Chapter L: Tyerman (20)

The seduction of the seamstress has been already mentioned. Mrs. Hall knew nothing of her husband’s criminality till the poor girl actually fell in labour. Hall had gone from home; his wife instantly ordered her other servants to call in a doctor. The servants refused. She remonstrated with them on their inhumanity. They completed her surprise by telling her the seamstress was in labour through her criminal connection with their master. The poor wife was terribly wounded; but the life of her husband’s paramour was in danger. The servants refused to stir, and she herself had to bring in a midwife. Her purse contained six pounds. Five of these she gave to a neighbour to look after the adulterous young mother; with the other pound, she went off to seek her worthless husband, who had designedly gone to London; mildly told him what had happened, and actually persuaded him to return to Salisbury as soon as the young woman and her child could be removed to another dwelling.

Another instance must be given. One day, Hall had the shameful inhumanity to bring home one of his illegitimate infants, and to order his wife to take charge of it. Will it be believed, that “Patty” actually brought out her cradle, placed the bastard babe in it, and continued to perform for it all that its helplessness required!

Was the woman demented? or a good-tempered silly fool, without any self-respect, and without the least idea of what was due unto herself? Not so; but just the opposite. As a proof of this, the following may be given:—

While nursing the illegitimate child just mentioned, her own charming boy, Wesley Hall, displeased his father, who had as little government of his temper as of his passions. In a rage, the father thrust his son into a dark closet, and locked him up. The poor boy was terrified to distraction. His mother, with her usual calmness, desired her husband to release the child. He refused. She entreated; but he was resolute. “Sir,” said she, at length thoroughly aroused; “Sir, thank the grace of God, that, while _my_ child is thus cruelly treated, suffering to distraction a punishment he has not merited, I had not turned _your_ babe out of the cradle; but now I _demand_, that you will immediately unlock the closet and release the child, or, if you refuse, I myself will do it.” The miserable poltroon succumbed, and the little prisoner regained his liberty. There was more in this than female firmness. Caitiff as he was, Hall had exercised the authority of a father, and his wife did her utmost not to set aside that authority; wishing, with true philosophy, that the lips which had pronounced the sentence might pronounce also its repeal. The woman, taking and maintaining this position, was the very opposite of a senseless, insipid household drudge, without either mind or manners, a very slave to some selfish brute who unfortunately rules over her.

If “Patty” Wesley,—we are reluctant to call her “Patty” Hall,—erred at all, it was on the side of fidelity to her worthless husband, and of kindness to his wretched mistresses. “How could you give money to your husband’s concubine?” asked her brother Charles. “I knew,” she answered, “that _I_ could obtain what I wanted from many; but she, poor hapless creature, could not. _Pity_ is due to the wicked, the good claim _esteem_. Besides, I did not act as a _woman_, but as a _Christian_.”

Notwithstanding all her bad treatment, this incomparable wife was never heard to speak of her husband but with kindness. Two extracts from her letters will show both her feelings and good sense, under circumstances the most trying to a female mind:—

“Being convinced, that, I cannot possibly oblige you any
longer, by anything I can say or do, I have determined to rid
you of so useless a burden, as soon as it shall please God
to give me an opportunity. If you have so much humanity left
for a wife, who has lived so many years with you, as to allow
anything toward a maintenance, I will thank you.”

“I conjure you to tell what fatal delusion could make me offend
a person whom, of all creatures upon earth, I desired most to
please. I shall be exceedingly obliged to you, if you will be
so good as to satisfy me in this particular. But, be that as
it may, whether you think fit to grant or deny my request,
one thing I must inform you of, which is, that, I never can,
so long as I am in my senses, wilfully bring any evil upon
you. No, death itself does not appear so shocking to me, as
endeavouring to lay you under any other obligation than those
of conscience and honour. For which reason, I design to put
myself again absolutely in your power. If you make a kind use
of that power, I shall thank God and you. If not, the time is
very short that I can stay on this side the grave; and in the
same sentiments that I have lived, I trust, it will be given me
to die.”

It is hardly necessary to give further details of this memorable woman. Enough has been said, to show, that, Westley Hall’s infamous behaviour was not owing to the character or conduct of his wife. We only add an extract from a manuscript, now before us, written by her niece, Miss Sarah Wesley, with whom she lived on the most loving and confidential terms. Miss Wesley, daughter of Charles, observes:—

“Dr. Johnson was an early friend of hers; to her my father
owed his acquaintance with the Doctor, and I, the honour of
his favour. I used to accompany her to Bolt Court, and had the
privilege of hearing their discourse.

“Her whole character was eminent for magnanimity and
tenderness. When her unfortunate husband contended for the
lawfulness of polygamy, and acted on his erroneous principles,
in all her expostulations, she never lost her command of
language, or gave him a reproachful word.

“She was particularly distinguished with favour, by my
grandmother, for her docile and tranquil spirit; and her
brothers and sisters nick-named her the patient _Grisele_.
Such was her attachment to my uncle John, that, if she was
in any pain or trouble in her infant days, the sight of him
would instantly cheer her. I never heard of so strong an
affection, which lasted toward him through life. My grandmother
once entered the room, where the children were in high glee
and frolic, and said, ‘Ah, you will all, one day, be more
thoughtful, as you grow in years.’ Martha replied, ‘Shall I be
more thoughtful?’ ‘No,’ said her mother. Indeed, by all that
I have heard, she was born a philosopher, and preferred her
mother’s chamber to sports or recreations, which naturally
endeared her to the parent, whom she almost idolized.

“Were I to relate the instances of her kindness to me, I
could fill a book. No parent’s love could exceed hers. It was
a joyful day whenever I was to spend it with her. Even my
brothers looked forward with delightful anticipation, when her
weekly visit was to be paid us (for one day of the week was
appropriated by my father to receive her). Her conversation so
far resembled my uncle’s, that, children idolized her; and her
memory, to the last, supplied the place of books. She had the
best of our poets by heart; and her mode of giving advice was
so gentle, that offence could not be taken. Her compassion and
charity to the poor were such, that, my father used to say, it
was needless to give anything to Pat for her own comfort; she
always gave it away to some beggar, and forgot herself.

