[542] Wesley’s Works, vol. xiii., p. 62.
[543] Mrs. Mortimer’s Life.
[544] Banning’s Memoirs.
[545] Manuscript.
[546] Manuscript letter by Mather.
[547] Longden’s Life.
[548] Manuscripts.
[549] _Methodist Magazine_, 1836, p. 166.
[550] Manuscript.
[551] Memoirs of Rev. H. Taft, M.D., p. 6.
[552] Unpublished manuscript.
[553] Pawson’s manuscripts.
[554] Life of C. Wesley, by Jackson, vol ii., p. 402.
[555] _Methodist Magazine_, 1792, p. 333.
[556] Ibid. 1840, p. 574.
[557] Ibid. p. 577.
[558] Coke’s Life.
[559] Wesley’s Works, vol. xiii., p. 67.
[560] Ibid.
[561] Memoirs of Black, p. 158.
[562] Wesley’s Works, vol. xiii., pp. 86, 87.
[563] Ibid. vol. xiii., p. 92.
1787.
Age 84
Wesley writes:
“1787. Monday, January 1--We began the service at four in the
morning, to an unusually large congregation. We had another
comfortable opportunity at the new chapel at the usual hour,
and a third in the evening at West Street.”
“January 2--I went to Deptford; but it seemed, I was got into a
den of lions. Most of the leading men of the society were mad
for separating from the Church. I endeavoured to reason with
them, but in vain: they had neither sense nor even good manners
left. At length, after meeting the whole society, I told them:
‘If you are resolved, you may have your service in church
hours; but, remember, from that time, you will see my face no
more.’ This struck deep; and, from that hour, I have heard no
more of separating from the Church.”
Considering the steps that Wesley had already taken, this is somewhat
amusing; as are also the two following letters, written soon after,
the first to William Percival,[564] and the second to Samuel Bardsley.
“LONDON, _February 17, 1787_.
“DEAR BILLY,--You cannot be too watchful against evil speaking,
or too zealous for the poor Church of England. I commend sister
Percival for having her child baptized there, and for returning
public thanks. By all means, go to church as often as you can,
and exhort all the Methodists so to do. They that are enemies
to the Church are enemies to _me_. I am a friend to it, and
ever was. By our reading prayers, we prevent our people
contracting an hatred for forms of prayer; which would
naturally be the case, if we always prayed extempore.
“I am, dear Billy, your affectionate brother,
“JOHN WESLEY.”[565]
“BIRMINGHAM, _March 25, 1787_.
“DEAR SAMMY,--Brother Jackson should advise brother
Ridall,[566] not to please the devil by preaching himself to
death. I still think, when the Methodists leave the Church of
England, God will leave them. Every year more and more of the
clergy are convinced of the truth, and grow well affected
towards us. It would be contrary to all common sense, as well
as to good conscience, to make a separation now.
“I am, dear Sammy, your affectionate brother,
“JOHN WESLEY.”[567]
Before proceeding with Wesley’s history, we insert another letter
belonging to this period. It is now for the first time published, and
refers to John Hutchinson, the founder of Hutchinsonianism.
“LONDON, _February 4, 1787_.
“MY DEAR SISTER,--I think Mr. Hutchinson was a man of strong
understanding, but greatly obscured by uncommon pride and
sourness of temper. He was the twin soul of Dr. Bentley. Many
of his remarks I exceedingly approve of. That upon the sin of
Uzzah is highly probable. His writings to me are far more
agreeable than those of Dr. Harmer;[568] an exceeding pretty
writer, who seems to propose Dr. Blair for his pattern. Both
the one and the other are quite too elegant for me. Give me
plain, strong Dr. Horne. Your letters (as well as your
conversation) are always agreeable to, my dear sister,
“Your affectionate friend and brother,
“J. WESLEY.”
Wesley was always ready for all kinds of useful work,--reading,
writing, preaching, praying, and begging for the poor. Towards the
close of his career, especially, he seems to have commenced almost
every year by an effort to relieve the miseries of his destitute
fellow creatures. Accordingly, at the opening of 1787, five days were
spent in traversing the streets of London to obtain subscriptions for
this purpose. About two hundred members of his own London society were
in great distress; and he hoped to provide for them and for others, at
least, food and clothing. He writes: “I was much disappointed. Six or
seven, indeed, of our brethren, gave £10 apiece. If forty or fifty had
done this, I could have carried my design into execution. However,
much good was done with £200, and many sorrowful hearts made glad.”
Seven years previous to this, Wesley had preached his first sermon at
Newark upon Trent. He was now invited to open a new chapel there; and
took coach, for that purpose, on February 9, travelled all night, and
arrived next day. On Sunday morning, February 11, at nine o’clock, he
preached in the “lightsome, cheerful building”; and again at half-past
five in the afternoon; when the mayor and several aldermen of the town
were present.
This was a kind of service which now frequently fell to Wesley’s lot.
On Sunday, February 25, after preaching twice in London, he took the
mail coach, and, by travelling all night, arrived at Exeter in about
four-and-twenty hours. He then hurried off to Plymouth, and opened a
new chapel there. On Sunday morning, March 4, he conducted a service,
which lasted from half-past nine to nearly one o’clock; and, in the
evening, the throng was such, that, in order to reach the pulpit, he
was literally lifted over the people’s heads. At five o’clock next
morning, the chapel was again crowded; and, at six, he departed by
coach, “leaving,” says he, “such a flame behind us as was never
kindled here before.”
Notwithstanding the heavy services of the previous day, he travelled
all the way to Exeter in a continuous rain, and again preached “to as
many as could possibly squeeze” into the chapel; and says, “I know
not, that I ever saw such an impression made on the people of Exeter
before.”
