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BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY 


THE    WESLEY    FAMILY; 


MORE  PARTICULARLY 


ITS  EARLIER  BRANCHES. 


JOHN  DOVE. 


Such  a  family  I  have  never  read  of,  heard  of,  or  known ;  nor  since  the  days  of 
ABRAHAM  and  SARAH,  and  JOSEPH  and  MARY  of  Nazareth,  hat  there  ever  been  a 
family  to  which  the  human  race  has  been  more  indebted. 

DR.  ADAM  CLARKE. 


LONDON: 

SIMPKIN  &  MARSHALL,  STATIONERS'  HALL  COURT; 
AND  HENRY  SPINK,  LEEDS. 

1833. 


PR  EFACE 


The  eventful  and  important  Life  of  the  venerable 
Founder  of  Arminian  Methodism  has  been  fre 
quently  laid  before  the  Public  ;  but  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  the  history  of  his  Paternal  and 
Maternal  ANCESTORS  is  only  partially  known, 
even  amongst  the  members  of  the  Methodist  So 
ciety.  The  late  DR.  ADAM  CLARKE,  published 
in  1822,  "  Memoirs  of  the  Wesley  Family"  in  a 
large  octavo  volume,  but  which,  on  account  of 
the  introduction  of  a  vast  quantity  of  extraneous 
and  unnecessary  matter,  is  not  well  adapted  for 
general  circulation.  The  Price  also  prevented 
many  from  purchasing  it. 

On  these  grounds  the  Compiler  of  the  following 
Work  is  of  opinion,  that  a  condensed,  and  well 
arranged  Memoir  of  the  Wesley  Family,  at  a 
moderate  price,  and  written  "with  special  refer 
ence  to  general  readers,"  was  still  wanting.  This 
conviction  led  him  to  prepare  the  present  Work, 


iv  PREFACE. 

which  he  hopes  contains  all  that  is  really  in 
teresting  in  Dr.  Clarke's  publication,  together 
with  a  considerable  quantity  of  new  matter, 
collected  from  a  great  variety  of  sources.  It  has 
been  his  endeavour  to  free  the  narrative  from 
all  those  details  "which  are  comparatively 
uninteresting  beyond  the  immediate  circle  of 
Wesleyan  Methodism,"  and  to  adapt  it  to  the 
perusal  of  the  Public  at  large. 

This  volume  being  designed  as  introductory  to 
MR.  WATSON'S  excellent  Life  of  the  Founder  of 
Methodism,  the  Lives  of  MESSRS.  JOHN  and 
CHARLES  WESLEY  are  not  given;  as  all  that 
is  interesting  to  the  general  reader,  respecting 
those  eminent  Ministers,  is  furnished  with  great 
judgment  and  propriety  by  Mr.  Watson,  in  his 
Publication. 

December  24,  1832. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  Origin  of  the  Wesley  Family. — The  orthography  of  the 
name. — Mr.  Wesley's  Ancestors  Non-conformists. — The  Act  of 
Uniformity. — Archbishop  Sheldon's  intolerance. — The  noble  con 
duct  of  the  ejected  Ministers. — The  Conventicle  Act. — The 
Corporation  Act. — The  Test  Act. — Sufferings  of  the  Non 
conformists....  ..  1 — 15 


CHAP.  II. 

BARTHOLOMEW  WESLEY. 

Ejected  from  Charmouth,  Dorset. — Practices  as  a  Physician. — 
Affected  by  the  death  of  his  son. — Anthony  Wood's  notice  of  him. 
— Bishop  Burnet's  character  of  Wood 15 — 19 

CHAP.  III. 

JOHN  WESLEY,  VICAR  OF  WHITCHURCH. 

Sent  to  Oxford  university,  where  he  obtains  the  confidence  of 
Dr.  Owen. — Settles  at  Whitchurch,  in  Dorsetshire,  and  marries. — 
His  interview  with  Bishop  Ironside. — Mr.  Wesley  committed  to 
prison  for  not  reading  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. — His  trial 
and  answers  to  the  judge. — Wishes  to  visit  South  America  as  a 
Missionary. — His  further  sufferings  in  the  cause  of  Non-conformity. 
— His  death  and  character. — His  widow 19 — 32 


VI  CONTENTS. 


CHAP.    IV. 

DR.  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY. 

His  birth  and  relationship. — His  early  piety. — Sent  to  the 
university  of  Oxford.—  Settles  at  Cliffe,  in  Kent. — Preaches  before 
the  House  of  Commons. — Promoted  to  St.  Paul's  and  St  Giles's 
Cripplegate. — Ejected  by  the  Act  of  Uniformity. — Becomes  pastor 
of  a  church  in  Little  St.  Helen's. — Has  the  chief  management  of 
the  Morning  Lecture.—  Daniel  de  Foe  and  John  Dunton  attend 
his  ministry. — Their  account  of  Dr.  Annesley. — His  temperance. 
— His  death. — His  character  by  Dr.  Williams,  Baxter,  and 
Calamy.— His  works 32 — 43 


CHAP.  V. 

DR.  ANNESLEY'S  CHILDREN. 

SAMUEL  ANNESLEY  JUN. — Goes  to  the  East  Indies. — Acquires 
a  large  fortune,  but  is  suddenly  cut  off. — Mrs.  Wesley's  letter 
to  him. —  His  widow's  bequest  to  the  Wesley  family.  Miss 
ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY. — Marries  John  Dunton,  the  celebrated 
bookseller. — Their  strong  attachment  to  each  other. —  Her  death 
and  character.  Miss  JUDITH  ANNESLEY. — Her  personal  appear 
ance  and  piety.  Miss  ANNE  ANNESLEY. — Her  character  by 
Dunton.  Miss  SUSANNA  ANNESLEY 43 — 66 


CHAP.  VI. 

MATTHEW  WESLEY. 

Studies  medicine. — Visits  his  brother  at  Epworth. — Mrs. 
Wesley's  account  of  that  visit. — Matthew's  mean-spirited  letter  to 
his  brother. — The  Rector's  reply. — Mrs.  Wright's  verses  to  the 
memory  of  her  uncle. 66 — 80 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAP.  VII. 

SAMUEL  WESLEY,  RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH. 

Educated  in  a  Dissenting  academy. — Goes  to  the  university  of 
Oxford. — His  reasons  for  leaving  the  Dissenters. — Writes  against 
their  Academies. — Marries  Dr.  Annesley's  youngest  daughter. — 
Solicited  to  favour  Popery  by  the  friends  of  James  II. — Writes  in 
favour  of  the  Revolution  of  1688. — Presented  to  the  Rectory  of 
Epworth. — Mrs.  Wesley  and  her  husband  differ  as  to  the  title  of 
William  III. — The  Rector  proposed  for  an  Irish  bishoprick. — 
Archbishop  Sharp  a  kind  friend  to  him. — His  letters  to  the 
Archbishop. — The  Parsonage-house  destroyed  by  fire. — Mrs- 
Wesley's  account  of  that  calamity. — Strange  Phenomena  in  the 
Parsonage-house  after  it  was  rebuilt. — Dr.  Priestley's  opinion  of 
these  disturbances. — Mr.  Wesley's  Dissertations  on  the  book  of 
Job. — This  book  presented  to  the  Queen  by  his  son  John. — The 
Rector's  death,  as  detailed  by  his  son  Charles. — His  character. — 
Anecdotes  respecting  him. — His  works 80 — 152 

CHAP.  VIII. 

MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

Becomes  the  wife  of  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley. — Her  numerous 
family,  and  excellent  management.  — Her  mode  of  educating  the 
children. — Her  religious  character. — When  her  husband  was  from 
home,  she  publicly  read  sermons  at  the  Parsonage-house. — Is 
censured  for  this  exercise. — Her  admirable  defence  of  it  to  her 
husband. — The  conduct  of  the  Epworth  curate  in  this  matter. — 
Her  excellent  letters  to  her  son  John.— Unworthy  reflections  upon 
her  religious  experience. — Is  visited  by  Mr.  Whitfield. — Her 
death, — character, — and  epitaph 152 — 179 

CHAP.  IX. 

SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

Sent  to  Westminster  school. — Mrs.  Wesley's  excellent  letter 
to  him. — Noticed  by  Bishop  Sprat. — Removes  to  Christ  Church. 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

Oxford. — Appointed  one  of  the  Ushers  in  Westminster  school. — 
His  intimacy  with  Bishop  Atterbury. — His  Epigrams  against  Sir 
Robert  Walpole. — Accepts  the  Mastership  of  Tiverton  school, 
Devonshire. — His  letter  to  his  mother  on  her  countenancing  the 
Methodists. — Publishes  a  volume  of  Poems. — 'Intimate  with  Lord 
Oxford  and  Mr.  Pope. — Their  letters  to  him,. — His  death, — cha 
racter, — and  epitaph 179 — 220 

CHAP.  X. 

THE  RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH'S  DAUGHTERS. 

Miss  EMILIA  WESLEY. — Marries  Mr.  Harper, — Her  letter  to 
her  brother  John. — Her  character  by  Mrs.  Wright. — Her  death. 
Miss  MARY  WESLEY. — Marries  Mr.  Whitelamb. — Her  character 
and  epitaph  by  Mrs.  Wright.  Miss  ANNE  WESLEY. — Marries 
Mr.  Lambert. — Verses  on  her  marriage  by  her  brother  Samuel. 
Miss  SUSANNA  WESLEY — Marries  Mr.  Ellison. — This  union 
proves  unhappy. — Account  of  their  children.  MR.  JOHN  WESLEY. 
— Baptized  John  Benjamin.  Miss  MEHETABEL  WESLEY — 
Marries  Mr.  Wright. — Possesses  a  fine  poetic  talent. — Her 
marriage  unhappy. — Addresses  some  lines  to  her  husband. — Also 
to  her  dying  infant,  &c. — Her  death.  Miss  MARTHA  WESLEY — 
A  favourite  with  her  mother. — Marries  Mr.  Hall,  who  also  addres 
ses  her  sister  Ke/zia. — Charles  Wesley's  severe  verses  to  Martha. 
— Dr.  Clarke's  vindication  of  Mrs.  Hall. — Mr.  John  Wesley's 
opinion  of  Hall. — His  licentious  conduct. — Mrs.  Hall's  behaviour 
under  this  affliction. — Her  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson. 
— -Her  death.  MR.  CHARLES  WESLEY — Anecdote  respecting 
him.  Miss  KEZZIA  WESLEY — Her  letter  to  her  brother  John. — 
Her  death 220-268 

APPENDIX. 

A. — On  the  Doctrine  of  Passive  Obedience. 

B. — Biographical  Sketch  of  John  Dunton. 

C.— The  History  of  the  Calves'-head  Club. 

D. — Disturbances  in  the  Parsonage-house,  at  Epworth. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


THE    WESLEY    FAMILY. 


INTRODUCTION. 

CHAP.  I. 

THE    ORIGIN    OF     THE     WESLEY     FAMILY. THE     ORTHOGRAPHY     OF 

THE     NAME. MR.     WESLEY'S     ANCESTORS      NON-CONFORMISTS. 

THE    ACT    OF    UNIFORMITY. ARCHBISHOP     SHELDON'S      INTOLER 
ANCE. THE     NOBLE     CONDUCT     OF     THE    EJECTED    MINISTERS. 

THE     CONVENTICLE     ACT. THE     CORPORATION    ACT. THE    TEST 

ACT. SUFFERINGS    OF    THE    NON-CONFORMISTS. 

Of  the  Wesley  Family  little  is  known  previously 
to  the  seventeenth  century.  Some  persons  have  given 
the  family  a  Spanish  origin.  The  Wesleys  themselves 
believed  they  came  originally  from  Saxony,  and  that 
a  branch  of  the  paternal  tree  was  planted  in  Ireland. 
DR.  ADAM  CLARKE  states  that  he  met  with  a  family  in 
the  county  of  Antrim  called  Posley  or  Postlcy,  who 
said  that  their  name  was  originally  Wesley,  but  which 
had  been  corrupted  by  a  provincial  pronunciation  of 
P.  for  W. 

As  to  the  orthography  of  the  name,  it  appears  by  the 

autographs  of  all  the  family,  from  the  rector  of  Epworth 

down  to  the  present  time,  to  have  been  written  Wesley. 

When  Samuel  Wesley,  sen.  entered  at  Oxford,  he  signed 

B 


2  INTRODUCTION. 

Wesdey,  but  afterwards  dropped  the  t,  which  he  said 
was  restoring  the  name  to  its  original  orthography. 
That  some  of  the  remote  branches  of  the  Wesley  family 
had  been  in  the  Crusades,  or  went  on  a  pilgrimage  to 
the  Holy  Land,  may  be  inferred  from  their  bearing  the 
escallop  shell  in  their  arms. 

The  ANCESTORS  of  Mr.  John  Wesley,  both  in  the 
paternal  and  maternal  line,  were  strict  and  conscientious 
Non-conformists.  They  suffered  great  persecution 
during  the  reign  of  the  Stuarts,  and  especially  in  that 
of  Charles  II.  As  the  acts  then  passed  for  the 
restriction  of  religious  liberty,  had  a  most  important 
influence  on  the  circumstances  and  situation  of  the 
grandfathers,  and  great  grandfather  of  the  founder  of 
Methodism,  it  may  not  be  thought  irrelevant,  previous 
ly  to  entering  on  the  personal  history  of  the  family,  to 
give  a  brief  account  of  these  enactments,  and  also  to 
point  out  their  intolerant  nature,  and  the  effects  they 
produced  on  the  nation. 

THE  "  ACT  OF  UNIFORMITY"  obtained  the  royal  as 
sent  May  19th,  1662,  and  was  enforced  throughout  the 
kingdom  after  the  24th  of  August  following.  This  memo 
rable  act,  which  was  chiefly  promoted  by  LORD  CLAREN 
DON  and  BISHOP  SHELDON,  required,  that  all  clergymen, 
all  residents  in  the  Universities,  schoolmasters,  and  even 
private  tutors,  should  profess  their  unfeigned  assent  and 
consent  to  all  and  every  thing  contained  in  the  book  of 
Common  Prayer,  and  to  pledge  themselves  to  the  then 
fashionable  doctrine  of  passive  obedience.  It  was  urged 
by  a  few  sober  men,  that  the  volume  referred  to  was  of 
considerable  extent,  and  related  to  topics  of  great  va 
riety  and  importance;  and  that  in  many  instances  the 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

ministers  could  not  procure  the  book  before  the  law 
required  them  to  swear  to  it.  But  arguments  of  this 
kind  were  lost  upon  the  impassioned  theologians  of  the 
lower  house.  LOCKE  observes  of  this  act,  that  "  it 
was  fatal  to  the  church  and  religion,  in  throwing  out  a 
very  great  number  of  worthy,  learned,  pious  and  or 
thodox  divines,  who  could  not  come  up  to  all  the  things 
in  the  act.  So  great  was  the  zeal  in  carrying  on  this 
church  affair,  and  so  blind  was  the  obedience  required, 
that  if  we  compute  the  time  of  passing  this  act  with 
the  time  allowed  the  clergy  to  subscribe  the  book  of 
Common  Prayer,  we  shall  find  it  could  not  be  printed 
and  distributed,  so  as  that  one  man  in  forty  could  have 
seen  and  read  the  book  to  which  they  were  to  assent 
and  consent." 

SHELDON,  Bishop  of  London,  afterwards  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  confessed  to  the  EARL  of  MANCHESTER, 
that  the  design  of  the  Act  of  Uniformity  was  to  compel  the 
Presbyterians  to  become  Non-conformists,  or  knaves.* 

*  This  prelate,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  persecutors  in  the  church,  as 
Clarendon  was  in  the  state,  and  who  BISHOP  B0RNET  said  "regarded  reli 
gion  only  as  an  engine  of  state,"  seems  to  have  been  as  insensible  to  the  de 
corum  belonging  to  religion,  as  he  was  to  good  feeling  and  humanity.  Of 
this,  PEPYS  has  recorded  the  following  piece  of  buffoonery  and  profaneness 
acted  at  Lambeth  Palace  when  he  was  dining  there.  "May  14,1669.  At 
noon  to  dine  with  the  Archbishop  at  Lambeth  ;  where  I  met  a  great  deal  of 
company,  though  an  ordinary  day,  and  exceeding  good  cheer,  no  where 
better,  or  so  much  that  ever  I  saw.  Most  of  the  company  being  gone,  I  was 
informed  by  a  gentleman  of  a  sermon  that  was  to  be  preached ;  and  so  I 
staid  to  hear  it,  thinking  it  serious,  till  the  gentleman  told  me  it  was  a 
mockery  by  one  CORN  ET  BOLTON,  who,  behind  a  chair,  did  pray  and  preach 
like  a  Presbyterian  Scot,  with  all  the  possible  imitations  in  grimace  and  voice. 
And  his  text  was  about  hanging  up  theirharpsupon  the  willows,  exclaiming 
against  Bishops,  and  crying  up  of  my  good  LoKD  F.GLING1ON',  till  it  made 
us  all  burst.  I  did  wonder  the  Archbishop  made  sport  with  things  of  this  kind, 
but  I  perceived  it  was  shown  him  as  a  rarity.  And  he  took  care  to  have 
the  room  door  shut;  but  there  was  about  twenty  gentlemen  and  myself 
present,  infinitely  pleased  with  the  novelty." 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

When,  however,  the  appointed  day  arrived,  above  two 
thousand  clergymen  made  the  better  choice.  They 
were  most  of  them  needy,  and  with  dependent  families, 
but  cast  themselves  on  Providence.  After  the  act  had 
come  into  operation,  DR.  ALLEN  said  to  SHELDON,  that 
"it  was  a  pity  the  door  was  made  so  strait;"  to  which 
the  bishop  answered,  "  It  is  no  pity  at  all ;  if  we  had 
thought  so  many  would  have  conformed,  we  would  have 
made  it  straiter."* 

The  day  chosen  for  this  unrighteous  exercise  of 
power  was  the  feast  of  St.  Bartholomew;,  a  season  al 
ready  memorable  in  the  annals  of  ecclesiastical  in 
tolerance.  The  massacre  of  the  Parisian  protestants, 
and  the  policy  then  adopted  toward  the  English  non 
conformists,  were  alike  in  their  principle.  It  is  not  to 
be  supposed  that  this  day  was  selected  to  aid  the 
sufferers  in  making  such  a  comparison;  but  it  was 
chosen  for  a  reason  which  makes  the  resemblance  less 
distant  than  it  would  otherwise  have  been.  The  tithes 
for  the  year  became  due  from  the  feast  of  St.  Bartholo 
mew  ;  and  by  removing  the  incumbents  on  that  day, 
the  punishment  of  deprivation  was  followed  in  many 
cases,  by  the  pressure  of  immediate  want ;  while  the 
clergy,  who  succeeded  their  ejected  brethren,  were 
empowered  to  reap  where  they  had  not  sown. 

The  severity  of  these  proceedings  is  without 
parallel  in  the  history  of  English  protestantism.  On 
the  accession  of  ELIZABETH,  many  Catholic  priests 
were  deprived  of  their  livings,  but  they  were  all  pro 
vided  for  by  the  government,  though  known  to  be  its 
enemies.  The  same  was  the  case  with  the  Episcopalian 

*  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans. 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

clergy  during  the  then  late  commotions  :  a  fifth  of  their 
revenue  being  secured  to  them.  But  here  were  men 
whose  loyalty  had  proved  itself  to  be  most  ardent; 
men  who  could  appeal  to  the  royal  promise  as  grossly 
belied  by  this  aggression,  and  who  were  nevertheless 

expelled,   with  circumstances  of  studied  violence  and 

.  ,  c^ 

cruelty,  and  in  a  season  of  profound  peace.* 

Ecclesiastical  history  does  not  previously  furnish 
such  an  instance  of  so  noble  an  army  of  confessors, 
taking  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their  goods,  rather  than 
violate  their  consciences.  This  honour  was  reserved 
for  the  English  dissenters.  Never  before  did  the  world 
see  such  a  sacrifice.  A  person,  who  was  no  dissenter, 
observed  at  the  time,  "I  am  glad  so  many  have  chosen 
suffering,  rather  than  conformity  to  the  establishment; 
for  had  they  complied,  the  world  would  have  thought 
there  had  been  nothing  in  religion;  but  now  they  have 
a  striking  proof,  that  there  are  some  who  are  sincere 
in  their  profession." 

Men  who  are  acquainted  with  the  character  of  the 
Non-conformists,  must  often  be  surprised  at  the  lan 
guage  adopted  concerning  them  by  certain  writers,  who 
would  be  thought  particularly  enlightened  on  these 
subjects.  It  is  amusing  to  observe  the  airs  of  wisdom 
with  which  these  persons  affect  to  deplore  the  weakness 
of  so  many  well-meaning  individuals,  who,  to  escape 
kneeling  at  an  altar,  or  wearing  a  surplice,  could  expose 

*  CLARENDON  determined  to  know  the  Non-conformists  in  no  other 
character  than  as  "promoters  of  the  rebellion,  and  as  having  no  title  to  their 
lives,  hut  the  king's  mercy."  Their  pleading  for  liberty  of  conscience,  he 
ascribes  to  their  characteristic  "impudence"  and  "malice,"  and  to  the 
"  want  of  more  severity  in  the  government." 

B    2 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

themselves  to  so  much  suffering.*  But  these  persons 
should  be  reminded  that  the  sum  HAMPDEN  was  called 
to  pay  under  the  name  of  ship-money ,  was  a  very  small 
sum ;  but  inasmuch  as  it  was  a  tax  imposed  by  an 
authority  which  had  no  right  to  impose  taxes,  it  was  a 
trifle  involving  a  momentous  precedent.  The  men 
who  stood  forth  in  1662,  waging  the  war  of  freedom 
against  the  powers  of  intolerance,  were  in  no  small 
measure  the  saviours  of  their  country;  and  well  would 
it  be  if  thousands  who  have  since  bestowed  pity  on 
their  weakness,  could  manifest  a  fair  portion  of  their 
strength— strength,  we  mean,  to  lay  hold  on  important 
principles,  and  to  suffer  with  a  martyr's  firmness  in  the 
defence  of  them.  Such  men  as  OWEN,  BAXTER,  HOWE, 
and  CALAMY,  had  few  equals  in  their  day,  either  in 
learning  or  in  judgment,  as  their  opponents  well 
knew.  They  were  as  capable  of  forming  enlarged  and 


*  Even  BISHOP  HEBER,  with  all  his  amiableness  and  intelligence,  can 
speak  of  the  scruples  of  the  Non-conformists  as  being  merely  the  "colour  of 
a  garment,  the  wording  of  a  prayer,  or  kneeling  at  the  sacrament."  It  must 
be  recollected  that  the  case  was  not  whether  men  might  observe  the  Lord's 
supper  kneeling,  but  whether  it  should  be  refused  to  all  who  \vouldnotkneel. 

To  do  justice  to  the  Bartholomew  confessors,  we  ought  to  place  ourselves 
in  their  circumstances.  Suppose  that  the  rulers  of  the  church  of  England 
were  now  to  determine  "That,  on  or  before  the  24th  of  August,  1833,  the 
present  occupants  of  livings,  curacies,  &c.  shall  subscribe  a  declaration,  en 
gaging  themselves  to  baptise  no  child,  without  the  employment  of  salt,  oil, 
and  spittle,  as  a  part  of  the  ordinance  of  baptism ;  to  administer  the  Lord's 
supper  to  those  only  who  should  previously  bow  to  the  sacred  chalice,  and 
submit  to  a  bread  wafer  being  put  upon  their  tongues."  What  would  the 
serious  clergy  of  the  church  of  England  think  to  such  a  demand?  Would 
they  submit  to  it  as  a  just  exercise  of  ecclesiastical  authority  ?  Would  they 
not  to  a  man  abandon  their  livings,  rather  than  allow  their  consciences  thus 
to  be  lorded  over  and  defiled  ?  Or  if  they  submitted  to  such  exactions, 
would  they  not  be  justly  regarded  by  their  flocks  and  countrymen,  as  traitors 
and  time-servers  ?  Yet  this  supposed  case  is  not  stronger  than  that  of  the 
Non.conformists. 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

comprehensive  views  of  truth  and  duty,  as  PEARSON, 
GUNNING,  MORLEY,  or  any  other  of  their  episcopal  adver 
saries  ;  whilst,  as  it  regards  the  evidences  of  Christian 
character,  there  are  few  of  the  class  from  which  they 
seceded,  who  can  be  compared  with  them. 

The  Protestant  dissenters  of  every  denomination 
have  ever  been  accustomed  to  revere  the  memory  of 
the  Non-conformist  divines,  though  they  may  differ 
widely  from  them  in  doctrinal  sentiments.  The  words  of 
DR.  JOHN  TAYLOR,  formerly  of  Norwich,  are  remarkable 
in  this  view.  In  remonstrating  against  the  design  of 
some  dissenters  in  Lancashire  to  introduce  a  liturgy, 
he  refers  them  to  their  forefathers  as  having  set  them 
a  better  example,  of  whom  he  gives  the  following 
character  : — "  The  principles  and  worship  of  dissenters 
are  not  formed  upon  such  slight  foundation  as  the  un 
learned  and  thoughtless  may  imagine.  They  were 
thoroughly  considered,  and  judiciously  reduced  to  the 
standard  of  scripture,  and  the  writings  of  antiquity ; 
the  Bartholomew  divines  were  men  prepared  to  lose 
all,  and  to  suffer  martyrdom  itself,  and  who  actually 
resigned  their  livings  (which  with  most  of  them  were, 
under  God,  all  that  they  and  their  families  had  to  sub 
sist  upon)  rather  than  desert  the  cause  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty  ;  which,  together  with  serious  religion, 
would,  I  am  persuaded,  have  sunk  to  a  very  low  ebb  in 
the  nation,  had  it  not  been  for  the  bold  and  noble  stand 
that  these  worthies  made  against  imposition  upon  con 
science,  profaneness  and  arbitrary  power.  They  had 
the  best  education  England  could  then  afford;  most 
of  them  were  excellent  scholars,  judicious  divines, 
pious,  faithful  and  laborious  ministers;  of  great  zeal 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

for  God  and  religion;  undaunted  and  courageous  in 
their  Master's  work ;  keeping  close  to  their  people  in 
the  worst  of  times;  diligent  in  their  studies,  solid,  af 
fectionate,  powerful,  lively,  awakening  preachers  ;  aim 
ing  at  the  advancement  of  real  vital  religion  in  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  men,  which  it  cannot  be  denied, 
flourished  greatly  wherever  they  could  influence.  Par 
ticularly  they  were  men  of  great  devotion,  and  eminent 
abilities  in  prayer,  uttered  as  God  enabled  them,  from 
the  abundance  of  their  hearts  and  affections ;  men  of 
divine  eloquence  in  pleading  at  the  throne  of  grace ; 
raising  and  melting  the  affections  of  their  hearers,  and 
being  happily  instrumental  in  transfusing  into  their 
souls  the  same  spirit  and  heavenly  gift.  And  this  was 
the  ground  of  all  their  other  qualifications;  they  were 
excellent  men,  because  excellent,  instant  and  fervent 
in  prayer.  Such  were  the  fathers,  the  first  formers  of 
the  dissenting  interest.  And  you  here  in  Lancashire 
had  a  large  share  of  those  burning  and  shining  lights. 
Those  who  knew  them  not  might  despise  them,  but 
your  forefathers,  wiser  and  less  prejudiced,  esteemed 
them  highly  in  love  for  their  works'  sake.  You  were 
once  happy  in  your  NEWCOMBES,  JOLLIES,  and  HEY- 
WOODS,  who  left  all  to  follow  Christ;  but  Providence 
cared  for  them,  and  they  had  great  comfort  in  their 
ministerial  services.  The  presence  and  blessing  of 
God  appeared  in  their  assemblies,  and  attended  their 
labours.  How  many  were  converted  and  built  up  in 
godliness  and  sobriety  by  their  prayers,  pains,  doctrines 
and  conversations  !  How  many  days,  on  particular  oc 
casions,  were  set  apart  and,  spent  in  warm  addresses  to 
the  throne  of  grace,  and  how  much  to  the  comfort  of 


INTRODUCTION. 

those  who  joined  in  them  !  But  now,  alas !  we  are 
pursuing  measures  which  have  a  manifest  tendency  to 
extinguish  the  light  which  they  kindled,  to  damp  the 
spirit  which  they  enlivened,  and  to  dissipate  and  dis 
solve  the  societies  which  they  raised  and  formed! — 
Let  my  soul  for  ever  be  with  the  souls  of  these  men." 
Of  the  "Act  of  Uniformity,"  DR.  ADAM  CLARKE  says, 
"  I  am  not  surprised  that  so  great  a  number  of  ministers 
then  left  the  church,  as  that  one  conscientious  man 
was  found  to  retain  his  living.  High  churchmen  may 
extol  the  authors  of  this  act  as  deserving  the  everlast 
ing  praises  of  the  church  !  but  while  honesty  can  be 
considered  a  blessing  in  society;  while  humanity  and 
mercy  are  esteemed  the  choicest  characteristics  of  man, 
and  while  sound  learning  is  valued  as  the  ornament  and 
handmaid  of  religion, — this  act  must  be  regarded  a*  a 
scandal  to  the  state,  and  a  reproach  to  the  church."* 

In  addition  to  this  infamous  statute,  there  was 
another  passed  in  1664,  called  THE  CONVENTICLE  ACT. 
It  was  pretended  that  disaffected  persons  might  as 
semble  on  the  plea  of  religious  worship,  to  promote 
treasonable  designs ;  and  a  bill  was  passed,  in  which 
all  private  meetings  for  religious  exercises,  including 
more  than  fine  persons,  besides  the  members  of  the 
family,  were  insultingly  described  as  Conventicles,  and 
declared  to  be  unlawful  and  seditious.  The  offender 
against  this  act  was  fined  in  the  first  instance  £5,  or 
imprisoned  three  months  ;  for  the  second  £10,  or  im 
prisoned  six  months ;  for  a  third  offence  the  penalty  of 
£100,  or  transportation  for  seven  years.  All  this  was 

*  After  the  passing  of  the  "  Act  of  Uniformity,"  the  name  of  Puritan  was 
changed  to  that  of  Non-conformist. 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

done  in  contempt  of  that  sacred  institute — trial  by  jury, 
the  awarding  of  these  penalties  being  left  to  the  dis 
cretion  of  any  justice  of  the  peace.  "The  calamity  of 
this  act,"  says  BAXTER,  "  in  addition  to  the  main  mat 
ter,  is,  that  it  was  made  so  ambiguous,  that  no  man 
could  tell  what  was  a  violation  of  it,  and  what  was  not, 
not  knowing1  what  was  allowed  by  the  liturgy  or  prac 
tice  of  the  church  of  England,  in  families  ;  and  among 
the  diversity  of  family  practice,  no  man  knowing  what 
to  call  the  practice  of  the  church.  According  to  the 
plain  words  of  the  act,  if  a  man  did  but  preach  and 
pray,  or  read  some  licensed  book,  and  sing  psalms,  he 
might  have  more  than  four  present,  because  these  are 
allowed  by  the  practice  of  the  church ;  and  the  act 
seemeth  to  grant  indulgence  for  place  and  number, 
if  the  quality  of  the  exercise  be  allowed  by  the  church, 
which  must  be  meant  publicly.  But  when  it  comes  to 
trial,  these  pleas,  with  the  justices,  are.  vain;  for  if 
men  did  but  pray,  it  was  considered  an  exercise  not 
allowed  by  the  church,  and  to  jail  they  went."  "The 
people  were  in  great  strait,"  continues  Baxter,  "  those 
especially  who  dwelt  near  any  busy  officer,  or  malicious 
enemy.  Many  durst  not  pray  in  their  families,  if  above 
four  persons  came  in  to  dine  with  them.  In  a  gentle 
man's  house,  where  it  was  ordinary  for  more  than  four 
visiters  to  be  at  dinner,  many  durst  not  then  go  to 
prayer,  and  some  scarcely  durst  crave  a  blessing  on 
their  meat,  or  give  God  thanks  for  it.  Some  thought 
they  might  venture,  if  they  withdrew  into  another  room, 
and  left  the  strangers  by  themselves :  but  others  said, 
it  is  all  one  if  they  be  in  the  same  house,  though  out  of 
hearing,  when  it  cometh  to  the  judgment  of  justices." 


INTRODUCTION.  1 1 

All  classes  of  dissenters  were  comprehended  in  the 
prohibition  of  this  act.  But  the  QUAKERS,  who  pro 
fessed  themselves  to  be  moved  to  assemble  openly, 
heedless  of  the  law  of  man,  were  the  greatest  sufferers. 
The  jails  were  crowded  with  them,  and  became  scenes 
of  wretchedness,  to  which  a  modern  slave-ship  affords 
the  only  resemblance.* 

But  the  triumph  of  the  oppressor  was  not  yet 
complete.  Most  of  the  non-conforming  clergy  remained 
in  the  midst  of  the  people  who  had  constituted  their 
charge,  and  gave  so  much  of  a  religious  character  to 
their  more  frequent  intercourse  with  them,  as  in  some 
measure  supplied  the  place  of  their  former  services  as 
preachers.  By  this  means  also,  much  of  that  pecu 
niary  support  of  which  their  ejectment  was  expected  to 
deprive  them,  continued  to  be  received  ;  and  their  in 
fluence  through  the  country  was  not  lessened  by  their 
appearing  among  their  followers  in  the  light  of  sufferers, 
on  the  score  of  integrity  and  true  religion. 

There  was  also  another  circumstance  which  served 
about  this  time  to  place  the  Non-conformist  clergy  in 
an  advantageous  contrast  with  their  opponents.  During 
the  recess  of  parliament  in  1665,  many  of  the  latter  fled 
from  London  to  avoid  the  ravages  of  the  plague, 
leaving,  as  hirelings,  their  flocks  when  they  see  the 
wolf  coming;  while  the  Non-conformist  ministers 
chose  rather  to  share  in  the  danger  of  their  friends. 


*  Had  the  Dissenters  generally  evinced  the  same  determined  spirit  as  the 
Quakers,  the  sufferings  of  all  parties  would  sooner  have  come  to  an  end; 
for  government  must  have  given  way.  The  conduct  of  the  Friends,  in  this 
instance,  is  highly  to  their  honour. 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

Some  of  them  presumed  to  ascend  the  vacant  pulpits, 
and  preacli  to  the  affrighted  inhabitants. 

The  parliament,  to  escape  the  infection  from  the 
plague,  held  its  next  session  at  Oxford  ;  and  amongst 
its  earliest  proceedings  was  the  passing  of  a  bill  which 
required  every  person  in  holy  orders,  who  had  not 
complied  with  the  "Act  of  Uniformity,"  to  take  the  oath 
respecting  passive  obedience,*  and  to  bind  himself 
against  any  endeavour  towards  an  alteration  in  the 
government  of  the  church  or  the  state.  The  persons 
refusing  this  oath  were  prohibited  from  acting  as 
tutors  or  schoolmasters ;  and  were  not  to  be  seen 
within_/?Bc  miles  of  any  city,  corporate  town,  or  borough. 
Thus  most  of  the  ejected  ministers  were  banished  to 
obscure  villages,  where  they  were  not  only  separated 
from  their  friends,  but  were  generally  surrounded  by  a 
people  sunk  in  the  grossest  ignorance,  and  easily 
wrought  upon  to  treat  them  with  the  most  rancorous 
bigotry,  f 

It  is  due  to  the  memory  of  BISHOPS  RAINBOW, 
WILKINS  and  WILLIAMS,  to  record,  that  they  had  the 

*  See  APPENDIX  A. 

+  The  passage  which  follows  is  descriptive  of  a  state  of  things  which 
became  common  to  nearly  every  county  in  the  kingdom.  BAXTER  informs  us 
that  "Mr.  Taverner,  then  late  minister  of  Uxbridge,  was  sentenced  to 
Newgate/or  teaching  a/ei<  children  at  Brentford.  Mr.  Button,  of  Brent 
ford,  a  most  humble,  godly  man,  who  never  had  been  in  orders,  or  a  preacher, 
but  orator  to  the  university  of  Oxford,  was  sent  to  gaol  Jor  teaching  tn<o 
knights'  sons  in  his  house,  not  having  taken  the  Oxford  oath.  Many  of  his 
neighbours  at  lirentford  were  sent  to  the  same  prison  for  worshipping  God 
in  private  together,  where  they  alllay  several  months."  PEPYS  says  in  his 
diary,  August,  1004,  "I  saw  several  poor  creatures  carried  to-day  to  gaol  by 
constables,  for  being  at  a  conventicle.  They  go  like  lambs,  without  any 
resistance.  I  would  to  God  they  would  conform,  or  be  more  wise,  and  not 
be  catched  '." 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

courage  to  oppose  the  Conventicle  Act,  as  a  barbarous 
invasion  of  the  liberties  of  the  country.  The  king  re 
quested  BISHOP  WILLIAMS  not  to  speak  against  the  bill, 
or  to  stay  from  the  house  whilst  it  was  debated  ;  but  he 
told  His  Majesty  that  as  an  Englishman,  and  a  senator, 
he  was  bound  to  speak  his  mind.  BISHOP  EARLE  also 
did  the  same  by  the  Oxford  Act ;  concerning  which  the 
Lord  Treasurer  Southampton  shrewdly  observed,  that 
"though  he  liked  Episcopacy,  he  would  not  be  sworn 
to  it,  because  he  might  hereafter  be  of  another  opinion." 
The  number  of  tolerant  prelates,  however,  was  too  small 
to  have  a  decisive  influence  ;  though  they  had  the  ar 
gument  on  the  score  of  policy,  as  well  as  of  good  morals. 
This  was  well  illustrated  by  BISHOP  WILKINS,  in  a 
conversation  with  COSIN,  Bishop  of  Durham,  who  had 
censured  him  for  his  moderation.  "Wilkius  frankly 
told  the  bishop  that  he  was  a  better  friend  to  the  church 
than  his  Lordship;  "For  while,"  says  he,  "you  are 
for  setting  the  top  on  the  piqued  end  downwards,  you 
wont  be  able  to  keep  it  up  any  longer  than  you  continue 
whipping  and  scourging;  whereas,  I  am  for  setting  the 
broad  end  downwards,  and  so  'twill  stand  of  itself." 

But  the  cup  of  intolerance  was  not  yet  considered 
full ;  and  therefore  in  1673  a  statute  was  passed  entitled 
"an  Act  for  preventing  the  dangers  which  may  happen 
from  Popish  Recusants."  Although  this  act  was  profess 
edly  aimed  at  the  Catholics,  it  was  so  worded  as  to 
include,  within  its  capacious  grasp,  all  persons  who  dis 
sented  from  the  Parliamentary  church.  It  is  generally 
known  by  the  name  of  THE  TEST  ACT,  and  excluded  from 
any  office  of  trust  or  profit,  those  who  did  not  renounce 
the  doctrines  of  Transubstantiation,  and  receive  the 
c 


INTRODUCTION. 

ordinance  of  the  Lord's  supper  in  the  manner  prescribed 
by  the  church  of  England.*  It  is  however  to  the  credit 
and  happiness  of  the  present  times,  that  these,  with 
other  test  acts,  then  passed,  are  no  longer  suffered  to 
disgrace  the  statute  book  of  this  realm. 

Of  the  sufferings  of  the  Non-conformists,  no  exact 
estimate  can  be  made;  but  the  record  is  on  high, 
where  the  souls  of  those  suffering  men  from  beneath 
the  altar  of  God  cry  "how  long,  Lord,  holy,  just  and 
true."  JEREMY  WHITE  is  said  to  have  collected  a  list 
of  sixty  thousand  persons  who  suffered  for  dissent  be 
tween  the  Restoration  and  the  Revolution,  of  whoni/foe 
thousand  died  in  prison.  LORD  DORSET  was  assured 
by  Mr.  White,  that  king  James  II.  had  offered  him  a 
thousand  guineas  for  the  manuscript ;  but,  in  tender 
ness  to  the  reputation  of  the  church  of  England,  he 
determined  to  conceal  the  black  record. f  It  is  also 
stated,  that  within  three  years,  during  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.  property  was  wrung  from  the  Non-conform 
ists  to  the  amount  of  two  millions  sterling. 

*  This  imposition  was  noticed  in  the  following  stanzas : — 

"  Dissenters  they  were  to  be  pressed, 

To  go  to  Common  Prayer ; 
And  turn  their/aces  to  the  East, 
As  God  were  only  (here. 

"  Or  else  no  place  of  price  or  trust, 

They  ever  could  obtain; 
Which  shows  the  saying  very  just, 
That  'godliness  is  gain.'  " 

+  Mr.  John  Wesley  in  his  journal  says,  "1  saw  DR.  CALAMY'S  abridge 
ment  of  Baxter's  life.  What  a  scene  is  opened  there  !  In  spite  of  all  my 
prejudices  of  education,  I  could  not  but  see  (hat  the  Non-conformists  had 
been  used  without  either  justice  or  meicy;  and  that  many  of  tlie  Protestant 
bishops  had  no  more  religion  nor  humanity,  than  the  Popish  bishops." 


CHAP.  II. 


BARTHOLOMEW    WESLEY. 


KJECTED    FROM    CHARMOUTH,    DORSET. PRACTISES    AS    A    PHYSICI 
AN. AFFECTED    BY  THE  DEATH  OF  HIS  SON. ANTHONY  WOOD'S 

NOTICE    OF    HIM. BISHOP     BURNET*S     CHARACTER    OF    ANTHONY 

WOOD. 

This  gentleman,  the  first  of  the  Wesley  family  of 
whom  we  have  any  authentic  account,  was  the  great 
grandfather  of  the  founder  of  Arminian  Methodism,  and 
ejected  in  1662  from  the  living  of  Charmouth,  in  Dor 
setshire,  by  the  operation  of  the  Act  of  Uniformity. 
DR.  CALAMY  states,  that  when  Bartholomew  Wesley 
was  at  the  University,  he  applied  to  the  study  of  physic, 
as  well  as  divinity  ;  and,  after  his  ejectment,  he  princi 
pally  confined  himself  to  the  practice  of  medicine,  by 
which  he  gained  a  livelihood  ;  though  he  continued,  as 
the  times  would  permit,  to  preach  occasionally.*  Thus, 
the  medical  knowledge  which  he  had  acquired  from 
motives  of  charity,  became  afterwards  the  means  of  his 
support. 

It  appears  from  the  history  of  the  Non-conformists, 
that  many  of  the  ministers,  when  ejected,  had  recourse 
to  the  practice  of  physic  for  a  subsistence.  They  were 
not  allowed  to  act  as  preachers  either  in  public  or  pri 
vate  ;  and  though  their  learned  education  qualified 

*  PALMER'S  Non-conformists'  Memorial. 


16  BARTHOLOMEW  WESLEY. 

them  to  be  instructors  of  youth,  yet  this  was  also,  on 
grievous  penalties,  proscribed.  Some  of  them,  indeed, 
had  received  previous  qualifications  at  the  University 
for  the  praclice  of  physic,  as  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Bartholomew  Wesley;  but  others  had  no  advantage 
of  this  kind,  and  therefore  practised  at  great  hazard, 
which  caused  one  of  them  to  say  to  the  person  by  whom 
his  ejectment  was  put  in  force,  "I  perceive  that  this  is 
likely  to  occasion  the  death  of  many."  The  com 
missioner,  supposing  these  words  to  savour  of  contu 
macy  and  rebellion,  questioned  him  severely  on  the 
subject.  To  whom  he  replied,  "that  being  deprived  by 
the  act  of  every  means  of  obtaining  his  bread  in  the 
manner  he  was  best  qualified,  he  had  recourse  to  the 
praclice  of  medicine,  which  he  did  not  properly  under 
stand,  and  thereby  the  lives  of  some  of  his  patients 
might  be  endangered."  This  was  no  doubt  the  case 
in  many  instances  ;  for  if  the  regular  and  well-educated 
practitioners  be  liable  to  mistakes,  and  nothing  is  more 
certain,  what  must  be  the  case  with  the  unskilful  ?* 

From  DR.  CALAMY'S  account,  it  appears  that  Mr. 
Wesley's  preaching  was  not  very  popular,  owing  to  a 
peculiar  plainness  of  speech.  In  what  this  consisted 
we  are  not  informed;  but  we  know  that  plainness  of 
speech,  when  the  sense  is  good,  and  the  doctrine  sound, 
would  not  prevent  the  popularity  of  any  preacher  in  the 
present  day.  Mr.  Bartholomew  Wesley  does  not  ap 
pear  to  have  lived  long  after  his  ejectment ;  but  when 
he  died,  is  uncertain.  All  we  know  of  him  is,  that  he 
was  so  much  affected  by  the  premature  death  of  his 

*  BAXTER,  whenhe  first  settled  at  Kidderminster,  gave  advice  in  physic 
gratis,  and  was  very  successful. 


BARTHOLOMEW  WESLEY. 

excellent  son  John,  who  was  also  a  minister,  that  this 
circumstance  brought  down  his  grey  hairs  with  sorrow 
to  the  grave  about  1670. 

There  is  a  story  told  of  Bartholomew  Wesley  by 
ANTHONY  WOOD,  in  his  "  Athense  Oxonicnsis,"  to  the 
following  effect.  Speaking  of  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley, 
Rector  of  Epworth,  he  says,  "the  said  Samuel  Wesley 

is  grandson  to Wesley,  the  fanatical  minister, 

sometime  of  Charmouth,  in  Dorsetshire.  In  1651, 
king  CHARLES  II.  and  LORD  WILMOT  had  like  to  have 
been  by  him  betrayed,  when  they  continued  incognito, 
in  that  county."* 

*  LORD  CLARENDON'S  account  of  Charles' arrival  at  Charmoiith  is  as 
follows :—"  It  was  a  solemn  fast-day  observed  in  those  times  to  inflame  the 
people  against  the  king,  and  there  was  a  chapel  in  that  village  over 
against  the  inn  where  the  king  and  his  companion  lodged,  in  which  chapel 
a  weaver,  who  had  been  a  soldier,  used  to  preach  and  utter  all  the  villany 
imaginable  against  the  government;  and  he  was  then  preaching  to  his  con 
gregation,  (when  the  king  left  the  inn)  and  telling  them  that '  Charles  Stuart 
was  lurking  somewhere  in  that  county,  and  that  they  would  merit  from  God 
if  they  could  find  him  out.'  The  passengers  who  had  lodged  in  the  same  inn 
that  night,  had,  as  soon  as  they  were  up,  sent  for  a  smith  to  examine  the 
shoes  of  their  horses,  it  being  a  hard  frost.  The  smith,  as  soon  as  he 
had  done  what  he  was  sent  for,  examined  the  feet  of  the  other  two  horses, 
to  find  more  work.  When  he  had  observed  them,  he  told  the  host  of  the  house 
'that  one  of  those  horses  had  travelled  far;  and  that  he  was  sure  that  his 
four  shoes  had  been  made  in  four  several  counties  ;'  which  was  very  true. 
The  smith  going  to  the  sermon,  told  this  story  to  some  of  his  neighbours,  and 
so  it  came  to  the  ears  of  the  preacher  when  his  sermon  was  done.  Imme 
diately  the  preacher  sent  for  an  officer  and  searched  the  inn,  and  inquired 
for  those  horses  ;  and  being  informed  that  they  were  gone,  he  caused  them 
to  be  followed,  and  inquiry  to  be  made  after  the  two  men  who  rid  the  horses, 
and  positively  declared  that  one  of  them  was  Charles  Stuart." 

PEI'YS'  account  of  this  escape,  as  taken  from  the  King  himself,  is, 
"The  horses  were  ordered  to  be  got  ready,  and  the  King's,  which  carried  < 
double,  (for  he  rode  before  Mrs.  Conisby  as  a  servant,  by  the  name  of 
William  Jtitkson,)  having  a  shoe  loose,  a  smith  was  sent  for,  who  looking 
over  the  shoes  of  the  other  horses,  he  said  he  knew  that  some  of  them  had 
been  shod  near  Worcester.  When  he  had  fastened  the  shoes,  he  went  presently 
to  consult  Westby,  [the  similarity  of  this  name  with  Weslej/  appears  to  have 
misled  Wood]  a  rigid,  foolish  Presbyterian  minister  of  Charmouth,  who 
was  then  in  a  long-winded  prayer;  and  before  he  had  done,  the  King  was 
gone  on  with  Mrs.  Conisby  and  Mr,  Wyndham  to  Bridpcrt." 

c  2 


18 


BARTHOLOMEW  WESLEY. 


This  tale  of  the  crabbed  and  bigotted  ANTHONY 
WOOD,  like  many  other  of  his  slanders,  appears,  upon 
reference  to  the  account  given  of  the  King's  escape 
after  the  battle  of  Worcester,  by  LORD  CLARENDON  and 
others,  to  be  inconsistent  and  absurd.  We  need  not 
be  surprised  that  the  man  who  was  capable  of  reviling 
the  celebrated  JOHN  LOCKE,  JOHN  OWEN,  and  several 
other  eminent  men,  should  designate  Mr.  Bartholomew 
Wesley,  the  fanatical  minister  of  Charmouth.  BISHOP 
BURNET,  who  was  contemporary  with  Wood,  and  well 
acquainted  with  the  virulence  of  his  spirit,  gives  him 
the  following  character.  "  That  poor  writer,  Wood,  in 
his  Athense  Oxoniensis,  has  thrown  together  such  a 
tumultuary  mixture  of  stuff  and  tattle,  and  was  so  visi 
bly  a  tool  of  the  church  of  Rome,  that  no  man  who  has 
any  regard  for  his  own  reputation,  will  take  upon  trust 
what  is  said  by  one  who  has  no  reputation  to  lose." 


CHAP.  III. 


JOHN  WESLEY,  VICAR  OF  WHITCHURCH. 


SENT  TO  OXFORD  UNIVERSITY,  WHERE  HE  OBTAINS  THE  CONFI 
DENCE  OF  DR.  OWEN. SETTLES  AT  WH1TCH  URCH,  IN  DORSET 
SHIRE,  AND  MARRIES. HIS  INTERVIEW  WITH  BISHOP  IRONSIDE. 

MR.    WESLEY    COMMITTED    TO    PRISON    FOR    NOT    READING  THE 

BOOK    OF    COMMON    PRAYER. HIS    TRIAL    AND    ANSWERS  TO  THE 

JUDGE. WISHES  TO  VISIT    SOITH    AMERICA  AS   A  MISSIONARY. 

HIS  FURTHER  SUFFERINGS  IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  NON-CONFOKMITY. — 
HIS    DEATH    AND    CHARACTER. HIS    WIDOW. 

JOHN  WESLEY,  A.  M.,  son  of  Bartholomew,  was 
religiously  brought  up,  and  early  dedicated  by  his 
father  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  At  a  proper  age 
he  was  entered  of  New  Inn  Hall,  Oxford.  He  applied 
himself  particularly  to  the  study  of  the  Oriental  lan 
guages,  in  which  he  is  said  to  have  made  great  profi 
ciency,  and  gained  the  esteem  of  DR.  JOHN  OWEN,  then 
Vice  Chancellor  of  the  University,  who  showed  him 
great  kindness.  That  Mr.  Wesley  possessed  the 
confidence  and  regard  of  this  "  prince  of  divines,"  is 
no  small  honour.* 

*  "Thename  of  OWEN"  say  the  historians  of  the  Dissenters,  "has  been 
raised  to  imperial  dignity  in  the  theological  world.  A  young  minister  who 
wishes  to  attain  eminence,  if  he  has  not  the  works  of  HOWE,  and  can  pro 
cure  them  in  no  other  way,  should  sell  his  coat  and  buy  them ;  and  if  that 
will  not  suffice,  let  him  sell  his  bed  too,  and  lie  on  the  floor;  and  if  he  spend 
his  days  in  reading  them,  he  will  not  complain  that  he  lies  hard  at  night." 
But  "  if  the  theological  student  should  part  with  his  coat  or  his  bed  to  procure 
the  works  of  Howe,  he  that  would  not  sell  his  shirt  to  procure  those  of 
JOHN  OWEN,  and  especially  his  Exposition,  of  which  every  sentence  is  pre 
cious,  shows  too  much  regard  for  his  body,  and  too  little  for  his  immortal 
•soul." 


20  JOHN  WESLEY, 

Mr.  Wesley  began  to  preach  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two,  and  in  May  1653,  settled  at  Whitchurch,  a  vicarage 
in  Dorsetshire,  the  income  of  which  was  only  £30  per 
annum.  He  was  promised  an  augmentation  of  £100 
a  year;  but  the  changes  which  then  took  place  in  the 
government  prevented  him  from  receiving  this  advance. 
Whilst  at  Whitchurch,  he  married  the  niece  of  DR. 
THOMAS  FULLER,  author  of  the  Worthies  of  England, 
who  was  celebrated  for  his  learning  and  prodigious 
memory,  and  also  for  the  facility  with  which  he  clothed 
fine  thoughts  in  beautiful  language.*  By  this  lady  he 
had  two  sons,  MATTHEW  and  SAMUEL,  whom  we  shall 
notice  hereafter.  DR.  CALAMY  says  he  had  a  numerous 
family,  but  the  names  of  none  but  these  two  have  come 
down  to  posterity.  It  appears  that,  like  his  father 
Bartholomew,  he  had  serious  scruples  against  the  book 
of  Common  Prayer ;  and  soon  after  the  Restoration 
some  of  his  neighbours  gave  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble 
on  this  account. 

They  complained  of  him  to  DR.  GILBERT  IRONSIDE, 
then  Bishop  of  Bristol,  and  laid  many  grievous  things 
to  his  charge.  Mr.  Wesley,  on  being  informed  that  the 
bishop  desired  to  speak  with  him,waited  on  his  Lordship, 

*  DK.  FULLER  could  repeat  a  sermon  verbatim  after  once  hearing  it, 
and  undertook,  in  passing  to  and  from  Temple  Bar  to  the  Poultry,  to  tell 
every  sign  as  it  stood  in  order  on  both  sides  of  the  way,  and  to  repeat  them 
either  backwards  or  forwards ;  which  he  actually  did.  He  also  possessed  a 
great  deal  of  wit,  which  he  could  not  suppress  in  his  most  serious  composi 
tions,  but  it  was  always  made  subservient  to  some  good  purpose.  He  had 
all  the  rich  imagery  of  BISHOP  HALL,  with  more  familiarity,  but  less  ele 
gance.  He  was  fond  of  punning  on  others,  and  sometimes  was  repaid  in  his 
own  coin.  Being  in  company  with  a  gentleman  whose  name  was  Sparrorv- 
harvk,  the  doctor,  who  was  very  corpulent,  said,  "Pray  Sir,  what  is  the 
difference  between  an  oni  and  a  sp  arrow  hair  k  ?"  The  gentleman  answered, 
"It  is  fuller  in  the  head— fuller  in  the  body — and  fuller  all  over." 


VICAR  OF  WHITCHURCH.  21 

and  has  recorded  in  his  diary  the  conversation 
which  then  took  place.*  This  dialogue  displays  the 
character  of  Mr.  Wesley  in  a  favourable  point  of  view; 
and,  considering  his  age,  shows  a  mind  elevated  above 
the  common  level.  It  also  reflects  credit  upon  the 
bishop,  considering  the  bigotry  of  the  times. 

As  the  conversation  is  of  considerable  length,  we 
shall  only  give  a  summary  of  the  first  part  of  it.  Mr. 
Wesley's  defence  of  himself  turns  chiefly  on  two  points; 
his  allegiance  to  the  king;  and  his  right  to  preach  the 
gospel.  With  respect  to  the  first,  he  solemnly  assures 
the  bishop,  that  the  things  alleged  against  him  were 
either  invented,  or  mistaken;  that,  •whatever  his  ene 
mies  might  say,  there  were  others  who  would  give  a 
different  character  of  him;  that  he  did  not  think  the 
Non-conformists  were  his  majesty's  enemies;  and  that 
he  had  conscientiously  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance, 
and  would  faithfully  keep  it. 

With  respect  to  the  second  point,  the  bishop  informs 
Mr.  Wesley,  that  if  he  preaches,  it  must  be  upon  ordi 
nation,  according  to  the  order  of  the  church  of  England. 
As  to  his  abilities,  Mr.  Wesley  offered  to  submit  to  any 
examination  his  Lordship  might  appoint ;  and  would 
give  him  a  confession  of  his  faith,  or  take  any  other 
method  that  might  be  required.  He  then  states  the 
reasons  which  satisfied  him,  that  he  ought  to  preach. 
These  were,  1st.  That  he  was  devoted  to  the  service 
from  his  infancy.  2nd.  That  he  was  educated  for  it, 


*  Mr.  Wesley  kept  a  diary  or  journal,  with  little  intermission,  till  his 
death,  and  probably  this  influenced  his  grandson  of  the  same  name,  who  must 
have  heard  of  it,  to  follow  the  practice.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  manu 
script  is  now  lost,  except  the  extracts  preserved  by  Calamy. 


*2  JOHN  WESLEY, 

at  school  and  in  the  University.  3rd.  That  as  a  son 
of  the  prophets,  after  having  taken  his  degrees,  he 
preached  in  the  country,  being  approved  of  by  judici 
ous,  able  Christians,  ministers  and  others.  4th.  That 
it  pleased  God  to  seal  his  labours  with  success  in  the 
conversion  of  several  souls.  5th.  That  the  church 
seeing  the  presence  of  God  with  him,  did,  by  fasting 
and  prayer,  on  a  day  set  apart  for  that  purpose,  seek 
an  abundant  blessing  on  his  endeavours.  At  this  part 
of  the  conversation,  the  bishop  exclaimed,  "A  particular 
church,  I  suppose  \"  Yes,  my  lord,  says  Mr.  Wesley, 
I  am  not  ashamed  to  own  myself  a  member  of  one. 
BISHOP,  You  have  no  warrant  for  your  particular 
churches.  WESLEY.  We  have  a  plain,  full  and  suffi 
cient  rule  for  gospel  worship  in  the  New  Testament, 
recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  Epistles. 
BISHOP.  We  have  not.  WESLEY.  The  practice  of  the 
Apostles  is  a  standing  rule  in  those  cases  which  were 
not  extraordinary.  BISHOP.  Not  their  practice,  but 
their  precepts.  WESLEY.  Both  precepts  and  practice. 
Our  duty  is  not  delivered  to  us  in  scripture  only  by 
precepts,  but  by  precedents,  by  promises,  by  threaten- 
ings  mixed,  not  common-place  wise.  May  it  please 
your  Lordship,  we  believe  that  cultus  non  institutus  est 
indebitus.  BISHOP.  It  is  false.  WESLEY.  The  second 
commandment  speaks  the  same  ;  Thou  shalt  not  make 
unto  thyself  any  graven  image.  BISHOP.  That  is  a 
form  of  your  own  invention.  WESLEY.  Bishop  Andrews 
taking  notice  of  non  fades  tibi,  satisfied  me,  that  we 
may  not  worship  God  but  as  commanded.  BISHOP.  You 
take  discipline,  church  government,  and  circumstances 


VICAR  OF  WHITCHURCH.  23 

for  worship.     WESLEY.    You  account  ceremonies  parts 
of  worship. 

BISHOP.  But  what  say  you  ?  Did  you  not  wear  a 
sword  in  the  time  of  the  Committee  of  safety,*  with 
Demy  and  the  rest  of  them  ?  WESLEY.  My  Lord, 
I  have  given  you  my  answer  therein:  and  I  further 
say,  that  I  have  conscientiously  taken  the  oath  of  alle 
giance,  and  faithfully  kept  it  hitherto.  I  appeal  to  all 
that  are  around  me.  BISHOP.  But  nobody  will  trust 
you.  You  stood  it  out  to  the  last  gasp.  WESLEY. 
I  know  not  what  you  mean  by  the  last  gasp.  When  I 
saw  the  pleasure  of  Providence  to  turn  the  order  of 
things,  I  did  submit  quietly  thereunto.  BISHOP.  That 
was  at  last.  WESLEY.  Yet  many  such  men  are  now 
trusted,  and  about  the  king.  BISHOP.  They  are  such 
as  fought  on  the  parliament  side  during  the  war,  yet 
disowned  those  latter  proceedings  ;  but  you  abode  even 
till  Haselrig's  coming  to  Portsmouth. f  WESLEY.  His 
Majesty  has  pardoned  whatever  you  may  be  informed 
of  concerning  me  of  that  nature.  I  am  not  here  on 
that  account.  BISHOP.  I  expected  you  not.  WESLEY. 
Your  lordship  seat  your  desire  by  two  or  three  mes 
sengers.  Had  I  been  refractory,  I  need  not  have  come ; 
but  I  would  give  no  just  cause  of  offence.  I  still  think 
that  the  Non-conformists  were  none  of  His  Majesty's 

*  "  The  committee  of  safety,"  mentioned  by  the  bishop,  was  formed 
October  26th, 1659,  bythegreat  officers  of  the  army.  It  consisted  of  twenty 
three  persons,  who  were  ordered  "to  endeavour  some  settlement  of  the 
government,"  after  the  death  of  Cromwell. 

+  It  was  in  1659  that  SIR  ARTHUR  HA SELRJG  was  sent  to  Portsmouth 
by  the  pa  r'iament,  the  tow  nand  garrison  of  which  declared  for  (hem,  sga  inst  the 
orders  of  the  committee  of  safety.  This  declaration  "  was  one  ofthelastpub- 
lic"  ants  against  the  restoration  of  the  kins:,  and  might  fitly  be  denominated 
thelast  gas  p. 


24  JOHN  WESLEY, 

enemies.  BISHOP.  They  were  traitors.  They  began 
the  war.  Knox  and  Buchanan  in  Scotland,  and  those 
like  them  in  England.  WESLEY.  I  have  read  the  pro 
testation,  of  owning  the  king's  supremacy.  BISHOP. 
They  did  it  in  hypocrisy.  WESLEY.  You  used  to  tax 
the  poor  independents  for  judging  folks'  hearts.  Who 
doth  it  now  ?  BISHOP.  I  did  not,  for  they  pretended 
one  thing  and  acted  another.  Do  not  I  know  them 
better  than  you  ?  WESLEY.  I  know  them  by  their 
works.  BISHOP.  Well  then,  you  justify  your  preach 
ing,  without  ordination  according  to  law  ?  WESLEY. 
All  these  things  laid  together  are  satisfactory  to  me 
for  my  procedure  therein.  BISHOP.  They  are  not 
enough.  WESLEY.  There  has  been  more  written  in 
proof  of  the  preaching  of  gifted  persons,  with  such  ap 
probation,  than  has  been  answered  by  any  one  yet. 
BISHOP.  I  am  glad  I  have  heard  you.  You  will  stand 
to  your  principles,  you  say?  WESLEY.  I  intend  it, 
through  the  grace  of  God;  and  to  be  faithful  to  the 
king's  majesty,  however  you  may  deal  with  me.  BISHOP. 
I  will  not  meddle  with  you.  WESLEY.  Farewell  to  you, 
Sir.  BISHOP.  Farewell,  good  Mr.  Wesley. 

In  the  beginning  of  1662,  however,  Mr.  Wesley 
was  seized  on  the  Lord's  day,  as  he  was  coming  out  of 
church,  carried  to  Blandford,  and  committed  to  prison. 
SIR  GERHARD  NAPPER,  one  of  the  most  furious  of  his 
enemies,  meeting  with  an  accident  by  which  he  broke 
his  collar  bone,  was  so  far  softened  in  mind  towards 
the  Non-conformists,  that  he  sent  some  persons  to  bail 
Mr.  Wesley,  and  some  other  ministers,  and  told  them 
if  they  would  not,  he  would  do  it  himself.  Mr.  Wesley 
was  then  set  at  liberty,  but  bound  over  to  appear  at 


VICAR  OF  WHITCHURCH.  25 

the  next  assizes.  He  went  accordingly,  and  came  off 
much  better  than  he  expected.  On  this  occasion,  the 
good  man  recorded  in  his  diary  the  mercy  of  God  to 
him  in  raising  him  up  several  friends,  and  in  restraining 
the  wrath  of  man,  so  that  the  judge,  though  very 
passionate,  spoke  not  an  angry  word  to  him.  The  sum 
of  the  proceedings  as  it  stands  in  his  diary,  is  as 
follows  : — "CLERK.  Call  Mr.  Wesley,  of  Whitchurch. 
WESLEY.  Here.  JUDGE.  Why  will  you  not  read  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer.  WESLEY.  The  book  was 
never  tendered  to  me.  JUDGE.  Must  the  book  be  ten 
dered  to  you  ?  WESLEY.  So  I  conceive  by  the  act. 
JUDGE.  Are  you  ordained  ?  WESLEY.  I  am  ordained 
to  preach  the  gospel.  JUDGE.  From  whom  ?  WESLEY, 
I  have  given  an  account  thereof  already  to  the  bishop. 
JUDGE.  What  bishop  ?  WESLEY.  The  Bishop  of  Bris 
tol.  JUDGE.  I  say  by  whom  were  you  ordained  ?  How 
long  is  it  since  ?  WESLEY.  Four  or  five  years  ago. 
JUDGE.  By  whom?  WESLEY.  By  those  who  were  then 
empowered.  JUDGE.  I  thought  so.  Have  you  a  pre 
sentation  to  your  place  ?  WESLEY.  I  have.  JUDGE. 
From  whom  ?  WESLEY.  May  it  please  your  Lordship 
it  is  a  legal  presentation.  JUDGE.  By  whom  was  it  ? 
WESLEY.  By  the  trustees.  JUDGE.  Have  you  brought 
it?  WESLEY.  I  have  not.  JUDGE.  Why  not?  WES 
LEY.  Because  I  did  not  expect  I  should  be  asked  any 
such  questions  here.  JUDGE.  I  wish  you  to  read  the 
Common  Prayer  at  your  peril.  You  will  not  say, 
"  From  all  sedition  and  privy  conspiracy  ;  from  all  false 
doctrine,  heresy  and  schism,  good  Lord,  deliver  us!" 
CLERK.  Call  MR.  MEECH,  [who  appeared.]  JUDGE.  Does 
Mr.  Wesley  read  the  Common  Prayer  yet  ?  MEECH. 


26  JOHN  WESLEY, 

May  it  please  your  Lordship,  he  never  did,  nor  he  never 
will.  JUDGE.  Friend,  how  do  you  know  that?  He 
may  bethink  himself.  MEECH.  He  never  did,  he  never 
will.*  SOLICITOR.  We  will,  when  we  see  the  new  book, 
either  read  it,  or  leave  our  place  at  Bartholomew-tide. 
JUDGE.  Are  you  not  bound  to  read  the  old  book  till 
then  ?  Let  us  see  the  act." 

While  the  judge  was  reading  to  himself,  another 
cause  was  called  ;  and  Mr.  Wesley  was  bound  over  to 
the  next  assizes.  He  came  joyfully  home »  and  preach 
ed  every  Lord's-day  till  August  the  17th,  when  he 
delivered  his  farewell  sermon  to  a  weeping  audience, 
from  Acts  xx,  32, — "  And  now,  brethren,  I  commend 
you  to  God,  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able  to 
build  you  up,  and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all 
them  which  are  sanctified."  On  the  26th  of  October, 
the  place  was  declared  vacant  by  an  apparitor,  and 
orders  were  given  to  sequester  the  profits ;  but  his 
people  had  given  him  what  was  due.  On  the  22nd  of 
February,  1663,  he  quitted  Whitchurch,  and  removed 


*  In  1661  the  King  ordered  the  Convocation  to  review  the  Book  of  Com 
mon  Prayer,  and  to  make  such  additions  or  amendments  as  should  appear 
to  be  necessary.  By  several  of  the  prelates  it  was  pretended  that  no  altera 
tions  were  required,  but  the  majority  professed  to  be  of  another  judgment. 
At  the  close  of  a  month  the  book  was  completely  revised.  Not  less  than 
six  hundred  alterations  were  introduced;  and  the  reader,  who  has  patience 
to  examine  them  will,  perhaps,  admire  the  ingenuity  which  could  discover 
so  much  to  improve,  and  at  the  same  time  leave  nearly  every  point  objected 
to  by  the  Non-conformists  untouched.  The  general  effect,  indeed,  was, 
that  the  prayer-book  became  more  exceptionable  than  ever,  and  the  terms 
of  conformity  more  severe.  DR.  WORDSWORTH  informs  us,  that  "in  the 
settlement  of  the  Prayer  Book  under  Queen  Elizabeth,  great  care  was  taken 
to  unite  the  whole  nation  in  one  religion,  and  therefore  whatever  was  found 
in  the  liturgy,  published  by  Edward  VI.  that  might  exasperate  or  offend  the 
Catholics  was  taken  out,  which  made  the  book  so  passable  among  the  papists, 
that  for  ten  years  they  generally  repaired  to  the  parish  churches,  without 
doubt  or  scruple. 


VICAR  OF  WHITCHURCH.  27 

with  his  family  to  MELCOMBE  ;  upon  which  the  corpora 
tion  there  made  an  order  against  his  settlement,  im 
posing  a  fine  of  £20  upon  his  landlady,  and  5s.  a- week 
upon  himself,  to  be  levied  by  distress.  These  violent 
proceedings  forced  him  to  leave  the  town,  and  go  to 
Bridgewater,  Ilminster  aud  Taunton,  in  which  places 
he  met  with  great  kindness  and  friendship  from  all  the 
three  denominations  of  dissenters,  and  was  almost  every 
day  employed  in  preaching :  he  also  obtained  some 
good  friends,  who  were  afterwards  very  kind  to  him  and 
his  family.  At  length  a  gentleman,  who  had  a  very 
good  house  at  Preston,  in  Dorsetshire,  permitted  him 
to  live  in  it,  without  paying  any  rent.  Thither  he  re 
moved  his  family  in  the  beginning  of  May  1663.  He 
records  his  coming  to  Preston,  and  his  comfortable  ac 
commodation  there,  with  great  thankfulness. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  this  excellent  man, 
like  his  grandson  long  after  him,  felt  a  strong  desire  to 
visit  the  continent  of  America.  Surinam,  a  settlement 
in  South  America,  was  the  first  object  in  the  contem 
plation  of  his  missionary  zeal.  This  purpose,  however, 
was  abandoned  ;  as  was  also  another  of  going  to  Mary 
land.  The  advice  of  friends  prevailed ;  and  probably 
the  difficulty  and  expense  of  removing  his  family  so 
far,  were  the  chief  impediments.  Indeed,  such  a  re 
moval  in  his  circumstances,  must  have  been  all  but 
impossible.  He  therefore  made  up  his  mind  to  abide 
in  the  land  of  his  nativity ;  to  be  at  the  disposal  of 
Divine  Providence,  relying  on  the  promise,  "verily, 
thou  shult  be  fed." 

Being  after  this  prevented  from  frequent  preach 
ing,  and  not  willing  to  be  without  public  worship,  Mr. 


^8  JOHN  WESLEY, 

Wesley  would  gladly  have  attended  the  church  service, 
but  there  were  several  things  in  the  liturgy  to  which  he 
could  not  give  a  conscientious  assent.  About  this  time 
he  was  not  a  little  troubled  respecting  his  own  preach 
ing;  whether  it  should  be  carried  on  openly  or  in 
private.  Some  of  the  neighbouring  ministers,  particu 
larly  Messrs.  Bam/ield,  Ince,*  Hallet,  of  Shaston,  and 
John  Sacheverel,-\-  were  for  preaching  publicly  with 
open  doors.  But  Mr.  Wesley  thought  it  was  his  duty 
to  "  beware  of  men;"  and  that  he  was  bound  in  prudence 
to  keep  himself  at  liberty  as  long  as  he  could.  Ac 
cordingly,  by  preaching  only  in  private,  he  was  kept 


*  Of  this  MR.  INCE,  the  following  remarkable  fact  is  related  :—"  Not 
long  after  the  year  1062,  MR.  GROVE,  a  gentleman  of  great  fortune,  in  Dorset, 
when  his  wife  was  lying  dangerously  ill,  sent  for  the  parish  minister  to  pray 
with  her.  When  the  message  arrived,  the  clergyman  was  just  going  out 
with  the  hounds,  and  sent  word  that  he  would  come  when  the  hunt  was  over. 
On  Mr  Grove  expressing  much  resentment  at  the  minister's  conduct,  one  of 
the  servants  said, '  Sir,  our  shepherd,  if  you  will  send  for  him  can  pray  very 
well ;  we  have  often  heard  him  at  prayer  in  the  fields.'  Upon  this  he  was 
immediately  sent  for;  and  Mr.  Grove  asking  him  whether  he  ever  did,  or 
could  pray,  the  shepherd,  fixing  his  eyes  upon  him,  and  with  peculiar  serious- 
ness  in  his  countenance,  replied,  '  God  foihid,  Sir,  that  I  should  live  one  day 
without  prayer.'  Hereupon  he  was  desired  to  pray  with  the  sick  lady; 
which  he  did  so  pertinently  to  the  case,  with  such  fluency  and  fervency  of 
devotion,  as  greatly  to  astonish  the  husband,  and  all  the  family  who  were 
present.  When  they  arose  from  their  knees,  the  gentleman  addressed  Mr. 
Ince  to  this  effect: — 'Your  language  and  manner  discover  you  to  be  a  very 
different  person  from  what  your  present  appearance  indicates.  I  entreat 
you  to  inform  me  who  you  are,  and  what  were  your  views  and  situation  in 
life  before  you  came  into  my  service.'  Whereupon  Mr.  Ince  told  him  he 
was  one  of  the  ministers  who  had  then  been  lately  ejected,  and  that  having 
nothing  of  his  own  left,  he  was  content  for  a  livelihood,  to  submit  to  the 
honest  and  peaceful  employment  of  tending  sheep.  Upon  hearing  this,  Mr. 
Grove  said,  'Then  you  shall  be  my  shepherd;'  and  immediately  erected  a 
meeting-house  on  his  own  estate,  in  which  Mr.  Ince  preached,  and  gathered 
a  congregation  of  Dissenters." 

+  This  gentleman  (who  had  two  brothers  ministers,  and  who  were  also 
ejected  by  the  Act  of  Uniformity)  was  grandfather  of  the  notorious  DR. 
HENRY  SACHEVEREL,  the  high  church  bigot  in  the  reign  of  Qnecn  Anne. 


VICAR  OF  WHITCHURCH.  29 

longer  out  of  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  than  the  minis 
ters  before  mentioned,  all  of  whom  were  indicted  at  the 
next  assizes  "for  a  riotous  and  unlawful  assembly,  held 
at  Shaston ;"  and  were  found  guilty  aud  fined  forty 
marks  each,  and  were  bound  to  find  security  for  their 
good  behaviour:  or  in  other  words,  that  they  would  not 
speak  any  more  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  This  impious 
injunction  on  faithful  men  was  a  general  curse  to  the 
nation.  "A  torrent  of  iniquity,"  says  DR.  CLARKE, 
"  deep,  rapid  and  strong,  deluged  the  whole  land,  and 
nearly  swept  away  vital  religion  from  it.  The  king 
(Charles  II.)  had  no  religion  either  in  power  or  in 
form.  Though  a  papist  in  his  heart,  he  was  the  most 
worthless  sovereign  that  ever  sat  on  the  British  throne, 
and  profligate  beyond  measure ;  without  a  single  good 
quality  to  redeem  his  bad  ones ;  and  the  church  and 
state  joined  hand  in  hand  with  him  in  persecution  and 
intolerance.  Since  those  barbarous  and  iniquitous 
times,  '  what  hath  God  wrought  ?'  There  was  then  no 
open  vision.  Most  of  the  faithful  of  the  land  were 
either  silenced  as  to  public  preaching,  or  shut  up  in 
prison,  and  the  rest  were  hidden  in  corners."  Mr. 
Wesley,  in  a  private  manner,  preached  frequently  to  a 
few  good  people  at  Preston,  and  occasionally  at  Wey- 
mouth  and  other  places  contiguous.  After  some  time, 
he  had  a  call  from  a  number  of  Christians  at  Poole,  in 
Dorsetshire,  to  become  their  pastor.  He  consented, 
and  continued  with  them  while  he  lived,  administering 
to  them  all  the  ordinances  of  God  as  opportunity 
afforded. 

But  notwithstanding  all  the   prudent  precaution 
with  which  he  conducted  these  meetings,  Mr.  Wesley 
D  '2 


30 


JOHN  WESLEY, 


was  often  disturbed,  several  times  apprehended,  and 
four  times  imprisoned;  once  at  Poole  for  six  months, 
and  once  at  Dorchester  for  three  months.  The  other 
confinements  were  shorter.  DR.  CALAMY  adds,  "he 
was  in  many  straits  and  difficulties;  but  was  wonder 
fully  supported  and  comforted  ;  and  often  very  season 
ably  and  surprisingly  relieved  and  delivered.  Yet  the 
removal  of  several  eminent  Christians  into  another 
world,  who  had  been  his  intimate  acquaintance  and 
kind  friends ;  the  decay  of  serious  religion  among  many 
professors ;  and  the  increasing  rage  of  the  enemies  of 
real  godliness,  manifestly  seized  on  and  sunk  his 
spirits."*  At  length  having  filled  up  his  part  of  what 
is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  his  flesh,  and 
finished  the  work  given  him  to  do,  he  was  taken  out  of 
this  vale  of  tears  to  that  world,  "where  the  wicked 
cease  from  troubling,  and  the  weary  are  at  rest,"  about 
the  year  1670,  aged  thirty-five. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  DR.  CALAMY,  who  once 
had  in  his  possession  the  diary  of  this  excellent  man, 
furnishes  so  very  few  dates  and  particulars  respect 
ing  him.  DR.  WHITEHEAD,  who  gives  an  abstract  of 
Calamy's  account  of  him,  concludes  it  with  the  follow 
ing  reflections.  "1.  Mr.  Wesley  appears  to  have  made 
himself  master  of  the  controverted  points  in  which  he 
differed  from  the  established  church,  and  to  have  made 
up  his  opinions  from  a  conviction  of  their  truth.  2. 
He  shews  an  ingenious  mind,  free  from  low  cunning  in 
the  open  avowal  of  his  sentiments  to  the  bishop.  3. 
He  appears  to  have  been  remarkably  conscientious  in 
all  his  conduct,  and  a  zealous  promoter  of  genuine 

*  PALMER'S  Non-conformists'  Memorial. 


