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 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924050004500 
 
(X^ o- Cc/e^.^ <— e- ^ 
 
THE LIVES 
 
 OF 
 
 EMINENT METHODIST MINISTERS; 
 
 C0NT,UNINO 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, INCIDENTS ANECDOTES, 
 KECORDS OF TRAVEL, REFLECTIONS, &a. &o. 
 
 BT 
 
 REV. P. DOUGLASS GORRIE, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "the CHURCHES AND SECTS OF THE UNITED STATW," 
 "episcopal METHODISM, AS IT WAS, AND IS," ETC. 
 
 NEWYORKAED AUBURN: 
 MILLER, ORTON & MULLIGAIT. 
 
 New York: 26 Park Bow.— Aubum: 107 Genesw^t, 
 
 1856. 
 

 /<^^ 
 
 1^ 
 
 "Si 
 
 A-/ 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, 
 
 BY DERBY & MILLEK, 
 
 n the Cleric's Office of the Northern District of New York. 
 
 21 
 
 STEBEOTYPSD BT 
 
 THOMAS B. SMITH, 
 S16 William St. N.Y 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Were it not that a Preface seems to be considered 
 as almost indispensable to the existence of a book at 
 the present time, the author would feel an inclination 
 to let this work go to press without the usual prefatory 
 introduction ; but as custom is law, he must bow to its 
 mandates, and detain the reader from the perusal of the 
 body of the work long enough to inform him, that the 
 preparation, compilation, abridgment, or whatever else 
 the reader may please to denominate the following 
 sketches, has required the author to examine a larga 
 number of different biographical works, such as "Lives," 
 " Memoirs," " Journals," &,c. &c. This examination, 
 although somewhat laborious, has, nevertheless, been 
 pleasing, as it has been the means of refreshing his 
 memory in regard to many incidents almost forgotten, 
 as well as putting him in possession of facts never before 
 known to him. The labor of preparing this work, how- 
 ever, has been greatly enhanced, from the fact that no 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 published "Life," or "Memoir," of several of the emi- 
 nent men whose biographies are brieily sketched there- 
 in, has ever been given to the public. This is especially 
 true of Bishops Asbury, McKendree, Whatcoat, and 
 George, and of Dr. Olin, recently deceased. While, 
 therefore, much ground has necessarily been gone over, 
 the author hopes that this attempt to embody in a con- 
 venient form the leading events in the history of the 
 great lights of Methodism, will not be unappreciated by 
 a candid and liberal-minded public. 
 
 It is proper, also, to observe, that in some cases, there 
 has been a great paucity of materials necessary to give 
 even the brief and imperfect sketch connected with the 
 names of some of the subjects in this book. On the 
 other hand, in regard to the greater part of them, there 
 has been no lack of materials ; and the only dif&culty 
 has been to make a proper selection of the numerous 
 facts and incidents found in the written Lives and Me- 
 moirs of those great men. One object the author has 
 had in view, — to make the work interesting, and profit- 
 able. To accomplish these objects, variety was thought 
 to be necessary ; hence, the reader who deigns to pe- 
 ruse this work, will find many interesting and instruct- 
 ive anecdotes interspersed through its pages, and what 
 is perhaps of more importance, he will learn something 
 of the self-denial practised, and the sacrifices made, by 
 the leading ministers of the Methodist Church in Eu- 
 rope and America. 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 In relation to tlie authorities consulted, it is only 
 necessary to observe, that they are those who have re- 
 ceived the sanction of the Church, except in a few 
 cases, and that the facts and incidents given, may be 
 considered authentic. Justice, however, requires that 
 we should in this connection make particular mention of 
 Bangs' " History of the Methodist Episcopal Church," 
 a work which, the more we read and refer to, we learn 
 to prize more and more, and to which, on more oc- 
 casions than one, we have acknowledged our indebted- 
 ness. 
 
 The style of the work, so far as composition is con- 
 cerned, will be found to be somewhat various in differ- 
 ent chapters. This is owing partly to the fact that the 
 authorities consulted, have written in a great variety of 
 style, and although the author has not — except in a few 
 instances — copied the exact words of these authorities, 
 unless in the form of quotations, yet as he drank into 
 the spirit of the narrative, he has no doubt in some 
 cases been governed in the style, by that to which his 
 attention at the moment was directed. Further : the 
 comprehensiveness of our plan, forbade the use of an 
 ejegant or flowing style, to which the author under any 
 circumstances could seldom lay claim ; his object in the 
 present instance has been to give facts, not figures of 
 speech; to present a concise account of the more im- 
 portant events in the history of his subjects, and to in- 
 duce the reader by a bare and ungarnished statement 
 
VI PEEFACE. 
 
 of facts, to copy, as far as possible, the example of these 
 holy men, that a more intimate acquaintance may be 
 cultivated with them in that "better country" where 
 " tb«r« shall be no more death." 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FAOB 
 KEV. JOHN WESLEY, A.M 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 REV. CHARLES WESLEY, A.M 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EEV. JOHN W. FLETCHER, A.M 50 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 REV. JOSEPH BENSON 70 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 REV. THOMAS COKE, LL.D 85 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 REV. ADAM CLARKE, LL.D., F.A.S 107 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 REV. RICHARD WATSON 136 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 KEV. GIDEON OUSELEY 159 
 
VUI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 REV. BISHOP ASBURY 187 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 EEV. BISHOP WHATCOAT 212 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 REV. JESSE LEE 224 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 EEV. BENJAMIN ABBOTT 249 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 REV. BISHOP M'KENDREE 271 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 EEV. BISHOP GEORGE 294 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 REV. BISHOP ROBERTS 318 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 REV. BISHOP EMORY, D.D 339 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 REV. WILLIAM FISK, D.D 360 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 REV. STEPHEN OLIN, D.D., LL.D 383 
 
LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 REV. JOHN WESLEY, A.M. 
 
 One of the greatest lights of the eighteenth century arose 
 to bless and enlighten the Christian world in the person of 
 John Wesley, the father and founder of that wonderful sys- 
 tem of religious faith and practice denominated Methodism : 
 a system, the principles of which have obtained a lodgment 
 in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of believers, who have 
 left the Church militant and have fled upward to join the 
 Church triumphant, and of millions who are still on earth 
 fighting by faith their passage to the skies. 
 