“I was with her at her death. Composed and tranquil, she
reasoned about every pain, as occasioning it, with the same
serenity she would have spoken of common things. She had no
disease, but the springs of life were worn out. A little before
her departure, she called me to her bedside, and said, ‘You
have heard me wish for assurance,’ (of happiness, she meant),
‘I have it now. Shout!’ and died!”

Mrs. Hall was the last survivor of the Wesley family,—her father, mother, brothers, and sisters having all died before her. In the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ for 1791, there is the following obituary notice.

“_1791. July 12_, in the City Road, in her eighty-fourth year,
Mrs. Martha Hall, widow of the Rev. Mr. H., and last surviving
sister of the Rev. John and Charles Wesley. She was equally
distinguished by piety, understanding, and sweetness of temper.
Her sympathy for the wretched, and her bounty, even to the
worthless, will eternize her memory in better worlds than this.”

Her remains are interred in the same vault as those of her brother John, in the burial ground of his chapel, in City Road, London.

Our story of the Oxford Methodists is ended.

ADDENDUM.

By an oversight, the following letter was not inserted in Hervey’s memoir. It ought to have found a place at page 220. When Wesley became an out-door preacher, in 1739, Hervey wrote him a letter of remonstrance, to which he replied as follows:—

“As to your advice, that, I should settle in college, I have
no business there, having now no office, and no pupils. And
whether the other branch of your proposal be expedient,
namely, to accept of a cure of souls, it will be time enough
to consider when one is offered to me. But, in the meantime,
you think, I ought to be still, because, otherwise, I shall
invade another’s office. You, accordingly, ask, How is it,
that, I assemble Christians who are none of my charge, to sing
psalms, and pray, and hear the Scriptures expounded; and think
it hard to justify this in other men’s parishes, upon catholic
principles.

“Permit me to speak plainly. If, by ‘catholic principles,’
you mean any other than scriptural, they weigh nothing with
me; I allow no other rule, whether of faith or practice, than
the Holy Scriptures. But, on scriptural principles, I do not
think it hard to justify what I do. God, in Scripture, commands
me, according to my power, to instruct the ignorant, reform
the wicked, confirm the virtuous. Man forbids me to do this
in another’s parish; that is, in effect, not to do it at all;
seeing I have now no parish of my own, nor probably ever shall.
Whom then shall I hear? God or man? ‘_If it be just to obey man
rather than God, judge ye._’ ‘_A dispensation of the Gospel is
committed to me, and woe is me, if I preach not the Gospel._’
But where shall I preach it, upon the principles you mention?
Not in any of the _Christian_ parts, at least, of the habitable
earth; for all these are, after a sort, divided into parishes.

“Suffer me to tell you my principles in this matter. I look
upon _all the world as my parish_; thus far I mean, that,
in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my
bounden duty, to declare unto all, that are willing to hear,
the glad tidings of salvation. This is the work, which I know,
God has called me to; and sure I am, that His blessing attends
it. Great encouragement have I, therefore, to be faithful in
fulfilling the work He hath given me to do. His servant I am;
and, as such, am employed according to the plain direction of
His word,—‘_as I have opportunity, doing good to all men_.’
And His providence clearly concurs with His word; which has
disengaged me from all things else, that I might singly attend
on this very thing, ‘_and go about doing good_.’

“If you ask, ‘How can this be? How can one do good, of whom
_men say all manner of evil_?’ I will put you in mind, (though
you once knew this, yea, and much established me in that great
truth,) the more evil men say of me for my Lord’s sake, the
more good He will do by me. That it is for His sake, I know,
and He knoweth, and the event agreeth thereto; for He mightily
confirms the word I speak, by the Holy Ghost, given unto them
that hear them. I fear you have herein made shipwreck of the
faith. I fear, ‘_Satan, transformed into an angel of light_,’
hath assaulted you, and prevailed also. I fear, that offspring
of hell, worldly or mystic prudence, has drawn you away from
the simplicity of the Gospel. How else could you ever conceive,
that, the being reviled, and ‘_hated of all men_,’ should make
us less fit for our Masters service? How else could you ever
think of ‘_saving yourself and them that hear you_,’ without
being _the filth and offscouring of the world_’?

“To this hour, is this Scripture true. And I therein rejoice,
yea, and will rejoice. Blessed be God, I enjoy the reproach
of Christ! O may you also be vile, exceeding vile for His
sake! God forbid that you should ever be other than generally
scandalous; I had almost said universally. If any man tell you,
there is a new way of following Christ ‘he is a liar, and the
truth is not in him.’

“JOHN WESLEY.”

FOOTNOTES

[1] Wesley’s Works, vol. viii., p. 334.

[2] Autobiography of Mrs. Delany, vol. i., p. 586.

[3] “Poems on Several Occasions,” by Samuel Wesley, A.M., 1736, p. 107.

[4] Two villages in Bedfordshire.

[5] Probably the mother of the wife of Wesley’s brother Samuel.

[6] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 8.

[7] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 9.

[8] Ibid. p. 10.

[9] Ibid. vol. xii., p. 6.

[10] Moore’s “Life of Wesley,” vol i, p. 187.

[11] Wesley’s Works, vol, i., p. 5.

[12] Wesley’s father had been thrown out of a waggon and seriously injured. (See “Life and Times of Rev. Samuel Wesley,” pp. 416, 417.)

[13] Moore’s Life of Wesley, vol. i., p. 198.

[14] MS. Journal.

[15] Clayton’s father died in January, 1737 (The Private Journal and Literary Remains of John Byrom, vol ii., p. 87).

[16] The Private Journal and Literary Remains of John Byrom, 1855.

[17] Mr. Rivington, the bookseller of St. Paul’s Churchyard, London.

[18] Wesley’s Works, vol. i, p. 13.

[19] Wesley’s Works, vol. viii., p. 334.

