Chapter XIX: Part 19

“1783, June 28.--We kept the children’s prayer day. The Rev.
John Wesley, the well known Methodist minister, arrived here in
the afternoon, with several other ministers. After visiting his
old friend, Brother Anton, he paid a hurried visit to the
brethren’s house, and sisters’ house; and then attended a
children’s lovefeast, at three o’clock; on which occasion, as
it happened to be his eightieth birthday, the children sang a
few benedictory verses for him; the congregation closing the
service by singing ‘The grace of our Lord be with us all!’ At
4.30 p.m. he and his companions returned to Utrecht, where he
had preached the day before.”

Wesley spent altogether seventeen days in Holland, and was delighted with his visit. He writes: “I can by no means regret either the trouble or expense, which attended this little journey. It opened me a way into, as it were, a new world; where the land, the buildings, the people, the customs, were all such as I had never seen before. But as those with whom I conversed were of the same spirit with my friends in England, I was as much at home in Utrecht and Amsterdam, as in Bristol and London.” “There is a blessed work at the Hague, and many other of the principal cities; and, in their simplicity of spirit, and plainness of dress, the believers vie with the old English Methodists. In affection, they are not inferior to any. It was with the utmost difficulty we could break from them.”[452] “Two of our sisters, when we left the Hague, came twelve miles with us on the way; and one of our brethren, of Amsterdam, came to take leave of us to Utrecht, above thirty miles. I believe, if my life be prolonged, I shall pay them a visit at least every other year. Had I had a little more time, I would have visited our brethren in Friesland, and Westphalia likewise; for a glorious work of God is lately broken out in both these provinces.”[453]

Wesley got back to London on July 4. Ten days later, he set off to his conference at Bristol. “I expect,” says he, “a good deal of difficulty at this conference, and shall stand in need of the prayers of you and your friends.”[454] His apprehension was realised; hence the following entry in his journal: “July 29--Our conference began, at which we considered two important points: first, the case of Birstal house; and, secondly, the state of Kingswood school. With regard to the former, our brethren earnestly desired, that I would go to Birstal myself, believing this would be the most effectual way of bringing the trustees to reason. With regard to the latter, we all agreed, that either the school should cease, or the rules of it be particularly observed: particularly, that the children should never play, and that a master should be always present with them.”

We need not recur to the first of these points, except to add, that the Birstal chapel case, no doubt, led to the adoption of the following resolutions:

“_Question 21._ What houses are to be built this year?

“_Answer._ None that are not already begun.

“_Q. 22._ Has not the needless multiplying of preaching houses
been a great evil?

“_A._ So it appears.

“_Q. 23._ How may this be prevented?

“_A._ By permitting none for the future to beg for any house,
except in the circuit where it stands.

“_Q. 24._ What can be done to get all our preaching houses
settled on the conference plan?

“_A._ Let Dr. Coke visit the societies throughout England, as
far as is necessary for the accomplishment of this end; and let
the respective assistants give him all the support in their
power.”

Such was the commission given to Dr. Coke, a weary and worrying one.

Kingswood school, however, was as great a bore as Birstal chapel. It had now existed for five-and-thirty years; it had been to Wesley a source of almost ceaseless trouble, and was now in a worse state than ever. Nevertheless, it was a far famed institution; and, besides the sons of itinerant preachers, it had, at this very time, _parlour boarders_ from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the West Indies. None of the scholars however, were remarkable for piety or learning; and the _young gentlemen_, just mentioned, had spoiled the discipline of the school. Thomas Simpson, M.A., was head master; Mrs. Simpson housekeeper; Cornelius Bayley was English teacher, with a salary of £12 per annum and his board; Vincent de Boudry was occasional French teacher; and C. R. Bond a sort of half boarder, and assistant to Bayley.[455]

“My design in building the house at Kingswood,” says Wesley,
“was to have therein a Christian family; every member whereof,
(children excepted,) should be alive to God, and a pattern of
all holiness. Here it was that I proposed to educate a few
children, according to the accuracy of the Christian model. And
almost as soon as we began, God gave us a token for good, four
of the children receiving a clear sense of pardon. But, at
present, the school does not, in any wise, answer the design of
its institution, either with regard to religion or learning.
The children are not religious: they have not the power, and
hardly the form of religion. Neither do they improve in
learning better than at other schools; no, nor yet so well.
Insomuch, that some of our friends have been obliged to remove
their children to other schools. And no wonder that they
improve so little either in religion or learning; for the rules
of the school are not observed at all. All in the house ought
to rise, take their three meals, and go to bed at a fixed hour.
But they do not. The children ought never to be alone, but
always in the presence of a master. This is totally neglected;
in consequence of which, they run up and down the wood, and
mix, yea, fight with the colliers’ children. They ought never
to play: but they do, every day; yea, in the school. Three
maids are sufficient; now there are four; and but one, at most,
truly pious.

