JOHN

WESLEY

In those clear, piercing eyes behold
T h e very soul that over England flamed !
Deep, pure, intense ; consuming shame and ill ;
Convicting men of sin ; making faith live ;
And—this the mightiest miracle of all,—
Creating God again in human hearts.
Let not that image fade
Ever, O God ! from out the minds of men,
Of him T h y messenger and stainless priest,
In a brute, sodden and unfaithful time
Early a n d late, o'er land and sea on-driven ;
In youth, in eager manhood, age extreme,—
Driven on forever, back and forth the world,
By that divine, omnipotent desire—
The hunger and the passion for men's souls.
R I C H A R D W A T S O N G I L D E R , 'John Wesley.'

LETTERS OF

J O H N WESLEY
A SELECTION

OF IMPORTANT AND

NEW LETTERS WITH

INTRODUCTIONS

AND B I O G R A P H I C A L
GEORGE

EAYRS,

N O T E S BY
F.RHIST.S.

WITH A CHAPTER ON

Wesley, His Times and Work
BY THE EIGHT HONOURABLE

AUGUSTINE

BIRRELL

K . C , M.P.

A PORTRAIT OF WESLEY AND
LETTERS IN FACSIMILE

HODDER

AND

STOUGHTON

LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
1915

B
W514w1l

TO
T H E DEAR AND SACRED MEMORY OF

MY MOTHER
A

MYSTIC

AND

WHO CONQJJERED

A

METHODIST

LIKE WESLEY

BY PRAYER AND HOLY SONG

PREFACE
wrote many letters. Some thousands of them
have been traced; doubtless more are in existence. Many
of his letters are short and unimportant. The perusal of
them all is a task which would be essayed by few, albeit
everything is interesting which came from the hand of ' the
St. John of England,' the leader of the evangelical revival
of religion in the eighteenth century and the human founder
of Methodism, now a world-wide communion of more than
thirty millions.
This is the first selection of representative letters by
Wesley, and the largest collection of his letters since that
given in his works (third edition, 1829), from which many
here given are drawn. The letters have been selected from
this and other sources on the ground of their representative
character, of the importance of the subject-matter, or of the
fact that they are new or little known. About seventy of
those here given may be regarded as new. They have not
been published before, or only in fugitive or private form ;
they are not accessible in the great Public Libraries. Of
many of them no note is taken in works on Wesley. These
' new' letters are marked N in the list of dates, titles, and
sources of letters given on page xix. Among them are
some of the finest letters Wesley ever wrote. Many other
vii

JOHN WESLEY

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
letters are here more completely given than hitherto. A
letter to his mother (page 44) is thus doubled in length.
Genuine letters by Wesley are now supported by several
degrees of authenticity. Some are holograph, wholly
written in his handwriting, and they also bear marks of
passage through the post, or reception by those to whom
he sent them. His handwriting was clear, pretty, scholarly,
and quite distinctive all through his life, as is shown by the
facsimiles here given of letters written by him when he was
thirty-one, sixty-four, and eighty-four years of age respectively (see pages 64, 400, 464). Of other letters which he
wrote, Wesley made and kept a draft in each case. This
he endorsed. Other drafts, or copies of his letters, were
made by his helpers, some of whom imitated his handwriting
very closely and his free use of capital letters (see pages
58 and 99). Some of these drafts or copies Wesley
endorsed. This is the case with his famous letter to Pitt
(see page 483). Other drafts and copies exist without his
endorsement. The text of these has the authority of his
characteristic composition or of publication during his lifetime by those who had the originals, some of which cannot
now be traced. Letters of all these values are here given.
The genuineness of them all is undoubted.
I t was from the Rev. James Everett that the Rev. Luke
Tyerman received many Wesley letters and other materials
which made his Life of Wesley a storehouse to which all
subsequent writers on the subject are indebted. From it I
have drawn some letters. But Everett did not part with
all his Wesleyana. Amongst treasures retained was a
volume containing holograph letters by Wesley and
viii

PREFACE
others, ' T h e Everett Collection,' which I have here used.
Some years ago the late venerable and beloved Rev. Edward
Boaden handed to me for use, according to my discretion,
other Everett manuscripts, his diary (used in part in his
Life by Rev. R. Chew issued by the present Publishers), and
many letters, etc., some of even tragic interest, as all who
know Everett's skill as a literary collector and the part he
played in Methodist history in the last century will understand. Some of these materials were used by me in A New
History of Methodism- Others are used here. Other new
letters are from the unique Colman Collection, and from
other sources acknowledged in the list or in the
text.
With these helps, Wesley's letters to his most intimate lay
friend Ebenezer Blackwell and also those to Wesley's most
distinguished follower in Scotland, Lady Maxwell, are given
more completely than ever before. The letters to his chief
preachers and to eccentric Thomas Wride and others, many
of them new letters, are typical of a host of such which he
dispatched to his helpers as they changed the face of England. Few readers will omit his letters, some of them little
known, to young people and to public men. The chapter
of letters to American and Canadian Methodists gives
together for the first time, and with important additions,
Wesley's messages to those lands in which his followers were
to become so numerous.
Volumes of letters are unwelcome to some because they
take too much for granted on the part of readers. It is
hoped that the introductory chapters to the letters, and
the explanatory paragraphs given with separate letters
ix

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
or groups of them, will remove this difficulty. Without
these ' elucidations,' as Carlyle styles them in his Letters
of Oliver Cromwell, letters may not mean much except
to the expert. I t may be added that the substance of
these introductions was given as lectures in the United
States and Canada in the Autumn of 1914. One found
that the interest in Wesley is undying; and it grows.
The titles here given to the letters are culled from them.
They often indicate the chief topic, or give a Wesley
counsel or command.
The chapter on Wesley and his Times and Work, by the
Right Honourable Augustine Birrell, K.C., M.P., sets
Wesley before us in quite an inimitable way. I am greatly
indebted to Mr. Birrell for permission to use it, and for the
important additions made to it. With characteristic kindness he had promised me to give an address on Wesley in
the United Methodist Church, Milk Street, Bristol, but he
was prevented from so doing.
My cordial thanks are due to several friends for ready
access to private collections of Wesley manuscripts. I must
name Mr. and Mrs. Russell J. Colman of Norwich, and
their representative, Mr. Alexander W. Newman; Past
Principal the Rev. Thomas Sherwood, the Rev. Principal
David Brook, M.A., D.C.L., and the Rev. W. H. Cory
Harris, Secretary of Victoria Park United Methodist
College, Manchester, for the loan of the Everett Collection;
and the Rev. J. S. Clemens, B.A., D.D., Governor of the
United Methodist College, Ranmoor, Sheffield. The facsimile letters given are from the Colman and Everett
Collections. Some Wesley letters from the Moravian
x

PREFACE
archives, Fetter Lane, London, of which I was courteously
permitted the use for Wesley and Kingswood and the Free
Churches, have again been used.
For permission to copy letters in the great Public
Libraries, and for much courtesy received while doing so,
I am indebted to the Keeper of Manuscripts, British
Museum, London; the Librarian of the Bodleian Library,
Oxford; Mr. A. E. Guppy, M.A., of the John Rylands
Library, Manchester; and the Keeper of the Manuscripts,
Public Library, Copley Square, Boston, U.S.A. The President (the Rev. E. S. Tipple, Ph.D., D.D., LL.D.) and Professor J. A. Faulkner, M.A., D.D., of the Drew Methodist
Episcopal Theological Seminary, Madison, New Jersey,
U.S.A.; the Chancellor of Victoria College and University,
Toronto, Canada (the Rev. R. P. Bowles, M.A., LL.D.),
and Professor A. E. Lang, M.A., Librarian, have all laid
me under special obligation for their brotherly interest in
this work. A t Drew and Victoria noble libraries of
Methodist manuscripts and literature are being built up
of importance to Methodist students in all lands.
A short list of authorities to which I am indebted is
given. I gratefully pay my small tribute to the genius,
unwearied industry and personal kindness of the late Rev.
Nehemiah Curnock, who, with the help of experts, has given
us the standard edition of Wesley's Journal.
Mr. G. H.
Leonard, M.A., Professor of Modern History in Bristol
University, greatly heartened me as he saw this work in
progress. My nephew, the Rev. A. J. G. Seaton, B.D.,
Superintendent of Edinburgh Wesleyan Mission, has helped
me to some facts concerning Lady Maxwell. The Rev.
xi

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
William Wakinshaw, and the Rev. Archibald Harrison,
B.D., B.Sc., of Bristol, have rendered the costly kindness of
reading the work in proof, and they and the Rev. Thomas
E. Brigden have offered valuable suggestions. Mr. Leonard
J. Snook and our daughter, Winifred, have rendered much
clerical assistance. Our son Charles has helped also. Notwithstanding all this kind help, and my best endeavours,
I cannot hope that in dealing with all the material and
facts involved in this work I have avoided all mistakes.
For these I ask pardon. The kind patience of the
Publishers, for whom, soon after the publication of the
History named above, I undertook this task, must also
be acknowledged. To that work this is in some ways a
supplemental volume.
In her delightful work The Old Testament in Life and
Literature, Miss J. T. Stoddart quotes Luther's saying that
' No one can understand Cicero's Letters unless he has been
engaged for twenty-five years in a great commonwealth.''
More than that number of years ago I became one among
the thousands of preachers who serve the commonwealth of
Methodism. I was drawn into wondering admiration of
Wesley and his work, and began to feel the spell and
stimulus of his character. Since then, helped by many
whom I hold in grateful remembrance, I have learned to
think of him, not as he is often regarded and represented,
as immaculate, a plaster saint, and almost infallible, but far
otherwise: as a young growing man, struggling, sinning,
sorrowing, praying, moving upward and onward by Divine
help; as in his later days mounting to self-mastery and
shining serenity; as high and lifted up, a genius and a
xii

PREFACE
dedicated spirit, but also a creature not too bright and good
to be followed afar off, in so far as he followed Christ, by
the humblest. His strong, gravely beautiful face looks
down upon me in many forms from my study walls, and he
seems to sing his living and dying faith, mingled of
humility and confidence:
(

I the chief of sinners am.
But Jesus died for me,'

and anon to utter one of his golden counsels: ' Never be
unemployed; never be triflingly employed ; never while
away time.''
G. E.

xiii

CONTENTS
Frontispiece—J OWN WESLEY, JEtat 50. FROM THE BUST BY
ROUBILIAC I N T H E N A T I O N A L G A L L E R Y , LONDON.

' JOHN WESLEY/

B Y RICHARD WATSON GILDER.
PAGE

PREFACE,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

vii

LIST OF LETTERS SELECTED, WITH SOURCES AND
AUTHORITIES,

xix

INTRODUCTORY NOTE,

1

BOOK I

John Wesley and His Letters
CHAPTER I
THE MAN, JOHN WESLEY,

.

.

.

.

.

5

CHAPTER II
JOHN WESLEY, HIS TIMES AND WORK.

B Y THE RIGHT HON-

OURABLE AUGUSTINE BIRRELL, K.C., M.P.,

.

.

9

CHAPTER I I I
JOHN WESLEY'S LIFE IN OUTLINE,

.

.

.

. 2 5

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
BOOK

II

A Selection from the Letters of John Wesley
CHAPTER I
PAGE

J O H N W E S L E Y AS A L E T T E R W R I T E R , .

.

.

. 3 1

C H A P T E R II
To H I S FATHER AND M O T H E R — T H E R E V . SAMUEL W E S L E Y , M. A.,
AND M R S . SUSANNA W E S L E Y ,

.

.

.

. 3 9

Wesley's Letter to his Mother, January 13, 1734-5, in
facsimile. From the Golman Collection,
.
.
CHAPTER
To

His

64

III

BROTHERS AND S I S T E R — T H E R E V . SAMUEL W E S L E Y ,

J U N R . , M.A.,

WESLEY,

R E V . CHARLES W E S L E Y , AND MISS MARTHA

.

.

.

.

CHAPTER

.

.

.

56

IV

CONCERNING THE METHODISTS AND METHODISM,

.

.

93

To James H u t t o n and t h e Moravians, Rev. George
Whitefield, M.A., A Serious Clergyman, A Friend,
A Worshipper among t h e Methodists, T h e Countess of Huntingdon, the Editor of Lloyd's Evening
Post, Bishop Lowth, and others.
CHAPTER V
To

SOME OF THE C H I E F METHODIST PREACHERS,

.

To t h e Rev. J o h n W . Fletcher, J o h n Nelson, Duncan
W r i g h t , Christopher Hopper, Joseph Benson,
Samuel Bradburn, Robert Carr Brackenbury, Adam
Clarke, Dr. Coke,
xvi

137

CONTENTS
C H A P T E R VI
PAGE

To ECCENTRIC THOMAS W R I D E , STEADY JOSEPH TAYLOR, AND
OTHER METHODIST PREACHERS,

.

.

.

.

183

i. T. Wride ; n . J . T a y l o r ; in. T. T a y l o r ; iv. J . O d d i e ;
v. Various.

CHAPTER
To

AMERICAN

THEM,

AND CANADIAN

.

.

.

VII

METHODISTS

.

AND

.

CONCERNING

.

.

237

To t h e Rev. Lawrence Coughlan, Rev. George W h i t e field, George Shadford, Thomas Rankin, James
Dempster, J o h n King, William Black, Dr. Coke,
Rev. Francis Asbury, J o h n Stretton, Freeborn
Garrettson, J o h n Mann, Ezekiel Cooper.

CHAPTER
To

H I S MOST INTIMATE LAY F R I E N D , E B E N E Z E R BLACKWELL, .

CHAPTER
To

VIII
288

IX

H I S W I F E AND SOME LADY F R I E N D S ,

.

.

.

353

To Mrs. J o h n Wesley, Mrs. Mary Fletcher, Mrs.
Sarah Crosby, Miss Sarah Mallett, Miss Nancy
Bolton, Miss Peggy Dale, Miss Loxdale, Mrs.
Hester Ann Rogers, Miss Elizabeth Ritchie.

CHAPTER
To

LADY MAXWELL,

.

.

.

X
.

.

.

Wesley's Letter to Lady Maxwell, June 7,1767> in facsimile.
From the Everett Collection, .
.
.
.

b

382

400

xvii

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
CHAPTER XI
PAGE

To

YOUNG FRIENDS AND OTHERS—CONCERNING
ING,

LITERARY

EARNESTNESS, .

S T Y L E , SLEEP, H E A L T H ,

.

.

.

LIFE,
AND

.

LEARN-

RELIGIOUS

.

.

420

To Samuel Furley, Charles Wesley, J u n r . , Samuel
Wesley, J u n r . , Miss Sarah Wesley, a Young
Disciple, J o h n Bredin, James Knox, Rev. Dr.
Leslie.
Wesley's Letter to the Rev. Dr. Leslie, June 16, 1787,
in facsimile. From the Colman Collection, .
.

CHAPTER
ON

464

XII

PUBLIC MATTERS AND TO PUBLIC M E N ,

.

.

.

461

To King George n . , T h e Mayor of Newcastle (Alderman Ridley) and General Husk, the Hon. James
West, t h e Mayor and Corporation of Bristol, t h e
Prime Minister (Lord North), the Officer of Excise,
On Voltaire, to Lord Shelburne, t h e Right Hon.
William P i t t , M . P . , A Member of Parliament,
William Wilberforce, M . P .
INDEX,

xvm

491

LIST OF JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
GIVEN IN THIS VOLUME, IN ORDER
OF THEIR DATE, W I T H TITLES,
AND SOURCES OF LETTERS, AND
SOME AUTHORITIES USED.
I
LIST OF LETTERS
N indicates that the letter is new or little known.
DATE
1*2^

TITLE IN THE TEXT

J u n e 18. Bishop Taylor says, ' W h e t h e r God
has forgiven us or no, we know n o t /

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
THIS VOL.

Works

1727
January. Curiosity . . . if we had half a
dozen centuries of life to come, .
„
Mar. 19. Implant what habits I would before
the flexibility of youth be over, . Colman Coll.
[July 18. A letter from Wesley's father,
. Everett Coll.]

40

42
44
48

1731
J u n e 11. Our little company [the Oxford
Methodists] is shrunk into almost
none at all,

Works

50

1733
J u n e 13. Diminution of fortune, friends, and
reputation,

„

52

1734/5
} N Jan. 13. The subject of Christian liberty, . Colman Coll.
53
(In facsimile a l s o ; see page 64.)
xix

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE
1 f7Qg

TITLE IN T H E T E X T

Mar. 4. I can better serve God and His
church in my present station,
.

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
THIS VOL.

Works

1738
April 4. The whole question turns on matter
of fact,
,,
Aug. 4. The people here, Herrnhut, Ger- (C. Wesley's!
many,
\
Life
J
Oct. 30. In this sense I was not a Christian
till May the 24th last past, .
. Works
1739
April 9. If this work be of God . . . who
shall overthrow it ?
.
.
. Moravian Coll.
June 7. Turning to Nash she said, 6 Sir, we
come for the food of our souls.
You care for your body,'
„
,, 23. If it be just to obey men rather than
God, judge ye,
.
.
. Works
[Aug. 14. A letter from Blackwell to Wesley, Colman Coll.]
„ 23. God is greatly with this people,
. Works
1741
April 21. I glean after Whiten eld . . . 1 dare
in no wise join the Moravians,
. Colman Coll.
„ 27. It is a poor case that you and I must
be talking thus, . . . .
„
N „ „ Let us deal openly with one another,
„

56

58
69
61

95
99
70
291
294

73
104
221

1744
Mar. 5. To tender our most dutiful regards to
your sacred Majesty, .
.
.
May —. We shall cry out together, . . . we
are more than conquerors, .
.

Works

463

„

147

1745
Sept. 21. I reverence you for your office and
your zeal,
Oct. 8. I am ready to pull the house down, .
xx

Journal
„

465
466

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE

TITLE IN THE TEXT

1745
Oct. 26. The poor men to whom our lives are
entrusted, .
.
.
.
.

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
THIS VOL.

Journal

467

1746
J a n . 26. You have suffered loss for want of
frank acknowledgement of t h e
truths

295

Works

1747
May 14. All this is poison to your soul,
J u l y 18. Now t h e r e is not a dog to wag his
tongue,
Aug. 13. For natural sweetness . . . I have
never seen any people like t h e
Irish,
.
.
.
.
.
.

295
297

298

1748
Feb.

2. Shall you have no part in t h e general
blessing?
.
.
.
.
.
Mar. 15. Even t h e accounts between God and
your own soul,
.
.
.
.
April 20. Perhaps God was jealous over you, .
May 4. Every man has authority to save t h e
life of a dying man . . . every
Christian to save souls,
Aug. 14. A complete library for those t h a t
fear God,
.
.
.
.
.

303

1749
Mar. 28. A letter from my brother,
Oct. 2. You have been much upon my mind,
Dec. 18. A proper object of charity,

305
306
307

1750
Feb.

4. Money you left in my hands,

.

301
302

107

.

J u l y 21. H u g e applause and huge opposition, \
1751
Mar.

300

5. Advise and comfort her who is now
likely to stand in need of every
help,

„
M

"

Works

308
R

" Y

309

312

xxi

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE

T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

1751
April 7. Her that is as my own soul,
May 14. My wife she has many trials, .
July 3. There is a fair prospect on every side,

SOURCE OF
LETTER

Works

1752
April 16. Have we any time to lose in this
span of life?
. . . .
May 23. The sale of books . . . which of these
ways should you j udge most proper?
July 20. If you had faithful friends you would
swiftly advance, . . . .
1753
May 16. I often tremble for you, .
.
.
,, 28. Natural cheerfulness of temper may
easily slide into an extreme,
.
Oct. 20. I give you a dilemma,

.

.

PAGE I N
THIS VOL.

.\ '

a

312
313
314

„

316

„

317

,,

319

„

320

„

321

>>

^ Y

1754
Jan. 5. The greatest instruments of my
recovery,
.
.
.
.
.
Works
Mar. 30. Make and keep one resolution,
.
Life
Sept. 24. These hints are not a mark of disesteem, but of sincerity,
.
. Works
Dec. 7. Further than this you are not called f U.M.F.G. \
at present, . . . .
KMag., 1866J

75

323
422
324
424

1755
N April 9. When one is willing then the other /Victoria Coll., \325
flies off,
\
Toronto J
„ 29. You love both the contending parties, Colman Coll. 327
June 20. Here is Charles Perronet raving . . .
and Charles Wesley. . . and I in
the midst staring, . . . .
Works
77
Aug. 31. In my present journey I leap as
broken from chains,
„
328
Sept. 12. This has raised a violent storm,
.
„
329

xxii

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE

T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
T H I S VOL.

1756
U.M.F.C.
Feb. 18o I would engage to take any person, J
-j Magazine, V 425
and teach him in seven years,
. 1

••}

„

2 1 . Never write to t h a t person at all,
nor of her,
Mar. 1. I will do what a good subject ought,
,,
„ An offer of raising a company of
volunteers, .
.
.
.
.
„
4. Some way of managing elections without embittering Englishmen,
.
,,

14. Fight, Sammy,

fight!

.

,

„
Works

427
331

Life

470

Works
r U.M.F.C. -\
A Magazine, Y

I
Apr. 16. Are you stark, staring mad ? .
.
,, 19. All here are as safe as if they were
already in Paradise,
.
.
.

427

1866 J
,,

428

Works

332

1757
AT J a n . 8. All is best,
Everett Coll.
May 28. Business t h a t will endure,
.
. Works
„
30. Not delivered till I was gone, ]est
you should think I wanted anything, .
.
.
.
.
.
Colman Coll.
Sept. 20. T h e unspeakable advantages which
t h e Methodists enjoy in regard to
public worship, .
.
.
.
Works
1758
J u n e 5. T h e letters I received were open, .
July 12. So eloquent a Person at your elbow,

331

,,
,,

220
333

455

113

335
336

1759
Mar. 2. I do not speak: it would be lost
labour,
Colman Coll. 337
[ „ —. Blackwell's reply to Wesley, .
.
„
] 338
„ 12. W e are at present upon pretty good
terms,
Works
340

xxiii

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE

TITLE IN THE T E X T

1760
Mar. 17. A line in behalf of a worthy man,
April 26. In every trial observe the hand of God,

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
THIS VOL.

Works

341
342

)>

Wes. Meth. )
May 7. The late proceedings of the French j
Magazine, Y 346
here,
1848 J
Sept. 28. God's dealings with us have been
extraordinary,
. . . .
Works
78
1761.
Feb. 14. You have not gone too far,
.
.
Mar. 24. In God's name, one of you go into
that round, .
.
.
.
.

„

362

„

149

June 14. Did you not thoroughly understand f _ " . ')
• *
u
t. X _
T
JT
J - :>i Magazine, Y 65
what my brother and I were doing ? I
*
'J
July 16. A tender point . . . where there is
a Gospel ministry already, .
. Works
344
Aug. 15. We have amicably compromised,
.
„
345
Dec. 26. Quack medicine and namby-pambical
hymns,
„
80
1762
Jan. 5. There is need of a lady's hand as well
as a lion's heart,
,, 18. Do just as I would do if I were in
your place, .
.
.
.
.
,, 25. The care of a parish is, indeed, a
weighty thing
. . . .

„

82

„

150

Life
429
c Wes. Meth. \
July 28. We are not proprietors here, but J
\ Magazine, J- 347
only tenants at will,

*I

„

30. Forty or fifty people . . . the happiest
and holiest in the kingdom, .
.

Oct. 13. Do you believe evil tempers remain |
till death? . . . .
•{

1848

J

Life

431

'"* ' .' ' 1
^1™')

432

[No date.] I was thinking on Christian perfec-/C. Wesley's!
tion,
t
Life
J
xxiv

83

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

1763

NJuly

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
T H I S VOL.

Drew "\
Seminary, I
Madison, f
New Jersey J 148

(

1764
May 16. A great desire of union between the
preachers of the Gospel,
Colman Coll.
Works
J u n e 20. Be not afraid to know yourself,
J u l y 10. Do not stop one moment^
,,
11. You are not in t h e society. W h y
not?
J>
„
14. Apprehensions lest t h a t chariot
should cost you your life,
„
15. W h a t is it t h a t constitutes a good
style?
Aug. 17. Faith, living, conquering, faith, is
undoubtedly the thing you want, . Colman Coll.
Sept. 22. At present but a tender, sickly plant ? Works
) }

) j

) }

119
384
386
116
349
436
387
389

r U.M.F.G. \

Oct. 11. I may say, 1 know a good style from
I Magazine, Ja bad one,
.
.
.
.
.

l

1866.

438

J

Dec. 20. Most of t h e present stage entertainments are peculiarly hateful to a
trading c i t y , . . . . .
„

Works
471
c U.M.F.G. \
—. I t might have pleased God to make
| Magazine, V 433
you a wit too,
.
.
.
.
I 1866 J

1765
May 25. I found the same openness and sweetness . . . tenderness and steadiness,
.
.
.
.
.
.
J u l y 5. Light in an instant or by degrees, .
N Sept. 9. I have no objection to your speaking,
Dec. 1. T h a t strange reserve which prevails,
in North Britain,
.
.
.
.

Works
See text
Works

391
393
226
395
XXV

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE
\>7QQ

T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
T H I S VOL.

Feb. 28. Come let us arise and shake ourselves, Works
May 6. Let us mend our pace, .
.
.
„
„
„ Trial did not turn you out of the
way,
„
N June 22. Our late conversations, .
.
. Everett Coll.
iVJuly 8. The safest step,
„
1767
Feb. 23. Your health . . . and the peace of
God,
Works
Mar. 5. By these marks the Methodists desire
to be distinguished,
.
.
.
„
N May 7. I begin to be full of fears, .
. Everett Coll.
(In facsimile also ; see page 400.)
June 4. Providentially called . . . where
you now are . . . you will be
preserved, .
.
.
.
.
Works
„ 21. Concerning the work of God in these
kingdoms, . . . . . , ,
Aug. —. Pray dispatch letters. You have a
ready mind, and a ready pen,
.
„
N Dec. 15. Wherever this is dropped, you drop
me,
Everett Coll.
1768
N Jan. 12. Go on, go on, in God's name ! .
.
„
„ 15. A son, father, grandfather preaching
the genuine Gospel, .
.
. Works
N Feb. 14. Push on the collection, .
.
. Everett Coll.
Mar. 20. One had need to be an angel to converse three or four hours, .
. Works
N April 7. I have answered every letter, .
. See text
Aug. —. That perfection which I have taught
these forty y e a r s , . . . .
Works
„ —. You spared no pains in nursing
me,
.
.
.
.
.
.
Life
N Sept. 9. A Christian after the common rate.
No!
Everett Coll.
xxvi

85
350
396
307
398

399
121
400

402
85
152
218

219
88
220
139
370
238
355
404

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE

T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
THIS VOL.

1768

tWes.Meth.\
. -J Magazine, JI
1845
J
Nov. 7. An ounce of love is worth a pound of
knowledge,
Works
Dec. 17. I have neither leisure nor inclination
to write a book, .
.
.
.
,
,
,, 22. Interposing other books is not good
husbandry, .
.
.
.
.
,,

Oct.

6. Money never stays with me,

.

1769
JV Feb. 18. Stewards are not to govern our
societies,
Everett Coll.
Mar. 3. An apprehension of a deceased friend,
Works
April 29. Concerned t h a t you were unwell, .
„
May 27. I was never afraid of any but t h e
almost Christians,
.
.
.
,, .
c Bodleian ^
J5odleian
JV J u l y 4. A providential connexion,
A Library, I
I Oxford J
1770
r Drew
\
JV J a n . 1. God is willing to give always what) Seminary, I
H e gives once,
.
.
.
. | Madison, |
iNew Jersey J
,, 15. The welfare of t h e family. Beware
of increasing your expenses,
. Works
Feb. 17. Live t o - d a y !
„
„ 21. I may pay another visit to t h e New
World,
„
/ British ^
JV May 12. I live from hand to mouth,
.
. • Museum, V
<
( London J
Oct. 3. They will find fault because I say it, Works
JV Nov, 24. A parent has in this case a negative J

c

,,

66

154
89
155

230
405
407
156
222

363

359
408
242
223
157

1

V0ice

>
iToroToJ
Dec. 28. One point hold fast: Let neither
men nor devils tear it from you, . Works

160

xxvii

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE
1*7>7\

T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
T H I S VOL.

J a n . 24. I never preach in a controversial
way,
Works
N Feb. 14. Labour to be steadily serious, weighty
in conversation, and to walk
humbly and closely with God,
. Everett Coll.
„ 26. The preachers . . . felt a damp upon
their spirits,
.
.
.
.
Works
May 28. The Bible gives us no authority to
think ill of any one,
„
J u n e 13. Your having an extraordinary call, .
,,
N „ 23. Let all that were of the Church keep
to the Church,
.
.
.
.
Everett Coll.
J u l y 13. There may be self-approbation which
is not sin,
.
.
.
.
.
Works
N Sept. 7. Be zealous, serious, active,
.
. E v e r e t t Coll.

1772
Feb.

am going to America to t u r n
Bishop,
Works
,,
8. Easier to lose love than to find
truth,
„
N April 3. The second blessing . . . receivable
in a moment,
.
.
.
.
See text
N J u n e 30. Be exact in everything, .
.
. Everett Coll.
. U.M.F.C.
rU.M.F.C.^
/ I Magazine, jexcluded,
* I 1862 J
1862
N Nov. 5. Suffer none to ride over your head.
Only be mild,
.
.
.
.
Everett Coll.
N Dec. 16. Miss no congregation, at t h e peril of
his life,
„

185
411
449
360
186
451
186

1. I

1773
J a n . —. Thou art t h e m a n ! .
.
.
. Works
Mar. —. I let you loose on t h e great continent
of America,
„
N April 15. Pay . . . what is due to him, .
. Everett Coll.

xxviii

409

278
412
224
187
229

187
188

141
244
188

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE
I^Q

TITLE IN THE TEXT

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
THIS VOL.

J u l y 18. Two or three little things I have
sent you,
Works
,,
21. The people generally are prejudiced
in your favour,
.
.
.
.
Life
Sept. 8. W h e n we have to do with children,
Works
,, 15. Are you out of your wits ?
.
.
„
Oct. 23. To sit still in one place is neither
for t h e health of our souls nor
bodies, .
.
.
.
.
.
,,
N Nov. 12. Be gentle to all men,
.
.
. Everett Coll.
N Dec. 4. Go on hand in hand, trusting in Him
t h a t loves you, to
overturn
America,
„

366
144
452
225

162
188

245

1774
Jan.

8. You are in danger of reading too
much,
Works
N „
22. W e r e we to engage little poets, we
should be overrun,
.
.
. Everett Coll.
May 8. I would have you j ust such an one as
Miranda,
Works
July 21. Your little conference in Philadelphia,
.
.
.
.
.
Life
iV Aug. 29. Alas ! alas ! . . . I have no heart to
send you anywhere.
You have
neither lowliness nor love, .
. Everett Coll.

1775
N Feb. 24. I do not say they defraud, but I say
they act unkindly,
.
.
.
Mar. 1. I advise Brother Asbury to return to
England,
Mar. .1. In so critical a situation it is your
part to be peacemakers,
.
.
Apr. 2 1 . I am sorry for poor T. R.,
.
.
May 19. Wherever war breaks out, God is forgotten,

163
189
378
246

190

,,

191

Works

248

,,
,,

248
249

„

250
xxix

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE

T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

1775
May 19. By every possible means, oppose
party spirit,
.
.
.
.
33 29. An opportunity of hiding myself
day or two,
.
.
.
.
June 13. The sword is drawn !

SOURCE OF
LETTER

a
.
a
.

PAGE IN
THIS VOL.

Works
33
33

Is it common sense to use force to- c Wesley \
Banner', \
wards the Americans ? .
{ 1849 J
N July 22. Your language is such as an archangel would not use to the Devil, Everett Coll.
„ 28. I was at the gates of death,
Works
,, ,, The temple is built even in troublous
times,
.
.
.
.
.
.
33
,, „ Scream no more, at the peril of your
soul,
33
Aug. 13. It will be seen what God will do with
North America,
. . . .
33
Oct. 20. A little tract. . . . Many would
willingly burn me and it together,
33
Dec. 26. Cut off all other connexion with
them than we have with Holland
or Germany,
. . . .
33

15.

1776
May 3. Can you, notwithstanding this, rejoice evermore? . . . .
Sept. 9. I have . . . silver tea-spoons, .
.
Nov. 26. Taking opium is full as bad as taking
drams,

360
256
473
192
252
257
253
253
254

152

Works
Life

374
478

Works

164

1777
N Jan. 17. You will give a good account of the
circuit,
Everett Coll.
May 3. I want heat more than light, .
. Works
N May 7. The summer is before us,
.
. Everett Coll.
Sept. 9. I blame all when they speak the
truth other than in love,
.
. See text
XXX

252

192
414
193
231

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE
J»7lTg

T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
T H I S VOL.

N April20. I cannot see any objection to your
choosing her,
.
.
.
.
Everett Coll.
? Circa. At length know me and know yourself,
See text
1779
Jan.

194
356

4. Voltaire . . .
head pays
ment, .
11. Does nobody

to whom a crowned
such a violent compli.
.
.
.
.
Life
479
„
care for this ?
.
.
„
235
rUnited Metho-^
Feb. 11. That wretched infidel,
.
.
\ dist College, U 8 0

I
„
N Aug.
Sept.
iVNov.

12.
10.
27.
1.

Sheffield

J

This revival of religion will continue,
Works
You know, love is full of fears,
. Everett Coll.
W h a t is mine is yours, .
.
. Works
A mere groundless imagination,
. Everett Coll.

1780
Jan. —. They cannot join with me any longer
than they are directed by me,
.
Works
N Mar. 9. You mean well even where you j u d g e
ill,
Everett Coll.
Aug. 10. Persons who knew no more of saving
souls than of catching whales. . . .
I mourn for poor America, .
• Works
JV Dec. 14. You might now be useful,
.
. Everett Coll.
1781
Jan. 2. Afflictive circumstances that have
followed you . . . t h a t you may
learn obedience, .
.
.
.
Mar. 27. Always f think a l o u d ' whenever you f
speak or write to me, .
.
•{
April 2. That one word, Grace,
.
.
.
July 17. The grand hindrance . . . what very
few people are aware of—intemperance in sleep,
.
.
.
.

Works

379
194
167
195

125
195

127
196

368

es e

^ 1
m T j

Works

Life

164

445
xxxi

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE
•J'70-1

TITLE IN T H E T E X T

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
THIS VOL.

Aug. 4. There is a debt of love which I f C . W e s l e y ' s )
should have paid before now,
.\
Life
i
Sept. 4. Desire for knowledge. . . . W h a t
course you may take, I will point
out,
Life
,,
8. As your business . . . calls you into
t h e fire, I t r u s t you will not be
burned,
„
„ 24. You and I may speak freely to each
other,
,,
Nov. 24. Let Sister Fletcher do as much as
she can for God, and no more,
. Works

447

441
148
146

1782
Mar.

9. I give it u n d e r my hand . . . you
are welcome to preach in any of
our preaching-houses,
„
Apr. 12. There is t h e t r u e picture of Christian perfection,
.
.
.
.
,,
JV Sept. 9. Such a work in Cornwall as never
was yet,
Everett Coll.
JV „ 24. The books . . . should be kept by
t h e assistant,
.
.
.
.
„
JV Oct. 19. Tracts and magazines,
.
.
„
r Rylands -\
JV Nov. 30. Change of air,
-J Library, I
I Manchester J
JV Dec. 3. T h e question is, Methodism or no
Methodism,
Everett Coll.
„ 7. A motion in Parliament for raising
t h e militia and exercising them on
Sunday,
Works
1783
J a n . 4. Trust God, and speak as well as you
can,
,, 10. He calls you not so much to act as
to suffer,

xxxii

168
372
209
209
210
454

130

481

„

169

,,

170

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE
]7gg

TITLE IN THE TEXT

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
THIS VOL.

iVJan. 16. Should trustees place and displace
preachers ?
Everett Coll.
„ 16. W e shall not build any more in
haste,
Life
JSF Feb. 25. Enlarge the house. . . . Remember,
light enough and air enough,
. Everett Coll.
„ 26. I have great hopes we shall
then be able to send you assistance,
Life
Mar. 16. One of our sisters here told us a
particular dream, .
.
.
.
„
,, 25. Tell Brother Ridel not to please the f British ^
Devil by preaching himself to j Museum, j death, .
.
.
.
. I London J
April 21. Your kind reproof. . . . I cannot
write without tears,
.
.
,
Life
N „ 26. Do all you can during this precious
season,
Everett Coll.
N J u n e 5. According to t h e printed Minutes,
.
„
J u l y 13. Swift increase is generally followed
by decrease equally swift,
.
.
Life
N Dec. 24. Concerning t h e building of preaching-houses,
Everett Coll.

1784
J a n . 10. W h e n I was young I had abundance
of infirmities,
.
.
.
.
Life
N „
12. T h e books,
Everett Coll.

(

Drew

130
210
211

259
375
166

460
211
212
260
212

455
213

-\

llfedis^ I 232
New Jersey J

May 11. See that ye fall not out by the
way,
Life
261
Aug. 19. If you are not born of God, you a r e f C . Wesley's \
^
of no Church,
.
.
.
A
Life
J
N Aug. 30. The preachers going to America,
. Everett Coll.
213

c

xxxiii

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE
JlTgJ

TITLE IN THE TEXT

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE IN
THIS VOL.

Sept. 6. New taxes . . . smuggling villains,
the Distillery . . . that scandal
of the English nation—suicide,, .
Life
Sept. 10. My scruples are at an end . . . I
violate no order by appointing
and sending labourers into the
harvest,
Works
Oct. 15. Is it not advisable that you act by
united counsels ? .
.
.
.
Life
N „ 31. I t might be productive of much
good,
See text
1785
Feb. 15. Make the opportunities that you
cannot
find,
Works
„ 25. Go on. You shall want no assistance,
„
April 7. I leave these my last words with
you,
„
I would not employ an Apostle
if he could not preach in the
morning,
.
.
.
.
.
Everett Coll.
r Arminian \
Arminian
May 6. If he sells bread on the Lord's Day, J (B.C.) Maga-1
i's
I zine, 1827 J
June 16. The English Methodists do not roll
in money like many of the American
Methodists,
Works
,, 26. I am become, I know not how, an
honourable man, . . . .
„
A July 8. I desire you to come to the ConT
ference,
Everett Coll.
Aug. 19. I firmly believe I am a scriptural
bishop as much as any man in
England,
Works
A" Sept. 5. Disappoint those who wait for your
halting,
Everett Coll.
N „ 16. Those doggerel verses, . . .
„

xxxiv

483

263
265
226

171
266
132
214
227

268
380
197
90
198
198

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE
1*785

T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

SOURCE OF
LETTER

PAGE I N
THIS VOL.

N Oct.

8. I hope to be preaching . . . everywhere a t half-past six in t h e
evening,
Everett Coll. 199
Nov. 8. Set him a pattern in all things,
.
Life
200
„ 17. Preach in t h e morning . . . none
sing oftener than twice,
.
. Everett Coll. 201
Bee. 14. If they do not come t o their
senses . . . !
.
.
.
. E v e r e t t Coll. 201
Sing twice; once before and oncej Hist. Soc.
after sermon,
.
.
,
. 1 ProceedI ingsy 1.

202

1786
r Drew >
Jan. 14. H e that made the heart can heal t h e l Seminary, I
heart, .
.
.
.
.
. 1 Madison, f 166
iNew Jersey J
Feb. 3. You should n o t forget French or
anything you have learned, .
. Works
175
„
24. I go calmly and quietly on my f U.M.F.C. \
216
way,
{Mag., 1862 J
Mar. 12. Your proposal t o send missionaries, .
Life
181
Sept. 30. The poor are the Christians,
.
. Works
269
iV^Oct. 29. She was surly. . . . You have an
estate left you,
.
.
.
. Everett Coll. 203
Nov. 26. The work of God continually increasing . . . you will now see in America,
Life
270
„
30. You do well to join them together
immediately,
.
.
.
.
Works
271
, Dec. —. Lift up your heart to God, or you
will be angry with me, .
.
.
,,
204
1787
Feb. 20. I hear very different accounts of
your provinces,
.
.
.
.
Life
J u n e 16. I would fain give you one more
instance of my sincere regard,
. Colman Coll.
(In facsimile also; see page 464.)

273
459

xxxv

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE

T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

SOURCE OF

PAGE IN
VOL.

LETTER
THIS
1787
July 8. A manifestation few are favoured
with, .
.
Works
„ 16. You do not send me your Journal
yet,
Life
Sept. 26. Guard your flock, . . . .
Works
Oct. 20. I, riot you, will judge,
Dec. 11. Distilled liquors . . . I would f U.M.F.G. 1
banish them out of the world,
. \Mag., 1862 J
Dec. —. I will engage to eat it!
.
. Works

415
274
275
172
217
165

1788
iVFeb. 29. That young man who neglects th ef Victoria Coll., \^
1-230
Lord's Supper,
.
.
.
A Toronto J
N Mar. 8. In travelling up and down you will
364
See text
want a little money,
276
Life
„ 19. The case of those poor demoniacs, .
181
May 16. Thus far only I could go,
„ 28. Many of the genteeler sort. You
have a particular mission to
376
these,
Works
June 3. These calculations are far above, out J , : ,
\ 153
of my sight,
'[Man Chester J'
'
„ 80. The work . . . seems to lie nearer
my heart,
.
.
.
.
. Works
277
July SO. By whom shall the preachers be
judged ?
.
.
.
.
.
131
Life
Aug. 3. The itinerant plan. . . . Oh do not
Works
417
hide that you are a Methodist,
Sept. 20. You are the elder brother of the
American Methodists : I am, under
God, the father of the whole
279
family,
.
.
.
.
.
418
„ 80. Throw that money into the sea,
f Rylands \
228
N Oct. 31. You are called to marry,
I Library J
Nov. 16. You should not wear the surplice .
Everett Coll, 214
any more,
. . . .

xxxvi

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE
1*7QQ

N

N
N

N

T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

SOURCE OF
LETTER

J a n . 24. I wish to be in every point, great
and smalls a scriptural, natural
Christian,
Feb. 13. A business of some importance,
.
„
28. H e did no more than it was his duty
to do,
Mar. 9. W a r y in choosing names for our
children,
April 2. Let the matter drop,
.
.
.
May 28. Not one harsh or passionate word, .
J u n e 25. Oh what will t h e end be ? W h y ,
glory to God in the highest,
.
„ 26. You were able and willing, and did,
in fact, teach,
.
.
.
.
J u l y 15. There is a three-fold leading of t h e
Spirit,
Nov. 21. Take an equal share in t h e common
labour,

1790
Feb.
N May
June
„

PAGE IN
T H I S VOL.

Works
E v e r e t t Coll.
J Rylands 1
1 Library J
Works
Everett Coll.
„

N

175
205
206
176

See text

282

Works

283

Life

284

Time has shaken me by t h e hand, . Works
Speak as plain and dull as one of us, Everett Coll.
1 think he must do this, or die,
.
Life
Whoever gets money, do you win
souls, .
.
.
.
.
.
,,
,, 26. Your Lordship leaves t h e Methodists
only this alternative : Leave the
Church or s t a r v e , . . . .
Works
„ 28. The people of Bristol are honest, yet
so dull,
„
A
t^ r
.
.
^- i r Public Lib-^
a
Aug. 13. I can trust you, even in so critical J . . t>
I

>

233

Works

3.
5.
1.
14.

Case

280
215

285
207
177
285

133
178
004

Iton, U.S.A./

„

22. A little difficulty on setting out is a
good omen,
Autumn. If this is not oppression, what is?
. . . Speak a word to Mr. Pitt,
.

See text
Works

228
487

xxxvii

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
DATE

T I T L E IN T H E T E X T

1790
Sept. 9. I followed one rule: You must
either hend or break, .
.
.
„ 15. This doctrine is the grand depositum
which God has lodged with the
people called Methodists, .
.
Nov. 4. The day after you receive this, go.
. . . Sick or well, g o ! .
.
.

SOURCE OF
LETTER

Works

179

,,

173

„

369

„

135

„

286

.
I
fopo ' )

oi*

1790/1
[Nodate.] Think and let think,
Feb. 1. Declaring to all men that the
Methodists are one people in all
the world,
„

13. Kill your enemies? They'll die off
themselves if you let them alone,. 1

„

24. Opposing that execrable villainy,
which is the scandal of religion, of
England, and of human nature, .

PAGE IN
THIS VOL.

'

Life

489

II
SOURCES OF LETTERS CITED ABOVE, AND
SOME AUTHORITIES USED
Colman Coll.—Collection of Wesley Papers in the possession of
Russell J. Colman, Esq., D.L., J.P., Norwich.
Everett Coll.—Collection of Autograph Wesley and other Letters
(made by the Rev. James Everett), now in the United Methodist
College, Victoria Park, Manchester.
Moravian Coll.—Wesley and other Letters in the archives of the
Moravian Publication Office, Fetter Lane, London.
Works.—Works of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M. Third edition. Edited
by Thomas Jackson. 14 volumes, 1829-31,
xxxviii

LIST OF WESLEY'S LETTERS
Life.—Life and Times of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A.
Tyerman. Sixth edition. 3 volumes, 1890.

By the Rev. L.

C. Wesley's Life.—Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, M.A.
Jackson. 2 volumes, 1841.

By Thomas

The Works of John and Charles Wesley: A Bibliography. By the Rev.
Richard Green. Second edition, 1906.
Journal of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M. Edited by Nehemiah Curnock,
assisted by Experts. 8 volumes, 1909Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society. Privately published.
Volumes I.-IX.
A New History of Methodism. Edited by W. J. Townsend, D.D.,
H. B. Workman, M.A., D.Lit., and George Eayrs, F.R.Hist.S.
With a Bibliography. 2 volumes, 1909.

xxxix

INTRODUCTORY

NOTE

WESLEY^S Letters rank with his famous Journal and Diaries
as chronicles of his work and revelations of his character.
As the human founder of the Methodists, the largest Protestant community in the world, he had extraordinary
influence in the British Isles and America, even in his lifetime. He was a general in religious matters, and his army
of preachers and followers was largely controlled by his
short, sharp letters, which ring like an officer's orders. He
was also to many thousands a director and shepherd of
spirit, soul, and body, Counsels on the most momentous
and the most trivial affairs of life are given. And while he
gives counsel, he asks it also. Here are long and intimate
Letters to his most valued lay friend, to whom he confided
his troubles concerning his utterly unsuitable wife; to lady
friends; to the king and his ministers, and some of the bestknown people of his time; and to those who, but for his
Letters, would never have been heard of half a mile from
home.
How versatile he was ! He intermeddled with all knowledge. Besides unnumbered Letters about Methodism, his
Letters deal with the Church, the State and its Taxes,
Trade and Economics, Social Questions, Slavery, Education,
Health, Sleep, Medicine, Literary Style, and Publishing.
These and other of his many interests come before us in
the representative Letters here given.
Some account is given in Book i. of Wesley the Man,
A

1

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
his time and its conditions, his work and character; his
life is also given in outline. As he reads these representative Letters, grouped according to their main purpose, or
received by this or that correspondent, the reader will link
the Letters with the years and events of Wesley's life, and
recall as he reads, some impression of the form and manner
of their writer.
The reproduction herein of some of his Letters in facsimile, and of an authentic likeness of him, will further
help to place us by the side of him who wrote and of those
who first read these Letters.

2

BOOK

I

JOHN WESLEY AND HIS LETTERS

Wesley has at last come into the kingdom of his fame. The most
splendid compliments paid to him to-day come, not from those inside
the Church he founded, but from those outside it. Leslie Stephen
describes Wesley as the greatest captain of men of his century.
Macaulay ridicules those writers of * books called histories of England'
who failed to see that amongst the events which have determined that
history is the rise of Methodism. Wesley, he says, had ' a genius for
government not inferior to that of Richelieu'; Matthew Arnold gives
nobler praise when he says he had ' a genius for godliness.' Southey,
who wrote Wesley's life without in the least understanding Wesley's
secret, asserts him to be * the most influential mind of the last century ;
the man who will have produced the greatest effects, centuries or
perhaps millenniums hence, if the present race of men shall so long continue.' Buckle calls him ' the first of ecclesiastical statesmen.' Lecky
says that the humble meeting in Aldersgate Street when Wesley was
converted ' forms an epoch in English history'; and he adds that the
religious revolution begun in England by the preaching of the Wesleys
is ' of greater historic importance than all the splendid victories by
land and sea won under Pitt.' Wesley, he holds, was one of the chief
forces that saved England from a revolution such as France knew.
England, in a word, is as truly interested in Wesley as in Shakespeare.
W. H.

FITCHETT,

CHAPTER I
THE MAN, JOHN WESLEY

' The Little Trim Gentleman.'
according to the flesh was, like all the
Wesleys, short in stature and slight in build. At manhood his height was only five feet five inches; his weight
was one hundred and twenty-two pounds, and so remained
for many years. His appearance was singularly impressive.
The peculiar composure of his countenance showed him to
be no common man. In youth his black (dark brown) hair,
quite smooth, and parted very exactly at the front, was long,
and reached almost to his shoulders. It became silvery
white in his old age. After an illness, when seventy-two, he
wore a wig, as represented in his later portraits. He wore
the professional three-cornered hat of the period. When
preaching, whether in a building or in the open air, he
always wore the black gown and bands of a clergyman.
A full pen portrait of Wesley was given by one of his
preachers, John Hampson, Jun. He knew him intimately,
and published his skilful delineation in the year of Wesley's
death, while quick memories could attest or correct it.
Phrases are often quoted from it. In its entirety it is the
most complete and vivid contemporary description of
Wesley in existence.1
JOHN WESLEY

A Pen Portrait.
' The figure of Mr. Wesley was remarkable. His stature
was of the lowest: his habit of body in every period of life
1
In part it may be compared with the skilful study of Wesley's features,
by the late Rev. Richard Green, as given in the fine Williams portrait of him.
See A New History of Methodism, vol. L, frontispiece, and p. 204.

5

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
the reverse of corpulent, and expressive of strict temperance
and continual exercise: and, notwithstanding his small size,
his step was firm and his appearance, till within a few years
of his death, vigorous and muscular. His face, for an old
man, was one of the finest we have seen. A clear, smooth
forehead, an aquiline nose, an eye the brightest and most
piercing that can be conceived, and a freshness of complexion scarcely ever to be found at his years, and expressive
of the most perfect health, conspired to render him a venerable and interesting figure. Few have seen him without
being struck with his appearance; and many who had been
greatly prejudiced against him have been known to change
their opinion the moment they were introduced into his
presence. In his countenance and demeanour there was a
cheerfulness mingled with gravity ; a sprightliness which was
the natural result of an unusual flow of spirits, and was yet
accompanied by every mark of the most serene tranquillity.
His aspect, particularly in profile, had a strong character of
acuteness and penetration. In dress he was a pattern of
neatness and simplicity. A narrow plaited stock, a coat
with a small upright collar, no buckles at his knees, no silk
or velvet in any part of his apparel, and a head as white as
snow, gave an idea of something primitive and apostolical,
while an air of neatness and cleanliness was diffused over his
whole person. His rank as a preacher is pretty generally
understood. His attitude in the pulpit was graceful and
easy, his action calm and natural, yet pleasing and expressive: his voice not loud, but clear and manly ; his style
neat, simple, perspicuous, and admirably adapted to the
capacity of his hearers.'
From Wesley's Itinerary 1 it may be gathered that he
travelled two hundred and fifty thousand miles in his ministrations, during which he preached forty thousand times.
In early life he was a great walker. His later and longer
journeys were performed on horseback. Often he used the
stage-coach, ' the machine' as he calls it, the ' diligence,' or
post-chaise. When he was sixty-three years of age, a carriage
and pair was presented to him. He must be pictured for
1

6

Wesley Historical Society publication.

THE MAN WESLEY
many thousands of hours riding on highways and byways,
the reins lying loose on his horse's neck, while his hands
hold up a book to his eyes, as he was near-sighted. A t his
next halting-place his ever-ready pen will exercise itself on
that book in commendation, sharp criticism, or condensation for his followers; other literary matter or these letters
will be written, or the thousand and one tasks of a shepherd
of souls and bodies will engage him. But ' who besides
Wesley ever turned the saddle and the open road and the
changing English skies into a permanent study ' ? The door
of one side of his coach was nailed up, and on the inside
were shelves filled with books. Attached to the front of the
coach was a board which was let down and used as a desk.

His Service and its Secret.
Incessantly travelling, preaching, organising, he yet found
time to write two hundred and thirty original works, great
and-small. One hundred works were extracted and edited,
and thousands of letters were written, from which these are
selected. In his young manhood hindered by alternate
liveliness or moroseness, idleness, and even untruthfulness,
recorded in cipher in his diary with many a sigh and cry
for mercy,1 he was renewed by the Holy Spirit in the inward
man, and by self-knowledge, self-reverence, self-control was
brought to sovran power and tireless industry. 'Leisure
and I have taken leave of one another,'' he declared; and,
'though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry.'
He claimed England afresh for God, and looked upon all
the world as his parish. 2

' A Little, Frail, Dyspeptic, Consumptive Body.'
It is a bad mistake to suppose that Wesley worked easily,
or had the advantage of an iron constitution. The opposite
is the fact. He began life ill-equipped, as is said above in
Mr. Curnock's words. His record must be viewed in the
light of his care, development, and conquest of a weak body.
1

See his Journal, Standard edition, vol. i. p. 54.
For his life and work and their immediate, subsequent, and world-wide
results see A New History of Methodism.
8

7

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
The fifteenth child of his parents, he was so delicate that
his father baptized him on the day of his birth, and commanded him to run a mile every day for health's sake when
at school. His nose and lungs bled frequently while he was
at Oxford. His Journal tells that he had smallpox when a
child, a fever at thirty-eight, and twice later. At fifty-one
he was so near death by consumption that he wrote his own
epitaph—' To avoid vile panegyric.' He suffered often from
cramp and what he calls ( aflux.' When over seventy he
underwent a surgical operation, and in June 1775 he was
for days ' more dead than alive.' Although very active and
abstemious, he suffered from gout, of which his father was
frequently ill and his mother died, and was attacked by it
nine or ten times in thirty years. That he lived to be
eighty-eight and made such an extraordinary record of
service are proofs of divine assistance united with rare
common sense, restraint, patience, and determination. He
won his laurels by means which all may use.

Praying always, with all Prayer.
The secret of these victories by Wesley in the inner and
the outer world alike is disclosed in his diaries * and these
Letters. It was prayer and communion with God. Among
his early resolves were these: ' To dedicate an hour, morning and evening; No Excuse, Reason or Pretence'; ' T o
pray every hour, seriously, deliberately, fervently.' We
can trace his frequent, almost literal, fulfilment of these vows.
Alike in years far apart as 1768 and 1782, day after day,
the first item in the almost hourly record is ' Prayed.' It
recurs four, six, or more times, and it closes the busy day's
account. The other frequent item is ' Singing.' On some
days he sang eight times.
These Letters show him at prayer for others also, and
he urges them to use the same weapon—All-prayer.
Of Wesley's life, times, and work, and his character,
Mr. Birrell writes in his brilliant, inimitable style in the
next chapter.
1

8

Journal, vol. i. p. 125 ; vol. vi. pp. 370, 379, 493.

CHAPTER II
JOHN WESLEY, HIS TIMES AND WORK
B Y THE RIGHT HONOURABLE AUGUSTINE BIRRELL, K.C.,

M.P.

The Strenuous Worker of the Eighteenth Century.
born as he was in 1703, and dying as he
did in 1791, covered as nearly as mortal man may the whole
of the eighteenth century, of which he was one of the most
typical figures, and certainly the most strenuous. He began
his published Journal on October 14, 1735, and its last
entry is under date Sunday, October 24, 1790, when in
the morning he explained to a numerous congregation in
Spitalfields Church ' T h e Whole Armour of God,' and in
the afternoon enforced to a still larger audience in St. Paul's,
Shadwell, the great truth, ' One Thing is Needful/ the last
words of the Journal being: ' I hope many even then
resolved to choose the better part.'
Between these two Octobers there lies the most amazing
record of human exertion ever penned or endured.
Here is a summary of a week's work in 1777.1 His age
is seventy-four. On Friday, May 9, he rides from Osmotherly, fifteen miles, to Malton, Yorkshire, suffering at
intervals from ague. He preaches. Having heard that
E. Ritchie is ill, he sets out after the service and reaches
Otley, forty-eight miles away, at four o'clock Saturday morning. After seeing the invalid he rides back to Malton, having
as he says ridden between ninety and a hundred miles. He
rests an hour and then rides twenty-two miles to Scarborough, and preaches in the evening. On Sunday morning

JOHN WESLEY,

1

Rev. T. E. Brigden in A New History of Methodism, vol. i. p. 217.

9

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
he is shaking with fever. He lies between blankets, drinks
hot lemonade, perspires, and sleeps for half an hour. Then
he rises up and preaches. After this he meets the Society.
On Monday he is preaching at Bridlington. On Tuesday
he preaches at Beverley in the morning and at Hull at night,
having ridden thirty-six miles that day. On Wednesday he
rides twenty-six miles to Pocklington, preaches, rides twelve
miles farther to York, and preaches again. He admits that
he feels his 'breast out of order,'' and would gladly rest.
But he is expected at Tadcaster. He starts at 9 a.m. on
Thursday in a chaise, which breaks down. He borrows a
lively horse whose movements, he says, electrify him and
feels better. He preaches, and that same night he returns
twelve miles to York. The next day he ' took the diligence'
for London. Such had been Wesley's weekly tale of work
for thirty-eight years, as his Journal shows. And it minimises the facts. This is seen when it is compared with his
private diaries and sermon register. His day began at four
or six o'clock in the morning, often earlier than the former,
and lasted until ten or half-past eleven. Every hour and
half-hour is accounted for, used, and filled. He gave an
exposition of Scripture to every company, small or large,
that he met. The register shows that he frequently gave
six, nine, or twelve such expositions in a day. On Sunday,
November 5, 1752, he seems to have used the almost incredible number of nineteen different Scripture portions in
this way.1

A Fifty Years' Campaign.
I do not know whether I am likely to have among my
readers any one who has ever contested an English or Scottish
county in a Parliamentary election since household suffrage.
If I have, that tired soul will know how severe is the strain
of its three weeks, and how impossible it seems at the end of
the first week that you should be able to keep it going for
another fortnight, and how when the last night arrived you
felt that had the strife been accidentally prolonged another
1

10

Journal, vol. ii. ; vol. iv. pp. 2, 47.

WESLEY'S TIMES AND WORK
seven days you must have perished by the wayside. Well,
John Wesley contested the three kingdoms in the cause of
Christ during a campaign which lasted fifty years. He did
it for the most part on horseback. He paid more turnpikes
than any man who ever bestrode a beast. Eight thousand
miles was his annual record for many a long year, during
each of which he seldom preached less frequently than a
thousand times. Had he but preserved his scores at all the
inns where he lodged they would have made by themselves a
history of prices. And throughout it all he never knew
what depression of spirits meant, though he had much to
try him—suits in Chancery and a jealous wife.

The Itinerant Evangelist.
In the course of this unparalleled contest Wesley visited
again and again the most out-of-the-way districts, the
remotest corners of England—places which to-day lie far
removed even from the searcher after the picturesque.
Even now, when the map of England looks like a gridiron
of railways, none but the sturdiest of pedestrians, the most
determined of cyclists, can retrace the steps of Wesley and
his horse and stand by the rocks and the natural amphitheatres in Cornwall and in Northumberland, in Lancashire
and Berkshire, where he preached his Gospel to the heathen.
Exertion so prolonged, enthusiasm so sustained, argues a
remarkable man, while the organisation he created, the
system he founded, the view of life he promulgated, is still a
great fact among us. No other name than Wesley's lies
embalmed as his does. Yet he is not a popular figure.
Our standard historians—save, indeed, Mr. John Richard
Green, Mr. Lecky, and lately Mr. Temperley in the Cambridge Modern History, have dismissed him curtly. The
fact is, Wesley puts your ordinary historian out of conceit
with himself. How much easier to weave into your page
the gossip of Horace Walpole, to enliven it with a heartless
jest of George Selwin's, to make it blush with sad stories of
the extravagance of Fox, to embroider it with the rhetoric
of Burke, to humanise it with the talk of Johnson, to discuss
11

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
the rise and fall of administrations, the growth and decay
of constitutions, than to follow John Wesley into the streets
of Bristol or on to the bleak moors near Burslem, where he
met face to face in all their violence, all their ignorance, and
all their generosity, the living men, women, and children
who made up the nation !
It has, perhaps, also to be admitted that to found great
organisations is to build your tomb. A splendid thing it
may be, a veritable sarcophagus, but none the less a tomb.
John Wesley's chapels lie a little heavily on John Wesley.
Even so do the glories of Rome make us forgetful of the
grave in Syria.
I t has been said that Wesley's character lacks charm, that
mighty antiseptic. It is not easy to define charm, which is
not a catalogue of qualities, but a mixture. Let no one
deny charm to Wesley who has not read his Journal.
Southey's Life is a dull, almost a stupid book, which happily
there is no need to read. Read the Journal, which is a
book full- of plots and plays and novels, which quivers with
life, and is crammed full of character.

His Ancestry and Parentage.
John Wesley came of a stock which had been much
harassed and put about by unhappy religious difficulties.
Politics, business, and religion are the three things Englishmen are said to worry themselves about. The Wesleys early
took up with religion. John Wesley's great-grandfather
and grandfather were both ejected from their livings in
1662, and the grandfather was so bullied and oppressed by
the Five Mile Act that he early gave up the ghost, whereupon his remains were refused what is called Christian
Burial, though a holier and more primitive man never drew
breath. 1 This poor, persecuted spirit left two sons according
to the flesh, Matthew and Samuel; and Samuel it was who
in his turn became the father of John and Charles Wesley.
Samuel Wesley, though minded to share the lot, hard
1
See * Links between the Ejected Clergy of 1662, the Wesleys, and
Methodism,' by Mr. Eayrs, in The Ejectment 0/1662 and the Free Churches.

12

WESLEY'S TIMES AND WORK
though that lot was, of his progenitors, had the moderation
of mind, the Christian conservatism, perhaps even the disposition to Toryism, which marked the family, and being
sent to a Dissenting College, became disgusted with the
ferocity and bigotry he happened there to encounter. Those
were the days of the Calves' Head Club and feastings on
January 29, graceless meals for which Samuel Wesley
had no stomach. His turn was for the things that
are ' quiet, wise, and good.' He departed from the Dissenting Seminary, and in 1685 entered himself as a poor
scholar at Exeter College, Oxford. He brought £2, 6s.
with him, and as for prospects he had none. Exeter received him. During the eighteenth century our two Universities, famous despite their faults, were always open to
the poor scholar who was ready to subscribe, not to boat
clubs or cricket clubs, but to the Thirty-Nine Articles.
Three Archbishops of Canterbury during the eighteenth
century were the sons of small tradesmen. There was,
in fact, much less snobbery and money-worship during the
century when the British Empire was being won than during
the century when it is being talked about. Samuel Wesley
was allowed to remain at Oxford, where he supported himself by devices known to his tribe, and when he left the
University to be ordained, he had clear in his pouch, after
discharging his few debts, £1Q', 15s. He had thus made
£83 9s. out of his University, and had his education as it
were thrown in for nothing. He soon obtained a curacy in
London, and married a daughter of the well-known ejected
clergyman Dr. Annesley, about whom you may read in
another eighteenth-century book, The Life and Errors of
John Dunton.

His Epworth Home.
The mother of the Wesleys was a remarkable woman,
though cast in a mould not much to our minds nowadays.
She had nineteen children, and greatly prided herself on
having taught them, one after another, by frequent chastisements, to — what do you think ? — cry softly. She had
IS

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
theories of education and strength of will, and of arm too,
to carry them out. She knew Latin and Greek, and though,
as some would say, a stern, forbidding, almost an unfeeling
parent, she was successful in winning and retaining, not only
the respect, but the affection of such of her huge family as
lived to grow up* But out of the nineteen, thirteen early
succumbed. Infant mortality was one of the great facts
of the eighteenth century, whose Rachels had to learn
to cry softly over their dead babes. The mother of the
Wesleys thought more of her children's souls than of their
bodies.
The revolution of 1688 threatened to disturb the early
married life of Samuel Wesley and his spouse. The husband
wrote a pamphlet in which he defended revolution principles,
but the wife secretly adhered to the old cause; nor was it
until a year before Dutch William's death that the Rector
made the discovery that the wife of his bosom, who had
sworn to obey him and regard him as her overlord, was not
in the habit of saying ' A m e n ' to his fervent prayers on
behalf of his suffering sovereign. An explanation was demanded and the truth extracted, namely, that in the opinion
of the Rector's wife her true king lived over the water.
The Rector at once refused to live with Mrs. Wesley any
longer until she recanted. This she refused to do, and for
a twelvemonth the couple dwelt apart, when William in.
having the good sense to die, a reconciliation became
possible. If John Wesley was occasionally a little pigheaded, need one wonder ? The story of the fire at Epworth
Rectory and the miraculous escape of the infant John was
once a tale as well known as Alfred in the neatherd's hut,
and pictures of it still hang up in many a collier's home.

Scholar, Gentleman, Clergyman.
John Wesley received a sound classical education at
Charterhouse and Christ Church, and remained all his life
very much the scholar and the gentleman. The name
Wesley is a shortened form of Wellesley. Arthur Wellesley,
the great Duke of Wellington, belonged to a collateral
14

WESLEY'S TIMES AND WORK
branch of the same family.1 No company was too good for
John Wesley, and nobody knew better than he did that had
he cared to carry his powerful intelligence, his flawless constitution, and his infinite capacity for taking pains into any
of the markets of the world, he must have earned for himself place, fame, and fortune.
Coming, however, as he did of a theological stock, having
a saint for a father and a notable devout woman for a
mother, Wesley from his early days learned to regard
religion as the business of his life, just as the younger Pitt
came to regard the House of Commons as the future theatre
of his actions. After a good deal of heart-searching and
theological talk with his mother, Wesley was ordained a
deacon by the excellent Potter, afterward Primate, but
then (1725) Bishop of Oxford. In the following year
Wesley was elected a Fellow of Lincoln, to the great delight
of his father. ' Whatever I am,' said the good old man,
6
my Jack is Fellow of Lincoln.' 2

The Course of Church History: Elizabeth.
In trying to form even a glimmering idea of the state of
the Church of England in 1725, when Wesley took orders,
there are some incidents in its past history which must not
be overlooked. I mean its repeated purgings. Evictions
are, of course, of frequent occurrence in all Church histories,
but the Church of England has been peculiarly unlucky in
this respect. Let me, in a handful of sentences, recall the
facts. I pass over the puzzling and unedifying events of
King Henry vm/s time, the Protestant rule of his shortlived son, the frank Romanism of his eldest daughter, and
begin with Elizabeth, who succeeded in November 1558.
Crowned though she was according to the Catholic ceremonial,
including the unction and the Pontifical Mass, it appears to
have been well understood by those in high places that
England having got a new master, must be prepared once
1

Wesley's pedigree is in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (MS. Eng. Lang,

d. 20).
2

See his letter on page 48.

15

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
more for new men and new measures. They were indeed
strange times. Can it be that the country did not care
about the continuity of its Church ? The Act of Supremacy
soon made its appearance, annexing to the Crown all jurisdictions, spiritual and ecclesiastical, for the visitation and
reformation of the ecclesiastical state and persons, and of all
errors, heresies, and schisms. The inevitable oath was
directed to be taken under the usual penalties—first, loss of
property, then loss of life. When Queen Mary died there
were but fifteen Anglican bishops. Of these, fourteen
refused the oath, and were turned neck-and-crop out of
their sees. They went away quickly enough, and disappeared
into obscurity. Elizabeth called them a set of lazy scamps.
We have no evidence that they were anything of the kind.
Hardships and indignities were heaped upon them. Some
died in prison, others in retirement; one or two escaped
abroad. It seems to be the fact that they all died in their
beds. They had no mind either to burn or hang. Jeremy
Collier gives us, in addition to those fourteen prelates, a list
of three bishops-elect, one abbess, four priors, twelve deans,
fourteen archdeacons, sixty canons, one hundred priests, all
well preferred, fifteen heads of colleges, and about twenty
doctors of both faculties—all what one may call stationary
people hard to move, who were at this same time deprived
of their places, profits, and dignities. I t does not seem a
great many out of the nine thousand spiritual places in
England. Still, to lose its whole hierarchy (except the
Bishop of Llandaff) at one blow was a shrewd knock, nor,
we may be sure, did the bishops-elect, the deans, the archdeacons and canons, the heads of houses and doctors of
divinity, and the one hundred well-preferred priests go out
without rendings of the heart and bitter reflections. There
were no newspapers to record their emotions or to summarise
their losses under the heading ' Crisis in the Church'; but
we may be sure they were pious men, sick of shuffles and
crowned heads, while of those who remained, who can tell
with what uneasiness of mind, with what pangs of conscience,
they did so ?
16

WESLEY'S TIMES AND WORK
Under the Commonwealth.
This is Purge No. 1, and it got rid of the old Roman
pietist; and let no man deny to the Church of Rome one
of the notes of a true Church—the capacity to breed
saints.
Purge No. £ was numerically more important. Charles i.
got into those difficulties which brought his comely head to
the scaffold, and the beneficed clergy were made subject to
visitation by order of the House of Commons and in large
numbers turned adrift. That many of these clergy were
illiterate and unfit for their office is true enough; but in the
teeth of the protests made by the best men among the
Puritan party, other tests than those of learning and piety
were imposed and enforced. Loyalty to the dead king, or
malignancy as it was termed, was counted to be a disqualification for a country parson; a sour observance of Sunday
was reckoned as piety, and many a good man who had
earned and deserved the love of his parishioners was evicted
to make way for a Presbyterian. How many parsons were
turned out during the Commonwealth it is hard to say; but
many hundred there certainly were, and among them were
numbered some of the very choicest spirits of the age.

The Ejectment of 1662.
Purge No. 3 is the one best known in Nonconformist
circles. I t occurred after the restoration of the Stuarts,
when two thousand of the clergy, including a large number
of the intruders of the Commonwealth, were turned out of
their livings for refusing to take the oath required by the
Act of Uniformity. The celebrated Richard Baxter (who
refused a bishopric) tells us in his Life,1 which is one of the
best books in existence, how these evicted tenants were made
up. The passage is too long to be here quoted, and it is
enough to say that by this purge the Church of England
1
Reliquia Baxteriana.
The Bishop of Chester issued an Excerpt from it
in 1910—the remarkable passage giving Baxter's Self-Review. The most
recent Life (1912) is Richard Baxter and the Revival of Preaching and
Pastoral Service, by Mr. Eayrs.

B

17

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
lost a host of her clergy who had no objection to bishops
or to a Liturgy, who had never signed the Solemn League
and Covenant, who had been against the Civil War, but who
were unwilling, because unable, to give their unfeigned
assent and consent to all and everything contained in the
Book of Common Prayer. But they had to go. They
were devout, they were learned, they were peaceful, they
were sensible. It mattered n o t ; out they went like
Wesley's own grandfather, and were hunted from place
to place like wolves.

The Nonjurors.
Purge No. 4 has still to be endured. The Stuarts ran
their destined course. The blessed restoration was in less
than thirty years succeeded by the glorious revolution, and
a fresh oath had, of course, to be invented as a burden upon
the conscience of the established clergy. I t was in form
simple enough : ' I, A. B., do sincerely promise and swear to
bear true allegiance to their Majesties King William and
Queen Mary.' But to appreciate its horrid significance we
must remember that the now mouldy doctrines of ' Divine
right' and ' passive obedience " were then as much the talk
*
of the clergy of the Church of England as incense, lights,
and the sacramental theory are to-day. The books and
pamphlets on these subjects may still be counted, though
hardly read, in thousands. The Archbishop of Canterbury
(Dr. Sancroft) and five of his brethren, including Bishop
Ken, were deprived of their sees, and at least four hundred
divines followed them into exile. These were the Nonjurors,
men of fabulous learning and primitive piety, who added
evangelical fervour and simplicity to High Church doctrine.
To read the lives of these men is to live among the saints
and doctors, and their expulsion from the Church they
alone loved and they alone could properly defend, diverted
into alien channels the very qualities we find so sorely lacking in the Anglican Church of the eighteenth century. How
absurd to grumble at the Hoadleys and the Watsons, the
Hurds and the Warburtons ! They were all that was left.
18

WESLEY'S TIMES AND WORK
Faith and fervour, primitive piety, Puritan zeal, Catholic
devotion—each in its turn had been decimated and cast out.
What a history it is ! Whether you read it in the Roman
page of Lingard and Dodd and Morris, or in the Anglican
record of Collier, or turn over the biographies to be found
in our old friends Walker and Calamy, what can you do but
hold up your hands in horror and amazement ? Wherever
and whenever there was goodness, piety, faith, devotion, out
it had to go. I t was indeed as into a dungeon, stripped,
swept, and bare, that the Church of England stepped at the
revolution, and in that dungeon she lay for a hundred years.
Since then many things have happened. There has been a
revival of faith and fervour in the Church of England, so
much so that Purge No. 5 may shortly be expected.
The reason why I have dwelt at great length on these
facts of Church history is because we should have them in
mind if we are to understand what may be called the status
quo ante helium John Wesley waged with the devil in
Great Britain.

Wesley's Work.
Wesley's motive never eludes us. In his early manhood,
after being greatly affected by Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living
and Dying and the Imitatio Christi, and by Law's Serious
Call and Christian Perfection, he met a ' serious man' who
said to him : ' Sir, you wish to serve God and go to heaven.
Remember, you cannot serve Him alone. You must therefore find companions or make them. The Bible knows
nothing of solitary religion.' He was very confident, this
serious man, and Wesley never forgot his message: ' You
must find companions or make them. The Bible knows
nothing of solitary religion.' These words for ever sounded
in Wesley's ears, determining his theology, which rejected
the stern individualism of Calvin, and fashioning his whole
polity, his famous class meetings, and generally gregarious
methods.
£

Therefore to him it was given
Many to save with himself.'

19

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
We may continue the quotation and apply to Wesley the
words of Mr. Arnold's memorial to his father:
e
Languor was not in his heart,
Weakness not in his word,
Weariness not on his brow.'
If you ask what is the impression left upon the reader of
the Journal as to the condition of England question, the
answer will vary very much with the tenderness of the
reader's conscience and with the extent of his acquaintance
with the general behaviour of mankind at all times
and in all places.
Wesley himself is no alarmist,
no sentimentalist; he never gushes, seldom exaggerates,
and always writes on an easy level. Naturally enough he
clings to the supernatural, and is always disposed to believe
in the bona Jides of ghosts and the diabolical origin of
strange noises ; but outside this realm of speculation Wesley
describes things as he saw them. In the first published
words of his friend Dr. Johnson, ' he meets with no basilisks
that destroy with their eyes, his crocodiles devour their prey
without tears, and his cataracts fall from the rocks without
deafening the neighbouring inhabitants.'

His Humour and Persistence.
Wesley's humour is of the species donnish, and his modes
and methods quietly persistent. He writes in his Journal:
On Thursday, the 20th May (1742), I set out. The next
afternoon I stopped a little at Newport-Pagnell, and then
rode on till I overtook a serious man, with whom I immediately fell into conversation. He presently gave me to
know what his opinions were, therefore I said nothing to
contradict them. But that did not content him. He was
quite uneasy to know ' whether I held the doctrines of the
decrees as he d i d ' ; but I told him over and over : ' W e had
better keep to practical things, lest we should be angry at
one another. 1 And so we did for two miles, till he caught
me unawares, and dragged me into the dispute before I
20

WESLEY'S TIMES AND WORK
knew where I was. He then grew warmer and warmer;
told me I was rotten at heart, and supposed I was one
of John Wesley's followers. I told him ' No. I am John
Wesley himself.' Upon which
e
Improvisum aspris veluti qui sentibus anguem
Presset
'
he would gladly have run away outright, but being the
better mounted of the two I kept close to his side, and
endeavoured to show him his heart till we came into the
street of Northampton.
What a picture have we here of a fine May morning in
1742, the unhappy Calvinist trying to shake off the Arminian
Wesley! But he cannot do it. John Wesley is the better
mounted of the two^ and so they scamper together into
Northampton.
The England described in the Journal is an England
still full of theology. All kinds of queer folk abound;
strange subjects are discussed in odd places. There was
drunkenness and cock-fighting, no doubt, but there were also
Deists, Mystics, Swedenborgians, Antinomians, Necessitarians, Anabaptists, Quakers, nascent heresies, and slowdying delusions. Villages were divided into rival groups
which fiercely argued the nicest points in the aptest language. Nowadays in one's rambles a man is as likely to
encounter a grey badger as a black Calvinist.

Opposition encountered.
The clergy of the Established Church were jealous of
Wesley's interference in their parishes, nor was this unnatural ; he was not a Nonconformist but a brother Churchman. What right had he to be so peripatetic ? But Wesley
seldom records any instance of gross clerical misconduct.
Of one drunken parson he does indeed tell us, and he speaks
disapprovingly of another whom he found one very hot day
consuming a pot of beer in a lone alehouse. I am bound to
confess I have never had any but kindly feelings toward
that thirsty ecclesiastic. What, I wonder, was he thinking
21

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
of as Wesley rode by?—Meditations Libres aVun Solitaire
Inconnue—unpublished!
When Wesley, with that dauntless courage of his—a
courage which never forsook him—which he wore on every
occasion with the delightful ease of a soldier—pushed his
way into fierce districts, amid rough miners dwelling in
their own village communities almost outside the law, what
most strikes one with admiration, not less in Wesley's
Journal than in George Fox's (a kindred though earlier
volume), is the essential fitness for freedom of our rudest
populations. They were coarse and brutal and savage, but
rarely did they fail to recognise the high character and
lofty motives of the dignified mortal who had travelled so
far to speak to them. Wesley was occasionally hustled, and
once or twice pelted with mud and stones; but at no time
were his sufferings at the hands of the mob to be compared
with the indignities it was long the fashion to heap upon
the heads of Parliamentary candidates. The mob knew and
appreciated the difference between a Bubb Dodington and a
John Wesley.
I do not think any ordinary Englishman will be much
horrified at the demeanour of the populace. If there was
disturbance it was usually quelled. At Norwich two soldiers
who disturbed the congregation were seized and carried
before the commanding officer, who ordered them to be
soundly whipped. In Wesley's opinion they richly deserved
all they got. He was no sentimentalist, although an
enthusiast.
Where the reader of the Journal will be shocked is when
his attention is called to the public side of the country—to
the state of the gaols, to Newgate, to Bethlehem, to the
criminal code, to the brutality of so many of the judges and
the harshness of the magistrates, to the supineness of the
bishops, to the extinction in high places of the missionary
spirit—in short, to the heavy slumber of humanity.

Wesley's Evangelistic, Social Service.
Wesley was full of compassion—of a compassion wholly free
from hysterics and credulity. In public affairs his was the
22

WESLEY'S TIMES AND WORK
composed zeal of a Howard. His efforts to penetrate the
dark places were long in vain. He says in his dry way:
* They won't let me go to Bedlam because they say I make
the inmates mad, or into Newgate because I make them
wicked.' The reader of the Journal will be at no loss to see
what the sapient magistrates meant. Wesley was a terribly
exciting preacher, quiet though his manner was. He pushed
matters home without flinching. He made people cry out
and fall down, nor did it surprise him that they should.
You will find some strange biographies in the Journal.
Consider that of John Lancaster for a moment. He was a
young fellow who fell into bad company, stole some velvet,
and was sentenced to death, and lay for a while in Newgate
awaiting his hour. A good Methodist woman, Sarah
Peters, obtained permission to visit him, though the fever
was raging in the prison at the time. Lancaster had no
difficulty in collecting six or seven other prisoners, all like
himself waiting to be strangled, and Sarah Peters prayed
with them and sang hymns, the clergy of the diocese being
otherwise occupied. When the eve of their execution
arrived, the poor creatures begged that Sarah Peters might
be allowed to remain with them to continue her exhortations; but this could not be. In her absence, however,
they contrived to console one another, for that devilish
device of a later age, solitary confinement, was then unknown. When the bellman came round at midnight to tell
them, ' Remember you are to die to-day,' they cried out:
6
Welcome news—welcome news !' How they met their
deaths you can read for yourselves in the Journal, which
concludes the narrative with a true eighteenth-century
touch; ' John Lancaster's body was carried away by a company hired by the surgeons, but a crew of soldiers pursued
them, took it from them by force, and delivered it to his
mother* by which means it was decently interred in the presence of many who praised God on his behalf.'
If you want to get into the last century, to feel its pulses
throb beneath your finger, be content sometimes to leave
the letters of Horace Walpole unturned, resist the drowsy
temptation to waste your time over the learned triflers who
28

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
sleep in the seventeen volumes of Nichols—nay, even deny
yourself your annual reading of Boswell or your biennial
retreat with Sterne, and ride up and down the country with
the greatest force of the eighteenth century in England.

A t the Centre.
No man lived nearer the centre than John Wesley,
neither Clive nor Pitt, neither Mansfield nor Johnson. You
cannot cut him out of our national life. No single figure
influenced so many minds, no single voice touched so many
hearts. No other man did such a life's work for England.
As a writer he has not achieved distinction. He was no
Athanasius, no Augustine. He was ever a preacher and
organiser, a labourer in the service of humanity: but
happily for us his journals remain, and from them we can
learn better than from anywhere else what manner of man
he was, and the character of the times during which he
lived and moved and had his being.
AUGUSTINE BIRRELL.

24

CHAPTER III
JOHN WESLEY'S LIFE IN OUTLINE
1708. June 17 (O.S.). Born at Epworth Rectory, Lincolnshire. Baptized John Benjamin. Wesley never
used his second name.
1709. Rescued from the fire which burned down his home.
1711. Admitted to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
1714. Entered Charterhouse School, London.
1720. Elected Scholar of Christ Church College, Oxford.
1724. Graduated B.A.
1725. April. Met ' with a religious friend' (?' Varenese,'
Miss Betty Kirkham) and 'set in earnest upon a
new life.'
September 19. Ordained deacon and priest (1728) by
Dr. Potter, Bishop of Oxford.
October 16. Preached his first sermon at South
Leigh, near Witney, Oxford.
1726. Elected Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, and
Greek Lecturer and Moderator of the Classes.
1727. Graduated M.A., and became curate at Wroot.
1729. Returned to Oxford University for duties, and joined
the Methodists there.
1732. Met the Rev. William Law, whose Serious Call had
impressed him.
1733. Preached his first sermon before Oxford University.
Issued his first work, A Collection of Forms of Prayer.
1735. October 14. Sailed for Georgia and Savannah,U.S.A.,
as a missionary. On board met Moravian Christians.
1737. Published his first hymnbook at Charlestown, U.S.A.
25

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
1738. February 1. Arrived in England. Met Peter
Bohler and joined a Religious Society in Fetter
Lane, London.
May 24. Felt his heart i strangely warmed' in a
Religious Society in Aldersgate Street, London:
his 4 Evangelical Conversion,**
Visited Count Zinzendorf, and the Moravian settlement at Herrnhut, Germany.
1739. April 2 (Monday). Preached for the first time in
the open air in England, ' at the farther end of
St. Philip's Plain, Bristol:
April 4. Formed his first Bristol society.
April 8. Preached for the first time at Hanham
Mount, Kingswood, Bristol.
May 12. Began his first chapel, the New Room,
Horsefair and Broadmead, Bristol, now in part the
oldest Methodist building in the world.
June 14. Lay preaching begun by Cennick.
June. Commenced the Colliers"' Schoolhouse, Kingswood, Bristol, now the oldest entire Methodist
building.
Nov. 11. Opened the Foundery, Tabernacle Street,
Finsbury Square, London, as a Methodist chapel.
Dec. 27. The United Society of Methodists was
founded,' First in London.'
1740. Separated from the Moravians.
1741. Left by Whitefield and his followers.
1742. Arranged Methodist finance and class meetings at
Bristol.
Began Methodism at Newcastle-on-Tyne.
July 23. At his mother's death-bed, in London.
1743. Issued General Rules for his societies, and his Earnest
Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion.
1744. Held the first Methodist Conference (London).
1745. Became convinced that Bishops and Presbyters are
one order.
1747. First visit to Ireland.
1749-55. Edited the Christian Library in fifty volumes.
1751. Married to Mrs. Vazeille.

DATES AND EVENTS
1753-4. Serious illnesses at Lewisham, Bristol, and London.
1755. Issued his Notes on the New Testament.
1768. A Methodist chapel was opened in New York.
1770. Preached Whitefield's funeral sermon.
1774. Underwent a surgical operation.
1775. Illness in Ireland.
1778. Erected City Road Chapel, London.
Began the issue of the Armznian Magazine.
1780. Published his Collection of Hymns for the People called
Methodists.
1781. Death of his wife.
1784. February £8. Executed his Deed of Declaration
settling his chapels and constituting the Wesleyan
Methodist Conference.
1784-9. Ordained ministers for America, Scotland, and
England.
1786. Made a tour in Holland.
1788. March 29. Charles Wesley died.
1789. Suffered from diabetes.
1791. February 23. Preached his last sermon at Leatherhead, and next day sent his last letter (see p. 488).
March 2.
Died at City Road Chapel House,
London.

27

BOOK

II

A SELECTION FROM THE LETTERS OF
JOHN WESLEY

To write a really good letter requires a combination of qualities at
once rare in themselves and rarer still in their conjunction. Thus
the writer must himself be interesting, and have interesting matter
to communicate ; he must be something of an egoist, to whom his own
sensations are noticeable, and worthy of notice ; he must possess both
daring and freedom, for the last place where caution and reticence are
required is in the familiar epistle; he must be absolutely sincere, for
the moment he begins to pose his magic wand is broken, and he
becomes tedious and offensive ; he must above all possess the intimate
note, for without it he will produce an essay, but not a letter. Of all
these qualities perhaps the last is the rarest, for a good letter is really
a page from the secret memoirs of a man.—DAWSON, Great English
Letter- Writers,

CHAPTER I
JOHN WESLEY AS A LETTER-WRITER

A Great English Letter-Writer.
WESLEY as a letter-writer has not received his due, nor has
the world had its share of delight in him in this regard.
He is omitted from a recent collection of great English
letter-writers. 1 On the other hand, Dr. Richard Garnett of
theBritish Museum, when editing the greatest of anthologies, 2
in twenty volumes, included Wesley's famous Letter to a
Friend Concerning Tea 8 as the most characteristic and generally interesting product of his busy and versatile pen.
Wesley declared that letter-writing was the talent of his
brother Charles rather than his own. He knew the ideal
letter as varied in its topics, newsy, descriptive, intimate,
and self-revealing. Wesley in his Letters is all these, on
occasion; but generally he is eager to teach or comfort,
to correct or command. The letters are the man.
Is i t ; a mistake when a letter-writer is a man of action,
with too much to tell' ? 4 This would rule out two of the
most perfect letters in the world—St. Paul's letter to
Philemon, and that of President Lincoln to Mrs. Bixby, who
had lost five sons in the American Civil War. fc In a man's
letters his soul lies naked,' says Dr. Johnson: 'his letters
are only the mirror of his heart.' This is true of Wesley's
letters. His letters quiver with heart-throbs. Often he is
in dead earnest. There are few intenser letters than his to
1
3
3
4

By William J. Dawson and Coningsby W. Dawson.
The International Library of Famous Literature.
See p. 454.
Mr. E. V. Lucas, William Cowper's Letters: a Selection.

31

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS

young Furley at Queen's College, Cambridge. 1 More than
in his famous published Journal, and sometimes as much
as in his diaries, written in cipher, and now deciphered by
the genius and pious industry of Mr. Nehemiah Curnock,
Wesley reveals himself. Such letters answer the highest
test: they are revelations of a human spirit.
One almost hesitates to give some of Wesley's letters,
say of those to his most intimate lay friend, Ebenezer
Black well, the London banker. And the flippant and
coarse may sneer at the affectionate terms used to his many
lady correspondents. But, as with his cipher diaries, and
all the records, every letter may be read, and there will not
be found a word or a scintilla which shows him other
than a true man, an English gentleman, and a Christian.
Although he was these, judged by the highest standards, he
knew himself to be fallible and imperfect. In these letters,
as elsewhere, he urges the duty of seeking perfection,
6
Christian Perfection,'' as within the purpose and covenant
of God for man, and commends some who possess i t ; but
he never says that he has attained it.

Natural Characteristic Letters.
Few of Wesley's letters are without something attractive or distinctive. A golden, memorable phrase, a witty
turn, an epigram, a flash of irony, a touch of intimacy, or
some self-revelation is there. ' To read John Wesley's
letters,' said Alexander Knox, ; is to feel that he wrote as he
spoke. Their unstudied simplicity must give this impression ; and I, who often heard him speak, can attest its justness.' Often they thus conform to the dictum of that prince
of letter-writers, William Cowper, who declared to Lady
Hesketh, ' I like talking letters.' Moreover, they are the
letters of the man who under God changed the face of England
and founded a world-wide community. The reader of his
letters sees all this in progress. Many are dispatches from
the battlefield, or the general's orders to captains there.
Indeed, sometimes the letters are instruments in the wars.
1

See p. 428.

AS LETTERS
T h e y are half-battles : his letters indeed are weighty. T h e y
seldom fail of their purpose. Wesley offered his pen to t h e
Government t o answer the letters of Junius. T h e y missed
a powerful ally in not using him.
These letters are all written in terse, vigorous English.
Wesley soon gets right home t o his subject and his reader. 1
No letter needed to be read twice to learn its meaning.
T h e many letters to his preacher, T h o m a s W r i d e , 2 were n o t
necessitated by any lack of clearness on Wesley's part, and
even t h a t reader must have winced a t last. Wesley often
shows himself a master of dialectics.
H i s experience a t
Oxford as president of the disputations made him a keen
analyst of statements and an almost fierce exposer of bad
logic. H e is among the ablest users of t h e Socratic method.
His letter of many questions t o t h e Methodists concerning
poor William S h e n t 3 left them ashamed and penitent.

A Change in their Style.
There is a marked and significant change in t h e tone and
style of Wesley's letters after his evangelical conversion in
1738. Delightful geniality and radiancy take t h e place of
formal courtesy and coldness which were often his while
'under t h e law.' 4 A n o t h e r change occurs when his close companionship with the Moravians ceased, to whom he owed,
and knew and declared t h a t he owed, an irreparable debt.
In his early letters to them, elaborate expressions of his
humility and abject spiritual need are frequent. In a less
noble nature these might have been mere simulation—the
pride which apes humility. H e never completely lost this
manner of speech. I t was a sign of t h a t appreciation of
spiritual wealth and of t h e aristocracy of t h e holy and t h e
initiated which is always displayed by t h e mystic. W h o ever was learned in the things of God, Wesley counted worthy
of high honour. Social distinctions and intellectual a t t a i n ments were overlooked if the secret of the Lord was known.
1

2
Compare his letters on style herein, p. 434.
See p. 185.
See p. 235.
4
E.g. Original Letters by the Rev. John Wesley, Illustrative of his Early
History, by Joseph Priestley, LL.D., 1791.
8

c

33

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Hence he writes with freedom, familiarity, and gratitude
to those whom he knew but slightly, and who were far
removed from him by birth, gifts, culture, attainments,
position, and service. To such he styles himself as ' friend
and brother.' Were they not of the family of God and of
the household of faith ? Often to those not worthy to untie
his shoe-latchet he signs himself as ' servant.1 He was a
gentleman—a gentle man ; but the deeper reason just given
explains the difference between him and some others who
have borne without abuse that ancient name. The Duchess
of Buckingham, in her bitter letter to the noble Countess of
Huntingdon about the Methodists, thought i t ' monstrous to
be told that you have a heart as sinful as the common
wretches who crawl on the earth.'' Wesley, of purer birth
and breeding, gladly associates himself closely with 4 common ' people in these letters, if only they are heirs with him
of the same promise of life in Christ. Even so St. John's
encyclical letter to the faithful Asiatic Christians declares of
them, some unlearned and immature, ' Ye have an unction
from the Holy One and know all t h i n g s ' ; and St. Paul said
he was not only the bond-slave of Christ, but in slavery to
all the Corinthians. He besought Philemon when he might
have commanded him.

His Affectionate Terms.
This spiritual principle largely explains the confidential,
even affectionate tone of Wesley's letters to comparative
strangers. He trusts, and places high responsibility on,
persons of whom he knew little. Sometimes they proved
utterly unworthy. ' He says he will keep your secret,' said
Charles Wesley of his brother to some friends. ' L e t me
whisper to you—he will not. He cannot keep his own.'
Often his friends were surprised and amazed by his guilelessness, trustfulness, and freeness; his wife was jealous and
angry. His latest, as his earliest, letters show him frank,
confiding, and wonderfully patient and hopeful. Probably
no letter-writer used the word affectionate so frequently
and generally in subscriptions as did he. It was used
U

AS LETTERS
sincerely. He was an affectionate and a friendly man.
nature soon glowed, although he hated gush.

His

Some Mannerisms*
Wesley used familiar terms with all his correspondents,
except when restrained by their office or dignity. He was
then punctilious in his courtesy, as to the bishops or civic
dignitaries or Lady Maxwell. He gives pet names in his
letters to all members of his old home family and to his
friends. Martha was Patty, Mary was Molly. 'Dear
Jemmy,' 1 ' Tommy,' and ' Neddy' head many missives. Like
Napoleon, he had a remarkable memory for names. He
seldom closes a letter without mentioning the relatives or
friends of his correspondent, and includes particular messages
for them. Has any letter-writer greater variety of terms
in closing letters, with stricter uniformity in his purpose,
than Wesley ? His aim is to bring his name into the last
sentence of his letter. This makes it part of that, instead
of leaving it an adjunct and authorisation. This plan
rounds off* the letter prettily and makes it much less formal
and more friendly; the more so as he usually writes at the
end the name of the correspondent, as well as at the beginning. Often a sharp, peremptory note is thus almost softened
in its final expression and general impression into a plea.
' At least be serious in the pulpit,' he writes again to strange
Thomas Wride. ' Let nothing queer, odd, or ludicrous pass
your lips there! Then the work of the Lord will prosper
in your hands, and you will be a comfort to, Dear Tommy,
Your Affectionate Friend, John Wesley."

His Correspondents.
Wesley picked his correspondents. Although he wrote
so many letters, he says, < it is not common for me to write
to any one first; I only answer those that write to m e 1 ;
a n d , ' if any man of sense has a desire to defend this bad
cause, I am ready to give him an answer; but I have not
time to answer every one that has a fancy to nibble at John
Wesley.' In 1781 he declared that he had, and had for many
85

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
years previous, a greater number of pious correspondents
than any person in England, perhaps in Europe. He had
his favourites. No business must hinder his writing to that
elect lady, Miss Bolton of Witney (see page 366).
Most of his letters were to individuals—like all the best
letters. Some, not only those on private affairs, were sealed
with wax and bore the Latin legend Tibi soli, solely for
thee, or for yourself alone.1 From his hundreds of inns and
halting-places he sent his letters fluttering in great numbers
into all kinds of eager hands, now in palace, now in cot. A
letter from Wesley was even then an event. Incessantly
travelling, preaching, writing, and carrying the weight of
all his churches and much more, defending great causes,
starting national movements, surrounded by crowds, he ever
and anon withdraws to the inner sanctities and bends over one
life, to comfort, nurture, and woo it to perfection or service.
According to an old Methodist custom, many of his letters
were read in the band—an inner, strictly limited fellowship
of Methodism — or in the class-meeting or society. But,
unlike many famous letter-writers, Wesley did not assume
an audience for his letters. He reminds us of St. Paul, not
of Horace Walpole or Lady Mary Montagu. ' Everywhere we find not the meditated artificiality of the rhetorician, counting the rhythm of his sentences, but the natural
indication of hidden greatness.'

His Public Letters.
Wesley used the literary letter as a form of public appeal,
answer, and defence. These letters were epistles, broadsheets, pamphlets, treatises in literary form. One such
letter to Bishop Warburton filled a hundred and ten pages,
and Wesley was four days in writing it. 2 To another
clergyman, Dr. Free, he wrote two long letters, though he
declared ' he is too dirty a writer for me to touch.' So was
1

So some in the Moravian Collection.
This was his famous reply to Bishop Warburton on the Holy Spirit.
Wesley respectfully asks the Bishop to write in a more serious tone. Before
printing his own letter, the Bishop sent it to Wesley with a request that he
would correct its errors !—Wesley s Works, vol. xii. p. 114.
2

36

AS LETTERS
Lavington, Bishop of Exeter; but Wesley wrote him long
public letters, and unmasked him too.
The signatures to Wesley's letters vary. Sometimes he
did not sign them. His handwriting and style always
reveal him. To Lady Maxwell he always signed in full,
John Wesley; while to his valued lay friend, Ebenezer Blackwell, it is sometimes that, or J. Wesley or J. W. To his
preachers it is generally J. Wesley. His handwriting, as
shown by the facsimiles herein, was singularly neat, pretty,
and steady until, as he put it pathetically, when very aged,
Death had shaken him by the hand. He used capital
letters very freely, and the familiar contractions of the time
—ye for the, yt for that, and ym for them, etc. He wrote
his letter with a quill pen,1 on a small quarto sheet of paper
which he folded when written, slipped it end into end, and
sealed it with wax. Envelopes were yet to come.

The Contrasts and Unity of Wesley's Character.
As they are perused these letters will show the contrasts
in Wesley's constitution and character. As a thinker and
teacher, he derived from St. Paul through Augustine and
Luther; and his letters often recall those of the Reformer.
Sometimes Wesley wrote as charmingly as Luther to his
son Hansichen; anon, as terribly as Luther to the Pope.
Some contrarieties which Professor Adolf Deissmann 2 notes
in St. Paul, ' polar contradictions,'' are here seen in Wesley :
his ailing body and physical endurance; his humility and
pride—'before God a worm, before men an eagle'; his
tenderness and severity. ' And these opposing principles did
not shatter' Wesley ; ' they set up in him the high tension
which found an outlet in the energy he expended on the
great work of his life.'' There was a deep, underlying, real
unity in him. His purpose was always the same. Mr.
Birrell truly says that Wesley's motive never eludes us.8
As in all his work, he is here intent on ' saving souls.' He
1
His last quill is in a glass case with many curios in the Wesley Museum,
Wesley's House, City Road, London.
2
St. Paul; a Study in Social and Religious History—'St. Paul the
8
Man.5
See p. 19.

m

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
is catholic in his range and taste : everything interests him.
He goes to Bristol fair to see a ' monster,' and to the Tower
of London to note the effect of music on the lions there;
witnesses a will in which there is a legacy to a cat; reins up
his horse to admire and record scenery; is eager to abate
taxation and to remedy the scarcity of provisions; and
would fain avert the war between England and her
American colonies. He has a cultured taste and delights
in friendship. But he can never forget his high duty and
privilege. He always has an engagement. ' I hate to meet
your brother," said Dr. Johnson to Miss Martha Wesley;
' the dog enchants you with his conversation, and then
breaks away to go and visit some old woman.'' Nor does
Wesley drag in his message. To him it is the most natural
thing in the world. When he has sympathised with ' a
poor patient' in the agonies of gout 1 —which he knew by
much experience—and offered to him the best remedies he
knows, he reverently speaks of ' a sickness drugs cannot
cure/ for which 6 there is no other medicine under heaven
but the peace of God.'*

This Selection of his Letters.
The chapters which follow contain a representative
collection and selection from the thousands of letters which
Wesley wrote in his long life. They are grouped under the
names of those to whom he wrote them, or the subjects on
which he wrote.2 Some of the letters tell their own story.
Sufficient explanation is given with others to place the present
reader by the side of Wesley and the first reader.3
That Wesley, one of the busiest men of all time,
ministered so amply and nobly by Letters is perhaps one
of his lessons to our busy age.
1
2
3

38

Work*) vol. xii. p. 282.
A list in chronological order is given on p. xix.
And see Book I., pp. 5-12.

CHAPTER II
TO HIS FATHER AND MOTHER—THE REV. SAMUEL
WESLEY, M.A., AND MRS. SUSANNA WESLEY

His Mother, Susanna Wesley.
T H E first of Wesley's letters here given shall be one to his
mother, Susanna Wesley (1669-1742). ' The mother makes
us most,' said Tennyson. This was strikingly verified in
Wesley's disposition, character, and career. Mrs. Wesley,
as shown above,1 was singularly gifted, and godly. She
was that strange and influential combination, a practical
mystic, and is rightly styled the Mother of Methodism. In
her husband's absence she held a so-called conventicle in the
kitchen of Epworth Rectory. She fostered in her children,
especially in John, the mind's love of God, and fearless
inquiry into facts and causes ; withheld him from hindering
new methods, as preaching by laymen, which were manifestly owned of God ; and until her death, and by her
influence long afterwards, heartened her two sons, John and
Charles, in establishing Methodism. She had a robust, full,
sober, methodical mind, suffused with womanly emotion and
fired by love. Of John she wrote in her diary—' I do intend
to be more particularly careful with the soul of this child.'
She amply fulfilled her vow. Thursday night was regularly
devoted to him while at home, and afterwards also. He
pleaded for its continuance. He consulted and discussed
points of philosophy, doctrine, and organisation with her.
I t was probably for her that he wrote the detailed and ingenuous account of his affair of the heart with Miss Sophia
1

See p. 13.

39

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Hopkey while in Savannah. On the blank outside leaf he
quoted the significant Scripture quotation, * Snatched as a
brand out of the fire.'1 On the death of his father, Wesley
made a home for his mother in his house at City Road
Chapel, London, and rejoiced in the full discharge of his
filial duty to her. Charles Wesley said he envied him of
4
that glorious burden/ Mrs. Wesley lived to see Methodism in its third year, firmly established by her son John,
and rising to music and the sacred song of another son,
Charles.2 The former was in Bristol when he heard of her
last illness. He left that city on Sunday evening, rode
hard the hundred and twenty miles in the hot July weather,
and arrived in London on Tuesday, dusty and exhausted ;
for, said he, ' I shall never have another mother/ When
she died a few days later he fulfilled her last wish by leading
a psalm of praise by those round her deathbed.

* Bishop Taylor says, " Whether God has forgiven us or no, we know not."'
Here Wesley is feeling after and defending the truth
which he was to recall and make a distinguishing feature
of his teaching—Assurance of Salvation, the Witness of the
Holy Spirit to the believer's acceptance in Christ. 8 Thirteen long and weary years must pass before he will know
this blessing himself; but even now the logic of the situation convinces him.
To his Mother.
OXFORD, June 18, 1725,

have so well satisfied me as to the
tenets of Thomas a Kempis that I have ventured to trouble
you once more on a more dubious subject. I have heard
DEAR MOTHER,—You

1
The original is in the Wesleyan Conference Office. It is a beautiful
specimen of Wesley's handwriting and exquisite neatness, is without abbreviations, and is suitable for reading by an aged person. See Journal, vol. i.
p. 288.
2
See note on her approval and sympathy.—Ibid., vol. i. p. 483.
8
Compare his appeals to Lady Maxwell, p. 388.

40

TO FATHER AND MOTHER
one 1 I take to be a person of good judgement say that she
would advise no one very young to read Dr. Taylor on
Holy Living and Dying.
She added that he almost put
her out of her senses when she was fifteen or sixteen years
old, because he seemed to exclude all from being in a way of
salvation who did not come up to his rules, some of which
are altogether impracticable.
A fear of being tedious will make me confine myself to
one or two instances, in which I am doubtful, though several
others might be produced of almost equal consequence. In
reference to humility the Bishop says, ' We must be sure, in
some sense or other, to think ourselves the worst in every
company where we come.' And in treating of repentance
he says, ' Whether God has forgiven us or no, we know n o t ;
therefore be sorrowful for ever having sinned.'' I take the
more notice of this last sentence because it seems to contradict his own words in the next section, where he says
that by the Lord's Supper all the members are united to
one another, and to Christ the Head. The Holy Ghost
confers on us the graces necessary for, and our souls receive
the seeds of, an immortal nature. Now surely these graces
are not of so little force as that we cannot perceive whether
we have them or n o t ; if we dwell in Christ, and Christ in
us, which He will not do unless we are regenerate, certainly
we must be sensible of it. If we can never have any certainty
of our being in a state of salvation, good reason it is that
every moment should be spent, not in joy, but in fear and
trembling; and then, undoubtedly in this life, we are of all
1
Probably his ' religious friend,' Miss Betty Kirkham. See below, p. 44.
Dr. Augustin Leger of Brest, in La Jeunesse de Wesley, thinks this, rather
than May, 1738 (see below, p. 61), was the period of Wesley's Conversion'
{Wes. Hist. Proceedings, viii. 3). Certainly Wesley was in an intense
spiritual condition, as is shown by the incident which happened then and
is related in the next letter, Jan. 27, 1727—a year and a half later. But in
all his own accounts Wesley looks back to May 24, 1738, as the day. See
below, letter Oct. 30, 1738.