[20] Mr. Smith was evidently one of the Oxford Methodists, and appears to have been a Fellow of Lincoln College; In a letter dated Aug. 17, 1733, Wesley writes,—“The thing that gives offence here, is the being singular with regard to time, expense, and company. This is evident beyond exception, from the case of Mr. Smith, one of our Fellows, who no sooner began to husband his time, to retrench unnecessary expenses, and to avoid his irreligious acquaintances, but he was set upon, by not only those acquaintance, but many others too, as if he had entered into a conspiracy to cut all their throats: though, to this day, he had not advised any single person, unless in a word or two and by accident, to act as he did in those instances” (Moore’s Life of Wesley, vol. i., p. 206). We have not been able to trace Mr. Smith’s subsequent career. The following letter, however, written a few months later than the above by Wesley, will not be unacceptable.

“LONDON, _February 6, 1734_; 4, Perpool Lane.

“MY DEAREST FRIEND,—It was waiting for Mr. Greeve’s coming made
me not answer yours sooner. If, when I come, I don’t give you
a sufficient reason for my being so long absent from college,
never trust me more. But, yet, alas! how lukewarm is piety
become with me at the best; and fasting neglected, which I
never looked for; not entirely dropped, I hope, but for a week
or two, to be taken up and practised again incessantly.

“Notwithstanding, I cannot be present in body sooner than in a
month’s time, because I am learning shorthand, which will take
up a full fortnight of it. You know, I presume, I was obliged
to see my father before my return, and, therefore, we will get
you to ask leave of absence, and entreat Mr. Farrer for so much
longer.

“I beg my humble service to him and all friends; and accept the
same yourself from, my dearest friend, your much obliged friend
and servant, WILLIAM SMITH.

“The Rev. Mr. Wesley, Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford.”

[21] Probably another Oxford Methodist.

[22] Probably his pupils.

[23] A room over the north gate of the city, used as a common prison, principally for debtors.

[24] Moore’s “Life of Wesley,” vol. i., p. 205.

[25] Where is Clayton’s diary now? We wish we could find it. Wesley begun to keep a diary as early as about the year 1725 (see Wesley’s Works, vol. i. p. 3), in which, he says, he noted how he “employed every hour.” This practice he continued to do, wherever he was, till he left England in 1735; and yet not a line of these interesting journals has been published. Where are those manuscripts, and why are they not given to the public?

[26] To use a popular designation, Clayton and Wesley were becoming Ritualists. Hitherto the Bible had been their only rule of faith and practice; now they began to study ecclesiastical canons and decretals. One of these was to regard Saturday as the Sabbath-day, and Sunday as the Lord’s-day. Christians, however, were not to “Judaize and rest on” (Saturday, or) “the Sabbath-day; but work, and give the preference to the Lord’s-day, by resting as Christians.” On both days might be celebrated the Feast of the Eucharist, even during Lent. If any clergyman was found fasting on any Saturday, except Easter Eve, he was to be deposed; and if a layman was guilty of such a peccadillo, he was to be suspended from communion. At the time of the Laodicean Council (about A.D. 363), public assemblies were held on Saturdays as well as Sundays, and it was decreed that on the former, as on the latter, “the Gospels, with the other Scriptures, ought to be read” before “the Sacrifice,” or Eucharist. (Laodicean Canons, 29th, 49th, 16th; and Apostolical Canons, 56th.)

[27] Dr. Deacon was one of the non-juring priests, or high churchmen, who refused to take the oaths to the government of King William III. They maintained:—1. The doctrine of passive obedience. 2. That the hereditary succession to the throne is of Divine institution, and, therefore, can never be interrupted, suspended, or annulled. 3. That the Church is subject to the jurisdiction, not of the civil magistrates, but of God alone, particularly in matters of a religious nature. 4. That, consequently, the bishops deposed by William III. remained, notwithstanding their deposition, true bishops to the day of their death; and that those who were substituted in their place were the unjust possessors of other men’s property. 5. That these unjust possessors of ecclesiastical dignities were rebels against the State, as well as schismatics in the Church; and that all, therefore, who held communion with them were also chargeable with rebellion and schism; and, 6. That this schism, which rends the Church in pieces, was a most heinous sin, whose punishment must fall heavy on all those who did not return sincerely to the true Church from which they had departed.

Dr. Deacon held such opinions and suffered for them. It was alleged by his opponents that, after the rebellion in 1715, he absolved Justice Hall and Parson Paul at the gallows, and publicly declared to them, at Tyburn, that the fact for which they were executed was meritorious. It was further said that, on account of this, a warrant was issued against Deacon by the State Secretary, and that his friends prevented his arrest by sending him off to Holland to study physic. The principal part of this allegation was denied by Deacon. He admits that he went to Holland; but says, he lived upon his own fortune there, and did not begin his medical studies until after his return to London, where he derived great assistance from the celebrated Dr. Mead. He then removed to Manchester, where he collected a small congregation of high churchmen like himself; and, a few years later, became painfully prominent in the disturbances arising out of the Manchester visit of the Young Pretender. But more of this anon.

