travels in that part of the kingdom; two of them, Batty and Colbeck, stood with him, like good soldiers of the Lord Jesus, in the fiery fight of affliction which he and Grimshaw encountered from the Colne mob at Roughlee, and Grimshaw and Ingham had a severe conflict previously with the same rabble.

Count Zinzendorf and his son-in-law, Bishop Joannes de Watteville, visited them, and assisted in the organization of their discipline. On the accession of a new member he was presented with a ticket, by which he had admission to all their services, consisting of public meetings, choir meetings of men and choir meetings of women, and many other peculiar occasions. They had circuits for preaching, which comprised Yorkshire, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Lincolnshire, with portions of Cheshire and Derbyshire. Ingham was admitted to Wesley's Conference in Leeds, but the precise relation of his societies to the Wesleyan body was never defined. He had his own Conferences also, and at one of them was elected a general overseer, or bishop. Lady Huntingdon, who could not approve all the disciplinary features of his societies, attempted to promote a union of them with Wesley, and she sent Whitefield to Newcastle-upon-Tyne to meet the Wesleys for consultation on the subject. Charles assented, but John declined the overture. He was sagacious enough to perceive its dangerous liabilities, for he knew well the incoherent elements of the mongrel association, and the impossibility of subordinating them to the strict regimen which he had been able to establish among his own people, and by which alone these reclaimed multitudes could be kept together. Events soon confirmed his wise judgment.

In 1759 Ingham read "Sandeman's Letters on Theron and Aspasio," and "Glass's Testimony of the King of Martyrs." These works produced such an impression on his mind that he deputed two of his preachers to Scotland to learn more fully the views of their authors. At Edinburgh they met Sandeman, and Glass at Dundee. They returned converts to the Sandemanian principles, and imme

diately spread discontent and disputes among the societies. Ingham's authority could not control the partisan violence which soon broke out. He called in the assistance of his friends. The Countess of Huntingdon wrote them letters. Whitefield felt deeply for them, "wept and prayed," and used his influence to save them. Romaine hastened into Yorkshire, but could not restrain them. Ingham attempted to excommunicate the disturbers, but it was an endless task. The whole order was wrecked and sunk. Thirteen societies only remained from more than eighty which had flourished with all the evidences of permanent prosperity.11

Discipline and authority, such as Wesley alone among the Methodist founders seemed capable of establishing, were necessary to any enduring organization of the various and crude elements which Methodism gathered from the degraded masses of the English populace. The Countess of Huntingdon resembled him most in capacity for government. She attempted, as we shall hereafter see, to give an organized unity to the Calvinistic Methodists, but her effort was too late to prevent the threefold division which at last took place among them, and their consequent declension.

The fate of Ingham's societies is one of the best vindica tions of Wesley's wisdom as an ecclesiastical legislator. The dispersion of these societies, however, left some good results. Many of them were merged in the Wesleyan or Dissenting bodies, especially in the class of Scotch Presbyterians called Daleites. Many of their preachers remained useful men, and the disaster was much relieved by the consideration that Wesleyan Methodism took general possession of Yorkshire, and that two Methodistic orders were hardly necessary at the time of Ingham's failure.

Ingham left the Moravians through Lady Huntingdon's influence. He sank into temporary despondence after the

11 Sandemanianism was afterward introduced into New England, but failed by its own distractions. Sandeman died in Danbury, Connecticut. His tomb is still preserved there, and slight traces of Sandemanianism linger in the vicinity.

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breaking up of his societies. He deemed their overthrow a livine judgment upon himself, and seemed inconsolable for some time, but recovered his tranquillity at last. His wife, Lady Margaret Hastings, sister-in-law of the Countess of Huntingdon, and the instrument of introducing the latter to the Methodists, rapidly declined in health soon after these events, but her afflicted husband was comforted by the moral beauty with which the sun of her life went down. "Thanks be to God," she exclaimed in her agony, "Thanks be to God, the moment has come, the day is dawning!" and died. “When she had no longer strength to speak to me,” wrote Ingham," she looked most sweetly at me and smiled. On the Tuesday before she died, when she had opened her heart to me and declared the ground of her hope, her eyes sparkled with divine joy, her countenance shone, her cheeks were ruddy; I never saw her look so sweet and lovely in my life. All about her were affected; no one could refrain from tears, and yet it was a delight to be with her." 12 She occupies a conspicuous place among the "elect ladies" of carly Methodism.

