North. He got beyond Islington when his mare threw him
DORSET aN constitutional questions that confronted the Methodists in the early years of their history.
When we say that the Birstall Chapel Case was not finally settled until the beginning of the year 1854 we see its special importance.
We shall have to deal with it later, and will now confine ourselves to the contents of John Nelson's letter, so far as they concern the building and settlement of the Birstall Chapel.
He says!
The stewards and trustees of the chapel we are building, and which is now slated, desire you to give them advice how the writings must be made, which are to convey the power into the hands of seven men, to be as trustees, and for what use the house and ground are to be employed ; and as it is intended for pious use, whether it must not be enrolled in Chancery.
They desire you to send a copy of the deeds of some of the houses you have been concerned in, as soon as possible ; for all is in the hands of one man, and, if he should die, it would cause great confusion before things could be properly settled.?
We do not know Wesley's answer to this letter.
He was reluctant to meddle with legal affairs, but he may have sent a copy of the deeds of the Bristol or Newcastle
' Houses.'
If he did so he may have created the difficulty that afterwards gave him so much trouble.
The two ' Houses' just mentioned were settled on similar trusts.
John Wesley had the right of "nominating or appointing' the men who should preach in the building; and, after his death, that right was to be exercised by Charles Wesley.
After the decease of the survivor the right of appointment passed into the possession of the trustees.
The major part of them were empowered, ' from time to time, and at all times thereafter, monthly or oftener, at their discretion, to nominate and appoint one or more fit person or persons to preach and expound God's holy word in the said House.'* It is well known that after John Wesley's death this arrangement for supplying the ' Houses' with preachers led to most serious disputes in Bristol, and the same question was one of the chief causes of the Birstall controversies.
Charles Wesley met his brother in London on September 13.
Four days afterwards he set out on a journey to the North.
He got beyond Islington when his mare threw him and fell on him.
He managed to get as far as St. Albans, but was then forced to stop.
He found shelter there, but 1 Early Methodist Preachers, i. 177.
*See John Wesley and the Methodist Societies, 315-317.
DORSET
he could not sleep day or night.
With difficulty he got back to London and reached the Foundery.
Then, for three days, he stayed at Newington Green, and received much benefit from rest and fresh air.
On October 29 he set out with Mr.
Waller for Ludlow and spent more than a month with the Gwynnes.
It was not until December 27 that Charles Wesley returned to London.
He therefore saw but little of his brother.
On February 2, 1751, they met; and he received news that filled him with amazement.
XV MARRIAGE In January, 1751, John Wesley received a letter from Dr.
Isham, the Rector of Lincoln College.
It contained an - urgent request that he would come to Oxford and give his vote for Dr. Morley as a candidate for Parliament.
Dr. Morley was one of Wesley's old friends, and he at once responded to the appeal.
He set out for the University on January 30, reaching the city in the evening.
It was an exciting journey.
A hard frost had made the roads slippery and dangerous to travel; but he arrived in safety.
The next day he went to the schools where Convocation met.
He voted for Dr. Morley, whose candidature was not successful.
During this visit Wesley was much impressed by the changed attitude of the people toward himself.
He was surprised with their civility.
There was ' no pointing, no calling of names, not even laughter.'
During a contested election voters are sometimes astonished at the respect they inspire in the partisans of rival candidates ; but, as we read the entry in the Journal we think that Wesley's chief reference is to the improved manners of the people.
He uses the phrase 'gentlemen as well as others,' it seems to show that thisnew civility was not confined to onesection of the citizens.
As he walks through the crowd, we watch him with some concern.
We think we see the springing up of an old desire.
The hostility of Oxford had acted as a powerful influence, driving him to his work as a wandering evangelist.
We owe much to the ' good haters' of the University.
Quite unconsciously, they played a great part in the religious reformation of England.
But, although Oxford was hostile to Wesley, he was at this time peculiarly sensitive to the charm of the beautiful city.
He dreamed of its towers and spires, and in certain moods the vision that shone before him was almost irresistible.
During this visit the spell was working.
Christchurchand thecathedral 1See John Wesley and the Religious Societies, 82.
MARRIAGE I9I were full of voices.
His old room at Lincoln spoke to him of pleasant days and vanished friends.
His heart was moved; he longed for sympathetic companionship, and for the return of the days of a restful life.
When Wesley mounts his horse and makes his way to London we experience a sense of relief.
How long the comfort will last will depend on the revelation that will be given as the curtain that covers the years slowly rises.
We have said that when he left London to visit Wales and Ireland he admits that he did so 'with reluctance,' and we have ventured to suggest that such reluctance may have arisen from the fact that there may have been some special reason for his wish to linger in London.
As he hurries over the slippery roads our suspicion is confirmed.
We know that he is longing for sympathetic companionship, and that the loneliness of his life oppresses him.
Is it possible that the wounds caused by his disappointment in the case of Grace Murray have ceased to smart ?
With all carefulness we must now try to describe a critical event in John Wesley's life.
At this period he had spent much time in pondering the question of the advisability of marriage.