After this, he proceeded to Bristol, where “the work of God had much
increased, especially among the young men,” but where, out of sixteen
hundred members, only five, or ten, or, at the most, a dozen hearers
formed the five o’clock morning congregations. Wesley says, he
strongly warned them of their indolence; and, during his stay, the
congregations were increased to three hundred; but even this was
small, considering the prestige of the place, and the fame of the
unequalled minister.
Wesley now was suffering considerable anxiety respecting Dr. Coke,
who, with his three missionaries, had set sail, five months before,
for Newfoundland, but who, unknown to Wesley, had been drifted to the
West Indies. Hence the following, addressed to William Black.
“LONDON, _February 20, 1787_.
“MY DEAR BROTHER,--After various unfortunate hindrances and
delays, Dr. Coke embarked on board a small brig, in the middle
of October, and was, by furious winds, twice beat back into the
harbour. They set sail a third time, with a crazy, shattered
vessel, on the 18th of October. We have not heard anything
either from him or of him since. I hope you have heard of him
in America.
“You have great reason to be thankful to God for the progress
of His work in Nova Scotia. This is far from being the case in
Newfoundland, where poor John McGeary appears to be utterly
discouraged; not only through want of success, but through want
of the conveniences, yea, necessaries of life. Truly, if I
could have supposed, that those who made me fair promises would
have suffered a preacher to want bread, I should have sent him
into other parts, where he would have wanted nothing.
“I hear very different accounts of the state of your provinces.
Is there plenty or scarcity in Nova Scotia, and New England?
How does it fare with Halifax and Shelburne, in particular? Do
the buildings and people increase or decrease? Public accounts
I cannot at all depend upon; but upon _your_ word I can depend.
Peace be with all your spirits!
“I am, dear Billy, your affectionate friend and brother,
“JOHN WESLEY.”[569]
On March 19, Wesley left Bristol for Ireland, preaching on the way at
Stroud, Cirencester, Gloucester, and numerous other places. At
Birmingham, he administered the sacrament to seven or eight hundred
communicants. At Wolverhampton, he opened a new chapel. At Burslem, he
held one of the most remarkable lovefeasts he had ever witnessed; for
here there had been “such an outpouring of the Spirit as had not been
in any other part of the kingdom; particularly in the meetings for
prayer. Fifteen or twenty had been justified in a day; some of them
the most notorious, abandoned sinners, in all the country.” He
“appointed to preach at five in the morning of March 30, but, soon
after four, he was saluted by a concert of music, both vocal and
instrumental, making the air ring, with a hymn to the tune of Judas
Maccabeus. It was,” says he, “a good prelude; so I began almost half
an hour before five; yet the house was crowded both above and below.”
He writes: “Saturday, March 31--I went on to Macclesfield, and found a
people still alive to God, in spite of swiftly increasing riches. If
they continue so, it will be the only instance I have known, in above
half a century. I warned them in the strongest terms I could, and
believe some of them had ears to hear.”
He arrived in Dublin on Good Friday, April 6. On Easter Sunday he
preached in Bethesda chapel, of which his friend, the Rev. Edward
Smyth, was chaplain. He writes: “Mr. Smyth read prayers, and gave out
the hymns, which were sung by fifteen or twenty fine singers; the rest
of the congregation listening with much attention, and as much
devotion, as they would have done to an opera. But is this Christian
worship? Or ought it ever to be suffered in a Christian church? It was
thought we had between seven and eight hundred communicants.”
At this period, the Dublin society, with the exception of that in
London, was the largest in the world, containing upwards of eleven
hundred members, being more than there were in the whole of the five
Dublin _circuits_ in 1870!
Having spent ten days in Dublin, he set out for the provinces. It
would be, substantially, a reiteration of former narratives, to follow
him in his wanderings. He met with no persecution; but, on the
contrary, with the warmest welcomes. Almost everywhere the work of God
was prospering; and the people vied with each other to show him
kindness. He writes: “May 29--The old murderer is restrained from
hurting me; but it seems he has power over my horses. One of them I
was obliged to leave in Dublin, and afterwards another, having bought
two to supply their places; the third soon got an ugly swelling in his
shoulders, so that we doubted whether we could go on; and a boy at
Clones, riding, I suppose galloping, the fourth over stones, the horse
fell and nearly lamed himself.” Perhaps Wesley blamed the devil when
he ought to have blamed his own long journeys.
It was in one of these Irish tours that, preaching at a certain place
in the afternoon, and being expected, in the evening, at a town
several miles distant, he desired his chaise to be ready at the close
of the service, so that he might start at once. As he left the chapel,
the people, as usual, crowded about him, to shake hands with him;
among others, a Methodist shoemaker pressed forward, and put into his
hand a brown paper parcel, saying with manifest emotion: “Sir, this
may be of use to you in your journey.” Wesley thanked him, put the
parcel into his pocket, and away he went. After travelling some
distance, his curiosity prompted him to examine the nature of
Crispin’s present, which he found to be an awl and a strong waxed
thread. The road was rugged and lonely; and after a sudden jerk, the
horses stopped. “What’s the matter?” asked Wesley. “Matter enough!”
replied the coachman; “one of the traces is broken, and we can’t go
on.” Wesley bethought him of his awl and thread; they were at once
produced; the trace was mended; and so, by the poor shoemaker’s gift,
the congregation was saved from being disappointed of their preacher,
and Wesley from a tiresome detention in a houseless neighbourhood.[570]
Wesley got back to Dublin on the 21st of June, having preached
considerably more than a hundred times during his ten weeks’ tour. A
week later, on his birthday, June 28, he wrote: “I had the pleasure of
a conversation with Mr. Howard, I think one of the greatest men in
Europe. Nothing, but the mighty power of God, can enable him to go
through his difficult and dangerous employments.”