“How may these evils be remedied, and the school reduced to its
original plan? It must be mended or ended: for no school is
better than the present school. Can any be a master, that does
not rise at five, observe _all_ the rules, and see that others
observe them? There should be three masters, and an usher,
chiefly to be with the children out of school. The head master
should have nothing to do with temporal things.”[456]

This was a dark picture; doubtless the result of bad management. Easy, good tempered Mr. Simpson was a scholar; his wife, the real governor, was an ogress. A woman that rubbed Adam Clarke with the “infernal unguent” to cure him of an imaginary itch; thrust him into a solitary room, with a wretched old bedstead, and left him there without book or fire; and from whom Adam, when he heard her voice, was disposed to run in the utmost fright, was not the woman to manage Kingswood school. “She was probably very clever,” says Clarke; “all stood in awe of her; for my own part, I feared her more than I feared Satan himself. The school was the worst I had ever seen, though the teachers were men of adequate learning. It was perfectly _disorganised_; and, in several respects, each did what was right in his own eyes. There was no efficient plan pursued; they mocked at religion; and trampled under foot all the laws. The little children of the preachers suffered great indignities; and, it is to be feared, their treatment there gave many of them a rooted enmity against religion for life. The parlour boarders had every kind of respect paid to them, and the others were shamefully neglected. Scarcely any care was taken either of their bodies or souls.”

Poor Kingswood! Could all this be strictly accurate? Probably it was; for the following, given as a fact, prepares the mind for almost anything in the form of stupidity, and ignorant confusion. “At the table,” writes Adam Clarke, “every person when he drank was obliged to run the following gauntlet. He must drink the health of Mr. Simpson, Mrs. Simpson, Miss Simpson, Mr. Bayley, Mr. De Boudry, all the foreign gentlemen, then all the parlour boarders, down one side of the long table, and up the other, one by one, and all the _visitors_ who might happen to be there: after which it was lawful for him to drink his glass of beer.”[457]

Wesley was quite right. No school at all was better than such a school as this. It was high time to mend it or end it. In his magazine, for the very month in which the conference of 1783 was held, Wesley published an article, by his own pen, entitled, “A Thought on the Manner of Educating Children,” in which he strongly maintains, that all education ought to be religious; but adds, probably with the state of Kingswood in his eye,--“Even religious masters may still be mistaken with regard to the manner of instilling religion into children. They may not have the spirit of government, to which some even good men are utter strangers. They may habitually lean to this or that extreme, of remissness or of severity. And if they either give children too much of their own will, or needlessly and churlishly restrain them; if they either use no punishment at all, or more than is necessary, the leaning either to one extreme or the other may frustrate all their endeavours. In the latter case, it will not be strange, if religion stink in the nostrils of those that were so educated. They will naturally look on it as an austere, melancholy thing; and, if they think it necessary to salvation, they will esteem it a necessary evil, and so put it off as long as possible.”

Wesley was not the man to hesitate in changing his officials when change was necessary. Mr. Simpson was dismissed; Thomas McGeary, A.M., a young man of twenty-two, took his place.[458] Cornelius Bayley had previously made up his mind to leave, in order to enter the ministry of the Established Church;[459] and Thomas Welch, an assistant in a school at Coventry, applied to be appointed his successor. Wesley wrote to him as follows.

“BRISTOL, _August 15, 1783_.

“DEAR THOMAS,--You seem to be the man I want. As to salary, you
will have £30 a year; board, etc., will be thirty more. But do
not come _for money_. (1) Do not come at all, unless purely to
raise a Christian school. (2) Anybody behaving ill, I will turn
away immediately. (3) I expect you to be in the school eight
hours a day. (4) In all things, I expect you should be
circumspect. But you will judge better by considering the
printed rules. The sooner you come the better.

“I am, your affectionate brother,

“JOHN WESLEY.”[460]

Mr. Welch was a young man of twenty-three. Two years before, he had become a Methodist. The Coventry society, then extremely feeble, was loath to lose him; and some of its members succeeded in persuading him to remain where he was. He wrote to Wesley to this effect; and Wesley answered: “You use me very ill. I have turned away three masters on your account. The person, who gives you this advice, is wanting either in common sense or common honesty.”[461] Mr. Welch became a valuable local preacher, and lived and died a Methodist. Thomas Jones took the place that he declined, and, for three years, retained it, when he was ordained a clergyman of the Church of England.

This was Wesley’s last complaint of Kingswood. Twelve months afterwards, the school and family were visited with a gracious outpouring of God’s good Spirit. In 1786, he says: “I found the school in excellent order.” “It is now one of the pleasantest spots in England. I found all things just according to my desire; the rules being well observed, and the whole behaviour of the children showing, that they were now managed with the wisdom that cometh from above.” In 1787, he expressed himself to the same effect, as, in fact, he did to the end of life. The last entry in his journal, in reference to this memorable place,--a child, always with him a pet, though often troublesome,--was this: “1789, September 11--I went over to Kingswood: sweet recess! where everything is now just as I wish. But

‘Man was not born in shades to lie!’

Let us work now; we shall rest by-and-by. I spent some time with the children; all of whom behaved well: several are much awakened, and a few rejoicing in the favour of God.”

We must now bid a final adieu to dear old Kingswood school, the sacred scene of so many Methodistic memories, and turn to other matters connected with the conference of 1783.

The number of members was reported to be 45,955; but all these were Methodists within the limits of the United Kingdom. No account was taken of the 13,740 Methodists in America. No mention was made of Antigua, where nearly 2000 persons had joined John Baxter’s society; and where, in this very year, the first Methodist chapel in the torrid zone was completed.[462]

Nova Scotia also is not noticed; though it had been the scene of a most blessed work, and William Black had written to Wesley, urgently asking him to send them preachers. The following were Wesley’s answers.

“LONDON, _February 26, 1783_.

“MY DEAR BROTHER,--I did indeed very strongly expostulate with
the Bishop of London, concerning his refusing to ordain a pious
man, without learning, while he ordained others that, to my
knowledge, had no piety, and but a moderate share of learning.