 John Wesley was born in the parish of Epworth, Lincoln- 
 shire, Eng., in the year 1703. His father, Samuel Wesley, 
 sen., was rector of the parish, and was a man of great moral 
 worth, and of extensive literary attainments. His mother, 
 Mrs. Susanna Wesley, was the daughter of Dr. Samuel 
 Aiitiesly, and was a woman of sti-ong powers of mind, and 
 suitable in every way to be the nursing mother of the future 
 religious reformer. Mrs. Wesley was the instructress of her 
 children in early life, she having a bad opinion of the com- 
 mon method of instructing and governing children, preferred 
 to retain them under her own immediate control and govern- 
 
10 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ment, until they were of a suitable ago to send to school, 
 where the higher branches were taught. She was led provi- 
 dentially to pay particular attention to the intellectual and 
 religious instruction of John, who, when at the age of six, 
 was the subject of a fortunate escape from death by burning, 
 while asleep in an upper chamber of the parsonage house, 
 which was consumed by fire. This incident led the mother 
 to increased anxiety for the soul of her child, whom God had 
 so mercifully and providentially delivered from the devouring 
 flame. The effect of her increased anxiety was such, that 
 John became very seriously disposed, and at the age of eight 
 years was admitted by his father to the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper. At the age of eleven he was consigned to 
 the care of Dr. Walker, Head-Master of the " Charter House," 
 where he remained until his seventeenth year, when he en- 
 tered Christ's Church College, Oxford University, and pur- 
 sued his studies under the direction of Dr. Wigan, a gentleman 
 of great classical knowledge. While under this gentleman's 
 instructions he became still more serious, and applied himself 
 closely to the study of divinity, preparatory to taking deacon's 
 orders in the established church. In 1725 he was ordained 
 deacon, and in the following year was elected Fellow of Lin- 
 coln College. During the same year he was chosen Greek 
 Lecturer and Moderator of the classes, and in 1727 took his 
 well-earned degree of Master of Arts, and shortly afterwards 
 obtained priest's orders at the hands of the Bishop of Oxford. 
 Prior to his ordination as priest he became the curate of his 
 father in Epworth, which important relation he sustained 
 with great acceptability for nearly two years, until he was 
 summoned by the Rector of his College to return to Oxford, 
 which he did in 1729, and became the tutor and moderator 
 of several classes. 
 
 During his temporary absence at Epworth, his brother 
 Charles, who had also become a student at Oxford, had 
 
JOHN WESLET. 11 
 
 formed a small society in College of seriously disposed per- 
 sons for the jfurpose of mutual improvement. Although 
 strictly moral and upright, Charles possessed a lively dispo- 
 sition, sn much so that he lost his first year in College by di- 
 versions ; his second year was spent in study ; and diligence in 
 study led him to serious thinking, and to the practice of 
 weekly communion, which he strictly attended to, in company 
 with two or three others. This course of conduct gained for 
 Charles and his associates the name of Methodist, a term 
 ■which was not unknown in England before that tirlne, as for 
 many years previously this name had been used to distinguish 
 the Nonconformists, and other classes of religious dissenters. 
 
 On John W'esley's return to Oxford, he at once identified 
 himself with the little band, who had now become the objects 
 of derision and persecution to the more volatile and less reg- 
 ular of the College students. In consequence of his superior 
 age and literary attainments, he became the head of this 
 small society, and thus unconsciously to himself, was God 
 preparing him for the great work of spreading Scriptural 
 holiness over the land. During this time, however, John 
 Wesley and his Methodist companions were not Christians 
 in the proper sense of that word. They had not attained to 
 saving, justifying faith. Indeed it is doubtful whether they 
 had ever supposed such a degree of faith to be possible, or the 
 result of such faith — peace with God — to be attainable in 
 this life. Yet they were sincere inquirers after truth, and 
 God was leading them in a way which they as yet " knew 
 not," to the knowledge of sin forgiven, and the blessings of a 
 pure and perfect salvation. The sincerity of their intentions 
 led them to improve every opportunity of doing good to their 
 fellow-men. Hence all their spare time was employed in 
 visiting those who were sick, or in prison, and all their spare 
 funds were employed in relieving the wants of the poor and 
 needy. The more faithful they became in the improvement 
 
tiJ LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 of their time and talents, the more fiercely did the fires of 
 persecution rage, until at length the most of those composing 
 the little band of Methodists became discouraged and retired, 
 leaving the two brothers to stand almost entirely alone. They 
 Were, however, greatly encouraged by their father, who ex 
 horted them to perseverance. In 1735 he died, leaving them 
 his blessing, and departing in the triumphs of that faith 
 which his sons in after life were the honored instruments of 
 diffusing more extensively throughout the world. 
 
 Shortly after the death of the elder Wesley, John an^ 
 Charles received a call to go to Georgia in North America 
 as Missionaries. In obedience to this call, they embarked on 
 shipboard, and in February, 1736, reached their field of 
 labor in the western world. Here, too, persecution awaited 
 them, -and after spending a few months in Frederica, Charles 
 returned to England as the bearer of despatches from Governor 
 Oglethorpe to the trustees of the Colony. John, however, re- 
 mained at his post until the winter of 1737, when in conse- 
 quence of the illiberal and uncharitable conduct of the colonists, 
 he hastened his departure from the scene of strife, and arrived 
 in England in February, 1738. Although his mission to 
 Georgia did not secure those immediate results which he had 
 anticipated, yet it proved the means of bringing John Wesley 
 to the knowledge of justification by faith. On the passage to 
 Georgia, Mr. Wesley found a company of pious Moravians on 
 board, and he particularly noticed during the prevalence of a 
 tremendous storm, the calm serenity and composure manifested 
 by these Moravians while expecting every moment to find a 
 watery grave, while he himself was the subject of the most 
 distressing fears. After the storm had subsided, he inquired 
 the cause of so much composure, and he learned to his 
 astonishment, that there is a degree of faith and love, which 
 ' Cast&th tmt fea,r." By subsequent intercourse with these 
 Unassuming Christians, he became better acquainted with th« 
 
JOHN WESLEY. 13 
 
 way of salvation by faith, and of the necessity of being per- 
 sonally born again, before he could enter into the kingdom 
 of God. Hence, after his return to England, he exclaimed in 
 the bitterness of his spirit, " I went to America to convert the 
 Indians; but 0, who shall convert me?" "I who went to 
 America to convert others, was never converted myself" 
 
 Shortly after uttering the above language, he met with 
 Peter Bohler, a minister of the Moravian Church, to whom 
 he opened his heart, and from him he received such instruc- 
 tion in regard to the nature and exercise of justifying faith, 
 as led him on the 24th day of May following, to believe on 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, with all his heart. And in describing 
 the change which was wrought in him, as the result of such 
 faith, he says : " I felt my heart strangely warmed, I felt I 
 did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance 
 vvas given me, that he had taken away my sins, even mine, 
 and saved me from the law of sin and death." 
 
 The conversion of John Wesley was indeed an important 
 event in the history of his life, as from this time that laborious 
 and successful ministry was commenced which immediately 
 was rendered a blessing to thousands, and remotely to millions 
 of the fallen race of Adam. At the time when the Apostle 
 of Methodism began his ministry as a converted man, the 
 English nation was enveloped by a dark, dense cloud of 
 ignorance and superstition. The clergy of the established 
 Church were awfully corrupt and profligate. Horse-racing 
 cock-fighting, card-playing, hunting and drinking were common 
 among the clergy ; and as no people can ever be expected 
 to be farther advanced in knowledge and morals than their 
 religious teachers, we may infer that if such was the state of 
 the priesthood, the laity must have been in a still more 
 deplorable condition. It is in fact asserted on good authority 
 that the only form of prayer taught by many of the English 
 
14 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTEES. 
 
 peasantry to their children, was the one handed down from 
 their popish ancestors, beginning with these words, 
 
 " Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 
 Bless the bed that I lie on," &c., 
 
 while vice of every kind, and wickedness of every degree, 
 prevailed to an alarming extent among all classes, high and 
 low, rich and poor. Such was the state of morals and religion 
 when Wesley began his evangelical labors in England. 
 