41

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
men most miserable. God deliver us from such a fearful
expectation as this ! Humility is undoubtedly necessary to
salvation ; and if all these things are essential'to humility,
who can be humble, who can be saved ?—I am, Dear mother.
Your dutiful and affectionate son.

* Curiosity . . . if we had half a dozen Centuries
of Life to come.'
Just about the time of the above letter an incident
occurred which so impressed Wesley that he narrates it
in the next letter we give. I t is an impressive glimpse of
his motives and methods. He is now four-and-twenty. As
he walks this winters night with his consumptive friend in
the still aisle of St. Mary's, Oxford, the same moral passion,
directness, and winsome tact are seen as will appear a
thousand times in the subsequent sixty years of eager
endeavour to help men. He knew the things which belong
unto their peace.1
To his Mother.
OXFORD, January 1727.
I am shortly to take my Master's degree. As I shall
from that time be less interrupted by business not of my
own choosing, I have drawn up for myself a scheme of
studies from which I do not intend, for some years at least,
to vary. I am perfectly come over to your opinion that
there are many truths it is not worth while to know.
Curiosity, indeed, might be a sufficient plea for our laying out
1
Hugh Price Hughes, who closely resembled Wesley in these and many
features of his work, did the like to this on one occasion when he was himself a Methodist minister in Oxford, and with the same timeliness for the life
which he helped. ' Excuse me,' he said to a graduate almost unknown to
him whom he accosted in the High Street, * but I am curiously constrained
to ask you a question. What is your opinion of Jesus Christ? How does
it stand between you and Him ?' ' Mr. Hughes,' was the reply, * I have
been waiting for twenty years for some one to ask me that question. Come
to my rooms and talk to me.'—Life, by his daughter, p. 144.

42

TO FATHER AND MOTHER
some time upon them, if we had half a dozen centuries of
life to come ; but methinks it is great ill-husbandry to spend
a considerable part of the small pittance now allowed us in
what makes us neither a quick nor a sure return.
Two days ago I was reading a dispute between those
celebrated masters of controversy, Bishop Atterbury and
Bishop Hoadly, but must own I was so injudicious as to
break off in the middle. I could not conceive that the
dignity of the end was at all proportioned to the difficulty
of attaining it, and I thought the labour of twenty or
thirty hours, if I was sure of succeeding, which I was not,
would be ill rewarded by that important piece of knowledge,
whether Bishop Atterbury had misunderstood Bishop Hoadly
or no.
About a year and a half ago I stole out of company at
eight in the evening with a young gentleman with whom I
was intimate. As we took a turn in an aisle in St. Mary's
Church, in expectation of a young lady's funeral with whom
we were both acquainted, I asked him if he really thought
himself my friend ; and if he did, why he would not do me
all the good he could. He began to protest; in which I
cut him short by desiring him to oblige me in an instance,
which he could not deny to be in his own power; to let me
have the pleasure of making him a whole Christian, to which
I knew he was half persuaded already ; that he could not do
me a greater kindness, as both of us would be fully convinced
when we came to follow that young woman.
He turned exceedingly serious, and kept something of
that disposition ever since. Yesterday was a fortnight, he
died of a consumption. I saw him three days before he died,
and, on the Sunday following, did him the last good office
that I could here by preaching his funeral sermon, which
was his desire when living.—I am, Dear mother, Your
dutiful and affectionate son.
43

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' Implant what Habits I would before the Flexibility of Youth be over.'
His mother, a book—Thomas a Kempis's De Imitatione
Christi—and the 'meeting with a religious friend,**1 probably Miss Betty Kirkham, have further steadied and
stirred Wesley. He is almost minded now to seek cloistral
retirement, is very careful of company and worship, and is
frugal of time. Doubtless Miss Kirkham was one of ' the
persons of whom he never speaks without gratitude,' to
whom he alludes here. She is ' Varenese,' one of a small circle
of his intimate correspondents. He met her two years
before this letter, and with important results for himself.
' Meeting likewise a religious friend, which I never had till
now, I began to alter the whole form of my conversation
and to set in earnest upon a new life.'*
What a headmaster Wesley would have made! His
hobby for many years, and his least successful enterprise,
was his school for boys at Kingswood.
This letter, with many personal details, is from the
original, and is much more completely given than in his
Works.
To his Mother.
LINC[OLN COLLEGE], [OXFORD], March 19, 1726/7.

One advantage, a t least, my Degree has given me : I am
now at liberty, and shall be in a great measure for some
time, to choose my own employment. And as I believe I
know my own deficiencies best, and which of them are most
necessary to be supplied, I hope my time will turn to somewhat better account than when it was not so much in my
own disposal.
On Saturday next I propose beginning an entirely new
life, with relation to the management of my expenses, from
what I have hitherto done. I expect then to receive a sum
of money, and intend immediately to call in all my
1
For the evidence of identification of this * friend' with Miss Kirkham, see
his Journal, vol. i. p. 13.

44

TO FATHER AND MOTHER
creditors'* bills (that they may not grow by lying by, as it
sometimes happens), and from that time forward to trust
no man of what sort or trade soever, so far as to let him
trust me.
Dear mother, I speak what I know: my being little and
weak, whereas had it not been for a strange concurrence of
accidents (so called in the language of men) 1 should very
probably be just the reverse, I can easily account for; I can
readily trace the wisdom and mercy of Providence in allotting me these imperfections. (Though what if I should
not ? Since while I look through a glass I can only expect
to see darkly.) But here the difficulty was likely to lie:
Why should Infinite Goodness permit me to contract a
habit of sin, even before I knew it to be sinful, which has
been a thorn in my side ever since ? ' How can I skill of
these Thy ways ?' So well, that I am verily persuaded, had
it not been for that sinful habit I had scarce ever acquired
any degree of any virtuous one. Is not this the finger of
God ? Surely no one else could have extracted so much
good from evil! Surely it was mercy not to hear my
prayer!
The conversation of one or two persons, whom you may
have heard me speak of (I hope never without gratitude),
first took off my relish for most other pleasures, so far that
I despised them in comparison of that. From thence I have
since proceeded a step further; to slight them absolutely.
And I am so little at present in love with even company—the
most elegant entertainment next to books—that, unless the
persons have a peculiar turn of thought, I am much better
pleased without them. I think it is the settled temper of
my soul that I should prefer, at least for some time, such a
retirement as would seclude me from all the world, to the
station I am now in. Not that this is by any means unpleasant to me ; but I imagine it would be more improving
45

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
to be in a place where I might confirm or implant in my
mind what habits I would, without interruption, before the
flexibility of youth be over, than to stay where, among
many advantages, I lie under the inconvenience of being
almost necessarily exposed to so much impertinence and
vanity.
A school in Yorkshire, 40 miles from Doncaster, was
proposed to me lately, on which I shall think more when it
appears whether I may have it or not. A good salary is
annexed to it, so that in a year's time 'tis probable all my
debts would be paid and I should have money beforehand.
But what has made me wish for it most is the frightful
description, as they call it, which some gentlemen who know
the place gave me of it yesterday. ' The town (Skipton in
Craven), lies in a little vale, so pent up between two hills
that it is scarcely accessible on any side: so that you can
expect little company from without, and within there is
none at all.' I should therefore be entirely at liberty to
converse with company of my own choosing, whom for
that reason I would bring with me: and company equally
agreeable, wherever I fixed, could not put me to less
expense.
e

The sun that walks his airy way
To cheer the world, and bring the day;
The moon that shines with borrow'd light;
The stars that gild the gloomy night;
All of these, and all I see,
Should be sung, and sung by me:
These praise their Maker as they can,
But want and ask the tongue of man/

The text of that sermon I preached on the Sunday
following Mr. Griffith's death was, 'Now he is dead, wherefore should I fast ? Can I bring him back again ? I shall
go to him, but he shall not return to me.' I never gave
46

TO FATHER AND MOTHER
more reason to suspect my doctrine did not agree with my
practice, for a sickness and pain in my stomach, attended
with a violent looseness which seized me the day he was
buried, altered me so much in three days, and made me
look so pale and thin, that those who saw me could not help
but observe it.
A letter from my sister Emily, my brother tells me, was
brought to my chambers the other day; but wherever the
fellow laid it, I have not been able to set my eye on it from
that day to this.
I am full of business, but have found a way to write
without taking any time from that. It is but rising an
hour sooner in the morning, and going into company an
hour later in the evening : both which may be done without
any inconvenience. My brother has got the other side
away from me.—I am, Dear Mother, Your affectionate,
dutiful son.
I return you thanks for your thoughts on Zeal, and my
sister Emily for hers on—I know not what. However, I
am persuaded they were very good. My love attend my
other sisters; I should have said, brother Charles too.

A Letter from his Father.
Four months later Wesley, still at Oxford, received the
following letter from his father, the Reverend Samuel
Wesley, M.A. 1 (1662-1735), Rector of Epworth, Lincolnshire. It is copied from the original. On the third side
of the sheet is a letter to Wesley's brother Charles, also at
Oxford. It shows the home into which these Wesley letters
went. Here is the mother, now in broken health ; and here
is the father, quaint, feeling the effects of his service at his
two charges at Epworth and Wroot, but tenacious as ever.
The ' perfect harmony' in the family is a contrast to its tone
1

See Tyerman's Life and Times of Reverend Samuel Wesley, M.A.

47

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
sometimes.1 Wesley's father is described, in fiction, as an
ogre. He was something of a martinet, and held the views of
his time that a father is a magistrate in his family, and that
the claims of women, even daughters, are fewer and lower than
those of men, even boys.2 He anticipated his sons in the
emphasis they placed upon Assurance and the Witness of
the Spirit, and foresaw the Evangelical Revival. His dying
testimony to his son John was, ' The inward witness, son,
the inward witness, this is the proof, the strongest proof, of
Christianity'; and he often laid his hands upon the head of
Charles and said, ' Be steady. The Christian Faith will
surely revive in this kingdom ; you shall see it, though I
shall not/ He strongly wished that his son John should
succeed him as Rector of Epworth. This he declined in a
long, argumentative letter. He was later to look upon all
the world as his parish. 8
From Wesley's Father to John Wesley.
WROOT, July 18, 1727.

received last packet your compliments of condolence and congratulation to your mother on
the supposition of her near approaching demise, to which
your sister Patty will by no means subscribe, for she says
she is not so good a philosopher as you are, and that she
DEAR SON JOHN,—We

1
2

See Clarke's Wesley Family.
These lines by Wesley's elder brother Samuel, then away from home,
show us the Rector and his family and home in a comical, not unkindly light.
' Methinks I see you striving all
Who first shall answer to his call,
Or lusty Nan or feeble Moll
Sage Pat or sober Hetty ;
To rub his cassock's draggled tail,
Or reach his hat from off the nail,
Or seek the key to draw his ale
When damsel haps to steal it;
To burn his pipe, or mend his clothes,
Or wisely darn his russet hose,
For comfort of his aged toes
So fine they cannot feel it.'
Then comes in a letter from Jack or Jacky, as they called the clever son
and brother at Oxford.
8
See his letter to his brother Samuel below, p. 56.

48

TO FATHER AND MOTHER
can't spare her mother yet, if it please God, without very
great inconveniency.
And indeed, though she has now and then some very sick
fits, yet I know the sight of you would revive her. However, when you come you will see a new face on things, my
family being now pretty well colonised (?) and all perfect
harmony, much happier in no small straits than perhaps
we ever were before in the greatest affluence, and you 11 find
a servant that will make us rich, if God gives him leave,
and us anything for him to work upon. I know not but it
may be this prospect, together with my easiness in my
family, which keeps my spirits from sinking, tho' they tell
me IVe lost some of my tallow between Wroot and
Epworth. But that I don't value as long as I Ve strength
still left to perform my office. If Charles can get to London,
I believe Hardsley at the Red Lion, Aldersgate St., might
procure him a horse, as reasonably as any, to ride along
with you to Lincoln [City], and direct him where to leave it
there, with the carrier to return, which will be the cheapest
and safest way; and I warrant you we will find means
to bring Charles up again. Your own best way, as in my
case, will be to buy a horse for yourself (J. F.) for the
reasons I then told you.—I'm weary, but Your loving
father,

SAM. WESLEY.

' O u r little Company,' the Oxford Methodists,
'is shrunk into almost none at all.'
Wesley, probably with his brother Charles, has been
home to Epworth. They have evidently walked there from
Oxford and back. Wesley was fond of walking. Of money
he had little, and wanted all for charities. With this letter
to his father was one to his mother. To her he says that
the walking ' and the sun together in our hundred and fifty
miles walk so carried off all our superfluous humours that
D
49

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
we continue perfectly in health, though it is here a very
sickly season/
His father and all at the Rectory were much interested in i our little company.''
These are the Oxford
Methodists. 1 The name had been used several times before
for persons who were markedly methodical, but it was now
stuck by a wit of Christ Church College upon a little company of students, a religious fellowship, of which Charles
Wesley was founder. Of all the names given to them this
was to survive and to become one of the commonest in
religious nomenclature. John Wesley became chief of these
Oxford Methodists, and was nicknamed ; the Curator of the
Holy Club.1* These Methodist tutors, graduates, and undergraduates lived by rule and very frugally, had practically
all things in common, studied steadily, observed punctiliously the regulations of their colleges, the University, and
the Church, and urged others to do the same. They spent
their leisure in visiting and relieving the poor, the prisoners
in the Castle, and in teaching children. Critics and detractors were many. The next two letters show some. Wesley's
father cordially approved of all this earnest work. His
excellent hymn beginning
* Behold the Saviour of mankind/
was a notable contribution to the Methodist evangel, and
was wondrously useful.
To his Father.
June 11,1731.
Our walk was not so pleasant to Oxford as from it, though
in one respect it was more useful, for it let us see that four
or five-and-twenty miles is an easy and safe day's journey
in hot weather as well as cold. We have made another discovery too, which may be of some service; that it is easy to
read as we walk ten or twelve miles, and that it neither
makes us faint nor gives us any other symptom of weariness
more than the mere walking without reading at all.
1

50

Tyerman's The Oxford Methodists.

TO FATHER AND MOTHER
Since our return, our little company that used to meet us
on a Sunday evening is shrunk into almost none at all.
Mr. Morgan is sick at Holt; Mr. Boyce is at his father's
house at Barton; Mr. Kirkham must very shortly leave
Oxford to be his uncle's curate; and a young gentleman of
Christ Church who used to make a fourth, either afraid or
ashamed, or both, is returned to the ways of the world, and
studiously shuns our company. However, the poor at the
Castle have still the gospel preached to them and some of
their temporal wants supplied, our little fund rather increasing than diminishing. Nor have we yet been forced to discharge any of the children which Mr. Morgan left to our
care. Though I wish they too do not find the want of him,
I am sure some of their parents will.
Some, however, give us a better prospect; John Whitelamb in particular. 1 I believe with this you will receive
some account from himself how his time is employed. He
reads one English, one Latin, and one Greek book alternately, and never meddles with a new one in any of the
languages till he has ended the old one. If he goes on as
he has begun, I dare take upon me to say that, by the
time he has been here four or five years, there will not be
such an one of his standing in Lincoln College, perhaps
not in the University of Oxford.—I am, Your dutiful and
affectionate son.

'Diminution of Fortune, Friends, and Reputation. 9
Wesley's ' fortune," or income, was very limited ; his use
of it in altruistic efforts was lavish. He states of an Oxford
Methodist 2 —himself—that when he had £30 a year he
lived on p£28, and gave away forty shillings. The next year,
receiving i?60, he still lived on i?28, and gave away £&%
The third year he received £ 9 0 and gave away £G&. The
1
2

Whitelamb married Wesley's sister Mary.
Works, vol. vii. p. 36. See also below, p. 65.

51

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
fourth year he received c^l&O. Still he lived as before on
£28, and gave to the poor £92.
Here is a strong, brave letter—
To his Father.
[OXFORD], June 13, 1733.

The effects of my last journey, I believe, will make me
more cautious of staying any time from Oxford for the
future, at least till I have no pupils to take care of, which
probably will be within a year or two. One of my young
gentlemen told me at my return that he was more and
more afraid of singularity; another, that he had read an
excellent piece of Mr. Locke's which had convinced him of
the mischief of regarding authority. Both of them agreed
that the observing of Wednesday as a fast was an unnecessary singularity, the Catholic Church (that is, the majority
of it) having long since repealed, by contrary custom, the
injunction she formerly gave concerning it. A third, who
could not yield to this argument, has been convinced by a
fever, and Dr. Frewin. Our seven-and-twenty communicants at St. Mary's were on Monday shrunk to five; and
the day before, the last of Mr. Clayton's pupils, who continued with us, informed me that he did not design to meet
us any more.
My ill-success, as they call it, seems to be what has frightened every one away from a falling house. On Sunday I
was considering the matter a little more nearly, and imagined that all the ill consequences of my singularity were
reducible to three—diminution of fortune, loss of friends
and reputation. As to my fortune, I well know, though
perhaps others do not, that I could not have borne a larger
than I have; and as for that most plausible excuse for desiring it, ' While I have so little, I cannot do the good I
would,' I ask, * Can you do the good God would have you
52

TO FATHER AND MOTHER
do ? I t is enough ! Look no further.' For friends, they
were either trifling or serious. If serious, those who are
more serious are left, whom the others would rather have
opposed than forwarded in the service they have done, and
still do us. If it be said,' But these may leave you too,
for they are no firmer than the others were,' first, I doubt
that fact; but next, suppose they should, we hope then
they would only teach us a nobler and harder lesson than
they have done hitherto. ' I t is better to trust in the
Lord than to put any confidence in man.'' And as for
reputation, though it be a glorious instrument of advancing
our Master's service, yet there is a better than that—a
clean heart, a single eye, a soul full of God ! A fair exchange, if by the loss of reputation we can purchase the
lowest degree of purity of heart! We beg my mother and
you would not cease to work together with us, that, whatever we lose, we may gain this; and that, having tasted of
this good gift, we may count all things else but dung and
dross in comparison of it.-—I am, Dear father, Your dutiful
and affectionate son.

' T h e Subject of Christian Liberty.'
This hitherto almost unknown letter, reproduced here
in facsimile, brings out young Wesley's analytical skill and
his sanity. He always felt and taught the value of rules—
6
prudential regulations' he called them—and of the means
of grace. Neglect and contempt of them was too high for
him.
To his Mother.
OXON., January 13, 1734[5].
DEAR MOTHER,—Give me leave to say once more that

our Folks do, and will, I suppose, to the end of the chapter,
mistake the Question. Supposing him changed, say they.
58

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Right, but that Supposition has not Proof yet, whatever
it may have. When it has, then we may come to our other
Point, whether all this be not Providence, i.e. Blessing:
and whether we are empowered so to judge, condemn, and
execute an Imprudent Christian, as, God forbid, I should
ever use a Turk or Deist.
I have had a great deal of conversation lately on the
subject of Christian Liberty, and should be glad of your
thoughts as to the several notions of it which Good Men
entertain. I perceive different Persons take it in at least
six Different Senses.
1. For Liberty from wilful Sin in opposition to the
bondage from natural Corruption.
2. For Liberty as to Rites and Points of Discipline.
So Mr. Whiston says: 4 Though the Stations were constituted by the Apostles, yet the Liberty of the Christian
Law dispenses with them on extraordinary Occasions.'
3. For Liberty from denying ourselves in little things;
for trifles 'tis commonly thought we may indulge in safely,
because Christ hath made us free. This notion I a little
doubt, is not sound.
4. For Liberty from fear, or a Filial Freedom in our
intercourse with GOD. A Christian, says Dr. Knight, is free
from Fear on account of his past sins, for he believes in
Christ, and Hope frees him from Fear of losing his present
labour, or of being a Castaway hereafter.
5. Christian Liberty is taken by some for a Freedom from
Restraint as to Sleep or Food. So they would say, Your
drinking not one glass of Wine, or my rising at fixed
hours was contrary to Christian Liberty.
Lastly, it is taken for Freedom from Rules. If by this
he meant making our Rules yield to extraordinary occasions, well: If, the having no Prudential Rules, this
Liberty is as yet too high for me, I cannot attain unto it.
54

TO FATHER AND MOTHER
We join in begging yours and my Father's Blessing,
and wishing you a Happy Year.—I am, Dear mother,
Your dutiful and affectionate son.
[Addressed]
To Mrs. Wesley at Epworth.
To be left at the Posthouse,
In Gainsbro',
Lincolnshire.
per London.

55

CHAPTER I I I
TO HIS BROTHERS AND SISTER—THE REV. SAMUEL
WESLEY, JUNR., REV. CHARLES WESLEY, AND
MISS MARTHA WESLEY

' I can better serve God and His Church in my
present Station.'
was much attached to his brothers and sisters,
and they to him. The severe financial limitations and
struggles of the Epworth Rector's family drew its members
together. In conversation, in letter, and in literary products
their affection, wit, high controversial and poetic gifts were
displayed and developed. Wesley freely corresponded with
them all, often with Samuel, and their sister Martha, and
with his greatest coadjutor, Charles, the youngest but one
in the large family.
His eldest brother, the Rev. Samuel Wesley, Jun., M.A.,
Headmaster of Blunders School, Tiverton, strongly urged
his acceptance of a parish cure, and that of Epworth.
Wesley sent him a copy of the letter he had sent to their
father declining this proposal.1 Here is his final decision,
and reason for it. This was a critical hour. He remained at
his beloved Oxford. The next year he was to leave it,
never to return, except as a visitor.
WESLEY

To his brother Samuel.
OXFORD, March 4, 1735.

had rather dispute with you, if I must
dispute, than with any man living, because it may be done
with so little expense of time and words. The question
DEAR BROTHER,—I

1

56

See above, p. 52.

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
is now brought to one point, and the whole argument will
lie in one syllogism : ' Neither hope of doing greater good,
nor fear of any evil, ought to deter you from what you have
engaged yourself to do: but you have engaged yourself
to undertake the cure of a parish; therefore, neither that
hope nor that fear ought to deter you from it."' The only
doubt which remains is, whether I have so engaged myself
or not. You think I did at my ordination, ' before God
and His High Priest'; I think I did not. However, I own
I am not the proper judge of the oath I then took, it being
certain, and allowed by all, Verbis, in quae quis jurejurando
adigitur, sensum genuinum, ut et obligationi sacrementi
rnodum ac mensuram, prcestitui a mente non prcestantis sed
exigentis juramentum: 4 That the true sense of the words of
an oath, and the mode and extent of its obligation, are not
to be determined by him who takes it, but by him who
requires it."' Therefore it is not I, but the High Priest of
God, before whom I contracted that engagement, who is to
judge of the nature and extent of it.
Accordingly, the post after I received yours, I referred it
entirely to him, proposing this single question to him:
Whether I had, at my ordination, engaged myself to undertake the cure of a parish or no. His answer runs in these
words: * It does not seem to me that, at your ordination,
you engaged yourself to undertake the cure of any parish,
provided you can, as a clergyman, better serve God and His
Church in your present or some other station. 1 Now that
I can, as a clergyman, better serve God and His Church in
my present station, I have all reasonable evidence.—I am,
Dear brother, Your most affectionate friend and brother.

' The whole Question turns on Matter of Fact.'
Wesley has been to Georgia as missionary, and is now
within a few months of his spiritual epoch of May 24,1788.
57

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
His brother Samuel thought' the knowledge of salvation by
the remission of our sins * a new faith. He also besought
the brothers to ' banish extemporary exposition and extemporary prayers.' Wesley here uses the Baconian argument.
He will often use it, and will accumulate material for so
wide an induction as will make his conclusions irresistible.
{
What we have felt and seen
With confidence we tell,
And publish to the sons of men
The signs infallible/
To his brother Samuel.
BRISTOL,1 April 4, 1738.
DEAR BROTHER,—I rejoice greatly at the temper with
which you now write, and trust there is not only mildness
but love in your heart. If so, you shall know of this
doctrine, whether it be of God, though perhaps not by
my ministry.
To this hour you have pursued an ignoratio elenchi.
Your assurance and mine are as different as light and darkness. I mean, an assurance that I am now in a state of
salvation; you, an assurance that I shall persevere therein.
The very definition of the term cuts off your second and
third observation. As to the first I would take notice.
1st. No kind of assurance (that I know) or of faith, or
repentance, is essential to their salvation who die infants.
2nd. I believe God is ready to give all true penitents who
fly to His free grace in Christ a fuller sense of pardon than
they had before they fell. I know this to be true of several:
whether these are exempt cases, I know not. 3rd. Persons
that were of a melancholy and gloomy constitution, even to
some degree of madness, I have known in a moment (let
it be called a miracle, I quarrel not) brought into a state of
firm lasting peace and joy.
1
So in Works, vol. xii. p. 3 0 ; but this is an error, as Wesley was at
Dummer.—-Journal, vol. i. p. 450.

58

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
My dear brother, the whole question turns chiefly, if not
wholly, on matter of fact. You deny that God does now
work these effects; at least that He works them in such
a manner. I affirm both, because I have heard those facts
with my ears, and seen them with my eyes. I have seen (as
far as it can be seen) very many persons changed in a
moment, from the spirit of horror, fear, and despair, to the
spirit of hope, joy, peace; and from sinful desires, till then
reigning over them, to a pure desire of doing the will of
God. These are matters of fact whereof I have been, and
almost daily am, eye- or ear-witness. What (upon the
same evidence, as to the suddenness and reality of the
change) I believe, or know, touching visions and dreams:
this I know, several persons in whom this great change
from the power of Satan unto God, was wrought either
in sleep or during a strong representation to the eye of
their minds of Christ, either on the Cross or in glory. This
is the fact. Let any judge of it as they please. But that
such a change was then wrought appears not from their
shedding tears only, or sighing, or singing psalms, as your
poor correspondent did by the woman of Oxford, but from
the whole tenor of their life, till then many ways wicked;
from that time holy, just, and good.
Saw you him that was a lion till then and is now a
lamb : he that was a drunkard, but now exemplarily sober :
the whoremonger that was, that now abhors the very lusts
of the flesh? These are my living arguments for what I
assert, that God now, as aforetime, gives remission of sins
and the gift of the Holy Ghost, which may be called
visions. If it be not so, I am found a false witness; but,
however, I do and will testify the things I have both seen
and heard.
I do not now expect to see your face in the flesh. Not
that I believe God will discharge you yet, but I believe
59

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
I have nearly finished my course. O may I be found in Him,
not having my own righteousness.
c
When I Thy promis'd Christ have seen.
And claspt Him in my soul's embrace,
Possess'd of Thy salvation then,
Then may I, Lord, depart in peace.'
The great blessing of God be upon you and yours.—I am,
Dear brother, Your ever affectionate and obliged brother.
I expect to stay here some time, perhaps as long as I am
in the body.

' In this sense I was not a Christian till May the
24th last past.'
Here is, in some respects, the most interesting of all
Wesley's letters. It was written at half-past five on a
winter Monday morning, and carefully. ' Singing' and ' writ
to Brother Samuel ? are the only entries in his diary until
half-past eight that day. It may well be read and re-read.
I t deals with the spiritual crisis in his life, which he thought,
and his truest interpreters regard, as supremely important.
Lecky, the historian of that century, wrote : * It is scarcely
an exaggeration to say that the scene which took place at
that humble meeting in Aldersgate Street forms an epoch
in English history.'' By the printed page used in that great
hour Wesley touched Luther, and Luther touched St. Paul.
What a living line !
Candour, humility, and Christian confidence throb in the
letter. Its faithful opening words and closing appeal from
this younger brother must have moved the heart of Samuel
Wesley, scholar, poet, clergyman as he was, and not less
that of his wife Ursula. The day, 'May 24 last past,'
is now five months away. Wesley's ' cooler thoughts'—to
use a favourite expression of his—here tell the meaning of
its solemn and glad events. He contrasts it with an earlier
day, January 8. Then he was 6 in the midst of the great
deep' and ' bitterness of soul.' He gives them his diary's
60

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
quivering record of his self-analysis. But that is all past,
and serves only as a dark background for the brightness and
beauty of the evening of May 24, when a light shone from
heaven upon him.

Wesley's great Day.
On that memorable day Wesley was in London, as he is
when he writes the letter below to his brother Samuel. He
tells us the occupations of the day, every hour of which
seemed to lead him onward towards a transforming experience. The full story is given in his Journal^ In the morning he opened upon Scriptures which told him,' There are
given unto us exceeding great and precious promises,"1 and
' Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God.'' In the afternoon, at St. Paul's Cathedral, the anthem seemed to voice
his anxiety in its words,' Out of the deep have I called unto
thee, O Lord.' ' In the evening,' he says, ' I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one 2 was
reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans.
About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the
change which God works in the heart through faith in
Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust
in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: and an assurance was
given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and
saved me from the law of sin and death.'
To his brother Samuel.
LONDON, October 30, 1738.
you will always receive kindly
what is so intended, I doubt not. Therefore I again recommend the character of Susurrus 3 both to you and my sister,4
as (whether real or feigned) striking at the root of a fault,
DEAR BROTHER,—That

1
2

Vol. i. pp. 46S-77.
For the ' one' who was reading, probably William Holland, and the
actual words read, see Wes. Hist. Proc, vol. viii. p. 61 and p. 2.
3
One of the character studies in Law's Serious Call to a Devout and Holy
Life> chap. xxii.
4
He means his sister-in-law, Samuel Wesley's wife.

61

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
of which both she and you were, I think, more guilty than
any other two persons I have known in my life. O may
God deliver both you and me from all bitterness and evilspeaking, as well as from all false doctrine, heresy, and
schism !
With regard to my own character, and my doctrine likewise, I shall answer you very plainly. By a Christian I
mean one who so believes in Christ as that sin hath no
more dominion over him : and in this obvious sense of the
word I was not a Christian until May the 24th last past.
For till then sin had the dominion over me, although I
fought with it continually ; but surely, then, from that
time to this it hath not—such is the free grace of God in
Christ. What sins they were which till then reigned over
me, and from which, by the grace of God, I am now free, I
am ready to declare on the house-top, if it may be for the
glory of God.
If you ask by what means I am made free (though not
perfect, neither infallibly sure of my perseverance), I answer,
By faith in Christ; by such a sort or degree of faith as I
had not till that day. My desire of this faith I knew long
before, though not so clearly till Sunday, January the 8th last,
when, being in the midst of the great deep, I wrote a few
lines, in the bitterness of my soul, some of which I have
transcribed; and may the good God sanctify them both to
you and me!
' By the most infallible of all proofs, inward feeling, I am
convinced—
6
1 . Of unbelief; having no such faith in Christ as will
prevent my heart being troubled; which it could not be if
I believed in God, and rightly believed also in Him ;
< £. Of pride throughout my past life; insomuch I thought
I had what I find I had not. Lord, save me or I perish!
Save me—
62

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
' (1) By such a faith in Thee and in Thy Christ as implies
trust, confidence, peace in life and death;
6
(£) By such humility as may fill my heart from this
hour for ever with a piercing, interrupted sense,
nihil est quod hactenus feci J- having evidently built
without a foundation;
6
(3) By such a recollection that I may cry to Thee every
moment, but more especially when all is calm (if
it should so please Thee), " Give me faith or I die !
Give me a lowly spirit, otherwise mihi non sit
suave vivere."2 Amen ! Come, Lord Jesus ! Tie
Aa/3tS, iXerjaov fie.7 3
Some measure of this faith, which bringeth salvation or
victory over sin, and which implies peace and trust in God
through Christ, I now enjoy by His free mercy ; though in
very deed it is in me but as a grain of mustard-seed: for
the ir\r}po(j>opLa iria-rem 4 —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 patiently wait for it. I know many who have
already received i t ; more than one or two in the very hour
we were praying for it. And having seen and spoken with
a cloud of witnesses abroad,5 as well as in my own country, I
cannot doubt but that believers who wait and pray for it
will find these scriptures fulfilled in themselves. My hope
is, that they will be fulfilled in me; I build on Christ,
the Rock of Ages, on His sure mercies described in His
word, and on His promises, all of which I know are
near5 and amen. Those who have not yet received joy in
1
2
3
4
5

* What I have been hitherto doing amounts to nothing.'
' May life itself no longer be pleasant to me.'
* Son of David, have mercy upon me.'
'Fulness of faith.'
A reference to his visit to the Moravians. See below, p. 69.

63

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
the Holy Ghost, the love of God, and the plerophory of
faith (any or all of which I take to be the witness of the
Spirit with our spirit that we are the sons of God), I
believe to be Christians in that imperfect sense wherein
I may call myself such; and I exhort them to pray that
God would give them also ' t o rejoice in the hope of
the glory of God," and to feel ' His love shed abroad in
their hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto
them.'
On men I build not, neither on Matilda Chipman's word,
whom I have not talked with five minutes in my life, nor
on anything peculiar in the weak, well-meant relation of
William Hervey, who yet is a serious, humble-acting
Christian. But have you been building on these ? Yes;
I find them, more or less, in almost every letter you have
written on the subject. Yet were all that has been said on
' visions, dreams, and balls of fire ' to be fairly proposed in
syllogisms, I believe it would not prove a jot more on one
than on the other side of the question.
O brother, would to God you would leave disputing concerning the things which you know not (if indeed you know
them not), and beg of God to fill up what is yet wanting in
you ! Why should not you also seek till you receive ' that
peace of God which passeth all understanding'? Who
shall hinder you, notwithstanding the manifold temptations, from rejoicing with joy unspeakable, by reason of
glory ? Amen, Lord Jesus! May you, and all who are
near of kin to you (if you have it not already), feel His love
shed abroad in your hearts, by His Spirit which dwelleth in
you, and be sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which
is the earnest of your inheritance.—I am, Yours and my
sister's most affectionate brother.

64

WESLEY'S LETTER
TO

HIS MOTHER
From O X F O R D , January 13, 1734-5

FACSIMILE from the ORIGINAL
in the Collection of Mr. Russell
J. Colman, D.L., J.P., Norwich
THE TEXT of this LETTER is
given on page 5 3

LETTERS OF JOHN WESLEY
BY REV. GEORGE EAYRS, F . R H I S T . S .
Published by Hodder & Stoughton, London, Toronto, New York
1916

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
' Did you not thoroughly understand what my
Brother and I were doing?'
They were doing wonders, as divine instruments, by now.
Methodism had been established more than twenty years.
But of Wesley it was true, in part, that ' neither did his
brethren believe in him/ Even his favourite sister Martha
(Mrs. Hall) did not become a Methodist. Except in this,
Wesley and she were remarkably alike: in disposition,
character, and appearance. In the last, Adam Clarke said
that they were indistinguishable except by their clothes.
Her attitude did not hinder nor lessen his kindness. Mrs.
Hall lived in the Methodist Chapel House, West Street,
London.
Here too is his ready response to her special appeal,
although his legacy from Miss Lewen was exhausted. This
latest gift 1 was i?l,000. He gave it all away by fifties and
hundreds. ' Hundreds and thousands of people are for ever
draining Mr. Wesley's pocket to the last shilling,' said
Thomas Olivers. Wesley declared, ' Money must needs
pass through my hands; but I will take care it shall not
rest there.'
To his sister, Mrs, Martha Hall,
Near NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, June 14, 1761.
should any of us live in the world
without doing a little good in it ? I am glad you have made
a beginning. See that you are not weary of well-doing,
for it will often be a cross. But bear the cross; the best
fruit grows under the cross.
I have often thought it strange that so few of my relations should be of any use to me in the work of God. My
sister Wright was, of whom I should least have expected i t ;
but it was only for a short season. My sister Emily and
you, of whom one might have expected more, have, I know
DEAR PATTY,—Why

1

E

See below, p. 370.

65

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
not how, kept at a distance, and sometimes cavilled a little,
at other times, as it were, approved, but never heartily
joined in the work. Where did it stick? Did you not
thoroughly understand what my brother and I were doing ?
Did you not see the truth? or did the cause lie in your
heart? You had no will to join hand in hand. You
wanted resolution, spirit, patience. Well, the day is far
spent. What you do, do quickly. 4 Life for delay no time
will give.'
My work in the country cannot be finished before the
latter end of August, as the circuit is now larger by some
hundred miles than when I was in the north two years ago.
O let the one thing be ever uppermost in oar thoughts!
To promote either your temporal or eternal good will
always be a pleasure to, Dear Patty, Your affectionate
brother.

' Money never stays with vie.'
To his sister, Mrs. Martha Hall.
KINGSWOOI), October 6, 1768.

DEAR PATTY,—You do not consider, money never stays
with me : it would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my
hands as soon as possible, lest it should find a way into my
heart. Therefore you should have spoken to me while I was
in London, and before Miss Lewen's money flew away.
However, I know not but I may still spare you £59 provided
you will not say, ' I will never ask you again,' because this
is more than you can tell; and you must not promise more
than you can perform.
O how busy are mankind! and about what trifles!
Things that pass away as a dream. Vanity of vanities, all
is vanity, but to love and serve God.—I am, Dear Patty, Your
ever affectionate brother.
66

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
Wesley's great Colleague.
Wesley's brother, the Rev. Charles Wesley, M.A. (17071788), closely identified with him and frequently by his side,
needed few letters from him. Some of those sent follow
here. Charles was four years younger than John, and predeceased him by three years. An earlier Oxford Methodist
than John, he also entered into the rest and rapture of conscious pardon a few days before him. But he easily waived
these and any claims to leadership because of the natural
primacy of John, whom he admired and loved with all the
wealth of his emotional nature. ' John and Charles Wesley'
were the names on almost countless Methodist publications,
and are on the nation's tribute in Westminster Abbey. It
is the true order. Together they founded and built
Methodism. Alike in their conception of their duty to God
and man, and of man's chief end and need, they were equal in
their complete devotion. They both had the heroic strain,
were absolutely faithful to conviction, and fearless in
obedience to it. Ease, ambition, fame, and money attracted
neither. In gifts and service they were contrasted and
complementary. John's genius was for logic, argument, rule,
construction; that of Charles for intuition, the-lyric, persuasion, submission. John was the greater master and manager of men; Charles, at his best, had the finer powers of
popular appeal in sermon and in song. His Oxford
University sermon, on the t e x t ' Awake, thou that sleepest,'
is one of the greatest sermons in the world. His hymn
6
Jesu, lover of my soul' is the best loved prayer-song of the
human spirit, and that beginning ' Come, O thou traveller
unknown' is the supreme lyric of Christian mysticism.
Nevertheless, the calm, logical, terse discourses of John
Wesley more deeply affected his hearers both at the time and
permanently than did those of Charles. Wesley's translations
of German hymns also have all the worth of original compositions, and are of the highest order. He knew the unsurpassed
gift of his brother Charles, and constantly stirred him to its
exercise, as in these letters; but Wesley had a severer, more
strictly classical taste than had his brother. The hymns of
67

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Charles owed much of their final excellence to his brother's
criticism and revision.
By the curious irony of occasion and circumstance it fell
to Charles, the more conservative of the brothers, to be in
some things the innovator and first violator of Church rubric
and order. His hymns, hymn-singing, and services lacked
episcopal authority, and he first gave the Lord's Supper in an
unconsecrated building to the Methodists. He was horrified
to find himself arraigned before the justices for sympathising
with the Pretender, because he prayed that ' God would
bring home His banished'—a Scripture euphemism for
unconverted people. Despite his strong wish and careful
arrangements, his remains were interred in unconsecrated
ground.
The brothers were completely loyal to each other, and
such differences between them as these letters disclose were
generally concerned with Church order. For this Charles
was a stickler. He wrote to John Nelson, one of the most
remarkable and useful of the preachers, ' John, I love thee
from my heart: yet rather than see thee a Dissenting
minister, I wish to see thee smiling in thy coffin."'1 John
Wesley allowed himself to be directed by the logic of facts.
He said, ' Soul-damning clergy lay me under more difficulties
than soul-saving laymen'; and, ' Church or no Church, we
must attend to the work of saving souls.' When Charles
threatened to leave the Conference if laymen were allowed
to join in its discussions, John promptly said to his neighbour, ' Give my brother his hat.'

* The People here,' Herrnhut, Germany.
Wesley was among the Moravian Brethren at their
German settlement, Herrnhut. His account of the visit,
to be given when ' face to face' with his brother Charles,
fills sixty pages of his Journal
Evidently, by his exhortations in this letter, he has been profoundly affected by the
sermons of Christian David, the mechanic lay-preacher, and
by the life of what he calls ' this lovely people.' Here he
1

68

Jackson's Life of Charles Wesley, vol. i. p. 184.

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
saw open-air services, meetings for testimony and fellowship,
lay-preachers, itinerating preachers, and orphan homes.
Without restriction as to sex, special training, or priestly
ordination, the members employed their gifts; and over all
their life, public and private, were the simplicity and gladness of New Testament Christianity.
To his brother Charles.
HERRNHUTJ August 4, 1738.

far hath God greatly helped us in
all things. An account of the people here you must not
expect till we come face to face, when I hope we shall part
no more. O that, after I have proved all things, I may be
enabled throughly Sofafid^ecv ra hta^epovra^ and, calling
no man master, in faith, practice, and discipline, to hold
fast to that which is good !
Salute our brethren in London and Oxford by name; and
exhort them all in the name of the Lord Jesus that they
love and study the oracles of God more and more; that they
work out their salvation with fear and trembling, never
imagining they have already attained, or are already perfect; never deceiving themselves, as if they had now less
need than before to be serious, watchful, lowly-minded; and
that, above all things, they use great plainness of speech,
both with each other and towards all men.
My dearest brother and friend, I commend you to the
grace of God, to be more and more renewed in the image
of his Son ! Pray ye all for me continually ! Adieu !
DEAR BROTHER,—Thus

* If it be just to obey Men rather than God,
judge ye.5
A letter which echoes the solemn decision of Peter and
John at Jerusalem (Acts vi.), of Luther at Worms, and of
Wesley's nonconforming ancestors, Bartholomew and John
1

' To distinguish things that are different.'

69

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS

Wesley, and Samuel Annesley.1 Here are asserted the right
of private judgement, supremacy of conscience, freedom for
nonconformity and dissent; and the inference of divine
approval by divine results. In this birth-year of Methodism
its birthright is claimed. These principles will make
Wesley the greatest innovator of his age, and, despite his
continued membership in the Church of England, the
human founder of the largest of all the separated free
Protestant communions.
Among ' them which trouble Wesley' at this stage in this
matter is the learned and saintly Bishop Butler. The
wonderful work of Methodism in Bristol has begun,2 Whitefield and Wesley being the instruments. With characteristic deference Wesley consults the bishop of the diocese.
Butler said, ' Well, sir, since you ask my advice, I will give
it freely. You have no business here; you are not commissioned to preach in this diocese. Therefore I advise you
to go hence.' Wesley replied, 6 My lord, my business on
earth is to do what good I can. Wherever, therefore, I
think I can do most good, there must I stay, so long as I
think so. A t present I think I can do most good here;
therefore here I stay.'
To his brother Charles.
BRISTOL, June 23, 1739.

answer to them which trouble me is
this; God commands me to do good unto all men; to
instruct the ignorant, reform the wicked, confirm the
virtuous. Man commands me not to do this in another's
parish; that is, in effect, not to do it at all. If it be just to
obey men rather than God, judge ye.
'But,' they say, ' i t is just that you submit yourself to
every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake.' T r u e ; to
every ordinance of man which is not contrary to the comDEAR BROTHER,—My

1
See my chapter, * Links Between the Ejected Clergy and Methodism,' in
The Ejectment 0/1662.
2
See my Wesley and Kingswood.

70

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
mand of God. But if any man, bishop or other, ordain
that I shall not do what God commands me to do, to submit to that ordinance would be to obey man rather than
God.
And to do this, I have both an ordinary call and an
extraordinary. My ordinary call is, my ordination by the
bishop, ' Take thou authority to preach the word of God.'
My extraordinary call is witnessed by the works God doeth
by my ministry : which prove that He is with me of a truth
in this exercise of my office.
Perhaps this might be better expressed in another way:
God bears witness in an extraordinary manner, that my
thus exercising my ordinary call is well pleasing in His
sight.
But what if a bishop forbids this ? I do not say as St.
Cyprian, Populus a scelerato antistite separare se debet.1
But I say, God being my helper, I will obey Him still :
and if I suffer for it, His will be done. Adieu !

' I glean after Whitefield. . . . I dare in no wise
join the Moravians.'
Here is an important letter to Charles Wesley, from a
copy in the Colman Collection, now given with significant
additions to it not before published.2 I t shows the critical
condition of Wesley's work in London, some features of its
early organisation, his resistance of the clericalism of his
brother Charles above referred to, and the separateness of
their teaching and work from that of Whitefield, and also
that of the Moravians.3 Charles Wesley endorsed this
letter, ' when I incline to the Germans,' i.e. the Moravians.
Wesley was busy in London, knitting together his societies
1
' I t is the duty of the people to separate themselves from a wicked
bishop.'
2
Compare Wesley5s/ournaZ, vol. ii. p. 448.
3
See Journal^ vol. ii. p. 307-500, and Mr. Curnock's illuminating summaries, for the facts of this intricate period.

71

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
which had been rent by secessions to Whitefield and Calvinism. He wants to set them singing his brother's hymns,
which so clearly taught God's love to all—
e

Father whose everlasting love
Thy only Son for sinners gave,
Whose grace to all did freely move,
And sent Him down a world to save.'l

And Wesley needed the help of gifted and popular
Thomas Maxfield, whom Charles Wesley wished to hinder.
Eighteen months earlier than this letter Wesley, on his
return to London after a preaching tour, had himself been
shocked on finding that Maxfield, a layman, had ' turned
preacher.' He had appointed him in his absence to tend
the London Methodists at the Foundery and to help in
informal services. Maxfield had been drawn on by the
manifest acceptance and usefulness of his expositions. This,
and the memorable reply of Wesley's mother, then resident
at the Foundery, at this critical stage of the work completely carried Wesley's judgement, and Maxfield was
allowed to preach. Mrs. Wesley said, 'John, you know
what my sentiments have been. You cannot suspect me of
favouring readily anything of this kind. But take care
what you do with respect to that young man, for he is as
surely called of God to preach as you are. Examine what
have been the fruits of his preaching, and hear him also
yourself.' Wesley had previously permitted John Cennick,
a surveyor and schoolmaster, to preach; but this was at
remote, neglected Kingswood, near Bristol.
Reference is made later to Wesley's separation from
Whitefield, and anything which savoured of Calvinism.2
The Wesleys had already drawn away from the Moravians.
As shown, in letters just given and in others, 3 they owed
them and their system an incalculable debt for inspiration
and pattern. But the Wesleys and their followers had
been compelled to separate from the Moravians of Fetter
1
Verse I in this booklet of seventeen hymns, then so significant in their
restatement of Scripture teaching. The italics are as in the original.
2
3
See p. 102.
See p. 95.

72

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
Lane, London, in July 1740, because of heresies which
some had introduced there. Wesley declares that these
are still present. Nowers was a leading Moravian. Note
the pointed appeal, mingled of affection, pathos, and satire,
which Wesley makes to his brother in the last paragraph
of this significant letter, and also the solemn appeal which
he makes to the Head of the Church. Six days later he
had to write a farewell letter 1 to Joseph Humphreys, his
first Moravian lay helper, who now followed Whitefield.
To him also Wesley's first Methodist lay preacher, John
Cennick, had gone—< to the right h a n d ' ; while the
Rev. Westley Hall and now his brother Charles were going
4
to the left,'—Moravianism.
To his Brother Charles,
LONDON, April 2 1 , 1741.

It is not possible for me to set out yet. I must go
round, and glean after Gfeorge] W[hitefield]. I will take
care of the books you mention. My Journal is not written
yet. The bands and society are my first care. The bands
are purged ; the society is purging, and we continually feel
Whose hand is in the work.
Send the new printed Hymns 2 immediately. We presented a thousand of Barclay 3 to G[eorge] Wfhitefieldjs
congregation on Sunday. On Sunday next I purpose to
distribute a thousand more at the Foundery.
I am settling a regular method of visiting the sick here.
Eight or ten have offered themselves for the work—who
are like to have full employment; for more and more are
taken ill every day. Our Lord will thoroughly purge His
floor.
I rejoice in your speaking your mind freely. O let our
1

2

See p . 2 2 1 .

Hymns on God's Everlasting Love, To which is added the Cry of a
Reprobate, and the Horrible Decree.—Hymns by Charles Wesley, just
printed in Bristol.
3
A tract, Serious Considerations on Absolute Predestination.

73

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
love be without dissimulation ! But I can't yet agree with
you in all points. Who is your informer concerning . . .
N . . . , Bath ? I doubt the facts. Have you had them face
to face ? Brother Nowers is not . . .* Ask him about them.
Let the premisses be but proved; and I greatly commend
the conclusion.
I am not clear that Brother Maxfield should not expound
at Greyhound Lane ; nor can I as yet do without him.
Our clergymen have miscarried full as much as the laymen ;
and that the Moravians are other than laymen, I know not.
As yet I dare in no wise join with the Moravians. 1.
Because their whole scheme is mystical, not scriptural,
refined in every point above what is written—immeasurably
beyond the plain doctrine of the Gospel. 2. Because there
is darkness and closeness in all their behaviour, and guile
in almost all their words. 8. Because they not only
do not practise, but utterly despise every self-denial and
the daily cross. 4. Because they, upon principle, conform
to the world, in wearing gold and gay or costly apparel.
5. Because they extend Christian liberty in this and many
other respects beyond what is warranted by Holy Writ.
6. Because they are by no means zealous of good works,
or at least only to their own people; and, lastly, because
they make inward religion swallow up outward in general.
For these reasons (chiefly) I will rather, God being my
helper, stand quite alone, than join with them ; I mean till
I have full assurance that they will spread none of these
errors among the little flock committed to my charge.
O my Brother, my soul is grieved for you. The poison
is in you. Fair words have stolen away your heart. I fear
you can't now find any at Bristol in so great liberty as
Marshall. 2
No English man or woman is like the
1
2

74

In love with her. (This is written in Byrom's shorthand.)
A leading London Moravian.

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
Moravians! So the matter is come to a fair issue. Five
of us did still stand together a few months since. But
two are gone to the right hand (poor H[umphre]ys 1 and
Sennick),2 and two more to the left (Mr. H a l l 3 and you).
Lord, if it be Thy Gospel which I preach, Arise and
maintain Thine own cause !

' I give you a Dilemma.'
The work was spreading on all hands. Its direction
by one mind was a necessity at this stage. Meanwhile
the claims of his family were increasing upon Charles
Wesley. He now confined his labours to London and
Bristol, and four years later he ceased to itinerate. Wesley
was near the most dangerous illness of his life. It passed,
and so did this dilemma. He and his brother had thirtyfive more years of triumphant united work.
To his brother Charles.
LONDON, October 20, 1753.
came back from Bedford last night.
I know not whether it was your will or no (I believe not),
but I am sure it was God's will for you to call there. How
do you judge whether a thing be God's will or no ? I hope
not by inward impressions. Let us walk warily. I have
much constitutional enthusiasm ; and you have much more.
I give you a dilemma. Take one side or the other.
Either act really in connexion with me, or never pretend to
it. Rather disclaim it, and openly avow you do not, and will
not. By acting in connexion with me, I mean take counsel
with me once or twice a year as to the places where you will
labour. Hear my advice before you fix whether you take
it or no. A t present you are so far from this that I do not
DEAR BROTHER,—I

1
3

2
See p. 221.
See p. 103.
Hall was * by turns pious and profligate, a sad specimen of humanity.'
He married Wesley's sister Martha.

75

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
even know when and where you intend to go, so far are you
from following any advice of mine; nay, even from asking
it. And yet I may say, without vanity, that I am a better
judge in this matter than either Lady Huntingdon, Sally,1
Jones, 2 or any other; nay, than your own heart; that is,
will. I wish you all peace, zeal, and love.

' Here is Charles Perronet raving . . . and Charles
Wesley . . . and I in the midst, staring.5
It was Wesley's design to revive the Church of England
by forming his Methodist societies within it. This was
hindered by the Church leaders and their persecution of the
Methodists, and by the unwillingness of an ever growing
number of Methodists to join the Church. To keep his
followers from avowedly separating from the Church, and to
justify their slight use of its services, became Wesley's
anxious, incessant task. 3 This matter was also the chief
cause of trouble between him and his brother Charles. I t
had been largely and sharply discussed at the annual Conference—the twelfth, at Leeds, a month earlier. Sixty-three
preachers were present—twelve of them 'half-itinerants, 1
fifteen 'our chief local preachers."' On the ground of
expediency, the decision was reached which Wesley gives
below.
The question of the administration of the Lord's Supper
by preachers who had not been ordained had emerged in
Ireland, where Thomas Walsh was the chief. Charles
Perronet and his brother Edward, like their father, the
Rev. Vincent Perronet, vicar of Shoreham, helped Wesley.
This was a crisis in the evolution of Methodism. Wesley's
calmness and firmness were invaluable. The questions
between the brothers remained unanswered. They were
not fully answered until after Wesley's death. In the
last letter to Charles, given in this series (page 90), Wesley
states his position.
1
2

76

Charles Wesley's wife.
Dr. John Jones.

3

See p. 133.

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
To his brother Charles.
LONDON, June 20, 1755.

DEAR BROTHER,—Do not you understand that they all
promised by Thomas Walsh not to administer, even among
themselves ? I think that an huge point given up ; perhaps more than they could give up with a clear conscience.
They ' showed an excellent spirit' in this very thing.
Likewise when I (not to say you) spoke once and again,
spoke satis pro imperio,1 when I reflected on their answers, I
admired their spirit, and was ashamed of my own.
The practical conclusion was, ' Not to separate from the
Church.' Did we not all agree in this ? Surely either you
or I must have been asleep, or we could not differ so widely
in a matter of fact!
Here is Charles Perronet raving ' because his friends have
given up all'; and Charles Wesley, ' because they have given
up nothing'; and I in the midst, staring and wondering
both at one and the other.
I do not want to do anything more, unless I could bring
them over to my opinion ; and I am not in haste for that.
I have no time to write anything more till I have finished
the Notes.2 Nor am I in haste. I stand open to the light.
Let it be worded anyway. I will give ten pounds 3 between this and Christmas. This I think I can do, though
I am just now saddled with Suky Hare, 4 to pay for her
board as well as learning her trade. Why do you not send
for the boy to Bristol ? I do not object.
If Mr. Lampe's tunes are in print already, it is enough.
I wish you had told me this six months ago, and the rest
1 6
With sufficient authority.'
2
His famous Notes on the New
3

Testament.
Most probably for the education of ' t h e boy,' Wesley Hall, their
nephew.
4
A relation of the Wesleys.

77

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
(which only we want) should have been printed before now.
Pray send them by Michael Fenwick to me here. He will
be in Bristol next week.
Cyprian is a terrible witness of the then Church, for he
speaks it not as his own private sense, but an incontestable
allowed rule. And by antistes there, I really believe he
means the minister of a parish. That pinches me. Nevertheless, I think with you till I see more light, though I
should be hard set to defend myself against a skilful adversary. When I am convinced it is my duty, I will follow
Cyprian's advice. The same say you, and no more. I do
not fluctuate y e t ; but I cannot answer the arguments on
that side the question. Joseph Cownley says, ' For such
and such reasons I dare not hear a drunkard preach, or
read prayers.' I answer, i I dare.' But I cannot answer his
reasons.
I can stay here four or five weeks, then I purpose for
Cornwall. Can you come hither when I go ? My love to
my sister.1 Adieu !

'God's dealings with us have been extraordinary.'
To his brother Charles.
PLYMOUTH DOCK, September 28,,

1760.

DEAR, BROTHER,—I have no objection to the bestowing
another reading upon Mr. Law's letters. 2 But I think I
have answered them quantum sufficit by the letter in Lloyd'*s
Evening Post; only, if need be, it may be inserted in some of
the monthly magazines. Since I wrote that letter I have
procured (which I could not before) the < Address to the
1
2

I.e., sister-in-law, Mrs. Charles Wesley, her husband's * faithful Sally.'
The Rev. William Law, M.A., author of the Serious Call,, to which
work Wesley was deeply indebted at one stage. He had censured Wesley
for his condemnation of the Mystics.

78

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
Clergy." It is amazing ! Nothing is more plain than that
he has never read it. I doubt whether he ever saw it.
I care not a rush for ordinary means, only that it is our
duty to try them. All our lives, and all God's dealings
with us, have been extraordinary from the beginning. We
have all reason, therefore, to expect that what has been
will be again. I have been preternaturally restored more than
ten times. I suppose you will be thus restored for the
journey ; and that by the journey, as a natural means, your
health will be re-established, provided you determine to
spend all the strength which God shall give you to His
work.
Cornwall has suffered miserably by my long absence, and
the unfaithfulness of the preachers. I left seventeen hundred in the societies, and I find twelve hundred. If possible, you should see Mr. Walker. 1 He has been near a
month at the Hot-Wells [Bristol]. He is absolutely a Scot
in his opinions, but of an excellent spirit.
Mr. Stonehouse's horse performs to a miracle. He is
considerably better than when I had him. On Friday evening (if nothing extraordinary occur) I hope to be at Bristol
between five and six.
Probably I shall leave Shepton
Mallet at two. My love to Sally.
If John Fisher is at Bristol, pray desire him to send. what
Thomas Seccomb left (with an account) for his poor mother.
Adieu !

'Quack Medicine'
Hymns.'

and

' Namby-pambical

Wesley was often physician as well as divine. His book,
Primitive Physic, was primitive, old-fashioned, and largely
empirical. It was a well-meant effort, as the preface says—
1
Rev. Samuel Walker of Truro. He formed * conversation classes,' but
condemned Methodist class-meetings, and dreaded separation from the
Church.

79

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' Without obliging or disobliging any man living, a mean
hand has made here some little attempt towards a plain
and easy way of curing most diseases.'' He now urges the
use of electricity. He was one of the first public men to
show interest in Franklin's startling discovery, and gave a
clever summary of it to his people in his Journal (February
17, 1753).
He set up apparatus at several centres in
London, ' that any that desired it may try the virtue of
this surprising medicine.''
He stirs his brother to more hymn-writing, but not of
6
namby-pambical' hymns. 1 These Wesley hated ; and he
resented the handling and mangling of his brother's and his
own hymns. Brother Sheen and all must note that. In his
famous sharp preface to his Collection of Hymns for the
Methodists (1780), he welcomed any to use the hymns,
' provided they print them just as they are; but I desire
they would not attempt to mend them, for they really are
not able. None of them is able to mend either the sense
or the verse. Therefore I must beg of them one of these
two favours ; either to let them stand just as they are, to
take them for better, for worse ; or to add the true reading
in the margin, or at the bottom of the page, that we may
no longer be accountable either for the nonsense or for the
doggerel of other men.2
To his brother* Charles.
LONDON, December 26, 1761.

DEAR BROTHER,—Spend as many hours in the congregation as you can. But exercise alone will strengthen your
lungs; or electrifying, which I wonder you did not try
long ago. Never start at its being a quack medicine. I
desire no other; particularly since I was so nearly murdered by being cured of my ague secundum artem? You
1

See above, p. 67.
One hundred and fifty-four alterations and various readings have been
traced in the forms given by hymn-menders to the lines of Charles Wesley's
hymn, ' Jesu, lover of my soul.'
3
' According to the rules of art.'
2

80

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
should always (and I hope you do) write standing and
sloping.
We are always in danger of enthusiasm; but I think no
more now than any time these twenty years. The word of
God runs indeed; and loving faith spreads on every side.
Do not take my word, or any one else's, but come and see.
It is good to be in London now.
I t is impossible for me to correct my own books. I sometimes think it strange that I have not one preacher that
will and can. I think every one of them owes me so much
service.
Pray tell R. Sheen I am hugely displeased at his reprinting the Nativity Hymns and omitting the very best hymn
in the collection—; All glory to God in the sky,' etc.
I beg they may never more be printed without it. Omit
one or two, and I will thank you. They are narribypambical. I wish you would give us one or two invitatory
hymns. We want such exceedingly. My love to Sally.
My wife gains ground. Adieu !

' There is need of a Lady's Hand as well as
a Lion's H e a r t '
Indeed there was. All the five persons named here
involved Wesley in anxiety. Happily, he and his brother
Charles stood together in their treatment of them, although
Charles was inclined to move impetuously. Wesley knew
that some troubles settle themselves if left alone. Maxfield
and Bell were not of this sort. The former was among
Wesley's first and ablest lay-preachers. He was ordained
by the Bishop of Derry, so that ' t h a t good man (Wesley)
might not work himself to death.' Charles Wesley thought
him the ' stubbornest, proudest of men.' He caused serious
division among the London Methodists, and took some
with him when he separated from Wesley in the next year.
Bell disturbed them by his wild enthusiasm, pretensions to
F
81

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
superhuman saintliness, and prophecies of the end of the
world.
'But I go on my way,' says Wesley. 'This year,' he
wrote later, ' from the beginning to the end, was a year
never to be forgotten. Such a season I never saw before.
Such a multitude of sinners were converted, in all parts of
England and Ireland, and so many were filled with pure
love.'
To his brother Charles.
LONDON^ January

5, 1762.

take me right. I am far from
pronouncing my remarks ex cathedra. I only desire they
may be fairly considered.
I was a little surprised to find Bishop Warburton 1 so
entirely unacquainted with the New Testament: and, notwithstanding all his parade of learning, I believe he is no
critic in Greek.
If Thomas Maxfield continues as he is, it is impossible
that he should continue long with us. But I live in hope
of better things. Meantime, festina lente !2
I baptized two Turks two or three weeks ago. They seem
to be strong in faith, and their story is very probable; but
I am not sure it is true. I wait for further evidence.
This week I have begun to speak my mind concerning
five or six honest enthusiasts. But I move only a hair'sbreadth at a time; and by this means we come nearer and
nearer to each other. No sharpness will profit. There is
need of a lady's hand as well as a lion's heart.
Mr. Whitefield 3 has fallen upon me in public openmouthed, and only not named my name. So has Mr.
Madan. But let them look to it. I go on my way. I
DEAR BROTHER,—You

1
2
3

82

See above, p. 36 and below, p. 124.
' Haste onwards with caution.'
See below, p. 103.

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
have a sufficient answer as to George Bell; but I will not
give it before the time.
We join in love to you both. My wife gains ground.
Adieu!

' 1 was thinking on Christian Perfection/
A valuable letter of definitions, distinctions, and affirmations. I t summarises Wesley's Plain Account of this
characteristic Methodist doctrine. He thought he saw at
this period five hundred witnesses to the truth of it.
Charles Wesley held another view—that saintliness, the
fulness of Christian life and power, is attained by struggle
and discipline rather than as ' an act of faith in the mercy,
truth, and power of God.'* He expressed this in his two
volumes of Short Hymns on Select Passages of Holy
Scripture, These appeared in 1762 and drew this letter.
To his brother Charles,
Circa 1762.

thoughts occurred to my mind
this morning which I believe it may be useful to set down,
the rather because it may be a means of our understanding
each other clearly ; that we may agree as far as ever we can,
and then let all the world know it.
I was thinking on Christian perfection with regard to
the thing, the manner, and the time.
1. By perfection I mean the humble, gentle, patient love
of God and man, ruling all the tempers, words, and actions :
the whole heart and the whole life.
I do not include an impossibility of falling from it, either
in part or in whole. Therefore I retract several expressions
in our hymns which partly express, partly imply, such an
impossibility.
And I do nob contend for the term sinless, though I do
not object against it.
DEAR BROTHER,—Some

1

Life by Jackson, vol. ii. chap. xxii.

83

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Do we agree or differ here ? If we differ, wherein ?
% As to t h e manner, I believe this perfection is always
wrought in t h e soul by faith, by a simple act of faith ;
consequently, in an instant.
B u t I believe a g r a d u a l work, b o t h preceding and
following t h a t instant.
D o we agree or differ here ?
3. As to t h e time, I believe this instant generally is t h e
i n s t a n t of death, the moment before t h e soul leaves t h e body.
B u t I believe it may be ten, twenty, or forty years before
death.
D o we agree or differ here ?
I believe it is usually many years after justification ; b u t
t h a t it may be within five years, or five months, after it. I
know no conclusive argument t o t h e contrary. D o you ?
If it must be many years after justification, I would be
glad t o know how many. Pretium quotus arrogat annus ?1
A n d how many days, or m o n t h s , or even years, can you
allow t o be between perfection and death ? H o w far from
justification must it be ? and how near t o d e a t h ?
If it be possible, let you and me come t o a good understanding, b o t h for our own sakes and for t h e sake of t h e
people.

' Come let us arise and shake ourselves.5
H e r e is a leader indeed, and of a t r u t h humble, selfdevoted, insistent. ' W e must, we m u s t ! ' Deborah would
have sung again,
e
For that the leaders took the lead in Israel^
Bless ye the Lord' ;
and Chaucer's commendation was earned—
c

Christ's lore,, and His apostles twelve
He taught; hut first he followed it himself/
1

84

What year would be good enough ?

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
Then the demand and command is passed from these captains to the rank and file, as shown in the letter which
follows this.
To Ms brother Charles.
LEWISHAM_, February 28, 1766.

DEAR BKOTHER,—We must, we must, you and I at least,
be all-devoted to God ! Then wives, and sons, and daughters, and everything else will be real, invaluable blessings.
Eia age^ rumpe moras! * Let us this day use all the power
we have ! If we have enough, well; if not, let us this day
expect a fresh supply. How long shall we drag on thus
heavily, though God has called us to be the chief conductors
of such a work ? Alas ! what conductors ! If I am (in some
sense) the head, and you the heart, of the work, may it not
be said, ' T h e whole head is sick, and the whole heart is
faint' ? Come, in the name of God, let us arise and shake
ourselves from the dust! Let us strengthen each other's
hands in God, and that without delay. Have series sexagenarii2 (who would have thought we should live to be
such !) time to lose ? Let you and I, and our house, serve
the Lord in good earnest. May His peace rest on you and
yours!
I desire all the Society to meet me on Tuesday evening
(March 11), after preaching. Adieu !

' Concerning the Work of God in these Kingdoms.'
To his brother Charles.
ATHLONE, June 21, 1767.
some time I have had many
thoughts concerning the work of God in these kingdoms.
I have been surprised that it has spread so far, and that it
DEAR

1
2

BROTHER,—For

Virgil's line : 'Come, bestir yourself, and lay aside delay.'
' Old men that have attained to their sixtieth year.'

85

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
has spread no farther. And what hindered ? Surely the
design of God was to ' bow a nation to His sway , : instead
of which, there is still only a Christian here and there, and
the rest are yet in the shadow of death; although those
who would profit by us have need to make haste, as we are
not likely to serve them long.
What, indeed, has hindered? I want to consider this.
And must we not first say, Nos Consules ? 1 If we were more
holy in heart and life, thoroughly devoted to God, would
not all the preachers catch our fire and carry it with them
throughout the land ? Is not the next hindrance the littleness
of grace (rather than of gifts) in a considerable part of our
preachers ? They have not the whole mind that was in
Christ; they do not steadily walk as He walked. And
therefore the hand of the Lord is stayed; though not
altogether; though He does work still. But it is not in
such a degree as He surely would, were they holy as He that
hath sent them is holy.
Is not the third hindrance the littleness of grace in
the generality of the people ? Therefore they pray little,
and with little fervency, for a general blessing; and therefore their prayer has little power with God. I t does not,
as once, shut and open heaven. Add to this, that as there
is much of the spirit of the world in their hearts, so there is
much conformity to the world in their lives. They ought
to be both burning and shining lights; but they neither
burn nor shine. They are not true to the rules they profess
to observe; they are not holy in all manner of conversation.
Nay, many of them are salt that has lost its savour; the
little savour they once had. Wherewith, then, shall the rest
of the land be seasoned ? What wonder that their neighbours are as unholy as ever ?
But what can be done to remedy this ? I wish you would
1

86

* We who aie the chiefs.'

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
give an attentive reading to the minutes of the last Conference, and see if it will not be worth our while to enforce
them with all our might. We have weight enough, and
can enforce them. I know not who can and will when we
are gone. Let us now fix things on as firm a foundation as
possible, and not depend upon seeing another Conference.
Richard Burke, John Dillon, and one or two more in this
kingdom, are truly devoted men; so are a few of the
preachers in England. Si sic omnes!1 What would be
able to stand against them ?
How go you on in London ? How is Mr. Whitefield, and
my Lady, 2 and Mr. Madan, and Romaine, and Berridge ?
Do you converse with those that are most alive, and sparingly and warily with them that are dead while they live ?
I hope Sally and your young ones are well. O what a
work is it to train up children for heaven !
Peace be with you and yours !

* A Son, Father, Grandfather preaching the genuine
Gospel.5
Wesley hoped t h a t ' one of the three' of Charles Wesley's
boys might be a minister. John James, whose birth was
the occasion of this reference, died in infancy; two, Charles
and Samuel, were gifted musicians.3 The Wesleys were
rightly proud of their ancestry.4 The Rev. John White
was the Patriarch of Dorchester (1605). He saw the possibilities of the Dorset traders' venture in North America,
and helped to make a refuge there, in Massachusetts, for
the Pilgrim Fathers. 6
1

* O that the rest were like-minded.'
Lady Huntingdon.
See chapter xi.
4
See above, p. 12.
5
Cambridge Modern History', vol. vii. p. 15, and The United States, by
Chancellor and Hewes, vol. i. pp. 216-19.
2

3

87

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
To his brother Charles.
LONDON, January

15, 1768.

DEAR BROTHER,—Six or seven hundred pounds is brought

to a conference, of which five hundred at least pays the
debt. 1 Then extraordinary demands are answered. How
much remains for law ? I am now near three hundred
pounds out of pocket, which I borrowed to pay Mr. Pardon.
When I receive some more from Newcastle, I will send it to
Bristol; probably very soon.
I t is highly probable one of the three will stand before
the Lord. But, so far as I can learn, such a thing has
scarce been for these thousand years before, as a son,
father, grandfather, atavus, tritavus, preaching the gospel,
nay, and the genuine gospel, in a line. You know Mr. White,
sometime Chairman of the Assembly of Divines, was my
grandmother's father.
Look upon our little ones at Kingswood as often as you
can. A word from you will be a quickening to them.
O how many talents we are entrusted with !
' B u t what account can thy bad steward make?*1
Indeed we have need to gird up the loins of our mind, and
run faster the small remainder of our race. * One thing !'
Let us mind one thing only; and nothing, great or small,
but as it ministers to it.
Peace be with you and yours ! Adieu.

* I have neither Leisure nor Inclination to write
a Book.'
Here is Wesley's method by which he gave so many books
to his followers and the world.2 His brother urged him to
1
2

88

The debt on chapels in the Connexion.
See above, p. 7.

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
write a book on Young's Night Thoughts. He cannot be
drawn to that, nor to hear Handel's music, in which Charles
was now deeply interested, because of his son Charles, a
musical prodigy.
The last line of this letter hints that his wife 1 has
deserted him. Was she at Newcastle ?
To his brother Charles.
LONDON, December 17, 1768.

thank you for your reproof. There
is reason in what you say. If there was not evil, there was
the appearance of evil.
Matters have not been well carried on at Liverpool; but
' what cannot be cured must be endured.'
Why, you simpleton, you are cutting me out a month's
work. Nay, but I have neither leisure nor inclination to
write a book. I intend only: 1. to leave out what I most
dislike; 2. to mark what I most approve of; 3. to prefix
a short preface; and I shall run the hazard of printing it in
Bristol. There you yourself can read the proof-sheets.
You do well with regard to my sister Emily. W h a t
farther is wanting I will supply. I hear nothing from or of
our friend at Newcastle. I have no time for Handel or
Avison now.
Peace be with you and yours. Adieu!
I am now a mere Fellow of a College again.
DEAR BROTHER,—I

' I firmly believe I am a Scriptural Bishop as
much as any Man in England.'
Words from this letter have sounded out all over the
world. Two years before his brother's death Wesley published it in his Arminian Magazine (1786) with the heading,
' On the Church: in a Letter tt> the Rev.
.' The
omitted name was that of his brother Charles.2 It gives
1

See below, p. 356.

2

See his Life by Jackson, vol. ii. p. 394.

89

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Wesley's final judgement on his own attitude towards the
Church of England. ' I do not separate . . . I vary/
He names some, not all, the features in which he varied
from it. The Rules for the Methodists had always left
them free in this matter. His brother Charles declared that
Wesley separated from the Church, and in his reply to this
letter refers to a ' fatal step at Bristol.' This was taken in
1784, and was the ordination there, at 6 Dighton Street, by
Wesley, who was only a presbyter, of some of his preachers.
Wesley says that he had never exercised in England the
right which he had to ordain. He means for England.
The preachers he ordained, as just stated, were for America.
Later, he ordained others for Scotland; then for England.
In all, twenty-seven of his preachers were so set apart by
him. ' Ordination is separation' from the Church of England, was the legal dictum of Lord Mansfield on Wesley's
act, since it was that of a presbyter only.
In that year also Wesley constituted his Conference,
giving it control of his preachers and chapels. What more
could he do to indicate separation ? Charles Wesley disowned his bitter juvenile line here quoted as to ' heathenish
priests'; his brother was compelled to say it was 6 a sad
truth. I see fifty times more of England than you do ; and
I find few exceptions to it.' Wesley's assertions of his
adherence to the Church, attendance at it, and commands
that his followers should not leave it, were largely nullified
by his declaration here, as often, that he would do what ' I
believe meet, right, and my bounden duty, Church or no
Church ' ; and more by his actions. These decided the course
of Methodism. In 1788 he wrote: * A kind of separation
has already taken place, and will inevitably spread, though
by slow degrees.'
To his brother Charles.
PLYMOUTH DOCK, August 19,

1785.

REV. SIR,—I will tell you my thoughts with all simplicity,
and wait for better information. If you agree with me,
90

TO BROTHERS AND SISTER
well; if not, we can (as Mr. Whitefield used to say) agree to
disagree.
For these forty years I have been in doubt concerning the
question : What obedience is due to
(

Heathenish priests and mitred infidels ?'

I have from time to time proposed my doubts to the most
pious and sensible clergymen I knew. But they gave me
no satisfaction; rather they seemed to be puzzled as well
as I. Some obedience I always paid to the bishops, in
obedience to the laws of the land. But I cannot see that I
am under any obligation to obey them farther than those
laws require.
I t is in obedience to those laws that I have never exercised
in England the power which I believe God has given me. I
firmly believe I am a scriptural eirCcr/coiro? as much as any
man in England or Europe. (For the uninterrupted succession I know to be a fable, which no man ever did or can
prove.) But this does in nowise interfere with my remaining in the Church of England; from which I have no more
desire to separate than I had fifty years ago. I still attend
all the ordinances of the Church, at all opportunities, and
I constantly and earnestly desire all that are connected with
me to do so. When Mr. Smyth pressed us to ' separate
from the Church," he meant,' Go to Church no more/ And
this was what I meant seven-and-twenty years ago when I
persuaded our brethren (Not to separate from the Church.''
But here another question occurs,' What is the Church
of E n g l a n d ? ' I t is not 'all the people of England.'
Papists and Dissenters are no part thereof. It is not all
the people of England except Papists and Dissenters.
Then we should have a glorious Church indeed! No ;
according to our Twentieth Article, a particular Church
is ' a congregation of faithful people' (coeius credentium, the
91

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
words in our Latin edition) ' among whom the word of God
is preached, and the sacraments duly administered/ Here
is a true logical definition, containing both the essence and
the properties of the Church. What then, according to this
definition, is the Church of England ? Does it mean, ' All
the believers in England (except the Papists and Dissenters)
who have the word of God and the sacraments duly administered among them ?' I fear this does not come up to your
idea of ' the Church of England/ Well, what more do you
include in that phrase ? ' Why, all the believers that adhere
to the doctrine and discipline established by the Convocation under Queen Elizabeth/ Nay, that discipline is wellnigh vanished away, and the doctrine both you and I
adhere to.
All those reasons against a separation from the Church in
this sense, I subscribe to still. What then are you frighted at ?
I no more separate from it now than I did in the year 1758.
I submit still (though sometimes with a doubting conscience)
to mitred infidels. I do indeed vary from them in some
points of doctrine, and in some points of discipline; by
preaching abroad, for instance, by praying extempore, and
by forming societies ; but not a hair's-breadth further than
I believe to be meet, right, and my bounden duty. I walk
still by the same rule I have done for between forty and
fifty years. I do nothing rashly. I t is not likely I should.
The high-day of my blood is over. If you will go hand in
hand with me, do. But do not hinder me if you will not
help. Perhaps if you had kept close to me I might have
done better. However, with or without help, I creep on.
And as I have been hitherto, so I trust I shall always be,
Your affectionate friend and brother.

92

C H A P T E R IV
CONCERNING THE METHODISTS AND METHODISM
T H E letters now given show us Wesley as he builds
Methodism. At his death there were 120,188 Methodist
members with 511 ministers; of these, 48,165 members
with 193 ministers were in America arid Canada. 1

' If this Work be of God . . . who shall overthrow it ?'
* The .'rise of the United Society' of Methodists, says
Wesley, was ' first in' London in the latter end of 1739,
and then in other places.' 2 There were Methodists and
Methodist societies before they were united in one connexion, under one leader and the same Rules. 3 One such
society met in Fetter Lane, London. Of this, Wesley was
a member. This letter shows us the emergence of another
such society at Bristol in this memorable year of Methodist
origins. Wesley usually wrote to his ' Brethren at Fetter
Lane' on Monday, as here, and gave them a day by day,
sometimes almost hour by hour, account of his experience
and his doings. The letters were addressed ' To Mr. James
Hutton, Bookseller, near Temple Bar, London.' He was
1
The statistics of world-wide Methodism in 1913 were:—ministers,
'54,658; lay-preachers, 105,384; Church members and probationers,
9,228,385; Sunday-schools, 88,384; officers and teachers, 865,838;
Sunday scholars, 7,991,037; churches, etc., 100,916; members and
adherents estimated, 32,728,000.
2
A New History of Methodism,\vol. ii. Appendix D.
3
Green, in his John Wesley', Evangelist\ traces these and the merging of
them in the United Society, pp. 291 ; cf. 190, 192.

93

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Wesley's friend, ' Dear Jemmy,' and a prominent Moravian.
This deeply interesting and vivid letter adds much to the
account of these events given by Wesley in his Journal, and
has not hitherto appeared in complete permanent form. In
it the evolution of new religious organisms goes forward
before our eyes.
Whitefield has been in Bristol. His burning enthusiasm
and fervid Christian oratory, and his open-air preaching
among the colliers of Kingswood, has searched and stirred
many. They must be drawn into Christian fellowship.
The Church of England wants them not, indeed shuts them
out of her buildings. Whitefield must leave the city to
range further on his errands of mercy. He calls Wesley to
take his place.1 Not even Whitefield's vigorous imagination
prefigured the results which were to follow the response.
Under the brooding Spirit of God, as Wesley takes up the
task, life and form and features appear which will be reproduced a thousand times in city, town, village, and hamlet,
in cottage homes and the green fields.
Here is the incessant toil of a lover of souls who hastes
with quick-springing sustained interest from duty to duty;
here the abundant use of, and constant appeal to, the Bible
and the Bible only; and here the offering of the good news
of God's love, as on the hillsides of Galilee, wherever the
people can be gathered, and it is free for all. On this
Monday, April % Wesley conducts his first open-air service
in England. Vast crowds eagerly listen. Christian people
look on the sight with wonder. Presbyterians, Anabaptists,
a minister, soldiers, and several of the rich are there. They
that fear the Lord, women and men, draw together in
groups and bands that they may speak often one to another.
Some declare aloud what God has done for their souls. We
see the beginnings of Methodist fellowship—its bands and
class-meetings. The criminals and the poor in Newgate,
the prison of the city, are visited. Tears course down the
cheeks of grimy colliers at Kingswood and Hanham, and
1
Wesley lodged at the house of Whitefield's sister, Mrs. Grevil, named
in letter, in Wine Street—the Winch Street.

94

CONCERNING METHODISM
their natures are renewed. The trees are clapping their
hands, and the little hills are rejoicing on every side.
c

Break forth into singing,
Ye trees of the wood,
For Jesus is bringing
Lost sinners to God/

This is a great week in the history of England and of
Christianity.
To the Brethren at Fetter Lane, London,
by Mr, James Hutton.
BRISTOL, April 9, 1739.

MY DEAR BRETHREN,—On Sunday evening, the 1st instant,
I began to expound, at Nicholas Street Society, our Lord's
Sermon on the Mount. The room, passage, and staircase
were filled with attentive hearers. On Monday I talked
with several in private to try what manner of spirit they
were of; and at 4 in the afternoon went to a brickyard
adjoining bo the city, 1 where I had an opportunity of preaching the Gospel of the kingdom (from a little eminence) to
3000 or 4000 people. The Scripture on which I spoke was
this, ' The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath
anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath
sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance
to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set
at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable
year of the Lord.*' At 7 I began expounding the Acts
of the Apostles to the society in Baldwin Street. We had
more company than the room would hold, and the power of
our Lord was with us.
On Tuesday, the 3rd, I began preaching at Newgate (as
I continue to do every morning) on the Gospel of St. John.
1
This and other historic Methodist sites in Bristol and Kingswood, and
the significant events of these days, are traced in my Wesley and Kingswood.

95

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Many Presbyterians and Anabaptists came to hear. Afterwards I transcribed some of the Rules of our Society for
the use of our (future) brethren here. In the evening I
expounded on ; Blessed are they that mourn,' at Nicholas
Street Society. I hope God spake to the hearts of many
there.
The next day the audience increased at Newgate. At
4 in the afternoon I offered the free grace of God from
those words, ' I will heal their backsliding, I will love them
freely,' to about 1500 in a plain near Baptist Mills, a sort
of suburb or village not far from Bristol, where many, if
not most, of the inhabitants are Papists. 0 may they
effectually lay hold on the one Mediator, between God and
man, Christ Jesus!
About 7 in the evening, three women, who desire only to
know Jesus Christ and Him crucified—Mrs. Norman, Mrs.
Grevil, and Mrs. Panou—agreed to meet together once a
week to confess their faults to one another, and pray one
for another, that they may be healed. And Mrs. Panou
desired she might propose their design to her two sisters,
and offer them the liberty of joining with them. At 8,
Samuel Wathen, surgeon, Richard Cross, upholsterer,
Charles Bonner, distiller, and Thomas Westal, carpenter,
met and agreed to do the same; who also desired they
might make the offer of joining with them to three or four
of their acquaintance. If this work be not of God, let it
come to nought. If it be, who shall overthrow it ?
On Thursday, at 5 in the evening, I began the Epistle to
the Romans, at a society in Castle Street, where, after the
expounding, a poor man gave glory to God by openly confessing the things he had done. About 8 a young woman
of Nicholas Street Society sank down as one dead. We
prayed for her, and she soon revived, and went home
strengthened and comforted both in body and in spirit.
96

CONCERNING METHODISM
A Presbyterian minister was with us at Newgate on
Friday and Saturday. On Friday evening we were at a
society without Lawford's Gate, where, the yard being full
as well as the house, I expounded part of the first chapter of
the first Epistle of St. John at the window. On Saturday
evening Weavers' Hall was quite full. A soldier was present
at the preaching on Monday, two at the expounding on
several of the following days, and five or six this evening.
I declared to them all that they were damned sinners; but
the Gospel was the power of God unto salvation to every
one that believeth.
Beginning at 7 (an hour earlier than usual) at the Bowling Green (which is in the heart of the city) yesterday
morning, there were not, I believe, above 1000 or 1200
persons present. And the day being very cold and stormy
(beside that much rain had fallen in the night), many who
designed it were hindered from going to Hanham Mount,
which is at least 4 miles distant from the town. Between
10 and 11 I began preaching the Gospel there in a
meadow on the top of the hill. Five or 600 people from
Bristol (of whom several were Quakers) were there, and
(I imagine) about 1000 of the colliers. I called to them in
the words of Isaiah, ' Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye
to the waters, and he that hath no money. Come ye, buy,
and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and
without price.'
On Rose Green (which is a plain upon the top of a high
hill) are several small hills, where the old coalpits were.
On the edge of one of these I stood in the afternoon, and
cried in the name of my Master, ' If any man thirst, let him
come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me' (as the
Scriptures have said) ' out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water.' About 5000 were present, many of whom
received the word gladly, and all with deep attention.
G

97

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
From thence we went to the society in Baldwin Street;
whose room, containing but a small part of the company, we
opened the doors and windows, by which means all that was
spoken of the true Christian life, described in the end of
the 2nd chapter of the Acts, was heard clearly by those in
the next room, and on the leads, and in the court below,
and in the opposite house, and the passage under it. Several
of the soldiers and of the rich were there; and verily, the
power of the Lord was present to heal them.
My dear brethren, who among you writes first to
strengthen our hands in God ? Where is our Brother Bray x
and Fish, and whosoever else finds his heart moved to send
unto us the word of exhortation? You should no more
be wanting in your instruction to, than your prayers for,
Your affectionate, but weak, brother,
6

Turning to Nash she said, " Sir, we come for
the Food of our Souls. You care for your
Body."'

A month has passed.
Wesley writes another of his
usual Monday letters on his work in the west of England.
Again, this record of formative events and historic scenes
in Methodism is fuller and fresher in this newsy, descriptive,
talking letter than that in his Journal. As one handles the
faded original, all its words seem to quiver with life, down
to the exclamations of the postscript, ' O Jemmy, Jemmy.'
The scenes reappear, humorous and pathetic by turns.
What a dark England it is ! ' I offered them books,' says
Wesley, ' but they could not read.' As on page 53, we give
Wesley's many capitals in his letter.
Here are some preludious drops of the showers and wild
storms of opposition which Wesley and his helpers will
meet. And here are his consummate tact and happy wit
which will help him through as if he possessed a charmed
1
A brazier and a godly man in Little Britain, London, at whose house
Charles Wesley lodged.

98

CONCERNING METHODISM
life. Beau Nash, the strange leader and exacting ruler of
fashion and folly, was styled ' King of Bath.' On his gains
by gambling he held high revel in that city, and drove
about in royal style. Here he rudely pushes through the
crowd of listeners to stop Wesley preaching. The famous
encounter was evidently in the open air, probably in Richard
Marchant's field. Neither the Pump Boom, where Nash's
portrait and ' Rules' now hang, nor the Assembly Room,
would contain the ' thousand new hearers ' of that day.
When he asked why the people came to hear Wesley, he
got his answer home from an unnamed sufferer from man's
ancient hunger.
To the Brethren at Fetter Lane> London,
by Mr, James Hutton.
BRISTOL, June 7,

1739.

M Y DEAR BRETHREN,—After I came from preaching at
Weavers' Hall on Monday, many came to advise me not to
go to the Brickyard in the afternoon, because of some terrible
things that were to be done there if I did. This Report
brought many thither of what they call the better sort, so
that it added a thousand, at least, to the usual audience.
. . . My nose began bleeding in the midst of the Sermon,
but presently stopped, so that I went on without interruption and the power of God fell on all, so that the scoffers
stood looking one on another, but none opened his mouth.
All Bath on Tuesday was big with expectation of what a
great Man was to do to me there; And I was much intreated
not to preach, because no one knew what might happen.
By this Report also I gained (I believe) a thousand new
Hearers, of the Rich and Great of this world. I told them
plainly, ' The Scripture hath concluded all under sin, High
and Low, Rich and Poor, one with another.' They appeared
not a little surprised, and sinking apace into Seriousness,
when their Champion appeared, and having forced his way
99 "

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
through the People, asked by what authority I did these
things. I answered, ' By the Authority of Jesus my Master,
conveyed to me by the (now) Archbishop of Canterbury.'' He
said it was contrary to the Act of Parliament: there was an
Act of Parliament against Conventicles. I replied,' The Conventicles there mentioned were seditious Meetings. But there
were no such here.' He said, ' Yes, it was—for I frighted
People out of their wits.'' I asked ' If he had ever heard me
preach ? If not, how he could judge of what he never heard ?'
He said,' By common Report, for he knew my Character.''
I then asked,' Pray, Sir, are you a Justice of Peace, or the
Mayor of this City ?' Answer: ' No, I am not.' Q. ' Why,
then, Sir, Pray, by what authority do you ask me these
things ? ' (Here he paused a little, and I went on.) ' Give
me leave, Sir, to ask, is not your name Nash ?' Answer:
' Sir, my name is Nash.' [Wesley says], ' Why then, Sir,
I trust common Report is no good Evidence of Truth.'
(Here the Laugh turned full against him, so that he looked
about and could scarce recover. Then a Bystander said)
' Sir, let an old woman answer him.' Then turning to
Mr. Nash she said, ' Sir, if you ask what we come here
for; we come for the Food of our Souls. You care for your
Body. We care for our Souls.' He replied not one word,
but turned and walked away.
We immediately began praying for him, and then for all
the Despisers. As we returned^ they followed and hissed us
along the Streets: But when any of them asked, Which
is He ? And I answered ' I am H e / they were immediately silent. Ten or 12 fine ladies followed me into the
Passage of Richard Marchant's House. I turned back to
them and told them I supposed what they wanted was to
look at me; such they were very welcome to do : Perceiving
them to be more Serious, I added, ' I do not expect the
Rich of the world to hear me. For I speak plain Truth ; a
100

CONCERNING METHODISM
thing you know little of, and do not desire to know/ A
few words more passed between us, and, I hope, not
in vain.
Wednesday 6. Two men and one woman were baptized.
About 2500 were at Baptist Mills, to whom I explained
the ninth of St. John. In the evening, after our Meeting
in Baldwin Street, I went (in obedience to GOD'S command
by Lot) to the house of Mrs. Cooper, the supposed Prophetess. Her agitations were nothing near so violent as
those of Mary Plewit are. She prayed awhile (as under the
Hand of GOD) and then spoke to me for above half an
hour. What Spirit she spoke by I know not. The words
were good. Some of them were these. ' Thou art yet in
darkness. But yet a little while and I will rend the veil,
and Thou shalt see the King in his Beauty/ I felt no
power while she spoke. Appearances are against her, but I
judge nothing before the time.
On Thursday, after exhorting the little Society at Pensford (who stand as a rock, continually battered but not
shaken), I went to Priestdown, where we had a larger Company than before. I preached on ' What must I do to be
saved ?' It rained hard, but none went away except one
young woman, who came again in a few minutes. In the
midst of the Prayer Two men (who came for that purpose)
began singing a Ballad. After a few mild words (for I saw
none that were angry) we began singing a Psalm, which
utterly put them to Silence. We then prayed for them,
and they were quite confounded. I offered them Books,
but they could not read. I trust this will be a day much
to be remembered by them, for the loving-kindness of the
Lord.
My brethren, Be Meek and Lowly ; Be Wise, but not
Prudent. Stir up the gift that is in you by keeping close
together. Love one another, and be ye Thankful. You
101

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
are much in the Heart, as well as in the Prayers of, Your
affectionate Brother in Christ.
Jemmy Hutton, If I have not 50 more Hymns next
Friday, I will not thank you. Where are the 12 Haliburton's and the Nalson's x Sermons which Mr. Seward writes
me word He ordered you to send me, with 20 Hymns on
his account.
0 Jemmy, Jemmy !
(

I t is a poor Case that you and I must be
talking thus.'

Here Wesley defends Methodist work and teaching in a
letter to the Hev. George Whitefield (1714-1770). Argument, plea, satire, rebuke, are all here. At Oxford, in
London, Bristol, and Kings wood, he was closely associated
with the Wesleys in their early work. In a letter in the
Everett Collection, Whitefield styles Wesley ' my Spiritual
Father in Christ,' and in our letter Wesley makes pathetic
appeal to him as his son. Whitefield was an impassioned
dramatic evangelist. The immediate effects of his appeals
in England and America recall those which followed Peter's
sermon on the day of Pentecost. A month earlier than this
letter, a separation occurred between Whitefield and the
Wesleys, occasioned by different doctrinal views. John
Wesley preached his classic sermon ' On Free Grace' 2 (Rom.
viii. 3$) in June 1739. I t was soon published in Bristol. This
proved to be another decisive step taken there. Southey
thought it ' one of the most able and eloquent of all
Wesley's discourses, a triumphant specimen of impassioned
argument.'
It is a reasoned statement of evangelical
Arminianism which offers the saving grace of God freely to
all men, and a stern repudiation of Calvinism and its teach1
So Wesley always spelled the name of Robert Nelson, the Nonjuror,
author of Festivals and Fasts.
2
Curiously, Wesley did not include this in the volumes of his standard
sermons, but among his controversial writings (see Works, 1811 ed.,
vol. viii. p. 409). Southey and Tyerman gave large extracts.

102

CONCERNING METHODISM
ing of the election of some men t o eternal life and some t o
eternal d e a t h . Charles Wesley's hymn of thirty-six stanzas,
entitled ' U n i v e r s a l R e d e m p t i o n / was appended t o it.
Whitefield's teaching had become pronouncedly Calvinistic.
H e declared t o Charles Wesley, ' I cannot preach t h e gospel
now without speaking of election.*' ' So t h e r e were now,'
says Wesley, ' two sorts of M e t h o d i s t s : those for particular
and those for general redemption.*'
Adherents of t h e
former view were gathered into t h e Countess of H u n t i n g don's Connexion and t h e Calvinistic (Presbyterian) M e t h o d ist Church in W a l e s ; while those who held t h e l a t t e r
view followed Wesley.
Happily, t h e strained relations
between him and t h e Wesleys were soon relieved, a n d
continued t o be brotherly and cordial until Whitefield's
death. Wesley and the defenders and opponents of these
opposed views were involved in perhaps t h e bitterest of all
doctrinal controversies.
Prejudiced reports were behind
such letters from Whitefield as Wesley here replies t o .
T h e quaint references in this letter t o t h e earliest
Methodist buildings, their beginnings a n d simple furnishings, are full of interest. ' T h e Society Room a t B r i s t o l ' —
Wesley's ' New Room in t h e Horsefair,' and Broad mead (now
the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist (Presbyterian) Chapel)—was
erected in M a y 1739, t o accommodate two religious societies
in t h e city. M a n y of their members became Methodists,
and this building was their meeting-place. I n p a r t i t is t h e
oldest Methodist building in t h e world. Much of i t was
rebuilt in 1748. W i t h its many small rooms and primitive
furniture, it is sacred t o all Methodists everywhere, as
redolent of Wesley and his early work and workers. 1 * T h e
school for poor colliers' which his letter refers t o also still
stands in the grounds of t h e Reformatory a t Kingswood,
Bristol. I t is the oldest entire Methodist building in t h e
world. 2 J o h n Cennick, named in t h e letter, formerly a
1

Wesley and Kingswood, p. 127 et seq. ; Journal, vol. ii. pp. 194, 253.
2
Wesley and Kingswood, pp. 49, 119 et seq. While these pages are in the
press, local representative Methodists are raising a fund to preserve the
exterior and interior of this ancient building as nearly as possible unaltered,
while providing for necessary repairs; and for erecting memorial tablets on
it and other historic Methodist buildings in Bristol and Kingswood.

103

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
surveyor and schoolmaster, came to help Wesley at Kingswood, and was the first Methodist lay-preacher.1
He
followed Whitefield, and later became a Moravian preacher.
To the Rev. George Whitefield.
LONDON^ April 27j 2 1741.

Would you have me deal plainly with you, my brother ?
I believe you would. Then by the grace of God I will.
Of many things I find you are not rightly informed. Of
others you speak what you have not well weighed.
' T h e Society Room at Bristol,' you say, 'is adorned.'
How? Why with a piece of green cloth nailed on the
desk, two sconces for eight candles each in the middle,
and
Nay, I know no more. Now which of these could
be spared. I cannot tell: nor would I desire either more
adorning or less.
' But lodgings are made for me or my brother.' That is,
in plain English, there is a little room by the school where
I speak with the people that come to me; and a garret in
which a bed is placed for me. And do you grudge me this ?
Is this the voice of my brother, my son Whitefield ?
You say further that * the children at Bristol are clothed
as well as taught.' I am sorry for i t ; for the cloth is not
paid for yet, and was bought without my consent or
knowledge.
' But those of Kings wood have been neglected.' This is
not so, notwithstanding the heavy debt which lay upon i t :
one master and one mistress have been in the house ever
since it has been capable of receiving them. A second
master was placed there some months since, and I have
long been seeking for two proper mistresses. So that as
1

Wesley and Kingstvood, p. 88; A New History of Methodism, vol. i. p. 292.
Wesley's diary for this day makes no mention of writing to Whitefield.
It does on the next day, 28th.—;-Journal', vol. ii. p. 450.
3

104

CONCERNING METHODISM
much has been done (as matters stand), if not more than
I can answer for to God and man.
Well but, 6 You sent down brother Cennick to be schoolmaster, whom I have turned out.' What, from being
schoolmaster? You know he never was so at all. You
know he now neither designs nor desires it.
Hitherto then there is no ground for the heavy charge of
* perverting your design for the poor colliers.' Two years
since, your design was to build them a school that their
children also might be taught to fear the Lord. To this
end you collected some money more than once; how much
I cannot say till I have my papers. But this I know, it
was not near one-half of what has been expended on the
work. This design you then recommended to me, and I
pursued it with all my might through such a train of difficulties as (I will be bold to say) you have not yet met with
in your life. For many months I collected money wherever
I was; in Kingswood for that house only; in Bristol for the
schoolhouse to be built there ; in other places, generally for
Bath. In June 1739, being able to procure none any other
way, I bought a little piece of ground and began building
thereon, though I had not then a quarter of the money requisite to finish. However, taking all the debt upon myself, the
creditors were willing to stay; and then it was that I took
possession of it in my own name, viz. when the foundation was
laid, and from that time to this. Only I immediately made
my will fixing my brother and you to succeed me therein.
Now, my brother, I will answer your main question. I
think you can claim no right to that building, either in
equity or law, before my demise. And every honest lawyer
will tell you the same. But if you repent of your collecting
the money towards it, I will repay it as speedily as I can;
although I now owe more than two hundred pounds on
account of Kingswood School only.
105

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
But it is a poor case that you and I must be talking
thus. Indeed, these things ought not so to be. It lay in
your power to have prevented all, and yet to have borne
testimony to what you call the truth. If you had disliked
my sermon,1 you might have printed another on the same
text, and have answered my proofs, without mentioning my
name. This had been fair and friendly. Whereas, to proceed as you have done is so far from friendship that it is
not moral honesty. Moral honesty does not allow of a
treacherous wound, or of the bewraying of secrets. I will
refer the point even to the judgement of Jews, Turk, infidel,
or heretic.
Indeed among the latter (i.e. heretics) you publicly place
me; for you rank all the maintainers of universal redemption with Socinians themselves. Alas, my brother, do you
not know even this—that the Socinians allow no redemption
at all ? that Socinus himself speaks thus, Tot a redemptio
nostra per Christum metaphora ? 2 and says expressly Christ
did not die as a ransom for any, but only as an example
for all mankind ? How easy were it for me to hit many
other palpable blots in that which you call an answer to
my sermon ? And how above measure contemptible would
you then appear to all impartial men either of sense or
learning? But I spare you. Mine hand shall not be upon
you. The Lord be judge between me and thee !
Alas, my brother, in what manner are you proceeding
now ? In what manner have you been proceeding, even
since you unwisely put that weapon into the enemies' hands ?
You have been continually gathering up all the improper
expressions of those who were supposed to be in (some sense)
perfect, and then retailing them in your public preaching to
the scoffers of the world! Now you well know that this was
1
2

106

The sermon entitled ' Free Grace' referred to above.
' The whole of our redemption by Christ is a metaphor.'

CONCERNING METHODISM
just the same thing (in effect), and made the same impression
on your hearers, as if under every one of those pictures [you
wrote], ' John Wesley.' Was this fair or upright dealing ?
A Spaniard would have behaved more tenderly to his
English prisoner.
Put the case now that I should make reprisals!—that I
should deal with you as you have done with me!—that I
should publicly repeat all the wrong expressions which
I have heard from predestinarians ! What would follow ?
Why, all that heard me would run from a predestinarian as
they would from a mad dog.
But you are very safe. I cannot meet you here. This
field you have all to yourself. I cannot dwell on those
things which have an immediate tendency to make you
odious and contemptible. The general tenor both of my
public and private exhortations, when I touch thereon at all
(as even my enemies know if they would testify), is, ' Spare
the young man, even Absalom, for my sake/

* Every Man has Authority to save the Life of a
dying Man . . . every Christian to save
Souls.'
By a parallel argument between the case of a doctor whose
title is proved by the cures he effects, and the results of the
labours of his lay preachers, Wesley defends these workers
as true ministers of the Gospel, How shrewdly he applies
his test all round ! His logic is remorseless. Twenty-three
years later he repeated this letter to another objector.1
To a serious Clergyman.
TULLAMORE, May

4,

1748.

have at present neither leisure nor
inclination to enter into a formal controversy; but you will
REVEREND SIR,—I
1

' A letter to the Reverend Mr. Fleury,' Works, vol. ix. p. 182.

107

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
give me leave just to offer a few hints relating to the subject
of last night's conversation :—
i

1. Seeing life and health are things of so great importance,
it is, without question, highly expedient that physicians
should have all possible advantages of learning and education.
% That trial should be made of them, by competent
judges, before they practise publicly.
3. That after such trial, they be authorised to practise
by those who are empowered to convey that authority.
4. And that, while they are preserving the lives of others,
they should have what is sufficient to sustain their own.
5. But supposing a gentleman, bred at the university in
Dublin, with all the advantages of education, after he has
undergone all the usual trials, and been regularly authorised
to practise :
6. Suppose, I say, this physician settles at
for some
years, and yet makes no cures at all; but, after trying
his skill on five hundred persons, cannot show that he has
healed one; many of his patients dying under his hands,
and the rest remaining just as they were before he came:
7. Will you condemn a man who, having some skill in
physic, and a tender compassion for those who are sick or
dying all around him, cures many of those., without fee or
reward, whom the doctor could not cure ?
8. A t least did not (which is the same thing as to the case
in hand), were it only for this reason, because he did not go
to them, and they would not come to him ?
9. Will you condemn him because he has not learning,
or has not had an university education ?
W h a t then ? He cures those whom the man of learning
and education cannot cure !
108

CONCERNING METHODISM
10. Will you object that he is no physician, nor has any
authority to practise ?
I cannot come into your opinion. I think, Medicus est qui
medetur,' He is a physician who heals'; and that every man
has authority to save the life of a dying man.
But if you only mean he has no authority to take fees, I
contend not : for he takes none at all.
11. Nay, and I am afraid it will hold, on the other hand,
Medicus non est qui non medetur; I am afraid, if we use
propriety of speech, 6 He is no physician who works no
cure.'
12. ' O, but he has taken his degree of Doctor of Physic,
and therefore has authority.''
Authority to do what ? tf Why, to heal all the sick that
will employ him.'' But (to waive the case of those who will
not employ him; and would you have even their lives
thrown away ?) he does not heal those that do employ him.
He that was sick before is sick still; or else he is gone hence,
and is no more seen.
Therefore his authority is not worth a rush; for it serves
not the end for which it was given.
13. And surely he has no authority to kill them, by
hindering another from saving their lives !
14. If he either attempts or desires to hinder him, if he
condemns or dislikes him for it, it is plain to all thinking
men he regards his own fees more than the lives of his
patients.
II

Now, to apply: 1. Seeing life everlasting, and holiness,
or health of soul, are things of so great importance, it is
highly expedient that ministers, being physicians of the
soul, should have all advantages of education and learning.
2. That full trial should be made of them in all respects,
and that by the most competent judges, before they enter
109

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
on the public exercise of their office, the saving souls from
death.
3. That after such trial they should be authorised to
exercise that office by those who are empowered to convey
that authority. (I believe bishops are empowered to do
this and have been so from the apostolic age.)
4. And that those whose souls they save ought, meantime, to provide them what is needful for the body.
5. But suppose a gentleman bred at the university of
Dublin, with all the advantages of education, after he has
undergone the usual trials, and been regularly authorised to
save souls from death :
6. Suppose, I say, this minister settles at
for some
years, and yet saves no souls at all, saves no sinners from
their sins; but after he has preached all this time to five or
six hundred persons, cannot show that he has converted one
from the error of his ways ; many of his parishioners dying
as they lived, and the rest remaining just as they were before
he came :
7. Will you condemn a man who, having compassion on
dying souls, and some knowledge of the gospel of Christ,
without any temporal reward, saves them from their sins
whom the minister could not save ?
8. At least did not, nor ever was likely to do i t ; for he
did not go to them, and they would not come to him.
9. Will you condemn such a preacher because he has not
learning, or has not had an university education ?
W h a t then ? He saves those sinners from their sins whom
the man of learning and education cannot save.
A peasant being brought before the College of Physicians
at Paris, a learned doctor accosted h i m , ' What, friend, do
you pretend to prescribe to people that have agues ? Dost
thou know what an ague is ?' He replied, ' Yes, sir, an
ague is what I can cure, and you cannot.'
110

CONCERNING METHODISM
Will you object, ' B u t he is no minister, nor has any
authority to save souls' ?
I must beg leave to dissent from you in this. I think
he is a true evangelical minister, Acdfcovos, * servant' of
Christ and His Church, who ovrco^ Siarcovet,' so ministers ' as
to save souls from death, to reclaim sinners from their sins;
and that every Christian, if he is able to do it, has authority
to save a dying soul.
But if you only mean, ' H e has no authority to take
tithes,"' I grant it. He takes none. As he has freely
received, so he freely gives.
11. But, to carry the matter a little farther; I am afraid
it will hold, on the other hand, with regard to the soul as
well as the body, Medicus non est qui medetur,' He is not a
physician who effects no cures.'' I am afraid reasonable men
will be much inclined to think,' He that saves no souls is no
minister of Christ.'
12. ' O, but he is ordained, and therefore has authority.''
Authority to do what ? ' To save all souls that will put
themselves under his care.'' True ; but (to waive the case of
them that will not, and would you desire that even those
should perish ?) he does not, in fact, save them that are
under his care. Therefore, what end does his authority
serve ? tie that was a drunkard is a drunkard still. The
same is true of the Sabbath-breaker, the thief, the common
swearer. This is the best of the case ; for many have died
in their iniquity, and their blood will God require at the
watchman's hand.
IS. For surely he has no authority to murder souls, either
by his neglect, by his smooth, if not false, doctrine, or by
hindering another from plucking them out of the fire and
bringing them to life everlasting.
1 4 If he either attempts or desires to hinder him, if he
condemns or is displeased with him for it, how great reason
111

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
is there to fear that he regards his own profit more than the
salvation of souls!—I am, Reverend sir. Your aifectionate
brother.