The great philanthropist was as much pleased with Wesley, as Wesley
was with him. “I was encouraged by him,” said he to Alexander Knox,
Esq., “to go on vigorously with my own designs. I saw in him how much
a single man might achieve by zeal and perseverance; and I thought,
why may not I do as much in my way, as Mr. Wesley has done in his, if
I am only as assiduous and persevering? and I determined I would
pursue my work with more alacrity than ever.”[571]
Howard, in early life, had heard Wesley preach, in Bedfordshire, and
was deeply impressed with his discourse. In 1789, he called at
Wesley’s house, in London, to present him with his latest publication,
“An Account of the Principal Lazarettos in Europe,” in quarto; but
Wesley was not at home. “Present,” said he, “my respects and love to
Mr. Wesley; tell him, I had hoped to have seen him once more: perhaps,
we may meet again in this world, but, if not, we shall meet I trust in
a better.”[572] And away he went on his mission of mercy to Russia,
where he fell an honoured victim to his benevolence, on January 20,
1790.
Having held his Irish conference, Wesley preached his farewell sermon,
in Dublin, on the 11th of July; and arriving in England on the 12th,
he proceeded to Manchester, in the neighbourhood of which he continued
until August 6. Here he held his English conference, though, in his
journal, he never mentions it. The preachers were specially invited;
but, on what principle the invitations were given, it is difficult to
state. Thomas Taylor was assistant at Leeds, within fifty miles of
Manchester, and moreover was one of the hundred mentioned in Wesley’s
deed of declaration; but he was also in favour of the Methodists
having the sacraments from the hands of their own preachers; in other
words, he was in favour of separation from the Established Church;
and, perhaps, this was one of the reasons why he was not invited to
the conference at Manchester. At all events, he writes:
“Mr. Wesley has sent his special summons to each preacher whom
he wishes to attend conference, and has expressly forbidden any
one else to go. I am unbidden, and think I am ill used. After
labouring, with some degree of success, for more than
twenty-four years, and without a crime having ever been alleged
against, me, I am debarred of a privilege granted to others who
were converted under me, and whom I took into society. This is
a flagrant injustice. Besides, I am a member of the legal
conference. I’ll venture to go, let consequences be what they
may. If I am thrown overboard, I will swim as well as I can,
believing the Lord will take me up.”
Mr. Taylor’s complaint was not without reason. He went; but says, he
had little satisfaction, for much of the time was spent in trying to
supersede the hymn-book published by Robert Spence.[573]
The original edition of the minutes of the Manchester conference is
now before us, 12mo, 20 pages; but there is not a single syllable on
what was the great question of the day, separation from the Church.
And yet this was a question again and again introduced. Two years
before, Wesley had ordained Pawson for Scotland, and, ever since, had
addressed him as “reverend,” Pawson wearing gown and bands, and
administering the sacraments to the Scottish Methodists. Now that
Pawson was brought back to England, he had to doff his canonicals, and
had his letters from Wesley inscribed with “Mr.,” instead of “Rev.” He
loudly remonstrated; but got no redress; and at length, like a good
Christian, more anxious to save souls than to wear sacerdotal robes,
submitted to obey orders which were strangely inconsistent with
Wesley’s ordaining acts, and went on his way rejoicing. Pawson writes
as follows, to his bosom friend, Charles Atmore.
“THORNER, _August 8, 1787_.
“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,--Our conference ended on last Saturday.
There were many preachers, and abundance of people, I think
more than I ever saw at any conference before. Almost the whole
time was taken up with temporal affairs. Mr. Wesley was in
great haste, as he and Dr. Coke were going to Guernsey and
Jersey. There has been a general revival of the work of God.
Mr. Wesley seems more determined to abide in the Church than
ever. He talked about it again and again, in the public
conference, in the society, etc.; and in such a hot, fiery
spirit, as I did not like to see. He talked of fighting with a
flail, and of putting all out of society who do not go to
church. _We_ are to be just what we were before we came to
Scotland,--no sacraments, no gowns, no nothing at all of any
kind whatsoever. With much entreaty, I got him to ordain Mr.
McAllum and Suter. Two more were ordained, one for the West
Indies, and one for Nova Scotia.
“Charles Wesley, the Sunday before the conference opened,
spoke, to the society in London, to this effect: ‘I told you,
forty years ago, that, from among yourselves, grievous wolves
would arise, who would rend and tear the flock. You now see my
words fulfilled. These self created bishops, and self made
priests, are the very men. But I charge you all, in the
presence of God, never receive the sacrament from any of
them.’[574] So you see, he has discharged the people from
receiving the sacrament of his own brother; for who but he is
the _self created bishop_? O cursed prejudice! O furious
bigotry! How does the fire from hell burn in that poor
miserable man’s breast!
“Perhaps, if I live till next conference, I may petition to
return to Scotland, as there seems to be no prospect of doing
anything, but just in the old way, while Mr. Wesley lives.
Solomon says, there is no new thing under the sun; but here we
see something, which, I believe, was never seen in the
Christian church before,--that men, approved of God and their
brethren, and that for many years, should be regularly
ordained, and act in the capacity of ministers, and yet should
be deposed from that office by one single man, and that without
any crime committed, great or small, real or pretended. Even
the pope himself never acted such a part as this. What an
astonishing degree of power does our aged father and friend
exercise! However, I am satisfied, and have nothing but love in
my heart toward the good old man. But really it will not bear
the light at all. Most affectionately yours,
“JOHN PAWSON.”[575]
This was pretty strong to come from a man like Pawson; but it
furnishes a glimpse of the proceedings of the conference of 1787,
concerning which so little has been written, and shows the awkward
position into which Wesley had put himself by his ordinations of men
from whom he now withdrew the authority that he had previously given.
