Wesley Corpus

Journal Vol4 7

AuthorJohn Wesley
Typejournal
YearNone
Passage IDjw-journal-vol4-7-262
Words391
Catholic Spirit Primitive Christianity Trinity
cattle. We sat under an arbour of stately trees, between the front and the back gardens. Here were four such children (I suppose seven, six, five, and three years old) as I never saw before in one family : Such inexpressible beauty and innocence shone together ! In the evening I attended the service of the great Dutch church, as large as most of our cathedrals. The organ (like those in all the Dutch churches) was elegantly painted and gilded; and the tunes that were sung were very lively, and yet solemn. Mon. 16. We set out in a track-skuit for the Hague. By theway we saw a curiosity : The gallows near the canal, sur- rounded with a knot of beautiful trees ! So the dying man will have one pleasant prospect here, whatever befalls him hereafter ! At eleven we came to Delft, a large, handsome town, where we spent an hour at a merchant's house, who, as well as his wife, a very agreeable woman, seemed both to fear and to love God. Afterwards we saw the great church ; I think nearly, if not quite, as long as York Minster. It is exceedingly light and elegant within, and every part is kept exquisitely clean. The tomb of William the First is much admired ; particularly his statue, which has more life than one would think could be expressed in brass. Whenwe came to the Hague, though we hadheardmuch of it, we were not disappointed. It is, indeed, beautiful beyond expression. Many of the houses are exceeding grand, and are finely intermixed with water and wood; yet not too close, but so as to be sufficiently ventilated by the air. Being invited to tea by Madam de Vassenaar, (one of the first quality in the Hague,) I waited upon her in the afternoon. She received us with that easy openness and affability which is almost peculiar to Christians and persons of quality. Soon after June, 1783.] came ten or twelve ladies more, who seemed to be of her own rank, (though dressed quite plain,)and two most agreeable gen- tlemen; one of whom, I afterwards understood, was a Colonel in the Prince's Guards. After tea I expounded the three first verses of the thirteenth of the first Epistle to the Corinthians. CaptainM. interpreted, sentence by sentence. I then prayed,