 After his conversion, Mr. Wesley took occasion to spend a 
 few weeks at a Moravian settlement in Germany, and having 
 learned still more perfectly the nature and effects of justifying 
 faith, he returned to England and at once began the impor- 
 tant work of calling upon sinners to repent and believe. 
 London was the scene of his first labors. In this city, large 
 multitudes went to hear him. The churches at first were 
 generally open to receive him, but his earnestness, zeal, and 
 boldness soon gave offence to the lukewarm indolent clergy- 
 men, and soon the Churches, one after another, were closed 
 against him. He, however, was at no loss for places wherein 
 to preach, as a private room or public hall would frequently 
 afford ample accommodation. From London he went to Oxford, 
 and in reference to both places he had the satisfaction of in- 
 forming his friends in Germany and Scotland, that multitudes 
 were crying, " What must we do to be saved ?" He shortly 
 after visited Bristol, and for the firist time, preached in the 
 open air to a congregation of more than two thousand people. 
 Preaching in the open air was a new thing to Mr. Wesley, 
 and seemed at first to be entirely irregular and improper, and 
 it was only at the earnest solicitation of his friend, Eev. 
 George Whitefield, and after having witnessed the effects pro- 
 duced by the preaching of the latter under similar circumstances, 
 that he so far overcame his high church views of propriety, 
 
A)HN WESLEY. 16 
 
 as to commence this method of preaching Jesus Christ to the 
 outcasts of the nation. 
 
 In the latter end of the year 1739, Mr. Wesley formed the 
 first Methodist Society in Loudon. The formation of this 
 Society was the beginning, the germ, of that large and 
 extensive connection which has since spread itself over England, 
 Ireland, America, and other parts of the world. At first 
 they appear to have met in connection with the Moravians, in 
 a place called " Fetter Lane," but during the next year — 
 1740 — they dissolved all connection with the Moravians, and 
 met by themselves in a place called the " Foundry." The 
 whole number of Methodists at this period, was Heventy-t«o. 
 Mr. Wesley, however, did not confine his labors to London, 
 but adopting the itinerant mode of preaching, he visited 
 Bristol, Kingwood, and other places, where his labors were 
 greatly blessed, and where large Societies were speedily 
 organized. As his Societies increased, it became necessary 
 that certain rules should be adopted for the government of 
 the members thereof Hence in 1743, Mr. Wesley drew up 
 a set of rules which he called the " Rules of the United 
 Societies," which rules have always been retained in the 
 discipline of the Methodist Church in Europe and America, 
 with scarcely any variation. For the better government of 
 his Societies, he divided them into smaller companies called 
 classes, composed of about twelve members, each of which he 
 placed under the special charge of one of their number, who 
 was denominated the " Leader," and whose duty it was to see 
 each member of his class once a week, in order to 'inquire 
 into their spiritual prosperity, and to comfort, reprove, and 
 exhort as occasion might require. 
 
 The increase of Societies called for an increase of laborers, 
 but with the exception of his brother Charles, and a few of. 
 the Clergy of the estabUshed Church who assisted him from 
 time to time, Mr. Wesley had the care of all the Societies 
 
16 LIVBS OE EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 resting upon himself. Ttiis state of things made it necessary 
 for Mr. Wesley to employ several lay preachers to assist him 
 in the work of the ministry, and although strongly remon- 
 strated with upon the subject by his brother Charles, yet as 
 Providence seemed to open the way, he in the name of the 
 Lord authorized a number of persons — who appeared to be 
 well qualified for the work — to preach the Gospel, and take 
 charge of certain Societies in his absence. We have said that 
 Providence seemed to open the way for the employment of _ 
 lay preachers. It was on this wise. As Mr. Wesley was 
 about leaving London, intending to be absent for some months, 
 he left the London Society in the care of a young man by the 
 name of Maxfield, with directions to meet them, and pray with, 
 and advise them, as occasion might require. After being ab- 
 sent a short time he heard, to his utter astonishment, that Mr. 
 Maxfield had begun to preach. He hastened back to London 
 to put an immediate stop to the irregularity, but before he had 
 silenced the young man, his mother, Mrs. Wesley, accosted 
 him with these words, " John, take care what you do with 
 respect to that young man, for he is as surely called of God 
 to preach as you are ; hear him yourself" He wisely took her 
 advice, and did not venture to forbid his preaching. In this 
 manner was the Head of the Church raising up and sending 
 forth laborers into his vineyard. 
 
 The preaching of Wesley was attended by the divine 
 unction. Hundreds of the haicr sort, when they had heard, 
 believed, were converted, and became sober, pious, praying 
 people ; but many others being stirred up by clergymen and 
 magistrates to the commission of such unholy deeds, waged a 
 war of persecution against Mr. Wesley and his preachers, and 
 of extermination against all who bore the name of Methodist. 
 The mere recital of the bloody persecutions endured by Mr. 
 Wesley and his followers in the earlier days of Methodism is 
 sufficient to cause the cheek of Chri^^tianity to blush, as it no 
 
JOHN WESLET. l7 
 
 doubt caused devils to rejoice, if such a thing were possible- 
 Mr. Wesley on several occasions barely escaped with his life 
 from the fury of the mob, who were in most instances, as be- 
 fore related, incited to such acts of cruelty by the clergymen 
 and magistrates of the parish ; and it was only by the direct 
 interference of the reigning king, George III., that the storm 
 of persecution was stayed, and religious liberty to the Metho- 
 dists secured. 
 
 Mr. Wesley did not, however, satisfy himself merely with 
 travelling and preaching. He began the work of printing, 
 and circulating tracts and books among the people. Of the 
 former he had " A Word to a Swearer," " A Word to a Sabbath 
 Breaker,'' " A Word to a Smuggler," " A Word to a Drunk- 
 ard," " A Word to a Street Walker," " A Word to a Male- 
 factor," &c. By these little silent messengers he reached the 
 eyes and hearts of many to whose ears he could not gain ac- 
 cess, and in this way accomplished much good. 
 
 In the year 1 744 Mr. Wesley invited his preachers, who 
 were laboring in different parts of England, to meet him in 
 London for the purpose of conferring with them in relation to 
 the work of God, as progressing under their labors and super- 
 intendence. This was the first conference, and was composed 
 of but a few persons, b>it was found to result so favorably, 
 that these meetings were held annually ever after, during Mr. 
 Wesley's lifetime, and have also been held thus after until 
 the present time. 
 
 In 1747 Mr. Wesley visited Ireland for the first time. He 
 went to Dublin, where Methodism had already been intro- 
 duced by one of his preachers. He preached to large congre- 
 gations, and after a short time returned again to England, 
 and made arrangements with his brother Charles to proceed 
 to Ireland, which he did shortly after, and spent several 
 months in Dublin, Cork, and other cities of the Emerald Isle. 
 
 Up to the year 1750, Mr. Wesley remained unmarried 
 2 
 
18 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 In the latter year he was united to a widow lady of inde- 
 pendent fortune, and of cultivated understanding, but the 
 union did not prove an auspicious one, as the lady appears to 
 have possessed a disposition of the jealous kind, which drove 
 her to the most unwarrantable actions, and which resulted in 
 their final separation, after an unpleasant union of twenty 
 years. Tliis sorrowful fact Mr. Wesley notices in his jour- 
 nal, and briefly adds, " I did not forsake her, I did not dismiss 
 her, I will not recall her." Justice to his memory requires 
 us to state that even his enemies acquitted him of all blame 
 in the matter. It is true that at the time of the separation 
 strong efforts were made by the lady to prejudice the public 
 mind against him, and Mr. Wesley's friends urged him to de- 
 fend his reputation against her calumnies, but his reply was, 
 " When I devoted to God my ease, my time, my life, did I 
 except my reputation ? No !" He consequently allowed the 
 lady to pursue her own course, and that Being to whom he 
 had devoted his all took care of his reputation in this matter. 
 
