Chapter XXIII: Part III (5)

Byrom was the son of a linen draper, and born at Kersal, near Manchester, in 1691. After being educated in his native town, and at the Merchant Taylors’ school in London, he was, at the age of sixteen, admitted a pensioner of Trinity college, Cambridge. In 1714, he was elected fellow of his college, and, in the same year, became a contributor to Addison’s _Spectator_. Two years later, he resigned his college preferment, and went to Montpelier, to study physic. On his return to England, he assumed the office of teacher of shorthand writing, of which he was preeminently a master. On the death of his brother, he came into possession of the family estate, at Kersal, and gave himself up to the enjoyment of domestic and social felicity. He was a profound admirer of the great English mystic, William Law; but was also a man of unaffected piety. At a time when much obloquy was attached to the name of Methodist, he was not ashamed of being known as the particular friend of Wesley. He died September 28, 1763.[556] His only son died ten years afterwards.[557]

In many respects, Byrom was a remarkable man. In stature, he was one of the tallest men in England; so that, in the course of fifty years, he appears to have met only two others taller than himself.[558] In stenography, he was the greatest proficient then existing. The extent, variety, and accuracy of his literary studies were amazing, as is shown by his manuscripts still extant. There seems hardly to have been any language, of which the literature was of any value, which he did not master; and his writing of Hebrew, Arabic, etc., was such as the engraver might vainly attempt to imitate.[559] His poetry, quaint but pungent, is too well known to need description. As a specimen of it, and of his politics, the following is far from being bad:

“God bless the King, and bless the Faiths Defender;
God bless—no harm in blessing—the Pretender;
But who Pretender is, and who is King,
Why, bless us all, that’s quite another thing.”[560]

Wesley inserted not a few of his poems in the old _Arminian_ magazines; and writes: “It cannot be denied, that he was a man of uncommon genius, a man of the finest and strongest understanding; and, yet, very few even of his countrymen and contemporaries have so much as heard his name.”[561] “He has all the wit and humour of Dr. Swift, together with much more learning, and, above all, a serious vein of piety. A few things, in the second volume of his poems, are taken from Jacob Behmen; to whom I object, not only, that he is obscure, and not only, that his whole hypothesis is wholly unsupported either by Scripture or reason; but also, because the ingenious madman over and over contradicts Christian experience, reason, Scripture, and himself. But setting these things aside, we have” [in Dr. Byrom’s poems,] “some of the finest sentiments that ever appeared in the English tongue; some of the noblest truths, expressed with the utmost energy, and the strongest colours of poetry.”[562]

One or two other matters, belonging to this period of Wesley’s history, must be mentioned.

The increase of Methodism was one of Wesley’s difficulties, as well as his great encouragement. His societies, especially the larger ones, naturally wished to receive the sacrament in their own chapels: but as Wesley had no clerical helper, entirely devoted to the work, except his brother; and as he himself was almost always itinerating, it was physically impossible to meet the demands of London, Bristol, and other places. Neither of the Wesleys was prepared to allow the unordained preachers to administer, and they themselves were utterly unable to attend to the reasonable claims of all that wanted them. Hence the difficulty. This was partly met, when Thomas Maxfield received ordination from an Irish bishop. For several years, Maxfield was stationed in London, to read the liturgy and to administer the sacrament in Wesley’s absence. But now Maxfield had left him, and his embarrassment was greater than ever. One of his principal helpers was John Jones, a man of considerable learning, of good abilities, and of deep piety, and who, for seventeen years, had faithfully acted the part of an itinerant preacher. Just at this juncture, Erasmus, a bishop of the Greek church, visited London; and, as it was impossible to obtain ordination, for the Methodist preachers, from the bishops of the English Church, it occurred to Wesley, that it might be expedient to apply to Erasmus to ordain Mr. Jones. Previous, however, to doing this, Wesley felt it necessary to satisfy himself, that Erasmus really was a bishop. By his direction, Jones wrote to the patriarch of Smyrna on the subject; and received an answer, stating that Erasmus was bishop of Arcadia in Crete. To this was added the testimony of several gentlemen who had met the eastern prelate in Turkey. Wesley says, “he had abundant unexceptionable credentials as to his episcopal character.”[563] Being fully satisfied of this, Wesley requested him to set apart Mr. Jones, to assist him in administering the sacrament to his societies. Erasmus did so; and, if the matter had ended here, the thing would hardly have deserved further notice.

No sooner was it known, however, that one of the itinerants had been ordained, than several others applied to the good tempered bishop for the same episcopal favour. The following appeared in _Lloyd’s Evening Post_, for December 7, 1764.

“To the article in the papers relating to three tradesmen being ordained by a Greek bishop, another may be added, a master baker. And two celebrated Methodist preachers made also an application to the same bishop, to consecrate one or both of them bishops; but the Greek told them, it was contrary to the rule of his church for _one_ bishop to make another: yet, notwithstanding all he said, they very unwillingly took a denial.”

Whether this was strictly true, we can hardly tell; but certain it is, that John Jones, Samson Staniforth, Thomas Bryant, and others were ordained. The result was, Charles Wesley took huge offence; and, shortly after, Mr. Jones was obliged to leave the connexion; Samson Staniforth had to refrain from exercising his priestly functions; and Thomas Bryant put on a gown, and made a rent in the Methodist society of Sheffield.[564]

The unpleasantness did not end even here. In 1771, Augustus Toplady, one of Wesley’s bitterest opponents, published “A Letter to the Rev. Mr. John Wesley,” in which he revived the thing. With his unenviable scurrility, he called Erasmus “a foreign mendicant”; and said: “to this day, the Greek church in Amsterdam believes him to be an impostor.” He also supplied a certificate, written in Greek, of which the following is a translation.