He did not consult his brother; the Grace Murray episode had shaken his confidence in him as a counsellor on this delicate subject.
After reflection and correspondence and conversation with Vincent Perronet and Ebenezer Blackwell, he came to the conclusion that he ought to marry.
His decision was hastened by a letter from Vincent Perronet which reached him on February 2, immediately after his return from Oxford.
His mind became absorbed in the subject.
One result of his broodings is evident.
His sense of humour lost its keen edge.
The day after receiving the letter he preached twice at Hayes, in Middlesex, in the church of his friend Charles Manning.
In the morning his text was Gen. i. 27.
His sermon must have riveted the attention of the young men and maidens of his congregation.
Three days later he met 'the single men' of the Society at the Foundery, and showed them on how many accounts it was good for those who had received the gift from God ' to remain single for the kingdom of heaven's sake.'
He took care, however, to add to his exhortation the cautious remark, ' unless where a particular case might be an exception to the general rule.'
This caution sounds like
MARRIAGE we an apology in advance.
We do not doubt that the ' rule' was generously interpreted by each of the ' single men ' in his own interest.
We think that Wesley, in consultation with Vincent Perronet and Ebenezer Blackwell, had received advice which determined his choice of a wife.
Vincent Perronet was a descendant of a Huguenot family; Mr. Blackwell was a banker in the City of London.
In Threadneedle Street there was a large colony of Huguenots, some of whom were well-known merchants.
The oldest Huguenot church in London stood in the street.
Smiles says that it was looked upon as their cathedral.
As we watch the crowd of merchants moving about the street, two of them attract our attention.
One is Mr. Goldhawk.
He bears an Anglicized name, but he' is of Huguenot descent.
We know little of his domestic affairs; it is enough to say that he has a daughter named Mary.
The other merchant is Anthony Vazeille, also a Huguenot.
He has married Mary Goldhawk.
It is difficult at the present day to think of Threadneedle Street as a residential neighbourhood, but this merchant has a house there, in which he lives with his wife and children.
It is said that he spoils his wife with over-indulgence, constantly letting her have her own way.
He has a country house at Wandsworth, and goes there from time to time.
In that little town on the Wandle, from about the year 1570, there had been a settlement of foreigners.
Smiles tells us that they were a branch of the Flemings who had landed at Sandwich, and had attracted much attention by the excellence of their gardening.
In London Flemish vegetables became 'the mode.'
But the cost of transit from Sandwich was considerable, and so some of the Flemings determined to commence gardens near London.
A few of the refugees made their way to the village of Wandsworth, which then lay engirdled by wide-spreading heaths and commons.
Gardens were laid out, and a thriving trade was done.
Soon the gardeners were joined by fellow refugees who began various branches of industry, such as the manufacture of felts and the making of brass plates for culinary utensils, which productions 'they kept a mystery.'
Smiles also says that one Fromantel introduced the manufacture of pendulum or Dutch clocks, which shortly came into common use.
The settlers built a small chapel.
When we visited
MARRIAGE
it, now many years ago, we noted a stone let into the front of the building on which these significant words appeared:
'Erected 1573.
Enlarged 1685.
Repaired 1809, 1831.'
He that hath eyes to see let him read the long and wonderful story written between the lines of that inscription.
'The old Huguenot chapel stands near the parish church.
It must be remembered that the Church of England, during the time when the persecuted Protestants were streaming in from the Continent, showed them no little kindness.
In the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral, and in St. Mark's Church on College Green, Bristol, their congregations were permitted to assemble for worship.
We do not know anything about the place where Anthony Vazeille and his family worshipped during their stay at their country residence.
The following extracts from the registers of the parish church yield a little light:
'16 Jan., 1744, Charles, son of Anthony and Mary Vazeille, christened.'
'30 Jan., 1744, Charles, infant son of Mr. Vazeille, buried.'
In passing we may say that John Wesley was acquainted with Wandsworth.
On Wednesday, November 16, 1748, he visited the little town, and preached there to a small company.
His sympathies were stirred as he listened to the story of their 'rough setting-out.'
The rabble, gathering from every side whenever the Methodists met for worship, threw dirt and stones at them, and grossly abused both men and women.
Complaint was made to a neighbouring magistrate, who promised to do them justice.
But the rector walked over to his house, and spoke so much in favour of the rioters that they were all discharged.
Wesley thought it strange that 'a mild, humane man' could be persuaded to encourage a merciless rabble in outraging the innocent.
He records the fact that a few days after his visit to the magistrate, the rector, walking over a field which he had crossed on his way to the magistrate's house, dropped down and spoke no more.
For nearly twenty years the Methodists in Wandsworth endured hardship; but at last there came the breaking of a bright day.
Losing sight of Wandsworth for a time we must return to London.
When John Wesley got back to the City on 1Mr. Gadsden, a member of the Wesley Historical Society, has laid us under obligation by rescuing from oblivion these pathetic entries concerning a short life.
W.H.S. Proceedings, ii. 61.
MARRIAGE a February 2 he saw his brother, and told him he was resolved to marry.
He did not mention the name of the intended bride.
