Wesley Corpus

The Assizes prevented my preaching at Newgate this week, except only on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday at four I preached to three or four thousand people at the Brickyard on ‘I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ On Tuesday about one, having sent our brethren Easy and Purdy before, I set out for Bath. Soon after I came in, the person who rented the ground, where many people were met, sent me word ‘I should not preach on his ground. If I did, he would arrest me.’ Presently after, a good woman sent to tell me I was welcome to preach on hers. Thither we went at five. It is a meadow on the side of the hill, close to the town, so that they could see us from Lady Cox's [See letter of March 7, 1738.] in the square plainly. Here I offered God's free grace to about two thousand souls. At eight in the evening I preached remission of sins to many casual hearers, from some steps at the end of an house in Gracious Street. Griffith Jones [Griffith Jones, Rector of Llandowror, instituted the circulating Welsh Free Schools, to teach the poor to read Welsh and to give religious instruction. He maintained these schools by subscriptions for twenty-four years, and when he died in 1761 they numbered more than 3,000, and had 158,000 scholars, some of whom were sixty years old. See Tyerman's Whitefield, i. 189-90n.] was one of them, who afterwards refreshed us with his company about an hour at our inn. On Wednesday morning Mr. Chapman [See heading to letter of March 29, 1737.] stayed with us a while, to whom we spake the truth in love. At ten I preached in the meadow again, to, I judge, about two thousand five hundred. At four I offered Jesus Christ as our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption to above three thousand. At seven all the women in band met together, and, having received Mary Cutler into fellowship with them, spent the evening in conference and prayer. At eight the bands of men met at the Society room in Baldwin Street, and received into fellowship with them William Lewis, James Robins, Kenelm Chandler, Anthony Williams, and Thomas Robins. The remainder of the evening was spent in singing, conference, and prayer.