“Our measure from the grace, gift, and power of the All-holy and Life-giving Spirit, given by our Saviour Jesus Christ to His Divine and holy apostles, to ordain subdeacons and deacons; and also, to advance to the dignity of a priest; of this grace which hath descended to our humility, I have ordained subdeacon and deacon, at Snowfields chapel, on the 19th day of November, 1764, and at Wells Street chapel on the 24th of the same month, priest the reverend: Mr. W. C.[565] according to the rules of the holy apostles, and of our faith. Moreover, I have given to him power to minister and teach, in all the world, the gospel of Jesus Christ, no one forbidding him in the church of God. Wherefore, for that very purpose, I have made this present letter of recommendation from our humility, and have given it to the ordained Mr. W. C. for his certificate and security.

“Given and written at London, in Britain, November 24, 1764.

“ERASMUS, Bishop of Arcadia.”

Toplady proceeds to ask Wesley four insinuating questions.

“1. Did you get him to ordain several of your lay preachers according to the Greek ritual? 2. Did not these preachers both dress and officiate as clergymen of the Church of England, in consequence of that ordination; and under your own sanction and approbation? Nay, did you not repeatedly declare, that their ordination was, to all intents and purposes, as valid as your own? 3. Did you not strongly press this supposed Greek bishop to consecrate you a bishop, that you might be invested with a power of ordaining what ministers you pleased, to officiate in your societies as clergymen? And did he not refuse to consecrate you, alleging this for his reason,—That, according to the canons of the Greek church, more than one bishop must be present to assist at the consecration of a new one? 4. In all this, did you not palpably violate the oath of supremacy, which you have repeatedly taken? part of which runs thus: ‘I do declare, that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, superiority, preeminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm,’”

How much truth was there in all this? It will be seen, that the pretended certificate was signed only a fortnight before the statement, already quoted, appeared in _Lloyd’s Evening Post_. Both the chapels mentioned were Wesley’s chapels. Alexander Mather, who had been six years in the itinerancy, was a baker before he entered it, and had a considerable amount of innocent ambition. Wesley was in great difficulty arising from the want of ordained preachers to administer the sacraments; and, though he had long held the theory of Lord King, that, according to New Testament teaching, every presbyter was, in reality, a bishop; and therefore, that he himself, being a presbyter, was also a bishop, and as fully authorised to ordain others as any bishop in the world; yet, for prudential reasons, this was an authority which, at present, he was not prepared to exercise: and, hence, it would not have been surprising if he had made the application to Erasmus which it is surmised he did.

All this gives considerable plausibility to the half affirmative queries of Augustus Toplady. On the other hand, however, we have the absolute declaration of Wesley himself, that Erasmus never rejected any overture that he made to him;[566] and, if this were so, it follows that, either Erasmus did actually ordain him a bishop (which no one ventures to assert); or, that Toplady’s insinuation is calumniously untrue. To this, also, must be added, the testimony of Thomas Olivers, who with Wesley’s consent,[567] if not at his request, replied to Toplady’s attack; namely, that though Wesley did get Erasmus to ordain John Jones, and though John Jones did dress as a clergyman of the Church of England, and did assist Wesley in administering the Lord’s supper in the Methodist societies, yet Wesley had authorised him (Olivers) to give the most positive and unqualified denial to the insinuation, that he had asked Erasmus to ordain himself to the high office of a bishop. “But,” continues Olivers, “suppose he had, where would have been the blame? Mr. Wesley is connected with a number of persons who have given every proof, which the nature of the thing allows, that they have an _inward call_ to preach the gospel. Both he and they would be glad if they had _an outward_ call too. But no bishop in _England_ will give it them. What wonder then, if he was to endeavour to procure it by any other innocent means?”[568]

This was written in 1771, only six or seven years after the alleged events took place. Which is likeliest to be true—the bitter insinuation of a malignant opponent like Toplady; or the positive assertion of Wesley himself, and the authorised declaration of Wesley’s friend Olivers? Here the matter must be left. Though somewhat tedious, it is also important, as tending to show, that the growth of Methodism was one of Wesley’s greatest difficulties, and rendered it absolutely imperative—either that he should make the Methodists Dissenters; or, that he should procure episcopal ordination for his preachers; or, that he should do something else, which he tried to do in 1764, and which will have to be noticed in the year following.

Wesley’s life was a continued warfare. In 1763, there was published, “A Caution against Religious Delusion: a sermon preached at the visitation of the Archdeacon of Ely, in the church of St. Michael, Cambridge, on Thursday, May 19, 1763. By William Backhouse, M.A., fellow of Christ’s college, and vicar of Meldreth.” 8vo, 20 pages. Of course, this was another attack on Methodism. Methodist preachers are “modern pretenders to supernatural informations”; they are “hurried away with the exorbitancies of ungoverned piety”; they are “enthusiastic preachers, who are mindful enough of one part of St. Paul’s injunction to Timothy, ‘to give attendance to _exhortation_, and to _doctrine_,’ but alas! if they really would, they could not give heed to the first and fundamental part of it—_reading_.”