When the interview was over, and John Wesley had left the house, Edward Perronet rushed in with great news.
He startled Charles Wesley by telling him that his brother was going to marry the widow of Mr. Vazeille.
He had never suspected such a thing.
When Edward Perronet had left, Charles Wesley was overwhelmed with grief.
He retired to mourn with his wife.
She shared his amazement and sorrow.
Describing his trouble, he says, 'I groaned all the day, and several following ones, under my own and the people's burden.
I could eat no pleasant food, nor preach, nor rest, either by night or by day.'
His reference to his 'own and the people's burden' is somewhat difficult to understand; but it is possible he saw that his friendship with Mrs. Vazeille may have contributed in some degree to the catastrophe that robbed him of his self-control.
On Sunday, February 10, John Wesley preached at the Foundery at five o'clock in the morning.
He had arranged to start out on his visitation of the northern Societies the next day.
It was time they should be visited.
We have seen that Charles Wesley had been prevented from doing this necessary work by sudden illness, so John Wesley had to take his place.
He had not been in the North since October, 1749, when the marriage of John Bennet and Grace Murray took place.
He seems to have shunned the neighbourhood, but he corresponded with Bennet.
Their letters show that the rift between them was widening.
William Darmey was on John Wesley's mind; he would gladly have handed back to him the Societies he had formed in Yorkshire and elsewhere.
It is true that William Grimshaw was caring for the Societies in his neighbourhood, but the presence of the Wesleys was absolutely necessary to the stability and unity of the northern
Methodists.
And, once more, the people who were expecting a visit were disappointed.
They received the news that John Wesley could not come.
Let us see what had happened.
After preaching at the Foundery on February 10, John Wesley hastened to Snowsfields to take leave of the congregation before commencing his journey to the North.
It was a time Thomas Jackson suggests other reasons for Charles Wesley's great disturbance of mind.
They do not seem to be sufficient to account for such an outburst of sorrow See Jackson's Life of Charles Wesley, i. 566-568.
MARRIAGE
of hard frost, and the streets were slippery.
He came to London Bridge, hurried along and reached the middle of the bridge.
Then suddenly both his feet slipped on the ice, and he fell with great force, the bone of his ankle lighting on the top of a stone.
He rose, and with some help managed to reach Snowsfields Chapel, where he preached.
He got a surgeon to bind up his leg, managed to walk to West Street,where he preached once more.
He ended the day by being carried in a chair from the house of a friend to the Foundery.
He intended to preach there; but his accident and his subsequent exertions had so exhausted him that he could not carry out his intention.
He was convinced that his northern journey must be postponed.
On Monday, February 11, John Wesley left the Foundery, and removed to Mrs. Vazeille's house in Threadneedle Street, where he spent the remainder of the week.
Without invading his privacy, there are a few facts we must note.
He improved his enforced rest by continuing his work on the Short Hebrew Grammar, which was published in 1751.
He also proceeded with the preparation of the Fourth Part of his Lessons for Children, the publication of which was delayed until 1754.
Mr. Green says that the whole work was prepared with much painstaking and care; and that it forms a really valuable lesson-book for the young.
Portions of Scripture, such as children may the more easily understand, and such as it most concerns them to know, are set down in the same order, and generally the same words, as in the Holy Scriptures.
But the whole of Wesley's time was not surrendered to the claims of literature.
Some of it—we might almost say most of it—was given up to 'conversation.'
The topics are not recorded in the Journal, but we think that during this stay in Threadneedle Street the wedding-day was fixed, and the necessary arrangements were made.
There were other matters that may have been previously discussed but needed a final review.
Mrs. Vazeille possessed a fortune of £10,000, and Wesley insisted that her money should be settled on herself and her four children.
As his marriage would involve the giving up of his Oxford Fellowship, it will be seen that his pecuniary position was not to be improved.
He was well acquainted with poverty, and did not dread it.
In the days of his mission to Georgia he hesitated to receive any salary
MARRIAGE as for his work, and it was only by the persuasion of friends that he yielded.
It may be taken for granted that to the end of his life he was never beguiled by the glitter of gold. Another subject was discussed and settled.
It concerned Wesley's work and his frequent absences from home.
We know that Mrs. Vazeille agreed that his work should be continued on the same lines, and that their marriage should not interfere with it in any particular.
It was John Wesley's intention to begin his postponed visit to the North on Monday, February 18; but he was once more disappointed.
His accident still disabled him from taking such a long journey.
We turn to his Journal to see how he spent the day, but receive no illumination.
He tells us that he preached on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, but on the proceedings of Monday he is silent.
If we possess the great gift of 'the inquiring mind,' and are acquainted with the magazines of the time it is possible to appease our curiosity.
Turning over the pages of The Gentleman's Magazine for 1751, we are somewhat startled to find the following entry in its early pages.
In a list of marriages this notice occurs:
'Feb.
18.
Rev.
Mr.
John Wesley, Methodist preacher—to a merchant's widow in Threadneedle Street with a jointure of 300L. per annum.'
Taking up The London Magazine we see that the news of the marriage is confirmed ; but the date is altered to February 19.
