The Oxford Methodists

by L. Tyerman

FOOTNOTES

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

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

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

[4] Two villages in Bedfordshire.

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

[6] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 8.

[7] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 9.

[8] Ibid. p. 10.

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

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

[11] Wesley’s Works, vol, i., p. 5.

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

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

[14] MS. Journal.

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

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

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

[18] Wesley’s Works, vol. i, p. 13.

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

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

“London, February 6, 1734; 4, Perpool Lane.

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

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

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

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

[21] Probably another Oxford Methodist.

[22] Probably his pupils.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Ἐι μη ἐν σταυρω.

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

“Ἐν τουτω νικα.”

(Gentleman’s Magazine, 1821.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

These extracts speak for themselves.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[38] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 83.

[39] Ibid. p. 94, 95.

[40] Ibid. p. 97.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[45] Mr. Samuel Barker.

[46] Tradition says the suspension lasted three years.

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

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

[49] Lloyd’s Evening Post, June 30, 1760.

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

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

[52] Fast-day.

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

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

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

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

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

[55] A parish in Essex.

[56] The celebrated, Rev. William Law.

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

[58] In Thames Street

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

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

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

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

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

[64] David Nitschmann.

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

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

[67] Gentleman’s Magazine, 1737, p. 575.

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

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

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

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

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

[73] Methodist Magazine, 1848, p. 1096.

[74] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 40.

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

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

[76] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 40.

[77] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 161.

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

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

[80] Nelson’s Journal.

[81] C. Wesley’s Journal.

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

[83] Wesley’s Journal.

[84] Nelson’s Journal.

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

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

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

[88] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 350.

[89] Nelson’s Journal.

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

[91] Methodist Magazine, 1778, p. 182.

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

[93] Wesley’s Journal.

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

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

[96] Weekly Miscellany, May 17, 1740.

[97] Ibid. June 8, 1740.

[98] Weekly Miscellany, June 21, 1740.

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

[100] Weekly Miscellany, July 26, 1740.

[101] Memoirs of Mrs. Grace Bennett.

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

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

[104] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 152.

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

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

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

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

[109] Methodist Magazine, 1797, p. 512.

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

[111] Evangelical Magazine, 1814, p. 306.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[118] Evangelical Magazine, 1814, p. 308.

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

[120] Wesleyan Times, December 14th, 1863.

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

[122] Methodist Magazine, 1798, p. 172.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[130] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 97.

[131] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 245.

[132] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 246.

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

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

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

TRANSLATIONS.

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

ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS.

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

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

[135] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 303.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[144] Arminian Magazine, 1798, p. 171.

[145] The letter was written on the Sabbath.

[146] Evangelical Magazine, 1794, p. 295.

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

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

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

[150] Arminian Magazine, 1778, p. 132.

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

[152] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 81.

[153] Gospel Magazine, 1771, p. 174.

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

[155] Arminian Magazine, 1778, p. 132.

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

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

[158] Evangelical Magazine, 1794, p. 373.

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

[160] From a long printed letter, of twenty-four octavo pages, we learn, that, this society was formed, as early as May 21, 1739, before the Methodist Societies were formed. Hervey refers to the “scaring reports, that had lately been raised concerning religious societies,” and proceeds to state their object, and their practices. The society at Bideford was, “by no means, in contradistinction to the Established Church, but in dutiful conformity to her.” He says, “Woodward’s rules we purpose punctually to observe, reading his exhortations distinctly and solemnly; offering up his prayers humbly and reverently; only with this difference, that some edifying book be substituted in the room of religious talk, not because we disapprove of religious conference, but because we think ourselves scarcely capable of managing it with regularity, propriety, and order. We set up no examination, nor require any confession before others; but hope to be constant, careful, and strict, in searching our hearts, and acknowledging our iniquities before the all-seeing God.”

[161] Evangelical Magazine, 1806, p. 28.

[162] The Rev. Mr. Thompson, Rector of St Gennys, a warm friend of the Oxford Methodists.

[163] Most likely William Chapman, the Oxford Methodist.

[164] This was probably July 17, 1743, for Whitefield writes on Tuesday, July 19th, “I came here” (Bristol) “to preach at the fair, because people from all parts flock hither at that season. Yesterday I preached four times. Last night was such a time as I never saw in Bristol society before. To-morrow, God willing, I set out for Hampton, to see what can be done for the poor persecuted sheep there. I hear I am threatened, but Jesus will stand by me.”