Another onslaught was made by a greater Church dignitary than Mr. Backhouse. Dr. Thomas Rutherforth was a fellow of the Royal Society, archdeacon of Essex, regius professor of divinity at Cambridge, and an author of repute; though Warburton says of him: “If he knows no more of theology than he does of morals, he is the meanest pedant of the age.” In 1763, Rutherforth published “Four Charges to the Clergy of the Archdeaconry of Essex”; in which he took the liberty to tell his readers, that though “the Methodists pretend to be the genuine sons of the Church of England, they adopt the language and opinions of the conventicle; for they maintain, that every believer, provided he has the gift of utterance, is qualified to preach, and that human learning is rather an impediment than otherwise.” His pamphlet of ninety-five pages, octavo, is dull and dreary, though upon the whole, respectful. Five years afterwards, Wesley wrote an answer to it, from which the following are extracts. Rutherforth charges Wesley with maintaining contradictions. Wesley replies:—

“If all my sentiments were compared together, from the year 1725 to 1768, there would be truth in the charge; for, during the latter part of this period, I have relinquished several of my former sentiments. During these last thirty years, I may also have varied in some of my sentiments and expressions without observing it. I will not undertake to defend all the expressions which I have occasionally used during this time, but must desire men of candour to make allowance for those

‘Quas aut incuria fudit,
Aut humana parum cavit natura.’

It is not strange if, among these inaccurate expressions, there are some seeming contradictions, especially considering, I was answering so many different objectors, frequently attacking me at once. Nevertheless, I believe there will be found few, if any, real contradictions in what I have published for near thirty years.”

Again, Dr. Rutherforth had objected to the Methodists, on the ground of their doctrine of assurance. Wesley’s reply to this is well worth pondering.

“I believe a few, but very few, Christians have an assurance from God of everlasting salvation; and that is the thing which the apostle terms _full assurance of hope_.

“I believe more have such an assurance of being now in the favour of God as excludes all doubt and fear; and this, if I do not mistake, the apostle means by the _full assurance of faith_.

“I believe a consciousness of being in the favour of God, (which I do not term _full assurance_, since it is frequently weakened, nay, perhaps interrupted, by returns of doubt or fear,) is the common privilege of Christians, fearing God and working righteousness. Yet I do not affirm there are no exceptions to this general rule but, I believe, this is usually owing either to disorder of body, or to ignorance of the gospel promises. Therefore, I have not, for many years, thought a consciousness of acceptance to be essential to justifying faith.

“After I have thus explained myself once for all, I hope all reasonable men will be satisfied; and whoever will dispute with me on this head must do it for disputing’s sake.”

Rutherforth’s main accusation, however, is that the Methodists teach, that “Christianity rejects the aid of human learning.” To this Wesley replies: “Mr. Berridge thinks it does; but I am not accountable for him, from whom, in this, I totally differ.” In proof of this he appeals to his “deliberate thoughts on human learning” in his “Serious Address to the Clergy”; to his establishment of Kingswood school; and to the fact that, though his preachers did not profess to know the languages and philosophy, yet some of them understood both one and the other better than great part of his pupils at the university did. He continues:

“What I believe concerning learning is this: that it is highly expedient for a guide of souls, but not absolutely necessary. What I believe to be absolutely necessary is, a faith unfeigned, the love of God and our neighbour, a burning zeal for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom, with a heart and life wholly devoted to God. These I judge to be necessary in the highest degree; and next to these a competent knowledge of Scripture, a sound understanding, a tolerable utterance, and a willingness to be as the filth and offscouring of the world.”[569]

Noble words are these of Wesley. Let all Methodist quarterly and district meetings and conferences act upon them.

The most furious attack on Wesley, in 1763, was by Warburton, bishop of Gloucester, in an octavo volume of 259 pages, first published in 1762, and entitled, “The Doctrine of Grace: or, The Office and Operations of the Holy Spirit vindicated from the Insults of Infidelity, and the Abuses of Fanaticism.” Warburton allows, that Wesley is “an extraordinary man”; but finds fault with him for having “laid claim to almost every apostolic gift and grace in as full a measure as they were possessed of old.” In earnest raillery, and trenchant language, the Gloucester prelate professes to establish this, by citations from Wesley’s Journals. To attempt a summary of his episcopal scoldings is impracticable; indeed, it would be of little use. It is a curious fact, that Warburton sent the manuscript to Wesley before the work was printed, with a request to notice its errors. Wesley says: “the manuscript abounded with quotations from poets, philosophers, etc., both in Greek and Latin. After correcting the false readings, improper glosses, and other errors, I returned it.”[570] This incident helps to explain a sentence in one of Wesley’s letters to his brother, dated “January 5, 1762”: “I was a little surprised to find Bishop Warburton so entirely unacquainted with the New Testament; and, notwithstanding all his parade of learning, I believe he is no critic in Greek.”[571]

Wesley lost no time in replying to Warburton’s attack. This he did, in “A Letter to the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Gloucester. Occasioned by his tract on the office and operations of the Holy Spirit. London: 1763.” 12mo, 144 pages. The character and substance of Wesley’s answer may be inferred from its concluding paragraphs.

“I have now finished what I had to say, either concerning myself, or on the operations of the Holy Spirit. In doing this, I have used great plainness of speech, and yet, I hope, without rudeness. If anything of that kind has slipped from me, I am ready to retract it. I desire, on the one hand, to _accept no man’s person_; and yet, on the other, to give _honour to whom honour is due_.

“If your lordship should think it worth your while to spend any more words upon me, may I presume to request one thing of your lordship,—to be more _serious_? It cannot injure your lordship’s _character_, or your _cause_.”

