laboured under great difficulties and privations, until his Life of Christ, an heroic poem, in ten books, dedicated to Queen Mary, procured him the Rectory of Epworth. Here, however, his embarrassments followed him; for we learn from his own confession to his firm patron, Archbishop Sharp, that he had contracted a debt of £300, which he attributes partly to his not understanding worldly affairs, partly to the charge of supporting an aged mother, to a fast increasing family before he obtained this Rectory, and to unavoidable ness the following questions. Whether it be lawful for a young lady to pray for a husband? and if lawful, in what form? I am within a short time to wait on a young lady, who is one of the wonders of the age for piety, wit, beauty, birth, and fortune; and therefore should desire of your society a form of courtship in answer to the following querie. After what manner should a gentleman at the first visit accost his mistress? Whether tears, sighs, and earnest entreaties be of greater force to obtain a lady's favour, than a moderate degree of zeal, with a wise and manly carriage? Is it proper for a woman to yield at the first address, though to a man she loves? What behaviour and carriage in the progress of an amour will be most winning and acceptable to a lady of ingenuity and fortune? What are the best remedies for love? and What cure is there for a desperate lover? Q. Say, learn'd Athenians! how I may improve and many other such. Or else secure the extacies of love? Am hers-just now the nuptial joy; Guess at the rest, your condescension can Numerous questions in physics, natural philosophy, history, and antiquities are very well discussed in this curious miscellany; and some of the articles contain much valuable information. I think Wesley's style is very evident in the following answer, which will perhaps be sufficient to give the reader a general notion of this singular publication. Q. Whether the antients were as well skilled in shipping and navigation as the moderns are? A. The negative appears partly by the resolution of the former question, and will further by wha remains. "Tis true they had vast ships in those days, enormous machines indeed, as the virtuosi love to call them; and whatever we flatter ourselves, vastly bigger, some of them at least, and able to contain many more than the biggest ships now in the world, not excepting the Royal Sovereign, or Brittania themselves, or all the Terribles or Invincibles that the French made such a noise with; and though the vastness of the bulk, and number of men some of them are said to have carried seems almost incredible, yet we shall set them down as we find them in grave authors. Athenæus tells us Ptolomy Philopater had a galley built for pomp and pleasure, with a double prow and forty ranks or orders of rowers; and even Plutarch himself, in his life of Demetrius, that he equipped several ships of war, which had in them each four thousand rowers. This for their bulk. Then for the ex cellency avoidable expenses, such as first fruits, getting the broad seal, &c. &c. and to losses both by flood and fire. The first of these fires was occasioned by some sparks, which took hold of the thatch of the Rectory House in dry weather, and consumed about two thirds of the building before it could be quenched. This house was of such materials as rendered it exceedingly liable to be damaged by fire, as appears from the following terrier "of all the possessions of the Rector of Epworth, A. D. 1607. "Item within the bounds are contained the Parsonage House, consisting of five baies, built all of timber and plaster, and covered with straw thatch, the whole building being contrived into three stories, and disposed in seven chief rooms. A kitchinge, a hall, a parlour, a butterie, and three large upper rooms, and som others of common use; and also a little garden empailed betwine the stone wall and the south, on the south." Such was the Parsonage House which by this fire was nearly consumed, and, towards defraying the expense of rebuilding it, he obtained, through the influence of the Archbishop of York, a subscription to the amount of £184 17s. 6d. In a few years it was totally burnt down, and rebuilt at Mr. Wesley's own expence. About cellency of their structure, if we'll believe N. Whitson, who writes of Naval Architecture in High Dutch, whose book was printed at Amsterdam, in 1671, (whereof the Royal Society gave an account vol. 6. p. 3006), they were much firmer and more lasting than ours. For he tells us a strange story of a ship found in the time of Pope Pius the Second, in the Numidian Sea, twelve fathoms under water, thirty foot long and proportionably broad, of cyprus and laryx wood, so hard that it would scarce burn or cut, and not in the least or any where rotten or perished; and stranger than all, the whole ship so close, that not a drop of water was soaked into the under rooms. But whatever we may think of this story, or of the vast bulk assigned to some ships, this we are certain, they had antiently some very large vessels. Authentic histories mention Hiero the Syracusian's ships, which by the description Mr. Evelyn gives of it out of old writers, that 'twas amongst those which had been taken for mountains or floating islands, and that 'twas a moving palace adorned with groves of trees both for fruit and shade. Nor were they formerly wanting in stratagems or ingenious devices to murder one another: for Minos is said to have been the first inventor of sea fights, who lived not long after the flood; and we are more sure that not only the use of flags, but even false colours, fire-ships, stink-pots, and snake-pots, were known to the ancients, as we learn in the Fount of Stratagems.