Wesley Corpus

Sunday, 27. I preached in St. Luke's, our parish church, in the afternoon, to a very numerous congregation, on, "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come." So are the tables turned, that I havenow more invitations to preach in churches than I can accept of. Mon. 28.-I retired to Peckham ; and at leisure hours read part ofa very pretty trifle,-the Life of Mrs. Bellamy. Surely never did any, since John Dryden, study more Tomake vice pleasing, and damnation shine, than this lively and elegant writer. She has a fine imagination ; a strong understanding ; an easy style, improved by much read- ing; a fine, benevolent temper ; and every qualification that could consist with a total ignorance ofGod. But God was not in all her thoughts. Abundance of anecdotes she inserts , which may be true or false. One of them, concerning Mr. Garrick, is curious. She says, " When he was taking ship for England, a (Jan. 1790. lady presented him with a parcel, which she desired him not to open till he was at sea. When he did, he found Wesley's Hymns, which he immediately threw overboard." I cannot believe it. I think Mr. G. had more sense. He knew my brother well ; and he knew him to be not only far superior in learning, but in poetry, to Mr. Thomson, and all his theatrical writers put together: None of them can equal him, either in strong, nervous sense, or purity and elegance oflanguage. The musical compositions of his sons are not more excellent than the poetical ones of their father. In the evening I preached to a crowded congregation, some of whom seemed a good deal affected. Thursday, 31. I preached at the new chapel ; but, to avoid the cramp, wentto bed at ten o'clock. I was well served. I know not that I ever before felt so much ofit in one night. Fri. JANUARY 1, 1790.-I am now an old man, decayed from head to foot. My eyes are dim ; my right hand shakes much ; my mouth is hot and dry every morning ; I have a lingering fever almost every day; my motion is weak and slow. However, blessed be God, I do not slack my labour : I can preach and write still. Sat. 2-. I preached at Snowsfields, to the largest congrega-