Dr. Deacon’s publications embraced the following:—“The History of the Arians, and of the Council of Nice, written in French by Sebastian Lenain de Tillemont, and translated into English by Thomas Deacon. London, 1721.” 8vo, 356 pp. “The Doctrine of the Church of Rome concerning Purgatory, proved to be contrary to Catholic Tradition, and inconsistent with the Necessary Duty of Praying for the Dead, as practised by the Ancient Church. By Thomas Deacon, Priest. London, 1718.” 12mo, 143 pp. “Ecclesiastical Memoirs of the six first Centuries, made good by Citations from Original Authors, etc. Written in French by Sebastian Le Nain de Tillemont.” Translated by Deacon. “London. Printed for the benefit of the Translator, and sold by J. Wilford, at the three Flower de luces, behind St. Paul’s Chapter House; and W. Clayton, Bookseller in Manchester.” Folio, vol. I., 1733. 667 pp. Vol. II., 1735. 593 pp. These volumes come down to the year A.D. 177. The work seems not to have been completed. The list of subscribers includes “John Byrom. A.M. F.R.S.” and “Rev. John Clayton. A.M. Curate of Salford, in Lancashire.” Deacon also published another work, immediately after the rebellion in 1745, entitled, “A Full, True, and Comprehensive View of Christianity: Containing a Short Historical Account of Religion from the Creation of the World to the fourth Century after our Lord Jesus Christ.” 8vo, 483 pp.: a work far more Popish than Protestant. The following are some of the things which Deacon tries to elucidate and recommend:—“Public Confession and Penance;” “The Eucharist, a Sacrament and a Sacrifice;” “Unction before Baptism, and the Consecration of the Oil and Water;” “Trine Immersion, the White Garment, the Kiss of Peace, the Milk and Honey,” etc.; “Prayer for the Faithful Departed;” “Infant Communion;” etc. This book excited great attention, as well it might; and several severe replies to it were published in the years 1748 and 1749.

Such was the chosen counsellor of Clayton and of Wesley. He was as much a papist as a protestant. Wesley was mercifully introduced to other guides. Clayton, without, perhaps, adopting all the opinions of his non-juring adviser, was doubtlessly influenced by them to the end of life. Dr. Deacon died in 1753, and was buried in St Ann’s churchyard, Manchester. The following clumsy inscription was on his tomb:—

“Ἐι μη ἐν σταυρω.

“Here lie interred the remains (which, though mortality is at
present corrupt, it shall one day most surely be raised again
to immortality, and put on incorruption) of Thomas Deacon,
the greatest of sinners, and the most unworthy of Primitive
Bishops, who died 16th of February, 1753, in the fifty-sixth
year of his age; and of Sarah, his wife, who died July 4th,
1745, in the forty-fifth year of her age. The Lord grant the
faithful, here underlying, the mercy of the Lord in that day!
(2 Tim. i 18)

“Ἐν τουτω νικα.”

(_Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1821.)

[28] The Ecclesiastical term for the Fasts of the fourth and sixth days of the week, Wednesday and Friday, in memory of the council which condemned Christ, and of His passion.

[29] Here, again, the Oxford Methodists have recourse, not to the Bible, as at the commencement of their history, but to superstitious canons. At the Council of Constantinople, A.D. 683, it was decreed against the Armenians, that wine used at the Eucharist should be mixed with water; and, in support of this, were quoted the Liturgies of St James, and St Basil, and the 37th Canon of the African Code. Of course, the origin of this superstition was the fact, that water, as well as blood, came out of the side of the Divine Redeemer; but Dr. Deacon, in a pamphlet, published in 1719, and entitled, “The Plaintiff’s Charge Disproved,” etc., took other ground. He maintained that our blessed Saviour “used wine and water at the Eucharist;” that He “ordained these elements to be the matter of the sacrament, and commanded His apostles and the Church to practice after His example.” Deacon adds:—“How terrible the consequence may be of omitting part of our Redeemer’s cup, is what I dare not determine.”

[30] This work, by Dr. Deacon, was entitled, “A Complete Collection of Devotions: taken from the Apostolical Constitutions, the Ancient Liturgies, and the Common Prayer Book of the Church of England.

“Part I. Comprehending the Public Offices of the Church. Humbly offered to the Consideration of the present Churches of Christendom, Greek, Roman, English, and all others.

“Part II. Being a Primitive Method of Daily Private Prayer, containing Devotions for the Morning and Evening, and for the Ancient Hours of Prayer, nine, twelve, and three; together with the Hymns of Thanksgivings for the Lord’s Day and Sabbath; and Prayers for Fasting Days; as also Devotions for the Altar, and Graces before and after Meat; all taken from the Apostolical Constitutions, and the Ancient Liturgies, with some additions: and recommended to the practice of all private Christians of every Communion. London: Printed for the Author. 1734.”

This is a curious book, showing the ritualistic proclivities of Dr. Deacon and his friends. Space forbids lengthened extracts; but, in “Morning Prayer,” occurs the following; “Let us pray for those who are departed in the faith, and are at rest in Christ; that God, the lover of mankind, who hath received their souls, would forgive them all their sins voluntary and involuntary, and of His great mercy would graciously grant them perpetual peace in the region of the just.”

There are public Prayers, “for the Catechumens, or unbaptized persons, who are receiving instruction in Christianity;” and “for the Energumens, or Persons possessed by Evil Spirits.”

There is “The Form of admitting a Penitent to Penance,” embracing a confession of his crimes to the Priest; and a prayer that God would “graciously accept the man’s Penance; and that, by his continuance in a state of mournful confession and prayer, he may the sooner obtain God’s merciful pardon.”

In the Office of Baptism, it is ordered, that, the Priest shall “anoint the child with the Holy Oil, and make the sign of the Cross upon its forehead, breast, and palms of the hands.” It was then to be “dipped in the water three times;” and then to be “clothed in White Garments;” after which, the Sponsors were to give it “the Kiss of Peace,” and the Priest was to put into its mouth “a little of the Consecrated Milk and Honey.”

Then there is “The Form of Consecrating the Oil for Baptism:” and “The Form of Consecrating the Milk and Honey:” and “The Form of Consecrating the Chrism for Confirmation:” and “The Form of Consecrating the Oil for the Sick.” N.B. The Oil was to be “sweet oil of Olives;” and the Chrism “sweet oil of Olives and precious balsam, commonly called Balm of Gilead.”

These extracts speak for themselves.

[31] Was this the daughter of Dr. Potter, Bishop of Oxford? And was she one of the Oxford Methodists?

[32] John Baptist Cotelerius was a learned French author, born in 1628. He made a collection of the writings of the Fathers, who lived in the Apostolic age, revised and corrected from several manuscripts, with a Latin translation and notes. His work was published in two volumes folio, in 1672.

[33] “The Apostolical Constitutions,” a collection of regulations attributed to the Apostles, and supposed to have been collected by St Clement, whose name they bear.