There isnoindication of the place of marriage in these notices.
Keeneyed searchers have spent many hours in examining church registers ; but up to the present no written record of the marriage has been found.
In the absence of printed evidence, we are compelled to listen to the voice of rumour.
More than forty years ago the writer lived in the neighbourhood of Wandsworth.
A local legend, handed down from remote years, was then strong and was firmly believed.
It was to the effect that John Wesley was married to Mrs. Vazeille in Wandsworth Parish Church.
The marriage is not entered in the registers of that church, but that fact is not fatal to the tradition.
The Rev. Charles H. Kelly, who lived in Wandsworth for many years, believed the local legend concerning the place of marriage to be correct.
Emerging into the region of certainties, we may affirm that the bridegroom was forty-eight years of age, Mrs. Vazeille being seven years younger.
MARRIAGE
Charles Wesley and his wife were staying at the West Street chapel-house during this exciting time.
Several days after the marriage they heard the surprising news.
On Wednesday, February 27, the bridegroom and the bride came to see them.
From Charles Wesley's Journal we find that he was glad to see his brother, and ' saluted' his new
'sister.'
After that a process of reconciliation occurred.
On March 15 he says, 'I called on my sister; kissed and assured her I was perfectly reconciled to her and my brother.'
Charles Wesley had been reading Marcus Antoninus, and his studies had subdued his irritation.
A few days after his visit he finished the book, having learned from it some useful lessons, particularly not to resent, not to revenge himself, not to let his peace lie at the mercy of every injurious person.
Mrs. Charles Wesley, not being under the influence of Marcus Antoninus, was not so easily pacified; but her husband persuaded her at last to visit his sister, and something resembling an armed truce was effected.
On Monday, March 4, John Wesley, ' being tolerably able to ride, though not to walk,' left London.
The visit to the North was still postponed, as it had been arranged to hold a Conference in Bristol.
The previous evening Charles Wesley had written him a note which contained the words:
'I am not determined when I shall leave London.'
It is not difficult to understand this sentence.
John Wesley saw its significance; and, in a letter to Mr. Blackwell, he says, ' This is, indeed, deserting me at my utmost need, just when the Philistines are upon me.'
However, he got a few days' rest in Bristol, and had time to consider the new situation and to prepare himself for difficulties which seemed to confront him.
He was disturbed in mind by rumours concerning some of the lay preachers.
It was reported that some of them were 'perverted from the simplicity of the gospel.'
He feared that in a few cases, the charge might not be altogether false, and his mind was troubled.
But on the Saturday evening, as he watched the preachers assembling, he caught sight of John Nelson, John Haime, Christopher Hopper, and others.
On their steadfastness he could rely.
When he saw these men, who 'held the truth as it is in Jesus, and did not hold it in unrighteousness,' his courage and confidence revived.
The Conference commenced on Monday,
| MARRIAGE March 11, and lasted for five days.
The record of its proceedings in John Wesley's Journal is brief.
It is enough to note that his fears about the preachers were not confirmed.
He says, 'The more we conversed, the more brotherly love increased.
The same spirit was found on Tuesday and Wednesday.
I expected to have heard many objections to our first doctrines; but none appeared to have any.
We seemed to be all of one mind, as well as one heart.'
On Friday he mentioned whatever he thought was amiss or wanting in any of the preachers.
His rebukes were received in a right spirit, with much love, and serious, earnest attention.
He was much encouraged ; and he ends his record by saying, 'I trust not one went from the Conference discontented, but rather blessing God for the consolation.'*
1 Journal iii. 516-517.
XVI
GATHERING STORMS
On Wednesday, March 27, 1751, John Wesley left London and set out for the North, with John Haime as his travelling companion.
The next day, as they were nearing Evesham, Wesley tells us that 'one from thence met us on Broadway
Hill."
It is a brief statement; but those who remember his visits to the neighbourhood in his Oxford days will be sure that it means much.
It stirs the memories of the brilliant men and women who gathered in the home of the Kirkhams at Stanton, and wandered gaily over the hills of Broadway.
We are on 'enchanted ground.'
As Wesley suddenly met this old friend the gates of the past opened.
He must have pulled bridle and had a talk with him.
Then he would go on slowly, having been touched by 'the tender grace' of days that would never come back to him.
In Wesley's tour through the Midlands and the North we are constantly tempted to linger; but we must hasten on our way.
It is necessary to confine our attention to incidents in this journey which cast light on the condition of the Methodist
Societies at the time and explain events which subsequently happened.
On Saturday, March 30, Wesley and his companion reached Birmingham.
The progress of the Society there was slow.
It still met in the room in Steelhouse Lane.
It continued to meet there until 1763, when a bold step was taken, and an old play-house which stood in a dark court off Moor
Street was taken.:
William Hutton, one of the earliest and best historians of Birmingham, sums up in a few words the experiences of the Methodists in the town.
He says:
' The artillery of vengeance was pointed at Methodism for thirty years; but, fixed as a rock, it could never be beaten down.'
His estimate of John Wesley is well known.
