Chapter Viii,

Chapter Viii,

SUSANNA WESLEY.

CHAPTER VIII,

FIRE AND PERIL.

CHARLES WESLEY'S

infancy was longer than that of most children, and he was still a helpless babe when, on the night of the 9th of February,

1709, Epworth Rectory was burnt down.

Mrs.

Wesley wrote a short account of this calamity to her eldest son at Westminster five days afterwards; in fact, as soon as she had found shelter, rest, and clothing.

Epwortu, February 14, 1708-9.

Drar Sammy, — When I received your letter, wherein you complained of want of shirts, I little thought that in so short a space we should all be reduced to the same and indeed a worse condition.

I suppose you have already heard of the firing of our house, by what accident we cannot imagine; but the fire broke out about eleven or twelve o'clock at night, we being all in bed, nor did we perceive it till the roof of the cornchamber was burnt through, and the fire fell upon your sister Hetty's bed, which stood in the little room joining upon it.

She awaked, and immediately ran to call your father, who lay in the red chamber ; for I being

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97 ill, he was forced to lie from me.

He says he heard some crying " Fire !" in the street before, but did not _ apprehend where it was till he opened his door; he called at our chamber and bade us all shift for life, for the roof was falling fast, and nothing but the thin wall kept the fire from the staircase.

We had no time to take our clothes, but ran all naked.

I called to Betty to bring the children out of the nursery ; she took up Patty and left Jacky to follow her, but he, going to the door and seeing all on fire, ran back again.

We got the street door open, but the wind drove the flame with such violence that none could stand against it.

I tried thrice to break through, but was driven back.

I made another attempt and waded through the fire, which did me no other hurt than to scorch my legs and face.

When I was in the yard I looked about for your father and the children, but seeing none, concluded them all lost.

But, I thank God, I was mistaken.

Your father carried sister Emily, Sukey, and Patty into the garden ; then missing Jacky, he ran back into the house to see if he could save him.

He heard him miserably crying out in the nursery, and attempted several times to get up-stairs, but was beat back by the flames; then he thought him lost, and commended his soul to God, and went to look after the rest.

The child climbed up to the window and called out to them in the yard ; they got up to the casement and pulled him out just as the roof fell into the chamber.

Harry broke the glass of the parlor window and threw out your sisters

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Matty and Hetty; and so, by God's great mercy, we all escaped.

Do not be discouraged ; God will provide for you.

SUSANNA WESLEY.

One can imagine how rapidly the fire spread through a house built only of timber and plaster, with a thatched roof, and how difficult it was to get out with life and limb safe, without stopping for clothes or wraps.

A day or two afterwards Mr. Wesley, who apparently was unaware that his wife had summoned up strength and energy to write to her eldest boy at Westminster, wrote a more detailed account to the Duke of Buckingham : — Righteous is the Lord, and just in all His judgments!

I am grieved that I must write what will, I doubt, afflict your Grace, concerning your still unfortunate servant.

I think I am enough recollected to give a tolerable account of it.

On Wednesday last, at half an hour after eleven at night, in a quarter of an hour's time or less, my house at Epworth was burnt down to the ground —

I hope, by accident, but God knows all.

We had been brewing, but had done all; every spark of fire quenched before five o'clock that evening, at least six hours before the house was on fire.

Perhaps the chimney above might take fire (though it had been swept not long since) and break through into the

FIRE AND PERIL.

thatch. Yet it is strange I should neither see nor smell anything of it, having been in my study in that part of the house till above half an hour after ten.

Then I locked the doors of that part of the house where my wheat and other corn lay, which was threshed, and went to bed.

The servants had not been in bed a quarter of an hour when the fire began.

My wife being near her time, and very weak, I lay in the next chamber. A little after eleven I heard " Fire !" cried in the street, next to which I lay.

If I had been in my own chamber as usual, we had all been lost.

I threw myself out of bed, got on my waistcoat and nightgown, and looked out of the window; saw the reflection of the flame, but knew not where it was; ran to my wife's chamber with one stocking on, and my breeches in my hand; would have broken open the door, which was bolted within, but could not.

My two eldest ' children (Susanna and Emilia) were with her.

They rose, and ran towards the staircase, to raise the rest of the house.

'Then I saw it was our own house, all in a light blaze, and nothing but a door between the ' flame and the staircase.

I ran back to my wife, who by this time had got out of bed naked and opened the door.

I bade her fly for her life.

We had a little silver and some gold, —about £20.

She would have stayed for it, but I pushed her out; got her and my two eldest children down-stairs (where two of the servants were now got) and asked for the keys.

They knew nothing of them.

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SUSANNA WESLEY. —

Iran up-stairs and found them, came down and opened the street-door.

The thatch was fallen in all on fire.

The northeast wind drove all the sheets of flame in my face, as if reverberated in a lamp.

I got twice on the steps, and was drove down again.

I ran to the garden door and opened it.

The fire was there more moderate.

I bade them all follow, but found only two with me, and the maid with another (Charles) in her arms that cannot go, but all naked.

I ran with them to my house of office in the garden, out of the reach of the flames ; put the least in the other's lap ; and, not finding my wife follow me, ran back into the house to seek her.

The servants and two of the children were got out at the window.

In the kitchen I found my eldest daughter, naked, and asked her for her mother.

She could not tell me where she was.

I took her up and carried her to the rest in the garden ; came in the second time and ran up-stairs, the flame breaking through the wall at the staircase ; thought all my children were safe, and hoped my wife was some way got out.

I then remembered my books, and felt in my pocket for the key of the chamber which led to my study.

I could not find the key, though I searched a second time.

Had I opened that door I must have perished.

I ran down, and went to my children in the garden, to help them over the wall.

When I was without, I heard one of my poor lambs, left still abovestairs, about six years old, cry out dismally, "Help me!"

JI ran in again to go up-stairs, but the staircase

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IOI i was now all afire.

I tried to force up through it a second time, holding my breeches over my head, but the stream of fire beat me down.

I thought I had done my duty ; went out of the house to that part of my family I had saved, in the garden, with the killing cry of my child in my ears.

I made them all kneel down, and we prayed God to receive his soul.

I tried to break down the pales and get my children over into the street, but could not; then went under the flame, and got them over the wall.

Now I put on my breeches and leaped after them.

One of my maid-servants that had brought out the least child got out much at the same time.

She was saluted with a hearty curse by one of the neighbors, and told that we had fired the house ourselves, the second time, on purpose.

I ran about inquiring for my wife and other children; met the chief man and chief constable of the town going from my house, not towards it to help me.

I took him by the hand and said, "God's will be done!"

His answer was:

" Will you never have done your tricks?

You fired your house once before ; did you not get enough by it then, that you have done it again?"

This was cold comfort.

I said, " God forgive you!

I find you are chief man still."

But I had a little better soon after, hearing that my wife was saved, and then I fell on mother earth and blessed God.

I went to her.

She was alive, and could just speak.

She thought I had perished, and so did all the rest, not having seen me nor any share of eight children for a quarter of an hour; and by this

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time all the chambers and everything was reduced to | q ashes, for the fire was stronger than a furnace, the violent wind beating it down on the house.

She told me afterwards how she escaped.

When I went first to open the back door she endeavored to force through the fire at the fore door, but was struck back twice to the ground.

She thought to have died there, but prayed to Christ to help her.

She found new strength, got up alone, and waded through two or three yards of flame, the fire on the ground being up to her knees,

She had nothing on but her shoes and a wrapping gown and one coat on her arm.

This she wrapped about her breast, and got safe through into the yard, but no soul yet to help her.

She never looked up or spake till I came, only when they brought her last child to her bade them lay it on the bed.

This was the lad whom I heard cry in the house, but God saved him almost by a miracle.

He only was forgot by the servants in the hurry.

He ran to the window towards the yard, stood upon a chair, and cried for help.

There were now a few people gathered, one of whom, who loves me, helped up another to the window.

The ~ child seeing a man come into the window was frightened, and ran away to get to his mother's chamber.

He could not open the door, so ran back again.

The man was fallen down from the window, and all the bed and hangings in the room where he was were blazing.

They helped up the man the second time, and poor Jacky leaped into his arms and was saved.

I could not believe it till I had kissed him two or three

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103.

3 times. My wife then said unto me, "Are your books safe?"

I told her it was not much now she and all the rest were preserved, for we lost not one soul, though I escaped with the skin of my teeth. A little lumber was saved below stairs, but not one rag or leaf above.

We found some of the silver in a lump, which I shall send up to Mr. Hoar to sell for me.

Mr. Smith of Gainsborough, and others, have sent for some of my children.

I have left my wife at Epworth, trembling ; but hope God will preserve her, and fear not but He will provide for us.

I want nothing, having above half my barley saved in my barns unthreshed.

