to Captain Galatin's, at Lakenham, a mile and a half from 
 Norwich. The captain brought us news that the whole city was in an 
 uproar about poor Mr. Wheatley, whose works of darkness are now 
 brought to light, whereby the people are so scandalized and exasperated, 
 that they are ready to rise, and tear him to pieces. We therefore do 
 not wonder that the clergy are not forward to show their friendly incli- 
 nations toward us. Yet one has sent us a civil message, excusing his 
 not visiting us till the tumult is over. 
 
 "July 11th. Captain Galatin dined with the mayor, a wise, resolute 
 man, who labours for peace ; but greatly apprehends the rising of the 
 people. We thought it best to lie by till the storm should a little sub- 
 side. Still the waves rage horribly. The streets ring all day with 
 James's wickedness. From morning till night, the captain informs us. 
 the mayor has been employed in taking the affidavits of the women 
 whom he has tried to corrupt. These accounts are printed, and cried 
 about the city. 
 
 " What could Satan or his apostles do more, to shut the door against 
 the gospel, in this place, for ever 1 Yet several came to us, entreating 
 us to preach ; and at night a great number were gathered together to 
 hear us. The advertisement we had printed here, last year, disclaim- 
 ing Mr. Wheatley, did much good, and with the blessing of God helped 
 the people to distinguish. Our host also has assured the mayor, Mr. 
 Wheatley is no Methodist, or associate of oars ; and the clergy, as 
 well as people in general, are sensible of our inviolable attachment to 
 the Church. 
 
 " July 12th. We continued in our retreat, transcribing the Notes,* 
 and leaving God to work, and prepare our way at Norwich." 
 
 Mr. John Wesley says, " On Sunday the 14th, at seven in the morn- 
 ing, my brother took his stand in the street. A multitude of people 
 quickly gathered together, and were tolerably quiet, all things consi- 
 dered. 1 would willingly have taken his place in the evening, but bad 
 neither voice nor strength." 
 
 Charles adds, under the date of July 16th, " A lady yesterday sent 
 * The Rev. John Wesley's Notes on the New Testament.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 485 
 
 my brother an invitation to preach in her great room, at the window, 
 whence he might be heard by those without. But to-day an alderman, 
 threatening persecution, has made her draw back. I walked to Laken- 
 ham, and stopped my brother. The rest of the day we spent in trans- 
 cribing. 
 
 M July 17th. Word was brought us that the gentlemen were much 
 displeased with their disappointment last night. In the morning James 
 Wheatley overtook me and Charles Perronet in our way to Lakenham. 
 I would hope he intended to pass by us ; but Charles, looking back, 
 and spying hinij forced him to stop, and speak to us. He asked me 
 how I did ; to which I made no answer. Charles cried out, ' Ride on, 
 James ; ride on ; do not talk to us. I pray God give you repentance.' 
 He asked me then how my brother did ; but still I said nothing. Then, 
 recovering himself, he said, ' And God give you repentance, Mr. Per- 
 ronet.' I bade Charles turn back, and leave him : which he did ; being 
 grieved at the hardness of his heart. 
 
 " At six in the evening we went forth. My text was, ' The kingdom 
 of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in 
 the Holy Ghost.' The people were amazingly serious. All behaved 
 with the utmost decency. It is evidently the Lord's doing ! Some of 
 the fiercest persecutors are our fastest friends, and constantly attend 
 the word. Many appear affected under it. Not one dares open his 
 mouth against it as yet. My brother recapitulated and confirmed my 
 sayings. In the mouth of two witnesses shall every word be esta- 
 blished. 
 
 " July 18th. At four my brother, by the advice of Charles Perronet, 
 set out with him for Bristol. By how strange a providence has he 
 been brought hither, that he might be sent hence to the Hotwell, the 
 only probable means of restoring his health ! I preached at five, from, 
 • Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help,' Hosca 
 Kiii, 9. Still their patience of the truth continues, or even increases. 
 Near a thousand we have every morning. One man, after I had con- 
 cluded, spoke a rude word, which drew upon him the general indigna- 
 tion. At night I had a multitude of the great vulgar and small to hear 
 me, with three justices, and nine clergymen. The Lord opened my 
 mouth, to convince them of sin ; and many, I am persuaded, felt the 
 sword of the Spirit in the word. 
 
 " July 20th. I declared to a more numerous audience, it being mar- 
 ket day, ' Ye have sold yourselves for naught ; and ye shall be re- 
 deemed without money.' The butchers were continually passing ; 
 yet all was quiet till I had done. I passed the day at Lakenham, as 
 usual. 
 
 "July 21st. My audience at seven was greatly increased. I spoke 

 
 486 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 from the first three verses of Isaiah lxi ; but dwelt on those words, ' He- 
 hath sent me to preach glad tidings to the meek,' or poor. I laboured. 
 as all the week past, to bring them to a sense of their wants ; and to 
 this end I have preached the law, which is extremely wanted here. 
 The people have been surfeited with smooth words and flattering invi- 
 tations. The greater cause have we of wonder and thanksgiving, that 
 they can now endure sound and severe doctrine. I received the sacra- 
 ment again from the bishop's hands, among a score of communicants. 
 If the gospel prevails in this place, they will find the difference. I weni 
 to St. Peter's, and thence to the street. It rained all the time that I 
 was declaring the office of Christ, in his own words, Isaiah lxi ; yet 
 none departed. My congregation was lessened by the weather : but 
 those who did attend were all serious, and seemed to receive the word 
 as a thirsty land the showers. 
 
 " July 22d. The rain hindered my preaching. God is providing us 
 a place, an old large house, which the owner, a justice of the peace, 
 has reserved for us. He has refused several, always declaring he 
 would let it to none but Mr. John Wesley. Last Saturday Mr. Edwards 
 
 agreed to take a lease for seven years ; and this morning Mr. S n 
 
 has sent his workmen to begin putting it into repair. The people are 
 much pleased at our taking it. So are not Satan and his Antinomian 
 apostles. 
 
 " My brother's prophecy is true, that all our caution and tenderness 
 toward them will not hinder their saying all evil of us. The only 
 curse I have had bestowed on me in Norwich was by a good woman 
 of Mr. Wheatley's society : several of which I doubt not are gracious 
 souls, in whose shame and sorrow I sincerely sympathize. Others 
 show what manner of spirit they are of by tearing their supposed ene- 
 mies in pieces. They have already found out, that it is I, and our little 
 society of eighteen, have set the people against poor Mr. Wheatley ; 
 and I am come hither, with my brother, to execute a design we and 
 Mr. Keymer laid against him in London. I trust, our few children 
 will take my counsel, not to answer them a word ; not to meddle with 
 their distractions ; but to stand still. 
 
 " July 23d. At five I declared the end of our Lord's coming, even 
 that they might have life, and have it more abundantly. The serious- 
 
 ■ ness of the people deepens at every discourse. I met Mr. S n at 
 
 the house, which is at present a mere heap of rubbish, without walls, 
 roof, floor, doors, or windows. What will this chaos produce ? I think 
 it no bad omen, that it was originally afoundery ! 
 
 " I wrote all day at Mr. Edwards's. I hear the blaspheming of the 
 multitude. Their mouths are full of vile expressions, 
 ' Offence and torture to the sober ear.*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 487 
 
 Wo unto the man who gives such occasion to the enemy to speak 
 reproachfully ! At seven I expounded the barren fig-tree to a people 
 who, notwithstanding all their stumbling-blocks, can endure sound 
 doctrine. 
 
 " July 24th. I preached the gospel from Isaiah xliii, 22, &c. My 
 congregation at night was considerably increased by the market-folk 
 out of the country. I preached repentance from Rev. i, 7. The Lord 
 opened my mouth to convince. His word begins to sink into their 
 hearts. Many were in tears on every side. Toward the close, a huge 
 man tried to ride up to me ; but the people interposed again and again, 
 till a serious stout man took and led his horse away, and kept the poor 
 drunkard at a due distance. Some in the public-house behind me were 
 noisy and troublesome ; on whom I turned, and recommended them to 
 the prayers of the congregation. Satan often shows his willingness 
 and inability to hurt or hinder us. In spite of all, the gospel has free 
 course, and daily gains ground on the hearers' hearts. 
 
 " July 25th. The rain drove me into brother Edwards's house. Only 
 the sincere and serious attended. The poor have a right to the gospel. 
 I then preached Christ crucified from Zech. xii, 10. They did in that 
 hour look on Him they had pierced, and mourn ; particularly one hard- 
 ened rebel, (that was,) who was in tears the whole time. Yesterday a 
 woman came to me, to ask my pardon for having railed at me, or rather, 
 at Mr. Edwards, while passing her. She belonged to the Tabernacle. 
 [ commended her ingenuousness, wished all her society like her, and 
 gave her a book. From this many stories were made. I think it best 
 to have no communication at all with Mr. Wheatley, or any of his 
 followers : neither to mention nor to think of him any more than if 
 there was no such sect or sinner upon earth. 
 
 " I passed the day at Lakenham ; and at seven preached to a mixed 
 multitude of good and bad. Some of the baser sort talked lewdly and 
 blasphemously, till I turned, and set the terrors of the Lord in array 
 against them. No wonder the slaves could not face me. The words 
 directed to them made many a sincere heart tremble. I went on with 
 more power than ever. So immediately did God bring good out of evil. 
 The number of mourners increases. By and by they will be ripe for 
 the gospel. 
 
 " July 26th. I enforced on many listening souls our Lord's most 
 important words, ' Ask, and ye shall receive ; seek, and ye shall find.' 
 I enjoyed my long-sought solitude all day at Lakenham. 
 
 " July 30th. I preached at five from Isaiah xxxv, and found my mouth 
 opened, as well as the hearers' hearts. The more Satan rages, the 
 more our Lord will own and bless us. A poor rebel, at the conclusion, 
 lifted up his voice ; for whom I first prayed, and then, turning full upon
 
 488 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 him, preached repentance and Christ to his heart. I desired him to 
 turn his face toward me, but he could not. However, he felt the in- 
 visible chain, which held him to hear the offers of grace and salvation. 
 1 have great hopes that Satan has lost his slave. Some have assured 
 me, they saw him depart in tears. 
 
 " I began once more transcribing Dr. Young's Night Thoughts. No 
 writings but the inspired are more useful to me. 
 
 " At St. Peter's I heard a very innocent sermon on public worship. 
 There is no railing at present in any of the churches. The bishop of 
 Exeter's Letter was cried about the streets all day. We prayed, and 
 went forth at seven, expecting Satan's appearance. A multitude at- 
 tended to Hosea xiv, 1 . My heart was much enlarged. A very few 
 showed their willingness to disturb, but were soon suppressed. I did 
 not spare them ; and the Lord gave weight to his word. I plainly 
 perceive, there is no strength or counsel against the Lord. Many per- 
 sons there doubtless are in this great city who would fain stop the 
 course of the gospel, and drive it out. Several complain that their 
 fellows will not suffer them to persecute. To say nothing of the clergy, 
 can Mr. Taylor's followers digest our doctrine of original sin ? Can 
 either the Pharisees or Sadducees, with which this place abounds, 
 wish us success ? Here are swarms of Papists and Antinomians, 
 who bear us equal good-will. And all Christ's enemies have a sword 
 put into their hands by that wretched man. It is Satan's and his in- 
 terest, that the world should look upon us as all alike. And with this 
 view, no doubt, the Rev. Mr. published his scandals of my bro- 
 ther. But he may find himself mistaken. It is too gross to pass even 
 at Norwich. The clergy, I hear, declare they are satisfied of Mr. John 
 Wesley's unexceptionable character ; and the generality of the people 
 are much displeased at the nonsensical tale. 
 
 "July 31st. I expounded Isaiah xxxii, 1,2, to a quiet, attentive con- 
 gregation, who constantly attend, about two hundred of them, and seem 
 more and more to know their wants. At night I laid the axe to the 
 root, and showed them their actual and original corruption. The strong 
 man was disturbed in his palace, and roared on every side. My strength 
 increased with the opposition. A gentleman on horseback gnashed 
 upon me with his teeth ; but my voice prevailed ; and they retreated 
 to their stronghold, the alehouse. There with difficulty they procured 
 some butchers to appear in their quarrel ; yet they had no commission 
 to approach, till I had done. Then, in the last hymn, they made up to 
 the table with great fury. The foremost often lifted up his stick, to 
 strike me, being within his reach : but he was not permitted. I stayed 
 to pray for them, and walked quietly to my lodgings. Poor Rabshakeh 
 muttered something about the bishop of Exeter ; but did not accept of
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 489 
 
 ray invitadon to Mr. Edwards's. I am persuaded more good has been 
 done to-night than by any of my former discourses. The concern and 
 love of the people for me are much increased by my supposed danger. 
 We joined together in praise and thanksgiving, as usual ; and I slept 
 in peace. 
 
 " August 1st. My morning congregation made me ample amends for 
 last night's tumult : so serious, so affected with the word of truth. 
 When I gave notice of preaching in the evening, I did not know what 
 a riotous day it is. Yet after prayer, I went forth, to keep my word, 
 and see if the Lord had any work for me. The hill was covered with 
 drunkards and rioters : but we saw the hand of God turning them aside, 
 and keeping them at a distance. My subject was, ' What shall it 
 profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul V 
 The congregation looked like sheep in the midst of wolves : but the 
 wolves had a bridle in their mouths, and could not hurt or disturb the 
 serious. Satan must rage, for his kingdom suffers loss. Many followed 
 me home, with whom I spent some time in prayer. By the time that 
 the streets are too hot to hold us, we hope our house will be ready. 
 
 " August 2d. I spoke comfortably to the sincere, from Matt, v, 3, &c. 
 A gentleman faced me, while I brought all the threatenings of God's 
 word to bear upon him. He often changed colour, in spite of all his 
 diabolical resolution. The poor people were not ashamed to show 
 their concern. They felt the word, if he did not ; and were melted 
 down through his obduracy. 
 
 ; ' I am at a loss for a church, 'Squire D having sent his servant 
 
 to forbid my preaching any more under his wall. I thought of removing 
 my pulpit to Mr. Edwards's door ; but Providence ordered it otherwise, 
 by sending such violent rain to-day as flooded all the street around us, 
 and filled it up with mire. 
 
 •' It being fair-day, we had a large company of drunkards to wait 
 upon us at seven. I stood under a window of the Bell. Satan quickly 
 sent me two of his drunken champions, who did all in their power to 
 interrupt me. Their heads were just as high as mine ; and one laid 
 his mouth to my ear, and talked almost the whole time. I was forced, 
 in my own defence, to speak as loud and as fast as I could. And they 
 had no power to disturb me, while I applied the most blessed promise, 
 Isaiah xxxv, 10. Many experienced the power of the gospel, preached 
 with much contention. The wild beasts of the people were quite tame 
 while I pressed through the midst of them. 
 
 " August 3d. I preached Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, 
 with great enlargement ; the spirit of the people assisting me. They 
 seem a people prepared of the Lord. He was with us this morning 
 of a truth.
 
 490 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " August 4th. I met the society at five, with some new members, or 
 rather candidates ; for such I esteem them all. I exhorted them to 
 walk unblameable in all the commandments and ordinances. We had 
 sweet fellowship in singing and prayer. At seven I expounded blind 
 Bartimeus ; and the Lord bowed their hearts who heard. We never 
 had so large a morning congregation, or so serious. Surely God hath 
 much people in this city. 
 
 " I breakfasted at Mrs. Overton's, on whose ground Mr. Wheatley's 
 first Tabernacle was built. She has offered herself as a candidate of 
 society, having stayed in the other till sin forced her out. They are 
 above measure displeased with her. She regards it not, but follows on 
 to know the Lord. 
 
 " I communicated at the cathedral. An elderly clergyman pointed 
 me, at the table, to where the ministers were. The number of com- 
 municants begins to increase : a sign we do not make a separation, as 
 a zealous advocate of the Church charged me, in going home. I en- 
 deavoured to set him right ; and he was in a good measure appeased. 
 . " Poor James has given them cause for suspicion. He too came to 
 the cathedral at first, as my opponent told me, and pretended to bring 
 others, till he had got so much hold of them, as to take them all from 
 it, and turn them Dissenters. How has he increased our difficulties ! 
 But the pow#r and blessing of God can set all right. 
 
 " I met the society after dinner, and strongly exhorted them to bring 
 forth fruits meet for repentance. I was in great heaviness till five ; 
 and then invited a huge multitude to the great supper, and gave an his- 
 torical account of the Methodists. Some thought our congregation 
 larger than any before. More serious they surely were. A few ragged 
 drunkards stood at a distance, but were not suffered to make a noise 
 till I had done. Then they lifted up their voice, which made me begin 
 again. I exhorted, sung, prayed, and exhorted again. It was a 
 glorious opportunity. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory. 
 Our house was crowded afterward. For an hour I spoke, sung, 
 prayed, ' after God.' A fair prospect we have of a flourishing society, 
 such as shall not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies 
 in the gate. Every soul present, I am persuaded, felt the nearness of 
 our Lord. 
 
 " August 5th. That scripture was fulfilled, ' Behold, I stand at the 
 door, and knock : if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will 
 come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.' We knew 
 not how to part ; though we never part now without a blessing. Five 
 more gave in their names as candidates for the society. Last night a 
 poor backslider came to me, with tears of sincere repentance. He had 
 run well ; been a leader in London ; but forsaken the fountain of living
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEV. 491 
 
 water. The Lord has sent after the one lost sheep. I have a stron^ 
 hope that he will rise again, to fall no more. 
 
 " To-day I heard that as soon as I had named my subject yesterday 
 morning, blind Bartimeus, some went away, crying that they had heard 
 enough of him from Wheatley. Poor James had attempted that his- 
 tory, and made lame work of it, and of many others ; which straitens 
 me much. I cannot yet preach from any favourite texts, because he 
 has. He has, as much as in him lay, poisoned the fountain, debased 
 the language of God, hardened the people's hearts, palled their spirit- 
 ual appetite, and made them even loath religion, and all that belongs to 
 it. What mountains are these in their way to Christ ! They can never 
 flow down, but at his presence. 
 
 " I dined at Lakenham, and returned with Mrs. Galatin to Norwich. 
 Mrs. Overton, a sincere follower after Christ, drank tea with us. We 
 had hardly time for a prayer before we went forth. A gentleman had 
 been with me yesterday, desiring me to vindicate him from the asper- 
 sion of disturbing me in preaching. For his satisfaction I preached, 
 contrary to my design, on the hill. The rioters were there in great 
 numbers. I called them to repentance ; but they stopped their ears, 
 and ran upon me, casting dirt and stones, &c. I stood it for three 
 quarters of an hour ; but it was fighting with beasts. None of us were 
 hurt by their violence, but several frightened. The poor women had 
 the worst of it. The lewd sons of Belial are furnished with weapons 
 enough from the Tabernacle, and talk as inspired by their father. Our 
 people were a good deal discouraged, fearing it will grow worse and 
 worse. (We have a Butler here also, a ringleader of the rioters.*) I 
 endeavoured to hearten them, and exhorted them to greater diligence 
 in prayer. Prayer is our only refuge ; and if our hands be steady, 
 Israel shall prevail. 
 
 " August 7th. I preached from Micah vi, 8. At seven, God, in an- 
 swer to our continual prayer, opened the door, in spite of all the powers 
 of darkness. Preaching to these people is indeed threshing the moun- 
 tains ; yet several of them show great hungering for the word. 
 
 " August 8th. Our morning hour is always peaceable, and attended 
 with the blessing of the gospel. The house is filled with the sincere ; 
 and the half awakened listen without. I preached a little after six this 
 evening, according to my notice in the morning, and so disappointed 
 most of the rioters. One drunkard was sent to molest us ; but the bri- 
 dle was in his as well as his master's mouth. Many felt the meaning 
 of those awful words : ' Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him. 
 and given him a name which is above every name : that at the name 
 
 * The allusion is to Butler, the ballad-singer at Cork, whose riotous proceedings have 
 been already described.
 
 492 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in 
 earth, and things under the earth.' We afterward returned thanks in 
 the house, and earnestly prayed for the course of the gospel ; as we 
 always do, both before and after preaching. 
 
 " August 9th. I rose after four. At five the Lord was mightily with 
 us, to confirm his word, ' He shall save his people from their sins.' 
 Mrs. Br., Mrs. Galatin, with our brother and sister Edwards, joined 
 me in praise and prayer till near seven : a custom we hope, with God's 
 blessing, to continue. At six a tumultuous crowd surrounded me, while 
 I cried aloud, ' Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous 
 man his thoughts,' &c. Satan visibly laboured in his children to hin- 
 der the gospel ; which yet they could not hinder. A poor harlot 
 shrieked out for the first quarter of an hour incessantly. I could hear 
 no word but Wheatley. I turned toward her, (but she did not care to 
 show her face,) and pressed her to enter the kingdom with her sister 
 harlots. We heard no more of her/ Her allies stood motionless till I 
 dismissed them. 
 
 " A huge, black, grisly man, followed me into the house, whom I took 
 for a collier. He told me he was a tinker, T. Boult by name ; had 
 been in all Mr. Wheatley's riots, and fought for him forty times ; that, 
 understanding I should settle here, he came to offer me his service, and 
 would henceforward fight for me. I thanked him for his non-necessary 
 kindness ; gave him a word of advice, and a book ; and he went away 
 hugely satisfied. I hear it was he that drove off the noisy harlot. 
 We joined, as usual, in giving God the glory of his overruling provi- 
 dence. 
 
 " I should not forget that this morning Mr. Wheatley had the modesty 
 to pay us a visit. Mrs. Edwards opened the door, and seeing him, 
 without speaking a word, bad or good, shut it again. 
 
 " August 1 1th. I walked to Norwich by five, and met the society, to 
 our mutual comfort. At seven our street was filled from end to end. 
 I strongly preached ' God in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.' 
 He stood by his ambassador, and bowed the hearts of all who heard 
 the word. We never yet had so open a door. Two or three from the 
 Tabernacle mocked at the beginning ; but the stream carried them also 
 away before it. This hour and a half has made us amends for all our 
 troubles and buffetings. We acknowledged God hearing prayer. Our 
 brethren at London have surely wrestled for us, and prevailed. We 
 had double the usual number of communicants at the cathedral. All 
 who are healed by our ministry go and show themselves to the priest, 
 and enter into the temple with us. 
 
 " I wonder we should miss so long, so convenient a place for preach- 
 ing as our own street is. The found ery shuts us up on one side ; and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 493 
 
 Mr. Edwards's and his neighbours on the other. Above three thousand 
 may conveniently stand about the door, and twice as many at the end 
 of Hog-hill. Every place was crowded in the evening, while I enforced 
 the faithful, acceptable saying, that Jesus Christ came into the world 
 to save sinners. His power bent down all opposition, and cleared his 
 own way into their hearts. All seemed melted down, or broken 
 to pieces, either by the fire or the hammer. The gospel had 
 free course. The word was glorified, and ran very swiftly. Let all 
 who prayed for its success give God the praise, and pray on : so shall 
 it grow mightily, and prevail over this great, wicked city. Some of the 
 best of the parish, as well as strangers, joined with us for an hour longer 
 in prayer and thanksgiving. I enforced upon them, by particular, close 
 application, both my morning and evening discourse. The Lord was 
 evidently with us in his convincing power. 
 
 "August 13th. I walked to Norwich. Many seem ready to close 
 with Christ, and come at his call, the weary and heavy laden. The 
 more disposed they are to receive the gospel, the more he opens my 
 mouth to make it known. I got a useful hour in the evening for con- 
 versation and prayer with our wakening neighbours." 
 
 In this diligent and faithful manner Mr. Charles Wesley exercised 
 his ministry in the open air at Norwich, for several successive weeks. 
 Early in the morning, and late in the evening, was he at the post of 
 duty ; meeting the small society for the purpose of private instruction 
 and encouragement ; and in public showing the people the entire cor- 
 ruption of their nature, the spirituality of the law of God, their personal 
 guilt, and just exposure to the miseries of hell ; with the method of a 
 sinner's justification through faith in the blood of atonement, and the 
 universal holiness which every believer is both able and bound to ex- 
 emplify. His preaching was at once evangelical and practical. It 
 was equally removed from the cold and subtle Rationalism of Dr. 
 John Taylor, then resident there, and the whining Antinomianism of 
 James Wheatley. Its seasonableness was undeniable ; and it was 
 well adapted to lay the foundation of a permanent work of God in that 
 city. His self-denial, unwearied application to the work of saving 
 souls, and the success with which his efforts were crowned, show that 
 his heart was right with God. Such fidelity on his part was a favourable 
 omen for the country, while his brother was still enfeebled by disease. 
 
 Where Mr. Charles Wesley spent the remainder of this year, after 
 his removal from Norwich, we are not informed ; but early in the fol- 
 lowing January we find him at Brecon ; having been called thither on 
 account of the dangerous illness of Mrs. Grace Bowen. He left his 
 wife in London. Grace Bowen was the daughter of a clergyman. She 
 was a woman of a superior understanding. For many years she had
 
 494 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 resided in the Gwyime family, and had nursed all the children, Mrs. 
 Charles Wesley among the rest. When the "Wesleys preached at 
 Garth and the neighbourhood, she was among the first that received 
 the truth. From that time, to her correct morals she added deep Chris- 
 lian piety, and led a most exemplary and useful life. She was there- 
 fore highly and justly esteemed. When Charles arrived, this devout 
 matron had fled to the heavenly paradise. 
 
 In a letter to his wife, he says, " I rode hard to see her before her 
 flight ; but it was my loss, not hers, that the chariot carried her up 
 last Thursday. I only write, in the utmost haste, to assure you, my 
 best beloved friend, that I am perfectly well, and all our friends here. 
 More in my next. Salute our friends in both Squares." 
 
 " Brecon, Jan. 10th. My dearest Sally would be greatly comforted, 
 to hear what I hear hourly of our translated friend. She insisted on 
 Becky's rejoicing as soon as she should be safe landed : which checked 
 her sorrow indeed ; and God has further comforted her by my coming. 
 But my Sally, I fear, wants me on the same occasion. Yet why should 
 .1 fear your self-love should get the better of your love and desire of a 
 friend's happiness ? Her last human desire was to see you and me ; but 
 this also she gave up a week before her departure, and lay rejoicing and 
 praising God, and blessing all about her with her prayers and counsels. 
 
 " Some weeks before she said to your sisters, ' You may think it 
 delusion ; but I do really enjoy at times such joy as is unutterable, and 
 full of glory.' Expect more particulars in the hymns I am making for 
 her. Poor Becky has lost, her only friend. She and I are very happy 
 together ; and the society are in a very flourishing way. Yesterday I 
 spent an hour with Howell Harris, to our mutual satisfaction. His 
 soul is, after all, alive to God, and put life into me. Monday I spend 
 with him and his wife, who is ready to eat me up for joy. To-morrow 
 I dine at Garth ; on Sunday preach at Builth, Maesmynis, another 
 church in the way hither, and here at night. This people will not let 
 me be idle ; and I do not much desire it. To-morrow J. Jones returns 
 to Bristol. On Tuesday I follow. We had a tedious passage of three 
 hours on the water. It is well you was not with us. How fare you 
 at the Square ? How fare our friends ? My best love, and in the best 
 
 (that is, your own) manner, to the colonel, Mrs. Gumley, and Mrs. D , 
 
 and Miss Derby. You have perfected her in English, by this time, I 
 nothing doubt. I suppose you are thinking ere now to remove. In 
 the latter end of this month I hope to find you well in Devonshire- 
 square. When come our friends to Bath? My father, mother, Becky, 
 &c, salute you most affectionately. The Lord have you always in his 
 keeping ! Farewell. 
 
 " Friday, one o'clock. 1 have just come from preaching to the pri-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 495 
 
 soners. Your last refreshed me with the news of your tolerable health, 
 the rheumatism excepted. Mrs. Gumley is very kind and obliging, 
 [f you think of me, I am not behind with you. Only our happy friend 
 shares my best thoughts with you. She has fought the good fight, and 
 finished her course with joy. I am half impatient to be with her. On 
 Thursday I purpose writing to you from Bristol. My letter may wel- 
 come you to your old lodgings. Direct your next to me at Bristol. 
 Once more I commend you to our everlasting Friend !" 
 
 " Brecon, Jan. 14th, 1755. My Dearest Sally, — I hope you have 
 left your cough behind you. Grosvenor is not half so agreeable to our 
 taste and constitution as Devonshire-square. I leave this place to- 
 morrow, having made the most of my short time. Brother Howell was 
 very civil to me at Garth ; Lady Rudd, not uncivil. I preached on 
 Sunday in two churches ; had a miserable ride over the hill to Brecon, 
 drowned with rain ; but received no hurt. Yesterday I spent mostly 
 at Trevecka. God has not rejected his old servant there. He joins 
 with his wife in cordial love to us both. Touching the family I can- 
 not say much. Poor Becky would be glad to escape from among them. 
 The little society is her chief comfort. The grand preliminary will, I 
 hope, be settled to our satisfaction : then you may depend upon her, 
 when a tender, faithful nurse is needed. 
 
 " Your old nurse and friend requires our congratulation, not condo- 
 lence. She lies close to dear Molly Leyson. Peggy and Jacky also 
 are of the party above. They are singing together, and pitying us. I 
 think it long ere I overtake and join them. Hold out faith and patience 
 a little longer, and we shall all meet around the throne. My love to 
 Mr. Lloyd, if returned. You should comfort poor Betsy. Perhaps 
 the enclosed may help. We ought to rejoice : that is certain : but self- 
 love hinders. Remember me to Mr. Montague, and Jane Hands, and 
 J. Boult, and all inquirers. My best respects and thanks to our friends, 
 whom you have left, or are leaving. I will not despair of seeing them 
 in Charles-street before spring. The Lord shall order all things. 
 Farewell in him." 
 
 Under the date of Jan. 14th, 1755, Mr. Whitefield addressed a letter 
 from Virginia to his friend Mr. Charles Wesley, breathing his usual 
 spirit of zeal and kindness. He says, " My Dear Friend, — Some time 
 ago, when at New-York, I heard you was sick. This, I suppose, hath 
 been the occasion of my not hearing from you. Well ! blessed be God, 
 sick or well, we can go on our way to heaven. This is begun on 
 earth. If it was not so, what should I do in this pilgrim way ? I sup- 
 pose my circuit upon the continent already hath been two thousand 
 miles ; and a journey of six hundred more before I reach Bethesda yet
 
 496 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 lies before me. Scenes of wonder have opened all the way. A thou- 
 sandth part cannot be told. In Virginia the prospect is very promising. 
 I have preached in two churches, and this morning am to preach in a 
 third. Rich and poor seem quite ready to hear. Many have been 
 iruly awakened. Continue to pray for a poor but willing hunter after 
 souls. O it is heavenly sport ! 
 
 ' Christ's presence doth my pains beguile, 
 And makes the wilderness to smile.' 
 
 " About May I hope to see England. that you may see me grown 
 
 in grace! But, alas! alas! I am a dwarf. Lord Jesus, quicken my 
 
 tardy pace. My cordial respects await your dear yoke-fellow, your 
 
 brother, and all that are concerned for, or inquire after, my dear friend, 
 
 " Yours most affectionately in our common Lord." 
 
 Every one who had watched the proceedings of the Wesleys, and con- 
 sidered the principles in which they had been trained, must have per- 
 ceived, from the beginning of their irregularities, that soon or late they 
 would be involved in serious difficulties with regard to the established 
 Church. Through the force of education and example, as we have 
 already seen, when they were at Oxford and in Georgia, they were among 
 the strictest of strict Churchmen, and would have thought it almost a 
 sin even to save a soul from hell, except in accordance with the rubric, 
 and in the use of the Book of Common Prayer. They denied the vali- 
 dity of baptism when administered by men who had only received pres- 
 byterian ordination ; for they thought that the laying on of a bishop's 
 hands was essential to the ministerial character ; and that those who 
 had only been ordained " by the laying on of the hands of the presby- 
 tery," were mere laymen, — though they might belong to Protestant 
 national churches, such as those of Scotland and Holland, — and could 
 therefore perform no proper ministerial act. Greatly were they shocked 
 when some of their own sons in the gospel began to preach ; and they 
 resolved at once to silence them by the strong hand of power. But in 
 this they were overruled. They saw that God was with the men 
 whom they charged to hold their peace. Their spirit was devout ; and 
 their ministrations were sanctioned by the divine blessing, not in a few 
 solitary instances merely, but in the actual conversion and salvation of 
 multitudes. Hence the brothers were not only reconciled to this inno- 
 vation, but defended it, and rejoiced in it, as a means which Christ him- 
 self had provided for extending his kingdom in the world : and they 
 were the more satisfied, because the preachers and their converts 
 attended the religious services of the established Church. For a time 
 it was not difficult to preserve this state of things, because the societies 
 and preachers were few in number, and were continually under the eye
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 497 
 
 of the brothers, to whose judgment and authority every one paid the 
 most profound deference. 
 
 But at length difficulties arose. The question of separation from the 
 Church, and of the administration of the sacraments by the preachers, 
 Avas agitated, and caused great searchings of heart in various directions. 
 The year 1755 was a sort of crisis in Methodism, because then a con- 
 troversy on these subjects began, which was not finally settled until 
 some years after the founders of the system had ended their life and 
 labours. In London and Bristol the Lord's supper was regularly ad- 
 ministered by a clergyman ; but in most other places both the preachers 
 and the societies were expected to attend this ordinance in their several 
 parish churches. In many instances the clergy who officiated there 
 were not only destitute of piety, but were immoral in their lives ; and 
 doubts arose, whether such men, notwithstanding their ordination, were 
 true ministers of Christ, and whether it was not a sin to encourage 
 them in the performance of duties for which they were so manifestly 
 destitute of the requisite qualifications. The clergyman at Epworth, 
 who repelled Mr. John Wesley from the Lord's table, and assaulted him 
 before the whole congregation, was notoriously drunk at the time. In 
 other cases the doctrine which was taught in the churches was deemed 
 not only defective, but positively erroneous ; especially when justifica- 
 tion by faith, and the work of the Holy Spirit, were peremptorily de- 
 nied and opposed. Several of the clergy were directly concerned in 
 the instigation of riotous proceedings against the Methodists, by which 
 their property was destroyed, and their lives were endangered ; and if 
 the sufferers forgave these injuries, it was too much to expect that they 
 would contentedly receive the memorials of the Saviour's death at the 
 hands of men who had encouraged such outrages upon humanity and 
 justice. If John Nelson could profitably receive the holy communion 
 from the minister who, by bearing false witness against him, had suc- 
 ceeded in tearing him away from his family, and sending him into the 
 army, every one had not John's meekness and strength of mind. Not 
 a few of the clergy absolutely refused to administer the Lord's supper 
 to the Methodists. When these people approached the table of the 
 Lord, they were singled out among the communicants, and denied the 
 sacred emblems of their Redeemer's body and blood. This was the 
 case, as we have seen, at Bristol, at Leeds, in Derbyshire, and other 
 places ; so that the Methodists were compelled either to receive the 
 Lord's supper at the hands of their own preachers, or in the Dissenting 
 chapel, or to violate the command of the Lord, who has charged all his 
 disciples to " eat of this bread, and drink of this cup." Great uneasi- 
 ness therefore existed among the preachers, and in several of the 
 societies. 
 
 32
 
 498 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 In this emergency the embarrassment of the Wesleys was increased 
 by the fact, that the preachers who were unfriendly to that strict union 
 with the Church which had been hitherto maintained, were generally 
 the most pious and gifted of their brethren. At the head of this band 
 was Joseph Cownley, whom Mr. John Wesley afterward pronounced 
 one of the best preachers in England. Among them were also Edward 
 and Charles Perronet, the two sons of the venerable vicar of Shore- 
 ham ; who were both educated men, and possessed of considerable 
 talent, as is manifest from their publications, both in prose and verse. 
 Their piety was indisputable. Of this class of preachers also was 
 Thomas Walsh. This very remarkable man was a native of Ireland, 
 and was designed for the Romish priesthood ; but having obtained a 
 knowledge of the truth, he renounced the errors of Popery, and con- 
 nected himself with the Methodist body. His application to study was 
 intense and unremitting, and the fruits of his industry were surprising. 
 Mr. John Wesley declared him to be the best Biblical scholar he ever 
 knew. If he were questioned respecting any Hebrew or Greek word 
 in Holy Scripture, he would, after a short pause, specify how often it 
 occurred in sacred writ, and its precise signification in each place. 
 He preached with great fervour and energy, both in the Irish and Eng- 
 lish languages ; and in prayer he was mighty and prevalent. This 
 truly great and holy man enjoyed in a high degree the confidence of 
 Mr. John Wesley, because of the wisdom of his counsels, and the in- 
 tegrity of his principles and life. The whole of these preachers, and 
 probably some others, generally absented themselves from the services 
 of the established Church ; and they occasionally administered the 
 Lord's supper to the people who were like-minded with themselves, 
 and also to one another. 
 
 This further innovation upon the order of the Church exceedingly 
 distressed Mr. Charles Wesley, who had long been reconciled to the 
 irregularity of lay-preaching ; and his grief was not a little increased 
 by an apprehension that his brother secretly encouraged these proceed- 
 ings. He even suspected that these preachers might have obtained 
 ordination by the imposition of John's hands. For he knew that his 
 brother was strongly attached to them ; that he had serious doubts 
 concerning many things connected with the established Church ; and 
 that he had by implication avowed his right to ordain : having many 
 years ago published to the world his conviction, that, in the apostolic 
 church, bishops and presbyters were of the same order. These appre- 
 hensions Charles disclosed in his correspondence with Walter Sellon, 
 the clergyman of Smisby, in Leicestershire. Sellon had formerly been 
 a Methodist preacher, and the master of Kingswood school. On the 
 recommendation of the Huntingdon family he had obtained episcopal 
 
 32*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 499 
 
 ordination. As a clergyman he was eminently zealous and useful, 
 though not very regular in his efforts to convert and save souls. He 
 retained a strong affection for his old friends, and enjoyed their entire 
 confidence. Mr. Charles Wesley pressed this sensible and able man 
 to write to his brother pointedly and strongly against the administration 
 of the sacraments by the Methodist preachers, and on the necessity of 
 a close adherence to the Church. He also pressed him by all means 
 to attend the next conference, for the purpose of urging these points 
 both upon Mr. John Wesley and the preachers ; pledging himself to 
 obtain admission for him into that assembly. Mr. .Sellon appears to 
 have written to Mr. John Wesley on these subjects, and also to Charles 
 Perronet ; but we have no proof that he was present at the conference. 
 Probably his limited income, and his parochial duties, detained him at 
 home. His living was known to be poor, and his labours severe. In 
 the progress of his correspondence with Sellon, Mr. Charles Wesley 
 confessed that his suspicions respecting his brother were unfounded. 
 No such countenance as he supposed had been given to the preachers 
 who thus acted upon the principles of separation. The following 
 passages which occur in Mr. Charles Wesley's letters to his clerical 
 friend at Smisby bear upon the subjects just mentioned : — 
 
 " London, Dec. 14th. [1754.] My Dear Brother and Friend, — Write 
 again, and spare not. My brother took no notice to me of your letter. 
 Since the Melchizede'kians have been taken in, I have been excluded 
 his cabinet council. They know me too well to trust him with me. 
 He is come so far as to "believe a separation quite lawful, only not yet 
 expedient. They are indefatigable in urging him to go so far, that he 
 may not be able to retreat. He may lay on hands, say they, without 
 separating. I charge you keep it to yourself, that I stand in doubt of 
 him : which I tell you, that you may pray for him the more earnestly, 
 and write to him the more plainly. 
 
 " In May our conference is. You must be there, if alive. We can 
 hold it no longer, (the Methodist preachers, I mean,) but must quickly 
 divide to the right or left, the church or meeting. I know none fitter 
 for training up our young men than yourself, or John Jones. We must, 
 among us, get the sound preachers qualified for orders. My partner 
 salutes you in increasing love. Many thousands, besides her, shall 
 prosper, because they love our Jerusalem. Farewell in Christ." 
 
 " My Dear Brother, — I have seen your honest, friendly letter to 
 Charles Perronet ; for which I thank you, both in behalf of myself and 
 the Church of England. In your fidelity to my old honoured mother, 
 you are a man after my own heart. I always loved you, but never so 
 much as now. O pray for the peace of Jerusalem ! They shall prosper 
 that love her. I know you wish her prosperity. You think upon her
 
 500 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY 
 
 stones ; and it pitieth you to see her in the dust. How unlike the spirit 
 of poor Perronet, and his associates ! What a pity such spirits should 
 have any influence over my brother ! They are continually urging him 
 to a separation ; that is, to pull down all he has built, to put a sword 
 in our enemies' hands, to destroy the work, scatter the flock, disgrace 
 himself, and go out like the snuff* of a candle. 
 
 " May L not desire it of you, as a debt you owe the Church, as well 
 as him, to write him a full, close, plain transcript of your heart on the 
 occasion ? Charles Perronet, you know, has taken upon him to admi- 
 nister the sacrament, for a month together, to the preachers, and twice 
 to some of the people. Walsh and three others have followed his vile 
 example. The consequence you see with open eyes. O that my 
 brother did so too ! Our worthy friend at Clifton* could not but believe 
 my brother had laid on his hands, or they would not have dared to act 
 thus. You have her thoughts in mine. 
 
 " I have heard your sincerity called in question, as if you ran with 
 the hare, and held with the hounds. I do not believe a word of it, as 
 this letter proves. Only let me caution you, not to communicate this 
 to any one. You must make one at our conference in Leeds, which 
 will be in May. I will give you timely notice. Pray for us. I stand 
 alone, as our preachers imagine. Nevertheless the Lord stands by me. 
 The Lord Jesus bless you and keep you unto that day." 
 
 " London, Feb. 4th, 1755. My Dear Brother, — There is no danger 
 of my countenancing them, but rather of my opposing them too fiercely. 
 It is a pity a good cause should suffer by a warm advocate. If God 
 gives me meekness, I shall, at the conference, speak, and spare not. 
 Till then it is best the matter should sleep, or we should make the de- 
 linquents desperate, and their associates among the preachers hypo- 
 crites. My brother purposely holds his peace, that he may come to 
 the bottom of them. Your letters, and some others wrote with the same 
 honesty, have had the due effect on him. He has spoken as strongly, 
 of late, in behalf of the Church of England, as I could wish ; and 
 everywhere declares he never intends to leave her. This has made 
 the Melchizedekians draw in their horns, and drop their design. We 
 must know the heart of every preacher ; and give them their choice 
 of the church or the meeting. The wound can no longer be healed 
 slightly. Those who are disposed to separate had best do it while we 
 are yet alive. 
 
 " It seems not proper to show my brother your last to me. Write 
 
 to him again, and urge it upon his conscience, whether he is not bound 
 
 to prevent a separation, both before and after his death; whether, in 
 
 order to this, he should not take the utmost pains to settle the preachers, 
 
 * Lady Huntingdon.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 501 
 
 discharging those who are irreclaimable, and never receiving another 
 without this previous condition, that he will never leave the Church. 
 
 " He is writing an excellent treatise on the question, whether it is 
 expedient to separate from the Church of England ; which he talks of 
 printing. Be very mild and loving in your next, lest he should still 
 say, the separatists show a better spirit than their opposers. You may 
 honestly suppose him now ofour mind. I will answer for your admis- 
 sion to the conference at Leeds in the -beginning of May. My brother 
 says his book will be out next summer. I will allow him till next 
 winter. Is not Nicholas Norton under the influence of Charles Per- 
 ronet ? Poor Meriton is dead ; therefore I say nothing of him. John 
 Jones will thank you for a title. William Prior I suppose you know is 
 ordained ; without learning, interest, or aught but Providence to recom- 
 mend him. 
 
 " What are you doing in your part of the vineyard 1 and how does 
 the work prosper ? Write largely, and often. The Lord of the harvest 
 is thrusting out labourers in divers places. Mr. Romaine, Venn, Dodd, 
 Jones, and others here, are much blessed. Pray for them, as well as 
 us. The Lord be your strength. Robert Windsor is a pillar of our 
 Church. Farewell in Christ." 
 
 These letters are particularly valuable, not only as exhibiting the 
 state of feeling among the Methodist preachers in those times, but for 
 the light which they shed upon Mr. Charles Wesley's character. With 
 the real difficulties of the case he did not attempt to grapple. He does 
 not show how the scruples of such men as Cownley, Walsh, and the 
 Perronets, could be removed ; nor how the spiritual wants of the so- 
 cieties were to be met in those places where they were repelled from 
 the table of the Lord. Such was his impetuosity, that he could- see 
 nothing in the scruples of these men but pride ; and he was resolved 
 to force all the people to an attendance upon their several churches, 
 whatever they might hear there, and though they went with the cer- 
 tainty of being driven from the holy communion. Such a course was 
 not suited to the occasion. The persons concerned were not children, 
 either in years, understanding, or piety. They were rebuked, but not 
 convinced ; and left to utter their complaints in all directions. To 
 treat them in this manner was only to restrain the evil for a time. It 
 was not removed. Mr. John Wesley pursued a different course. He 
 also was anxious to preserve the people and preachers in communion 
 with the established Church ; but he would not, even for the attainment 
 of this object, dismiss from the itinerant ministry men of whose upright- 
 ness, piety, and usefulness he had the fullest evidence. Nor would he 
 deal harshly with men whom he thought to be in error, when he saw 
 that conscience was concerned.
 
 502 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 As one means of preserving the Methodists in union with the 
 Church, Mr. Charles Wesley was anxious to get the best and ablest 
 of the preachers prepared for holy orders, and then ordained by the 
 bishops ; and he thought that Mr. Sellon and John Jones might be ad- 
 vantageously employed in the work of their education. Jones, who 
 had belonged to the medical profession, was a man of learning, and 
 very useful as an itinerant preacher. He was treated with great con- 
 fidence by the brothers, being a man of extraordinary sobriety of judg- 
 ment. Charles, it will be observed, bespeaks for him a title to orders, 
 that he might be invested with the clerical character. At that time he 
 did not succeed ; but afterward Jones was episcopally ordained, and 
 became a parochial minister, as did a few others of his brethren. Their 
 itinerancy was then at an end ; and the design of Methodist preaching, 
 to spread Christian holiness all over the land, was proportionably de- 
 feated. Mr. John Wesley viewed these subjects, not as a theorist, but 
 as a practical man. All feeling of personal taste and prejudice, and 
 all forms of ecclesiastical order, he subordinated to the higher object 
 of reforming the nation, by turning the people from sin to holiness. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley is generally happy in the application of epithets. 
 Whether he intends to praise or blame, the names which he gives to 
 the parties whom he designs to characterize are usually appropriate and 
 striking. But here his shrewdness and tact forsake him. He assumes 
 that the clergy of the established Church were priests after the order 
 of Aaron ; and he calls the Methodist preachers " Melchizedekians," to 
 denote their inferiority. They were not in the " succession ;" as Mel- 
 chizedek was " without father, without mother, without descent." But 
 when he used the name of Melchizedek for such a purpose, he did not 
 " consider how great this man was." Melchizedek was " king of right- 
 eousness," and " king of peace," as well as " priest of the most high 
 God ;" and, as the inspired author of the Epistle to the Hebrews shows, 
 was vastly superior to Aaron, and the whole tribe of Levi ; inasmuch 
 as Levi himself, in the person of Abraham, paid tithes to this priest of 
 the kingly order, who blessed the patriarch of the whole Jewish nation : 
 " and without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the better." Joseph 
 Cownley, Thomas Walsh, and the Perronets, however disposed to 
 magnify their office, as itinerant evangelists, would hardly have aspired 
 to such a distinction as this honourable title properly denotes. 
 
 The time of the conference at length drew near, when the claims of 
 these " Melchizedekians" were to be heard and canvassed. Mr. Charles 
 Wesley, as the impassioned and determined advocate of Churchman- 
 ship, repaired to Leeds, whence he addressed the following letter to 
 his wife : — 
 
 " Leeds, April 29th. To my Dearly-beloved Partner, — Grace, mercy,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 503 
 
 and peace, from God the Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord! You 
 thought it long till you heard from me again. I made such short stages, 
 (as much to save my horse as myself,) that I did not reach this place 
 till yesterday. At Birmingham, Sheffield, Barley-hall, and Leeds, are 
 many kind inquirers after you : too many to name. I told them my 
 hopes of your continued welfare. Their prayers for you will come 
 back in the time of need. Moderate travelling I find good for me, 
 having never had better health since you knew me. I look every post 
 for a good account of my Sally. This evening I expect to find my 
 brother at Birstal. I pity his poor wife, if now upon the road. There 
 she is likely to stick, till the warm weather comes. The roads are 
 almost impassable for wheels. I am going to breakfast with Miss Nor- 
 ton, who is as far from the spirit of my best friend [Mrs. John Wesley] 
 as east from west. What shall you and I do to love her better ? ', Love 
 your enemies,' is with man impossible : but is any thing too hard for 
 God ? I fear you do not constantly pray for her. I must pray, or 
 sink — into the spirit of revenge. Miss Norton is very much at your 
 service, but flies from her house before the face of my sister. She re- 
 treats to Wakefield, before the conference, for an obvious reason. 
 
 " H. Thornton and his wife, &c, &c, &c, send cordial greetings, 
 and poor old declining Mrs. Hutchinson. I have been crying in the 
 chamber, whence my J. Hutchinson ascended. My heart is full of 
 him ; and I miss him every moment. But he is at rest. 
 
 " When did our Clifton friends leave you ? Have you looked out 
 for lodgings first, and by and by for a house, for my dear George ? Mr. 
 James can assist you in a letter, but very privately. My friend must 
 not be named. Are you much in private prayer 1 x\dieu !" 
 
 A few things in this letter call for remark. The affecting reference 
 to J. Hutchinson proves the strength of the writer's affection for his late 
 friend, who had now been dead nearly twelve months. It will be 
 recollected that he accompanied Mr. Charles Wesley from Bristol to 
 London, in the latter end of the year 1753, when Mr. John Wesley was 
 thought to be dying. At that time he was in a backsliding state, and 
 had deeply fallen from God. He died at Leeds on the 23d of July 
 following ; and in the room where he expired Mr. Charles Wesley wept 
 at the remembrance of him. When he was near his end Mr. Charles 
 Wesley wrote a hymn, commending him to the divine mercy, and pray- 
 ing for the recovery of his forfeited peace and holiness. The request 
 was granted. Before he yielded up his spirit, his backslidings were 
 healed, and he was able to testify of the goodness of God to his soul. 
 Two hymns on the occasion of his happy death Mr. Charles Wesley 
 afterward published. 
 
 The " dear George," here mentioned, was the Rev. George Stone-
 
 504 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 house, formerly vicar of Islington, whose curate Mr. Charles Wesley 
 was, till driven away by the churchwardens. Having imbibed the 
 views of the Moravians, he resigned his vicarage, and went to live at 
 Dornford, near Woodstock, in Oxfordshire. He was now a widower, 
 and had cast his eye upon " Molly Stafford," whom he thought suitable 
 to be his second wife. About the middle of this month he visited Bris- 
 tol, and on his return wrote to Mrs. Charles Wesley, requesting her to 
 give him her opinion concerning" this good woman. It was the mis- 
 fortune of this eccentric man to be possessed of an independent fortune. 
 Had he been poor, he would, in all probability, have retained his living 
 at Islington, and remained an efficient minister of Christ to the end of 
 his life. His property supplied him with the means of following his 
 whims and caprice. In another letter to his wife, which was written 
 about this time, Mr. Charles Wesley says, " George Stonehouse has 
 been a great comfort to me already. My words have not been lost upon 
 him. He is worth all the pains we can bestow upon him. I have 
 made a convert of my brother toward him : why ? My sister was out 
 of the way." 
 
 From Leeds Mr. Charles Wesley went to Birstal, where he met his 
 brother by appointment, in the afternoon of Monday, April 28th. Here 
 they remained together for several days, examining, with the greatest 
 care, the claims of the established Church on the one hand, and of 
 dissent on the other, that they might be fully prepared for the discus- 
 sion of the question of separation at the conference, which was just at 
 hand. In reference to this interview, Mr. John Wesley says, in his 
 Journal, — 
 
 " We began reading together, ' A Gentleman's Reasons for his Dis- 
 sent from the Church of England.' It is an elaborate and lively tract, 
 and contains the strength of the cause : but it did not yield us one 
 proof that it is lawful for us (much less our duty) to separate from it. 
 In how different a spirit does this man write from honest Richard Bax- 
 ter ! The one dipping, as it were, his pen in tears ; the other, in vine- 
 gar and gall. Surely one page of that, loving, serious Christian, weighs 
 more than volumes of this bitter, sarcastic jester." Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley's letters to his wife throw further light upon this subject. He says, — 
 
 " My time is chiefly spent with my brother, at Birstal, in reading over 
 the Dissenter's book. He found and showed me many flaws in his 
 arguments against the Church, which he interweaves and answers in 
 his excellent treatise on that question, whether it be expedient to sepa- 
 rate from the Church of England ? Mr. Grimshaw (whom the sepa- 
 ratists claimed for their own) designed coming to the conference, only 
 to take his leave of us, if we did of the Church. All the preachers in 
 the north are unanimous for it. Satan has done his worst, and con-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 505 
 
 lirmed us in our calling. I preach constantly, to save my brother ; and 
 the word has free course. Honest John Nelson, William Shent, and 
 forty more, salute and, what is better, pray for you. Come boldly to 
 the throne of grace, that you may obtain mercy, and find grace to help 
 in time of need. Farewell." 
 
 The conference met at Leeds, according to appointment, on the 6th 
 of May. Sixty -three preachers were present. The reason for so large 
 an attendance was, that the relation of the Methodists to the Church 
 might be fully considered, and that, as much as possible, a uniformity 
 of principle and action might be secured. Mr. John Wesley says, 
 " The point on which we desired all the preachers to speak their minds 
 at large was, whether we ought to separate from the Church. What- 
 ever was advanced, on one side or the other, was seriously and calmly 
 considered ; and on the third day we were all fully agreed in that 
 general conclusion, that, whether it was lawful or not, it was no ways 
 expedient." 
 
 In this important and protracted discussion, Mr. John and Charles 
 Wesley expressed their minds freely and strongly ; and every one was 
 invited to declare his views without restraint. Mr. Walsh and his 
 friends engaged to desist from the administration of the Lord's supper ; 
 such was their deference to the judgment of their brethren, and espe- 
 cially to the Wesleys, who were over them in the Lord. With this 
 general conclusion Mr. John Wesley appears to have been satisfied. 
 The practical object which he had in view was gained ; and he would 
 not interfere with the workings of private conscience, except in the 
 way of reasoning and persuasion. Not so his more ardent brother. 
 Charles perceived that many of the preachers were unconvinced, so 
 that future agitations would in all probability arise, and obstruct the 
 harmony which for the present was established. The permanent 
 maintenance of strict Churchmanship he saw to be more than question- 
 able. Early, therefore, in the morning of the day after the debate was 
 closed in the conference, he left Leeds, without even informing his 
 brother of his intention, and returned to London, taking Rotherham, 
 Sheffield, Birmingham, and other places in his way. From Rotherham 
 he thus addressed his wife : — •' 
 
 " I snatch a few moments, before the congregation comes, to salute 
 my dearest Sally in the love that never faileth. To-morrow night, or 
 Sunday morning, I hope to call on my lady. Last Saturday afternoon, 
 after my brother and I had settled every thing in the four preceding 
 days, on my way to Wakefield I met — my good angel and sister. I 
 have done her honour before the people, and behaved, though I say it, 
 very much like a gentleman : only that I took French leave this morn- 
 ing ; that is, left Leeds without telling either her, or her husband. He
 
 506 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 will follow me quickly with a letter ; but I am hardened to causeless 
 reproof's. I trust my Sally is more than patient of my absence. You 
 should rejoice that my Lord continues to use me. May his presence 
 make you infinite amends! Miss Norton sends her respects. She 
 loves none of the Methodists, but Mr. Edwards — and me. 
 
 " I left the brethren in conference ; yet I do not repent my trouble. 
 You will be content to wait a little for particulars. All agreed not to 
 separate ; so the wound is healed — slightly. Yet some good news I 
 may bring you from Leeds, if we live a month longer. My love to 
 Sarah Jones. Her husband is detained by my brother, but will over- 
 take me, I hope, at Birmingham. I want to hear that your sisters are 
 both with you. If not, it is your own fault, or theirs. Three weeks I 
 am fast at London ; then we may meet, all four of us, in Charles-street, 
 if the Lord permit. On Wednesday night I was assisted in preaching 
 in a wonderful manner. The subject was, ' My grace is sufficient for 
 thee.' The Lord be your peace and strength ! Farewell. 
 
 " We have had our Lord's presence, according to his promise. I 
 have delivered my own soul in this society, exhorting them to continue 
 steadfast in fellowship with the Church of England. The same exhort- 
 ation I hope to leave with every society throughout the land. On such 
 an occasion you will cheerfully spare me. Good night." 
 
 " Birmingham, May 12th. I am just come hither from Donnington, 
 where I passed yesterday most agreeably. Our friend's* prayers you 
 are always sure of, and they avail much. Your two last I hope to find 
 time for answering at Dornford, which I expect to see on Wednesday. 
 We draw nearer and nearer, and shall soon be intimately one, and 
 eternally swallowed up in divine love. Once more, my dearest partner, 
 look up. Farewell." 
 
 On the 28th of May he wrote from London to the following effect : 
 — " I am ready to wish you may not have shown my last to Mrs. Jones 
 and Vigor. They will fear where no fear is, as if I was running away 
 outright. But my heart is more closely united to the true Methodists 
 than ever. • 
 
 " Beck must recover her music : must positively, or not look me in 
 the face. It lies upon you to drag her to the harpsichord, and tie her 
 down in her chair. I have great encouragement in my labours. Num- 
 berless are my Sally's well-wishers : and their prayers cannot but pre- 
 vail. George Whitefield returns your love with interest. 
 
 " Wednesday afternoon. I write from George Stonehouse's other 
 lodgings, whence we adjourn to Mr. Waller's. My heart is in haste to 
 drag my body after it to Bristol. I have told George, I shall not wait 
 for him. He says he will not be detained, but set out with me on 
 
 * Lady Huntingdon. 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 507 
 
 Monday se'nnight. Our first day's stage is to Wycomb ; the second to 
 Domford, where I rest ray beast ; on Friday or Saturday following I 
 trust the Lord will bring us together." 
 
 " London, May 31st. Dearest Sally, — I count the days between us, 
 and look toward Charles-street sleeping and waking. This evening I 
 hope will bring sister Davis safe to Bristol. I have sent you a pound 
 of tea, and half a pound to Sarah Jones, which I beg her to accept. 
 Be sure, refuse her money. If you want any more, tell me so in your 
 next. Lady Huntingdon I expect at Clifton about the middle or end 
 of July. On Thursday I read my epistle a second time to a crowded 
 audience, and yesterday at the watch-night. Seven hundred are sent 
 by this day's carrier. George and I spent the morning at Mrs. Grin- 
 field's, who sends her love and prayers after you. We dined at Mr. 
 Waller's. The Lord preserve my dearest Sally !" 
 
 The " epistle" which is here mentioned, as having been read to a 
 " crowded audience," at a watch-night, was a small pamphlet, in verse, 
 which Mr. Charles Wesley put to press immediately after his return 
 from the conference, under the title of " An Epistle to the Rev. Mr. John 
 Wesley, by Charles Wesley, Presbyter of the Church of England." It 
 is an earnest and. spirited composition, written in the fulness of the au- 
 thor's heart, declarative of his yearning affection for the established 
 Church, and of his determination to labour and die in her service. He 
 describes, in affecting terms, her fallen condition, both with regard to 
 her ministry, and the general practice of her children ; he freely cen- 
 sures what he conceives to be wrong in her, especially her worldliness ; 
 and expresses his earnest hope that the time was come for the recovery 
 of her lost spirituality. Not the least interesting part of this production 
 is the writer's avowal of unalterable friendship for his brother, and his 
 conviction of his brother's fidelity, and oneness of heart with himself. 
 
 While Mr. Charles Wesley was in this state of anxiety respecting 
 Methodism and the Church, his brother endeavoured to moderate his 
 zeal for outward conformity, and give him more practical views of their 
 calling. Two of his letters, addressed to Charles upon this occasion, 
 have been preserved, and show the state of John's mind in reference 
 to the questions at issue. He thus speaks, under the date of June 
 20th, 1755 :— 
 
 " Do not you understand that they all promised by Thomas Walsh, 
 not to administer, even among themselves ? I think that a huge point 
 given up ; perhaps more than they could give up with a clear con- 
 science. They showed an excellent spirit in this very thing. Like- 
 wise when I (not to say you) spoke once and again, spoke satis pro 
 tmperio, [with sufficient authority,] when I reflected on their answers, 
 1 admired their spirit, and was ashamed of my own. The practical
 
 508 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 conclusion was, not to separate from the Church. Did we not all 
 agree in this ? Surely either you or I must have been asleep, or we 
 could not differ so widely in a matter of fact. Here is Charles Perro- 
 net raving, because his friends have given up all ; and Charles Wesley, 
 because they have given up nothing ; and I, in the midst, staring and 
 wondering both at one and the other. I do not want to do any thing 
 more, unless I could bring them over to my opinion ; and I am not in 
 haste for that. 
 
 " Cyprian is a terrible witness of the sense of the then church ;* for 
 he speaks it not as his own private sense, but an incontestable allowed 
 rule : and by Antistes there, I really believe he means the minister of 
 a parish. That pinches me. Nevertheless, I think with you, till I get 
 more light ; though I should be hard set to defend myself against a 
 skilful adversary. When I am convinced it is my duty, I will follow 
 Cyprian's advice. The same say you, and no more. I do not fluc- 
 tuate yet ; but I cannot answer the arguments on that side of the ques- 
 tion. Joseph Cownley says, ' For such and such reasons, I dare not 
 hear a drunkard preach, or read prayers.' I answer, I dare : but I 
 cannot answer his reasons." 
 
 Eight days after the date of this letter, Mr. John Wesley again wrote 
 to his brother on the same subject. " Wherever I have been in Eng- 
 land," says he, " the societies are far more firmly and rationally attached 
 to the Church than ever they were before. I have no fear about this 
 matter. I only fear the preachers' or the people's leaving, not the 
 Church, but the love of God, and inward or outward holiness. To this 
 I press them forward continually. I dare not, in conscience, spend my 
 time and strength on externals. If, as my lady says, all outward esta- 
 blishments are Babel, so is this establishment. Let it stand for me. 
 I neither set it up, nor pull it down. But let you and I build up the 
 city of God. 
 
 " Thomas Walsh (I will declare it on the house-top) has given me 
 all the satisfaction I desire, and all that an honest man could give. I 
 love, admire, and honour him ; and wish we had six preachers in all 
 England of his spirit. But enough of this. Let us draw the saw no 
 longer, but use all our talents to promote the mind that was in Christ. 
 We have not one preacher who either proposed, or desires, or designs 
 (that I know) to separate from the Church at all. Their principles in 
 this single point of ordination I do not approve : but I pray for more 
 and more of their spirit (in general) and practice. Driving may make 
 me fluctuate ; though I do not yet." 
 
 * The passage in Cyprian to which allusion is here made, Mr. Wesley had cited in 
 a former letter. It is, Populus a scelerato Antistite separare se debet. " It is the 
 duty of the people to separate themselves from a wicked bishop."
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 509 
 
 In several of his letters, Mr. Charles Wesley speaks in strong terms 
 of commendation of a treatise against separation from the Church, which 
 his brother was preparing for the press. This treatise was submitted 
 to the friendly inspection of the Rev. Samuel Walker, the minister of 
 Truro, in Cornwall : a wise and holy man, who was very useful in his 
 own parish, and avoided the irregularities in which the Wesleys, Mr. 
 Grimshaw, Meriton, Sellon, and a few other clergymen, felt it their 
 duty to indulge. Mr. Walker advised that the treatise should not be 
 printed. He thought, that, in all probability, it would call forth re- 
 joinders, and provoke a controversy from which the Church was likely 
 to derive injury rather than benefit. The fact is, Mr. Wesley acknow- 
 ledged the justice of many of the objections which Dissenters urged 
 against the spiritual courts, some parts of the Liturgy and the canons, 
 and the character of too many of the clergy ; and his object was, to 
 show that these objections, though founded in truth, and therefore pos- 
 sessing great force, did not form a sufficient ground for separation. 
 The premises, however, being to a considerable extent admitted, Mr. 
 Walker was apprehensive that other persons, not having that bias in 
 favour of the Church which swayed his judgment and that of the Wes- 
 leys, would draw an opposite conclusion. He therefore deprecated the 
 agitation of the questions thus mooted. His advice was kindly taken, 
 and acted upon ; so that the treatise was suppressed, and has remained 
 in manuscript to this day, though some parts of it have been published 
 in a different form. That Mr. Charles Wesley, with all his admiration 
 of the Church, (and that admiration was both profound and conscien- 
 tious,) concurred with his brother in the views which he entertained 
 respecting her blemishes and defects, is evident from various passages 
 in the poetical " epistle" which he published at this time. 
 
 Upon this occasion, both the Wesleys entered into a correspondence 
 with Mr. Walker, on the question of preserving the Methodists in union 
 with the established Church. He advised the extinction of itinerant 
 preaching, and of the public ministrations of unordained men. To 
 secure this, he recommended that the ablest and best-qualified preachers 
 should be prepared for holy orders, and fixed in parishes ; that those 
 who disapproved of the Church should be dismissed ; and the rest em- 
 ployed in taking care of the societies, without preaching at all. The 
 judgment of Mr. Adam, of Wintringham, was also requested : but he 
 was less liberal than even Mr. Walker ; and laid down principles which 
 would at once have silenced every unordained preacher, and broken 
 up all the societies, without any regard for private conscience, and the 
 spiritual destitution which everywhere prevailed. Mr. Charles Wesley 
 was favourable to the ordination and settlement of the preachers ; for 
 he was full of hope, that pious clergymen would be everywhere raised
 
 510 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 up to carry on the revival of religion which was so auspiciously begun. 
 This correspondence led to no practical result. The people were every- 
 where perishing for lack of knowledge ; and Mr. John Wesley could 
 not impose silence upon men whom he believed God himself had 
 raised up, to assist in reforming the nation. Thousands of ignorant 
 and profligate people, in all parts of the land, were by the instrument- 
 ality of these men turned to Christ, and made upright and holy. A 
 ministry episcopally regular, producing similar effects, he would have 
 greatly preferred, had it pleased God to raise it up ; but he justly 
 thought that it was better to save the people irregularly, than suffer 
 them to die in their sins. By this principle he was resolved to abide, 
 though all his clerical brethren should frown upon him, and his own 
 familiar friend throw discouragements in his way. Upon his firmness 
 at this time, under God, depended the continuance of that system of 
 itinerant preaching from which the nation and the world have derived 
 the most substantial advantages. 
 
 Mr. Walker and Mr. Adam gave such advice as they thought best 
 adapted to the maintenance of church-order, without duly considering 
 the spiritual wants of the nation : Mr. Wesley kept steadily in view 
 the higher object of turning ungodly men to righteousness ; regarding 
 the most perfect ecclesiastical discipline (though highly important and 
 desirable in its place) as nothing more than a means to an end. Mr. 
 Edwin Sidney, in his Life of Mr. Walker, speaks of Mr. Wesley as 
 greatly inferior to that excellent man in sound judgment and practical 
 wisdom. Perhaps his opinion may be somewhat modified when he 
 views the subject of their correspondence in the light which eternity 
 will shed upon it. In that light it will be more distinctly seen whether 
 or not the everlasting interests of redeemed men ought to be sacrificed 
 to an external uniformity, which the Holy Scriptures nowhere enjoin 
 as matter of absolute duty. 
 
 That Mr. John Wesley attached less importance to his union with 
 the Church than to the spread of true religion in the country by means 
 of itinerant preaching, he distinctly avows in the following letter to his 
 brother, which bears the date of June 23d, 1755. The youth men- 
 tioned in the first paragraph was their nephew, of whose support and 
 education they had taken the charge, now that he was abandoned by 
 his apostate father : — 
 
 " A gentleman, who keeps an academy at Brompton, offers to take 
 Westley Hall for nothing, to teach him the ancient and modern tongues ; 
 and when he has learned them, to give him thirty pounds a year, and 
 his board, if he will stay to assist him. His mother thinks (and I can- 
 not say much" to the contrary) that such an offer is not to be slighted. 
 Send us your judgment upon the matter as soon as possible.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 51 1 
 
 " I am proximus ardet Ucalegon !* [Ucalegon next burns.] The good 
 bishop of London has excommunicated Mr. Gardiner for preaching 
 without a license. It is probable the point will now be determined 
 concerning the Church. For if we must either dissent, or be silent, 
 actum est ! [it is all over.] We have no time to trifle !" 
 
 In a letter written a few weeks afterward, he adds, " You are by no 
 means free from temptation. You are as positive as if you had never 
 seen either Stillingfleet or Baxter. I am very calm and cool, deter- 
 mining nothing, but to do nothing rashly. Now which is more in the 
 temptation? To my thought, you are in it, and over head and ears. 
 Your gross bigotry lies here, in putting a man on a level with an adul- 
 terer, because he differs from you as to church government. What 
 miserable confounding the degrees of good and evil is this !" 
 
 At this time Mr. John Wesley requested his brother to visit the 
 societies in Cornwall ; but this service he declined, for reasons which 
 do not appear. He continued his ministry, however, in London and 
 the neighbourhood with undiminished fidelity and zeal. We cannot 
 give a connected detail of his labours during the summer and autumn 
 of the year 1755 ; but the following concise extracts from his letters to 
 his wife will show the spirit by which he was actuated, and the bless- 
 ing which attended his word. They also contained some curious and 
 interesting notices concerning contemporary events and characters. 
 Mr. John Wesley had undertaken the journey to Cornwall, but was not 
 accompanied by his fretful and murmuring wife. Charles Perronet 
 was in London, and had charge of the works which Mr. John Weslev 
 was passing through the press. 
 
 The subjoined letter was franked by Lord Fortesque, and addressed 
 to Mrs. Wesley at Dornford, where she was on a visit to Mr. Stone- 
 house, the ex-vicar of Islington, and his pious sister : — 
 
 " Sept. 13th. How fares my dearest Sally? and her companions, 
 and host, and hostess ? I think it long since I saw you ; but it must 
 be longer still before we meet again. On Thursday I went to bed at 
 seven, and slept away my headache. Yesterday I visited Islington 
 and the Green. All vacant hours I employ in transcribing my own 
 important history. To-morrow I preach for the first time. On Monday 
 I take horse for Canterbury. I have just received a warm epistle from 
 
 * The allusion is to the following passage in Virgil's ^Eneid. — Amer. Ed. 
 
 " Now Hector's warning proved too clear and true, 
 The wiles of Greece appear'd in open view ; 
 The roaring flames in volumes huge aspire, 
 And wrap thy dome, Deiphobus, in fire ; 
 Thine, sage Ucalegon, next sunk to ground, 
 And stretch'd a vast unmeasured ruin round." — Pitt.
 
 512 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 my sworn friend the colonel. It would do you good to hear how ten- 
 derly he writes of you. How does your rector perform ? If he will not 
 be your chaplain at night, I must desire and insist on you, Beck, or 
 Suky's praying together, both morning and evening. Speak to this 
 in your next ; and rejoice me by telling me it is done. The people 
 here had taken it into their heads, that I should never come to them 
 again. Had it been so, many of our oldest and best children would 
 have followed me to Bristol, or America : and such as could not would 
 have withdrawn from the society. 
 
 " Sunday afternoon. Such a number of communicants I have not 
 seen for months past. I was much assisted in preaching on, 'The 
 Spirit and the bride say, Come,' &c. It is plain my work is not yet 
 over. The congregation were almost all in tears. We made inter- 
 cession at the sacrament, — or rather the Spirit for us, and for all who 
 did run well, especially the first labourers. I only wanted you to be 
 a partaker. 
 
 " I called two minutes before preaching on Mrs. Wesley, at the 
 Foundery ; and in all that time had not one quarrel. My subject was, 
 ' He that testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen, 
 even so. Come, Lord Jesus.' The Foundery was never fuller ; and 
 the word never more effectual. 
 
 " Monday morning, four o'clock. I took my leave of Mr. Lloyd, 
 setting out for Derby, and I for Canterbury. Charles Perronet attended 
 me to Greenwich, where I breakfasted with his mother and sister. 
 We have had much talk together. I took off the burden I had laid on 
 him by my late letters ; and really believe they did him service. He 
 thanked me ; asked my pardon ; and has been in high spirits ever since. 
 
 " I crept on, singing, or making hymns, till I got unawares to Can- 
 terbury. Mrs. Galatin came to welcome me immediately, and Mr. 
 Phene, Edward Perronet, &c. They all require you. 1 too should 
 be glad to have you always at my elbow ; or to spend the winter with 
 you between St. Ann's, London, and Bristol. But I dare not let loose 
 my wishes, or choose for myself, till the will of Providence appears. 
 Our first thing temporal is to get out of debt ; which is impracticable, 
 if we kept house the approaching winter. To-morrow I go to Mar- 
 gate ; and should willingly bestow a fortnight upon my crazy carcass ; 
 but I must officiate at Spitalfields on Sunday next. 
 
 " Tuesday afternoon. I have just seen the king, who looks quite 
 hearty. I dined with Major Galatin, who sends his love, and desires 
 with his wife to see you. It is good for me to be here, or wherever 
 the Lord finds me employment. I commend you all to the grace of 
 our Lord Jesus. Farewell !" 
 
 " Sept. 22d. You see my friend is very tractable. Deal gently ; and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 513 
 
 he may resume his office by and by, and administer the sacrament and 
 word to us and the people. Love will do more than argument, and 
 prayer most of all. We must pray him back to our Church and arms. 
 Speak every thing that is kind and grateful for me to my dear George, 
 and his most agreeable sister. 
 
 " On Wednesday last I drove Mr. Lepine to Margate, over a delight- 
 ful bowling-green, as you will allow by and by. Dudy Perronet was 
 more rejoiced at the sight of me than I can tell you. For above two 
 hours she walked about, to show me the country, the cliffs, the ma- 
 chines for bathing. She is risen like Venus from the sea, so healthy 
 and handsome, you would scarcely know her again. 
 
 " I regretted my notice for officiating at Spitalfields, which alone 
 hindered my bestowing a fortnight on my scurvy carcass. Nothing but 
 the cure of all evils will prevent my bathing there next season. You 
 would bear me company, if you were not afraid of losing your rheu- 
 matism. Multitudes wash away your complaint with the salt water. 
 
 " We returned by tea time to the major's. I read prayers and preach- 
 ed at our chapel ; and could hardly resist their importunity for a pro- 
 mise of my speedy return ; which I had surely given, had my health 
 been my first concern. Thursday, I took my leave with a comfortable 
 sacrament. Mrs. Galatin, Miss Bradshaw, Mrs. Symonds, and others, 
 accompanied me to the farmer's,* as usual, were we prayed and parted. 
 
 " Charles was my companion to Chatham. I preached there at 
 night, and prayed in the morning. Friday. My comrade opened all 
 his great designs to me on the road. He is quite happy in the recovery 
 of what he never lost, — my hearty good-will toward him, and his family. 
 
 " We dined with them at Deptford. His father, mother, and sisters, 
 attended my preaching. Our room was crowded. With great enlarge- 
 ment I explained the testimony of Jesus, and answer of his church : 
 4 Surely I come quickly. Amen, even so. Come, Lord Jesus.' The 
 poor people were overjoyed to see and hear me once more. It is four 
 years since I preached there last. 
 
 " Saturday was all swallowed up in transcribing my journal. At 
 eight in the evening I met the people crowding to our lecture at the 
 Foundery. The meeting of the penitents it was called. Now all sorts 
 come, whether in the society or out of it. 
 
 " Sunday, Sept. 21st. The congregation at Spitalfields were, I had 
 almost said, too many for me. Two hours were all employed witli the 
 communicants. The greatest number of them I ever remember. The 
 spirit of supplication was poured out, which renewed my strength of 
 body. I took coach for my brother Wright's, whom I found, with sur- 
 
 * Mr. Perronet had a farm, in the neighbourhood of Canterbury, which was managed 
 bv a confidential servant. 
 
 33
 
 514 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 prise, on a sick, perhaps a death, bed. He is struck down by the dead 
 palsy ; longed, above all things, for my coining ; rejoiced and wept to 
 see me. His stubborn heart was much softened by the approach of 
 death. Now he is a poor sinner indeed, full of horror and self-con- 
 demnation, yet not without hope of mercy. 
 
 " I read prayers at the chapel, and preached on Mary's good part. 
 Had you seen us together, you would not fear my suddenly parting 
 from this loving people. I met the society, and strongly exhorted them 
 to the obedience of faith. I prayed again with my poor penitent, and 
 left him a little more easy and composed. 
 
 " I went to bed at the chapel-house, but could not sleep. I rose at 
 twelve, and lay down again, till a messenger called me between one 
 and two to my brother. He told me he was dying ; that his feet were 
 dead already ; he was perfectly sensible ; told me before his wife* how 
 he had settled his affairs ; (not enough to her advantage, I think ;) ex- 
 pressed a good hope and earnest desires for one, one only thing ; wished 
 for the voice of a trumpet, to warn all mankind not to walk in the paths 
 wherein he had walked. He would make me a witness of his recon- 
 ciliation with his wife ; and said he expected to die at four or five. 
 
 " I spoke comfortably to him of Jesus our atonement, our peace, our 
 hope. I prayed with free access; (as Ave did last night in the society;) 
 saw no symptoms of immediate death, yet would not lessen his appre- 
 hension of it. I waited with Mr. Brogden for Dr. Ross's coming : who 
 came at last, and ordered him more blisters on his legs, &c. I preached 
 at five to a numerous congregation, and prayed with confidence for a 
 Christless dying sinner. I slept till eight ; and prayed with him, then 
 a little better; yet more sorrowful and contrite. I breakfasted with 
 Mrs. Jaques, and came hither to converse with my own Sally. f 
 
 " I carried my sister Hall to dine with Mrs. Webb, and thence rode 
 to Little-Chelsea, to visit brother Cowper in a mad house. His mad- 
 ness is, if such there be, diabolical. He has not spoken for these four 
 months. But the deaf and dumb devil was disturbed by our prayers, 
 and forced to say, ' Charles, thou art a priest of Baal. I do not receive 
 thee.' I told him, ' Satan, thou art a liar, and knowest I am a priest 
 of God, and servant of Jesus Christ ; and this poor soul shall know it, 
 when thou art cast out by our prayers.' This you may keep to yourself. 
 I shall never print it in my journal. 
 
 * This was Wright's second wife. His first had for some years been sleeping in her 
 " quiet grave," into which she had long desired to descend, as the place 
 
 "Where broken hearts can bleed no more." 
 Tt would appear from these notices that he was unkind to them both. 
 
 t This letter was written in the house which was connected with the chapel in 
 West-street, Seven-Dials. It was near Frith-street, Soho, the residence of his brother 
 Wright, and the place where his sister Mehetabel a few years before died in the Lord. 
 
 33*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 515 
 
 w After preaching at the chapel, I obeyed a summons from Mrs. Rich, 
 and found her with our friends from the hill. Much talk.we had of you. 
 The particulars expect in my next. Good night." 
 
 The notice which Mr. Charles Wesley gives of his visit to a maniac. 
 at Chelsea is curious and characteristic. Unlike his brother, he was 
 strongly inclined to skepticism on the subject of modern diabolical 
 possessions ; and he here casts a slur upon the account of such cases 
 which John had inserted in his printed Journal. Yet here he expresses 
 a concurrence in his brother's opinion, but intimates that he would not 
 publish it to the world. In this he shows more reserve, but less single- 
 ness of mind, than his brother usually exhibited. John did not hesitate 
 openly to declare the honest convictions of his heart, whatever the 
 world might think of his views, and of the facts to which they related. 
 
 Toward the close of the year 1755, two marriages were about to 
 take place, in which Mr. Charles Wesley took a lively interest, and in 
 which he was engaged to officiate. One was that of George Stone- 
 house, at Dornford ; and the other that of Miss Degge, a very intelli- 
 gent and pious lady, and an intimate and esteemed friend, who had 
 promised her hand to a nobleman belonging to the Rutland family. She 
 was the niece of Mrs. Gumley, the lady of the colonel of that name. 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was hence induced to think of his own marriage : 
 of the providential steps which led to it, and the results to which it had 
 given rise. The consequence was a feeling of lively gratitude to God, 
 and to all the parties concerned, which he thus expressed in a letter 
 to his wife, accompanied by an account of the terrible earthquake which 
 had just occurred at Lisbon : — 
 
 " In reading over the passages of our history," says he, " you cannot 
 think what love I feel toward every one of our family. Your mother, 
 sister, father, cousins, nurse, so behaved as to deserve my esteem and 
 love during life. I look back with delight on every step, every circum- 
 stance, in that whole design of providential love. I rejoice with grateful 
 joy at our blessed union, and feel my obligations to every person instru- 
 mental therein. Above all, I desire to thank my great Benefactor for 
 giving you to my bosom, and to fulfil his gracious end by leading you 
 to the marriage of the Lamb. 
 
 " We had a glorious watch-night. I must defer my journey to Can- 
 terbury, because next Friday is our day of fasting and humiliation. 
 Give them at Clifton notice. 
 
 " I send you a copy of a letter from a merchant at Lisbon, dated, 
 Nov. 4th, 1755 '. — ' Dear Sir, — You will have heard of a violent earth- 
 quake we have had at Lisbon, which has demolished the whole city, 
 and the greatest part of its inhabitants. To give you a description of 
 this dreadful calamity would make your heart bleed. Those who have
 
 516 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 saved their lives think that sufficient, though they have lost their whole 
 fortune. We have had continual shocks these three days. This 
 morning we had two, and expect more, as the weather continues very 
 hot. It is now as hot as it is with you at midsummer. My uncle and 
 his family, with myself, were miraculously preserved. One half of the 
 English as well as the Portuguese merchants will be ruined ; for what 
 the earthquake spared, a violent fire, which still rages, destroys. There 
 is no knowing yet who is dead, and who living. The villages within 
 several miles of this place are entirely destroyed. This I write from 
 my encampment in a field, belonging to my uncle's country house, 
 about a mile and a half from Lisbon. God grant England may never 
 experience such a disaster!' 
 
 " Send me a copy of my hymns on our wedding-day. Have you 
 paid our landlord V 
 
 " Dec. 4th, Dornford. My dearest Sally anticipates what I am going 
 to write. George and Susanna are inseparably one ! We are just re- 
 turned from church. ' The day so calm, so cool, so bright,' looks like 
 April 8th.* You only are wanting in Miss Stonehouse's place. She 
 shows great self-command. We had a most successful journey. It 
 would have done you good to have accompanied us. All here regret 
 your absence. 
 
 " Miss Degge's marriage may be delayed some days or weeks. 1 
 shall write more determinately from London, for which I set out to- 
 morrow. By the 7th of next month I may turn my face westward, 
 unless the French interpose. The Lord fill your heart with prayer and 
 love ! Farewell. 
 
 " Dec. 7th. On Thursday morning I set out at eight, without bidding 
 the bride good morrow, and rode to Tetsworth, in a severe frost. There 
 we were glad to take shelter in a post-chaise. 
 
 " My brother tells me the French are expected every hour, by Gene- 
 ral Hawley, in battle array ; that the government have not the least 
 doubt of the invasion, but will do their best to repel force by force. I 
 question whether my brother's soldiers, with all his haste and pains to 
 train them up, will not be too tardy to rescue us. 
 
 " Great things have been done for Lisbon. A ship was immediately 
 sent off with a thousand barrels of flour ; another from Falmouth, laden 
 with herrings, pickaxes, &c. ; a man-of-war, to guard the port and 
 ruins, &c. On the day of the earthquake they were to have had an 
 act of faith ; that is, a bonfire of the poor Jews and heretics. All the 
 English, therefore, went out of town, as usual, and so escaped. 
 
 " You may direct for me at Mr. Wright's, plumber, in Frith-street, 
 Soho, Westminster, till further orders." 
 
 * Mr. Charles Wesley's own wedding-day.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 517 
 
 *' Westminster, Dec. 26th. My beloved friend would rejoice to be 
 among us ; for the Lord is with us of a truth. The word never returns 
 void. This morning I preached on Stephen, praying for his murderers, 
 and pressed his example upon the hearers, feeling, at the same time, 
 that I could myself love my worst enemy. How safe and happy should 
 we always be, if incapable of resentment ! How open to misery till 
 we come to this ! I want to see an injury done myself or friends, with- 
 out feeling it : or, rather, to feel it in a way of sorrow and compassion, 
 not of anger or revenge. Why should I be as the troubled sea through 
 the breath of every injurious person ? My peace has too long laid at 
 another's mercy. The Lord arm us both with that love which beareth 
 all things, hopeth all things, believeth all things, endureth all things ! 
 
 "Keep all Farley's newspapers against I come. We must not de- 
 spair yet of setting my brother right, and through him the preachers." 
 
 Such was the spirit in which Mr. Charles Wesley closed the im- 
 portant and eventful year of 1755. His anxieties were profound and 
 incessant ; yet he continued the exercise of his ministry with his wonted 
 energy and success, and his ever-active mind poured forth its feelings 
 in sacred verse. Nothing could separate him, either in labour or affec- 
 tion, from his brother, notwithstanding their diversity of opinion respect- 
 ing the national Church, and the certain prospect of their future collision 
 on the same subject. Many of the people belonging to the societies 
 were his own children in the Lord ; and his heart clave to them in that 
 relation, while he also regarded them as among the excellent ones of 
 the earth. 
 
 The fine hymn beginning, — 
 
 How happy are the little flock, 
 Who, safe beneath their guardian Rock, 
 In all commotions rest, 
 
 was written after hearing of the destruction of Lisbon, and of the ex- 
 pected invasion of England by the French. He sent it in a somewhat 
 unfinished form in a letter to his wife. 
 
 In the course of this year his poetry assumed something of a new 
 character. He did not confine himself to the composition of hymns, 
 but wrote several poetic epistles to different friends, on topics which 
 deeply interested his own mind. That which he addressed to his bro- 
 ther concerning the Church, and published in the month of May, has 
 been already mentioned. Howell Harris was in danger of losing his 
 zeal and usefulness through the influence of the principles which had 
 laid aside Gambold and Stonehouse ; and the poet of Methodism en- 
 deavoured to rouse him from the soothing dream by an epistle of the 
 most stining kind ; contrasting Howell's former energy with his pre- 
 sent supineness. The Welsh evangelist was half inclined to be offended
 
 518 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY." 
 
 with the liberty thus taken ; and Charles followed up the blow by a 
 second epistle, confirming the first, and describing in strong terms the 
 antichristian tendency of the Quietism which his friend had begun to 
 affect. The charm was broken ; and the Cambrian itinerant, by a 
 renewal of his former activity, proved that he was " Harris still." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley also addressed an epistle to Mr. Whitefield, full 
 of affection and poetic fire, lamenting their differences of opinion, espe- 
 cially the unkind and misguided warmth connected with it ; and invit- 
 ing that " good soldier of Jesus Christ" to an untiring perseverance in 
 the gigantic course of labour to which they were called, and had been 
 so signally sanctioned by the divine blessing. To these sentiments the 
 generous heart of Mr. Whitefield eagerly responded. Hence Mr. John 
 Wesley states in his Journal, under the date of Nov. 5th, " Mr. White- 
 field called upon me. Disputings are now no more. We love one 
 another, and join hand in hand to promote the cause of our common 
 Master." 
 
 Two epistles Mr. Charles Wesley also sent to the ex-vicar of Isling- 
 ton, (who was wasting his life in retirement at Dornford,) anticipating, 
 with an affection the most tender and yearning, his deliverance from 
 the spell by which he was bound, and a renewal of his active services 
 in the cause of Christ and of mankind. In one of these compositions 
 he makes an affecting reference to the first Mrs. Stonehouse, who was 
 one of his spiritual children, and was now in paradise. His "friend 
 George" thanked him for these kind and Christian epistles ; but re- 
 marked that there were in them passages of which he did " not approve." 
 This was to be expected ; for when reproof is just, and therefore touches 
 the conscience, it is seldom liked. Mr. Stonehouse, however, forgave 
 the liberty of expostulation that had been taken with him ; and at his 
 second marriage, as we have seen, he requested Mr. Charles Wesley 
 to perform the ceremony : for which acceptable service he received 
 from the happy bridegroom the sum of ten guineas ; which was doubt- 
 less found to be very useful, as the poet was at this time so straitened 
 in his circumstances as to have intimated to his wife the necessity of 
 giving up housekeeping for the winter. 
 
 Count Zinzendorf too was favoured with an epistle from this faithful 
 monitor ; not indeed in the shape of compliment or congratulation, but 
 of free and earnest rebuke. The perversion of such men as Gambold 
 and Stonehouse was a sin which he knew not how to forgive, or even 
 to palliate. The theology of which the count was now the abettor. 
 Mr. Charles Wesley regarded as unscriptural and dangerous. It was 
 that of Antinomianism and of universal restoration. The alienation of 
 pious men from the Church of England, for the purpose of forming them 
 into a distinct and separate church, in which this distinguished foreigner
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 519 
 
 had considerable success, Mr. Charles Wesley deprecated as an evil 
 of fearful magnitude. To the conversion of men from sin to holiness 
 he attached the utmost possible importance ; but proselytism, and espe- 
 cially proselytism to inglorious silence and inactivity, he could not 
 endure. 
 
 These various epistles, with another of earlier date, -which was ad- 
 dressed " to a Friend," Mr. Charles Wesley transcribed into a volume, 
 to which he gave the title, " Epistles to Moravians, Predestinarians, 
 and Methodists. By a Clergyman of the Church of England." It 
 bears the following motto : — " And other sheep I have, which are not 
 of this fold : them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice : 
 and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd," John x, 16. The pro- 
 bability is, that he intended at some time to commit the whole to the 
 press : but that design he did not fulfil. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The circumstances of the British nation at the beginning of the year 
 1756 were such as to excite the most painful feelings in every pious, 
 humane, and patriotic mind. A terrible mortality had just been preva- 
 lent among the cattle, in various parts of England, so as, in some 
 places, to leave scarcely any alive. Serious quarrels were commenced 
 between the French and English colonies in North America ; and many 
 of the Protestants there were exposed to robbery and murder from their 
 Romish neighbours. Lisbon had just been swallowed up by an earth- 
 quake. France assumed a hostile attitude ; and her army, bent upon 
 plunder, and full of hatred to Protestantism, threatened to cross the 
 Channel, subvert the liberties of England, and seize the property which 
 was there amassed. The people at home, having been long inured to 
 peace, were supine, and indisposed to arm themselves, even in self- 
 defence. What the issue would be, no one could divine ; but the pro- 
 vidential horizon was dark, and many persons apprehended great national 
 suffering, with perhaps the subversion of Protestantism in this its 
 strong hold. 
 
 In this emergency the Methodists, like faithful watchmen, sounded 
 the trumpet of danger. Mr. Whitefield published a stirring " Address 
 to Persons of all Denominations, occasioned by the Alarm of an in- 
 tended Invasion ;" in which he depicted, in strong colours, the cruel 
 and intolerant spirit of Popery ; and called upon all who valued their 
 religion and liberty to apply themselves by prayer and personal effort 
 to preserve both inviolate.
 
 520 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Mr. John Wesley, it would appear from a passage in one of his bro- 
 ther's letters, advised some of his people to learn the military exercise, 
 that they might be the better prepared to defend their country and 
 homes, in case the threat of invasion should be carried into execution. 
 He also published his " Serious Thoughts occasioned by the late Earth- 
 quake at Lisbon ;" addressed particularly to the higher classes of soci- 
 ety, many of whom, influenced by a skeptical philosophy, saw nothing 
 in the earthquake and the pestilence but the regular operations of nature. 
 Mr. Wesley strongly asserts the moral government of God ; the duty 
 of penitence before him on account of private and national sins ; and 
 recommends true spiritual religion, as the best preparative for all cala- 
 mities ; since it alleviates the sorrows of life, and prepares men for a 
 world of security and blessedness, where neither sickness nor death 
 can enter. 
 
 At the same time he published his modest, but faithful, " Address to 
 the Clergy," as the men who ought to lead the way in the national re- 
 formation. A few devoted men had been raised up in the Church ; but 
 the great body of the clergy still slumbered at the post of duty ; or only 
 exerted their energies to obstruct the revival of religion which had now 
 been some years in progress. If any man in the land was justly au- 
 thorized to admonish these unfaithful watchmen, it was John Wesley ; 
 for no man of his age had either done or suffered so much for the pub- 
 lic welfare, or had been so successful in stemming the torrent of iniquity, 
 and in turning men to righteousness. From what was believed to be 
 the bed of death, he had recently been raised almost by miracle : but 
 he still regarded eternity as near ; for his health was far from being 
 established. One evening, in returning from preaching, he says, " I 
 came, as well as usual, to Moorfields ; but there my strength entirely 
 failed, and such a faintness and weariness seized me, that it was with 
 difficulty I got home. I could not but think, how happy it would be, 
 (suppose we were ready for the Bridegroom,) to sink down, and steal 
 away, at -once, without any of the hurry and pomp of dying ! Yet it is 
 happier still to glorify God in our death, as well as our life."* The 
 charge of arrogance and presumption, which some preferred against 
 him on account of this " Address," was nothing to a man who was just 
 ready to step into the world of spirits. His main concern was, by ful- 
 filling his task of duty, to meet his Almighty Judge with acceptance. 
 
 I a this crisis of the national affairs Mr. Charles Wesley was not 
 behind his brethren in effective zeal, though his services were of a 
 somewhat different kind. The government appointed the 6th of Feb- 
 ruary as a day of fasting and public humiliation before God ; and he 
 composed and printed seventeen hymns adapted to the solemn occa- 
 * Journal, Dec. 12th, 1755.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 521 
 
 sion* Several of them are of considerable length ; and in sublimity 
 and force are equal to any compositions that had ever proceeded from 
 his pen. They express the deepest sorrow on account of the national 
 guilt ; the profoundest alarm at the prospect of God's impending judg- 
 ments ; and strong confidence in him as the only refuge in the time of 
 danger. Three of these hymns were afterward inserted in the general 
 Wesleyan Collection. They are, — 
 
 Righteous God, whose vengeful vials ; 
 Stand th' omnipotent decree ; 
 How happy are the little flock. 
 
 Two stanzas in the first of these hymns were omitted by Mr. John 
 Wesley, when he made the general collection, as not suited to popular 
 use. One of these is remarkable : — 
 
 Earth, unhinged as from her basis, 
 
 Owns her great Restorer nigh ; 
 Plunged in complicate distresses, 
 
 Poor distracted sinners cry : 
 Men their instant doom deploring, 
 
 Faint beneath their fearful load : 
 Ocean working, rising, roaring, 
 
 Claps his hands to meet his God. 
 
 The bold personification of the sea, contained in the last two lines, 
 doubtless refers to a fact which John Wesley thus states in his " Serious 
 Thoughts :" — " Who can account for the late motion in the waters ; not 
 only that of the sea, and of rivers communicating therewith, but even 
 that in canals, fish-ponds, cisterns, and all either large or small bodies 
 of water ? It was particularly observed, that, while the water itself 
 was so violently agitated, neither did the earth shake at all, nor any 
 of the vessels which contained that water. Was such a thing ever 
 known or heard of before ?" 
 
 The following stanzas are also very striking. They are selected 
 
 * Concerning the observance of this day in London, Mr. John Wesley says, " The 
 fast-day was a glorious day ; such as London has scarce seen since the Restoration. 
 Every church in the city was more than full ; and a solemn seriousness sat on every 
 face. Surely God heareth the prayer ; and there will be a lengthening of our tran- 
 quillity. Even the Jews observed this day with a peculiar solemnity. The form of 
 prayer which was used in their synagogue began, ' Come, and let us return unto the 
 Lord ; for he hath torn, and he will heal us ;' and concluded with those remarkable 
 words : — ' Incline the heat;, of our sovereign lord, King George, as well as the hearts 
 of his lords and counsellors, to use us kindly, and all our brethren the children of Israel ; 
 that in his days, and in our days, we may see the restoration of Judah, and that Israel 
 may dwell in safety, and the Redeemer may come to Zion. May it be thy will ! And 
 we all say, Amen.' " — Journal.
 
 522 
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEV 
 
 * 
 
 from a hymn, in six parts, founded upon the fourth chapter of Jere- 
 miah's prophecies : — 
 
 I saw the earth by sin destroy'd, 
 
 And, lo, it lay wrapp'd up in night, 
 A chaos without form, and void, 
 
 And robb'd of all its heavenly light. 
 
 I saw, and, lo, the mountains shook, 
 
 The hills moved lightly to and fro, 
 The birds had all the skies forsook, 
 
 Nor man nor beast appear'd below. 
 
 I saw, and, lo, the fruitful place 
 
 Was to a ghastly desert turn'd : 
 Beneath Jehovah's frowning face, 
 
 The ghastly desert droop'd and mourn'd. 
 
 The nation suddenly o'erthrown 
 
 I saw before the waster's sword ; 
 The cities all were broken down, 
 
 In presence of their angry Lord. 
 
 This tract, possessing so much poetic beauty and strength, breathing 
 the most fervent and elevated piety, and so well adapted to the exist- 
 ing state of things, quickly passed to a second edition, in the title 
 of which the reference to the fast-day was omitted ; that day having 
 passed away. 
 
 The publication of this admirable tract was not the only service 
 which Mr. Charles Wesley rendered to the cause of religion and of 
 the nation in this season of distress. He also reprinted, with enlarge- 
 ments, the " Hymns for Times of Trouble and Persecution," which he 
 had composed during the rebellion of 1745, as being applicable to the 
 present state of the country, menaced, as in the former instance, by 
 Papal intolerance. At the same time he put to press another edition 
 of his "Hymns on the Earthquake of 1750," with three additions: 
 one, a prayer for the English in America ; another, on the destruction 
 of Lisbon ; and a third for the year 1756. A part of that on the over- 
 throw of Lisbon was afterward inserted in the general Wesleyan Col- 
 lection. It begins, — 
 
 Wo to the men on earth who dwell, 
 Nor dread th' Almighty's frown. 
 
 Such was the manner in which this man of God aided the devotions 
 of the more religious part of the nation, and endeavoured to render the 
 afflictive dispensations of divine Providence subservient to the cause 
 of piety, and the improvement of public morals. His hymns, which 
 far surpassed in power and correct versification all similar composi- 
 tions that had before appeared in the English language, must have
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 523 
 
 produced considerable effect at the time, adapted as they were to pub- 
 lic events upon which every eye was intensely fixed. 
 
