The first two years he spent at Madeley were rough and stormy. He worked with all his might, but with small results. The next three years were comparatively calm and prosperous. Opposition gradually died.[died.] His labours were attended with success. He formed several Societies of converted people; and his friend Wesley made the county of Salop a Methodist circuit. For nearly five years he had confined his evangelistic efforts to his own immediate neighbourhood; after this, to a considerable extent, he became an itinerant. Let us follow him.
[92]. For a fuller account of this unhappy schism, see Tyerman’s “Life and Times of Wesley,” vol. ii., pp. 432–444.
[93]. Letters, 1791, p. 121.
[94]. One of Wesley’s Itinerant Preachers.
[95]. Letters, 1791, p. 126.
[96]. He also drew up the following rules of daily self-examination for himself:—
“1. Did I awake spiritual, and was I watchful in keeping my mind from wandering this morning when I was rising?
“2. Have I this day got nearer to God in times of prayer, or have I given way to a lazy, idle spirit?
“3. Has my faith been weakened by unwatchfulness, or quickened by diligence this day?