Wesley Corpus

About a fortnight before Easter, upon my visiting Mr. Leyborn, [Robert Leyborne (or Leyborn), son of Antony Leyborne of London, was educated at Westminster School, and matriculated at Brasenose College in 1711, age 17. He became a student of Christ Church in 1712, Fellow of Brasenose and M.A. 1717, Junior Proctor 1723-4, B.D. and D.D. 1731; Rector of St. Dunstan's, Stepney, 1729, of St. Anne's, Limehouse, 1730, till his death; Principal of St. Alban Hall i736--59. He died at Bath May 12, 1759, and was buried .in the Abbey there in the grave of his second wife. He inherited, with Mr. Leyborne of the British Factory in Lisbon, property of William Shippen, his mother's brother.] he informed me that my brother [Samuel Wesley and his wife seem to have been in Oxford about March before their visit to Wroot.] had writ to him to provide a lodging. Mr. Leyborn immediately made him proffer of Dr. Shippen's,[ Robert Shippen, Principal of Brasenose College 1710-45.] then out of town. But a second letter of my brother's in which he accepted the proffer being answered in three days (Mr. Leyborn says because did not receive it), a third comes from my brother, which indeed was a very strange one, if he had met with no other provocation. It began with words to this purpose: ‘That he well hoped Mr. Leyborn had been wiser than to express his: anger against his humble servant though but by silence, since he knew it would be to no purpose; and that now he need not fear his troubling him, for lodgings would be taken for his wife and him elsewhere.’ How the matter was made up I don't know; but he was with them the day after they came to town, and almost every one of the succeeding. We were several times entertained by him, and I thought very handsomely, nor was there the least show of dislike on either side. But what I heard my sister say once, on our parting with Mr. Leyborn, made the former proceedings a little clearer, ‘Thus should we have been troubled with that girl's attendance everywhere, if we had gone to lodge at Dr. Shippen's.’