I had finished my alterations in the " Life of Christ '' a little while since, and transcribed three copies of it; but all is lost.

God be praised !

I know not how to write to my poor boy (Samuel) about it; but I must, or else he will think we are all lost.

Can your Grace forgive this?

I hope my wife will recover and not miscarry, but.God will give me my nineteenth child.

She has burnt her legs, but they mend.

When I came to her, her lips were black.

I did not know her.

Some of the children are a little burnt, but not hurt or disfigured.

I only got a small blister on my hand.

The neighbors send us clothes, for it is cold without them.

SAMUEL WESLEY.

The rector wrote pretty cheerfully considering how great was the trial.

The books which he had carefully collected one or two at a time, and

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paid for with money which could only be spared by self-denial, were only a little less dear than his children; and his collection of Hebrew poetry and hymns was of considerable value.

A large number of letters from friends and literary connections were also consumed, as well as papers connected with the Annesley family, and the parish registers.

One item alone was left, and that was a hymn of six verses, written by Mr.

Wesley, and set to music, as is supposed, by either Purcell or Dr. Blow.

It is incorporated in the Methodist hymn-book, and is the only specimen of the elder Mr. Wesley's versification it contains: the opening words are " Behold the ~ Saviour of Mankind."

Then there was the wellworn though useful furniture, and the clothes of all, the little store of money, and the indispensable comforts prepared for the expected babe,

—all were swept away in a few minutes.

The children were scattered; but Emilia, the eldest girl, who was about seventeen, remained to take care of her mother in the lodgings where she and her parents were domiciled at Epworth, and became her patient and cheerful nurse and constant companion for nearly a year.

She was an unusually well-educated girl, having shared the lessons given by the father to Samuel as long as he remained at home; and it was in-

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_ tended that she should earn her own living as ee as she was old enough, as a governess.

_ She loved her mother with the adoring fondness sometimes seen in an eldest daughter who is old enough to sympathize with her parent's trials, and regarded the months in which she _ had her almost to herself as one of the happiest times of her life.

All day long she was busy, but in the evening she read either aloud or to herself, and was very happy and contented.

In March, 1709, about a month after the fire, Kezia was born, and proved to be the last of Mrs. Wesley's children.

That she should be ailing and delicate was only to be expected, considering what her mother, who was just forty years of age, had gone through.

Five months later Mrs. Wesley, at the request of a neighboring clergyman, wrote to him a little further account of the fire: — EpwortuH, August 24, 1709.

On Wednesday night, February 9, between the hours of eleven and twelve, some sparks fell from the roof of our house upon one of the children's feet.

She immediately ran to our chamber and called us.

Mr. Wesley, hearing a cry of fire in the street, started up (as I was very ill he lay in a separate room from me), and opening his door, found the fire was in his own house.

SUSANNA WESLEY.

immediately came to my room, and bid me and my eldest daughters rise quickly and shift for ourselves.

Then he ran and burst open the nursery-door, and called to the maid to bring out the children.

'The two little ones were in the bed with her; the three others in another bed.

She snatched up the youngest and bid the rest follow, which the three elder did.

When we were got into the hall, and were surrounded with flames, Mr. Wesley found he had left the keys of the doors above-stairs.

He ran up and recovered them a minute before the staircase took fire.

When we opened the street-door the strong northeast wind — drove the flames in with such violence that none could stand against them.

But some of our children got out through the windows, the rest through a little door into the garden.

I was not in a condition to climb up to the windows, neither could I get to the garden door.

I endeavored three times to force my passage through the street-door, but was as often beat back by the fury of the flames.

In this distress I besought our blessed Saviour for help, and then waded through the fire, naked as I was, which did me no further harm than a little scorching my hands and face.

When Mr, Wesley had seen the other children safe, he heard the child in the nursery cry.

He attempted to go up the stairs, but they were all on fire, and would not bear his weight.

Finding it impossible to give any help, he kneeled down in the hall and recommended the soul of the child to God.

SUSANNA WESLEY.

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| ; Man's extremity is God's opportunity; and _ John Wesley believed that it was at the moment when his father was thus recommending his spirit to the God who gave it, that he awoke, and not before; adding: "I did not cry, as they imagined, unless it was afterwards.

I remember all the circumstances as distinctly as though it were but yesterday.

Seeing the room was very light, I called to the maid to take me up.

But none answering, I put my head out of the curtains and saw streaks of fire on the top of the room.

I got up and ran to the door, but could get no farther, all beyond it being in a blaze.

I then climbed up on the chest which stood near the window; one in the yard saw me, and proposed running to fetch a ladder.

Another answered, 'There will not be time; but I have thought of another experiment.

Here, I will fix myself against the wall, lift a light man and set him upon my shoulders.'

They did so, and he took me out of the window.

Just then the whole roof fell in; but it fell inward, or we had all been crushed at once.

When they brought, me into the house where my father was he cried out: 'Come, neighbors, let us kneel down; let us give thanks to God!

He has given me all my eight children; let the house go.

I am rich enough.'

The next day, as he was walking in

SUSANNA WESLEY.

the garden and surveying the ruins of the house, he picked up part of a leaf of his Polyglot Bible, © on which just these words were legible:

Vade: vende omnia gue habes,; et attolle crucem, et sequere me."

There are not many discrepancies in the three accounts; for father, mother, and son were all clear-headed people, and John Wesley's mind throughout life was singularly free from anything like "muddle."

In fact the organization of Methodism is sufficient proof of the accuracy with which his brain worked.

He neither forgot nor fancied, hasted nor rested, but did everything with such well-aimed precision that his rules and regulations were living forces instead of dry bones.

The fire made more change in the lives of Susanna and Hetty (Mehetabel) than in those of the other children, for their uncles Samuel

Annesley and Matthew Wesley sent for them to come and stay in London; and then was laid the foundation of a very warm attachment between the latter and his clever, sprightly nieces.

It does not appear, however, that they were able to give much information of what followed the calamity to their brother at Westminster, for in June he wrote the following letter to his mother : —

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'109

ST. PETER's COLLEGE, WESTMINSTER, June 9, 1709.

Mapam, — Had not my grandmother told me, the last time I was there, that you were near lying-in, at which time I thought it would be in vain to write what you would not be able to read, I had sent you letters over and over again before this.

I beg, therefore, you will not impute it to my negligence, which sure I can never be guilty of, while I enjoy what you gave me,—life.

My father lets me be in profound ignorance as to your circumstances at Epworth, and I have not heard a word from the country since the first letter you sent me after the fire; so that I am quite ashamed to go to any of my relations for fear of being jeered out of my life.

They ask me whether my father intends to leave Epworth?

Whether he is rebuilding his house?

Whether any contributions are to be expected?

What was the lost [last?] child, a boy or a girl?

What was its name?

Whether my father has lost all his books and papers?

If nothing was saved?

To all of which I am forced to answer, "T can't tell, I don't know, I 've not heard."

I have asked my father some of these questions, but am still an ignoramus.

If you think my '" Cowley" and " Hudibras " worth accepting, I shall be very glad to send them to my mother, who gave them to me.

I hope you are all well, as all are in town.

Your most affectionate son, Sam. WESLEY.

As the mother, just then, had more time than usual on her hands, it is more than probable

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SUSANNA WESLEY.

that she answered her boy's questions, though her letter has not been preserved.

She wrote > to him again in the autumn of the same year, as follows : — Epworru, October, 1709.

My preaR Sammy, —I hope that you retain the impressions of your education, nor have forgot that the vows of God are upon you.

You know that the firstfruits are Heaven's by an unalienable right, and that, as your parents devoted you to the service of the altar, so you yourself made it your choice when your father was offered another way of life for you.

But have you duly considered what such a choice and such a dedication imports?

Consider well what separation from the world, what purity, what devotion, what exemplary virtue, are required in those who are to guide others to glory!

I say exemplary ; for low, common degrees of piety are not sufficient for those of the sacred function.

You must not think to live like the rest of the world ; your light must so shine before men that they may see your good works, and thereby be led to glorify your Father which is in heaven.

For my part, I cannot see with what face clergymen can reprove sinners, or exhort men to lead a good life, when they themselves indulge their own corrupt inclinations, and by their practice contradict their doctrine.

If the Holy Jesus be indeed their Master, and they are really His ambassadors, surely it becomes them to live like

His disciples ; and if they do not, what a sad account must they give of their stewardship !

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_ I would advise you, as much as possible in your present circumstances, to throw your business into a certain method, by which means you will learn to improve every precious moment, and find an unspeakable facility in the performance of your respective duties.

Begin and end the day with Him who is the Alpha and Omega, and if you really experience what it is to love God, you will redeem all the time you can for ~ His more immediate service. I will tell you what rule

I used to observe when I was in my father's house, and had as little, if not less liberty than you have now.