It may be added, that, a few days before, Whitefield had been almost murdered at this self-same Hampton. First of all, the mob threw him into a lime-pit, and then twice over into a deep brook of water (Whitefield’s Letters, Nos. 527 and 528).

[165] Gospel Magazine, 1777, p. 260.

[166] This was left out in the first edition, but inserted in subsequent ones. It was a long, but irrelevant comment, on a verse by Pope, inscribed on the monument of Dr. Stonehouse’s wife, in Northampton church.

[167] The motto afterwards selected was: “Every stone that we look upon, in this repository of past ages, is both an entertainment and a monitor.” (“Plain Dealer,” vol. i., No. 42.)

[168] Probably Wesley, who was now in London. Whitefield was in America.

[169] Gospel Magazine, 1771, p. 176.

[170] Evangelical Magazine, 1802, p. 393.

[171] The seat of Hervey’s friend, Mr. Orchard.

[172] Doubtless, the Rev. Mr. Bennet, of Tresmere.

[173] Mr. Thompson, though not an Oxford Methodist, had begun to preach the Methodist doctrine of salvation by faith, and had received Charles Wesley, with open arms, at St. Gennys. He had allowed the branded itinerant to preach twice in his parish church, and had kept him company on a preaching excursion to Penryn, Gwennap “Pit,” and other places. In Mr. Bennet’s Church, at Tresmere, a strange scene had been witnessed. Charles Wesley was the preacher, and, on his declaring, that, by “harmless diversions,” he had been “kept dead to God, asleep in the devil’s arms, secure in a state of damnation for eighteen years,” Mr. Merriton, one of his travelling companions, added aloud, “And I for twenty-five;” “And I,” cried Mr. Thompson, “for thirty-five;” “And I,” said Mr. Bennet, “for above seventy.” This was quite enough to expose Thompson to the ecclesiastical anger of the bishop of the diocese.

[174] The battle at Culloden.

[175] His “Descant on Creation,” also was published in 1746. It is so well known as not to need further notice.

[176] The eminent mathematician and astronomer.

[177] “Contemplations on the Night.”

[178] The motto really used was the following:—

“Night is fair Virtue’s immemorial friend:

The conscious Moon, through every distant age,

Has held a lamp to Wisdom.”

[179] The society mentioned on a previous page.

[180] The famous French novelist, who died in 1777.

[181] Gospel Magazine, 1771, p. 179.

[182] Hervey was godfather to the son of his friend, Mr. Orchard.

[183] Dr. Stonehouse was one of Hervey’s most intimate and confidential friends. For seven years, he was an infidel, and even wrote a pamphlet against the Christian religion. He was brought to the obedience of the faith by the labours of Dr. Doddridge and Hervey. After the death of his wife, he entered into holy orders; and, for many years, officiated as minister in St James’s Church, Bristol. He was a man of great ability, was no mean poet, published many religious treatises, and died in 1795, full of years and honour.

[184] Evangelical Magazine, 1811, p. 338.

[185] Not to mention other places, Wesley already had, in connection with his Old Foundery, in London, a dispensary, a poor-house, a day-school, and a lending society, to which must be added an efficient organization for visiting and relieving the afflicted poor in their own houses.

[186] Arminian Magazine, 1778, p. 34.

[187] London Magazine, 1749, p. 436.

[188] Hervey’s book became so popular, that, in more instances than one, some parts of it were turned into poetry. The most notable instance was that of Mr. T. Newcomb, M.A., who, in 1757, published “Mr. Hervey’s Contemplations on the Night, done into blank verse, after the manner of Dr. Young.” In 1764, the same gentleman published the whole of the “Meditations and Contemplations,” in the same form. It may be added, that, the demand for the “Meditations and Contemplations” was such, that, in 1764, not fewer than seventeen authorized editions of the work had been published, or about one a year from the time when the work was first printed.

[189] To some, it may seem strange, that, Whitefield did not occupy Hervey’s pulpit; but it must be remembered, that, as yet, Hervey was only his father’s curate. Notwithstanding this, however, Hervey, in 1749, took the liberty of inviting Whitefield to occupy his church. Whitefield’s reply was characterized by greater prudence then he sometimes manifested. In a letter dated, “Chelsea, January 13, 1749,” he writes,—

“You will not be offended if I tell you that good Lady Huntingdon saw your letter. She was much pleased with it, and has a great regard for you. The prospect of doing good to the rich that attend her ladyship’s house, is very encouraging. I preach twice a week, and, yesterday, Lord Bolingbroke was one of my auditors. His lordship was pleased to express very great satisfaction. I thank you for your kind invitation to your house and pulpit. I would not bring you, or any of my friends, into difficulties, for owning poor, unworthy, ill and hell-deserving me. But, if Providence should give me a fair call, I should be glad to come your way. I rejoice in the prospect of having some ministers in our church pulpits that own a crucified Redeemer.”—Whitefield’s Letters, No. 726.

