ANOTHER TO THE SAME.

"GAINSBOROUGH, Sept. 7, 1725. "DEAR SON JOHN,-With much ado you see I am for once as good as my word. Carry Dr Morley's note to the Bursar. I hope to send you more, and believe by the same hand. God fit you for your great work! Fast-watch-pray-believe-love—endure— be happy. Towards which you shall never want the ardent prayers of, your affectionate father, 'SAMUEL WESLEY.”

John Wesley was ordained deacon on Sunday, the 19th of September 1725, by Dr Potter, then Bishop of Oxford. + The day after his ordination he wrote to his father, and the following is his father's reply:

"WROOT, Oct. 19, 1725.

"DEAR SON,-I had yours of the 20th ult., with the welcome news that you were in deacon's orders. I pray God you may so improve in them, as to be in due time fit for a higher station.

If you gave any occasion for what is said of you at L—, you must bear it patiently, if not joyfully. But be sure never to return the like treatment. I have done what I could, do you the same; and rest the whole on Providence.

"The hard words in yours are of the same nature with an anathema, whose point is levelled against obstinate heretics. But is not even schism a work of the flesh, and therefore damnable? And yet is there not a distinction between what is wilful, and what may be in some measure involuntary? God knows, and doubtless will make a difference. We do not so well know it, and therefore must leave it to Him, and keep to the rules He has given

us.

"As to the main of the cause, the best way to deal with your adversaries is, to turn the war and their own vaunted arms against them. From balancing the schemes, it would appear that there are many irreconcilable absurdities and traditions in theirs, with none such, though indeed some difficulties, in ours. To instance but one of a side. They can never prove a contradiction in our Three and One, unless we affirmed them to be so in the same respect, which every child knows we do not. We can prove there

* MS. letter.

+ Moore's Life of Wesley, vol. i. p. 134.

is a contradiction in a creature's being a Creator, which they assert of our Lord.

"If you turn your thoughts and studies this way, you may do God and His Church good service. To His blessing and protection I commit you; and am, your loving father,

"SAMUEL WESLEY."

All the foregoing letters refer, less or more, to John Wesley being ordained a deacon, and, on that account, are not without interest. Some of them, up to the present, have never appeared in print; and the remainder, with one exception, have never been published in full as they are published here. The young deacon was still embarrassed for want of money, and his father was at his wit's end how to serve him. Hence another letter, the last we shall give for the year 1725:

"WROOT, Nov. 30, 1725.

"SON JOHN,-You see, by the enclosed, that I am not unmindful of you. All I can do for you, (and God knows more than I can honestly do,) is to give you credit with Richard Ellison for £10 next Lady-Day.

"Nothing else from your loving father,

"SAMUEL WESLEY." *

Subjoined are four letters written in the year 1726. Those dated March 21st and April 17th, have not before been published. The whole of them were addressed to John Wesley.

"January 26, 1726.

DEAR SON,-The providence of God has engaged me in a work, wherein you may be very assistant to me, promote the glory of God, and, at the same time, notably forward your own studies.

"I have sometime since designed an edition of the holy Bible in octavo, in the Hebrew, Chaldee, Septuagint, and Vulgate; and have made some progress in it. I have not time at present to give you the whole scheme, of which scarce any soul knows except your brother Sam.

"What I desire of you is, first, that you would immediately fall to work, and read diligently the Hebrew text in the Polyglott, and

• MS. letter.

collate it exactly with the Vulgate, writing all, even the least, variations or differences between them.

"Second, To these I would have you add the Samaritan text, which is the very same with the Hebrew, except in some very few places, differing only in the Samaritan character, which I think is the true old Hebrew.

You may learn the Samaritan alphabet in a day, either from the Prolegomena in Walton's Polyglott, or from his grammar. In a twelvemonth's time, sticking close to it in the forenoons, you will get twice through the Pentateuch; for I have done it four times the last year, and am going over it the fifth, and also collating the two Greek versions, the Alexandrian and the Vatican, with what I can get of Symmachus and Theodotian, &c. You shall not lose your reward, either in this or the other world. Nor are your brothers like to be idle; but I would have nothing said of it to anybody, though your brother Sam shall write to you shortly about it."*

What the full extent of Mr Wesley's scheme was, we are not able to learn; but probably it was the publication, on a wide basis, of a Polyglott Bible.