Never, however, had Methodism been so prosperous as now. The increase
of members, in the United Kingdom, during the present year, was nearly
four thousand; and in America, 6849. Letters, dated August, 1787,
contain most marvellous intelligence. It was computed that, in
Brunswick county, Virginia, not fewer than seven thousand persons were
under deep conviction of their sin and danger; and as many as fifty in
a day were savingly converted. At a recent quarterly meeting, six
thousand were assembled, and hundreds were crying for mercy, including
some of the principal inhabitants of the land, and not a few who had
been persecutors.[576]
The Manchester conference concluded on Saturday, August 4, and, on the
following day, besides meeting the select society, Wesley preached
twice, and, with the assistance of his brother clergymen, administered
the sacrament to twelve or thirteen hundred communicants. There are
two other incidents, in connection with this conference, too
interesting to be omitted.
At this period, the grandfather of the present Sir Robert Peel was
thirty-seven years of age, and one of the most successful men in
Lancashire. The leisure of his youthful days had been spent in reading
and study, and, before he attained to his majority, a great portion of
his time had been devoted to the improvement of machinery. At the age
of twenty-three, he embarked in the cotton trade, and, by his industry
and perseverance, had already become a man of wealth, though his
riches fell immensely short of the two millions which, it is said, he
left behind him at his death in 1830. Wesley writes: “1787, July 27--I
was invited to breakfast at Bury, by Mr. Peel, a calico printer; who,
a few years ago, began with £500, and is now supposed to have gained
£50,000. Oh, what a miracle if he lose not his soul!” The invitation
was accepted, and, long after this, when the calico printer had become
a baronet, and had entered parliament, Wesley’s visit was one of the
pleasing reminiscences of his remarkable career. To the end of life,
he cherished a warm affection for the Methodists. “My lads,” said he,
when some of his Methodist workmen applied to him for the site of
Tamworth chapel,[577] “My lads, do not build your chapel too large,
for people like to go to a little chapel well filled better than to a
larger one comparatively empty. I often go to your chapels in
Manchester, Liverpool, and London, and have no wish to find myself
alone in a large pew, and pointed at as Sir Robert Peel. I have left
most of my works in Lancashire under the management of Methodists, and
they serve me excellently well. When I resided there, I asked Mr.
Wesley, at one of his conferences, to come and breakfast with me; and
he agreed, on condition that he might bring some of his children with
him. Of course, I consented, and he came accompanied by six-and-thirty
of his itinerant preachers.” This was a curious episode in the history
both of Wesley and the founder of the distinguished family that bears
his name.
No man in the nation took a greater interest in the institution of
Sunday-schools than Wesley. “I am glad,” said he, to Richard Rodda, in
a letter dated January 17, 1787, “I am glad you have taken in hand
that blessed work of setting up Sunday-schools in Chester. It seems,
these will be one great means of reviving religion throughout the
nation. I wonder Satan has not sent out some able champion against
them.”[578]
It was three years since Raikes had first called attention to the
importance of Sunday-schools in the _Gloucester Journal_; and already
these “nurseries for Christians” had begun to dot and to adorn the
country. That at Chester altogether originated with the Chester
Methodists, though the rules were submitted to the bishop of the
diocese, and had his entire approval. It contained nearly seven
hundred children, who were taken to church once every Sunday. “We had
no intention,” said Richard Rodda, “as some persons represented, to
make disciples to Methodism, but to train them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord, that they might become useful members of civil
and religious society.”[579]
Some idea may be formed of the popularity of this new institution of
the Christian church, from the fact that, in 1785, a Sunday-school
society was formed, which, within two years, was the means of
establishing more than two hundred schools; and that it was
calculated, in 1787, that the number of children then taught in
Sunday-schools exceeded two hundred thousand.[580]
As already stated, more than once, there were a few which existed long
before Raikes’ school at Gloucester,--as, for instance, Miss Hannah
Ball’s, at Wycombe, founded in 1769. There was also another at Little
Lever, the birthplace of Oliver Heywood, four miles from Bolton, in
Lancashire. Here James Hey resided, a poor man who obtained a living
by winding bobbins for weavers. About the year 1775, James got the use
of a room in a cottage, to which, twice every Sunday, he summoned the
boys and girls of the neighbourhood, to teach them reading, his
substitute for a bell being an old brass mortar and pestle. Mr. Adam
Crompton, the paper manufacturer, sent him a supply of books; three
branch establishments were formed; subscriptions were given; and a
shilling per Sunday paid to each teacher for his Sunday services.[581]
In June 1785, a Methodist school was started in the old Ridgway Gates
chapel, Bolton, chiefly through the instrumentality of George Eskrick,
who was its principal manager as long as he lived. One of the scholars
present, the first Sunday, was Peter Haslam, eleven years of age,
afterwards a most devout and useful itinerant preacher,[582]--the
first fruits of others who, in the same institution, received their
first trainings for the Christian ministry. In the course of a few
years, the number of scholars, attending the Bolton Sunday-school, was
2,000; and the _average_ number, for the first thirty years of its
existence, was 1800.[583] Children came to it, several miles, from all
the country round about. Reading and writing were taught. Each class
was spoken to separately every Sunday on religious subjects. The
masters were devoted to their work, and all gave their services
gratuitously. The change in the manners and morals of the children was
marvellous; and about a hundred of them sang like seraphs.[584] No
wonder, that such a school attracted the attention of Wesley. Hence,
on the very day when he and six-and-thirty of his itinerants
breakfasted with the father of the Peels, he wrote:
“From Mr. Peel’s we went to Bolton. Here are eight hundred poor
children, taught in our Sunday-schools, by about eighty
masters, who receive no pay but what they are to receive from
their Great Master. About a hundred of them, part boys and part
girls, are taught to sing; and they sang so true, that, all
singing together, there seemed to be but one voice. The house
was throughly filled, while I explained and applied the first
commandment. What is all morality or religion without this? A
mere castle in the air. In the evening, many of the children
still hovering round the house, I desired forty or fifty to
come in and sing, ‘Vital spark of heavenly flame.’ Although
some of them were silent, not being able to sing for tears, yet
the harmony was such as I believe could not be equalled in the
king’s chapel.”