“Our next conference will begin in July; and I have great
hopes, we shall then be able to send you assistance. One of our
preachers informs me, he is willing to go to any part of Africa
or America. He does not regard danger or toil; nor, indeed,
does he count his life dear unto himself, so that he may
testify the gospel of the grace of God, and win sinners to
Christ. But I cannot advise any person to go alone. Our Lord
sent His disciples two and two. And I do not despair of finding
another young man, as much devoted to God as he.

“Of Calvinism, mysticism, and antinomianism, have a care; for
they are the bane of true religion; and one or other of them
has been the grand hindrance of the work of God, wherever it
has broke out.

“I am, my dear brother, yours affectionately,

“JOHN WESLEY.”[463]

The second letter to William Black was as follows.

“LONDON, _July 13, 1783_.

“MY DEAR BROTHER,--It is a rule with me, to answer all the
letters which I receive. If, therefore, you have not received
an answer to every letter which you have written, it must be,
either that your letter or my answer has been intercepted.

“I do not wonder at all, that, after that great and
extraordinary work of God, there should be a remarkable decay.
So we have found it in almost all places. A swift increase is
generally followed by a decrease equally swift. All we can do
to prevent it, is continually to exhort all who have tasted
that the Lord is gracious, to remember our Lord’s words, ‘Watch
and pray that ye enter not into temptation.’

“The school at Kingswood is exceeding full; nevertheless there
shall be room for you. And it is very probable, if you should
live to return to Halifax, you may carry one or more preachers
with you. I hope you will live as brethren, and have a free and
open intercourse with each other.

“I am, my dear brother, affectionately yours,

“JOHN WESLEY.”[464]

Such was the wish of William Black; and such was Wesley’s intention; but it was not until 1785, that Nova Scotia appeared in the minutes of conference as a Methodist circuit. “The harvest truly was great; but the labourers were few.” And yet all that offered were not accepted.

At the conference of 1783, there was present a young Welshman, of middle stature, thin and delicate, with a somewhat elongated face, an eye of genius, and a capacious forehead, who offered himself as an itinerant preacher, but whom Wesley and his brethren, from the delicacy of his health and the feebleness of his voice, thought not equal to the arduous labours of the itinerant office. He had been converted under the preaching of Samuel Bardsley, and, soon after his offer was declined by Wesley, was ordained by Bishop Horsley, and became vicar of Llanbister. The vicarage had a parlour, with a slab stone floor, an open chimney, and a hearth on which burnt a fire of wood and turf. It had a kitchen, and two upper rooms of the same humble character. For many a long year this was the home of the Rev. David Lloyd, “a philosopher, a poet, and a divine,” says Dr. Dixon, “who seemed to enjoy, with unmixed contentment, the inheritance given him by Providence.” For fifty years, his wife was a Methodist, and his parsonage a Methodist preachers’ home. Besides poetical works of considerable merit, the good vicar became the author of a large octavo volume of very valuable essays, entitled “Horæ Theologicæ.”[465] Mr. Lloyd was a perfect enthusiast on the missionary question, and gave a subscription of £10 a year to the Methodist and Church missionary societies respectively; presented each with a donation of £500; and left the residue of his property, after other demands had been satisfied, to be equally divided between these two institutions. He also built a Methodist chapel on his estate, and secured it to the connexion by deed. Thus, as a diligent clergyman of the Church of England, and the friend and host of Methodist preachers, lived and died the good vicar of Llanbister,--a candidate rejected by the conference of 1783.[466]

In the midst of this conference, Wesley was again seized with an alarming illness. Dr. Drummond attended him twice a day. His friends thought, that his end was come; and he himself apprehended that the cramp would probably reach his stomach, and occasion sudden death. “I have been reflecting on my past life”, said he to his faithful nurse, Joseph Bradford; “I have been wandering up and down between fifty and sixty years, endeavouring, in my poor way, to do a little good to my fellow creatures; and, now, it is probable that there are but a few steps between me and death; and what have I to trust to for salvation? I can see nothing which I have done or suffered, that will bear looking at. I have no other plea than this:

‘I the chief of sinners am,
But Jesus died for me.’”[467]

For eighteen days, Wesley hung between life and death, when, finding himself somewhat better, and “being,” as he says, “unwilling to be idle,” he spent an hour with the Bristol penitents. The day following, he preached twice, and, the day after that, on Monday, August 25, set out again on his much loved gospel ramblings. Death itself, to Wesley, was more desirable than life without work.

Preaching on his way at Gloucester, Worcester, and Birmingham, he came, on August 29, to Stafford, where he writes: “I preached, for the first time, to a large and deeply attentive congregation. It is now the day of small things here; but the grain of mustard seed may grow up into a great tree.”

Four years before this, Dr. Coke was passing through Stafford, and, while dining at the inn, sent the bellman round to announce to the inhabitants that he would preach in the market place. Jeremiah Brettell, his companion, took a table from the hostelry; the doctor mounted; the people came; all listened with deep attention; and some expressed a wish for the visit to be repeated. Soon after, a little society was formed,[468] which, in 1784, consisted of sixteen members, Henry Robinson being leader.[469]

From Stafford, Wesley made his way to Macclesfield, where he preached twice in the Rev. David Simpson’s church, and had a sacramental service, at which seven hundred communicants were present.

He was now proceeding to Birstal, to effect the settlement with the Birstal chapel trustees, as already related. The journey occupied sixteen days; the distance was five or six hundred miles; according to his wont, he preached all the way there and back; and yet, the old man, who a month before had been on the very verge of death, returned to Bristol on the 13th of September, almost as vigorous as ever.