I used to allow myself as much time for recreation as I spent in private devotion ; not that I always spent so much, but I gave myself leave to go so far but no farther.

So in all things else, appoint so much time for sleep, eating, company, etc. ; but above all things, my dear Sammy, I command you, I beg, I beseech you, to be very strict in observing the Lord's Day.

In all things endeavor to act on principle, and do not live like the rest of mankind, who pass through the world like straws upon a river, which are carried which way the stream or wind drives them.

Often put this question to yourself: Why do I this or that?

Why do I pray, read, study, or use devotion, etc.?

By which means you will come to such a steadiness and consistency in your words and actions as becomes a reasonable creature and a good Christian.

Your affectionate mother, Sus. WESLEY.

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SUSANNA WESLEY.

=a a Truly the mother set a high ideal before her — son; and though #e did not prove to be the ~ genius and divine of the family, she had her reward, in the way in which most human — wishes are fulfilled.

Samuel was always a good son and exemplary Christian, but it was John who became an apostle and a power in the world.

Not the identical thing she desired from the very birth of her first man-child, and before it, but a better blessing still.

Mrs. Wesley's letters to her daughters are not very numerous, as of course they were at home with her, while the boys were away at school and college.

She, however, wrote a very long one, in which was embodied an exposition of the Apostles' Creed, to Susanna while in London, during the year that followed the fire: —

EPpwortTH, January 13, 1709-10.

Dear SUKEY,— Since our misfortunes have separated us from each other, and we can no longer enjoy the opportunities we once had of conversing together,

I can no other way discharge the duty of a parent, or comply with my inclination of doing you all the good I can, but in writing.

You know very well how I love you.

I love your body, and do earnestly beseech Almighty God to bless it with health, and all things necessary for its comfort and support in this world.

But my tenderest regard is

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| for your immortal soul, and for its spiritual happiness, which regard I cannot better express than by endeavoring to instil into your mind those principles of knowledge and virtue that are absolutely necessary in order to your leading a good life here, which is the only thing that can infallibly secure your happiness hereafter.

The main thing which is now to be done is to lay a good foundation, that you may act upon principles, and be always able to satisfy yourself, and give a reason to others of the faith that is in you ; for any one who makes a profession of religion only because it is the custom of the country in which they live, or because their parents do so, or their worldly interest is thereby secured or advanced, will never be able to stand in the day of temptation, nor shall they ever enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

And though, perhaps, you cannot at present comprehend all I shall say, yet keep this letter by you, and as you grow in years your reason and judgment will improve, and you will obtain a more clear understanding in all things.

You have already been instructed in some of the first principles of religion: that there is one, and but one God; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; that this God ought to be worshipped.

You have learned some prayers, your creed and catechism, in which is briefly comprehended your duty to God, yourself, and your neighbor.

But, Sukey, it is not learning these things by heart, nor your saying a few prayers

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morning and night, that will bring you to heaven; you — must understand what you say, and you must practise what you know; and since knowledge is requisite in order to practise, I shall endeavor, after as plain a manner as I can, to instruct you in some of those fundamental points which are most necessary to be known and most easy to be understood.

And I earnestly beseech the great Father of spirits to guide your mind into the way of truth.

I cannot tell whether you have ever seriously considered the lost and miserable condition you are in by nature.

If you have not, it is high time to begin to do it; and [I shall earnestly beseech the Almighty to enlighten your mind, to renew and sanctify you by His Holy Spirit, that you may be His child by adoption here, and an heir of His blessed kingdom hereafter.

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CHAPIER EX.

THE HOME REBUILT.

_ THE Rector of Epworth was not a man to do _ things by halves, and even if he had been, the _ repair or rebuilding of a parsonage is a matter

_ that comes under the notice of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and must be done in what they consider a suitable style.

Queen Anne's reign was an era when red brick was generally used for all new buildings of any pretensions, if we may go by the quaint, substantial houses that in many English cities date from her time.

The foundations of the old abode were dug up, and bricks were used for the walls instead of the former lath and plaster.

The house was probably not more commodious than its predecessor, it would have been a work of supererogation to have made it so; but the old parsonage, with its five bays, had contained ample accommodation for a large family, and the new one was quite equal toit.

There were three stories; that is to say, dining-room, parlor, study, and domestic offices on the ground floor, bedrooms

ne > iy OS j Pi q above, and a large garret or loft over all.

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SUSANNA WESLEY. house still stands, and when a few months ago its walls were stripped for the purpose of being re-papered, behold! there came to light, in one room, in Mrs. Wesley's own handwriting, the names, ages, and measurements of height of all the children alive when the family took possession of the new house.

Doubtless those who had been away were much grown, and it was a matter of natural parental interest to see exactly their respective heights.

Many fathers and mothers have taken such measures of their boys and girls, and delighted in comparing notes of their stature at various ages.

Fruit trees were planted to run over the front and back of the new parsonage, mulberry, cherry, and pear trees in the garden, and walnuts in the adjoining field or croft.

This was, indeed, planting for posterity!

The rebuilding seems to have been completed within the year, and cost four hundred pounds, —a ter_ rible sum of money for a poor clergyman who had no fire-insurance company to help him.

Then the children were collected, and the mother once more resumed her daily work of teaching them.

It was not all such plain sailing as before they had been scattered abroad; she found many bad habits to correct, and besides,

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+ _ the discipline of home was broken through, and its bonds had to be tightened and perhaps somewhat strained.

Then it was that she began the custom of singing a hymn or psalm before beginning lessons in the morning or after leaving them off in the afternoon; and then, too, she appears to have used, as text-books for religious instruction, the expositions of the principles of revealed religion, and of the being and perfections of God, which she had written for her eldest son soon after he went to Westminster, and those of the Apostles' Creed and Ten

Commandments, which she had prepared during the year of comparative leisure she spent in lodgings while the parsonage was being rebuilt.

The rector was away during a great part of the first year spent by his wife and family in the new house.

His busy brain was never allowed to rust or vegetate, and he was, of course, glad to earn whatever he could by his pen.

Events of considerable political importance were taking place in London during 17009, and, from various causes, the Duke of Marlborough was losing his popularity.

The nation was getting tired of the war with France, which Dean Swift declared had cost "six millions of supplies and almost fifty millions of

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debt;" and Marlborough, who had long been in the position of a' Tory man bringing in Whig measures," as Lord Beaconsfield puts it, was accused of continuing the struggle with Louis

Quatorze for his own enrichment and aggrandizement.

The Tories regarded him as a traitor to his party, and aggravated every little incident that could strengthen their own power.

Dr. Henry Sacheverell, rector of St. Saviour, Southwark, was a popular and prominent High

Church clergyman of the day, narrow-minded and violent, especially against Dissenters.

At the summer assizes at Derby he preached a very exciting sermon before the judges, and on the 5th of November, in St. Paul's Cathedral, he declaimed in a most inflammatory manner against toleration and the Dissenters, who were evidently his pet aversion; declared that the Church was in danger from avowed enemies and false friends; and altogether raised such a commotion that his sermons, which were published under the protection of the Lord Mayor, and were widely circulated, were complained of to the House of Commons as containing positions contrary to the principles of the Revolution, the Government, and the Protestant succession.

The two sermons, which contained a great deal of abuse of

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ae) prominent personages, were voted scandalous and seditious libels; and Dr. Sacheverell, being brought to the bar of the House, acknowledged the authorship of them, and was committed to the custody of the deputy usher of the black rod, bail being refused at first, but afterwards allowed.

The trial came on in Westminster Hall on the 27th of February, 1710, and lasted three weeks, Queen Anne coming every day in a sedan-chair as a_ spectator, and the populace thronging the hall and its approaches, and behaving as though Sacheverell were a saint and martyr.

The excitement was so great that it culminated in a riot, during which a good deal of mischief was done, in consequence of which some ringleaders were arrested, and afterwards tried for high treasom ihe Queen, in her heart, favored the Doctor; her chaplains extolled him as the champion of the Church; and when his counsel had finished the defence, he himself rose and delivered a speech, in which he solemnly justified his intentions towards Her Majesty and her Government, and spoke in most respectful terms of the Revolution and the Protestant succession.

He maintained the doctrine of nonresistance in all circumstances as a maxim of the Church of England, and by many touches

SUSANNA WESLEY.

of pathos endeavored to excite the compassion of the audience.

That this speech was the composition of the Rector of Epworth seems to have been universally recognized in Lincolnshire, and in after years John Wesley declared positively that his father was its author.

Probably he was paid, in some shape or form, for preparing it, although, perhaps, like an old war-horse, he scented the battle from afar and did his share of the fighting gratuitously.

Having proved himself -so good a spokesman for his party, the clergy of the diocese once more chose him as their representative in Convocation; so he journeyed to London in November, 1710, ill as he could afford it, and did so seven winters successively, while his family at home were in want of clothes, food, and, in fact, of all the necessaries of life.