This was not bounce, nor was it the random garrulity of an aged man.
Nine months afterwards, Wesley came again, and wrote:
“This I must avow, there is not such another set of singers in
any of the Methodist congregations in the three kingdoms as
there is at Bolton. There cannot be; for we have near a hundred
such trebles,--boys and girls, selected out of our
Sunday-schools, and accurately taught--as are not to be found
together in any chapel, cathedral, or music room within the
four seas. Besides, the spirit with which they all sing, and
the beauty of many of them, so suits the melody, that I defy
any to exceed it; except the singing of angels in our Father’s
house.”
Good singing is a good thing, and, like most other good things, is far
from being common. Had this been the only result of Bolton
Sunday-school, the school would have existed to good purpose. But hear
Wesley’s description, written “Sunday, April 20, 1788,” and let
Methodist Sunday-school teachers now conscientiously and diligently
endeavour to make their establishments resemble that at Bolton then.
“At eight, and at one, the house was throughly filled. About
three, I met between 900 and a thousand of the children
belonging to our Sunday-schools. I never saw such a sight
before. They were all exactly clean, as well as plain, in their
apparel. All were serious and well behaved. Many, both boys and
girls, had as beautiful faces as, I believe, England or Europe
can afford. When they all sung together, and none of them out
of tune, the melody was beyond that of any theatre; and, what
is the best of all, many of them truly fear God, and some
rejoice in His salvation. These are a pattern to all the town.
Their usual diversion is to visit the poor that are sick,
(sometimes six, or eight, or ten together,) to exhort, comfort,
and pray with them. Frequently ten or more of them get together
to sing and pray by themselves; sometimes thirty or forty; and
are so earnestly engaged, alternately singing, praying, and
crying, that they know not how to part.”
We have already stated that, the day after Wesley closed his
conference at Manchester, he preached twice, and, assisted by others,
administered the Lord’s supper to twelve or thirteen hundred persons.
The next day, August 6, he secured the whole of the coach, that ran
between Manchester and Birmingham, for himself and his friends. Six
packed themselves within, and eight arranged themselves without, and
off they all set at midnight; but even the presence of fourteen
Methodist preachers was not an insurance against accident. No doubt,
many a hymn was sung as they whisked away through beautiful Cheshire
scenery, the stars shining approvingly, and the fields all round
wrapped in solemn silence; but, a little before three in the morning,
when approaching Congleton, the coach broke down beneath its unwonted
burden, and had to be abandoned for another. In about an hour, number
two was crippled like number one; while one of the horses was so
knocked up as to be scarcely able to go at all. This Methodist
monopoly of the Birmingham stage coach issued, not in a moonlight
pleasure trip, but in a series of disasters which men so pious and so
good had not expected. The distance was not great; but nineteen hours
were spent in getting over it. The party arrived at Birmingham at 7
p.m.; Wesley found a congregation waiting; he stepped out of the coach
into the chapel, and began preaching without delay. “And such,” says
he, “was the goodness of God, that I found no more weariness when I
had done than if I had rested all the day.”
This was marvellous, in the case of an old man, above eighty; but,
notwithstanding this, he was off again, before five o’clock next
morning; travelled nearly eleven hours; and, at night, preached in the
new chapel at Gloucester. But even this was not all. The morning
after, he set out again at two o’clock, travelled till half-past four
in the afternoon, and preached at Salisbury in the evening. Next
morning at four, he took chaise to Southampton, where, on August 9 and
10, he preached thrice.
Here the Methodists worshipped in an auction room; and then in a loft,
used by a bricklayer in stowing away his scaffolding, and which
acquired imperishable fame as the spiritual birthplace of Elizabeth
Wallbridge, the “Dairyman’s Daughter.”[585]
Wesley, accompanied by Dr. Coke and Joseph Bradford, was now on his
way to the Channel islands; where Methodism had been introduced as
early as the year 1783, by certain Methodist soldiers, who wrote to
England for a preacher. Robert Carr Brackenbury, a gentleman of
fortune, rented a house in the town of St. Heliers, Jersey; and he and
his attendant, Alexander Kilham, preached throughout the island, amid
violent persecution, but with great success.[586] At the conference of
1786, Adam Clarke was sent; and now there were, in the three islands
of Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney, Methodist societies containing
three hundred members.
On Saturday, August 11, Wesley and his friends started from
Southampton for Guernsey, but, before the day was ended, had to put
into Yarmouth harbour, in the Isle of Wight, where they were detained
till Monday, but improved their detention by preaching four times in
the market house. On Monday the storm had abated, and they again set
out; but, in the afternoon, were glad to seek shelter at Swanage,
where Wesley found a small society, and preached in the presbyterian
chapel. Again they went on board, and hoped to reach Guernsey on
Tuesday afternoon; but the storm obliged them to steer for the isle of
Alderney, in the bay of which they narrowly escaped being dashed to
pieces. Having slept in a five bedded room, and preached upon the
beach, they again set sail for Guernsey, where they at last arrived,
and were warmly welcomed by Mr. De Jersey. Here five days were spent,
during which Wesley preached seven sermons, and dined at the
governor’s.