-But notwithstanding all this, 'tis certain we outdo the antients, not only in other parts of navigation, but also in that of shipping, our vessels being, though not so great as some of those are represented, yet much more serviceable than those of the antients. ** About this time Mr. Wesley seems to have had his mind seriously impressed with a desire of undertaking the labours of a missionary, to which probably his uncomfortable situation, in such an obscure corner of the country as Epworth, might not a little contribute. He mentioned this to Archbishop Sharp, and made also proposals to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and to some Members of the Administration. It appears that the archbishop had desired an account of the whole scheme; and he sent him the following paper, which, though without a date, is in his own hand writing, and subscribed by the archbishop, and is as follows: "The scheme I had laid, if I went to the East Indies, and which by God's grace I shall yet prosecute, if I go thither and am enabled to do it, was not confined to one place or nation, but aimed at a more general service to christianity. "My design consisted of three parts. The first relating to our own people, the native English and their subjects, which I am told at one of our colonies are numerous. The second, to other christian churches, whether out of the Roman communion or members of it. The third to the heathen. "First, as to our own. I would make a particular enquiry into the state of christianity in all our factories and settlements, from St. Helena to the farther eastern countries, travelling where I could myself either by land or sea, and where that could not be done, fixing a correspondence, which I should have the convenience of doing from Surat, it being a mart for so many nations. I would enquire into the number of our people, their morals, and their ministers. It should be my faithful endeavour to revive the spirit of christianity amongst them, by spreading good books, bringing them to catechising, or any other * "And did I not know that Almighty wisdom hath views and ends in fixing the bounds of our habitation, which are out of our ken, I should think it a thousand pities that a man of his brightness, and rare endowments of learning and useful knowledge in relation to the Church of God, should be confined to an obscure corner of the country, where his talents are buried; and he determined to a way of life for which he is not so well qualified as I could wish." Mrs. Susannah Wesley's letter in answer to her Brother. other means, as I should be directed from hence, or as God should enable me. 1 "Second, as to other christian churches. First, those who are of the Roman communion. I would endeavour to fix a correspondence with the Church of Abyssinia, or if it was thought fit by my superiors, even to try if I could pierce into that country myself; however, in the second place, I could personally enquire into the state of the poor christians of St. Thomas, who are scattered over the Indies, and settle a correspondence between them and the Church of England. "As to the Romanists, I might probably light on some opportunity to convey some of our books amongst them, translated into the languages of the countries, and even as far as China, (where we have a considerable factory), whereby the Jesuits' half converts might be better instructed in the principles of our religion, or made more than almost christians. 66 Third, for the Gentoos. I would see if I could learn the Hindostan language; and, when I once got master of their notions and way of reasoning, endeavour to bring over some of their Bramins, or Banians and common people to the christian religion, the government, I suppose, not being very strict as to those matters. "I know I am not sufficient for the least of these designs, much less for all together; but as 'twould be well worth dying for to make some progress in any of 'em, so I would expect the same assistance as to kind, though not to degree, which was granted of old to the first planters of the gospel. Nor would I neglect but humbly and thankfully receive any instructions from my superiors or others, my acquaintance or correspondents, both here and in the Indies, in order to accomplish the ends of my mission. "This seems to have been a different design from settling altogether at some one of our particular factories, all of which the East India Company are to provide for; but whether it deserves encouragement from the Corporation, must be left to their piety and wisdom; as likewise whether her majesty (Queen Anne) might not be prevailed upon by her royal favour to encourage a design of this nature, the French king sending so many missions into those parts. 2 Z "However, "However, if one hundred pounds per annum might be allowed me, and forty I must pay my curate in my absence, either from the East India Company or otherwhere, I should be ready to venture my life on this occasion; provided any way might be found to secure a subsistence for my family in case of my decease in those countries." This offer was not accepted, nor indeed was it likely that it should. How could it be expected that such an enlightened body of men, as the Governors of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts then were, would ever think of sending one man thus to survey mankind, "From China to Peru," and that man a country clergyman, at the meridian of life, who had never travelled farther than on horseback to London, and had yet all the eastern languages to learn. He pierce into the country of Abyssinia, and as far as China! The probability was, that he would not have lived three weeks after his arrival at the first place of his proposed destination, the East Indies. We must, however, allow that the paper contains some very large and extended views of missionary proceedings, and embodies the notion of a man who had deeply considered, and well understood the subject; and it is not improbable that some of the subsequent operations of the Society have been suggested by the hints thrown out in this Memorial. In the year 1705, having taken part at a contested election* for the county, against the popular candidate, and being under pecuniary obligation to some *The shameful behaviour of the people of Epworth on this occasion is thus narrated in a letter to Archbishop Sharp. "I went to Lincoln on Tuesday night, May 29th, and the election began on Wednesday the 30th. A great part of the night our Isle people kept drumming, shouting, and firing of pistols and guns under the windows where my wife lay, who had been brought to bed not three weeks. A clergyman met me in the Castle-yard, and told me to withdraw, as the Isle men intended me a mischief; another told me that he had heard near twenty of them say, if they got me in the Castle-yard, they would squeeze my guts out. When they knew I had got home, they sent the drum and mob with guns, &c. as usual to compliment me until after midnight. One of them passing by on Friday evening, and seeing my children in the yard, cried out "O ye devils, we will come and turn you all out of doors a begging shortly." |