[190] Hervey’s removal to London was a sort of abduction, accomplished by Whitefield, Dr. Stonehouse, and the Rev. Thomas Hartley. The particulars need not be given. Suffice it to say, on his arrival, he wrote his father as follows:—

“I am now at Mr. Whitefield’s house, where everything is neat and convenient; great care is taken of me, and a hearty welcome given me. The house is very open and airy, and has no bug, a sort of city gentry for whom I have no fondness. I hope my mother has taken care to get my parish supplied. I desire her to send me some shirts, a silk handkerchief or two, a pair of shoes, and anything that she may think necessary. I have already bespoken a new suit of clothes, and a wig. Dr. Stonehouse, when he pressed me into this expedition, put five guineas into my hand, for which I am accountable. I would not have Mary clean my study, lest she should displace or lose any papers, of more importance than they appear to be. I conclude myself, with duty to my mother and love to sisters, honoured sir, your dutiful son,

“James Hervey.”

[191] C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. 2, p. 75.

[192] Whitefield’s Letters, No. 860.

[193] This refers to his greatest work, “Theron and Aspasio,” published, in three octavo volumes, in 1755.

[194] Gospel Magazine, 1777, p. 298.

[195] Charles Wesley partly supplied his lack of service (see C. Wesley’s Journal, from June 1 to June 27, 1751).

[196] Letters to Lady F. Shirley. No. 25.

[197] In reference to this, Hervey, writing to his father, says, “The original picture, I presume, will be offered to me; and then I accept it, and present it to you. The drawing is to cost five guineas, and the mezzotinto copper-plate fifteen guineas.”

[198] Mr. Nixon was a man of considerable learning; but not a poet. The following are his limping lines:—

“Williams! ’tis yours to bid the canvas wear,

By art illusive, Hervey’s form and air;

Oh! with like happy labour, could I trace

Each virtue, each exalted Christian grace,

Each heavenly gift with which his soul is blest,

And fix the bright assemblage in my breast;

Then how transcendent far would be my plan,

You paint his mimic shade: I’d live the man.”

[199] Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon, vol. i., p. 191.

[200] While in London Hervey had the offer of a tutorship in Jamaica. Writing to his father, he says,—“Dr. Nichols has made me an offer, which many young clergymen would covet:—to go over to Jamaica, to be tutor to a son of one of the most considerable persons in the island; for which, I should be entitled immediately to £100 sterling a year, also meat, drink, washing, and lodging; with an assurance of having, in a little time, a living of a hundred and fifty. I am greatly obliged to the doctor, but have taken leave to decline accepting the proposal.”

[201] His Pamphlet on Bolingbroke’s “Study and Use of History.”

[202] Probably the eminent Rev. Stephen Hales, D.D., of Teddington, Fellow of the Royal Society, a Member of the French Academy of Sciences, and Clerk of the Closet to the Princess Dowager of Wales.

[203] The two livings of Weston-Favel and Collingtree were when worth about £180 a year. According to the “Clergy List,” they are now worth £567 a year; and the united population of the two villages is about 600. For several years, the Rev. Moses Brown was Hervey’s curate at Collingtree.

[204] Whitefield’s “Letters.” No. 916.

[205] Whitefield’s “Works,” vol. ii., p. 404.

[206] Probably “Theron and Aspasio,” now in hand, though not published for three years afterwards. It could not be the “Remarks on Bolingbroke”; for there is no “scenery” in them.

[207] “Theron and Aspasio.”

[208] “Memorials of Rev. W. Bull,” p. 8.

[209] Hervey was remarkable for his beautiful handwriting.

[210] Gospel Magazine, 1774, p. 139.

[211] “Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i., p. 188.

[212] “Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i., p. 190. The work was ultimately dedicated to Lady Frances Shirley.

[213] Gospel Magazine, 1774, p. 183.

[214] “Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i., p. 192.

[215] Letters to Lady F. Shirley, No. 106.

[216] Letters to Rev. J. Ryland. No. 6.

[217] Letters to Ryland, No. 7.

[218] Letters to Lady F. Shirley, No. 69.

[219] The widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales.