VICAR  OF  WHITCHURCH.  31 

piety,  both  in  himself  and  others  4.  He  discovered 
great  firmness  of  mind,  and  an  unshaken  attachment 
to  his  principles,  in  the  midst  of  the  most  unchristian 
persecution."* 

MRS.  WESLEY  long  survived  her  husband  ;  but 
how  long  we  cannot  ascertain.  In  a  letter  written  by 
SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  in  1710,  he  speaks  of  having 
visited  his  grandmother  Wesley,  then  a  widow  of  almost 
forty  years.  It  does  not  appear  that  this  venerable 
widow  had  any  help  from  her  own  family  ;  and  there  is 
reason  to  believe  she  was  entirely  dependent  on,  and 
supported  by,  her  sons  Matthew  and  Samuel.  How  far 
the  former  may  have  contributed  to  her  support,  we  know 
not :  his  disposition  appears  to  have  been  mean  and 
avaricious;  but  that  the  old  lady  was  deeply  indebted 
to  the  latter,  we  learn  from  one  of  his  letters  to  ARCH 
BISHOP  SHARP,  dated  December  the  30th,  1700,  in 
which  he  says, — "The  next  year  my  barn  fell,  which 
cost  me  £40  in  rebuilding  ;  and  having  an  aged  mother, 
who  must  have  gone  to  prison  if  I  had  not  assisted  her 
she  cost  me  upwards  of  £40.  Ten  pounds  a-year  I 
allow  my  mother  to  keep  her  from  starving."  How 
doleful  was  the  lot  of  this  poor  woman  !  persecuted 
with  her  husband  during  the  whole  of  her  married  life, 
and  abandoned  to  poverty  during  a  long  and  dreary 
widowhood. 

*  Wnn  EHEAD'S  Life  of  Mr.  John  Wesley. 


CHAP.  IV. 


DR.    SAMUEL    ANNESLEY 


HIS  BIRTH  AND  RELATIONSHIP. HIS  EARLY  PIETY. SENT  TO  THE 

UNIVERSITY    OF    OXFORD. SETTLES    AT    CLIFFE,    IN    KENT. — 

PREACHES    BEFORE    THE    HOUSE    OF  COMMONS. PROMOTED   TO 

ST.  PAUL'S  AND   ST.  GILES',  CRIPPLEGATE. — EJECTED  BY   THE 

ACT  OF  UNIFORMITY. BECOMES  PASTOR  OF  A  MEETING  HOUSE 

IN  LITTLE  ST.  HELEN'S. HAS  THE  CHIEF  MANAGEMENT  OF  THE 

MORNING     LECTURE. DANIEL     DE    FOE    AND    JOHN    DUNTON 

ATTEND  HIS  MINISTRY. THEIR  ACCOUNT  OF  DR.  ANNESLEY. 

HIS     TEMPERANCE. HIS     DEATH. HIS    CHARACTER    BY     DR. 

WILLIAMS,  BAXTER,  AND  CALAMY. 


As  the  Annesley  and  Wesley  families  were  so 
intimately  connected  by  marriage,  a  biographical  no 
tice  of  the  former  seems  essential  to  a  work  of  this 
nature.  We  shall  therefore  give  what  information  we 
can  collect  respecting  Dr.  Annesley,  and  his  children. 

SAMUEL  ANNESLEY,  LL.  D.  maternal  grandfather 
of  the  founder  of  Arminian  Methodism,  was  born  at 
Kenilworth,  near  Warwick,  in  the  year  1620,  and  was 
descended  from  a  noble  family;  his  father  and  the  then 
EARL  of  ANGLESEA  being  brother's  children.*  Dr. 

•  The  family  of  Annesley  is  amongst  the  most  ancient  and  respectable 
in  the  kingdom.  Dr.  Annesley  was  brother's  son  to  the  first  Earl  of  Anglesea, 
who  was  made  Lord  Privy  Seal  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  BISHOP  BURNET, 
with  whom  he  was  no  favourite,  allows  that  the  Earl  was  a  man  of  great 
parts,  deep  knowledge  in  the  law,  and  perfectly  acqainted  with  the  consti 
tution.  FRANCIS  ANNESLEY  ESQ.,  who  satin  six  Parliaments,  and  in 
3805  member  for  Heading,  was  a  descendant  of  Dr.  Annesley.  From  some 
of  Mrs.  Susanna  Wesley's  letters,  it  appears  she  occasionally  sealed  with 
the  Annesley  arms. 


DR.  SAMUEL  ANNE8LEY.  33 

Annesley  was  the  only  child  of  his  parents,  and  had  a 
considerable  paternal  estate.  His  father  dying-  when 
he  was  but  four  years  of  age,  his  education  devolved 
upon  his  mother,  who  brought  him  up  in  the  fear  of 
the  Lord.  His  grandmother,  who  was  a  very  excellent 
woman,  dying  before  he  was  born,  requested  that  the 
child,  if  a  boy,  should  be  called  Samuel;  "for,"  said 
she,  "  I  can  say  I  have  asked  him  of  the  Lord."  He 
was  piously  disposed  from  his  childhood,  and  often 
declared  that  he  never  knew  the  time  when  he  was  not 
converted. 

To  qualify  himself  for  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  he 
began,  when  only  five  or  six  years  of  age,  seriously  to 
read  the  Bible ;  and  so  ardent  was  he  in  this  study,  that 
he  bound  himself  to  read  twenty  chapters  every  day,  a 
practice  which  he  continued  to  the  end  of  his  life. 
This  made  him  a  good  textuary  ;  and  consequently  an 
able  divine.  Though  a  child  when  he  formed  the  reso 
lution  to  be  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  it  is  said  he  never 
varied  from  his  purpose;  nor  was  he  discouraged  by  a 
singular  dream  he  had,  in  which  he  thought  he  was  a 
minister,  and  was  sent  for  by  the  Bishop  of  London  to 
be  burnt  as  a  martyr. 

In  1635,  being  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  was  admit 
ted  a  student  in  Queen's  College,  Oxford,  where,  at  the 
usual  times,  he  took  his  degrees  in  arts.  Whilst  at  the 
University,  he  was  very  remarkable  for  temperance  and 
industry.  He  usually  drank  nothing  but  water,  and 
though  he  is  said  to  have  been  but  of  slow  parts,  yet 
he  supplied  this  defect  in  nature  by  prodigious  appli 
cation.  There  is  some  dispute  with  respect  to  his  ordi 
nation  ;  that  is  to  say,  whether  he  received  it  from  a 


34  DR.  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY. 

bishop,  or  according  to  the  presbyterian  method  :  AN 
THONY  WOOD  asserts  the  former,  and  DR.  CALAMY  the 
latter. 

In  1664  he  became  chaplain  to  the  EARL  of  WAR 
WICK,  the  admiral  of  the  parliament's  fleet;  but  not 
liking  a  sea-faring  life,  he  left  the  navy;  and,  by  the 
interest  which  he  possessed  with  persons  then  in  power, 
obtained  the  valuable  living  of  Cliffe,  in  Kent.  This 
was  a  very  good  establishment ;  for  besides  a  revenue 
of  £400  per  annum,  it  possessed  a  peculiar  jurisdiction 
for  holding  courts,  in  which  every  thing  relating  to 
wills,  marriages,  contracts,  &c.  were  decided.  At  the 
commencement  of  his  labours  he  met  with  considerable 
difficulties,  the  people  being  rude  and  ignorant.  So 
high  did  they  carry  their  opposition,  as  frequently  to 
assault  him  with  spits,  forks  and  stones ;  often  threat 
ening  his  life.  But  he  was  fortified  with  courage,  and 
declared  that  "  let  them  use  him  as  they  would,  he  was 
resolved  to  continue  with  them,  till  God  had  fitted  them 
by  his  ministry,  to  entertain  a  better  who  should  suc 
ceed  him  ;  but  solemnly  declared,  that  when  they  be 
came  so  prepared,  he  would  leave  the  place."  In  a 
few  years  his  ministry  met  with  surprising  success,  and 
the  people  were  greatly  reformed :  he  therefore  kept 
his  word,  and  left  them,  though  much  against  their 
wish,  lest  any  seeming  inconsistency  on  his  part  might 
prove  a  stumbling-block  to  the  young  converts. 

In  July  1648,  Mr.  Annesley  was  called  to  London 
to  preach  the  fast-sermon  before  the  House  of  Com 
mons,  which,  by  their  order,  was  printed.  But,  though 
greatly  approved  by  the  parliament,  it  gave  much  of 
fence  to  some  other  persons,  as  reflecting  upon  the 


DR.  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY.  35 

king,  then  a  prisoner  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  This  is 
the  ground  of  Wood's  bitterness  against  him ;  and  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  author  went  all  the  lengths 
of  the  Presbyterian  party.  It  was  about  this  time  he 
was  1'avoured  by  the  University  of  Oxford  with  having 
the  title  of  Doctor  of  Laws  conferred  upon  him,  at  the 
instance  of  PHILIP,  EARL  of  PEMBROKE.  On  the  25th 
of  August  in  the  same  year,  he  again  went  to  sea  with 
his  patron,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  who  was  employed  in 
giving  chase  to  that  part  of  the  English  navy  which 
went  over  to  the  prince,  afterwards  Charles  II.  After 
continuing  at  sea  little  more  than  three  months,  he 
returned  to  London. 

In  1652  Providence  directed  his  removal  to  Lon 
don,  by  the  unanimous  choice  of  the  inhabitants  of  St. 
John's,  Friday  Street.  In  1657  he  was  nominated  by 
CROMWELL  lecturer  of  St.  Paul's;  and  in  the  following 
year,  the  protector  Richard  presented  him  to  the  living 
of  St.  Giles',  Cripplegate.  On  the  restoration,  he  was 
confirmed  in  this  vicarage  by  the  king.  But  it  did  not 
screen  him  from  the  oppressive  operation  of  "  the  Act 
of  Uniformity,"  by  which  he  was  ejected  in  1662.  It 
is  said  that  the  EARL  of  ANGLESEA,  who  was  his  rela 
tion,  took  some  pains  to  persuade  him  to  conform, 
and  even  offered  him  considerable  preferment  in  the 
church  in  case  he  complied.  But  as  Dr.  Annesley 
acted  from  a  principle  of  conscience,  he  declined  the 
offer,  and  continued  to  preach  privately  during  that  and 
the  following  reign. 

Upon  the  indulgences  in  1672,  the  doctor  licensed 
a  meeting-house  in  Little  St.  Helen's,  now  St.  Helen's 
Place,  Bishopgate  Street,  where  he  raised  a  flourishing 


36  DR.  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY. 

society  ;  of  which  he  continued  pastor  until  his  death.* 
The  celebrated  DANIEL  DE  FOE,  author  of  "  Robinson 
Crusoe,"  was  a  constant  hearer  of  Dr.  Annesley.  At 
this  place  De  Foe's  parents  attended,  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  they  introduced  their  son  Daniel  to 
the  same  religious  connexion.  Under  the  guidance  of 
so  able  an  instructor,  the  mind  of  De  Foe  was  formed 
to  an  early  love  of  religion  ;  and  his  attachment  to  the 
cause  of  Non-conformity  was  probably  heightened  by 
oppressions  to  which  its  professors  were  then  exposed. 
Although  we  have  no  direct  evidence  that  De  Foe  was 
a  participator  in  those  sufferings,  yet  it  is  not  improba 
ble  that  his  parents  were  amongst  the  number  of  those 
who  "took  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their  goods,"  that 
they  might  maintain  the  peace  of  their  consciences,  and 
have  a  title  to  a  better  inheritance.  Of  Dr.  Annesley's 
worth,  both  as  a  minister  and  as  a  Christian,  De  Foe 
long  entertained  an  affectionate  remembrance  ;  and,  at 
the  request  of  John  Dunton,  he  drew  up  his  character 
at  length,  in  the  form  of  an  Elegy,  which  was  pub 
lished  by  Dunton,  and  may  be  found  in  the  collection 

*  It  was  at  this  meeting-house  that  the  first  public  ordination  among  the 
Dissenters  took  place  after  the  passing  of  the  Act  of  Uniformity.  Hitherto, 
the  ordinations  had  been  carried  on  in  private  ;  no  person  being  present  but 
those  immediately  concerned.  MR.  CALAMY,  however,  wished  to  be  pub 
licly  ordained,  and  consnlted  several  aged  ministers  in  London  respecting 
the  propriety  of  it-  He  found  considerable  difficulty  in  effecting  his  wishes, 
through  the  timidity  of  some  of  the  elder  ministers.  The  great  MK.  KOWE 
absolutely  refused  taking  a  part,  through  fear  of  offending  government;  and 
DR.  BATES  urged  some  other  reasons  to  excuse  himself.  At  length  the  matter 
was  accomplished,  and  Mr.  Calamy  was  publicly  ordained  with  six  other 
young  men,  June  22ntl,  1694.  The  following  ministers  were  prevailed  upon 
to  engage  in  the  services:  viz. — Dr.  Annesley,  Vincent  Alsop,  Daniel 
Williams,  Thomas  Kentish,  Matthew  Sylvester,  and  Richard  8tretton.  The 
service  was  conducted  with  peculiar  solemnity,  and  lasted  from  ten  o'clock 
in  the  morning  till  six  in  the  evening.— Calamy's  Account  of  his  otvn  Life. 


DR.  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY.  37 

of  De  Foe's  writings.     In  the  following  lines  he  iden 
tifies  himself  with  the  doctor's  congregation  : — 

"  His  native  candour,  his  familiar  style, 
Which  did  so  oft  his  hearers'  hours  beguile, 
Charmed  us  with  godliness ;  and  while  he  spake 
We  lov'd  the  doctrine  for  the  preacher's  sake ; 
While  he  informed  us  what  those  doctrines  meant 
By  dint  of  practice,  more  than  argument." 

JOHN  DUNTON,  the  ingenious,  but  eccentric  book 
seller,  also  attended  on  Dr.  Annesley's  ministry.  He 
married  one  of  the  doctor's  daughters;  of  whom,  and 
her  husband,  we  shall  say  more  hereafter.  Dunton,  in 
his  "Life  and  Errors,"  describes  Dr.  Annesley  as  "a 
man  of  wonderful  piety  and  humility,  and  the  great  sup 
port  of  dissenting  ministers.  He  left  a  living  of  £700  per 
annum  (Cripplegate)  for  the  sake  of  a  good  conscience; 
and  devoted  the  whole  of  his  time  and  estate  to  religion, 
and  acts  of  charity.  He  would  never  be  rich  whilst 
any  man  was  poor.*"  Dunton  mentions,  that  when  he 
was  in  America,  and  visited  Missionary  ELIOT,  the 
great  apostle  of  the  Indians,  on  informing  him  that  he 
was  the  doctor's  son-in-law,  who  was  then  living,  Mr. 
Eliot  broke  forth  with  rapture — "  And  is  my  brother 
Annesley  yet  alive  ?  Is  he  yet  converting  souls  ? 

*  DUNTON,  in  one  of  his  poems,  thus  alludes  to  the  friendly  in 
tercourse  which  will  subsist  between  the  pious  of  every  denomination 
in  heaven,  though  they  may  not  have  "  seen  eye  to  eye"  on  earth. 

"Here  Doolittle,  with  Comber  friendly  twines, 
Here  Scot  shall  fly  to  clasp  the  pious  Vines. 
Here  Mead  and  Patrick  in  embraces  meet, 
And  Alsi>l>  joins  in  praise  with  Stilliny fleet. 
Horneck,  and  Annesley,  and  millions  more, 
Alike  are  happy,  and  alike  adore." 

K 


38  DR.  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY. 

Blessed  be  God  for  this  information  before  I  die." 
He  presented  Dunton  with  twelve  Indian  bibles,  and 
desired  him  to  give  one  of  them  to  Dr.  Annesley. 

After  the  division  in  Pinner's  Hall  Lecture,  in 
1694,  and  the  establishment  of  a  new  one  at  Sailer's 
Hall,  Dr.  Annesley  was  one  of  the  ministers  chosen  to 
fill  up  the  number  at  the  latter,  in  conjunction  with 
DR.  BATES  and  MR.  HOWE.  After  the  death  of  MR. 
CASE,  he  undertook  the  chief  management  of  the 
MORNING  LECTURE.* 

Doctor  Annesley  possessed  a  very  strong  consti 
tution,  and  laboured  earnestly  in  the  work  of  the 
ministry  for  not  less  than  fifty-five  years.  MR.  JOHN 
WESLEY,  in  his  journal,  Monday,  February  6th,  1769, 
says,  "  I  spent  an  hour  with  a  venerable  woman,  nearly 
ninety  years  of  age,  who  retains  her  health,  her  senses, 
her  understanding,  and  even  her  memory,  to  a  good 
degree.  In  the  last  century  she  belonged  to  my  grand 
father  Annesley's  congregation,  at  whose  house  her 

*  This  Morning  Lecture,  or  Exercise,  originated  in  the  following  man 
ner.  Most  of  the  citizens  in  London  having  some  friend  or  relation  in  the 
army  of  the  EARL  of  ESSEX,  so  many  bills  were  sent  up  to  the  pulpit  every 
Lord's-day  for  presentation,  that  the  ministers  had  not  time  to  notice 
them  in  prayer,  or  even  to  read  them.  It  was  therefore  agreed  to  set  apart 
an  hour  every  morning  at  seven  o'clock;  half  of  it  to  be  spent  in  prayer  for 
the  welfare  of  the  public,  as  well  as  particular  cases;  and  the  other  half  to 
be  spent  in  exhortations  to  the  people.  MR.  CASE  began  it  in  his  church 
near  Milk-street;  from  which  it  was  removed  to  other  churches  in  rotation, 
a  month  at  each.  A  number  of  the  most  eminent  ministers  conducted  this 
service  in  turn,  and  it  was  attended  by  great  crowds  of  people.  After  the 
war  was  over,  it  became  what  was  called  a  Casuistical  Lecture,  and  con 
tinued  till  the  Restoration.  The  sermons  delivered  at  these  Lectures  were 
afterwards  collected  and  published  in  6  Vols.  4to,  which  contain  a  rich  mine  of 
practical  divinity.  A  Sermon  in  the  Exercises,  on  the  question  "  Wherein 
lies  that  exact  righteousness  which  is  required  between  man  and  man  ?" 
was  preached  by  MR.  TlLLOTSON,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
•who  was  then  a  Non-conformist  !— Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans, 
Vol.  II.  p.  .500. 


DR.  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY.  39 

father  and  she  used  to  dine  every  Thursday  ;  and  whom 
she  remembers  to  have  seen  frequently  in  his  study  at 
the  top  of  the  house,  with  his  window  open,  and  without 
any  fire  even  in  winter."  For  many  years  he  scarcely 
drank  any  thing  but  water;  and  even  to  his  last  sickness 
his  sight  continued  so  strong,  that  he  could  read  the 
smallest  print  without  spectacles. 

At  length,  however,  he  was  attacked  by  a  painful 
disorder;  which,  after  seventeen  weeks  of  intolerable 
torture,  terminated  in  his  death.  Just  before  his  de 
parture  his  joy  was  so  great,  that  in  an  ecstasy  he  cried 
out,  "  I  cannot  contain  it !  What  manner  of  love  is 
this  to  a  poor  worm  ?  I  cannot  express  a  thousandth 
part  of  what  praise  is  due  to  thee.  It  is  but  little  I  can 
give  thee ;  but,  Lord,  help  me  to  give  thee  my  all, 
and  rejoice  that  others  can  praise  thee  better.  1  shall 
be  satisfied  with  thy  likeness.  Satisfied  !  Satisfied  !  O 
my  dear  Jesus  I  come."  He  was  perfectly  resigned  to 
the  conduct  of  Providence  during  the  whole  of  his 
illness,  and  departed  triumphantly  to  his  eternal  rest, 
December  31st,  1696,  in  the  77th  year  of  his  age.  DR.. 
DANIEL  WILLIAMS  preached  his  funeral  sermon,  and 
afterwards  published  it,  with  an  account  of  his  life  and 
character. 

Dr.  Annesley  was  a  divine  of  considerable  emin 
ence  and  extensive  usefulness.  Of  a  pious,  prudent, 
and  liberal  spirit ;  and  a  warm,  pathetic,  as  well  as 
constant  preacher.  Before  he  was  silenced,  he  often 
preached  three  times  a-day  ;  and  afterwards  twice  every 
Lorcl's-day.  His  sermons  were  instructive  and  affect 
ing,  and  his  manner  of  delivery  was  impressive.  The 
last  time  he  entered  the  pulpit,  being  dissuaded  from 


40  DR.  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY. 

preaching  on  account  of  his  illness,  he  said,  /  must 
work  while  it  is  day.  He  was  very  eminent  as  a 
textuary,  and  had  great  skill  in  resolving  cases  of 
conscience.  Possessing  a  considerable  paternal  estate, 
he  was  enabled  to  do  much  good ;  not  only  for  the 
education  and  subsistence  of  several  ministers;  but 
by  devoting  a  tenth  part  of  his  income  to  charitable 
purposes.  His  care  and  labour  extended  wherever  he 
could  be  useful.  When  any  place  wanted  a  minister, 
he  used  his  endeavours  to  procure  one  for  it;  when 
any  minister  was  oppressed  by  poverty,  he  immediately 
exerted  himself  for  his  relief.  "  O  !  how  many  places/' 
says  DR.  WILLIAMS,  "  had  sat  in  darkness  !  how  many 
ministers  had  been  starved,  if  Dr.  Annesley  had  died 
thirty  years  since  \"  The  poor  looked  upon  him  as  their 
common  father,  and  he  expended  much  in  distributing 
bibles,  catechisms,  and  other  useful  books.  His  ex 
tensive  beneficence  was  accompanied  with  many  other 
amiable  qualities,  which  rendered  his  character  truly 
estimable.  The  celebrated  RICHARD  BAXTER,  who 
knew  not  how  to  flatter  or  fear  any  man,  passes  this 
eulogium  upon  him.  "  Dr.  Annesley  is  a  most  sincere, 
godly,  humble  man,  totally  devoted  to  God."  Under 
every  affliction,  before  he  would  speak  of  it,  or  use 
any  means  to  redress  it,  he  spread  it  before  God  in 
prayer ;  which  enabled  him,  though  a  most  affection 
ate  husband,  to  bear  the  news  of  his  wife's  death  with 
such  composure  as  calmly  to  say,  "  The  Lord  gave, 
and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord." 

Though  Jiis  Non-conformity   created  him   many 
troubles,  it  produced  no  inward  uneasiness.     His  goods 


DR.  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY.  41 

were  destrained  for  keeping  a  conventicle,  and  DR. 
CALAMY  remarks,  that  a  justice  of  the  peace  died  as  he 
was  signing  a  warrant  to  apprehend  him.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  uprightness,  never  regulating  his  reli 
gious  profession  by  his  secular  interests.  He  was 
turned  out  of  his  lecture  at  St.  Paul's,  because  he 
would  not  comply  with  some  things  which  he  deemed 
extravagant  and  wrong  :  he  thought  conformity  in  him 
would  be  a  sin,  and  he  chose  to  endure  many  priva 
tions  rather  than  injure  his  conscience.  He  was 
acknowledged  by  all  parties  to  be  an  Israelite  indeed, 
and  yet  he  suffered  much  for  Non-conformity;  but 
such  was  then  the  spirit  of  the  limes,  that  an  angel  from 
heaven  would  have  been  persecuted,  if  he  had  appeared 
as  a  dissenter.  In  his  sufferings  God  often  interposed 
remarkably  for  him.  His  integrity  made  him  a  stranger 
to  all  tricks,  or  little  artifices,  to  serve  his  temporal 
interest;  and  his  charitable  and  unsuspecting  temper, 
sometimes  exposed  him  to  imposition. 

As  to  Dr.  Annesley's  personal  appearance,  CALAMY 
says  "  his  figure  was  fine ;  his  countenance  dignified, 
highly  expressive,  and  amiable.  His  constitution, 
naturally  strong  and  robust,  was  capable  of  any  kind 
of  fatigue.  He  was  seldom  indisposed;  and  could  en 
dure  the  coldest  weather  without  hat,  gloves,  or  fire. 
He  had  a  large  soul,  and  a  flaming  zeal,  and  his  useful 
ness  was  very  extensive.  During  the  last  thirty  years 
of  his  life,  he  had  great  peace  of  mind  from  the 
assurance  of  God's  covenant  love.  For  several  years, 
indeed,  he  walked  in  darkness,  and  was  disconsolate, 
which  is  no  unusual  thing  with  such  as  are  converted  in 
their  childhood,  whose  change  being  not  so  remarkable 
K  2 


42 


DR.  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY. 


as  that  of  many  others,  is  therefore  the  more  liable 
to  be  questioned,  but  in  his  last  illness  he  was  full  of 
comfort."  The  only  safe  rule  of  judging  of  professed 
conversion  is  its  fruits  ;  the  work  of  grace  being  better 
known  in  its  effects  than  in  its  causes.  The  mode  may 
vary  from  circumstances,  of  which  we  are  not  the 
judges,  nor  can  we  be,  until  more  is  known  of  the 
mysterious  operations  of  the  human  mind,  and  of  that 
intercourse  which  Almighty  God  in  his  goodness  con 
descends  to  hold  with  it. 

The  following  is  a  chronological  list  of  DR.  ANNESLEY'S  works:— 

1.  A  Fast  Sermon  hefore  the  House  of  Commons,  1648. 

2.  Communion  with  God ;  two  Sermons  at  St.  Paul's,  1654. 

3.  A  Sermon  at  St.  Laurence  Jewry,  to  gentlemen,  natives  of  Wilts.,  1654. 

4.  On  the  Covenant  of  Grace;  and  on  being  universally  and  exactly  con 

scientious;  two  Sermons  in  the  Morning  Exercise  at  C'ripplegate. 

5.  A  Sermon  at  the  Funeral  of  the  Rev.  William  Whitaker,  1673. 

6.  How  we  may  attain  to  love  God  with  all  our  Hearts,  and  Souls,  and 

Minds;  a  Sermon  in  the  Supplement  to  the  Morning  Exercise,  1674. 

7.  A  Sermon  on  Heb.  viii.6,  in  the  Morning  Exercise  Methodized,  1676. 

8.  Of  Indulgences  ;  a  Sermon  in  the  Morning  Exercise  against  Popery,  1675. 

9.  How  the  adherent  Vanity  of  every  Condition  is  most  effectually  abated 

by  serious  Godliness;  a  Sermon  in  the  continuation  of  the  Morning 
Exercises,  1683. 

10.  How  we  may  give  Christ  a  satisfactory  Account  why  we  attend  upon 

the  ministry  of  the  Word;    a  Sermon  in  the  Casuistical  Moruing 
Exercise,  1690. 

11.  A  Sermon  on  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Brand  ;  with  an  account  of 

his  life,  1692. 

Dr.  Annesley  was  the  editor  of  four  volumes  of  the  Morning  Exercises 
above  mentioned,  and  wrote  a  preface  to  each  of  them.  He  wrote  a  preface 
to  Mr.  RichardAlliene's  "  Instructions  about  Heart  Work  ;"  and  joined  with 
Dr.  Owen  in  a  preface  to  Mr,  Elisha  Cole's  "  Practical  Treatise  on  God's 
Sovereignty." 


CHAP.  IV. 


DR.    ANNESLEY'S    CHILDREN. 


SAMUEL  ANNESLEY,  JUN.— GOES  TO  THE  EAST  INDIES.— 

ACQUIRES  A  LARGE    FORTUNE,    BUT  IS  SUDDENLY    CUT   OFF. 

MRS.  WESLEY'S  LETTER  TO  HIM. — HIS  WIDOW'S  BEQUEST  TO  THE 
WESLEY  FAMILY.  MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY— MAR 
RIES  JOHN  DUNTON,  THE  CELEBRATED  BOOKSELLER. THEIR 

STRONG   ATTACHMENT   TO  EACH   OTHER. HER   DEATH   AND 

CHARACTER.     MISS  JUDITH  ANNESLEY— HER  PERSONAL 

APPEARANCE  AND  PIETY.       MISS    ANNE    ANNESLEY HER 

CHARACTER  BY  DUNTON.     MISS  SUSANNA  ANNESLEY. 

The  Annesley  Family,  like  that  of  the  Wesley,  was 
both  numerous  and  highly  intellectual.  Dr.  Annesley 
had  not  less  than  twenty-Jive  children.  When  DR. 
MANTON,  baptizing  one  of  them,  was  asked  what  num 
ber  of  children  Dr.  Annesley  had,  answered,  "  I  be 
lieve  it  is  two  dozen,  or  a  quarter  of  a  hundred."  The 
reckoning  by  dozens  was  a  singular  circumstance ;  an 
honour  which  is  conferred  on  few.  But  of  this  interest 
ing  family  there  now  appears  to  be  no  record,  except 
of  SAMUEL,  ELIZABETH,  JUDITH,  ANNE,  and  SUSANNA. 

SAMUEL  ANNESLEY,  JUNIOR,  entered  into  the 
service  of  the  East  India  Company,  where  he  accu 
mulated  a  considerable  fortune.  Having  exposed  the 
mismanagement  and  peculations  of  certain  persons  in 
the  Company's  service  abroad,  they  became  his  mortal 
enemies.  This  determined  him  to  return  home,  and 
he  wrote  to  his  brother-in-law,  the  rector  of  Epworth, 


44  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY,  JUN. 

to  purchase  for  him  an  estate  of  £200  or  £300  per 
annum,  somewhere  between  London  and  Oxford.  But 
Mr.  Annesley  soon  after  this  disappeared,  and  no  fur 
ther  account  was  ever  heard  of  him. 

There  certainly  appears  great  mystery  in  this 
case.  Mr.  John  Wesley  used  to  say  to  his  nephews, 
"  you  are  heirs  to  a  large  property  in  India  if  you  can 
find  it  out,  for  my  uncle  Samuel  Annesley  is  said  to 
have  been  very  prosperous/'  The  late  DR.  ADAM 
CLARKE  had  in  his  possession  an  original  letter  of  this 
gentleman  to  his  brother-in-law,  the  rector  of  Epworth, 
from  which  it  appears  that  Mr.  Annesley  wished  to  em 
ploy  the  rector  to  transact  some  business  for  him  with 
the  East  India  Company,  and  Mr.  Wesley  seems  to  have 
undertaken  the  office ;  but  owing  to  his  natural  easi 
ness,  and  too  great  confidence  in  men,  the  business 
was  neglected;  at  which  Mr.  Annesley  was  greatly 
offended,  transferred  the  commission  into  another  hand ; 
and  wrote  a  severe  letter  to  his  sister  Mrs.  Wesley,  in 
which  he  blamed  the  conduct  of  her  husband.  She  re 
plied  to  this  letter  in  a  proper  and  spirited  manner,  and 
as  itshows  her  good  sense,  and  faithful  attachment  to  her 
husband,  we  shall  give  it  entire,  from  MOORE'S  Life  of 
Mr.  Wesley.  Perhaps  a  more  genuine  picture  of  sanc 
tified  affliction  was  never  presented  to  the  world. 

To  MR.  ANNESLEY. 
SIR, 

The  unhappy  differences  between  you  and  Mr. 
Wesley  have  prevented  my  writing  for  some  years,  not 
knowing  whether  a  letter  from  me  would  be  acceptable, 
and  being  unwilling  to  be  troublesome.  But  feeling 


SAMUEL  ANNESLEY,  JUN.  45 

life  ebb  apace,  and  having  a  desire  to  be  at  peace  with 
all  men,  especially  you,  before  I  die,  I  have  ventured 
to  send  one  letter  more,  hoping  you  will  give  yourself 
the  trouble  to  read  it  without  prejudice. 

I  am,  I  believe,  got  on  the  right  side  of  fifty,  in 
firm  and  weak ;  yet,  old  as  I  am,  since  I  have  taken 
my  husband  "  for  better,  for  worse,"  I'll  make  my  resi 
dence  with  him.  "  Where  he  lives  will  I  live,  and 
where  he  dies  will  I  die,  and  there  will  I  be  buried. 
God  do  so  unto  me,  and  more  also,  if  aught  but  death 
part  him  and  me."  Confinement  is  nothing  to  one 
that,  by  sickness,  is  compelled  to  spend  great  part  of 
her  time  in  a  chamber ;  and  I  sometimes  think,  that,  if 
it  were  not  on  account  of  Mr.  Wesley,  and  the  children, 
it  would  be  perfectly  indifferent  to  my  soul,  whether 
she  ascended  to  the  Supreme  origin  of  being,  from  a 
jail,  or  a  palace,  for  God  is  everywhere.  No  walls,  or 
locks,  or  bars,  nor  deepest  shade,  nor  closest  solitude 
excludes  his  presence  ;  and  in  what  place  soever  he 
vouchsafes  to  manifest  himself,  that  place  is  heaven  ! 
and  that  man  whose  heart  is  penetrated  with  Divine 
love,  and  enjoys  the  manifestations  of  God's  blissful 
presence,  is  happy,  let  his  outward  condition  be  what 
it  will.  He  is  rich,  "as  having  nothing,  yet  possessing 
all  things."  This  world,  this  present  state  of  things  is 
but  for  a  time.  What  is  now  future  will  be  present,  as 
what  is  already  past  once  was;  and  then,  as  MR.  PASCAL 
observes,  a  little  earth  thrown  on  our  cold  head  will 
for  ever  determine  our  hopes  and  our  condition ;  nor 
will  it  signify  much  who  personated  the  prince  or  the 
beggar,  since  with  respect  to  the  exterior,  all  must 
stand  on  the  same  level  after  death. 


46  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY,  JUN. 

Upon  the  best  observation  I  could  ever  make,  I 
am  induced  to  believe,  that  it  is  much  easier  to  be 
contented  without  riches,  than  with  them.  It  is  so 
natural  for  a  rich  man  to  make  his  gold  his  god ;  it  is 
so  very  difficult  not  to  trust  in,  not  to  depend  on  it,  for 
support  and  happiness,  that  I  do  not  know  one  rich  man 
in  the  world  with  whom  I  would  exchange  conditions. 

You  say,  "  /  hope  you  have  recovered  your  loss  by 
fire  long  since!"  No,  and  it  is  to  be  doubted  we  never 
shall.  Mr.  Wesley  rebuilt  his  house  in  less  than  one 
year;  but  nearly  thirteen  years  are  elapsed  since  it  was 
burned,  yet  it  is  not  half  furnished,  nor  his  wife  and 
children  half  clothed  to  this  day.  It  is  true,  that,  by 
the  benefactions  of  his  friends,  together  with  what  Mr. 
Wesley  had  himself,  he  paid  the  first;  but  the  latter  is  not 
paid  yet,  or,  what  is  much  the  same,  money  which  was 
borrowed  for  clothes  and  furniture,  is  yet  unpaid.  You 
go  on,  "my  brother's  living  of  £300  a-yeur,  as  they  tell 
me.*' — They,  who  ?  I  wish  those  who  say  so  were  com 
pelled  to  make  it  so.  It  may  as  truly  be  said,  that  his 
living  is  ten  thousand  a-year,  as  three  hundred.  I 
have,  Sir,  formerly  laid  before  you  the  true  state  of  our 
affairs.  I  have  told  you  that  the  living  was  always  let 
for  £160  a-year.  That  taxes,  poor  assessments,  sub- 
rents,  tenths,  procurations,  &c.  took  up  nearly  £30  of 
that  sum ;  so  that  there  needs  no  great  skill  in 
arithmetic  to  compute  what  remains. 

What  we  shall,  or  shall  not  need  hereafter,  God 
only  knows ;  but  at  present  there  hardly  ever  was  more 
unprosperous  events  in  one  family  than  are  now  in 
ours.  I  am  rarely  in  health.  Mr.  Wesley  declines 
apace.  My  dear  Emily,  who  in  my  present  exigences 


SAMUEL  ANNESLEY,  JUN.  47 

would  exceedingly  comfort  me,  is  compelled  to  go  to 
service  in  Lincoln,  where  she  is  a  teacher  in  a  boarding 
school.  My  second  daughter,  Sukey,  a  pretty  woman, 
and  worthy  a  better  fate,  when,  by  your  last  unkind 
letters,  she  perceived  that  all  her  hopes  in  you  were 
frustrated,  rashly  threw  herself  away  upon  a  man,  (if  a 
man  he  may  be  called,  who  is  little  inferior  to  the 
apostate  angels  in  wickedness,)  that  is  not  only  her 
plague,  but  a  constant  affliction  to  the  family.  O  Sir  ! 
O  brother  !  happy,  thrice  happy  are  you  !  happy  is  my 
sister  that  buried  your  children  in  infancy  !  secure  from 
temptation,  secure  from  guilt,  secure  from  want  or 
shame,  or  loss  of  friends  !  They  are  safe,  beyond  the 
reach  of  pain  or  sense  of  misery  :  being  gone  hence, 
nothing  can  touch  them  further.  Believe  me,  Sir,  it  is 
better  to  mourn  ten  children  dead,  than  one  living.  I 
have  buried  many  ; — but  here  I  must  pause  awhile. 

The  other  children,  though  neither  wanting  in 
dustry,  nor  capacity  for  business,  we  cannot  put  to  any, 
by  reason  we  have  neither  money,  nor  friends  to  assist 
us  in  doing  it.  Nor  is  there  a  gentleman's  family  near 
us  in  which  we  can  place  them,  unless  as  common  ser 
vants,  and  that,  even  yourself  would  not  think  them  fit 
for,  if  you  saw  them ;  so  that  they  must  stay  at  home 
while  they  have  a  home,  and  how  long  will  that  be  ? — 
Innumerable  are  other  uneasinesses,  too  tedious  to 
mention,  insomuch,  that  what  with  my  own  indisposition, 
my  master's  infirmities,  the  absence  of  my  eldest,  the 
ruin  of  my  second  daughter,  and  the  inconceivable  dis 
tress  of  all  the  rest,  I  have  enough  to  turn  a  stronger 
head  than  mine.  And  were  it  not  that  God  supports, 
and  by  His  omnipotent  goodness,  often  totally  suspends 


48  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY,  JUN. 

all  sense  of  worldly  things,  I  could  not  sustain  the  weight 
many  days,  perhaps  hours.  But  even  in  this  low  ebb 
of  fortune,  I  am  not  without  some  lucid  intervals.  Un 
speakable  are  the  blessings  of  privacy  and  leisure  ! 

The  late  ARCHBISHOP  of  YORK  once  said  to  me, 
(when  my  master  was  in  Lincoln  castle,)  among  other 
things,  "  tell  me,  Mrs.  Wesley,  whether  you  ever 
really  wanted  bread!" — "My  Lord,"  said  I,  "I  will 
freely  own  to  your  Grace,  that,  strictly  speaking, 
we  never  did  want  bread.  But  then,  I  have  had  so 
much  care  to  get  it  before  it  was  eat,  and  to  pay  for  it 
after,  as  has  often  made  it  very  unpleasant  to  me ;  and 
I  think  to  have  bread  on  such  terms,  is  the  next  degree 
of  wretchedness  to  having  none  at  all."  "  You  are  cer 
tainly  in  the  right,"  replied  his  Lordship,  and  seemed 
for  a  while  very  thoughtful.  Next  morning  he  made 
me  a  handsome  present;  nor  did  he  ever  repent  having 
done  so  :  on  the  contrary,  I  have  reason  to  believe  it 
afforded  him  some  comfortable  reflections  before  his  exit. 

You  proceed,  "when  I  come  home,  (ah!  would 
to  God  that  might  ever  be  !}  if  any  of  your  daughters 
want  me,  as  I  think  they  will  not,  I  shall  do  as  God 
enables  me  I"  I  must  answer  this  with  a  sigh  from  the 
bottom  of  my  heart.  Sir,  you  know  the  proverb, 
"  while  the  grass  grows,  the  steed  starves."  You  go 
on,  "another  hiuderance  is,  my  brother,  I  think,  is  too 
zealous  for  the  party  he  fancies  in  the  right ;  and  has 
unluckily  to  do  with  the  opposite  faction  !"  Whether 
those  you  employ,  are  factious  or  not,  I  shall  not  de 
termine  ;  but  very  sure  I  am  Mr.  Wesley  is  not  so. 
"  He  1,1  apt  to  rest  upon  deceitful  promises." — Would 
to  heaven  that  neither  he,  nor  f,  nor  any  of  our 


SAMUEL  ANNESLEY,  JUN.  49 

children  had  ever  trusted  to  deceitful  promises.  But 
it  is  a  right-hand  error,  and  I  hope  God  will  forgive  us 
all. — You  say,  'he  ivants  Mr.  Eaton's  thrift.' — This  I 
can  readily  believe. — '  He  is  not  fit  for  worldly  busi 
ness.' — This  I  likewise  assent  to  ;  and  must  own  I  was 
mistaken  when  I  did  think  him  fit  for  it :  my  own  ex 
perience  hath  since  convinced  me  that  he  is  one  of 
those  whom  our  Saviour  saith,  is  not  so  icise  in  their 
generation  as  the  children  of  this  world.  And,  did  I 
not  know  that  Almighty  Wisdom  hath  views  and  ends 
in  fixing  the  bounds  of  our  habitation,  which  are  out  of 
our  ken,  I  should  think  it  a  thousand  pities  that  a  man 
of  his  brightness,  and  rare  endowments  of  learning,  and 
useful  knowledge  in  relation  to  the  church  of  God, 
should  be  confined  to  an  obscure  corner  of  the  country, 
where  his  talents  are  buried ;  and  he  is  determined 
to  a  way  of  life  for  which  he  is  not  so  well  qualified  as 
I  could  wish.  It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  behold  in  my 
eldest  son  an  aversion  to  accepting  a  small  country 
cure  ;  since,  blessed  be  God  !  he  has  a  fair  reputation 
for  learning  and  piety,  preaches  well,  and  is  capable  of 
doing  more  good  where  he  is. 

I  shall  not  detain  you  any  longer,  not  so  much  as 
to  apologize  for  the  length  of  this  letter.  I  should  be 
glad  if  my  service  could  be  made  acceptable  to  my 
sister ;  to  whom,  with  yourself,  the  children  tend  their 
humblest  duty.  We  all  join  in  wishing  you  a  happy 
new  year,  and  many  of  them. 

I  am, 
Your  obliged,  and  most  obedient  servant  and  sister, 

SUSANNA  WI.SLEY." 
Ep worth,  Jan.  '20,  IT22. 

F 


MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY. 

From  the  aforegoing  letter,  we  find  that  Mr.  Samuel 
Annesley  was  alive  at  Surat  in  1722,  seven  years  after 
the  noises  had  ceased  in  the  Parsonage  House  at 
Epworth,  which  Mr.  Wesley  had  supposed  portended 
his  death.  As  to  these  noises  we  shall  speak  hereafter. 
In  1724  it  was  reported  that  Mr.  Annesley  was  coming 
home  in  one  of  the  Company's  ships.  Mrs.  Wesley, 
hearing  the  news,  went  from  Epworth  to  London  to 
meet  him.  The  ship  arrived,  but  her  brother  came  not ! 

It  has  been  asserted,  that  the  fortune  acquired  by 
Mr.  Annesley  in  India  was  lost,  and  he  himself  mur 
dered.  Of  the  manner  of  his  death  we  have  no  account, 
but  his  widow  certainly  enjoyed  a  considerable  part,  if 
not  the  whole  of  his  fortune ;  for  at  her  death  she  be 
queathed  £1000  to  Mrs.  Wesley,  the  interest  to  be  paid 
her  during  her  life,  and  the  principal  sum  to  be  divided 
among  her  children.  Miss  Kezzy  Wesley,  in  a  letter 
dated  July  1734,  informs  her  brother  John  of  this  be 
quest  ;  and  adds,  "my  father  has  not  been  very  easy 
ever  since  he  heard  of  it,  because  he  cannot  dispose 
of  it." 

MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY,  married  JOHN 
DUNTON,  the  eminent  bookseller:  (for  a  brief  account 
of  whom  see  APPENDIX  B.)  She  appears  to  have  been  a 
most  excellent  woman,  and  worthy  to  be  the  sister  of 
Mrs.  Susanna  Wesley.  What  led  to  her  union  with 
Dunton,  he  details  with  great  simplicity  in  his  "Life 
and  Errors." 

"  One  Lord's-day,"  says  he,  "(and  I  am  very  sen 
sible  of  the  sin,)  I  was  strolling  about,  just  as  my  fancy 
led  me;  and  stepping  into  DR.  ANNESLEY'S  meeting- 


MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY.  51 

house,  where,  instead  of  engaging  my  attention  to  what 
the  Doctor  said,  I  suffered  both  ray  mind  and  my  eyes 
to  run  at  random,  (and  it  is  very  rare  but  satan  throws 
in  a  temptation  where  the  sinner  is  open  for  it,)  I 
soon  saw  a  young  lady  that  almost  charmed  me 
dead ;  but,  on  making  my  inquiries,  I  found,  to  my 
my  sorrow,  that  she  was  pre-engaged.  However,  to 
keep  up  the  humour  I  was  in,  my  friends  advised  me  to 
make  an  experiment  upon  her  elder  sister,  (they  both 
being  the  daughters  of  Dr.  Annesley)  and  the  hint  they 
gave,  made  a  deeper  impression  upon  me  than  all  the  re 
commendations  they  had  before  given  me.  I  disposed 
matters  so  as  to  carry  on  the  design  with  all  possible 
dispatch.  But  I  steered  by  another  compass  than  I 
had  dene  in  all  my  former  amours;  and  resolved,  as 
Dr.  Annesley  was  a  man  of  so  much  sincerity  and  reli 
gious  prudence,  to  mention  the  matter  first  of  all  to 
him  ;  which  I  did  :  and  after  he  had  obtained  all  rea 
sonable  satisfaction,  the  Doctor  told  me,  '  I  had  his 
free  consent,  if  I  could  prevail  upon  his  daughter  for 
her's;  which  was  more  than  Mr.  Cockerill  (deceased) 
could  ever  obtain,  after  a  long  courtship.'  At  length 
I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  gain  her  affections. 

"  The  mutual  satisfactions  we  then  enjoyed  in  an 
intimate  friendship,  (which  we  designed  should  shortly 
lose  itself  in  a  nearer  union)  was  soon  after  this  a  little 
interrupted ;  for  fair  Iris  (the  familiar  name  by  which 
he  called  his  wife,)  was  obliged  to  attend  her  father  to 
Tunbridge,  where  I  frequently  wrote  to  her."  These 
letters  Dunton  gives  at  length,  but  they  are  too  much 
in  the  rapturous  style  for  a  grave  narrative.  We  shall 
insert  Miss  Annesley's  judicious  and  sober  reply. 


52  MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY. 

Tunbridge,  July  9th,  1682. 
DEAR  SIR, 

I  have  received  your  letters,  but  being- 
obliged  to  take  a  short  journey  from  Tunbridge  with 
my  father,  I  had  no  opportunity  to  make  you  any  an 
swer.  You  seem  impatient  at  my  silence,  but  it  is  only 
a  matter  of  course;  though  were  your  impatience  re 
presented  with  less  of  fancy,  I  should  be  disposed  to 
believe  you  sooner.  But  all  courtships  must  at  one 
time,  or  other,  have  a  little  knight-errantry  in  them, 
otherwise  the  lover  is  reckoned  to  be  something-  dull ; 
however,  you  have  said  enough  that  way  to  secure  you 
from  any  such  imputation,  and  I  would  therefore  have 
you  to  express  yourself  in  no  warmer  terms  than  a  primi 
tive  simplicity  may  admit.  One  that  loves  till  he  loses 
his  reason  will  make  but  an  odd  figure  for  a  husband. 
You  will  say,  perhaps,  I  am  preaching  up  passive  obe 
dience,  but  we  shall  agree  upon  that  point  hereafter. 
At  present  please  to  deny  yourself  a  little  luxuriance  in 
your  letters,  lest  my  father  should  find  them,  and  be 
offended  with  them.  I  suppose  we  may  return  for 
London  July  21st.  My  sisters,  Judith  and  Sarah,  send 
you  their  service. 

I  am,  your's,  &c. 

IRIS. 

Dunton  gives  this  character  of  his  fair  Iris  before 
her  marriage.  "  Iris  is  tall,  of  a  good  aspect,  her  hair 
of  a  light  colour,  dark  eyes,  her  eye-brows  dark  and 
even,  her  mouth  little  and  sufficiently  sweet,  her  mein 
something  melancholy,  but  elegant  and  agreeable,  her 
neck  long  and  graceful,  white  hands,  a  well  shaped  body, 


MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY.  53 

her  complexion  very  fair ;  but  to  hasten  to  that  which 
I  think  most  deserves  commendation,  I  mean  \\evpiety, 
which,  considering  her  youth,  can  scarcely  be  parallel 
ed.  Her  wit  is  solid ;  she  has  enough  of  that  quick 
wit  so  much  in  fashion,  to  render  her  conversation  very 
desirable.  She  is  severely  modest,  and  has  all  kinds  of 
virtues.  She  never  yet,  I  dare  venture  to  say,  gave  any 
one  an  ill  word  when  absent;  and  never,  when  present, 
commends  them.  Her  temper  is  good  to  a  miracle  : 
she  is  an  agreeable  acquaintance,  a  trusty  friend ;  and 
to  conclude,  she  is  pleasant,  witty,  and  virtuous,  and  is 
mistress  of  all  the  graces  that  can  be  desired  to  make 
a  complete  woman." 

"  August  3rd,  1682,  being  the  day  fixed  upon  for 
our  marriage,  (Dr.  Annesley  having  previously  preach 
ed  a  preparatory  Sermon)  and  all  things  being  ready, 
we  were  well  attended  to  the  church,  where  we  found, 
that  DR.  LEWIS,  being  indisposed,  had  sent  his  curate 
to  officiate.  DR.  ANNESLEY  was  present,  and  gave  me 
his  daughter  in  marriage,  which  I  took  as  a  peculiar 
favour,  it  being  more  than  some  of  his  sons-in-law 
could  obtain. 

"  When  the  public  ceremony  was  over,  we  returned 
to  my  father-in-law's,  where  the  entertainment  was 
plentiful  enough,  and  yet  gravely  suited  to  the  occasion, 
and  circumstance;  and  there  we  were  honoured  with 
the  company  of  the  REV.  MR.  SILVESTER,*  a  man  whose 
learning,  worth,  and  piety  are  but  too  little  known. 

"  Some  days  after  this  were  fooled  away  in  un 
necessary  visits,  treats,  and  expense,  both  of  time  and 
money,  which  I  own  has  not  been  the  least  error  of  my 

*  The  early  Biographer  of  BAXTER. 
F   2 


54  MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY. 

life;  and  into  this  mistake,  the  natural  friendship  and 
familiarity  of  my  temper  has  often  led  me.  When 
we  had  staid  a  little  at  my  father-in-law's,  I  carried 
my  dear  Iris  home  to  the  large  house  I  had  taken  in 
Princes  Street.  We  now  came,  as  they  say,  to  stand 
upon  our  own  legs,  and  to  barter  for  subsistence  amongst 
the  rest  of  mankind  ;  and  my  dear  Iris  gave  an  early 
specimen  of  her  prudence  and  diligence  that  way ;  and 
thereupon  she  commenced  bookseller  and  cash-keeper: 
and  managed  all  my  money  affairs,  and  left  me  entirely 
to  my  own  rambling  and  scribbling  humours. 

"  We  took  several  journies  together  into  the  coun 
try  about  this  time,  and  made  visits  to  our  relations;  but 
look  which  way  we  would,  the  world  was  always  smiling 
on  us.  The  piety  and  good  humour  of  Iris  made  our 
lives  as  it  were  one  continued  courtship." 

It  appears  from  the  following  letters  that  Dunton, 
a  few  years  after  his  marriage,  proceeded  on  an  expedi 
tion  to  America,  with  a  large  cargo  of  books.  We 
introduce  the  letters  to  show  the  strong  affection 
which  subsisted  between  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dunton. 

Boston,  March  25th,  1686. 
MY  DEAR, 

I  am  at  last  got  safe  ashore,  after  an 
uncomfortable  voyage,  that  had  nothing  in  it  but  mis 
fortune  and  hardship.  Half  of  my  venture  of  books 
was  cast  away  in  the  Downs ;  however,  do  not  suffer 
that  to  make  you  melancholy,  in  regard  the  other  half 
is  now  safe  with  me  at  Boston.  I  was  very  often  upon 
the  edge  in  my  passage  over  hither,  besides  all  the 
hazards  of  our  ship,  &c.  It  would  be  endless  to  tell 


MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY.  O» 

over  the  extremities  I  was  in ;  which  lay  all  double 
upon  my  hands,  because  you,  my  dear,  were  not  there 
to  tend  me,  and  to  give  a  resurrection  to  my  spirits  with 
one  kind  look,  and  with  some  soft  word  or  other,  which 
you  know  would  signify  so  much  to  me. 

Dear  Iris,  I  am  now  and  then  tormented  with  a 
thousand  fears.  The  ocean  that  lies  betwixt  us  seems 
louring  and  unkind.  Had  I  wings,  I  would  rather 
steer  myself  a  passage  through  the  air,  than  commit 
myself  a  second  time  to  the  dangers  of  the  sea.  My 
thoughts,  now  that  I  am  at  Boston,  are,  however,  all  run 
ning  upon  Iris ;  and  be  assured  that  with  all  imaginable 
dispatch  I  will  resign  myself  to  God  and  Providence, 
and  the  conduct  of  my  guardian  angel,  to  bring  me 
home  again  in  safety.  Our  pleasures  and  satisfactions 
will  be  fresh  and  new  when  I  am  restored  to  you,  as  it 
were  from  another  world ;  and  methinks  upon  the 
prospect  of  that  very  advantage,  I  could  undertake  an 
other  New  England  voyage.  After  all,  my  dear,  our 
complete  and  our  final  happiness  is  not  the  growth  of 
this  world  ;  it  is  more  exalted,  and  far  above  the  nature 
of  our  best  enjoyments.  I  would  not  have  you  be  in 
the  least  solicitous  about  me.  I  have  met  with  many 
kindnesses  from  the  inhabitants  of  Boston.  You  will 
take  care  to  read  over  the  letters  that  relate  to  business. 
I  am  as  much  yours  as  affection  can  make  me, 

JOHN  DUNTON. 

To  this  letter  Iris  returned  the  following  answer : 
London,  May  14,  1686. 

MOST  ENDEARED  HEART, 

I  received  your  most  welcome  letter  of 
March  25,  which  acquainted  me  with  your  tedious  and 


56  MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY. 

sick  voyage.  I  was  very  much  overjoyed  for  your 
safe  arrival  at  Boston,  though  much  troubled  for  your 
illness  on  the  way  to  it.  Those  mercies  are  the 
sweetest  we  enjoy  after  waiting  and  praying  for  them. 
I  pray  God  to  help  us  both  to  improve  them  for  his 
glory.  I  think  I  have  sympathized  with  you  very 
much  ;  for  I  do  not  remember  I  have  ever  had  so  much 
illness  in  my  whole  life  as  I  have  had  this  winter. 

When  I  first  received  your  letter,  my  dear,  I  was 
resolved  upon  coming  over  to  you,  if  my  friends 
approved  of  it;  but  upon  discourse  with  them,  they 
concluded  I  could  not  bear  the  voyage ;  and,  I  who  have 
had  so  large  an  experience  of  your  growing  and  lasting 
affections,  could  not  but  believe  that  you  had  rather 
have  a  living  wife  in  England  than  a  dead  one  in 
the  sea.  *  *  *  * 

Pray  God  direct  you  what  to  do,  and  in  the  mean 
time  take  care  of  your  health,  and  want  for  nothing.  I 
do  assure  you,  my  dear,  yourself  alone  is  all  the  riches 
I  desire;  and  if  ever  I  am  so  happy  as  to  enjoy  your 
company  again,  I  will  travel  to  the  farthest  part  of  the 
•world,  rather  than  part  with  you  any  more  ;  nothing 
but  cruel  death  shall  ever  make  the  separation.  I  had 
rather  have  your  company  with  bread  and  water,  than 
enjoy,  without  you,  the  riches  of  both  the  Indies.  I 
have  read  your  private  letter,  and  shall  do  that  which 
will  be  both  for  your  comfort  and  honour.  I  take  it 
as  the  highest  demonstration  of  your  love,  that  you 
entrust  me  with  your  secret  affairs.  Assure  yourself  I 
do  as  earnestly  desire  the  welfare  of  your  soul  and 
body  as  I  do  my  own  ;  therefore  let  nothing  trouble 
you,  for  were  you  in  London,  you  could  not  take 


MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY.  57 

more  care  of  your  business  than  I  shall  do.  I  cannot 
express  how  much  I  long  to  see  you.  Oh,  this  cruel 
ocean  that  lies  between  us  !  But,  I  bless  God,  I  am  as 
well  at  present  as  I  can  be  when  separated  from  you. 
I  must  conclude,  begging  of  God  to  keep  you  from  the 
sins  and  temptations  which  every  place,  and  every 
condition  do  expose  us  to.  So,  wishing  you  a  speedy, 
and  a  safe  voyage  back  again  to  England,  I  remain 
yours  beyond  expression. 

IRIS." 

We  shall  conclude  our  notice  of  this  excellent 
woman  by  extracting  her  character,  as  published  by 
her  husband.  "  Her  Bible,"  says  he,  "  was  the  great 
pleasure  of  her  life ;  and  she  was  so  well  acquainted 
with  it,  that  she  could  easily  refer  you  to  the  chapter, 
where  you  might  meet  with  any  passage  you  would 
wish  to  find,  Her  mind  was  always  full  of  charity  to 
wards  those  who  might  differ  from  her  in  matters  of 
opinion.  She  loved  the  image  of  Christ  wherever  it 
was  found.  She  was  no  ordinary  proficient  in  the 
knowledge  of  practical  divinity,  which  her  reflections 
sufficiently  testify ;  especially  upon  the  Grace  of  God, 
the  Will  of  Man,  Original  Sin,  and  the  effect  it  has  upon 
the  faculties  of  the  soul.  '  I  will/  says  she,  '  obey 
God's  revealed  will,  and  adore  his  secret  will,  and  rest 
upon  his  promises,  and  lay  all  down  at  the  feet  of  Christ, 
still  minding  my  present  duty.  The  belief  of  God's 
fore-knowledge,  or  decreeing  whatsoever  shall  come  to 
pass,  should  not  hinder  me  from  my  duty,  but  rather 
provoke  me  to  be  more  diligent.  I  adore  the  sovereign 
ty  of  divine  grace,  that  has  made  me  willing  to  accept 


58  MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY. 

of  Christ.  I  find  a  secret  influence  of  his  spirit  that 
makes  me  serious  and  watchful  in  my  duty.  Whatever 
others  pretend  to  of  the  freedom  of  the  will,  I  am  sure 
mine  is  averse  to  every  thing  that  is  good,  and  that  I 
can  do  no  spiritual  action  without  assistance.'  She 
kept  a  diary  for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  made  a  great 
many  reflections  on  the  state  of  her  own  soul.  But 
she  was  so  far  from  vain  glory,  or  affectation  of 
being  talked  of  after  death,  that  she  desired  that  all 
her  papers  might  be  burnt.  That  part  of  the  diary 
out  of  which  MR.  ROGERS  extracted  several  things,  he 
published  in  her  Funeral  Sermon,  entitled  '  The 
Character  of  a  Good  Woman'  was  with  great  difficulty 
obtained  from  her  in  her  last  sickness;  but  she  said 
'  it  was  her  duty  to  deny  me  nothing/ 

"  Iris  was  a  great  lover  of  solitude,  for  it  gave  her 
an  opportunity  to  converse  with  God  and  her  own 
heart;  but  this  did  not  keep  her  from  the  duties  of 
public  worship.  Sabbaths,  sermons,  and  sacraments, 
were  the  best  refreshments  she  met  with  in  her  way 
to  glory. 

"Her  conjugal  affection  was  altogether  as  remark 
able  as  any  other  part  of  her  character.  Who  should 
love  best  was  the  only  contest  we  ever  had.  Her 
happiness  seemed  to  be  wrapped  up  in  mine,  our 
interest  and  inclinations  were  every  way  the  same. 
When  our  affairs  were  a  little  perplexed,  she  never 
discovered  the  least  uneasiness  ;  she  would  make  use  of 
means,  and  leave  the  issue  to  Providence.  Whenever 
I  was  indisposed,  then  indeed  she  was  much  concerned, 
and  would  rather  impair  her  own  health  than  I  should 
want  looking  after,  or  than  another  should  take  care  of 


MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY.  59 

me.  She  had  such  a  stock  of  good  nature,  that  / 
never  went  home  and  found  her  out  of  humour.  But 
Heaven  had  a  greater  interest  in  her  than  I  could 
claim :  she  was  indeed  the  better  half  of  me ;  but 
then  my  property  in  her  was  not  absolute.  And," 
continues  Dunton,  "  that  the  reader  may  see  our  love 
was  mutual,  and  continued  so  till  death,  I  will  insert  the 
last  two  letters  that  passed  between  us,  before  she  died. 

"  Chesham,  April  10,  1697. 
"  MY  DEAREST  HEART, 

'•  I  shall  ever  rejoice  in  the  entireness  of 
thy  affection,*  which  neither  losses  in  trade,  nor  thy 
long  sickness  could  ever  abate  ;  but,  alas  !  the  dearest 
friends  must  part,  and  thy  1  anguishing  state  makes  it 
necessary  for  me  to  impart  a  few  things  relating  to  my 
own  and  thy  decease.  My  dear,  we  came  together  with 
this  design,  to  help  and  prepare  one  another  for  death ; 
but  now  thy  life  is  in  danger,  methinks  I  feel  already 
the  torments  to  which  a  heart  is  exposed  that  loses 
what  it  loves  ;  yet,  my  dear,  you  may  take  this  comfort 
even  in  death  itself,  that  you  can  die  but  half  whilst  I 
am  preserved  ;  and  to  make  death  the  easier  to  thee, 
think  with  thyself  I  shall  not  be  long  after  thee :  but 
oh  that  we  might  expire  at  the  same  time  !  for,  should st 
thou  go  before  me,  /  shall  pine  like  the  constant 
turtle,  and  in  thy  death  shall  shake  hands  with  the 
whole  sex.  If  we  look  back  into  ancient  times,  we 
find  there  was  hardly  a  person  among  the  primitive 


*  The  familiar  style  of  address  is  occasionally  adopted  in  this  letter, 
which  \ve  follow. 


60  MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY. 

Christians  that  sought  comfort  in  a  second  marriage, 
(second  marriages  then  were  counted  little  better  than 
adultery  ;)  and  in  our  days,  though  they  have  got  a 
better  name,  they  are  a  sort  of  '  who  bids  most  /"  and 
therefore  if  I  should  survive  thee,  I  doubt  whether  I 
should  ever  be  brought  to  draw  again  in  the  conjugal 
yoke,*  except  (Phoenix-like,)  from  thy  ashes  another 
Iris  should  arise ;  and  then  I  cannot  say  what  I  might 
do ;  for  I  love  to  look  upon  thy  image,  though  but  in 
a  friend  or  picture  ;  and  shall  ever  receive  thy  kindred 
with  honourable  mention  of  thy  name.  But  I  need 
not  enlarge ;  for  the  many  tears  I  have  shed  for  thy 
long  sickness  have  shown  how  much  I  shall  grieve 
when  you  die  in  earnest.  What  a  melancholy  thing 
will  the  world  appear  when  Iris  is  dead  !  However  it 
is  my  desire  that  we  may  bed  together  in  the  same 
grave;  and  that  my  ingenious  friend  MR.  THOMAS 
DIXON  preach  my  funeral  sermon  upon  this  text,  '  They 
shall  lie  doivn  alike  in  the  dust,  and  the  worms  shall 
cover  them.'  I  desire  to  be  buried  with  Iris  for  this 
reason,  that  as  our  souls  shall  know  each  other  when 
they  leave  the  body,  so  our  bodies  may  rise  together 
after  the  long  night  of  death.  Dr.  BROWN  applauds 
'  those  ingenious  tempers  that  desire  to  sleep  in  the 
arms  of  their  fathers,  and  strive  to  go  the  nearest  way 
to  corruption.'  It  was  the  request  of  your  worthy 
father  to  lie  by  his  wife,  and  the  COUNTESS  OF  ANGLESEY, 
desired  on  her  death-bed  to  be  buried  as  she  expressed, 
'  upon  the  coffin  of  that  good  man  Dr.  Annesley.'  As 

*  DlTNTON,  however,  soon  changed  his  opinion,  and  married  a  second 
wife  within  twelve  months.    This  second  marriage  did  not  prove  happy. 


MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY.  61 

it  is  good  to  enjoy  the  company  of  the  godly  while 
they  are  living,  so  we  read  it  has  been  advantageous 
to  be  buried  with  them  after  death.  The  old  Prophet's 
bones  escaped  a  burning  by  being  buried  with  the 
other  prophets ;  and  the  man  who  was  tumbled  into 
the  grave  of  Elisha  was  revived  by  virtue  of  his  bones. 
So  that  you  see,  my  dear,  should  you  die  first,  I  shall, 
instead  of  seeking  a  second  wife,  make  court  to  your 
dead  body,  and,  as  it  were  marry  again  in  the  grave. 
I  once  desired  to  be  buried  with  my  father  Dunton, 
in  Aston  Chancel  ;  but  love  to  a  parent,  though  never 
so  tender,  is  lost  in  that  to  a  wife ;  and  now  if  I  can 
mingle  my  ashes  with  thine,  it  is  all  I  desire.  I  would, 
if  possible,  imitate  the  generous  HOTA,  who  followed 
her  husband  to  the  grave,  laid  him  in  a  stately  tomb, 
and  then  for  nine  days  together,  she  would  neither  eat 
nor  drink,  whereof  she  died,  and  was  buried  in  the 
same  grave  with  her  beloved  husband. 

"  He  first  deceas'd,  she  for  a  few  days  tried 
To  live  without  him ;  lik'd  it  not,  and  died." 


"  I  have  kinder  things  to  add,  but  have  not  time 
to  write  them  half,  so  must  reserve  the  rest  till  we  meet 
again.  1  shall  return  to  London  in  three  days,  for 
this  cruel  absence  has  half  killed  me.  I  beg  thy  answer 
to  this  letter,  for  I  will  keep  it  by  me  as  a  dear  memo 
rial.  I  cannot  enlarge,  for  you  have  my  heart,  and  all 
things  else  in  the  power  of, 

Your's  for  ever, 

JOHN  DUNTON/' 
G 


62  MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY. 

"  I  received,  my  dearest,  thy  obliging  letter,  and 
thankfully  own  that  though  God  has  exercised  me 
with  a  long  and  languishing  sickness,  and  my  grave 
lies  in  view,  yet  he  hath  dealt  tenderly  with  me,  so  that 
I  find  by  experience  no  compassions  are  like  those  of 
a  God.  It  is  true  I  have  scarcely  power  to  answer  thy 
letter,  but  seeing  thou  desirest  a  few  lines  to  keep  as 
a  memorial  of  our  constant  love,  I  will  attempt  some 
thing,  though  by  reason  of  my  present  weakness,  I  can 
write  nothing  worth  thy  reading. 

"  First,  then,  as  to  thy  character  of  me,  Love  blinds 
you,  for  I  do  not  deserve  it;  but  am  pleased  to  find 
you  enjoy,  by  the  help  of  a  strong  fancy,  that  happi 
ness  which  I  cannot,  though  I  would  bestow.  But 
opinion  is  the  rate  of  things  ;  and  if  you  think  yourself 
happy,  you  are  so.  As  to  myself,  I  have  met  with 
more  and  greater  comforts  in  a  married  state  than  ever 
I  did  expect.  But  how  can  it  be  otherwise,  when  in 
clination,  interest,  and  all  that  can  be  desired,  concur 
to  make  up  the  harmony  ?  From  our  marriage  till 
now,  thy  life  has  been  one  continued  act  of  courtship, 
and  sufficiently  upbraids  that  indifference  which  is 
found  among  married  people.  Thy  concern  for  my 
present  sickness,  though  of  long  continuance,  has  been 
so  remarkably  tender,  that,  were  it  but  known  to  the 
world,  it  would  once  more  bring  into  fashion  men's 
loving  their  wives.  Thy  will  alone  is  a  noble  pattern 
for  others  to  love  by,  and  is  such  an  original  picture,  as 
will  never  be  equalled.  But,  my  dear,  had  your  will 
been  less  favourable  to  me,  I  should  perform  all  you 
desire,  but  more  especially  with  respect  to  your  death 
and  funeral.  As  to  your  desire  of  sleeping  with  me  in 


MISS  ELIZABETH  ANNESLEY.  63 

the  same  grave,  I  like  it  well ;  and  as  we  design  to  be 
ground  bedfellows  till  the  last  trump  shall  awake  us 
both,  so  I  hope  we  shall  be  happy  hereafter  in  the  en 
joyment  of  the  beatific  vision,  and  in  the  knowledge  of 
one  another ;  for  I  agree  with  you  that  '  we  shall  know 
our  friends  in  heaven.'  Wise  and  learned  men  of  all 
ages,  and  several  scriptures,  plainly  show  it;  though  I 
verily  believe,  were  there  none  but  God  and  one  saint 
in  heaven,  that  saint  would  be  perfectly  happy  so  as  to 
desire  no  more.  But,  whilst  on  earth,  we  may  lawfully 
please  ourselves  with  hopes  of  meeting  hereafter,  and 
lying  in  the  same  grave,  where  we  shall  be  happy  to 
gether,  if  a  senseless  happiness  can  be  so  called.  But 
pray,  my  dear,  be  not  afraid  of  my  dying  first;  for  I 
have  such  a  kindness  for  thee,  that  I  dread  the  thoughts 
of  surviving  thee,  more  than  I  do  those  of  death. 
Couldst  thou  think  I  would  marry  again,  when  it  has 
been  one  great  comfort  under  all  my  languishments  to 
think  I  should  die  first,  and  that  I  shall  live  in  him, 
who  ever  since  the  happy  union  of  our  souls,  has  been 
more  dear  to  me  than  life  itself.  I  shall  only  add  my 
hearty  prayer,  that  God  would  bless  thee  both  in  soul 
and  body  ;  and  that  at  length  thy  spirit  may  be  con 
veyed  by  angels  into  Abraham's  bosom,  where  I  hope 
thou  wilt  find  thy  tender  and  dutiful 

IRIS." 

"Having  given  this  short  account  of  her  conjugal 
affection,  and  those  other  graces  in  which  she  excelled, 
I  shall  next  proceed  to  a  relation  of  her  sickness,  death, 
and  funeral.  In  her  last  sickness,  which  lasted  about 
seven  months,  she  never  uttered  a  repining  word  :  and 
when  God  was  pleased  to  call  her  home,  she  was  willing 


64  MISS  JUDITH  ANNESLEY. 

to  remove.  Through  the  whole  of  her  sickness,  she 
said  '  there  was  no  doubt  upon  her  spirits  as  to  her 
future  happiness.'  When  her  life  began  to  burn  a 
little  dim,  she  expressed  herself  thus  to  one  that  stood 
by:  '  heaven  will  make  amends  for  all ;  it  is  but  a  little 
while  before  I  shall  be  happy.  I  have  good  ground  to 
hope,  that  when  I  die,  through  Christ,  I  shall  be 
blessed,  for  I  dedicated  myself  to  God  in  my  youth.' 

"  When  I  saw  her  life  just  going,  and  my  sorrows 
overcame  me,  she  said  with  an  obliging  sweetness, 
'  do  not  be  so  concerned  about  parting,  for  I  hope  we 
shall  both  meet  where  we  shall  never  part ;  however, 
it  is  a  solemn  thing  to  die,  whatever  we  may  think  of 
it — O  !  this  eternity  !  There  is  no  time  for  preparing 
for  heaven,  like  the  time  of  youth.  Though  death  be 
ever  so  near,  I  can  look  back  with  joy  on  some  of  the 
early  years  that  I  sweetly  spent  in  my  father's  house  ; 
and  how  comfortably  I  lived  there.  Oh!  what  a  mercy 
it  is  to  be  dedicated  to  God  betimes!'  When  her  soul 
was  just  fluttering  on  the  wing,  she  said,  '  Lord  pardon 
my  sins,  and  perfect  me  in  holiness ;  make  me  more 
holy,  and  fit  for  that  state,  where  holiness  shall  be 
perfected.  Accept  of  praises  for  the  mercies  I  have 
received  ;  fit  me  for  whatsoever  thou  wilt  do  with  me, 
for  Christ's  sake.'  A  little  while  after  this  she  sweetly 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  May  28,  16'J7. 

Of  MISS  JUDITH  ANNESLEY  there  is  a 
portrait  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  probably 
painted  by  Sir  Peter  Lely,  where  she  is  represented  as 
a  very  beautiful  woman.  A  gentleman  of  considerable 
fortune  paid  his  addresses  to  her,  and  the  attachment 


MISS  ANNE  ANNESLEY.  65 

was  mutual  j  but  when  she  perceived  he  was  addicted 
to  drinking  much  wine,  she  utterly  refused  to  marry 
him,  and  died  single.  DUNTON,  her  brother-in-law, 
gives  the  following  character  of  her  in  his  "  Life  and 
Errors."  "  She  is  a  virgin  of  eminent  piety,"  says  he, 
"  Good  books,  (above  all  the  book  of  books,)  are  her 
sweetest  entertainment ;  and  she  finds  more  comfort 
there,  than  others  do  in  their  wardrobes.  In  a  word, 
she  keeps  a  constant  watch  over  the  frame  of  her  soul, 
and  course  of  her  actions,  by  daily  and  strict  examina 
tion  of  both." 

Of  MISS  ANNE  ANNESLEY,  DUNTON,  who 
greatly  admired  her,  gives  the  following  character  : — 
"  She  is  a  wit  for  certain  ;  and,  however  time  may  have 
dealt  by  her,  when  I  first  beheld  her,  I  thought  art 
never  feigned,  nor  nature  formed,  a  finer  woman." 

MISS  SUSANNA  ANNESLEY,  afterwards 
Susanna  Wesley,  was  the  youngest  daughter  of  Dr. 
Annesley.  We  shall  endeavour  to  do  justice  to  the 
character  of  this  excellent  woman,  after  we  have  noticed 
that  of  her  husband. 


G  2 


CHAP.  V. 


MATTHEW   WESLEY, 


STUDIES  MEDICINE. VISITS    HIS    BROTHER    AT    EPWORTH. — MRS. 

WESLEY'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THAT  VISIT. — MATTHEW'S  MEAN-SPIRITED 

LETTER  TO  HIS  BROTHER. THE  RECTOR'S  REPLY. MRS.  WRIGHT'S 

VEUSES  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  HER  UNCLE. 


It  will  be  remembered  that  John  Wesley,  vicar  of 
Whitchurch,  is  said  by  CALAMY,  to  have  had  a  nu 
merous  family.  But  the  names  of  Matthew  and  Samuel 
only  have  come  down  to  us ;  and  it  is  probable  that 
the  rest  of  the  children  died  in  infancy. 

MATTHEW  WESLEY,  following  the  example  of  his 
grandfather  Bartholomew,  studied  physic,  and  settled 
in  London,  after  having  travelled  over  the  greatest  part 
of  Europe  for  improvement.  He  is  reported  to  have 
been  eminent  in  his  profession,  and  to  have  made  a 
large  fortune  by  his  medical  practice.  It  is  not  probable 
that  his  father  could  give  him  an  University  education  ; 
but  as  the  vicar  taught  a  school  for  the  support  of  his 
family,  for  which  he  appears  to  have  been  eminently 
qualified,  no  doubt  his  sons,  particularly  Matthew,  who 
was  the  eldest,  had  the  rudiments  of  a  classical  educa 
tion.  It  is  also  probable  he  would  obtain  additional 
instruction  in  some  of  the  Dissenting  academies.  In 
the  year  1731,  Matthew  visited  his  brother  Samuel  at 
Epworth.  This  visit  is  described  by  MRS.  WESLEY  in 


MATTHEW  WESLEY.  67 

a  letter  to  her  son  John,  then  at  Oxford ;  and  as  it 
contains  some  curious  particulars,  we  shall  insert  it. 
The  letter  (without  intending  it)  depicts  the  supercilious 
conduct,  and  deportment  of  a  rich  old  bachelor  amongst 
his  expectant  relations. 

"  Epuorth,  July  12,  1731. 

"  My  brother  Wesley  had  designed  to  have  sur 
prised  us,  and  had  travelled  under  a  feigned  name  from 
London  to  Gainsborough,  but  there  sending  his  man 
out  for  a  guide,  he  told  one  that  keeps  our  market  his 
master's  name,  and  that  he  was  going  to  see  his 
brother,  who  was  the  minister  of  Epworth.  The  man 
he  informed  met  with  Molly  about  an  hour  before  my 
brother  arrived.  She,  full  of  news,  hastened  home 
and  told  us  her  uncle  Wesley  was  coming  to  see  us. 
'Twas  odd  to  observe  how  all  the  town  took  the  alarm, 
and  were  upon  the  gaze,  as  if  some  great  prince  had 
beeii  about  to  make  his  entry.  He  rode  directly  to 
John  Dan-son's,  (who  keeps  the  inn,)  but  we  had  soon 
notice  of  his  arrival,  and  sent  John  Brown  with  an 
invitation  to  our  house.  He  expressed  some  displea 
sure  at  his  servant  for  letting  us  know  of  his  coming, 
for  he  intended  to  have  sent  for  Mr.  Wesley  to  dine 
with  him  at  Dawson's,  and  then  come  to  visit  us  in  the 
afternoon.  However,  he  soon  followed  John  home, 
where  we  were  all  ready  to  receive  him  with  great 
satisfaction. 

"  His  behaviour  amongst  us  was  civil  and  obliging. 
He  spake  little  to  the  children  the  first  day,  being 
employed,  as  he  afterwards  told  them,  in  observing 
their  carriage,  and  seeing  how  he  liked  them;  after 
wards  he  was  very  free,  and  expressed  great  kindness 


68  MATTHEW  WESLEY. 

to  them  all.  He  was  strangely  scandalized  at  the 
poverty  of  our  furniture  ;  and  much  more  at  the  mean 
ness  of  the  childrens  habit.  He  always  talked  more 
freely  with  your  sisters  of  our  circumstances  than  to 
me  ;  and  told  them  he  wondered  what  his  brother  had 
done  with  his  income,  for  'twas  visible  he  had  not 
spent  it  in  furnishing  his  house,  or  clothing  his  family. 

"  We  had  a  little  talk  together  sometimes,  but  it 
was  not  often  we  could  hold  a  private  conference,  and 
he  was  very  shy  of  speaking  any  thing  relating  to  the 
children  before  your  father,  or  indeed  of  any  other 
matter.  I  informed  him,  as  far  as  I  handsomely  could, 
of  our  losses,  &c.,  for  I  was  afraid  that  he  should  think 
I  was  about  to  beg  of  him:  but  the  girls,  (with  whom 
he  had  many  private  discourses,)  I  believe,  told  him 
every  thing  they  could  think  on.  He  was  particularly 
pleased  with  Patty;  and  one  morning  before  Mr. 
Wesley  came  down,  he  asked  me  if  I  was  willing  to  let 
Patty  go  and  stay  a  year  or  two  with  him  in  London  ? 
'  Sister/  says  he, '  I  have  endeavoured  already  to  make 
one  of  your  children  easy  while  she  lives,  and  if  you 
please  to  trust  Patty  with  me,  I  will  endeavour  to 
make  her  so  too/  Whatever  others  may  think,  I 
thought  this  a  generous  offer ;  and  the  more  so,  because 
he  had  done  so  much  for  Sukey  and  Hetty.  I  ex 
pressed  my  gratitude  as  well  as  I  could;  and  would 
have  had  him  speak  to  your  father,  but  he  would  not 
himself,  he  left  that  to  me ;  nor  did  he  ever  mention  it 
to  Mr.  Wesley  till  the  evening  before  he  left  us. 

