It was the class-meeting alone that made it possible for Methodism to spread as it did throughout England with a rapidity that still excites the astonishment of the historian.
It kindled everywhere new fires of religious life which could, if necessary, become self-feeding and maintain an independent existence, and thus formed an indispensable auxiliary to missionary operations. And it provided a religious training for thousands of new converts, whose
' The Class-Meeting. 107 transition was immediate from a state of indifference and sometimes of brutishness, to the enjoyment of spiritual life.
We have already seen how lay-preaching became with Wesley a practical necessity. It was time to inquire into the lawfulness and utility of this novel institution. The Conference did not hesitate to declare its conviction that this new agency met the urgent needs of the times, and encouraged Wesley to employ "lay-helpers" in cases of necessity. Their office was, "in the absence of a minister, to feed and guide the flock." The Conference also drew up rules for their observance, recommended that they should keep a journal, and added an exhortation to watch against formalism both in themselves and others. The question was also raised of providing a "seminary" for such labourers ; but the project was postponed, the time being not yet come for its efficient realization.
It is evident that neither Wesley nor his friends understood as yet the value and importance of lay-preaching, and the service it was to render to the Methodism of the future. Though already a considerable body, (numbering about fifty,) the lay-helpers were as yet only regarded by Wesley as "extraordinary messengers," whose mission would cease whenever the clergy came under the awakening influence of the Revival. The majority of them still followed their secular calling, while engaged in the labours of an itinerant ministry. They were men of great simplicity and little learning, but full of faith and zeal, and threw themselves into the work that Wesley assigned them with the utmost energy. He had called them into the field, and they willingly accepted his leadership. It was his to regulate their movements, to fix the limits of their Circuits, and generally to superintend their labours. The thirteenth rule of a Helper was as follows: " Act in all things, not according to your own will, but asa son in the Gospel. As 108 The First Conference. . such, it is your part to employ your time in the manner which we direct ; partly, in visiting the flock from house to house, the sick in particular ; partly in such a course of reading, meditation and prayer, as we advise from time to time. Above all, if you labour with us in our Lord's vineyard, it is needful you should do that part of the work which we direct, at those times and places which we judge most for His glory."
The complete obedience that Wesley thus expected from his lay-helpers was necessitated by the claims of the work.
He was confiding the care of souls to men who, though endowed with much faith and zeal, were lacking for the most part in mental culture. He was therefore compelled, by the force of circumstances, to accept a kind of episcopal power; and to it his assistants joyfully submitted. It should also be said that he wielded this power to the great advantage of the preachers as well as people, stimulating their intellectual as well as spiritual activities, directing them in their reading, pointing out the defects in their preaching,—in a word, labouring with all his might to fit them for the important work to which Providence had called them. Nothing can be more interesting than the correspondence he carried on with them. 'Your talent in preaching," he writes to one of them, "does not increase. It is just the same as it was seven years ago. It is lively, but not deep ; there is little variety ;there is no compass of thought. Reading only can supply this, with meditation and daily prayer. You wrong yourself greatly by omitting this. You can never be a deep preacher without it, any more than a thorough
Christian. O begin! Fix some part of every day for private exercises. You may acquire the taste you have not : what is tedious at first, will afterwards be pleasant."
Wesley made use of his authority over the preachers, not only to incite them to study but also to encourage them Wesley's Episcopate. » st0o in their work : he was their personal friend as well as their director. One of them was upon one occasion overwhelmed with doubts respecting his call, and wrote to beg of him to send some one else in his stead, as he did not feel himself to be in his right place. '' My dear brother," replied Wesley,
'you do indeed appear to me to be out of your place, for the time you have spent in reasoning you ought to have spent in prayer." Such an authority, grounded on such a character and tempered by an overflowing affection and benevolence, could not but command a prompt and cheerful acquiescence ; and it may be truly said that no leader ever hadat hisdisposal a better disciplined and more devoted band.
After spending several days upon the grave questions, occasioned by the Revival, the members of the first Conference separated, and resumed their evangelical labours. This little gathering bore no resemblance to a formal synod: its object was, not to found an ecclesiastical organization, but to determine the best means of reviving the Church and saying souls. Wesley and his friends were, indeed, laying the foundations of a great work, but they appear to have formed no conception of the proportions which that work was to assume.
The past, however, afforded a hopeful augury for the future. In the five years that had elapsed since the commencement of the Revival, its success had surpassed all expectations. Its two great branches, divided by a single doctrinal point, vied with each other in zeal and activity. Still, that of which Wesley was the representative, owing to its superior organization, was rapidly distancing the other. There are no complete statistics of the Methodism of this period. The itinerant preachers numbered, as we have stated, at least fifty; and the members of Society were counted by thousands. In London alone there were two thousand two hundred.
Every part of England was comprised within the scheme 110 The First Conference. of Wesley's itinerancy, from Newcastle in the north to Land's End in the extreme south-west. London, Bristol,
St. Ives and Newcastle were the centres of the movement: latterly, a new one had been formed at Wednesbury in the Midland district ; and the commencement of the work was marked, as we have seen, by violent persecutions. At these various centres Wesley, like his Master, had addressed himself mainly to the most degraded portion of the population, having become a missionary to the London masses, and to the colliers of Kingswood, Staffordshire, and Newcastle. What success had crowned his laboursamidst these outcasts of society we have already shown. It was success of the most valuable kind, since it involved not only the reformation of manners but the conversion of souls.
Opposition, indeed, had not been wanting. But the attitude of the English people proved their need of the Gospel, and did not daunt the spirit of the missionary.
In these very mobs, embruted by drunkenness and enraged with anger, he could discern susceptible spirits, likely to be as ardent in their good impulses ay in those that were leading them astray. It was not by flattery, however, that he sought to tame the savage tyrant accustomed to defy the government itself. |Wesley had too lofty a soul to play the courtier, and too much sincerity to say what he did not mean. Even in the midst of an ungovernable mob, he never assumed the tone of a suppliant. The revolution in the sentiments of the people towards him is solely attributable to the moral power he wielded. If, after having been despised and reviled, he came to be beloved and respected by the masses, it was because they felt that his bold and authoritative utterances proceeded from a loving and devoted heart. Frivolous and inconstant in its tastes, as the multitude may be, it knows how to render justice, sooner or later, to those who have loved it and laboured for its good.
Methodism in 1744. Lot Wesley did not find it so easy to excuse the malice of those of his opponents, in whose behalf could not be pleaded the ignorance and prejudice of the mob. The clergy and the magistracy, as we have seen, so far from restraining the madness of the people, often aided and abetted their designs. Their conduct presents one of the most pitiable spectacles that the eighteenth century can furnish,—the magistrate's robe and the minister's surplice soiled by the mire of a street affray. '' They encourage the people," said
Wesley, "'to treat us as persons for whom there is no law, and as so many mad dogs."
