X HE Rev. Charles Wesley was descended from a long line of learned and pious ances tors, who had the honour of being sufferers, in the different ages wherein they lived, for their steady adherence to their religious principles. His great-grandfather, Bartholomew Wes ley, John, son to him, and his maternal grand father the celebrated Samuel Annesley, LL. D. first cousin to Lord Annesley, Earl of Anglesea, were all ejected from their livings Dr. Samuel Annesley was one of the preachers at Whitehall ; but after them urder of the King he withdrew from all intercourse with the men in power, and attended solely to his parochial duties. He was Vicar of Cripplegate and Lecturer at St. Paul's. King Charles II. on his restoration re-appointed him to his living, but his enemies found means to eject him again. All parties acknow ledged his integrity. a 2 iv by the act ofuniformity, and enrolled amongst those illustrious names who chose rather to sacrifice every worldly advantage than vio late their conscience ; affording bright exam ples of heroic firmness and Christian resig nation, under the oppressions of a violent party and malicious enemies. ' His father, the Rev. SamuelWesley, quitted the Dissenters when a boy, from reading a de fence of the death of King Charles I. From a private academy he entered himself at Exeter College, Oxford, where by his erudition and abilities he" soon acquired academic honours, and maintained himself without the assistance of his friends on a slender stipend, till he ob tained orders and a curacy. His loyalty being so remarkable at such an age, he was strongly solicited by the party of James to support the measures of the court in favour of popery, with promises of high preferment. But he absolutely refused to read the declara tion ; and when surrounded by courtiers, sol diers, and informers, preached a bold and

pointed discourse from Daniel, iii. 17, 18: " If sit be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery fur nace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up:" evincing an unequivocal proof that a person of high church principles may be a true friend of the Protestant cause, and of the liberty of the subject. "When the glorious revolution took place in 1688, he was the first who wrote in defence of it, and dedicated the book to Queen Mary, who so much approved the performance that she gave him the livings of Epworth and Wroote in Lincolnshire, and appointed him Chaplain-extraordinary to herself. All this family were educated at the university of Oxford, and became Masters ofArts and Stu dents or Fellows at their respective colleges. The Rev. Samuel Wesley married yery early in life the daughter of Dr. Annesley, a woman of extraordinary intellect and emi nent accomplishments ; but her great charac teristic was piety, which she so sedulously in stilled into the minds of her young children, that they ever attributed to her instructions (under Divine Providence) the principles and habits of ofder which distinguished their conduct through life. By this lady he had nineteen children. He destined his three sons from their birth to the church, should their inclinations accord with his wishes ; and he was not disappointed. His eldest son Samuel was entered King's scholar at Westminster school, and sent to Christ-Church, where he became Student, andwas solicited, as soon ashe had attained his Master's degree, to supply the place of usher at Westminster, in which em ployment he remained 20 years He took orders under the patronage of Bishop Atterbury, to whom his unalienable attachment blocked up every avenue of preferment, and prevented his being elected one of the masters of that seminary. He attained

much celebrity by his poetical talents, and lived in habits of intimacy with Lord Oxford, Pope, and Swift; and the Dean, though him self a Whig, was a steady friend to his family. In this circle his wit and literature were held iu high estimation. But genius was his lowest excellence ; he was a man of inflexible inte grity and active benevolence. The infirmary for the sick and poor at Westminster was first projected byhim, andhis strenuousendeavours eminently promoted its success. He was inde fatigable in the cause of morals and religion; and if his notions of church government were carried to excess, his public adherence to a friend in disgrace, when he foresaw it must preclude his own advancement, was me ritorious. On quitting Westminster he re sided at Tiverton, and was head master of the grammar school, where he ended his days, muchhonoured and lamented, andwhere his memory is still cherished with respect. John Wesley, the second son, was educated at the Charter House, and became Fellow ofLin viii coinCollegeOxford, atthe ageoftwenty-three. His reputation as a polite scholar, an excellent critic, and a sound logician, was soon establish ed : he was chosen Greek lecturer and modera tor of the classics ; and had he pursued riches and honours in any ofthe learned professions, there is little doubt he would have obtained them. Previous to his ordination he wrote in a letter to his mother " I once wished to make a fair show in learning and philosophy ; but it is past. There is a more excellent way yet a little while and we shall all be equal in knowledge, if we are equal in virtue." , " ntim It was by the perusal of the writings of the Rev. William Law that he entered upon that strictness of deportment which distinguished • The Rev. William Law was a non-juring clergyman of the church of England. The late learned Dr. Johnson has left upon record that " Lavas Serious Call to a Religious Life " was the best book on the subject in the English language, and from which he derived his serious principles. Edward Gibbon, Esq. (withwhom there was some family