Mrs. Wesley suffered a great deal from weakness, and possibly from the damp inevitable in a house inhabited before it was properly seasoned; and, according to her daughter Emilia, from insufficient nourishment and clothing.

No doubt the husband and father hoped that, being in London, he should find literary employment; and he might reasonably have looked for some pecuniary help from the party he so zealously served,

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THE HOME REBUILT.

In spite of weakness and weariness the mother struggled on, and, in proportion as her family's little comforts in this world decreased, her anxiety for their happiness in a future state grew and strengthened.

In Mr. Wesley's absence Emilia, probably rummaging in his study for a book to read, met with the account of a Danish mission to Tranquebar, written by the two devoted and saintly men who had worked in it.

Missions were then uncommon, and the story brought with it the thrill of a new interest, and diverted the mother's thoughts from her own surroundings.

Emilia, who was a good reader, — her brother John said the best he had * ever heard, when the book happened to be Milton's poems, — read it aloud, and Mrs. Wesley herself told her husband how it affected her.

She wrote to him: — "Soon after you went to London, Emilia found in your study the account of the Danish missionaries, which, having never seen, I desired her to read to me.

I was never, I think, more affected with anything than with the relation of their travels, and was exceedingly pleased with the noble design they were engaged in.

Their labors refreshed my soul beyond measure, and I could not forbear spending a good part of that evening in praising and adoring the Divine goodness for inspiring those good men with such

o",

SUSANNA WESLEY.

=" ardent zeal for His glory.

For some days I could think and speak of little else.

It then came into my mind, though I am not a man 'nor a minister of the Gospel, yet if I were inspired with a true zeal for His glory, and really desired the salvation of souls, I might do more than I do.

I thought I might live in a more exemplary manner, I might pray more for the ~ people, and speak with more warmth to those with whom I have opportunity of conversing.

However, I resolyed to begin with my own children, and accordingly I proposed and observed the following method :

I take such a proportion of time as I can best spare every night to discourse with each child by itself, on something that relates to its principal [personal?] concerns.

On Monday I talk with Molly, on Tuesday with Hetty, Wednesday with Nancy, Thursday with Jacky, Friday with Patty, Saturday with Charles ; and with Emily and Sukey together on Sunday."

The result of her conversations with " Jacky" is recorded in her Private Meditations under the heading "Son John," and dated May 17,

1711.

So deeply were the child's religious feelings worked upon that his father allowed him to become a communicant when only eight years old; but the wisdom of thus exciting a boy into precocious devotion at a time when nature intends him to be simply a healthy young animal, may be questioned.

In this instance the reaction set in soon after he left home for

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\ THE HOME REBUILT.

school, and from the age of eleven to that of _ twenty-two he appears to have been like other youths, and neither to have made any special profession of religion nor to have contemplated going into the Church.

There is no doubt that from the time of settling down in the new rectory and gathering together of her flock, Mrs. Wesley and her husband, when at home, concentrated their attention on John's education, that he might start fairly and be a credit to himself and them on entering a public school.

He was a disputatious youngster, given to very cool deliberation and much argument.

One of his biographers says that if asked between meals whether he would take a piece of bread or fruit he would answer, with cool unconcern, "I thank you, I will think of it; " but this is somewhat at variance with the mother's accepted rule that no child was permitted to eat anything between meals.

His impetuous father was on one occasion so far provoked with the boy that he exclaimed:

" Child, you think to carry everything by dint of argument; but you will find how little is ever done in the world by close reason- " ing.

This characteristic love of argument, which always makes a child trying to teach and manage, is further illustrated by Mr. Wesley's

SUSANNA WESLEY.

jocosely affectionate remark to his wife: "TI profess, sweetheart, I think our Jack would not attend to the most pressing necessities of nature, unless he could give a reason for it."

But whatever else Mrs. Wesley found to occupy her, she still made time to write to her eldest son, even if the letter were short; and there is one epistle, dated soon after the re-— assembling of the family, which exhibits the only sign of petulance observable in her correspondence ; —

Epwortu, April 7, 1710.

DEAR Sammy, — I thought I should have heard from you ere now, but I find you do not think of me as I do of you.

Indeed, I believe you would be very easy were you never to hear from me more; but I cannot be satisfied, myself, without writing sometimes, though not so often as I would.

I have sent you a letter which I sent to your sister Sukey at Gainsborough, which I would have you read and copy it, if you have time.

[This was probably the exposition of the Apostles' Creed previously mentioned. | When I have my leisure, J think I cannot be better employed than in writing something that may be useful to my children; and though I know there are abundance of good books wherein these subjects are more fully and accurately treated of than I can pretend to write, yet I am willing to think that my chil-

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dren will somewhat regard what I do for them, though the performance be mean, since they know it comes from their mother, who is, perhaps, more cgncerned for their eternal happiness than any one in the world.

As you had my youth and vigor employed in your service, so I hope you will not despise the little I can do in my declining years; but will for my sake carefully read these papers over, if it be but to put you on a more worthy performance of your own.

SUSANNA WESLEY.

During the ensuing summer Samuel, then twenty years of age, and a scholar of whom

Westminster was justly proud, attracted the attention of Dr. Sprat, Bishop of Rochester and prebend of Westminster, who had himself been a distinguished Westminster scholar in his youth.

He was old, and had a kindly feeling for the boy whose grandfather had been his own college friend, and whose father had received ordination at his hands.

He took him down to his country house as reader.

Samuel did not appreciate his new position, and even complained of it to his father, calling the Bishop "an unfriendly friend."

His first patron soon died, and was succeeded in the see of Rochester by Dr. Atterbury, Dean of Westminster, who took quite as much interest in Samuel as his predecessor had done, and won his affection and partisanship so thoroughly

SUSANNA WESLEY.

that they endured throughout life, undiminished — by the circumstances which ultimately led to the Bishop's exile.

This prelate, when at Oxford, had been at Christ Church, and it was by his advice and persuasion that Samuel Wesley entered himself a student at that college in 1711.

His father and mother must have been mote than mortal if they had not felt some amount of pride in the boy who had thus won the friendship of two men who were ripe scholars as well as high dignitaries of the Church.

There is, however, no trace of exultation on either side; and early in December Samuel wrote to his mother a letter beginning, '" Dear Mother," instead of the formal "Madam" of the period.

This seems to have touched her, and added warmth to the epistle which the gravity of so great an impending change as leaving school and going to Oxford called forth: — THuRSDAY, December 28, 1710.

DrEAaR SamMMy, —I am much better pleased with the beginning of your letter than with what you used to send me, for I do not love distance or ceremony ; there is more of love and tenderness in the name of mother than in all the complimentary titles in the world.

I intend to write to your father about your coming down, but yet it would not be amiss for you to speak

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Yay of it too.

Perhaps our united desires may sooner prevail upon him to grant our request, though I do not think he will be averse from it at all.

[This is the only time that Mrs. Wesley, in her brave acceptance of the inevitable, alludes to a desire to see

_ the beloved son from whom she had been so long separated. } I am heartily glad that you have already received, and that you design again to receive, the Holy Sacrament ; for there is nothing more proper or effectual for the strengthening and refreshing the mind than the frequent partaking of that blessed ordinance.

You complain that you are unstable and inconstant in the ways of virtue.

Alas! what Christian is not so too?

Jam sure that I, above all others, am most unfit to advise in such a case ; yet, since I cannot but speak something, since I love you as my own soul, I will endeavor to do as well as I can; and perhaps while I write

I may learn, and by instructing you I may teach myself.

I am sorry that you lie under a necessity of conversing with those that are none of the best; but we must take the world as we find it, since it is a happiness permitted to a very few to choose their company.

Yet, lest the comparing yourself with others that are worse may be an occasion of your falling into too much 'vanity, you would do well sometimes to entertain such thoughts as these: "Though I know my own birth and education, and am conscious of having had great advantages, yet how little do I know of the cir-

vis me \ ~~

SUSANNA WESLEY. cumstances of others.

Perhaps their parents were vicious, or did not take early care of their minds, to instil the principles of virtue into their tender. years, but suffered them to follow their own inclinations till it was too late to reclaim them.

Am I sure that they have had as many offers of grace, as many and strong impulses of the Holy Spirit, as I have had?

Do they sin against as clear conviction as I do?

Or are the vows of God upon them as upon me?

Were they so solemnly devoted to Him at their birth as I was?"

You have had the example of a father who served God from his youth, and though I cannot commend my own to you, for it is too bad to be imitated, yet surely earnest prayers for many years, and some little good advice, have not been wanting.

But if, after all, self-love should incline you to partiality in your own case, seriously consider your own many feelings, which the world cannot take notice of because they were so private, and if still, upon comparison, you seem better than others are, then ask yourself who it is that makes you to differ; and let

God have all the praise, since of ourselves we can do nothing.