This fierce opposition, which had already broken out at the period we have now reached, was to be redoubled in violence ; but the preachers had sustained the first shock, and were now inured to conflict.
The period which may properly be denominated as that of the birth of Methodism terminates at the first Conference, in which its principles were enunciated with such modesty and firmness. We shall next follow the gradual development of the work ; and, in doing so, it will be enough to resume the thread of Wesley's life, for never was workman more thoroughly identified with his work.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORK.
(1744—1770.) CHAPTER I.
CONFLICTS AND SUCCESSES.
Encouraged by the prospects of usefulness that lay before him, Wesley resumed his labours with his accustomed zeal. In August, 1744, it was his turn as one of the Fellows to preach before the University of Oxford. An opportunity was thus afforded him, which he did not fail to embrace, of addressing to the dignitaries of the Church, a calm and luminous exposition of the evangelical doctrines, together with a respectful but strongly-worded exhortation to the performance of the special duties that devolved upon them. 'I preached," he says in his journal, "I suppose the last time, at St. Mary's. Beit so. Iam now clear of the blood of these men. I have fully delivered my own soul,"
While he knew how to turn to the best account the few opportunities that were offered him of preaching the Gospel to the higher and better instructed portion of the community, he did not forget that his special mission was to the " little ones." He continued to pursue his missionary journeys,
Features of the Itinerancy. 113 undeterred even by the rigours of winter.. The roads were in those days deplorably neglected, especially in the northern counties. No public conveyance was known beyond the city of York. Wesley had to perform his incessant and protracted journeys on horseback. These illkept roads were rendered almost impracticable in winter by the falls of snow or the overflowing of rivers, and more than once he was in danger of losing his life. He often had to dismount and lead his reluctant horse where it could scarcely keep its footing on the ice. In February
1745, he had two very trying journeys. He speaks of them in his journal as follows :—" Many a rough journey have I had before, but one like this I never had ; between wind, and hail, and rain, and ice, and snow, and driving sleet, and piercing cold: but it is past; those days will return no more, and are, therefore, as though they had never been."
These labours Wesley bore with the utmost equanimity.
For such troubles as these he found abundant compensation in the success vouchsafed to his ministry. Besides, he was too much absorbed in his great work, to be distracted by the petty discomforts which necessarily attended it. While on his journeys, he did not confine himself to the work of addressing the multitudes that assembled at every important station on his route: he took advantage of the smallest opportunity for labouring in his Master's cause. As he was
'riding, he would accost those whom he fell in with, enter into conversation with them, and endeavour to direct their minds to religious subjects. At the table, or in the parlour of the inn where he spent the night, he often contrived to prosecute the great business of his life. His amiable disposition, together with his remarkable conversational powers, caused his society to be eagerly sought: his already wide-spread reputation, and the different opinions current concerning him, excited curiosity ; and persons frequently
I 114 Conflicts and Successes. came from long distances in order to see and to speak to him. This curiosity, no doubt, did not always spring from sympathy ; but none knew better than he did how to disarm malevolence by the mere force of self-possession and simplicity. Of this he gave abundant proof during a tour through Cornwall in the spring of 1745.
The excellent Thompson, rector of St. Gennis, to his honour be it spoken, received him with open arms, offered him the use of his pulpit, and always continued one of his best friends. But the rest of the clergy and the authorities generally gave him 4 cold reception. The country was up in arms against the Methodists. Maxfield, one of the preachers, had just been arrested under the Vagrancy Act, and was in danger of being impressed into the army, as Nelson and several others had already been. This easy method of getting rid of troublesome preachers appears to have been very popular at that time, and the law allowed too much license to those who made use of it. While endeavouring to interfere on behalf of his friend, Wesley narrowly escaped the same fate. A summons was taken out against him and he was arrested ; but such a prisoner could not but be a source of great embarrassment to his enemies, who felt that it would be difficult to pass off as a vagabond, having no visible means of subsistence, a clergyman with so dignified a bearing and so easy an address. He was soon released ; but the same day a zealous magistrate interrupted him in his open-air preaching by cries of 'Seize him! seize him! I say, seize the preacher for His
Majesty's service." As no one appeared ready to obey this order, he seized the preacher by the arm himself and made 'him his prisoner, but, on reflection, felt ashamed of what he had done, and let him go.
The next day, at Falmouth, Wesley had to encounter, not a vacillating magistrate, but an infuriated populace. He was paying a visit to a sick lady, when "the house," he tells
The Falmouth Mob. 115 us, '' was beset on all sides by an innumerable multitude of people. A louder or more confused noise could hardly be at the taking of a city by storm. At first Mrs. B. and her daughter endeavoured to quiet them. But it was labour lost. They might as well have attempted to still the raging of the sea. They were soon glad to shift for themselves, and leave K. E. and me to do as well as we could.
The rabble roared with all their throats, 'Bring out the Canorum? Where is the Canorum? (an unmeaning word which the Cornish generally use instead of Methodist.) No answer being given, they quickly forced open the outer door, and filled the passage. Only a wainscot-partition was between us, which was not likely to stand long. I immediately took down a large looking-glass which hung against it, supposing the whole side would fall in at once.
When they began their work with abundance of bitter imprecations, poor Kitty was utterly astonished, and cried out, 'O Sir, what must we do?' I said, 'We must pray.'
Indeed, at that time, to all appearance, our lives were not worth an hour's purchase. She asked, ' But Sir, is it not better for you to hide yourself? to get into the closet?'
I answered, 'No. It is best for me to stand just where I am.' Among those without were the crews of some privateers, which were lately come into the harbour. Some of these, being angry at the slowness of the rest, thrust them away, and, coming up all together, set their shoulders to the inner door, and cried out, 'Avast lads, avast!'
Away went all the hinges at once, and the door fell back into the room. I stepped forward at once into the midst of them, and said, 'Here Iam. Which of you has anything to say to me? To which of you have I done any wrong?
To you? Oryou? Oryou?' I continued speaking till I came, bare-headed as I was, (for I purposely left my hat that they might all see my face,) into the middle of the street, and then raising my voice, said, ' Neighbours,
116 Conflicts and Successes. countrymen! Do you desire to hear me speak?' They cried vehemently, 'Yes, yes. He shall speak. He shall. Nobody shall hinder him.' But having nothing to stand on, and no advantage of ground, I could be heard by few only. However, I spoke without intermission, and, as far as the sound reached, the people were still ; till one or two of their captains turned about and swore not a man should touch him. Mr. Thomas, a clergyman, then came up, and asked, 'Are you not ashamed to use a stranger thus?' He was soon seconded by two or three gentlemen of the town and one of the aldermen ; with whom I walked down the town, speaking all the time till I came to Mrs. Maddern's house. The gentlemen proposed sending for my horse to the door, and desired me to step in and rest the mean time. But on second thoughts, they judged it not advisable to let me go out among the people again : so they chose to send my horse before me to Penryn, and to send me thither by water ; the sea running close by the back-door of the house in which we were."