 The early part of the year 1756 Mr. Charles Wesley appears to have 
 spent in Bristol ; for there he printed the tracts which have been just 
 mentioned, adapted to the state of the nation. His brother was in 
 London and the neighbourhood during this period. Taking Bristol and 
 Wales in his way, Mr. John Wesley embarked for Ireland at the end 
 of March, and remained there till the middle of August following ; and 
 it is probable that Charles took his place in the metropolis : for as the 
 societies there were accustomed to a weekly sacrament, and none 
 were allowed to administer it but clergymen who had received epis- 
 copal ordination, it was requisite that one of the brothers should gene- 
 rally be in town. 
 
 The conference of this year was held in Bristol. It did not begin 
 till toward the close of August. From the last conference Mr. Charles 
 Wesley had abruptly retired, when he found that he could not bring 
 either his brother or the preachers fully to entertain his views concern- 
 ing the Church ; and he then hastily said, " I have done with confer- 
 ences for ever." The remark was made under the influence of mo- 
 mentary excitement, and did not express the fixed purpose of his mind. 
 Accordingly he met his brother and the preachers at this their annual 
 assembly in Bristol. About fifty of them were present : a large number 
 for that time ; but less by ten than were in Leeds the year before. 
 The rules of the society, of the bands, and of Kings wood school, were 
 carefully reviewed ; and some verbal alterations were made in those 
 of the bands. The others remained as they were, and all pledged 
 themselves afresh to observe and enforce them. The question of re- 
 maining in the Church was also brought under consideration ; and a 
 unanimity like that of the last year prevailed. Mr. John Wesley says, 
 " We largely considered the necessity of keeping in the Church, and 
 using the clergy with tenderness ; and there was no dissenting voice. 
 God gave us all to be of one mind and of one judgment. My brother 
 and I closed the conference by a solemn declaration of our purpose 
 never to separate from the Church; and all our brethren concurred 
 therein."* 
 
 About a fortnight after the conclusion of this conference, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley left home, on a visit to the societies in the principal towns of 
 Staffordshire, Yorkshire, and Lancashire ; for the purpose of correcting 
 what he might find amiss, of encouraging them in their Christian 
 course, of preaching to them the word of life, and of extending the 
 work of God wherever there should be an open door. This was a 
 very eventful journey ; and the record which he kept of his daily pro- 
 
 * Journal.
 
 524 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ceedings and observations throws great light upon the state of feeling 
 among the Methodists with respect to the established Church. The 
 alienation of affection from the Church, which he had observed and 
 lamented in some of the preachers, was by no means confined to them. 
 The fact is undeniable, the clergy, with iew exceptions, did not like 
 the Methodists, and pursued a conduct toward them which was the 
 reverse of conciliatory. Not a few of them neither preached the truth, 
 nor lived as became their sacred office. Mr. Charles Wesley also 
 found, in various places, that persons of Dissenting principles had 
 become members of the Methodist societies, and used their influence 
 to draw away their brethren from the ministrations of the clergy. 
 Several of them had indeed become members of Dissenting churches, 
 that they might enjoy a ministry which more fully accorded with their 
 own views, and receive the Lord's supper at the hands of men whose 
 practice was agreeable to their profession. The attempt to force the 
 Methodists to an attendance upon the services of the Church, by re- 
 fusing to them the sacraments from their own preachers, and by closing 
 their chapels during the sabbath, except early in the morning, and in 
 the evening, drove many of them into a state of actual separation both 
 from the Church and their own societies, and placed them in the hands 
 of Dissenters. At Leeds Mr. Edwards had assumed the character of 
 an Independent minister, as Charles Skelton had done in the south, and 
 drawn away the greater part of the society with him. Titus Knight 
 afterward followed the same course in Halifax ; and several of the 
 Baptist and Independent churches in Lancashire and the west of York- 
 shire were formed in these times, in a great measure out of the Meth- 
 odist societies, because of the position in which these societies were 
 placed in regard of the national Establishment, and the spirit of the 
 clergy. It will be observed, that Mr. Whitefield was at this time 
 travelling over the same ground, and co-operated with his friend Mr. 
 Charles Wesley, in the kindest manner, to keep the Methodist societies 
 together, and induce them, according to their original order, to attend 
 the prayers and sacrament in their several parish churches. 
 
 The notices which Mr. Charles Wesley has given, in his journal of 
 this tour, concerning the societies formed by his old friend and com- 
 panion, Mr. Ingham, and of his intercourse with his clerical brethren, 
 Mr. Crook, of Hunslet, and Mr. Williamson, of York, are interesting 
 and valuable. When he met with a pious clergyman, his soul exulted 
 within him ; and he thought that the whole Church of England was 
 just about to be purified from lukewarmness and formality, and appear 
 in all the beauty and glory of New-Testament Christianity. What he 
 desired, he readily believed. Most of Mr. Ingham's societies were after- 
 ward broken up, through the influence of Antinomian tenets, borrowed
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 525 
 
 from Sandeman and Glass, which involved them in fatal disputes. A 
 copious extract from Mr. Charles Wesley's private journal is here 
 subjoined : — 
 
 " Sept. 17th, 1756. At seven I left Bristol, with John Downes, and 
 came to Walbridge by two. In the evening several attended the word, 
 and seemed stirred up to watch and pray. I spake to each of the little, 
 steady society. Forty-three have kept together, for years, under the 
 care of our brother Watts. There are no disputes or disorders among 
 them. I added a few words, exhorting them to continue steadfast in 
 the communion of the Church of England. We were much refreshed, 
 and parted in great love. 
 
 " Sept. 18th. I set out at six, and in three hours reached Chelten- 
 ham. The twelve miles thence to Evesham cost us near six hours : 
 but we rode the short, that is, the vale way; and have taken our leave 
 of it for ever. By four we got, weary enough, to Mr. Canning's. The 
 preaching-room was full. I exhorted them to watch and pray always, 
 that they might be counted worthy to escape all these things which 
 shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. Again, at 
 seven in the morning, and at five in the evening, they received my say- 
 ing, the Lord applying his own word, both to awaken and to confirm. 
 
 " I went to church, morning and afternoon ; and between the ser- 
 vices visited three or four of the society, who had been disabled by age 
 and infirmity from assembling with their brethren, and were therefore 
 neglected, as not belonging to them. I wrote their names again in the 
 society-book, with Mr. Canning's family, and J. Watson's, who seemed 
 ill resolved to do the first works. I did not forget to confirm the 
 brethren in their calling ; that is, to live and die in the Church of 
 England. 
 
 " Sept. 20th. After commending them to God, and to the word of his 
 grace, I rode with our loving guide, J. Watson, toward Birmingham. 
 At Studley he left us, full of his former zeal, and resolved to carry fire 
 among his neighbours of the village to which he is removed. About 
 two we got to Birmingham, and soon after heard at the door Mr. Fan- 
 son's voice. He brought life with him. As a watchman of Israel, 
 I warned a numerous audience of the sword coming. The word 
 seemed to sink into their hearts. I had not time to meet the society ; 
 but in conversing with several I conceived fresh hopes that they will 
 at last become a settled people. Some who had forsaken us, I received 
 in again. 
 
 " Sept. 21st. The Lord gave us a parting blessing. Mr. Fanson's 
 chaise kept pace with us to Ashby, where our brother Adams received 
 us joyfully. The wild beasts here are tamed, at least, if not converted. 
 None molested while I pointed them to the Lamb of God, who taketh
 
 526 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 away the sin of the world. We prayed earnestly for these hardened 
 sinners. I was comforted with the little company of twenty-one, 
 who meet to build up each other. Great life and love was in the midst 
 of them. 
 
 " Sept. 22d. I warned them of the impending judgments, and left 
 them standing on the watch-tower. We passed a profitable hour at 
 Donnington-Park, with Mr. H. Mr. I'anson attended us five or six- 
 miles on our way to Nottingham, which we reached by two. I spent 
 the afternoon in taking down the names of the society, and conversing 
 with them. We rejoiced to meet once more, after so long a separation. 
 My subject both at night and in the morning, was, ' I will bring the 
 third part through the fire.' It was a time of solemn rejoicing. There 
 had been, twelve months ago, a great revival and increase of the soci- 
 ety ; but Satan was beginning again to sow his tares. My coming at 
 this season will, I trust, be the means of preventing a division. 
 
 " Sept. 23d. It rained hard all night. John Downes's lame horse 
 detained him at Nottingham, by which the poor people got another 
 sermon. At seven I set out in the rain with a blind guide, who at last 
 blundered out his way to Sheffield. Here also I delivered my own 
 soul ; and the people seemed awakened and alarmed. I spake plainly 
 and lovingly to the society of continuing in the Church : and though 
 many of them were Dissenters and predestinarians, none were offended. 
 
 " Sept. 24th. I had left William Shent sick in Charles-street ; but 
 to my great surprise, entering brother Green's, at Rotherham, this 
 morning, the first person I set my eyes on was William himself. The 
 Sunday after I left him he had had another fit of his ague : yet on 
 Monday morning he would needs mount his horse, and ride homeward. 
 He had only one visit from his ague on the road, and grew stronger 
 and stronger, by virtue of prayer more than physic. 
 
 " Sept. 25th. I encouraged them by that precious promise, ' I will 
 bring the third part through the fire ;' and parted in great love. At 
 eight I preached on the same subject at Barley-hall, and found there 
 the never-failing blessing. I rode on with William Shent, who was 
 threatened last night with the return of his fever. I was at a loss for 
 a companion to York, when, in passing through Hunslet, one called 
 after me. I turned, and saw Mr. Crook, who told me Dr. Cockburn 
 was at his house, and had waited for me this week, to carry me to 
 Y~ork. We lighted, and spent a delightful hour with the doctor (my 
 old school-fellow) and him, both in their first love ; both full of life, and 
 zeal, and simplicity. Mr. Crook pressed me to assist him at the morn- 
 ing sacrament. 
 
 " Sunday, Sept. 26th. At seven I preached to the people at Leeds, 
 on, ' Thy kingdom come.' The disciples lifted up their heads. I
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 527 
 
 walked with Dr. Cockburn to Hunslet. Mr. Crook insisted on my 
 preaching ; which I did again from the same words. His congregation 
 seemed to make no opposition to the truth. There were hundreds of 
 communicants, mostly of Mr. Crook's awakening. 
 
 " We passed an hour and a half at his house with the voice of joy 
 and thanksgiving. Then he pressed me into the service again. His 
 church, which holds nearly as many as our preaching-house, was filled 
 from end to end. At his desire I preached from those words : ' His 
 blood be on us, and on our children.' Our Lord turned the curse into a 
 blessing. 
 
 " I doubted my strength, yet set out for Leeds. The room was 
 excessively crowded, both within and without. I was very faint as 1 
 mentioned my text, ' When these things begin to come to pass, then 
 look up ; for the time of your redemption draweth near.' The word 
 refreshed both soul and body. The hearers were variously affected. 
 
 that all may be found watching ! 
 
 " I could speak of nothing but love in the society, for I felt nothing 
 else. Great was our rejoicing over each other. Satan, I believe, has 
 done his worst, and will get no further advantage by exasperating their 
 spirits against their departing brethren. They were unanimous to stav 
 in the Church, because the Lord stays in it, and multiplies his wit- 
 nesses therein, more than in any other church in Christendom. 
 
 " Sept. 27th. I was surprised at the numbers that flocked to the early 
 preaching, and eagerly received that saying of our Lord, ' Behold, I 
 come as a thief : blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments.' 
 
 1 breakfasted with Miss Norton, and found nothing in my heart toward 
 her but love. She was not so evil affected toward her forsaken breth- 
 ren as I expected. Nothing can ever bring such as her back, but the 
 charity which hopeth all things, beareth all things, endureth all things. 
 
 " Several came to confer with me, particularly Benjamin S . I 
 
 had great satisfaction with him. While we were drinking tea at a 
 brother's, Mr. Edwards found me out. We talked freely and lovingly 
 till the time of preaching. I walked with him to the house. Mr. 
 Crook was another of my hearers. My text was, ' His blood be upon 
 us, and upon our children.' The power of the Lord was present, more 
 than yesterday. I went to the Church prayers with several who have 
 been long dealt with to forsake them utterly. They will stand the 
 firmer, I hope, for their shaking. 
 
 " Sept. 28th. I set out with the doctor and William Shent for York. 
 The rain brought back poor William's ague. I preached from Hab. iii, 2 : 
 ' O Lord, revive thy work.' The crowd made our room excessively 
 hot ; but that did not hinder their attention. 
 
 " Sept. 29th. Our preacher stationed here had quite left off preach-
 
 528 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ing in the morning. Many told me, I could not get a congregation at 
 five ; but I found it otherwise. The room was almost full while I 
 explained, ' Being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye 
 have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.' I insisted .. 
 largely on freedom from sin, as the lowest mark of faith, and the ? 
 necessity of labouring after holiness. The hearers appeared much 
 stirred up. 
 
 " I spent the day in conversing with all comers. The doctor's house 
 was open to all, and his heart also : his whole desire being to spread 
 the gospel. 
 
 " Sept. 30th. My subject was John v, 14 : ' Afterward Jesus 
 findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made 
 whole : sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.' I warned 
 them against that sweet doctrine, ' Once in grace, always in grace,' 
 but not in a controversial way ; pointed out some of the infinite ways 
 whereby they might forfeit their pardon ; exhorted them to go to church, 
 that they might be found of Jesus in the temple : and, above all, to pray 
 always, that that word might be written on their hearts, ' Go and sin no 
 more.' 
 
 " The day was well spent in making up a difference which the 
 sower of tares had occasioned among the principal members of the 
 society. Between six and seven I got the society together, with many 
 out of the country, and for two hours showed them how they ought to 
 walk. They gladly received instruction. 
 
 " Oct. 1st. I preached again to the awakened, and perceived the 
 word take place. I breakfasted with T. Brook, who has once more 
 left the brethren. I went with him to the minster,* which he con- 
 stantly frequents. I met at his house Miss T , earnestly seeking 
 
 salvation. The means of awakening her was ' Theron and Aspasio.' 
 I heard that the young woman who cried out last night under convic- 
 tions was the same hour delivered into the glorious liberty of God's 
 children. 
 
 " I passed an hour at Mr. D 's, and answered his candid objec- 
 tions. I had an opportunity of vindicating my old friend Benjamin 
 Ingham. It is hard a man should be hanged for his looks ; for the 
 appearance of Moravianism. Their spirit and practices he has as utterly 
 renounced as we have : their manner and phrase cannot so soon be 
 shaken off. 
 
 " I found out Mercy Bell, and had sweet fellowship with her. I 
 marvel not that the Friends (so fallen from their first simplicity) cannot 
 receive her testimony. 
 
 " We had a most triumphant watch-night. We began between seven 
 * Minster — the cathedral church. 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 529 
 
 and eight. The enemy did not like our employment, and stirred up his 
 servants without to interrupt us ; but our voices prevailed. We sung 
 the ' Hymns in a Tumult' with great calmness and consolation. Mr. 
 Williamson's maid was deeply wounded. The shout of a King was 
 in the midst of us ; and the people thought it full early to part at eleven. 
 
 " Oct. 2d. The whole day was spent in singing, conference, and 
 prayer. I attended trfe choir service. The people there were marvel- 
 lously civil, and obliged me with the anthem I desired, Hab. iii, ' a feast 
 for a king,' as Queen Anne called it. Mr. Williamson walked with 
 me to his house, in the face of the sun. I would have spared him ; but 
 he was quite above fear. A pious, sensible Dissenter, clave to us all 
 day, and accompanied us to the preaching. I discoursed on my 
 favourite subject : ' I will bring the third part through the fire.' We 
 glorified God in the fire, and rejoiced in hope of coming forth as gold. 
 
 " Sunday, Oct. 3d. From five till near eight I talked closely with 
 each of the society ; then, on Mr. Williamson's request, preached on 
 the ordinances, from Isaiah lxiv, 5 : ' In those is continuance, and we 
 shall be saved.' I dwelt longest on what has been most neglected, 
 family prayer, public prayer, and the sacrament. The Lord set to his 
 seal, and confirmed the word with a double blessing. I dismissed them 
 at nine. Our preachers had often kept them till near ten, and thereby 
 hindered their going to church. 
 
 " I received the sacrament at the minster. It was a solemn pass- 
 over. They were forced to consecrate twice, the congregation being 
 doubled and trebled through my exhortations and example. Glory be 
 to God alone ! I found great faith to pray for him that consecrated, and 
 heard afterward that it was Mr. B ; one who had known the Me- 
 thodists from their rise at Oxford, and was no enemy to them. I 
 expect (if I hold out myself) to meet that soul in paradise. 
 
 " I went to Mr. Williamson's church. He read prayers, as one that 
 felt them, and then beckoned me. According to our private agree- 
 ment I stepped into the pulpit when no one expected it, and cried to a 
 full audience, ' The kingdom of God is at hand : repent ye, and believe 
 the gospel.' They were all attention. The word did not return void, 
 but accomplished that for which it was sent. Neither is he that planted 
 any thing ; neither is he that watereth. 
 
 " Dr. Cockburn carried me in his chair to Acomb. I lost my voice 
 in the rain, and could not, without much straining, cry, ' Behold the 
 Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world !' A clergyman 
 and the gentry of the place were present. The rain dispersed us in 
 half an hour. I attempted to meet the society at York, but could not 
 speak to be heard. We got thereby a longer evening at the hospitable 
 doctor's. Mr. Williamson and his family, &c, were helpers of our joy. 
 
 34
 
 530 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " Oct. 4th. I took my leave, in the words of the apostle, ' The grace 
 of God which bringeth salvation hath appeared' unto all men; teaching 
 us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, 
 righteously, and godly in the world.' From hence I strongly pressed 
 the obedience of faith. We parted in body only. 
 
 " Through God's blessing on my week's stay among them, I hope, 
 1. Peace and love are restored. 2. They will lecover their rising at 
 five. 3. They are brought back again to church and sacrament, and 
 family prayer. 
 
 " Dr. Cockburn and his lady attended me to Tadcaster, where I 
 found both voice and strength to point many earnest souls to the all- 
 atoning Lamb. The gentry listened, as well as the poor. Both dis- 
 missed me with blessings. 
 
 " It rained as soon as we took horse. We were quickly wet to the 
 skin, the high wind driving the storm full in our faces. I was most 
 concerned for poor William Shent, and forced him to stop at the first 
 house. There I reproved a countryman for swearing, and gave a word 
 of advice which was kindly taken. We took refuge again at Sea- 
 croft, and enjoyed the last fair hour, which brought us to Leeds by 
 two. I renewed my strength against preaching-time ; after which I 
 met the leaders, and earnestly exhorted them to set a pattern to the flock. 
 
 " Oct. 5th. I preached in William Shent's shop. I breakfasted at 
 Miss Norton's. There Mr. Edwards assured me, he had never desired 
 any one of our children to leave us. Doubtless they did it of their own 
 mere motion. No one ever dealt or took any pains with them about it. 
 No one ever spoke against the Church, to unhinge them. They dropped 
 into his mouth (as our first children into the count's) without his ever 
 suspecting it ! 
 
 " If he has robbed us of our children, I bless God to find he has not 
 robbed us of our peace and love. He several times expressed his 
 readiness to preach in our societies. I only answered, the people could 
 not trust him, that he would not do in every place as he had done in 
 Leeds. I endeavoured to treat him with due respect and love, accord- 
 ing to that rule : ' If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, live 
 peaceably with all men.' 
 
 " I passed the day at Mr. Crook's, who told me his experience. I 
 cannot doubt of his having experienced the new birth. Our brethren 
 question it, because he does not use all their phrases, and cannot follow 
 all their violent counsels. I begged him to do nothing rashly ; least 
 of all, to go from his post, preaching everywhere like us. 
 
 " I drank tea at a sister's, who has been as the troubled sea ever 
 since the separation ; and as rough toward all, especially her husband, 
 as Mr. Edwards is smooth. I laboured to quiet her ; and she was 
 
 34* 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 531 
 
 sensible of the great advantage Satan had gained over her. Alas, for 
 the man by whom the offence cometh ! 
 
 " I walked to Hunslet with William Shent, and heard Mr. Crook 
 expound in the church. I dined with him, and was provoked by his 
 
 zeal. Returning, I found at my lodgings, and threw away 
 
 some words on one, wiser in his own eyes than seven men that can 
 render a reason. He entirely justified Mr. Edwards : therefore I can 
 have no confidence in him, that he will not do, were it in his power, as 
 Mr. Edwards has done. 
 
 " Henry Thornton came to spend an hour or two with us ; and we 
 sharpened each other's countenance. At six I met the leaders, and 
 inquired into the behaviour of each member of the society. Upward 
 of forty Mr. Edwards has carried off; but not by desiring any to leave 
 us ! I carried them with me to prayers, and wished them to follow 
 my example, by carrying the whole society to church with them. I 
 returned to the room, and explained the believer's privilege, 1 Pet. i, 5 : 
 ' Kept by the power of God. through faith unto salvation.' 
 
 " I had more talk with , who frankly confessed, if any of 
 
 our societies should desire him to take charge of them, as a distinct 
 body, he should not refuse them. I told him plainly, that the ground 
 of all such designs was pride : but my words were spoken into 
 the air. 
 
 " After church I set out in a storm for Seacroft ; and rode on to 
 Aberford. My old friend Mr. Ingham was labouring in the vineyard ; 
 ■ but I had the happiness to find Lady Margaret at home, and their son 
 Ignatius. She informed me that his round takes in about four hundred 
 miles ; that he has six fellow-labourers ; and one thousand souls in his 
 societies, most of them converted. I sincerely rejoiced in his success. 
 Ignatius would hardly be satisfied at my not preaching. We passed 
 an hour and a half very profitably, and set out again. The rain met and 
 drove us under a tree for shelter. We narrowly missed several heavy 
 showers, and got safe back to Seacroft before night. 
 
 " Soon after our dearest brother Grimshaw found us, and brought a 
 blessing with him. I preached from Luke xxi, 34 : ' Take heed to 
 yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, 
 and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you 
 unawares ;' and further enforced our Lord's warning in the society. I 
 strongly exhorted them to continue steadfast in fellowship with each 
 other, and the whole Church of England. Our hearts were comforted 
 and knit together. 
 
 " Oct. 8th. We had another blessed hour with them, before we left 
 this lively people. I continued till one in the conference with my 
 worthy friend and fellow-labourer : a man after my own heart ! whose 
 
 I
 
 532 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 love of the Church flows from his love of Christ. With such may my 
 lot be cast in both worlds ! 
 
 " We spent an hour in intercession for the Church and nation. I 
 exhorted the many persons present to continue instant in this prayer, 
 and mark the answer and the end ! 
 
 " I rode with my faithful brother Grimshaw to Bramley, and preached 
 in a large barn, (now a convenient chapel,) to a multitude of serious 
 souls, who eagerly received our Lord's saying, ' Look up, and lift up 
 your heads ; for your redemption draweth near.' They all seemed 
 broad awake, when I called again in the morning, ' Watch ye, there- 
 fore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all 
 these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of 
 man.' Their spirit quickened mine. We had sweet fellowship toge- 
 ther. I have no doubt they will be counted worthy to escape, and to 
 stand before the Son of man. 
 
 " Returning to Leeds I met my brother Whitefield, and was much 
 refreshed by the account of his abundant labours. I waited on him to 
 our room, and gladly sat under his word. I preached myself at Roth- 
 well. Their large house was full, though it was a harvest-day. I 
 warned them of the impending storm with much freedom, and faith for 
 the sincere ; concluding with a warm exhortation to continue in the 
 ship. 
 
 " Sunday, Oct. 10th. From Isaiah lxiv, 5, ' In those is continuance, 
 and we shall be saved,' I earnestly pressed the duties of constant com- 
 municating ; of hearing, reading, practising the word ; of fasting ; of 
 private, family, and public prayer. The society I advised to continue 
 in fellowship, and never more give place to the sower of tares, the 
 divider of the brethren. I spoke healingly of the breach ; told them 
 how to behave toward Mr. Skelton and the rest who have risen up to 
 draw away disciples after them ; and insisted on that apostolical pre- 
 cept, ' Let all your things be done in charity.' I did not mention the 
 author of the last division, being convinced he had left us for bread. 
 
 " The spirit of love and union was in the midst of us. I came to 
 Birstal before noon. My congregation was less by a thousand or two 
 through George Whitefield's preaching to-day at Haworth. Between 
 four and five thousand were left to receive my warning. After church 
 we met again. Every soul seemed to hang on the word. Two such 
 precious opportunities I have not enjoyed this many a day. It was the 
 old time revived. A weighty spirit ran through the congregation ; and 
 they stood like men prepared to meet the Lord. 
 
 " Oct. 1 1th. After preaching at five to this solid people, I returned 
 to Leeds, and spent an hour with the leaders. They informed me that 
 my late exhortations have stopped some who were on the point of going
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 533 
 
 away to Mr. Edwards's society, and brought others back to the Church 
 ordinances. A woman in particular, after hearing me on Sunday morn- 
 ing, went to chrirch, which she had long forsaken, and received a 
 manifestation of Jesus Christ in the prayers. I earnestly pressed them 
 to recommend to their brethren, both by advice and example, the 
 neglected duties of family and public prayer, and to watch over the 
 flock with all diligence. 
 
 " Hearing that Mr. Whitefield and Mr. Grimshaw were returning to 
 our watch-night, I waited for them at their lodgings, with zealous, hum- 
 ble, loving Mr. Crook. It rained so hard, that Mr. Whitefield was 
 agreeably surprised at eight to find our house as full as it could cram. 
 They forced me to preach first ; which I did, from, ' I will bring the 
 third part through the fire.' My brother George seconded me in the 
 words of our Lord, ' I say unto all, Watch.' The prayers and hymns 
 were all attended with a solemn power. Few, if any, I hope, went 
 unawakened away. 
 
 " Oct. 12th. I took my leave of Leeds, in prayer at William Shent's. 
 Some having ascribed the division to him, I examined that matter to 
 the bottom, having talked largely with all parties, especially Miss Nor- 
 ton, and Mr. Edwards himself. Upon the whole, I am convinced that 
 the ground of all was Miss Norton's hatred to William Shent. This 
 induced her to draw away Mr. Edwards from us. He could not resist 
 the temptation of a certain provision for his family. Interest blinded 
 his eyes ; so that the means to his end seemed right and honest to him, 
 though base and treacherous to us. As for William Shent, I do not 
 find he did more than every upright man would have done on the occa- 
 sion. He watched to counteract them who were daily seducing our 
 children. He gave early notice to my brother of their design, and 
 thereby drew all their resentment upon himself ; as every honest preacher 
 will, qui cum ingcniis conflictatur cjusmodi, [who contends with disposi- 
 tions of this kind.] Since the separation (Mr. Edwards's friend informed 
 me) he has behaved with such mildness and discretion as has kept the 
 rest of the flock together, when violence, or harsh treatment, might have 
 scattered them all. 
 
 " I preached in Wakefield, at ten, to a quieter audience than I ever 
 met with there. 
 
 " I took a friendly leave of Miss Norton, who assured me, some of 
 our ablest preachers were entirely in Mr. Edwards's interest. Nee 
 nihil, nee omnia. [Neither nothing nor all things.] 
 
 " I rode to Joseph liennet's, near Dewsbury, and preached very 
 awakening to a mixed, attentive congregation. My vehement exhorta- 
 tion to the society was on the usual subject : continuance in the word, 
 and in prayers, family and public. I passed the evening with Jonas
 
 534 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 E d. I would gladly part with five hundred Methodists, to be or- 
 
 dained and useful like him. 
 
 "Oct. 13th. The word at Birstal was clothed with power, both to 
 awaken and to confirm. My principal concern is for the disciples, that 
 their houses may be built on the rock, before the rains descend. I 
 hear in most places the effect of the word ; but I hearken after it less 
 than formerly ; and take little notice of those who say they receive 
 comfort, or faith, or forgiveness. Let their fruits show. I preached 
 at night, and rejoiced in steadfast hope of being brought through the 
 fire. 
 
 " Oct. 14th. I baptized a Dissenter's child, and set out with faithful 
 Titus Knight for Halifax. A mixed multitude listened to the word, 
 ' When thy judgments are abroad in the earth, the inhabitants of the 
 world will learn righteousness.' I have not found so great freedom in 
 any place as this, where I expected least. I set out in hard rain for 
 Bradford. My subject there was, ' O Lord, revive thy work.' Many 
 Dissenters were present ; some of them, I believe, were reached ; for I 
 spake in irresistible love, and warned them to flee from the wrath 
 to come. 
 
 " Oct. 15th. After preaching I gathered into the fold a wandering 
 sheep, whom John Whitford's pride and folly had scattered. Having 
 lost her first love, she married an unconverted man ; whereupon the 
 society gave her up for lost. I rejoiced to find her miserable in pros- 
 perity, and restless to recover her only happiness. 
 
 " I found comfort in the first lesson at church. I could be glad to 
 attend the public prayers constantly, for my own as well as for exam- 
 ple's sake. The preaching-house was filled with those that came from 
 far. Our Lord did not send them empty away. A girl of fourteen, 
 who had walked from Birstal, told me she seemed carried under the 
 word, as out of the body. What to call the manifestation of the Spirit 
 then given her, time and temptation will show. Near two hours more 
 we rejoiced at a primitive love-feast. 
 
 " Oct. 16th. I breakfasted again with my lost sheep that is found, for 
 whose sake chiefly I believe myself sent to Bradford. Last night at 
 the love-feast she recovered her shield. I took my leave of the brethren 
 in that promise, ' He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.' 
 I rode with faithful Thomas Colbeck to Keighley, and found at four a 
 large, handsome room, well filled. I did my office, as a watchman, and 
 delivered my own soul. Mr. Grimshaw assisted at the society. I 
 recommended family religion with all my might. For near an hour 
 and a half the cloud stayed on the assembly. 
 
 " Sunday, Oct. 17th. We had no room to spare at five in the morn- 
 ing, while I commended them to God, and to the word of his grace. I
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 535 
 
 preached a second time, at Haworth, (Mr. Grimshaw reading prayers,) 
 from Psalm xlvi, 8, 9 : ' O come hither, and behold the works of the 
 Lord ; what destruction he hath wrought on the earth. He maketh 
 wars to cease in all the world.' My mouth was opened to declare the 
 approaching judgments, and the glory which shall follow, when the 
 Lord is exalted in all the earth. The church, which had been lately 
 enlarged, could scarce contain the congregation, who seemed all to 
 tremble at the threatenings, or rejoice in the promises, of God. We 
 had a blessed number of communicants, and the Master of the feast in 
 the midst. I prayed and exhorted afterward. Our hearts were lifted 
 up to meet him in his glorious kingdom. 
 
 " After an hour's interval we met again, as many as the church- walls 
 could contain ; but twice the number stood without, till the prayers were 
 over. Then I mounted a scaffold, and, lifting up my eyes, saw the 
 fields white unto harvest. We had prayed for a fair day, and had the 
 petitions we asked. The church-yard, which will hold thousands, was 
 quite covered. God gave me a voice to reach them all. I warned 
 them of those things which shall come to pass, and warmly pressed 
 them to private, family, and public prayer. I enlarged on the glorious 
 consequences thereof, even deliverance from the last plagues, and stand- 
 ing before the Son of man. I concluded, and began again ; for it was 
 an accepted time. I do not remember when my mouth has been more 
 opened, or my heart more enlarged. 
 
 " A young preacher, of Mr. Ingham's, came to spend the evening 
 with me at Mr. Grimshaw's. I found great love for him, and wished 
 all our sons in the gospel were equally modest and discreet. 
 
 " Oct. 18th. He accompanied us to Heptonstall, where I preached 
 at ten, on Isaiah lxiv, 5 : ' In those is continuance, and we shall be 
 saved.' I was very faint when I began : the more plainly did it appear 
 that thq, power was not of man, but of God. I warned them of the 
 wiles of the devil, whereby he would draw them away from the Church. 
 and the other means of grace. I spake as the oracles of God ; and 
 God gave testimony, bowing the hearts of all present, except a few 
 bigoted Baptists. We went on our way rejoicing to Ewood. There 
 the hard ram cut short my discourse from Ezek. ix. Mr. Allen could 
 not leave us yet, but rode with us next morning as far as Gawksholm. 
 I stood on a scaffold, at the foot of a Welsh mountain, having all the 
 people in front, and called, ' Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh 
 away the sin of the world !' The word was as a two-edged sword. I 
 knew not then that several Baptists were present : a carnal, cavilling, 
 contentious sect, always watching to steal away our children, and make 
 them as dead as themselves. Mr. Allen informed me that they have 
 carried off no less than fifty out of one society ; and that several Bap- 

 
 536 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 tist meetings are wholly made out of old Methodists. I talked largely 
 with Grimshaw how to remedy the evil. We agreed, 1. That nothing 
 can save the Methodists from falling a prey to every seducer, but close 
 walking with God, in all the commandments and ordinances, especially 
 the word, and prayer, private, family, and public. 2. That the preachers 
 should be allowed more time in every place to visit from house to 
 house, after Mr. Baxter's manner. 3. That a small treatise be written, 
 to ground and preserve them against seducers, and lodged in every 
 family. 
 
 " We came safe to Bolton, with the night. Above forty of these poor 
 shattered people still keep together. Many of those without flocked to 
 the word. In great bodily weakness I warned them to fly to the city 
 of refuge ; tried to calm the spirits of our children ; and we were com- 
 forted together through hope of our Lord's appearing. 
 
 " Oct. 20th. I talked kindly to poor John Whitford, who seemed quite 
 sick of his separate congregation ; so headstrong and untractable ; so 
 like their humble slave and teacher ! His principles, as well as his 
 spirit, have cut off his retreat : vestigia nulla retrorsum, [he finds no 
 tracks by which he may return,] when once a Methodist preacher has 
 abused both our and our children's confidence, by setting up for him- 
 self. This he could never think of till the salt had lost its savour. 
 
 " The rain quickened our pace to Manchester. I took up my lodg- 
 ings at Mr. Phillips's. My subject at night was, ' When these things 
 begin to come to pass, then look up ; for your redemption draweth 
 near.' Many Arian and Socinian Dissenters were present, and gnashed 
 upon me with their teeth, while I preached the coming of Jesus Christ, 
 the one eternal, self-existing God, to take vengeance on them, and on 
 all his enemies, who would not have him to reign over them. 
 
 " Oct. 21st. I finished my discourse to our Lord's disciples. I 
 parted with my right hand, my brother and bosom friend, Grimshaw. 
 
 I breakfasted at Mrs. F 's, and rejoiced to find that, though she had 
 
 left us, she had not utterly forsaken God. Her soul has suffered loss, 
 yet her good desires remain. Here my old friend J. Bolton found me 
 out, and confirmed his love to me. 
 
 " From church I went to dine with our sister Rider, still waiting for 
 the consolation of Israel. I drank tea with Dr. Byrom, and was hard 
 put to it to defend my brother's book against Mr. Law. We got at last 
 to a better subject, and parted not without a blessing. At night I dis- 
 coursed on Titus ii, 11. I spoke close and home on practical faith, 
 and relative duties : but more closely still to the society. 
 
 " It seems the famous Mr. Roger Ball is now among them, picking 
 up their pence and their persons. They were smit with admiration of 
 so fine a man ; (Thomas Williams himself was nothing to him ;) and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 537 
 
 invited him to settle with them. Another new preacher they have 
 also got, a young Baptist, who is gathering himself a meeting out of 
 them ; like the Baptist teachers who have borrowed so many of Mr. 
 Grimshaw's children. Our society in Manchester was upward of 
 two hundred ; but their itching ears have reduced them to half the 
 number. 
 
 " To these I showed the melancholy state of the members of the 
 established Church, who are the most unprincipled and ignorant of all 
 that are called Protestants ; and therefore exposed to every seducer 
 who thinks it worth his while to turn them Dissenters, Moravians, or 
 Papists. I told them, of all the members of the Church of England, 
 the poor Methodists are most exposed, because serious, and therefore 
 worth stealing ; and of all the Methodists, those of Manchester are in 
 the greatest danger, because the most unsettled and unadvisable. I 
 challenged them to show me one Methodist who had ever prospered 
 by turning Dissenter. I asked what would become of them when my 
 brother should die ? whether they would not then be scattered, and 
 broken into twenty sects, old and new? To prevent this, I advised 
 them, 1 . To get grace, or the love and power of God, which alone 
 could keep and stablish their hearts. 2. To continue in all the means 
 of obtaining this, especially the word, and prayer of all kinds ; to read 
 the Scriptures daily, to go constantly to church and sacrament. 
 
 " Our brother Johnson tells me, since he sent the people back to 
 church, two have received forgiveness in the prayers there, and two 
 more in the sermon of a Church minister. There are now three sound 
 preachers in these parts. If they continue steadfast, they may undo 
 the great evil which the unsound preachers have done, and confirm 
 our children in their calling. 
 
 " I cannot leave them in so unsettled a condition ; and therefore in- 
 tend, with God's leave, to spend another week among them. I talked 
 with the leaders, and earnestly pressed them to set an example to the 
 flock, by walking in all the commandments and ordinances. 
 
 " Oct. 22d. After preaching I talked with several of the society, 
 particularly a young woman, who seemed quite overwhelmed with the 
 love of Christ, which she received yesterday in private prayer. I went 
 to St. Anne's prayers, and thence to the room. We began our first 
 hour of intercession. Many more than we expected were present. I 
 gave an exhortation, showing the end of our meeting every Friday, as 
 Englishmen, and members of the Church of England, to deprecate the 
 national judgments, and to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I have 
 rarely known so solemn an assembly. They were pleased to hear 
 that we design to continue meeting every week. 
 
 * I went thence to seek that which was lost : poor H. 0. He made
 
 538 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 me very happy by his misery, and restlessness to return. Once more 
 I trust, there will be joy in heaven over him. 
 
 " I began in the evening to expound the whole armour of God, Eph. vi 
 After I had done, the famous Mr. Ball lifted up his voice ; and a mag- 
 nificent voice it was. I bade our people depart in peace, which they 
 did. The enemy roared some time in the midst of the room, (not 
 congregation,) threatening me for scandalizing him, and depriving his 
 family of their bread. I believe he is defrauded of his prey, through 
 my coming in ipso temporis articulo, [at the very point of time,] when 
 he promised himself a good provision out of our society. No wonder 
 Satan rages at his disappointment. 
 
 " I met the society in calm love. There was no further need of my 
 mentioning Satan's apostle ; for he had sufficiently showed himself. 
 The snare is thereby broken, and the simple souls delivered. I lov- 
 ingly exhorted them to stand fast in one mind, and one spirit, in the 
 old paths, or ways of God's appointing. Henceforth they will not be- 
 lieve every spirit. The Lord stablish their hearts with grace ! 
 
 " Experience convinces me, more and more, that the Methodists can 
 never prosper, or even stand their ground, unless they continue stead- 
 fast in the ordinances. The society here used to be scattered on the 
 Lord's day, in the fields, or sleeping in their houses. This invited all 
 the beasts of the forest to devour them. Suffice the time that is past. 
 We are not ignorant now of Satan's devices. 
 
 " Oct. 23d. I proceeded to expound the whole armour of God. We 
 were a little too early for Mr. Ball and his friends : two of whom last 
 night had laid violent hands on me. One was a sister of ours, till her 
 curiosity betrayed her into the hands of Mr. Ball. 
 
 " I breakfasted at brother Barlow's, and rejoiced in the remembrance 
 of his blessed sister, now in glory. For seven years she adorned the 
 gospel in all things. 
 
 " I took horse with brother Phillips for Hatfield, which we reached 
 by one. The sun shone all day without a cloud, to the great comfort 
 of the poor husbandmen. I found at Hatfield just such a family as was 
 once at Fonmon-castle. The master indeed was absent, but had left 
 word that his church and house expected me. 
 
 " I preached at seven to a houseful of the parishioners, on, ' Repent 
 ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when 
 the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.' 
 They bore my plain speaking. The awakened were much comforted. 
 
 " The voice of joy and thanksgiving is in the habitations of the 
 righteous. I thought I was got back to Mr. Jones's castle. We con- 
 tinued our triumph two hours longer, and could hardly part at last, and 
 not without grudging our bodies their necessary rest.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 539 
 
 " Sunday, Oct. 24th. I spent from seven to eight in advising and 
 
 praying with the sincere, whom Mr. B has divided into classes, 
 
 like ours. I read prayers at ten, and preached the one thing needful. 
 The Lord filled my mouth with awakening words. I never spake more 
 convincingly. All seemed to feel the sharp two-edged sword. The 
 church was fuller than was ever known in a morning ; but in the after- 
 noon it was crowded, every corner of it. Indeed the Scripture comes 
 with double weight to me in a church. If any pity me for my bigotry, 
 I pity them for their blind prejudice, which robs them of so many bless- 
 ings. My text was Lam. i, 12. The love of Christ crucified melted 
 many hearts. I addressed myself by turns to the unawakened, the 
 sincere, and the backsliders. For an hour God enabled me to speak 
 with convincing and comforting power. After the psalm I began again, 
 and recapitulated the whole. Why does God always accompany the 
 word with a double blessing, when preached in a church ? Is it a sign 
 that he is leaving, or that he is returning to it ? I have never been 
 more assisted, since I left Bristol, than in this church, and Mr. Crook's, 
 and Mr. Williamson's. Those of the Methodist preachers who have 
 faith and patience, may by and by have all the churches in England 
 opened to them. I got another blessed, lively hour with the society. 
 Then my whole stock of strength was exhausted. 
 
 " Oct. 25th. From six to seven I warned them, with many tears, 
 tasting the bitterness of life, and the various ills we are still to be 
 brought through. By eleven I returned to Manchester. Here I re- 
 joiced to hear of the great good Mr. White field has done in our socie- 
 ties. He preached as universally as my brother. He warned them 
 everywhere against apostacy, and strongly insisted on the necessity of 
 holiness after justification ; illustrating it with this comparison : ' What 
 good would the king's pardon do a poor malefactor, dying of a fever ? 
 So, notwithstanding you have received forgiveness, unless the disease 
 of your nature be healed by holiness, ye can never be saved.' He beat 
 down the separating spirit ; highly commended the prayers and ser- 
 vices of our Church ; charged our people to meet their bands and 
 classes constantly ; and never to leave the Methodists, or God would 
 leave them. In a word, he did his utmost to strengthen our hands ; 
 and deserves the thanks of all the churches for his abundant labour 
 of love. 
 
 " I consulted the leaders, what could be done for this unstable people. 
 Richard Barlow and the rest ascribed their fickleness to their neglect 
 of the means, particularly going to church ; ' and when we advised 
 them to it, they would answer us, The preachers do not advise us to go ; 
 neither do they go themselves. Nay, some spoke against it, even Chris- 
 topher Hopper, and those we most confided in.'
 
 540 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " Oct. 26th. My former friend, Mr. Clayton, read prayers at the old 
 church with great solemnity. Richard Lucas, returned from Bolton, 
 informed me, that John Hampson had been scattering his fire-brands 
 there also, mocking the people for going to the church. What should 
 hinder him from providing for himself and growing family, when oppor- 
 tunity serves, by following Mr. Edwards's example ? Or what security 
 can we have that all the preachers of his mind will not do the same ? 
 
 " I spent the day in writing letters at sister Fanshaw's, whom I have 
 received again into the fold. She had never left us in heart ; but the 
 cares of the world interrupted her outward fellowship. She seems now 
 resolved to live and die with the poor afflicted people of God. 
 
 " I made up a quarrel of many months' standing between two sisters. 
 The occasion of it was absolutely nothing. Such is the subtlety of our 
 adversary. 
 
 " After preaching I examined three of the most wavering classes, 
 and persuaded all, except the Dissenters, to go back to church and 
 sacrament. The treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. 
 Even before our departure the grievous wolves have entered in, not 
 sparing the flock. How much more after our departure will men arise 
 of themselves, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after 
 them ! 
 
 " Oct 27th. I preached from Rom. vi, 22 : ' But now, being made 
 free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holi- 
 ness, and the end everlasting life.' The Lord confirmed his word with 
 a double blessing. 
 
 " I went with John Haughton to the old church, as usual. 1 
 preached at six ; then met, and lovingly reproved, the society. I talked 
 with more of the classes, and could find only two who would not take 
 advice. Amalek had smote the hindmost ; so I let Amalek take them : 
 at least, while they prefer Mr. Ball to all the Methodists. The rest, a 
 few Dissenters excepted, determined to live and die with us in the 
 communion of the Church of England. 
 
 " Oct. 28th. Mr. Fanshaw dragged his feeble body to the early 
 preaching. After all his wanderings and backslidings, we have re- 
 ceived him again, as we trust, for ever. I preached at noon near 
 Davyhulme, with great enlargement, to a simple-hearted people, who 
 made me some amends for my long exercise at Manchester. I passed 
 the remainder of the day with some Manchester friends, who are not 
 of the society. The unsteadiness of our children has kept many from 
 venturing among us. 
 
 " We began our watch-night exactly at seven, and concluded a 
 quarter before eleven. Hereby we had more time, with less inconve- 
 nience : and the whole congregation stayed from first to last. I ex-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 541 
 
 pounded the ten virgins. The solemn power of God rested upon us. 
 It was one of the happiest nights I have known. 
 
 "I was constrained to write the following letters : — 
 
 a " ' TO MR. GRIMSHAW. 
 
 " ' Manchester, Oct. 29th. I could not leave this poor shattered 
 society so soon as I proposed. They have not had fair play from our 
 sons in the gospel ; but have been scattered by them as sheep upon 
 the mountains. I have once more persuaded them to go to church and 
 sacrament, and stay to carry them thither the next Lord's day. 
 
 " ' Nothing but grace can keep our children, after our departure, from 
 running into a thousand sects, a thousand errors. Grace exercised, 
 kept up, and increased, in the use of all the means, especially family 
 and public prayer, and the sacrament, will keep them steady. Let us 
 labour, while we continue here, to ground and build them up in the 
 Scriptures, and all the ordinances. Teach them to handle well the 
 sword of the Spirit, and the shield of faith. Should I live to see you 
 again, I trust you will assure me, there is not a member of all the 
 societies but reads the Scriptures daily, uses private prayer, joins in 
 family and public worship, and communicates constantly. In those is 
 continuance, and we shall be saved.' 
 
 " < TO MY BELOVED BRETHREN AT LEEDS. 
 
 " ' Grace and peace be multiplied ! I thank my God on your behalf, 
 for the grace which is given unto you, by which ye stand fast in one 
 mind, and in one spirit. My Master, I am persuaded, sent me imto 
 you at this time, to confirm your souls in the present truth, in your call- 
 ing, in the old paths of gospel ordinances. O that ye may be a pattern 
 to the flock, for your unanimity and love ! O that ye may continue 
 steadfast in the word, and in fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and 
 in prayers, (private, family, and public,) till we all meet around the 
 great white throne ! 
 
 " ' I knew beforehand, that the Sanballats and Tobiahs would be 
 grieved when they heard there was a man come, to seek the welfare 
 of the Church of England. I expected they would pervert my words, 
 as if I should say, The Church could save you. So indeed you and they 
 thought till I and my brethren taught you better, and sent you in and 
 through all the means to Jesus Christ. But let not their slanders move 
 you. Continue in the old ship. Jesus hath a favour for our Church, 
 and is wonderfully visiting and reviving his work in her. It shall be 
 shortly said, Rejoice ye vnth Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that 
 love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her. Isaiah 
 lxvi, 10.
 
 542 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 .; ( 
 
 Blessed be God, ye see your calling. Let nothing hinder your 
 going constantly to church and sacrament. Read the Scriptures daily 
 in your families ; and let there bp a church in every house. The word 
 is able to build you up ; and if ye watch and pray always, ye shall be 
 counted worthy to stand before the Son of man. Watch ye, therefore ; 
 stand fast in the faith ; quit yourselves like men ; be strong : let all 
 your things be done in love. 
 
 " ' I rejoice in hope of presenting you all in that day. Look up ; for 
 the time of your eternal redemption draweth near.' 
 
 " As the people here leave work at twelve, we pitched upon that hour 
 for our intercession. Many flocked to the house of mourning; and 
 again the Lord was in the midst of us, making soft our hearts, and 
 helping our infirmity to pray. We never want faith in praying for King 
 George, and the Church of England. 
 
 " I recovered another straggler, as I do every day. The enemy has 
 had a particular grudge to this society. His first messenger to them 
 was a still sister, who abounded in visions and revelations. She came 
 to them as in the name of the Lord, and forbad them to pray, sing, or 
 go to church. Her extravagance, at last, opened their eyes, and 
 delivered them from the snare of Mysticism. Then the Quakers, Pre- 
 destinarians, the Dippers, desired to have them, to sift them like wheat. 
 They were afterward thrust sore at by Mr. Bennet, Williams, Wheat- 
 ley, Cudworth, Whitford, Ball. It is a miracle that two of them are 
 left together : yet I am persuaded the third part will be brought through 
 the fire. 
 
 " I examined more of the society. Most of them have known the 
 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Several received it at church : one, 
 in the Litany ; another, in the Lord's prayer. With that word, ' Thy 
 kingdom come,' Christ came into his heart. To many he has been 
 made known in the breaking of bread. 
 
 " Oct. 30th. I dined with my candid friend and censor, Dr. Byrom. 
 I stood close to Mr. Clayton in the church ; (as all the week past ;) but 
 not a look would he cast toward me, 
 
 ' So stiff was his parochial pride,' 
 
 and so faithfully did he keep a covenant with his eyes, not to look upon 
 an old friend when called a Methodist. 
 
 " Sunday, Oct. 31st. I spake from five to seven with the rest of the 
 classes. I left out Richard Glover, with his second wife, whom he has 
 married, contrary to my advice, when his first was scarce cold in her 
 grave. This scandalous practice, seldom named among the heathen, 
 should never be tolerated among Christians. I refused tickets to James
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 543 
 
 and Elizabeth Ridgworth, till they should have enough of Mr. Ball. 
 All the others were willing to follow my advice, and go constantly to 
 church and sacrament. The Dissenters I sent to their respective 
 meetings. 
 
 " At seven I found freedom to explain and enforce Isaiah lxiv. 5 : 
 1 In those is continuance, and we shall be saved.' It struck eight before 
 I had got half through my subject. I breakfasted with a wanderer, 
 and brought him back to his brethren. We were all at the old church ; 
 heard a good sermon from Mr. Clayton, on constant prayer ; and joined 
 
 to commemorate our dying Lord. Mr. M , the senior chaplain, 
 
 sent for me up to the table, to administer first to me, with the other 
 clergy. I know not when I have received a greater blessing. The 
 addition of fourscore communicants made them consecrate twice or 
 thrice. A few of our Dissenting brethren communicated with us, and 
 confessed to me afterward, that the Lord met them at his table. It 
 was a passover much to be remembered. We renewed our solemn 
 covenant with God, and received fresh strength to run the race set 
 before us. 
 
 " I dined at Adam Oldham's. The first was become last, but is now, 
 I hope, becoming first again. I re-admitted both him and his wife into 
 the society, with several others, who were fallen off. 
 
 " From the new church I walked to our crowded room, and once 
 more preached up the ordinances. Now the long-delayed blessing 
 came. The skies, as it were, poured down righteousness. The words 
 I spoke were not my own : therefore they made their way into many 
 hearts. I received double power to exhort the society, now upward 
 of one hundred and fifty members, and believed for them, that they will 
 henceforth walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord 
 blameless. 
 
 " Nov. 1st. I met about a score of the Dissenters at four, and admi- 
 nistered the Lord's supper, to the great consolation of us all. I took 
 my leave in the promise we wait for, ' I will bring a third part through 
 the fire,' and left a blessing behind me. Mr. Phillips attended me as 
 far as Stone. The heavens smiled upon us all day. 
 
 " Nov. 2d. I took horse at seven, and came safe by two to my old 
 friend Francis Ward, in Wednesbury. At night I enforced the divine 
 counsel, Isaiah xxvi, 20, 21. I found much freedom of love among my 
 oldest children ; and they readily received my warnings ; which I re- 
 peated the next morning from Psalm xlvi. I employed the morning in 
 visiting the sick and shut up. Three or four stragglers I gathered in. 
 I comforted our sister Spittle, left with five small children, by her hus- 
 band, who was lately killed in a coal-pit, by the earth falling in. No 
 death could be sudden to him. John Eaton was killed by falling into
 
 544 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 a pit. His daughter Edge told me she was warned by a repeated 
 dream of his death, and begged him in vain not to go out that morning. 
 While I was talking to her a woman came in, and accosted me in such 
 a bold, violent manner, that I told her I did not like her spirit. This 
 raised and called it forth. She quickly showed herself a Nicolaitane, 
 by her boisterous, shocking, Antinomian assurance. I told her she 
 was a false witness for God ; to which she horribly answered, ' If I 
 am a liar, God himself is a liar.' I shut up the discourse with, ' Get 
 thee behind me, Satan !' 
 
 " I was much assisted both at one and at seven, to warn many listen- 
 ing souls of the flood coming. There was great life in the society. 
 All the first, I am confident, shall not become last. 
 
 " Nov. 4th. I left that promise upon their hearts, ' I will bring the 
 third part through the fire,' and took horse with James Jones. I en- 
 couraged the remnant at Birmingham with the same words, and rode 
 on to Worcester. 
 
 " About a score I had left here some years ago ; twelve of whom 
 are fallen off to the Quakers, seeking the living among the dead. I 
 described the last times to between forty and fifty at sister Black- 
 more's ; and it was a solemn time of refreshing. Nov. 5th. I set out 
 before day with faithful John Dornford. I lodged at Cambridge Inn, 
 and by eleven on Saturday morning, Nov. 6th, God brought me safe to 
 my friends at Bristol." 
 
 Here Mr. Charles Wesley's private journal entirely fails us. Whe- 
 ther he continued it after this date is uncertain. If he did, no vestige 
 of it appears to have been preserved. 
 
 This record which he has left of his visit to Yorkshire and Lanca- 
 shire suggests many topics of remark. It is easy to perceive that the 
 travelling preachers were very inadequately provided for, especially 
 those of them who had families ; so that they were under strong in- 
 ducements to retire from their itinerancy, and become Independent 
 ministers, whenever they met with a sufficient number of people who 
 were willing to put themselves under their pastoral care. Not a few 
 of the Methodists were inclined to do this, because they were denied 
 the sacraments in their own meeting-houses, and were expected to 
 attend divine worship, especially the Lord's supper, in their parish 
 churches, when they had little or no sympathy with the officiating 
 clergy, or the clergy with them. 
 
 That some of the preachers were in the habit of speaking disrespect- 
 fully of the Church and its ministers, and thus strengthened among the 
 people the feeling of alienation from the Establishment, there can be 
 no doubt ; although there is every reason to believe that some of the 
 accounts of this kind which were given to Mr. Charles Wesley were
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 545 
 
 greatly exaggerated. The entire blame, however, did not rest with 
 them ; for several of the preachers were as sincere Churchmen as the 
 Wesleys themselves, and assiduously laboured to preserve the socie- 
 ties in their original position, as members of the Church of England. 
 They regularly attended her services, and exhorted the people to fol- 
 low their example. 
 
 Besides, it appears distinctly from Mr. Charles Wesley's own nar- 
 rative, that Mr. Grimshaw's societies fell as readily into the hands of 
 the Dissenters as did any of the societies that were solely under the 
 care of the Methodist preachers. This devout and zealous clergyman 
 was a Churchman after Charles Wesley's own heart. He itinerated 
 extensively, and formed religious societies, which he regularly visited, 
 particularly on the week-days. Those of them that lived contiguously 
 to Haworth, so that they could attend his spiritual ministrations on the 
 Lord's day, -and receive the Lord's supper at his hands, gladly remained 
 in union with the established Church ; but many of those who had not 
 these advantages, though urg^d by Mr. Grimshaw, whom they esteemed 
 and tenderly loved as their father in the Lord, to seek edification in 
 their own parish churches, declined his advice, and chose rather to 
 become Dissenters, as did not a few of the people who were more im- 
 mediately under the care of the Wesleys. 
 
 These facts appear fairly to justify the opinion, that had the Method- 
 ists continued permanently to act upon their original plan, compelling 
 the people to receive the Lord's supper from the clergy, or neglect one 
 of the most sacred duties of their Christian profession, and refusing 
 them the privilege of divine service in their own places of worship 
 during the best part of the sabbath, the same results would have fol- 
 lowed. Methodism, ere this time, would have strengthened the cause 
 of Dissent beyond all bounds, through a mistaken attempt to uphold 
 the Church. Many of the Methodists of those times were made Dis- 
 senters, not by theories opposed to the episcopal form of church govern- 
 ment, or to the union of the Church with the state ; but by a regard for 
 their own spiritual edification, for which, in many instances, the Church 
 did not provide ; her public and authorized functionaries lacking the 
 true spirit of their sacred calling. 
 
 In the times of which we are speaking no plan was devised for per- 
 petuating the union of the Methodist societies, and for preserving the 
 doctrine and discipline of the connection, when Mr. John Wesley should 
 be no more ; and Charles was apprehensive that, whenever this event 
 should happen, many of the preachers would become Independent mi- 
 nisters, and the societies Dissenting churches, with every variety of 
 creed. His fears were justified by the unsettled state of the body, 
 and by facts which had recently occurred. There was no power of 
 
 35
 
 546 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 discipline, but in Mr. John Wesley ; and Mr. Bennet, Skelton, Ed- 
 wards, and Whitford, after having been admitted into the itinerant mi- 
 nistry, had all raised Independent churches out of the societies, and 
 thus provided for their future subsistence and comfort by a betrayal of 
 their trust. If cases of this kind occurred with such frequency while 
 Mr. Wesley lived, what, could be expected after his decease, but a dis- 
 ruption of the societies which had been raised at a vast expense of 
 labour and personal suffering? It was " the Deed of Declaration," 
 which was prepared several years after this period, giving an identity 
 and a legal character to the Conference, and investing that body 
 with the power of government in the connection, that confirmed the 
 union of the preachers ; and the concession of the sacraments, and of 
 divine service in church hours, by the conference, that preserved the 
 oneness and consequent strength of the societies. But these were 
 arrangements of which none of the parties at this early period of 
 Methodism had any conception. Mr. John Wesley directed all his 
 energies to the increase and edification of the societies, discounte- 
 nancing all direct separation from the Church ; but still making strict 
 Churchmanship subordinate to conversion from sin, and to personal 
 piety. He durst not neglect that which he felt to be his present duty, 
 because of any evils that might accidentally arise from his labours 
 after his death. The advancement of spiritual religion, as the great 
 end of human existence and redemption, and productive of a pure mo- 
 rality, was the one business of his life. The ultimate separation of 
 his societies from the Church, or their union with it, he left to God. 
 Unless the people were made holy, he was assured that they must for 
 ever perish ; but he had not the same assurance respecting their non- 
 conformity to any particular system of church order. Charles was 
 equally alive to the necessity of entire holiness, as a qualification with- 
 out which no man shall see the Lord ; but he often spoke and acted as 
 if he thought Churchmanship essential to piety and salvation. 
 
 According to Mr. Charles Wesley's account, the Methodist society in 
 Manchester had been tried by " false brethren," and erroneous tenets, 
 almost beyond example. The Quakers, Quietists, Predestinarians, 
 and Baptists, had all attempted to gain proselytes from among them. 
 The deserters, Bennet and Whitford, both endeavoured to unsettle the 
 minds of their former friends. Williams, Cud worth, Wheatley, and 
 Ball followed in their rear. Williams, it will be recollected, was the 
 man who basely attempted in London to ruin Mr. Charles Wesley's 
 moral character, by the propagation of the most wicked falsehoods, be- 
 cause Charles would not assist him in his endeavours to obtain epis- 
 copal ordination. Cudworth, who had separated from Mr. Whitefield, 
 was in doctrine a thorough Antinomian, and in spirit bitter, self-com- 
 
 3k5*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 547 
 
 placent, and contemptuous. Wkeatley was as corrupt in doctrine as 
 Cudworth ; and his morals were as bad as his creed. Roger Ball was 
 perhaps the worst person in the unholy fraternity. He contended that 
 a man who possesses faith has a right to every thing in the world ; 
 so that in him theft is no sin, if he really need the things which he 
 steals. Other principles he held which are too disgusting to be spe- 
 cified. Mr. Charles Wesley, therefore, who knew the man and his 
 communications, did nothing more than his duty, when he resisted this 
 " messenger of Satan," who came with a smooth tongue, and all the 
 deceivableness of unrighteousness. Ball and Wheatley as richly de- 
 served to be punished by the civil magistrate, as did ever culprit that 
 was publicly whipped or placed in the pillory. By a whining soft- 
 ness of manner they tried, where their own characters were unknown, 
 to obtain a morsel of bread among religious people ; and " destroyed 
 souls for the sake of dishonest gain." These immoral men, the slaves 
 of brutal appetite, hung upon the skirts of the Methodist societies, as 
 unclean birds follow in the rear of an army. Nor is it any uncommon 
 thing, " when the sons of God assemble," for " Satan also to appear 
 among them." In the apostolic times bad men laboured to counteract 
 the effects of evangelical preaching ; and when it pleased God to re- 
 vive Christianity in its life and spirit, by the labours of the Wesleys 
 and Mr. Whitefield, emissaries of the wicked one exerted themselves 
 to obstruct the spread of practical holiness. A few of the Manchester 
 Methodists were perverted in the day of trial ; but others, " hated" 
 both " the deeds" and tenets " of the Nicolaitanes." They " tried those 
 who said they were apostles, and were not ;" and having " found them 
 liars," spurned both them and their polluting errors. 
 
 The account which Mr. Charles Wesley has given of Mr. Clay- 
 ton is amusing. This gentleman was one of the Oxford Methodists, 
 and afterward a fellow of the Collegiate church in Manchester. In 
 attending the daily prayers, Charles placed himself as near his old 
 friend as he could ; but not a look would the unbending ecclesiastic 
 cast upon his former associate, who had now rendered himself vile by 
 assuming the character of a field-preacher. When Charles Stuart ar- 
 rived in Manchester, in the rebellion of 1745, Mr. Clayton paid his 
 respects to this exiled claimant of the British crown. For this act of 
 disloyalty to the house of Brunswick the Jacobitical clergyman was for 
 some time placed under suspension by his bishop. He was stiff in his 
 Churchmanship, but an upright and respectable man. By the senior 
 inhabitants of Manchester he is still remembered. They speak of his 
 dignified gait, and enormous wig, as well as of the deep seriousness and 
 the canonical regularity with which he performed his clerical duties.
 
 548 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI, 
 
 It is generally understood that after Mr. Charles Wesley had re- 
 turned from Yorkshire and Lancashire, in the autumn of 1756, he 
 ceased to itinerate as a preacher of the gospel. Whether this opinion 
 is strictly correct or not, we have no means of knowing. Certain, 
 however, it is, that, if he did at all continue his labours as a travelling 
 preacher, his journeys became less and less frequent and extensive, till 
 his ministrations were chiefly confined to Bristol and London, with 
 occasional visits to some intermediate and surrounding places. 
 
 The reasons for this change in his practice have never been fully dis- 
 closed. It is probable that they were various ; but in the absence of all 
 direct evidence, we have nothing but conjecture to offer. Not a document 
 in his handwriting, bearing the date of 1757, when he is said to have 
 become stationary, can be found ; nor even the fragment of a letter, of 
 the same period, addressed to him by his brother : so that no original 
 testimony bearing upon the question can be adduced. Mr. Berridge, 
 the eccentric vicar of Everton, who was partly contemporary with him, 
 attributes the cessation of his itinerancy to his marriage : but this could 
 only be one among other causes ; for he had now been married more 
 than seven years ; and during this period he had travelled much, some- 
 times with his wife, and at other times in her absence, although his jour- 
 neys were not so long and widely circuitous as they formerly were. A 
 regard for the feelings and the society of his wife, with the care of his 
 children, doubtless contributed to detain him at home ; yet the principal 
 cause of his settlement, in all probability, was, the state of feeling which 
 existed in many of the societies and preachers with regard to the 
 national Church. He deemed it a matter of absolute duty, that they 
 should all remain in strict communion with her. His brother thought 
 separation highly inexpedient ; but he could not view it in that heinous 
 light in which it appeared to Charles. In reference to this subject he 
 was therefore inclined to moderate counsels, and satisfied himself with 
 gentleness and persuasion in dealing with those who were disaffected 
 toward the Establishment ; while Charles was prepared for the adop- 
 tion of strong and compulsive measures. Here was therefore an ob- 
 vious difficulty. Charles could not visit the principal societies in Great 
 Britain and Ireland as a mere friend, or as one of the preachers. He 
 must appear as possessing a co-ordinate authority with his brother ; 
 and as their views differed so very materially, they could not, in regu- 
 lating the affairs of the societies, act in perfect concert. Hence he 
 appears to have thought it the best course for him to retire, and leave 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 549 
 
 the people and preachers generally in the hands of John, whose talents 
 for government were of the highest order. Charles could write hymns 
 with a facility and a power which no man of his age could equal ; and 
 few could surpass him as an awakening and effective preacher ; but he 
 had no aptitude for controlling and harmonizing the discordant spirits 
 of men. For the maintenance of discipline in cases of difficulty his 
 faculties and habits were not at all suited. His uprightness, generosity, 
 and the kindness of his heart were unquestionable ; but his impetuosity 
 created prejudice, and left a soreness in the minds which his brother 
 could easily conciliate and direct. Though he ceased to travel, his 
 union with the Methodists remained to the end of his life ; and he 
 rendered most important service to the cause of true religion, though in 
 a more limited sphere than he had been accustomed to occupy. He 
 still cultivated his talent for poetry ; and the numerous publications 
 which he sent forth into the world possessed a rich and substantial value. 
 
 The societies of London and Bristol were highly favoured in retain- 
 ing the ministrations of such a man : but the loss to the other societies 
 was great ; for he usually carried a blessing with him wherever he 
 went. Few men in modern times have more fully exemplified the pe- 
 culiar characteristics of the eloquent Apollos. He was indeed " fervent 
 in spirit," and " mighty in the Scriptures ;" and by the resistless en- 
 ergy of his preaching, he " mightily convinced" the adversaries of 
 Christ, with formalists and triflers, of every description. His power 
 in prayer was equally striking. 
 
 The effect of his retirement from the itinerancy was the reverse of 
 favourable, so far as he was personally concerned. His mind was 
 naturally inclined to view things in a gloomy and discouraging aspect ; 
 but amidst the excitement, the change, and the toil of the itinerant 
 ministry, he had no time to be melancholy, however he might be con- 
 stitutionally disposed to indulge that morbid feeling. The manifest, 
 success which attended his preaching filled him with unutterable grati- 
 tude ; and while all liis powers were engaged in his work, he enjoyed 
 a heaven upon earth. When he ceased to travel he was at leisure to 
 cherish his painful forebodings ; croakers and busy-bodies tormented 
 him with letters, complaining of the ambition of the preachers, and of 
 the alienation of the people from the Church ; and the pernicious leaven 
 of Mysticism, which he had imbibed at Oxford, and from which his 
 mind had never been thoroughly purged, regained its ascendency over 
 him, so as often to interfere with his spiritual enjoyments : yet his 
 piety and integrity of purpose Avere unimpeachable. Often was he in 
 agonies of fear lest the Methodists should leave the Church, when he 
 and his brother were dead ; while John was as happy as an angel, 
 flying through the three kingdoms, sounding the trumpet of the world's
 
 550 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 jubilee, and joyfully witnessing, every successive year, the steady 
 advancement of the work of God. ■ 
 
 In the course of the year 1758 Mr. John Wesley published "Rea- 
 sons against a Separation from the Church of England ;" copied chiefly 
 from the manuscript treatise on that subject, which Mr. Walker had 
 advised him not to publish. The " Reasons" are twelve in number, 
 and are proposed in a spirit the most mild and conciliatory. Their 
 character is clearly indicated by the sentence which introduces them : 
 " Whether it be lawful or no, (which itself may be disputed, being not 
 so clear a point as some may imagine,) it is by no means expedient, for 
 us to separate from the Church of England." To the " Reasons" are 
 subjoined several seasonable advices, with answers to various pleas and 
 objections. " We ought never," it is said, " to make her blemishes 
 matter of diversion, but rather of solemn sorrow before God. We 
 ought never to talk ludicrously of them ; no, nor at all, without clear 
 necessity. Rather, we should conceal them, as far as ever we can, 
 without bringing guilt upon our own conscience. And we should all 
 use every rational and Scriptural means, to bring others to the same 
 temper and behaviour." " It would be well for every Methodist 
 preacher, who has no scruple concerning it, to attend the service of the 
 Church as often as he conveniently can." 
 
 Such was the moderation of John's counsels. Charles took higher 
 ground. He affixed the following postcript to his brother's pamphlet : — 
 " I think myself bound in duty to add my testimony to my brother's. 
 His twelve reasons against our ever separating from the Church of 
 England are mine also. I subscribe to them with all my heart. Only, 
 Avith regard to the first ; I am quite clear that it is neither expedient nor 
 lavjful for me to separate ; and I never had the least inclination or 
 temptation so to do. My affection for the Church is as strong as ever ; 
 and I clearly see my calling ; which is, to live and die in her com- 
 munion. This, therefore, I am determined to do, the Lord being my 
 helper. 
 
 " I have subjoined the hymns for the lay-preachers ; still further to 
 secure this end, to cut off all jealousy and suspicion from our friends, 
 or hope from our enemies, of our having any design of ever separating 
 from the Church. I have no secret reserve, or distant thought of it. 
 I never had. Would to God all the Methodist preachers were, in this 
 respect, like-minded with Charles Wesley." 
 
 The hymns here referred to are seven in number ; and most of them 
 are of considerable length. They Avere appended to Mr. Wesley's 
 " Reasons," when published in a separate pamphlet ; and are strongly 
 descriptive of the fallen state of the established Church, with regard to 
 doctrine, discipline, and morals, and of that spirit -of zeal, devotion, and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 551 
 
 self-denial by which the early Methodist preachers were distinguished. 
 The writer speaks of those irregular evangelists as being " not of the 
 sacred order ;" yet he distinctly acknowledges their divine call to the 
 work in which they were employed. 
 
 In the spring of this year, 1758, Mr. Charles Wesley had a severe 
 fall, from which, at the time, dangerous consequences were appre- 
 hended. With the particulars of the case we are not acquainted. He 
 refers to it in the following letter to his friend William Perronet, a son 
 of the vicar of Shoreham, and a medical practitioner. From the effects 
 of this disaster he seems to have thought that he should never fully 
 recover. 
 
 " Bristol, March 25th, 1758. Dear Will, — I expected to have seen 
 you before this time; but a severe fall has stopped me for a season. 
 Mr. Ford blooded me the next day ; and Dr. Middleton, and a troop of 
 female surgeons, joined in consultation about me. I cannot stoop with- 
 out pain ; neither do I expect a perfect cure in this world. So much 
 for my (important) self. 
 
 " Your last but one mentions ' business, and variety of company, as 
 a remedy for your dejection of spirits.' Strange that one who has tasted 
 the true medicine of life should talk so idly ! If you have forsaken the 
 Fountain, in vain do you hew out broken cisterns. They can hold no 
 water. Despair of help, till you recover your first love. Acquaint 
 yourself again wilh Christ, and be at peace. I pray God deliver you 
 from every show and shadow of happiness, and keep you miserable, till 
 you see and find happiness in him !" 
 
 A few days after this letter was written Mr. Charles Wesley took 
 his final leave of that very surprising man, Thomas Walsh, who passed 
 through Bristol, on his way from London to Ireland, there to suffer and 
 die. As he has been subjected to unmerited censure, as being one 
 direct cause of those distressing mental conflicts which Mr. Walsh en- 
 dured in his last illness, it will be requisite carefully to examine the 
 facts of the case. Those conflicts are most affectingly described by 
 Mr. Walsh's biographer ; and the reasons of them are thus stated by 
 the Rev. Melvill Home : — 
 
 " Soon after his ordination, Mr. Fletcher preached a sermon at West 
 street chapel, in which he made some remarks on the dying hours of 
 good men. He supposed, that some comparatively weak believers 
 might die most blessedly ; and some strong ones, for the further purifi- 
 cation of their faith, or for reasons inscrutable to us, might have tre- 
 mendous conflicts. At the meeting of the bands, that excellent man, 
 Mr. Thomas Walsh, opposed this doctrine, and told him, he thought it
 
 552 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 bore hard against God's justice, faithfulness, and covenant love to his 
 servants. Mr. Fletcher modestly observed, that God's wisdom was 
 sovereign and inscrutable ; and though he was sorry he had given 
 offence, yet he could not, with a good conscience, retract what he had 
 said. With some degree of warmth, (the constitutional failing of Mr. 
 Walsh,) he replied, ' Be it done unto you according to your faith ; and 
 be it done unto me according to mine !' Here the matter rested. In 
 about two years Mr. Walsh died ; and so very severe were his dying 
 conflicts, that they produced a very strong sensation among his brethren, 
 and in none more than in Mr. Fletcher. In April, 1759, he wrote thus 
 to Mr. Charles Wesley : — ' With a heart bowed down with grief, and 
 eyes bathed in tears, occasioned by our late heavy loss, I mean the 
 death of Mr. W T alsh, I take my pen to pray you to intercede for me. 
 What ! that sincere, laborious, and zealous servant of God ! was he 
 saved only as by fire ? And was not his prayer heard till the twelfth 
 hour was just expired ? O where shall I appear ? I who am an unpro- 
 fitable servant ? Would to God my eyes were fountains of water, to 
 weep for my sins ! Would to God I might pass the rest of my days in 
 crying, Lord, have mercy upon me ! All is vanity, — grace, talents, la- 
 bours, if we compare them with the mighty stride we have to take into 
 eternity.' 
 
 " His own sermon, Mr. W 7 alsh's remarks, and distressing end, made 
 a lasting impression on Mr. Fletcher's mind. Often did he speak of it 
 with amazement to Mrs. Fletcher; and would conclude with saying, 
 ' Be it our care to lead holy lives. The comfort of our deaths Ave must 
 leave with the Lord, who will do all things well.' 
 
 " I need not advert to the triumphant end with which the Lord saw 
 good to croAvn his humble faith ; but in justice to that wonderful man, 
 Mr. Walsh, who, in the short space of nine years, from nineteen to 
 twenty-eight, ran a race of piety and ministerial labour which shames 
 ninety-nine out of a hundred of Christ's ministers, I must undraw a veil 
 which, for certain reasons, Mr. James Morgan thought prudent to draw 
 over the closing hours of his friend, that some clew may be given to 
 what appears inexplicably mysterious. And, no doubt, the knowledge 
 Mr. Fletcher afterward had of the causes which led to, and in some 
 degree explained, the conflicts his friend suffered, did greatly lessen 
 his astonishment. 
 
 " Mr. Walsh had offered his hand to a pious woman, among the 
 Methodists, whom he considered as a widow. She respectfully declined 
 it, saying, though she had not seen her husband for seven years, and 
 had some reason for thinking him dead, yet until she had better autho- 
 rity to go on, she deemed it her duty not to alter her state. In this 
 very sufficient reason Mr. Walsh cheerfully acquiesced. And here the
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 553 
 
 business should have rested. But unhappily the good woman could 
 not keep her own secret. She imparted it to Mr. Wesley, who hated 
 all secrets, and could keep none. Michael Fenwick spread it abroad ; 
 and circumstances were so misrepresented, that Thomas Walsh fell 
 into great and undeserved reproach. His preachings, fastings, hard 
 studies, and the incessant labours of a mind which, like a sharp sword, 
 cuts its scabbard, had brought him far into a consumption. He wished 
 to breathe his native air, and for a while to repose, until he could again 
 resume his labours. He was to embark at Bristol. After preaching 
 till he was bathed in perspiration, Mr. Charles Wesley, to whom every 
 exaggerated report had been made, took him out to walk in private, in 
 a keen east wind. There he got a violent cold, and was distressed 
 beyond measure to be told, that his conduct, in the transaction I have 
 reported, had done more harm to religion than his life and labours had 
 honoured it. Under these trying circumstances of mind, and dangerous 
 state of health, he embarked for Ireland. There he found very unkind 
 family friends, who would dispute with a dying man. His physicians 
 proved unskilful ; and as they could do nothing for him, they declined 
 doing what he proposed. Depressed by disease, labouring under un- 
 merited reproach, severely judged by some he best loved, and grieved 
 to the soul to think religion should be stabbed through his side, his 
 faith fainted, his patience forsook him, and he complained bitterly, ' his 
 physicians were ignorant, and his friends cruel.' Now was the hour 
 of the power of darkness. Satan, who had often fallen before the 
 lightning of his doctrine, and who could not stand against his praying 
 faith, rallied his broken powers, and led them, reinforced by the black 
 troops of death, to a final conflict. 
 
 " The God of patient Job permitted his malice to accuse, and his 
 subtlety for a while to stagger, his dying servant. Driven to the brink 
 of despair, his eye was still raised to Him who was lifted up to draw 
 all men to him. Again joy beamed from his eye, and lighted up his 
 ghastly countenance. He sprang up in his bed, clasped his hands 
 together, and exclaimed, ' My Beloved is mine, and I am his !' Thus 
 died this brave soldier of Jesus Christ." 
 
 Such is Mr. Home's account ; and in the absence of contrary evi- 
 dence, its general truth may be admitted ; especially as Mr. John 
 Wesley says, " There were some circumstances not commonly known, 
 which easily account for the darkness he went through before he went 
 to paradise."* But the view which it gives of Mr. Charles Wesley's 
 conduct in the affair is unquestionably at variance with fact. The most 
 fastidious censor could not find in the part which Mr. Walsh acted any 
 just ground of blame. He understood that the lady was a widow ; and 
 * Works, vol. vi, p. 716.
 
 554 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 when he was told that he was in error, he immediately acquiesced in 
 her decision, and withdrew his suit. What could he do more ? To 
 reprove a dying man, who had long given proof of the utmost purity of 
 character, for a mere mistake, as if he had been guilty of immorality, 
 would have been an outrage upon every principle of charity, justice, 
 and humanity. Happily for Mr. Charles Wesley's memory, we have 
 direct proof that he did not treat his afflicted friend in the cruel and 
 unfeeling manner which is imputed to him. On the contrary, as might 
 have been expected, considering the kindness of his heart, he did every 
 thing in his power to soothe and cheer the suffering man, whose extra- 
 ordinary abilities, and high moral worth, he duly appreciated. During 
 Mr. Walsh's stay in Bristol he showed him every mark of attention 
 and tender sympathy ; he corresponded with him in the same spirit 
 after Mr. Walsh had gone to Ireland ; and, by his affectionate letters, 
 he greatly alleviated the pain and anguish which he could not remove. 
 Of this we have the most unexceptionable proof, — the testimony of Mr. 
 Walsh himself. Two letters, written by him from Ireland, and ad- 
 dressed to Mr. Charles Wesley, have been preserved, as if on purpose 
 to disprove Mr. Home's injurious allegation ; and as they illustrate this 
 part of Mr. Walsh's personal history, as well as that of his friend, they 
 are here given entire. The first was written just after the afflicted 
 man had left Bristol ; the other, six months later. 
 
 "Cork, April 17th, 1758. Rev. and Very Dear Sir,— God has all 
 power ; therefore we arrived safe here on the Saturday next after I left 
 Bristol. We were tossed with tempest ; I may say, ' a day and a 
 night in the deep ;' for the sea ran over the vessel. But, as you 
 prayed, ' Jesus was in the ship.' He was my support, and did 
 strengthen and comfort my heart. O that I could praise and love him, 
 and live more to the glory of his name ! Trials make Christ precious 
 to us. 
 
 " Dear sir, how shall I sufficiently thank you for all your kindness ? 
 I know it is God that gave us union and love. To the prayer of faith 
 nothing is impossible. I trust love will abound. Mr. Hopper is here, 
 and is well, and God has prospered him. Mr. Wesley is still in Dub- 
 lin, but intends to leave it next week. It would give me a singular 
 pleasure to hear from you, and to hear dear Mrs. Wesley and the child 
 are well. When you write to her, I request you would give my best 
 respects, and to any of those good friends I saw at your house, espe- 
 cially Mrs. Grinfield. I find such union with Bristol people as I never 
 found before ; and as to London saints, they are written in my mind. 
 Yet it is very uncertain whether I shall see them till the resurrection 
 of the just. If you please to write to me, direct for me at Mr. Thomas
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 555 
 
 Jones's, Merchant, in Cork. Dear sir, requesting your prayers and 
 advice, I am Your truly affectionate and dutiful son." 
 
 " Rossmead, Oct. 9th, 1758. Rev. and Very Dear Sir, — Your letter 
 was very refreshing to me ; and while I read it the power of God 
 rested on me. But truly I was ashamed that you should speak in such 
 language to me. It is certain I pray earnestly for you, being moved 
 thereto, not by a mere sense of duty, but by hearty love, and a remem- 
 brance of your kindness. 
 
 " My spiritual state is this : First, I have a constant assurance of 
 the Tavour of God. Secondly, A steadfast confidence that my present 
 afflictions will work together for my good. Thirdly, That whenever 
 God calls me hence, Jesus will receive my spirit. Fourthly, I am tried 
 to the uttermost. All the grace God has given me can hardly bear the 
 pains I feel. Indeed my soul is often sorrowful. I grieve, though not 
 enough, that my love to God is so little ; and that I do not desire more 
 earnestly to be with Christ. Yet I live by faith, and constantly pray 
 for submission and thankfulness. In prayer my soul is often enlarged ; 
 and I am led much to pray that the God of patience and consolation 
 would give all his children to be like-minded : I mean chiefly, that they 
 should love one another. Ah, Lord ! why do not thy children love and 
 agree, as thou hast given them commandment, and even prayed that 
 they should? When will thy prayer be answered? Well, blessed 
 Jesus, we shall agree in thy presence. 
 
 " It is long since I wrote a letter ; but you have constrained me. I 
 am worse and worse, as to my disorder. I have a violent cough, pro- 
 fuse night sweats, a high and almost continual fever, wind in my stom- 
 ach : finally, every part is pained in its turn. But to this day the Lord 
 has not shown me clearly whether this sickness be unto death. O that 
 I may be always ready ! My strength fails me. I can only add, a 
 thousand loves and respects to my friends at Bristol. Upon you, my 
 dear sir, and the kind wife of your bosom, and all that belong to you, 
 may the blessing of God for ever abide ! Shall I hear again from you ? 
 I am, Rev. Sir, Your affectionate son. 
 
 " P. S. Dear sir, excuse my putting you to cost. I could not get a 
 frank here ; and I was afraid if I sent the letter by London, you would 
 not receive it for a long time, if at all. O forget not to pray for me ! 
 I believe really you do make intercession for me. I often, with plea- 
 sure, told my friends, Mr. Charles Wesley prays for me ; yea, and sings 
 a verse for me too." 
 
 Such was the grateful and devout language of this great man, drawn 
 forth by the Christian affection and sympathy of Mr. Charles Wesley.
 
 556 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 The statement of Mr. Home, viewed in connection with these letters, 
 affords a striking illustration of the uncertainty of oral tradition, espe- 
 cially when various parties are concerned in the transmission of a 
 report. That Thomas Walsh's distress, in his last illness, was at all 
 occasioned by Charles Wesley's severity and unkindness, is here posi- 
 tively disproved. He was one of the truest friends on whom Thomas 
 Walsh could rely in the hour of trial. This holy and learned man lin- 
 gered till the month of April following, when he slept in Jesus. A few 
 friends prayed with him on the Sunday evening ; and when they had 
 concluded, he desired to be left alone, in order, as he said, " to meditate 
 a little." They withdrew ; and he remained deeply recollected for 
 some time. He then burst out, in a sort of transport, and pronounced 
 with a dying voice, but with joy unutterable, " He is come ! He is 
 come ! My Beloved is mine, and I am his ! His for ever !" In 
 uttering these words he resigned his soul to the Lord Jesus, in the 
 twenty-eighth year of his age. 
 
 How deeply Mr. Charles Wesley was affected by the death of Tho- 
 mas Walsh, is apparent from the three hymns which he wrote on the 
 occasion, and in which he describes the history and character of the 
 deceased. 
 
 A few months after he had parted from Thomas Walsh in Bristol, 
 Mr. Charles Wesley paid a visit to the surviving members of his bro- 
 ther Samuel's family, in Devonshire, preaching, with his wonted energy 
 and spirit, at various places, both in going and returning. His brother's 
 widow was now dead ; but she had left a daughter, who lived in Barn- 
 staple, and was married to an apothecary of the name of Earle. He 
 gives an interesting account of this journey, and of its results, in the 
 following letters addressed to his wife. It would appear that he was 
 still suffering from the effects of the dangerous fall which he had in the 
 spring. The narrative is incomplete, referring to a former letter, which 
 has not been preserved. His son Charles, who is mentioned in the 
 correspondence, was now about nine months old ; and his daughter 
 Patty, to whom a touching reference is made, had been dead more than 
 three years. The letter, it will be perceived, was written in Barnsta- 
 ple, but relates several occurrences which took place before his arrival 
 in that town. 
 
 " Barnstaple, Sept. My dear Sally waits for the continuation of my 
 history. I think it left off on Saturday morning, Sept. 2d. After 
 preaching I breakfasted at one Miss Parkhouse's, a simple, zealous dis- 
 ciple, in her first love. I spent the day in my prophet's chamber, and 
 preached again at night with more enlargement. 
 
 " Sunday, Sept. 3d. My text in the morning was, ' In those is con- 
 tinuance, and we shall be saved.' Almost all the society met me at the
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 557 
 
 Lord's table. The minister administered to me first, as if he wanted 
 to gain the hearts of our people. Our room was too narrow for us in 
 the evening ; so we borrowed the market-house, which is capable of 
 holding thousands. Thousands attended gladly while I explained and 
 applied, ' The poor have the gospel preached to them.' My mouth 
 was opened to make knoAvn the mystery of salvation by grace. Another 
 lively hour I passed with the society, and with all our absent-present 
 brethren. I believe you had a good time at Bristol and London ; for we 
 seemed all to drink into one spirit. 
 
 " Sept. 4th. After preaching and breakfast, I set out at eight, with a 
 guide, for Barnstaple, the weather flattering us with a fair day. I rode 
 a Spanish pace for the first mile : then the sky was overcast, and the 
 rain returned. My companion would have enticed me on ; but I turned 
 my mare's head, and marched back as sober and contented as you could 
 wish. There were scattered showers most of the day. I got two 
 more opportunities of preaching.; and, 
 
 " Sept. 5th, took horse at seven, to make a second effort. The clouds 
 gathered, and kept us in awe for the two first hours. To escape a 
 shower we baited at a little alehouse ; gave a word of advice to the 
 poor ignorant landlord and his daughter ; and went on our way, (and a 
 vile one it was,) without any more rain, till we came, between twelve 
 and one, to North-Moulton, twenty measured miles from Tiverton. Mr. 
 Robarts was the first that planted the gospel in this place. The 'squire 
 and the minister, as usual, were the chief persecutors. Both people 
 and preacher were cruelly treated, but conquered all by love and pa- 
 tience. The captain of the mob cut his own throat; but lived long 
 enough to repent, and ask pardon of the poor injured people. I 
 preached to them the pure gospel, with more comfort and life than I 
 have done since I left Bristol. Not a word seemed to be lost upon 
 them. The seed fell upon good ground. I had a feast with them ; so 
 I wanted none elsewhere. My friendly old host gave us the best he 
 had ; but the bacon and hen were such, that my teeth could not pene- 
 trate them. However, our clean warm bed made us amends. 
 
 " Sept. 6th. I found the room full at five, and exhorted them to come 
 boldly to the throne of mercy and grace. My throat was a little sore 
 through last night's straining. I applied a flannel plaster, (some of 
 what you furnished me with,) and watched my time for setting out. 
 Twice or thrice I ordered the horses back to the stable, as the clouds 
 gathered again. At last we mounted, and rode through the town almost ; 
 for near the end of it the rain began, and drove me back. I made 
 another attempt, and got so far as to cut off my own retreat. We were 
 got half way to South- Moulton, three measured miles from North- 
 Moulton, when the rain forced us through. I stood up in my stirrups,
 
 558 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 and ventured a trot. We put in at a brother's, in the town, till it was) 
 lair ; then rode on toward Barnstaple, ten miles distant. In less than 
 two miles' riding a heavy shower drove us to seek shelter at an ale- 
 house. Two miles further a second storm threatened to wet us to the 
 skin. We fled toward the park-keeper's lodge, near Lord Fortescue's ; 
 the woman inviting us in. My mare took possession of the porch. 
 Our hostess had just lost her husband. I gave something to one of 
 her four little children, and a word of advice to the widow. We had 
 only one more bait in the way to Barnstaple, which we reached 
 by noon. 
 
 " I changed my clothes at a public house, opposite Mr. Earle's, who 
 set out in the morning, I heard, for the country. I inquired after my 
 niece, at her house. The last time I had seen her was at Tiverton, 
 seventeen years ago, just after her father's death. She was then twelve 
 years old. I knew her by him. She perfectly remembered me, and 
 was overjoyed at the sight of me. She has borne eight children, but 
 all of them are dead except one girl. She had recently been confined. 
 She has known affliction ; and it has not been lost upon her. I forced 
 myself away from her in a quarter of an hour. 
 
 " By this time Mr. Earle was returned, hearing accidentally of my 
 arrival. Your letter had given the first alarm. He was most hospita- 
 bly glad to see me, (the first of his wife's relations, on the father's 
 side,) and sent over for my things. I was much pleased with him, (as 
 frank and open as his father-in-law,) and more with his little girl. She 
 is past seven ; full of life and sense ; and as fond of me, after an hour's 
 acquaintance — as I of her. 
 
 " I made several short visits to Phill the elder, who was never so 
 well in any labour as this. I was astonished to see her, comparing her 
 with you ; though she is very far from a strong woman ; about as thin 
 and handsome as her father. Imagine you saw me between my child 
 and grandchild ; and bring us all three with a wish to Bristol. She 
 was very inquisitive after her aunt there, and her small cousin. We 
 are very happy together. She gathers strength every hour : she says, 
 through the sight of me. 
 
 " Friday night. I have now had several conferences with my niece 
 and her husband, and several walks with him. Their frights and pre- 
 judices vanish apace. They even venture to take the lion by the beard. 
 I pray with the family morning and evening ; and am quite convinced, 
 God has sent me to this house. 
 
 " My sister passed her three years of widowhood in a house by her- 
 self, pining continually after her old companion, till she overtook him 
 in paradise. She died in perfect peace. So did her mother, past four- 
 score, a little after her. Her departure was quite triumphant. Such,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 559 
 
 I trust, will be the end of my Sally's parents : such your end, and 
 mine. 
 
 " If our dear Mrs. Davis is come to die with us, give my love and 
 blessing to her, and tell her I hope to share in her triumph over our 
 last enemy ; and to follow her shortly, if it be our Lord's will that I 
 should see her safe landed before me. 
 
 " Remember me to all friends, particularly John Nelson, and Mrs. 
 Vigor, Grinfield, Farley, Brown, James, Stonehouse. Direct your next 
 to me at Tiverton. Next week I expect to spend thereabouts. The 
 nearer I come, the plainer I shall see my way to Bristol, which I do 
 not hope to reach before the end of the month. My niece sends her 
 affectionate duty to you, and is quite ready, were she able, to accept 
 of your invitation. Next summer, if we live so long, I have half pro- 
 mised to fetch her to you. 
 
 " This country is worse than Wales for posts. I suppose a letter 
 from you is waiting for me at Tiverton. Send me word when my bro- 
 ther re-visits you. I dreamed last night that Sarah had let Charles 
 fall, and killed him. You will look to him, I think ; but for his sake 
 and mine look to yourself also. Mr. and Mrs. Earle greet you. May 
 the Lord bless my dearest Sally ! May the good Shepherd gently lead 
 her, and carry her and her ewe lamb in his bosom ! Adieu !" 
 
 " Barnstaple, Sept 10th. My Dearest Partner, — I am got into a con- 
 jurer's circle, or enchanted castle, and can rind no way out. The 
 stronger my niece grows, the more conversible, and harder to be left. 
 I have been deeply engaged in my brother's manuscript poems, but 
 want time to copy them. I cannot but believe it will not be long before 
 I overtake my brother. Therefore was I constrained to come hither, 
 at this time, as a debt I owed him. I shall last as long as I can ; that 
 you may be assured of, seeing it is my duty to God and you. The 
 people of this place are abundantly civil, not excepting even the clergy. 
 I am invited by them also, but decline visiting, as I can neither smoke, 
 nor drink, nor talk their language. Yesterday I could not refuse drink- 
 ing tea with an old friend and relation of my brother and sister, whose 
 grandfather, like mine, was turned out on St. Bartholomew's day. She 
 and several others desire to hear me preach ; but preaching is not my 
 present business. 
 
 " I have been at church, but not much edified. O what a famine of 
 the word ! How long shall God's people perish for lack of knowledge ! 
 
 " You will be glad to hear I have quite recovered my first day's ride, 
 and am now doubly careful not to run into the same inconvenience. My 
 few remaining days I would willingly spend in peace and retirement, and 
 
 ' Walk thoughtful on the silent, solemn shore 
 Of that vast ocean I must sail so soon.'
 
 560 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 My Sally will help me forward. O let us be diligent, to be found of 
 Him in peace, without spot, and blameless ! Adieu !" 
 
 " Tiverton, Sept. 12th. My Dearest Creature, — Yesterday morning 
 I hardly tore myself from poor Phill. Her husband walked with me a 
 mile, and parted with tears. He also has a very tender heart. They 
 will not be easy till we meet again, either at Bristol or Barnstaple. 
 
 " They forced a servant upon me as far as North-Moulton, fifteen 
 miles from Barnstaple. We marched with great deliberation ; and 
 whenever we ventured upon a trot, I rode standing. The afternoon 
 was all my own. At night I declared the end of our Lord's coming, 
 that we ' might have life.' The door was again wide open. I be- 
 stowed an hour upon my host and his family, in singing, conference, 
 and prayer. 
 
 " Tuesday morning. I rose at four, preached at five, set out after 
 breakfast, and reached this place, twenty miles from North-Moulton, 
 by one. God be praised for your health continued." 
 
 From various passages in these letters, it is manifest, that the object 
 of Mr. Charles Wesley's journey to Devonshire, at this time, was not 
 merely to show his respect for his brother's memory, and his affection 
 for his niece and her family, but also the edification and enlargement 
 of the societies in various places. Hence he spent considerable time 
 in preaching to them, and in giving them such advice and encourage- 
 ment as their cases seemed to require. Why he declined to preach 
 at Barnstaple does not appear. On the sabbath he attended divine 
 worship at the church, but derived little benefit from what he heard 
 there. Yet he was grieved whenever the Methodists absented them- 
 selves from such ministrations. Notwithstanding the civility of the 
 Barnstaple clergy, he had no oneness of heart with them, and there- 
 fore declined their society. Upon the same principle those Methodists 
 acted, who desired to receive the Lord's supper at the hands of their 
 own preachers, and to attend their own places of worship only on the 
 sabbath-day. 
 
 Neither the delights of social intercourse, nor the spiritual prosperity 
 of his own people, could induce Mr. Charles Wesley to forget the 
 public welfare, and the cause of religion generally. England was still 
 at war with France, and Austria and France with Prussia ; so that 
 while domestic tranquillity was menaced, the Protestant interest on the 
 European continent was in imminent peril. Notwithstanding the re- 
 vival of primitive Christianity which was in progress, the body of the 
 clergy yet. slept at the post of duty, ungodliness everywhere prevailed, 
 and the people perished in sin and ignorance. In the principal Meth- 
 odist societies a meeting was held every Friday, at twelve o'clock, for 
 the purpose of interceding with God in behalf of the church, the nation,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 561 
 
 and the world ; and apparently to assist the good people who took part 
 in these pious services, and to strengthen the principles of Christian 
 patriotism and philanthropy everywhere, he published, during this year, 
 (1758,) "Hymns of Intercession for all Mankind:" with this appro- 
 priate motto : " I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, 
 prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men," 
 1 Tim. ii, 1. 
 
 During the year 1759 Mr. Charles Wesley published a fourth edition 
 of his " Funeral Hymns," greatly enlarged. Here for the first time 
 appeared the three exquisite compositions, which for sweetness and 
 spirituality were never surpassed, beginning, — 
 
 How happy every child of grace ; 
 And let this feeble body fail ; 
 Come let us join our friends above. 
 
 But this tract is rendered especially interesting by the insertion of 
 various hymns which were written on occasion of the deaths of several 
 pious individuals, the writer's personal friends — the Rev. John Meriton. 
 John Hutchinson, Grace Bowen, Thomas Walsh, the Rev. James Her- 
 vey, and other persons whose names are not given at length. 
 
 Mr. Hervey was one of the Oxford Methodists, and was greatly in- 
 debted, while at the university, to the kindness of Mr. John Wesley, 
 whom he acknowledged to have acted toward him the part of a father 
 and a friend. Till a late period of his life, he cherished toward both 
 the Wesleys sentiments of fraternal affection ; when, having received 
 the doctrine of absolute predestination, and admitted William Cudworth 
 to his confidence, he was induced to assume the character of a contro- 
 versialist, and enter the lists against the man to whom he owed every 
 feeling of gratitude and esteem. His strength failed him before he had 
 completed his design ; and finding that death was at hand, he directed 
 the manuscript to be destroyed, because it was unfinished, and because 
 some of it was written in a character which no one but himself could 
 decipher. His brother, however, thinking that a book which bore the 
 name of Hervey, and was directed against John Wesley, would be a 
 gainful speculation, placed it in the hands of Cudworth, with liberty, 
 as he himself confessed, to " put out and put in" what he pleased. 
 Cudworth, who was accustomed to speak of God's elect as having 
 nothing whatever to do with the divine law, hated most cordially the 
 theology which the Wesleys taught, inculcating as it did the necessity 
 of universal holiness in order to acceptance before the judgment-seat 
 of Christ. He therefore undertook the welcome task allotted to him, 
 glad to send forth into the world his own views and prejudices under 
 the honoured name of James Hervey ; so that the " Eleven Letters" 
 
 36
 
 562 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 soon appeared. In this publication the venerable man who had been 
 one of the best friends of the deceased, and was, beyond comparison, 
 the most laborious, self-denying, and useful minister of his age, was 
 treated with insult and contumely, and represented as hardly fit for the 
 society of infidels, much less for that of sincere Christians. The book 
 was reprinted in Scotland ; and, bearing the sanction of Hervey's name, 
 and designed to cover John Wesley with odium, it was extensively 
 read, and by many persons greatly applauded. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley in all probability composed his two tender and 
 affectionate hymns on Mr. Hervey's death immediately after that sad 
 event had occurred, and before the injurious libel had appeared ; but 
 still containing a reference to the peculiar opinions of which his de- 
 ceased friend had latterly become the advocate. At a subsequent 
 period he was somewhat indelicately requested to write an epitaph on 
 Mr. Hervey, probably to be placed upon a tablet to his memory. This 
 service he declined, feeling the deep and unprovoked injury which 
 was inflicted upon his brother by the interpolated and dishonest publi- 
 cation, which was circulated through the three kingdoms, and induced 
 many uninformed persons to consider Mr. John Wesley as a pestilent 
 heretic. Instead of writing the desired epitaph, he wrote the following 
 pithy lines, which he left among his manuscripts : — 
 
 O'erreach'd, impell'd by a sly Gnostic's art, 
 To stab his father, guide, and faithful friend, 
 
 Would pious Hervey act th' accuser's part 1 
 And could a life like his in malice end ? 
 
