Wesley Corpus

these two last years, amazingly increased ; in several branches in such amanner as has not been known in the memory ofman : Such is the fruit of the entire civil and religious liberty which all England now enjoys ! And as to the former, not only in every city and large town, but in every village and hamlet, there is no decrease, but a very large and swift increase. One sign of this is the swarms of little children which we see in every place. Which, then, shall we most admire, the ignorance or confidence of those that affirm, population decreases in England ? I doubt not but it increases full as fast here, as in any province of North America. Mon. 6. After preaching at Cockermouth and Wigton, I went on to Carlisle, and preached to avery serious congrega- tion. Here I saw a very extraordinary genius, aman blind from four years of age, who could wind worsted, weave flowered plush on an engine and loom of his own making ; who wove his own name in plush, and made his own clothes, and his own tools of every sort. Some years ago, being shut up in the organ-loft at church, he felt every part of it, and afterwards made an organ for himself, which, judges say, is an exceeding good one. He then taught himself to play upon it psalm-tunes, anthems, volun- taries, or anything which he heard. I heard him play several tunes with great accuracy, and a complex voluntary : I suppose all Europe can hardly produce such another instance. His name is Joseph Strong. But what is he the better for all this, ifhe is still " without God in the world ? " Tues. 7.-I went on to Selkirk. The family came to prayer in the evening, after which the mistress of it said, " Sir, my daughter Jenny would be very fond of having a little talk with [May, 1776. you. She is a strange lass ; she will not come down on the Lord's day but to public worship, and spends all the rest of the day inher own chamber." I desired she would come up ; and found onethat earnestly longed to be altogether a Christian. I satisfied her mother that she was not mad; and spent a little time in advice, exhortation, and prayer.