As he pursued his journey through Cornwall, Wesley strove to revive the spirit of the Societies which had been somewhat daunted by opposition. Some were in great consternation: here he was informed that the churchwardens and constables were preparing to lay violent hands upon him: there, a body of drunken miners were "coming to do terrible things." "TI laboured much," says he, " to compose their minds: but fear had no ears; so that abundance of people went away. I preached to the rest on, 'Love your enemies.' The event showed this also was a false alarm, an artifice of the devil, to hinder men from hearing the Word of God."
At Tolcarn he had to encounter another assault of the mob, who broke in upon him while preaching in the open air. » Wesley was standing on a high wall, and succeeded for some time by his voice and gestures in keeping them
Cornwall and Wales. 17 within bounds. But he was thrown down from the wall, and had to give up the service, only too happy to have escaped without serious injury. At Stithians, while he was preaching, the agents of the authorities arrested one of the audience and impressed him into the army. One of the members of the Society at Trewint was driven out of the place ;but the measure only turned to the advantage of the cause, of which this humble Christian became, wherever he went, the faithful defender and advocate. His success was such in every place he visited, that he said, "I never remember so great an awakening in Cornwall, wrought in so short a time, among young and old, rich and poor, from Trewint quite to the sea-side."
Wesley now left Cornwall, and crossed the Channel to Wales, where he found himself in the midst of widely different scenes. '"' We were here, as it were, in a new world, in peace, and honour, and abundance. How soon should I melt away in this sunshine! But the goodness of God suffered it not." At this period, in fact, the Principality was, of all parts of England, that in which the Revival had met with the greatest sympathy and the least opposition.
While he was thus pursuing his labours, his coadjutors were vigorously seconding him in the midst of sufferings and struggles that cannot be detailed here. His brother always occupied the fore-front rank, and none plunged into the fight with greater ardour than he. The battle was waging at many points simultaneously, and each soldier bravely did his duty. Wesley was the soul of the movement, animating his fellows with his own intrepid zeal, and setting them the example of a whole-hearted consecration to the cause of God.
The great work responded so completely to the wants of the age, that it seemed to break out spontaneously in places the most remote from each other, and Wesley often
118 Conflicts and Successes. learned with surprise the success of humble and devoted fellow-labourers, of whose very existence he had not been previously aware. About this time, for instance, he received the joyful intelligence that Methodism had found its way into the English army then upon the continent. The war of the Spanish succession had just commenced: England had taken up arms in behalf of Maria Theresa, while France espoused the opposite side. Flanders was the battle-field of the contending armies. Among the English troops there were a few soldiers who had heard the preaching of the Methodists in England, and in whom it had borne fruit.
Their piety had ripened amid the dangers of warfare, and their zeal had awakened many of their comrades. John Evans, John Haime, Sampson Staniforth, and Mark Bond, were the leaders of this remarkable movement. They commenced a regular course of evangelical activity which accomplished marvellous results. In most of the regiments numerous conversions took place: the converts formed themselves into little Societies for mutual edification, and their number soon exceeded three hundred. The most intelligent and pious among them became preachers, and the number of these amounted to seven. John Haime, the most energetic of them all, often preached five times a day in various parts of the camp, with the consent of his officers,, who released him to a great extent from his military duties, and were in general favourable to his work. At Brussels, the General permitted Haime to preach every day in the English church: the Methodist soldiers
marched to the services, and their serious demeanour and Joyous psalmody edified all. Other soldiers occupied a place of worship at Ghent.
On April 30th, 1745, at the terrible battle of Fontenoy, the Methodists proved to their comrades that Christian soldiers could die at the post of duty. Four of the preachers and a great number of the members fell on Methodism in the Army. Lig the field of battle. 'Iam going to rest on the bosom of Jesus," said one of the wounded to his fellows. " Come,
Lord Jesus, come quickly!" exclaimed another with his last breath. John Evans had both legs cut off by a cannon ball: he was laid across a cannon to die ; and, as long as he could speak, he ceased not to praise God and to exhort all those that were about him.
Tn thus finding its way to the field of battle, Methodism was faithful to its providential mission, as it had already been in its care for the colliers at Kingswood and Newcastle.
God was evidently employing its adherents as His messengers to outcasts of every class.
Though a large number of Methodist soldiers lost their lives in the continental campaign, many returned to England, and there united themselves to Wesley's Societies : some of them entered the ranks of his itinerancy. He himself took a deep interest in this remarkable movement, and kept up a constant correspondence with several of these godly soldiers. The joy their letters afforded him was the double joy of the missionary and of the patriot. Of Wesley's patriotism there could be no doubt, and cireumstances soon arose which put it to the proof.
In the course of the year 1745, the whole country was thrown into a state of great alarm by the descent on Scotland of the Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart. At first, his 'arms were attended by some success: he gained possession of Edinburgh, and from thence threatened the north of England. Wesley, who was an Englishman to the backbone, was fully alive to the fact that the success of the Pretender was the success of Popery, and the forerunner of the downfall of his country's liberties. He therefore threw all the weight of his influence and example into the scale of the King's authority and the nation's interests. When tidings came of the invasion, he immediately set out for Newcastle, whose northern position exposed it to the 120 Conflicts and Successes. greatest danger. He desired to share also the fortunes of his brethren, and to comfort and encourage them in their present trying circumstances. On his arrival, he wrote to the mayor a remarkable letter, in which he avows his patriotism and fidelity to the legitimate sovereign. Shortly after, he offered to preach to the soldiers of the garrison, for whose religious wants no provision was made. The commanding officer did not consent to this proposal, and Wesley was obliged to restrict his efforts to his ordinary sphere of labour; but within these limits he displayed greater zeal than ever, preaching every day in the open air, and drawing important lessons from the great public calamities that were impending. The danger of an assault increased daily, and this tended to solemnize the minds of the people, and furnished the preacher with a subject on which to base the most powerful appeals. These labours were not without results, and the abortive attempt of the Pretender had at least the effect of arousing some souls from religious indifference.
While preaching was Wesley's principal weapon, he was conscious from the first of the power of the press ; and few men have made more use of it than he. During the period we are now describing, he published in succession the two parts of his Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion, an eloquent plea on behalf of the Methodist Revival, in which the noblest sentiments are expressed in remarkably vigorous language. He also wrote short religious tracts, which his preachers distributed by thousands in all parts of Great Britain, and which usefully followed up the work of preaching properly so called. To Wesley belongs the honour of taking the initiative in tract distribution on a large scale, an idea which in modern times has been carried out by influential societies to a wonderful extent.