He describes him as a man ' whose extensive knowledge and unblemished 4See John Wesley's Journal, v. 21, note; Dent's Old and New Birmingham, 103.
GATHERING STORMS
manners give us a tolerable picture of apostolic purity, who believed as if he were to be saved by faith, and who laboured as if he were to be saved by works.'
That eulogium was published in March, 1782, when Hutton's History of Birmingham to the End of the Year 1780 made its appearance.
In our eyes it has the appearance of a final verdict on the character of John Wesley.?
On Sunday, March 31, Wesley met the Society and earnestly warned the members ' against idle disputes and vain janglings.'
Then the congregation assembled, and he preached on 'If ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law.'
The hearts of many were melted within them.
The thought of the liberty with which Christ has made us free deeply affected the preacher and his audience.
Wesley himself was much moved, and could not refrain from ' tears of joy.'
At one o'clock he was obliged to preach abroad, the room not being able to contain half the congregation.
The last time he preached in Birmingham the stones flew on every side.
But the scene was changed.
Wesley's opinion was:
'If any disturbance were made now the disturber would be in more danger than the preacher.'
For several days Wesley stayed in Staffordshire.
We are especially interested in his visits to Wednesbury.
He preached there several times, and on April 3 he made an end of visiting the classes.
His record disappoints us.
He says that the Society had been ' miserably shattered by the sowers of strange doctrines.'* From one of his statements we gather that the Predestinarians had been busy at work, and had forgotten that the classes were neutral grounds in which doctrinal contentions must not be waged.
There had been no difficulty in observing this admirable rule when the fierce storms of persecution were beating on the Society; but their enemies were becoming at peace with them, and the members had leisure for theological discussions.
Calms have their dangers as well as storms.
Wesley was perturbed in mind; he uttered his warning, and his counsels had some effect.
Wesley worked among the Societies in Staffordshire, Cheshire, 1 The title-page of Hutton's History bears the date 1781 ; but Dent shows that the book did not make its appearance until March 22, 1782.
See Dent's Old and New Birmingham, 182.
When Charles Wesley visited Wednesbury in July he found that the Society had been reduced in number from three hundred to seventy ' weak, lifeless members.'
See his Journal, ii. 85.
GATHERING STORMS
and Lancashire for several days.
Then, on April 12, he rode with his companion to Ambleside.
The next day they rode over 'more than Welsh mountains' to Whitehaven.
In this town he had a Society to his mind.. In meeting the classes on two days he observed a remarkable circumstance.
He found that without absolute necessity none of the members ever missed meeting their class.
Among nearly two hundred and forty persons there was only one exception to this practice.
That was an age of golden days.
It must have been with reluctance that he said farewell to the Whitehaven people, not only because of his love for them, but also because he was starting on a journey that must have reminded him of one of the most sorrowful pilgrimages of his life.
He was going over the mountains and along 'the miserable paths' which led to Hindley Hill.
He says nothing about his harsh experiences and gloomy memories ; but from his unpublished letters we know that they had not faded from his mind.
Leaving Hindley Hill, where he probably met Christopher Hopper, in the early morning of Saturday, April 20, he and his companions 'scaled the snowy mountains.'
They rode by 'the once delightful seat' of Lord Derwentwater, who had recently died.
It was neglected, desolate, and swiftly running to ruin.
The travellers hastened on their way, until in the afternoon, tne walis of Newcastle-on-Tyne rose before them.
Wesley had not seen them for many months ; but they sent a familiar greeting to him.
Soon he was resting in one of his most cherished retreats—the Orphan House.
He preached twice on the Sunday in the ' House,' as rain prevented an out-of-door service.
This is his record:
' The spirit of the people refreshed me much, as it almost always does.
I wish all our Societies were like-minded—as loving, simple, and zealous of good works.'
Wesley's rest was short.
On Monday, April 22, we see him riding towards the North, and preaching at Morpeth and Alnwick.
The next day he was at Berwick-upon-Tweed.
On Wednesday, April 24, he for the first time crossed the Border, and rode into Scotland.
He was accompanied by Christopher Hopper.
Our wonder at Wesley's presence in Scotland is lessened when we remember that his friend Captain
Gallatin had left England for a time and was quartered at 1 See Ante 142.
GATHERING STORMS
ws Musselburgh, near Edinburgh.
Mrs. Gallatin was with him, and the invitation he had received from them was irresistible.
He had no intention to preach in Scotland.
He had once thought of doing so ; but for various reasons he had determined to leave Scotland to Whitefield.
Although the country was strange to him, there were some places in which he was deeply interested.
His experience of 'the forty-five' was fresh in his mind.
We do not wonder that when they reached the battlefield of Preston Pans the travellers paused.
They went over the ground of the fight; they saw Colonel Gardiner's house.
Talking with some of the people, Wesley found that they affirmed that the colonel fought on foot after he was dismounted, and refused to take quarter.
As he listened to the description this thought arose in Wesley's mind:
'Be it as it may, he is now " where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest.'"''
Did he also think of Colonel Gardiner's friend and his own friend, Dr.
Doddridge?