 In 1753 Mr. Wesley visited Scotland for the second time, 
 and in Glasgow he preached to large congregations. He was 
 generally received by the Scotch with great respect, notwith- 
 standing their known attachment to Calvinism and Presby- 
 terianism. The greatest obstacle Mr. Wesley and his preach- 
 ers appear to have met with in the introduction of Methodism 
 into Scotland, was in regard to the use of hymns, instead of 
 the old " Psalms- of David in Metre," to which the Scotch 
 were, and still are greatly attached. Many Societies, how- 
 ever, have been raised up in different parts of Scotland, in 
 which the pure Wesleyan hymns are used with great delight 
 by the worshippers. 
 
 After Mr. Wesley's return from Scotland he was taken ill 
 with symptoms of pulmonary consiruption. By the advice of 
 his physician, he retired from active labor, and supposing that 
 he would probably soon be called from his work on earth, he 
 
JOHN WESLET. 19 
 
 prepared his own epitaph, which, in case of death, he ordered 
 to be placed upon his tomb. He also received a tender fare- 
 well k'lter from his friend Rev. George Whitefield, in which 
 the latter expresses the sincerest attachment for his afflicted 
 brother, and informs him, that if prayers can detain him, 
 " even you. Rev. and very dear sir, shall not leave us yet." 
 These prayers did detain him ; his work was not yet com- 
 pleted, and in due time his health was completely restored. 
 During his illness he spent most of his time in reading, and in 
 writing his "Notes on the New Testament." 
 
 In the year 1766, Methodism was introduced into America 
 by two local preachers from Ireland — Embury and Straw- 
 bridge — and through their instrumentality, Societies were 
 organized in New York and Maryland. Mr. Wesley being 
 anxious to provide more folly for the spiritual wants of his 
 children in America, sent over in 1769, the missionaries — 
 Messrs. Boardman and Pilmore — to take the charge of the 
 Societies already formed, and to raise up and organize others. 
 As Societies still continued to increase in the Westprn world, 
 other missionaries were sent over from time to time, until at 
 lentrth, in 1784, after the North American Colonies had be- 
 come independent of the mother country, Mr. Wesley sol- 
 emly set apart the Rev. Thomas Coke, Doctor of Laws, to the 
 important office of Superintendent of all the Societies in North 
 America. He also empowered him to set apart Francis As- 
 buvy, one of the missionaries who had preceded Dr. Coke, as 
 Joint Superintendent, and gave directions for the organization 
 of these Societies into an independent Episcopal Church, all 
 of which directions Dr. Coke faithfully attended to on his 
 arrival in America, and the result of such provision made by 
 Mr. Wesley for his infant Societies, in an infant nation, may 
 be seen in the unparalleled success, and the gradual progress 
 of the latter in population and strength.* 
 
 * It is more than probable that if the Bishops of the Church of 
 
20 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 While Methodism was thus gaining a firm foothold in 
 America, Mr. Wesley continued his self-denying labors in 
 England; thousands in different parts of the kingdom were 
 converted to God, and it is a satisfaction to know, that these 
 
 England had provided for the spiritual wants of the people in Amer- 
 ica, the Methodist Episcopal Church, as an independent branch, never 
 would have been formed — at least, by the sanction of Mr. Wesley ; but 
 the gross and culpable negligence of the English episcopacy in this 
 respect, rendered it absolutely necessary that Mr. Wesley should pro- 
 vide for these " sheep in the wilderness," in some other way. In 1780, 
 when the Methodists in America were raising the Macedonian cry for 
 the ordinances of the church, and were calling on Mr. Wesley, as their 
 spiritual father, to send some one " over and help" them, the latter 
 requested the Bishop of London to ordain a young man of unexcep- 
 tionable character and ability, for that work. This, his lordship re- 
 fused to do, which refusal called forth the following letter from Mr. 
 Wesley to that bishop, under date of August 10, 1780. 
 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " Some time since I received your lordship's favor, for which I re- 
 turn your lordship my sincere thanks. Those persons did not apply 
 to the Society (for Propagating Christian Knowledge), because they 
 had nothing to ask of them. They wanted no salary for their minis- 
 ter : they were themselves able and willing to maintain him. They 
 therefore applied by me to your lordship, as members of the Church 
 of England, and desirous so to continue, begging the favor of your 
 lordship, after your lordship liad examined him, to ordain a pious 
 man, who might oflSciate as their minister. 
 
 " But your lordship observes, ' There arc three ministers in that 
 country, already ' True, my lord : but what are these to watch over 
 all the souls in that extensive country 1 Will your lordship permit 
 me to speak freely 1 I dare not do otherwise. I am on the verge of 
 the grave, and I know not the moment when I shall drop into it. 
 Suppose there were threescore of those missionaries in the country — 
 could I in conscience recommend those souls to their care 1 Do they 
 take any care of their own souls 1 If they do (I speak it with con- 
 cera), I fear ttey are almost the only missionaries in America that do. 
 My lord, I do not speak rashly. I have been in America ; and so 
 have several with whom I have lately conversed. And both I and 
 
JOHN WESLEY. 21 
 
 conversions were not merely of a nominal character — a 
 change from one opinion to another, or from one eyBtem 
 of theology to another — but a radical change of heart and 
 life, a translation from the " kingdom of darkness, into the 
 kingdom of God's dear Son." The fruits of such conver- 
 
 they know what manner of men the far greater part of these are. 
 They are men who have neither the power of religion, nor the form ; 
 men that lay no claim to piety, nor even to decency. 
 
 " Give me leave, my lord, to speak more freely still : perhaps it is 
 the last time I shall trouble your lordship. I know your lordship's 
 abilities, and extensive learning ; I believe, what is more, that your 
 lordship fears God. I have heard that your lordship is unfashionably 
 diligent in examining the candidates for holy orders ; yea, that your 
 lordship is generally at the pains of examining them yourself Exam- 
 ining them ; — in what respects 1 Why, whether they understand a 
 little Latin and Greek, and can answer a few trite questions in the sci- 
 ence of Divinity. Alas, how little does this avail ! Does your lord- 
 ship examine whether they serve Christ or Belial ? Whether they 
 love God or the world 1 Whether they have any serious thoughts 
 about heaven or hell 7 Whether they have any real desire to save 
 their own souls, or the souls of others 1 If not, what have they to do 
 with holy orders % and what will become of the souls committed to 
 their care 1 
 
 " My lord, I do by no means despise learning : I know the value of 
 it too well. But what is this, particularly in a Christian minister, com- 
 pared to piety 1 What is it to a man that has no religion f ' As a 
 jewel in a swine's snout.' 
 
 " Some time since, I recommended to your lordship a plain man, 
 whom I had known above twenty years, as a person of deep, genuina 
 piety, and of unblamable conversation. But he neither understood 
 Greek nor Latin, and he affirmed in so many words, that ' he believed 
 it was his duty to preach, whether he was ordained or no.' I believe 
 so too. What became of him since, I know not. But I suppose he 
 received Presbyterian ordination, and I cannot blame him if he did. 
 He might think any ordination better than none. 
 