[34] “The Recognitions of Clement,” a book whose authenticity has been greatly doubted, and whose chief subject is the “Travels and Acts of Peter.”

[35] Mr. Spinckes was prebendary of Salisbury, and rector of St Martin’s in that town. In 1690, he was deprived of all his preferments for refusing to take the oaths to William and Mary. In 1713, he was consecrated a non-juring bishop by Dr. Hickes, and the Scotch bishops, Campbell and Gadderar. He died in 1727. The full title of the book, which Clayton mentions is, “The True Church of England—Man’s Companion in the Closet; or, a Complete Manual of Private Devotions; collected from the Writings of Archbishop Laud, Bishop Andrews, Bishop Ken, Dr. Hickes, Mr. Kettlewell, Mr. Spinckes, and other eminent Divines of the Church of England. With a Preface by the Reverend Mr. Spinckes.” Though deficient in its recognition of the doctrine of salvation by faith, it contains hardly anything seriously objectionable; it is intensely devotional; and could be sincerely used by none except those who made religion the supreme business of their lives.

[36] Wesley’s Works, vol. xiii., p. 185.

[37] The Private Journal and Literary Remains of John Byrom. 1855.

[38] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 83.

[39] Ibid. p. 94, 95.

[40] Ibid. p. 97.

[41] “Manchester: its Political, Social, and Commercial History,” by James Wheeler. 1836.

[42] Dr. Byrom’s eldest daughter has left a journal of the events of this memorable entry into Manchester. She writes:—“1745. November 29. Friday, eleven o’clock, we went to the cross; about three o’clock, the Prince and the main body came. The Prince went straight to Mr. Dickenson’s, where he lodges; the Duke of Athol at Mr. Marsden’s, and the Duke of Perth at Gartside’s. The bells rung, and P. Cotterel made a bonfire. All the town was illuminated,—every house, except Mr. Dickenson’s. About four o’clock, the king was proclaimed. The mob shouted very cleverly.

“Saturday, November 30. An officer called on us to go and see the Prince. We went to Mr. Fletcher’s, and saw him get on horseback; and a noble sight it was. I would not have missed it for a great deal of money. When he rid out of the court, he was received with as much joy and shouting almost as if he had been king without any dispute. As soon as he was gone, the officer and we went to prayers at the old church, at two o’clock. Mr. Sprigley read prayers, and prayed for the King and Prince of Wales, and named no names. We went up to Mr. Fletcher’s, and stayed there till the Prince was at supper. Secretary Murray came to let us know that the Prince was at leisure; so we were all introduced, and had the honour to kiss his hand. My papa was fetched prisoner (playfully, by the ladies,) to do the same, as was Mr. Deacon; Mr. Cattell and Mr. Clayton did it without; the latter said grace for him.”

Mr. Dickenson’s house, in which the prince resided, was at the top of Market Street. There was a court-yard in front, shut out from the street by large iron gates. In virtue of the prince’s short residence, the house was afterwards called the “Palace”; and on its becoming a hostelry, was designated the “Palace Inn.”

[43] Pictorial History of England, vol. iv., p. 548.

[44] Everett’s “Methodism in Manchester,” p. 121.

[45] Mr. Samuel Barker.

[46] Tradition says the suspension lasted three years.

[47] Everett’s “Life of Clarke,” vol. ii., p. 239.

[48] An excellent library was attached to Clayton’s school (“Private Journal and Literary Remains of John Byrom”).

[49] _Lloyd’s Evening Post_, June 30, 1760.

[50] In 1756, a 12mo pamphlet, of 34 pages, was published, with the title, “A Sequel to the Friendly Advice to the Poor of the Town of Manchester. By Joseph Stot, Cobbler.” This vivaciously written _brochure_ taunts Clayton with having published nothing except a solitary sermon and his “Friendly Advice,” and pretends to have expected that his pen would have benefitted the public during the time his tongue was silenced by his bishop. It also states that Clayton was never seen out of doors “without a great sweeping nosegay;” and accounts for this on the ground that, perhaps, the foul smells of Manchester made it necessary.

[51] Calamy’s “Nonconformist Memorial,” vol. ii., p. 599; and _Evangelical Magazine_, 1814, p. 302.

[52] Fast-day.

[53] “Life and Times of Lady Huntingdon,” vol. i., p. 242.

[54] Salmon was one of the Oxford Methodists. In 1779, Wesley wrote: “Fifty years ago Mr. Matthew Salmon was one of our little company at Oxford, and was then, both in person, in natural temper, and in piety, one of the loveliest young men I knew.” (Wesley’s Journal.) Like Clayton, Mr. Salmon became alienated from the Methodists. In 1748, he published the “Foreigner’s Companion through the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge,” which contained the following:—“The times of the day the University go to this church, are ten in the morning, and two in the afternoon, on Sundays and holidays, the sermon usually lasting about half an hour. But, when I happened to be at Oxford, in 1742, Mr. Wesley, the Methodist, of Christ Church, entertained his audience two hours; and, having insulted and abused all degrees, from the highest to the lowest, was, in a manner, hissed out of the pulpit by the lads.”

The preacher on this occasion was Charles Wesley, and the two hours’ sermon, was his well-known Discourse, before the University of Oxford, on “Awake thou that sleepest,” etc. (Eph. v. 14). On reading Salmon’s unbrotherly attack, Charles Wesley remarked: “And high time for the lads to do so, if the historian said true; but, unfortunately for him, I measured the time by my watch, and it was within the hour; I abused neither high nor low, as my sermon, in print, will show: neither was I hissed out of the pulpit, or treated with the least incivility, either by young or old. What, then, shall I say to my old high church friend whom I once so much admired? I must rank him among the apocryphal writers, such as the judicious Dr. Mather, the wary Bishop Burnet, and the most modest Mr. Oldmixon.” (C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. ii., p. 71.)