The rapid development of the work imposed obligations upon Wesley, such as he had never contemplated. He was False Teachers. 121 called to exercise a kind of spiritual episcopate, not only over his preachers, but also over the numerous Societies of which he was the founder. This burden he bore in the true spirit of apostolic devotion. While prosecuting his evangelical labours, he combined with these a minute attention to the state of the Societies, and maintained among them a strict ecclesiastical discipline. The religious excitement that everywhere accompanied the Revival, necessarily produced varied results, and the most extravagant ideas sometimes sprang up in the wake of this great movement. Many souls that truly hungered and thirsted after righteousness, were led astray by dangerous doctrines, which substituted an unhealthy quietism for the life and warfare of faith. It needed all Wesley's firmness and prudence to prevent the Revival from foundering amid these shoals. He saw the tendency of these currents of thought, and resisted them with all his might. In March, 1746, he perceived that as the result of such doctrines the Nottingham society had sunk into a most unsatisfactory state, and he endeavoured to remedy it at once by a thorough sifting of it. At Wednesbury and Birmingham still greater ravages had been created by false doctrines. Certain Antinomian teachers, under pretence of exalting Christian liberty, had widely circulated the idea of the non-necessity of good works, and of the complete emancipation of the Christian from the obedience due to the law. By some, these dangerous principles had been carried to their extreme issues. Wesley proved, in a public discussion of the whole subject, that such notions opened the door to all kinds of license. To expose these deplorable consequences was the best way to arrest them.
In London, Wesley had to contend with a fanatical sect which professed to have received the gift of prophecy and of tongues. "It was not difficult to refute these absurd pretensions. One of the so-called prophets tried to talk
122 Conflicts and Successes.
Latin, and broke down in the attempt. "The poor man proved to us," said Wesley, "that he at least had mistaken his vocation."
In the spring of 1746, Wesley visited the south-west, where his labours were again greatly blessed. Wales gave him a hearty reception, and Cornwall, which the year before had been the scene of so many trials, seemed to strive to make reparation. He was not once disturbed by the mob, and he had the joy of finding that many of his persecutors had been converted. The Societies were everywhere becoming more consolidated, and there were evident tokens that the work which had been wrought was of a durable kind.
On the return of winter, he set out again for the north, not heeding the rigours of the season, which he had to encounter in all their severity. Most abundantly, indeed, was he compensated for these sufferings by the delightful progress of which he was the witness in the Societies that lay along his route. On the 24th of February, 1747, he writes,
" At noon I examined the little Society at Tetney. I have not seen such another in England. In the class-paper (which gives an account of the contribution for the poor) I observed one gave eightpence, often tenpence a week; another thirteen, fifteen, or eighteen pence; another sometimes one, sometimes two shillings. Lasked Micah Elmoor, the leader,
(an Israelite indeed, who now rests from his labours,) ' How is this? Are you the richest Society in all England?' He answered, 'I suppose not; but all of us who are single persons have agreed together, to give both ourselves and all we have to God: and we do it gladly ; whereby we are able, from time to time, to entertain all the strangers that come to Tetney : who often have no food to eat, nor any friend to give them a lodging'" With such adherents
Methodism could face the future without fear : its destiny was practically decided.
The Work in the North. 7 123 The northern Societies were, generally, in a prosperous condition. At Newcastle, while perfect harmony reigned among the members, Wesley found that the preaching was appreciated by many beyond the circle of the ordinary congregation, and that prejudice was on the wane even among the upper classes. He visited fresh localities, in which his labours laid the foundations of a permanent work, and placed these new interests under the care of his itinerant preachers, who were themselves continually increasing in number. One of these, John Nelson, whom
Wesley met again during the course of this journey, was always distinguishing himself by his Christian heroism as well as by the success that attended his ministry. He had just escaped, as by a miracle, out of the hands of a furious mob at York, who had almost stoned him to death, and left him wallowing on the ground in his own blood. Wesley comforted his valiant colleague, and after a short interview resumed his journey. At Leeds, where Nelson had introduced Methodism, Wesley's preaching awakened a deep interest and drew together multitudes of people. At Keighley, where on a previous visit he had formed a Society of ten members, he found two hundred. At the great manufacturing town of Manchester, he preached to several thousands in the open air. Toward the end of the service he was interrupted by a few individuals, who threatened to bring out the fire-engine and let it play upon him if he did not desist.
This slight misadventure was almost the only one Wesley had to encounter in his northern. journey. The popular feeling had become in many places greatly modified in his favour. The outbreaks that did occur were quickly repressed, and that sometimes by the aggressors themselves. Such was the case during a visit which he paid to the south-west in the summer of 1747. 'About six in the evening," he writes at Plymouth, on the 27th of June, "I 124 Conflicts and Successes. went to the place where I preached the last year. A little before we had ended the hymn, came the Lieutenant, a famous man, with his retinue of soldiers, drummers, and mob. When the drums ceased, a gentleman-barber began to speak ; but his voice was quickly drowned in the shouts of the multitude, who grew fiercer and fiercer, as their numbers increased. After waiting about a quarter of an hour, perceiving the violence of the rabble still increasing,
I walked down into the thickest of them,and took the captain of the mob by the hand. He immediately said, 'Sir, I will see you safe home: Sir, no man shall touch you. Gentlemen, stand off ; give back! I will knock the first man down that touches him.' We walked on in great peace ; my conductor every now and then stretching out his neck, (he was a very tall man,) and looking round, to see if any behaved rudely, till we came to Mr. Hide's door. We then parted in much love. I stayed in the street near half an hour after he was gone, talking with the people, who had now forgot their anger, and went away in high good humour."
Such incidents as these might be easily multiplied.
They prove the almost fascinating power of Wesley's speech and demeanour, of which we have seen so many proofs already. The present tour through the southwestern counties was exceedingly gratifying to Wesley's mind. " How strangely," says he, "has one year changed the scene in Cornwall! 'This is now a peaceable, nay, an honourable station. They give us good words almost in every place. What have we done, that the world should be so civil to us?"
The success vouchsafed to Wesley's labours, could not but encourage him to attempt new enterprises. He had scarcely returned from these tours which had occasioned him so much joy, when he prepared for a campaign which seemed likely to entail much hardship, but to the eye of his faith revealed the prospect of great success. This
Popular Favour. 125 episode in his ministry is sufficiently important 2 demand a separate notice.
METHODISM IN IRELAND.
Tre.anp, once called the Isle of Saints, and for a long time the pioneer of missions for the rest of Europe, has long since fallen in the rear of her two sisters, Scotland and England, in a religious point of view. While the latter eagerly embraced the principles of the Reformation of the sixteenth century, Ireland misunderstood and opposed them. This religious inferiority has entailed humiliating social and political disadvantages. A race endowed with great natural gifts has been here arrested in its development by the iron bands of superstition. To this source alone can we refer the long succession of calamities which have made its history one of the most melancholy on record.