ix him and his community. He was ordained by Dr. Potter, Bishop of Oxford, and now be came conspicuous for his zeal, and the careful distribution of his time, which he regulated (as he did the most inconsiderable action) by method. As his natural temper was uncom monly amiable, his influence over his pupils was great ; and while he endeavoured con scientiously to make them good scholars, he laid down three rules as indispensable to the progress of learning and virtue : 1st, Early rising; 2dly, To avoid the acquaintance ofthe trifling and idle; 3dly, To retrench superfluous expenses. All the singularities he recom mended were on the side ofreason and religion. Charles Wesley was five years younger than John, and sixteen younger than Samuel, under whom he was bred as King's scholar also at Westminster, and who instilled into him those high church principles which never were eraconnexion) mentions Law as the only consistent Christian he ever saw. His works (till he became mystical) are marked by strong sense and clear reasoning. dicated. His progress in learning procured him the favour of his master, and his courage the love of his school-fellows, amongst whom was the late Earl of Mansfield who renewed his intimacy with him in the decline of life, remembering him as his early champion in ju venile battles. He went captain ofthe school to Christ-Church, Oxford, of which he was elected Student and Master of Arts. His brother John gives this account of him on his first residence at the university : " He pursued his studies with diligence, and led a regular harmless life ; but when I spoke to him of religion, he would answer, Would you have me turn a saint all at once, and hear no more." In his twentieth year he began to think se- James Murray, Earl of Mansfield, was descended from an ancient family who espoused an active part in favour of the Pretender during the rebellion of Scotland. On his entrance into Westminster school he suffered much ill-treatment from the boys on account of his ancestors. Party violence raging in those times extended to the chil dren as it does now in France7.

fiously. His brother was then officiating as curate to his father, and on his return had the satisfaction to find him following his steps. Hekept the church fasts, attended the daily prayers and weekly sacrament, observed the methods of study prescribed in the sta tutes of the university, and persuaded some of his young friends to do the same. The exact order in which (like John) he spent every hour procured him the name of Metho dist ; and it appears that Charles was the first on whom this title was conferred, though there were no regular meetings established till his brother returned from Epworth, to whom they unanimously committed the direction of their plan, and then began to spend some evenings in every week together in reading the Greek Testament and discoursing on religious sub jects. Some young students of other colleges requested to join them, amongst whom was the Rev. J. Harvey, and afterwards George Whitfield. Such singular piety naturally in curred the ridicule of their gay and thought xii less acquaintance ; but it was not till they visited the sick (though with the permission of the minister of the parish), the work houses, and prisons, set up a charity school, and devoted some portion of their time to instruct the ignorant poor, that it stirred up the opposition of all the irreligious and pro fane. ' Mr. Morgan of Christ-Church (son of an opulent Irish Gentleman) led the van in these benevolent acts. John Wesley, who wished to avoid giving offence by any need less irregularity, had consulted his father, who was remarkably attached to church order, stating what they had done, and what they proposed to continue ; who highly commen ded their conduct, especially their visits to the prison, but advised them to obtain the consent and direction of the Bishop of Ox ford, who, with the Vice-Chancellor, immedi ately expressed the warmest approbation of their active zeal. They now were branded as Enthusiasts, Sacramentarians, Reformers. John was entitled the Father ofthe Holy Club.