"  He  always  behaved  himself  very  decently  at 
family  prayers,  and  in  your  father's  absence,  said 
grace  for  us  before  and  after  meat.  Nor  did  he  ever 


MATTHEW  WESLEY.  69 

interrupt  our  privacy ;  but  went  into  his  own  chamber 
when  we  went  into  ours. 

"  He  staid  from  Thursday  to  the  Wednesday  after ; 
then  he  left  us  to  go  to  Scarborough  ;  from  whence  he 
returned  the  Saturday  sen  night  after,  intending  to  stay 
with  us  a  few  days  :  but  finding  your  sisters  had  gone 
the  day  before  to  Lincoln,  he  would  leave  us  on  Sun 
day  morning,  for  he  said  he  must  see  the  girls  before 
they  set  forward  for  London.  He  overtook  them  at 
Lincoln  ;  and  had  Mrs.  Taylor,  Emily  and  Kezzy,  with 
the  rest,  to  supper  with  him  at  the  Angel.  On  Monday 
they  breakfasted  with  him;  then  they  parted  expecting 
to  see  him  no  more  till  they  came  to  London :  but  on 
Wednesday  he  sent  his  man  to  invite  them  to  supper 
at  night.  On  Thursday  he  invited  them  to  dinner, 
at  night  to  supper,  and  on  Friday  morning  to  break 
fast;  when  he  took  his  leave  of  them  and  rode  for 
London.  They  got  into  town  on  Saturday  about  noon, 
and  that  evening  Patty  writ  me  an  account  of  her 
journey. 

"  Before  Mr.  Wesley  went  to  Scarborough,  I  in 
formed  him  of  what  I  knew  of  Mr.  Morgan's  case. 
When  he  came  back,  he  told  me  he  had  tried  the  Spa 
at  Scarborough,  and  could  assure  me,  that  it  far  ex 
celled  all  the  other  Spas  in  .Europe,  for  he  had  been 
at  them  all,  both  in  Germany  and  elsewhere  ;  that  at 
Scarborough  there  were  two  springs,  as  he  was  informed, 
close  together,  which  flowed  into  one  basin,  the  one  a 
chalybeate,  the  other  &  purgative  water,  and  he  did  not 
believe  there  was  the  like  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 
Say  she,  'if  that  gentleman  you  told  me  of  could  by 
any  means  be  got  thither,  though  his  age  is  the  most 


70  MATTHEW  WESLEY. 

dangerous  time  in  life  for  his  distemper,  yet  I  am  of 
opinion  those  waters  would  cure  him.  I  thought  good 
to  tell  you  this,  that  you  might,  if  you  please,  inform 
Mr.  Morgan  of  it. 

"  Dear  Jackey,  I  can't  stay  now  to  talk  about 
Hetty  and  Patty  ;  but  this — I  hope  better  of  both 
than  some  others  do.  I  pray  God  to  bless  you.  Adieu  ! 

S.  W." 

There  does  not  appear  to  have  been  much  intimacy 
between  Matthew  and  his  brother  Samuel.  Though 
Matthew  was  no  zealot  in  religious  matters,  yet  it  is  to 
be  supposed  that  his  brother  leaving  the  Dissenters, 
and  running  into  High  Church  and  Tory  principles, 
would  not  be  agreeable  to  him,  nor  to  his  mother  and 
aunts,  who  were  then  living,  and  continued  to  adhere 
to  the  Dissenters ;  hence  a  distance  was  naturally 
occasioned  between  the  brothers.  Matthew  was  also  a 
careful  economist,  and  being  a  bachelor,  knew  little  of 
the  troubles  of  a  family,  and  could  ill  judge  of  domestic 
expenses  on  a  large  scale. 

Probably  is  was  just  after  this  visit  that  he  wrote 
a  severe  letter  to  his  brother  Samuel,  accusing  him  of 
bad  economy,  and  of  not  making  provision  for  his 
large  family ;  and  indirectly  blaming  him  for  having 
become  a  married  man.  This  severe  letter  Samuel 
answered  in  a  serio-jocose  style,  and  amply  vindicated 
the  whole  of  his  conduct  against  what  he  calls  '  the 
imputation  of  his  ill  husbandry.'  Of  Matthew's  letter 
only  an  extract  remains  in  the  hand-writing  of  his 
brother.  We  shall  give  it  here,  and  also  Mr.  Samuel 
Wesley's  defence.  Matthew's  letter,  which  is  without 
date,  begins  thus  : — 


MATTHEW  WESLEY.  71 

"  The  same  record  which  assures  us  an  infidel 
cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  also  asserts  in 
the  consequence,  that  a  worse  than  an  infidel  can  never 
do  it.  It  likewise  describes  the  character  of  such  an 
one, — '  he  who  provides  not  for  his  own,  especially 
those  of  his  own  house  !'  You  have  a  numerous  off 
spring,  you  have  long  had  a  plentiful  estate ;  great  and 
generous  benefactors,  and  have  made  no  provision 
for  those  of  your  own  house,  who  can  have  nothing  in 
view  at  your  exit  but  distress.  This  I  think  is  a  black 
acconnt ;  let  the  cause  be  folly  or  vanity,  or  ungovern 
able  appetites.  I  hope  providence  has  restored  you 
again  to  give  you  time  to  settle  this  balance,  which 
shocks  me  to  think  of.  To  this  end  I  must  advise  you 
to  be  frequent  in  your  perusal  of  BISHOP  BEVERIDGE 
on  Repentance,  and  DR.  TILLOTSON  on  Restitution; 
for  it  is  not  saying  Lord,  Lord  !  that  will  bring  us  to 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  doing  justice  to  our  fellow 
creatures ;  and  not  a  poetical  imagination  that  we  do 
so.  A  serious  consideration  of  these  things,  and 
suitable  actions,  I  doubt  not,  will  qualify  you  to  meet 
me  where  sorrow  shall  be  no  more,  which  is  the  highest 
hope  and  expectation  of  yours,  &c." 

This  language  is  much  too  severe.  "  Had  Samuel 
Wesley  imitated  the  conduct  of  his  brother  Matthew," 
says  DR.  CLARKE,  "  John  and  Charles  Wesley  had 
probably  never  been  born  ; — and  who  can  say  that  the 
great  light  which  they  were  the  instruments,  in  the 
hand  of  God,  of  pouring  out  upon  the  land,  and  spread 
ing  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth,  had  ever  been 
diffused  by  any  other  means  ?  Men  should  be  aware 
how  they  arraign  the  dispensations  and  ordinances  of 


72  MATTHEW  WESLEY. 

Divine  Providence.  '  It  is  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone,' 
therefore  God  instituted  marriage.  He  who  marries 
does  well :  arid,  it  is  only  in  the  case  of  a  general  perse 
cution  of  the  church,  that  he  who  does  not  marry,  does 
better.  Matthew  Wesley  is  extinct !  Samuel,  his 
brother,  still  lives  in  his  natural  and  spiritual  progeny. 
God  has  crowned  him  with  honour ;  and  it  is  with  diffi 
culty  that  even  the  name  of  his  brother  has  been 
rescued  from  oblivion." 

We  shall  now  insert  Samuel's  reply  to  Matthew's 
peevish  letter.  It  is  supposed  to  be  written  and  com 
municated  by  a  third  person,  who,  having  seen  the 
letter  of  Matthew,  read  it  to  his  brother  Samuel,  "that 
he  might  know  what  the  left-handed  part  of  the  world 
said  of  him."  The  letter  is  headed  "John  o' Styles' 
Apology  against  the  imputation  of  his  ill  Husbandry." 
The  pretended  narrator  goes  on  thus, — 

"When  I  read  this  to  my  friend  John  o' Styles,  I 
was  a  little  surprised  that  he  did  not  fall  into  flouncing 
and  bouncing,  as  I  have  too  often  seen  him  do  on  far 
less  provocation ;  which  I  ascribed  to  a  fit  of  sickness 
which  he  had  lately,  and  which  I  hope  may  have 
brought  him  to  something  of  a  better  rnind.  He  stood 
calm  and  composed  for  a  minute  or  two ;  and  then  de 
sired  he  might  peruse  the  letter,  adding,  that  if  the 
matter  therein  contained  were  true,  and  not  aggravated 
or  misrepresented,  he  was  obliged  in  conscience  to  ac 
knowledge  it,  and  ask  pardon,  at  least  of  his  family,  if 
he  could  make  them  no  other  satisfaction.  And  if  it  were 
not  true,  he  owed  that  justice  to  himself  and  his  family, 
to  clear  himself,  if  possible,  of  so  vile  an  imputation. 
After  he  had  read  it  over,  he  said,  he  did  not  think  it 


MATTHEW  WESLEY. 


73 


necessary  to  enter  into  a  detail  of  the  history  of  his 
whole  life,  from  sixteen  to  upwards  of  seventy,  in  order 
to  the  vindication  of  his  conduct  in  all  the  particulars 
of  it ;  but  the  method  he  chose,  which  he  hoped  Mould 
be  satisfactory  to  all  unprejudiced  persons,  would  be 
to  make  general  observations,  on  those  general  accu 
sations  which  have  been  brought  forward  against 
him  ;  and  then  to  add  some  balance  of  his  income  and 
expences  ever  since  he  entered  on  the  stage  of  life. 

"He  observes,  that  almost  all  his  indictment  con 
sists  of  generals,  wherein  fraud  almost  always  lurks, 
and  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  free  itself  entirely  from  it. 

"  The  sum  of  the  libel  may  be  reduced  to  the  fol 
lowing  assertions: — 1.  That  John  o'Styles  is  worse 
than  an  infidel,  and  therefore  can  never  go  to  heaven. 
2.  He  aims  at  proving  this,  because  he  provides  not  for 
his  own  house  :  as  notorious  instances  of  which  he  adds 
in  the  third  place,  that  he  had  a  numerous  offspring; 
and  has  had  a  long  time  a  plentiful  estate,  and  great 
and  generous  benefactors,  but  yet  has  made  no  provision 
for  those  of  his  own  house ;  which  he  thinks,  in  the 
last  place,  a  black  account,  let  the  cause  be  folly  or 
vanity. 

"Answer. — If  God  has  blessed  him  with  a  nu 
merous  offspring,  he  has  no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of 
them,  nor  they  of  him,  unless  perhaps  one  of  them; 
and  if  he  had  but  that  single  one,  it  might  have  proved 
no  honour  or  support  to  his  name  and  family.  Neither 
does  his  conscience  accuse  him  that  he  has  made  no 
provision  for  those  of  his  own  house;  which  general 
accusation  includes  them  all.  But  has  he  none,  nay 
not  above  one,  two  or  three,  to  whom  he  has  (and  some 


74  MATTHEW  WESLEY. 

of  them  at  very  considerable  expences)  given  the  best 
education   which   England    could  afford ;    by   God's 
blessing  on  which  they  live  honourably  and  comfort 
ably  in  the  world;  some  of  whom  have  already  been  a 
considerable  help  to  the  others,  as  well  as  to  himself; 
and  he  has  no  reason  to  doubt  the  same  of  the  rest,  as 
soon  as  God  shall  enable  them  to  do  it ;  and  there  are 
many  gentlemen's  families  in  England,  who  by  the 
same  method  provide  for  their  younger  children.    And 
he  hardly  thinks  that  there  are  many  of  greater  estates, 
but  would  be  glad  to  change  the  best  of  theirs,  or  even 
all  their  stock,  for  almost  the  worst  of  his.     Neither  is 
he  ashamed  of  claiming  some  merit  in  his  having  been 
so  happy  in  breeding  them  up  in  his  own  principles  and 
practice  ;  not  only  the  priests  of  his  family,  but  all  the 
rest,  to  a  steady  opposition  and  confederacy  against  all 
such  as  are  avowed  and  declared  enemies  to  God,  and 
his  clergy  ;  and  who  deny  or  disbelieve  any  articles  of 
natural  or  revealed  religion;  as  well  as  to  such  as  are 
open  or  secret  friends  to  the  Great  Rebellion ;  or  any 
such  principles  as  do  but  squint  towards  the  same 
practices ;   so  that  he  hopes,  they  are  all  staunch  high 
church,  and  for  inviolable  passive  obedience  ;  from  which 
if  any  of  them  should  be  so  wicked  as  to  degenerate, 
he  can't  tell  whether  he  could  prevail  with  himself  to 
give  them  his  blessing ;  though  at  the  same  time  he 
almost  equally   abhors  all  servile   submission  to  the 
greatest,  and  most  overgrown  tool  of  state,  whose  avow 
ed  design  is  to  aggrandize  his  prince  at  the  expense  of 
the  liberties  and  properties  of  his  free-born  subjects. 
Thus  much  for  John  o'Styles  ecclesiastical  and  political 
creed ;  and,  as  he  hopes  for  those  of  his  family.     And 


MATTHEW  WESLEY.  75 

as  his  adversary  adds,  that '  at  his  exit  they  could  have 
nothing  in  view  but  distress;  and  that  it  is  a  black 
account,  let  the  cause  be  folly  or  vanity/  John  o'Styles 
answered  : — he  has  not  the  least  doubt  of  God's  pro 
vision  for  his  family  after  his  decease,  if  they  continue 
in  the  way  of  righteousness,  as  well  as  for  himself  while 
living.  As  for  his  folly,  he  owns  that  he  can  hardly 
demur  to  the  charge;  for  he  fairly  acknowledges  he 
never  was,  nor  never  will  be,  like  the  children  of  this 
world,  who  are  accounted  wise  in  their  generation,  court 
ing  this  world  and  regarding  nothing  else  ;  not  but  that 
he  has  all  his  life  laboured  truly  both  with  his  hands, 
head,  and  heart,  to  provide  things  honest  in  the  sight 
of  all  men ;  to  get  his  own  living,  and  that  of  those  who 
are  dependant  on  him. 

"As  for  his  vanity,  he  challenges  an  instance  to 
be  given  of  any  extravagance  in  any  single  branch  of 
his  expences,  through  the  whole  course  of  his  life, 
either  in  dress,  diet,  horses,  recreation  or  diversion, 
either  in  himself  or  family. 

"  As  for  the  plentiful  estate,  and  great  and  gene 
rous  benefactors,  which  he  likewise  mentions  : — as  to 
the  latter  of  them,  the  person  accused  answered,  that 
he  could  never  acknowledge,  as  he  ought,  the  goodness 
of  God,  and  of  his  generous  benefactors  on  that  occa 
sion;  but  hopes  he  may  add,  that  he  had  never  tasted 
so  mnch  of  their  kindness,  if  they  had  not  believed  him 
to  be  an  honest  man.  Thus  much  he  said  in  general, 
but  added  as  to  the  particular  instances,  he  should  only 
add  a  blank  balance,  and  leave  it  to  any  after  his  death, 
if  they  should  think  it  worth  while  to  cast  it  up  accord 
ing  to  common  equity,  and  then  they  would  be  more 


76  MATTHEW  WESLEY. 

proper  judges  whether  he  deserved  those  imputations, 
which  are  now  thrown  upon  him. 

"Imprimis.  When  he  first  walked  to  Oxford,  he 
had  in  cash  £2  o*. 

He  lived  there  till  he  took  his  bachelor's  degree, 
without  any  preferment,  or  assistance  except  one  crown. 
By  God's  blessing  on  his  own  industry,  he  brought 
to  London  £10  15*. 

When  he  came  to  London,  he  got  deacon's  orders, 
and  a  cure,  for  which  he  had  £28  for  one  year. 

In  which  year  for  his  board,  ordination  and  habit, 
he  was  indebted  £30,  which  he  afterwards  paid. 

Then  he  went  to  sea,  where  he  had  for  one  year 
£70,  not  paid  till  two  years  after  his  return. 

He  then  got  a  curacy  of  £30  per  annum,  for  two 
years,  and  by  his  own  industry  he  made  it  £60  per 
annum. 

He  married,  and  had  a  son ;  and  he  and  his  wife 
and  child  boarded  for  some  years,  in  or  near  London, 
without  running  into  debt. 

"  He  then  had  a  living  given  him  in  the  country 
[South  Ormsby]  let  for  £50  per  annum,  where  he  had 
five  children  more ;  in  which  time,  and  while  he  lived 
in  London,  he  wrote  a  book  [The  Life  of  Christ]  which 
he  dedicated  to  Queen  Mary,  who  gave  him  a  living  in 
the  country,  [Epworth]  valued  at  £200  per  annum, 
where  he  remained  for  nearly  forty  years,  and  wherein 
his  numerous  offspring  amounted  with  the  former,  to 
nineteen  children. 

"  Half  of  his  parsonage  house  was  first  burnt,  which 
he  rebuilt :  sometime  after,  the  whole  was  burnt  to  the 
ground,  which  he  rebuilt  from  the  foundations,  and  it 


MATTHEW  WESLEY.  77 

cost  him  above  £400,  besides  the  furniture,  none  of 
which  was  saved  ;  and  he  was  forced  to  renew  it. 

"Some  years  after,  he  got  a  little  living  [Wroote] 
adjoining  to  his  former  ;  the  profits  of  which  very  little 
more  than  defrayed  the  expenses  of  serving  it,  and 
sometimes  hardly  so  much,  his  whole  tithe  having  been 
in  a  manner  swept  away  by  inundations,  for  which  the 
parishioners  had  a  brief;  though  he  thought  it  not 
decent  for  himself  to  be  joined  with  them  in  it. 

"  Many  years  he  has  been  employed  in  composing 
a  large  bock,  [Dissertations  on  Job,]  whereby  he  hopes 
that  he  may  be  of  some  benefit  to  the  world,  and  in 
a  degree  amend  his  own  fortunes.  By  sticking  so 
close  to  this  work,  he  lias  broke  a  pretty  strong  con 
stitution,  and  fallen  into  the  palsy  and  gout.  Besides 
he  has  had  sickness  in  his  family,  for  the  most  of  the 
years  since  he  was  married. 

"  His  greater  living  seldom  cleared  more  than  five 
score  pounds  per  annum,  out  of  which  he  allowed  £20 
a-year  to  a  person  [Mr.  WhitelamH\  who  married  one 
of  his  daughters.  Could  we  on  the  whole  fix  the 
balance,  it  would  easily  appear  whether  he  has  been  an 
ill  husband,  or  careless  and  idle,  and  taken  no  care  of 
his  family. 

"  Let  all  this  be  balanced,  and  then  a  guess  may 
easily  be  made  of  his  sorry  arrangement.  He  can 
struggle  with  the  world,  but  not  with  Providence  ;  nor 
can  he  resist  sickness,  fires,  and  inundations." 

"  This  letter  is  a  complete  refutation  of  the  charges 

made  against  John  a' 'Styles,  b^y  a  narrow-minded  and 

selfish  bachelor;   but  at  the  same  time  it  shows  that 

John's  church  and  state  politics  were  sufficiently  elevated. 

H2 


MATTHEW  WESLEY. 

That  Mr.  Matthew  Wesley  continued  with  the 
Dissenters  till  his  death,  is  highly  probable.  But  as 
he  appears  to  have  taken  no  part  in  the  political  and 
polemical  disputes  which  then  divided  the  public,  he 
was  thought  by  several  to  be  indifferent  to  all  forms  of 
religion.  "  Had  this  been  the  case,"  says  Miss 
WESLEY,  (daughter  of  Charles  Wesley)  "  I  should 
hardly  have  supposed  that  such  good  parents  as  my 
grandfather  and  grandmother,  would  have  entrusted 
him  with  their  darling  daughter  Martha.  He  had 
Hetty  before.  Martha  often  told  me  she  never  had 
any  reason  to  believe  it,  as  he  approved  of  her  habit  of 
going  regularly  to  morning  prayers  at  Church,  and 
was  exemplary  moral  in  his  words  and  actions,  es 
teeming  religion,  but  never  talking  of  its  mysteries." 
Martha  however  complains  in  a  letter  which  she  wrote 
to  her  brother  John  in  1730,  that  her  uncle  Matthew 
was  not  "decidedly  pious"  though  strictly  moral. 
This  letter  is  not  to  Martha's  credit,  after  the  kindness 
and  indulgence  which  she  acknowledges  he  had  mani 
fested  to  her.  Besides,  it  was  written  at  a  time  when 
her  brothers  John  and  Charles  considered  that  she 
was  far  from  being  enlightened.  This  disposition  to 
pronounce  on  the  spiritual  state  of  individuals  is  not 
uncommon  in  the  present  day.  Nothing,  however,  is 
more  uncharitable. 

We  have  the  most  minute  information  respecting 
Matthew  Wesley  from  some  lines  to  his  memory,  writ 
ten  by  his  niece  MRS.  WRIGHT.  We  fear,  however,  they 
are  too  laudatory.  Matthew  Wesley  might  be  a  good 
and  excellent  man  in  his  way,  but  he  certainly  appears, 
from  all  that  we  can  gather  respecting  him,  to  have  been 


MATTHEW  WESLEY. 


79 


avaricious  and  narrow-minded.  He  died  in  the  year 
1737.  We  shall  insert  the  verses,  which  are  honour 
able  to  his  niece,  and  written  in  the  purest  spirit  of 
poetry  and  feeling.  CLIO  is  her  assumed  poetic  name  ; 
VARO  that  of  her  uncle. 

How  can  the  Muse  attempt  to  sing, 

Forsaken  by  her  guardian  power? 
Ah  me  !  that  she  survives  to  sing 

Her  friend  and  patron  now  no  more  ? 
Yet  private  grief  she  might  suppress, 

Since  CLIO  bears  no  selfish  mind  ; 
But  oh  !  she  mourns  to  wild  excess 

The  friend  and  patron  of  mankind. 

Alas  '.  the  sovereign  healing  art, 

Which  rescu'd  thousands  from  the  grave, 
Unaided  left  the  gentlest  heart, 

Nor  could  its  skilful  master  save. 
Who  shall  the  helpless  sex  sustain, 

Now  VARO'S  lenient  hand  is  gone, 
Which  knew  so  well  to  soften  pain, 

And  ward  all  dangers  but  his  own  ? 

His  darling  Muse,  his  CLIO  dear, 

Whom  first  his  favour  rais'd  to  fame, 
His  gentle  voice  vouchsafd  to  cheer; 

His  art  upheld  her  tender  frame. 
Pale  envy  durst  not  show  her  teeth ; 

Above  contempt  she  gaily  shone 
Chief  favourite,  till  the  hand  of  death 

Endanger'd  BOTH  by  striking  ONE. 

Perceiving  well,  devoid  of  fear, 

His  latest  fatal  conflict  nigh, 
Rcclin'd  on  her  he  held  most  dear, 

Whose  breast  received  his  parting  sigh ; 
With  ev'ry  art  and  grace  adorn'd, 

By  man  admir'd,  by  heaven  approv'd, 
Good  VAUO  died — applauded,  mourn'd, 

And  honour'd  by  the  Muse  he  lov'd. 


CHAP.  VII. 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH. 


EDUCATED  IN  A  DISSENTING    ACADEMY. — GOES  TO  THE    UNIVERSITY 

OF    OXFORD. HIS     REASONS     FOR    LEAVING    THE    DISSENTERS. 

WRITES    AGAINST   THEIR  ACADEMIES. — MARRIES  DR.  ANNESLEY'S 

YOUNGEST    DAUGHTER. SOLICITED    TO    FAVOUR    POPERY   BY  THE 

FRIENDS  OF  JAMES  II. WRITES  IN  FAVOUR  OF  THE    REVOLUTION 

OF    1688. PRESENTED     TO     THE     RECTORY    OF    EPWORTH. MRS. 

WESLEY     AND     HER     HUSBAND     DIFFER     AS     TO     THE     TITLE    OF 

WILLIAM  III. THE  RECTOR  PROPOSED    FOR  AN  IRISH    BISHOPRIC. 

ARCHBISHOP    SHARP    A    KIND    FRIEND  TO    HIM. HIS    LETTERS 

TO  THE  ARCHBISHOP. THE  PARSONAGE  HOUSE  DESTROYED  BY 

FIRE. — MRS.  WESLEY'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THAT  CALAMITY. — STRANGE 
PHENOMENA  IN  THE  PARSONAGE  HOUSE  AFTER  IT  WAS  REBUILT. 
DR.  PRIESTLEY'S  OPINION  OF  THESE  DISTURBANCES. — MR.  WES 
LEY'S  DISSERTATIONS  ON  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB — THIS  BOOK  PRE 
SENTED  TO  THE  QUEEN  BY  HIS  SON  JOHN. HIS  DEATH,  AS 

DETAILED  BY  HIS  SON  CHARLES. HIS  CHARACTER. ANEC 
DOTES  RESPECTING  HIM. HIS  WORKS. 

We  now  proceed  to  notice  the  other  son  of  the 
vicar  of  Whitchurch.  SAMUEL,  father  of  the  late  Mr. 
John  Wesley,  was  born  at  Whitchurch,  about  the  year 
1662.  He  was  educated  in  the  free  school  at  Dorches 
ter,  and  afterwards  became  a  pupil  in  MR.  MORTON'S 
academy,*  being  designed  for  the  ministry  among  the 
Dissenters ;  but  his  father  dying  whilst  he  was  young, 
he  forsook  them,  and  went  into  High  Church  principles, 
and  political  toryism.  When  he  meditated  his  retreat 

*  It  appears  from  DUNTON'S  account,  that  Mr.  Wesley  was  also  at 
MR.  EDWARD  VEAL'S  Dissenting  academy,  a  man  whom  he  describes  to 
be  "  an  universal  scholar,  and  of  great  piety  and  usefulness." 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.      81 

into  the  Episcopal  church,  he  lived  with  his  mother 
and  aunt,  both  strongly  attached  to  the  principles  of 
dissent;  and  well  knowing  that  they  would  feel  indig 
nant  at  the  disclosure  of  his  apostacy,  he  got  up  early 
one  morning,  and  without  acquainting  any  one  with  his 
purpose,  set  out  on  foot  to  Oxford,  and  entered  him 
self  at  Exeter  College.  When  he  began  his  studies  at 
the  university,  he  had  but  two  pounds  sixteen  shillings, 
and  no  prospect  of  any  further  supply.  From  that 
time  till  he  graduated,  a  single  crown  was  all  the  assist 
ance  he  received  from  his  friends.  It  was  by  composing 
Elegies,  Epitaphs,  and  Epithalamiums  for  his  friend 
JOHN  DUNTON,  who  traded  in  these  articles,  and  kept 
a  stock  of  them  ready  made,  that  Mr.  Wesley  supported 
himself  at  Oxford,  and  had  accumulated  the  sum  of 
£10  15s.  when  he  went  to  London  to  be  ordained. 
He  took  his  Bachelor's  degree  in  1688.  Having 
served  in  a  cure  one  year,  and  as  chaplain  during 
another,  on  board  a  king's  ship,  he  settled  upon  a  curacy 
in  the  metropolis,  and  married. 

The  reason  why  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley  left  the  Dis 
senters  has  been  variously  stated.  His  son  Jo/in  says, 
"some  severe  invectives  were  then  written  against  the 
Dissenters,  and  my  father  being  deemed  a  young  man  of 
considerable  talents,  was  pitched  upon  to  answer  them. 
This  set  him  on  a  course  of  reading,  which  soon  produced 
an  effect  very  different  from  what  had  been  intended. 
Instead  of  writing  the  wished  for  answer,  he  saw  reason 
to  change  his  opinions ;  and  actually  formed  a  resolu 
tion  to  renounce  the  Dissenters,  and  attach  himself  to 
the  established  church."  His  own  account  is  as  follows, 
"After  my  return  to  London  from  the  university  I 


82  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

contracted  an  acquaintance  with  a  gentleman  of  the 
church  of  England,  who  knowing  my  former  way  of  life, 
did  often  importune  me  to  give  him  an  account,  in 
writing,  of  the  Dissenters'  methods  of  education  in  their 
private  academies,  concerning  which  he  had  heard 
from  me  several  passages  in  former  conversations ; 
though,  for  some  time,  I  did  not  satisfy  him  therein, 
but  it  was  the  following  occurrence  which  altered  my 
inclination.  I  happened  to  be  with  some  of  my  former 
acquaintance  at  a  house  in  Leadenhall  Street,  or  there 
abouts,  in  the  year  1693  :  all  of  them  were  Dissenters 
except  one,  and  their  discourse  was  so  profane  that  I 
could  not  endure  it,  but  went  to  the  other  side  of  the 
room  with  a  doctor  of  physic,  who  had  been  my  fellow 
pupil  at  Mr.  Morton's,  and  to  whom  I  owe  it  in  justice 
to  declare  that  he  also  disliked  the  conversation. 

"  A  little  after  this,  we  went  to  supper,  when  they 
all  fell  a  railing  at  monarchy,  and  blaspheming  the 
memory  of  King  Charles  the  Martyr*  discoursing  of  the 


*  LORD  CLARENDON,  recording  the  trial  and  condemnation  of  Charles 
I.  calls  him  "the  most  innocent  person  in  the  world,"  and  designates 
''the  execution"  as  the  most  execrable  murder  that  was  ever  committed 
since  that  of  ourhlessed  Saviour.  The  present  LORD  DOVER  remarks  on 
this  passage,  that  "  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  men,  more  innocent 
than  the  tyrannical  Charles,  have  been  put  to  death  without  their  execution 
being  likened  to  that  of  the  Saviour  of  mankind."  The  University  of  Ox 
ford  had  hanging  in  the  Bodleian  library  two  portraits,  one  of  Christ,  and  the 
other  of  Charles  I.  exactly  similar  in  every  respect,  with  an  account  of  their 
sufferings  at  the  bottom  of  each." 

DR.  YOUNG,  when  describing  "the  last  day,"  has  ventured  in  a  grossly 
flattering  dedication  to  Queen  Anne,  to  allude  to  her  royal  grandsire  stand 
ing  amidst  spotless  saints,  and  laureled  martyrs,  before  the  awful  seat  of 
judgment,  in  the  following  manner: — 

"His  lifted  hands  his  lofty  neck  surround 
To  hide  the  scarlet  of  a  circling  wound  j 
The  Almighty  Judge  bends  forward  from  his  throne, 
Those  scars  to  mark,  and  then  regards  his  own." 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  83 

CALVES'-HEAD  CLUB,  and  producing,  or  repeating  some 
verses  on  that  subject.  I  remember  one  of  the  com 
pany  told  us  of  a  design  they  had  at  their  next  meeting, 
to  have  a  cold  pie  served  on  the  table  with  either  a  live 
cat  or  hare: — I  have  forgot  whether,  enclosed;  and 
they  would  contrive  to  put  one  of  the  company,  who 
loved  monarchy,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  matter,  to 
cut  it  up,  whereupon  ;  and  on  leaping  out  of  the  cat  or 
hare,  they  were  all  to  set  up  a  shout,  and  cry,  Hallo, 
old  puss  !  to  the  honour  of  the  good  cause,  and  to  show 
their  affection  to  a  commonwealth. 

"  By  this  as  well  as  several  other  discourses  which 
I  heard  among  them,  so  turned  my  stomach,  and  gave 
me  such  a  just  indignation  against  these  villainous  prin 
ciples  and  practices,  that  I  returned  to  my  lodgings, 
and  resolved  to  draw  up  what  the  gentleman  desired." 

This  is  severe  enough  when  charged  upon  the 
Dissenters  a*  a  body,  but  it  does  not  equal  the  virulence 
and  coarseness  of  language  in  some  pamphlets  which, 
about  this  time,  Mr.  Wesley  wrote  against  the  Dis 
senters  and  their  academies.  He  did  not,  however, 

R.  M.  BEVERLEY,  ESQ.,  in  his  second  Letter  to  the  Archbishop  of 
York,  has  the  following  remarks  on  this  subject.  ''  Charles  I,"  says  he,  "is 
so  intimately  bound  up  with  the  church  of  England,  that  all  things  connected 
with  him  should  be  narrowly  inspected.  He  is  a  blessed  Martyr  in  the 
Prayer-book,  and  a  solemn  service  is  dedicated  to  his  memory  on  the  30th 
of  January.  This  service  is  so  transcendently  blasphemous  that  I  cannot 
but  bring  it  before  your  Grace.  The  sentences  appointed  for  that  service 
are, — '  He  heard  the  blasphemy  of  the  multitude,  and  fear  was  on  every  side 
while  they  conspired  together  against  him,  to  take  away  his  life, — they  took 
counsel  together,  saying,  God  hath  forsaken  him,  persecute  him  and  take 
him,  for  there  is  none  to  deliver  him,'  &c.  The  second  lesson  for  the  morn 
ing  service,  is  the  crucifixion  of  our  Saviour, — '  When  the  morning  was  come 
all  the  chief  Priests  and  Elders  of  the  people  took  counsel  against  JESUS,  to 
put  him  to  death,'  Ifc.  The  Gospel  appointed  for  the  day  is  Matt.  xxi. 
'  Last  of  all  he  sent  unto  them  his  Son,  saying,  they  will  reverence  my  Son 
—they  said  among  themselves,  this  is  the  heir,  come  let  us  kill  him,'  &c." 


84  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

escape  with  impunity.  DE  FOE,  who  was  his  fellow 
pupil  at  MR.  MORTON'S  academy,  thus  does  honour  to 
the  memory  of  his  tutor,  and  chastises  the  conduct  of 
his  ungrateful  pupil : — "  Mr.  Wesley,  author  of  two 
pamphlets  calculated  to  blacken  our  education  in  the 
academies  of  the  dissenters,  ingeniously  confesses  him 
self  guilty  of  many  crimes  in  his  youth,  and  is  the 
readier  to  confess  them,  as  he  would  lay  them  at  the 
door  of  the  dissenters,  amongst  whom  he  was  educated, 
though  I  humbly  conceive  it  no  more  proof  of  the 
immorality  of  the  dissenters  in  their  schools  that  he 
was  a  little  rakish  himself,  than  the  hanging  five 
students  of  Cambridge  in  a  short  time  for  robbing  on 
the  highway,  should  prove  that  padding  is  a  science 
taught  at  the  university.  He  takes  a  great  deal  of 
pains  to  prove,  that  in  those  academies  were,  or  are 
taught  anti-monarchial  principles."  This  De  Foe  re 
buts  by  saying,  that  he  had  still  by  him  the  manuscript 
of  those  political  exercises  which  were  then  performed 
in  the  academy,  the  inspection  of  which  were  open  to 
any  one.  The  schools  of  the  Dissenters,  he  says,  "  are 
not  so  private  but  that  they  may  be  known,  and  they 
are  not  so  much  ashamed  of  their  performance,  but 
that  any  churchman  may  be  admitted  to  hear  and  see 
what  they  teach." 

DUNTON,  in  his  life,  thus  alludes  to  his  brother-in- 
law  at  this  period,  "  I  must  add  my  old  friend,  Samuel 
Wesley.  He  was  educated  upon  charity  in  a  private 
academy,  if  we  may  take  his  own  word  for  it,  in  his  late 
pamphlet,  which  was  designedly  written  to  expose  and 
overthrow  those  academies.  One  would  have  thought 
'  that  either  gratitude,  or  his  own  reputation  in  the  world, 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  85 

and  among  his  relations  and  his  best  friends,  might 
have  kept  him  silent;  though  when  a  man  is  resolved 
to  do  himself  a  mischief,  who  can  prevent  it."     Of  MR. 
MORTON,  who  was  tutor  of  the  academy  in  which  Mr. 
Wesley  was  educated,  DUNTON,  who  knew  him  well,  thus 
speaks  : — "  His  conversation  showed  him  a  gentleman. 
He  was  the  very  soul  of  philosophy  ;  the  several  manu 
scripts   which  he   wrote   for   the   use   of  his  private 
academy,  sufficiently  showed  this.    He  was  a  repository 
of  all  arts  and  sciences,  and  of  the  graces.     His  dis 
courses  were  not  stale  nor  studied,  but  always  new,  and 
occasionally,  they  were  high,  but  not  soaring;  prac 
tical,  but  not  low.    His  memory  was  as  vast  as  his  know 
ledge  ;  yet,  (so  great  was  his  humility)  he  knew  it  the 
least  of  any  man.  Mr.  Morton  being  thus  accomplished, 
(as  all  will  own  but  Sam.  Wesley,  who  has  fouled  his  nest* 
in  hopes  of  a  bishopric)  he  certainly  must  be  as  fit  to 
bring  up  young  men  to  the  ministry,  as  any  in  England." 
MR.  WILSON,  in  his  "  Life  and  Times  ofDe  Foe," 
says,  "amongst  those  who  assisted  to  injure  the  Dis 
senters  at  this  time,  (1703)  was  the  well  known  rector 
of  Epworth,  Samuel  Wesley,  who  had  been  born  and 
educated    amongst     them.       Having     penned     some 
thoughts,  intermixed  with  many  gross  reflections  that 
deeply  affected  their  character,  he  transmitted  them  to 
a  particular  friend,  who  had  applied  to  him  for  informa 
tion  upon  the  subject.     After  slumbering  nearly  ten 
years  in  manuscript,  from  whence  it  would  have  been 
well  for  the  reputation  of  the  writer  if  they  had  never 
emerged,  they 'were  committed  to  press;    and  as  his 
biographers  say,  without  his  consent  or  knowledge. 

•  See  his  Satire  on  Dissenting  Academies. 
I 


0 


86  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

"  The  time  selected  for  the  publication  showed  the 
malicious  intention  of  the  person;  for  the  Dissenters 
were  then  under  the  frown  of  the  civil  powers,  and  in 
daily  expectation  of  some  fresh  act  for  the  curtailment 
of  their  liberties.  With  regard  to  Mr.  Wesley,  no  ex 
cuse  can  be  made  for  his  conduct.  If,  when  he  quitted 
the  dissenters,  he  had  been  satisfied  with  his  own  con 
formity,  and  abstained  from  any  ungenerous  reflections 
upon  his  former  benefactors,  no  one  would  have  had  any 
right  to  question  his  motives,  or  to  impeach  his  conduct. 
But,  unhappily,  he  appears  always  to  have  been  de 
ficient  in  judgment;  and  the  indiscretion  of  his  friend 
in  thus  bringing  him  before  the  public,  laid  him  open 
to  the  heavy  charges  of  baseness  and  ingratitude. 

"  The  dissenters,  being  excluded  from  the  public 
schools,  had  no  other  alternative  than  to  institute 
seminaries  of  their  own,  or  to  rear  their  children  in 
ignorance.  As  it  was  not  reasonable  that  they  should 
so  far  accommodate  themselves  to  the  prejudices  of 
churchmen  as  to  submit  to  the  latter,  the  other  expedi 
ent  was  the  only  course  left  them.  It  might  have  been 
expected  by  any  reasonable  person,  that  the  ample 
endowments  of  the  established  church,  and  the  total 
exclusion  of  dissenters  from  the  least  participation  in 
them,  would  have  been  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  most 
craving  mouths,  and  to  quiet  the  monopolists.  But 
the  demands  of  bigotry  are  not  easily  answered,  and 
the  more  plentiful  the  food,  the  more  voracious  the 
appetite.  To  a  mind  cast  in  the  mould  of  SACHEVEREL, 
who  was  in  the  foremost  of  their  accusers,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  they  should  appear  '  an  insupportable 
grievance ;'  for  in  the  crucible  of  party,  the  most  inno- 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH. 


87 


cent  plants  are  converted  by  an  easy  process  into  the 
most  deadly  poison."  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the 
respectable  name  of  Wesley  should  be  dishonoured  by 
an  association  with  this  church  malignant ;  but  the  sons 
of  the  prophets  too  often  degenerate  from  the  virtues 
of  their  parents ;  and  the  apostates  from  Non-conformity 
have  generally  been  amongst  its  bitterest  opponents. 

DR.  CLARKE  says,  that  though  "  Mr.  Wesley  was 
ill  used  by  several  of  the  dissenters ;  he  appears  too 
often  to  attribute  the  unchristian  and  cruel  treatment 
he  received  from  them  as  the  work  of  the  whole  body  ; 
as  if  dissenting  principles  must  necessarily  produce 
such  wicked  effects.  Besides,  he  was  an  unqualified 
admirer  of  Charles  I.,  considered  him  in  the  fullest 
sense  a  martyr,  and  was  often  intolerant  to  those  who 
differed  from  him  in  this  opinion."  The  Doctor  proper 
ly  adds,  that  "  neither  the  name,  nor  peculiar  creed  of 
churchmen  nor  dissenter,  is  essential  to  salvation.  He 
alone  deserves  the  title  of  Christian  who  wishes  well  to 
the  human  race,  and  labours  to  promote,  according  to 
his  power  and  influence,  the  best  interests  of  mankind. 
No  man,  professing  godliness,  should  forget  to  imitate 
Him  who  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the 
good,  and  sendeth  his  rain  on  the  just,  and  on  the 
unjust." 

As  to  the  CALVES'-HEAD-CLUB  to  which  Mr.  Wesley 
alludes,  \ve  shall  give  a  history  of  it  at  the  end  of  this 
volume,  the  subject  meriting  a  more  detailed  account 
than  would  be  suitable  in  this  place.  We  shall,  how 
ever,  insert  the  following  lines  as  a  specimen  of  what 
was  said  to  have  been  sung  at  these  meetings.  We  by 
no  means  justify  the  sentiments  they  contain,  though 


SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

the  composition,  as  a  song,  may  not  be  without  some 
merit. 

"  'Twas  an  action  great  and  daring, 

Nature  smiled  at  what  they  did : 
When  our  fathers  nothing  fearing, 
Made  the  haughty  tyrant  bleed. 

"  Priests  and  we  this  day  observing, 

Only  differ  in  one  thing ; 
They  are  canting,  whining,  starving, 
We  in  raptures  drink  and  sing. 

"  Advance  the  emblem*  of  the  action, 

Fill  the  calf-skin  full  of  wine ; 

Drinking  ne'er  was  counted  faction, 

Men  and  gods  adore  the  vine." 

In  the  APPENDIX  we  shall  endeavour  to  show  that 
whatever  may  have  been  asserted  to  the  contrary,  the 
Dissenters,  as  a  religious  community,  are  exonerated 
from  any  participation  in  the  orgies  of  the  30th  January. 
In  all  societies  there  will  be  individuals  of  various 
tastes  and  opinions,  but  it  would  be  absurd  to  make 
whole  bodies  responsible  for  the  faults  of  a  few.  When 
we  see  tyrants  canonized  by  authority  as  martyrs,  or 
read  the  decisions  of  councils  or  convocations,  we  have 
a  right  to  consider  them  as  the  acts  of  the  body  they 
represent,  and  treat  them  accordingly ;  but  not  so  the 
acts  of  private  persons. 

We  have  seen,  that  after  our  young  collegian  left 
Oxford,  he  went  to  London.  There  he  married  the 
youngest  daughter  of  DR.  ANNESLEY  ;  of  this  lady 
honourable  mention  will  be  made  hereafter.  Young 
Wesley's  introduction  into  this  respectable  family  was 

*  The  Axe. 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  89 

probably  owing  to  his  acquaintance  with  DUNTON,  for 
whom  he  wrote  much  both  in  prose  and  verse.  Mr. 
Wesley  is  said  to  have  written  two  hundred  couplets 
a-day,  certainly  too  much  to  be  well  finished.  Soon 
after  his  marriage  he  was  presented  with  the  living 
of  South  Ormsby  in  Lincolnshire,  worth  about  £50 
per  annum.  This  is  supposed  to  be  the  place  of  which 
MR.  JOHN  WESLEY  gives  the  following  account : — 
"My  father's  first  preferment  in  the  Church  was  a 
small  parish  given  him  by  the  MARQUIS  of  NORMANBY, 
afterwards  Duke  of  Buckingham.  This  nobleman  had 
a  house  in  the  parish,  where  a  woman  who  lived  with 
him  usually  resided.  This  lady  would  be  intimate 
with  my  mother,  whether  she  would  or  not.  To  such 
an  intercourse  my  father  would  not  submit.  Coming  in 
one  day,  and  finding  this  intrusive  visitant  sitting  with 
my  mother,  he  went  up  to  her,  and  handed  her  out. 
The  Marquis  resented  the  affront  so  outrageously,  as  to 
make  it  necessary  for  my  father  to  resign  the  living/' 
His  brother-in-law,  DUNTON,  being  an  adventurous 
publisher,  Mr.  Wesley  employed  him  to  print  his  first 
work, — the  title  is  as  follows  : — "  MAGGOTS,  or  Poems 
on  subjects  never  before  handled."  To  this  work,  which 
was  written  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  Mr.  Wesley  did  not 
put  his  name.  But  there  was  prefixed  to  it  the  portrait 
of  a  man  writing  at  a  table,  on  his  forehead  a  maggot, 
and  underneath  these  lines  : — 

"  In  's  own  defence  the  author  writes, 
Because  when  this  foul  maggot  bites 

He  ne'er  can  rest  in  quiet : 
Which  makes  him  make  so  sad  a  face, 
He'd  beg  your  Worship,  or  your  Grace, 
Unsight,  unseen,  to  buy  it." 

i2 


SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

Duntou  aud  Wesley  appear  to  have  been  connected 
in  several  book  speculations,  but  they  afterwards  quar 
relled.  On  this  occasion  Dunton  thus  writes: — "I 
could  be  very  magotty  on  the  character  of  this  con 
forming  dissenter  ;  but  except  he  further  provoke  me, 
I  bid  him  farewell  till  we  meet  in  heaven ;  and  there  I 
hope  we  shall  renew  our  friendship,  for,  human  frailties 
excepted,  I  believe  Sam.  Wesley  to  be  a  pious  man." 

Dunton  further  says  that  "he  wrote  very  much 
for  him  both  in  prose  and  verse,  though  he  would  not 
name  over  the  titles,  for  he  was  then  as  unwilling  to 
see  his  name  at  the  bottom  of  them,  as  Mr.  Wesley 
would  be  to  subscribe  his  own.'' 

About  this  time  Mr.  Wesley  was  strongly  solicited 
by  the  friends  of  James  II.  to  support  the  measures  of 
the  court  in  favour  of  popery,  with  promises  of  prefer 
ment  if  he  would  comply.  But  he  absolutely  refused 
to  read  the  king's  declaration,  and  though  surrounded 
with  courtiers,  soldiers,  and  informers,  he  preached 
boldly  against  it  from  Daniel  iii.  17,  18, — If  it  be  so, 
our  God  whom  we  serve  is  able  to  deliver  us  from  the 
burning  fiery  furnace,  and  he  will  deliver  us  out  of 
thine  hand,  O  king.  But  if  not,  be  it  knoivn  unto  thce, 
O  king,  that  we  irill  not  serve  thy  gods,  nor  worship  the 
golden  image  which  thou  hast  set  up.  His  son  Samuel 
describes  this  circumstance  in  the  following  lines  : — 

"When  zealous  JAMES,  unhappy  sought  the  way 
To  establish  Rome  by  arbitrary  sway ; 
In  vain  were  bribes  shower'd  by  the  guilty  crown, 
He  sought  no  favour,  as  he  fear'd  no  frown. 
Secure  in  faith,  exempt  from  worldly  views, 
He  dar'd  the  declaration  to  refuse : 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  91 

Then  from  the  sacred  pulpit  boldly  show'd 
The  dauntless  Hebrews,  true  to  Israel's  God ; 
Who  spake  regardless  of  their  king's  commands, 
'  The  God  we  serve  can  save  us  from  thy  hands ; 
If  not,  O  monarch,  know  we  choose  to  die, 
Thy  gods  alike,  and  thrcatenings,  we  defy ; 
No  power  on  earth  our  faith  has  e'er  controll'd, 
We  scorn  to  worship  idols,  though  of  gold.' 
Resistless  truth  damp'd  all  the  audience  round, 
The  base  informer  sickened  at  the  sound ; 
Attentive  courtiers  conscious  stood  amaz'd, 
And  soldiers  silent  trembled  when  they  gaz'd. 
No  smallest  murmur  of  distaste  arose, 
Abash'd,  and  vanquish'd,  seem'd  the  church's  foes. 
So  when  like  real  their  bosoms  did  inspire, 
The  Jewish  martyrs  walk'd  unhurt  in  fire." 

When  the  Revolution  of  1688  took  place,  Mr. 
Wesley  cordially  approved  of  it,  and  was  the  first  who 
Avrote  in  its  defence.  This  work  he  dedicated  to  QUEEN 
MARY,  who,  in  consequence,  gave  him  the  living  of 
Epworth,  in  Lincolnshire,  about  the  year  1693,  and  in 
1723  he  was  also  presented  to  that  of  Wroote  in  the 
same  county.  The  late  Mr.  John  Wesley  has,  however, 
been  heard  to  say,  that  at  first  his  father  was  attached 
to  the  interests  of  JAMES,  but  when  he  heard  him 
threaten  the  Master  and  Fellows  of  Magdalen  College, 
(lifting  up  his  lean  arm,)  "If  you  refuse  to  obey  me, 
you  shall  feel  the  weight  of  a  king's  right  hand  ;"  he 
pronounced  him  a  tyrant,  and  resolved  from  that  time 
to  give  him  no  kind  of  support. 

Mrs.  Wesley  differed  from  her  husband  in  opinion 
concerning  the  Revolution,  but  as  she  understood  the 
duty  and  the  wisdom  of  obedience,  she  did  not  express 
her  dissent;  and  he  discovered  it  only  a  year  before 


92  SA.MUEL  WESLEY, 

King  William  died,  by  observing  that  she  did  not  say 
Amen  to  the  prayers  for  him.  Instead  of  imitating  her 
forbearance,  he  questioned  her  upon  the  subject :  and 

when  she  told  him  that  she  did  not  believe  the  Prince 

t 

of  Orange  was  king,  he  vowed  never  to  cohabit  with  her 
till  she  did.  Mr.  John  Wesley  thus  related  this 
anecdote  to  DR.  ADAM  CLARKE  : — " f  Sukey/  (for  that 
was  the  familiar  name  he  called  his  wife  Susanna,) 
'  Sukey'  said  my  father  to  my  mother  one  day  after 
family  prayer,  '  why  did  you  not  say  Amen  this  morning 
to  the  prayer  for  the  king  ?'  '  Because'  said  she, 
'  I  do  not  believe  the  Prince  of  Orange  to  be  king.' 
'  If  that  be  the  case/  said  he,  '  you  and  I  must  part ; 
for  if  we  must  have  two  kings,  we  must  have  two  beds.' 
My  mother  was  inflexible.  My  father  went  immediately 
to  his  study  ;  and  after  spending  some  time  with  him 
self,  set  out  for  London,  where  he  remained  without 
visiting  his  own  house  the  remainder  of  the  year.  On 
the  8th  of  March  the  following  year,  1702,  King 
William  died,  and  as  both  my  father  and  mother  were 
agreed  as  to  Queen  Anne's  title,  the  cause  of  their  mis 
understanding  ceased  ;  he  returned  to  Epworth,  and 
conjugal  harmony  was  restored."  John  was  the  first 
child  after  this  separation. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1691,  JOHN  DUNTON 
projected  a  paper  which  was  first  entitled  "  The 
Athenian  Gazette,  or  Casuistical  Mercury ;  resolving 
all  the  nice  and  curious  qiiestions  proposed  by  the  in 
genious  :"  but  which,  in  a  short  time,  was  altered  to 
the  "Athenian  Mercury."  The  conductors  of  this 
Work  were  designated  the  "  Athenian  Society,"  and 
consisted  of  but  three  members — JOHN  DUNTON, 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  93 

RICHARD  SAULT,*  and  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  who  were  also 
the  proprietors,  and  divided  the  profits  amongst  them. 

Mr.  Wesley  held  the  living  of  Epworth  upwards 
of  forty  years.  His  abilities  would  have  done  him 
credit  in  a  more  conspicuous  situation ;  and  had  Queen 
Mary  lived  longer,  it  is  probable  that  he  would  not 
have  spent  so  great  apart  of  his  life  in  such  an  obscure 
corner  of  the  kingdom.  Talents  found  their  way  into 
public  less  readily  in  that  age,  than  at  present. 

"About  this  time,"  says  MR.  MOORE,  "the  rector 
of  Epworth  was  in  London,  when,  as  the  late  Mr.  John 
Wesley  informed  me,  his  father  happened  to  go  into  a 
coffee-house  for  some  refreshment.  There  were  several 
gentlemen  in  a  box  at  the  other  end  of  the  room;  one 
of  whom,  an  officer  of  the  Guards,  swore  dreadfully. 
The  rector  saw  that  he  could  not  speak  to  him  without 
much  difficulty;  he  therefore  desired  the  waiter  to 

*  "In  mentioning  the  name  of  RICHARD  SAULT,"  says  DR.  CLARKE, 
"I  am  led  to  notice  a  work  which  then  made  a  great  deal  of  noise  in  the 
world,  and  since  that  time,  both  noise  and  mischief.  I  mean  a  pamphlet 
entitled  'the  second  Spira,  or  a  narrative  of  the  death  of  the  Hon.  Fr.  N—t, 

son  of  the  late ,' published  by  John  Dunton;  and  re-published  by  MR. 

WESLEY  in  the  Arminian  Magazine  for  1783.  When  I  first  saw  this  account 
I  believed  it  to  be,  what  I  ever  thought  the  first  Francis  S]>ira  to  be,  a 
forgery,  and  one  of  a  most  dangerous  tendency,  calculated  only  to  drive  weak 
persons  into  despair.  That  my  judgment  concerning  the  Second  Spira  was 
not  wrong,  I  learn  from  JOHN  DlTN'TON,  who  in  his  Life  and  Errors  gives 
the  history  of  this  work.  He  tells  us  that  he  received  the  account  from  Mr. 
Richard  Saidt,  who  told  him  that  '  the  materials  out  of  which  he  had  formed 
the  copy  were  obtained  from  a  Divine  of  the  church  of  England :'  and  he 
pretends  to  confirm  the  truth  of  it  by  'a  letter  and  preface  from  the  same 
gentleman.'  When  this  matter  was  sifted  to  the  bottom,  it  was  found  the 
story  could  be  traced  to  no  authentic  source  ;  and  that  it  was  wholly  the 
contrivance  of  Mr.  Sault ;  who  being  a  man  often  afflicted  with  morbid 
melancholy,  and  its  insupportable  companion,  despair  of  God's  mercy,  wrote 
it  as  a  picture  of  his  own  mind.  When  the  original  memoirs  came  to  be 
examined,  which  Mr.  Sault  pretended  to  have  received  as  above,  they  were 
found  to  be  in  his  own  hand-writing,  but  disguised.  I  wish  this  fact  to  he 
known  to  all  religious  people,  and  particularly  to  the  Methodists." 


94  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

bring  him  a  glass  of  water.  When  it  was  brought,  he 
said  aloud,  'carry  it  to  yon  gentleman  in  the  red  coat, 
and  desire  him  to  wash  his  mouth  after  his  oaths/  The 
officer  rose  up  in  a  fury  ;  but  the  gentlemen  in  the  box 
laid  hold  of  him,  one  of  them  crying  out,  '  nay,  Colonel, 
you  gave  the  first  offence.  You  see  the  gentleman 
is  a  clergyman.  You  know  it  is  an  affront  to  swear  in 
his  presence/  The  officer  was  thus  restrained,  and  Mr. 
Wesley  departed. 

"  Some  years  after,  being  again  in  London,  and 
walking  in  St.  James's  Park,  a  gentleman  joined  him, 
who,  after  some  conversation,  enquired  if  he  recollected 
having  seen  him  before.  Mr.  Wesley  replied  in  the 
negative.  The  gentleman  then  recalled  to  his  remem 
brance  the  scene  at  the  coffee-house,  and  added,  '  since 
that  time,  Sir,  I  thank  God,  I  have  feared  an  oath ;  and 
as  I  have  a  perfect  recollection  of  you,  I  rejoiced  at 
seeing  you,  and  could  not  refrain  from  expressing  my 
gratitude  to  God  and  you.'  '  A  word  spoken  in  season 
how  good  is  it  /"' 

From  the  year  1693  to  1700,  Mr.  Wesley  met  with 
various  misfortunes  and  trials.  For  a  time  he  possess 
ed  the  friendship  of  the  Marquis  of  Normanby,  after 
wards  Duke  of  Buckingham,  who  made  him  his  chaplain, 
and  recommended  him  for  an  Irish  bishopric.  This 
appears  from  a  letter  in  Birch's  Life  of  TILLOTSON, 
dated  August  31st,  1694.  The  Archbishop  writing  to 
the  then  Bishop  of  Salisbury  says,  "My  Lord  Marquis  of 
Normanby  having  made  Mr.  Wesley  his  chaplain,  sent 
Colonel  Fitzgerald  to  propose  him  for  a  bishopric  in 
Ireland,  wherewith  I  acquainted  her  Majesty,  who,  ac 
cording  to  her  true  judgment,  did  by  no  means  think  fit." 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  95 

In  the  reign  of  QUEEN  ANNE  Mr.  Wesley's  prospects 
again  appeared  to  brighten.  A  poem  which  he  pub 
lished  upon  the  battle  of  Blenheim  pleased  the  DUKE 
of  MARLBOROUGH,  and  the  author  was  rewarded  with 
the  chaplainship  of  a  regiment.*  Of  this,  however,  the 
Dissenters,  with  whom  he  was  then  engaged  in  contro 
versy,  were  powerful  enough  to  deprive  him.  No 
enmity  is  so  envenomed  as  that  of  religious  faction. 

In  the  midst  of  all  his  troubles  Mr.  Wesley  had  a 
true  and  kind  friend  in  DR.  JOHN  SHARP,  Archbishop 
of  York,  who  acted  the  part  of  a  most  beneficent  patron. 

*  His  larger  Poems  were  rather  injurious  than  advantageous  to  his  literary 
reputation  j  and,  instead  of  raising  him  in  public  estimation  as  a  poet,  they 
exposed  him  to  the  derision  of  the  wits,  and  the  censure  of  the  critics.  It  is 
said  that  MR.  POPE  had  but  a  contemptible  opinion  of  Mr.  Wesley's  poetical 
talents,  and  that  in  an  early  edition  of  the  DUNCIAD  Mr.  Wesley  was 
honoured  with  a  niche  in  the  temple  of  the  "Mighty  Mother."  He  was, 
however,  placed  by  the  side  of  a  respectable  companion,  DR.  WATTS, 
thns,- 

"  Now  all  the  suffering  brotherhood  retire, 
And  'scape  the  martyrdom  of  Jakes  and  fire ; 
A  gothic  library  of  Greece  and  Rome 
Well  purg'dj  and  worthy  Wesley,  Watts,  and  Brome. 

It  is  a  fact,  that  in  no  edition  published  by  Mr.  Pope  did  these  names 
ever  occur.  In  one  surreptitious  edition  they  were  printed  thus,  W— 1— y, 

W s;  but  in  the  genuine  editions  of  that  work  the  line  stood  thus,  as  it 

does  at  present,— 

"  Wellpurg'd;  and  worthy  Withers,  Quarles,  and  Blome." 

DR.  WATTS  made  a  serious,  but  gentle  remonstrance  to  the  introduction 
ofhisname.  "I  never  offended  MR.  POPE,"  said  the  amiable  Doctor,  "but 
have  always  expressed  my  admiration  of  his  superior  genius.  I  only  wished 
to  see  that  genius  employed  more  in  the  cause  of  religion,  and  always 
thought  it  capable  of  doing  it  great  credit  among  the  gay,  or  the  more  witty 
part  of  mankind,  who  have  generally  despised  it,  because  it  hath  not 
always  been  so  fortunate  as  to  meet  with  advocates  of  such  exalted  abilities 
as  Mr.  Pope  possesses,  and  who  were  capable  of  turning  the  finest  exertions 
of  wit  and  genius  in  its  favour."  This  remonstrance  had  its  effect ;  and  Dr. 
Watts  was  no  longer  to  sit  in  the  seat  of  the  Dunces.  The  removal  of  Mr. 
Wesley's  name  was  probably  owing  to  the  interposition  of  his  sou  Samuel, 
with  whom  Mr.  Pope  corresponded,  and  for  whom  he  always  expressed  a 
very  particular  regard. 


96  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

To  him  Mr.  Wesley  told  out  his  sorrows.  We  shall 
give  extracts  from  his  correspondence  with  the  Arch 
bishop  between  the  years  1700  to  1707,  which  fill  up  a 
considerable  space  in  his  history,  and  afford  a  number 
of  curious  particulars.  We  shall  see  the  difficulties 
with  which  this  good  man  had  to  struggle,  and  the  cause 
of  his  frequent  embarrassments. 

"  MY  LORD, 

"  I  have  lived  on  the  thoughts  of  your 
Grace's  generous  offer  ever  since  I  was  at  Bishopthorpe ; 
and  the  hope  I  have  of  seeing  some  end,  or  at  least 
mitigation  of  my  troubles,  makes  me  pass  through  them 
with  much  more  ease  than  I  should  otherwise  have 
done.  I  can  now  make  a  shift  to  be  dunned  with  some 
patience.  I  must  own  I  was  ashamed,  when  at  Bishop 
thorpe,  to  confess  I  was  £300  in  debt,  when  I  have  a 
living  of  which  I  have  made  £200  per  annum,  though 
I  could  hardly  let  it  now  for  eight  score.  I  doubt  not 
but  one  reason  of  my  being  sunk  so  far,  is,  my  not  un 
derstanding  worldly  affairs,  and  my  aversion  to  law, 
which  my  people  have  always  known  but  too  well. 
But  I  think  I  can  give  a  tolerable  account  of  my  cir 
cumstances,  and  satisfy  any  equitable  judge,  that  a 
better  husband  than  myself  might  have  been  in  debt, 
though  perhaps  not  so  deeply,  had  he  been  in  the  same 
circumstances,  and  met  with  the  same  misfortunes. 

"'Twill  be  no  great  wonder,  that  when  I  had 
but  £50  per  annum,  for  six  or  seven  years  together, 
nothing  to  begin  the  world  with,  one  child  at  least 
per  annum,  and  my  wife  sick  for  half  that  time,  that  I 
had  run  £150  behind  hand.  When  I  had  the  rectory 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH. 

of  Epworth  given  me,  my  LORD  of  SARUM  was  so 
generous  as  to  pass  his  word  to  his  goldsmith  for  £100 
which  I  borrowed.  It  cost  me  very  little  less  than  £50 
of  this  in  my  journey  to  London,  and  getting  into  my 
living,  for  the  Broad  Seal,  &c. ;  and  with  the  other 
£50  I  stopped  the  mouths  of  my  most  importunate 
creditors. 

When  I  removed  to  Epworth  I  was  forced  to  bor 
row  £50  more  for  setting  up  a  little  husbandry,  when  I 
took  the  tithes  into  my  own  hands,  and  buying  some 
part  of  what  was  necessary  towards  furnishing  my 
house,  which  was  larger,  as  well  as  my  family,  than 
what  I  had  on  the  other  side  of  the  county.  The  next 
year  my  barn  fell;  which  cost  me  £40  in  rebuilding; 
(thanks  to  your  Grace  for  part  of  it)  and  having  an  aged 
mother,  who  must  have  gone  to  prison  if  I  had  not 
assisted  her;  she  cost  me  upwards  of £40  more,  which 
obliged  me  to  take  up  another  £50.*  I  have  had  but 
three  children  born  since  I  came  hither,  about  three 
years  since  :  but  another  coming,  and  my  wife  incapable 
of  any  business  in  my  family,  as  she  has  been  for  almost 
a  quarter  of  a  year;  yet  we  have  but  one  maid  servant, 
to  retrench  all  possible  expences. 

"  My  first  fruits  came  to  about  £28,  my  tenths 
near  £3  per  annum.  I  pay  a  yearly  pension  of  £3  out 
of  my  rectory  to  John  of  Jerusalem.  My  taxes  came 

*  In  his  family  exigences  Mr.  Wesley  was  frequently  obliged  to  borrow 
money:  bat  such  was  his  character  for  probity,  honour,  and  punctuality, 
that  he  could  command  it  wheresoever  it  was  to  be  had.  There  was  a  man 
of  considerable  property  in  Epworth,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  lending  out 
money  at  35  and  £40  per  cent.  Mr.  Wesley  was  obliged  sometimes  to 
borrow  from  this  usurer  :  and  although  he  was  devoured  by  auri  sacrafames, 
yet  such  was  his  esteem  for  an  upright  character,  that  in  no  case  did  he  ever 
take  from  Mr.  Wesley  more  than  5  per  cent,  for  the  use  of  his  money. 

K 


98  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

to  upwards  of  £20  a-year,  but  they  are  now  retrenched 
to  about  half.  My  collection  to  the  poor  comes  to  £5 
per  annum :  besides  which  they  have  lately  bestowed 
an  apprentice  upon  me,  which  I  suppose  I  must  teach 
to  beat  rime.  Ten  pounds  a-year  I  allow  my  mother 
to  keep  her  from  starving. 

"  Fifty  pounds  interest  and  principal  I  have  paid 
my  LORD  of  SARUM'S  goldsmith :  all  which  keeps  me 
necessitous,  especially  since  interest-money  begins  to 
pinch  me ;  and  I  am  always  called  on  for  money  before 
I  make  it,  and  must  buy  every  thing  at  the  worst  hand ; 
whereas,  could  I  be  so  happy  as  to  get  on  the.  right  side 
of  my  income,  I  should  not  fear,  by  God's  help,  to  live 
honestly  in  the  world,  and  leave  a  little  to  my  children. 
I  think,  as  'tis,  I  could  perhaps  work  it  out  in  time,  in 
half  a  dozen  or  half  a  score  years,  if  my  heart  should 
hold  so  long;  but  as  for  that,  God's  will  be  done! 
Humbly  asking  pardon  for  this  tedious  trouble,  I  am, 

Your  Grace's  most  obliged  and  humble  servant, 

SAMUEL  WESLEY." 
Epworth,  December  30,  1700. 

The  preceding  letter  made  a  strong  impression  on 
the  mind  of  the  benevolent  Archbishop ;  who  willing 
to  serve  him  in  every  possible  way,  not  only  spoke  to 
several  of  the  nobility,  but  actually  proposed  to  apply 
J  to  the  House  of  Lords,  to  obtain  for  him  a  brief  for  losses 
by  child-bearing.  The  COUNTESS  of  NORTHAMPTON, 
to  whom  the  Archbishop  mentioned  Mr.  Wesley's  case, 
sent  him  £20.  For  these,  and  other  favours  received 
from,  and  through,  the  Archbishop,  he  expresses  him 
self  in  a  very  feeling  and  energetic  letter. 


HECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  99 

Epworth,May  14M,  1701. 
"  MY  LORD, 

"  In  the  first  place  I  do,  as  I  am  bound, 
heartily  thank  God  for  raising  me  so  great  and  generous 
a  benefactor  as  your  Grace,  when  I  so  little  expected 
or  deserved  it.  I  return  my  poor  thanks  to  your 
Lordship  for  the  pains  and  trouble  you  have  been  at  on 
my  account.  I  most  humbly  thank  your  Grace  that 
you  did  not  close  with  the  motion  which  you  mentioned 
in  your  first  letter ;  for  I  had  rather  choose  to  remain 
all  my  life  in  my  present  circumstances,  than  consent 
that  your  Lordship  should  do  any  such  thing :  nor 
indeed  should  I  be  willing  on  my  own  account  to  trou 
ble  the  House  of  Lords  in  the  method  proposed  ;  for  I 
believe  mine  would  be  the  first  instance  of  a  brief  for 
losses  by  child-bearing,  that  ever  came  before  that 
honourable  house. 

"  When  I  received  your  Grace's  first  letter,  I 
thanked  God  upon  my  knees  for  it ;  and  have  done  the 
same  I  believe  twenty  times  since,  as  often  as  I  have 
read  it ;  and  more  than  once  for  the  other,  which  I 
received  but  yesterday.  Certainly  never  did  an  Arch 
bishop  write  in  such  a  manner  to  an  Isle-poet ;  but  it 
is  peculiar  to  your  Grace  to  oblige  so  as  none  besides 
can  do  it.  I  know  you  will  be  angry,  but  I  can't  help 
it :  truth  will  out,  though  in  a  plain  and  rough  dress  ; 
and  I  should  sin  against  God,  if  I  now  neglected  to 
make  all  the  poor  acknowledgments  I  am  able." 

After  mentioning  several  matters  of  a  private 
nature,  he  states  the  great  kindness  of  the  COUNTESS  of 
NORTHAMPTON;  and  says  he  must  divide  what  she  had 
given  him,  "  half  to  my  poor  mother,  with  whom  I  am 


100  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

now  above  a  year  behind  hand;  the  other  ten  pounds 
for  my  own  family.  My  mother  will  wait  on  your  Grace 
for  her  ten  pounds  :  she  knows  not  the  particulars  of 
my  circumstances,  which  I  keep  from  her  as  much  as 
I  can,  that  they  may  not  trouble  her." 

The  following  letter,  written  about  four  days  after, 
is  both  singular  and  characteristic  : — 

Epworth,  May  18th,  1701. 
"  MY  LORD, 

"  This  comes  as  a  rider  to  my  last  by  the 
same  post,  to  bring  such  news  as  I  presume  will  not  be 
unwelcome  to  a  person  who  has  so  particular  a  concern 
for  me.  Last  night  my  wife  brought  me  a  few  children. 
There  are  but  tico  yet,  a  boy  and  a  girl.  We  have  had 
four  in  two  years  and  a  day,  three  of  which  are  living. 
Never  came  any  thing  more  like  a  gift  from  heaven 
than  what  the  COUNTESS  of  NORTHAMPTON  sent  by 
your  Lordship's  charitable  offices.  Wednesday  evening 
my  wife  and  I  clubbed,  and  joined  stocks,  which 
came  but  to  six  shillings  to  send  for  coals.  Thursday 
morning  I  received  the  ten  pounds ;  and  at  night  my 
wife  was  delivered.  Glory  be  to  God  for  his  unspeak 
able  goodness ! 

I  am,  &c. 

S.  WESLEY." 

About  this  time  Mr.  Wesley  appears  to  have  had 
his  mind  seriously  impressed  with  the  miserable  state 
of  the  heathen  ;  and  with  a  strong  desire  to  go  to  them, 
and  proclaim  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  He 
had  mentioned  his  desire  in  a  general  way  to  ARCH- 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  101 

BISHOP  SHARP,  and  given  him  some  hints  concerning 
proposals  which  he  had  made,  probably  to  "the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  Christianity  in  Foreign  parts," 
and  to  some  members  of  the  administration.  The 
Archbishop  desired  an  account  of  the  whole  scheme  ; 
and  he  sent  him  it.  Mr.  Wesley's  plan,  however,  was 
not  adopted,  as  far  as  he  himself  was  personally  con 
cerned  :  but  perhaps  some  of  the  subsequent  operations 
of  the  Society  for  promoting  Christian  knowledge  in  the 
East,  were  not  altogether  unindebted  to  the  hints  thrown 
out  in  this  paper. 

Mr.  Wesley,  not  having  got  on  the  right  side  of 
his  income,  was  still  grievously  troubled  with  his  old 
creditors,  some  of  whom  appear  to  have  been  implaca 
ble  and  unmerciful ;  he  was  obliged  in  consequence  to 
take  a  journey  to  London,  to  endeavour  to  raise  some 
money  amongst  his  friends.  In  a  letter  to  the  Arch 
bishop,  dated  August  7, 1702,  he  mentions  several  sums 
which  he  received  from  eminent  persons.  With  the 
sums  then  received,  he  made  up  about  £60,  and  came 
home  very  joyful,  thanked  God,  paid  as  many  debts  as 
he  could,  quieted  the  rest  of  his  creditors,  took  the 
management  of  his  tithes  into  his  own  hands,  and  had 
£10  10s.  left. 

In  the  same  letter,  a  very  grievous  and  distressing 
occurrence  is  thus  related.  After  mentioning  the  joy 
lie  felt  on  being  enabled  to  discharge  so  many  small 
debts,  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  permitted  to 
take  his  own  harvest,  he  adds  : — 

"But  he  that's  born  to  be  a  poet,  must,  I  am 
afraid,  live  and  die  so  ;  [that  is,  poor]    for,  on  the  last 
day  of  July  1702,  a  fire  broke  out  in  my  house,  by  some 
K2 


102  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

sparks  which  took  hold  of  the  thatch  this  dry  time,  and 
consumed  about  two-thirds  of  it  before  it  could  be 
quenched.  I  was  at  the  lower  end  of  the  town  visiting 
a  sick  person.  As  I  was  returning,  they  brought  me 
the  news :  I  got  one  of  R.  COGAN'S  horses,  rode  up, 
and  heard  by  the  way  that  my  wife,  children,  and  books, 
were  saved ;  for  which  God  be  praised,  as  well  as  for 
what  he  has  taken.  They  were  all  together  in  my 
study,  and  the  fire  under  them.  When  it  broke  out, 
my  wife  got  two  of  the  children  in  her  arms  and  ran 
through  the  smoke  and  fire ;  but  one  of  them  was  left 
in  the  hurry  till  the  other  cried  for  her ;  and  the  neigh 
bours  ran  in  and  got  her  out  through  the  fire,  as  they 
did  my  books,  and  most  of  my  goods; — this  very  paper 
amongst  the  rest,  which  I  afterwards  found,  as  I  was 
looking  over  what  was  saved. 

"  I  find  'tis  some  happiness  to  have  been  miserable, 
for  my  mind  has  been  so  blunted  with  former  misfor 
tunes,  that  this  scarcely  made  any  impression  upon  me. 
I  shall  go  on,  by  God's  assistance,  to  take  my  tithe, 
and  when  that's  in,  to  rebuild  my  house;  having,  at 
last,  crowded  my  family  into  what's  left,  and  not  missing 
many  of  my  goods. 

"  I  humbly  ask  your  Grace's  pardon  for  this  long, 
melancholy  story,  and  subscribe  myself 

Your  ever  obliged, 

S.  WESLEY." 

The  parsonage  house  at  Epworth  was  thus  nearly 
consumed  by  this  fire  ;  but  in  a  few  years  it  was  totally 
burnt  down,  and  rebuilt  at  Mr.  Wesley's  own  expence. 
This  house  remains  to  the  present  day  ;  in  all  respects 
greatly  superior  to  the  preceding. 


RECTOR  OF  EP WORTH.  103 

The  Archbishop  again  came  forward  with  his  purse 
and  his  influence,  which  produced  the  following  letter 
from  Mr.  Wesley,  drawn  up  in  the  spirit  of  gratitude  : — 

Epworth,  March  20th,  1703. 
"  MY  LORD, 

"  I  have  heard  that  all  great  men  have 
the  art  of  forgetful  ness,  but  never  found  it  in  such 
perfection  as  in  your  Lordship  ;  only  it  is  in  a  different 
way  from  others ;  for  most  forget  their  promises,  but 
you,  those  benefits  you  have  conferred.  I  am  pretty 
confident  you  neither  reflect  on,  nor  imagine,  how  much 
you  have  done  for  me  ;  nor  what  sums  I  have  received 
by  your  Lordship's  bounty.  Will  you  permit  me  to 
show  you  an  account  of  some  of  them. 

£.    s.    D. 

From  the  Marchioness  of  Normanby  20     0     0 

The  Lady  Northampton  (I  think)  20     0     0 

Duke  and  Duchess  of  Buckingham 26  17     6 

The  Queen 43     0    0 

The  Bishop  of  Sarum   40     0     0 

The  Archbishop  of  York  10     0    0 

Besides  lent  to  (almost)  a  desperate  debtor    25     0    0 


£184  17     6 

"  A  frightful  sum,  if  one  saw  it  altogether :  but  it 
is  beyond  thanks,  and  I  must  never  hope  to  perform 
that  as  I  ought,  till  another  world  ;  where,  if  I  get  firfct 
into  the  harbour,  I  hope  none  shall  go  before  me  in 
welcoming  your  Lordship  into  everlasting  habitations  ; 
where  you  will  be  no  more  tired  with  my  follies,  nor 


104  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

concerned  at  my  misfortunes.  If  it  be  not  too  bold  a 
request,  I  beg  your  Grace  will  not  forget  me,  though  it 
be  but  in  your  prayer  'for  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men  :'  among  whom,  as  none  has  been  more  obliged  to 
you,  so  I  am  sure  none  ought  to  have  a  deeper  sense  of 
it,  than  your  most  dutiful  servant, 

S.  WESLEY." 

In  May  1705,  there  was  a  contested  election  for 
the  county  of  Lincoln.  SIR  JOHN  THORALD,  and  a 
person  called  the  Champion  DYMOKE,  were  opposed  by 
COLONEL  WHICHCOTT  and  MR.  BERTIE.  Mr.  Wesley, 
supposing  there  was  a  design  to  overthrow  "the 
church,"  and  that  Whichcott  and  Bertie  were,  favoura 
ble  to  the  measure,  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  op 
posite  party,  which  happened  to  be  unpopular  and 
unsuccessful.  He  was  thus  exposed  to  great  insult 
and  danger;  not  only  by  the  mob,  but  by  some  lead 
ing  men  of  the  successful  faction.  This  appears  evi 
dent  from  two  letters  written  by  him  to  ARCHBISHOP 
SHARP,  from  which  we  extract  the  following  particulars  : 

"  I  went  to  Lincoln  on  Tuesday  night,  May  29th, 
and  the  election  began  on  Wednesday  the  30th.  A 
great  part  of  the  night  our  Isle  people  kept  shouting, 
drumming,  and  firing  off  pistols  and  guns,  under  the 
window  where  my  wife  lay;  who  had  been  brought  to 
bed  not  three  weeks.  I  had  put  the  child  to  a  nurse 
over  against  my  own  house  :  this  noise  kept  the  nurse 
waking  till  one  or  two  in  the  morning.  Then  they  left 
off;  and  the  nurse  being  heavy  to  sleep,  overlaid  the 
child.  She  awaked,  and  finding  it  dead,  ran  over  with 
it  to  my  house,  almost  distracted,  and  calling  my  ser- 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  105 

vants,  threw  it  into  their  arms.  They,  as  wise  as  she, 
ran  up  with  it  to  my  wife,  and,  before  she  was  well 
awake,  threw  it,  cold  and  dead,  into  her  arms.  She 
composed  herself  as  well  as  she  could,  and  that  day 
got  it  buried. 