 No : by redeeming love the snare is broke ; 
 
 In death his rash ingratitude he blames ; 
 Desires and vrills the evil to revoke, 
 
 And dooms th' unfinish'd libel to the flames. 
 
 Who then for filthy gain betray'd his trust, 
 And show'd a kinsman's fault in open light ? 
 
 Let him adorn the monumental bust, 
 
 Th* encomium fair in brass or marble, write. 
 
 Or if they need a nobler trophy raise, 
 
 As long as Theron and Aspasio live, 
 Let Madan or Romaine record his praise ; 
 
 Enough that Wesley's brother can forgive ! 
 
 Mr. John Wesley answered, in a spirit of meekness, all that related 
 personally to himself in the " Eleven Letters ;" and Mr. Sellon, under 
 the name of " A Country Clergyman," effectually refuted the doctrinal 
 statements which were conceived to be unfavourable in their bearing 
 upon practical religion ; so that the effects of the book, which made a 
 great noise at the time, were ultimately neutralized. Mr. Hervey's 
 
 36*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 563 
 
 brother also, who had pocketed a considerable sum of money by the 
 volume, was betrayed into some usurious and illegal pecuniary transac- 
 tions, in consequence of which he lost the whole of his unrighteous 
 gains. The just retribution of Providence in this affair was pointed 
 out to him by the blunt honesty of Ebenezer Blackwell, with whom he 
 kept his banking account. 
 
 While Mr. Charles Wesley was grieved at this unchristian attempt 
 to hinder his brother's usefulness, he was also distressed, in common 
 with others of his patriotic countrymen, on account of the perilous state 
 of the nation. The war with France was still in progress ; and through 
 a good part of the year 1759 a dread of invasion was again generally 
 prevalent. The French made extensive arrangements for the simul- 
 taneous invasion of England, Ireland, and Scotland ; and the Romish 
 Pretender to the British crown was said to be hovering in the rear of 
 the enemy's forces, ready to avail himself of the enterprise, should it 
 prove successful, to assert his claim, and expel the Protestant dynasty 
 of Great Britain. The following letters to Mrs. Wesley were written 
 under these circumstances : — 
 
 " Mr. Madan and his mother stayed with me till near eight. We 
 prayed fervently against the French. Their attempt is a very serious 
 affair. Our soldiers are hastening to encamp in proper places. I verily 
 believe God's people will either be delivered from the danger, or in it. 
 
 " You are in one of the safest places in England ; but your best 
 security is the wall of brass which surrounds you. I trust you and 
 your little ones to the Lord, who will either turn aside the evil, or say 
 to his disciples, ' When ye shall hear of wars, be not troubled.' " 
 
 " June 29th. My Dear Sally, — Trust in the Lord, for yourself and 
 children. They are in safe hands. The hairs of their heads, as well 
 as yours, are all numbered. If they live, they will live to see troublous 
 times. Yet I do not wish them to be taken from the evil, because that 
 evil may be softened and moderated to you through their partaking. I 
 sit waiting for the news, like old Eli ; yet not trembling for the ark. 
 That the Lord will take care of, I nothing doubt. All I meet with have 
 great faith for the cause and people of God. 
 
 " Yesterday I preached at the Foundery with great freedom, and 
 prayed among the bands with far greater. We did not forget you. 
 You will soon receive the answer. 
 
 " Saturday night. I got two hours this morning with Lady Hunting- 
 don, and dined with her and Mr. Madan and Jones. All expect the 
 French. Admiral Rodney is gone to burn their broad-bottomed vessels, 
 or die in the attempt. He desired the king, in case he fell, to take 
 care of his widow and family. Two hundred thousand pounds have 
 been expended on the French boats at Havre-de-Grace and Dunkirk.
 
 564 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Each carries three hundred men, and is so contrived as to land their 
 men on horseback. In five hours they may reach the Sussex coast. 
 Last Sunday night twelve of a society of ours there were seized, and 
 carried on board the vessels that guard the coast. Their prayers may 
 do good service. 
 
 " My brother writes that I should give notice to all our society, to 
 spend Wednesday, July 11th, in fasting and prayer, that God may 
 be entreated for the land. Tell John Jones, and let him tell others. 
 
 " On Thursday Mr. Madan and his wife set out for Clifton. He 
 will pay you an early visit. I cannot answer for her. If she should 
 favour you with her company, you will show her how she ought to 
 behave in her own house. 
 
 " The post is going. The Strength and Consolation of Israel be 
 yours ! Farewell, my dearest Sally. You fear God, and need fear 
 nothing else." 
 
 " Moorfields, Sunday night. My dearest Sally's letter did not reach 
 me till this morning. I was in hopes the worst was over with Charles. 
 The hooping-cough does not always accompany the measles, and will 
 not, I trust, in his case. The girl may not have them at all. How- 
 ever, expect them, and expect both the children to be brought safe out 
 of them. We have good times here ; that is certain ; and the better, 
 for the nearness of the French. I read part of the prayers, and 
 preached on Psalm xxix, 10, 11. I was so full of matter I scarcely 
 knew what I said. The Lord owned his word. Great was our con- 
 fidence in his faithful mercies, his almighty love. 
 
 " I continued instant in prayer for near half an hour after the sacra- 
 ment. We wrestled for our Israel, and all the Reformed Churches. 
 I could not help praying, in a particular manner, for the brave admiral, 
 who is gone to sacrifice his life, if need be, for his king and country. 
 The whole congregation, I believe, were sensible of the divine pre- 
 sence : but it was not, in my apprehension, like last Sunday. 
 
 " Neither Mr. Carty nor I can guess what I ought to do if the French 
 were landed. It will be showed me in that day. 
 
 " My brother is alarmed by false intelligence, that we have only 
 eleven thousand soldiers in all England. My oracle, the colonel, 
 reckons upon seventeen thousand. But the matter will not be deter- 
 mined by numbers. If the French land, and the Lord of hosts is with 
 us, they will make more haste back than they came with. I know not 
 why it is, that I do not fear them more. I usually am most afraid 
 before the danger. Perhaps the dread and the evil may now come to- 
 gether. However, we shall keep them off by prayer as long as we can. 
 
 " I read prayers and preached again. My subject was, ' Comfort ye, 
 comfort ye my people.' He did administer his abundant consolations
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 565 
 
 I prayed with great earnestness for the nation : if with great faith also, 
 we shall know by and by. 
 
 " Mrs. Galatin just now informs me, that yesterday's express has 
 thrown the council into the utmost alarm and hurry. The colonel 
 coidd not learn particulars. Even the lords of the bedchamber are 
 ignorant of the secret. It is supposed that news is come of the em- 
 barkation of the French. At present the wind is against them ; and if 
 God is against them too, what signify all their designs and threatenings ? 
 
 " I hastened in a coach to meet the society at the Foundery. We 
 continued together, praying and pleading for our country till near eight. 
 Had you been with us, I think your fears of the Papists would have 
 been abated. We seemed all to be got into our strong city, whose 
 walls and bulwarks are Salvation. Monday, at five, I encouraged 
 them from the words above, and spent half an hour in prayer with the 
 select band. 
 
 " I bestowed an hour on my parting friend Madan, and commended 
 him to the grace of God in prayer. He is happy to carry his family 
 with him. When shall I see mine again ? I hope the storm, if it 
 should come, will not separate us long. He informed me of that blessed 
 soul, Lady Hotham's, release. What particulars do you hear ? I 
 prayed fervently for the poor disconsolate mourners ; and would write, 
 if I thought any words of mine could comfort them. 
 
 "It is now near five whole weeks since I saw you, and your chil- 
 dren. Nothing could pacify me in my banishment, but the will of God 
 confining me here. It is still more doubtful whether I shall attend the 
 conference. The Lord direct me and you in all things, and preserve 
 the little ones !" 
 
 " July 5th. My Beloved Sally, — On Tuesday I breakfasted with Mr. 
 Romaine and his wife, who were very loving and open. He expects 
 to be thrust out of the churches soon. 
 
 " Mrs. Cox and Mr. Waller joined us in the afternoon. At six I 
 read the letters to a full audience, and dwelt mostly on our blessed 
 Thomas Walsh. It was a time much to be remembered. I prayed 
 with the leaders, and pleaded for our sinful land. It was near ten before 
 I got. to rest. 
 
 " Yesterday I breakfasted with our afflicted friend, Lady Huntingdon, 
 and joined heartily in her sorrow for the loss of that lovely creature at 
 Clifton, of whom the world was not worthy. 
 
 " I rode over Westminster-bridge, and dined in the Borough, at Mr. 
 Bignel's. There Mr. Lloyd took me up, and carried me to Levvisham. 
 I looked in upon Mrs. Dewal and Mrs. Blackwell, whose inquiries after 
 you and your family were interrupted by that gentle creature, and my 
 particular favourite, Mr. Blackwell. He was above measure gracious ;
 
 566 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 yet I left him in ten minutes for Miss Chambers's company. He 
 seized on my trembling companion, who hardly made his escape before 
 night. He overtook me on the road, and set me down near my lodgings. 
 
 "I breakfasted to-d'ay at the Foundery, not with my best friend, 
 whom I have not yet had the happiness to see. My brother's last 
 helps me to see a little before me. He consults me whether it would 
 not be best to have the conference here. I shall advise him to it. It 
 will be the second week in August. Then I might see you the sooner, 
 after spending some weeks at Margate. This would I do, if the Lord 
 permit. 
 
 " You say, ' Mr. Ireland apprehends no danger ;' nor any worldly 
 man, except our governors. Do not you hope, nor flatter yourself, that 
 it is a false alarm. If Providence does not interpose, Jerusalem is 
 ruined. Take care the spirit of the world, which is the spirit of 
 slumber, and fatal security, does not seize upon you. No power less 
 than that which defeated the Spanish armada will rescue England 
 now. You will see my thoughts (but not mine only) in a penny hymn- 
 book I shall publish against the fast. 
 
 " You may safely direct to me at the Foundery, only not omitting 
 Charles, nor mentioning my best friend* 
 
 " Bonner's-Hall. I have been dining here, at Mr. Barnes's, with 
 Thomas Maxfield and his wife. It is now above five weeks since I 
 saw my dearest Sally, or her children ; and will be more than five 
 weeks longer, if not double the time, before I must hope for that happi- 
 ness again. 
 
 " How does your money hold out? as for me, I spend none, and have 
 none to spend ; yet I want nothing but the grace of Christ Jesus. The 
 Lord will order all things, particularly when it is best for our meeting. 
 May you now and always find your happiness in him !" 
 
 " London, July 7th. My Dearest Friend, — Can you cast all your care 
 on Him who careth for you and your little ones ? If I could not trust 
 Him with you, I should be much uneasy. An express is come, that 
 Admiral Rodney has set fire to Havre-de-Grace, and burnt some of the 
 broad-bottomed boats. If the news is confirmed, and not aggravated, 
 it may retard the designed invasion. That it is designed in earnest, 
 no man in his senses can doubt of. On Wednesday afternoon we met 
 in the Borough some prisoners in coaches, strongly guarded. They 
 were Frenchmen, caught ascending our coasts. I have looked for good 
 from Admiral Rodney, ever since we were so drawn out in prayer for 
 him. Give John Jones the enclosed against the fast day. 
 
 * The reason of this precaution was, that Mrs. John Wesley used to open the letters 
 that were placed within her reach, to find matter of accusation against her husband, 
 and against Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wesley.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 567 
 
 " We have just heard of another embarkation of eighteen thousand 
 French coming upon us from another .quarter. But if God be for us, 
 who can be against us 1 and that he is for us, is past a doubt with 
 those that have his mind. I fear nothing so much as my own heart ; 
 yet I daily find God is greater than my heart. Let us pray the best 
 we can, and expect the fulness of the promise. 
 
 " Saturday night. No letter from Sally concerning herself and 
 children ! You want, it seems, to try my patience. I will be even 
 with you, and try your courage, by informing you, (but the information 
 comes from Charles Perronet,) that the people of Canterbury are in the 
 utmost confusion, the men all up in arms, the women all screaming, 
 through a sudden alarm and panic, that the French are seen off Dover. 
 It is, a false alarm ; that is certain : or it would have been here before 
 any private letter. I think I must steal away to you, to be quiet ; for 
 Mr. Ireland and Dr. Middleton have insured you at Bristol. Get a 
 friend to write when you cannot ; or I shall have no rest in my spirit. 
 The Lord bless you with his peace. Adieu !" 
 
 In this emergency of the national affairs some trusted in the valour, 
 strength, and skill of the fleet and army, and expressed their unhallowed 
 confidence by singing profane songs. Mr. Charles Wesley's hope was 
 in the merciful providence of God ; and his fear arose from an appre- 
 hension that the people of England might have filled up the measure 
 of their iniquities, and rendered themselves ripe for the divine ven- 
 geance. Of the miseries of a people who are subjected to the insolence 
 and plunder of a conquering army, he had a deep and just impression ; 
 but in this case he was the most afraid of the loss of Protestant liberty, 
 and of its religious advantages. The testimony of history, respecting 
 the cruel intolerance of Popery, had not been lost upon his intelligent 
 and susceptible mind. 
 
 To assist the devotions of the praying remnant, in this crisis, as he 
 had done upon former occasions, he published " Hymns on the expected 
 Invasion, 1759." At a subsequent period, Mr. John Wesley endea- 
 voured to encourage the people of England, by referring to the revival 
 of true religion which was everywhere manifest ; saying that he could 
 not find in all history, that a nation was ever given up to ruin, when 
 the Spirit was poured out upon the people, and large numbers were 
 turned to God by a true conversion. Charles dwells upon the same 
 thought in this tract. • 
 
 In this case also prayer was prevalent, and the nation was saved. 
 On the 20th of November the French fleet was brought to action by Ad- 
 miral Hawke, and defeated, between Belleisle and Cape Quiberon. For 
 this signal victory public thanksgivings were offered to almighty God ; 
 and Mr. Charles Wesley's ever-fruitful mind supplied appropriate sen-
 
 568 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 timents for the occasion in " Hymns to be used on the Thanksgiving- 
 day, Nov. 29th, 1759, and after it." This publication contains fifteen 
 hymns, including one of great length, and peculiar spirit, entitled, 
 " The Song of Moses, sung by Great Britain and Ireland for the victory 
 given them over the French Fleet, Nov. 20th, 1759." The people in 
 the south of England were now freed from their alarms ; but the Scotch 
 and the Irish were still in danger. God, however, interposed also in 
 their behalf, and the impending evil was averted. 
 
 The beginning of the year 1760 found Mr. Charles Wesley in Lon- 
 don, diligently and happily employed in his work. He was also favoured 
 wi^h the company and assistance of Mr. Fletcher, who had obtained 
 ordination about a year and a half before, and was not yet presented to 
 the vicarage of Madeley. In a letter to Mrs. Wesley, dated Moorfields, 
 Jan. 3d, he thus speaks of himself, and of the pious foreigner, now 
 naturalized as an English clergyman : — " My dear Sally's wish has 
 been often mine, to have died in my infancy. I escaped many such 
 thoughts last Saturday, by forgetting it was my birth-day till night, when 
 Mr. Fletcher's prayer put me in mind of it. Yesterday I dined alone 
 with my faithful friend and yours, Lady Huntingdon, and passed the 
 evening with her in close conference. This morning I breakfasted at 
 Lady Piers's, and dined at Mr. Lloyd's, with Mrs. Gumley and Miss 
 Derby. The length of the entertainment, and very trifling conversa- 
 tion, tired me to death. I am escaped hither, to write to my beloved 
 partner. Next to feeling Christ present, the most desirable state is, to 
 feel Christ absent. This we often do. O that we did it always ? Mr. 
 Caslon told me he had wrote to Mr. Farley, that he could not send him 
 the Syriac types till he informed him how many of each letter he 
 wanted. Adieu !" 
 
 Soon after writing this letter Mr. Charles Wesley's tender sympa- 
 thies were excited, and some months of his life embittered, by a terrible 
 calamity in the Huntingdon family, several members of which were 
 endeared to him by a sincere and sanctified friendship. The Earl 
 Ferrers, the cousin of Lady Huntingdon, — a man of infidel principles, 
 and immoral life, — perpetrated an atrocious murder upon Mr. Johnson, 
 his own steward. He sent for the ill-fated man to attend him at Stan- 
 ton, and contrived to send all his men out of the way ; so that when 
 the intended victim arrived, there were no persons in the house but 
 himself and three female servants. When Mr. Johnson entered the 
 room, the earl locked the door ; then ordered him to settle an account ; 
 ;md afterward produced a paper purporting to be a confession of the 
 steward's villany, and required him to sign it. Mr. Johnson refused ; 
 and the earl, drawing a pistol out of his pocket, ordered him to kneel 
 down, which the terrified man did upon one knee. His lordship called
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 569 
 
 out, so loud as to be heard by one of the women at the kitchen door, 
 " Down on your other knee ! Declare that you have acted against Lord 
 Ferrers. Your time is come ; and you must die !" He then fired ; and 
 the ball entered Mr. Johnsons body, just under the last rib. He rose 
 up and expressed, both by his looks and broken sentences, the sensa- 
 tions of a dying man. The infatuated criminal continued to insult and 
 torment the sufferer for several hours after he was placed under the 
 care of a physician. The shot was fired in the afternoon, and Mr. 
 Johnson died the next morning, the murderer rejoicing in what he had 
 done. The ennobled felon was lodged in the jail of Leicester, and 
 thence removed to the Tower in London, where he remained two 
 months before he was tried by the House of Peers. 
 
 The first mention of this melancholy case in the correspondence of 
 Mr. Charles Wesley is in the following letter, addressed to him by the 
 Hon. and Rev. Walter Shirley, the brother of the earl, and a clergyman 
 in Ireland : — 
 
 " Loughrea, Feb. 23d, 1760. Rev. and Dear Sir, — Blessed be the 
 great God, who hath enriched your heart with love, and filled your 
 mind with divine wisdom ; and blessings upon blessings on thy head, 
 thou sweet messenger of comfort, for thou hast refreshed my bowels, 
 and caused me to rejoice even in tribulation. 
 
 " O my worthy friend, how infinitely am I obliged to you for the ten- 
 der attention you paid to the deep affliction of my sister, and your 
 earnest endeavours (which I behold as if I had been present) of turning 
 all to the advantage of her precious soul. may those falling tears 
 that trickle down into her bosom be as the dew of heaven, to dissolve 
 all that is stony about her heart, and sweetly prepare it for the more 
 durable impressions of God's grace ! 
 
 " What shall 1 say of my unhappy brother ? what of my poor mother 1 
 what of the innumerable evils in array before me ? In the strength of 
 the Lord I am about to oppose myself to this mountain of griefs, seeing 
 plainly that it is God's will I should go to England. Committing my- 
 self to the care and disposal of my ever-gracious God, I purpose to set 
 out on this melancholy journey next week, and wish above all things 
 that I may either meet with you or your dear brother on my arival in 
 London. My excellent friend Lady Huntingdon has wrote to me very 
 affectionately on this occasion. May God reward her sweet loving 
 soul ! 
 
 " I find this wretched man has refused to see any of his relations 
 and friends. I am determined, however, I will not be easily repulsed. 
 I will carry him, spite of himself, I will yet carry him, the message of 
 everlasting peace, if now at length he may be brought to accept of it. 
 As to his life, I doubt it is past hope ; but if the Lord will hear me,
 
 570 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 and grant to my earnest petitions the saving of his poor soul, I think I 
 should not in the least repine, whatever should be determined concern- 
 ing his fate. I know, my dear sir, you at least will not leave me to 
 pray alone. O let us raise an army of blessed saints, that we may 
 besiege the throne of grace, and be mightily prevailing with importu- 
 nate wrestlings ! Surely, surely we shall not be cast out. I have His 
 encouraging words yet sounding in my ears, ' As yet have ye asked 
 nothing. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.' O 
 what a mighty something have I to ask ! but the Lord says, our joy 
 shall be full : ' ask, and ye shall receive.' Lord, I believe ; Lord, I 
 ask in faith : for thy name's sake, grant me the request of my lips. O 
 turn the heart of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just ! Grant me 
 but this ; and then, whether unto life or death, dispose of him as thou 
 seest good. I think I perceive in myself, even now, a token for good. 
 If I may not expect the happiness of seeing you in London, at least, 
 for God's sake, let me hear from you ; and direct to me at the Honour- 
 ble Mrs. Shirley's, in the Halfmoon-street, Piccadilly. 
 
 " I am, with the greatest truth, my dear Mr. Wesley's most sincere 
 friend, and affectionate brother in the Lord." 
 
 Never did any transgressor of the laws of God and man betray more 
 determined obduracy than this right honourable murderer. Every 
 means that Christian zeal and compassion could suggest was tried to 
 bring him to an acknowledgment of his crime, and induce him to pray 
 for mercy in the name of the Lord Jesus ; but all in vain. He was 
 deaf to every warning, expostulation, and entreaty. His broken-hearted 
 brother, Lady Huntingdon, and others, all endeavoured to effect his 
 conversion, but without success. Prayer was also made for him in the 
 closet, the family, and in public religious assemblies, particularly on 
 ihe Lord's day, and special meetings of intercession were held in his 
 behalf, during the period which elapsed between the commission of 
 the dreadful act and his execution ; yet he died without giving any 
 indication of the slightest regret for what he had done, -much less 
 that he desired the pardoning mercy of God through the sacrifice of 
 Christ. 
 
 No man showed a more tender and generous concern for this 
 wretched culprit than Mr. Charles Wesley ; and the Methodists in 
 London generally followed his example. This will best appear by a 
 few selections from his letters to his wife, who was in Bristol. He 
 seldom wrote to her without making some reference to this unhappy 
 man ; for the salvation of whose soul he mourned and wept, as for the 
 salvation of a brother. 
 
 "Seven-Dials, April 11th. My Dearest of Creatures, — Yesterday
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 571 
 
 evening I buried my brother Ellison.* Sister Macdonald, whom he 
 was always very fond of, prayed by him in his last moments. He told 
 her he was not afraid to die, and believed God, for Christ's sake, had 
 forgiven him. I felt a most solemn awe overwhelming me while I 
 committed his body to the earth. He is gone to increase my father's 
 joy in paradise ; who often said, every one of his children would be 
 saved, for God had given them all to his prayer. God grant I may 
 not be the single exception ! I rode to Lady Piers's. Mr. Fletcher 
 met me there. We found her wonderfully recovered. Such a cure 
 is next to a resurrection from the dead. 
 
 " I preached at the chapel, ' Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and 
 to-day, and for ever.' Many, I doubt not, experienced him to be such. 
 I met the leaders, and our Lord in the midst. We concluded our 
 prayers with intercession for the murderer. 
 
 " Jermyn-street, April 17th. Yesterday morning I walked at six to 
 Mr. I'anson's, with my friend Fletcher. My heart was overwhelmed 
 with sorrow. Not in my own will did I enter the place of judgment. 
 George Whitefield, his wife, and a truly good woman, one Mrs. Beck- 
 man, sat next to us. We waited till half-hour past, eleven before the 
 lords came. They entered with the utmost state, first the barons, then 
 the lords, bishops, earls, dukes, and lord high steward. The solemnity 
 began with reading his commission ; after which he took his place, 
 one step beneath the throne. Most of the royal family, the peeresses, 
 and chief gentry of the kingdom, and the foreign ambassadors present, 
 made it one of the most august assemblies in Europe. 
 
 " Next, I think, were read the bills from the country, and indictment 
 against Lord Ferrers, who was summoned to the bar. He was brought 
 in by the deputy-governor of the Tower, preceded by the axe. He 
 knelt down at the bar, till the lord high steward bade him rise. His 
 indictment was read ; to which he pleaded, ' Not guilty.' Then the 
 king's counsel, the attorney-general, opened the charge against him, 
 which was a repetition of the indictment, and the proofs thereof, with 
 little, if any, exaggeration. The witnesses were called to prove it : 
 the three maids, who deposed they heard the pistol go off, and saw 
 Mr. Johnson on his knee, and then upon the bed wounded, &c. His 
 daughter's testimony was much fuller ; and the surgeon's proved the 
 murder premeditated, with the most horrid circumstances of aggravated 
 malice and cruelty. A collier, who seized my lord, concluded. Their 
 testimonies perfectly agreed. The judge asked the prisoner, after 
 each deposition, whether he would ask the witness any questions. He 
 asked two or three, which I thought trivial. 
 
 * He was the brother-in-law of Mr. John and Charles Wesley, having married their 
 sister Susanna.
 
 572 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " At first he seemed undaunted ; but as the proofs came up stronger 
 and fuller, he lost his courage, and sunk visibly down into the lowest 
 dejection. By a quarter before three the king's counsel finished their 
 proof; and I believe there was not a single person in the court but 
 believed the prisoner guilty. The particulars are too long to send you ; 
 and you will see them at large in the trial when it is printed. 
 
 " My lord high steward then called upon him to make his defence. 
 He appeared in the utmost confusion, and said he was not prepared ; 
 must advise with his counsel ; and begged longer time. Some of the 
 lords, particularly Lord Mansfield, (that is, the famous Murray,) and 
 Lord Hardwick, desired he might explain a little the nature of his 
 intended defence, that they might know whether it was reasonable to 
 give him longer time. He could not satisfy them ; said, the circum- 
 stances he was in made him incapable ; and the indisposition of his 
 mind, or family complaint, disqualified him. He was understood to 
 mean his lunacy ; although he could hardly speak through fear and 
 perturbation. Lord Ravensworth, his only friend, except Lord Talbot, 
 spoke in his behalf. Others replied, till they cried, ' Adjourn.' Then 
 the lords withdrew for above an hour, and, returning, required him to 
 proceed directly to his defence. 
 
 " He had often declared, that he would much rather die than allow 
 himself to be out of his senses ; but ' skin for skin, all that a man hath 
 Avill he give for his life.' His pride was come down so far as to call 
 witnesses of his lunacy. The two first deposed in general only, with- 
 out being able to name any particular facts or words in proof of his 
 being disordered. When the king's counsel came to cross-examine 
 them, they were so baffled and confounded, that they contradicted them- 
 selves, recanted every shadow of proof they had brought, and proved 
 the prisoner in his senses beyond all doubt. It was now seven o'clock, 
 and the lords adjourned again. We waited some time, and then departed 
 ourselves. I was never so weary in my life. My companion was in 
 the same condition. Soon after eight we were glad to go to bed, after 
 prayer for the poor, unhappy criminal. 
 
 " This morning we were in the hall again by six. We expected 
 the lords till near twelve. They came, and heard more witnesses of 
 the lunacy till near three. Poor Lord Ferrers was compelled to 
 question them himself, and even his own brothers. Mr. Shirley, 
 the clergyman, spake most for his service : and the king's counsel 
 could not invalidate any thing he said. But, alas ! neither his nor 
 Dr. Munro's testimony came up to the point, or proved any real fact 
 of madness. 
 
 " The prisoner concluded his defence with a paper read by the clerk, 
 wherein he said all for himself that could be said. Then the solicitor-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 573 
 
 general recapitulated all, answered the prisoner's witnesses, and de- 
 monstrated his guilt and wilful murder. 
 
 " The court adjourned, and in half an hour returned, all but the 
 bishops, who are never present in condemning. The lord high keeper 
 asked the lords whether he should recapitulate the whole again, as 
 usual, or whether they would go immediately to give their vote. They 
 all agreed to the latter. Then he solemnly asked them, one by one, 
 beginning at the youngest baron, ' My lord, such a one, — suppose 
 William earl of Dartmouth, — what says your lordship 1 Is Lawrence 
 Earl Ferrers guilty, or not guilty, of the felony and murder laid to his 
 charge V The lord, laying his hand on his breast, answered, ' Guilty, 
 upon my honour.' 
 
 " I counted one hundred and six who gave this answer ; among them 
 Lord Talbot, the prisoner's friend, and Lord Westmoreland, his father- 
 in-law ; and, last of all, the lord high steward himself. Then the poor 
 criminal was sent for, and kneeling at the bar heard from the judge the 
 unanimous judgment of all his peers, that he was guilty of felony and 
 murder. My heart and that of most others bled for him. We expected 
 the judge would immediately pass sentence, when he called, ' Adjourn ;' 
 probably to give the criminal a few more hours of life. Soon after five 
 we left the court for Mr. I'anson's, and walked thence to our lodgings, 
 nothing near so weary as yesterday ; as you may judge by the length 
 of this letter. To-morrow I suppose we shall hear the sentence pro- 
 nounced, which will soon after be executed. 
 
 " The Lord bless you and your little ones. Farewell in Christ !" 
 
 Sentence of death was, of course, passed upon this miserable man, 
 and righteously executed on the 5th of May following. But even the 
 certain and immediate prospect of dying failed to make any salutary 
 impression upon his heart, rendered callous by infidel speculation. Mr. 
 Charles Wesley composed three hymns of supplication for him ; con- 
 tinued his importunate addresses to the throne of grace in his behalf, 
 m union with his friends by whom he was surrounded ; and, in writing 
 to one of the preachers in a distant part of the country, he shows the 
 depth of his compassionate feeling by saying, " Help together in your 
 prayers for a poor murderer, Lord Ferrers !" 
 
 The earl deprecated hanging, as the death of ordinary felons, and 
 requested to die by decapitation, as more befitting a nobleman ; but this 
 was denied. He outraged the public feeling by choosing to be con- 
 veyed to the place of execution, not in a mourning coach, but in bis 
 own landau, drawn by six horses, and he himself clad in his splendid 
 wedding-dress. He was impatient of all religious conversation ; con- 
 fessed his belief that there is a God ; but made no acknowledgment
 
 574 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 either of divine revelation, or of a Mediator. On surveying the appa- 
 ratus of death he gave a slight motion of dissatisfaction ; kneeled down 
 while the Lord's prayer was repeated ; and with great energy uttered 
 the ejaculation, " O God, forgive me all my errors ! pardon all my sins !" 
 He turned pale when the rope was put round his neck, but quickly re- 
 covered himself; and in five minutes after he was turned off life was 
 extinct. Many a penitent convict, trusting in Christ as his Saviour, 
 had Mr. Charles Wesley comforted when doomed to suffer the extreme 
 penalty of the law ; but there is no comfort in infidelity, with all its 
 pride and affectation of philosophy. 
 
 While the case of Earl Ferrers was still pending, Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley's anxieties were again strongly excited on the subject of Methodism 
 and its relation to the Church. Many of the preachers, he found, had 
 obtained licenses under the Act of Toleration ; that law having been 
 framed for the relief of Protestant Dissenters : and this he considered 
 a virtual renunciation of their connection with the Church of England. 
 In several cases, however, the licensing of the preachers, as well as 
 of the places where they officiated, was rather a matter of necessity 
 than of choice ; no other law affording them protection, either in con- 
 ducting public worship, or in preaching the gospel of the grace of God 
 to the neglected populace, and the spirit of persecution being exten- 
 sively rampant. Mr. John Wesley, like his brother, in the first in- 
 stance, opposed the preachers in obtaining licenses under the Tolera- 
 tion Act ; but at length directed them, in cases of necessity, to put 
 themselves under the protection of this statute. 
 
 But the most alarming occurrence at this time was, that three of the 
 preachers, stationed at Norwich, overcome by the importunity of some 
 members of the society, had begun to administer the sacrament of bap- 
 tism, and of the Lord's supper. They did this without consulting either 
 of the Wesley s. The offenders were Paul Greenwood, John Murlin, 
 and Thomas Mitchell ; men whose regularity, up to this period, had 
 been most exemplary ; so that they possessed the entire confidence 
 of their fathers in the gospel. They had been solemnly " separated to 
 the gospel of God," from all worldly business, with fasting and prayer, 
 and that by men who were in the ministry before them ; having first 
 given satisfactory proof, by piety, gifts, and success, that they were 
 divinely called to the work ; and they doubtless thought that, with these 
 essentials of ordination, they were justified in administering the sacra- 
 ments ; yet still it was distinctly understood, on their admission into 
 this ministry, that they should, in common with their brethren in gene- 
 ral, confine themselves to preaching the word, and the maintenance of 
 discipline in the societies, leaving the administration of the sacraments 
 to those who had received episcopal ordination.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 575 
 
 This renewed attempt to render the Methodists independent of the 
 established Church filled Mr. Charles Wesley with consternation little 
 less than that which was excited in him by the crime of Earl Ferrers ; 
 yet not greater than the amazement and terror which seized him when 
 he first heard of the preaching of laymen in the Methodist societies : 
 although he had long been more than reconciled to this innovation, 
 contrary as it was to canonical order. John Murlin came up to Lon- 
 don, being, in all probability, summoned thither by Mr. Charles Wesley, 
 and appears to have given considerable satisfaction by his spirit and 
 explanations. He was deemed " sincere ;" and Paul Greenwood was 
 also directed forthwith to proceed to the metropolis, to answer for his 
 conduct. What was thought of him, under the scrutiny and expostu- 
 lations to which he was subjected, does not appear. Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley thought that the preachers and societies generally would follow the 
 example which had been set by their brethren in Norwich ; so that 
 unless a firm stand was now made, a wide separation from the Church 
 was inevitable. He therefore addressed a strong letter to his brother, 
 and to several of the senior preachers, declaring the importance of the 
 case, and requesting their prompt co-operation with himself to avert 
 the threatening calamity. The following is his letter to his brother. 
 It is without date ; but was most probably written early in March, 
 when John had just left London, and was pursuing his ministry in 
 Staffordshire : — 
 
 " Dear Brother, — We are come to the Rubicon. Shall we pass, or 
 shall we not ? In the fear of God, (which we both have,) and in the 
 name of Jesus Christ, let us ask, ' Lord, what wouldest thou have 
 us to do?' 
 
 " The case stands thus : — Three preachers, whom we thought we 
 could have depended upon, have taken upon them to administer the 
 sacrament, without any ordination, and without acquainting us (or even 
 yourself) of it beforehand. Why may not all the other preachers do 
 the same, if each is judge of his own right to do it ? And every one 
 is left to act as he pleases, if we take no notice of them that have so 
 despised their brethren. 
 
 " That the rest will soon follow their example I believe ; because, 
 1. They think they may do it with impunity. 2. Because a large 
 majority imagine they have a right, as preachers, to administer the 
 sacraments. So long ago as the conference at Leeds, I took down 
 their names. 3. Because they have betrayed an impatience to sepa- 
 rate. The preachers in Cornwall, and others, wondered it had not been 
 mentioned at our last conference. Jacob Rowell's honesty I commend. 
 Christopher Hopper, Joseph Cownley, John Hampson, and several 
 more, are ripe for a separation. Even Mr. Crisp says he would give
 
 576 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 the sacrament if you bade him. The young preachers, you know, are 
 raw, unprincipled men, and entirely at the mercy of the old. You 
 could persuade them to any thing ; and not you only, Charles Perronet 
 could do the same, or any of the preachers that have left us, or any of 
 the three at Norwich. 
 
 " Upon the whole, I am fully persuaded, almost all our preachers are 
 corrupted already. More and more will give the sacrament, and set up 
 for themselves, even before we die ; and all, except the few that get 
 orders, will turn Dissenters before or after our death. 
 
 " You must wink very hard not to see all this. You have connived 
 at it too, too long. But I now call upon you to consider with me what 
 is to be done ; first, to prevent a separation ; secondly, to save the few 
 uncorrupted preachers ; thirdly, to make the best of those that are 
 corrupted." 
 
 The following letters, addressed by Mr. Charles Wesley to different 
 preachers, display his characteristic fear, uprightness, generosity, and 
 love of the established Church. They also place his warmth and im- 
 petuosity in striking contrast to the calm, practical wisdom of his bro- 
 ther. Charles would at once resort to decisive measures, perhaps so 
 as to dissolve the society at Norwich, which was known to be very 
 intractable, and to silence the offending preachers. John would mode- 
 rate and gradually check irregularities which he could not at once 
 remove, but with the certainty of much evil. Charles would have all 
 the preachers who were not Churchmen separated from their brethren, 
 and settled, if they chose, as Dissenting ministers, and the rest ordained 
 as clergymen ; not thinking that by these measures the societies would 
 be broken up, and the itinerancy destroyed. John would rather employ 
 both classes of preachers in extending the work of God as widely as 
 possible ; deeming nothing upon earth so important as turning men from 
 sin to holiness. The want of a due provision for the aged and disabled 
 preachers is here distinctly seen : and this was another reason why so 
 many of their brethren had already abandoned their travelling ministry. 
 In reading these letters, as well as that to Mr. John Wesley, it must be 
 remembered that the writer was a poet ; and that he was not address- 
 ing the public. He does not, therefore, measure his terms, but uses the 
 strong language to which he was professionally addicted. When he 
 speaks of the Methodist preachers, for instance, as being " corrupted," 
 he intends no reflection either upon their doctrinal sentiments, or upon 
 their moral conduct, but simply that they were alienated in affection 
 from the established Church ; although in many instances he knew that 
 their alienation did not arise from the principles of systematic dissent, 
 but from the lives and preaching of the clergy. Their " corruption" 
 was the desire, which they sometimes expressed, that the societies and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 577 
 
 congregations generally might have the spiritual advantages which their 
 brethren in London and Bristol enjoyed, under Mr. Charles Wesley's 
 own administration, — the Lord's supper in their own chapels, and divine 
 service there on the forenoon of the sabbath-day. 
 
 TO MR. NICHOLAS GILBERT. 
 
 " London, March 6th, 1760. You have heard of Paul Greenwood, 
 John Murlin, and Thomas Mitchell's presuming to give the sacrament 
 at Norwich. I am the more afflicted thereat, because I had as great a 
 love for, and confidence in, them as in any of our sons in the gospel. 
 They never acquainted their fellow-labourers, no, not even my brother, 
 of their design. They did it without any ordination, either by bishops, 
 or elders ; upon the sole authority of a sixpenny license : nay, all had 
 not that. Do you think they acted right ? If the other preachers follow 
 their example, not only separation, but general confusion, must follow. 
 
 " I shall tell you my mind plainly, because I love you. My soul 
 abhors the thought of separating from the Church of England. You 
 and all the preachers know, if my brother should ever leave it, I should 
 leave him, or rather he me. While ye have any grace remaining, ye 
 can never desire to part us, whom God hath joined. You would rather 
 waive your right, if you had it, (which I absolutely deny,) of ordaining 
 yourselves priests, than occasion so great evil. 
 
 " Indeed you must become at last either Church ministers or Dis- 
 senting. Such as addict themselves thereto, God will make a way for 
 their regular ordination in the Church. With these I desire to live 
 and die. If you are of the number, I look upon you as my brother, my 
 son, and owe you all I can do for you, as to soul, body, and estate. I 
 never proposed a friendship, and proved false to my profession. I 
 never (that I know) forgot a kindness done me. Your fidelity to the 
 Church of England, although your duty, I shall accept as the greatest 
 kindness you can possibly show me, beyond any personal benefit what- 
 soever. 
 
 " Now consider, and speak your mind. Will you take me for your 
 father, brother, friend ? or will you not ?" 
 
 TO JOHN NELSON. 
 " London, March 27th, 1760. My Dear Brother, — I think you are no 
 weathercock. What think you then of licensing yourself as a Protest- 
 ant Dissenter, and baptizing and administering the Lord's supper, and 
 all the while calling yourself a Church-of-England man 1 Is this honest ? 
 consistent ? just ? Yet this is the practice of several of our sons in the 
 gospel, even of some whom I most loved, and most depended upon. 
 Who would have thought that Paul Greenwood could be carried away 
 by such dissimulation ? He and John Murlin, and Thomas Mitchell, 
 
 37
 
 578 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 and now, I suppose, Isaac Brown, give the sacrament at Norwich. My 
 brother suffers them. Will not all the rest follow their example ? and 
 Avill not separation, yea, and general separation, ensue 1 and must not 
 the work of God, so far as we are concerned, be thereby destroyed ? 
 
 " John, I love thee from my heart : yet rather than see thee a Dis- 
 senting minister, I wish to see thee smiling in thy coffin. ^ 
 
 " What can be done to save our preachers ? Let all things be done 
 in love, and meekness, and the spirit of prayer." 
 
 TO THE REV. MR. GRIMSHAW. 
 
 "London, March 27th, 1760. My Dear Brother, — I make haste to 
 summon you to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Is there not 
 a cause for reprinting the enclosed ? Our preaching-houses are mostly 
 licensed, and so are proper meeting-houses. Our preachers are mostly 
 licensed, and so are Dissenting ministers. They took out their licenses 
 as Protestant Dissenters. Three of our steadiest preachers give the 
 sacrament at Norwich, with no other ordination or authority than a six- 
 penny license. My brother approves of it. All the rest will most 
 probably follow their example. What then must be the consequence ? 
 Not only separation, but general confusion, and the destruction of the 
 work, so far as it depends on the Methodists. 
 
 " I publish the enclosed, with my brother's concurrence. He per- 
 suades himself, that none of the other preachers will do like those at 
 Norwich ; that they may all license themselves, and give the sacra- 
 ments, yet continue true members of the Church of England ; that no 
 confusion or inconvenience will follow from these things ; that we should 
 let them do as they please till the conference : where I suppose it must 
 be put to the vote, whether they have not a right to administer the 
 sacraments ; and they themselves shall be the judges. 
 
 " I cannot get leave of my conscience, to do nothing in the mean time 
 toward guarding our children against the approaching evil. They shall 
 not be trepanned into a meeting-house, if I with God's help can hinder 
 it. Every man ought to choose for himself; and every man shall see 
 with his own eyes, and know what he does before he does it. 
 
 " I am convinced things are come to a crisis. We must now resolve 
 either to separate from the Church, or to continue in it the rest of our 
 days. If pride and the enemy did not precipitate them, our preachers 
 would infallibly find the door into the outward ministry opened to them 
 soon. Such as addict themselves to the service of the Dissenters, we 
 should let depart in peace. Such as dare trust God, and venture them- 
 selves in the same bottom with us, we should cherish them as sons, 
 and do our utmost for them, as to soul, body, and estate. 
 
 " But this I insist upon : every preacher must know his own mind, 
 
 37* 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 579 
 
 and his brethren's ; must be able to answer, ' What will become of me 
 after our fathers are gone ? Must not I become either a Dissenting or 
 Church minister ? Which would I choose V 
 
 " To have them and things as they are, is to betray our charge ; to 
 undermine the Church ; and, as far as in us lies, to destroy the work 
 of God. 
 
 " I have read the ' Reasons' to the society here ; and their hearts are 
 as the heart of one man. Will you not join hand and heart with us, in 
 confirming the souls of the disciples ? I anticipate your answer ; for I 
 know you pray for the peace of our Jerusalem ; and you prosper because 
 you love her. 
 
 " Direct to me at the Foundery ; and strengthen my hands by your 
 counsel, and by your prayers, if you count me worthy to be called 
 
 " Your affectionate and faithful brother." 
 
 To this letter Mr. Grimshaw wrote an immediate answer, which he 
 sent by the hand of Thomas Colbeck, one of the Methodist local 
 preachers, who was coming up to London. The answer, which is 
 written with great frankness, and before time had been allowed duly to 
 weigh every subject to which it refers, contains some interesting parti- 
 culars relative to Mr. Grimshaw's clerical irregularity, and the ecclesi- 
 astical censures with which he had been threatened. It expresses 
 merely the feelings which arose in his mind when he first read the 
 communication of his friend. He did not, in fact, withdraw from the 
 Methodists, as, under the momentary excitement of the occasion, he 
 declared it to be his purpose to do. 
 
 " Haworth, March 31st, 1760. My Very Dear Sir, — Having an oppor- 
 tunity of sending you a letter by dear brother Colbeck, who sets out 
 for London to-morrow, I was just sitting down to write to you, when 
 yours, as if divine Providence had some special design in it, came to 
 hand. I write but seldom, indeed, because I have seldom much to 
 write to you about. But now, upon my word, you have furnished me 
 with matter to write upon. The preachers and preaching-houses are 
 mostly licensed, you say. The evil that will follow upon this may 
 perhaps be worse than any thing that you or your brother could have 
 any cause to apprehend from William Darney. All I desired was only 
 a year's probation for him, and then, as his behaviour should deserve, 
 to be accepted by us or rejected.* Whatever John Nelson (for him I 
 
 * Darney was a favourite with Mr. Grimshaw, but disowned by Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley and most of the preachers. There is more point in this allusion than at first 
 appears. Mr. Charles Wesley was very fastidious as to the preachers whom he would 
 employ in the itinerancy ; and Darney was one of the men whom he discountenanced, 
 80 that even Mr. Grimshaw could not obtain for him what he thought a fair trial.
 
 580 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 suppose you meant) wrote to you, I am very well assured that the 
 people in Birstal circuit were much blessed under his preaching. 
 
 " However, waiving that affair, this of licensing the preachers and 
 preaching-houses is a matter that I never expected to have seen or 
 heard of among the Methodists. If I had, I dare say I had never 
 entered into connection with them. I am in connection, and desire to 
 continue so : but how can I do it consistently with my relation to the 
 Church of England ? For as it is with you, so it is with us. Since 
 the last conference, (what encouragement was then given the preach- 
 ers to license themselves, God and you best know,) many of the 
 preachers in these parts have got licensed at the quarter sessions. 
 Several of the preaching-houses and other houses are got licensed. To 
 be sure, the Methodists are no longer members of the Church of 
 England. They are. as real a body of Dissenters from her as the 
 Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, or any body of Independents. How 
 have I complained of this all the last winter to our brethren! Mr. 
 Colbeck can tell you. 
 
 " I speak of my situation. Can I justify, before my provincial or a 
 consistorial court, my preaching in a meeting-house, or my connection 
 with a body of Dissenting ministers 1 Am I not liable to suspension 
 ah officio, [from the office,] as well as beneficio ? [from its emoluments.] 
 About twelve years ago, when Archbishop Hutton was archbishop of 
 York, among other arguments to stop me from preaching abroad, he 
 made this one, — That I had preached in a licensed meeting-house, 
 (meaning the Boggard-house at Leeds.) And if his grace could have 
 proved it, (as he upon inquiry into that thing could not,) it is not im- 
 probable that he had suspended me. I promised his grace, at that 
 time, that I never would (though determined to preach abroad) preach 
 in a licensed house ; no, nor even in that at Leeds, if it should appear 
 to be licensed. And not many months ago, it being reported that I 
 was to preach at a fixed time in a licensed building, the minister and 
 churchwardens of the parish had determined to present me ; but it fell 
 out providentially that I preached in a barn near to it ; and so no more 
 was said of it. I have indeed preached now and then in a licensed 
 house where I was a stranger, or thought no notice would be taken 
 of it. But at the rate we go on, all the nation must be alarmed at our 
 present proceedings : and no doubt the spiritual courts will shortly 
 animadvert upon our doings, and perhaps other powers too, so soon as 
 the war ceases. At present they have something else to do. 
 
 " I little thought that your brother approved or connived at the 
 preachers' doings at Norwich. If it be so, ' to your tents, O Israel !' 
 It is time for me to shift for myself : to disown all connection with the 
 Methodists : to stay at home, and take care of my parish ; or to preach
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 581 
 
 abroad in such places as are unlicensed, and to such people as are in 
 connection with us. I have no intention to preach the less ; but to 
 exert myself, as far as I am able, for the salvation of sinners. I hereby 
 therefore assure you, that I disclaim all further and future connection 
 with the Methodists. I will quietly recede, without noise or tumult. 
 No one, mindful to continue with them, shall be either directly or 
 indirectly hindered by me. I have other reasons, sir, for leaving the 
 Methodists besides the above, which I shall not mention now. 
 
 " In general, as to the licensing of preachers and places, I know no 
 expedient to prevent it. The thing is gone too far. It is become in- 
 veterate. It has been gradually growing to this ever since erecting 
 preaching-houses was first encouraged in the land : and if you can stem 
 the torrent, by dint of persuasion, or some other influence you may 
 have over some of the preachers, it will be only during your own lives. 
 So soon as you are dead, all the preachers will then do as many have 
 already done : and even while you live, the licensed preachers, though 
 they continue with you, will do worse than after your death. For now, 
 even upon their sixpenny license, they will dare to administer the 
 sacraments ; whereas then they will qualify themselves further for it 
 by obtaining Presbyterian ordination. Dissenters the Methodists will 
 all shortly be : it cannot, I am fully satisfied, be prevented. 
 
 " Nor is this spirit merely in the preachers. It is in the people also. 
 There are so many inconveniences attend the people, that in most 
 places they all plead strenuously for a settled ministry. They cannot, 
 they say, in conscience, receive the sacraments as administered in our 
 Church. They cannot attend preaching at eight, twelve, and four 
 o'clock on Lord's days, and go to church. They reason these things 
 with the preachers, and urge them upon ordination and residence. 
 They can object little against it, how little soever their minds are in- 
 clined to it. Therefore they license. For my part, though I do not 
 approve of every thing in our Liturgy, yet I see nothing so materially 
 amiss in it, or our Church constitution, as to disturb my conscience to 
 that degree, as to justify my separation from her. No ; where shall I 
 go to mend myself? I believe the Church of England to be the sound- 
 est, purest, and most apostolical, well-constituted national Christian 
 church in the world. Therefore I can, in good conscience, (as I am 
 determined, God willing, to do,) live and die in her. But my con- 
 science is not another man's. I believe the Methodists (preachers and 
 members) have so much to say for their separation from our Church, 
 as will not easily, in a conference or otherwise, be obviated. 
 
 " The doctrine of perfection runs very high, just now, in these parts. 
 About Otley and Leeds, I am told, not fewer than thirty profess sinless 
 perfection ; and thirty more, I expect, will pretend thereto shortly. If
 
 582 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 it be of God, it is well. Time will prove it. I wish they knew their 
 own hearts. My perfection is, to see my own imperfection ; my com- 
 fort, to feel that I have the world, flesh, and devil to overthrow through 
 the Spirit and merits of my dear Saviour ; and my desire and hope is, 
 to love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, to the last gasp 
 of my life. This is my perfection. I know no other, expecting to lay 
 down my life and my sword together. May the God of all grace and 
 peace be with you and yours. Pray for me, and I will pray for you. I am 
 
 " Your sincere and affectionate brother. 
 
 " P. S. I will circulate, you may depend upon it, as many as I can 
 of the ' Reasons against Separation.' Send me a hundred of them." 
 
 Mr. Grimshaw lived about three years after writing this letter ; 
 and during this period he retained his connection with the Methodist 
 societies and preachers, to their mutual benefit ; preaching among 
 them, and superintending their affairs, with unabated zeal and faithful- 
 ness. He distinctly saw that the Methodists could not be permanently 
 kept in strict union with the Church. Indeed this must have been 
 obvious from the beginning. The employment of unordained preachers, 
 itinerant and local, and the formation of societies independent of the 
 clergy in whose parishes they lived, was in itself a partial separation. 
 Mr. Grimshaw confesses that he could not induce the people who were 
 impressed by his ministry, and united together in religious societies, to 
 attend the Lord's supper at their several parish churches. The same 
 state of things, it will be recollected, existed four years before, when 
 Mr. Charles Wesley visited that part of the country. The reason of 
 this feeling Mr. Grimshaw does not state. Nor was it necessary. His 
 own practice suggested the reason. He did not confine his minis- 
 trations to Haworth ; but travelled through a wide district of country, 
 preaching in the open air, in barns, chapels, and private houses, to 
 crowds of people who were under the care of his clerical brethren. 
 Why did he this ? Because he knew that not a few of his brethren 
 neither preached nor lived according to their holy vocation ; so that 
 the objects of their charge were perishing for lack of knowledge. For 
 this reason the people absented themselves from their own churches, 
 and sighed for a stated ministry which they and their families could 
 regularly attend on the Lord's day, at convenient hours, to their " edi- 
 fication and comfort." Mr. Charles Wesley, Mr. Grimshaw, and others 
 who entertained their views, resisted these claims with all their might ; 
 but they coidd not extinguish the desire from which the claims pro- 
 ceeded. They wept, they argued, they expostulated, they entreated, 
 they distributed with both hands " Reasons against Separation ;" but 
 they were unconsciously disputing against the very feeling and taste
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 583 
 
 which their own preaching had produced, and which must remain as 
 long as their preaching retained its spiritual, energetic, and converting 
 character. 
 
 When these excellent men contended that the Methodist preachers 
 must either be clergymen or Dissenting ministers, they were not aware 
 of the design of Providence to raise up in the nation a middle party, 
 not directly identified with either, but exerting a salutary influence 
 upon both. In those times, indeed, no human sagacity could foresee 
 how the Methodist succession could be secured. God, however, has 
 taken care for this. The Wesleyan Methodists have never, as a body, 
 either avowed or entertained a belief, that an ecclesiastical establish- 
 ment, episcopacy, or the use of a liturgy, is unlawful. In the strict 
 sense of the word, therefore, they are not Dissenters. Separatists 
 from the established Church most of them unquestionably are ; and oc- 
 cupy an independent position between the two great bodies, with one 
 of which Mr. Charles Wesley thought they must necessarily be identi- 
 fied. Yet even a regular attendance upon the religious services of the 
 Church, by all who choose it, is not at all inconsistent with member- 
 ship in the Methodist societies ; nor is it even discountenanced. 
 
 The view which Mr. Charles Wesley and Mr. Grimshaw took of 
 what they call " licenses" was partial and unworthy of their superior 
 sense. They themselves were clergymen, and their gowns generally 
 secured them respect, and protected them from violence. Not so with 
 the less honourable lay-preachers. They had no means of protection 
 from mobs and ill-minded individuals, in the discharge of their ministry, 
 but such as the law of toleration provided ; and to enjoy the benefits 
 of that law, they must take the prescribed oaths, and receive the requi- 
 site certificate : that is, they must be licensed. And it was only by a 
 similar process, with respect to the houses where they preached, that 
 they and their hearers could be secured from the operation of perse- 
 cuting statutes, enacted in a former age. It was hard to condemn men 
 for placing themselves under the protection of law. If the law and 
 those who administered it would regard the Methodist preachers and 
 congregations as Dissenters, those defenceless persons, who had no 
 other means of protection, were not to blame. They had no reason to 
 believe that the legislature would alter the law to suit their con- 
 venience. Without licenses both the preachers and their hearers 
 would have been at the mercy of every ruffian in the land, and many 
 of them must have been ruined by imprisonment and heavy fines. That 
 the preachers generally claimed a right to administer the sacraments 
 on the authority of their licenses, for which it appears each of them 
 paid "sixpence,"' is very unlikely. They were not fools. Their licenses 
 were obtained as means of security against bad men, and unjust laws.
 
 584 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Their authority to administer the sacraments was derived from their 
 alleged divine call to the pastoral work, connected with their official 
 and recognised " separation to the gospel of God ;" which they appear 
 to have regarded as their ordination, although not performed by the 
 imposition of hands. The expediency of such administration, under 
 their peculiar circumstances, was another question. 
 
 It is somewhat pleasant to read Mr. Charles Wesley's statement, that 
 all the Methodists in London, to a man, were agreed in sentiment with 
 him, and were resolved to live and die in the Church of England. The 
 fact is, they had every thing that the Methodists in the country desired : 
 divine service in Church hours, and the Lord's supper in their own 
 chapels. They had even more. These London favourites were almost 
 continually indulged with the presence of one or other of the Wesleys, 
 teaching them early and late from the pulpit, baptizing their children, 
 aud dispensing to them every sabbath-day the sacred memorials of re- 
 deeming mercy. 
 
 " Deep in rich pastures, will thy flocks complain 1" 
 A Yorkshire Methodist might have addressed these metropolitan Church- 
 folks, who seldom went near a church except at a wedding or a funeral, 
 as Job did his healthy and loquacious friends : " I also could speak as 
 ye do : if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words 
 against you, and shake mine head at you." 
 
 The project of Mr. Charles Wesley to procure episcopal ordination 
 for several preachers, appeared to him a matter of immense importance ; 
 but it savours more of the anxious Churchman, than of the zealous Me- 
 thodist, whose own movements had been notoriously irregular. His 
 object in this was twofold. It was to prevent separation from the 
 Church, and to secure a provision for the preachers in the time of old 
 age. But the scheme was impracticable. It was not likely that any 
 bishop would ordain the whole of these simple-hearted and laborious 
 men, who had never breathed the air of a college, and whose habits 
 were alien from canonical order : and if any bishop were to ordain 
 them, it would only be on condition that each of them should confine 
 his ministrations within the limits of a parish. In this case, there 
 would have been an end to that itinerant preaching which was every- 
 where so greatly sanctioned by the divine blessing ; and most of the 
 Methodist societies must have been dissolved. Painful as were the 
 privations of the preachers, especially in the time of age and infirmity, 
 iew of them, had the proposal been made, could have been induced to 
 accept a comfortable maintenance upon these terms. They chose rather 
 to endure the severities of hunger, if such were the will of God, than 
 abandon the people of their charge, and leave the uninstructed multi- 
 tudes of their countrymen to perish for lack of knowledge. The fact
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 585 
 
 is, Mr. Charles Wesley was a poet and a preacher; but he had not, 
 as he himself confessed, the practical wisdom which was requisite to 
 superintend and conduct an extensive work of God, like that with 
 which he was connected. Happily for the Methodists and the world, 
 the preachers had entire confidence in the judgment of his brother, 
 who kept them steadily engaged in the work of saving souls. In the 
 exercise of a noble faith they persevered in their original calling ; they 
 sought not the clerical office for a morsel of bread ; and God in his 
 providence took care of their temporal interests. 
 
 At this time Joseph Cownley, having been compelled by affliction to 
 desist from the more laborious duties of the itinerancy, had become re- 
 sident at Newcastle, where he preached as he was able, with great 
 acceptance and usefulness, to the end of his life. Hearing of the irregu- 
 larity which had taken place at Norwich, and knowing Mr. Charles 
 Wesley's deep anxiety respecting the state of the Methodists generally, 
 he availed himself of the opportunity of writing to him on these sub- 
 jects. He complains of the want of all suitable provision for the 
 preachers who, like himself, were disabled by age or disease ; and with 
 his usual good sense adverts to Charles's favourite project of getting 
 the preachers episcopally ordained. " There are several of my bre- 
 thren," says he, " who might make the like complaint with me, who 
 have not fled either to the gown or cloak for succour, and who, I would 
 persuade myself, have no thoughts of doing it, unless they could do it, 
 and be Methodist preachers still." " I can easily believe that many, 
 if not most, of those who shall survive you, and from right principles 
 continue in the work, will separate from the Church, except, as my 
 friend Hopper says, you get them fastened where they are by prevail- 
 ing on one or more of the bishops to ordain them. Could this be done, 
 it is highly probable that Methodism might continue as it is till death 
 should remove them also ; for they would be able, notwithstanding all 
 the opposition of false brethren, to keep the bulk of the people where 
 they are. But then what bishop, either in England or Ireland, will 
 ever do this ? will ordain a Methodist preacher, to be a Methodist 
 preacher ? For my part, as poor and worthless a wretch as I am, I 
 could not submit to it on the terms on which most of my brethren have 
 hitherto got it. What happened at Norwich we had not so much as 
 heard of till Mr. Hopper received yours. We have since heard what 
 was done, and who were the doers of it. 
 
 " Give me leave now to press you to do what I think is your bounden 
 duty : I mean, to visit the north this summer. We have excused you 
 to the poor people, who long earnestly to see you, till we can do it no 
 longer. If you refuse to come now. we can say neither more nor less 
 about it, (if you are neither sick nor lame,) than that you cannot, be-
 
 586 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 cause you will not. If you could not preach at all, it would do them 
 good only to see your face. If it should suit Mrs. Wesley to come 
 with you, I have a tolerable house, prettily situated, that should be at 
 your service, as long as you pleased ; and we would make it as agree- 
 able to you as we possibly could." 
 
 In his letter to Mr. Grimshaw, it will be observed, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley says that his brother approved of the administration of the 
 sacraments by the preachers at Norwich. Be this as it may, there is 
 no reason to believe that he immediately interposed to put an end to it. 
 In his notice of the ensuing conference, which was held in the month 
 of August following, he says not one word on the subject ; but appears 
 to have been exceedingly happy with his preachers, and to have been 
 perfectly free from all those gloomy apprehensions concerning them 
 which possessed the mind of his brother and of their mutual friend 
 at Haworth. He says, in his Journal, " I spent two days with the 
 preachers, who had been waiting for me all the week : and their love 
 and unanimity were such as soon made me forget all my labour." 
 
 Charles, however, would not allow the matter to rest.. His alarm 
 for the Church was deep and incessant. After a lapse, therefore, of 
 somewhat more than twelve months, his brother, in a letter addressed 
 to him, says, " Our conference ended, as it began, in peace and love. 
 All found it a blessed time : 
 
 Excepto, quod non sirnul esses, cetera lati.* 
 
 " I do not at all think, to tell you a secret, that the work will ever be 
 destroyed, Church or no Church. What has been done to prevent the 
 Methodists leaving the Church, you will see in the Minutes of the 
 conference. I told you before, with regard to Norwich, dixi. [I have 
 given my decision.] I have done at the last conference all I can or 
 dare do. Allow me liberty of conscience, as I allow you." 
 
 The preacher who had taken the lead in administering the sacra- 
 ments at Norwich died about seven years afterward, and was charac- 
 terized by Mr. John Wesley as " honest Paul Greenwood." He adds, 
 11 He could ill be spared ; but he was ready for the Bridegroom ; so it 
 was fit he should go to him." 
 
 In the year 1761 Mr. Charles Wesley was in a very unsatisfactory 
 state of health. He was laid aside from the public duties of his mi- 
 nistry, and retired to Bath, for the benefit of its waters. Here his 
 ever-active mind, as usual, was employed in the composition of sacred 
 hymns, which he subsequently published to the spiritual profit of many. 
 While he was in this situation he received the following kind letter 
 from the vicar of Shoreham : — 
 
 * "In all respects we were very joyful while together. Your absence was the sole 
 abatement of the general happiness."
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 587 
 
 " April 29th. My Very Dear Brother, — Upon inquiring after your 
 health, the last week, in London, I received the disagreeable account 
 of your being ill at Bath. It would be a great pleasure to hear that 
 God had given success to those waters, and that your health was in a 
 fair way of being restored. This must certainly be the prayer of all 
 your friends, especially of those who have the advancement of Christ's 
 kingdom sincerely at heart. Your Lord has made you not only a very 
 laborious, but a very successful, labourer in his vineyard : and there- 
 fore may it be his blessed will thus to continue his faithful servant for 
 years to come ! However, I doubt not but his divine grace has long 
 since taught your heart to say, ' Not my will, but thine be done.' He 
 certainly knows best when that work is finished which he has given 
 you to do. 
 
 " It has pleased the divine goodness to exercise me, for some months 
 past, with sore afflictions in my family. This is the fifth time, within 
 forty years, that my dear wife has laboured under deep distress of soul, 
 mind, and body. But I trust, through the prayers of her friends, 
 (among which I hope for yours,) she will once more be delivered. 
 My son Jacky was given over several times since last Christmas, in a 
 violent complicated fever ; but, through the blessing of God on the 
 great care and skill of Dr. Turner, he is restored again. 
 
 " May the Lord Jesus ever be with all of us, both in life and in 
 death ! I am, with sincere respects, both to yourself and your very 
 clear spouse, my dear brother, Yours most affectionately." 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 In the year 1762 Mr. Charles Wesley favoured the Christian church 
 with two additional volumes of sacred poetry. They were entitled, 
 " Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures." Most of 
 them are concise, but some are of considerable length. They are two 
 thousand and thirty in number, and are founded upon particular texts, 
 beginning with Genesis, and ending with the Revelation of St. John. 
 Many of them are inserted in the general Wesleyan Collection ; not a 
 few display a singular ingenuity ; and nearly all breathe the same spirit 
 of pure and fervent devotion which so strikingly marks his former com- 
 positions. They prove the author to have been a diligent, accurate, 
 and critical student of the sacred books, and often throw an interesting 
 light upon important passages. The metres present an agreeable va- 
 riety ; and, with a few exceptions, the entire work is perhaps one of
 
 588 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 the best uninspired manuals for the Christian closet that was ever pub- 
 lished in the English language. 
 
 The volumes are introduced by the following laconic and pointed 
 preface : — " God having graciously laid his hand upon my body, and 
 disabled me for the principal work of the ministry, has thereby given 
 me an unexpected occasion of writing the following hymns. Many of 
 the thoughts are borrowed from Mr. Henry's Comment, Dr. Gell on the 
 Pentateuch, and Bengelius on the New Testament. 
 
 " Several of the hymns are intended to prove, and several to guard, 
 the doctrine of Christian perfection. I durst not publish one without 
 the other. 
 
 " In the latter sort I use some severity ; not against particular per- 
 sons, but against enthusiasts and Antinomians, who, by not living up to 
 their profession, give abundant occasion to them that seek it, to cause 
 the truth to be evil spoken of. 
 
 " Such there have been in every age, in every revival of religion. 
 But this does in no wise justify the men who put darkness for light, 
 and light for darkness ; who call the wisdom of God foolishness, and 
 all real religion enthusiasm. 
 
 " When the wheat springs up, the tares also appear ; and both grow 
 together until the harvest : yet is there an essential difference between 
 them. This occasions a difference in my expressions, and as great a 
 seeming contradiction, as when I declare with St. Paul, A man is justi- 
 fied by faith, and not by works ; and with St. James, A man is justified 
 by works, and not by faith only. 
 
 " My desire is, rightly to divide the word of truth. But who is 
 sufficient for these things 1 Who can check the self-confident, without 
 discouraging the self-diffident ? I trust in God, none of the latter will 
 take to themselves what belongs to the former only. 
 
 " Reader, if God ministers grace to thy soul through any of these 
 hymns, offer up a prayer for the weak instrument, that, whenever I 
 finish my course, I may depart in peace, having seen in Jesus Christ 
 his great salvation." 
 
 Few persons would think of going to the verbose Commentary of 
 Matthew Henry for the elements of poetry ; but the genius of Charles 
 Wesley, like the fabled philosopher's stone, could turn every thing to 
 gold. Some of his eminently beautiful hymns, strange as it may ap- 
 pear, are poetic versions of Henry's expository notes. One specimen 
 may be given. The commentator, explaining the name of God, as it 
 was given to Moses, and recorded in Exodus xxxiv, 6, 7, says, — 
 
 " (1.) He is merciful. This bespeaks his pity and tender compas- 
 sion, like that of a father to his children. This is put first, because it 
 is the first wheel in all the instances of God's good-will to fallen man,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 589 
 
 whose misery makes him an object of pity. Let us not then have 
 either hard thoughts of God, or hard hearts toward our brethren. 
 (2.) He is gracious. This bespeaks both freeness and kindness. It 
 intimates not only that he hath a compassion to his creatures, but a 
 complacency in them, and in doing good to them ; and this of his own 
 good-will, and not for the sake of any thing in them. His mercy is 
 grace, free grace. This teaches us to be not only pitiful, but courteous. 
 (3.) He is long-suffering . This is a branch of God's goodness which 
 sinners' badness gives occasion for. Israel's had done so. They had 
 tried his patience, and experienced it. He is long-suffering ; that is, 
 he is slow to anger, and delays the execution of his justice. He waits 
 to be gracious, and lengthens out the offers of his mercy. (4.) He is 
 abundant in goodness and truth. This bespeaks plentiful goodness. It 
 abounds above our deserts, above our conception and expression. The 
 spring of mercy is always full, and streams of mercy always flowing 
 There is mercy enough in God, enough for all, enough for each, enough 
 for ever. It bespeaks promised goodness, goodness and truth put to- 
 gether, goodness engaged by promise, and his faithfulness pawned for 
 the security of it. He not only does good, but by his promise he raises 
 our expectation of it, and even obliges himself to show mercy. (5.) He 
 keepeth mercy for thousands. This denotes, [1.] Mercy extended to 
 thousands of persons. When he gives to some, still he keeps for 
 others, and is never exhausted. He has mercy enough for all the 
 thousands of Israel, when they shall multiply as the sand. [2.] Mercy 
 entailed upon thousands of generations, even those upon whom the 
 ends of the world are come. Nay, the line of it is drawn parallel with 
 that of eternity itself. (6.) He forgiveth iniquity, transgression, and sin. 
 Pardoning mercy is specified, because in that divine grace is most 
 magnified ; and because that is it which opens the door of all other 
 gifts of his divine grace. He forgives offences of all sorts, iniquity, 
 transgression, and sin, multiplies his pardons, and with him is plen- 
 teous redemption." 
 
 The valuable sentiments thus expressed in humble prose Mr. Charles 
 Wesley imbodies in elegant and energetic verse. He sings in the full 
 exercise of faith, and of adoring gratitude ; and millions of hearts and 
 voices still unite in the same hallowed strain : — 
 
 Merciful God, thyself proclaim 
 
 In this polluted breast ; 
 Mercy is thy distinguish'd name, 
 
 Which suits a sinner best : 
 Our misery doth for pity call, 
 
 Our sin implores thy grace ; 
 And thou art merciful to all 
 
 Our lost, apostate race.
 
 590 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Thy causeless, unexhausted love, 
 
 Unmerited and free, 
 Delights our evil to remove, 
 
 And help our misery : 
 Thou waitest to be gracious still, 
 
 Thou dost with sinners bear, 
 That saved we may thy goodness feel, 
 
 And all thy grace declare. 
 
 Thy goodness and thy truth to me, 
 
 To every soul, abound, 
 A vast, unfathomable sea, 
 
 Where all our thoughts are drown'd ; 
 Its streams the whole creation reach, 
 
 So plenteous is the store, 
 Enough for all, enough for each, 
 
 Enough for evermore. 
 
 Faithful, Lord, thy mercies are, 
 
 A rock that cannot move ; 
 A thousand promises declare 
 
 Thy constancy of love : 
 Throughout the universe it reigns, 
 
 Unalterably sure ; 
 And while the truth of God remains, 
 
 The goodness must endure. 
 
 Reserves of unexhausted grace 
 
 Are treasured up in thee, 
 For myriads of the fallen race, 
 
 For all mankind, and me. 
 The flowing stream continues full, 
 
 Till time its course hath run ; 
 And while eternal ages roll 
 
 Thy mercy shall flow on. 
 
 Merciful God, long-suffering, kind, 
 
 To me thy name is show'd ; 
 But sinners most exult to find, 
 
 Thou art a pardoning God. 
 Our sins in deed, and word, and thought, 
 
 Thou freely dost forgive ; 
 For us thou by thy blood hast bought, 
 
 And died that I might live. 
 
 Dr. Gell was a London clergyman, who flourished during the com- 
 monwealth. He was a profound Biblical scholar, and a man of great 
 spirituality of mind ; but somewhat mystical in his views of religion. 
 Most strenuously did he contend, in opposition to the prevalent theology 
 of his day, that it is the privilege of the people of God to be saved from 
 all sin during the present life. He published an " Amended transla-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 591 
 
 tion" of the five books of Moses, and designed the publication of a 
 similar work on the entire Scriptures ; but his manuscript, the anxious 
 labour of many years, was mostly consumed in the great fire of London, 
 which occurred in the year 1666. The remainder, relating to some 
 portions of the New Testament, was printed after his death, in two thin 
 folio volumes. This very wise and holy man was a favourite writer 
 with Mr. Charles Wesley, who admired both his spirit and divinity. 
 
 Bengelius is well known as a Lutheran minister, of extraordinary 
 piety and erudition. Many of Mr. John Wesley's notes on the New 
 Testament are translated from the works of this celebrated critic and 
 expositor. Mr. Charles Wesley had been led to a careful examina- 
 tion of Bengelius's writings, in consequence of the assistance which 
 he had been called to render his brother, in preparing his translation 
 of the New Testament, and the explanatory notes with which it is 
 accompanied. 
 
 In Mr. Charles Wesley's " Short Hymns"- two points of doctrine are 
 introduced, in which he differs from his brother. They are spiritual 
 darkness, and Christian perfection. He assumes that, sometimes, by 
 an act of mere sovereignty, God withdraws from his people the light 
 of his countenance, leaving them in the most distressing uncertainty 
 whether or not they are the objects of his favour ; that this is done as 
 a means of their advancement in holiness ; and that, in these seasons 
 of anguish and dismay, they are not only abandoned to the fiercest 
 temptations of the wicked one, but also to severe mental chastisements 
 inflicted by the hand of their heavenly Father. These were views 
 which he had received, not from the sacred volume, but from the writ- 
 ings of the Mystics, to which he had given implicit credence in the 
 earlier periods of his religious course. His brother had long abandoned 
 these peculiarities altogether, having now become " a man of one book." 
 Charles still adhered to them, because they accorded with those mor- 
 bid feelings to which he was constitutionally prone. One example 
 may be given : — 
 
 Shall man direct the sovereign God, 
 Say, " He cannot use his rod 
 
 But for some fresh offence 1 
 From saints he never hides his face, 
 Or suddenly their comforts slays, 
 
 To prove their innocence ?" 
 
 Nay, but he casts the righteous down, 
 Seems on his beloved to frown, 
 
 Yet smiles their fears to see : 
 He hears the oft-repeated cry, 
 " Why, O my God, my Father, why 
 
 Hast thou forsaken me ?"
 
 592 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Then let the patient, perfect man, 
 His integrity maintain, 
 
 But not before his God : 
 The Lord may crush a sinless saint, 
 As once he left his Son to faint 
 
 And die beneath his load. 
 
 The sentiment contained in the concluding lines of this hymn is one 
 to which Mr. Charles Wesley often refers in his poetry, and upon 
 which he was accustomed to lay great stress. The Lord Jesus was 
 crucified by wicked hands, and treated with the bitterest hatred and 
 scorn. He was also " forsaken" by his Father ; it " pleased the Lord 
 to bruise him," and to " put him to grief ;" so that his " soul was ex- 
 ceeding sorrowful, even unto death ;" and " his sweat was as it were 
 great drops of blood falling to the ground." In various passages of the 
 New Testament believers are described as having " fellowship" with 
 him in "his sufferings," and being "conformable unto his death." 
 These and other texts of a similar kind, it is presumed, denote two 
 things : First, that the persons here referred to have become dead to 
 sin through the sacrifice of Christ. They are no longer under condem- 
 nation on account of it ; and it has no dominion over them. In this 
 sense they are mystically " crucified with Christ," and " dead with" 
 him. Secondly, such passages also denote the liability of believers 
 to suffer persecution, even in its severest forms, for Christ's sake : and 
 when they endure reproach, insult, contumely, wrong, and violence, 
 even to martyrdom, on account of the " righteousness" which he has 
 enjoined, and which they practise for the honour of his name, they 
 have " fellowship" with him in his sufferings ; for they are, in their 
 degree, treated as he was, and for the same cause. Those who thus 
 " suffer with him" shall " reign" and " be glorified with him." 
 
 But the assumption, that the children of God are ever " forsaken" by 
 him, as Christ was in the garden and upon the cross, and that he in 
 the same manner " bruises" them, and " puts them to grief," is con- 
 ceived to be more than doubtful. The Lord Jesus was thus " delivered 
 up," not as matter of discipline, or of personal trial, but for the expia- 
 tion of the world's guilt ; for " his soul" was made " an offering for sin." 
 In this work he " trod the wine-press alone." No one can have any 
 proper " fellowship" with him in the redemption of the lost souls of 
 men. There is no atoning efficacy in the sufferings of all the saints 
 upon earth, either for themselves or for others. Good men may be 
 brought into " heaviness through manifold temptations," arising from 
 Satanic influence, sickness, want, bereavement, and a thousand other 
 evils ; but that they need ever lose the joyous witness of God's adopt- 
 ing love, of their filial relation to him, and their hope of heaven, is at
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 593 
 
 variance with the general tenor of the apostolic writings, which call 
 upon them to " rejoice evermore," and to " rejoice in the Lord always." 
 Such admonitions would be absurd, and compliance with them impos- 
 sible, if, without any spiritual declension, or sin committed on their 
 part, they are treated as was the Lord Jesus when he died as the sub- 
 stitute of sinful men. 
 
 Such were the views of Mr. John Wesley. Spiritual darkness he 
 attributes to various causes. " But I dare not rank among these," says 
 he, " the bare, arbitrary, sovereign will of God. He ' rejoiceth in the 
 prosperity of his servants.' ' He delighteth not to afflict or grieve the 
 children of men.' His invariable will is our sanctification, attended 
 with ' peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.' These are his own free 
 gifts ; and we are assured, the ' gifts' of God ' are,' on his part, ' with- 
 out repentance.' He never repenteth of what he hath given, or desires 
 to withdraw them from us. Therefore he never deserts us, as some 
 speak. It is we only that desert him."* 
 
 " ' But is not darkness much more profitable for the soul than light ? 
 Is not the work of God in the heart more swiftly and effectually carried 
 on during a state of inward suffering ? Is not a believer more swiftly 
 and throughly purified by sorrow, than by joy 1 by anguish, and pain, 
 and distress, and spiritual martyrdoms, than by continual peace V So 
 the Mystics teach ; so it is written in their books ; but not in the ora- 
 cles of God. The Scripture nowhere says, that the absence of God 
 best perfects his work in the heart. Rather, his presence, and a clear 
 communion with the Father and the Son. A strong consciousness of 
 this will do more in an hour, than his absence in an age. Joy in the 
 Holy Ghost will far more effectually purify the soul, than the want of 
 that joy ; and the peace of God is the best means of refining the soul 
 from the dross of earthly affections. Away then with the idle conceit, 
 that the kingdom of God is divided against itself: that the peace of 
 God, and joy in the Holy Ghost, are obstructive of righteousness ; and 
 that we are saved, not by faith, but by unbelief; not by hope, but by 
 despair !"t 
 
 The time at which Mr. Charles Wesley published his " Short Hymns" 
 was an important period in the history of Methodism. For many years 
 he and his brother had preached with signal success in various parts 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, and multitudes of people through their 
 labours were turned to God ; yet he had often observed to John, that 
 their pentecost was not come. Richer measures of divine influence he 
 believed were still in reserve, and would ere long be shed upon them, 
 and upon the people among whom they labourefl, producing effects still 
 more marked and glorious. That long-anticipated time seemed now to 
 
 * Works, vol. iii, p. 410. t Works, vol. iii, pp. 416, 417. 
 
 38
 
 594 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 have arrived. An unusual degree of divine power attended the preaching 
 of the word in almost every place ; so that " believers were added to the 
 Lord, multitudes, both of men and women," beyond all former exam- 
 ple. While converts were greatly multiplied, the lukewarm were quick- 
 ened ; backsliders were reclaimed ; and not a few of those who had 
 for years adorned their religious profession entered into a higher state 
 of holiness and spiritual enjoyment than they had heretofore experienced. 
 They believed, in fact, that they had received that " perfect love" which 
 " casteth out fear," and which the Wesleys, both in their ministry and 
 writings, had uniformly taught to be attainable in this life by all the 
 people of God. Some hundreds of persons, of established religious 
 character, professed to have attained to this ; and their whole spirit and 
 conduct confirmed their testimony. They were examples of holy cheer- 
 fulness, of meekness and charity, and of diligence in every duty. 
 
 But at length the tares appeared among the wheat. In London a 
 class of persons arose, who assumed that they were wiser than their 
 teachers, and ran into the wildest extravagances ; so as even to take 
 upon themselves to prophesy. They were patronized and encouraged 
 by Thomas Maxfield, whom the bishop of Deny had ordained, that he 
 might assist Mr. Wesley ; and, as the generous prelate expressed him- 
 self, " that the good man might not work himself to death." Mr. John 
 Wesley bore with these misguided persons as long as any hope of 
 reclaiming them remained ; but finding that their conduct was matter 
 of public scandal, and that they were incorrigible, he separated the ring- 
 leaders from the society, and publicly disowned both the men and their 
 proceedings. Maxfield himself afterward withdrew, and caused a severe 
 rent in the London society. 
 
 It is a characteristic of a great mind steadily to adhere to well- 
 ascertained principles, even when they are abused by weak or bad 
 men. Some years after Luther had revived the Scriptural doctrine of 
 justification by faith, he saw it applied to the most licentious purposes 
 by ranting Antinomians ; yet he abandoned not this truth, but main- 
 tained it with stern fidelity to the day of his death. Mr. John Wesley 
 had derived his views of Christian perfection from a diligent, prayerful, 
 and long-continued study of the Holy Scriptures ; and when he saw the 
 doctrine perverted and abused by George Bell and his wild associates, 
 his views concerning it remained unchanged. He still contended, on 
 the authority of Holy Scripture, that it is every man's duty to love God 
 with all his heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, and his neighbour 
 as himself; and that provision is made in the evangelical covenant for 
 bringing the children of God, even in the present world, to this blessed 
 state of conformity to his will. If men were indeed required to bring 
 themselves to this state, they might well despair of attaining to it ; but 
 
 38*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 595 
 
 with the word of the living God as the warrant of their confidence, and 
 the almighty Spirit as their sanctifier, they ought never to despair of 
 coming up to this standard, so as to " perfect holiness in the fear of the 
 Lord." 
 
 Until this time it had been understood that Mr. Charles Wesley agreed 
 with his brother on this as well as every other doctrine of Christian 
 verity ; although he had repeatedly used unguarded expressions in his 
 hymns, which could not be justified. But now his views on this sub- 
 ject appear to have undergone a change, in consequence of the extra- 
 vagance and pride of which he was a distressed witness. He did not 
 from this time contend, as do many, for the necessary continuance of 
 indwelling sin till death ; but he spoke of Christian perfection as a 
 much higher attainment than either he or his brother had previously 
 regarded it. In his estimation, it is not to be obtained by a present act 
 of faith in the mercy, truth, and power of God ; but is rather the result 
 of severe discipline, comprehending affliction, temptation, long-continued 
 labour, and the persevering exercise of faith in seasons of spiritual 
 darkness, when the heart is wrung with bitter anguish. By this pain- 
 ful and lingering process he believed that the death of " the old man" is 
 effected, and a maturity is given to all the graces of the Christian cha- 
 racter. Upon this theory no man can ever say that he has attained to 
 this state : and hence Mr. Charles Wesley condemned " the witnesses," 
 as he called them ; that is, the persons who testified of the time and 
 manner in which they were delivered from the root of sin, and made 
 perfect in love ; regarding them as self-deceived. In some of his 
 " Short Hymns" he has given considerable prominence to these pecu- 
 liarities of opinion. 
 
 The change in Mr. Charles Wesley's manner of speaking on the 
 subject of Christian perfection, as might be expected, gave considerable 
 uneasiness to his brother, who felt it to be very undesirable that they 
 should even seem to contradict each other in their ministry and writ- 
 ings. In a letter, therefore, addressed to Miss Furley, a very devout 
 young lady, who was afterward married to John Downes, he says, 
 " Take ^are you are not hurt by any thing in the ' Short Hymns,' con- 
 trary to the doctrines you have long received." 
 
 On this subject he also says, in a letter to Charles, " That perfection 
 which I believe, I can boldly preach ; because I think I see five hun- 
 dred witnesses of it. Of that perfection which you preach, you think 
 you do not see any witness at all. Why, then, you must have far more 
 courage than me, or you could not persist in preaching it. I wonder 
 you do not, in this article, fall in plumb with Mr. Whitefield. For do 
 not you, as well as he, ask, ' Where are the perfect ones V I verily 
 believe there are none upon earth ; none dwelling in the body. I cor-
 
 596 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 dially assent to his opinion, that there is no such perfection here as you 
 describe : at least, I never met with an instance of it ; and I doubt I 
 never shall. Therefore I still think, to set perfection so high is effect- 
 ually to renounce it." 
 
 The matter still rested with considerable weight upon his mind. At 
 a subsequent period he therefore again addressed Charles on the same 
 subject. " Some thoughts," says he, " occurred to my mind this morn- 
 ing, which I believe it may be useful to set down : the rather, because 
 it may be a means of our understanding each other clearly ; that we 
 may agree as far as ever we can, and then let all the world know it. 
 
 " I was thinking on Christian perfection, with regard to the thing, 
 the manner, and the time. 
 
 " 1. By perfection I mean the humble, gentle, patient love of God 
 and man, ruling all the tempers, words, and actions : the whole heart, 
 and the whole life. 
 
 " I do not include an impossibility of falling from it, either in part or 
 in whole. Therefore I retract several expressions in our hymns, which 
 partly express, partly imply, such an impossibility. 
 
 " And I do not contend for the term si7iless, though I do not object 
 against it. 
 
 " Do we agree or differ here 1 If we differ, wherein ? 
 
 "2. As to the manner, I believe this perfection is always wrought in 
 the soul by faith, by a simple act of faith ; consequently, in an instant. 
 
 " But I believe a gradual work, both preceding and following that 
 instant. 
 
 " Do we agree or differ here ? 
 
 " 3. As to the time, I believe this instant generally is the instant of 
 death, the moment before the soul leaves the body. 
 
 " But I believe it may be ten, twenty, or forty years before death. 
 
 " Do we agree or differ here ? 
 
 " I believe it is usually many years after justification ; but that it may 
 be within five years, or five months, after it. I know no conclusive 
 argument to the contrary. Do you ? 
 
 " If it must be many years after justification, I would be glad to know 
 how many. Pretium quotus arrogat annus ? And how many days or 
 months, or even years, can you allow to be between perfection and 
 death ? How far from justification must it be ? and how near to death ? 
 
 " If it be possible, let you and me come to a good understanding, both 
 for our own sakes, and for the sake of the people." 
 
 What answer Mr. Charles Wesley returned to this candid and sensi- 
 ble letter, we have no means of ascertaining. Full as he was of poetic 
 fire, being the creature of feeling, it was not his practice to analyze 
 doctrinal principles with logical exactness. He was far more expert
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 597 
 
 at beating down spiritual pride by a pithy rebuke, administered either 
 in prose or verse. 
 
 A few months after the publication of the " Short Hymns," he re- 
 ceived the following letter from his faithful and affectionate friend Mr. 
 Perronet, of Shoreham. That venerable man, it will be observed, mo- 
 destly intimates that, in some of the hymns, there was an undue degree 
 of severity toward certain professors of religion, whose errors rather 
 proceeded from weakness of understanding, or the want of information, 
 than any corrupt principle in the heart. Mr. Perronet, in a very feel- 
 ing manner, adverts to the sufferings of his excellent wife, who for many 
 years was greatly afflicted both in body and mind. 
 
 " Shoreham, Jan. 1st, 1763. My Reverend and Dear Brother, — 1 
 thank you for the favour of your last visit, and should have been glad if 
 it could have been repeated. I doubt not but we, however, enjoy the 
 benefit of your prayers ; and I desire we may ever enjoy them. 
 
 " The dear companion of my life is still in the fiery furnace, from 
 whence I doubt not but she will be delivered like gold purified in the 
 fire ; or, as you express it in your obliging letter to my son Billy, • she 
 will be gathered as a ripe shock of corn into the heavenly garner.' I 
 have lately read over your last hymns, with the same pleasure which 
 your former always gave me. Does my friend inquire whether all the 
 verses equally please ? Let Horace answer for me : — 
 
 Verum ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis 
 Offendar maculis, quas ant incuria fundit, 
 Aut humana parum cavit natura.* 
 
 " But I will still add another cause to what Horace mentions ; and 
 to which he was certainly a stranger : A pious zeal for the honour of 
 God and religion ; and a pious fear lest delusions should overspread 
 the Methodist church. These, my dear friend, are highly laudable, 
 and highly becoming the Christian divine, and the Christian poet. 
 That there are some things which want setting to rights, is most 
 certain : but let us take care that while we root up the tares, we root 
 not up the wheat at the same time ! Let us endeavour to preserve the 
 latter, though it may be attended in a gracious heart with many of the 
 former. Let not a pious soul deny the work of God, in itself, because 
 it is either unusual, or in a larger abundance, than we looked for, or 
 expected. 
 
 " At the first dawnings of Methodism, surely there were many mis- 
 takes in many gracious souls : and how many zealots were there who 
 
 * " But where the beauties more in number shine, 
 I am not angry when a casual line 
 (That with some trivial faults unequal flows) 
 A careless hand, or human frailty, shows." — Francis.
 
 598 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 condemned the whole together ! Let this teach us that prudence and 
 moderation, that coolness and discernment, which the present outpour- 
 ing of the Spirit so plainly requires from us. I am so thoroughly con- 
 vinced that it is a work of God, and so desirous that it may spread 
 over the earth, but especially in my valley of dry bones, that I am quite 
 grieved for any interruption it may meet with, either from those who 
 give or those who may take offence. 
 
 " My dear brother will easily excuse this freedom from one who 
 loves him, and which he uses because he loves him. We rejoice 
 much at your happy recovery ; not merely for your own sake, or that 
 of your family, but for the sake of thousands who are yet unborn. I 
 wish your dear spouse an entire freedom from her pain ; and I wish all 
 of you a safe and glorious journey through time to eternity. May the 
 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of us ! Our love and respects 
 are with each of you. Thine most affectionately." 
 
 A few weelis after writing this truly Christian letter, the devout vicar 
 of Shoreham was deprived of his wife, whose life and sufferings were 
 brought to a close. She died on the 5th of February, in the seventy- 
 fourth year of her age. No man possessed a heart more tender and 
 sympathetic toward the afflicted than Mr. Charles Wesley ; and his 
 letter of condolence to his bereaved friend was very cordially received 
 by that most excellent man, who thus acknowledges the receipt of it : — 
 
 " March 14th, 1763. My Reverend and Very Dear Brother,— The 
 obliging favour of yours is come safe to hand ; for which you have my 
 sincere thanks and acknowledgments. I never indeed wanted so much 
 consolation, through a troublesome pilgrimage of near seventy years ; 
 though I have been frequently in the furnace of affliction, and frequently 
 tossed from wave to wave upon a boisterous ocean. However, my God 
 was always my support, and constantly proportioned the strength to the 
 day : but, like an all-wise and gracious Physician, he reserved the 
 highest cordial for the time of deepest distress. All glory be to his 
 holy name ! 
 
 " How low did the Lord lay his poor, afflicted child ! He laid her 
 even in the dust for two years together. Her constant moan was, her 
 bad heart ; her want of faith, and divine love ; her want of every spark 
 and shadow of goodness ; her want of Christ, which was the foundation 
 of all her spiritual sufferings. But I know assuredly that her God has 
 abundantly supplied all her wants, according to his riches in glory, by 
 Christ Jesus. I often told her that he certainly would. But what she 
 could not then believe, she now perfectly knows. It is true, that the 
 time of our separation is only as a moment ; but even during that 
 moment, as you justly observe, I should be very desolate without the 
 divine presence. I desire, therefore, that it may be a part of both your
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 599 
 
 prayers, that I and mine may ever enjoy it. I am greatly obliged to 
 your dear partner for her tender and Christian sympathy. May the 
 good God fit every one of us for all events ! and may he carry us all 
 safe to his eternal kingdom of glory, through Christ Jesus ! 
 
 " My family joins in much love and respects to yourself, and good 
 Mrs. Wesley. I am, my very dear friend and brother, 
 
 " Thine most affectionately ." 
 
 The death of Mrs. Perronet was quickly followed by that of the 
 apostolic Grimshaw, who was somewhat suddenly called away in the 
 midst of his labours and usefulness. On the 5th of March, 1763, he 
 wrote to Mr. Charles Wesley concerning the persons in London who 
 professed to have received the blessing of entire sanctification ; but as 
 he had obtained his information respecting them merely from report, 
 and erroneously supposed that they were all as foolish and extravagant 
 as George Bell, it would be unjust both to them and him to publish his 
 letter. His censures are based upon misapprehension. There is no 
 reason to believe that he at all dissented from Mr. John Wesley's doc- 
 trine of Christian perfection, correctly understood. The beginning and 
 end of this letter afford a fine view of the writer's spirit, just about to 
 enter into the joy of his Lord. Addressing his friend Mr. Charles 
 Wesley, he says, " God bless you, and yours, and brother Downes ! 
 Who wrote last, I knoAv not: you or I. Judge as you please. This 
 I know, I love you dearly. The work of God prospers in these parts." 
 " We have taken above a hundred of Mr. Ingham's scattered members 
 into society, who behave well, and are very solicitous for the life and 
 power of godliness. I hope we shall pick up many more of them. I 
 rejoice and give God thanks that he hath so renewed your strength. 
 May he long continue it for his own glory, his people's benefit, your 
 own and your family's comfort ! I desire my sincere respects to your 
 spouse, and Mr. Downes ; being 
 
 " Your very respectful and affectionate brother." 
 
 From this letter it is manifest that Mr. Grimshaw had reconsidered 
 the subject of his intended withdrawal from the Methodists, as declared 
 on a former occasion. When Mr. Ingham's people, being forsaken by 
 their instructers, were scattered as sheep without a shepherd, he 
 assisted in gathering them into the Methodist fold ; and speaks of 
 their union with the Methodists as matter of thankfulness and joy. 
 Hence we learn, that he not only continued his itinerant ministry, in 
 connection with Mr. Wesley's preachers, but also shared in the pas- 
 toral care of the people who were united together in Christian 
 fellowship. 
 
 About five weeks after the date of the letter, of which an extract has 
 just been given, Mr. Grimshaw fell asleep in Jesus. Mr. Venn, then
 
 600 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of Huddersfield, preached a sermon on the mournful occasion, which 
 he also published ; and Mr. Thomas Colbeck, a Methodist local 
 preacher, who was on the spot, and a personal friend of the deceased, 
 gave the particulars of his illness and dissolution in a letter to Mr. 
 Charles Wesley. This interesting document, written at the time, 
 affords additional proof, were it needed, of Mr. Grimshaw's connection 
 with the Methodists to the close of his useful life. 
 
 "Keighley, May 21st, 1763. Reverend and Dear Sir, — I should 
 have answered your letter sooner, but expected to have an opportunity 
 of looking over Mr. Grimshaw's papers : and if I could have met with 
 any thing for your purpose, I intended to send you a copy : but I be- 
 lieve Mr. Venn desired to peruse them before he published the sermon ; 
 and they are in his hand. Before this time I suppose you have had 
 an opportunity of seeing Mr. Venn's sermon, to which is annexed a 
 short sketch of Mr. Grimshaw's life. It would be an acceptable service 
 to thousands in these parts to be favoured with an elegy on the mourn- 
 ful occasion. You cannot exceed the truth in describing the humility, 
 uprightness, unintermitted labours, and universal love of that man of 
 God who is now inheriting the promises. Our dear and much-regretted 
 frienu was divinely persuaded that, as life had not, so neither could the 
 ghastly tyrant, separate him from the love of God, which is in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord. His consolations, from almost the moment the fever 
 seized him, were neither few nor small. He frequently expressed 
 himself as if he was as happy as it is possible to be while clothed with 
 mortality, and as fully satisfied that when the silver cord of life should 
 be loosed, an abundant entrance would be ministered to his joyous soul, 
 into the holiest through the blood of atonement, as if he had already 
 been an inhabitant of the heavenly Jerusalem. 
 
 " The apothecary, and all who visited Mr. Grimshaw, were not in 
 the least degree apprehensive of any symptoms attending his disorder, 
 which seemed to threaten dissolution ; yet he seemed to have some in- 
 timation that the Master called for him ; for before he was confined to 
 his bed, he gave directions in writing about his funeral ; requesting 
 that he might have a poor man's burial-suit, and a poor man's coffin ; 
 and that about twenty of his spiritual brethren, and nearest relations, 
 might pay their last respects to what of him could die, by attending his 
 corpse to the place of interment. He desired that a Methodist preacher 
 al least might be invited to preach upon Phil, i, 21 : ' For me to live is 
 Christ, and to die is gain :' a scripture which he caused to be engraved 
 upon the candlestick, pulpit, and walls of the church, and which was 
 exemplified in the whole of his ministerial labours, for above twenty 
 years. He did not cease frequently, and oftener than he sat down to 
 Ids own table, to distribute to famishing souls the bread of life ; and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 601 
 
 truly he was an able scribe, not accustomed to deal in the false com- 
 merce of unfelt truths, but ready to bring out of the treasury of a rich 
 experience things new and old. It was the meat and drink of Mr. Grim- 
 shaw, to labour for God ; and he never appeared to be so much in his 
 proper element as when he was about his heavenly Father's business." 
 
 Thus ended the life of the Rev. William Grimshaw ; one of the best 
 and most useful men of his age. For some time after he had entered 
 upon the sacred office, he was an entire stranger to Christian piety, 
 and was not even moral in his conduct ; but having been deeply con- 
 vinced of sin, and endured the anguish of a wounded conscience, he 
 was filled with unutterable peace and joy by believing in Christ, and 
 obtained power over the sins by which he had formerly been enslaved. 
 His great concern was then to make known to others the salvation of 
 which he was a happy partaker. It is questionable whether any cler- 
 gyman ever surpassed him in laborious zeal. In addition to the duties of 
 his own parish, he travelled in all directions, without either fee or reward, 
 preaching Christ in the open air, and in barns, as well as from house to 
 house ; undaunted either by the severity of the weather, the badness of the 
 roads, the rudeness of the people, or the prospect of persecution. His 
 own church being too small, another of ample dimensions was erected 
 on its site, which still remains as a monument of his energetic ministry. 
 It bears the pious inscriptions of which Mr. Colbeck speaks ; so that 
 if the eye of the worshipper should happen to wander, it can scarcely 
 move in any direction without meeting some striking text of holy writ, 
 adapted to fix the attention upon subjects of everlasting importance. 
 
 The Wesleys and Mr. Whitefield delighted to visit this man of God, 
 and were always welcome to his pulpit. Their occupation of it, how- 
 ever, was sometimes dispensed with. On these festive occasions, when 
 " divers came from far," the church was not unfrequently filled to suffo- 
 cation, and yet thousands could not gain admission. In such cases a 
 window was taken out of the church, on the right side of the pulpit, 
 and the itinerant ambassador of Jesus, bringing the news of divine 
 mercy through the cross, stood in the opening, where the thousands 
 within and without could hear words whereby they might be saved. 
 
 The most profligate of his parishioners reverenced Mr. Grimshaw ; 
 for they " felt how awful goodness is." While the choristers sung the 
 psalm, between the prayers and the sermon, he occasionally retired for 
 the purpose of visiting a public-house in the neighbourhood ; and if he 
 found any tipplers there, he drove them before him to the church like 
 a flock of sheep, hanging down their heads like delinquents as they 
 were. The house is still standing, with a small window toward the 
 church, through which it is said some one was usually appointed to 
 watch during the time of divine service on the sabbath, that he might
 
 602 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 give the alarm to his companions when the cassocked monitor made 
 his appearance. When they had timely warning of his coming, they 
 are reported to have fled in all directions, with the utmost haste, that 
 they might escape his dreaded reproofs and expostulations. 
 