xiii Various reports were circulated, amongst which, that they had been the death of Mr. Morgan by imposing on him rigorous fasts : this calumny, however, was soon refuted by Mr. Morgan's father, who was convinced that it was his pious son who had set the Wesleys the example of fasting, and been prevailed upon to change his too abstemious mode of living before they began theirs. He candidly took pains to satisfy the public it was a false hood, and was ever ready to vindicate their characters from like injurious aspersions .v . i It was about this period that the enemies of the Christian revelation were so much in creased, so daring in their attempts to, pro pagate deism in the universities, as to rouse the attention of the Vice-Chancellor j who, with consent of the Heads of Houses and Proctors, issued an edict, which was fixed up in most of the halls, enjoining the several tutors of each college to redouble their dili gence, as there were some of the members of tfajei university in danger of being corrupted by ill-designing persons, who not only enter tained blasphemous notions contrary to the Christian Religion, but endeavoured to instil them into inexperienced minds; exhorting each tutor deeply to inform his respective pupils in their Christian vocation, explain the articles of religion which they professed and were to subscribe, enforce the necessity of perusing the Scriptures and such other books as might promote sound principles and orthodox faith ; and further, forbidding the junior members of the university to read any books that might tend to weaken faith, sub vert the authority of Scripture, and introduce deism, irreligion, and profaneness. The Dean of Christ-Church was the only one who would not permit this edict to be placed in the halls of his college. The writer of Mr. C. Wesley's life here remarks " that it is edifying to a pious mind to trace the ways of Providence not only as they relate to individuals, but as they affect Dr. Whitehead.

whole bodies at large. In the case before us we mayobserve that, at theveryjuncture when the infidels were making so strong an effort to diffuse their baleful principles in this cele brated seminary of learning, God was pre paring two or three young men to coun teract the evil, and to plant a religious so ciety in the same spot, which extended its beneficial influence farther and wider than it ever entered into the ideas of the little com munity to conceive, and which was in the end the means of reforming the outcasts of mankind throughout the kingdom." When death deprived them of Mr. Morgan, the brothers continued unshaken in their pur poses. They were the bond of union in their selected company, and if one or more of the members deserted them through fear or shame, their own resolution remained inflex ible. They boldly raised the standard against infidelity andvice . indefatigable in acts of cha rity, exercises of devotion, and habits of selfdenial, they passed through good report and evil report, apparently insensible to either. In the year 1731 a meeting was held by the seniors of some of the colleges to stop the progress of their zeal ; and it was publicly rumoured that a pertain Rev. Doctor was about to blow up the " Godly Club" now its most common name. Whether his noble intention was overuled by the interposition of higher powers, or himself ashamed of it, is not known ; but they had no other moles tation than the censure and ridicule of cha racters like his own. But accounts of their ascetic singularities spreading far and wide, their father took a journey to Oxford to ex amine himself whether they might not carry matters too far, and injure their healths and their cause by unnecessary rigour. In a letter to Mrs. Wesley he writes, " I am well repaid formy expense and labour, bythe shiningpiety of our two sons and in which it appears that he did not disapprove of any of their proceedings. This worthy old clergyman died in 1735, and they had the privilege of

introduction. - xvii attending him in the last peaceful moments of his exemplary life. In this year, the trustees of the new co lony of Georgia were seeking proper clergy-, men to send over to the settlers to instruct the Indians. The establishment of such a colony in America was suggested by some humane and opulent gentlemen who proposed to trans plant the indigent of Great Britain and Ire land; free of expense, with materials to build and cultivate the soil ; and in 1732 they ob tained a patent from King George II. for le gally carrying their plan into execution. The late General Oglethorpe was appointed the head of the settlement. He was a man of enterprise and ability, an excellent judge of political utility, and sensible of the benefit which might be derived, not only by the pro vision for so many poor people, but by the further security of Carolina, if he could pro cure proper instruments for the undertaking. He was intimately acquainted with the elder brother of the Wesleys, and fixed upon John and Charles as the persons exactly qualified to go out as missionaries in a new world. By his solicitations, aided by the request of the other trustees, they agreed to embark for America : Charles was engaged as his private secretary, besides being the secretary for Indian affairs, and also appointed the minis ter at Frederica ; John, at Savannah. But the fundamental regulations established by the trustees were not adapted to the situation of the poor settlers, or the prosperity of the province. Like other distant legislators who formed laws on speculation, they fell into many errors with the best possible inten tions. Their injudicious restrictions, the wars in which they were involved with the Spaniards and with their neighbours the Creek Indians, and their frequent insurrections among them selves, perpetually threw the colony (which was HI provided with accommodations) into a state of confusion and wretchedness. New settlers are commonly a dissatisfied