On Monday, August 20, they landed in Jersey, where they were detained
by storms and hurricanes till the 28th. During the eight days, Wesley
preached a dozen sermons, Mr. Brackenbury acting as his interpreter.
On the 28th, he returned to Guernsey, where, by stress of weather, he
was obliged to stay till September 6, but still employed himself as
actively as ever. He then sailed for Penzance, in Cornwall, and
arrived in safety.
Wesley’s labours in the Channel islands were greatly blessed; but his
voyages were adventurous, and, more than once, extremely dangerous.
They were also rich in religious incidents. On one occasion, two of
the sailors, who were aloft, swore most dreadfully; and, greatly to
the surprise of his companions, Wesley seemed not to notice them. At
length, the sailors still swearing, Wesley looked up to them, and
said: “Swear louder, and then perhaps God Almighty will hear you.” The
ironical reproof stopped the blasphemy.[587]
Another incident is worth relating. Wesley writes in his journal:
“September 6--We went on board with a fair, moderate wind; but we had
just entered the ship when the wind died away. We cried to God for
help; and it presently sprung up, exactly fair, and did not cease till
it brought us into Penzance bay.” This is all; but Adam Clarke, who
was present, gives further details. Wesley was reading in the cabin;
but, hearing the noise and bustle occasioned by putting about the
vessel, to stand on her different tacks, he looked out of the cabin
door, and asked what was matter. Being told, he quietly remarked,
“Then let us go to prayer.” Coke, Bradford, and Clarke having prayed,
Wesley began: “Almighty and everlasting God, Thou hast sway
everywhere, and all things serve the purposes of Thy will: Thou
holdest the winds in Thy hands, and sittest upon the waterfloods, and
reignest a King for ever: command these winds and these waves that
they obey _Thee_; and take us speedily and safely to the haven whither
we would be!” The power of his petition was felt by all: he rose from
his knees, made no remark, and resumed his reading. Clarke went on
deck, and, to his surprise, found the vessel standing her right
course, with a steady breeze, which brought them safe to
Cornwall.[588]
Wesley was more than satisfied with his trip to these lovely islands.
“Here,” says he, “is an open door: high and low, rich and poor,
receive the word gladly; so that I could not regret being detained by
contrary winds several days longer than we intended.”[589]
Wesley’s landing in Cornwall was unexpected, but not unwelcome. He
writes: “We appeared to our friends here as men risen from the dead.
Great was their rejoicing over us; and great was the power of God in
the midst of the congregation.” On Saturday, September 8, he preached
twice, out of doors, to large congregations; and, the day following,
thrice, besides meeting a society in a chapel “exactly round, and
composed wholly of brazen slags, which,” says Wesley, “I suppose will
last as long as the earth.”
On September 14, he got to Bristol, where he spent the next three
weeks. First of all, “with the assistance of two of his friends, he
had to answer _abundance of letters_,” the accumulation of the last
five weeks. Then, he had to visit the “country societies” round about,
and, among others, that at Castle Carey, where the mob had thrown the
first preacher, that visited the place, into a horse pond. On October
8, he returned to London, where he employed the next few days “in
answering letters, and preparing matter for the magazine.” One or two
of the letters, belonging to this period, may be inserted here.
The first was addressed to William Black, in Nova Scotia, who was
considerably troubled with a recent importation from Scotland, in the
form of a presbyterian minister, who was more a Socinian than a
Calvinist.
“NEAR BATH, _September 26, 1787_.
“MY DEAR BROTHER,--You have great reason to praise God for the
great things that He hath done, and to expect still greater
things than these. Your grand difficulty, now, will be to guard
your flock against that accomplished seducer. When you
mentioned a person came from Scotland, I took it for granted
that he was a Calvinist. But I find it is not so well; for I
take a Socinian to be far worse than even a predestinarian.
Nevertheless, I advise you and all our preachers, never oppose
him openly. Doing thus would only give the unawakened world an
advantage against you all. I advise you farther, never speak
severely, much less contemptuously, of him in any mixed
company. You must use no weapons in opposing him, but only
those of truth and love. Your wisdom is: (1) Strongly to
inculcate the doctrines which he denies; but without taking any
notice of him, or seeming to know that any one does deny them.
(2) To advise all our brethren (but not in public) never to
hear him, at the peril of their souls. And (3) narrowly to
inquire whether any one is staggered, and to set such an one
right as soon as possible. Thus, by the blessing of God, even
those that are lame will not be turned out of the way. Peace be
with your spirit!
“I am, dear Billy, your affectionate friend and brother,
“JOHN WESLEY.”[590]
The next has not before been published. Jonathan Crowther and Duncan
McAllum had been appointed to succeed Edward Burbeck and Joshua
Keighley, in Scotland. On arriving, they found the former “dying of
fever in a _lousy_ bed”; and the latter already dead and buried. Their
journey had been adventurous and dangerous; their circuit (Inverness)
was large; and their allowances next to nothing; for Crowther received
only fifty shillings for the whole year’s labour; and forty of these
he spent in removing to Dunbar. He wrote to Wesley: “No man is fit for
Inverness circuit, unless his flesh be brass, his bones iron, and his
heart harder than a stoic’s.” After giving an account of the death of
Burbeck and Keighley, he adds: “I too shall probably be sacrificed in
this miserable corner; and, if I were doing good, I should be content
(if I had them) to sacrifice seven lives every year; but to live in
misery, and to die in banishment, for next to nothing, is afflicting
indeed.”[591]
Poor Crowther was downhearted, and no wonder. Wesley’s reply was
characteristic.
“NEAR BATH, _September 25, 1787_.