It is He that worketh in us both to will and to do of His own good pleasure ; andif, at any time, you have vainly ascribed the glory of any good performance to yourself, humble yourself for it before God, and give Him the glory of His grace for the future.

I am straitened for paper and time, therefore must conclude.

God Almighty bless you and preserve you from all evil.

Adieu.

SUSANNA WESLEY.

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Much of this letter has been omitted on account of its being exclusively a theological dis_-sertation.

Indeed, in none of Mrs. Wesley's epistles is religion presented in a less attractive aspect, for she represents God as a hard master dealing out strict retribution to all who diverge from the straight and exceedingly narrow path of righteousness.

She would surely have been a happier woman if her mental attitude had been that of the German divine whose evening prayer, after many hours of labor in his Master's service, was, " Lord, all is as ever between me and thee," before he lay down to his peaceful and well-earned slumber.

There are only one or two hints of what took place at Epworth during the years 1711 and 1712.

Mrs. Wesley must have employed a great deal of her leisure in writing a manuscript containing sixty quarto pages, entitled "A Religious Conference between Mother and Emilia," on the outside of which were the texts, "I write unto you, little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be found in you," and «May what is sown in weakness be raised in power.'

Written for the use of my children, Pet is12."

In the spring of April, 1712, while Mr. Wesley was away in London, five of the children had

PSOne it

SUSANNA WESLEY.

small-pox, which was then a far more terrible scourge than in our own day.

The mother's hands must have been very full; but she seems never to have caught the infection, although the family was visited by it at least on one other occasion.

She wrote to her absent husband:

"Jack bore his disease bravely, like a man, and indeed a Christian, without any complaint."

It is probable either that they had the complaint in a mild form, or that some very effectual means were taken to prevent any permanent traces being left; for all the family had the reputation of being good-looking, and no mention is made by any one, nor is there any lingering tradition, of their being marked.

It may be said, perhaps, that in the absence of inoculation or vaccination this disfigurement was too common to excite any remark; but it must be remembered that Charles Wesley's wife had the small-pox in 1753, when she lived at Bristol, and, although she lay down a really handsome young woman of six-and-twenty, she rose up from that bed of sickness so disfigured as to become almost proverbial for plainness throughout the rest of her life.

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TEACHING IN PUBLIC..

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CHAPTER EX

TEACHING IN PUBLIC.

CONFUSION as to dates was very common in the early part of the eighteenth century.

From force of habit people computed their time according to the Old Style; but on formal occasions, or when they thought of it, the New Style was adopted.

This may probably account for the fact that the Rector of Epworth is said to have left behind him an unsatisfactory locum

Zenens when he went to Convocation in November, 1710, but that the correspondence it led to between himself and his wife is dated February,

DATs The incident has hitherto-been treated by every biographer of the Wesley family in a purely religious light, and the case has been stated as though the curate left to do duty in the church and parish had been a formalist of the driest order, and the congregation has invariably been described as longing to hear the " full Gospel" to which it had been accustomed when the rector himself occupied the pulpit.

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SUSANNA WESLEY.

es, This savors very much of the phraseology of "the people called Methodists," and, indeed, of the party who in later times have styled themselves Evangelical.

But when we read that the curate, who was named Inman, preached perpetually to the flock on the duty of paying their debts and behaving well among their neighbors, it is impossible to forget that Mr. Wesley had not always been able to pay zs debts, and was at that very moment terribly hampered by them;

_ that unseemly brawls had at exciting times disturbed the peace of the little town; and that for political reasons, added to perpetual impecuniosity, the Wesleys were not over-popular in the parish.

The better disposed among the people very possibly complained that the curate's preaching was not in good taste, and it cannot have been pleasant to Mrs. Wesley that her family and servants should be obliged to listen to him.

This is at least as likely as that his ministrations were considered " barren," and the flock craved for "fuller privileges."

Whichever explanation of the situation be accepted, certain it is that Mrs. Wesley began to hold a service every Sunday evening in the rectory kitchen for the benefit of her own children and servants.

A serving-man told his !parents, who asked _ permission to come; others followed their exam-

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_ TEACHING IN PUBLIC.

—_—_133 ple, till forty or fifty assembled; and, whether the motive were meré curiosity, or an ardent

- desire to participate in the instruction given, it is said that the numbers increased so rapidly that by the end of January, 1711, two hundred were present at the home service, and many were obliged to go away because there was not even standing-room.

This is the universally received account, based on Mrs. Wesley's own statements in a letter to her husband.

Good woman though she was, perhaps she exaggerated a little, or perhaps when her congregation became so large she adjourned to the barn or granary, or some other roomy outbuilding.

Certain it is that the rectory kitchen remains the same size as it always was; and a very ardent Wesleyan, who has spent his life in collecting particulars respecting the various members of the Wesley clan, recently stood in it, and expressed his opinion that it could not have accommodated even forty persons.

In summertime, with open windows, many might have stood outside and joined in the service going on within ; but in the depth of winter that was impracticable.

The story goes that when Mr. Wesley returned, his parishioners complained of the curate's shortcomings, and he thereupon requested him to prepare a sermon for the following Sunday

: bi. | ater

SUSANNA WESLEY.

morning on the text, 'Without faith it is impossible to please God," saying that he should make a point of being present to hear it.

Sunday came, and Mr. Inman began:

" Friends, faith is a most excellent virtue, and it produces other virtues also.

In particular it makes a man pay his debts."

In this strain he proceeded for a quarter of an hour, and the rector considered the case fully proven.

Possibly this conduct was intentional impertinence; possibly, as cash was scarce, Mr. Inman's stipend was in arrears; but the situation was an extremely unpleasant one for all parties.

Mrs. Wesley took matters into her own hands in conducting her home services, at which she always read a sermon, and she distinctly told her husband that reading the account of the Danish mission to Travancore stirred her up to endeavor to do something more for the parishioners as well as for her own family.

He certainly wrote from London remonstrating with her, and her reply is characteristically clear and lucid: — Epwortu, February 6, 1712.

I heartily thank you for dealing so plainly and faithfully with me in a matter of no common concern.

The main of your objections against our Sunday evening meetings are — first, that it will look particular; secondly, my sex; and lastly, your being at present in a

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| TEACHING IN PUBLIC.

public station and character; to all which I shall answer briefly.

- As to its looking particular, I grant it does; and so does almost everything that is serious, or that may anyway advance the glory of God or the salvation of souls, if it be performed out of a pulpit, or in the way of common conversation ; because, in our corrupt age, the utmost care and diligence have been used to banish all discourse of God or spiritual concerns out of society, as if religion were never to appear out of the closet, and we were to be ashamed of nothing so much as of professing ourselves to be Christians.

To your second, I reply that as I am a woman, so I am also a mistress of a large family.

And though the superior charge of the souls contained in it lies upon you, as head of the family, and as their minister, yet in your absence I cannot but look upon every soul you leave under my care as a talent committed to me, under a trust, by the great Lord of all the families of heaven and earth.

And if I am unfaithful to Him, or to you, in neglecting to improve these talents, how shall I answer unto Him when He shall command me to render an account of my stewardship ?

As these and other such-like thoughts made me at first take a more than ordinary care of the souls of my children and servants, so, knowing that our most holy religion requires a strict observation of the Lord's Day, and not thinking that we fully answered the end of the institution by only going to church, but that likewise we are obliged to fill up the intermediate spaces of

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SUSANNA WESLEY.

— that sacred time by other acts of piety and devotion, I thought it my duty to spend some part of the day in reading to and instructing my family, especially in your absence, when, having no afternoon service, we have so much leisure for such exercises; and such time I esteemed spent in a way more acceptable to God than if I had retired to my own private devotions.

This was the beginning of my present practice ; other people coming in and joining us was purely accidental.

Our lad told his parents: they first desired to be admitted; then others who heard of it begged leave also; so our company increased to about thirty, and seldom exceeded forty last winter ; and why it increased since I leave you to judge, after you have read what follows.

{Here comes in the account of finding the book about the Danish Missions, and the result of perusing it, which have been previously quoted. |

With those few neighbors who then came to me I discoursed more freely and affectionately than before.

I chose the best and most awakening sermons we had, and I spent more time with them in such exercises.

Since this our company has increased every night, for I dare deny none that asks admittance.

Last Sunday I believe we had over two hundred, and yet many went away for want of room.

But I never durst positively presume to hope that God would make use of me as an instrument in doing good ; the farthest I ever durst go was, "It may be: who can tell?

With God all things are possible.

ve, "TEACHING IN PUBLIC. 137

: will resign myself to Him Bas ON) as Herbert better expresses it: — wenn Only, since God doth often make, BS TS og Of lowly matter, for high uses meet, I throw me at His feet ; There will I lie until my Maker seek For some mean stuff whereon to show His skill;

Then is my time."