 Of this holy man it may be truly said, that, from the time of his con- 
 version till his death, he knew nothing but Jesus Christ, and him cru- 
 cified. The delights of domestic intercourse, of learned ease, of elegant 
 literature, and of polished society, he freely sacrificed, and lived for the 
 one object of turning sinners to the Lord Jesus ; and in the sight of 
 crowds of happy converts, whom he saw from sabbath to sabbath listen- 
 ing with tears of grateful joy to his ministry, and pressing to the table 
 of the Lord, he must have felt the highest gratification, forming a rich 
 reward for his incessant toil and self-denial. His clerical brethren 
 were offended with his irregularity, and still more with the censure 
 which his diligence and spirituality reflected upon their guilty supine- 
 ness. By his superiors in the Church he was also threatened with 
 ecclesiastical prosecutions : but none of these things moved him ; for 
 he was happy in the approval of his own conscience, and in the suc- 
 cess of his ministry, while the blessings of multitudes came upon him 
 for his unwearied labours of love. 
 
 Into the niceties of theological controversy Mr. Grimshaw appears 
 never to have entered. His views of evangelical truth were, of course, 
 in substantial agreement with those of the Wesleyan ministers ; since 
 he was voluntarily united with them in public labour to the end of his^j 
 life. Among the descendants of his hearers at Haworth it is said that 
 his ministry was tinged with Calvinism after he had been visited by 
 Mr. Whitefield ; and that after one of the Wesleys had been with him, 
 and preached in his church, he zealously asserted God's universal love 
 to man. The fact is, he was more intent upon the conversion of sin- 
 ners, than upon the settlement of metaphysical questions arising out of 
 the doctrines of Christianity ; yet his affectionate co-operation with the 
 Methodist preachers affords sufficient proof that he had no fixed and 
 serious objections to their creed. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was deeply affected by the death of his friend 
 at Haworth. He wrote two beautiful hymns on the occasion, celebrat- 
 ing the grace of God, as manifested in the piety, usefulness, and final 
 triumph of this good minister of Jesus Christ. He also preached a ser- 
 mon on the close of Mr. Grimshaw's labours, most probably at West- 
 street, where the devout people united with him in thanksgiving to God 
 for the glorification of his honoured servant. His own mind was 
 greatly quickened at this time, and his preaching was attended by double 
 power. In a letter to his wife he therefore says, " God prospers my 
 labours as at the beginning of my course. Perhaps it is a blaze before
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 603 
 
 death. I preached last night from the twenty-third Psalm, to my own 
 astonishment when the hour was past. My vehemence occasioned my 
 bleeding at the nose for a long time. Last Wednesday night I was 
 near two hours preaching of blessed Mr. Grimshaw. The chapel was 
 crowded with attentive hearers. I am to preach twice to-morrow ; 
 again on Tuesday evening ; a funeral sermon on Thursday," &c. 
 
 Five days after Mr. Grimshaw entered into rest, Mr. Charles Wesley 
 was called to mingle his tears with those of Lady Huntingdon, on the 
 death of her daughter, Lady Selina Hastings. She died in her twenty- 
 sixth year, after an illness of sixteen days. With the mother of this 
 youthful victim of disease, Mr. Charles Wesley had lived in habits of 
 intimacy and Christian friendship more than twenty years, and had re- 
 ceived from her many acts of kindness, of which it was impossible that 
 his generous heart should ever lose the impression. The formation of 
 Lady Selina's character he had also observed, having been a frequent 
 visiter of the family. He could not therefore be unaffected under the 
 sad bereavement ; for the deceased was dear to her widowed mother. 
 Writing to Mrs. Wesley on Ascension day, he says, with his usual 
 faith and tenderness, " This morning Lady Selina ascended ! Great 
 reason we have to believe she died in Christ. Her mother only said, 
 ' The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name 
 of the Lord !' " 
 
 This was a time of deep anxiety and sorrow to Mr. Charles Wesley ; 
 not on account of death's ravages merely, but the injury done to the 
 cause of religion by misguided men. After all the disgrace which had 
 been brought upon the Methodists in London, by the folly of George 
 Bell and his wild associates, 'Thomas Maxfield succeeded in effecting 
 an extensive division ; so that where love and peace had formerly 
 reigned, there was now confusion, tale-bearing, unkindness, harsh judg- 
 ing, and every evil work. From the desponding tone of feeling into 
 which such a state of things was likely to throw him, and to which he 
 was constitutionally prone, the wise vicar of Shoreham endeavoured to 
 rouse him by the following beautiful letter. Mr. and Mrs. Charles 
 Wesley were both in a suffering state of health. 
 
 "Shoreham, July 6th, 1763. My Reverend and Dear Brother, — 
 Whither should a mourner in Zion fly for consolation 1 especially one 
 whose very heart seems to be broken for Zion's sake ? Should he not 
 fly to Him who has promised ' beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for 
 mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness V There 
 let us send him ; and there let the pious mourner be comforted. 
 
 " Satan has certainly kindled a fire ; but nothing except the chaff 
 shall be consumed by it. Thy endeavours to quench it shall, at least, 
 bring down a blessing upon thy own head, though they should succeed
 
 604 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 no further. Thy warnings, not meeting with credit, are only a part of 
 thy cross. Take it up, my brother, and follow thy great Master ! A 
 sincere friend of thine has, for more than six times seven years, been 
 talking to the dead. Would you change crosses with him 1 He would, 
 if it was lawful. But God commands you both to bear your own. 
 Thy will be done ! It is undoubtedly a trying time for the poor Method- 
 ist church. But the keeper of the vineyard will watch over it, not- 
 withstanding all the craft and all the violence of the enemy. Christ 
 will only purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner ; and 
 when he has fanned away the chaff, let us hope to see much pure grain, 
 though smothered over at present. 
 
 " Talk not of thy former uselessness, or of being reduced again to it. 
 The Lord is only trying thee, to make thee still a more glorious instru- 
 ment in his hands. I hope divine Providence will so order matters, 
 that we shall have the pleasure of seeing you at Shoreham. In the 
 mean while, may the waters, and every other prescription, be attended 
 with a signal blessing ! And if it seem meet to the divine wisdom, 
 may we soon hear that your dear companion has recovered her health. 
 All here join in hearty respects and good wishes to you both, and in 
 the same to our dear brother. The Lord Jesus Christ be with us all T 
 Amen. Thine most affectionately." 
 
 This truly Christian letter was, after a few months, followed by 
 another of the same kind, from the same intelligent and friendly 
 divine : — 
 
 " Shoreham, Nov. 25th. My Reverend and Dear Brother, — I take the 
 present opportunity of acknowledging the favour of yours, which is just 
 come to hand. I sympathize with you in all your afflictions, and have 
 still hopes that light, even great light, will soon shine out of this dark- 
 ness. The church of Christ, you know, has often been brought to the 
 lowest ebb ; and then her Lord, who knows the best time, has arose to 
 her deliverance. Fear not, my dear brother, but even against hope 
 believe in hope ; and we shall both see the salvation of God ! 
 
 " I believe this world, I mean the moral part of it, appears to us 
 exactly alike. It seems, like the ancient chaos, to be ' without form, 
 and void,' and ' darkness' surrounds it. But a glorious time is ap- 
 proaching, when the Sun of righteousness shall rise upon it with heal- 
 ing in his wings, and make it a more glorious paradise than ever ! 
 We shall see it, my dear brother ; we shall certainly see it ; though 
 not with these bodily eyes : and we shall rejoice over it with the whole 
 choir of saints. In the mean while, let us rejoice in submitting quietly 
 to the divine will. Let us patiently do and suffer what our Lord has 
 appointed for us ; and he that shall come will come, and will tarry no 
 longer than is best for us.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 605 
 
 **■ We should have been glad to have seen both you and our dear 
 sister. But perhaps the Lord has decreed, we shall not meet till we 
 meet for ever. Thy will be done ! Our love and respects are with 
 you both. The Lord Jesus be with all of us ! 
 
 " Thine most affectionately." 
 
 The vicar of Shoreham was not the only friend by whose correspond- 
 ence Mr. Charles Wesley was encouraged at this period, tried as he 
 was by personal and domestic affliction, and by the state of the London 
 society, which had for more than twenty years shared largely in his 
 labours and care. From Mr. Whitefleld, then in America, he also 
 received a letter, full of affection, zeal, and hope : — 
 
 "New- York, Dec. 26th, 1763. My Dear old Friend,— Once more I 
 write to you from this dying world. Through infinite, unmerited mercy, 
 I am helped to preach twice or thrice a week, and never saw people 
 of all ranks more eager in Philadelphia and this place than now. 
 Lasting impressions, I trust, are made. At New-Jersey College we 
 had sweet seasons among the sons of the prophets : and I have had 
 the like pleasure of conversing with new-creature ministers of various 
 denominations. Ere long we shall join the elders about the throne. 
 Then shall we all greatly marvel, and try who can shout loudest, ' He 
 hath done all things well.' Neither you, nor your brother, nor the 
 highest archangel in heaven, shall, if possible, outdo even me, though 
 less than the least of all. Continue to pray for me, as such. I hope 
 your brother lives and prospers. How is our friend Ireland and family 1 
 God bless him and you. Remember me, in the kindest manner, to 
 your dear yoke-fellow, and all inquiring friends ; and assure your- 
 selves of not being forgotten in the poor addresses of, my dear friend, 
 
 " Yours in Jesus." 
 
 Concerning Mr. Charles Wesley's personal history, during the years 
 1764 and 1765, little information is to be obtained. In the spring and 
 summer of the first of these years he was in London, and his wife in 
 Bristol. At that time they were both in an infirm state of health. 
 Writing to her, under the date of May 17th, he says, — 
 
 " My Dear Sally, — Yesterday my doctor flattered without hurting 
 me ; for I did not believe one word he said ; feeling the contrary every 
 day and hour. 
 
 " Sunday, May 13th. I preached at the chapel from, < God sent his 
 Son Jesus to bless you, in turning you away, every one of you, from 
 his iniquities ;' and stayed two hours longer at the table. We dined at 
 Mrs. Hermitage's, where your absence spoiled our cheer. I could not 
 throw off the burden, having left you in so poor and low a way. May 
 you find the God that heareth prayer a very present help in time of 
 trouble ! If I may believe the brethren who came to me in the event
 
 60G LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ing, the word in the morning did not return empty : but I took no com- 
 fort from it myself. 
 
 " Monday, May 14th. I began the New Testament at the chapel, 
 expounding, ' He shall save his people from their sins.' My audience 
 was made up of our own and Mr. Whitefield's, and Mr. Madan's 
 hearers. I kept them near an hour, and rode home weary enough. 
 Nothing but your letter could have refreshed me. 
 
 " Tuesday, May 15th. I breakfasted near sister Boult, who declines 
 fast. I visited Mr. Matthews, still nearer the haven. The first warm 
 weather will probably waft him home. To hear that you are tolerably 
 well does me more good than any thing I have met with in London. 
 To he set free from all the tender ties of nature, you scarcely expect : 
 and who in his senses would wish you so to be 1 ' Without natural 
 affection,' is the character of a heathen. But may not natural affection 
 become inordinate ? You are not in danger of the defective, but of the 
 excessive, extreme. God alone can make us happy. 
 ' Who builds on less than an immortal base, 
 Fond as he seems, condemns his joys to death.' 
 
 - Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace.' Remind the preach- 
 ers to pray for me in the society. The strength and consolation of 
 Israel be yours ! Adieu !" 
 
 It is probable that Mr. Charles Wesley spent the greater part of the 
 year 1765 in Bristol ; or, if he devoted as much time to London as he 
 had long been accustomed to do, that Mrs. Wesley accompanied him 
 there ; so that their epistolary correspondence was interrupted. Early 
 in the following year his brother addressed to him an affectionate but 
 very stirring letter, of which an extract is subjoined. He appears to 
 have thought that Charles was too much occupied with the care of his 
 family, and did not sufficiently exert his remaining strength for the 
 advancement of the work of God. 
 
 " Dear Brother, — We must, we must, you and I at least, be all de- 
 voted to God ! Then wives, and sons, and daughters, and every thing 
 else, will be real, invaluable blessings. Eia age, rumpe moras! [Come, 
 bestir yourself, and lay aside delay.] Let us this day use all the power 
 we have ! If we have enough, well ; if not, let us this day expect a 
 fresh supply. How long shall we drag on thus heavily, though God 
 has called us to be the chief conductors of such a work ? Alas, what 
 conductors ! If I am (in some sense) the head, and you the heart, of 
 the work ; may it not be said, ' The whole head is sick, and the whole 
 heart is faint V Come, in the name of God, let us arise, and shake 
 ourselves from the dust ! Let us strengthen each other's hands in God, 
 and that without, delay. Have senes sexagenarii [old men that have 
 attained their sixtieth year] (who would have thought that we should
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 607 
 
 live to be such ?) time to lose ? Let you and me, and our house, 
 serve the Lord in good earnest. May his peace rest on you and yours ! 
 Adieu !" 
 
 After the lapse of a few months, Mr. John Wesley again addressed 
 his brother in a similar strain. He suggested that they ought more 
 frequently to meet and correspond with each other ; and he gives a 
 striking view of the peculiar talents which each of them possessed, and 
 of the manner in which they should be employed, especially in preach- 
 ing. " I think," says he, " you and I have abundantly too little inter- 
 course with each other. Are we not old acquaintance ? Have we not 
 known each other for half a century ? and are we not jointly engaged 
 in such a work as probably no two other men upon earth are ? Why 
 then do we keep at such a distance 1 It is a mere device of Satan. 
 But surely we ought not, at this time of day, to be ignorant of his 
 devices. Let us therefore make the full use of the little time that 
 remains. We, at least, should think aloud, and use to the uttermost 
 the light and grace on each bestowed. We should help each other — 
 
 ' Of little life the best to make, 
 And manage wisely the last stake.' 
 
 " O insist everywhere on full redemption, receivable now by faith 
 alone ! consequently to be looked for now. You are made, as it were, 
 for this very thing. Just here you are in your element. In connection 
 I beat you ; but in strong, short, pointed sentences, you beat me. Go 
 on in your own way, what God has peculiarly called you to. Press 
 the instantaneous blessings : then I shall have more time for my pecu- 
 liar calling, enforcing the gradual work." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was, with his brother, deeply convinced of the 
 necessity of entire devotedness to God. His health was still delicate ; 
 he was sensible of the decay of his strength ; and he had a solemn 
 impression that his life was hastening to a close. The subjoined ex- 
 tracts from letters to his wife show what manner of spirit he was of at 
 this period, with the energy and success of his ministrations. Not- 
 withstanding the distractions which Maxfield and his unruly compa- 
 nions had occasioned, the congregations in London were large, and the 
 society, purged of the foul leaven, was in a state of sound prosperity. 
 Both the public preaching and the sacramental services were nume- 
 rously attended ; and " the power of the Lord was present," to wound 
 the careless, and heal the broken in heart. 
 
 " Sunday. My dear friend will be glad to hear, we have had a feast 
 of fat things this morning. I am just come from preaching holiness 
 for an hour, and administering to a multitude of communicants. 
 
 " My doctor gave me full instructions last night. Islington waters
 
 608 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 he forbids. Steel would be fatal, he says, and thrdw me into a dropsy. 
 My body requires a quite different regimen from what it did last year, 
 and with good management (if you believe him) may last these dozen 
 years. He will hardly cheat me into a hope of many months longer : 
 yet I rrky live to hear Charles talk Latin and Greek. 
 
 " It is observable, what some tell me, that on Thursday night, after 
 my preaching poverty of spirit, such a spirit of humility fell upon the 
 bands, at their meeting, as had not been known for months or years 
 past. Every mouth was stopped ; not one boasting word of perfection 
 was heard. They lay low in the dust before the Friend of sinners, 
 ashamed and confounded at his presence. One of Mr. Maxfield's so- 
 ciety, after hearing me, cried out, ' This poverty of spirit will destroy 
 all our perfection !' Another fairly confessed herself undeceived, and 
 gave up her perfection, because, as she said, she had never been poor 
 in spirit. It is surprising, the readiness of the people to receive my 
 sayings. I do not despair of their all coming right at last." 
 
 " Jermyn-street, June 7th. Last Sunday was the Lord's day indeed. 
 My subject at Spitalfields was, ' The eternal God is thy refuge, and 
 underneath are the everlasting arms : and he shall thrust out the enemy 
 from before thee, and shall say, Destroy.' From hence I strongly 
 preached the great salvation ; too great for my dear partner to believe ; 
 yet she may obtain it before me, who am first convinced of it in my 
 understanding. It should seem I spoke as the oracles of God, by the 
 abundant testimony he gave to the word of his grace. For near an 
 hour he opened my mouth to declare the mystery of the gospel, so as 
 I have seldom spoken. A thousand hearers, I believe, would have 
 ventured their lives on the truth of my report. We had near twelve 
 hundred communicants. I prayed for the eight children appointed to 
 death on Wednesday next. The Spirit did surely help our infirmities, 
 and the consolations of God were not small with us. Several testify 
 their having received the love of Christ under the late preaching. If 
 it be so, they will show it by keeping his commandments. I lately 
 blamed Mr. Venn for his long sermon ; and at the Foundery I preached 
 one of near an hour and a half long, to above five thousand listening 
 souls. Five or six hundred more it is supposed to hold since the 
 alterations. My subject was, ' Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye 
 to the waters.' I was much drawn out, you may suppose, by my keep- 
 ing the people so long. Never was I assisted more. Give God the 
 glory. My strength was renewed by the interval between. I felt little 
 weariness, and slept as well as usual. 
 
 " Monday, June 5th. I spent three hours of the morning with Mr. 
 and Mrs. Powis, whose friendship for me has already alarmed my 
 fellow-labourers. Who can stand before envy? It is the minister's
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 609 
 
 besetting sin. To break the force of it, I requested my friends to hide 
 me in a corner of their hearts, and never to mention my name. They 
 saw the necessity of so doing. We had a blessed meeting together. 
 
 " June 6th. I rode with brother Butcher and Collison to Shoreham. 
 By the way we breakfasted at Greenwich with brother Dornford, once 
 a witness of his own perfection, but now very tame and sober-minded. 
 A serious Dissenter and his wife joined with us in singing and prayer. 
 Then we went on our way rejoicing. In my other letter you see my 
 reception at Shoreham. This morning J. Perronet accompanied me to 
 brother Staniforth's, in Greenwich. His wife is just ready for the 
 Bridegroom. We met for the better here also. Here is a fresh de- 
 mand for my ' Short Scripture Hymns.'" 
 
 " My Dear Sally, — My friends are of my mind, that it is a pity I 
 should be here without my family, because none else can so well, and 
 so naturally, care for me ; although every one is ready to make my 
 stay convenient to me. At present I look no further than Bristol, and 
 Michael's-hill. Perhaps I may live to see you settled there ; perhaps 
 not. You will find a few sincere friends, after me. in Mr. James, Mrs. 
 Vigor, Mr. Butcher, Collison, and Kemp. My work, I very well know, 
 keeps me alive more than it wears me out. That and my life will 
 probably end together. It is superfluous, yet I cannot help cautioning 
 you about Charles, (and Sally too,) to take care he contracts no ac- 
 quaintance with other boys. Children are corrupters of each other. 
 
 " My brother, I presume, will look upon you on Wednesday se'n- 
 night, in his flight to the Land's End. He is an astonishing youth ! 
 and may be saluted, like the eastern monarchs, ' king, live for ever.' 
 
 " The Foundery, August 19th. Yesterday I passed at Ham, with our 
 dear colonel, [Galatin,] his partner, and Miss Bradshaw. He seems 
 swiftly declining, and ripening for glory. God may rebuke the nightly 
 fever, and restore his strength. If he and we live to another year, we 
 shall most probably see and receive him in Michael's-hill. 
 
 " I visited Mrs. Whitefield, a little better. She expresses great love 
 to you and me. George preaches himself to death. Blessing and love 
 to the children. Farewell in Christ !" 
 
 " My Dear Sally, — Last night my brother came. This morning we 
 spent two blessed hours with George Whitefield. The threefold cord, 
 we trust, will never more be broken. On Tuesday next my brother is 
 to preach in Lady Huntingdon's chapel at Bath. That and all her 
 chapels (not to say, as I might, herself also) are now put into the hands 
 of us three. My brother and sister will call on you, I presume, on 
 Wednesday. The Lord Jesus hear, and preserve, and bless you !" 
 
 " London, Sept. 7th. My Dearest Sarah, — You will catch our joy 
 at the rebound. At Spitalfields this morning I testified repentance 
 
 39
 
 610 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. He never fails to 
 confirm this doctrine. After the sacrament I was carried out in prayer, 
 particularly for our dear Colonel Galatin, hastening to his Father's house, 
 
 for poor deluded Mrs. G , and for that proudest, stubbornest of men, 
 
 Thomas Maxfield. Our absent friends were brought to my remem- 
 brance, with all our brethren and companions in tribulation ; and I 
 seemed to have faith for every one of them, that not one would be found 
 among the goats in that day. We dined, a troop of us, at Mr. Judd's. 
 Thence I walked to Lydia Vandome's, and gave her the sacrament. 
 Mrs. Ratcliffe was there, a lady from Bath. She had heard me that 
 evening, in deepest distress, and when she came home, opened on 
 those words of mine : — 
 
 Who is the trembling sinner, who 
 That owns eternal death his due 1 
 Waiting his fearful doom to feel, 
 And hanging o'er the mouth of hell T 
 Peace, troubled soul, thou need'st not fear ; 
 Thy Jesus saith, ' Be of good cheer.' 
 Only on Jesus' blood rely ; 
 He died that thou might'st never die ! 
 
 The Spirit applied the word ' thy Jesus' to her heart, and assured her, 
 God for his sake had forgiven her. She continued unspeakably happy 
 for two years, and is still among the children. She keeps her chariot 
 merely to attend the preaching. We had great fellowship together in 
 singing and prayer. I drank tea Avith Nanny Hervey, where I found 
 two of my oldest children, full of faith and love. For an hour and a 
 quarter I continued exhorting, comforting, and praying with the society, 
 who quite filled the Foundery. Our children I remembered in an ac- 
 cepted time, and wrestled in faith for the condemned malefactors. 
 
 " Sept. 9th. Many thanksgiving-bills were put up on Sunday night 
 for grace received at the chapel in the morning. Among others, one 
 poor simple woman of eighty-seven was filled with the Comforter. 
 Some of her words were, ' The Lord has put such faith into me as I 
 never had before ; and I love him with all my soul, and heart, — and 
 lungs.' Brother Kemp, who gave me the relation, believes she is 
 clearly justified. Seldom or never do I hear of any such good by my 
 ministry at Bristol. This morning I spent an hour in friendly, close 
 conference with George Whitefield, who is treated most magnificently 
 by his own bigoted children for his love to us. My love to all. Fare- 
 well in Christ." 
 
 " Sept. 15th. Yesterday we triumphed from morning till night. In 
 the morning my subject was, ' We have a strong city : salvation Avill 
 God appoint for walls and bulwarks.' Several received the blessing of 
 
 39*
 
 LIFE OF RFJV. DBAJULE8 WESLEY. 611 
 
 Ihe gospel, and among others our dea:- is. Some time ago 
 
 our happy friends would have said, she received a clean heart. She 
 did certainly find power to trust in the Lord entirely, and beL 
 through his grace she shall trust in the Lord for ever. ; Now,' said 
 she, ' I find, both in my soul and in my body, that I shall be soon 
 released.' In the afternoon my text was. ' His blood be on us, and on 
 our children for ever.' The chapel \, ssively full. Manv had 
 
 stayed there all day. Mr. Hall stood just behind me. The backsliders. 
 and deniers of their Lord, were laid upon my heart. All, I am readv 
 to believe, felt the virtue of that blood ; or at least some benefit bv it. 
 Farewell in Christ." 
 
 While Mr. Charles Wesley thus applied himself with all diligence to 
 his ministerial and pastoral duties, in an enfeebled state of health, he 
 did not diminish aught of his labours as a Christian poet ; but steadily 
 kept in -view the spiritual improvement of the church of God, by the 
 publication of sacred verse. In the course of this year, 1766, he sent 
 forth a new volume, entitled, i: Hymns for Children, and others of Riper 
 Years." It contains one hundred hymns, in a great variety of metres. 
 It would perhaps be difficult to mention any uninspired book, that, in 
 the same compass, contains so much evangelical sentiment. The 
 hymns are full of instruction, and yet thoroughly devotional in their 
 character. There is nothing puerile in them, either with respect to 
 thought or expression. The language is simple, yet terse, pure, and 
 strong. The topics which they embrace are the truths and facts of 
 Christianity, especially in their bearing upon personal religion. 
 
 In the course of the following year this pious and indefatigable man, 
 whose genius seemed inexhaustible, published two other volumes of 
 devotional poetry. One of these is entitled, '■• Hymns on the Trinitv -." 
 and the other, " Hymns for the use of Families, and on various Occa- 
 sions." The " Hymns on the Trinity" are a hundred and eightv in 
 number. The greater part of them are founded upon particular passages 
 of Holy Scripture ; and the whole are arranged under five distinct 
 heads : — Hymns on the Divinity of Christ ; on the Divinity of the 
 Holy Ghost ; on the Plurality and Trinity of Persons in the Godhead ; 
 on the Trinity in Unity ; Hymns and Prayers to the Trinity.* 
 
 * The publication of Mr. Charles Wesley's " Hymns on the Trinity" was an inno- 
 cent occasion of calling forth, after a lapse of several years, one of the most harsh and 
 unjust censures that was ever passed upon his honoured brother. The Rev. William 
 Jones, of Nayland, the friend and biographer of Bishop Home, was the offender in this 
 rase. In the life of that prelate he says, when speaking of Mr. Wesley, " Among his 
 <A\n people he seemed to do more than he did. Of this I was informed by a bookseller, 
 who, like others, had been injured in his trade by the encroachments of Mr. Wesley in 
 the way of look-malnng ; and I was witness to some instances of this myself. He put 
 his name to a translation of Thomas a Kempis, as if the translation had been his own ;
 
 612 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Some persons have thought that the doctrine thus proposed is rather 
 a matter of opinion than of practical importance. But this is a fatal 
 mistake. An acknowledgment of the Trinity in Unity lies at the founda- 
 tion of all personal godliness. We can have no access to God, in any 
 
 but a friend showed me an old translation, with which it agreed, so far as we could see, 
 in every word. He put his name to a ' Compendium of Philosophy,' though he tells 
 us curiously in the preface, it was taken from the work of a professor at Jena, in Ger- 
 many : yet he must be allowed great merit in amplifying the work. He sold a work 
 of mine, as if it had been an original work, partly copied, and partly put into English 
 verse, without asking the consent, or making a word of acknowledgment in the title or 
 preface, to the author. He was free to produce any possible good from any labour of 
 mine, without being envied ; but such proceedings have too much the appearance of 
 party-craft to consist well with honest, unaffected piety." — Life of Dr. Home, p. 109. 
 Edit. 1831. 
 
 The answer to these serious allegations is easy. Mr. Wesley did not " put his name 
 to a translation of Thomas a Kempis, as if the translation had been his own." His 
 edition of Kempis was published in the year 1735, and bears the following title : " The 
 Christian's Pattern ; or, a Treatise of the Imitation of Christ. Written originally in 
 Latin, by Thomas a Kempis. With a Preface, containing an Account of the Useful- 
 ness of this Treatise ; Directions for reading it with Advantage ; and likewise an Ac- 
 count of this Edition. Compared with the Original, and corrected throughout, by John 
 Wesley, M. A., Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxon." Here is no intimation whatever, 
 that " the translation was his own," but the direct contrary. Did ever translator, since 
 the world began, say of his work, that it was " compared with the original, and cor- 
 rected throughout V To prevent the very possibility of mistake, the title refers to the 
 preface for " an account of this edition ;" and in that preface it is said, " Although this 
 edition of the Christian Pattern be the same, as to the main of the translation, with 
 that printed at London in the year 1677 ; yet it differs from it in the following particu- 
 lars : First, in being divided, like the Latin, into distinct sentences. Secondly, in 
 being closer to the original. Thirdly, in being plainer. Lastly, in being clearer." Mr. 
 Wesley expatiates upon each of these particulars. 
 
 In all this, there is not only no apparent attempt to mislead, but the utmost open- 
 ness and candour. Every means is used to avoid even the semblance of the dishonesty 
 with which he is charged. So far was Mr. Jones from being a " witness" of what he 
 alleges, that, had he examined the subject with even ordinary attention, he would have 
 been a " witness" to the contrary, and would have rebuked his friend for criminating an 
 innocent man. 
 
 Equally unjust is the censure upon Mr. Wesley on account of his " Compendium of 
 Philosophy." His design was, to supply the common people, who had little money 
 to expend in the purchase of books, and little time for reading, with a concise but com- 
 prehensive view of Natural Philosophy, that they might see and adore God in his works. 
 He found a Latin treatise, written by John Francis Buddseus, professor of philosophy 
 in the university of Jena, adapted to the end which he proposed. He therefore trans- 
 lated it into English, retrenching, enlarging, and altering every chapter, and almost 
 every section, and illustrating and confirming the whole by copious notes. With the 
 work in this shape he was not satisfied, and therefore in subsequent editions incorpo- 
 rated the notes with the text. He is censured for " putting his name" to this work ; 
 but what " name" could he with truth prefix to it, but his own 1 In the form which 
 it bore, it was the work of John Wesley, and of no other man upon earth. No one
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 613 
 
 act of divine worship, but through the mediation of his Son, and the 
 gracious aid of his Spirit. Pardon can only be obtained through the 
 atonement and intercession of the Son of God ; and when obtained, it 
 is witnessed to the heart by the Holy Ghost, who also regenerates and 
 sanctifies the believing penitent. The Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Spirit, thus revealed, are the one and undivided object of confidence and 
 love ; and are worshipped as the living and only tme God. There is 
 not in the English language a volume that, in so small a compass, shows 
 more clearly the Scriptural doctrine on this subject, with its practical 
 importance ; and it has this peculiar advantage, that it proposes the 
 
 supposed that he had made all the philosophical experiments, the results of which he 
 has laid before his readers, or visited all the burning mountains, and the localities of 
 the various earthquakes, which he describes. Every one, of course, understood that 
 the work, like all other similar publications, was a compilation. Like a wise man, Mr. 
 Wesley availed himself of all the sources of information that were open to him ; and 
 like an honest man, he states in the preface what he had aimed at, and what he had 
 done. By no just process of reasoning, yet known to the world, can it be shown that 
 there was the slightest dishonesty in the form of these interesting and instructive vol- 
 umes. If Mr. Wesley was entitled to " great merit for amplifying the work" of the 
 Jena professor, he was no less entitled to commendation for expunging its mistakes, 
 and for rendering it available to the mere English reader, to whom but for him it would 
 have remained a dead letter. 
 
 When Mr. Jones adds, " He sold a work of mine, as if it had been an original work," 
 he says what is not true. Mr. Wesley never " sold a work" written by Mr. Jones ; 
 and was therefore under no obligation either to ask Mr. Jones's " consent," or to make 
 any " acknowledgment." Nor did Mr. Charles Wesley commit the alleged fault, 
 though his book on the Trinity furnished the occasion for the querulous charge. With 
 the exception of the title, and the headings of the chapters, his book consists exclu- 
 sively of hymns, and texts of Holy Scripture. The hymns were not Mr. Jones's. He 
 does not even lay claim to the " English verse :" and surely the texts of holy writ were 
 as much Charles Wesley's, as they were Mr. Jones's, or those of "any other man. If 
 no person is at liberty to quote a text of Scripture, because another has quoted it before 
 him, the Bible would long since have become a useless book. Mr. Jones himself 
 acknowledged no such principle ; and by what right would he impose it upon the 
 Wesleys 1 
 
 It is painful to see a man of Mr. Jones's elevated character, a clergyman, a scholar, 
 and a philosopher, writing with so little regard for either charity or truth. The fact is. 
 he was offended with Mr. Wesley's irregularity. A bookseller, knowing his prejudices, 
 and that any thing against John Wesley would be acceptable, related some direct false- 
 hoods to the disparagement of the man whom Mr. Jones disliked ; and Mr. Jones, 
 without due examination, adopted the falsehoods, sent them to the press, and trans- 
 mitted them to posterity, with the sanction of his name, to the injury of Mr. Wesley, 
 who was well known to be sleeping in Ins grave when this libel upon him was written. 
 We will not throw back upon Mr. Jones the unjust censure which he has so uncere- 
 moniously hurled at Mr. Wesley, " Such proceedings have too much the appearance 
 of party-craft to consist with honest, unaffected piety ;" but we will say, that such prac- 
 tices ought to be carefully avoided by every one who bears the name of Christian. If 
 the New Testament is to be credited, truth and charity are too sacred to be trifled with.
 
 614 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 subject, not as a matter of controversy, but of faith, and adoration, of 
 prayer, thanksgiving, and praise. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was no speculatist in theology. To form human 
 theories on the Trinity, he would have thought to be little less than 
 blasphemy. Resting in the testimony of inspired Scripture, as under- 
 stood by the church catholic, he adored the Father, as the Fountain of 
 the Godhead ; the Son, as eternally begotten of the Father ; and the 
 Holy Ghost, as eternally proceeding from both. So that he confessed 
 the eternal Father, the eternal Son, and the eternal Spirit, distinct in 
 personality, but perfectly one in nature and substance ; all uniting in 
 the redemption and salvation of fallen man, and equally entitled to the 
 absolute confidence, and love, and worship of " all in earth, and all in 
 heaven." He had some years before published a small tract of hymns 
 and doxologies to the Holy Trinity ; but in the volume now printed he 
 exhibits the subject of the Trinity in its full bearing. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's Family Hymn-book is a remarkable work. It 
 consists, to a great extent, of hymns which he had written under cir- 
 cumstances of peculiar excitement, affecting him as a husband, a father, 
 and the head of a family. Others of them were composed for the use 
 of his pious friends in seasons of especial anxiety, sorrow, and joy. 
 It is not probable that one of them was written with reference to an 
 imaginary case, which possibly might occur. They are all the genuine 
 effusions of his heart : a heart eminently tender, sympathetic, generous, 
 and deeply imbued with Christian feeling. The hymns relate to 
 domestic mercies, and domestic affliction, in all their varieties of form ; 
 including marriage, the birth of children, baptism, sickness, recovery, 
 bereavements, the case of unconverted and persecuting relations, re- 
 tirement into the country, removing to a new habitation. Notwith- 
 standing the nature of these subjects, not one of the hymns contains a 
 stanza that is either trite or mean. The most common concerns of life 
 are dignified by Christian sentiment, expressed in language of almost 
 unrivalled force and beauty ; and the spirit which pervades the entire 
 book is that of enlightened and fervent devotion. No person of a pure 
 mind can read this volume without loving its author. In admiration of 
 the man, the poet is forgotten. The affectionate husband, the yearning 
 father, the warm-hearted friend, the meek, submissive, praying, trusting, 
 grateful Christian, is here seen in all his loveliness and glory ; though 
 nothing could be further from his thoughts than an exhibition of him- 
 self. His only design in publishing the workings of his own heart 
 was, to assist Christian families, in all the affairs of life, devoutly to 
 recognise the providence and grace of God. 
 
 The Family Hymn-book contains some verses which describe the 
 author's feelings and state at the time of its publication. In the letters
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 615 
 
 which he addressed to his wife a few months before, he refers to a 
 project that they had formed, of removing to another house in Bristol. 
 Michael's-hill was mentioned as the place which they had thought of 
 for their future residence. On a former occasion he had intimated to 
 her, that they should probably remove to London. To these schemes, 
 and to the enfeebled state of his health, he alludes in these touching 
 lines : — 
 
 The Son of man supplies 
 
 My every outward need, 
 Who had not, when he left the skies, 
 
 A place to lay his head : 
 
 He will provide my place, 
 
 And in due season show 
 Where I shall pass my few sad days 
 
 Of pilgrimage below. 
 
 No matter where, or how, 
 
 I in this desert live, 
 If when my dying head I bow, 
 
 Jesus my soul receive : 
 
 Bless'd with thy precious love, 
 
 Saviour, 'tis all my care 
 To reach the purchased house above, 
 
 And find a mansion there. 
 
 Saviour, I would not take 
 
 One step in life alone, 
 Or dare the smallest motion make, 
 
 Without thy counsel known : 
 
 Thee I my Lord confess, 
 
 In every thing I see, 
 And thou, by thine unerring grace, 
 
 Shalt order all for me. 
 
 Surely thou wilt provide 
 
 The place thou know'st I need, 
 A solitary place to hide 
 
 Thy hoary servant's head : 
 
 W T here a few moments more, 
 
 Expecting my release, 
 I may my father's God adore, 
 
 And then depart in peace. 
 
 What matters it to me, 
 
 When a few days are past, 
 Where I shall end my misery, 
 
 Where I shall breathe my last ? 
 
 The meanest house or cot 
 
 The hoary hairs may screen 
 Of one who would be clean forgot, 
 
 And live and die unseen.
 
 £16 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Exposed I long have been 
 
 In this bleak vale of tears, 
 Midst scenes of vanity and sin 
 
 Consumed my threescore years : 
 
 I turn my face aside, 
 
 Sick of beholding more, 
 And wish the latest storm t' outride, 
 
 And reach the happy shore. 
 
 As dead already here, 
 
 Without desire or hope, 
 Till from this earth I disappear, 
 
 I give the creature up ; 
 
 In temporal despair 
 
 Contentedly abide, 
 And in my flesh the tokens bear 
 
 Of Jesus crucified. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was sensible of the decay of his strength, and 
 was therefore apprehensive, considering his age,'that his labours would 
 soon end ; and as his brother was still more advanced in life, it was 
 doubtless a matter of some concern to them both, whether or not the 
 sacred office would be perpetuated in his offspring. At the beginning 
 of the year 1768, a third son was born to him ; and there seemed a fair 
 probability that one of them might become a minister of Christ. On 
 the 15th of January John wrote to him, and thus alludes to the subject; 
 at the same time stating a fact relative to their family of singular 
 curiosity. The nonconformity of their forefathers was of more ancient 
 date than is generally apprehended. 
 
 " It is highly probable," says he, " one of the three will stand before 
 the Lord. But, so far as I can learn, such a thing has scarce been for 
 these thousand years before, as a son, father, grandfather, atavus, tritavus, 
 preaching the gospel, nay, and the genuine gospel, in a line. You 
 know Mr. White, some time chairman of the assembly of divines, was 
 my grandmother's father." 
 
 If it was hoped that the infant, who was called John James, would 
 live to receive a dispensation of the gospel, the expectation, as in many 
 similar cases, was cut off. While the father was discharging his 
 ministerial duties in London early in the following July, he received 
 intelligence that its infant spirit had been caught up to paradise. The 
 following is an extract of a letter which Mrs. Wesley sent to him : — 
 
 " My Dearest Mr. Wesley, — This comes to acquaint you, that our 
 dear little babe is no more. His agony is over ; but it was a hard 
 struggle before he could depart. He was dying all yesterday, from ten 
 o'clock ; and about nine last night he departed. He screamed three 
 times about half an hour before he died, that he could be heard from 
 nurse's parlour to the other side of the street ; not through guilt, that
 
 1 
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 617 
 
 is my comfort, but through extreme pain. Perhaps, was I of Calvin's 
 opinion, I might have attributed it to a different cause : but glory be 
 to the Redeemer's love, in declaring, for the consolation of distressed 
 parents, that ' of such is the kingdom of heaven !' O that I may arrive 
 as safely in the harbour of eternal peace ! 
 
 " The rest of the children are well at present ; but we know not how 
 long they may be so. The small-pox is at the next door but one to us ; 
 and I fear for my little Sammy. I can add no more than, the united 
 love of many here attends you. Mr. Roquet called to-day, and desired 
 his ; so did Mrs. Jones, of Fonmon ; Mrs. Vigor, and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ellis, join the children and me in duty and love." 
 
 To this simple and affecting communication, Mr. Charles Wesley 
 returned the following answer to his sorrowing wife. Happy the 
 woman that had such a husband ! 
 
 " ' Father, not as I will, but as thou wilt.' ' Thy will be done on 
 earth, as it is in heaven.' Let my dearest companion in trouble offer 
 up this prayer> with as much of her heart as she can : and God, who 
 knoweth whereof we are made, and considereth that we are but dust, 
 will, for Christ's sake, accept our weakest, most imperfect desires of 
 resignation. I know the surest way to preserve our children is to 
 trust them with him, who loves them infinitely better than we can do. 
 I received your trying news at nine this morning ; walked directly with 
 
 my sympathizing friend F to take a place. All full, but the Bath 
 
 coach for to-morrow. I shall come thereby somewhat later to my 
 beloved Sally, and Charley, and his sister. But the Lord is with you 
 already. The Lord is with you always. This has been a solemn day. 
 You must not deny my love to my sweet boy, if I am enabled to resign 
 him for his heavenly Father to dispose of. I cannot doubt his wisdom 
 or goodness. He will infallibly do what is best, not only for his own 
 children, but for us, in time and eternity. Be comforted by this as- 
 surance. Many mourn with and pray for you, and your little ones. 
 I shall tread on the heels of my letter, if the Lord prosper my journey. 
 He comes with me. Let us confidently expect him, the great Physician 
 of soul and body. Peace be with you ! May the Lord Jesus himself 
 speak it into your heart, — ' My peace I give unto you !' " 
 
 From this letter it appears that Mr. Charles Wesley had made the 
 necessary arrangements for visiting his wife in Bristol, and attending 
 the funeral of his child. Something, however, with which we are not 
 acquainted, occurred to prevent the fulfilment of his purpose by detain- 
 ing him in London. Instead of her husband, therefore, Mrs. Wesley 
 received a second letter, which she acknowledges in the following 
 manner. Her Christian gentleness and resignation are very apparent. 
 Though deprived of his presence and counsel, both at the death and
 
 618 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 funeral of her infant, and apprehending another of her children to be in 
 imminent danger, she maintains a calm self-possession, and utters no 
 unseemly lamentations : a strong intimation that she was not unworthy 
 of the esteem and affection with which he invariably regarded her. 
 
 " July 11th, 1768. I this day received both my dearest Mr. Wesley's 
 letters. You can sympathize with me, in the loss of my dear little 
 babe : which is moderated to me by the small expectation I had of his 
 life, together with the consideration of the sufferings he went through ; 
 which are now at an end ; and he is eternally secured from the malice 
 of jnen and devils. When I come to die, I shall be thankful. At pre- 
 sent I can only say, ' The Lord is righteous in all his ways,' and orders 
 all things for good to his children. May I be found of that happy 
 number, in the day when he makes up his jewels ! On Saturday even- 
 ing the child was buried. 
 
 ' Who next shall be summon'd awayl 
 My merciful God, is it I V 
 
 " I employed Birt, and desired the clerk to take care of the tomb- 
 stone, &c. I hope it will not again be removed for the few that remain 
 of our offspring ; though I dread it for my dear Samuel. He eats but 
 little animal food ; and I intend to give him less, while the small-pox 
 is in the neighbourhood. But I remember all these means, together 
 with physic, were used for my dear Jacky, before he sickened, but to 
 no purpose. We shall be glad to see you returned, when you think 
 you can leave London with freedom, knowing you can be spared : 
 otherwise I would not wish you to neglect the public on my account, 
 especially as your ministry is so much blessed in that place. My dear 
 Mrs. Vigor has shown her usual love to me in all my troubles, and 
 unites with Mr. and Mrs. James, and Mrs. Jones, of Fonmon, in kind 
 love. Charles and Sally send their duty." 
 
 The subjoined letter, which was written in answer to this, shows 
 that Mr. Charles Wesley had now determined to remove his family to 
 the neighbourhood of London ; his brother and all his friends there 
 approving of this arrangement. The reasons for it are not stated, but 
 may be easily conjectured. The society in the metropolis was larger 
 and more important than that in Bristol, and therefore required greater 
 pastoral care. His ministry was also more numerously attended there, 
 and more successful. 
 
 "July 16th, 1768. My Dearest Sally, — Our preparation could not 
 save the first Jacky, because God had prepared a better thing for him. 
 The means may keep Samuel with us. Let us be thankful that he still 
 holds up. If he should have the distemper soon, I believe it will only 
 lessen his beauty. I long to see him and you, but fear I must be de- 
 tained another week in town. On Monday Mr. Kemp, and Beck, and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 619 
 
 I go to see a house at Hackney, and another at Newington, either of 
 which he thinks will suit us exactly. If Beck and I are of the same 
 judgment, we shall take it. 
 
 " Write again, about Samuel particularly. Yesterday I dined at 
 Islington, and shall on Monday again. Last night I was with the 
 committee, who are entirely devoted to our service. My brother him- 
 self is quite pleased with our having a house near London : so are all 
 the people, which I need not tell you. On Thursday night the Foun- 
 dery was crowded with serious hearers of every sort. My subject 
 was, ' He is able to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God 
 by him.' 
 
 " I finish this at Lewisham. Our beloved Mrs. Blackwell wishes 
 you all happiness from her sick-bed of pain. She is come very near 
 the crisis, yet resigned and happy. Such may I be when in her cir- 
 cumstances ! The Lord bless and preserve you all ! Adieu !" 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Early in the year 1770 Mr. Charles Wesley received a letter from 
 his friend Mr. Whitefield, then labouring with his wonted energy, zeal, 
 and hope, upon the vast continent of America. The letter was written 
 in Georgia, and gives an encouraging account of the progress of the 
 gospel in that colony, where he and the Wesleys began their minis- 
 terial career. Upward of thirty years had now elapsed since Mr. John 
 and Charles Wesley left their charge in that place, being treated with 
 cruelty and injustice by a disobedient and a gainsaying people. It 
 must have afforded them a high gratification, to learn that the children 
 of the original settlers, to whom they ministered the word amid bitter 
 discouragements and opposition, cherished a love of the truth, and paid 
 a becoming attention to their spiritual interests. 
 
 " Bethesda, Jan. 15th, 1770. My Very Dear Old Friend,— I wrote 
 to your honoured brother from on board ship. Since then what won- 
 ders have I seen ! what innumerable mercies have I received ! a long, 
 trying, but, I humbly hope, profitable passage. My poor, feeble labours, 
 are owned in Charleston ; and every thing is more than promising in 
 Georgia. The increase of this once-so-much-despised colony is in- 
 credible. Good, I trust, is doing at Savannah, and Bethesda is like to 
 blossom as a rose : the situation most delightful, very salubrious, and 
 every thing excellently adapted for the intended purpose. All admire 
 the goodness, strength, and beauty of the late improvements. In a few 
 months the intended plan, I hope, will be completed, and a solid, lasting 
 
 -
 
 620 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 foundation laid for the support and education of many as yet unborn. 
 Nothing is wanted but a judicious and moderately-learned, single- 
 hearted master. Surely the glorious Emmanuel will point out one in 
 his own due time. Do pray. I am sure, prayers put up above thirty 
 years ago are now answering : and I am persuaded we shall yet see 
 greater things than these. Who would have thought that such a worth- 
 less creature as this letter-writer should live to be fifty-five years old ? 
 I can only sit down and cry, ' What hath God wrought !' My bodily 
 health is much improved, and my soul is on the wing for a northern 
 gospel range. 
 
 " You and all your connections will not cease to pray for me. I 
 would fain begin to do something for my God. My heart's desire and 
 incessant prayer to the God of my life is, that the word of the Lord 
 may prosper in your hands, and run and be glorified more and more. 
 
 to work while it is day ! O to be found all on the full stretch for 
 Him who was stretched, and groaned, and bled, and died for us ! Un- 
 utterable love ! I am lost in wonder and amazement, and therefore, 
 although with regret, I must hasten to subscribe myself, my very dear 
 sir, less than the least of all. 
 
 " P.S. Cordial love awaits your whole self, and inquiring friends, 
 and all that love the everlasting, altogether-lovely Jesus in sincerity. 
 
 1 hope to write to your honoured brother soon. Brethren, pray for us." 
 
 This appears to have been the last communication that Mr. Charles 
 Wesley received from his estimable friend. Mr. Whitefield continued 
 his labours till the succeeding autumn, when his strength failed, and he 
 ceased to preach and live. " He was not ; for God took him." After 
 spending about a month in Boston and its neighbourhood, preaching 
 every day, he went to Old- York ; preached there, Sept. 27th, and at 
 Portsmouth the day after. The next morning he set out for Boston ; 
 but before he arrived at Newbury, where he had engaged to minister 
 the word of life, he was importuned to preach. The house not being 
 large enough to contain the people, he addressed them in an open field. 
 As he had been infirm for several weeks, this so exhausted his strength, 
 that when he came to Newbury he could not get out of the ferry-boat 
 without the help of two men. In the evening, however, he recovered 
 his spirits, and appeared with his usual cheerfulness. He went to his 
 chamber at nine o'clock, his fixed time, from which no company could 
 divert him, and slept better than he had done for some weeks before. 
 He rose at four in the morning, and went into his closet, when it was 
 observed that he was unusually long in private. Returning to his 
 companion, he threw himself on the bed, and lay about ten minutes. 
 He then fell upon his knees, and prayed most fervently to God, that, 
 if it were his will, he might that day finish his Master's work. He
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 621 
 
 then desired his man to call Mr. Parsons, the clergyman, at whose 
 house he was : but in a minute, before Mr. Parsons could reach him, 
 he died, without a sigh or groan.* It was the morning of the sabbath- 
 day ; and instead of addressing the eager crowds who anticipated the 
 pleasure of hearing him, and of uniting with him in the worship of 
 God, he went to join the general assembly, and church of the first- 
 born, whose names are written in heaven. 
 
 The report of Mr. Whitefield's death caused a feeling of deep regret 
 among his numerous friends, both in England and America ; and many 
 sermons were preached and published on the melancholy occasion. 
 No men showed greater respect to his memory than Mr. John and 
 Charles Wesley, with whom he had maintained a sincere friendship 
 through the greater part of his life. At the request of the executors, 
 Mr. John Wesley preached Mr. Whitefield's funeral sermon, firsfrin the 
 Tabernacle of Tottenham-court-road, and afterward in that of Moor- 
 fields. The sermon, which was read at both places to an immense 
 concourse of people, and was forthwith published, contains a charac- 
 ter of Mr. Whitefield, equally just and honourable. Mr. Wesley also 
 preached on the same occasion at the Tabernacle in Greenwich, in 
 compliance with the request of the trustees of that place of worship. 
 On a subsequent day he preached on the same subject at Deptford ; 
 remarking in his Journal, " In every place I wish to show all possible 
 respect to the memory of that great and good man." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was neither unaffected nor silent when he re- 
 ceived the distressing intelligence that his friend was no more. He 
 wept at the remembrance of one who was his son in the gospel, one 
 of his earliest religious companions, and for many years one of the 
 most useful men of his age. He poured forth the sorrows of his heart 
 in an " Elegy on the Death of the Rev. George Whitefield ;" which he 
 immediately printed in a handsome octavo pamphlet, every line of which 
 appears to have flowed from his inmost soul. It describes, in pure and 
 sterling English, the piety, zeal, talents, energy, and usefulness of the 
 deceased ambassador of Christ, and glorifies God in him, as the sole 
 author of all the good that he possessed, and that he was a means of 
 producing in others. This beautiful poem, for such it is, has long been 
 out of print, and therefore is known to few readers, even among those 
 who take an interest in the history of these men of God. 
 
 Several notices of Mr. Whitefield's character and personal history 
 have already been given in this volume, from which some opinion may 
 be formed of him, both as a man and a minister of Christ. He was 
 not remarkable either for the depth or the comprehensiveness of his 
 views, or for the extent of his erudition. Nor did he ever excel in 
 
 * Wesley's Works, vol. i, p. 474.
 
 622 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 authorship, or as a reasoner. Had he published nothing, his character 
 avouM have been far higher in the estimation of posterity than it is 
 ever likely to be, now that so many of his sermons and other composi- 
 tions have been committed to the press. The fame of his preaching 
 would have filled the world with wonder, had the whole of his dis- 
 courses been confined to the pulpit, and none of his writings appeared 
 in print. 
 
 In his spirit he was eminently affectionate, and susceptible of grate- 
 ful feeling. He loved his friends most cordially, and never forgot a 
 favour that was shown him. Yet he possessed great firmness and in- 
 dependence of mind ; so that when his judgment and conscience were 
 convinced, nothing could move him from his purpose, or induce him to 
 deviate from what he believed to be the path of duty. For Mr. John 
 and Charles Wesley his respect was all but unbounded ; yet when he 
 had embraced the Calvinian view of predestination, he chose rather to 
 separate from them than deny what he believed to be the truth. Nor 
 could any fear of ecclesiastical censure restrain him from calling sin- 
 ners to repentance in fields and market-places, when he thought that 
 the spiritual necessities of the people, and the honour of his Saviour, 
 rendered these irregularities matter of duty. He feared no man's dis- 
 pleasure in turning sinners to Christ. 
 
 As a preacher he was unrivalled. His heart burned with love to 
 Christ, and yearned with compassion for the souls of unconverted men. 
 His eloquence was inspired, and sanctified, and made effective, by the 
 love of Christ. In all his ministrations, this was the master-principle. 
 Yet he possessed personal advantages to which few men can lay equal 
 claim. His voice was musical, strong, and sonorous, so as generally 
 to reach, without difficulty, the vast assemblages of people by whom 
 he was surrounded. He had a fluency of expression which few public 
 speakers can command, so as never to be at a loss for the most appro- 
 priate words to convey his meaning. In pleading with sinners he often 
 wept aloud, stamped with his feet, and uttered warnings, expostulations, 
 and entreaties the most impassioned and overwhelming. His person 
 was graceful, especially in the earlier period of his life, and his action 
 corresponded with the subjects upon Avhich he was discoursing. There 
 were certain lavounte topics which he often introduced into his ser- 
 mons, especially the sufferings of Christ ; and though his stated hearers 
 knew beforehand the very expressions that would be used, the tones in 
 which they would be uttered, and the action which would accompany 
 them, these topics never failed to produce their legitimate impression. 
 They were never heard without tears. Mr. John Wesley had preached 
 in the open air in Georgia before Mr. Whitefield was ordained ; but 
 Mr. Whitefield led the way in field-preaching in England, and success-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 623 
 
 fully urged both the Wesleys to follow his example. In this, as well 
 as in other departments of ministerial service, Mr. Whitefield was a 
 moral hero. Not only did thousands of the common people, both in 
 Europe and America, hear from his lips the words of revealed truth, 
 but also several of the nobility. When Lady Huntingdon opened her 
 house in London for regular preaching, on a week-day, several from 
 the higher classes of society were his stated hearers there ; and even 
 Deistical statesmen, such as Bolingbroke and Chesterfield, drawn by 
 the report of his eloquence, heard from him the sacred truths of Chris- 
 tianity. He was a man of uncommon powers, fitted by the providence 
 and grace of God to awaken the consciences of an ignorant, irreligious, 
 and slumbering people. 
 
 The death of Mr. Whitefield, connected with the very uncertain state 
 of his own health, appears to have made a deep impression upon the 
 mind of Mr. Charles Wesley. He was led to a serious consideration 
 of his own removal into the spiritual and eternal world. It had long 
 been the habit of his life to imbody his religious feelings in hymns of 
 prayer and praise to God ; and in the present instance he was induced 
 to review the past with penitence and gratitude, and to anticipate the 
 future with desire and hope. In less than two years, therefore, from 
 the decease of his friend, he published a small volume, now extremely 
 rare, entitled, " Preparation for Death, in several Hymns." They are 
 forty in number, and are indeed appropriate to the occasion on which 
 they were written ; expressing deep humiliation and shame before the 
 Lord, at the remembrance of past unfaithfulness, with an absolute re- 
 liance upon the sacrifice of Christ, for present pardon, for perfected 
 holiness, and for final acceptance with God. In these most devout 
 compositions the vanity of the world is strikingly acknowledged, with 
 the frailty and helplessness of man, especially in sickness, age, and 
 infirmity ; and earnest longings are expressed for that heavenly rest, 
 where there is no more pain, and where all is quietness and assurance 
 for ever. A more pious manual was never sent forth from the press. 
 It relates, with solemn interest, to a period which cannot be far from 
 any one ; and he is the wisest and the happiest man who is the best 
 prepared for that certain event. 
 
 Mr. Whitefield caused the first separation among the Methodists, by 
 his zealous inculcation of the peculiar tenets of Calvinism. But the 
 personal controversy which was thus excited was of short continuance, 
 so far as the press was concerned. When Mr. John Wesley had pub- 
 lished his " Sermon on Free Grace," Mr. Whitefield his " Letter" in 
 reply, and Mr. Charles Wesley his " Hymns on God's Everlasting 
 Love," the contending parties " agreed to differ." Each maintained his 
 own views, and recommended them both from the pulpit and the press,
 
 624 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 \ 
 
 but without any mention of each other's names. Notwithstanding their 
 
 differences of opinion, they spoke respectfully of each other in public, 
 
 and occasionally exchanged pulpits, as an open declaration of their 
 
 mutual esteem and love. But it was not likely that this state of things 
 
 would be permanent. The questions at issue were of so stirring a 
 
 kind, that a full discussion of them, soon or late, must have appeared 
 
 inevitable to every intelligent observer. Scarcely were Mr. Whitefield's 
 
 remains cold in the grave before the smothered flame was rekindled. 
 
 The doctrine of justification by faith was one of the most prominent 
 tenets of Methodism, as it was of the Protestant Reformation. But 
 every student of ecclesiastical history must perceive the danger of ex- 
 tremes. Such is the infirmity of human nature, that nothing can be 
 more common than for the teachers of religion, in avoiding one ex- 
 treme, to run into another of the opposite kind. In opposing the Phari- 
 saic spirit, which was so generally prevalent in England, many persons 
 who had been concerned in the late revival of Christian godliness 
 preached justification by faith, so as to countenance the Antinomian 
 delusion ; if not intentionally, yet by a misleading phraseology. Some 
 of Mr. Wesley's preachers, with all their supposed legality, were not 
 free from blame in this matter. Of this their venerable father, Mr. 
 John Wesley, was aware ; and applied a seasonable remedy to the 
 existing evil. One of the most important objects of his yearly confer- 
 ence with them was the preservation among them of a unity in doctrine 
 and operation, and the maintenance of a pure discipline. 
 
 In the conference of 1770, which was held in London, the question, 
 " What can be done to revive the work of God where it is decayed V 
 was discussed, and various suggestions were offered. The result of 
 the whole was a strong recommendation that the preachers should visit 
 the people from house to house ; assist in the circulation of the cheap 
 religious books, of which a large assortment had been prepared ; preach 
 frequently in the open air, and regularly at five o'clock in the morning ; 
 encourage lively singing in the congregations ; observe a quarterly fast 
 in the societies ; meet the children of their people weekly, for the pur- 
 pose of catechetical instruction ; and so arrange their plans of labour as 
 to allow each preacher to attend the service of the established Church 
 on two Sundays every month. To these directions were added the 
 following, relative to the substance of their ministrations : — ■ 
 
 " Take heed to your doctrine. We said in 1744, ' We have leaned 
 too much toward Calvinism.' Wherein ? 
 
 " 1 . With regard to mans faithfulness. Our Lord himself taught us 
 to use the expression ; and we ought never to be ashamed of it. We 
 ought steadily to assert, on his authority, that if a man is not ' faithful 
 in the unrighteous mammon,' God will not give him the true riches.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 625 
 
 " 2. With regard to working for life. This also our Lord has ex- 
 pressly commanded us. ' Labour,' epya^eade, literally, ' work for the 
 meat that endureth to everlasting life.' And, in fact, every believer, 
 till he comes to glory, works for as well as from life. 
 
 " 3. We have received it as' a maxim, that a man is to do nothing in 
 order to justification. Nothing can be more false. Whoever desires 
 to find favour with God should ' cease from evil, and learn to do well.' 
 Whoever repents, should do ' works meet for repentance.' And if this 
 is not in order to find favour, what does he do them for 1 
 
 " Review the whole affair. 
 
 " 1. Who of us is now accepted of God. 
 
 " He that now believes in Christ, with a loving and obedient heart. 
 
 " 2. But who among those who never heard of Christ? 
 
 " He that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, according to the 
 light he has. 
 
 " 3. Is this the same with ' he that is sincere V 
 
 " Nearly, if not quite. 
 
 " 4. Is not this salvation by works ? 
 
 " Not by the merit of works, but by works as a condition. 
 
 " 5. What have we then been disputing about for these thirty years ? 
 
 " I am afraid, about words. 
 
 " 6. As to merit itself, of which we have been so dreadfully afraid : 
 we are rewarded ' according to our works,' yea, ' because of our works.' 
 How does this differ from, for the sake of our works ? And how differs 
 this from secundum mcrita operum ? as our works deserve ? Can you split 
 this hair '? I doubt I cannot. 
 
 " 7. The grand objection to one of the preceding propositions is 
 drawn from matter of fact. God does, in fact, justify those who by 
 their own confession neither feared God nor wrought righteousness. Is 
 this an exception to the general rule ? 
 
 " It is a doubt, God makes any exception at all. But how are we 
 sure that the person in question never did fear God and Avork right- 
 eousness ? His own saying so is not proof ; for we know how all that 
 are convinced of sin undervalue themselves in every respect. 
 
 " 8. Does not talking of a justified or a sanctified state tend to mis- 
 lead men 1 almost naturally leading them to trust in what was done in 
 one moment ? Whereas we are every hour and every moment pleasing 
 or displeasing to God, according to our works : according to the whole 
 of our inward tempers, and our outward behaviour." 
 
 Every one must at once perceive that these propositions were not 
 designed for popular use. They were theological theses, submitted by 
 Mr. Wesley to the consideration of his preachers, and intended to guard 
 the evangelical doctrine of salvation by grace from Antinomian abuses 
 
 40
 
 626 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Had he been addressing himself to general readers, he would have ex- 
 pressed his meaning more at large, and so as to prevent the possibility 
 of misapprehension : a precaution which he deemed unnecessary when 
 he was writing to his preachers, who thoroughly understood both his 
 general doctrine, and his present purpose. The doctrinal alarm con- 
 tained in the Minutes was as seasonable as it was important, and was 
 dictated by a sound discretion. The vile Antinomianism, the encroach- 
 ments of which they were intended to resist, is one of the greatest evils 
 that ever afflicted the church, and obstructed the work of God. Not- 
 withstanding the obvious design of the Minutes, they were an occasion 
 of calling forth against the author hostilities unexampled in severity, 
 and which have never ceased to this day. In speaking to men who 
 knew his whole creed, he did not consider it requisite to go into other 
 points, in which they were all agreed ; but he no more intended to 
 deny his former tenets than to turn Mohammedan. Justification by faith, 
 for instance, had, up to this period, been the most prominent subject 
 of his ministry, as it continued to be till the day of his death. 
 
 When Mr. Wesley published the Minutes of 1770, the peculiar 
 friendship for him which Lady Huntingdon formerly cherished had for 
 some time been partially withdrawn. At the beginning of her religious 
 course, he was a means of great spiritual good to her ; and she long 
 returned his kindness and fidelity with every expression of esteem and 
 attachment. She entertained all his theological views, even those re- 
 lating to the question of Christian perfection ; and she strengthened his 
 hands when a separation from the Moravians was deemed necessary, 
 and some of his best friends forsook him. But at length her opinions 
 underwent an alteration. She formed an acquaintance with Mr. White- 
 field, whom she justly admired, and after his example embraced the 
 Calvinian theory of absolute predestination. Both before and after this 
 change in her sentiments, her piety was unquestionable, and her zeal 
 exemplary. She was never ashamed of her Christian profession, but 
 nobly confessed her Lord before the higher classes of society, with 
 whom her rank entitled her to associate, and used all her influence to 
 bring others to a saving knowledge of Christ. Having opened her 
 house in London for the preaching of God's word, with encouraging 
 success, she proceeded to the purchase and erection of chapels in 
 fashionable cities and watering places, which were supplied to a great 
 extent by ministers of the established Church, many of whom were 
 favourable to her ladyship's Calvinistic views, and were attended by 
 large congregations. She had also formed a college at Trevecka, in 
 Wales, for the training of ministers ; so that she was at the head of a 
 numerous body of people, and had the direct countenance of a majority 
 of the evangelical clergy, not a few of whom treated Mr. Wesley with 
 
 40*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 627 
 
 coldness and reserve because of his firm denial of their favourite tenets 
 of absolute election, and final perseverance. He annoyed them griev- 
 ously by pressing upon them the dreadful counterpart of their doctrine, — 
 the fixed and hopeless reprobation of the non-elect. He believed that 
 her ladyship, with several of her confidential friends, were jealous of 
 his power, while they disliked his theology. 
 
 It is not therefore surprising, that when the Minutes made their ap- 
 pearance, she condemned them in the strongest terms ; declared that 
 she could even " burn against them ;" and determined that if any of the 
 students in her college agreed with Mr. Wesley in these doctrinal pro- 
 positions, he should be dismissed. Mr. Fletcher, the devout vicar of 
 Madeley, was the president of the institution ; and Mr. Joseph Benson 
 the classical tutor, having -been placed in that office at the recommenda- 
 tion of Mr. Wesley and Mr. Fletcher. He had given proofs of superior 
 piety and talent ; but having avowed his concurrence with Mr. Wesley, 
 he was forthwith discharged, with a certificate, stating that no com- 
 plaint lay against either his personal character, his scholarship, or his 
 ability to teach. Mr. Fletcher, who was as decidedly anti-Calvinistical 
 as Mr. Wesley, felt that when his friend was discarded, he could not 
 honourably retain his connection with the college. As all his services 
 were gratuitous, and his reputation for piety, genius, and uprightness 
 was high, her ladyship doubtless found it a difficult task to command 
 him to retire : he therefore resolved to tender his resignation, and spare 
 her the pain of an ungracious act. 
 
 In this state of affairs Mr. John Wesley felt it his duty to write to 
 Lady Huntingdon in a tone of expostulation, and of self-defence. The 
 letter has not been published ; but the temper of the writer may be 
 gathered from his correspondence with Mr. Benson, which was carried 
 on at the same time. Under the date of Nov. 30th, 1770, he says. 
 " For several years I had been deeply convinced, that I had not done 
 my duty with regard to that valuable woman ; that I had not told her 
 what, I was thoroughly fcsured, no one else would dare to do, and 
 what I knew she would bear from no other person, but possibly might 
 bear from me. But being unwilling to give her pain, I put it off from 
 time to time. At length I did not dare to delay any longer, lest death 
 should call one of us hence. So I at once delivered my own soul, by 
 telling her all that was in my heart. It was my business, my proper 
 business, so to do ; as none else either could or would do it. Neither 
 did I at all take too much upon me. I know the office of a Christian 
 minister. If she is not profited, it is her own fault, not mine. I have 
 done my duty. I do not know there is one charge in that letter, which 
 is either unjust, unimportant, or aggravated ; any more than that against 
 the doggerel hymns, which are equally an insult upon poetry and com- 

 
 628 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 mon sense." About a month afterward he adds, " This morning I have 
 calmly and coolly read over my letter to Lady Huntingdon. I still 
 believe every line of it is true. And I am assured I spoke the truth in 
 love. It is great pity any who wish her well should skin over the 
 wounds which are there searched. As long as she resents that office 
 of true esteem, her grace can be but small." 
 
 The letter of Mr. Wesley was not received by her ladyship in the 
 spirit which these notices concerning it express. From this period she 
 appears to have cherished toward him a feeling of deep and resolute 
 hostility. As he was anxious to give no just offence to any one, he 
 examined the Minutes again and again, with the utmost care ; and the 
 result was an increased conviction of their truth, and of their seasona- 
 bleness at that time. He felt therefore that he could neither retract 
 nor soften them without violating his conscience. Writing to one of 
 his correspondents in Bath, he says, " At the instance of some who 
 were frightened thereby, I have reviewed them over and over ; I have 
 considered them in every point of view ; and truly the more I consider 
 them, the more I like them ; the more fully I am convinced, not only 
 that they are true, agreeable both to Scripture and sound experience, 
 but that they contain truths of the deepest importance, and such as 
 ought to be continually inculcated by those who would be pure from the 
 blood of all men." 
 
 Equally fixed and determined were the adversaries of these doctrinal 
 propositions. The next Methodist conference was to be held in Bristol, 
 early in the ensuing August ; and it was resolved by Lady Hunting- 
 don, and Mr. Shirley, (who acted as her agent in the whole business,) 
 to get up an anti-Wesleyan demonstration in that city, at the same 
 time. To effect this object the following letter was printed, and widely 
 circulated : — 
 
 " Sir, — Whereas Mr. Wesley's conference is to be held at Bristol, 
 on Tuesday the 6th of August next, it is proposed by Lady Huntingdon, 
 and many other Christian friends, (real Protestants,) to have a meeting 
 at Bristol, at the same time, of such principal persons, both clergy and 
 laity, who disapprove of the underwritten Minutes ; and as the same 
 are thought injurious to the very fundamental principles of Christianity, 
 it is further proposed, that they go in a body to the said conference, 
 and insist upon a formal recantation of the said Minutes ; and in case 
 of a refusal, to publish their protest against them. Your presence, 
 sir, on this occasion, is particularly requested : but if it should not suit 
 your convenience to be there, it is desired that you will transmit your 
 sentiments on the subject to such persons as you think proper to pro- 
 duce them. It is submitted to you, whether it would not be right, in 
 the opposition to be made to such a dreadful heresy, to recommend it
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 629 
 
 to as many of your Christian friends, as well of the Dissenters, as of 
 the established Church, as you can prevail on to be there, the cause 
 being of so general a nature. I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 "Walter Shirley."* 
 
 To this letter was affixed an extract from the Minutes, which were 
 alleged to be heretical, and a copy of the protest which the intended 
 assembly was to adopt, in case Mr. Wesley and his preachers shoidd 
 refuse to alter their creed, at the dictation of the parties who modestly 
 assumed " dominion over their faith." That Mr. Wesley might be 
 acquainted with the process which was going on against him, a copy 
 of the circular was forwarded to his brother, as soon as it was printed, 
 accompanied by the following letter from Lady Huntingdon : — 
 
 " Bath, June 8th, 1771. Dear Sir, — Enclosed you have your broth- 
 er's Minutes, sent with those resolutions taken in consequence of their 
 appearing in the world, and that under the proper explanation of them, 
 viz., ' Popery unmasked.' They have long affected my mind with 
 deep concern ; and thinking that all ought to be deemed Papists who 
 did not disown them, I readily complied with a proposal of an open 
 disavowal of them. The friendship I have endeavoured to show you 
 and him for so many years could never have been less, but for that 
 confession your brother has made of his creed. I can therefore look 
 upon what I do, as no more than bearing an honest testimony, in that 
 simplicity and godly sincerity with which I have desired to hold the 
 fundamental principles of that Church to which I belong, and univer- 
 sally with all the reformed and Protestant churches in the world. I 
 shall ever, from Scripture, as well as, the happy demonstration of truth 
 to my own conscience, maintain the sufficiency of that glorious sacrifice 
 for sinners as the whole of my salvation, abhorring all merit in man, and 
 giving that glory to Jesus Christ, which alone to him eternally belongs. 
 You must see in this view, that neither partiality nor prejudice has any 
 thing to do in this whole affair. Principles that make shipwreck of 
 faith, and of course of a good conscience, are what I have to object to ; 
 and no gloss, ever so finely drawn over these apostate sentiments, can 
 alter their nature or consequence to me. Things of such vast import- 
 ance ever exclude the man. He is, like every other man, weak and 
 insufficient, and does therefore demand a Christian temper of opposition, 
 and his infirmities tenderly covered : but his principles set up another 
 gospel, and so exclude that of Jesus Christ, and thus expose thousands 
 
 * The following potscript was subjoined to this letter : — " Your answer is desired, 
 directed to the Countess of Huntingdon, or the Rev. Mr. Shirley, or John Lloyd, Esq., 
 in Bath, or Mr. James Ireland, Bristol, or to Thomas Powis, Esq., at Berwick, near 
 Shrewsbury, or to Richard Hill, Esq., at Hawkstone, near Whitchurch, Shropshire. 
 Lodgings will be provided. Inquire at Mr. Ireland's, Bristol."
 
 630 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 of immortal souls to the just suspicions of denying the only Lord God 
 that bought them, and in civil as well as religious professors make us 
 appear rebels to God our King, and the most wicked enemies of our 
 country. None can blame any who from such withdraw themselves. 
 
 " As you have no part in this matter, I find it difficult to blame your 
 brother to you ; while as an honest man I must pity and not less re- 
 gard you, as you must suffer equal disgrace, and universal distrust, from 
 the supposed union with him. I know you so well, and believe the 
 Lord who brings light with truth will also show you, that no mean dis- 
 guises, or a less interesting point, could thus influence me in that stand 
 I make, and which appears to me of that consequence to the salvation 
 of souls. 
 
 " May every best blessing attend you ; and may you be found faith- 
 ful in life and in death to Him who has so loved us, and to whom, 
 throughout all eternity, all praise and glory our heaven must ever 
 resound with. I am, dear sir, 
 
 " Your ever faithful and sincere friend and servant, for Christ's sake. 
 
 " The copy enclosed is tbe first that has been sent out by me to any 
 one. I have done this in order that with the greatest openness your 
 brother might be informed by you." 
 
 Few men respected Lady Huntingdon more than Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley. . For many years he had lived in habits of intimacy with her, and 
 corresponded with her ; and he with his family had received from her 
 many acts of substantial kindness, of which he was deeply sensible. 
 But her attack upon the good name of his brother produced an effect 
 the reverse of what she intended. He knew his brother's infirmities 
 better than she did, and he also knew his brother's sterling worth. He 
 knew that John Wesley was no " Papist," either masked or " un- 
 masked," but as " real a Protestant" as those who appropriated to 
 themselves exclusively the honourable title. He knew well that his 
 brother was no " rebel to God or king," nor " wicked enemy of his 
 country," though traduced under these characters by one of his spiritual 
 children. With meekness, therefore, but with instinctive firmness and 
 promptitude, Mr. Charles Wesley resented the attempt to alienate him 
 from the brother of his heart, to whom he had always yielded a just 
 preference. What he thought of the most unbecoming and unfeminine 
 letter of Lady Huntingdon, may be gathered from the two short but 
 significant sentences which he inscribed on the back of it : " Lady 
 Huntingdon's last. Unanswered by John Wesley's brother!" 
 
 In what manner the calumnious circular, which was intrusted to 
 Mr. Charles Wesley, was communicated to John, we know not ; but 
 as he was not himself inclined to surrender that liberty of speech which 
 Lady Huntingdon wished to restrict, so he certainly did not advise his
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 631 
 
 brother tamely to submit to her dictation as to what he should publish. 
 On the 6th of July following, he says in a letter to John, " I have just 
 finished Brandt's ' History of the Synod of Dort.' Cannot you oblige 
 us with a short extract out of him ? out of ' Redemption Redeemed ?'* 
 or whom you choose 1 I verily think, you are called to drive reproba- 
 tion back to its own place." 
 
 In their further correspondence on the subject, Mr. John Wesley 
 makes the following communication to Charles. It was written a few 
 days before the conference began, and shows that, though his name 
 was cast out as evil, his conscience was pure, and therefore his manly 
 spirit was unsubdued. " We cannot put out what we never put in. I 
 do not use the word merit. I never did, neither do now, contend for 
 the use of it. But I ask you, or any other, a plain question. And do 
 not cry, ' Murder !' but give me an answer. What is the difference 
 between mereri, and to deserve ? or between deserving, and meritum ? 
 I say still, I cannot tell. Can you? Can Mr. Shirley, or any man 
 living ? In asking this question, I neither plead for merit, nor against it. 
 I have nothing to do with it. I have declared a thousand times, there 
 is no goodness in man till he is justified ; no merit, either before or 
 after ; that is, taking the word in its proper sense : for in a loose sense, 
 meritorious means no more than revcardable . 
 
 " As to reprobation, seeing they have drawn the sword, I throw 
 away the scabbard. I send you a specimen. Let fifteen hundred be 
 printed as soon as you please." 
 
 It would be difficult, in the entire range of ecclesiastical history, to 
 find an instance of greater impertinence than this entire proceeding of 
 Lady Huntingdon and her kinsman. They assume authority publicly 
 to brand Mr. Wesley as a heretic of the worst kind, a heretic whose 
 doctrine affected not the circumstantials of religion merely, but " the 
 very fundamental principles of Christianity," merely because he asserted 
 the conditionality of the covenant of grace : a tenet which had been 
 avowed and defended by many of the wisest and holiest men that ever 
 lived. Richard Baxter, for instance, has said far stronger things on the 
 necessity of obedience than Mr. Wesley had ever advanced. 
 
 Her ladyship and Mr. Shirley also claim authority over the con- 
 science and understanding of Mr. Wesley, and over those of the entire 
 body of his preachers, as well as a right, at their own* pleasure, to 
 intrude into the private assembly of these ministers. Without asking 
 permission, they propose, accompanied by others like-minded with 
 them, to go to the conference, not even to teach or expostulate with 
 the ignorant and erring men there assembled, but to demand " a formal 
 
 * An elaborate work in defence of general redemption, by the celebrated John 
 Goodwin.
 
 632 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 recantation" of their theological principles. An Englishman's house 
 is no longer his castle when these personages have a claim to make in 
 behalf of their own creed. 
 
 They even treat the people whom they invite to meet them with little 
 more respect than the Methodist preachers. For while they summon 
 all classes of religious people to Bristol, they tell these strangers what 
 to do when assembled. A form of a protest is provided for them ; so 
 that the clergy and laity, Churchmen and Dissenters, are to act as 
 these modest directors shall dictate ! 
 
 Never were rashness and presumption more effectually rebuked than 
 on this occasion. Many copies of the circular, we are informed, were 
 sent forth, in all directions ; and every person who received one was 
 urged to press the matter upon his neighbours, and secure as numerous 
 an attendance at Bristol as possible. What then was the result of all 
 this mighty preparation ? Absolutely nothing. From all that appears, 
 neither man, woman, nor child, repaired to Bristol in compliance with 
 the summons, either to beard Mr. Wesley and the conference, or to 
 adopt the " protest." The promised " lodgings" were unoccupied. 
 The " protest" remained in the pocket of the party by whom it was 
 written. No stranger showed his face in the city. 
 
 It is natural to inquire, what could be the reason of this failure. 
 Was it that there were no religious people in the land who disapproved 
 of the Minutes ? Far from it. Multitudes, both in the Church and out 
 of it, were decidedly opposed to them, even for this one sentence : 
 " We have leaned too much toward Calvinism." Many of the evan- 
 gelical clergy were favourable to Calvin's theory, as were the great 
 body of Dissenters. Why then did they not obey the summons which 
 called them to Bristol ? Simply because the entire movement was 
 unjust and ridiculous. What right had Lady Huntingdon and Mr. 
 Shirley to impose their creed upon Mr. Wesley, any more than he had 
 to impose his upon them ? Suppose Mr. Wesley had been weak 
 enough to invite all sorts of people to meet him at Trevecka, and to 
 demand of Lady Huntingdon and Mr. Shirley, with the tutors and 
 students of the college there, a formal recantation of the doctrine of 
 absolute election to eternal life, he would have made himself a laughing- 
 stock to all England. If her ladyship and her kinsman could not see 
 the unseemly position in which they placed themselves, other people 
 could see it, and blush for the folly which it betrayed. 
 
 When it was found that the call which was given to the clergy and 
 laity was not responded to, Lady Huntingdon and Mr. Shirley both 
 altered their tone toward Mr. Wesley. On the day before the confer- 
 ence met, each of them addressed a letter to him, expressing regret that 
 their printed circular was drawn up in unbecoming language, declaring
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 633 
 
 that they meant no personal offence, and requesting to know whether 
 it would be agreeable to Mr. Wesley and his preachers, that a deputa- 
 tion should attend the conference, for the purpose of coining to a better 
 understanding. Mr. Wesley returned a verbal answer, inviting Mr. 
 Shirley and his friends to come on the third day after the conference 
 had assembled ; thus teaching them that he would not allow them to 
 intrude into his conference at their pleasure. If they thought that , 
 Calvinism placed them above English law and good manners, it was 
 requisite that they should be better taught. Eight persons attended on 
 the day of the muster, all of whom were either dependant upon Lady 
 Huntingdon, or under her personal influence. At the head of these 
 was Mr. Shirley, her ladyship's cousin, who was accompanied by Mr. 
 Glascot and Mr. Owen, two of her preachers ; by Mr. Lloyd, of Bath, 
 and Mr. Ireland, of Bristol, whose names appear in the circular, and 
 who were - therefore pledged to support its object; by two students 
 belonging to her college at Trevecka ; and by Mr. Winter, who had 
 accompanied Mr. Whitefield to America, and was now under her lady- 
 ship's direction. Such men as Venn, Romaine, Madan, and Berridge, 
 with the entire body of the Dissenters, stood aloof from the fraternity. 
 The Calvinistical clergy did not like the doctrine of the Minutes any 
 more than Mr. Shirley or Lady Huntingdon did ; but they knew that 
 John Wesley was " in Christ before" they were ; that he had by the 
 grace of God led the way in that revival of spiritual religion, the bene- 
 fits of which they enjoyed in common with thousands more ; and they 
 esteemed him on account of his talents, erudition, piety, labours, use- 
 fulness, and age. They could not therefore treat him with rudeness 
 and public disrespect, nor connect themselves with the circular letter, 
 which was a dishonour to all the parties that identified themselves 
 with it. The intemperate language in which it was expressed, and the 
 offensive proposals which it contained, were alike revolting to every 
 generous and candid mind. Even those who had drawn it up, and sent 
 it forth, were ashamed of it, when they had ascertained the public 
 feeling. Lady Huntingdon confessed in her letter to Mr. Wesley, just 
 before the conference assembled, that her own friends, as well as his, 
 were offended with its tone and object. And well they might ; for it 
 was thoroughly un-English \ in its character, and conceived in the 
 haughty, sullen, and intolerant spirit of the Synod of Dort, whose creed 
 it was intended to promote. The parties concerned in it wanted nothing 
 but the civil power to give effect to their purpose ; and then wo to 
 John Wesley and his anti-Calvinistical preachers ! 
 
 On the entrance of the deputation into the conference, which was 
 unusually large in consequence of the trumpet of opposition which Mr. 
 Shirley had blown, Mr. Wesley engaged in prayer. Mr. Shirley then,
 
 634 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 at his own request, read to the conference the letters which he and 
 Lady Huntingdon had addressed to Mr. Wesley four days before. When 
 this was done, he expressed a " hope that the submission made was 
 satisfactory to the gentlemen of the conference. This was admitted ; 
 but then it was urged, that as the offence given by the circular letter 
 had been very public, so ought the letter of submission."* To this Mr. 
 Shirley immediately consented. 
 
 Mr. Wesley then stood up, and stated, that for more than thirty years 
 he had invariably preached the doctrine of justification by faith ; and 
 that there was nothing in the Minutes which at all opposed that vital 
 truth of Christianity. He complained of hostility to himself, even from 
 persons who were under obligations to him, and from whom therefore 
 he was entitled to a far different treatment. Mr. Shirley, in the most 
 solemn manner, disclaimed all personal hostility, so far as he was con- 
 cerned. He added, that his object simply was, to oppose the doctrine 
 of the Minutes, which he believed to be of dangerous tendency ; that he 
 had in his possession " numerous protests and testimonies against them, 
 sent from Scotland, and from various parts of these kingdoms ; and that 
 it must seem very extraordinary indeed, if so many men of sense and 
 learning should be mistaken, and that there was nothing really offensive 
 in the plain, natural import of the Minutes."! He expressed his belief 
 that Mr. Wesley and the preachers " themselves (whatever meaning 
 they might have intended) would allow that the more obvious meaning 
 of the Minutes was reprehensible." He therefore " recommended to 
 them, nay, begged and entreated, for the Lord's sake, that they would 
 go as far as they could with a good conscience, in giving the world 
 satisfaction." 
 
 These are Mr. Shirley's own statements ; and they are highly cha- 
 racteristic of the man : feeble, but withal sincere, devout, and well- 
 intentioned. The Minutes were avowedly anti-Calvinistical, and there- 
 fore necessarily " offensive" to a large number of people in " Scotland, 
 and in various parts of these kingdoms." Of this there could be no 
 doubt. But then Mr. Wesley was no Calvinist, and never professed to 
 be such ; and if, in the frank avowal of his opinions, others who were 
 differently minded took " offence," he was not to blame. His design 
 was not to " offend" any one, but to discharge his own conscience. Mr. 
 Shirley assumes that, because " many men of sense and learning" dis- 
 approved of the Minutes, they must be erroneous. Alas for the church, 
 alas for the world, if nothing is ever to be said that " men of sense and 
 learning" will not quarrel with ! 
 
 This good man, in his address to the conference, appears also to have 
 been utterly unconscious that the course which he was pursuing was 
 * Shirley's Narrative, p. 13. t Ibid.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 635 
 
 essentially unjust in this respect, that he did not view the Minutes in 
 connection with Mr. Wesley's other publications, and known sentiments ; 
 as if the Minutes contained the whole of his creed. Whereas they 
 were the mere record of a conversation, the design of which was to 
 guard from abuse the doctrine of justification by faith, which he and 
 his preachers held with as much tenaciousness and consistency as any 
 other ministers that ever lived, or that then existed. 
 
 Lady Huntingdon's biographer says, " Mr. Wesley drew up a decla- 
 ration, which was acquiesced in by Mr. Shirley and Ins friends."* 
 This statement, like many others put forth in the multifarious publica- 
 tion of that nameless author, is not true. The " declaration" was not 
 " drawn up" by Mr. Wesley, as every one who is acquainted with his 
 style will at once perceive. It wants the precision with which he was 
 accustomed to express himself; and the conclusion of the last sentence 
 is neither sense nor grammar. Mr. Shirley wrote it, and proposed it 
 to the conference, as a something which he desired to " give the world 
 satisfaction." His own words are, " I said, I hoped they would not 
 take offence (for I did not mean to give it) at my proposing to them a 
 declaration which I had drawn up, wishing that something at least 
 analogous to it might be agreed to. I then took the liberty to read it ; 
 and Mr. Wesley, after he had made some (not very material) alterations 
 in it, readily consented to sign it ; in which he was followed by fifty- 
 three of the preachers in connection with him ; there being only one or 
 two that were against it."f 
 
 The following is the " declaration" here referred to : — " Bristol, 
 August 9th, 1771. Whereas the doctrinal points in the Minutes of a 
 conference, held in London, August 7th, 1770, have been understood 
 to favour justification by works : now the Rev. John Wesley and others, 
 assembled in conference, do declare, that we had no such meaning ; 
 and we abhor the doctrine of justification by works, as a most perilous 
 and abominable doctrine. And as the said Minutes are not sufficiently 
 guarded, in the way they are expressed, we hereby solemnly declare, 
 in the sight of God, that we have no trust or confidence but in the alone 
 merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for justification or salva- 
 tion, either in life, death, or the day of judgment. And though no one 
 is a real Christian believer, (and consequently cannot be saved,) who 
 doeth not good works, where there is time and opportunity, yet our 
 works have no part in meriting or purchasing our justification from first 
 to last, either in whole or in part." 
 
 All the preachers who were at the conference appear to have affixed 
 their names to this document, except Thomas Olivers, who spoke 
 largely against it. There was nothing in the " declaration" contrary to 
 * Vol. ii, p. 242. + Shirley's Narrative.
 
 636 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 those sound theological views which Mr. Olivers has expressed in his 
 various publications ; but he was deeply offended with the part which 
 Mr. Shirley had previously acted ; and he would not commit himself to 
 the man who had written the scandalous circular. According to Mr. 
 Fletcher, Olivers regarded the affair of the " declaration" as " a patched- 
 up peace ;" and as such he would have nothing to do with it. Because 
 he claimed the right of private judgment in this affair, Lady Hunting- 
 don's biographer honours him with the character of a " fiery -tempered, 
 over-zealous man." 
 
 When the conference had complied with Mr. Shirley's wishes, they 
 put him into a position which he had not anticipated, and which, for a 
 time, interrupted the joy of his success. " After the declaration had 
 been agreed to," says he, " it was required of me, on my part, that I 
 would make some public acknowledgment that I had mistaken the mean- 
 ing of the Minutes. Here I hesitated a little ; for though I was desirous 
 to do every thing (consistently with truth and a good conscience) for 
 the establishment of peace and Christian fellowship ; yet I was very 
 unwilling to give any thing under my hand that might seem to counte- 
 nance the Minutes in their obvious sense. But then, when I was asked 
 by one of the preachers, whether I did not believe Mr. Wesley to be an 
 honest man, I was distressed on the other hand, lest by refusing what 
 was desired, I should seem to infer a doubt to Mr. Wesley's disadvan- 
 tage. Having confidence therefore in Mr. Wesley's integrity, who had 
 declared he had no such meaning in the Minutes as was favourable to 
 justification by works ; and considering that every man is the best judge 
 of his own meaning, and has a right so far to our credit ; and that, 
 though nothing else could, yet the declaration did convince me they 
 had some other meaning than what appeared : I say, these things con- 
 sidered, I promised them satisfaction in this particular, and a few days 
 afterward sent Mr. Wesley the following message, with which he was 
 very well pleased : — 
 
 " ' Mr. Shirley's Christian respects wait on Mr. Wesley. The de- 
 claration agreed to in conference, August the 8th, 1771, has convinced 
 Mr. Shirley he had mistaken the meaning of the doctrinal points in the 
 Minutes of the conference held in London, August 7th, 1770; and he 
 hereby wishes to testify the full satisfaction he has in the said declara- 
 tion, and his hearty concurrence and agreement with the same.' " 
 
 Mr. Shirley says, with respect to his interview with the conference, 
 " The whole was conducted with great decency on all sides. We con- 
 cluded with prayer, and with the warmest indications of peace and love. 
 For my own part, I was perfectly sincere, and thought it one of the 
 happiest and most honourable days of my life."* 
 * Narrative, p. 17.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 637 
 
 When Mr. "Fletcher received the circular letter, inviting him to take 
 part in the crusade against Mr. Wesley at the Bristol conference, he 
 was induced more carefully to examine the Minutes, against which the 
 outcry was raised ; and perceiving their seasonableness and design, as 
 well as their consistency with the general tenor of Holy Scripture, he 
 resolved to write in their defence, and that of their injured author. He 
 completed his purpose in " Five Letters to the Hon. and Rev. Author 
 of the Circular ;" and transmitted the whole in manuscript to Mr. Wes- 
 ley, that he might print or suppress them according to his judgment. 
 Having carefully read them, and struck out a few passages which he 
 thought contained censures too severe upon Mr. Shirley, Mr. Wesley 
 resolved upon their publication. He therefore placed them in the hands 
 of William Pine, his chief printer, directing that they should be con- 
 ducted through the press, and sent forth into the world, with all conve- 
 nient speed. The fulfilment of this charge was intrusted to Mr. Olivers, 
 who was left in Bristol. 
 
 In the mean while intelligence was sent to Mr. Fletcher of Mr. Shir- 
 ley's modest and friendly behaviour at the conference, so different from 
 the spirit of the circular letter ; and this induced him to resolve, if 
 possible, to prevent the publication of his Letters in their present form. 
 They were addressed to Mr. Shirley, and often in a strain of powerful 
 and just rebuke ; and he now wished, if it were not too late, to spare 
 that gentleman's name and feelings. For this purpose he wrote with 
 all haste to Mr. Ireland, requesting that the press might be stopped, and 
 the pamphlet for the present withheld from the public. But though no 
 copies had been put into circulation, the work was all printed, or nearly 
 so, and notice had been given of its immediate sale. Mr. Ireland went 
 to the printer with Mr. Fletcher's letter ; but Pine acted according to 
 the orders which he had previously received, and which in all proba- 
 bility Mr. Olivers urged him to follow. The " Five Letters" therefore 
 quickly appeared, and were read with great eagerness ; the popularity 
 of the writer, the nature of the subject, and the excitement of the 
 occasion, all giving a superior interest to the book. 
 
 The conduct of Mr. Wesley in putting to press his friend's vindica- 
 tion of the Minutes, and of Mr. Olivers and others in its publication, 
 when the author wished to recall it, is severely censured by the biog- 
 rapher of Lady Huntingdon ; but with singular unfairness and injustice. 
 To make out a case of accusation against Mr. Wesley, it is assumed 
 that the " declaration" which he and the preachers signed was a " re- 
 cantation of the Minutes ;" and that they should be first recanted, and 
 then defended, is described as a strange proceeding. But the sophism 
 is too thin to deceive any person of ordinary discernment. Mr. Wesley 
 never recanted the Minutes, and never intended to recant them ; nor
 
 638 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 did Mr. Shirley at the time understand the " declaration" in any such 
 light. A sense was put upon the Minutes which Mr. Wesley never 
 intended, and which was in direct opposition to the uniform tenor of 
 his preaching and writings. That sense he always disavowed, and 
 disavowed in the " declaration ;" but he never gave up the Minutes in 
 their just and designed signification. He and the preachers do not say 
 in the " declaration," " We retract our former principles ;" but, " We 
 had no such meaning,'" as that which was imputed to us. If they had 
 retracted the Minutes, how could they call upon Mr. Shirley to confess 
 himself in error in opposing them ? and how could Mr. Shirley say, as 
 he does in his apology, that he had " mistaken the meaning of the doc- 
 trinal points in the Minutes V In his " Narrative" relating to the sub- 
 ject, which he wrote and published at the time, Mr. Shirley never 
 speaks of the " declaration," which Mr. Wesley and the preachers had 
 signed, as any retractation of their former principles ; nor could he do 
 this without stultifying both himself and his apology. It is highly dis- 
 ingenuous in the writer of Lady Huntingdon's Life to speak of it in 
 this light, which lie does again and again.* To Mr. Wesley, it is said, 
 "must be attributed the guilt of letting loose the dogs of war. He 
 commenced the dispute by publishing Mr. Fletcher's defence of the 
 Minutes, after having publicly drawn up and signed a refutation or 
 recantation of the obnoxious principles which they contained."t This 
 language outherods Herod. A " recantation" of the " principles con- 
 tained" in the Minutes was neither " drawn up" nor " signed" by Mr. 
 Wesley ; and to " refute" them, in their legitimate and intended sense, 
 was out of the power of any man. It would be to refute one half of 
 the Bible, and take away the foundation of all practical religion. 
 
 The bold assumption that "the guilt" of commencing this contro- 
 versy, if " guilt" there were, rested upon the head of Mr. Wesley, will 
 never be conceded except by those partial judges who view the subject 
 with only one eye. But perhaps the statement was put forth rather as 
 an experiment upon the public credulity, than as a point which was 
 cordially believed. In his leading theological principles Mr. Wesley 
 preserved a strict consistency through the whole of his public life. He 
 
 * To make an impression upon the public mind injurious to Mr. Wesley, great pro- 
 minence was given to this subject in the advertisement of Lady Huntingdon's Life, 
 which was said to contain, among other things of great importance, a document of in- 
 tense interest, in which Mr. Wesley and his preachers retracted their own doctrines. 
 The trick was despicable. The document which was represented as such a curiosity 
 had been before the world nearly seventy years ! It was published both by Mr. Wesley 
 and Mr. Shirley ; and was well known to exist in Watson's Life of Mr. Wesley, a 
 work to which Lady Huntingdon's biographer distinctly refers, and where he must 
 have seen it. 
 
 t Lady Huntingdon's Life and Times, vol. ii, p. 249.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 639 
 
 openly avowed and defended the doctrine of general redemption, the 
 respectiveness of God's decrees, and the consequent conditionality of 
 the evangelical covenant ; but while he claimed the right of private 
 judgment himself, he acknowledged the same right in others, and there- 
 fore in no instance attempted to force the peculiarities of his creed upon 
 any man. Never did he officiously interfere with the doctrinal senti- 
 ments of Lady Huntingdon and her people. When she occasionally 
 asked him to preach in her chapels, if he was able, he complied with 
 her wishes ; but in no case did he abuse her confidence by advancing 
 principles of which he knew she did not approve. Yet he had an un- 
 doubted right in his own chapels, and among his own people, freely to 
 inculcate his views of divine truth, and to caution his preachers on the 
 subject of their doctrine. For doing this " the dogs of war were let 
 loose" upon him, and urged to hunt him down, as an abettor of " dread- 
 ful heresy," which was subversive of the " very fundamental principles 
 of Christianity." The huntsman's horn was sounded by Lady Hunting- 
 don and her kinsman ; and by them the object which " the dogs" were 
 to pursue, and the place where they were to assemble and begin the 
 chase, were pointed out. Upon them, therefore, and not upon Mr. 
 Wesley, the alleged " guilt" rested. All that he did in the case was 
 to defend himself against the unjust imputations which were cast upon 
 him : and this he was bound to do, if he would preserve the efficiency 
 of the ministry which he had received, and for the exercise of which 
 he was accountable both to God and man. By what code of morals 
 can it be proved to be a sin for a minister of Christ, when unjustly 
 assailed, to put forth an honest defence of his tenets and character ? 
 The endeavour to transfer the blame from the authors of a dishonour- 
 able conspiracy to the victim whom they attempted to crush, after the 
 notable* failure of the scheme, is an instance of hardihood upon which 
 few historians would venture. 
 
 With respect to the publication of Mr. Fletcher's pamphlet, when 
 he himself wished to recall it, the statements of Lady Huntingdon's 
 biographer are particularly unfair and misleading. He conceals an 
 important fact, the knowledge of which is essential to a right under- 
 standing of the transaction. Mr. Fletcher's design was not to abandon 
 the controversy into which he had felt it his duty to enter, but to carry 
 it on in another form. He wished to spare the feelings of Mr. Shirley, 
 but resolved to defend the Minutes. The intimation, therefore, that if 
 Mr. Fletcher's wishes had been complied with, there would have been 
 no controversy, is notoriously at variance with truth. In his letter to 
 Mr. Ireland, recalling the manuscript, Mr. Fletcher expressly said, 
 " that whether the Letters were suppressed or not, the Minutes must 
 be vindicated ; that Mr. Wesley owed it to the Church, to the real Pro-
 
 640 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 testants, to all his societies, and to his own aspersed character ; and 
 that, after all, the controversy did not seem to him to be so much, 
 whether the Minutes should stand, as whether the Antinomian gospel 
 of Dr. Crisp should prevail over the practical gospel of Jesus Christ."* 
 Why did Lady Huntingdon's biographer suppress this important de- 
 claration 1 It occurs in the letter to which he refers, and upon which 
 he lays the stress of his argument in throwing the blame of the contro- 
 versy upon Mr. Wesley. 
 