A nation seldom retrieves lost opportunities, and Ireland can searcely hope to overtake the other branches of the United
Kingdom. If ever she be regenerated, the Gospel alone must be the instrument of the work. It is to the honour of Wesley that he believed in its possibility, and set himself vigorously to labour for its achievement. Prior to his day, the attempts that had been made to convert Ireland had so much of what was merely political in their character, as to bring them into contempt. The Anglican clergymen, supported by the forced contributions of the Catholics, were generally regarded as the useless functionaries of a persecuting power; and even if they had been men of great
126 Methodism in Ireland. zeal and piety, their connection with the State would have considerably neutralized their influence. Wesley saw that where the clergy were thus doubly disqualified for their work, there was room for the action of his lay-preachers, and that the one might succeed though the other had failed.
He arrived at Dublin on Sunday, the 9th of August, 1747, and in the afternoon of the same day was invited to occupy the pulpit of St. Mary's Church. He preached "to as gay and senseless a congregation" as he ever saw. Two days after he waited on the Archbishop of Dublin, who raised
"abundance of objections." Wesley replied firmly ; but he well knew that, in Ireland as in England, he would have to open a path for himself in spite of the Established
On this first visit, he endeavoured to form a just estimate of the religious wants of Ireland. He observed that "at least ninety-nine in an hundred of the native Irish remain in the religion of their forefathers. The Protestants, whether in Dublin or elsewhere, are almost all transplanted lately from England. Nor is it any wonder," he adds,
"that those who are born Papists generally live and die such, when the Protestants can find no better ways to - convert them than Penal Laws and Acts of Parliament."
His first impressions of the people were of the most favourable kind: he found them much more tractable than the English. ' What'a nation this is!" he exclaims, " men, women, and children, all receive the word of exhortation not only with patience but thankfulness." Subsequent events sensibly modified this first impression.
Wesley had been preceded here by one of his lay-preachers, Thomas Williams, who in a few months organized in Dublin a Society of nearly three hundred members. According to custom, he inquired into the spiritual state of each individually. He also preached to large audiences, both in the chapel, formerly a Lutheran church, and in the Reception of the Wesleys. 127 open air. His preaching was everywhere well received : indeed the enthusiasm of his reception was to him a matter of astonishment. After spending a fortnight in Ireland, he: had to leave a people "loving beyond expression," and in doing so determined in future to pay special attention to the spiritual necessities of this neglected country.
A fortnight after his departure, his brother Charles visited Ireland. Within this brief space of time, however, a sudden revolution had taken place in the minds of the Dublin populace. The passions of the mob had broken forth like a storm and fallen with great severity upon the little Society. At the instigation of the priests, the chapel had been sacked by the Roman Catholics, while the pulpit and benches served to make a bonfire : many Methodists had also been insulted and threatened with worse treatment.
The authorities, by refusing to interfere, became accomplices in these transactions: the grand jury discharged the rioters who were brought before them, and thus encouraged them to recommence their work, which they did not fail to do. Charles Wesley had to withstand the violent attacks of a populace whose fury led them into unheard-of excesses. More than once, in these encounters, blood flowed and life was wantonly sacrificed, while many were so maltreated that they died in consequence of their injuries. A policeman in attempting to defend Charles Wesley was trampled to death, and his body dragged about the streets and then hung up in a public place by the frenzied crowd.
The murderers were brought to trial, but acquitted, "as usual," says Wesley. The faith and courage of the man of God survived all this opposition, and as soon as the persecution came to an end, the work went forward peacefully.
It was no longer confined to Dublin : from this time, the brave preachers went through the length and breadth of the land, and notwithstanding its difficulties their labour
128 Methodism in Ireland. was rewarded with considerable success. Charles Wesley's fine psalmody was greatly in favour with this musical people, and frequently attracted many hearers. Two characteristic anecdotes will show the effect of the Methodist melodies on the Irish mind.
At Wexford, the little Society, persecuted by the Papists, used to meet secretly in a barn. One of the mischievous spirits of the neighbourhood promised his companions to secrete himself in the barn before the service, and as soon as the meeting began, to open the door to them. He found nothing in which to stow himself away, but an old sack.
As soon as the singing began, the Irishman was so struck by its power and beauty, that he forgot the object for which he came, and listened to the end. The hymn finished, he listened to the prayer, and his heart, already softened, began to melt. The poor man was smitten with remorse for his folly, his frame shook, and his groans of distress drew the attention of the people to the spot from whence they proceeded. The first thought of the rustic and untutored congregation was, that some diabolical agency was at work, but a closer scrutiny discovered in the sack the unfortunate Irishman, overwhelmed with distress and praying with all his might. An explanation took place: the poor man asked the people to pray for him, and from that day gave proof of sound conversion, and continued a consistent member of the Society at Wexford.
About the same time a publican, a great lover of music, came to one of the services to hear the singing. Fearing the effect that the other parts of the service might have upon him, the poor fellow put his fingers in his ears as soon as the singing ceased. A fly settling on his nose compelled him to remove his hand from his ear, at the very moment that the preacher was uttering the words, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." His curiosity was awakened : che determined to listen a little longer, and the truths of the Methodist Psalmody. ) 129 Gospel smote his conscience so effectually that he was led to repentance and salvation.
These anecdotes show how rude and Nneulbimted was the class of people Methodism had to do with in Catholic Ireland. Here superstition was added to ignorance, and created obstacles which must always largely militate against the progress of the truth. Happily, beneath these prejudices there lay a generous and susceptible nature, easily accessible to the Gospel, when preached in its simplicity and power.
On his second visit to Ireland, which took place in March, 1748, John Wesley met with a most hearty reception.
Arriving at Dublin, he went immediately to the place of worship where his brother Charles was meeting the Society.
He began to speak, but for some moments his voice was drowned by the noise of this demonstrative people, "shouting and praising God." During the three months that he spent in Ireland, he traversed a great part of the country, preaching every morning at five o'clock, and in general enjoying the goodwill of the people. The storm that had burst upon the Society seemed to have had no other result than to purify the atmosphere.
Wherever Wesley went, he preached in the open air to attentive congregations, composed of Catholics as well as Protestants. At Athlone, he addressed an immense crowd frora a window. 'The majority of them were Catholics, and their eagerness to hear the Word was such as to occasion the following remarks in his journal: "I scarce ever saw a better behaved or more attentive congregation. Indeed, so civil a people as the Irish in general, I never saw, either in Europe or America." 'Two days after, the appearance
- of the people astonished him still more: "a great part of the congregation was in tears." "Almost all the town," he says, "appeared to be moved, full of goodwill and desires of salvation." But he was not deceived
K 130 Methodism in Ireland. by such manifestations. 'The waters," said he, "spread too wide to be deep." From that time he took knowledge of the special difficulties of the Irish character, so frank and yet so fickle. j He was not at all satisfied with the mere good-will of the people, however unanimous, and he laboured to strike at the foundation of the religious indifference which lay concealed beneath this comely exterior. To this end, he altered the style of his preaching, and endeavoured to bring before their minds the terrors of the law. "I preached," he says, "the terrors of the Lord in the strongest manner I was able. But still they who are ready to eat up every word, do not appear to digest any part of it."