Warburton’s book was principally an attack on Wesley and Conyers Middleton; but as the title page, at least, referred to the “office and operations of the Holy Spirit,” others, beside Wesley, deemed it their duty to call the jaunty bishop to account for his errors and omissions. Whitefield, though scarcely alluded to by Warburton, sent forth a pamphlet of twenty-four pages, in which he charges the bishop with having, “in effect, robbed the church of its promised Comforter; and, thereby, left us without any supernatural influence or Divine operations whatsoever.” The Rev. John Andrews, LL.B., of St. Mary hall, Oxford, published a book of 224 pages to correct his lordship’s notions; and soon after was dismissed from a small Church benefice the prelate had previously bestowed upon him. John Payne also, once a bookseller, but afterwards accountant of the Bank of England, issued a volume of five hundred pages, accusing the bishop of unfairness to Mr. Law. Dr. Thomas Leland, a fellow of Trinity college, Dublin, the most admired preacher of that city, and whose classical learning Dr. Johnson considered to be unrivalled, gave to the world his “Dissertation on the Principles of Human Eloquence,” in which he refuted the arguments used by Warburton in reference to the style and composition of the New Testament. Thus the irate bishop got into a nest of hornets. Wesley considered, that he himself had so “_untwisted the bishops arguments_,” that to put them together again was a thing impossible.[572] Andrews so stung his lordship, that he was soon dismissed from his benefice. And Leland so vanquished his antagonist, that, instead of the bishop defending his own, Dr. Hurd, in a tone of sarcasm and contempt, thought proper to answer on behalf of his episcopal master, and, three years afterwards, was made archdeacon of his master’s diocese. Samuel Charndler, also, of Newington, appeared as the bishop’s champion, in “An Answer to the Rev. Mr. John Wesley’s Letter to William, Lord Bishop of Gloucester.” 8vo, 22 pages. With no slight degree of egotism, he tells his readers, that his “remarks are not the fruits of idle conceit, or mere conjecture, not party suggestions, or newfangled notions, but a plain series of well considered thoughts.” He informs Wesley, that Methodist “doctrine has filled Bedlam and the several madhouses in England with shoals of patients”; that he had “occasioned many and great violations of the peace”; and that he is “well skilled in the rudiments of deceit.” Poor Samuel Charndler, by the side of Bishop Warburton, was a Lilliputian playing antics in the presence of a Patagonian giant.

The other publications of Wesley, in 1763, were as follows.

1. “Letters wrote by Jane Cooper, to which is prefixed some account of her Life and Death.” 12mo, 41 pages. Jane Cooper was born in Norfolk, in 1738; and, in the twentieth year of her age, came to London as a domestic servant; was converted; and joined the Methodists. Four years afterwards she died of smallpox, and Wesley buried her. She was evidently one of Wesley’s pattern saints, and professed to live in the enjoyment of Christian holiness. Indeed, her experience forms a part of Wesley’s “Plain Account of Christian Perfection.” Considering her social position, her letters are remarkable productions. “All here,” says Wesley, “is strong, sterling sense, strictly agreeable to sound reason. Here are no extravagant flights, no mystic reveries, no unscriptural enthusiasm. The sentiments are all just and noble; the result of a fine natural understanding, cultivated by conversation, thinking, reading, and true Christian experience.” The last words of this servant maid were: “My Jesus is all in all to me; glory be to Him through time and eternity.” Wesley calls her “a pattern of all holiness, and of the wisdom which is from above.”

2. “Farther Thoughts upon Christian Perfection.” 12mo, 39 pages. This has been already noticed.

3. As also the following: “A Sermon preached before the Society for the Reformation of Manners; on Sunday, January 30, 1763. At the chapel in West Street, Seven Dials.” 8vo, 31 pages. At the end of it, the names of five gentlemen are given, who would receive subscriptions to the funds of the society, on behalf of which it was delivered.

4. The substance also of another pamphlet has been already given: “Minutes of several Conversations between the Rev. Mr. John and Charles Wesley, and others.” 12mo, 30 pages.

5. The “Sermon on Sin in Believers” was written March 28, 1763. Its object is to refute the doctrine of Zinzendorf, that _all_ true believers are _entirely_ sanctified. The sermon is one of Wesley’s ablest homilies; and, doubtless, had its origin in the excitement arising out of the subject of Christian perfection. “I wrote it,” says he, “in order to remove a mistake which some were labouring to propagate,—that there is no sin in any that are justified.”

6. “An Extract from Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost,’ with Notes.” 18mo, 320 pages. Wesley’s object, in this publication, may be gathered from his preface. “This inimitable work, amidst all its beauties, is unintelligible to abundance of readers: the immense learning, which Milton has everywhere crowded together, making it quite obscure to persons of a common education. This difficulty I have endeavoured to remove in the following extract: first, by omitting those lines which I despaired of explaining to the unlearned; and secondly, by adding short and easy notes. To those passages, which I apprehend to be peculiarly excellent, either with regard to sentiment or expression, I have prefixed a star; and these, I believe, it would be worth while to read over and over, or even to commit to memory.”[573]

7. “A Survey of the Wisdom of God in Creation; or, a Compendium of Natural Philosophy.” 2 vols., 12mo. This work was begun as early as the year 1758;[574] and was published by subscription. In a circular to his assistants, Wesley said: “Spare no pains to procure subscriptions for the Philosophy. It will be the most complete thing of its kind in the English tongue.”[575] A second edition, in three volumes, was issued in 1770; a third, in five volumes, in 1777. In the _London Magazine_, for 1774, a long letter, signed “Philosophaster,” was addressed to Wesley, criticising some of his statements. In his reply,[576] Wesley, in some points, acknowledges himself to be in error; but not in others; and then concludes: “Permit me, sir, to give you one piece of advice. Be not so _positive_; especially with regard to things which are neither easy nor necessary to be determined. I ground this advice on my own experience. When I was young, I was _sure_ of everything. In a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as before. At present, I am hardly sure of anything, but what God has revealed to man.”