An unpublished letter, belonging to this period, may be welcome here. It was addressed to John Atlay, his book steward.

“LEEDS, _September 3, 1783_.

“MY DEAR BROTHER,--The schoolmasters for Kingswood are fixed,
and expected there every day. Mr. Simpson’s sister is the
housekeeper, who is come hither in her way to Bristol. Let no
man or woman go to West Street chapel without my appointment.
It is a matter of deep concern. The building or not building,
at Birstal, does not depend upon me, but the trustees. J.
Fenwick is to correct the press chiefly, in the absence of Dr.
Coke, and to transcribe tracts for me. And he may receive his
little salary, at least, till I return to London.

“I am, with love to sister Atlay, your affectionate brother,

“JOHN WESLEY.”

Wesley remained in the neighbourhood of Bristol till October 6, and employed the interval, not only in preaching, but in begging money to relieve the distresses of the destitute, and in visiting the poor recipients at their own houses. “I was surprised,” says he, “to find no murmuring spirits among them, but many that were truly happy in God; and all of them appeared to be exceeding thankful for the scanty relief which they received.”

No wonder, that such a man was popular; and no wonder, that his presence was a loadstone drawing the poor around him. Sometimes, however, their absence would have been more welcome than their company. A month after this, Wesley was at Norwich, and, when leaving, had a whole host of poverty stricken people about his carriage. His purse was low, containing only what was necessary to take him back to London; and the clamour of the mendicant crowd, for once, disturbed his temper. Somewhat sharply he said: “I have nothing for you. Do you suppose I can support the poor in every place?” At the moment, he was entering his carriage; his foot slipped; and he fell upon the ground. Feeling as though God Himself had rebuked him for his hasty words, he turned to Joseph Bradford, and, with subdued emphasis, remarked: “It is all right, Joseph; it is all right; it is only what I deserved; for if I had no _other_ good to give, I ought, at least, to have given them good words.”[470]

The concluding months of the year were employed, as usual, partly in London, and partly in the surrounding counties.

Considering Wesley’s advanced age, his labours are without parallel. Here we have,--not a man of Herculean frame, big, brawny, and heavy, fed on the daintiest diet, and stimulated with the costliest wines,--but a man small in stature, his weight eight stones and ten pounds (exactly the same as it was fourteen years before), his age eighty, without indulgences, feeding, for eight months in every year, chiefly at the tables of the poor, sleeping on all sorts of beds and in all sorts of rooms, without a wife, without a child, really without a home; and yet a man always cheerful, always happy, always hard at work, flying with all the sprightliness of youth throughout the three kingdoms, preaching twice every day, indoors and out of doors, in churches, chapels, cottages, and sheds, and everywhere superintending the complex and growing interests of the numerous societies which had sprung into buoyant being through the labours of himself and his godly helpers. The man was a marvel, such as the world sees only now and then. Once show him the path of duty, and with a dauntless step he trod it. Nothing frightened him; nothing could allure from the post assigned to him by Providence. However arduous the work, and however great the privations and the dangers, if his Master bid him go, he went, trusting in his Master’s power for defence and help. “My brother Charles,” he once remarked, “amid the difficulties of our early ministry, used to say: ‘If the Lord would give me wings, I would fly.’ I used to answer, ‘If the Lord bid me fly, I would trust Him for the wings.’”[471]

One of the last acts of this youthful octogenarian, in 1783, was to pay a pastoral visit to another of the most remarkable men of that period,--Dr. Samuel Johnson, who was now suffering his last illness, and died twelve months afterwards.

Wesley’s publications, in 1783, were the following.

1. “The Spirit of Prayer.” 24 pages, 12mo.

2. “Baxter’s Call to the Unconverted.” 76 pages, 12mo.

3. “The Important Question. A Sermon. By John Wesley.” 23 pages, 12mo.

Besides these, Wesley also published many new editions of former tracts, for the use of his recently instituted tract society, most of these reissues having upon the title page, “This tract is not to be sold, but given away.”

His principal publication, however, was his _Arminian Magazine_, and this was as vigorously conducted as before. Again, we have half-a-dozen original sermons, by Wesley himself, all of them remarkable, and among the most able that he ever published. These include his two discourses on good and fallen angels; in which he propounds the doctrine, that good angels minister to our happiness, by assisting us in our searches after truth, by preserving us in danger, by dreams, etc.: and that all evil angels are united under one common head; and are often the authors of accidents, diseases, fires, storms, and earthquakes. Then there is his elaborate sermon on “The Mystery of Iniquity,” in which he expresses the opinion, that the “greatest blow that genuine Christianity ever received was when Constantine the Great called himself a Christian, and poured in a flood of riches, honours, and power upon the Christians, more especially upon the clergy.” Next we have his curious homily on the Spread of Christianity, where he hazards the conjecture that truth will be transmitted from this nation to that, until at last it reaches the South Sea islands. And, finally, there are his characteristic sermons on Family Religion, and on Training Children. As usual, every number of the magazine has an article on the Calvinian controversy. Biographical accounts are still numerous. Extracts from his own Natural Philosophy, and from Locke’s Essay on the Human Understanding, form a part of each of the twelve numbers; as do also Benson’s letters in reply to Madan’s treatise on polygamy; likewise extracts from Dr. Hilldrop’s able “Thoughts on the Brute Creation,” professedly to prove a theory which Wesley liked, the ultimate restoration of the brute creation; and a series of profoundly thoughtful articles on “The True Original of the Soul.” Nine numbers have extracts from Baxter’s “Certainty of the World of Spirits, fully evinced by unquestionable Histories of Apparitions and Witchcrafts.” There are forty-five letters; forty-one poems; and a number of portraits, including those of John Hampson and William Thom, both of whom left the Methodist connexion. There are also long continued extracts from Bryant’s Analysis of Ancient Mythology, which Wesley pronounces to be “one of the most remarkable books, in its kind, which has been published for centuries.” And, finally, there are Wesley’s “Thoughts on the Writings of Baron Swedenborg.” The baron, a little before he died, presented Wesley with his last and largest theological work, the “True Christian Religion”; but he failed to make a convert of him. Wesley believed him to be insane, and traced his insanity to a fever, which he had in London, when “he ran into the street stark naked, proclaimed himself the Messiah, and rolled himself in the mire.” He was a “fine genius,--majestic though in ruins.”