 On the appearance of the " Five Letters," in defence of the Minutes, 
 and of their injured author, Mr. Shirley found himself in a situation 
 which he little expected when he was engaged in writing the circular, 
 and in directing copies of it to religious people throughout the three 
 kingdoms. In a sad and subdued tone he complained of the " bitter- 
 ness" of the Letters. To him, indeed, they must have been gall and 
 wormwood : not because the spirit of the writer was at all unkind, but 
 because of the nature of the subjects upon which he dwelt. The Let- 
 ters fix the true sense of the Minutes, (concerning which there never 
 was any diversity of opinion among the men to whom they were ad- 
 dressed, and for whose guidance they were written,) by a reference to 
 the general tenor of Mr. Wesley's writings, and well-known sentiments; 
 and prove that the propositions which they contain are in full accordance 
 with the Holy Scriptures. They describe, in a few but significant 
 words, the labours and usefulness of Mr. Wesley, and administer a just 
 rebuke to those who would force upon his words a meaning which he 
 never intended, and strenuously disavowed ; and then attempt, through 
 their own misrepresentations, to injure his reputation, and blast the 
 fruit of his ministry. Unhappily for Mr. Shirley, he had some time 
 before published a small volume of sermons, imbodying principles far 
 more legal than those which were contained in the Minutes ; and these 
 Mr. Fletcher quoted, urging upon the writer the flagrant inconsistency 
 and injustice of stigmatizing Mr. Wesley as a " heretic," while he 
 himself was a still greater offender in the same way. All this was 
 " bitter," because it was true. Never was reproof more justly merited 
 than by the author of the circular, or more effectively administered 
 than by the vicar of Madeley in the " Five Letters ;" the piety and 
 kindness with which they were imbued rendering them increasingly 
 cutting. The tender-hearted writer of the Letters was, however, dis- 
 tressed at what he had done, and compared himself to an unpractised 
 surgeon performing a dangerous operation upon a beloved friend. He 
 grieved for Mr. Shirley, whom he had deeply wounded, and wrote to 
 him a letter of apology and affection. But while he was ready to sink 
 into despondency, he was encouraged by his friends, who assured him 
 * Preface to the Second Check to Antinomianism.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 641 
 
 that he had done nothing more than the case called for and justified. 
 One of the private letters which Mr. Fletcher received and published 
 upon this occasion, there is reason to believe was written by Mr. Charles 
 Wesley. It was dated from London, where Charles then resided ; and 
 it contains the reproachful epithets which Lady Huntingdon had applied 
 to Mr. John Wesley in the letter which she sent to Charles with the 
 circular. This letter, which partakes of Charles's energy and deci- 
 sion, and of his brotherly affection and fidelity, was as follows : — 
 
 " I reverence Mr. Shirley for his candid acknowledgment of his 
 hastiness in judging. I commend the Calvinists at the conference, for 
 their justice to Mr. Wesley, and their acquiescence in the declaration 
 of the preachers in connection with him. But is that declaration, 
 however dispersed, a remedy adequate to the evil done, not only to Mr. 
 Wesley, but to the cause and work of God ? Several Calvinists, in 
 eagerness of malice, had dispersed their calumnies through the three 
 kingdoms. A- truly excellent person herself, in her mistaken zeal, had 
 represented him as a ' Papist unmasked,' a ' heretic,' an ' apostate.' A 
 clergyman of the first reputation informs me, a poem on his apostacy 
 is just coming out. Letters have been sent to every serious Church- 
 man and Dissenter through the land, together with the Gospel Maga- 
 zine. Great are the shoutings, ' Now that he lieth, let him rise up no 
 more !' This is all the cry. His dearest friends and children are 
 staggered, and scarce know what to think. You, in your corner, can- 
 not conceive the mischief that has been done, and is still doing. But 
 your Letters, in the hand of Providence, may answer the good ends 
 you proposed by writing them. You have not been too severe to dear 
 Mr. Shirley, moderate Calvinists themselves being judges, but very kind 
 and friendly, to set a good, mistaken man right, and probably to preserve 
 him from the like rashness as long as he lives. Be not troubled, there- 
 fore, but cast your care upon the Lord."* 
 
 Mr. Shirley declined to answer the " Five Letters," deeply as they 
 implicated his character ; but he drew up and published a " Narrative" 
 of the proceedings in which he had been concerned : including the 
 circular ; the Minutes, to which it referred ; his letter to Mr. Wesley, 
 with that of Lady Huntingdon, written just before the assembling of 
 the conference ; an account of the interview of the deputation with that 
 body ; the declaration ; his own acknowledgment that he had mistaken 
 the import of the Minutes ; with his own reflections upon the whole 
 affair. Mr. Shirley also recanted his volume of sermons, from which 
 Mr. Fletcher had made some quotations ; declaring that he would not, 
 in future, hold himself responsible for any doctrine that it contained. 
 The spirit of this pamphlet is in general excellent. It is characterized 
 * Preface to the Second Check to Antinomianism. 
 41
 
 642 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 by meekness, piety, and benevolence ; and affords strong presumption, 
 that had the honourable and reverend author been left to himself, he 
 would never have acted the part which involved him in so much blame 
 and trouble. It is painful to see the name of such a man, devout, na- 
 turally amiable and affectionate, affixed to the circular. But the fierce 
 and intolerant spirit of that document was not the spirit of Walter 
 Shirley. It bore the impress of a far different mind. 
 
 Ten years before this period Mr. Shirley had come from Ireland to 
 London, on occasion of the trial of his brother, the Earl Ferrers. It 
 had then been his earnest desire, that on his arrival in London he 
 might meet with one of the Wesleys : men whom, above all others, he 
 deemed the most likely to sympathize with him, and administer comfort 
 to his bleeding heart. Mr. John Wesley was engaged in his itinerant 
 duties ; but Charles was in London, and showed him kindness even 
 surpassing that of a brother. He visited Mr. Shirley and his sister 
 almost daily ; and the Methodists of London, at Charles's instigation, 
 prayed for the guilty earl, and his unfortunate relations, at the sacra- 
 mental table, as well as in their more public religious services ; they 
 held meetings of special prayer and fasting, in behalf of the same 
 parties : it was therefore inexcusable in Mr. Shirley, now that his 
 wounds were healed, to assail the brother of Charles Wesley, and the 
 spiritual father of these praying people, and, without either proof or 
 probability, in justification of the deed, brand him publicly as a heretic, 
 and endeavour to engage both Churchmen and Dissenters to combine 
 against him. The case of Mr. Shirley, while it calls for both censure 
 and pity, is full of instruction and warning. It is an impressive com- 
 ment upon the apostolic maxim, " Evil communications corrupt good 
 manners." 
 
 Though the spirit of Mr. Shirley's " Narrative" was unexceptionable, 
 the tract contained principles which Mr. Fletcher considered to be of 
 dangerous tendency : he therefore wrote a reply to it, under the title of 
 " A Second Check to Antinomianism ;" in which he strengthens and 
 confirms the reasonings of his former publication, and assures his oppo- 
 nent, that the letter of apology which he had formerly sent to him had 
 no relation whatever to the doctrinal sentiments which he defended, 
 but solely to the personal and polemic dress in which they were 
 presented. 
 
 When the conference was concluded, and Mr. Fetcher's vindication 
 of the Minutes had appeared in print, Mr. Wesley addressed the fol- 
 lowing letter to Lady Huntingdon, who was the chief cause of all the 
 clamour that had been recently raised against him. It shows how 
 deeply he felt the injustice of her conduct. 
 
 " My Dear Lady, — When I received the former letter from your 
 
 41*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 643 
 
 ladyship, I did not know what to answer ; and I judged, not only that 
 silence would be the best answer, but also that with which your lady- 
 ship would be best pleased. When I received your ladyship's of the 
 second instant, I immediately saw that it required an answer ; only I 
 waited till the hurry of the conference was over, that I might do nothing 
 rashly. 
 
 " I know your ladyship would not ' servilely deny the truth.' I think, 
 neither would I ; especially that great truth, justification by faith ; 
 which Mr. Law indeed flatly denies, (and yet Mr. Law was a child 
 of God,) but for which I have given up all my worldly hopes, my 
 friends, my reputation ; yea, for which I have so often hazarded my 
 life, and by the grace of God will do again. The principles established 
 in the Minutes I apprehend to be no way contrary to this, or to that 
 ' faith,' that consistent plan of doctrine, which was ' once delivered to 
 the saints.' I believe, whoever calmly considers Mr. Fletcher's Letters 
 will be convinced of this. I fear, therefore, ' zeal against those princi- 
 ples' is no less than zeal against the truth, and against the honour of 
 our Lord. The preservation of his honour appears so sacred to me, 
 and has done for above these forty years, that I have counted, and do 
 count, all things loss in comparison of it. But till Mr. Fletcher's printed 
 Letters are answered, I must think every thing spoken against those 
 Minutes is totally destructive of His honour, and a palpable affront to 
 him, both as our prophet and priest, but especially as the king of his 
 people. Those Letters, which therefore could not be suppressed with- 
 out betraying the honour of our Lord, largely prove that the Minutes 
 lay no other foundation than that which is laid in Scripture, and which 
 I have been laying, and teaching others to lay, for between thirty and 
 forty years. Indeed it would be amazing that God should at this day 
 prosper my labours as much, if not more than ever, by convincing as 
 well as converting sinners, if I was ' establishing another foundation, 
 repugnant to the whole plan of man's salvation under the covenant of 
 grace, as well as the clear meaning of the established Church, and all 
 other Protestant churches.' This is a charge indeed ! but I plead, 
 ' Not guilty ;' and till it is proved upon me, I must subscribe myself, 
 my dear lady, 
 
 "Your ladyship's affectionate but much-injured servant.'" 
 
 Whether Lady Huntingdon sent any answer to this truly Christian 
 epistle, does not appear ; but her biographer states, that she wrote to Mr. 
 Shirley concerning it, saying, " that she could in no way explain Mr. 
 Wesley's letter, except by attacking his integrity, or suspecting that his 
 judgment was impaired."* This was indeed an expeditious method 
 of getting out of a difficulty. Her ladyship had charged Mr. Wesley 
 * Life of Lady Huntingdon, vol. ii, p. 244.
 
 644 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 with heresies, which not only placed him beyond the pale of all Pro- 
 testant churches, but of Christianity itself; and when he remonstrates, 
 and refers to direct proof of the contrary, she turns a deaf ear to his 
 plea, and intimates that he is either a knave, or in his dotage ! Such 
 was the justice awarded to a venerable servant of the Lord Jesus, and 
 that by one of the gentler sex, when he presumed to warn his fellow- 
 labourers against what he conceived to be speculative Antinomianism ! 
 
 Whether Mr. Wesley's understanding was decayed or not, Mr. Shir- 
 ley felt that the mind of the vicar of Madeley was too acute and pow- 
 erful for him, and therefore retired from the controversy which he had 
 been the first to provoke. On his retirement Mr. Richard Hill came 
 forward as the opponent of Mr. Fletcher, and of the doctrines contained 
 in Mr. Wesley's Minutes. He was a gentleman of family and fortune 
 in Shropshire, and had already gained some celebrity by the publication 
 of two bulky pamphlets, entitled, " Pietas Oxoniensis," [Oxford Piety,] 
 and " Goliath Slain," concerning the expulsion of six students from the 
 University of Oxford, for the alleged crimes of praying and expound- 
 ing the Scriptures. Mr. Hill had given proofs of decided piety, was 
 a thorough Calvinist, and not destitute of ability ; but he had neither the 
 learning, the temper, nor the Biblical and theological knowledge, which 
 were requisite in a writer on the quinquarticular controversy. He 
 entered the field with ample confidence, and without the least apparent 
 apprehension that he might by possibility be unsuccessful. Such, how- 
 ever, was the event. Mr. Fletcher refuted his arguments, and, by the 
 mere force of reason, extorted from him a confession in favour of some 
 of the very propositions which he had pledged himself to disprove. In 
 the course of this controversy Mr. Hill was raised to the rank of a baro- 
 net ; but this neither supplied him with new arguments, nor improved 
 his temper. 
 
 When Mr. Fletcher had published four of his " Checks to Antinomi- 
 anism," Sir Richard addressed to him a private letter, proposing to dis- 
 continue the controversy, and immediately to suppress all that he had 
 ever written respecting the Minutes, if Mr. Fletcher would do the same. 
 To this he could not accede. He had taken up his pen, not for per- 
 sonal victory, but the establishment of truth ; not for party objects, but 
 to check the doctrinal and practical Antinomianism which was gaining 
 ground : he could not therefore betray the cause of righteousness which 
 he had espoused, for the sake of a hollow peace. While he cherished 
 the utmost respect for his opponent, he deemed it his duty to persevere 
 in his career of authorship. The baronet's letter was left among the 
 manuscripts of Mr. Charles Wesley. Hence the probability, that his 
 advice was solicited by his friend, the vicar of Madeley, at this stage 
 of the controversy. What that advice was, may be easily conjectured,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 645 
 
 considering Charles's strong views concerning the questions at issue. 
 When Sir Richard's offer was declined, he sent Mr. Fletcher an angry 
 letter, and soon after published another tract ; to which Mr. Fletcher 
 replied with his wonted piety and logical skill, in a " Fifth Check to 
 Antinomianism." Sir Richard then lost all patience, and, without ask- 
 ing even for an armistice, sounded a retreat. The fact is, he was fairly 
 worsted ; to save appearances, he accused his opponent of " execrable 
 Swiss slander ;" declined all further discussion with him ; and assigned 
 as the reason, the badness of Mr. Fletcher's spirit, and his unfair mode 
 of argumentation. Whatever works Mr. Fletcher might publish in 
 future, the baronet declared that he would never read one of them. If 
 Mr. Fletcher's spirit was bad, and his mode of reasoning illogical, Sir 
 Richard had nothing to do, but calmly expose them both, and then his 
 triumph would have been complete ; but the truth is, he felt that he 
 could not answer Mr. Fletcher's arguments, either to his own satisfac- 
 tion, or that of other people ; and therefore the sooner he was out of the 
 field the better. 
 
 The Rev. Rowland Hill, then a young man of greater zeal than dis- 
 cretion, took up the cause of his brother ; but his reasonings, which 
 were not remarkable for their cogency, derived no force from the man- 
 ner in which they were proposed. To civility and gentleness he made 
 no pretensions, though he seemed to expect these qualities in others. 
 Mr. Fletcher's answer to him was as decisive as that with which the 
 baronet refused to grapple ; and the reproof which he received for his 
 very unscrupulous language was mild, but just and powerful. 
 
 The witty vicar of Everton, the Rev. John Berridge, was not content 
 to be a silent spectator of this contest, and therefore published his 
 " Christian World unmasked," in opposition to the tenets of his friends 
 Mr. Wesley and Fletcher. This publication presented a striking exhi- 
 bition of the writer's peculiar habits of thought : queer, ludicrous, gro- 
 tesque. He undertook to split hairs with a witness ; for he set up a 
 distinction between "a Jewish if," and "a Christian if;" maintaining 
 that the " if" with which Christians are concerned is of a negative cha- 
 racter. It " does not belong to the circumcised race," and " wears no 
 dripping beard." His reasonings against " sincere obedience" were not 
 quite so harmless as his disquisitions respecting what he called " the 
 valiant sergeant If." The wit which the vicar of Madeley possessed 
 was as keen and brilliant as that of the vicar of Everton, and in this 
 case far more effective. Mr. Berridge's attack upon the principles of 
 practical religion was completely neutralized ; and he is said to have 
 acknowledged his defeat in language humiliating to himself, but signi- 
 ficant, and such as cannot be repeated. As a minister, Mr. Berridge 
 was very laborious and self-denying, and for some time he was emi-
 
 646 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 nently useful. He adopted an habitual jocularity of manner in speaking 
 and writing on sacred subjects, which was strikingly opposed to the 
 example and spirit of the sacred writers, though in full accordance with 
 the irreverence and vulgarity of Antinomianism. He published a hymn- 
 book, containing several of Mr. Charles Wesley's beautiful composi- 
 tions, which he afterward suppressed, because of the Wesleyan charac- 
 ter of its theology, and substituted for it a volume of his own composing, 
 in which is some of the most arrant doggerel the world has ever seen, 
 scarcely a whit superior to the rude trash which was put forth by Wil- 
 liam Darney.* 
 
 The Rev. Augustus Toplady came in the rear of Mr. Fletcher's oppo- 
 nents, and was decidedly the ablest man among them. He was a 
 person of reading and research ; and his style was clear and vigorous. 
 Yet there is far more rhetoric than close argumentation in his writings : 
 and he could bear no man's contradiction on the subject of Calvin's 
 peculiarities. To him an advocate of general redemption, and of con- 
 ditional decrees, seemed scarcely less hateful than a fiend. Mr. Fletcher 
 analyzed the " Scheme of Christian and Philosophical Necessity" which 
 this unbending advocate of absolute predestination sent forth into the 
 world, and proved it to be equally at variance with sound philosophy 
 and Scripture truth. Mr. Sellon ably answered the alleged " Proof" 
 of the Calvinism of the Church of England, which Mr. Toplady pub- 
 lished. 
 
 In this controversy Messrs. Fletcher and Wesley had more oppo- 
 
 * The following is an extract from Mr. Berridge's preface to his poetic effusions : — 
 " Many volumes of hymns have been lately published ; some of them a new composi- 
 tion, others a mere collection ; and it may seem needless to add one more to the num- 
 ber, especially after having published a collection myself. But ill health, some years 
 past, having kept me from travelling or preaching, I took up the trade of hymn-making : 
 a handicraft much followed of late, but a business I was not born or bred to, and under- 
 taken chiefly to keep a long sickness from preying on my spirit, and to make tedious 
 nights pass over more smoothly. Some tinkling employment was wanting, which 
 might amuse and not fatigue me. 
 
 " Besides, I was not wholly satisfied with the collection I had published. The bells 
 indeed had been chiefly cast in a celebrated foundery ; and in ringing were tunable 
 enough ; none more so ; but a clear gospel tone was not found in them all. Human 
 wisdom and strength, perfection and merit, give Sion's bells a Levitical twang, and 
 drown the mellow tone of the gospel outright." — Berridge's Sion's Songs or Hymns, 
 1785. 
 
 The facetious author here indulges himself in a little harmless but unworthy misre- 
 presentation. In the hymns which were published by the Wesleys there is not a line 
 in favour of "human wisdom and strength, perfection and merit." All "wisdom, 
 strength, and perfection," they ascribed to the grace of God ; and to " merit," in the 
 strict and proper sense of that term, they were as decidedly opposed as was the vicar 
 of Everton or any of his brethren. He could cast a slur upon the creed of the Wes- 
 leys, but he could not refute it.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 647 
 
 nents than publicly appeared. The Rev. Martin Madan, of the Lock 
 •Hospital, did not take an open and prominent part against them ; but 
 he is mentioned in Mr. Fletcher's private correspondence, as having 
 circulated a manuscript answer to the Minutes, as revising the angry 
 pamphlets of Mr. Rowland Hill, and encouraging him in his anti-Wes- 
 leyan authorship. Mr. Madan, who was educated for the bar, possessed 
 considerable powers of mimicry. He accompanied some of his jovial 
 companions to hear Mr. John Wesley, that, on their return, he might 
 divert them by acting the Methodist preacher. The word which he 
 heard laid hold upon his conscience ; so that when they called upon 
 him, after the service, to "take off John Wesley," he significantly 
 answered, "John Wesley has taken me off;" and declined to act the 
 buffoon, at the expense of that man of God. He obtained episcopal 
 ordination, became a popular preacher of the truth, and for some years 
 was a cordial friend of the Wesleys. Afterward he embraced the 
 Calvinian theory, and turned his hand and tongue against the man 
 whom God had employed as the instrument of his salvation. His 
 unkind treatment of Mr. Wesley was the beginning of that downward 
 course which ultimately led to the irretrievable loss of his own reputa- 
 tion and usefulness. 
 
 Three of Mr. Fletcher's opponents, the brothers Hill and Mr. Top- 
 lady, were far from confining their attention to theological questions. 
 One object which they were mainly anxious to accomplish, and to 
 which their ceaseless efforts were pertinaciously directed, was the 
 annihilation of Mr. Wesley's influence, by the ruin of his character. 
 Sir Richard assailed Mr. Wesley's intellectual reputation, and laboured 
 to prove him a mere fool, without any fixed principles of divinity, and 
 therefore incessantly contradicting himself. In his endeavour to attain 
 this object, he manifested a zeal and perseverance which were worthy 
 of a better cause. He collected ridiculous and absurd stories concern- 
 ing Mr. Wesley, without any very scrupulous anxiety whether thev 
 were true or false, and placed them upon public record, as entitled to 
 universal credit. Mr. Wesley had published several volumes and 
 tracts, of his own composition. He had also abridged a large number 
 of works, written by different authors, and published them in fifty 
 volumes, under the name of " A Christian Library." Some of these 
 he had abridged in travelling, so that his erasures were not always 
 distinct. The consequence was, that the printer had occasionally 
 inserted passages which were intended to be omitted. Mr. Charles 
 Wesley had also published several volumes and tracts in verse, some 
 of which John had never seen till they appeared in print : and of a 
 part of these he had publicly expressed his disapprobation. All these 
 works Sir Richard Hill collected ; and assuming that Mr. John Wes
 
 648 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ley was answerable for every expression with which his name was 
 connected, and for every verse that his brother Charles had written" 
 the baronet selected from the whole of these publications, sentences, 
 half-sentences, and quarter-sentences, in which there appeared any dis- 
 crepancy, and arranged them in parallel columns, as Mr. John Wes- 
 ley's contradictions of himself. The inference to be drawn from the 
 whole was, his incompetency to teach, and consequent unworthiness of 
 the public confidence. 
 
 Nothing could be more disingenuous and unfair than such a mode of 
 criticism. A man may surely abridge and recommend a book, as being 
 on the whole edifying and instructive, without making himself responsible 
 for the absolute correctness of every word and sentence which it con- 
 tains ; and to make a man answerable for what he had never seen, but 
 in print, as was the case with a part of Mr. Charles Wesley's poetry, 
 was the perfection of injustice. Had the baronet tried his skill upon 
 the Bible, on the same principle that he adopted with respect to Mr. 
 Wesley's writings, he would have found ample scope for his perverted 
 ingenuity, and have been shocked at his o ( wn impiety and success. It 
 would be an easy task to convict divine inspiration itself of contradic- 
 tion, by breaking off words and parts of sentences from their proper 
 connection, and placing, them in juxta-position with each other. 
 
 Mr. Wesley examined all the examples of contradiction which Sir 
 Richard had charged upon him ; and confessed that in one instance, 
 and one only, with all his labour and pains, the baronet had succeeded. 
 It occurred in a note on the New Testament, which he promised to 
 correct, whenever the book should be reprinted. Upon the publication 
 of Sir Richard's idle tales, and his elaborate attempts to convict Mr. 
 Wesley of contradiction, his brother Charles wrote the following 
 spirited epigram : — 
 
 Why do the zealots of Geneva rage, 
 
 And fiercest war with an old prophet wage 1 
 
 Why doth their chief with blackest slanders load 
 
 A hoary servant of the living God 1 
 
 Sincerely hate, affectedly contemn 1 
 
 " Because he contradicts himself — not them !" 
 
 Let Wesley then a different method try, 
 
 Himself gainsay, his own report deny ; 
 
 Evade or contradict the general call, 
 
 And teach, " The Saviour did not die for all." 
 
 This contradiction openly confess'd 
 
 Would cancel and atone for all the rest ! 
 
 Mr. Toplady and Mr. Rowland Hill attacked Mr. Wesley's good 
 name with a deeper feeling than that of Sir Richard, and in a some- 
 what different manner. He assailed Mr. Wesley's intellect : they his
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 649 
 
 moral character. He represented Mr. Wesley as a fit object of laughter 
 and contempt: they spoke of him as an object of abhorrence and 
 detestation ; as a man that was corrupt in mind and heart. They 
 acknowledged in him no virtue, and no excellence whatever ; nothing 
 that entitled him to either esteem or love, or that even called for pity ; 
 but treated him with less respect than, under ordinary circumstances, 
 they would have treated a convicted felon. Nor does it appear that 
 either of them, to the last moment of his life, manifested the least 
 relenting toward this venerable man. If Mr. Wesley as a religious 
 teacher was of the slightest benefit to any human being, and was not 
 covered with universal execration, it was not because of any forbearance 
 toward him on the part of the Rev. Rowland Hill and Augustus Toplady. 
 The fact is, they " ploughed with his heifer." His jealous wife was 
 their oracle ; and while she was attempting to persuade all who would 
 listen to her, that her husband was a bad man, Mr. Hill held her up to 
 the public confidence, as a person whose testimony was entitled to 
 implicit credit. Whether she was always of a sound mind may be 
 justly questioned. Repeatedly was she detected in the utterance of 
 deliberate untruths, of her own invention, and in the distribution of 
 forged and interpolated documents, against her husband. Yet she 
 found a patron in Mr. Hill. In one of the bitterest pamphlets that ever 
 emanated from the press, he says, " I fear, by Mr. John's conduct, that 
 he has been a stranger to true religion all his life-time : and Avhile he 
 behaves as he does to the wife of his bosom, with whom I have the 
 honour of a personal acquaintance, I cannot be persuaded to alter my 
 opinion."* When Mr. Toplady was on his death-bed, and, as he 
 expresses it, was " ever}- day in view of dissolution," he wrote for the 
 press what he calls his " Dying Avowal ;" and in this document he 
 says, with respect to Mr. Wesley, " I most sincerely hope, my last 
 hours will be much better employed than in conversing with such a 
 man."t Mr. Wesley, in one of his letters of expostulation addressed 
 to his wife, complains that she submitted his private papers to the 
 
 * Imposture Detected, p. 22. 1777. 
 
 t Page 4. 1778. The reason of Mr. Toplady's "Dying Avowal" was this: — 
 During the illness which preceded his decease, a report was circulated, that he had 
 requested an interview with Mr. Wesley, and expressed regret for some things that he 
 had written against him. This report was carried to the dying man, who was indignant 
 that any one should suppose he would make a concession to John Wesley. At his 
 own request, therefore, Mr. Toplady was carried to his chapel, where he declared his 
 unvarying attachment to the principles which he had long held, and protested that he 
 had nothing to retract with regard to the Arminian leader, against whom he had so 
 freely written. He was thence carried back to his death-bed, where he wrote the sub- 
 stance of his address, and ordered it to be immediately printed in a small tract. 
 
 With whom the report had its origin, it is impossible to say. Probably some good
 
 650 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 inspection of these gentlemen, who were so notoriously hostile to his 
 character. What use they made of these the day of judgment will 
 declare. But neither they, nor the unhappy woman whom they 
 encouraged, ever produced the smallest vestige of proof that their 
 injurious allegations were founded in fact. 
 
 It is only justice to the leading persons among the predestinarians 
 of those times to say, that they did not believe the slanderous reports 
 against Mr. Wesley, which his wife propagated, and to which Mr. Hill 
 especially made himself a party. Mr. Whitefield, who was intimately 
 acquainted with Mr. Wesley, and who well knew all that his wife had 
 to say against him, did not believe them : and hence his declaration in 
 his will, which was made only a few months before his lamented death : 
 " I leave a mourning ring to my honoured and dear friends and disinte- 
 rested fellow-labourers, the Rev. Messrs. John and Charles Wesley, in 
 token of my indissoluble union with them, in heart and Christian affec- 
 tion, notwithstanding our difference in judgment about some particular 
 points of doctrine." 
 
 Lady Huntingdon, with all her warmth of opposition to Mr. Wesley's 
 creed, did not believe the aspersions which were cast upon his moral 
 character. Had she done so, she would not have wept at the remem- 
 brance of the separation which had taken place between them. Dr. 
 Thomas Haweis, who was her ladyship's chaplain, and a strict predes- 
 tinarian, after Mr. Wesley's death, publicly avowed the friendship 
 which had subsisted between himself and that great man, and entered 
 his caveat against the reports which had been industriously propagated 
 to his disadvantage ; at the same time declaring his dissent from Mr. 
 W r esley's anti-Calvinistical views. " I hope never," says he, " to be 
 ashamed of the friendship of John Wesley." " I need not speak of the 
 exemplariness of his life. Too many eyes were upon him to admit of 
 his halting : nor could his weight have been maintained a moment 
 longer than the fullest conviction impressed his people, that he was an 
 eminently favoured saint of God, and as distinguished for his holy walk, 
 as for his vast abilities, indefatigable labour, and singular usefulness."* 
 
 man, less hardy in his spirit than Mr. Toplady, suggested that a reconciliation with the 
 man whom he had so bitterly traduced would be at once Christian and desirable, before 
 he went hence to be no more seen ; and another, hearing the remark, might innocently 
 mistake it for a statement of fact. Mr. Toplady, whose ruling passion was strong in 
 death, attributed the report to " the perfect liars :" that is, to Christians who believed 
 it to be their duty and privilege to love their God and Saviour with all their heart, and 
 soul, and mind, and strength, and their neighbour as themselves. Such persons, being 
 connected with John Wesley, the dying man assumed to be addicted to the utterance 
 of wilful and deliberate falsehood. Such was the spirit of this sturdy polemic, unsoft- 
 ened even by the immediate prospect of death. 
 * History of the Church, vol. iii, pp. 274, 275.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 651 
 
 Mv. Charles Wesley was no indifferent spectator, when so many 
 reckless and unprovoked attacks were made upon his brother's good 
 name and usefulness. In the year 1776, two masked assassins, who 
 assumed the not-inappropriate names of Scorpion and Snap-Dra- 
 gon, assailed him in a London newspaper, regardless of truth and 
 decency. They professed to ground their charges against him upon 
 his private papers, which his wife had placed in their hands. Their 
 insinuations were wicked and cruel, and advanced in a spirit of deep 
 malignity ; but not even a shadow of proof could they adduce to the 
 disadvantage of the man whose character and ministry they attempted 
 to destroy. While this persecution against his brother was in progress, 
 Mr. Charles Wesley addressed the following epigrammatic lines " to a 
 friend," concerning what he justly calls these " infamous publica- 
 tions :" — 
 
 You ask the cause of all this pother, 
 
 And brother stigmatized by brother : 
 
 Why all these floods of scandal shed 
 
 With curses on a hoary head. 
 
 'Tis but the malice of a party, 
 
 As blind and impotent as hearty, 
 
 A Popish and Geneva trick, 
 
 " Throw dirt enough, and some will stick, 
 
 W r ill choke the reprobate Arminian, 
 
 And damn him in the world's opinion." 
 
 They blacken, not because he tries 
 To blind, but open, people's eyes ; 
 They blacken, to cut short dispute, 
 With lies and forgeries confute. 
 And thus triumphantly suppress 
 The calm debate,* and calm address ;t 
 At once decide the controversy, 
 And boast, " He lies at Calvin's mercy !" 
 Mercy perhaps they might have shown 
 The nation's old deceiver John ; 
 But patriots-elect will never 
 Forgive the nation's wrcdecciver. 
 
 The meekness and equanimity with which Mr. John Wesley met 
 these heartless attacks upon his reputation may be seen from the sub- 
 joined statement, which was made by -Miss Sarah Wesley, the intelli- 
 gent daughter of his brother. The persecuted man well knew that he 
 was thus assailed, not because of any moral delinquencies of which he 
 was guilty, but because he could not receive the peculiarities of the 
 Genevan theology. " I think it was in the year 1775," says this lady, 
 " my uncle promised to take me with him to Canterbury and Dover. 
 
 * Predestination Calmly Considered. + Calm Address to the Americans.
 
 052 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 About this time Mrs. Wesley had obtained some letters which she used 
 to the most injurious purposes, misinterpreting spiritual expressions, 
 and interpolating words. These she read to some Calvinists, and they 
 were to be sent to the Morning Post. A Calvinist gentleman, who 
 esteemed my father and uncle, came to the former, and told him that, 
 for the sake of religion, the publication should be stopped, and Mr. John 
 Wesley be allowed to answer for himself. As Mrs. Wesley had read, 
 but did not show the letters to him, he had some doubts of their authen- 
 ticity ; and though they were addressed to Mr. John Wesley, they might 
 be forgeries : at any rate, he ought not to leave town at such a juncture, 
 but clear the matter satisfactorily. 
 
 " My dear father, to whom the reputation of my uncle was far dearer 
 than his own, immediately saw the importance of refutation, and set 
 off to the Foundery, to induce him to postpone his journey ; while I, 
 in my own mind, was lamenting such a disappointment, having antici- 
 pated it with all the impatience natural to my years. Never shall I 
 forget the manner in which my father accosted my mother, on his re- 
 turn home. ' My brother,' said he, ' is indeed an extraordinary man. 
 I placed before him the importance of the character of a minister ; the 
 evil consequences which might result from his indifference to it ; the 
 cause of religion ; stumbling-blocks cast in the way of the weak ; and 
 urged him by every relative and public motive, to answer for himself, 
 and stop the publication. His reply was, Brother, when I devoted to 
 God my case, my time, my life, did I except my reputation ? No. Tell 
 Sally I will take her to Canterbury to-morrow? I ought to add, that the 
 letters in question were satisfactorily proved to be mutilated, and no 
 scandal resulted from his trust in God."* 
 
 Mr. Thomas Olivers, who took a somewhat prominent part in this 
 controversy, was treated with especial contumely by Sir Richard Hill. 
 He is also honoured with a due share of censure in Lady Huntingdon's 
 Life, where many persons who were far less entitled to commendation 
 are highly extolled. Thomas Olivers was an eminent example of the 
 grace of God, and acquired a character of which neither he nor his 
 friends had any reason to be ashamed. In early life he was left an 
 orphan ; and having no adequate religious or moral training, he ac- 
 quired a fearful hardihood in sin. He learned the business of a shoe- 
 maker, and after the expjration of his apprenticeship travelled exten- 
 sively in the country, getting work where he could, contracting debts, 
 and pleased with his own cleverness in cheating unsuspecting trades- 
 people. 
 
 He was at length convinced of sin, brought to repentance, by God's 
 blessing upon a sermon which he heard Mr. Whitefield preach in the 
 ♦Watson's Life of Mr. Wesley, pp. 188, 189.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 653 
 
 open air ; after which he joined the Methodist society, and gave proof 
 by his conduct that he was a new creature. Recollecting that he was 
 entitled to some property under his father's will, he claimed it, bought 
 a horse, visited every place where he had contracted any debt, paid 
 every farthing that he owed, with interest when the parties would re- 
 ceive it, and asked pardon of all the people whom he had wronged. 
 After due trial, Mr. Wesley appointed him to a circuit as a travelling 
 preacher ; and when he had for many years laboured faithfully in that 
 office, and improved his mind by diligent study and reading, he was 
 fixed in London, and intrusted with the correction of Mr. Wesley's 
 publications as they passed through the press. Mr. Wesley was his 
 best earthly friend ; and he returned the kindness which he received 
 with true filial esteem and love. He wrote many tracts in defence of 
 bis father and friend against the libellous publications of the Messrs. 
 Hill and Toplady, which are creditable to his talents, and display a 
 grateful affection which every generous heart cannot but admire. The 
 vindication of Mr. Wesley was a crime which Sir Richard Hill could 
 never forgive ; and hence he lavished upon this humble Methodist 
 preacher the most contemptuous nick-names, which ill became a baro- 
 net, a graduate of the University of Oxford, a member of parliament, and, 
 above all, a professor of spiritual religion. He never answered the 
 arguments of Thomas Olivers, but contented himself by speaking of 
 this opponent as an impertinent quadruped, altogether beneath his 
 notice, and whose barking he woidd not even order his footman to 
 silence by the lashes of his whip ! Notwithstanding all these airs of 
 superiority, 
 
 " Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow ; 
 The rest is all but leather and prunella." 
 
 The baronet has long been reduced by death to a level with Thomas 
 Olivers ; and this gentleman, with all his advantages of birth, title, and 
 education, has left no such monuments of genius as the man whom he 
 affected to regard with contempt, but really feared. To say nothing of 
 Olivers's prose publications, one of the noblest hymns in existence, the 
 hymn to " the God of Abraham," was his composition. It will doubt- 
 less be sung by spiritual worshippers, of every denomination, with 
 delight and profit, as long as the English language is understood. The 
 fine melody entitled " Helmsley," and adapted to the hymn, 
 " Lo ! He comes, with clouds descending," 
 
 was composed by him, with other specimens of sacred verse and sacred 
 music, which have been greatly admired by competent judges. " This 
 author was," says Mr. Fletcher, " twenty-five years ago, a mechanic, 
 and, like ' one' Peter, ' alias' Simon the fisherman, and like ' one' Saul,
 
 654 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ' alias' Paul a tenl-maker, lias had the honour of being promoted to the 
 dignity of a preacher of the gospel ; and his talents as a writer, a logi- 
 cian, a poet, and a composer of sacred music, are known to those who 
 have looked into his publications." 
 
 When Mr. Fletcher was left by his opponents in full possession of 
 the field, he still persevered in his unwearied literary labours, guarding 
 on the one hand the doctrine of salvation by grace, and on the other 
 hand that of practical holiness. No man ever wrote on the five points 
 with equal copiousness, judgment, and piety. His style and manner 
 are his own ; so is his mode of argumentation ; and both are beautiful 
 in their originality. That a foreigner should be able to write English 
 with such correctness, fluency, and idiomatic propriety, is truly sur- 
 prising. But he was a man of singular quickness and vivacity of 
 thought. The benevolence of his heart, arising from his deep piety, 
 is strikingly apparent in all his writings. It is common for disputants 
 and students to read controversial authors ; but Mr. Fletcher's is the 
 rare case of a polemic, whose works are resorted to and delighted in 
 by the most devout and spiritually minded, who study them for the 
 improvement of their piety, and as a means of strengthening every 
 heavenly affection. Various attempts have of late been made to lower 
 his reputation, and to persuade the world that in point of temper he was 
 in no degree superior to the men with whom he had to contend. But 
 the absurdity of the assumption is too glaring to obtain credit with any 
 one who has read his writings and theirs. It is not denied that Mr. 
 Fletcher's works have given pain, exquisite pain, to persons of unques- 
 tionable piety. But it does not follow that a book has been written in 
 a bad spirit because it produces this effect. Piety is sometimes found 
 in connection with undue attachment to erroneous opinions. What is 
 called " bitterness" in Mr. Fletcher is the bitterness of unwelcome doc- 
 trine, set forth with all the advantages of language, confidence, and 
 argument. He himself confessed that in opposing what he conceived 
 to be error, he had in some instances used stronger terms than the 
 occasion required ; but no person has ever been able to find in the 
 writings of this holy man a single outbreak of personal malignity, try- 
 ing as were the circumstances in which he was often placed. 
 
 The biographer of Lady Huntingdon has given a very s*hort passage 
 from a private letter, apparently to prove that Mr. Fletcher deeply 
 repented of having engaged in this controversy.* General readers 
 would have been better able to form a judgment on this subject, if the 
 whole of the letter had been given. It is well known that Mr. Fletcher 
 regretted the personal character which the controversy assumed at the 
 beginning ; but that he had no doubt respecting the doctrines which he 
 
 * Vol. ii, p. 245.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 655 
 
 defended, and of his duty to write in their defence, is manifest from 
 the fact, that, after the letter in question was written, he persevered for 
 several years in his controversial career ; and on closing his argument- 
 ation with Sir Richard Hill, he makes the following remarkable 
 declaration :^- 
 
 " In one of the three letters which introduce the fictitious creed, 
 Mr. Hill says, ' Controversy, I am persuaded, has not done me any 
 good ;' and he exhorts me to examine closely whether I cannot make 
 the same confession. I own that it would have done me harm, if I 
 had blindly contended for my opinions. Nay, if I had shut my eyes 
 against the light of truth ; if I had set the plainest scriptures aside, as 
 if they were not worth my notice ; if I had overlooked the strongest 
 arguments of my opponents ; if I had advanced groundless charges 
 against them ; if I had refused to do justice to their good meaning or 
 piety ; and, above all, if I had taken my leave of them by injuring their 
 moral character, by publishing over and over again arguments which 
 they have properly answered, without taking the least notice of their 
 answers ; if I had made a solemn promise not to read one of their 
 books, though they should publish a thousand volumes ; if, continuing 
 to write against them, I had fixed upon them (as ' unavoidable' conse- 
 quences) absurd tenets, which have no more necessary connection with 
 their principles, than the doctrine of general redemption has with Cal- 
 vinian reprobation ; if I had done this, I say, controversy would have 
 wounded my conscience or my reason ; and, without adding any thing 
 to my light, it would have immovably fixed me in my prejudices, and 
 perhaps branded me before the world for an Arminian bigot. But as 
 matters are, I hope I may make the following acknowledgment without 
 betraying the impertinence of proud boasting. 
 
 " Although I have often been sorry that controversy should take up 
 so much of the time which I might with much more satisfaction to 
 myself have employed in devotional exercises ; and although I have 
 lamented, and do still lament, my low attainments in the meekness of 
 wisdom, which should constantly guide the pen of every controversial 
 writer ; yet I rejoice that I have been enabled to persist in my resolution 
 either to wipe off, or to share, the reproach of those who have hazarded 
 their reputation in defence of pure and undefiled religion. And if I am 
 not mistaken, my repeated attempts have been attended with these 
 happy effects. In vindicating the moral doctrines of grace, I hope that, 
 as a man, I have learned to think more closely, and to investigate truth 
 more ardently, than I did before. There are rational powers in the 
 dullest souls, which lie hid as sparks in a flint. Controversial opposi- 
 tion and exertion, like the stroke of the steel, have made me accident- 
 ally find out some of the latent sparks of reason, for which I should
 
 656 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 never have thanked my Maker if I had never discovered them. I have 
 frequently been thankful to find that my horse could travel in bad roads 
 better than I expected ; nor do I think that it is a piece of Pharisaism 
 to say, I am thankful to find that my mind can travel with more ease, 
 than I thought it could through theological roads, rendered almost im- 
 passable by heaps of doctrinal rubbish, brought from all parts of Chris- 
 tendom, and by briers of contention which have kept growing for above 
 a thousand years. 
 
 " To return : as a divine, I see more clearly the gaps and stiles at 
 which mistaken good men have turned out of the narrow way of truth, 
 to the right hand and to the left. As a Protestant, I hope I have much 
 more esteem for the Scripture in general, and in particular for those 
 practical parts of it which the Calvinists had insensibly taught me to 
 overlook or despise. And this increasing esteem is, I trust, accompa- 
 nied with a deeper conviction of the truth of Christianity, and with* a 
 greater readiness to defend the gospel against infidels, Pharisees, and 
 Antinomians. As a preacher, I hope I can now do more justice to a 
 text, by reconciling it with contrary scriptures. As an anti-Calvinist, 
 I have learned to do the Calvinists justice in granting that there is an 
 election of distinguishing grace for God's peculiar people, and a particu- 
 lar redemption for all believers who are faithful unto death. And by 
 that means, as a controvertist, I can more easily excuse pious Calvinists, 
 who, through prejudice, mistake that Scriptural election for their Anti- 
 nomian election, and who consider that particular redemption as the 
 only redemption mentioned in the Scriptures. Nay, I can, without 
 scruple, allow Mr. Hill, that his doctrines of ' finished salvation' and 
 irresistible grace are true with respect to all those who die in their 
 infancy. As one who is called an Arminian, I have found out some 
 flaws in Arminianism, and evidenced my impartiality by pointing them 
 out, as well as the flaws of Calvinism. As a witness for the truth of 
 the gospel, I hope I have learned to bear reproach from all sort's of 
 people with more undaunted courage. And I humbly trust, that were I 
 called to seal the truth of the doctrines of grace and justice, against the 
 Pharisees and the Antinomians, I could, divine grace supporting me to 
 the last, do it more rationally, and, of consequence, with greater 
 steadiness. 
 
 " Again : as a follower of Christ, I hope I have learned to disregard 
 my dearest friends for my heavenly Prophet ; or, to speak the language 
 of our Lord, I hope I have learned to forsake father, mother, and bro- 
 thers, for Christ's sake, and the gospel's. As a disputant, I have learned 
 that solid arguments and plain scriptures make no more impression 
 upon bigotry, than the charmer's voice does upon the deaf adder ; and 
 by that means, I hope I depend less upon the powers of reason, the letter
 
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 657 
 
 of the Scripture, and the candour of professors, than I formerly did. 
 As a believer, I have been brought to see and feel that the power of 
 the Spirit of truth, which teaches men to be of one heart and of one 
 mind, and makes them think and speak the same, is at a very low ebb 
 in the religious world ; and that the prayer which I ought continually 
 to offer is, ' Lord, baptize Christians with the Spirit of truth, and the 
 fire of love. Thy kingdom come ! Bring thy church out of the wilder- 
 ness of error and sin, into the kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy 
 in the Holy Ghost.' As a member of the Church of England, I have 
 learned to be pleased with our holy mother, for giving us floods of pure 
 morality to wash away the few remaining Calvinian freckles that re- 
 main upon her face. As a Christian, I hope I have learned, in some 
 degree, to exercise that charity which teaches us boldly to oppose a 
 dangerous error, without ceasing to honour and love its abettors, so far 
 as they resemble our Lord ; and enables us to use an irony, with St. 
 Paul and Jesus Christ, not as an enemy uses a dagger, but as a surgeon 
 uses a lancet or a caustic. And, lastly, as a writer, I have learned to 
 feel the truth of Solomon's observation : • Of making many books there 
 is no end ; and much study is a weariness to the flesh. Let us hear 
 the conclusion of the whole matter : Fear God, and keep his command- 
 ments ; for this is the whole duty of man,' and the sum of the anti- 
 solifidian truth which I endeavour to vindicate. 
 
 " I do not say that I have learned any of these lessons as I should 
 have done ; but I hope I have learned so much of them as to say, that 
 in these respects my controversial toil has not been altogether in vain 
 in the Lord. And now, reader, let me entreat thee to pray, that if I 
 am spared to vindicate more fully what appears to us the Scriptural 
 doctrine of grace, I may be so helped by the Father of lights and the 
 God of love, as to speak the pure truth in perfect love, and never more 
 drop a needlessly-severe expression. Some such have escaped me 
 before I was aware. In endeavouring to render my style nervous, I 
 have sometimes inadvertently rendered it provoking. Instead of saying 
 that the, doctrines of grace, so called, represent God as ' absolutely 
 graceless' toward myriads of ' reprobated culprits,' I would now say, 
 that, upon the principles of my opponents, God appears ' devoid of 
 grace" toward those whom he has absolutely ' reprobated' from all eter- 
 nity. The thought is the same, I grant, but the expressions are less 
 grating, and more decent. This propriety of language I labour after, 
 as w r ell as after more meekness of wisdom. The Lord help me and 
 my antagonists to keep our garments clean ! Controvertists ought to be 
 clothed with an ardent, flaming love for truth, and a candid, humble 
 regard for their neighbour. May no root of prejudice stain that flaming 
 love ! no bigotry spot that candid regard ! no malice rend our seamless 
 
 42
 
 658 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 garments ! and if they are ever rolled in blood, may it be only in the 
 blood of our common enemies, — destructive error, and the man of sin !"* 
 
 Such was the language of Mr. Fletcher when he had been some 
 years engaged in this arduous conflict, and had ample opportunities 
 for judging of its effects upon his own mind, as well as upon the minds 
 of others. It is certainly not the language of penitence, that he had 
 become a disputant, but rather of humble gratitude, that while he had 
 successfully defended what he believed to be revealed truth, his own 
 personal piety was increased. 
 
 The writer of Lady Huntingdon's Life and Times says, " The effect 
 of the controversy was most pernicious. Without eliciting truth, or 
 illustrating difficult texts, the combatants inflamed the spirit of party, 
 and rendered the two bodies of Methodists, for several years, more 
 hostile to each other than almost any other differing sects. Both par- 
 ties were driven to extremes."! This anonymous writer may be allowed 
 
 * Fictitious and genuine Creed. 
 
 t Vol. ii, p. 250. Various attempts have been made within the last few years to 
 produce an impression unfavourable to Mr. Wesley and Mr. Fletcher, as having dis- 
 honoured themselves in this controversy by unchristian feeling and intemperate lan- 
 guage. The Messrs. Hill and Toplady, it is confessed, did not uniformly manifest the 
 meekness of wisdom ; but it is intimated that their opponents, if not equally guilty, 
 were criminal in a very high degree. The proof which has of late been adduced in 
 support of this assumption is curious, and cannot by possibility be satisfactory to the 
 writers who have employed it. When Mr. Rowland Hill applied to Mr. Wesley the 
 most reproachful epithets, his own friends complained of his acrimony ; and he, in 
 vindication of himself, contended that Mr. John and Charles Wesley had used similar 
 language. The following are the examples which he produced : — " Devil's factors — 
 Satan's synagogue — Children of the old roaring, hellish murderer, who believe his lie — 
 Advocates of sin — Witnesses for the father of lies — Blasphemers — Satan-sent preach- 
 ers — Devils — Liars — Fiends." " These terms," says Mr. Hill, " are taken out of 
 different poems, composed by those gentlemen ; all of which, if I greatly mistake not, 
 are still upon sale." — Full Answer to the Rev. J. Wesley's Remarks, p. 30. 
 
 The author of the " Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon," (vol. ii, p. 247,) 
 the Rev. Edwin Sidney, in his Life of the Rev. Rowland Hill, (p. 108,) and Mr. Jones, 
 in his Memoir of Mr. Hill, (p. 555,) have all urged this quotation from Mr. Hill's 
 pamphlet, in reply to Mr. Watson, who has awarded the prize of temper in this con- 
 troversy to Mr. Wesley and Mr. Fletcher. Mr. Sidney remarks, in a tone of surprise, 
 " Wesley's biographer, Watson, a great and good man, surely was not aware of these 
 expressions when he called the publications of his party ' models of temper, and calm 
 but occasionally powerfully reproving.' " Mr. Watson did not use the language here 
 ascribed to him with reference to " his party" in general. He confines it to Mr. Wes- 
 ley. Of the vicar of Madeley, whose manner was not " calm," but animated, he 
 speaks in different terms. " It is refreshing," says he, " to remark, in the writings 
 of the ' saintly Fletcher,' so fine a union of strength and meekness ; an edge so keen, 
 and yet so smooth ; and a heart kept in such perfect charity with his assailants, and so 
 intent upon establishing truth, not for victory, but for salvation." 
 
 Whether Mr. Watson was aware of "the expressions" here imputed to Mr. John 
 
 42*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 659 
 
 to speak for his own party ; but when he includes Mr. Fletcher in these 
 sweeping censures, he enunciates his own prejudices merely, and not 
 the truth. For nothing are Mr. Fletcher's writings more remarkable 
 than the light which they shed upon " difficult texts" of Holy Scrip- 
 ture ; and the light which he brings to the sacred books is not the 
 " palpable obscure" of a vain metaphysical philosophy, affecting to be 
 wise above what is written, and intruding into those things which are 
 not revealed. It is the light which inspiration sheds upon itself, and 
 which is elicited by comparing spiritual things with spiritual. No 
 human compositions more effectually rebuke the practice of taking one 
 half of the Scriptures, and leaving the other, than do those of the vicar 
 of Madeley. There is not a book in the English language equal to his 
 " Scripture Scales," for " illustrating difficult texts," and guarding the 
 inquirer against dangerous extremes. The method of ascertaining the 
 
 and Charles Wesley, we know not, nor need we stay to inquire, as they are irrelevant 
 to the question at issue. Mr. Watson is speaking of the controversy which arose out 
 of the Minutes of 1770, and which was carried on in sober prose ; and Mr. .Sidney 
 professes to quote some poetry which was published several years before those Minutes 
 were written ! When Mr. Hill wrote, he was not sure that the poems were on sale, 
 but apprehended that they might be out of print. 
 
 With respect to the " expressions" in these poems, so strangely introduced, it may 
 be observed, (1.) That in controversy unverified quotations pass for nothing. On what 
 subjects and occasions were the "poems" written 1 and where are they to be found ! 
 Till they are produced, and we can judge of the true meaning of the "expressions" 
 which they are said to contain, they are of no avail in the argument. (2.) Some of 
 the " expressions" objected to are contained in Scripture, and are therefore in them- 
 selves not liable to any just exception. They may be ill applied, it is true ; but having 
 been used by Christ and his apostles, they might be used by John and Charles Wesley 
 without any just blame. (3.) One of the " expressions" at least is obviously falsified. 
 All of them are professedly " taken out of different poems composed by gentlemen" 
 of accurate scholarship, many specimens of whose versification are before the world. 
 "Will Mr. Sidney seriously maintain that the following sentence occurs in any " poem," 
 written by John or Charles Wesley, or by any man that had the least conception of 
 metrical composition : " Children of the old roaring, hellish murderer, who believe his 
 lie T" Whatever Mr. Hill or Mr. Sidney may say, no man will ever believe that the 
 learned and accomplished brothers, whom it is sought to degrade, ever published this 
 " expression" in any " poem" with which they connected their names. (4.) Admitting 
 the authenticity of " these expressions," and that they imply a just reflection upon the 
 men to whom they are attributed, in what way, it may be asked, do they affect the 
 character of Mr. Fletcher, who was the principal writer in defence of the Minutes ? 
 The " poems" from which they are said to be selected were written, if written at all, 
 while he was a youth, in Switzerland, and had never set his foot upon British ground. 
 How then do they prove him guilty of " acidity," or of any thing else ? Neither Mr. 
 Sidney, nor Mr. Jones, nor the biographer of Lady Huntingdon, can believe that they 
 reflect the slightest dishonour upon the vicar of Madeley ; yet every one of these 
 gentlemen has produced " these expressions" to prove that he, as well as Mr. Wesley, 
 was an angry disputant, notoriously deficient in Christian meekness !
 
 660 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 mind of the Holy Ghost, by taking the Scriptures as a whole, and 
 comparing one part with another, is universally allowed by sound Pro- 
 testants to be the most just and unexceptionable ; and this is precisely 
 the plan which Mr. Fletcher pursued with unexampled success. 
 
 The effect of Mr. Fletcher's writings has been powerful, extensive, 
 and lasting. Never since they appeared has the remark been called 
 for in the Methodist conference, " We have leaned too much toward 
 Calvinism." Their influence upon the men who differ from him on 
 the five points has also been most salutary, though few of them like to 
 confess it. They have served to produce a more guarded and practical 
 style of preaching and writing than formerly prevailed. Where are 
 the ministers now who would openly declare from the pulpit, that all 
 the sins of the elect, past, present, and to come, are for ever cancelled I 
 and that David was as much a child of God when committing adultery 
 and murder, as when he was leading the devotions of the tabernacle ? 
 Yet these points, with others of a similar nature, were strenuously 
 contended for in the controversy with Mr. Fletcher; and such was 
 the Antinomianism which he attempted to " check." 
 
 Few books in the English language have been more extensively read, 
 during the last seventy years, than those of " the saintly Fletcher ;" 
 and the demand for them increases almost every year. They are the 
 most sought after and admired by persons of the deepest piety. To 
 say that they " elicit no truth," " illustrate no difficult" scripture, and 
 serve only to " inflame the spirit of party," is to contradict the testimony 
 of twice ten thousand witnesses possessed of spiritual discernment, and 
 of heavenly affections. It is as palpable an absurdity as to say, that 
 Mr. Whitefield's preaching was of no possible benefit to mankind. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley took a lively interest in the rise and progress of 
 this controversy, though his name has rarely been connected with it. 
 He corresponded with his friend, the vicar of Madeley, and encouraged 
 him in his arduous undertaking. Mr. Fletcher transmitted his manu- 
 scripts to him for revision, begging of him to expunge every expression 
 that was calculated to give unnecessary pain, and to pay especial 
 attention to the grammar and theology of the whole. He also confided 
 to Mr. Charles Wesley the task of conducting them through the press, 
 the correction of which was inconvenient to himself, because of his 
 distance from London. The fact is, that nearly every thing that Mr. 
 Fletcher published, not even excepting his political tracts, and his 
 treatise on original sin, passed under the eye and hand of Mr. Charles 
 Wesley before it was given to the world. Their correspondence, 
 therefore, was frequent and confidential, especially while this contro- 
 versy was in progress. Not that the compositions of his friend needed 
 much emendation ; but his criticisms gave Mr. Fletcher confidence,
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 661 
 
 and were highly valued. In 1775 Mr. Fletcher said to him, " Nobody 
 helps me but you ; and you know how little you do it. Deprive me 
 not of that little. Your every hint is a blessing to me." In another 
 letter he says, " You have your enemies, as well as your brother. 
 They complain of your love for music, company, fine people, great 
 folks, and of the want of your former zeal and frugality. I need not 
 put you in mind to cut off all sinful appearances. You were taught to 
 do this before I knew any thing of the matter. Only see you abound 
 more and more, to stop the mouth of your adversaries, or of your 
 jealous friends." 
 
 An extract from one of Mr. Charles Wesley's letters Mr. Fletcher 
 has inserted in his answer to Sir Richard Hill. It accounts for some 
 unguarded expressions in his early hymns. " I was once," says he, 
 " on the brink of Antinomianism, by unwarily reading Crisp and Salt- 
 marsh. Just then, warm in my first love, I was in the utmost danger, 
 when Providence threw in my way Baxter's treatise, entitled, ' An 
 Hundred Errors of Dr. Crisp demonstrated.' My brother was sooner 
 apprehensive of the dangerous abuse which would be made of our 
 unguarded hymns and expressions than I was. Now I also see and 
 feel we must all sink, unless we call St. James to our assistance. Yet 
 let us still insist as much or more than ever on St. Paul's justification. 
 What God has joined together let no man put asunder. The great 
 Chillingworth saw clearly the danger of separating St. James from St. 
 Paul. He used to wish that whenever a chapter of St. Paul's justifica- 
 tion was read, another of St. James might be read at the same time." 
 
 Though Lady Huntingdon was no party to the base attacks which 
 were made upon Mr. Wesley's moral character, her eagerness to fix 
 upon him the charge of heretical pravity inflicted a deep wound in the 
 generous and upright mind of Charles ; whose correspondence with 
 her was indeed resumed, but never with its former cordiality and 
 warmth. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley had the solid gratification of seeing his brother, 
 as well as Mr. Fletcher, retire from this controversy with an untarnished 
 reputation. Neither of them wrote any thing of which their friends 
 could be justly ashamed ; they freely attacked the principles of their 
 opponents, but made no dishonourable reference to private character ; 
 and the absolute failure of all the attempts which were made to fix a 
 stain upon Mr. John Wesley's morals, only served to establish the con- 
 viction of his purity. His assailants showed what they would have 
 done, had they possessed the power ; but, with all their means and 
 appliances, they could adduce no proof whatever in support of their 
 unchristian and cruel insinuations, which therefore recoiled upon their 
 own heads.
 
 662 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 It is only justice to Lady Huntingdon to say, that she did not retain 
 to the end of her life the hostility to Mr. Wesley which marked her 
 conduct when the controversy respecting the Minutes was begun. At 
 that period her biographer says no less than " sixty clergymen were 
 employed by her ;" so that she was the acknowledged head of a large 
 body of people. Her inability to bear a rival in Mr. Wesley, who 
 dissented from her creed, and the conspiracy which she headed, to ruin 
 his character, and put an end to his influence, for giving a doctrinal 
 warning to his preachers, of which she chose to disapprove, have left 
 a blot upon her spiritual escutcheon which no ingenuity can obliterate. 
 The part which she took in reference to the circular was altogether 
 unjustifiable, and was especially revolting in a person of her sex. But 
 considering the adulation which she was accustomed to receive from 
 many quarters, as " the elect lady" of the age, and the unnatural posi- 
 tion in which she was placed, the wonder is that she acted with so 
 much humility and gentleness. If no man is wise at all times, we have 
 no right to demand absolute discretion in a woman. It is honourable 
 to Lady Huntingdon that she lived to regret the part which she had 
 unhappily taken in respect of her spiritual father, and early religious 
 friend and adviser. 
 
 She survived Mr. Wesley about five months. After his death a 
 small tract was published, containing the interesting particulars of his 
 last illness, with the expressions to which he gave utterance in the 
 immediate prospect of dissolution. It was drawn up with the beautiful 
 simplicity of truth, and bore the initials of his friend Elizabeth Ritchie. 
 A copy of this document fell into the hands of Lady Huntingdon, who 
 read it with superior interest, because, according to the natural course 
 of things, the time of her own departure was at hand. She sent for 
 Joseph Bradford, who for many years had been Mr. Wesley's travelling 
 companion, and asked him if this account of Mr. Wesley was true ; and 
 whether he really died acknowledging his sole dependance upon the 
 meritorious sacrifice of Christ, for acceptance and eternal life. He 
 assured her ladyship that the whole was strictly true ; and that, from 
 his own knowledge he could declare, whatever reports to the contrary 
 had been circulated, the principles which Mr. Wesley recognised upon 
 his death-bed had invariably been the subjects of his ministry. She 
 listened with eager attention to this statement ; confessed, she had 
 believed that he grievously departed from the truth ; and then, bursting 
 into tears, expressed her deep regret at the separation which had in 
 consequence taken place between them. The spell, which ought never 
 to have bound her spirit, was then broken. During his life-time it 
 does not appear that she was at all reconciled to him ; but when he had 
 yielded up his soul to God, and was placed beyond the reach of human
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 663 
 
 censure, she acknowledged him, not as "a dreadful heretic," but as " a 
 good minister of Jesus Christ."* They now see eye to eye ; and their 
 former misunderstandings are forgotten ; or, if remembered at all, are 
 seen in connection with that sacrificial blood through which they 
 were mercifully atoned for and forgiven. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley removed his family from Bristol to London 
 in the year 1771. He did not fix his residence in Hackney or Stoke- 
 Newington, as he once intended, but in Chesterfield-street, St. Mary- 
 le-bone. The circumstances which led him to reside there deserve to 
 be recorded. When the Methodists of London and Bristol were sub- 
 scribing toward a London residence for this honoured minister, the 
 proposal reached the ear of Mrs. Gumley, the aunt of Lady Robert 
 Manners, (formerly Miss Degge,) and she immediately stopped further 
 proceedings, by handing over, gratuitously, to her friends Mr. and Mrs. 
 Charles Wesley, the lease (which had upward of twenty years to run) 
 of her handsome town residence. The house was richly furnished, 
 and completely prepared for occupation. All these accommodations 
 this excellent lady generously presented to the Methodist clergyman 
 and his family, whom, it is needless to say, she highly esteemed. She 
 did this at the very time that Lady Huntingdon withdrew her friendship 
 from the Wesleys, because they refused, after her example, to change 
 their creed. The house was subject to a yearly ground-rent, of which 
 the half-yearly receipts remain. It was about three miles from the 
 Foundery, where his brother generally resided when in London ; so 
 that they were at an inconvenient distance from each other. John 
 regretted this, because it prevented him from consulting Charles on 
 many subjects connected with their work, in which it was desirable 
 that they should act by united counsels. 
 
 Before Mr. Charles Wesley removed the rest of his family from 
 Bristol, he brought with him to London his eldest son, who bore his 
 father's name, and when a mere boy commanded universal admiration 
 by his extraordinary musical genius. The father was highly gratified 
 with his son's abilities, and the respect which was everywhere shown 
 him ; but his own health was so delicate, that he was apprehensive of 
 a speedy removal from his wife and children, and an entrance into the 
 world of spirits, to which many of his pious friends were already gone. 
 
 * The particulars of this interview Mr. Bradford related to the Rev. George Morley, 
 by whom they were kindly communicated to the writer of this narrative.
 
 664 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 The following are extracts from his letters to Mrs. Wesley, who was 
 still in Bristol : — 
 
 " London, May 1st, 1771. I clearly saw it my duty to bring Charles 
 up, although I were sure to drop my old bones in the ground adjoining. 
 I have taken the best care of him I could ; and am still waiting upon 
 him as his loving servant. On Tuesday evening, at Mr. Kelway's, we 
 met Mr. Smith and Mr. Tate. They stared, and looked at each other, 
 as if they did not believe their own ears, while Charles played like his 
 master. It was hard to say which of the three was most delighted. 
 The first masters count it an honour to assist him." 
 
 "May 16th. I want country air to perfect my recovery. Charles 
 cannot be better. We rejoice in hope of seeing you all next week. 
 I am stepping into the pulpit. The Lord bless and prosper you and 
 yours in all things !" 
 
 When Mr. Charles Wesley was settled with his family in London, 
 he served the congregations and societies there with great efficiency ? 
 and cherished that spirit of prayer by which he had been distinguished 
 from the time when he obtained the peace and holiness which are con- 
 sequent upon a vital faith in Christ. There were seasons in which he 
 was drawn out in intercession in behalf of particular friends, especially 
 at the Lord's table. A singular instance of this occurred in the year 
 1772. He remembered the arduous controversy in which Mr. Fletcher 
 was engaged, and one Sunday commended him with deep feeling to the 
 especial care and blessing of God. He afterward mentioned the sub- 
 ject in a letter to Mr. Fletcher, from whom he received the following 
 remarkable answer: — 
 
 " July 5th, 1772. I thank you for the letters you have lately sent me. 
 Your loving directions are seasonable. You asked me in one of them, 
 how I found myself the Sunday before. Your question surprised me 
 so much the more, as I had spent some time that day in wondering how 
 I was inwardly loosed, and how prayer and praise came from a much 
 greater depth than usual in my heart ; which, glory be to God, hath in 
 general remained with me ever since, together with greater openings 
 of love, and clearer views of Christian simplicity and liberty. I thought 
 I was merely indebted to the Lord's love for this enlargement ; but I 
 am still more thankful that he would have my gratitude pass through 
 the channel of brotherly love, by which his bounty came down to me. 
 I desire, then, you will add thanksgiving to prayer." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's friendship for his brother was tender and in- 
 violable. Nothing could separate them in affection. They differed in 
 their views respecting the Church, and on other questions ; but, to the 
 end of their lives, their mutual love was constant and unimpaired. In 
 the summer of 1775, Charles's submission to the divine will was put
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 665 
 
 to the severest test by an illness of his brother, from which his reco- 
 very was extremely doubtful. Mr. John Wesley was travelling in the 
 north of Ireland, when he was seized with a fever of a very dangerous 
 kind. His tongue was much swollen, and as black as a coal. He was 
 convulsed all over ; and for some time his heart did not beat percepti- 
 bly, nor was his pulse discernible. Mr. Joseph Bradford, Ids faithful 
 friend and travelling companion, addressed the following letter to 
 Charles, apprizing him of his brother's situation : — 
 
 "July 19th, 1775. Rev. and Very Dear Sir, — I suppose you have 
 received my letter, dated the 16th, in which I informed you of your 
 brother's sickness. From the time I wrote he has continued very ill. 
 On Saturday morning, with much entreaty, he was prevailed with to 
 call in a physician. The medicines which he proposed gave present 
 ease, and I was in hopes he would have soon recovered. In the after- 
 noon he grew much worse, and continued so all night. About three 
 yesterday morning he appeared to be in the agonies of death. I think 
 his pulse beat at least one hundred and thirty times in a minute, his 
 flesh was like fire, and he was convulsed from head to foot. But blessed 
 be God, that he hath continued him so long, and endued his servant 
 with much patience to suffer. What will be the event, God only knows. 
 I fear. I think the fever is not so violent ; but he continues very ill. 
 
 " Yesterday we left Tanderagee, and came to Mr. Grier's, about a 
 mile from Lisburn. The family are Methodists, and live in as hand- 
 some a manner as any in the kingdom, and have an estate which brings 
 in some hundreds annually to support it. The people are friendly, and 
 with pleasure provide all things necessary. Here he is to stay until 
 the Lord is pleased to restore him, which I hope will be soon. Mr. 
 Wesley is- very happy and composed under this afflictive providence. 
 He has no choice either to live or die, but with submission to the divine 
 will. Yesterday morning one of our sisters, not knowing that he was 
 ill, came from Armagh to Tanderagee, to hear him preach. He, seeing 
 her come into the room, said, ' Sister Russell came to hear me preach, 
 but did not think she should come to see me die. The Lord does all 
 things well.' When I informed your brother that I was writing to you, 
 he desired me to send his love, and to tell you that he gains no ground, 
 but is of opinion that when the fever is turned, he shall recover rapidly. 
 The Lord hasten the time ! A word of advice from you would be thank- 
 fully received." 
 
 In this very trying emergency the public sympathy was strongly 
 excited ; for scarcely any person seems to have expected Mr. Wesley's 
 recovery. The newspapers announced that he was dead. Under this 
 impression the vicar of Shoreham wrote a letter of condolence to Charles ; 
 but hearing that Mr. Wesley was better, he forbore to send it Mr.
 
 666 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Fletcher was more prompt. He knew the unsettled state of the Me- 
 thodist societies, for whose preservation no adequate provision was 
 made in the event of Mr. Wesley's death, and endeavoured to rouse 
 Charles to a sense of his responsibility, that he might take his brother's 
 place ; advising that the senior preachers should be convened together 
 in London, and that some plan should be formed by their united coun- 
 sels for carrying on the work of God ; offering his own assistance, but 
 with his characteristic meekness and humility. The following is his 
 letter, which ought to be for ever preserved as a memorial of his kind- 
 ness to the Wesleys, and fidelity to the cause which they lived to 
 serve : — 
 
 " Madeley, July 2d, 1775. My Very Dear Brother, — The same 
 post which brought me yours, brought me a letter from Ireland, inform- 
 ing me of the danger of your dear brother, my dear father, and of his 
 being very happy in, and resigned to, the will of God. What can you 
 and I do ? What, but stand still, and see the salvation of God ? The 
 nations are before him but as the dust that cleaves to a balance ; and 
 the greatest instruments have been removed. Abraham is dead ; the 
 fathers are dead ; and if John come first to the sepulchre, you and I will 
 soon descend into it. The brightest, the most burning and shining 
 lights, like the Baptist, Mr. Whitefield, and your brother, were kindled 
 to make the people rejoice in them ' for a season,' says our Lord. ' For 
 a season.' The expression is worth our notice. It is just as if our 
 Lord had said, ' I give you inferior lights, that ye may rejoice in them 
 for a season. But I reserve to myself the glory of shining for ever. 
 The most burning lights shall fail on earth ; but I, your Sun, will shine 
 to all eternity.' Come, my dear brother, let the danger of our lights 
 make us look to our Sun more steadily : and should God quench the 
 light of our Jerusalem below, let us rejoice that it is to make it burn 
 brighter in the Jerusalem which is above ; and let us triumph in the 
 inextinguishable light of our Sun, in the impenetrable strength of our 
 Shield, and in the immoveableness of our Rock. 
 
 " Amidst my concern for the church in general, and for Mr. Wesley's 
 societies in particular, I cannot but acknowledge the goodness of God, 
 in so wonderfully keeping him for so many years, and in preserving 
 him to undergo such labours as would have killed you and me ten times 
 over, had we run the same heats of laborious usefulness. The Lord 
 may yet hear prayer, and add a span to his useful life. But forasmuch 
 as the immortality of the body does not belong to this state, and he 
 has fulfilled the ordinary term of human life, in hoping the best, we 
 must prepare ourselves for the worst. The God of all grace and power 
 will strengthen you on the occasion. Should your brother fail on earth, 
 you are called not only to bear up under the loss of so near a relative ;
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 667 
 
 but, for the sake of your common children in the Lord, you should en- 
 deavour to fill up the gap, according to your strength. The Methodists 
 will not expect from you your brother's labours ; but they have, I think, 
 a right to expect that you will preside over them while God spares you 
 in the land of the living. A committee of the oldest and steadiest 
 preachers may help you to bear the burden, and to keep up a proper 
 discipline, both among the people and the rest of the preachers : and 
 if at any time you should want my mite of assistance, I hope I shall 
 throw it into the treasury with the simplicity and readiness of the poor 
 widow, who cheerfully offered her next to nothing. Do not faint. The 
 Lord God of Israel will give you additional strength for the day ; and 
 his angels, yea, his praying people, will bear you up in their hands, 
 that you hurt not your foot against a stone ; yea, that, if need be, you 
 may leap over a wall. I am by this time gray -headed, as well as you ; 
 and some of my parishioners tell me that the inroads of time are uncom- 
 monly visible upon my face. Indeed I feel as well as see it myself, 
 and learn what only time, trials, and experience can teach. Should 
 your brother be called to his reward, I would not be free to go to Lon- 
 don till you and the preachers had settled all matters. My going just 
 at such a time would carry the appearance of vanity, which I abhor. It 
 would seem as if I wanted to be somebody among the Methodists. We 
 heartily join here the prayers of the brethren for your brother, for you, 
 and the societies. Paper fails, not love. Be careful for nothing. Cast 
 your burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain you. Farewell in Christ." 
 
 By the merciful interposition of divine Providence, the threatening 
 calamity was averted. Mr. Charles Wesley was not compelled to as- 
 sume the government of the societies, under the pressure of which he 
 would have inevitably sunk. His brother soon recovered, so as to be 
 able to resume his labours ; and a few years afterward he was led to 
 make such legal provision for the perpetuity of the connection, as has 
 been a means of its preservation and prosperity to the present day. 
 When the danger was passed away, the venerable vicar of Shoreham 
 addressed the following beautiful letter to Mr. Charles Wesley, in which 
 he mentions a blessed revival of religion in his own parish, which had 
 long been unfruitful under rich spiritual culture : — 
 
 " Sept. 27th, 1775. My Rev. and Very Dear Brother, — It is now a 
 long time since I had the pleasure of seeing thee, or hearing from thee. 
 The news of your brother's recovery from the grave (to which the pub- 
 lic papers had consigned him) prevented a letter of condolence from 
 being sent you, which wanted only sealing up. Since that time we 
 have heard both of your own sickness and restoration, upon which ac- 
 counts we congratulate with you and my dear daughter, and your 
 whole family, as well as with the whole society. The Lord has more
 
 668 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 work for your brother. When that is finished, the crown is ready. 
 Go on, and prosper ! 
 
 " All glory to God, there has been a very extraordinary outpouring 
 of the Spirit among us, though altogether in a silent manner. We 
 have not only a very large number of hearers, especially on Sunday 
 evenings, so that in the summer a great many stand in the garden, but, 
 blessed be God, we have many growing and increasing in divine grace. 
 May the Lord still increase their numbers and increase their grace ! 
 This must give you a particular pleasure, if you recollect that this very 
 day, just twenty-nine years ago, we were saluted with noise, and dirt, 
 and stones, and rotten eggs, after you had preached in the church for 
 the first time, and which salutations continued long after we were re- 
 turned home. How are times happily altered ! Glory be to God ! 
 
 " As to myself, I am a standing monument of the divine goodness. 
 Be you the judge. An ancient unworthy divine, near the eighty-third 
 year of his age, who never kept any assistant, (for so the Lord decreed,) 
 is carried through his Sunday's labour, forenoon and afternoon, some- 
 times a large communion, with other incidental duties, such as chris- 
 tenings and burials, and afterward speaking and ^praying in the room ; 
 but so assisted by divine goodness as seldom or never to experience 
 any fatigue or weariness ! What miracles of mercy are these ! May 
 I ever retain a due and grateful sense of them ! and may I ever labour 
 to walk worthy of them ! I know you will join heartily in the same 
 petitions. May the Lord hear both of us ! 
 
 " I hope shortly to congratulate our dear brother viva voce. I wrote 
 not to him, as being assured he was overwhelmed with letters. We 
 shall be glad when Providence brings you and yours this way. How- 
 ever, I know a time is coming when we shall all meet, and never part 
 again. Our love and respects are with you all. The Lord be with us ! 
 
 " Thine affectionately." 
 
 Before Mr. John Wesley was seized with this dangerous illness, he 
 had prepared a concise History of England for popular use, partly 
 original and partly abridged from various authors. He was a decided 
 friend of monarchy, but no less a friend of civil and religious freedom ; 
 and the wrongs which were inflicted upon the Puritans and Noncon- 
 formists, under the Stuart dynasty, filled him with honest indignation. 
 The correction of this work, as it passed through the press, was in- 
 trusted to his brother, who demurred to a censure passed upon Charles 
 the First, whom some writers describe as a faithless tyrant, and others 
 as a martyr. Charles wrote to his brother, proposing the omission of 
 a clause ; and as he did not receive an immediate answer, he again 
 pressed the subject upon his brother, in the following letter, which is 
 highly characteristic of the writer's principles and spirit : —
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 669 
 
 " Chesterfield-street, Dec. 29th, 1775. Dear Brother, — I must con- 
 tinue to plead for my namesake, till you grant my request, by omitting 
 your ' but.'' ' He was rigorously just, but wanting in sincerity.' ' Just,' 
 but false. You mention it indeed as a supposition only ; therefore you 
 may more easily give it up. Such a drawback from his good character 
 will exceedingly grieve more than me, as much as it will please the 
 patriots and republicans. At such a time as this, especially, when it 
 is the fashion to 'blacken the tyrant,' you and I should not join in the 
 popular cry, but rather go against the stream. Let Macauley and com- 
 pany call the king's murder, ' This great act of national justice.' Let 
 Cromwell declare, ' He could not be trusted,' to palliate his own villany. 
 Let not your hand be upon him, or mine." 
 
 Having, as he supposed, received his brother's silent consent to the 
 proposed alteration, Mr. Charles Wesley returned the following answer : 
 — " I am not such a corrector as N. N., or C. P., to put in or out, and 
 give you no notice of it. Believing you have obliged me by granting 
 my request, I have drawn a line over the Oliverian reflection, and 
 accept your omitting it as the greatest favour and kindness you can 
 do me." 
 
 In a memorandum affixed to copies of these letters, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley says, " His final answer was, ' He could not in conscience say 
 less evil of him.' ' With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured 
 to you again.' Observe, ye who survive us !"* 
 
 When Mr. Fletcher manifested so tender a sympathy toward Mr. 
 John Wesley, during his illness in Ireland, and offered his generous 
 assistance in preserving the union of the Methodist preachers and soci- 
 eties, it was not imagined that in the course of a few months the con- 
 tinuance of his own life would be less hopeful than that of his afflicted 
 friend. Yet so it was. In the summer of 1776 his health failed, and 
 he had all the symptoms of a confirmed consumption. The disease 
 was doubtless accelerated, if it was not directly caused, by his intense 
 and incessant application to study, during the preceding five years. It 
 is indeed surprising that he should have been able, in so comparatively 
 short a period, to produce so many works, displaying so much research 
 and profound thought ; for nearly the whole of his publications were 
 written within this period, including those on the Calvinistic controversy, 
 his " Appeal," on the doctrine of original sin, his political tracts, and 
 some minor pieces. He did indeed enjoy the retirement of a country 
 village ; but his parish was extensive, and his official duties were 
 numerous. Most of his books were written under circumstances of 
 strong excitement ; for the eyes of two eager parties were fixed upon 
 
 * The sentence stands thus in Mr. Wesley's History of England : — " He was rigor- 
 ously just ; but is supposed to have been wanting in sincerity." Vol. iii, p. 221.
 
 670 LIFE OF REV. CHAKLES WESLEY 
 
 him ; he knew that every argument he employed would be strictly 
 scrutinized ; and his chief opponents were not at all scrupulous as to 
 the use which they would make of any inadvertency that might be dis- 
 covered in his reasoning. His was not a leisurely authorship, on such 
 questions of theology as were most congenial with his own feelings. 
 The subjects upon which he wrote were forced upon him by his oppo- 
 nents ; and not a day was to be lost in supplying an antidote to what 
 was conceived to be dangerous error. The wonder is, that his health 
 did not sooner fail under the weight of responsibility which rested upon 
 him. While he suffered from what appeared to be incurable disease, 
 prayer was made for him without ceasing, and by no man with greater 
 ardour and importunity than Mr. Charles Wesley. Among his papers 
 is a hymn, which he composed on the occasion, and which there is 
 reason to believe was used by the societies in London and Bristol, 
 especially at the weekly sacrament. 
 
 * Soon after Mr. Charles Wesley had written this hymn, and while he 
 was still uniting his supplications with those of the Methodists gener- 
 ally in behalf of the afflicted vicar of Madeley, he was called to sym- 
 pathize with Mr. Perronet, who had suffered a painful bereavement in 
 the death of his son Charles. This very excellent man, who was 
 brought to the knowledge of God in early life, through the instrument- 
 ality of Mr. Charles Wesley, and for some years was a zealous and 
 useful Methodist preacher, has been frequently mentioned in this nar- 
 rative. His piety was deep and enlightened, and his abilities very 
 considerable, as his compositions both in prose and verse testify ; but 
 his health was delicate, so that he was compelled to desist from his 
 itinerant ministry. Somewhat more than twenty years before his death 
 he attempted, with several others of his brethren who were like-minded, to 
 introduce the sacraments into the Methodist meeting-houses, for which 
 he was severely rebuked by Mr. Charles Wesley ; and it does not 
 appear that he persisted in this course, when he found that those who 
 were over him in the Lord were decidedly opposed to it. He was a 
 very holy man ; a consistent witness of the full Christian salvation ; 
 and a principal instrument of that extraordinary revival of' religion in 
 Shoreham, of which his father speaks in language of grateful joy. 
 About seven months before he died he was visited at Canterbury by 
 Mr. John Wesley, who says in his Journal, " I had a long conversation 
 with that extraordinary man, Charles Perronet. What a mystery of 
 Providence ! Why is such a saint as this buried alive by continual 
 sickness ?" His aged and venerable father was deeply affected by the 
 death of this son, whom he tenderly loved. Mr. Charles Wesley sent 
 him a letter of condolence, which the sorrowing parent thus acknow- 
 ledges : —
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 671 
 
 *' August 13th. My Very Dear and Rev. Brother, — I thank you for 
 your very kind and Christian condolence. Sympathizing joys and tears 
 are duties becoming Christians here below. The gospel was not 
 designed to destroy our passions, but to direct them aright, and to regu- 
 late all their motions. My late dear Charles led a painful, sorrowing 
 life, almost all his days. I speak as to the outward man ; but at his 
 heart I believe was always sincere before God. He felt inward com- 
 forts, which this world could neither give nor rob him of. God wisely 
 and graciously adapts all our sufferings to our wants and necessities, 
 and kindly makes poor nature often to groan, out of pure love and com- 
 passion. All glory to his great name ! I can speak this from my own 
 happy experience. My ways have been spread with briers and thorns, 
 by far the greatest part of my life ; and many a bitter cup has my 
 heavenly Father forced me to drink. But, to the praise of his grace, 
 he enables me to see the suitableness and necessity of his dealings 
 with me, and at the same time to rejoice and bless his holy name. 
 What love, what condescension is here ! Is it not abundant goodness 
 in the Lord, to guide us in our temporal and spiritual concerns ? But 
 how astonishing is that grace which stoops so low as to give us the 
 reasons why he deals thus and thus with us! O, my dear brother, 
 how good is God ! You know him to be so by frequent experience. 
 We can both say, with the royal Psalmist, ' They that know thy name 
 will put their trust in thee.' 
 
 " How long my stay below shall be, is only known to God. 
 When he has nothing more for me to do or suffer, I have an humble, 
 full assurance, that, through the merits and mediation of the Lord Jesus, 
 he will send for me home, where I trust I shall one day see my 
 whole dear family and yours, and rejoice with all the other children of 
 God, through a glorious eternity. I send my love to my dear sister, 
 yourself, and dear family. The Lord Jesus be with all of us ! 
 
 " Thine most affectionately." 
 
 In the year 1777 the public mind was strongly excited on finding a 
 clergyman of celebrity and superior abilities convicted of felony, and 
 placed under sentence of death. That unhappy man was Dr. William 
 Dodd, whose preaching and authorship had long rendered his name 
 familiar to all classes of people. His publications were numerous, 
 amounting to upward of fifty, among which was a valuable Commen- 
 tary on the Holy Scriptures, in three folio volumes, which he had 
 compiled from various sources, especially the inedited papers of Dr. 
 Cudworth, which he by mistake attributed to Locke, and those of Dr. 
 Waterland. He took a very active part in the erection of the Magdalen 
 Hospital, for which he acquired a just popularity ; and his ministry 
 attracted many hearers. Vanity, accompanied by a lavish expenditure,
 
 672 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 was his ruin. Being pressed with pecuniary difficulties, he commit- 
 ted an act of forgery upon the earl of Chesterfield, who had formerly 
 been his pupil, for which he was condemned to be hanged ; and all 
 attempts to obtain for him even a commutation of punishment were 
 unavailing. 
 
 No class or people under heaven had a livelier interest in the com- 
 passion of Mr. Charles Wesley than the guilty victims of law, among 
 whom the humane and once-popular Dr. Dodd now took his place. In 
 the days of his prosperity he had often cast a slur upon Mr. John Wes- 
 ley and his creed ; but in his trouble and humiliation he sought the 
 counsel and asked for the prayers of the itinerant and field-preacher. 
 Mr. Wesley visited him in prison, accompanied by his brother Charles. 
 They found him with every mark of true penitence, and both had a 
 cheering hope that he obtained mercy at the hands of God, though the 
 law and its administrators were inexorable. The yearning and devout 
 pity of Mr. Charles Wesley's heart is particularly manifest in the 
 verses which he wrote on the mournful occasion. His tender solicitude 
 ceased not till the repentant transgressor was placed beyond the reach 
 of all human help. While t the fate of Dr. Dodd was yet undecided, 
 Mr. Charles Wesley poured forth the sympathetic feelings of his 
 heart in a poetical prayer for him. 
 
 While the doctor was under sentence of death, Miss Bosanquet, who 
 was afterward married to Mr. Fletcher, carried on a regular correspond- 
 ence with him on the all-important subject of his personal salvation ; 
 and few persons were better qualified to give him the advice and en- 
 couragement that he needed. Mr. John Wesley intimated to the doctor 
 in his cell, that perhaps some such humiliating process was necessary 
 to bring him to repentance, and a believing acceptance of Christ as his 
 Saviour from sin ; and it is edifying to see the critic, the orator, the 
 commentator, the elegant scholar, meekly receiving instruction from a 
 sensible and devout lady, who from her own experience could explain 
 to him the nature and fruits of justifying faith. She knew " the sin- 
 ner's short way to God :" a secret which many an erudite teacher 
 never understood. 
 
 He highly appreciated her Christian services, and for her satisfaction 
 sent her the following note : — " June 25th, 1777. My Dear Friend, — 
 On Friday morning I am to be made immortal ! I die with a heart truly 
 contrite, and broken under a sense of its great and manifold offences, 
 but comforted and sustained by a firm faith in the pardoning love of 
 Jesus Christ. My earnest prayers to God are, that we may meet and 
 know each other in that kingdom toward which you have been so long 
 and so happily travelling. I return you my most affectionate thanks
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 673 
 
 for all your friendly attention to me ; and have no doubt, should any 
 opportunity offer, you will remember my excellent but most afflicted 
 partner in distress. I do not know where to direct to worthy Mr. 
 Parker, but beg to trouble you with my dying love and kind remem- 
 brance to him. The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits ! Amen." 
 
 The importance which Mr. Charles Wesley attached to this docu- 
 ment may be learned from the fact, that he treasured up among his 
 papers a copy of it in his own hand-writing. On the morning of June 
 27th, 1777, the day of Dr. Dodd's execution, he wrote respecting him 
 some impressive stanzas. 
 
 It will be observed, that Dr. Dodd, in his last note to Miss Bosanquet, 
 requests her, should it ever be in her power, to befriend his bereaved 
 wife. With this touching request there can be no doubt that Miss 
 Bosanquet would be ready to comply. But her aid could be of little 
 avail. The loss of Dr. Dodd's character, his imprisonment, his trial, 
 his condemnation, the suspense connected with the unsuccessful at- 
 tempts to obtain a commutation of punishment, and, above all, the ter- 
 rible execution, were too much for the affectionate and sensitive mind 
 of Mrs. Dodd to sustain. Reason fled ; and this unfortunate lady died 
 a maniac, at Ilford, in Essex. Such were the bitter fruits of unsancti- 
 fied pulpit popularity ! 
 
 On the 1st of October Mr. Charles Wesley addressed the following 
 valuable letter to his daughter, who was pursuing her youthful studies : — 
 " Bristol. My Dear Sally, — Your friends and ours at the Common have 
 laid us under great obligations. I wish I could return them, by per- 
 suading her to seek till she finds the pearl, which is constant happiness ; 
 and by persuading him to give himself entirely to One whose service is 
 perfect freedom, and whose favour and love is heaven in both worlds. 
 
 " I never thought the bands would suit you. Yet many of them pos- 
 sess what you are seeking. You also shall bear witness of the power 
 and peace, the blessedness of heart-religion. You also shall know the 
 Lord, if you follow on to know him. Other knowledge is not worth 
 your pains. Useful knowledge, as distinguished from religious, lies in 
 a narrow compass, and may be soon attained, if your studies are well 
 guarded and directed. We must have a conference on this subject. 
 We may also read your verses together. They want perspicuity, which 
 should be the first point ; but they are worth correcting. 
 
 " All your powers and faculties are so many talents, of which you 
 are to give an account. You improve your talent of understanding, 
 when you exercise it in acquiring important truth. You use your talent 
 of memory aright, when you store it with things worth remembering, 
 and enlarge by using and employing it. You should therefore be 
 always getting something by heart. Begin with the* first book of 
 
 43
 
 674 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Prior's Solomon, the vanity of knowledge. Let me see how much of 
 it you can repeat, when we meet. 
 
 " Miss Hill is likely now to be a good fortune. You need not envy 
 her, if you are a good Christian. Seek first the kingdom of God, and 
 all these things shall be added unto you. Charles has a turn to gene- 
 rosity ; Sam to parsimony. You must balance them both. Or, you 
 may follow your mother's and my example, and keep in the golden 
 mean. There are many useful things which I can teach you, if I live 
 a little longer. But I dare never promise myself another year. You 
 know, I suppose, that October 9th I hope to reach Chesterfield-street. 
 Your aunts allure me the next day to Tarriers, that I may spend two 
 or three days with them before I carry your mother and brothers home. 
 It is utterly uncertain how I shall be after my long journey. 
 
 " Miss Morgan is gone to Wales, full fraught with knowledge, which 
 she may be safely trusted with ; for she knows Jesus Christ, and him 
 crucified. There poor Prior came short : therefore his Solomon makes 
 so melancholy a conclusion. Probably I have taken my last leave of 
 Bristol. Certainly I shall never more be separated eight weeks from 
 my family. I half repented my leaving you, last Thursday night, which 
 I spent in pain, and three days more in confinement. I am nourishing 
 myself up for a journey, with my philosophical brother. Joseph at- 
 tends us, and will look after 
 
 " My dearest Sally's loving father and friend." 
 
 Having returned to London, he again wrote to his daughter, who 
 still remained at Guildford: — " Marybone, Oct. 11th. My Dear Sally, 
 — I greatly miss you here, yet comfort myself with the thought that you 
 are happy in your friends at Guildford. For their sake, as well as 
 yours, I am content to want you a little longer ; but hope nothing will 
 hinder our meeting on Friday next. I think you may avail yourself of 
 my small knowledge of books and poetry. I am not yet too old to 
 assist you a little in your reading, and perhaps improve your taste in 
 versifying. You need not dread my severity. I have a laudable par- 
 tiality for my own children! Witness your brothers, whom I do not 
 love a jot better than you: only you be as ready to show me your 
 verses as they their music. 
 
 " The evenings I have set aside for reading with you and them. We 
 should begin with history. A plan or order of study is absolutely ne- 
 cessary. Without that, the more you read, the more you are confused, 
 and never rise above a smatterer in learning. 
 
 " Take care you do not devour all Mr. Russell's library. If you do, 
 you will never be able to digest it. Your mother joins me in love to 
 Charles and you, and all your hospitable friends. When shall we see 
 Mr. John Russell ?" 
 
 43*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 675 
 
 When Mr. Charles Wesley left Bristol in 1778, he thought it doubt- 
 ful whether he should ever see that city again, such was his feebleness, 
 occasioned by age and disease. Yet at the close of the following year 
 we find him there. Some person, under the influence of angry feeling, 
 had expressed a wish for his brother's death ; and he immediately turned 
 the imprecation to a good account by publishing in the form of a hand- 
 bill a prayer for his life, which was first sung in the society-meeting at 
 Charles's dictation. 
 
 The year 1780 is remarkable in the annals of England on account 
 of the destructive riots in London, which took place in connection with 
 the insane exploits of Lord George Gordon, of anti-Popish notoriety. 
 During the preceding year an act of parliament had been passed in 
 favour of the Roman Catholics in England and Wales, freeing them 
 from several degrading and injurious disabilities under which they had 
 previously laboured. In consequence of this, they began to exert them- 
 selves for the propagation of their tenets, in a manner which created 
 considerable alarm. A society was formed, under the name of "The 
 Protestant Association," one leading object of which was to obtain a 
 repeal of the late statute, which was alleged to be dangerous to the 
 Protestant religion. Of this institution Lord George Gordon, who was 
 a member of the House of Commons, and at least a man of weak intel- 
 lect, was made the president. Neither of the Wesleys appears to have 
 been a member of the association ; but soon after it was organized, 
 John wrote a letter, which was inserted in one of the public papers, 
 attempting to prove, that no Roman Catholic could give any adequate 
 security for his loyal behaviour under any government that his Church 
 might deem heretical. This letter, in which he spoke favourably of 
 the published address of the association, drew him into a controversy 
 with Father O'Leary, a Romish priest, who denied that his Church had 
 ever promulgated the doctrine, " that no faith is to be kept with here- 
 tics." In this controversy Mr. Wesley disavows all wish to coerce the 
 Roman Catholics. He would concede to them full liberty to practise 
 their own forms of worship, and profess their peculiar tenets ; but he 
 would withhold from them the power to injure their Protestant fellow- 
 subjects, because their Church would justify them in the abuse of that 
 power, should a favourable opportunity occur. 
 
 A petition to the legislature, praying for a repeal of the late act, was 
 prepared by the association ; and great zeal was manifested in pro- 
 curing signatures to it. To this document no less than one hundred 
 thousand persons are said to have affixed their names ; and, to give it 
 the greater weight, the petitioners were invited to meet in St. George's- 
 fields, and thence to walk in procession to the House of Commons, on 
 the day that the petition was to be presented by the president of the
 
 676 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 association. About fifty thousand persons accordingly assembled, and 
 accompanied Lord George to Westminster, on the 2d of June. It is 
 more easy to collect such an immense assemblage of people than to 
 control and direct them. There is no reason to believe that the persons 
 who arranged the proceedings of this day intended any thing directly 
 mischievous ; yet the result was most calamitous, both with respect to 
 property and life. On that day the populace ill-treated several mem- 
 bers of both houses of parliament ; and in the evening a mob pulled 
 down the Romish chapel of the Sardinian ambassador, in Lincoln's- 
 inn-fields, and another in Warwick-street, Golden-square. After this 
 a scene of unexampled devastation ensued. The dwelling-houses of 
 Roman Catholics, as well as their places of worship, were demolished, 
 and the materials burned in the streets. Protestant senators, espe- 
 cially those who were known to have been favourable to the act, were 
 subjected to every outrage, and were glad to escape with their lives. 
 Kennet, the lord mayor of London, had neither understanding nor 
 energy to meet this fearful state of things ; and the other magistrates 
 appear to have been panic-struck ; so that for several days and nights 
 no effectual resistance was offered to the rioters. Some of them were 
 indeed apprehended, and lodged in Newgate ; but their infuriated and 
 daring brethren destroyed the jail by fire, and liberated the guilty in- 
 mates. The civic authorities being powerless, the government at length 
 interposed ; the military were called into action ; many lives were in 
 consequence sacrificed ; but the riots were effectually quelled, and fur- 
 ther mischief was prevented. The whole affair was alike disgraceful 
 to the people, and to the magistracy. One party were cruel and law- 
 less, the other were cowards. 
 
 At this time Mr. John Wesley was pursuing his itinerant ministra- 
 tions in the north of England ; but Charles was in London, an agonized 
 spectator of the miseries of anarchy. He wrote to his brother on the 
 8th of June, giving him an account of what was passing around him. 
 He says, " The floods have risen, and lift up their voice. Last night 
 the mob were parading, and putting us in bodily fear. My wife and 
 sister Thackwray kept a watch-night. Some of the Tabernacle have 
 asked if Charles Wesley was not with the petitioners ; and were sur- 
 prised to hear I was not. ' What then,' said they, ' does he not stand 
 up for the Protestant cause V In the papers you read a very small part 
 of the mischief done. It is nothing, they say, to what they intend to 
 do. But they have made a good beginning ! Brother Thackwray was 
 an eye-witness. He saw them drag the bishop of Lincoln out of his 
 coach, and force him to kneel down. They treated him unmercifully ; 
 began to pull the house down, to which he fled for shelter ; were scarcely 
 persuaded by the owner (whose wife was almost frightened to death)
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 677 
 
 to let him escape at eleven at night. Another bishop wisely cried out, 
 ' Huzza ! No Popery !' and was dismissed with shoutings. Lord Mans- 
 field would have reasoned with them ; but they would not hear him, and 
 handled him almost as roughly as the bishop of Lincoln. They arrested 
 several of the members, particularly Sir George Saville, broke his 
 wheels in pieces, and forced him to sit in his carriage on the ground. 
 He durst not stir out of it. They pulled off the archbishop's wig. 
 
 " Imagine the terror of the poor Papists. I prayed with the preachers 
 at the chapel, and charged them to keep the peace. I preached peace 
 and charity, the one true religion, and prayed earnestly for the tremb- 
 ling, persecuted Catholics. Never have I found such love for them as 
 on this occasion ; and I believe most of the society are like-minded. 
 General Monkton computed the mob at ninety thousand ; yet said he 
 would engage to conquer them all with five hundred soldiers. To- 
 morrow they promise to demolish the nunneries at Hammersmith. It 
 will be a day of business at the House of Parliament, and in the city. 
 
 " Monday noon. I breakfasted with John Pawson, John Atlay, and 
 Dr. Coke, leaving a bonfire behind me of the spoils of chapels. John 
 Atlay I found in a dreadful taking. He had been kept up all night by 
 the bonfire in Moorfields. The mob was busied with destroying the 
 remains of the chapel there, and three large houses adjoining, (one the 
 priest's,) of which nothing has escaped the flames. The instruments 
 which the associators make use of first are boys with hatchfts, who 
 coolly cut every thing to pieces, then bring it out, and cast it into the 
 fire. An engine stands by in readiness to prevent mischief. John Atlay 
 trembled for our chapel. The same incendiaries, if employed and paid, 
 would as freely burn us and ours." 
 
 On the same day Mr. Charles Wesley addressed the following letter 
 to his daughter, who was at the house of a friend in the country : — 
 " Dear Sally, — I have but a minute for writing. We are all well : your 
 mother not yet frightened out of her wits. Last night she sheltered 
 her sons at your aunt's, and sat up to guard them. She wants to fly to 
 Wales. I offer to send her and Sam to Bristol. Charles will stay 
 with me, and trust Providence. Matters here are in a dreadful situa- 
 tion. You are happily out of their reach. Particulars you may read 
 in the papers." 
 