' The unspeakable Advantages which the Methodists enjoy in regard to Public Worship.'
The London Methodist services here described and so
warmly commended by Wesley were held in the Foundery
and the West Street Chapel. He or his brother Charles, or
some other clergyman conducted the service, read and
offered extempore prayers, preached there, and administered
the sacraments. In the absence of the Wesleys one of the
Methodist preachers usually preached the sermon. It was
not until long afterwards (1826) that the Methodist
preachers were allowed to give the Lord's Supper, of which
Wesley speaks, at City Road Chapel, the successor of the
old Foundery. This sacerdotal restriction brought the
Society into straits and made it sometimes dependent on
unworthy clerics.1
Wesley had evidently been present in his journeyings at
ineffective Church services, and had been distressed by unseemly behaviour thereat. Choir-boys, clergymen, and
parish clerks get stern words. As to the last, he was perhaps thinking of the ridiculous clerk 2 who served at Epworth.
Wesley liked quick, hearty singing. He often sang eight
times a day, privately, or with others. His picture of the
London Methodist services may be compared with the freer
and heartier ones at Bristol which Joseph Williams, a Dissenter of Kidderminster, saw in 1739 and described. Charles
Wesley's fervent preaching and praying greatly impressed
him. He says, c Never did I hear such praying or such
1

See A New History of Methodism, vol. i. p . 489.
H e gave out there * a hymn of my own composing,' to m a r k the return of
K i n g William to L o n d o n after a journey, t h u s —
' King William is come home, come home,
King William home is come;
Therefoie together let us sing
T h e hymn t h a t ' s call'd Te D'um.'
2

—Clarke, Wesley Family,

112

p . 233.

CONCERNING METHODISM
singing; never did I see and hear such marks of fervency of
spirit in the service of God, as that in this Society. At the
close of every single petition, a serious "Amen," like a
rushing sound of waters, ran through the whole Society."
To a Friend.
P E N R Y N , CORNWALL, September 20,

DEAR

1757.

SIR,—The longer I am absent from London, and

the more I attend the service of the Church in other pilaces,
the more I am convinced of the unspeakable advantage
which the people called Methodists enjoy. I mean with
regard to public worship, particularly on the Lord's Day.
The church where they assemble is not gay or splendid,
which might have been a hindrance on the one hand; nor
sordid or dirty, which might give distaste on the other ; but
plain as well as clean. The persons who assemble there
are not a giddy crowd who come chiefly to see and be seen;
nor a company of goodly, formal, outside Christians whose
religion lies in a dull round of duties; but a people most
of whom do, and the rest earnestly seek to, worship
God in spirit and in truth. Accordingly they do not spend
their time there in bowing and curtsying, or in staring
about them ; but in looking upward and looking inward,
in hearkening to the voice of God, and pouring out their
hearts before Him.
It is also no small advantage that the person who reads
prayers (though not always the same, yet) is always one who
may be supposed to speak from his heart, one whose life is
no reproach to his profession; and one who performs that
solemn part of divine service, not in a careless, hurrying,
slovenly manner, but seriously and slowly, as becomes him
who is transacting so high an affair between God and
man.
Nor are their solemn addresses to God interrupted either
H
118

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
by the formal drawl of a parish clerk or the screaming of
boys, who bawl out what they neither feel nor understand,
or the unseasonable and unmeaning impertinence of a
voluntary on the organ. When it is seasonable to sing
praise to God, they do it with the spirit, and with the
understanding also ; not in the miserable, scandalous doggerel of Hopkins and Sternhold, but in psalms and hymns
which are both sense and poetry: such as would sooner
provoke a critic to turn Christian than a Christian to turn
critic. W h a t they sing is therefore a proper continuation
of the spiritual and reasonable service, being selected for
that end (not by a poor humdrum wretch who can scarce
read what he drones out with such an air of importance, but)
by one who knows what he is about, and how to connect the
preceding with the following part of the service. Nor does
he take j u s t ' two staves,' but more or less, as may best raise
the soul to God; especially when sung in well-composed
and well-adapted tunes, not by a handful of wild, unawakened striplings, but by a whole serious congregation;
and these, not lolling at ease or in the indecent posture of
sitting, drawling out one word after another, but all standing before God and praising Him lustily, and with a good
courage.
Nor is it a little advantage as to the next part of the
service, to hear a preacher whom you know to live as he
speaks, speaking the genuine gospel of present salvation
through faith, wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost;
declaring present, free, full justification, and enforcing
every branch of inward and outward holiness. And this
you hear done in the most clear, plain, simple, unaffected
language; yet with an earnestness becoming the importance
of the subject, and with the demonstration of the Spirit.
W i t h regard to the last and most awful part of divine
service, the celebration of the Lord's Supper, although we
114

CONCERNING METHODISM
cannot say that either the unworthiness of the minister or
the unholiness of some of the communicants deprives the
rest of a blessing from God, yet do they greatly lessen the
comfort of receiving. But these discouragements are
removed from you: you have proof that he who administers fears God: and you have no reason to believe that any
of your fellow-communicants walk unworthy of their profession. Add to this that the whole service is performed in
a decent and solemn manner, is enlivened by hymns suitable
to the occasion, and concluded with prayer that comes not
out of feigned lips.
Surely then, of all the people in Great Britain the
Methodists would be the most inexcusable should they let
any opportunity slip of attending that worship which has
so many advantages, should they prefer any before it, or not
continually improve by the advantages they enjoy ! What
can be pleaded for them, if they do not worship God in
spirit and in t r u t h ; if they are still outward worshippers
only, approaching God with their lips while their hearts
are far from Him ? Yea, if, having known Him, they do
not daily grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ!—I am, Your affectionate friend.

' You are not in the Society.

Why not ?'

Since the Methodists enjoy such advantages, and other
privileges also, Wesley here urges one to join in membership
with them. He is a worshipper already. Here are—to
adapt a famous title from Richard Baxter—' More Reasons
for Church Membership, and No Reason against it."' Wesley
published this letter in his Journal, and * I desire it may be
seriously considered by those to whom it belongs.' I t
deserves such consideration. Age has not withered this
earnest pleading. It might be copied and sent to-day to
any devout, generous, unattached Christian, like this,
on the fringe of a Christian Church. I t might well be
115

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
reprinted and widely used. Where is there a more cogent
appeal on this scriptural duty and privilege ?
To a Worshipper among the Methodists.
MANCHESTER, July 1 1 , 1764.

was one thing, when I was with you,
that gave me pain : you are not in the society. But why
not ? Are there not sufficient arguments for it to move any
reasonable man ? Do you not hereby make an open confession of Christ, of what you really believe to be His work,
and of those whom you judge to be, in a proper sense, His
people and His messengers ? By this means do you not
encourage His people, and strengthen the hands of His
messengers ? And is not this the way to enter into the
spirit, and share the blessing, of a Christian community ?
Hereby, likewise, you may have the benefit of the advices
and exhortations at the meeting of the society : and also of
provoking one another, at the private meetings, to love and
good works.
The ordinary objections to such an union are of little
weight with you. You are not afraid of the expense.
You already give unto the Lord as much as you
need do then : And you are not ashamed of the
Gospel of Christ, even in the midst of a crooked
and perverse generation. Perhaps you will say, ' I am
joined in affection.''
T r u e ; but not to so good effect.
This joining half-way, this being a friend to, but not a
member of, the society, is by no means so open a confession
of the work and servants of God. Many go thus far who
dare not go farther, who are ashamed to bear the reproach
of an entire union. Either you are ashamed, or you are
not. If you are, break through at once; if you are not,
come into the light, and do what those well-meaning
cowards dare not do. This imperfect union is not so
116
DEAR SIR.,—There

CONCERNING METHODISM
encouraging to the people, not so strengthening to the
preachers. Rather it is weakening their hands, hindering
their work, and laying a stumbling-block in the way of
others ; for what can any man think who knows you are so
well acquainted with them, and yet do not join their society ?
What can he think but that you know them too well to
come any nearer to them ; that you know that kind of union
to be useless, if not hurtful ? And yet by this very union
is the whole (external) work of God upheld throughout the
nation; besides all the spiritual good which accrues to each
member. O delay no longer, for the sake of the work, for
the sake of the world, for the sake of your brethren ! Join
them inwardly and outwardly, heart and hand, for the sake
of your own soul. There is something not easily explained
in the fellowship of the Spirit, which we enjoy with a
society of living Christians. You have no need to give up
your share therein, and the various blessings that result from
it. You have no need to exclude yourself from the benefits
of the advice and exhortations given from time to time.
These are by no means to be despised, even supposing you
have yourself more understanding than him that gives them.
You need not lose the benefit of those prayers which
experience shows are attended with a peculiar blessing.
4
But I do not care to meet a class; I find no good in it.'
Suppose you find even a dislike, a loathing of i t ; may not
this be natural, or even diabolical ? In spite of this, break
through, make a fair trial. It is but a lion in the way.
Meet only six times (with previous prayer), and see if it do
not vanish away. But if it be a cross, still bear it for the
sake of your brethren. c But I want to gain my friends
and relations. , If so, stand firm. If you give way, you
hurt them, and they will press upon you the more. If you
do not, you will probably gain them, otherwise you confirm
both their wrong notions and wrong tempers. Because I
117

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
love you I have spoken fully and freely ; to know that I have
not spoken in vain will be a great satisfaction to. Your
affectionate brother.

' A great desire of Union between the Preachers
of the Gospel.'
The letter from the Colman Collection, given incompletely by Tyerman, is of special interest. Selina, Countess
of Huntingdon (1707-1791), founded the denomination
which bears her name, and by reason of her abilities, character, and social and religious influence, is one of the notable
figures of the eighteenth century. 1 She appointed Whitefield and other clergymen as her chaplains, so that without
difficulty they might minister irregularly to the neglected,
rich and poor. As shown on page 102, the doctrines which
she held and vigorously encouraged were in sharp contrast
with those of Wesley and his followers. The rival leaders
were sometimes in conflict, even at the end of their long
lives, as we shall see in Wesley's letter to Lady Maxwell
(page 418). Onlookers and critics referred to them satirically
as Pope John and Pope Joan.
Here, however, as before, Wesley seeks an amicable
arrangement between the two bands of workers, and others
also. The Countess appeared to be anxious for it, as did
also a few clergymen. A month earlier than this letter,
Wesley had sent an important proposal 2 for it to fifty of
them.
He sought unity with them, not in ' opinion,''
' expression,'' or ' outward order,' but ' a good understanding ' and friendliness in ' propagating vital religion.' The
Countess sent him an encouraging letter. Wesley names
the Rev. Richard Hart, vicar of St. George's Church, Bristol,
in which city the Methodists were numerous, who was one
of three clergymen who responded to his catholic appeal.
But the Countess did not attend the next Methodist Con1
See her Life and Times, by a member of the Houses of Shirley and
Hastings (1839), and The Countess of Huntingdon and her Circle, by
Sarah Tytler.
2
Journal^ vol. v. et seq.

118

CONCERNING METHODISM
ference at Bristol, as Wesley suggests. Twelve of the clergy
to whom Wesley had appealed did so, and requested that
the Methodist preachers should be withdrawn from every
parish where there is ' an awakened minister.' Neither
Wesley nor his preachers, except Charles Wesley, would
agree to this, and this attempt to secure brotherly concord
and co-operation failed.
To the Countess of

Huntingdon.

NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, May

16,

1764.

M Y DEAR LADY,—I am much obliged to your ladyship for
your encouraging answer, which plainly speaks a heart devoted to God, and longing for the furtherance of His kingdom. I have likewise received an exceeding friendly letter
from Mr. Hart, testifying a great desire of union between
the preachers of the gospel. Only he carries the point
considerably farther than I do, proposing a free debate concerning our several opinions. Now this, I fear, we are not
yet able to bear. I fear it might occasion some sharpness
of expression, if not of spirit too, which might tear open
the wounds before they are fully closed. I am far from being
assured that I could bear it myself, and perhaps others might
be as weak as I. To me therefore it still seems most expedient to avoid disputing of every kind, at least for a
season, till we have tasted each other's spirit, and confirmed
our love to each other. I own freely, I am sick of disputing;
I am weary to bear it. My whole soul cries out ' Peace !
Peace !' at least with the children of God, that we may all
unite our strength to carry on the war against the ' rulers of
the darkness of this world.' Still, I ask but one thing, I
can require no more, ' Is thy heart right, as my heart is
with thine ? If it be, give me thy hand ; let us take sweet
counsel together, and strengthen each other in the Lord.'
And the advantage in the proposal I make is this : If it
119

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
should be (which God forbid !) that I should find none to
join with me therein, I will (by God's help) comply with it
myself. None can hinder this; and, I think, my brother
will be likeminded, yea, and all who act in connection with
us. Probably it might contribute much to this end, if those
of our brethren who have opportunity would be at Bristol
on Thursday, the ninth of August. We might then spend
a few hours in free conversation, either apart from, or in conjunction with, the other preachers. I apprehend if your
ladyship could then be near, it might be of excellent service,
in confirming any kind and friendly disposition which our
Lord might plant in the hearts of His servants. Surely if
this can be effectually done, we shall again see Satan as
lightning fall from heaven. Then
* The children of thy faith and prayer
Thy joyful eyes shall see ;
Shall see the prosperous church, and share
In her prosperity !'
—I am, my dear lady, your ladyship's most affectionate and
obedient servant.
6

By these Marks the Methodists desire to be
distinguished.'

With much spirit and vigour Wesley here defines and
defends a characteristic Methodist doctrine, Christian Perfection, and deals with the notorious Dr. Dodd. In his
tract The Character of a Methodist, published in 174&,1
Wesley says that the distinguishing marks of a Methodist
' are not his opinions/ 'his words or phrases/ his 'actions,
customs, or usages of an indifferent nature; nor is he
distinguished by his laying the whole stress of religion on
any single part of it.' ' A Methodist is one who has " the
love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost
given unto h i m " ; one who u loves the Lord his God with
1

120

Works, vol. viii. p. 340.

CONCERNING METHODISM
all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind,
and with all his strength." God is the joy of his heart, and
the desire of his soul.'' 6 And while he thus always exercises
his love to God, by praying without ceasing, rejoicing evermore, and in everything giving thanks, this commandment
is written in his heart, " That he who loveth God, love his
brother also."" And he accordingly loves his neighbour as
himself; he loves every man as his own soul.' Chalmers
was evidently right when he said, * Methodism is Christianity
in earnest.' Wesley here emphasises that this is the ideal:
what the Methodist desires to be. For himself he says, ' I
tell you flat, I have not attained the character I draw.'
William Dodd (1729-1777), here ' Rusticulus,' had a
sad career. He was a fashionable preacher in London and
a Royal chaplain. From this office he was displaced for
offering a large bribe to secure a valuable Church living.
Soon afterwards he was convicted of forgery, for which
crime he was executed. He had pursued Wesley and the
Methodists for many years, and poured the vilest abuse upon
him and them. Nevertheless, he thrice sent for Wesley to
visit him in Newgate. Wesley went. He believed Dodd
died penitent and pardoned. 1
To the Editor of Lloyd's Evening Post.
LONDON, March 5, 1767.

SIR,—Many times the publisher of the Christian Magazine has attacked me without fear or wit; and hereby he
has convinced his impartial readers of one thing at least—
that (as the vulgar say) his fingers itch to be at me; that
he has a passionate desire to measure swords with me.
But I have other work upon my hands; I can employ the
short remainder of my life to better purpose.
The occasion of his late attack is this:—Five or six and
thirty years ago, I much admired the character of a perfect
Christian drawn by Clemens Alexandrinus. Five or six and
1

See his account of Dr. Dodd, Arminian Magazine, 1783, p. 358.

121

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
twenty years ago, a thought came into my mind of drawing
such a character myself, only in a more scriptural manner,
and mostly in the very words of Scripture. This I entitled
The Character of a Methodist, believing that curiosity
would incite more persons to read it, and also that some
prejudice might thereby be removed from candid men.
But that none might imagine I intended a panegyric either
on myself or my friends, I guarded against this in the very
title-page, saying, both in the name of myself and them,
c
Not as though I had already attained, either were already
perfect.' To the same effect I speak in the conclusion,
fc
These are the principles and practices of our sect: these
are the marks of a true Methodist'; i.e. a true Christian,
as I immediately after explain myself: 'By these alone do
those who are in derision so called desire to be distinguished
from other men' (p. 11). ' By these marks do we labour to
distinguish ourselves from those whose minds or lives are
not according to the Gospel of Christ' (p. IS).
Upon this Rusticulus, or Dr. Dodd, says,' A Methodist,
according to Mr. Wesley, is one who is perfect, and sinneth
not in thought, word, or deed.'
Sir, have me excused. This is not i according to Mr.
Wesley.' I have told all the world I am not perfect; and
yet you allow me to be a Methodist. / tell you fiat, I have
not attained the character I draw. Will you pin it upon me
in spite of my teeth ?
' But Mr. Wesley says, the other Methodists have.' I
say no such thing. What I say, after having given a
scriptural account of a perfect Christian, is this:—'By
these marks the Methodists desire to be distinguished from
other men; by these we labour to distinguish ourselves.'
And do you not yourself desire and labour after the very
same thing ?
But you insist, 'Mr. Wesley affirms the Methodists' {i.e.
12a

CONCERNING METHODISM
all Methodists) ' t o be perfectly holy and righteous,''
Where do I affirm this ? Not in the tract before us. In
the front of this I affirm just the contrary; and that I
affirm it anywhere else is more than I know. Be pleased,
sir, to point out the place. Till this is done, all you add
(bitterly enough) is mere brutumfulmen; and the Methodists
(so called) may still declare (without any impeachment of
their sincerity) that they do not come to the holy table
' trusting in their own righteousness, but in God's manifold
and great mercies.^—I am, sir, Yours, etc.
In an important note 1 Wesley cleverly summarised the
system, condition, and position of Methodism thirty years
after its rise. Professor Liden, a distinguished Swede, professor of History at Lund, visited England in 1769. He
was much attracted by the Wesleys and their work, and
heard Wesley preach. Wesley answered his questions
thus:—
6

1. There are many thousand Methodists in Great Britain
and Ireland which are not formed into societies. Indeed,
none are but those (or rather a part of those) who are under
the care of Mr. Wesley. These at present contain a little
less than thirty thousand persons.
2. The places at which there is constant preaching (three
or four times a week at least) are the Foundery, near Moorfields, the French Church (in West Street), near the Seven
Dials (at these two places there is preaching every morning
and evening), the French Church, in Spitalfields, the chapel
in Snowsfields, Southwark, the chapel in Wapping, and one
not far from Smithfield.
3. They have many schools for teaching, reading, writing,
and arithmetic, but only one for teaching the higher parts
of learning. This is kept in Kings wood, near Bristol, and
1
From 'British Methodism,' vol. ii. p. 799, by Rev. Thos. E. Brigden,
in Hurst's History of Methodism.

123

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
contains about forty scholars. These are all boarders, and
might be abundantly more, but the house will not contain
them. " T h e rules of Kings wood School" give an account of
the books read and the method pursued therein.
4. I believe some of the best preachers are James Morgan,
Peter Jaco, Jos. Cownley, T. Simpson, John Helton, John
Pawson, Alex. Mather, Tho. Olivers, Sam Levick, Duncan
Wright, Jacob Rowell, Christopher Hopper, Dan Bumstead,
Alexander M'Nab, and William Thompson. Each of these
preachers has his food wherever he labours, and twelve
pounds a year for clothes and other expenses. If he is
married, he has ten pounds a year for his wife. This money
is raised by the voluntary contributions of the societies. It
is by these likewise that the poor are assisted where the
allowance fixed by the laws of the land does not suffice.
Accordingly the stewards of the societies in London distribute seven or eight pounds weekly among the poor.
5. Mr. Whitefield is a Calvinist, Messrs. Wesley are n o t ;
this is the only material difference between them. And
this has continued without any variation ever since Mr.
Whitefield adopted those opinions. The consequences of
that difference are touched upon in the letter sent two or
three years ago to the persons named therein.
6. There are only three Methodist societies in America;
one at Philadelphia, one at New York, and one twelve miles
from it. There are five preachers there ; two have been at
New York for some years ; three are lately gone over. Mr.
Whitefield has published a particular account of everything
relative to the Orphan House (in Georgia).
7. The most eminent writers against the Methodists are
the late Bishop of London (Dr. Gibson), Dr. Church, the
Bishop of Gloucester (Dr. Warburton), and Bishop Lavington. Bishops Gibson and Lavington were thoroughly
convinced of their mistake before they died. I believe
124

CONCERNING METHODISM
Dr. Church was so too. None, I think, but Mr. Perronet
has wrote for the Methodists?

' They cannot join with me any longer than they
are directed by me.'
To an unknown correspondent, Wesley here contends for
his own absolute supremacy in Methodism over his preachers,
and in its Conference. He had often to do so in these later
days when his helpers had apprehended the New Testament
principles of church government, had behind them a record
of devoted service, and within them as deep a concern for
God's work, in their measure, as he had. He had just expelled his godly and gifted preacher Alexander M'Nab* of
Bath because he declined to permit Edward Smythe, an
Irish clergyman whom Wesley wished ' to preach every
Sunday evening in our chapel while he remained in Bath,'
to do so.2
[LONDON], January 1780.
seem to me not to have well
considered the rules of a helper, or the rise of Methodism.
It pleased God, by me, to awaken, first my brother and then
a few others, who severally desired of me, as a favour, that I
would direct them in all things. After my return from
Georgia, many were both awakened and converted to God.
One, and another, and another of these desired to join with
me as sons in the Gospel, to be directed by me, I drew up
a few plain rules (observe, there was no Conference in being),
and permitted them to join me on these conditions. Whoever, therefore, violates these conditions, particularly that
of being directed by me in the work, does ipso facto disjoin
himself from me. This Brother M'Nab has done (but he
cannot see that he has done amiss); and he would have it
a common cause: that is, he would have all the preachers
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—You

1

Tyerman, Wesley, vol. iii. p. 303.

2

See p. 91.

125

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
do the same. He thinks ' they have a right to do so.' So
they have. They have a right to disjoin themselves from
me whenever they please. But they cannot in the nature
of the thing join with me any longer than they are directed
by me. And what if fifty of the present preachers disjoined
themselves ! W h a t should I lose thereby ? Only a great
deal of labour and care, which I do not seek, but endure,
because no one else either can or will.
You seem likewise to have quite a wrong idea of a Conference. For above six years after my return to England,
there was no such thing. I then desired some of my
preachers to meet me, in order to advise, not control me.
And you may observe, they had no power at all, but what
I exercised through them. I chose to exercise the power
which God had given me in this manner, both to avoid
ostentation, and gently to habituate the people to obey
them when I should be taken from their head. But as long
as I remain with them, the fundamental rule of Methodism
remains inviolate. As long as any preacher joins with me,
he is to be directed by me in his work. Do not you see
then, that Brother M'Nab, whatever his intentions might
be, acted as wrong as wrong could be ? and that the representing of this as the common cause of the preachers was
the way to common destruction ? the way to turn all their
heads, and to set them in arms ? I t was a blow at the very
root of Methodism. I could not therefore do less than I
did. I t was the very least that could be done for fear that
evil should spread.
I do not willingly speak of these things at all, but I do it
now out of necessity, because I perceive the mind of you
and some others is a little hurt by not seeing them in their
true light.—-I am, your affectionate brother.

126

CONCERNING METHODISM
'Persons who knew no more of saving Souls
than of catching Whales. . . . I mourn for
poor America.'
In this loyal, reasonable letter Wesley pleads with the
Bishop of London, the eminent Dr. Robert Lowth (17101787), to ordain one of his preachers to minister to Methodists in America. He and Lowth had dined together about
three years before at the house of Wesley's valued friend,
Ebenezer Blackwell.1 Behind the aged Wesley's pathetic
pleadings, as for souls for which he must give an account,
were his own missionary experiences in Georgia and
Savannah, and his ample present information as to the
religious needs of the vast country and the character of the
colonial clergy there. He had previously applied to the
bishop for a clerical helper and had been refused. The
request now preferred met with a like fate. Four years
later (1784), at Bristol, whence he sent this letter, Wesley
himself, ' with Thomas Coke and James Creighton, presbyters of the Church of England,"' gave presbyterial ordination
to two Methodist preachers, Richard Whatcoat and Thomas
Vasey, to meet the crying needs of America; and Wesley
ordained Coke as superintendent of the great far-spreading
work there. 2
To Bishop Lowth,
BRISTOL, August 10,1780.

M Y LORD,—Some time since I received your Lordship^s
favour, for which I return your Lordship my sincere thanks.
Those persons did not apply to the Society,3 ' because they
had nothing to ask of them.'' They wanted no salary for
their minister; they were themselves able and willing to
maintain him. They therefore applied, by me, to your
Lordship, as members of the Church of England, and
1

See below, p. 289.
See A New History of Methodism, vol. i. p. 231.
* The Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge in Foreign Parts 5 ;
see p. 259.
2

3

127

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
desirous so to continue, begging the favour of your Lordship, after your Lordship had examined him, to ordain a
pious man who might officiate as their minister.
But your Lordship observes, ' There are three ministers
in that country already.'' True, my Lord : but what are
three to watch over all the souls in that extensive country ?
Will your Lordship permit me to speak freely ? I dare not
do otherwise. I am on the verge of the grave, and know not
the hour when I shall drop into it. Suppose there were
threescore of those missionaries in the country, could I in
conscience recommend these souls to their care ? Do they
take any care of their own souls ? If they do (I speak it
with concern !) I fear they are almost the only missionaries in
America that do. My Lord, I do not speak rashly : I have
been in America; and so have several with whom I have
lately conversed. And both I and they know what manner
of men the far greater part of these are. They are men who
have neither the power of religion nor the form ; men that
lay no claim to piety nor even decency.
Give me leave, my Lord, to speak more freely still: perhaps it is the last time that I shall trouble your Lordship.
I know your Lordship's abilities and extensive learning: I
believe, what is far more, that your Lordship fears God. I
have heard that your Lordship is unfashionably diligent in
examining the candidates for holy orders; yea, that your
Lordship is generally at the pains of examining them yourself. Examining them ! In what respects ? Why, whether
they understand a little Latin and Greek, and can answer a
few trite questions in the science of divinity ! Alas, how
little does this avail! Does your Lordship examine
whether they serve Christ or Belial ? whether they love God
or the world ? whether they ever had any serious thoughts
about heaven or hell ? whether they have any real desire to
save their own souls, or the souls of others ? If not, what
128

CONCERNING METHODISM
have they to do with holy orders ? And what will become
of the souls committed to their care ?
My Lord, I do by no means despise learning: I know the
value of it too well. But what is this, particularly in a
Christian minister, compared to piety ? What is it in
a man that has no religion? ' A s a jewel in a swine's
snout.''
Some time since I recommended to your Lordship a plain
man, whom I had known above twenty years, as a person of
genuine piety and of unblameable conversation. But he
neither understood Greek nor Latin; and he affirmed, in so
many words, that he believed that it was his duty to preach,
whether he was ordained or no. I believe so too. What
became of him since, I know n o t ; but I suppose he received
Presbyterian ordination ; and I cannot blame him if he did.
He might think any ordination better than none.
I do not know that Mr. Hoskins 1 had any favour to ask of
the Society. He asked the favour of your Lordship to ordain him, that he might minister to a little flock in America.
But your Lordship did not see good to ordain him. But
your Lordship did see good to ordain, and send into America,
other persons who knew something of Greek and Latin, but
who knew no more of saving souls than of catching whales.
In this respect also I mourn for poor America; for the
sheep scattered up and down therein. Part of them have
no shepherds at all, particularly in the northern colonies;
and the case of the rest is little better, for their own shepherds pity them not. They cannot; for they have no pity
on themselves. They take no thought or care about their
own souls.
Wishing your Lordship every blessing from the Great
Shepherd and Bishop of Souls, I remain, My Lord, Your
Lordship's dutiful son and servant.
1

1

See below, p. 259.

129

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
In these two new letters to John Valton, one of his
preachers, Wesley maintains his personal supremacy, and
then that of the annual Conference, to which he summoned
whom he would, to appoint the preachers. Trustees were
not allowed to place or displace them. ' T h e case** here
referred to was that of the chapel at Birstal, Yorkshire,
the trustees of which maintained their right to do so. The
letter to the Dewsbury trustees, which follows these, fixed
the annual Conference in Methodism as the supreme court
in regard to her preachers. This was vital to the Connexional system.1

' The Question is, Methodism or no Methodism.'
To John Valton.
ST. NEOTS, December 3, 1782.

are thoroughly satisfied that
there is nothing wherein conscience is not concerned, which
I would not do for your sake. But here conscience is very
deeply concerned. ' W h a t I do, I do unto the Lord.'
The question is, in the last resort, Methodism or no
Methodism? A blow is struck at the very roots of our
whole discipline, as appears by the short state of the
' case' which I have sent to Joseph Benson. And if this
work is not obviated while I live, probably it never will be.
None can stem the tide when I am gone; therefore I must
now do what I can, God being my helper. And I know
the fierceness of man shall turn to his praise !—I am, your
affectionate friend and brother.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—You

' Should Trustees place and displace Preachers ?'
To John Valton.
LONDON, January 16, 1783.
Here are two questions. 1.
Whether I have acted right ? I answer, No. I ought to
MY

DEAR

BROTHER, —
1

ISO

Tyerman, Wesley^ vol. iii. p. 373.

CONCERNING METHODISM
have resolutely withstood all importunity. % Whether
trustees should place and displace preachers? (This is
the essential question.) I say ' No,1 again; otherwise^
intolerable consequences will follow.—I am, your affectionate
friend and brother.
Pray send my love to George Brown and tell him I have
his letter.

' By whom shall the Preachers be judged ?
To the trustees of Dewsbury chapel.
LONDON, July 30, 1788.

M Y DEAR BRETHREN,—The question between us i s , ' By

whom shall the preachers sent, from time to time, to
Dewsbury be judged ?' You say, ' By the trustees.** I say,
6
By their peers—the preachers met in Conference.'' You
say, 'Give up this, and we will receive them.'' I say, ' I
cannot, 1 dare not, give up this.' Therefore, if you will
not receive them on these terms, you renounce connection
with your affectionate brother.

' I leave these my last Words with you.'
When time had shaken the aged Wesley by the hand,
to use his own striking phrase, he enrolled in Chancery a
Deed of Declaration (Feb. 28, 1784) constituting a Conference of one hundred of his preachers, to continue his
relation to Methodism and all his preachers. The Conference
in its successors, in several communities and many lands,
was destined to become a Church court of unique authority
and influence. As Wesley had almost two hundred preachers,
the selection now made aroused jealousies and fears. Hence
this famous letter. Perhaps he recalled cases like that of
Alexander M'Nab (page 126). He lived almost six years after
preparing this message. I t was read at the Conference after
his death (1791), when it was unanimously resolved ' That all
the preachers that are in full connexion with them shall
131

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
enjoy every privilege that the members of the Conference
enjoy, agreeably to the above-written letter of our venerable
deceased Father in the Gospel.'
To the Methodist Conference.
CHESTER, April 7, 1785.
M Y DEAR BRETHREN,—Some of our travelling preachers

have expressed a fear that, after my decease, you would
exclude them either from preaching in connexion with you,
or from some other privileges which they now enjoy. I
know no other way to prevent such inconvenience than to
leave these my last words with you.
I beseech you, by the mercies of God, that you never
avail yourselves of the Deed of Declaration to assume any
superiority over your brethren; but let all things go on
among those itinerants who choose to remain together
exactly in the same manner as when I was with you, so far
as circumstances will permit.
In particular, I beseech you, if you ever loved me, and if
you now love God and your brethren, to have no respect of
persons in stationing the preachers, in choosing children for
Kingswood School, in disposing of the yearly contribution,
and the Preachers"' Fund, or any other public money: but
to do all things with a single eye, as I have done from the
beginning. Go on thus, doing all things without prejudice
or partiality, and God will be with you even unto the end.

' Your Lordship leaves the Methodists only this
Alternative, Leave the Church or starve.'
This dilemma still confronted Wesley's followers, although
Methodism had been established fifty years. They must
starve at the meagre, lifeless services of the Church of England, or be expelled from the Church if they went to the
supplementary and complementary services of Methodism
132

CONCERNING METHODISM
which they loved. Little wonder that they chose to leave
the Church, and that those who had never been within it
declined to enter. Modern Anglican historians show by every
token regret at the attitude and conduct of their Church
in this day of her visitation. The Methodists were in a cleft
stick. Many did not wish to ally themselves with their
natural congeners in principle, Nonconformists and Dissenters ; yet they wanted, they needed their own separate
services. They had no legal protection in these except by
the Toleration Act for Religious Dissenters. In deference
to Wesley's wish as a Churchman, they long delayed to avail
themselves of this provision. This left them exposed to
brutal, sometimes almost fiendishly ingenious, and longcontinued persecution.1 Three years before this letter,
however, Wesley advised that all his chapels and preachers
should be licensed, as he here says—the preachers simply as
preachers of the Gospel. Wesley was now eighty-seven
and venerated and beloved. The Methodists numbered
seventy thousands in England. It seems almost incredible
that with his and their shining records a letter like this
was needed.
To the Bishop of

.2
HULL, June 26, 1790.

M Y LORD,—It may seem strange that one who is not
acquainted with your Lordship should trouble you with a
letter, but I am constrained to do it. I believe it is my
duty both to God and your Lordship ; and I must speak
plain, having nothing to hope or fear in this world, which I
am on the point of leaving.
The Methodists in general, my Lord, are members of the
1
Mr. Birrell's references above, p. 21, must be supplemented by Lecky's
account in loc, in his History of England in the Eighteenth Century. A
study of contemporary records is behind the summaries given in A New
History of Methodism, vol. i. p. 323-30.
2
Wesley did not publish the name of this bishop, nor that of him to
whom he sent the letter next given.

133

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Church of England. They hold all her doctrines, attend
her service, and partake of her sacraments. They do not
willingly do harm to any one, but do what good they can to
all. To encourage each other herein, they frequently spend
an hour together in prayer and mutual exhortation. Permit me then to ask, Cui bono ? * For what reasonable end '
would your Lordship drive these people out of the Church ?
Are they not as quiet, as inoffensive, nay, as pious, as any
of their neighbours ? except perhaps here and there a harebrained man who knows not what he is about. Do you ask,
4
Who drives them out of the Church ?' Your Lordship
does, and that in the most cruel manner, yea, and the most
disingenuous manner. They desire a licence to worship God
after their own conscience. Your Lordship refuses it, and
then punishes them for not having a licence ! So your
Lordship leaves them only this alternative, ; Leave the
Church, or starve.' And is it a Christian, yea, a Protestant
bishop that so persecutes his own flock ? I say persecutes;
for it is persecution to all intents and purposes. You do
not burn them indeed, but you starve them. And how
small is the difference ! And your Lordship does this under
colour of a vile, execrable law, not a whit better than that
de hceretico comburendo.1 So persecution, which is banished
out of France, is again countenanced in England !
O my Lord, for God's sake, for Christ's sake, for pity's
sake, suffer the poor people to enjoy their religious, as well
as civil, liberty ! I am on the brink of eternity ! Perhaps
so is your Lordship too ! How soon may you also be called
to give an account of your stewardship to the Great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls ! May He enable both you
and me to do it with joy ! So prays, My Lord, Your Lordship's dutiful son and servant.
1

134

' Concerning the burning of heretics.'

CONCERNING METHODISM
' Think and let think.'
Yet another plea for tolerance and Christian charity. I t
brought no adequate response. The process of separation
of the Methodists from the Church of England, regretfully
prepared for by Wesley in his arrangements and provisions,
was quickened upon his death, and was, ere long, completed. 1
I t is good to have, almost in his last days, his terse utterance of the catholic, inclusive demand of the human mind in
all ages— ; Think and let think. , I t was a favourite motto
of his.
To the Bishop of'-

.
Circa 1790-91.

M Y LORD,—I am a dying man, having already one foot
in the grave. Humanly speaking, I cannot creep long
upon the earth, being now nearer ninety than eighty years
of age. But I cannot die in peace before I have discharged
this office of Christian love to your Lordship. I write without ceremony, as neither hoping nor fearing anything from
your Lordship, or from any man living. And I ask, in the
name and in the presence of Him to whom both you and
I are shortly to give an account, why do you trouble those
that are quiet in the land ? those that fear God and work
righteousness ? Does your Lordship know what the Methodists are ? that many thousands of them are zealous members of the Church of England, and strongly attached, not
only to His Majesty, but to his present ministry? Why
should your Lordship, setting religion out of the question,
throw away such a body of respectable friends ? Is it for
their religious sentiments ? Alas, my Lord ! is this a time
to persecute any man for conscience' sake? I beseech you,
my Lord, do as you would be done to. You are a man of
1
See above, p. 131. For the stages in the process, see A New History
of Methodism, vol. i. pp. 373, 381, 485-89 ; and in the nineteenth century,
pp. 64-7, article by Dr. H. B. Workman.

135

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
sense; you are a man of learning; nay, I verily believe
(what is of infinitely more value) you are a man of piety.
Then think, and let think. I pray God to bless you with
the choicest of His blessings.—I am. My Lord, Your Lordship's dutiful son and servant.,

136

CHAPTER V
TO SOME OF T H E C H I E F METHODIST
PREACHERS
IT says much for Wesley's character and work that he was
able to attach to himself so many helpers. In addition to
several clergy of the Church of England who, remaining in
their cures or otherwise, did the work of Methodist preachers,
Wesley called out six hundred and ninety itinerants. Some
of these were men of parts and learning; many of them of
much natural ability; all, of rare devotion. Like that of
Mazzini to his young Italians, his was the call ' to come and
suffer.' He had nothing to offer them, especially at first,
but hard fare, incessant labour, dangerous journeyings, contumely, persecution, the probability of a shortened life; but,
with him, they had mystic Meat to eat which some know
not of; they drank of the Brook by the Way, and they knew
the rapture of service.
Wesley was their chief everywhere and always. Natural
primacy, unique labours, and ever-growing popularity kept
him enthroned. This permitted counsels, commands, demands, discipline, promotions, degradings and dismissals, as
in these letters. A charmed life among moving accidents
and incidents by flood and field and wild mobs inspired awe
towards him in the earlier days. In the later, this grew into
loving reverence which truly styled him, c Our Venerable
Father in the Gospel.' His eminence could not be challenged.
Like Napoleon at his best, he could do the work of several of
his generals. All over the country spread stories of his
triumphs, which confirmed the records given in the instalments of his Journal, < Between five and six I called upon
137

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
all that were present (about three thousand) at Stanley, on
a little green, near the town, to accept Christ. I was
strengthened to speak as I never did before, and continued
speaking near two hours; the darkness of night and a little
lightning not lessening the number, but increasing the
seriousness of the hearers.' Again, ; In the midst of a mob,
I called for a chair; the winds were hushed, and all was
calm and still; my heart was filled with love, my eyes with
tears, and my mouth with arguments. They were amazed.
They were ashamed. They were melted down. They devoured every word.'
Here we give letters to John William Fletcher, Duncan
Wright, Christopher Hopper, Joseph Benson, Samuel Bradburn, Robert Carr Brackenbury, Adam Clarke, and Thomas
Coke.

Letters to John Fletcher.
Besides the Rev. Vincent Perronet, M. A.,vicar of Shoreham,
whom Charles Wesley styled the ' Archbishop of Methodists,'
William Grimshaw, B.A., vicar of Haworth, Yorkshire,
Dr. Thomas Coke, 1 and John William Fletcher,2 vicar of
Madeley, Shropshire, were the most distinguished clergymen
who closely associated themselves with the Wesleys in the
work of Methodism. Of these three mighties, John William
Fletcher (Jean Guillaume de la Flechere, 1729-1785) was
the mightiest. Indeed, in combination of native ability,
scholarly equipment, and Christlike saintliness he was second
to none of those who led the Revival of the eighteenth century. He was commonly and rightly styled 'Holy Mr.
Fletcher.' Wesley regarded his coming to him as a divine
provision: ' when my bodily strength failed and none in
England were able and willing to assist me, He sent me help
from the mountains of Switzerland.' Wesley and he had
been friends eleven years when Wesley sent him this
characteristic letter.
1
2

See page 180.
The Bible he constantly used in Madeley Church pulpit is in the Library
of Drew Theological College, Madison, New Jersey, U.S.A.

138

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
' One had need to be an Angel to converse three or
four Hours.'
Wesley held a high and serious view of conversation and
its possibilities. He noted exactly in his Diary the time he
gave to it. A ' weak, washy, everlasting flood' of mere talk,
which frothed on and on, he could not bear. Dr. Johnson
said, ; John Wesley's conversation is good, but he is never at
leisure. He is always obliged to go at a certain hour. This
is very disagreeable to a man who loves to fold his legs and
have out his talk, as I do.**
Letter I.
BIRMINGHAM, March 20, 1768.

DEAR SIR,—I was told yesterday that you are sick of the
conversation even of them who profess religion; that you
find it quite unprofitable, if not hurtful, to converse with
them three or four hours together; and are sometimes
almost determined to shut yourself up, as the less evil of
the two.
I do not wonder at it at all; especially considering with
whom you have chiefly conversed for some time past, namely,
the hearers of Mr
and Mr
. The conversing with
them I have rarely found to be profitable to my soul. Rather,
it has damped my desires, and has cooled my resolutions;
and I have commonly left them with a dry, dissipated spirit.
And how can you expect it to be otherwise? For do we
not naturally catch their spirit with whom we converse ?
And what spirit can we expect them to be of, considering
the preaching they sit under? Some happy exceptions I
allow ; but, in general, do men gather grapes of thorns ?
Do they gather the necessity of inward and outward selfdevotion, of constant, universal self-denial, or of the patience
of hope, or the labour of love, from the doctrine they hear ?
Do they gather from that amorous way of praying to Christ,
139

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
or that luscious way of preaching His righteousness, any real
holiness? I never found it so. On the contrary, I have
found that even the precious doctrine of salvation by faith
has need to be guarded with the greatest care, or those who
hear it will slight both inward and outward holiness.
I will go a step further. I seldom find it profitable to
converse with any who are not athirst for full salvation; and
who are not big with earnest expectation of receiving it
every moment. Now, you find none of these things among
those we are speaking of; but many, on the contrary, who
are in various ways, directly or indirectly, opposing this
blessed work of God ; the work, I mean, which God is carrying on throughout this kingdom, by unlearned and plain
men.
You have for some time conversed a good deal with the
genteel Methodists. Now, it matters not a straw what
doctrine they hear, whether they frequent the Lock, or
West Street, if they are as salt which has lost its savour; if
they are conformed to the maxims, the spirit, the fashions,
and customs of the world. Certainly, then, if you converse
much with such persons, you will return less a man than you
were before.
But were either the one or the other of ever so excellent
a spirit, you conversed with them too long. One had need
to be an angel, not a man, to converse three or four hours
at once, to any good purpose. In the latter part of such a
conversation, we shall be in great danger of losing all the
profit we had gained before.
But have you not a remedy for all this in your hands ?
In order to converse profitably, may you not select a few
persons who stand in awe of Him they love; persons who
are vigorously working out their salvation; who are athirst
for full redemption, and every moment expecting it, if not
already enjoying it ?
140

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
Though it is true, these will generally be poor and mean,
seldom possessed of either riches or learning, unless there be
now and then one of higher rank ; if you converse with such
as these, humbly and simply, one hour at a time, with earnest
prayer for a blessing; you will not complain of the unprofitableness of conversation, or find any need of turning hermit.
Do you not observe that all the lay preachers who are
connected with me are maintainers of general redemption ?
And it is undeniable that they are instrumental of saving
souls. God is with them, and He works by them, and has
done so for near these thirty years. Therefore, the opposing
them is neither better nor worse than fighting against God.
—I am, your ever affectionate brother.
6

Thou art the Man !'

Wesley regarded Fletcher as his divinely appointed successor. Comparing him with his beloved early helper and
friend Whitefield, Wesley held that Fletcher 'had a far
more striking person; equal good breeding; an equally
winning address; together with a richer flow of fancy; a
stronger understanding; a far greater treasure of learning,
both in languages, philosophy, philology, and divinity ; and
above all, a more deep and constant communion with the
Father, and with the Son Jesus Christ/ Charles Wesley
would not and could not lead the Methodists. Wesley
here claims Fletcher for that service; for he could ' never
believe it was the will of God that such a burning and shining light should be hid under a bushel. No ; instead of
being confined to a country village, it ought to have shone
in every corner of our land.' Madeley, Shropshire, of
which Fletcher was vicar, should give its treasure to enrich
England.
Letter II.
[LONDON^] January, 1773.

an amazing work has God wrought in
these kingdoms, in less than forty years 1 And it not only
141
DEAR SIR,—What

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
continues, but increases, throughout England, Scotland, and
Ireland; nay, it has lately spread into New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and Carolina. But the wise
men of the world say, ' When Mr. Wesley drops, then all
this is at an end!' And so it surely will, unless, before
God calls him hence, one is found to stand in his place.
For, Ovic ayaOov TroXvtcoipavirj.

EZ9 Koipavo? eorco.1 I see

more and more, unless there be one 7r/)6ecrG>?,2 the work can
never be carried on. The body of the Preachers are not
united. Nor will any part of them submit to the rest; so
that either there must be one to preside over all, or the
work will indeed come to an end.
But who is sufficient for these things ? qualified to preside
both over the preachers and the people? He must be a
man of faith and love, and one that has a single eye to the
advancement of the kingdom of God. He must have a
clear understanding; a knowledge of men and things, particularly of the Methodist doctrine and discipline; a ready
utterance; diligence and activity, with a tolerable share of
health. There must be added to these, favour with the
people, with the Methodists in general. For unless God
turn their eyes and their hearts towards him, he will be
quite incapable of the work. He must likewise have some
degree of learning; because there are many adversaries,
learned as well as unlearned, whose mouths must be stopped.
But this cannot be done, unless he be able to meet them on
their own ground.
But has God provided one so qualified ? Who is he ?
Thou art the man! God has given you a measure of loving
faith; and a single eye to" His glory. He has given you
some knowledge of men and things; particularly of the
1
It is not good that the supreme power should be lodged in many hands.
Let there be one chief governor.
2
A person who presides over the rest.

14-2

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
old plan of Methodism. You are blessed with some health,
activity, and diligence ; together with a degree of learning.
And to all these, He has lately added, by a way none could
have foreseen, favour both with the preachers and the
whole people. Come out, in the name of the Lord ! Come
to the help of the Lord against the mighty ! Come while I
am alive and capable of labour!
Dum superest Lachesi quod torqueat, et pedibus me
Porto rneiS) nullo dextram subeunte bacillo.1
Come while I am able, God assisting, to build you up in
faith, to ripen your gifts, and to introduce you to the
people. Nil tanti.2 What possible employment can you
have, which is of so great importance ?
But you will naturally say, ' I am not equal to the task;
I have neither grace nor gifts for such an employment.''
You say true ; it is certain you have not. And who has ?
But do you not know Him who is able to give them ?
perhaps not at once, but rather day by day. As each is,
so shall your strength be. ' But this implies,' you may say,
' a thousand crosses, such as I feel I am not able to bear.''
You are not able to bear them now; and they are not now
come. Whenever they do come, will He not send them
in due number, weight, and measure ? And will they not
all be for your profit, that you may be a partaker of His
holiness ?
Without conferring, therefore, with flesh and blood, come
and strengthen the hands, comfort the heart, and share the
labour of,—Your affectionate friend and brother.
1

' While Lachesis has some thiead of life to spin,
And I walk on my own feet, without the help of a staff.'

2

Nothing is of equal consequence with this.

JUVENAL, Sat. iii.

27.

143

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' T h e People generally are prejudiced in your
Favour.'
Wesley urges his plea again, doubtless after consulting
his intimate friend, Ebenezer Blackwell, a leading London
Methodist, from whose house he sent this letter. The
Checks to Antinomianism—unfortunate
in their title—were
Fletcher's defence of Methodists and their teaching against
the charges and errors of Calvinists. He is the earliest and
best expositor in English of the Remonstrant theology of
Jacobus Arminius. Of this, his works are at once a storehouse and an armoury.
Letter HI.
LEWISHAMJ July 2 1 , 1773.

DEAR SIR,—It was a great satisfaction to me, that I had
the opportunity which I so long desired, of spending a little
time with you. And I really think it would answer many
gracious designs of Providence were we to spend a little
more time together. I t might be of great advantage both
to ourselves and the people, who may otherwise soon be as
sheep without a shepherd. You say indeed, ' Whenever it
pleases God to call me away, you will do all you can to help
them.1 But will it not then be too late ? You may then
expect grievous wolves to break in on every side; and many
to arise from among themselves, speaking perverse things.
Both the one and the other stand in awe of me, and do not
care to encounter me ; so that I am able, whether they will
or no, to deliver the flock into your hands. But no one
else is. And it seems, this is the very time, when it may
be done with the least difficulty. Just now the minds of
the people in general are, on account of the Checks, greatly
prejudiced in your favour. Should we not discern the providential time ? Should we stay till the impression is worn
away ? Just now, we have an opportunity of breaking the
ice, of making a little trial. Mr. Richardson is desirous of
144

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
making an exchange with you, and spending two or three
weeks at Madeley. This might be done either now, or in
October, when I hope to return from Bristol. And till
something of this kind is done, you will not have that crropyi]
for the people, which alone can make your labour light in
spending and being spent for them. Methinks 'tis pity we
should lose any time; for what a vapour is life !—I am,
dear Sir, your affectionate friend and brother.

* Let Sister Fletcher do as much as she can for
God, and no more.'
Fletcher's modesty, frail health, and perhaps the feeling
that he would probably predecease Wesley, did not allow
him to accept Wesley's designation of him as successor.
However, Fletcher travelled with him on a preaching tour
of twelve hundred miles, and with him 'launched into
Christian polities' on the American War.
In 1775 he sent a remarkable letter to Wesley, which the
latter secretly preserved.1 It outlined a carefully articulated
scheme for the development of Methodism, largely upon
episcopal lines, after the death of the Wesleys. ' Three or
five of the most steady Methodist ministers, under the title
of Moderators,' would ordain others, and ' overlook the
flocks and the other preachers as Mr. Wesley does now.'
In 1781 Fletcher married Miss Mary Bosanquet,2 his equal
in saintliness and Methodist service. Wesley wrote the
following letter on the happy event. Fletcher died four
years later (1785), six years before Wesley. He wrote
Fletcher's life, and with extraordinary diligence, working at
it fifteen hours a day until completed. He naively said,
' From five in the morning till eight at night are my studying hours; I cannot write longer in a day without hurting
my eyes'! Who could, at his age of eighty-three !'
1
2

K

Letter, Aug. i, 1775, Rev. J. Telford's John Wesley, p. 388.
See p. 358.

145

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
LONDON, November 24, 1781. *

is not a person to whom I would have
wished Miss Bosanquet joined besides you. But this union,
I am thoroughly persuaded, is of God; and so are all the
children of God with whom I have spoken. Mr. Bosanquet's
being so agreeable to it, I look upon as a token for good;
and so was the ready disposing of the house and the stock,
which otherwise would have been a great encumbrance.
From the first day which you spend together in Madeley, I
hope you will lay down an exactly regular plan of living ;
something like that of the happy family at Leytonstone. Let your light shine to all that are round about
you.
And let Sister Fletcher do as much as she can for God,
and no more. To His care I commit you both.
And am, my dear friends, your very affectionate brother.
DEAR SIR,—There

To his Stone-mason Preacher, John Nelson.
This precious fragment is all that is known of many
letters from Wesley to John Nelson (1707-1774). He was
one of the early trophies of Wesley's gospel, his valiant
follower, companion, and defender, a beloved friend, and a
singularly powerful and successful itinerant. The story of
Nelson's reformation is a romance comparable with that of
Bunyan, and his Journal2 of his life combines much of the
interest of Grace Abounding and the Pilgrim's Progress.
Like St. Paul, Nelson often worked at his trade, in which he
was skilled, while serving as a preacher; for only ten shillings
a week was allowed him for himself and family, by the
Methodists.
1
The year 1783 given in Works, xi. 149, is an error. The Fletchers
went to Madeley in January 1782.
2
Lives of the Early Methodist Preachers, vol. i. ; or Wesley *s Veterans,
ed. by Rev. John Telford.

146

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
* W e shall cry out together, . . . we are more than
Conquerors.'
This letter was sent to Nelson while imprisoned in
York Castle, after his impressment for the army. Wesley's
view of the opportunities of his imprisonment was justified
by Nelson's use of them. Lady Huntingdon procured his
discharge.
To John Nelson.
Circa, May 1744.
Well, my brother, is the God whom you serve able to
deliver you; and do you still find Him faithful to His
word ? Is His grace still sufficient for you ? I doubt it
not. He will not suffer you to be weary or faint in your
mind. But He had work for you to do that you knew not
of, and thus His counsel was to be fulfilled.
O lose no
time ! Who knows how many souls God may by this
means deliver into your hands ? Shall not all these things
be for the furtherance of the gospel ? And is not the time
coming when we shall cry out together, ' Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through Him that hath
loved us ?'

Letters to Duncan Wright.
Wesley reckoned Duncan Wright (1736-1791) one of his
best preachers.1 He often wrote to hearten him, when
preaching in Erse to his own countrymen in the Highlands
of Scotland. The original of this hitherto unpublished
letter is in the library of Drew Methodist Theological
Seminary, Madison, New Jersey, U.S.A.
< The better
p a r t ' here referred to was Wright's choice of Christ, and
of the life of a Methodist preacher, instead of that of a
soldier. c " Our major, a warm blunderer," thought it a
disgrace to have a sergeant-preacher in the regiment.'*
Next year Wesley called him to itinerate.
1

See page 124.

147

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
The second letter we give rings like a general's orders. I t
might have been written by Wellington, Wesley's remote
relative.1 Wesley was much interested in soldiers, especially his soldier-preachers. H e helped Haime, Staniforth,
and Bond to be heroes indeed—soldiers and saints, in tent,
trench, and battle.

' You . . . will never regret of your Choice.'
Letter J.
[LONDON], July 4, 1763.

have chosen the better part, and
will never regret of your choice. Write down the sermon
you preached upon that subject, with what additions you
see good, and I will correct and print it, if I live to return
to London. Perhaps I may likewise print ' The Advice
concerning Children' in a separate tract. I am glad Rd.
Blackwell goes to Colchester. Perhaps he and you, by
turns, may spend the ensuing year in London.—I am,
yours affectionately.
DEAR DUNCAN,—You

' You and I may speak freely to each other.'
Letter LL.
LONDON, September 24, 1781.
DEAR DUNCAN,—Surely you and I may speak freely to

each other; for we love one another.
If George Holder goes out, either you must keep his
mother or she must go to the workhouse. You must not
give an exhortation to the bands, but encourage them to
speak.
I would be much obliged to you if you would (1) accept
the key of the book-room, and immediately take the books
into your own care ; (2) clip the wings of the local preachers,
1
Wellington was descended from a collateral branch of the same family
as the Wesleys. For many years he styled himself * Arthur Wesley.'

148

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
stewards, and leaders, changing them as need requires; (3)
fix bands where they are wanting; (4) if James Bogie is
willing to remain single, let him travel; (5) do not receive
the blind man hastily,^let him be thoroughly tried first ;
(6) be of good courage, and conquer everything.—I am,
dear Duncan, yours faithfully.

Letters to Christopher Hopper.
These are of interest as sent to another type of preacher,
and as other examples of Wesley's military style. His
shrewd comments on men and movements are notable,
e.g., the war with America 1 (Letter iv.), and our Lord's
millennial reign (Letter v.).
Christopher Hopper (17&&-180&) was a pioneer of Methodism in Scotland and elsewhere. No difficulties could drive
him back to his comfortable post as schoolmaster. He was
aptly styled the tall cedar in the goodly forest of the early
preachers, a Boanerges to the stout hearted, a Barnabas to
the sorrowful. When Wesley was absent from the Conference of 1780, Hopper had the unique distinction of being
appointed to preside over it. Wesley used his clerical
abilities and organising skill to remove much of the debt
upon the work, and to act as his deputy in critical affairs.
Nelson, Manners, and Howell were all preachers. So was
Thomas Olivers, now much desired at Newcastle. He was
the stout defender of Wesley against the polemics of
Toplady and Hill in the Calvinistie controversy, and was
more helpful by his hymns, notably that beginning ' The
God of Abraham praise/ Wesley here refers to his wife as
his ' best friend—in a sense/

' In God's name, one of you go into that Round.'
Letter / .
LEEDS, March 24, 1761.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—I stepped over from Manchester

hither yesterday, and am to return thither to-morrow.

I

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
cannot fix my route through Scotland till I hear from Mr.
Gillies; but I expect to be at Aberdeen in four or five
weeks, and at Newcastle about the middle of May. My
best friend (such she undoubtedly is, in a sense) remains
still in London. I do not expect any change till the approach of death, and I am content. With regard to me,
all is well.
John Nelson and John Manners both write to me from
York, that they wish T. Olivers to spend some time longer
in the Newcastle circuit. I wish so too. I think it would
be better for himself, and for many others. O let us follow
after the things that make for peace !—I am, yours affectionately.
Alas! alas ! So poor Jacob Rowell says, Mr. Wesley
has nothing to do with his round; and all the societies in
it, but Barnard Castle, are willing to separate. In God's
name, let one of you go into that round without delay !
6

Do just as I would do if I were in your Place.'

Hopper was now at Newcastle-on-Tyne. Here was
Wesley's northern centre, with his preachers' hostel and
seminary, and an orphanage. ' Public affairs' were Pitt's
resignation a few months earlier, and the war with Spain.
Letter II.
NORWICH, January 18, 1762.

MY DEAR BROTHER,—Public affairs do look exceeding
dark; and the clouds gather more and more. Yet the
Lord sitteth above the waterfloods, and remaineth a King
for ever. And He (whatever be the lot of His enemies)
shall give His people the blessing of peace.
If you do not establish good order in the Orphan House,
it is pity you should go there. This is the very design of
150

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
your Master; for this end are you sent. Do just as I would
do in every instance if I were in your place. Act just the
thing that is right, whoever is pleased or displeased. I
hereby give it under my hand, I will stand by you with all
my might.
I am glad you have had a free conversation with T.
Olivers. There is good in him; though he is a rough
stick of wood. But love can bow down the stubborn neck.
By faith and love we shall overcome all things.
Peace be with you and yours.—I am, your ever affectionate
brother.
I set out for London to-morrow.
6

Pray dispatch Letters.
and a ready Pen.'

You have a ready Mind,

The debt on Methodist chapels was now almost ^l^OOO. 1
He asked t h e . help of ' the chief men in our society'
to pay it—a thousand to pay two guineas each, another
thousand a guinea and a half, and so on in lesser
sums. This proposal and scheme seem to have been
Hopper's. In the Everett Collection is a copy of Wesley's
printed circular letter on this debt, dated ' London, November 84, 1767.' I t says that a few days before he had
received ' a Letter from a Gentleman' which he subjoins,
signed ' A. H.' These initials the Rev. N. Curnock
thinks stand for Assistant Hopper. Writing to the latter
on the debt, Wesley said, 6 See how nearly we have adopted
your scheme before we saw it.' Then comes the bugle-call
and general's order which we give. Hopper was later
appointed Conference clerk for this debt scheme (1769). In
the circular letter before us, addressed to his friend Richard
Cawley of Alpraham, Cheshire, Wesley follows his written
signature with the postcript, 6 I shall expect a line from
you.' This he received, and two guineas for the debt.
1

See page 218, in the Letters to James Oddie.

151

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Letter III.
Circa August, 1767.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—I constitute you, Christopher Hopper

by name, Lord President of the north. Enter upon
your province, Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmoreland,
Durham, Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire without delay. Pray
dispatch letters to Jacob Rowell, Jo. Heslop, Richard
Boardman, and your other deputies without loss of time;
and quicken them to put forth all their strength, and make
one push for all. But hold! John Fenwick writes to me,
' I will give £%5 !' Do not abate him the five! No
drawing back! I think the time is come for rolling this
reproach from us. Your thought concerning the preachers
is a noble one. If fifty of them set such an example, giving
a little out of their little, such an instance would have an
effect upon many. Let one stir up another. Spare no pains.
Write east, west, north, and south. You have a ready
mind, and a ready pen; and it cannot be used in a better
cause.

' Cut off all other Connexion with them than we
have with Holland or Germany.'
Wesley's rash judgement here as to Britain and her
American colonies was modified afterwards, as shown on
page 473.
Letter IV.
LONDON, December 2Q, 1775.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,-—I see no possibility of accommoda-

tion. The one point is, Has the supreme power a right to
tax, or not ? If they have, they cannot, they ought not, to
give it up. But I say as Dean Tucker, ' Let them drop.*'
Cut off all other connexion with them than we have with
Holland or Germany. Four-and-thirty millions they have
152

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
cost us to support them since Queen Anne died. Let them
cost us no more. Let them have their desire, and support
themselves.
You sent Harry Brooke one book ; but I left two, the
larger of which was not sent. If it is lost, I must buy
another.
The disorder is universal throughout Great Britain and
Ireland ; but hitherto, scarce any die of it in London: so
God lightly afflicts us at first. I t is well if the people will
now bear the rod, and Him that hath appointed it.—I am,
with love to S[ister] Hopper, your affectionate friend and
brother.

' These Calculations are far above, out of my
Sight.'
This hitherto undated letter is copied from the original
in the Rylands Library, Manchester. Wesley, now eightyfive, has still only one thing to do. As at Bradford, Yorkshire, a month earlier, he is now welcomed to the churches
to preach, and his utterances on any subject are regarded by
all as of importance.
Letter V.
[NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE], June 3, 1788.

said nothing, less or more, in
Bradford church, concerning the end of the world, neither
concerning my own opinion, but what follows:—That
Bengelius had given it as his opinion, not that the world
would then end, but that the millennial reign of Christ
would begin in the year 1836. I have no opinion at all
upon the head: I can determine nothing at all about it.
These calculations are far above, out of my sight. I have
only one thing to do—to save my soul, and those that hear
me.—I am, yours affectionately.
158
MY

DEAR BROTHER,—I

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Letters to Joseph Benson.
After serving as classical tutor at Wesley's School, Kingswood, Bristol (Letter i.), and as master at Lady Huntingdon's Trevecca College, Joseph1 Benson (1748-1821) was
called by Wesley into his itinerancy in 1771. He was to
serve Methodism fifty years as preacher and official editor,
and twice as President of Conference. His learning blended
finely with his evangelism. Thousands were brought to
religious decision under his appeals. Said one who often
heard him, 'Benson could knock a sinner down with a
quotation from the Greek New Testament.'
Wesley's many letters to him have features all their own:
choice epigrams, discriminating judgements, succinct statements of truth, close personal touches.

' An Ounce of Love is worth a Pound of Knowledge.'
Here Wesley, master of the disputations when at Oxford,
resumes his office to help and guide Benson and Peter Price
at Kingswood School (Letters i. and n.). We see the
logician's method and thoroughness. Thus he planned for
the boys, for advanced studies by the masters, and for his
preachers.
He was a true bookman, too, and went to book sales. What
a priceless counsel he gives at the close of Letter i. to bookmen and to all!
Letter I.
WYCOMBE_, November 7, 1768.

DEAR JOSEPH,—You have now twenty more volumes of
the Philosophical Transactions. Dr. Burton's Latin and
Greek poems you have in the study. Malebranche, and
some other books, are coming. Logic you cannot crack
without a tutor; I must read it to Peter and you, if we live
to meet. I t would not be amiss if I had a catalogue of the
books at Kingswood; then I should know the better what
154

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
to buy. As fast as I can meet with them at sales I shall
procure what are yet wanting. But beware you be not
swallowed up in books. An ounce of love is worth a pound
of knowledge.—I am, dear Joseph, your affectionate
brother.

* Interposing other Books is not good Husbandry.'
Letter II.
SHOREHAM, December 22, 1768.
M Y DEAR JOSEPH,—You do not quite take my meaning
yet. When I recommend to any one a method or scheme of
study, I do not barely consider this or that book separately,
but in conjunction with the rest. And what I recommend
I know; I know both the style and sentiments of each
author; and how he will confirm or illustrate what goes
before, and prepare for what comes after. Now, supposing
Mr. Stonehouse, [James] Roquet, 1 or any other, to have ever
so great learning and judgement, yet he does not enter into
my plan. He does not comprehend my views, nor keep his
eye fixed on the same point. Therefore, I must insist upon
it, the interposing other books between these, till you have
read them through, is not good husbandry. It is not making your time and pains go as far as they might go. If you
want more books, let me recommend more, who best understand my own scheme. And do not ramble, however learned
the persons may be that advise you so to do. This does indulge curiosity, but does not minister to real improvement,
as a stricter method would do. N o ; you would gain more
clearness and strength of judgement by reading those Latin
and Greek books (compared with which most of the English
books are whipped syllabub) than by four score modern
books. I have seen the proof, as none of your Bristol friends
1

Another classical master at Kingswood.

155

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
have done, or can do. Therefore, I advise you again, keep
to your plan (though this implies continual self-denial), if
you would improve your understanding to the highest
degree of which it is capable.—I am, dear Joseph, your
affectionate brother.

' I was never afraid of any but the almost
Christians.'
' A n Almost Christian,'' ' a n Altogether Christian," and
' a Bible Christian,' are favourite phrases with Wesley.
Benson was now thinking of graduating at Oxford, but this
was prevented. Kingswood School prospered later, and still
prospers.
Letter III.
CORK, May 27,

1769.

DEAR JOSEPH,—You have now (what you never had
before) a clear, providential call to Oxford. If you keep a
single eye, and have courage and steadiness, you may be an
instrument of much good. But you will tread on slippery
ground; and the serious persons you mention may do you
more hurt than many others. When I was at Oxford, I
never was afraid of any but the almost Christians. t If you
give way to them and their prudence a hairVbreadth, you
will be removed from the hope of the gospel. If you are
not moved, if you tread in the same steps which my brother
and I did, you may be a means, under God, of raising
another set of real Bible Christians.1 How long the world
will suffer them (whether longer than they did us or not) is
in God's hand.
With regard to Kingswood School, I have one string
more. If that breaks, I shall let it drop. I have borne the
burden one and twenty years; I have done what I could.
1
Later, a devoted body of Methodists actually bore this beautiful name
(1815-1907), until they merged in the United Methodist Church.

156

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
Now, let some one else do more.—I am, dear Joseph, your
affectionate brother.
6

They will find Fault because I say it.5

Wesley's sharp summary of the warped judgements of
his opponents is parallel to Burke's condemnation of his :
4
They are willing for anything to be done—providing they
do it.' Benson was at Trevecca College, Wales, and found
Calvinistic teaching so pronounced and unacceptable that,
with John Fletcher, then Principal, he resigned connection
with it, and opposed Lady Huntingdon's views. Wesley
thought that passion, prejudice, emotion, were strongly at
work in the representatives of her Ladyship, and that they
often are everywhere. The aged rector of Epworth told
him that, long before. In this and Letter v. Wesley distinguishes Methodist doctrine on holiness from what is
known as Keswick teaching.
Letter IV.
October 3, 1770.
DEAR JOSEPH,—You need no apology for your writing ;
the more frequently and freely you write, the better. I
cannot doubt but your neighbour means well; but he is a
thorough enthusiast, and has hardly one clear conception of
anything, natural or spiritual. Mr. Beard, from Aberdeen,
and Mr. Wootton (our new writing master, a man of an
excellent spirit) are at Kingswood. But does Mr. J. know
the price ? Sixteen pounds a year. Does he know the rules
of the school? Again, of what age are the children? I
will take none that is above nine years old : now, especially ;
because I will not have our children corrupted; nine of
whom, together with our three maid-servants, have just
now experienced a gracious visitation, and are rejoicing in
a pardoning God.
I am glad you had the courage to speak your mind on so
157
BRISTOL,

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
critical an occasion. A t all hazards, do so still; only with
all possible tenderness and respect. She is much devoted to
God, and has a thousand valuable and amiable qualities.
There is no great fear that I should be prejudiced against
one whom I have known intimately for these thirty years.
And I know what is in man ; therefore, I make large allowance for human weaknesses. But what you say is exactly
the state of the case. They are 'jealous of their authority."'
Truly there is no cause : Longe mea discrepat illi et vox et
ratio.1 I fear and shun, not desire, authority of any kind.
Only when God lays that burden upon me, I bear it, for His
and the people's sake.
' Child,' said my father to me, when I was young, 4 you
think to carry everything by dint of argument. But you
will find, by and by, how very little is ever done in the world
by clear reason.' Very little indeed! It is true of almost
all men, except so far as we are taught of God:
e

Against experience we believe,
W e argue against demonstrations ;
Pleased while our reason we deceive,
And set our judgement by our passions.'

Passion and prejudice govern the world; only under the
name of reason. I t is our part, by religion and reason
joined, to counteract them all we can. It is yours, in
particular, to do all that in you lies, to soften the prejudices
of those that are round about you, and to calm the passions
from which they spring. Blessed are the peacemakers !
You judge rightly : perfect love and Christian liberty are
the very same thing; and those two expressions are equally
proper, being equally scriptural. ' Nay, how can you and
they mean the same thing ? They say, you insist on holiness in the creature, on good tempers, and sin destroyed.'
Most surely. And what is Christian liberty, but another word
1

158

Far different are my thoughts and strain.—HORACE.

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
for holiness ? And where is this liberty or holiness, if it is
not in the creature ? Holiness is the love of God and man,
or the mind which was in Christ. Now, I trust, the love of
God is shed abroad in your heart, by the Holy Ghost which
is given unto you. And if you are holy, is not that mind in
you which was also in Christ Jesus ?
And are not the love of God and our neighbour good
tempers ? And so far as these reign in the soul, are not
the opposite tempers, worldly-mindedness, malice, cruelty,
revengefulness, destroyed? Indeed, the unclean spirit,
though driven out, may return and enter again; nevertheless, he was driven out. I use the word destroyed, because
St, Paul does. Suspended I cannot find in my Bible. ' But
they say, you do not consider this as the consequence of the
power of Christ dwelling in us.' Then what will they not
say ? My very words are, ' None feel their need of Christ,
like these; none so entirely depend upon Him. For Christ
does not give light to the soul separate from, but in and
with, Himself. Hence His words are equally true of all
men, in whatever state of grace they are : ' A s the branch
cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no
more can ye except ye abide in Me. Without (or separate
from) Me, ye can do nothing/ For our perfection is not
like that of a tree, which flourishes by the sap derived from its
own root; but like that of a branch which, united to the vine,
bears fruit; but severed from it, is ' dried up and withered.'
At length, veris vincor1 I am constrained to believe
(what I would not for a long time) these are not the objections of judgement, but of passion; they do not spring
from the head, but the heart. Whatever, I say it will be
all one. They will find fault, because I say it. There is
implicit envy at my power (so called), and a jealousy rising
therefrom. Hence prejudice in a thousand forms; hence
1

I am constrained by the force of truth.

159

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
objections springing up like mushrooms. And while those
causes remain, they will spring up whatever I can do or say.
However, keep thyself pure; and then there need be no
strangeness between you and, dear Joseph, your affectionate brother.

' One Point hold fast: Let neither Men nor
Devils tear it from you.'
This point was that Benson was a child of God. The
thoughtful scholar and growing theologian was, like Bishop
Joseph Butler even on his death-bed, humbly diffident
about his acceptance with God. Earnestly and wisely
Wesley deals with him, and meanwhile defines Christian
teaching.
Letter V.
LONDON, December 28, 1770.
DEAR JOSEPH,—What a blessing it is, that we can speak
freely to each other, without either disguise or reserve I So
long as we are able to do this, we may grow wiser and better
every day.
One point I advise you to hold fast, and let neither men
nor devils tear it from you. You are a child of God ; you
are justified freely, through the redemption which is in
Christ Jesus. Your sins are forgiven ! Cast not away that
confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.
Now, can any be justified, but by faith? None can.
Therefore you are a believer; you have faith in Christ;
you know the Lord ; you can say, ' My Lord and my God.'
And whoever denies this, may as well deny that the sun
shines at noonday.
(

Yet still ten thousand lusts remain.
And vex your soul^ absolved from sin;
Still rebel nature strives to reign-,
And you are all unclean_, unclean !'

This is equally clear and undeniable.
160

And this is not only

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
your experience, but the experience of a thousand believers
beside, who yet are sure of God's favour, as of their own
existence. To cut off all doubt on this head, I beg you to
give another serious reading to those two sermons,' Sin in
Believers,' and the ' Repentance of Believers.'
' But, is there no help ? Is there no deliverance, no salvation from this inbred enemy ? ' Surely there is ; else many
great and precious promises must fall to the ground. ' I
will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean;
from all your filthiness and all your idols will I cleanse you.'
6
1 will circumcise thy heart' (from all sin),' to love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.' This I
term sanctification (which is both an instantaneous and a
gradual work) or perfection, the being perfected in love, filled
with love, which still admits of a thousand degrees. But I
have no time to throw away in contending for words;
especially where the thing is allowed. And you allow the
whole thing which I contend for; an entire deliverance from
sin, a recovery of the whole image of God, the loving God
with all our heart, soul, and strength.
And you believe
God is able to give you this; yea, to give it you in an
instant. You trust He will. O hold fast this also; this
blessed hope, which He has wrought in your heart! And
with all zeal and diligence confirm the brethren—(1) in
holding fast that whereto they have attained; namely, the
remission of all their sins, by faith in a bleeding Lord :
(£) in expecting a second change, whereby they shall be
saved from all sin, and perfected in love.
If they like to call this < receiving the Holy Ghost,' they
may. Only the phrase, in that sense, is not scriptural, and
not quite proper; for they all ' received the Holy Ghost,'
when they were justified. God then ' sent forth the Spirit
of His Son into their hearts, crying, Abba, Father.'
O Joseph, keep close to the Bible, both as to sentiment
L
161

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
and expression! Then there will never be any material
difference between you and your affectionate brother.
6

To sit still in one Place is neither for the Health
of our Souls nor Bodies.'

Wesley is determined to maintain his type of itinerating
preachers and house-to-house pastors. Neither Scottish
ways nor a bookish preacher shall alter it. ' Be zealous and
humble; but never be still," Wesley quotes in another letter,
and declares, ' While I live, Itinerant Preachers shall be
itinerants."* In the busiest of all his busy years he said, ' I
find time to visit the sick and the poor, and I must do it if
I believe the Bible. These are the marks by which the
Great Shepherd will know His sheep."' Wesley's manifold
ability and ceaseless labour amazed Benson, as it did all.
Next year he was with him. ' I was constantly with him
for a week. I had an opportunity of narrowly examining
his spirit and conduct; and, I assure you, I am more than
ever persuaded, he is a none such. I know not his fellow,
first, for abilities, natural and acquired; and secondly, for
his incomparable diligence in the application of those abilities
to the best of employments. His lively fancy, tenacious
memory, clear understanding, ready elocution, manly courage,
indefatigable industry, really amaze me.'
Letter VI.
LONDON, October 23, 1773.
wish every one of our preachers, who
goes to Scotland, were of the same mind with you. We are
not called to sit still in one place; it is neither for the
health of our souls nor bodies. Billy Thompson never satisfied me on this head, not in the least degree. I say still,
we will have Travelling Preachers in Scotland, or none.
The thing is fixed: the manner of effecting it is to be
considered. Now, set your wit to this: Find out the TO
162
DEAR JOSEPH,—I

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
nrm.1 How shall this matter be accomplished ? You did
not do well in selling your horse, and thereby laying another
bar in the way. Though I am (by the exquisite negligence
of my later book-keeper) a thousand pounds worse than
nothing, I would have spared a few pounds to have eased
that burden. However, you must do as you can. Our
preachers shall either travel there, as in England, or else
stay in England.—I am, dear Joseph, yours affectionately.
(

You are in danger of reading too much.5
Letter VII
LONDON^ January 8, 1774.
DEAR JOSEPH,—Many persons are in danger of reading

too little ; you are in danger of reading too much. Wherever
you are, take up your cross, and visit all the society from
house to house. Do this according to Mr. Baxter's plan,
laid down in the Minutes of the Conference. The fruit which
will ensue (perhaps in a short time) will abundantly reward
your labour. Fruit also we shall have, even in those who
have no outward connexion with us.
I am glad you 6 press all believers , to aspire after the full
liberty of the children of God. They must not give up their
faith in order to do this : herein you formerly seemed to
be in some mistake. Let them go on from faith to faith ;
from weak faith to that strong faith, which not only conquers
but casts out sin. Meantime it is certain, many call themselves believers who do not even conquer sin; who are
strangers to the whole inward kingdom of God, and void
of the whole fruit of the Spirit.
We must not go on at Dunbar in this manner. Rather
we must quit the place. For who will pay that debt ?
On Tuesday I was under the surgeon's hands, but am
1

The way how to do it.

163

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
now (blessed be G o d ! ) quite recovered.—I am, dear Joseph,
yours affectionately.

' Taking Opium is full as bad as taking Drams.'
Letter

VIIL
CHATHAM, November 26, 1776.

D E A R J O S E P H , — I f any leader oppose, you see your
r e m e d y : p u t another in his place. Nay, if he does n o t j o i n
h e a r t and h a n d ; for, ' he t h a t g a t h e r e t h n o t with you scattered.'
T h e ' W o r d t o a S m u g g l e r ' is plain and home,
and has done much good in these parts.
T a k i n g opium is full as b a d as t a k i n g drams. I t equally
h u r t s t h e understanding, and is, if possible, more pernicious
t o t h e health t h a n even r u m or brandy. None should touch
it, if they have t h e least regard either for their souls or
bodies.
I really t h i n k you are in t h e right. I t is b e t t e r t o help
R. W . 1 where he is, t h a n t o b u r d e n t h e Dales with an a d d i tional weight. B u t then what shall we do ? W e have no
supernumerary preachers. See if you can do a n y t h i n g with
E d w a r d Jackson.—I am, dear Joseph, yours affectionately.
6

That one word, Grace ! ?
Letter IX.
MANCHESTER^ April 2, 1781.

D E A R J O S E P H , — A l t h o u g h our rejoicing is this, t h e testimony of our conscience, t h a t we walk in simplicity and godly
sincerity, this no way contradicts,' God forbid t h a t we should
glory, save in the Cross of Christ.' In all, and after all,
c
His passion alone, the foundation we own;
And pardon we claim,
And eternal redemption in Jesus's name.'
1

164

? Robert Wilkinson, then at Dundee.

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
How admirably pardon and holiness are comprised in that
one word grace! Mercy and strength ! So are our justification and sanctification woven together.
I hope your sermons will do good. But why do not you
publish your poems ? I think you can make verses as fast as
John Murlin ; yea, indeed, if need were^ stans pede in uno.1
I commend sister Benson for her care of her mother. One
can never do too much for a parent.—I am, dear Joseph,
your affectionate brother.
g

I will engage to eat it.'

Even grave Benson would surely smile at this. Wesley
admitted that George Yard Chapel, Hull, was * well built
and elegantly finished; handsome, but not gaudy'; but
equal to City Road Chapel, which he himself had built—
never!
Letter X.
[LONDON, December 1787.]
DEAR JOSEPH,—I greatly rejoice in the erection of your
new preaching house; and in the tokens of the Divine
presence with which you and the people were favoured at the
opening; but if it be at all equal to the new chapel in
London, I will engage to eat it.—I am, yours affectionately.

Letters to Samuel Bradburn.
A calm, incisive preacher himself, Wesley knew the value
of the emotional preacher. Such an one he found in Samuel
Bradburn (1759-1816), to whom he sent this letter. The
original is in the British Museum. His short life showed
he needed the advice here given for Ridel, who became one
of Wesley's preachers. Called out by Wesley in 1774,
Bradburn became ; the Demosthenes of Methodism.' His
wife, Sophia Cooke, suggested to Baikes the scheme for
Sunday schools for children, which interested Wesley
greatly.
1

Standing on one foot.

165

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
< Tell Brother Ridel not to please the Devil by
preaching himself to death.'
Letter I.
BIRMINGHAM, March 25,

1783.

send me good news concerning the
progress of the work of GOD in Colne Circuit. I should
think Brother Jackson or Sagar might set the heads of the
people at Bacup right. Brother Jackson should advise
Brother Ridel not to please the Devil by preaching himself
to death. I still think, when the Methodists leave the
Church of England, GOD will leave them. Every year more
and more of the clergy are convinced of the truth, and
grow well affected towards us. I t would be contrary to all
common sense, as well as to good conscience, to make a
separation now.—I am, dear Sammy, your affectionate
brother.
DEAR SAMMY,—You

* H e t h a t made t h e H e a r t can heal the H e a r t . '
Bradburn had the defects of his humorous, oratorical
qualities. His excitable nature exposed him to deep grief
and, in later years, to regrettable instability. In this letter,
from the original in the library of Drew Methodist Theological Seminary, Madison, New Jersey, U.S.A., Wesley
consoles him by recalling his own poignant experience. The
reference is to his rejection by Miss Hopkey, whom he
loved.1
Letter II.
LONDON, January 14, 1786.
DEAR SAMMY,—It is well we know ' that trouble springeth
not out of the dust, but that the Lord reigneth.') But still,
even when we can say, It is the Lord, 'tis hard to add. Let
Him do what seemeth Him good. I remember formerly, when
I read those words in the church at Savannah, 'Son of
1

166

See p. 310,

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
mart) behold^ I take from thee the desire of thine eyes with a
strokef I was pierced through as with a sword, and could
not utter a word more. But our comfort is, He that made
the heart can heal the heart! Your help stands in Him
alone. He will command all these things to work together
for good.
To His tender care I commend you, and am, dear Sammy,
your affectionate friend and brother.

Letters to Robert Carr Brackenbury,
Wesley often wrote to Robert Carr Brackenbury (17521819), a young gentleman of wealth, culture, and poetic
talent, 1 of Raithby Hall, Lincolnshire. There, ' a palace in
the midst of a paradise,' Wesley liked to stay. He delighted in Brackenbury's company and friendship. He was
appointed as a Methodist preacher for about forty years,
irregularly and at intervals.
€

What is Mine is Yours.'
Letter I.

BRISTOL, September 27, 1779.
hope your stay at
will be of use to
many. But do not hurt yourself in order to help others.
Mr. S
is an upright, valuable man. His wife is a jewel
indeed. I wish we had many like her. Your being at
during this critical time is a singular providence. Both
parties have a regard for you; and will hear you when they
will not hear each other. I am glad you think of spending
the winter in town, and doubt not but it will be for the
glory of God. Go to my house, what is mine is yours;
you are my brother, my friend; let neither life nor death
DEAR SIR,—I

1
His hymn on the Holy Spirit is combined with one by Charles Wesley
in Methodist Free Church Hymns.

167

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
divide us! Your visit to N
will, I am persuaded, be
of considerable use; the more because you love and recommend discipline. But I must beg of you to spend a night
or two at Y
and at L
. The sooner you come
the more welcome you will be. Wrap yourself up warm,
particularly your head and breast.—I am, your very
affectionate friend and brother.

I give it under my hand . . . you are welcome to
preach in any of our Preaching-houses.
Letter IL
BRISTOL, March 9,1782.
DEAR SIR,—What a comfort it is that we know the Lord
reigneth; and that He disposes all things in heaven and
earth in the very manner which He sees will be most for His
own glory, and for the good of those that love Him ! I am
firmly persuaded the present dispensation, severe as it may
appear, will be found in the event a means of greater blessing than any you have yet received. Even already you
find the consolations of the Holy One are not small with
you. And He enables you to make the right use of this
providence, by devoting yourself more entirely to His
service.
On April 4 I expect to be in Manchester, in order to
visit the societies in Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire; and
thence, if God permit, to Scotland. Perhaps it would be of
use if you took part of the journey with me. Let me know
your thoughts.
I t is exceeding clear to me, first, that a dispensation
of the gospel is committed to you; and secondly, that
you are peculiarly called to publish it in connexion with
us. I t has pleased God t o give so many and so strong
evidences of this, that I see not how any reasonable person
168

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
can doubt it. Therefore, what I have often said before I
say again, and give it under my hand,—that you are
welcome to preach in any of our preaching-houses, in Great
Britain or Ireland, whenever it is convenient for you. I
commend you for preaching less frequently where you find
less liberty of spirit (because no necessity is laid upon you
with regard to this or that particular place), and for spending most time in those places where you find most probability of doing good. We have need to work while it is
day.—I am, dear Sir, your affectionate friend and servant.

' Trust God, and speak as well as you can.'
Very tenderly Wesley deals with the frail health of his
friend, on account of which Brackenbury travelled to
the Channel Islands and to Holland this year (1788).
Wesley, then eighty years of age, accompanied him to
Holland. This was the veteran's first holiday for forty
years. On their return, Brackenbury went again to
Guernsey and Jersey with Alexander Kilham x of Epworth,
Lincolnshire, as travelling companion and evangelist. Amid
much persecution they founded the flourishing Methodism
of those islands.
Letter III.
[LONDON^] January 4, 1783.

rejoice to hear that you have had a safe
passage, and that you have preached both in Guernsey and
Jersey. We must not expect many conveniences at firsts
hitherto it is the day of small things. I should imagine
the sooner you begin to preach in French the better: as
surely you need not be careful about accuracy. Trust God,
and speak as well as you can.
While those poor sheep were scattered abroad without a
DEAR SIR,—I

1
Later he became one of Wesley's preachers, contended for the administration of the sacraments among the Methodists, and for the adoption of the
representative principle in their government. With William Thorn he
founded the Methodist New Connexion (i 797-1907).

169

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
shepherd, and with no proper connexion with each other,
no wonder they were cold and dead. I t is good that every
one should know our whole plan. We do not want any
man to go on blindfold.
Peace be with your spirit! I wish you many happy
years, and am, dear Sir, your very affectionate friend and
servant.
6

H e calls you not so much to act as to suffer.'
Letter IV.
[SHOREHAM, KENT,] January 10, 1783.
DEAR SIR,—As I expect to remain in London till the

beginning of March, I hope to have the pleasure of spending
a little time with you before I set out on my spring and
summer journeys, which I shall probably continue as long
as I live. And who would wish to live for any meaner
purpose than to serve God in our generation ? I know my
health and strength are continued for this very thing.
And if ever I should listen to that siren song, ' Spare
thyself,' I believe my Master would spare me no longer,
but soon take me away. It pleases Him to deal with you
in a different way. He frequently calls you not so much
to act as to suffer. And you may well say—
c

O take Thy way ! Thy way is best;
Grant or deny me ease;
This is but tuning of my breast
To make the music please/

I am glad you are still determined to do what you can,
and to do it without delay. But all are not of this mind.
I have just received a letter from Mr.
, formerly one of
our travelling preachers, informing me, whereas it has
pleased God to take away his dear partner, he is resolved
again to give himself up to the work,—after he has settled
170

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
his worldly business, which he thinks will take but sixteen
or seventeen months! Would one think he had ever read
the Epistle of St. James? or that he had heard those
words, ' W h a t is your life? It is even a vapour, which
appeareth and vanisheth away.'* Commending you to Him
who is able to save you to the uttermost, I am, dear Sir,
your affectionate friend and brother.
6

Make the Opportunities that you cannot find/

The year after this letter Wesley's companionship on a
month's tour in Holland, for a second time, enforced this
counsel upon his friend. He was eighty-three, but he
found and made opportunities for incessant work for God
and men. Whilst at Amsterdam he wrote the Preface to
his Life of Fletcher.
Letter V.
LONDON, February 15, 1785.

having the opportunity of giving them
a few discourses in Dover, and then travelling with so pious
and friendly a person as Mr. Ireland, 1 I could not but look
upon as clear instance of a gracious Providence. I cannot
doubt but the mild air which you now breathe will greatly
tend to the re-establishment of your health. And so will the
suspension of your public labours till you are better able to
bear them.
With regard to perfecting yourself in the French language,
it is certain this may be done more speedily and effectually
in a family where only French is spoken. And undoubtedly
you may learn the purity of the language far better in Languedoc than in Normandy. It is clear that you are not
called at present to any public labours. But should you
not be so much the more diligent in private ? to redeem the
time ? to buy up every opportunity ? Should you not be
DEAR SIR,—Your

1

A valued Bristol friend of Wesley and Fletcher.

171

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' instant in season and out of season'; that is, to make the
opportunities which you cannot find ? Surely the all-wise
and all-merciful Saviour did not send you into France for
nothing. Oh no ! you are at least to pluck one brand
(perhaps several) out the burning.
May the Lord whom you serve in all things direct your
paths ! So prays, dear Sir, your affectionate friend and
brother.

' I, not you, will judge. 5
Here is Wesley, the general, not to say the autocrat.
But what a golden maxim he also here gives his friend: ' I
have often repented of judging too severely ; but very seldom
of being too merciful.'
Letter VI.
October 20, 1787.
DEAR SIR,—Mr.
is undoubtedly a good young man ;
and has a tolerably good understanding. But he thinks it
better than it is ; and in consequence is apt to put himself
in your or my place. For these fifty years, if any one said,
6
If you do not put such an one out of society, I will go out
of it ^; I have said, ' Pray go: I, not you, will judge who
shall stay.' I therefore greatly approve of your purpose, to
give Mr. W
a full hearing in the presence of all the
preachers. I have often repented of judging too severely;
but very seldom of being too merciful.
As the point is undoubtedly of very great importance, it
deserved serious consideration; and I am glad you took the
pains to consider it, and discussed it so admirably well
according to Scripture and sound reason.
I enclose a few lines for Mrs.
, for whom I feel an
affectionate concern.
The God whom you serve will shortly deliver you from
172
LONDON,

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
the heaviness you feel.—I ever am, dear Sir, your affectionate
friend and brother.
4

This Doctrine is the grand depositum which God
has lodged with the people called Methodists.'

This, one of Wesley's most memorable statements, is in
our closing letter to this friend. Next year the death of
Wesley broke their fellowship. Brackenbury took Wesley's
appointment at City Road eleven days before Wesley died,
and lovingly watched by the aged leader's side when that
event occurred. Even then Wesley asked for a pen; but
could no longer do as much as he describes in the pretty
closing turn of this letter.
Letter VII.
BRISTOL, September 15, 1790.

letter gave me great satisfaction. I
wanted to hear where and how you were ; and am glad to find
you are better in bodily health, and not weary and faint in
your mind. My body seems nearly to have done its work, and
to be almost worn out. Last month my strength was nearly
gone, and I could have sat almost still from morning to night.
But, blessed be God, I crept about a little, and made shift
to preach once a day. On Monday I ventured a little
farther; and after I had preached three times (once in the
open air) I found my strength so restored that I could
have preached again without inconvenience.
I am glad brother D
has more light with regard to
full sanctification. This doctrine is the grand depositum
which God has lodged with the people called Methodists ;
and for the sake of propagating this chiefly He appeared to
have raised us up. I congratulate you upon sitting loose to
all below ; steadfast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made
you free.
Moderate riding on horseback, chiefly in the south of
173
DEAR SIR,—Your

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
England, would improve your health. If you choose to
accompany me in any of my little journeys on this side
Christmas, whenever you was tired you might go into my
carriage. I am not so ready a writer as I was once ; but I
bless God I can scrawl a little, enough to assure you that I
am, dear Sir, your affectionate friend and brother.

Letters to Adam Clarke and one to his Wife.
The aged Wesley attracted in Adam Clarke (1760-1832)
a young Timothy of exceptional scholarly aptitudes, combined with strength and sweetness of character. He became
an itinerant in 1782. He was then miserably poor; but
happening to turn up half a guinea while gardening at
Kingswood School, Bristol, where he waited to be accepted
by Wesley as a preacher, he, with the scholar's enthusiasm,
handed it to Bayley, a master there, for a copy of the
Hebrew grammar which he was then preparing. This was
the foundation of Clarke's mastery in Biblical scholarship.
He became a Briareus in languages and learning, and was
employed as editor and antiquarian by the Government. 1
His Commentary on the whole Bible nourished several
generations of Methodists.

' You should not forget French, or anything you
have learned.'
Wesley was a true humanist in range and catholicity of
taste. Any scholar among his friends and preachers, as well
as the simplest evangelist, found him a shining example and
an appreciative helper.
1
This was in 1808-1818, to complete Rymer's Fcedera for the State Papers
Commission. That Wesley would have undertaken such a task weighed
much with Clarke. Some brethren thought it was a providential call ;
others that it was a trick of the devil to divert him ; others that it would
hinder his proper work. As a fact, it helped that; as he was also faithful
to all preaching and pastoral duties while he carried four folio volumes
through the press. ' I did i t / he said, * for the honour of my God and the
credit of my people.'

174

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
Letter L
LONDON, Feb.

3,

1786.

do well in insisting upon full
and present salvation, whether men will hear or forbear; as
also in preaching abroad, when the weather permits, and
recommending fasting, both by precept and example. But
you need not wonder that all these are opposed, not only by
formalists, but by half-Methodists.
You should not forget French, or anything you have
learned. I do not know whether I have read the book you
speak of. You may send your translation at your leisure.
Be all in earnest, and you shall see greater things than
these.—I am, my dear Adam, your affectionate brother.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—You

' Wary in choosing Names for our Children.'
Wesley was bound to Bristol by strong ties, as many
references in this volume show. He wants his friend there.
His remark on names is curious. His own name was certainly an 'example' to him. He admired St. John's style
of writing most of all; and that apostle's message, ' God is
love,' was also Wesley's favourite theme.
Letter II.
BRISTOL,, March 9, 1789.

I should live to see you another Conference, I should be glad to have sister Clarke and you here,
rather than at most other places, because I spend more time
here myself than at any other place, except London. I am
glad to hear that God has raised up so able a preacher from
the Islands; 1 but certainly you should spare no pains in
teaching him to read and write English. And I do not
doubt but if he learned with a single eye, he would be
largely strengthened by the blessing of God.
DEAR ADAM,—If

1

Probably John de Queteville of Guernsey.

Clarke was now at Jersey.

173

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
I t would be a reason for being very wary in choosing
names for our children, if that old remark were true—
e

That our first tempers from example flow,
And borrow that example from our names.*

Peace be with you and yours!—I am, dear Adam, your
affectionate friend and brother.

' " O h , what will the end b e ? " Why, glory to
God in the highest.'
Surely a prophetic utterance. Many times has that
devout exclamation been heard concerning Wesley's work
in Ireland. This question and answer make a fine cordial
for faltering faith. Clarke was Irish by birth ; but at the
Conference at Leeds Wesley did not send him into that
6
strange land,' but to Bristol, as Wesley most wished.
While there Clarke's frail health broke down completely.
Hence there followed a letter of practical kindness from
Wesley to Mrs. Clarke (Letter iv.). Wesley would recall
his own case and his recovery at the Hot Wells thirty-six
years before.
Letter III.
Near DUBLIN, June 25., 1789.
DEAR ADAM,—You send me good news with regard to

the Islands. Who can hurt us, if God is on our side ?
Trials may come, but they are all good. I have not been
so tried for many years. Every week, and almost every day,
I am bespattered in the public papers, either by Mr. Smyth
or by Mr. Mann, his curate. Smooth, but bitter as wormwood, are their words ; and five or six of our richest members have left the society, because (they say) ' I have left
the Church .^ Many are in tears on account of i t ; and many
are terribly frightened, and crying out, ; Oh, what will the
end be ?' What will it be ? W h y , ' Glory to God in the
highest, peace on earth, and goodwill among men.'
176

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
But, meantime, what is to be done ? What will be the
most effectual means; to stem this furious torrent ? I have
just visited the classes, and find still in the society upwards
of a thousand members; and, among these, many as deep
Christians as any I have met with in Europe. But who is
able to watch over them, that they may not be moved from
their steadfastness ? I know none more proper than Adam
Clarke and his wife. Indeed, it may seem hard for them to
go into a strange land again. Well, you may come to me
at Leeds, at the latter end of next month; and if you can
show me any that are more proper, I will send them in your
stead. That God may be glorified, is all that is desired by,
dear Adam, your affectionate friend and brother.

' I think he must do this, or die.5
Letter IV.
To Mrs. Adam Clarice.
DUMFRIES, June 1,

1790.

great question is, What can be
done for Adam Clarke ? Now, will you save his life ? Look
round; consider if there be any circuit where he can have
much rest, and little work ; or shall he and you spend
September in my rooms at Kingswood, on condition that he
shall preach but twice a week, and ride to the Hot Wells
every day ? I think he must do this, or die; and I do not
want him (neither do you) to run away from us in haste.
You need not be told that this will be attended with some
expense; if it be, we can make it easy. I am apt to think
this will be the best way. In the meantime, let him do
as much as he can, and no more.
I t is probable I shall stay with you a little longer, as
my strength does not much decline. I travelled yesterday
M
177
M Y DEAR SISTER,—The

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
nearly eighty miles, and preached in the evening without
any pain. The Lord does what pleases Him. Peace be
with all your spirits !—-I am, your affectionate friend and
brother.

' The People of Bristol are honest, yet so dull.'
A racy letter, with characterisations of cities and folk, and
full of shrewdness and optimism. Ailing Adam Clarke
would read this with interest after the letter to his wife.
What mountains of church debts have been lifted on
Wesley's plan ! I t was a development from Captain Foy's. 1
Letter V.
[POCKLINGTON,] June 28, 1790.
DEAE ADAM,—I often wonder at the people of Bristol.

They are so honest, yet so dull, 'tis scarce possible to strike
any fire into them. Only with God all things are possible.
Many years ago I put the society at Bath into a way wherein,
if they had persevered, they would now have owed nothing.
They were at Plymouth but thirty in number, and their
debt was ^1400. I advised them, let every member subscribe monthly what he can; and a hundred at the dock
promised to do the same. * I,' said one, ' will give a crown
a m o n t h ' ; ' I,' said another, ' half a crown.' Many subscribed a shilling, sixpence, or threepence a month. And
now the debt is paid. I began such a subscription in Bath,
as I have done in many places with success. But they left
it off in two or three weeks. Why ? Because I gave
four guineas to prevent one, that was arrested, from going
to jail! Good reason, was it not? 6 Why,' said one and
another, ' might he not have given it to me ? '
On Monday four weeks I shall probably set out for Bristol.
Peace be with your spirits.—I am, your affectionate friend
and brother.
1

178

See p. 300.

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
' I followed one rule : You must either bend or
break.'
Clarke recovered, and at length Wesley sends him to serve
for a season in his native land, with a characteristic letter of
instructions.
Letter VI.
September 9, 1790.
DEAR ADAM,—Did not the terrible weather that you had
at sea make you forget your fatigue by land ? Come, set
one against the other, and you have no great reason to complain of your journey.
You will have need of all the courage and prudence which
God has given you. Indeed, you will want constant supplies of both. Very gently and very steadily, you should
proceed between the rocks on either hand. In the great
revival at London, my first difficulty was, to bring into
temper those who opposed the work ; and my next, to check
and regulate the extravagances of those that promoted it.
And this was far the hardest part of the work ; for many of
them would bear no check at all. But I followed one rule,
though with all calmness: ' You must either bend or
break.' Meantime, while you act exactly right, expect to
be blamed by both sides.
I will give you a few directions : 1. See that no prayermeeting continue later than nine at night, particularly on
Sunday. Let the house be emptied before the clock strikes
nine. 2. Let there be no exhortation at any prayer-meeting.
3. Beware of jealousy, or judging one another. 4. Never
think a man is an enemy to the work, because he reproves
irregularities. Peace be with you and yours !—I am, dear
Adam, your affectionate friend and brother.
BRISTOL,

179

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Letters to Thomas Coke.
In the light of the results which followed them, these two
brief, quiet letters are of profound interest. The first is
Wesley's sanction to the formation of the first Methodist
foreign missionary society. Broad rivers with streams,
making everything live where they come and bearing argosies
with portly sail and rich with treasure for earth and heaven,
were to flow from the fountain thus unsealed. The least
important of these treasures is the vast sum of money raised
every year for this work by world-wide Methodism—in
round figures £1,500,000 ($7,500,000). Wesley's first
notable work was as foreign missionary in Georgia (1735-7).
He originated, or caught from Whitefield, a great slogan,
worthy to rank with that of Luther at Worms—a charter
for novel world-wide work and for every evangelist and
missionary: ' I look upon all the world as my parish.''x
In 1759 he encouraged Nathaniel Gilbert, sometime Speaker
of the House of Assembly in Antigua, to spread the gospel
among his slaves and the negroes there. He made a collection in August 1767, at Newcastle-qn-Tyne, ' at the request
of Mr. Whitaker of New England, for the Indian schools in
America.*' Now he gives authority and his blessing to Coke,
who must be regarded as the father of organised Methodist
foreign missionary work. He dreamed of Wesley's worldwide parish. Wesley was wiser than Dr. Rylands, who tried
to kill Carey's proposal for modern missions by declaring
that God would convert the world without his help. Coke
dedicated many years of his life, and his fortune also, to this
work ; died on his way to India in its interest, and was buried
at sea.
Thomas Coke, LL.D. (1747-1814), was a gift of Wales to
Methodism. Born at Brecon, he was dismissed from the
curacy of South Petherton for his Methodistic earnestness,
came to Wesley in 1776, and, said the latter,' an union then
began which I trust shall never end.' It never did. Coke's
1
See Whitefield's Life by Andrews, and Wesley Hist. Soc. Proceedings, iii. 36.

180

TO CHIEF PREACHERS
deep piety, forensic and classical attainment, and social
status made him greatly influential in England, especially
after Wesley's death. He was diminutive in stature and
had a countenance of cherubic beauty. His somewhat
strange manner of speech disturbed Wesley. He drew
Adam Clarke to the lantern on the upper floor of the New
Room at Bristol and listened with him as Coke preached.
' There, Adam,' said Wesley, ' you have heard how the doctor
mouths his words.''
The second letter shows Coke, then in Ireland, straining
under Wesley's regulations, by some of which he tried to
keep the Methodists a mere society in the Church of
England. Henry Moore was one of Wesley's chief preachers,
and, with Coke, his biographer. Coke was destined to aid
the separate organisation of Methodism in England and in
America. Of his work there, letters tell in chapter vn.