FOOTNOTES:

[444] _The Wesleyan_, Sept. 9, 1846.

[445] Wesley’s Works, vol. xiv., p. 343.

[446] Manuscript letter.

[447] Mrs. Rogers’ Life, p. 473.

[448] Life of Brooke, p. 100.

[449] Wesley’s Works, vol. xii., p. 141.

[450] _Methodist Magazine_, 1851, p. 313.

[451] The Fergusons, father and son, were notable persons.
Mr. Ferguson, sen., was a well known local preacher
for upwards of sixty years; Jonathan, his son, was
a friend, and sometimes the travelling companion,
of John Howard the philanthropist. He was a hearty
Methodist, a happy Christian, and, at the age of
eighty, died a triumphant death, at Islington, in
1844.--(_Methodist Magazine_, 1845, p. 292.)

[452] Wesley’s Works, vol. xii., p. 358.

[453] Wesley’s Works, vol. xiii., p. 60.

[454] Ibid. p. 60.

[455] Simpson was a man of learning and piety, but too
easy for his situation. On leaving Kingswood, he
wished to become an itinerant preacher, but set up a
school at Keynsham, where his son ultimately was made
vicar. Bayley was a good Hebrew scholar, became a
doctor of divinity, had a church, St. James’s, built
for him in Manchester, and was highly respected for
his piety, usefulness, and high church principles.
De Boudry began a school on Kingsdown, Bristol, and
long bore the character of a pious, steady, honest
man. Bond was affectionate, but not talented, and
aspired to become a clergyman. Such is the testimony
of Adam Clarke; and it is only fair to give it as
a counterpoise to the discreditable state of the
Kingswood school committed to their care.

[456] Minutes of Conference, 1783.

[457] “Life of Adam Clarke,” in three vols., 1833, vol. i.,
pp. 153-168.

[458] _Methodist Magazine_, 1788, p. 1.

[459] Manuscript letter.

[460] _Methodist Magazine_, 1817, p. 324.

[461] _Methodist Magazine_, 1817, p. 324.

[462] Coke’s Life, by Drew, p. 167.

[463] Black’s Memoirs, p. 99.

[464] Black’s Memoirs, p. 109.

[465] _Methodist Magazine_, 1816, p. 832.

[466] _Methodist Magazine_, 1863, sixpenny edition, p. 1.

[467] Moore’s Life of Wesley, vol. ii., p. 389.

[468] _Methodist Magazine_, 1830, p. 657.

[469] The names were: Henry Robinson, Mary Robinson,
Charles Machin, John Smith, Ann Stockdale, William
Holding, Sarah Holding, John Rowland, Sarah Jervis,
Thomas Smith, Elizabeth Smith, John Ward, Ann
Ward, John Kelsall, Thomas Elley, and William
Freepound.--(Burslem old circuit book.)

[470] Everett’s Life of Clarke.

[471] _Methodist Magazine_, 1825, p. 390.

1784.
Age 81

Dr. Whitehead calls the year 1784 “the grand _climacteric_ year of Methodism, because of the changes which now took place in the form of its _original_ constitution. Not,” says he, “that these changes destroyed at once the _original_ constitution of Methodism; but the seeds of its corruption and final dissolution were this year solemnly planted, and have since been carefully watered and nursed by a powerful party among the preachers.”[472] The doctor was an able man; but he can scarcely be called a prophet. Of course, he refers to Wesley’s deed of declaration, and Wesley’s ordination of bishops for America; both of which must have due attention, before we conclude the present year.

Wesley himself, according to his own correspondence, seemed to grow younger as he grew older. In a letter to “the Rev. Walter Sellon, at Ledsham, near Ferrybridge, Yorkshire,” and dated, “London, January 10, 1784,” he writes:

“On the 28th of last June, I finished my eightieth year. When I
was young, I had weak eyes, trembling hands, and abundance of
infirmities. But, by the blessing of God, I have outlived them
all. I have no infirmities now, but what I judge to be
inseparable from flesh and blood. This hath God wrought. I am
afraid you want the grand medicine which I use,--exercise and
change of air.”[473]

On the same day, he wrote another letter, now also, like the former, for the first time published. Methodism had recently been introduced, by a company of soldiers, into the Channel islands; and Mr. Robert Carr Brackenbury, with his servant, Alexander Kilham, had gone to promote its interests. The letter was addressed, “Robert Carr Brackenbury, Esq., in St. Heliers, Isle of Jersey.”

“LONDON, _January 10, 1784_.

“DEAR SIR,--While those poor sheep were scattered abroad,
without any shepherd, and without any connection with each
other, it is no wonder that they were cold and dead. I am glad
you have gathered a few of them together, and, surely, if
prayer be made concerning it, God will provide you with a
convenient place to meet in. Perhaps an application to the
gentlemen, who have hired the ballroom, might not be without
success.