Four years later Ingham followed her into the rest that remaineth for the people of God. He is reported to have been in person uncommonly handsome-" too handsome for a man" -a gentleman in manners, a saint in temper, and an apostle in labors. He contributed greatly to the Methodistic revival, and, notwithstanding some errors, deserves an honorable record in its annals.

12 The pious Romaine wrote to a friend: "I got a good advancement by the death of Lady Margaret, and was led into a sweet path of meditation, in which I went on contemplating till my heart burned within me. Many a time my spirit has been refreshed with hearing her relate simply and feelingly how Jesus was her life."

CHAPTER IV.

DEVELOPMENT OF OPINIONS AND ECONOMY BY THE CONFERENCES: 1750-1760.

Deficient Records of the Conferences -Salary of the Preachers - Prominent Members at the Session of 1753-Separation of prominent Preachers -Tendency to Dissent-The Perronets-Charles Wesley's High-Church Prejudices Critical Importance of the Session of 1755-Question of Separation from the National Church - Charles Wesley's hasty Conduct -Was Dissent expedient at this Time? Wesley writes his "Twelve Reasons against a Separation from the Church of England"-Wesley as a Reformer-His Opinion of John Knox-Historical Importance of his Conservatism-His Ecclesiastical Opinions at this Time-Subsequent Sessions-Conference Examination of Character introduced.

CONFERENCES were held annually, and oftener during the present period, but no authentic Minutes remain of any sessions except two, and of these our accounts are very meager.

To the session of 1750 allusion has already been made. Respecting that of 1751, held at Bristol, Wesley expressed much anxiety; many of his preachers were tired of his forbearance with the national clergy, and of the dependence of the Methodist societies upon them for the sacraments, and some of both preachers and societies were eager for open Dissent. He also suspected, though erroneously, other grievances. He says: "My spirit was much bowed down among them, fearing some of them were perverted from the simplicity of the Gospel; but I was revived by the sight of John Haime and John Nelson, knowing they held the truth as it is in Jesus, and did not hold it in unrighteousness. The more we conversed the more brotherly love increased. I expected to have heard many objections to our first doc trines, but none appeared to have any; we seemed to be

all of one mind, as well as one heart."1 He held a second Conference the same year at Leeds; thirty preachers were present; he particularly inquired "concerning their grace, gifts, and fruits, and found reason to doubt of one only."

At the Conference of 1752 an attempt was made to provide better support for the preachers. Hitherto their only pecuniary claim was for the payment of their traveling expenses by the Stewards of Circuits; their board was gratuitously given by members of the societies as they passed along from town to town; any other assistance was in the form of donations, and was scarcely enough to provide them with clothing and books. It was now ordained that each preacher should be supplied with twelve pounds per annum. For many years, however, this small allowance was seldom provided, and the self-denying itinerants had to be content with what partial payments their brethren could make.

We have a list of the inembers present at the tenth Conference, held May 22, 1753, at Leeds. Grimshaw, Hopper, Shent, Walsh, Nelson, Hampson, Edward Perronet, John Haime, with many others, attended. Twelve local preachers and four laymen were also recognized as members. At this session it was resolved that the Conference should thereafter sit successively at London, Bristol, and Leeds. Some sug gestions were adopted respecting the best modes of suppressing discords in the societies which were occasioned by Moravian and Calvinistic influences.2 The eleventh session was held in London, May 22, 1754. Wesley says: "The spirit of peace and love was in the midst of us. Before we parted we all willingly signed an agreement not to act independently of each other, so that the breach lately made has only united us more closely than ever." Five able preachers, Jonathan Reeves, John Edwards, Samuel Larwood, Charles Skelton, and John Whitforth, had retired from the itineracy. The lack of pecuniary support for their families seems to have been the chief motive of their seces sion. Reeves became a useful minister of the Established

1 Journal, Anno 1751.

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2 Smith's History of Methodism, II, 3.