 " I do not know that Mr. Haskins had any favors to ask of the So- 
 ciety. He asked the favor of your lordship to ordain him, that he 
 might minister to a little flock in America. But your lordship did not 
 see good to ordain him : but your lordship did see good to ordain and 
 
82 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 sion were strikingly displayed in the case of the poor colliers 
 of Cornwall, a class of people, who, prior to the labors of the 
 Wesleys among them, were in a more debased and ignorant 
 state than many of the heathen in Africa or America — a class 
 of people whose days were spent in slavish toil, and whose 
 nights were given to drunkenness and sin ; a people on whom 
 the Sabbath could scarcely be said to dawn, only to yield 
 them a temporary respite from their otherwise unremitting 
 toils, and aflbrd them an opportunity of plunging still deeper 
 into the vortex of vice and crime — this people, having heard, 
 believed and were converted, and their conversion resulted in 
 " bringing forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness, to the 
 praise and glory of God." While Mr. Wesley and his co- 
 laborers were thus seeking earnestly to bring souls to the 
 "knowledge of the truth," their success begat jealousy in 
 
 send into America other persons, who knew something of Greek and 
 Latin ; but knew no more of saving souls, than of catching whales. 
 
 " In this respect, also, I mourn for poor America — for the sheep 
 scattered up and down therein. Part of them have no shepherds at 
 Jail : particularly in the northern colonies ; and the case of the rest is 
 little better, for their own shepherds pity them not. They cannot, for 
 they have no pity on themselves. They take no thought or care for 
 their own souls. 
 
 " Wishing your lordship every blessing from the Great Shepherd 
 and Bishop of our souls, I remain, my lord, 
 
 " your lordship's dutiful son and servant, 
 
 " John Weslet." 
 
 The reader will readily forgive the length of this interesting letter, 
 as it shows the great strait into which Mr. Wesley was brought on the 
 account of his Societies in America. It shows, on the one hand, his 
 anxiety to retain liis Societies in the Episcopal Church, and the refusal 
 of the ecclesiastical authorities of England to provide for them the min- 
 istry and the sacraments, and proves the absolute necessity of the 
 course Mr. Wesley took in the ordination of Dr. Coke to the office of 
 General Superintendent, and of the consequent organization of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 
JOHN WESLEY. 23 
 
 some of the clergymen of the establishment, and even in some 
 of the dissenting ministers. All manner of objections were 
 raised against him and his doctrines, and proceedings. He 
 was assailed on one side by the Episcopal dignitaries of the 
 church, and on the other, by the equally talented ministers 
 of independent congregations ; these objections called for re- 
 plies, and rendered it necessary for Mr. Wesley and his friends 
 to become polemics to a greater extent than was" desired by 
 themselves. Their disputations, however, and especially those 
 of Mr. Wesley, and his friend, Mr. Fletcher, convinced their 
 assailants that to raise objections was one thing, but to sus- 
 tain them before a candid community, another, so that in 
 spite of all opposing influences, the work of God continued to 
 spread and grow, and the flame of revival to rise higher and 
 higher, and spread wider and still wider. 
 
 Among the objections raised against Mr. Wesley by his 
 illiberal opposers, was one of laying up treasure upon earth. 
 So generally were reports of this kind circulated, and believed, 
 that the commissioners of excise, on one occasion, wrote to 
 him a letter in which they state that they cannot doubt but 
 that Mr. Wesley had plate in his possession which he had 
 heretofore neglected to report, and requiring him forthwith to 
 make an entry of all plate, &o. ia his possession. To this 
 letter, Mr. Wesley replied : — 
 
 " I have tw« silver spoons at London, and two at Bristol. 
 This is all the plate which I have at present, and I shall not 
 buy any more while so many around me want bread. 
 '' I am, sir, &c., 
 
 " John Wesley." 
 
 In reference also to the same objection of hoarding up 
 •wealth, Mr. Wesley, during his sickness, before alluded to as 
 a part of the epitaph prepared by himself for his tombstone, 
 directed the insertion of the following words : " Not leaving, 
 
24 LIVES OV EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 after his debts are paid, ten. pounds behind him," Indeed 
 Mr. Wesley, during his entire life, was governed by the fol- 
 lowing rule, which he frequently inculcated upon the atten- 
 tion of others : " Get all you can. Save all you can, Give 
 away all you can." This rule, when properly understood, 
 and faithfully adhered to, will prevent, as in Mr. Wesley's 
 case, indulgence, prodigality, and penuriousness. 
 
 In the year 1784, Mr. Wesley's mind was greatly exercised 
 in relation to the stability and government of the Methodist 
 Society after his death, which event he foresaw could not be 
 far distant. In order to prevent the disorganization of the 
 Society, and to perpetuate the connection which had been 
 established by him, he took the wise precaution of effecting a 
 settlement of all the chapels in the connection, and giving a 
 prospective direction to the affairs of the Conference and 
 Society, by the enrollment in Chancery of a " Deed of Dec- 
 laration," in which deed one hundred preachers, mentioned 
 by name, are declared to be the " Conference of the people 
 called Methodists." By means of this deed, a legal descrip- 
 tion was given to the term Conference, and the settlement 
 of all chapels, &c. upon trustees was provided for. The deed 
 also made provision for the legal occupancy of said chapels, 
 and for the succession and perpetual identity of the yearly 
 Conference, so that the President of the Conference should 
 fill the place andT)e in fact the successor of 'Nbc. Wesley him- 
 self The " Deed of Declaration" thus drawn up, and en- 
 rolled, at once shows the strength of Mr. Wesley's mind, and 
 his foreseeing sagacity. Probably no man then living but 
 Mr. Wesley could have so well provided for the continued 
 existence and increased stability of so large a body of preach- 
 ers and people, and the history of the Connection for the past 
 sixty years, or since the death of Mr. Wesley, proves that his 
 efforts in the above direction were the result not of the wis- 
 dom of man merely, but of that " wisdom which cometh 
 
JOHN WESLEY. 26 
 
 from above," that spirit of wisdom and sound understanding 
 whicii God vouchsafes to those employed by him in carrying 
 on his own work on earth. 
 
 Notwithstanding Mr. Wesley's advanced age, he continued 
 to travel from place to place, visiting occasionally Scotland, 
 Ireland, and Germany, in all places being received and hon- 
 ored as a distinguished messenger of God. As an illustration 
 of the degree of esteem in which he was held even by those 
 who differed with him theologically, we may be allowed to 
 state, that, on one occasion, while visiting the ancient city 
 of Perth, in Scotland, the freedom of the city was presented 
 to him in the most becoming manner by t'ne magistrates and 
 corporation. Nor did his own countrymen hesitate to award 
 to him that meed of praise which, although unsolicited and 
 undesired by him, was nevertheless richly deserved. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1791, Mr. Wesley took a se- 
 vere cold, which finally terminated in death. His end was 
 what might have been expected of such a holy, labori- 
 ous servant of God, — eminently peaceful and triumphant. 
 Among his last words were the oft-quoted ones, "The best 
 OF ALL IS God is with us;" and, without a sigh or lingering 
 groan, this eminent man — 
 
 " His body with his charge laid down, 
 And ceased at once to work and live." 
 