"  A  clergyman  met  me  in  the  castle-yard,  and  told 
me  to  withdraw,  for  the  Isle  people  intended  me  mis 
chief.  Another  told  me  he  had  heard  nearly  twenty  ol 
them  say,  if  they  got  me  into  the  castle-yard,  they  would 
squeeze  my  guts  out  !  I  went  by  Gainsborough,  and 
God  preserved  me.  When  they  knew  I  had  got  home, 
they  sent  the  guns,  drum,  mob,  &c.  as  usual,  to  com 
pliment  me  till  after  midnight.  One  of  them  passing 
by  on  Friday  evening,  and  seeing  my  children  in  the 
yard,  cried  out,  '  Oh  ye  devils  !  we  will  come  and  turn 
you  all  out  of  doors  a  begging  shortly.'  God  convert 
them,  and  forgive  them !  All  this,  thank  God,  does 
not  in  the  least  sink  my  wife's  spirits.  For  my  own  I 
feel  them  troubled  and  disordered  ;  but  after  all,  I  am 
going  on  with  my  reply  to  PALMER  ;*  which,  whether  I 
am  in  prison,  or  out  of  it,  I  hope  to  get  finished  by  next 
session  of  parliament. 

S.  WESLEY." 
Epworth,  June,  7, 1705. 

"  It  appears,"  says  DR.  CLARKE,  "  that  Mr.  Wesley 
was  to  blame  for  the  part  he  took  in  this  election  ;  as 
on  his  own  showing,  he  acted  imprudently,  and  laid 
himself  open  to  those  who  waited  for  his  halting;  and 
who  seemed  to  think  they  did  God  service,  by  doing 
him  a  mischief."  They  knew  him  to  be  a  high  church- 

*  Mr.  Wesley  here  alludes  to  his  second  attack  on  the  Dissenters. 


106  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

man,  and  consequently  an  enemy  to  liberty.  He  was 
under  pecuniary  obligations  to  some  principal  men 
among  the  Dissenters ;  and  he  was  often  given  to  un 
derstand,  by  no  obscure  intimations,  that  he  must  either 
immediately  discharge  those  obligations,  or  else  ex 
pect  to  be  shortly  lodged  in  Lincoln  castle.  These 
were  not  vain  threats,  as  appears  from  the  following 
letter  written  to  the  Archbishop  of  York  : — 

Lincoln  Castle,  June  25th,  1705. 
"  MY  LORD, 

"  I  am  now  at  rest,  for  I  have  come  to 
the  haven  where  1  have  long  expected  to  be.  On 
Friday  last,  after  I  had  been  christening  a  child  at 
Epworth,  I  was  arrested  in  the  church  yard  by  one  who 
had  been  my  servant,  at  the  suit  of  a  relation  of  Mr. 
Whichcott's,  according  to  promise,  when  they  were  in 
the  Isle  before  the  election.  The  sum  was  not  £30. 
One  of  my  biggest  concerns  was  leaving  my  poor  lambs 
in  the  midst  of  so  many  wolves.  But  the  great 
Shepherd  is  able  to  provide  for  them,  and  to  preserve 
them.  My  wife  bears  it  with  that  courage  which 
becomes  her.  I  don't  despair  of  doing  some  good  here, 
and  it  may  be  I  shall  do  more  in  this  new  parish,  than 
in  my  old  one  ;  for  I  have  leave  to  read  prayers  every 
morning  and  afternoon  in  this  prison,  and,  to  preach 
once  a  Sunday,  which  I  choose  to  do  in  the  afternoon, 
when  there  is  no  service  at  the  Minster.  I  am  getting 
acquainted  with  my  brother  jail-birds  as  fast  as  I  can, 
and  shall  write  to  London,  next  post,  to  "  the  Society 
for  promoting  Christian  knowledge,"  who  I  hope  will 
send  me  some  books  to  distribute  amongst  them.  I 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  107 

should  not  write  these  things  from  a  jail,  if  I  thought 
your  Grace  would  believe  me  less  for  being  here, 
where,  if  I  should  lay  my  bones,  I'd  bless  God,  and 
pray  for  your  Grace. 

S.  WESLEY." 

This  letter  had  a  proper  effect  on  the  Archbishop, 
who  wrote  to  Mr.  Wesley,  stating  his  sympathy,  and 
what  he  had  heard  against  him ;  especially  as  to  his 
great  obligation  to  Colonel  Whichcott,  &c.,  to  which 
Mr.  Wesley  immediately  replied,  giving  a  satisfactory 
expose  of  all  his  affairs, — his  debts — and  how  they  were 
contracted ;  at  the  same  time  showing  that  the  reports 
which  had  reached  the  ears  of  his  Grace  were  entirely 
false. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  party  spirit  in  // 
politics  is  so  frequently  outrageous.  It  seems  some 
times  to  know  no  friend,  feels  no  obligation,  is  unac 
quainted  with  the  dictates  of  honesty,  charity  and 
mercy.  All  the  charities  of  life  are  outraged  and 
trampled  under  foot  by  it;  common  honesty  is  not 
heard,  and  lies  and  defamation  go  abroad  by  wholesale. 
Even  at  this  day,  when  the  morals  of  the  nation  are  so 
greatly  improved,  these  evils  remain  in  great  vigour. 
What  then  must  they  have  been  more  than  a  hundred 
years  ago  ?* 

Mr.  Wesley  and  his  family  had  already  suffered 
much  on  account  of  his  political  sentiments.      The 

*  The  Rector's  son  John  states  in  his  History  of  England  that  his  father 
wrote  the  famous  speech  for  DR.  SACHEVEREL.  It  has,  however,  been 
visually  ascribed  to  BISHOP  ATTERBURY,  and  with  much  greater  proba 
bility.  That  it  was  not  written  by  Sacheverel  is  evident,  for  BlSHOp 
BURNET  says,  "  the  style  was  more  correct,  and  far  different  from  his  own." 


108  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

party  opposed  to  him  was  not  satisfied  with  loading 
him  with  obloquies  and  casting  him  into  prison,  but 
proceeded  even  to  the  stabbing  of  his  cows  in  the  night, 
and  thereby  drying  up  the  sources  from  whence  his 
family  derived  the  necessaries  oflife. 

As  it  was  evident  that  many  of  his  sufferings  were 
occasioned  by  the  malice  of  those  who  hated  both  his 
ecclesiastical  and  state  politics,  the  clergy  lent  him 
prompt  and  effectual  assistance ;  so  that  in  a  short 
time  more  than  half  his  debts  were  paid,  and  the  rest  in 
a  train  of  being  liquidated.  These  things  he  mentions 
with  the  highest  gratitude  in  the  following  letter  to  the 
ARCHBISHOP  of  YORK  : — 

Lincoln  Castle,  Sept.  17th,  1705. 
"My  LORD, 

"  I  am  so  full  of  God's  mercies,  that  neither 
my  eyes  nor  heart  can  hold  them.  When  I  came  hither 
my  stock  was  but  little  above  ten  shillings,  and  my  wife's 
at  home  scarcely  so  much.  She  soon  sent  me  her 
rings,  because  she  had  nothing  else  to  relieve  me  with ; 
but  I  returned  them,  and  God  soon  provided  for  me. 
The  most  of  those  who  have  been  my  benefactors  keep 
themselves  concealed.  But  they  are  all  known  to  Him 
who  first  put  it  into  their  hearts  to  show  me  so  much 
kindness  ;  and  I  beg  your  Grace  to  assist  me  to  praise 
God  for  it,  and  to  pray  for  his  blessing  upon  them. 

"  This  day  I  received  a  letter  from  MR.  HOAR,  that 
he  has  paid  £95  which  he  has  received  from  me.  He 
adds  that  '  a  very  great  man  has  just  sent  him  £30 
more  :'  he  mentions  not  his  name,  though  surely  it 
must  be  my  patron.  I  find  I  walk  a  deal  higher,  and 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  109 

hope  I  shall  sleep  better  now  these  sums  are  paid, 
which  will  make  almost  half  of  my  debts.  I  am  a  bad 
beggar,  and  worse  at  returning  formal  thanks:  but  I 
can  pray  heartily  for  my  benefactors,  and  I  hope  I  shall 
do  it  while  I  live;  and  so  long  beg  to  be  esteemed 
Your  Grace's  thankful  servant, 

SAM.  WESLEY." 

It  appears  that  MR.  WESLEY  did  not  remain  in 
Lincoln  Castle  more  than  three  months,  and  after  his 
liberation  he  seems  to  have  got  on  in  life  more  pleasant 
ly,  though  in  1709  a  severe  calamity  happened  by  the 
burning  down  of  the  Rectory,  which  threatened  him  and 
his  whole  family  with  destruction.  All  who  have  written 
respecting  this  calamity,  except  Mr.  John  Wesley,  have 
supposed  it  was  occasioned  by  accident;  he,  however, 
attributes  it  to  the  wickedness  of  some  of  the  rector's 
parishioners,  who  could  not  bear  the  plain  dealing  of 
so  faithful  and  resolute  a  pastor. 

The  following  anecdote  related  to  MR.  MOORE  by 
MR.  JOHN  WESLEY  will  perhaps  throw  light  upon  this 
circumstance.  "  Many  of  my  father's  parishioners  gave 
him  much  trouble  about  the  tithes.  At  one  time  they 
would  only  pay  them  in  kind.  Going  into  a  field  upon 
one  of  those  occasions,  where  the  tithe-corn  was  laid 
out,  my  father  found  a  farmer  very  deliberately  at  work 
with  a  pair  of  shears,  cutting  off' the  ears  of  corn  and 
putting  them  into  a  bag,  which  he  had  brought  with  him 
for  that  purpose.  He  said  nothing  at  the  time,  but 
took  the  man  by  the  arm  and  walked  with  him  into  the 
town.  When  they  got  into  the  market-place,  my  father 
seized  the  bag,  and  turning  it  inside  out,  before  all  the 
i, 


110  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

people,  told  them  what  the  farmer  had  been  doing. 
He  then  left  him  with  his  pilfered  spoils  to  the  judgment 
of  his  neighbours,  and  walked  quietly  home."  A  letter 
written  by  Mrs.  Wesley  to  a  MR.  HOOLE  gives  the 
fullest  account  of  this  destructive  fire :  we  extract  it 
from  MOORE'S  Life  of  Mr.  John  Wesley. 

August  24,  1709. 
"  SIR, 

"My  master  is  much  concerned  that 
he  was  so  unhappy  as  to  miss  of  seeing  you  at  Epworth ; 
and  he  is  not  a  little  troubled  that  the  great  hurry  of 
business,  about  building  his  house,  will  not  afford  him 
leisure  to  write.  He  has,  therefore,  ordered  me  to 
satisfy  your  desire  as  well  as  I  can,  which  I  shall  do  by 
a  simple  relation  of  matters  of  fact,  though  I  cannot  at 
this  distance  of  time  recollect  every  calamitous  circum 
stance  that  attended  our  strange  reverse  of  fortune. 
On  Wednesday  night,  February  9th,  between  the  hours 
of  eleven  and  twelve,  our  house  took  fire ;  from  what 
cause  God  only  knows.  It  was  discovered  by  some 
sparks  falling  from  the  roof  upon  a  bed,  where  one  of 
the  children  (Hetty")  lay,  and  burning  her  feet.  She 
immediately  ran  to  our  chamber  and  called  us ;  but  I , 
believe  no  one  heard  her  ;  for  Mr.  Wesley  was  alarmed 
by  a  cry  of  FIRE  in  the  street,  upon  which  he  rose,  little 
imagining  that  his  own  house  was  on  fire ;  but,  on  open 
ing  his  door,  he  found  it  was  full  of  smoke,  and  that  the 
roof  was  already  burnt  through.  He  immediately  came 
to  my  room,  (as  I  was  very  ill,  he  lay  in  a  separate 
room,)  and  bid  me  and  my  two  eldest  daughters  rise 
quickly,  and  shift  for  our  lives,  the  house  being  all 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  Ill 

on  fire.  Then  he  ran  and  burst  open  the  nursery  door, 
and  called  to  the  maid  to  bring  out  the  children.  The 
two  little  ones  lay  in  the  bed  with  her ;  the  three  others 
in  another  bed.  She  snatched  up  the  youngest  and 
bid  the  rest  follow,  which  they  did,  except  Jacky. 
When  we  were  got  into  the  hall  and  saw  ourselves  sur 
rounded  by  flames,  and  that  the  roof  was  on  the  point 
of  falling,  we  concluded  ourselves  inevitably  lost,  as 
Mr.  Wesley,  in  his  fright,  had  forgot  the  keys  of  the 
doors  above  stairs.  But  he  ventured  up  stairs  once 
more  and  recovered  them,  a  minute  before  the  stair 
case  took  fire.  When  we  opened  the  street  door  the 
north-east  wind  drove  the  flames  in  with  such  violence 
that  none  could  stand  against  them.  Mr.  Wesley  only 
had  such  presence  of  mind  as  to  think  of  the  garden 
door,  out  of  which  he  helped  some  of  the  children ;  the 
rest  got  through  the  windows  :  I  was  not  in  a  condition 
to  climb  up  to  the  windows,  nor  could  I  get  to  the 
garden  door.  I  endeavoured  three  times  to  force  my 
passage  through  the  street  door,  but  was  as  often  beat 
back  by  the  fury  of  the  flames.  In  this  distress  I  be 
sought  our  blessed  Saviour  to  preserve  me,  if  it  were 
his  will,  from  that  death,  and  then  waded  through  the 
fire,  naked  as  I  was,  which  did  me  no  further  harm  than 
a  little  scorching  of  my  hands  and  face. 

"While  Mr.  Wesley  was  carrying  the  children 
into  the  garden,  he  heard  the  child  in  the  nursery  cry 
out  miserably  for  help,  which  extremely  affected  him; 
but  his  affliction  was  much  increased,  when  he  had 
several  times  attempted  the  stairs  then  on  fire,  and 
found  they  would  not  bear  his  weight.  Finding  it  was 
impossible  to  get  near  him,  he  gave  him  up  for  lost, 


112  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

and  kneeling  down,  he  commended  his  soul  to  God, 
and  left  him,  as  he  thought,  perishing  in  the  flames. 
But  the  boy  seeing  none  come  to  his  help,  and  being 
frightened,  the  chamber  and  bed  being  on  fire,  he 
climbed  up  to  the  casement,  where  he  was  soon  per 
ceived  by  the  men  in  the  yard,  who  immediately  got  up 
and  pulled  him  out,  just  in  the  article  of  time  that  the 
house  fell  in  and  beat  the  chamber  to  the  ground. 
Thus  by  the  infinite  mercy  of  Almighty  God,  our  lives 
were  all  preserved,  by  little  less  than  a  miracle ;  for 
there  passed  but  a  few  minutes  between  the  first  alarm 
of  fire,  and  the  falling  of  the  house/' 

MR.  JOHN  WESLEY'S  account  of  what  happened  to 
himself  varies  a  little  from  this  relation  given  by  his 
mother.  "  I  believe"  says  he,  "  it  was  just  at  that  time 
(when  they  thought  they  heard  me  cry)  I  waked ;  for 
I  did  not  cry  as  they  imagined,  unless  it  was  after 
wards.  I  remember  all  the  circumstances  as  distinctly 
as  though  it  were  but  yesterday.  Seeing  the  room  was 
very  light,  I  called  to  the  maid  to  take  me  up.  But 
none  answering,  I  put  my  head  out  of  the  curtains,  and 
saw  streaks  of  fire  on  the  top  of  the  room.  I  got  up 
and  ran  to  the  door,  but  could  get  no  further,  all  the 
floor  beyond  it  being  in  a  blaze.  I  then  climbed  up  a 
chestthat  stood  near  the  window  :  one  in  the  yard  saw 
me,  and  proposed  running  to  fetch  a  ladder.  Another 
answered,  '  there  will  not  be  time  ;  but  I  have  thought 
of  an  expedient.  Here  I  will  fix  myself  against  the 
wall ;  lift  a  light  man,  and  set  him  on  my  shoulders/ 
They  did  so,  and  he  took  me  out  of  the  window.  Just 
then  the  roof  fell ;  but  it  fell  inward,  or  we  had  all  been 
crushed  at  once.  When  they  brought  me  into  the 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  113 

house  where  my  father  was,  he  cried  out,  'come 
neighbours,  let  us  kneel  down  !  let  us  give  thanks  to 
God  !  He  has  given  me  all  my  eight  children  :  let  the 
house  go,  I  am  rich  enough  !' 

"  The  next  day,  as  he  was  walking  in  the  garden 
and  surveying  the  ruins  of  the  house,  he  picked  up 
part  of  a  leaf  of  his  Polyglott  Bible,  on  which  just 
these  words  were  legible.  Vade ;  vende  omnia  qnse 
/tabes,  et  attolle  crucem  et  sequere  me.  Go ;  sell  all 
that  thou  hast ;  and  take  up  thy  cross  and  follow  me." 
MR.  JOHN  WESLEY  remembered  this  providential  de 
liverance  through  life  with  the  deepest  gratitude.  In 
reference  to  it,  he  had  a  house  in  flames  engraved  as 
an  emblem  under  one  if  his  portraits,  with  these  words 
for  the  motto,  "  is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the 
burning  ?"  The  peculiar  danger  and  wonderful  escape 
of  John,  excited  a  great  deal  of  attention  and  inquiry 
at  the  time,  especially  amongst  the  friends  and  rela 
tions  of  the  family.  His  brother  Samuel  being  then  at 
Westminster,  writes  to  his  mother  on  this  occasion  in 
the  following  words,  complaining  that  they  did  not  in 
form  him  of  the  particulars.  "  As  I  have  not  yet  heard 
a  word  from  the  country  since  the  first  letter  you  sent 
me  after  the  fire,  I  am  quite  ashamed  to  go  to  any  of 
my  relations.  They  ask  me  whether  my  father  means 
to  leave  Epworth  ?  whether  he  is  building  his  house  ? 
whether  he  has  lost  all  his  books  and  papers  ?  if 
nothing  was  saved  ?  whether  was  the  lost  child  a  boy  or 
a  girl  ?  what  was  its  name  ?  &c. ;  to  all  which  I  am 
forced  to  answer,  I  cannot  tell ;  I  do  not  know;  I  have 
not  heard.  I  have  asked  my  father  some  of  these 
questions,  but  am  still  an  ignoramus." 
L  2 


114  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

The  greatest  loss,  at  least  to  posterity,  in  conse 
quence  of  this  fire,  was  the  destruction  of  all  the  family 
papers: — The  whole  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wesley's  writings, 
and  correspondence,  besides  many  papers  and  docu 
ments  relative  to  the  Annesley  Family,  and  particularly 
to  DR.  ANNESLEY  himself,  were  totally  consumed.  Mrs. 
Wesley  was  his  most  beloved  child,  and  he  entrusted 
to  her  many  invaluable  manuscripts.  After  this  fire, 
the  family  was  scattered  to  different  parts,  the  children 
being  divided  amongst  neighbours,  relatives,  and 
friends,  till  the  house  was  rebuilt.  MATTHEW  WESLEY, 
the  uncle,  took  Susanna  and  Mehetabel,  with  whom 
their  mother  corresponded,  in  order  to  confirm  them  in 
those  divine  truths  they  had  already  received.  Having 
lost  by  the  fire,  the  fruits  of  her  former  labours,  on  the 
evidences  of  revealed  religion,  Mrs.  Wesley  began  her 
work  de  novo,  and  in  a  long,  but  excellent  letter  to  her 
daughter  Susanna,  (which  from  its  length  resembles  a 
treatise,)  went  over  the  most  important  articles  of  the 
Christian  faith,  taking  for  her  ground-work  '  the  apos 
tle's  creed/  This  invaluable  paper  displays  consider 
able  knowledge  of  divinity,  and  contains  many  fine 
passages  and  just  definitions. 

About  the  end  of  the  year  1715,  and  the  beginning 
of  1716,  there  were  some  noises  heard  in  the  parsonage 
house  at  Epworth,  so  unaccountable,  that  every  person 
by  whom  they  were  heard,  believed  them  to  be  super 
natural.  At  the  latter  end  of  the  year  1715,  the  maid 
servant  was  terrified,  by  hearing  at  the  dining-room 
door,  several  dismal  groans,  as  of  a  person  at  the 
point  of  death.  The  family  gave  little  heed  to  her 
story,  and  endeavoured  to  laugh  her  out  of  her  fears; 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  115 

but  a  few  nights  afterwards  they  began  to  hear  strange 
knockings,  usually  three  or  four  at  a  time,  in  different 
parts  of  the  house ;  every  person  heard  these  noises, 
except  Mr.  Wesley  himself,  and  as  according  (o  vulgar 
opinion,  such  sounds  are  not  heard  by  the  individual 
to  whom  they  forebode  evil,  they  refrained  from  telling 
him,  lest  he  should  suppose  it  betokened  his  own  death, 
as  they  all  indeed  apprehended. 

At  length,  however,  these  disturbances  became  so 
great  and  frequent,  that  few  or  none  of  the  family 
durst  be  left  alone  ;  and  Mrs.  Wesley  thought  it  better 
to  inform  her  husband  ;  for  it  was  not  possible  that  the 
matter  could  long  be  concealed  from  him  ;  and  more 
over,  as  she  said,  she  "  was  minded  he  should  speak  to 
it."  These  noises  were  now  various,  as  well  as  strange : 
loud  rumblings  above  stairs  or  below  ;  a  clatter  among 
bottles,  as  if  they  Lad  all  at  once  been  dashed  to  pieces ; 
footsteps  as  of  a  man  going  up  and  down  stairs  at 
all  hours  of  the  night;  sounds  like  that  of  dancing  in 
an  empty  room ;  gobling  like  a  turkey-cock,  but  most 
frequently  a  knocking  about  the  beds  at  night,  and  in 
different  parts  of  the  house.  Mrs.  Wesley  would  at 
first  have  persuaded  the  children  and  servants,  that  it 
was  occasioned  by  rats  within  doors,  and  mischievous 
persons  without,  and  her  husband  had  recourse  to  the 
same  ready  solution  :  or  some  of  his  daughters,  he 
supposed  sat  up  late  and  made  a  noise;  and  a  hint, 
that  their  lovers  might  have  something  to  do  with  the 
mystery,  made  the  young  ladies  heartily  hope  their 
father  might  soon  be  convinced  that  there  was  more 
in  the  matter  than  he  was  disposed  to  believe. 

In  this  they  were  not  disappointed,  for  the  next 


116  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

evening,  a  little  after  midnight,  he  was  awakened  by 
nine  loud  and  distinct  knocks,  which  seemed  to  be  in 
the  next  room,  with  a  pause  at  every  third  stroke.  He 
arose,  and  went  to  see  whether  he  could  discern  the 
cause,  but  could  perceive  nothing;  still  he  thought  it 
might  be  some  person  out  of  doors,  and  relied  upon  a 
stout  mastiff  to  rid  them  of  this  nuisance.  But  the 
dog,  which  upon  the  first  disturbance  had  barked 
violently,  was  ever  afterwards  cowed  by  it,  and  seeming 
more  terrified  than  any  of  the  children,  came  whining 
to  his  master  and  mistress,  as  if  to  seek  protection 
in  a  human  presence.  And  when  the  man-servant, 
Robin  Brown,  took  the  mastiff  at  night  into  his  room, 
to  be  at  once  a  guard  and  a  companion,  so  soon  as  the 
latch  began  to  jar  as  usual,  the  dog  crept  into  bed,  and 
barked  and  howled  so  as  to  alarm  the  house. 

The  fears  of  the  family  for  Mr.  Wesley's  life  being 
removed  as  soon  as  he  had  heard  the  mysterious  noises, 
they  began  to  apprehend  that  one  of  the  sons  had  met 
with  a  violent  death,  and  more  particularly  Samuel,  the 
eldest.  The  father,  therefore,  one  night  after  several 
deep  groans  had  been  heard,  adjured  it  to  speak  if  it 
had  power,  and  tell  him  why  it  troubled  the  house; 
and  upon  this  three  distinct  knockings  were  heard. 
He  then  questioned  it,  if  it  were  Samuel  his  son,  bid 
ding  it,  if  it  were,,  and  could  not  speak,  to  knock  again  : 
but  to  his  great  comfort  there  was  no  farther  knocking 
that  night;  and  when  they  heard  that  Samuel,  and  the 
two  boys  were  safe  and  well,  the  visitations  of  the 
goblin  became  rather  a  matter  of  curiosity  and  amuse 
ment,  than  of  alarm.  Emilia  gave  it  the  name  of  old 
Jeffrey,  and  by  this  name  he  was  known  as  a  harmless, 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH. 

though  by  no  means  an  agreeable,  inmate  of  the  par 
sonage.  Jeffrey  was  not  a  malicious  goblin,  but  he  was 
easily  offended. 

Before  Mrs.  Wesley  was  satisfied  that  there  was 
something  supernatural  in  the  noises,  she  recollected 
that  one  of  her  neighbours  had  frightened  the  rats 
from  his  dwelling  by  blowing  a  horn.  The  horn 
therefore  was  borrowed,  and  blown  stoutly  about  the 
house  for  half  a  day,  greatly  against  the  judgment  of 
one  of  her  daughters,  who  maintained,  that  if  it  were  any 
thing  supernatural,  it  would  certainly  be  very  angry, 
and  more  troublesome.  Her  opinion  was  verified  by 
the  event :  Jeffrey  had  never  till  then  begun  his  opera 
tions  during  the  day  ;  but  from  that  time  he  came  by 
day,  as  well  as  by  night,  and  was  louder  than  before. 
And  he  never  entered  Mr.  Wesley's  study,  till  the  owner 
one  day  rebuked  him  sharply,  calling  him  a  deaf  and 
dumb  devil,  and  bade  him  cease  to  disturb  the  inno 
cent  children,  and  come  to  him  in  his  study,  if  he  had 
any  thing  to  say. 

This  was  a  sort  of  defiance,  and  Jeffrey  took  him  at 
his  word.  No  other  person  in  the  family  ever  felt  the 
goblin  but  Mr.  Wesley,  who  was  thrice  pushed  by  it 
with  considerable  force.  So  he  relates,  and  his  evi 
dence  is  clear  and  distinct.  He  says  also,  that  once  or 
twice  when  he  spoke  to  it,  he  heard  two  or  three  feeble 
squeaks,  a  little  louder  than  the  chirping  of  a  bird,  but 
not  like  the  noise  of  rats.  What  is  said  of  an  actual 
appearance  is  not  so  well  confirmed.  Mrs.  Wesley 
thought  she  saw  something  run  from  under  the  bed,  and 
said  it  most  resembled  a  badger,  but  she  could  not  well 
say  of  what  shape;  and  the  man  saw  something  like  a 


118 


SAMUEL  WESLEY, 


white  rabbit,  which  came  from  behind  the  oven  with  its 
ears  flat  upon  the  neck,  and  its  little  scut  standing 
straight  up.  A  shadow  may  possibly  explain  the  first 
of  these  appearances ;  the  other  may  be  imputed  to 
that  proneness,  which  ignorant  persons  so  commonly 
evince,  to  exaggerate  in  all  uncommon  cases. 

These  circumstances,  therefore,  though  apparently 
silly  in  themselves,  in  no  degree  invalidate  the  other 
parts  of  the  story,  which  rest  upon  the  concurrent  testi 
mony  of  many  intelligent  witnesses.  The  door  was 
once  violently  pushed  against  Emilia,  when  there  was 
no  person  on  the  outside;  the  latches  were  frequently 
lifted  up  ;  the  windows  clattered  always  before  Jeffrey 
entered  a  room,  and  whatever  iron  or  brass  was  there, 
was  rung  and  jarred  exceedingly.  It  was  observed  also 
that  the  wind  commonly  rose  after  any  of  his  noises,  and 
increased  with  it,  and  whistled  loudly  around  the  house. 
Mr.  Wesley's  trencher,  (for  it  was  before  our  potteries 
had  pushed  their  ware  into  every  village  throughout 
the  kingdom,)  danced  one  day  upon  the  table  to  his  no 
small  amazement ;  and  the  handle  of  Robin's  hand 
mill,  at  another  time  was  turned  round  with  great 
swiftness  :  unluckily  Robert  had  just  done  grinding  : 
nothing  vexed  him,  he  said,  "  but  that  the  mill  was 
empty  ;  if  there  had  been  corn  in  it,  Jeffrey  might  have 
ground  his  heart  out  before  he  would  have  disturbed 
him." 

It  was  plainly  a  Jacobite  goblin,  and  seldom  suf 
fered  Mr.  Wesley  to  pray  for  the  King,  and  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  without  disturbing  the  family  prayers.  Mr. 
Wesley  was  sore  upon  this  subject,  and  became  angry, 
and  therefore  repeated  the  prayer.  But  when  Samuel 


RECTOR  OF  EP WORTH,  119 

was  informed  of  this,  his  remark  was,  "as  to  the  devil 
being  an  enemy  to  king  George,  were  I  the  King, 
I  would  rather  old  Nick  should  be  my  enemy  than 
my  friend."  The  children  were  the  only  persons  who 
were  distressed  by  these  visitations :  the  manner  in 
which  they  were  affected  is  remarkable  :  when  the 
noises  began,  they  appeared  to  be  frightened  in  their 
sleep,  a  sweat  came  over  them,  and  they  panted  and 
trembled  till  the  disturbance  was  so  loud  as  to  awake 
them.  Before  the  noises  ceased,  the  family  had  heroine 
quite  accustomed  to  them,  and  were  tired  of  hearing,  or 
speaking  on  the  subject.  "  Send  me  some  news,"  said 
one  of  the  sisters  to  her  brother  Samuel,  "  for  we  are 
secluded  from  the  sight,  or  hearing  of  any  thing,  except 
Jeffrey." 

There  is  a  letter  in  existence  from  Emilia  to  her 
brother  John,  dated  1750,  from  which,  says  DR.  CLARKE, 
it  appears  "  that  Jeffrey  continued  his  operations  at 
least  thirty-four  years  after  he  retired  from  Epworth." 
We  shall  give  an  extract  from  the  letter  referred  to. 
"  Dear  Brother,  I  want  most  sadly  to  see  you,  and  talk 
hours  with  you,  as  in  times  past.  One  reason  is  that 
wonderful  thing  called  by  us  Jeffrey  I  You  won't  laugh 
at  me  for  being  superstitious,  if  I  tell  you  how  certainly 
that  something  calls  on  me  against  any  extraordinary 
new  affliction ;  but  so  little  is  known  of  the  invisible 
world,  that  I,  at  least,  am  not  able  to  judge  whether 
it  be  a  friendly  or  an  evil  spirit." 

DR.  CLARKE  also  states  that,  "the  story  of  the 
disturbances  at  the  Parsonage-house  is  not  unique :  I 
myself  and  others  of  my  particular  acquaintances, 
were  eye  and  ear-witnesses  of  transactions  of  a  similar 


120  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

kind,  which  could  never  be  traced  to  any  source  of 
trick  or  imposture;  and  appeared  to  be  the  forerun 
ners  of  two  very  tragical  events  in  the  disturbed  family, 
after  which  no  noise  or  disturbance  ever  took  place. 
In  the  History  of  my  oicn  Life,  I  have  related  this 
matter  in  sufficient  detail."  We  may  therefore  expect 
that  the  Doctor's  Auto-biography,  recently  announced, 
will  be  an  amusing  work. 

Any  one  who,  in  this  age,  relates  such  a  story, 
and%eats  it  as  not  utterly  incredible  and  absurd,  must 
expect  to  be  ridiculed ;  but  the  testimony  upon  which 
it  rests  is  far  too  strong  to  be  set  aside  because  of  the 
strangeness  of  the  relation.  The  letters  which  passed 
at  the  time  between  Samuel  Wesley,  and  the  family  at 
Epworth,  the  journal  which  Mr.  Wesley  kept  of  these 
remarkable  transactions,  and  the  evidence  concerning 

o 

them,  which  John  afterwards  collected,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  DR.  PRIESTLEY,  and  were  published  by  him 
as  being,  he  says,  "  perhaps  the  best  authenticated,  and 
best  told  story  of  the  kind  that  is  any  where  extant." 
He  also  observes  in  favour  of  the  story,  "that  all  the 
parties  seem  to  have  been  sufficiently  void  of  fear,  and 
also  free  from  credulity,  except  the  general  belief  that 
such  things  were  supernatural."  But  he  argues,  that 
when  no  good  end  was  to  be  answered,  we  may  safely 
conclude  that  no  miracle  was  wrought;  and  he  supposes 
as  the  most  probable  solution,  that  it  was  a  trick  of  the 
servants,  assisted  by  some  of  the  neighbours,  for  the 
sake  of  amusing  themselves,  and  puzzling  the  family. 
In  reply  to  this,  it  may  safely  be  asserted,  that 
many  of  the  circumstances  cannot  be  explained  by  any 
such  supposition,  nor  by  any  Legerdemain,  nor  by 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH-  121 

and  Ventriloquism,  nor  by  any  secrets  of  Acoustics.  The 
former  argument  would  be  valid,  if  the  term  miracle 
were  applicable  to  the  case  ;  but  by  miracle  DR. 
PRIESTLEY  evidently  intends  a  manifestation  of  Divine 
power,  and  in  the  present  instance  no  such  manifesta 
tion  is  supposed,  any  more  than  in  the  appearance  of  a 
departed  spirit.  Such  things  may  be  preternatural, 
and  yet  not  miraculous ;  they  may  be  not  in  the  or 
dinary  course  of  nature,  and  yet  imply  no  alteration  of 
its  laws.  And  with  regard  to  the  good  end  which  they 
may  be  supposed  to  answer,  it  would  be  end  sufficient, 
if  sometimes  one  of  those  unhappy  persons,  who,  look 
ing  through  the  dim  glass  of  infidelity,  sees  nothing 
beyond  this  life,  and  the  narrow  sphere  of  mortal  ex 
istence,  should  from  the  well-established  truth  of  one 
such  story,  (trifling  and  objectless  as  it  might  otherwise 
appear)  be  led  to  a  conclusion  that,  there  are  more 
things  in  heaven  and  earth  than  are  dreamt  of  in  his 
philosophy.* 

It  appears  that  the  rector  of  Epworth  was  occa 
sionally  at  Leeds.  THORESBY,  in  his  Diary,  says 
"I  was  visited  to-day  by  the  noted  poet  Mr.  Wesley, 
then  at  ALDERMAN  ROOKE'S."  From  several  letters 
in  Thoresby's  published  correspondence,  it  also  ap 
pears  that  the  rector's  great  friend  and  patron,  ARCH 
BISHOP  SHARP,  strove  hard  to  prevail  upon  Thoresby  to 
leave  the  Dissenters,  (with  whom  he  was  connected,  and 
by  whom  he  seems  to  have  been  too  much  caressed,) 
and  attach  himself  to  the  church.  Thoresby  at  length 
became  a  churchman,  and  it  is  not  improbable  but  that 

*  See  SOi'THEY'S  Life  of  Wesley;  and  the  APPENDIX  to  this  volume. 
M 


122  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

the  zealous  rector's  representations  of  the  Dissenters 
might  have  had  some  influence  in  this  secession. 

From  the  year  1716  to  1731,  we  know  little  of  the 
personal  history  of  the  Rector  of  Epworth.  We  may 
presume,  however,  that  he  devoted  his  time  between  the 
duties  of  his  parish,  and  in  preparing  for  publication 
his  elaborate  work  on  the  book  of  Job.  In  the  year 
1731  we  find  that  Mr.  Wesley  met  with  an  accident 
which  was  likely  to  prove  fatal  to  him.  His  son  John, 
then  at  Oxford,  having  heard  some  account  of  it,  wrote 
to  his  mother  for  particulars,  and  she  sent  him  the 
following  letter : — 

Epworth,  July  12, 1731. 
"  DEAR  JACKY, 

" The  particulars  of  your  father's 

fall  are  as  follow  : — On  Friday  the  4th  of  June,  I,  your 
sister  Martha,  and  our  maid,  were  going  with  him  in  our 
waggon  to  see  the  ground  we  hire  of  Mrs.  Knight  at 
Low  Millwood :  he  sat  in  a  chair  at  one  end  of  the 
waggon,  I  in  another  at  the  other  end,  Matty  between 
us,  and  the  maid  behind  me.  Just  before  we  reached 
the  close,  going  down  a  small  hill,  the  horses  took  into 
a  gallop ; — out  flies  your  father  and  his  chair :  the  maid 
seeing  the  horses  run,  hung  all  her  weight  on  my  chair, 
which  prevented  me  from  keeping  him  company.  She 
cried  out  to  William  to  stop  the  horses,  for  that  her 
master  was  killed.  The  fellow  leaped  out  of  the  seat 
and  stayed  the  horses,  then  ran  to  Mr.  Wesley,  but  ere 
he  got  to  him,  two  neighbours,  who  were  providentially 
met  together,  raised  his  head,  upon  which  he  had  pitch 
ed,  and  held  him  backward  :  by  this  means  he  began 
to  respire,  for  'tis  certain,  by  the  blackness  of  his  face, 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH. 


123 


that  he  had  never  drawn  breath  from  the  time  of  his 
fall  till  they  helped  him  up.  By  this  time  I  was  got  to 
him,  asked  him  how  he  did,  and  persuaded  him  to 
drink  a  little  ale,  for  we  had  brought  a  bottle  with  us ; 
he  looked  prodigiously  wild,  but  began  to  speak,  and 
told  me  he  ailed  nothing.  I  informed  him  of  his  fall ; 
he  said  he  knew  nothing  of  any  fall,  he  was  as  well  as 
ever  he  was  in  his  life.  We  bound  up  his  head,  which 
was  very  much  bruised,  and  helped  him  into  the  waggon 
again,  and  set  him  at  the  bottom  of  it,  while  I  support 
ed  his  head  between  my  hands,  and  the  man  led  the 
horses  softly  home.  I  presently  sent  for  MR.  HARPER, 
who  took  a  great  quantity  of  blood  from  him ;  and  then 
he  began  to  feel  pain  in  several  parts,  particularly  in 
his  side  and  shoulder.  He  had  a  very  ill  night ;  but 
on  Saturday  morning  Mr.  Harper  came  again  to  him, 
dressed  his  head,  and  gave  him  something  which  much 
abated  the  pain  in  his  side.  We  repeated  the  dose 
at  bed  time,  and  on  Whit-Sunday  he  preached  twice, 
and  gave  the  sacrament,  which  was  too  much  for  him 
to  do.  On  Monday  he  was  ill,  slept  almost  all  day : 
on  Tuesday  the  gout  came,  but  with  two  or  three  nights 
taking  Bateman  it  went  off  again,  and  he  has  since  been 
better  than  he  expected.  We  thought  at  first  the  wag 
gon  had  gone  over  him,  but  it  went  only  over  his  gown 
sleeve,  and  the  nails  took  a  little  skin  oft' his  knuckles, 
but  did  him  no  farther  hurt." 

From  EVERETT'S  "Sketches  of  Wesley  an  Methodism, 
in  Sheffield  and  its  Vicinity,"  it  appears  that  Mr.  John 
Wesley,  prior  to  his  leaving  college,  "  was  on  a  visit  at 
Wentworth  House,  near  Sheffield,  in  1733,  with  his 
father,  who  was  then  engaged  in  some  literary  work, 


124  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

[Dissertations  on  the  Book  of  Job]  and  found  it 
necessary  to  consult  the  library  of  the  MARQUIS  of 
ROCKINGHAM.  Their  stay  being  prolonged  over  the 
Sabbath-day,  Mr.  John  Wesley  occupied  the  pulpit  in 
Wentworth  church,  to  the  no  small  gratification  of  the 
parishioners.  What  tended  to  excite  more  than  usual 
attention  was,  that  the  preacher  was  a  stranger,  the 
son  of  a  venerable  clergyman,  and  had  his  father  as  a 
hearer.  MR.  BIMKS,  a  very  old  man,  lately  living  at 
Sheffield,  was  then  about  eight  years  of  age,  and  went 
to  church  with  his  father  in  company  with  a  neighbour, 
of  the  name  of  MR.  JOHN  DUKE.  The  latter,  on  their 
return  from  public  worship,  passed  an  encomium  on 
the  preacher,  and  noticed,  as  Mr.  Bilks  distinctly 
recollected,  an  appropriate  quotation  in  the  course  of 
the  sermon  from  the  works  of  ARCHBISHOP  USHER." 

Mr.  Wesley  had  been  long  engaged  in  a  work  that 
had  for  its  object  the  elucidation  of  the  look  of  Job  ; 
proposals  for  the  printing  of  which  were  published  in 
1729.  The  latest  human  desires  of  this  good  man 
were,  that  he  might  complete  his  work  on  Job,  pay  his 
debts,  and  see  his  eldest  son  once  more.  The  first  of 
these  desires  was  nearly  accomplished.  His  Disserta 
tions  on  Job  is  by  far  his  most  elaborate  work,  being 
the  labour  of  many  years.  He  collated  all  the  copies 
that  he  could  meet  with  of  the  original,  and  the  Greek 
and  other  versions  and  editions.  All  his  early  labours 
on  this  work  were  unfortunately  destroyed  by  the  burn 
ing  down  of  the  Parsonage  House,  in  1709  ;  but  in  the 
decline  of  life  he  resumed  the  task,  though  oppressed 
with  the  gout  and  palsy.  Amongst  other  assistances 
in  this  work,  he  particularly  acknowledges  that  of  his 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  125 

three  sons,  and  his  friend  Maurice  Johnson.  The  book 
was  printed  at  MR.  BOWYER'S  press.  How  much  is  it  to 
be  wished  that  the  productions  of  all  our  great  typogra 
phers  had  been  recorded  with  equal  diligence !  The 
Dissertationes  in  Librum  Jobi  has  a  curious  emblemati 
cal  Portrait  of  the  author.  It  represents  Job  in  a  chair 
of  state,  dressed  in  a  robe  bordered  with  fur,  sitting 
beneath  a  gateway,  on  the  arch  of  which  is  written  JOB 
PATRIARCHA.  He  bears  a  sceptre  in  his  hand ;  and  in 
the  back-ground  are  seen  two  of  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt. 
His  position  exactly  corresponds  with  the  idea  given  us 
by  the  Scriptures  in  the  book  of  Job,  chap.  xxix.  v.  7. 
When  I  went  out  to  the  gate  through  the  city,  when  I 
prepared  my  seat  in  the  street !  according  to  the  custom 
of  those  times  of  great  men  sitting  at  the  gate  of  the 
city  to  decide  causes. 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  Mr.  Wesley,  wishing  to 
to  have  a  true  representation  of  the  war  horse  described 
by  Job,  and  hearing  that  LORD  OXFORD  had  one  of  the 
finest  Arabian  horses  in  the  world,  wrote  to  his  Lordship 
for  permission  to  have  his  likeness  taken  for  the  work. 
That  this  request  was  granted  there  is  little  room  to 
doubt ;  and  we  may  therefore  safely  conclude  that  the 
horse  represented  in  Mr.  Wesley's  Dissertations  on 
the  book  of  Job,  page  338,  which  was  engraved  by 
COLE,  is  intended  for  what  is  called  "  Lord  Oxford's 
Bloody  Arab;"  but  the  portrait  is  neither  well  drawn 
nor  well  engraved ;  and  this  is  the  more  to  be  re 
gretted,  as  the  model  was  so  perfect  in  its  kind.  The 
original  letter,  containing  the  request,  we  insert :  it  is 
conceived  with  great  delicacy  of  sentiment,  and  is  ele 
gantly  expressed  : — 

M  2 


126  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

"  MY  LORD, 

"Your  Lordship's  accumulated  favours 
on  my  eldest  son  of  Westminster,  are  so  far  from  dis 
couraging  me  from  asking  one  for  myself,  that  they 
rather  excite  me  to  do  it,  especially  when  your  Lordship 
has  been  always  so  great  a  patron  of  learning  and  all 
useful  undertakings.  I  hope  I  may  have  some  pretence 
to  the  latter,  how  little  soever  I  may  have  to  the  former; 
and  have  taken  some  pains  in  my  Dissertations  on  Job 
to  illustrate  the  description,  though  it  is  impossible  to 
add  any  thing  to  it.  For  this  reason  I  would,  if  it  were 
possible,  procure  a  draft  of  the  finest  Arab  horse  in  the 
world ;  and  having  had  an  account  from  several,  that 
your  Lordship's  Bloody  Arab  answers  the  character* 
I  have  an  ambition  to  have  him  drawn  by  the  best  artist 
we  can  find,  and  place  him  as  the  greatest  ornament  of 
my  work.  If  your  Lordship  has  a  picture  of  him,  I 
would  beg  that  my  engraver  may  take  a  draft  from  it ; 
or  if  not,  that  my  son  may  have  the  liberty  to  get  one 
drawn  from  the  life ;  either  of  which  will  make  him,  if 
possible,  as  well  as  myself,  yet  more 

Your  Lordship's  most  devoted  humble  servant, 
SAMUEL  WESLEY." 

In  the  following  letter  to  GENERAL  OGLETHOKPE, 
the  Rector  mentions  the  progress  he  had  made  in  his 
intended  publication  on  the  book  of  Job  ;  and  also  the 
obligations  he  was  under  to  the  General  for  kindnesses 
shown  to  himself  and  sons.*  This  letter  is  not  in  DR. 
CLARKE'S  publication,  having  been  recently  discovered. 

*  It  appears  from  alist  of  subscriptions  annexed  to  Mr.  Wesley's  Disser 
tations  on  Job,  that  GENERAL  OGLE1HORPE  took  seven  copies  oi  the  work 
on  large  paper,  which  would  amount  to  at  least  twenty  pound*. 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTII.  127 

Epworth,  July  G,  1734. 

"HONOURED  SlR, 

"  May  I  be  admitted,  while  such  crowds 
of  our  Nobility  and  Gentry  are  pouring  in  their  con 
gratulations,  to  press  with  my  poor  mite  of  thanks  into 
the  presence  of  one  who  so  well  deserves  the  title  of 
universal  benefactor  of  mankind.     It  is  not  only  your 
valuable  favours  on  many  accounts  to  my  son,  late  of 
Westminster,  and  myself,  when  I  was  not  a  little  pressed 
in  the  world,  nor  your  more  extensive  and  generous 
charity  to  the  poor  prisoners ;  it  is  not  this  only  that  so 
much  demands  my  warmest  acknowledgments,  as  your 
disinterested  and  immoveable  attachment  to  your  coun 
try,  and  your  raising  a  new  country,  or  rather  a  little 
world  of  your  own,  in  the  midst  of  almost  wild  woods 
and  uncultivated  deserts,  where  men  may  live  free  and 
happy,  if  they  are  not  hindered  by  their  own  stupidity 
and  folly,  in  spite  of  the  unkindness  of  their  brother 
mortals.     I  owe  you,  Sir,  besides  this,  some  account  of 
my  little  affairs  since  the  beginning  of  your  expedition. 
Notwithstanding  my  own  and  my  son's  violent  illness, 
which  held  me  half  a   year,   and  him  above  twelve 
months,  I  have  made  a  shift  to  get  more  than  three 
parts  in  four  of  my  Dissertations  on  Job  printed  off,  and 
both  the  printing,  paper  and  maps,  hitherto .  paid  for. 
My  son  John,  at  Oxford,  now  his  elder  brother  is  gone 
to   Tiverton,  takes  care  of  the  remainder  of  the  im 
pression  in  London ;   and  I  have  an  ingenious  artist 
here  with  me  in  my  house  at  Ep\vorth,  who  is  graving, 
and  working  off  the  remaining  maps  and  figures  for  me, 
so  that  I  hope  if  the  printer  does  not  hinder  me,  I  shall 
have  the  whole  ready  by  next  spring  ;    and,  by  God's 


128  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

leave,  be  in  London  myself  to  deliver  the  books  perfect. 
I  print  five  hundred  copies,  as  in  my  proposals;  whereof 
I  have  about  three  hundred  already  subscribed  for ; 
and  among  my  subscribers,  fifteen  or  sixteen  English 
bishops,  with  some  of  Ireland. 

"  I  have  not  yet  done  with  my  own  impertinent 
nostrums.  I  thank  God,  I  find  I  creep  up  hill  more 
than  I  did  formerly,  being  eased  of  the  weight  of  four 
daughters  out  of  seven,  as  I  hope  I  shall  of  the  fifth  in 
a  little  time. 

"  If  you  will  please  herewith  to  accept  the  tender  of 
my  most  sincere  respect  and  gratitude,  you  will  thereby 
confer  one  further  obligation  on,  honoured  Sir, 

"  Your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant, 

SAMUEL  WESLEY." 
To  JAMES  OGLETHORPE,  ESQ. 

Mr.  Wesley's  Dissertations  on  the  book  of  Job 
was  dedicated  to  QUEEN  CAROLINE.  He  had  the  ho 
nour  of  dedicating,  by  permission,  different  works  to 
three  British  queens  in  succession.  His  "  History  of 
the  Life  of  Christ,"  to  QUEEN  MARY;  his  "  History  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament,"  to  QUEEN  ANNE  ;  and 
his  last  Work  to  QUEEN  CAROLINE. 

When  Mr.  Wesley  proposed  to  dedicate  his  Work 
on  Job  to  Queen  Caroline,  he  wrote  to  his  sons  Samuel 
and  John  respecting  the  mode  of  proceeding;  but 
on  inquiry  it  was  found  that  many  obstacles  were 
in  the  way  to  the  Royal  presence,  occasioned  as  it  ap 
pears  by  some  offence  given  by  Samuel  in  his  Satires 
on  the  ministry  and  their  friends.  How  these  obstacles 
were  at  last  removed  we  are  not  informed. 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  129 

MR.  JOHN  WESLEY,  however,  presented  the  Disser 
tations  on  the  Book  of  Job,  on  Sunday,  October  12, 
1735.  He  told  the  late  DR.  ADAM  CLARKE  that  when 
he  "was  introduced  into  the  Royal  presence,  the  Queen 
was  romping  with  her  maids  of  honour.  But  she  sus 
pended  her  play,  heard  and  received  him  graciously, 
took  the  book  from  his  hand,  which  he  presented  to  her 
kneeling  on  one  knee,  looked  at  the  outside,  said  '  it  is 
very  prettily  bound,'  and  then  laid  it  down  in  the  window 
without  opening  a  leaf.  He  rose  up,  bowed,  walked 
backward,  and  withdrew.  The  Queen  bowed,  smiled, 
and  spoke  several  kind  words,  and  immediately  resumed 
her  sport." 

The  infirmities  of  the  Rector  were  greatly  increased 
by  his  labour  on  this  work,  from  which  his  advanced 
age  gave  no  hope  of  recovery.  He  acted  on  the  maxim, 
"  rather  wear  out,  than  rust  out;"  and  he  sunk,  worn 
out  with  labours  and  infirmities,  April  25,  1735,  in  the 
72nd  year  of  his  age. 

His  two  sons,  John  and  Charles,  were  present  at 
his  death ;  and  the  latter  gives  an  account  of  his  closing 
scene  in  the  following  letter  to  his  brother  Samuel. 

Epworth,  April  30,  1735. 
"  DEAR  BROTHER, 

"  After  all  your  desire  of  seeing  my 
father  alive,  you  are  now  assured,  that  you  must  see 
his  face  no  more,  till  raised  in  incorruption.  You  have 
reason  to  envy  us,  who  could  attend  him  in  the  last 
^•stage  of  his  illness.  The  few  words  he  uttered,  I  have 
saved.  Some  of  them  were,  '  nothing  too  much  to 
suffer  for  heaven.  The  weaker  I  am  in  body,  the 


130  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

stronger  and  more  sensible  support  I  feel  from  God. 
There  is  but  a  step  between  me  and  death.  To-morrow 
I  would  see  you  all  with  me  round  this  table,  that  we 
may  once  more  drink  of  the  cup  of  blessing,  before  we 
drink  of  it  new  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  With  desire 
have  I  desired  to  eat  this  Passover  with  you  before  I 
die/ 

"  The  morning  he  was  to  communicate,  he  was  so 
exceedingly  weak  and  full  of  pain,  that  he  could  not 
without  the  utmost  difficulty  receive  the  elements,  often 
repeating, '  thou  shakest  me ;  thou  shakest  me/  But  im 
mediately  after  receiving  them,  there  followed  the  most 
visible  alteration.  He  appeared  full  of  faith  and  peace, 
which  extended  even  to  his  body ;  for  he  was  so  much 
better,  that  we  almost  hoped  he  would  have  recovered. 
The  fear  of  death  he  had  entirely  conquered ;  and  at 
last  gave  up  his  latest  human  desires,  of  finishing  his 
book  on  Job,  paying  his  debts,  and  seeing  you.  He  often 
laid  his  hand  upon  my  head,  and  said,  '  be  steady, 
the  Christian  faith  will  surely  revive  in  this  kingdom ; 
you  shall  see  it,  though  I  shall  not/  To  my  sister 
Emily  he  said,  '  do  not  be  concerned  at  my  death ; 
God  will  then  begin  to  manifest  himself  to  my  family.' 
When  we  were  met  about  him,  his  usual  expression 
was, '  now  let  me  hear  you  talk  about  heaven/  On  my 
asking  him,  whether  he  did  not  find  himself  worse,  he 
replied,  '  0  my  Charles,  I  feel  a  great  deal.  God 
chastens  me  with  strong  pain  :  but  I  praise  Him  for  it ; 
I  thank  Him  for  it;  I  love  Him  for  it/  On  the  25th 
his  voice  failed,  and  nature  seemed  entirely  spent,  when, 
on  my  brother's  asking,  "whether  he  was  not  near 
heaven  ?'  he  answered  distinctly,  and  with  the  most  of 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  131 

hope  and  triumph  that  could  be  expressed  in  sounds, 
<  Yes,  I  am." 

"His  passage  was  so  smooth  and  insensible,  that 
notwithstanding  the  stopping  of  his  pulse,  and  ceasing 
of  all  sign  of  life  and  motion,  we  continued  over  him  a 
good  while,  in  doubt  whether  the  soul  was  departed  or 
not.  My  mother,  who,  for  several  days  before  he  died, 
hardly  ever  went  into  his  chamber,  but  she  was  carried  I 
out  again  in  a  fit,  was  far  less  shocked  at  the  news  than 
we  expected ;  and  told  us,  that '  now  she  was  heard,  in 
his  having*  so  easy  a  death,  and  her  being  strengthened 
to  bear  it/  Though  you  have  lost  your  chief  reason 
for  coming,  yet,  there  are  others  which  make  your 
presence  more  necessary  than  ever.  My  mother  would 
be  exceedingly  glad  to  see  you  as  soon  as  can  be.  We 
have  computed  the  debts,  and  find  they  amount  to 
above  £100,  exclusive  of  Cousin  Richardson's.  MRS. 
KNIGHT,  our  landlady,  seized  all  the  live  stock,  valued 
at  above  £40,  for  £15  my  father  owed  her,  on  Monday 
last,  the  day  he  was  buried.* 

"And  my  brother  (John)  this  afternoon  gives  a 
note  for  the  money,  in  order  to  get  the  stock  at  liberty 
to  sell ;  and  for  his  security  the  effects  will  be  made 
over  to  him,  and  he  will  be  paid  as  they  can  be  sold. 
My  father  was  buried  frugally,  yet  decently,  in  the 
church  yard,  as  he  desired. 

"Your  advice  in  this  juncture  will  be  absolutely 
necessary.  If  you  take  London  in  your  way,  my  mother 
desires  you  would  remember  that  she  is  now  a  clergy- 

f        *  This  inhuman  woman,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  widow, 
deserves  to  be  held  in  lasting  infamy. 

"  And  time  her  blacker  name  shall  blurre  with  blackest  ink." 


132  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

man's  widow.  Let  the  society  give  her  what  they  please, 
she  must  be  still  in  some  degree  burdensome  to  you,  as 
she  calls  it.  How  I  envy  you  that  glorious  burden ! 
You  must  put  me  in  some  way  of  getting  a  little  money, 
that  I  may  do  something  in  this  shipwreck  of  the  family, 
though  it  be  no  more  than  furnishing  a  plank. 

CHARLES  WESLEY." 

We  have  now  detailed  the  death  of  three  ministers 
of  the  gospel ;  two  of  them  Non-conformists,  the  other 
a  high  Churchman.  As  we  see  them  approach  the  con 
fines  of  eternity,  the  scene  becomes  interesting.  Drop 
ping  all  party  distinctions,  we  view  them  becoming  "one 
in  Christ  Jesus."  Animated  with  the  same  spirit,  they 
look  up  to  God  as  their  common  father,  through  the 
same  mediator :  they  praise  him  for  the  same  mercies, 
and  look  forward,  with  equal  confidence,  to  his  kingdom 
and  glory.  They  gave  satisfactory  evidence,  that  they 
were  united  to  Christ,  belonged  to  the  same  family, 
and  were  heirs  of  the  same  heavenly  inheritance,  not 
withstanding  the  external  difference  in  their  mode  of 
worship.  These  considerations  should  teach  us  to  be 
careful,  not  to  exalt  the  outward  distinctions  of  party 
into  the  rank  of  fundamental  truths.  So  long  as  we 
lay  the  same  foundation,  we  ought  to  cultivate  fellow 
ship  with  each  other  as  brethren,  although  the  dif 
ferent  manner  in  which  we  place  the  materials  may 
give  a  varied  appearance  to  the  building. 

"  From  some  of  the  family  papers,"  says  DR.  ADAM 
CLARKE,  "  I  learn  that  the  rector  of  Epworth  was  of 
short  stature  ;  spare,  but  athletic  made ;  and  in  some 
measure  resembling,  in  his  face,  his  son  John ;  and  it  is 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  loo 

probable  that  the  picture  engraved  by  VERTUE,  and 
prefixed  to  his  '  Dissertations  on  Job/  is  a  good  re 
semblance  of  him.  His  religious  conduct  was  strict!} 
correct :  his  piety  towards  God  ardent,  and  his  love  of 
his  fellow-creatures  strong.  Though  of  high  church 
principles  and  politics,  he  could  separate  the  man 
from  the  opinions  he  held;  and  when  he  found  him 
in  distress,  treated  him  as  a  brother.  He  was  a  rigid 
disciplinarian  in  his  church.  He  considered  his  parish 
ioners  as  a  flock,  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made 
him  overseer,  and  for  which  he  must  give  an  account. 
He  visited  them  'from  house  to  house;'  he  sifted 
their  creed,  and  suffered  none  to  be  corrupt  in  opinion, 
or  practice,  without  instruction  or  reproof."  No 
strangers  could  settle  in  his  parish  but  he  presently 
knew  it,  and  made  himself  acquainted  with  them.  We 
have  a  proof  of  this  from  a  letter  he  wrote  to  the 
BISHOP  of  LINCOLN  when  once  absent  from  home  a 
short  time.  "After  my  return  to  Epworth/'  says  he, 
"  and  looking  a  little  among  my  people,  I  found  there 
were  two  strangers  come  hither,  both  of  whom  I  dis 
covered  to  be  Papists,  though  they  came  to  church. 
I  have  hopes  of  making  one  or  both  of  them  good 
members  of  the  church  of  England." 

His  family  he  kept  in  the  strictest  order  ;  but  he 
appears  to  have  been  sometimes  too  authoritative  in 
his  deportment.  There  was  frequently  a  harshness  of 
temper  in  him,  which  approached  to  rashness ;  and  an 
austerity  of  manner  occasionally,  at  which  every  gentle 
and  domestic  feeling  recoils.  On  one  occasion  we  have 
seen,  that  a  vow,  precipitately  made,  under  the  influence 
of  party  feeling,  deprived  his  wife,  children,  and  parish 


134  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

for  above  a  year,  of  their  head  and  pastor.  To  extenu 
ate,  in  some  degree,  this  severity  of  disposition,  we  must 
state  that  the  rector  experienced  many  irritating  trials 
from  his  very  straitened  circumstances,  which,  notwith 
standing  the  most  rigid  economy,  he  often  found  in 
adequate  to  the  demands  of  his  numerous  family. 

To  this  we  may  add  the  persecution  he  received 
from  the  party  he  had  forsaken ;  but  yet  he  owed  to 
them,  under  Providence,  a  blessing  that  more  than 
compensated  for  all  his  vexations.  That  boon  was  his 
most  excellent  and  admirable  wife.  Under  such  a 
mother  there  would  have  been  just  cause  for  disap 
pointment,  had  the  Wesleys  been  otherwise  than  pious, 
intellectual,  and  useful  members  of  society.  "All  the 
branches  of  this  truly  eminent  family  appear  to  have 
possessed  great  mental  energy.  Their  condensed  and 
vigorous  spirit  was  formed  and  matured  beneath  the 
chilling  atmosphere  of  penury  and  persecution,  whose 
blasts,  whistling  around  the  parent  stock,  shook  it  in 
deed,  but  only  caused  it  to  strike  root  deeper  into  the 
sustaining  soil." 

As  a  controversial  writer,  the  rector  possessed  con 
siderable  dexterity  in  managing  an  argument,  bat  he 
sometimes  betrays  an  acrimony  of  spirit  against  his 
opponents,  too  common  among  polemic  divines,  and 
was  occasionally  very  coarse  in  his  invectives.  His 
undue  warmth  against  the  Dissenters,  in  early  life,  has 
already  been  noticed  ;  nor  can  it  be  concealed  that 
both  he,  and  several  of  the  family,  were  remarkable  for 
such  high  notions  of  prerogative  and  authority,  both 
in  church  and  state,  as  seem  incompatible  with  the  con 
stitution  of  this  country.  The  Rector  had  a  great  share 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  135 

of  vivacity.  In  his  private  conversation  he  was  very  en 
tertaining  and  instructive.  He  possessed  a  large  fund 
of  anecdote,  and  a  profusion  of  witty  and  wise  sayings, 
which  he  knew  well  how  to  apply  for  instruction  and 
correction. 

We  insert  the  following  Poem,  both  for  its  intrinsic 
merit,  and  as  creditable  to  Mr.  Wesley'  $  poetical  talents. 
It  has,  however,  been  disputed,  whether  the  Rector  or 
his  daughter,  MRS.  WRIGHT,  was  the  author  of  it. 
Many  years  ago,  the  Critical  Reviewers  inserted  some 
sarcasms  against  the  poetry  of  the  Methodists.  MR. 
JOHN  WESLEY  replied,  and  sent  this  poem  to  them  as  a 
specimen.  The  reviewers  so  far  did  honour  to  the 
Poem  as  to  insert  it  at  large  in  their  next  number. 
Mr.  John  Wesley  always  declared  that  it  was  written 
by  his  father. 

EUPOLIS'  HYMN  TO  THE  CREATOR. 
THE  (SUPPOSED)  OCCASION. 

Part  of  a  (new)  Dialogue  between  PLATO  and  EUPOLIS;* 
the  rest  not  extant. 

EUPOLIS. — But,  Sir,  is  it  not  a  little  hard  that  you 
should  banish  all  our  fraternity  from  your  new  com 
monwealth  ?  As  for  my  own  part,  every  body  knows 
that  I  am  but  one  of  the  minorum  gentium.  But  what 
hurt  has  father  HOMER  done,  that  you  should  dismiss 

*  EUPOLIS  was  a  comic  poet  of  Athens,  who  flourished  435  years  before 
the  Christian  era,  and  severely  lashed  the  vices  and  immoralities  of  his  age. 
It  is  said  that  he  had  composed  seventeen  dramatical  pieces  at  the  age  of  17. 
He  had  a  dog  so  attached  to  him,  that  at  his  death  he  refused  all  aliments, 
and  starved  on  his  tomb.  Some  suppose  that  ALCIBIADES  put  Eupolis  to 
.death,  because  he  had  ridiculed  him  in  a  comedy;  but  SUIDAS  maintains 
that  he  perished  in  a  sea-fight  between  the  Athenians  and  Lacedemonians  in 
the  Hellespont,  and  on  that  account  his  countrymen  pitying  his  fate,  decreed 
that  no  poet  should  ever  after  go  to  war. 


130  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

him  among  the  rest,  though  he  has  received  the  vene 
ration  of  all  ages  :  and  SALAMIS  was  adjudged  to  us  by 
the  Spartans,  on  the  authority  of  two  of  his  verses  ? 
And  you  know  it  was  in  our  own  times  that  many  of 
our  citizens  saved  their  lives,  and  met  with  civil  treat 
ment  in  Sicily,  after  our  unfortunate  expedition  and 
defeat  under  NICIAS,  by  repeating  some  verses  of 
EURIPIDES. 

PLATO. — Much  may  be  done  to  save  one's  life. 
I  doubt  not  I  should  have  done  the  same,  though  only 
to  have  regained  my  liberty  when  DIONYSIUS  sold  rne 
for  a  slave.*  But  those  are  only  occasional  accidents, 
and  exempt  cases,  which  are  nothing  to  the  first  settling 
of  a  state,  when  it  is  in  one's  own  power  to  mould  it  as 
one  pleases.  As  for  Homer,  to  be  plain,  the  better 
poet,  the  more  danger  ;  and  I  agree  in  this  with  —  — , 
that  the  blind  old  gentleman  certainly  lies  with  the 
best  grace  in  the  world.  But  a  lie,  handsomely  told, 
debauches  the  taste  and  morals  of  a  people,  and  fires 
them  into  imitation.  Besides,  his  tales  of  the  gods  are 
intolerable,  and  derogate  to  the  highest  degree  from 
the  dignity  of  the  Divine  Nature. 

EUPOLIS. — Not  to  enter  at  present  into  the  merits 
of  that  case,  do  you  really  think,  Sir,  that  these  faults 
are  inseparable  from  poetry ;  and  that  the  praises  of 
the  ONE  SUPREME  may  not  be  sung  without  any  inter 
mixture  of  them  ;  allowing  us  only  the  common  benefit 

*  PLATO,  at  an  interview  he  had  with  DIONYSIUS,  the  tyrant,  spoke  to 
him  on  the  happiness  of  virtue,  and  the  miseries  of  oppression.  The  tyrant 
dismissed  him  from  his  presence  with  great  displeasure,  and  formed  a  design 
against  his  life.  With  this  intention,  he  prevailed  upon  Pollis,  a  delegate 
from  Sparta,  who  was  returning  to  Greece,  to  get  Plato  on  board  his  ship, 
;md  either  take  away  his  life  on  the  passage,  or  sell  him  as  a  slave.  PoMis 
chose  the  latter. 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH. 


137 


of  metaphor,  and  other  figures,  for  which  you  do  not 
blame  even  in  the  orators  ? 

PLATO. — An  ill  habit  is  hard  to  break :  and  I 
must  own  I  hardly  ever  saw  any  thing  of  that  nature ; 
and  should  be  glad  to  see  you  or  any  other  attempt,  and 
succeed  in  it :  on  which  condition  I  would  willingly 
exempt  you  from  the  fate  of  your  brother  poets. 

EUPOLIS. — I  am  far  from  pretending  to  be  a 
standard  :  how  I  shall  succeed  in  it  I  do  not  know,  but 
with  your  leave  I  will  attempt  it. 

PLATO. — You  know  the  Academy  will  be  always 
pleased  to  see  you,  and  doubly  so  on  this  occasion. 

THE  HYMN. 

AUTHOR  of  BEING  !    SOURCE  of  LIGHT  ! 

With  unfading  beauties  bright. 
Fulness,  goodness,  rolling  round 
Thy  own  fair  orb,  without  a  bound. 
Whether  Thee  Thy  suppliants  call 
TRUTH,  or  GOOD,  or  ONE,  or  ALL, 
El,  or  JAO,  Thee  we  hail, 
Essence  that  can  never  fail ; 
Grecian  or  Barbaric  name, 
Thy  stedfast  being  still  the  same. 
Thee,  when  morning  greets  the  skies 
With  rosy  cheeks  and  humid  eyes ; 
Thee,  when  sweet-declining  day 
Sinks  in  purple  waves  away ; 
Thee  will  I  sing,  O  Parent  Jove ! 
And  teach  the  world  to  praise  and  love  ! 

Yonder  azure  vault  on  high, 
Yonder  blue,  low,  liquid  sky; 
N  2 


138  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

Earth  on  its  firm  basis  placed, 
And  with  circling  waves  embraced, 
All-creating  power  confess, 
All  their  mighty  Maker  bless. 

Thou  shak'st  all  nature  with  Thy  nod; 
Sea,  earth,  and  air,  confess  the  God. 
Yet  does  Thy  powerful  hand  sustain 
Both  earth  and  heaven  ;  both  firm  and  main. 

Scarce  can  our  daring  thought  arise 
To  Thy  pavilion  in  the  skies: 
Nor  can  PLATO'S  self  declare, 
The  bliss,  the  joy,  the  rapture  there. 
This  we  know  ;  or  if  we  dream, 
'Tis  at  least  a  pleasing  theme  ; 
Barren  above  Thou  dost  not  reign, 
But  circled  with  a  glorious  train  ; 
The  sons  of  God,  the  sons  of  light, 
Ever  joying  in  Thy  sight : 
(For  Thee  their  silver  harps  are  strung,) 
Ever  beauteous,  ever  young: 
Angelic  forms  their  voices  raise, 
And  thro'  heaven's  arch  resound  Thy  praise! 

The  feat  her' d  souls  that  swim  the  air, 
And  bathe  in  liquid  elher  there  ; 
The  lark,  precentor  of  their  choir, 
Leading  them  higher  si  ill  and  higher, 
Listen  and  learn  the  angelic  notes, 
Repeating  in  their  warbling  throats  : 
And  e'er  to  soft  repose  they  go, 
Tiiica  them  to  their  lords  below. 
On  the  green  turf  their  mossy  nest, 
The  ev'ning  anthem  swells  their  breast: 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  139 

Thus  like  Thy  golden  chain  on  high 
Thy  praise  unites  the  earth  and  sky. 

Sole  from  sole  Thou  mak'st  1he  sun 
On  his  burning  axle?  run  : 
The  stars  like  dust  around  him  fly, 
And  strew  the  area  of  the  sky: 
He  drives  so  swift  his  race  above, 
Mortals  can't  perceive  him  move : 
So  smooth  his  course,  oblique  or  straight, 
Olympus  shakes  not  with  bis  weight. 
As  the  queen  of  solemn  night, 
Fills  at  his  vase  her  orb  of  light, 
Imparted  lustre  :     Thus  we  see 
The  solar  virtue  shines  by  Thee  ! 
Phoebus  borrows  from  thy  beams 
His  radiant  locks  and  golden  streams, 
Whence  Thy  warmth  and  light  disperse, 
To  cheer  the  grateful  Universe. 
Eiresidnel*    we'll  no  more 
For  its  fancied  aid  implore  ; 
Since  bright  oil,  and  wool,  and  wine, 
And  life  sustaining  oread  are  Thine  ; 
Wine  that  sprightly  mirth  supplies, 
Noble  wine  for  sacrifice  ! 

Thy  herbage,  O  great  PAN,  sustains 
The  flocks  that  grace  our  Attic  plains. 
The  olive  with  fresh  verdure  crown' d 
Rises  pregnant  from  the  ground, 


*  This  word  signifies  a  kind  of  garland,  composed  ol  a  branch  of  olive, 
wrapped  about  with  wool,  and  loaded  with  all  kinds  of  fruits  of  the  earth,  as 
a  token  of  peace  and  plenty.  The  poet  says  he  will  no  more  worship  the 
imaginary  Power,  supposed  to  be  the  giver  of  these  things;  but  the  great 
PAN,  the  Creator,  from  whom  they  all  proceed. 


140  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

Our  native  plant,  our  wealth,  our  pride, 
To  more  than  half  the  world  denied. 
At  Jove's  command  it  shoots  and  springs, 
And  a  thousand  blessings  brings. 

Minerva  only  is  Thy  mind, 
Wisdom  and  bounty  to  mankind. 
The  fragrant  thyme,  the  blooming  rose, 
Herb,  and  flow'r,  and  shrub  that  grows 
On  Thessalian  Tempe's  plain, 
Or  where  the  rich  Sabeans  reign, 
That  treat  the  taste,  or  smell,  or  sight, 
For  food,  for  medicine,  or  delight ; 
Planted  by  Thy  guardian  care, 
Spring,  and  smile,  and  flourish  there. 
Alcinoan  gardens  in  their  pride, 
With  blushing  fruit  from  Thee  supplied. 

O  ye  Nurses  of  soft  dreams! 
Reedy  brooks  and  winding  streams 
By  our  tuneful  race  admir'd, 
Whence  we  think  ourselves  inspired : 
Or  murm'ring  o'er  the  pebbles  sheen, 
Or  sliding  thro'  the  meadows  green ; 
Or  where  thro'  matted  sedge  ye  creep, 
Travelling  to  your  parent  deep, 
Sound  his  praise  by  whom  ye  rose, 
That  Sea  which  neither  ebbs  nor  flows. 

Oh !  ye  immortal  woods  and  groves, 
Which  the  enraptur'd  student  loves: 
Beneath  whose  venerable  shade, 
For  learned  thought,  and  converse  made : 
Or  in  the  fam'd  Lycean  walks, 
Or  where  my  heavenly  Master  talks : 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  141 

Where  Hecadem,  old  beio  lies, 
Whose  shrine  is  shaded  from  the  skies; 
And  thro"1  ihe  gloom  of  silent  night 
Project  from  far  your  trembling  light. 
You,  whose  roots  descend  as  low, 
As  high  in  air  your  branches  grow, 
Your  leafy  arms  to  heaven  extend, 
Bend  your  heads  '    in  homage  bend  I 
Cedars  and  pines  that  wave  above, 
And  the  oak  beloved  of  Jove. 


Omen,  monster,  prodigy! 
Or  nothing  are,  or  Jove  from  (hee  ! 
Whether  various  Nature's  play, 
Or  she  renvers'd  thy  will  obey ; 
And  to  rebel  man  declare, 
Famine,  plague,  or  wasteful  war. 
Atheists  laugh,  and  dare  despise, 
The  threalening  vengeance  of  Ihe  skies 
Whilst  the  pious  on  his  guard, 
Undismay'd  is  still  prepared: 
Life  or  death  his  mind's  at  rest, 
Since  what  you  send  must  needs  be  best. 

What  cannot  Thy  almighty  wit 
Effect,  or  influence,  or  permit; 
Which  leaves  free  causes  to  their  will, 
Yet  guides  and  overrules  them  still ! 
The  various  minds  of  men  can  twine, 
And  work  them  to  Thy  own  design  : 
For  who  can  sway  what  boasts  His/ree, 
Or  rule  a  Commonwealth,  but  Thee  ? 
Our  stubborn  will  Thy  word  obeys, 
Our  folly  shows  Thy  wisdom's  praise  : 


142  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

As  skilful  steersmen  make  the  wind, 
Though  rough,  subservient  to  mankind. 
A  tempest  drives  them  safe  to  land; 
With  joy  they  hail  and  kiss  the  sand. 

So  when  our  angry  tribes  engage, 
And  dash  themselves  to  foam  and  rage, 
The  demagogues,  the  winds  that  blow, 
Heave  and  toss  them  to  and  fro ; 
Silence  !    is  by  Thee  proclaim'd, 
The  tempest  falls,  the  winds  are  tam'd : 
At  Thy  word  the  tumults  cease, 
And  all  is  calm,  and  all  is  peace  ! 

Monsters  that  obscurely  sleep 
In  the  bottom  of  the  deep; 
Or  when  for  air  or  food  they  rise, 
Spout  the  JEgean  to  the  skies  : 
Know  Thy  voice  and  own  Thy  hand, 
Obsequious  to  their  lord's  command; 
As  the  waves  forget  to  roar, 
And  gently  kiss  the  murmuring  shore. 

No  evil  can  from  Thee  proceed, 
'Tis  only  suffered,  not  decreed : 
As  darkness  is  not  from  the  sun, 
Nor  mount  the  shades  till  he  is  gone, 
Then  night  obscene  does  straight  arise 
From  Erebus,  and  fills  the  skies  ; 
Fantastic  forms  the  air  invade, 
Daughters  of  nothing  and  of  shade. 
When  wars  and  pains  afflict  mankind, 
'Tis  for  a  common  good  designed; 
As  tempests  sweep  and  clean  the  air, 
And  all  is  healthy,  all  is  fair. 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  143 

Good,  and  true,  and  fair,  and  right, 
Are  Thy  choice  and  Thy  delight. 
Government  Thou  didst  ordain, 
Equal  justice  to  maintain: 
Thus  Thou  reigns't  enthroned  in  state, 
Thy  will  is  just,  Thy  will  is  fate. 
The  good  can  never  be  unblest, 
While  impious  minds  can  never  rest; 
A  plague  within  themselves  they  find, 
Each  other  plague,  and  all  mankind. 

Can  we  forget  Thy  guardian  care, 
Slow  to  punish,  prone  to  spare  ? 
Or  heroes  by  Thy  bounty  rais'd 
To  eternal  ages  prais'd? 
Codrus,  who  Athens  lov'd  so  well, 
He  for  her  devoted  fell ; 
Theseus  who  made  us  madly  free, 
And  dearly  bought  our  liberty ; 
Whom  our  grateful  tribes  repaid, 
With  murdering  him  who  brought  them  aid ; 
To  tyrants  made  an  easy  prey, 
Who  would  not  godlike  kings  obey? 
Tyrants  and  kings  from  God  proceed, 
THOSE  permitted, — THESE  decreed. 

Thou  break'st  the  haughty  Persian's  pride, 
Which  did  both  sea  and  land  divide. 
Their  shipwrecks  strew' d  th'  Eubasan  wave, 
At  Marathon  they  found  a  grave. 
O  ye  bless1  d  Greeks  who  there  expir'd ! 
With  noble  emulation  fir'd ! 
Your  Trophies  will  not  let  me  rest, 
Which  swell'd,  Themistocles,  thy  breast. 


144  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

What  shrines,  what  altars,  shall  we  raise, 
To  secure  your  endless  praise  ? 
Or  need  we  monuments  supply, 
To  rescue  what  can  never  die  ? 
Godlike  men  !    how  firm  they  stood ! 
Moating  (heir  country  with  their  blood. 

And  yet  a  greater  hero  far, 
Unless  great  SOCRATES  could  err, 
(Though  wheiher  human  or  divine, 
Not  e'en  his  Genius  could  define,) 
Shallri.ie  to  bless  some  future  day, 
And  teach  to  live,  and  teach  10  pray. 
Come,  unknown  insirucier,  come, 
Our  leaping  hearts  shall  make  Thee  room  ; 
Thou  wilh  Jove  our  vows  shalt  share ; 
Of  Jove  and  Thee  we  are  the  care. 

O  Father,  King  !    whose  heavenly  face 
Shines  serene  on  all  Thy  race ; 
We  Thy  magnificence  adore, 
And  Thy  well-known  aid  implore  : 
Nor  vainly  for  Thy  help  we  call ; 
Nor  can  we  want,  for  Thou  art  A  LL  ! 
May  Thy  care  preserve  our  state, 
Ever  virtuous,  ever  great ! 
Thou  our  Splendour  and  Defence, 
Wars  and  factions  banish  thence ! 
Thousands  of  Olympiads  pass'd, 
May  its  fame  and  glory  last ! 

