Wesley Corpus

1742 To his Brother Charles [1] LONDON, May 17, 1742 DEAR BROTHER, -- I am in a great strait. I wrote to Lady Huntingdon (just as I did to you), 'I am inclined to believe one of us must soon take a journey into Yorkshire.' It was then in my mind to desire you to go first; only I was afraid you would think I shifted off the laboring-oar. But on the receipt of your last I altered my design, and determined to think of it no farther yet. I sent word this morning to Brentford and Windsor of my preaching there on Thursday in my way to Bristol; but within two or three hours I received a letter from Lady Huntingdon, part of which is as follows: MY DEAR FRIEND, -- The very thought of seeing you here has filled us with great joy. Poor dear Miss Cooper is still living; and, it is very remarkable, in the beginning of her illness she said, ‘I should be glad to see one of them just before I died.’ Her eyes with mine overflow with the loving-kindness of the Lord, who has even a regard to the desires of our hearts. I beg you will set out as soon as may be after receiving this; as every day she has lived this last fortnight seems a fresh miracle, wrought for some purpose not yet known. She then tells me she has ordered an horse for John Taylor [John Taylor and his brother David (see Journal, iii. 24-5n) were in the service of the Earl of Huntingdon. He went with Wesley to Birstall, and was with him at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and at Epworth, where he stood in the churchyard and gave notice as the people came out from the service: ‘Mr. Wesley, not being permitted to preach in the church, designs to preach here at six o'clock.’] to come down with me.