 Thus died John Wesley, in the eighty-eighth year of hia 
 age, and sixty-sixth of his ministry, on the 2d day of March, 
 1791. His funeral was attended on the 9th of the same 
 month. His funeral-sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. 
 M^hitehead, to an astonishing multitude of people, including 
 a large number of ministers of the gospel, both of the estab- 
 lishment and of dissenting churches. Indeed, so great were 
 the crowds who came to see the body before the interment, 
 that, apprehending confusion from the largeness of the mul- 
 
28 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 titude, his friends prudently resolved to bury the corpse at an 
 early hour in the morning. His remains were deposited in a 
 vault in the grave-yard of City-Eoad-Chapel, London. 
 
 As a scholar, Mr. Wesley had few superiors. He was a 
 eritic in the Latin and Greek classics, was well versed in He- 
 brew, and had a knowledge of several modern tongues. He 
 was also well acquainted with the higher branches of math- 
 ematics, and the more abstruse sciences. He was also well 
 read in medical science, and in natural history. 
 
 As a writer and compiler, Mr. Wesley had few equals. The 
 very large list of works which he wrote, abridged, and edited for 
 the press, affords sufficient evidence of his ability as a writer. 
 
 As a preacher, Mr. Wesley was more than an ordinary 
 man. It is true he did not possess the impassioned powers 
 of eloquence, displayed with so much success by Whitcfield, 
 but he surpassed the latter in sweetness of voice, in neatness 
 and simplicity of style, and in easy and graceful action. His 
 discourses were always short, seldom exceeding half an hour 
 in length, and his subjects were always judiciously chosen, 
 and were instructive and interesting to his usually large and 
 attentive audiences. 
 
 In social life, Mr. Wesley was an exceedingly affable and 
 agreeable man. In point of good-breeding, he was a perfect 
 gentleman, and no one, not even an enemy, could be in his 
 company long without feeling that he was in the presence of 
 one who was able to command the respect of all with whom 
 he had intercourse. 
 
 In labors Mr. Wesley was abundant. During the sixty-five 
 years of his ministry he probably travelled not less than two 
 hundred and seventy thousand miles ! or more than ten times 
 the circumference of the globe ; or an average of four thou- 
 sand five hundred miles annually. This, too, was accom- 
 plished mostly on horseback, although during the latter 
 years of his life he was compelled, through the sohoitations of 
 
JOHN WESLEY. 2l 
 
 friends, to use a carriage. In addition to the necessary 
 labor of travelling, it has been estimated that he preached, on 
 an average, two sermons daily for over fifty years of his life, 
 or in the aggregate, of over forty thousand sermons ! besides 
 innumerable addresses, exhortations, prayers, &c., &c. If to 
 this we add his literary labors, and his epistolary correspon- 
 dence, together with the care of all the preachers and Socie- 
 ties subject to his direction, we need not hesitate to believe 
 that no man since the days of the apostles, nay, not even the 
 apostles themselves, were more abundant in labors than the 
 apostle of Methodism, John Wesley. To accomplish so much, 
 Mr. Wesley was necessarily very provident of his time. His 
 hour of rising was four in the morning, summer and winter, 
 so that while others were sleeping, Mr. Wesley had perhaps 
 accomplished a good day's work. 
 
 Mr. Wesley's benevolence was unbounded, except by his 
 want of means. One who well knew him, describes him as 
 the most charitable man in England. He literally gave 
 away all that he had, and from the income which he re- 
 ceived, arising principally from the sale of his books, it has 
 been estimated that he gave away for charitable purposes 
 during his life, not less than one hundred thousand dollars ! 
 Notwithstanding his large income from the above and other 
 sources, he died without leaving any property save his car- 
 riage and horses, a few clothes, and his books, which he be- 
 queathed to the conference. 
 
 As a man of fervent piety, no person has been more pre- 
 eminent in modern times, than the subject of this sketch. 
 To doubt the piety of Wesley, would be to deny the existence 
 of piety on earth, a species of skepticism equalled only by the 
 profane ribaldry of a Paine, or the unblushing sophistries of 
 a Voltaire ; and yet, if John Wesley had been absolutely per- 
 fect, he had not been a mere man. " To err is human," and 
 while we candidly believe that Mr. Wesley was as perfect as 
 
LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 y man on earth, we would hesitate to claim for him an ex- 
 iption from the frailties and infirmities incident to human 
 ture. Of this no man was more sensible than Wesley 
 nself ; his frequent cry was, 
 
 "I the chief of sinners am, 
 But Jesus died for me." 
 
 Wesley, like all other pious men, was " a sinner saved by 
 Lce," and if in his deeds of piety, charity, and self-denial, 
 differed from others, it was the grace of God which made 
 a to differ ; and if he had qualifications fitting him for the 
 portant position of a i-eligious reformer, and the founder of 
 arge and respectable denomination of Evangelical Chris- 
 ns, to the same grace of God, he was entirely indebted for 
 such qualifications. Let the reader then adore the ma- 
 ty of that grace, which raised up such a man as John 
 ESLEY, to adorn and bless the world, and while he adores, 
 the language of his heart be that of our own immortal 
 it: 
 
 " 0, that I could all invite, 
 This saving truth to prove ; 
 Show the length, and breadth, and height, 
 
 And depth of Jesus' love. 
 Fain I would to sinners show, 
 
 The blood by faith, alone applied, 
 Only Jesus' will I know, 
 And Jesus crucified." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 KEV. CHARLES WESLEY, A.M. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, was the third son of Rev. Sam> 
 uel Wesley of Epworth, Eng., and the younger brother of 
 Rev. John Wesley. He was born in Epworth, in the year 
 1708, and consequently was five years younger than his bro- 
 ther John. Nothing extraordinary appears to have taken 
 place in his infancy and youth deserving of particular notice, 
 except that he was educated at Westminster school, under 
 the tuition of his brother Samuel, from whom, it is said, he 
 imbibed the most ultra high church principles. After having 
 been at school some years, a gentleman in Ireland by the 
 name of Wesley, and possessed of a large fortune, wrote to 
 Charles' father, offering to make the former his heir, and who 
 subsequently sent him for several years, a sum of money an- 
 nually, to assist him in his education. Finally the gentleman 
 wished him to remove to Ireland, but Charles preferring to 
 remain in England, the subject was dropped, and another 
 person was selected as the heir, and who taking the property 
 and honors left him by his benefactor, became in consequence 
 the first Earl of Mornington, and grandfather of the present 
 Duke of Wellington. 
 
 After pursuing his studies at Westminster School for a few 
 years, Charles Wesley was elected to Christ's Church College, 
 Oxford, and here, as stated in the previous chapter, he repre- 
 sents himself as losmg his first year in diversions, the next he 
 
IIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ; himself to study ; diligence led him into serious thinking ; 
 d he went weekly to the Sacrament, persuading two or 
 ree students to accompany him. He also strictly and 
 jthodioally observed the course of study prescribed by the 
 itutes of the University. " This," said he, " gained me the 
 rmless name of Methodist." As John his brother, was at 
 is time absent from Oxford, it would appear that Charles 
 d the honor of being the first modern Methodist, and that 
 
 in fact laid the foundation of the religious Society which 
 s since been distinguished by that name, although to his 
 Jther John, belongs the honor of forming the first Society of 
 sthodists on a purely religious basis, without respect to edu- 
 tional interests, or merely personal improvement. In cora- 
 ny with John, Charles Wesley spent much of his time in 
 iiting the poor, the sick, and those in prison. These pious 
 )ors brought upon the two brothers a storm of persecution, 
 deed their piety, their zeal, their devotion to the cause of 
 )d, created quite a sensation, not only within the precincts 
 
 the University, but became noised abroad, as instances of 
 laticism and irregularity, so much so, that their father took 
 ourney to Oxford that he might see and judge for himself 
 
 relation to the so called singularity of their proceedings, 
 writing home to his wife, he informs her, that he had been 
 ill repaid for his trouble and expense by the shining piety 
 their two sons. 
 