' Your Proposal to send Missionaries.'
Letter L
BRISTOL, March 12, 1786.

greatly approve of your proposal, for raising
a subscription, in order to send missionaries to the Highlands
of Scotland, the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, the Leeward
Islands, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. It is
not easy to conceive the extreme want there is, in all these
places, of men that will not count their lives dear unto
themselves, so they may testify the gospel of the grace of
God.—I am, dear Sir, your affectionate brother.
DEAR SIR,—I

' Thus far only I could go.5
Letter II.
GLASGOW, May 16, 1788.

came hither this morning. There is a fair
opening at Dumfries, and a prospect of much good. I like
181
DEAR SIR,—I

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
your proposal concerning Joseph Cownley, and will talk
with him about it if I live to see Newcastle.
As I said before, so I say still, I cannot, I dare not, leave
the Church, for the reasons we all agreed to thirty years
ago in the Conference at Leeds. Thus far only I could go.
On condition, that our people would receive the Lord's
Supper once a month either at St. Patrick's or their own
parish church (the reasonableness of which should be strongly
and largely explained),—on this condition, I would allow
Henry Moore to read the morning service at Whitefriars on
the other Sundays.
I wonder at the imprudence of Mr. Edward Smyth, to
say nothing of his unkindness. You did well in changing
the stewards at Waterford.—I am, dear Sir, yours most
affectionately.

182

CHAPTER VI
TO ECCENTRIC THOMAS WRIDE, STEADY JOSEPH
TAYLOR, AND OTHER METHODIST PREACHERS
tact and resourcefulness come out strikingly in
his dealings with the rank and file of his preachers. These
were of all types. There was Goodman Dull, like John Easton,
who, to Wesley's amazement, neither laughed nor cried when
he read Wesley's favourite novel, which he abridged for the
Methodists—Henry Brooke's Fool of Quality, There was
6
Diotrephes, who loved to have the pre-eminence'; and 'John,
whose surname was Mark, who departed' from the work because of its difficulties, and, unlike the nephew of Barnabas,
never returned to it. Wesley's good-humour seldom or never
failed in dealing with these and many other varieties. He
saw instantly the possibilities of a situation and used them.
Michael Fenwick complained that, although he travelled
with Wesley, he had not figured in the published extracts
from his Journal. He had his wish gratified, and more, in
the next issue. Wesley so wrote, ' I preached at Clayworth ;
I think none was unmoved except Michael Fenwick, who
fell fast asleep under an adjoining hayrick.'
Another
preacher, when with Wesley at the table of a wealthy
Methodist, bemoaned the departure of many from the
Spartan simplicity of early Methodism. ' My brother,' said
Wesley, glancing at the preacher's well-filled plate, ' here is
an opportunity for self-denial.'

WESLEY'S

I

Letters to * eccentric Thomas Wride.'
Steady and skilful in leadership as were most of his
preachers, like Joseph Taylor, it was inevitable that among
183

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
the large number which Wesley employed the eccentric
should appear now and again. Such an one was Thomas
Wride. Probably none tried Wesley more than he did.
He was often officious and exacting as a martinet, and sometimes the embodiment of stupidity. He was suspicious
and bitingly sarcastic, and could manage neither himself
nor those under him. During the period covered by these
letters Wesley was compelled to reduce him in status, and
at length to dismiss him. He afterwards restored him, and
he died in the work in 1807, sixteen years after Wesley's
death. The official record is unusually brief.1 There is
much mercy in its omissions, and the loose statement,
6
between thirty and forty years,' is significant:—' Thomas
Wride; who laboured in the Christian ministry between
thirty and forty years. He was a man of comprehensive
mind, and an able preacher; but his singularities of spirit
and manners prevented him from being so acceptable and
useful as he otherwise might have been. From the testimony
of several friends who visited him in his last illness, we
conclude that he died in peace.'
Why did Wesley so long suffer such a man ? Because he
knew that Wride was saving his own soul by this service,
that he had real ability and devotion, and that in a field so
wide and varied as the Methodist societies there was room
for every style of preacher and worker. Moreover Wride
had an almost dog-like devotion to Wesley, was punctilious in
following his instructions, and Wesley liked liveliness. Dulness tried him. It was most probably with Wride that this
colloquy took place. Said Wesley, pointing to a dock
weed in the field where they were walking, 'Tommy,
touch that.' He did so. ' D o you feel anything?' Wesley
asked. 'No,' was the reply. 'Touch that,' said Wesley,
pointing this time to a nettle. Tommy did so and
was stung. Wesley added, ' Some men are like docks ; say
what you will to them, they are stupid. Others, like nettles,
resent even a touch. Tommy, you are a nettle; and for
my part, I would rather have to do with a nettle than a
dock.'
1

Minutes of the Methodist Conferences (1807), octo. edit., 1813, p. 381.

184

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
Of the thirty-one letters to Wride which follow, twentyseven are new to present-day historians and collectors.
They are representative of thousands of the brief messages
sent by Wesley to his preachers. They cover more than
twenty years of a strange, little-known, Methodist preacher's
life, allude to some interesting features in the development
of Methodism, help to fix points in Wesley's itinerations, 1
and show that he was virtually the superintendent of Wride's,
as of every circuit, although he always maintained the
authority of his representatives there. They bring out
more impressively than any set of his letters Wesley's
patience, his frank, faithful dealing with men, and his large
exercise of that charity which hopeth and endureth, suffereth long and is kind.

' Labour to be steadily Serious, Weighty in Conversation, and to Walk humbly and closely
with God.'
Letter I.
LONDON, February 14, 1771.

we live till August, the matter of
David Evans must be thoroughly inquired into. I do not
see that you could do anything more with regard to
Longtown.
The providence of God has remarkably interposed in
behalf of the poor people at Whitehaven. I am in hopes
there will be more peace among them, and more life than
has been for some time.
Now, Tommy, you have good encouragement to stir up
the gift of God that is in you. Labour to be steadily
serious, to be weighty in conversation, and to walk humbly
and closely with God.—I am, Your affectionate- friend and
brother.
DEAR TOMMY,—If

1
E.g. Letter xxiil., p. 199, fills in particulars needed for the Itinerary,
Wesley Historical Society Proceedings, p. cxxiii.

185

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' L e t all that were of the Church keep to the
Church/
Letter II.
ARMAGH, June 23, 1771.

said before, we will pay the five pounds
to brother Littledale at the Conference. If T. Colbeck had
done as I ordered, it would have been paid long ago. Then
also we will make up what C. Garnet wants. If he desires
it, he may come to the Conference in your stead. If not,
send your account of things by It. Seed. Will not the
yearly subscription pay both those debts ? If there be an
overplus, it may lessen the debt on Whitehaven House.
I desire that neither any preacher of ours nor any
member of our Society would on any pretence go to an
Anabaptist meeting. I t is the way to destroy the Society.
This we have experienced over and over. Let all that were
of the Church keep to the Church.—I am, Dear Tommy,
Your affectionate friend and brother.
DEAR TOMMY,—I

' Be zealous, serious, active.5
Letter III.
BRISTOL, September

7, 1771.

DEAR TOMMY,—The preachers appointed for Whitehaven

circuit are John Mason and William Linnell. Jos. Garnet
is appointed for Sheffield, and Thomas Wride assistant in
the Armagh circuit. Many of the people there are much
alive. Probably you may cross over to Newry, which brings
you just to the spot.
Let C. Mason and Linnell follow the blow at Keswick.
I am glad to hear so good an account of John M*Combe.
Be zealous, serious, active! Then you will save your own
soul and them that hear you !—I am, Your affectionate
friend and brother.
186

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
' Be exact in Everything/
Letter IV,
June 30, 1772.
DEAR TOMMY,—How poor John Smith has lost himself,
and given occasion to the enemy to blaspheme ! I do not
see that he can any longer remain with us as a travelling
preacher. I t seems his best way would be quietly to return
to his business.
Tho. Dixon or Jo. Witham may bring over your accounts
to the Conference. Be exact in everything!—I am, Dear
Tommy, Your affectionate friend and brother.
OTLEY,

6

Suffer none to ride over your Head.
be mild!'

Only

Letter V,
COLCHESTER, November 5, 1772.
DEAR TOMMY,—You was in the right.

Let the allotment

for the wives of the preachers (at least for the present)
stand as it did before.
It seems to me that the alteration made in the travellingplan by bro. M'Nab is wise and well grounded. I advise
you to adhere thereto till you see some good reason to the
contrary. You are the assistant, not bro. Pepper : you need
suffer none to ride over your head. Only be mild! I
require John Murray to follow the same plan. If he does
not, I will let him drop at once.
I suspect the hives to be what we call the nettle rash, I
know nothing that helps it but rubbing the part with
parsley,—I am, Dear Tommy, Your affectionate friend and
brother.
187

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
* Miss no Congregation, at the Peril of his
Life/
Letter VI.
SHOREHAM, December 16, 1772.

am afraid there is truth in what you
say, that poor John Murray has not the work of God at
heart, and that he will leave us as soon as he can conveniently.
Two things, however, I desire in the meantime: one, that
he will miss no congregation, at the peril of his life; the
other, that he will preach no more at Terryhoogan on a
Sunday morning.—I am, Dear Tommy, Your affectionate
friend and brother.
DEAR TOMMY,—I

* Pay . . . what is due to him.5
Letter VIL
TULLAMOREJ April 15, 1773.

pounds lie in John Johnson's hands.
Let it be paid into the hands of Ezekiel Saunderson and
Jas. Stewart. Let the forms and desk at Belfast be
finished immediately. Out of what remains you may pay
C. Stewart what is due to him from the society—I suppose
about thirty shillings.—I am, Dear Tommy, Your affectionate friend and brother.
DEAR TOMMY,—Six

' Be gentle to all Men.'
Letter

VIII.
LONDON, November 12, 1773.

DEAR TOMMY,—The matter is short; I see no reason yet

why you should remove from York circuit. Do all the
good you can there. Observe and enforce all our rules.
188

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
Exhort all the believers to go on to perfection, and be
gentle to all men.—I am, Your affectionate friend and
brother.

< Were we to engage little Poets, we should be
overrun.'
Letter IX.
LONDON^ January 22, 1774.
DEAR TOMMY,—John Helton is a pleasing preacher, but

perhaps not so deep as some others. Yet I suppose he is,
and will be a popular one. He has a good person and an
agreeable utterance.
You did exactly right in not countenancing hymns not
publicly received among us. Were we to encourage little
poets, we should soon be overrun. But there is not the
least pretence for using any new hymns at Christmas, as
some of my brother's Christmas hymns are some of the
finest compositions in the English tongue.
Arthur Kershaw should have wrote to me before he left
Northampton. Where is he ? Or what is he doing ?
Tommy, be mild, be gentle toward all men.—I am, Your
affectionate friend and brother.
6

Alas! Alas! . . . I have no Heart to send you
Anywhere. You have neither Lowliness
nor Love.'

Wride was now in charge of the Athlone circuit in
Ireland, with two other preachers to help him. Wesley's
last line gave to him again the advice that had been so
often necessary. I t was unheeded. The next letter was
written in sorrow which was deepening to despair. The
absence of any commencement, of the usual ' Dear Tommy'
at the close, and of any friendly assurance with the bare
signature, are very significant.
189

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Letter

X.
TAUNTON,, August 29, 1774.

Alas! Alas! You have now confirmed beyond all
contradiction what many of our preachers, as many as have
had any intercourse with you, alleged concerning you! I
am persuaded, had I read your last letter (that of the
17th inst.) at the Conference, condemning, with such exquisite
bitterness and self-sufficiency, men so many degrees better
than yourself, the whole Conference, as one man, would
have disclaimed all connexion with you. I know not what
to do. You know not what spirit you are of. Therefore
there is small hope of cure. I have no heart to send you
anywhere. You have neither lowliness nor love. What
can I say or do more !
J. WESLEY.
6

1 do not say they defraud; but I say they
act unkindly.'

Another letter of remonstrance was necessary in the
following February.—' You bite like a bull-dog. When
you seize you never let go.' Five months after this a crisis
was reached. Meanwhile Wride made anxious inquiry of
Wesley concerning the division of the meagre income from
the societies for the support of himself and his superintendent. The money allowance for the preachers had been
fixed by the Conference of 1765 at £12 each per annum. 1
Hospitality in the homes of the people was generally
received in addition to this; but the allowance was pitiably
small. These were not in the priest's office for a morsel of
bread. In some circuits the money taken at the testimony
and fellowship meeting—'the Love feast'—was divided
among the preachers. 'This was very little indeed,' says
Myles, speaking of the Norwich circuit. One can understand Wride's question, if he and his colleague must
1

190

See A New History of Methodism, vol. i. p. 303.

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
anticipate the claims of another helper soon to come into
the circuit. Wesley begged they would not act unkindly.
Letter

XL
LONDON, February 24, 1775.

of your own spirit! You bite
like a bull-dog. When you seize you never let go. I advise
you to think of William Hunter no more : go on your way
as if he was under the earth.
At a quarterly meeting, if the collection is only six
pounds and two preachers are present, they commonly share
it between them. In this case I do not say they defraud
a third preacher who is expected; but I say they act
unkindly.
But you should tell me without fear or favour who has
neglected the round. 1
Part of the books which I borrowed of Mr. Hammond
I left at Waterford with one who has promised to send them
back directly. The other part, one promised to send from
Dublin. I am ashamed of their vile negligence. I hope to
be in Dublin next month, and am. Dear Tommy, Your
affectionate friend and brother.
DEAR TOMMY,—Beware

* Your Language is such as an Archangel would
not use to the Devil.'
Wesley is roused at last. This is one of his sharpest,
sternest letters. Bishop Lavington 2 felt and deserved the
same lash. Little wonder that Wride was deposed from
his position as assistant to Wesley in the superintendency
of a circuit, when the annual Conference was held at Leeds
ten days after this July letter. John Floyde was the second
1
I.e. the circuit of societies in the care of Wride as superintendent
preacher.
2
Author of The Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists Compared. See
Wesley's Works, vol. ix. pp. 1-64.

191

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
preacher in the circuit; but ' the present question concerns
. . . Thomas Wride.'
Letter

XII.
DUBLIN, July 22, 1775.

The present question concerns not John Floyde but
Thomas Wride.
The words which I heard you speak at Limerick were
such as no civilised Turk or heathen would have suffered to
come out of his mouth. I hoped this would have been the
last time; but you now repeat the same in cool blood.
Your letter was read at the Conference,1 and our brethren
desired me to inform you you are no longer fit for our
Connexion. Such a foul-mouthed railer (upon whatever
provocation) is quite unfit for a Methodist preacher. Such
base language is too bad for the fishwives of Billingsgate.
I t is such as an archangel would not use to the devil. You
must have done with it for ever, if you desire to have any
further fellowship with
JOHN WESLEY.

* You will give a good Account of the Circuit.'
Wride learned his lesson; but only in part and for the
time. Wesley restored him to his office a year later
(August 1776), and he was given the charge of the large
circuit of Whitehaven with two colleagues to assist him.
Empringham, here named, was one of them.
Letter

XIIL

LONDON, January 17, 1777.
your fellow-labourers and you are
zealous and active, you will give me a good account of the
circuit. I found it in a flourishing state. So will you
before you leave it.
DEAR TOMMY,—If

1

Probably a small Conference of Wesley and the preachers in Ireland.

192

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
Robert Empringham has done exactly right as to the
Sacrament. I advise you to tread in his steps.
I wish you would inquire at what price I could have
some kind of vessel to carry me from Whitehaven by the
Isle to Dublin.—I am, Dear Tommy, Your aifFectionate
friend and brother.
I take no horses with me.

* The Summer is before us.'
In his neat handwriting—strangely neat for such a man—
Wride often endorsed Wesley's letters with the date of
his receipt of them. He says on this, ' Received it
Monday the 18th, by Mr. Bradford.' The latter took
Empringham with him to mission the Isle of Man.
Methodism had been introduced there two years earlier by
John Crook.
Letter XIV.
DARLINGTON, May 7, 1777.

am resolved to make one fair trial of
the Island. So I have desired brother Empringham and
Joseph Bradford to go over immediately together, and
preach in every town and village. Now the summer is
before us, and let us try what can be done, and let brother
Seed and you exert yourselves in England!—I am, Your
affectionate friend and brother.
DEAR TOMMY,—I

' I cannot see any Objection to your choosing
her.'
Some financial allowance was made for the wife of the
preacher—' wife's quarterage.' This was fixed by the Conference of 1769 at £10 per annum. Later, a house was
provided for the preacher and his family. As much of the
preacher's success and the smooth working of the itinerant
system depended upon the suitability and co-operation of
N
193

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
the preacher's wife, Wesley took a close interest in the
matrimonial affairs of the preachers, and occasionally gave
practical and sharp advice to preachers' wives about the
condition of the preacher's house. In later letters Wesley
sends his ' love to S[ister] Wride.' Wesley's bitter experience of his own ill-assorted marriage lies behind the last
words of this letter.
Letter XV
Near MARYBOROUGH, April 20, 1778.

DEAR TOMMY,—I do not remember J . Woodcock.

But

if the account you give of her be just (and I have no reason
to believe the contrary), I cannot see any objection to your
choosing her; although you do well not to depend upon her
brother, for his humour may easily change. Whatever you
do should be done with much prayer, as the matter is of no
small importance.—I am, Dear Tommy, Your affectionate
brother.
I hope the 6 Sword-drawer' is not a preacher.

' You know, Love is full of Fears.'
Wride was in Scarborough when he received this tactful
letter.
Letter XVI.
OXON, August 10, 1779.

DEAR TOMMY,—George Story gives me a pleasing account
of your behaviour last year. Yet I am afraid there is something wanting still. As you know, love is full of fears. I
am afraid your soul is not alive to God, and that you are
not deeply and steadily serious.
I am afraid your common conversation is not weighty and
meet to minister grace to the hearers. O Tommy, stir
yourself up before the Lord! Pray that you may be all
alive! Labour to be serious, earnest, edifying in your daily
194

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
conversations ! And one thing never forget! A t least be
serious in the pulpit! Let nothing queer, odd, or ludicrous
pass your lips there! Then the work of the Lord will
prosper in our hands, and you will be a comfort to, Dear
Tommy, Your affectionate friend and brother.

' A mere groundless Imagination.'
Letter

XVII.
LYNN, November 1, 1779.

DEAR TOMMY,—You will never disoblige me by telling

me anything that you think or fear. No preacher in our
Connexion ever dealt more plainly with me than Thomas
Walsh did. And there never was any that I loved better,
or put more confidence in. So that it is a mere groundless
imagination which some of our friends have entertained that
I love persons less for their plain-dealing.—I am, Dear
Tommy, Your affectionate brother.
I expect to be at London on Friday.
(

Yon mean well even where you judge ill.'
Letter

XVIII.

BRISTOL, March 9, 1780.
DEAR TOMMY,—I take nothing ill that is meant well.

Therefore I take nothing amiss in your letter, because I am
fully persuaded you mean well even where you judge ill.
Part of what you say I believe, part I do not. But I know
you patently believe it. Still, however, you must think
and let think. 1 I must act by my own conscience, not yours.
And I really have a conscience. And I labour to have a
conscience void of offence toward God and toward man.—
I am, Your affectionate brother.
1

See p. 136.

195

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
6

You might now be useful.'

Notwithstanding all his patience, Wesley has at length
to dismiss Wride from the work for a time, or to require
him to desist from it. He had tried him in subordinate
positions in The Dales, Yarm, and Scarborough circuits.
He can be no longer borne with; the work of God is being
grievously injured. Question 4 at the Bristol Conference
of August 1780 was, ' Who desist from travelling ?' ' Answer, . . . Thomas Wride, William Barker, and John
Beauland for want of health.' There follows this, which
Wride would hear of and read with pain and surely with
shame : N.B.—As we admit no one as a travelling preacher
unless we judge him to have grace, gifts, fruit, so we cannot
receive any one any longer than he retains those qualifications.' l
But Wride loved Wesley and the work of preaching.
By winter he is begging Wesley's correction and advice
with a view to resuming the work.
Letter

XIX.
LONDON, December 14, 1780.

I wish for you is—
1. That your soul may be truly alive to God.
% That you may be steadily serious and profitable in
conversation.
3. That you may rise as early in the morning as health
will permit.
4. That you may abstain from satire, both in speaking
and writing.
I think (if these points were secured) you might now be
useful as a local, and by and by, as a travelling preacher.—
I am, Your affectionate brother.
DEAR TOMMY,—What

1

196

Minutes^ 1780 (octo. edit., 1812, p. 143).

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
6

1 desire you to come to the Conference.'

It was not until three years later (1788) that Wesley readmitted Wride to the work and rank of travelling preacher.
These had been sad but useful years to him. Now he is
encouraged and honoured, though only second preacher in
the Epworth circuit, by being summoned to the London
Conference of 1785. Wesley's autocracy, paternal though
it was, comes out in this letter.
Letter

XX.
DUBLIN, July 8, 1785.

wonder at nothing in poor Nicholas,
but I wonder much at James Kershaw. Unless our
preachers had already left their preaching-house, surely
he would not have let it to any others !
I love John Fenwick well, but I know he was a faulty man
that once or twice. However, if there be no fresh matter
of complaint, what is past shall go for nothing.
I desire you to come to the Conference, a conference
while I live is ' The preachers whom / invite to confer with
me.1
Many years ago one informed me at London, 6 The
stewards have discovered they are not your stewards, but
the people's, and are to direct, not be directed by you.**
The next Sunday I let them drop, and named seven other
stewards.
No contentious persons shall for the future meet in any
Conference. They may dispute elsewhere if they please.—I
am, dear Tommy, Yours affectionately.
I never said a word of publishing that account.
DEAR TOMMY,—I

* Disappoint those who wait for your halting.'
Wride was restored to the full duties and influence of a
superintendent preacher by the Conference of this year,
and appointed to Norwich. He had troubles there.
197

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Letter

XXL

BRISTOL, September 5, 1785.
you do what you can you do
enough. I trust you will now use every possible means of
redeeming the time. I wish you would never neglect sleeping early and rising early. Beware of anything like lightness or trifling. Wherever you are, be obliging and be
serious. Disappoint those who wait for your halting.—I
am, with love to S[ister] Wride, Dear Tommy, Your affectionate friend and brother.
DEAR TOMMY,-—When

'Those doggerel Verses.'
Wride wrote Wesley with particulars of a memorial
inscription and its doggerel about a Mr. Turner in the
Norwich chapel.
Wesley hated ' vile panegyric' in
epitaphs, and he disliked still more bad rhyme and weak
verse. He gives peremptory instructions on the matter in
this and the letter which follows it. The ; ticket' here
referred to is of interest. I t was the Methodist class-ticket,
issued for all by Wesley every quarter. 1 I t was given by
him or the preacher in charge to every member of the
Methodist societies as a token of membership. Each bore
a passage of Scripture. The member's name was written on
it, and initialled by the preacher. It secured admission for
the member at the meetings of the society, and recognition
by Methodists when he removed to another town.
Letter

XXIL
KINGS WOOD, September 16, 1785.

next will, I suppose, find me
in London, where I hope to be in about a fortnight.
We know not what stops our northern schoolmaster, and
DEAR TOMMY,—Your

1
See A New History of Methodism, vol. i. p. 286, and Plates xvii. and
xxix. Tickets are still issued, and very largely, but not universally, used in
the Methodist churches.

198

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
expect to see him every day. As soon as he comes, Mr.
Jones will make the best of his way to Norwich. I leave it
wholly to you whether and how far you should accept of Dr.
Hunt's offer. With regard to Mr. Proud and your capital
singer, you acted exactly right. But I expect you will hear
of it at both ears.
Those doggerel verses must not remain in the chapel. I
wish Zac. Houlton would spend two or three weeks with
you. He is not eloquent, but he is useful.
You do well in insisting on every person shewing his
ticket. I wonder Jon. Cousins did not. I t is of importance t o mind the select society; that, I apprehend, he
never neglected. If the leaders and the bands are closely
attended to, they will do well; otherwise not.
I am, with love to S[ister] Wride, Dear Tommy, Your
affectionate friend and brother.

* I hope to be preaching . . . everywhere at halfpast six in the evening.'
What a programme Wesley here makes for this week of
the autumn of 1785 ! He was then eighty-two. The sermons he refers to included one by Coke on the consecration
of Bishop Asbury, in Baltimore, the year before that of this
letter.
Letter

XXIII.
LONDON, October 8, 1785.

DEAR TOMMY,—On Monday se'nnight (the 17th instant)

I hope to be at Norwich (coming by the mail coach); on
Tuesday at Yarmouth; on Wednesday and Thursday at
Lowestoft, preaching everywhere at half-hour past six in
the evening; on Friday noon at Beccles, or when you
please; in the evening at Loddon and on Saturday evening
at Norwich.
199

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
The verses must be effaced some way before I come down.
Be as exact in discipline as you please. Zac. Houlton was
on the road; but one met him and told him he was not
wanted. I always lodge in our own houses. I think those
sermons may stop bother.—I am, with love to Spster] Wride,
Dear Tommy, Your affectionate friend and brother.

' Set him a Pattern in all Things.'
Letter

XXIV.
LONDON, November 8, 1785.

DEAR TOMMY,—James M. Byron is an amiable young man;

at present full of faith and love. If possible, guard him
from those who will be inclined to love him too well.
Then he will be as useful a fellow-labourer as you can desire.
And set him a pattern in all things.—I am, Dear Tommy,
Your affectionate friend and brother.

* Preach in the Morning . . . none sing oftener
than twice.'
But James M. Byron liked more hymns than Wesley
permitted in the service. He declared that the Norwich
Methodists ' sing very well and I could hear them sing ever so
long.''x There was a good, if somewhat unmanageable, choir
there. The young preacher there, John M'Kersey, had
another reason for liking much singing according to Wride's
report: ' his avowed reason is that it saves him labour and
fills up the time! , Wesley quotes this. And neither of
these young preachers liked the morning preaching service
at 5 A.M. M'Kersey said he could rise soon enough, but
could not preach without his breakfast. Wride told him
with characteristic sarcasm to take his breakfast to bed with
him, and eat it when the clock struck four ! The Norwich
1
' T h e Correspondence of Thomas Wride,' Wesley Historical Society
Proceedings^ vol. i. p. 140; Tyerman, Life of Wesley', vol. iii. p. 460.

200

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
Methodists had fallen from faith in this matter, as Wesley
shows in a later letter. During the winter months he concedes that the service might be at 6 A.M.
Letter

XXV.
LONDON, November 17, 1785.

DEAR TOMMY,—Deal plainly and yet tenderly with James

Byron, and he will be a very useful labourer. But none
can be a Methodist preacher unless he is both able arid
willing to preach in the morning, which is the most healthy
exercise in the world. I desire that none of our preachers
would sing oftener than twice at one service. We need
nothing to fill up our time.
In every place where there is a sufficient number of believers, do all you can to prevail upon them to meet in
band. Be mild, be serious, and you will conquer all things.
—I am, Dear Tommy, Your affectionate friend and brother.

' If they do not come to their Senses . . . ! '
Letter

XXVI.
LONDON, December 14, 1785.

DEAR TOMMY,—Have patience with the young men, and

they will mend upon your hands. But remember! safe
and fair goes far.
For twenty years and upwards we had good morning
congregations at Norwich, but they might begin at six till
Lady Day. I desire J. M. Byron to try what he can do.
Better days will come.
I pray let that doggerel hymn be no more sung in our
chapel. If they do not soon come to their senses at
Norwich, I will remove you to Colchester.—I am, Dear
Tommy, Your affectionate friend and brother.
Be mild!
Be serious!
201

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
'Sing twice . . . once before and once after
Sermon.5
With the above letter to Wride, Wesley sent an ultimatum
to the young preachers John M'Kersey and James M. Byron,
and directions for the singers. Here is Wesley's letter,
of which Wride took a copy. Although fond of singing
himself, Wesley disliked much singing in the Methodist
services, lest the time for prayer and sermon might be much
curtailed, and the simplicity and spirituality of the service
lessened for his people. Many of these had then little
appreciation of choral singing and classic music. His
command was 6 Sing no anthems.' Organs in his chapels in
his lifetime were very few. When he heard an efficient
organist and a devoutly rendered musical service he was
enraptured.
To J. M'Kersey and J. M. Byron.
If you do not choose to obey me, you need not; I will let
you go when you please and send other preachers in your
place. If you do choose to stay with me, never sing more
than twice ; once before, and once after sermon.
I have given Mr. Wride directions concerning the singers.
Pray assist him in seeing these directions observed. You
are young ; I am in pain for you. Follow his advice. He
is older and wiser than you. You would do well to meet
the children and the Select Society, though it be a cross.
I will thank you if you will do all you can to strengthen
Mr. Wride's hands. Beware of strengthening any party
against him. Let you three be one ! Nothing will give
greater satisfaction than this to, Your affectionate brother.
Wesley's command was obeyed; the young preachers still
served him. But they and Wride were removed to other
spheres at the next Conference. However the good Norwich
folk felt about their preachers, Wride told Wesley that ' at
this time a man is wanted for Norwich who has in him the
202

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, the Serpent, and the Ox.'
Wride was not that man.

* She was surly. • . . You have an Estate left
you.'
Letter

XXVII.
LONDON, October 29, 1780.

DEAR TOMMY,—I am entirely of your mind. If any man
(to waive everything else) can make me sleep without
touching me, he may call the matter what he pleases: I
know it is not magnetism, but magic.
Mr. Mears did not tell me (that I know) anything about
letters one, two, three. Women told me at Chatham,
' We called on Mrs. Wride, and offered her any service in
our power, but she was so sullen and surly, we had not
the heart to go again.'
But is it true, Tommy, that you have an estate left you ?
I fear it is not so large as the Duke of Bedford's ! I should
be glad to bring you all to a good agreement, if I knew
how.—I am, Dear Tommy, Your affectionate friend and
brother.

< Lift up your Heart to God, or you will be
angry with me.'
This letter, a tactful, tender, beautiful rebuke and correction closely characteristic of Wesley, is given in his
Works x without a name. It so exactly fits Thomas Wride's
errors and Wesley's patient pleadings with him, as seen in
our earlier letters, that it is inserted here. The St. John
of England is now eighty-three years. His tender, lovingly
frank message recalls the epistles of the aged St. John the
Divine, whose terse, clear style he so much admired.
1

Works; vol. xiii. p. 115.

203

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Letter
To Mr.

XXVIII.
.

December 1786.
know I love you. Ever since I knew
you I have neglected no way of showing it that was in my
power. And you know I esteem you for your zeal and
activity, for your love of discipline, and for your gifts which
God has given you ; particularly quickness of apprehension
and readiness of utterance; especially in prayer.
Therefore I am jealous over you, lest you should lose
any of the things you have gained, and not receive a full
reward. And the more so because I fear you are wanting
in other respects. And who will venture to tell you so ?
You will scarce know how to bear it from me, unless you lift
up your heart to God. If you do this, I may venture to
tell you what I fear without any further preface. I fear
you think of yourself more highly than you ought to think.
Do not you think too highly of your understanding? of
your gifts, particularly in preaching ? as if you were the
very best preacher in the Connexion? of your own importance ? as if the work of God, here or there, depended
wholly or mainly on you ? and of your popularity ? which
I have found to my surprise far less, even in L
, than I
expected.
May not this be much owing to the want of brotherly
love ? With what measure you mete, men will measure to
you again. I fear there is something unloving in your spirit;
something not only of roughness but of harshness, yea, of
sourness ! Are you not also extremely open to prejudice,
and not easy to be cured of it ? so that whenever you are
prejudiced you commence bitter, implacable, unmerciful?
If so, that people are prejudiced against you is both the
natural and judicial consequence.
204
DEA&S-

5 —You

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
I am afraid lest your want of love to your neighbours
should spring from want of love to God; from want of
thankfulness.
I have sometimes heard you speak in a
manner that made me tremble; indeed, in terms that not
only a weak Christian but even a serious Deist would
scruple to use.
I fear you greatly want evenness of temper. Are you not
generally too high or too low ? Are not all your passions
too lively, your anger in particular ? Is it not too soon
raised ? And is it not too impetuous, causing you to be
violent, boisterous, bearing down all before you ?
Now, lift up your heart to God, or you will be angry at
me. But I must go a little farther. I fear you are greatly
wanting in the government of your tongue. You are not
exact in relating facts. I have observed it myself. You
are apt to amplify; to enlarge a little beyond the truth.
You cannot imagine, if others observe this, how it will
affect your reputation.
But I fear you are more wanting in another respect:
that you give a loose to your tongue when you are angry;
that your language then is not only sharp, but coarse and
ill-bred. If this be so, the people will not bear it. They
will not take it either from you or me.
6

L e t the Matter drop. 5
Letter XXIX.
DUBLIN, April 2, 1789.
DEAR TOMMY,—I am surprised that a man who really

fears God should engage himself in so bad a cause, but
undoubtedly you have the better of the argument. Yet I
see no prospect of convincing a man of his rank. Therefore I think it is the wisest way to let the matter drop.
The publishing of a thing of this kind was only tried to
205

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
stir up a nest of hornets.—I am, Dear Tommy, Your
affectionate friend and brother.
6

Not one harsh or passionate Word.'

Wesley was on the last of his many preaching tours in
Ireland, and writes in kindly, merry mood. William Darney
was one of his preachers who suffered much at the hands
of the mobs, and had published some verses and simple
hymns. Wride wanted no more such. He was for Wesley's
hymns. Once again the young preacher in the circuit is
marked for gentle treatment, and tender, prayerful patience
is urged on Wride. Atlay and Eels led some bodies of
trustees who left Wesley, as they were determined that
they and not he or the Conference should appoint the
preachers to the Dewsbury and other chapels for which
they were responsible.
Wride, who was now again in
charge at Whitehaven, had carefully kept hold for Wesley
at Brompton. 1
Letter

XXX.
SIDARE, May

28,

1789.

Nay, Tommy, nay: you are more nice than wise. I have
seen worse verses than these, even in print, in the very
poems of William Darney. The rhymes are not bad. Why
should you damp a rising genius ? If he and [you] were
to set your wits together you would surely produce something ! Deal very gently with the young man. I am persuaded he will take advice.
You did exceeding well with regard to the house proposed
to be built at Brompton. We have fresh warning. Good
brother Coate and Todd have given our preaching-house at
North Shields to John Atlay and William Eels. So you
see what we have to trust to. But you must deal exceedingly tenderly with them. Not one harsh or passionate
1

206

Tyerman, Life of Wesley', vol. iii. p. 551.

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
word, or they will make their advantage of it. Above all,
you should make it a matter of prayer.—I am, Dear Tommy,
Your affectionate friend and brother.
6

Speak as plain and dull as one of us/

This was Wesley's last counsel to Wride m this long
series of letters, hitherto almost unknown. Wesley was
within ten months of the end of his long life. He is on
his last itinerary in the north of England and Scotland,
and makes pathetic admission, at last, of the limitations
enforced by his advanced age of eighty-seven years. He
had to decline Wride's affectionate request that he would
visit The Dales circuit. He did not carry out the proposals
named below, although he visited many places during this
tour.
Letter

XXXI.
DARLINGTON, May 5,

1790.

DEAR TOMMY,—It was a little thing to me, when I was
able to ride on horseback, to strike a few miles out of my
way. But that time is past. All I can do now is to visit
the chief societies. I hope to see our friends in Weardale
and Barnard Castle, and I believe that will be as much as
I must attempt.
I hope you have now got quit of your queer, arch expressions in preaching, and that you speak as plain and dull as
one of us.—I am, Dear Tommy, Your affectionate friend
and brother.

II

To ' steady Joseph Taylor.'
These letters by Wesley to one of his preachers, Joseph
Taylor, may be contrasted with those to Wride. Of the
thirteen letters here given, eleven have not hitherto been
£07

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
published, or, if so, only in fugitive form. Besides this fact,
some features of interest emerge in them.
Joseph Taylor (died 1880) began the work in 1777, and
continued it for forty-four years. He was eminently
reliable and useful. Wesley appointed him one of his
trustees. When he had been in the work only five years he
was put in charge of the wide and prosperous Cornwall
West circuit, with three other ministers. So inviting and
exhausting was that field that his exertions permanently
injured his constitution; but six hundred members were
added in two years. Wesley's prophecy (Letter i.) was
fulfilled. Chapels were enlarged and new ones built
(Letters iv., v., VIIL). Taylor specially earned Wesley's
favour by his attention to the sale and distribution of the
works he issued. To this Wesley here refers again and
again. This was one of Wesley's tests for his preachers.
He had such faith in the ministry of the printed page that
he insisted on every one of his preachers being a colporteur
and book agent. The preacher's saddle-bags were filled
with Wesley's publications, which he sold or distributed as
he went to preach at the places in his circuit and elsewhere.
He rose or fell in Wesley's esteem as he succeeded in this
work. This helped to make the Methodists a reading
people, and the financial profits aided their funds for aged
and enfeebled preachers and their widows.
Wesley's changes as to the status of some of his distinguished preachers must have sorely tried Taylor; but
he was obedient. Wesley ordained him in 1785 for the
work in Scotland, but would not allow him to exercise
ministerial functions when appointed to labour in England
(Letter xn.). As Tyerman puts it, Wesley, ' who three
years before had frocked his itinerant for the people
across the Tweed, now unfrocked him for the people
bordering on the Trent.' Thomas Hanby, the eldest of
his colleagues there, who had also been ordained by Wesley,
felt that locality did not decide his duty in these matters,
and continued to minister as in Scotland, much to the
benefit of Nottingham Methodists.
208

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
* Such a Work in Cornwall as never was yet.'
Letter I.
BRISTOL., September 9, 1782.
will now have full scope for the
exercise of every talent that God has given you. And you
have fellow-labourers after your own heart. See that no
strangeness creep in between you. If you continue instant
in prayer, I trust there will be such a work in Cornwall as
never was yet
You remember the rule of Conference, that every assistant
should take my books into his own hands, as having better
opportunities of dispersing them than any private person
can possibly have. I desire you would do this without
delay.
The Primitive Physic should be in every family. So
should the Christian Pattern x if possible. Of the Magazines
I need say nothing. Herein I am persuaded you will tread
in James Rogers's steps, and go beyond him as far as
you can.
The children will require much attention, and the Bands
too, or they will moulder away.—I am, Dear Joseph, Your
affectionate friend and brother.
DEAR JOSEPH,—You

' T h e Books . . . should
Assistant/

be kept

by the

Letter II.
BRISTOL, September 24, 1782.

DEAR JOSEPH,—Jos.

Andrews writes to me about his

keeping the books still. I answer,' It was determined at
the Conference that the books all over England should be
kept by the assistant in each circuit.'* I believe he has
1

Wesley's edition of De Imitatione Christi by Thomas a Kempis.

o

209

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
discharged this office well; but I believe you will discharge
it better. Yet do not expect to do your duty without
giving offence! Recommend the Magazines, Kempis, and
the Primitive Physic in earnest. And take care of the Bands
and the children!—I am, Dear Joseph, Your affectionate
friend and brother.

* Tracts and Magazines.5
Letter III.
LONDON, October 19, 1782.

tracts that are in any degree
damaged you will do well to sell for half-price. And those
of them that are greatly damaged you may give away, as
you see proper. But I apprehend it would be best, when
a proper occasion is, to send the Magazines by sea to
Bristol or London.
When they have preaching only one night in a week, you
may meet the Bands and the Society by turns.—I am, Dear
Joseph, Your affectionate friend and brother.
DEAR

JOSEPH,—Those

' W e shall not build any more in haste.'
Letter IV.
LONDON, January 16, 1783.

am glad to hear so good an account of
Marazion. You must endeavour to hire a larger room at
Truro. We shall not build any more in haste. I often
preach abroad, in winter as well as summer.
In my Journals, in the Magazines, in every possible way,
I have advised the Methodists to keep to the Church. They
that do this most prosper best in their souls; I have
observed it long.
If ever the Methodists in general were to leave the Church,
210
DEAR JOSEPH,—I

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
I must leave them. 1 —I am, Dear Joseph, Your affectionate
friend and brother.

' Enlarge the House
and Air enough.'

Remember, Light enough

Letter V.
LONDON, February 25, 1783.
DEAR JOSEPH,—I make no doubt but you will be well able to
collect enough in the circuit to enlarge the house 2 at St. Ives.
And the sooner you begin the better. Only see that you
have good workmen, and a good plan! Remember, light
enough and air enough; and do not make a bungling, but
a neat work.
When I have fixed my plan, 3 I will send you a copy of it.
I set out for Bristol on Sunday evening.—I am, Dear Joseph,
Your affectionate friend and brother.
P.8.—Pray tell Capt. Rd. Williams that I have his letter
and will consider it.

' Do all you can during this precious Season.'
Letter VI.
DUBLIN, April 26, 1783.

all means let James Hall 4 come to
the Conference. If he would put forth all his strength, and
be exact in every branch of his office, I would appoint him
for the assistant next year. But I should be sorry if the
work should decay. Do all you can during this precious
season.
I shall have no objection to your being in Nottingham
DEAR JOSEPH,—By

1
3
4

2
See above, p. 131.
I.e. the preaching-house.
Of his itinerary.
The second preacher in Cornwall West circuit in which Taylor was
superintendent.

211

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
circuit (unless you are in love). But if you go thither, you
must take the books into your own hands; though I do not
say you will receive many thanks from Matthew Bagshaw.
I expect to be in England in about ten days.—I am, Dear
Joseph, Your affectionate friend and brother.

* According to the printed Minutes.'
Letter

VII.
LONDON, June 5, 1783.

DEAR JOSEPH,—According to the printed Minutes, p. 8,
S[ister] Rodda is to have her allowance 1 from Cornwall
West, and Spster] Day out of the Preachers1 Fund. The
fault therefore lay first in Joseph Harper, for Cornwall has
nothing to do with Spster] Day this year; and secondly, in
John Atiay, who ought to have sent him and you the Minutes
immediately after the Conference. Send no more money to
Spster] Day, but to Rpchar]d Rodda.—I am, Dear Joseph,
Your affectionate friend and brother.

' Concerning the building of Preaching-houses.5
Letter VIIL
LONDON, December 24, 1783.

DEAR JOSEPH,—Look into the Minutes

concerning the
building of preaching-houses, and see that the ' Directions' 2
there laid down be observed.
1
See above, p. 193. The Minutes of the annual Conferences in this period
have the question, ' How many wives are to be provided for ? ' These are the
wives of the preachers. Generally the circuit where the preacher laboured
paid to him a small additional allowance for his wife quarterly. Others were
provided for out of the general fund of the preachers.
2
These were that each case must first be proposed in the Conference; that
before moneys were gathered in circuits other than that concerned, the consent of the superintendent preacher should be obtained; and that the collection
be made between Conference and March.—Minutes (octo. edit.), 1775,

p. 121.

212

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
No one can object to your making a collection for the
house in your circuit,—I am, Your affectionate friend and
brother.

' The Books.'
Letter

IX.

LONDON, January 12, 1784.
am sorry that so useful a man as brother
Lewly x was constrained to leave Worcester. But I am not
sorry that the books are delivered into your hands, as I am
clearly persuaded a far greater number of them will be
disposed of.
Take care of the Select Societies as well as the Bands.—
I am. Dear Joseph, Your affectionate friend and brother.
DEAR JOSEPH,—I

* The Preachers going to America.'
A t the Conference held in the previous month at Leeds
Wesley made his first appointment of preachers for America.
In the list of circuits and their preachers there is this item,
vague and vast—' America, Thomas Coke, Richard Whatcoat, T. Vasey."2
In view of this advance, of which such great things were
expected and soon came, the request of a preacher's wife for
the furnishing of a room in their modest home must stand
aside.
Letter X.
BRISTOL, August 30, 1784.

DEAR JOSEPH,—On no account whatever can I excuse any
preacher in the Connexion from using his utmost endeavours
for the preachers going to America. What is the furnishing a room or two in comparison of this ? Especially for
one who is well able to do it for herself! I wonder she
1
A letter from Wesley to a Mr. Edward Lewly, Birmingham, dated Jan.
12, 1791, appears in his Works, vol. xiv. p. 291.
2
See chapter v u .

21S

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
should desire it or indeed accept of i t ! However, if this be
done, the other must not be left undone.—I am, Dear Joseph,
Your affectionate friend and brother.

* I would not employ an Apostle if he could not
preach in the Morning.5
Letter XL
LIVERPOOL, April 7, 1785.

do not see that I can in conscience
employ brother Thomas as a travelling preacher. Do not
you know what I have often said ? I would not employ an
apostle as such if he could not preach in the morning. 1
And this he cannot do. Neither is he able, if he was willing,
regularly to keep a circuit. Be faithful to God, and the
people, and your own soul 1 And keep an active, zealous
man, Mr. M'Geary, while you have him. Else there is want
of a preacher in the Canterbury circuit. I thank you for
the account of brother Tregellas, and am, Dear Joseph, Your
affectionate friend and brother.
DEAR JOSEPH,—I

' You should not wear the Surplice . . . anymore.'
Letter

XIL
LONDON, November 16, 1788.

DEAR JOSEPH,—I take knowledge of your spirit, and
believe it is your desire to do all things right. Our friends
at Newark seem to have forgotten that we have determined
over and over ' not to leave the Church/ Before they had
given you that foolish advice, they should have consulted
me. I desire you should not wear the surplice nor administer
the Lord's Supper any more.—I am, Dear Joseph, Your
affectionate friend and brother.
1

214

The Methodist service at 5 A.M.

See p. 200.

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
' A Business of some Importance,'
Letter XIII.
LONDON^ February 13, 1789.
DEAR JOSEPH,—I have a business of some importance for
you to transact. Pray go to my old friend Matthew
Bagshaw, and in my name desire of him—
1* To tell you how J. Wilson has wronged him.
% To introduce you to Mr. Henshaw, of whom you are
to inquire (and write me word directly) what had passed
between J. Wilson and him ! Desire him also—
3. To let you know whether he has wronged any one else
in Nottingham ! If he has, in what manner.
If I can come clearly to the bottom of his affair, it is
possible I may be of some real service to him. But till
then it is not possible.
For God will surely fight against him while he continues
to cover his sin.—I ara, Dear Joseph, Your affectionate
friend and brother.

Ill

To Thomas Taylor.
Wesley often wrote to Thomas Taylor. He became a
preacher in 1761 and died in 1816. He was one of
Wesley's strongest, most heroic helpers, and was twice
President of Conference after Wesley's death. While
Wesley believed himself to be a waiter upon Providence as
to the development of Methodism (Letters I. and in.),
Taylor was early convinced that Methodists should claim
all the scriptural ordinances and rights of a New Testament
church. He had a mind of his own, and alone and stoutly
disapproved of the establishment by Wesley of the Arminian
Magazine.
He dared to go to Conference without
Wesley's invitation, when younger preachers who were
215

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
his converts were invited, saying, ' I f I am thrown overboard, I will swim as well as I can, believing the Lord will
take me up."*1
Wesley's condemnation of liquor-distilling and billbroking is notable (Letter n.). 2 He thought the former
one of the chief causes of the high price of corn and bread,
styled distilled liquors ' distilled damnation,' and declared
that they were poisons which < naturally destroyed not only
the strength and life, but also the morals of our countrymen. In this view he was in advance of most clergymen
and public leaders.' 3 He exercised sharp discipline on commercial and financial delinquents (Letter n.). His Rules 4
forbade his members to ' borrow without a probability of
paying or to take up goods without a probability of paying
for them.'
These three short characteristic letters are little known,
and were in the hands of the Rev. Samuel Dunn, the friend
of the Rev. James Everett.

* I go calmly and quietly on my Way.'
Letter I.
February 24, 1786.

believe if we had then left the Church, we
should not have done a tenth part of the good we have done;
but I do not trouble myself on this head. I go calmly and
quietly on my way, doing what I conceive to be the will of
God. I do not, will not, concern myself with what will be
when I am dead. I take no thought about that. If I did,
I should probably hide myself either at Kingswood or Newcastle, and leave you all to yourselves.—I remain, Your
affectionate friend and brother.
DEAR TOMMY,—I

1
2
3
4

216

Tyerman, Wesley's Life, vol. iii. p. 284.
Ibid., p. 496.
Works) vol. xi. p. 55.
A New History of Methodism, vol. ii. p. 564.

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
' Distilled Liquors . . . I would banish them out
of the World.'
Letter

II.
LONDON, December 11, 1787.

liquors have their use, but are
infinitely overbalanced by the abuse of them; therefore,
were it in my power, I would banish them out of the
world. . . .
It is no wonder that young man should be ruined who
connected himself with that execrable bill trade.
In
London I expel every one out of our Society who has anything to do with it. Whoever endorses a bill, that is, promises to pay for more than he is worth, is either a fool or
a knave. 1 —I am, Dear Tommy, Your affectionate brother.
DEAR TOMMY,—Distilled

* Kill your enemies ? They 11 die of themselves if
you let them alone.5
Letter

III.
LONDON, February 13, 1791.

DEAR TOMMY,—The doubt is whether the remedy would
not propagate the disease by making many people anxious
to understand it who never thought of it before. Remember
the madman's words—
e

Kill your enemies ? Kill a fool's head of your own ;
T h e y ' l l die of themselves if you let them a l o n e /

I take knowledge that you have been a Dissenter. Several
clergymen at this day do much good both to the cause of
God in general and to the Methodists in particular, and
they that hurt us do it not as clergymen but as b[ad] clergymen. I will not blame any preacher for mildly warning
1
Tyerman, Wesley's Life, vol. iii. p. 544, gives a letter from Wesley to
Taylor dated June 7, 1788, in which the second paragraph of this letter is
repeated word for word.

217

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
our people of them. Unstable Methodists will always be
subject to the temptation of sermon-hunting. I do not
advise our people to go to the Low Church. I shall write
no plan till I know how my strength turns out; perhaps I
may do it when I come to Bristol. Peace be with you and
yours.—I am, Dear Tommy, Yours affectionately.
IV

To James Oddie.
Three new letters from Wesley to James Oddie, one of
his preachers, contribute items of interest. Oddie began
his work in 1746 and retired to enter into business in 1771.
Here is Wesley organising an effort to raise £12,000 for
debts on his chapels. I t was a large sum then for Methodists to contribute. Methodism had existed twenty-eight
years. I t had 41 circuits, 104 itinerant preachers, 26,000
members, and 100 chapels—84 in England, 1 in Wales, 2
in Scotland, and 13 in Ireland. The combined debts upon
these was £11,388. By this scheme and appeal, which was
supported by the fine Newcastle-on-Tyne circuit where
Oddie was chief minister, £5000 was raised in the first year
and £3700 in the two years following. This was not all
that was needed, and new debts were created; but it was
an early and stimulating proof of the advantage of the
connexional system. Wesley thought this a commanding
advantage of Methodism. By it the strong helped the
weak. The 'Yearly Collection' here referred to was for
the expenses of the connexional system and contingencies.
Wesley regarded this as indispensable.

' Wherever this is dropped, you drop me'
Letter I.
LONDON, December 15, 1767.

have written myself to Miss Dales,
T. Moses, C. Hewitson, Fenwick, Smith, Watson, Hosmer,
218
DEAR JAMES,—I

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
Morrison, Davison, Parker, Lipton, Bowmaker, Al.
Patterson, T. Dobson, Rd. Parker, C. Bell, Joblin, W.
Newton, R. Foster, Jon. Simpson, C. Coward, Gibson, Jos.
and George Morrison, Capt. Robinson, Mark Middleton,
Jo. Allen, and Mrs. Bate. Do all you can with the rest;
think not that one of you will be poorer for this. I will
send you printed letters, which you may seal and deliver
in my name to as many as you please (except the above).
Speak and spare not, trusting in God. But never let one
thought come into your mind, of dropping the Yearly
Collection; not if any one would give me i?20,000 to-day.
Wherever this is dropped, you drop trie, for I cannot go
on one year without it. I should think you had never been
present at a Conference, nor ever read the Minutes of
any, for these four years. Talk nothing discouraging, but
encouraging. Prophesy good and not evil,—I am, Dear
James, Your affectionate friend and brother.

* Go on, go on, in God's N a m e ! '
Letter II
LONDON., January

12, 1768.

DEAR JAMES,—Desire an old tried Scot, William Darney
by name, to take a turn or two in the Dunbar Circuit, and
I will desire William Minethorp, now near York (a good
man and a good preacher), to go down into your circuit and
supply his place. Then Alnwick will have the preaching
on Sunday, which is highly expedient.
If we pay the debt in one year (and there is a fair prospect) it is all along of your Newcastle people, for nobody
else thought of it.
Go on, go on, in GOD^S name!-—I am, Your affectionate
friend and brother.
219

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
* Push on the Collection.'
Letter HI.
LONDON, February 14, 1768.

require William Ellis to go into the
doctor's (if he is not gone already) without delay. Otherwise
I require you to forbid his preaching in any of our societies.
Push on the Collection in God's name. I think you will
not easily stop short of seven hundred.
It is not right, Jemmy, it is not right. They envy the
rooms of those poor girls, and want at all hazards to thrust
them out. I wrote to Molly Dale on Saturday in haste, but
to-day I have written her my cooler thoughts. Peace be
with you and yours.—Dear Jemmy, adieu!
DEAR JEMMY,-—I

V

To Various Preachers.
' All is best.'
A new letter, worth reading for the radiance which Wesley's spirit sheds over it notwithstanding his troubles. Queer,
dilatory Michael Fenwick is here, whom Wesley's charity
styled ' a n excellent groom, valet de charnbre, nurse, and,
upon occasion, a tolerable preacher.' And much sickness
afflicts the family in the Orphan House at Newcastle-onTyne, where preachers' wives, widows, and orphans found a
kindly home. Here, too, Matthew Errington stored and
sold Wesley's publications, and now sends an account of sales.
To Matthew

Errington.

LONDON, January 8, 1757.
have done well in sending me a
particular account. The bill came safe, and is accepted.
But Michael's senseless delay has distressed me much. He
ought to have been here the $8th of November, and to have
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—You

mo

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
then brought with him all the money he could procure.
For the time to come, if he should take another journey, I
must punctually fix beforehand how many days he is to stay
in every place.
I hope you all continue a family of love, and that the
stewards and you are in harmony with each other. I should
be glad to see poor Becky, especially if I found her all alive
to God. We have a sickly family here—my wife, Jenny,
Sally Clay, ill of paralytic; T. Walsh and Jeremy Morgan
of consumptive disorders. But all is best.—I am, your
affectionate brother.

' Let us deal openly with one another.'
This hitherto unpublished letter from the Colman
Collection fills a gap, and is itself important. Wesley was
in the midst of the Calvinistic controversy with Whitefield
and his followers. Among these was Joseph Humphreys.
Wesley styled him once his first lay preacher; but this was
in 1738, and before the rise of the Methodist Societies.1
He declared his love for Wesley, but also his intention
openly to ' renounce your peculiar- doctrines.'' This is
Wesley's reply. I t may be compared with that to Whitefield.2 Seward was another whom Whitefield had attracted.
He was soon to become a martyr in the brutal persecution
of the Methodists.
To Joseph Humphreys.
LONDON, April 27, 1741.

do not understand you. What
Doctrines do you mean ? That ' Christ died for all' ? or,
that ' H e that is born of God sinneth n o t ' ? These are
not peculiar to me. The first is St. Paul's, the second is
St. John's.
What grievous temptation do you mean ? Let us deal
M Y DEAR BROTHER,-—I

1

See p. 73.

2

Page 104.

881

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
openly with one another. But if any doubt arise, O fly to
Christ, and confer not with flesh and blood !
I least of all understand what you mean by ' loving and
respecting me/ Ah, my brother, this will not hold for one
month. You will in a very short time love and respect me
j ust as poor Mr. Seward did. Yet ' Gracious art thou, O
Lord, and true are Thy judgements.'—Adieu !

' A providential Connexion.'
A hitherto unpublished letter, from the original in the
Bodleian Library, Oxford. It was during this visit to
Coolylough, Ireland, that Wesley, always curious and
observant of natural phenomena, wrote in his Journal: ' I
rode to Coolylough (where was the Quarterly Meeting), and
preached at eleven, and in the evening. While we were
singing, I was surprised to see the horses from all parts of
the ground gathering round us. Is it true then that horses,
as well as lions and tigers, have an ear for music ?'
John Whitehead was Wesley's preacher in charge of the
Bristol circuit; Whitwell was his colleague.
To John Whitehead.
COOLYLOUGH, July 4, 1769.

from every circuit must be at
Conference ; but it may be either bro[ther] Whitwell or you.
I think the money need not be brought; only let us have
exact accounts, and lists of the societies.
When you mentioned, first, your apprehension that you
could manage the Kings wood School, and then your thoughts
concerning Nancy Smith, it seemed to me that there might
be a providential connexion between the one and the other
—though not to the exclusion of James Hindemarsh: 1
that I never thought of.
Good will follow from the disagreement of C. Proctor and
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—One

1

An English master at the school, 1765-1773.

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
—— Palmer. I should be apt to believe a dying woman.
Be zealous ! Be watchful!—I am, your affectionate friend
and brother.

* I live from Hand to Mouth.'
A hitherto unpublished letter from the original in
the British Museum. Richard Bourke, then labouring at
Waterford, was one of Wesley's preachers from 1766 to
1778. Wesley was feeling the weight of heavy debts on his
chapels and undertakings.1 He continually made the venture of faith, and it was usually completely justified. In
his lifetime, and since, Methodism was a magnificent and
startling example of the wisdom of the voluntary principle
in Church finance. The < maintenance' allowed for a
preacher about this period was £1% per annum, with =£10
for his wife.2
To Richard Bourke.
EDINBURGH, May 12, 1770.

doubt not your going into Waterford circuit was for good. I t is well the house at Kilkenny
is at length getting forward. But the general collection,
out of which I propose to assist our brethren, is not brought
in until the Conference. And I myself seldom have any
money beforehand. I live as I may say from hand to
mouth.
As to the preachers, I think it very hard, if Ireland cannot
allow a maintenance to the preachers in Ireland. But indeed your case is peculiar. Exclusive of what they are to
allow for your wife, I will allot her five pounds (English)
for you.—-I am, yours affectionately.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—I

[Endorsed in another hand.] Received the contents from
Miss Mary Holland, June 11th, 1771.
1
2

See Letters to Hopper, p. 149.
A New History of Methodism, i. 303.

223

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
To Samuel Bardsley.
This little known letter, from the original in the Library
of Victoria Methodist College, Toronto, was the first of
several sent to this Methodist preacher. It was addressed
to him ' A t Mr. James Walker's, in Sheffield.'
He was
then a preacher in the Cheshire circuit, and was moved
by Wesley to Sheffield at his next Conference, August
1770.
The second letter, hitherto unpublished, is from the
original in the possession of the Iiev. T. Ferrier Hulme,
M . A , Bristol. During a long ministry Bardsley was 6 transparently sincere, profoundly zealous for the cause of God,
and minutely attentive to every part of Christian discipline:

' A Parent has in this case a Negative Voice.'
Letter I.
LONDON, November 24, 1770.

DEAR SAMMY,—According to your account, the very same

difficulty subsists to this day. Your mother is not willing :
and I told you before, this is, in my judgement, an insuperable bar. I am fully persuaded, that a parent has in this
case a negative voice. Therefore while matters continue
thus, I do not see that you can go any further.—I am, your
affectionate brother.

'The

Second Blessing, . . . receivable in a
Moment.'
Letter II.
BOLTON, April 3, 1772.

DEAR SAMMY,—I am glad you are got into your Circuit

again. Now put forth all your strength. Never be ashamed
of the old Methodist Doctrine. Press all believers to go on
to perfection. Insist everywhere on the Second Blessing, as

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
receivable in a moment, and receivable now, by simple
faith. Read again the ' Plain Account of Xtian [Christian]
Perfection.'' And strive always to converse in a plain
unaffected manner.—I am, dear Sammy, yours affectionately.

' Are you out of your Wits ?'
This is the whole of this letter, surely the shortest that
Wesley ever wrote. But it is alive. Six weeks earlier he
had appointed Francis Wolfe second preacher in the Bristol
circuit.
To Francis Wolfe.
FRANKY,

BRISTOL, September 15, 1773.
are you out of your wits ? Why are you not at

Bristol?

' I have no Objection to your Speaking.5
Two hitherto unpublished or little known letters, kindly
copied for me by the late Bev. William Boyden of Westonsuper-Mare, from his originals. The second answers a question in Wesley's Itinerary as to his presence in Norwich on
that day, and also shows that he still welcomed the help of
clergy. Stonehouse was a Manchester Methodist, and the
6
new chapel' was, the Rev. T. E. Brigden suggests, Oldham
Street, which Wesley opened in 1781. Its modern successor
is the Central Hall there. Dr. Cornelius Bayley was a
master at Wesley's Kingswood School, 1778-1783. He
became a clergyman, assisted Wesley at a service in Manchester a year before this letter. Later he was known as
the ' Methodist' clergyman of St. James's Church in that
city. * Another person' was probably the Rev. Edward
Smythe, an Irish clergyman. He had been a paid helper
of Wesley in London, and was now probably curate of a
Manchester church.
He became a bitter opponent of
Wesley.
The first letter was to a young man who wished to
P
225

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
be a M e t h o d i s t preacher.
Wesley sends h i m t o Richard
Henderson, t h e chief preacher in t h e Wiltshire circuit.
To a young

Treacher.
REDRUTH, September 9, 1765.

M Y DEAR B R O T H E R , — I d o u b t very much whether either
J e r e m y Coombs or Sister W e y worth spoke any such t h i n g .
I advise you to go t o Mr. Henderson a n d relate t o h i m
what you mentioned t o me. I have no objection t o your
speaking a t those times a n d places which h e shall t h i n k
proper. On t h e 23rd a n d 2 4 t h of next month (Wednesday
and T h u r s d a y ) I expect, G o d willing, t o be a t Salisbury
myself.—I a m , your affectionate brother.
6

I t might be productive of much Good.'
To Mr.

Stonehouse.
NORWICH, October 31, 1784.

MY

DEAR

BROTHER, — I

had

some

doubt

concerning

another person; b u t I have none a t all concerning D r .
Bailey [Bayley]. I believe his eye is single, a n d t h a t he
has no other view, t h a n t h a t of promoting t h e glory of
God. If, therefore, t h e steward and trustees, a n d upon
m a t u r e consideration, j u d g e i t expedient t o invite D r .
Bailey [Bayley] t o officiate every Sunday in t h e new chapel,
I have no objection. I t seems t o me i t might be productive
of much good.—I a m , your very affectionate brother.
6

If he sells Bread on the Lord's Day.'

A little known l e t t e r 1 t o Thomas Carlill, one of Wesley's
preachers, 1760-1801. H e was then superintendent of t h e
wide Gainsborough circuit.
' W h e n guarded from exu1
From Arminian (Bible Christian) Magazine, 1827, p. 286, contributed
to Wesley Historical Society's MSS. Journal. See Proceedings, vi. 92,

226

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
berant sallies of facetious wit, his discourses were judicious
and profitable.'
Simon Kilham of Epworth, Wesley's home town, 'who
must not be removed,' was the father of the famous Methodist evangelist and reformer, Alexander Kilham, 1 whom
Wesley this year called out to preach. Christie was a
young preacher then resting at Grimsby.
Wesley and the Methodists then and since 2 maintained
the Puritan tradition in regard to Sunday. The ' p i e s '
were those of the poor who used the baker's oven in
common.
To Thomas Carlill.
CORK, May 6th,

1785.

DEAR TOMMY,—I desire you, and no other preacher out
of the Gainsborough Circuit, to come to the Conference.
I will pay the two guineas to Robert Armstrong. You
may take brother Fish, in the place of Samuel Botts.
Simon Kilham must in no wise be removed from Epworth.
Encourage James Christie to read, and his gifts will
increase.
We cannot allow a baker to remain in our society if he
sells bread on the Lord's day. But if he only bakes pies, as
they call it, we do not exclude him: although we are convinced that to abstain even from this is the more excellent
way.—I am, dear Tommy, your affectionate friend and
brother.

' You are called to marry.5
A new letter to one of Wesley's preachers, the original
of which is in the Rylands Library, Manchester. As allowances and houses for married preachers were matters arranged
for the preachers by Wesley at his annual Conference, he
1

See p. 169.
In 1803, when Napoleon threatened to invade England, they protested
against Sunday drilling of soldiers, and secured exemption for those who
objected.
2

287

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
needed to know early of these affairs. He took a close and
practical interest in them. The letter is addressed to
Stephens ' at the Preaching House in Cardiff? He was then
in charge of the Glamorganshire circuit.
To William Stephens.
LONDON, October 3 1 , 1788.

do well to write without disguise. Otherwise I should not be able to judge. As you
state the matter, I cannot but agree with you that you are
called to marry. But "'tis pity that you had not told me
these things plainly before the Conference. Then I could
have made the way plain for you, which now will be attended
with some difficulty.—I am, dear Billy, your affectionate
friend and brother.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—YOU

' A Little Difficulty on setting out is a Good
Omen.'
Joseph Burgess, or Burges, to whom this hitherto unpublished letter was sent, was a young preacher called out by
the aged Wesley at this year's Conference—the last which
he lived to see. Brother Clarke is Adam Clarke, then at
Dublin. Mr. Philip Gentle, Plymouth, has the original of
this letter.
To Joseph Burgess.
BRISTOL, August 22, 1790.

M Y DEAR BROTHER,—You are called to do all the good
you can for the present in Ireland ; by your staying there a
little longer may be a blessing to many souls. I believe we
can easily procure another preacher to supply your place at
Liverpool a month or two. So you need be in no pain upon
that account. A little difficulty on setting out is a good
omen!
228

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
Wishing all happiness to you and yours.—I am, dear
Joseph, your affectionate brother.
I hope Brother Clarke and his family are well.

' Whoever undertakes to baptize is excluded.5
Wesley still hesitated to allow his preachers to give the
sacraments to his followers. He always insisted upon them
duly receiving these symbols ordained by our Lord. In due
time he made provision for the administration of them by
ordaining some of his preachers, not only to preach, but for
this duty, in America, Scotland, and England. 1 The two
following letters to preachers show these points. The first
is a little known letter; the next is from the original in
Victoria Methodist College, Toronto. Thompson was in
charge of Hull circuit; Gordon, of Bath.
To Joseph Thompson.
EPWORTH, July 18, 1772.

Michael 2 is not overcharged with
wisdom is certain. But I do not know that he is a mischiefmaker. I t is your part to insist upon his keeping his round:
to press the yearly collection in every place, and to see that
all our rules be observed, whoever praises or blames. You
have only to commend yourself to every man's conscience in
the sight of God.
DEAR JOSEPH,—That

Whoever among us undertakes to baptize a child is ipso
facto excluded from our Connexion.—I am, your affectionate
friend and brother.
1
See A New History of Methodism, vol. i. pp. 230, 372 ; Wes. Hist, Soc.
Proceedings, vol. ix. p. 145.
2
? Michael Fenwick, see p. 220.

229

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' That young man who neglects the Lord's
Supper.'
To David Gordon.
B A T H , February 29, 1788.

am glad to find matters are not so
bad as they were represented.
As to preaching in the
morning and meeting the leaders, I hope there has been
no blame: and I trust you have not willingly neglected
your circuit.
It would be worth while to talk at large with that young
man who neglects the Lord's Supper. But if he obstinately
persists in that neglect, you can't give him any more tickets
for our society. Be exact in all things !—I am, dear David,
your affectionate friend and brother.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—I

' Stewards are not to govern our Societies.'
A new letter to Robert Costerdine. He was a preacher
for fifty years (176&-181&), and now was superintendent of
the Sheffield circuit.
Wesley claims to open and shut the door to membership,
and to hand the key to whom he wills. His example and
instruction were often followed, sometimes with disastrous
results. The first expulsion of members which he made
twenty-eight years earlier than this were with 6 the consent
and approbation of the members of the band society.''x
To Robert Costerdine.
NORWICH, February 18, 1769.

M Y BEAR BROTHER,—If Jer. Cocker now lives in any

known sin, he must not be in our society. If he does not,
you did not act wisely in putting him out of it. Stewards
are not to govern our societies; it is no part of their office.
1

2$0

Journal, vol. ii. p. 430.

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
This belongs to the assistant only under my direction. I
myself directed before that Jer. Cocker should have another
trial. And you did not do well in running your head
against me to please any man living.
I say again, unless he now lives in sin, give him another
trial.—I am, your affectionate friend and brother.
I am returning to London.

' I blame all when they speak the Truth other
than in Love.5
This letter, little known, supplies an item in the gap in
Wesley's Journal, September 1 to 27, in this year.
A
facsimile is in the possession of the Rev. J. G. Williams
of Diss. Alexander Clark, of Chancery Lane, Dublin, was
probably steward of the Methodist society in that city, as
when Wesley wrote to him five years earlier.1 ' My Lady '
is Lady Huntingdon. Richard Boardman had returned
from America, and was labouring in Cork.
To Mr. Alexander Clark.
BRADFORD, [ W I L T S ] , September 9,

1777.

is certain our preachers have a
right to preach our doctrines, as my lady's have to preach
theirs. None can blame them for this. But I blame all
even that speak the truth otherwise than in love. Keenness of spirit and tartness of language are never to be commended. I t is only in meekness that we are to instruct
those that oppose themselves. But we are not allowed
upon any account whatever to return evil for evil, or
railing for railing.
I have desired Mr. Boardman to be in Dublin as soon as
possible. I believe you know his spirit. He is a loving,
peaceable man.
M Y DEAR BRETHREN,—It

1

Tyerman, Wesley, vol. iii. p. 127.

231

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Meantime in your patience possess ye your souls.—I am,
my dear brethren, your affectionate brother.

' Talk against the Church.'
This letter, believed to be a new one, from the original in the
Library of Drew Methodist Episcopal Theological Seminary,
Madison, New Jersey, confirms others as to Wesley's views at
this time concerning the attitude of Methodists, in England,
towards the Established Church. I t also gives us Wesley's
proposed journeys for ten days in March, 1784, when he
was eighty-one years of age. His Journal shows that he
carried out his plans. The days were crowded with his
beloved toil, from five o'clock in the morning until late
at night. To whom the letter was written has not been
traced.
To an unnamed Inquirer.
BRISTOL, March 4, 1784.
DEAR BILLY,—I desire Mrs. Wright (?), if any of our

lay preachers talk to her in public or private against the
Church, or the clergy, or reading the Church prayers, or
baptizing children, she require a promise from them to do it
no more. I t they will not promise it, then preach no more;
and if they break their promise, let them be expelled the
society.
From Macclesfield I expect to go to Chester, Monday,
April 5 t h ; on Wednesday, the 7th, to Liverpool; Good
Friday, April 9th, Warrington; Saturday, 10th, Manchester ; Tuesday, 18th, Bolton; Thursday, 15th, Wigan.
I am, dear Billy, your affectionate brother.
6

H e did no more than it was his Duty to do.5

A hitherto unpublished letter, from the original in the
John Rylands Library, Manchester, concerning Richard
232

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
Cundy. He was one of Wesley's preachers, 1776-1803.
He was now labouring at Waterford, Ireland, and Wesley
stands by him as having done his duty there. Henry
Moore, who thought with Wesley in this, was Wesley's
devoted friend and biographer.
To R. Tegworth,

Waterford,

LONDON, February 28, 1789.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—Henry Moore and I, after reading

and considering both your letter and one from Richard
Cundy, are clearly of opinion, that he cannot and ought
not to leave Waterford till another assistant comes to take
his place. W e do not consider him to be in any fault in
the matter. We think he did no more than it was his duty
to do.—I am, your affectionate friend and brother.

' I can trust you, even in so critical a Case.'
I t is good to give as the last letter selected from those by
Wesley to his preachers on their work, this which shows his
characteristic treatment of an able young worker. Thomas
Roberts began his lengthy ministry in 1786, and was now
of four years'standing only. But Wesley, now eighty-seven,
finding in him fitness and cause for confidence and friendship,
honours him by responsibility and opportunity. From the
post of third preacher in the large Bristol circuit he is
lifted to the charge of ; assistant' to Wesley, as superintendent of ' the most important circuit in all Wales.'
Our letter, with corrections and additions to the text
before published, is from the original in the Public Library,
Copley Square, Boston, Mass. Curiously, Wesley wrote
the year 1792 at the head of the letter. He died in 1791.
Its year was 1790. This is shown by his itinerary, his
references here to places and preachers, and by his Minutes
of Conference.
233

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
To Thomas Roberts.
HAVERFORDWEST, August 13, 1790.

I shall make a trial of you, whether
I can fit you or no. Since I came hither I have been much
concerned. This is the most important circuit in all Wales.
But it has been vilely neglected by the late assistant, James
Hall, whom therefore I can trust no more. I can trust you,
even in so critical a case.
I desire, therefore, that (whoever opposes) you will set
out immediately, and come hither as soon as ever you can.
I wish you could meet me at Cardiff or Cowbridge. You
see, by the printed plan, when I am to be at either of those
places. If you have not notice soon enough to do this, try
to meet me to-morrow se'nnight at the New Passage, 1 unless
you can get a passage by the weekly boat to Swansea. If it
be possible, do not fail.
It may be, this may be the beginning of a lasting friendship between you and, dear Tommy, your affectionate friend
and brother.
DEAR TOMMY,—Now

If you come, you are to act as assistant.

' Does Nobody care for this ?'
These letters to some preachers of the rank and file may
be closed by Wesley's appeal on behalf of one of them.
As here seen, Wesley directed, trained, and controlled his
preachers with discrimination, firmness, and patience, and
when it was deserved he administered sharp discipline. But
he was not a martinet. He was considerate, and never cast
any aside. As Napoleon said,' We were at Toulon together,'
as reason for response to frequent appeals, so Wesley felt
and urged the claim of his helpers to grateful remembrance ;
even when, as in this case of William Shent, they had fallen
into sin and, under its grim shadow, suffering. Shent was a
1

234

I.e. over the River Severn, now called Redwick, near Bristol.

TO WRIDE AND OTHERS
Leeds barber, who was for many years a 6 half-itinerant'
preacher. Happy man to have Wesley as advocate in such
a brief as this letter ! I t is unequalled in its kind. Wesley
also proposed to give as much help as any Leeds Methodist
gave, and he found Shent a post at his London bookroom.
To the Methodist Society in Keighley.
LONDON, January 11^ 1779.
I have a few questions, which I desire may be proposed to
the society at Keighley.
Who was the occasion of the Methodist preachers first
setting foot in Leeds ? William Shent.
Who received John Nelson into his house at his first
coming thither ? William Shent.
Who was it that invited me, and received me when I
came ? William Shent.
Who was it that stood by me when I preached in the
street, with stones flying on every side ? William Shent.
Who was it that bore the storm of persecution for the
whole town, and stemmed it at the peril of his own life ?
William Shent.
Whose word did God bless for many years in an eminent
manner? William Shent's.
By whom were many children now in Paradise begotten
in the Lord, and many now alive ? William Shent.
Who is he that is ready now to be broken up and turned
into the street ? William Shent.
And does nobody care for this ? William Shent fell into
sin, and was publicly expelled the society; but must he be
also starved ? Must he with his grey hairs and all his children be without a place to lay his head ? Can you suffer
this ? Oh, tell it not in Gath ! Where is gratitude ?
Where is compassion ? Where is Christianity ? Where is
humanity ? Where is concern for the cause of God ? Who
235

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
is a wise man among you ? Who is concerned for the
Gospel? Who has put on bowels of mercy? Let him
arise and exert himself in this matter. You here all arise
as one man, and roll away the reproach. Let us set him on
his feet once more. I t may save both him and his family.
But what we do, let it be done quickly.
I am, dear brethren, your affectionate brother.

236

CHAPTER VII
TO AMERICAN AND CANADIAN METHODISTS
AND CONCERNING THEM
has a peculiar proprietary claim on Wesley's
memory,' said President Roosevelt on the bi-centenary of
Wesley's birth (1903), ' for it is on our continent that the
Methodist Church has received its greatest development.'
The first Conference after Wesley's death (1791) recorded
that in the United States there were 57,621 Methodist
members, and 6,525 in Canada and the West Indies. 1
The letters of this chapter were sent by Wesley to some
of those who laid the lines for this vast, ever-growing work
in the North American continent. They are here given in
chronological order, and form an almost continuous series of
Wesley's messages, with one significant interval, until his
death. They have not before been gathered together.
Some are new or little known.
Methodism began in America in 1766 by the work of
Irish emigrants—Mrs. Barbara Heck and Philip Embury
in New York, and Robert Strawbridge in Maryland. Rays
before this sunrise came from the early work of Wesley
himself in Georgia in 1735, and of Whitefield in 1739 and
onwards. The ]attersaid,' The good John Wesley has done
in America is inexpressible. His name is very precious
among the people, and he has laid a foundation.' Nathanael
Gilbert is sometimes styled ' the first Methodist in America.'

'AMERICA

1
Minutes, 1791, 1812 ed., vol. i. p. 244.
enrolled members in United States, 7,640,098
Canada more than one-seventh of the entire
adherents. 6 Census of 1911, 14*99 per cent, of
Year-Book) p. 201, New York, 1915).

Statistics for 1914 were:
; in Canada, 359,137. In
population arc Methodist
the population ' {Methodist

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
He visited Wesley in England, and, returning to his home
in Antigua, West Indies, in 1759, began the work there.
The earliest of Wesley's letters we trace to workers in this
great western sphere is one to Lawrence Coughlan.
It
suitably stands first, for Coughlan was in Newfoundland,
Canada, in 1765, 1 and probably began Methodist work there
rather earlier than Embury did in New York (1766). One
of Wesley's Irish preachers, and ordained by a Greek bishop,
Coughlan was re-ordained by the Bishop of London, and
resumed work in Newfoundland in 1767 as a missionary of
the Church of England Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel in Foreign Parts. However, he was always a
Methodist in teaching and practice; as he wrote later to
Wesley, ' I am and do confess myself a Methodist.'
6

That Perfection which I have taught these Forty
Years.'

In this beautiful and trenchant letter Wesley instructs
Coughlan on the Methodist doctrine of Christian Perfection.
This was to receive luminous exposition and exemplification
among transatlantic Methodists.
To the Rev, Lawrence Coughlan.
August, 1768.

DEAR LAWRENCE,—By a various train of providences you
have been led to the very place where God intended you
should be. And you have reason to praise Him, that He
has not suffered your labour there to be in vain. In a short
time how little will it signify whether we had lived in the
Summer Islands or beneath
e

The rage of Arctos and eternal frost !' 2

1
See Coughlan's Work of God in Newfoundland, Sutherland's Methodism
in Canada, and Atmore's Memorial.
2
Wesley is thinking of Coughlan's winter conditions, and quotes from
Prior's Solomon, i. 266 :
* If any suffer on the polar coast
The;rage of Arctos and eternal frost.5
Samuel Wesley, Jun., and John and Charles Wesley were great admirers

238

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
How soon will this dream of life be at an end! And when
we are once landed in eternity, it will be all one whether we
spent our time on earth in a palace or had not where to lay
our head.
You never learned, either from my conversation, or
preaching, or writings, that ' holiness consisted in a flow of
joy.' I constantly told you quite the contrary; I told you
it was love; the love of God and of our neighbour; the
image of God stamped on the heart; the life of God in the
soul of man; the mind that was in Christ, enabling us to walk
as Christ also walked. If Mr. Maxfield, or you, took it to
be anything else, it was your own fault, not mine. And
whenever you waked out of that dream you ought not to
have laid the blame of it on me. It is true that joy is one
part of c the fruit of the Spirit," of the kingdom of God
within us. But this is first ' righteousness,' then ' peace," and
'joy in the Holy Ghost." It is true further, that if you love
God ' with all your heart" you may 'rejoice evermore."
Nay, it is true still further, that many serious, humble,
sober-minded believers who do feel the love of God sometimes, and do then rejoice in God their Saviour, cannot be
content with this; but pray continually, that He would
enable them to love, and * rejoice in the Lord always.'
And no fact under heaven is more undeniable, than that
God does answer this prayer; that He does, for the sake of
His Son, and through the power of His Spirit, enable one
and another so to do. It is also a plain fact, that this
power does commonly overshadow them in an instant; and
that from that time they enjoy that inward and outward
holiness to which they were utter strangers before. Possibly
you might be mistaken in this; perhaps you thought you
of Prior, and wrought up many of his phrases into their poems and hymns.
See many references in articles, 'Wesleyan Hymn-Book Illustrated/ by
J. W. Thomas, in Wesleyan Methodist Magazine; 1871 et seq, ; and Rev.
Henry Bett's Hymns of Methodism in their Literary Relations.

289

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
had received what you had not. But pray do not measure
all men by yourself; do not imagine you are the universal
standard. If you deceived yourself (which yet I do not
affirm), you should not infer that all others do. Many
think they are justified and are not; but we cannot infer
that none are justified. So neither, if many think they are
' perfected in love/ and are not, will it follow that none are,
so. Blessed be God, though we set a hundred enthusiasts
aside, we are still ' encompassed with a cloud of witnesses/
who have testified, and do testify, in life and death, that
perfection which I have taught these forty years! This
perfection cannot be a delusion unless the Bible be a delusion
too ; I mean, 6 loving God with all our heart, and our
neighbour as ourselves.' I pin down all its opposers to this
definition of it. No evasion! No shifting the question!
Where is the delusion of this ? Either you received this
love or you did not. If you did, dare you call it a delusion ?
You will not call it so for all the world. If you received
anything else, it does not at all affect the question. Be it
as much a delusion as you please, it is nothing to them who
have received quite another thing, namely, that deep communion with the Father and the Son, whereby they are
enabled to give Him their whole heart; to love every man
as their own soul, and to walk as Christ also walked.
O Lawrence, if Sister Coughlan and you ever did enjoy
this, humble yourselves before God for casting it away; if
you did not, God grant you may !

< I may pay another Visit to the New World/
At the next Methodist Conference (1769) Wesley said,
We have a pressing call from our brethren at New York
(who have built a preaching-house1) to come over and help

4

1

240

Wesley sent money, books, and a clock—a characteristic gift.

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
them. Who is willing to go ?' Two preachers, Joseph
Pilmoor and Richard Boardman, 1 volunteered, were appointed and sent, and a collection was made to assist their
work. On reaching Philadelphia, Captain Thomas Webb
and a hundred Methodists welcomed them. W e b b 2 was
from Bristol, the western port and gate of England, by this
and many events closely associated with the New World.
Portland Chapel in that city keeps, his memory green.
There and in America he was a powerful Methodist preacher
and pioneer. Professor J. A. Faulkner 3 declares that 'aside
from the mere question of priority, this old soldier must be
considered the principal founder of the American Methodist
Church.'
Aggressive Christianity in the New World had now again
the powerful aid of George Whitefield.4 He was on his
seventh and last preaching tour in America. Wesley's
hopes here expressed were doomed to disappointment.
Whitefield died at Newburyport, thirty-five miles from
Boston, Mass., on September SO following this letter, and
was buried there. 5 The counsels here given by Wesley to
his dear friend and old time leader in the transforming
open-air work of early Methodism, concerning efforts for
Christ's little ones and the ethics of philanthropic finance
are weighty. Wesley wished strongly to visit his workers
in America. He never did so. England needed him ; and
he knew that his friends, had he breathed his purpose,
would have lovingly prevented him. ' If I go to America,''
he said, ' I must do a thing which I hate as bad as I hate the
devil.' ' What is that ?' he was asked. ' I must keep a
secret? was his reply.
1

See Lockwood's Western Pioneers—'based on Pilmoor's Journals.
See below, p. 244. Wesley's letter to Pitt on his behalf is given on
p. 483.
8
In A New History of Methodism, vol. ii. p. 59.
4
See above, p. 102.
8
In the Old South Presbyterian Church, Newburyport, Mass. ' I envy
America the possession of the remains of dear George Whitefield ; but
perhaps it is appropriate that while England claims the dust of Wesley, the
great republic should be the guardian of the dust of his holy brother.' An
* Englishman,' quoted by Rev. T. E. Brigden in Hurst's History of
Methodism, p. 842.
2

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
To Rev. George Whitefield.
LEWISHAM, February 2 1 , 1770.

Keen informed me some time
since of your safe arrival in Carolina; of which, indeed, I
could not doubt for a moment, notwithstanding the idle
report of your having been cast away, which was so current
in London. I trust our Lord has more work for you to do
in Europe, as well as in America. And who knows but
before your return to England, I may pay another visit to
the New World ? I have been strongly solicited by several
of our friends in New York and Philadelphia. They urge
many reasons, some of which appear to be of considerable
weight; and my age is no objection at all; for I bless God
my health is not barely as good, but abundantly better in
several respects, than when I was five-and-twenty. But
there are so many reasons on the other side, that, as yet, I
can determine nothing; so I must wait for further light.
Here I am ; let the Lord do with me as seemeth Him good.
For the present, I must beg of you to supply my lack of
service by encouraging our preachers as you judge best
(who are as yet comparatively young and inexperienced), by
giving them such advices as you think proper; and, above
all, by exhorting them not only to love one another, but, if
possible, as much as lies in them, to live peaceably with all
men.
Some time ago, since you went hence, I heard a circumstance which gave me a good deal of concern, namely, that
the college or academy in Georgia had swallowed up the
orphan house. Shall I give my judgement without being
asked ? Methinks, friendship requires that I should. Are
there not then two points which come in view ? a point of
mercy and a point of justice ? With respect to the former,
may it not be inquired, Can anything on earth be a greater
24$
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—Mr.

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
charity than to bring up orphans ? What is a college or
an academy compared to this ? unless you could have such
a college as perhaps is not upon earth. I know the value
of learning, and am more in danger of prizing it too much
than too little; but still, I cannot place the giving it to
five hundred students on a level with saving the bodies, if
not the souls too, of five hundred orphans. But let us pass
from the point of mercy to that of justice. You had land
given, and collected money, for an orphan house. Are you
at liberty to apply this to any other purpose ? at least,
while there are any orphans in Georgia left ? I just touch
upon this, though it is an important point, and leave it to
your own consideration, whether part of it, at least, might
not properly be applied to carry on the original design ?
In speaking thus freely, on so tender a subject, I have given
you a fresh proof of the sincerity with which
I am.
Your ever affectionate friend and brother.
€

I let you loose on the great Continent of America.'

To another loud call for help in America in 1771, Wesley
sent Richard Wright and Francis Asbury. The former
did little there; Asbury became the Wesley of America.
From the tiny port of Pill, near Bristol, with a suit of
clothes and i?10 given by kindly Methodists of that
city, he started for the far-spreading sphere where he would
be in heroic journeyings, often long and perilous, and
discharge the duties of overseer and wise, loving ruler with
such devotion as won for him a place among the chiefest of
the apostles.1 Ripe experience and more than a little
masterfulness in Thomas Rankin, and choice gifts and a
gracious temper in George Shadford, were sent to this work
in 1773. Dr. J. M. Buckley says, ' There is nothing in the
1
See The Heart of Asbury1}sJournal, by President E« S, Tipple, Ph.D.,
D.D.,LL.D.

248

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
records of early Methodism which exhibits the sublimity
of the conceptions of Wesley concerning the work and
his relation to it more dramatically than his letter to
Shadford.''
To George Shadford.
[March], 1773.
time is arrived for you to embark
for America. You must go down to Bristol, where you will
meet with Thomas Rankin, Captain Webb and his wife.
I let you loose, George, on the great continent of
America. Publish your message in the open face of the
sun, and do all the good you can.
I am, dear George,
Yours affectionately.
DEAR GEORGE,—-The

6

Go on hand in hand, . . . trusting in Him that
loves you, to overturn America.'

Where is Captain Webb ? Wesley asks. I t was an anxious
time for British soldiers. This was the month of the Tea
Riots in Boston. The foolish insistence by Great Britain
on taxation without representation led to riot and rebellion,
and at length to the assertion of American Independence.
Moreover, many American Methodists were anticipating
the liberty Wesley afterwards granted. They claimed the
sacrament at the hands of their ministers, and were adapting
their plans to the novel and clamant needs of their work.
In this new letter, from the Everett Collection, Wesley
counsels Rankin, resident at Philadelphia, and superintendent of the American work. He had presided at the first
Conference of American Methodists held on the 14th July
of this year. The second Conference Wesley refers to in his
letter next to this.
Robert Williams 1 is distinguished as the first publisher
of Meohodist literature in America, where that arm of the
1

244

A New History of Methodism> vol. ii. pp. 6$, 74.

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
church was to become mighty indeed. 1 He began by issuing
some of Wesley's Servians; now he is to publish the famous
Notes on the New Testament
To Thomas Rankin.
LONDON, December 4, 1773.

Webb does not wilfully tell lies,
but he speaks incautiously, so that we must make large
allowance for this whenever he speaks, otherwise we shall be
deceived. But where is he now, and what is he doing ? I
fear his wife will have need of patience. ,
If you suffer anyone to remain a leader who does not stay
at the society, that will be your fault. Improper leaders
are not to be suffered upon any account whatever. You
must likewise deal honestly with the societies, whether they
will hear, or whether they will forbear. Only do not tell
them continually ' You are de,ad,' for that will surely make
them so. Endeavour to quicken their hope, by speaking
strongly, and at the same time cheerfully. Exhort them to
look for better days, yea, such as they have never seen yet.
I judge George Shadford will do good at New York. So
would Robert Williams for a little time.
You have hurt yourself by giving way to reasoning, and,
if you don't take care, you will hurt others. There has
been good, much good done in America, and would have
been abundantly more had brothers Boardman and Pilmoor
continued genuine Methodists, both in doctrine and discipline. It is your part to supply what was wanting in
them. Therefore are you sent. Let brothers Shadford,
Asbury, and you go on hand in hand, and who can stand
against you ? Why, you are enough, trusting in Him that
loves you, to overturn America. Go on in His name and in
DEAR TOMMY,—-Captain

1
Militant Methodism, p. 232 (New York : Methodist Book Concern),
and my article, 'Impressions of Transatlantic Methodism,' United Meth.
Mag., 1915, p. 153.

245

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
the power of His might, and all your enemies shall be found
liars.
Read David Brainerd again, and see your pattern ! He
was a good soldier of Jesus. Ah ! but he first suffered, and
then saw the fruit of his labour. Go and do likewise !
I have written to Robert Williams and given him leave
to print the Notes on my account; nothing on his own. I
never knew he did till afterward.
Be of good courage! Strengthen yourself in the Lord
and you will see good days, and will send better news to,
dear Tommy, your affectionate friend and brother.'
4

Your little Conference in Philadelphia.5
To Thomas RanJcm.
EPWORTH, July 21,

1774.

yours of May 80th, you give me an
agreeable account of your little Conference in Philadelphia.
I think G. Shadford and you desire no novelties, but love
good old Methodist discipline and doctrine.
I have been lately thinking a good deal on one point
wherein, perhaps, we have all been wanting. We have not
made it a rule, as soon as ever persons were justified, to
remind them of going on to perfection. Whereas, this is
the very time preferable to all others. They have then the
simplicity of little children ; and they are fervent in spirit,
ready to cut off the right hand, or pluck out the right eye.
But, if we once suffer this fervour to subside, we shall find
it hard enough to bring them again to this point.—I am,
your affectionate friend and brother.
DEAR TOMMY,—In

Letters to Rankin and others in a critical Year.
The following seven letters to Thomas Rankin, two
to James Dempster, one to John King, and one to
246

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
6

All the Preachers' were all sent in that troublous year,
1775. In England, Chatham's pleadings and plans
for conciliating the New England colonists were rejected.
Americans, under George Washington, besieged Boston,
and fought victoriously the battle of Bunker's Hill, Boston.
In the next year they signed the Declaration of Independence. One of the noblest and most powerful of all Wesley's
letters was sent by him at this crisis to the Premier, Lord
North, 1 advising gentle measures and predicting the results
of harsher ones, which, unfortunately, were adopted. But
Wesley read a foolish pamphlet by Dr. Samuel Johnson, for
once a martinet or worse, entitled Taxation no Tyranny.
This changed Wesley's views. He issued it under the
curious title, A Calm Address to our American Colonies.
It had much influence,2 and a large circulation. In the last
of these letters to Rankin (page 255) he refers with annoyance to this popularity. His pamphlet and new attitude
involved him in a rancorous controversy, and brought peril
to his preachers and followers in America. He hoped to
undo some of the mischief by ' an interview with a great
man'—probably Lord North. Certainly the letter above
referred to was sent to him during these historic events.
I t was good that Asbury either did not know, or declined
to obey Wesley's requests backed by Rankin's arrangements,
that he should return to England at this crisis. Had he
done so, American Methodism would have been very different,
most probably sadly other than it is.
Who was i poor T. R.' ? His sad figure is drawn again
and again in these letters. Wesley's love for human souls
was that divine combination of undying interest in all and
in each. He was in the midst of national and international
turmoil, and writes for thousands of his followers in Rankin's
charge; but Wesley is tenderly solicitous for one lost sheep,
and with Christlike patience, never despairing, he sends the
under shepherd after it and is sure it will yet be brought
1
2

Given below, p. 473.
The Government ordered copies to be given away at church doors in
London, and a high officer of State proffered services to Wesley or his
people, and left behind him ^ 5 0 from the Privy Purse.—Tyerman's
Wesley, vol. iii. p. 191.

247

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
home with rejoicing. A pearl is that word by Wesley (page
256): ' nothing but his despair of conquering can utterly
destroy him.'

' I advise Brother Asbury to return to England.'
To Thomas Rankin,
LONDON, March 1, 1775.
DEAR TOMMY,—I think the March packet will do as well

as the April packet; so I answer you without delay.
As soon as possible you must come to a clear and full
explanation, both with brother Asbury (if he be recovered)
and with Jemmy Dempster. But I advise brother Asbury
to return to England the first opportunity.
There is now a probability that God will hear the prayer
and turn the counsels of Ahithophel into foolishness. It
is not unlikely that peace will be re-established between
England and the colonies. But certainly the present
doubtful situation of affairs may be improved to the benefit
of many. They may be strongly incited now ' to break off
their sins by repentance, if it may be a lengthening of their
tranquillity.''—I am, my dear Tommy, your affectionate
friend and brother.
P.$.—To-morrow I intend to set out for Ireland.
€

In so critical a Situation . . . it is your Part to
be Peacemakers.'
To all the Preachers.
LONDON, March 1, 1775.
M Y DEAR BRETHREN,—You were never in your lives in so

critical a situation as you are at this time. It is your part
to be peacemakers; to be loving and tender to all; but to
348

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
addict yourselves to no party. In spite of all solicitations,
of rough or smooth words, say not one word against one or
the other side. Keep yourselves pure; do all you can to
help and soften all; but beware how you adopt another's
jar.
See that you act in full union with each other: this is of
the utmost consequence. Not only let there be no bitterness
or anger, but no shyness or coldness, between you. Mark all
those that would set one of you against the other. Some
such will never be wanting. But give them no countenance;
rather ferret them out, and drag them into open day.
The conduct of T. Rankin has been suitable to the
MetliTodist plan ; I hope all of you tread in his steps. Let
your eye be single. Be in peace with each other, and the
God of peace will be with you.—I am, my dear brethren,
your affectionate brother.

' I am sorry for poor T. R.?
To Thomas RanJrin.
PORTARLINGTON, April

2 1 , 1775.

am glad there is so good an understanding between Jemmy Dempster and you. He is an
upright man, and unless I am much mistaken, a friend
both to the Methodist doctrine and discipline.
I am sorry for poor T. R. It is certain God did lift up
his head; and I hoped that his besetting sin would no more
gain dominion over him. However, you must in no.wise
give him up. And he has much more need of comfort than
of reproof. His great danger is despair.
Brother Asbury has sent me a few lines, and I thank him
for them. But I do not advise him to go to Ai?tigua. Let
him come home without delay. If one or two stout, healthy
young men would willingly offer themselves to that service
849
DEAR TOMMY,—I

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
I should have no objection; but none should go unless he
was fully persuaded in his own mind.
You are a bold man, Tommy, to commence author in
these critical times. I wish the success may answer your
expectation; there is a call for every help. I am afraid
you will soon find a day of trial; the clouds are black both
over England and America, and if the storm once begins in
America, it will soon spread to Great Britain.
I have a friendly letter from ——, who writes warmly
against the
. Pray remember my love to him and his
wife. I am glad to find he is still walking in the good
old way. He sends me word that one or two men of fortune
are gone out to preach the gospel. If they are, I expect
little from them. God hath chosen the weak to confound
the strong.—I am, dear Tommy, your affectionate friend
and brother.

' Wherever War breaks out, God is forgotten.'
To Thomas

Rankin.
BALLINROBE, May 19, 1775.

letters travel very slow from us to
America is a great inconvenience. But it is a still greater,
that they travel so uncertainly; sometimes reaching you too
late, sometimes not at all.
I doubt not but brother Asbury and you will part friends:
I shall hope to see him at the Conference. He is quite an
upright man. I apprehend, he will go through his work
more cheerfully when he is within a little distance from me.
We must speak the plain truth, wherever we are, whether
men will hear or whether they will forbear. And among
our societies we must enforce our Rules, with all mildness
and steadiness. A t first, this must appear strange to those
who are as bullocks unaccustomed to the yoke. But after a
250
DEAR TOMMY,—That

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
time, all that desire to be real Christians see the advantage
of it.
I am afraid Mr. B - — - is a weak brother, a little enlightened in his understanding, and having a kind of faith. But
I would rather (of the two) be in the case of poor T. R.
than of him. I think there is more probability of his being
a real Christian, than of the other's.
Never was there a time when it was more necessary for
all that fear God, both in England and America, to stir
up the gift of God that is in them, and wrestle with God in
mighty prayer. In all the other judgements of God, the
inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness. When a land
is visited with famine, or plague, or earthquake, the people
commonly see and acknowledge the hand of God. But
wherever war breaks out, God is forgotten, if He be not set
at open defiance. What a glorious work of God was at
Cambuslang and Kilsythe, from 1740 to 1744! But the
war that followed tore it all up by the roots, and left scarce
any trace of it behind; insomuch that when I diligently
enquired a few years after, I could not find one that
retained the life of God!—I am, my dear Tommy, your
affectionate friend and brother.

' By every possible means, oppose a Party Spirit.'
Two letters to James Dempster, a preacher whom Wesley
called out in 1765 and who was now in America, give
counsel like that urged upon Rankin and all the preachers.
Dempster, like Asbury, found Rankin's rule somewhat
irksome, as Wesley's letters to the latter show.
As in the letters of August 13 and October £0, Wesley
here makes striking reference to his all but fatal attack of
fever in June of this year. For three days he was very near
death; indeed his decease was announced. It was one of
many illnesses he suffered.1
1

See above, p. 7.

251

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
To James Dempster.
BALLINROBE, May 19, 1775.
DEAR JEMMY,-—That one point, I earnestly recommend,

both to brother Rankin and you and all our preachers—by
prayer, by exhortation, and by every possible means, to
oppose a party spirit. This has always, so far as it has
prevailed, been the bane of all true religion ; more especially
when a country was in such a situation as America is now.
None but the God of almighty love can extricate the people
out of the snare. O what need have you to besiege His
throne with all the power of prayer.—I am, dear Jemmy,
yours affectionately.

' I was at the Gates of Death/
To James Dempster.
Near LEEDS, July 28, 1775.
DEAR JEMMY,—Last month I was at the gates of death.
But it pleased God just then to rebuke the fever, so that
my pulse began to beat again, after it had totally ceased.
Since that time I have gradually been recovering strength,
and am now nearly as well as ever. Let us use the short
residue of life to the glory of Him that gave it!—I am,
yours affectionately.

' Scream no more, at the Peril of your Soul!'
From general dangers which threatened the work in
America, Wesley turns in this famous racy letter to those
which affected John King, one of the eleven preachers
appointed to labour under Rankin there. 1 Wesley was a
less emotional preacher than his brother Charles, less
1
Curiously, Asbury is not named at all in the Minutes of Wesley's Conference at Leeds this year : 1812 edit., i.

252

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
vehement than Whitefield, and had proved the power of
controlled, burning zeal.
To Mr. John King.
Near LEEDS, July 28, 1775.
take advice or reproof as a
favour : it is the surest mark of love.
I advised you once, and you took it as an affront:
nevertheless I will do it once more.
Scream no more, at the peril of your soul. God now
warns you by me, whom He has set over you. Speak as
earnestly as you can, but do not scream. Speak with all
your heart; but with a moderate voice. It was said of our
Lord, ' He shall not cry"*-, the word properly means, He
shall not scream. Herein be a follower of me, as I am of
Christ. I often speak loud ; often vehemently; but I never
scream; I never strain myself; I dare n o t ; I know it would
be a sin against God and my own soul. Perhaps one reason
why that good man, Thomas Walsh, yea and John Manners
too, were in such grievous darkness before they died, was
because they shortened their own lives.
O John, pray for an advisable and teachable temper ! By
nature you are very far from i t : you are stubborn and headstrong. Your last letter was written in a very wrong spirit.
If you cannot take advice from others, surely you might
take it from your affectionate brother.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—Always

* It will be seen what God will do with North
America.'
To Thomas Rankin.
LONDON, August 13, 1775.
DEAR TOMMY,—I

do not give up T. R. yet; he is not out

of God's reach.
253

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
I am not sorry that brother Asbury stays with you another
year. In that time it will be seen what God will do with
North America; and you will easily j udge whether our
preachers are called to remain any longer therein. If they
are, God will make their way plain, and give them favour
even with the men that delight in war. In the civil wars of
Rome, Atticus stood fair in the esteem of both the contending
parties. And so did the Archbishop of Cambray, during
the war in the Netherlands; not only the officers, but the
common soldiers, when they went by, treating him with love
and regard. The clouds do indeed gather more and more ;
and it seems a heavy storm will follow; certainly it will,
unless the prayers of the faithful obtain a longer reprieve.
A few weeks ago, I was at the gates of death, in the
north of Ireland. But
6

The fever felt His touch, and fled';

and I am now just as I was before it came.
You did well to remove the books into a place of safety ;
if any such can be found in America. I t is no wonder that
the spirits of the men who know not God are sharpened into
madness, that human creatures become lions and bears. This
is the genuine fruit of war !
Certainly, if they persecute you in one city, you should
flee to another. Peace be with your spirit!—I am, dear
Tommys your affectionate friend and brother.

* A little Tract. . . . Many would willingly burn
me and it together.'
To Thomas Rcmkm.
LONDON, October 20, 1775.
DEAR TOMMY,—The account given in our newspapers of

my death was not wholly without foundation; for I was only
254

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
not dead, my pulse being quite gone, and 6 the wheel at the
cistern without motion.' But then our Lord stepped in, and
'The fever owned His touch, and fled/
My strength returned by swift degrees; and I am now at
least as well as before my illness.
In the country places I believe you will have the largest
harvest, where they know little and talk little about politics.
Their hearts are engaged with something better, and they let
the dead bury their dead. I am glad you are going into
North Carolina; and why not into South Carolina too ? I
apprehend those provinces would bear much fruit, as most
parts of them are fresh, unbroken ground. And as the
people are farther removed from the din of war, they may be
more susceptible of the gospel of peace.
A paper was sent to me lately, occasioned by the troubles
in America; but it would not do good. I t is abundantly
too t a r t ; and nothing of that kind will be of service now.
All parties are already too much sharpened against each
other. We must pour water, not oil, into the flame. I had
written a little tract upon the subject before I knew the
American ports were shut up. I think there is not one
sharp word therein; I did not design there should be.
However, many are excessively angry; and would willingly
burn me and it together. Indeed it is provoking; I suppose
above forty thousand of them have been printed in three
weeks, and still the demand for them is as great as
ever.
I was glad to receive yours by Captain Crawford. I am
entirely of your mind. I am persuaded love and tender
measures will do far more than violence. And if I should
have an interview with a great man (which seems to be not
unlikely) I will, by the grace of God, tell him so, without
any circumlocution. Our time is in God's hands: let us
255

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
stand ready for all things !—I am, dear Tommy, your affectionate friend and brother.

'The Sword is drawn . . . appoint in America Days
of Fasting and Prayer.'
Two days later Wesley suggested something like this in
his letter to the British Premier.
To Thomas RanMn.
CLANMAIN 5 near ARMAGH^

June 13, 1775.
DEAR TOMMY,—I am afraid our correspondence for the

time to come will be more uncertain than ever; since the
sword is drawn. And it is well if they have not on both
sides thrown away the scabbard. What will the end of
these things be, either in Europe or America ? I t seems
huge confusion and distress, such as neither we nor our
fathers had known ! But it is enough, if all issues in glory
to God, and peace and good-will among men.
I am sorry for poor T. R. I well hoped God had
thoroughly healed his backsliding, and so lifted up his
head that he would have fallen no more. But the case
is not desperate yet. You must in nowise give him up. I
have scarcely ever known an habitual drunkard finally reclaimed before he had relapsed more than once or twice.
Your point is, first, save him from the occasions of sin;
then incite him not to cast away hope. Nothing but his
despair of conquering can totally destroy him. As long as
he keeps up the faintest hope, he will strive against sin.
My brother wrote me word that he had received a copy of
the tract that you have written. Something of the kind
may be very seasonable. Never had America such a call to
repentance. For unless general reformation prevent general
destruction, what a scene will soon be opened! Ruin and
256

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
desolation must soon overspread the land, and fair houses be
turned into ruinous heaps. But what are those strange
phenomena which you speak of? Send me an account of
just so much as you can depend upon.
Should not you appoint in America (as we do in England
and Ireland) one or more general days of fasting and
prayer ?—I am, dear Tommy, your affectionate friend and
brother.