[220] Dr. Thomas, Bishop of Peterborough.

[221] Letters to Lady F. Shirley, No. 70.

[222] The Prince of Wales, afterwards George the Third.

[223] Andrew Stone, a proud, very able, and very mercenary man, and sub-preceptor of the Prince of Wales.

[224] Dr. Hales was clerk of the closet to the Princess Dowager of Wales.

[225] Letters to Lady F. Shirley, No. 73.

[226] Wesley’s “Works,” vol. x., p. 305.

[227] Methodist Magazine, 1847, p. 965.

[228] The work was published in two sizes: 3 vols., 8vo, 18s.; and 3 vols., 12mo, 9s.

[229] Wesley writes:—“The twelfth dialogue is unexceptionable; and contains such an illustration of the wisdom of God in the structure of the human body, as, I believe, cannot be paralleled in either ancient or modern writers” (Wesley’s “Works,” vol. x., p. 314).

[230] Wesley’s “Works,” vol x., p. 322.

[231] Wesley’s “Works,” vol. x., p. 306.

[232] Published in two volumes, 8vo, in 1757.

[233] Published in 1760, pp. 224, octavo.

[234] Three weeks afterwards, Lady Frances Shirley herself sent this valuable work to Hervey, who described the present as “a magnificent and beautiful set of books; the paper fine; the type grand; the binding rich; the principal contents invaluable.”

[235] Letters to Ryland, No. 15.

[236] Ibid., No. 16.

[237] Letters to Ryland, No. 17.

[238] Objections to Dialogue xvi. In other words, that, saving faith is “A real persuasion, that the blessed Jesus has shed His blood for me, and fulfilled all righteousness in my stead: that, through this great atonement and glorious obedience, He has purchased, even for my sinful soul, reconciliation with God, sanctifying grace, and all spiritual blessings”; and that, in the case of a man convinced of his sin and danger, this is the only requisite in order to the obtaining of pardon, and adoption into the family of God.

[239] “An intended collection of the most evangelical pieces from the beginning of the Reformation down to the present day.”

[240] Wesley’s “Christian Library, consisting of Extracts and Abridgments of the Choicest Pieces of Practical Divinity, which have been published in the English Tongue.” In fifty-one volumes, 12mo; begun in 1749, and now being completed, in 1755. Hervey’s critique is unjust, and indicates the alienation, which already existed between the two Oxford Methodists.

[241] Letters to Lady F. Shirley, No. 83.

[242] Letters to Ryland, No. 19.

[243] See Whitefield’s “Works,” vol. iii., p. 133.

[244] Doubtless, Wesley.

[245] Whitefield, in a letter to Hervey, dated, December 9th, 1756, observes:—“Last night, Mr. M⸺ informed me, that, Mr. C⸺” (udworth?) “showed him a pamphlet, wrote on purpose to prove the fundamental errors of my printed sermons, and that you had offered to preface it, but he chose you should not. That this is true, I as much believe, as that I am now at Rome. But I wish that my dear friend may not repent his connection and correspondence with some, when it is too late. This is my comfort, I have delivered my soul. Mr. R⸺ has sent me the two volumes of ‘Jenks’s Meditations,’ and desires me to annex my recommendation to yours. I have answered, that, it will not be prudent, or beneficial to him, so to do. I fear they are too large to go off.”

[246] These Sermons were published in 1757; but preached in 1756.

[247] Letters to Lady F. Shirley, Nos. 91 and 95.

[248] Hervey’s Fast-Day Sermons had an enormous circulation. In a letter, dated August 5, 1758, he writes,—“Besides six thousand printed in London, an edition was printed in Scotland, which was speedily sold off. I was also desired, by a Society established for giving away religious books among the poor, to grant them leave to print an impression for this purpose. In Ireland they have been printed. Into Dutch they are translated; and a letter, from America, informs me, that, they have been reprinted there.” All this was within two years of their first publication.

[249] Evangelical Magazine, 1777, p. 73.

[250] “Marshall on Sanctification;” and “Jenks’s Meditations.”

[251] Letters to Ryland, Nos. 57 and 63.