 On the 14th of the month he again addressed her: — "My Dear 
 Sally, — The roaring of the waves is ceased ; but the agitation con- 
 tinues. If God had not rebuked the madness of the people at the very 
 crisis, London had now been no more ! No wonder your mother was 
 terrified, when I was proscribed as a Popish priest : for I never signed 
 the petition, or ranked among the patriots. The den of lions is as safe 
 a place as any. London, Wales, Wick, is alike ; for the Lord of hosts
 
 678 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 is with us ; the God of Jacob is our refuge. I leave you safe in the 
 everlasting arms. Were I like Nehemiah, I would say, ' Should such 
 a man as I flee V Our faith will be put to the trial on Monday. But 
 God has given a token to them that fear him." 
 
 There was considerable mystery connected with these destructive 
 movements. It seemed incredible that such immense assemblages of 
 people could be collected together daily, and carry on so methodically, 
 and with such determined perseverance, their schemes of hostility to 
 the Romanists and their friends, unless there were one or more design- 
 ing minds secretly directing the whole. England was then at war with 
 France and America ; and some people suspected that the gold of these 
 countries was employed on the occasion. Others thought that the more 
 violent of the Whig politicians were concerned in the affair, for the pur- 
 pose of rendering the government increasingly odious, and of bringing 
 about a change of administration. But of the correctness of these sur- 
 mises no proof was ever adduced. Lord George Gordon, who appeared 
 to be the most directly concerned, as the instigator of the mischief, was 
 apprehended and tried ; but there being no evidence that he was impli- 
 cated in any of the outrages that were perpetrated, he was acquitted. 
 When once the public peace was broken, and it was seen that the civil 
 authorities were intimidated, so that men might engage in riot and plun- 
 der with impunity, idle and dissolute people in general would be ready 
 to join the fray. Mobs in all ages resemble that at Ephesus : " Some 
 cried one thing, and some another : for the assembly was confused ; 
 and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together." Not- 
 withstanding Mr. John Wesley's Protestant letter, the destruction of his 
 chapel in the City -road, then newly built, was apprehended ; and most 
 probably it would have shared the fate of what were called mass-houses, 
 had it not been for the interference of the military, by which the evil 
 was arrested in its progress. 
 
 In the midst of these exciting scenes, it was not likely that Mr. 
 Charles Wesley's muse would be silent. He beheld with indignation 
 the malice of the rioters, and the womanish fears of the London magis- 
 trates, and lashed them both with merciless severity in a poem which 
 he published under the title of, " The Protestant Association," in four 
 cantos ; to which he added two satirical addresses to the city, rebuking 
 them for their disloyalty to the king, when he, in pity for their help- 
 lessness, had saved them from ruin, by his timely and spirited interpo- 
 sition. 
 
 These troubles in the state were connected with uneasiness in the 
 church. The difference of opinion and feeling which had long sub- 
 sisted between Mr. John and Charles Wesley, with respect to the esta- 
 blished Church, was at this period undiminished. John witnessed the 
 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 679 
 
 spread of religion with the liveliest gratitude to God, and was full of 
 hope and confidence in regard of the future. Charles thought there was 
 in many of the preachers and societies a strong bias in favour of separa- 
 tion, from which he apprehended a calamity no less terrible than the break- 
 ing up of the Methodists into innumerable Dissenting sects. The only 
 means of preventing this evil, which he thought would entirely destroy 
 the good that had been done, he deemed a strict union with the Church 
 of England. John beheld almost everywhere the societies enlarged, 
 by the accession of persons who were really turned from sin to holi- 
 ness ; and this he felt to be a benefit of the most substantial kind. He 
 did not as yet see how the preachers and people could be kept toge- 
 ther when he was no more ; but he was assured that the work was the 
 Lord's, and in his hands it might be safely left. Permanent evil, he 
 knew, could not result from the spread of vital religion, the love of God 
 and man, springing from a lively faith in the world's Redeemer. Unless 
 the preachers declared themselves to be decided Churchmen, Charles 
 eyed them with alarm. If they were zealous for God, and laboured 
 with all their might for the conversion of sinners, John loved them, and 
 encouraged them in their work. He resolved to do what he could to 
 prevent them and the societies from leaving the Church ; but their con- 
 tinuance in it was with him a subordinate object. His great concern 
 was, to save souls from sin and hell. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley attended the conference of 1780, which was 
 held in Bristol. He saw, or thought he saw, in that annual assembly 
 the working of principles unfavourable to that strict Churchmanship 
 which he believed to be essential to the continuance of that revival of 
 religion which had long been in progress ; and hence he poured forth 
 the feelings of his mind in the following stanzas. They are said to 
 have been "written after the conference in August, 1780; the last 
 which the writer was present at." It will be observed that he attended 
 about as many " last conferences" as the good Richard Baxter uttered 
 and published " last words." 
 
 Why should I longer, Lord, contend, 
 My last important moments spend 
 
 In buffeting the air 1 
 In warning those who will not see, 
 But rest in blind security, 
 
 And rush into the snare 1 
 
 Prophet of ills why should I live, 
 Or by my sad forebodings grieve 
 
 Whom I can serve no more ? 
 I only can their loss bewail, 
 Till life's exhausted sorrows fail. 
 
 And the last pang is o'er.
 
 680 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Here then I quietly resign 
 
 Into those gracious hands divine, 
 
 Whom I received from thee, 
 My brethren and companions dear, 
 And finish with a parting tear 
 
 My useless ministry. 
 
 Detach'd from every creature now, 
 I humbly at thy footstool bow, 
 
 Accepting my release ; 
 If thou the promised grace bestow, 
 Salvation to thy servant show, 
 
 And bid me die in peace. 
 
 To this tone of sadness and despondency the cheerful buoyancy of 
 Mr. John Wesley formed a perfect and beautiful contrast. Speaking 
 in his Journal of this conference, he says, " We have always been 
 hitherto straitened for time. It was now resolved for the future we 
 will allow nine or ten days for each conference ; that every thing 
 relative to the carrying on of the work of God may be maturely con- 
 sidered." On the ninth day after their assembling, he says, " We con- 
 cluded the conference in much peace and love." Charles retired from 
 the conference to weep, and John to rejoice. One was full of constitu- 
 tional fear, the other of gracious hope. Charles's gloom was doubtless 
 increased by disease. His sufferings at this time were great, and his 
 symptoms alarming. For a considerable time he was under a neces- 
 sity of living upon dry toast. While he was in a very uncertain state 
 of health, suspended between life and death, he said, in a letter to his 
 eldest son, " I have heard my father say, God had shown him he should 
 have all his nineteen children about him in heaven. I have the same 
 blessed hope for my eight. His blessing be upon you all !" 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Of the eight children whom Mrs. Wesley presented to her husband, 
 and whom he declared his earnest expectation of meeting in heaven, 
 five died in their infancy. The other three survived both their parents. 
 The bereaved mother sacredly preserved a lock of hair belonging to 
 each of those who were taken to an early rest. These touching relics, 
 all neatly folded up, and labelled by herself, lie before the writer of this 
 narrative. 
 
 John, their first-born, concerning whom some notices have been 
 already given, died of the small-pox, Jan. 7th, 1753-4, aged one year, 
 four months, and seventeen days.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 681 
 
 Martha Maria died on Friday, July 25th, 1755, aged one month and 
 two days. 
 
 Susanna, so called after her honoured grandmother, the wife of the 
 rector of Epworth, died on Easter-Sunday, April 11th, 1761, aged 
 eleven months. 
 
 Selina, who doubtless received her name from respect for the 
 countess of Huntingdon, died Oct. 11th, 1764, aged five weeks. 
 
 John James died on Tuesday, July 5th, 1768, aged seven months. 
 
 When this fifth death among her children occurred, Mrs. Wesley 
 was deeply distressed, and earnestly besought the Lord, if it were his 
 will, that she might be spared the pain of following another of them 
 to the grave. Her request was granted, and her sons Charles and 
 Samuel, with her daughter Sarah, who were then young, lived to a 
 good old age. 
 
 The sons are well known to have been eminently distinguished by 
 musical genius and talent, the early development of which excited 
 general surprise. Their father watched with deep interest the bent 
 and capabilities of their minds, and kept notes of their boyish history, 
 which he placed in the hands of the Honourable Daines Barrington, a 
 friend of the family ; who published the account in his quarto volume 
 of " Miscellanies," in the year 1781. The following notices are copied 
 from Mr. Charles Wesley's private papers, which contain several par- 
 ticulars that were never before published : — 
 
 " Charles was born at Bristol, Dec. 11th, 1757. He was two years 
 and three quarters old when I first observed his strong inclination to 
 music. He then surprised me by playing a tune on the harpsichord, 
 readily, and in just time. Soon after he played several, whatever his 
 mother sung, or whatever he heard in the streets. From his birth she 
 used to quiet and amuse him with the harpsichord ; but he would not 
 suffer her to play with one hand only, taking the other, and putting it 
 to the keys, before he could speak. When he played himself she used 
 to tie him up by his back-string to the chair, for fear of his falling. 
 Whatever tune it was, he always put a true base to it. From the 
 beginning he played without study or hesitation, and, as the masters 
 told me, perfectly well. Mr. Broadrip, organist at Bristol, heard him 
 in petticoats, and foretold he would one day make a great player. 
 Whenever he was called to play to a stranger, he would ask, in a word 
 of his own, ' Is he a musicker V and if answered, ' Yes,' he played 
 with the greatest readiness. He always played with spirit. There 
 was something in his manner above a child, which struck the hearers, 
 learned or unlearned. 
 
 " At four years old I carried him with me to London. Mr. Beard 
 was the first that confirmed Mr. Broadrip's judgment of him, and kindly
 
 682 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 offered his interest with Dr. Boyce, to get him admitted among the 
 king's boys. But I had then no thoughts of bringing him up a musician. 
 A gentleman carried him next to Mr. Stanley, who expressed much 
 pleasure and surprise at hearing him, and declared he had never met 
 one of his age with so strong a propensity to music. The gentleman 
 told us, he never before believed what Handel used to tell him of him- 
 self, and his own love of music, in his childhood. Mr. Madan pre- 
 sented my son to Mr. Worgan, who was extremely kind, and, as I then 
 thought, partial to him. He told us, he would prove an eminent mas- 
 ter, if he was not taken off by other studies. Mr. Worgan frequently 
 entertained him with the harpsichord. Charlfg was greatly taken with 
 his bold, full manner of playing, and seemed even then to catch a spark 
 of his fire. 
 
 " At our return to Bristol we left him to ramble on till he was near 
 six : then we gave him Mr. Rooke for a master : a man of no name, 
 but very good-natured, who let him run on ad libitum, while he sat by, 
 more to observe than to control him. Mr. Rogers, the oldest organist 
 in Bristol, was one of his first friends. He often set him on his knee, 
 and made him play to him, declaring he was more delighted in hearing 
 him than himself. I always saw the importance (if he was to be a 
 musician) of placing him under the best master that could be got, and 
 also one who was an admirer of Handel ; as my son preferred him to 
 all the world. But I saw no likelihood of my being able to procure 
 him the first master, as well as the most excellent music, and other 
 necessary means of acquiring so costly an art. 
 
 " I think it was at our next journey to London, that Lady Gertrude 
 Hotham heard him with much satisfaction, and made him a present of 
 all her music. Mrs. Rich had before given him Handel's songs, and 
 Mr. Beard, Purcell's, with Scarlatti's Lessons. Sir Charles Hotham 
 was particularly kind, promised him an organ, and that he should never 
 want any means or encouragement in his art. But he went abroad 
 soon after, and was thence translated to the heavenly country. With 
 him Charles lost all hope and prospect of a patron and benefactor. 
 Nevertheless he went on, with the assistance of nature only, and his 
 two favourite authors, Handel and Corelli, till he was ten years old. 
 Then Mr. Rogers told me, ' it was high time to put him in trammels ;' 
 and soon after, Mr. Granville, at Bath, an old friend of Handel, sent for 
 him. After hearing him play, he charged him to have nothing to do 
 with any great master, ' who will utterly spoil you,' he added, ' and 
 destroy any thing that is original in you. Study Handel's Lessons, till 
 perfect in them. The only man in London who can teach you them 
 is Kelway ; but he will not, neither for love nor money.' 
 
 " Soon after we went up to town. Charles, notwithstanding Mr.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 683 
 
 Granville's caution, had a strong curiosity to hear the principal masters 
 there. I wanted their judgment and advice for him. Through Mr. 
 Bromfield's recommendation, he first heard Mr. Keeble, (a great har- 
 monist and lover of Handel,) and his favourite pupil, Mr. Burton. 
 Then he played to them. Mr. Burton said, he had a very brilliant 
 finger : Mr. Keeble, that he ought to be encouraged by all lovers of 
 music ; yet he must not expect it, because he was not born in Italy. 
 He advised him to pursue his studies in Latin, &c, till fourteen, and 
 then apply himself in earnest to harmony. Mr. Arnold treated him with 
 great affection ; said he would soon surpass the professors ; and advised 
 him not to confine himself to any one author, or style, but to study and 
 adopt what was excellent in all. Dr. Arne's counsel was the same 
 with Mr. Keeble's : to stay till he was fourteen, and then give himself 
 up to the strictest master he could get. Vinto confessed that he wanted 
 
 nothing but an Italian master. G , urged by Mr. Madan, at last 
 
 acknowledged that ' the boy played well,' and was for sending him to 
 Bologna, or Paris, for education ! 
 
 " They all agreed in this, that he was marked by nature for a 
 musician, and ought to cultivate his talent. Yet still I mistrusted them, 
 as well as myself, till Mr. Bromfield carried us to Mr. Kelway. His 
 judgment was decisive, and expressed in more than words ; for he 
 invited Charles to come to him, whenever he was in London, and pro- 
 mised to give him all the assistance in his power. He began with 
 teaching him Handel's Lessons ; then his own sonatas, and Scarlatti, 
 and Geminiani. For near two years he instructed him gratis, and with 
 such commendations as are not fit for me to repeat. Mr. Worgan con- 
 tinued his kindness. He often played, and sung over to him, whole 
 oratorios. So did Mr. Battishil. Mr. Kelway played over the Mes- 
 siah, on purpose to teach him the time and manner of Handel. He 
 received great encouragement from Mr. Savage. Mr. Arnold was 
 another father to him. Mr. Worgan gave him many lessons in 
 thorough-base, and composition. Mr. Smith's curiosity drew him to 
 Mr. Kelway's, to hear his scholar, whom he bade go on, .and prosper, 
 under the best of masters. Dr. Boyce came several times to my 
 house to hear him ; gave him some of his own music ; asked, if the 
 king had heard him, and expressed much surprise when we told 
 him no. 
 
 " My brother enriched him with an inestimable present of Dr. Boyce's 
 three volumes of cathedral music. It now evidently appeared that his 
 particular bent was to church music. Other music he could take 
 pleasure in, (especially what was truly excellent in Italian,) and played 
 it without any trouble ; but his chief delight was in oratorios. These 
 he played over and over from the score, till he had them by heart, as
 
 684 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 well as the rest of Handel's music, and Corelli, and Scarlatti, and 
 Geminiani. 
 
 " These two years he has spent with his four classical authors, and in 
 composition. Mr. Kelway has made him a player ; but he knows the 
 difference between that and a musician ; and can never think himself 
 the latter till he is master of thorough-base. Several have offered to 
 teach it him ; but as I waited, and deferred his instruction in the prac- 
 tical part, till I could get the very best instructer for him, so I kept him 
 back from the theory. The only man to teach him that, and sacred 
 music, he believes to be Dr. Boyce." 
 
 Of Charles's aptitude for learning, some idea may be formed from 
 the remarks of Mr. Kelway, uttered from time to time, while he ob- 
 served the skill and proficiency of his pupil. The following are selected 
 from several others which occur in the father's notes. They were 
 taken when Charles was about twelve years of age. 
 
 " I never saw one carry his hand so well. It is quite a picture. It 
 is a gift from God. How would Handel have shaken his sides, if he 
 could have heard him !" " You will be an honour to me. Handel's 
 hands did not lie on the instrument better than yours do." " Were you 
 my own son, I could not love you better. Go on, and mind none of the 
 musicians, but Handel. You have a divine gift." • " One cannot hear 
 him play four bars without knowing him to be a genius." 
 
 " I will maintain, before all the world, that there is not a master in 
 London that can play this sonata as he does. The king would eat up 
 this boy. I must carry him some morning to St. James's." " His 
 very soul is harmony. Not one of my scholars could have learned that 
 in a year, which you have learned in ten lessons." " He treats me 
 with my own music. I wish Handel and Geminiani were now alive : 
 they would be in raptures at hearing him ! Never have I heard any 
 man play with such feeling !" 
 
 " The king has asked after him again. I told his majesty, he had 
 learned more in four months than any other would in four years. He 
 asked me, if he intended to make music his profession. I answered, 
 no ; and that he did not want any thing, &c." 
 
 " I loved music when young ; but not so well as he does. One would 
 think he had been the composer of this. He gives the colouring ; the 
 nice touches, the finishing strokes, are all his own. I love him better 
 and better. He has it from God. He is a heaven-born child. This 
 boy consoles me. He raises my spirits whenever I hear him. He 
 has more taste and feeling than all our band. What colouring ! What 
 lights and shades ! I could cry to hear him." • 
 
 " He is an old man at the instrument. He is not a boy. He is the 
 greatest genius in music I have ever met with." " They say I cannot
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 685 
 
 communicate my skill : but I dare maintain, there is not such another 
 player as this boy in England ; nor yet in France, or Spain, or Italy." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley adds, " I carried Mr. Russell, the painter, to 
 Mr. Kelway's. He told me afterward, that he knew the finest passages 
 by the change of Charles's colour. I have seen the tears run down Mr. 
 Kelway's cheeks while Charles was playing out of Handel's Lessons. 
 ' If I was without the door,' said he, ' and did not know he was dead, 
 I should aver it was Handel himself that played.' " 
 
 When Charles was about nineteen, the father wrote the following 
 particulars respecting him . — " As I am no judge of music myself, I 
 cannot answer for the justness of Mr. Kelway's sentiments concerning 
 the art and its professors. Much less do I subscribe to his high opin- 
 ion of his pupil. Mr. Kelway's sincerity I do not doubt. His judg- 
 ment also is unquestionable. Yet he might be under a secret bias. 
 He had lately published his sonatas. They were ill received, and 
 even decried, by the masters in general. Charles very highly esteemed 
 them, as next to Handel and Geminiani. This naturally prejudiced 
 Mr. Kelway in his favour, and accounts in some measure for his violent 
 encomiums. I do not yet perceive that Charles is hurt, either by Mr 
 Kelway's praises or prejudices. 
 
 " Charles has now been some years under Dr. Boyce's tuition, learn- 
 ing composition, and hopes to continue learning as long as the doctor 
 lives. At the same time he retains the most grateful veneration for his 
 old master, Mr. Kelway, and played to him, while he was able to hear 
 him, every week. He believes he has the two greatest masters in 
 Christendom. Dr. Boyce and he seem equally satisfied. I hope he 
 has caught a little of his master's temper, as well as his skill. A more 
 modest man than Dr. Boyce I have never known. I never heard him 
 speak a vain or ill-natured word, either to exalt himself, or to depreciate 
 another." 
 
 This was written in the year 1777 ; and early in 1779 Dr. Boyce 
 died. The eulogium which Mr. Charles Wesley here passes upon the 
 character of that very celebrated musician, he afterward repeated, and 
 even strengthened, in a fine ode on the doctor's death, which the poet's 
 son, the grateful pupil of the deceased, set to music. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's second surviving son was also trained to music 
 as a profession. If he did not excite so much attention in very early 
 life as a performer, when a mere boy he surpassed Charles in musical 
 composition. In this his precocity was wonderful. The following is 
 the father's own account of this surprising genius : — 
 
 " Samuel was born on St. Matthias's day, Feb. 24th, 1766, the same 
 day which gave birth to Handel, eighty-two years before. The seeds 
 of harmony did not spring up quite so early as in his brother ; for he
 
 686 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 was three years old before he aimed at a tune. His first were, ' God 
 save great George our King,' Fischer's Minuet, and such like, picked 
 up from the street organs. He did not put a true base to them till he 
 had learned his notes. While his brother was playing, he used to 
 stand by with his childish fiddle, scraping, and beating time. One 
 observing him, asked me, ' And what shall this boy do V I answered, 
 ' Mend his brother's pens.' 
 
 " Mr. Arnold was the first who, hearing him at the harpsichord, said, 
 ' I set down Sam for one of my family.' But we did not much regard 
 him, coming after his brother, or suspect that the block contained a 
 statue. The first thing that drew our attention was, the great delight 
 he took in hearing his brother play. Whenever Mr. Kelway came to 
 teach him, Sam constantly attended, and accompanied Charles on the 
 chair. Undaunted by Mr. Kelway's frown, he went on ; and even 
 when his back was to the harpsichord, he crossed his hands on the 
 chair, as the other did on the instrument, without ever missing a time. 
 " He was so passionately fond of Scarlatti, that if Charles ever began 
 playing him before Sam was called, he would cry and roar as if he had 
 been beaten. Mr. Madan, his godfather, finding him one day so bela- 
 bouring his chair, told him he should have a better instrument by and 
 by. I have since recollected Mr. Kelway's words, ' It is of the utmost 
 importance to a learner, to hear the best music ;' and, If ' any man 
 would learn to play well, let him hear Charles.' Sam had this double 
 advantage from his birth. As his brother employed the evenings in 
 Handel's oratorios, Sam was always at his elbow, listening, and join- 
 ing with his voice. Nay, he would sometimes presume to find fault 
 with his brother's play, when we thought he could know nothing of the 
 matter. 
 
 " He was between four and five years old when he got hold of the 
 oratorio of Samson, and by that alone taught himself to read. Soon 
 after he taught himself to write. From this time he sprung .up like a 
 mushroom ; and when turned of five could read perfectly well ; and 
 had all the airs, recitations, and choruses of Samson and the Messiah, 
 both words and notes, by heart. Whenever he heard his brother begin 
 to play, he would tell us whose music it was, whether Handel, 
 Corelli, Scarlatti, or any other, and what part of what lesson, sonata, 
 overture, &c. 
 
 " Before he could write he composed much music. His custom was 
 to lay the words of an oratorio before him, and sing them all over. 
 Thus he set (extempore for the most part) Ruth, Gideon, Manasses, or 
 the Death of Abel. We observed when he repeated the same words, 
 it was always to the same tunes. The airs of Ruth, in particular, he 
 made before he was six years old ; laid them up in his memory till he
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 687 
 
 was eight; and then Avrote them down. I have seen him open the 
 Prayer-book, and sing the Te Deum, or an anthem from some psalm, 
 to his own music, accompanying it with the harpsichord. This he 
 often did after he had learned his notes, which Mr. Williams, a young 
 organist of Bristol, taught him between six and seven. How or when 
 he learned counterpoint I can hardly tell : but without being ever 
 taught it, he soon wrote in parts. 
 
 " He was full eight years old when Dr. Boyce came to see us, and 
 accosted me with, ' Sir, I hear you have got an English Mozart in your 
 house. Young Linley tells me wonderful things of him.' I called Sam 
 to answer for himself. He had by this time scrawled down his oratorio 
 of Ruth. The doctor looked over it very carefully, and seemed highly 
 pleased with the performance. Some of his words were, ' These airs 
 are some of the prettiest I have seen. This boy writes by nature as 
 true a base, as I by rule and study. There is no man in England has 
 two such sons as you.' He bade us let him run on ad libitum, without 
 any check of rules or masters. After this, whenever the doctor visited 
 us, Sam ran to him with his song, sonata, or anthem, and the doctor 
 examined them with astonishing patience and delight. 
 
 " As soon as Sam had quite finished his oratorio, he sent it as a pre- 
 sent to the doctor, who immediately honoured him with the following 
 note : — ' Dr. Boyce's compliments and thanks to his very ingenious 
 brother-composer, Mr. Samuel Wesley, and is very much pleased and 
 obliged by the possession of the oratorio of Ruth, which he shall pre- 
 serve with the utmost care, as the most curious product of his musical 
 library.' 4 
 
 " For the short time that Sam continued under Mr. Williams, it was 
 hard to say which was the master, and which the scholar. Sam chose 
 what music he would learn ; made his master learn the violoncello, to 
 accompany him ; and often broke out into extempore play, his master 
 wisely letting him do as he pleased. During this time he taught him- 
 self the violin. A soldier assisted him about six weeks, and, some time 
 after, Mr. Kingsbury gave him twenty lessons. His favourite instru- 
 ment was the organ. 
 
 " He spent a month at Bath, while we were in Wales ; served the 
 abbey on Sundays ; gave them several voluntaries ; and played the first 
 violin in several private concerts. He returned with us to London, 
 greatly improved in his playing. There I allowed him a month for 
 learning all Handel's overtures. He got and played them over to me 
 in three days. Handel's concertos he mastered with equal ease, and 
 some of his lessons, and Scarlatti's. Like Charles, he learned the 
 hardest music without any pains or difficulty. 
 
 " He borrowed his Ruth to transcribe for Mr. Madan. Parts of it he
 
 688 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 played at Lord Le Despencer's, who rewarded him with some of Han- 
 del's oratorios. Mr. Madan now began carrying him about to his mu- 
 sical friends. He played several times at Mr. Wilmot's, to the nobility, 
 and some eminent masters and judges of music. They gave him music 
 to play, and subjects to pursue, which he had never seen. Mr. Burton, 
 Mr. Bates, &c, expressed their approbation in the strongest terms. 
 His extempore fugues, they said, were just and regular ; but they could 
 not believe that he knew nothing of the rules of composition. 
 
 " Several companies he entertained for hours together with his own 
 music. As quick as his invention suggested, his hand executed it. 
 The learned were astonished. Sir John Hawkins cried out, ' Inspira- 
 tion ! inspiration !' Dr. C candidly acknowledged, ' He has got 
 
 that which we are searching after.' An old musical gentleman, hearing 
 him, could not refrain from tears. Dr. Burney was greatly pleased 
 with his extempore playing, and pursuing the subjects and fugues which 
 he gave him ; but insisted, like the rest, that he must have been taught 
 the rules. Mr. Stanley and Mr. Burney expressed the same surprise 
 and satisfaction. An organist gave him a sonata he had just written, 
 not easy, or very legible. Sam played it with the greatest readiness 
 and propriety, and better (as the composer owned to Mr. Madan) than 
 he could himself. 
 
 " Lord Barrington, Lord Aylsford, Lord Dudley, Sir Watkin Wynne, 
 and other lovers of Handel, were highly delighted with him, and en- 
 couraged him to hold fast his veneration for Handel, and the old music. 
 But old or new was all one to Sam, so it was but good. Whatever was 
 presenlfcd, he played at sight, and made variations on any tune : and as 
 often as he played it again made new variations. He imitated every 
 author's style, whether Handel, Bachschobert, or Scarlatti himself. One 
 asked him how he liked Mozart's music. He played it over, and said, 
 ' It is very well for one — of his years? 
 
 " He went and played to Mr. Kelway, whom I afterward asked what 
 he thought of him. He would not allow him to be comparable to 
 Charles ; yet commended him greatly, and told his mother, it was a 
 gift from God to both her sons ; and as for Sam, he never saw so free 
 and degagt a gentleman. Mr. Madan had often said the same, that 
 Sam was everywhere as much admired for his behaviour as for his 
 playing. 
 
 " Between eight and nine he was brought through the small-pox, by 
 Mr. Bromfield's assistance, whom he therefore promised to reward with 
 his next oratorio. 
 
 " If he loved any thing better than music, it was regularity. Nothing 
 could exceed his punctuality. No company, no persuasion could keep 
 him up beyond his time. He never could be prevailed upon to hear any
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 689 
 
 opera or concert by night. The moment the clock ga.ve warning for 
 eight, away ran Sam in the midst of his most favourite music. Once 
 he rose up after the first part of the Messiah, with, ' Come, mamma, let 
 us go home ; or I sha'nt be in bed by eight.' When some talked of 
 carrying him to the queen, and, to try him, asked if he was willing to 
 go : ' Yes, with all my heart,' he answered ; ' but I won't stay beyond 
 eight.' 
 
 " The praises bestowed so lavishly on him did not seem to affect, 
 much less to hurt, him ; and whenever he went into the company of Ms 
 betters, he would much rather have stayed at home. Yet when among 
 them, he was free and easy ; so that some remarked, he behaved as 
 one bred up in a court, yet without a courtier's servility. 
 
 " On our coining to town this last time, he sent to Dr. Boyce the last 
 anthem he had made. The doctor thought, from its correctness, that 
 Charles must have helped him in it. But Charles assured him, that he 
 never assisted him otherwise than by telling him, if he asked, whether 
 such or such a passage were good harmony : and the doctor was so 
 scrupulous, that when Charles showed him an improper note he would 
 not suffer it to be altered. 
 
 " Mr. Madan now carried him to more of the first masters. Mr. Abel 
 wrote him a subject, and declared, ' Not three masters in town could 
 have answered it so well.' 
 
 " Mr. Cramer took a great liking to him ; offered to teach him the 
 violin ; and played some trios with his brother and him. He sent a 
 man to take measure of him for a violin, and is confident a few lessons 
 would set him up for a violinist. 
 
 " Sam often played the second violin, and sometimes the first, with 
 Mr. Tradway, who declared, ' Giardini himself could not play with 
 greater exactness.' 
 
 " Mr. Madan brought Dr. Nares to my house, who could not believe 
 that a boy should write an oratorio, play at sight, and pursue any given 
 subject. He brought two of the king's boys, who sung over several 
 songs and choruses in Ruth. Then he produced two bars of a fugue. 
 Sam worked this very readily and well, adding a movement of his own, 
 and then a voluntary on the organ, which quite removed the doctors 
 incredulity. 
 
 " At the rehearsal at St. Paul's, Dr. Boyce met his brother Sam ; and, 
 showing him to Dr. Howard, told him, ' This boy will soon surpass you 
 all.' Shortly after, he came to see us ; took up a jubilate which Sam 
 had lately written ; and commended it as one of Charles's. When we 
 told him whose it was, he declared, he could find no fault in it : adding, 
 there was not another boy upon earth who could have composed it ; 
 and concluding with, ' I never yet met with that person who owes so 
 
 44
 
 690 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 much to nature c as Sam. He comes among us, dropped down from 
 heaven !' 
 
 " Mr. Smith, who assisted Handel in managing the oratorios, gave 
 Sam two bars of a fugue, composed for the organ, which Sam, though 
 at the harpsichord, treated as a movement for the organ ; and when he 
 had worked it in a masterly manner for some time, fell into a second 
 movement, which so naturally arose out of the former, that Mr. Smith 
 recognized his own notes, adding at the same time, that composers were 
 not, from this instance, to be hastily charged with plagiarism. 
 
 " Some months before this, Mr. Baumgarden gave him the subject 
 of a fugue, which Sam pursued a considerable time on the organ. Mr. 
 Baumgarden declared it was almost note for note the same with a fugue 
 which he had written, and never showed to any one. He inferred from 
 hence, that his train of ideas and Sam's were very similar. He has 
 since declared that he verily believed there was not in Europe such an 
 extempore player as Sam." 
 
 In addition to this narrative, which was written by Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley, and may by some persons be suspected of a father's partiality, the 
 following notices concerning the juvenile musician are selected from 
 the account published by the Hon. Daines Barrington. They fully 
 confirm the statements of the father. 
 
 " I first had an opportunity of being witness of Master Samuel Wes- 
 ley's great musical talents at the latter end of 1775, when he was nearly 
 ten years old. To speak of him first as a performer on the harpsichord, 
 he was then able to execute the most difficult lessons for the instrument 
 at sight ; for his fingers never wanted the guidance of the eye in the 
 most rapid and desultory passages. But he not only did ample justice 
 to the composition in neatness and precision, but entered into its true 
 taste, which may be easily believed by the numbers who have heard 
 him play extemporary lessons in the style of the eminent masters. 
 
 " He not only executed crabbed compositions thus at sight, but was 
 equally ready to transpose into any keys, even a fourth ; and if it was 
 a sonata for two trebles and a base, the part of the first treble being set 
 before him, he would immediately add an extemporary base and second 
 treble to it. Having happened to mention this readiness in the boy to 
 Bremner, (the printer of music in the Strand,) he told me that he had 
 some lessons which were supposed to have been composed for Queen 
 Elizabeth, but which none of the harpsichord masters could execute, 
 and would consequently gravel the young performer. I, however, de- 
 sired that he would let me carry one of these compositions to him, by 
 way of trial, which he accordingly did, when the boy immediately placed 
 it upon his desk, and was sitting down to play it ; but I stopped him by 
 mentioning the difficulties he would soon encounter, and that therefore 
 
 44*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 691 
 
 he must cast his eye over the music before he made the attempt. 
 Having done this very rapidly, (for he is a devourer of a score, and 
 conceives at once the effect of the different parts,) he said that Brem- 
 ner was in the right ; for that there were two or three passages which 
 he could not play at sight, as they were so queer and awkward, but 
 that he had no notion of not trying ; and though he boggled at those 
 parts of the lesson, he executed them well at the second practice. 
 
 " I then asked him how he approved of the composition ; to which 
 he answered, ' Not at all,' though he might differ from a queen ; and 
 that attention had not been paid to some of the established rules. He 
 then pointed out the particular passages to which he objected ; and I 
 stated them to Bremner, who allowed that the boy was right ; but that 
 some of the great composers had occasionally taken the same liberties. 
 The next time I saw Master Wesley, I mentioned Bremner's defence 
 of what he had blamed ; on which he immediately answered, that when 
 such excellent rules were broken, the composer should take care that 
 these licenses produced a good effect : whereas these passages had a 
 very bad one. I need not dwell on the great penetration, acuteness, 
 and judgment of this answer. Lord Mornington, indeed, who has so 
 deep a knowledge of music, has frequently told me, that he always 
 wished to consult Master Wesley upon any difficulty in composition ; as 
 he knew no one who gave so immediate and satisfactory information. 
 
 " Though he was always willing to play the compositions of others, 
 yet for the most part he amused himself with extemporary effusions of 
 his own most extraordinary musical inspiration, which unfortunately 
 were forgotten in a few minutes : whereas his memory was most tena- 
 cious of what had been published by others. 
 
 " His invention in varying passages was inexhaustible. I have my- 
 self heard him give more than fifty variations on a known pleasing 
 melody, all of which were not only different from each other, but 
 showed excellent taste and judgment. This infinite variety probably 
 arose from his having played so much extempore, in which he gave 
 full scope to every flight of his imagination, and produced passages 
 which I never heard from any other performer upon the harpsichord. 
 
 " He was desired to compose a march for one of the regiments of 
 Guards ; which he did to the approbation of all who ever heard it ; and 
 a distinguished officer of the royal navy declared that it was a move- 
 ment which would probably inspire steady and serene courage when 
 the enemy was approaching. As I thought the boy would like to hear 
 this march performed, I carried him to the parade at the proper time, 
 when it had the honour of beginning the military concert. The piece 
 being finished, I asked him whether it was executed to his satisfaction : 
 to which he replied, ' By no means ;' and I then immediately intra-
 
 692 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 duced him to the band, which consisted of very tall and stout musi- 
 cians, that he might set them right. On this Sam immediately told 
 them, that they had not done justice to his composition. To which 
 they answered the urchin, with both astonishment and contempt, ' Your 
 composition !' Sam, however, replied, with great serenity, ' Yes, my 
 composition /' which I confirmed. They then stared, and severally 
 made their excuses, by protesting that they had copied accurately from 
 the manuscript which had been put into their hands. This he most 
 readily allowed to the hautboys and bassoons, but said the French horns 
 were in fault ; who, making the same defence, he insisted upon the 
 original score being produced, and, showing them their mistake, or- 
 dered the march to be played again, which they submitted to with as 
 much deference as they would have shown to Handel." 
 
 With these facts before him, it is not surprising that Mr. Charles 
 Wesley should resolve to devote his sons to music as a profession. 
 Their propensity to the science was strong ; their talent and genius 
 were unquestionable ; so that both in composition and practice they 
 appeared to the greatest advantage. While they were mere children, 
 the most competent judges spoke of them in language of admiration, 
 and in some cases even wept for joy, on witnessing their extraordinary 
 powers. And yet, in forming his determination, we may be allowed to 
 doubt whether the father really took that comprehensive view of the 
 subject which its importance demanded. Noble as is the science, and 
 capable of being applied to the most beneficial purposes, it rarely se- 
 cures the requisite remuneration for the time and mental ability expended 
 upon it. As a handmaid to devotion, when it is suitably used, it cannot 
 be too highly commended ; but in Protestant countries, the science, 
 especially in its recondite branches, is more frequently employed as a 
 means of mere amusement, than as a help in divine worship. Men of 
 genius, therefore, who practise music as a means of subsistence, must 
 often expect to pine in want, unless they will apply their powers to the 
 gratification of the worldly and irreligious, or stoop to the drudgery of 
 private tuition. With regard to his younger son, Mr. Charles Wesley 
 at length found that the profession to which he was destined led to 
 results of a painful nature. But the discovery was not fully made till 
 it was too late to retrace the steps which had been taken. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's sons, though one in their love of music, and 
 equally successful in the cultivation of it, were very different in their 
 personal character. Charles enjoyed the advantages of a classical 
 education, being regularly trained in a school at Bristol ; but he appears 
 to have been incapable of excelling in any thing except music, in refer- 
 ence to which he was all but inspired. He was affable, kind, good- 
 humoured, and easy ; buried in music ; vain of his abilities in the
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 693 
 
 science, to which his knowledge was in a great measure limited. His 
 conversation consisted chiefly of anecdotes which he had collected in 
 the course of his professional engagements. In his manners he had 
 all the ease and elegance of a courtier ; but it is doubtful whether, 
 through the entire course of his life, he was able to dress himself with- 
 out assistance. If left to himself, he was almost sure to appear with 
 his wig on one side, his waistcoat buttoned awry, or the knot of his 
 cravat opposite one of his shoulders. His morals were correct, and 
 his respect for his parents most tender and reverent ; but in early life 
 his mind was not deeply impressed with the solemn truths of religion. 
 
 Samuel, on the other hand, was possessed of great intellectual power 
 and acuteness. His mind was truly Wesleyan : quick, shrewd, and 
 penetrating. He was mostly educated by his father, especially in 
 Latin. His knowledge was extensive ; his conversation elegant, agree- 
 able, instructive, and varied ; and he was capable of excelling in any 
 science or profession to which he might apply himself. Yet his natural 
 disposition was not so harmless and kindly as that of Charles ; nor did 
 he cherish that deep filial affection by which his brother was always 
 distinguished. The father's principal concern respecting Charles was, 
 that he did not give his heart to God. Samuel, even in his youth, 
 showed a waywardness of temper, that cost his father many a pang of 
 sorrow, which he expressed in pious and energetic verse. 
 
 When these young gentlemen had acquired a superior proficiency 
 in music, and celebrity in various quarters, they attempted to turn their 
 attainments to some practical account, by beginning a series of select 
 concerts, which they continued for several years in a large room, fitted 
 up for that purpose in the house of their father, in Chesterfield-street, 
 St. Mary-le-bone. The first was held in the year 1779. The price 
 of a ticket for each course was three guineas. The regular subscribers 
 varied in number from thirty to upward of fifty ; but several persons 
 attended them occasionally, who did not subscribe to an entire course, 
 so that the room, which held about eighty persons, was usually crowded. 
 Considerable sums of money were in this way obtained ; but the ex- 
 pense of providing performers, refreshments, attendants, &c, was a 
 heavy tax upon the receipts, so that the profits were but small. Among 
 the regular and more distinguished subscribers to these concerts were 
 the bishop of London, Lord Dartmouth, Lord Barrington, Lord and 
 Lady Le Despencer, the Honourable Daines Barrington, the Danish 
 and Saxon ambassadors, Dr. Shepherd, Mr. Madan, and several others, 
 both clerical and lay. 
 
 The earl of Mornington was not only a constant attendant upon these 
 concerts, but also a frequent performer upon the violin. For some 
 years he breakfasted weekly with the family of Mr. Charles Wesley,
 
 694 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 and spent much time with the two sons, practising upon different in- 
 struments, and conversing on subjects connected with their favourite 
 study. He used to carry his violin under his coat, as he passed along 
 the street, and often remarked to his friends the Wesleys, that he 
 should never be ashamed to be mistaken for a professional teacher of 
 music. This nobleman of elegant taste and polished manners, whose 
 skill in musical science rivalled that of his friends the young Wesleys, 
 took little interest in politics, and still less in military exploits. 
 
 There was another personage of distinction who attended these con- 
 certs, and is entitled to especial notice : the venerable General Ogle- 
 thorpe, with whom the colony of Georgia had its origin, and under 
 whose patronage John and Charles Wesley had gone to that settlement 
 forty-five years before. He was now considerably more than eighty 
 years old, but retained his faculties in surprising freshness and vigour. 
 He was at this time a friend and companion of Dr. Johnson ; and pro- 
 bably attended the concerts from a feeling of regard for the father of 
 the youthful musicians, who had been his secretary in a distant land, 
 and who had not always been treated by him with that generous con- 
 fidence to which he was entitled by his fidelity. It is said that the 
 aged general, about this time, meeting with Mr. John Wesley, kissed 
 his hand, and showed him every mark of profound respect. He could 
 not be less impressed in favour of Charles, who had stood in a nearer 
 relation to him, and whose pious integrity he had invariably witnessed. 
 
 It is at once instructive and gratifying to find, that while the musical 
 genius of his sons drew many strangers to his house, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley felt his responsibility to God for the people who were so unex- 
 pectedly brought within the range of his influence. He was not merely 
 the gratified father of two youthful musicians, who were universally 
 admired, but also the faithful minister of Christ, who was intrusted 
 with a message of truth and mercy, which he was to deliver " in sea- 
 son, and out of season." Two examples of his faithfulness may be 
 properly mentioned in this place. In the latter end of the year 1776, 
 Mr. Kelway, who was far advanced in life, had a dangerous illness ; 
 and when he was partially recovered, Mr. Charles Wesley addressed to 
 him the following affectionate letter : — 
 
 " Nov. 23d. Dear Sir, — The joy I felt at seeing you on Monday 
 somewhat resembled the joy we shall feel when we meet again without 
 our bodies. Most heartily do I thank God that he has given you a 
 longer continuance among us, and I trust a resolution to improve your 
 few last precious moments. We must confess, at our time of life, that 
 one thing is needful, even to get ready for our unchangeable, eternal 
 state. What is that readiness, or meetness ? You are convinced of 
 my sincere love for your soul ; and therefore allow me the liberty of a
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 695 
 
 friend. As such I write, not to teach you what you do not know ; but 
 to stir up your mind by way of remembrance, and exhort both you and 
 myself: 
 
 ' Of little life the best to make, 
 And manage wisely the last stake.' 
 
 " When God came down from heaven, to show us the way thither, 
 you remember his first words : ' The kingdom of God is at hand : re- 
 pent ye, and believe the gospel.' He himself declares, ' The kingdom 
 of God is within you ;' even ' righteousness, and peace, and joy in the 
 Holy Ghost ;' and assures us, every one who seeks, finds it ; every one 
 that asks, receives it. Him hath God exalted to give both repentance 
 and remission of sins. Faith also is the gift of God, through Jesus 
 Christ, its author and finisher. The true repentance is better felt than 
 described. It surely implies a troubled and wounded spirit, a broken 
 and contrite heart. It is what the publican felt, when he could only 
 cry, ' God be merciful to me, a sinner ;' what Peter felt when Jesus 
 turned and looked on him ; and what the trembling jailer felt when he 
 asked, ' What must I do to be saved V By this brokenness of heart 
 our Saviour prepares us for divine faith, and present pardon sealed upon 
 the heart in peace which passes all understanding ; in joy unspeak- 
 able, and full of glory ; and in love which casts out the love of sin, es- 
 pecially our bosom sin, our ruling passion, whether the love of pleasure, 
 of praise, or of money. 
 
 " Now, my dear sir, this meetness for heaven is what I must 
 earnestly wish you and myself, even repentance, faith, and love. And 
 all things are now ready for you. One look of Jesus Christ can break 
 your heart this moment, and bind it up by faith and pardoning love. 
 One day is with him as a thousand years : and he is still the Man who 
 receiveth sinners, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 
 
 " ' I will pardon those whom I reserve,' is his promise ; and for this 
 gracious end he has reserved you, and has held your soul in life for 
 above seventy years. For this end he has delivered you in innumer- 
 able evils ; blessed you with innumerable blessings ; and for this end, 
 I humbly hope, his providence brought you acquainted with, dear sir, 
 " The faithful servant and friend of your soul." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley did not confine his regards merely to profes- 
 sional men, and such as might consider themselves his equals. The 
 earl of Mornington shared in his kind and Christian concern. He 
 addressed to that nobleman a letter of spiritual advice, to which he re- 
 ceived the following answer. Every document that casts light upon 
 the history of the Wellesley family must be interesting to Englishmen. 
 This letter shows that the father of the duke of Wellington was a sin- 
 cere believer in the gospel, and had a deep sense of the fear of God.
 
 696 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 While h§ admired the musical genius of the two younger Wesleys, he 
 set a high value upon the friendship of their devout father, which he re- 
 garded as an advantage conferred upon him by divine Providence. The 
 letter is endorsed by Mr. Charles Wesley, " Serious Lord Mornington." 
 
 " Duke-street, Portland-square, Sept. 9th, 1778. I should have much 
 sooner acknowledged the receipt of my dear and worthy friend's kind 
 letter, had I not been much engaged in business, occasioned by the 
 perplexed state of affairs in Ireland. I entirely agree with you, that 
 there was something very singular and uncommon in the manner by 
 which we were made acquainted with each other ; and the more I con- 
 sider it, the more I am persuaded that there was the interposition of a 
 superior power to that of man in it. I can with truth say that I esteem 
 the commencement of your acquaintance as one of the happiest mo- 
 ments of my life ; and hope, with the blessing of God, to merit in some 
 degree the too partial opinion I am afraid you have conceived of me. 
 
 " Indeed you do me but justice in believing me to be a servant of 
 God, though a most unworthy one ; and if I can plead the smallest 
 degree of merit, it is that I have a true sense of my own unworthiness. 
 Blessed with a most upright and religious parent in my father, (for my 
 mother died when I was four years of age,) I was early instructed 
 in my duty to God ; and as I never associated with the idle, but have 
 always lived a domestic life, I have escaped some snares that might 
 otherwise have fallen in my way. My faith in Christ, his own words 
 and works, as delivered in the holy Gospels, has from my earliest years 
 been so strong, that I never would enter into the reading of controver- 
 sial books. I did not want to be converted to what I most firmly believe. 
 All I pray for is, to be made more perfect in the true faith and know- 
 ledge of my Saviour, by whose merits alone I can hope for the pardon 
 of my sins. It is a very easy matter to be a good Christian ; as He 
 says himself, and assigns the reason : for his yoke is easy, and his 
 burden is light. I have in truth, my revered friend, a most lively faith, 
 and so strong an assurance that it is my own fault if I am not eternally 
 happy, that it is impossible for me to find words to express myself. 
 
 " I am one of few words. I never talk upon religion but in my own 
 family ; and here I can say with Joshua, that I and my house will 
 serve the Lord. For one in the rank of life to which I am called by 
 Providence, I have always been remarkably retired, as I always wished 
 to be as much master of myself and my actions as possible : therefore 
 I never was, or ever shall be, a good courtier. 
 
 ' ; After saying so much about myself, it is time to come to that part 
 of your letter where you mention your ideas as to my two young friends. 
 I think you are perfectly right in changing your design of having them 
 introduced to a certain musical gentleman, which I agree with you 
 
 ~
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 697 
 
 would not answer. Keep them up a little longer. Their merit will 
 make its own way upon so much the surer footing, as it is independent. 
 I hope you will live to see it ; and though you have been called out of 
 your retirement back into a world you wished to keep clear of, yet you 
 have the satisfaction of finding that the world is obliged to come to 
 you, and not you go to them. I hope I need not take any pains to 
 assure you how much I am interested in their success in life, and how 
 truly happy I shall be to render my young friends those services they 
 so justly merit. I look upon myself, in the contracted state I am in 
 here, as doing a kind of penance : but though it be very irksome at 
 present, yet it comes to the reward of a consciousness that I am doing 
 justice to my neighbour, and a firm persuasion that, with God's assist- 
 ance and blessing on my honest intentions, my latter days will be, like 
 Job's, better than my first. I pray God bless you, and send you all 
 happiness here and hereafter." 
 
 The earl of Mornington died in less than three years after writing 
 this letter. The phraseology is not in every instance such as persons 
 of enlightened and established piety would use, but the spirit of it is 
 admirable. The noble earl enjoyed his property in consequence of 
 Charles Wesley's refusal to accept it ; and there is reason to believe 
 that the Methodist clergyman, at this period of his life, was a means 
 of conferring upon his lordship a blessing of far richer value. A spirit 
 so meek and teachable as the letter indicates, was prepared to re- 
 ceive those lessons of evangelical instruction which no man was 
 better qualified to give than the reverend friend to whom the letter 
 was addressed. 
 
 Mr. John Wesley, who tenderly loved his brother's children, did not 
 entertain so favourable an opinion of their musical exhibitions as did 
 their more partial father. Writing to John, after the first concert was 
 finished, Charles says, " I am clear, without a doubt, that my sons' 
 concert is after the will and order of Providence. It has established 
 them as musicians, and in a safe and honourable way. The bishop 
 has since sent us word, that he has never heard any music he liked so 
 well, and promises Charles five scholars next winter. 
 
 " Here is a musical child from Norwich, whom Sam cherishes and 
 recommends. He has sent him many customers, so that his mother 
 gets ten pounds a day by them. He has played before their majesties. 
 We neither envy his gains nor his honours. We do not repent that 
 we did not make a show or advantage of our swans. They may still 
 make their fortunes, if I would venture them into the world : but I 
 never wish them rich. You also agree with me in this. Our good old 
 father neglected every opportunity of selling our souls to the devil." 
 
 Mr. John Wesley published this letter in the Arminian Magazine,
 
 698 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 but with a caveat against his brother's opinion, that the concerts were 
 in the " order of Providence." On that point Charles was " clear 
 without doubt." John declared himself to be " clear of another mind." 
 He probably thought that the professional advantages which his nephews 
 might reap from this display of their talents would be more than coun- 
 terbalanced by their exposure to the temptations of the gay world, 
 which they were not prepared, by deep personal piety, to meet and 
 resist. Their temporal interest was perhaps advanced ; but their spi- 
 ritual dangers were increased. 
 
 And yet it is a fact, that neither of the brothers, though their abilities 
 were unquestionable, could ever obtain the patronage which their quali- 
 fications authorized them to expect. Dr. Shepherd introduced Charles 
 to George III., with whom he became a great favourite. The king 
 was passionately fond of Handel's music ; and as scarcely any man 
 could play it on the organ as could this gifted performer, he received 
 many marks of the royal approbation. George IV., also, whom Charles 
 often declared to be an excellent judge of music, showed him more 
 than common respect. While he was prince of Wales, he made 
 Charles his private organist; and after his accession to the throne, 
 he treated him with undiminished kindness and esteem. But in his 
 attempts to obtain official and lucrative appointments Charles was sin- 
 gularly unsuccessful ; the name of Wesley, which he had the honour 
 to bear, operating to his disadvantage. He offered himself for the 
 situation of organist at St. James's chapel, at St. Paul's cathedral, at 
 £he Charter-house, at Gresham College, at St. George's church, in 
 Hanover-square, and at Westminster-abbey, when vacancies occurred, 
 and was rejected in every instance. When he preferred his request 
 at St. Paul's, he was rudely repelled by the reverend gentlemen in 
 whom the appointment was vested, with the abrupt and unseemly an- 
 swer, " We want no Wesleys here !" being apprehensive, it would 
 seem, that, under his " volant touch," the tones of the organ would 
 imbue the worshippers with the spirit of Methodism. Be this as it 
 may, these ecclesiastics certainly needed some one to teach them 
 Christian courtesy. The king heard of their incivility, and sent for 
 the unfortunate organist to Windsor, where he expressed regret at 
 what had occurred ; and added, " Never mind. The name of Wesley 
 is always welcome to me." 
 
 After the king had lost his sight, Mr. Charles Wesley was one day 
 with his majesty alone, when the venerable monarch said, " Mr. Wesley, 
 is there any body in the room but you and me ?" " No, your majesty," 
 was the reply. The king then said, " It is my judgment, Mr. Wesley, 
 that your uncle, and your father, and George Whitefield, and Lady 
 Huntingdon, have done more to promote true religion in the country
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 699 
 
 than all the dignified clergy put together, who are so apt to despise 
 their labours." 
 
 In one of his visits to Carlton-house, during the residence of the 
 prince regent there, one of the pages refused to admit him by the front 
 entrance, and ordered him to go round, and seek admission by a less 
 honourable way. He obeyed. The prince saw him approach, and 
 inquired why he came in that direction. Charles explained ; and the 
 prince, sending for the page, gave him such a rebuke as he was not 
 likely soon to forget; and commanded, that whenever Mr. Wesley 
 came, he should be treated with all possible respect. 
 
 While Mr. Charles Wesley, jun., enjoyed the patronage of the father, 
 he was not less esteemed by the daughter. He had the honour of teach- 
 ing music to the Princess Charlotte, from whom he received a silver 
 snuff-box, with a suitable inscription, upon which he set a high value. 
 
 He used to say, that when he was once dining with the late Bishop 
 Burgess, who always manifested a strong regard for the Wesley family, 
 a young clergyman at the table, who seemed desirous of displaying an 
 orthodox contempt for Methodism, addressing the learned prelate, said, 
 
 " My lord, when I was passing through , I saw a man preaching 
 
 to a crowd of people in the open air. I suppose he was one of John 
 Wesley's itinerants." " Did you stop to hear him ?" answered the 
 bishop. " O no, my lord," said the clergyman : " I did not suppose 
 he could say any thing that was worth hearing." The bishop ended 
 the conversation by significantly saying, " I should think you were 
 very much mistaken. It is very probable, that man preached a better 
 sermon than either you or I could have done. Do you know, sir, that 
 this gentleman," pointing to Charles, " is John Wesley's nephew ?" 
 
 When Charles was rising into life he was an object of deep solici- 
 tude both with his father and his uncle, who were anxious that he 
 should become a spiritual man. They saw and lamented the vanity 
 of his mind, and urged him to a decided surrender of himself to his 
 Saviour, that he might live for God and eternity. In one of his letters 
 the affectionate father says, " Be content with your station, and seek 
 not great things. Aspiring, living above themselves, in one word, am- 
 bition, is the ruin of the nation. It is natural to us, especially to 
 youth ; but what is religion for, if not to conquer our passions ? If 
 you, and your brother, and sister, would enter the kingdom of heaven, 
 you must leave ambition, vanity, pride, behind you, and be of the few, 
 not of the many." 
 
 His uncle also offered him the most valuable counsel in the follow- 
 ing letters: — "August 4th, 1781. Dear Charles, — It has been much 
 upon my mind to-day, that I am still indebted to you. There is a debt 
 of love, which I should have paid before now. But I must not delay
 
 700 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 it any longer. I have long observed you with a curious eye ; not as a 
 musician, but as an immortal spirit, that is come forth from God, the 
 Father of spirits, and is returning to him in a few moments. But have 
 you well considered this ? Methinks if you had, it would be ever 
 uppermost in your thoughts. For what trifles, in comparison of this, 
 are all the shining baubles of the world ! 
 
 ' Wise is the man that labours to secure 
 The mighty, the important stake ; 
 And by all methods strives to make 
 His passage safe, and his reception sure.' 
 
 " God has favoured you with many advantages. You have health 
 and strength, and a thousand outward blessings. And why should not 
 you have all the inward blessings which God has prepared for those 
 that love him? You are good-humoured, mild, and harmless. But 
 unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. But 
 ask, and you shall receive ; for it is nigh at hand ! I am, dear Charles, 
 
 " Your affectionate uncle." 
 
 " Sept. 8th, 1781. Dear Charles, — Your letter gave me a good deal 
 of satisfaction. You received my advice just as I hoped you would. 
 You are now as it were in the crisis of your fate : just launching into 
 life, and ready to fix your choice, whether you will have God or the 
 world for your happiness. Scripture and reason tell you now, what 
 experience will confirm, if it pleases God to prolong your life, that he 
 ' made your heart for himself ; and it cannot rest till it rests in him.' 
 You will be in danger of being diverted from this thought by the fashion 
 of the world. Th<3 example of those that are round about us is apt to 
 get within our guard. And indeed their spirit steals upon us in an 
 unaccountable manner, and inclines us to think as they think. Yet you 
 cannot avoid being very frequently among elegant men and women, 
 that are without God in the world. And as your business, rather than 
 your choice, calls you into the fire, I trust you will not be burned : see- 
 ing He whom you desire to serve is able to deliver you, even out of the 
 burning, fiery furnace. I am, dear Charles, 
 
 " Your very affectionate uncle." 
 
 When Charles was about twenty-five years of age he cherished an 
 attachment to a young girl, of good repute, but without the distinctions 
 of birth and fortune. His parents opposed the match, partly upon this 
 ground : but his uncle John, who decidedly preferred good sense, piety, 
 and virtue before money and an honourable ancestry, encouraged him 
 in the courtship, and gave him fifty pounds as a wedding-present. The 
 father, however, had other objections to the intended marriage, which 
 he expressed in the following valuable letter to his son. It affords a 
 striking illustration of the character of both.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 701 
 
 "Bristol, August 30th, 1782. Dear Charles, — If any man would 
 learn to pray, the proverb says, let him go to sea. I say, if any man 
 would learn to pray, let him think of marrying. For if he thinks aright, 
 he will expect the blessing and success from God alone, and ask it in 
 frequent and earnest prayer. Hitherto, my dear Charles, your thoughts 
 of marriage have not made you more serious, but more light, more un- 
 advisable, more distracted. This has slackened my desire to see you 
 settled before I leave you. You do not yet take the way to be happy 
 in a married state. You do not sufficiently take God into your council. 
 No one step or action in life has so much influence upon eternity as 
 marriage. It is a heaven or a hell, they say, in this world : much 
 more so in the next. Hear the angel in Watts's ode : — 
 
 ' Mark, said he, that happy pair, 
 Marriage helps religion there ; 
 
 Where kindred souls their God pursue, 
 They break with double vigour through 
 The dull, incumbent air.' " 
 
 By some means or other the courtship was broken off, and Charles 
 does not appear to have ever again seriously entertained the thought 
 of marriage. Nor indeed is it probable, considering the peculiar cha- 
 racter of his mind, that this disappointment caused him any deep or 
 lasting regret. His temper was gay and easy, and music was all the 
 world to him. It was more than his business and delight. It seemed 
 to be the very end of his being. With his organ his heart was never 
 sad. He could play well ; and he knew it. Hence the frequency of 
 his father's admonitions, calling him to humility and soberness of tem- 
 per. " You are right," says he, " in keeping up your interest with Dr. 
 
 W . You are kind in excusing his and your other doctor's vanity. 
 
 It would be intolerable for you to cast the first stone at either. Modesty, 
 you allow, becomes a mathematician, but not a musician. But you had 
 better be a Newton in music, and leave others to commend you. You 
 are too humble. Swift, you know, was too proud to be vain. 
 
 " Self-love is not in itself sinful. There is a right and just self-love, 
 which sets a man upon securing his only true, that is, his eternal, hap- 
 piness. This self-love, my dear Charles, is at present dormant in you : 
 but I hope it will wake before your eyes are closed. Do not defer 
 beginning, ' because you cannot be equal to me.' You may, if you 
 please. You certainly may follow me to paradise." 
 
 If Mr. Charles Wesley was deeply concerned on account of the elder 
 of his sons, because he was a stranger to the spirit of Christianity, 
 though moral and harmless, he had reason to be much more anxious for 
 Samuel, who was less tractable, and in whom the absence of true piety 
 was more apparent. Mr. Madan, who was an adept in music, was
 
 702 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Samuel's godfather ; and when the boy displayed his early powers as 
 a musician, this clergyman carried him from place to place, among his 
 friends, as a sort of prodigy. The child, though very young, was sen- 
 sible and observant. He therefore felt that he was degraded, and con- 
 ceived a prejudice against his father for suffering him to be thus exhibited 
 as a boyish wonder. This to him was an essential injury, and the 
 beginning of that downward course which he afterward bitterly lamented. 
 From this time he was indisposed to pay a just deference to his father's 
 judgment ; and he lost that tender filial affection which, had it been 
 cherished in all its power, would have operated as a restraint upon his 
 passions, and have kept him in the way of receiving spiritual good. 
 The weakening of this principle in the child of a pious parent is an evil 
 of the most serious magnitude. 
 
 When Samuel was about seven years of age he was thus addressed 
 by his pious and anxious father, who was then in London, and the son 
 in Bristol : — 
 
 " March 6th, 1773. Come now, my good friend Samuel, and let us 
 reason together. God made you for himself; that is, to be for ever 
 happy with him. Ought you not, therefore, to serve and love him ? 
 But you can do neither, unless he gives you the power. ' Ask,' he says 
 himself, ' and it shall be given you :' that is, pray him to make you love 
 him ; and pray for it every morning and night, in your own words, as 
 well as in those which have been taught you. You have been used to 
 say your prayers in the sight of others. Henceforth go into a corner 
 by yourself, where no eye but God's may see you. There pray to your 
 heavenly Father, who seeth in secret ; and be sure he hears every 
 word you speak, and sees every thing you do, at all times, and in all 
 places. 
 
 " You should now begin to live by reason and religion. There 
 should be sense, even in your play and diversions : therefore I have 
 furnished you with maps and books and harpsichord. Every day get 
 something by heart, whatever your mother recommends. Every day 
 read one or more chapters in the Bible. I suppose your mother will 
 take you now, in the place of your brother, to be her chaplain, to read 
 the psalms and lessons when your sister does not. Mr. Fry must carry 
 you on in your writing. I do not doubt your improvement both in that 
 and music. God will raise you up friends when I am in my grave, 
 where I shall be very soon : but your heavenly Father lives for ever, 
 and you may live for ever with him, and will, I hope, when you die. 
 
 " Foolish people are too apt to praise you. If they see any thing 
 good in you, they should praise God, not you, for it. As for music, it 
 is neither good nor bad in itself. You have a natural inclination to it : 
 but God gave you that; therefore God only should be thanked and
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 703 
 
 praised for it. Your brother has the same love of music, much more 
 than you ; yet he is not proud or vain of it. Neither, I trust, will you 
 be. You will send me a long letter of an answer, and always look 
 upon me both as Your loving father and your friend." 
 
 The kind instructions of this Christian parent were not received with 
 due filial deference ; and hence he had occasion to mourn over his son, 
 who, as he advanced in life, departed more and more from the good and 
 the right way. Among the friends of the family was the well-known 
 Mary Freeman Shepherd, a relation of Mr. Blackwell, the banker. She 
 possessed a masculine intellect, and superior literary attainments ; but 
 was a Roman Catholic, and withal eccentric and revengeful. She 
 gained considerable ascendency over the mind of Samuel, and led him 
 to an open avowal of his Popery ; for, unknown to his father, he had 
 joined the Church of Rome, and was not unfrequently seen figuring 
 away in the idolatrous services of the mass. She was strongly sus- 
 pected of being one principal cause of his apostacy ; but this she abso- 
 lutely denied, and declared that he was a disciple of the pope before 
 she had any acquaintance with him whatever ; and that a young French- 
 man, one of Samuel's companions, had induced him to renounce the 
 Protestant faith. The fact is, he was not pious, but was led by a blind 
 sentimentality ; and the blandishments of Papal worship presented the 
 finest scope for the exercise of his musical talents. 
 
 It was deemed requisite that his connection with the Church of Rome 
 should be disclosed to his unsuspecting father ; and a consultation was 
 held among his new friends as to the manner in which this should be 
 done. It was suggested that Samuel himself was the most suitable 
 person to inform his parent of the change which had taken place in his 
 views. But he declined the task, and declared that he could not bear 
 to witness the distress into which he knew the discovery would plunge 
 his susceptible and aged father, whose tenderest affection he had shared 
 from his infancy. It was then recommended that Father O'Leary, the 
 Popish priest, should be the bearer of the unwelcome intelligence. 
 This was strenuously opposed by Mrs. Shepherd, who observed that 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was a clergyman, a scholar, and a gentleman ; and 
 was therefore entitled to superior respect. Whereas Father O'Leary 
 had written against Mr. John Wesley in the spirit and manner of a buf- 
 foon ; and to send such a man, with such a message, would be nothing 
 less than an insult. A father's feelings were not to be wantonly tri- 
 fled with. 
 
 At last it was agreed to request the dutchess of Norfolk, as the highest 
 Roman Catholic peeress in the realm, to wait upon Mr. Charles Wesley, 
 at his house in Chesterfield-street, and inform him that his son had re- 
 nounced the Protestant faith, and become a member of the Church to
 
 704 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 which she herself belonged. There was a propriety in this arrange- 
 ment, because her own son had subjected her to a similar trial, by 
 renouncing the Church of Rome, and embracing the Protestant religion. 
 She assented to this proposal, and communicated to the venerable man, 
 trembling with age and infirmity, the intelligence which imbittered the 
 residue of his life. Being aware of her intended visit, he received her 
 in his robes, as a priest of the Church of England. She soon perceived 
 the deep distress of mind into which he was thrown by the disclosures 
 which she made to him respecting his unhappy son, and attempted to 
 soothe him by suggesting that the young convert might be acting under 
 the influence of divine grace, and be swayed by the love of God. The 
 father, who too well knew the character of his son, and the nature of 
 the errors which he had embraced, pacing his large drawing-room in 
 great agitation, exclaimed, " Say, ' the loaves and fishes,' madam ! say, 
 ' the loaves and fishes !' " 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley passed through various sorrows in the course 
 of his eventful life ; but nothing grieved him so much as his Samuel's 
 entrance into the idolatrous Church of Rome, against which he believed 
 the severest threatenings of Holy Scripture to be levelled. He regarded 
 that community as thoroughly corrupt, and therefore a declared object 
 of the divine vengeance. In his closet, when he thought of his son, 
 his feelings rose to agony, as his private papers most affectingly declare. 
 He wept and made supplication for his child, whom he now regarded 
 as lost to him and the rest of the family. The very sight of one who 
 was so dear to him, now a captive in mystic Babylon, caused his heart 
 to bleed afresh. He did not think that his son would permanently 
 remain a Romanist. The abominable superstitions, and still more abo- 
 minable immoralities, of the corrupt community into which Samuel had 
 entered, the father thought, would ere long appear in all their atrocity ; 
 and he was afraid lest the young man, having forsaken his former guides, 
 woiild take refuge in infidelity, as ten thousand educated Romanists 
 have done. As the unhappy wanderer refused any longer to listen to 
 his father's instructions, that father could only commend him to God's 
 mercy in incessant prayer. 
 
 The other children were the sorrowing witnesses of their gray- 
 headed father's anguish : and hence the affecting entry of his daughter 
 in one of his manuscript books, where she found a hymn of prayer for 
 Samuel's recovery, when, some years before, he was afflicted with the 
 small -pox : " Alas ! this prayer was raised for his son Samuel ! How 
 little do parents know what evils are prevented by early death !" 
 
 The following stanzas, selected from many others of a similar kind, 
 show the manner in which Mr. Charles Wesley felt and prayed in 
 regard of his youngest born, now doubly dead : —
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 705 
 
 Farewell, my all of earthly hope, 
 My nature's stay, my age's prop, 
 
 Irrevocably gone ! 
 Submissive to the will divine, 
 I acquiesce, and make it mine ; 
 
 I offer up my son ! 
 
 But give I God a sacrifice 
 
 That costs me naught 1 my gushing eyes 
 
 The answer sad express, — 
 My gushing eyes, and troubled heart, 
 Which bleeds with its beloved to part, 
 
 Which breaks through fond excess ! 
 
 Yet since he from my heart is tom, 
 Patient, resign'd, I calmly mourn 
 
 The darling snatch'd away : 
 Father, with thee thy own I leave ; 
 Into thy mercy's arms receive, 
 
 And keep him to that day. 
 
 Keep (for I nothing else desire) 
 The bush unburnt amidst the fire, 
 
 And freely I resign 
 My child, for a few moments lent, 
 (My child no longer !) I consent 
 
 To see his face no more ! 
 
 But hear my agonizing prayer, 
 And O preserve him, and prepare 
 
 To meet me in the skies, 
 When throned in bliss the Lamb appears, 
 Repairs my loss, and wipes the tears 
 
 For ever from my eyes ! 
 
 While Mr. Charles Wesley wept and prayed over his lost son, and 
 in the bitterness of his grief sighed for his own dismissal from the body, 
 Mr. John Wesley attempted to reclaim the wanderer, by showing him 
 his real character as a fallen and unholy man. He would not gratify 
 the perverted youth by arguing with him the long-agitated questions of 
 transubstantiation, infallibility, confession, purgatory, and the number 
 of the sacraments ; but tried to convince him that he was a sinner ; so 
 that even admitting all his new opinions to be true, and important as he 
 assumed them to be, he must perish everlastingly unless he were born 
 again to a life of holiness. The following letter, which he addressed 
 with yearning pity to his erring nephew, is highly characteristic of his 
 enlightened piety and faithfulness : — 
 
 " August 19th, 1784. Dear Sammy, — As I have had a regard for you 
 ever since you was a little one, I have often thought of writing to you 
 freely. And I am persuaded, what is spoken in love will be taken in 
 
 45
 
 706 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 love : and if so, if it does you no good, it will do you no harm. Many 
 years ago I observed, that as it had pleased God to give you a remark- 
 able talent for music, so he had given you a quick apprehension of 
 other things, a capacity for making some progress in learning, and, 
 what is of far greater value, a desire to be a Christian. But, meantime, 
 1 have often been pained for you, fearing you did not set out the right 
 way. I do not mean with regard to this or that set of opinions, Pro- 
 testant or Romish. All these I trample under foot. But with regard 
 to those weightier matters, wherein if they go wrong, either Protestants 
 or Papists will perish everlastingly. I feared you was not born again: 
 and ' except a man be born again,' if we may credit the Son of God, ' he 
 cannot see the kingdom of heaven :' except he experience that inward 
 change of the earthly, sensual mind, for the mind which was in Christ 
 Jesus. You might have throughly understood the Scriptural doctrine 
 of the new birth, yea, and experienced it long before now, had you used 
 the many opportunities of improvement which God put into your hands, 
 while you believed both your father and me to be teachers sent from 
 God. But alas ! what are you now 1 Whether of this church or that, 
 I care not. You may be saved in either, or damned in either. But I 
 fear, you are not born again : and except you are born again, you can- 
 not see the kingdom of God. You believe the Church of Rome is 
 right. What then 1 If you are not born of God, you are of no church. 
 Whether Bellarmine or Luther be right, you are certainly wrong, if you 
 are not ' born of the Spirit ;' if you are not renewed in the spirit of your 
 mind in the likeness of Him that created you. I doubt you was never 
 convinced of the necessity of this great change. And there is now 
 greater danger than ever, that you never will ; that you will be diverted 
 from the thought of it, by a train of new notions, new practices, new 
 modes of worship ; all which put together, (not to consider whether 
 they are unscriptural, superstitious, and idolatrous, or no, — I would as 
 soon pick straws as dispute of this with you, in your present state of 
 mind,) — all, I say, put together, do not amount to one grain of true, 
 vital, spiritual religion. 
 
 " O Sammy, you are out of your way ! You are out of God's way ? 
 You have not given him your heart. You have not found, nay, it is 
 well if you have so much as sought, happiness in God ! and poor zealots, 
 while you are in this state of mind, would puzzle you about this or the 
 other church ! O fools and blind ! Such guides as these lead men by 
 shoals to the bottomless pit. My dear Sammy, your first point is, to 
 repent, and believe the gospel. Know yourself, a poor, guilty, helpless 
 sinner ! Then know Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Let the Spirit 
 of God bear witness with your spirit, that you are a child of God : and 
 let the love of God be shed abroad in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, 
 
 45*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 707 
 
 which is given unto you : and then if you have no better work, I will 
 talk with you of transubstantiation or purgatory. Meantime, I commend 
 you to Him who is able to guide you in all truth ; and am, dear Sammy, 
 
 " Your affectionate uncle." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's daughter, and his other son, though they were 
 at this time strangers to religion in its life and power, deeply regretted 
 the step which their wayward brother had taken, in renouncing the 
 Protestant faith, and assuming the Romish profession. Charles ex- 
 pressed this feeling in a letter to his uncle, which called forth the 
 following answer. The venerable man, it will be observed, endeavours 
 to turn to a good account the sad occurrence which they all lamented, 
 by teaching truths of the utmost importance. 
 
 "May 2d, 1786. I doubt not both Sarah and you are in trouble, 
 because Samuel has ' changed his religion.' Nay, he has changed his 
 opinion and mode of worship : but that is not religion ; it is quite 
 another thing. ' Has he then,' you may ask, ' sustained no loss by the 
 change V Yes, unspeakable loss ; because his new opinion, and mode 
 of worship, are so unfavourable to religion, that they make it, if not 
 impossible to one who once knew better, yet extremely difficult. 
 
 " What then is religion 1 It is happiness in God, or in the know- 
 ledge and love of God. It is faith working by love ; producing ' right- 
 eousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.' In other words, it is a 
 heart and life devoted to God ; or communion with God the Father, and 
 the Son ; or, the mind which was in Christ Jesus, enabling us to walk as 
 he walked. Now, either he has this religion, or he has not : if he has, he 
 will not finally perish, notwithstanding the absurd, unscriptural opinions 
 he has embraced, and the superstitious and idolatrous modes of worship. 
 But these are so many shackles, which will greatly retard him in run- 
 ning the race that is set before him. If he has not this religion, if he 
 has not given God his heart, the case is unspeakably worse : I doubt 
 if he ever will ; for his new friends will continually endeavour to hinder 
 him, by putting something else in its place, by encouraging him to rest 
 in the form, notions, or externals, without being born again, without 
 having Christ in him, the hope of glory, without being renewed in the 
 image of Him that created him. This is the deadly evil. I have often 
 lamented that he had not this holiness, without which no man can see 
 the Lord. But though he had it not, yet, in his hours of cool reflection, 
 he did not hope to go to heaven without it : but now he is or Avill be 
 taught, that, let him only have a right faith, (that is, such and such 
 notions,) and add thereunto such and such externals, and he is quite 
 safe. He may indeed roll a few years in purging fire ; but he will 
 surely go to heaven at last ! 
 
 " Therefore you and my dear Sarah have great need to weep over
 
 708 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 him : but have you not also need to weep for yourselves ? For, have 
 you given God your hearts ? Are you holy in heart 1 Have you the 
 kingdom of God within you ? righteousness, and peace, and joy in the 
 Holy Ghost ? the only true religion under heaven. O cry unto Him 
 that is mighty to save, for this one thing needful ! Earnestly and dili- 
 gently use all the means which God hath put plentifully into your 
 hands ! Otherwise I should not at all wonder if God permit you also 
 to be given up to a strong delusion. But whether you were or were 
 not, whether you are Protestants or Papists, neither you nor he can 
 ever enter into glory, unless you are now cleansed from all pollution of 
 flesh and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God." 
 
 In the history of the unfortunate Samuel Wesley we have a striking 
 illustration of the spirit of Popery. He was not pious when he was 
 persuaded to enter into the Romish community ; and during his stay 
 there he was not at all improved either in his temper or morals. Yet 
 the friends of the Papacy gloried in their convert ; and he himself was 
 wishful to do something that should distinguish him among his new 
 connections. He therefore composed a high mass for the use of the 
 chapel of Pope Pius the Sixth, who then wore the triple crown ; and 
 for this service he received the thanks of the pontiff, transmitted through 
 the vicar apostolic. Popery, however, had never taken any deep hold 
 upon his understanding and conscience. It was with him a matter of 
 taste, opinion, and sentiment. For a few years he attended its fasci- 
 nating ceremonial, without any solid benefit, either intellectual, spiritual, 
 or moral, and then withdrew from the Papal Church, saying that he 
 did not " care a straw for any excommunication that her priesthood 
 could utter." To make proselytes, and thus extend her own secidar 
 dominion, is the leading design of the Church of Rome. The sancti- 
 fication of her children is a very subordinate object, if any object at all. 
 The devoted father and uncle of Samuel Wesley laboured for the one 
 purpose of turning men from sin to holiness, that, like the apostles of 
 their Lord, they might " present every man perfect in Christ Jesus ;" 
 and they felt that their ministrations were comparatively useless, if bad 
 men were not converted into saints. In this respect Popery and 
 Methodism are essentially different from each other ; and it was a fatal 
 mistake in Samuel Wesley when he turned his back upon the holy and 
 happy religion of his parents for the worldly blandishments of " the 
 mother of harlots." 
 
 When this young man had ceased to " hear the instructions of his 
 father," and " forsaken the law of his mother," he was exposed to other 
 evil influences besides that of Popery. He received quite as much in- 
 jury from his god-father and patron, the Rev. Martin Madan, as from 
 the agents of " the man of sin." This clergyman, who for many years
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 709 
 
 was a popular preacher in London, was the chaplain of the Lock Hos- 
 pital, founded for the benefit of penitent females, who had wandered 
 from the paths of virtue. Commiserating their case, he endeavoured 
 to lower the standard of Christian morality, so as to extenuate their sin, 
 if not justify several of them in the profligate course which they had 
 pursued. For this purpose he published a large and elaborate work, 
 in which he attempted to prove that Christianity, as well as Judaism, 
 tolerates polygamy. The unhallowed reasonings of this erring guide, 
 conducted in the spirit and manner of a special pleader, and intended 
 to adapt the standard of Christian morals to the taste of the sensual, 
 there is reason to fear, inflicted a permanent injury upon many a youth- 
 ful mind not thoroughly disciplined in divine truth, and imbued with a 
 love of holiness. The son of Mr. Charles Wesley unhappily did not 
 escape uninjured by the speculative poison of this eloquent and plausible 
 man, whose character and influence (happily for the world !) gradually 
 declined from the time at which he proposed his unhallowed theory. 
 
 Miss Sarah Wesley was younger than her brother Charles, and a 
 few years older than Samuel. She was born in Bristol, as were ali 
 the other children. For some time she attended the school of Miss 
 Temple, in that city, but was taught Latin by her father, as was her 
 brother Samuel also. Like both her parents, and her brothers, she 
 was little of stature. She bore a striking resemblance to her father in 
 her features, and especially in her profile. In mature life she was re- 
 markable for the acuteness and elegance of her mind, as well as for the 
 accuracy and extent of her information : so that she was qualified to 
 move with advantage in the highest literary circles. Mrs. Hannah 
 More, Miss Benger, Miss Hamilton, Miss Porter, Miss Aikin, Mrs. 
 Barbauld, Dr. Gregory, and many other persons of distinction, were 
 her personal friends, and none of them had any reason to be ashamed 
 of her companionship. Her love and esteem for her father were very 
 strong, and his regard for her was tender and enduring. He took great 
 pains in the cultivation of her intellect ; and his numerous private let- 
 ters to her, written when he was separated from his family, show the 
 affectionate interest which he took in her spiritual improvement. It 
 was the intense desire of his heart that she should be a Christian in- 
 deed. One day, during her childhood, when she was repeating her 
 Latin lesson to him, before she had sufficiently mastered it, he said, 
 somewhat impatiently, " Sarah, you are as stupid as an ass." She said 
 nothing, but lifted up her eyes with meekness, surprise, and imploring 
 affection. On catching her look, he instantly burst into tears, and 
 finished the sentence by adding, " And as patient !" 
 
 Miss Wesley, possessing the true philosophic spirit, had consider- 
 able power over the mind of her faithful brother Charles. Once, when
 
 710 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 he was somewhat dejected, feeling that his talents had not been ade- 
 quately rewarded, he came to her, bringing some of his beautiful com- 
 positions, and requesting that she would tie them up for him. " All my 
 works," said he, " are neglected. They were performed at Dr. Shep- 
 herd's in Windsor, but no one minds them now !" She answered, in a 
 sprightly tone, " What a fool you would be to regret such worldly dis- 
 appointments ! You may secure a heavenly crown, and immortal 
 honour, and have a thousand blessings which were denied to poor 
 Otway, Butler, and other bright geniuses. Johnson toiled for daily 
 bread till past fifty. Pray think of your happier fate." " True," said 
 he, meekly, and took away his productions with sweet humility. Hav- 
 ing recorded this anecdote, she adds, " Lord, sanctify all these mundane 
 mortifications to him and me. The view of another state will prevent 
 all regrets." 
 
 During Mr. Charles Wesley's residence in London, he lived in habits 
 of intimacy with several persons of distinction, who honoured him with 
 their friendship, notwithstanding his Methodism. He had free inter- 
 course with Lord Mansfield, whom he had befriended in his boyhood, 
 at Westminster school. He sometimes consulted his lordship on ques- 
 tions affecting the Methodists in their relation to the established Church ; 
 and that eminent lawyer declared his readiness to render any service in 
 his power both to him and his brother. Dr. Boyce (one of the fathers 
 of modern church music) and Mr. Kelway (the musical tutor of Queen 
 Charlotte) were frequent visiters of the family in Chesterfield-street. 
 Lord Dartmouth cultivated the friendship of Mr. Charles Wesley on a 
 religious account ; and Dr. Johnson mentions him as a person with 
 whose views and habits he was familiar. Speaking of the case of 
 Elizabeth Hobson, of Sunderland, he remarked, in reference to the 
 brothers, " Charles Wesley, who is a more stationary man, does not 
 believe the story."* Among Charles's papers are two notes in the 
 hand-writing of the doctor, one addressed to the father, and the other 
 to the daughter, inviting them to dine with him. The first of these is 
 as follows : — " Sir, — I beg that you, and Mrs. and Miss Wesley, will 
 dine with your brother and Mrs. Hall, at my house in Bolt-court, Fleet- 
 street, to-morrow. That I have not sent sooner, if you knew the dis- 
 ordered state of my health, you would easily forgive me. 
 
 " I am, sir, your most humble servant, 
 
 " Wednesday." " Sam. Johnson." 
 
 Writing to Miss Wesley, the doctor says, " Madam, — I will have the 
 first day that you mention, my dear, on Saturday next ; and, if you can, 
 bring your aunt with you, to Your most humble servant, 
 
 " Oct. 28th, 1783." " Sam. Johnson." 
 
 * Boswell's Life of Johnson, vol. vii, p. 141. Edit. 1835.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 711 
 
 Among Mr. Charles Wesley's friends may also be ranked the late 
 Mr. Wilberforce, then a young statesman, just rising into life. Their 
 first interview took place at the house of Mrs. Hannah More ; and is 
 thus described by that pious and philanthropic man : — " I went, I think 
 in 1786, to see her, and when I came into the room Charles Wesley 
 rose from the table, around which a numerous party sat at tea, and com- 
 ing forward to me, gave me solemnly his blessing. I was scarcely 
 ever more affected. Such was the effect of his manner and appear- 
 ance, that it altogether overset me, and I burst into tears, unable to 
 restrain myself."* 
 
 Justly as Mr. Charles Wesley was esteemed on account of his piety 
 and abilities, there are persons who indulge suspicions injurious to his 
 religious character. They have supposed him to be the sabbath-break- 
 ing clergyman whom Cowper has strongly censured in his " Progress 
 of Error," under the fictitious name of Occiduus : and certainly if the 
 poet's description were applicable to him, he would ill deserve the ad- 
 miration in which he has been held as a man of God. But there is, in 
 fact, no just ground to believe that he was the person intended. If 
 he was, the poet was grossly deceived, and wrote not satire, but direct 
 slander. The passage is as follows : — 
 
 " Occiduus is a pastor of renown ; 
 When he has pray'd and preach'd the sabbath down, 
 With wire and catgut he concludes the day, 
 Quavering and semiquavering care away. 
 The full concerto swells upon your ear ; 
 All elbows shake. Look in, and you would swear 
 The Babylonian tyrant with a nod 
 Had suinmon'd them to serve his golded god ; 
 So well that thought th' employment seems to suit, 
 Psaltery and sackbut, dulcimer and flute. 
 ' fie ! 'tis evangelical and pure : 
 Observe each face, how sober and demure ! 
 Ecstasy sets her stamp on every mien ; 
 Chins fallen, and not an eyeball to be seen.' 
 Still I insist, though music heretofore 
 Has charm'd me much, (not e'en Occiduus more,) 
 Love, joy, and peace make harmony more meet 
 For sabbath evenings, and perhaps as sweet. 
 
 " Will not the sickliest sheep of every flock 
 Resort to this example as a rock ; 
 There stand, and justify the foul abuse 
 Of sabbath hours with plausible excuse : — 
 ' If apostolic gravity be free 
 To play the fool on Sundays, why not we ? 
 
 * Life of Wilberforce, vol. i, p. 248.
 
 712 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 If he the tinkling harpsichord regards 
 As inoffensive, what offence in cards 1 
 Strike up the fiddles, let us all be gay ! 
 Laymen have leave to dance, if parsons play.' " 
 
 This passage must be taken in connection with one of Cowper's let- 
 ters, in which he speaks on the same subject ; and both together contain 
 direct proof that Occiduus and Charles Wesley were two very different 
 persons. Writing to his friend Mr. Newton, under the date of Sept. 
 9th, 1781, the poet says, " I am sorry to find that the censure I have 
 passed upon Occiduus is even better founded than I supposed. Lady 
 Austen has been at his sabbatical concerts, which, it seems, are com- 
 posed of song-tunes and psalm-tunes indiscriminately ; music without 
 words ; and I suppose one may say consequently without devotion. On 
 a certain occasion, when her niece was sitting at her side, she asked 
 his opinion concerning the lawfulness of such amusements as are to be 
 found at Vauxhall and Ranelagh ; meaning only to draw from him a 
 sentence of disapprobation, that Miss Green might be the better recon- 
 ciled to the restraint under which she was held, when she found it 
 warranted by the judgment of so famous a divine. But she was dis- 
 appointed. He accounted them innocent, and recommended them as 
 useful. Curiosity, he said, was natural to young persons ; and it was 
 wrong to deny them a gratification which they might be indulged in 
 with the greatest safety ; because the denial being unreasonable, the 
 desire would still subsist. It was but a walk, and a walk was as 
 harmless in one place as another ; with other arguments of a similar 
 import, which might have proceeded with more grace, at least with less 
 offence, from the lips of a sensual layman. He seems, together with 
 others of our acquaintance, to have suffered considerably in his spi- 
 ritual character by his attachment to music."* 
 
 That Mr. Charles Wesley could not be the person here intended is 
 undeniable, unless Cowper was criminally inattentive to facts, and 
 guilty of the foulest calumny, which is disproved by the goodness of 
 his heart. No proof whatever exists that Mr. Charles Wesley suffered 
 any spiritual declension through " attachment to music." He loved to 
 hear it indeed ; (for who does not ?) but he had only a superficial ac- 
 quaintance with it as a science. In early life he occasionally played 
 on the flute ; but he had discontinued that practice long before Cowper 
 became an author. He confesses that he could not judge of the per- 
 formances of his sons, but was guided by the opinions of others. When 
 the sons had chosen music as a profession, they were bound to excel 
 in it to the utmost limit of their ability ; and it could be no fault in the 
 father to encourage them in that which was matter of duty. 
 * Grimshawe's Cowper, vol. i, p. 292.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 713 
 
 But " sabbatical concerts," partly religious and partly secular, he had 
 none. On this subject we have the express and solemn testimony of 
 his younger son, who was living when Cowper's letter was published, 
 and to whom the question of its reference to his father was proposed 
 by the writer of this narrative. He promptly returned a written de- 
 claration on the subject, in which he says, " The occasional perform- 
 ances by my brother of some portions of sacred music on Sunday were 
 never desecrated by the admixture of ' song-tunes,' or any other airs 
 but those dedicated exclusively to sacred subjects." Samuel Wesley 
 was resident in the house of his father at the time here referred to, and 
 is therefore a competent witness in the case. The playing of song- 
 tunes on the sabbath can never be reconciled with Christian morality. 
 But if holy music is a part of the employment and happiness of heaven, 
 as the Scriptures declare it is, it cannot be inappropriate to the evening 
 of the Lord's day, when used devotionally : and no evidence exists that 
 Mr. Charles Wesley ever countenanced it in any other form. Accord 
 ing to Samuel Wesley's account, his brother occasionally played upon 
 the harpsichord or the organ, in their father's house, on the sabbath- 
 day; and no one else. He had no fellow-performers. Whereas Occi- 
 duus had a whole band of musicians. " The full concerto swelled upon 
 the ear" of the passer-by ; and those who witnessed the scene were 
 ready to imagine that Nebuchadnezzar had summoned his whole band, 
 to play upon " the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer," 
 in honour of the golden image which he had set up in the plain of Dura. 
 " All elbows shook" in the orchestra, and the listening crowd below 
 were thrown into ecstasies. Can it be needful to adduce any other 
 proof, that Charles Wesley's house was not the scene of these profane 
 exhibitions ? and that he had no concern in them whatever 1 
 
 To theatrical amusements, as pregnant with the most frightful evils, 
 he was religiously opposed, and therefore could not be the man who 
 " accounted them as innocent, and recommended them as useful." 
 When Cowper wrote his poem and his letter, in which he censures 
 Occiduus, Mr. Charles Wesley's hymns for watch-night services had 
 been in public circulation nearly forty years ; and in one of them he 
 had by name, and in terms the most unqualified, condemned the amuse- 
 ments of the theatre, and of similar places of resort : — 
 
 The civiler crowd 
 
 In theatres proud 
 
 Acknowledge His power, 
 And Satan in nightly assemblies adore : 
 
 To the masque and the ball 
 
 They fly at his call, 
 
 Or in pleasures excel, 
 And chant in a grove to the harpers of hell.
 
 714 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 In a marginal note, designed to explain the last of these terribly- 
 expressive lines, it is said that Vauxhall and Ranelagh gardens are 
 here especially meant. One direct effect of Mr. Charles Wesley's 
 ministry was to detach play-goers from their diversions, as both vain 
 and sinful. When Mrs. Rich, of the Covent-garden theatre, received 
 his doctrine, and acknowledged him as her spiritual adviser, as has 
 been already stated, she abandoned the stage for ever, to the grief and 
 mortification of her husband, who had derived considerable gains from 
 her powers as an actress. It is also remarkable, that at the very time 
 when Cowper was writing, Samuel Wesley desired to attend the 
 theatres, and his father would not suffer him. The son was greatly 
 offended with the restraint which was imposed upon him ; but he lived 
 long enough to see that it was salutary, and kindly intended. That 
 Mr. Charles Wesley ever encouraged any one to attend such places, 
 Samuel, who had felt the weight of his father's authority on this sub- 
 ject, declared to be " flagrantly untrue," and opposed to his " consistent 
 and unflinching enmity to vicious temptation." It is, in fact, doubtful 
 whether any man of his age was a more strenuous and successful oppo- 
 nent of all such dissipating and unhallowed amusements. The con- 
 clusion, therefore, that Occiduus was some other person, and not the 
 poet of Methodism, is inevitable. If the description of Occiduus be 
 applied to him, it is notoriously untrue. 
 
 Who, then, it may be inquired, was the mysterious personage who 
 thus offended against the sanctity of the sabbath, and advised young 
 people to attend the theatre, and other places of mere amusement? 
 He was " a pastor of renown," and deemed " evangelical." These 
 characteristics apply directly to Mr. Madan, who was a popular clergy- 
 man, of Calvinian tenets ;* well known to be musical in his taste and 
 habits ; and as an avowed advocate of polygamy, he could not be very 
 nice in his views of Christian morality. Cowper also states, in one of 
 his letters, that in writing " The Progress of Error," where the charac- 
 ter of Occiduus is drawn, he had Madan in his eye.f Madan was 
 Cowper's cousin, with whose habits and views he was well acquainted ; 
 and many of Cowper's letters show how deeply he was offended with 
 the unhallowed levity of his kinsman's speculations. 
 
 Should it be inquired on what ground the name of Occiduus could 
 be given to Madan, the answer is, that the word properly signifies 
 " western," and may refer to the situation of the Lock Hospital, where 
 
 * " The Lock chapel was the favourite resort of religious characters in the time of 
 the Rev. Martin Madan, not only from the high popularity of his talents as a preacher, 
 but from the fidelity and impressive energy with which he proclaimed the fundamental 
 doctrines of the Scripture." — Grimshawe's Cowper, vol. iii, p. 320. 
 
 t Southey's Cowper, vol. iv, pp; 79, 80.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 715 
 
 Mr. Madan preached, and was attended by listening multitudes. It 
 was at the " west-end" of London, " near Hyde-park-corner," as is 
 stated on the title-page of a volume of hymns which Madan published 
 for the use of his congregation. 
 
 Taking all these considerations into the account, it is far more pro- 
 bable that Cowper intended, under the name of Occiduus, to censure 
 the popular and speculative Madan, than Mr. Charles Wesley, who 
 then occupied only a very subordinate place among public men, being 
 aged, sickly, and infirm. For twenty years he had exercised his mi- 
 nistry in two or three Methodist chapels, into which few wealthy and 
 fashionable religionists ever entered. To " renown," in the popular 
 sense of that term, he had then little claim ; and it is doubtful whether, 
 as an anti-Calvinist, Cowper would have acknowledged him to be 
 " evangelical." In one of his letters, written about the time that he 
 was censuring Occiduus, Cowper mentions Mr. Fletcher, of Madeley, 
 and expresses a doubt whether that holy man was indeed a Christian ; 
 so prejudiced was he against what he understood to be Mr. Fletcher's 
 anti-Calvinistical doctrine, which was substantially that of Mr. Charles 
 Wesley. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 The means which Mr. John and Charles Wesley felt it their duty to 
 adopt, for the revival of true religion in the three kingdoms, after they 
 had themselves obtained the vital Christian faith, placed them in great 
 difficulties with regard to the established Church ; and those difficulties 
 pressed upon them with increasing weight as they advanced in life. 
 When the societies were few in number, they were easily persuaded to 
 attend the services of the Church, especially the Lord's supper ; but in 
 process of time many joined them who had been educated in the prin- 
 ciples of Dissent ; and several of these would on no account unite in 
 the worship of the Establishment. Others were unwilling to attend, 
 because they could not receive the doctrine of their respective clergy- 
 men, or because their clergymen were not even moral in their lives. 
 How to meet the views of these people, without opening the Methodist 
 chapels during the time of divine service in the churches, and without 
 allowing the preachers to administer the sacraments, it was not easy to 
 determine. The very agitation of these questions Mr. Charles Wesley 
 could not endure. All unwillingness to attend the services of the 
 Church he regarded as little less than stubbornness and rebellion. No 
 man ever censured ungodly ministers with greater severity than he,
 
 716 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 especially those of the established Church ; but he would concede no- 
 thing in favour of those who had any scruples concerning the ministra- 
 tions of these men. Whatever might be the personal character of the 
 clergy, or the doctrines they taught, he contended that the Methodists 
 were to be preserved in strict connection with the Church of England ; 
 even where the clergy refused to administer to them the sacrament of 
 the Lord's supper. 
 
 Mr. John Wesley was a more practical man. The Church was dear 
 to him ; and, next to the salvation of souls, the object dearest to his 
 heart was the attendance of his spiritual children upon her ordinances. 
 But among these children he found several who never did belong to her 
 communion, and whom he could not induce to tread her courts ; and 
 not a few of these were devout and peaceable. They were free from 
 a factious spirit, and gave satisfactory proof that they were actuated by 
 conscientious motives. Such men he could neither coerce nor despise ; 
 but how to meet their case, without departing further from the order of 
 the Church than he had yet done, or ever intended to do, cost him 
 years of anxious thought. 
 
 Another subject of deep interest to Mr. Wesley, and to his preachers 
 and people generally, was the continuance of the itinerant ministry, and 
 of the discipline which he had established in the societies, when he 
 should be no more. While he lived he was a centre of union to them 
 all. Every one was ready to defer to his judgment, and his power to 
 appoint the preachers was unquestioned. He determined that, after his 
 decease, the power which he possessed should devolve upon the con- 
 ference : but there arose a question as to the manner in which that body 
 should be constituted. Hitherto the conference consisted of preachers 
 whom Mr. Wesley invited to meet him once a year for the purpose of 
 united counsel. Unless something, therefore, were done, to give the 
 conference a legal existence, independently of Mr. Wesley's presence 
 and will, it could not survive him. The chapels would remain ; but 
 there would be no power to station the preachers, and to superintend 
 the societies. 
 
 This subject appeared in all its importance at the Bristol conference 
 of 1783, during which Mr. Wesley had a dangerous illness, so that for 
 some days his recovery was very doubtful. Early in the morning he 
 was seized with an impetuous flux, which was followed by a violent 
 cramp, first in his feet, legs, and thighs, then in his side and throat. 
 The medicine which was administered removed the cramp, but took 
 away his speech, hearing, and power of motion ; so that for several 
 days he lay as a mere log, and was in continual fever. Had he died 
 at that time, according to all human probability, the itinerant ministrv 
 which he had organized must have ceased, and the societies have been
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 717 
 
 dissolved. The preachers felt the critical situation in which they were 
 placed, and united to request their venerable father, on his recovery, to 
 provide against a casualty which might be ruinous to the work in which 
 they were engaged. He acceded to their wishes, took the best legal 
 advice that was accessible, and in the month of February following 
 executed the " Deed of Declaration," which he caused to be enrolled 
 in his majesty's high court of chancery, appointing by name one hun- 
 dred travelling preachers " the conference of the people called Method- 
 ists," defining their powers, and providing for the filling up of vacancies 
 from time to time. He reserved to himself and his brother, however, 
 during their life-time, the right of appointing the preachers to the dif- 
 ferent chapels. " Without some authentic deed," says he, " fixing the 
 meaning of the term, the moment I died the conference had been nothing. 
 Therefore any of the proprietors of the land on which our preaching- 
 houses were built might have seized them for their own use ; and there 
 would have been none to hinder them ; for the conference would have 
 been nobody, a mere empty name. In all the pains I have taken about 
 this absolutely necessary deed, I have been labouring not for myself, 
 (I have no interest therein,) but for the whole body of Methodists ; in 
 order to fix them upon such a foundation as is likely to stand as long as 
 the sun and moon endure. That is, if they continue to walk by faith, 
 and to show forth their faith by their works ; otherwise, I pray God to 
 root out the memorial of them from the earth."* 
 
 This deed, as might be expected, gave great offence to some of the 
 preachers whose names were not in it ; so that at the ensuing confer- 
 ence considerable excitement prevailed. Mr. Fletcher was present, 
 and interceded with Mr. Wesley in behalf of these refractory sons in 
 the gospel, and the parties appeared to be reconciled ; but three of them 
 afterward withdrew from their work : Mr. Joseph Pilmoor, and John 
 Hampson, father and son. Mr. Pilmoor went to America, where he 
 was ordained, at Mr. Charles Wesley's recommendation, by one of the 
 American bishops. The elder Mr. Hampson became the minister of a 
 small Dissenting congregation ; the conference allowing him a small 
 annuity to the end of his life, as a mark of their respect, and an acknow- 
 ledgment of his former services. The younger Mr. Hampson obtained 
 episcopal ordination, and the living of Sunderland. He wrote a Life 
 of Mr. Wesley, which he put to press with indecent haste, while the 
 remains of that venerable man were scarcely cold in his grave ; and 
 spoke of the deceased, to whom he was indebted for his education, and 
 therefore for his preferment, in a manner that reflected little credit upon 
 his heart. His book is a sort of quiver, from which the detractors of 
 Mr. Wesley generally select their arrows. 
 