Notwithstanding, he was greatly encouraged at Athlone, and laid the foundations of a prosperous Society. When the time came for him to leave, he found the greatest difficulty in parting from a people'so full of affection and respect : a multitude all in tears accompanied him, and the farewell scene was most affecting. The great preacher, whose life was full of similar scenes, was himself deeply touched, In every place he witnessed the same tenderness of feeling. At Philipstown, he found a small Society, formed in great part of the soldiers in the garrison, whose disposition was most admirable. At Clara, the first time he preached, he had a congregation composed principally of wealthy people, some of whom came in their carriages.
On a subsequent occasion, he successfully competed with one of the most popular national sports, a "famous cockfight, to which almost all the country was coming, from every side....One or two hundred," he says, "stopped, and listened awhile, and forgot their diversion." At Limerick, a ball had commenced in the place where he was to hold his service. Though advised to desist, he kept his ground, and, one after another, the dancers abandoned their design
Catholics and Protestants. 131 and joined his congregation. At Tullamore, a violent hailstorm came on while he was preaching to an immense multitude in the open air ; and not only did none go away, but the majority remained bare-headed, though Wesley bade them put on their hats.
He frequently had priests among his hearers; and they generally declared war against him. The Athlone priest eame to restrain his people from following the great missionary, and a considerable number of them allowed themselves like a flock of good sheep to be driven away to their pen.
The Protestants generally took his part against the priests, and when one day a Carmelite friar interrupted him, by exclaiming, " You lie! you lie!" the Protestants, zealous for the honour of their religion, put the monk to flight. More than once, however, the Protestants joined with the Roman
Catholics in opposing the progress of this new work. On the other hand, on one occasion, Wesley had the honour of being defended by a priest. This happened at one of his open-air services, when the various feelings of the populace were naturally manifested in greater freedom. A Protestant repeated the old slander, calling out, " Ay, he is a Jesuit ; that's plain!" A priest who was present, replied, with a loud voice, "No, he is not ; I would to God he was!"
When Wesley quitted Ireland, he left a number of Societies fully organized, and a considerable body of preachers. His brother, who shortly afterwards assumed the superintendence of this part of the field, visited Cork, an important town in the south-west, which was to become the battle-field of Irish Methodism. His success was great at first ; he had congregations amounting to ten thousand, and formed a Society of two hundred members, whose religious character he complained of, however, as being too superficial. But whatever the work may have lacked in solidity, it was about to acquire by the aid of persecution.
K 2 132 Methodism in Ireland.
The people soon changed their minds, and, with true Trish versatility, passed from friendliness to fury. Charles Wesley had hardly left the town, when the people rose against the Methodists, under the leadership of a travelling comedian named Butler, whose audiences had been thinned by the preaching. This mountebank preached a crusade against the Christians : he was to be seen in the streets of the city, robed in clerical attire, and holding in his hand a Bible and a packet of profane songs : he assembled the idle and dissolute of every class, and vented all sorts of absurd calumnies against the preachers. Being gifted with a certain amount of loquacity, this buffoon became a noted personage in Cork, and for some time, by means of his furious declamations and unscrupulous falsehoods, gained a complete ascendency over the minds cf the lower orders.
Led astray by his misrepresentations, they committed unpardonable outrages. Companies of men, armed with bludgeons and swords, patrolled the city and broke into the houses of the Methodists: men, women, and children, suspected of belonging to the hated sect, were attacked in the street by armed bands, and many of them seriously injured. The common cry in the street was, ' Five pounds for the head of a swaddler !" * The mayor encouraged these disorders. In vain did the persecuted people appeal to him for protection : to one of them, who complained that the rioters had plundered his house, his reply was, "It is your own fault for entertaining these preachers! If you will turn them out of your house,
I will engage there shall be no harm done, but if you will not turn them out, you must take what you will get."
This ill-timed speech, made in the presence of the mob, * "A name given to Mr. Cennick first, by a Popish priest, who heard him speak of a child wrapped in swaddling clothes ; and probably did not know the expression was in the Bible, a Book he was not much acquainted with."
Persecutions at Cork. | 133 was like oil thrown on the flames, and could only serve to rouse the worst passions. Butler took advantage of them to continue his senseless declamations: he publicly declared that the murder of the Methodists was a lawful and meritorious act.
The ordinary tribunals did not dare to take up the cause of the oppressed. Not only did they acquit the persecutors, but they also accused the persecuted. The city records still preserve the following remarkable presentment, " We find and present Charles Wesley to be a person f ill-fame, a vagabond, and a common disturber of His Majesty's peace, and we pray he may be transported." The Methodists appealed to a higher court, and obtained full justice from the King's judges. When Butler presented himself as the first witness in the case, to the question,
"What is your calling?" he replied, "I sing ballads."
" Here," exclaimed the judge, lifting up his hands indignantly, " here are six gentlemen indicted as vagabonds, and the first accuser is a vagabond by profession !"
Notwithstanding this acquittal, the reign of the mob continued ; and when, in 1750, John Wesley came to Cork, he was assailed with terrible violence. The mayor, whose protection he sought, contented himself with ordering the drums of the city to be beaten in front of the chapel all the while the service lasted. This ingenious method of "keeping the peace" had the effect of assembling the multitude. After falling upon Wesley, who displayed his usual presence of mind, they attacked the chapel,
"brought out all the seats and benches, tore up the floor, the door, the frames of the windows, and whatever of woodwork remained ; part of which they carried off for their own use, and the rest they burnt in the open street."
The next day, Wesley had the honour of being burnt in effigy in the streets of Cork.
From this time, the scandalous scenes which disgraced 134 Methodism in Ireland. the city two years before were daily repeated. Not a day passed without fresh attacks on persons or property. " One
Roger O'Ferrall fixed up an advertisement at the public Exchange, that he was ready to head any mob, in order to pull down any house that should dare to harbour a swaddler."
The mayor made use of a singular device, by means of which he seemed 'to discharge his duty, but in reality abandoned the Methodists to the ill-will of the mob. One day his help being solicited, he came to the scene of tumult with a party of soldiers, and said to the mob, " Lads, once, twice, thrice, I bid you go home: now I have done." He then went back, taking the soldiers with him, while the people were only too well satisfied with the encouragement thus given them by the first magistrate of the city.
At Bandon, a neighbouring town, a drunken clergyman came with a company of "lewd fellows of the baser sort " to interrupt the preaching. 'After I had spoke," he says, "about a quarter of an hour, a clergyman, who had planted himself near me, with a very large stick in his hand, according to agreement, opened the scene....But, before he had uttered many words, two or three resolute women, by main strength, pulled him into a house; and, after expostulating a little, sent him away through the garden."