[252] The following are some of the publications to which Sandeman’s book gave birth:—

1. A Sufficient Answer to the Author of the Letters on Theron and Aspasio. By J. Wesley.

2. Animadversions on the Letters on Theron and Aspasio.

3. A Plain Account of Faith in Jesus Christ.

4. An Epistolary Correspondence, relating to the Letters on Theron and Aspasio.

5. The Law of Nature defended by Scripture.

6. The True Comer. By Colin Mackie.

7. Thoughts, on Letters to the Author of Theron and Aspasio.

8. An Inquiry into the Spirit and Tendency of Letters on Theron and Aspasio.

9. Palaemon’s Creed, reviewed and examined: in two volumes. By David Wilson.

10. Nymphas to Sosipater, remarking on the Letters on Theron and Aspasio.

[253] Wesley says, “both the misplacing the commas, and the putting of ‘mankind’ for ‘this kind,’ were the printer’s fault, not mine; a part of those numerous errors of the press, which were occasioned by my absence, from it, and the inaccuracy of the corrector” (Wesley’s Works, vol. x. p. 332).

[254] Wesley’s “Works,” vol. x. p. 305.

[255] Gospel Magazine, 1775, p. 255.

[256] Arminian Magazine, 1778, p. 136.

[257] New Spiritual Magazine, 1783, p. 164.

[258] Hervey’s sermons, printed in his lifetime, were the following:—1. “The Cross of Christ, the Christian’s Glory;” a Visitation Sermon. 2. “The Time of Danger.” “The Means of Safety.” And “The Way of Holiness;” three Fast-day Sermons. After his death, the following were published:—1. “The Ministry of Reconciliation.” 2. “The Grounds of Christian Rejoicing.” 3. “Salvation by Christ.” 4. “Many made Righteous by the Obedience of One,” two sermons. 5. “The Divinity of Christ,” four sermons. 6. “On Repentance.” 7. “Search the Scriptures.” 8. “On Love to God,” two sermons.

[259] Life of Venn, p. 332.

[260] The title of the surreptitious edition was, “Aspasio Vindicated, and the Scripture Doctrine of Imputed Righteousness Defended against the Objections and Animadversions of the Rev. Mr. John Wesley. In Eleven Letters, written and prepared for the Press, by the late Rev. Mr. J⸺s H⸺y, A.B.”

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

[262] The sermon was addressed to the second regiment of foot guards, who, to the beat of the drum, marched to the chapel, with the Commander of the garrison at their head.

[263] William Wogan was born in 1694; and, after being educated at Westminster and Oxford, entered the army. In 1718, he married Catherine Stanhope, of the family of the Earls of Chesterfield. He died at Ealing in 1758. He was a Millennarian, but attended the daily service of the Church of England, and advocated a strict attention to the Church’s rubrics.—“Private Journal and Literary Remains of Dr. Byron.”

[264] A recent Bishop of the Church of England, on perusing this manuscript letter, wrote: “It is a very interesting document, and leads to many reflections. Mr. Broughton’s day, and the day of his once friend Wesley, were more important in the history of our Church than many are willing to believe. They disturbed, but they taught; and they led others to think and teach. Whatever might be their errors, it was not for the careless and thoughtless and the ignorant to be their judges. It might be for the best that Whitefield would not take the advice in this letter; but the affectionate strain is peculiarly pleasing, and the pious union between two persons, who differed on some points, may be a lesson that need not be lost even in our own day.”

[265] On this occasion, Broughton administered the Sacrament, and prayed.

[266] Gentleman’s Magazine, 1741, p. 387.

[267] A pet name.

[268] In the life of Venn, Broughton is called “Mr. Bryan Broughton, Secretary to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.” This is a mistake. There was a Mr. Bryan Broughton; but he was not the man whom the author meant.

[269] This was a most unaccountable and barbarous murder. The lady was the wife of Captain Dalrymple. The wretched youth had lived in the service of his master and mistress for the last five years. In the full confession that he made, he stated, he had no dislike to the unfortunate lady, and he murdered her, not from malice or for plunder, but solely at the instigation of the devil. The details of the deed are too revolting to be here recited. Suffice it to say, the murder was committed “of Wigmore Street, Cavendish Square,” on March 25, 1746; and, that, exactly a month afterwards, “Matthew Henderson was carried in a cart from Newgate, and executed at the end of New Bond Street. He went to the place of execution in a white waistcoat, drawers, and stockings. Two clergymen, one of the Church of England, and the other of the Church of Scotland, prayed with him, in the cart, for a considerable time. His body was carried from the gallows, and hung in irons, on a common, about five miles from London, on the Edgware Road” (London Magazine, 1746).

[270] A fourth edition of this pamphlet was published in 1763.