1764.

[Sidenote: 1764 Age 61]

Charles Wesley, in feeble health, seems to have spent the year 1764 in London and in Bristol. Whitefield was in America, and so much an invalid, that he could only preach about thrice a week. Though distant, he affectionately remembered his old friend Wesley. Hence the following.

“PHILADELPHIA, _September 25, 1764_.

“REVEREND AND DEAR SIR,—Your kind letter, dated in January last, through the negligence of those that received the parcel, did not reach me till within these few days. I have been mercifully carried through the summer’s heat; and, had strength permitted, I might have preached to thousands and thousands thrice a day. Zealous ministers are not so rare in this new world as in other parts. Here is room for a hundred itinerants. Fain would I end my life in rambling after those that have rambled away from Jesus Christ. I am persuaded you are likeminded. I wish you and all your dear fellow labourers much prosperity. I do not repent being a poor, despised, cast out, and now almost worn out itinerant. I would do it again, if I had my choice. If you and all yours would join in praying over a poor, worthless, but willing pilgrim, it would be a very great act of charity, he being, though less than the least of all,

“Reverend and very dear sir, ever yours in Jesus,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[577]

Whitefield was away from England; but even that was not enough to save him from the malignant attacks of his English enemies. At the very commencement of the year, the half insane watchmaker, mentioned in a previous chapter, published another of his shilling pamphlets, with the fantastic title: “Remarks upon the Life, Character, and Behaviour of the Rev. George Whitefield, as written by himself, from the time of his birth to the time he departed from his Tabernacle; demonstrating, by astronomical calculation, that his ascension, meridian, and declination were necessarily actuated by planetary influence, and that his doctrine was not Divine mission, but from a mere fatality evident, as daily seen in the sad catastrophe of his unhappy, gloomy, and misguided followers. The whole being a choice new year’s gift for Methodists, and one of the most valuable prizes that ever was drawn since Methodism has been in being. By John Harman, astronomer.” Well might the _Monthly Review_ remark: “Harman styles himself ‘regulator of enthusiasts,’ and ‘astronomer’; we look upon him as a comical genius, who has contrived to plague the Methodists and their great leader, in the style of an almanack maker, and with all the antiquated jargon of astrology.”[578]

During the month of January, Wesley, besides preaching in London and its immediate vicinity, visited Dorking, High-Wycombe, Oxford, and Witney.

Within three miles of the last mentioned town, at South Leigh, Wesley preached his first sermon, in the year 1725; but, oddly enough, this was the first time that he preached at Witney itself.[579]

Wesley writes: “This is such a people as I have not seen; so remarkably diligent in business, and, at the same time, of so quiet a spirit, and so calm and civil in their behaviour.”

Near to Witney, at Blandford Park, resided Mr. Bolton and his unmarried sister, whose house, for many years, was one of Wesley’s much loved haunts. Miss Bolton was one of Wesley’s favourite correspondents, and Mr. Bolton one of his best local preachers. On one occasion, when the two friends were snugly seated in Mr. Bolton’s parlour, and Wesley, as usual, was employed with his book and pen, the Witney host, wishful to draw his guest into conversation, began remarking how much pleasanter it was to live in the country than in town; “All is silent,” said he, “all retired, and no distracting noises of the busy multitude intrude themselves.” “True, Neddy,” replied Wesley with his usual quickness, “but _noisy thoughts_ may.” The hint sufficed, and Neddy subsided into silence.

On February 2, Wesley reopened the old Foundery, in London, which had been closed, for several weeks, in order to be repaired and otherwise improved. “It is now,” says he, “not only firm and safe, but clean and decent, and capable of receiving several hundreds more.”

On February 6, he opened the new chapel at Wapping. Ten days later, he writes: “I once more took a serious walk through the tombs in Westminster Abbey. What heaps of unmeaning stone and marble! But there was one tomb which showed common sense; that beautiful figure of Mr. Nightingale, endeavouring to screen his lovely wife from death. Here, indeed, the marble seems to speak, and the statues appear only not alive.”

It is well known, that the Rev. Martin Madan, minister at the Lock hospital, and his curate, the Rev. Thomas Haweis, were both most passionately fond of music, and themselves composers.[580] Once a year, their chapel was turned into a concert room for the performance of oratorios; and, on two occasions at least, Wesley was a listener. He writes: “1764, February 29.—I heard ‘Judith,’ an oratorio, performed at the Lock. Some parts of it were exceeding fine; but there are two things in all modern pieces of music, which I could never reconcile to common sense. One is, singing the same words ten times over; the other, singing different words by different persons, at one and the same time. And this, in the most solemn addresses to God, whether by way of prayer or thanksgiving. This can never be defended by all the musicians in Europe, till reason is quite out of date.”

He was present again the year following, when “Ruth” was the oratorio performed, and observed: “The sense was admirable throughout; and much of the poetry not contemptible. This, joined with exquisite music, might possibly make an impression even upon rich and honourable sinners.”