 * Wesley's Works, vol. vii, p. 310.
 
 718 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 At this conference the ministrations of Mr. Fletcher were attended 
 by a power and effect which those who witnessed them could never 
 forget. He preached on the case of the prophet who was sent from 
 Judah to Bethel, to testify against the idolatry which was practised 
 there ; who, after the delivery of his message, " was disobedient to the 
 word of the Lord," and was therefore slain by a lion. Mr. Fletcher 
 described him as " an Antinomian," whose fate was a solemn warning 
 to all religious teachers. He encouraged the Methodist preachers in 
 their work, by assuring them that, while they lived in the spirit of their 
 holv vocation, and delivered the truth of God with evangelical faithful- 
 ness, every arm that was stretched out to arrest them would be dried 
 up, as in the case of Jeroboam. His attitude and whole manner in 
 praver were those of a man who felt that he had the fullest access to 
 God, and who with adoring confidence conversed with him face to face. 
 His hands were stretched toward heaven, his countenance lighted up 
 with reverent joy, and every one was ready, because of the solemn awe 
 which the manifested presence of God inspired, to " wrap his face in 
 his mantle," and sink into the dust of humiliation. 
 
 At the time of this conference Mr. Wesley had in contemplation 
 one of the most important measures that he ever adopted for the ad- 
 vancement of the work of God : the elevation of his societies in Ame 
 rica into a regular church, by providing for the administration of the 
 sacraments by their own preachers. In reference to this object, he 
 consulted his faithful friend the vicar of Madeley, and a few weeks 
 after the conference prosecuted his pious design. 
 
 The war of American independence was now ended, and the people 
 of the United States were acknowledged to be no longer under the 
 British crown. Many of the Protestant clergy, from whom the Method- 
 ists had hitherto received the sacraments, had left the country, or ceased 
 to officiate ; and the societies generally on that vast continent, amount- 
 ing to upward of eighteen thousand members, had none to baptize their 
 children, or administer to them the memorials of their Saviour's pas- 
 sion. The character of the episcopal clergy in America was at that 
 time extremely low. Several of them during the war had acted as sol- 
 diers, and others by their negligence and sin were a scandal to the 
 sacred office. This is acknowledged by writers belonging to their own 
 Church. Dr. Seabury, an American clergyman, came to England, for 
 the purpose of obtaining consecration to the episcopal office from the 
 English prelates. After waiting for two years, his request was denied. 
 He then applied to the Scottish bishops, who had derived their orders 
 from the Nonjurors of the reign of William and Mary ; and from them 
 he at length received the desired honour. In the mean while the 
 American Methodists, who had no sympathy either with Dr. Seabury, 

 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 719 
 
 or the bishops by whom he was consecrated, looked to Mr. Wesley as 
 their spiritual father, and implored his advice and aid. Having con- 
 sidered the subject in all its bearings, he resolved to appoint Dr. Coke 
 and Mr. Asbury joint superintendents over the American preachers and 
 societies, with power to ordain others for the full duties of the ministry. 
 
 Mr. Asbury had long been a faithful labourer in America, where he 
 had commanded great respect by his piety, wisdom, and usefulness. 
 Dr. Coke had now been in connection with Mr. Wesley about eight 
 years, and had approved himself by his fidelity and zeal. He was 
 born at Brecon, in South Wales, and educated at the University of Ox- 
 ford, where he became a Deist under the influence of his fellow-colle- 
 gians. Having recovered his faith in divine revelation, by a careful 
 study of its evidences, he was ordained as a clergyman of the Church 
 of England, and obtained the curacy of South-Petherton, in Somerset- 
 shire, where he was shamefully persecuted, and at length dismissed, 
 on account of his faithfulness in attempting to turn the people from sin 
 to holiness. He then connected himself with Mr. Wesley, who often 
 observed that Dr. Coke was to him a second Thomas Walsh. An 
 expression of higher respect he could scarcely have uttered. The 
 doctor, who, like the two Wesleys, was litle in stature, was eminently 
 active, lively, and disinterested. Of ordinary difficulties he made no 
 account ; for his heart was all on fire to extend the blessings of salva- 
 tion to the ends of the earth. In promoting the settlement of Methodist 
 chapels in England, so that they should not be alienated from the con- 
 nection, and in preparing the " Deed of Declaration," he had 
 rendered services of the most substantial value to Mr. Wesley and his 
 people. 
 
 On the morning of September 1st, 1784. Mr. Wesley, by the imposi- 
 tion of hands, solemnly appointed the doctor to the work which he had 
 assigned him, being assisted by the Rev. James Creighton, a verv pious 
 and intelligent episcopal clergyman, who then officiated in the Methodist 
 chapels in London. Immediately after, with the assistance of Dr. Coke 
 and Mr. Creighton, Mr. Wesley ordained Mr. Whatcoat and Mr. Tasey, 
 to act as elders in America, by baptizing and administering the Lord's 
 supper. He also published, for the use of his people both in England 
 and America, a Liturgy, differing little from that of the established 
 Church, but shortened in most of its services. 
 
 For several years Mr. Wesley's preachers had been stationed in 
 some of the principal towns in Scotland, and societies were formed 
 under their care ; but the members, in many instances, were in circum- 
 stances scarcely better than those of their brethren in America imme- 
 diately after the war. There were indeed clergymen in Scotland ; but 
 several of them absolutely refused to admit the Methodists to the Lord's 
 
 ■
 
 720 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 table, except on the condition that they would renounce all future con- 
 nection with the Methodist ministry and discipline. During the con- 
 ference of the following year, therefore, which was held in London, 
 Mr. Wesley ordained three of his preachers to administer the sacra- 
 ments in North Britain. " Having," says he in his Journal, " with a 
 few select friends, weighed the matter thoroughly, I yielded to their 
 judgment, and set apart three of our well-tried preachers, John Pawson, 
 Thomas Hanby, and Joseph Taylor, to minister in Scotland ; and I trust 
 God will bless their ministrations, and show that he has sent them." 
 
 In performing these acts of ordination, it is presumed Mr. Wesley 
 was perfectly justifiable from the necessity of the case, and the 
 peculiar relation in which he stood to the people whose spiritual 
 interests he had in view. They were his children in the Lord, begot- 
 ten through the gospel ; deprived of the sacraments which Christ had 
 instituted, and which they could not therefore neglect but at the hazard 
 of their soids. To meet their wants, in this crisis of their affairs, was 
 his imperative duty ; and the only question was as to the manner in 
 which this could be the most effectually done. With respect to America, 
 he might have requested one of the English prelates to ordain some of 
 his preachers ; but he had no hope from this quarter, having some time 
 before asked the bishop of London to ordain one, and been refused. 
 In the present case it was requisite that the American preachers in 
 general should be ordained, or the necessities of the societies could not 
 be met, scattered as they were over an immense tract of country : and 
 what English bishop could have access to them all ? or would lay his 
 hands upon them, if they were even brought across the Atlantic for the 
 purpose ? The king of Denmark is said to have directed his bishops, 
 in this emergency, to ordain for the American ministry such persons as 
 they might deem qualified. But what affinity existed between the 
 Danish bishops and the American Methodists 1 or between the Ameri- 
 can Methodists and Dr. Seabury, who returned to the United States 
 about twelve months after Dr. Coke had gone thither invested with Mr. 
 Wesley's authority ? Had any bishops, whether English, Scottish, or 
 Danish, appointed the Methodist preachers of America to the sacred 
 office, they would, of course, have expected to direct and control the 
 proceedings of the men whom they had thus sanctioned ; and it is im- 
 possible to say how far this would have interfered with the free and 
 apostolic labours to which these itinerant evangelists had been accus- 
 tomed, and which the Lord had so greatly blessed. " As our American 
 brethren," says Mr. Wesley, " are now totally disentangled both from the 
 state and from the English hierarchy, we dare not entangle them again, 
 either with the one or the other. They are now at full liberty simply to 
 follow the Scriptures and the primitive church. And we judge it best that
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 721 
 
 they should stand fast in the liberty wherewith God has so strangely made 
 them free."* For a bishop to ordain any Metbodist preachers for Scot- 
 land was out of the question. They must be ordained by Mr. Wesley 
 himself, or not at all. 
 
 No principle has been more distinctly recognised in the Methodist 
 connection, and more sacredly guarded, than this, — that personal piety, 
 and an inward call of the Holy Spirit, are essential to the ministerial 
 office. Every man theiefore who is appointed to that office among 
 them is required to give satisfactory evidence of unfeigned repentance, 
 of a vital faith in Christ, and of the renewal of his heart by the power 
 of the Holy Ghost; as well as that he possesses competent gifts as a 
 preacher, and is actually owned of God in the conversion of sinners 
 from the error of their way. It is satisfactory to know that these prin- 
 ciples were preserved in the Methodist ordinations for America. Dr. 
 Seabury, the American bishop, would have ordained those of the trans- 
 atlantic preachers whom he might deem duly qualified ; but would he 
 have submitted to such a searching examination respecting his own 
 personal reconciliation with God, the regeneration of his heart, and the 
 inward call of the Holy Spirit, as they had all undergone ? and without 
 this, how could they, with their principles and usages, accept ordination 
 at his hands ? It would have been a strange inconsistency to require 
 spiritual-mindedness in one another, as essential to the pastoral office, 
 and yet receive their appointment to that office from a man of whose 
 spirituality they had not satisfactory proof. Mr. Charles Wesley, in 
 his eagerness for episcopacy, would have sacrificed the principles upon 
 which the Methodists had hitherto invariably acted ; but his sharp- 
 sighted brother spared the American preachers the pain and dishonour 
 of such inconsistency in the most solemn transaction of their lives. It is 
 not intended by these remarks to insinuate that Bishop Seabury was 
 not a converted man. But in the absence of all direct evidence on the 
 subject, it is gratifying to know that he was not employed in conferring 
 the ministerial character upon the numerous and important body of 
 preachers belonging to the Methodist Church in America. In their 
 case, as well as in that of their brethren in Great Britain, the doctrine 
 of a special divine call to the Christian ministry, and given only to 
 spiritual men, was preserved inviolate. 
 
 In ordaining ministers for America and Scotland, Mr. Wesley did 
 not think that his only justification arose from the necessity of the case. 
 He believed that the act was right in itself, as being in fidl accordance 
 with the doctrine of Holy Scripture, and the practice of the early Chris- 
 tians. It had long been his conviction that, in the apostolic churches, 
 presbyters and bishops were of the same order, and therefore had an 
 * Works, vol. vii, p. 312. 
 46
 
 722 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 equal right to ordain. This principle is well known to have been 
 avowed by Archbishop Craniner, and by most of the Protestant 
 reformers on the European continent. The ordination of ministers 
 in the Church of Scotland, and in the reformed churches of Holland, 
 France, and Switzerland, is performed not by bishops, as a distinct 
 order, but by presbyters, such as Mr. Wesley himself was ; so that 
 if his ordinations were invalid, such have been those of a large 
 proportion of the clergy of Protestant Christendom for the last three 
 hundred years. And yet Mr. Wesley did not object to episcopacy, as 
 being in itself unlawful, or necessarily an evil. When several minis- 
 ters are united together, as in a national church, or in a religious con- 
 nection like that of the Methodists, there must be government ; and 
 government supposes authority and subordination. What he objected 
 to was the assumption, that diocesan episcopacy, possessing the exclu- 
 sive power of ordination and government, was instituted by Christ, and 
 is binding in all ages upon the universal church. He learned from St. 
 Paul, not only that the presbyters might " rule," but also " rule well ;" 
 and that the presbyters of the church at Ephesus were made bishops 
 by the Holy Ghost, and yet were known as presbyters still. Lord 
 King's book on the " Constitution of the primitive Church," and the 
 " Irenicum" of Bishop Stillingfleet, were works to which he generally 
 referred in proof of the correctness of his views. He did not deny that 
 there has been, from the apostolic age, a succession of men to whom 
 the name of bishop was applied ; but he did deny that they had existed 
 from the beginning, and by divine appointment, as a peculiar order, 
 each of them having had a special ordination to the episcopal office, as 
 essentially distinct from that of a presbyter. Such a succession he 
 declared no man could prove. If in the case of any bishop such special 
 ordination has been wanting, the succession for which the strict and 
 rigid episcopalians contend is vitiated ; the chain is broken ; and the 
 ordinations that have been subsequently performed in the same line, 
 though they should be even the acts of an archbishop, are not a whit 
 better than those of the presbyter John Wesley ; for no man can com- 
 municate to another what he does not himself possess. 
 
 Few writers have expressed themselves with greater clearness on 
 this subject than an episcopal clergyman of a former age. The Rev. 
 George Lawson, rector of More, in Shropshire, in the reign of Charles 
 II., one of the ablest theologians of that period, thus expresses him- 
 self: — " Though both the definition and the institution of a bishop be 
 uncertain, and there is no universal consent in respect of either, yet I 
 think a constant superintendent, not only over the people, but the pres- 
 byters, within a reasonable precinct, if he be duly qualified and rightly 
 chosen, may be lawful, and the place agreeable to Scripture : yet I do 
 
 46*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 723 
 
 not conceive that this kind of episcopacy is grounded upon any divine 
 special precept of universal obligation, making it necessary for the being 
 of a church, or essential constitution of presbyters. Neither is there 
 any scripture which determines the form, how such a bishop, or any 
 other, may be made. Yet it may be grounded upon general precepts 
 of Scripture concerning decency, unity, order, and edification ; but so 
 that order and decency may be observed any other way, and unity and 
 edification obtained by other means. 
 
 " But there are many in these our days which make episcopacy, in- 
 vested with the power of ordination at least of that necessity, that if 
 ministers are not ordained by them, they are no ministers. They make 
 the being of the ministry, and the power of the sacraments, to depend 
 on them : and they further add, that without a succession of these 
 bishops we cannot maintain our ministry against the Church of Rome. 
 But, 1. Where do they find in Scripture any special precept of uni- 
 versal and perpetual obligation, which doth determine that the imposi- 
 tion of hands of the presbytery doth essentially constitute a presbyter ; 
 and that the imposition of hands, if it did so, was invalid without an 
 hierarchical bishop, or a certain constant superintendent, with them 1 
 And if they will have their doctrine to stand good, such a precept they 
 must produce ; which they have not done, which I am confident they 
 cannot do. 2. x\s for succession of such bishops, after so long a time, 
 so many persecutions, and so great alterations in the churches of all 
 nations, it is impossible to make it clear. Eusebius himself doth so 
 preface his catalogue of bishops, that no rational man can so much as 
 yield a probable assent unto him in that particidar. But suppose it had 
 been far clearer, yet it could not merit the force of a divine testimony : 
 it would have been only human, and could not have been believed but 
 with a probable faith. Nay, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Eusebius, and others, 
 do not agree in the first and immediate successors of the apostles ; no, 
 not of the Roman Church. For Irenaeus makes Clemens the third, 
 whom Tertullian determines to be the first, from the apostles. Yet 
 they all agree in this, that the succession of persons, without succes- 
 sion of the same doctrine, was nothing. Tertullian confesseth that 
 there were many churches which could not show the succession of 
 persons, but of doctrine, from the apostles ; and that was sufficient. 
 And the succession of persons is so uncertain, that whosoever shall 
 make either the being of a church, or the ministry, or the power of the 
 sacraments, depend upon it, shall so offend Christ's little ones, and be 
 guilty of such a scandal, as ' it were better for him that a millstone 
 were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea.' The power 
 of saving men's souls depends not upon succession of persons, accord- 
 ing to human institutions, but upon the apostolical doctrine, accompanied
 
 724 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 by the divine Spirit. If upon the exercise of their ministerial power 
 men are converted, find comfort in their doctrine and the sacraments, 
 and at their end deliver up their souls unto God their Redeemer, and 
 that with unspeakable joy; this is a divine confirmation of their minis- 
 try, and the same more real and manifest than any personal succession. 
 
 " To maintain the ministry of England from their ordination by 
 bishops, and the bishops by their consecration according to the canons 
 of the council of Carthage, was a good argument ad hominem ; yet it 
 should be made good (as it may be) by far better arguments, and such 
 as will serve the interest of other Protestant and reformed churches, 
 who have sufficiently proved their ministry legal ; and by experience, 
 through God's blessing upon their labours, have found it effectual. But 
 suppose the succession of our English episcopacy could be made good 
 since the Reformation ; it is to little purpose, except you can justify the 
 Popish succession up to the time of the apostles ; which few will un- 
 dertake, none (I fear) will perform. Divers reasons persuade me to 
 believe they cannot do any thing in this particular to purpose ; but 
 among the rest this doth much sway with me, — that there can be no 
 succession without some distinct and determinate form of consecration 
 and ordination ; and except this form be determined by special precept 
 of Scripture, it cannot be of divine obligation. But any such special 
 precept, which should prescribe the distinct forms of consecration and 
 ordination, we find not at all. We have some examples of constituting 
 church officers by election, with the imposition of hands and prayer ; 
 yet this was common to all, even to deacons. So that the very forms 
 of making bishops and presbyters, as we find them, both in the Eng- 
 lish book of ordination, and the pontifical of Rome, are merely arbitrary, 
 as having no particular ground, but at the best only a general rule in 
 Scripture, which leaves liberty for several distinct forms. 
 
 " If any, notwithstanding all this, out of an high conceit of episco- 
 pacy, will refuse communion with such churches as have no bishops, 
 and yet are orthodox ; or will account those no ministers, who are 
 ordained by presbyters without a bishop ; let such take heed lest they 
 prove guilty of schisms."* 
 
 Nothing that Mr. John Wesley ever said or did gave his brother half 
 so much offence as these ordinations. Charles adhered to the principle 
 of " apostolical succession," and of the divine appointment of three 
 orders of ministers : yet he could bear with patience to hear his brother 
 assail these principles in theory, if he only kept the Methodists in union 
 with the established Church. Whereas he imagined that from these 
 ordinations separation was inevitable. The Church of England did not 
 
 * Lawson's " Model of Civil and Ecclesiastical Government," pp. 234-238. Edit. 
 1689.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 725 
 
 indeed exist either in the United States of America, or in Scotland ; 
 but the principle of presbyterian ordination among the Methodists was 
 recognised ; and the men who had received such ordination from his 
 brother, he saw, could, after his brother's death, if not even before, 
 ordain their brethren, and thus introduce the sacraments into the 
 chapels generally, and draw away the societies from their parish 
 churches. He had little confidence in Dr. Coke's discretion, and 
 thought that, on his return from America, he might by possibility 
 ordain the whole body of the preachers. The elements of separation 
 appeared to him to be now officially adopted, and at work ; the profes- 
 sions of union with the Church, which he and his brother had reiterated 
 through life, he thought were violated ; their strenuous and persevering 
 efforts to resist the spirit of Dissent were given up and neutralized ; 
 the work of God irreparably injured ; and the name of Wesley disho- 
 noured for ever ! Such were Charles's extreme views on the occasion; 
 and he mourned that he had not died before the arrival of that day. 
 
 Mr. John Wesley was perfectly satisfied with what he had done, as 
 being matter of strict duty, from which the most beneficial results would 
 arise ; but he knew the thoughts of his brother, and therefore spared 
 his feelings with respect to the ordinations till they were actually per- 
 formed. Charles was in Bristol when the ordinations for America 
 took place ; but he was not aware of them till the service was ended. 
 Nothing could interrupt the friendship of the brothers, hallowed as it 
 was by religion, and cemented by their long-continued union in con- 
 ducting a deep and extensive revival of religion. They had also a 
 perfect conviction of each other's uprightness of purpose. But their 
 correspondence at this time assumed an unwonted earnestness of rea- 
 soning and expostulation ; yet in no respect unworthy of Christian 
 men, and aged ministers. Under these circumstances of excitement 
 Mr. Charles Wesley addressed the following letter to Dr. Chandler, an 
 episcopal clergyman, who was about to embark for the new world. It 
 is deeply interesting, on account of the particulars which it contains 
 concerning the writer's early history. 
 
 " London, April 28th, 1785. Rev. and Dear Sir, — As you are set- 
 ting out for America, and I for a more distant country, I think it needful 
 to leave with you some account of myself, and of my companions 
 through life. At eight years old, in 1716, I was sent by my father, 
 rector of Epworth, to Westminster school, and placed under the care 
 of my eldest brother Samuel, a strict Churchman, who brought me up 
 in his own principles. My brother John, five years older than me, was 
 then at the Charter-house. From Westminster College, in 1727, I was 
 elected student of Christ-church. My brother John was then fellow 
 of Lincoln. My first year at college I lost in diversions. The next I
 
 726 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 set myself to study. Diligence led me into serious thinking. I went 
 to the weekly sacrament, and persuaded two or three young scholars 
 to accompany me, and to observe the method of study prescribed by 
 the statutes of the university. This gained me the harmless nickname 
 of Methodist. In half a year my brother left his curacy at Epworth, 
 and came to our assistance. We then proceeded regularly in our stu- 
 dies, and in doing what good we could to the bodies and souls of men. 
 
 " I took my master's degree, and only thought of spending all my 
 days at Oxford. But my brother, who always had the ascendant over 
 me, persuaded me to accompany him and Mr. Oglethorpe to Georgia. 
 I exceedingly dreaded entering into holy orders : but he overruled me 
 here also, and I was ordained deacon by the bishop of Oxford, Dr. Pot- 
 ter, and the next Sunday, priest, by the bishop of London, Dr. Gibson. 
 Our only design was, to do all the good we could, as ministers of the 
 Church of England, to which we were firmly attached, both by educa- 
 tion and by principle. My brother still thinks her the best-constituted 
 national Church in the world. 
 
 " In 1736 we arrived, as missionaries, in Georgia. My brother took 
 charge of Savannah, (and I of Frederica,) waiting for an opportunity 
 of preaching to the Indians. I was, in the mean time, secretary to 
 Mr. Oglethorpe, and also secretary for Indian affairs. The hardship 
 of lying on the ground, &c, soon threw me into a fever and dysentery, 
 which in half a year forced me to return to England. My brother 
 returned the next year. Still we had no plan, but to serve God, and 
 the Church of England. The lost sheep of this fold were our principal 
 care, not excluding any Christians, of whatever denomination, who were 
 willing to add the power of godliness to their own particular form. 
 Our eldest brother, Samuel, was alarmed at our going on, and strongly 
 expressed his fears of its ending in a separation from the Church. . All 
 our enemies prophesied the same. This confirmed us the more in our 
 resolution to continue in our calling ; which we constantly avowed, 
 both in public and in private ; by conversation, and preaching, and 
 writing ; exhorting all our hearers to follow our example. 
 
 " My brother drew up rules for our societies, one of which was, con- 
 stantly to attend the Church prayers, and sacrament. We both signed 
 them, and likewise our hymn-books. When we were no longer per- 
 mitted to preach in the churches, we preached (but never in church 
 hours) in houses, or fields, and sent, or rather carried, from thence 
 multitudes to church, who had never been there before. Our society 
 in most places made the bulk of the congregation, both at prayers and 
 sacrament. I never lost my dread of separation, or ceased to guard 
 our societies against it. I frequently told them, ' I am your servant as 
 long as you remain in the Church of England ; but no longer. Should
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 727 
 
 you forsake her, you would renounce me.' Some of the lay-preachers 
 very early discovered an inclination to separate, which induced my 
 brother to print his ' Reasons against Separation.' As often as it ap- 
 peared, we beat down the schismatical spirit. If any one did leave 
 the Church, at the same time he left our society. For near fifty years 
 we kept the sheep in the fold ; and having filled the number of our 
 days, only waited to depart in peace. 
 
 " After our having continued friends for above seventy years, and 
 fellow-labourers for above fifty, can any thing but death part us ? 
 I can scarcely yet believe it, that, in his eighty-second year, my brother, 
 my old, intimate friend and companion, should have assumed the epis- 
 copal character, ordained elders, consecrated a bishop, and sent him to 
 ordain our lay-preachers in America ! I was then in Bristol, at his 
 elbow ; yet he never gave me the least hint of his intention. How was 
 he surprised into so rash an action ? He certainly persuaded himself 
 that it was right. 
 
 " Lord Mansfield told me last year, that ordination was separation. 
 This my brother does not and will not see ; or that he has renounced 
 the principles and practice of his whole life ; that he has acted con- 
 trary to all his declarations, protestations, and writings, robbed his 
 friends of their boasting, and left an indelible blot on his name, as long 
 as it shall be remembered. 
 
 " Thus our partnership here is dissolved, but not our friendship. I 
 have taken him for better for worse, till death do us part ; or rather, 
 re-unite us in love inseparable. I have lived on earth a little too long, 
 who have lived to see this evil day. But I shall very soon be taken 
 from it, in steadfast faith that the Lord will maintain his own cause, 
 and carry on his own Avork, and fulfil his promise to his church, ( Lo, I 
 am with you always, even to the end !' Permit me to subscribe myself, 
 Rev. and dear sir, Your faithful and obliged servant and brother. 
 
 " P. S. What will become of those poor sheep in the wilderness, 
 the American Methodists ? How have they been betrayed into a sepa- 
 ration from the Church of England, which their preachers and they no 
 more intended than the Methodists here ! Had they had patience a 
 little longer, they would have seen a real bishop in America, conse- 
 crated by three Scotch bishops, who have their consecration from the 
 English bishops, and are acknowledged by them as the same with 
 themselves. There is therefore not the least difference between the 
 members of Bishop Seabury's church, and the members of the Church 
 of England. He told me, he looked upon the Methodists in America 
 as sound members of the Church, and was ready to ordain any of their 
 preachers whom he should find duly qualified. His ordinations would 
 be indeed genuine, valid, and episcopal.
 
 728 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " But what are your poor Methodists now ? Only a new sect of 
 Presbyterians. And after my brother's death, which is now so near, 
 what will be their end ? They will lose all their influence and import- 
 ance ; they will turn aside to vain j anglings ; they will settle again 
 upon their lees ; and, like other sects of Dissenters, come to nothing !" 
 
 Such were the distressing feelings of Mr. Charles Wesley in refer- 
 ence to his brother's ordinations for America. Of his perfect sincerity 
 no doubt can be entertained. As a poet he was a prophet by general 
 consent ; but never were unfortunate vaticinations more completely dis- 
 proved by time, than those which he uttered on this occasion. Nearly 
 sixty years have now elapsed since those ordinations were performed, 
 and the " name" of John Wesley, so far from being dishonoured by " an 
 indelible blot," is still " as ointment poured forth," and was never more 
 respected. The American Methodists, so far from " losing their in- 
 fluence and importance," from " turning aside to vain janglings," from 
 " settling upon their lees," and from " coming to nothing," in conse- 
 quence of the ordinations which were given to them, have from that 
 time gone on to prosper beyond all former example ; so that at this day 
 they are the most numerous body in the Union. Their Church has 
 indeed violated the theory of a succession of bishops as a distinct 
 order from the apostles. It has an episcopacy which was originated 
 by a presbyter ; but it has not been a whit the less salutary on this 
 account. As an instrument of extensive spiritual good to the souls of 
 men, it appears to immense advantage when compared with the Ameri- 
 can episcopacy with which Bishop Seabury stood connected. In the 
 Methodist Church the great design of the sacraments, of preaching, 
 and of ecclesiastical discipline, has been answered. The members 
 are undeniably justified through faith in the blood of Jesus, and are 
 sanctified by the power of the Holy Ghost. Husbands and wives, 
 parents and children, the aged and the young, the rich and the poor, 
 the master and the servant, have exhibited, and still exhibit, both in 
 life and death, the piety, the zeal, the charity, the justice, the holiness, 
 peace, and joy of apostolical Christianity, which Mr. Charles Wesley 
 has described in his incomparable hymns. Could he have witnessed 
 the triumphant extension of the work of God in connection with the 
 ordinations, which at the time almost broke his heart, he would have 
 smiled at his honest mistake, and have wiped away his needless tears. 
 Those tears, however, for the time were bitter, and copiously shed, 
 as the following letter, which he addressed to his brother, will show. 
 It is dated some months after that to Dr. Chandler ; and, being written 
 in all the confidence of brotherly friendship, contains stronger expres- 
 sions than he would use to a stranger. 
 
 " Bristol, August 14th, 1785. Dear Brother, — I have been reading
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 729 
 
 over again your ' Reasons against a Separation,' printed in 1758, and 
 your Works ; and entreat you, in the name of God, and for Christ's sake, 
 to read them again yourself, with previous prayer, and stop, and pro- 
 ceed no further, till you receive an answer to your inquiry, ' Lord, what 
 wouldest thou have me to do V Every word of your eleven pages de- 
 serves the deepest consideration : not to mention my testimony and 
 hymns. Only the seventh I could wish you to read, — a prophecy 
 which I pray God may never come to pass. 
 
 " Near thirty years since then, you have stood against the importu- 
 nate solicitations of your preachers, who have scarcely at last pre- 
 vailed. I was your natural ally, and faithful friend ; and while you 
 continued faithful to yourself, we two could chase a thousand. But 
 when once you began ordaining in America, I knew, and you knew, 
 that your preachers here would never rest till you ordained them. You 
 told me they would separate by and by. The doctor tells us the same. 
 His Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore was intended to beget 
 a Methodist Episcopal Church here. You know he comes, armed with 
 your authority, to make us all Dissenters. One of your sons assured 
 me, that not a preacher in London would refuse orders from the doctor. 
 Alas ! what trouble are you preparing for yourself, as well as for me, 
 and for your oldest, truest, best friends ! Before you have quite broken 
 down the bridge, stop, and consider ! If your sons have no regard for 
 you, have some regard for yourself. Go to your grave in peace : at 
 least, suffer me to go first, before this ruin is under your hand. So 
 much, I think, you owe to my father, to my brother, and to me, as to 
 stay till I am taken from the evil. I am on the brink of the grave. 
 Do not push me in, or imbitter my last moments. Let us not leave an 
 indelible blot on our memory ; but let us leave behind us the name and 
 character of honest men. 
 
 " This letter is a debt to our parents, and to our brother, as well as 
 to you, and to Your faithful friend." 
 
 To this very earnest letter Mr. John Wesley returned the following 
 answer. The line of poetry which it contains is Charles's own. It 
 occurs in his Elegy on the death of Mr. Jones. 
 
 " Plymouth, August 19th, 1785. Dear Brother, — I will tell you my 
 thoughts with all simplicity, and wait for better information. If you 
 agree with me, well : if not, we can, as Mr. Whitefield used to say, 
 agree to disagree. For these forty years I have been in doubt concern- 
 ing that question, What obedience is due to 
 
 ' Heathenish priests, and mitred infidels V 
 
 I have from time to time proposed my doubts to the most pious and 
 sensible clergymen I knew. But they gave me no satisfaction. Rather
 
 730 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 they seemed to be puzzled as well as me. Obedience I always paid 
 to the bishops, in obedience to the laws of the land. But I cannot see 
 that I am under any obligation to obey them further than those laws 
 require. It is in obedience to these laws that I have never exercised 
 in England the power which I believe God has given me. I firmly 
 believe I am a Scriptural 'E-nioicoTrog, [bishop, or overseer,] as much as 
 any man in England, or in Europe : for the uninterrupted succession I 
 know to be a fable, which no man ever did or can prove. But this 
 does in nowise interfere with my remaining in the Church of England, 
 from which I have no more desire to separate than I had fifty years 
 ago. I still attend all the ordinances of the Church, at all opportuni- 
 ties ; and I constantly and earnestly advise all that are connected with 
 me so to do. When Mr. Smyth pressed us to separate from the Church, 
 he meant, ' Go to church no more.' And this was what I meant twenty- 
 seven years ago, when I persuaded our brethren not to separate from 
 the Church. 
 
 " But here another question occurs, ' What is the Church of Eng- 
 land V It is not all the people of England. Papists and Dissenters 
 are no part thereof. It is not all the people of England, except Papists 
 and Dissenters. Then we should have a glorious Church indeed ! 
 No : according to our twentieth article, a particular church is ' a con- 
 gregation of faithful people,' (ccetus credentium [company of believers] 
 are the words of our Latin edition,) ' among whom the word of God is 
 preached, and the sacraments duly administered.' Here is a true logical 
 definition, containing both the essence and the properties of a church. 
 What then, according to this definition, is the Church of England ? 
 Does it mean all the believers in England, (except the Papists and 
 Dissenters,) who have the word of God and the sacraments duly admin- 
 istered among them ? I fear this does not come up to your idea of the 
 Church of England. Well, what more do you include in the phrase ? 
 ' Why, all the believers that adhere to the doctrine and discipline 
 established by the Convocation under Queen Elizabeth.' Nay, that 
 discipline is Avell-nigh vanished away ; and the doctrine both you and 
 I adhere to. 
 
 " All those reasons against a separation from the Church, in this 
 sense, I subscribe to still. What then are you frighted at ? I no more 
 separate from it now than I did in the year 1758. I submit still 
 (though sometimes with a doubting conscience) to ' mitred infidels.' I 
 do indeed vary from them in some points of doctrine, and in some points 
 of discipline ; (by preaching abroad, for instance, by praying extempore, 
 and by forming societies ;) but not a hair's breadth further than I believe 
 to be meet, right, and my bounden duty. I walk still by the same rule 
 I have done for between forty and fifty years. I do nothing rashly.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 731 
 
 It is not likely I should. The heyday of my blood is over. If you 
 will go on hand in hand with me, do. But do not hinder me, if you 
 will not help. Perhaps if you had kept close to me, I might have done 
 better. However, with or without help, I creep on : and as I have been 
 hitherto, so I trust I shall always be, 
 
 " Your affectionate friend and brother." 
 To this letter Mr. Charles Wesley returned the following reply : — 
 "Marybone, Sept. 8th, 1785. Dear Brother, — I will tell you my 
 thoughts with the same simplicity. There is no danger of our quar- 
 relling ; for the second blow makes the quarrel ; and you are the last 
 man upon earth whom I would wish to quarrel with. That juvenile 
 line of mine, 
 
 Heathenish priests, and mitred infidels, 
 
 I disown, renounce, and with shame recant. I never knew of more 
 than one ' mitred infidel,' and for him I took Mr. Law's word. 
 
 " I do not understand what obedience to the bishops you dread. 
 They have let us alone, and left us to act just as we pleased, for these 
 fifty years. At present some of them are quite friendly toward us, par- 
 ticularly toward you. The churches are all open to you ; and never 
 could there be less pretence for a separation. That you are a Scrip- 
 tural 'E7Ti(TKOTroc, or overseer, I do not dispute. And so is every 
 minister who has the cure of souls. Neither need we dispute whether 
 the uninterrupted succession be fabulous, as you believe, or real, as I 
 believe ; or whether Lord King be right or wrong. Your definition of 
 the Church of England is the same in prose with mine in verse. By 
 the way, read over my ' Epistle,' to oblige me, and tell me you have 
 read it, and likewise your own ' Reasons.' 
 
 " You write, ' All those reasons against a separation from the Church. 
 I subscribe to still. What then are you frighted at ? I no more sepa- 
 rate from it than I did in the year 1758. I submit still to its bishops. 
 I do indeed vary from them in some points of discipline ; (by preaching 
 abroad, for instance, praying extempore, and by forming societies ;) 
 [might you not add, and by ordaining ?] I still walk by the same rule 
 I have done for between forty and fifty years. I do nothing rashly.' 
 If I could prove your actual separation, I would not; neither wish to 
 see it proved by any other. But do you not allow that the doctor has 
 separated ? Do you not know and approve of his avowed design and 
 resolution to get all the Methodists of the three kingdoms into a distinct, 
 compact body ? a new episcopal church of his own ? Have you seen 
 his ordination sermon ? Is the heyday of his blood over ? Does he 
 do nothing rashly ? Have you not made yourself the author of all his 
 actions ? I need not remind you that, qui fucit per alium facit per se, 
 [he who does any thing by means of another does it himself.]
 
 732 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 " I must not leave unanswered your surprising question, ' What then 
 are you frighted at V At the doctor's rashness, and your supporting 
 him in his ambitious pursuits ; at an approaching schism, as causeless 
 and unprovoked as the American rebellion ; at your own eternal dis- 
 grace, and all those frightful evils which your ' Reasons' describe. ' If 
 you will go on hand in hand with me, do.' I do go, or rather creep on, 
 in the old way in which we set out together, and trust to continue in it 
 till I finish my course. ' Perhaps if you had kept close to me, I might 
 have done better.' When you took that fatal step at Bristol, I kept as 
 close to you as close could be ; for I was all the time at your elbow. 
 You might certainly have done better, if you had taken me into your 
 council. 
 
 " I thank you for your intention to remain my friend. Herein my 
 heart is as your heart. Whom God hath joined, let not man put asun- 
 der. We have taken each other for better for worse, till death do us 
 — part ? no : but unite eternally. Therefore in the love which never 
 faileth, I am Your affectionate friend and brother." 
 
 On the 13th of September Mr. John Wesley returned the following 
 answer : — 
 
 " Dear Brother, — I see no use of you and me disputing together ; 
 for neither of us is likely to convince the other. You say, I separate 
 from the Church. I say, I do not. Then let it stand. Your verse is 
 a sad truth. I see fifty times more of England than you do ; and I find 
 few exceptions to it. I believe Dr. Coke is as free from ambition as 
 from covetousness. He has done nothing rashly, that I know. But he 
 has spoken rashly, which he retracted the moment I spoke to him of it. 
 To publish as his present thoughts what he had before retracted, was 
 not fair play. He is now such a right hand to me as Thomas Walsh 
 was. If you will not or cannot help me yourself, do not hinder those 
 that can and will. I must and will save as many souls as I can while 
 I live, without being careful about what may possibly be when I die. I 
 pray do not confound the intellects of the people in London. You 
 may thereby a little weaken my hands, but you will greatly weaken 
 your own." 
 
 The correspondence of the brothers on this subject was concluded 
 by the subjoined -answer by Charles : — 
 
 " London, Sept. 19th, 1785. Dear Brother, — I did not say, you sep- 
 arate from the Church ; but I did say, ' If I could prove it, I would not.' 
 That ' sad truth' is not a new truth. You saw it when you expressed 
 in your ' Reasons' such tenderness of love for the unconverted clergy. 
 Of your second Thomas Walsh we had better talk than write. How 
 ' confound their intellects V how ' weaken your hands V I know noth- 
 ing which I do to prevent the possible separation, but pray. God forbid
 
 4$ 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 733 
 
 I should sin against him by ceasing to pray for the Church of England, 
 and for you, while my breath remains in me ! I am 
 
 " Your affectionate brother." 
 
 This correspondence between the brothers is particularly valuable, 
 as illustrating the character of both. Their love for each other was 
 strong and tender ; and if any thing could have restrained John from 
 performing his acts of ordination, it was his regard for Charles : but 
 such was his conviction of duty, that he chose rather to grieve the 
 dearest friend that he had in the world than refrain from doing that to 
 which he believed himself providentially called in the peculiar exigency 
 of his spiritual children. 
 
 When Mr. John Wesley professed to remain in union with the 
 Church of England, he did not mean that his conduct was canonically 
 regular ; for the reverse of this was notoriously the fact. He deviated 
 from the order of the Church by the erection of chapels over which 
 the English prelates had no control ; by the employment of preachers 
 on whose heads episcopal hands had not been laid ; by forming reli- 
 gious societies everywhere, independently of the clergy in whose 
 parishes the members of those societies lived ; as well as by field- 
 preaching, and extemporary prayer. But at the same time he attended 
 the religious services of the Church, and urged all his societies to 
 follow his example. He now further deviated from the order of the 
 Church by ordaining men for the administration of the sacraments in 
 America and Scotland ; but this did not dissolve the kind of union 
 which he professed, and which he had maintained for nearly fifty years. 
 That Lord Mansfield, speaking as a lawyer, should pronounce the act 
 of ordination, when performed by a presbyter without the concurrence 
 of a bishop, to be separation from the Church of England, considering 
 the nature of its constitution, is not at all surprising. Such it was, in 
 a sense, and such had been Mr. Wesley's acts from the year 1738. 
 In that year both the brothers began to act independently of the eccle- 
 siastical authorities. Yet John, as well as Charles, loved the doctrine 
 of the Church, delighted in her worship, and never departed from her 
 order, but when he deemed it his absolute duty, the eternal interests 
 of mankind being concerned. When his brother first heard of the 
 ordinations, he regarded them as separation ; but it is evident, from 
 the altered tone of his correspondence, that his views were at least 
 partially changed. " If I could prove you to have separated," says he, 
 " I would not." 
 
 It is easy to perceive that Mr. Charles Wesley's opposition to his 
 brother's ordinations was rather a matter of feeling than of reason and 
 argument. He proposed nothing that was feasible for meeting the 
 wants of the American and Scottish Methodists ; and in expostulating 

 
 734 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 with John he pleads the respect which was due to their late father and 
 elder brother. He forgot that the plea of filial and fraternal regard 
 applied with equal force against himself. Their father and brother 
 were canonically regular, and would have condemned all that the bro- 
 thers had been doing for near fifty years. Had Charles acted upon 
 their principles, he would never have preached at Moorfields and Ken- 
 nington-common ; he would never have instructed and warned the 
 neglected Romanists of Ireland, the Cornish miners, the colliers of 
 Kingswood, the keelmen of Newcastle, or the outcasts of Staffordshire. 
 The Foundery would never have been opened by him and his brother ; 
 and, according to all human probability, ten thousand souls to whom 
 he and his brother were the instruments of salvation would have been 
 lost for ever. Family honour is of no account when compared with 
 the interests of redeemed men, and the extension of Christ's kingdom. 
 The truest respect for their deceased father and brother was to act in 
 full accordance with those impressive views of religion which are 
 disclosed to the minds of disembodied spirits, who see every thing, 
 not in the dim and flickering light of time, but in the full blaze of 
 eternity. 
 
 In this correspondence, it will be observed, Mr. Charles Wesley, 
 complaining that he had not been taken into the whole of his brother's 
 councils, says, " I was your natural ally." John rejoins, " If you had 
 kept close to me, I might have done better." Charles evades this 
 gentle reproof, by pleading that he was at his brother's elbow in Bristol 
 when the ordinations for America were performed. He knew that this 
 was not what was meant. For thirty years he had left his brother to 
 regulate the preachers and societies as he could ; confining his own 
 ministrations chiefly to London and Bristol, and not even attending the 
 conferences with regularity. 
 
 Though he evaded the reproof at the time, he evidently felt its force, 
 and therefore took his place in the conference of 1786, which was held 
 in Bristol. The occasion was very important. Dr. Coke had returned 
 from the United States, where he had fulfilled his charge, and was 
 about to repair to the provinces of British America, with a band of 
 missionaries, whom he was to fix in the most destitute and promising 
 localities. At this conference, Mr. John "Wesley, unconvinced by his 
 brother's letters and verbal remonstrances, ordained six or seven others 
 of his preachers to administer the sacraments, some of whom went to 
 Scotland, and others to the West Indies.* He was urged to ordain a 
 preacher for some place in Yorkshire ; but this he declined ; yet he 
 made and published the following important concession on the subject 
 of public service in Church hours on the Lord's day : — 
 
 * Bradburn's "Are the Methodists Dissenters?" p. 12. Second edition.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 735 
 
 " Perhaps there is one part of what I wrote some time since, which 
 requires a little further explanation. In what cases do we allow of 
 service in Church hours ? I answer, 
 
 " 1. When the minister is a notoriously wicked man. 
 
 "2. When he preaches Arian or any equally pernicious doctrine. 
 
 " 3. When there are not churches in the town sufficient to contain 
 half the people. And, 
 
 " 4. When there is no church at all within two or three miles. And 
 we advise every one who preaches in the Church hours, to read the 
 Psalms and Lessons, with part of the Church prayers ; because we 
 apprehend this will endear the Church service to our brethren, who 
 probably would be prejudiced against it, if they heard none but extem- 
 porary prayer."* 
 
 The spirit which prevailed in this conference was every way satis- 
 factory. About eighty preachers were present, and their general una- 
 nimity afforded Mr. John Wesley the richest gratification. In his 
 printed Journal he says, " We met every day at six and nine in the 
 morning, and at two in the afternoon. On Tuesday and on Wednesday 
 morning the characters of the preachers were considered, whether 
 they were already admitted or not. On Thursday in the afternoon we 
 permitted any of the society to be present, and weighed what was said 
 about separating from the Church : but we all determined to continue 
 therein, without one dissenting voice : and I doubt not but this deter- 
 mination will stand, at least till I am removed into a better world. On 
 Friday and Saturday most of our temporal business was settled. Sun- 
 day, I preached in the room morning and evening ; and in the after- 
 noon at Kingswood, where there is rather an increase than a decrease 
 in the work of God. 
 
 " Monday, the conference met again, and concluded on Tuesday 
 morning. Great had been the expectations of many, that we should 
 have bad warm debates ; but, by the mercy of God, we had none at 
 all : every thing was transacted with great calmness ; and we parted, 
 as we met, in peace and love." 
 
 At this time Mr. Charles Wesley cultivated the friendship of Mr. 
 Latrolie, the intelligent and liberal-minded minister of the Moravian 
 Church, then resident in England. He appears to have shown him 
 the manuscript poetic epistles which, many years before, he had writ- 
 ten to Count Zinzendorf, and other members of that community, con- 
 taining strong censures upon the tenets which the count inculcated, 
 and for which he thought the Moravian Church should not now be held 
 responsible. Miss Wesley, with the concurrence of her father, fre- 
 quently attended the Moravian chapel ; and he wished to bring about 
 * Minutes of Conference, vol. i, p. 191.
 
 736 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 a better understanding between that. Church and the Methodist body. 
 Before the conference was concluded he addressed a letter to Mr. La- 
 trobe, in which he says, " My brother, and I, and the preachers, were 
 unanimous for continuing in the old ship. The preachers of a Dis- 
 senting spirit will probably, after our death, set up for themselves, and 
 draw away disciples after them. An old Baptist minister, forty } T ears 
 ago, told me, he looked on the Methodists as a seminary for the Dis- 
 senters. My desire and design, from the beginning to this day, is, to 
 leave them in the lap of their mother. 
 
 " The bishops might, if they pleased, save the largest and soundest 
 part of them back into the Church ; perhaps to leaven the whole lump, 
 as Archbishop Potter said to me. But I fear, between you and me, their 
 lordships care for none of these things. Still I should hope, if God 
 raised up but one primitive bishop, and commanded the porter to open 
 the door. The friendly intercourse of your society and ours might be 
 another likely means of preserving our children in their calling. My 
 brother is very well inclined to such a correspondence. So is (would 
 you think it ?) the writer of those epistles. 
 
 " Should I live to meet my brother in London, he will desire a con- 
 ference with you. You will first settle your preliminary article, and 
 then venture, I should think, to converse with him and me. If our 
 Lord is pleased to use us as peacemakers, under him, we may yet do 
 something toward preventing any separation at all. The great evil 
 which I have dreaded for near fifty years is a schism. If I live to see 
 that evil prevented, and also to see the two sticks (the Moravian and 
 English Church) become one in our Saviour's hand, I shall then say, 
 * Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace !' " 
 
 From this letter it is manifest, that Mr. Charles Wesley's jealousies 
 of the preachers arose principally from his want of intercourse with them. 
 They were scattered over the country where he never went ; and from 
 the Dissenting prejudices of a few, he judged of the rest. Whereas 
 when he met eighty of them in this conference, he found them, with 
 few exceptions, one in mind and heart with himself and his honoured 
 brother. That they were not inclined to violent measures, is demon- 
 ' strated by their Christian moderation when he and his brother were no 
 more. The government of the connection devolved upon them at the 
 period of the French revolution ; and under all the excitement con- 
 nected with that event, and the passion for change which it created, the 
 body of Methodist preachers maintained a steady adherence to the 
 principles in which they had been nurtured by their venerated father in 
 the gospel. Instead of seeking ordination from Dr. Coke or any other 
 man, and generally proceeding to the administration of the sacraments, 
 as Mr. Charles Wesley apprehended, the majority of them firmly with-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 737 
 
 stood all attempts to innovate upon their original plan, and denied the 
 sacraments to the societies till all further resistance was unavailing. 
 The preachers in general sought no ordination at the hands of Dr. 
 Coke ; nor did the doctor, after Mr. Wesley's death, attempt to intro- 
 duce any of those changes in the body which Mr. Charles Wesley 
 feared. 
 
 He still clave to his favourite notion, that in the national Church, " a 
 bishop" of the " primitive" stamp would arise, and by the imposition of 
 his hands sanction the ministrations of the Methodist preachers. That 
 they were called of God, he had the fullest conviction ; and earnestly 
 did he desire that some episcopal " porter" would " open the door" for 
 their admission to what he deemed the regular pastorate. For many 
 years he prayed for this ; and when no answer appeared, he trusted 
 that their continued exclusion would be overruled for good. He depre- 
 cated separation as an evil in itself, and lamented the circumstances 
 which rendered it unavoidable. 
 
 Yet there was a singular discrepancy between his theory of Church- 
 manship and his conduct. For thirty years he made more noise on the 
 subject of the continued union of the Methodists with the Church, than 
 any man of the age ; and all this while he was, beyond comparison, 
 the greatest practical separatist in the whole connection. Mr. John 
 Wesley spent most of his time in travelling through Great Britain and 
 Ireland, often preaching twice every day, and two or three times on 
 the sabbath. Rarely, however, did he preach in Church hours, except 
 when he officiated for a brother clergyman. He so arranged his public 
 services as to attend the church where he happened to be ; and he 
 pressed the people that heard him to accompany him thither. Many 
 of the itinerant preachers pursued the same course. They preached 
 to their own congregations at an early hour on the Sunday morning, at 
 noon, and in the evening ; and in the forenoon and afternoon they were 
 present, with their people, at the service of the Church. This was the 
 recognised plan of Methodist practice ; and though several refused to 
 conform to it, especially where the clergy were unfriendly or immoral, 
 yet others were even zealous for it, especially where the clergy were 
 kind and tolerant. 
 
 But this was not the state of things in London, under the adminis- 
 tration of Mr. Charles Wesley. He preached twice during Church 
 hours every sabbath, and indulged the society with a weekly sacrament 
 at their own places of worship ; so that they had no opportunity of 
 attending their several churches, nor any motive to attend them. He 
 conducted divine worship indeed according to the order of the Church 
 of England, except that he used extemporary prayer, and sung his own 
 beautiful hymns ; but he and the society had otherwise no more con- 
 
 47
 
 738 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES "WESLEY. 
 
 nection with the established Church than any Dissenting minister and 
 congregation had. He was under no episcopal control ; the chapels 
 in which he officiated were licensed by no bishop ; and the clergy in 
 whose parishes those chapels were situated were never consulted as to 
 the time and manner of divine service. The uneasiness which fre- 
 quently arose in some of the country societies took its origin in part 
 from this state of things. They wished to be upon an equality with 
 their metropolitan brethren ; and they were never satisfied, either during 
 the lifetime of the Wesleys, or after their death, till this was conceded 
 to them. 
 
 In the principal Methodist chapels in Great Britain and Ireland the 
 Lord's supper is now administered, and divine service is conducted 
 during Church hours. Some persons speak of this as an absolute de- 
 parture from Wesleyan Methodism. It is a departure from the general 
 practice of original Methodism ; but it is an assimilation of Methodism 
 in the country to Methodism as it existed in London under the personal 
 administration of Mr. Charles Wesley, with the full concurrence and 
 co-operation of his brother. The only difference is, that the sacra- 
 ments are now administered by men who have received a presbyterian 
 appointment to the sacred office ; whereas in London they were always 
 administered by episcopal clergymen. Mr. Charles Wesley thought 
 that when he and his brother were dead, the preachers would split into 
 endless divisions. The fact is, their union, under the " Deed of De- 
 claration," has been far more complete than it ever was before ; and 
 they unanimously agree to walk in the path which was marked out by 
 his example. They have departed from Charles Wesley's theory, but 
 they follow his practice. They love his memory, and smile at his 
 gloomy forebodings, which time has demonstrated to have had no just 
 foundation. 
 
 Great as was Mr. Charles Wesley's affection for the established Church, 
 no man had a keener perception of her blemishes than he ; and while 
 he censured his brother for not rising to what he considered the true 
 standard of Churchmanship, he himself often spoke of the clergy, not 
 excepting even the bishops, in language of far greater severity than his 
 brother ever used. For the preaching of unordained men, he was a 
 strenuous advocate ; and he had a solemn persuasion that the Methodist 
 preachers were called of God to labour in the word and doctrine. He 
 regarded them as a means of reviving decayed piety in the land, and 
 of rousing the clergy to a due sense of their responsibilities. With as 
 much decision as his brother, he spurned canonical regularity when it 
 interfered with the salvation of souls, by imposing silence upon unor- 
 dained men. It would be unjust to his memory, not to give a few 
 specimens of his manner of writing on these subjects. 
 
 47*
 
 IFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 739 
 
 Eldad, they said, and Medad, there, 
 
 Irregularly bold, 
 By Moses uncommission'd, dare 
 
 A separate meeting hold ! 
 And still whom none but Heaven will own, 
 
 Men whom the world decry, 
 Men authorized by God alone, 
 
 Presume to prophesy ! 
 
 How often have I blindly done 
 
 What zealous Joshua did, 
 Impatient to the rulers run, 
 
 And cried, " My lords, forbid ! 
 Silence the schismatics ; constrain 
 
 Their thoughts with ours t' agree ; 
 And sacrifice the souls of men 
 
 To idle unity !" 
 
 Moses, the minister of God, 
 
 Rebukes our partial love, 
 Who envy at the gifts bestow'd 
 
 On those we disapprove. 
 We do not our own spirit know, 
 
 Who wish to see suppress'd 
 The men that Jesu's Spirit show, 
 
 The men whom God hath bless'd. 
 
 Master, for thine we cannot own 
 
 The workmen who themselves create. 
 Their call receive from man alone, 
 
 As licensed servants of the state, 
 Who to themselves the honour take. 
 
 Nor tarry till thy Spirit move, 
 But serve for filthy lucre's sake 
 
 The souls they neither feed nor love. 
 
 In vain in their own lying words 
 
 The haughty self-deceivers trust ; 
 The harvest's and the vineyard's lords 
 
 In vain their true succession boast : 
 Their lawful property they claim 
 
 The apostolic ministry ; 
 But only labourers in name, 
 
 They prove they are not sent by thee. 
 
 Who but the Holy Ghost can make 
 
 A genuine gospel minister. 
 A bishop bold to undertake 
 
 Of precious souls the awful care ? 
 The Holy Ghost alone can move 
 
 A sinner sinners to convert, 
 Infuse the apostolic love, 
 
 And bless him with a pastor e heart.
 
 740 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Not all the hands of all mankind 
 
 Can constitute one overseer ; 
 But spirited with Jesu's mind, 
 
 The heavenly messengers appear : 
 They follow close with zeal divine, 
 
 The Bishop great, the Shepherd good, 
 And cheerfully their lives resign, 
 
 To save the purchase of his blood. 
 
 Extracts of a similar kind, and of still greater severity, might easily 
 be multiplied ; but these will suffice to show the writer's habits of 
 thought on the subjects to which they refer. He was a Churchman, 
 and acknowledged an " apostolic succession ;" but he also acknow- 
 ledged a scribe-and-Pharisee succession, which repines and mourns at 
 the conversion of sinners, unless the work be carried on precisely in 
 the manner which men prescribe : a " succession" which would rather 
 see mankind live in ignorance and sin, and even perish by thousands, 
 than that they should be sanctified and brought to heaven by what is 
 called an " irregular" and " unauthorized" instrumentality. Wicked 
 ministers, whatever hands had been laid upon them, he declared to be 
 no servants of the living God. 
 
 It is not therefore surprising, that, as Mr. Charles Wesley drew near 
 the close of life, he became less hostile to his brother's ordinations. 
 As long as he was able to labour, he continued to serve the Methodist 
 congregations with his wonted faithfulness. Within less than twelve 
 months of his death, writing to his brother, he says, " I served West- 
 street chapel on Friday, and yesterday. Next Saturday I propose to 
 sleep in your bed. Samuel Bradburn and I shall not disagree. 
 
 " Stand to your own proposal. Let us agree to differ. I leave Ame- 
 rica and Scotland to your latest thoughts and recognitions." " Keep 
 your authority while you live ; and after your death detur digniori, or, 
 rather, dignioribus .* You cannot settle the succession." 
 
 Before Mr. John Wesley closed his life he saw, as every intelligent 
 observer must have seen, that the sacraments in their own chapels, and 
 administered by their own preachers, could not be permanently with- 
 held from the whole of the Methodist societies in England. Earnestly 
 indeed did he desire that they should rather attend these ordinances in 
 their several parish churches ; and he did every thing in his power to 
 secure this point ; but he could not succeed. The thing was in itself 
 impossible. The people knew his wishes, and most of them deferred 
 to his authority; but there were cases in which he could not even 
 press them to frequent the ministrations of the clergy. 
 
 In the year 1781 he received a letter from five members of his society 
 
 * " Let it be given to one who is more worthy of it ; or, rather, to those who are 
 more worthy of it."
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 741 
 
 at Baildon, in the west of Yorkshire, soliciting his advice on the sub- 
 ject of their attendance at church. Such was the doctrine taught 
 there, that they were rather injured than benefited by it. He knew 
 the men to be not captious, but " of a loving spirit, of an unblameable 
 conversation ;" and their communication, says he, " is worthy of the 
 greater regard, as they speak, not only in their own name, but in the 
 name of many who wish to have a conscience void of offence, both 
 toward God, and toward man." In reply to their request he says, " It 
 is a delicate as well as important point, on which I hardly know how 
 to answer. I cannot lay down any general rule. All I can say at 
 present is, If it does not hurt you, hear them : if it does, refrain. Be 
 determined by your own conscience. Let every man in particular act 
 as he is fully persuaded in his own mind."* 
 
 In less than five years afterward he says, in a letter to his brother, 
 " The last time I was at Scarborough I earnestly exhorted the people 
 to go to church ; and I went myself. But the wretched minister 
 preached such a sermon, that I could not in conscience advise them 
 to hear him any more." 
 
 These were not solitary cases, nor could they be regarded as matters 
 of indifference. They pressed heavily upon Mr. Wesley, who now 
 began to feel the infirmities of age ; for the result to which they in- 
 evitably led was too manifest. He deemed it requisite, therefore, re- 
 peatedly to refer to the subject in his monthly Magazine. In the autumn 
 of 1788, speaking of the entire separation of Mr. Ingham's and Lady 
 Huntingdon's people from the Church, he says, with regard to his own 
 societies, " Such a separation I have always declared against ; and 
 certainly it will not take place (if ever it does) while I live. But a 
 kind of separation has already taken place, and will inevitably spread, 
 though by slow degrees. Those ministers, so called, who neither live 
 nor preach the gospel, I dare not say are sent of God. Where one of 
 these is settled, many of the Methodists dare not attend his ministry ; 
 so, if there be no other church in the neighbourhood, they go to church 
 no more. This is the case in a few places already, and it will be the 
 case in more : and no one can justly blame me for tins ; neither is it 
 contrary to any of my professions." 
 
 At the close of the following year he again adverts to the perplexing 
 subject. Having mentioned the efforts which had been formerly made 
 to effect a separation, and which he and his brother had laboured to 
 suppress, he adds, " The grand argument (which in some particular 
 cases must be acknowledged to have weight) was this : ' The minister 
 of the parish wherein we dwell neither lives nor preaches the gospel. 
 He walks in the way to hell himself, and teaches his flock to do the 
 * Works, vol. vii, pp. 306, 307.
 
 742 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 same. Can you advise them to attend his preaching?' I cannot ad- 
 vise them to it. ' What then can they do on the Lord's day, suppose 
 no other church be near ? Do you advise them to go to a Dissenting 
 meeting, or to meet in their own preaching-house?' Where this is 
 really the case, I cannot blame them if they do. Although, therefore, 
 I earnestly oppose the general separation of the Methodists from the 
 Church, yet I cannot condemn such a partial separation in this particu- 
 lar case. I believe, to separate thus far from these miserable wretches, 
 who are the scandal of our Church and nation, would be for the honour 
 of our Church, as well as to the glory of God." 
 
 In accordance with these principles, and with an existing state of 
 things which he deeply regretted, but could not control, Mr. Wesley 
 ordained three of his preachers to administer the sacraments in Eng- 
 land, wherever they might deem it necessary ; but in a sermon on the 
 sacred office, which he published about the same time, he strongly 
 urged upon the body of the preachers the duty of confining themselves 
 to preaching the word of life, as their original and special calling, and 
 to abstain from administering the sacraments altogether. The three 
 men whom he selected from their brethren, and invested with what he 
 considered the full ministerial character, were Mr. Alexander Mather, 
 Thomas Rankin, and Henry Moore. The following is a copy of the 
 certificate of ordination given to Mr. Moore, as published by himself : — 
 
 " Know all men by these presents, that I, John Wesley, late fellow 
 of Lincoln College, in Oxford, presbyter of the Church of England, 
 did, on the day of the date hereof, by the imposition of my hands and 
 prayer, (being assisted by other ordained ministers,) set apart Henry 
 Moore, for the office of a presbyter in the church of God : a man whom 
 I judge qualified to feed the flock of Christ, and to administer the 
 sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper, according to the usage 
 of the Church of England ; and as such I do hereby recommend him 
 to all whom it may concern. In testimony whereof I have hereunto 
 set my hand and seal this twenty-seventh day of February, in the year 
 of our Lord 1789. John Wesley 
 
 " Present and assisting, 
 
 t , _ ~ ' " ' > Presbyters of the Church of England." 
 
 " Peard Dickenson, ) J ° 
 
 With this document and the facts connected with it before him, the 
 
 reader will perceive what credit is due to the Messrs. Wilberforce and 
 
 Dr. Pusey, in their statements respecting Mr. Wesley and his preachers. 
 
 The brothers assert, in the Life of their father, " John Wesley was no 
 
 Dissenter, nor were any of his preachers suffered during his life-time 
 
 to attempt to administer the sacraments of the Church."* The Oxford 
 
 * Vol. i, p. 248.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 743 
 
 professor avers, with equal confidence, " that Wesley reluctantly took 
 the step of ordaining at all ; that he meant those whom he ordained to 
 be subordinate auxiliaries to the ministry ; and that, to the last, he 
 refused, in the strongest terms, his consent that those thus ordained 
 should take upon them to administer the sacraments. He felt that it 
 exceeded his powers, and so inhibited it, however it might diminish 
 the numbers of the society he had formed."* 
 
 Thus it is that grave men, whose very office binds them to attach a 
 peculiar sacredness to truth, fearlessly dogmatize on subjects which 
 they never took the pains to understand ! Mr. Wesley expressly ap- 
 pointed about twenty of his preachers to perform those acts which 
 these clergymen tell the world he absolutely forbade them to meddle 
 with ! thus dealing their censures blindfold, regardless of the injury 
 they may inflict. With a large class of writers it seems to be now an 
 admitted principle, that they are under no obligation to confine ^hem- 
 selves to strict veracity when speaking of Methodism and its founder. 
 But whatever blame may be justly imputable to Mr. Wesley and his 
 preachers, the men who violate truth, with ample means of correct 
 information within their reach, should be the last to assume the office 
 of censors. A convicted transgressor of the ninth commandment is ill 
 prepared to undergo a strict cross-examination in preferring the charge 
 of " schism" against his neighbour. Moral precepts are at least as 
 binding as those. which relate to church order. 
 
 But no man in modern times has written against Mr. Wesley's ordi- 
 nations with such flippancy and uncharitableness as the Rev. Edwin 
 Sidney, the biographer of Mr. Walker, of Truro. The following is a 
 specimen of his style and manner : — " His strange expedient of calling 
 in Erasmus, the Greek bishop, to ordain his preachers, brought upon 
 him, and not without reason, the censures of his opponents, particularly 
 of Toplady, Avho proclaimed the bishop ' a vagrant' and ' an impostor.' 
 Indeed it was doubtful whether he was what he pretended to be. But 
 to what inconsistencies may not any man be driven, by once giving 
 way to the miserable excuse of expediency? His last act of all, how- 
 ever, was the most extraordinary. When he wanted ordained preachers 
 for America, he, of a sudden, in his old age, found out, by reading 
 Lord King's account of the primitive Church, that bishops and presby- 
 ters are of the same order. This new and convenient discovery deter- 
 mined him to ordain Dr. Coke, who hesitated at first, but was overruled 
 by the arguments that had weighed with his friend. He, having con- 
 sented, was invested with authority by Wesley, who actually gave him 
 letters of ordination, to go out and ordain in America, stating in them, 
 4 1, John Wesley, think myself to be providentially called at this time, 
 * Letter to the Bishop of Oxford, p. 151.
 
 744 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 to set apart some persons for the work of the ministry in America.' 
 Therefore he sent out Dr. Coke, ' a presbyter of the Church of Eng- 
 land,' to preside over the flock of Christ ! The plain answer to this 
 presumptuous act seems never to have occurred to either Wesley or 
 Coke, — That if, as they agreed, presbyter and bishop was the same 
 order, the consecration was a useless ceremony ; for the latter, having 
 been regularly ordained, was previously thereto as good a bishop as 
 the former !"-* 
 
 A short analysis of this quotation will show its character. An equal 
 number of misrepresentations in so small a compass it would be difficult 
 to produce. It is no breach of charity to say, that truth is not the object 
 of men who write in this manner. 
 
 Erasmus, the Greek bishop here mentioned, came to England in the 
 year 1763. It is not true that Mr. Wesley "called in" this stranger 
 " to ordain his preachers." One of them only was ordained by him 
 with Mr. Wesley's consent. The reason was, the pressing necessity 
 for help in the administration of the Lord's supper in London, now that 
 Thomas Maxfield had withdrawn. Other preachers, of their own ac- 
 cord, obtained ordination from this foreigner, which so displeased Mr. 
 Wesley, that he expelled every one of them. John Jones, the man 
 who was ordained, was every way worthy of the distinction which he 
 sought. His health afterward declined, so that he retired from the 
 labours of the itinerancy, and became the head-master of the Free 
 School at Harwich, and curate to Dr. Gibson, the vicar of that town. 
 He also succeeded the doctor in the vicarage. In sobriety and moral 
 worth (ew persons have excelled him. He was the author of an 
 excellent Latin Grammar, and was a graduate in medicine as well as 
 in arts. 
 
 But Mr. Toplady, we are told, " proclaimed the bishop ' a vagrant' 
 and ' an impostor.' " And what of that ? Had Mr. Sidney been con- 
 temporary with this rude polemic, and questioned any of his favourite 
 opinions, Mr. Toplady would, without a moment's hesitation, have 
 called him far worse names. The use of such language proves 
 nothing, except the absence of meekness and courtesy in those who 
 are accustomed to use it. Before Dr. Jones accepted ordination, he 
 ascertained that Erasmus had " abundant unexceptionable credentials 
 as to his episcopal character." He wrote to the patriarch of Smyrna, 
 who attested the fact under his own hand. The bishop was also iden- 
 tified by several gentlemen who had seen him in Turkey. f 
 
 In assigning reasons for the steps which he had taken for the pur- 
 pose of giving his societies in America the sacraments and a regular 
 
 * Life of Walker, p. 260. Second edition, 
 t Myles's History of the Methodists, p. 88.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 745 
 
 ministry, Mr. Wesley says, in a document, which he published at the 
 time, " Lord King's account of the primitive Church convinced me, 
 many years ago, that bishops and presbyters are the same order, and 
 consequently have the same right to ordain." He then intimates that 
 his views on this subject had been long known ; so that he adds, "For 
 many years I have been importuned, from time to time, to exercise this 
 right, by ordaining part of our travelling preachers."* This statement 
 Mr. Walker's biographer positively contradicts. He avers, that " the 
 discovery" respecting the equality of bishops and presbyters, by Mr. 
 Wesley, was " sudden," and made in his " old age ;" that it was " new," 
 as well as " convenient ;" being made just " when he wanted ordained 
 preachers for America." This is a direct attack upon the veracity of 
 Mr. Wesley, who could not be mistaken on such a subject. If the 
 " discovery" was " sudden," made in his " old age," and made to suit 
 his " convenience," he stands convicted of deliberate falsehood, and the 
 whole affair of his ordinations savours of fraud and dissimulation. In 
 this unscrupulous manner does an evangelical clergyman write con- 
 cerning one of the most eminent ministers of modern times ! 
 
 W'hat then is the evidence in the case ? Did Mr. Wesley utter an 
 untruth ? Was he a downright dissembler ? or is Mr. Sidney, in this 
 instance, a rash and faithless historian ? On referring to Mr. Wesley's 
 printed Journal, ui^der the date of Jan. 20th, 1746, we read, " I set out 
 for Bristol. On the road I read over Lord King's account of the pri- 
 mitive Church. In spite of the vehement prejudice of my education, 
 I was ready to believe that this was a fair and impartial draught : but 
 if so, it would follow that bishops and presbyters are essentially of one 
 order." Here we find " the discovery" which Mr. Sidney says was 
 made in " his old age," actually published when the author was com- 
 paratively young, and nearly forty years before he " wanted ordained 
 preachers for America." 
 
 The same principle Mr. Wesley openly avowed in his " Explanatory 
 Notes on the New Testament," which he first published in the year 
 1755, and at various periods afterward, to the end of his life. On the 
 clause, " Sending to Ephesus, he called the elders of the church," 
 (Acts xx, 17,) he says, " These are called bishops in the 28th verse ; 
 rendered overseers in our translation. Perhaps elders and bishops 
 were then the same ; or no otherwise different than are the rector of a 
 parish, and his curate." His note on Phil, i, 1, is as follows : — " ' With 
 the bishops and deacons,' — The former properly took care of the inter- 
 nal state, the latter, of the externals, of the church, 1 Tim. iii, 2, 8 : 
 although these were not wholly confined to the one, nor those to the 
 other. The word bishops here includes all the presbyters at Philippi, 
 * Wesley's Works, vol. vii, p. 311.
 
 746 LIFE OF RET. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 as well as the ruling presbyter : the names bishop and presbyter, or 
 elder, being promiscuously used in the first ages." Here we find the 
 same " discovery," not only " made," but publicly avowed, long before 
 Mr. Wesley's " old age." 
 
 In the year 1780, four years before he "wanted ordained preachers 
 for America," Mr. Wesley says, in a letter to his brother, " Read Bishop 
 Stillingfleet's ' Irenicutn' or any impartial history of the ancient church ; 
 and I believe you will think as I do. I verily believe, I have as good 
 a right to ordain, as to administer the Lord's supper." 
 
 The reader may now judge between Mr. Wesley and his accuser, 
 who prefers against him so fearful a charge. On the part of Mr. Sid- 
 ney we have bold assertion, uttered with an air of contempt, — and 
 nothing else. On the side of Mr. Wesley we have direct documentary 
 evidence, of the strongest kind. In reply to this unprovoked attack 
 upon his moral character, the venerable accused shall answer for him- 
 self, in the memorable words which he uttered upon a somewhat simi- 
 lar occasion, not long before he ended his life of glory and shame : — 
 " I am not a man of duplicity. I am not an old hypocrite, a double- 
 tongued knave. I now tell a plain tale, that the good which is in me 
 may not be spoken evil of. I have no temporal end to serve. I seek 
 not the honour that cometh of men. It is not for pleasure that, at this 
 time of life, I travel three or four thousand miles a year. It is not 
 for gain. 
 
 No foot of land do I possess, 
 
 No cottage in the wilderness ; 
 A poor wayfaring man, 
 
 I lodge a while in tents below, 
 
 Or gladly wander to and fro, 
 Till I my Canaan gain." 
 
 That " Canaan" he has long since gained ; and it is gratifying to 
 recollect, that, whatever were his faults, he never falsified the facts of 
 history, for the purpose of defaming the dead. 
 
 What Mr. Sidney means when he accuses Mr. Wesley of " giving 
 way to the miserable excuse of expediency," it is difficult to say. Does 
 he insinuate, that in his public conduct Mr. Wesley was not actuated 
 by a sense of duty, but submitted to incessant labour and hardship, as 
 an expedient for the attainment of some base and selfish end ? What 
 then, we ask, was that end ? and how were the means which he adopted 
 conducive to it ? Did he play the hypocrite when he sacrificed his 
 reputation as a scholar and a gentleman ? when he exposed his life to 
 the rage of mobs, and his person to the extremes of heat and cold, by 
 teaching the outcasts of men the way of salvation in the open air ? 
 Was the employment of unordained preachers a matter of " wretched
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 747 
 
 expediency V Is then the jest of the commedian to be adopted as a 
 sober truth, that it is far better for the sick to die than be cured by men 
 whom the medical profession have not authorized 1 Is lay-preaching 
 a greater evil than unrestrained wickedness in this life, and the fire of 
 hell in the world to come ? 
 
 Mr. Sidney blames Mr. Wesley for all the extravagance of 
 Ranters and others ; just as if lay-preaching took its origin from 
 him ; and that nothing can be in itself good and justifiable that is 
 capable of abuse. Upon the same principle he must condemn the 
 Reformation from Popery, on account of the licentiousness of specu- 
 lation by which it has been dishonoured ; and even Christianity itself, 
 because of the Antinomian purposes to which it has sometimes been 
 applied. 
 
 Or does the charge of " wretched expediency" refer to Mr. Wesley's 
 ordinations ? If so, we will remind Mr. Sidney of a few facts, with 
 which he can hardly be unacquainted, but over which he has chosen 
 to throw a veil. Mr. Wesley and Mr. Walker were both intent upon 
 promoting a revival of spiritual religion in the Church of England. 
 This was their avowed object. Yet they adopted different methods in 
 order to the attainment of it. Mr. Wesley was irregular. Mr. Walker 
 adhered to the prescribed order of the Church. They carried on a 
 correspondence on the subject ; and Mr. Sidney awards the prize of 
 wisdom and just argument to Mr. Walker, whom he describes as vastly 
 superior to Mr. Wesley in these honourable qualifications. Mr. Wes- 
 ley, with all his irregularity, laboured to the end of his life to preserve 
 his people in union with the established Church ; yet he could not 
 succeed, his object being in most cases defeated by the clergy. He 
 therefore did consent, that some of his societies should have the Lord's 
 supper administered to them by their own preachers. With a reference 
 to this he performed his ordinations. Many years after his death, his 
 people generally fell into this plan, and are now a distinct community. 
 Yet their public conduct has demonstrated to the whole nation that they 
 are not hostile to the Church, as such. They have refused to join in 
 the cry for its subversion ; they quietly contribute to its support ; and 
 they would be still more friendly, if they were not so often treated as 
 K heathen men and publicans." 
 
 The piety of Mr. Walker was unimpeachable, and so was the sin- 
 cerity of his attachment to the Church : yet, with all his regularity, his 
 ministry resulted in a direct and formal separation from her pale. 
 After his death the more devout part of his congregation attended the 
 church, as usual ; but they felt that the " apostolical succession" was 
 interrupted there. They " knew the voice of the good Shepherd ;" but 
 " a stranger would they not follow ;" they therefore formed themselves
 
 748 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 into an Independent church, which continues to this day, perhaps 
 the most powerful Dissenting body of the kind in the entire county of 
 Cornwall. 
 
 Hence it appears that unwillingness to receive the Lord's supper at 
 the hands of immoral clergymen was not peculiar to the Methodists. It 
 characterized Mr. Walker's people, and those of Mr. Venn ; for they 
 also became a congregation of Independents when he resigned his 
 charge at Huddersfield. Mr. Wesley could himself receive the 
 memorials of his Saviour's death from an ungodly man ; but he con- 
 fessed that he could not answer the objections which some of his 
 spiritual children urged against the practice. His respect for the 
 conscientious scruples of good men, which he could not remove, 
 and which were justified by arguments that he could not answer, 
 was a higher principle than " wretched expediency." However such 
 writers as Mr. Sidney may choose to speak, if Christians are solemnly 
 " commanded, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to withdraw them- 
 selves from every brother that walketh disorderly ;" (2 Thess. iii, 6 ;) 
 and " if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, 
 or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner," it is their 
 duty " not to keep company with such a one," nor so much as " to eat 
 with him ;" ( 1 Cor. v, 11;) it will be difficult to prove that they ought 
 publicly so to recognise " such a one" for a minister of the Lord 
 Jesus, as at his hands to " eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." 
 Mr. Wesley laboured through a long life to secure this ; and when he 
 could not succeed, he met the case in a manner which he believed to 
 be justifiable on Scripture principles, and by the practice of the primi- 
 tive church. Mr. Walker's ministry in Truro led to the establishment 
 of strict and systematic Dissent, and such Dissent as has been con- 
 nected with riotous proceedings in opposition to church-rates. Why 
 was Mr. Sidney silent concerning this fact, when he was extolling Mr. 
 Walker, and depreciating the founder of Methodism 1 
 
 The official and solemn appointment of Dr. Coke as a superintendent 
 in the Methodist Church of America may appear to Mr. Sidney a 
 " presumptuous act," and " a useless ceremony ;" and yet the proof of 
 these assumptions is perhaps less easy than he apprehends it to be. 
 Granting that the doctor " having been regularly ordained" a presbyter, 
 before what is called " his consecration" took place, " was as good a 
 bishop" as Mr. Wesley himself; he could only exercise the episcopal 
 office among those who were willing to receive him under that charac- 
 ter. He could ordain no ministers but such as would accept his ordi- 
 nation ; he could superintend no societies but such as would submit 
 to his ride. Intelligence was communicated to him, that he would not 
 be received in America, except under Mr. Wesley's express appoint-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 749 
 
 ment. It was therefore his own special request that he might receive 
 such appointment by imposition of hands and prayer ; and that a writ- 
 ten declaration to that effect should be given him. A copy of his letter 
 to Mr. Wesley, containing this request, and assigning this reason, has 
 been preserved. It states that Mr. Fletcher's advice was, that letters 
 testimonial of the different offices to which Mr. Wesley should appoint 
 the doctor and his companions should be received by them respectively. 
 
 With the doctor's request Mr. Wesley complied ; and when he said, 
 " I think myself to be providentially called at this time to set apart some 
 persons for the work of the ministry in America," he did not speak 
 doubtingly. In his Journal, he expresses himself thus : " Being clear 
 in my own mind, I took a step which I had long weighed, and appointed 
 Mr. Whatcoat and Mr. Vasey to go and serve the desolate sheep in 
 America." In the circular letter which he sent to America, he speaks 
 with similar confidence : " Here, therefore, my scruples are at an end ; 
 and I conceive myself at full liberty, as I violate no order, and invade 
 no man's right, by appointing and sending labourers into the harvest." 
 
 When Mr. Sidney says that " the plain answer" which he gives to 
 Mr. Wesley's " act," in " setting apart" Dr. Coke for the work assigned 
 him in America, " seems never to have occurred to either Wesley or 
 Coke," and thus claims the merit of readily perceiving what they could 
 not discover, he is very much mistaken ; as he would at once have 
 ascertained had he examined the history of the transaction which he is 
 so forward to condemn. Mr. Wesley stated to the doctor, " that as he 
 had invariably endeavoured, in every step he had taken, to keep as 
 closely to the Bible as possible ; so, on the present occasion, he hoped 
 he was not about to deviate from it : that keeping his eye upon the 
 conduct of the primitive churches in the ages of unadulterated Chris- 
 tianity, he had much admired the mode of ordaining bishops, which 
 the church of Alexandria had practised : that to preserve its purity, that 
 church would never suffer the interference of a foreign bishop, in any 
 of their ordinations ; • but the presbyters of that venerable apostolic 
 church, on the death of a bishop, exercised the right of ordaining 
 another from their own body, by laying on of their own hands ; and 
 that this practice continued among them for two hundred years, till the 
 days of Dionysius."* 
 
 The ordination of Mr. Whatcoat and Mr. Vasey can only be pro- 
 nounced " presumptuous" on principles which invalidate half the ordi- 
 nations in Protestant Christendom ; principles which place Protestant 
 Scotland, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and France, out of the pale 
 of Christianity : and the ordination of Dr. Coke we think fully justifiable 
 from Scripture precedent. Let the following passage of holy writ be 
 * Drew's Life of Dr. Coke, p. 72, Ame. edit.
 
 750 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 duly considered : " Now there were in the church that was at Antioch 
 certain prophets and teachers ; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was 
 called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been 
 brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to 
 the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and 
 Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had 
 fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." 
 Acts xiii, 1-3. 
 
 At the time of this solemn transaction, St. Paul had been about ten 
 years in the apostolic office ; and Barnabas had long been an efficient 
 teacher of Christianity, and a " man of note among the disciples." St. 
 Paul was not an apostle " of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, 
 and God the Father, who raised him from the dead." He was not 
 appointed to the apostolic office, nor did he receive his apostolic quali- 
 fications, from any man, or any number of men ; and therefore was not 
 now ordained to the work of the ministry, nor raised to any new order 
 in the church. The theory of Dr. Hammond, that St. Paul was or- 
 dained at Antioch the bishop of a diocess, and that of Archbishop 
 Wake, that he was there ordained to the apostolic office, are both 
 directly opposed to his own express declaration, Gal. i, 1 . With Bar- 
 nabas he was solemnly " separated," by fasting, prayer, and the impo- 
 sition of hands, to the task of evangelizing an extensive tract of country. 
 This was done by the express direction of the Holy Ghost, under whose 
 anointing these messengers of truth went forth to a service which was 
 unquestionably included in their original commission. Here then we 
 have an example, not only of men laying their hands upon the head of 
 an equal, as in the case of Barnabas ; but of men laying their hands 
 upon the head of one who in gifts and office was far superior to them 
 all. St. Paul was " not a whit behind the very chief of the apostles ;" 
 yet on his re-entrance upon his itinerant ministry, after remaining at 
 Antioch twelve months, the hands of men who could never aspire to 
 the apostolate were laid upon his honoured head. • Nor was this a mere 
 ceremony, or a blessing pronounced upon Paul and Barnabas. It was 
 a direct and official " separation" of them to a particular service, which 
 they are afterward said to have "fulfilled." Acts xiv, 26. The ob- 
 jection which Mr. Sidney has urged against the imposition of Mr. 
 Wesley's hands on the head of Dr. Coke, because the doctor was 
 already of the same order with himself, applies with greater force against 
 the imposition of the hands of Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen, on the 
 head of St. Paul. Yet this act was commanded and sanctioned by the 
 Holy Ghost. The other, therefore, cannot, on the ground alleged by 
 Mr. Sidney, be either " presumptuous," or " useless." It did not raise 
 Dr. Coke to an order essentially different from that which he already
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 751 
 
 occupied ; nor was it intended thus to raise him ; but it was a solemn 
 and becoming recognition of his appointment to a work of pre-eminent 
 importance and responsibility. The assumption of the name of bishop 
 was the doctor's own act, and was opposed to Mr. Wesley's design. 
 The humble title of superintendent was that which he assigned both to 
 the doctor and Mr. Asbury. And yet the appointment of a bishop by 
 presbyters is no novelty, as the early history of the church of Alexan- 
 dria demonstrates, as well as that of the Lutheran Church in Germany. 
 In the appointment of Dr. Coke, Mr. Wesley did no more than the 
 great German reformer had done to meet the wants of the people 
 whom God had given him. Every reader of ecclesiastical history 
 knows that Martin Luther, again and again, with the aid and concur- 
 rence of his fellow-presbyters, ordained bishops for the Protestant 
 Church of Germany. 
 
 To answer all Mr. Sidney's aspersions upon Mr. Wesley, and all his 
 misrepresentations of Mr. Wesley's principles and acts, would be an 
 endless task. The fact is, he seems to have gathered all his knowledge 
 concerning this .venerable man from the pamphlets of the Messrs. Hill 
 and Toplady, written under the excitement of unsanctified controversy, 
 without listening for a moment to Mr. Wesley's own statements and 
 reasonings. The Jewish lav/ condemned no man before he was heard, 
 and it was known what he had done ; neither was it " the manner of 
 the Romans" to pass sentence upon any one till he had been confronted 
 with his accuser ; but Mr. Sidney is bound by no such formalities. If 
 justice between man and man be a matter of mere opinion, his allega- 
 tion, that Mr. Wesley was destitute of even heathen honesty might 
 well provoke a smile ; but if " God spake these words, and said, Thou 
 shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour," the subject assumes 
 a very different character. Many of this great man's revilers have 
 already gone with him to give an account to the " one Lawgiver, who 
 is able to save and to destroy." Mr. Sidney must also meet him before 
 the judgment-seat of Christ. If it should then appear, that John Wes- 
 ley really was a man of God, and an instrument of good to the world, 
 it will afford no pleasure to Mr. Sidney that he has so often spoken of 
 him without any regard for either candour, charity, or truth. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 One of the most affecting incidents connected with advancing life 
 is the loss of early friends, who successively retire to " the house ap- 
 pointed for all living." They are seen no more in the domestic and
 
 752 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY." 
 
 social circle, and in the sanctuary of God. Their advice is no longer 
 available in cases of difficulty, and their sympathy in affliction. The 
 post ceases to bring their desired and welcome epistles ; and when 
 they are remembered in the closet, where for years they were daily 
 commended to the divine mercy, the solemnly-affecting thought recurs, 
 that they cannot now be benefited by our prayers. " I shall go to him ; 
 but he will not return to me." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley survived most of his early religious companions. 
 Before he left the world, many even of his spiritual children died in 
 the Lord. Of the death of Hervey, Grimshaw, and Whitefield, men- 
 tion has already been made ; and others followed ; so that he was at 
 length left in the midst of a new generation. Many of these he loved 
 and esteemed ; but his tenderest friendships were dissolved ; and they 
 had indeed been deep and sincere. 
 
 The Rev. Henry Piers, the pious vicar of Bexley, appears to have 
 died in the year 1769. He was, as we have seen, Mr. Charles Wes- 
 ley's son in the gospel, and a cordial friend to him and his brother. It 
 is probable that he was an Irishman ; for he was educated at Trinity 
 College, Dublin. Before he obtained the vicarage of Bexley, he held 
 the curacy of Win wick, in Lancashire. He was a member of the first 
 conference, and shared in the glorious dishonour of early Methodism ; 
 though there is no evidence that he ever violated canonical order. His 
 spirit was timid and gentle ; yet he bore a noble testimony to the truth 
 before the clergy at their visitation ; and when Mr. Wesley went to 
 Oxford, to preach for the last time before the university, Mr. Piers 
 accompanied him thither, and publicly walked from the church of St. 
 Mary's, with him, his brother Charles, and Mr. Meriton, (four meek 
 and fearless confessors !) when " of the rest durst no man join himself 
 to them." Lady Huntingdon's biographer states, that soon after the 
 first Methodist conference, Mr. Piers was presented to a living in Ire- 
 land ; but this we believe to be a mistake. According to the parish 
 register of Bexley, he ended his life and labours in that village, the 
 vicarage of which he held for thirty-three years. The register of 
 christenings bears his signature to the close of the year 1767 ; and in 
 the beginning of the year 1770 his successor entered upon his office. 
 Mr. Piers published three sermons, and a biographical account of the 
 men who compiled the book of Common Prayer. From these pro- 
 ductions of his pen it would appear that he was a great admirer of the 
 formularies of the English Church, the devout and evangelical spirit 
 of which he had thoroughly imbibed. 
 
 Ebenezer Blackwell, the faithful and undeviating friend of the Wes- 
 leys, closed his upright life, April 21st, 1782, at his house in Lewis- 
 ham. Mr. Charles Wesley was doubtless present on the occasion ; for
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 753 
 
 among his manuscripts are two hymns, which bear the same date, one, 
 a " Prayer for Mr. Blackwell, departing ;" and the other, " On the Death 
 of Mr. Ebenezer Blackwell." 
 
 On the 24th of August following Mr. John Wesley made the follow- 
 ing touching entry in his Journal : — " My brother and I paid our last 
 visit to Lewisham, and spent a few pensive hours with the relict of our 
 good friend Mr. Blackwell. We took one more walk round the garden 
 and meadow, which he took so much pains to improve. Upward of 
 forty years this has been my place of retirement, when I could spare 
 two or three days from London. In that time, first Mrs. Sparrow went 
 to rest ; then Mrs. Dewal ; then good Mrs. Blackwell ; and now Mr. 
 Blackwell himself. Who can tell how soon we may follow them ?" 
 
 The holy life of the venerable Perronet now began to draw toward 
 a close. After the death of his afflicted wife, his daughter Damaris 
 sustained the care of his family, and was his tender friend and com- 
 panion. She was a most faithful and upright woman, truly devoted to 
 God, and zealous of good works. Her life was spent in acts of bene- 
 volence, and in persevering efforts to advance the cause of true religion ; 
 yet her health was delicate, and such as subjected her to considerable 
 mental depression. On the 9th of September, 1782, this excellent 
 lady suddenly expired in a fit of apoplexy. No trial could perhaps 
 have been more severe to her aged father; yet his resignation sur- 
 prised all who witnessed it. When he found, after every means had 
 been tried for her recovery, that her sanctified spirit had actually taken 
 its flight, he rose up, and with deep and solemn emotion exclaimed, 
 " Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty : just and 
 true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O. 
 Lord, and glorify thy name ?" This was a scene never to be forgotten 
 by those who were present. On the Sunday after her funeral, he 
 preached from Mark xiii, 33 : " Take ye heed : watch and pray, for ye 
 know not when the time is." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley, whose heart was ever charged with generous 
 sympathy, addressed a letter of condolence to the bereaved vicar of 
 Shoreham ; who thus acknowledged his kindness : — 
 
 " Oct. 23d, 1782. My Very Dear Brother, — As I cannot personally 
 thank you, for your late Christian condolence, I take the first opportu- 
 nity of doing it by letter. My loss indeed is very great; but her gain, 
 I am certain, is much greater. Nor has the Lord left me destitute ; 
 for he has graciously raised up to my help my dear grand-daughter, 
 Elizabeth Briggs ; one of much grace, prudence, and discretion. All 
 glory be to his holy name ! 
 
 " My heavenly Father entered me very early into the school of 
 Christ; and has more or less continued me in it (adored be his good- 
 
 48
 
 754 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 ness !) for full fourscore years. I was not more than eight years old 
 when I began to taste of grief and sorrow ; but I know that every bitter 
 cup proceeded from divine love ; and therefore what abundant reason 
 have I to be thankful ! May God preserve you and yours, and me and 
 mine, through all the paths of suffering grace here, to his eternal king- 
 dom of glory hereafter ! Love to all. Thine affectionately." 
 
 A few weeks afterward he addressed another letter to his friend 
 Mr. Charles Wesley ; in which he says, " It is a most certain truth, 
 that God is not limited to times, places, or persons. On the contrary, 
 how often has he mercifully disappointed our most anxious fears ! So 
 that we must leave all events to his divine wisdom; see his hand in 
 every thing ; and ever bow down before him with the deepest reverence. 
 
 " Behold, my dear brother, the astonishing signs of the times ! Baby- 
 lon is destroying herself with her own hands. That infernal court, the 
 Inquisition, that perfect emblem of hell upon earth, is tottering to the 
 ground. The infallible pope himself, with Catholic kings and princes, 
 seem all to join in the confederacy. But what wonder? It is only a 
 preparation for the grand kingdom of Christ upon earth. Lord, hasten 
 the time ! Fear not for your dear son Charles. I trust he will pass 
 through the court untainted, like Daniel and his three companions. If 
 I live till the 23d of December, I enter into my ninetieth year ; and 
 if the prayers of such an old divine can be of any service, he and his 
 worthy family may depend upon them. The divine blessing be with 
 all of us, and all belonging to us ! My love to all, and in particular to 
 the dear companion of your life. We shall one day meet." 
 
 Such was the spirit of this " very aged man." He spent most of his 
 time in his study, in reading and devotion, abstracted from the world, 
 and thinking mostly of heaven. His communion with God was sancti- 
 fying and joyous, and his intercourse with his family cheering and 
 benevolent. To the future prosperity of the church, as described in 
 the prophetic scriptures, his attention was much directed ; and with 
 even rapturous emotions he anticipated the final overthrow of idolatry, 
 and every form of antichristian error, and the universal extension of 
 evangelical truth, holiness, and peace. His bodily infirmities increased ; 
 his deafness rendered him almost incapable of conversation ; but his 
 intellect retained its vigour ; and, as in the case of St. John, divine love 
 seemed to be the very element of his being. 
 
 Thus he was found when the heavenly summons came. The winter 
 of the year 1784-5 was perhaps one of the severest ever known in 
 England. The first fall of snow happened October 7th, and the last 
 April 3d. The extreme cold lasted five months and twenty -four days. 
 During all that time, with the exception of about twelve days in January, 
 the frost continued, and the earth was covered with snow. Every pre- 
 
 48*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 755 
 
 caution was taken to preserve Mr. Perronet from cold ; but the weather 
 affected him, so that he began visibly to decline. On Saturday, May 
 7th, 1785, he was remarkably cheerful. In the afternoon he desired 
 his grand-daughter to leave him alone. When she returned, she ob- 
 served a peculiar sweetness and animation in his countenance. As 
 she entered the room he smiled upon her, and tears of joy ran down 
 his face. He had been reading the last three chapters of the book of 
 Isaiah, which he recommended to her perusal ; and said he had such 
 a view from them of the great things which the Lord was about to do 
 upon the earth as had filled him with joy and wonder. 
 
 During the next day he was in the same heavenly disposition, and 
 conversed with several of the people who came to attend the public 
 worship of God. His pain appeared to be gone, and his spirits were 
 lively. His grand-daughter attended him, as usual, after he was in 
 bed ; and when she took leave of him for the night, he said to her, 
 " The Lord bless you, my dear, and all that belong to you ! Yea, he 
 will ; I know he will !" Many times he repeated these words with 
 great emphasis ; and after she had left the room, she distinctly heard 
 him utter them. The next morning, when she entered his chamber, 
 the spirit was fled ! On the following Saturday his remains were in- 
 terred in the same grave with his wife and daughter, attended by a large 
 concourse of people. Mr. Charles Wesley read the funeral service, 
 and preached the next day on the appropriate text, " Mark the perfect 
 man, and behold the upright ; for the end of that man is peace." 
 
 It has been already observed that Mr. Perronet was the confidential 
 adviser of the two Wesleys through the greater part of their public life : 
 so that Charles used to call him " the archbishop of the Methodists." 
 In his own practice, as a clergyman, he appears to have been quite 
 regular ; but two of his sons were travelling preachers. Both of them, 
 it will be recollected, were anxious to introduce the sacraments into 
 the Methodist chapels ; and with this the current phraseology of their 
 father was in full accordance. Even in his letters to Mr. Charles 
 Wesley he speaks of " the Methodist Church." In one of those letters 
 he says, " Honest brother Mitchell is my assistant, once a fortnight, at 
 the water-house, where he preaches to a very quiet audience. I make 
 no doubt Methodism, notwithstanding all the wiles of Satan, is designed 
 by divine Providence to introduce the approaching millennium." When 
 the preachers visited Shoreham, Mr. Pcrronet's house was their home ; 
 and in a room, which he fitted up under his own roof, they regularly 
 ministered the word of life. In his spirit and manners he was a per- 
 fect gentleman, and a Christian ; and a more spotless and upright cha- 
 racter has seldom adonied any section of the universal church. He 
 wrote several able and edifying tracts in defence of those views of
 
 756 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 divine truth which the Wesleys so successfully taught. These valu- 
 able productions of his pen well deserve to be republished. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley's respect for the Perronet family did not end 
 with the funeral of its revered head. It extended to the posterity of 
 that blessed man, especially to Miss Elizabeth Briggs, for whom her 
 grandfather had cherished so sincere a respect. She remained for 
 some time at Shoreham, where she was very useful and highly esteemed 
 in the village. Mr. Charles Wesley encouraged her in her labours of 
 love. The following letter he addressed to her twelve months after the 
 death of the holy man whom she had served : — 
 
 " April 28th, 1786. My Dear Betsy, — You are once more in your 
 proper place, and experience that word : ' He that watereth others 
 shall be watered also himself.' I expect Shoreham will be like Ep- 
 worth. After my father's departure, the whole town was taken. If the 
 Lord give me strength, I hope to see you and your flock in the summer. 
 
 " ' Sad anniversary of his translation,'' do you call it ? and your ' loss 
 irreparable ?' The day was the most joyful and happy he ever knew ; 
 and your loss is momentary, and reparable in a happy eternity. We 
 ought only to rejoice and give thanks for his having been lent to the 
 world near a century. Therefore from this time, observe, I can allow 
 you to mourn no more. I am always glad to hear of your affairs. 
 You need take no thought for the morrow, but say, ' In all my ways I 
 acknowledge thee ; and thou shalt direct my paths.' My wife and 
 daughter join in true love for you, with, my dear Betsy, 
 
 " Your faithful friend and servant." 
 
 At a subsequent period, and in the prospect of her removal from 
 Shoreham, he wrote to her as follows : — 
 
 " For the short time I have to stay here, I shall be happy to assist, 
 in any degree, a child of my blessed father, and yours, now waiting for 
 us in paradise. You will not be discharged so easily. There is more 
 work for you to do, and more affliction for you to suffer, before you are 
 permitted to depart in peace. I shall strive hard to see you before you 
 leave Shoreham. We depend upon your coming straight to us, after 
 you have paid your duty to your mother. I stay in town on purpose to 
 receive you. My wife and Sally long to see you. My love to the 
 whole society. Remember in your faithful prayers, dear Betsy, 
 
 " Your loving servant and friend." 
 
 On the removal of this pious and intelligent young lady from Shore- 
 ham, she took up her residence in Hoxton-square, where Mr. Charles 
 Wesley addressed to her the following kind letter, on her arrival : — 
 
 " Dear Betsy, — I am a prisoner here by an inflammation in my eyes ; 
 or I should have met you more than half way : probably the last time 
 we should meet on earth. Send me a line of information concerning
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 757 
 
 your dear mother's health, and all your family. The enclosed account 
 of them came from Ned Perronet. You have the best right to it. How 
 many of them in glory are expecting us ! We shall have time enough 
 for conversing with them when time is no more. My family affection- 
 ately salute you, particularly my secretary Sally. The Lord will give 
 you, if it be best, a far more useful, if not more loving, friend than 
 
 " Your faithful and affectionate C. W." 
 