[271] The Society’s Report, for 1763, contains a notice, “To all Farmers, Gardeners, and other Occupiers of Land in England,” from the Trustees for the Charity Schools in St. Andrew’s, Holborn, to the effect, that, they had been informed, the country was in need of labourers; and that they were prepared “to bind Boys apprentices for seven years, to learn the art of husbandry; and Girls for five years, to do household work;” and, that, they would give £5 with every boy, and £3 with every girl so apprenticed. The Boys had been taught reading, writing, and the first five rules of Arithmetic; and the Girls to read and write, and “to do plain work.”

[272] They were begun in 1688, and were all supported by private subscriptions. (Report of Society, for 1772.)

[273] The Rev. John Clayton, also, was a subscriber, of £2 2s. per annum.

[274] Thomas Broughton, the Secretary of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and Thomas Broughton, Vicar of St. Mary Redcliff, Bristol, and Prebendary of Sarum, have sometimes been mistakenly considered one and the same person. The latter, an eminent author, was son of the Rector of St. Andrew’s, Holborn; and died, at Bristol, in 1774, at the age of 70. It is a curious fact, that, both the Thomas Broughtons died in the same month of the year, and on the same day of the month, and that the day was St. Thomas’s.

[275] Wesley’s Works, vol. xiii., p. 288.

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

[277] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 81.

[278] Supplement to Whitefield’s Answer to Bishop of London’s Letter, p. 8.

[279] Wesley’s Works, vol. viii., p. 335.

[280] Methodist Magazine, 1778, p. 177.

[281] Ibid., p. 176.

[282] C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. i., p. 129.

[283] The remainder of the letter refers to some arrangements to render assistance to Mr. Fox, who accompanied Kinchin and Wesley to Manchester. By Wesley’s advice, he had settled at Oxford; and it was now proposed to subscribe £30, to pay his rent, and to establish him in business, as a vendor of “fowls, pigs, and cheeses.”

[284] Another entry in the same Register is as follows:—“The parish church of Thorp-Arch was rebuilt in 1756, and finished in 1762. William Sisset, Esq., gave the stone. The Rev. Mr. Atkinson gave fifteen guineas, and paid for the plastering. His mother, Mrs. Agnes Atkinson, gave the font. Lady Hastings gave five pounds for the pulpit. Mr. Sisset built his own and servants’ seats, and gave the painting of the pews. The rest was done by the parishioners.”

[285] Even now, the united value of the two livings is not more than about £400 a year.

[286] Wesley’s text on this occasion, was, “Unto him that worketh not,” etc.; “the great truth,” he writes, “so little understood in what is called a Christian country.” Whitelamb evidently understood it not.

[287] Wesley adds, “on my father’s tombstone.”

[288] The rich farmer, who married Wesley’s sister Susannah,—a brutal fellow, who was reduced to poverty, and ultimately lived on alms, which Wesley obtained for him, through Mr. Ebenezer Blackwell. The Rector of Epworth used to speak of him as “the wen of my family.”

[289] Arminian Magazine, 1778, p. 184.

[290] Wesley says, Whitelamb offered it.

[291] Mrs. Wesley died about six weeks before this letter was written. Kezziah Wesley died March 9, 1741, “full of thankfulness, resignation, and love.”

[292] Arminian Magazine, 1778, p. 186.

[293] Methodist Magazine, 1845, p. 151.

[294] Clarke’s Wesley Family, vol. ii., p. 280.

[295] Clarke’s Wesley Family, vol. ii., p. 102.

[296] Methodist Magazine, 1845, p. 37.

[297] Wesley’s Works, vol. ii., p. 75.

[298] Ibid., vol. xii., p. 453.

[299] Clarke’s Wesley Family, vol. ii., p. 184.

[300] C. Wesley’s Journal, vol i., p. 69.

[301] Clarke’s Wesley Family, vol. ii., p. 106.

[302] Ibid., p. 110.

[303] James Hutton, the publisher,—an early friend of the Wesleys, and one of the principal Moravians in England.

[304] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 279.

[305] Ibid., p. 286.

[306] The Moravians.

[307] Clarke’s Wesley Family, vol. ii., p. 338.

[308] Wesley’s Journal, 1st edition.

[309] It is difficult to say what is meant by the word “writings.” Does it refer to some newspaper correspondence? Or to published sermons, tracts, or pamphlets? I have never met with anything published by Westley Hall himself; or heard of anything except a poetical epistle to his son, mentioned hereafter; and his sermon, preached at Salisbury, in defence of polygamy.

[310] Wesley’s Works, vol. ii., p. 214.

[311] Dove’s Wesley Family.