Some will wonder at Wesley attending the performance of oratorios; but why so? Fault may properly be found with Martin Madan for using a place of worship for such performances; but Martin Madan was merely copying the example of his superiors, who, even then, once a year, gave the use of their cathedrals to the choirs of Gloucester, Hereford, and Worcester, for the same musical purposes. Indeed, some of the early Methodists adopted the same doubtful usage. We have before us more than one of Handel’s oratorios, specially printed, for performance in Oldham Street chapel, Manchester, only two or three years after Wesley’s death. All this was dubious; indeed, we venture to designate it desecration. A Christian sanctuary is a place far too sacred to be used as a place of intellectual entertainment, even though, as in the case of Martin Madan, the pleasure be of the most refined and exalted character; but, excepting the fact that a place of worship was turned into a concert hall, who can reasonably find fault with Wesley attending the performance of the oratorios in question? Music was a passion in the Wesley family; and no one felt it stronger than the subject of this memoir. His brother’s sons, Charles and Samuel, were young Mozarts; and his own taste was exquisitely beautiful and pure. The music sung by the first Methodists was music of his own selecting; and, in after years, even he himself marvelled that, without studying the science, his selections had been so classical, and so much in harmony with the severest taste of the greatest masters. In 1768, he wrote: “I was much surprised in reading an ‘Essay on Music,’ written by one who is a thorough master of the subject, to find, that the music of the ancients was as simple as that of the Methodists; that their music wholly consisted of melody, or the arrangement of single notes; that what is now called harmony, singing in parts, the whole of counterpoints and fugues, is quite novel, being never known in the world till the popedom of Leo X.”

On the 12th of March, Wesley commenced his long northern journey, which occupied nearly the next five months. At Stroud, he writes: “How many years were we beating the air in this place! one wrong headed man pulling down all we could build up; but, since he is gone, the word of God takes root, and the society increases both in number and strength.”

At Birmingham, Wesley preached in the chapel which had formerly been a playhouse, and remarks: “Happy would it be, if all the playhouses in the kingdom were converted to so good an use. After service, the mob gathered, and threw dirt and stones at people going out.”

At Dudley, “formerly a den of lions, but now quiet as Bristol, they had just finished their preaching house, which was thoroughly filled.” Mr. Southall and his family were a part of the first society; in his house meetings for prayer were held; and more than once were his window’s smashed, and the congregation cursed with the most bitter oaths and curses.[581]

At Wednesbury, Wesley had the largest congregation he had seen since he left London. The riots here, when Methodism was first introduced, have been already noticed. Suffice it to add further, that a quaker was the means of quelling them. This “Friend” happening to ride through the town, the mob swore he was a preacher, pulled him from his horse, dragged him to a coalpit, and threatened to throw him in. The man of peace availed himself of law, and prosecuted his assailants at the assizes; and, from that time, the tumults of the town subsided.[582]

At Walsall, notwithstanding the inclemency of the season, he had to preach out of doors, at seven o’clock in the morning, the chapel not being able to contain the people. Remembering past scenes, well might Wesley say, “How is Walsall changed! Now has God either tamed the wild beasts, or chained them up!”

On March 26, Wesley paid his first visit to Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The chapel and the chapel yard both were filled; “and I saw,” says Wesley, “but one trifler among them all, which, I understood, was an attorney. Poor man! if men live what I preach, the hope of his gain is lost.”

On leaving Ashby, Wesley went to Derby, and attempted to preach in the market-place, but he no sooner announced his text than the mob raised such a noise, that he found it impossible to make himself heard; and, hence, he quietly retired to the house of Mr. Dobinson, “an innumerable retinue” following after and throwing stones.

At Sheffield, Wesley found about sixty who professed to be entirely sanctified. He writes: “I could not learn, that any among them walk unworthy of their profession. Many watch over them for evil; but they ‘overcome evil with good.’ I found nothing of self conceit, stubbornness, impatience of contradiction, or London enthusiasm, among them.”

From Sheffield, he proceeded to Rotherham, Doncaster, Epworth, and Grimsby. At Rotherham, he preached at the opening of a new chapel, a donkey, who had walked up to the door, being, as he relates, apparently one of his most attentive auditors. At Doncaster, a society had recently been formed, which met in the house of Betty Riley, and had Thomas Naylor as its leader. The rabble were rude and often violent; but truth was mighty, and its triumphs great. On one occasion, in 1765, while Jeremiah Cocker of Sheffield was preaching, a bull was driven up to him; but the preacher quietly laid his hands upon its horns, and continued his discourse. Still, for many years, Methodism in Doncaster was a feeble thing, and even as late as 1793, when it had sixty members, it raised only £1 5_s._ per quarter for the support of the work of God, or about a farthing and a half per member weekly. In reference to Grimsby, Wesley writes: “Grimsby, once the most dead, is now the most lively place in all the country. Here has been a large and swift increase both of the society and hearers, so that the house, though galleries are added, is still too small. The mayor and all the gentry of the town were present; and so was our Lord, in an uncommon manner. Some dropped down as dead; but, after a while, rejoiced with joy unspeakable. One was carried away in violent fits. I went to her after the service. She was strongly convulsed from head to foot, and shrieked out in a dreadful manner. The unclean spirit did tear her indeed: but his reign was not long. In the morning both her soul and body were healed, and she acknowledged both the justice and mercy of God.”

This is a curious entry, which the reader is left to ponder.

Proceeding to Gainsborough, Wesley no sooner began to preach in Sir Nevil Hickman’s hall than a cock began crowing above his head. The noisy rival, however, was speedily dislodged, and the service was carried on in peace. Wesley then went to Hull, and Beverley, at the latter of which places, the original hive of the Methodist congregations was the house of a shoemaker, where “the Culamite preachers,” as the itinerants were called, were often literally besieged by furious rabbles, and became “a hissing” to the people.