 As before stated, Charles Wesley accompanied his brother 
 hn as Missionary to Georgia, and as a prerequisite for his 
 )rk, he received ordination. On their arrival in Georgia, 
 larles took charge of the colony at Frederica ; but here he 
 it with much opposition from the colonists. Their licentious 
 iduct called for frequent reproofs from their faithful pastor, 
 d this at once made him an object of their most bitter 
 tred, and plots were formed either to ruin him in the opin- 
 i of Governor Oglethorpe, his friend and patron, or to take 
 
CHARLES WESLEY. 31 
 
 him off by violence. His enemies for a short time succeeded 
 in prejudicing the mind of the Governor against him, who, in 
 consequence of their falsehoods and misrepresentations, treated 
 him with indifference, and left him to endure the greatest 
 privations. It is said that he was obliged to lie upon the 
 cold, damp ground, in the corner of a miserable hut, and was 
 denied even the use of a few boards as a substitute for a bed. 
 And as he had lost the favor of the Governor, the servants 
 treated him coldly, and even insulted him. Thus worn out 
 ■with hardship and ill-treatment, he was seized with a dan- 
 gerous fever, and being possessed of an independent spirit, he, 
 even while exposed to death through neglect, refused to let 
 his wants be known to General Oglethorpe, who had treated 
 him so indifferently. In this extremity he was visited by his 
 brother John, through whose fraternal kindness, his wants 
 were supplied, and his health partially restored. Soon after 
 this, the Governor learned that Charles had been the victim 
 of a base and wicked conspiracy ; that the charges preferred 
 against him were as false as they were malicious, and in con- 
 sequence of this discovery, he became fully reconciled to the 
 persecuted Missionary. Charles therefore exchanged places 
 with John, the former taking charge of Savannah, and the 
 latter of Frederica, but in July ensuing, the Governor sent 
 him to England with despatches to the trustees and hoard of 
 trade, and thus terminated his short mission to America, 
 where he suffered the most bitter persecution for righteousness' 
 sake. 
 
 In December of 1736, Charles Wesley again set foot on the 
 shores of his native land, and having delivered his despatches, 
 and discharged the duties assigned him by the governor of 
 Georgia, he turned his attention once more to the great work 
 of preaching the Gospel, in which work he continued, until 
 the return of John from his foreign field of labor.* 
 
 * In August after Charles Wesley's return to England, he was made 
 
' LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS 
 
 In looking at the sacrifices and sufTerings of Charles Wesley, 
 the sneers and scoffs of which he was the subject in Oxford, 
 his self-denial in leaving home and kindred for the sake of 
 iaching Christ in a far distant land, at the contunnely and 
 )roach which he endured while there, who would hesitate 
 avow their firm belief that he was a Christian in the 
 rect and proper acceptation of that term ? And yet, 
 larles was but a servant of God, not a Son, He had not 
 yet received the " spirit of adoption," whereby he could 
 >■ " Abba Father.'' Peter Bohler had occasion to visit 
 arles, while the latter was lying upon a bed of sickness at 
 ford. On conversing with him in relation to his hope of 
 iven, he learned that Charles was depending upon his own 
 )d works to secure eternal life, — that he was in fact a 
 Eirisee. And while Bohler endeavored to show the necessity 
 faith in Christ, and the utter worthlessness of his own 
 hteousness, Charles was somewhat offended. After his 
 overy, however, by reading and meditation, he was con- 
 iced of his want of that faith which brings " peace and joy 
 the Holy Ghost." As he read and meditated, his convic- 
 ns increased, until at length he was impelled by his sense 
 sin and danger, to throw himself like any other poor sinner, 
 Dn the naked merits of Christ for salvation, and he soon ex- 
 •ienced that moral change of heart, which produced the fixed 
 ifidence of a child of God. Thus was Charles Wesley 
 lught to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, a few 
 ^s prior to the conversion of his brother John ; and thus were 
 ;se two brothers, prepared by the possession and enjoj'ment 
 
 bearer of an address from the University, at Oxford, to his 
 jesty George III. He accordingly waited on the king at Hampton 
 irt, and was graciously received, not only by the king, but bv the 
 hbishop. He was invited to dine with his majesty, and on the 
 owing day he dined at St. James' palace with the Prince of y> ules, 
 irward George IV. 
 
CHARLES WESLBY. S3 
 
 of personal salvation, to preach salvation to others — salvation 
 from sin, from guilt, from fear, and from doubt in relation to 
 the believer's acceptance with God. 
 
 During John Wesley's visit to the Moravian settlement at 
 Hernhutt, as related in the previous chapter, Charles employed 
 his time in preaching the doctrines of free grace and justifica- 
 tion by faith, in the churches of London, and in holding 
 meetings for prayer and mutual edification. He also visited 
 Oxford, and was rendered useful to a number of his college 
 friends. About this time also, the doctrines of predestination 
 began to be warmly debated in their social meetings. Charles 
 without entering fully into the merits of the case, contented 
 himself with simply protesting against it. He also began to 
 preach extempore, and although urged by his friend Mr. 
 Whitefielc^to accept of a college living in Oxford, he refused 
 to do so, for the reason, that he could make himself more 
 useful in another sphere of action. During Mr. John Wesley's 
 temporary absence from London, disputes arose in the Fetter 
 Lane Society, in relation to lay preaching. Charles, whose 
 notions in regard to the ministry were of a high-church 
 character, protested warmly against the practice of allowing 
 laymen to preach. But notwithstanding his high-churchism, 
 he was strongly censured by the archbishop of Canterbury, 
 who even hinted at the possibility of proceeding to excom- 
 munication, not on account of any erroneous doctrine promul- 
 gated by him, but simply on account of his irregularities in 
 preaching extempore, &c., &c. The reproof of the archbishop 
 threw him into great perplexity of mind in relation to what 
 course he had better pursue, whether to recede from walking 
 in what appeared to him the path of duty, and so obey the 
 admonitions of his ecclesiastical superiors, or place all he 
 had upon the altar of sacrifice, and try to do good in any place, 
 and under any circumstances which Providence would seem 
 to indicate. He conferred with Mr. Whitefield in relation to 
 
 3 
 
34 LIVES OF EMrfTENT MIjaSTERS. 
 
 ;he matter, who advised him not to retract, hut to preach in 
 ;be fields on the next sabbath, by which step, he would render 
 nis retreat difficult if not impossible. Charles complied with 
 this timely advice, and on the ensuing Sunday, preached to a 
 3ongregation of a thousand perishing sinners in Moorfields. 
 The Lord greatly blessed him in this effort, so that all his 
 ioubts were removed. He then proceeded to Kenningtou 
 Common, where he preached to " multitudes on multitudes," 
 ind called upon them to " repent and believe the Gospel." 
 From London, he proceeded to Oxford, and notwithstanding 
 the opposition of the deanof the University to field preaching, 
 he improved the opportunity of preaching to the University 
 with great boldness, the doctrine of justification by faith. 
 This latter doctrine, although fully taught in the XL Article 
 of Religion of the Church of England, had become obsolete 
 as a matter of faith, and by most of the clergy and dignitaries 
 of that church, was considered as a new doctrine, and not 
 only as new, but as dangerous to the morals of the community 
 and as jeopardizing the salvation of the soul. It was, there- 
 fore, a task imposed upon the Wesleys by the great Head of 
 the Church, to revive this apostolic doctrine, and how suc- 
 cessfully they accomplished this task, their subsequent history 
 fully shows. 
 