John Wesley was elected Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, on the 17th of March 1726. Four days afterwards, his father wrote the following short letter:

"WROOT, March 21, 1726. "DEAR MR FELLOW ELECT OF LINCOLN,-I have done more. than I could for you. On your waiting on Dr Morley with this he will pay you £12. You are inexpressibly obliged to that generous We are all as well as can be expected. Your loving father, "SAMUEL WESLEY."+

man.

It was no trifle for this venerable man to meet the moderate expenses incurred by his son John at the Oxford University. Hence the following:

"WROOT, April 1, 1726.

"DEAR SON JOHN,-I had both yours since the election. In both you express yourself as becomes you for what I had willingly, though with much greater difficulty than you imagine, done for

* Whitehead's Life of Wesley, vol. i. p. 22; also Clarke's Wesley Family, vol. i. + MS. letter.

p. 296.

you; for the last £12 pinched me so hard, that I am forced to beg time of your brother Sam, till after harvest, to pay him the £10 that you say he lent you. Nor shall I have so much as that, (perhaps not £5) to keep my family till after harvest; and I do not expect that I shall be able to do anything for Charles when he goes to the University. What will be my own fate, God knows, before this summer be over. Sed passi graviora. Wher

ever I am, my Jack is Fellow of Lincoln !

"Yet all this, and perhaps worse than you know, has not made me forget you; for I wrote to Dr King, desiring leave for you to come one, two, or three months into the country, where you should be gladly welcome.

"As for advice, keep your best friend fast; and, next to him, Dr Morley; and have a care of your other friends, especially the younger. All at present from your loving father,

"SAMUEL WESLEY."

Sixteen days after this Mr Wesley wrote to his son again, as follows:

66 April 17, 1726.

"DEAR SON,-I hope Sander will be with you by Wednesday noon, with the horses, books, and bags, and this. I got your mother to write the enclosed, (for you see I can hardly scrawl,*) because it was possible it might come to hand on Tuesday; but my head was so full of cares that I forgot on Saturday last to put it into the post house. I should be very glad to see you, though but for a day; but much more for a quarter of a year. I think you will make what haste you can. I design to be at the Crown in Bawtry on Saturday se'ennight. God bless and send you a prosperous journey to your affectionate father,

"SAMUEL WESLEY."+

John Wesley came to his father's a few days after the date of the above letter, and spent the summer at Epworth and at Wroot. Here he usually read prayers, and preached twice every Sabbath; and, in various ways, assisted the venerable rector. He still pursued his studies, and had frequent opportunities of conversing with his parents, and kept a regular diary of what transpired. * His right hand was already palsied.

+ MS. letter.

He takes notice of the particular subjects discussed in their various conversations, and among others mentions the following: how to increase our faith, our hope, and our love of God; prudence simplicity, sincerity, pride, and vanity; wit, humour, fancy, courtesy, and general usefulness. He returned to Oxford on the 21st of September; and, on the 7th of November following, was chosen Greek lecturer and moderator of the classes.*

We now proceed to lay before the reader seven letters written during the year 1727; the first, second, fourth, and seventh of which are now for the first time published.

"WROOT, June 6, 1727.

SON JOHN,-I hope I may still be able to serve both my cures this summer; or, if not, die pleasantly in my last dike. If that should happen, I see no great difficulty in bringing your pupil down with you, say a quarter of a year, where you may both live at least as cheap as at Oxford. I shall be myself at Epworth, as soon as I can get a lodging.

"This is all to you at present from your humble father, "SAMUEL WESLEY."+

Charles Wesley was now at Oxford, and the following letter was written to him and his brother John unitedly :

:

"BAWTRY, June 21, 1727.

"DEAR LADS,-This moment I received the satisfaction of yours of the 14th inst. I had no more reason to doubt your duty to me, than you have had of mine to you; although I am sure you cannot think it proper there should be two masters in a family. Read reflect! You know I cannot but love you; if you please, and if you think it worth your while that an old father should love you.

"What should I be, if I did not take your offer to come down soon? But you could not now get from hence to Wroot; though I can make shift to get from Wroot to Epworth by boat; and it cannot be worse this summer. However, if you have any prospect of doing good to F-n‡ (let none of my lads ever despair,) I beg you, for God's sake, to take to him again; for how do you Moore's Life of Wesley, vol. i. p. 139.

+ MS. letter. Probably Lewis Fenton. See Moore's Life of Wesley, vol. i. p. 149.