“’Tis pity but you had the ‘Earnest Appeal’ to present to the
governor, as well as the minister. I trust both you and our
newly connected brethren will overcome evil with good. We can
easily print the rules here, and send them down with some other
books. ’Tis good that every one should know our whole plan. We
do not want any man to go on blindfold. Peace be with your
spirit!

“I am, dear sir, your affectionate friend,

“J. WESLEY.”

The first two months of 1784 were chiefly spent in London, with the exception of a flying visit to Colchester, and another to Nottingham; Wesley’s errand to the last mentioned place being to “preach a charity sermon for the general hospital.” He had a grand covenant service in City Road chapel, attended by upwards of eighteen hundred people. He took counsel with the London preachers, as to the desirability of the Methodists sending missionaries to India. He read “Orlando Furioso,” and says, “Ariosto had, doubtless, an uncommon genius, and subsequent poets have been greatly indebted to him; yet, it is hard to say, which was the most out of his senses, the hero or the poet. He has not the least regard even to probability; his marvellous transcends all conception. Who, that is not himself out of his senses, would compare Ariosto with Tasso?”

On the 1st of March, the venerable Wesley,--as agile as a boy, above fourscore years of age, and yet reading the Italian poet with all the zest of a youth still at school,--set out on a seven months’ journey, first to Bristol, then to Scotland, then to Leeds, then through Wales to the west of England, and then to London, which he reached on October 9. With a hasty step, we must try to follow him.

Wesley, as opportunity permitted, “intermeddled with all wisdom,” and, to the end of life, showed, that a man is never too old to learn. At Bradford, in Wiltshire, he says: “I was convinced of two vulgar errors; the one, that nightingales will not live in cages; the other, that they only sing a month or two in the year. Samuel Rayner has now three nightingales in cages; and they sing almost all day long, from November to August.”

At Stroud, he wrote: “Here, to my surprise, I found the morning preaching was given up, as also in the neighbouring places. If this be the case while I am alive, what must it be when I am gone? Give up this, and Methodism too will degenerate into a mere sect, only distinguished by some opinions and modes of worship.”

Wesley considered, that preaching at five o’clock in the morning was the healthiest exercise in the world; and probably he was not far from being right. But besides this, these early matutinal services had now, for five-and-forty years, been one of the things which made the Methodists “a _peculiar_ people,” as well as “zealous of good works.” No other church or community, in England, had a service like this. It was a religious ordinance which Wesley dearly loved. In thousands of instances, he and his friends had proved the words, “Those that seek Me _early_ shall find Me.” No wonder then, that he evinced alarm when he found the Methodists giving up the morning services. Three weeks after he was at backslidden Stroud, he came to Chester, and expressed himself in the strongest terms on this subject. He writes:

“I was surprised, when I came to Chester, to find that there
also morning preaching was quite left off, for this worthy
reason: ‘Because the people will not come, or, at least, not in
the winter.’ If so, the Methodists are a fallen people. Here is
proof. They have ‘lost their first love’; and they never will
or can recover it, till they ‘do the first works.’ As soon as I
set foot in Georgia, I began preaching at five in the morning;
and every communicant, that is, every serious person in the
town, constantly attended throughout the year; I mean, came
every morning, winter and summer, unless in the case of
sickness. They did so till I left the province. In the year
1738, when God began His great work in England, I began
preaching at the same hour, winter and summer, and never wanted
a congregation. If they will not attend now, they have lost
their zeal; and then, it cannot be denied, they are a fallen
people. And, in the meantime, we are labouring to secure the
preaching houses to the next generation! In the name of God,
let us, if possible, secure the present generation from drawing
back to perdition! Let all the preachers, that are still alive
to God, join together as one man, fast and pray, lift up their
voice as a trumpet, be instant, in season, out of season, to
convince them that are fallen; and exhort them instantly to
‘repent, and do the first works’: this in particular,--rising
in the morning, without which neither their souls nor bodies
can long remain in health.”

Perhaps this was looking at the thing too seriously. That early morning service is highly profitable cannot reasonably be called in question; but, that it should begin at the hour of five may fairly be disputed. Early risers are persons to be envied; they breathe the purest air, listen to the sweetest songs, and have promptings to worship God that the sluggard never feels.

At Tewkesbury, Wesley had to correct the “impropriety of standing at prayer, and sitting while singing praise.” At Worcester, he “preached, to a crowded audience, in St. Andrew’s church.” At Madeley, he preached twice in the parish church, revised the vicar’s letters to Dr. Priestley, and declared, that there was hardly another man in England, so fit to encounter the great Socinian philosopher as his friend from the mountains of Switzerland. At Stafford, he preached, to “a small company, in a deplorable hole, formerly a stable.” At Lane End, near Newcastle under Lyne, in the face of one of the most piercing winds of the month of March, he preached, by moonlight, in the open air, the congregation being four times larger than the chapel could contain. At Burslem, also, for the same reason, he was obliged to abandon the chapel for the field. At Manchester, on Easter Sunday, he had “near a thousand communicants”; Thomas Taylor says, twelve hundred.[474]

Thus he employed himself all the way to Whitehaven, where he “had all the church ministers” to hear him, “and most of the gentry in the town”; and, to his evident surprise, “they all behaved with as much decency as if they had been colliers.” At Edinburgh, he writes: “I am amazed at this people. Use the most cutting words, and apply them in the most pointed manner, still they _hear_, but _feel_ no more than the seats they sit upon.” Throughout Scotland, morning preaching and prayer-meetings had almost vanished. “At Aberdeen,” he writes, “I talked largely with the preachers, and showed them the hurt it did both to them and the people, for any one preacher to stay six or eight weeks together in one place. Neither can he find matter for preaching every morning and evening, nor will the people come to hear him. Hence, he grows cold by lying in bed, and so do the people. Whereas, if he never stays more than a fortnight together in one place, he may find matter enough, and the people will gladly hear him. The preachers immediately drew up such a plan for this circuit, which they determined to pursue.”