The agitation which had prevailed so long at Cork, gradually decreased and disappeared before the firmness of Christians whom tribulation had only fortified. A great number of the soldiers of the garrison frequented the services : many of them were converted, and their presence at the meetings tended to keep evil-disposed persons in aye.
Well-tempered by persecution, Methodism achieved much success in Cork, where it flourishes still. At subsequent visits, Wesley found the dispositions of the people greatly changed toward him: he was received at the principal
End of the Persecution. 135 hotel by the mayor in person. So rapidly, indeed, did Methodism gain ground in Cork, that only five years after the persecution we have been narrating, Wesley dreaded this city as the Capua where his preachers were in danger of being enervated.
Similar progress was made simultaneously at many points all over Ireland. Not only the southern counties, but also the mountainous districts of Ulster were evangelized by devoted missionaries, whose zeal made light of hardship and danger. 'They gave their best service to the best of causes. The history of early Methodism in Ireland is full of acts of heroism, which show to what a pitch of disinterested zeal the soul may be elevated under the influence of a lively faith. One of the first leaders in this holy enterprise well-nigh fell a martyr to his Christian principles: his name was Macburney, and he suffered for months in, consequence of the wounds he received from a mob who resented his faithful preaching. 'May God forgive you!
I do," was his prayer, uttered on their behalf, while: they were trampling him under their feet.
In preaching to Irish Catholics, Wesley's preachers, like himself, had wisdom enough to avoid controversy respecting Romanist errors, and to confine themselves mainly to the leading truths of the Gospel. Striving thus to arouse the voice of conscience rather than to combat the prejudices of education, they succeeded in leading many Roman Catholics to Christ.
One of the converts, Thomas Walsh, became the apostle of Methodism in his own country. "His life," says Southey, "proved to the Catholics that there were other saints besides their own." The success which attended his ministry was as much due to holy living and to the charm of a genial disposition as to the gifts of his cultivated intellect. While his success was great, his trials were, if possible, greater: the priests yowed vengeance against 136 Rapid Progress. him, and roused the passions of the people by the denunciations which they hurled at this holy man of God: his life was often in jeopardy. His name remains indissolubly connected with the foundation of Methodism in Ireland.
We shall now resume the narration of Wesley's labours in England. Some sympathy began now to be declared towards him on the part of a few of the Anglican clergy, the great body of whom were still, as from the first, exceedingly bitter in their opposition. During the period embraced by the present chapter, Wesley received very valuable assistance from John Hodges, Henry Piers,
Samuel Taylor, and John Meriton, all of whom were present at his first Conference. Bateman, the Rector of the Church of St. Bartholomew, London, opened his pulpit to him, in spite of the umbrage he thereby gave to his brethren in the ministry; and the inhabitants of the metropolis. were surprised to hear from the sacred desk truths that for the most part were only announced in the public places, ) The excellent Thompson, Rector of St. Gennis, Cornwall, was also one of Wesley's best friends, and rendered him great service amid the persecutions which raged in that county. All the clergy of that diocese were up in arms against him, and his bishop, the fiery Lavington, on The Anglican Clergy. 18% one occasion threatened to unfrock him, if he continued to associate with Wesley. Thompson stripped off his robe and threw it at the prelate's feet, saying, "I can preach without a gown."
An equally devoted fellow-labourer was Vincent Perronet, Vicar of Shoreham, one of Wesley's most intimate friends.
What manner of man he was, may be inferred from the fact that he preferred that his sons should encounter the hardships and perils of Wesley's itinerancy rather than court the honours and advantages of the Church. A man of sound judgment and of great faith, he was the Mentor of the Methodist preachers, to whom his house and his church were always open. Charles Wesley called him his Archbishop.
William Grimshaw, Incumbent of Haworth, in Yorkshire, was still more closely connected with the work of the Revival. Retaining the charge of his parish, he became one of Wesley's auxiliaries, and took the direction of one of his Circuits. He was a most valuable " fellowhelper to the truth," sharing the privations as well as the success of the Methodist preachers. When Wesley visited
Yorkshire, Grimshaw acted as his guide, and valiantly encountered all the hardships to which his friend was exposed. In August, 1748, in particular, they had to bear the brunt of a most determined attack on the part of the populace. This was at Roughlee, on the confines of Grimshaw's parish. Wesley was preaching in the open air, when he was interrupted by a furious multitude, who surrounded and laid violent hands upon him. In the course of the affray he received several heavy blows, and was in danger of losing his life. A magistrate required him to promise never to show himself there again. Wesley replied courageously, "I would sooner cut off my hand, than make any such promise." Abandoned to the mercy of a maddened mob, he had to.endure every species of 138 Rapid Progress. insult : he was covered with mud and dung, and repeatedly thrown on the ground. The friends who accompanied him were subjected to worse treatment still: one of them was dragged by the hair of his head, another thrown into the river. Grimshaw himself was not spared, and received at that time a baptism of persecution which was repeated again and again.
A few years later, in 1757, God gave Wesley a new auxiliary among the ranks of the clergy, in the person of the excellent Fletcher, 2 man whose influence on Methodism was very considerable. John William de la Fléchére,* by the nobleness of his character, the holiness of his life, and the range of his talents, was one of the most influential leaders of the Revival of the eighteenth century. He was not satisfied with giving his sanction to the movement: he was fully identified with it, and became one of its most intrepid and useful champions. His name is indissolubly linked with that of Wesley, and remains one of the brightest and purest stars in that constellation of men whom
God raised up to illuminate England.
The alliance of men of such worth consoled Wesley greatly under the opprobrium heaped upon him by the mass of the clergy. He did not as yet relinquish the hope of rallying the whole body of them round the standard of the Revival. Hence, in 1756, he issued an " Address to the Clergy," an eloquent manifesto in which he sought to rouse the ranks of his brethren in orders from their indifference, and to conciliate their goodwill. The attempt did not succeed, and the clergy maintained their hostile attitude.
Though the Revival failed to win any sympathy from the * Fletcher was born at Nyon, in the Canton de Vaud, and Perronet belonged to Chateau d'Oex, in the same country. It is remarkable that French Switzerland should have furnished to English Methodism two of its most devoted supporters.
Cornwall and Scotland. 139 regular clergy, who could not comprehend the marvellous work that was in progress under their very eyes, abundant
'compensation was to be found in the success which was being achieved in all parts of the United Kingdom.
Wesley's journals show how he continued to scour the country in all directions throughout the period embraced by this chapter. It is impossible to follow him through these incessant missionary tours; it will suffice to cull
few facts in passing, and to take a rapid survey of the whole.