A nephew of Mr. Salmon’s, and some other branches of his family, afterwards became Methodists, at Nantwich and in the neighbourhood. Miss Salmon was an intimate friend of Elizabeth Ritchie and Hester Ann Rogers. Joseph Whittingham Salmon, the nephew, entertained Wesley at Nantwich, in 1779. In 1785, he preached, and published a sermon on the death of his wife, with the title, “The Robes of the Saints washed in the Blood of the Lamb: being the Substance of a Funeral Discourse, preached at the Barker Street Chapel, Nantwich, on Occasion of the Death of Mrs. Salmon.” 8vo, 39 pages. And, in 1796, he gave to the world a book of poetry, entitled, “Moral Reflections in Verse, begun in Hawkstone Park,” etc. 8vo, 264 pages.

Matthew Salmon, the Oxford Methodist, will be occasionally mentioned in succeeding pages.

[55] A parish in Essex.

[56] The celebrated, Rev. William Law.

[57] Wesley’s reasons were _substantially_ the same as Ingham’s. (See “Life and Times of Wesley,” vol. i., p. 115, 116.)

[58] In Thames Street

[59] Another instance of the high-churchism of these Oxford Methodists.

[60] One of these was David Nitschmann, the Moravian Bishop. (See Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 16.)

[61] It was during this storm, that Wesley was struck with the contrast between the Moravians and the rest of the ship’s occupants. The crew in general were in paroxysms of fear and anxiety; the Moravians were calm, and employed themselves in singing psalms (Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 20).

[62] A sort of flat-bottomed barge (Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 28).

[63] Charles Wesley writes:—“Tuesday, March 9, 1736. The first who saluted me on my landing, was honest Mr. Ingham, and that with his usual heartiness. Never did I more rejoice at the sight of him; especially when he told me the treatment he has met with for vindicating the Lord’s day.” Charles had gone to be the minister of the palmetto town, Frederica; and was soon in greater trouble than Ingham had experienced. Ingham remained with his friend nineteen days; and, during this brief period, Charles encountered a difficulty about baptizing a child by immersion; got into hot water, by endeavouring to reconcile two termagant women; and was wrongfully charged by Oglethorpe with mutiny and sedition. By March 28th, things had arrived at such a pass, that Charles Wesley requested Ingham to go to Savannah for his brother. Ingham was extremely reluctant to leave his friend in such trouble and danger; but was, at last, persuaded; and, accordingly, on the day just mentioned, after preaching “an alarming sermon on the day of judgment, and joining with” Charles Wesley “in offering up the Christian sacrifice,” he started. This is not the place to enter into detail respecting C. Wesley’s trials at Frederica. Suffice it to give an extract from his Journal: “I hastened to the water-side, where I found Mr. Ingham just put off. O happy, happy friend! _Abiit, erupit, evasit!_ But woe is me, that I am still constrained to dwell with Meshech! I languished to bear him company, followed him with my eyes till out of sight, and then sank into deeper dejection than I had known before.” We must now keep company with Ingham.

[64] David Nitschmann.

[65] C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. i., p. 27.

[66] The Indians gave to Ingham a plot of fruitful ground, in the midst of which was a small, round hill; and, on the top of this hill, a house was built for an Indian school. The house was named Irene. (Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 61.)

[67] _Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1737, p. 575.

[68] C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. i., p. 73.

[69] William Delamotte, who became the friend of Ingham, and joined the Moravians. For four or five years, he was one of their most ardent and useful preachers. His labours in Yorkshire were attended with great success. He died February 22, 1743, and was buried at St. Dunstan’s-in-the-East, London (Holmes’ “History of the Brethren,” vol. i., p. 315: Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 94.)

[70] Charles Delamotte, who also became a Moravian, and, after a long life of piety and peace, died at Barrow-upon-Humber, in 1796.

[71] At this date, Wesley was in the thick of his Georgian troubles.

[72] The English bishops would have acted more justly and generously if they had helped Wesley out of their own fat incomes, instead of finding fault with his trifling expenses. On March 4, 1737, Wesley says, “I writ the trustees for Georgia an account of our year’s expenses, from March 1, 1736, to March 1, 1737; which, deducting extraordinary expenses, such as repairing the parsonage house, and journeys to Frederica, amounted, for Mr. Delamotte and me, to £44 4_s._ 4_d._” Can it be correct that the bishops found fault with Wesley costing the trustees £22 2_s._ 2_d._ per year? It may be asked what Wesley received from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts? The answer is £50; “which, indeed,” says he, “was in a manner forced upon me, contrary both to expectation and desire” (Wesley’s Unpublished Journal). Seven months later, on November 10, 1737, he writes, in the same Journal, “Colonel Henderson arrived, by whom I received a benefaction of £10 sterling, after having been for several months without one shilling in the house, but not without peace, health, and contentment.” This was the man at whose extravagance the bishops grumbled, and concerning whom even Ingham felt some anxiety. The Georgian trustees had no misgivings.

[73] _Methodist Magazine_, 1848, p. 1096.

[74] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 40.

[75] Sir John Thorold belonged to one of the oldest families in Lincolnshire. He was a great friend of the first Methodists; and, as early as 1738, used to attend the Moravian meetings, in the house of James Hutton, at The Bible and Sun, a little westward of Temple Bar; and to expound among the Brethren the Holy Scriptures, and to engage in prayer. In 1742, he became dissatisfied, and brought the following charges against them. “1. Their not praying so much to the Father and the Holy Ghost as to the Son. 2. Their speaking so contemptuously of reason, which opened a door to fancy and enthusiasm. 3. Their saying, there were no duties in the New Testament. 4. Their not giving an open conscientious confession of their faith. 5. Their disowning their tenets when driven to a pinch.”

Sir John Thorold died in 1748. (Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 82; and Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon, vol. i., p. 77.)

[76] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 40.

[77] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 161.

[78] Whitefield’s Journals, p. 115; and C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. i., p. 139.

