"These things have been attested to me by aged * and respectable inhabi. tants of Epworth, to whom the memory of the man and the pastor is still dear.

"His family he kept in the strictest order; and though authoritative in all his deportment towards them, yet he was ever sufficiently tender, so that he had entirely secured their affection and respect. It is pleasing to behold this in all the letters which passed between him and his children. As a controversial writer, he has considerable dexterity in managing an argument and defending himself; but he sometimes displays an acrimony of spirit against his opponents, the common fault of polemic divines."

Admitting that the Rector deserves, in the main, this character of a good scholar, a pious and devout writer, a man who ruled well his own house, and an excellent parish priest, though, as to this last particular his wife seems to have been of a different opinion, still we must allow that Dr. Adam Clarke is

"To his virtues, very kind, And to his faults, a little blind."

For he relates, as he terms it, this "remarkable anecdote," in the words in which he had it from John Wesley. "Sukey," said my father to my mother one day after family prayer, "why did you not say amen this morn

ing

* This is altogether incredible. The Rector died 1735. Now we may reasonably affirm that a person, to remember the way in which a clergyman performed his duty, or to whom "the memory of the man and the pastor were still dear," must, at the time of that pastor's death, have been at least twenty years of age. Dr. Adam Clarke never was at Epworth until the year 1821; so that the age of the respectable inhabitant, by whom he says these things were attested to him, must have been 106 years. It was not possible that Dr. Adam Clarke ever conversed with any one who had sat under old Wesley's ministry; but he most probably did with several who remembered the occasional visits of his son John, the founder of Methodism. And here the mistake originated. When they spoke of a man whose memory was still dear to them: they spoke of John the son; but when they spoke of Samuel, the father, they merely related what they had been told. From all we can learn of the conduct of the inhabitants to the Rector, which is corroborated by the joint testimony of his sons, Samuel and John, they had but little respect for his person, and but lightly esteemed his labours. In short Epworth had been completely demoralised by the contest so long carried on with the Participants, which had scarcely ended when Wesley obtained the Rectory.

ing to the prayer for the King?" "Because," said she, "I do not believe the Prince of Orange to be King." "If that be the case," said he, "you and I must part; for if we have two kings, we must have two beds." My mother was inflexible. My father went immediately into his study; and, after spending some time with himself, set out for London; where being a Convocation man for the Diocese of Lincoln, he remained, without visiting his own house, for the remainder of the year. On March the 8th, in the following year, King William died; and as both my father and my mother were agreed as to the legitimacy of Queen Anne's title, the cause of their misunderstanding ceased: my father returned to Epworth, and conjugal harmony was restored."

This his biographer terms "a remarkable anecdote." Had he been impartial, I think he would have stiled it a foul blot on his memory. What opinion would he have expressed if any other person had forsaken a virtuous and excellent wife, the mother of a numerous family, continually requiring his protection and presence, merely for expressing her opinion on a political question concerning which the whole kingdom was divided; and when, in order to act consistently with their opinion, better and wiser men had given up the highest honours and emoluments? His opinion of such conduct in any one else, I say, would have been similar to that which he expressed of the rapacity of Mrs. Knight, “a most abominable, unfeeling, and inhuman act." There is something in this transaction which looks very like the old leaven of dissent, in which Wesley was brought up. The distinguishing characteristic of these people, is, while they act towards others with great tyranny and cruelty, to plead their "tender consciences" in justification of any action they may choose to commit. Thus Wesley's tender conscience would not let him cohabit with a wife who differed from him on a very disputable point of politics; but this same tender conscience does not seem to have upbraided him, when he took his horse and rode away to London, for deserting his duty as a husband and a father, increasing those embarrassments * from

which

* He sometimes attended the sittings of Convocation; and on these occasions was obliged to reside in London for a length of time, that was often injurious to his parish, and at an expence that

was

which the liberality of Archbishop Sharp had so often relieved him, and totally violating the command of our blessed Saviour, not to put away his wife, save for the cause of adultery.

The life of a learned man may be found in the history of his works. Mr. Wesley's pen was seldom idle; being a rapid writer, and not waiting to polish or refine, his works became numerous. In 1685, while at College, he published his juvenile poems, under the title of Maggots: and in 1691, he engaged with his brother-in-law, Dunton, and others, in the Athenian Mercury; in 1693, he published the life of our blessed Saviour, an heroic poem, in ten books, dedicated to her most sacred Majesty, Queen Mary; in 1695, Elegies on Queen Mary and Archbishop Tillotson, a Sermon preached before the Society for the Reformation of Manners, and the Pious Communicant Rightly Prepared, to which is added a short Discourse on Baptism; in the year 1704, the History of the Old and New Testament attempted in verse, adorned with 330 sculptures; the year following, Marlbro' or the Fate of Europe, a poem, Eupolis' Hymn to the Creator. But the most learned and valuable of all his works was, Dissertations on the Book of Job, dedicated to Queen Caroline. Thus we see that he had the singular honour of dedicating three different works to three British Queens in succession,-History of the Life of Christ to Queen Mary, History of the Old and New Testament to Queen Anne, Dissertations on the Book of Job to Queen Caroline.

As the circumstances of the Rector of Epworth were narrow and confined, the education of their progeny fell upon the parents, and especially on Mrs. Wesley, who seems to have possessed every qualification requisite for either a public or private teacher. Her manner was peculiar to herself, and

she

was inconvenient to his family. From his own account, we find that three years' attendance cost him £150; and as a curate cost him from £30 to £40, and the Rectory was worth but about four score, the family in such years must have been greatly distressed. As there was no absolute necessity that Mr. W. should attend these Convocations, his doing so in such circumstances was far from being prudent.