His health was failing.
In far-off Lisbon this very year, the angel of death called him away.
The friend of Wesley and the biographer of Colonel Gardiner died in Lisbon on October 26, 1751.
Wesley and Hopper left the battlefield, and travelled towards Musselburgh.
They arrived there between four and five o'clock.
The news of Wesley's coming had brought abundance of people together who were expecting to hear him preach.
He could not disappoint them; and so, on Wednesday, April 24, 1751, he preached in a large school his first sermon in Scotland.
The next day he rode to Edinburgh and gives in his Journal an unflattering description of the city.
He considered it one of the dirtiest cities he had ever seen, ' not excepting Cologne.'
The editor of his Journal softens this blow by reminding us that Wesley's verdict relates to the 'old town'; the 'new town' was not then projected.
Returning to Musselburgh to dinner, in the afternoon Wesley found himself in a little party of gentlemen from Edinburgh.
Those of us ' who hail from beyond the Tweed ' will find some consolation in his description of the pleasant time he spent with the circle of Scotsmen that afternoon.
He says, 'I know not why any should complain of the shyness of the Scots toward strangers.
All I spoke with were as free and open with me as the people of Newcastle or Bristol; nor did
GATHERING STORMS
any person move any dispute of any kind, or ask me any questions concerning my opinion.'
Wesley preached again in the evening from that text to which thousands had listened in England:
' Seek ye the Lord, while He may be found.'
He used great plainness of speech, and 'all received it in love.'
He was astonished; and ' the prejudice which the devil had been several years planting was torn up by the roots in one hour.'
After the service, one of the bailies of the town, with one of the elders of the Kirk, came to him, and begged him to stay with them a while, if it were but two or three days.
They promised to fit up a far larger place than the school, and prepare seats for the congregation.
But Wesley's travelling arrangements were fixed; otherwise he would have gladly complied.
All he could do was to promise that Christopher Hopper should come back the next week and spend a few days with them.
The promise was kept.
Hopper returned to Musselburgh.
He preached night and morning to large congregations, who heard with great attention.
He says, ' This was the beginning of a good work in Scotland.'?
On Monday, May 6, John Wesley left Newcastle and commenced his journey to the South.
On his way he spent some time at Epworth.
In his Journal for Saturday, May I1, he makes an entry which brings to light a danger which was causing him and his brother considerable concern at this time.
He was told that some of the preachers there had diligently gleaned up and retailed all the evil they could hear of him; that some of them had quite laid aside the Methodist hymns, as well as the doctrine they formerly preached; and that one of them had frequently spoken against 'the rules,' and the others quite neglected them.
John Wesley was very slow to accept charges against his preachers; he was their best defender; but it is evident he was compelled to admit that at Epworth mischief had been done by some of them which had seriously affected the people.
He expresses the opinion that ' nothing but the mighty power of God could have kept the people so well as they were.'
In addition to these doleful tidings, Wesley's heart was pained by listening to the account of the death of his father's old curate, John Romley.
It was a pitiful story.
Towards the 1See Early Methodist Preachers, 1. 205-206.
GATHERING STORMS
aw end of his life he lost his reason, and it was necessary to put him in confinement.
Now and then he had a lucid interval.
'Then,' says Wesley, 'by a judgement mixed with mercy, God took him to Himself.'+ On Tuesday, May 14, John Wesley preached ' within the walls of the new house' at Leeds.
When the building was completed it became famous.* The next day he held 'a little Conference,' the first in Leeds.
About thirty preachers were present.
We have no details of the business transacted ; but, from a sentence contained in John Wesley's Journal, we judge that the news he had received at Epworth concerning the conduct of some of the preachers determined the character of part of its proceedings.
In this Conference he particularly inquired concerning the ' grace and gifts and fruit' of each of the preachers.
He found reason to doubt of one only.
We may be sure that the examination was searching ; but, in the absence of a list showing the names of those who were present, we have no opportunity of banishing our suspicions concerning the men who had been mentioned to Wesley at Epworth.
.On Friday, May 17, John Wesley preached in the 'new house' at Birstall.
It was already too small for even a week-day's congregation.
He would, doubtless, have a conversation with John Nelson concerning the legal settlement of the building; he must have been disappointed when he was told that no deed had been drawn up and signed.
The date of the original deed is December 3, 1751 ; that fact provokes much thought in the minds of those who have studied the question of the settlement of Methodist chapels in the early days of our history.
Having made his entry in his Journal concerning preaching in the new house at Birstall,
Wesley says, ' After a few days more, spent among the neighbouring Societies, I returned by easy journeys to London.'
His tour had occupied about two months.
During Wesley's absence from London our thoughts have often turned to Mrs. Wesley.
She had consented to the separations which were made imperative by the conditions of his itinerant life.
We do not know if he is quoting from one of their conversations when he enters in his Journal
1 See John Wesley and the Methodist Societies, 77, 97, 199, 290.
The ' Old Boggard House' was succeeded by St. Peter's Chapel.
See Journal, li. 526 note.