[79] The meaning of this phraseology may, perhaps, be gathered from a letter which Wesley wrote to his brother Samuel, on October 23, 1738, five months after Wesley’s conversion. The following is an extract:—“The πληροφορία πίστεως,—the seal of the Spirit, the love of God shed abroad in my heart, and producing joy in the Holy Ghost, joy which no man taketh away, joy unspeakable and full of glory,—this witness of the Spirit I have not; but I wait patiently for it. I know many who have already received it,” etc. (“Life and Times of Wesley,” vol. i., p. 190). The fact is, Wesley, for a season, appeared to confound the witness of the Spirit to the justification of a Christian believer with what he afterwards meant by the attainment of Christian perfection. Soon afterwards, however, he was blessed with clearer light, and gave to the Church, perhaps, the best definition of the doctrine ever penned,—“The testimony of the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit that I am a child of God; that Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given Himself for me; and that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God.”

[80] Nelson’s Journal.

[81] C. Wesley’s Journal.

[82] One of Molther’s dogmas was, that no one has any faith while he has any doubt.

[83] Wesley’s Journal.

[84] Nelson’s Journal.

[85] See “Hutton’s Memoirs,” p. 100-108; and Holmes’ “History of the Church of the Brethren,” vol. i., p. 318.

[86] To say the least, this was offensively premature. Where is the evidence that either Wesley or Nelson wished to be received into the Moravian community?

[87] This interview probably occurred in the year 1741, though Nelson neglects to supply the date. In 1739, Wesley had published his “Character of a Methodist,” and also his abridged “Life of Halyburton,” with a preface by himself. In both of these publications, he propounded, in strong language, his doctrine of entire sanctification.

[88] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 350.

[89] Nelson’s Journal.

[90] In a letter by James Hutton to Count Zinzendorf, and dated, September 17, 1740, only three days before the date of this letter by Ingham, the following occurs:—“Ingham writes from Yorkshire, that, he also has discovered something new in his heart, and is now assured he shall not die eternally; he had never before experienced the like. He also writes, that, many souls in Yorkshire have of late found grace, and he desires that Toltschig may come to him.” (“Memoirs of James Hutton,” p. 63.)

[91] _Methodist Magazine_, 1778, p. 182.

[92] “Memoirs of James Hutton,” p. 64.

[93] Wesley’s Journal.

[94] See Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 349.

[95] Probably the same as Mr. Justice Burton, who figured so prominently in endeavouring to obtain witnesses, that Charles Wesley was a Jacobite, in 1744. (See C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. i., p. 358.)

[96] _Weekly Miscellany_, May 17, 1740.

[97] Ibid. June 8, 1740.

[98] _Weekly Miscellany_, June 21, 1740.

[99] The Rev. Jacob Rogers, of Bedford, of whom Wesley, in 1753, wrote as follows:—“Above fourteen years ago, Mr. Rogers, then curate of St. Paul’s (Bedford), preached the pure gospel with general acceptance. A great awakening began, and continually increased, till the poor weather-cock turned Baptist; he then preached the absolute decrees with all his might; but in a while the wind changed again, and he turned and sank into the German whirlpool. How many souls has this unhappy man to answer for!” (Wesley’s Works, vol. ii., p. 293.)

[100] _Weekly Miscellany_, July 26, 1740.

[101] Memoirs of Mrs. Grace Bennett.

[102] Memoirs of James Hutton, p. 59 and 60.

[103] A pilgrim, according to Zinzendorf’s definition, is “a Philadelphian (lover of the brethren), with a Moravian coat and a Lutheran tongue.” (“Hutton’s Memoirs,” p. 118.)

[104] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 152.

[105] The property is now held of Ingham’s descendants, on a lease for five hundred years. (_Methodist Magazine_, 1848, p. 1,099.)

[106] Life and Times of Lady Huntingdon, vol. i., p. 260.

[107] Life and Times of Lady Huntingdon, vol. i., p. 266.

[108] Doubtless, a Tract, of twenty-four pages, published by Wesley, in 1745, and entitled “A Short View of the Difference between the Moravian Brethren, lately in England, and the Rev. Mr. John and Charles Wesley.”

[109] _Methodist Magazine_, 1797, p. 512.

[110] Hutton’s Memoirs, pp. 221 to 280.

[111] _Evangelical Magazine_, 1814, p. 306.

[112] Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon, vol. i., p. 270.

[113] Minutes of Methodist Conferences, vol. i., p. 717. The 1862 edition.

[114] Wesley’s Works, vol. ii., p. 313.

[115] Sandemanianism was afterwards introduced into New England, but failed by its own distractions. Sandeman died in Danbury, Connecticut. His tomb is still preserved there, and slight traces of his system linger in the vicinity. (Stevens’ History of Methodism, vol. i., p. 392.)

[116] The Daleites derived their name from David Dale, Esq., a successful man of business, who, after being agent for the sale of the cotton yarn of Sir R. Arkwright, became, in 1785, the proprietor of the cotton mills at Lanark. A lawsuit, between the magistrates of Glasgow and the General Session, led Mr. Dale to secede from the established kirk. Having began to preach, he was the means of founding several Independent Churches in Scotland; and, after an active and useful life, died, greatly lamented, in 1806, aged sixty-seven. (_Evangelical Magazine_, 1807, p. 49.)

[117] Wesley writes: “1765. January 20, I looked over Mr. Romaine’s strange book on the ‘Life of Faith.’ I thought nothing could ever exceed Mr. Ingham’s, but really this does; although they differ not an hair’s breadth from each other, any more than from Mr. Sandeman.” (Wesley’s Works, vol. iii., p. 193.)

[118] _Evangelical Magazine_, 1814, p. 308.

[119] Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon, vol. i., p. 303.

[120] _Wesleyan Times_, December 14th, 1863.

[121] It is a noticeable fact, that Whitefield also was extremely fond of reading plays, not only when at school in Gloucester, but, even after he went to Oxford.

[122] _Methodist Magazine_, 1798, p. 172.

[123] For further particulars of Kezziah Westley, see Memoir of Westley Hall.

[124] Holmes’s “History of the United Brethren,” vol. ii., p. 38.

[125] Wesley’s sister, Kezziah, now Gambold’s guest.

