CHAPTER XXXIV.
Little Mary and what she did with her money.—Caught on the stairs.—Cheered by the children.—Boys and girls converted.
N the year 1770 the Methodists had grown so numerous that they counted forty-nine different circuits or societies in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. They had one hundred and twenty-two travelling preachers, and twice as many local preachers, who did not travel, and at the covenant service which Mr. Wesley held at the beginning of this year in London, there were eighteen hundred members present.
Mr. Wesley, like our ministers nowadays, was often wanting money for different purposes, and, like our ministers too, he was always glad of the children's help. Once, when the Foundry wanted repairing, he specially asked for help at an evening service. A little girl named Mary heard him, and thought how much she would like to do something. And this is how she managed it.
Mr. Wesley loved children, and used to keep a number of bright new coins in his pocket to give to the little folks he met at his friends' houses. Mary had always been a great favourite with Mr. Wesley, and a proud little girl she was when he took her on his knee and gave her a silver penny. He had often done this, and she had treasured up his gifts in a little box. Other friends, too, had sometimes given her money, which, instead of spending she had saved up.
Well, when she got home after that evening service, she counted up her money, and found she had £3. So she went to her mother and asked if she might give it all to Mr. Wesley. Her mother was quite willing; so the next morning little Mary carried her savings to Mr. Wesley's room. Tears came into his eyes as he thanked his little favourite. Taking her in his arms, he kissed her very tenderly, and prayed that God's blessing might always rest upon her. And it did, for Mary grew up to be an earnest, happy Christian.
Here is another story that shows how much Mr. Wesley loved the young folks. He was once staying in a house in Bristol where a little boy and girl were visiting. The little girl had long, beautiful hair hanging in curls down her back. She and her brother were running hand in hand down the stairs one day, when Mr. Wesley ran down after them and caught them on the landing. He jumped the little girl in his arms and kissed her; then putting his hand on the boy's head, he blessed him. Little Robert did not think much about this at the time, I dare say, but when he grew up, he felt all his life that the blessing of a good man rested upon him, and his eyes glistened with tears when he told the story. That little boy was the poet Southey, of whom you will read when you are older.
When Mr. Wesley wanted recreation or a kind of holiday, he used to go off to Kingswood. A few days among the young folks there always cheered him, and did him good. He loved to hear their lessons and praise their work, and arranged easy grammars and history books for them.
A great many people used to think then, as a few do now, that children could not be converted, and that they ought not to be members of society. Mr. Wesley never thought so. At Weardale he allowed thirty children to become members. At another place quite a number of boys and girls came to him after the preaching, wanting him to show them how they could belong to Jesus. Mr. Wesley had both then and always the words of Jesus Himself, before him, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not;" and so he knelt down with those boys and girls and led them to the Good Shepherd, who had laid down His life for them.
The children of Judea loved Jesus, and were glad to be with Him; and Mr. Wesley was so like Jesus, so loving and so kind, that the children of England could not help loving him, and were glad to be with him. A whole crowd once waited in the street a long time for him, and when at last he came, they all followed him like so many little lambs after their shepherd, as many as could clinging to him. They went to the meeting-house with him, and after the service was over would not leave until they had all shaken hands with him.
"In Cornwall, Manchester, and Epworth," Mr. Wesley says, "numbers of children were converted."
These verses apply to all my readers:
"God wants the boys, the merry, merry boys,
The noisy boys, the funny boys,
The thoughtless boys.
God wants the boys with all their joys,
That He, as gold, may make them pure,
And teach them trials to endure;
His heroes brave He'd have them be,
Fighting for truth and purity,
God wants the boys.
"God wants the girls, the happy-hearted girls,
The loving girls, the best of girls,
The worst of girls.
God wants to make the girls His pearls,
And so reflect His holy face,
And bring to mind His wondrous grace,
That beautiful the world may be,
And filled with love and purity.
God wants the girls."