And thus I rested, without passing any reflection on myself, or forming any judgment about the success or event of this undertaking.

Your third objection I leave to be answered by your own judgment.

We meet not on any worldly design.

We banish all temporal concerns from our society ; none is suffered to mingle any discourse about them with our reading or singing; we keep close to the business of the day, and as soon as it is over they all go home.

And where is the harm of this?

If I and my children went a-visiting on Sunday nights, or if we admitted of impertinent visits, as too many do who think themselves good Christians, perhaps it would be thought no scandalous practice, though, in truth, it would be so.

Therefore, why any should reflect upon you, let your station be what it will, because your wife endeavors to draw people to the church, and to restrain them, by reading and other persuasions, from their profanation of God's most holy day, I cannot conceive.

But if any should be so mad as to do it, I wish you would not regard it.

For my part, I value no censure on this account.

I have long since shook

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SUSANNA WESLEY.

hands with the world, and I heartily wish I had never given them more reason to speak against me.

As for your proposal of letting some other person read, alas! you do not consider what a people these are.

I do not think one man among them could read. a sermon without spelling a good part of it; and how would that edify the rest?

Nor has any of our family a voice strong enough to be heard by such a number of people.

But there is one thing about which I am most dissatisfied ; that is, their being present at family prayers.

I do not speak of any concern I am under barely because so many are present, for those who have the honor of speaking to the great and holy God need not be ashamed to speak before the whole world; but because of my sex, I doubt if it be proper for me to present the prayers of the people to God.

Last Sunday I fain would have dismissed them before prayers ; but they begged so earnestly to stay,

I durst not deny them.

SusaNNA WESLEY.

A letter from Mr. Inman, requesting the rector to stop his wife's meetings, and saying that more people attended them than came to church, must have followed close on this epistle from Mrs. Wesley.

The reply of the rector to his wife does not seem to have been preserved, but it must have been sent almost immediately, for before the end of the month she again wrote to

a him, but had evidently waited several days after _ the receipt of his answer before doing so: —

Epwortu, February 25, 1712.

Dear Huspanp, — Some days since I received a letter from you, I suppose dated the 16th instant, which I made no great haste to answer, because I judged it necessary for both of us to take some time a to consider before you determine in a matter of such great importance.

I shall not inquire how it was possible that you should be prevailed on by the senseless clamor of two or three of the worst of your parish to condemn what you so lately approved.

But I shall tell you my thoughts in as few words as possible.

I do not hear of more than three or four persons who are against our meeting, of whom Inman is the chief.

He and Whiteley, I believe, may call it a conventicle ; but we hear no outcry here, nor has any one said a word against it to me.

And what does their calling it a conventicle signify?

Does it alter the nature of the thing?

Or do you think that what they say is a sufficient reason to forbear a thing that has already done much good, and may, by the blessing of God, do much more?

If its being called a conventicle by those who know in their conscience they misrepresent it did really make it one, what you say would be something to the purpose ; but it is plain in fact that this one thing has brought more people to church than ever anything did in so short a time.

We used not

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SUSANNA WESLEY.

to have above twenty or twenty-five at evening service, whereas we now have between two and three hundred, which are more than ever came before to hear Inman in the morning.

Besides the constant attendance on the public worship of God, our meeting has wonderfully conciliated the minds of this people towards us, so that now we live in the greatest amity imaginable, and, what is still better, they are very much reformed in their behavior on the Lord's Day, and those who used to be playing in the streets now come to hear a good sermon read, which is surely more acceptable to Almighty God.

Another reason for what I do is that I have no other way of conversing with this people, and therefore have no other way of doing them good ; but by this I have an opportunity of exercising the greatest and noblest charity, that is, charity to their souls.

Some families who seldom went to church, now go constantly, and one person who had not been there for seven years is now prevailed upon to go with the rest.

There are many other good consequences of this meeting which I have not time to mention.

Now, I beseech you, weigh all these things in an impartial balance: on the one side the honor of Almighty God, the doing much good to many souls, and the friendship of the best among whom we live; on the other

Gf folly, impiety, and vanity may abide in the scale against so ponderous a weight), the senseless objections of a few scandalous persons, laughing at us, and censuring us as precise and hypocritical: and when you

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TEACHING IN PUBLIC.

have duly considered all things, let me have your positive determination.

I need not tell, you the consequences if you determine to put an end to our meeting.

You may easily perceive what prejudice it may raise in the minds of these people against Inman especially, who has had so little wit as to speak publicly against it.

I can now keep them to the church; but if it be laid aside I doubt they will never go to hear him more, at least those who came from the lower end of the town.

But if this be continued till you return, which now will not _be long, it may please God that their hearts may be so changed by that time that they may love and delight in His public worship so as never to neglect it more.

If you do, after all, think fit to dissolve this assembly, do not tell me that you desire me to do it, for that will not satisfy my conscience ; but send me your positive command, in such full and express terms as may absolve me from all guilt and punishment for neglecting this opportunity of doing good, when you and I shall appear before the great and awful tribunal of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

SUSANNA WESLEY,

This wise and temperate letter shows plainly that there was no personal partisanship about its writer.

She was not anxious that the people should come to her service instead of going to hear Mr. Inman, but earnestly desired that they should go to the services conducted by

SUSANNA WESLEY.

him, for the honor of God and the Church; and also regarded herself as a stewardess, | keeping the flock together till, such time as the rector could 'return.

And it must' be remembered that Mr. Wesley was acknowledged to be one of the readiest and _ best preachers of his day, so that his hearers were somewhat spoilt, and resented having an inferior man set over them during his absence.

Whatever may have been the motive that first led Mrs. Wesley to hold private services, or that made the neighbors wish to attend them, it is evident that closer contact with the earnest, high-souled woman, who held on her steadfast way through evil as well as good report, called forth a feeling of deep respect which ripened in many instances into affection.

All difficulties ceased when Convocation rose, and Mr.

Wesley returned home to resume his ministrations in the parish and in his own household.

The next event in Mrs. Wesley's life was the parting with her son John, who was placed at the Charterhouse through the good offices of the Duke of Buckingham, to whom his father and the circumstances of the family were well known.

The mother does not appear to have corresponded with him so anxiously or frequently as with her elder son; or, at all events,

if she did so, none of her letters fave been pret served.

It is possible that she trusted him to : some extent to the fostering care of his brother

~ at Westminster, who was frequently able to see him; or perhaps she did not think his disposition called for such continual attention on her part.

His father bade him run three times round the garden every morning, and he is said to have obeyed him dutifully, and he was probably not less careful to observe his mother's instructions as to his daily conduct and devotions.

He did not need any stimulus to study, for the love of learning was part and parcel of his nature.

| No letters written by Mrs. Wesley to her son Samuel during the year he spent at Oxford are forthcoming, nor is there any record of her feelings and sympathies when he married in 1715.

His wife was the daughter of the Rev. John Berry, one of the masters at Westminster, who took some of the scholars as boarders.

He loved her very dearly, and, being by that time established as an usher in his old school, probably felt justified in taking a wife.

It is not likely that his mother did not show a warm interest in this change in his life, and it is well known that he continued to be a most affectionate son, while his wife showed the utmost kindness and right

i144.

. SUSANNA WESLEY.

feeling to his young brothers and to her mother- — in-law.

Samuel, junior, was as fond of writing | rhyme as his father had been before him, and doubtless he described the nut-brown maiden of his choice as eloquently in his letters home as in the lines which describe her as one who | '¢ Made her little wisdom go Further than wiser women do;" or more at length when he says: — *¢ Her hair and skin are as the Berry, brown ;

Soft is her smile, and graceful is her frown; Her stature low, 'tis something less than mine ;

Her shape, though good, not exquisitely fine.

Though round her hazel eyes some sadness lies, Their sprightly glances can sometimes surprise.

But greater beauties to her mind belong:

Well can she speak, and wisely hold her tongue.

In her, plain sense and humble sweetness meet :

Though gay, religious ; and though young, discreet.

Such is the maid, if I can judge aright, If love or favor hinder not my sight.

Perhaps you'll ask me how so well I know?

I've studied her, and Ill confess it, too.

I've sought each inmost failing to explore ; Though still the more I sought, I liked the more.

Oh, to see my Nutty smiling, Time with amorous talk beguiling, Love, her every action gracing, Arms still open for embracing,

Looks to mutual bliss inviting, _ Eyes delighted and delighting, | Spotless innocence preventing After-grief and sad repenting ; 'Neither doubting, both believing, Transport causing and receiving; Both with equal ardor moving, Dearly loved, and truly loving.'

Long may both enjoy the pleasure Without guilt and without measure!"

Only two children were born to the young _. couple, the former of whom was named Samuel, after his father and grandfather.

