Wesley Corpus

Fri. 12-. I walked through the town ; I suppose one of the most ancient in Ulster. Iwas informed, itwas once abundantly larger than it is now ; consisting ofthe Irish town, then inhab- ited by none but Roman Catholics; and the English town, encompassed with a wall, and a deep ditch filled with water. At the head of the English town stands the Abbey, on a hill which commands allthe country. It is a noble ruin, and is far the largest building that I have seen in the kingdom. Adjoin- ing to it is one ofthe most beautiful groves which I ever beheld with my eyes: It covers the sloping side of the hill, and has vistas cut through iteveryway. In the middle of it is a circular space, twenty or thirtyyards in diameter. Iwould have preached there, but the raindrove into the House asmany as could crowd together. Sat. 13. I took my standinthe middle of the Grove ; the people standing before me on the gradually rising ground, which formed a beautiful theatre : The sun just glimmered through the trees, but did not hinder me at all. It was a glorious opportunity : The whole congregation seemed to drink into one spirit. Sun. 14. I preached at Dunsford in the morning. In the evening the congregation in the Grove exceeded even that at Belfast ; and I verily believe all ofthem were almost persuaded to be Christians. Mon. 15.-I left Downpatrick with much satisfaction ; andin the evening preached in the Linen-Hall at Lisburn, to near as large a congregation as that in the Grove ; butnot nearso much affected. Afterwards I went to my old lodging at Derry-Aghy, one of the pleasantest spots in the kingdom ; and I could relish it now ! How does God bring us down to the gates of death, and bring us up again! Tues. 16. I preached at eight to a lively congregation, under the venerable old yew, supposed to have flourished in the reign ofKing James, if not of Queen Elizabeth. Wed. 17. At eleven our brethren flocked to Lisburn from June, 1778. ] 129 all parts, whom I strongly exhorted, in the Apostle's words, to "walk worthy ofthe Lord." At the love-feast which followed, we were greatly comforted ; many ofthe country people declar- ing with all simplicity, and yet with great propriety both of sen-