 In the spring of 1788 Miss Briggs was married to the Rev. Peard 
 Dickenson, who had been the curate of her grandfather at Shoreham. 
 He had so approved himself by his piety, diligence, and zeal, that many 
 of the parishioners united in a petition to the dean and chapter of West- 
 minster, with whom the right of presentation was vested, that he might 
 be appointed Mr. Perronet's successor in the vicarage. But one of the 
 prebends claimed it for his eldest son, and the request was denied. 
 After this Mr. Dickenson connected himself more closely with Mr. 
 Wesley, and to the end of his life officiated as a clergyman in the 
 Methodist chapels of London. He was a sound scholar, a spiritual 
 and exemplary minister of the Lord Jesus ; and with Mr. Creighton 
 assisted Mr. Wesley in some of his latest ordinations. 
 
 Within little more than three months after the death of Mr. Perronet, 
 Mr. John and Charles Wesley lost another of their ablest and most 
 faithful friends, the devoted vicar of Madeley, who died after an illness 
 of a few days, caught in the discharge of his clerical duties. Few 
 men have ever excelled him in piety, and perhaps none were ever 
 more honoured in their latter end. The particulars of his triumphant 
 death, drawn up with inimitable simplicity and force by his estimable 
 widow, are too well known to need repetition here. Being indulged 
 with the richest manifestations of God's mercy in Christ, he called upon 
 all around him to unite in the loudest ascriptions of praise. Such was 
 the fulness of his spiritual joy, that he expressed a desire for a gust of 
 praise that should go to the ends of the earth. Having the most ele- 
 vated and impressive views of the atonement of Christ, he often 
 exclaimed, 
 
 " Jesu's blood, through earth and skies, 
 Mercy, free, boundless mercy, cries !" 
 
 and added, in the full exercise of an appropriating faith, 
 
 " Mercy's full power I soon shall prove, 
 Loved with an everlasting love !" 
 
 la this manner the holy Fletcher, the eloquent and successful advocate 
 of the Wesleyan theology, closed his eyes upon every earthly object, 
 and passed to the enjoyment of his endless reward, August 14th, 1785. 
 The account of his sickness, death, and funeral, Mrs. Fletcher trans- 
 mitted to Mr. Charles Wesley, accompanied by the following note : —
 
 758 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 "Madeley, August 24th, 1785. Dear Sir, — Enclosed you have an 
 account of my feelings when I thought myself dying, as did most about 
 me. I prayed for strength to do justice to my dearest, dearest love. 
 I wrote it in one day, but could not go over it a second time. Take it, 
 then, as it flowed from my full heart, without a second thought, and 
 pray for your deeply distressed friend. I cannot find your brother. I 
 wrote to him at first, but have got no answer. I stay here, if I live, 
 half a year, to get the people regularly settled in society. My cup is 
 bitter indeed ; but I shall be soon with him, and together we shall 
 behold His glory." 
 
 The time now began rapidly to approach when Mr. Charles Wesley 
 perceived that he also must die. His removal into the world of spirits 
 was not an event that came upon him unawares. To prepare for it had 
 been the leading business of the greater part of his life. He expected 
 it therefore, not with alarm, but with hope and desire. His treasure 
 and his heart were already in heaven ; and the abiding consciousness 
 which he had of his title to the future inheritance, resulting from his 
 filial relation to God, and of his meetness for it, through the sancti- 
 fying power of the Holy Ghost, filled him with adoring thankfulness. 
 Deeply was he sensible that he possessed no proper merit in the sight 
 of God ; and he knew that he needed none, according to the tenor of 
 the evangelical covenant. Hence his self-abasement was profound ; 
 his reliance upon the sacrifice and intercession of Christ, entire ; and 
 his hope of glory was that of a sinner, who knew that he was both jus- 
 tified and sanctified by grace, and looked for eternal life as a gift to be 
 gratuitously bestowed upon a believing penitent. 
 
 He waited for the coming of the Lord in patient labour, as well as in 
 sanctifying hope. The lease of the Foundery in London expired about 
 the year 1777, when the commodious chapel in the City-road was built, 
 and the congregation removed thither. In this new and more elegant 
 erection, or in some other of the metropolitan chapels, Mr. Charles 
 Wesley generally preached in the morning and afternoon of every sab- 
 bath, except when he was supplying the congregations in Bristol, or was 
 disabled by affliction. A few persons are still living, who attended 
 these his latest ministrations. According to their testimony, he was 
 singularly tender and affectionate in his manner, when addressing those 
 that were " afflicted in mind, body, or estate," and especially those who 
 mourned under a penitent conviction of sin. In beating down the pride 
 of self-righteousness, the presumption of Antinomianism, and the obtru- 
 sive forwardness of superficial and doubtful piety, he was awfully 
 solemn and awakening ; for he spoke " like one having authority." 
 
 If his thoughts did not flow freely in the pulpit, he was very deliberate, 
 making long pauses, as if waiting for the promised communication of
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 759 
 
 divine influence. In such cases he usually preached with his eyes 
 closed ; he fumbled with his hands about his breast ; leaned with his 
 elbows upon the Bible ; and his whole body was in motion. He was 
 often so feeble as to be under a necessity of once or twice calling 
 upon the congregation to sing, in the course of his sermon, that he 
 might partially recover himself, and be able to finish his discourse. 
 When he had strength, and his mind was under peculiar excitement, 
 as it often was, he expressed himself with fluency and power. His 
 sentences were short and pointed, charged with the most weighty 
 truths ; and the language was such as all understood and felt. His 
 sermons were the effusions of a heart overflowing with divine truth and 
 love. They were rich in Scripture sentiment, and in Scripture phrase- 
 ology, " as it were a paved work of sapphire." In prayer he was 
 copious and mighty, especially upon sacramental occasions, when he 
 seemed to " enter into the holiest of all by the blood of Jesus." Greatly 
 was he enfeebled by age and disease ; yet he continued his public 
 religious services, in this spirit and manner, till within a few months 
 of his death. 
 
 For condemned felons his compassionate concern continued undi- 
 minished to the last. His tender heart yearned over this class of 
 transgressors. He visited them in their cells ; wept with them because 
 of their guilt and misery ; taught them the way to the mercy-seat of 
 God, through the death of his Son ; prayed with them ; brought their 
 case before his congregations, and urged his friends to invoke the 
 divine pity upon them. The last publication that he sent from the 
 press was a tract of twelve pages, entitled, " Prayers for condemned 
 Malefactors." It consists of hymns adapted to their use, breathing the 
 spirit of fear and contrition, and distinctly recognising the evangelical 
 doctrine of free and present salvation from sin, to be obtained by faith 
 in the sacrificial death of Christ. In these labours of love he was sig- 
 nally owned of God. The tract just mentioned, which was printed in 
 the year 1785, had respect to a large number of culprits who suffered 
 at that time. In a manuscript note, appended to one of those hymns, 
 he says, "These prayers were answered Thursday, April 28th, 1785, 
 on nineteen malefactors, who all died penitent. Not unto me, O Lord, 
 not unto me !" Thus, like his Saviour, he affected not the society of the 
 rich and powerful, but condescended to men of low estate. He sought 
 out the most abject of the race, whom he endeavoured instrumentally 
 to save. When he succeeded, his joy rose to rapture. 
 
 At this period of his life his appearance and habits were peculiar. 
 " He rode every day (clothed for winter even in summer) a little horse, 
 gray with age. When he mounted, if a subject struck him, he pro- 
 ceeded to expand and put it in order. He would write a hymn thus 
 
 /
 
 760 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 given him on a card, (kept for that purpose,) with his pencil in short- 
 hand. Not unfrequently he has come to the house in the City-road, 
 and, having left the pony in the garden in front, he would enter, crying 
 out, ' Pen and ink ! pen and ink !' These being supplied, he wrote the 
 hymn he had been composing. When this was done, he would look 
 round on those present, and salute them with much kindness ; ask after 
 their health ; give out a short hymn, and thus put all in mind of eternity. 
 He was fond of that stanza upon those occasions : — 
 
 There all the ship's company meet, &c." 
 
 In age the sympathies of his heart were unimpaired. To his friend 
 Mr. William Marriot, who had lost a son by the small-pox, he addressed 
 the following affectionate letter toward the close of the year 1785 : — 
 " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name 
 of the Lord. This, my dear friend, is, I doubt not, the language of 
 your sorrowful hearts : sorrowful, yet resigned to unerring wisdom and 
 goodness. Jesus wept to see his creatures weeping. He does not 
 disapprove your feeling your loss ; neither do you offer to God a sacrifice 
 which costs you naught. Your comfort is, that he orders all things 
 well, and makes all things work together for good to them that love 
 him. My partner sympathizes with yours. We lost our only son by 
 the small-pox. You find several hymns on the occasion in the funeral 
 hymns, which are too suitable. That God may sanctify your affliction, 
 and make it instrumental to your eternal happiness, is the earnest 
 prayer of Your faithful friend and servant." 
 
 In the month of February, 1788, Mr. Charles Wesley was reduced 
 to a state of great weakness, but was able still occasionally to go abroad. 
 A memorandum which he wrote at this time is worth preserving, as a 
 striking illustration of the uprightness which marked his conduct 
 through life. The balance of a small account, of some years' standing, 
 was demanded of him by a music-seller, the correctness of which was 
 not very apparent. He immediately transmitted the money, with the 
 following note : — " If there is the least doubt, Mr. Wesley always takes- 
 the safest, that is, his neighbour's, side ; choosing to pay a bill twice 
 or twenty times, rather than not at all. He will be obliged to Mr. 
 Wright for a line of acknowledgment, that he is now out of his debt." 
 
 On the 1 8th of this month his brother addressed to him the laconic 
 but friendly note : — " Dear Brother, — You must go out every day, or 
 die. Do not die to save charges. You certainly need not want any 
 thing as long as I live." 
 
 The time was now come for Mr. John Wesley to leave London, and 
 itinerate through the country. He says, " I took a solemn leave of the 
 congregation at West-street, by applying once more what I had en-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 761 
 
 forced fifty years before, ' By grace are ye saved, through faith.' At 
 the following meeting the presence of God, in a marvellous manner, 
 filled the place. The next evening we had a very numerous congrega- 
 tion at the new chapel, to which I declared the whole counsel of God. 
 I seemed now to have finished my work in London. If I see it again, 
 well ; if not, I pray God to raise up others, that will be more faithful 
 and more successful in his work!" 
 
 On the following day it is probable the brothers took leave of each 
 other, to meet no more in this world. Charles was so enfeebled, that 
 it was doubtful whether he would ever be able to resume his work. 
 Four days after their separation Mr. John Wesley addressed to him an 
 affectionate letter from Bath, in which he says, " Many inquire after 
 you, and express much affection, and desire of seeing you. In good 
 time ! You are first suffering the will of God. Afterward he has a 
 little more for you to do : that is, provided you now take up your cross, 
 (for that it frequently must be,) and go out at least an hour in a day. I 
 would not blame you, if it were two or three. Never mind expense. 
 I can make that up. You shall not die to save charges. I shall shortly 
 have a word to say to Charles, or his brother, or both. Peace be with 
 all your spirits !" 
 
 On the 5th of March, having arrived in Bristol, Mr. John Wesley 
 again wrote to his brother, saying, " I hope you keep to your rule, of 
 going out every day, although it may sometimes be a cross. Keep to 
 this but one month, and I am persuaded you will be as well as you was 
 at this time twelve-mohth. If I ventured to give you one more advice, 
 it would be this, ' Be master of your own house.' If you fly, they 
 pursue. But stand firm, and you will carry your point." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley was now too feeble to correspond with his bro- 
 ther. His daughter watched over him with tender solicitude, and 
 appears from time to time to have transmitted to her uncle an account 
 of her revered parent. He sent her the following letter from Bristol, 
 under the date of March 7th : — 
 
 " My Dear Sally, — When my appetite was entirely gone, so that all 
 I could take at dinner was a roasted turnip, it was restored in a few 
 days, by riding out daily, after taking ten drops of elixir of vitriol in a 
 glass of water. It is highly probable this would have the same effect 
 in my brother's case. But in the mean time, I wish he would see Dr. 
 Whitehead. I am persuaded there is not such another physician in 
 England : although, to confound human wisdom, he does not know how 
 to cure his own wife. He must lie in bed as little as possible in the 
 day-time : otherwise it will hinder his sleeping at night. Now, Sally, 
 tell your brothers from me, that their tenderly-respectful behaviour to 
 their father (even to asking his pardon, if in any thing they have
 
 762 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 offended him) will be the best cordial for him under heaven. I know 
 not but they may save his life thereby. To know that nothing will be 
 wanting on your part gives great satisfaction to, my dear Sally, 
 
 " Yours very affectionately." 
 
 The suggestion respecting the calling in of Dr. Whitehead appears 
 to have been followed by the family. " I visited him several times," 
 says the doctor, " in his last sickness ; and his body was indeed re- 
 duced to the most extreme state of weakness. He possessed that state 
 of mind which he had been always pleased to see in others : unaffected 
 humility, and holy resignation to the will of God. He had no trans- 
 ports of joy, but solid hope and unshaken confidence in Christ, which 
 kept his mind in perfect peace."* 
 
 Mr. John Wesley, who was still at Bristol, wrote the subjoined letter 
 to his brother, on the 17th of March : — " Dear Brother, — I am just set- 
 ting out on my northern journey, but must snatch time to write two or 
 three lines. I stand and admire the wise and gracious dispensations 
 of divine Providence ! Never was there before so loud a call to all 
 that are under your roof. If they have not hitherto sufficiently regarded 
 either you, or the God of their fathers, what is more calculated to con- 
 vince them, than to see you hovering so long upon the borders of the 
 grave ? And I verily believe, if they receive the admonition, God will 
 raise you up again. I know you have the sentence of death in your- 
 self. So had I more than twelve years ago. I know nature is utterly 
 exhausted. But is not nature subject to His word ? I do not depend 
 upon physicians, but upon Him that raiseth the dead. Only let your 
 whole family stir themselves up, and be instant in prayer : then I have 
 only to say to each, ' If thou canst believe, thou shalt see the glory of 
 God !' Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." 
 
 The intelligence which was conveyed to Mr. John Wesley, respecting 
 his brother, was increasingly unfavourable : hence the peculiarity of 
 the following letter, which he addressed to his niece, and which indi- 
 cates that her father was in the last state of exhaustion, unable to re- 
 ceive any nourishment. It was written from Worcester, and dated 
 March 20th :— 
 
 " My Dear Sally, — Mr. Whitefield had, for a considerable time, 
 thrown up all the food he took. I advised him to slit a large onion 
 across the grain, and bind it warm on the pit of his stomach. He 
 vomited no more. Pray apply this to my brother's stomach the next 
 time he eats. One in Yorkshire, who was dying for want of food, as 
 she threw up all she took, was saved by the following means : — Boil 
 crusts of white bread to the consistence of a jelly : — add a few drops of 
 lemon-juice, and a little loaf sugar : — take a spoonful once or twice an 
 * Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, p. 369.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 763 
 
 hour. By all means, let him try this. If neither of these avail, (which 
 I think will not be the case,) remember the lady at Paris, who lived 
 several weeks without swallowing a grain, by applying thin slices of 
 beef to the stomach. But, above all, let prayer be made continually ; 
 and probably he will be stronger after this illness than he has been 
 these ten years. Is any thing too hard for God ? On Sunday I am to 
 be at Birmingham ; on Sunday se'nnight, at Madeley, near Shifnal, 
 Salop. My dear Sally, adieu !" 
 
 Hence it appears that Mr. John Wesley still entertained a hope of 
 his brother's recovery. The decree, however, was gone forth, and no 
 means could avail for the preservation of his life. While he remained 
 in the state of extreme feebleness to which the letter of John refers, 
 having been silent and quiet for some time, he called Mrs. Wesley to 
 him, and requested her to write the following lines at his dictation : — 
 
 In age and feebleness extreme, 
 Who shall a sinful worm redeem 1 
 Jesus, my only hope thou art, 
 Strength of my failing flesh and heart ; 
 O could I catch a smile from thee, 
 And drop into eternity ! 
 
 For fifty years Christ as the Redeemer of men had been the subject of 
 his effective ministry, and of his loftiest songs ; and he may be said to 
 have died with a hymn to Christ upon his lips. He lingered till the 
 29th of March, 1788, when he yielded up his spirit into the hands of 
 his God and Saviour, at the advanced age of seventy-nine years and 
 three months. 
 
 Information of the solemn event was sent by Mr.Bradburn to Mr. John 
 Wesley ; but as the letter was wrongly directed, it did not reach him 
 till the 4th of April, the day before the funeral took place. He could 
 not therefore attend the remains of his brother to the grave ;* but he 
 immediately sent the following letter to his bereaved sister-in-law : — 
 
 " Macclesfield, April 4th. Dear Sister, — Half an hour ago I re- 
 ceived a letter from Mr. Bradburn, informing me of my brother's death. 
 For eleven or twelve days before I had not one line concerning him. 
 The last I had was from Charles, which I delayed to answer, expect- 
 ing every day to receive some further information. We have only now 
 to learn that great lesson, ' The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken 
 away : blessed be the name of the Lord !' If it had been necessary, 
 in order to serve either him or you, I should not have thought much of 
 
 * " If Mr. Bradburn's letter of March 29th had been directed to Birmingham, where 
 I then was, I should have taken coach on Sunday, the 30th, and been with you on 
 Monday, the 31st. But all is well. By that mistake I am much further on my jour- 
 ney." — Manuscript letter to the Rev. Peard Dickenson, from Mr. Wesley.
 
 764 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 coming up to London. Indeed, to serve you, or your dear family, in any 
 thing that is in my power, will always be a pleasure to, dear sister, 
 
 " Your affectionate friend and brother." 
 
 On the same day Miss Sarah Wesley drew up the following letter, 
 which she addressed to her uncle : — 
 
 " Dear and Honoured Uncle, — We were all present when my dear 
 respected father departed this life. His end was, what he particularly 
 wished it might be, peace ! For some months past he seemed totally 
 detached from earth. He spoke very little, nor wished to hear any 
 thing read but the Scriptures. He took a solemn leave of all his 
 friends. I once asked if he had any presages that he should die. He 
 said, ' No ;' but his weakness was such, that he thought it impossible 
 he ' should live through March.' He kindly bade me remember him, 
 and seemed to have no doubt but I should meet him in heaven. 
 
 " All his prayer was, ' Patience, and an easy death !' He bade every 
 one who visited him to supplicate for these ; often repeating, ' An easy 
 death !' He told my mother, the week before he departed, that no 
 fiend was permitted to approach him ; and said to us all, ' I have a good 
 hope /' When we asked if he wanted any thing, he frequently answered, 
 ' Nothing but Christ!' Some person observed, that the valley of the 
 shadow of death was hard to be passed. ' Not with Christ,' replied he. 
 
 " On March 27th, after a most uneasy night, he prayed, as in an 
 agony, that he might not have many such nights. ' O my God,' said 
 he, ' not many /' It was with great difficulty he seemed to speak. 
 About ten days before, on my brother Samuel's entering the room, he 
 took hold of his hand, and pronounced, with a voice of faith, ' I shall 
 bless God to all eternity, that ever you were born. I am persuaded I 
 shall !' My brother Charles also seemed much upon his mind. ' That 
 dear boy !' said he, ' God bless him !' He spoke less to me than to 
 the rest, which has since given me some pain. However, he bade 
 me trust in God, and never forsake him ; and then he assured me, that 
 he never would forsake me. 
 
 " The 28th my mother asked if he had any thing to say to us. 
 Raising his eyes, he said, ' Only thanks ! love ! blessing !' 
 
 "Tuesday and Wednesday he was not entirely sensible. He slept 
 much, without refreshment, and had the restlessness of death for, I 
 think, the whole week. He was eager to depart ; and if we moved 
 him, or spoke to him, he answered, ' Let me die ! let me die !' A fort- 
 night before, he prayed, with many tears, for all his enemies, naming 
 Miss Freeman. ' I beseech thee, O Lord, by thine agony and bloody 
 sweat,' said he, ' that she may never feel the pangs of eternal death.' 
 When your kind letter to my brother came, (in which you affectionately 
 tell him, that you will be a father to him and my brother Samuel,) I
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 765 
 
 read it to our father. ' He will be kind to you,' said he, ' when I am 
 gone. I am certain your uncle will be kind to all of you.' 
 
 " The last morning, which was the 29th of March, being unable to 
 speak, my mother entreated him to press her hand, if he knew her ; 
 which he feebly did. His last words which I could hear were, ' Lord 
 — my heart, — my God !' He then drew his breath short, and the last 
 so gently, that we knew not exactly the moment in which his happy 
 spirit fled. His dear hand was in mine for five minutes before, and at 
 the awful period of, his dissolution. It had often been his desire that 
 we should attend him to the grave ; and though he did not mention it 
 again (which he did the place of his burial) during his illness, we all 
 mean to fulfil his wish ; trusting we shall be supported, as we have 
 been hitherto, in our afflicting situations. 
 
 " My dear, honoured uncle, my mother presents you her respectful 
 love, and my brothers join with me in duty, begging your prayers for 
 the widow and the fatherless ! I am 
 
 " Your afflicted and dutiful niece." 
 
 This tender and interesting communication Mr. John Wesley an- 
 swered from Manchester, on the 12th of April, as follows : — " My Dear 
 Sally, — I thank you for the account you have given me. It is full and 
 satisfactory. You describe a very awful scene. The time, I doubt not, 
 was prolonged on purpose that it might make the deeper impression on 
 those that might otherwise soon have forgotten it. What a difference 
 does one moment make when the soul springs out of time into eternity ! 
 What an amazing change ! What are all the pleasures, the business 
 of this world, to a disembodied spirit ? Let us therefore be ready ; for 
 the day is at hand ! But the comfort is, it cannot part you long from, 
 dear Sally, Yours invariably." 
 
 By the same post Mr. Wesley sent the following letter to his sister- 
 in-law : — " Dear Sister, — The account which Mr. Bradburn gave me 
 of my brother's removal was very short and unsatisfactory. But the 
 account which Sally has given me is such as it should be, particular 
 and circumstantial. I doubt not but the few solemn words that he 
 spoke, before he went hence, will prove a lasting blessing to all that 
 heard them. • If I may take upon me to give you a little piece of ad- 
 vice, it is, to keep little company. You have a handsome occasion of 
 contracting your acquaintance, and retaining only a small, select num- 
 ber, such as you can do good to, and receive good from. I am, my 
 dear sister, Your affectionate friend and brother." 
 
 The funeral of this honoured minister took place on the 5th of April. 
 His remains, by his own desire, were interred in the church-yard of 
 St. Mary-le-bone, near his own residence in Chesterfield-street. The 
 pall was supported by eight clergymen of the Church of England. In
 
 766 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 addition to his name and age, the following lines are inscribed upon his 
 tomb-stone. They were written by himself on the death of one of his 
 friends ; but could not be more justly applied to any other person. 
 
 With poverty of spirit blest, 
 Rest, happy saint, in Jesus rest ; 
 A sinner saved, through grace forgiven, 
 Redeem'd from earth to reign in heaven ! 
 Thy labours of unwearied love, 
 By thee forgot, are crown'd above : 
 Crown'd, through the mercy of thy Lord, 
 With a free, full, immense reward ! 
 
 As a friendship of the most tender and confidential kind had through 
 life subsisted between Mr. John and Charles Wesley, and they had 
 been labourers together for half a century in carrying on a deep and 
 extensive work of God, it was John's desire that their remains should 
 rest together in the tomb which he had prepared in the ground con- 
 nected with the chapel in the City-road; but this Charles declined, 
 because the ground was not consecrated.* It was under the influence 
 of this disappointment that Mr. John Wesley wrote the paper on the 
 inutility of consecrating burying-grounds, which he inserted in his 
 monthly Magazine. He thought that churches and chapels require no 
 consecration but that which arises from the celebration of God's wor- 
 ship ; and that burying-grounds are made sacred by the ashes of the 
 pious dead, rather than by ceremonies of Popish origin, which the New 
 Testament never mentions. 
 
 Some persons have thought that the part which Mr. Charles Wesley 
 took in opposition to his brother's ordinations, and against the admi- 
 nistration of the sacraments by any man on whose head the hands of a 
 bishop had not been laid, must have rendered him an object of dislike 
 and jealousy among the Methodist preachers generally. But this is a 
 mistake. Those who knew him best were convinced of his integrity 
 and conscientiousness ; and though they might dissent from his views 
 of ecclesiastical order, they admired the man, whom they saw to be as 
 generous as he was upright. Mr. Bradburn, for instance, whose opi- 
 nions concerning episcopal ordination were very different from those 
 of Mr. Charles Wesley, was honoured with the personal friendship of 
 this eminent man, and in return regarded him with the profoundest 
 
 * " It is a pity but the remains of my brother had been deposited with mine. Cer- 
 tainly that ground is holy as any in England ; and it contains a large quantity of ' bonny 
 dead.' " — Private letter of Mr. Wesley to the Rev. Peard Dickenson. 
 
 Mr. Wesley here alludes to a dying saying of Haliburton : " I was just thinking on 
 the pleasant spot of earth I shall get to lie in, beside Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Forrester, 
 and Mr. Anderson. I shall come in as the little one among them, and I shall get my 
 pleasant George in my hand ; and we shall be a knot of bonny dust !"
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 767 
 
 respect and admiration ; as is manifest from the following letter, which 
 he addressed to Mr. Bardsley, a brother preacher, a few days after Mr. 
 Charles Wesley's interment : — 
 
 " Mr. Charles Wesley died just as any one who knew him might 
 have expected. I have had the pleasure and profit of his acquaintance 
 and correspondence for years, and shall have a great loss of a true 
 friend now that he is gone. I visited him often in his illness, and sat 
 up with him all night, the last but one of his life. He had no disorder 
 but old age. He had very little pain. His mind was as calm as a 
 summer evening. He told me he should die in March, some months 
 before. He often said, ' I have no particular desire to die ; but I want 
 the whole will of God to be done in and by me.' He always seemed 
 fearful of suffering something dreadful before death. In this he was 
 quite disappointed ; for no one could pass easier out of time than he 
 did. He said many things about the cause of God, and the preachers, 
 that did him much credit. He frequently said, ' I am a mere sinner, 
 saved by the grace of God my Saviour.' This sort of language one 
 would expect from most professors ; but from one of his years and ex- 
 perience, it was truly pleasing. 
 
 " His general character was such as at once adorned human nature 
 and the Christian religion. He was candid, without cowardly weak- 
 ness ; and firm, without headstrong obstinacy. He was equally free 
 from the cold indifference of lifeless formality, and the imaginary fire 
 of enthusiastic wildness. He never was known to say any thing in 
 commendation of himself, and never was at a loss for something good 
 to say of his divine Master. His soul was formed for friendship in 
 affliction, and his words and letters were as a precious balm to those 
 of a sorrowful spirit. He was courteous, without dissimulation ; and 
 honest, without vulgar roughness. He was truly a great scholar, with- 
 out pedantic ostentation. He was a great Christian, without any 
 pompous singularity ; and a great divine, without the least contempt 
 for the meanest of his brethren. He died, or rather fell asleep, on 
 Saturday, March 29th, 1788, in the eightieth year of his age. I 
 preached his funeral sermon at West-street, and at the new chapel, on 
 Sunday, April 6th, to an inconceivable concourse of people, of every 
 description, from 2 Sam. iii, 38 : ' A prince and a great man is fallen 
 this day in Israel.' I am not sure but I shall publish the sermon. 
 Our chapels are hung in black around the pulpits, desks, &c, and all 
 the people are in mourning." 
 
 Such was the latter end of Mr. Charles Wesley, one of the most 
 useful and gifted men of his age. Perhaps the state of extreme phy- 
 sical exhaustion in which he lay for several days, rendered him in- 
 capable of those rapturous joys with which some persons have been
 
 768 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 indulged in their last hours ; but had they been vouchsafed to him, it 
 is doubtful whether he would have made them known. The mystical 
 views of religion which he received in early life, and which he again 
 cherished after he had desisted from his itinerancy, led him rather to 
 conceal than declare what the Lord had done for him. Yet thus much 
 we learn, that he forgave all his enemies, and prayed for them. He 
 renounced all confidence in himself, and in the spirit of a penitent 
 trusted in Christ alone for acceptance and eternal life. Hence his 
 conscience was at rest, and his heart was all gratitude, submission, 
 and hope, longing after his heavenly home. Thus did he exemplify 
 his own inimitable verses : — 
 
 Walk with me through the dreadful shade ; 
 
 And, certified that thou art mine, 
 My spirit, calm and undismay'd, 
 
 I shall into thy hands resign. 
 Long as my God shall lend me breath, 
 
 My every pulse shall beat for him. 
 
 Mr. John Wesley's kindness to his brother's family, after their be- 
 reavement, was in perfect consistency with his character, and honour- 
 able to him in the highest degree. This is strikingly apparent from 
 the following letters, selected from several others which he addressed 
 to his sister-in-law, and his intelligent niece : — 
 
 " Blackburn, April 21st. You will excuse me, my dear sister, for 
 troubling you with so many letters ; for I know not how to help it : I 
 find you and your family so much upon my heart, both for your own 
 sakes, and for the sake of my brother. But I am much easier now, 
 that I find you are joined with honest John Collinson, whom I know to 
 be not only a man of probity, but likewise a man of diligence and under- 
 standing. I am therefore persuaded he will spare no pains in doing 
 for you what you wish to be done. So that I shall be hardly wanted 
 among you, as he will fully supply my lack of service. I only wish 
 both Charles and Sammy may follow your example, in keeping little 
 company, and those of the best sort ; men of sound understanding, and 
 solid piety ; for such only are fit for the acquaintance of men of sense. 
 I commit you all to Him that loves you ; and am, my dear sister, 
 
 " Ever yours." 
 
 On his arrival in London, in the month of July, he says in his Jour- 
 nal, " I spent an hour in Chesterfield-street, with my widowed sister 
 and her children. They all seemed inclined to make the right use of 
 the late providential dispensation." A few days after this interview he 
 resumed his correspondence : — 
 
 " City-road, July 25th. My Dear Sister, — You know well what a 
 regard I had for Miss Gwynne, before she was Mrs. Wesley. And it
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 769 
 
 has not ceased from that time till now. I am persuaded it never will. 
 Therefore I will speak without reserve just what comes into my mind. 
 I have sometimes thought you are a little like me. My Avife used to 
 tell me, ' My dear, you are too generous. You don't know the value 
 of money.' I could not wholly deny the charge. Possibly you may 
 sometimes lean to the same extreme. I know you are of a generous 
 spirit. You have an open heart, and an open hand. But may it not 
 sometimes be too open, more so than your circumstances will allow ? 
 Is it not an instiface of Christian, as well as worldly prudence, to cut 
 our coat according to our cloth? If your circumstances are a little 
 narrower, should you not contract your expenses too ? I need but just 
 give you this hint, which I doubt not you will take kindly from, my 
 dear Sally, Your affectionate friend and brother." 
 
 " North-Green, August 7th. Dear Sister, — As the conference ended 
 yesterday afternoon, my hurry is now a little abated. I cannot blame 
 you for having thoughts of removing out of that large house. If you 
 could find a lodging to your mind, it would be preferable on several 
 accounts : and perhaps you might live as much without care as you 
 did in the great mansion at Garth. I was yesterday inquiring of Dr. 
 Whitehead, Avhether Harrogate would not be better for Sally than the 
 sea-water. He seems to think it would : and 1 should not think much 
 of giving her ten or twenty pounds, to make a trial. But I wish she 
 could see him first, which she may do any day between seven and eight 
 in the morning. I am, my dear Sally, Yours most affectionately." 
 
 " City-road, Dec. 21st. My Dear Sister, — It is undoubtedly true, 
 that some silly people (whether in the society or not I cannot tell) have 
 frequently talked in that manner, both of my brother and me. They 
 have said that we were well paid for our labours. And indeed so we 
 were, but not by man. Yet this is no more than we were to expect, 
 especially from busy bodies in other men's matters. And it is no more 
 possible to restrain their tongues, than it is to bind up the wind. But 
 it is sufficient for us, that our own conscience condemned us not ; and 
 that our record is with the Most High. What has concerned me more 
 than this idle slander is a trial of another kind. I supposed, when 
 John Atlay left me, that he had left me one or two hundred pounds 
 beforehand. On the contrary, I am one or two hundred pounds be- 
 hindhand, and shall not recover myself till after Christmas. Some of 
 the first moneys I receive I shall set apart for you ; and in every thing 
 that is in my power, you may depend upon the willing assistance of, 
 dear Sally, Your affectionate friend and brother." 
 
 The following are some of his letters to his niece, written about the 
 same period : — 
 
 " April 2l8t. What a comfort it is, my dear Sally, to think, ' The 
 
 49
 
 770 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 Lord liveth!' nay, and that our intercourse with our human friends 
 will be more perfect hereafter than it can be while we are encumbered 
 with the house of clay. You did not send me those verses before. 
 They were very proper to be his last, as being worthy of one bought 
 by the blood of the Lamb, and just going forth to meet him ! Now, 
 my Sally, nrake the best of life. Whereunto you have attained, hold 
 fast. But you have not yet received the Spirit of adoption, crying, 
 Abba, Father ! See that you do not stop short of it. The promise is 
 for you ! If you feel your want, it will soon be supplied ; and God 
 will seal that word upon your heart, ' I am merciful to thy unrighteous- 
 ness ; and thy sins and iniquities I remember no more.' Dear Sally, 
 adieu !" 
 
 " Newcastle-upon-Tyne, May 29th. My Dear Sally, — How often 
 does our Lord say to us, by his adorable providence, ' What I do, thou 
 knowest not now ; but thou shalt know hereafter :' and how unspeak- 
 able is our gain, if we learn only this, to trust God further than we can 
 see him ! But it is a stroke that you have long expected. One of four- 
 score has lived out his date of years. And it is not strange, that he is 
 taken away, but that I am left. The great lesson which you have to 
 learn is, ' Take no thought for the morrow :' if you do, your fault brings 
 its own punishment. You are to live to-day. You have still a friend, 
 the medicine of life ! And you have your great Friend always at hand. 
 There is a rule for you : ' When I am in heaviness, I will think upon 
 God ;' and it is not lost labour. ' May the peace of God rest upon you.' 
 So prays Yours in tender affection." 
 
 " Bristol, Sept. 26th. Dear Sally, — The reading of those poisonous 
 writers, the Mystics, confounded the intellects both of my brother and 
 Mr. Fletcher, and made them afraid of (what ought to have been their 
 glory) the letting their light shine before men. Therefore I do not 
 wonder that he was so unwilling to speak of himself, and consequently 
 that you knew so little about him. The same wrong humility continu- 
 ally inculcated by those writers, would induce him to discontinue the 
 writing his journal. When I see those detached papers you speak of, 
 I shall easily judge whether any of them are proper to be published. 
 Do you not want money ? You can speak freely to, my dear Sally, 
 
 " Yours most affectionately." 
 
 Among other valuable manuscripts which were left by Mr. Charles 
 Wesley were three small quarto volumes of hymns, and poems on 
 various subjects ; he left also a poetic version of a considerable part of 
 the book of Psalms, which was inserted, with short notes, in the Armi- 
 nian Magazine. But his chief work, and that upon which he bestowed 
 the greatest pains, consists of hymns on the four Gospels and the Acts 
 of the Apostles, in five quarto volumes. The following memoranda, at 
 
 49*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 771 
 
 the end of the last volume, show something of the labour which the 
 pious author expended upon the work : — 
 
 " Finished, April 24, 1765.— 9. A. 
 
 The revisal finished, April 24, 1774. — 9. A. 
 
 Another revisal finished, Jan. 28, 1779. — 9. A. 
 
 A third revisal finished, Feb. 29, 1780.— 9. A. 
 
 A fifth revisal finished, Aug. 6, 1783. — 9. A. 
 
 A sixth finished, Oct. 28, 1784.— 9. A. 
 
 The seventh, if not the last, January 11, 1786. — Gloria Tri-uni 
 DEO! 
 
 The last finished, May 11, 1787. — Hallelujah!" 
 
 " Many of these," says the Rev. John Wesley, are little, if any, in- 
 ferior to his former poems, having the same justness and strength of 
 thought, with the same beauty of expression ; yea, the same keenness 
 of wit on proper occasions, as bright and piercing as ever." Having 
 at a subsequent period read them with greater care, he adds, " Some 
 are bad ; some mean ; some most excellently good. They give the 
 true sense of Scripture, always in good English, generally in good 
 verse. Many of them are equal to most, if not to any, he ever wrote ; 
 but some still savour of that poisonous Mysticism, with which we were 
 both not a little tainted before we went to America. This gave a 
 gloomy cast, first to his mind, and then to many of his verses. This 
 made him frequently describe religion as a melancholy thing : this so 
 often sounded in his ears, ' To the desert !' and strongly persuaded in 
 favour of solitude." 
 
 These invaluable compositions have become, by purchase, the pro- 
 perty of the Wesleyan conference, and it is hoped will, at some future 
 period, form a part of a uniform edition of the entire Works of this 
 prince of devotional poets. 
 
 A passage in a private letter of the late Mr. Wilberforce, published by 
 his sons in his Life, requires some explanation in this place. That 
 excellent man says, " From respect to that great and good man, Mr. 
 Charles Wesley, I many years ago prevailed on two friends to join 
 in allowing his widow an annuity, which she still receives. I have 
 often, I own, thought it a great reflection on the Methodists, that they 
 suffered such a person to be in real want, as she was when I undertook 
 her cause."* 
 
 Had Mr. Wilberforce acquainted himself with the facts of this case, 
 perhaps he would have thought " the Methodists" less to blame than he 
 assumed. It has been already stated that Mr. John Wesley secured to 
 his brother, on his marriage with Miss Gwynne, the payment of one 
 hundred pounds a year, during his life, which was to be continued to 
 
 ♦Vol. iii, p. 511.
 
 772 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 his wife in case she should survive him. This sum, which was inde- 
 pendent of the salary that he received from the stewards of the societies 
 to whom he preached, was duly paid as long as Mr. John Wesley lived ; 
 and he made provision in his will for its payment to his brother's 
 widow to the end of her life. After Mr. John Wesley's death, Mrs. 
 Wesley and her family, thinking perhaps that the continued union of 
 the Methodist connection was doubtful, and this annuity uncertain, re- 
 quested that the principal might be paid, and proposed to relinquish all 
 future claims. A request coming from such a quarter could not be 
 denied. But instead of purchasing another annuity with the money, or 
 lending it on better security than it was thought the Methodist confer- 
 ence could give, Mrs. Wesley and her family lived upon it, till it was 
 all expended. But that she was found in a condition of " real want," 
 as stated by Mr. Wilberforce, is more than doubtful. In this he was 
 certainly mistaken. She lived with her eldest son, who was one of 
 the most accomplished musicians of the age ; and with her daughter, 
 who was scarcely less accomplished in literature. The necessities of 
 their aged mother were few ; and it was impossible that they should 
 suffer her to be destitute of even the comforts of life. She might have 
 no certain income of her own, and be dependant upon them ; but this 
 is very different from being " in real want." Her son and daughter were 
 both in the receipt of considerable sums of money, the fruit of their 
 own talents. 
 
 After giving proof of the want of confidence in " the Methodists," 
 and of deficient forethought in the management of their own affairs, it 
 may well be supposed that Mrs. Wesley and her children would wish 
 to conceal her condition from the people to whose care she had been 
 left by her revered husband and brother-in-law. Yet when it was 
 known that she had expended her property, the " Methodists" were not 
 less generous than even Mr. Wilberforce. They gave her an annuity 
 as long as she lived, and that, if we are not mistaken, to a larger 
 amount than even he procured for her ; they also gave an annuity to 
 her daughter ; then to her son Charles ; and at last to Samuel. It 
 would not be difficult to show that Mr. Charles Wesley and his family 
 received from " the Methodists," in consideration of the benefits de- 
 rived from his incomparable hymns, not less than ten thousand pounds. 
 This sum is indeed not too large, considering the nature of Mr. Charles 
 Wesley's bequest ; (for his hymns are such as gold can never pur- 
 chase ;) yet it is sufficient to prove that the pre-eminent services which 
 he rendered to the cause of spiritual religion have not been quite over- 
 looked, and that the censure which has been sent forth in Mr. Wilber- 
 force's name might well have been spared. It is as unjust as it is 
 unseemly. To publish, without due inquiry, ex-parte statements, to the
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 773 
 
 injury of a people who have merited no blame, is " a great reflection" 
 upon the parties who thus offend, let them be who they may. The 
 attempt to exalt such a man as Mr. Wilberforce, by depreciating " the 
 Methodists," as if they had less respect for one of the Wesleys than 
 he possessed, like the endeavour to raise his fair fame as the opponent 
 of the slave-trade, by undervaluing the services of the venerable 
 Clarkson, is in bad taste. His sons, who have done this, have not 
 been guided by a sound discretion. It is a proof of the substantial 
 worth of their father's character, that it has not suffered much in con- 
 sequence of the means which they have adopted to elevate it in the 
 public estimation. 
 
 It is only needful to add, that Mrs. Wesley, having survived her 
 husband about thirty-four years, died December 28th, 1822, at the ad- 
 vanced age of ninety-six. Sarah died at Bristol, when on a visit to 
 that city, on the 19th of September, 1828, aged sixty-eight years. 
 Charles died in London, May 23d, 1834, in the seventy-seventh year 
 of his age. Samuel also died in London, on the 11th of October, 1837, 
 in the seventy-second year of his age. Charles and Sarah were never 
 married. They were both members of the Methodist society. Samuel 
 left several children, who are now living. 
 
 In the Minutes of the annual conferences, Mr. John Wesley was 
 accustomed from year to year to insert short notices of the deceased 
 preachers. The following is his account of his brother, contained in 
 the obituary of 1788 :" — 
 
 " Mr. Charles Wesley, who, after spending fourscore years with 
 much sorrow and pain, quietly retired into Abraham's bosom. He had 
 no disease ; but after a gradual decay of some months, 
 ' The weary wheels of life stood still at last.' 
 
 His least praise was his talent for poetry : although Dr. Watts did not 
 scruple to say that that single poem ' Wrestling Jacob' was worth all 
 the verses he himself had written." 
 
 It was not the intention of Mr. John Wesley to satisfy himself with 
 this laconic record concerning his brother. He immediately began to 
 collect materials for a biographical account of the man with whom he 
 had been through life so entirely one in heart ; and he requested his 
 niece to furnish him with all the facts she could recollect that could 
 assist him in the compilation of such a work. But life with him was 
 too far advanced, and his other engagements too numerous, to admit of 
 the fulfilment of his design. He died before he had made much pro- 
 gress in the compilation. No man was so well qualified to execute 
 the responsible task ; as no other person had so thorough a knowledge 
 of the deceased.
 
 7/4 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 The following epitaph is inscribed upon a marble tablet in the City- 
 road chapel. The sentence which is placed at the head of it Mr. 
 Charles Wesley is said to have frequently uttered : — 
 
 " God buries his workmen, but carries on his work." 
 SacjreH to tlje pernors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE REV. CHARLES WESLEY, M.A., 
 
 EDUCATED AT WESTMINSTER SCHOOL, 
 
 AND SOME TIME STUDENT AT CHRIST-CHURCH, OXFORD. 
 
 AS A PREACHER, 
 
 HE WAS EMINENT FOR ABILITY, ZEAL, AND USEFULNESS, 
 
 BEING LEARNED WITHOUT PRIDE, 
 
 AND PIOUS WITHOUT OSTENTATION ; 
 
 TO THE SINCERE, DIFFIDENT CHRISTIAN, 
 
 A SON OF CONSOLATION ; 
 
 BUT TO THE VAIN BOASTER, THE HYPOCRITE, AND THE PROFANE, 
 
 A SON OF THUNDER. 
 
 HE WAS THE FIRST WHO RECEIVED THE NAME OF METHODIST; 
 
 AND, UNITING WITH HIS BROTHER, THE REV. JOHN WESLEY, 
 
 IN THE PLAN OF ITINERANT PREACHING, 
 
 ENDURED HARDSHIP, PERSECUTION, AND DISGRACE, 
 
 AS A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST; 
 
 CONTRIBUTING LARGELY, BY THE USEFULNESS OF HIS LABOURS, 
 
 TO THE FIRST FORMATION OF THE METHODIST SOCIETIES 
 
 IN THESE KINGDOMS. 
 
 AS A CHRISTIAN POET HE STOOD UNRIVALLED ; 
 
 AND HIS HYMNS WILL CONVEY INSTRUCTION AND CONSOLATION 
 
 TO THE FAITHFUL IN CHRIST JESUS, 
 
 AS LONG AS THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS UNDERSTOOD. 
 
 HE WAS BORN THE XVIII OF DECEMBER, MDCCVIII, 
 
 AND DIED THE XXIX OF MARCH, MDCCLXXXVIII, 
 
 A FIRM AND PIOUS BELIEVER IN THE DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL, 
 
 AND A SINCERE FRIEND TO THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 775 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley, like his brother John, was considerably 
 below the middle stature. He was somewhat stouter than his brother, 
 but not corpulent. There are persons now living who remember to 
 have seen them»both, with Dr. Coke, all at once engaged in the admin- 
 istration of the Lord's supper in the City-road chapel. These excellent 
 clergymen were all of the same diminutive height ; and yet no other 
 men of their day exerted a wider influence upon the world, or an influ- 
 ence that is likely to be more permanent. Charles was short-sighted, 
 and abrupt and singular in his manners, but without the slightest 
 approach to affectation. In honest simplicity of mind he was never 
 surpassed. He has been spoken of as desultory in his habits : nothing, 
 however, can exceed the neatness of his handwriting till he was far 
 advanced in life, and the exactness with which he kept his pecuniary 
 accounts. At college John is said to have often dreaded his visits. 
 He would run against his brother's table ; disarrange his papers ; ask 
 several questions in quick succession ; and often retire without even 
 waiting for the answers. 
 
 His attainments as a scholar were worthy of the advantages which 
 he enjoyed, as a pupil of Westminster school, and a member of the 
 University of Oxford. With the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and French 
 languages he was well acquainted. His son Samuel believed that he 
 read German ; but his daughter, when questioned on the subject, spoke 
 doubtingly. In a letter addressed to him at Oxford by his father, he is 
 urged to persevere in the study of Arabic, and of the mathematics : but 
 it is probable that, after he left the university, he paid little attention to 
 either of these branches of learning. Classical and Biblical literature 
 he cultivated to the end of his protracted life. His exact and critical 
 knowledge of the Holy Scriptures is strikingly manifest in his hymns. 
 Among the Romans, Horace and Virgil were his favourite authors. 
 Large portions of the vEneid he had committed to memory, and occa- 
 sionally repeated them, with unrivalled taste and spirit, for the gratifi- 
 cation of his friends. Sometimes he did the same in self-defence. 
 When Indivine, the drunken captain with whom he sailed from Charles- 
 ton, poured forth volleys of invective against him, he defended himself 
 by repeating Virgil in Latin ; and once, when his unhappy sister-in- 
 law, Mrs. John Wesley, had secured him and her husband in a room 
 whence they could not escape, and then told them of their faults, real 
 and imaginary, with a vehemence which they could neither resist nor 
 interrupt, Charles bethought him of Virgil, and gave utterance to the
 
 776 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 strains of the Mantuan bard in such a manner as at length to obtain a 
 respite, with permission to escape. 
 
 Considering his scholarship, taste, and genius, there can be no doubt, 
 that, had he devoted himself to secular literature, he would have taken 
 a high rank among the poets of Great Britain. He would have rivalled 
 Dryden himself, whom he greatly resembles in fluency, copiousness, 
 and power. The specimens which he has left, both in print and manu- 
 script, prove that in grave satire he was not inferior to Churchill. 
 When exposing the selfishness and disloyalty of the pretended patriots 
 of his day, he is terribly severe. His invectives resemble successive 
 flashes of lightning, which scathe every object that they strike. That 
 men of bad morals should assume the character of public reformers, 
 filled him with honest and irrepressible indignation. 
 
 Had Mr. Charles Wesley practised himself largely in translation, 
 there can be no doubt he would have excelled in that as much as in 
 original composition. Various short specimens he has given in the 
 prose writings of his brother ; and these possess great merit. They 
 are terse and yet easy and poetical. The following is a beautiful imi- 
 tation of the very tender Latin verses which Bishop Lowth wrote on 
 the sudden death of his beloved daughter, who expired at the tea-table, 
 in the family circle. Placing a cup of coffee upon the salver, she said, 
 " Take this to the bishop of Bristol." The cup fell in an instant, with 
 the hand by which it was held ; and she expired without a groan, in 
 her twenty-sixth year. The prelate for whom the cup was designed 
 was the celebrated Bishop Newton, the learned author of the elaborate 
 and valuable " Dissertations on the Prophecies." 
 
 Cara, vale, ingcnio pra.sta.ns, pietate, pudore, 
 
 Et plusquam nata nomine, cara, vale ! 
 Cara Maria, vale ! At veniet felicius avum 
 
 Quando iterum tecum, sim modo dignus, cro. 
 Cara, redi, lata, turn dicam voce, paternos 
 
 Eia age in amplexus, cara Maria, redi ! 
 
 Farewell, my dearest child, farewell ! 
 
 Wise, pious, good, beyond thy years ! 
 Thy ravish'd excellence I feel 
 
 Bereaved — dissolved in softest tears. 
 
 But soon, if worthy of the grace, 
 
 I shall again behold thee nigh, 
 Again my dearest child embrace : 
 
 " Haste, to my arms, Maria, fly I 
 
 " To a fond father's arms return," 
 
 I then in ecstasies shall say, 
 " No more to part, no more to mourn, 
 
 But sing through one eternal day !"
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 777 
 
 The soul of Mr. Charles Wesley was formed for friendship. He 
 possessed such a frankness of disposition, combined with such warmth 
 of affection, and integrity of purpose, as at once commanded the esteem 
 and love of all who were like-minded. His sympathies were deep and 
 tender ; so that his friendship was felt to be of inestimable value, espe- 
 cially in seasons of affliction, when help is the most needed. He was 
 indeed " a brother born for" the benefit of those who are in " adversity," 
 and possessed great power to soothe and cheer. The pain and sick- 
 ness in which much of his life was spent, the successive deaths of 
 five children, added to the natural and gracious tenderness of his heart, 
 enabled him so to enter into the views and feelings of the sorrowful, 
 that they were at once strengthened and encouraged, and blessed God 
 for the consolation of which he made his servant the instrument. 
 
 His personal intercourse with his pious friends was indeed inter- 
 rupted by death ; but his affection for them, after they had entered into 
 the celestial paradise, was still cordially cherished. Of the reality 
 and nearness of the spiritual world, and of the certain blessedness of 
 those who die in the Lord, he had a perfect conviction ; and many 
 times, when his friends died, his spirit struggled to get free from the 
 fleshly burden, and accompany them in their flight to the heavenly 
 world. When they had entered into rest, their spirits seemed still to 
 be near, and to converse with him thought to thought, and feeling to 
 feeling. To this solemnly-interesting subject he often refers in his 
 poetry. 
 
 A similar feeling toward him was indulged by many when he had 
 entered into rest. Several years after his death his memory was 
 cherished by his friends with the strongest affection. 
 
 His friendship for his brother was inviolable. It was so when, 
 " being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish 
 their own righteousness," they vainly endeavoured to obtain purity of 
 heart before they were justified. Their regard for each other assumed 
 a higher character when, through a faith of the operation of God, they 
 "received the atonement," and the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, 
 filling them with peace and joy, subduing the otherwise unconquerable 
 evils of their nature, and inspiring them with all holy and benevolent 
 affections. From that period they were indeed 
 
 " True yoke-fellows by love compell'd 
 To labour in the gospel field ;" 
 
 and nothing could dissolve their oneness of heart. 
 
 As they advanced in their work, they entertained different views, 
 not of its nature, but of the manner in which it should be carried on, 
 and the objects to which it should be directed. Both of them had the 
 fullest conviction that the revival of religion which they everywhere
 
 778 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 witnessed was the work of God; for no human power could make 
 thousands of ignorant, miserable, and ungodly people permanently wise, 
 and holy, and happy. Their spiritual children, both in life and death, 
 exhibited all the characteristics of apostolical Christianity. Charles 
 was anxious that this revival of religion should be conducted in sub- 
 serviency to the Church of England, in which he thought it would ulti- 
 mately merge. John was mainly intent upon extending it to the utmost 
 possible limit, both at home and abroad, leaving its connection with the 
 Church to be determined by providential circumstances. He believed 
 that men might be saved out of the Church of England ; but he knew 
 that " without holiness no man shall see the Lord." His ordinations, 
 therefore, and the favour which he showed to the preachers and people 
 who refused to attend the Church service, gave Charles exquisite pain, 
 but diminished not his affection. He himself animadverted upon some 
 of John's acts ; but he would allow no other person to censure him. 
 He refused to write an epitaph on Mr. Hervey, whose " Eleven Letters" 
 contain many violations of candour and truth ; thinking it enough for 
 him, as the " brother" of the injured man, to " forgive" the wrong that 
 had been done. Lady Huntingdon attempted to alienate him from his 
 brother, by telling him, in a private letter, that John was a teacher of 
 " heresy" and " Popery ;" but, deeply as he was indebted to her kind- 
 ness, he rebuked her for her unseemly bigotry, and declared that death 
 itself should never separate him from the brother of his heart. He was 
 linked to him by no selfish feeling, or mere instinct of nature, but by 
 the " love that never faileth ;" and his generous friendship was returned 
 by his brother with equal fidelity and warmth. 
 
 In the various domestic relations the conduct of Mr. Charles Wesley 
 was most exemplary. His filial reverence and affection toward both 
 his parents were as profound as they were justly merited. Toward 
 both his brothers, and all his sisters, he was an example of fraternal 
 kindness. They witnessed through life his readiness to serve them as 
 much as lay in his power. What he was as a husband the preceding 
 narrative declares. To his wife he disclosed the secrets of his heart, 
 with perfect confidence and unreserve ; and in her society he sought 
 for solace when troubled with the affairs of the world and the church. 
 His concern for her comfort, his sympathy with her in affliction, and, 
 above all, his pious solicitude for her spiritual improvement, are attested 
 in the whole of his correspondence with her, of which many specimens 
 have been given. Several of his hymns were originally written for her 
 use and benefit. They were acts of supplication in times of necessity 
 and sorrow ; of resignation under bereavements ; or of adoring gratitude 
 for divine mercies. He received her as a gift from God ; he regarded 
 her as his best earthly friend ; and he ever treated her as an heir with
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 779 
 
 himself of eternal life. Often did he remind her, that the most im- 
 portant end of their union was their mutual improvement in personal 
 holiness ; and most assiduously did he labour to bring her into increas- 
 ing union with Christ, their living head. In a letter which he addressed 
 to her when he felt his strength decay, he says, " My best of Friends, 
 — I am going the way of all the earth ; and what shall I do for you be- 
 fore we part ? I can only pray, and very fmperfectly, that the provi- 
 dential end of our meeting may be answered upon you in both worlds. 
 You married me, that you might be holier and happier to all eternity. 
 If you have received less spiritual good than you expected, it is chiefly 
 my fault. I have not set you the pattern I ought. For the same reason, 
 I have been of so little use to my children. But it is too late to attempt 
 it now. My night cometh, or rather is come. I leave you to the God 
 of all grace, who is ready to supply all your wants. Time fails me for 
 the rest. I may have another opportunity ; I may not. The Lord be 
 yours and your children's portion !" Such were the humbling views 
 which this Christian husband and parent entertained concerning himself! 
 
 He doubtless fell into an error in bringing up both his sons to the 
 musical profession. But he was led to this decision by the strong bias 
 of their minds, and the superior genius which they discovered in com- 
 position and performance. There are few fathers, it is presumed, who 
 could, under the same circumstances, have come to a different deter- 
 mination. All the world admired the powers of his precocious boys. 
 Royalty itself was charmed into admiration ; and old musicians wept 
 for joy when they heard the organ, under the plastic touch of the young 
 Wesleys, express every variation and combination of sound. His chil- 
 dren were accustomed, to the end of their lives, to speak of him as the 
 kindest and best of fathers. That he knew the true theory of domestic 
 government is obvious from his hymns on that subject ; and if in any 
 thing he failed, as the head of a family, it was in the maintenance of 
 his just authority. Yet he would not suffer his son Samuel to attend 
 the theatres ; nor would he tolerate in any member of his family what 
 he deemed offensive in the sight of God. His children were mostly 
 educated by himself; and the letters which he addressed to them when 
 they were from home, many of which have been preserved, express the 
 tenderness of his love, and his yearning desire for their salvation. 
 
 Mrs. Susanna Wesley is well known to have disapproved of the 
 revolution of 1688. Yet none of her sons inherited her views. Her 
 son Samuel was a stanch Tory, but not a Jacobite ; and men more loyal 
 to the house of Brunswick than were her sons John and Charles never 
 existed. All their influence through life they exerted on the side of 
 the Protestant monarchy, which at some periods was in considerable 
 danger. Both of them freely used the press in behalf of the Brunswick
 
 780 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 dynasty, whose mild and equal sway has conferred upon the nation 
 the most substantial benefits. 
 
 With Mr. Charles Wesley, loyalty was a part of religion. The king 
 he regarded as God's vicegerent ; and hence he obeyed the laws, and 
 supported the throne, not. from worldly or selfish motives, but for con- 
 science' sake. Some of the most Christianly-loyal compositions in the 
 English language are unquestionably his hymns for the king. Several 
 of these he published ; and many others he left among his manuscripts. 
 If we may judge from the success of his preaching, he greatly ex- 
 celled in that important branch of ministerial duty. For upward of 
 fifteen years, after he had obtained the Christian salvation, he was in- 
 cessantly employed as an itinerant. He travelled from the Land's End 
 to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, through a considerable part of Wales and 
 Ireland, ministering the word of life in churches, private houses, and 
 the open air, with a zeal which many waters could not quench, which 
 no violence of opposition could daunt, and with an effect not at all 
 inferior to that of either his brother or Mr. Whitefield. 
 
 There was nothing artificial in his sermons. To a strictly logical 
 arrangement, and the arts of secular oratory, he was indifferent. His 
 discourses were the effusions of the heart, rather than the offspring of 
 the intellect, or of the imagination. They were not characterized by 
 abstract reasoning, or by showy ornament. Of the Bible he was a 
 diligent and enraptured student ; and its facts, doctrines, language, and 
 imagery were indelibly engraven upon his mind. In the delivery of 
 God's word he expected and received the promised aid of the Holy 
 Spirit ; and under the divine unction he spoke with irresistible power 
 and authority. His heart was inflamed with zeal for the honour of 
 Christ, and yearned over the souls of the people ; the tears ran down 
 his cheeks ; his tongue was loosed ; and he poured forth the truth of 
 God, in the very phraseology of inspiration, with an effect that was 
 overwhelming. He gave such views of the evil of sin, and of the 
 certain damnation of the impenitent and unregenerate, as terrified the 
 consciences of the ungodly and the sinner, who fell down upon their 
 knees, and, in bitter anguish, called upon God for his mercy. At the 
 same time, he expatiated upon the perfect sacrifice of Christ, the effi- 
 cacy of his blood, the tenderness of his compassion, and the freeness 
 of his grace, with such a power of conviction, as to induce those whose 
 spirits were contrite even then to believe to the saving of their souls. 
 He generally delivered his message in short and pointed sentences, 
 which all could understand, and all could feel. When his own heart 
 was deeply impressed, he not unfrequently extended his sermon to the 
 length of two hours, and even more ; for he felt that he had a work to 
 accomplish : the people were ignorant and wicked : they needed in-
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 781 
 
 struction, conversion, salvation. To turn them from sin to Christ was 
 the very end of his preaching ; and he knew not how to close the ser- 
 vice, and dismiss the poor guilty souls around him, until this great 
 design of the divine mercy was fulfilled. Often was his heart glad- 
 dened by success. Under his ministry many a hardened sinner began 
 to pray ; and from the religious services which he conducted, even in 
 the open air, many a penitent publican went to his house justified. In 
 the latter years of his life he was so enfeebled by age, disease, and 
 sorrow, that his preaching was rather deliberate and tender, than power- 
 ful and awakening ; yet on some occasions, to the end of his life, it 
 partook of the vehemence and energy which had characterized it in 
 his earlier years. 
 
 In a few cases he followed the example of the early fathers of the 
 church, in giving a mystical interpretation to particular passages of 
 Scripture, which was not intended by the Holy Ghost, and which a just 
 criticism therefore would not allow. The Jewish church, for instance, 
 depressed by the Babylonian invasion and captivity, is personified by 
 the weeping prophet, and introduced as saying, in the depth and bitter- 
 ness of her grief, " Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by ? behold, 
 and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done 
 unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce 
 anger," Lam. i, 12. From this most affecting appeal Mr. Charles 
 Wesley sometimes preached, representing it as addressed by the Lord 
 Jesus to careless people of every class, who live regardless of the evil 
 of sin, and of the sacrifice which was offered as an atonement for it. 
 From the parable of the good Samaritan, also, which is designed to 
 inculcate the duty of humanity, even to strangers, he often took occa- 
 sion to show the miserable state of fallen man, and the compassion of 
 Christ as a Saviour. In these and a few other cases of a similar 
 nature a degree of violence was done to the sacred text ; yet the doc- 
 trine taught was not fanciful, but the inspired truth of God. The texts, 
 legitimately interpreted, would not support the doctrine of the sermons, 
 and therefore should not have been selected for the purpose ; but the 
 doctrine itself was deducible from the general tenor of the sacred vol- 
 ume. The sermons therefore were blessed to the people ; for the Holy 
 Ghost will put honour upon his own truth whenever it is faithfully 
 inculcated. Yet the most excellent way is that of taking every passage 
 of holy writ in its legitimate sense. The leading truths of Christianity 
 are supported by such a body of Scriptural evidence, that there is no 
 need to have recourse to doubtful authority. Mr. Charles Wesley was 
 not singular in these inadvertencies ; but they are not to be defended 
 nor imitated. 
 
 There was a peculiarity in his mental constitution, which serves to
 
 782 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 explain many things in his conduct that would otherwise appear inex- 
 plicable. Above almost every other man, he was the child of feeling ; 
 so that it was with the utmost difficulty he ever divested himself of a 
 deep and solemn impression that had been made upon his mind. 
 When once he had seriously received any principles, and regarded 
 them as true and important, he generally retained them to the end of 
 his life. He indeed entertained counter-principles, and cherished them 
 with equal tenacity, but without abandoning the old ones. Through 
 many years, therefore, he entertained on various subjects two sets of 
 principles, and alternately acted upon them, with equal sincerity : nor 
 does it appear that he ever thought of reconciling them with each other, 
 or even suspected their inconsistency. 
 
 When he and his brother returned from Georgia, they both held the 
 same defective and erroneous theological views ; and it would be very 
 difficult to point out the slightest difference in their spiritual state. At 
 that time John, with comparative readiness, but with due caution, re- 
 ceived the doctrine of present salvation from sin by faith in the Lord 
 Jesus, as taught by Peter Border. Not so Charles. He was Border's 
 English tutor, and may therefore be fairly supposed to have had more 
 intercourse with this intelligent and pious stranger than his brother : 
 yet it was not till the day before the learned German left London for 
 America, that Charles received this Scriptural doctrine ; nor even then, 
 till he was broken by disease, and there appeared little hope that he 
 would live many days longer. In this state of affliction, suspended 
 between life and death, burdened with a sense of guilt and unholiness. 
 he received the animating truth, and soon after by faith entered into a 
 state of spiritual rest and joy. 
 
 The doctrine which he then received, he never renounced ; and from 
 this time his creed was decidedly improved : yet was he never tho- 
 roughly divested of the unevangelical Mysticism which in early life he 
 learned from Mr. Law and other writers. To the all-important tenet 
 of justification by faith he adhered with undeviating tenacity ; and also 
 to the fact, that, in the order of nature, justification precedes sanctifica- 
 tion, although the two blessings can never be separated from each 
 other. He also believed that the vital faith in Christ, by which the 
 sinner obtains acceptance with God, is immediately followed by the 
 Spirit of adoption, crying in the heart, Abba, Father. Thus far he 
 thought with his brother. But on the question of the abiding witness 
 of adoption, and on that of progressive and entire sanctification, he 
 vacillated to the end of his life, according to the state of his own feel- 
 ings. In accordance with the gloomy tenets of his early and erring 
 guides, he imagined that the witness of the Spirit is occasionally with- 
 drawn by an act of the divine sovereignty, and not as the consequence
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 783 
 
 of actual sin ; so that the children of God are sometimes left in the 
 deepest mental darkness and anguish, in order to their trial and purifi- 
 cation : an opinion for which, as his brother has shown,* there is no 
 foundation in the Scriptures of truth. In some of his hymns he most 
 distinctly assumes that the state of entire sanctification, or Christian 
 perfection, (including deliverance from all sin, and loving God with all 
 the heart, soul, mind, and strength,) is attainable by faith, and therefore 
 attainable now : but in others of his hymns, he censures those who pro- 
 fess to have attained to this state, and represents it as only the result 
 of faith, labour, and suffering, especially mental suffering, continued to 
 the end of life. The sincerity with which he held these discordant 
 views is manifest from this consideration, — that he has imbodied them 
 in the most solemn forms of devotion. These peculiarities in his teach- 
 ing gave considerable uneasiness to his brother, who therefore deemed 
 it requisite to caution some of his correspondents against the " poison- 
 ous Mysticism" which Charles occasionally, and in his gloomy moods, 
 introduced into his hymns ; and in a tone of expostulation he mentions 
 the subject in his letters to Charles, explaining the views which they 
 both avowed in the early conferences, and, with their colleagues, 
 solemnly pledged themselves to teach ; at the same time requesting 
 Charles to give his reasons for sometimes differing from himself and 
 all his brethren. This challenge it does not appear that Charles ever 
 accepted. The subject was with him rather a matter of feeling than 
 of logical deduction. 
 
 The peculiarity of his mind, to which reference has just been made, 
 was especially manifest in regard of ecclesiastical affairs. In early 
 life he received from his brother Samuel a deep impression that bishops 
 are, by the appointment of God, an order superior to presbyters ; and 
 that the imposition of their hands in ordination is absolutely necessary 
 to convey the true ministerial character. To those only who were 
 episcopally ordained would he concede the right to execute what he 
 called " the priest's office," by consecrating the sacramental elements, 
 and administering them to the people. Yet while he invested the 
 episcopal clergy with such high and sacred prerogatives, he censured 
 not a few of them with appalling severity. He characterized many of 
 them as the mere " servants of the state," who had never been called 
 of God to minister in holy things. 
 
 In nothing was the peculiarity of Mr. Charles Wesley's mind more 
 apparent than in his thinkings and feelings with reference to the estab- 
 lished Church. The strength of his affection for her is undeniable. At 
 any period would he, without hesitation, have laid down his life rather 
 
 * In his sermon on the Wilderness State, and in that on Heaviness through manifold 
 Temptations.
 
 784 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 than intentionally abandon her communion, or injure her spiritual inter- 
 ests. A fear lest the Methodists should forsake her, was beyond com- 
 parison the greatest trouble of his life ; and to the last he cherished a 
 hope that some bishop would be raised up, who would ordain the 
 Methodist preachers generally, and thus formally admit them to a min- 
 istry to which he believed them to be called of God. To this he looked, 
 as the consummation of his desires and hopes upon earth. As to 
 himself, he often declared, that, were he to forsake the Church of 
 England, he durst not meet the disembodied spirit of his father in para- 
 dise. Yet it has been shown that for many years his Churchmanship 
 consisted in the bare use of the Liturgy ; for he was under none of the 
 Church's authorities ; and by preaching in Church hours, and adminis- 
 tering the Lord's supper in the Methodist chapels, he contributed, more 
 than any other man whatever, to create among the societies generally 
 a desire for the same order, and thus prepared the way for the inde- 
 pendent position which Methodism has since assumed, although nothing 
 could be further from his thoughts and purpose. 
 
 There is also reason to believe that he was the first to administer 
 the Lord's supper in a Methodist place of worship ; and that he thus 
 acted without his brother's concurrence, or even knowledge. At an 
 early period of their irregular labours Mr. John Wesley had a conver- 
 sation with the bishop of Bristol, in which his lordship expressed his 
 displeasure at having heard that the brothers administered the holy 
 communion to their societies separately. Mr. Wesley answered, that 
 they had never done this ; and he believed they never should.* Such 
 were his views at the time. A few months after this conversation, one 
 of the Bristol clergy drove Mr. Charles Wesley away from the Lord's 
 table, with several converted colliers, who had accompanied him to receive 
 the memorials of their Redeemer's passion. He then took these poor 
 despised men to the humble school-house which had just been erected 
 for the benefit of their children, in Kingswood, and there administered 
 to them the sacred elements ; thus introducing, on his own responsibility, 
 the practice of separate communion. In theory he was the most rigid 
 and unbending Churchman in the Methodist body; but in his own 
 practice he was decidedly the most liberal of all his contemporaries. 
 The reason is, that he was guided, in matters of this nature, rather by 
 his feelings than by calm and dispassionate reasoning. He spurned 
 with indignation the very thought of Methodistical independence, while, 
 with the most perfect and undeniable sincerity, he acted upon principles 
 which led to its general adoption. 
 
 With all his love of the Church, and admiration of episcopacy, he 
 was as decided as his brother in the approval of lay-preaching ; and 
 * Wesley's Works.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 785 
 
 when occasion served, he was equally fearless in avowing his opinions 
 on the subject. He once met with Dr. Robinson, the primate of Ire- 
 land, at the Bristol Hotwells. They had been friends together at col- 
 lege. The following conversation took place between them, as they 
 paced to and fro, and referred to their former history. It displays to 
 great advantage Charles's honesty, and readiness of thought. 
 
 Primate. — " I knew your brother well. I could never credit all 
 that I have heard respecting him and you. But one thing in your con- 
 duct I could never account for, — your employing laymen." 
 
 Charles Wesley. — " My lord, it is your fault." 
 
 P.—" My fault, Mr. Wesley !" 
 
 C. W. — " Yes, my lord ; yours and your brethren's." 
 
 P. — "How so, sir?" 
 
 C. W. — " Why, you hold your peace, and the stones cry out." 
 
 P. — " Well, but I am told they are unlearned men." 
 
 C. W. — " Some of them are in many respects unlearned : so the 
 dumb ass rebukes the prophet." 
 
 After this his grace dropped the subject. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley remarked, in one of his private letters, that the 
 difference between him and his brother was this, — that his brother's 
 maxim was, " First the Methodists, then the Church ;" whereas his was, 
 " First the Church, then the Methodists ;" and that this difference arose 
 from the peculiarity of their natural temperament. " My brother," said 
 he, " is all hope ; I am all fear." There is much truth in this state- 
 ment ; but it does not exhibit the whole truth of the case. So far as 
 theory and the habit of thought produced by education were concerned, 
 Charles did unquestionably prefer the Church to the Methodists ; but 
 his heart clave to the Methodists with a deeper passion than the Church 
 ever commanded. He chose Methodism and poverty, in preference to 
 strict Churchmanship and wealth : a significant expression of his real 
 character. A competent authority has stated, that a living of the value 
 of five hundred pounds a year was offered to him,* which he respect- 
 fully declined, resolving rather to serve the Methodist congregations, 
 with a scanty income, than accept preferment, and tear himself away 
 from his old friends with whom he expected to spend a blessed immor- 
 tality. Many of the Methodists were his spiritual children ; and among 
 them he had from the beginning enjoyed the true communion of saints. 
 He saw in them a deep and extensive work of God, in the benefits of 
 which he himself largely participated ; and neither the offer of worldly 
 advancement, nor the tendency to separation from the Church which 
 he witnessed and lamented, could ever induce him to withdraw from 
 
 * Moore's Life of Wesley, vol. ii, p. 372. 
 50
 
 786 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 their community. With them he chose to live and die. " Where your 
 treasure is, there will your heart be also." 
 
 It is indeed difficult to conceive how Mr. Charles Wesley could have 
 confined himself strictly to the rubric of the Church in the celebration 
 of divine worship. No man loved the Liturgy more than he did, or was 
 better able to appreciate the beauties of that incomparable form of sound 
 words ; but he could not be restrained from giving expression to his 
 feelings in extemporary prayer, appropriate hymns, and exhortation, 
 especially when administering the Lord's supper. In the Methodist 
 societies and congregations he found the people always ready to sym- 
 pathize with him in those deep and solemn feelings of holy joy and 
 desire, to which he was accustomed to give utterance, and which in- 
 deed were often irrepressible. To an exactly measured and mechani- 
 cal round of duty, a mind like his could not adapt itself, but with 
 exquisite pain. Freedom of thought and expression was essential to 
 his happiness. In the breast of such a man the fire must, occasionally 
 at least, break forth in all its brightness, and the intensity of its heat. 
 On some occasions he occupied two or three hours in administering 
 the Lord's supper to the Methodist societies in London ; and yet, even 
 then, he and his fellow-communicants knew not how to part ; so rich 
 and abundant was the influence from above which rested upon them. 
 
 The very efficient itinerant ministry which he long exercised, and 
 which it pleased God to crown with abundant success, must for ever 
 endear his memory to the Methodist societies, both in Great Britain 
 and Ireland. But for his unwearied labours the work could not have 
 been extended so widely as it was ; for several of the societies were 
 formed by him, and others greatly enlarged. When he ceased to travel, 
 his ministry was connected with much self-denial. He did not live in 
 ease, and in the bosom of his family. For nearly fifteen years it is 
 probable that he spent at least one half of his time in London, while 
 his wife and children were in Bristol ; and he often saw them not for 
 even two or three months together. Such was the conscientiousness 
 with which he fulfilled his pastoral duties, that he remained with his 
 flock, when their spiritual necessities required his presence, in seasons 
 of severe domestic affliction. He was repeatedly absent from home 
 when his children sickened and died, and his beloved wife greatly 
 needed his counsel and sympathy. To such a husband and father, 
 this was no light sacrifice. But he had learned to " endure hardness, 
 as a good soldier of Jesus Christ ;" and his habits, through life, partook 
 of the severity which he and his brother practised when they left the 
 quiet and learned retirement of Oxford for an American wilderness. 
 
 It is as a writer of devotional poetry, that Mr. Charles Wesley will 
 be permanently remembered, and that bis name will live in the annals 
 
 50*
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 787 
 
 of the church. In the composition of hymns, adapted to Christian 
 worship, he certainly has no equal in the English language, and is 
 perhaps superior to every other uninspired man that ever lived. It 
 does not appear that any person besides himself, in any section of the 
 universal church, has either written so many hymns, or hymns of such 
 surpassing excellence. Those which he published would occupy about 
 ten ordinary-sized duodecimo volumes ; and the rest which he left 
 in manuscript, and evidently designed for publication, would occupy at 
 least ten more. It would be absurd to suppose that all these are of 
 equal value ; but, generally speaking, those of them which possess the 
 least merit bear the impress of his genius. 
 
 It is doubtful whether any man has written the English language 
 with greater purity and strength than Mr. Charles Wesley. He intro- 
 duces words derived from the Greek, Latin, and French languages, 
 when they are necessary, because of the metre, or the rhyme, and to 
 give a greater variety to his diction ; otherwise he almost always uses 
 words of Saxon origin, the force and beauty of which are universally 
 felt. An opinion has prevailed that several of his hymns were greatly 
 improved by his brother, who gave them an elegance and polish which 
 they did not originally possess. But this is true only to a very limited 
 extent. Mr. John Wesley shortened many of his brother's hymns, 
 when he inserted them in his general collection ; in some instances he 
 joined two or three short ones together ; such allusions as were strictly 
 personal and local he expunged, so as to adapt the stanzas in which 
 they occurred to general use ; but in other respects the alterations 
 which he introduced into Charles's compositions were very few. The 
 correctness of Mr. John Wesley's taste will not be disputed ; and in 
 logical clearness and arrangement he had few equals ; but even in 
 prose, while he excelled most men in simplicity and strength, Charles 
 rivalled him in terseness, and surpassed him in spirit. Both in prose 
 and verse Charles's words and idioms are thoroughly English. Nor 
 did John's taste in poetry always come up to Charles's standard. In 
 his copy of the Arminian Magazine he has animadverted upon some 
 pieces which John admired, and therefore inserted in that publication. 
 
 To Mr. Charles Wesley it was a great advantage, that he was so 
 well trained in classical learning. Had he not been a sound scholar, 
 he could never have fully exercised his high vocation as a devotional 
 poet, and the church would not have derived the full benefits of his 
 genius. Being familiar with the great poets of antiquity, he had a 
 perfect knowledge of the laws of versification. While he possessed 
 the true poetic spirit, he thoroughly understood " the art of poetry ;" so 
 that his compositions are not only free from the literary blemishes and 
 defects which disfigure the works of many less-instructed writers, but
 
 788 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 in their numbers and general structure invariably display the hand of a 
 master. Of him, as well as of an elder poet, it might be justly said, 
 that he no sooner began to write, whether " prosing or versing," than 
 it was apparent that " the style by certain vital signs it had was likely 
 to live." This the intelligent vicar of Shoreham at once perceived and 
 declared. 
 
 The ease and freedom with which he wrote are very apparent. His 
 brother has remarked that whenever he detected a stiff sentence in any 
 of his own prose writings, he expunged it instantly, deeming stiffness 
 in an author an unpardonable offence against good taste. Charles 
 manifestly cherished the same feeling with regard to verse. It cannot 
 be said of him, as Dr. Johnson said of Prior, that the words which he 
 selects to express his meaning are reluctantly " forced" into the situa- 
 tions which they occupy, and " do their duty sullenly." They rather 
 appear formed for the exact service which is assigned them ; and 
 seldom can one of them be either dispensed with or transposed without 
 impairing the beauty or the sense. Many of his stanzas are as elegantly 
 free in their construction as even the finest paragraphs of Addison's 
 prose. While his sentiments and language are admired by the most 
 competent judges of good writing, his hymns are perfectly intelligible 
 to the common people ; thousands of whom, possessed of spiritual reli- 
 gion, feel their truth and power, and sing them with rapturous delight. 
 His metres are very numerous, perhaps more so than those of any other 
 English writer whatever ; and it is difficult to say in which of them he 
 most excelled. There are twenty-six metres in the Wesleyan collec- 
 tion in general use ; and several others occur in the volumes which 
 Charles published in his own name. This variety renders the reading 
 of his books exceedingly agreeable. His cadences never pall on the 
 ear, and never weary the attention. Like scenes in nature, and the 
 best musical compositions, they are perpetually varying, and charm by 
 their novelty. 
 
 As his object in writing was not the establishment of his own repu- 
 tation, but the advancement of Christian piety, by fanning the flame of 
 devotion, he was not so solicitous for the originality of his thoughts, as 
 for their truth and importance. Occasionally, therefore, he did not 
 hesitate to borrow a thought from other men, and cast it into his own 
 mould ; and while he proposed it in his own incomparable diction, he 
 never failed to expand and improve it. He did not borrow the thoughts 
 of other men, because he was himself destitute of the inventive faculty ; 
 for his hymns which are perfectly original are far more numerous, and 
 embrace a wider range of subjects, than those of any other writer in 
 the English language. His object in composition was first his own 
 edification, and then the edification of the church ; and he w^s ready
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 789 
 
 to press into his service whatever was likely to advance these holy 
 designs. 
 
 Two examples of the manner in which he occasionally availed him- 
 self of the writings of other men are subjoined. The first is taken from 
 Dr. Brevint's " Christian Sacrifice ;" the other from the " Night 
 Thoughts" of Dr. Young : a work to which Mr. Charles Wesley was 
 especially partial. 
 
 " This victim having been offered up in the fulness of times, and in 
 the midst of the world, which is Christ's great temple, and having been 
 thence carried up to heaven, which is his sanctuary ; from thence 
 spread salvation all around, as the burnt-offering did its smoke. And 
 thus his body and blood have everywhere, but especially at this sacra- 
 ment, a true and real presence. When he offered himself upon earth, 
 the vapour of his atonement went, and darkened the very sun : and by 
 rending the great veil, it clearly showed he had made a way into hea- 
 ven. And since he is gone up, he sends down to earth the graces that 
 spring continually both from his everlasting sacrifice, and from the 
 continual intercession that attends it. So that we need not say, ' Who 
 will go up into heaven V since without either ascending or descending, 
 this sacred body of Jesus fills with atonement and blessings the 
 remotest parts of his temple." 
 
 These impressive sentiments are thus versified by our Christian 
 poet: — 
 
 Victim divine, thy grace we claim, 
 
 While thus thy precious death we show ; 
 
 Once offer 'd up a spotless Lamb, 
 In thy great temples here below, 
 
 Thou didst for all mankind atone, 
 
 And standest now before the throne. 
 
 Thou standest in the holiest place, 
 
 As now for guilty sinners slain, 
 The blood of sprinkling speaks, and prays 
 
 All prevalent for helpless man ; 
 Thy blood is still our ransom found, 
 And speaks salvation all around. 
 
 The smoke of thy atonement here 
 
 Darkcn'd the sun, and rent the veil, 
 Made the new way to heaven appear, 
 
 And show'd the great Invisible : 
 Well pleased in thee, our God look'd down, 
 And call'd his rebels to a crown. 
 
 He still respects thy sacrifice, 
 
 Its savour sweet doth always please ; 
 The offering smokes through earth and skies, 
 
 Diffusing life, and joy, and peace :
 
 790 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 To these thy lower courts it comes, 
 And fills them with divine perfumes. 
 
 We need not now go up to heaven, 
 
 To bring the long-sought Saviour down ; 
 Thou art to all already given, 
 
 Thou dost even now thy banquet crown, 
 To every faithful soul appear, 
 And show thy real presence here. 
 
 The very just and striking sentiments contained in the " Night 
 Thoughts," often proposed with great abruptness and force, were ex- 
 actly suited to Mr. Charles Wesley's peculiar temper and mental habits. 
 He therefore esteemed this book next to the Holy Scriptures. Yet could 
 he, when occasion served, surpass Young himself in living energy 
 both of thought and expression, as the following example demonstrates. 
 The author of the " Night Thoughts" exclaims, — 
 
 " Of man immortal ! hear the lofty style : 
 If so decreed, th' Almighty Will be done. 
 Let earth dissolve, yon pond'rous orbs descend, 
 And grind us into dust. The soul is safe ; 
 The man emerges ; mounts above the wreck, 
 As tow'ring flame from nature's funeral pyre ; 
 O'er devastation, as a gainer, smiles ; 
 His charter, his inviolable rights, 
 Well-pleased to learn from thunder's impotence, 
 Death's pointless darts, and hell's defeated storms." 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley, taking up the theme, thus sings in still loftier 
 strains, and with a greater power of expression : — 
 
 Stand th' omnipotent decree ! 
 
 Jehovah's will be done ! 
 Nature's end we wait to see, 
 
 And hear her final groan : 
 Let this earth dissolve, and blend 
 
 In death the wicked and the just, 
 Let those pond'rous orbs descend, 
 
 And grind us into dust. 
 
 Rests secure the righteous man ! 
 
 At his Redeemer's beck 
 Sure t' emerge, and rise again, 
 
 And mount above the wreck. 
 Lo ! the heavenly spirit towers, 
 
 Like flames o'er nature's funeral pyre, 
 Triumphs in immortal powers, 
 
 And claps her wings of fire ! 
 
 Nothing hath the just to lose 
 
 By worlds on worlds destroy'd ; 
 Far beneath his feet he views, 
 
 With smiles, the flaming void ;
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 791 
 
 Sees this universe renew'd, 
 
 The grand millennial reign begun, 
 Shouts with all the sons of God 
 
 Around th' eternal throne ! 
 
 Resting in this glorious hope 
 
 To be at last restored, 
 Yield we now our bodies up 
 
 To earthquake, plague, or sword : 
 Listening for the call divine, , 
 
 The latest trumpet of the seven ; 
 Soon our soul and dust shall join, 
 
 And bcth fly up to heaven. 
 
 These and many other selections from the poetry of Mr. Charles 
 Wesley must strike every one as examples of the true sublime. His 
 was the genuine lyrical spirit, sanctified and invigorated by the Holy 
 Ghost, expressing itself in gushes and sudden bursts of feeling, ascend- 
 ing at once to the loftiest eminence apparently without an effort. He 
 aimed at " no middle flight," but at a direct ascent to the heaven of 
 heavens. There he beheld the three-one God, as the endless por- 
 tion of his people. 
 
 One of the most striking peculiarities of Mr. Charles Wesley's poetry 
 is its energy. He always writes with vigour, for he is always in 
 earnest. As he felt deeply, and had a singular command of language, 
 he expresses himself with great force. Never does he weaken his 
 lines by unnecessary epithets, or any redundancy of words ; and he 
 evidently aimed more at strength than smoothness. Yet he had too 
 fine an ear ever to be rugged ; and whenever he chose, he could rival 
 the most tuneful of his brethren in the liquid softness of his numbers. 
 
 But the crowning excellence of his hymns is the spirit of deep and 
 fervent piety which they everywhere breathe. 
 
 In the range of their subjects they embrace the entire system of 
 revealed truth, both doctrinal and practical, with the principal facts of 
 Scripture history; and apply the whole of them to purposes of per- 
 sonal godliness. The perfections of the divine nature ; the care and 
 bounty of God's universal providence ; the glory of Christ, as the ever- 
 lasting Son of the Father, the almighty Creator and Preserver of all 
 things ; his incarnation, spotless example, miracles, personal ministry, 
 atonement, resurrection, ascension to heaven, intercession, saving power, 
 faithfulness, mercy, mediatorial government ; the Godhead of the Holy 
 Spirit, and his work in the entire process of human salvation ; the con- 
 nection of his operations with the mediation and glory of Christ ; the 
 Christian salvation, comprehending the preventing grace of God, giving 
 repentance unto life, justification before God, the inward witness of 
 adoption, the regeneration of the heart, progressive sanctification, the
 
 792 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 » 
 
 full renewal of the soul in the image of God, the perfect love of God 
 and man ; the Christian sacraments ; the duties of Christianity, in all 
 the relations of life ; the happiness of the separate spirits of the just ; 
 the resurrection of the dead ; the dissolution of the universe ; the gene- 
 ral judgment ; the final perdition of ungodly men ; the everlasting felicity 
 of the righteous, in the enjoyment of God : these, with a thousand other 
 topics connected with them, constitute the subjects of his incomparable 
 poetry. All these he.has illustrated with a diction of unrivalled purity, 
 strength, and beauty, and formed into addresses to God, in adoration, 
 confession, prayer, deprecation, thanksgiving, and praise. Every feel- 
 ing of the heart, from the first communication of light to the understand- 
 ing, producing conviction of sin, and desires after God and Christ, till 
 salvation from sin is attained, the conflicts of the spiritual warfare are 
 ended, and the sanctified believer enters into the heavenly paradise, is 
 imbodied in his hymns. The sorrows of penitence, the confidence of 
 faith, the joys of pardon, holiness, and hope, the burning ardour of 
 divine love, the pleasures of obedience, the warmth of universal bene- 
 volence, and the anticipations of future glory, he has not merely de- 
 scribed, but expressed, and that in all their fulness and depth. 
 
 The poetry of this very eminent man is thoroughly evangelical. It 
 is humiliating to see in the collections of hymns used by Arian and 
 Socinian congregations, many which bear the names of orthodox 
 divines. They relate mostly to the works and providence of God, and 
 other subjects of a collateral kind, without any reference to the Trinity 
 of Persons in the Godhead, the atonement for sin made by the death 
 of Christ, justification through faith in his blood, and the influence of 
 the Holy Ghost, as one of the benefits of Christ's mediation. Whereas 
 these glorious peculiarities of the evangelical revelation constitute the 
 very substance of Charles Wesley's verse. They cannot be expunged 
 by a slight alteration in the phraseology. If these verities are ex- 
 eluded, the hymns in general are destroyed ; and hence his composi- 
 tions, notwithstanding their high and undeniable poetical merit, are 
 seldom found in the devotional books of heterodox worshippers. From 
 the day in which he found rest to his soul, by faith in the blood of 
 Christ, and entered upon his glorious career as a devotional poet, he 
 might justly say, — 
 
 " Hail, Son of God, Saviour of men ! Thy name 
 Shall be the copious matter of my song 
 Henceforth ; and never shall my harp thy praise 
 Forget, nor from thy Father's praise disjoin !" 
 
 An opinion has been advanced, that his genius appears to the greatest 
 advantage in his " Hymns for Families," where he has invested the 
 ordinary affairs of life with sacredness and dignity, and expressed in
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 793 
 
 true poetic language the anxieties, joys, and sorrows which arise out 
 of the domestic relations. But if the writer of this narrative might be 
 allowed to avow a preference, where all is excellent, he would specify 
 the funeral hymns, including, not only those which were published 
 under that name, but all that were written on occasion of the deaths 
 of pious individuals to whom the poet was personally known. These 
 would, if collected, form an ample volume ; and their sentiments and 
 diction are beyond all praise. They are throughout characterized by 
 a tenderness of affection, a meek submission to the will of God, a 
 warmth of Christian friendship, and a triumphant hope arising out of 
 the truths of the gospel, which place them decidedly at the head of all 
 similar compositions in the English language. Notwithstanding the 
 sameness of the occasions which called them forth, they present an 
 astonishing variety of thought and phraseology ; and exhibit such a 
 view of the power of Christianity to cheer and sustain in the prospect 
 of dissolution, as involuntarily to extort the exclamation, " Let me die 
 the death of the righteous ; and let my last end be like his !" 
 
 The poetical talent that was committed to the trust of Mr. Charles 
 Wesley involved a responsibility, the full extent of which it would be 
 impossible to estimate. He was endued with a power which scarcely 
 any other man has been called to wield : a power of promoting the 
 spiritual benefit, not only of the multitudes whom his living voice could 
 reach, but of millions whom he never saw. During the last fifty years 
 few collections of hymns, designed for the use of evangelical congre- 
 gations, whether belonging to the established Church, or to the Dis- 
 senting bodies, have been made without a considerable number of his 
 compositions, which are admired in proportion as the people are spirit- 
 ually-minded. His hymns are therefore extensively used in secret 
 devotion, in family worship, and in public religious assemblies. Every 
 sabbath-day myriads of voices are lifted up, and utter, in the hallowed 
 strains which he has supplied, the feelings of penitence, of faith, of 
 grateful love, and joyous hope, with which the Holy Ghost, the Lord 
 and Giver of life, has inspired them ; and are thus in a course of train- 
 ing for the more perfect worship of heaven. Faithfully did he conse- 
 crate his talent to the Lord ; and the honour which the Lord has con- 
 ferred upon his servant is of the highest order : an honour widely ex- 
 tended, and increasing with every successive generation. As long as 
 the language in which they are written is understood, and enlightened 
 piety is cherished, the hymns of this venerable man will be used as a 
 handmaid to devotion. They were not " obtained by the invocation of 
 dame Memory and her siren sisters, but by devout prayer to that eternal 
 Spirit, who can enrich with all utterance and knowledge, and sends out 
 his seraphim, with the hallowed fire of his altar, to purify the lips of
 
 794 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY 
 
 whom he pleases." They are perfectly free from all sickly sentiment- 
 ality, especially that which some modern poets affect, by a perpetual 
 reference to consecrated places, sacred vestments, holy water, and the 
 trumpery of papal Rome ; as if religion were a mere matter of the 
 imagination, and Christians were still under the Jewish law. His 
 hymns are as rational and manly in sentiment, as they are pure and 
 elegant in composition. Their theology is thoroughly Scriptural. 
 
 To the Wesleyan societies and congregations, wherever situated, 
 especially in Great Britain and America, these hymns are of ines- 
 timable value, and exert an influence which is only exceeded by that 
 of the Holy Scriptures. No other hymns in the English language so 
 fully exhibit those just views of apostolical Christianity which the 
 author and his brother were a means of reviving. All that these men 
 of God taught in the pulpit, and thousands of their spiritual children 
 have experienced, the hymns adequately express. They assume that 
 it is the common privilege of believers to enjoy the direct and abiding 
 witness of their personal adoption; to be made free from sin by the 
 sanctifying Spirit ; to live and die in the conscious possession of that 
 perfect love which casteth out fear ; and they express a strong and 
 irrepressible desire for these blessings, with the mighty faith by which 
 they are obtained. Thus he teaches the mourning penitent to pray for 
 pardon, and the peace of God which attends it : — 
 
 that I could the blessing prove, 
 
 My heart's extreme desire ! 
 Live happy in my Saviour's love 
 
 And in his arms expire ! &c. 
 
 In reference to the higher blessing of entire sanctification, he thus 
 
 sings : — 
 
 Where the indubitable seal 
 
 That ascertains the kingdom mine 1 
 The powerful stamp I long to feel, 
 
 The signature of love divine ! 
 shed it in my heart abroad ! 
 Fulness of love, of heaven, of God ! 
 
 No man ever excelled him in expressing the power of faith : — 
 
 The thing surpasses all my thought, 
 
 But faithful is my Lord ; , 
 
 Through unbelief I stagger not, 
 For God hath spoke the word. 
 
 Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, 
 
 And looks to that alone, 
 Laughs at impossibilities, 
 
 And cries, " It shall be done !"
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 795 
 
 My flesh, which cries, "It cannot be," 
 
 Shall silence keep before the Lord ; 
 And earth, and hell, and sin shall flee 
 
 At Jesu's everlasting word. 
 
 Great praise is due to the excellent Dr. Watts for the hymns with 
 which he favoured the churches. Many of them are exceedingly 
 beautiful and devotional. He had the honour, too, of taking the lead 
 in this most important service ; being the first of our poets that success- 
 fully applied his talents to such lyrical compositions as are adapted to 
 the use and edification of Christian assemblies. But in the vehement 
 language of the heart, in power of expression, in the variety of his 
 metres, and in the general structure of his verse, he is not equal to 
 Charles Wesley, any more than in richness of evangelical sentiment, 
 and in deep religious experience. The doctor teaches Christians to 
 sing, with mixed emotions of desire, hope and doubt, 
 
 " Could we but climb where Moses stood, 
 And view the landscape o'er, 
 Not Jordan's streams, nor death's cold flood. 
 Should fright us from the shore." 
 
 Whereas Charles Wesley has attained the desired eminence, and 
 thence triumphantly exclaims, 
 
 The promised land, from Pisgah's top, 
 
 I now exult to see ! 
 My hope is full (0 glorious hope !) 
 
 Of immortality. 
 
 It was no hyperbole, but a sober truth, which the pious Fletcher 
 uttered when he said, " One of the greatest blessings that God has 
 bestowed upon the Methodists, next to the Bible, is their collection of 
 hymns." 
 
 The special providence of God is strikingly seen in raising up John 
 and Charles Wesley as the chief instruments of the revival of religion 
 to which the name of Methodism has been given. They were one in 
 mind and heart ; both were highly gifted, and have been a means of 
 conferring the most substantial benefits upon the grateful people who 
 have entered into their labours : yet their endowments and services 
 were vastly dissimilar ; and their work would have been seriously de- 
 fective had either of them been wanting. John was a means, under 
 God, of giving the Methodists their theology and discipline ; yet, with 
 these mighty advantages, what could they do without the hymns of 
 Charles ? How could they give adequate expression to the feelings 
 of their hearts in their various religious services, if this " sweet singer" 
 had never lived, or had directed his genius for poetry to other objects ! 
 An eminent man is reported to have said, " Let who may legislate for
 
 796 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 
 
 any people ; only let me compose the ballads which they sing, and I 
 will form their character." It is doubtful whether any human agency 
 whatever has contributed more directly to form the character of the 
 Methodist societies than the hymns of Charles Wesley, which they 
 are constantly in the habit of singing, and with which their memories 
 are therefore richly charged. The sermons of the preachers, the 
 instructions of the class-leaders, the prayers of the people, both in their 
 families and social meetings, are all tinged with the sentiments and 
 phraseology of his hymns. In his beautiful and expressive lines many 
 of them are accustomed to give utterance to their desires and hopes, 
 their sorrows and fears, their confidence and joy ; and in innumerable 
 instances they have expired with his verses upon their lips. Multi- 
 tudes of them have died, whispering in faint accents, but with holy joy 
 and hope, — 
 
 My Jesus to know, 
 
 And feel his blood flow, 
 'Tis life everlasting, 'tis heaven below. 
 
 What is there here to court my stay,. 
 
 And keep me back from home, 
 While angels beckon me away, 
 
 And Jesus bids me come 1 
 
 They have found his hymns and spiritual songs to breathe the very 
 language of heaven ; and they have only exchanged them for the song 
 of Moses and of the Lamb. 
 
 It is an important fact, that this gifted man, apparently without 
 design, has anticipated all the wants of the Wesleyan Connection, 
 with respect to devotional poetry. He has supplied it with hymns 
 adapted to every religious service, even missionary meetings, which 
 were unknown in his time, and (strange as it may seem !) even the 
 ordination of ministers. He did indeed speak to the people in psalms, 
 and hymns, and spiritual songs, to their edification and comfort. In 
 every place, and at all times, he " had a hymn, had a psalm," suited to 
 the occasion ; for he was 
 
 "Married to immortal verse." 
 
 At funerals, at weddings, in the domestic circle, in the public congrega- 
 tion, at the table of the Lord, he was prepared to lead the devotions of 
 those around him. When attended by immense multitudes in the open 
 air, and under the wide canopy of heaven, he called upon them to sing 
 with heart and voice, — 
 
 Ye mountains and vales, in praises abound ; 
 Ye hills and ye dales, continue the sound : 
 Break forth into singing, ye trees of the wood, 
 For Jesus is bringing lost sinners to God., &c.
 
 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES WESLEY. 797 
 
 On the return of his wife's birth-day, he invited her to join in the 
 holy and joyous strain : — 
 
 Come away to the skies, 
 My beloved, arise, 
 And rejoice on the day thou wast born, &c.* 
 
 It may truly be said of him, as of the heavenly minstrels, that his 
 " harp" was " ever tuned ;" and that whenever he 
 
 " Introduced 
 His sacred song, he waken'd raptures high." 
 
 In every object of nature, in every event of life, and especially in the 
 gracious provisions of the gospel, he saw the hand and heart of God ; 
 
 " Then into hymns 
 Burst forth, and in celestial measures moved." 
 
 His heart overflowed with sacred verse till it ceased to beat ; and 
 his tuneful voice was never silent till it was silenced in death. He is 
 gone ; but the imperishable fruit of his sanctified genius remains, as 
 one of the richest legacies ever bequeathed to the church by her faith- 
 ful sons. As to himself, he still lives in the region of holy music and 
 holy love ; and there sings 
 
 " Before the sapphire-colour'd throne 
 To Him that sits thereon, 
 With saintly shout, and solemn jubilee, 
 Where the bright seraphim, in burning row, 
 Their loud, uplifted angel-trumpets blow ; 
 And the cherubic host, in thousand choirs, 
 Touch their immortal harps of golden wires, 
 With those just spirits that wear victorious palms, 
 Hymns devout and holy psalms 
 Singing everlastingly." 
 
 * Methodist Hymn-Book, page 357. 
 
 THE END.
 
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