Being the first grandchild, he was thought a great deal of, and much grief was felt when he died shortly before what would have been his twenty-first birthday.

The daughter was a great favorite with her uncles, and attached herself especially to Charles Wesley.

She was known in the family esac Lil."

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SUSANNA WESLEY.

CHAPIER -xL

THE SUPERNATURAL NOISES,

THE subject of' supernatural manifestations is one on which mortals must agree to differ.

One half of humanity refuses to give credence to anything but what it can see and handle, and regards those who believe in spiritual influences of any kind as the dupes and votaries of degrading superstition ; while the other half has a deeply rooted, if indefinable, faith in second sight, mysterious intuitions, and communications from the unseen.

The Apostles' Creed contains a sentence which is frequently interpreted as embodying belief in some kind of intercourse between the dead and the living, and even between those who, though absent from each other in the body, are present in the spirit, when it states, "I believe in the Communion of Saints."

In this Mrs, Wesley had a firm faith, having been heard by her son John, during her widowhood, to say that she was often as fully persuaded of her deceased husband's presence with her as if she could see him with her bodily

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THE SUPERNATURAL NOISES.

eyes.

Her sons, inheriting her temperament to the full, always found an irresistible attraction in the subject; John invariably preached on _ it with great exaltation on All Saints Day, and declared that he was sometimes so vividly aware of the presence of those he loved who ' had crossed the dark river before him, that he had turned round expecting to see them; and any one acquainted with Charles Wesley's hymns must observe that they are frequently instinct with the same faith.

Persons who see signs and visions, and hear sounds inaudible to others, are always highly strung, sensitive, and emotional.

They are almost invariably individuals who, from choice or necessity, are extremely abstemious (not to say underfed), and in whom the veil of flesh is thin, while the mental and 'spiritual faculties are abnormally developed.

This description applied to all the Wesleys, so that they were exactly the kind of people to accept and believe in occult influences, The first impression produced on Mrs. Wesley's mind by the extraordinary noises which were heard at Epworth Rectory, in December, 1716, when only herself, her husband, and her daughters were at home, was that they betokened that death or some calamity had be-

SUSANNA WESLEY.

fallen one or other of the absent boys.

Charles, by this time, was at Westminster School, though only eight years old, Samuel having sent for him, considering that he could best relieve the family burdens by undertaking the maintenance and education of his youngest brother.

Little Charles was a plucky boy, and remarkably ready with his fists; and perhaps, mother-like,

Mrs. Wesley was always anxious lest harm should come to him.

In after days, and when assured of the safety of her own children, she connected the first noises with the death of her brother in India, who ceased to be heard of about that time.

But as the sounds continued during many years, and were, in fact, audible to some of the family throughout life, they must have applied to many occurrences, if, indeed, they were of the nature attributed to them by the hearers.

The first account of the disturbances was written by Mrs. Wesley herself to her son Samuel, and it was at his request that his sisters and father also recorded what they had themselves experienced.

Mrs. Wesley's letter is very circumstantial : —

JANUARY 12, 1716-17.

Dear Sam, —This evening we were agreeably surprised with your packet, which brought the welcome news of your being alive, after we had been in the

a ee | y ; '

THE SUPERNATURAL NOISES.

greatest panic imaginable, almost a month, thinking either you was dead, or one of your brothers by some

~ misfortune [had] been killed.

The reason of our fears is as follows: On the ist of December our maid heard, at the door of the dining-room, several dismal groans, like a person in extremes at the point of death.

We gave little heed to her relation, and endeavored to laugh her out of her fears.

Some nights (two or three) after, several of the family heard a strange knocking in divers places, usually three or four knocks at a time, and then staying a little.

This continued every night for a fortnight ; sometimes it was in the garret, but most

: commonly in the nursery or green chamber.

We all heard it but your father; and I was not willing he should be informed of it; lest he should fancy it was against his own death, which, indeed, we all apprehended.

But when it began to be so troublesome, both night and day, that few or none of the family durst be alone, I resolved to tell him of it, being minded he should speak to it.

At first he would not believe but somebody did it to alarm us ; but the night after, as soon as he was in bed, it knocked loudly nine times, just by his bedside.

He rose, and went to see if he could find out what it was, but could see nothing.

Afterwards he heard it as the rest.

One night it made such a noise in the room over our heads, as if several people were walking, then ran up and down stairs, and was so outrageous that we thought the children would be frighted; so your

) La t On em

SUSANNA, WESLEY,

Pry. father and I rose and went down in the dark to light | acandle.

Just as we came to the bottom of the broad stairs, having hold of each other, on my side there seemed as if somebody had emptied a bag of money at my feet; and on his, as if all the bottles under the stairs (which were many) had been dashed in a thousand pieces.

We passed through the hall into the kitchen, and got a candle, and went to see the children, whom we found asleep.

The next night your father would get Mr. Hoole to lie at our house, and we all sat together till one or two o'clock in the morning, and heard the knocking as usual.

Sometimes it would make a noise like the winding up of a jack, at other times, as that night

Mr. Hoole was with us, like a carpenter planing deals; but most commonly it knocked thrice and stopped, and then thrice again, and so, many hours together.

We persuaded your father to speak, and try if any voice would be heard.

One night, about six o'clock, he went into the nursery in the dark, and at first heard several deep groans, then knocking.

He adjured it to speak, if it had power, and tell him why it troubled his house; but no voice was heard, but it knocked thrice aloud.

Then he questioned it if it were Sammy, and bid it, if it were, and could not speak, knock again; but it knocked no more that night, which made us hope it was not against your death.

Thus it continued till the 28th of December, when it loudly knocked (as your father used to do at the

he rey in fe nursery and departed.

We have various conjectures what this may mean.

For my own part, I fear nothing now you are safe at London hitherto,

_ and I hope God will still preserve you ; though sometimes I am inclined to think my brother is dead.

Let me know your thoughts on it.

SUSANNA WESLEY.

Samuel Wesley was very much impressed by this letter, and wrote to both his parents in reply, asking the minutest questions, as to the possibility of rats, mice, or other animals having caused the noises, whether there were fresh servants, etc., and requesting that his father would write, that Mr. Hoole would favor him with an account, and that each of his sisters would give her version of what had taken place.

It is evident that he had a firm belief in the supernatural origin of the disturbance, and wished to have it confirmed.

This called forth a second letter from his mother: — JANUARY 25 or 27, 1716-17.

Dear SAM, — Though I am not one of those that will believe nothing supernatural, but am rather inclined to think there would be frequent intercourse between good spirits and us, did not our deep lapse into sensuality prevent it, yet I was a great while ere

I could credit anything of what the children and servants reported concerning the noises they heard in

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SUSANNA WESLEY. ke

several parts of our house.

Nay, after 1 had heard them myself I was willing to persuade myself and them that it was only rats or weasels that disturbed us ; and, having been formerly troubled with rats, which were frightened away by sounding' a horn, I caused a horn to be procured, and made them blow it allover

| the house.

But, from that night they began to blow, the noises were more loud and distinct, both day and night, than before ; and that night we rose and went down, and I was entirely convinced that it was beyond the power of any human creature to make such strange and various noises.

As to your questions, I will answer them particularly ; but, withal, I desire my answers may satisfy none but yourself, for I would not have the matter imparted to any.

We had both man and maid new this last Martinmas, yet I do not believe either of them caused the disturbance, both for the reason above mentioned and because they were more affrighted than anybody else.

Besides, we have often heard the noises when they were in the room by us; and the maid, particularly, was in such a panic that she was almost incapable of all business, nor durst ever go from one room to another, or stay by herself a minute after it began to be dark.

The man, Robert Brown, whom you well know, was most visited by it, lying in the garret, and has often been frighted down barefoot, and almost naked, not daring to stay alone to put on his clothes; nor do

I think, if he had power, he would be guilty of such

as DPE. SUPERNATURAL NOISES.

E. eeteny When the walking was heard in the garret, Robert was in bed in the next room, in a 'sleep so 'sound that he never heard your father and me walk

\! up and down, though we walked not softly, I am sure.

All the family has heard it together, in the same room, at the same time, particularly at family prayers.

It always seemed to all present in the same place at the same time, though often, before any could say it is here, it would remove to another place.

All the family, as well as Robin, were asleep when your father and I went down-stairs, nor did they wake in the nursery when we held the candle close by them, only we observed that Hetty trembled exceedingly in her sleep, as she always did before the noise awaked her.

It commonly was nearer her than the rest, which she took notice of, and was much frightened, because she thought it had a particular spite at her.

I could multiply particular instances, but I forbear.

I believe your father will write to you about it shortly.

Whatever may be the design of Providence in permitting these things, I cannot say.

Secret things belong to God; but I entirely agree with you, that it is our wisdom and duty to prepare seriously for all events.