[126] The Works of Rev. John Gambold, p. 260.

[127] The first edition was published in 1773, with the following title: “The Martyrdom of Ignatius; a Tragedy. Written in the year 1740. By the late John Gambold, at that time Minister of Stanton-Harcourt, Oxfordshire,” 8vo. Cadell, etc.

[128] Wesley’s Works, vol. iii., p. 388.

[129] Stevenson’s “City Road Chapel,” p. 28.

[130] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 97.

[131] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 245.

[132] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 246.

[133] “The Moravians Compared and Detected,” 1775, p. 150.

[134] It is said, on what authority we know not, that Gambold’s contributions to this hymn-book consisted of twenty-eight original hymns, and eleven translations from the Greek, Latin, or German. (_Wesleyan Times_, January 23, 1865.)

The following are the first lines of both, the numbers being those of the hymns as they are placed in the respective volumes:—

TRANSLATIONS.

Vol. I. 182. Ye elect, who peace possess unshaken.
” 183. I’m bound fast, with Jesus’ grave clothes platted.
” 184. In this sense we’re a body.
” 191. Jesu, Saviour of man’s nature.
” 192. Be propitious.
” 193. O thou eternal Saviour.
” 208. Majestic Father! whose pity gave.
” 211. Saviour of the nations, come.
” 221. Thousand times by me be greeted.
” 222. O head so full of bruises.
” 442. O World! attention lend it.

ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS.

Vol. II. 1. God we praise, that in these days.
” 17. What says a soul, that now doth taste.
” 34. No more with trembling heart I try.
” 42. O tell me no more.
” 50. Ye who have known th’ atoning blood.
” 51. Jesu, that gentle touch of thine.
” 55. How happy is the heart.
” 56. Jesu, each blind and trembling soul.
” 58. How is it, Lamb?
” 66. How happy we, when guilt is gone.
” 67. How Christ his souls doth bless.
” 71. Grant Lord, I ne’er may doubt again.
” 89. Hear what of him and me this day.
” 127. After the labours of thy life.
” 138. Attend, O Saviour, to our prayer.
” 167. Few in former times could venture.
” 168. For us no night can be happier styled.
” 169. Whene’er him I can eat.
” 170. The man from Nazaret.
” 185. They who now God’s children are.
” 199. O my Lamb! thou slaughter’d Prince!
” 230. That I am thine, my Lord and God.
” 303. Should an historiographer.
” 304. Of this point so divine.
” 431. Since I, a worm unworthy.
” 451. Look on me, Lamb, a child of thine.

Can these hymns be Gambold’s? We doubt it. Nay, we hope that they are not. It is scarcely possible to conceive, that a man of such culture could write such doggerel. With two or three poor exceptions, they ought never to have been printed. To say nothing of their horribly limping rhythm, they have far too much of the irreverent familiarity with the Divine Redeemer, which was so offensively employed in the hymns at that time sung by the Moravian Brotherhood. The two best are republished in Gambold’s Works.

[135] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 303.

[136] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 294, and Holmes’ History of the United Brethren, vol. ii., p. 41.

[137] It is said, however, that he translated the “Divine Poems” of Rees Pritchard, from Welsh into English; (_Wesleyan Times_, January 23, 1865), a work which we have never seen.

[138] Holmes’ History of the United Brethren, vol. ii., p. 2, etc.

[139] It is a somewhat curious coincidence, that of the Oxford Methodists, Whitefield died in 1770, Gambold in 1771, Ingham in 1772, and Clayton in 1773. At least three of these also died in the month of September. The two Wesleys were in the midst of the Calvinian controversy,—the hottest of their lives.

[140] Methodist Magazine, 1814, p. 92.

[141] Charles Wesley’s Journal, vol. ii., p. 393.

[142] Mr. Hutchins, one of the Oxford Methodists, and afterwards doctor, and rector of Lincoln College, was Hervey’s tutor (_Gospel Magazine_, 1769, p. 12).

[143] Coke and Moore’s “Life of Wesley,” p. 51.

[144] _Arminian Magazine_, 1798, p. 171.

[145] The letter was written on the Sabbath.

[146] _Evangelical Magazine_, 1794, p. 295.

[147] Memoirs of Risdon Darracott, p. 24.

[148] Memoirs of Risdon Darracott, p. 155.

[149] Mr. Ryland writes,—“Mr. Hervey began the study of the Hebrew about the nineteenth year of his age, by the instigation of an acquaintance, who gave him no manner of assistance. The only book he took up was the Westminster Hebrew Grammar. That book seems to be contrived by the devil to prevent the learning of the Hebrew language: it is dark and obscure, harsh and unpleasant, ugly and disgustful, dull and listless; and Hervey threw it by in despair. After a long time and much perplexity, by a happy Providence, there was another Fellow of Lincoln College, who, seeing Hervey in his painful embarrassment, pitied him, and took him into his bosom. He conducted him to the first chapter of Genesis, and analysed every word; he taught him to reduce every noun to its proper pattern; he instructed him to trace every verb to its proper root, and to work every verb through the active and passive conjugations. If the devil could have had his way, we should have lost one of the finest Hebrew scholars in the world; but, after Mr. Hervey had learnt to analyse the first chapter of Genesis, he went on like a giant, and, to my certain knowledge, became one of the first scholars in Europe for a familiar knowledge of the Hebrew Bible.”

[150] _Arminian Magazine_, 1778, p. 132.

[151] He was ordained a priest, at Exeter, in the month of December, 1739.

[152] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 81.

[153] _Gospel Magazine_, 1771, p. 174.

[154] In after-years, called Hartland Abbey.

[155] _Arminian Magazine_, 1778, p. 132.

[156] This refers to Wesley’s visit to Herrnhut in 1738.

[157] Wesley’s Works, vol. iv., p. 473.

[158] _Evangelical Magazine_, 1794, p. 373.

[159] _Evangelical Magazine_, 1794, p. 503; and A Selection of Letters, partly Original, by J. Hervey, 1816, p. 261.