We  have  extracted  the  foregoing  Poem  from  DR 
CLARKE'S  "Memoirs  of  the  Wesley  Family,"  where  itis 
given  more  perfectly  than  in  any  other  publication.  We 
do,  however,  think  the  Doctor  is  rather  too  severe  and 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  145 

dogmatical  (if  not  a  little  boastful)  on  some  of  Mr. 
Wesley's  previous  biographers.  "  After  taking  so  much 
pains/'  says  the  Doctor,  "  with  this  Poem,  and  pro 
ducing  it  entire,  which  was  never  clone  before,  some  of 
my  readers  will  naturally  expect  that  I  should  either 
insert,  or  refer  to  the  Greek  original.  Could  I  have 
met  in  Greek  with  a  hymn  of  Eupolis  to  the  Creator, 
and  the  fragment  of  an  unpublished  dialogue  of  Plato, 
I  should  have  inserted  both  with  the  greatest  cheerful 
ness,  and  could  have  assured  myself  of  the  thanks  of 
all  the  critics  in  Europe  for  my  pains.  That  such  a 
Greek  original  exists,  and  that  the  above  is  a  faithful 
translation  from  it,  is  the  opinion  of  most  who  have  seen 
the  poem;  and  some  of  Mr.  Wesley's  biographers  have 
adduced  it  '  as  being  one  of  the  finest  picures  extant 
of  Gentile  piety ;'  and  farther  tell  us, '  this  hymn  may 
throw  light  on  that  passage  of  St.  Paul  respecting  the 
Heathen,  Rom.  i.  21,  &c.  When  they  knew  God,  they 
glorified  him  not  as  God.  *  *  *  *  Wherefore  God  also 
gave  them  up,  &c.  Their  polytheism  was  a  punish 
ment  consequent  upon  their  apostacy  from  God.'  / 
believe  the  Gentiles  never  apostatized  from  the  true 
God,  the  knowledge  of  whom  they  certainly  never  had, 
till  they  received  it  by  Divine  revelation. 

"  Knowing  that  the  writers  from  whom  I  have  quoted 
the  above,  were  well  educated  and  learned  men,  and 
feeling  an  intense  desire  to  find  out  this  '  finest  picture 
extant  of  Gentile  piety,'  I  have  sought  occasionally  for 
above  thirty  years  to  find  the  original,  but  in  vain.  I 
have  examined  every  Greek  writer  within  my  reach, 
particularly  all  the  major  and  minor  poets :  but  no 
hymn  of  Eupolis,  or  of  any  other,  from  which  the 
o 


146  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

above  might  be  a  translation,  has  ever  occurred  to  me. 
I  have  enquired  of  learned  men  whether  they  had  met 
with  such  a  poem.  None  had  seen  it!  After  many 
fruitless  searches  and  inquiries,  I  went  to  PROFESSOR 
PORSON,  perhaps  the  most  deeply  learned  and  exten 
sively  read  Greek  scholar  in  Europe ;  and  laid  the 
subject,  and  the  question  before  him.  He  answered, 
'  EUPOLIS,  from  the  character  we  have  of  him,  is  the 
last  man  among  the  Greek  poets  from  whom  we  could 
expect  to  see  any  thing  pious  or  sublime  concerning 
the  Divine  Nature  :  but  you  may  rest  assured  that  no 
such  composition  is  extant  in  Greek/  Of  this  I  was 
sufficiently  convinced  before ;  but  I  thought  it  well  to 
have  the  testimony  of  a  scholar  so  eminent,  that  the 
question  might  be  set  at  rest. 

"The  reader  therefore  may  rest  assured  that  Eupolis' 
hymn  to  the  Creator  is  the  production  of  the  head  and 
heart  of  Samuel  Wesley,  rector  of  Epworth  ;  that  it 
never  had  any  other  origin,  and  never  existed  in  any 
other  language.  It  may  be  considered  as  a  fine,  and 
in  general  very  successful,  attempt  to  imitate  a  Greek 
poet,  who  was  master  of  the  full  power  and  harmony  of 
his  language,  and  had  imbibed  from  numberless  lectures 
the  purest  and  most  sublime  ideas  in  the  philosophy  of 
Plato.  The  character  of  the  Platonist  is  wonderfully 
preserved  throughout  the  whole;  the  conceptions  are 
all  worthy  of  the  subject;  the  Grecian  history  and  my 
thology  are  woven  through  it  with  exquisite  art;  and 
it  is  so  like  a  finished  work  from  the  highest  cultivated 
Greek  muse,  that  I  receive  the  evidence  of  my  reason 
and  research  with  regret,  when  it  assures  me  that  this 
inimitable  hymn  was  the  production  of  the  Isle-poet  of 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  147 

Axholme.  Should  any  of  my  readers  be  dissatisfied 
with  the  result  of  my  inquiries,  and  still  think  that 
Eupolis'  Hymn  to  the  Creator  exists  in  Greek,  and 
will  go  in  quest  of  this  Sangreal,  he  shall  have  my 
heartiest  wishes  for  the  good  speed  of  his  searches,  and 
when  successful,  my  heartiest  thanks. 

"  But  if  the  hymn  of  Eupolis  be  a  forgery,  what 
becomes  of  the  veracity,  not  to  say  honesty,  of  Mr. 
Samuel  Wesley  ?  I  answer,  it  is  no  forgery ;  it  is  no 
where  said  by  him  that  it  is  a  translation  of  a  Greek 
original ;  nor  does  it  appear  that  he  had  any  intention 
to  deceive.  Two  words  in  the  title  are  proof  sufficient. 
'  The  (supposed)  occasion/  and  '  Part  of  (a  new)  dia 
logue/  He  covered  his  design  a  little,  to  make  his 
readers  search  and  examine.  Some  of  them  have  not 
examined;  and  therefore  said  of  the  poem,  that  it  is 
a  fine  specimen  of  Gentile  piety,  which  he  never  even 
intended. 

"  I  have  spent  a  long  time  on  this  Poem,"  con 
tinues  DR.  CLARKE,  "because  I  believe  it  to  be,  without 
exception,  the  finest  in  the  English  language.  It 
possesses  what  RACINE  calls  the  genie  createur,  the 
genuine  spirit  of  poetry.  POPE'S  Messiah  is  fine,  be 
cause  Pope  had  VIRGIL'S  Pollio  before  him,  and  the 
Bible.  MR.  WESLEY  takes  nothing  as  a  model;  he  goes 
on  the  ground  that  the  praises  of  the  One  Supreme 
had  not  been  sung ;  he  attempts  what  had  not  been 
done  by  any  poet  before  the  Platonic  age,  and  he  has 
no  other  helps  than  those  furnished  by  his  poetic  powers 
and  classical  knowledge.  It  is  not  saying  too  much  to 
assert,  the  man  who  was  the  author  of  what  is  called 
Eupolis'  Hymn  to  the  Creator,  had  he  taken  time, 


148  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

care,  and  pains,  and  had  not  been  continually  harassed 
with  the  Res  angusta  domi,  would  have  adorned  the 
highest  walks  of  poetry.  But  to  him  poverty  was  the 
scourge  of  knowledge;  and  he  fully  experienced  the 
truth  of  that  maxim  of  the  Roman  satirist,  from  which 
I  have  quoted  the  above  three  words, — 

Haud  facile  emergunt,  quorum  virtutibus  obstat 

Res  angusta  domi.  Juv.  SAT.  iii.  v.  164. 

Rarely  they  rise  by  Learning's  aid,  who  lie 
Plung'd  in  the  depth  of  helpless  poverty. 

"  But  Mr.  Wesley  spent  his  time  in  something 
better  than  making  verses :  he  was  a  laborious  and 
useful  parish  priest;  and  brought  up  a  numerous  family 
of  males  and  females,  who  were  a  credit  to  him  and  to 
their  country." 

As  almost  all  the  Wesley  family  were  poets,  so  they 
were  all  characterised  by  a  vein  of  satire.*  This  talent 
they  appear  to  have  inherited  from  their  father,  whose 
wit  was  both  ready  and  pungent.  The  following  is  an 
instance,  copied  from  Mr.  Watson's  Life  of  Mr.  John 
Wesley,  and  which  appeared  first  in  the  Gentleman's 
Magazine  for  1802.  "The  authenticity  of  the  follow 
ing  extempore  grace,  by  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  formerly 
rector  of  Epworth,  may  be  relied  upon.  It  is  given  on 

*  MR.  CHARLES  WESLEY  was  keenly  satirical.  "He  satirized  his 
brother  John's  ordinations,  and  the  Preachers;  but,  High  Churchman  as  he 
was,  he  is  very  unsparing  in  the  use  of  his  poetic  whip  upon  the  persecuting, 
and  irreligious  Clergy.  Of  this,  some  of  his  published,  and  several  of  his 
unpublished  Paraphrases,  on  passages  of  the  Gospels,  and  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  in  which  the  persecuting  deeds  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  are 
recorded,  afford  some  caustic  specimens ;  and  sufficiently  indicate  that  he 
did  not  bear  the  contumely  and  opposition  of  his  High  Church  brethren,  with 
the  equanimity  and  gentleness  of  his  brother  John." 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  149 

the  authority  of  WILLIAM  BARNARD,  ESQ.  of  Gains 
borough,  whose  father,  the  preserver  of  John  Wesley 
from  the  fire  of  1709,  was  present  at  the  time  it  was 
spoken  at  Temple  Belwood,  after  dinner.  Mr.  P.,  at 
whose  house  they  dined,  was  a  strange  compound  of 
avarice  and  oddity ;  and  many  of  his  singularities  are 
still  remembered."  The  grace  was — 

"  Thanks  for  this  feast,  for  'tis  no  less 
Than  eating  manna  in  the  wilderness ; 
Here  meagre  famine  bears  controlless  sway, 
And  ever  drives  each  fainting  wretch  away. 

Yet  here,  (0  how  beyond  a  saint's  belief!) 
We've  seen  the  glories  of  a  chine  of  beef; 
Here  chimnies  smoke,  which  never  smoked  before, 
And  we  have  dined,  where  we  shall  dine  no  more." 

We  shall  conclude  this  memoir  with  an  anecdote 
given  by  DR.  CLARKE  in  his  "  Wesley  Family/'  respect 
ing  the  rector  of  Epworth.  "He  had  a  clerk,"  says 
the  Doctor,  "a  well-meaning,  but  weak  and  vain  man, 
who  believed  the  Rector  to  be  the  greatest  man  in  the 
parish,  if  not  in  the  county; — and  himself,  as  he  stood 
next  in  church  ministrations,  to  be  the  next  in  impor 
tance.  This  clerk  had  the  privilege  of  wearing  out 
Mr.  Wesley's  cast  off  clothes  and  wigs;  for  the  latter 
of  which  his  head  was  by  far  too  small,  and  the  figure  he 
cut  in  them  was  most  ludicrously  grotesque.  The  rector 
finding  him  particularly  vain  of  one  of  those  canonical 
substitutes  for  hair,  which  he  had  lately  received, 
formed  the  design  of  mortifying  him  in  the  presence  of 
the  congregation,  before  which  John  wished  to  appear 
in  every  respect  what  he  thought  himself  to  be.  One 
o  2 


150  SAMUEL  WESLEY, 

morning,  before  church  time,  Mr.  Wesley  said, '  John, 
I  shall  preach  on  a  particular  subject  to  day;  and 
shall  choose  my  own  psalm,  of  which  I  will  give  out  the 
first  line,  and  you  shall  proceed  as  usual.'  John  was 
pleased,  and  the  service  went  forward  as  it  was  wont  to 
do,  till  they  came  to  the  singing,  when  Mr.  Wesley 
gave  out  the  following  line  : — 

'  Like  to  an  owl  in  ivy  bush.' 

This  was  sung ; — and  the  following  line,  John,  peeping 
out  of  the  large  wig,  in  which  his  head  was  half  lost, 
gave  out  with  an  audible  voice,  and  appropriate  con 
necting  twang, 

'  That  rueful  thing  am  I.' 

The  whole  congregation  struck  with  John's  appearance, 
saw  and  felt  the  similitude,  and  burst  into  laughter. 
The  rector  was  pleased,  for  John  was  mortified,  and  his 
self-conceit  lowered."* 

This  is  the  same  man,  who,  when  king  WILLIAM 
III.  returned  to  London  after  one  of  his  expeditions, 
gave  out  in  Epworth  church, — "Let  us  sing  to  the 
praise  and  glory  of  God,  a  hymn  of  my  own  composing." 
It  was  short  and  sweet,  and  ran  thus  : — 

"  King  William  is  come  home,  come  home, 

King  William  home  is  come ; 
Therefore  let  us  together  sing, 

The  hymn  that's  call'cl  Te  D'um." 

"  I  have  only  to  add,"  says  DR.  CLARKE,  "  that 
a  sycamore  tree,  planted  by  the  Rector  in  Epworth 

*  In  WATSON'S  life  of  Mr.  John  Wesley,  and  also  in  the  Wesleyan 
Magazine  for  1824,  it  is  stated  that  the  rector  of  Epworth  "  had  no  hand  in 
selecting  the  psalm,  which  appears  to  have  been  purely  accidental." 


RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH.  151 

church  yard,  is  now  (1821)  two  fathoms  in  girth,  and 
proportionably  large  in  height,  boughs,  and  branches ; 
but  it  is  decaying  at  the  root;  a  melancholy  emblem  of 
the  state  of  a  very  eminent  family,  in  which  the  pro 
phetic  office  and  spirit  had  flourished  for  nearly  two 
hundred  years,  but  which  is  now  nearly  dried  up,  and 
not  likely,  from  present  appearances,  to  give  any  more 
messengers  to  the  churches." 

The  following  is  a  chronological  list  of  the  Rector's 
Works : — 

1.  MAGGOTS,  or  Poems  on  several  subjects,  never  before  handled, 

8vo,  London,  1685. 

2.  Several  papers  in  the  Athenian  Mercury,  projected  1691. 

3.  A  Letter  concerning  the  Education  of  Dissenters  in  their  Private 

Academies,  1693. 

4.  The  Life  of  Christ ;  an  heroic  Poem,  in  ten  Books,  folio,  1693. 

5.  A  Sermon  preached  before  the  Society  for  the  Reformation  of 

Manners,  8vo.  1698. 

6.  The  pious  Communicant ;  a  Discourse  concerning  the  Sacra 

ment,  12mo.  1700. 

7.  The  History  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  attempted  in 

verse ;  and  adorned  with  330  Sculptures,  3  Vols.  12mo.  1 704. 

8.  The  Battle  of  Blenheim;  a  Poem,  folio,  1705. 

9.  A  Reply  to  Mr.  Palmer's  Vindication  of  the  Learning,  Loyalty, 

Morals,  and  most  Christian  Behaviour  of  the  Dissenters 
towards  the  Church  of  England,  4to.  London,  1707. 
10.  Dissertations  on  the  Book  of  Job,  folio,  1735. 


CHAP.  VIII. 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 


BECOMES  THE  WIFE  OF  MR.  SAMUEL  WESLEY. — HER  NUMEROUS 
FAMILY,  AND  EXCELLENT  MANAGEMENT. HER  MODE  OF  EDUCA 
TING  THE  CHILDREN HER  RELIGIOUS  CHARACTER. WHEN  HER 

HUSBAND  WAS  FROM  HOME,  SHE  PUBLICLY  READ  SERMONS  AT  THE 

PARSONAGE    HOUSE IS    CENSURED     FOR    THIS     EXERCISE. HER 

ADMIRABLE  DEFENCE  OF  IT  TO  HER  HUSBAND. THE  CONDUCT  OF 

THE  EPWORTH  CURATE  IN  THIS  MATTER. HER  EXCELLENT    LET 
TERS   TO    HER    SON    JOHN. UNWORTHY    REFLECTIONS    UPON    HER 

RELIGIOUS   EXPERIENCE. IS  VISITED  BY  MR.    WHITFIELD. HER 

DEATH, — CHARACTER, AND  EPITAPH. 

This  admirable  woman,  the  youngest  daughter  of 
Dr.  Annesley  before  mentioned,  was  born  about  the 
year  1670.  She  possessed  a  highly  improved  mind, 
with  a  strong,  and  masculine  understanding.  Though 
her  father  was  a  conscientious  Non-conformist,  he  had 
too  much  dignity  of  mind,  leaving  his  religion  out  of 
the  question,  to  be  a  bigot.  Under  the  parental  roof, 
and  "  before  she  was  thirteen  years  of  age,"  say  some 
of  her  biographers,  "  she  examined,  without  restraint, 
the  whole  controversy  between  the  established  church 
and  the  dissenters."*  The  issue  of  this  examination 
was,  that  she  renounced  her  fellowship  with  the  latter, 
and  adopted  the  creeds  and  forms  of  the  church  of 
England  j  to  which  she  zealously  adhered. 

*  It  seems  strange  that  a  girl  of  thirteen  years  of  age,  should  be  consi 
dered  capable  of  deciding  this  question,  though  she  might  possess,  as  in 
the  case  of  Mrs.  Wesley,  great  natural  talents. 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  153 

It  does  not  appear  that  her  father  threw  any 
obstacles  in  her  way ;  or  that  he  afterwards  disapproved 
of  her  marrying  a  rigid  churchman.  Nor  is  it  known, 
after  the  most  extensive  search,  that  the  slightest  dif 
ference  ever  existed  between  DR.  ANNESLEY,  and  his 
son-in-law,  or  daughter  on  the  subject.  It  was  about 
the  year  1690  that  she  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Samuel 
Wesley.  The  marriage  was  blessed  in  all  its  circum 
stances  ;  it  was  contracted  in  the  prime  of  their  youth ; 
it  was  fruitful,  and  death  did  not  divide  them  till  they 
were  both  full  of  years.  The  excellence  of  Miss  Annes- 
ley's  mind  was  equal  to  the  eminence  of  her  birth. 
She  was  such  a  helpmate  as  Mr.  Wesley  required, 
"and  to  her,"  says  DR.  CLARKE,  "under  God,  the 
great  eminence  of  the  subsequent  Wesley  family  is  to 
be  attributed." 

As  Mr.  Wesley's  circumstances  were  narrow,  the 
education  of  the  children  fell  especially  upon  Mrs. 
Wesley,  who  seems  to  have  possessed  every  qualifica 
tion  for  a  public  or  private  teacher.  The  manner  in 
which  she  taught  her  children  is  remarkable.  This  she 
has  detailed  in  a  letter  to  her  son  John,  which  we  shall 
hereafter  insert.  She  bore  nineteen  children  to  Mr. 
Wesley,  most  of  whom  lived  to  be  educated  ;  and  ten 
came  to  man  and  woman's  estate.  Her  son  John 
mentions  the  calm  serenity  with  which  his  mother 
transacted  business,  wrote  letters,  and  conversed,  sur 
rounded  by  her  fifteen  children.  All  these  were 
educated  by  herself;  and  as  she  was  a  woman  that 
lived  by  rule,  she  arranged  every  thing  so  exactly, 
that  for  each  operation  she  had  sufficient  time.  It 
appears  also  from  several  private  papers,  that  she  had 


154  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

no  small  share  in  managing  the  secular  concerns  of 
the  rectory.  Even  the  tithes  and  glebe  were  much 
under  her  inspection. 

About  the  year  1700,  Mrs.  Wesley  made  a  resolu 
tion  to  spend  one  hour  morning  and  evening  in  private 
devotion,  in  prayer  and  meditation,  and  she  religiously 
kept  it  ever  after,  unless  when  sickness,  or  some  urgent 
call  of  duty  to  her  family  obliged  her  to  shorten  it. 
If  opportunity  offered,  she  spent  some  time  at  noon  in 
this  religious  and  profitable  employment.  She  gene 
rally  wrote  her  thoughts  on  different  subjects  at  these 
seasons;  and  a  great  many  of  her  meditations  have  been 
preserved  in  her  own  hand-writing.  Though  Mrs. 
Wesley  allotted  two  hours  in  the  day  for  meditation 
and  prayer  in  private,  no  woman  was  ever  more  dili 
gent  in  business,  or  attentive  to  family  affairs  than  she 
was.  Remarkable,  as  before  observed,  for  method  and 
good  arrangement,  both  in  her  studies  and  business, 
she  saved  much  time,  and  kept  her  mind  free  from 
perplexity.  From  several  things  which  appear  in  her 
papers,  it  seems  that  she  had  acquired  some  knowledge 
of  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages  in  her  youth,  though 
she  never  made  any  pretension  to  it.  She  had  studied 
human  nature  well,  and  knew  how  to  adapt  her  dis 
course  both  to  youth  and  age. 

Mrs.  Wesley  devoted  as  great  a  proportion  of  time 
as  she  could,  to  discourse  with  each  of  her  children 
separately  every  night  in  the  week,  upon  the  duties 
and  hopes  of  Christianity ;  and  it  may  readily  be 
believed,  that  these  circumstances  of  their  childhood 
had  no  inconsiderable  influence  upon  them  in  after  life, 
and  especially  upon  her  two  sons,  John  and  Charles, 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  155 

when  they  became  the  founders,  and  directors  of  a  new 
community  in  the  Christian  church.  John's  providen 
tial  deliverance  from  the  fire  deeply  impressed  his 
mother,  as  it  did  himself,  throughout  the  whole  of  his 
life.  Among  the  private  meditations  which  were  found 
among  Mrs.  Wesley's  papers,  was  one  written  long  after 
the  event,  in  which  she  expressed  in  prayer  her  inten 
tion  to  be  more  particularly  careful  of  the  soul  of  this 
child,  which  God  had  so  mercifully  provided  for,  that 
she  might  instil  into  him  the  principles  of  true  religion 
and  virtue  ; — "  Lord,"  she  said,  "give  me  grace  to  do 
it  sincerely  and  prudently,  and  bless  my  attempts  with 
good  success."  The  peculiar  care  which  was  thus 
taken  of  his  religious  education,  the  habitual  and  fer 
vent  piety  of  both  his  parents,  and  his  own  surprising 
preservation,  at  an  age  when  he  was  perfectly  capable 
of  remembering  all  the  circumstances,  combined  to 
foster  in  him  that  disposition  which  afterwards  de 
veloped  itself  with  such  force,  and  produced  such 
important  effects. 

Mrs.  Wesley  taught  her  children  from  their  infancy, 
duty  to  parents.  She  had  little  difficulty  in  breaking 
their  wills,  or  reducing  them  to  absolute  subjection. 
They  were  early  brought,  by  rational  means,  under  a 
mild  yoke :  they  were  perfectly  obedient  to  their 
parents,  and  were  taught  to  wait  their  decision  in  every 
thing  they  were  to  have,  or  to  perform.  They  were 
never  permitted  to  command  the  servants.  Mrs.  Wes 
ley  charged  the  domestics  to  do  nothing  for  any  of 
her  children  unless  they  asked  it  with  respect ;  and  the 
children  were  duly  informed  that  the  servants  had 
such  orders.  This  is  the  foundation  and  essence  of 


156  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

good  breeding.  Insolent,  impudent,  and  disagreeable 
children  are  to  be  met  with  often,  because  this  simple, 
but  important  mode  of  bringing  them  up  is  neglected. 
"  Molly,  Robert,  be  pleased  to  do  so  and  so,"  was  the 
usual  method  of  request  both  from  sons  and  daughters. 
They  were  never  permitted  to  contend  with  each  other ; 
whatever  differences  arose,  their  parents  were  the 
umpires,  and  their  decision  was  never  disputed.  The 
consequence  was,  there  were  few  misunderstandings 
amongst  them;  and  they  had  the  character  of  being 
the  most  loving  family  in  the  county  of  Lincoln  !  But 
Mrs.  Wesley's  whole  method  of  bringing  up  and  manag 
ing  her  children,  is  so  amply  detailed  in  a  letter  to 
her  son  John,  that  it  would  be  as  great  an  injustice  to 
her,  as  to  the  reader,  to  omit  it. 

Epworth,  July  21th,  1732. 
"  DEAR  SON, 

"According  to  your  desire,  I  have 
collected  the  principal  rules  I  observed  in  educating 
my  family. 

"  The  children  were  always  put  into  a  regular 
method  of  living,  in  such  things  as  they  were  capable 
of,  from  their  birth  ;  as  in  dressing  and  undressing, 
changing  their  linen,  &c.  The  first  quarter  commonly 
passes  in  sleep.  After  that  they  were,  if  possible, 
laid  into  their  cradle  awake,  and  rocked  to  sleep  ;  and 
so  they  were  kept  rocking  till  it  was  time  for  them  to 
awake.  This  was  done  to  bring  them  to  a  regular 
course  of  sleeping,  which,  at  first,  was  three  hours  in 
the  morning,  and  three  in  the  afternoon  ;  afterwards 
two  hours,  till  they  needed  none  at  all.  When  turned 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  157 

a  year  old  (and  some  before,)  they  were  taught  to  fear 
the  rod,  and  to  cry  softly,  by  which  means  they  escaped 
much  correction  which  they  might  otherwise  have  had  > 
and  that  most  odious  noise  of  the  crying  of  children 
was  rarely  heard  in  the  house. 

"  As  soon  as  they  grew  pretty  strong,  they  were 
confined  to  three  meals  a  day.  At  dinner  their  little 
table  and  chairs  were  set  by  ours,  where  they  could  be 
overlooked :  and  they  were  suffered  to  eat  and  drink 
as  much  as  they  would,  but  not  to  call  for  any  thing. 
If  they  wanted  ought,  they  used  to  whisper  to  the  maid 
that  attended  them,  who  came  and  spoke  to  me ;  and 
as  soon  as  they  could  handle  a  knife  and  fork,  they 
were  set  to  our  table.  They  were  never  suffered  to 
choose  their  meat :  but  always  made  to  eat  such  things 
as  were  provided  for  the  family.  Drinking,  or  eating 
between  meals  was  never  allowed,  unless  in  case  of  sick 
ness,  which  seldom  happened.  Nor  were  they  suffered 
to  go  into  the  kitchen  to  ask  anything  of  the  servants, 
when  they  were  at  meat :  if  it  was  known  they  did  so, 
they  were  certainly  beat,  and  the  servants  severely 
reprimanded.  At  six,  as  soon  as  family  prayer  was 
over,  they  had  their  supper;  at  seven  the  maid  washed 
them,  and  beginning  at  the  youngest,  she  undressed 
and  got  them  all  to  bed  by  eight ;  at  which  time  she 
left  them  iu  their  several  rooms  awake,  for  there  was 
no  such  thing  allowed,  in  our  house,  as  sitting  by  a 
child  till  it  fell  asleep.  They  were  so  constantly  used 
to  eat  and  drink  what  was  given  them,  that  when  any 
of  them  were  ill,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  making  them 
take  the  most  unpleasant  medicine,  for  they  durst  not 
refuse  it. 


158  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

"In  order  to  form  the  minds  of  children,  the 
first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  conquer  their  will.  To  in 
form  the  understanding  is  a  work  of  time ;  and  must, 
with  children,  proceed  by  slow  degrees,  as  they  are 
able  to  bear  it :  but  the  subjecting  the  will  is  a  thing 
that  must  be  done  at  once,  and  the  sooner  the  better ; 
for  by  neglecting  timely  correction,  they  will  contract  a 
stubbornness  and  obstinacy  which  are  hardly  ever  after 
conquered,  and  never  without  using  such  severity  as 
would  be  as  painful  to  me  as  to  the  child.  In  the  es 
teem  of  the  world,  they  pass  for  kind  and  indulgent, 
whom  I  call  cruel  parents ;  who  permit  their  children  to 
get  habits  which  they  know  must  be  afterwards  broken. 
When  the  will  of  a  child  is  subdued,  and  it  is  brought 
to  revere  and  stand  in  awe  of  its  parents,  then  a  great 
many  childish  follies  and  inadvertences  may  be  passed 
by.  Some  should  be  overlooked,  and  others  mildly 
reproved :  but  no  wilful  transgression  ought  ever  to 
be  forgiven  children,  without  chastisement  less  or  more, 
as  the  nature  and  circumstances  of  the  offence  may 
require.  I  insist  upon  conquering  the  will  of  children 
betimes,  because  this  is  the  only  strong  and  rational 
foundation  of  a  religious  education,  without  which,  both 
precept  and  example  will  be  ineffectual.  But  when 
this  is  thoroughly  done,  then  a  child  is  capable  of  being 
governed  by  the  reason  and  piety  of  its  parents,  till  its 
own  understanding  comes  to  maturity,  and  the  princi 
ples  of  religion  have  taken  root  in  the  mind. 

"  I  cannot  yet  dismiss  this  subject.  As  self-will 
is  the  root  of  all  sin  and  misery,  so  whatever  cherishes 
this  in  children  ensures  their  wretchedness  and  irreli- 
gion  :  whatever  checks  and  mortifies  it,  promotes  their 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  159 

future  happiness  and  piety.  This  is  still  more  evident, 
if  we  farther  consider  that  religion  is  nothing  else  than 
doing  the  will  of  God,  and  not  our  own;  that  the 
one  grand  impediment  to  our  temporal  and  eternal 
happiness  being  this  self-will,  no  indulgence  of  it  can 
be  trivial,  no  denial  unprofitable.  Heaven  or  hell  de 
pends  on  this  alone.  So  that  the  parent  who  studies 
to  subdue  it  in  his  child,  works  together  with  God  in 
the  renewing  and  saving  a  soul.  The  parent  who  in 
dulges  it,  does  the  devil's  work ;  makes  religion  im 
practicable,  salvation  unattainable,  and  does  all  that  in 
him  lies  to  damn  his  child,  soul  and  body,  for  ever. 

"  Our  children  were  taught,  as  soon  as  they  could 
speak,  the  Lord's  prayer,  which  they  were  made  to  say 
at  rising  and  bedtime  constantly ;  to  which,  as  they 
grew  older,  were  added  a  short  prayer  for  their  parents, 
and  some  portion  of  Scripture,  as  their  memories  could 
bear.  They  were  very  early  made  to  distinguish  the 
Sabbath  from  other  days.  They  were  taught  to  be  still 
at  family  prayers,  and  to  ask  a  blessing  immediately 
after  meals,  which  they  used  to  do  by  signs,  before  they 
could  kneel  or  speak.  They  were  quickly  made  to  under 
stand  that  they  should  have  nothing  they  cried  for,  and 
instructed  to  speak  respectfully  for  what  they  wanted. 

"Taking  God's  name  in  vain,  cursing  and  swear 
ing,  profaneness,  obscenity,  rude  ill-bred  names,  were 
never  heard  among  them ;  nor  were  they  ever  permitted 
to  call  each  other  by  their  proper  names,  without  the 
addition  of  brother  or  sister.  There  was  no  such  thing 
as  loud  talking  or  playing  allowed  :  but  every  one  was 
kept  close  to  business  for  the  six  hours  of  school.  And 
it  is  almost  incredible  what  a  child  may  be  taught  in  a 


160  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

quarter  of  a  year  by  a  vigorous  application,  if  it  have 
but  a  tolerable  capacity,  and  good  health.  Kezzy 
excepted,  all  could  read  better  in  that  time,  than  most 
women  can  do  as  long  as  they  live.  Rising  from 
their  places,  or  going  out  of  the  room,  was  not  per 
mitted,  except  for  good  cause  ;  and  running  into  the 
yard,  garden,  or  street,  without  leave,  was  always 
considered  a  capital  offence. 

"  For  some  years  we  went  on  very  well.  Never 
were  children  better  disposed  to  piety,  or  in  more  sub 
jection  to  their  parents,  till  that  fatal  dispersion  of  them, 
after  the  fire,  into  several  families.  In  those  they  were 
left  at  full  liberty  to  converse  with  servants,  which  be 
fore  they  had  always  been  restrained  from;  and  to  run 
abroad  to  play  with  any  children  good  or  bad.  They 
soon  learned  to  neglect  a  strict  observance  of  the  Sab 
bath  ;  and  got  knowledge  of  several  songs,  and  bad 
things,  which  before  they  had  no  notion  of.  That  civil 
behaviour,  which  made  them  admired,  when  they  were 
at  home,  by  all  who  saw  them,  was,  in  a  great  measure, 
lost;  and  clownish  accent,  and  many  rude  ways  learnt, 
which  were  not  reformed,  without  some  difficulty.  When 
the  house  was  rebuilt,  and  all  the  children  brought  home, 
we  entered  on  a  strict  reform  ;  and  then  we  began  the 
custom  of  singing  psalms,  at  beginning  and  leaving 
school,  morning  and  evening.  Then  also  that  of  a 
general  retirement  at  five  o'clock  was  entered  upon : 
when  the  oldest  took  the  youngest  that  could  speak, 
and  the  second  the  next,  to  whom  they  read  the  psalms 
for  the  day,  and  a  chapter  in  the  New  Testament;  as 
in  the  morning  they  were  directed  to  read  the  psalms, 
and  a  chapter  in  the  Old ;  after  which  they  went  to  their 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY  161 

private  prayers,  before  they  got  their  breakfast,  or  came 
into  the  family. 

There  were  several  by-laws  observed  among  us.    I 
mention  them  here  because  I  think  them  useful. 

1.  It  had  been  observed  that  cowardice  and  fear 
of  punishment  often  lead  children  into  lying;  till  they 
get  a  custom  of  it  which  they  cannot  leave.     To  pre 
vent  this,  a  law  was  made,  that  whoever  was  charged 
with  a  fault,  of  which  they  were  guilty,  if  they  would 
ingenuously  confess  it,  and  promise  to  amend,  should 
not  be  beaten.     This  rule  prevented  a  great  deal  of 
lying. 

2.  That  no  sinful  action,   as  lying,  pilfering  at 
church,  or  on  the  Lord's-day,  disobedience,  quarrelling, 
&c.,  should  ever  pass  unpunished. 

3.  That  no  child  should  ever  be  chid,  or  beat 
twice  for  the  same  fault;   and  that  if  they  amended, 
they  should  never  be  upbraided  with  it  afterwards. 

4.  That  every  signal  act  of  obedience,  especially 
when  it  crossed  their  own  inclinations,  should  be  always 
commended,  and  frequently  rewarded,  according  to  the 
merits  of  the  case. 

5.  That  if  ever  any  child   performed  an  act  of 
obedience,  or  did  any  thing  with  an  intention  to  please, 
though  the  performance  was  not  well,  yet  the  obedience 
and  intention  should  be  kindly  accepted,  and  the  child, 
with  sweetness,  directed  how  to  do  better  for  the  future. 

6.  That  propriety  be  inviolably  preserved ;  and 
none  suffered  to  invade  the  property  of  another  in  the 
smallest  matter,  though  it  were  but  of  the  value  of  a 
farthing,  or  a  pin  ;  which  they  might  not  take  from  the 
owner  without,  much  less  against,  his  consent.     This 

p  2 


162  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

rule  can  never  be  too  much  inculcated  on  the  minds  of 
children. 

7.  That  promises  be  strictly  observed  :   and  a  gift 
once  bestowed,  and  so  the  right  passed  away  from  the 
donor,  be  not  resumed,  but  left  to  the  disposal  of  him 
to  whom  it  was  given;  unless  it  were  conditional,  and 
the  condition  of  the  obligation  not  performed. 

8.  That  no  girl  be  taught  to  work  till  she  can  read 
very  well ;  and  then  that  she  be  kept  to  her  work  with 
the  same  application,  and  for  the  same  time  that  she 
was  held  to  in  reading.     This  rule  also  is  much  to  be 
observed ;  for  the  putting  children  to  learn  sewing  be 
fore  they  can  read  perfectly,  is  the  very  reason  why  so 
few  women  can  read  fit  to  be  heard,  and  never  to  be 
well  understood^" 

After  such  management,  who  can  wonder  at  the 
rare  excellence  of  the  Wesley  Family  ?  Mrs.  Wesley 
never  considered  herself  discharged  from  the  care  of  her 
children.  Into  all  situations  she  followed  them  with 
her  prayers  and  counsels :  and  her  sons,  even  when 
they  became  men  and  scholars,  found  the  utility  of  her 
wise  and  parental  instructions.  They  proposed  to  her 
their  doubts,  and  consulted  her  in  all  their  difficulties. 

Mr.  Wesley  usually  attended  the  sittings  of  Con 
vocation  ;  such  attendance,  according  to  his  principles, 
was  a  part  of  his  duty,  and  he  performed  it  at  an  ex 
pense  which  he  could  ill  spare  from  the  necessities  of 
so  large  a  family,  and  at  a  cost  of  time  which  was  in 
jurious  to  his  parish.  During  these  absences,  as  there 
was  no  afternoon  service  at  Epworth,  Mrs.  Wesley 
prayed  with  her  own  family  on  Sabbath  evenings,  read 
a  sermon,  and  engaged  afterwards  in  religious  con- 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  163 

versation.     Some  of  the  parishioners  who  came  in  acci 
dentally  were  not  excluded  ;  and  she  did  not  think  it 
proper  that  their  presence  should  interrupt  the  duty  of 
the  hour.     Induced  by  the  report  which  these  persons 
made,  others  requested  permission  to  attend ;  and  in 
this  manner  from  thirty  to  forty  persons  usually  as 
sembled.     After  this  had  continued  some  time,  she 
happened  to  find  an  account  of  the  Danish  missionaries 
in  her  husband's  study,  and  was  much  impressed  by 
the  perusal.      The  book  strengthened  her  desire  of 
doing  good  :  she  chose  "  the  best  and  most  awakening 
sermons,"  and  spoke  with  more  freedom,  more  warmth, 
more  affection  to  the  neighbours,  who  attended  at  her 
evening  prayers.     Their  numbers  increased  in  conse 
quence  ;   for  she  did  not  think  it  right  to  deny  any  who 
asked  admittance.     More  persons  came  at  length  than 
the  apartment  could  hold ;  and  the  thing  was  repre 
sented  to  her  husband  in  such  a  manner,  that  he  wrote 
to  her,  objecting  to  her  conduct;  because, he  said,  "it 
looked  particular,"  on  account  of  her  sex,  and  because 
he  was  at  that  time  in  a  public  station  and  character, 
which  rendered  it  the  more  necessary  that  she  should 
do  nothing  to  attract  censure ;    and  he  recommended 
that  some  other  person  should  read  for  her.     She  be 
gan  her  reply  by  thanking  him  for  dealing  so  faithfully 
and  plainly  with  her  in  a  matter  of  no  common  concern. 
"As  to  its  looking  particular,"  she  said,  "  I  grant  it 
does;  and  so  does  almost  every  thing  that  is  serious, 
or  that  may  any  way  advance  the  glory  of  God,  or  the 
salvation  of  souls,  if  it  be  performed  out  of  the  pulpit, 
or  in  the  way  of  common  conversation ;  because  in  our 
corrupt  age  the  utmost  care  and  diligence  have  been 


164  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

used  to  banish  all  discourse  of  God,  or  spiritual  con 
cerns,  out  of  society,  as  if  religion  were  never  to  appear 
out  of  the  closet,  and  we  were  to  be  ashamed  of  nothing 
so  much  as  of  confessing  ourselves  to  be  Christians." 
To  the  objection  on  account  of  her  sex,  she  answered, 
that  though  she  was  a  woman,  she  was  also  mistress  of 
a  large  family ;  and  if  the  superior  charge  lay  upon 
him  as  their  head,  and  minister,  yet  in  his  absence,  she 
could  not  but  look  upon  every  soul  which  he  had  left 
under  her  care,  as  a  talent  committed  to  her  under  a 
trust  by  the  great  Lord  of  all  the  families  of  heaven 
and  earth.  "  If/'  she  added,  "  I  am  unfaithful  to  Him 
or  to  you  in  neglecting  to  improve  these  talents,  how 
shall  I  answer  when  he  shall  command  me  to  render  an 
account  of  my  stewardship?"  The  objections  which 
arose  from  his  own  station  and  character,  she  left  en 
tirely  to  his  own  judgment.  Why  any  person  should 
reflect  upon  him,  because  his  wife  endeavoured  to  draw 
people  to  church,  and  restrain  them  by  reading  and 
other  persuasions,  from  profaning  the  Sabbath,  she 
could  not  conceive ;  and  if  any  were  mad  enough  to  do 
so,  she  hoped  he  would  not  regard  it.  "  For  my  own 
part,"  she  says,  "  I  value  no  censure  on  this  account : 
I  long  since  shook  hands  with  the  world  ;  and  I  heartily 
wish  I  had  never  given  them  more  reason  to  speak 
against  me."  As  to  the  proposal  of  letting  some  other 
person  read  for  her,  she  thought  her  husband  had  not 
considered  what  a  people  they  were  :  not  a  man  among 
them  could  read  a  sermon  without  spelling  a  great  part 
of  it,  and  how  would  that  edify  the  rest  ?  and  none  of 
her  own  family  had  voices  strong  enough  to  be  heard 
by  so  many. 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  165 

While  Mrs.  Wesley  thus  vindicated  herself  in  a 
manner  which  she  thought  must  prove  convincing  to 
her  husband,  as  well  as  to  her  own  calm  judgment,  the 
curate  of  Epworth  (a  man  who  seems  to  have  been  en 
titled  to  very  little  respect,)  wrote  to  Mr.  Wesley  in  a 
very  different  strain,  complaining  that  a  CONVENTICLE 
was  held  in  his  house.  The  name  was  well  chosen  to 
alarm  so  high  a  churchman;  and  his  second  letter 
declared  a  decided  disapprobation  to  these  meetings,  to 
which  he  had  made  no  serious  objections  before.  She 
did  not  reply  to  this  till  some  days  had  elapsed,  for  she 
deemed  it  necessary  that  both  of  them  should  take  some 
time  to  consider,  before  her  husband  finally  determined 
in  a  matter  which  she  felt  to  be  of  great  importance  :  she 
expressed  astonishment  that  any  effect  upon  his  opini 
ons,  much  more  any  change  in  them,  should  be  pro 
duced  by  the  senseless  clamour  of  two  or  three  of  the 
worst  in  his  parish;  and  represented  to  him  the  good 
which  had  been  done  by  inducing  a  more  frequent  and 
regular  attendance  at  church,  and  reforming  the  general 
habits  of  the  people ;  and  the  evil  which  would  result 
from  discontinuing  such  meetings,  especially  by  the 
prejudices  which  it  would  excite  against  the  curate,  in 
those  persons  who  were  sensible  that  they  derived 
benefit  from  the  religious  opportunities,  which  would 
thus  be  taken  away  through  his  interference.  After 
stating  these  things  clearly  and  judiciously,  she  con 
cluded  thus,  in  reference  to  her  own  duty  as  a  wife : — 
"  If  you  do,  after  all,  think  fit  to  dissolve  this  assembly, 
do  not  tell  me  that  you  desire  me  to  do  it,  for  that  will 
not  satisfy  my  conscience ;  but  send  me  your  positive 
command,  in  such  full  and  express  terms,  as  may  absolve 


166  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

me  from  guilt  and  punishment  for  neglecting  this  op 
portunity  of  doing  good,  when  you  and  I  shall  appear 
before  the  great  and  awful  tribunal  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

Mr.  Wesley  made  no  further  objections ;  and 
thoroughly  respecting,  as  he  did,  and  had  reason  to  do, 
the  principles  and  understanding  of  his  wife,  he  was 
perhaps  ashamed  that  the  representations  of  meaner 
minds  should  have  prejudiced  him  against  her  conduct. 

The  Curate  before  mentioned  appears  to  have  been 
something  of  an  original.  At  one  time  on  Mr.  Wesley's 
return  from  London,  a  complaint  was  made  concerning 
his  curate,  "  that  he  preached  nothing  to  his  congrega 
tion,  except  the  duty  of  paying  their  debts,  and  behaving 
well  among  their  neighbours."  The  complainants 
added,  "  we  think,  Sir,  there  is  more  in  religion  than 
this."  Mr.  Wesley  replied,  "  there  certainly  is ;  I  will 
hear  him  myself."  He  accordingly  sent  for  the  curate, 
and  told  him  that  he  wished  him  to  preach  the  next 
Lord's  day,  adding,  "you  could,  I  suppose,  prepare  a 
sermon  upon  any  text  that  I  should  give  you."  He 
replied,  "  by  all  means,  Sir."  "  Then,"  said  Mr. 
Wesley,  "prepare  a  sermon  on  that  text,  Heb.  ii,  6. 
'  Without  FAITH  it  is  impossible  to  please  God.'  "  When 
the  time  arrived,  Mr.  Wesley  read  the  prayers,  and 
the  curate  ascended  the  pulpit.  He  read  the  text  with 
great  solemnity,  and  thus  began  : — "  It  must  be  con 
fessed,  friends,  that  faith  is  a  most  excellent  virtue; 
and  it  produces  other  virtues  also.  In  particular,  it 
makes  a  man  pay  his  debts  as  soon  as  he  can."  He 
went  on  in  this  way,  enforcing  the  social  duties  for 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  then  concluded.  "  So," 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  167 

said  his  son  John,  "my  father  saw  it  was  a  lost 
case." 

The  following  letter  to  MR.  JOHN  WESLEY  will 
show  what  care  his  excellent  mother  took  of  her  son's 
spiritual  progress,  and  of  his  regular  deportment 
through  life. 

Jan.  31,  1727. 

" 1  am  fully  persuaded,  that  the  reason  why 

so  many  seek  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
but  are  not  able,  is,  there  is  some  Delilah,  some 
beloved  vice,  they  will  not  part  with ;  hoping  that  by 
a  strict  observance  of  their  duty  in  other  things,  that 
particular  fault  will  be  dispensed  with.  But,  alas ! 
they  miserably  deceive  themselves.  The  way  which 
leads  to  heaven  is  so  narrow,  the  gate  we  must  enter 
is  so  strait,  that  it  will  not  permit  a  man  to  pass  with 
one  known  unmortified  sin  about  him.  Therefore  let 
every  one  in  the  beginning  of  their  Christian  course 
weigh  what  our  Lord  says,  'for  whosoever  having  put 
his  hand  to  the  plough,  and  looking  back,  is  not  fit  for 
the  kingdom  of  God." 

"  I  am  nothing  pleased  we  advised  you  to  have 
your  plaid ;  though  I  am  that  you  think  it  too  dear; 
because  I  take  it  to  be  an  indication  that  you  are  dis 
posed  to  thrift,  which  is  a  rare  qualification  in  a  young 
man  who  has  his  fortune  to  make.  Indeed  such  an  one 
can  hardly  be  too  wary,  or  too  careful.  I  would  not 
recommend  taking  thought  for  the  morrow  any  further 
than  is  needful  for  our  improvement  of  present  oppor 
tunities,  in  a  prudent  management  of  those  talents  God 
has  committed  to  our  trust :  and  so  far  I  think  it  is  the 
duty  of  all  to  take  thought  for  the  morrow.  And  I 


168  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

heartily  wish  you  may  be  well  apprized  of  this  while 
life  is  young  ;  for 

Believe  me,  youth ;  (for  I  am  read  in  cases, 

And  bend  beneath  the  weight  of  more  than  fifty  years.) 

Believe  me,  dear  son,  old  age  is  the  worst  time  we  can 
choose  to  mend  either  our  lives  or  our 'fortunes.  If  the 
foundations  of  solid  piety  are  not  laid  betimes  in  sound 
principles,  and  virtuous  dispositions ;  and  if  we  neglect 
while  strength  and  vigour  last  to  lay  up  something  ere 
the  infirmities  of  age  overtake  us,  it  is  a  hundred  to  one 
that  we  shall  die  both  poor  and  wicked. 

"  Ah  !  my  dear  son,  did  you  with  me  stand  on  the 
verge  of  life,  and  saw  before  you  a  vast  expanse,  an 
unlimited  duration  of  being,  which  you  might  shortly 
enter  upon,  you  can't  conceive  how  all  the  inad 
vertences,  mistakes,  and  sins  of  youth,  would  rise  to 
your  view !  and  how  different  the  sentiments  of  sensitive 
pleasures,  the  desire  of  sexes,  and  the  pernicious  friend 
ships  of  the  world,  would  be  then,  from  what  they  are 
now,  while  health  is  entire,  and  seems  to  promise  many 
years  of  life." 

About  this  time  Mr.  John  Wesley  wrote  a  letter 
to  his  mother  concerning  afflictions,  and  what  was  the 
best  method  of  profiting  by  them.  To  which  she  thus 
answers  with  her  usual  good  sense  and  deep  piety. 

Wroote,  July  26,  1727. 

"It  is  certainly  true  that  I  have  had  larg'e 

experience  of  what  the  world  calls  adverse  fortune ; 

but  I  have  not  made  those  improvements  in  piety  and 

virtue,  under  the  discipline  of  Providence,  that  I  ought 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  169 

to  have  done ;  therefore  I  humbly  conceive  myself  to 
be  unfit  for  an  assistant  to  another  in  affliction,  since  I 
have  so  ill  performed  my  duty.  But,  blessed  be  God! 
you  are  at  present  in  pretty  easy  circumstances  ;  which 
I  thankfully  acknowledge  is  a  great  mercy  to  me  as  well 
as  you.  Yet,  if  hereafter  you  should  meet  with  troubles 
of  various  sorts,  as  it  is  probable  you  will  in  the  course 
of  your  life,  be  it  of  short,  or  long  continuance,  the 
best  preparation  I  know  for  sufferings,  is  a  regular  and 
exact  performance  of  present  duty,  for  this  will  surely 
render  a  man  pleasing  to  God,  and  put  him  directly 
under  the  protection  of  His  good  providence,  so  that 
no  evil  shall  befall  him,  but  what  he  will  certainly  be  the 
better  for. 

"  It  is  incident  to  all  men  to  regard  the  past  and 
the  future,  while  the  present  moments  pass  unheeded  ; 
whereas,  in  truth,  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  is  of 
use  to  us  any  farther  than  that  they  put  us  upon  im 
proving  the  present  time. 

"  You  did  well  to  correct  that  fond  desire  of  dying 
before  me ;  since  you  do  not  know  what  work  God  may 
have  for  you  to  do  ere  you  leave  the  ivorld.  And  be 
sides,  I  ought  surely  to  have  the  priority  in  point  of 
time,  and  go  to  rest  before  you.  Whether  you  could 
see  me  die  without  any  emotions  of  grief,  I  know  not ; 
perhaps  you  could  :  it  is  what  I  have  often  desired  of 
the  children,  that  they  would  not  weep  at  our  parting, 
and  so  make  death  more  uncomfortable  than  it  would 
otherwise  be  to  me.  If  you,  or  any  other  of  my  children, 
were  likely  to  reap  any  spiritual  advantage  by  being 
with  me  at  my  exit,  I  should  be  glad  to  have  you  with 
me.  But  as  I  have  been  an  unprofitable  servant,  during 


170  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

the  course  of  a  long  life,  I  have  no  reason  to  hope 
for  so  great  an  honour,  so  high  a  favour,  as  to  be  em 
ployed  in  doing  our  Lord  any  service  in  the  article  of 
death.  It  was  well,  if  you  spake  prophetically, 'that 
joy  and  hope  might  have  the  ascendant  over  the  other 
passions  of  my  soul  in  that  important  hour :  nor  do  I 
despair,  but  rather  leave  it  to  our  Almighty  Saviour  to 
do  with  me,  both  in  life  and  death,  just  what  he  pleases, 
for  I  have  no  choice." 

About  this  time  Mrs.  Wesley  became  a  convert 
to  her  son  John's  opinions  respecting  "the  ivitness  of 
the  spirit."  He  asked  Mrs.  Wesley  whether  his  father 
had  not  the  same  evidence,  and  preached  it  to  his 
people.  She  replied  that  he  had  it  himself,  and  de 
clared  a  little  before  his  death,  he  had  no  darkness  nor 
doubt  of  his  salvation ;  but  that  she  did  not  remember 
to  have  heard  him  preach  upon  it  explicitly.  MR. 
SOUTHEY  here  intimates,  that  Mrs.  Wesley  "  was  then 
seventy  years  of  age,  which  induces  a  reasonable  sus 
picion  that  her  powers  of  mind  had  become  impaired,  or 
she  would  not  else  have  supposed  that  any  other  faith, 
or  degree  of  faith,  was  necessary,  than  that  in  which  her 
husband  had  lived  and  died."  It  is  wisely,  as  well  as 
eloquently  said  by  DR.  FULLER,  whose  niece  married  the 
father  of  the  rector  of  Epworth  as  before  mentioned  ; 
"  of  such  as  deny  that  we  had  formerly  in  our  churches 
all  truth  necessary  to  salvation,  I  ask  Joseph's  question 
to  his  brethren,  'Is  your  father  well?  the  old  man — 
is  he  yet  alive  p'  So,  how  fare  the  souls  of  their  sires, 
and  the  ghosts  of  their  grandfathers  ?  are  they  yet 
alive  ?  do  they  still  survive  in  bliss  and  happiness  ? 
Oh  no!  they  are  dead;  dead  in  soul,  dead  in  body, 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY  171 

dead  temporally,  dead  eternally:  if  so  be  ive  had  not 
all  truth  necessary  to  salvation  before  their  time." 

When  MR.  JOHN  WESLEY  wrote  to  his  father  in 
1735  the  reasons  why  he  declined  the  living  of  Epworth, 
he  then  appears  not  to  have  had  the  same  views,  as  to 
the  ineffectiveness  of  his  father's  ministry,  as  he  after 
wards  entertained.  For  lie  says  "these  are  part  of  my 
reasons  for  choosing  to  abide  (till  I  am  better  informed,) 
in  the  station  wherein  God  has  placed  me.  As  for  the 
flock  committed  to  your  care,  whom  for  many  years 
you  have  diligently  fed  with  the  sincere  milk  of  the 
word,  I  trust  in  God  your  labour  shall  not  be  in  vain 
either  to  yourself  or  them  j  many  of  them,  the  Great 
Shepherd  has,  by  your  hand,  delivered  from  the  hand 
of  the  destroyer,  some  of  whom  are  already  entered 
into  peace,  and  some  remain  unto  this  day.  For  your 
self,  I  doubt  not,  but  when  your  warfare  is  accomplish 
ed,  when  you  are  made  perfect  through  sufferings,  you 
shall  come  to  your  grave,  not  with  sorrow,  but  as  a  ripe 
shock  of  corn,  full  of  years  and  victories.  And  He 
that  took  care  of  the  sheep  before  you  were  born,  will 
not  forget  them  when  you  are  dead." 

It  must  be  allowed,  however,  that  the  Rector's 
prejudice  had  made  him  a  stranger  to  the  practical  and 
experimental  writings  of  the  Puritans  and  Non-con 
formists;  and  a  change  of  society,  and  a  new  course 
of  reading,  might  in  some  measure  obscure  even  the  well 
informed  mind  of  Mrs.  Wesley.  "  Their  theological 
reading,"  says  MR.  WATSON,  "  according  to  the  fashion 
of  the  church-people  of  that  day,  was  directed  rather  to 
the  writings  of  those  Divines  of  the  English  church  who 
were  tinctured  more  or  less  with  a  Pelagianized  Armi- 


172  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

nianism.  They  had  parted  with  Calvinism  ;  but,  like 
many  others,  they  renounced  with  it,  for  want  of  spirit 
ual  discrimination,  those  truths  which  were  as  fully 
maintained  in  the  theology  of  ARMINIUS,  and  in  that  of 
their  eminent  son,  who  revived  and  more  fully  illus 
trated  it,  as  in  the  writings  of  the  most  judicious  and 
spiritual  Calvinistic  divines  themselves.  TAYLOR, 
TILLOTSON,  and  BULL,  who  became  their  oracles,  were 
Arminians  of  a  different  class." 

In  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Wesley  to  her  son  Samuel, 
dated  Epworth,  March  1739,  she  thus  refers  to  that 
laborious  servant  of  Christ,  MR.  WHITFIELD,  and  to  the 
great  good  her  sons  John  and  Charles  were  then  doing. 
"You  have  heard,  I  suppose,  that  Mr.  Whitfield  is 
taking  a  progress  through  these  parts  to  make  a  col 
lection  for  a  house  in  Georgia,  for  orphans,  and  such 
of  the  native  children  as  they  will  part  with,  to  learn 
our  language  and  religion.  He  came  hitherto  see  me, 
and  we  talked  about  your  brothers.  I  told  him  I  did 
not  like  their  way  of  living,  wished  them  in  some  places 
of  their  own,  wherein  they  might  regularly  preach. 
He  replied,  '  I  could  not  conceive  the  good  they  did 
in  London ;  that  the  greatest  part  of  our  clergy  were 
asleep,  and  there  never  was  greater  need  of  itinerant 
preachers  than  now/  Upon  which,  a  gentleman  that 
came  with  him,  said  that  my  son  diaries  had  converted 
him,  and  that  both  my  sons  spent  all  their  time  in  doing 
good.  I  then  asked  Mr.  Whitfield  if  they  were  not 
for  making  some  innovations  in  the  church,  which  I 
much  feared.  He  assured  me  they  were  so  far  from 
it,  that  they  endeavoured  all  they  could  to  reconcile 
Dissenters  to  our  communion ;  that  my  son  John  had 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  173 

baptized  five  adult  Presbyterians,  and  he  Relieved  would 
bring  over  many  to  our  communion.  His  stay  was 
short,  so  that  I  could  not  talk  with  him  as  much  as  I 
desired.  He  seems  to  be  a  very  good  man,  and  one 
who  truly  desires  the  salvation  of  mankind.  God  grant 
that  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent  may  be  joined  to  the 
innocence  of  the  dove." 

Of  the  closing  scene  of  Mrs.  Wesley's  life,  her 
son  John  gives  the  following  account : — "  I  left  Bristol 
on  the  evening  of  Sunday,  July  18th,  1742,  and  on 
Tuesday  came  to  London.  I  found  my  mother  on 
the  borders  of  eternity  ;  but  she  had  no  doubts  or  fears, 
nor  any  desire,  but  as  soon  as  God  should  call,  'to 
depart,  and  be  with  Christ/  Friday,  July  23rd,  about 
three  in  the  afternoon,  I  went  to  see  my  mother,  and 
found  her  change  was  near.  I  sat  down  on  the  bed 
side  ;  she  was  in  her  last  conflict,  unable  to  speak,  but  I 
believe  quite  sensible ;  her  look  was  calm  and  serene,  and 
her  eyes  fixed  upwards  while  we  commended  her  soul 
to  God.  From  three  to  four,  the  silver  cord  was  loosing, 
and  the  wheel  breaking  at  the  cistern  ;  and  then  without 
any  struggle,  sigh,  or  groan,  the  soul  was  set  at  liberty. 
We  stood  around  the  bed,  and  fulfilled  her  last  request, 
uttered  a  little  before  she  lost  her  speech,  'Children, 
as  soon  as  I  am  released,  sing  a  psalm  to  God.'  Her 
age  was  73.  Sunday,  1st  of  August,  about  five  in  the 
afternoon,  in  the  presence  of  a  great  number  of  people, 
I  committed  to  the  earth  the  body  of  my  mother,  to 
sleep  with  her  fathers.  The  portion  of  Scripture  from 
which  I  afterwards  spoke,  was,  '  And  I  saw  a  great 
white  throne,  and  Him  that  sat  on  it,  from  whose  face 
the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away  ;  and  there  was  found 


174  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

no  place  for  them.  And  I  saiv  the  dead,  small  and 
great,  stand  before  God;  and  the  books  were  opened  : 
and  another  book  icas  opened  which  is  the  book  of  life  : 
and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things  u-hich 
were  written  in  the  books,  according  to  their  ivorks.' — 
Rev.  xx.  11,  12.  It  was  one  of  the  most  solemn  as 
semblies  I  ever  saw,  or  expect  to  see  on  this  side  of 
eternity." 

Mrs.  Wesley  was  interred  in  Bunhilf-Jields  burial 
ground,  where  so  much  precious  dust  reposes  !  A  plain 
monumental  stone  is  placed  at  the  head  of  her  grave. 
The  epitaph,  however,  is  unjust  to  her  memory.  In 
stead  of  recording  the  virtues  and  excellencies  of  this 
extraordinary  woman,  she  is  there  represented  in  un 
worthy  verse,  living  without  real  religion  nearly  the 
whole  of  her  life,  or,  in  the  words  of  the  Epitaph, 

"  A  legal  night  of  seventy  years." 

"  These  words  seem  to  intimate,"  says  DR.  CLARKE, 
"  that  Mrs.  Wesley  was  not  received  into  the  Divine 
favour  till  she  was  seventy  years  of  age  !  For  my  own 
part,  after  having  traced  her  through  all  the  known 
periods  of  her  life,  and  taking  her  spiritual  state  from 
her  own  nervous  and  honest  pen,  I  can  scarcely  doubt 
but  that  she  was  in  the  divine  favour  long  before  that 
time;  according  to  the  text,  he  that  fear eth  God,  and 
worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  of  Him.  And  though 
she  lived  in  a  time  when  the  spiritual  privileges  of 
the  children  of  God  were  not  so  clearly  defined,  nor  so 
well  understood,  as  they  are  at  present ;  yet  she  was 
not  without  large  communications  of  the  divine  spirit, 
heavenly  light,  and  heavenly  ardours,  which  often 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  175 

caused  her  to  sit  'like  cherub  bright  some  moments  on 
a  throne  of  love/  She  had  the  faith  of  God's  elect, 
she  acknowledged  the  truth  which  is  according  to  god 
liness.  Her  spirit  and  life  were  conformed  to  this 
truth ;  and  shew  as  not,  as  she  could  not  be,  without  the 
favour  and  approbation  of  God. 

"  But  there  is  a  fact  which  seems  to  stand  against 
this,  which  is  alluded  to  in  the  second  and  third  stanzas, 
viz.  that  in  receiving  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  sup 
per,  when  her  son-in-law  presented  the  cup  with  these 
words, — '  the  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  ivhich 
was  shed  for  THEE  ;  she  felt  them  strike  through  her 
heart;  and  she  then  knew  that  God  for  Christ's  sake 
had  forgiven  her  all  her  sins/  That  Mrs.  Wesley  did 
then  receive  a  powerful  influence  from  the  Holy  Spirit 
I  can  readily  believe,  by  which  she  was  mightily  con 
firmed  and  strengthened,  and  had  from  it  the  clearest 
evidence  of  her  reconciliation  to  God;  but  that  she 
had  been  in  a  legal  state,  or,  as  some  have  understood 
that  expression,  was  seeking  justification  by  the  works 
of  the  law  until  then,  I  have  the  most  positive  facts  to 
disprove." 

"The  Rector  of  Epworth's  ministry  was  strong 
and  faithful :  but  it  was  not  clear  on  the  point  of  justi 
fication  by  faith,  and  the  witness  of  the  Spirit.  I  can 
testify  this,"  says  DR.  CLARKE,  "from  the  most  direct 
evidence, — several  of  his  manuscript  sermons  being 
now  before  me.  To  know  that  we  are  of  God,  by  the 
spirit  which  he  has  given  us;  he,  and  most  in  his  time 
believed  to  be  the  privilege  of  a  few,  and  but  of  a  few  : 
hence  the  people  were  not  exhorted  to  follow  on  to 
know  the  Lord  ;  and  although  several  of  them  had  a 


176  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

measure  of  this  knowledge,  felt  its  effects,  and  brought 
forth  the  fruits  of  it;  yet  they  knew  not  its  name." 

Her  epitaph  which  was  written  by  MR.  CHARLES 
WESLEY  has  been  strongly  objected  to  by  DR.  CLARKE 
on  other  grounds.  He  calls  it  "  trite,  bald,  and  inex 
pressive."  MR.  SOUTHEY  has  also  censured  it;  but 
both  MR.  MOORE  and  MR.  WATSON  consider  the  lines 
"  beautiful."  We  shall  give  them,  and  leave  the  reader 
to  form  his  own  judgment. 

"  Here  lies  the  body  of  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY, 
the  youngest  and  last  surviving  daughter  of  DR.  SAMUEL 
ANNESLEY. 

"  In  sure  and  stedfast  hope  to  rise, 
And  claim  her  mansions  in  the  skies ; 
A  Christian  here  her  flesh  laid  down, 
The  cross  exchanging  for  a  crown. 

"  True  daughter  of  affliction  she, 
Inured  to  pain  and  misery, 
Mourn'd  a  long  night  of  griefs  and  fears, 
A  legal  night  of  seventy  years. 

"The  Father  then  reveal'd  his  Son, 
Him  in  the  broken  bread  made  known. 
She  knew  and  felt  her  sins  forgiven, 
And  found  the  earnest  of  her  heaven. 

"  Meet  for  the  fellowship  above, 
She  heard  the  call,    'arise,  my  love  !' 
'  I  come  !'  her  dying  looks  replied, 
And  lamb-like  as  her  Lord  she  died." 

Mrs.  Wesley's  character  will  have  been  seen  in 
the  preceding  sketch  of  her  life.  She  appears  to  have 
possessed  naturally  a  masculine  strength  of  mind,  which 


MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  177 

was  improved  by  a  liberal  education.  She  feared  no 
difficulty;  and,  in  the  search  of  truth,  at  once  looked 
the  most  formidable  objections  full  in  the  face ;  and 
never  hesitated  to  give  an  enemy  all  the  vantage  ground 
he  could  gain,  when  she  rose  up  to  defend  either 
the  doctrines  or  precepts  of  religion.  Mrs.  Wesley  had 
evidently  read  much,  and  thought  more.  Both  logic  and 
metaphysics  formed  part  of  her  studies ;  and  these  ac 
quisitions,  which  she  studiously  endeavoured  to  conceal, 
are  seen  to  great  advantage  in  all  her  writings.  Her 
education  was  conducted  upon  Christian  principles; 
and  she  appears  very  early  to  have  attained  a  con 
siderable  acquaintance  with  the  gospel  as  a  system  of 
divine  truth,  and  to  have  felt  much  of  its  influence 
upon  her  heart.  She  was  not  only  graceful,  but  beauti 
ful  in  her  figure.  Her  sister  Judith  is  represented  as 
a  very  beautiful  woman  ;  but  one  who  well  knew  them 
both,  said,  "  beautiful  as  Miss  ANNESLEY  appears,  she 
is  far  from  being  so  interesting  as  MRS.  WESLEY." 

As  a  WIFE,  she  was  affectionate  and  obedient; 
having  a  sacred  respect  for  authority  wherever  lodged. 
As  the  mistress  of  a  large  family,  her  management  was 
exquisite  in  all  its  parts;  and  its  success  beyond  com 
parison.  As  a  Christian,  she  was  modest,  humble,  and 
pious.  Her  religion  was  as  rational  as  it  was  scriptural 
and  profound.  In  forming  her  creed,  she  dug  deep, 
and  laid  her  foundation  upon  a  rock,  and  the  storms  of 
life  never  shook  it.  Her  faith  carried  her  through 
many  severe  trials,  and  it  was  unimpaired  in  death. 
Mrs.  Wesley  had,  indeed,  her  full  share  of  sorrow. 
We  have  seen,  that,  during  the  life  of  her  husband,  she 
had  to  struggle  with  narrow  circumstances ;  and,  at  his 


178  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

death,  she  was  left  dependant  upon  her  children.  Of 
nineteen  children,  she  had  wept  over  the  early  graves 
of  a  great  number ;  she  survived  her  son  Samuel,  and 
had  the  keener  anguish  of  seeing  three  of  her  daughters 
unhappily  married.  She  was  a  tender  mother,  and  a 
wise  and  invaluable  friend.  DR.  CLARKE  concludes  his 
character  of  Mrs.  Wesley  in  the  following  words : — 
"  I  have  been  acquainted  with  many  pious  females ;  I 
have  read  the  lives  of  several  others,  and  composed 
memoirs  of  a  few ;  but,  of  such  a  woman,  take  her  for 
all  in  all,  I  have  not  heard  ;  nor  with  her  equal  have  I 
been  acquainted.  Such  a  one,  Solomon  has  described ; 
and  to  Mrs.  Wesley  I  can  apply  the  character  of  his 
accomplished  housewife.  '  Many  daughters  have  done 
virtuously,  but  thou excellest  them  all.' '; 


CHAP.  IX. 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 


SENT  TO  WESTMINSTER    SCHOOL. MRS.  WESLEY'S    EXCELLENT  LET 
TER  TO  HIM. NOTICED  BY  BISHOP  SPRAT. REMOVES    TO   CHRIST 

CHURCH,    OXFORD. APPOINTED    ONE    OF    THE    USHERS    IN    WEST 
MINSTER    SCHOOL. HIS    INTIMACY    WITH    BISHOP    ATTERBURY. 

HIS    EPIGRAMS    AGAINST    SIR    ROBERT    WALPOLE. ACCEPTS    THE 

MASTERSHIP    OF    TIVEKTON    SCHOOL,    DEVONSHIRE. —  HIS' LETTER 

TO    HIS    MOTHER    ON    HER    COUNTENANCING    THE    METHODISTS. 

PUBLISHES  A  VOLUME  OF  POEMS. INTIMATE  WITH   LORD  OXFORD 

AND  MR.  POPE. THEIR  LETTERS  TO  HIM. HIS  DEATH,— CHARAC 
TER, AND  EPITAPH. 


Though  it  is  little  more  than  forty  years  since  the 
'  venerable  Founder'  of  Arminian  Methodism  died,  all 
knowledge  of  that  part  of  the  Wesley  Family  which  had 
no  public  eminence,  is  almost  wholly  obliterated.  Out 
of  nineteen  children,  which  comprised  the  family  of  the 
Rector  of  Epworth,  the  names  of  eleven  only  can  be 
recovered,  and  of  most  of  these,  little  is  comparatively 
known.  The  registers  of  births  and  burials  being  in 
the  parsonage  house  at  the  time  of  the  fire  in  1709, 
were  totally  consumed,  which  prevents  us  fixing  their 
ages  with  exactness. 

MR.  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUNIOR,  was  undoubtedly 
the  eldest  child  which  Mrs.  Wesley  had  ;  and  was  born 
in  London,  or  its  vicinity,  before  his  father's  removal  to 
South  Ormsby.  He  could  not  speak  till  between  four 
and  five  years  of  age,  which  was  a  great  grief  to  the 


180  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

family;  but  one  day  having  retired  out  of  sight,  as 
was  his  frequent  custom,  to  amuse  himself  with  a 
favourite  cat,  hearing  his  mother  anxiously  call  for 
him,  he  crept  out  from  under  the  table  and  said,  "here 
I  am  mother,"  to  the  great  surprize  and  comfort  of  the 
whole  family.  It  seems  as  if  the  child  had  been  laying 
up  stores  in  secret  till  that  time ;  for  one  day,  when 
some  question  was  proposed  to  another  person  concern 
ing  him,  he  answered  it  himself  in  a  manner  which 
astonished  all  who  heard  him,  and  from  that  time  he 
began  to  speak  without  difficulty. 

In  1704,  when  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  he 
was  sent  to  Westminster  school,  and  in  1707,  admitted 
king's  scholar.  This  school,  through  the  extraordinary 
abilities  of  DR.  BUSBY,  its  then  late  Head  Master,  had 
acquired  great  celebrity  in  Europe.  Mr.  Wesley 
availed  himself  of  the  valuable  advantages  thus  put 
within  his  reach,  and  became  a  thorough  scholar.  He 
had  naturally  a  strong  and  discerning  mind,  which  soon 
shone  conspicuously  for  its  correct  classical  taste. 

We  have  seen  what  care  Mrs.  Wesley  took  to  cul 
tivate  the  minds  of  her  children ;  and  from  them,  as  far 
as  human  influence,  and  teaching,  can  extend,  to 
religion  and  piety.  As  Samuel  was  the  first  born,  she 
felt  it  her  duty,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  to  dedicate  him 
to  the  Lord,  and  her  anxious  cares  were  not  lessened 
after  his  removal  to  Westminster.  A  letter  written  to 
him  by  his  mother,  in  Oct.  1709,  contains  excellent 
counsel  and  advice,  expressed  with  much  energy  and 
dignity  of  language. 

"  I  hope  that  you  retain  the  impressions  of  your 
education,  nor  have  forgot  that  the  vows  of  God  are 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  181 

upon  you.  You  know  that  \\\e  Jirst  fruits  are  heaven's 
by  an  unalienable  right ;  and  that  as  your  parents  de 
voted  you  to  the  service  of  the  altar,  so  you  yourself 
made  it  your  choice,  when  your  father  was  offered 
another  way  of  life  for  you.  But  have  you  duly  con 
sidered  what  such  a  choice,  and  such  a  dedication  im 
port  ?  Consider  well,  what  separation  from  the  world  ! 
what  purity  !  what  devotion  !  what  exemplary  virtue  ! 
are  required  in  those  who  are  to  guide  others  to  glory. 
I  say  exemplary;  for  low  common  degrees  of  piety  are 
not  sufficient  for  those  of  the  sacred  function.  You 
must  not  think  to  live  like  the  rest  of  the  world  :  your 
light  must  so  shine  before  men,  that  they  may  see  your 
good  works,  and  thereby  be  led  to  glorify  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven. 

"  I  would  advise  you,  as  much  as  possible,  in  your 
present  circumstances,  to  throw  your  business  into  a 
certain  method,  by  which  means  you  will  learn  to  im 
prove  every  precious  moment,  and  find  an  unsuspecting 
facility  in  the  performance  of  your  respective  duties. 
Begin  and  end  the  day  with  Him  who  is  the  Alpha  and 
Omega ;  and  if  you  really  experience  what  it  is  to  love 
God,  you  will  redeem  all  that  you  can  for  His  more 
immediate  service.  I  will  tell  you  what  rule  I  used  to 
observe  when  I  was  in  my  father's  house,  and  had  as 
little,  if  not  less,  liberty  than  you  have  now  :  I  used  to 
allow  myself  as  much  time  for  recreation  as  I  spent  in 
private  devotion ;  not  that  I  always  spent  so  much, 
but  I  gave  myself  leave  to  go  so  far,  but  no  farther. 
So  in  all  things  else ;  appoint  so  much  time  for  sleep, 
eating,  company,  &c.  But  of  all  things,  my  dear 
Sammy,  I  command  you,  I  beg,  I  beseech  you,  to  be 
R 


182  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

very  strict  in  observing  the  Lord's-day.  In  all  things 
endeavour  to  act  upon  principle  ;  and  do  not  live  like 
the  rest  of  mankind,  \vho  pass  through  the  world  like 
straws  upon  a  river,  which  are  carried  which  way  the 
stream,  or  wind  drives  them.  Often  put  this  question 
to  yourself, — Why  do  I  this,  or  that  ?  Why  do  I  pray, 
read,  study,  or  use  devotion,  &c.  ?  by  this  means 
you  will  come  to  such  a  steadiness  and  consistency  in 
your  words  and  actions,  as  becomes  a  reasonable  crea 
ture,  and  a  good  Christian." 

As  Samuelhad  the  reputation  of  being  a  good  and 
accurate  scholar,  he  was  taken  occasionally  by  DR. 
THOMAS  SPRAT,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  to  read  to  him 
in  the  evenings  at  his  seat  at  Bromley,  in  Kent.  Bishop 
Sprat  had  at  that  time,  the  character  of  being  one  of 
the  first  scholars  in  England,  learned  in  almost  all  arts 
and  sciences,  and  a  poet  of  the  first  order.  To  almost 
any  young  man  of  learning  and  genius,  the  friendship 
and  conversation  of  such  a  man  as  Bishop  Sprat  would 
have  been  invaluable.  But  Mr.  Wesley  was  so  intent 
upon  his  classical  studies,  and  also  short-sighted  and 
of  a  feeble  voice,  that  he  esteemed  this  service  rather 
a  bondage  than  a  privilege.  The  Bishop's  studies 
were  nothing  similar  to  his  own  ;  and  he  considered  the 
time  he  was  obliged  to  spend  at  Bromley  as  totally  lost. 

In  1711  Mr.  Wesley  was  elected  to  Christ's 
Church,  Oxford,  where  his  diligence  was  exemplary. 
The  anonymous  author  of  his  life,  prefixed  to  an  edi 
tion  of  his  poems,  says,  "  In  both  these  places,  (West 
minster  and  Oxford,)  by  the  sprightliness  of  his 
compositions,  and  his  remarkable  industry,  he  gained  a 
reputation  beyond  most  of  his  contemporaries,  being 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  183 

thoroughly  and  critically  skilled  in  the  learned  lan 
guages,  and  he  possessed  a  perfection  in  them  rarely 
attained."  With  these  qualifications,  he  was  sent  for 
from  the  University  to  officiate  as  one  of  the  Ushers  in 
Westminster  School;  and  soon  after,  under  the  di 
rection  of  BISHOP  ATTERBURY,  then  Dean  of  West 
minster,  he  took  orders.  His  attachment  to  this 
political  prelate*  prevented  him  from  obtaining  the 
vacant  chair  of  Under  Master  in  Westminster  School, 
for  which  he  was  eminently  qualified,  having  officiated 
as  Head  Usher  in  that  establishment  for  about  twenty 
years. 

Though  his  intimacy  with  the  Bishop  blasted  all 
Mr.  Wesley's  prospects  of  church  preferment,  his  po 
litical  principles  were  what  he  always  gloried  in ;  and  it 
would  be  for  the  credit  of  human  nature  did  great  men 
oftener  find,  upon  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  such 
firmness  and  fidelity  as  Mr.  Wesley  evinced  to  At- 
terbury.  The  following  extracts  of  letters  from  the 
Bishop  during  his  exile,  will  show  in  what  light  he 
viewed  Mr.  Wesley's  fidelity.  They  were  occasioned 
by  a  fine  poem  which  Mr.  Wesley  wrote  and  printed  in 
his  collection,  on  the  death  of  MRS.  MORICE,  his  lord 
ship's  daughter. 

April  24, 1730. 

"I  have  received  a  poem  from  MR.  MORICE,  which 
I  must  be  insensible  not  to  thank  you  for — your  Elegy 
upon  the  death  of  Mrs.  Morice.  It  is  what  I  cannot 
help,  an  impulse  upon  me  to  thank  you  under  my  own 


*  it  is  said  of  BISHOP  ATTERBURY,  that  on  the  death  of  QUEEN- 
ANNE,  he  offered,  with  a  sufficient  guard,  to  proclaim  the  Pretender  in  full 
canonicals. 


184  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

hand,  the  satisfaction  I  feel,  the  approbation  I  give, 
the  envy  I  bear  you,  for  this  good  deed  and  good 
work.  As  a  poet,  and  as  a  man,  I  thank  you,  I 
esteem  you." 

Paris,  May  27,  1730. 

"  I  am  obliged  to  Wesley  for  what  he  has  written 
on  my  dear  child ;  and  take  it  the  more  kindly,  because 
he  could  not  hope  for  my  being  ever  in  a  condition  to 
reward  him ;  though  if  ever  I  am,  I  will,  for  he  has 
shown  an  invariable  regard  for  me  all  along,  in  all 
circumstances,  and  much  more  than  some  of  his  ac 
quaintance,  who  had  ten  times  greater  obligations." 

Paris,  June  30,  1730. 

"  The  verses  you  sent  touched  me  very  nearly ; 
and  the  Latin  in  the  front  of  them,  as  much  as  the 
English  that  followed.  There  is  a  great  many  good 
lines  in  them,  and  they  are  writ  with  as  much  affection 
as  poetry.  They  came  from.1*  the  heart  of  the  author,, 
and  he  has  a  share  of  mine  in  return ;  and  if  ever  I 
come  back  to  my  country  with  honour,  he  shall  find  it." 