S. WESLEY.

The second daughter, commonly called Sukey, wrote substantially the same account to her brother, but adds that the door-latch and warm-

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a6 pee ing-pan rattled beside her bed, and continues:

"Tt is now pretty quiet; only at our repeating the prayers for the king and prince, when it usually begins, especially when my father says

'Our most gracious Sovereign Lord,''etc.

This my father is angry at, and designs to say three instead of two for the Royal Family.

We all heard the same noise and at the same time, and as coming from the same place.

To conclude this, it now makes its personal appearance; but of this more hereafter."

Of course this letter made Samuel more curious than ever, and he wrote begging for further information, and gravely asked his mother, '' Have you dug in the place where the money seemed poured at your feet?"

To his father he observed, "If the noises bode anything to our family, I am sure I am a party concerned."

It was some time before the rector could be persuaded to answer his son's inquiries, but at last he enclosed a few lines with a long letter from Emilia, which gave some particulars not mentioned by any one else: —

FEBRUARY ITI, 1716-17.

Dear Sam, — As for the noises, etc., in our family, I thank God we are now all quiet.

There were some surprising circumstances in that affair.

Your mother has not written you a third part of it.

When I see you

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SUPERNATURAL NOISES.

here you 'shall see the whole account, which I wrote down.

It would make a glorious penny book for Jack _ Dunton ; but while I live I am not ambitious for anything of that nature.

I think that's all, but blessings, from Your loving father, Sam. WESLEY.

' Emilia described the sound as hollow and different to anything else, and said:

" It would answer to my mother, if she stamped on the floor and bade it.

It would knock when I was 'putting the children to bed, just under me, where Isat.

One time little Kezy, pretending to scare Patty, as I was undressing them, stamped with her foot on the floor, and immediately it answered with three knocks, just in the same place.

It was more loud and fierce if any one said it was rats, or anything natural."

The young lady also described how something resembling a white rabbit or a badger had been seen in the house, and asserted her opinion that it was witchcraft, adding that her father had been preaching '' warmly " against the custom prevalent in the parish of consulting cunning men, shortly before the rappings and other manifestations at his own house.

Ventriloquism and occult phenomena were not unknown even in the days of George the

SUSANNA WESLEY.

First, to those who posed as wizards and soothsayers; and the notion that some one or other. of these cunning men were paying the rector out for robbing them of their gains by denouncing the practice of consulting them from the pulpit, cannot but suggest itself to the profane and unbelieving mind of this nineteenth century.

But the Wesleys, and many of their biographers, took these wonders seriously, and firmly believed that they had beneficial effects on the minds of some of the family.

One incident marvellously like our modern table-turning was chronicled by Sukey, who wrote to her brother how "last Sunday, to my father's no small amazement, his trencher danced upon the table a pretty while, without anybody's stirring the table, when lo! an adventurous wretch took it up, and spoiled the sport, for it remained still ever after."

Samuel probably continued to ask questions, for on March 27th Mrs. Wesley wrote to him: — "JT cannot imagine how you should be so curious about our unwelcome guest.

For my part, I am quite tired with hearing or speaking of it; but when you come among us you will find enough to satisfy all your scruples, and perhaps may hear or see it yourself."

Ted, D

' ad ic ~ Deewirek

| THE SUPERNATURAL NOISES.

Mr. Wesley himself wrote a detailed account of everything that took place, and the following are the most remarkable passages :

— | ''When we were at prayers, and came to the prayers for King George and the Prince, it would make a great

'noise over our heads constantly, whence some of the family called it a Jacobite.

I have been thrice pushed _by an invisible power, — once against the corner of my desk in the study, a second time against the door of the matted chamber, and a third time against the right side of the frame of my study door, as I was going in.

" This day (January 24), at morning prayer, the family heard the usual knocks at the prayer for the King.

At night they were more distinct, both in the prayer for the King and that for the Prince ; and one very loud knock at the 4men was heard by my wife and most of my children, at the inside of my bed.

"On Friday the 25th, having prayers at church, I shortened, as usual, those in the family at morning, omitting the confession, absolution, and prayers for the King and Prince.

I observed, when this is done, there is no knocking.

I therefore used them one morning for a trial; at the name of King George it began to knock, and did the same when I prayed for the Prince.

Two knocks I heard, but took no notice after prayers till after all who were in the room, ten persons besides

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SUSANNA WESLEY, ~~.

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he me, spoke of it, and said they heard it.

No noise at all the rest of the prayers.

; "Sunday, January 27.— Two soft knocks at the morning prayers for King George, above-stairs."

There was something wonderfully like human. agency in all this, especially when Mrs. Wesley's

Jacobite proclivities are remembered.

Imagination, perhaps, caused the girls to think that the latches of their doors were uplifted and their beds heaved up from underneath.

It is, moreover, on record that the phenomena were almost always accompanied by the change and rising of the wind.

Every one who knows how servants and ignorant rustics are in the habit of outHeroding Herod when there is anything mysterious afloat will take the statements of Robin

Brown, the man-servant, for what they were worth.

He heard gobbling like a turkey-cock, and something stumbling among his boots and shoes, saw an uncanny little beast resembling a white rabbit, and once, when grinding corn ina handmill, declared that the handle went round vigorously when the mill was empty and he was not touching it.

The fear shown by the mastiff whenever the noises began was very curious.

A memorandum written by John Wesley records that, " The first time my mother ever heard any unusual

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'tol THE SUPERNA TURAL NOISES.

noise at Epworth was long before the disturb- " ance of Old Jeffery.

[This was the name given by the girls to the intruding agency.] My brother, lately come from London, had one evening a sharp quarrel with my sister Sukey, at which time, my mother happening to be above in her own chamber, the door and windows rang and jarred very loud, and presently three distinct strokes, three by three, were struck.

From that night it never failed to give notice in much the same manner against any signal misfortune, or illness of any belonging to the family."

Emilia, writing thirty-four years afterwards to one of her brothers, declared that Jeffery " never failed to visit her when any fresh trouble was

' coming.'

This, then, is the history of the Epworth ghost.

It reads rather puerile and silly, and perhaps would have been so regarded by the family, had not the rappings of the spirit appeared to justify or chime in with the Jacobite prejudices of Mrs. Wesley.

She had implanted them very deeply in the mind of her eldest son, and his connection with and friendship for Dr.

Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester, fostered them.

A few years later, in 1722, Atterbury, who was a distinguished High Churchman, and indulged in implacable animosity towards the House of

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; Nt Bis

SUSANNA WESLEY.

ee , Hanover, was implicated in a conspiracy which had for its object the placing of the Chevalier de St. George, that is to say the "Old Pre- "|

y tender," on the English throne, and was con- ~ sequently tried at the Bar of the House of Lords, deprived of his see, and banished the kingdom forever.

He was a restless spirit, and unpopular among his brother bishops, and, as Samuel Wesley was a writer of squibs and invectives, both in prose and rhyme, against the Whig party, there is no doubt that he did so with his patron's approval and at his instigation.

Samuel was also on intimate terms with the Earl of Oxford, Pope, Swift, and Prior, all of whom were of Jacobite proclivities.

The fall of Bishop Atterbury did not make any immediate difference to the Westminster usher; but when changes took place in the great school, and he looked for promotion, he was simply left out in the cold.

The Earl of Oxford used his influence and procured for him the headmastership of the Tiverton Grammar School, where he spent the remainder of his life.

He maintained a close correspondence with the éxiled bishop and his family, and never changed his political opinions, as may be seen by a glance at his collected poems, which were reprinted as lately as 1862.

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< THE SUPERNATURAL NOISES.

; The last words Mrs. Wesley is known to have written on the supernatural were in 17109, in answer to a letter from John Wesley, who gave extraordinary credence to stories of ghosts and apparitions; he was then at Oxford, where he was interested in a haunted house in the neighborhood.

The special subject of his epistle was _ to describe how a Mr. Barnesley and two other

_ undergraduates had recently met a wraith in the fields, and afterwards ascertained that Barnesley's mother had died in Ireland at the very moment of the spectre's appearance.

Mrs. Wesley's reply was temperate, and even guarded : — Dear Jacky, — The story of Mr. Barnesley has afforded me many curious speculations.

I do not doubt the fact, but I cannot understand why these apparitions are permitted.

If they were allowed to speak to us, and we had strength to bear such converse, if they had commission to inform us of anything relating to their invisible world that would be of any use to us in this, if they would instruct us how to avoid danger, or put us in a way of being wiser and better, there would be sense in it; but to appear for no end that we know of, unless to frighten people almost out of their wits, seems altogether unreasonable.

S. WESLEY.

It was a very curious circumstance that about a hundred years after the Wesleys had ceased

SUSANNA WESLEY.

to have any connection with Epworth, strange noises were heard in the rectory; and the then incumbent, not being able to trace or account for them, went away with his family and resided abroad for some time.

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