' The Temple is built even in troublous Times.'
Wesley's fears that God might be utterly forgotten in
war time were not all fulfilled ; but the gains were mainly
in districts not much affected by the war. In England,
Wesley was busy as ever at his proper work, but he was
often drawn into the vortex of public affairs during the
next few years. As in 1756, 1 he offered to raise some
soldiers to aid the king. Writing to Joseph Benson in
1782, he told him that he did this * two or three years ago."
This was probably in 1779, when France, Spain, and
America were all in arms against Britain. It was proposed that the militia should be doubled. By the king's
order the Secretary of State for War replied to Wesley that
it was not necessary for him to do as he offers in this letter;
if ever it should be necessary, the king would inform
Wesley.2
To Thomas Rankin.
Near LEEDS, July 28, 1775.
DEAR TOMMY,—I rejoice to hear that the work of our
Lord still prospers in your hands. If the temple is built
even in troublous times, it is not by the power of man.
I rejoice too over honest Francis Asbury, and hope he will
no more enter into temptation. Do not despair of poor
1
2

See below, p. 470.
The Methodists did raise a company of soldiers in Bristol early in the
next century.—-Journal, note, vol. iv. p. 151.
E
257

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
T. R. He is not out of God's reach yet. I know no
reason why we should not print the names of the American
preachers. You may print an edition of the Christian's
Pattern,1 and apply the profits of it to the payment of the
debt. The societies should pay the passage of the preachers.
But you must not imagine that any more of them will come
to America until these troubles are at an end.
Certainly this is the point which we should insist upon,
in season and out of season. The universal corruption of
all orders and degrees of men loudly calls for the vengeance
of God : Inasmuch as all other nations are equally corrupt,
it seems God will punish us by one another. What can
prevent this but a universal, or, at least, a general repentance? Otherwise we have great reason to fear God will
soon say, ' Sword, go through that land, and destroy it.**
Those clergymen should be lovingly advised not to hurt
our preachers. I will pay your arrears. We have only to
live to-day! God will take care of to-morrow.—I am, dear
Tommy, your affectionate friend and brother.
6

1 have great Hopes we shall then be able to send
you Assistance.'

These letters here suffer interruption, as did the work of
Wesley's followers in America, in consequence of the revolutionary war. Wesley made no appointments of preachers to
this field from 1776, the year of the Declaration of Independence, until 1784, when they read thus in the Minutes
of his Conference : ' America—Thomas Coke, Richard Whatcoat, T. Vasey.' As the war proceeded, the clergy of the
church, and Rankin, and the Methodist preachers fled back
to England—all except Asbury. He, sometimes in hiding,
was waiting his chance to rebuild and extend Methodism,
1
Or A Treatise of the Imitation ofChrist,Wesley's version of De Imitatione
Christi, by Thomas a Kempis; Wesley's third publication, first issued in
1735j and always very freely circulated by him.

258

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
and to serve the young struggling nation. His supremacy
in the work was declared by the American Methodist Conference of 1779.
Meanwhile, in parts of the field remote from the war,
Methodism grew rapidly. In Nova Scotia, a young Yorkshireman, William Black,1 had gathered a goodly Methodist
fellowship, and was anxious that Wesley would send other
preachers to his aid. We give ten letters which Wesley sent
to him. Later he became Methodist superintendent of the
maritime provinces—Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. The vigorous letter written by Wesley in this
connection to Bishop Lowth is given above (page 1^7). The
4
pious man' whom he refused to ordain was John Hoskins,
a schoolmaster, whose ordination the people of Old Perlican,
Newfoundland, requested through Wesley in I778-79. 2
Wesley cannot be accused of rashness. Gradually he was
forced towards the decisive act of ordaining some of his
preachers. The first of those so set apart were for this else
neglected and pitifully needy American work. A minor
difficulty, which Wesley frequently notes in his own administration of it, was the uncertainty of the postal service.
To William Black.
LONDON, February 2Q, 1783.

did indeed very strongly expostulate with the Bishop of London concerning his refusing to
ordain a pious man, without learning, while he ordained
others that, to my knowledge, had no piety, and but a
moderate share of learning.
Our next Conference will begin in July ; and I have great
hopes we shall then be able to send you assistance. One of
our preachers informs me he is willing to go to any part of
Africa or America. He does not regard danger or toil,
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—I

1
His first letter to Wesley, a fine record of Christian effort by a youth of
nineteen in his father's home at Amherst, Nova Scotia, is given by Wesley,
•Journal, April 15, 1782.
2
Sutherland's Methodism in Canada, p. 106.

259

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
nor, indeed, does he count his life dear unto himself, so that
he may testify the gospel of the grace of God, and win
sinners to Christ. But I cannot advise any person to go
alone. Our Lord sent his disciples two and two. And I
do not despair of finding another young man, as much
devoted to God as he.
Of Calvinism, mysticism, and antinomianism, have a care,
for they are the bane of true religion; and one or other of
them has been the grand hindrance of the work of God,
wherever it has broken out.—I am, my dear brother, yours
affectionately.
6

Swift Increase is generally followed by Decrease
equally swift.'
To William Black,
LONDON, July 13, 1783.

is a rule with me to answer all
letters which I receive. If, therefore, you have not received
an answer to every letter which you have written, it must
be either that your letter or my answer has been intercepted.
I do not wonder at all that, after that great and extraordinary work of God, there should be a remarkable decay.
So we have found it in almost all places. A swift increase
is generally followed by a decrease equally swift. All we
can do to prevent it is continually to exhort all who have
tasted that the Lord is gracious to remember our Lord's
words, ' Watch and ?pray that ye enter not into temptation.'
The school at Kingswood is exceeding full; nevertheless
there shall be room for you. And it is very probable, if
you should live to return to Halifax, you may carry one or
more preachers with you. I hope you will live as brethren,
260
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—It

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
and have a free and open intercourse with each other.—I
am, my dear brother, affectionately yours.

' See that ye fall not out by the Way.'
To William Black.
INVERNESS, May

11,

1784.

M Y DEAR BROTHER,—I am glad you have given a little
assistance to our brethren at Halifax, and along the coast.
There is no charity under heaven to be compared to this,—
the bringing light to the poor heathens that are called Christians, but, nevertheless, still sit in darkness and the shadow
of death. I am in great hopes that some of the emigrants
from New York are really alive to God. And, if so, they
will every way be a valuable acquisition to the province
where their lot is now cast.
There is no part of Calvinism or antinomianism which is
not fully answered in some part of our writings ; particularly
in the ' Preservative against Unsettled Notions in Religion.''l
I have no more to do with answering books. I t will be
sufficient if you recommend to Mr. Alline's friends some of
the tracts that are already written. As to himself, I fear
he is wiser in his own eyes than seven men that can render
a reason.
The work of God goes on with a steady pace in various
parts of England. But, still, the love of many will wax
cold, while many others are continually added to supply
their place. In the west of England, in Lancashire, and in
Yorkshire, God still mightily makes bare His arm. He
convinces many, justifies many, and many are perfected in
love.
My great advice to those who are united together, is,
Let brotherly love continue! See that ye fall not out by
1

A volume of 246 pages, published by Wesley in 1758.

261

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
the way ! Hold the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace! Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the
law of Christ!—I am, your affectionate brother.

'My Scruples are at an E n d . . . . I violate no Order
by appointing and sending Labourers into the
Harvest.'
Here is perhaps the most important and significant of all
Wesley's many letters. I t is at once a letter, a manifesto,
and an authority. I t records decisive acts which, with
others of which Wesley was author, constituted his followers
a church. Every word of this letter is significant, and has
been so regarded by Wesley's friends and critics. It is the
constitutional foundation of the great Methodist Churches
of America. Wesley took the grave steps referred to in
paragraph 4 of his letter quietly; 1 then he published this
record and justification of them in the Minutes of his Conference (1785). He added this note, ' If anyone is minded
to dispute concerning Diocesan Episcopacy, he may dispute.
But I have better work.' It was time for action. Asbury's
letter to Wesley pictured the spiritual destitution of North
America, and asked that ministers and preachers should be
sent. Coke co-operated with Wesley in carrying out the
aged leader's proposal and decision to ordain the preachers
here named for this work. Already an ordained clergyman,
Coke accepted ordination 2 as a superintendent of it, with
Asbury. The historic Conference of American Methodist
preachers held in Baltimore at Christmas 1784, with this
letter as authority and guide, constituted and organised
the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of
America.3 Coke and others duly ordained Asbury as
deacon, elder, and superintendent. This followed upon the
1
The ordinations look place in his room at Dr. Castleman's, 6 Dighton
Street, Bristol, very early on the morning of Sept. I, 1784.
2
For the text and a facsimile of the certificate of ordination see A New
History of Methodism > vol. ii. p. 84.
3
The name is said to have been suggested by one of the preachers, John
Dickens, a member of the Conference, formerly an Eton boy.

262

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
unanimous election of Coke and Asbury to the latter office,
without which Asbury declined to accept appointment to
it by Wesley.
To Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, and our Brethren in
North America.
BRISTOL, September 10, 1784.

By a very uncommon train of
providences many of the provinces of North America are
totally disjoined from their mother-country, and erected
into independent States. The English Government has no
authority over them, either civil or ecclesiastical, any more
than over the States of Holland. A civil authority is
exercised over them, partly, by the Congress, partly by the
provincial Assemblies. But no one either exercises or
claims any ecclesiastical authority at all. In this peculiar
situation some thousands of the inhabitants of the States
desire my advice; and in compliance with their desire I
have drawn up a little sketch.
% Lord King's ' Account of the Primitive Church' convinced me many years ago, 1 that bishops and presbyters are
the same order, and consequently have the same rights to
ordain. For many years I have been importuned, from
time to time, to exercise this right, by ordaining part of our
travelling preachers. But I have still refused, not only for
peace'' sake, but because I was determined as little as possible to violate the established order of the national Church
to which I belonged.
3. But the case is widely different between England and
North America. Here there are bishops who have a legal
jurisdiction : in America there are none, neither any parish
DEAR

BRETHREN,—1.

1
He read it on his way to Bristol on Monday, January 20, 1746. See his
Journal, in loc. The change in his views, which this book largely contributed
to, can be seen by comparing the above with those in his letter to Hall,
three weeks before reading it (see Wesley's Journal, vol. iii. p. 229).

263

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
ministers. So that for some hundred miles together, there
is none either to baptize, or to administer the Lord's
Supper. Here, therefore, my scruples are at an end ; and I
conceive myself at full liberty, as I violate no order, and
invade no man's right, by appointing and sending labourers
into the harvest.
4. I have accordingly appointed Dr. Coke and Mr. Francis
Asbury to be joint superintendents over our brethren in
North America; as also Richard Whatcoat and Thomas
Vasey to act as elders among them, by baptizing and
administering the Lord's Supper. And I have prepared a
liturgy, little differing from that of the Church of England
(I think the best constituted national Church in the world),
which I advise all the travelling preachers to use, on the
Lord's Day, in all the congregations, reading the Litany
only on Wednesdays and Fridays, and praying extempore
on all other days. I also advise the elders to administer
the Supper of the Lord on every Lord's Day.
5. If any one will point out a more rational and scriptural
way of feeding and guiding these poor sheep in the wilderness
I will gladly embrace it. A t present, I cannot see any better
method than that I have taken.
6. I t has, indeed, been proposed to desire the English
bishops to ordain part of our preachers for America. But
to this I object. (1) I desired the Bishop of London to
ordain only one; but could not prevail. (2) If they consented, we know the slowness of their proceedings; but the
matter admits of no delay. (3) If they would ordain them
now, they would likewise expect to govern them. And
how grievously would this entangle us ! (4) As our American brethren are now totally disentangled, both from the
State and from the English hierarchy, we dare not entangle
them again, either with the one or the other. They are
now at full liberty, simply to follow the Scriptures and the
264

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
Primitive Church. And we judge it best that they should
stand fast in that liberty, wherewith God has so strangely
made them free.

'Is it not advisable that you act by united Counsels ?'
Here Wesley seeks to knit up the work in the north-east
provinces of Canada with that in the United States, for
which Coke was carrying the constitution just given. As
here counselled, Black met Coke, attended the decisive Conference at Baltimore at Christmas 1784, and received financial and ministerial help for his heroic, work in Nova Scotia.
To John Stretton, an Irish Methodist, who has taken up
the work in Newfoundland, now that Coughlan has left it,
Wesley sends similar counsel and encouragement.
To William Black.
October 15., 1784.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—A letter of yours, some years ago,
gave me hopes of meeting you in England; as you seemed
desirous of spending some time here, to improve yourself in
learning. But, as you have now entered into a different
state, I do not expect we shall meet in this world. But
you have a large field of action where you are, without
wandering into Europe. Your present parish is wide
enough, namely, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. I do not
advise you to go any farther. In the United States, there
are abundance of preachers. They can spare four preachers
to you, better than you can spare one to them. If I am
rightly informed, they have already sent you one or two ;
and they may afford you one or two more, if it please God
to give a prosperous voyage to Dr. Coke and his fellowlabourers.
Does there not want a closer and more direct connection between you of the North, and the societies under
265
LONDON,

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Francis Asbury ? Is it not more advisable that you should
have a constant correspondence with each other, and act by
united counsels ? Perhaps it is for want of this that so
many have drawn back. I want a more particular account
of the societies in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. I am
not at all glad of Mr. Scurr's intention to remove from
Nova Scotia to the South. That is going from a place
where he is much wanted, to a place where he is not wanted.
I think, if he got i?10,000 thereby, it would be but a poor
bargain; that is, upon the supposition, which you and I
make, that souls are of more value than gold. Peace be
with all your spirits !—I am, your affectionate brother.

* Go on. . . . You shall want no Assistance.'
To Mr. John Stretton.
LONDON, February 2o} 1785.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—You did well in breaking through
that needless diffidence.
If you had written sooner, you
would have heard from me sooner. Although I have not
been at Limerick for some years, yet I remember your
father and mother well. They truly feared God when I
conversed with them. Be a follower of them, as they were
of Christ.
The last time I saw Mr. Coughlan he was ill in body,
but in a blessed state of mind. He was utterly broken in
pieces, full of tears and contrition for his past unfaithfulness.
Not long after I went out of town God removed him to a
better place.
If that deadly enemy of true religion, Popery, is breaking
in upon you, there is indeed no time to be lost; for it is far
easier to prevent the plague than to stop it. Last autumn
Dr. Coke sailed from England, and is now visiting the flock
$66

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
in the midland provinces of America, and settling them on
the New Testament plan, to which they all willingly and
joyfully conform, being all united, as by one Spirit, so in
one body. I trust they will no more want such pastors as
are after God's own heart. After he has gone through these
parts, he intends, if God permit, to see the brethren in
Nova Scotia, probably attended with one or two able
preachers, who will be willing to abide there. A day or
two ago, I wrote and desired him before he returns to
England, to call upon our brethren also in Newfoundland,
and, perhaps, leave a preacher there likewise.
About food and raiment, we take no thought. Our
heavenly Father knoweth that we need these things, and
He will provide. Only let us be faithful and diligent in
feeding His flock. Your preacher will be ordained. Go
on, in the name of the Lord, and in the power of His might!
You shall want no assistance that is in the power of your
affectionate friend and brother.

' The English Methodists do not roll in Money
like many of the American Methodists.5
Freeborn Garrettson, now visiting William Black and
assisting his work in Nova Scotia, was worthy the characteristic counsels and encouragements of this and six other letters
to him which we give. The history of this American
gentleman, quondam slave owner, an ordained Methodist
preacher, often without fee or reward, second only to
Asbury in devotion, is romantic. His character and work
were heroic. The list of his sufferings in it recalls that
Iliad of woes given by St. Paul to the Corinthians. 1 In the
account of him which Coke gave to Wesley an item most
grateful to both of them was that on the day following his
conversion Garrettson had voluntarily set free all his slaves.
How eager Wesley is to lay hands upon Garrettson's and
1

2 Cor. xi. 23 ; Garrettson's Life, by Bangs, chap, xi.

267

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Black's journals. He had the instincts of a bookman and a
publisher. In a later letter (July 16, 1787) he tells some
prices for printing and paper. By Garrettson he gives
repeated warnings to rich Methodists. These were increasing
among his followers, and were greatly to aid his work, profusely in America. Sharp rebukes of the love of money
were more than ever a feature of the closing decade of
his life.
To Freeborn Garrettson.
DUBLIN, June 16,

1785.

M Y DEAR BROTHER,—Dr. Coke gives some account of you
in his Journal ; so that, although I have not seen you, I am
not a stranger to your character. By all means send me,
when you have an opportunity, a more particular account of
your experience and travels. I t is no way improbable that
God may find out a way for you to visit England; and it
may be the means of your receiving more strength, as well
as more light. It is a very desirable thing that the children
of God should communicate their experience to each other ;
and it is generally most profitable when they can do it face
to face. Till Providence opens a way for you to see Europe,
do all you can for a good Master in America.
I am glad Brother Cromwell and you have undertaken
that ' labour of love' of visiting Nova Scotia; and doubt
not but you act in full concert with the little handful who
were almost alone till you came. . . . It will be the wisest
way to make all those who desire to join together,
thoroughly acquainted with the whole Methodist plan; and
to accustom them, from the very beginning, to the accurate
observance of all our rules. Let none of them rest in being
half-Christians. Whatever they do, let them do it with all
their might; and it will be well, as soon as any of them find
peace with God, to exhort them to ' go on to perfection.'
The more explicitly and strongly you press all believers to
268

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
aspire after full sanctification, as attainable now by simple
faith, the more the whole work of God will prosper.
I do not expect any great matters from the Bishop. I
doubt his eye is not single ; and if it be not, he will do
little good to you, or any one else. It may be a comfort
to you that you have no need of him. You want nothing
which he can give.
I t is a noble proposal of Brother Marchington; but I
doubt it will not take place. You do not know the state
of the English Methodists. They do not roll in money, like
many of the American Methodists. It is with the utmost
difficulty that we can raise five or six hundred pounds a year
to supply our contingent expenses; so that it is entirely
impracticable to raise five hundred pounds among them to
build houses in America. It is true they might do much ;
but it is a sad observation, they that have most money have
usually least grace.
The peace of God be with all your spirits !—I am, your
affectionate friend and brother.

* The Poor are the Christians.'
To Freeborn Garrettson.
LONDON,, September 30,1786.
trust before this comes to hand
you and Dr. Coke will have met, and refreshed each other's
bowels in the Lord. I can exceedingly ill spare him from
England, as I have no clergyman capable of supplying his
lack of service; but I was convinced he was more wanted in
America than in Europe. For it is impossible but offences
will come; and ' of yourselves will men arise speaking
perverse things,' and striving ' to draw away disciples after
them.'' I t is a wonderful blessing, they are restrained so
long, till the poor people are a little grounded in the faith.
269
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—I

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
You have need to watch over them with your might. Let
those that have set their hands to the plough continually
c
pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth
more labourers into His harvest.'
I t is far better to send your Journals as they are than not
to send them at all. I am afraid it is too late in the season
to send books this year; but I hope Dr. Coke has brought
some with him to serve you for the present. I was far off
from London when he set sail.
Most of those in England who have riches love money,
even the Methodists; at least those who are called so. The
poor are the Christians. I am quite out of conceit with
almost all those who have this world's goods. Let us take
care to lay up our treasure in heaven. Peace be with your
spirit!—I am, your affectionate friend and brother.

* The Work of God continually increasing . . . you
will now see in America.5
Fasting, which is self-sacrifice; prayer, without intermission ; expectancy and hopefulness, which never faint, are
Wesley's conditions for continuous prosperity in Church
work. Wesley looks back to that great year of Methodist
origins, 1739, and across the wonderful years since then.
To William Black.
LONDON, November 26, 1786.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—It is indeed a matter of joy that
our Lord is still carrying on His work throughout Great
Britain and Ireland. In the time of Dr. Jonathan Edwards,
there were several gracious showers in New England; but
there were large intermissions between one and another :
whereas, with us there has been no intermission at all for
seven-and-forty years, but the work of God has been
continually increasing.
270

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
The same thing, I am in hopes, you will now see in
America likewise. See that you expect it, and that you
seek; it in His appointed ways, namely, with fasting and
unintermitted prayer. And take care that you be not at
all discouraged, though you should not always have an
immediate answer. You know
c

His manner and His times are best.'

Therefore pray always ! Pray, and faint not. I commend
you all to our Great Shepherd; and am, your affectionate
brother.
6

You do well to join them together immediately/

In the New World as in the Old, Wesley will have his
followers drawn into fellowship and built up in societies or
churches. ' You cannot go to heaven alone,' was an early
counsel which he received and never forgot. Much of
Whitefield's fine work had failed of its best possibilities
because organisation had been neglected. Wesley's inquiry
about good ink is characteristic. That which he used has
lasted well upon many thousands of pages, some of it for
almost two centuries.
To Freeborn Garrettson.
[LOWESTOFT], November 30, 1786.

have great reason to be thankful to God that He lets you see the fruit of your labours.
Whenever any are awakened, you do well to join them
together immediately. But I do not advise you to go on
too fast. It is not expedient to break up more ground
than you can keep; to preach at any more places than you
or your brethren can constantly attend. To preach once in
a place, and no more, very seldom does any good; it only
alarms the devil and his children, and makes them more
upon their guard against a first assault.
271
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—You

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Wherever there is any Church service, I do not approve
of any appointment the same hour; because I love the
Church of England, and would assist, not oppose, it all I
can. How do the inhabitants of Shelburn, Halifax, and
other parts of the province, go on as to temporal things ?
Have they trade ? Have they sufficiency of food, and the
other necessaries of life ? And do they increase or decrease
in numbers ? I t seems there is a scarcity of some things,—
of good ink, for yours is so pale that many of your words
are not legible.
As I take it for granted that you have had several conversations with Dr. Coke, I doubt not you proposed all
your difficulties to him, and received full satisfaction concerning them. Commending you to Him who is able to
guide and strengthen you in all things.—I am, your affectionate friend and brother.
P.S.—Probably we shall send a little help for your
building, if we live till Conference. Observe the rules for
building laid down in the Minutes. I see nothing of your
Journal yet. I am afraid of another American Revolution.
I do not know how to get the enclosed to Dr. Coke :
probably you know. On second thoughts I think it best
not to write to him at present.

' I hear very different Accounts of your Provinces.'
Wesley etches in a picture of difficulties and privations
by sea and land encountered by his followers. Coke's
second voyage to America was remarkable every way.1
Storms of exceptional fierceness fell upon the crazy boat.
In the worst of them the superstitious captain paraded the
deck muttering ' W e have a Jonah on board,'' rushed to
Coke's cabin, flung his books and papers into the sea, and
threatened him with the like fate. The ship could not
1

272

Life by Drew, p. 160.

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
make Halifax, Nova Scotia, where William Black waited
Coke and three English preachers appointed to help him.
Changing her course completely, she reached Antigua, West
Indies, on Christmas Day, 1786. Coke's arrival was regarded
as a crowning mercy by Nathaniel Gilbert 1 and the two
thousand Methodists there, colonists and negroes.
John M'Geary, an Irish Methodist preacher, had succeeded Stretton in Newfoundland. He was partly to blame
for the treatment he received. Although a good preacher,
he seems to have been ' flighty and unstable to a degree/
Wesley sums him up in a later letter (p. 276). But, as
we have seen,2 Wesley could not bear that his preachers
should be treated with one whit less kindness than circumstances permitted.
To William Black.
LONDON, February 20, 1787.

various unfortunate hindrances and delays, Dr. Coke embarked on board a small
brig in the middle of October, and was, by furious winds,
twice beat back into the harbour. They set sail a third
time with a crazy, shattered vessel, on the 18th of October.
We have not heard anything either from him or of him
since. I hope you have heard of him in America.
You have great reason to be thankful to God for the
progress of His work in Nova Scotia. This i$ far from
being the case in Newfoundland, where poor John M'Geary
appears to be utterly discouraged; not only through want
of success, but through want of the conveniences, yea,
necessaries of life. Truly, if I could have supposed that
those who made me fair promises would have suffered a
preacher to want bread, I should have sent him into other
parts, where he would have wanted nothing.
I hear very different accounts of the state of your proM Y DEAR BROTHER,—After

1

See above, p. 237.

s

2

See his letter concerning Shent on p. 235.

273

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
vinces. Is there plenty or scarcity in Nova Scotia and
New England ? How does it fare with Halifax and Shelburn in particular ? Do the buildings and people increase
or decrease ? Public accounts I cannot at all depend on,
but upon your word I can depend. Peace be with all your
spirits!—I am, dear Billy, your affectionate friend and
brother.

' You do not send me your Journal yet.5
To Freeborn Garrettson.
MACCLESFIELD, July 16,

1787.

M Y DEAR BROTHER,—I have your letter of March 15,
and that of May 20. In the former you give me a pleasing
account of the work of God in Halifax and other towns in
Nova Scotia, and indeed everywhere except poor Shelburn,
from which I had an excellent account a few years ago,
Shall the first be last ? What could have occasioned the
decrease of the work there ?
St. PauFs advice is certainly good for all Methodist
preachers,—that ' it is good for a man not to touch a
woman'; and ' if thou mayest be free, use it rather/ And
yet I dare not exclude those who marry out of our Connexion, or forbid to marry; but happy are those who,
having no necessity laid upon them, stand fast in the
glorious liberty. I commend you for laying as little burden
upon the poor people as possible.
Before I had printing presses of my own,1 I used to pay
two-and-thirty shillings for printing two-and-twenty pages
duodecimo. The paper was from twelve to sixteen shillings
a ream. I do not blame you for printing those tracts.
But you do not send me your Journal yet. Surely you
1
He severed his connection with William Pine of Bristol, who had been
his chief printer, in 1775.

274

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
had time enough to write it over. Dr. Coke seems to
think you are irresolute, yet not willing to take advice. I
hope better things of you ; and that your heart says to God
and man, ' What I know not, teach thou me.'—I am, your
affectionate friend and brother.

' Guard your Flock.'
Wesley gives wise counsel on the treatment of heresy and
its teachers.
To William Black.
Near BATH, September 26, 1787.

have great reason to praise
God for the great things that He hath done, and to expect
still greater things than these.
Your grand difficulty, now, will be to guard your flock
against that accomplished seducer. When you mentioned
a person came from Scotland, I took it for granted that he
was a Calvinist. But I find it is not so well; for I take a
Socinian to be far worse than even a Predestinarian. Nevertheless, I advise you and all our preachers, never oppose
him openly. Doing thus would only give the unawakened
world an advantage against you all. I advise you farther,
never speak severely, much less contemptuously, of him in
any mixed company. You must use no weapons in opposing
him, but only those of truth and love. Your wisdom is—
(1) Strongly to inculcate the doctrines which he denied,
but without taking any notice of him, or seeming to know
that any one does deny them;
(2) To advise all our brethren (but not in public) never
to hear him, at the peril of their souls ; and
(3) Narrowly to inquire whether any one is staggered,
and to set such an one right as soon as possible.
275
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—You

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Thus, by the blessing of God, even those that are lame
will not be turned out of the way.
Peace be with your spirit!—I am, dear Billy, your
affectionate friend and brother.

* The Case of those poor Demoniacs.'
The physical phenomena, faintings, convulsions, fits, etc.,
which accompanied Wesley's early preaching, and, as here,
often appeared in the early stages of revivals, he often
ascribed to Satanic agency. The work in America was
marked, sometimes hindered, by such occurrences, exceptional even in their own strange kind. 1
To William Black.
GLOUCESTER, March 19, 1788.

am glad to find you are still going
on in the glorious work to which you are called. We have
need to make haste therein; to use all diligence. For the
work is great; the day is short; and lonely is the night
wherein no man can work.
I t is well that Satan is constrained to show himself so
plainly in the case of those poor demoniacs. Thereby, he
weakens his own kingdom, and excites us to assault him
more zealously. In the beginning of the work in England
and Ireland we had many cases of the kind. But he now
chooses to assault us by subtlety more than by strength.
I wish you would do all you possibly can to keep our
brethren in peace with each other. Your pains will not
be lost on poor John M'Geary. There is much good in
him. Indeed, he is naturally of a bold, forward temper;
but I hope his zeal is now according to knowledge.
Praying that you may increase with all the increase of
God,—I am, your affectionate friend and brother.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—I

1
See references under <Physical Phenomena' in A New History of
Methodism, vol. ii. p. 643.

276

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
' The Work . . . seems to lie nearer my Heart.'
This letter of a good shepherd who would carry the
lambs in his arms and gently lead the flock is to John
Mann, a missionary in Nova Scotia. I t closes with counsels
to all the workers there. James Wray, an English preacher
whom Wesley trusted, was not happy as superintendent of
the work. Some objected to him because he was an Englishman ; but so was William Black. Soon after the next
letter to Black (see page 284) he was appointed to the post
of superintendent, though only thirty years of age. Wesley
thought the people who raised such an objection as the
above were ungrateful, and exclaimed,' O American gratitude ! Lord, I appeal to Thee.'
To John Mann.
LONDON, June 30, 1788.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—I am greatly concerned for

the

prosperity of the work of God in Nova Scotia. I t seems
some way to lie nearer my heart than even that in the
United States. Many of our brethren there are, we may
hope, strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might;
but I look upon those in the northern provinces to be
younger, and tender children, and consequently to stand in
need of our most anxious care. I hope all of you that
watch over them are all of one mind and of one judgement;
t h a t you take care always to speak the same things, and to
watch over one another in love.
Mr. Wray is a workman that need not be ashamed. I
am glad to hear of his safe arrival. Although he has not
much learning, he has, which is far better, uprightness of
heart, and devotedness to God. I doubt not but he and
you will be one, and go on your way hand in hand.
Whatever opposers you meet with, Calvinists, Papists,
Antinomians, and any other, have a particular care that
they do not take up too much either of your time or
277

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
thoughts. You have better work : keep to your one point,
Christ dying for us, and living in us. So will you fulfil the
joy of, my dear brethren, your affectionate friend and
brother.

' You are the Elder Brother of the American
Methodists: I am, under God, the Father of
the Whole Family. 5
An engaging letter this, with its friendly name for Francis
Asbury and its warm assurances of affection and confidence.
Solemn shadows cover the closing words of the aged leader.
I t is good to have his definition of his own and Asbury's
position and relation to the work. Like St. Paul, Wesley
dares to become a fool in glorying concerning it.
One wonders if Wesley is quite serious in his second and
third paragraphs here, on the names and terms, used by
Asbury and Coke. He shudders at a name, 'bishop' for
an office overseer or ; superintendent,' which he had himself
created. Asbury would recall Wesley's letter to him of
three years earlier, which contained a church constitution
and appointment of bishops or superintendents. Perhaps
Wesley had also forgotten his letter to his former Kingswood schoolmaster, now a clergyman of the English Church,
the Rev. Walter Sellon. He feared Wesley was going to
America to turn bishop. Wesley wrote him thus :
6

1 am going to America to turn Bishop.'
To the Rev. Walter Sellon.
[SOUTHWARK, LONDON], February 1,

1772.

do not understand your information right.
Observe, '1 am going to America to turn
bishop.' You are to understand it in sensu composite.1 I
am not to be bishop until I am in America. Whilst I am
in Europe, therefore, you have nothing to fear. But as
DEAR WALTER,—You

1

278

In its composite or compound sense.

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
soon as ever you hear of my being landed in Philadelphia,
it will be time for your apprehensions to revive, I t is true,
some of our preachers would not have me stay so long; b u t
I keep my old rule, Festina lente.1—I am, dear Walter, your
affectionate brother.
Here Wesley denies neither the work nor the name of
bishop as appropriate t o himself if he went to America.
Asbury's practical shrewd mind was not greatly disturbed by
this letter. 2
To the Rev. Francis Asbury.
LONDON^ September 20,,

1788.

DEAR FRANKY,—There is indeed a wide difference between
the relation wherein you stand to the Americans and the
relation wherein I stand to all the Methodists. You are the
elder brother of the American Methodists : I am, under
God, the father of t h e whole family. Therefore, I naturally care for you all in a manner no other person can do.
Therefore I, in a measure, provide for you a l l ; for the supplies which Dr. Coke provides for you he could not provide
were it not for me—were it not t h a t I not only permit him
to collect, but also support him in so doing.
But in one point, my dear brother, I am a little afraid
both the doctor [Coke] and you differ from me. I study to be
l i t t l e ; you study to be great. I creep ; you strut along. I
found a school; you a college! nay, and call it after your
own names ! O, beware! Do not seek to be something !
L e t me be nothing, and ' Christ all in all."
One instance of this, of your greatness, has given me great
1
Make haste slowly.
, 2 He stated his claims thus : * I will tell the world on what I depend—
(i) Divine authority ; (2) seniority in America ; (3) the election of the
Conference; (4) my ordination by Thomas Coke, William Philip Otterbein,
German Presbyterian minister, Richard Whatcoat, and Thomas Vasey ; (5)
the signs of an apostle which have been seen in me.'—Life, by Briggs,
p. 146.

279

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
concern. H o w can you, how dare you, suffer yourself t o be
called Bishop ? I shudder, I start a t t h e very t h o u g h t !
Men may call me a knave or a fool, a rascal, a scoundrel,
and I am content; b u t they shall never, by my consent, call
me Bishop ! F o r my sake, for God's sake, for Christ's sake,
p u t a full end t o this ! L e t the Presbyterians do what they
please, b u t let t h e Methodists know their calling better.
Thus, my dear Franky, I have told you all t h a t is in my
heart. A n d let this, when I am no more seen, bear witness^
how sincerely I am, your affectionate friend and brother.
6

1 wish to be in every point, great and small, a
scriptural, natural Christian.'

Here, and again on page 284, Wesley deals with t h a t deep
mystery, divine guidance on human life. H e makes pathetic
reference t o his handwriting. His picturesque description
of t h e approach of old age, ' Time has shaken me by t h e
hand,' occurs often in his letters now. Death was t o lead
him away two years hence.
To Freeborn

Garrettson.
LONDON, January 24, 1789.

M Y DEAR BROTHER,—It signifies b u t little where we are,

so we are b u t fully employed for our good Master. W h e t h e r
you went, therefore, t o the East, i t is all one, io you were
labouring t o promote His work. Y o u are following t h e
order of His providence wherever i t appeared, as a holy man
strongly expressed it, in a kind of holy disordered order.
But there is one expression t h a t occurs twice or thrice in
yours, which gives me some concern : you speak of finding
freedom to do this or t h a t . This is a word much liable t o
be abused. If I have plain Scripture, or plain reason, for
doing a thing, well. These are my rules, and my only rules.
I regard n o t whether I had freedom or no. This is an un280

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
scriptural expression, and a very fallacious rule. I wish to
be, in every point, great and small, a scriptural, rational
Christian.
In one instance, formerly, you promised to send me your
Journal. Will you break your word because you do not find
freedom to keep it ? Is not this enthusiasm ? O be not of
this way of thinking! You do not know whither it may
lead you. You are called to
c

Square your useful life below
By reason and by grace.'

But whatever you do with regard to me you must do
quickly, or you will do no more in this world.—Your
aftectionate friend and brother.

' Y o u were able and willing, and did, in fact,
teach.'
A hitherto unpublished letter, 1 from the original, the
property of the Rev. Principal E. S. Tipple, Ph.D., D.D.,
LL.D., of Drew Methodist Theological Seminary, Madison,
New Jersey, U.S.A., throws light upon Wesley, his Journal,
and a little known helper, the Rev. Mr. Heath, in the
early days of American Methodism. The letter is in part
obliterated and indecipherable. Wesley was now eightysix.
Wesley met Heath at Stourport, near Kidderminster, on
March 23, 1787, and wrote thus of him and his family: ' I
had seen Mr. Heath before, a middle-aged clergyman who
is going over to Cokesbury College, and is, I believe,
throughly qualified to preside there. I met his wife and
two daughters here, who are quite willingly to bear him
company; and I think their tempers and manners, so
6
winning soft, so amiably mild,' will do him honour whenever they come."' One of Wesley's London clerical helpers,
1
A note on the letter says that the postage was 7d. and 2d. =gd. ;
that it was 'missent to Southampton,'and ' returned to Rev. Mr. Wesley,
Moorfields, for is. postage.'

281

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
the Rev. Peard Dickenson, assisted Heath while in that
city preparing to sail for America; and Wesley's book
steward there, John Atlay, gave Heath £30, by Wesley's
instructions, to add to £20 which the latter had already
given him, probably for his passage money. ' If he mistook
me,' says Wesley, 'and gave him £50 instead of £30, it will
not ruin me.' On 6th August 1787, in Birmingham, Wesley
' took a tender leave' of the family, then about to embark.
On arrival, Heath at once took up work as Principal of
Cokesbury College, Abingdon, Maryland, opened in December 1787. The history of this first American Methodist
educational institution was strangely unfortunate. 1
The
original building, and another adopted in its stead, was
burnt to ashes. The early staff caused anxiety also. In
the first year of the college, Asbury wrote (10th August
1788),' I received heavy tidings from the college. Both
our teachers have left—one for incompetency, and the other
to pursue riches and honours.' 2 If Heath was the teacher
who left ' to pursue riches' his efforts were unsuccessful.
This letter shows that he had turned to Wesley, his former
helper, who never forsook his friends. He now promises
generous help towards the passage of Heath and his family,
probably back to England. Wesley's tender pretty message
towards the young girls is very characteristic.
To the Rev. Mr. Heath, Burlington, New Jersey.
ROSANNA, near WICKLOW, June

26, 1789.
DEAR SIR,—I exceedingly wanted to hear from you. I
thought Mrs. Heath and you had forgotten me, although it
would not be strange if you had as (in youth especially)
'
thought.' [Five lines scratched out here.] If that
1
Such institutions there have since become very numerous; many are
exceptionally successful in every way. Eighteen universities, with many
colleges, twenty-five university colleges, and hundreds of secondary schools
have been promoted by and are under the auspices of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. See Year Book, 1915, p. 137; and my article, 'Impressions of Transatlantic Methodism,5 United Meth. Mag., June, 1915.
2
Quoted in Briggs's Bishop Asbury, p. 192.

282

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
had been the case, and you had taken no care to fulfil the
engagement, I should have judged the engagement between
you and Dr. Coke would have stood good. But if (as I
suppose) you were willing and able to teach, and did in fact
teach the children, then I should judge the engagement . . .
and you would be at fault on both sides, to which (I will
take upon me to say) Dr. Coke will very willingly consent.
I would go a good way to take you and your dear family
by the hand ; but the price of travelling by sea is now . . .;
formerly, a cabin passenger paid five pounds for his passage.
Now they have swelled it to about twice as much. I would
willingly give fifty pounds toward your passage : And
' Eternal Providence,, exceeding thought,
Where none appears, can make itself a way/

I am glad of the information you gave me concerning the
state of things in America. I shall be better able to understand the account which Dr. Coke will probably give me.
0 what a comfort it is to think, that the Lord reigneth,
and will order all things well !
I commit you and dear Mrs. Heath (how I love her!) to
His keeping and arm.—Dear sir, your affectionate friend
and brother.
My dear Annie and Maria, I love to see your names, and
1 kiss the paper. Perhaps I may live to see those that
wrote them. If not, I shall see you in a better place, my
dear children. Adieu!

' There is a three-fold leading of the Spirit.'
To Freeborn GarreUson.
CHESTER, July 15, 1789.

M Y DEAR BROTHER,—You are entirely in

the

right.

There can be no manner of doubt, that it was the enemy of
283

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
souls that hindered your sending me your experience. Many
parts both of your inward and outward experience ought
by no means to be suppressed. But if you are minded to
send anything to me, you have no time to lose. Whatever
you do for me you must do quickly, lest death have quicker
wings than love.
A great man observes that there is a three-fold leading
of the Spirit. Some He leads by giving them, on every
occasion, apposite texts of Scripture; some by suggesting
reasons for every step they take—the way by which He
chiefly leads m e ; and some by impressions; but He j udges
the last to be the least desirable way, as it is often impossible to distinguish dark impressions from divine or even
diabolical.
I hope you will not long delay to write more particularly
to your affectionate friend and brother.

' Take an equal Share in the common Labour.'
To William Black.
LONDON, November 2 1 , 1789.

M Y DEAR BROTHER,—Your letter has given me great

satisfaction. My fears are vanished away. I am persuaded
brother Wray, Stretton, and you will go on hand in hand, and
that each of you will take an equal share in the common
labour. I do so myself. I labour now just as I did twenty
or forty years ago.
By all means proceed by common consent, and think not
of separating from the Church of England. I am more and
more confirmed in the judgement which our whole Conference passed on that head in the year 1758.—I am, your
affectionate friend and brother.
284

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
' Time has shaken me by the Hand.'
To Freeborn Garrettson.
LONDON, February 3 , 1790.

M Y DEAR BROTHER,—Two or three days ago I had the

pleasure of a letter from you, dated August 23rd, 1789,
giving me a comfortable account of the swift and extensive
progress of the work of God in America. You likewise informed me that you had written an account of your life,
and directed it should be sent to me; and I have been expecting it from day to day ever since, but have now almost
given up my expectation; for, unless it comes soon, it will
hardly overtake me in the present world. You see Time
has shaken me by the hand, and Death is not far behind.
While we live, let us work our Lord's work betimes, and in
His time He will give us our full reward.—I am, your affectionate friend and brother.

' Whoever gets Money, do you win Souls.'
To William Black.
SUNDERLAND, June 14, 1790.

M Y DEAR BROTHER,—You did well to send me an account

of your little societies. Here is a good beginning, though
it is as yet, in many places, a day of small things; and
although it does not please God to carry on His work so
rapidly with you as in the United States. But one soul is
worth all the merchandise in the world; and, whoever gets
money, do you win souls.
Never was there, throughout England, Scotland, and
Ireland, so great a thirst for the pure word of God as there
is at this day. The same we find in the little islands of Man,
Wight, Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney in the Western
285

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Ocean. In the Isle of Man alone (thirty miles long) the
societies contain about four-and-twenty hundred members.
I have just now finished my route through Scotland, where I
never had such congregations before. So it pleases God to
give me a little more to do before He calls me hence.
What has become of brother Scurr, Dodson, and our
other Yorkshire friends ? Some of them doubtless are gone
into a farther country, but some I suppose remain. I doubt
you do not keep up a constant intercourse with each other.
Love as brethren!—I am, dear William, your affectionate
friend and brother.

'Declaring to all Men that the Methodists are one
People in all the World.'
This letter, written only a month before his death,
appropriately closes Wesley's messages to transatlantic
Methodists. Cooper was a Methodist preacher at Annapolis,
Maryland. The son of an officer in the Revolutionary army,
he was a man of strong character, rich in knowledge and in
the wisdom which is profitable to direct. His brethren
styled him 'Lycurgus,' and ' a living encyclopedia.' As
book steward he helped to enforce and circulate Wesley's
imperial dictum on the fundamental oneness of the
Methodists everywhere and always.
To Ezekiel Cooper.
Near LONDON, February 1, 1791.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—Those that desire to write, or to say
anything to me, have no time to lose, for Time has shaken
me by the hand, and Death is not far behind. But I have
reason to be thankful for the time that is past. I felt few
of the infirmities of old age for fourscore and six years. It
was not till a year and a half ago that my strength and
my sight failed. And still I am enabled to scrawl a little,
286

TO AMERICAN METHODISTS
and to creep, though I cannot run. Probably I should not
be able to do so much, did not many of you assist me by
your prayers.
I have given a distinct account of the work of God, which
has been wrought in Britain and in Ireland, for more than
half a century. We want some of you to give us a connected
relation of what our Lord has been doing in America, since
the time that Richard Boardman accepted the invitation,
and left his country to serve you.
See that you never give place to one thought of separating
from your brethren in Europe. Lose no opportunity of
declaring to all men, that the Methodists are one people in
all the world, and that it is their full determination so to
continue—
c

Though mountains rise., and oceans roll
To sever us in vain.'

To the care of our common Lord I commit you, and am,
your affectionate friend and brother.

287

CHAPTER VIII
TO HIS MOST INTIMATE LAY FRIEND,
EBENEZER BLACKWELL
correspondence with his lay friends is of special
interest. His relations to them were altogether different from
those which he held towards his clerical friends or helpers or
his preachers. Here is another view of him. In these, as in
those relations, he inspired the highest admiration, respect
rising to veneration, and regard which deepened into intense
affection ; and all these throughout long periods. If an exception must be made, it is in regard to some incidents of
his married life. His friends, especially his lay friends, were
aware of his foibles, as, for instance, his credulity, and his
excessive frankness with all. Their appreciation was discriminating. Notwithstanding this, the records of his time
show that he excited confidence and love such as few men
have enjoyed. His enemies said that his friends and followers
worshipped him ; and, indeed, for several generations after
his death his portrait was the frontispiece in millions of
copies of Methodist hymn-books used in divine worship.
If the propriety of this usage is questioned, it will be
allowed that it was a striking testimony, almost unique
among Protestants, of the place held by this human leader
in the hearts of multitudes.
An aptitude for friendship was one of Wesley's most
attractive qualities, and he heeded Dr. Johnson's counsel—
that a man should keep his friendships in repair. He sustained them by studied kindnesses, visits, and letters. These
last were very numerous. George Wolff of Balham, his
executor; Robert Carr Brackenbury 1 of Raithby Hall,

WESLEY'S

1

288

See p. 167.

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
Lincolnshire, who was also an itinerant preacher, and
Ebenezer Blackwell were his chief lay friends. The last
named was the most intimate. We are able to give more of
Wesley's many letters to him than have hitherto been published. Others are given more completely. Except those
to his brother Charles, so many of Wesley's letters to one
individual have not been brought together before as are
here given.
Ebenezer Blackwell has been strangely neglected by many
Methodist biographers and historians. It may have been
his own wish and act which explain this comparative neglect
by his contemporaries. He was singularly modest, a private
gentleman who did good by stealth, where possible, and
avoided praise and fame. However, he was Wesley's closest
friend for forty-three years (1739-1782). His liberal soul
devised and sustained liberal things, especially for the poor.
He supplied money for Wesley's work and schemes, and
shrewd counsel upon them :—
c

And still, the more his wealth increased,,
More treasure he laid up in h e a v e n /

To him Wesley turned for sympathy and guidance in the
bitter misunderstandings with his wife, and the terrible
annoyances caused by her strange behaviour. Quivering
letters are here, which refer to these things. Blackwell proved
his friendship by word and deed in these, as in all Wesley's
affairs. He also assisted Charles Wesley materially. Blackwell's beautiful country seat 1 at Lewisham was the ever-open
and delightful resting-place of the brothers, especially of
John. During forty years he found there what his aristocratic cultured nature appreciated keenly, although he
cheerfully dispensed with them for his work's sake—quiet,
ample comfort, refinement, congenial friends, and the
charms of a wealthy English home amid beautiful surroundings. Much of his best literary work was done there.
Blackwell was a banker for fifty years, chief partner in
Martin's Bank, Change Alley, Lombard Street, London.
He retired in 1780, two years before his death. He was
1

T

The <Limes.'

289

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
twice married. In succession, these two Christian ladies and
devoted Methodists added attractiveness and the gentler
graces to his character and home. Other Methodist ladies,
Mrs. Sparrow and Mrs. Dewal, were frequent visitors there,
and are often named m these letters. Blackwell was called
the rough diamond. A strong, somewhat abrupt, cheerful
man, well aware of his limitations in verbal expression, and
not easily moved, he was decided and persistent when his
choice was made. Under his quiet exterior there burned
a steady fire of religious conviction and generous feeling,
which Methodist teaching and fellowship cleared and intensified. He owed and owned a great debt to Wesley
in the highest things. Wesley appointed him a trustee
of City Road Chapel, London. As these letters show, he
was not so pronounced a Methodist on some points as
Wesley desired, and he dared not claim that he had received
spiritual renewal. But he earnestly wished to know his
faults, and ' that I may never rest until I am born again and
have the image of God stamped on my soul.'' When this
Cornelius could no longer hinder the just tribute, Charles
Wesley wrote thus of him :
c

Through life inviolably just
H e his integrity maintained,
Most strictly faithful to his trust,
An upright man of t r u t h unfeign'd :
His roughly honest soul abhorr'd
T h e polish smooth, the courtier's art,
While, free from guile, in every word
H e spoke t h e language of his h e a r t / *

In these letters, as in those to Lady Maxwell and all
his friends, Wesley shows himself the lover of the soul,
affectionate, candid, direct, and eager with the anxiety of
one who must give an account for every life which he was
permitted to serve. His eyes were not blinded nor his
message weakened by Blackwell's wealth and kindness.
These letters show that Wesley never allowed himself such
intimacy with him, or incurred such obligations to him as
1
* On the death of Mr. Ebenezer Blackwell,' in the Poetical Works of John
and Charles Wesley, vol. vi. p. 353.

290

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
prevented him from giving Blackwell encouragement as
from a spiritual superior, or administering to him reproof,
rebuke, and exhortation with all long-suffering and doctrine.
Wesley narrated of him, with evident pleasure, that when
one asked Blackwell, ' Are you going to hear Mr. Wesley ?'
he replied,' No, I am going to hear God; I listen to Him,
whoever preaches; otherwise I lose all my labour.' When
as a man of like passions Wesley asked his advice, Blackwell's sagacity and strength come out finely.1 Wesley received the counsel and plain-dealing with all humility. One
ventures to think that he might wisely have acted upon it
more fully.

A Letter from Blackwell to Wesley.
This deeply interesting series of Wesley's letters to
Blackwell may well be prefaced by a letter from him to
Wesley. It is here given exactly from the original in the
Colman Collection. It belongs to the early formative
months of Methodist history, and the work in London.
Wesley is in Bristol. Funds are being gathered for the
erection of the schoolroom for the colliers at Kingswood,
near that city. The simple building is still standing. One
is impressed with the earnest solicitude of this professional
gentleman as to the highest concerns. He has not yet seen
Wesley, but he knows his handwriting, which he was to see
so often, and is aware of his extraordinary gifts and
success.
Ebenezer Blackwell to Wesley.
LONDON, August 14, 1739.

Seward,2 when I supped with him and
3
Mr. Whitfield, etc., last Sunday night, said he would send
me the money they collected that evening on Blackheath
DEAR SIR,—Mr.

1

a
See p. 388.
See p. 221.
Captain Whitefield—so referred to later in this letter and by Wesley in
his diary entry of the next day, when Captain Whitefield called on him, and
probably gave him this letter and the Shop Note. The name Whitefield was
often spelt Whitfield. His brother, the Rev. George Whitefield, was visiting
America,
3

291

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
for Kingswood school. By the newspaper of this day it
mentions that there was collected £16, Is. 6d., but I had
sent me only £15, l i s . , so that there is half a guinea
difference. What is the reason I don't know till I hear
from Mr. Seward; but, however, for the £15, l i s . I have
sent our Shop Note, which Mr. Burrows or any other
gentleman that remits money to London, will give you cash
for. I thought it was the best way to send it, because as I
have seen your handwriting (though I have not had the
pleasure of your acquaintance), before I pay it I should
know that it got safe to you.
It would be needless for me to pretend to give an account
of all our friends, because I suppose the Captain and
Mr. Mitchell, before this, has acquainted you of everything,
as they and I parted from Mr. Whitfield and Mr. Seward at
the same time. This I can say, that there is a great number
of our friends who earnestly wish for somebody to supply
the place of our dear Brother Whitfield. For my part, I
desire to trust to the Lord, who is not only able but
certainly will in His due time send us more of His true
ministers; but at present, for all-wise ends, He may suffer
us to grapple a little by ourselves, and have after this great
plenty; as it were, a dearth of religion in order to purge us
and try us, that we know how to prize and value them that
preach the truth as it is in Jesus. O that we had more thankful
hearts for the mercies we daily receive, and made a more
conscientious use of our closets, to look up to the Almighty
for directions in all affairs—thus not in the least resting or
relying on anything that we can do, but solely trusting in
the merits, death, and suffering of our dear Lord Jesus for
life and salvation. Then might we expect the blessing of
God in this world, and our souls' everlasting salvation in
the next. I should be glad, when you have a leisure minute,
to have a line or two, and beg you will present my kind
292

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
love and service to Mrs. Grevil, and tell her that I thought
I should have heard from her before now.
I am, dear Sir (with earnest prayers to the Almighty for
continued success in your labours, and that all who name
the name of Jesus may depart from evil), your weak but
affectionate servant in Christ,
EBENEZER BLACKWELL.

P.S.—Pray give my kind respects to the Captain, Mr.
Mitchell, etc.

To Ebenezer Blackwell: a Series of forty-five
Letters.
The original of the letter from Blackwell just given bears
Wesley's usual business-like endorsement, thus :
Mr. Blackwell,
Aug. 14, 1739.
A[nswere]d 2£.
Here is that answer by Wesley.

' God is greatly with this People.'
I t gives us a glimpse of the persecution of the early
Methodists in Bristol. The Mayor, Henry Coombe,
suppressed the mobs which, notably in the next year, beset
the Methodists there. Said he, ' What Mr. Wesley is, is
nothing to you. I will keep the peace. I will have no
rioting in this city.' The persecution by parents and
employers, referred to in this letter, long continued in the
capital of western England, as elsewhere. The miracle of
the Israelites in Egypt was there and everywhere repeated
—' the more their taskmasters afflicted them, the more they
multiplied and grew.''
£93

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Letter I.
BRISTOL, August 23,

1739.

DEAR SIR,—I have not had half an hour's leisure to write
since I received yours of the fourteenth instant, in which the
note for £15, l i s . was enclosed.
The Captain's journey to London, as he owns it was the
happiest, so I believe it was the most useful one he ever
had. His resolution was a little shaken here; but he now
appears more settled than before. Satan hath indeed desired
to have us, that he may sift us as wheat; but our Lord hath
prayed for us; so that the faith of few has failed. Far the
greater part of those who have been tempted has come as
gold out of the fire.
It seems to me a plain proof that the power of God is
greatly with this people, because they are tempted in a
manner scarce common to men. No sooner do any of them
begin to taste of true liberty, but they are buffeted both
within and without. The messengers of Satan close them
in on every side. Many are already turned out of doors by
their parents or masters; many more expect it every day.
But they count all these things dung and dross, that they
may win Christ. O let us, if His name be called upon us,
be thus minded!—I am, dear Sir, your affectionate friend
and servant in Christ.

* You have suffered Loss for want of frank Acknowledgement of the Truth.'
In the years which elapsed between the last letter and
this, Wesley extended his medical and dispensary work in
Bristol and elsewhere among the sick poor. In June of
this year he will publish the first of twenty-one large editions
published in his lifetime of his famous Primitive Physick;
or an Easy and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases.
294

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
But Wesley is more concerned that Black well should avow
and show himself a Christian. This, and the culture of the
spiritual life, is the burden of the next three letters, as of
many others to him.
Letter II.
BRISTOL, January 26, 1746-7.
number of patients increases here daily.
We have now upwards of two hundred. Many have already
desired to return thanks, having found a considerable change
for the better already. But we are at a great loss for
medicines, several of those we would choose being not to be
had at any price in Bristol.
I have been sometimes afraid you have suffered loss for
want of a frank acknowledgement of the truth : I mean with
regard to the gay world. If we openly avow what we
approve, the fear or shame generally lights on them; but
if we are ashamed or afraid, then they pursue, and will be
apt to rally us both out of our reason and religion.—I am,
dear Sir, your very affectionate servant.
My best respects attend Mrs. Blackwell and Mrs. Dewal.
I hope you strengthen each other's hands.
DEAR SIR,—Our

* All this is Poison to your Soul.'
Letter III.
SHEFFIELD, May

14,

1747.

you not yet weary and faint in your
mind ? Do you continue to strive for the mastery ? Is it
a good, though painful, fight ? I am sometimes afraid of
your turning back before you conquer. Your enemies are
many, and your strength is small. What an amazing thing
it will be, if you endure to the end.
295
DEAR SIR,—Are

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
I doubt you will sometimes be in danger by a snare you
are n o t aware of. Y o u will often meet with persons who
labour till they are delivered of all they know, and who
(perhaps, ' with very good i n t e n t , b u t little w i t ' ) will tell
you abundance of things, good or bad, of t h e society, or
any member of it. Now, all this is poison t o your soul.
Y o u have only t o give an account of yourself t o God. O
may you do it with joy, and not with grief.—I am, dear Sir,
your very affectionate servant.

' Now there is not a Dog to wag his Tongue.'
T h e q u a i n t and romantic Cornish town from which Wesley
sends this cheerful letter h a d been t h e scene of some of t h e
sharpest privation and h o t t e s t persecution of himself and
his followers. ' I n Cornwall,' x says W e s l e y , ' t h e war against
the Methodists was carried on with far more vigour t h a n
against t h e Spaniards. . . . T h e Methodists went with t h e i r
lives in their hands.' Charles Wesley preached surrounded
b y men with uplifted clubs, who had sworn he should n o t
preach again.
Opposition t o M e t h o d i s t teaching was
peculiarly violent there. J o h n Daniel, whose descendants
still lead Methodism, was arraigned and t h e n t h r u s t out of
t h e court-house there, because it was claimed t h a t he had
profited by hearing t h e M e t h o d i s t s ; while a t St. J u s t
E d w a r d Greenfield was adjudged worthy of banishment or
d e a t h because he declared t h a t he knew t h a t his sins were
forgiven ! I t was particularly annoying t o such loyalists as
t h e Wesleys t h a t here, as in many places, t h e y were charged,
w i t h o u t the slightest foundation in fact, with being in
league with the Pretender to t h e throne. B u t in Cornwall
all this was rapidly disappearing.
1
There he and his brave gifted helper, John Nelson, were compelled to
feed on blackberries and to sleep on the bare floor. After three weeks of
such neglect of them by those he sought to save, Wesley awoke one night,
clapped Nelson on the side and said bravely, * Brother Nelson, let us be of
good cheer: I have one whole side yet— the skin is off but on one side.'

296

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
Letter IV.
ST. IVES, July 18,
DEAR

1747.

SIR,—Are you not yet weary and faint in your

mind ? weary of striving to enter in at the strait gate ? I
trust that you are not, and that you never will, till you
enter into the kingdom. Many thoughts of that kind will
probably arise in your heart; but you will have power to
trample them under your feet. You have nothing to do
with the things that are behind. The prize and the crown
are before you. So run, that you may obtain, desiring only
to apprehend that for which you are apprehended in Christ
Jesus.
A great door and effectual is opened now, almost in every
corner of this country. Here is such a change within these
two years as has hardly been seen in any other part of
England. Wherever we went, we used to carry our lives in
our hands, and now there is not a dog to wag his tongue.
Several ministers are clearly convinced of the truth, few are
bitter, most seem to stand neuter. Some of the gentlemen
(so-called) are almost the only opposers now; drinking,
revelling, cursing, swearing gentlemen, who neither will
enter into the kingdom of heaven themselves, nor suffer any
others, if they can prevent it. The most violent Jacobites
among these are continually crying out, that we are bringing
the Pretender; and some of these worthy men bear His
Majesty^ commission, as Justices of the Peace !
My best wishes attend Mrs. Blackwell, who, I hope,
measures step by step with you in the way to the kingdom.
—I am, dear Sir, your affectionate servant.
I set out for Bristol on Thursday.

297

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' For natural Sweetness . . . I have never seen
any People like the Irish.'
In his incessant journeyings Wesley keeps in touch with
his London friend. Blackwell would be interested to learn
that Wesley^ home in Ireland was with the family of his
friend William Lunell, a banker, like himself. He was a
Moravian, and for a time helped Methodism. Wesley was
captivated by the Irish, while he saw the defects of their
qualities. 1 One possible danger among them leads Wesley
to utter a tender rebuke to Blackwell.
This was the first of Wesley^s forty-two preaching tours
in Ireland, which occupied, Tyerman computed, not less than
six years of his life. Directly and indirectly they were
among the most fruitful.2
In Ireland he claimed and
inspired Thomas Walsh, a great Biblical scholar, of whom
Southey wrote that his piety also 6 might well convince even
a Catholic that saints are to be found in other communions
as well as the Church of Rome.*' Later, Wesley enlisted
Gideon Ouseley, like himself of a noble and an eminent
family,, He had the same tact and enthusiasm. By the Irish
Methodist emigrants and preachers Wesley sowed the seed
of the vast Methodism of the United States and Canada.
Letter V.
DUBLIN, August 13, 1747.

have found a home in this strange land.
I am at Mr. LunelPs just as at the Found ery, only that I
have nob such attendance here, for I meet the people at
another part of the town. For natural sweetness of temper,
for courtesy and hospitality, I have never seen any people
like the Irish. Indeed, all I converse with are only English
transplanted into another soil, and they are much mended
by the removal, having left all their roughness and surliness
behind them.
DEAR SIR,—I

1
2

298

These were very evident later, as told in Letter xiv.
A New History of Methodism, vol. ii. chap. i.

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
They receive the Word of God with all gladness and
readiness of mind. The danger is, that it should not take
deep root, that it should be as seed falling on stony ground.
But is there not the same danger in England also ? Do you
not find it in London ? You have received the Word with
joy, and it begins to spring up ; but how soon may it wither
away ! It does not properly take root till we are convinced
of inward sin, till we begin to feel the entire corruption of
our nature. I believe sometimes you have found a little of
this. But you are in the hands of a good Physician, who,
if you give yourself up to His guidance, will not only wound,
but also make whole.
Mr. Lunell and his family desire their best respects to
Mrs. Blackwell and you. His daughter can rejoice in God
her Saviour. They propose to spend the winter in England.
—I am, dear Sir, your affectionate servant.
I cannot forget Mrs. Dewal, whether I see her or not.

' Shall you have no Part in the general Blessing ?'
Whatever Wesley's news, now of trial, then of triumph,
as here, he comes back to the matter of BlackwelFs spiritual
progress. Leeds was beginning its victories as one of the
mighty strongholds of Methodism. The work in Bristol had
outgrown its first home. This 6 second bill of exchange' was
BlackwelFs gift or loan for a larger building there. In this
year Wesley rebuilt and enlarged his ' New Room in the
Horsefair' there. It is pleasant to think that their dear
friend Blackwell was thus interested in the building which
was more closely and continuously associated with the
Wesleys and their work than any other building which
Wesley erected, or that they used.1 The chapel, which still
stands, is about sixty feet by forty feet. I t contains the
pulpit from which John and Charles Wesley delivered
1
See my Wesley and Kingswood, ' Some Sacred Spots,'pp. 31, 127-138,
and above, p. 103.

299

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
many of their wonderful messages in sermon and hymn ; the
table from which he often addressed the Society; the clock
which regulated his busy days and short nights; and the
backless, uncomfortable seats for the congregation. The
building also contains Wesley's very little bedroom. At the
other end of the building is the room used by Mrs. Wesley
during her generally tempestuous visits to Bristol. Here
also is Wesley's little study, where he wrote and edited
many of his works, and instructed, heartened, and
chastened his preachers when they lodged for a while in
the rooms attached. The debt upon the earlier ' New
Room' on this site was happily liquidated by the result of
Captain Foy's famous proposal that the Methodists should
contribute one penny per week. Out of this grew the
characteristic finance and class meeting system of Methodism.
But that building became insecure and too small. The
north end of it was retained in the present building, which
Blackweirs money helped to erect. In this way at least he
did have ' part in the general blessings' now falling on
Methodism, as Wesley desires that he should.
Letter VI.
BRISTOL, February 2, 1747-8.
have received the second bill of exchange,
which you was so kind as to send by Saturday's post. As
we do not intend to build immediately, the money will be
payable before we want it.
I do not question but Mrs. Dewal and you will be serviceable to each other. God has given her an advisable spirit,
and where that is, there will be every good and perfect gift.
Poor Mr. Hall, 1 when I was at Salisbury, furnished me
with a sufficient answer to those who speak of the connexion
between him and us. He could not have set the matter in
a clearer light, than by turning both me and my sister out
of doors.
DEAR SIR,—I

1

300

The Rev. Westley Hall, see p. 75.

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
Both in Ireland, and in many parts of England, the work
of our Lord increases daily. At Leeds only, the society,
from an hundred and fourscore, is increased to above five
hundred persons. And shall you have no part in the general
blessing ? I believe better things. You will fight and conquer; take up the cross till you receive the crown. You
have both been enabled to set your faces heavenward, and
you shall never look back. You are to strengthen each
other's hands in God till you come to Mount Zion, and to
the general Church of the Firstborn.—I am, dear Sir, your
most affectionate friend and servant.

Even the Accounts between God and your own
Soul.
During his second visit to Ireland Wesley finds that
chapel-building and business affairs endanger the clearness
and life of his soul. What then but the mighty power of
God can keep alive that of his dear friend, immersed in
duties at the bank and elsewhere ? In all his balancings,
does the banker ' even," i.e. balance, ' the accounts between
God and his own soul ?'
A month later than this letter, losses and sorrows fell
upon Blackwell and his wife. They would recall these
counsels of Wesley. Then he sends a beautifully tender
and wise letter to them.
Letter VII.
DUBLIN, March 15, 1747-8.

have inquired of several, but cannot yet
hear of any such merchant as Mr* John Warr in Dublin.
A gentleman informed me this morning, that there was one
of that name, but he has been dead for many years. I
suppose this cannot be the same person to whom Mr.
Belchiers letter is directed.
We have not found a place yet that will suit us for
301
DEAR SIR,—I

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
building. Several we have heard of, and seen some; but
they are all leasehold land, and I am determined to have
freehold, if it is to be had in Dublin; otherwise we must
lie at the mercy of our landlord whenever the lease is to be
renewed.
I find the engaging, though but a little, in these temporal
affairs, is apt to damp and deaden the soul, and there is no
remedy but continual prayer. What, then, but the mighty
power of God can keep your soul alive, who are engaged all
the day long with such a multiplicity of them ? It is well
that His grace is sufficient for you. But do you not find
need to pray always ? And if you cannot always say—i

My hands are but employ'd below,
My heart is still with Thee/

is there not the more occasion for some season of solemn
retirement (if it were possible, every day), wherein you may
withdraw your mind from earth, and even the accounts
between God and your own soul? I commend you and
yours to His continual protection; and am, dear Sir, your
affectionate servant.
I suppose my brother will be with you almost as soon as
this.

' Perhaps God was jealous over you.'
Letter VIII.
DUBLIN, April 20,

1748.

am persuaded God has taught both Mrs.
Blackwell and you to say,' The Lord gave, and the Lord
hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.' Shall
not all these things work together for good ? Perhaps God
was jealous over you, lest your heart should lean to any of
the things of the earth. He will have you to be all His
302
DEAR SIR,—I

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
own, to desire nothing but Him, to seek Him and love
Him with your whole heart. And He knows what are the
hindrances, and what means will be most effectual toward it.
Then let Him work according to the counsel of His own
will. I t is the Lord! let Him do what seemeth Him good.
0 what a pearl, of how great a price, is the very lowest
degree of the peace of God ! A little measure of it, I doubt
not, you will find in the most trying circumstances. May
God increase it a thousand-fold in both your hearts !—I am,
dear Sir, your most affectionate servant.

' A complete Library for those that fear God.'
How skilfully and sympathetically Wesley thinks himself
into the situation and dangers of his friend ! And then he
invites him to enter with him the troublous waters of
publishing. Here is Wesley's first proposal of his ' Christian
Library," the pioneer of many such series of works by which
literary enterprise has since enriched the world. This was
limited to Practical Divinity, and consisted of extracts from
and abridgments of the choicest pieces published in the
English language. He issued the first volume next year
from Kings wood School, and, in 1755, the last nine of fifty
volumes. This made up the ' Library.' The necessary extraction and condensation must have involved for Wesley
the miserly use of his moments amidst his incessant travelling
and preaching in these years. He lost i?200 by this venture,
and used the familiar consolation of publishers and others
in like case: * Perhaps the next generation may know the
value of it.' The Library was reprinted, 1819-1827.
Letter IX.
NEWCASTLE, August 14, 1748.

trust you do not grow weary or faint in your
mind, although you cannot but find a thousand temptations.
Business itself, when it comes in such a flood upon you,
must needs be one of the greatest temptations, since it
303
DEAR SIB,—I

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
naturally tends to hinder your waiting upon God (as you
would desire always to do) without distraction. And when
our mind is hurried, it is hardly possible to retain either
the spirit of prayer or of thankfulness. But still, with God
no word shall be impossible. He has called you by His
providence to this way of life, and He is able to preserve
you in the midst of the world as well as in a desert. And
I cannot doubt but He will, because you appear to be
sensible of your danger. Walk then through the fire : you
shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon you.
Come unto Jesus, upon the waves of the sea, the floods shall
not run over you.
I have had some thoughts of printing, on a finer paper,
and with a larger letter, not only all that we have published
already, but, it may be, all that is most valuable in the
English tongue, in threescore or fourscore volumes, in order
to provide a complete library for those that fear God. I
should print only a hundred copies of each. Brother Downes
would give himself up to the work, so that whenever I can
procure a printing-press, types, and some quantity of paper,
I can begin immediately. I am inclined to think several
would be glad to forward such a design; and, if so, the
sooner the better, because my life is far spent, and I know
not how soon the night cometh wherein no man can work.
I commend you, and dear Mrs. Blackwell, and Mrs. Dewal,
to the grace of God, and am, dear Sir, your affectionate
brother and servant.
I leave this place on Tuesday, and propose to spend ten
or twelve days about Leeds.

* A Letter from my Brother.'
Probably the letter which Wesley says he received from
his brother Charles said much more about his forthcoming
804

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
marriage to Miss Sarah Gwynne, of Garth, Brecon, than
about Meriton. He was a Manx clergyman, who accompanied the Wesleys on some of their journeyings, and
assisted their chapel-building schemes. Charles Wesley was
married at Garth on April 28, eleven days after this letter.
Wesley officiated.
The banker and his wife sent their
congratulations. They would be represented in some
practical way also on the great day. Charles Wesley had
reason to style Blackwell 'my particular favourite.'
He
had been willing to subscribe towards the sum necessary to
secure an income of i?100 a year for the evangelist and poet,
that being a condition insisted upon by Miss Gwynne's
mother, who was a lady of fortune. For this plan Wesley
substituted a charge for that amount upon the profits of his
and his brother's literary works. A t one time he feared
that Mrs. Gwynne might insist upon conditions of marriage
which would hinder his brother's usefulness in extending
Methodism— ; perhaps settle him in a parish for life ' ; but
this did not occur.
Letter X.
KINGSWOOD, March 28,

1749.

week I received a letter from my brother,
which lays me under some difficulty. He gives me a short
account of what had passed between Mr. Meriton and you,
and then desires that I would write concerning him. But
what can I say ? Not much of what is good, because I can
say no more than I think. I am greatly at a loss what
judgement to form concerning him. What I hope is this:
That he is an honest, though weak man, one that has the
fear of God, but with a small measure of understanding.
His behaviour with us has, in general, been good. W h a t
was otherwise, I impute to folly, not malicious wickedness.
I trust Mrs. Blackwell and you are still panting after
God, if not walking in the light of His countenance. May
He enable you to turn your faces against the world, being
u
305
DEAR SIR,—Last

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
ashamed of nothing but sin, and to preserve a conscience
\roid of offence towards God and towards man.—I am, dear
Sir, your affectionate servant.

' You have been much upon my Mind.5
Wesley here writes of his many thoughts of his dear
friends, his counsels on his and their needs, and a vivid
account of the progress of the work in which they are all
interested. He anticipated Marianne Farningham's suggestive lines—
(

I cannot tell why there should come to me
A thought of some one, miles and miles away.
In swift insistence on the memory,
Unless a need there he that I should pray/

Letter XL
October 2, 1749.
DEAR SIR,—Mrs. Blackwell and you have been much upon
my mind to-day, and I trust you do not wholly forget me.
Are we not running the same race ? pressing on to the same
prize of our high calling ? Abundance of hindrances indeed
lie in the way, yet He that calls us shall make straight paths
for our feet. In the mean time, we have need of patience,
that, when we have done and suffered the will of God, we
may attain the promises.
My coming hither was utterly unexpected. I thought of
nothing less, till I received some letters from hence, giving
an account of such a work as we have not seen before in
England for several years, and it increases daily. Open
wickedness is not seen, nor have I heard one oath since I
came to Whitehaven. I preach in the market-place morning
and evening. Most of the grown persons in the town attend,
and none makes any noise, none laughs, or behaves indecently.
806
WHITEHAVEN,

TO EBENEZER BLACRWELL
One evening, when Mr, Perronet x preached in my absence,
a crew of sailors procured a fiddle, and made an attempt to
interrupt, but they met with small encouragement.
A
company of colliers turned upon them, broke their fiddle in
pieces, and used those of them they could overtake so roughly
that they have not made their appearance since. Sir James
Lowther, likewise, sent and took down the names of the
chief rioters.
To-morrow we are to leave this place. But we have a
long round to go, so that I am afraid we shall not move
much southward till toward the end of this month. I
commend you, and those that are with you, to Him who
has hitherto helped you, and am, dear Sir, your affectionate
servant.

* A Proper Object of Charity.3
This letter recommends a special case for BlackwelFs
charity, and the next letter shows how carefully Wesley
expended the money his friend gave him for similar purposes.
The 'Lending Stock,'1 which there takes the largest sum,
was an excellent fund started by Wesley four years earlier,
and managed by stewards, for making little loans for three
months to small tradesmen in London. He collected i?50
for it, and this grew to ^ISO. As many as two hundred
and fifty honest, struggling people were helped by it in one
year.2
Letter XII
LONDON, December 18, 1749.

have known Eliz. Miller for many years.
She has been always remarkably honest and industrious. I
DEAR SIR,—I

1
Mr. Edward Perronet, son of Rev. Vincent Perronet, who sometimes
travelled with Wesley.
2
The case of Lackington, the bookseller, was remarkable. He sold a
hundred thousand volumes in eighteen years, and his income was £5000 a
year; but he was penniless at one time and glad of Wesley's help by this
'Stock. 5

307

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
do not know in all London a more proper object of charity;
for she now, through age and weakness, is very ill able to
procure for herself the necessaries of life.—I am, your
affectionate servant.

* Money you left in my Hands.'
Letter XIIL
DEAR SIR,—The

February 4, 1750-1.
money you left in my hands was disposed

of as follows :—
To the Lending Stock,
To Eliz. Brooks, expecting daily to have her
goods seized for rent,
To Eliz. Room (a poor widow) for rent,
Toward clothing Mary Middleton and another
r
poor woman almost naked,
To John Edgar, a poor weaver, out of work,
To Lucy Jones, a poor orphan,
To a poor family, for food and fuel,
To Christopher Brown, out of business,
To an ancient woman in great distress,
Distributed among several sick families,

£Z

% 0

1
0

1 0
5 0

0 10 0
0 5 0
0 2 0
0 5 0
0 2 6
0 2 6
0 10 0
£5

5 0

—I am, dear Sir, your affectionate servant.

' Huge Applause and huge Opposition.5
Wesley is again in Ireland. This lively letter, here given
much more completely than by Wesley's biographer Tyerman, should be read with Letter v. This anxious time in
Ireland gave to Wesley his famous helper, Thomas Walsh.
308

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
Letter

XIV.
DUBLIN, July 21, 1750.

DEAR SIR,—Although I expect very shortly to leave this
kingdom, yet I cannot help writing a few lines; and the
rather, because I may possibly find it needful to visit
Cornwall before I can see London. I have had so hurrying a time for two or three months, as I scarce ever had
before; such a mixture of storms and clear sunshine, of
huge applause and huge opposition. Indeed, the Irish, in
general, keep no bounds. I think there is not such another
nation in Europe, so
(

Impetuous in their love and in their hate/

That any of the Methodist preachers are alive, is a clear
proof of an over-ruling Providence. For we know not
where we are safe. A week or two ago, in a time of perfect peace, twenty people assaulted one of our preachers,
and a few that were riding with him, near Limerick. He
asked their Captain what they intended to d o ; who calmly
answered, 4 To murder y o u , : and, accordingly, presented a
pistol which snapped twice or thrice. Mr. Fenwick then
rode away. The other pursued, and fired after him, but
could not overtake him. Three of his companions they
left for dead. But some neighbouring Justices of Peace
did not take it well: so they procured the cut-throats to
be apprehended; and it is supposed they will be in danger
of transportation, though murder is a venial sin in Ireland.
How soon poor brother Hogg was snatched away ! Why
was it not you, rather than he ? Because you have more
grace to receive, more battles to fight, more victories to
gain, first. O let Mrs. Black well and you live in earnest!
Look through the veil which is between time and eternity !—
I am, dear Sir.
309

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
'Advise and comfort her who is now likely to
stand in Need of every Help. 5
The requests in this and Letters xvi. and xvn. refer to
the affairs of Wesley's wife—' her that is as my own soul."
The banker could assist her in settling money matters after
her marriage with Wesley seven weeks earlier than this
letter.
The lady was Mrs. Anthony Vazeille of Threadneedle
Street, London, the widow of a merchant there, with a
country residence at Wandsworth. The Wesleys became
acquainted with Mrs. Vazeille through their friends, the
Perronets of Shoreham. She had a jointure of i?l 0,000,
which was secured to herself and her four children before
her marriage with Wesley. He was now forty-eight. She
was seven years his junior.
Wesley's love affairs, which doubtless Blackwell knew,
can be referred to here in brief terms only. All but the
first of them were singularly unsuccessful, and painful in
their results for Wesley. He had four affairs of the heart.
When he was twenty-two he was much attracted to Miss
Betty Kirkham, 1 'Varenese,'' the younger daughter of the
Rev. Lionel Kirkham of Stanton; but she was given to
another. Dr. Fitchett sums up the other episodes, and
their occasion. Wesley ' had a simple-minded but quixotic
faith in the goodness of all women, and seemed always
ready to propose to the particular face that at the moment
bent over him in his sickness. He was thrice sick: at
Georgia, in 1737, where Miss Hopkey nursed him; at
Newcastle, in 1748, where Grace Murray nursed him ; and
in London, in 1761, 2 where Mrs. Vazeille nursed him. And
as a matter of fact, Wesley wanted to marry each of his
nurses in turn! * Sophia Christiana Hopkey 3 married a
Mr. Williamson of Georgia; Grace Murray, 4 a sea captain's
1

Journal, vol. i. p. 13 et seq.
This is an obvious error. It was 1751.
Journal, vol. ii. p. 280 et seq.
4
Ibid.> vol. iii. p. 417 et seq.

2
5

310

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
widow, who was in charge of the Orphan House in Wesley's
centre at Newcastle-on-Tyne, married John Bennet, one of
his preachers. When Wesley's foot slipped on London
Bridge, involving injuries to his ankle, he rested a week in
the house of Mrs. Vazeille, who resided in Threadneedle
Street, and there rendered him kindly care. On February 18,
1751, eight days after the accident, they were married. 1
This haste was followed by repentance at leisure in the
many years of misery involved for Wesley. This began
to be acute about five years after their marriage. Mrs.
Wesley died in 1781, at the age of seventy-one, ten years
before Wesley died. His marriage was the one calamitous
blunder of his life. He writes happily and fondly about
and to his wife in the letters of this period. Later a
terrible change is seen.2
Charles Wesley was greatly disturbed by his brother's
marriage. He and his wife had visited at Mrs. Vazeille's.
He feared its effects in lessening his brother's work and
influence. He knew himself to be incapable of directing or
governing the rapidly increasing host of Methodists. Hence
the hint in this letter that he would not attend Wesley's
annual Conference with his preachers, to be held a week later
in Bristol. He was not present. Wesley's fears of it were
realised : the grave question of separating Methodism from
the Church of England was then first raised. Charles
Wesley proved himself completely loyal to his brother in
all the troubles with his wife. By sympathy and advice
Blackwell shared in them also, as we shall see.
1
On June i, consequent upon his marriage, Wesley resigned his fellowship
of Lincoln College, Oxford. Hence the legend so often used under his name,
* Sometime Fellow,7 etc.
2
The important letters xxxiv. and xxxv. are now first given completely ;
and xxxvi., with Blackwell's excellent reply, is now first published, all from
the Colman Collection. The three Wesley letters are from copies made by
the late Mr. Thomas Marriott, who contributed many such to Wes. Meth.
Mag., 1845, etseq.
See next chapter. For other letters and facts, see Wesley's Journal,
in loc. ; Coke and Moore's Life of Wesley (1792); Jackson's Charles Wesley,
vol. i. pp. 560, 568-571 ; Tyerman's Wesley, vol. ii. pp. 101-115 ; ' Wesley's
wife' in Wesley Studies; Cambridge Modem History, vol. vi. p. 852.

311

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Letter XV.
BRISTOL, March 5, 1751.

DEAR SIR,—After an extremely troublesome day I reached
Chippenham last night, twenty miles short of Bristol, and
came hither between ten and eleven this morning, at least
as well as when I left London.
The note delivered to me on Sunday night, which ran in
these words: <I am not determined when I shall leave
London,' convinces me that I must not expect to see the
writer of it at our approaching Conference. This is indeed
deserting me at my utmost need, just when the Philistines
are upon me. But I am content, for I am well assured
the Lord is not departed from me. Is it not best to let all
these things sleep ? to let him do just what he will do, and
to say nothing myself, good or bad, concerning it, till his
mind is more cool and able to bear it ?
I persuade myself, neither Mrs. Blackwell, nor Mr. Lloyd
or you, will be wanting in your good office. And will you
not likewise advise and comfort her who is now likely to
stand in need of every help ? You see how bold a beggar
I am. I cannot be satisfied yet, without asking you to do
more for, dear Sir, your most affectionate servant,
6

Her that is as my own Soul.'
Letter

XVI.
MANCHESTER^ April 7, 1751.

must blame yourself, if your never denying me anything makes me ask for more and more. But I
am not assured whether it is proper to comply with what
I am going to mention now. If it is, I know you will do it,
although it will not be a pleasing task.
312
DEAR SIR,—You

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
Mr. Lloyd thinks it absolutely needful that a friend or
two of my wife should meet Mr. Blisson and a friend
or two of his, in order to persuade him, if it can be done,
to come to an account as to what remains in his hands.
If Mr. Lloyd and you would take this trouble on yourselves, I do not doubt but the affair would end well.
We have hitherto had a very rough, but a very prosperous journey. I only want more time, there being so
many calls to various parts that I cannot possibly answer
them all between this and Whitsuntide. O what reason
have we to put forth all our strength! For, what a
Master do we serve! I trust we shall never be weary of
His service. And why should we ever be ashamed of it ?
I am persuaded Mrs. Blackwell and you do not forget me,
nor her that is as my own soul.—I am, dear Sir, your
affectionate servant.

* M y Wife she has many Trials.'
Letter XVIL
LEEDS, May 14, 1751.

DEAR SIB,—I am inclined to think Mr. Lloyd has hit

upon the expedient which, if anything can, will induce Mr.
Blisson to come to an amicable conclusion. I have wrote
such a state of the case as he advised, and hope God will
give a blessing on it.
I am much obliged both to Mrs. Blackwell and you on
my own and on my wife's account. She has many trials, but
not one more than God knows, and knows to be profitable
to her. I believe you have been, and will be, a means of
removing some. If these outward incumbrances were removed, it might be a means of her spending more time with
me, which would probably be useful as well as agreeable
to her.
313

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
As the providence of God has called you to be continually
engaged in outward things, I trust you will find Him continually present with you, that you may look through all,
and
e
Serve with careful Martha's hands,,
And loving Mary's heart.'
I am glad Mrs. Dewal has not forgotten me. I hope
you all remember, at the throne of grace, dear Sir, your
most affectionate servant.
6

There is a fair Prospect on every Side.'

Mrs. Wesley has joined her husband, and they are journeying together on his long tiresome tour of three or four
hundred miles. His wife travelled on horseback, with him,
accompanied by her daughter. 1 Wesley is surprised and
pleased. Charles Wesley, now reconciled to the marriage,
begs them to freely use his house in Bristol in addition to
the accommodation they had in the New Room in the Horsefair there. Charles's house was No. 4 Charles Street, Stokes
Croft. The poet and his family occupied it for twenty-two
years (1749-1771). There he wrote many of his incomparable hymns.
John Jones was worth Black well's good offices, which
Wesley here requests, and which were successful. Dr. Jones
was a graduate in arts and medicine, and itinerated for
some years as a Methodist preacher. With the consent of
Wesley he received ordination at the hands of Erasmus,
a Greek Bishop, that he might give the sacrament to the
Methodists. He became headmaster of Harwich Free
School, and curate and vicar of that town.
Letter

XVIII.
BRISTOL, July 3, 1751.

I left London I wrote to Mr. Butterfield, informing him of two families which are in great disDEAR SIR,—Before
1

314

Probably ' Jenny,' referred to in these letters.

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
tress. As I have heard nothing since, I suppose the letter
miscarried, unless my ominous name prevented its meeting
with success. However, I have done my part, and it is only
a little labour lost. Nay, in one sense it is not lost, for if
we only desire to help one another, the willing mind cannot
lose its reward.
My brother left us on Saturday. He designed to be at
Worcester to-day, and then proceed slowly towards Scotland. His mind seemed to be altogether changed before he
went. He was quite free and open to us, and pressed us
much to make use of his house in his absence, just as if
it were our own. There is a fair prospect on every side.
The people of Bristol, in general, are much alive to God,
and they are so united together that the men of false tongues
can make no impression upon them.
Do you know what is the matter with John Jones ? I
suppose he will speak freely to you. He seems to be much
troubled at something, and, I doubt, offended. I know if
you can remove that trouble it will be a pleasure to you
to do it.
We join in good wishes both to Mrs. Blackwell and you.
—I am, dear Sir, your very affectionate servant.

' Have we any Time to lose in this Span of Life ? '
Every letter gives Blackwell counsel and seeks his help.
Now it is the case of Richard Ellison. That farmer is a
coarse, ignorant, wicked fellow; but he is clearly in sore
need, and he is Wesley's brother-in-law.
Moreover, the trouble is at Epworth, Wesley's birthplace,
and 'where he had been brought up.' He is now there,
and proved the wretched condition of the badly drained fenland. Attempting a short cut across land near the town, he
was embogged; ' but my mare being lively and strong, she
made a shift to get out.' He preached three times every day,
and so answers his question with which he closes this letter.
815

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Letter

XIX.
EPWORTH, April 16, 1752.

DEAR SIR,—After taking a careful round of between three
and four hundred miles, we came hither yesterday in the
afternoon. My wife is at least as well as when we left
London, the more she travels, the better she bears it. I t
gives us yet another proof, that whatever God calls us to,
He will fit us for, so that we have no need to take thought
for the morrow. Let the morrow take thought for the things
of itself. I was at first a little afraid she would not so well
understand the behaviour of a Yorkshire mob; but there
has been no trial. Even the Methodists are now at peace
throughout the kingdom. It is well if they bear this so
well as they did war. I have seen more make shipwreck of
the faith in a calm than in a storm. We are apt in sunshiny
weather to lie down and sleep, and who can tell what may
be done before we awake.
You was so kind as to say (if I did not misunderstand
you) that you had placed the name of Richard Ellison among
those who were to have a share of the money disposed of by
Mr. Butterfield. Last night he called upon me. I find all
his cows are dead, and all his horses but one, and all his
meadow-land has been under water these two years (which
is occasioned by the neglect of the Commissioners of the
Sewers, who ought to keep the drains open) ; so that he has
very little left to subsist on. Therefore the smallest relief
could never be more seasonable than at this time.
I hope my brother puts forth all his strength among you,
and that you have many happy opportunities together.
Our best service attends both Mrs. Blackwell and you. We
are now going round Lincolnshire, and hope to be at York
in less than ten days. Have we any time to lose in this span
of life ?—I am, dear Sir, your very affectionate servant.
316

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
The Sale of Books . . . which of these ways
should you judge most proper ?
Wesley's management of his publishing business and the
book room in London is not answering. The profits, devoted
to helping his work and his preachers, are small. What
does the London banker and leading Methodist layman
advise ? As a business man, he would see the impossibility
of its successful conduct by Wesley, who was continually
ranging the country. Instead of any of the ways Wesley
proposed, Butts, the soul of honesty, and William Briggs,
equally upright, seem to have prepared a scheme for
relieving Wesley and undertaking this important department.
Probably Black well counselled them. He laid it before
Wesley, as Letter xxi. shows. Next year, Butts and Briggs
became the first book stewards of Methodism.
Newcastle was the northern point of that isosceles triangle
—-Bristol and London being the other points—along the lines
of which Wesley made many of his great preaching tours.
He was delighted with Newcastle and its Methodism. The
appreciation there was in sharp contrast with the mobbing
he and his wife had in Hull a month before. Mrs. Wesley
felt there ' the behaviour of a Yorkshire mob,"* only a week
later than the last letter, when there was ' no trial.' Clods
and stones flew about them on every side, and were poured
into the coach, wherein a lady packed them with herself and
six others—nine in all. Wesley quaintly says,' A large lady
who sat in my lap screened me, so that nothing came near
m e ' ; nor was his wife hurt. Mrs. Wesley suffered badly at
sea on their journey to Ireland (Letter xxi.).

Letter XX.
NEWCASTLE, May

23,

1752.

DEAR S I E , — I want your advice. T. Butts sends me word,
that after our printers'* bills are paid, the money remaining,
received by the sale of books, does not amount to a hundred
317

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
pounds a year. It seems therefore absolutely necessary to
determine one of these three things:—Either to lessen the
expense of printing (which I see no way of doing, unless by
printing myself); to increase the income arising from the
books (and how this can be done I know not); or to give
up those eighty-six copies, which are specified in my brothers
deed, to himself to manage them as he pleases. Now which
of these ways, all things considered, should you judge most
proper to be taken ?
I receive several agreeable accounts of the manner wherein
God is carrying on his work in London, and am in hopes
both Mrs. Blackwell and you partake of the common blessings. My wife set out for Bristol last week. I hope her
fears will prove groundless, and that all her children will live
to glorify God. Anthony I hear is recovered already.
The people in these parts are much alive to God, being
generally plain, artless, and simple of heart. Here I should
spend the greatest part of my life, if I were to follow my
own inclinations. But I am not to do my own will, but the
will of Him that sent me. I trust it is your continual
desire and care to know, and love, and serve Him. May
He strengthen you both therein more and more !—I am,
dear Sir, your ever affectionate servant.
6

If you had faithful Friends you would swiftly
advance.'

Closely and tenderly in this and the two following letters
(xxi.-XXIII.) Wesley deals with BlackwelPs spiritual ailments
like a good physician. He needs faithful friends, different
from ' one who was in town lately ' ; ' to be, not almost only,
but altogether a Christian'; a firm resolve that, please or
offend, he will be 'bold for God," before ' the flattering,
frowning world.'
318

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
Letter

XXL
DUBLIN, July 20, 1752.

DEAR SIR,—Finding no ship ready to sail, either at Bristol
or Chester, we at length came back to Whitehaven, and
embarked on Monday last. It is generally a passage of fourand-twenty hours; but the wind continuing contrary all the
way, we did not reach this place till Friday evening. My
wife and Jenny were extremely sick, particularly when we
had a rolling sea; but a few days, I trust, will restore their
strength. They are already much better than when they
landed.
Last month a large mob assaulted the new house here,
and did considerable damage. Several of the rioters were
committed to Newgate. The bills were found against them
all, and they were tried ten days since; but, in spite of the
clearest evidence, a packed jury brought them in, c Not
Guilty.' I believe, however, the very apprehension and trial
of them has struck a terror into their companions. We
now enjoy great quietness, and can even walk unmolested
through the principal streets in Dublin.
I apprehend my brother is not at all desirous of having
those copies transferred to him. I cannot easily determine
till I have full information concerning the several particulars
you touch upon, whether it be expedient to make such an
alteration (though it would ease me much), or let all things
remain just as they are. Therefore, I believe it will be best
to take no further step till I return to London.
I am fully persuaded, if you had always one or two faithful
friends near you, who would speak the very truth from their
heart, and watch over you in love, you would swiftly advance
in running the race which is set before you. I am afraid
you was not forwarded by one who was in town lately,
neither was that journey of any service to his own soul.
319

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
He has not brought back less indolence and gentle inactivity
than he carried to London. O how far from the spirit of a
good soldier of Jesus Christ, who desires only ' to be freed
alive and to conquer !' Our best wishes attend both Mrs.
Black well, Mrs. Dewal, and yourself.—I am, dear Sir, your
most affectionate servant.

' I often tremble for you.'
Letter XXII.
YORK, May 16,

1753.

DEAR SIE,—For some time I have had a desire to send
you a few lines. I have often observed, with a sensible
pleasure, your strong desire to be, not almost only, but
altogether, a Christian. And what should hinder it?
What is it that prevents those good desires from being
brought into good effect? Is it the carrying a right
principle too far ? I mean, a desire to please all men for
their good. Or is it a kind of shame—the being ashamed,
not of sin, but of holiness, or of what conduces thereto ? I
have often been afraid lest this should hurt you. I have
been afraid that you do not gain ground in this respect;
nay, that you rather go backward, by yielding to this,
than forward by conquering it. I have feared that you
are not so bold for God now as you were four or five years
ago. If so, you are certainly in great danger. For in this
case, who knows where he shall stop ? The giving way in
one point naturally leads us to give way in another and
another, till we give up all. O Sir, let us beware of this!
Whereunto we have attained, let us hold fast! But this
can only be, by pressing on. Otherwise we must go back.
You have need of courage and steady resolution, for you
have a thousand enemies: the flattering, frowning world;
the rulers of the darkness of this world; and the grand
820

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
enemy within. What need have you to put on the whole
armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the
evil day! I often tremble for you. And how few will
honestly and plainly tell you of your danger ! O may God
warn you continually by His inward voice, and with every
temptation make a way for you to escape! My wife joins
me in wishing all blessing both to Mrs. Blackwell and you.—
I am, dear Sir, your affectionate servant.
If you favour me with a line, you will please to direct to
Leeds.

' Natural Cheerfulness of Temper may easily slide
into an Extreme.'
Blackwell welcomed the wounds of this faithful friend.
So Wesley here probes more deeply, and again in Letter
xxv. From experience, he knew the dangers of a natural
cheerfulness of temper. Alternate levity and moroseness were
among Wesley's early besetting sins.1 By the Holy Spirit's
help, self-conquest freed him, and gave him that serenity
and even gladness which were among his excellences and
charms.
;
Our friend' was Charles Wesley ; but Blackwell did not
persuade him to resume his itinerations. His labours were
now almost confined to Bristol and London.
Letter

XXIII.
BIRSTAL, May

28,

1753.

DEAR SIR,—Your speaking so freely encourages me to
write once more. Ever since I had the pleasure of knowing
you, I have observed in you a real desire to please God, and
to have a conscience void of offence. But, at the same time,
I have observed you had many enemies. Perhaps one was,
1

x

See p. 7, and Journal, vol. i. p. 53.

321

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
a natural cheerfulness of temper, which, though in itself it
be highly desirable, yet may easily slide into an extreme.
And in this case, we know too well it may hurt us extremely.
It may be another hindrance in your way has sometimes
been a kind of shame, which prevented your executing good
and commendable designs. Was it not owing to this, that
you who had received such blessings by means of fieldpreaching, grew unwilling to attend it ? But is there any
end of giving way to this enemy? Will it not encroach
upon us more and more? I have sometimes been afraid
that you have not gained ground in this respect for these
two or three years. But the comfort is, that in a moment
God can repair whatever is decayed in our souls, and supply
whatever is wanting. What is too hard for Him ? Nothing,
but our own will. Let us give up this, and He will not withhold from us any manner of thing that is good.
I believe the harvest has not been so plenteous for many
years as it is now in all the north of England; but the
labourers are few. I wish you could persuade our friend to
share the labour with me. One of us should in any wise
visit both the North and Ireland every year. But I cannot
do both; the time will not suffice; otherwise I should not
spare myself. I hope my life rather than my tongue, says,
I desire only to spend and to be spent in the work. Our
love and service always attend Mrs. Black well and you.—I
am, dear Sir, your very affectionate servant.

* The greatest Instruments of my Recovery.'
Wesley had been at death's door with consumption. On
November 26, six weeks before this letter, he went to Blackwell's beautiful home grievously ill. All expected his death.
On the night of his arrival there he wrote his famous epitaph,
in order, he said,' to prevent vile panegyric'—a characteristic
touch. It was never used, except that he published it later
322

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL

in his Journal.1 A t this crisis the Blackwells did him and
Methodism great service. They were friends indeed. He
contrasts his comfort with them with conditions in the cold
house in the Colonnade by the Hot Well, Clifton, Bristol. He
went there on January 2, 1754, accompanied by his wife, to
drink the medicinal waters. The district was lovely and
did well for him; but for a moment, though only for a
moment, we hear the petulance of the invalid. The next
day to that of this letter he was able to begin his work of
translation and exposition, Notes on the New Testament.2
This illness was the occasion of this important work. Wesley
left the Hot Well next month, and preached on March 26,
after four months' interval. After this remarkable recovery
he was to live thirty-seven years.
Letter

XXIV.
BRISTOL, January

5y 1754.

Sm,—If I write to my best friends first, I must not
delay writing to you, who have been the greatest instruments in God's hands, of my recovery so far. The journey
hither did not weary me at all. But now I find the want
of Lewisham air. We are (quite contrary to my judgement,
but our friends would have it so) in a cold, bleak place, and
in a very cold house. If the Hot Well water make amends
for this, it is well. Nor have I any place to ride, but either
by the river side, or over the Downs, where the wind is
ready to carry me away. However, one thing we know,
that whatsoever is, is best! O let us look to Him that
DEAR

1
It reads, ' Here lieth the Body of JOHN WESLEY, a brand [not once only]
plucked out of the burning : who died of a consumption in the fifty-first year
of his age, not leaving, after his debts aie paid, ten pounds behind him:
praying, God be merciful to me, an unprofitable servant !' The words in
brackets were omitted when he published the epitaph. Charles Wesley
copied it complete at the sad time of its writing, and so preserved Wesley's
allusion to his rescue, when a child, from the burning Epworth rectory.
2
It was completed in the September of next year. The Notes owe much
to Bengel's Gnomon. With four volumes of Wesley's sermons, they make a
standard body of Methodist teaching.

323J1

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
orders all things well! What have we to do, but to
employ all the time He allots us, be it more or less, in
doing and suffering His will ? My wife joins in tender love
both to Mrs. Blackwell, Mrs. Bewal, and yourself, with,
dear Sir, your obliged and affectionate servant.

' These Hints are not a Mark of Disesteem, but
of Sincerity.'
Letter

XXV.

BRISTOL^ September 24, 1754.
SIR,—Although I hope to see you in about a fortnight, yet I could not be satisfied without sending you a few
lines first. Since I left London, I have had many thoughts
concerning you, and sometimes uneasy ones. I have been
jealous over you, lest you should not duly improve the
numerous talents with which God has entrusted you; nay,
I have been afraid lest your very desire of improving them
should grow weaker, rather than stronger. If so, by what
means is it to be accounted for ? What has occasioned this
feebleness of mind? May it not partly be occasioned by
your conversing more than is necessary (for so far as it is
necessary it does not hurt us) with men that are without
God in the world: that love, think, talk of earthly things
only ? partly by your giving way to a false shame (and that
in several instances), which the more you indulge, it increases
the more ? and partly by allowing too large a place in your
thoughts and affections even to so innocent an enjoyment
as that of a garden ? x If this leaves you fewer opportunities
of hearing the word which is able to save your soul, may
not you even hereby grieve the Holy Spirit, and be more a
loser than you are sensible of? I know both Mrs. BlackDEAR

1

3£4

Wesley loved a garden.

See Wesley and Kingswood, p. 122,

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
well a n d you desire to please God in all things. Y o u will
therefore, I know, receive these hints as t h e y are intended ;
n o t as a mark of disesteem, b u t r a t h e r of t h e sincerity
with which I am, dear Sir, your ever affectionate servant.
6

When one is willing then the other flies off.'

T w o letters follow, sad b u t for t h e radiant cheerfulness of
Wesley, on misunderstandings which have arisen between
his wife a n d his brother Charles. L e t t e r xxvi. is from t h e
original in Victoria Methodist College Library, T o r o n t o ,
a n d has not been published before, except t h e last two
paragraphs.
I t is endorsed in BlackwelFs h a n d w r i t i n g .
' Rev. M r . J o h n Wesley, Manchester, 9 A p r i l 1755.'
L e t t e r XXVII., now first published, from a copy in t h e Colman
Collection, opens like L e t t e r x x v i . ; b u t its date, place,
and contents are different from t h a t . 1
Wesley's wife and his brother Charles were a n t i p a t h e t i c
t o each other. Charles tried t o accept agreeably t h e fact
of his brother's union, and was himself t h e reconciler between
t h e m in a difference of their early married life. W h e n
Wesley was t h o u g h t t o be dying, 2 he used t h e occasion t o
reconcile his wife and Charles. Once t h e l a t t e r wrote t o
his own wife, ' I called, two minutes before preaching, on
Mrs. Wesley a t t h e F o u n d e r y ; and, in all t h a t time, had
n o t one quarrel.''
H e referred t o her in his letters as ' M y
Best Friend,' as she told him ' plain and h o m e ' t h e faults
she saw in him. BlackwelFs efforts, which Wesley here
invites, did n o t lead t o a lasting peace.
Letter

XXVI.
MANCHESTER, A'pril 9, 1755.

D E A R S I R , — B e i n g very fully persuaded t h a t my brother
would gladly embrace any overture of peace, I told him
1
2

Only its last short paragraph appeared in Wesley's Works.
See pp. 322, 355.

325

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
almost as soon as we met what my wife had agreed to. He
answered not one word. After a day or two I spoke to him
again. It had the same success. The Sunday before he
left Bristol I desired to speak to him, but he did not come.
Just as I was going out of town the next morning, he sent
to me to call at his house. But I could not then ; and before
I came back he was set out for London, only leaving a note
that he had left his answer with Lady Huntingdon]. I t
may be so ; but I saw her twice afterwards, and she said
nothing of it to me. Neither am I (any more than my
wife) willing to refer the matter to her arbitration. From
the whole I learn that there is no prospect of peace. When
one is willing then the other flies off.
I shall profit
by both, but I am sorry to do it at the expense of
others.
I have another favour to beg of you: to procure Mr.
Belchier's leave for me to inclose my proof-sheets to him.
Mr. C. Perronet sends them down to me in franks.1 Then
I correct and send them back to him. The next week I am
to spend at Liverpool. Toward the end of the week following I hope to be at Haworth, near Keighley, in Yorkshire.
God has blest me with a prosperous journey hither,
though the roads and the weather were rough. I hope both
Mrs. Blackwell and you are making the best use of all things,
rough or smooth. That is the part of a good soldier of
Jesus Christ:
s
To trace His example,
The world to disdain,
And cheerfully trample
On pleasure and pain/
—I am, dear Sir, your very affectionate servant.
1

326

Probably of the Notes on the New Testament, now printing.

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
' Y o u love both the contending Parties. 5
Letter XXVII.
KEIGHLEY, near LEEDS, April 29, 1755.
very fully persuaded that my brother
would very gladly embrace any overture of peace, I told him
almost as soon as we met, what my wife had agreed to. He
answered not a word. I am exceedingly puzzled.—I do not
know what his judgement is, or what are his intentions.—I
can only conjecture that his design is never to speak to her
at all. And I suppose this is Lady Huntingdon]'s advice;
because he referred me to her for an answer. But I cannot
submit to her arbitration. I do not think she is a competent judge. You love both the contending parties, but I
am afraid she does not. Another difficulty is rising from
the opposite quarter. From her last letter I learn that my
poor wife has just found out, that ' my carrying her to
Bristol was all a trick, concerted between my brother and
me, in order to prevent her coming to Leeds.' And where
she is I cannot tell; for she says not a word, whether she
intends staying in London or coming forward. If she was
willing to come I should much desire it, were it only on poor
Jenny's account; for if anything in the world recovers her,
it would be exercise and change of air. But I must not
press her to i t : for if I did I should hear of it another
day.
What a blessing it is to have these little crosses, that we
may try what spirit we are of; we could not live in continual
sunshine. It would dry up all the grace of God that is in
us. I doubt not but Mrs. Blackwell and Mrs. Dewal find
advantage both from bodily weakness and every other trial.
Let us fight the good fight of faith together, and more
resolutely lay hold on eternal life.—Yours affectionately.
327
DEAR SIR,—Being

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' In my present Journey I leap as broken from
Chains.'
The utter incompatibility of temperament, training, and
way of life between Wesley and his wife now appears. She
is finding the strain of travelling with her husband on
his preaching tours intolerable. Still more is her suspicious
nature agitated by the freedom with which he writes to his
friends, ladies and others. We shall see sadly much more
of this, until they separate. Sir William Robertson Nicoll
says 1 that the greatest letters are written by the wounded.
Wesley's letters on this subject are tense and intense
indeed. A survey of all the facts confirms the judgement
given by Blackwell,2 that some of Wesley's correspondence
was not wise; but there is not in all of it from him, to him,
and concerning him, where only truth is written, one line
which leaves a spot or stain upon his character.
Blackwell would be affected by the picture Wesley here
gives of himself. He is leaping forward in his mighty
journeyings. For the sake of Christ and His work he is
content with anything and everything, like St. Paul. And
Blackwell and all knew that Wesley thus wrote truly of
himself.
Letter

XXVIII.
REDRUTH, Aug.

31,

1755.

my last journey to the North, all my
patience was put to the proof again and again ; and all my
endeavour to please, yet without success. In my present
journey I leap as broken from chains. I am content with
whatever entertainment I meet with, and my companions
are always in good humour, * because they are with me.1
This must be the spirit of all who take journeys with me.
If a dinner ill dressed, or a hard bed, a poor room, a shower
of rain, or a dusty road, will put them out of humour,
DEAR SIR,—In

1

A Bookmarfs Letters^ p. 97.