people, and those whom General Oglethorpe carried over with him added to the number of malcontents ; particularly some women, who proved to be of loose morals : their influence over the mena and jealousies of each other, were continually promoting animosities and divisions. The serious deportment of Mr. Wesley, his frequent reproofs, and above all, his acute penetration into their character, rendered him an object of their hatred during the voyage, which they soon manifested on shore. Plans were deeply laid to ruin him in the opinion of the General, or take him off by assassination : when he walked in the woods, he often narrowly escaped being shot by guns flred as by accident, but which afterwards ap peared to have been aimed at him. The shafts of calumny were more successful : when mutinies arose, General Oglethorpe was made to believe that Mr. Wesley was the instigator, and had persuaded the people to leave the colony. In consequence of these insinuations his conduct towards him, without for some time assigning any cause, became totally changed ; and when Mr. Wesley found out to his utter astonishment, that he was accused of exciting discontent amongst the people, he could only deny the charges and request to confront his accusers. The hard ships and ill treatment to which the loss of the Governor'sfavour exposed him in a foreign land, and surrounded with enemies, could only have been patiently endured by a practical Christian. He continued to discharge his ministerial labours and official employments with unremitted diligence ; but though his mind was supported, his frame sunk under the weight : he was thrown into a violent fever, and being deprived of the consolations of kindness or medical aid, his life must have fallen a sacrifice, ifhis only friend in the place (the Reverend Mr. Ingham) had not brought his brother from Savannah to rescue him from his oppressors. An explanation with the General then took place ; the whole iniquitous plot was discovered, and his enemies were

xxi compelled to bear a testimony of his inno cence, and their own guilt ; denying their charges before all those to whom they had alleged them. It isjustice to the memory ofGeneral Ogle thorpe to mention that he became fully sen sible of his error, and endeavoured to repair it ; and having had full proof of the ability and integrity of his injured secretary, who had borne his wrongs so meekly, he anxiously sought to retain him, promised to build him a house, and supply him with a deputy in his ab sence, if he would remain in the province : he prevailed on him to delay his resignation till himself returned to England. Mr. Charles Wesley carried the dispatches over to the trustees, waited for the arrival of the General ; but foreseeing the impracticability of instruct ing the Indians in a state ofwar, the little good which could result from his residence in that divided colony, and unambitious of the ad vantages attached to his employment, he gave it up in 1738. The popularity of the brothers, on their return to their native country, raised a spirit of prejudice and persecution scarcely to be imagined in this age. The churches were so crowded that it was complained there was not room for the best of the inhabitants. They were charged with delivering new doctrines from the pulpit by strictly inculcating the old j and they waited on the Bishop of London to answer the complaints he had heard alleged against them respecting their preaching the absolute assurance ofsalvation. His Lordship's words were memorable : If by assurance you mean an inward persuasion whereby a Dr. Edmund Gibson : his learning recommended him to Archbishop Tennison, whom he succeeded at Lincoln before he was translated to London ; he governed his diocese with the most exact care, jealous of the least pri vilege belonging to the Church, a friend to toleration, but he opposed all repeals of the Test Act. His opposition to masquerades gave great umbrage at court, and impeded his further preferment. He was the author of many cele brated works, and equally remarkable for his economy and munificence.