“DEAR JONATHAN,--The sum of the matter is, you want money; and
money you shall have, if I can beg, borrow, or anything but
steal. I say, therefore, ‘Dwell in the land, and be doing good,
and, verily, thou shalt be fed.’ I should be sorry for the
death of Mr. Burbeck, but that I know God does all things well;
and, if His work prospers in your hands, this will make your
labours light. Our preachers now find, in the north of
Scotland, what they formerly found all over England; yet they
went on; and when I had only blackberries to eat in Cornwall,
still God gave me strength sufficient for my work. I am, etc.,
“JOHN WESLEY.”
“P.S.--To Mr. Atlay:
Pay to Jonathan Crowther, or his order, Five Guineas.
“JOHN WESLEY.”[592]
The next two letters refer to a case of discipline in the Channel
islands, in which Wesley displayed greater liberality than some of his
itinerants. The first was written to Robert Carr Brackenbury, the
second to Adam Clarke.
“LONDON, _October 20, 1787_.
“DEAR SIR,--Mr. ---- is undoubtedly a good young man; and has a
tolerably good understanding. But he thinks it better than it
is; and, in consequence, is apt to put himself in your or my
place. For these fifty years, if any one said, ‘If you do not
put such an one out of society, I will go out of it’; I have
said, ‘Pray go; I, not you, are to judge who shall stay.’ I,
therefore, greatly approve of your purpose, to give Mr. W---- a
full hearing in the presence of all the preachers. I have often
repented of judging too severely; but very seldom of being too
merciful. As the point is undoubtedly of very great importance,
it deserved serious consideration; and I am glad you took the
pains to consider it, and discussed it so admirably well,
according to Scripture and sound reason.
“I ever am, dear sir, your affectionate friend and brother,
“JOHN WESLEY.”[593]
“LONDON, _December 8, 1787_.
“... Brother de Queteville and you do not mind what I say. I do
not wonder at him, (he does not know me,) but I do at you. His
natural temper is stern; yours is not. Therefore, I expect you
to regard me, whether he does or no. We have no such custom
among our societies, nor ever had, as for a man to acknowledge
his fault before a whole society. There shall be no such custom
while I live. If he acknowledge it before the preachers it is
enough.
“JOHN WESLEY.”[594]
In the month of May of the present year, there was instituted, in
London, a society for the suppression of the slave trade, of which the
chief members were Granville Sharp, William Dillwyn, Thomas Clarkson,
and William Wilberforce. In this, as in other great beneficent
movements, Wesley was one of the pioneers. Thirteen years previously,
he had published his “Thoughts upon Slavery”; and, at the commencement
of the present year, had inserted a long letter, on the same subject,
in his _Arminian Magazine_. The formation of an antislavery society
was to him a joy; and he, at once, wrote to the committee, expressing
his satisfaction. He desired to warn them, that they must expect great
difficulties and great opposition; for those interested in the system
of slavery were a powerful body, and would employ hireling writers,
who would have neither justice nor mercy. As for himself, he would do
all he could to promote the object of their institution. He would
reprint a new and large edition of his “Thoughts on Slavery,” and
circulate it among his friends in England and Ireland, to whom he
would add a few words in favour of their design. He then concluded in
these words: “I commend you to Him, who is able to carry you through
all opposition, and support you under all discouragements.”
On the 30th of October, 1787, he sent a second letter, which was read
to the society, and in which he said, that he had now read the
publications which the committee had sent him, and that he took, if
possible, a still deeper interest in their cause. He exhorted them to
more than ordinary diligence and perseverance; to be prepared for
opposition; to be cautious about the manner of procuring information
and evidence, that no stain might fall upon their character; and to
take care that the question should be argued as well upon the
consideration of interest as of humanity and justice, the former of
which he feared would have more weight than the latter.[595]
Wesley fulfilled his promise to render help. Hence the following to
Mr. Thomas Funnell, Lewes, Sussex.
“_November 24, 1787._
“MY DEAR BROTHER,--Whatever assistance I can give those
generous men, who join to oppose that execrable trade, I
certainly shall give. I have printed a large edition of the
‘Thoughts on Slavery,’ and dispersed them to every part of
England. But there will be vehement opposition made, both by
slave merchants and slave holders; and they are mighty men: but
our comfort is, He that dwelleth on high is mightier.
“I am, your affectionate brother,
“JOHN WESLEY.”[596]
Thus began a struggle, which lasted six-and-forty years, and
terminated in the Emancipation Act, which took effect on August 1,
1834. Wesley died four years after the fight commenced; Wilberforce
just as the victory was being won, for he expired while the
resolutions, preparatory to the bill, were being passed in the House
of Commons.
The last three months of the year 1787 were spent in London, and in
the usual journeys through the surrounding counties. On October 15, he
began what he calls his “little tour through Oxfordshire,” and
preached twice a day, besides travelling. At this time, Joseph
Entwisle and Richard Reece were in the “Oxfordshire” circuit. The
former, a young man of twenty, while riding with Wesley, had the
misfortune to have a horse whose pace was swifter than its steps were
sure. The nag fell with suddenness, the young preacher made a
summersault over the head of the prostrate animal, and alighted on his
feet unhurt. “Well done!” cried Wesley, delighted with the agility of
his youthful friend, and, no doubt, remembering many of his own
marvellous escapes,--“Well done, Joseph! I could not have done better
than that myself.”[597]
Richard Reece also used to relate an anecdote respecting Wesley’s
visit to this, his first circuit, in 1787. Wesley was accompanied by
Thomas Rankin, and the two came to Oxford, where Wesley had to preach
in the chapel in New Inn Hall Lane. The front gallery was filled with
gownsmen, who, whatever other accomplishments they had acquired, still
lacked the politeness of gentlemen, for, as soon as Wesley began to
read his text, the beardless boys, in gowns and college caps, began to
cheer. Up jumped Rankin, his Scotch blood boiling, and, with
stentorian voice, cried: “In the name of God, gentlemen, what can ye
mean, to interrupt and insult a servant of the Lord, about to preach
salvation?” Wesley, more used to such behaviour than his impetuous
friend, calmly said, “Sit down, Tommy, sit down”; and then quietly
proceeded with his discourse.[598]
In his excursion through Kent, Wesley preached both morning and
evening, every day. In Hertfordshire, he met Simeon from Cambridge.