828

2

See p. 339.

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
it lays a burthen upon me greater than all the rest put
together. By the grace of God I never fret; I repine at
nothing, I am discontented with nothing. And to hear
persons at my ear fretting and murmuring at every thing is
like tearing the flesh off my bones. I see God sitting upon
His throne and ruling all things well. Although therefore I
can bear this also, to hear His government of the world continually found fault with (for in blaming the things which
He alone can alter, we in effect blame Him), yet it is such a
burden to me as I cannot bear without pain; and I bless
God when it is removed. The doctrine of a particular providence is what exceeding few persons understand, at least
not practically, so as to apply it to any circumstance of life.
This I want: to see God acting in every thing and disposing
all for His own glory and creatures' good. I hope it is your
continual prayer that you may see Him and love Him more,
and glorify Him with all you are and all you have. Peace
be with you all.—I am, dear sir, your affectionate servant.
I shall be in or near St. Ives till the 13th of September.

' This has raised a violent Storm.'
Letter

XXIX.
ST. IVES, September 12, 1755.

DEAR SIR,—It seems there was a remarkable providence
in this, that Michael Fen wick 1 was so often hindered from
settling in business, because God had other work for him
to do. He is just made to travel with me, being an excellent groom, valet de chambre, nurse, and upon occasion a
tolerable preacher. We have hitherto had an extremely
prosperous journey; almost everything has been just as we
desired, and I have no care upon my mind, but what properly belongs to me—to feed and guide the flock of Christ.
1

Seep. 183.

329

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Charles Perronet* being out of town last Saturday, my
paquet [packet] directed to him fell into other hands. This
has raised a violent storm, for it contained a few lines which
I writ to Mrs. Lefevre, in answer to a letter she sent me the
week before concerning Mr. Farley. So now, 6 all the
intrigue is discovered, and the reason why I direct my letters
to Mr. Perronet.' 'Tis a pity ! I should be glad if I had to
do with reasonable people. But this likewise is for good.
A wonderful odd circumstance has fallen out here. A
young gentleman, 2 nephew to the present mayor, began
some time since to attend our preaching, and last week fell
raving mad. This incident (so deep is the wisdom of God)
has opened me a way into the mayor's family, brought me
much acquainted with his wife, who is not easy if I do not
call once or twice a day, and alarmed the whole town with
such a concern for their souls as was never known here
before. The particulars I hope to send to Mr. Perronet in
my next journal. Who is so wise a God as our God ? I
trust you will have Him more and more in your thoughts
and in your affections.—I am, dear Sir, your ever affectionate
servant.
In about ten days I hope to be in Bristol.
6

1 will do what a good Subject ought.5

The Seven Years' War (1755-1762) began with success
for the French in Canada. Despondency fell upon English
statesmen. Chesterfield cried, * We are no longer a nation.'
Ireland seemed on the eve of a rebellion, and England was
threatened with invasion by a Franco-Papal force.
At
Blackwell's suggestion Wesley prepared ' the enclosed' 3 —
an offer to raise a regiment of soldiers for the king
1
2
8

See p. 76.
This seems to have been John Knill, then twenty-two. —Journal, vol. iv.
Given on p. 409.

330

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
(George u.). As the letter next this one shows, he also
tried to secure the election at Bristol of a Parliamentary
candidate who stood for the King. The fears concerning
Ireland passed. In Letter xxxn. Wesley writes from there,
' all is in absolute peace and safety.'
Letter

XXX.
MARLBOROUGH, March I,

1756.

hope the enclosed will do, for I have not
leisure to alter it any more.
To make professions does not belong to m e ; it is quite
foreign to my character. Let those who mean nothing, talk
like Goneril and Regan in King Lear. By God's help, I
will do what a good subject ought. Wishing Mrs. Blackwell and you all health of soul and body, I am, dear Sir,
your affectionate servant.
DEAR SIR,—I

(

Some way of managing Elections without embittering Englishmen.'
Letter XXXL
BRISTOL^ March 4, 1756.

DEAR SIR,—If the election of Mr. Spenser be a thing of
any consequence, then it was extremely ill-judged to prevent
his coming down. He ought to have been here at all
hazards, if he were not very dangerously ill. His absence
will probably turn the scale; and if the Jacobites gain one
member now, they will have two the next time. Whereas
there is reason to believe, had Mr. Spenser appeared, there
would have been no opposition.
Last night I desired all the freemen of our society to meet
me after preaching, and enlarged a little upon His Majesty's
character, and the reasons we had to spare no pains in his
service. I believe all who had been wavering were fully
331

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
convinced. But some had absolutely promised to vote for
Mr. Smith, it having been confidently reported that both the
candidates were equally acceptable to His Majesty.
The whole city is in confusion. O what a pity there
could not be some way of managing elections of every sort,
without this embittering Englishmen against Englishmen,
and kindling fires which cannot be quenched in many
years !
Wishing Mrs. Blackwell and you the peace which the
world cannot give, I remain, dear Sir, yours most affectionately.

' All here are as safe as if they were already in
Paradise.'
Letter XXXII.
DUBLIN, April 19, 1756.

you in England are under I know not
what apprehensions, all here are as safe as if they were
already in Paradise. We have no fortifying of seaports, no
military preparations, but all is in absolute peace and safety.
Both high and low seem fully persuaded that the whole talk
of an invasion is only a trick to get money.
I dined at Mrs. Moreland's last week, and promised to
drink tea with her this evening. She has been at the
preaching several times, and desires much to be remembered
to Mrs. Blackwell and you. She seems to have a liking to
the Gospel. It may sink deeper. There is nothing too
hard for God.
I hope Mrs. Blackwell and you are improving to the
utmost these days of tranquillity. I purpose going to Cork
directly, and after two or three weeks turning back to the
north of Ireland. If it please God that troublous times
come between the design and the execution, I shall go as
far as I can go, and no farther. But I take no thought for
DEAR SIR,—While

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
the morrow. To-day I am determined, by His grace, to do
the work of Him that sent me. I find encouragement so to
do, for all the people here are athirst for the word of life.—
I am, dear Sir, your affectionate servant.
Do you at London believe that the danger of an invasion
is over ?

' Business that will endure.'
Letter

XXXIIL
WHITEHAVEN,, May

28,

1757.

the rule still hold good, ' Out of sight,
out of mind' ? I am afraid it does with poor Miss Freeman, 1
as she does not give me one line in answer to the long letter
I wrote from Liverpool. I was in hopes we might have
interchanged several letters in less than six weeks'' time. As
for you, I presume you are full of business, and yet not so
full of temporal business as to exclude the thoughts of
higher concerns—business that will endure when earth and
the works of it are burned up. Were anything temporal
even to damp or lessen (though not destroy) our care and
zeal for things eternal, what could countervail the less ?
What could make us amends for the damage thereby
sustained ? Sometimes, indeed, we may go through abundance of business, and yet have God in all our thoughts.
But is this the case always? Are not even lawful, nay,
necessary, things at other times a grievous hindrance, especially when we undertake them without any suspicion of
danger, and, consequently, without any prayer against that
danger ? In this respect, as in many others, I have lately
had peculiar reason to be thankful. In every place people
flock about me for direction, in secular as well as spiritual
affairs; and I dare not throw even this burden off my
DEAR SIR,—Does

1

' Whom I had known almost from a child, '—Journal, May 25, 1783.

333

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
shoulders, though I have employment enough without it.
But it is a burden, and no burden : it is no incumbrance, no
weight upon my mind. If we see God in all things, and do
all for Him, then all things are easy.
I think it is fourteen or fifteen days since my wife wrote
to me. I am afraid she is not well. If any letters for me
come enclosed to Mr. Belchier, I will be obliged to you if
you will (not send them to her but) direct them to me at
Newcastle, where I hope to be in a few days. Wishing all
grace and peace to you and yours.—I am, dear Sir, your
most affectionate servant.
I breakfasted at Keswick last Tuesday.

' The Letters I received were open/
Wesley is in Ireland, where the fields are white unto
harvest. Would that Charles were itinerating in England,
and so left John free to gather the sheaves!
Mrs. Wesley is not with her husband. The rift within
the lute already noticed has widened. There is no music,
but now silence, and soon the horrid clang of bitter words and
the clash of opposing wills.1 Wesley holds firmly to his
right to journey when and where he will, and to correspond
and converse with any one. All this angered his wife, who
was a masterful, suspicious, jealous woman, of meagre education. She intercepts, opens, reads, misreads, and interpolates
his letters, steals his papers, and misreports his messages. Mrs.
Sarah Ryan 2 here referred to, one of Wesley's workers, was
her pet aversion ; and small wonder. However useful and
earnest she became, her past course disqualified her for
some positions. Blackwell is 6 more than once puzzled' at
Wesley's ways, and cannot help thinking him ' a little in
the wrong.' Who will differ from the wise, judicious banker ?
His kindly, grave, and shrewd reply is given after Letter
xxxvi. Wesley would feel the weight of its last two paragraphs.
1

See notes on p. 311.

334.

2

Tyerman's Wesley, vol. ii. p. 286.

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
Letter

XXXIV.
CASTLEBAR, June 6} 1758.

DEAR SIR,—I suppose my wife is now in London, as the
letters I received thrice in the last frank were open. For
she still insists on her right of reading all the letters which
are sent to me. And I have no friend or servant where she
is, who has honesty and courage to prevent it. I find since
I left England all my domestics have changed their sentiments, and are convinced she is a poor, quiet creature, that
is barbarously used. I should not at all wonder if my
brother and you were brought over to the same opinion.
Since I came into this kingdom I have written several times,
but I have not received one line in answer. So I sit still. I
have learned, by the grace of God, in every state to be content. I have in this respect done what / ought and what /
could. Now let God do what seemeth Him good. What a
peace do we find in all circumstances when we can say, 6 Not
as I will, but as Thou wilt.'
I have now gone through the greatest part of this kingdom, Leinster, Ulster, and the greater half of Connaught.
Time only is wanting. If my brother could take care of
England, and give me but one year for Ireland, I think every
corner of this nation would receive the truth as it is in
Jesus. They want only to hear i t ; and they will hear me,
high and low, rich and poor. What a mystery of Providence
is this ? In England they may hear, but will not ; in
Ireland they fain would hear, but cannot. So in both,
thousands perish for lack of knowledge. So much the more
blessed are your ears, for they hear; if you not only hear
the word of God, but keep it.
I hope you find public affairs changing for the better. In
this corner of the world we hear little about them, only
335

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
we are told that the great little King in Moravia is not
swallowed up yet.
Till near the middle of next month I expect to be at Mr.
Beauchamp's in Limerick. I hope to have a fruitful season
in every respect.
My best wishes attend you.—Yours affectionately.

< So eloquent a Person at your Elbow.'
Letter

XXXV.
BANDON, July 12, 1758.

Really Sir, when you have so eloquent a person at your
elbow, and I am two or three hundred miles off, I have
little to say ; it may be time enough when I return to London.
At present I would only make two or three cursory remarks. 1. That letter was not left on a chair, but taken out
of my pocket. 2. I t was not letters but a letter of mine
(and one which did not signify a straw) which S[arah]
C[rosby] some time since showed to three or four persons,
and of which she will hear these ten years. I write to her
when I judge it my duty so to do. But I have not written
these ten or twelve weeks. 3. If you softened or salved
over anything I wrote in the letter from Bedford, you did
her an irreparable damage. What / a m , is not the question
there, but what she is; of which I must needs be a better
judge than you, for I wear the shoe: as you must needs be
a better j udge of Mrs. BflackwelFfs temper than I. 4. ' She
is now full of anger !' Heigh day ! Anger ! For what ?
Why, because when Captain Dancey called upon me in
Dublin (on the 7th of April) and asked, ' Sir, have you any
commands? I am just sailing for Bristol,' I said ' Y e s ;
here is a letter. Will you deliver it with your own hands.'
He promised he would ; and that was our whole conversation. 5. But suppose he delivered this about the 12th of
336

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
April, why did she not write for a month before ? What
excuse or pretence for this ? 6. I certainly will, as long as
I can hold a pen, assert my right of conversing with whom
I please. Reconciliation or none, let her look to that. If
the unbeliever will depart, let her depart. That right I will
exert, just when I judge proper, giving an account only to
God and my own conscience ; though, as it happens, the last
letter I wrote to S[arah] R[yan] was in the beginning of
May. 7. My conscience bears me witness before God, that
I have been as < cautious as I ought to have been.' For I
have rigorously kept my rule. ' To do everything and omit
everything which I could with a safe conscience for peace"
sake.'
But there is no fence against a flail; against one that
could tell T. Walsh, calmly and deliberately, ' His (Mr.
W[esleyjs) parting words to me were, " I hope I shall see
your wicked face no more ! " ' Can you ever be safe against
being deceived by such an one, but by not believing a word
you hear ?
In a week or two I shall be looking out for a ship. You
people in England are bad correspondents.
Both Mr.
Downing, Mr. Venn, and Mr. Madan are a letter in my debt.
And yet I think they have not more business than I have.
How unequally are things distributed here ? Some want
time, and some want work! But all will be straight hereafter. There is no disorder on that shore.
Wishing all happiness to you and all that are with you, I
remain, dear Sir, yours most affectionately.

* I do not speak, it would be lost Labour.'
Letter XXXVI.
EVERTON, March 2,

1759.

DEAR SIR,—When it is probable I may alter my judgement or practice, I am very willing to speak upon that
Y
337

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
head. But when I am clearly and fully fixed, then I do not
speak, for it would be lost labour. For this reason I did not
speak the other night, because I was fully fixed. My wife
picks my lock and steals my papers. 1 Afterwards she says,
4
You cannot trust me.1 I answer, ' I cannot, until you
restore what you stole, and promise to steal no more.'' She
replies, ' I will burn them or lodge them with another, on
such terms.'' I answer nothing. Do you ask, * Why so ?'
I answer to you. 1. I will not consent my goods shall be
burnt; much less accept it as a favour. I require her to
restore them. % I will not thank her for lodging them with
another : I require that they be restored to me. B. I will
not so much as consider the terms: I require the restitution
of my own goods, without any terms. And I know you would
do so, were it your case. And so would any man of common
sense. ' But she will not restore them." Then she must keep
them. But let her not blame me, because I cannot trust her.
Permit me to add one word to you. You think yourself
a match for her ; but you are not. By her exquisite art she
has already made you to think ill of two very deserving
women. And you have been more than once puzzled, what
to think of me. Nor could you help thinking me a little in
the wrong. I am almost afraid she likewise entertains you
with the faults of many in the society ; the knowing of which
(be they real or feigned) does you no good at all. O Sir, let
us look inward ; let us live at home! The more we know
of our own faults, and the less of other people's, the more
will the work of God prosper in our hearts. Wishing all
happiness to you and yours, I am, dear Sir, your affectionate
servant.
From Blackwell to Wesley.
DEAR SIR,—I this day received your favour of the 2nd inst.
I am sensible of my incapacity either to speak or to write in
1

838

See p. 335 ; also 356.

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
that lively, concise manner which you do; but as well as I
can I will paragraph by paragraph give a direct answer to
your letter. And first, I desire never to interfere between
you and Mrs. Wesley without there is at least a probability
of my being of service to one, or what I would much rather
wish, to both of you; and I declare 1 have seldom if ever
spoke of one to the other, without being first desired either
by yourself or Mrs. Wesley. Therefore you may be assured,
I will not in the least hinder your maintaining the authority
of the husband in the greatest latitude that either myself or
any man of common sense would wish.
I likewise say that I do not think myself a match for Mrs.
Wesley, or any one that studies to deceive me; but I deny
that by any exquisite art, she has made me think ill of two
very deserving women. I suppose you mean Mrs. Ryan and
Mrs. Crosby. The first I know nothing of, having never
seen her in my life, and hardly ever (for I won't say never)
spoken of her to anybody, but yourself. The latter I only
know from the letter wrote by yourself, which she owned to
me was her handwriting, and which I think will plainly
prove to everyone of common sense, that she is not that
very deserving woman you think her; and, permit me to
add, I am afraid she has too much art for my dear friend.
I think my behaviour must fully convince you what my
thoughts have been of yourself. When I have spoken to
you it has been without reserve ; and if at any time I have
expressed myself a little more fully than many others would
dare to do, do not think the harder of me ; for indeed it
has constantly been with a view, if possible, to have established peace between yourself and Mrs. W[esley]. And I
seldom, if ever, see Mrs. Wesley from the time you leave
London until you return, and would even then be glad to be
excused that honour if it were not out of civility to yourself.
Therefore she has no opportunity, or if she had I dare not
339

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
give encouragement to her, or any one, to entertain me with
the faults of any either in your society or not. Indeed, Sir,
I am sensible, if I did, it would very much hurt my soul.
And yet alas, I have been often much hurt, though I
dare not blame my dear friend on that account, and yet
must declare what you have said and what I have seen of
your brother has very often much grieved and stumbled my
poor soul.
I feel I have an evil heart; I know I am not renewed;
and I earnestly wish that my own faults were more and more
engraven on my mind, that so I may never rest until I am
born again, and have the image of God stamped on my
soul.
I earnestly wish you all happiness, and pray that the peace
and love of God may continually attend you.—I am, dear
Sir, your very affectionate and much obliged servant,
EBENEZER BLACKWELL.
6

W e are at present upon pretty good Terms.'

Here is more pleasant reading.
the gracious rebuke of his friend.
Letter

Wesley shows well under

XXXVII.
NORWICH, Mar.

12,

1769.

DEAR SIR,—You have entirely satisfied me, as to what I
was afraid of. We are at present upon pretty good terms.
And I am not without hope, that this good understanding
will continue for some time longer. I am sure it will, if He
who has the hearts of all men in His hands, sees it to be expedient for me. You have never yet spoken to me with
more freedom than was agreeable to me. Your freedom
is the best proof of your friendship. There are not many
that will deal freely with me. Nor indeed are there many
MO

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
from whom I would desire it, lest it should hurt themselves
without profiting me. But I do desire it of «/ow, and do not
doubt but it will profit me, as it has done in time past.
I know not, if in all my life, I have had so critical a work
on my hands, as that wherein I am now engaged. I am
endeavouring to gather up those who were once gathered
together, and afterwards scattered by James Wheatley. 1 I
have re-united about seventy of them, and hope this evening
to make up an hundred. But many of them have wonderful
spirits, having been always accustomed to teach their
teachers. So that how they will bear any kind of discipline,
I cannot tell.
At Colchester the case is far otherwise. About 160 simple,
upright people are there united together, who are as little
children, minding nothing but the salvation of their souls.
Only they are greatly distressed for a larger house. What
we could have done last Sunday I know not, but that the
day being mild, I took the field, and preached on St. John's
Green. I see but one way; to build a commodious house.
And I desired them to look out for a piece of ground. It is
true they are poor enough ; but if it be God's work, He will
provide the means.
Wishing an increase in all grace, both to Mrs. Black well,
Mrs. Dewal, and you.—I remain, dear Sir, your very affectionate servant.
6

A L i n e in behalf of a worthy Man.'
Letter

XXXVIIL
MANCHESTER, March Vj,

1760.

SIR,—The humanity which you showed, during the short
time I had the pleasure of conversing with you at Lewisham,
1
One of Wesley's preachers, of some ability and influence, who became
immoral, He was the first to be expelled by Wesley.

341

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
emboldens me to trouble you with a line, in behalf of a
worthy man.
I apprehend, the collector at Northwich, in Cheshire, has
informed the Honourable Board, that 6 Mr. James Vine is a
preacher at Northwich, and makes disturbances in the town.'
That he attends the preaching of the Methodists is true;
but it is not true that he is a preacher. I t is likewise true,
that the rabble of Northwich have sometimes disturbed our
congregations ; but herein Mr. Vine was only concerned as a
sufferer, not an actor. I know him to be a careful, diligent
officer, and a zealous lover of King George.
Wishing you all temporal and spiritual blessings.—I
remain, Sir, your obedient servant.

' In every Trial observe the Hand of God/
Blackwell would welcome Wesley's sympathy, and eagerly
await his account of the French invasion of Ireland. This is
given in Letter XLII.

Letter

XXXIX.
NEWRY, April 26, 1760.

DEAR SIR,—I hope your lameness is now at an end; but
not the benefit you have reaped from it. May we not in
every trial, great and small, observe the hand of God?
And does He send any sooner than we want it, or longer
than we want it ? I found the inflammation which I had
in my eyes last month came just in the right time. The
danger is, that anything of this kind should pass over before
the design of it is answered.
Whether Miss Freeman should make use of Lough Neagh,
or Lough Leighs (forty miles nearer Dublin), I suppose she
is not yet able to determine, till I can send her some further
information; and that I cannot do to my own satisfaction
S42

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
till I am on the spot. For though Lough Neagh is scarce
fifteen miles from hence, yet I can hardly find any one here
who knows any more of the circumstances of it than if it
lay in the East Indies.
Hitherto I have had an extremely prosperous journey,
and all the fields are white unto harvest. Bat that the
labourers are few, is not the only hindrance to the gathering it in effectually. Of those few, some are careless, some
heavy and dull. Scarce one is of the spirit of Thomas
Walsh. The nearest to it is Mr. Morgan; but his body
too sinks under him, and probably will not last long.
In a few days I expect to be at Carrickfergus, and to hear,
from those on whose word I can depend, a full account of
that celebrated campaign, I believe it will be of use to the
whole kingdom. Probably the Government will at last
awake, and be a little better prepared against the next
encounter.
When you have half an hour to spare, I hope you will
give it me under your own hand, that Mrs. Blackwell and
you are not only in good health, but labouring more than
ever after an healthful mind, and trampling the world and
the devil under your feet.—I am, dear Sir, your ever affectionate servant.
The week after next I shall spend mostly at Sligo.

' A tender Point . . . where there is a Gospel
Ministry already.'
This concerned the work of Wesley's preachers, where the
clergy of the Church of England were active and evangelical.
Letter XLI. shows a compromise which was observed,—for
a time only. Yorkshire Methodism was vigorous, and
supplied a real need.
343

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Letter XL.
BRADFORD, July 16, 1761.

SIR,—Methinks it is a long time since I saw or
heard anything of you. I hope, however, that Mrs. Blackwell and you are not only alive, but more alive than ever,
seeking and enjoying something more than King George 1 is
likely to find either at his wedding or his coronation. And
can you likewise give me a comfortable account of Miss
Freeman, both as to her health and her spirit ? I often
think of her, and sometimes have a mind to send her another
letter, though she is one in my debt already.
Mr. Venn 2 was so kind as to come over hither yesterday,
and spend the evening with us. I am a little embarrassed
on his account, and hardly know how to act. Several years
before he came to Huddersfield, some of our preachers went
thither, carrying their lives in their hands, and with great
difficulty established a little earnest society. These eagerly
desire them to preach there still; not in opposition to Mr.
Venn (whom they love, esteem, and constantly attend), but
to supply what they do not find in his preaching. It is a
tender point. Where there is a gospel ministry already, we
do not desire to preach; but whether we can leave off
preaching because such an one comes after, is another
question; especially when those who were awakened and
convinced by us beg and require the continuance of our
assistance. I love peace, and follow i t ; but whether I am
at liberty to purchase it at such a price, I really cannot
tell.
I hear poor Mr. Walker 3 is near death. It seems strange,
that when there is so great a want of faithful labourers, such
as he should be removed. But the will of God is always
DEAR

1
2
3

344

George i n .
Rev. Henry Venn, vicar of Huddersfield.
Rev. Samuel Walker, Truro, an earnest clergyman.

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
best, and what He does we shall know hereafter. I have
been for some days with Mr. Grimshaw,1 an Israelite indeed.
A few such as he would make a nation tremble. He carries
fire wherever he goes. Mr. Venn informs me, that Mr.
Whitefield 2 continues very weak. I was in hope, when he
wrote to me lately, that he was swiftly recovering strength.
Perhaps, Sir, you can send me better news concerning him.
What need have we, while we do live, to live in earnest.—I
am, my dear Sir, your affectionate servant.
If you have not a mind for me to write again, you must
not write yourself. For about a fortnight I shall be at or
near Leeds.

' W e have amicably compromised.'
Letter XLI.
NORWICH, August 16, 1761.

you are encompassed with a thousand
temptations, and some of them of the most dangerous kind,
it is an unspeakable blessing that you still continue with
your face heavenward. And if you have resolution to break
through a thousand hindrances, and allow some time every
day for private prayer, I doubt not but you will receive every
gospel blessing in this world and in the world to come.
Mr. Venn and I had some hours' conversation together,
and have explained upon every article. I believe there is no
bone of contention remaining, no matter of offence, great or
small. Indeed, fresh matter will arise, if it be sought, but
it shall not be sought by me. We have amicably compromised the affair of preaching. H e is well pleased that the
preachers should come once a month.
That story was one of those that we cleared up. But
DEAR SIR,—As

1
Rev. William Grimshaw, vicar of Haworth, Yorkshire, one of Wesley's
2
helpers.
See p, 102.

345

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Mr. Oddie* (the person of whom it was told) will be in town
next week, and can himself give you full satisfaction concerning it. On this day se'nnight I hope to be in town,
and to-morrow se'nnight at West Street Chapel. With
sincere love to Mrs. Blackwell and Mrs. Dewal.—I am, dear
Sir, your affectionate servant.
I thank you for sending me the letters.

* The late Proceedings of the French here.'
Letter XLIL
CARRICKFERGUSJ May

7,

1760.

can now give you a clear and full account
of the late proceedings of the French here; as I now lodge
at Mr. Cobham's, under the same roof with M. Cavenac, the
French Lieutenant-General. 2 When the people here saw
three large ships, about ten in the morning, anchor near the
town, they took it for granted they were English, till about
eleven the French began landing their men. The first party
came to the north gate between twelve and one. Twelve
soldiers planted on the wall (there were one hundred and
sixty in the town) fired on them as they advanced, wounded
the General, and killed several. But when they had fired
four rounds, having no more ammunition, they were obliged
to retire. The French then entered the town (at the same
time that another party entered at the east end of it),
keeping a steady fire up the street, till they came near the
castle. The English then fired hotly from the gate and
walls, killed their second General (who had burst open the
gate, and gone in sword in hand), with upwards of fourscore
men; but having no more cartridges, nor any man that knew
how to make them, they thought it best to capitulate.
They agreed to furnish such a quantity of provisions in six
DEAR SIR,—I

1

See p. 218.

346

2

See Letter xxxix., and Journal\ vol. iv. p. 380.

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
hours, on condition the French should not plunder. But
they began immediately to serve themselves with meat and
drink ; having been in such pressing want that, before they
landed, the men were glad to eat raw oats, to sustain nature;
and some hours after, no provisions being brought, they took
all they could find, with a good deal of linen and wearing
apparel, chiefly from the houses where the inhabitants were
run away. But they neither hurt nor affronted man, woman,
or child, nor did any mischief for mischiefs sake ; though
many of the inhabitants affronted them, cursed them to their
face, and even took up pokers or other things to strike them.
I have had much conversation with M. Cavenac, who speaks
Latin pretty readily. He is a Lieutenant-General in the
King^s Guards, and a Knight of the Order of St. Louis.
(Indeed, all the soldiers were picked men, draughted out of
the Guards, and more like officers than common men.) I
found him not only a very sensible man, but thoroughly
instructed even in heart-religion. I asked him, if it was true
that they had a design to burn Carrick and Belfast. (After
one General was killed, and the other wounded, the command
had devolved upon him.) He cried out, 6 Jesu, Maria ! we
never had such a thought. To burn, to destroy, cannot enter
into the head or the heart of a good man.' One would think
the French King sent these men on purpose to show what
officers he has in his army. I hope there are some such in
the English army; but I never found them yet.—I am,
dear Sir, your affectionate servant.
6

W e are not Proprietors here, but only Tenants at
Will'
Letter

XLIII.
DUBLIN, July 28,

1762.

DEAR SIE,—It was seven or eight weeks before I could
prevail upon any of our brethren in England to let me know
547

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
whether ' Mr. Blackwell, an eminent banker, died at his house
in LewishanV or not. John Maddern 1 was the first who
occasionally told me—he was alive. Now, a messenger of
good news should be rewarded. But what can be done for
this poor man, in truth, I cannot tell. He hinted at a
distance, as if he would be much obliged, if I would be bound
for his behaviour. But how could I be bound for a thousand
pounds, who am not worth a groat! I could not, therefore,
but advise him to give up the thought of being a banker's
clerk, as I see no manner of probability of his procuring
such sureties as are requisite. Indeed, I heartily wish he
was in any way of business, as he is capable of almost
anything.
The people in this kingdom have been frightened sufficiently by the sickness and by the levellers, whose design
undoubtedly was deep laid, and extended to the whole kingdom. But they broke out too soon. Nothing should have
appeared till a French or Spanish squadron came. The
nation is not now in the same state as it was in 1641. Then
there were not four thousand soldiers in the kingdom; now
there are near twenty thousand.
I hope you and yours have escaped the general disorder,
or have found it a blessing. It little matters whether we
escape pain, or suffer it, so it be but sanctified. Without
some suffering, we should scarce remember that we are not
proprietors here, but only tenants at will, liable to lose all
we have at a moment's warning. Happy it were if we
continually retained a lively impression of this on our minds !
Then should we more earnestly seek that portion which shall
never be taken from us.
In two or three days I am likely to embark, in order to
meet our brethren at Leeds. Then I hope to have it under
your own hand, that both you, Mrs. Black well, Mrs. Dewal,
1

348

One of Wesley's preachers, from 1742 to 1756.

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
and Miss Freeman are alive, in the best sense.—I am, dear
Sir, your affectionate servant.
6

Apprehensions lest that Chariot should cost you
your Life.'

As at the time of the last letter, Blackwell is now ill
again, two years later. Was his lameness then (Letter
xxxix.) due to an accident by his < chariot' ? Wesley
delighted in horse riding; but next year he had an accident
by the falling of his horse. To this he refers in Letter XLV.
A few months afterwards, Miss Lewen gave him a ' chariot' *
—a chaise and pair of horses, which he used when he
needed.
Letter XLIV.
LIVERPOOL^ July 14, 1764.

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. I t
is a vain thing to expect it. I judge df 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.
In the mean time, I trust both Mrs. Blackwell and you are
looking for health of a nobler kind. You look to be filled
with the spirit of love and of a healthful mind. What
avails everything else—everything that passes away as an
arrow through the air ?
' The arrow is flown ! The moment is gone !
The millennial year
Rushes on to the view, and eternity's here !3
DEAR SIR,—My

1

See p. 6.

349

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
You want nothing more of this world. You have enough,
and, by the peculiar blessing of God, know you have. But
you want a thousand times more faith. You want love, you
want holiness. The Lord God supply all your wants from
the riches of His mercy in Christ Jesus !—I am, dear Sir,
your very affectionate servant.
Next week I shall set my face toward Bristol.

' Let us mend our Pace ! 5
In the last we have of this long series of letters, Wesley
strikes the same notes as often before in them : the marvellous growth of his work; the urgency of the call to it, and
to life's highest ends.
Blackwell would note with pleasure that Mrs. Wesley was
again travelling with her husband. With her daughter,
they are now on their way to Lady Maxwell's, at Edinburgh.
Mrs. Wesley has been ill; but is better. Two years later,
at Wesley's house at the Foundery, London, she was again
dangerously ill. Himself far from well, and exceptionally
pressed with duties in Bristol, Wesley hurried thence to her
side. She recovered.
Letter

XLV.
SUNDERLAND, May

6,

1766.

DEAR SIR,—William Matthews writes me word, that he
has quitted the school at the Foundery, and begs me to
speak to you in his behalf. I should be glad to serve him
in anything that was in my power, either for his late
brother's sake or his own. I judge him to be aright honest
man, one that may be trusted in every respect, and one that
would perform, with all diligence, whatever he undertook,
not so much for gain as for conscience' sake.
I am not yet quite free from the effects of the fall which
350

TO EBENEZER BLACKWELL
I had at Christmas, and perhaps never shall in this world.
Sometimes my ankle, sometimes my knee, and frequently my
shoulder, complains. But, blessed be God, I have strength
su^pcient for the work to which I am called. When I cannot
walk any farther, I can take a horse, and now and then a
chaise, so that hitherto I have not been hindered from visiting any place which I purposed to see before I left London.
The fields in every part of England are indeed white for
the harvest. There is everywhere an amazing willingness in
the people to receive either instruction or exhortation. We
find this temper now even in many of the higher rank,
several of whom cared for none of these things. But surely
the time is coming for these also ; for the Scripture must be^
fulfilled : 4 They shall all know Me, from the least even to
the greatest.''
We who have lived more years have need of more
earnestness and vigour in running the race which is set
before us, or some of those that come after us will get before
us in the way. Many of those who have lately set out run
well. Gray heads stand upon green shoulders :
c

They make their morning bear the heat of day/

Let us mend our pace ! What is there here that is worth
lingering for? A little while, and this world of shadows
will vanish; and all will be boundless, bottomless eternity !
My wife, who has been very ill, 1 but is much better, joins
with me in wishing Mrs. Blackwell and you every blessing
which is purchased for you with the blood of the covenant.
—I am, dear Sir, your ever affectionate servant.
*
*
*
*
*
*
Wesley's last reference to the Black well's home, where he
had spent so many happy hours, is in the pathetic reference
1

See p. 355.

351

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
in his Journal^ under date Saturday, August 20, 1782.
Black well died on April 21st of that year. Wesley says :
' M y brother and I paid our last visit to Lewisham5 and
spent a few hours with the relict of our good friend, Mr.
Black well. We took one more walk round the garden and
meadow, which he took such pains to improve. Upwards of
forty years this has been my place of retirement, when I
could spare two or three days from London. In that time,
first Mrs. Sparrow went to rest; then Mrs. Dewal; then good
Mrs. Blackwell; now Mr. Blackwell himself. Who can tell
how soon we may follow them ?'

352

CHAPTER I X
TO HIS W I F E AND SOME LADY FRIENDS
of Dublin, who knew Wesley intimately, 1
says that the characteristic openness which marks all Mr.
Wesley's letters is never more conspicuous than when he is
writing to his female friends. He adds, ' I t is certain that
he had a predilection for the female character, partly
because he had a mind ever alive to amiability, and partly
from his generally finding in females a quicker responsiveness
to his own ideas of interior piety and affectionate devotion."5
Wesley's letters to his wife are in a class by themselves.
Otherwise, his letters to lady friends, selected from many
for this chapter and the next (to Lady Maxwell), confirm
and illustrate the opinion expressed by Knox. They
concern themselves almost exclusively with the spiritual
interests of these ladies, their work as Methodists, their
reading, friendships, and health. Several of them, who
were physically afflicted or frail in youth, probably owed
long and happy years to his advice, and his urgent counsels
that they should secure divine peace and joy, and spend
themselves in ceaseless, unselfish activities. Some of them
were deaconesses, others were preachers.
ALEXANDER KNOX

To his Wife.
We select two letters from those sent by Wesley to his
wife. These are here preceded by two extracts, from other
letters to her 2 in 1751 and 1758 respectively. The
1
2

z

See Southey's Life of Wesley•, 3rd ed., p. 411.
Wesley Studies; pp. 102, 103.

353

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
first extract was written five weeks after their marriage.
He had left her in her home in Thread needle Street,
London, to make one of his preaching tours. The extract
shows him affectionate, and grateful to God for her.
The second extract gives perhaps the chief occasion of the
miserable disagreement between them which soon began.
Wesley maintained, not always wisely in form or measure,
the freedom which he here claims: his wife carried out the
terrible threats he here quotes from her.
Wesley asks, ' Do I write too soon ? Have not you
above all the people in the world a right to hear from me
as soon as I possibly can ? You have surely a right to
every proof of love I can give, and to all the little help
which is in my power. For you have given me even your
own self. O how can we praise God enough, for making us
helps meet for each other! I am utterly astonished at His
goodness. Let not only our lips but our lives shew forth
His praise ! ,
*
*
*
*
*
Wesley says, ' I insist on choosing my own company!
. . . I insist upon conversing, by speaking or writing, with
those whom I (not you) judge proper.
6
For more than seven years this has been a bone of contention between you and me, and it is so still; for I will not I
can not, I dare not give it up. But then you will rage and
fret and call me names. I am sorry for it, but I cannot
help it. I still do and must insist, that I have a right
to choose my own company. Then you will " denounce
against me all the curses from Genesis to the Revelation.1,1 You
may so, but you gain no ground thereby, for still I cannot
give up my right. Nay, but you " will say all manner of
evil of me." Be it so; but still I stand just where I was.
Then you will " show my private letters to all the world."
If you do, I must assert my right still. All this will not
354

TO WIFE AND LADIES
extort it from me, nor anything else which you can do.
You may, therefore, as well allow it now as after we have
squabbled about it (if we live so long) seven years longer.
For it is my right by all the laws of God and man, and by
a right which I can never part with. O do not continue to
trouble yourself and me, and to disturb the children of God
by still grasping at a power which must be denied you, by
him who is nevertheless your truly affectionate husband.''

' You spared no Pains in nursing me.'
The first letter shows Wesley still dutiful and tender to
his wife, notwithstanding all the vexatious treatment he
had received from her. Mrs. Wesley had been dangerously
ill at his house at the Foundery, in London. He hurried
to her side from Bristol. When the crisis was past, he
returned to urgent duties there. And memory is quick
with gratitude for her wifely devotion to him in a grievous,
almost fatal illness before referred to (page 323). These
letters must be read in the light of those to Ebenezer
Blackwell, and the explanations given in connection with
them on pages 311, 334 and onwards.
Letter L
BRISTOL, August 1768.

M Y LOVE,—I can make allowance for faintness, and
weakness, and pain. I remember when it was my own case,
at this very place, and when you spared no pains in nursing
and waiting upon me, till it pleased God to make you the
chief instrument in restoring my strength. I am glad you
have the advice of a skilful physician; but you must not be
surprised or discouraged if you do not recover your strength
so soon as one might wish, especially at this time of the
year. What is chiefly to be desired is, that God may
sanctify all His dispensations to you, and that all may be
the means of your being more entirely devoted to Him,
355

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
whose favour is better than strength, or health, or life
itself.—I am, dear Molly, your ever affectionate husband.
Soon after this letter Mrs. Wesley appears to have left
her husband. She went to Newcastle-on-Tyne, leaving
Wesley lonely as a bachelor—6 a mere Fellow of a College,'
as he says when writing to his brother Charles, who was so
happy with his wife.1 Little more than two years later
Wesley's wife went to Newcastle and lived with her daughter,
who, in 1769, had married William Smith, a prosperous
merchant and Methodist there. Wesley made the wellknown entry in his Journal (January 23, 1771) : ' F o r what
cause I know not to this day—my wife set out for Newcastle,
purposing never to return.'' Non earn religui; non dimisi; non
revocabo.2 She did * return' to him, however, and was with
him for short periods. 3 During one of these, in 1775, she
did him further grievous disservice, as his niece, Miss Sarah
Wesley, told. 4

' A t length know me and know yourself.'
The following are extracts from a long, painful letter to
her a few years before her death in 1781. The letter is
given, in part only, by Wesley's first biographers, Coke and
Moore. By her will Mrs. Wesley left Wesley a mourning ring,
' in token that I die in love and friendship towards him.'
Letter II.
I cannot but add a few words; not by way of reproach,
but of advice. God has used many means to break your
stubborn will and curb the impetuosity of your temper. He
has given you a dutiful but sickly daughter: He has taken
away one of your sons : another has been a grievous cross, as
1
2
3

See above, p. 89.
I have not left her; I have not sent her away; I will not recall her.
SQQ Journal, vol. v. pp. 400, 474, and a painful letter in Wesley Studies,

p. 105.
4

See below, p. 445.

356

TO WIFE AND LADIES
the third probably will be : He, has suffered you to be
defrauded of much money : He has chastened you with
strong pain; and still He may say, ' How long liftest thou
up thyself against M e ? ' Are you more humble, more
patient, more placable than you were? I fear quite the
reverse: I fear your natural tempers are rather increased
than diminished. Oh ! beware lest God give you up to your
own heart's lusts, and let you follow your own imaginations.
Under all these conflicts it might be an unspeakable
blessing that you have a husband who knows your temper
and can deal with i t : who, after you have tried him numberless ways, laid to his charge things that he knew not, robbed
him, betrayed his confidence, revealed his secrets, given him
a thousand treacherous wounds, purposely aspersed and
murdered his character, and made it your business so to do,
under the poor pretence of vindicating your own character ;
. . . who, I say, after all these provocations, is still willing
to forgive you all; to overlook what is past, as if it had not
been, and to receive you with open arms: only, not while
you have a sword in your hand, with which you are continually striking at me though you cannot hurt me. If,
notwithstanding, you continue striking, what can I, what
can all reasonable men think, but that either you are
utterly out of your senses, or your eye is not single: that
you married me only for my money: that, being disappointed,
you were almost always out of humour: that this laid you
open to a thousand suspicions, which, once awakened, could
sleep no more.
My dear Molly, let the time past suffice. If you have not
(to prevent my giving it . . . ) robbed me of my substance
t o o ; if you do not blacken me on purpose that, when this
causes a breach between us, no one may believe it to be your
fault; stop, and consider what you do. As yet the breach
may be repaired • you have wronged me much, but not
357

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
beyond forgiveness. I love you still. . . . A t length know
me and know yourself. Your enemy I cannot b e : but let
me be your friend. Suspect me no more; asperse me no
more; provoke me no more. Do not any longer contend for
master, for power, money, or praise. Be content to be a
private, insignificant person, known and loved by God and
me. Attempt no more to abridge me of my liberty, which
I claim by the laws of God and man. Leave me to be
governed by God and my own conscience. Then shall I
govern you with gentle sway, and show that I do indeed
love you even as Christ the Church.

To Mrs. Mary Fletcher.
Like her husband, John Fletcher, referred to on page 138,
Mary Fletcher, formerly Miss Bosanquet, was one of the
saints of early Methodism. She reproduced in Protestantism
features of the lives of Saint Theresa and Madam Guy on.
From 1757, when she was about eighteen, until his death
Wesley held her in the highest regard, constantly wrote to
her, and often visited her establishment. First at Leytonstone, Essex, then at Cross Hall, near Leeds, she maintained
'a kind of inn' for needy Christian visitors. It was an
orphanage also. There in a large apartment filled with
children, her dependents, neighbours, and ministers, she
modestly, and with much ability and spiritual insight, often
expounded the Scriptures. This raised the question of
preaching by women among the Methodists. At length
Wesley settled this by statements such as he gives in
Letter ir.,1 notwithstanding that, like himself, Mrs. Fletcher
was profoundly attached to the Church of England. The
courageous and wise decision which they and others came
1
This letter is given by Moore,
Tyerman, Life of Wesley', vol. iii.
Works, vol. xii. p. 339, it is said to
It applied to both cases. Others
Methodism, vol. i. p. 321.

358

Life of Mrs. Fletcher (p. 421), and by
p. 112, as to Mrs. Fletcher. In the
be to Mrs. Crosby (see below, p. 361).
such are cited in A New History of

TO WIFE AND LADIES
to was prompted, they believed, by the Holy Spirit, and
required by circumstances. I t was completely justified by
results. I t anticipated much modern Church work.
Wesley's letters to this lady advise her on ' the welfare of
the family'—the orphans and others ; and hint a t his own
unhappiness. His wife was away from him a t this time.
Sometimes in these and other letters Wesley uses expressions
liable to grievous misconstruction by the jealous and the
captious. In Letter in., written when Miss Bosanquet was
thirty-six years old, he tells of a shrewd preacher who was
wishful to win her as wife. I t was not until 1781 that she
married Fletcher. H e says he wished to ' h i d e ' at her
house at the end of July. This was to prepare himself and
the business for the Conference, to be held in Leeds near by,
at the beginning of August.

' The Welfare of the Family.
ing your Expenses.'

Beware of increas-

Letter I.
LONDON, January

15, 1770.

M Y DEAR SISTER,—It is not strange if the leading of one

soul be very different from that of another. The same
Spirit worketh in every one; and yet worketh several ways,
according to His own will. I t concerns us to follow our
own light; seeing that we are not to be judged by another's
conscience.
A little time will show who hinders, and who forwards
the welfare of the family; and I hope you will have steadiness to pursue every measure which you judge will be to the
glory of God.
I am glad you find your temporal difficulties are lessened.
Beware of increasing your expenses. I advise you not to
take any other child till all these expenses are over. I t is
pity but you had an electric machine.1 I t would prevent
1

See below, p. 453.

359

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
much pain in a family, and supersede almost all other physic.
I cure all vomiting and purging by warm lemonade.
She is there still, and likely to be so, unless I would hire
her to return; which I dare not do. I will not buy a cross,
though I can bear it. Many are much stirred up here, and
are greatly athirst for pure love. I am sure you tasted it once,
though you were reasoned out of it. How soon may you find
it again ! Simple faith is all we want. Peace be with your
spirit!—I am, my dear sister, your affectionate brother.
4

Your having an extraordinary Call.'
Letter II.
LONDONDERRY,, June 13, 1771.

M Y DEAR SISTER,—I think the strength of the cause rests
there; on your having an extraordinary call. So I am
persuaded has every one of our lay preachers; otherwise, I
could not countenance his preaching at all. It is plain to
me that the whole work of God called Methodism is an
extraordinary dispensation of His providence. Therefore, I
do not wonder if several things occur therein which do not
fall under ordinary rules of discipline. St. Paul's ordinary
rule was, 4 I permit not a woman to speak in the congregation. ' Yet, in extraordinary cases, he made a few exceptions ;
at Corinth in particular.—I am, dear sister, your affectionate
brother.

' An Opportunity of hiding myself a Day or two.'
Letter III.
CLONES, May 29, 1775.

was particularly glad to hear from
you at this time, as I wanted to fynow how you was going
on, and whether you were the person concerning whom one
of our preachers warily asked my advice.
360
M Y DEAR SISTER,—X

TO WIFE AND LADIES
Whether you should part with your house, and things
pertaining to it, is a very important question. The answering
of this depends upon many circumstances which I am not
yet acquainted with. But necessity has no law. I t must
be done, if your income will not otherwise answer the
expenses.
The last day of June I hope to be in Dublin, and the end
of July in England. If I have a ready passage, probably I
may have an opportunity of hiding myself a day or two with
you; but I do not desire any of the preachers to come to
me till I send for them. If they do, I shall run away. I
will not be in a crowd.
Probably you know whether Mr. Saunderson is at Knaresborough. If he is, pray take up a cross for me. Write to
him, in my name, and tell him, I desire him, without delay
or excuse, to return to Bristol; otherwise he will disoblige
me for ever.—I am, my dear sister, your affectionate
brother.

To Mrs. Sarah Crosby.
This godly and gifted woman, whose husband died when
she was only twenty, remained a widow, like Lady Maxwell,
and gave her life to the work of Wesley and Methodism.
Of this, and her religious experience, he often wrote to her.
Letter i. shows the emergence of a real difficulty—that
which her dear friend Mrs. Fletcher, with whom she lived
for some years, had faced—Ought a woman to preach ?
Mrs. Crosby's class-meeting at Derby, for Christian testimony
and personal counsel, sometimes increased to a congregation
of two hundred persons. This made instruction to individuals impossible. In Wesley's views on this matter, as on
the last page, she found guidance and authority. Later, with
Leeds as a centre, she held one hundred and twenty public
services, and led six hundred class and private meetings
in one year. She and her colleagues in Leeds were often
referred to under the quaint title of ' the Female Brethren.'
361

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Under the name Sarah Williamson she is probably ' the
blessed woman' referred to by George Eliot in Adam Bede,
as the friend of Dinah Morris (Elizabeth Tomlinson Evans),
who was also a Methodist preacher.
The second letter here, believed to be a new one, copied
from the original in the library of Drew Methodist Theological Seminary, Madison, New Jersey, U.S.A., is thought
to be a letter to Mrs. Crosby. In address and subscription
it is like many letters sent by Wesley to her, and it fills a
gap in that series.

* You have not gone too far.'
Letter I.
LONDON, February 14, 1761.

gave me yours on Wednesday night. Hitherto, I think you have not gone too far.
You could not well do less. I apprehend, all you can do
more is, when you meet again, to tell them simply, ' You
lay me under a great difficulty. The Methodists do not
allow of women preachers: neither do I take upon me any
such character. But I will just nakedly tell you what is in
my heart.' This will, in a great measure, obviate the grand
objection, and prepare for John Hampson's 1 coming. I do
not see that you have broken any law. Go on calmly and
steadily. If you have time, you may read to them the
Notes 2 on any chapter before you speak a few words ; or one
of the most awakening sermons, as other women have done
long ago. 3
The work of God goes on mightily here, both in conviction and conversion. This morning I have spoken with
four or five who seem to have been set at liberty within this
M Y DEAU SISTER,—Miss

1
2
3

John Hampson, Senr,, one of Wesley's preachers.
Wesley's Notes on the New Testament.
E.g. Wesley's own mother in the rectory kitchen, Epworth, to the
villagers.

362

TO WIFE AND LADIES
month. I believe, in five weeks, six in one class have
received remission of sins, and five in one band received
a second blessing. Peace be with you all!—I am, your
affectionate brother.

' God is willing to give always what H e gives
once.'
Letter II.
LONDON, January 1, 1770.
you have attained hold
fast. You never need let it go. Nothing is more certain
than that God is willing to give always what He gives
once. If therefore He now gives you power to yield to
Him your whole heart, you may confidently expect the
continuance of that power till your spirit returns to God :
provided you continue watching unto prayer, denying yourself and taking up your cross daily. Only beware of evil
reasoning ! Hang upon Him that loves you as a little
child; living to-day, and trusting Him for to-morrow\—
I am, dear Sally, your affectionate brother.
M Y DEAR SISTER,—Whereunto

To Miss Sarah Mallett.
This hitherto unpublished letter, from the original in the
possession of Alderman Alfred Jermyn, J.P., of King's Lynn,
throws light upon Wesley, his Journal for December 1786,
and a remarkable woman mentioned there. He says that
he then met Miss Sarah Mallett, a young lady of twenty-two
years, and was impressed by her piety, strong intellect, and
usefulness as a preacher. She had been driven to this duty
by dreams and 'fits.' These no longer troubled her; but
she was suffering from a kind of consumption, which Wesley
believed to be incurable. She continued her trying work,
however, and as he here says, i many who profited by her
loved her more than enough." Two years later she desired
363

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
to meet Wesley again. His letter is a fine combination of
pointed counsel and kindly practical interest in her affairs.
Does she need money ? On the back of Wesley's letter is
a note by Miss Mallett, stating that she worked with her
own hands, so as not to be chargeable to the people to
whom she preached; that ' Mr. Wesley heard of all this,
and became a father to me when my own father refused to
do a father's part.' She laboured chiefly in Suffolk and
Norfolk. Miss Mallett is the only woman known to have
held the authority of Mr. Wesley and the Methodist Conference 6 as a preacher in our Connexion.11 I t was issued to
her by Joseph Harper, a preacher in the Norwich circuit,
who added,' You receive this by order of Mr. Wesley and
the Conference.'' Miss Mallett afterwards became Mrs.
Boyce.

' In travelling up and down you will want a little
Money.'
BATH, March 8, 1788.
M Y DEAR SISTER,—I should have been exceedingly glad
to see you, for I have a tender affection for you. And I
shall always be well pleased to hear from you, and to hear
how your soul prospers.
It is no wonder you should have trials. You may expect
them from every quarter; your bread daily [? indeed may
be] sorrow and death. But they cannot hurt you whilst
your heart cleaves to God. Beware of pride! Beware of
foolishness! Beware of dejection! But above all beware
of inordinate affection! Those who profit by you will be
apt to love you more than enough, and will not this
naturally lead you into the same temptation ? My Sally, is
not this the case already ? Is your heart still whole with
God ? Is it without idols ? I think you can speak to
1
There were several others in other Methodist Churches not long afterwards : compaie A New History of Methodism, vol. i. pp. 322, 509, 520,

585364.

TO WIFE AND LADIES
me freely (though on so delicate a subject you can hardly
speak free to anyone else). Is He still the sole object of
your desire, the treasure and joy of your heart ? Considering your age and sex and situation, what but Omnipotence
can keep you in the midst of the fire ?
You will not take it amiss if I ask you another question.
I know neither your father nor your uncle is rich; and in
travelling up and down you will want a little money. Are
you not sometimes straitened? Only let me know, and
you shall want nothing that is in the power of, my dear
Sally, yours affectionately.

To Miss Nancy Bolton.
Adam Clarke told James Everett 1 that he had one
hundred of Wesley's letters to Miss Nancy Bolton. She
was favoured above many. Probably more than half these
letters remain to be traced. Of those known we select
three.
This lady lived with her brother, Edward Bolton, at
Blandford Park, Witney, Oxfordshire. He was an excellent
Methodist local preacher and sometimes accompanied
Wesley. His delightful home was one of several similar
resting-places frequently used by Wesley on his preaching
tours. The latter would not allow even praise of its advantages, by his host, to lessen these for him; and he never forgot
that there was a deeper peace, an interior calm, which they
both needed. When Bolton and he were seated together
in this quiet home on one occasion, the former reminded
Wesley, busy with his thoughts and pen, of their quietude.
' All is silent,' said he, < all retired, and no distracting noises
of the multitude intrude themselves.'' ' True, Neddy,' said
Wesley, in his quick, apt way, ' but noisy thoughts may.'
There, too, Miss Bolton found the need of Wesley's counsels.
1
In Everett's manuscript Diaries and Memoranda, vol. xiii. p. 30, now
in the writer's possession.

365

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
To no one, except to his wife and relatives, did Wesley
write in terms of more intimate affection than to her. In
other letters he says,' What business would hinder my writing
to you ?' ' Nay, Nancy, I designed but to have written you
but one page! But I know not how, when talking with
you, though only by letter, I can hardly break off." He says
he cannot tell how near she is to h i m ; begs her not to be
a month before writing again to him, and he believes, that
business, not want of affection, keeps her from writing.
Letter i. gives us one of tl\eir topics. In his journey
from Liverpool through Birmingham to Witney, Wesley
read John Byrom's poems,1 then just published in Manchester.
While staying with the Boltons at Witney, Wesley seems
to have read selections from these volumes. Now he copies
for Miss Bolton ' t w o or three,'' in fact eight, of those
6
little things' which she had doubtless admired. He
thought very highly, surely too highly, of Byrom's poetry.
These verses are from ' Miscellaneous pieces consisting of
Thoughts on Various Subjects, Fragments, Epigrams, etc."'
Wesley wrote Byrom's shorthand freely and used it constantly; but probably Miss Bolton did not. He copied
these extracts in longhand for her. The first is often
quoted; but is seldom credited to Byrom.

' Two or three little Things 1 have sent you.'
Letter I.
LONDON, July IS, 1773.

late conversation was exceeding
pleasant to me. I had sometimes been almost inclined to
think that your aifection was lessened ; but now I believe it
is not. I trust your love is not grown cold. This gave me
much satisfaction, though I could not but be concerned at
M Y DEAR SISTER,—Your

1
Miscellaneous Poems, by John Byrom, M.A., F.R.S., inventor of the
Universal English Shorthand (2 vols., 1773).

366

TO WIFE AND LADIES
seeing you so encumbered with worldly business. Surely
it will not be so always. But God's time is best!
Two or three of those little things I have sent you :—
W i t h peaceful mind thy race of duty r u n :
God nothing does, or suffers to be done,
B u t what thou wouldst thyself, if thou couldst see
Through all events of things as well as He.
Let thy repentance be without delay :
If thou defer it to another day,
Thou must repent for a day more of sin,
While a day less remains to do it in.
Nor steel nor flint alone produces fire,
Nor spark arises till they both conspire:
Nor faith alone, nor work without, is r i g h t ;
Salvation rises when they both unite.
If gold be offer'd t h e e , thou dost not say,
(
To-morrow I will take it, not to-day' ;
Salvation offer'd, why art thou so cool,
To let thyself become to-morrow's fool ?
Prayer and thanksgiving is the vital breath
T h a t keeps t h e spirit of a man from death ;
For prayer attracts into t h e living soul
T h e life that fills t h e universal w h o l e ;
And giving thanks is breathing forth again
The praise of Him who is t h e life of men.
Two different painters, artists in their way,
Have drawn religion in her full display.
To both she s a t : One gazed at her all o'er ;
T h e other fix'd upon her features more :
Hervey has figured her with every grace
That dress could give : but Law has hit her face.
T h e specious sermons of a learned man
Are little else t h a n flashes in the pan ;
T h e mere haranguing upon what they call
Morality, is powder without ball;
B u t he who preaches with a Christian grace
Fires at your vices, and the shot takes place.

367

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Faith, Hope, and Love were question'd what they thought
Of future glory, which Religion taught:
Now Faith believed it, firmly, to be true,
And Hope expected so to find it too ;
Love answer'd, smiling with a conscious glow,
i
Believe ! expect! I know it to he so/
G o on in this humble, gentle l o v e ; t h a t you may abound
therein more and more. A i m a t n o t h i n g higher t h a n this :
and may t h e God of love still possess you whole, and guide
your every t h o u g h t , and word, a n d work.—Continue t o pray
for your affectionate brother.

' Afflictive Circumstances that have followed you
. . . that you may learn Obedience.5
Letter

II.
LONDON, January 2, 1781.

M Y DEAR S I S T E R , — I t is a g r e a t step towards Christian
resignation, t o be t h o r o u g h l y convinced of t h a t great t r u t h ,
t h a t there is no such t h i n g as chance in t h e w o r l d ; t h a t
fortune is only another name for Providence; only it is
covered Providence. A n event, t h e cause of which does n o t
appear, we commonly say, comes by chance. O n o ; i t is
guided by an unerring H a n d ; it is t h e result of infinite
wisdom and goodness. Such are all t h e afflictive circumstances t h a t have followed you in a constant succession,
almost from your childhood. H e t h a t made t h e Captain of
your salvation perfect t h r o u g h sufferings has called you t o
walk in t h e same p a t h , and for t h e same end ; namely, t h a t
you may learn obedience, a more perfect conformity t o H i s
death, by t h e things t h a t you suffer. A little while, and
6
H e will wipe all tears from your eyes; and there shall be
no more sorrow or c r y i n g ; neither shall be any more pain ! '
b u t you shall hear t h e great voice o u t of Heaven saying,
368

TO WIFE AND LADIES
' The tabernacle of God is with men : and God himself shall
be with them, and be their God!'
Still love and pray for your ever affectionate brother.

* The Day after you receive this, go. . . . Sick or
well, go !'
Letter HI.
HIGH WYCOMBE, November 4, 1790.
M Y DEAR SISTER,—The more I consider your case, the
more I am convinced that you are in the school of God, and
that the Lord loveth whom He chasteneth. From the time
you omitted meeting your class or band, you grieved the
Holy Spirit of God, and He gave a commission to Satan to
buffet you; nor will that commission ever be revoked till
you begin to meet again. Why were you not a mother in
Israel ? a repairer of the waste places ? a guide to the
blind ? a healer of the sick ? a lifter up of the hands which
hung down ? Wherever you came God was with you, and
shone upon your path.
Many daughters had done virtuously ; but thou excelledst them all.
Woman, remember the faith ! In the name of God, set
out again, and do the first works ! I exhort you, for my
sake (who tenderly love you), for God's sake, for the sake of
your own soul, begin again without delay. The day after
you receive this go and meet a class or band. Sick or well,
go ! If you cannot speak a word, go; and God will go with
you. You sink under the sin of omission ! My friend, my
sister, go ! Go, whether you can or not. Break through !
Take up your cross. I say again, do the first works, and
God will restore your first love ! and you will be a comfort,
not a grief, to yours most affectionately.
2 A
369

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
To Miss Peggy Dale.
This hitherto unpublished letter, from the original, owned
by the Rev. Principal E. S. Tipple, Ph.D., D.D., LL.D.,
of Drew Methodist Theological Seminary, Madison, New
Jersey, U.S.A., is one of many sent to Miss Peggy Dale of
Newcastle-on-Tyne. 1 Wesley's friend and generous helper,
Miss Margaret Lewen 2 of that city, introduced this young
lady to him. She was probably her niece. Three years earlier
than this letter Miss Dale made Wesley her spiritual confidant. A correspondence began. Wesley wrote monthly
to her and Miss Lewen. A sister, Miss Molly Dale, was
also an earnest worker for Wesley. 3

' I have answered every Letter.'
LIVERPOOL, April 7, 1768.

M Y DEAR PEGGY,—I do not well understand what letter
you mean. I have answered (if I do not forget) every letter
which I have received; and I commonly answer either of
you, within a day or two. In this respect, I do not love to
remain in your debt. In others, I must always be so ; for
I can never pay you the affection I owe. Accept of what
little I have to give.
Mr. Law 4 does well to insist so much on those sister
graces, Lowliness, Meekness, and Resignation.
These one
would most importunately ask of God; and indeed without
these, Love is only a Name. Let your Faith thus work by
Love and it will make you fruitful in every good temper
and word and work.
1
Some are given in the Life and Letters of Thomas Pelham Dale
(2 vols., 1894).
2
See p. 65.
3
Journal, vol. v. p. i n .
4
The Rev. William Law in A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life.

870

TO WIFE AND LADIES
I hope to be at Glasgow on Wednesday the 29th instant;
at Aberdeen, the 28th; at Edinburgh, May 5 t h ; at Newcastle, on Friday, May 20th. Peace be with your spirits.—I
am, my dear Peggy, your affectionate brother.

To Miss Ann Loxdale.
This letter is earlier than the well-known letters to this
lady, Miss Ann Loxdale of Shrewsbury. Its date, not
hitherto given, is fixed by its references to Wesley's movements. I t opened a considerable correspondence with this
lady, now twenty-six years of age. She was a member of
a wealthy family, and distinguished by her vigorous mind,
acquirements, and much refinement.1
Under Wesley's
guidance she earned praise which filled the churches for
her exalted piety and Christian kindness. His clever
phrase ' think aloud' describes the kind of letters he desired
from her.
It is good, in Letter n., to have Wesley's encomium of
St. Paul's Hymn of Love. Jane Cooper, to whom Wesley
refers, as embodying its teachings, was a domestic servant
in London, who died there in 1762, aged twenty-four, of
smallpox. He regarded her as ' a pattern of all holiness,
and of the wisdom which is from above.' He often cited
her as an example—; that lovely saint Jane Cooper,' and
published a series of remarkable letters by her—* the almost
inimitable letters.' One of these, with an account of her
death, he used in his important work, A Plain Account of
Christian Perfection.
A year later than this letter Wesley had to warn Miss
Loxdale against accepting unworthy human love in an
unsuitable offer of marriage.2 She profited by his friendly
counsel. In 1811, when she was fifty-seven, she became the
second wife of Dr. Coke.
1
2

Drew's Life of Co&e, pp. 345-7.
Wesley Historical Society Proceedings, vol. ix. p. 184.

371

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' Always " think aloud " whenever you speak or
write to me.'
Letter L
[SHREWSBURY, March 27,1781.]

Miss LOXDALE,—You remind me of my dear
1
Miss Ritchie, and seem to breathe the same spirit. Both
Miss C
and our friends at Broadmarston have spoken to
me concerning you, so that I promised myself a great deal
of satisfaction in conversing with you ; but I find it cannot
be. To-morrow we are appointed to preach at Burslem,
then Congleton, Macclesfield, Stockport, and Manchester,
where I am to stop till Tuesday, when I go forward, God
permit, to Chester, Liverpool, and Ireland. As we cannot
yet have an opportunity of being together, I wish you would
write freely. Your heart is toward mine as mine is toward
thee; there need be no reserve between us. I hope you
will always ' think aloud' whenever you speak or write to
me.—My dear Miss Loxdale, yours in tender affection.
MY

DEAR

' There is the true Picture of Christian Perfection.5
Letter II.
LIVERPOOL, April 12, 1782.

MY DEAE MISS LOXDALE,—I advised formerly my dear
Jenny Cooper, and now I advise you, frequently to read and
meditate upon the thirteenth chapter of the First Epistle to
the Corinthians. There is the true picture of Christian perfection ! Let us copy after it with all our might. I believe
it might likewise be of use to you to read more than once
the Plain Account of Christian Perfection. Indeed, what is
it more or less than humble, gentle, patient love !
1

372

See below, p. 377.

TO WIFE AND LADIES
It is undoubtedly our privilege to 'rejoice evermore' with
a calm, still, heartfelt joy. Nevertheless, this is seldom long
at one stay. Many circumstances may cause it to ebb and
flow. This, therefore, is not the essence of religion ; which
is no other than humble, gentle, patient love. I do not
know whether all these are not included in that one word,
resignation. For the highest lesson our Lord (as man)
learned on earth to say was, < Not as I will, but as thou
wilt.' May He confirm you more and more !—Yours most
affectionately.

To Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers.
Miss Hester Ann Roe of Macclesfield was a young lady
of twenty-two when Wesley began his correspondence with
her. She was then ill and one of many in like case whom
he cheered by his letters and visits. A year earlier than
that of Letter i. she ' turned Methodist,' notwithstanding
the frowns of her wealthy relatives. She became the wife
of James Rogers, one of Wesley's preachers, and died when
only thirty-eight. Her short life was literally filled with
self-forgetting service, alike among the poor and the ' genteeler sort,' to whom Wesley refers (Letter in.). Her saintliness was winsomely attractive. Some of Wesley's letters
to her, her Experience, and her Spiritual Letters were published.1 They became classics among Methodists, and in a
much wider circle.
Wesley lived eight years after the illness and strange
dream to which he refers in Letter n. The wish of the
great itinerant and shepherd of the wandering, to die among
his friends, was met in part. Fletcher predeceased him,
Coke was on a missionary tour when Wesley died in 1791.
James Rogers, this lady's husband, was then one of the
London preachers, and lived with his wife and little boy in
Wesley's house in City Road. They were all with ' his
brethren' at the side of Wesley when he departed.
1

Account ofJ. and H. A. Rogers (Bristol: Edwards, 1796).

873

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' Can you, notwithstanding this, rejoice evermore ?'
Letter I.
WHITEHAVEN, May 3,

1776.

With pleasure I sit down to write to my dear Miss Roe,
who has been much upon my mind since I left Macclesfield.
Once I saw my dear friend, Miss Beresford; when I came
again, she was in Abraham's bosom ! Once I have seen her
living picture, drawn by the same hand, and breathing the
same spirit; and I am afraid I shall hardly see you again,
till we meet in the garden of God. But if you should
gradually decay, if you be sensible of the hour approaching
when your spirit is to return to God, I should be glad to
have notice of it, wherever I am, that if possible I might
see you once more before you
' Clap your glad wing, and soar away,
And mingle with the blaze of day.'

Perhaps, in such a situation, I might be of some little
comfort to your dear mother, who, in such circumstances,
would stand in much need of comfort; and it may be, our
blessed Master would enable me to ' Teach you at once—
and learn of you, to d i e ' !
In the meantime, see that you neglect no probable means
of restoring your health ; and send me, from time to time,
a particular account of the state wherein you are. Do you
feel your own will quite given up to God, so that you have
no repugnance to His will in anything ? Do you find no
strivings of pride ? no remains of vanity ? no desire of
praise, or fear of dispraise ? Do you enjoy an uninterrupted
sense of the loving presence of God ? How far does the
corruptible and decaying body press down the soul ? Your
disorder naturally sinks the spirits, and occasions heaviness
374

TO WIFE AND LADIES
and dejection. Can you, notwithstanding this, ' rejoice
evermore, and in everything give thanks' ?
Mr. Fletcher shows (as does the Plain Account of Christian Perfection) that sanctification is plainly set forth in
Scripture. But certainly before the root of sin is taken
away, believers may live above the power of it. Yet what
a difference between the first, and the pure love ! You can
explain this to Mr. Roe by your own experience. Let him
follow on, and how soon may he attain i t !
I am glad you wrote to Miss Yates, and hope you will
write to Miss R[itchie]. As to health, they are not much
better than you are; only Miss R[itchie] is a little strengthened by a late journey. I never conversed with her so
much before. I can give you her character in one line.
She is < all praise, all meekness, and all love.' If it will not
hurt you, I desire you will write often to, my dear Hetty,
yours affectionately.

' One of our Sisters here told us a particular
Dream.'
Letter II.
BRISTOL, March 16, 1783.

M Y DEAR HETTY,—It has frequently been on my mind of
late, that my pilgrimage is nearly at an end; and one of
our sisters here told us this morning a particular dream
which she had two months ago. She dreamt that the time
of Conference was come, and that she was in a church
expecting me to enter, when she saw a coffin brought in,
followed by Dr. Coke and Mr. Fletcher, and then by all
our preachers walking two and two. A fortnight ago, she
dreamt the same dream again. Such a burying I have
ordered in my will, absolutely forbidding either hearse or
coach.
375

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
I intended to have written a good deal more. For a few
days I have had just such a fever as I had in Ireland a few
years ago. But all is well. I am in no pain; but the
wheel of life seems scarcely able to move. Yet, I made a
shift to preach this morning to a crowded audience, and
hope to say something to them this afternoon. I love
that word, 'And Ishmael died in the presence of all his
brethren.*'—I am, in life or death, my dear sister, yours
affectionately.

' Many of the genteeler sort.
ticular Mission to these.'

You have a par-

Letter III.
[ ? NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE], May

28,

1788.

M Y DEAR HETTY,—My not hearing from you for so long
a time would have given me concern, but I knew it was not
from want of affection. I am glad to hear you prosper in
your soul. Rest in nothing you have attained; but press
on till you are filled with all the fulness of God.
In this day of God's power, I hope many of the backsliders in Cork will be brought back. There are great
numbers of them in and about the city, and many are of
the genteeler sort. It seems you have a particular mission
to these. Perhaps they will hear none but you. I hope
you have already found out Mrs. Forbes (Captain Forbes's
wife), and that now she is more than almost persuaded to
be a Christian.
The pearl on my eye is but just discernible, and dulls the
sight a little, but not much. As it grows no worse, I do
not much regard it.
Mr. Smith's society, I verily believe, will do us no harm.
And every one may speak of me as he will. I am just
flying away as a shadow. It more than makes me amends
376

TO WIFE AND LADIES
that James and you still love, and pray for, my dear Hetty,
your most affectionate.

To Miss Elizabeth Ritchie.
When Wesley ' made an exception,1 as he here says, and
started a correspondence with Miss Elizabeth Ritchie 1 of
Otley, Yorkshire, he set up one of the happiest and tenderest associations of his old age. This young lady was the
daughter of Dr. Ritchie, a retired naval surgeon, and a
Methodist, with whom Wesley stayed a week before this
letter. She was now twenty: Wesley was seventy-one.
Miss Ritchie became ' unto him as a daughter'; and she
says of him, ' I loved him with a grateful and affectionate
regard, as given by God to be my guide, my spiritual
father, and my dearest friend.*' Her life was threatened by
serious illnesses. In one of these (1777) Wesley paid three
visits to Otley, once travelling forty-eight miles through the
night to see her. Sometimes, with his wife or one of the
preachers, she accompanied him on his preaching tours, and
then, and often besides, was diligent in visitation and
counsel. Wesley often pointed to her as an ideal young
Methodist. Ten years after Wesley's death she married
Harvey W. Mortimer of London. She lived to the ripe age
of eighty years.
Subsequent history was a fine fulfilment of Wesley's
expectation in Letter n. as to the revival which God had
used him to lead. His shrewd tolerant judgements on
Swedenborg are notable. There, too, is his common phrase
4
scraps of time.' What marvels Wesley did in these!
Here he is at his inimitable Journal.
Letter in. shows us the aged Wesley, now everywhere
welcomed and honoured, filled with thankful wonder. He
was to live six more such happy years. Two years before
their close, Alexander Knox saw him in 1789, and left this
exquisite miniature of him—an aged, lovely, Christian
1
Agnes Bulmer's Memoirs of Elizabeth Mortimer^ and Wesley Historical
Society Proceedings, vol. iii. p. 78, vol. vii. p. 158.

377

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
gentleman: ' It was too obvious that his bodily frame was
sinking; but his spirit was as alert as ever; he was the life
of the company. Such unclouded sunshine of the breast, in
the deepest winter of age, and on the felt verge of eternity,
bespoke a mind whose recollections were as unsullied as
its present sensations were serene.' When Wesley had
actually 6 well-nigh finished his course,' of which he here
writes beforehand, Miss Ritchie, with Mrs. Hester Ann
Rogers, was his tender nurse (February-March, 1 1791).
She read to him daily from 6 A.M. until breakfast time.
4
Betsy,' said he, ' you must be eyes to the blind.' As he
desired, she was by his bedside in his dying hours. Her pen
graphically described these for the weeping praying hosts
to whom he had been truly a right reverend father in God.
The memorable and triumphant sayings which she caught
from his lips and gave to the world 2 are among the most
frequently quoted of his many words.

' I would have you just such an one as Miranda.'
Letter I.
[WHITEHAVEN], May 8,

1774.

M Y DEAU BETSY,—It is not common for me to write to

anyone first: I only answer those that write to me. But I
willingly make an exception with regard to you; for it
is not a common concern that I feel for you. You are just
rising into life; and I would fain have you, not almost, but
altogether, a Christian. I would have you just such a one
as Miranda; 3 and you cannot be content with less. You
1

See above, p. 373.
An Authentic Account of the Last Moments of that Great and Good Man,
the Rev. John Wesley, M.A.
Signed, E. R. (Leeds: Bowling, 1791.)
3
The daughter of Prospero in Shakespeare's Tempest', but Wesley
doubtless here refers to the character bearing that name in Law's Serious
Call to a Devout and Holy Life. Chapter v i n . is entitled, ' H o w the wise
and pious use of an estate naturally carries us to great peifection in all the
virtues of the Christian life, represented in the character of Miranda.'
This book, which profoundly affected Wesley in early life, he was never
tired of recommending, and he gave away thousands of copies of it.
2

378

TO WIFE AND LADIES
cannot be satisfied with right notions: neither with harmlessness; no, nor yet with barely external religion, how
exact soever it b e ; nay, you will not be content with a
taste of inward religion. This it has pleased God to give
you already. You know in whom you have believed; you
have tasted of the powers of the world to come ; but
' A taste of love cannot suffice;
Your soul for all His fulness cries !'
Cry on, and never cease ! Mind not those who rebuke you,
that you should hold your peace. Cry so much the more,
' Jesus of Nazareth, take away all my sins! Leave none
remaining! Speak the word only, and I shall be healed !'
Write freely to yours affectionately.

' This Revival of Religion will continue.'
Letter II.
LONDON^ February 12, 1779.

remark of Luther, 6 that a revival
of religion seldom continues above thirty years,' has been
verified many times in several countries. But it will not
always hold. The present revival of religion in England
has already continued fifty years. And, blessed be God, it
is at least as likely to continue, as it was twenty or thirty
years ago. Indeed, it is far more likely, as it not only
spreads wider, but sinks deeper, than ever ; more and more
persons being able to testify that the blood of Christ
cleanses from all sin. We have therefore reason to hope
that this revival of religion will continue, and continually
increase till the time when all Israel shall be saved, and the
fulness of the Gentiles shall come.
I have heard that Mr.
is in London, but have not
379
M Y DEAR BETSY,—The

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
heard where he is, or what he does. As far as I can learn,
he lives in the utmost privacy, and does not preach at
all. He seems to think that his present calling is to be
a hermit in London.
Surely it is your wisdom to stand fast even in the outward liberty wherewith Christ has made you free. You are
now happily disengaged from caring for the things of this
world, and need only care for the things of the Lord; how
you may be holy in body and spirit, and how you may
promote His kingdom upon earth.
I have abundant proof that Baron Swedenborg's fever,
which he had thirty years before he died, much affected his
understanding. Yet his tract is ' majestic, though in ruins.'
He has strong and beautiful thoughts, and may be read with
profit by a serious and cautious reader.
Some weeks since, I began another Journal, and am going
on with it when I have any scraps of time: probably it will
be finished next month. I expect to visit Yorkshire this
spring, when I hope to see you.—I am, yours affectionately.

' I am become, I know not how, an honourable
Man.'
Letter

III
DUBLIN, June 26,

1785.

Lord has indeed poured out
abundance of blessings almost in every part of this kingdom.
I have now gone through every province, and visited all the
chief societies, and I have found far the greater part of
them increasing, both in number and strength. Many are
convinced of sin, many justified, and not a few perfected in
love. One means of which is that several of our young
preachers, of whom we made little account, appear to be
(contrary to all expectation) men full of faith, and of the
380
MY

DEAR BETSY,—Our

TO WIFE AND LADIES
Holy Ghost; and they are pushing out, to the right hand
and the left; and wherever they go, God prospers their
labour. I know not whether Thomas Walsh 1 will not
revive in two, if not three, of them.
Many years ago I was saying, ' I cannot imagine how
Mr. Whitefield can keep his soul alive, as he is not now
going through honour and dishonour, evil report and good
report, having nothing but honour and good report attending him wherever he goes.** I t is now my own case; I am
just in the condition now that he was then in. I am
become, I know not how, an honourable man. The scandal
of the cross is ceased; and all the kingdom, rich and
poor, Papists and Protestants, behave with courtesy, nay,
and seeming good-will! It seems as if I had well-nigh
finished my course, and our Lord was giving me an honourable discharge.
My dear Betsy, have you not something to do in Dublin ?
If so, the sooner you visit our friends, the better. Peace be
with your spirit! Adieu !
1
One of Wesley's Irish preachers, of exceptional abilities and saintliness.

381

CHAPTER X
TO LADY MAXWELL

Wesley's most distinguished Follower in Scotland.
No group of Wesley's letters brings out more clearly
than these to Lady Maxwell (1742-1810) his constant
anxiety for the highest welfare of men and women, whether
poor or rich, or better displays his old-world courtesy
towards those who ranked with himself in birth and breeding, or his charm and tact, which attracted all classes.
Wesley recognised the strength of mind and character of
Lady Maxwell, and gained, while he gave much, by the
correspondence. Very beautiful are these intimate and
affectionate letters, given here more completely than ever
before, from this true father in God to this young lady,
a childless widow in high society. He was then sixty-one ;
she was twenty-two. 1 We see him giving her counsel in
the stages of earnest seeking after God, of penitent diffidence,
calm peace, and hushed rapture. Always devotion to duty
is urged. These letters should be compared with those to
ladies in the preceding chapter.

Lady Maxwell.
Miss Darcy Brisbane, of Brisbane, Largs, Ayrshire, was
married to Sir Walter Maxwell, Bart., of Pollok, Scotland,
when she was only seventeen, the year following that of
her introduction at Court by her aunt, the Marchioness of
Lothian. Two years after their marriage her husband died,
1
Methodist Magazine (1816) ; R. Bourne's Christian Sketch (1819);
Lancaster's Life of Darcy, Lady Maxwell {1826).

382

TO LADY MAXWELL
and their only child also. In these shattering sorrows Lady
Maxwell believed she heard the divine call to a dedicated
life. In her diary, which Southey said ' showed more of
high enthusiastic devotion, unmingled and undebased, than
is found in any other composition of the kind,' she wrote,
' I see God requires my whole heart; and He shall have it. . . .
He saw I could not bear what the world calls happiness—
riches, honour, and pleasure. With a hand graciously severe
He tore all from me. . . . He informed my judgement, but
first affected my heart. I was drawn rather than driven.''

An Ideal Methodist.
Nearly fifty years of saintly life and service followed this
covenant with God. Her course had the delightful monotony
of almost uniform excellence. In her nice and eager use of
time she imitated Wesley ^ and in her intelligent self-forgetting benevolence also. Every hour had its devotions or its
happy task. The Methodist services, especially the classmeeting where she met the preachers and others, were her
delight. For many years her house in Chalmers Close, in .the
High Street, was the centre of Methodism in Edinburgh.
When Calvinism held sway in Scotland, it marked her conviction and strength to say, ' If God has a people on earth,
and He has many, it is the Methodists.' She herself was
almost the ideal Methodist. Few so nearly embodied its
teaching on Christian perfection. Lady Maxwell joined the
Methodists in 1764, and continued with them until her
death. She also maintained appreciative connection with
the Church of Scotland. She continually enjoyed the
luxury of doing good, by relieving the sick, the poor, and embarrassed tradespeople, and by educating likely youths.
Her courtly bearing and dignity made imposition difficult.
In her lifetime eight hundred poor children passed through
the school which she established and endowed in Edinburgh.
Wesley received i?800 from her for his Kings wood school.
She was among the first to see the value of Sunday-schools.
So absorbed, she declined suitable offers of marriage, which
her beauty and position prompted. Her deeply affectionate
383

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
nature found delight in the friendship of her relative Lady
Glenorchy, and this was not lessened when that lady forsook
Wesley and embraced Calvinism. Lady Maxwell was her
executrix. Among difficult tasks which this trust involved
was the erection in 1789 of Hope Chapel, Bristol, for
Calvinistic teaching. I t was a memorial of Lady Henrietta
Hope, the beloved young proUgee of the two elder ladies.

Wesley's Letters to her, 1764-1788.
Begun at her request, Wesley's letters date from the
month following her memorable visit to Edinburgh in 1764,
when he met her, and many evangelical Scottish leaders,
among them the minister of her church, Dr. Webster. The
correspondence was continued until within a few years of
Wesley's death, probably until then. As ever and to all,
Wesley is full of eager solicitude for his reader's spiritual
decision and perfecting.
' W h y not this h o u r ? ' he
asks. Pleading with her merges into pleading for her.
Often in these letters he seems to lay aside the pen and,
like St. Paul for his readers, he bows his knees in prayer.

' Be not afraid to know yourself.'
Letter I.
NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, June 20, 1764.

Will it be agreeable to my dear Lady Maxwell that I
trouble her with a letter so soon ? and that I write with so
little ceremony ? that I use no compliment, but all plainness
of speech ? If it be not, you must tell me so, and I shall know
better how to speak for the time to come. Indeed, it would
be unpleasing to me to use reserve. The regard I feel for
you strongly inclines me to ' think aloud,' to tell you every
thought which rises in my heart. I think God has taken
unusual pains, so to speak, to make you a Christian; a
Christian indeed, not in name, worshipping God in spirit
384

TO LADY MAXWELL
and in t r u t h ; having in you the mind that was in Christ,
and walking as Christ also walked. He has given you affliction upon affliction; He has used every possible means to
unhinge your soul from things of earth, that it might fix on
Him alone. How far the design of His love has succeeded
I could not well judge from a short conversation. Your
Ladyship will therefore give me leave to inquire, Is the
heaviness you frequently feel merely owing to weakness of
body and the loss of near relations ? I will hope it is not.
I t might, indeed, at first spring from these outward
pressures. But did not the gracious Spirit of God strike in,
and take occasion from these to convince you of sin, of unbelief, of the want of Christ ? And is not the sense of this
one great cause, if not the greatest, of your present distress ?
If so, the greatest danger is, either that you should stifle
that conviction, not suffering yourself to be convinced that
you are all sin, the chief of sinners; or, that you should
heal the wound lightly, that you should rest before you
know Christ is yours, before His Spirit witness with your
spirit, that you are a child of God. My dear Lady, be not
afraid to know yourself; yea, to know yourself as you are
known. How soon, then, will you know your Advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous ! And why
not this day ? Why not this hour ? If you feel your want,
I beseech the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to
look upon you now ! O give Thy servant power to believe !
to see and feel how Thou hast loved her! Now let her sink
down into the arms of Thy love; and say unto her soul, ' I
am thy salvation.'
With regard to particular advices, I know not how far
your Ladyship would have me proceed. I would not be
backward to do anything in my power ; and yet I would
not obtrude. But in any respect you may command, My
dear Lady, your Ladyship's affectionate servant.
2B
885

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' Do not stop one Moment!'
Letter II.
MANCHESTER, July 10, 1764.

M Y DEAR LADY,—Till I had the pleasure of receiving

yours, I was almost in doubt whether you would think it
worth your while to write or not. So much the more I
rejoiced when that doubt was removed, and removed in so
agreeable a manner. I cannot but think of you often: I
seem to see you just by me, panting after God, under the
heavy pressure of bodily weakness and faintness, bereaved
of your dearest relatives, convinced that you are a sinner, a
debtor that has nothing to pay, and just ready to cry out,
' Jesu, now I have lost my all,
Let me upon Thy bosom fall.'
Amen, Lord Jesus! Speak, for Thy servant heareth!
Speak Thyself into her heart! Lift up the hands that hang
down and the feeble knees. Let her see Thee full of grace
and truth, and make her glad with the light of Thy
countenance.
Do not stop, my dear Lady, one moment, ' because you
have not felt sorrow enough.'' Your Friend above has felt
enough of it for you.
c

O Lamb of God, was ever pain,
Was ever love like Thine !'

Look, look unto Him, and be thou saved ! He is not a
God afar off: He is now hovering over you with eyes of
tenderness and love ! Only believe ! Then He turns your
heaviness into joy. Do not think you are not humble
enough, not contrite enough, not earnest enough. You are
nothing: but Christ is all, and He is yours. The Lord
386

TO LADY MAXWELL
God write it upon your heart, and take you for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
O that you may be ever as dead to the world as you are
now ! I apprehend the greatest danger from that quarter.
If you should be induced to seek happiness out of Christ,
how soon would your good desires vanish! Especially if
you should give way to the temptation to which your
person, your youth, and your fortune will not fail to expose
you. If you escape this snare, I trust you will be a real
Christian, having the power, as well as the form, of religion.
I expect you will then have likewise better health and
spirits: perhaps to-morrow. But, O ! take Christ to-day !
I long to have you happy in Him ! Surely few have a more
earnest desire of your happiness than, My very dear Lady,
Your Ladyship's most affectionate servant.

' Faith, Living, Conquering, Loving Faith, is
undoubtedly the Thing you want.5
Wesley will not let her stop short of that Gospel hope,
the sense of sins forgiven. Assurance to the human spirit
by the divine Spirit, of acceptance by God for Christ's
sake, is one of his messages to the world. He is here upon
work he loves. ' I do not often write such long letters.'
Letter

III.
LONDON, Aug.

17,

1764.

M Y DEAR LADY,—Since I had the pleasure of yours I
have hardly had an hour that I could call my own : otherwise I should not have delayed writing so long, as I have
a very 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 : Nay, more than all this
you have received already: for you have the fear of God.
But shall you stop here? God forbid. This is only the
887

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
beginning of wisdom. You are not to end here: 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.
I t is no small instance of the goodness of God towards you
that you are conscious of your want: your want of living
faith.
And His goodness herein is more remarkable
because almost all your neighbours would set you down for
a right good believer. O beware of these flatterers ! Hold
fast the conviction which God hath 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 who 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 (years
or months) before you receive them. Do not put them off
for a day, an hour ! Why not now ? Why should you not
look up this instant and see as it were Jesus Christ set forth,
evidently set forth, crucified before your eyes ? O hear His
voice! ' Daughter, be of good cheer : thy sins are forgiven
t h e e ! ' 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.
6
Lord I believe; help my unbelief.'
Joy in the Holy Ghost is a precious gift of God ; but yet
tenderness of conscience is still greater; and all this is for
you. Just ready,—
' The speechless awe which 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
388

TO LADY MAXWELL
admitted. I t does seem most expedient for you to retire
out of the city, 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 people, might quite damp
the grace of God in your soul.
You cannot oblige me more than by fully opening your
mind to me: there is no danger of your tiring me. I do not
often write such long letters : 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 wholly !
So prays, My dear Lady, Your affectionate servant.

' A t present but a tender, sickly Plant.'
Three months have passed since their interview. Lady
Maxwell has joined the Methodists, Like all fervid, aggressive sections of the Church, it drew to itself some strange,
unworthy folk, as well as many who were excellent and
sincere.
Letter IV.
BRISTOL, Sept. 22, 1764.

MY DEAR LADY,—You need be under no manner of

apprehension of writing too often to me. The more
frequent your letters are, the more welcome they will be.
When I have not heard from you for some time, I begin to be
full of fears; I am afraid either that your bodily weakness
increases, or that your desires after God grow cold. I consider you are at present but a tender, sickly plant, easily
hurt by any rough blast. But I trust this will not be so
long; for you have a strong Helper. And the Lord, whom
you serve, though feebly and imperfectly, will suddenly
come to His temple. When, Lord ? Are all things ready
389

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
now ? Here is the sinner; one whose mouth is stopped;
who has nothing to pay; who pleads neither her own harmlessness, nor works, nor good desires, nor sincerity; but can
adopt that strange word,—
e

I give up every plea beside,
Lord, I am damn'd ; but Thou hast died.'

He has died; therefore you shall live. O do not reason against
Him ! Let Him take you now ! Let Him take you just as
you are, and make you what is acceptable in His sight.
It gives me pleasure indeed to hear that God has given
you resolution to join the society. Undoubtedly you will
suffer reproach on the account; but it is the reproach of
Christ. And you will have large amends, when the Spirit
of glory and of God shall rest upon you. Yet I foresee a
danger: at first you will be inclined to think that all the
members of the society are in earnest. And when you find
that some are otherwise (which will always be the case in so
large a body of people), then prejudice may easily steal in,
and exceedingly weaken your soul. O beware of this rock
of offence! When you see anything amiss (upon hearsay
you will not readily receive it), remember our Lord's word,
< What is that to thee ? Follow thou Me.' And I entreat
you, do not regard the half-Methodists,—if we must use the
name. Do not mind them who endeavour to hold Christ in
one hand and the world in the other. I want you to be all
a Christian; such a Christian as the Marquis de Renty or
Gregory Lopez was. Such a one as that saint of God, Jane
Cooper: all sweetness, all gentleness, all love. Methinks
you are just what she was when I saw her first. I shrink at
the thought of seeing you what she was when I saw her last.
But why should I ? What is all the pain of one that is
glorifying God in the fires, with * Father, into Thy hands I
commend my spirit' ?
390

TO LADY MAXWELL
May I not take upon me to give you one advice more ?
Be very wary how you contract new acquaintance. All,
even sincere people, will not profit you. I should be pained
at your conversing frequently with any but those who are of
a deeply serious spirit, and who speak closely to the point.
You need not condemn them, and yet you may say, < This
will not do for me.'
May He that loves you supply all your wants, and
answer your enlarged desires ! So prays, My very dear Lady,
Your affectionate servant.

' I found the same Openness and Sweetness . . .
Tenderness and Steadiness.'
A month earlier than this letter Wesley was in Edinburgh, and began a chapel for the Methodists. He was
probably Lady Maxwell's guest. Here he is fighting confidence in good works as a basis of acceptance with God:
' Cast your deadly doing down!' His recognition of
spiritual growth and tenderness in promoting it here may be
contrasted with his method with his audiences in Londonderry, where he now was:—' I spoke as strongly and closely
as I could; but yet I cannot find the way to wound the
people. They are neither offended nor convinced.'
Letter V.
LONDONDERRY, May

25,

1765.

M Y DEAR LADY,—It is not easy for me to express the

satisfaction I received in the few hours I lately spent with
you. Before I saw you, I had many fears concerning
you, lest your concern for the one thing should be abated,
lest your desire should be cooled, or your mind a little hurt
by any of the things which have lately occurred. So much
the greater was my joy when all those fears were removed ;
when I found the same openness and sweetness as before,
both in your spirit and conversation, and the same earnest391

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
ness of desire after the only thing which deserves the whole
strength of our affection. I believe tenderness and steadiness are seldom planted by nature in one spirit. But what
is too hard for almighty grace ? This can give strength and
softness together. This is able to fill your soul with all
firmness, as well as with all gentleness. And hereunto you
are called ; for nothing less than all the mind which was in
Christ Jesus.
I t was with great pleasure that I observed your fixed resolution not to rest in anything short of this. I know not
why you should; why you should be content with being half
a Christian devoted partly to God and partly to the world,
or more properly to the devil. Nay, but let us be all for
God. He has created the whole, our whole body, soul, and
spirit. He that bought us hath redeemed the whole; and
let Him take the purchase of His blood. Let Him sanctify
the whole, that all we have and are may be a sacrifice of
praise and thanksgiving!
I am not afraid of your being satisfied with less than
this; but I am afraid of your seeking it the wrong way.
Here is the danger, that you should seek it, not by faith,
but, as it were, by the works of the law. See how exactly
the Apostle speaks: You do not seek it directly, but, as it
were, by works. I fear lest this should be your case, which
might retard your receiving the blessing. Christ has died
for you : He has bought pardon for you. Why should you
not receive it now ? while you have this paper in your
hand ? Because you have not thus or thus ? See your own
works. Because you are not thus or thus ? more contrite ?
more earnest ? more sincere ? See your own righteousness.
O let it all go ! None but Christ! None but Christ! And
if He alone is sufficient: if what He has suffered and done,
if His blood and righteousness are enough, they are nigh
thee ! in thy mouth and in thy heart! See, all things are
392

TO LADY MAXWELL
ready ! Do not wait for this or that preparation! for something to bring to God ! Bring Christ! Rather, let Him
bring you ; bring you home to God ! Lord Jesus take her !
Take her and all her sins ! Take her as she is! Take her
now! Arise, why tarriest thou? Wash away her sins!
Sprinkle her with Thy blood! Let her sink down into
the arms of Thy love and cry out, ' M y Lord and my

GodV
Let me hear from you as soon as you can. You do not
know how great a satisfaction this is to, My dear Lady,
Your ever affectionate servant.

' Light in an Instant or by Degrees.'
Wesley learns while he teaches. He has seen and will
yet see multitudes pass in a moment from the valley of
decision into the sunlight of conscious acceptance with God
in Christ; but it may be He is ' working more gradually in
you.' Notice his customary solicitude as to health : 'Having
good spirits, very much depends on this.*'
Letter VI.
KILKENNY^ July 5, 1765.

yours was sent from Dublin to Cork,
and then back again hither, I did not receive it until yesterday. I am now setting my face again towards England:
but I expect to be in Dublin till the beginning of next
month, and then to cross over, so as to be at Manchester (if
it please God) about the middle of August. Either at
Dublin, or at Manchester, I hope to have the pleasure of
hearing from you. This is indeed a pleasure, as it is to
write to you : though sometimes I do this with fear: a fear
lest I should give you any pain, as I know the tenderness of
your spirit. I wish I could be of some service to you: that
I could encourage you to cast yourself on Him that loves
393
M Y DEAR LADY,—As

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
you : that is now waiting to pour His peace into your heart,
to give you an entrance into the holiest by His blood. See
Him, see Him! full of grace and truth! full of grace and
truth for thee ! I do not doubt but He is gradually working in you: but I want you to experience, likewise, an
instantaneous work. Then shall the gradual go on swiftly.
Lord, speak ! Thy servant heareth ! Say thou, < Let there
be light,' and there shall be light. Now let it spring up
in your heart!
I t may be, He that does all things well has wise reasons,
though not apparent to us, for working more gradually in
you than He has done of late years in most others. It may
please Him to give you the consciousness of His favour, the
conviction that you are accepted through the Beloved, by
almost insensible degrees, like the dawning of the day ! And
it is all one how it began, so you do but walk in the light.
Be this given in an instant, or by degrees, hold it fast.
Christ is yours : He hath loved you : He hath given Himself
for you. Therefore, you shall be holy as He is holy, both
in heart and in all manner of conversation.
Give me leave, my dear friend, to add a word, likewise,
concerning your bodily health. You should in anywise give
yourself all the air and exercise you can. And I should
advise you (even though long custom made it difficult, if
that were the case) to sleep as early as possible : never later
than ten, in order to rise as early as health will permit.
The having good spirits, so called, or the contrary, very
much depends on this. I believe medicines will do you
little service: You need only proper diet, exact regularity,
and constant exercise, with the blessing of God.
Your speaking or writing was never tedious to me yet;
and I am persuaded never will be. Your letters are more
and more agreeable to, My very dear Lady, Your most
affectionate servant.
394

TO LADY MAXWELL
* That strange Reserve which so prevails in North
Britain.'
Letter

VII.
LONDON, December 1, 1765.

M Y DEAR L A D Y , — P e r h a p s there is scarce any child of man
t h a t is not, a t some time, a little touched by prejudice, so
far, a t least, as t o be troubled, t h o u g h n o t wounded. B u t
it does n o t h u r t , unless it fixes on t h e mind. I t is n o t
strength of understanding which can prevent this. T h e
heart, which otherwise suffers most by it, makes t h e resistance
which only is effectual. I cannot easily be prejudiced by
any person whom I tenderly love till t h a t loves declines.
So long therefore as our affection is preserved by watchfulness and prayer t o H i m who gave it, prejudice must stand
a t a distance. A n o t h e r excellent defence against i t is openness. I admire you upon this account. Y o u dare (in spite
of t h a t strange reserve which so prevails in N o r t h Britain)
speak t h e naked sentiments of your heart. I hope my dear
friend will never do otherwise. I n simplicity and godly
sincerity, the very reverse of worldly wisdom, have all your
conversation in the world.
H a v e you received a gleam of light from above, a spark
of faith ? 0 let it not go ! H o l d fast, by H i s grace, t h a t
t o k e n of His love, t h a t earnest of your inheritance. Come
j u s t as you are, and come boldly t o the t h r o n e of grace.
Y o u need not delay ! Even now t h e bowels of Jesus Christ
yearn over you. W h a t have you t o do with to-morrow ? I
love you to-day. A n d how much more does H e love you !
He
e
Pities still his wandering sheep,
Longs to bring you to His fold I'
T o - d a y hear H i s voice: t h e voice of H i m t h a t speaks as
never man s p a k e : t h e voice t h a t raises t h e dead, t h a t calls
395

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
the things which are not as though they were. Hark!
What says He now ? c Fear n o t : only believe ! Woman,
thy sins are forgiven thee! Go in peace: thy faith hath
made thee whole.' Indeed I am, My dear Lady, Your
ever affectionate servant.

' Trial did not turn you out of the Way.'
Lady Maxwell has proved the truth of Wesley's warning
in a previous letter that not all professors are possessors of
religion. She was unaffected. He is about to see her in
Edinburgh, with his wife and her daughter, Miss Vazeille.
This he did, as is seen in the letter next to this. They
were probably Lady Maxwell's guests. That letter from
Glasgow, and the subsequent one from Hartlepool, are new.
Letter

VIII.

NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, May

6,

1766.

M Y DEAR LADY,—It was well that I did not hear anything

of a trial that you lately had till it was past. You have
great reason to bless God that this did not turn you out of
the way. You might very easily have inferred from it that
6
all these people are alike,' and thence have given way to
a thousand reasonings, which would have brought you into
utter darkness. But it is plain you are not left to your own
weakness. You have a strong Helper. The Lord stands
on your right hand; therefore you are not moved. And I
make no doubt He will continue to help till His arm brings
you salvation. But, in the meantime, you have need of
patience; and the more so because you have a weak body.
This, one may expect, will frequently press down the soul;
especially until you are strong in faith. But how soon may
that be, seeing it is the gift, yea, and the free gift, of God !
Therefore, it is never far off. The word is nigh thee!
6
Only believe!' Look unto Jesus! Be thou saved!
396

TO LADY MAXWELL
Receive out of His fulness, grace upon grace; mercy, and
grace to keep mercy.
On the &4th instant, I hope to be at Edinburgh with my
wife and daughter. But perhaps you will see the salvation
of God before you see, My dear Lady, Your ever
affectionate servant.

' Our Late Conversations.5
Besides matters of deep spiritual concern did Wesley chat
with her of the sessions of the General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland, which he attended ? He was shocked
at the behaviour of many of its members. ' Had any
preacher behaved so in our Conference,' says his Journal,
4
he would have had no more place amongst us.**
Letter

IX.
GLASGOW, June 22, 1766.

M Y DEAR LADY,—How great was the satisfaction which

I received in several of our late conversations ! The fears
which I long entertained concerning you are now wellnigh
at an end. I am not now afraid of your being entangled
again by your honourable relations or acquaintance: or of
your regarding the pleasures that perish in the using, or
seeking happiness in the things of earth. God has given
you a taste for better things, and has taught you to see the
Honour that comes from Him only. Oh what is all the
applause or admiration of our poor fellow-worms to this!
Let them censure or praise: of how small concern is this,
so your Great Judge says, ' Servant of God, well done."
This is the applause which I trust you will always seek,
and of which you cannot be disappointed, seeing ' every
one that seeketh,findeth : every one that asketh, receiveth.'
Before this, I hope it is made plain to you whether
you should corriply with St. James or no. I incline to think
397

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
something of the kind would be good for your body. All
the doubt is, whether your soul will prosper ! I commend
you for being more careful on this than on any other account.
And unless you have a clear, particular conviction from God
that He will preserve you in the fiery furnace, I cannot
advise you to venture into it. Your mind is as yet exceeding tender. You are weak as an infant; your bones are not
knit; you are not able to bear.
Yet if it should please our Lord to call you into the
combat, He would strengthen you for it, and you would be
able to testify, ' I can do all things through Christ that
strengtheneth me.'
Pray let me hear (at Newcastle-upon-Tyne) that you use
some exercise every day. I cannot tell you how tender a
concern I feel for you. Fulfil you my joy by receiving all the
promise. Then, I am sure, you will love and pray for, My
dear Lady, Your ever affectionate servant.

« The Safest Step.'
Letter

X,
HARTLEPOOL, July 8,1766.

have certainly taken the safest
step. There would have been danger if you had acted
otherwise. There is something infectious in the familiar
conversation of persons that know not God. Unless we are
continually on the watch, it damps and deadens the soul.
So much the more reason you have to praise God for the
liberty He has given you. He has dealt exceedingly tender
with you. He has given you a thousand tokens for good.
Do not dare to distrust His goodness any more! Check
every thought of that kind. It cometh not from Him that
calleth you. Christ is yours. Here is your foundation. Let
nothing remove you from this. Jesus hath loved you. He
398
M Y DEAR LADY,—You

TO LADY MAXWELL
hath given himself for you. And the Father Himself loves
you, and will withhold from you no manner of thing that
is good.
I am in much hope. Mr. Taylor will be of use to you.
You will not object to his plainness of speech, but rather
encourage him from time to time to tell you all that is in his
heart concerning you.
Mrs. Douglas spent a day with our friends at Newcastle,
and I believe a profitable one. I have desired my wife
to call upon her next week and bring the Colonel and her to
York. If she could spend a few days with the simple Christians there, I hope it would be the means of establishing her
for ever.
I rejoice to hear that you have the resolution to sleep
and rise early. The uneasiness of it will soon be over, but
the advantage will remain for ever. Oh, fear no cross, God
is on your side, and will command all to work together for
good.—I am, My dear Lady, Your most affectionate servant.

* Your Health . . . and the Peace of God.'
Letter XI.
NORWICH, Feby. 23,
M Y DEAR

1767.

LADY,—For a considerable time I was under

apprehensions that you were in a state of temptation.
And as I had no other way of helping you, this put me
upon commending you the more frequently to Him that is
able to save you. Your last, therefore, was doubly acceptable to me, as it relieved me from my fears concerning you,
and gave me the occasion of rejoicing over one for whom
I have the most sincere and tender affection. Sure it is,
that the grace of God is sufficient for you, in this and in
every trying hour. So you have happily experienced it
to be already; and so I trust you will experience it to the
end. But you must not imagine that you are yet out of the
399

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
reach of temptation. Thoughts will be suggested again
and again : so that you have still need to be
' For ever standing* on your guard
And watching unto prayer.'

