Moreover, he had been an observer of the disposition and conduct of those who called themselves Christians; and, at another interview with Wesley, when urged to listen to the doctrines of Christianity, and become a convert, he keenly replied, "Why these are Christians at Savannah! Those are Christians at Frederica!" Nor was it without good reason that he exclaimed, "Christians drunk! Christians beat men! Christians tell lies! Me no Christian."
Scenawki, however, had more courtesy. She presented the Missionaries with two large jars of honey, and one of milk; and invited them to come up to Yamacraw, and teach the children, saying, the honey represented the inclination of the people there, and the milk the need of their children. What a beautiful illustration of the mode of teaching practised by the Apostle! "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat;" adapting the instruction to the capacity of those to whom it was imparted, and "as they were able to receive it," could properly digest it, "and be nourished thereby."
Other conferences effected little; and as Mrs. Musgrove did not reside at Yamacraw, and could not often assist him as an interpreter; and, perhaps, could not readily make perspicuous in the Indian dialect what was somewhat more mystical than even his English hearers could comprehend, his cherished purposes for the conversion of the Indians seemed to be thwarted. Besides, the condition of the people at Savannah was such as to require clerical services, and he gave himself wholly to them.
For some time his labors as a preacher promised to be successful; "and all would have been well," says Southey, "could he but have remembered the advice of Dr. Burton." This was contained in a letter addressed to him a few days before embarking for Georgia. Among other things, this excellent friend suggested to him that, under the influence of Mr. Oglethorpe, giving weight to his endeavors, much may be effected in the present undertaking; and goes on to remark; "With regard to your behavior and manner of address, these must be determined according to the different circumstances of persons, &c.; but you will always, in the use of means, consider the great end; and, therefore, your applications will of course vary. You will keep in view the pattern of the Gospel preacher, St. Paul, who 'became all things to all men, that he might save some.' Here is a nice trial of christian prudence. Accordingly, in every case you will distinguish between what is indispensable, and what is variable; between what is divine, and what is of human authority. I mention this, because men are apt to deceive themselves in such cases; and we see the traditions and ordinances of men frequently insisted on with more rigor than the commandments of God, to which they are subordinate. Singularities of less importance, are often espoused with more zeal than the weighty matters of God's law. As in all points we love ourselves, so, especially, in our hypotheses. Where a man has, as it were, a property in a notion, he is most industrious to improve it, and that in proportion to the labor of thought he has bestowed upon it; and, as its value rises in imagination, he is, in proportion, unwilling to give it up, and dwells upon it more pertinaciously than upon considerations of general necessity and use. This is a flattering mistake, against which we should guard ourselves."
Unmindful of such counsel, the eagerness of Wesley to effect reformation was pressed too precipitately and carried too far. His sermons had such direct reference, not only to the state of affairs, but the conduct of individuals, that they were shrunk from as personal allusions. His zeal was excessive, and his practice exclusive.[1]
[Footnote 1: Mr. SOUTHEY has this remark—"He was accused of making his sermons so many satires upon particular persons; and for this cause his auditors fell off; for though one might have been very well pleased to hear others preached at, no person liked the chance of being made the mark himself."—Moreover, "following the rubric, in opposition to the practice of the English church, he insisted upon baptizing children by immersion, and refused to baptize them if the parents did not consent to this rude and perilous method. Some persons he would not receive as sponsors, because they were not communicants; and when one of the most pious men in the Colony earnestly desired to be admitted to the communion, he refused to admit him because he was a Dissenter, unless he would be rebaptized. And he would not read the burial service over another for the same reason, or one founded on the same principle." Life of WESLEY, by ROBERT SOUTHEY, New York edition, 1820. Vol. I. p. 108.—Instances of personal reference in preaching, and of its alienating effects, are mentioned by Mr. Stevens, in his Journal, Vol. I. pp. 15, 19, and elsewhere.]
For these and other reasons, and in some respects most unreasonably, the people at Savannah became prejudiced against him, and so disaffected that "he perceived that his preaching was not likely to be attended with beneficial influence. Hence, having in vain sought an accommodation with his opponents, without in the least relaxing from the enforcement of his principles, and disappointed in the prime object of his mission, that of preaching to the Indians, he resolved to quit the Colony, and return to his native land[1]."
[Footnote 1: Memoir of the Rev. John Wesley, prefixed to a volume of his Sermons, by Samuel Drew, page xvi.]
Another circumstance brought the whole scene of his trials to a catastrophe. Sophia Hopkins, the niece of Mrs. Causton, wife of Thomas Causton, Esq., chief magistrate of the place, had been a pupil to him to learn French, was a professed convert to his ministry, and become a member of the Church. Her beauty, accomplishments, and manners, were fascinating; and she appears, by some coquettish advances, to have won his affections. Delamotte, however, doubting the sincerity of her pretensions to piety, cautioned his friend Wesley against cherishing a fond attachment. The Moravian Elders, also, advised him not to think of a matrimonial connection. In consequence of this, his conduct towards her became reserved and distant; very naturally, to her mortification; though her own affections had been preëngaged, for she soon after married a Mr. Williamson. But a hostile feeling had been excited against him by her friends, for the manifestation of which an opportunity was afforded about five months after her marriage. Wesley having discovered in her conduct several things which he thought blameworthy, with his wonted ingenuousness, frankly mentioned them to her; intimating that they were not becoming a participant of the Lord's Supper. She, in return, became angry. For reasons, therefore, which he stated to her in a letter, he cautioned her not to come to the ordinance till she could do it in a reconciled temper.
The storm now broke forth upon him. A complaint was entered to the magistrates; an indictment filed, and a warrant issued, by which he was brought before the Recorder, on the charges of Mr. Williamson,—1st, That he had defamed his wife; and, 2dly, That he had causelessly repelled her from the Holy Communion. Wesley denied the first charge; and the second, being wholly ecclesiastical, he would not acknowledge the authority of the magistrate to decide upon it. He was, however, told that he must appear before the next court, to be holden at Savannah, August term, 1737. In the mean time pains were taken by Mr. Causton to pack and influence the jury. There were debates and rude management in the court. No pleas of defence were admitted. The evidence was discordant. Twelve of the grand jurors drew up a protest against the proceedings. The magistrates, themselves, after repeated adjournments, could come to no decision; and justice was not likely to be awarded. Wearied with this litigious prosecution, Wesley applied to his own case the direction given by our Lord to his Apostles, "If they persecute thee in one place, flee unto another;" and, shaking off the dust of his feet as a witness against them, he fled to Charlestown, South Carolina; whence, on Thursday, the 22d of December, 1737, he embarked for England. After a pleasant passage, he landed at Deal, February, 1738, as he remarks, "on the anniversary festival in Georgia, for Mr. Oglethorpe's landing there." As he entered the channel, on his return, Mr. Whitefield sailed through it, on a mission; not to be his coadjutor, as he expected, but, as it proved, his successor.