“Sir,” said young Simeon, “Sir, I understand you are called an
Arminian; now I am sometimes called a Calvinist, and therefore, I
suppose, we are to draw daggers. But, before I begin to combat, with
your permission, I will ask you a few questions, not from impertinent
curiosity, but for real instruction. Pray sir, do you feel yourself a
depraved creature, so depraved that you would never have thought of
turning to God, if God had not put it into your heart?”
“Yes,” said the veteran, “I do indeed.”
“And do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God by
anything that you can do; and look for salvation solely through the
blood and righteousness of Christ?”
“Yes, solely through Christ.”
“But, sir, supposing you were _first_ saved by Christ, are you not
somehow or other to save yourself afterwards, by your good works?”
“No; I must be saved by Christ, from first to last.”
“Allowing, then, that you were first turned by the grace of God, are
you not in some way or other to keep yourself by your own power?”
“No.”
“What, then? are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God,
as much as an infant in its mother’s arms?”
“Yes, altogether.”
“And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God, to preserve you
unto His heavenly kingdom?”
“Yes, I have no hope but in Him.”
“Then, sir, with your leave, I will put up my dagger again: for this
is all my Calvinism; this is my election, my justification, my final
perseverance. It is in substance all that I hold, and as I hold it;
and, therefore, if you please, instead of searching out terms and
phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we will cordially
unite in those things wherein we agree.”[599]
Such was the catechetical examination instituted by a young parson of
twenty-eight, and submitted to by an old man of eighty-four.
In November, Wesley took another step, which virtually involved a
separation from the Church of England. Seventeen years before, in
warning his preachers against such a separation, he had not only
directed them and the people to attend the services and sacraments of
the Church, but to guard against calling preachers “ministers,” and
their places of worship “meeting-houses.” “Do not,” said he, “license
them as such: the proper form of a petition to the judge or justice
is, ‘A. B. desires to have his house in C-- licensed for public
worship.’” He continued: “Do not license yourself till you are
constrained; and then not as a Dissenter, but a Methodist. It is time
enough when you are prosecuted, to take the oaths. And by so doing you
are licensed.”[600]
Hitherto, Wesley had been opposed to licensing, except in cases of
necessity, simply on the ground that this savoured of separation from
the Established Church. Now he writes:
“1787, November 3--I had a long conversation with Mr. Clulow,”
[his legal adviser,] “on that execrable act called the
Conventicle Act. After consulting the Act of Toleration, with
that of the fourteenth of Queen Anne, we were both clearly
convinced, that it was the safest way to license _all_ our
chapels, and _all_ our travelling preachers, not as Dissenters,
but simply ‘preachers of the gospel’; and that no justice, or
bench of justices, has any authority to refuse licensing either
the house or the preachers.”
The “execrable Conventicle Act” was levelled against Dissenters from
the Church of England; the Act of Toleration was passed for the relief
of such Dissenters; and Wesley, by availing himself of the provisions
of that act, _ipso facto_, conceded the point that the Methodists were
Dissenters.
He still, however, persisted in asserting that the Methodists were
members of the Church of England; and this involved both him and them
in further difficulties. In some instances, the magistrates remarked:
“You profess yourselves to be members of the Church of England;
therefore, your licences are worthless; nor can you, as members of the
Church, receive any benefit from the Act of Toleration.” This was a
subtle distinction; and Wesley saw that the Methodists must either
profess themselves Dissenters, or be subjected to an indefinite amount
of trouble. He was unwilling to alter their relation to the
Established Church; and yet he wished them to be saved from this
embarrassment. Hence the following, addressed to a member of
parliament.[601]
“DEAR SIR,--Last month, a few poor people met together in
Somersetshire, to pray, and to praise God, in a friend’s house;
there was no preaching at all. Two neighbouring justices fined
the man of the house £20. I suppose, he was not worth twenty
shillings. Upon this, his household goods were distrained, and
sold to pay the fine. He appealed to the quarter sessions; but
all the justices averred, ‘The Methodists could have no relief
from the Act of Toleration, because they went to church; and
that, so long as they did so, the Conventicle Act should be
executed upon them.’
“Last Sunday, when one of our preachers was beginning to speak
to a quiet congregation, a neighbouring justice sent a
constable to seize him, though he was licensed; and would not
release him till he had paid £20, telling him his licence was
good for nothing, ‘because he was a Churchman.’
“Now, sir, what can the Methodists do? They are liable to be
ruined by the Conventicle Act, and they have no relief from the
Act of Toleration! If this is not oppression, what is? Where
then is English liberty? the liberty of Christians, yea, of
every rational creature? who, as such, has a right to worship
God according to his own conscience. But, waiving the question
of right and wrong, what prudence is there in oppressing such a
body of loyal subjects? If these good magistrates could drive
them, not only out of Somersetshire, but out of England, who
would be gainers thereby? Not his majesty, whom we honour and
love; not his ministers, whom we love and serve for his sake.
Do they wish to throw away so many thousand friends, who are
now bound to them by stronger ties than that of interest? If
you will speak a word to Mr. Pitt on that head, you will oblige
yours, etc.
“JOHN WESLEY.”