Wesley spent nearly a week at York; after which he proceeded to Helmsley, where he found his friend, the Rev. Dr. Conyers, greatly changed. The Calvinists had prejudiced him against the Arminians, and, notwithstanding the warmth of his friendship twelve months before, he was now suspicious, cold, and distant. The itinerant then wended his way to Scarborough, Robin Hood’s Bay, Whitby, Guisborough, Stokesley, Hutton, Potto, Yarm, Stockton, Darlington, Barnard Castle, and Newcastle on Tyne. He also paid a visit to Weardale, a beautiful valley, above twenty miles long, with only five places of religious worship, to which however was now added a Methodist chapel, built at High House in 1760.[583]

After a three weeks’ stay at Newcastle and in its neighbourhood, Wesley set out for Scotland, preaching at Morpeth, Alnwick, and Berwick on his way. Nearly a month was spent in North Britain. At Edinburgh, he attended the sessions of the General Assembly; and, when he preached on Calton Hill, many, of the ministers were there to hear him. With some hesitation, he joined, at the West Kirk, in the celebration of the Lord’s supper. He visited Dundee, Brechin, Aberdeen, Old Meldrum, Banff, Inverness, Nairn, and other places. In several instances, he preached in the parish kirks; and remarks: “There is seldom fear of wanting a congregation in Scotland. But the misfortune is, they know everything; so they learn nothing.” Two months afterwards, he wrote the following, hitherto unpublished, letter to Lady Maxwell, then a young Scotch widow of twenty-two.

“LONDON, _August 17, 1764_.

“MY DEAR LADY,—Since I had the pleasure of yours, I have hardly had an hour that I could call my own, otherwise I would not have delayed writing so long, as I have a tender regard for you, and an earnest desire, that you should be altogether a Christian. I cannot be content with your being ever so harmless, or regular, in your behaviour, or even exemplary in all externals. You have received the fear of God already; but shall you stop here? God forbid! This is only the beginning of wisdom. You are not to end there. Fear shall ripen into love. You shall know (perhaps very soon) that love of God which passeth knowledge. You shall witness the kingdom of God within you, even righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. It is no small instance of the goodness of God toward you, that you are conscious of your want of living faith. And this goodness herein is more remarkable, because almost all your neighbours would set you down for a right good believer. O beware of these flatteries. Hold fast to the convictions which God has given you. Faith,—living, conquering, loving faith, is undoubtedly the thing you want; and of this you have frequently a taste, to encourage you in pressing forward. Such is the tender mercy of Him that loves you! Such His desire, that you should receive all His precious promises! Do not think they are afar off. Do not imagine you must stay long months, or years, before you receive them. Do not put them off a day, an hour. Why not now? Why should you not look up this instant, and see, as it were, Jesus Christ evidently set forth, crucified before your eyes? O hear His voice, ‘Daughter, be of good cheer! thy sins are forgiven thee!’ ‘Say not, in thy heart, who shall go up into heaven, or who shall go down into the deep?’ No! ‘The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart.’ ‘Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!’ Joy in the Holy Ghost is a precious gift of God; but, yet, tenderness of conscience is a still greater gift. And all this is for you—just ready.

‘The speechless awe, that dares not move,
And all the silent heaven of love.’

“I am no great friend to solitary Christianity. Nevertheless, in so peculiar a case as yours, I think an exception may be admitted. It does seem most expedient for _you_, to retire from Edinburgh, at least for a season, till God has increased your strength. For the company of those who know not God, who are strangers to the religion of the heart, especially if they are sensible, agreeable persons, might quite damp the grace of God in your soul.

“You cannot oblige me more than by telling me all that is in your heart. There is no danger of your tiring me. I do not often write so long letters as this; but when I write to _you_, I am full of matter. I seem to see you just before me,—a poor, feeble, helpless creature, but just upon the point of salvation; upright of heart (in a measure), full of real desires for God, and emerging into light. The Lord take you whole! So prays, my dear lady, your affectionate servant,

“JOHN WESLEY.”

Such was Wesley’s encouraging advice to this noble penitent. Soon afterwards, Lady Maxwell became a member of the Methodist society, and continued such until her death in 1810.

Returning to Newcastle, Wesley started, on June 21, for Whitehaven, of whose society he writes: “What has continually hurt this poor people is offence. I found the society now all in confusion, because a woman had scolded with her neighbour, and another had stolen a twopenny loaf. The want of field preaching, also, has been one cause of deadness here. I do not find any great increase of the work of God without it. If ever this is laid aside, I expect the whole work will gradually die away.”

On June 25, he came to Kendal, where “the people had been so harassed by seceders, and disputers of every kind, that they were now dry and dead as stones.” The next day he preached four times, and rode fifty miles, without weariness. He then made his way to Otley, Guiseley, Keighley, Bradford, Birstal, Leeds, Wakefield, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, and Manchester. For the last ten days, he had preached three times every day, and many of the times, in the open air. He then proceeded to Bolton, Wigan, Liverpool, Warrington, Chester, Macclesfield, Congleton, Burslem, Madeley, and Shrewsbury. The enumeration of these places will furnish an idea, not only of Wesley’s labours, but of the chief towns where Methodism had been introduced.