This  was  no  mean  praise  from  so  great  a  man, 
and  so  good  a  judge.  All  things  considered,  we  can 
not  wonder  at  the  neglect  that  Mr.  Wesley  received  from 
the  then  ministry,  after  reading  the  severity  of  the 
following  Epigrams,  with  which  he  assailed  SIR  ROBERT 
WALPOLE  and  his  friends  : — 

"  When  patriots,  sent  a  bishop  'cross  the  seas,. 
They  met  to  fix  the  pains  and  penalties  : 
While  true-blue  bloodhounds  ou  his  death  were  bent,, 
Thy  mercy,  WALPOLE,  voted  banishment! 
Or,  forc'd  thy  sovereign's  orders  to  perform, 
Or  proud  to  govern  as  to  raise  the  storm. 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  185 

Thy  goodness  shown  in  such  a  dangerous  day 
He  only  who  received  it  can  repay : 
Thou  never  justly  recompenc'd  canst  be, 
Till  banish'd  Francis  do  the  same  for  thee. 

Tho'  some  would  give  SIR  BOB  no  quarter, 

But  long  to  hang  him  in  his  garter; 

Yet  surely  he  will  deserve  to  have 

Such  mercy  as  in  power  he  gave  : 

Send  him  abroad  to  take  his  ease, 

By  act  of  pains  and  penalties : 

But  if  he  ere  comes  back  again, 

Law,  take  thy  course,  and  hang  him  then." 


"  Four  shillings  in  the  pound  we  see, 

And  well  may  rest  contented, 
Since  war,  Bob  swore 't,  should  never  be, 
Is  happily  prevented. 

But  he  now  absolute  become, 

May  plunder  every  penny; 
Then  blame  him  not  for  taking  some, 

But  thank  for  leaving  any. 


"  A  steward  once,  the  Scripture  says, 
When  ordered  his  accounts  to  pass, 
To  gain  his  master's  debtors  o'er, 
Cried  for  a  hundred  write  fourscore. 

Near  as  he  could,  SIR  ROBERT  bent 
To  follow  gospel  precedent, 
When  told  a  hundred  late  would  do, 
Cried,  I  beseech  you,  Sir,  take  two. 
R  2 


186  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

In  merit,  which  should  we  prefer, 
The  steward  or  the  treasurer  ? 
Neither  for  justice  car'd  a  fig, 
Too  proud  to  beg,  too  old  to  dig; 
Both  bountiful  themselves  have  shown 
In  things  that  never  were  their  own : 
But  here  a  difference  we  must  grant, 
One  robb'd  the  rich  to  keep  off  want, 
T'  other,  vast  treasures  to  secure, 
Stole  from  the  public  and  the  poor. 

Though  these  stung  the  minister  to  the  quick,  they 
did  not  fail,  at  the  same  time,  to  confirm  him  in  his 
resolution  that  Mr.  Wesley  should  never  rise  at  West 
minster.  The  animosity  between  them  was  mutual ; 
and  yet  such  was  the  filial  piety  of  this  high-spirited 
man,  that  in  the  latter  end  of  his  father's  life,  who  was 
but  in  narrow  circumstances,  he  condescended  in  his 
favour,  to  solicit  a  minister  that  he  both  hated  and 
despised.  The  solicitation,  however,  did  not  succeed. 

Among  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley's  letters  was  found 
one  to  his  brother  John,  which  contains  some  curious 
family  matters ;  particularly  respecting  a  project  of  the 
latter,  to  draw  the  character  of  every  branch  of  the 
family,  the  commencement  of  which  he  had  submitted 
to  his  brother  for  his  approbation.  Whether  this  pro 
ject  was  ever  completed  is  not  known.  It  would  have 
been  an  interesting  document. 

Dean's  Yard,  November  18,  1727. 
'•DEAR  JACK, 

"  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  the  beginning 
of  the  Portrait  of  our  Family :  how  I  may  judge  when 
I  see  the  whole,  though  I  may  guess  nearly  within 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  187 

myself,  I  cannot  positively  affirm  to  you.  There  is, 
I  think,  not  above  one  particular  in  all  the  characters 
which  you  have  drawn  at  length,  that  needs  further 
explanation.  *  * 

"  My  wife  and  I  join  in  love  and  duty ;  and  beg 
my  father  and  mother's  blessing.  I  would  to  God  they 
were  as  easy  in  one  another,  and  as  little  uneasy  in 
their  fortunes,  as  we  are  !  In  that  sense,  perhaps,  you 
may  say  I  am,  Tydides  melior  putris  ;  though  I  believe 
there  is  scarcely  more  work  to  be  done  at  Wroote  than 
here,  though  we  have  fewer  debts  to  discharge.  Next 
Christmas  I  hope  to  be  as  clear  as  I  have  expected  to 
be  these  seven  years.  Charles  is,  I  think,  in  debt  for 
a  letter ;  but  I  don't  desire  he  should  imagine  it  dis 
charged  by  setting  his  name  in  your  letter,  or  inter 
lining  a  word  or  two.  I  must  conclude,  because  my 
paper  is  done,  and  company  come  in. 

I  am,  your  affectionate  friend  and  brother, 

S.  WESLEY." 

Mr.  Samuel  Wesley  had  an  only  son,  who  died 
young,  but  at  what  age  we  cannot  learn.  His  death 
appears  to  have  been  a  heavy  stroke  to  all  the  family ; 
and  was  particularly  so  to  his  grandfather,  for  the 
reasons  which  he  alleges  in  the  following  consolatory 
letter,  written  to  his  son  on  the  occasion,  and  which 
appears  to  have  been  the  answer  to  that  in  which  he 
received  the  news  of  his  death. 

June  18,  1731. 
"  DEAR  SON, 

"  Yes,  this  is  a  thunderbolt  indeed  to  our 
whole  family ;  but  especially  to  me,  who  now  am  not 
likely  to  see  any  of  my  name  in  the  third  generation, 


188  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

(though  Job  did  in  the  fourth,)  to  stand  before  God. 
However,  this  is  a  new  demonstration  to  me,  that  there 
must  be  an  hereafter;  because  when  the  truest  piety 
and  filial  duty  have  been  shown,  it  has  been  followed 
by  the  loss  of  children,  which  therefore  must  be  restored 
and  met  with  again,  as  Job's  first  ten  were  in  another 
world.  As  I  resolve  from  hence,  as  he  directs  to  stir 
up  myself  against  the  hypocrite,  I  trust  I  shall  walk 
on  in  my  way,  and  grow  stronger  and  stronger,  as 
well  as  that  God  will  support  you  both  under  this 
heavy  and  unspeakable  affliction.  But  when  and  how 
did  he  die?  and  where  is  his  epitaph?  Though  if 
sending  this  now,  will  too  much  refricare  vulnus,  I  will 
stay  longer  for  it.  S.  WESLEY." 

It  is  seen,  from  the  accounts  which  have  been 
written  of  MR.  JOHN  WESLEY,  how  earnestly  his  father 
wished  him  to  succeed  to  the  Rectory  of  Epworth,  and 
how  strongly  this  was  pressed  upon  him  by  his  elder 
brother  Samuel.  But  it  is  not  so  well  known  that 
SAMUEL  WESLEY  was  the  first  object  of  his  father's 
choice;  however  this  is  sufficiently  evident  from  the 
following  letter,  which  was  transcribed  from  the  original. 
The  offer  of  Epworth  to  Samuel  was  made  February 
1733;  that  to  John  was  in  1734. 

FebruaryZS,  1733. 
"  DEAR  SON  SAMUEL, 

"  For  several  reasons  I  have  earnestly 
desired,  especially  in  and  since  my  last  sickness,  that 
you  might  succeed  me  in  Epworth;  in  order  to  which 
I  am  willing  and  determined  to  resign  the  living, 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  189 

provided  you  could  make  an  interest  to  have  it  in  my 
room. 

"My  first  and  best  reason  is,  because  I  am  per 
suaded  you  would  serve  God  and  His  people  here 
better  than  I  have  done.     Though,  thanks  be  to  God, 
after  nearly  forty  years  labour  amongst  them,  they  grow 
better;   I  had  above  a  hundred  at  my  last  Sacrament, 
whereas  I  have  had  less  than  twenty  communicants 
formerly.    My  second  reason  relates  to  yourself,  taken 
from  gratitude,  or  rather  from  plain  honesty. — You  have 
been  a  father  to  your  brothers  and  sisters;  especially 
to  the  former,  who  have  cost  you  great  sums  in  their 
education,  both  before  and  since  they  went  to  the 
University.      Neither  have   you  stopped  here;    but 
have  shewed  your  piety  to  your  mother  and  me  in  a 
very  liberal  manner ;  wherein  your  wife  joined  with 
you  when  you  did  not  overmuch  abound  yourselves  ; 
and  have  even  done  noble  charities  to  my  children's 
children.     Now  what  should  I  be  if  I  did  not  endeavour 
to  make  you  easy  to  the  utmost  of  my  power,  espe 
cially  when  I  know  that  neither  of  you  have  your  health 
in  London  ?    My  third  is  from  honest  interest;  I  mean 
that  of  our  family.     You  know  our  circumstances.     As 
for  your  aged  and  infirm  mother,  as  soon  as  I  drop  she 
must  turn  out,  unless  you  succeed  me;  which  if  you 
do,  and  she  survives  me,  I  know  you'll  immediately 
take  her  then  to  your  own  house,  or  rather  continue 
her  there;  where  your  wife  and  you  will  nourish  her 
till  we  meet  again  in  heaven  ;   and  you  will  be  a  guide 
and  a  stay  to  the  rest  of  the  family. 

"  There  are  a  few  things  more  which  may  seem 
to  be  tolerable  reasons  to  me  for  desiring  you  to  be 


190  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

my  successor,  whatever  they  may  appear  to  others. 
I  have  been  at  very  great  expense  on  this  living : 
— have  rebuilt  from  the  ground  the  parsonage-barn, 
and  dove-cote ;  leaded,  planked,  and  roofed,  a  great 
part  of  my  chancel ;  rebuilt  the  parsonage-house 
twice  when  it  had  been  burnt;  the  first  time  one  wing, 
the  second  down  to  the  ground,  wherein  I  lost  all  my 
books  and  MSS.,  a  considerable  sum  of  money,  all 
our  linen,  wearing  apparel,  and  household  stuff,  except 
a  little  old  iron,  my  wife  and  I  being  scorched  with 
the  flames,  and  all  of  us  very  narrowly  escaping  with 
life.  This  by  God's  help  I  built  again,  digging  up 
the  old  foundations,  and  laying  new  ones ;  it  cost  me 
above  400/.,  little  or  nothing  of  the  old  materials 
being  left :  besides  new  furniture  from  top  to  bottom ; 
for  we  had  now  very  little  more  than  what  Adam  and 
Eve  had  when  they  set  up  housekeeping.  I  then 
planted  the  two  fronts  of  my  house  with  wall  fruit  the 
second  time,  as  I  had  done  the  old  ;  for  the  former  all 
perished  by  the  fire.  I  have  before  set  mulberries  in 
my  garden,  which  bear  plentifully,  as  lately,  cherries, 
pears,  &c.,  and  in  the  adjoining  croft  walnuts ;  and 
am  planting  more  every  day.  And  this  I  solemnly 
declare,  not  with  any  manner  of  view,  or  so  much  as 
hopes,  that  any  of  mine  should  enjoy  any  of  the  fruit 
of  my  labour,  when  1  have  so  long  since  outlived  all 
my  friends ;  but  my  prospect  was  for  some  unknown 
person,  that  I  might  do  what  became  me,  and  leave 
the  living  better  than  I  found  it. 

"  And  yet  I  might  own  I  could  not  help  wishing, 
as  'twas  natural,  that  all  my  care  and  charge  might 
not  be  utterly  sunk  and  lost  to  my  family,  but  that 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 


191 


some  of  them  might  be  the  better  for  it;  though  yet  I 
despaired  of  it  for  the  reason  above  mentioned,  till 
some  time  since  the  best  of  my  parishioners  pressed 
me  earnestly  to  try  if  I  could  do  any  thing  in  it  : 
though  all  I  can  do  is  to  resign  it  to  you  ;  which  I  am 
ready,  frankly  and  gladly  to  do;  scorning  to  make 
any  conditions,  for  I  know  you  better. 

"I  commend  this  affair  and  you,  and  yours  to 
God,  as  becomes 

"  Your  affectionate  father, 

S.  WESLEY/' 

Mr.  Wesley,  finding  that  promotion  at  Westminster 
was  hopeless,  and  that  his  health  had  been  greatly 
impaired  by  a  conscientious  and  rigorous  fulfilment  of 
his  duties,  he  accepted,  about  1732,  the  Mastership  of 
the  Free  Grammar  School  of  Tiverton,  in  Devonshire. 
Without  any  solicitation  on  his  part,  he  was  invited  to 
that  situation,  and  held  it  till  his  death.  Before  he 
removed  so  far  westward,  he  went  to  visit  his  parents 
at  Epworth,  and  there  his  two  brothers  met  him,  that 
the  whole  family  might,  for  the  last  time  in  this  world, 
be  gathered  together.  Among  the  many  solemn  cir 
cumstances  of  human  life,  few  can  be  more  solemn  than 
such  a  meeting. 

Whilst  his  brothers,  John  and  Charles,  were  in 
Georgia,  Samuel  kept  up  an  affectionate  and  instructive 
correspondence  with  them ;  but  on  their  return  to 
England,  he  considered  their  missionary  exertions,  in 
different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  as  little  less  than  a 
profanation  of  the  Christian  ministry.  Possessing  high 
church,  and  tory  principles,  he  was  too  apt  to  conceive 
a  violent  prejudice  against  any  thing  that  appeared 


192  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

contrary  to  his  notions  of  the  orthodox  faith.  On  this 
ground  the  conduct  of  his  brothers  was  viewed  by  him 
with  a  jealous  eye;  and  his  mind  was  prejudiced  to 
wards  them  by  tales  which  some  of  his  correspondents 
had  gleaned  up,  and  especially  through  the  exertions 
of  a  MRS.  HUTTON,  at  whose  house  Mr.  John  and 
Charles  Wesley  lodged  after  their  return  from  Georgia. 
By  this  "silly"  woman's  information,  Samuel  was  led 
to  set  down  his  brother  John  as  a  lunatic.  Many 
letters  passed  between  the  brothers  in  consequence  of 
Mrs.  Hutton's  correspondence.  In  one  of  her  letters, 
dated  6th  of  June,  1738,  she  says  : — 

"  Your  brother  John  seems  to  be  turned  a  wild 
enthusiast  or  fanatic ;  and  to  our  very  great  affliction, 
he  is  drawing  our  two  children  into  these  wild  notions, 
by  their  great  opinion  of  his  sanctity  and  judgment. 
It  would  be  a  charity  to  many  other  honest,  well- 
meaning,  simple  souls,  as  well  as  to  my  children,  if  you 
would  either  convert,  or  confine  Mr.  John  when  he  is 
with  you ;  for,  after  his  behaviour  on  Sunday  the  28th 
of  May,  you  will  think  him  not  quite  right.  Without 
ever  acquainting  any  one  of  his  design,  after  MR. 
HUTTON  had  ended  a  sermon  of  BISHOP  BLACKHALL'S, 
which  he  had  been  reading  in  his  study  to  a  great  num 
ber  of  people,  Mr.  John  got  up  and  told  the  people, 
that  five  days  before,  he  was  not  a  Christian;  and  the 
way  for  them  all  to  become  so,  was  to  believe  and  own 
that  they  were  not  then  Christians.  Mr.  Hutton  was 
much  surprised  at  this  unexpected  speech." 

When  he  repeated  the  assertion  at  supper,  in  Mrs. 
Hutton's  presence,  she  answered  with  female  readiness, 
"if  you  were  not  a  Christian  ever  since  I  knew  you, 


SAMUEL  WESLEY   JUN.  193 

you  was  a  great  hypocrite,  for  you  made  us  all  believe 
you  were  one."    In  the  same  letter  she  adds, — 

"  Mr.  Charles  went  from  my  son's,  where  he  lay  ill 
for  some  time  ;  and  would  not  come  to  our  house,  where 
I  offered  him  the  choice  of  two  of  my  best  rooms;  but 
he  would  accept  of  neither,  and  chose  rather  to  go  to  a 
poor  brazier's  in  Little  Britain,  that  the  brazier  might 
help  him  forward  in  his  conversion ;  which  was  com 
pleted  on  May  22nd.  Mr.  John  was  converted,  or  I 
know  not  what,  or  how,  but  made  a  Christian,  May  25th. 
He  has  abridged  the  life  of  one  Halyburton,  a  Pres 
byterian  teacher  in  Scotland.  My  son  had  designed 
to  print  it,  to  show  the  experience  of  that  holy  man, 
of  indwelling,  &c.  Mr.  Hutton  and  I  have  forbid  our 
son  being  concerned  in  handing  such  books  into  the 
world  ;  but  if  your  brother  John,  or  Charles,  thinks  it 
will  tend  to  promote  God's  glory,  they  will  soon  convince 
my  son,  that  God's  glory  is  to  be  preferred  to  his  parents' 
commands!  Then  you  will  see  what  I  never  expected; 
my  son  promoting  rank  fanaticism.  If  you  can, 
dear  sir,  put  a  stop  to  such  madness,  it  will  be  a  work 
worthy  of  you,  and  very  much  oblige, 

Sir, 
Your  sincere  and  affectionate  servant, 

E.  HCTTON." 
To  Mr.  Wesley,  Tiverton,  Devon. 

The  truly  scriptural  and  impressive  experience  of 
MR.  HALYBURTON,  appears  thus  to  have  been  viewed 
by  Mrs.  Hutton  as  rank  fanaticism.  This  circumstance 
alone  is  sufficient  to  show  how  utterly  incapable 
she  was  of  judging  correctly  in  matters  of  Christian 
s 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

experience.*     That  Mr.  Samuel  should  have  given 
her  a  serious  answer,  seems  strange.     We  shall  subjoin 
an  extract  from  his  letter  to  her  i 
"  DEAR  MADAM, 

"I  am  sufficiently  sensible  of  yours, 
and  Mr.  Button's  kindness  to  my  brothers,  and 
shall  always  acknowledge  it,  and  cannot  blame  you 
either  for  your  concern,  or  writing  to  me  about  it. 
Falling  into  enthusiasm  is  being  lost  with  a  witness. 
What  Jack  means  by  not  being  a  Christian  till  last 
month  I  do  not  understand.  I  hope  your  son  does  not 
think  it  as  plainly  revealed,  that  he  should  print  an 
enthusiastic  book,  as  it  is,  that  he  should  obey  his 
father  and  mother.  God  deliver  us  from  visions  that 
make  the  law  of  God  vain  !  I  pleased  myself  with  the 
expectation  of  seeing  Jack,  but  it  is  now  all  over.  I 
know  not  where  to  direct  to  him,  or  where  he  is. 
Charles  I  will  write  to  as  soon  as  I  can,  and  shall  be 
glad  to  hear  from  you  in  the  mean  time.  /  heartily 
pray  God  to  stop  the  progress  of  this  lunacy. 
Tiverton,  June  17,  1738.  SAMUEL  WESLEY." 

*  The  Life  of  Halyburton  was  a  book  which  that  great  scholar  SIR 
RICHARD  ELLYS  valued  above  all  the  books  in  his  learned  and  extensive 
library.  DAVID  SIMPSON,  author  of  the  "Plea  for  Religion,"  says  of  this 
work,  "  I  remember  the  excellent  DR.  CON*  YERS  of  Deptford  once  observed 
that  if  he  was  banished  into  a  desert  island,  and  permitted  to  take  with  him 
only/our  books,  the  life  of  Halyburton  should  be  one."  In  this  work  there 
are  passages  of  the  finest  feeling.  We  hope  there  are  few  whose  hearts  are 
in  so  diseased  a  state  as  not  to  relish  and  understand  the  beauty  of  the  fol 
lowing  extract.  When  a  long  illness  had  well  nigh  done  its  work,  Mr. 
Halyburton  said,  "I  did  not  believe  that  I  could  have  borne,  and  borne 
cheerfully,  this  rod  so  long.  This  is  a  miracle — pain  without  pain!  Blessed 
be  God  that  ever  I  was  born.  1  have  a  father,  a  mother,  and  ten  brothers 
and  sisters  in  heaven,  and  I  shall  be  the  eleventh !  O  blessed  be  the  day 
that  ever  I  was  born." — A  few  hours  before  he  breathed  his  last,  he  said, 
"  I  was  just  thinking  on  the  pleasant  spot  of  earth  I  shall  get  to  lie  in  beside 
Mr.  Rutherford,  Ulr.  Forrester,  and  Mr.  Anderson.  I  shall  come  in  as  the 
little  one  amongst  them,  and  1  shall  get  my  pleasant  George  in  my  hand,  (a 
child  who  was  gone  before  him,)  and  oh !  we  shall  be  a  knot  of  bonny  dust '." 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  195 

Several  letters  passed  between  the  brothers,  in 
consequence  of  Mrs.  Hutton's  gleanings  :  and  though 
Samuel  seems  to  have  altered  his  views  in  some  re 
spects  towards  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  he  does  not 
appear  even  then  to  have  "seen  eye  to  eye,"  with  his 
brothers  on  the  doctrine  of  assurance. 

Mr.  Wesley's  mother  about  this  time  became  a 
convert  to  her  son  John's  opinions  respecting  "  a  pre 
sent  forgiveness  of  sins."  MR.  SOUTHEY  intimates,  as 
we  have  before  stated,  that  Mrs.  Wesley,  from  her 
great  age  had  become  enfeebled  in  the  powers  of  her 
mind.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  alteration  in  his  mother's 
views  was  a  great  affliction  to  Samuel.  He  wrote  to 
her  as  follows  : — "  It  is  with  exceeding  concern  and 
grief,  I  heard  you  have  countenanced  a  spreading  delu 
sion,  so  far  as  to  become  one  of  Jack's  congregation. 
It  is  not  enough  that  I  am  bereft  of  both  my  brothers, 
but  must  my  mother  follow  too  ?  I  earnestly  beseech 
the  Almighty  to  preserve  you  from  joining  a  Schism  at 
the  close  of  your  life,  as  you  were  unfortunately  en 
gaged  in  one  at  the  beginning  of  it.  They  boast  of 
you  already  as  a  disciple.  CHARLES  has  told  John 
Bentham  that  I  do  not  differ  much,  if  we  do  but  under 
stand  one  another.  I  am  afraid  I  must  be  forced  to 
advertise,  such  is  their  apprehension,  or  their  charity. 
But  they  design  separation.  Things  will  take  their 
natural  course,  without  an  especial  interposition  of  Pro 
vidence.  My  brothers  are  already  forbid  all  the  pulpits 
in  London,  and  to  preach  in  that  diocese  is  actual  schism. 
In  all  likelihood  it  will  come  to  the  same  all  over 
England,  unless  the  Bishops  have  courage.  They  leave 
off  the  liturgy  in  the  fields :  though  MR.  WHITFIELD 


196  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

expresses  his  value  for  it,  he  never  once  read  it 
to  his  tatterdemalions  on  a  common.  Their  societies 
are  sufficient  to  dissolve  all  other  societies,  but  their 
own  :  icill  any  man  of  common  sense  or  spirit  suffer  any 
domestic  to  be  in  a  bond  engaged  to  relate  every  thing 
without,  to  five  or  ten  people,  that  concerns  the  persons' 
conscience,  how  much  soever  it  may  concern  the  family  ? 
Ought  any  married  persons  to  be  there,  unless  husband 
and  wife  be  there  together  ?  This  is  literally  putting 
asunder  whom  God  hath  joined  together.  As  I  told 
Jack,  I  am  not  afraid  the  church  should  excommunicate 
him,  discipline  is  at  too  low  an  ebb  ;  but  that  he  should 
excommunicate  the  church.  Love-feasts  are  intro 
duced,  and  extemporary  prayers,  and  expositions  of 
Scripture,  which  last  are  enough  to  bring  in  all  con 
fusion  :  nor  is  it  likely  they  will  want  any  miracles  to 
support  them.  He  only  can  stop  them  from  being  a 
formed  sect,  in  a  very  little  time,  who  ruleth  the  madness 
of  the  people." 

In  1736  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley  published  "A  Col 
lection  of  Poems  on  several  Occasions,"  in  4to,  for  which 
it  appears  he  got  a  considerable  number  of  subscribers. 
He  informs  the  public  in  an  advertisement  prefixed  to 
his  poems,  that  they  were  published  not  from  "any 
opinion  of  excellency  in  the  verses  themselves,"  but 
only  on  account  of  "  the  profit  proposed  by  the  sub 
scription."  There  are  not  many  writers,  who,  with  equal 
talents,  are  possessed  with  equal  diffidence.  These 
poems  in  general  have  the  best  tendency,  and  are  cal 
culated  either  to  correct  some  vice,  or  to  inculcate  some 
branch  of  morality  and  virtue.  They  abounded  with 
marks  of  profound  erudition,  great  observation,  and 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  197 

knowledge  of  mankind,  with  a  most  lively  and  vigorous 
imagination.  His  verses, however, in  many  parts, possess 
not  that  harmony  they  might  have  acquired,  had  he 
taken  more  pains  to  polish  and  refine  them.  But  they 
are  masculine  and  nervous  in  the  highest  degree. 
DR.  CLARKE  thus  speaks  of  them  : — "  As  a  poet,  Samuel 
Wesley  stands  entitled  to  a  very  high  niche  in  the 
temple  of  fame ;  and  it  has  long  appeared  to  me  strange 
that  his  Poetical  Works  have  not  found  a  place  either 
in  JOHNSON'S,  ANDERSONS',  or  CHALMERS'  Collection 
of  the  British  Poets.  To  say  that  those  collectors 
did  not  think  them  entitled  to  a  place  there,  would  be 
a  gross  reflection  on  their  judgment;  as  in  the  last 
and  best  collection,  consisting  of  127  Poets,  it  would 
be  easy  to  prove,  that  Samuel  Wesley,  Jun.  is  equal 
to  most,  and  certainly  superior  to  many  of  that  num 
ber.  But  the  name  /—the  name  would  have  scared 
many  superficial  and  fantastic  readers,  as  they  would 
have  been  afraid  of  meeting,  in  some  corner  or  other, 
with  METHODISM."  One  of  his  poems  is  entitled  The 
Battle  of  the  Sexes,  and  was  greatly  admired  by  DEAN 
SWIFT.  It  contains  fifty  verses  in  the  stanza  of  Spencer, 
and  produced  a  handsome  poetical  compliment  from 
MR.  CHRISTOPHER  PITT,  who  says, — 

"  What  muse  but  your's  so  justly  could  display, 
The  embattled  passions  marshall'd  in  array? 
To  airy  notions  solid  forms  dispense, 
And  make  our  thoughts  the  images  of  sense? 
Discover  all  the  rational  machine, 
And  show  the  movements,  springs,  and  wheels  within." 

Mr.  Wesley's  personification  and  description  of 
religion  in  this  poem,  according  to  DR.  CLARKE,  has 
been  much  admired. 

s2 


198  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

"  Mild,  sweet,  serene,  and  cheerful  was  her  mood : 

Nor  grave  with  sternness,  nor  with  lightness  free. 
Against  example  resolutely  good, 

Fervent  in  zeal  and  warm  in  charity." 

In  this  collection  there  are  four  Tales,  The  Cobbler, 
The  Pig,  The  Mastiff,  and  The  Basket,  admirable  for 
the  humour,  and  for  their  appropriate  and  instructive 
moral,  though  in  some  instances  the  descriptions  are 
rather  coarse.  He  very  nearly  approached,  if  he  did 
not  equal  PRIOR,  whom  he  took  for  his  model.  As 
the  work  is  scarce,  we  shall  give  the  Tale  of  the  Pig  as 
a  specimen. 

THE  PIG.— A  TALE. 

Some  husbands  on  a  winter's  day 
"Were  met  to  laugh  their  spleen  away. 
As  wine  flows  in,  and  spirits  rise, 
They  praise  their  consorts  to  the  skies. 
Obedient  wives  were  seldom  known, 
Yet  all  could  answer  for  their  own: 
Acknowledg'd  each  as  sovereign  lord, 
Abroad,  at  home,  in  deed,  in  word; 
In  short,  as  absolute  their  reign,  as 
Grand  seignior's,  over  his  sultanas. 
For  pride  or  shame  to  be  outdone, 
All  join'd  in  the  discourse  but  one ; 
Who,  vex'd  so  many  lies  to  hear, 
Thus  slops  their  arrogant  career : 
'Tis  mighty  strange,  sirs,  what  you  say! 
What !  all  so  absolutely  sway 
In  England,  where  Italians  wise 
Have  plac'd  the  women's  paradise  ; 
In  London,  where  the  sex's  flower 
Have  of  that  Eden  fix'd  the  bow'r ! 


SAMUEL   WESLEY  JUN.  199 

Fie,  men  of  sense,  to  be  so  vain ! 
You  're  not  in  Turkey  or  in  Spain ; 
True  Britons  all,  I  '11  lay  my  life 
None  here  is  master  of  his  wife, 

These  words  the  general  fury  rouse, 
And  all  the  common  cause  espouse; 
Till  one  with  voice  superior  said, 
(Whose  lungs  were  sounder  than  his  head,) 
I  '11  send  my  footman  instant  home, 
To  bid  his  mistress  hither  come; 
And  if  she  flies  not  at  my  call, 
To  own  my  pow'r  before  you  all, 
I'll  grant  I  'm  hen-pecked  if  you  please, 
As  S ,  or  as  Socrates. 

Hold  there,  replies  th'  objector  sly, 
Prove  first  that  matrons  never  lie; 
Else  words  are  wind:  to  tell  you  true, 
I  neither  credit  them  nor  you  : 
No,  we'll  be  judg'd  a  surer  way, 
By  what  they  do,  not  what  they  say. 
I  '11  hold  you  severally,  that  boast 
A  supper  at  the  loser's  cost, 
That  if  you'll  but  vouchsafe  to  try 
A  trick  I  '11  tell  you  by  and  by. 
Send  strait  for  every  wife  quite  round, 
One  mother's  daughter  is  not  found, 
But  what  before  her  husband's  face 
Point  blank  his  order  disobeys. 

To  this  they  one  and  all  consent: 
The  wager  laid,  the  summons  went. 
Meanwhile  he  this  instruction  gives, 
Pray  only  gravely  tell  your  wives, 


200  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

Your  will  and  pleasure  is,  t'  invite 
These  friends  to  a  BOIL'D  PIG  to  night ; 
The  commoner  the  trick  has  been, 
The  better  chance  you  have  to  win : 
The  treat  is  mine,  if  they  refuse  ; 
But  if  they  boilii,  then  I  lose. 

The  first  to  whom  the  message  came 
Was  a  well-born  and  haughty  dame  : 
A  saucy  independent  she, 
With  jointure  and  with  pin-money. 
Secur'd  by  marriage-deeds  from  wants, 
Without  a  sep'rate  maintenance. 
Her  loftiness  disdain'd  to  hear 
Half-through  her  husband's  messenger: 
But  cut  him  short  with — How  dare  he 
'Mong  pot  companions  send  for  me  ? 
He  knows  his  way,  if  sober,  home; 
And  if  he  wTants  me,  bid  him  come. 
This  answer,  hastily  return' d, 
Pleas'd  all  but  him  whom  it  concern'd, 
For  each  man  thought,  his  wife  on  trial, 
Would  brighter  shine  by  this  denial. 

The  second  was  a  lady  gay, 
Who  lov'd  to  visit,  dress,  and  play, 
To  sparkle  in  the  box,  or  ring, 
And  dance  on  birth-nights  for  the  King ; 
Whose  head  was  busy  wont  to  be 
With  something  else  than  cookery. 
She,  hearing  of  her  husband's  name, 
Tho'  much  a  gentlewoman,  came. 
When  half-informed  of  his  request, 
A  dish  as  he  desired  it  drest, 
Quoth  madam,  with  a  serious  face, 
Without  inquiring  what  it  was, 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JTJN.  201 

You  can't  sure  for  an  answer  look, 
Sir,  do  you  take  me  for  your  cook? 
But  I  must  haste  a  friend  to  see, 
Who  stays  my  coming  for  her  tea. 
So  said,  that  minute  out  she  flew : 
What  could  the  slighted  husband  do? 
His  wager  lost  must  needs  appear, 
For  none  obey  that  will  not  hear. 

The  next  for  housewifery  renown'd, 
A  woman  notable  was  own'd, 
Who  hated  idleness  and  airs, 
And  minded  family  affairs. 
Expert  at  ev'ry  thing  was  she, 
At  needlework,  or  surgery ; 
Fam'd  for  her  liquors  far  and  near, 
From  richest  cordial  to  small  beer. 
To  serve  a  feast  she  understood, 
In  English  or  in  foreign  mode, 
Whate'er  the  wanton  taste  could  choose 
In  sauces,  kickshaws,  and  ragouts  ; 
She  spar'd  for  neither  cost  nor  pain, 
Her  welcome  guests  to  entertain. 
Her  husband  fair  accosts  her  thus; — 
To-night  these  friends  will  sup  with  us. 
She  answer'd  with  a  smile,  my  dear, 
Your  friends  are  always  welcome  there. 
But  we  desire  a  pig,  and  pray 
You'd  boil  it. — Boil  it !  do  you  say  ? 
I  hope  you'll  give  me  leave  to  know 
My  business  better,  sir,  than  so. 
Why !  ne'er  in  any  book  was  yet 
Found  such  a  whimsical  receipt. 
My  dressing  none  need  be  afraid  of, 
But  such  a  dish  was  never  heard  of. 


202  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

I  '11  roast  it  nice, — but  shall  not  boil  it ; 
Let  those  that  know  no  better  spoil  it. 
Her  husband  cry'd, — for  all  my  boast, 
I  own  the  wager  fairly  lost ; 
And  other  wives  besides  my  love, 
Or  I'm  mistaken  much,  may  prove 
More  chargeable  than  this  to  me, 
To  show  their  pride  in  housewifery. 

Now  the  poor  wretch  who  next  him  sat, 
Felt  his  own  heart  go  pit-a-pat ; 
For  well  he  knew  his  spouse's  way; 
Her  spirit  brook'd  not  to  obey! 
She  never  yet  was  in  the  wrong : 
He  told  her  with  a  trembling  tongue, 
Where,  and  on  what  his  friends  would  feast, 
And  how  the  dainty  should  be  drest. 
To-night  ?  quoth,  in  a  passion,  she ; 
No,  sirs,  to-night  it  cannot  be, 
And  was  it  a  boiPd  pig  you  said? 
You  and  your  friends  sure  are  not  mad ! 
The  kitchen  is  the  proper  sphere, 
Where  none  but  females  should  appear: 
And  cooks  their  orders,  by  your  leave, 
Always  from  mistresses  receive. 
Boil  it !  was  ever  such  an  ass ! 
Pray,  what  would  you  desire  for  sauce? 
If  any  servant  in  my  pay 
Dare  dress  a  pig  that  silly  way, 
In  spite  of  any  whim  of  your's 
m  turn  them  quickly  out  of  doors  : 
For  no  such  thing — nay,  never  frown, 
Where  I  am  mistress,  shall  be  done. 
Each  woman  wise  her  husband  rules, 
Passive  obedience  is  for  fools. 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  203 

This  case  was  quickly  judg'd. — Behold, 
A  fair  one  of  a  softer  mould ; 
Good  humour  sparkled  in  her  eye, 
And  unaffected  pleasantry. 
So  mild  and  sweet  she  enter' d  in, 
Her  spouse  thought  certainly  to  win. 
Pity  such  golden  hopes  should  fail ! 
Soon  as  she  heard  th'  appointed  tale, 
My  dear,  I  know  not,  I  protest, 
Whether  in  earnest  or  in  jest 
So  strange  a  supper  you  demand; 
Howe'er  I  '11  not  disputing  stand, 
But  do't  as  freely  as  you  bid  it, 
Prove  but  that  ever  woman  did  it. 
This  cause,  by  general  consent, 
Was  lost  for  want  of  precedent. 
Thus  each  denied  a  several  way; 
But  all  agreed  to  disobey. 

One  only  dame  did  yet  remain, 
Who  downright  honest  was  and  plain : 
If  now  and  then  her  voice  she  tries, 
'Tis  not  for  rule,  but  exercise. 
Unus'd  her  lord's  commands  to  slight, 
Yet  sometimes  pleading  for  the  right ; 
She  made  her  little  wisdom  go 
Further  than  wiser  women  do. 
Her  husband  tells  her,  looking  grave, 
A  roasting  pig  I  boifd  would  have: 
And  to  prevent  all  pro  and  con, 
I  must  insist  to  have  it  done. 
Says  she,  my  dearest,  shall  your  wife 
Get  a  nick-name  to  last  for  life? 
If  you  resolve  to  spoil  it  do ; 
But  I  desire  you'll  eat  it  too: 


204  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

For  though  'tis  boifd,  to  hinder  squabble, 
I  shall  not,  will  not,  sit  at  table. 

She  spoke,  and  her  good  man  alone 
Found  he  had  neither  lost  nor  won, 
So  fairly  parted  stakes.     The  rest 
Fell  on  the  wag  that  caus'd  the  jest — 
Would  your  wife  boil  it  ?  let  us  see : 
Hold  there — you  did  not  lay  with  me. 
You  find,  in  spite  of  all  you  boasted, 
Your  pigs  are  fated  to  be  roasted. 
The  wager's  lost,  no  more  contend, 
But  take  this  counsel  from  a  friend : 
Boast  not  your  empire,  if  you  prize  it, 
For  happiest  he  that  never  tries  it. 
Wives  unprovok'd  think  not  of  sway, 
Without  commanding  they  obey. 
But  if  your  dear  ones  take  the  field, 
Resolve  at  once  to  win  or  yield  ; 
For  heaven  no  medium  ever  gave 
Betwixt  a  sovereign  and  a  slave. 

The  following  letter  from  MR.  POPE,  which  is 
without  date,  appears  to  refer  to  the  subscription  for 
Mr.  Wesley's  collection  of  Poems.  If  so  it  must 
have  been  written  about  1735. 

"  DEAR  SIR, 

"Your  letter  had  not  been  so  long 
unanswered,  but  that  I  was  not  returned  from  a  jour 
ney  of  some  weeks,  when  it  arrived  at  this  place.  You 
may  depend  upon  the  money  from  the  Earl  of  Peter 
borough,  Mr.  Bethel,  Dr.  Swift,  and  Mr.  Eckershall ; 
which  I  will  pay  before  hand  to  any  one  you  shall 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  205 

direct,  I  think  you  may  set  down  Dr.  Delany  whom 
I  will  write  to.  I  desired  my  Lord  Oxford  some 
months  since  to  tell  you  this.  It  was  just  upon  my 
going  to  take  a  last  leave  of  Lord  Peterborough,  in  so 
much  hurry,  that  I  had  not  time  to  write,  and  my  Lord 
Oxford  undertook  to  tell  it  to  you  for  me.  I  agree 
with  you  in  the  opinion  of  Savage's  strange  perform 
ance,  which  does  not  deserve  the  benefit  of  clergy. — 
Mrs.  Wesley  has  my  sincere  thanks  for  her  good  wishes 
in  favour  of  this  wretched  tabernacle,  my  body.  The 
soul  that  is  so  unhappy  as  to  inhabit  it  deserves  her 
regard  something  better,  because  it  harbours  much 
good  will  for  her  husband,  and  herself;  no  man  being 
more  truly,  dear  Sir, 

Your  faithful  and  affectionate  Servant, 
A.    POPE." 

Mrs.  Wesley,  Jun.  was  the  author  of  the  Hymns  in 
the  Methodist  Hymn  Book  which  begin  with  the 
following  lines, 

"The  morning  flowers  display  their  sweets,  &c. 
The  Sun  of  righteousness  appears,  &c. 
The  Lord  of  Sabbath  let  us  praise,  &c. 
Hail,  Father,  whose  creating  call,  &c. 
Hail,  God  the  Son  in  glory  crowned,  &c. 
Hail !  Holy  Ghost !  Jehovah  third,  &c. 
Hail,  holy,  holy,  holy  Lord,"  &c. 

Mr.  Samuel  Wesley  held  an  exalted  rank  amongst 
the  literary  men  of  his  day,  and  was  in  great  intimacy 
with  LORD  OXFORD,  POPE,  SWIFT,  and  others.  He  fre 
quently  dined  at  Lord  Oxford's  house,  but  this  was  an 
honour  for  which  he  was  obliged  to  pay  a  very  grievous 
tax,  and  ill  suited  to  the  narrowness  of  his  circumstances. 


206 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 


VALES  to  servants,  were  in  those  days  quite  common  ; 
and  in  some  instances,  seem  to  have  stood  in  the  place 
of  wages.  A  whole  range  of  livery-men  generally  stood 
in  the  lobby  with  eager  expectation  and  rapacity,  when 
any  gentleman  came  out  from  dining  at  a  nobleman's 
table ;  so  that  no  person  who  was  not  affluent  could 
afford  to  enjoy  the  privilege  of  a  nobleman's  entertain 
ment  :  Mr.  Wesley  having  paid  this  tax  oftener  than  well 
suited  his  circumstances,  thought  it  high  time  either 
to  come  to  some  compromise  with  these  cormorants,  or 
else  to  discontinue  his  visits.  One  day,  on  returning 
from  Lord  Oxford's  table,  and  seeing  the  usual  range 
of  greedy  expectants,  he  addressed  them  thus  :  "  My 
friends,  I  must  make  an  agreement  with  you  suited  to 
my  purse ;  and  shall  distribute  so  much  (naming  the 
sum)  once  in  the  month,  and  no  more." — This  becom 
ing  generally  known,  their  master,  whose  honour  was 
concerned,  commanded  them  to  "  stand  back  in  their 
ranks  when  a  gentleman  retired  ;"  and  prohibited  their 
begging!*  The  following  letter  from  Lord  Oxford 


*  Upon  the  subject  of  Vales,  DR.  KING,  in  the  "Anecdotes  of  his  onn 
Times,"  observes,  "if,  when  I  am  invited  to  dine  with  any  of  my  acquaint 
ance,  I  were  to  send  the  master  of  the  house  a  sirloin  of  beef  for  a  present, 
it  would  be  considered  as  a  gross  affront;  and  yet,  as  soon  as  1  shall  have 
dined,  or  before  I  leave  the  house,  I  must  be  obliged  to  pay  for  the  sirloin 
which  was  brought  to  his  table.  If  the  servants'  wages  were  increased  in 
some  proportion  to  their  vales,  (which  is  the  practice  of  a  few  great  families) 
this  scandalous  custom  might  be  totally  extinguished.  1  remember  a 
Roman  Catholic  Peer  of  Ireland,  who  lived  upon  a  small  pension  which 
Queen  Anne  had  granted  him.  The  DUKE  of  ORMOXD  often  invited  this 
nobleman  to  dinner,  and  he  as  often  excused.  At  last  the  Duke  kindly 
expostulated  with  him,  and  would  know  the  reason  why  he  so  constantly 
refused  to  be  one  of  his  guests.  My  Lord  Poor  then  honestly  confessed 
that  he  could  not  afford  it,  'but,'  says  he,  'if  your  Grace  will  put  a 
guinea  into  my  hands  as  often  as  you  are  pleased  to  invite  me  to  dine,  I  will 
not  decline  the  honour  of  waiting  on  you.'  This  was  done,  and  my  Lord 
was  afterwards  a  frequent  guest  in  St.  James'  Square, 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  207 

shows  the  familiarity  and  confidence  that  subsisted 
between  his  Lordship  and  Mr.  Wesley  : — 

Dover-Street,  Aug.  7,  1734. 
"  DEAR  SIR, 

"  I  am  sorry  and  ashamed  to  say  it,  but 
the  truth  must  come  out,  that  I  have  a  letter  of  yours 
dated  June  8th, — and  this  is  August  7th;  and  I  only 
now  set  pen  to  paper  to  answer  it. 

"  I  am  sure  I  was  very  glad  to  hear  from  you ;  and 
since  that  you  are  much  mended  in  your  health,  change 
of  air  will  certainly  be  of  great  service  to  you,  and  I 
hope  you  will  use  some  other  exercise  than  that  of  the 
school.  I  hear  you  have  had  an  increase  of  above  forty 
boys  since  you  have  been  down  there.  I  am  very 
glad  for  your  sake  that  you  are  so  well  approved  of. 
I  hope  it  will  in  every  respect  answer  your  expectation. 
If  your  health  be  established,  I  make  no  doubt  that  all 
parts  will  prove  to  your  mind,  which  will  be  a  great 
pleasure  to  me. 

"  There  is  very  little  news  stirring.  They  all  agree 
that  the  BISHOP  of  WINCHESTER  is  dying.  They  say 
HOADLEY  is  to  succeed  him,  and  POTTER,  Hoadley ;  but 
how  farther  I  cannot  tell ;  nor  does  the  town  pretend  to 
know,  which  is  a  wonderful  thing.  I  am  very  glad  you 
were  induced  to  read  over  HUDIBRAS  three  times  with 
care,  and  I  find  you  are  perfectly  of  my  mind  that  it 
much  wants  notes,  and  that  it  will  be  a  great  work. 
Certainly  it  would,  to  do  it  as  it  should  be.  I  do  not 
know  one  so  capable  of  doing  it  as  yourself.  I  speak 
this  very  sincerely.  LILLY'S  life  I  have ;  and  any 
books  that  I  have  you  shall  see,  and  have  the  perusal 


208  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

of  them,  and  any  other  part  that  I  can  assist.  I  own  I 
am  very  fond  of  the  work,  and  it  would  be  of  excellent 
use  and  entertainment. 

"  The  news  you  read  in  the  papers  of  a  match  with 
my  daughter,  and  the  DUKE  of  PORTLAN'D,  was  com 
pleted  at  Mary-le-bone  Chapel.  I  think  there  is  the 
greatest  prospect  of  happiness  to  them  both.  I  think 
it  must  be  mutual ;  one  part  cannot  be  happy  without 
the  other.  There  is  a  great  harmony  of  tempers,  a 
liking  to  each  other,  which  I  think  is  a  true  founda 
tion  for  happiness.  Compliments  from  all  here  attend 
you. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  most  affectionate  humble  Servant, 

OXFORD." 

It  has  been  the  opinion  of  several  others,  as  well 
as  Lord  Oxford,  that  the  genius  of  Mr.  Wesley,  his 
knowledge  of  the  transactions  of  those  times,  and  his 
extreme  aversion  to  the  OLIVERIAN  worthies,  rendered 
him  the  fittest  person  in  the  kingdom  for  a  commentator 
on  HUDIBRAS  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  industry  and 
abilities  of  DR.  GREY,  who  is  said  to  have  had  many  of 
his  notes,  it  is  lamented  by  some,  that  Mr.  Samuel 
Wesley  did  not  undertake  an  edition  of  that  work. 
We,  however,  do  not  join  in  this  regret,  as  it  would  not 
have  been  to  his  credit,  nor  was  it  to  that  of  the  bigoted 
Dr  Grey,  to  libel  so  many  of  the  best  and  greatest  men 
that  England  ever  produced.  We  are  far  from  justify 
ing  the  fanaticism  and  enthusiasm  of  some  of  them; 
but  this  does  not  warrant  the  treatment  they  have 
received  from  BUTLER,  and  his  commentators. 

In  a  letter  to  his  mother  dated  October  20,  1739, 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  209 

Samuel  writes, — "  When  you  were  here,  as  I  remember, 
I  was  applied  to  for  an  account  of  my  father's  life  and 
writings,  and  of  my  own.  I  have  since  that  had  the 
same  request  made  to  me  for  the  same  book,  Wood's 
Athcnse  Oxoniensis,  and  whether  I  grow  vainer  than  I 
was  then,  or  really  am  somewhat  depraved  in  my  in 
tellect,  I  begin  to  think  it  not  altogether  so  absurd  as 
I  did  at  first.  The  person  applying  is  an  old  clergy 
man,  who  wants  to  know  where  and  when  my  father  was 
born,  where,  when,  and  by  whom  admitted  into  holy 
orders.  I  have  sent  him  your  epitaph,  and  promised 
him  to  write  to  you  who  can  inform  him  much  fuller 
than  myself  about  my  father.  He  wants  my  two 
brothers  histories  also  ;  and  as  their  actions  have  been 
important  enough  to  be  committed  to  writing,  they  are 
the  fittest  people  alive  to  send  information  about  them 
selves,  especially  now,  because  it  will  prevent  any  mis 
representation  from  others.  They  are  now  become 
so  notorious,  the  world  will  be  curious  to  know  when, 
and  where  they  were  born,  what  schools  bred  at,  of  what 
colleges  in  Oxford,  when  matriculated,  what  degrees 
they  took,  and  when,  where,  and  by  whom  ordained ; 
what  books  they  have  written  or  published.  I  wish 
they  may  spare  so  much  time  as  to  vouchsafe  a  little  of 
their  story.  For  my  own  part  I  had  much  rather  have 
them  picking  straws  within  the  walls  of  Bedlam,  than  / 
their  preaching  in  the  area  of  Moor  Fields !" 

In  another  letter  to  his  brother  John  about  this 
time,  he  thus  writes  : — "  My  mother  tells  me  she  fears 
a  formal  schism  is  already  begun  among  you,  though 
you  and  Charles  are  ignorant  of  it.  For  God's  sake 
take  care  of  that,  and  banish  extemporary  expositions 
T  2 


210 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 


and  extemporary  prayers.  I  have  got  your  abridge 
ment  of  HALIBURTON,  and  have  sent  for  WATTS  j*  if  it 
please  God  to  allow  me  life  and  strength,  I  shall,  by  his 
help,  demonstrate — that  the  Scot  as  little  deserves 
preference  to  all  Christians  but  our  Saviour,  as  the  hook 
to  all  writings  but  those  you  mention.  There  are  two 
flagrant  falsehoods  in  the  very  first  chapter.  But  your 
eyes  are  so  fixed  upon  one  point,  that  you  overlook 
every  thing  else.  You  overshoot,  but  Whitfield  raves." 
It  will  be  recollected  that  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley  was 
in  a  bad  state  ofhealth  before  he  left  Westminster,  and 
his  removal  to  Tiverton,  where  he  had  the  charge  of  a 
large  school,  did  not  much  improve  it.  DR.  CLARKE 
was  of  opinion,  that  the  occupation  of  a  school-master 
is  as  prejudicial  to  health  as  working  in  the  bottom  of 
a  coal-mine.  Others,  however,  maintain  the  converse 
of  this.  On  the  night  of  the  5th  of  November,  1739, 
we  are  informed  that  he  went  to  bed  seemingly  as  well 
as  usual,  but  was  taken  ill  about  three  o'clock  next 
morning,  and  died  at  seven.  The  following  letter  to 
Mr.  Charles  Wesley  states  this  circumstance  more 
explicitly  : — 

Tiverton,  November  \4th.  1739. 
"  DEAR  SIR, 

"Your  brother,  and  my  dear  friend,  (for 
so  you  are  sensible  he  was  to  me,)  on  Monday  the  5th 
of  November,  went  to  bed,  as  he  thought,  as  well  as 
he  had  been  for  some  time  before.  He  was  seized  with 
extreme  illness  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
when  your  sister  immediatly  sent  for  Mr.  Norman,  and 

*  It  is  presumed  that  he  here  alludes  to  DR.  VVATTs's  excellent  treatise 
entitled  "A  Guide  to  Prayer,"  than  which  there  are  few  better  hooks. 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  21  1 

ordered  the  servant  to  call  me.  Mr.  Norman  came, 
and  said  that  your  brother  could  not  get  over  it,  but 
would  die  in  a  few  hours.  He  was  not  able  to  take  any 
thing,  nor  to  speak  to  us,  only  yes  and  no  to  questions 
asked  him,  and  that  did  not  last  half  an  hour.  I  never 
went  from  his  bedside  till  he  expired,  which  was  about 
seven  in  the  morning.  With  a  great  deal  of  difficulty, 
we  persuaded  your  dear  sister  to  leave  the  room  before 
he  died.  I  trembled  to  think  how  she  would  bear  it, 
knowing  the  sincere  love  she  had  for  him.  But  blessed 
be  God,  he  answered  prayer  on  her  behalf,  and  in  a 
great  measure  calmed  her  spirits,  though  she  has  not 
yet  been  out  of  her  chamber.  Your  brother  was  buried 
on  Monday  last,  in  the  afternoon ;  and  is  gone  to  reap 
the  fruit  of  his  labours.  I  pray  to  God  we  may  imitate 
him  in  all  his  virtues,  and  be  prepared  to  follow. 

AMOS  MATTHEWS." 

On  receiving  this  intelligence,  Messrs.  John  and 
Charles  Wesley  set  off  to  visit  and  comfort  their 
widowed  sister  at  Tiverton,  which  they  reached  on  the 
'21st.  And  under  this  date,  John  makes  the  following 
entry  in  his  journal: — "  On  Wednesday,  21st,  (Novem 
ber,  1739,)  in  the  afternoon,  we  came  to  Tiverton. 
My  poor  sister  was  sorrowing  as  one  almost  without 
hope.  Yet  we  could  not  but  rejoice  at  hearing  that 
several  days  before  my  brother  went  hence,  God  had  - 
given  him  a  full  assurance  of  his  interest  in  Christ. 
O  !  may  every  one  who  opposes  it  be  thus  convinced, 
that  this  doctrine  is  of  God." 

It  is  said  of  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley,  by  those  who 
knew  him  well,  that  he  possessed  an  open,  benevolent 


212  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

temper,  and  was  so  intent  upon  its  cultivation,  that  the 
number  aud  success  of  his  good  offices  were  astonishing, 
even  to  his  friends.  He  had  a  singular  dexterity  in 
soliciting  charity.  His  own  little  income  was  liberally 
made  use  of;  and  as  those  to  whom  he  applied,  were 
always  confident  of  his  discrimination  and  integrity,  he 
never  wanted  means  to  carry  on  his  benevolent  purposes. 
A  part  of  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley's  character,  of  which 
the  world  knew  but  little,  was  the  brightest  and  most 
worthy  of  imitation,  to  every  son  and  every  brother. 
"  I  have/'  says  an  eminent  literary  character,  "in  my 
possession,  a  letter  of  the  Rector  of  Epworlh,  ad 
dressed  to  his  son  Samuel,  in  which  he  gratefully 
acknowledges  his  filial  duty  in  terms  so  affecting,  that 
I  am  at  a  loss  which  to  admire  most,  the  gratitude  of 
the  parent,  or  the  affection  and  generosity  of  the  child. 
It  was  written  when  the  good  old  man  was  nearly  four 
score,  and  so  weakened  by  palsy,  as  to  be  incapable  of 
directing  a  pen,  unless  with  his  left  hand.  I  preserve 
it  as  a  curious  memorial  of  what  will  make  Wesley 
applauded  when  his  wit  is  forgotten."  "  From  the  time 
he  became  Usher  in  Westminster  school,"  says  DR. 
CLARKE,  "  he  divided  his  income  with  his  parents  and 
family.  Through  him  principally  were  his  brothers 
John  and  Charles  maintained  at  the  University;  and 
in  all  straits  of  the  family,  his  purse  was  not  only 
opened,  but  emptied,  if  necessary.  And  all  this  was 
done  with  so  much  affection  and  deep  sense  of  duty, 
that  it  took  off,  and  almost  prevented,  the  burthen  of 
gratitude,  which  otherwise  must  have  been  felt.  These 
acts  of  filial  kindness  were  done  so  secretly,  that 
though  they  were  very  numerous,  and  extended  through 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  213 

many  years,  no  note  of  them  is  to  be  found  in  his  cor 
respondence  :  his  right  hand  never  knew  what  his  left 
hand  did."  Those  alone  knew  his  bounty  who  were 
its  principal  objects,  and  they  were  not  permitted  to 
record  it.  Indirect  hints  we  frequently  find  in  the 
letters  of  old  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wesley,  and  sometimes  in 
those  of  his  brothers;  and  those  hints  were  all  they 
dared  mention  in  their  correspondence  with  a  man,  who 
wished  to  forget  every  act  of  kindness  he  had  done. 
His  brothers  always  spoke  of  him  with  the  highest 
reverence,  respect,  and  affection.  Among  other  acts 
of  charity  we  are  informed,  that  the  first  Infirmary  at 
Westminster  was  much  forwarded,  both  in  design  and 
execution,  by  his  industrious  charity.  DR.  CLARKE 
states  that  he  can  assert  "on  the  best  authority,  that 
such  was  the  amiableness,  benevolence,  and  excellence 
of  his  public  and  private  character,  that  during  the 
seven  years  he  resided  at  Tivcrton,  where  he  was  well 
known,  he  was  almost  idolized.  His  diligence  and  able 
method  of  teaching  in  his  school  were  so  evident  and 
successful,  that  in  the  first  year,  upwards  of  forty  boys 
were  added  to  it.  And  such  confidence  had  the  public 
in  him,  that  children  were  sent  from  all  quarters  to  be 
placed  under  his  tuition.  His  memory  was  dear  to  all 
who  had  the  privilege  of  his  acquaintance." 

Mr.  Samuel  Wesley  was  a  high  churchman,  and  it 
must  be  owned  that  he  was  extremely  rigid  in  his  prin 
ciples,  which  is  perhaps  the  greatest  blemish  in  his 
character.  It  has  been  said  that  he  was  prejudiced 
against  some  of  the  most  important  truths  of  the  gos 
pel,  because  many  of  the  Dissenters  insisted  upon 
them.  Mr.  Wesley's  strong  objections  to  extempore 


214  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

prayer  is  well  known.  In  the  duodecimo  edition  of  his 
poems,  are  the  following  lines,  on  forms  of  prayer, 
which,  for  the  sprightly  turn  of  thought  they  contain, 
we  shall  insert. 

"  Form  stints  the  spirits  WATTS  has  said, 

And  therefore  oft  is  wrong ; 

At  best  a  crutch  the  weak  to  aid, 

A  cumbrance  to  the  strong. 

"  Old  David  both  in  prayer  and  praise, 

A  form  for  crutches  brings ; 
But  Watts  has  dignified  his  lays, 
And  furnished. him  with  wings. 

"  E'n  Watts  a  form  for  praise  can  choose, 

For  prayer,  who  throws  it  by; 
Crutches  to  walk  he  can  refuse, 
But  uses  them  to  fly." 

On  the  subject  of  extempore  prayer  DR.  WHITE- 
HEAD,  in  his  life  of  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  has  some 
sensible  remarks,  which  we  shall  quote.  "  A  man 
qualified  to  instruct  others,  will  find  many  occasions 
of  prayer  and  praise,  which  will  suggest  matter  adapted 
to  particular  persons  and  circumstances.  If  he  be  a 
man  of  tolerable  good  sense  and  some  vigour  of 
thought,  he  will  never  want  words  to  express  the  ideas 
and  feelings  of  his  own  mind.  Such  a  person  will 
therefore  often  find  a  prescribed  form  of  prayer  to  be  a 
restraint  upon  his  own  powers  under  circumstances 
which  become  powerful  incentives  to  an  animated  and 
vigorous  exercise  of  them,  and  by  varying  from  the 
words  and  matter  now  suggested  by  the  occasion,  it 
will  often  throw  a  damp  on  the  ardour  of  his  soul. 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  215 

We  may  observe  likewise,  that  a  form  of  prayer  be 
comes  familiar  by  frequent  repetitions,  and  according 
to  a  well  known  principle  in  human  nature,  the  more 
familiar  an  object,  or  a  form  of  words  become,  the  less 
effect  they  have  on  the  mind,  and  the  difficulty  is 
increased  of  fixing  the  attention  sufficiently  to  feel  the 
full  effect,  which  otherwise  they  would  produce.  Hence 
it  is  that  we  find  the  most  solemn  forms  of  prayer, 
in  frequent  use,  are  often  repeated  by  rote,  without  the 
the  least  attention  to  the  meaning  and  importance  of 
the  words,  unless  a  person  be  under  some  affliction, 
which  disposes  him  to  feel  their  application  to  himself. 
Extempore  prayer  has  therefore  a  great  advantage  over 
set  forms,  in  awakening  and  keeping  up  the  attention 
of  an  audience. 

"  Both  Mr.  John  and  Charles  Wesley  were  greatly 
censured  by  some  persons,  particularly  by  their  brother 
Samuel,  when  they  began  this  practice.  I  cannot  see 
any  cause  for  censure.  The  most  sensible  and  mode 
rate  men  have  allowed,  that  a  form  of  prayer  may  be 
useful  to  some  particular  persons  in  private  ;  and  that 
it  may  be  proper  on  some  occasions  in  public  worship. 
But  the  most  zealous  advocates  for  forms  of  prayer  are 
not  satisfied  with  this ;  they  wish  to  bind  them  upon 
all  persons  as  a  universal  rule  of  prayer  in  public  wor 
ship,  from  which  we  ought  in  no  instance  to  depart. 
This  appears  to  me  unjustifiable  on  any  ground  what 
ever.  To  say  that  we  shall  not  ask  a  favour  of  God, 
nor  return  him  thanks ;  that  we  shall  hold  no  inter 
course  with  him  in  our  public  assemblies,  but  in  a  set 
of  words  dictated  to  us  by  others,  is  an  assumption  of 
power  in  sacred  things  which  is  not  warranted  either  by 


216  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

scripture  or  reason ;  it  seems  altogether  as  improper 
as  to  confine  our  intercourse  with  one  another  to  pre 
scribed  forms  of  conversation.  Were  this  restraint 
imposed  upon  us  we  should  immediately  feel  the  hard 
ship  and  see  the  impropriety  of  it;  and  the  one  appears 
to  me  as  ill  adapted  to  edification  and  comfort,  as  the 
other  would  be." 

Mr.  Wesley  married  a  Miss  BERRY,  daughter  of  a 
clergyman,  the  Vicar  of  What  ton,  in  Norfolk.*  Her 
grandfather,  JOHN  BERRY,  M.  A.,  fellow  of  Exeter 
College,  Oxford,  was  presented  to  the  rectory  of  East 
Down,  Devon,  by  the  protector,  Richard  Cromwell, 
in  1658;  from  which  he  was  ejected  in  1662,  by  the 
"Act  of  Uniformity/'  When  ejected  he  had  ten 
children,  and  scarcely  any  thing  for  their  subsistence ; 
but  God  took  care  of  them,  and  they  afterwards  lived 
in  comfortable  circumstances.  Mr.  Berry  continued  to 

*  "  We  take  this  opportunity,"  says  the  Editor  of  the  Wesleyan 
Magazine,  "  of  noticing  an  error  into  which  DR.  CLARKE  in  common  with 
others,  has  fallen,  respecting  the  subject  of  a  poem,  by  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley 
Jun  ,  entitled  '  The  Parish  Priest'.  By  a  friend  who  has  ascertained  the 
fact  from  authentic  documents,  we  learn  that  this  piece  was  not  written 
on  his  own  father,  but  on  his  father-in-law  the  REV.  JOHN  BERRY.  We 
feel  the  greater  pleasure  in  rectifying  this  error,  not  only  because  it  relieves 
the  Rector  of  Epworth  from  the  imputation  of  exercising  an  injudicious 
hospitality,  which,  however  laudable,  was  not  sanctioned  by  his  means,  but 
also  because  it  rescues  the  character  of  his  son  from  the  severe  charge  of 
asserting  in  behalf  of  his  father  a  circumstance  that  was  not  true,  a 
delinquency  for  which  no  plea  of  filial  piety  and  affection,  amiable  and 
honourable  as  they  are,  could  satisfactorily  be  offered,  either  in  exculpation, 
or  excuse.  "  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley  Sen.,  died  in  1735,  but  this  poem  made  its 
appearance  several  years  prior  to  that  date.  In  the  first  volume  of  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine  for  November,  1731,  page  504,  it  is  found  thus 
advertised,  'No,  9,  The  Parish  Priest,  a  Poem  upon  a  clergyman  lately 
deceased.  Price  6d.' "  This  clergyman  was  the  REV.  JOHN  BERRY,  M.A. 
Vicar  of  Whatton,  in  Norfolk,  whose  daughter  was  the  wife  of  the  REV. 
SAMUEL  WESLEY  JUN.  He  died  in  1730,after  being  forty  years  incumbent 
of  that  living ;  and  to  him  belongs  those  particulars  in  the  poem,  which 
truth  and  consistency  will  not  allow  to  be  applied  to  the  Rector  of  Epworth. 


SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN.  217 

preach  as  he  had  an  opportunity.  Once,  if  not  oftener, 
he  was  cast  into  Exeter  gaol  for  teaching  and  preach 
ing.  DR.  CALAMY  says  that  "he  was  advised  by  some 
who  would  have  borne  the  charges,  to  prosecute  those 
who  committed  him,  for  wrong  imprisonment,  but  he 
would  not."  Mr.  Berry  possessed  good  abilities  for  his 
office,  though  they  were  much  concealed  by  his  modesty. 
His  preaching  was  very  serious  and  affectionate.  All 
that  knew  him  esteemed  him  as  a  very  sincere  Christian. 
Whatever  difficulties  he  met  with, he  maintained  constant 
communion  with  God  in  his  providences,  as  well  as 
ordinances ;  as  appears  by  a  diary  he  kept  both  of 
public  and  private  occurrences,  respecting  the  state  of 
his  own  soul,  his  children,  and  friends — their  actions, 
troubles,  mercies,  &c.  The  death  of  his  friends, 
and  especially  of  ministers,  were  more  particularly  ob 
served  by  him  and  piously  reflected  upon.  He  died 
with  great  calmness  and  serenity  of  spirit,  resigning 
his  soul  into  the  hands  of  his  Saviour,  Dec.  1704,  aged 
about  eighty.  MR.  BAXTER  gives  him  the  character 
of  "  an  extraordinary  humble,  tender-conscienced, 
serious,  godly,  able  minister."  He  was  moderator  of 
of  the  Assembly  at  Exeter,  Sept.  8,  1696. 

Mr.  Samuel  Wesley  was  a  most  indulgent  hus 
band,  and  passionately  fond  of  his  wife.  His  sister, 
Mrs.  Hall,  who  knew  Mrs.  Wesley,  spoke  of  her  as  one 
who  was  well  described  in  her  husband's  poetic  tale, 
called  "  The  Pig." 

"  She  made  her  little  wisdom  go, 
Farther  than  miser  women  do." 

They  had  several  children,  but  only  one  daughter 
reached  woman's  estate.     She  married  an  apothecary 
u 


218  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  JUN. 

named  Earle,  in  Barnstaple,  whose  chief  motive  in  this 
union  appears  to  have  been  the  expectation  of  succeed 
ing  to  the  title  of  Earl  of  Anglesey,  which  he  imagined  to 
be  nearly  extinct,  and  only  recoverable  through  his  wife. 
Mr.  Wesley  was  interred  in  Tiverton  church-yard, 
where  there  is  a  monument  erected  to  his  memory, 
on  which  is  the  following  inscription  : 


lie  Snterretr 

The  Remains  of  the  REV.  SAMUEL  WESLEY,  M.  A. 

Sometime  student  of  Christ  Church,  Oxon. 

A  man  for  his  uncommon  wit  and  learning, 

For  the  benevolence  of  his  temper, 

And  simplicity  of  manners, 

Deservedly  beloved  and  esteemed  by  all. 

An  excellent  Preacher, 

Whose  best  sermon 
Was  the  constant  example  of  an  edifying  life  : 

So  continually  and  zealously  employed 
In  acts  of  beneficence  and  charity, 

That  he  truly  followed 

His  blessed  Master's  example, 

In  going  about  doing  good  : 

Of  such  scrupulous  integrity, 

That  he  declined  occasions  of  advancement  in  the  world 
Through  fear  of  being  involved  in  dangerous  compliances, 
And  avoided  the  usual  ways  to  preferment 
As  studiously  as  many  others  seek  them. 

Therefore,  after  a  life  spent 
In  the  laborious  employment  of  teaching  youth, 

First  for  nearly  twenty  years, 
As  one  of  the  Ushers  in  Westminster  school  ; 

Afterwards  for  seven  years 
As  Head  Master  of  the  Free  School  at  Tiverton, 

He  resigned  his  soul  to  God, 
November  6,  1739,  in  the  49th  year  of  his  age. 


CHAP.  X. 


THE  RECTOR  OF  EPWORTH'S  DAUGHTERS. 


MISS  EMILIA  WESLEY.— MARRIES  MR.  HARPER. — HER  LET 
TER  TO  HER  BROTHER  JOHN. HER  CHARACTER  BY  MRS.  WRIGHT. 

—HER     DEATH.        MISS     MARY     WESLEY.— MARRIES     MR. 
WHITELAMB. — HER  CHARACTER    AND  EPITAPH  BY    MKS.  WRIGHT. 

MISS  ANNE  WESLEY. — MARRIES  MR.  LAMBERT. — VERSES 

ON    HER    MARRIAGE,     BY      HER    BROTHER      SAMUEL.       MISS    SU 
SANNA     WESLEY. MARRIES     MR.     ELLISON. THIS    UNION 

PROVES    UNHAPPY. ACCOUNT    OF    THEIR    CHILDREN. MR.    JOHN 

WESLEY,    BAPTIZED    BY  THE    NAME  OF  JOHN    BENJAMIN    WESLEY. 

MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY.— MARRIES  MR.  WRIGHT.— 

POSSESSES   A   FINE  POETIC  TALENT. HER  MARRIAGE  UNHAPPY. 

ADDRESSES  SOME  LINES  TO   HER  HUSBAND. ALSO  TO   HER  DYING 

INFANT,  &C.— HER  DEATH.       MISS    MARTHA    WESLEY.— A 
FAVOURITE  WITH   HER  MOTHER. MARRIES  MR.  HALL,    WHO    ALSO 

ADDRESSES  HER   SISTER    KEZZIA. CHARLES   WESLEY'S   SEVERE 

VERSES  TO  MARTHA. DR.  CLARKE'S  VINDICATION  OF  MRS.  HALL. 

— MR.   JOHN  WESLEY'S    OPINION    OF    HALL. — HIS   LICENTIOUS 

CONDUCT. MRS.  HALL'S  BEHAVIOUR  UNDER  THIS  AFFLICTION. 

HER  ACQUAINTANCE  WITH  DR.  SAMUEL  JOHNSON. HER  DEATH. 

MR.  CHARLES  WESLEY. AN  ANECDOTE  RESPECTING  HIM.    MISS 

KEZZIA  WESLEY. — HER  LETTER  TO  HER  BROTHER  JOHN. — 

HER    DEATH. 

MISS  EMILIA  WESLEY,  afterwards  MRS. 
HARPER,  appears  to  have  been  the  eldest  of  the  seven 
surviving  daughters  of  the  Rector  of  Epworth.  She 
is  reported  to  have  been  the  favourite  of  her  mother, 
(though  some  accounts  state  this  of  Patty,}  and  to 
have  had  good  strong  sense,  much  wit,  a  prodigious 
memory,  and  a  talent  for  poetry.  She  was  a  good 
classical  scholar,  and  wrote  a  beautiful  hand.  She 
married  an  apothecary  at  Epworth,  of  the  name  of 


220  MISS  EMILIA  WESLEY. 

Harper,  who  left  her  a  young  widow.  What  proportion 
the  intellect  of  Mr.  Harper  bore  to  that  of  his  wife,  we 
know  not :  but  in  politics  they  were  ill  suited,  as  he 
was  a  violent  WHIG,  and  she  an  unbending-  TORY. 

It  appears  from  the  education  given  to  Miss 
Emilia,  and  some  of  her  other  sisters,  that  their  pa 
rents  designed  them  for  governesses.  About  the  year 
1730  Emilia  became  a  teacher  at  the  boarding  school 
of  a  Mrs.  Taylor,  in  Lincoln,  where,  though  she  had 
the  whole  care  of  the  school,  she  was  not  well-used, 
and  worse  paid.  Having  borne  this  usage  as  long  as 
reason  would  dictate  forbearance,  she  laid  the  case  be 
fore  her  brothers,  with  a  resolution  to  begin  a  school 
on  her  own  account  at  Gainsborough.  She  had  their 
approbation,  gave  Mrs.  Taylor  warning,  and  went  to 
Gainsborough,  where  she  continued  at  least  till  1735, 
as  she  was  there  at  the  time  of  her  father's  death. 
With  her  MRS.  WESLEY,  appears  to  have  sojourned 
awhile,  before  she  went  to  live  with  her  sons  John  and 
Charles ;  where,  free  from  cares  and  worldly  anxieties, 
with  which  she  had  long  been  unavoidably  encumbered, 
she  spent  the  evening  of  her  life  in  comparative  ease 
and  comfort.  We  learn  several  particulars  respecting 
Mrs.  Harper  from  a  letter  she  wrote  to  her  brother 
John,  when  she  had  resolved  upon  going  to  Gainsbro*. 

"  DEAR  BROTHER, 

"  Your  last  letter  comforted  and  settled  my 
mind  wonderfully.  O  !  continue  to  talk  to  me  of  the 
reasonableness  of  resignation  to  the  Divine  Will,  to 
enable  me  to  bear  cheerfully  the  ills  of  life,  the  lot 
appointed  me ;  and  never  to  suffer  grief  so  far  to  prevail, 


MISS  EMILIA  WESLEY.  221 

as  to  injure  my  health,  or  long  to  cloud  the  natural 
cheerfulness  of  my  temper.  I  had  writ  long  since,  but 
had  a  mind  to  see  first  how  my  small  affairs  would  be 
settled ;  and  now  can  assure  you  that  at  Lady-day  I 
leave  Lincoln  certainly.  You  were  of  opinion  that  my 
leaving  MRS.  TAYLOR  would  not  only  prove  prejudicial 
to  her  affairs,  (and  so  far  all  the  town  agrees  with  you) 
but  would  be  a  great  affliction  to  her.  I  own  I  thought 
so  too  :  but  we  both  were  a  little  mistaken.  She  re 
ceived  the  news  of  my  going  with  an  indifference  I  did 
not  expect.  Never  was  such  a  teacher,  as  I  may  justly 
say  I  have  been,  so  foolishly  lost,  or  so  unnecessarily 
disobliged.  Had  she  paid  my  last  year's  wages  but 
the  day  before  Martinmas,  I  still  had  staid  :  instead  of 
of  that,  she  has  received  £129  within  these  three 
months,  and  yet  never  would  spare  one  six  or  seven 
pounds  for  me,  which  I  am  sure  no  teacher  will  ever 
bear.  She  fancies  I  never  knew  of  any  money  she 
received ;  when,  alas !  she  can  never  have  one  five 
pounds,  but  I  know  of  it.  I  have  so  satisfied  brother 
Sam,  that  he  wishes  me  good  success  at  Gainsborough, 
and  says  he  can  no  longer  oppose  my  resolution; 
which  pleases  me  much,  for  I  would  gladly  live  civilly 
with  him,  and  friendly  with  you. 

"  I  have  a  fairer  prospect  at  Gainsborough  than 
I  could  have  hoped  for;  my  greatest  difficulty  will  be 
want  of  money  at  my  first  entrance.  I  shall  furnish  my 
school  with  canvass,  worsted,  silks,  &c.  though  I  am 
much  afraid  of  being  dipt  in  debt  at  first:  but  God's 
will  be  done.  Troubles  of  that  kind  are  what  I  have 
been  used  to.  Will  you  lend  me  the  other  £3  which 
you  designed  for  me  at  Lady-day ;  it  would  help  me 
u  2 


222  MISS  EMILIA  WESLEY. 

much  :  you  will  if  you  can  I 'am  sure, — for  so  would  I 
do  by  you.  I  am  half  starved  with  cold,  which  hinders 
me  from  writing  longer.  Emery  is  no  better.  Mrs. 
Taylor  and  Kitty  give  their  service.  Pray  send  soon 
to  me.  Kez  is  gone  home  for  good  and  all.  I  am 
knitting  brother  Charles  a  fine  purse ; — give  my  love 
to  him. 

I  am,  dear  brother, 
Your  loving  sister  and  constant  friend, 

EMILIA  HARPER." 

Mrs.  Harper  is  represented  as  a  fine  woman ;  of  a 
noble  yet  affable  countenance,  and  of  a  kind  and  af 
fectionate  disposition,  as  appears  by  the  following  poem 
addressed  to  her  by  her  sister,  Mrs.  Wright,  before  her 
marriage. 

"  My  fortunes  often  bid  me  flee 
So  light  a  thing  as  Poetry : 
But  stronger  inclination  draws, 
To  follow  Wit  and  Nature's  laws. — 
Virtue,  form,  and  wit  in  thee 
Move  in  perfect  harmony  : 
For  thee  my  tuneful  voice  I  raise, 
For  thee  compose  my  softest  lays; 
My  youthful  muse  shall  take  her  flight, 
And  crown  thy  beauteous  head  with  radiant  beams  of  light. 

True  wit  and  sprightly  genius  shine 
In  every  turn,  in  every  line : — 
To  these,  O  skilful  nine  annex 
The  native  sweetness  of  my  sex ; 
And  that  peculiar  talent  let  me  shew 
Which  Providence  divine  doth  oft  bestow 
On  spirits  that  are  high,  with  fortunes  that  are  low. 


MISS  EMILIA  WESLEY.  223 

Thy  virtues  and  thy  graces  all, 

How  simple,  free,  arid  natural ! 

Thy  graceful  form  with  pleasure  I  survey  ; 

It  charms  the  eye, — the  heart,  away. — 

Malicious  fortune  did  repine, 

To  grant  her  gifts  to  worth  like  thine ! 

To  all  thy  outward  majesty  and  grace, 
To  all  the  blooming  features  of  thy  face, 
To  all  the  heavenly  sweetness  of  tby  mind, 
A  noble,  generous,  equal  soul  is  joined, 
By  reason  polished,  and  by  arts  refined. 
Thy  even  steady  eye  can  see 
Dame  fortune  smile,  or  frown,  at  thee  ; 
At  every  varied  change  can  say,  it  moves  not  me ! 

Fortune  has  fixed  thee  in  a  place* 
Debarred  of  wisdom,  wit,  and  grace. 
High  births  and  virtue  equally  they  scorn, 
As  asses  dull,  on  dunghills  born  : 
Impervious  as  the  stones,  their  heads  are  found; 
Their  rage  and  hatred  stedfast  as  the  ground. 
With  these  unpolished  wights  thy  youthful  days 
Glide  slow  and  dull,  and  nature's  lamp  decays  : 
Oh  !  what  a  lamp  is  hid,  'midst  such  a  sordid  race  I 

But  tho'  thy  brilliant  virtues  are  obscured, 
And  in  a  noxious  irksome  den  immur'd; 
My  numbers  shall  thy  trophies  rear, 
And  lovely  as  she  is,  my  Emily  appear. 
Still  thy  transcendent  praise  I  will  rehearse, 
And  form  this  faint  description  into  verse ; 
And  when  the  poet's  head  lies  low  in  clay, 
Thy  name  shall  shine  in  worlds  which  never  can  decay. 