From Aberdeen, Wesley went, by invitation, to Lady Banff’s at Old Meldrum, where he preached twice; and thence to Keith, where he had a congregation to his heart’s content, all the people poor, and “not a silk coat among them.” At Forres, he was the guest of Sir Lodowick Grant. In making his way to Inverness, by the mistake of his coachman, he had to trudge, through heavy rain, twelve miles and a half on foot, but says, he “was no more tired” than when he first set out. At Elgin, he preached in the church, and significantly remarks: “I do not despair of good being done even here, provided the preachers be ‘sons of thunder.’” At Newburgh, he found “the liveliest society in the kingdom.” At Melval House, “the grand and beautiful seat of Lord Leven,” he was hospitably entertained by the countess and her family, and, at their desire, preached from, “It is appointed unto men once to die.” Here, also, he wrote his “Thoughts on Nervous Disorders.” His next halting place was at Lady Maxwell’s, “who appeared to be clearly saved from sin, although exceedingly depressed by the tottering tenement of clay.”

After thus visiting most of the important towns in Scotland, Wesley reached Newcastle, where, on Whitsunday, he preached thrice to large congregations. A week later, he again set out, on his unwearied mission; and, at Stockton, “found an uncommon work of God among the children,” upwards of sixty of whom, from the age of “six to fourteen, were under serious impressions, and earnestly desirous to save their souls.” He writes: “As soon as I came down from the desk, I was enclosed by a body of children; all of whom sunk down upon their knees: so I kneeled down myself, and began praying for them.” Beautiful picture this, well worth painting! No wonder that he adds: “abundance of people ran back into the house. The fire kindled, and ran from heart to heart, till few, if any, were unaffected. Is not this a new thing in the earth? God begins His work in children. Thus it has been also in Cornwall, Manchester, and Epworth. Thus the flame spreads to those of riper years; till at length they all know Him, and praise Him from the least unto the greatest.”

Having visited the “dales,” Darlington, Northallerton, Thirsk, Osmotherley, and other places, he made his way to Whitby, where he wrote: “The society here may be a pattern to all in England. They despise all ornaments but good works, together with a meek and quiet spirit. I did not see a ruffle, no, nor a fashionable cap among them; though many of them are in easy circumstances. About forty had a clear witness of being saved from inbred sin; and seemed to walk in the full light of God’s countenance.”

At Scarborough, Wesley attended church, and was regaled with one of the bitterest sermons he ever heard. “So,” says he, “all I have done, to persuade the people to attend the church, is overturned at once! And all who preach thus will drive the Methodists from the church, in spite of all that I can do.” Two years after this, in a letter to his brother, he wrote: “The last time I was at Scarborough, I earnestly exhorted our people to go to church; and I went myself. But the wretched minister preached such a sermon, that I could not in conscience advise them to hear him any more.”[475]

From Scarborough, Wesley proceeded along the east coast to Hull; thence to Pocklington and York; and thence to Epworth, where he spent his birthday, and preached in the market place of the town, whose church, for nine-and-thirty years, had been blessed with the able and faithful ministry of his honoured father. He writes: “June 28--To-day I entered on my eighty-second year, and found myself just as strong to labour, and as fit for any exercise of body or mind, as I was forty years ago. I do not impute this to second causes, but to the sovereign Lord of all. It is He who bids the sun of life stand still, so long as it pleaseth Him. I am as strong at eighty-one, as I was at twenty-one; but abundantly more healthy, being a stranger to the headache, toothache, and other bodily disorders which attended me in my youth. We can only say, ‘The Lord reigneth!’ While we live, let us live to Him!”

Having spent a week in visiting the Lincolnshire societies, Wesley proceeded to various towns in the west riding of Yorkshire; and thence, for the first time, to Burnley. He writes: “Burnley had been tried for many years, but without effect. Now, high and low, rich and poor, flocked together from all quarters; and all were eager to hear, except one man, who was the town crier. He began to bawl amain, till his wife ran to him, and literally stopped his noise; she seized him with one hand, and clapped the other upon his mouth, so that he could not get out one word. God then began a work, which, I am persuaded, will not soon come to an end.” Wesley’s words were verified.

Thomas Dixon, who was appointed to the Colne circuit in 1784, remarks, in his unpublished diary: “The work of God at Burnley was very young; but many, during this year, were converted. The great men of the place were angry, and agreed to banish the Methodist preachers from the town. The proprietor of the preaching house sent us notice to quit the premises; and the rest of the gentlemen pledged themselves not to let us have another. But about a month before the expiration of the notice, the Lord converted a man, who had a house of his own, which he opened to the preachers; and now we had a better preaching place than we had before. Soon after a chapel was erected.” One of the first members was John Eagin, who, for fifty years, maintained an unspotted character; and died, in 1836, saying, “I am happy.”[476]

Leaving Burnley, Wesley went to Otley, where, marvellous to relate! he had a two days’ rest. He then, on July 18, preached twice in Bingley church, a great part of his congregation being obliged to stand outside. He writes: “Before service, I stepped into the Sunday-school, which contains two hundred and forty children, taught every Sunday by several masters, and superintended by the curate. So many children, in one parish, are restrained from open sin, and taught a little good manners, at least, as well as to read the Bible. I find these schools springing up wherever I go. Perhaps God may have a deeper end therein, than men are aware of. Who knows but some of these schools may become nurseries for Christians?”