GATHERING STORMS
the heroic words, 'I cannot understand how a Methodist preacher can answer it to God to preach one sermon or travel one day less in a married than in a single state.
In this respect surely "it remaineth that they who have wives be as though they had none."''
The austerity of that declaration cannot be denied.
It is said that Mrs. Wesley possessed considerable business ability, and had to attend to matters concerning her own estate that needed her presence in London.
In a footnote in the Journal will be found an affectionate letter from her husband, written to her when hereached
Tetsworth at the end of his first day's journey.
She desired to make her will, and Wesley tells her that, if the desire continued, Mr. Briggs could write it for her.
He also says that if she apprehended any difficulty, Mr. I'Anson would rejoice to advise her.
We get further light from letters written by Wesley to his friend Ebenezer Blackwell.
On April 7 he says that Mr. Lloyd thought it absolutely needful that a friend or two of Mrs. Wesley should meet Mr. Blisson and a friend or two of his, in order to persuade him to come to an account as to what remains in his hands.
He asks Mr. Blackwell and Mr. Lloyd to take the trouble on themselves.
On May 14 he writes as if an amicable conclusion might be reached, and expresses his obligation to Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell on his own and his wife's behalf.
He says that if 'these outward incumbrances were removed' it might be the means of giving Mrs. Wesley the opportunity of speriding more time with him ;
'which would probably be useful as well as agreeable to her.'?
In addition to this detention in London, we gather a further fact from Charles Wesley's Journal.
We find that Mrs.
Wesley did not spend all her time in London.
On May Io he and his wife came safe to Charles Street, Bristol, and two days afterwards he met Mrs. John Wesley at the Horsefair, and ' behaved as a brother to her.'
They met again on May 14, when he showed her, ' both at his own house, and the houses of his friends, all the civility in his power.'?
It is necessary that we should fix our attention for a few moments on Charles Wesley.
We find that on May 28 Lady Huntingdon was staying in Bristol.
Mrs. Jones, of Fonmon, called at Charles Street, and told him her ladyship would be
1See Wesley's Works, xii. 159, 160, 8vo ed.
Charles Wesley's Journal, ii. 80-81.
GATHERING STORMS
~ very glad to see him.
The friendly relations between Lady Huntingdon and the Wesleys had been weakened; but when Charles Wesley called upon her on June 1 she showed him so much kindness that he forgot all the past.
On the Monday Mrs. Charles Wesley accompanied her husband to the house where Lady Huntingdon was staying.
They had a long talk together, and the visit was returned the next day.
Lady Huntingdon, bringing her daughters with her, came to Charles Street, and spent two hours with Charles Wesley and his wife.
They were evidently charmed with Mrs. Charles Wesley, and we know they became her firm friends.
Charles Wesley's next experience casts a shadow over the brightness of his pleasant reunion with an old friend.
On June rr he received a letter from Bradford-on-Avon which caused him much concern.
He was asked to bring one of the preachers, James Wheatley, with him to Bradford to answer serious charges.
Charles Wesley went to Bradford, and spent two days in interviewing persons and gathering evidence concerning Wheatley's conduct.
It will be enough to say that Wheatley considered himself an authority on women's cases, and it was alleged that in examining and prescribing for them he had been guilty of improprieties.
When Charles Wesley returned to Bristol he saw Wheatley at Charles Street, and 'set before him, in tender love and pity, the things which he had done.'
At first the accused man was stubborn and hard; then he relented, and seemed willing to confess; being satisfied of Charles Wesley's good will.*
It must have been a relief to Charles Wesley when his brother arrived on Wednesday, June 19.
He was accompanied by his wife.
In Charles Wesley's home the brothers had an important conversation.
They had drifted apart ; but it was impossible for John Wesley to resist Charles Wesley's offer to join him again, 'heartily and entirely.'
This pact being made, Wheatley's case was considered.
The next day Charles Wesley got Wheatley to his house once more, ' and talked with him as he was able to bear.'
On June 25, in company with his brother and the accused man, he went to Bearfield, where Wheatley was confronted with two persons who 'proved their charge to his face."
He pleaded guilty; yet sought to justify himself.
Charles Wesley walked with him Charles Wesley's Journal, ii. 82-83.
GATHERING STORMS
apart.
He then threatened to expose all the preachers, and brought a serious charge against one of them whom he would not name.
After consulting John Wesley, a resolution was drawn up forbidding Wheatley to preach. "He absolutely refused to submit.
Charles Wesley says, ' We reasoned with him in vain.
He insisted on preaching occasionally in our Societies.'
Then John and Charles Wesley signed a document which contained among other sentences, the following words :
"We can in no wise receive you as a fellow labourer till we see cleat proofs of your real and deep repentance.
. The least and lowest proof of such repentance which we can receive is this, That till our next Conference (which we hope will be in October) you abstain both from preaching and practising physic.
If you do not, we are clear; we cannot answer for the consequence.'?
It was impossible that Wheatley's charge against the preachers could be ignored.
On June 27 the Wesleys talked again with him, but ' prevailed nothing.'
He was resolved to preach in the Societies.