*  Wroote  is  the  place  to  which  Mrs.  Wright  alludes.    It  is  situated  in 
the  Low  Levels  of  Lincolnshire,  and  at  that  time  was  a  very  rode  district. 


224  MISS  MARY  WESLEY. 

Mrs.  Harper  was  left  without  property  :  but  in  her 
widowhood  for  many  years,  she  was  maintained  entirely 
by  her  brothers,  and  lived  at  the  preachers  house  ad 
joining  the  chapel,  in  West  Street,  Seven  Dials,  Lon 
don.  She  terminated  her  earthly  existence  at  a  very 
advanced  age,  about  the  year  1772.  That  her  mind 
was  highly  cultivated,  and  her  taste  exquisite,  appears 
from  the  following  assertion  of  her  brother  John : — 
"  My  sister  Harper  was  the  best  reader  of  Milton  I 
ever  heard." 

MISS  MARY  WESLEY,  afterwards  MRS.  WHITE- 
LAMB,  was  the  second  of  the  grown-up  daughters  of  the 
Rector  of  Epworth.  Through  affliction,  and  probably 
some  mismanagement  in  her  nurse,  she  became  con 
siderably  deformed  in  body  :  and  her  growth  in  con 
sequence  was  much  stinted,  and  her  health  injured; 
but  all  written  and  oral  testimony  concur  in  the  state 
ment,  that  her  face  was  exquisitely  beautiful,  and  was 
a  fair  and  legible  index  to  her  mind.  Her  humble, 
obliging,  and  even  disposition,  made  her  the  favourite 
and  delight  of  the  whole  family.  Her  brothers,  John 
and  Charles,  frequently  spoke  of  her  with  the  most 
tender  respect;  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Wright,  (no  mean 
judge  of  character,)  mentions  her  as  one  of  the  most 
exalted  of  human  characters.  She  married,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  family,  MR.  JOHN  WHITELAMB.  He 
was  the  son  of  parents  at  that  time  in  very  low  circum 
stances,  and  was  put  to  a  charity  school  at  Wroote. 
He  suffered  many  privations  in  order  to  acquire  a  suffi 
ciency  of  learning  to  pass  through  the  University  and 


MISS  MA11Y  WESLEY.  225 

obtain  orders.  It  is  in  reference  to  this,  that  Mrs. 
Wesley  calls  him  "poor  starveling  Johnny."  So  low 
were  his  circumstances  that  he  could  not  purchase 
himself  a  gown  when  ordained.  Mr.  John  Wesley, 
writing  to  his  brother  Samuel  in  1732,  says,  "JoHN 
WHITELAMB  wants  a  gown  much  :  I  am  not  rich  enough 
to  buy  him  one  at  present.  If  you  are  willing  my 
twenty  shillings  should  go  towards  that,  I  will  add  ten 
more  to  make  up  the  price  of  a  new  one."  In  every 
respect,  the  Wesleys  divided  with  him,  according  to 
their  power  :  and  by  his  humble  and  upright  conduct 
in  the  early  part  of  his  life,  he  repaid  their  kindness. 
When  he  got  orders,  Mr.  Wesley  made  him  his  curate 
in  Wroote;  and  having  engaged  Miss  Mary's  affections, 
they  were  married,  arid  Mr.  Wesley  gave  up  to  him  the 
living  at  Wroote.  His  wife  died  in  childbed  of  her  first 
child.  From  the  following  lines  composed  by  her 
sister  Wright,  we  learn  that  Mrs.  Whitelamb  was  a 
steady  and  affectionate  friend,  deeply  devoted  to  God, 
full  of  humility,  and  diligent  in  all  the  duties  of  life. 
But  she  was  a  Wesley :  and  in  that  family  excellencies 
of  all  kinds  were  to  be  found ;  and  the  female  part  was 
as  conspicuous  as  the  male,  if  not  more  so. 

TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  MRS.  WHITELAMB. 


"If  blissful  spirits  condescend  to  know, 
And  hover  round  what  once  they  loved  below ; 
Maria !  gentlest  excellence  !  attend 
To  her,  who  glories  to  have  called  thee  friend  ! 
Remote  in  merit,  tho'  allied  in  blood, 
Unworthy  I,  and  thou  divinely  good! 


226  MISS  MARY  WESLEY. 

Accept,  blest  shade,  from  me  these  artless  lays, 
Who  never  could  unjustly  blame,  or  praise. 
How  thy  economy  and  sense  outweighed 
The  finest  wit  in  utmost  pomp  display'd, 
Let  others  sing,  while  I  attempt  to  paint 
The  godlike  virtues  of  the  friend  and  saint. 

With  business  and  devotion  never  cloy'd, 
No  moment  of  thy  life  pass'd  unemployed; 
Well-natured  mirth,  matured  discretion  joined, 
Constant  attendants  of  the  virtuous  mind. 
From  earliest  dawn  of  youth,  in  thee  well  known, 
The  saint  sublime  and  finished  Christian  shone. 
Yet  would  not  grace  one  grain  of  pride  allow, 
Or  cry,  '  stand  off,  I'm  holier  than  thou.' 
A  worth  so  singular  since  time  began, 
But  once  surpassed,  and  He  was  more  than  man, 
When  deep  immers'd  in  griefs  beyond  redress, 
And  friends  and  kindred  heightened  my  distress, 
And  with  relentless  efforts  made  me  prove 
Pain,  grief,  despair,  and  wedlock  without  love  ; 
My  soft  MARIA  could  alone  dissent, 
O'erlook'd  the  fatal  vow,  and  mourn'd  the  punishment ! 
Condoled  the  ill,  admitting  no  relief, 
With  such  infinitude  of  pitying  grief, 
That  all  who  could  not  my  demerit  see, 
Mistook  her  wond'rous  love  for  worth  in  me; 
No  toil,  reproach,  or  sickness  could  divide 
The  tender  mourner  from  her  Stella's  side  ; 
My  fierce  inquietude,  and  madd'ning  care, 
Skilful  to  soothe,  or  resolute  to  share  ! 

Ah  me !  that  heaven  has  from  this  bosom  tore 
My  angel  friend,  to  meet  on  earth  no  more  ; 
That  this  indulgent  spirit  soars  away, 
Leaves  but  a  still  insentient  mass  of  clay  ; 


MISS  MARY  WESLEY. 


227 


E'er  Stella  could  discharge  the  smallest  part 

Of  all  she  owed  to  such  immense  desert ; 

Or  could  repay  with  ought  but  feeble  praise 

The  sole  companion  of  her  joyless  days! 

Nor  was  thy  form  unfair,  tho'  heaven  confined 

To  scanty  limits  thy  exalted  mind. 

Witness  thy  brow  serene,  benignant,  clear, 

That  none  could  doubt  transcendent  truth  dwelt  there  ; 

Witness  the  taintless  whiteness  of  thy  skin, 

Pure  emblem  of  the  purer  soul  within  : 

That  soul,  which  tender,  unassuming,  mild, 

Through  jetty  eyes  with  tranquil  sweetness  smil'd. 

But  ah  !  could  fancy  paint,  or  language  speak, 

The  roseate  beauties  of  thy  lip  or  cheek, 

Where  Nature's  pencil,  leaving  art  no  room, 

Touch'd  to  a  miracle  the  vernal  bloom. 

(Lost  though  thou  art)  in  Stella's  deathless  line, 

Thy  face  immortal  as  thy  fame  should  shine. 

To  soundest  prudence  (life's  unerring  guide) 
To  love  sincere,  religion  without  pride  : 
To  friendship  perfect  in  a  female  mind 
Which  I  nor  hope,  nor  wish,  on  earth  to  find : 
To  mirth  (the  balm  of  care)  from  lightness  free, 
Unblemish'd  faith,  unwearied  industry. 
To  every  charm  and  grace  combin'd  in  you, 
Sister,  and  friend!— a  long,  a  last  adieu !" 

Her  sister,  Mrs.  Wright,  also  wrote  for  her  the 
following  Epitaph : — 

"  If  highest  worth,  in  beauty's  bloom, 
Exempted  mortals  from  the  tomb ; 
We  had  not  round  this  sacred  bier 
Mourned  the  sweet  babe  and  mother  here, 


228  MISS  MARY  WESLEY. 

Where  innocence  from  harm  is  blest, 
And  the  meek  sufferer  is  at  rest ! 
Fierce  pangs  she  bore  without  complaint, 
Till  heaven  relieved  the  finished  saint. 

If  savage  bosoms  felt  her  woe, 
(Who  lived  and  died  without  a  foe,) 
How  should  I  mourn,  or  how  commend, 
My  tenderest,  dearest, firmest  friend? 
Most  pious,  meek,  resign'd,  and  chaste, 
With  every  social  virtue  graced  ! 

If,  reader,  thou  would'st  prove  and  know, 
The  ease  she  found  not  here  below ; 
Her  bright  example  points  the  way 
To  perfect  bliss  and  endless  day." 

As  for  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Whitelamb,  it  appears 
that  he  afterwards  became  rather  infidel  in  sentiment, 
and  disorderly  in  his  conduct.  When  Mr.  John  Wesley 
visited  Epworth  in  1742,  and  preached  on  his  father's 
tombstone,  having  been  refused  the  church,  Mr.  White- 
lamb  was  in  the  congregation,  and  a  few  days  afterwards 
sent  him  the  following  letter : — 

"  DEAR  BROTHER, 

"  I  saw  you  at  Epworth  on  Tuesday 
evening.  Fain  would  I  have  spoken  so  you,  but  that  I 
am  quite  at  a  loss  to  know  how  to  address  or  behave. 
"  Your  way  of  thinking  is  so  extraordinary,  that  your 
presence  creates  an  awe,  as  if  you  were  an  inhabitant 
of  another  world.  God  grant  you  and  your  followers 
may  always  have  entire  liberty  of  conscience.  Will  not 
you  allow  others  the  same  ? 

"  Indeed  I  cannot  think  as  you  do,  any  more  than 


MISS  ANNE  WESLEY.  229 

I  cannot  help  honouring  and  loving  you.  Dear  Sir,  will 
you  credit  me  ? — I  retain  the  highest  veneration  and 
affection  for  you.  The  sight  of  you  moves  me  strangely. 
My  heart  overflows  with  gratitude  :  I  feel  in  a  higher 
degree  all  that  tenderness  and  yearning  of  bowels  with 
which  I  am  affected  towards  every  branch  of  Mr. 
Wesley's  family.  I  cannot  refrain  from  tears  when  I 
reflect, — this  is  the  man,  who  at  Oxford  was  more  than 
a  father  to  me ;  this  is  he  whom  I  have  heard  expound, 
or  dispute  publicly,  or  preach  at  St.  Mary's,  with  such 
applause ; — and,  O  that  I  should  ever  add,  whom  I  have 
lately  heard  preach  on  his  father's  tombstone  at 
Epworth ! 

"  I  am  quite  forgot  by  the  family.  None  of  them 
ever  honour  me  with  a  line!  Have  I  been  ungrateful  ? 
I  appeal  to  sister  Patty,  I  appeal  to  MR.  ELLISON,  whe 
ther  I  have  or  not.  I  have  been  passionate,  fickle,  a 
fool ;  but  I  hope  I  shall  never  be  ungrateful.  Dear 
Sir,  is  it  in  my  power  to  serve  or  oblige  you  any  way  ? 
Glad  I  should  be  that  you  would  make  use  of  me.  God 
open  all  our  eyes,  and  lead  us  into  truth  wherever  it  be  ! 

JOHN  WHITELAMB." 

The  Whitelamb  family  have  since  become  very 
respectable  in  Lincolnshire,  and  especially  at  Wroote, 
where  one  of  them  succeeded  to  the  pastoral  charge  in 
that  parish,  and  was  remarkable  for  his  various  learn 
ing,  especially  for  his  great  skill  in  mathematics. 

MISS  ANNE  WESLEY,  afterwards  MRS.  LAM 
BERT,  was  married  to  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of 
John  Lambert,  a  land-surveyor  in  Epworth,  of  whom 
and  their  children,  if  they  had  any,  we  know  nothing. 


230  MISS  ANNE  WESLEY. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lambert  are  probably  the  persons  meant 
by  Mr.  John  Wesley  in  his  Journal,  under  date  Tuesday, 
June  8th,  1742,  where  he  says  : — "  I  walked  to  Hibald- 
stone,  about  ten  miles  from  Epworth,  to  see  my  brother 
and  sister;"  but  he  mentions  no  name.  On  Mrs. 
Lambert's  marriage,  her  brother  Samuel  presented  to 
her  the  following  verses  : — 

"  No  fiction  fine  shall  guide  my  band, 
But  artless  truth  the  verse  supply ; 

Which  all  with  ease  may  understand, 
But  none  be  able  to  deny. 

Nor,  sister,  take  the  care  amiss 
Which  I,  in  giving  rules,  employ 

To  point  the  likeliest  way  to  bliss, 
To  cause,  as  well  as  wish,  you  joy. 

Let  love  your  reason  never  blind, 

To  dream  of  paradise  below; 
For  sorrows  must  attend  mankind, 

And  pain,  and  weariness,  and  woe  ! 

Though  still  from  mutual  love,  relief 

In  all  conditions  may  be  found, 
It  cures  at  once  the  common  grief, 

And  softens  the  severest  wound. 

Through  diligence,  and  well-earned  gain, 
In  growing  plenty  may  you  live ! 

And  each  in  piety  obtain 

Repose  that  riches  cannot  give ! 

If  children  ere  should  bless  the  bed, 

O !   rather  let  them  infants  die, 
Than  live  to  grieve  the  hoary  head, 

And  make  the  aged  father  sigh ! 


MISS  SUSANNA  WESLEY.  231 

Still  duteous,  let  them  ne'er  conspire 

To  make  their  parents  disagree ; 
No  son  be  rival  to  his  sire, 

No  daughter  more  beloved  than  thee  ! 

Let  them  be  humble,  pious,  wise, 

Nor  higher  station  wish  to  know ; 
Since  only  those  deserve  to  rise, 

Who  live  contented  to  be  low. 

Firm  let  the  husband's  empire  stand, 
With  easy  but  unquestioned  sway; 

May  HE  have  kindness  to  command, 
And  THOU  the  bravery  to  obey! 

Long  may  he  give  thee  comfort,  long 
As  the  frail  knot  of  life  shall  hold  ! 

More  than  a  father  when  thou'rt  young, 
More  than  a  son  when  waxing  old. 

The  greatest  earthly  pleasure  try, 

Allowed  by  Providence  divine ; 
Be  still  a  husband,  blest  as  I, 

And  thou  a  wife  as  good  as  mine  ! 

There  is  much  good  sense  and  suitable  advice  in 
these  verses;  and  they  give  an  additional  testimony  to 
the  domestic  happiness  of  their  author.  "  I  wish," 
says  DR.  CLARKE,  "  they  were  in  the  hands  of  every 
newly  married  couple  in  the  kingdom." 

MISS  SUSANNA  WESLEY,  afterwards  MRS. 
ELLISON,  was  born  about  the  year  1701.  She  is  re 
ported  to  have  been  good-natured,  very  facetious,  but 
a  little  romantic.  She  married  Richard  Ellison,  Esq. 
a  gentleman  of  good  family,  who  had  a  respectable*^ 


232  MISS  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

establishment.  But  though  she  bore  him  several  chil 
dren,  the  marriage,  like  some  others  in  the  Wesley 
family,  was  not  a  happy  one.  She  possessed  a  mind 
naturally  strong,  which  was  much  improved  by  a  good 
education.  His  mind  was  common,  coarse,  unculti 
vated,  and  too  much  inclined  to  despotic  sway,  which 
prevented  conjugal  happiness.  Unfitness  of  minds  more 
than  circumstances,  is  what  in  general  mars  the  marriage 
union.  Where  minds  are  united,  means  of  happiness 
and  contentment  are  ever  within  reach. 

What  little  domestic  happiness  they  had,  was  not 
only  interrupted,  but  finally  destroyed,  by  afire  which 
took  place  in  their  dwelling-house.  What  the  cause  of 
this  fire  was,  is  not  known  :  but  after  it  took  place, 
Mrs.  Ellison  would  never  again  live  with  her  husband  ! 
She  went  to  London,  and  hid  herself  among  some  of 
her  children,  who  were  established  there,  and  received 
also  considerable  helps  from  her  brother  John,  who, 
after  the  death  of  his  brother  Samuel,  became  the  com 
mon  almoner  of  the  family.  Mr.  Ellison  used  many 
means  to  get  his  wife  to  return  ;  but  she  utterly  refused 
either  to  see  him,  or  to  have  any  further  intercourse 
with  him.  As  he  knew  her  affectionate  disposition,  in 
order  to  bring  her  down  into  the  country,  he  advertised 
an  account  of  his  death  !  When  this  met  her  eye,  she 
immediately  set  off  for  Lincolnshire,  to  pay  the  last 
tribute  of  respect  to  his  remains  :  but  when  she  found 
him  still  alive  and  well,  she  returned,  and  no  persuasion 
could  induce  her  to  live  with  him.  It  does  not  appear 
that  she  communicated  to  any  person  the  cause  of  her 
aversion ;  and  after  this  lapse  of  time  it  is  in  vain  to 
pursue  it  by  conjecture. 


MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY.  233 

She  had  several  children  :  of  four  of  them  we  have 
the  following  brief  account : — 

JOHN  ELLISON,  who  lived  and  died  at  Bristol. 

ANN  ELLISON,  married  Mr.  Pierre  Lievre,  a  French 
protestant  refugee.  She  left  one  son,  Peter  Lievre, 
who  was  educated  at  Kingswood  School,  near  Bristol. 
He  took  orders  in  the  church  of  England,  and  died  at 
his  living  of  Lutterworth,  in  Leicestershire. 

DEBORAH  ELLISON,  married  another  French  refu 
gee,  Mr.  Pierre  Collet,  father  of  Mrs.  Biam,  and  of  the 
Collets  now  or  lately  alive.  Both  Lievre  and  Collet 
were  silk  weavers. 

RICHARD  ANNESLEY  ELLISON,  who  died  at  twenty 
seven.  He  left  two  orphan  daughters,  of  whom  Mrs. 
Voysey  is  one,  "  an  excellent,  warm-hearted  Christian/' 
says  DR.  CLARKE,  "  and  the  wife  of  a  pious  dissenting 
minister.  This  excellent  couple  had  four  children, 
one  a  surgeon  in  the  East  Indies,  another  an  architect, 
and  two  daughters." 

MR.  JOHN  WESLEY,*  (whose  name  only  is  intro 
duced  here  in  the  connected  order  of  the  family,)  was 
born  at  Epworth  on  the  17th  of  June,  1703,  and  died 
in  London,  March  2nd,  1791,  in  the  88th  year  of  his 
age,  and  65th  of  his  ministry. 

MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY,  afterwards 
Mrs.  Wright,  (called  also  Hetty,  and,  by  her  brother 

*MR.  JONATHAN  GROWTH  EH  in  his  *  Portraiture  of  M  ethodismj  states 
that  he  has  heard  Mr.  Wesley  say  he  "  was  baptized  by  the  name  of  JOHN 
BENJAMIN;  that  his  mother  had  buried  two  sons,  one  called  John,  and 
the  other  Benjamin,  and  that  she  united  their  names  in  him."  But  he  never 
made  use  of  the  second  name. 

x  2 


234  MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY. 

Samuel,  sometimes  Kilty,}  gave,  from  infancy,  such 
proofs  of  strong  mental  powers,  as  led  her  parents  to 
cultivate  them  with  the  utmost  care.  These  exertions 
were  crowned  with  success;  for  at  the  early  age  of 
eight  years,  she  made  such  proficiency  in  the  learned 
languages,  that  she  could  read  the  Greek  text.  She 
appears  to  have  been  the  most  eminently  gifted  of  the 
female  branches  of  the  Wesley  family.  She  had  a  fine 
talent  for  poetry,  and  availed  herself  of  the  rich,  sweet 
and  pensive  warblings  of  her  lyre,  to  soothe  her  spirit 
under  the  pressure  of  deep  and  accumulated  calamity. 
At  the  tale  of  her  afflictions  every  feeling  heart  must 
sigh.  Religion  was  the  balm  which  allayed  her  an 
guish  ;  and  the  sorrows  of  the  moment,  now  enhance 
her  eternal  joy.  From  her  childhood  she  was  gay  and 
sprightly ;  full  of  mirth,  good  humour,  and  keen  wit. 
She  appears  to  have  had  many  suitors ;  but  they  were 
generally  of  the  thoughtless  class,  and  ill-suited  to  make 
her  either  happy,  or  useful,  in  a  matrimonial  life. 

To  some  of  those  proposed  matches,  in  early  life, 
the  following  lines  allude,  which  were  found  in  her 
father's  hand-writing,  and  marked  by  Mr.  John  Wesley 
"  Hetty's  letter  to  her  Mother." — 

"DEAR  MOTHER, 

"  You  were  once  in  the  ew'n, 
As  by  us  cakes  is  plainly  shewn, 

Who  else  had  ne'er  come  after. 
Pray  speak  a  word  in  time  of  need, 
And  with  my  sour-look'  d  father  plead 

For  your  distressed  daughter." 

In  the  spring  freshness  of  youth  and  hope,  her 
affections  were  engaged  by  one  who,  in  point  of  abilities 


MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY.  235 

and  situation,  might  have  been  a  suitable  husband  ; 
some  circumstances,  however,  caused  a  disagreement 
with  her  father.  This  interference  did  not  move  Hetty. 
She  refused  to  give  her  lover  up ;  and  had  he  been 
faithful  to  her,  the  connexion,  in  all  probability,  would 
have  issued  in  marriage ;  but,  whether  he  was  offended 
with  the  opposition  he  met  with,  or  it  proceeded  from 
fickleness,  is  not  known.  He,  however,  remitted  his 
assiduities,  and  at  last  abandoned  a  woman  who  tcould 
have  been  an  honour  to  the  first  man  in  the  land.  The 
matter  thus  terminating,  Hetty  committed  a  fatal  error, 
which  many  women  have  done  in  their  just,  but  blind 
resentment, — she  married  the  first  person  who  offered. 
This  was  a  man  of  the  name  of  Wright,  in  no  desirable 
rank  in  life,  of  coarse  mind  and  manners,  inferior  to 
herself  in  education  and  intellect,  and  every  way  un 
worthy  of  a  woman,  whose  equal  in  all  things  it  Mould 
have  been  difficult  to  find ;  for  her  person  was  more 
than  commonly  pleasing,  her  disposition  gentle  and 
affectionate,  her  principles  those  which  arm  the  heart 
either  for  prosperous  or  adverse  fortune,  her  talents 
remarkable,  and  her  attainments  beyond  what  are  or 
dinarily  permitted  to  women,  even  those  who  are  the 
most  highly  educated.  Duty  in  her  had  produced  so 
much  affection  towards  the  miserable  creature  whom 
she  had  made  her  husband,  that  the  brutal  profligacy 
of  his  conduct  almost  broke  her  heart.  He  did  not 
know  the  value  of  the  woman  he  had  espoused  !  He 
associated  with  low,  dissolute  company,  spent  his  even 
ings  from  home,  and  became  a  confirmed  drunkard. 
This  marriage  is  supposed  to  have  taken  place  at  the 
end  of  the  year  1725.  Mary,  of  all  her  sisters,  had 


236  MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY. 

the  courage  to  counsel  her  not  to  marry  him.  To  this 
she  alludes  in  her  fine  lines  addressed  to  the  memory 
of  MRS.  WHITELAMB. 

"  When  deep  immersed  in  griefs  beyond  redress, 
And  friends  and  kindred  heightened  my  distress ; 
And  by  relentless  efforts  made  me  prove 
Pain,  grief,  despair,  and  wedlock  without  love  ; 
My  soft  MARIA  could  alone  dissent, 
O'erlook'd  the  fatal  vow,  and  mourned  the  punishment." 

A  perplexed  and  thorny  path  appears  to  have  been 
the  general  lot  of  the  sensible  and  pious  daughters  of 
the  Rector  of  Epvvorth.  They  were  for  the  most  part 
unsuitably,  and  therefore  unhappily,  married.  At  a 
time  when  Mrs.  Wright  believed  and  hoped  that  she 
should  soon  be  at  peace  in  the  grave,  she  composed 
this  Epitaph  for  herself: 

"  Destined  while  living  to  sustain, 
An  equal  share  of  grief  and  pain ; 
All  various  ills  of  human  race 
Within  this  breast  had  once  a  place. 
Without  complaint,  she  learn'd  to  bear, 
A  living  death,  a  long  despair; 
Till  hard  oppressed  by  adverse  fate, 
O'ercharged,  she  sunk  beneath  the  weight ; 
And  to  this  peaceful  tomb  retired, 
So  much  esteem'd,  so  long  desired. 
The  painful  mortal  conflict's  o'er; 
A  broken  heart  can  bleed  no  more." 

From  that  illness,  however,  she  recovered,  so  far 
as  to  linger  on  for  many  years,  living  to  find  in  religion 
the  consolation  she  needed,  and  which  nothing  else  can 
bestow.  That  she  was  almost  compelled  by  her  father 


MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY.  237 

to  marry  Wright,  appears  evident  from  the  following 
letter  :— 


July  3,  1729. 
"  HONOURED  SIR, 

"  Though  I  was  glad  on  any  terms,  of  the 
favour  of  a  line  from  you  ;  yet  I  was  concerned  at  your 
displeasure  on  account  of  the  unfortunate  paragraph, 
which  you  are  pleased  to  say  was  meant  for  the  flower 
of  my  letter,  but  which  was  in  reality  the  only  thing  I 
disliked  in  it  before  it  went.  I  wish  it  had  not  gone, 
since  I  perceive  it  gave  you  some  uneasiness. 

"  But  since  what  I  said  occasioned  some  queries, 
which  I  should  be  glad  to  speak  freely  about,  were  I 
sure  that  the  least  I  could  say  would  not  grieve  or  offend 
you,  or  were  I  so  happy  as  to  think  like  you  in  every 
thing ;  I  earnestly  beg  that  the  little  I  shall  say  may  not 
be  offensive  to  you,  since  1  promise  to  be  as  little  witty 
as  possible,  though  I  can't  help  saying,  you  only  accuse 
me  of  being  too  much  so ;  especially  these  late  years 
past  I  have  been  pretty  free  from  that  scandal. 

"  You  ask  me  <  what  hurt  matrimony  has  done 
me  ?'  and  '  whether  I  had  always  so  frightful  an  idea  of 
it  as  I  have  now  ?'  Home  questions  indeed !  and  I 
once  more  beg  of  you  not  to  be  offended  at  the  least  I 
can  say  to  them,  if  I  say  any  thing. 

"  I  had  not  always  such  notions  of  wedlock  as  now  : 
but  thought  where  there  was  a  mutual  affection  and  de 
sire  of  pleasing,  something  near  an  equality  of  mind 
and  person;  either  earthly  or  heavenly  wisdom,  and  any 
thing  to  keep  love  warm  between  a  young  couple,  there 
was  a  possibility  of  happiness  in  a  married  state  :  but 


238  MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY. 

where  all,  or  most  of  these,  are  wanting,  I  ever  thought 
people  could  not  marry  without  sinning  against  God 
and  themselves.  I  could  say  much  more :  but  would 
rather  eternally  stifle  my  sentiments  than  have  the 
torment  of  thinking  they  agree  not  with  yours.  You 
are  so  good  to  my  spouse  and  me,  as  to  say,  'you 
shall  always  think  yourself  obliged  to  him  for  his 
civilities  to  me.'  I  hope  he  will  always  continue  to  use 
me  better  than  I  merit  from  him  in  one  respect. 

"  I  think  exactly  the  same  of  my  marriage  as  I  did 
before  it  happened  :  but  though  I  would  have  given  at 
least  one  of  my  eyes  for  the  liberty  of  throwing  myself 
at  your  feet  before  I  was  married  at  all ;  yet  since  it  is 
past,  and  matrimonial  grievances  are  usually  irre 
parable,  I  hope  you  will  condescend  to  be  so  far  of  my 
opinion,  as  to  own, — that  since  upon  some  accounts  I 
am  happier  than  I  deserve,  it  is  best  to  say  little  of  things 
quite  past  remedy  ;  and  endeavour,  as  I  really  do,  to 
make  myself  more  and  more  contented,  though  things 
may  not  be  to  my  wish. 

"  You  say;  '  you  will  answer  this  if  you  like  it/ 
Now  though  I  am  sorry  to  occasion  your  writing  in  the 
pain  I  am  sensible  you  do ;  yet  I  must  desire  you  to 
answer  it,  whether  you  like  it  or  not,  since  if  you  are 
displeased,  I  would  willingly  know  it ;  and  the  only 
thing  that  could  make  me  patient  to  endure  your  dis 
pleasure  is,  your  thinking  I  deserve  it. 

"Though  I  can't  justify  my  late  indiscreet  letter 
which  makes  me  say  so  much  in  this ;  yet  I  need  not 
remind  you  that  I  am  not  more  than  human ;  and  if  the 
calamities  of  life  (of  which  perhaps  I  have  my  share,) 
sometimes  wring  a  complaint  from  me,  I  need  tell  no 


MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY.  239 

one,  that  though  /  bear,  I  must  feel  them.    And  if  you 
cannot  forgive  what  I  have  said,  I  sincerely  promise 
never  more  to  offend  you  by  saying  too  much,  which 
(with  begging  your  blessing)  is  all  from, 
Honoured  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  daughter, 

MEHETABEL  WRIGHT." 

The  following  address  to  her  husband  will  give  us 
some  notion  of  his  character,  and  shew  us  the  true 
cause  of  her  wretchedness. 

The  ardent  lover  cannot  find 
A  coldness  in  his  fair  unkind, 
But  blaming  what  he  cannot  hate, 
He  mildly  chides  the  dear  ingrate ; 
And  though  despairing  of  relief, 
In  soft  complaining  vents  his  grief. 

Then  what  should  hinder  but  that  I, 
Impatient  of  my  wrongs,  may  try, 
By  saddest,  softest  strains,  to  move 
My  wedded,  latest,  dearest  love. 
To  throw  his  cold  neglect  aside, 
And  cheer  once  more  his  injured  bride  ? 

O  thou  whom  sacred  rites  design'd 
My  guide,  and  husband  ever  kind, 
My  sovereign  master,  best  of  friends, 
On  whom  my  earthly  bliss  depends ; 
If  e'er  thou  didst  in  Hetty  see 
Ought  fair,  or  good,  or  dear  to  thee, 
If  gentle  speech  can  ever  move 
The  cold  remains  of  former  love, 
Turn  thee  at  last — my  bosom  ease, 
Or  tell  me  why  I  cease  to  please. 


240  MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY. 

Is  it  because  revolving  years, 
Heart-breaking  sighs,  and  fruitless  tears, 
Have  quite  deprived  this  form  of  mine 
Of  all  that  once  thou  fanciedst  fine? 
Ah  no  !  what  once  allured  thy  sight 
Is  still  in  its  meridian  height. 
These  eyes  their  usual  lustre  show, 
When  uneclipsed  by  flowing  woe. 
Old  age  and  wrinkles  in  this  face 
As  yet  could  never  find  a  place  ; 
A  youthful  grace  informs  these  lines, 
Where  still  the  purple  current  shines ; 
Unless  by  thy  ungentle  art, 
It  flies  to  aid  my  wretched  heart : 
Nor  does  this  slighted  bosom  show 
The  thousand  hours  it  spends  in  woe. 

Or  is  it  that,  oppressed  with  care, 

I  stun  with  loud  complaints  thine  ear? 

And  make  thy  home,  for  quiet  meant, 

The  seat  of  noise  and  discontent? 

Ah  no !  these  ears  were  ever  free 

From  matrimonial  melody: 

For  though  thine  absence  I  lament 

When  half  the  lonely  night  is  spent, 

Yet  when  the  watch,  or  early  morn 

Has  brought  me  hopes  of  thy  return, 

I  oft  have  wiped  these  watchful  eyes, 

Concealed  my  cares,  and  curbed  my  sighs, 

In  spite  of  grief,  to  let  thee  see 

I  wore  an  endless  smile  for  thee. 

Had  I  not  practis'd  every  art 
T'  oblige,  divert,  and  cheer  thy  heart, 
To  make  me  pleasing  in  thine  eyes, 
And  turn  thy  house  to  paradise ; 


MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY.  241 

I  Lad  not  ask'd  why  dost  thou  shun 
These  faithful  arms,  and  eager  run 
To  some  obscure,  unclean  retreat, 
With  fiends  incarnate  glad  to  meet, 
The  vile  companions  of  thy  mirth, 
The  scum  and  refuse  of  the  earth  ; 
Who,  when  inspired  by  beer,  can  grin 
At  witless  oaths  and  jests  obscene, 
Till  the  most  learned  of  the  throng 
Begins  a  tale  of  ten  hours  long ; 
While  thou  in  raptures,  with  stretched  jaws, 
Crownest  each  joke  with  loud  applause  ? 

Deprived  of  freedom,  health,  and  ease, 

And  rivall' d  by  such  things  as  these  ; 

This  latest  effort  will  I  try, 

Or  to  regain  thy  heart,  or  die. 

Soft  as  I  am,  I'll  make  thee  see 

I  will  not  brook  contempt  from  thee  ! 

Then  quit  the  shuffling  doubtful  sense, 
Nor  hold  me  longer  in  suspense  ; 
Unkind,  ungrateful,  as  thou  art, 
Say,  must  I  ne'er  regain  thy  heart? 
Must  all  attempts  to  please  thee  prove 
Unable  to  regain  thy  love  ? 

If  so,  by  truth  itself  I  swear, 
The  sad  reverse  I  cannot  bear : 
No  rest,  no  pleasure,  will  I  see ; 
My  whole  of  bliss  is  lost  with  thee  ! 
I'll  give  all  thoughts  of  patience  o'er ; 
(A  gift  I  never  lost  before ;) 
Indulge  at  once  my  rage  and  grief, 
Mourn  obstinate,  disdain  relief, 
Y 


242  MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY. 

And  call  that  wretch  my  mortal  foe, 
Who  tries  to  mitigate  my  woe  ; 
Till  life,  on  terms  severe  as  these, 
Shall,  ebbing,  leave  my  heart  at  ease  ; 
To  thee  thy  liberty  restore 
To  laugh  when  Hetty  is  no  more. 

It  is  not  likely  that  these  lines  produced  any  good 
effect  on  the  untutored  mind  of  Wright.  He  had  an 
establishment  in  Frith  Street,  Soho,  London,  where  he 
carried  on  the  business  of  plumbing  and  glazing,  and 
had  lead  works  connected  with  it.  His  employment 
greatly  injured  his  own  health,  and  materially  affected 
that  of  Mrs.  Wright.  They  had  several  children,  all 
of  whom  died  young  ;  and  it  was  their  mother's  opinion 
that  the  effluvia  from  the  lead-works  was  the  cause  of 
their  death. 

We  extract  the  following  from  a  MSS.  letter  of 
MR.  WILLIAM  BUNCOMBE,  to  MRS.  ELIZABETH  CARTER, 
inserted  in  "  Brydges'  Censura  Literaria,"  Vol.  VII. 
p.  227.  It  speaks  better  of  Wright  than  he  deserved. 

"  You  desire  some  account  of  MRS.  WRIGHT.  She 
was  sister  to  Samuel,  John,  and  Charles  Wesley.  The 
first  was  an  Usher  at  Westminster,  and  died  master  of 
Tiverton  School  in  Devonshire.  John  and  Charles  are 
eminent  preachers  among  the  Methodists.  Her  father 
was  a  clergyman,  and  author  of  a  poem  called  The 
Life  of  Christ.  It  is  a  pious  book,  but  bears  no 
character  as  a  Poem.  But  we  have  a  volume  of  poems 
by  Samuel  Wesley,  jun.  which  are  ingenious  and  en 
tertaining.  He  had  an  excellent  knack  of  telling  a 
tale  in  verse.  I  suppose  you  must  have  seen  them. 

"  Mr.   Highmore,  who  knew  Mrs.  Wright  when 


MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY.  243 

young,  told  me  that  she  was  very  handsome.  When  I 
saw  her  she  was  in  a  languishing  way,  and  had  no  re 
mains  of  beauty,  except  a  lively  piercing  eye.  She 
was  very  unfortunate,  as  you  will  find  by  her  poems, 
which  are  written  with  great  delicacy ;  but  so  tender 
and  affecting,  they  can  scarcely  be  read  without  tears. 
She  had  an  uncle,  a  surgeon,  with  whom  she  was  a 
favourite.  In  her  bloom,  he  used  to  take  her  with  him 
to  Bath,  Tunbridge,  &c. ;  and  she  has  done  justice  to 
his  memory  in  an  excellent  poem. 

"  Mr.  Wright,  her  husband,  is  my  plumber,  and 
lives  in  this  street;  an  honest,  laborious  man,  but  by 
no  means  a  fit  husband  for  such  a  woman.  He  was  but 
a  journeyman  when  she  married  him ;  but  set  up  with  the 
fortune  left  her  by  her  uncle.  Mrs.  Wright  has  been  dead 
about  two  years.  On  my  asking  if  she  had  any  child 
living,  she  replied,  '  I  have  had  several,  but  the  white 
lead  killed  them  all !'  She  had  just  come  from  Bristol 
and  was  very  weak.  'How,  madam,'  said  I,  'could 
you  bear  the  fatigue  of  so  long  a  journey  ?'  '  We  had 
a  coach  of  our  own/  said  she,  '  and  took  short  stages ; 
besides,  I  had  the  King  with  me  !'  '  The  king  ;  I  sup 
pose  you  mean  a  person  whose  name  is  King/ — '  No ; 
I  mean  my  brother,  the  King  of  the  Methodists  !'  This 
looked  like  a  piece  of  lunacy. 

"  She  told  me  that  she  had  long  ardently  wished 
for  death;  '  and  the  rather/  said  she,  'because  we,  the 
methodists,  always  die  in  transports  of  joy  !'  I  am 
told  that  she  wrote  some  hymns  for  the  methodists,  but 
have  not  seen  any  of  them. 

"  It  affected  me  to  view  the  ruin  of  so  fine  a  frame ; 
so  I  made  her  only  three  or  four  visits.  Mr.  Wright 


244  MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY. 

told  me  she  had  burned  many  poems,  and  given  some 
to  a  beloved  sister,  which  he  could  never  recover. 
As  many  as  he  could  procure,  he  gave  me.  I  will  send 
them  to  you  speedily. 

"  I  went  one  day  with  Wright  to  hear  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley  preach.  I  find  his  business  is  only 
with  the  heart  and  affections.  As  to  the  understanding, 
that  must  shift  for  itself.  Most  of  our  clergy  are  in  the 
contrary  extreme,  and  apply  themselves  only  to  the 
head.  To  be  sure  they  take  us  all  for  stoics ;  and 
think,  that,  like  a  young  lady  of  your  acquaintance, 
we  have  no  passions. 
20th  Nov.  1752.  W.  BUNCOMBE." 

The  following  beautiful  lines  by  Mrs.  Wright, 
seem  to  have  been  a  mere  extempore  effusion,  poured 
out  from  the  fulness  of  her  heart  on  the  occasion,  and 
sharpened  with  the  keen  anguish  of  distress. 

A  Mother's  Address  to  her  dying  Infant. 

Tender  softness !  infant  mild ! 
Perfect,  purest,  brightest  child1! 
Transient  lustre  !  beauteous  clay  1 
Smiling  wonder  of  a  day! 
Ere  the  last  convulsive  start 
Rends  thy  unresisting  heart ; 
Ere  the  long  enduring  swoon 
Weigh  thy  precious  eyelids  down ; 
Ah !  regard  a  mother's  moan, 
Anguish  deeper  than  thy  own. 

Fairest  eyes,  whose  dawning  light 
Late  with  rapture  blest  my  sight, 
Ere  yonr  orbs  extinguish'd  be, 
Bend  their  trembling  beams  on  me ! 


MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY.  245 

Drooping  sweetness !  verdant  flower ! 
Blooming,  withering  in  an  hour ! 
Ere  thy  gentle  breast  sustains 
Latest,  fiercest,  mortal  pains, 
Here  a  suppliant !   let  me  be 
Partner  in  thy  destiny ! 
That  whene'er  the  fatal  cloud 
Must  thy  radiant  temples  shroud ; 
When  deadly  damps,  impending  now, 
Shall  hover  round  thy  destined  brow, 
Diffusive  may  their  influence  be, 
And  with  the  blossom  blast  the  tree  ! 

This  was  composed  during  her  confinement,  and 
written  from  her  mouth  by  her  husband,  who  sent  it  to 
MR.  JOHN  WESLEY.  The  original  letter  sent  with  these 
verses  was  in  DR.  CLARKE'S  possession,  who  says, 
"  it  is  a  curiosity  of  its  kind  ;  and  one  proof  amongst 
many,  of  the  total  unfitness  of  such  a  slender,  and  un 
cultivated  mind,  to  match  with  one  of  the  highest  or 
naments  of  her  sex.  I  shall  give  it  entire  in  its  own 
orthography,  in  order  to  vindicate  the  complaints  of 
this  forlorn  woman,  who  was  forced  to  accept  in  mar 
riage  the  rude  hand  which  wrote  it.  It  is  like  the 
ancient  Hebrew,  all  without  points." 

"  To  the  Revd.  Mr.  John  Wesley  Fellow  in  Christ 
Church  College  Oxon. 

"  DEAR  BRO  : 

"  This  comes  to  Let  you  know  that  my 

wife  is  brought  to  bed  and  is  in  a  hopefull  way  of 

Doing  well  but  the  Dear  child  Died — the  Third  day 

after  it  was  born — which  has  been  of  great  concerne  to 

v  2 


246  MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY. 

me  and  my  wife  She  Joyns  With  me  In  Love  to  your 
Selfe  and  Bro  :  Charles 

"  From  Your  Loveing  Bro  : 

to  Coomd — WM.  WRIGHT." 

"  PS.  Ive  sen  you  Sum  Verses  that  my  wife  maid 
of  Dear  Lamb  Let  me  hear  from  one  or  both  of  you  as 
Soon  as  you  Think  Conveniant." 

The  following  poems,  selected  from  several  others, 
are  also  by  Mrs.  Wright. 

Lines  written  when  in  deep  Anguish  of  Spirit. 

"  Oppressed  with  utmost  weight  of  woe, 

Debarr'd  of  freedom,  health,  and  rest; 
What  human  eloquence  can  show 
The  inward  anguish  of  my  breast! 

The  finest  periods  of  discourse, 

(Rhetoric  in  all  her  pompous  dress 
Unmoving)  lose  their  pointed  force, 

When  griefs  are  swell' d  beyond  redress. 

Attempt  not  then  with  speeches  smooth 

My  raging  conflicts  to  control ; 
Nor  softest  sounds  again  can  soothe 

The  wild  disorder  of  my  soul  ? 

Such  efforts  vain  to  end  my  fears, 

And  long  lost  happiness  restore, 
May  make  me  melt  in  fruitless  tears, 

But  charm  my  tortured  soul  no  more. 

Enable  me  to  bear  my  lot, 
Oh !  Thou  who  only  cans't  redress ! 

Eternal  God!  forsake  me  not 
In  this  extreme  of  my  distress. 


MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY.  247 

Regard  thy  humble  suppliant's  suit; 

Nor  let  me  long  in  anguish  pine, 
Dismayed,  abandoned,  destitute 

Of  all  support,  but  only  thine. 

Nor  health,  nor  life,  I  ask  of  Thee; 

Nor  languid  nature  to  restore  : 
Say  but  "  a  speedy  period  be 

To  these  thy  griefs," — I  ask  no  more  ! 


To  a  Mother  on  the  Death  of  her  Children. 

Though  sorer  sorrows  than  their  birth 
Your  children's  death  has  given; 

Mourn  not  that  others  bear  for  earth, 
While^ou  have  peopled  heaven ! 

If  now  so  painful  'tis  to  part, 
O  !  think  that  when  you  meet, 

Well  bought  with  shortly  fleeting  smart 
Is  never-ending  sweet ! 

What  if  those  little  angels,  nigh 

T'  assist  your  latest  pain, 
Should  hover  round  you  when  you  die, 

And  leave  you  not  again  ? 

Say,  shall  you  then  regret  your  woes, 
Or  mourn  your  teeming  years ; 

One  moment  will  reward  your  throes, 
And  overpay  your  tears. 

Redoubled  thanks  will  fill  your  song ; 
«  Transported  while  you  view 
Th'  inclining,  happy,  infant  throng, 
That  owe  their  bliss  to  you  ! 


248  MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY. 

So  moves  the  common  star,  tho'  bright, 
With  simple  lustre  crown'd ; 

The  planet  shines,  with  guards  of  light 
Attending  it  around. 


A  Farewell  to  the  World. 
While  sickness  rends  this  tenement  of  clay, 
Th'  approaching  change  with  pleasure  I  survey; 
O'erjoy'd  to  reach  the  goal,  with  eager  pace, 
'Ere  my  slow  life  has  measur'd  half  its  race. 
No  longer  shall  I  bear,  my  friends  to  please, 
The  hard  constraint  of  seeming  much  at  ease; 
Wearing  an  outward  smile,  a  look  serene, 
While  piercing  racks  and  tortures  work  within. 
Yet  let  me  not,  ungrateful  to  my  God, 
Record  the  evil,  and  forget  the  good : 
For  both  I  humble  adoration  pay; 
And  bless  the  power  who  gives  and  takes  away. 
Long  shall  my  faithful  memory  retain 
And  oft  recal  each  interval  of  pain. 
Nay,  to  high  heaven  for  greater  gifts  I  bend ; 
Health  I've  enjoy' d,  and  once  I  had  a  friend  .'* 
Our  labour  sweet,  if  labour  it  might  seem, 
Allowed  the  sportive  and  instructive  scene. 
Yet  here  no  lewd  or  useless  wit  was  found  ; 
We  poiz'd  the  wav'ring  sail  with  ballast  sound. 
Learning  here  plac'd  her  richer  stores  in  view, 
Or,  wing'd  with  love,  the  minutes  gaily  flew  ! 
Nay,  yet  sublimer  joy  our  bosoms  prov'd, 
Divine  benevolence,  by  heaven  belov'd. 
Wan,  meagre  forms,  torn  from  impending  death, 
Exulting,  blest  us  with  reviving  breath. 
The  shiv'ring  wretch  we  cloth'd,  the  mourner  cheer'd, 
And  sickness  ceas'd  to  groan  when  we  appear'd. 

*  She  here  refers  to  her  beloved  Sister  Mary. 


MISS  MEHETABEL  WESLEY.  249 

Unask'd,  our  care  assists  with  tender  art 

Their  bodies,  nor  neglects  th'  immortal  part. 

Sometimes  in  shades  unpierc'd  by  Cynthia's  beam, 

Whose  lustre  glimmer' d  on  the  dimpled  stream, 

We  wander'd  innocent  thro'  sylvan  scenes, 

Or  tripp'd  like  faries  o'er  the  level  greens. 

From  fragrant  herbage  deck'd  with  pearly  dews, 

And  flowrets  of  a  thousand  diff'rent  hues, 

By  wafting  gales  the  mingling  odours  fly, 

And  round  our  heads  in  whisp'ring  breezes  sigh. 

Whole  nature  seems  to  heighten  and  improve 

The  holier  hours  of  innocence  and  love. 

Youth,  wit,  good-nature,  candour,  sense,  combin'd 

To  serve,  delight,  and  civilize  mankind  j 

In  wisdom's  love  we  ev'ry  heart  engage, 

And  triumph  to  restore  the  golden  age  ! 

Nor  close  the  blissful  scene,  exhausted  muse, 
The  latest  blissful  scene  that  thou  shalt  choose  ; 
Satiate  with  life,  what  joys  for  me  remain, 
Save  one  dear  wish,  to  balance  ev'ry  pain ; 
To  bow  my  head,  with  grief  and  toil  opprest, 
Till  borne  by  angel-bands  to  everlasting  rest. 

Mrs.  Wright  could  never  be  prevailed  upon  to 
collect  and  give  her  poems  to  the  public.  It  is  said 
that  she  gave  them  at  her  death  to  one  of  her  sisters. 
Many  have  been  published  in  different  collections. 
Some  may  be  found  in  the  Poetical  Register,  the 
Christian  Magazine,  the  Arminian  Magazine,  and  in 
the  different  lives  of  her  brothers  John  and  Charles. 
Most  of  the  poems  were  written  under  strong  mental 
depression. 

She  was  visited  by  her  brother  Charles  in  her  last 


250  MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY. 

illness.  He  says  in  his  journal : — "  I  prayed  by  my 
sister  Wright,  a  gracious,  trembling  soul ;  a  bruised 
reed  which  the  Lord  will  not  break."  She  died  March 
21,  1751 ;  and  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  preached  her  fu 
neral  sermon  from  these  words, — "  Thy  sun  shall  no 
more  go  down,  neither  shall  thy  moon  withdraw  itself, 
for  the  Lord  shall  be  thine  everlasting  light,  and  the 
days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be  ended."  Mrs.  Wright 
was  described  to  DR.  CLARKE,  by  one  who  knew  her,  as 
"an  elegant  woman,  with  great  refinement  of  manners." 

MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY,  afterwards  MRS. 
HALL,  (who  was  sometimes  termed  Patty)  seems  to  have 
been  born  between  1704  and  1708.  She  was  reported 
to  be  her  mother's  favourite.  Mr.  Charles  expressed 
his  "wonder  that  so  wise  a  woman  as  his  mother  could 
give  way  to  such  a  partiality."  Many  years  after,  when 
this  saying  was  mentioned  to  MRS.  HALL,  she  replied, 
"what  was  called  partiality,  was  what  they  might  all  have 
enjoyed  if  they  had  wished  it ;  which  was  to  sit  in  my 
mother's  chamber  when  disengaged  ;  and  listen  to  her 
conversation."  "  What  was  called  partiality  to  Patty," 
says  DR.  CLARKE,  "was  the  indulgence  of  a  propensity 
to  store  her  mind  with  the  observations  of  a  parent 
whose  mode  of  thinking  was  not  common,  and  whose 
conversation  was  peculiarly  interesting  :  and  it  would 
have  been  cruelty  to  have  chased  away  a  little  one,  who 
preferred  her  mother's  society  to  recreation." 

Mrs.  Wesley's  opinion  of  the  strong  characteristic 
steadiness  of  Martha  will  appear  from  the  following 
incident.  One  day,  when  she  entered  the  nursery, 
all  the  children,  Patty  excepted,  (who  was  ever  sedate 


MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY. 


251 


and  reflecting,)  were  in  high  glee  and  frolic,  as  they 
ought  to  be,  their  Mother  said,  but  not  rebukingly, 
"  you  will  all  be  more  serious  one  day."  Martha  lifting 
up  her  head,  immediately  asked,  "shall  I  be  more  serious 
Ma'am?"  " No,"  replied  the  mother.  The  truth  ap 
pears  to  be,  that  the  partiality  was  on  the  part  of  the 
child.  Patty  loved  her  mother,  and  wished  to  listen  to 
her  discourse,  by  which  she  increased  her  fund  of 
knowledge  :  a  propensity  which  was  very  properly  in 
dulged."  To  her  brother  John  she  was  uncommonly 
attached.  They  had  the  same  features  as  exactly  as  if 
cast  in  the  same  mould;  added  to  a  great  similarity 
of  disposition.  Even  their  handwriting  was  so  much 
alike,  that  one  might  be  easily  mistaken  for  the  other. 

But  there  is  one  part  of  Martha's  character  which 
has  been  strongly  censured — her  conduct  in  reference 
to  her  marriage.  Whilst  she  was  at  her  uncle's  house 
in  London,  she  received  the  addresses  of  a  gentleman 
of  the  name  of  HALL,  who  was  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
pupils  at  Lincoln  College.  He  possessed  an  agree 
able  person,  considerable  talents,  aud  manners  which 
were  in  a  high  degree  prepossessing,  to  those  who 
did  not  see  beneath  the  surface.  Mr.  John  Wesley 
was  much  attached  to  him;  he  thought  him  humble, 
and  teachable,  and  in  all  manner  of  conversation  holy 
and  unblameable.  There  were  indeed  parts  of  his 
conduct  which  might  have  led  a  wary  man  to  suspect 
either  his  sanity,  or  his  sincerity  ;  but  the  tutor  was  too 
sincere  himself,  and  too  enthusiastic,  to  entertain  the 
suspicion  which  some  of  his  extravagancies  might 
justly  have  excited.  Samuel  formed  a  truer  judgment. 
"  I  never  liked  the  man,"  says  he,  "  from  the  first  time 


252  MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY. 

I  saw  him.  His  smoothness  did  not  suit  my  roughness. 
He  appeared  always  to  dread  me  as  a  wit  and  a  jester : 
this  with  me  is  a  sure  sign  of  guilt  and  hypocrisy.  He 
never  could  meet  my  eye  in  full  light.  Conscious 
that  there  was  something  foul  at  the  bottom,  he  was 
afraid  that  I  should  see  it,  if  I  looked  keenly  into  his 
eye."  John,  however,  took  him  to  his  bosom. 

In  Hall's  addresses  to  Martha,  there  is  no  doubt  he 
was  sincere ;  and  in  order  to  secure  her,  he  took  the 
expedient  which  was  frequently  practised  in  those  days, 
to  betroth  her  to  himself.  All  this  was  done  without  the 
knowledge  of  her  parents,  or  her  brothers,  for  some  time. 
He  afterwards  accompanied  John  and  Charles  to 
Epworth,  and  there  he  saw  her  sister  Kezzia,  became 
enamoured  of  her,  obtained  her  consent  to  marry  him, 
and  was  on  the  point  of  leading  poor  unconscious 
Kezzia  to  the  altar,  affirming  vehemently  that  "  the 
thing  was  of  God;  that  he  was  certain  it  was  His 
will ;  God  had  revealed  to  him  that  he  must  marry, 
and  that  Kezzia  was  the  very  person."  The  family 
were  justly  alarmed  at  his  conduct;  in  vain  they 
questioned  him  on  the  reason  of  this  change,  when,  to 
the  utter  astonishment  of  all  parties,  in  a  Jew  days 
Hall  changed  his  mind  again,  and  pretending,  with 
blasphemous  effrontery,  that  the  Almighty  had  changed 
His ;  declared  that  a  second  revelation  had  counter 
manded  the  first,  and  instructed  him  to  marry  not 
Kezzia,  but  her  sister  Martha.  The  family,  and  es 
pecially  the  brothers,  felt  indignant  at  this  infamous 
proposal ;  and  Charles  afterwards  addressed  the  fol 
lowing  poem  to  Martha  on  the  occasion,  who,  he  then 
thought, Mas  highly  to  blame. 


MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY.  253 

To  Miss  Martha  Wesley. 

When  want,  and  pain,  and  death,  besiege  our  gate, 
And  every  solemn  moment  teems  with  fate  ; 
While  clouds  and  darkness  fill  the  space  between, 
Perplex  th'  event,  and  shade  the  folded  scene  : 
In  humble  silence  wait  th'  unuttered  voice, 
Suspend  thy  will,  and  check  thy  forward  choice ; 
Yet  wisely  fearful  for  th'  event  prepare, 
And  learn  the  dictates  of  a  brother's  care. 
How  fierce  thy  conflict,  how  severe  thy  flight, 
When  hell  assails  the  foremost  sons  of  light; 
When  he,  who  long  in  virtue's  paths  had  trod, 
Deaf  to  the  voice  of  conscience  and  of  God, 
Drops  the  fair  mask,  proves  traitor  to  his  vow ; 
And  thou  the  temptress,  and  the  tempted  thou  ! 
Prepare  thee  then  to  meet  the  infernal  war, 
And  dare  beyond  what  woman  knows  to  dare : 
Gaard  each  avenue  to  thy  flutt'ring  heart, 
And  act  the  sister's  and  the  Christian's  part. 
Heaven  is  the  guard  of  virtue ;  scorn  to  yield, 
When  screened  by  heaven's  impenetrable  shield. 
Secure  in  this,  defy  the  impending  storm, 
Though  Satan  tempt  thee  in  an  angel's  form. 
And,  Oh  !  I  see  the  fiery  trial  near  ; 
I  see  the  saint,  in  all  his  forms,  appear, 
By  nature,  by  religion,  taught  to  please, 
With  conquest  flushed,  and  obstinate  to  press, 
He  lists  his  virtues  in  the  cause  of  hell, 
Heaven,  with  celestial  arms,  presumes  to  assail; 
To  veil  with  semblance  fair,  the  fiend  within, 
And  make  his  God  subservient  to  his  sin! 
Trembling  I  hear  his  horrid  vows  renew'd, 
I  see  him  come  by  Delia's  groans  pursued. 
Z 


254  MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY. 

Poor  injured  Delia!  all  her  groans  are  vain; 

Or  he  denies,  or  listening  mocks  her  pain. 

What  though  her  eyes  with  ceaseless  tears  o'erflow, 

Her  bosom  heave  with  agonizing  woe  ; 

What  though  the  horror  of  his  falsehood  near 

Tear  up  her  faith,  and  plunge  her  in  despair; 

Yet  can  he  think,  (so  blind  to  heaven's  decree, 

And  the  sure  fate  of  curs' d  apostacy) 

Soon  as  he  tells  the  secret  of  his  breast, 

And  puts  the  angel  off — and  stands  confess'd ; 

When  love,  and  grief,  and  shame,  and  anguish  meet 

To  make  his  crimes  and  Delia's  wrongs  complete, 

That  then  the  injured  maid  will  cease  to  grieve  ; 

Behold  him  in  a  sister's  arms  and  live ! 

Mistaken  wretch — by  thy  unkindness  hurl'd 

From  ease,  from  love,  from  thee,  and  from  the  world ; 
Soon  must  she  land  on  that  immortal  shore, 
Where  falsehood  never  can  torment  her  more  : 
There  all  her  sufferings,  and  her  sorrows  cease, 
Nor  saints  turn  devils  there  to  vex  her  peace  ! 
Yet  hope  not  then,  all  specious  as  thou  art, 
To  taint  with  impious  vows  her  sister's  heart; 
With  proffered  worlds  her  honest  soul  to  move, 
Or  tempt  her  virtue  to  incestuous  love. 
No — wert  thou  as  thou  wast,  did  heaven's  first  rays 
Beam  on  thy  soul,  and  all  the  Godhead  blaze, 
Sooner  shall  sweet  oblivion  set  us  free 
From  friendship,  love,  thy  perfidy,  and  thee ; 
Sooner  shall  light  in  league  with  darkness  join, 
Virtue,  and  vice,  and  heaven  and  hell  combine, 
Than  her  pure  soul  consent  to  mix  with  thine  ; 
To  share  thy  sin,  adopt  thy  perjury, 
And  damn  herself  to  be  revenged  on  thee ; 
To  load  her  conscience  with  a  sister's  blood, 
The  guilt  of  incest,  and  the  curse  of  God  ! 


MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY  255 

These  verses  are  severe  enough,  had  the  case 
even  been  so  bad  as  Mr.  Charles  then  conjectured. 
Martha  appears  at  that  time  to  have  been  in  London, 
when  Hall  went  down  into  Lincolnshire;  and  knew 
nothing  of  the  transaction  with  Kezzia  at  Epworth  till 
a  considerable  time  after  it  took  place.  When  she 
found  how  matters  stood,  she  wrote  to  her  mother,  and 
laid  open  the  whole  business ;  who,  on  this  explanation, 
wrote  her  full  consent,  assuring  Martha  "  that  if  she  had 
obtained  the  consent  of  her  uncle,  there  was  no 
obstacle." 

DR.  CLARKE,  who  labours  hard  to  vindicate  Mrs. 
Hall  in  this  matter,  says,  "  Kezzia,  on  hearing  the  true 
relation,  cordially  renounced  all  claim  to  Hall ;  and, 
from  every  thing  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  she  sat  as 
indifferent  to  him  as  if  no  such  transaction  had  ever  ex 
isted.     Her  uncle,  Matthew,  with  whom  Patty  lived, 
was  so  satisfied  with  her  conduct  and  the  match,  that 
he  gave  her  £500  on  her  marriage,  and  his  testimony 
of  '  her  dutiful  and  grateful  conduct  during  the  whole 
time   she  had  resided  in  his  house.'      Kezzia    also 
gave  her  consent  by  choosing  to  live  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hall  after  their  marriage,  though  she  had  a  pressing 
invitation  to  reside  with  her  brother  Samuel;  and  her 
brother  John  was  to  have  furnished  £50  per  annum  to 
cover  her  expences.     The  true  state  of  the  case  was  for 
some  years  unknown  to  her  brothers ;  and  Mr.  John 
Wesley,  in  a  letter  to  Hall,  dated  Dec.  2,  1747,  charges 
him  '  with  having  stolen  Kezzia  from  the  god  of  her 
youth  ;  that  in  consequence  she  refused  to  be  comfort 
ed,  fell  into  a  lingering  illness,  which  terminated  in  her 
death ;  but  her  blood  still  cried  unto  God  from  the 


256  MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY. 

earth  against  him,  and  that  surely  it  was  upon  his 
head/  That  this  was  Mr.  Wesley's  impression  I  well 
know;  but  it  is  not  strictly  correct.  I  have  the  almost 
dying  assertions  of  Mrs.  Hall,  delivered  to  her  beloved 
niece,  Miss  WESLEY,  and  by  her  handed  in  writing  to 
me,  that  the  facts  of  the  case  were  as  stated  above." 

Opposed  to  this  opinion,  however,  we  have  the 
testimony  of  MR.  MOORE,  who  was  intimately  acquaint 
ed  with  Mrs.  Hall.  He  says  that  "Mrs.  Hall  did  not 
speak  of  her  marriage  quite  as  the  respectable  bio 
grapher  of  her  family  does.  She  was  convinced  for 
many  years,  that  her  brothers  were  so  far  right,  that 
for  both  sisters  to  have  refused  him,  after  he  had  mani 
fested  such  a  want  of  principle  and  honour,  would  have 
been  the  more  excellent  way." 

Till  this  time  John  Wesley  believed  that  Hall  was, 
"  without  question,  filled  with  faith,  and  the  love  of 
God ;  so  that  in  all  England  he  knew  not  his  fellow. 
He  thought  him  a  pattern  of  lowliness,  meekness,  seri 
ousness,  and  continual  advertance  to  the  presence  of 
God  ;  and,  above  all,  of  self-denial  of  every  kind,  and 
of  suffering  all  things  with  joyfulness."     But  afterwards 
he  found  '  there  was  a  worm  at  the  root  of  the  gourd.' 
Hall  began  to  teach  that  there  was  "  no  resurrection  of 
the  body,  no  general  judgment,  no  hell,  no  worm  that 
never  dieth,   no  fire  that  never  shall  be  quenched." 
Mr.  J.  Wesley,  in  the  course  of  his  travelling,  came  to 
Hall's  house,  near  Salisbury,  and  was  let  in,  though 
orders  had  been  given  that  he  should  not  be  admitted. 
Hall  left  the  room  as  soon  as  he  entered,  sent  a  message 
to   him  that  he    must  quit  the  house,  and  presently 
turned  his  wife  Out  of  doors.     Having  now  thrown  off 


MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY.  257 

all  restraint,  and  all  regard  to  decency,  he  publicly 
and  privately  recommended  polygamy,  as  conformable 
to  nature,  preached  in  its  defence,  and  practised  as  he 
preached.  Soon  he  laid  aside  all  pretensions  to  reli 
gion,  professed  himself  an  infidel,  and  led,  for  many 
years,  the  life  of  an  adventurer  and  a  profligate,  at 
home  and  abroad;  acting  sometimes  as  a  physician, 
sometimes  as  a  priest,  or  figured  away  with  his  sword, 
cane,  and  scarlet  cloak ;  assuming  any  character, 
according  to  his  humour,  or  the  convenience  of  the 
day.  Hall  passed  from  change  to  change,  till  at 
last  he  gloried  in  his  shame,  and  became  a  proverb  of 
reproach, — 

"  The  vilest  husband,  and  the  worst  of  men." 

He  would  talk,  with  apparent  ease,  to  his  chaste  wife 
concerning  his  concubines !  He  would  tell  her,  that 
she  was  his  carnal  wife,  but  they  his  spiritual  wives  ! 
for  he  had  taught  them  to  despise  all  sober,  scriptural  re" 
ligion,  and  to  talk  as  corruptly  as  himself.  At  length  he 
broke  all  bounds,  and  retired  to  the  West  Indies,  taking 
his  chief  favourite  with  him.  She  was  a  remarkable 
woman ;  and  appears  to  have  had  more  personal  courage 
than  her  wretched  paramour.  In  an  assault  upon  the 
house  in  which  they  lived,  by  a  black  banditti,  she 
seized  a  large  pewter  vessel,  and  standing  at  the  turn 
ing  of  the  stairs  which  led  to  their  apartment,  she 
knocked  the  assailants  down  in  succession,  as  thev  ap 
proached,  and  maintained  the  post  till  succour  arrived' 
and  dispersed  the  villians.  Hall  continued  his  con 
nexion  with  this  wretched  woman  till  she  died,  and 
then  returned  to  England,  weak  and  in  some  degree 
humbled,  and  was  afterwards  seen  officiating  in  a  church 
z  2 


258 


MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY, 


in  London,  where,  not  long  before  his  death,  he  de 
livered,  with  great  energy,  an  extempore  discourse, 
which  a  gentleman  who  heard  it,  says  was  inimitably 
pathetic.  Mrs.  Hall,  bound  as  she  most  conscientiously 
thought  herself,  by  her  original  vows,  showed  him  every 
kind  of  charitable  attention  till  his  death,  which  took 
place  at  Bristol,  January  6,  1776.  He  exclaimed,  in 
his  last  hours,  "  I  have  injured  an  angel !  an  angel 
that  never  reproached  me  \"  Mr.  John  Wesley  gives 
the  following  account  of  the  closing  scene  : — "  I  came 
to  Bristol  just  in  time  enough,  not  to  see  but  to  bury, 
poor  Mr.  Hall,  my  brother-in-law,  who  died  on  Wed 
nesday  morning,  I  trust  in  peace,  for  God  had  given 
him  deep  repentance.  Such  another  monument  of 
Divine  mercy,  considering  how  low  he  had  fallen,  and 
from  what  heights  of  holiness,  I  have  not  seen,  no  not 
in  seventy  years.  I  had  designed  to  have  visited  him 
in  the  morning,  but  he  did  not  stay  for  my  coming. 
It  is  enough,  if,  after  all  his  wanderings,  we  meet  again 
in  Abraham's  bosom." 

We  shall  now  consider  Mrs.  Hall's  behaviour  as  a 
wife,  to  one  of  the  worst  and  most  unkind  of  husbands. 
"  I  will  adduce  an  instance,"  says  DR.  CLARKE,  "re 
corded  by  witnesses  on  the  spot,  and  corroborated  by 
herself,  on  being  questioned  as  to  its  truth.  When 
they  lived  at  Fullerton,  near  Salisbury,  where  Hall  was 
the  curate,  she  had  taken  a  young  woman  into  the  house 
as  a  seamstress,  whom  he  seduced  :  these  were  the  be 
ginnings  of  his  ways.  Mrs.  Hall  being  quite  unsuspi 
cious,  was  utterly  ignorant  of  any  improper  attachment 
between  her  husband  and  the  girl. 

"  Finding  the  time  of  the  young  woman's  travail 


MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY.  259 

drawing  near,  he  feigned  a  call  to  London  on  some 
important   business,    and    departed.     Soon    after   his 
departure  the  girl  fell  into  labour.      Mrs.  Hall,  one 
of  the  most  feeling  and  considerate  of  women  on  such 
occasions,  ordered  her  servants  to  go  instantly  for  a 
doctor.     They  all  refused  ;  and  when  she  had  remon 
strated  with  them  on  their  inhumanity,  they  completed 
her  surprise  by  informing  her  that  the  girl,  (to  whom 
they  gave  any  thing  but  her  own  name,}  was  in  labour 
through  her  criminal  connexion  with  Mr.  Hall,  and 
that  they  all  knew  her  guilt  long  before.     She  heard, 
without  betraying  any  emotion,  what  she  had  not  be 
fore  even  suspected,  and  repeated  her  commands  for 
assistance.     They,  full  of  indignation  at  the  unfortunate 
creature,  and   strangely  inhuman,  absolutely  refused 
to  obey ;  on  which  Mrs.  Hall  immediately  went  out 
herself,  and  brought  in  a  midwife;  called  on  a  neigh 
bour;    divided  the  only   six   pounds  she  had  in  the 
house,  and  depositedjfoe  with  her,  who  was  astonished 
at  her  conduct;  enjoined  kind  treatment,  and  no  re 
proaches;    and  then  set  off  for   London,  found   her 
husband,  related  in  her  own  mild  manner  the  circum 
stances,  told  him  what  she  had  done,  and  prevailed 
upon  him  to  return  to  Salisbury  as  soon  as  the  young 
woman  could  be  removed  from  the  house.     He  thought 
the  conduct  of  his  wife  not  only  Christian,  but  heroic  ; 
and  was  for  a  time  suitably  affected  by  it;    but  having 
embraced  the  doctrine  of  polygamy,  his  reformation 
was  but  of  short  continuance.     Mr.  Hall  was  guilty  of 
many  similar  infidelities ;  and  after  being  the  father  of 
ten  children  by  his  wife,  nine  of  whom  lie  buried  at 
Salisbury,  he  abandoned  his  family,  and  went  off  to  the 


260  MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY. 

West  Indies  with  one  of  his  mistresses.  Notwithstand 
ing  all  this  treatment,  Mrs  Hall  was  never  heard  to  speak 
of  him  but  with  kindness.  She  often  expressed  won 
der  that  women  should  profess  to  love  their  husbands, 
and  yet  dwell  upon  their  faults,  or  indeed  upon  those 
of  their  friends.  She  was  never  known  to  speak 
evil  of  any  person." 

"When  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  asked  her  "how  she 
could  give  money"  as  previously  related  "  to  her  hus 
band's  concubine?"  she  answered,"!  knew  I  could 
obtain  what  I  wanted  from  many  ;  but  she,  poor  hapless 
creature!  could  not;  many  thinking  it  meritorious  to 
abandon  her  to  the  distress  which  she  had  brought 
upon  herself.  Pity  is  due  to  the  wicked;  the  good 
claim  esteem;  besides,  I  did  not  act  as  a  woman,  but 
as  a  Christian." 

Mrs.  Hall  frequently  visited  DR.  SAMUEL  JOHNSON, 
(at  his  own  particular  request,)  who  always  treated  her 
with  high  respect.  The  injuries  she  had  sustained,  and 
the  manner  in  which  she  had  borne  them,  could  not 
but  excite  the  esteem  and  pity  of  such  a  mind  as  his. 
He  wished  her  very  much  to  become  an  inmate  in  his 
house ;  and  she  would  have  done  so,  had  she  not  feared 
to  provoke  the  jealousy  of  two  females  already  there, — 
MRS.  WILLIAMS  and  MRS.  DESMOULINS.  She  ventured 
to  tell  him  the  reason,  and  he  felt  its  cogency.  It  is 
no  wonder  that  Dr.  Johnson  valued  her  conversation. 
In  many  cases  it  supplied  the  absence  of  books  ;  her 
memory  was  a  repository  of  the  most  striking  events  of 
past  centuries ;  and  she  had  the  best  parts  of  all  our 
poets  by  heart.  She  delighted  in  literary  discussions, 
and  moral  argumentations  ;  not  for  display,  but  for  the 


MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY. 


261 


exercise  of  her  mental  faculties,  and  to  increase  her 
fund  of  useful  knowledge ;  and  she  bore  opposition 
with  the  same  composure  which  regulated  all  the  other 
parts  of  her  conduct.  Of  wit,  she  used  to  say,  she  was 
the  only  one  of  the  family  who  did  not  possess  it;  and 
Mr.  Charles  Wesley  remarks,  that  his  "sister  Patty 
was  too  wise  to  be  witty."  Yet  she  was  very  capable 
of  acute  remark;  and  once  at  Dr.  Johnson's  house, 
when  he  was  on  a  grave  discussion,  she  made  a  remark 
which  turned  the  laugh  against  the  doctor,  in  which  he 
cordially  joined,  feeling  its  propriety  and  force.  "It 
excited  her  surprise,"  says  DR.  CLARKE,  "  that  women 
should  dispute  the  authority  which  God  gives  the  hus 
band  over  the  wife."  "It  is,"  said  she,  "so  clearly 
expressed  in  scripture,  that  one  would  suppose  such 
wives  never  read  their  Bibles  :  and  those  women  who 
contest  this  point,  should  not  marry."  Her  mother 
seems  to  have  been  of  the  same  opinion,  though  she 
evidently  possessed  what  is  called  a  great  spirit. 
"  Vixen,  and  unruly  wives,"  continues  Du.  CLARKB, 
"  did  not  relish  Mrs.  Hall's  sentiments  on  this  subject, 
and  her  example  they  could  never  forgive." 

As  to  the  authority  vested  in  husbunds,  MR. 
JOHN  WESLEY,  in  his  treatise  "On  the  Duties  of 
Husbands  and  Wives,"  usually  printed  with  his  ser 
mons,  says,  "  It  is  the  duty  of  a  husband  to  govern 
his  wife,  and  to  maintain  her.  The  former  implies  that 
he  keeps  his  authority  ;  for  every  man  is  bound  to  re 
tain  that  place,  wherein  his  maker  hath  set  him.  But 
some  will  say  '  this  is  reasonable,  if  it  were  practicable  ; 
yet  some  wives  are  so  violent  and  headstrong,  their 
husbands  cannot  govern  them.'  I  answer,  most  men 


262  MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY. 

blame  their  wives,  when  the  real  fault  is  in  themselves. 
A  man  cannot  hinder  a  violent  woman  from  assaulting 
his  authority,  but  he  may  from  winning  it :  not  indeed 
by  violence,  but  by  skill.      Whoever,  therefore,  would 
be  a  good  wife,  let  this  sink  into  her  inmost  soul,  '  My 
husband  has  the  right  to  rule  me.     God  has  given  him 
this,  and  I  will  not  strive  against  God.'     It  is  granted 
that  a  wife  may  have  more  wit   and  understanding, 
more  readiness  of  speech,  more  skill  in  business,  than 
her  husband,  but  a  servant  may  exceed  both  in  these 
respects  :  and  yet  it  would  be  improper  for  the  servant 
to  claim  an  equality  on  that  account.     Though  the 
husband  be  of  meaner  birth,  or  smaller  capacity ;  though 
he  had  no  wealth  before  marriage,  and  the  wife  had,  yet, 
from   that   hour,  the  case   is  changed,    and  he  is  no 
longer  beneath  his  wife,  but  above  her." 

In  a  conversation,  there  was  a  remark  made,  that  the 
public  voice  was  the  voice  of  God,  universally  recog 
nized,  whence  the  proverb,  "  Vox  populi,  vox  Dei.'* 
This  Mrs.  Hall  strenuously  contested ;  and  said  the 
"  public  voice"  in  Pilate's  court  was,  "  Crucify  him  ! 
Crucify  him  !" 

She  had  a  great  dread  of  melancholy  subjects. 
"  Those  persons,"  she  maintained,  "  could  not  have  real 
feeling,  who  could  delight  to  see,  or  to  hear  details 
of  misery  they  could  not  relieve,  or  descriptions  of 
cruelty  which  they  could  not  punish."  Nor  did  she  like 
to  speak  of  death :  it  was  heaven,  the  society  of  the 
blessed,  and  the  deliverance  of  the  happy  spirit  from 
this  tabernacle  of  clay,  (not  the  pangs  of  separation,  of 
which  she  always  expressed  a  fear,)  on  which  she  de 
lighted  to  dwell.  She  could  not  behold  a  corpse, 


MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY.  263 

"  because/1  said  she,  "  it  is  beholding  Sin  sitting  upon  -•- 
his  throne."     She  objected  strongly  to  those  lines  in 
Mr.  Charles  Wesley's  funeral  hymns  : — 

"  Ah  !  lovely  appearance  of  death  ; 
What  sight  upon  earth  is  so  fair,"  &c. 

Her  favourite  hymn  among  these  was, 

"  Rejoice  for  a  brother  deceased,"  &c. 

There  were  few  persons  of  whom  she  had  not 
not  something  good  to  say  ;  and  if  their  faults  were 
glaring,  she  would  plead  the  influence  of  circumstances, 
education,  or  sudden  temptation,  to  which  all  imprison 
ed  in  a  tenement  of  clay  are  liable,  and  by  which  their 
actions  are  often  influenced :  yet  she  was  no  apologist 
for  bad  principles  ;  for  she  thought  with  an  old  puritan, 
that  a  fault  in  an  individual  was  like  a  fever ;  but  a  bad 
principle  resembled  a  plague,  spreading  desolation  and 
death  over  the  community.  Few  persons  feel  as  they 
should  do  for  transgression,  when  it  is  the  effect  of 
sudden  temptation. 

"  Of  her  sufferings,"  says  DR.  CLARKE,  "  she  spoke 
so  little,  that  they  could  not  be  learned  from  herself: 
I  could  only  get  acquainted  with  those  I  knew  from 
other  branches  of  the  family.  Her  blessings  and  the 
advantages  she  enjoyed,  she  was  continually  recounting. 
'  Evil/  she  used  to  say,  'was  not  kept  from  me;  but 
evil  has  been  kept  from  harming  me/  Though  she 
had  a  small  property  of  her  own,  yet  she  was  princi 
pally  dependent  on  the  bounty  of  her  brothers,  after 
her  husband  had  deserted  her  :  and  here  was  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  remark,  that  '  in  noble  natures  benefits 


264  MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY. 

do  not  diminish  love  on  either  side/  She  left  to  her 
niece,  whom  she  dearly  loved,  and  who  well  knew  how- 
to  prize  so  valuable  a  woman,  the  little  remains  of  her 
fortune,  who  in  vain  urged  her  to  sink  it  on  her  own 
life,  in  order  to  procure  her  a  few  more  comforts." 