Xxiii man is conscious to himself, after examining his life by the law of God, and weighing his own sincerity, that he is in a state of salvation and acceptable in his sight (a phrase used by our Church), I do not see how any good Christian can be without such an assurance." They replied, £ This is all for which we con tend ; but we have been accused ofantinomianism for preaching it in the words of the Eleventh Article of our Church (Justification by Faith). Indeed by delivering the doctrine without enjoining good works, many have been made antinomians in the reign of Charles I." They requested his Lordship not to receive an accusation against presbyters but at the mouth of two or three witnesses, which he promised not to do, and he dismissed them amicably. Their lives, as well as rules, were a sufficient proof that they were zealous ofgood works. They next visited the Archbishop of Can terbury who was not the least prejudiced against them. He cautioned them not to give XXiv more umbrage than was inevitable in the pro mulgation of our Church Articles, and avoid objectionable phrases. He avowed the doctrine they dwelt upon, as expressed therein, i.e. Justification by Faith, or, in other words, that the ground of man's salvation is the death of Christ alone, and good works the necessary fruits of it." He exhorted them to stand by the doctrines of the Church, which they assured him they would do (though they ex pected persecution) while her Articles and Homilies remained unrepealed. Some time after his Lordship manifested displeasure, not for the discourses they deli vered, but the irregularity oftheir zeal. Order is undoubtedly necessary in church and state government ; but when a system of laws purely human is so established in either as to become perpetual, whatever changes may take place in the state of a people, it must in many cases become defective rather than be neficial. The end of regularity in the Church is the propagation of knowledge and the in

crease oftrue religion ', but if the strict obser vance of the rule impedes the end, the end must be attained, thoughthe prudential means, which are in some circumstances obstructive, be neglected. Deviations in non-essentials, if the end be promoted thereby, cannot promote a schism in any church. The clergy however were loud in their clamours, and at last pro ceeded to refuse them their pulpits. This it was which laid the foundation of itinerant preaching, which did not take place before ; and their steady determination to do good to their fellow-creatures overcame all the ob stacles which the fear of man or loss of favour placed in their way. They were neither to be intimidated by danger, affected by interest, or deterred by disgrace : and surely it required no common degree of resolution to expose themselves to the rude ignorance of the lowest of the people, the contempt ofmen of respect ability and influence, and the censure of their particular friends ; yet all these evils were in curred by this mode of reforming the outcasts of mankind. It is not possible to imagine that, in their situation in life, men oflearning and abilities, distinguished academic honours, could have been actuated by any motive but the purest benevolence. Travelling from place to place, and preach ing in the open air, to diffuse knowledge and awaken a sense of religion in the common people, was extraordinary and new, and it was certainly irregular, and excited the as tonishment and the censure of the public. Few could form a conjecture of the utility which resulted from, or the hardships attached to, such an undertaking. Let it be remembered that at that period there were no Sunday Schools, no Tract Societies, no propagation of Bibles, and consequently there could be no royal patronage (as now) for charities which had not been formed. It was a period, also, when the pious zeal and activity of the clergy was not such as at the present day. A general supiness and worldly spirit pervaded that order; and though doubtless there were some

xxvii (as in every age) that did honour to their profession, the bigotry and opposition which the Messrs. Wesleys met in the beginning of their efforts to reclaim their fellow creatures, sunk into the depths of misery and vice, was unjustifiable by all the rules of charity. The labouring poor are the most numerous class in every country ; they are not less ne cessary to the happiness of a nation than to the higher ranks of society. In the year 1738 their education was totally neglected ; few of them were taught the duty of attending churches, and there was no possibility ofdoing them good but some extraordinary mode of communication, as their ignorance and vicious habits removed them out of the reach of those salutary methods appointed by government. It was a matter of national importance that so large a part of the community should be instructed in the principles of religion and the social duties of life ; and it is in this point that the names of John and Charles XXviU Wesley and the Rev. George Whitefield will peculiarly be held in honour by the candid and unprejudiced. They directed their labours to those who had no instructor, to the highways and hedges; to the miners in Cornwall and Newcastle, and the colliers in Bristol. These unhappy crea tures married and buried amongst themselves, and often committed murders with impunity. It was always dangerous to pass their woods till these clergymen visited them, and, by their active and unremitting endeavours, a sense of morals, decency, and religion, was introduced : the ignorant were instructed, the wretched relieved, and the abandoned reclaimed. In this arduous task they not only met with op position from the clergy, but shameful treat ment from the magistrates, who (to the dis grace of the times be it mentioned), so far from punishing or restraining a lawless mob assembled to abuse them, encouraged and often instigated their excesses. The Rev. Charles Wesley, in the com