And let my dear friend keep at the utmost distance from
temptation and carefully shun all occasions of evil. Oh it
is a good though painful fight! You have Him with you
who can have compassion on your infirmities, who remembers
you are but dust, and who, at the same time, has all power
in heaven and earth, and so is able to save you to the uttermost. Exercise, especially as the spring comes on, will be
of greater service to your health than a hundred medicines,
and I know not whether it will not be restored in a larger
measure than for many years when the peace of God fixes
in your heart. Is it far off ? Do not think so. His ear is
not heavy ; He now hears the cry of your heart. And will
He not answer ? Why not to-day ? Come, Lord Jesus, come
quickly ! Your openness obliges me to be more than ever,
My dear Lady, your affectionate friend and servant.

' I begin to be full of Fears.'
Lady Maxwell, as shown by her diary of a few weeks
earlier than the next letter, was ' distressed in mind and
weak in body, and without those comfortable views which I
formerly had.' She therefore made, if possible, more than
her usual careful preparation for attendance at the Lord's
Table—a rare and exalted sacred season in the Scottish
churches, which she never neglected. Wesley's letter from
Ireland, until now almost unknown, was very welcome to
her. It is here reproduced in facsimile.
Letter

XII.
CASTLEBAR, May

7,1767.

silence is not enough. I will not
believe you are tired of my correspondence unless I have it
400
M Y DEAR LADY,—Your

WESLEY'S LETTER
TO

LADY MAXWELL
From CASTLEBAR, May 7, 1767

FACSIMILE from the ORIGINAL
in the Everett Collection, United
Methodist College,Victoria Park,
Manchester.
THE TEXT of this LETTER is
given on page 400

LETTERS OF JOHN WESLEY
BY REV. GEORGE EAYRS, F.R.HIST.S.
Published by Hodder & Stoughton, London, Toronto, New York
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TO LADY MAXWELL
under your own hand. But when I have heard nothing from
you for six or eight weeks, I begin to be full of fears. I am
afraid either that you are dead or that you are extremely
ill; not well able to write, or that your affection is cooled,
perhaps to me, perhaps to Him that loves you a thousand
times better than I do. It lies upon you to put a period to
my fears, to show me that you are still the same, only
more and more determined, in spite of all temptations, to go
on in the most excellent way. I knew not whether it was
proper to make any inquiry concerning the trial out of
which you said God had delivered you, because there are
some things of so delicate a nature that one scarce knows
how to commit them to paper. Otherwise I think there is
nothing which you might not mention to me, as I believe
none is more nearly concerned for your happiness. Have
you found a return of the trial you mentioned ? Still
the God whom you serve is able to deliver you.
I
do not indeed wonder that things should make a deep
impression upon so tender a spirit. But still, is not
His grace sufficient for you ? and shall not His strength
be made perfect in your weakness? Are not you still
determined to seek your happiness in Him ? And to
'.evote to God all you have, and all you are ? Is it
not your desire to be all given up to Him, and to glorify
Him with your body and with your spirit? Go on in
His name and in the power of His might! Through Him
you shall be more than conqueror. Frequently He has
chastened and corrected you: but He has not given you
over to death, and He never will. ' T h o u shalt not die
but live, and declare the loving kindness of the Lord.'
I shall hope to receive a particular account of your health
and of your present situation in all respects. Need there
be any reserve between us ? Cannot you speak to me with
all simplicity ? May the Peace and Love of God fill and
2c
401

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
rule your heart.—I am, My dear Lady, Your most affectionate servant.
A letter directed to Dublin will always find me.

* Providentially called . . . where you now are
. . . you will be preserved.'
Lady Maxwell was visiting her relatives at the family
seat at Brisbane, probably for her health's sake. Wesley
is, as always, chiefly solicitous for her spiritual welfare.
He invites her to try the Bristol Hot Well for her health.
Thirteen years before he drank the waters there for two
months, when recovering from consumption. As Lady Maxwell passes through Newcastle, Mrs. Wesley will meet her,
and she can stay at the Orphan House there, his northern
centre. At Bristol his coach and pair are to be at her disposal. Miss Lewen of Durham had given these to Wesley
eighteen months before for his journeys. The Misses Dale
were favourites of his. 1
Letter

XIII.

CORK, June 4, 1767.
M Y DEAR LADY,—My belief is that a journey to England

might be of great service to your health. And it is not
improbable you might receive much benefit from the water
of the Hot Well near Bristol. In August I hope to be at
Bristol, and again in the latter end of September. My
chaise and horse are at Bristol, which you would oblige me
much if you would please to use as your own (if you do not
bring any with you) during your stay there, for you should,
if possible, ride out daily. My wife, who is at Newcastle,
will be exceeding glad to wait upon you there. And if you
choose to rest a few days, I should be happy if you would
make use of the Orphan House. You would be pleased with
the Miss Dales and they with you : you and they have drunk
1

402

See above, p. 370.

TO LADY MAXWELL
into one spirit. Miss Peggy is one of the holiest young
women that I have any knowledge of: indeed, I think both the
sisters have no desire but to glorify God with their body and
with their spirit. You will be so kind as to let me know when
you expect to be at Newcastle, and possibly I may meet
you there. As you were providentially called to the place
where you now are, I cannot doubt but you will be preserved. But you have need of much prayer and continual
watching, or you may insensibly lose what God has given. I
am jealous over you : I cannot but be interested in whatever
concerns you. I know your tender spirit, your desire to
please all for their good ; your unwillingness to give pain.
And even these amiable dispositions may prove a snare ; for
how easily may they be carried too far! If you find anything hurts you, or draws your soul from God, I conjure
you, flee for your life! In that case you must not stand
upon ceremony; you must escape without delay. But I
hope better things : I hope you are sent to Brisbane, not to
receive hurt, but to do good ; to grow in grace, to find
a deeper communion than ever with Him that gave Himself
for you, and to fulfil the joy of, My dear Lady, Your most
affectionate friend.

' A Christian after the Common Rate.

No !'

A strange letter, and a new one, mingled of Christian
counsel, close confidences, and a ghost story. ' The strange
account of Elizabeth Hobson of Sunderland,' a woman of
twenty-four, was a long story of ghostly apparitions and
sounds which she stated she had seen and heard from
childhood at the times when people died whom she knew.
Wesley gives it in full in his Journal under date May 25
of this year. Some one had filched half Wesley's account
of it. Lady Maxwell has these, or a copy of the complete
account. Elizabeth Hobson had since met ' t h e ghost'
again. This, she declared, was that of her grandfather, who
403

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
appointed Boyldon Hill, half a mile from Durham, as meeting-place ! Johnson and Boswell did not accept the story.
Wesley did, and many such, as his Journal shows. Dr.
Fitchett aptly says that the strange sounds at Epworth
Rectory, the home of Wesley's boyhood, made a path in
his brain for all such stories, and for the supernatural.
In the letter next to the following, Wesley refers to his
mother's and his own views as to some apparitions.
Letter

XIV.
REDRUTH, Sept. 9,

1768.

is impossible for me to give you pain
without feeling it myself. And yet the manner wherein
you receive my plain dealing gives me pleasure too. Perhaps you never had so uncomplaisant a correspondent
before. Yet I think you hardly ever had one who had a
more tender regard for you. But it is this very thing
which lays me under a constraint to tell you all I hear
or fear concerning you, because I cannot be content that
you should be a Christian after the common rate. No. I
want you to have all the mind that was in Christ, and in
everything to walk as He walked. To live like an angel
here below, unblameable in spotless love.
What a comfort it is when we can have confidence in
each other ! I rejoice that you can speak freely, even upon
so delicate a subject. You may be assured that no eye but
mine shall see your letter. One cannot be too wary in things
of this kind; some men are so weak, and others so wicked.
I give entire credit to everything you say, particularly concerning Mr. H., and I join with you in thinking there must
be some mistake in the person who informed me of that
circumstance. I do not believe [he] uttered such a word. I
cannot think him capable of it. I am now entirely easy
upon that head, being persuaded that, through the power of
Christ strengthening you, you will stand fast both in the
404
M Y DEAR LADY,—It

TO LADY MAXWELL
inward and outward liberty wherewith He has made you
free. l a m glad to hear Lady Baird has the courage to cast
in her lot with a poor, despised people. In what instance
do you apprehend L. B. to be in danger of enthusiasm ?
When I know more particularly, I will take an opportunity
of either speaking or writing.
I suppose a copy of the strange account of Eliz. Hobson
was sent you from Newcastle from my papers. Not long
after, the former half of these papers, eight pages out of
sixteen, was taken away, none can tell how to this day.
What I could remember I wrote down again. But I question whether my memory served me as to every circumstance, and must therefore ask of you a copy of what was
lost. If you please, Mr. Thompson can transcribe it for me.
The thing is now brought, I hope, to a final issue. She
has met him at Boyldon Hill, when he took his leave
with, ' I shall see you more, in time or in eternity.''
How much happiness is it for us, that we hope to see
each other, both in time and in eternity ? ' Nor shorter
space True Love can satisfy.'
That you may be daily more athirst both for holiness and
glory, is the prayer of, My dear Lady, Your affectionate
servant.
I am now setting my face toward Bristol.
(

An Apprehension of a deceased Friend.'
Letter XV.
LONDON, March 3, 1769.

M Y DEAR LADY,—To be incapable of sympathising with
the distressed is not a desirable state; nor would one wish
to extirpate either sorrow or any other of our natural passions. And yet it is both possible and highly desirable to
attain the same experience with the Marquis de Renty,
405

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
who, on occasion of his lady's illness, told those who inquired how he could bear it, * I cannot say but my nature
is deeply affected with the apprehension of so great a loss ;
and yet I feel such a full acquiescence in the will of God,
that, were it proper, I could dance and sing.'
I have heard my mother say, ' I have frequently been as
fully assured that my father's spirit was with me as if I had
seen him with my eyes.' But she did not explain herself
any further. I have myself many times found on a sudden
so lively an apprehension of a deceased friend that I
have sometimes turned about to look; at the same time I
have felt an uncommon affection for them. But I never
had anything of this kind with regard to any but those that
died in faith. In dreams I have had exceedingly lively conversations with them, and I doubt not but they were then
very near.
I t gives me pleasure to hear that you did not neglect our
own preaching in order to attend any other. The hearing
Mr. F. at other times I do not know that any could blame,
unless you found it unsettled your mind or weakened your
expectation of an entire deliverance from sin. And this, I
apprehend, it did not.
You never ' take up too much of my time.' To converse
with you, even in this imperfect way, is both agreeable and
useful to me. I love your spirit, and it does me good. I
trust God will give you that hunger and thirst after righteousness till you are satisfied therewith. And who knows
how soon ?—I am, My dear Lady, Your ever affectionate
servant.

' Concerned that you are unwell.5
Always frail, Lady Maxwell's course is again interrupted
by sickness.
406

TO LADY MAXWELL
Letter

XVI.
LONDONDERRY, April 29, 1769.

M Y DEAR LADY,—A while ago I was concerned at hearing
from Edinburgh that you were unwell, although I could
not doubt but it was ordered well by an unerring Providence as a means of keeping you dead to all below, and of
quickening your affections to things above. And indeed
this is the rule whereby the inhabitants of a better world
judge of good and evil. Whatever raises the mind to God
is good; and in the same proportion as it does this.
Whatever draws the heart from its centre is evil; and more
or less so, as it has more or less of this effect. You have
accordingly found pain, sickness, bodily weakness, to be real
goods, as bringing you nearer and nearer to the fountain of
all happiness and holiness. And yet, it is certain, nature
shrinks from pain, and that without any blame. Only in
the same moment that we say, ' If it is possible, let this
cup pass from me,' the heart should add, like our great
Pattern, ' Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.'
Lady Baird I did not see before I left London, and Lady
K. B. I did not understand. She was exceedingly civil, and
I think affectionate, but perfectly shut up, so that I knew
no more of her state of mind than if I had never seen her.
—I am, My dear Lady, Your ever affectionate servant.

'Live To-day.'
It is probable that the one in high place here referred to
was Lady Glenorchy.1 She had opened St. Mary's Chapel,
Edinburgh, for use by Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and
Methodists. Wesley found a minister for her as Lady Maxwell and she asked—the Rev. Richard De Courcey—a
Calvinist. The common use of the chapel proved unworkable. After six months Lady Glenorchy expelled the
1

See p. 418.

407

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Methodist preachers, as their evangelical Arminianism
differed from her Calvinism. The two letters which follow
this one give some particulars of this trouble. 1 Even Whitefield's death did not stop controversy. That Wesley passes
lightly. 'Live to-day!' which he enjoins as a counsel to
her here, was his motto, Vive hodie. His warnings in later
letters against De Courcey are very quaint.
Letter

XVII.
LONDON, February 17, 1770.

M Y DEAR LADY,—To us it may seem that uninterrupted
health would be a greater help to us than pain or sickness.
But herein we certainly are mistaken : we are not such good
judges in our own cause. You may truly say, ' H e a l t h I
shall have, if health be best.' But in this and in all things
you may trust Him that loves you. Indeed, nervous disorders are, of all others, as one observes, enemies to the joy
of faith. But the essence of it—that confidence in a loving,
pardoning God—they can neither destroy nor impair. Nay,
as they keep you dead to all below, they may forward you
therein ; and they may increase your earnestness after that
precious love which turns earth into Paradise.
It will be by much pains and patience that you will keep
one in high life steadfast in the plain, old way. I should
wish you to converse with her as frequently as possible.
Then, I trust, God will use you to keep alive the fire which
He has kindled. I am in great hopes that the chapel will be
of use; but it will not be easy to secure a converted clergyman. A schoolmaster will be more easily found; although
many here are frightened at the name of Scotland. A
diligent master may manage twenty or perhaps thirty
children. If one whom I lately saw is willing to come, I
believe he will answer your design.
1

408

Journal, in loc ; Tyerman's Life of Wesley, vol. in. p. 64.

TO LADY MAXWELL
I have some thoughts of going to America; but the way
is not yet plain. I wait till Providence shall speak more
clearly, on one side or the other. In April I hope to reach
Inverness, and to take Edinburgh on my way back to England. But let us live to-day! What a blessing may you
receive now!
1
Now let your heart with love o'erflow
And all your life His glory show !'
I am, My dear Lady, Your ever affectionate servant.

' I never preach in a Controversial Way.'
Letter

XVIII.

LONDON, January 24, 1771.
M Y DEAR LADY,—Although Mr. M'Nab is quite clear as
to justification by faith, and is, in general, a sound and good
preacher, yet I fear he is not clear of blame in this. He is
too warm and impatient of contradiction, otherwise he must
be lost to all common sense, to preach against final perseverance in Scotland. From the first hour that I entered the
kingdom, it was a sacred rule with me never to preach on
any controverted point, at least not in a controversial way.
Any one may see that this is only to put a sword into our
enemies' hands. I t is the direct way to increase all their
prejudices, and to make all our labours fruitless.
You will shortly have a trial of another kind. Mr. De
Courcey purposes to set out for Edinburgh in a few days.
He was from a child a member of our societies in the south
of Ireland. There he received remission of sins, and was for
some time groaning for full redemption. But when he came
to Dublin the Philistines were upon him, and soon prevailed
over him. Quickly he was convinced t h a t ' there is no perfection,1 and that ' all things depend on absolute and un409

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
changeable decrees.'' At first he was exceedingly warm upon
these heads ; now he is far more calm. His natural temper,
I think, is good; he is open, friendly, and generous. He
has also a good understanding, and is not unacquainted
with learning, though not deeply versed therein. He has
no disagreeable person, a pleasing address, and is a lively
as well as a sensible preacher. ' Surely such a preacher as
this was never in Edinburgh before ! Mr. Whitefield himself was not to compare with him! What an angel of a
m a n ! ' Now, when you add to this that he is quite new,
and very young, you will judge how he will be admired and
caressed. How will a raw, inexperienced youth be able to
encounter this ? If there be not the greatest of miracles
to preserve him, will it not turn his brain ? And may he
not then do far more hurt than either Mr. W. or Mr. T.
did ? Will he not prevent your friend from going on to
perfection or thinking of any such thing? Nay, may he
not shake you also ? He would; but that the God whom
you serve is able to deliver you. At present, indeed, he is
in an exceedingly loving spirit. But will that continue long ?
There will be danger on the one hand if it does; there will
be danger on the other if it does not.
I t does not appear that any great change has been
wrought in our neighbours by Mr. Whitefield's death. He
had fixed the prejudice so deep that even he himself was
not able to remove i t ; yet our congregations have increased
exceedingly, and the work of God increases on every side.
I am glad you use more exercise. It is good for both body
and soul. As soon as Mr. De Courcey is come, I shall be
glad to hear how the prospect opens. You will then need
a larger share of the wisdom from above; and I trust you
will write with all openness to, My dear Lady, Your ever
affectionate servant.
410

TO LADY MAXWELL
' The Preachers . . . felt a Damp upon their
Spirits.5
Letter

XIX.
LONDON, February 26, 1771.

MY DEAR LADY,—I cannot but think that the chiei
reason of the little good done by our preachers in Edinburgh
is the opposition which has been made by the ministers of
Edinburgh, as well as by the false brethren from England.
These steeled the hearts of the people against all the good
impressions which might otherwise have been made ; so that
the same preachers, by whom God hath constantly wrought,
not only in various parts of England, but likewise in the
northern parts of Scotland, were in Edinburgh only not
useless. They felt a damp upon their spirits ; they had not
their usual liberty of speech; and the word they spoke
seemed to rebound upon them, and not to sink into the
hearts of the hearers. At my first coming I usually find
something of this myself; but the second or third time of
preaching, it is gone,; and I feel, greater is He that is with
us than all the powers of earth and hell.
If any one could show you, by plain Scripture and reason,
a more excellent way than that you have received, you
certainly would do well to receive i t ; and I trust I should
do the same. But I think it will not be easy for any one
to show us either that Christ did not die for all or that He
is not willing as well as able to cleanse from all sin, even in
the present world. If your steady adherence to these great
truths be termed bigotry, yet you have no need to be
ashamed. You are reproached for Christ's sake, and the
spirit of glory and of Christ shall rest upon you. Perhaps
your Lord may use you to soften some of the harsh spirits,
and to preserve Lady Glenorchy or Mr. De Courcey from
being hurt by them. I hope to hear from you (on whom I
411

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
can depend) a frequent account of what is done near you.
After you have suffered awhile, may God stablish, strengthen,
settle you!—I am, My dear Lady, Your very affectionate
servant.

' Easier to lose Love than to find Truth.'
Fletcher, 1 whom Wesley here and often justly praises, had
defended him and his Conference by his First Check to
Antinomianism. I t was directed against the Countess of
Huntingdon and other Calvinistic leaders who accused
Wesley and the Conference, hastily and unjustly, of favouring Justification by Works. To make the Methodist
teaching quite clear, Wesley wrote a Declaration at the
Conference of 1770, and he and fifty-three preachers signed
it. It stated that their trust and that of all ' real Christian
Believers' was ' in the alone merits of Christ for salvation,
in Life, Death, or the Day of Judgement."'
But what of Lady Maxwell herself and her spiritual
progress ? This, as always, is Wesley's chief concern.
Letter

XX.
LONDON, February 8, 1772.

commend you for meddling with
points of controversy as little as possible. It is abundantly
easier to lose our love in that rough field than to find truth.
This consideration has made me exceedingly thankful to
God for giving me a respite from polemical labours. I am
glad He has given to others both the power and the will to
answer them that trouble me, so that I may not always be
forced to hold my weapons in one hand, while I am building
with the other. I rejoice, likewise, not only in the abilities
but in the temper of Mr. Fletcher. He writes as he lives.
I cannot say that I know such another clergyman in EngM Y DEAR LADY,—I

1

412

See p. 138.

TO LADY MAXWELL
land or Ireland. He is all fire, but it is the fire of love.
His writings, like his constant conversation, breathe nothing
else to those who read him with an impartial eye. And
although Mr. Shirley scruples not to charge him with using
subtil ty and metaphysical distinctions, yet he abundantly
clears himself of this charge in the Second Check to
Antinomianism.
Such the last letters are styled, and
with great propriety, for such they have really been. They
have given a considerable check to those who were everywhere making void the law through faith, setting ' the
righteousness of Christ' in opposition to the law of Christ,
and teaching that ' without holiness any man may see the
Lord;
Notwithstanding both outward and inward trials, I trust
you are still on the borders of perfect love. For the Lord
is nigh !
' See t h e Lord thy Keeper stand
Omnipotently near !
Lo ! H e holds thee by thy hand,
And banishes thy fear !'

You have no need of fear. Hope unto the end ! Are not
all things possible to him that believeth ? Dare to believe !
Seize a blessing now ! The Lord increase your faith ! In
this prayer I know you join with, My dear Lady, Your
ever affectionate servant.

* I want Heat more than Light.'
City Road Chapel, London, was the new building which
required Wesley's presence. It was to become a centre of
world-wide effort and devout interest. High impulse was
received by him from Lady Maxwell's letters. Like St.
Paul, he was profuse in thanks. As he had so long desired
and prayed, Lady Maxwell now enjoyed the riches of the
Christian life. Her diary for 1776 says—' What God has
done for my soul mocks all power of expression. . . . He
413

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
shines now with meridian brightness.' The footnote of this
letter links with Wesley's humble boast—' Our people die
well.'
Letter XXL
NEWCASTLE, May 3, 1777.

M Y DEAR LADY,—The new chapel which we are now

building in London requires much of my attendance there,
so that I cannot be conveniently absent more than two
Sundays together. Accordingly, when I set out I fixed
Saturday the 19th inst. for my return, and ordered notice
to be given of my design to meet the classes the week following. I cannot therefore have the pleasure of seeing you
now, which, if it could be, I should greatly desire. I love
your spirit, I love your conversation, I love your correspondence.
I have often received both profit and pleasure
thereby. I frequently find a want of more light; but I
want heat more than light, and you have frequently been
an instrument of conveying this to my soul, of animating
me to run the glorious race. I trust you find no decay in
your own soul, but a still increasing vigour. Some time
since you enjoyed a measure of that great salvation, deliverance from inbred sin. Do you hold fast where unto you had
attained, and still press forward, to be filled with all the
fulness of God ? There is the prize before you ! Look up,
believe, and take all you want!
Wishing you the whole gospel blessing, I remain, My
dear Lady, Your ever affectionate servant.
I hear Sister Gow is gone hence. Did she go in triumph,
or only in peace ?

' Rags and Ruffles.'
Five years later (May 31, 1782) Wesley was Lady Maxwell's guest at Saughton Hall, an old mansion-house three
miles from Edinburgh. He preached to the poor folk she
gathered. Next day he further helped her good work. He
414

TO LADY MAXWELL
still has a sharp eye and a quick pen. He writes—' I spent
a little time with forty poor children whom Lady Maxwell
keeps at school. They are swiftly brought forward in reading and writing, and learn the principles of religion. But
I observed in them all the ambitlosa paupertas—the love of
finery among the poor. Be they ever so poor, they must
have a scrap of finery. Many of them have not a shoe to
their foot; but the girl in rags is not without her ruffles.''*

' A Manifestation few are favoured with.'
Wesley is now aged eighty-four; but he is still alert to
collect and compare varieties of religious experience. Lady
Maxwell's intense devotion to God and her mystical utterances may be compared with those of A Kempis, Madame
Guyon, and among early Methodists, Mary Fletcher. These
spiritual things are discerned by the spiritual. Lady Maxwell speaks of a certain fast day in 1775 when 6 the heavenly
King appeared in His beauty, and my fellowship was with
the Father and the Son in a most remarkable manner.' Often
the experience was hers to which Wesley here refers. I t
continued in later years. Amidst the clash of business,
like Brother Lawrence, she practised the Presence of God.
She wrote—' I have dwelt in the secret place of the Most
High, and abode under the shadow of the Almighty; my
fellowship with Deity hath been particularly near, solemn,
and sweet, more so than words can express, with increasing
power to realise the divine Presence, to be all attention to
an in-dwelling, in-speaking God. I have also been enabled
to get through much business.''
Letter

XXII.
DUBLIN, July 3, 1787.

correspondence, I hope, will never
be broken oft* till one of us be removed into a better world.
I t is true I have often wondered that you were not weary
of so useless a correspondent, for I am very sensible the
writing of letters is my brother's talent rather than mine.
M Y DEAR LADY,—Our

1

Journal, in loc.

415

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Yet I really love to write to you, as I love to think of you.
And sometimes it may please Him, who sends by whom He
will send, to give you some assistance by me. And your
letters have frequently been an encouragement and a comfort
to me. Let them never, my dear friend, be intermitted
during the few days I have to stay here below.
After Miss Roe x first, and then Miss Ritchie, 2 had given
me so particular an account of that branch of their experience, I examined, one by one, the members of the select
society in London on that head. But I found very few, not
above nine or ten, who had any conception of it. I think
there are three or four in Dublin who likewise speak clearly
and scripturally of having had such a manifestation of the
several persons in the ever-blessed Trinity. Formerly I
thought this was the experience of all those that were
perfected in love : but I am now clearly convinced that it
is not. Only a few of these are favoured with it. I t was
indeed a wonderful instance of divine mercy that at a time
when you were so encumbered with the affairs of the world
that you should have so much larger a taste of the powers
of the world to come. It reminds me of Brother Lawrence's
words : ' When I was charged with the affairs of the convent
at Burgundy I did not understand them : and yet, I know not
how, all was well done !' I doubt not you will find the very
same experience in everything which God calls you t o : His
word will be more and more eminently fulfilled. ' In all thy
ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths.' I
rejoice to be, My dear Lady, Your ever affectionate servant.

* The Itinerant Plan. . . . Oh do not hide that you
are a Methodist.5
The * itinerant plan,' in which Methodist preachers have
their circuits confirmed or changed by a Conference each
1

416

See p. 373.

2

See p. 377.

TO LADY MAXWELL
year, Wesley thought of vital importance. I t has continued,
modified, as he allowed, to meet needs.
Lady Maxwell continued ' a thorough-paced Methodist'
until her death.
Letter
XXIII.
LONDON, August 3,
MY

DEAR

1788.

LADY,—It is certain many persons both in

Scotland and England would be well pleased to have the
same preachers always. But we cannot forsake the plan of
acting which we have followed from the beginning. For
fifty years God has been pleased to bless the itinerant
plan : the last year most of all. It must not be altered
till I am removed, and I hope will remain till our Lord
comes to reign upon earth.
I do not know (unless it unfits us for the duties of life)
that we can have too great a sensibility of human pain.
Methinks I should be afraid of losing any degree of this
sensibility. I had a son-in-law (now in Abraham's bosom)
who quitted his profession, that of a surgeon, for that very
reason, because he said it made him less sensible of human
pain. And I have known exceeding few persons who have
carried this tenderness of spirit to excess. I recollect but
one who was constrained to leave off, in a great measure,
visiting the sick, because he could not see any one in pain
without fainting away.
Mr. Charles Perronet was the first person I was acquainted with who was favoured with the same experience
as the Marquis de Renty with regard to the ever-blessed
Trinity : so that this is not as I was at first apt to suppose,
the common privilege of all that are ' perfect in love.'
Pardon me, my dear friend, for my heart is tenderly concerned for you, if I mention one fear I have concerning you—
lest on conversing with some you should be in any degree
warped from Christian simplicity. Oh do not wish to hide
2D
417

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
t h a t you are a M e t h o d i s t ! Surely i t is best to a p p e a r j u s t
w h a t you are. I believe you will receive this as a proof of
t h e sincerity with which I a m , M y dear L a d y , Y o u r ever
affectionate servant.
6

Throw that Money into the sea.'

Our last letter is undoubtedly t o L a d y Maxwell, t h o u g h
n o t hitherto so given. T h e * great person ' is the Countess
of H u n t i n g d o n , 1 a leader of Calvinism. Wesley here risks
his friendship with L a d y Maxwell for what he believes is
the cause of t r u t h . H e would deter her from advancing
Calvinism by building chapels, etc., for which purpose her
friend, Lady Glenorchy, has left funds to her as executrix.
Notwithstanding the vigorous pleadings of her aged and
beloved guide, L a d y Maxwell discharged her trust. 2 She
herself remained faithful to the wider views of Methodism.
These are now freely t a u g h t in those sanctuaries.
Letter

XXIV.
LONDON, September 30, 1788.

M Y DEAR L A D Y , — F o r many years a great person professed, and I believe had, a great regard for me.
I
therefore believed it my d u t y to speak with all freedom,
which I did in a long letter. B u t she was so displeased
t h a t she said t o a friend, ' I hate Mr. Wesley above all
t h e creatures upon t h e earth.''
I now believe it my d u t y t o write freely t o you. W i l l it
have the same effect ? Certainly I would not run the hazard
did I not regard your happiness more t h a n your favour.
Therefore I will speak.
May God enable you n o t only to
pardon it b u t t o profit t h e r e b y !
Indeed, unless you profit
by it, I do not expect you to forgive.
Be pleased t o observe I do n o t affirm a n y t h i n g : I only
1

2

418

See her Life and Times (1839), vol, ii. p. 235 et seq.

Seep. 118.

TO LADY MAXWELL
beg you calmly to consider, Would it be right for me to
propagate a doctrine which I believed to be false, particularly if it were not only false but dangerous to the souls of
men, frequently hindering their growth in grace, stopping
their pursuit of holiness ?
And is it right in you to do this ? You believe the doctrine of predestination is false. Is it then right for you to
propagate this doctrine in any kind or degree, particularly
as it is not only false but a very dangerous doctrine, as we
have seen a thousand times ? Does it not hinder the work
of God in the soul? feed all evil, and weaken all good
tempers ? turn many quite out of the way of life, and drive
them back to perdition ?
Is not Calvinism the very antidote of Methodism? the most
deadly and successful enemy which it ever had ? ' But my
friend desired that I would propagate it, and lodged money
with me for this very purpose.' What then ? May I destroy
souls because my friend desired it ? Ought you not rather
to throw that money into the sea ? Oh let not any money,
or any friend, move you to propagate a lie ! to strike at the
root of Methodism ! to grieve the holiest of your friends,
and to endanger your own soul! Living or dying, I shall
always be, My dear Lady, Your most affectionate servant.

419

CHAPTER XI
TO YOUNG FRIENDS AND OTHERS—CONCERNING
LIFE, LEARNING, LITERARY STYLE, SLEEP,
HEALTH, AND RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS
WESLEY eagerly gave guidance to young people; albeit,
as previous pages show, he seldom wrote to any one on any
subject without offering counsel, ' plain and home,'' upon the
reader's own life. Dr. J. H. Rigg noted that Wesley's
letters indicate that he ' had in no ordinary measure what
Miss Julia Wedgwood thought that he lacked, a great
faculty of sympathy with individuals.'' His many letters
grappled thousands, one by one, to himself, and communicated widely the message of Methodism. Without them it
could not have been established. He often begged people
to write to him, so that he might have occasion to write and
help them. We have not traced complaint by any one of
his many correspondents that he failed to reply or avoidably
delayed his reply. His letters, especially those to young
people, may be compared with Chesterfield's Letters to His
Son, and Swift's Letters, Wesley hated the former; the
latter he thought * trash, dear at twopence a volume.'
Although he had no children of his own, Wesley loved
children and young people.1 The children of Mrs. William
Smith of Newcastle-on-Tyne, the daughter of Wesley's wife
by her former husband, called Wesley ' grandpa,' and they
were his happy companions in his journeys near their parents'
1
At Manchester in 1768 he sharply claimed to instruct children, citing as
examples for himself St. Paul and the Apostles, no one of whom, so far as
we know, had children of his own.—Journal, vol. v. p. 253.

420

TO YOUNG FRIENDS

home.1 Wesley's exclusion of play from the time-table at
Kingswood School, since ' h e that plays when he is a boy
will play when he is a man,1 is balanced by his own recreations and sight-seeings, and the fact, told by Mrs. Hughes
of Bath, that when there he filled his coach with children
and gave them half-an-hour's ride each day before he set
out on his preaching tour. Southey told James Everett this
incident of Wesley's visit to his father's house in Bristol.
With his beautiful little sister, her ringlets floating over her
shoulders, the boy Southey ran downstairs before Wesley.
He overtook them on the landing, lifted the little girl in
his arms and kissed her, and, placing her on her feet again,
put his hand upon the boy's head and blessed him.
At
Oldham, in 1782, ' a whole troop of boys and girls would
not be content till Wesley shook each by the hand.' He
would give each an appropriate word. Such was not always
tender. 'God bless you, Mr. Wesley,' said a Derbyshire
girl to him on one occasion as he passed by. c Young
woman,' said he,' your blessing would be of more value if
your face and apron were cleaner.'

To the Rev. Samuel Furley.
Here Wesley is guide, philosopher, and friend to Samuel
Furley, while a student at Cambridge University, and in his
later formative years also. He became a clergyman, embraced
Calvinistic views, and was drawn thereby away from Wesley
and into the circle of the Countess of Huntingdon. 2 After
his course at Queen's College, Cambridge (where he received
Letters i. to vi.), and some short terms of service, he
ministered at Slaithwaite, near Huddersfield (Letters x.-xn.);
then for many years (1766-1795) at Roche, Cornwall. On
September 14, 1768, Wesley records that he spent a comfortable evening with him there. Furley became a devoted
man—c a son of thunder rather than a son of consolation.'
His growth under Wesley's hand and his life of service may
1
During one of these Wesley and they were preserved from imminent
death, which was threatened by the running away of the horses with Wesley's
carriage.—fournal, June 20, 1774.
2
See Life and Titnes^ vol. ii. p. 2.

421

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
be contrasted with that of young John Henderson of Pembroke College, Oxford, in whom Wesley was also interested.
Of him he wrote (Journal, March 18, 1789), 6 with as great
talents as most men in England he had lived two-and-thirty
years and done just nothing.' 1
Some of these letters to Furley are strangely vivid. Those
on literary style are still good counsel. Seven of the letters,
those numbered n., in., iv., v., vi., x., xn., 2 are little known.
They throw further light on Wesley's character, and his
service to Furley.

' Make and keep one Resolution.'
Furley was now about twenty-two. While at Cambridge
he had the friendship of Henry Venn, afterwards the earnest
vicar of Huddersfield. Like Venn, he sought Wesley's advice.
The latter recalls his University career and the steadying
influence of the Holy Club and the Oxford Methodists. If
Furley mastered the books presented by Wesley for the
scholars at Kingswood and those added for a four years'
' course of academical learning,' 8 he would be as Wesley
said,' a better scholar than nine in ten of the graduates at
Oxford or Cambridge ' then. Wesley was no easy taskmaster
for himself or others. If Furley rose at five o'clock each
day, Wesley had been at work an hour already.
Letter I.
BRISTOL, March 30, 1754.

received your letter, and rejoiced to find
that you are still determined to save yourself, by the grace
of God, from this perverse generation. But this cannot
possibly be done at Cambridge (I speak from long experience)
DEAR S I E , — I

1
See an illuminating note by the late Rev. H. J. Foster, Wesley Historical
Society Proceedings, vol. iii. p. 162.
2
These and No. ix. were copied from the originals by the editor of the
United Methodist Free Churches Magazine (Rev. William Reid), and published by him therein in 1866 (p. 249 et seq.). A list of other Wesley
letters to Furley is given in Wesley Historical Society Proceedings, vol. vi.
p. 99.
8
Works, vol. xiii. pp. 252-255.

422

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
unless you can make and keep one resolution,—to have no
acquaintance but such as fear God. I know it may be some
time before you will find any that truly bear this character.
If so, it is best to be alone till you do, and to converse only
with your absent friends by letter. But if you are carried
away with the stream into frequent conversation with harmless, good-natured, honest triflers, they will soon steal away
all your strength, and stifle all the grace of God in your
soul.
With regard to your studies, I know no better method
you could pursue, than to take the printed rules of Kingswood School, and to read all the authors therein mentioned,
in the same order as they occur there. The authors set
down for those in the school you would probably read in
about a twelvemonth; and those afterwards named, in a
year or two more: and it will not be lost labour.
I suppose you rise not later than five: to allow an hour
in the morning and another in the evening for private
exercises ; an hour before dinner, and one in the afternoon
for walking; and go to bed between nine and ten.
I commend you to Him who is able to carry you through
all dangers, and am, dear sir, your affectionate brother and
servant.

< Further than this you are not called at present.'
Eager to follow Wesley's rule x and do all the good he
can, Furley is solicitous about his tutor. : The booklet
Wesley recommends is an abridgment of Chapter i. of
1

The rule runs :—
* Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.'

423

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
William Law's Practical Treatise upon Christian
Perfection.
Of this summary Wesley printed nineteen editions (17401785).
Letter

II.
LONDON, December 7, 1754.

M Y DEAR B R O T H E R , — F o r t h e p r e s e n t i t does n o t a p p e a r

t o b e necessary for you t o enter i n t o a n y dispute with your
instructor. B u t perhaps he would read a short t r a c t : suppose, The Nature and Design of Christianity.
If a t a n y
time he should be touched by what h e reads, i t would t h e n
be a reasonable t i m e t o speak.
I should n o t advise you by any means t o enter upon anyt h i n g like teaching or exhorting a company of people. I f
any poor townsman, who is sick, desired your assistance, you
need n o t scruple t o visit h i m . B u t further t h a n this, i t
seems you a r e n o t called t o go a t present.
T h e main point is now, t o improve your time in private ;
t o keep close t o G o d in prayer, a n d t o fix your eye on H i m
in whatever you do. T h e n t h e unction of t h e H o l y O n e
will teach you of all t h i n g s . — I a m , your affectionate
brother.
6

1 would engage to take any Person, and teach
him in seven Years.'

Furley wishes t o become a clergyman ; b u t h e thinks t h a t
Wesley embodies a n d exacts too high a standard for those
who fill t h a t office. This had j u s t been set forth by him in
his published Address to the Clergy.1
Among natural and
acquired qualifications h e includes ' good understanding,
liveliness a n d readiness of t h o u g h t ' ; 6 knowledge of t h e
Scriptures—the literal meaning of every word,'' ' acquaintance with t h e original tongues, profane history, t h e sciences
—especially logic, metaphysics, n a t u r a l philosophy, and even
1

424

Works•, vol. x. p. 480-500.

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
geometry ' ; * knowledge of the Fathers'; ' knowledge of the
world'; ' common sense ; the courtesy of a gentleman, and
a strong and clear voice.''1 In the Address and here he
insists also upon ' the main point." The closing paragraph
of Letter vi. gives his summary of ministerial qualifications.
Letter
i

III
LONDON^ February 18, 1756.

DEAR SAMMY,—You are a very complacent person.
I
know in my little circle of acquaintance, more than twenty,
who have all the natural qualifications mentioned in the
Address to the Clergy ; and several others who have all the
acquired ones, either by education or by grace. And I
would engage to take any person of fourteen years of age,
who has good natural abilities, and teach him in seven
years everything which is there required to a good degree
of perfection.2
Eoc pede Herctdum !3 You may easily see what Latin I
write, by one of the Dissertations in Jobumf or even by the
short conversation with C[ount] Zinz[endor]f which is
printed in the Journal? I do not know that I have any
theme or declamation left. But why do you not talk Latin
when you are with me ? Do this, and you will see the excellence of Terence's Language ; whereas Tully would make
you talk like a mere stiff pedant.
1
Wesley regarded his own preachers at first as supplementary to the
clergy as instructors; but he rigorously required them to be constant and
close students—' five hours in the twenty-four.' See his * Twelve Rules of a
Helper,' Works, vol. viii. p. 309, and A New History of Methodism, vol. i.
pp. 295-297.
2
On Wesley's work as Oxford don and lecturer see A New History of
Methodism, vol. i. p. 177.
8
From the foot we recognise a Hercules, i.e. we judge of the whole from
a specimen.
4
His father's Latin Commentary on Job, published in 1736.
5
For September 3, 1741: Journal, vol. ii. p. 488. A translation of this dialogue with the Moravian leader is given by Moore, Life of Wesley, vol. i.
p. 481.

425

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Randal's Geographical
Grammar is far t h e best compendium of geography which I have seen. And you need
n o t h i n g more on t h a t subject, adding only t h e terrestrial
globe.
If you are master of Hutcheson's Metaphysics, and Clerc's
Ontologia, I advise you t o look no further t h a t w a y ; unless
you would a d d Malebranche's Search after Truth, or t h e
Bishop of Cork's two books again.
T h e main point is, with all and above all, s t u d y t h e
Greek and Hebrew Bible, and t h e love of Christ.—I am,
yours affectionately.

* Never write to that Person at all, nor of her.'
Only three days after t h e last letter Wesley m u s t send
this u r g e n t message. T h i s and L e t t e r s v. and vi. show
Furley's grave peril, and Wesley's fatherly anxiety. T h e
young man's acquaintance with a lady, his questions a b o u t
many books, r a t h e r t h a n close study of any, and his proposal
t o see life in London, draw from Wesley sharp rebukes and
commands : ' Keep you close' to work, or ' quit t h e college,'
and ' c o m e away t o me.' Wesley was no kill-joy, womanhater, or misanthrope. T o o little has been made of t h e
lighter and more attractive aspects of his character. 1 In
his own youth he was sought after as an engaging companion,
a n d always his radiance, H a m p s o n says his hilarity, delighted
people. Miss Sarah Wesley, his niece (see page 357), said
t h a t her uncle J o h n always showed peculiar sympathy t o
young people in love. B u t he could not forget t h e perils,
failures, and struggles of his past years. 2 Echoes of t h e m
seem t o accompany his calls and cries to young Furley.
4
Stop t h e leak . . . else what signifies it t o adorn t h e
ship ? '
1
3

4#6

See Book I. chapter i p. 5, and Journal,
.
See above, p. 7.

vol. i pp. 20-27.
.

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
Letter IV.
[LONDON], February 21, 1756.

is but one possible way to gain the
victory. Conquer desire, and you will conquer fear. But
as long as you are a slave you must be a coward. Be free
therefore or you can't be bold. Never write to that person
at all, nor of her ; and continue instant in prayer. Cut off
the right hand and cast it from you : otherwise you will be a
poor dastardly wretch all your days, and one sin will punish
another, till the day of grace is at an end.—I am, your
affectionate brother.
DEAU SAMMY,—There

' Fight, Sammy, fight.'
Letter V.
KINGSWOOD, March 14, 1756.

DEAR SAMMY,—You are sick of two diseases : that affection for a poor silly worm like yourself which only absence
(through the grace of God) will cure, and that evil disease
which Marcus Antonius complains of,—the St%a fiufiXiw.1
That you are far gone in the latter plainly appears from your
not loving and admiring that masterpiece of reason and
religion, the Reflections on the Conduct of Human Life, with
Regard to Knowledge and Learning;2 every paragraph of
which must stand unshaken (with or without the Bible) till
we are no longer mortal.
If your French book is The Art of Thinking, the author is
a very poor tool. But there is none like Aldrich. I scarce
know one Latin writer who says so much in so few words.
Certainly I shall not write much on Metaphysics of Natural
1
2

Disputes about books.
Reflections upon the Conduct of Human Life with reference to Learning
and Knowledge ; extracted by Wesley from a work by John Norris of Bemerton, and published by Wesley in 1741.

427

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Philosophy. My life is too far spent. But if you can tell
me of any thing (not stuffd with Mathematics) which is
worth abridging, well. Huteheson's compendium is intitled
Synopsis Metaphysicce; 'Ontologiam and Pneumatologiam
Complectens.' I t is a masterly thing. I believe there is
nothing yet extant in Natural Philosophy, like the abridgment of the Philosophical Transactions. But an abridgment
of that abridgment would be far better.
Fight, Sammy, fight. If you do not conquer soon, probably God may send a French army to help you. 1 —I am,
yours affectionately.

' Are you stark, staring mad ?'
Letter VI.
DUBLIN, Good Friday [April 16], 1756.

How ? going up to town ? Are you stark, staring mad ?
Will you leap into the fire with your eyes open ? Keep off.
What else have you to do ? Fly for your life, for your
salvation. If you thus tempt the Spirit of God any more,
who knows what may be the consequence ? I should not
wonder at all to hear you was confined in St. Luke's Hospital ; and then, farewell study! Farewell all hope, either
of intellectual or moral improvement; for after this poor
machine has received a shock of that kind, it is never more
capable of close thinking.
If you have either sense or religion enough to keep you
close to the College, it is well. If not, I see but one possible
way to save you from destruction, temporal and eternal.
Quit the College at once. Think of it no more, and come
away to me. You can take a little advice from m e ; from
other people none at all. You are on the brink of the p i t ;
fly away, or you perish.
1

428

The Seven Years' War with France was beginning.

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
There is no disagreement at all between the Reflections
and the Address to the Clergy. I have followed Mr. Norris's
advice these thirty years, and so must every man that is well
in his senses. But whether you study more or less, does not
signify a pin's point. You are taking all this pains in a
sinking ship. Stop the leak, stop the leak, the first thing
you do ; else what signifies it to adorn the ship ?
As to the qualifications of a Gospel minister, grace is
necessary; learning is expedient. Grace and supernatural
gifts are ninety-nine parts in a hundred. Acquired learning
may then have its place.—I am, dear Sammy, yours
affectionately.

'The care of a Parish is, indeed, a weighty Thing.'
Furley came through his trials safely. He is now ministering at Kippax, near Leeds. His sister Nancy is with
him. His energetic temperament still needs restraint. He
must also cultivate willingness to learn the things of God
from some who, ignorant and poor in things temporal, may
enrich him, since they are heirs of the Kingdom. He would
meet some such in Yorkshire. Wesley himself was a mystic,
ready to hearken to any who knew the secret.
Letter VII.
[LONDON], January 25, 1762.

DEAR SAMMY,—If you entangled yourself with no kind of
promise to the archbishop, I doubt not but your ordination
will prove a blessing. The care of a parish is, indeed, a
weighty thing, which calls for much and earnest prayer. In
managing it, you must needs follow your own conscience,
whoever is pleased or displeased. Then, whether your success be less or more, you will, by and by, give up your
account with joy.
I myself hear frequently unscriptural, as well as irrational,
429

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
expressions from those at whose feet I shall rejoice to be
found in the day of the Lord Jesus; but blasphemy I never
heard from one of them, either teacher or hearer. What is
wide of Scripture or reason I mildly reprove; and they
usually receive it in love. Generally they are convinced;
when I cannot converse, I can bear with them, and indeed,
rejoice at the grace of God which is in them.
Sammy, beware of the impetuosity of your temper ! It
may easily lead you awry. It may make you evil affected
to the excellent ones of the earth. Don't expect propriety
of speech from uneducated persons. The longer I live, the
larger allowances I make for human infirmities. I exact more
from myself, and less from others. Go thou and do likewise !
—I am, with love to Nancy, your ever affectionate friend
and brother.
6

Forty or fifty People . . . the happiest and holiest
in the Kingdom.'

A bright, clever letter in which Wesley raps Furley, and
states his points well. He uses the Baconian argument in
regard to his favourite doctrine of Christian Perfection.
He is not to be drawn into bitter controversy on such a
subject. Indeed, as he said about this time, 6 1 have entirely
lost my readiness in disputing; and I take this to be a
providential discharge from it." He had been compelled to
do much in defence of himself and his work. As we have
seen, he always felt free to decline it. 1 He did answer
Dr. Free, the warmest, most prolific, and most scurrilous of
his opponents.'' After a second reply Wesley said, ' I leave
him now to laugh, and scold, and witticise, and call names
just as he pleases; for I have done.' He invites Furley to
the next Methodist Conference in the neighbouring city,
where he dealt with doctrine and discipline.
1

480

See p. 36.

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
Letter VIII.
DUBLIN, July 30, 1762.

I am unanswered, then I am unanswerable.' Who can deny the consequence ? By such an argument you carry all before you, and gain a complete victory.
You put me in mind of the honest man, who cried out, while
I was preaching, 6 Quid est tibi nomen ?' x And upon my
giving no answer, called out vehemently,' I told you he did
not understand Latin.'
I do sometimes understand though I do not answer. This
is often the case between you and me. You love dispute,
and I hate it. You have much time, and I have much work.
Non sumus ergo pares? But if you will dispute the point
with Nicholas Norton, 3 he is your match. He has both
leisure and love for the work.
For me, I shall only once more state the case. There are
forty or fifty people who declare (and I can take their word,
for I know them well) each for himself, ' God has enabled
me to rejoice evermore, and to pray and give thanks without
ceasing. I feel no pride, no anger, no desire, no unbelief,
but pure love alone.' I ask, ' Do you then believe you have
no further need of Christ, or His atoning blood ?' Every
one answers, ' I never felt my want of Christ so deeply as I
do now.' But you think : ' They cannot want the merit of
His death, if they are saved from sin/ They think otherwise.
They know and feel the contrary, whether they can explain
it, or no. There is not one, either in this city, or in this
kingdom, who does not agree in this.
Here is a plain fact. You may dispute, reason, cavil
about it, just as long as you please. Meantime, I know, by
DEAR SAMMY,—'If

1
2
3

What is your name?
I am not therefore your equal.
A heated disputant to whom Wesley wrote a long letter.— Works, vol.
xiii. pp. 187-192.

481

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
all manner of proof, that these are the happiest and holiest
people in the kingdom. Their light shines before men.
They have the mind that was in Christ, and walk as Christ
also walked. And shall I cease to rejoice over these holy,
happy men, because they mistake in their j udgement ? If they
do, I would to God that you and I and all mankind were
under the same mistake; provided we had the same faith,
the same love, and the same inward and outward holiness!
—I am, dear Sammy, yours affectionately.
P.S.—Will
August ?

you not meet us at Leeds on the 10th of

' D o you believe Evil Tempers remain till Death?'
Furley thinks he detects contradictions in Wesley's teaching on Christian Perfection. With a broad hint that
Furley may be mistaken, Wesley gives him an important
explanation.
Letter

IX.

BRISTOL, October 13, 1762.
general, when I apprehend < certainly
this is a contradiction,' if I find other persons of equal
sagacity with myself, of equal natural and acquired abilities,
apprehend it is not, I immediately suspect my own judgement;
and the more so, because I remember I have been many
times full as sure as I am now: and yet afterwards I found
myself mistaken.
As to this particular question, I believe I am able to
answer every objection which can be made. But I am not
able to do it without expending much time, which may be
better employed. For this reason, I am persuaded, it is so
far from being my duty to enter into a formal controversy
concerning it, that it would be a wilful sin. I t would be
432
DEAR SAMMY,—In

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
employing my short residue of life in a less profitable way
than it may be employed.
The proposition which I still hold is this, ' A person may
be cleansed from all sinful tempers, and yet need the atoning
blood/ For what? For 'negligences and ignorances': for
both words and actions (as well as omissions) which are, in a
sense, transgressions of the perfect law. And I believe no
one is clear of these, till he lays down this corruptible body.
Now, Sammy, dropping the point of contradiction or no
contradiction, tell me simply, What would you have more ?
Do you believe evil tempers remain till death ? All, or
some ? If some only, which ? I love truth wherever I find
i t ; so if you can help me to a little more of it, you will
oblige, dear Sammy, yours affectionately.
6

I t might have pleased God to make you a wit too.'

Now at Slaithwaite, where he laboured successfully for
about five years (1762-1766), Furley still seeks Wesley's
counsel. In his reply he finds room for a good story.
Letter

X,
[Circa, 1764.]

Perronet, 1 the author of that
remark on 2 Peter iii. 13, does not believe that Christ will
reign at all upon earth, nor in any Millennium, till we come
to heaven. The argument by which he endeavours to prove
that St. Peter speaks there only to what will precede the
Day of Judgement is this: ; If those expressions " a new
heaven and a new earth " refer only to this world when they
occur in Isaiah, then they refer to nothing more when they
are used by St. Peter?
I should never have suspected Dr. Sherlock of writing
anything in a burlesque way. He never aimed at it in his
DEAR SAMMY,—Charles

1

2E

See above, p, 330.

433

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
controversy with Dr. South, and seemed exceedingly angry
at his opponent for doing so. Probably he knew himself to
be over-matched by the Dr., and therefore did not care to
engage him on his own ground. * But why should you be
angry," says Dr. South, i at wit ? It might have pleased God
to make you a wit too.'
I think the danger in writing to Bishop Warburton, 1 is
rather that of saying too much than too little. The least
said is the soonest amended, and leaves an ill-natured critic
the least to take hold of. I have therefore endeavoured to
say as little upon each head as possible. If he replies, I
shall say more. But I rather think he will not, unless it be
by a side stroke, when he writes on some other subject.
How does the work of God prosper at Huddersfield and
Slaithwaite ? Do you begin to see the fruit of your labours ?
and does your own soul prosper? What signifies all but
this, to save our own souls and them that hear us ?—I am,
dear Sammy, your affectionate friend and brother.

' What is it that constitutes a good Style ?'
' Our late conversation,' between Wesley and Furley,
probably occurred as Wesley passed through or near Furley's
village, Slaithwaite, on his way ' over the mountains' from
Huddersfield to Manchester, eight days before this letter.
One would give much to have heard them talk—the one
charmingly simple and strong, the other self-conscious and
stilted, on this subject of literary style. It was a favourite
minor topic with Wesley. He is delightfully frank with
Furley in these letters. Evidently he was not thanked for
his pains.
I t is admitted that Wesley here writes of what he knew,
and that, as a stylist, he is among the first in his kind.
These letters are good counsel, and Wesley's writings are an
example, as Edward Fitzgerald said, of 'pure, unaffected,
1

484

See above, p. 36.

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
undying English.'' As specimens of formal writing he might
have commended to Furley his Appeals to Men of Reason
and Religion. Of less formal composition these letters and
many others here given are excellent examples. A presentday master of style has paid high tribute to Wesley's
incomparable Journal.1 Wesley was a consummate master
in stating a case. His prefaces are singularly clever.
Informing, sharp, droll, satiric, by turns, they make together
a complete apologia pro vita sua for an editor. Although
Wesley says he never thought of his style when writing, he
knew when he wrote effectively, as he tells Furley. He
declined to burn some of his old sermons. Though he held
that if angels wrote books we should have few, yet he wrote
many.2
Wesley offers no apology to Furley or to any one for the
plainness of his style. He declared, when eighty-two years
of age, that he 'could even then write as floridly and
rhetorically as even the admired Dr. Blair; but I dare not.
I dare no more write in a fine style than wear a fine coat.' 8
He thought the English of St. John's First Epistle a model
of style. Few will challenge this opinion, or the eminence
of the stylists whom he commends to Furley, or the counsels
he gives to him.
The second and little known letter on this subject here
given (Letter xu.), adds valuable confirmation and illustration from Wesley's experience. Mr. Telford shows 4 how
1
* There is no book, I humbly think, in all the world like John Wesley's
Journal.
It is pre-eminently the book of the resurrection life lived in this
world. It has very few companions. Indeed, it stands out solitary in all
Christian literature—clear, detached, columnar. It is a tree that is ever
green before the Lord. It tells us of a heart that kept to the last its
innocent pleasures and interests, but held them all loosely and lightly,
while its Christian, passionate peace grew and grew to the end. To the
last these are, not diminishing, but increasing; the old zeal, the old wistfulness, the calm but fiery and revealing eloquence. John Wesley was, indeed,
one of these who had attained the Second Rest—of those who, to use his own
fine words, are " at rest before they go home ; possessors of that rest which
remaineth even here for the people of God.'"
2
3
4

Sir W I L L I A M ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A.,

LL.D.

See above, p. 7.
Works, vol. vi. p. 187.
Wesley Studies, p. 194.

485

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Wesley learned to adapt his style on occasion to meet the
humblest. He read one of his sermons to Betty, a maidservant, and asked her to stop him whenever there was a
word she did not understand. The < Stop, sir,' came so often
that he was annoyed; but he learned a lesson.
Letter

XL
LIVERPOOL, July 16, 1764. 1

DEAR SIR,—I have had many thoughts since we parted,
on the subject of our late conversation. I send you them
just as they occur. ' W h a t is it that constitutes a good
style ?' Perspicuity, purity, propriety, strength, and easiness, joined together. When any one of these is wanting, it
is not a good style. Dr. Middleton's style wants easiness;
it is stiff to a high degree. And stiffness in writing is full
as great a fault as stiffness in behaviour. It is a blemish
hardly to be excused, much less to be imitated. He is
pedantic. ' It is pedantry,' says the great Lord Boyle, ' to
use a hard word, where an easier will serve.' Now, this the
Doctor continually does, and that of set purpose. His style
is abundantly too artificial: Artis est celare artem;2 but his
art glares in every sentence. He continually says, 6 Observe
how fine I speak' : whereas, a good speaker seems to forget
he speaks at all. His full round curls naturally put one in
mind of Sir Cloudesley Shovel's peruke, t h a t i eternal buckle
taken in Parian stone. , Yet this very fault may appear a
beauty to you, because you are apt to halt on the same foot.
There is a stiffness both in your carriage and speech, and
something of it in your very familiarity. But for this very
reason you should be jealous of yourself, and guard against
your natural infirmity. If you imitate any writers let it be
1
If this date is strictly correct this letter was written on a Sunday ; but
Wesley sometimes slips as to dates and names.
2
It is the highest art to conceal art.

436

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
South, Atterbury, or Swift, in whom all the proprieties of
a good writer meet. I was myself once much fonder of
Prior x than Pope; as I did not then know that stiffness
was a fault. But what in all Prior can equal, for beauty of
style, some of the first lines that Pope ever published ?—
(

Poets themselves must die, like those they sung,
Deaf the praised ear, and mute t h e tuneful t o n g u e ;
E'en he whose heart now melts in tender lays,
Shall shortly want the generous tear he pays.
Then from his eyes thy much-loved form shall p a r t ;
And the last pang shall tear thee from his h e a r t ;
Life's idle business at one gasp be o'er,
The Muse forgot, and thou beloved no more.'

Here is style! How clear, how pure, proper, strong, and
yet how amazingly easy ! This crowns all; no stiffness, no
hard words; no apparent art, no affectation ; all is natural,
and therefore consummately beautiful. Go thou and write
likewise.
As for me, I never think of my style at all; but just set
down the words that come first. Only when I transcribe
anything for the press, then I think it my duty to
see every phrase be clear, pure, and proper. Conciseness
(which is now, as it were, natural to me) brings quantum
sufficit2 of strength. If, after all, I observe any stiff
expression, I throw it out, neck and shoulders.
Clearness in particular is necessary for you and me;
because we are to instruct people of the lowest understanding.
Therefore we, above all, if we think with the wise, yet must
speak with the vulgar. We should constantly use the most
common, little, easy words (so they are pure and proper)
which our language affords. When I had been a member
1
See above, p. 238. See also Wesley's ' Thoughts on the Character and
Writings of Mr. Prior.' There he thinks Prior much finer than Pope.
— Works, vol. xiii. p. 380.
2
As much as suffices.

487

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
of the University about ten years, I wrote and talked much
as you do now. But when I talked to plain people in the
castle, or the town, I observed they gaped and stared.
This quickly obliged me to alter my style, and adopt the
language of those I spoke to. And yet there is a dignity in
this simplicity, which is not disagreeable to those of the
highest rank.
I advise you sacredly to abstain from reading any stiff
writer. A bystander sees more than those who play the
game. Your style is much hurt already. Indeed, something
might be said if you were a learned Infidel, writing for
money or reputation. But that is not the case : you are a
Christian Minister, speaking and writing to save souls.
Have this end always in your eye and you will never
designedly use any hard word. Use all the sense, learning,
and time you have ; forgetting yourself, and remembering
only those are the souls for whom Christ died; heirs of a
happy, or miserable eternity!—I am, your affectionate friend
and brother.

' I may say, . . . X know a good style from a bad one,'
Letter XII.
YARMOUTH, October 11, 1764.
have delayed writing thus long, because
I was not inclined to draw the sword of controversy; particularly on a subject not very important, and with a person
not very easy to be convinced. I simply told you my
thoughts concerning style, and concerning yourself. If you
can profit by them, well; if not, there is no harm done. I
wanted to have you write in the most excellent way: if you
prefer any other, you may. I have no prejudice for or
against any writer; but I may say, without much vanity, I
know a good style from a bad one, and it would be a shame
438
DEAR SAMMY,—I

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
if I did not, after having spent five-and-forty years (with
some natural understanding, much attention, and a free
acquaintance with many eminent men) in reading the most
celebrated writers in the English tongue.
Observing you to want one of the things essential to a
good style, namely, easiness, I warned you of it, and to make
the reason of my caution more clear, enlarged a little upon
the head. You reply,' Harmony is essential to a good style.'
I t may be so ; I have nothing to say to the contrary. In
the very lines I quoted there is admirable harmony: nihil
supra:x the soul of music breathes in them; but there is
no stiffness. The lines are as easy as harmonious. This is
the perfection of writing.
Whether long periods or short are to be chosen, is quite
another question. Some of those you transcribe from Swift
are long; but they are easy too; entirely easy, void of all stiffness, and, therefore, just such as I advise you to copy after.
The paragraphs cited from Hawksworth are far inferior to
them, not more harmonious, but more stiff and artificial. That
from Wharton is worst of all, stiff as a stake, all art and no
nature. I know not what taste they can have who admire
his style; certainly they must prefer Statius to Virgil.
T h a t ' poor people understand long sentences better than
short' is an entire mistake. I have carefully tried the
experiment for thirty years, and I find the very reverse to
be true. Long sentences utterly confound their intellects;
they know not where they are. If you would be understood
by them, you should seldom use a word of many syllables,
or a sentence of many words. Short sentences are likewise
infinitely best, for the careless and indolent. They strike
them through and through. I have seen instances of
it a hundred times. Neither are the dull and stupid
enlightened nor the careless affected by long and laboured
1

Nothing could be better.

439

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
periods half so much as by such short ones as these,' The
work is great; the day is short; and long is the night
wherein no man can work.'
But the main thing is, let us be all alive to God. Let Christ
reign alone in our hearts. Let all that mind be in us which
was in Christ Jesus; and let us walk as Christ also walked.
Peace be with you and yours!—I am, your affectionate
friend and brother.

To the Sons and Daughter of his brother Charles.
Interested in all, Wesley was always keenly alive to counsel
and help his own relatives. Five letters follow which he
sent to Charles, Samuel, and Sarah Wesley, the upgrown
children of his brother Charles. They are of much interest.
Charles and Samuel were exceptionally gifted as musicians.1
As little children they were regarded by competent authorities as musical prodigies. Their gifts developed with their
years. They held many private concerts in their fathers
house in Marylebone, London. These were regularly
attended by gifted musicians and the nobility. George in.
and George iv. delighted in the genius of young Charles
Wesley. Dr. Howard said that Samuel's gifts were surely
heaven-born. John Wesley attended one of these chamber
concerts ; but he declared, ' I love plain music and
plain company best.'' Beautiful solicitude prompted him to
send this letter to his nephew Charles a few months later.
He was now twenty-four years of age.

' There is a Debt of Love which I should have
paid before now.'
To Charles Wesley', Junior.
Near LEEDS, August 4, 1781.
has been much upon my mind to-day
that I am still indebted to you. There is a debt of love
DEAR CHARLES,—It
1

44.0

Jackson's Life of Charles Wesley', voL ii. pp. 297 et seq.

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
which I should have paid before now. But I must not delay
it any longer.
I have long observed you with a curious eye; not as a
musician, but as an immortal spirit, that is come forth from
God, the father of spirits, and is returning to Him in a few
moments. But have you well considered this ? Methinks
if you had, it would be ever uppermost in your thoughts.
For what trifles, in comparison of this, are all the shining
baubles of the world !
e
Wise is the man that labours to secure
The mighty, the important stake ;
And by all methods strives to make
His passage safe, and his reception sure.'
God has favoured you with many advantages. You have
health and strength, and a thousand outward blessings.
And why should not you have all the inward blessings which
God has prepared for those that love Him ? You are goodhumoured, mild and harmless. But unless you are born
again you cannot see the kingdom of God. But ask, and
you shall receive; for it is nigh at hand!—I am, dear
Charles, your affectionate uncle.

' A s your Business . . . calls you into the Fire,
I trust you will not be burned.'
Wesley's letter drew from young Charles a gratifying
reply, which Wesley followed with this second letter.
Tyerman notes that Charles was a young man of deep feeling; that in later years he attended the chapels of the
Methodists, and held their preachers in high esteem. This
is confirmed by his sister's letter, quoted below.
To Charles Wesley\ Junior.
BRISTOL, September 8, 1781.
DEAR CHARLES,—Your letter gave me a good deal of satisfaction. You received my advice just as I hoped you would.
441

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
You are now, as it were, in the crisis of your fate; just
launching into life, and ready to fix your choice, whether
you will have God or the world for your happiness. Scripture and reason tell you now, what experience will confirm,
if it pleases God to prolong your life, that He ' made your
heart for Himself; and it cannot rest till it rests in Him.''
You will be in danger of being diverted from this thought
by the fashion of the world. The example of those that are
round about us is apt to get within our guard. And indeed
their spirit steals upon us in an unaccountable manner, and
inclines us to think as they think. Yet you cannot avoid
being very frequently among elegant men and women, that
are without God in the world. And as your business, rather
than your choice, calls you into the fire, I trust you will not
be burned; seeing that He whom you desire to serve is able
to deliver you, even out of the burning, fiery furnace,—I am,
dear Charles, your very affectionate uncle.

'If you are not born of God, you are of no Church/
Wesley's nephew Samuel, to the poignant grief of his
father Charles Wesley, entered the Church of Rome at the
age of twenty. He was drawn in part by the chance to use
his musical talents. 1 For one of his compositions, a high
mass for use in the chapel of Pius vi., he received the thanks
of that Pope. Apart from this step in life, young Wesley
was less seriously inclined than were his brother and sister.
Hence this letter sent to him, now twenty-two, by his uncle,
John Wesley. Its tolerance and insistence on essentials are
noteworthy. Young Wesley did not long remain in that
Church. A sad season of belief in fatalism was followed by
penitence in old age.
1
When the Duchess of Norfolk suggested to the father motives which
might have actuated his son, the poet replied in great agitation, * Say, " t h e
loaves and fishes," madam ! say, " the loaves and fishes."'

442

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
To Samuel Wesleyr, Junior,
[LLYNGWAIR, PEMBROKESHIRE],

August 19, 1784.
DEAR SAMMY,—-As I have had a regard for you ever since
you were a little one, I have often thought of writing to you
freely. And I am persuaded what is spoken in love will be
taken in love; and if so, if it does you no good, it will do
you no harm.
Many years ago I observed, that as it had pleased God to
give you a remarkable talent for music, so He had given you
a quick apprehension of other things, a capacity for making
some progress in learning, and what is of far greater value,
a desire to be a Christian. But meantime I have often been
pained for you, fearing you did not set out the right way.
I do not mean with regard to this or that set of opinions,
Protestant or Romish. All these I trample under foot.
But with regard to those weightier matters, wherein if they
go wrong, either Protestants or Papists, will perish everlastingly. I feared you were not horn again; and ' except a
man be born again,' if we may credit the Son of God, c he
cannot see the kingdom of heaven'; except he experience
that inward change of the earthly, sensual mind, for the
mind which was in Christ Jesus. You might have thoroughly
understood the scriptural doctrine of the new birth, yea,
and experienced it long before now, had you used the many
opportunites of improvement which God put into your hand,
while you believed both your father and me to be teachers sent
from God. But, alas ! what are you now ? Whether of this
Church or that, I care n o t ; you may be saved in either, or
damned in either; but I fear you are not born again ; and
except ye be born again you cannot see the kingdom of
God. You believe the Church of Rome is right. What
then ? If you are not born of God, you are of no Church.
443

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Whether Bellarmine or Luther be right, you are certainly
wrong, if you are not born of the Spirit; if you are not
renewed in the spirit of your mind in the likeness of Him
that created you. I doubt you were never convinced of the
necessity of this great change. And there is now greater
danger than ever that you never will be; that you will be
diverted from the thought of it by a train of new notions,
new practices, new modes of worship ; all which put together
(not to consider whether they are unscriptural, superstitious,
and idolatrous, or no), all I say put together, do not amount
to one grain of true, vital, spiritual religion.
O Sammy, you are out of your way ! You are out of
God's way ! You have not given Him your heart. You
have not found, nay, it is well if you have so much as sought,
happiness in God ! And poor zealots, while you are in this
state of mind, would puzzle you about this or the other
church ! O fools, and blind ! Such guides as these lead
men by shoals to the bottomless pit.
My dear Sammy, your first point is to repent and believe
the Gospel. Know yourself a poor guilty, helpless sinner !
Then know Jesus Christ and Him crucified!
Let the
Spirit of God bear witness with your spirit, that you are a
child of God, and let the love of God be shed abroad in
your heart by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto you ;
and then, if you have no better work, I will talk with you
of transubstantiation or purgatory.
Meantime, I commend you to Him who is able to guide
you into all t r u t h ; and am, dear Sammy, your affectionate
uncle.

' The grand Hindrance . . . what very few People
are aware of—Intemperance in Sleep.'
Miss Sarah Wesley, now twenty-one years of age, wrote
to her honoured and venerable uncle for his advice on life
444

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
and education. W i t h his usual practicality, Wesley links
t h e physical and t h e spiritual in this reply.
H e gives
counsel as t o t h e a m o u n t of sleep she should allow herself.
One of his own early easily besetting sins was immoderate
sleep. 1 H e struggled until he g o t free from it, a n d formed
t h e h a b i t of t a k i n g six hours each n i g h t , a b o u t t h e a m o u n t
he names here as sufficient for a man. H e t h o u g h t this
m a t t e r so i m p o r t a n t t h a t he dealt with i t in a sermon,
which he also published, entitled ' Redeeming t h e T i m e . ' 2
H e promises here more advice t o his niece, ' if you can t a k e
this." W i t h o u t a thrifty religious use of time, Wesley had
small hope of any one. On his death-bed he asked Miss
Wesley earnestly, ' D o you continue t o rise early ?'
Miss Wesley knew well his interest in her, and his faithfulness in fulfilling a promise t o her, even a t some risk t o
himself and his work. I n later years she was wont t o tell a
characteristic story illustrative of this, and of her uncle's
character and conduct in a crisis. 3 In 1775, when she was
a b o u t fifteen, Wesley had promised to t a k e her with him on
his preaching tour t o Canterbury and Dover. Mrs. Wesley
was again behaving in her strange, unworthy way. She had
searched his bureau, mutilated his letters, interpolated
words, and cruelly and wickedly misinterpreted spiritual
expressions. 4 These she read t o his enemies. T h e letters
were t o be sent t o t h e Morning
Post.
Charles Wesley
begged his brother t o stay in L o n d o n and refute t h e slanders
on his reputation. ' Brother,' said Wesley t o him, c when I
devoted to God my ease, my time, my life, did I except my
reputation ? No. Tell Sally I will t a k e her t o Canterbury
to-morrow.'
To Miss Sarah

Wesley.
Near LEEDS, July 17, 1781.

M Y DEAR SALLY,—-Without an endeavour

t o please God

and t o give u p our own will, we never shall a t t a i n
1
2
3
4

His

See above, p. 7.
Works, vol. vii. p. 67.
Jackson's Life of Charles Wesley, vol. ii. p. 283.
See above, p. 357.

445

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
favour. But till we have attained it, till we have the spirit
of adoption, we cannot actually give up our own wills to
Him.
Shall I tell you freely what I judge to be the grand
hindrance to your attaining it ? Yea, to your attaining
more health both of body and mind than you have ever
had, or, at least, for a long season ? I believe it is, what
very few people are aware of, intemperance in sleep. All
are intemperate in sleep, who sleep more than what nature
requires ; and how much it does require is easily known.
There is, indeed, no universal rule—none that will suit all
constitutions. But, after all the observations and experience I have been able to make for upwards of fifty years, I
am fully persuaded that men in general, need between six
and seven hours sleep in twenty-four ; and women, in general,
a little more,—namely, between seven and eight.
But what ill consequences there are in lying longer in bed,
—suppose nine hours in four-and-twenty ?
1. It hurts the body. Whether you sleep or no (and,
indeed, it commonly prevents sound sleep) it, as it were,
soddens and parboils the flesh, and sows the seeds of
numerous disorders ; of all nervous diseases in particular,
as weakness, faintness, lowness of spirits, nervous headaches,
and consequent weakness of sight.
£. It hurts the mind; it weakens the understanding; it
blunts the imagination ; it weakens the memory; it dulls
all the nobler affections. I t takes off the edge of the soul9
impairs its vigour and firmness, and infuses a wrong softness, quite inconsistent with the character of a noble soldier
of Jesus Christ. It grieves the Holy Spirit of God, and
prevents, or at least lessens those blessed influences which
tend to make you, not almost, but altogether a Christian.
I advise you therefore, from this day forward, not trusting
in yourself, but in Him that raiseth the dead, to take exactly
446

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
so much sleep as nature requires. If you need between seven
and eight hours, then, in the name of God, begin this very
night, in spite of all temptation to the contrary. Lie down
at ten o'clock, and rise between five and six, whether you
sleep or no. If your head aches in the day, bear it. In a
week you will sleep sound.
If you can take this advice, you may receive more from,
my dear Sally, yours most affectionately.

' Desire for Knowledge. . . . What Course you
may take, I will point out.'
Miss Wesley must have complied with the conditions laid
down by Wesley in the last letter as to sleep, etc., for three
weeks later he sent her this. It contains an outline of a fine
course of study. I t should be compared with that proposed
for Furley at Cambridge University, given on page 422.
With the shining example of his mother before him, Wesley
was quite modern in his views of the capacities and abilities
of women students. He often wrote to his niece later. She
was at his bedside when he died.
In the Everett Collection there is an interesting letter
written by Miss Wesley on the back of one written by her
mother, Mrs. Charles Wesley, the poet's aged widow, dated
September 26, 1815. Miss Wesley's letter shows that she
profited by her uncle's advice as to education, and more
important matters also. She declares, ' I feel attached to
the whole body of Methodists as the children of my ancestors,
and rejoice to have intercourse with any of the preachers
when they will oblige us with their visits. So does my
mother and Charles.'
To Miss Sarah Wesley.
BRISTOL, September

4, 1781.

M Y DEAR SALLY,—It is certain the Author of our nature

designed that we should not destroy, but regulate, our

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
desire for knowledge. What course you may take in order
to do this I will now briefly point out.
1. You want to know God, in order to enjoy Him in time
and eternity.
% All you want to know of Him is contained in one book,
the Bible. And all that you learn is to be referred to this,
either directly or remotely.
3. Would it not be well, then, to spend at least an hour
a day in reading and meditating on the Bible ? reading,
every morning and evening, a portion of the Old and New
Testament, with the Explanatory Notes ?
4. Might you not read two or three hours in the morning,
and one or two in the afternoon ? When you are tired of
severer studies, you may relax your mind by history or
poetry.
5. The first thing you should understand a little of
is grammar. You may read first the Kingswood English
Grammar, and then Bishop Lowth's ' Introduction.'
6. You should acquire, if you have not already, some
knowledge of arithmetic.
Dil worth's Arithmetic would
suffice.
7. For geography, I think you need only read over
Randal's or Guthrie's Geographical Grammar.
8. Watts's Logic is not a very good one ; but I believe you
cannot find a better.
9. In natural philosophy, you have all that you need
to know in Survey of the Wisdom of God in Creation.1
But you may add the Glasgow abridgment of Mr. Hutcheson's works.
10. With any or all of the foregoing studies you may
intermix that of history. You may begin with Rollin'
1
In five volumes (3rd ed., 1777), taken by Wesley from the Latin work
of Buddgeus, Professor of Philosophy at Jena; but Wesley retrenched, enlarged, or altered every chapter. This is a quite remarkable work, in which
the evolutionary theory was anticipated.

448

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
Ancient History; and afterwards read, in order, the concise
History of the Churchy Burnet's History of the Reformation,
the concise History of England, Clarendon's History of the
Rebellion, NeaPs History of the Puritans, his History of
New England, and Robertson's History of America.
11. In metaphysics, you may read Locke's Essay on the
Human Understanding, and Malebranche's Search after
Truth.
12. For poetry, you may read Spenser's Faerie Queen, and
select parts of Shakespeare, Fairfax, or Hoole ; Godfrey of
Bouillon, Paradise Lost, the Night Thoughts, and Young's
moral and sacred poems.
13. You may begin and end with divinity; in which I
will only add, to the books mentioned before, Bishop Pearson
on the Creed, and the Christian Library.1
By this course of study, you may gain all the knowledge
which any reasonable Christian needs.
But remember,
before all, in all, and above all, your great point is, to
know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath
sent.—I am, my dear Sally, your affectionate uncle.

To a young Disciple.
Between the years 1769 and 1773 Wesley wrote nineteen
letters to a young lady, a follower of Christ and a Methodist,
whose name has not been traced. Here are three from the
series. Wesley sought to direct her religious life, her reading, and her training of the young.

* The Bible gives us no Authority to think ill of
any one.'
Letter I.
GALWAY, May 28, 1771.
M Y DEAR MAID,—Your concern is with the present
moment; your business is to live to-day. In every sense,
1

2F

See above, p. 303.

449

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
let the morrow take thought for the things of itself. I t is
true, the full assurance of hope excludes all doubts of our
final salvation; but it does not, and cannot, continue any
longer than we walk closely with God. And it does not
include any assurance of our future behaviour; neither do
I know any word in the Bible which gives us any authority
to look for a testimony of this kind. But just so far you
may certainly go, with regard to the present moment,—
(

I want t h e witness, Lord,
T h a t all I do is right,
According to Thy will and word,
Well-pleasing in Thy s i g h t /

Seriously and steadily aim at this, and you will not be disappointed of your hope. With regard to the impression you
speak of, I am in doubt whether it be not a temptation
from the enemy. I t may occasion many wrong tempers ; it
may feed both pride and uncharitableness. And the Bible
gives us no authority to think ill of any one, but from plain,
undeniable, overt acts.
Rollin was a pious man, and a fine historian. If you
read one volume, you would feel whether it enlivened or
deadened your soul. The same trial you may make as to
serious poetry. Very probably this would enliven your
soul; and certainly the volumes of Philosophy may, as Galen
entitles his description of the human body ' A Hymn to the
Creator.' Temporal business need not interrupt your communion with God, though it varies the manner of it.
I t is certain every promise has a condition; yet that does
not make the promise of none effect; but by the promise
you are encouraged and enabled to fulfil the condition.
You might like it better were there no condition ; but that
would not answer the design of Him that makes it.
I t is certain, there are times of nearer access to God, and
that it nearly imports us to improve these precious seasons.
450

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
But we may find plausible objections against this; and
indeed, against anything.
The more free you are with me the more you oblige, my
dear maid, yours affectionately.

'There maybe Self-Approbation which is not Sin.'
Letter II.
DUBLIN, July 13,, 1771.

M Y DEAR MAID,—Truth and falsehood, and so right and
wrong tempers, are often divided by an almost imperceptible
line. I t is the more difficult to distinguish right and wrong
tempers, or passions, because, in several instances, the same
motion of the blood and animal spirits will attend both one
and the other. Therefore, in many cases, we cannot distinguish them but by the unction of the Holy One.
In the case you mention, all self-complacency or selfapprobation is not pride. Certainly there may be selfapprobation which is not sin, though it must occasion a
degree of pleasure. ' T h i s is our rejoicing, even the testimony of our conscience toward God.' And this joy is
neither better nor worse for being accompanied by a natural
motion of the blood and spirits.
Equally natural^ and equally innocent, is the joy which we
receive from being approved by those we love. But, in all
these instances, there is need of the utmost care lest we slide
from innocent joy, or self-approbation, into that which is
not innocent, into pride (thinking of ourselves more highly
than we ought to think), or vanity, a desire of praise—
e

For thin partitions do their bounds divide.'

Be all in earnest, and always speak without reserve to yours
affectionately.
451

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' When we have to do with Children.'
This ' young disciple' sought Wesley's help in the training
of children in religious matters. As already shown, he was
deeply interested in children. He believed in their simple
piety, and welcomed ' the first faint green blush of springing
fruitfulness.' To Elizabeth Bushell, of Wilton, near Salisbury, a girl of nine years, who was refused the Lord's Supper
at the parish church because she was so young, Wesley gave
that sacrament after instructing her. Her subsequent life
showed the sincerity of her early desires.
The Saturday
night at Kingswood School here referred to would be long
remembered.
He thought the Church ' catechism utterly
improper for children of six or seven years old.' Hence his
Instructions for Children here commended, prepared for ' all
parents and schoolmasters.' This booklet was mainly a
translation of that by Abbe Fleury and M. Poiret.
Letter

HI.

BRISTOL, September 8, 1773.
have the clearest proof when we
have to do with children, that ' the help which is done upon
earth, God doeth it Himself.' All our wisdom will not even
make them understand, much less feel, the things of God.
The Instructions for Children contain the best matter that
we can possibly teach them. But nothing less than the
finger of God can write it on their hearts. On Saturday
night He sent another shower of grace upon our children at
Kingswood. Sixteen of them were deeply affected ; and, I
think, thirteen found peace with God. Four or five of them
were some of the smallest we had, not above seven or eight
years old.
Although there may be some use in teaching very young
children to ' say their prayers daily'; yet I judge it to be
utterly impossible to teach any to 'practise prayers' till
they are awakened. For, what is prayer but the desire of
452
M Y DEAR MAID,—We

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
the soul expressed to God, either inwardly or outwardly ?
How then will you teach them to express a desire who feel
no desire at all ? When, therefore, Madame Guyon talks in
that manner, it often makes me afraid, that both she and
her teacher Archbishop Fenelon, talked by rote of the things
they knew not. Both of them had an amazing genius, but I
doubt full little experience. It is exceeding certain neither
his nor her writings are likely to do us any solid service.
We have all the gold that is in them, without the dross ;
which is often not only useless, but dangerous. Let you
and I keep the good old way:—
e

In doing and bearing, the will of our Lord,
We still are preparing, to meet our reward/

Go on steadily in this path: there is none better. By
patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory and honour,
and immortality. You shall reap if you faint not.—My
dear maid, yours affectionately.

Counsel to an ailing Preacher.
Guidance in matters of health and sickness was often
asked of Wesley and freely given. He and his preachers
gave away many thousands of copies of his quaint book,
Primitive Physic. His success in dealing with his own frail
dyspeptic, consumptive body 1 gave him authority as counsellor. This letter, from the original in the John Rylands
Library, Manchester, and little known, is here given as a
specimen of many such counsels.
John Bredin, now at Whitehaven, was one of Wesley's
preachers. He began the work in 1769, and, despite this
illness and a later one, continued it for more than fortythree years. Wesley wrote of him to Mr. Adam Clarke as
' a weak brother,'* in the work, who had behaved ill both at
Jersey and Guernsey.
When Wesley visited his work
earlier, in 1787, at Kenagh, Ireland, he found it greatly
1

See Book I. Chapter i.

453

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
revived, although Bredin was then just tottering over the
grave.1
Wesley once asked in his Conference, ' Why do so many of
our preachers fall into nervous disorders ? * He answered
*
with his characteristic directness, ' Because they do not
avoid indolence and intemperance. Sometimes they sit the
whole day. They take more food than nature requires.
His advice to the nervous was : — 1 . Touch no dram, tea, 1
tobacco, or snuff.
2. Eat very light, if any, supper.
3. Breakfast on nettle- or orange-peel tea. 4. Lie down
before t e n ; rise before six. 5. Every day use as much
exercise as you can bear; or,—6. Murder yourself by inches.''

' Change of Air.5
To John Bredin.
Near LONDON, November 30, 1782.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—Medicines, I think, will be of no use
to you: unless it were a course of tar-water. But very
probably change of air might be of service. I t might be of
service to spend, suppose, a week or two at Liverpool.
Afterwards, a week or two at Chester or Park-gate, and
perhaps at Manchester. Your diet in the meantime should
be chiefly milk and vegetables, of which I judge turnips,
potatoes, and apples to be the best. Preach as much as you
can preach, and no more.—I am, your affectionate brother.

* When I was young I had Abundance of Infirmities.'
To a clerical friend of long standing, Wesley repeats some
of the above advice and gives some secrets of his longevity.
Here he states the facts, referred to on page 8, concerning
his many ailments as a youth. These are seldom remembered.
1
His famous letter to a friend concerning tea (1748) is a booklet of 4500
words. He was very fond of tea ; drank it when it was 18s. per lb. (1727);
gave up drinking it for twelve years; recommenced its use under medical
advice * at the close of a consumption.5

454.

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
To the Rev. Walter Sellon.
LONDON, January 10, 1784.

the 28th of June I finished my
eightieth year. When I was young I had weak eyes,
trembling hands, and abundance of infirmities. But by the
blessing of God I have outlived them all. I have no infirmities now but what I judge to be inseparable from flesh
and blood. This hath God wrought. I am afraid you
want the grand medicine which I use—exercise and change
of air.—I am, your affectionate brother.
M Y DEAR BROTHER,—On

' Not delivered till I was gone, lest you should
think I wanted anything.'
This characteristic letter is representative of hundreds
of similar earnest pleadings with individuals on matters of
spiritual concern. Wesley has evidently stayed with this
Irish gentleman, or has met him, and has closely observed
his personal and family life. Here he sets himself, as
Richard Baxter did in many like cases, to remove by letter
every obstacle and excuse which his reader may raise against
real religion in heart and life. Did Knox reply to Wesley,
as he asks ? He hardly knows how Knox will take this
appeal. He learned later, and endorsed the original of
this letter (now in the Colman Collection) at foot, under
Knox's name, with the sad summary, ' He came to nothing.'
In his Journal (May 11, 1765) he noted Knox's defection
and the coming to him of Alexander Knox of Londonderry.
To James Knox^ Sligo.
May 30, 1757.x

Probably this is the last trouble of the kind which you
will receive from me. If you receive it in the same spirit

1
Should probably be 1758. Wesley was not in Ireland in 1757. He was
in 1756, and again in 1758 ; and on May 27 and 28 of that year was at Sligo.
A month later that year he was at Limerick with Mr. Beauchamp, at whose
house he hoped to receive an answer to this letter. The Works version of it,
slightly incomplete, is dated May 30, 1765.

455

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
wherein it is written I shall be glad. If not, my word is
with the Most High. I did not choose it should be delivered
till I was gone, lest you should think I wanted anything
from you. By the blessing of God, I want nothing; only
that you should be happy in time and in eternity. Still, I
cannot but remember the clear Light you had, with regard
to the nature of that scriptural charity. You saw what
Heart Religion meant, and the gate of it, Justification. You
had earnest desires to be a partaker of the whole gospel
blessing. And you evidenced the sincerity of those desires
by the steps you took in your family. So that in everything
you was hastening to be not almost, but altogether a
Christian.
Where is that Light now ? Do you now see that true religion
is not a negative or an external thing, but the life of God
in the soul of man, the image of God stamped upon the
heart? Do you now see that in order to this we are
justified freely, through the redemption that is in Jesus
Christ ? Where are the desires after this which you once felt,
the hunger and thirst after righteousness ? And where are
the outward marks of a soul groaning after God, and refusing
to be comforted with anything less than His love ?
Will you say, ' But if I had gone on in that way, I should
have lost my friends and my reputation ?' This is partly
true. You would have lost most of those friends who neither
love nor fear God. Happy loss! These are the men who
do you more hurt than all the world besides. These are
the men whom, if ever you would be a real Christian, you
must avoid as you would avoid hell fire. ' But then they
will censure me.' So they will. They will say you are a
fool, a madman, and what not. But what are you the
worse for this ? Why, the spirit of glory and of Christ shall
rest upon you.
' But it will hurt me in my business." Suppose it should,
456

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
the favour of God would be large amends. But very
probably it would n o t ; for the winds and seas are in God's
hands, as well as the hearts of men.
' But it is inconsistent with my duty to the Church? Can
a man of understanding talk so ? And talk so in earnest ?
Is it not rather a copy of his countenance ? Indeed if you
mean,' inconsistent with my pleasing this or that clergyman,'
I allow it. But let him be pleased or displeased, please thou
God ! But are these clergymen the Church ? Unless they
are holy men, earnestly loving and serving God, they are
not even members of the Church ; they are no part of it.
And unless they preach the doctrines of the Church,
contained in her articles and liturgy, they are no true
ministers of the Church, but are eating her bread and
tearing out her bowels.
' But you will not leave the Church.' You never will by
my advice ; I advise just the contrary. I advise you to lose
no opportunity of attending the service of the Church, of
receiving the Lord's Supper and of shewing your regard to
all her appointments. I advise you steadily to adhere to
her doctrine, in every branch of it, particularly with
respect to the two fundamental points, Justification by
Faith and Holiness. But, above all, I cannot but earnestly
intreat you, not to rest till you experience what she teaches;
till (to sum up all in one word),' God cleanses the thoughts of
your heart by the inspiration of His Holy Spirit, that you
may perfectly love Him and worthily magnify His holy
name.' Unless this be done, what will it profit you to
increase your fortune, to preserve the fairest reputation, and
to gain the favour of the most learned, the most ingenious,
the most honourable clergymen in the kingdom ? What
shall it profit a man to gain all these, and to lose his own
soul ?
I know, to God all things are possible. Therefore it is
457

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
possible you may take this kindly. If so, I shall hope to
receive a line from you directed to Mr. Beauchamp's in
Limerick. If not, let it be forgotten till we meet at the
judgement seat of Christ.—I am, dear sir, your affectionate
servant.

' I would fain give you one more Instance of my
sincere Regard.'
A similar letter of thirty years later must be given. The
holy ardour of youth and prime still burns in Wesley. He
was now eighty-four, and truly a pastor of the pastors. He
might have said with St. Paul, ' we were gentle among
you, even as a nurse.'' This letter, about which various mistakes l have arisen, is in the Colman Collection. A facsimile
is here given.
The Rev. Dr. Leslie was rector of Tanderagee, near
Belfast. He was Wesley's host on several occasions, and
was particularly kind during his alarming illnesses there and
in the neighbourhood in June, 1775. Of another visit in
June, 1778, and of the delights of Dr. Leslie's domain,
Wesley writes glowingly in his Journal: ' A pleasanter spot
I never saw. . . . I know not that I have spent a more
agreeable evening since I came into the kingdom. . . . I
spent another hour with the amiable family this morning,
and it was an hour I shall not soon forget.' He has just
stayed here again for two days (June 13 and 14). Keenly
observant as ever, he contrasts his impressions with those
received during that visit of nine, he says * ten,' years before.
His Journal shows him more delighted than ever with Dr.
Leslie's estate, ' the loveliest scene that can be conceived,'
but he has fears concerning more important things. Who
would not covet his zeal and his skill in rebuke and exhortation ? Dr. C. H. Crookshank 2 concludes that this letter was
received in the spirit in which it was written, for Wesley was
welcomed again by Dr. Leslie at this beautiful Irish home.
1
2

458

Cf. Works, vol. xii. p. 350.
Wesley Historical Society Proceedings, vol. ii. p. 142.

TO YOUNG FRIENDS
To the Rev. Dr. Leslie.
CHARLEMOUNT [CHARLEMONT, IRELAND],

June 16, 1787.
REV. AND BEAR SIR,—I have obligations to you on many

accounts, from the first time I saw you, particularly for
the kind concern you showed when I was ill at Tanderagee.
These have increased upon me every time that I have since
had the pleasure of waiting upon you. Permit me, Sir, to
speak without reserve. Esteem was added to my affectionate
regard when I saw the uncommon care and pains you took
with the flock committed to your care; as also when I
observed the remarkably serious manner whenever you read
prayers in your family. Many years have passed since that
time, many more than I am now likely to see under the sun.
But before I go hence, I would fain give you one more
instance of my sincere regard ; the rather, because I can
scarce expect to see you again till we meet in a better world.
But it is difficult for me to do it, as I feel myself inferior
to you in so many respects. Yet permit me to ask you a
strange question: Is your soul as much alive to God as it
was once ? Have you not suffered loss from your relations
or acquaintance, that are sensible and agreeable men, but
not encumbered with religion ? Some of them, perhaps, as
free from the very form as from the power of i t !
O, Sir, if you lose any of the things which you have
wrought, who can make you amends for that loss ? If you
do not receive a full reward, what equivalent can you gain ?
I was pained even at your hospitable table, in the midst of
those I loved so well. We did not begin and close the meal
in the same manner as you did ten years ago. You was
then, contrary to almost universal custom, unfashionably
serious in asking a blessing and returning thanks. I know
many would blame you for it. But, surely, your Lord said,
459

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' Servant of God, well done."—Wishing you and your lovely
family every blessing, I am, dear and Rev. Sir, your obliged
and affectionate brother and servant.
6

Your kind Reproof. . . . I cannot write without
Tears.'

By example, as by precept, Wesley showed nobly how a
rebuke should be received. In the Arminian Magazine for
1782 he again expressed ubter detestation of Jacob Behmen
(Boehme) the Mystic and his teachings. Wesley asked,
6
with the utmost certainty," is he not ' illuminated from
beneath, rather than from above'; and ' ought he not to be
styled Demonosopher, rather than Theosopher ?' An old
friend, though a much younger man than Wesley, Henry
Brooke, a Dublin Methodist, remonstrated with him, and
drew this beautiful letter. Brooke was the nephew of a
gentleman of the same name whose fine novel, The Fool of
Quality', Wesley abridged.
To Henry Brooke.
[DUBLIN], April 21, 1783.
DEAR

HARRY,—Your letter gave me pleasure and pain.

I t gave me pleasure because it was written in a mild and
loving spirit; but it gave me pain because I found I had
pained you, whom I so tenderly love and esteem. But I
shall do it no more. I sincerely thank you for your kind
reproof. It is a precious balm, and will, I trust, in the
hands of the Great Physician, be the means of healing my
sickness. I am so sensible of your real friendship herein,
that I cannot write without tears. The words you mention
were too strong. They will no more fall from my mouth.
—I am, dear Harry, affectionately yours.

460

CHAPTER X I I
ON PUBLIC MATTERS AND TO PUBLIC MEN
WESLEY'S well-known counsel to his preachers, ' You have
nothing to do but to save souls,' was meant by him and
accepted by them in no narrow sense. They were expected
to circulate his books—that entitled Primitive Physic as
well as the Christian's Pattern; to take good care of their
horses and houses; observe and enforce rules of health and
sanitation; read to Methodist voters, and freely distribute,
Wesley's instructions * at a General Election, and even advise
electors for the parliamentary candidate which Wesley
favoured: all this, while chiefly promoting the spiritual
interests of men, women, and children. In these varied
activities Wesley set them an example, as his letters show.
He was interested in everything, and nothing human
was foreign to him. Here we have the address he
prepared for presentation to the King; his letters to
Premiers and ministers of the Crown on war, taxation, and
Sunday drilling ; to chief magistrates and city corporations
about soldiers, or concerning a new theatre. He threatens
to write frankly about Voltaire, and sends to hearten
Wilberforce. I t is probable that in city and national
archives there are other letters of his on public questions
and to public men, of which those here given are representative. That to the Premier, given on page 472, was long
unknown.
The noble breeding, gifts, and training of Wesley come
out well in these letters. As in his letters to bishops,
1
A Word to a Freeholder, printed in 1748, and often reprinted until 1783 ;
see also Journal, v. 343.

461

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS

several of which we have given,1 he is seen to be at once
finely courageous, tactful, and courteous. He approached
the most highly placed as to the manner born ; but he never
presumes, or hectors high or low, even when his services
and influence were unquestionably large. In this group of
letters, as always, Wesley's deepest interest is the spiritual
welfare of men. He is an eager citizen and patriot, loyal to
king and country; but he cannot close a letter without a
personal appeal to its recipient. The dangers to the city
of Man soul—the moral life of the soldiers—concern him far
more than the siege of a city which they are called to
protect against the nation's enemies.

' To tender our most dutiful Regards to your
sacred Majesty.'
This assurance of loyalty to George n. was prepared by
Wesley when the King was alarmed by the threatened
invasion of England. The Stuart Pretender to the throne
was then in France, and had the support of the Papists. A
month later France declared war. Convocation, the Protestant Dissenters, even the Quakers, presented loyal addresses
to the King. This Address was not sent, as Charles Wesley
thought that to present one in the name of the Methodists
would seem to indicate that they were a sect, and separate
from the Church of England. This view, everything which
savoured of it, and all who held it, he abhorred. Had this
Address been presented it might have killed earlier the
baseless but persistent calumny that the Wesleys and their
followers favoured the Pretender, or were otherwise disloyal.2
They were summoned before magistrates and suffered much
annoyance on this false charge. Charles Wesley was arraigned
because in public prayer he asked that God would 6 bring
home His banished ones1—a scriptural euphemism for the
restoration of sinners to divine favour. John Wesley published this Address in his Journal in 1758.
1

See pp. 133, 135, 259.
To contradict this many chapels were later named 'Hanover' or
* Brunswick,5 after the titles of the reigning House.
2

462

TO PUBLIC MEN
To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty {George II.)
The humble Address of the Societies in England and Wales
in derision called Methodists.
[LONDON, March 5, 1744.]

inconsiderable as we are,
4
a people scattered and peeled, and trodden underfoot from
the beginning hitherto,' we should in nowise have presumed,
even on this great occasion, to open our lips to your Majesty,
had we not been induced, indeed constrained to do so, by
two considerations: the one, that in spite of all our remonstrances on that head, we are continually represented
as a peculiar sect of men, separating ourselves from the
Established Church ; the other, that we are still traduced as
inclined to Popery, and consequently as disaffected to your
Majesty.
Upon these considerations we think it incumbent upon
us, if we must stand as a distinct body from our brothers,
to tender for ourselves our most dutiful regards to your
sacred Majesty : and to declare, in the presence of Him we
serve, the King of kings and Lord of lords, that we are a
part (however mean) of that Protestant Church, established
in these kingdoms: That we unite together for this, and no
other end—to promote, so far as we may be capable, justice,
mercy, and truth; the glory of God, and peace and good-will
among men : That we detest and abhor the fundamental
doctrines of the Church of Rome, and are steadily attached
to your Majesty's royal person and illustrious House.
We cannot, indeed, say or do either more or less than we
apprehend consistent with the written word of God ; but we
are ready to obey your Majesty to the uttermost, in all
things which we conceive agreeable thereto. And we
earnestly exhort all with whom we converse, as they fear
God, to honour the King. We, of the clergy in particular,
463
MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN,—SO

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
put all men in mind to revere the higher powers as of God ;
and continually declare, ' Ye must needs be subject, not only
for wrath, but also for conscience"' sake.'
Silver and gold (most of us must own) we have none; but
such as we have we humbly beg your Majesty to accept,
together with our hearts and prayers. May He who hath
bought us with His blood, the Prince of all the kings of the
earth, fight against all the enemies of your Majesty, with
the two-edged sword which cometh out of His mouth ! And
when He calleth your Majesty from this throne, full of years
and victories, may it be with that voice, 6 Come, receive the
kingdom prepared for thee, from the beginning of the world!'
These are the continual prayers of your Majesty's dutiful
and loyal subjects,—JOHN WESLEY, etc.

Letters to the Mayor of Newcastle-on-Tyne and
General Husk.
Two letters to the Mayor of Newcastle-on-Tyne (Alderman Ridley) were sent while the city was fearing attack by
the Young Pretender in 1745. News that he was at Edinburgh, and that the British under General Cope had fled
before him, alarmed Newcastle citizens. The Mayor summoned all to meet him at the Town Hall. Wesley reached
the city the day before this meeting, and begun at once to
hold religious services. His non-attendance was noticed.
Hence the first letter. The city prepared for a siege.
Those who lived outside the walls removed within them,
except Wesley and his helpers at the Orphan House, which
was just beyond the Pilgrim Street gate. He thought it
providential that these buildings were so placed that shells
from cannon on the city walls would miss them and kill
any approaching enemy. Some citizens thought otherwise.
Hence Wesley's letter to General Husk, then directing
protective measures.
Wesley was most disturbed at the overflowing of ungodliness in the city, which not even these grave dangers inter464

WESLEY'S LETTER
TO THE

REV. DR. LESLIE
Rector of Tanderagee
near Belfast

From C H A R L E M O N T 3 June 16, 1787

FACSIMILE from the ORIGINAL
in the Collection of Mr. Russell
J. Colman, D.L., J.P., Norwich
THE TEXT of this LETTER is
given on page 459

LETTERS OF JOHN WESLEY
BY REV. GEORGE EAYRS, F.R.HIST.8.
Published by Hodder & Stoughton, London, Toronto, New York
1916

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TO PUBLIC MEN
mitted. Could not this be checked? he asked. Fifteen
thousand soldiers came to the aid of the city, and encamped
on Newcastle Moor. This increased the senseless, shameless
wickedness and profanity.
As the moral welfare of the
soldiers was neglected, Wesley offers gratuitous service
among them,' while I am in these parts.' Soldier Methodists, of whose faithfulness and valour—surely unsurpassed
in the annals of warfare—he writes so proudly, had proved
lately at Dettingen and Fontenoy that pluck and endurance
were not lessened by his teachings. 1 Haime, the dragoon,
had preached to the soldiers in that campaign with much
success. The need there was like that at Newcastle. >' I
had three armies against me,' says Haime—'the French
Army, the wicked English Army, and an Army of Devils."*
Wesley's request was passed to the General. Wesley visited
and preached in the camp several times ; but he says in his
Journal, ' I did not reach their hearts. The words of a
scholar did not affect them like those of a dragoon or a
grenadier." Finding some German soldiers there, he furbished up his knowledge of their language and preached to
them also. In a few months the Young Pretender's cause
collapsed.

' I reverence you for your Office and your Zeal.5
To the Worshipful the Mayor of Newcastle-on- Ty?ie,
Alderman Ridley.
[NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE_, September 21, 1745.]
SIR,—My not waiting upon you at the Town Hall was
not owing to any want of respect. I reverence you for
your office' sake, and much more for your zeal in the execution of it. I would to God every magistrate in the land
would copy after such an example! Much less was it owing
to any disaffection to His Majesty King George. But I
1
See Early Methodist Preachers, vols, i., iv. ; or Wesley's Veterans,
edited by Rev. J. Telford.

2G

4*65

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
knew not how far it might be either necessary or proper for
me to appear on such an occasion. I have no fortune at
Newcastle : I have only the bread I eat, and the use of a
little room for a few weeks in the year.
All I can do for His Majesty, whom I honour and love—
I think not less than I did my own father—is this, I cry
unto God, day by day, in public and in private, to put all
his enemies to confusion. And I exhort all that hear me
to do the same; and, in their several stations, to exert
themselves as loyal subjects ; who, so long as they fear God,
cannot but honour the King.
Permit me, Sir, to add a few words more, out of the
fulness of my heart. I am persuaded you fear God, and
have a deep sense that His kingdom ruleth over all. Unto
whom, then (I may ask you), should we flee for succour, but
unto Him whom, by our sins, we have j ustly displeased ?
O, Sir, is it not possible to give any check to these overflowings of ungodliness ? To the open, flagrant wickedness,
the drunkenness, and profaneness, which so abound, even in
our streets ? I just take leave to suggest this.
May the God whom you serve direct you in this, and all
things! This is the daily prayer of, Sir, your obedient
servant, for Christ^ sake.

* I am ready to pull the House down.'
To His Excellency General Hush.
[ O R P H A N HOUSE, NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE,

October^, 1745.]

surly man came to me this evening,
as he said, from you. He would not deign to come upstairs
to me, nor so much as into the house; but stood in the
yard till I came, and then obliged me to go with him into
the street, where he said, ; You must pull down the battle466
YOUR EXCELLENCY,—A

TO PUBLIC MEN
ments of your house, or to-morrow the General will pull
them down for you.1
Sir, to me this is nothing. But I humbly conceive it
would not be proper for this man, whoever he is, to behave
in such a manner to any other of His Majesty's subjects, at
so critical a time as this.
I am ready, if it may be for His Majesty's service, to pull
not only the battlements, but the house down; or to give
up any part of it, or the whole, into your Excellency's hands.

'The poor Men to whom our Lives are entrusted.'
To the Worshipful the Mayor of New castle-on-Tyne,
Alderman Ridley.
October 26, 1745.