Dr. A. Clarke's Memoirs of Wesley Family, page 327.

she has detailed it in a letter to her son John. As this most excellent system of training up a child in the way in which he should go, was conducted entirely at Epworth, it may certainly be considered as a matter of great local interest; and therefore I have given nearly the whole letter* at length, in the

* The children were always put into a regular method of living, in such things as they were capable of, from their birth; as in dressing and undressing, changing their linen, &c. The first quarter commonly passes in sleep, after that they were if possible laid into the cradle and rocked to sleep; and so they were kept rocking till it was time for them to awake. This was done to bring them to a regular course of sleeping, which at first was three hours in the morning, and three in the afternoon; afterwards two hours, until they needed none at all. When turned a year old, and some before, they were taught to fear the rod, and to cry softly, by which means they escaped abundance of correction, which they might otherwise have had: and that most odious noise, the crying of children, was rarely heard in the house; but the family usually lived in as much quietness as if there had not been a child among them.

As soon as they were grown pretty strong, they were confined to three meals a day. At dinner their little tables and chairs were set by ours, where they could be overlooked; and they were suffered to eat and drink small beer as much as they would, but not to call for any thing. If they wanted ought, they used to whisper to the maid who attended them, who came and spake to me; and as soon as they could handle a knife and fork, they were set to our table. They were never suffered to choose their meat, but always made to eat such things as were provided for the family. Mornings they had always spoon-meat, sometimes at night; but whatever they had, they were never permitted at those meals to eat of more than one thing. Drinking or eating between meals was never allowed, unless in case of sickness, which seldom happened; nor were they suffered to go into the kitchen to ask any thing of the servants when they were at meat.

At six, as soon as family prayers were over, they had their supper; at seven the maid washed them, and beginning at the youngest, she undressed and got them to bed by eight, at which, time she left them in their several rooms awake; for there was no such thing allowed of, in our house, as sitting by a child till it fell asleep.

They were so constantly used to eat and drink what was given them, that, when any of them were ill, there was no difficulty in making them take the most unpleasant medicine, for they durst not refuse it, though some of them would presently throw it up*.

This I mention to shew that a person may be taught to take any thing, though it be never so much against his stomach.

In

When John Wesley got married, he attempted to administer spiritual physic to his wife, in doses as strong as his mother ever did material medicine to himself or his brothers and sisters. But not being so docile, she refused to take it; and if she had taken it, I think she must have thrown it up again: for what mortal could bear to have the doctrine of humility administered in such a dose "Know me," says he, in one of his letters to her, "and know yourself, suspect me no more, asperse me no more, provoke as this. me no more, do not any longer contend for mastery, for power, for money, or praise; be content to be a private insignificant person, beloved by God and me. Of what importance is your character to mankind if you were buried just now, or if you had never lived, what loss would it be to the cause of God ?"

the note below. Mrs. Wesley never considered herself discharged from the care of her children. She followed them into all situations with her prayers and counsels; and her sons, even when at the University, found the utility of her wise and parental instructions. Her treatise on the chief article of the christian faith, taking for her ground work the Apostles' Creed, and addressed to her daughter Susannah, is an invaluable paper. It contains many fine passages and just definitions. The introduction is excellent; so also is what she says on the heads, Almighty-Christ-suffered under Pontius Pilate-Crucified-Catholic Church-Communion of Saints-Resurrectionand the Life Everlasting. I regret that the whole paper, which is much too long for insertion in such a work as this, has never been printed as a separate tract,

In order to form the minds of the children, the first thing to be done is to conquer their will, and bring them to an obedient temper. To inform the understanding is a work of time; and must with children proceed by slow degrees, as they are able to bear it; but the subjecting the will is a thing which must be done at once, and the sooner the better: for by neglecting timely correction, they will contract a stubbornness and obstinacy which are hardly ever after conquered; and never without using such severity as would be as painful to me as to the child. In the esteem of the world they pass for kind and indulgent, whom I call cruel parents, who permit their children to get habits which they know must be afterwards broken. Nay, some are so stupidly fond, as in sport to teach their children to do things which in a while after they have severely beaten them for doing. When a child is corrected it must be conquered; and this will be no hard matter to do, if it be not grown headstrong by too much indulgence. And when the will of a child is totally subdued,

and is brought to revere and stand in awe of its parents, then a great many childish follies and inadvertencies may be overlooked, and others mildly reproved: but no wilful transgression ought ever to be forgiven children, without chastisement more or less, as the nature and circumstances of the case may require. Insist upon conquering the will of children betimes, because this is the only strong and rational foundation of religious education, without which both precept and example will be insufficient. But when this is thoroughly done, then a child is capable of being governed by the reason and piety of its parents, till its own understanding comes to maturity, and the principles of religion have taken root in the mind.

Our children were taught, as soon as they could speak, the Lord's Prayer, which they were made to say at rising and bed-time constantly; to which as they grew bigger, was added a short prayer, &c. as their memories could bear it. They were very early made to distinguish the sabbath from other days. They were soon taught to be still at family prayers. They were quickly made to understand they might have nothing they cried for, and instructed to speak handsomely for what they wanted. They were not suffered even to ask the lowest servant for ought, without saying, “pray give me such a thing," and the servant was chid if she ever let them omit that word; nor were they ever permitted to call each other by their proper names, without the addition of brother or sister. There