Cornwall continued to be one of the most interesting sections of Wesley's vast diocese, and one which claimed a large proportion of his labours. St. Just could boast the largest Society in the West of England, and "the liveliest in England." At Falmouth, Camelford, and many other places, those who had been persecutors had almost to a man become devoted adherents, and some of them sound converts ; among the rest, the man who had been the means of imprisoning Thomas Maxfield. At Breage, the clergyman who had circulated slanderous reports against Wesley and his people, had committed suicide, and the populace, regarding the event as in some sort a Divine judgment, had begun to entertain different feelings toward the Methodists. The latter also reckoned among them many gifted and zealous preachers, both itinerant and local. One of these, a brazier by trade, astonished Wesley by his oratorical ability : he said of him that "he could preach extempore sermons which were quite equal to the written discourses of some learned men."
Scotland, which Wesley visited for the first time in 1751, gave him small encouragement. Whitefield had warned him that his Arminian principles would not be relished by the Scotch people, to which Wesley replied that he should
"preach Christianity, not Arminianism." His congregations were everywhere very attentive, but very cold. On his 140 Rapid Progress. second visit, he preached in the pulpits of the Presbyterian
Church to large audiences: everywhere he was treated with great respect, although with a degree of reserve which almost led him to express a preferencefor the hootings arid stone-throwing of an English or Irish mob. These visits resulted in the formation of a few small Societies, but were not marked by those wide-spread and powerful movements which usually attended his ministry. This want of success was probably due in part to the peculiarities of the Scotch character, but still more to its superior spiritual enlightenment : the truth was there invested with less novelty than in England, and there was less necessity for a great religious revolution.
In England itself, the state of affairs contrasted strongly with that which we have already described as distinguishing the period prior to the Revival; and Wesley could say, even at so early a date as 1750, that from London to Newcastle the work was in full prosperity.
At Birmingham, where hitherto there had been more occasion for sorrow than rejoicing, he found immense congregations, far beyond the capacity of the chapel to contain, thirsting for the Word of Life. "O how is the scene changed here!" sayshe. 'The last time I preached at Birmingham the stones flew on every side. If any disturbance were made now, the disturber would be in more danger than the preacher."
At Wednesbury and Darlaston, those strongholds of opposition, he observed that the principal part of the ancient persecutors had been overtaken by surprising judgments from God, while those who survived "were now,' says Wesley, "as lambs." In the former of these towns he preached in the midst of heavy rain to an attentive congregation, not one of whom stirred till the end of the service. A new and large chapel was soon built here, and Wednesbury became one of the strongest centres
The Midland Counties. 141 of Methodism. In 1752, he preached in the church at Wakefield, and could not but draw a contrast between his present position and that which he had occupied four years before in the same town, when the most devoted of his adherents did not dare to permit him to preach in their houses, for fear the latter should be demolished by the crowd.
An equally remarkable change had taken place in the disposition of the people at Hull. On his first visit, in 1752, there was a general unloosing of the evil passions of the mob. While he was preaching in the open air, clods of earth and stones were showered about him. When he had done, the mob followed him with hootings and volleys of stones till he reached his lodgings. A few years after, the feeling was completely changed, and he had the most cordial reception among the people. 'This town, also, became an important centre of English Methodism.
At Chester, in 1752, Wesley preached near the ruins of the chapel which the mob had destroyed some time before with the connivance of the mayor. 'There was no interruption while the preacher expounded the principles of the "sect everywhere spoken against." The year following, when he revisited the city, matters had become still better: the new mayor was as firm as the former one had been lax, and order was thoroughly reestablished. The preaching of the Gospel did the rest, and when, in 1759, Wesley passed that way at the time of the annual races, he turned the circumstance to account, and secured a numerous and well-behaved audience.
At Charlton, the opposition had been of a different kind, but here too it was conquered. All the farmers of the neighbourhood, alarmed at the progress of Methodism, entered into a mutual engagement not to employ any one belonging to "that way." This arrangement was defeated in the best possible manner. One of the promoters of the 142 Rapid Progress. scheme was not long after himself convinced by the truth, and opened his house to the preachers. He invited his friends and their servants to the meetings. "So," says
Wesley, "the whole device of Satan fell to the ground ; and the Word of God grew and prevailed."
At Hornby, the Methodists were treated in the same way. Their employers dismissed them from their service, declaring that they would not engage them again unless they would consent to abandon the preaching. But they remained faithful, willing to renounce their worldly advantages rather than their faith. When Wesley visited them, he found them in the same mind. They had built some small houses at one end of the town, where they lived together, in number about thirty or forty, forming a small Christian community of their own..
In the large town of Manchester, where, owing to the connivance of the authorities, the preachers had suffered much from the violence of the mob, Wesley found that all was calmness and sobriety.
It was during this period that he paid his first visit to another of the great Northern towns. Liverpool, which contains to-day half-a-million of people and is one of the chief towns in the kingdom, was then in its infancy.
Although it was impossible for Wesley to foresee the marvellous proportions it was destined to attain, he nevertheless predicted for it a great future, and took the first opportunity that offered itself of preaching the Gospel there.
This was 'in April, 1755: he found that already a flourishing Society had been formed, and a large chapel built through their exertions. The people also were generally tolerant and well-affected: their behaviour was
"friendly," Wesley says, "not only to the Jews and Papists who live among them, but even to the Methodists."
At Keighley, where the preachers had endured violent persecution, Wesley preached with all freedom, and nearly The Great Northern Towns. 143 the whole of the town came under the influence of the truth. This success recalled to his mind the time when
John Nelson was imprisoned in this town, and he thanked God for the progress that had been made in the interval.
At York, whence Methodism had once been ignominiously expelled, Wesley found the "richest Society in proportion in all the kingdom."
At Sheffield, where there had also been great opposition, his admiration was excited at the sight of the little Society which, left to itself for so long a time, had made such progress in religion under its lay-leaders.
In December, 1748, Wesley visited for the first time a small society at Wandsworth, near London, which being exposed to all the fury of an unmerciful mob and the contempt of an unjust magistracy, had been well-nigh broken up. Nine years later, a planter from the West Indies, called Gilbert, who had come to reside there, received him into his house.
His preaching was the means of the conversion of two negroes, who were shortly after baptized. These were the first of the African race whom Methodism brought to a saving acquaintance with the Gospel: they were the firstfruits of a large harvest. These conversions rejoiced
Wesley's heart, and he writes in his journal, "Shall not His saving health be made known to all nations?" He scarcely dreamed when he wrote these words, that they would prove to be prophetic, and that this planter himself,
Nathaniel Gilbert, as a local preacher, was to introduce Methodism to the black population of the West Indies.
In his native town of Epworth,, Wesley had the joy of seeing the work of God prosper. There also, prejudice had vanishedaway. The man who, a few years before, had been repulsed from the Lord's table, now ministered at it within the walls of the same church; and when he preached abroad, he had almost the whole of the population for his hearers. 'I see plainly," he says, '" we have often judged
144 Rapid Progress. amiss, when we have measured the increase of the work of God, in this and other places, by the increase of the Society only. The Society here is not large ; but God has wrought upon the whole place. Sabbath-breaking and drunkenness are no more seen in these streets ; cursing and swearing are rarely heard. Wickedness hides its head already.