“You are mistaken,” replied the Presiding Elder; “that man of God was in favor of it, for he knew it was the work of the spirit of God, and I warn you to flee from the wrath to come, before it shall be eternally too late.”
“Do not get excited, my friend. Let us see what Wesley says about what you call the work of the Holy Spirit. In one of his volumes he speaks of the doings of Satan thus:—‘Satan strives to push many of them to extravagance. This appears in several instances:
“‘1. Frequently three or four, yea, ten or twelve, pray aloud together.
“‘2. Some of them, perhaps, may scream altogether, as loud as they can.
“‘3. Some of them use improper, yea, indecent expression in prayer.
“‘Several drop down as dead, and are as stiff as a corpse; but in a while they start up and cry, “glory, glory!” perhaps twenty times together. Just so do the French prophets, and very lately the Jumpers in Wales, bringing the real work into contempt.
“‘Scream no more at the peril of your soul. God now warns you by me. I never scream, I never strain myself; I dare not, I know it would be a sin against God and my own soul!
“‘Some very unstill sisters, who always took care to stand near me, and tried who could cry loudest, since I have had them removed out of my sight, they have been as quiet as lambs. The first night I preached here, one half of my words were lost through the noise of their outcries; last night, before I began, I gave public notice that whosoever cried as to drown my voice, should, without man’s hurting or judging them, be gently carried to the farthest corner of the room, but my porters had no employment the whole night.
“‘There is a fervor which has passed for devotion, but it is not true, not scriptural devotion. It is loud shouting, horrid, unnatural screaming, repeating the same words twenty or thirty times, jumping two or three feet high, throwing about the arms and legs, both men and women, in a manner shocking not only to religion, but to common decency.
“‘I dislike,