mencement of his itinerant labours, experi enced the same persecution as his brother from the infuriated populace, both in England and Ireland. He was reviled, insulted, as saulted with stones ; houses were pulled down which he entered, and the poor inhabitants plundered and wounded, even women and children were maltreated ; facts too well known to be controverted. Often his invin cible meekness and intrepid composure would disarm the ringleader : sometimes one of the rioters more humane than the rest would es pouse his cause, and effect a division that preserved his life, which was always hazarded when the tumult began. Surely the reformers of such a class merit the praises of posterity, especially if it be con sidered that these ministers had every thing to lose, reputation, health, and fair prospects in the world ; and nothing to gain but outrage and insult from the mob, great bodily fatigue, and general contempt. If it should be here remarked that enthu siasra inspires fortitude, some higher cause must be assigned for that unwearied charity which persisted in such hazardous efforts to promote the eternal welfare of their persecu tors, for that unshaken attachment to the church to which they belonged, and the re spect they ever inculcated towards their cle rical brethren. Providence crowned their ministerial labours with astonishing success. The effects of civilization soon appeared amongst the colliers, and many in the same station ; while numbers in a higher rank were led to consider the importance of a .religious life, and the truths of Christianity, 'who never before employed their thoughts upon the subject. They-out lived enmity and prejudice.; many of the pulpits of the clergy were open to them in their latter years, and they received every mark of respect from all denominations, The political sentiments of popular men are of importance to the state. The Wesleys were strenuous advocates for monarchy, and

xxxi particularly attached to the Brunswick family. All their adherents in America during the War were firmly loyal : and so large a body ofpeople as the Wesleyan Methodists are now become, still maintaining the same principles, are no inconsiderable support to government. The Rev. Charles Wesley departed this life in the full vigour of his mental faculties by a gentle decay of nature in his eightieth year : his brother survived him three years. Bright hope and pious resignation distin guished their last moments. The character of the brothers was distinctly different; John was born with a temper which scarcely any injuries could provoke, ingrati tude ruffle, or contradiction weary. This dis position peculiarly qualified him to govern ; but he was so far from arrogating authority, or demanding submission, and his gentleness and forbearance rendered him so much the object of love amongst the people who placed them selves under his care, that they considered " Their sovereign pastor as a sovereign good." xxxii It has been remarked that public men do not often shine in private life. Though he re garded " all the world as his parish," and every man as his brother, he was amiable in his domestic circle, and kind to his relations, especially to those who were dependant upon him, or whom he thought neglected and op pressed. Charles was full of sensibility and fire ; his patience and meekness were neither the effect of temperament or reason, but of divine principles. John affectionately dis charged the social duties, but Charles seemed formed by nature to repose in the bosom ofhis family. Tender, indulgent, kind, as a brother, a husband, a father, and a master ; warmly and unalienably devoted to his friend ; he was a striking instance that general bene volence did not weaken particular attach ments, discerning in the character of men, incapable ofdisguise, and eminently grateful. The peculiar virtue of John was forgiveness of enemies. He has been frequently known to receive even into his confidence those

XXxiii who had betrayed it, and basely injured him. They not only subsisted on his bounty, but shared his affection ; nor was it easy to con vince him that any one had wilfully de ceived him ; or, if it were attested by facts, he would only allow it had been so in that single instance. Equally generous and kind was his brother respecting enemies, and capable ofan entire re conciliation ; but he could not replace his con fidence where he had experienced treachery. This formed some variation in their conduct, as also the higher church principles ofCharles, who manifested them to the last, by desiring to be buried in consecrated ground. His most striking excellence was humility ; it extended to his talents as well as virtues ; he not only acknowledged and pointed out, but delighted in the superiority of another, and if there ever was a human being who dis liked power, avoided pre-eminence, and shrunk from praise, it was Charles Wesley. xxxiv " In their lives they were lovely, and in their deaths they were not divided." His poetical talents were confined to sacred subjects ; he wrote short hymns on the most remarkable passages of the Old and New Testament. There is not a point of divinity, doctrinal, experimental, or practical, which he has not illustrated in verse. His. funeral hymns breathe not only the spirit of poetry, but the extreme susceptibility of the pious author, and the religion of the heart. As a preacher he was impassioned and en ergetic ; and expressed the most important truths with simplicity, brevity, and force. Most of these sermons were delivered in his early youth, when he was in America : the thirteenth sermon, by the Rev. John Wesley, was never published amongst his works. They are presented to the public by his Widow.