This is Wesley’s first notice of Sunday-schools. Though such schools had long existed in a few isolated cases, it was not until now that they attracted public attention. Miss Ball’s Methodist Sunday-school at High Wycombe has been already mentioned; and it has also been stated, that Miss Cooke, a Methodist young lady (afterwards the wife of Samuel Bradburn), was the first to suggest to Robert Raikes the idea of instituting a Sunday-school at Gloucester. Raikes commenced that school about the year 1783. At all events, his account of it was dated Gloucester, June 5, 1784, and was published in the January number of Wesley’s _Arminian Magazine_, for 1785, with the title, “An Account of the Sunday Charity Schools, lately begun in various parts of England.” Wesley was one of the first to catch and patronise the Sunday-school idea. At Bingley, he visited the school before preaching in the church, and gave to Sunday-schools one of their happiest designations, “nurseries for Christians.” Similar institutions had been begun in Leeds, where Wesley was about to hold his conference. The town was already divided into seven divisions; and had twenty-six schools, containing above two thousand scholars, taught by forty-five masters. Each school commenced at one o’clock in the afternoon, the children being taught reading, writing, and religion. At three, they were taken to their respective churches; then conducted back to school, where a portion of some useful book was read, a psalm sung, and the whole concluded with a form of prayer, composed and printed for that purpose. Boys and girls were kept separate. There were four “inquisitors,” persons whose office it was to spend Sunday afternoon in visiting the twenty-six schools, to ascertain who were absent, and then in seeking the absentees at their homes or in the public streets. The masters were mostly pious men, and were paid from one to two shillings a Sunday for their services, according to their respective qualifications. Each had a written list of his scholars’ names, which he was required to call over, every Sunday, at half-past one, and half-past five. Five clergymen visited the schools, and gave addresses; and the expenses of the first year, ending in July 1784, were about £234.

Such were the Sunday-schools at Leeds when Wesley, for the first time, visited one in the neighbouring town of Bingley. Manchester also had taken up Raikes’ Methodist idea; and, on the 1st of August, 1784, Wesley’s old friend, the Rev. Cornelius Bayley, D.D., who for ten years had been one of the masters of Kingswood school, but was now an ordained clergyman in this important city, published an “Address to the Public on Sunday-Schools,” in which he gave an account of the schools at Leeds, and urged the men of Manchester to copy so excellent an example. Bayley’s address produced a powerful effect; the magistrates patronised his scheme; and the result was, that Cornelius Bayley, D.D., the quondam Methodist, and master of Wesley’s Kingswood school, became one of the chief, though not only, instruments of establishing Sunday-schools in Manchester and its neighbourhood.[477]

After visiting some of the intermediate towns and villages, Wesley arrived at Leeds, for the purpose of holding his annual conference. He writes:

“July 25, Sunday--I preached to several thousands at Birstal,
and to, at least, as many at Leeds. July 27, Tuesday--Our
conference began; at which four of our brethren, after long
debate (in which Mr. Fletcher took much pains) acknowledged
their fault, and all that was past was forgotten. July 29,
Thursday--Being the public thanksgiving day, as there was not
room for us in the old church, I read prayers, as well as
preached, at our room. Having five clergymen to assist me, we
administered the Lord’s supper, as was supposed, to sixteen or
seventeen hundred persons. August 1, Sunday--We were fifteen
clergymen at the old church. August 3, Tuesday--Our conference
concluded in much love, to the great disappointment of all.”

Such are Wesley’s brief notices of this momentous conference. Some additional incidents must be added. The war of American independence was now ended, and the day of public thanksgiving had reference to that event. In the morning, at five, Thomas Hanby preached from, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Wesley’s text, previous to the almost unparalleled sacramental service, was 1 Corinthians xiii. 1-4. The five clergymen who assisted him were Messrs. Coke, Fletcher, Dillon, Bayley, and Simpson. In the afternoon, the business of the conference was resumed; and, at night, Wesley preached again, taking as his text, “This is the first and great commandment.” Altogether, Wesley preached not fewer than eight times during this important session, besides regulating the ticklish and difficult business that had to be transacted.[478]

The “long debate,” which Wesley mentions, had reference to the deed of declaration, which must now have the best attention that space permits us to give it.

At an early period of his history, Wesley published a model deed for the settlement of chapels, to the effect, that the trustees, for the time being, should permit Wesley himself and such other persons as he might, from time to time, appoint, to have the free use of such premises, to preach therein God’s holy word. In case of his death, the same right was secured to his brother; and providing that his brother’s decease occurred before that of William Grimshaw, the same prerogatives were to belong to the last mentioned. After the death of the three clergymen, the chapels were to be held, in trust, for the sole use of such persons as might be appointed at the yearly conference of the people called Methodists, provided, that the said persons preached no other doctrines than those contained in Wesley’s Notes on the New Testament, and in his four volumes of sermons.[479]

Thus the matter stood in 1784. According to Myles’ Chronological History, there were, at this time, in the United Kingdom, three hundred and fifty-nine Methodist chapels; and it may be fairly presumed, that most of these were settled substantially according to the provisions of the deed above mentioned.