Her  niece,  Miss  Wesley,  was  with  her  in  her  last 
moments  :  Mrs.  Hall  had  no  disease,  but  a  mere  decay 
of  nature.  She  spoke  of  her  dissolution  with  the  same 
tranquillity  with  which  she  spoke  of  every  thing  else. 
A  little  before  her  departure,  she  called  Miss  Wesley 
to  her  bedside,  and  said,  "  I  have  now  a  sensation  which 
convinces  me  my  departure  is  near;  the  heart-strings 
seem  gently,  but  entirely  loosened."  Miss  Wesley 
asked  her  if  she  was  in  pain?  "No,"  said  she,  "but  a 
new  feeling."  Just  before  she  closed  her  eyes,  she 
bade  her  niece  come  near, — she  pressed  her  hand  and 
said,  "  I  have  the  assurance  for  which  I  have  long 
prayed  ;  shout!"  and  then  expired.  Thus  her  noble 
and  happy  spirit  passed  into  the  hands  of  her  Redeem 
er  on  the  12th.  July,  1791,  a  few  months  after  the 
death  of  her  brother  John,  with  whom  she  is  interred 
in  the  same  vault.  She  was  the  last  surrivor  of  the 
original  Wesley  family. 

We  shall  conclude  this  account  with  a  few  words 
extracted  from  her  niece  Miss  Wesley's  description 
of  her.  "Mrs.  Hall's  trials  were  peculiar.  Wounded 
in  her  affections  in  the  tenderest  part;  deserted  by 
the  husband  she  much  loved ;  bereaved  of  her  ten 
children ;  reduced  from  ample  competency  to  a  nar 
row  income ;  yet  no  complaint  was  ever  heard  from 
her  lips  !  Her  serenity  was  undisturbed,  and  her 
peace  beyond  the  reach  of  calamity."  Active  virtues 


MISS  KEZZIA  WESLEY.  265 

command  applause, — they  are  apparent  to  every  eye ; 

.'•A    J 

but  the  passive,  are  only  known  to  Him  by  whom  the} 
are  registered  on  high,  where  the  silent  sufferer  shall 
meet  a  full  reward. 

MR.  CHARLES  WESLEY,  the  youngest  son  of 
the  Wesley  family,  was  born  at  Epworth,  December 
18th,  1708,  and  died  in  London,  March  29th,  1788, 
aged  seventy-nine  years  and  three  months.  Connect 
ed  with  his  name,  the  following  anecdote  may  not  be 
uninteresting.  DR.  CLARKE  mentions  that  a  gentle 
man  of  the  name  of  WESLEY,  of  Dangan,  in  the  county 
of  Meat/i  in  Ireland,  of  considerable  property,  wrote 
to  the  rector  of  Epworth,  that,  if  he  had  a  son  called 
CHARLES  he  would  adopt  him  as  his  heir;  and  at  the 
expense  of  this  gentleman,  Charles  was  actually  sup 
ported  at  Westminster  school,  and  when  afterwards, 
he  wished  to  take  him  over  to  Ireland,  Charles 
thankfully  declined,  fearing,  lest  worldly  prosperity 
should  corrupt  him.  The  person  who  Mr.  Wesley,  of 
Dangan  made  his  heir,  and  who  took  the  name  of 
Wesley,  was  Richard  Colley,  of  Dublin,  afterwards 
created  the  first  Earl  of  Mornington,  and  was  grand 
father  to  the  present  MARQUIS  WELLESLEY,  and  DUKE 
of  WELLINGTON.  Wellcslcy  is  therefore  a  corruption, 
and  an  awkward  one,  made  by  the  present  Marquis, 
of  the  simple,  and  more  elegant  name  of  Wesley. 

MISS  KEZZIA  WESLEY,  called  in  (he  family 

papers    Kezzy  and   Kez,  appears   to   have   been   the 

youngest  daughter.     About  1730,  Miss  Kezzy  became 

a  teacher  in  a  boarding-school,  at  Lincoln.     She  pos- 

2  A 


266  MISS  KEZZIA  WESLEY. 

sessed  very  delicate  health  through  life,  which  prevent 
ed  her  from  improving  a  mind  that  seems  to  have  been 
capable  of  high  cultivation.  She  wrote  a  peculiarly 
neat  and  beautiful  hand,  even  more  so  than  her  sister 
Emilia.  Her  brother  John  frequently  gave  her  di 
rections  both  for  the  improvement  of  her  mind,  and 
increase  in  true  religion.  To  a  letter  of  this  description 
she  thus  replies  : — 

Lincoln,  July  3,  1731. 
"  DEAR  BROTHER, 

"  I  should  have  writ  sooner  had  not 
business,  and  indisposition  of  body  prevented  me. 
Indeed  sister  Pat's  going  to  London  shocked  me  a 
little,  because  it  was  unexpected ;  and  perhaps  may 
have  been  the  cause  of  my  ill  health  for  the  last  fort 
night.  It  would  not  have  had  so  great  an  effect  upon 
my  mind  if  I  had  known  it  before  :  but  it  is  over  now — 

'  The  past  as  nothing  we  esteem ; 
And  pain,  like  pleasure,  is  a  dream.' 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  see  '  Norris's  Reflections  on 
the  Conduct  of  the  Human  Understanding,'  and  the 
book  wrote  by  the  female  author :  but  I  don't  expect 
so  great  a  satisfaction  as  seeing  either  of  them,  ex 
cept  you  should  have  the  good  fortune  to  be  at 
Epworth  when  I  am  there,  which  will  be  towards  the 
latter  end  of  August.  I  shall  stay  a  fortnight  or  three 
weeks,  if  no  unforeseen  accident  prevent  it.  I  must 
not  expect  any  thing  that  will  give  me  so  much  pleasure 
as  having  your  company  so  long;  because  a  dis 
appointment  would  make  me  very  uneasy.  Had  your 
supposition  been  true,  and  one  of  your  fine  ladies  had 


MISS  KEZZIA  WESLEY.  267 

heard  your  conference,  they  would  have  despised  you 
as  a  mere  ill-bred  scholar,  who  could  make  no  belter 
use  of  such  an  opportunity,  than  preaching  to  young 
women  for  the  improvement  of  their  minds.  I  am 
entirely  of  your  opinion,  that  the  pursuit  of  knowledge 
and  virtue  will  most  improve  the  mind :  but  how  to 
pursue  these  is  the  question.  Cut  off  indeed  I  am 
from  all  means  which  most  men,  and  many  women 
have  of  attaining  them.  I  have  '  Nelson's  Method  of 
Delation'  and  '  The  Whole  Duty  of  Man,'  which  are  all 
my  stock !  As  to  history  and  poetry,  I  have  not  so 
much  as  one  book. 

"  I  could  like  to  read  all  the  books  you  mention, 
if  it  were  in  my  power  to  buy  them ;  but  as  it  is  not 
at  present,  nor  have  I  any  acquaintances  of  whom  I  can 
borrow  them,  I  must  make  myself  easy,  if  I  can,  but  I 
had  rather  you  had  not  told  me  of  them,  Here  I  have 
time  in  the  morning,  three  or  four  hours,  but  want 
books;  at  home  I  had  books,  but  not  time.  I  wish  you 
would  send  me  the  questions  you  speak  of,  and  I  would 
read  them.  Perhaps  they  may  be  of  use  to  me  in 
learning  contentment,  for  I  have  long  been  endeavour 
ing  to  practice  it. 

"  I  should  be  glad  if  you  would  say  a  little  to  sister 
Emily  on  the  same  subject.  /  can't  persuade  her  to 
the  contrary,  because  I  am  so  much  addicted  to  the 
same  failing  myself.  Pray  desire  brother  Charles  to 
bring  Prior,  the  second  part,  when  he  comes ;  or  send 
it,  according  to  promise,  for  leaving  off  snuff  till  next 
May ;  or  else  I  shall  think  myself  at  liberty  to  take 
as  soon  as  I  please.  Pray  let  me  know  in  your  next 
letter  when  you  design  to  come  down,  and  whether 


268  MISS  KEZZIA  WESLEY. 

Brother  Wesley  and  Sister  will  come  with  you.     If  you 
intend  to  walk,  and  brother  Charles  with  you  ? 

"  I  think  it  no  great  matter  whether  I  say  any 
thing  relating  to  the  people  of  Epworth,  or  not,  for  you 
may  be  sure  '  he  that  increaseth  knowledge,  increaseth 
sorrow.'  I  expect  you  will  come  by  London.  Pray 
desire  sister  Pat  to  write  to  me.  I  have  not  heard 
from  her  since  she  went.  You  must  not  measure  the 
length  of  your  next  letter  by  this.  I  am  ill,  and  can't 
write  any  more, 

"  Your  affectionate  Sister, 

"  KEZZIA  WESLEY." 

Miss  Kezzy  was  to  have  been  married  to  a  gentle 
man  who  paid  his  addresses  to  her  when  she  resided 
with  her  sister  HALL,  near  Salisbury,  but  death  pre 
vented  the  union.  It  appears  that  her  brother  Charles 
was  present  when  she  died.  Of  her  closing  scene,  he 
gives  the  following  account  to  his  brother  John  : — 
"  Yesterday  morning,  (March  the  9th,  1741,)  sister 
Kezzy  died  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  finished  his  work 
and  cut  it  short  in  mercy.  Without  pain  or  trouble 
she  commended  her  spirit  into  the  hands  of  Jesus,  and 
fell  asleep." 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX  A.— Page  12. 

ON   THE    DOCTRINE    OP    PASSIVE  OBEDIENCE. 

The  great  question  of  this  session  (1675)  was  the  non- 
resisting  test,  which  was  submitted  by  the  cabinet  to  the 
upper  house.  The  object  of  this  measure  was  to  bind  all 
parties  to  a  course  of  PASSIVE  OBEDIENCE,  with  respect  to 
the  will  of  the  sovereign,  and  the  church.  It  was  in  short 
an  effort  to  lay  that  yoke  on  all  persons  holding  offices 
under  the  crown,  and  even  on  the  legislature  itself,  which 
had  already  been  imposed  on  corporations,  magistrates, 
officers  in  the  army,  and  the  ministers  of  religion.  So  long 
as  the  NON-CONFORMIST  MINISTERS  were  the  only  parties 
assailed  by  weapons  of  this  nature,  their  followers  exhorted 
them  to  persist  in  the  course  of  the  confessor.  But  it  is 
related  by  BAXTER,  that  when  these  severeties  were  ex 
tended  from  the  ministers  to  the  people^  many  of  the  latter 
began  to  hold  a  different  language.  It  was  discovered 
also  that  an  oath,  which  pledged  the  persons  taking  it,  in 
no  case  to  resist  the  authority  of  the  crown  or  the  mitre, 
not  only  vested  those  authorities  with  divine  right,  but 
virtually  "  dissettled  the  whole  birthright  of  Englishmen."  C 

The  oath  which  the  bill  was  framed  to  extort  was,  "  I 
do  swear  that  I  will  not  endeavour  the  alteration  of  the 
church  or  state.'1  This  pledge,  it  was  contended,  went  to 
annihilate  the  legislative  power  of  parliament.  Once 
adopted,  consistency  would  require  that  no  improvement 
in  our  institutions  should  be  attempted,  nor  the  concurrence 
of  altered  circumstances  justify  a  change  in  them  ; — if  im 
perfect,  they  must  remain  so ;  and  if  inapplicable,  they 
must  be  continued !  It  was  moreover  objected,  that  the 
intended  prohibition  was  not  limited  to  what  might  be 
done  in  parliament,  but  extended  to  whatever  might  be 
spoken  or  written  elsewhere,  with  a  design  to  effect  an 
amendment  of  law;  and  the  ministers  did  not  hesitate  in 
substance,  to  acknowledge,  that  the  bill  was  meant  to  put 
down  all  opposition  to  the  government,  both  in  the  senate 
and  the  nation,  the  existence  of  which  might  be  found 
inconvenient. 

2  A  2 


270  APPENDIX. 

But  it  was  on  the  part  of  this  engagement  which  had 
respect  to  the  Church,  that  the  most  obstinate  discussions 
took  place.  Men  were  required  to  swear  an  adherence 
to  Episcopacy.  But  in  what,  it  was  asked,  does  epis 
copal  government  consist?  From  what  source  are  its 
powers  derived  ?  In  what  manner,  and  to  what  extent, 
may  they  be  exercised  ?  The  prelates  answered,  that 
their  office  was  derived  from  the  Saviour  of  the  world, — 
their  liberty  to  exercise  its  functions  from  the  civil  magis 
trate.  It  did  not  occur  to  them  to  ask  what  the  conse 
quence  of  this  doctrine  of  dependence  on  the  magistrate 
would  be,  as  applied  to  their  predecessors  in  office  be 
fore  the  age  of  Constantine.  It  was  remarked  by  LORD 
WHARTON,  that  excommunication  is  a  great  instrument 
of  Episcopal  authority,  and  he  wished  to  know  whether  the 
bishops  considered  themselves  as  deriving  a  liberty  from 
Caesar  to  excommunicate  Csesar.  It  was  inquired  also, 
whether  the  church  of  Rome  was  not  Episcopal  as  well  as 
the  church  of  England  ;  and  when  to  meet  this  difficulty, 
the  word  protestant  was  proposed,  it  was  shown  that  pro 
testantism  was  as  little  susceptible  of  accurate  definition  as 
episcopacy,  and  much  was  said  to  expose  the  injustice  of 
insisting  that  men  should  swear  to  what  they  could  at  best 
only  imperfectly  understand.  In  conclusion,  the  allegiance 
demanded  was  to  "  the  religion  now  established  by  law  in 
the  church  of  England." 

This  memorable  debate  lasted  seventeen  days,  fre 
quently  beginning  early  and  continued  till  midnight,  and 
beyond  doubt  was  the  most  obstinate  and  powerful  that 
had  ever  taken  place  in  the  history  of  the  Upper  house. 
But  the  bill,  in  its  amended  form,  was  passed  by  the  Lords, 
which  imposed  a  fine  of  £500  on  every  member,  at  the 
meeting  of  a  new  parliament,  who  should  persist  in  re 
fusing  the  security  which  it  demanded. 

But  the  party  defeated  in  the  Lords  hoped  to  be  vic 
torious  in  the  Commons.  Ministers,  on  the  other  hand, 
confided  much  in  the  assistance  of  bribes,  which,  in  more 
than  one  instance,  had  already  enabled  them  to  command 
a  majority  in  that  assembly.  But  as  the  moment  ap 
proached  in  which  the  opposite  party  were  to  have  tried 
their  strength,  a  question  arose  that  brought  on  a  dispute 
between  the  two  houses,  suspended  all  other  business,  and 
made  way  for  a  prorogation.  By  this,  all  that  had  been 
done  on  the  non-resisting  test  was  made  void. 

MARVELL  speaks  of  this  debate  as  "  the  greatest 
which  had  perhaps  ever  been  in  parliament,  wherein,"  he 
observes,  "  those  lords  that  were  against  this  oath,  being 


APPENDIX.  271 

assured  of  their  own  loyalty  and  merit,  stood  up  for  the 
English  liberties,  with  the  same  genius,  virtue,  and  courage, 
that  their  noble  ancestors  had  formerly  defended  the  great 
charter  of  England;  but  with  so  much  greater  commenda 
tion,  in  that  they  had  here  a  fairer  field,  and  the  more  civil 
way  of  decision :  they  fought  it  out  under  all  the  disad 
vantages  imaginable ;  they  were  overlaid  by  numbers;  the 
noise  of  the  house,  like  the  wind,  was  against  them;  and  if 
not  the  sun,  ike  fireside  (the  king,  who  was  present  at  the 
debates,  generally  stood  there)  was  always  in  their  faces, — 
nor,  being  so  few,  could  they,  as  their  adversaries,  withdraw 
to  refresh  themselves  in  a  whole  day's  engagement;  yet 
never  was  there  a  clearer  demonstration  how  dull  a  thing 
is  human  eloquence  and  greatness ;  when  bright  truth 
discovers  all  things  in  their  proper  colours  and  dimensions, 
and  shoots  its  beams  through  all  fallacies." 


APPENDIX  B.— Page  50. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OP  JOHN  DUNTON. 

JOHN  DUNTON  was  born  at  Graff  ham  in  Huntingdon 
shire,  May  14,  1659.  He  was  the  son  of  John  Dunton, 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  and  Rector  of  Graff- 
ham.  We  have  already  stated  that  Duuton  married  one 
of  the  daughters  of  DR.  SAMUEL  ANNESLEY,  and  that  he 
was  a  considerable  bookseller  and  publisher.  About  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Dunton  failed  in 
business,  the  reason  of  which  he  states  as  follows,  "  when  I 
was  living  prosperously  at  the  Black  Raven,  in  Princes' 
Street,  and  as  happy  in  marriage  as  I  could  wish,  there 
came  an  universal  damp  upon  trade,  occasioned  by  the 
defeat  of  the  Duke  of  Monmouth  in  the  West;  and  at  this 
time  having  £ 500  owing  to  me  in  New  England,  I  began 
to  think  it  worth  while  to  make  a  voyage  thither. 

"  I  first  made  trial  how  dear  IRIS  [his  wife]  would 
part  with  me ;  and  I  found  that  though  she  had  a  very 
tender  sense  of  all  the  dangers  I  should  be  exposed  to,  yet 
she  was  always  perfectly  resigned  to  the  will  of  her  hus 
band.  I  stated  the  matter  to  my  honoured  father-in-law, 
Dr.  Annesley,  who  was  then  going  to  Tunbridge,  and 
afterwards  I  wrote  him  the  following  letter. 

"  MUCH  HONOURED  SIR, 

This  comes  to  desire  your  free  thoughts  con 
cerning  my  voyage  to  New  England.     I  have  consulted 


272  APPENDIX. 

several  friends  upon  it,  who  all  ihink  it  the  best  method  I 
can  take.  I  have  a  great  number  of  books  that  lie  upon 
my  hands,  as  the  "  Continuation  of  the  Morning  Exer 
cises"  and  others,  very  proper  for  that  place,  besides  the 
£500  which  I  have  there  in  debts.  However,  I  will  not 
move  without  your  advice  and  consent.  My  dear  wife 
sends  her  duty  to  you,  and  we  hope  the  waters  agree  with 
you.  I  am,  your  dutiful  and  affectionate  son, 

J.  DUNTON." 

To  this  letter  he  received  the  following  answer,  which 
we  the  more  readily  insert,  as  there  remains  so  little  of  the 
correspondence  of  that  venerable  minister  Dr.  Annesley. 

"DEAR  SON, 

"  I  received  yours,  but  cannot  give  so  par 
ticular  and  direct  an  answer  as  you  may  expect.  You 
know  I  came  hither  soon  after  you  mentioned  this  voyage, 
and  had  not  an  opportunity  to  consider  all  the  circum 
stances  of  it.  I  perceive  those  you  have  consulted,  are  for 
it;  and  they  are  better  able  to  foresee  what  may  probably 
be  the  issue  of  such  an  undertaking,  than  I  am,  or  can  be. 
The  infinitely  wise  God  direct  you,  and  give  wisdom  to  those 
that  advise  you.  I  do  as  heartily  desire  your  universal 
welfare  as  any  friend  you  have  in  the  world,  and  therefore 
dare  not  say  a  word  against  it.  My  present  opinion  is, 
that  you  do  not,  (if  you  resolve  upon  the  voyage)  carry  too 
great  a  cargo ;  for  I  think  it  will  be  the  less  trouble  to 
you  to  wish  there,  that  you  had  brought  more,  than  to  fret 
at  the  want  of  a  market  for  too  many.  If  you  observe  the 
course  of  the  world,  the  most  of  all  worldly  trouble  is 
through  the  frustration  of  our  expectations  ;  were  we  not 
to  look  for  much,  we  should  easily  bear  a  disappointment. 
Moderation  in  all  things,  but  love  to  God,  and  serious  god 
liness,  is  highly  commendable.  Covet  earnestly  the  best 
gifts — the  best  graces — the  best  enjoyments  ;  for  which 
you  shall  never,  while  I  live,  want  the  earnest  prayer  of 

"  Your  most  affectionate  father, 
Tunbridge,  August  10,  1685.  S.  ANNESLEY." 

A  little  time  after  Dunton  arrived  at  Boston,  he  sent 
the  following  letter  to  Dr.  Annesley. 

"HONOURED  AND  DEAR  SlR, 

"  I  am  at  last  through  a  merciful  Providence 
arrived  safe  at  Boston.     We  were  above  four  months  at 


APPEiNDIX.  273 

sea,  and  very  often  in  extreme  danger  by  storms ;  and  what 
added  to  our  misfortunes,  our  provisions  were  almost  spent 
before  we  landed.  For  some  time  we  had  no  more  than 
the  allowance  of  one  bottle  of  water  a  man  for  four  days. 
Since  my  arrival,  I  have  met  with  many  kindnesses  from 
Mr.  Burroughs,  arid  others,  of  your  acquaintance  in  Bos 
ton.  I  am  now  in  great  suspense  whether  to  part  with  my 
venture  of  books  by  wholesale,  or  to  sell  them  by  retail. 
If  this  letter  comes  shortly  after  the  date  of  it  to  your 
hands,  pray  let  me  have  your  advice  in  this  matter.  I  am 

"  Your  most  affectionate  and  dutiful  son, 
Boston,  March  2.5,  1686.  J.  DUNTON." 

To  this  letter  Dunton  received  the  following  answer. 

London,  May  10,  1686. 
"  DEAR  SON, 

"  I  was  very  glad  to  hear  of  your  safe  arrival, 
after  your  tedious  and  hazardous  passage.  Those  mercies 
are  most  observed,  and  through  grace  the  best  improved, 
that  are  bestowed  with  some  grievous  circumstances.  I 
hope  the  impression  of  your  voyage  will  abide,  though  the 
danger  be  over.  I  know  not  what  to  say  to  you  about 
your  trading.  Present  providences  upon  present  circum 
stances  must  be  observed,  and  therefore  I  shall  often  in 
prayer  recommend  your  case  to  God,  who  alone  can,  and 
I  hope  will,  do  both  in  you  and  for  you,  exceeding  abun 
dantly,  above  what  you  can  ask  or  think. 

S.  ANNESLEY." 

Soon  after  the  date  of  the  above  letter,  Dunton  returned 
to  London.  The  first  interview  with  his  wife  he  relates 
in  his  usual  artless  manner.  "  We  cast  anchor  at  Ratcliffe, 
where  I  went  ashore  to  visit  my  sister  Mary.  We  sent 
immediately  for  sister  Sudbury  ;  and  desired  her  to  go  and 
tell  dear  Iris  l there  was  a  gentleman  waiting  for  her 
there,  who  could  give  her  some  account  of  her  husband.' 
About  an  hour  after  Iris  came  ;  and  at  the  first  interview 
we  stood  speechless,  whilst  Iris  shed  a  flood  of  tears.  At 
last  we  got  our  tongues  at  liberty  ;  and  then 

'  Embraced  and  talk'd,  as  meeting  lovers  would, 
Who  had  the  pangs  of  absence  understood.' 

We  left  the  tavern,  and  went  home  to  Dr.  Annesley's 
where  I  was  received  with  great  kindness  and  respect. 

"  At  my  return  to  England,  I  expected  nothing  but  a 
golden  life  of  it  for  the  future ;  but  all  my  satisfactions  were 


274  APPENDIX. 

soon  withered  ;  for  being  so  deeply  entangled  for  my  sister- 
in-law,  I  was  not  suffered  to  step  over  the  threshold  for  ten 
months,  unless  it  was  once  under  disguise  ;  and  the  story 
is  this.  My  confinement  growing  very  uneasy  to  me,  espe 
cially  on  Lord's  day,  I  was  extremely  desirous  to  hear 
Dr.  Annesley  preach ;  and  immediately  this  contrivance 
was  started  in  my  head,  that  dear  Iris  should  dress  me  in 
woman's  clothes,  and  I  would  venture  myself  abroad  under 
those  circumstances.  To  make  short  of  it,  I  got  myself 
shaved,  and  put  on  as  effeminate  a  look  as  my  countenance 
would  let  me ;  and  being  well  fitted  out  with  a  large  scarf, 
I  set  forward;  but  every  step  I  took,  the  fear  was  upon  me, 
that  it  was  made  out  of  form.  As  for  my  arms,  I  could 
not  tell  how  to  manage  them,  being  altogether  ignorant  to 
what  figure  they  should  be  reduced.  At  last  I  got  safe  to 
the  meeting,  and  sat  down  in  the  most  obscure  corner  I  could 
find.  But  as  I  was  returning  through  Bishopgate  Street, 
with  all  the  circumspection  and  care  imaginable  (and  then 
I  thought  I  had  done  it  pretty  well,)  there  was  an  unlucky 
rogue  cried  out,  '  I'll  be  hang'd  if  that  ben't  a  man  in 
woman's  clothes.'  This  put  me  into  my  preternaturals 
indeed,  and  I  began  to  scour  off  as  fast  as  my  legs  would 
carry  me.  There  was  at  least  twenty  or  thirty  of  them 
that  made  after  me  ;  but  being  acquainted  with  the  alleys, 
I  dropped  them  and  came  off  with  honour.  My  reverend 
father-in-law  knew  nothing  of  this  religious  metamorphis; 
nor  do  I  think  he  would  have  suffered  it,  yet  my  in 
clination  to  public  worship  was  justifiable  enough.  But 
I  have  no  need  to  apologize  here,  for  it  is  common 
for  men  to  conceal  themselves  in  women's  apparel.  The 
Lord  G y  made  his  escape  from  the  Tower  in  pet 
ticoats  ;  and  that  brave  man  the  Earl  of  Argyle,  made 
his  escape  by  exchanging  clothes  with  his  daughter." 

Dunton  did  not  long  possess  his  excellent  wife,  whose 
death  he  bitterly  lamented,  though  in  the  same  year  he 
consoled  himself  by  another  marriage  with  Sarah,  daughter 
of  a  Mrs,  Nicholson,  of  St.  Alban's.  With  this  lady  he 
does  not  appear  to  have  added  much  either  to  his  comforts 
or  his  fortune.  Her  mother,  who  seems  to  have  possessed 
considerable  property,  left  the  most  of  it  to  public  charities, 
rather  than  to  her  daughter.  This  conduct  caused  Dunton 
to  publish  a  work  bearing  the  following  title: — "Death 
bed  Charity,  or  Alms  or  no  Alms ;  a  Paradox  proving 
Madam  Jane  Nicholson  giving  £50  a  year  to  the  poor  of 
St.  Alban's  was  no  charity,  but  as  she  vainly  thought,  a 
sort  of  compounding  with  God  Almighty  for  giving  nothing 
to  the  poor  in  her  lifetime ;  with  reflections  on  the  pane- 


APPENDIX.  275 

gyric  sermon  preached  at    her    funeral,    by   Mr.   Cole, 
Archdeacon  of  St.  Alban's." 

Dunton,  in  connexion  with  others,  published  "  The 
Athenian  Mercury"  or  a  scheme  to  answer  a  series  of 
questions  monthly.  This  work  was  continued  to  about  20 
volumes;  and  afterwards  reprinted  under  the  title  of  the 
"Athenian  Oracle"  4  Vols.  8vo.  It  forms  a  strange 
jumble  of  knowledge  and  ignorance,  sense  and  nonsense, 
curiosity  and  impertinence.  In  1710  he  published  his  ^  "" 
"  Athenianism"  or  the  projects  of  Mr.  John  Dunton. 
This  contains,  amidst  a  variety  of  matter,  six  hundred 
treatises  in  prose  and  verse ;  by  which  he  appears  to  have 
been  with  equal  facility  a  philosopher,  physician,  poet, 
civilian,  divine,  humourist,  &c.  As  a  specimen  of  this 
miscellaneous  farrago,  the  reader  may  take  the  following 
titles: — 1.  "  The  Funeral  of  Mankind,  a  Paradox  proving 
that  we  are  all  dead  and  buried.  2.  The  Spiritual  Hedge 
hog  ;  or  a  new  and  surprising  thought.  3.  The  Double 
Life  ;  or  a  new  way  to  redeem  Time,  by  lie  ing  over  to-mor 
row  before  it  comes.  4.  Dunton  preaching  to  himself;  or 
every  man  his  own  Parson.  5.  His  Creed ;  or  the  Religion 
of  a  bookseller"  in  imitation  of  Brown's  Religio  Medici, 
which  has  some  humour  and  merit.  This  he  dedicated  to 
the  Stationers'  company.  As  a  satirist,  Duntou  appears 
to  the  most  advantage  in  his  poems  entitled  the  "  Beggar 
mounted  ;"  the  "  Dissenting  Doctors  ;"  "  Parnassus  hoa  ! 
or  frolics  in  verse  ;"  Dunton'' s  Shadow  ;  or  the  character 
of  a  Summer  Friend."  In  all  his  writings  he  is  exceed 
ingly  prolix  and  tedious,  and  sometimes  obscure.  His 
"  Case  altered;  or  Dunton'' s  re-marriage  to  his  own  wife" 
has  some  singular  notions,  but  very  little  merit  in  the  com 
position.  For  further  particulars  of  this  heterogeneous 
genius,  see  his  "  Life  and  Errors."  Dunton  died  in  1733. 


APPENDIX  C.     Page  88. 

THH  HISTORY  OP  THE  CALVES'  HEAD  CLUB. 

In  many  of  the  Tory  pamphlets  about  the  year  1703, 
allusion  was  made  to  a  society  that  was  supposed  to  hold 
meetings  for  the  purpose  of  commemorating  the  death  of 
Charles  I.  It  was  called  the  CALVES'  HEAD  CLUB.  If 
such  a  society  ever  existed,  which  has  been  doubted,  it 
must  have  been  confined  to  few  persons,  and  those  not  of 
the  most  respectable  description.  Although  it  was  evi 
dently  apolitical  club,  and  resorted  to  by  persons  of  various 


276  APPENDIX. 

religions,  yet  the  fashion  of  the  day  being  to  run  down  the 
Dissenters,  ^Ae?/ were  made  to  bear  the  odium  of  it.  LESLIE, 
one  of  the  foremost  of  their  antagonists,  seriously  invites 
the  Dissenters  "to  put  down  their  Calves'  Head  Clubs, 
in  which  they  feast  every  30th  of  January,  and  have  lewd 
songs  which  they  profanely  call  anthems."1  But  what 
would  Leslie  have  said,  if  he  had  known  that  these  anthems 
were  composed  by  a  member  of  his  own  church.  In  ano 
ther  publication  he  says,  "  I  am  told  that  the  last  30th  of 
January,  at  one  of  the  principal  of  their  CALVES'  HEAD 
feasts  in  London,  they  used  a  sort  of  symbolical  ceremony, 
of  sticking  their  knives  all  at  once  into  the  biggest  of  the 
calves'1  heads,  thereby  engaging  themselves  in  a  bond  of  unity 
for  the  restoration  of  Puss,  that  is,  their  Commonwealth, 
and  the  extirpation  of  monarchy,  especially  in  the  line  of 
the  martyr,  whom  they  thus  represented." 

This  political  manuoevre  of  Leslie  was  hastily  caught  up 
by  other  demagogues.  SACHEVERELL,  who  was  never 
behind  hand  in  any  dirty  work,  employs  it  in  a  similar  way. 
In  aid  of  this  dishonest  plot,  it  is  lamentable  to  find  that  the 
publishers  of  Lord  Clarendon's  history  should  be  at  all 
implicated.  The  writer  of  the  dedication  asks,  "  What  can 
be  the  meaning  of  the  constant  solemnizing,  by  some  men, 
the  anniversary  of  that  dismal  30th  of  January,  in  scanda 
lous  and  opprobrious  feasting  and  jesting,  which  the  law 
of  the  land  hath  commanded  to  be  perpetually  observed  in 
fasting  and  humiliation  ?"  He  intimates  that  it  looks  like 
an  industrious  propagation  of  the  rebellious  principles  of 
the  last  age  ;  and  recommends  her  Majesty  "to  have  an 
eye  towards  such  unaccountable  proceedings."  OLDMIXON 
has  a  just  remark  upon  the  passage.  "One  would  have 
hoped,"  says  he,  "that  the  vulgar  scandal  of  the  Calves' 
Head  Club  might  have  been  reserved  for  some  hatf-penny 
history ;  but  I  was  surprised  to  find  it  in  a  dedication  to 
the  Earl  of  Clarendon." 

Let  us  now  hear  what  the  Dissenters  have  to  say  upon 
the  subject ;  for  in  an  appeal  to  fact,  the  accused  party  is 
most  likely  to  have  the  best  information. 

Tbe  first  witness  is  "honest  TOM  BRADBURY,"  who 
at  that  time  was  a  minister  of  considerable  note  amongst 
the  Independents,  and  eminent  for  hispatriotism.  Endowed 
by  nature  with  inimitable  wit  and  courage,  combined  with 
the  advantages  of  a  liberal  education,  no  man  was  better 
constituted  to  support  the  cause  he  had  zealously  at  heart. 

Mr.  Bradbury  annually  commemorated  the  Revolution 
by  a  sermon  on  the  5th  of  Nov.,  which  he  afterwards  pub 
lished.  Some  of  these  discourses  are  as  remarkable  for 


APPENDIX.  '277 

their  shrewdness,  as  for  their  adaptation  to  the  occasion, 
and  may  be  ranked  among  the  most  animated  defences  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  Being  attacked  by  Mr.  Luke 
Milbourne,  "a  clergyman  of  yearly  fame,"  who  in  one 
of  his  anniversary  sermons,  had  said,  "that  London  has  a 
club  of  those  God-mocking  wretches,  who  profane  this  day 
with  impious  feasting."  Mr.  Bradbury  remarks,  "As  I 
never  was  present  at  such  an  assembly,  so  it  is  but  lately 
that  I  was  assured  any  person  of  note  could  be  guilty  of  a 
thing  so  ludicrous  :  but  I  am  satisfied,  it  has  been  done 
within  these  few  years ;  though  I  can  tell  him  (that  except 
ing  one)  all  the  persons  who  met  there,  are  such  as  his 
party  do  now  admire  for  staunch  churchmen,  and  lovers  of 
monarchy  ;  and  much  joy  may  he  have  via.  flying  squadron, 
who  can  step  so  fast  from  profaning  a  day,  to  adoring  it." 

The  other  testimony  .is  that  of  DE  FOE.  "  '  Tis  be 
low  an  Englishman  and  a  gentleman,"  says  he,  "  to  insult 
any  man  that's  down.  To  conquer  a  man  consists  with 
honour;  but  to  insult  him  when  reduced,  is  below  man, 
as  a  rational,  much  more  as  a  generous  creature.  For 
this  reason  if  ever  there  was  any  such  thing  as  a  Calves' - 
head  club,  which  I  profess  not  to  know,  I  abhor,  not  Ihe 
practice  only,  but  the  temper,  that  can  stoop  to  a  thing  so 
base,  which  is  as  much  beneath  a  generous  spirit,  as  hang 
ing  Oliver  Cromwell,  and  others,  when  they  were  dead." 

This  club,  if  it  ever  existed,  was  dragged  from  its 
obscurity  by  a  work  of  some  curiosity  that  then  made  its 
appearance.  The  first  edition  was  published  in  the  early 
part  of  1703,  and  bore  the  following  title :  "  The  Secret 
History  of  the  Calves'*  Head  Club ;  or,  the  Republicans 
Unmasked :  wherein  is  fully  shewn  the  Religion  of  the 
Calves'1  Head  Heroes,  in  their  Anniversary  thanksgiving 
Songs,  on  the  30</<  of  January,  by  them  called  ANTHEMS, 
from  the  year  1693  to  1697."  Such  was  the  popularity 
of  the  work,  that  within  a  few  years  it  passed  through 
several  editions,  with  variations  in  the  title.  The  matter 
of  which  it  is  composed  consists  of  improbable  stories,  dull 
poetry,  and  the  common  cant  of  the  times.  This  is  dealt 
out  in  very  coarse  language,  with  occasional  digressions  of 
low  wit  to  relieve  its  general  dulness.  The  best  edition  is 
the  eighth,  published  in  octavo,  1713,  under  the  title  of 
"  The  Wigs  Unmasked,'1''  with  eight  satirical  engravings, 
illustrating  the  leading  subjects  of  the  work,  which  are 
characteristic  of  the  spirit  of  the  times.  In  all  probability, 
NED  WARD  manufactured  the  history  of  the  Calves'  Head 
Club.  This  writer,  who  is  best  known  as  the  author  of 
"  The  London  Spy,"  kept  a  public  house  in  the  skirts  of  the 

2  B 


278  APPENDIX. 

city  ;  and  having  a  degree  of  low  humour,  with  a  taste  for 
doggrel  rhyme,  devoted  his  powers  to  the  service  of  the 
high-party,  whereby  he  drew  together  many  persons  of 
similar  taste  and  character,  who  were  entertained  by  his 
wit,  and  enlivened  by  his  ale. 

Of  the  origin  and  proceeding  of  the  Calves'  Head  Club, 
the  writer  of  its  history  gives  the  following  account,  which, 
it  appears  he  had  only  from  hearsay.  He  says  "that 
MILTON  and  some  other  creatures  of  the  Commonwealth 
instituted  this  club,  in  opposition  to  Bishop  Juxon,  Dr. 
Hammond,  and  others,  who  met  privately  on  the  30th  of 
January,  and  had  a  form  of  service  for  the  day,  not 
much  different  from  that  now  to  be  found  in  the  Liturgy." 
The  writer  further  adds,  that  he  was  informed  the  Calves1 
Head  Club  was  kept  in  no  fixed  house,  but  that  they 
removed  as  they  thought  convenient.  The  place  where 
they  met,  when  his  informant  was  with  them,  "  was  in  a 
blind  alley  near  Moorfields,  where  an  axe  hung  up  in 
the  club-room,  was  reverenced  as  the  principal  symbol. 
Their  bill  of  fare  was,  a  large  dish  of  calves  heads,  dressed 
several  ways,  by  which  they  represented  the  king;  a  large 
pike,  with  a  small  one  in  its  mouth,  as  an  emblem  of  his 
tyranny ;  a  large  cod's  head,  by  which  they  pretended  to 
represent  the  person  of  the  king  ;  and  a  boar's  head,  with 
an  apple  in  its  mouth,  to  represent  the  king  as  bestial,  as 
by  their  other  hieroglyphics,  they  made  him  foolish  and 
tyrannical.  After  the  repast  was  over,  one  of  the  elders 
presented  an  Icon  Bat-Hike,  which  was,  with  great  so 
lemnity,  burnt  upon  the  table  whilst  the  anthems  were 
singing.  After  this,  another  produced  MILTON'S  Defensio 
Populi  Anglicani,  upon  which  all  of  them  laid  their  hands, 
and  made  a  protestation  in  the  form  of  an  oath,  for  ever 
to  stand  by  and  maintain  the  same.  The  company  only 
consisted  of  Independents,  and  Anabaptists,  and  the  famous 
Jeremy  White,  formerly  chaplain  to  Oliver  Cromwell,  who 
no  doubt  came  to  sanctify  the  club  with  his  pious  ex 
hortations,  said  grace.  After  the  table-cloth  was  removed, 
the  anniversary  anthem,  as  they  impiously  called  it,  was 
sung,  and  a  caffs  skull  filled  with  wine,  or  other  liquor, 
and  then  a  brimmer,  went  about  to  the  pious  memory  of 
those  worthy  patriots  who  had  killed  the  tyrant,  and 
relieved  their  country  from  his  arbitrary  sway;  and  lastly, 
a  collection  was  made  for  the  mercenary  scribbler,  to 
which  every  man  contributed  according  to  his  zeal."* 

*  This  "  mercenary  scribbler,"  DlJNTON  says,  was  a  "  Mr.  Benjamin 
Bridgemater,  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  IJ  is  genius  was  very  rich,  and 
ran  much  upon  poetry,  in  which  lie  excelled.  But,  alas  !  in  the  issue,  wine, 
and  lovf,  were  the  ruin  of  this  ingenious  gentleman." 


APPENDIX.  279 

Although  no  reliance  is  to  be  placed  on  the  faithful 
ness  of  IPar(Fs  narrative,  yet,  in  the  frightful  mind  of  a 
high-flying  church-man,  the  caricature  would  easily  pass 
for  a  likeness.  It  is  probable,  that  the  persons  thus  col 
lected  together,  although  in  a  manner  dictated  by  bad 
taste,  and  outrageous  to  humanity,  would  have  confined 
themselves  to  the  ordinary  methods  of  eating  and  drinking, 
if  it  had  not  been  for  the  ridiculous  farce  so  generally  acted 
by  the  royalists  upon  the  same  day.  The  trash  that  issued 
from  the  pulpit  in  this  reign,  upon  the  30th  of  January,  was 
such  as  to  excite  the  worst  passions  in  the  hearers.  No 
thing  can  exceed  the  grossness  of  language  employed  upon 
these  occasions.  Forgetful  even  of  common  decorum,  the 
speakers  ransacked  the  vocabulary  of  the  vulgar,  for  terms 
of  vituperation,  and  hurled  their  anathemas  with  wrath 
and  fury  against  the  objects  of  their  hatred.  The  terms 
rebel,  and  fanatic,  were  so  often  upon  their  lips,  that  they 
became  the  reproach  of  honest  men,  who  preferred  the 
scandal,  to  the  slavery  they  attempted  to  establish.  Those 
who  could  prophane  the  pulpit  with  so  much  rancour,  in 
the  support  of  senseless  theories,  and  deal  it  out  to  the 
people  for  religion,  had  little  reason  to  complain  of  a  few 
absurd  men,  who  mixed  politics  and  calves  head  at  a 
tavern  ;  and  still  less  to  brand  a  whole  religious  community 
with  their  actions. 

See  WILSON'S  "  Life  and  Times  of  De  Foe.'' 


APPENDIX  D.— Page  121. 

DISTURBANCES  IN  THE  PARSONAGE-HOUSE. 

THE  RECTOR  OF  EPXVORTH'S  account  of  the  Noises 
find  Disturbances  in  the  Parsonage-house,  is  as  follows : — 

"  In  December,  1716,  my  children  and  servants  heard 
many  strange  noises,  groans,  <tc.  in  most  of  the  rooms  of 
my  house.  But  hearing  nothing  of  them  myself,  they 
would  not  tell  me.  When  the  noise  increased,  and  the 
family  could  not  further  conceal  it,  they  told  me.  My 
daughters  Susanna  and  Ann  were  below  stairs,  and  heard  a 
knocking,  first  at  the  doors,  then  over  their  heads,  and  the 
night  after  under  their  feet.  The  maid  servant  heard 
groans  as  of  a  dying  man.  My  daughter  Emilia  coming 
down  stairs  to  draw  up  the  clock,  and  lock  the  doors  at 
ten  at  night,  as  usual,  heard,  under  the  staircase,  a  sound 
ing  among  some  bottles,  as  if  they  had  been  dashed  to 


280  APPENDIX. 

pieces.  Something,  like  the  steps  of  a  man,  was  heard 
going  up  and  down  stairs,  at  all  hours  of  the  night.  My 
man,  who  lay  in  the  garret,  heard  some  one  glaring 
through  it,  and  rattling  as  if  against  his  shoes;  at  other 
times  walking  up  and  down  stairs,  and  gobbling  like  a 
turkey-cock.  Noises  were  heard  in  the  nursery,  and  in 
other  chambers;  my  wife  would  have  persuaded  them  it 
was  rats,  till  at  last  we  heard  several  loud  knocks  in  our 
own  chamber,  on  my  side  of  the  bed.  On  Sunday  morn 
ing,  the  twenty-third  of  December,  about  seven,  my 
daughter  Emilia  called  her  mother  into  the  nursery,  and 
told  her  she  might  now  hear  the  noise  there.  She  went 
in,  and  heard  it  at  the  bedstead,  then  under  the  bed,  then 
at  the  head  of  it.  She  knocked,  and  it  answered  her.  She 
looked  under  the  bed,  and  thought  that  something  ran 
from  thence,  like  unto  a  badger.  The  next  night  but  one 
we  were  awaked  by  the  noises.  I  rose,  and  my  wife  would 
rise  with  me.  We  went  into  every  chamber,  and  gene 
rally  as  we  went  into  one  room,  we  heard  it  in  that 
behind  us.  When  we  were  going  down  stairs,  we  heard, 
as  Emilia  had  done  before,  a  clashing  among  the  bottles, 
as  if  they  had  been  broken  all  to  pieces,  and  another  sound 
distinct  from  it,  as  if  a  peck  of  money  had  been  thrown 
down  before  us.  The  same,  three  of  my  daughters  heard 
at  another  time.  We  went  through  the  hall  into  the 
kitchen,  when  our  mastiff  came  whining  to  us,  as  he  did 
always  after  the  first  night  of  its  coming ;  for  then  he 
barked  violently,  but  was  silent  afterwards. 

"  Wednesday  night,  December  26,  a  little  before  ten, 
my  daughter  Emilia  heard  the  signal  of  its  beginning:  it 
was  like  the  strong  winding  up  of  a  jack.  She  called  us; 
and  I  went  into  the  nursery,  when  it  began  with  knocking 
in  the  kitchen  underneath.  I  went  down  stairs,  and  struck 
my  stick  against  the  joists.  It  answered  me  as  often,  and 
as  loud  as  I  struck  ;  but  when  I  knocked  as  T  usually  do 
at  my  door,  1 — 2  345  6 — 7,  this  puzzled  it,  and  it  did  not 
answer.  I  went  up  stairs  and  heard  it  still,  though  with 
some  respite.  I  observed  my  children  were  frightened 
in  their  sleep,  and  trembled  very  much,  till  it  awaked  them. 
I  stayed  there  alone,  bid  them  go  to  sleep,  and  sat  on  the 
bed's  side  by  them,  when  the  noise  began  again.  I  asked 
it  what  it  was,  and  why  it  disturbed  innocent  children,  and 
did  not  come  to  me  in  my  study,  if  it  had  any  thing  to  say. 
I  went  out  of  doors,  sometimes  alone,  at  other  times  with 
company,  and  walked  round  the  house,  but  could  see  or 
hear  nothing.  Several  nights  the  latch  of  our  lodging-room 
would  be  lifted  up  when  we  were  in  bed.  One  night,  when 


APPENDIX.  281 

the  noise  was  great  in  the  kitchen,  the  latch  whereof  was 
often  lifted  up,  my  daughter  Emilia  went  and  held  it  fast  on 
the  outside  :  but  it  was  still  lifted  up,  and  the  door  pushed 
violently  against  her,  though  nothing  was  to  be  seen  on  the 
outside.  When  we  were  at  prayers,  and  came  to  the  prayer 
for  the  king  and  the  prince,  it  would  make  a  great  noise 
over  our  heads,  whence  some  of  the  family  called  it  a 
Jacobite.  I  have  been  thrice  pushed  by  an  invisible  power. 
I  followed  the  noise  into  almost  every  room  of  the  house, 
both  by  day  and  night,  with  lights  and  without,  and  have 
sat  alone  for  some  time,  and  when  I  heard  the  noise,  spoke 
to  it  to  tell  me  what  it  was,  but  never  heard  any  articulate 
voice,  and  only  once  or  twice  two  or  three  feeble  squeaks, 
a  little  louder  than  the  chirping  of  a  bird. 

"  I  had  designed,  on  Friday,  December  the  28th,  to 
make  a  visit  to  a  friend,  and  stay  some  days  with  him : 
but  the  noises  were  so  boisterous  on  Thursday  night,  that 
I  would  not  leave  my  family.  So  I  sent  to  Mr.  Hoole, 
and  desired  his  company  on  Friday  night.  He  came;  and 
it  began  after  ten,  a  little  later  than  usual.  The  younger 
children  were  gone  to  bed,  the  rest  of  the  family  and  Mr. 
Hoole  were  together  in  the  matted  chamber.  I  sent  the 
servants  to  fetch  in  some  fuel,  and  staid  in  the  kitchen  till 
they  returned.  When  they  were  gone,  I  heard  a  loud 
noise  against  the  doors  and  partition.  It  was  much  like 
the  turning  of  a  windmill  when  the  wind  changes.  When 
the  servants  came  in,  I  went  up  to  the  company,  who  had 
heard  the  noises  below,  but  not  the  signal.  We  heard  all 
the  knocking  as  usual,  from  one  chamber  to  another,  but 
from  that  time  till  January  the  24th,  we  were  quiet.  Hav 
ing  received  a  letter  from  my  son  Samuel  the  day  before, 
relating  to  it,  I  read  what  I  had  written  to  my  family  ;  and, 
next  day,  at  morning  prayer,  the  family  heard  the  usual 
knocks.  At  night  they  were  more  distinct,  both  in  the 
prayer  for  the  king,  and  that  for  the  prince;  and  one  very 
loud  knock  at  the  amen  was  heard  by  my  wife,  and  most 
of  my  children.  I  heard  nothing  myself.  After  nine, 
Robert  Brown,  sitting  alone  by  the  fireside  in  the  back 
kitchen,  something  came  out  of  the  copper  hole  like  a 
rabbit,  but  less,  and  turned  round  five  times  very  swiftly.. 
Its  ears  lay  flat  upon  its  neck,  and  its  little  scut  stood 
erect.  He  ran  after  it  with  the  tongues  in  his  hands: 
but  when  he  could  find  nothing,  he  was  frighted,  and  went 
to  the  maid  in  the  parlour.  On  Friday,  the  25th,  having 
prayers  at  church,  I  shortened,  as  usual,  those  in  the. 
family  at  morning,  omitting  the  confession  and  prayers  for 
the  king  and  prince.  I  observed,  when  this  is  done,  there 
2  R  2 


282  APPENDIX. 

is  no  knocking.  I  therefore  used  them  one  morning  for 
a  trial ;  at  the  name  of  the  king,  it  began  to  knock,  and  did 
the  same  when  I  prayed  for  the  prince.  This  affair  would 
make  a  glorious  penny  book  for  Jack  Dunton,  but  whilst 
I  live,  I  am  not  ambitious  of  any  thing  of  that  nature." 

MRS.  WESLEY  gives  the  following  account  of  the  Dis 
turbances  to  her  son  Samuel. 

"January  12,  1717. 
"DEAR  SAM, 

"  The  reason  of  our  fears  is  as  follows : — 
On  the  first  of  December  our  maid  heard,  at  the  door  of 
the  dining  room,  several  dismal  groans,  like  a  person  at 
the  point  of  death.  We  gave  little  heed  to  her  relation, 
and  endeavoured  to  laugh  her  out  of  her  fears.  Some 
nights  after,  several  of  the  family  heard  strange  noises  in 
divers  places,  usually  three  or  four  knocks  at  a  time.  This 
continued  for  a  fortnight ;  sometimes  it  was  in  the  garret, 
but  more  commonly  in  the  nursery,  or  green  chamber.  We 
all  heard  it  but  your  father,  and  I  was  not  willing  he  should 
be  informed  of  it,  lest  he  should  fancy  it  was  against  his  own 
death,  which,  indeed,  we  all  apprehended.  But  when  it 
began  to  be  so  troublesome,  both  day  and  night,  that  few 
of  the  family  durst  be  alone,  I  resolved  to  tell  him,  being 
minded  he  should  speak  to  it.  At  first  he  would  not  believe 
but  that  somebody  did  it  to  alarm  us  ;  but  the  night  after, 
as  soon  as  he  was  in  bed.  it  knocked  loudly  nine  times,  just 
by  his  bedside.  He  rose,  and  went  to  see  if  he  could  find 
out  what  it  was,  but  could  see  nothing.  One  night  it  made 
a  noise  in  the  room  over  our  heads  as  if  several  people  were 
walking,  then  ran  up  and  down  stairs,  and  was  so  outra 
geous,  that  we  thought  the  children  would  be  frighted ;  so 
your  father  and  I  arose,  and  went  down  in  the  dark  to  light 
a  candle.  Just  as  we  came  to  the  bottom  of  the  broad 
stairs,  having  hold  of  each  other,  on  my  side  there  seemed 
as  if  somebody  had  emptied  a  bag  of  money  at  my  feet ; 
and  on  his,  as  if  all  the  bottles  under  the  stairs  had  been 
dashed  in  pieces. 

"  The  next  night  your  father  would  get  Mr.  Hoole  to 
lie  at  our  house,  and  we  all  sat  together  till  one  or  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  heard  the  knocking  as  usual. 
Sometimes  it  would  make  a  noise  like  the  winding  up  of  a 
jack;  at  other  times,  as  that  night  Mr.  Hoole  was  with  us, 
like  a  carpenter  planing  deals.  We  persuaded  your  father 
to  speak,  and  try  if  any  voice  could  be  heard.  One  night, 
about  six  o'clock,  he  went  into  the  nursery  in  the  dark,  and 
at  first  heard  several  groans,  then  knocking.  He  adjured  it 


APPENDIX.  283 

to  speak  if  it  bad  power,  and  tell  him  why  it  troubled  his 
house, but  no  voice  was  heard,  audit  knocked  thrice  aloud. 
Then  he  questioned  it  if  it  were  Sammy  ;  and  bid  it,  if  it 
were,  and  could  not  speak,  to  knock  again ;  but  it  did  no 
more  that  night,  which  made  us  hope  it  was  not  against 
your  death.  Thus  it  continued  till  the  28th  of  December, 
when  it  loudly  knocked  in  the  nursery,  (as  your  father  used 
to  do  at  the  gate)  and  departed.  We  have  various  con 
jectures  what  this  may  mean.  For  my  own  part,  I  fear 
nothing  now  that  you  are  safe  at  London,  and  I  hope  God 
will  still  preserve  you.  Though  sometimes  I  am  inclined  to 
think  my  brother  is  dead.  Let  me  know  your  thoughts 
on  it.  SUSANNA  WESLEY." 

Miss  EMILIA  WESLEY,  the  eldest  daughter,  thus  writes 
to  her  brother  Samuel  in  reference  to  the  Disturbances. 

"DEAR  BROTHER, 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  last ;  and  shall  give 
you  what  satisfaction  is  in  my  power,  concerning  Jeffrey. 
I  am  so  far  from  being  superstitious,  that  I  was  too  much 
inclined  to  infidelity.  I  shall  only  tell  you  what  I  myself 
heard,  and  leave  the  rest  to  others.  My  sisters  had  heard 
noises,  and  told  me  of  them;  but  I  did  not  much  believe, 
till  one  night,  about  a  week  after  when  groans  were  heard, 
just  after  the  clock  had  struck  ten,  and  I  went  down  stairs 
to  lock  the  doors :  scarcely  had  I  got  up  the  best  stairs, 
when  I  heard  a  noise,  like  a  person  throwing  down  a  vast 
coal  in  the  middle  of  the  kitchen.  I  was  not  much  frighted, 
but  went  to  my  sister  Sufcey,  and  we  together  went  all 
over  the  low  rooms,  but  there  was  nothing  out  of  order. 

"  Our  dog  was  fast  asleep,  and  our  only  cat  at  the  other 
end  of  the  house.  No  sooner  was  I  got  up  stairs,  and  un 
dressing  for  bed,  than  I  heard  a  noise  among  many  bottles 
that  stand  under  the  best  stairs,  just  like  the  throwing  of  a 
great  stone  among  them.  This  made  me  hasten  to  bed; 
but  my  sister  Hetty  who  always  waited  on  my  father  going 
to  bed,  was  still  sitting  on  the  lowest  step  of  the  garret 
stairs,  the  door  being  shut  at  her  back,  when  there  came 
down  the  stairs,  something  like  unto  a  man  in  a  loose  night 
gown  trailing  after  him,  which  made  her  fly,  rather  than 
run,  to  me  in  the  nursery.  All  this  time  we  never  told  our 
father  of  it ;  but  soon  after  we  did.  He  smiled,  and  gave 
no  answer,  but  was  more  careful  than  usual,  from  that 
time,  to  see  us  in  bed,  imagining  it  to  be  some  of  us  young 
women  that  sat  up  late,  and  made  a  noise.  His  incredulity, 
and  especially  his  imputing  it  to  us,  or  our  lovers,  made 
me  desirous  of  its  continuance  till  he  was  convinced.  As 


284  APPENDIX. 

for  my  mother,  she  firmly  believed  it  to  be  rats,  and  sent 
for  a  horn  to  blow  them  away.  I  laughed  to  think  how 
wisely  they  were  employed,  who  were  striving  half  a  day 
1o  fright  away  Jeffrey,  for  that  name  I  gave  it,  with  a  horn. 
But  whatever  it  was,  I  perceived  it  could  be  made  angry. 
From  that  time  it  was  so  outrageous,  there  was  no  quiet 
for  us  after  ten  at  night.  I  heard  frequently  between  ten 
and  eleven  something  like  the  quick  winding  up  of  a  jack, 
at  the  corner  of  the  room  by  my  bed's  head.  This  was 
the  common  signal  of  its  coming.  Then  it  would  knock 
on  the  floor  three  times,  and  afterwards  at  my  sister's 
bed's  head  in  the  same  room,  almost  always  three  together. 
The  sound  was  hollow  and  loud,  so  as  none  of  us  could 
ever  imitate.  It  would  answer  to  my  mother,  if  she 
stamped  with  her  foot  on  the  floor.  It  would  knock  when 
I  was  putting  the  children  to  bed,  just  under  me  where  I 
sat.  One  time  little  Kezzt/,  pretending  to  scare  Patty,  as 
I  was  undressing  them,  stamped  with  her  foot  on  the  floor, 
and  immediately  it  answered  with  three  knocks,  just  in  the 
same  place.  It  was  more  loud  and  fierce  if  we  said  it  was 
rats,  or  any  thing  natural. 

"  I  could  tell  you  abundance  more  of  it ;  but  the  rest 
will  write,  and  therefore  it  would  be  needless.  It  was 
never  near  me,  except  two  or  three  times;  and  never  fol 
lowed  me,  as  it  did  my  sister  Hetty.  I  have  been  with  her 
when  it  has  knocked  under  her,  and  when  she  has  removed, 
has  followed,  and  still  kept  under  her  feet.  Besides,  some 
thing  was  thrice  seen.  The  first  time  by  my  mother,  under 
my  sister's  bed,  like  a  badger.  The  same  creature  was  sat 
by  the  dining  room  fire  one  evening;  when  our  man  went 
into  the  room,  it  ran  by  him,  through  the  hall.  He  fol 
lowed  with  a  candle  and  searched,  but  it  was  gone.  The 
last  time  he  saw  it  in  the  kitchen,  it  was  like  a  white  rabbit. 
I  would  venture  to  fire  a  pistol  at  it,  if  I  saw  it  long  enough. 

"  EMILIA  WESLEY." 

There  are  other  details  of  the  noises  and  disturbances 
by  several  of  the  elder  Sisters  to  their  brothers,  Samuel  and 
John  ;  and  also  a  Narrative  drawn  up  by  Mr.  John  Wesley, 
that  appeared  in  the  "  Arminian  Magazine"  several  years 
ago,  which  last  we  here  insert. 

"When  I  went  down  to  Epworth"  says  he,  "in  the 
year  1720,  I  carefully  inquired  into  the  particulars  of  the 
strange  Disturbances  at  the  Parsonage-house.  I  spoke  to 
each  of  the  persons  who  were  then  living,  and  had  heard 
the  noises,  and  took  down  what  they  could  testify.  The 
sum  of  which  was  this.  "Dec.  2, 1716,  while  Robert  Brown, 


APPENDIX  285 

fny  father's  servant,  was  sitting  with  one  of  the  maids 
about  ten  at  night,  in  the  dining  room,  they  heard  a  knock 
ing  at  the  door.  Robert  rose  and  opened  it,  but  could  see 
nobody.  Quickly  it  knocked  again,  and  groaned.  '  It  is 
Mr.  Turpine,'  said  Robert,  '  he  has  the  stone,  and  used  to 
groan  so.'  He  opened  the  door  again  twice  or  thrice,  the 
knocking  being  repeated.  But  still  seeing  nothing,  he 
went  to  bed.  When  Robert  came  to  the  top  of  the  great 
stairs,  he  saw  a  hand-mill,  which  was  at  a  little  distance, 
whirled  about  very  swiftly.  When  he  related  this,  he  said, 
'  nought  vexed  me,  but  that  it  was  empty.  I  thought  if 
it  had  been  full  of  malt,  he  might  have  ground  his  heart 
out  for  me.'  When  he  was  in  bed  he  heard,  as  it  were,  the 
gobbling  of  a  turkey  cock,  close  to  his  bed-side  ;  and  soon 
after,  the  sound  of  one  stumbling  over  his  shoes  and  boots, 
but  there  were  none,  he  had  left  them  below.  The  next 
day,  he  and  the  maid  related  these  things  to  the  other 
maid,  who  laughed  heartily,  and  said,  '  what  a  couple  of 
fools  are  you  !  I  defy  any  thing  to  frighten  me.'  After 
churning  in  the  evening,  she  put  the  butter  in  the  tray,  and 
had  no  sooner  carried  it  into  the  dairy,  than  she  heard  a 
knocking  on  the  shelf  where  several  pancheons  of  milk 
stood,  first  above  the  shelf,  then  below.  She  took  the  can 
dle  and  searched  both  above  and  below;  but  being  able  to 
find  nothing,  threw  down  butter,  tray  and  all,  and  ran 
away.  The  next  evening,  between  five  and  six  o'clock,  my 
sister  Molly,  then  about  twenty  years  of  age,  sitting  in  the 
dining  room,  reading,  heard  the  door  that  leads  into  the 
hall  open,  and  a  person  walking  in,  that  seemed  to  have  on 
a  silk  night-gown,  rustling  and  trailing  along.  It  appeared 
to  walk  round  her,  and  then  to  the  door  :  but  she  could  see 
nothing.  So  she  rose,  put  her  book  under  her  arm,  and 
walked  slowly  away.  After  supper,  she  was  sitting  with 
my  sister  Sukey,  (about  a  year  older,)  in  one  of  the  cham 
bers,  and  telling  her  what  had  happened,  she  quite  made 
light  of  it;  saying,  '  I  wonder  you  are  so  easily  frightened ; 
I  would  fain  see  what  could  frighten  me.'  Presently  a 
knocking  began  under  the  table.  She  took  the  candle  and 
looked,  but  could  find  nothing.  The  iron  casement  began 
to  clatter,  and  the  lid  of  a  warming  pan.  Next,  the  latch 
of  the  door  began  to  move  up  and  down  without  ceasing. 
She  started  up,  leaped  into  the  bed  without  undressing, 
pulled  the  bed  clothes  over  her  head,  and  never  ventured  to 
look  up  till  morning.  A  night  or  two  after,  my  sister 
Hetty,  a  year  younger  than  Molly,  was  waiting,  as  usual, 
between  nine  and  ten,  to  take  away  my  father's  candle, 
when  she  heard  one  coming  down  the  garret  stairs, 


286  APPENDIX. 

walking  slowly.  At  every  step,  the  house  seemed  shook 
from  top  to  bottom.  Just  then  my  father  called.  She  went 
in,  took  his  caudle,  and  got  to  bed  as  fast  as  possible.  In 
the  morning,  she  told  this  to  my  eldest  sister,  who  said, 
'  you  know  I  believe  none  of  these  things.  Pray  let  me 
take  away  the  candle  to-night,  and  I  will  find  out  the 
trick.'  She  accordingly  took  my  sister  Hetty's  place ;  and 
had  no  sooner  taken  away  the  candle,  than  she  heard  a 
noise  below.  She  hastened  down  stairs  to  the  hall,  where 
the  noise  was.  But  it  was  then  in  the  kitchen.  She  ran 
into  the  kitchen,  where  it  was  drumming  on  the  inside  of 
the  screen.  When  she  went  round,  it  was  drumming  on 
the  outside.  Then  she  heard  a  knocking  at  the  back 
ktchen  door.  She  ran  to  it ;  unlocked  it  softly ;  and  when 
the  knocking  was  repeated,  suddenly  opened  it :  but  nothing 
was  to  be  seen.  As  soon  as  she  had  shut  it,  the  knocking 
began  again.  She  opened  it  again,  but  could  see  nothing  : 
when  she  went  to  shut  the  door,  it  was  violently  thrust 
against  her :  but  she  set  her  knee  to  the  door,  forced  it  too, 
and  turned  the  key.  Then  the  noise  began  again :  but 
she  let  it  go  on,  and  went  up  to  bed. 

"  The  next  morning  my  sister  telling  my  mother  what 
had  happened,  she  said,  '  If  I  hear  any  thing  myself,  I  shall 
know  how  to  judge.'  Soon  after,  Emilia  begged  her  mother 
to  come  into  the  nursery.  She  did,  and  heard  in  a  corner 
of  the  room,  as  it  were  the  violent  rocking  of  a  cradle. 
She  was  convinced  it  was  preternatural,  and  earnestly 
prayed  it  might  not  disturb  her  in  her  chamber  at  the 
hours  of  retirement:  and  it  never  did.  She  now  thought 
it  was  proper  to  tell  my  father.  He  was  extremely  angry, 
and  said,  '  Siikey,  I  am  ashamed  of  you :  these  girls  frighten 
one  another ;  but  you  are  a  woman  of  sense,  and  should 
know  better.  Let  me  hear  of  it  no  more.'  At  six  in  the 
evening,  we  had  family  prayers  as  usual.  When  my  father 
began  the  prayer  for  the  king,  a  knocking  commenced  all 
round  the  room ;  and  a  thundering  one  attended  the  Amen. 
The  same  was  heard  from  this  time  every  morning  and 
evening,  while  the  prayer  for  the  king  was  repeated. 

"  Being  informed  that  Ma.  HOOLE,  the  vicar  of  Haxey 
near  Epworth,  a  very  sensible  man,  could  give  me  some 
further  information,  I  walked  over  to  him.  He  said, 
*  Robert  Brown  came  and  told  me  your  father  desired  my 
company.  When  I  went,  he  gave  me  an  account  of  all  that 
had  happened;  particularly  the  knocking  during  family 
prayer.  But  that  evening  (to  my  great  satisfaction)  we 
had  no  knocking  during  prayer.  But  between  nine  and 
ten  o'clock,  a  servant  came  in  and  said,  'Old  Jeffrey  is 


APPENDIX.  287 

coming,  for  I  hear  the  signal.'  This,  they  informed  me 
was  heard  every  night  about  a  quarter  before  ten.  It 
was  at  the  top  of  the  house  on  the  outside,  and  resem 
bled  the  loud  creaking  of  a  saw  :  or  rather  that  of  a  wind 
mill,  when  the  body  of  it  is  turned  about.  We  then  heard 
a  knocking  over  our  heads,  and  Mr.  Wesley  catching  up  a 
candle,  said,  'come,  Sir,  now  you  shall  hear  for  yourself.' 
We  went  up  stairs,  he  with  much  hope  and  I  (to  say  the 
truth)  with  much/ear.  When  we  came  into  the  nursery, 
it  was  knocking  in  the  next  room ;  when  we  were  there,  it 
was  knocking  in  the  nursery.  And  there  it  continued  to 
knock,  though  we  came  in,  particularly  at  the  head  of  the 
bed  in  which  Miss  Hetty  and  two  of  her  sisters  lay.  Mr. 
Wesley,  observing  that  they  were  much  affected,  though 
asleep,  sweating  and  trembling  exceedingly,  was  angry, 
pulled  out  a  pistol,  and  was  going  to  fire  at  the  place  from 
whence  the  sound  came,  but  I  caught  his  arm,  and 
said,  '  Sir,  you  are  convinced  this  is  something  preterna 
tural.  If  so,  you  cannot  hurt  it:  but  you  give  it  power  to 
hurt  you.'  He  then  went  close  to  the  phice,  and  said 
sternly,  'thou  deaf  and  dumb  devil,  why  dost  thou  frighten 
these  children?  Come  to  me  in  my  study,  that  am  a  man.' 
Instantly  it  gave  the  particular  knock  which  your  father 
uses  at  the  gate,  as  if  it  would  shiver  the  board  in  pieces. 
"  Till  this,  my  father  had  not  heard  the  least  dis 
turbance  in  his  study.  But  the  next  evening,  as  he  went 
into  it,  the  door  was  thrust  against  him.  Presently  there 
was  knocking  in  the  next  room  where  my  sister  Nancy  was. 
He  went  into  that  room,  and  adjured  it  to  speak;  but  in 
vain.  He  then  said  'these  spirits  love  darkness:  put  out 
the  candle,  and  perhaps  it  will  speak  :'  she  did  so;  and  he 
repeated  his  adjuration;  but  still  there  was  no  articulate 
sound.  Upon  this, he  said, 'Nancy,  go  downstairs  ;  itmay 
be,  when  I  am  alone,  it  will  have  courage  to  speak.' 
When  she  was  gone,  a  thought  struck  him,  '  if  thou  art 
the  spirit  of  my  son  Samuel,  I  pray,  knock  thrice,  but  not 
oftener.'  Immediately  all  was  silence  ;  and  there  was  no 
more  noise  that  night.  I  asked  my  sister  Nancy  whether 
she  was  not  afraid.  She  answered,  yes,  when  the  candle 
was  put  out ;  but  was  not  so  in  the  day-time,  when  it  fol 
lowed  her,  as  she  swept  the  chambers,  and  seemed  to  sweep 
after  her.  Only  she  thought  he  might  have  done  it  for  her. 
By  this  time  all  my  sisters  were  so  frequently  accus 
tomed  to  these  noises,  that  they  gave  them  little  disturb 
ance.  A  gentle  tapping  at  their  bed-head  usually  began 
between  nine  and  ten  at  night.  They  then  commonly  said 
to  each  other,  '  Jeffrey  is  coming  :  it  is  time  to  go  to  sleep."1 


288  APPENDIX. 

And  if  they  beard  a  noise  during  the  day,  they  said  lo 
their  youngest  sister,  'hark,  Kezzy,  Jeffrey  is  knocking 
above,1  she  would  then  run  up  stairs,  and  pursue  it  from 
room  to  room,  saying,  it  was  a  nice  diversion. 

"A  few  nights  after,  my  father  and  mother  were  just 
gone  to  bed,  and  the  candle  was  not  taken  away,  when 
they  heard  three  blows,  as  it  were  with  a  large  staff,  struck 
upon  a  chest  which  stood  by  the  bed-side.  My  father  im 
mediately  arose,  put  on  his  night  gown,  and  hearing  great 
noises  below,  took  the  candle  and  went  down :  my  mother 
walked  by  his  side.  As  they  went  down  the  stairs,  they 
heard  as  if  a  vessel  full  of  silver  was  poured  upon  my  mother's 
breast.  Soon  after  there  was  a  noise  as  if  a  large  iron  ball 
was  thrown  among  the  bottles  under  the  stairs :  and  the 
mastiff  dog  came  and  ran  to  shelter  himself  between  them. 
After  two  or  three  days,  the  dog  used  to  tremble,  and 
creep  away  before  the  noise  began.  A  little  before  my 
father  and  mother  came  into  the  hall,  it  seemed  as  if 
a  large  coal  was  violently  thrown  upon  the  floor,  and 
dashed  in  pieces:  but  nothing  was  seen.  My  father  then 
cried  out,  '  Sukey,  do  you  not  hear  ?  All  the  pewter  is 
thrown  about  the  kitchen.1  But  when  they  looked,  the 
pewter  stood  in  its  place.  There  was  then  a  very  loud 
knocking  at  the  back-door.  My  father  opened  it,  but  saw 
nothing.  It  was  then  at  the  fore-door.  He  opened  that ; 
but  it  was  still  lost  labour.  After  opening  first  the  one, 
then  the  other  several  times,  he  went  up  to  bed.  But 
the  noises  were  so  violent  all  over  the  house,  that  he 
could  not  sleep  till  four  in  the  morning. 

"  Several  gentlemen  and  clergymen  now  earnestly 
advised  my  father  to  quit  the  house.  But  he  constantly 
answered,  '  no :  let  the  devil  flee  from  me :  I  will  never 
flee  from  the  devil.1  But  he  wrote  to  my  eldest  brother  at 
London  to  come  down,  who  was  preparing  to  do  so,  when 
another  letter  went,  informing  him  that  the  disturbances 
were  over;  after  they  had  continued  from  the  second  of 
December  1716,  to  the  end  of  January,  1717." 


NOMINAL  INDEX. 


Anglesea,  Arthur,  Earl  of,  32,  35,  218. 

Anglesea,  Countess  of,  60. 

Anuesley,  Francis,  Esquire,  32  note. 

ANNESLEY,  DR.  SAMUEL,  Life  of,  32,  88,  114,  153. 

ANNESLEY,  SAMUEL,  JUN.,  Life  of,  43. 

Annesley,  Miss  Elizabeth,  Life  of,  50, — see  MRS.  DUNTON. 

Annesley,  Miss  Judith,  her  character,  64. 

Annesley,  Miss  Anne,  her  character,  65. 

Annesley,  Miss  Susanna, — see  MRS.  SUSANNA  WESLEY. 

Atterbury,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  107  note,  183  note. 

Bates,  Dr.  William,  36  note,  38. 

Baxter,  Richard,  6,  10,  12,  40,  217. 

Berry,  Mr.,  Vicar  of  East  Down,  Devon,  216. 

Berry  Mr.,  Vicar  of  Whatton,  216  note. 

Beverley,  R.  M.  Esquire,  83  note. 

Bradbury,  Thomas,  276. 

Burnet,  Bishop  Gilbert,  3, 18,  32,  107  note. 

CALAMY,  DR.  EDMUND,  6,  14,  16,  20, 30, 34,  36  note,41, 

66,217. 

Carter,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  242. 
Charles  I.,  82,  87. 
Charles  II.,  2,  14,  17. 

Clarendon,  Lord,  2,  5  note,  17  note,  18,  82  note. 
Crowther,  Mr.  Jonathan,  233  note. 
CLARKE,  DR.  ADAM,  1,  9,  29,  44,  71,  87,  92, 105, 119, 129, 

132,  144,  150,  153,  174,  178,  197,  210,  212.  255,  263. 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  35. 

De  Foe,  Daniel,  36,  84,  277. 

Dover,  Lord,  82  note. 

Duncombe,  Mr.  William,  242. 

DUNTON,  JOHN,  36, 37,  50, 55, 64, 65,  84,  85, 89,  90,  92, 93. 

DUNTON,  MRS.,  Life  of,  50,  81. 

Elliot,  Mr.  (the  apostle  of  the  Indians,)  37. 

ELLISON,  MRS.,  Life  of,  231. 

Eupolis'  Hymn  to  the  Creator,  135—144. 

Fuller,  Dr.  Thomas,  20,  170. 
Grey,  Dr.  Zachary,  208. 


298 


INDEX. 


HALL,  MRS.,  Life  of,  250. 
Hampden,  John,  6. 
Halyburton,  Mr.  Thomas,  194  note. 
HARPER,  MRS.,  Life  of,  219. 
Haselrigg,  Sir  Arthur,  23  note. 
Heber,  Bishop  Reginald,  6  note. 
Hoole,  Mr.,  Vicar  of  Haxey,  110,  287. 
Howe,  John,  6,  19,  36  note,  38. 
Hutton,  Mrs.,  192. 

Ince,  Mr.,  28  note. 

Ironside,  Bishop  of  Bristol,  20. 

James  II,  14,  91. 
Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  260. 

King,  Dr.  William,  206  note. 

LAMBERT,  MRS.,  Life  of,  229. 
Locke,  John,  3,  18. 

Manton,  Dr.  Thomas,  43. 

Maryborough,  Duke  of,  95. 

Marvell,  Andrew,  270. 

Mary,  Queen  to  William  III,  91. 

Milton,  John,  278. 

MOORE,  MR.  HENRY,  44,  93,  109,  176,  256. 

Morton,  Mr.  Charles,  80,  84. 

Normanby,  Marquis  of,  89,  94. 
Northampton,  Countess  of,  98,  99,  100. 

Oglethorpe,  General,  126. 
Oldmixon,  Mr.,  276. 
Oxford,  Lord,  125,  206. 
Owen,  Dr.  John,  6,  18,  19. 

Pitt,  Christopher,  197. 

Pepys,  Samuel,  3,  12,  17. 

Pope,  Alexander,  95  note,  147,  204. 

Person,  Professor,  146. 

Priestley,  Dr.  Joseph,  120,  121. 

Rogers,  Mr.  Timothy,  58. 

Sacheverell,  Dr.  Henry,  28  note,  86,  107  note. 

Sault,  Mr.  Richard,  93  note. 

SHARP,  ARCHBISHOP  of  YORK,  95,  101,  105,  108,  121. 

Sheldon,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  2,  3,  4. 


INDEX.  299 

Silvester,  Mr.  Matthew,  53. 
Southey,  Dr.  Robert,  170,  195. 
Sprat,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  182. 

Taylor,  Dr.  John,  7. 

Thoresby,  Ralph,  121. 

Tillotsou,  Archbishop,  38  note,  94,  171. 

Veal,  Mr.  Edward,  80  note. 

Walpole,  Sir  Robert,  184. 

Ward,  Ned,  277. 

Watson,  Mr.  Richard,  148,  171,  176. 

Watts,  Dr.  Isaac,  95  note,  210,  214. 

WESLEY,  BARTHOLOMEW,  Life  of,  15. 

WESLEY,  JOHN,  near  of  Whitchurcli^  Life  of,  19. 

WESLEY,  MATTHEW,  Life  of,  66,  114,  255. 

WESLEY,  SAMUEL,  Rector  of  Epworth,  72,  Life  of,  80, 

123,  129,  188,  279. 

WESLEY,  MKS.  SUSANNA,  44,  110,  Life  of,  152,  282. 
WESLEY,  SAMUEL,  JUN.,  Life  of,  179,  230. 
WESLEY,  MR.  JOHN,  2,  14  note,  38,  44,  89,  91,  92,  109, 

112,  129,  135,  161,  171,  188,  233,  261,  284. 
WESLEY,  MR.  CHARLES,  129,  148  note,  176,  250,  252. 
W-.-iey,  Miss  Emilia,— see  MRS.  HARPER. 

y,  Miss  Mary, — see  MRS.  WHITELAMB. 
.."'i.aiey,  Miss  Anne, — see  MRS.  LAMBERT. 
Wesley,  Miss  Susanna, — see  MRS.  ELLISON. 
Wesley,  Miss  Mehetabel, — see  MRS.  WRIGHT. 
Wesley,  Miss  Martha, — see  MRS.  HALL. 
WESLEY,  Miss  KEZZIA,  50,  Life  of,  265. 
White,  Mr.  Jeremy,  14,  28. 
Whitehead,  Dr.  30,  214. 
WHITELAMB,  MRS.,  Life  of,  224. 
Whitfield,  Mr.,  172,  195. 
Williams,  Dr.  Daniel,  39,  40. 
Wilkins,  Bishop,  13. 
Wilson,  Mr.  Walter,  85. 
Wood,  Anthony,  17,  18,  34,  209. 
Wordsworth,  Dr.,  26  note. 
WRIGHT,  MRS.,  78,  135,  222,  225,  Life  of,  233. 

roung,  Dr.  Edward,  82  note. 


HLNRY  SI-INK,  PRINTKK,  LEEDS. 


300 


LATELY  PUBLISHED  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR, 

THE  LIFE  OF  ANDREW  MARVELL, 

THE  CELEBRATED  PATRIOT: 

With  EXTRACTS  and  SELECTIONS  from  his  Prose  and 
Poetical  Works. — 12mo.  price  2s.  6d. 


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The  work  is  every  way  acceptable." 

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The  author  has  executed  his  task  with  neatness  and  judgment." 

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