Then they asked him to tell them the name of the preacher whom he knew to be ' a gross sinner.'
He refused to do so.
On the next day he was confronted by ten of the preachers in the presence of the Wesleys.
Thomas Maxfield first, and then each of the others, asked him, ' What sin can you charge me with?'
He was silent in every case ; and the Wesleys were convinced that his serious charge could not be sustained.
We have given these particulars of James Wheatley's case because we shall meet with him again, and it is well that we should keep these facts in mind.
In addition, his case had a result which endures to the present day.
The Wesleys resolved that in future they would strictly examine into the life and moral behaviour of every preacher in connexion with them.
They determined that they would not wait until the Conference assembled in October; the work should be begun at once.
Charles Wesley had arranged for a journey to the North, and to him fell the office of making the necessary inquiries.
We have said that John Wesley's arrival in Bristol must have brought relief to his brother.
But the pleasure was alloyed.
On June 21 he had an interview with Mrs. John Wesley, and found her in tears.
He professed his love, pity, 1 See Myles' Chronological History of the Methodists, 71-72, 4th ed.
.'y
CATHERING STORMS
wr and desire to help her.
She was full of complaints against her husband.
Charles Wesley took her to his house, where she resumed the subject after supper, and then went away comforted.
The next day he passed another hour with her in free, affectionate conference.
Then he saw his brother, and conversed with him; afterwards he talked with both together.
He does not mention the subjects of complaint, but consoles us by saying, 'Ourexplanation ended in prayer and perfect peace.' This cloud trailed along thesky, and disappeared. ?
When John Wesley built Kingswood School he thought it would become a place in which he might occasionally rest and renew his strength.
On June 21 he drew up 'a short account ' of the school.
It had been opened for three years, and had never answered its purpose.
Wesley had faced the difficulties and would not be diverted from his original purpose.
At the outset, in 1748, there had been twenty-eight scholars and six masters in the school.
In 1751 there were two masters and eleven scholars.
He was possessed of an ever-victorious faith, so we watch him with confidence.
He faced the danger that threatened the school, believed that success would come, refused to despair, and conquered.
John Wesley's Journal at this stage gives us but slight assistance in our attempt to follow his course.
The records are brief, and their continuity in point of dates is broken.
The editor of his Journal earns our gratitude by inserting occasional notes when the way seems barren; and other books come to our aid.
[If it had not been for such assistance we should have been compelled to travel by twilight.
We are much interested in Charles Wesley's ' tour of inspection.'
His principal business during his journey to the North was to preach and to consider the state of the Societies.
Preaching was his old work, in which his success had been conspicuous.
Now, according to the arrangement he had made with his brother, he had to gather information concerning the life and moral behaviour of the preachers in connexion with them.
It was a task requiring sympathy, delicacy, and skill.
We know that he was dissatisfied with several of the preachers because of their lack of intellectual fitness for their work; but their character was to be his chief concern.
In Dr. Whitehead's Life of John Wesley we have much-needed 1C. Wesley's Journal, ii. 83.
GATHERING STORMS
light on the results of Charles Wesley's inquiries.
He found, in respect of character and moral conduct, only one or two of the lay preachers ' who did not walk worthy of the gospel.'
The report on the main subject of inquiry may be deemed satisfactory.
But it was inevitable that, in pursuing his inquiries, he would hear some things which he thought his brother ought to know.
John Wesley was in constant correspondence:with him, and from his letters we can judge the character of Charles Wesley's communications.
He reported that, in his opinion, several of the lay preachers were utterly unqualified to preach.
On July 17 John Wesley mentions, under their initials, two men of whom he had heard that they frequently and bitterly railed against the Church.
This was a report that touched Charles Wesley at a tender spot.
We do not wonder that, in his reply to his brother's letter, he asks, 'What assurance can we have that they will not forsake it, at least when we are dead?
Ought we to admit any man for a preacher till we can trust his invariable attachment to the Church?'
John Wesley's answer to this query is not recorded by Dr. Whitehead.
The question of the maintenance of the preachers emerged in the course of Charles Wesley's inquiries.
On July 20 John Wesley writes, ' The Societies both must and shall maintain the preachers we send among them, or I will preach among them no more.
The least I can say to any of these preachers is, "give yourself wholly to the work, and you shall have food to eat, and raiment to put on.'"'
And I cannot see that any preacher is called to any people who will not thus maintain him.—Almost everything depends on you and me: let nothing damp or hinder us: only let us be alive, and put forth all our strength.'
On July 24 John Wesley wrote again to his brother as follows:
' As to the preachers, my counsel is, not to check the. young ones without strong necessity.
If we lay some aside, we must have a supply ; and of the two I prefer grace before gifts.'
To this Charles Wesley replied:
' Are not both indispensably necessary?
Has not the cause suffered, in Ireland especially, through the insufficiency of the preachers ?
Should we not first regulate, reform, and bring into discipline the preachers we have, before we look for more?
Should 1 Dr. Whitehead's attitude towards the lay preachers is well known to advanced students of Methodist history.
It must always be remembered when he ventures to express a personal opinion on matters in which they are concerned.