From Shrewsbury, he went through Wales to Bristol. On the first day’s journey, he and his companion were in the saddle from four o’clock in the morning till eight at night, when they found they had missed their way. They were told to ride in a certain direction; but their path soon ended in a bog. Then an honest man mounted his horse, and galloped before them, up hill and down, till he brought them into a road, which, he said, led to Roesfair. They rode on, till another met them, and said, “No; this is the way to Aberystwyth. If you would go to Roesfair, you must turn back, and ride down to yonder bridge.” At the bridge, the master of a little public house directed them to the next village, where they inquired again, and were again set exactly wrong. Having wandered an hour upon the mountains, “through rocks, and bogs, and precipices,” they got back to the bridge, whence they had been directed. It was now past ten o’clock, and they had been riding and preaching for the last eighteen hours; but to obtain rest was impracticable; for the public house was full of drunken, roaring miners; and, besides that, there was but one bed in the roadside inn, and neither grass, nor hay, nor corn for cattle. At length, they hired one of the miners, who was “miserably drunk,” to walk with them to Roesfair whither they were travelling. On his way, the man fell all his length into a river, which partly restored his senses. Between eleven and twelve they reached their destination; but, even here, provender for their beasts of burden there was none; and, to make bad things worse, the ostler and the miner, after the travellers were gone to bed, mounted the jaded animals for a ride; and, next morning, the mule of Wesley’s friend was found cut in several places, whilst Wesley’s horse was bleeding from a wound, two inches deep, made, it seemed, by a stroke with a pitchfork. Wesley got safe to Bristol on August 4.

Here we must pause, in his itinerancy, to notice other matters, which occurred during his five months’ journey.

One is a letter referring to exercise on horseback, not inappropriate to the adventure just related. The letter was addressed to his friend, Mr. Ebenezer Blackwell, who had begun to drive his carriage.

“LIVERPOOL, _July 14, 1764_.

“DEAR SIR,—My brother informs me, that you have been so extremely ill, that your life was hardly expected. I really am under apprehensions lest that chariot should cost you your life. If, after having been accustomed to ride on horseback for many years, you should now exchange a horse for a carriage, it cannot be that you should have good health. It is a vain thing to expect it. I judge of your case by my own. I must be on horseback for life, if I would be healthy. Now and then, indeed, if I could afford it, I should rest myself for fifty miles in a chaise; but, without riding near as much as I do now, I must never look for health.

“I am, dear sir,

“Your very affectionate servant,

“JOHN WESLEY.”[584]

Let the railway riding and carriage driving public of the present day take a hint from this.

Another letter may be inserted here, which shows, that, in the Methodist movement, Wesley was now without a counsellor. His brother, to whom the letter was addressed, had retired into comparative seclusion; and there was no one to occupy his place. The letter also contains historical allusions of considerable importance.

“HADDINGTON, _May 25, 1764_.

“DEAR BROTHER,—Is there any reason why you and I should have no further intercourse with each other? I know none; although possibly there are persons in the world, who would not be sorry for it. I hope you find peace and unity in the south, as we do in the north; only the seceders and Mr. Sandeman’s friends are ready to eat us up. And no wonder; for these, as well as deists and Socinians, I oppose _ex professo_. But how do Thomas Maxfield and his friends go on? quietly, or _gladiatorio animo_? And how are John Jones, Downes, and Richardson? and my best friend, and yours?

“The frightful stories, written from London, had made all our preachers in the north afraid even to mutter about perfection; and, of course, the people, on all sides, were grown good Calvinists in that point. It is what I foresaw from the beginning; that the devil would strive, by Thomas Maxfield and company, to drive perfection out of the kingdom.

“O let you and I hold fast whereunto we have attained; and let our yea be yea, and our nay nay! I feel the want of some about me, that are all faith and love. No man was more profitable to me than George Bell, while he was simple of heart. O for heat and light united! My love to Sally. Adieu!

“JOHN WESLEY.”[585]

The next matter to be mentioned was of paramount importance. The desertion of Maxfield, the retirement of Wesley’s brother, and the Greek ordination of John Jones have been already noticed. Just at this juncture, Providence raised up the Rev. John Richardson, a young Yorkshireman, who was episcopally ordained, had a curacy in Sussex, and, in 1762, was made a happy witness of the power of Divine truth under a sermon preached by Thomas Rankin. Within a year after this, Richardson relinquished his curacy, joined the Methodists, and became Wesley’s assistant in London. Still, Wesley, in the spring of 1764, was in the greatest difficulty. He was bound to visit his country societies; his brother declined to supply his place in London, and also objected to John Jones taking any part in administering the sacraments during Wesley’s absence. Things were in this position when Wesley wrote to his brother as follows.

“LONDON, _March 1, 1764_.

“DEAR BROTHER,—You ‘have no thoughts of venturing to London before May!’ Then I must indeed ‘do the best I can.’ So I must comply with the advice of the stewards, as well as my own judgment, and insist upon John Jones’s assisting me on Sunday. I have delayed all this time purely out of tenderness to you. Adieu!

“JOHN WESLEY.”[586]

This was bringing the matter to an issue; and Charles Wesley must have felt that, if John Jones, ordained by the dubious Erasmus, was really employed in giving the sacrament to the London Methodists, he had no one to blame except himself. Mr. Jones was so annoyed by Charles Wesley’s opposition, that he left the Methodist connexion, procured reordination from the Bishop of London, and was presented to the living of Harwich.

A fortnight after writing thus to Charles, Wesley went to Bristol, where his brother was residing. “Here,” he says, “I met several serious clergymen. I have long desired, that there might be an open, avowed union between all who preach those fundamental truths—original sin, and justification by faith, producing inward and outward holiness; but all my endeavours have been hitherto ineffectual. God’s time is not fully come.“

Some further explanation of this is necessary. In the spring of the present year, Wesley had a correspondence with the Countess of Huntingdon, and with the Rev. Mr. Hart, of Bristol, respecting the desirability of promoting union among gospel preachers. The following letter has not been previously published; it was addressed to the countess.

“NEWCASTLE, _May 16, 1764_.