Sin,—The fear of God, the love of my country, and the
regard I have for His Majesty King George, constrain me
to write a few plain words to one who is no stranger to
these principles of action.
My soul has been pained day by day, even in walking the
streets of Newcastle, at the senseless, shameless wickedness,
the ignorant profaneness of the poor men to whom our lives
are entrusted! The continual cursing, and swearing, the
wanton blasphemy of the soldiers in general, must needs be
a torture to the sober ear, whether of a Christian or an
honest infidel. Can any that either fear God or love their
neighbour, hear this without concern ? especially if they
consider the interests of their country, as well as of these
unhappy men themselves. For can it be expected, that
God should be on their side who are daily affronting Him
to His face ? And if God be not on their side, how little
will either their number, or courage, or strength avail ?
Is there no man that careth for these souls ? Doubtless
there are some who ought so to do. But many of these,
467

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
if I am rightly informed, receive large pay, and do just
nothing.
I would to God it were in my power, in any degree, to
supply their lack of service. I am ready to do what in
me lies, to call these poor sinners to repentance, once or
twice a day (while I remain in these parts), at any hour, or
at any place. And I desire no pay at all for doing this;
unless what my Lord shall give at His appearing.
If it be objected (from our heathenish poet), ' This conscience will make cowards of us all,' 1 1 answer, Let us j udge
by matter of fact. Let either friends or enemies speak.
Did those who feared God behave as cowards at Fontenoy ?
Did J[ohn] H[aime], the Dragoon, betray any cowardice,
before or after his horse sunk under him ? Or did W[illiam]
C[lements], when he received the first ball in his left, and
the second in his right arm ? Of John Evans, when the
cannon-ball took off both his legs ? Did he not call all
about him, as long as he could speak, to praise and fear
God, and honour the King ? as one who feared nothing but
lest his last breath should be spent in vain.
If it were objected, that I should only fill their heads with
peculiar whims and notions, that might easily be known.
Only let the officers hear with their own ears, and they may
judge whether I do not preach the plain principles of manly,
rational religion.
Having myself no knowledge of the General, I took the
liberty to make this offer to you. I have no interest herein;
but I should rejoice to serve, as I am able, my King and
country. If it be judged that this will be of no real service,
let the proposal die, and be forgotten. But I beg you, Sir,
1
Incorrectly quoted from Shakespeare, Hamlet, m . i. 83. * Heathenish'
is a strange adjective for Wesley to use of Shakespeare. He seldom quoted
from him. A fine quarto copy of the poet's works survived Wesley's death,
the margins of which were filled with critical notes in Wesley's handwriting.
One of Wesley's preachers, John Pawson, destroyed it.

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TO PUBLIC MEN
to believe that I have the same glorious cause, for which
you have shown so becoming a zeal, earnestly at heart; and
that therefore, I am, with warm respect, Sir, your most
obedient servant.

' An Offer of raising a Company of Volunteers.'
West was Member of Parliament for St. Albans and
joint Secretary to the Treasury. This letter to him was
enclosed in one by Wesley, of the same date, to Ebenezer
Blackwell, the influential London banker. Its occasion is
there explained (page 381). England seemed in need of
help from every patriot. Wesley offered soldiers,1 and
hurried to Bristol to help a parliamentary candidate, John
Spencer. He was defeated. Charles Wesley republished
his Hymns for Times of Trouble and Persecution, and set
the Methodists singing—
' Ye servants of God, Your Master proclaim.'
George Whitefield fulminated against Romanists. We can
trace no acceptance of Wesley's offer; but his letter
exhibits his patriotism and practicality. The original of
this valuable letter is in the British Museum (Addit. MSS.,
1882-1887, 32,685, Auto. Letters, No. 12, on page 64).
Perhaps Wesley's anxiety to help the cause of the aged
king, George n., who was then seventy-two, was quickened
by his recollection of impressions received a few weeks
earlier. On December 23, 1755, he wrote in his Journal,
6
I was in the robe-chamber adjoining to the House of
Lords when the King put on his robes. His brow was
much furrowed with age, and quite clouded with care.
And is this all the world can give, even to a king ? All
the grandeur it can afford ? A blanket of ermine round
his shoulders, so heavy and cumbersome he can scarce move
under it! A huge heap of borrowed hair, with a few plates
of gold and glittering stones upon his head! Alas, what
a bauble is human greatness! And even this will not
endured
1

As he did in 1779 (see p. 257).

469

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
To the Honourable James West.
[MARLBOROUGH], March I,

1756.

SIR,—A few days since, Mr. Whitefield and I desired a
friend to ask your advice,—to whom it would be proper to
make an offer of raising a company of volunteers for His
Majesty's service. We apprehended the number would be
about five hundred. Finding Mr. Whitefield has since been
persuaded that such an offer is premature, I am constrained
to make the following, independently of him : To raise, for
His Majesty's service, at least two hundred volunteers, to
be supported by contributions among themselves ; and to
be ready, in case of invasion, to act for a year, if needed so
long, at His Majesty's pleasure; only within — miles of
London.
If this be acceptable to His Majesty, they beg to have
arms out of the Tower, giving the usual security for their
return; and some of His Majesty's sergeants to instruct
them in the military exercise.
I am now hastening to Bristol, on account of the election;
but if my return to London would be of any service, you
may command, Sir, your obedient servant.

' Most of the present Stage Entertainments are
peculiarly hurtful to a Trading City.'
Here is the only reference to the theatre traced in Wesley's
Letters or his Works. His courteous and tactful presentation of his views, and the gravamen of his opposition to the
proposed theatre, as likely to be injurious to the commercial
interests of the city, will be noted. Wesley had read the
prophet Jeremiah's letter to the captive Jews in Babylon :
4
Seek the peace of the city, whither I have caused you to be
carried away captive.' The Wesleys and the Methodists
had wrought for twenty-five years in Bristol and Kingswood,
¥10

TO PUBLIC MEN
and it was common knowledge that all the best interests
had profited thereby.
Wesley prepared this letter in London and sent it to his
brother Charles, then residing in Bristol, with a note saying,
' 1 suppose it is of little consequence in whose hand this is
transcribed. Let it be accompanied by prayer, and good
must follow one way or the other.**
To the Mayor and Corporation of Bristol.
December 20, 1764.

GENTLEMEN,—Both my brother and I, and all who have
any connection with us, are extremely sensible of our obligations to you for the civility which you have shown us on
all occasions; and we cannot but feel ourselves deeply interested in whatever we apprehend in any degree to concern
your honour or the general good and prosperity of the city
of Bristol. This occasions my giving you the present trouble,
which (whether it has any farther effect or no) you will
please to receive as a testimony of the high regard which we
shall ever retain for you.
The endeavours lately used to procure subscriptions for
building a new play-house in Bristol have given us not a
little concern, and that on various accounts. Not barely as
most of the present stage entertainments sap the foundation
of all religion, as they naturally tend to efface all traces of
piety and seriousness out of the minds of men; but as they
are particularly hurtful to a trading city; giving a wrong
turn to youth especially, gay, trifling, and directly opposite
to the spirit of industry and close application to business;
and as drinking and debauchery of every kind are constant
attendants on these entertainments, with indolence, effeminacy, and idleness, which affect trade in a high degree.
It was on these very considerations that the corporation
of Nottingham lately withstood all solicitations and absolutely forbade the building of a new theatre there, being
471

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
determined to encourage nothing of the kind. And I doubt
not but that thousands will reap the benefit of their wise
and generous resolution.
I t does not become me, Gentlemen, to press anything
upon you, but I could not avoid saying this much, both in
behalf of myself and all my friends.
Wishing you the continuance and increase of every blessing.—I remain, Gentlemen, your obliged and obedient
servant.

To the Prime Minister, Lord North.
This historic and highly important letter is now first
given with completeness.1 The year when it was written
was critical indeed in the relations between Great Britain
and the American Colonies, as before pointed out.2 It was
sent to Lord North, then British Premier. As Tyerman
reminds us, it was written within forty-eight hours of the
Battle of Bunker's Hill, Boston, where its predictions, sadly
and disastrously for Britain, were fulfilled. The original
would be as fascinating a document as the letter from
leading Boston citizens pleading with George in., which is
inspected with so much interest, especially by Americans,
in the Record Office, Fetter Lane, London. A copy of the
letter to Lord North was sent to Lord Dartmouth, Secretary
for the Colonies. This copy was in existence in 1866. The
letter is of scarcely less importance as a self-revelation of
Wesley. Seldom does a man write so candidly of himself or
so courageously to a man in high place, and seldom has a
hot, complicated issue been so dispassionately, clearly, or
more ably j udged, or with such Christian patriotism. Wesley
1
Its history is curious. It was buried among British national documents,
unseen and unheard of until published by the Rev. Samuel Dunn in his
Wesley Banner, vol. i. p. 177, 1849, from which we give i t Dr. George
Smith gave it seventeen years later in his History of Methodism, vol. i.
App. E. The last strong paragraph is given only by Tyerman {Life of
Wesley', vol. iii. p. 200), who strangely omits half the long opening paragraph
of the letter. See also Journal, vol. vi. p. 67.
2
See above, p. 247.

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TO PUBLIC MEN
had reliable correspondents, and had taken trouble to form
a fine judgement upon the situation. He shows himself a
true prophet—a forthteller and a foreteller. He has heard
a great voice behind him, in history. He knows how to use
the word ' Remember.** It booms like a solemn bell at the
end of his letter.

' Is it Common Sense to use Force towards the
Americans ?'
To the Right Honourable Lord North.
ARMAGH, June 15, 1775.

M Y LORD,—I would not speak, as it may seem to be concerning myself with things that lie out of my province, but
I dare not refrain from it any longer. I think silence in
the present case would be a sin against God, against my
country, and against my own soul. But what hope can I
have of doing good, of making the least impression upon
your Lordship, when so many have spoken in vain, and those
far better qualified to speak on so delicate a subject. They
were better qualified in some respects; in others they
were not. They had not less bias upon their minds; they
were not free from worldly hopes and fears. Their passions
were engaged; and how easily do those blind the eyes of
their understanding. They were not more impartial; most
of them were prej udiced in the highest degree. They neither
loved the King nor his ministers; rather they hated them
with a perfect hatred; and your Lordship knows that you
could not, if you were a man, avoid having some prejudice to
them. In this case it would be hardly possible to feel the
full force of their arguments. They had not better means
of information, of knowing the real tempers and sentiments
either of the Americans on the one hand, or the English,
Irish, or Scots on the other. Above all, they trusted in
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JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
themselves, in their own power of convincing and persuading;
I trust only in the living God, who hath the hearts of all
men in His hands. And whether my writing do any good or
no, it need do no harm, for it rests within your Lordship's
breast whether any eye but your own shall see it.
I do not intend to enter upon the question, whether the
Americans are in the right or in the wrong ?—Here all my
prejudices are against the Americans, for I am a High
Churchman, the son of a High Churchman, bred up from
my childhood in the highest notions of passive obedience and
non-resistance; and yet, in spite of all my long-rooted prejudices, I cannot avoid thinking, if I think at all, these, an
oppressed people, asked for nothing more than their legal
rights, and that in the most modest and inoffensive manner
that the nature of the thing would allow.
But waiving this, waiving all considerations of right and
wrong, I ask, Is it common sense to use force towards the
Americans? A letter now before me, which I received
yesterday, says, ' Four hundred of the regulars and forty of
the militia were killed in the late skirmish.' What a disproportion is this ! And this is the first essay of raw men
against regular troops. You see, my Lord, whatever has
been affirmed, these men will not be frightened ; and it
seems they will not be conquered so easily as was at first
imagined. They will probably dispute every inch of ground,
and if they die, die sword in hand. Indeed, some of our
valiant officers say, ' Two thousand men will clear America
of these rebels.*' No, nor twenty thousand, be they rebels
or not, nor perhaps treble that number. They are as strong
men as you; they are as valiant as you, if not abundantly
more valiant, for they are one and all enthusiasts—enthusiasts
for liberty. They are calm, deliberate enthusiasts ; and we
know how this principle breathes into softer souls stern love
of war, and thirst of vengeance, and contempt of death.
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TO PUBLIC MEN
We know men, animated with this spirit, will leap into a
fire, or rush into a cannon's mouth.
' But they have no experience in war/ And how much
more have our troops ?—Very few of them ever saw a battle.
' But they have no discipline.' That is an entire mistake.
Already they have near as much as our army, and they will
learn more of it every day; so that in a short time, if the
fatal occasion continue, they will understand it as well as
their assailants. ' But they are divided amongst themselves.'
So you are informed by various letters and memorials. So,
doubt not, was poor Rehoboam informed concerning the ten
tribes! So, nearer our own times, was Philip informed concerning the people of the Netherlands. No, my Lord, they are
terribly united. Not in the province of New England only,
but down as low as the Jerseys and Pennsylvania. The bulk
of the people are so united, that to speak a word in favour
of the present English measures, would almost endanger a
man's life. Those who informed me of this, one of whom
was with me last week, lately come from Philadelphia, are
no sycophants ; they say nothing to curry favour; they have
nothing to gain or lose by me. But they speak with sorrow
of heart, what they have seen with their own eyes, and heard
with their own ears.
These men think, one and all, be it right or wrong, that
they are contending, pro aris and focis; for their wives,
children, and liberty. What an advantage have they herein
over many that fight only for pay ! None of whom care a
straw for the cause wherein they are engaged; most of whom
strongly disapprove of it. Have they not another considerable advantage ? Is there occasion to recruit the troops ?
Their supplies are at hand, and all round about them. Ours
are three thousand miles off! Are we then able to conquer
the Americans, suppose they are left to themselves, suppose all our neighbours should stand stock still, and leave us
475

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
and them to fight it out ? But we are not sure of this. Nor
are we sure that all our neighbours will stand stock still. I
doubt they have not promised i t ; and if they had, could we
rely upon those promises ? Yet, it is not probable, they will
send ships or men to America. Is there not a shorter way ?
Do they not know where England and Ireland lie ? And
have they not troops, as well as ships, in readiness ? All
Europe is well apprised of this; only the English know
nothing of the matter! What if they find means to land
but ten thousand men ? Where are the troops in England
or Ireland to oppose them ? Why, cutting the throats of
their brethren in America! Poor England, in the mean
time!
' But we have our militia—our valiant, disciplined
militia. These will effectually oppose them.' Give me
leave, my Lord, to relate a little circumstance, of which I was
informed by a clergyman who knew the fact. In 1716 a
large body of militia were marching towards Preston against
the rebels. In a wood which they were passing by a boy
happened to discharge his fowling-piece. The soldiers gave
in all for lost, and, by common consent, threw down their
arms and ran for life. So much dependence is to be placed
on our valorous militia.
But, my Lord, this is not all. We have thousands of
enemies, perhaps more dangerous than French or Spaniards.
As I travel four or five thousand miles every year, I have an
opportunity of conversing freely with more persons of every
denomination than any one else in the three kingdoms. I
cannot but know the general disposition of the people—
English, Scots, and Irish; and I know a large majority of
them are exasperated almost to madness. Exactly so they
were throughout England and Scotland, about the year 1640,
and in a great measure by the same means : by inflammatory
papers which were spread, as they are now, with the utmost
476

TO PUBLIC MEN
diligence, in every corner of the land. Hereby the bulk of
the population were effectually cured of all love and reverence
for the King. So that, first despising, then hating him, they
were just ripe for open rebellion. And, I assure your
Lordship, so they are now. They want nothing but a leader.
Two circumstances more are deserving to be considered :
the one, that there was at that time a decay of general trade
almost throughout the kingdom; the other, there was a
common dearness of provisions. The case is the same in both
respects at this day. So that even now there are multitudes of
people, that, having nothing to do, and nothing to eat, are
ready for the first bidder; and that, without inquiring into
the merits of the cause, would flock to any who would give
them bread. Upon the whole, I am really sometimes afraid
that this evil is from the Lord. When I consider the
astonishing luxury of the rich, and the shocking impiety of
rich and poor, I doubt whether general dissoluteness of
manners does not demand a general visitation. Perhaps the
decree is already gone forth from the Governor of the world.
Perhaps even now,
f
As he that buys, surveys a ground,
So the destroying* angel measures it around.
Calm he surveys the perishing nation;
Ruin behind him stalks, and empty desolation/
But we Englishmen are too wise to acknowledge that
God has anything to do in the world ! Otherwise should
we not seek Him by fasting and prayer, before He lets the
lifted thunder drop ? O my Lord, if your Lordship can do
anything, let it not be wanting! For God's sake, for the
sake of the king, of the nation, of your lovely family,
remember Rehoboam! Remember Philip the Second!
Remember Charles the First!
I am, with true regard,
My Lord, Your Lordship's obedient servant.
477

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
* I have . . . Silver Tea-spoons.'
Wesley's famous reply to the Commissioners of Excise
must surely be among the most striking of the curious
replies which such officers receive. In 1776 the House of
Lords ordered that circular letters should be sent to all
persons who, having silver-plate, had made no return of it
or had failed to pay duty. Among the former, Wesley was
addressed. A special letter to him, dated September £,
accompanied the circular. I t stated that the Commissioners
could not doubt he had plate, and they required an immediate answer concerning it. This was sent a week later,
when Wesley had reached his Bristol lodgings, in the New
Room in the Horsefair, and could see what plate he had
there. With his usual carefulness of paper, significant in
this instance, he wrote the following reply on the back of
the circular of inquiry. As ever, Wesley points a moral
with his reply. I t is also interesting to note that he did
not part with the four silver spoons he had. He liked the
refinements of life.
To His Majesty's Officer of Excise.
BRISTOL, September 9, 1776.

SIR,—I have two silver tea-spoons at London and two at
Bristol. This is all the plate which I have at present.
And I shall not buy any more while so many round me
want bread.—I am, Sir, your most humble servant.

On Voltaire.
Wesley and Voltaire had nothing in common, as these
two letters show. The life of each of them almost covered
the eighteenth century and was profoundly influential; but
they were as sharply contrasted in conduct and character l
as the result of their life and labour—the Reign of Terror
1
Dr. W. J. Townsend points out features of this contrast in A New
History of Methodism, i. 367-8.

478

TO PUBLIC MEN
in France and the peaceful revolution in England. Wesley
speaks elsewhere of the ' infernal subtlety' of Voltaire.
H e puts Rousseau and Voltaire together, and describes the
former as ; a shallow yet supercilious infidel, two degrees
below Voltaire. He is a mere misanthrope; a cynic all
over. So indeed is his brother-infidel, Voltaire, and wellnigh as great a coxcomb.'' Our first letter is given by
Tyerman, 1 but without the name of its recipient. Wesley's
reference to the dying hours of ' t h a t wretched infidel,''
Voltaire, was published in his Journal under date September, 1778. He had just copied it from Fletcher's letter
to James Ireland of Bristol. Our second letter, 2 from the
original in the United Methodist Theological College,
Sheffield, names the royal chaplain with whom Wesley
is so indignant. Delamotte, to whom this letter was
sent, was then at Barrow, Lincolnshire. He was Wesley's
companion to Georgia in 1735.
6

Voltaire . . . to whom a crowned Head pays such
a violent Compliment.'
To an Unknown Correspondent.
[LONDON], January 4, 1779.

SIR,—In September last, a gentleman, near Bristol, showed
me a letter which he had received from the Rev. Mr.
Fletcher, at Paris. I desired him to give a transcript of
one part of it, which he immediately did. It was as
follows :—
'Mr. Voltaire sent for Monsieur Tronchin, 3 first physician
1

Wesley's Life, iii. 288.
Published in the Wesley Hist. Soc. Proceedings, vol. vii. 19, from contribution to MS. Journal by the present writer.
3
Dr. Tronchin is wrongly named in Wesley's Journal (September 1778)
as Fronchin, and by Tyerman {Life of Wesley, vol. iii. p. 289) as Tronchils.
Tallentyre says that Tronchin was a sincere Christian, and that he wrote
bitterly of Voltaire's deathbed. He adds, * for three hours Voltaire was
dying—calmly and peacefully say some; in all the horrors of the damned,
say others. But the truth, who knows?'—Life of Voltaire, 3rd ed. (1905),
pp. 516-519.
2

479

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
to the Duke of Orleans (one of his converts to infidelity),
and said to him, "Sir, I desire you will save my life. I
will give you half my fortune if you will lengthen out my
days only six months. If not, I shall go to the devil, and
carry you with me."'
This is the man to whom a crowned head pays such a
violent compliment! Nay, this is the man whose works
are now publishing by a divine of our own Church; yea, a
chaplain to His Majesty. Pity but the King; should know
it. If the publisher of that poor wretch's works writes a
panegyric upon him or them, I shall think it my duty to
show the real value of those writings.—I am, Sir, your
humble servant.
6

That wretched Infidel.'
To Charles Delamotte.
LONDON, February 11, 1779.

M Y DEAR BROTHER,—I am agreeably surprised with a
letter from my old friend whom I long desired to see, and
how I missed of seeing you when I was last at Barrow
I cannot comprehend.
I t is very probable I shall have some more work to do
with regard to that wretched infidel. For if Dr. Bealey, the
publisher of his Works > prefixes to them a flaming Panegyric,
I shall think it my duty to deal exceeding plainly both with
the author and the translator.
I am now in my seventy-sixth year, and am by the wonderful mercy of God in at least as good health as I was in my
twenty-sixth, and in some respects better.
So when it
pleases Him,
' He bids the sun of Life stand still,
And stops the panting- soul.'
I am glad you speak a word to your brethren on behalf
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TO PUBLIC MEN
of your good Master. This is worth living for.—Believe
me to be, as ever, dear Charles, your affectionate brother.

' A Motion in Parliament for raising the Militia
and exercising them on Sunday.'
This skilful letter, often given without the name of the
nobleman and minister of the Crown to whom it was
addressed, was sent to Lord Shelburne,1 afterwards first
Marquis of Lansdowne. He was now Home Secretary under
Chatham, and next year First Lord of the Treasury. The
' No Popery' Riots led by Lord George Gordon 2 two years
before, the war with America, still proceeding, and continental attacks on Britain showed the need for efficient
soldiers. But Wesley thought that conditions could not
arise which would justify the training of soldiers on the
Lord's Day. 3 His Conference in the August of this year
adopted regulations under which any Methodist who
practised military exercises on Sundays, or witnessed them
after warning, was to be expelled from membership.
To Lord Shelburne.
LONDON (?), December 7, 1782.

M Y LORD,—-If I wrong your lordship, I am sorry for i t ;
but I really believe your lordship fears God, and I hope
your lordship has no unfavourable opinion of the Christian
revelation. This encourages me to trouble your lordship
with a few lines, which otherwise I should not take upon
me to do.
About thirty years ago a motion was made in Parliament
for raising and embodying the Militia, and for exercising
them, to save time, on Sunday. When the motion was like
1
See Whitehead's Life of Wesley (1796), vol. ii. p. 399, and its unpaged
index under ' Wesley, John. 5
2
As a prominent Protestant Wesley visited Lord George Gordon while he
was imprisoned in the Tower of London for high treason and insurrection.
3
See above, p. 227.
2H
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JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
to pass an old gentleman stood up and said, ' Mr. Speaker,
I have one objection to this : I believe an old book called the
Bible/ The members looked at one another and the motion
was dropped.
Must not all others who believe the Bible have the
same objection ? And, from what I have seen, I cannot but
think these are still three-fourths of the nation. Now,
setting religion out of the question, is it expedient to give
such a shock to so many millions of people at once? And
certainly it would shock them extremely: it would wound
them in a very tender part. For would not they, would not
all England, would not all Europe, consider this as a virtual
repeal of the Bible? And would not all serious persons
say, 6 We have little religion in the land now, but by this
step we shall have less still. For wherever this pretty show
is to be seen, the people will flock together, and will lounge
away so much time before and after it that the churches
will be emptier than they are already/
My lord, I am concerned for this on a double account:
First, because I have personal obligations to your lordship,
and would fain, even for this reason, recommend your lordship to the love and esteem of all over whom I have any
influence. Secondly, because I now reverence your lordship
for your office1 sake, and believe it to be my bounden
duty to do all that is in my little power to advance your
lordship's influence and reputation.
Will your lordship permit me to add a word in my oldfashioned way ? I pray Him that has all power in heaven
and earth to prosper all your endeavours for the public
good, and am, my lord, your lordship's willing servant.

To the Prime Minister, William Pitt.
Though only twenty-five years of age, William Pitt was
British Prime Minister, and would be interested by this
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TO PUBLIC MEN
letter from such an eminent venerable supporter, Wesley,
then eighty-one. The original x of this famous letter is in
the Colman Collection, from which our text of it is given,
with interesting corrections and additions to that usually
given. Any public man would welcome such a message-—
informing, shrewd, solicitous, tactful, but faithful, as from
an ambassador of the King of Kings.

'New Taxes . . . smuggling Villains . . . the
Distillery . . . that Scandal of the English
Nation, Suicide.'
Thomas Ellison was Wesley's nephew, to whom Pitt, at
Wesley's instance, had given an appointment in the Excise.
Webb is Captain Thomas Webb, 2 now back from the United
States to end his days in England. Wesley felt that the
old servant of the Crown and of Christ deserved comfort.
Paragraph 5 recalls Wesley's vigorous pamphlet published
eleven years earlier, Thoughts on the Present Scarcity of
Provisions. Bread corn was dear, he contended, because such
immense quantities were wasted i n ' distilling, . . . that bane
of health, that destroyer of strength, of life and virtue.'
What did Pitt with his 'benevolent heart' feel as to
Wesley's proposed deterrent to the crime of suicide ? In his
Arminian Magazine for 1790 Wesley republished his proposal, since ' there is no country in Europe, or perhaps in
the habitable world, where the horrid crime of self-murder
is so common as in England.' The spread of Wesley's
gospel of hope helped to reduce the number of cases of
this sad crime and of other crimes.
To the Right Honourable William Pitt, M.P.
BATH, September 6, 1784.

SIR,—Your former goodness, shown to one of my relations, Mr. Thomas Ellison, emboldens me to take the liberty
of recommending to your notice an old friend, Lieutenant
1
It was written by an amanuensis and is endorsed in Wesley's own hand2
writing, To Mr. Pitt, Sept. 6, 1784,
See p. 244.

483

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Webb. On my mentioning formerly some of his services
to Lord North, his lordship was pleased ;,to order him £100
a year. But as it has since been reduced, it is hardly a
maintenance for him and his family, If you would be so
good as to remember him in this or any other way, I should
esteem it a particular favour.
Will you excuse me, Sir, for going out of my province by
hinting a few things which have been long upon my mind ?
If those hints do not deserve any further notice they may
be forgiven and forgotten.
New taxes must undoubtedly be imposed. But may not
more money be produced by the old ones ? For instance :
1. When the Land tax is four shillings in the pound, I
know some towns which pay regularly seven or five pence!
Nay, I know one town where they pay one penny in the
pound ! Is there no help for this ?
2. As to the Window tax : I know a gentleman who has
near a hundred windows in his house, and he told me he
paid for twenty.
3. The same gentleman told me: ' We have above a
hundred men servants in this house, but not above ten are
paid for.'
4. I firmly believe that, in Cornwall alone, the King is
defrauded of half a million yearly in customs. What does
this amount to in all Great Britain ? Surely not so little
as five millions.1
5. Servants of distillers inform me that their masters do
not pay for a fortieth part of what they distil. And this
duty last year (if I am rightly informed) amounted only to
twenty thousand pounds. But have not the spirits distilled
this year cost twenty thousand lives of His Majesty's liege
subjects? Is it not then the blood of these men? Vilely
1
Is there no way of extirpating these smuggling villains, notwithstanding
their Honourable or Right Honourable abetters ?

484

TO PUBLIC MEN
bartered for twenty thousand pounds, not to say anything
of the enormous wickedness which has been occasioned
thereby. And not to suppose that these poor wretches
have any souls. But to consider money alone. Is the king
a gainer, or an immense loser by the Distillery ? To say
nothing of many millions of quarters of corn destroyed,
which, if exported, would have added more than twenty
thousand pounds to the revenue. Be it considered, 6 Dead
men pay no taxes.' So that, by the death of twenty
thousand persons yearly (and this computation is far under
the mark), the revenue loses far more than it gains.
But I may urge another consideration to YOU. YOU are
a man. You have not lost human feelings. You do not
love to drink human blood. You are a son of Lord
Chatham. Nay, if I mistake not, you are a Christian.
Dare you then sustain a sinking nation ? Is the God whom
you serve able to deliver from ten thousand enemies ? I
believe He is. Nay, and you believe it. O, may you fear
nothing but displeasing Him !
May I add a word on another head ? How would your
benevolent heart rejoice if a stop could be put to that
scandal of the English nation, suicide ? The present laws
against it avail nothing, for every such murderer is brought
in non compos. If he was poor, the j urors forswear themselves from pity. If he was rich, they hope to be well paid
for it. So no ignominy pursues either the living or the
dead, and self-murder increases daily. But what help ?
I conceive this horrid crime might be totally prevented,
and that without doing the least hurt either to the living
or the dead. Do you not remember, Sir, how the rage for
self-murder among the Spartan matrons was stopped at
once ? x Would it not have the same effect in England, if
1
By ordering that every woman that killed herself should be dragged
naked through the streets of the city.

485

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
an Act of Parliament were passed, repealing all other Acts,
and appointing that every self-murderer, lunatic or not,
should be hanged in chains ?
Suppose your influence could prevent suicide by this
means, and distilling by making it a felony, you would do
more service to your country than any Prime Minister has
done this hundred years. Your name would be precious to
all true Englishmen as long as England continued a nation.
And, what is infinitely more, a greater Monarch than King
George would say to you, ' Well done, good and faithful
servant.'
I earnestly commit you to His care, and am. Sir, your
willing servant.

' If this is not Oppression, what is ? . . . Speak a
Word to Mr. Pitt. 5
Nothing but wilful ignorance and cruel animus can
explain this persecution of the Methodists which moved
Wesley to write to this member of Parliament. His name
has not been traced. They had now been at work more than
half a century, and by common consent their influence was
wholly for good. If the member ' will speak a word to Mr.
Pitt,' who was still Premier, ' on that head,** he will learn
that. But miserable jacks-in-office still continued, and long
after this period, to torment the Methodists where and
when they dare do so. As we have shown (page 133),
Wesley and some Methodists played into their hands. This
letter was written ten years later than the painful one to a
Bishop there given. The present harrying of the Methodists in Somersetshire was headed by a lawyer who boasted
that he would drive Methodism out of the county. Wesley
calmly remarked, ' Yes, when he can drive God out of it."'*
The veteran leader spent six weeks of the autumn there,
1

486

Tyerman, Wesley, vol. iii* p. 512.

TO PUBLIC MEN
incessantly travelling and preaching, although he was now
eighty-seven.1
To a Member of Parliament.
Autumn, 1790.
SIR,—Last month a few people met together in Somersetshire, to pray, and praise God, in a friend's house. There
was no preaching at all. Two neighbouring justices fined
the man of the house twenty pounds. I suppose he was not
worth twenty shillings. Upon this, his household goods
were distrained and sold, to pay the fine. He appealed to
the Quarter-Sessions; but all the justices averred the
Methodists could have no relief from the Act of Toleration
because they went to church ; and that, so long as they did
so, the Conventicle Act should be executed upon them.
Last Sunday, when one of our preachers was beginning
to speak to a quiet congregation, a neighbouring justice
sent a constable to seize him, though he was licensed, and
would not release him until he had paid twenty pounds,
telling him his licence was good for nothing, because he was
a churchman.
Now, Sir, what can the Methodists do ? They are liable
to be ruined by the Conventicle Act, and they have no relief
from the Act of Toleration ! If this is not oppression, what
is ? Where, then, is English liberty ? the liberty of Christians ? yea? of every rational creature, who, as such, has a
right to worship God according to his conscience ? But,
waiving the question of right and wrong, what prudence is
there in oppressing such a body of loyal subjects ? If these
good magistrates could drive them not only out of Somersetshire but out of England, who would be gainers thereby ?
1
But while at Bath on Sunday, September 5, he says, * I cut off that vile
custom, I know not how or when it began, of preaching three times a day
by the same preacher to the same congregation ; enough to weary out both
the bodies and minds of the speaker, as well as his hearers.'

487

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Not His Majesty, whom we honour and love; not his
Ministers, whom we love and serve for his sake. Do they
wish to throw away so many thousand friends, who are
now bound to them by stronger ties than that of interest ?
If you will speak a word to Mr. Pitt on that head, you will
oblige, etc.

To William Wilberforce, M.P.
This selection of letters from those written by Wesley
may be appropriately closed with the last letter which he
wrote. I t was to a public man. Its date is six days before
that of Wesley's death. He wrote it at the house of his
friend and executor, George Wolff of Balham. The fact
that it was his last letter, the subject of the letter—the
abolition of the trade in slaves, and the undying fame of
Wilberforce, to whom the letter was sent, all give it unique
interest. I t is one of the notable letters of the world.

' Opposing that execrable Villainy, which is the
Scandal of Religion, of England, and of
Human Nature.'
Four years earlier Wesley met John Howard, and sent
him forward greatly heartened to cleanse the prisons of
Europe. Here he is seen locking his shield with that of
Wilberforce over the trembling form of the negro slave, for
whom he must fight contra mundum, against the world.
As early as 1758 Wesley gave Christian baptism to Gilbert's
negro slaves.1 In 1774 he issued his Thoughts upon Slavery?
a booklet of twenty pages, compact of history, argument,
passion, and compassion, which ought to be reprinted whenever and wherever this horrible crime and sin reappears.
4
Away with all whips, all chains and compulsion,' cried
Wesley. He rejoiced greatly when his American followers,
1
2

488

See above, p. 237.
Works, vol. xi. pp. 59-79.

TO PUBLIC MEN

Freeborn Garrettson and Philip Gatch, 1 voluntarily set free
their slaves. He wrote twice to encourage Thomas Clarkson and the committee for the abolition of the slave trade,
and promised to reprint and circulate his pamphlet. Wilberforce called on him in 1789 and found him ' a fine old
fellow.' Wesley wrote, ' We had an agreeable and useful
conversation. What a blessing it is to Mr. Pitt to have
such a friend as this.' As Wesley foresaw, Wilberforce and
his helpers needed such divine resources as this letter claims
for them. Sixteen years elapsed before this infamous trade
was made illegal (January 1,1808). Slavery lingered much
longer. 2
To William Wilberforce.
LONDON, February 24, 1791.

M Y DEAR SIB,—Unless the divine Power has raised you
up to be as Athanasius contra mundum, I see not how you
can go through your glorious enterprise, in opposing that
execrable villainy, which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature. Unless God has raised you up
for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition
of men and devils; but, if God be for you, who can be
against you ? Are all of them together stronger than God ?
O ! ' be not weary in well doingS Go on, in the name of
God, and in the power of His might, till even American
slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish before it.
Reading, this morning, a tract, written by a poor African,
I was particularly struck by that circumstance—that a man
who has a black skin, being wronged or outraged by a white
1
A New History of Methodism, vol. p. ii. 8o. On American Methodists
and Slavery, see ibid., pp. 119, 127, 175 et seq.
a
' Methodists put all their strength into the battle for freedom. Out of
352,404 Nonconformist signatures to petitions to Parliament on that behalf,
229,426 were those of Methodists.'—Rev. J. Telford's A Sect that Moved
the Worlds Chapter iv. J. R. Green connects the abolition of slavery with
the Methodist Revival.

489

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
man, can have no redress; it being a law, in our colonies,
that the oath of a black, against a white, goes for nothing.
What villainy is this ?
That He who has guided you, from your youth up, may
continue to strengthen you in this and all things, is the
prayer of, dear sir, your affectionate servant,
JOHN WESLEY.

490

INDEX
NOTE.—The name of John Wesley is seldom used in this Index, except
in references to his Works, and where it occurs in the alphabetical order.
The name is assumed as the basis of many entries. So expanded, the
first entry would read—Aberdeen,
John Wesletfs visits to. Tinder
Wesley, J o h n , and some other entries where the references are numerous,
an inner Index is given in alphabetical order.
ABERDEEN, visits to, 150, 317.
Account of J. and H. A. Rogers•, 373.
Act of Supremacy, The, 16; of
Toleration, 133, 487 ; of Uniformity, 17; for Conventicles, 100,
487 ; Five Mile, 12.
Acts of Apostles, exposition of the,
95.
Adam Bede, Dinah Morris in, 362.
Address to the Clergy, Wesley's, 424,
429.
' A Friend,' Letter to, 113.
America, as missionary in, 25, 57 ;
proposed visit to, 240, 278.
American colonies, on the war with
the, 145, 247 et seq., 472.
Methodism and Methodists, in
1769, 124; statistics, 237; Letters
and, 237-287; and war with England, 241 ; and publishing, 245 ;
and education, 282; and the
Church of England, 264; wealth
of, 267.
Amherst, Nova Scotia, 259.
Amsterdam, visit to, 171.
Anabaptists, 21, 94, 96.
Ancient History, Rollin's, 448, 450.
Annapolis, Maryland, 286.
Annesley, Samuel (grandfather), 13,
70.
Antigua, West Indies, N. Gilbert
and, 180, 238, 273.
Antimonianism condemned, 261.

Apparitions, opinions on, 403,
406.
Appeals to individuals, 38, 455, 458 ;
Baxter's, 455.
to Men of Reason and Religion,
Wesley's, 26, 435.
Armagh, Letter from, 186, 473.
Arminianism, evangelical, 102, 103,
408.
Arminian Magazine, 27, 121, 215,
226, 453, 460.
Arminius, Jacobus, 144.
Armstrong, Robert, 227.
Arnold, Matthew, 4 ; quoted, 20.
Art of Thinking, The, Wesley on,
427.
Asbury, Francis, the Wesley of
America, 199, 243 et seq. ; Wesley
and, 278 ; Briggs's Life of, 192;
Letters to, 263, 279; states his
claim as bishop, 279.
*A Serious Clergyman,' Letter to,
107.

Assurance of salvation, doctrine of,
40; S. Wesley, Senior, and, 48, 58,
160.

Athanasius, Wilberforce likened to,
489.
Athlone, Letter from, 87.
Atlay, John, opposes Wesley, 206,
212; helps Heath, 282.
Atterbury, Bishop, 43 ; style of, 437.
Augustine, Wesley and, 24, 37.

491

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
' A Worshipper among the Method- Benson, Joseph, 130, 138; Letters
to, 154-165, 257.
ists,' Letter to, 116.
Beresford, Miss, a 'dear friend,'
BACONIAN argument, use of the,
374.
58, 430.
Berridge, John, inquiries about, 88.
Bacup, Methodists at, 166.
Beverley, visit to, 10.
Bagshaw, Matthew, 212, 215.
Bible, the, cited in Parliament, 482.
Baird, Lady, of London, and Method- ' Bible Christian,' a, 156.
ists, 405, 407.
Bills, accommodation, denounced,
Ballinrobe, Ireland, Letters from,
216.
250, 252.
Birmingham, visit to, 282, 366;
Baltimore, U.S.A., Asbury conseLetters from, 139, 166.
crated at, 199; historic conference Birstal, Yorkshire, 130; Letter from,
at, 262, 265.
321.
Band-meetings, Methodist, 69, 94, 4 Bishop,' title of, disliked, 278.
96, 369.
Bishops, Letters to unnamed, 133,
Bandon, Ireland, Letter from, 336.
135.
Baptism, sacrament of, exclusion for Black, William, Canada, 259 et seq.;
administering, 229. See also SacraLetters to, 259-261, 265, 270, 273,
ments.
275, 276, 284, 285.
Bardsley, Samuel, Letters to, 224.
Blackwell, Ebenezer, of London,
Barker, William, preacher, 196.
' most intimate lay friend,' 32, 37,
Barnard Castle, difficulties at, 150,
127, 144, 288; and Wesley's
207.
preaching, 291; Letters to, 305Barrow, Lines., Delamotte at, 479,
350; Letters from, to Wesley,
480.
293> 338Bath, N
at, 74 ; scene with Nash
Mrs. E., 290 et seq., 301, 305,
at, 99 ; collection for, 105 ; trouble
313, 349, 352.
at, 125; debts at, 178; Letters
Richard, 148.
from, 230, 364, 483; a ' vile cusBlundell's School, Tiverton, S.Wesley
tom ' at, 487.
(brother) and, 56.
Baxter, Richard, Life of, 17; on
church membership, 115; visita- Boaden, E., and Everett's MSS., ix.
tion plan of, 163 ; personal appeals Boardman, Richard, 152, 231; volunteers for America, 241, 245, 287.
of, 455Bogie, James, Methodist preacher,
Bayley, Dr. Cornelius, 174, 225,
149.
226.
Bohler, Peter, London Moravian,
Bealey, Dr., and Voltaire, 480.
26.
Beauchamp, Mr., of Limerick, 455, Bolton, Lanes., Letters from, 224,
458.
232.
Beauland, John, 196.
Edward, Wesley at home of,
Beccles, visit to, 199.
365Bedford, visit to, 75, 336.
Miss Nancy, 36, 365 ; Letters
Duke of, 203.
to, 366-369.
Behmen, Jacob, and Mysticism, 460. Bonner, Charles, Bristol, 96.
Belchier, Mr., Wesley's Letters en- Bookmaris Letters, A> Sir W. R.
closed to, 301, 326, 334.
Nicoll's, 328.
Belfast, Wride at, 188; attack on, Bosanquet, Miss M. See Fletcher.
347.
Boston, U.S.A., Public Library of,
Bell, George, 81, 83.
233 ; Tea Riots in, 244.
Bennet, John, marries Grace Murray,
Botts, Samuel, Methodist preacher,
3ii.
227.

492

INDEX
Bourke, Richard, Letter to, 223.
I British Museum, London, 24, 165,
223, 469.
Boyce, Mr., Oxford Methodist,
Si- '
Broadmarston, 372.
— - Mrs. See Miss S. Mallett.
Brooke, Henry, Dublin, 183, 460.
Boyle, Lord, on literary style, 436.
Junior, Letter to, 460.
Brackenbury, Robert Carr, 137; Brooks, Elizabeth, 308.
Letters to, 167-173, 288.
Brown, Christopher, help for, 308.
Bradburn, Samuel, 138; Letters to,
George, Methodist preacher,
165.
131.
Bradford, Joseph, and the Isle of Buckingham, Duchess of, and genteel
Man, 193.
sinners, 34.
Buckle, Henry T., on Wesley, 4.
Wilts., Letter from, 231.
Daniel,
Methodist
Yorks., 153 ; Letter from, Bumstead,
preacher, 124.
344Bunker's Hill, Battle of, 247, 472.
Brainerd, David, commended, 246.
Bunyan, John, John Nelson and,
Bray, Mr., of Little Britain, 98.
146.
Brecon, Wales, Coke's birthplace, ,
Burgess, Joseph, Letter to, 228.
180.
Bredin, John, Letter to, 454.
1 Burke, Edmund, 1 1 ; quoted, 157.
Richard, 88.
Bridlington, Wesley at, 10.
!
Briggs, William, Wesley's first book Burlington, New Jersey, 282.
steward, 317.
Burrows, Mr., and E. Blackwell,
Brisbane, Scotland, 402, 403.
292.
Miss Darcy.
See Maxwell, Burslem, 12 ; Wesley at, 372.
Bushell, Elizabeth, a child convert,
Lady.
Bristol, Letters from, 58, 66, 70, 95,
452.
99, 127, 157, 167, 173, 175, 179, Butler, Bishop Joseph, quoted, 70,
160.
181, 186, 195, 198, 209, 213, 225,
228, 232, 263, 294, 295, 300, 312, Butterfield, Mr., of London, 314,
314, 323, 324, 331, 355, 375, 389,
316.
422, 432, 441, 447, 452, 478; Butts, Thomas, and the Methodist
Letter to.Mayor and Corporation
Book Room, 317.
of, 417 ; a fair in, 38 ; Baldwin Byrom, J., poems of, 366, 367 ;
Street Religious Society, 95, 98,
shorthand system of, 74, 366.
101 ; Baptist Mills, 96, 101 ; Byron, James M., 200, 201, 202;
Bowling Green, 9 7 ; 6 Dighton
Letter to, 202.
St., ordinations at, 262 ; Hanham
CALAMY, EDMUND, Junior, and
Mount, 26, 94, 97 ; Hope Chapel,
384 ; Hot Well, 79, 176, Wesley
Nonconformity, 19.
drinks waters at, 323, 402 ; Kings- Calm Address to our American
wood, Colliers' schoolhouse at, 26,
Colonies^ A, Wesley's, 247.
see also Kings wood; Lawford's Calvinism, Wesley and, 19, 72, 418;
Gate, 97; Newgate prison, work in,
Methodism and, 102, 149, 157,
94, 95, 96, 97; New Room in
260, 261, 275.
Horsefair, 26, 104, 181, described, Calvinistic (Presbyterian) Methodist
Church in Wales, 103.
229, 314, 478, Blackwell and,
299; Portland Chapel, T. WTebb Cambridge Modern History', 11, 75,
and, 241 ; Rose Green, 9 7 ; St.
3".
Philip's Plain, 26 ; Weavers' Hall,
University, Queen's College,
97, 99S. Furley at, 32, 421, 422, 447.
British colonies, Wesley and the, Cambuslang, Scotland, 251.
see America.
Canada, Methodism in, 93, 237

493

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
et seq.; statistics of Methodists in,
Jane Cooper and, 372; examples
237; the French in, 330; see also
of, 404, 431.
towns and leaders in loc.
Christian's Pattern, The, see De ImiCanterbury, Wesley visits, 445.
tatione Christi.
Cardiff, 228 ; Wesley at, 234.
Christie, James, Methodist preacher,
Carey, William, 180,
227.
Carlill, Thomas, Letter to, 227.
Church, constitution of the Christian,
263; fellowship, Wesley's insistCarolina, U.S.A., 142; Whitefield
ence upon, 271 ; membership,
in, 242 ; North and South, 255.
duty of, 115; discipline, 230, 231.
Carrickfergus, Ireland, 343 ; Letter
from, 346.
of England, attitude towards
Castlebar, Ireland, Letters from, 335,
the, 76, 182, 262-264, 272 ; Metho400.
dists and the, 232, 343, 462.
Castleman, Dr., of Bristol, ordinaof Rome, attitude towards the,
tions in house of, 262.
442.
Cavenac, Mons., 346, 347.
of Scotland, 383; Assembly of
Cawley, Richard, of Alpraham,
the, 397.
Clanmain, Ireland, Letter from, 256.
151.
Cennick, John, begins lay preach- Clark, Alexander, Letter to, 231.
Clarke, Adam, 65; his Wesley Family,
ing, 26, 72, 73 ; leaves Wesley, 103,
112, 138; and Rymer's Fcedera,
105.
174; his Bible Commentary, 174;
Channel Islands, Methodists in, 169.
Letters to, 175-179, 228, 365,
Character of a Methodist, Wesley's,
120, 122.
453Charities, personal, 51, yy, 307;
Mrs., 175, 176; Letter to, 177.
Blackwell's distributed, 307.
Clarkson, Thomas, and slavery, 489.
Charlemount, Ireland, Letter from, Class-meetings, Methodist, 69, 94, 96,
369 ; tickets for, 198.
459.
Clay, Sally, of London, illness of,
Charles I., 17, 477.
221.
Charlestown, U.S.A., 25.
Charterhouse School, London, Wes- Clayton, J., Oxford Methodist, 52.
Clayworth, Wesley and M. Fenwick
ley at, 14, 23.
at, 183.
Chatham, Letter from, 164 ; 203.
Clements, William, Fontenoy hero,
Lord, 277, 481, 485.
468.
Chaucer, D,, quoted, 86.
Checks to Antinomianism, Fletcher's, Clergy and Methodists, 217, see also
Church of England; studies for
144, 412.
the, 424.
Chester, Letters from, 132, 232, 283,
Clones, Ireland, Letter from, 360.
319, 372, 454.
Children, interest in, 420; at Lord s Coate, Mr., of North Shields, 206.
Supper, 452; * Advice' concern- Cobham, Mr., of Carrickfergus, 346.
Cocker, Jeremiah, of Sheffield, 230,
ing, 148.
231.
Chipman, Matilda, 64.
Coke, Dr. Thomas, 127, 138 ; Letters
Chippenham, Wilts., 312.
to, 181, 263 ,• and missions, 180,
Christian, a, defined, 62; a perfect,
199 ; appointed to America, 213 ;
121.
ordained by Wesley, 262; stormy
doctrine, safeguarding of, 275.
voyage of, 272; Wesley's bioLibrary, plans for publication
grapher, 356; marries Miss Loxof, 26, 303 ; recommended, 449.
dale, 375 ; Life of, 272, 371.
perfection, 19; Wesley on, 32;
doctrine of, 83, 122 ; and sin, 159 ; Cokesbury College, 281, 282,
the Methodist depositum, 173, 238 ; Colbeck,T., 186.

494

INDEX
Colchester, 148, 201, 3 4 1 ; Letter 1 Cowbridge, Cardiff, 234.
from, 187.
Cownley, Joseph, Methodistpreacher,
protests against unworthy clergy,
Collection of Forms of Prayer, Wesy8; 124, 182.
ley's, 25.
of Hymns for the People called Cowper, William, and Letters, 32.
Creighton, James, ordains Methodist
Methodists (1780), 27, 80.
Colman Collection of Wesley's Letpreachers, 127.
ters, see Preface, xix et seq., xxxviii. Cromwell, Mr., in Nova Scotia, 268.
Crook, John, Methodist preacher,
Colne, Lanes., progress at, 166.
* Come, O Thou Traveller unknown,'
19367.
Crookshank, C. H., on a Wesley
Commonwealth, English
Church
Letter, 458.
under the, 17.
Crosby, Sarah, 336, 339 ; and
Conference, Methodist, 68, 76, 88 ;
preaching, 361; Letters to, 362,
constitution of, 90, 131 ; Wesley's
363rule in, 125, his Letter to, 132; Cross Hall, Leeds, Miss Bosanquet
supremacy of, 130; of 1770, Deat, 358.
claration at, 412; appoints preachers,
Richard, of Bristol, 96.
416.
Cumberland, and Wesley's debt
Congleton, Cheshire, 372.
effort, 152.
Connaught, Wesley's tour in, 335.
Cundy, Richard, Methodist preacher,
Controversy, Wesley and, 35, 430,
233Cyprian, Wesley and 'advice' of,
434.
Conventicles, defined, 100; Susanna
Wesley and, 362.
Conversation, serious view of, 139.
DALE, Misses, 218, 402.
Conversion, instances of radical, 59 ;
Miss Molly, 220, 370.
Wesley's evangelical, 61 ; instant
Miss Peggy, Letter to, 370,
or gradual, 393.
4°3Circuit,
The,
Barnard
Cooke, Sophia, and Sunday Schools, Dales
Castle, etc., 150, 164.
165.
Coolylough, Ireland, animals and Dancey, Captain, Mrs. Wesley and,
music at, 222.
336.
Coombe, Henry, Mayor of Bristol, Daniel, John, St. Ives, 296.
and mobs, 293.
Darlington, Letters from, 193, 207.
Cooper, Ezekiel, Letter to, 286.
Darney, William, and mobs, 206,
Jane, 371, 372, 390.
219.
Mrs., of Bristol, 101.
Dartmouth, Lord, Wesley's Letter
Cope, General, and the Young Preto, 472.
tender, 464.
David, Christian, of Herrnhut, 68.
Cork, Letters from, 156, 227, 402; Deaconesses, Methodist, 353, 361 et
seq.
231, 376, 393Cornwall, tour in, 11, 78, 79; and Debt, personal, 45, 46, 85 ; on
Methodist chapels, 151, 178;
Nelson in, 296, 307; Methodism
effort for, 218, 223, 300.
in, 209; smuggling in, 484.
De Courcey, Richard, 407, 408, 409,
Costerdine, Robert, Letter to, 230.
410, 4 1 1 .
Coughlan, Lawrence, Letter to, 238;
Deed of Declaration (1784), the, 27,
265, 266.
I3i» 132.
m
Countess of Huntingdon and her
De Imitatione Christi, by A Kempis,
Circle, Miss Sarah Tytler's, 118.
19,40,44, 209, 258, 4i5>46i.
Cousins, Jonathan, Methodist
Delamotte, Charles, Letter to, 480.
preacher, 199.

495

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Dempster, James, 246, 248, 249, I
251; Letter to, 252.
Derby, large class at, 361.
De Renty, Marquis, 390, 405, 417.
Dettingen, Battle of, 465.
Dewal, Mrs., of London, and the
Blackwells, 290, 295, 299, 300, |
3*4, 352.
. I
Dewsbury, trustees at, and appointment of preachers, 130, 131, 206.
Dickens, John, and * Methodist Episcopal Church,' 262.
Dickenson, Peard, 282.
I
Dillon, John, Methodist preacher,
88.
Discipline, autocratic control of, 231.
Dissent, the Wesleys and, 68, 70,
9 i , 133.
Distilling liquor, Wesley and, 216,
483Dixon, Thomas, Methodist preacher,
187.
Dodd, William (' Rusticulus ), in
Newgate, 120-122.
Dodson, Yorkshire family of, in
Canada, 286.
Dorset, traders of, and New England States, 85.
Douglas, Colonel, and Mrs., 399.
Dover, Fletcher at, 171 ; visit to,
445Dreams, narrated, 375.
Drew Methodist Episcopal Theological Seminary, Madison, New
Jersey, 138, 147, 166, 232, 281,
362, 37o.
Dublin, Letters from, 176, 192, 197,
205, 2 1 1 , 268, 298, 300, 302, 309,

3*9> 33 2 , 347, 380, 415, 428, 431,
450, 452 ; Letter to Clark at, 231 ;
Miss Ritchie in, 381 ; Methodists
at, and Christian perfection, 409,
416.
Dumfries, Letters from, 177, 181.
Dunbar, debt at, 163.
Dunn, Samuel, 216; and the Wesley
Banner, 472.
Durham, debt effort in, 152.
Early Methodist Preachers, 146, 465.
Easton, John, dull Methodist preacher,
183.

496

Edgar, John, help for, 308.
Edinburgh, Letter from, 223; Lady
Maxwell at, 350, see also Chapter
x ; visit to, 371 ; St. Mary's Chapel
in, 407 ; Young Pretender at, 464.
Education, American Methodists and,
282.

Edwards, Jonathan, 270.
Eels, William, Methodist preacher,
206.

Eighteenth century, central figure of
the, 9, 24 ; conditions in, 98.
Ejectment of 1662, the Wesleys and
the, 17.
of 1662 and the Free Churches,
12,70.
Elections, interest in parliamentary,
33i,46i.
Electricity, used, 80; recommended,
359Elizabeth, English Church under,
15, 16, 92.
Ellis, William, Methodist preacher,
220.

Ellison, Richard (brother-in-law),
3i5,3i6.
Thomas (nephew), 483.
Embury, Philip, of New York, 237,
238.
Empringham, Robert, Methodist
preacher, 192, 193.
Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists
Compared, The, 191.
Epworth, home at, 13, 25, 39, 315 ;
Wesley family at, 48, 56; A. Kilham of, 169; Simon Kilham of,
227 ; Susanna Wesley's service at,
362 ; ' ghost' at, 404 ; Letters
from, 229, 246, 316.
Erasmus, a Greek bishop, 314.
Errington, Matthew, Letter to, 220.
Erse language, Duncan Wright and
the, 147.
Essay on the Human Understanding,
Locke's, 449.
Evangelical revival (eighteenth century), 7, 11, 19, 2 3 ; S. Wesley
and, 48.
Evans, David, Methodist preacher,
185.
Elizabeth Tomlinson (' Dinah
Morris'), 362.

INDEX
Evans, John, Fontenoy hero, 468. I
Everett, J., viii, 102, 151, 216;
diaries and memoranda of, 365;
Collection of Wesley's Letters by,
ix, x, 102, 151, 244, Miss Wesley's Letter in, 447 ; and Southey j
on Wesley, 421.
Everton, Letter from, 337.
Evolution, theory of, anticipated,
448.
Excise, Officer of, Letter to, 478.
Experience, argument from, 58, 430;
mystical, 415, 417.

Fcedera, Rymer's, A. Clarke and,
174.
Fontenoy, Methodist soldiers at, 465,
468.
Fool of Quality, Brooked, 183, 460.
Forbes, Mrs., of Cork, 376.
Foster, H. J., on John Henderson,
422.

Fox, Charles James, I I .
George, Quaker, 22.
Foy, Captain, of Bristol, and
Methodist finance, 178, 300.
France, war with, 257, 428, 462;
invades Ireland, 342, 346.
Franklin, Benjamin, discovers electricity, 80.
Free, Dr., attacks Wesley, 36, 430.
Freeman, Miss, 333, 342, 349.
Friendships cultivated, 288, 426;
with ladies, 353 et sea.
Furley, Samuel, 32 ; Letters to, 422440.

Faerie Queen, Spenser's, recommended, 449.
Faith in Christ, instant result of, 387,
390, 393.
Farley, F., of Bristol, Mrs. Wesley
and, 330.
Farningham, Marianne, quoted, 306.
Fasting, 7, 8, 50, 52, 265; Oxford
Methodists and, 52.
Feeling, religious, 62, 386, 414.
GALWAY, Letter from, 449.
Female preachers, Methodist, 358, Garnet, C , Methodist preacher, 186.
360, 361, 363.
Joseph, Methodist preacher,
186.
Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray,
Dr. Richard, and a Wesley
254, 453Fenwick, John, Methodist preacher,
Letter, 31.
152, 197.
Garrettson, Freeborn, 267, 2 6 8 ;
- — Michael, 78; at Clayworth,
Life of, 267, 268; and his slaves,
183 ; summed up, 220, 229, 329.
489; Letters to, 268, 269, 271,
Festivals and Fasts, R. Nelson's,
274, 280.
Garth, Brecon, Mrs. Charles Wesley
102.
Finance, Methodist system of, 178,
and, 305.
300. See also Debt.
G itch, Philip, and his slaves, 489.
George 11 ,331; proposed Address to,
Fish, Mr (Moravian), 98, 227.
463 ; in the robe chamber, 469.
Fisher, John, Methodist preacher,
George i n . , 344; and C. Wesley,
79Junior, 440.
Fitzgerald, Edward, on Wesley's
George IV. and C. Wesley, Junior,
style, 434.
440.
Fletcher, John W., 138; invited to
be Wesley's successor, 141, 144; Georgia, U.S.A., as missionary in,
on church polity, 145; resigns I 25, 57, 127, 180, 237 ; illness and
love affair in, 310; C. Delamotte
Trevecca principalship, 157 ; and
in, 479.
Voltaire, 479 ; see also Checks to
Antinomianism ; Letters to, 139, Gibson, Dr., Bishop of London, 124.
Gillies, Mr., and Wesley's Scotch
145 ; Wesley's Life of, 171.
route, 150.
Mrs. J., Letters to, 358; saintGilbert, Nathaniel, of Antigua, 180;
liness of, 415; Life of, 358.
* first American Methodist,' 237,
Fleury, Abb£, 107, 452.
I 273.
Floyde, John, 191, 192.

2l

497

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Glasgow, Letters from, 181, 371,
397.
Glenorchy, Lady, 384, 407, 411,
418.
Gloucester, Letter from, 276.
Gnomon of the New Testament,
Bengel's, and Wesley's Notes on
New Testament, 323.
Gordon, D., Letter to, 230.
Lord George, 481.
Grace Abounding to the Chief of
Sinners, Bunyan's, 146.
Great English
Letter
Writers,
Dawson's, 30, 31.
Greek, Susanna Wesley and, 14;
Bishop Warburton and, 82 ; as a
text for clergymen, 128 ; Notes on
New Testament and, 323.
Green, John Richard, 1 1 ; connects
abolition of slavery with Methodism, 489.
Greenfield, Edward, and Christian
assurance, 296.
Grevil, Mrs., Whitefield's sister, 94,
96, 293.
Grimsby, James Christie at, 227.
Grimshaw, William, of Haworth,
138, 345.
Guernsey, Brackenbury and Kilham
in, 169, 175; missionaries for,
181 ; John Bredin in, 453.
Guidance, divine, in human life,
280.

Guyon, Madam, 358, 415, 453.
Gwynne, Miss Sarah. See Wesley,
Mrs. C.
HAIME, JOHN, soldier hero and
preacher, 148, 465, 468.
Halifax, Canada, 260, 272, 273,
274.
Hall, James, neglectful Methodist
preacher, 211, 234.
Rev. Westley (brother-in-law),
73, 263, 300.
Mrs., Letters to, 65. See also
Wesley, M.
Hampson, John, Junior, 5 ; on
Wesley's * hilarity,' 426.
—
Senior, Methodistpreacher,
362.
Hanby, Thomas, 208.

498

I Hanham, Bristol, open-air preaching
at, 94, 97.
Hare, Suky, befriended, *]*].
Harper, Joseph, Methodist preacher,
212, 364.
Hart, Richard, of Bristol, 118, 119.
I Hartlepool, Letter from, 398.
Haverfordwest, Letter from, 234.
Haworth, Yorks., visit to, 138, 326,
345Heart of Asbury*s Journal,
The,
Principal Tipple's, 243.
Heath, Rev. Mr., of Burlington, New
Jersey, 281; family of, 282 ; Letter
to, 282.
Heck, Barbara, in New York, 237.
Helton, John, Methodist preacher,
124; 189.
Henderson, John, of Hanham, 422.
Richard, of Wiltshire, 226.
Herrnhut, Germany, 2 6 ; Letter
from, 69.
Hervey, William, S. Wesley, Junior,
and, 64.
Hesketh, Lady, Cowper and, 32.
Heslop, John, Methodist preacher,
152.
High Wycombe, Letter from, 369.
Hill, Sir Richard, and Calvinism,
149.
Hindemarsh,
James,
Methodist
preacher, 222.
History of America, Robertson's,
449.
of England in the Eighteenth
Century, Lecky's, 133.
of Methodism, Hurst's, Rev. T.
E. Bridgen's vols, of, 123, 241.
G. Smith's, 472.
A New, ix, xii, xxxix, etc.;
Rev. T. E. Brigden and, 9 ; Dr.
W. J. Townsend and, 4 7 8 ; Dr.
H. B. Workman and, 135.
of New England, Neal's, 449.
of the Puritans, Neal's, 449.
of the Reformation, Burnet's,
449Hoadley, Bishop, 18, 43.
Hobson, Elizabeth, ghost story of,
403> 405Holder, George, Methodist preacher,
148.

INDEX
Holland, William, at Aldersgate Hymns on Gods Kverlasting Love,
C. Wesley's, 73.
Street, London, Society, 61.
'namby-pambical,' 80.
visit to, 27, 169, 171.
Holt (? Norfolk), Morgan's illness at,
INDIA, T. Coke and, 180.
SiHoly Living and Dying, Taylor's, Individuals, appeals to, 36, 38, 42.
Inquiry into the Primitive Church,
19, 41.
Wesley reads, 263.
Hope, Lady Henrietta, 384.
International Library of Famous
Hopkey, Miss Sophia Christiana, of
Literature, 31.
Georgia, 39, 166, 310.
Hopkins and Sternhold's hymns, Inverness, Letters from, 261, 409.
Ireland, James, of Bristol, 171, 479.
114.
26; illness in, 27 ; Methodists
Hopper, Christopher, 124, 138; wife
and sacraments in, 76 ; revivals in,
of, 133 ; Letters to, 149-151.
82, 142, 270, 285 ; Methodists in,
Horseback-riding, Wesley and, 7, 79,
123, 308; disease in, 153; A.
173, 323.
Clarke in, 176; Coke in, 181;
Hoskins, John, of Old Perlican, 129,
Wride in, 189; chapels in, 218,
259.
228; and American Methodism,
Houlton, Zechariah (Zac. sic in text),
237; tours in, 298, 308, 317, 322,
Methodist preacher, 199, 200.
first, 26, last, 206; special Letters
House of Commons, order of, on
to friends in, 455, 459.
clergy, 17 ; Bible cited in, 482.
of Lords, visit to, 469; orders Isle of Man, Methodism in, 193, 285.
—-- Wight, revival, 285.
silver return, 478.
Howard, John, prison reformer, 23, Itinerant ministry, Wesley and the,
162, 416.
488.
Huddersfield, Gospel ministry in, 344, Itinerary, An, in which are traced the
Rev. John Wesley's Journeys, 225.
434Hughes, Hugh Price, and individual Itinerations, Wesley's, 6,11, 185.
appeal, 41.
Mrs., of Bath, 421.
JACKSON, EDWARD, Methodist
Hull, 10, 165; Letter from, 133.
preacher, 164.
Humphreys, Joseph, 73, 7 5 ; Letter Jaco, Peter, Methodist preacher, 124.
Jersey, Brackenbury and Kilham in,
to, 221.
Hunter, William, Methodist preacher,
!69, 175; missionaries for, 181,
191.
285 ; Breden in, 453.
Huntingdon, Selina, Countess of, 'Jesu, Lover of my soul,' 67.
34, 76, %%; her Connexion, 103 ; Johnson, John, Methodist preacher,
'Pope Joan/ 118; Letter to, 1.19;
188.
and J. Nelson, 147 ; and S. Furley,
Dr. S., 20, 24; on Letters, 3 1 ;
421 ; Life of, 118, 418; 154, 157,
and Wesley, 38 ; his Calm Address
231, 326, 412.
to America, 247; on friendship,
Husk, General, 464; Letter to, 466.
288 ; and ghost story, 404.
Hutton, James, of London (Moravian), Jones, Dr. John, 76, 314.
Letters to, 93, 95, 99, 102.
Lucy, relief for, 308.
Hymns by the Wesleys, 67. See also Junius, Letters of, offers to answer,
separate titles, and Wesley, Charles;
33Juvenal, Satires of, 27, 143.
Wesley, John.
for Times "of Trouble and Persecution, C. Wesley's, 469.
KEIGHLEY, Letter from, 327;
—•— of Methodism in their Literary
Letter to Methodists at, 235.
Relations, Rev. H. Bett's, 239.
I Ken, Bishop, 18.

499

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Kenagh, Ireland, 453.
I Law, William, 19, 25, 61, 78, 370.
Kershaw, Arthur, Methodist preacher,
See also Serious Call and A
189.
Practical Treatise.
James, Methodist preacher, 197. Lawrence, Brother (Nicholas HerKeswick, visit to, 186, 334.
mann), 415, 416.
Kidderminster, 112, 281.
| Lay preaching, Wesley and, 7 2 ;
Kilham, Alexander, with Bracken- | beginning of, 221. See also
bury, 169; Wesley calls out to | Methodist preachers.
preach, 227.
I Leatherhead, Wesley's last sermon
Simon, of Epworth, 227.
at, 27.
Kilkenny, 223 ; Letter from, 393.
Lecky, W. E. H . , on Wesley, 4, 11,
Kilsythe, Scotland, revival at, 251.
60, 133.
King, John, American preacher, 246, Leeds, Letters from, 149, 313 ; Con252 ; Letter to, 253.
I ferences at, 76, 252, 359, 432 ;
increase at, 299, 301 ; * Female
King, Lord, his Account of the PrimiBrethren' at, 361 ; 176, 177, 182,
tive Church, 263.
King's Lynn, Letter from, 195 ; 363.
32I> 327Kingswood, Bristol, 94, 97, 103, Leeward Islands, missionaries for,
470; Letters from, 198, 305, 427 ;
181.
Wesley's school at, 44, 85, 94, 97, Lefevre, Mrs., Wesley writes to,
105, 122, 124, 132, 156, 303, and
330C. Bayley, 225, and W. Black, Leger, Dr. Augustin, on Wesley's
260, and Lady Maxwell's help, 383,
conversion, 41.
and 'play,' 421, curriculum of, Leinster, tour in, 335.
422, 423, conversions at, 452; Leslie, Rev. Dr., 458; Letter to,
Colliers' chapel at, 26, and Cennick,
45972, 103, Whitefieldand, 105, Black- Letter to a Friend Concerning Tea,
well helps, 291.
Wesley's, 31.
Kippax, Leeds, S. Furley at, 429.
Letters, great, 30, 31, 33 ; Wesley's,
Kirkham, Miss B., ' a religious
as Letters, 31-38; collections of
friend,' 25, 41, 44 ; (? * Varenese,'
Wesley's, x, xxxviii; completely
given here, viii, 44, 118 ; of * the
3io)wounded,' Sir W. R. Nicoll on,
Lionel, of Stanton, 310.
R., Oxford Methodist, 51.
I 328.
Knaresborough, Yorks., 361.
of Oliver Cromwell, Carlyle's,
Knight, Dr., on ' A Christian,' 54.
x.
Knox, Alexander, of Dublin, 32 ; on
to his Son, Chesterfield's, 420.
Wesley's female friendships, 353 ; Levick, Samuel, 124.
on Wesley in old age, 377, 455.
Lewen, Miss Margaret, of NewcastleJames, Letter to, 455.
on-Tyne, legacy from, 65, 66 ;
carriage and horses from, 349, 370,
LACKINGTON, Mr., London book402.
seller, 307.
Lewisham, Letters from, 86, 144,
Lady friends, Wesley's, see chap, ix,
242 ; resting-place at Blackwell's
374; Mrs. Lefevre, 330; Lady
at, 289, 323, 341, 347; ' T h e
Maxwell, 382.
Limes' at, described, 352.
Lancashire, tour in, 168 ; revival in, Leytonstone, Essex, Miss Bosanquet
261.
at, 146, 358.
Lancaster, John, Sarah Peters and, Liberty, Christian, 53.
Liden, Professor, Wesley's report to,
23Lavington, Bishop, controversy with,
123.
37, 124, 191.
I Life and Errors of John Dunton, 13.

500

INDEX
35o, 355 5 L i t t l e Britain, 9 8 ;
L o n d o n Bridge, Wesley slips on,
311 ; Marylebone, C. Wesley's
house at, 4 4 0 ; Methodists of, 72,
81 ; Wesley in St. Paul's Cathedral,
61 ; N e w g a t e prison, Methodist
work in, 22, 2 3 , D o d d in, 121 ;
Linnell, William, M e t h o d i s t p r e a c h e r ,
Tower of, 470, 481 ; W a n d s w o r t h ,
186.
I
3 1 0 ; W e s t Street Chapel, 6 5 ,
Literature, contributions to, 7, 4 3 4 ;
112, 123, 3 4 6 ; Westminster Abbey
circulation of, 209.
memorial, 6 7 ; Whitefriars, 182.
Methodism and, 245.
See also Lewisham.
Liturgy, Wesley prepares, 264.
L o n d o n d e r r y , Letters from, 360, 3 9 1 ,
Liverpool, Letters from, 214, 349,
407.
370, 4 3 6 ; 228, 232, 326, 333, 366, L o n g t o w n (PLongton, Staffs.), 185.
Lopez, Gregory, 390.
372, 454Lloyd, Mr., and Mrs. Wesley, 312, L o r d ' s Supper. See Sacraments.
Lothian, Marchioness of, 382.
313Lloyds Evening Post, L e t t e r t o , 78, L o u g h N e a g h , 342, 343.
121.
Love, Wesley on St. Paul's h y m n
Llyngwair, W a l e s , Letter from, 4 4 3 .
of, 371.
Loan fund, for deserving tradesmen, Lowestoft, Letter from, 199, 271.
307.
L o w t h , Bishop, of L o n d o n , L e t t e r
L o c k e , J o h n , on authority, 5 2 ; his
t o , 127 ; 259, 448.
Essay on Human
Understanding, L o w t h e r , Sir J a m e s , 309.
449.
L o x d a l e , Miss, Letter to, 372.
Logic, Isaac W a t t s ' s , recommended, Lucas, M r . E . V . , on letter writers,
448.
31.
London, Bishop of, 238, 259, 264.
L u n e l l , William, of Dublin, 298,
Letters from, 6 1 , 7 3 , 75,
299.
77, 80, 82, 85, 89, 104, 121, 125, L u t h e r , Martin, a n d son Hansichen,
130, 131, 141, 146, 148, 152, 160,
37 ; his Preface to R o m a n s , 61 ;
162, 163, 165, 166, 169, 171, 172,
t e a c h i n g of, and Wesley, 6 0 ; at
175, 185, 188, 189, 191, 192, 196,
W o r m s , 69, 1 8 0 ; on revivals, 379 ;
199, 200, 201, 203, 210, 2 1 1 , 212,
or Bellarmine, 444.
213, 214, 215, 217, 218, 2 1 9 / 2 2 0 ,
2 2 1 , 224, 228, 233, 235, 245, 248, M A C A U L A Y , Lord, on Wesley, 4.
253, 254, 259, 260, 265, 266, 269, Macclesfield, L e t t e r from, 274 ; 232,
270, 273, 277, 279, 280, 284, 285,
372, 373, 374291* 307, 359, 362, 363, 366, 368, M a d a n , Martin, 82, Z^>, 337.
379, 387, 395, 405, 408, 409, 4 1 1 , M a d d e r n , J o h n , 348.
412, 417, 418, 424, 425, 427, 429, Madeley, Shropshire, 1 3 8 ; and J o h n
455, 463, 479, .480, 481, 4 8 9 ; S.
Fletcher, 141, 145.
Wesley curate in, 1 3 ; Aldersgate Madison, N e w Jersey, U . S . A . , D r e w
Street, Wesley at, 4, 26, 60, 6 1 ;
Theological Seminary at, xi, 138,
Blackheath,
291;
City R o a d
147, 232.
C h a p e l , 40, 112, 165, 173, 290, Mallett, Miss S., Letter t o , 364.
373, 413, Wesley's death at house Manchester, L e t t e r s from, 116, 164,
of, 27, 373, 3 7 8 ; Fetter L a n e
312, 325, 3 4 1 , 386 ; Wesley in, 149,
Moravian Chapel, 26, 73, 93, 95,
168, 372, 393, 420, 434, 4 5 4 ;
99, 4 7 2 ; Foundery, the (London
O l d h a m Street C h a p e l , 225 ; St,
centre), 26, 72, 112, 123, 298, 325,
J a m e s ' s C h u r c h , 225.

Life and Letters of Thomas Pelham I
Dale, 370.
—— of Rev. R. Chew, Boaden's, ix.
Limerick, 192, 266, 309, 336, 455,
458.
Lincoln, President, as letter-writer,

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Mann, John, Letter to, 277.
persecution of early, 21, 373,
Manners, John, 149, 150, 253.
486.
Mansfield, Lord, 24 ; on Methodist Methodist, a, defined, 120. See also
ordinations, 90.
'Oxford Methodists.'
Marazion, Cornwall, prosperity at,
Conference, authority and con210.
stitution of, 26, 119, 126, 1 3 1 ;
Marchant, Richard, of Bath, 99,
Letter to, 132.
100.
Episcopal Church, Wesley's
Marlborough, Letters from, 331, 470.
Letter authorises, 262.
Marriott, Thomas, and Wesley's
Free Church Hymns, 167.
Letters, 311.
New Connexion, 169.
Marshall, Mr., London Moravian,
preachers, Letters to chief, 13782; Letters to rank and file of,
74183-236 ; control of, 185 ; discipline
Maryborough, Letter from, 194.
of, 189, 19T, 196; care for, 235,
Maryland, Methodism in, 142, 237.
273; list of 'best,' 124, see also
Mason, John, Methodist preacher,
Preacher; money allowance to,
186.
I
9°» I93> 223 > qualifications of,
Massachusetts, John White and, 85.
129; orders to, 148; training of,
Mather, Alexander, a * best'preacher,
137, 154; in America, 281.
124.
Lives of Early, 146, 465.
Matthews, William, 350.
Maxfield, Thomas, and lay preaching, Militant Methodism, quoted, 245.
Millennium, Wesley and the, 153, 433.
72, 74, 81, 8 2 ; and Wesley's
Miller, Elizabeth, recommended to
teaching, 239.
Blackwell, 307.
Maxwell, Lady, Letters to, 382-418;
courtesy to, 35 ; signatures on Minethorp, William, of York, 219.
Letters to, y], 40 ; and Lady Missionary enterprise, Methodist, 180.
Huntingdon, 118; Wesley's wife
See also Methodist.
with, 350, 353, 361 ; Life of, 382. Money, love of, denounced, 268, 270.
Sir Walter, 382.
See also Wesley, charities of.
Mazzini, Giuseppe, call of to helpers, Montagu, Lady Mary, 36.
and Wesley's, 137.
Moore, Henry, 182, 233, 358; his
M'Geary, John, Canadian preacher,
Life of Wesley, 181, 356, 425.
214, 273, 276.
Moravians, Letters to, xi, xxxviii, 95,
M'Kersey, J., Letter to, 200, 202.
99 ; 25, 33, 63 ; influence of, on
M'Nab, Alexander, 124; expulsion
Methodism, 6 8 ; separation from,
of, 125, 126; 131, 187, 409.
72, 73Medical work, Wesley's, 294, 453.
Moreland, Mrs., of Dublin, 332.
Memorial, Atmore's, 238.
Morgan, James, Methodist preacher,
Merit on, John, Methodist preacher,
124.
Jeremy, of London, 221.
305.
William, Oxford Methodist, 51.
Metaphysics, Hutcheson's, 426, 428.
Methodism in Canada, Sutherland's, Morning Post and scandals on Wesley,
445238, 259.
' Morris, Dinah.' See Evans, E. T.
and Calvinism, 408, 415.
Mortimer, Harvey W., marries E.
and Methodists, Letters on, 93Ritchie, 377136; rules for, 90; summary of Murlin, John, Methodist preacher,
statistics of, 93, 123, 218; Ameri165.
can and Canadian, 237 ; Wesley's Murray, Grace, Wesley and, 310.
government of, 125 ; unity of, emJohn, and T. Wride, 187,
phasised, 286 ; Irish and American,
188,
298; Lady Maxwell and, 389;

502

INDEX
Music, Wesley and, 88, 202, 222, 1New York, first Methodist chapel in,
440.
124, 142, 261 ; work begun in, 237;
Myles, William, quoted, 190.
242, 245, 261.
Mystics, The, and Mysticism, 21, 33, Night Thoughts, Young's, C. Wesley
78. See also Behmen, J.
and a book on, recommended, 449.
Nonconformists, Methodists and, 21,
NAMES, pet, used by Wesley, 35;
68, 70, 91, 133.
care in choosing, 175.
Nonjurors, the, described, 18.
Napoleon, Buonaparte, 35, 137, 227, Norfolk, S. Mallett in, 364.
2 x
Duchess of, and C. Wesley's son
3 Samuel, 442.
Nash, Beau, of Bath, 98, 100.
Norman, Mrs., of Bristol, 96.
Nativity Hymns; C. Wesley's, 81.
Natural phenomena, Wesley and, 38, Norris, John, of Bemerton, 427,
429.
222.
Nature and Design of Christianity', Northampton, Wesley rides to, 21.
North, Lord, Letter to, 472, 473;
The, W. Law's, 424.
interview with, 247; andT. Webb's
Necessitarians in eighteenth century,
pension, 484.
21.
Shields, Wesley loses preachNelson, John, Letter to, 147 ; and
ing-house at, 206.
Dissent, 68 ; 146, 149, 235; with
Northumberland, Wesley in, 1 1 ; debt
Wesley in Cornwall, 296.
effort in, 152.
Robert, Nonjuror, 102.
Newark, Methodists of, and Church Northwich, collector at, and a Methodist preacher, 342.
of England, 214.
New Brunswick, W. Black and, Norton, Nicholas, dispute with, 431.
Norwich, 22 ; Letters from, 150, 226,
259Newburyport, Mass., Whitefield and, ! 230, 240, 345, 399; troubles with
singers at, 197, 200-202.
241.
Newcastle-on-Tyne, 85, 89; Letters Notes on the New Testament, Wesley's, 27, 77, 245, 323, 326.
from, 65, 119, 153, 303, 317, 376,
396, 414, 465 ; Letters to Mayor Nottingham, Wride and, 215; Corporation of, and a theatre, 471.
of, 465, 467; to General Husk in
siege of, 464, 466 ; work begun at, Nova Scotia, mission to, 181; Black
and, 259, 265, 267; Garrettson
26 ; missionary collection at, 180 ;
and, 268, 273, 274, 277.
Wesley's northern centre, 150, 216,
317; his illness at, 310; his wife I Nowers, Mr., a Moravian, 73, 74.
at
> 356, 402; his accident near,
420, 421 ; Miss M. Lewen of, 370; ODDIE, JAMES, 151; Letters to,
218, 219, 220 ; 346.
Orphan House at, 220, 310, 402,
Old age, described, 285, 455; Wes464 ; soldiers on moor at, 465.
ley in, 377.
New England, 180, 475; revival in,
Oldham, children of, greet Wesley,
270. See also Chapter vii.
421.
Newfoundland, mission to, 181 ;
Coughlan in, 238; W. Black, Old Perlican, Newfoundland, 259.
superintendent of, 259, 265, 266, Old Testament in Life and Litera267, 273.
ture, Miss A. M. Stoddart's, xii.
Newport-Pagnell, adventure near, 20. Olivers, Thomas, and Wesley's
charities, 65, 124; defends MethoNewry, Ireland, Letter from, 186;
dist teaching, 149, 150, 151.
342.
. .
New Testament, Christianity of, 69 ; Ontologia, Clerc's, 426.
Bishop Warburton and, 82 ; and Ordination of Methodist preachers,
I 90, 127, 208; for America, 262.
principles of church polity, 125.

503

JOHN WESLE:ys
Original Letters by the Rev.
John
Wesley, Priestley's, 33.
Orleans, D u k e of, and Voltaire,
480.
Orphanages, Methodist, 124, 3 1 1 ,
359> 3 8 3 , 415, 464.
Osmotherly, Yorkshire, 9.
Otley, Y o r k s , 9 ; Letter from, 187,
377Otterburn, William Phillip, ordains
Asbury, 279.
Ouseley, Gideon, Irish preacher,
298.
Oxford, Letters from, 40, 42, 44, 52,
53, 56, 1 9 4 ; Wesley at University
of, i5> 2 5 , 3 3 , 42, 5 1 , 56, i S 4 ; C.
Wesley's great sermon at, 6 7 ; Benson and, 156 ; Whitefield at, 102 ;
Bodleian Library at, 15, 222; Chiist
Church, 14, 25, 5 0 ; E x e t e r College, 13 ; Lincoln College, Wesley
Fellow of, 15, 25, 5 1 , 311 ; Pemb r o k e College, 75, 422 ; St. Mary's
Church, Wesley in, 42, 4 3 , 52.
' O x f o r d M e t h o d i s t s , ' 4 9 , 50, 5 1 , 52,
67, 69, 75P A N O U , Mrs., of Bristol, 96.
j
Papists and Church of E n g l a n d , 9 1 ,
92, 96, 277.
Paradise
Lost,
Milton's, recomm e n d e d , 449.
P a r d o n , M r . , L o n d o n , indebtedness
to, 85.
Parents, deference to, 40, 48, 224.
Parliament, Bible cited in, 482 ;
Acts of, see Act.
Pawson, J o h n , 124 ; destroys Wesley's Shakespeare, 468.
Pearson, Bishop, on the Creed, recommended, 449.
Pennsylvania, Methodism in, 1 4 2 ;
unity of Colonists in, 475.
* Penny a week ' contributions, 300.
P e n r y n , Letter from, 113.
Pensford, faithful Methodists at, 101.
Perronet, Charles, and the Methodists, 76, 77, 326, 3 3 0 , 4 1 7 , 4 3 3 .
E d w a r d , 76, 3 1 0 ; travels with
Wesley, 307, 310.
Vincent, 76 ; ' Archbishop of
M e t h o d i s t s , ' 138, 307.

504

LETTERS

Persecution of Wesley a n d Methodists, 2 1 , 132, 135, 293, 296, 317.
Peters, Sarah, works in Newgate
prison, 23.
Philadelphia, Methodists in, 1 2 4 ;
W e b b in, 2 4 1 , 2 4 2 ; R a n k i n in,
244 ; conference in, 246 ; a centre,
279 ; news from, 475.
Philip II., Wesley's example of autocracy of, 475, 477.
Pilgrim F a t h e r s , Wesley's ancestor
and the, 85.
Pilgrim's Progress^ Bunyan's, 146.
Pill, Bristol, Asbury embarks from,
.243Pilmoor, J o s e p h , volunteers
for
America, 241, 245 ; Journal
of,
241.
Pine, William, of Bristol, 274.
Pitt, William, 4, 15 ; Letter to, 483 ;
a n d Wesley compaied, 4, 24, 1 5 0 ;
and W e b b ' s pension, 241, 4 8 3 ;
and persecution of Methodists,
486 ; and Wilberforce, 489.
Pius v i . thanks S. Wesley (nephew),
442.
Plain Account of Christian
Perfection, A, Wesley's, 8 3 , 3 7 1 , 372,
375P l y m o u t h D o c k , Letters from, 78,
90 ; debt paid at, 178.
Poetical Works of John and
Charles
Wesley, 290.
Politics, interest in, 4 6 1 , 469. See
also Public men.
Pope, Alexander, quoted, 437.
' Pope John and Pope Joan,' 118.
Portarlington, Letter from, 249.
Potter, D r . , Bishop of
Oxford,
ordains W e s l e y , 15, 25 ; Archbishop of Canterbury, 15, 100.
Practical Treatise on Christian
Perfection, L a w ' s , 424.
Prayer, constant use of, 8 ; enjoined,
306,
Preacher, Wesley as, first sermon by,
25, 95-100 ; criticism of Coke as,
181. See alio Methodist preachers.
Presbyterians, 1 7 ; in Bristol a n d
Wesley's work, 94, 96 ;
and
Socinians, 2 7 5 ; L a d y Maxwell
a n d , 407.

INDEX
Presbyters and bishops of one order, I
263.
Preservative against Unsettled Notions in Religion, Wesley's, 261.
Pretender, the, to English Crown, |
68, 462, 464.
Price, Peter, at Kingswood School,
154.
Priestdown, near Bristol, visited,
101.

Revivals, religious, 379; regulating,
179, 276.
Revolution of 1688, 14.
Richard Baxter and the Revival of
Preaching and Pastoral Service,
Eayrs's, 17.
Richelieu and Wesley compared, 4.
Ridel, James, 165, 166.
Ridley, Alderman, of Newcastle-onTyne, Letters to, 465, 467.
Rigg, Dr. J. H., on Wesley's sympathy, 420.
Ritchie, Dr., of Otley, 377.
Miss Elizabeth, Letters to, 378,
379, 380 ; 9, 372, 375 5 account
°f> 377 * at Wesley's deathbed,
378; experience of, 416; Life
{Memoirs of E. Mortimer), 377.
Roberts, Thomas, Letter to, 234.
Roche, Cornwall, S. Furley at,

Priestley, Joseph, and Wesley's
Letters, 33.
Primitive Physic, Wesley's, 79, 209,
210, 294, 453, 461.
Prior, M., the Wesleys and, 238;
his Solomon, 238, 437.
Prisons, Methodist work in, 22, 23,
94, 95. 96, 97, 121.
Proud, Mr., of Norwich, 199.
Public worship, Methodist, 112.
421.
matters and men, Wesley's
interest in, 461 ; Letters on and Roe, Miss H. A. See Rogers, Mrs.
Rogers, James, 209; at Wesley's
to, Chapter xii, 469.
Publisher, Wesley as a, 7, 26S, 274,
deathbed, 373.
Mrs. Hester Ann, Letters to,
303373, 374-376 ; and Wesley's death,
Publishing houses, Methodist, 244,
378,416.
317.
Romaine, William, 88.
Romans, St. Paul's Epistle to,
QUEBEC, missionaries for, 181.
Wesley hears Luther's preface to,
Queteville, John de, 175.
61 ; expounds, 96.
RAIKES, ROBERT, and Sunday Rome, Church of, 12, 15, 1 7 ;
schools, 165.
Wesley on adherence to the, 443,
Rankin, Thomas, Letters to, 245,
469.
246, 248, 249, 250, 253, 254, 255, Roosevelt, President, on Wesley and
Methodism, 237.
257 ; appointed to America, 243;
and Asbury, 247, 250, 251; returns Roquet, James, of Kingswood School,
to England, 258.
155Reading of books, on horseback, 7 ; Rosanna, Wicklow, Letter from,
how much, 163; courses of, see
282.
Study.
Roubiliac, L. F., his bust of Wesley,
Redruth, Letters from, 226, 328,
Frontispiece.
404.
Rousseau, J. J., and Voltaire, 479.
Redwick, Bristol, 234.
j Rowell, Jacob, 124, 149, 150, 152.
Reflections upon the Conduct of Royalty, Wesley and> 469. See also
Human Life> John Norris's, 427.
George I., 11., ill.
Rehoboam, autocracy of, Wesley Rule, life under, 53 ; Wesley's, * Do
cites, 475, 477.
all the good,' etc., 423.
Reliquice Baxteriance, 17. See also Ryan, Sarah, of Bristol, Mrs. Wesley
Baxter, R.
and, 334, 337 j E. Blackwell and,
Remonstrant theology of Arminius,
339I Rylands, Dr., and missions, 180.
144.

505

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Rylands, John, Library, Manchester, I Sect that Moved tht World, A, Rev.
J. Telford's, 489.
xi, 153, 227, 232, 453.
Rymer's Fozdera, A. Clarke and, 174. Seed, Richard, Methodist preacher,
186.
SACRAMENTS, the, C. Wesley and, Sellon, Walter, Letters to, 278,
68 ; Methodists and, 76; difficulties
455as to giving, 112, 229, 230; pro- Serious Call, A, to a Devout and
vision for, 229 ; in America, 264 ;
Holy Life, Law's, 19, 25, 61,78,
children and, 452.
37o, 378.
St. Ives, Letters from, 211, 297,
Considerations on Absolute
Predestination, Barclay's, 73.
329.
St. James, Epistle of, quoted, 171, Seward, William, Methodist martyr,
102, 2 2 1 , 222, 2 9 1 , 292.
397.
St. John, Gospel of, 95 ; First Epistle Shadford, George, Letter to, 244,
245, 246 ; Dr. J. M. Buckley on
of, quoted, 34; Wesley expounds,
Wesley's Letter to, 243.
97 ; his model of style, 435.
Shakespeare, William, comparison
St. Neots, Letter from, 130.
with, 4 ; marked copy of works of,
St. Paul, 31, 3 4 ; Letters of, and
these, 36; his character and | 469 ; quoted, 183, 331, 378, 468.
Wesley's, 37, 328, 384, 413, 458 ; Sheen, R., reprints C. Wesley's
hymns, 80, 81.
and Wesley's conversion and teaching, 60, 61 ; Nelson and, 146; Sheffield, Letter from, 186, 295;
224; United Methodist Theological
Garrettson and, 267, 274 ; Asbury
College at, 479.
and, 274; and female preachers,
Shelburn, Nova Scotia, 272, 274.
360; and children, 420.
St. Paul: A Study in Social and Re- Shelburne, Lord, Letter to, 481.
ligious History, Prof. Deissmann's, I Shent, William, a plea for, 33, 234,
235, 273.
37Shepton Mallett, visit to, 79.
St. Peter on the Millennium, 433.
St. Theresa, and Mrs. M. Fletcher, Sherlock, Dr., and Dr. South, 433.
Shirley, Walter, and J. Fletcher,
358.
413Salisbury, visit to, 226, 300.
Shoreham, Kent, Letters from, 155,
Sancroft, Archbishop, 18.
170, 188; 76, 138, 310.
Sanctification. See Christian per- Shorthand, Wesley wrote, 366.
fection.
Short Hymns on Select Passages of
Saunderson, Ezekiel, 188, 361.
Holy
Savannah, U.S.A., as missionary in, Shovel, Scripture, C. Wesley's, 83.
Sir
25, 127, 166; Miss S. C. Hopkey Shrewsbury,Cloudesley, 436. 372.
Letter from, 371,
in, 40. See also Georgia.
Sidare,
Sayings, Wesley's.
See Wesley, Sin, in Letter from, 206.
believers, teaching on, 159,
sayings of.
161.
Scarborough, 9, 194.
Scotland, 27, 142,- preachers ordained Singing, personal use of, 8 ; in
Methodist services, 114, 200, 202.
for, 90, 208; missionaries for the
Highlands of, 147, 181 ; character Slaithwaite, Yorks., S. Furley at,
421, 433 ; Wesley at, 434.
of religion in, 395, 411.
Scurr, Mr., Yorkshire, Methodist in Slavery, Wesley and, 267, 4 8 8 ;
Methodists and, 489.
Nova Scotia, 266, 286.
Search after Truth, Malebranche's, Sleep, Christian liberty and, 5 4 ;
early rising and, 423, 444, 445.
154, 426, 449.
Seccombe (or Seacombe), Thomas, Sligo, J. Knox and Wesley at, 343,
i 455'
Methodist preacher, 79.

506

INDEX
Smith, John, Methodist preacher, I Stourport, Heath met at, 281.
Strawbridge, Robert,
Methodist
187. >
—— William, of Newcastle-on-Tyne,
pioneer, 237.
married Miss Jane Vazeille, 356; Stretton, John, Letter to, 266 ; 273,
Wesley stays with, 420.
284.
Smythe, Edward, 91, 125 ; attacks Stuart dynasty, English Church under
of, in Dublin, 176, 182, 225,
the, 17, 18.
Social questions, interest in, 23, 471, Study, courses of scholastic and
literary, 154, 155, 425, 447.
477, 483Society for Propagating Christian Style, literary, Letters on, 434-440;
Knowledge in Foreign Parts, 127.
Rev. J. Telford on Wesley's forma—L- for the Propagation of the
tion of, 435.
Gospel, the, 238.
Suffolk, S. Mallett in, 364.
of Friends, 21 ; and Wesley's Suicide, on crime of, 483.
work, 97.
Sunday, observance of, 113, 227,
Socinians, Wesley's view of, 106,
481.
Schools, Methodists and, 165,
275Soldiers, preaching to, 465 ; offers to
383raise regiment of, 257, 330, 469 ; | Sunderland, Letters from, 285, 350;
Methodist, 148, 465; Sunday
403drilling of, 481.
Survey of the Wisdom of God in the
Solemn League and Covenant, The,
Creation, by Buddseus, edited, 448.
18.
Sutherland, Alexander, his MethodSomersetshire,
persecution
of
ism in Canada, 238, 259.
Methodists in, 486, 487.
Swedenborg, Emmanuel, teachings
South, Dr., a story of, 434, 437.
of, 2 1 , 380.
Leigh, near Witney, Wesley's Swift, Jonathan, Letters of, 420;
first sermon at, 25.
style of, 437, 439.
Petherton, T. Coke curate at,
180.
TANDERAGEE, Belfast, illness at,
Southey, Robert, his Life of Wesley,
458, 4594, 12, 102, 353; and Wesley's Taunton, Letter from, 190.
blessing, 421 ; on T. Walsh, 298 ; Taxation no Tyranny, Dr. S. Johnon Lady Maxwell, 383.
son's, issued as A Calm Address,
Sparrow, Mrs., of Lewisham, 290,
etc., 247.
proposals on, 483.
352.
Spencer, John, Bristol Parliamentary I Taylor, Bishop Jeremy cited, 40, 41.
candidate, help for, 469.
Joseph, 183, 207 ; Letters to,
Staniforth, Samson, 148.
209-215.
Stanton Harcourt, the Kirkhams at,
Thomas, 215; Letters to, 216,
310.
217.
State Church, Wesley and a, 263. Tegworth, R., Letter to, 233.
See also Church of England.
Temper, varieties of, 184, 253, 321 ;
Stephen, Leslie, on Wesley, 4.
evil, and Christian perfection, 432.
Stephens, William, Letter to, 228.
Tennyson, A., quoted, 39.
Sternhold and Hopkins, doggerel of, Theatre, advice to Bristol corporation
114.
on, 470; Nottingham corporation
Stockport, visit to, 372.
forbids, 471.
Stonehouse, Mr., of Manchester, 79, Thorn, William, and Kilham, 169.
155 ; Letter to, 226.
Thomas, John Wesley, his 'Wesleyan
Story, George, Methodist preacher,
Hymn-Book Illustrated,' 239.
I Thompson, Joseph, Letter to, 229.
194.

507

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Thompson, William, Methodist preacher, 124, 162.
Thoughts on the Present Scarcity of
Provisions, Wesley's, 483.
Toleration, plea for Christian, 135.
Toplady, Augustus, 149.
Toronto, Victoria Methodist College,
224, 229, 325.
Townsend, W, J., on Voltaire,
478.
Trevecca College, Wales, J. Fletcher
and, 154, 156.
Tronchin, Mons., and Voltaire, 479.
Truro, preaching-room for, 210.
Tucker, Dean, on American colonies,
152.

Tullamore, Ireland, Letters from,
107, 188.
Tyerman, Luke, 125; his Life and
Times 0 John Wesley', viii, xxxix,
etc.
ULSTER, tour in, 335.
Union, Christian, 118.
United Methodist Free Church Magazine, 422.
.
Magazine, 245, 282.
—— States, 483 ; Methodism in the,
237 et seq., see also America; war
with, 472, 473.
VALTON, JOHN, Letters to, 130.
'Varenese,' 44, 310. See Kirkham,
Miss B.
Vasey, Thomas, ordained for American work, 127, 213, 258; authorised, 264 ; ordains Asbury, 279.
Vazeille, Mrs. See Wesley, Mrs.
John.
Venn, Henry, of Huddersfield, 337,
344, 345, 422.
Vine, James, of Northwick, 342.
Virgil, quoted, 86; style of, 439.
Virginia, U.S.A., Methodism in,
142.

Voltaire, Letters concerning, 478,
479 ; Life of, 479.
WALES, Thomas Coke and, 180;
Methodism in, 218.
Walker, Samuel, of Truro, 79, 344.
Walpole, Horace, n , 23, 36.

508

Walsh, Thomas, Irish Methodist
preacher, 76, 77, 195, 221, 253,
298, 308, 337, 343, 381.
War, the clergy and the English
Civil, 17; in America, 31, 145,
246. See also American colonies.
Warburton, W., Bishop of Gloucester,
18 ; controversy with, 36, 82, 124,
434Warrington, visit to, 232.
Washington, George, at Bunker's
Hill, 247.
Waterford, 182; visit to, 191, 223,
233Wathen, Samuel, of Bristol, 96.
Webb, Captain Thomas, Professor
Faulkner quoted on, 241; 244, 245 ;
pension secured for, 483, 484.
Wellington, Duke of, and Wesley,
14, 148.
Wesley, Charles (brother), great colleague, 67 ; Letters to, 69-92 ;
ceases itinerating, 321; hymns of,
67, 72, 73 ; see also separate titles;
Jackson's Life of, 68, 83, 89, 311,
440, 445.
Charles, Junior, Letters to, 440441.
Historical Society, Proceedings
of, 41, 61, 145, 158, 200, 226, 229,
371, 377, 422, 458, 479John, Mr. R. W. Gilder's
poem on, Frontispiece', appearance,
etc., of, 5 ; ancestry, parentage,
and home of, 12, 14, 69, 84, 125,
130, 148; as 'bishop,' 278; autocracy of, 125, 130; charities of, 51,
77, 307 ; and Church of England,
90, see also Church of England ; as
clergyman, 57 ; coach of, 6, 349;
and controversy, 36, 409, 430;
character of, 7, 8, 12, 24, 37 ; on
conversation, 139, 324; conversion of, 7, 33, 61 ; deathbed scene
of, 373, 377 5 and debt, 45, 46,
151 ; diaries of, 32; and his own
epitaph, 323; defective eyesight,
7, fails, strain on, 145, 376, 378;
' F a t h e r ' of all Methodists, 278;
friendships of, 44, 288, 353, 365,
426; handwriting of, 37 ; humour
of, 20, 38 ; hymns of, 67 ; illnesses

INDEX
of, 7, S, 10, 251, 255, 322, 350, I knows nothing of solitary religion,*
19; ' The grand depositum which
355 5 interest in individuals, 247 ;
God has lodged with the people
journeys of, 6, one week's, 9, 10called Methodists,' 173; 'Think
12, 199; and lady friends, 353;
and let think,' 135 ; « Time has
his Letters as letters, 34, 260, 369,
shaken me by the hand,' 285 ;
their authenticity, viii, new, vii,
' Though I am always in haste, I
xix; life of, in outline, 25 ; literary
am never in a hurry,' 7.
work of, 7, 89, fifteen hours a day
at, 145 ; mannerisms of, 35 ; marri- Wesley, John, Journal of (Standard
age of, 311, see also Wesley, Mrs.
ed.), xi, xxxix, etc.; Sir W. R.
J . ; motive of, 19, 22, ^7 > opposi- Nicoll on, 435.
tion to, 22; ordinations by, 208,
Works of, xxxviii, etc.
see also Ordinations; portraits of,
See also separate titles.
5 ; memorials of, in the National
Life 0f} by Coke and
Gallery (see frontispiece), in WestMoore, 311 ; Tyerman's, viii,
minster Abbey, 67; rebukes adxxxix, etc. ; R. Green's, 93 ; Dr.
ministered by, 204, 320, 324, 404,
W. H. Fitchett's, 4, 310, 404 ;
455-459> received by, 334, 338,
Rev. J. Telford's, 145; Julia
460; as preacher, 6, 67, 138;) Wedgwood's 420 ; Whitehead's,
and his preachers, ('best') 124, ! 481 ; La Jeunesse de Wesley, Dr.
I37» i83> 185, 203; and public
Augustin Leger's, 41.
men and matters, 36, 461-490; as I
Mrs. (wife), 310, 311 ;
publisher, 7, losses as, 163, 317 ;
travels with, 314 ; in a mob, 317 ;
resolves of, 8, 44; and robes of
and Charles Wesley, 325 ; charackings, 469; and rule for conduct,
ter and conduct of, 334 ; nurses
53; signatures of, 37; silver spoons
her husband, 323, 355 ; leaves him,
of, 478; social service of, 23, see
356; slanders him, 445; at Lady
also Medical Work and Chapter
Maxwell's, 396 ; death of, 356.
XII. ; sermon register of, 10 ; wrote
Martha (sister), 48 ; Letters to,
shorthand, 366; and the super65, 66.
natural, 20, see also Ghosts; tact
Samuel (father), described, 12,
and courtesy of, 461 ; and young
14, 47, 48, 50; Letters to, 50, 52;
Christians, 452.
Letter from, 48 ; quoted, 158.
Wesley, John, sayings of, quoted, see
(brother), 56 ; Letters to,
list of Letter titles, xix; * Do all
56, 58, 61.
the good you can,' etc., 423 ; * I
(nephew), Letter to, 443.
felt my heart strangely warmed,'
Miss Sarah (niece), Letters to,
61 ; ' I have often repented of
445, 447judging too severely,' 172 ; * I look
Susanna (mother), 13, 39 ;
upon all the world as my parish,'
Letters to, 40, 42, 44, 53.
180; * I shall never have another
Family, Clarke's, 48, 112.
mother,' 40 ; ' I s not this a brand
and Kingswood and its Free
plucked out of the fire ?' 4 0 ;
Churches, Eayrs's, 70, 103, 104,
' Leisure and I have taken leave of
299.
one another,' 7 ; ' Live to-day !'
Conference,
408 ; ' My business on earth is to Wesleyan Methodist
do all the good I can,' 70; ' My
Magazine, 1871, 239.
cooler thoughts,' 60, 220; ' Never West Indies, Methodists in, 237.
be unemployed; never be trif- West, James, the Hon., M.P., offer
lingly employed; never while away
to, of
time,' xiii; ' Nothing but despair Westal, raising soldiers, 470.96.
Thomas, of Bristol,
can destroy,' 248; ' The Bible
Western Pioneers, Lockwood's, 241.

509

JOHN WESLEY'S LETTERS
Whatcoat, Richard, ordained for
American work, 127, 258, 264,
279.
Wheatley, James, of Norwich, expulsion of, 341.
White, John, of Dorchester, 85.
Whitefield, George, Letters to, 26,
102, 242; separates from Wesley,
103, 124, 221 ; popularity of, 381 ;
and Romanists, 469; death of,
241; Life of 180.
Captain (brother), 291.
Whitehaven, Letters from, 305, 333,
374, 378 ; 185, 186, 192, 206, 306,
453Whitehead, John, Letter to, 222.
Whitelamb, John (brother-in-law),

Wolff, George, of Balham, 288;
executor, 488.
Worcester, 213, 315.
Word to a Freeholder•, A, Wesley's,
461.
Wray, James, of Nova Scotia, 277,
284.
Wride, Mrs., 194, 198, 199, 200, 203.
Thomas, 33, 35, 183; Letters
to, 185-207.
Wright, Duncan, 124; Letters to,
147, 148.
*
Richard, volunteers for America,
243.
Wroot, Lincolnshire, curacy of, 25 ;
S. Wesley (father) writes from,
48.

Wycombe, Letter from, 154.

Si.

Wigan, visit to, 232.
Wilberforce, William, Letter to, 489.
Williams, Joseph, of Kidderminster,
describes Methodist services, 112.
-—• Captain Richard, 211.
Robert, first American Methodist publisher, 244, 245, 246.
Williamson, Mr., of Savannah,
marries Miss S. C. Hopkey, 310.
Witness of Spirit. See Assurance.
Witney, near Oxford, Edward and
Miss Bolton of, 365, 366.
Wolfe, Francis, Letter to, 225, 488.

YARMOUTH, 199; Letter from,
438. . .
York, visit to, i o ; Letter to J. Nelson at, 147 ; Letter from, 320.
Yorkshire, debt effort in, 152; tour
in, 168, 380; revival in, 261.
Young, Edward, Poems of, 89,
recommended, 449.
Young friends, Letters to, 420-452.
ZlNZENDORF, Count, Moravian,
26, 425.

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