To John Trembath Date: TIVERTON, September 21, 1755. The plain reason why I did not design to speak with you at Launceston was because I had no hope of doing you good. I observed long ago that you are not patient of reproof; and I fear you are less so now than ever. But since you desire it, I will tell you once more what I think, real or hear concerning you. I think you tasted of the powers of the word to come thirteen or fourteen years ago, and was then simple of heart and willing to spend and be spent for Christ. But not long after, not being sufficiently on your guard, you suffered loss by being applauded. This revived and increased your natural vanity, which was the harder to be checked because of your constitutional stubbornness two deadly enemies which have lain in wait for you many years and have given you many deep if not mortal wounds. I fear it is near ten years since you was so weakened by these, that you no longer set a watch over your mouth, but began frequently to speak what was not strictly true, to excuse yourself, divert others, or gain applause. I am afraid this has prevailed over you more and more as there was less and less of the life of God in the soul; so that I should almost wonder if you do not judge a diverting lie to be a very innocent thing. After your first marriage, being not used to nor fond of reading, and not spending many hours in private prayer, time grew heavy on your hands; especially as you could not bear the cross of being a regular traveling preacher: so you betook yourself to farming and other country employments, and grew more and more dead to God; especially when you began to keep company (whether by necessity or choice) with the men 'whose talk is of bullocks,' who have little to do either with religion or reason, and have but just wit enough to smoke, drink, and fisher you.

By these dull wretches you have been an unspeakable loser. Perhaps it was in company with some of these that you first thought of taking a little sport, and catching a few fish, or killing a partridge or an hare. Miserable employment for a preacher of the gospel! for a Methodist preacher, above all others! Though I do not at all wonder if, after practicing it for some time, you should be so infatuated as even to defend it. I am afraid these same poor creatures afterwards taught you (if that report be true) even to countenance that wickedness for which Cornwall stinks in the nostrils of all who fear God or love King George; I mean that of smuggling: though surely they could not persuade you to receive stolen goods! That is an iniquity to be punished by the Judges. Is there any truth in that other charge (you must not ask who tells me so; if so, I have done), that you imposed on Mrs. H - in the writings, and fraudulently procured 100 a year to be engaged for instead of fourscore I hope this was a mistake; as well as that assertion that you encouraged drunkenness by suffering it in your company, if not in your own house. O remember from whence you are fallen! Repent, and do the first works! First recover the life of God in your own soul and walk as Christ walked. Walk with God as you did twelve years ago. Then you might again be useful to His children. Supposing you was truly afire to God yourself, how profitably then (leaving the dead to bury their dead) might you spend three months in a year at Bristol or London, three in Cornwall, and six in spreading the gospel wherever it might be needful. I have now told you all that is in my heart: I hope you will receive it not only with patience but profit. You must be much in the way or much out of the way, a good soldier for God or for the devil. O choose the better part! - now! - to-day ! - I am Your affectionate brother.