 Among the earlier efforts of the Wesleys to benefit the 
 poor and ignorant, was the establishment of a school in Kings- 
 wood for the instruction of the children of the poor, benighted 
 colliers. The colliers in this locality, on account of their 
 ignorance and wickedness, had been the terror of the entire 
 community around them. But through the labors of Mr. 
 Whitefield, and the Wesleys, many of them became exemplary 
 for their piety and sobriety of conduct. The leaven thus in- 
 troduced had a powerful influence, even upon the unconverted 
 among them, as may be inferred from the following statement. 
 On one occasion while Mr. Charles Wesley was in Bristol, ho 
 
CHARLES WESLBY. 85 
 
 learned that the colliers of Kingswood had risen en masse, on 
 account of the dearness of corn, and were marching to Bristol 
 in a hostile manner to seek a redress of grievances. Mr. 
 Wesley immediately rode out to meet them, to dissuade them 
 from their purpose. Many seemed disposed to return to the 
 school-house with him, hut the more desperate rushed upon 
 these, and violently drove them away from Mr. Wesley. He 
 rode up to one desperado who was striking one of the pacific 
 colliers, and asked him to strike him, rather than the collier. 
 ■' No, not for all the world," replied the man, and became 
 perfectly peaceable. Mr. Wesley seized one of the tallest of the 
 mob, and besought him to follow him. " Yes, that I will, 
 all the world over," replied he, and in this manner he 
 pressed several of them into the service of peace and order, 
 who returned with him to the school-house, singing as they 
 went, and constantly increasing their strength and number. 
 On arriving at the school, they spent about two hours in 
 prayer that evil might be prevented, and the lion be chained. 
 Soon word was brought that the mob had returned without 
 having oflered any violence to person or thing, but having 
 simply stated their grievances to the mayor of the city. 
 Charles Wesley found that every Methodist who had gone 
 out with the rabble, had been literally forced to go. One 
 of them, the rioters had dragged out of his sick bed, and 
 thrown him into the fish-pond. Mr. Wesley adds, " It was 
 a happy circumstance that they forced so many of the 
 Methodists to go with them, as these by their advice and 
 example restrained the savage fury of the others." As the 
 Wesleys continued to gain increased influence over the hearts 
 and minds of the colliers of Kingswood, the latter became 
 more and more enlightened, until at length, those who had 
 previously been but at a single remove from the brute creation 
 in point of intelligence, and beneath the brutes in regard to 
 their actions, became an intelligent, moral, virtuous, and 
 
J LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ous people, " whose praise," even, to this day, " is in all tho 
 lurches." 
 
 Such results as the above, followed the labors of the Weslcys 
 lore or less wherever they went. The vicious, profane, and 
 sorderly were converted into peaceable and order-loving 
 ibjects, and yet strange as it may seem, clergymen, magis- 
 ates, and officers of the army, not only opposed, and ridiculed, 
 lit even headed mobs of violent men for the purpose of pre- 
 snting their preaching. Many illustrations of the truth of 
 lese remarks might be given. We will in this place give 
 le or two instances. 
 
 In the year 1743, Charles Wesley went to visit the Society 
 1 Sheffield, who were as sheep among wolves, " the minister 
 aving so stirred up the people, that they were ready to tear 
 le Methodists in pieces." " At six o'clock," says Mr. Chas. 
 (''esley, " I went to the Society-house, next door to our Br. 
 ennett's. Hell, from beneath, was moved to oppose us. As 
 ion as I was in the desk with David Taylor, the floods be- 
 m to lift up their voice Au officer in the army contradict- 
 1 and blasphemed. I took no notice of him, but sang on. 
 he stones flew thick, striking the desk, and the people. To 
 Lve them and the house from being pulled down, I gave out 
 lat I should preach in the street, and look them in the face, 
 he whole army of the aliens followed me. The Captain 
 id hold on me, and began rioting : I gave him for answer, 
 ^ Word in Season, or Advice to a Soldier.' I then particu- 
 rly prayed for his majesty King George, and preached the 
 jspel with much contention. The stones often struck me in 
 le face. I prayed for sirmers, as servants of their master the 
 3vil ; upon which the Captain ran at me with great fury, 
 ireatening revenge for abusing, as he called it, the King his 
 laster. He forced his way through the brethren, drew his 
 vord, and presented it to my breast. I. immediately opened 
 ly breast, and fixing my eye on his, and smiling in his face, 
 
CHAELES WESLEY. 
 
 37 
 
 calmly said, ' I fear God and honor the King.' His counte- 
 nance fell in a moment, he fetched a deep sigh, and putting up 
 his sword, quietly left the place. He had said to one of the 
 company, who afterward informed me, ' You shall see if 1 do 
 but hold my sword to his breast, he will faint away I' So, 
 perhaps, I should, had I only his principles to trust to ; but 
 if at that time I was not afraid, no thanks to my personal 
 courage. We returned to our Br. Bennett's, and gave our- 
 selves up to prayer. The rioters followed, and exceeded in 
 outrage all I have seen before. Those at Moorfields, Cardiff, 
 and Walsal, were lambs to these. As there is no ' King in 
 Israel,' I mean no magistrate in Sheffield, every man doeth 
 as seemeth good in his own eyes." The mob now formed the 
 design of pulling down the Society-house, and set upon their 
 work while Charles Wesley and the people were praying and 
 praising God within. " It was a glorious time with us ; every 
 word of exhortation sunk deep, every prayer was sealed, and 
 many found the Spirit of Glory resting upon them." The 
 next day the house was completely pulled down, not one stone 
 being left upon another. He then preached again in the 
 street, somewhat more quietly than before ; but the rioters 
 became very noisy in the evening, and threatened to pull 
 down the house where he lodged. He went out to them, and 
 made a suitable exhortation, " and they soon after separated, 
 and peace was restored." 
 
 On the next day he left the place, but in passing through 
 Thorpe, he found the people exceedingly mad against him. 
 While turning down a lane, a large number who had been 
 lying in ambush, arose and assaulted Mr. Wesley and his 
 companion, Mr. Taylor, with stones, eggs, and dirt. They 
 severely wounded the latter on the forehead, from which the 
 blood ran freely. Mr. Wesley's horse turned from side to 
 side, till he found his way through the mob. He then turned, 
 and asked the reason why a ciergyman could not pass with- 
 
38 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 )ut such treatment. At first the rioters scattered, but their 
 japtain soon rallied them again, and answered with horrible 
 mprecations and stones. Mr. Wesley's horse took fright, and 
 an with him violently down a steep hill, the mob pursuing 
 ind shouting with all their might. Mr. Wesley barely 
 iscaped with his life, being covered from head to foot with 
 iggs and dirt. 
 
 Shortly after the above occurrence, Mr. Charles Wesley 
 ^sited Leeds, where he was treated with great respect by the 
 esident clergymen. From Leeds he went to Newcastle, 
 vhere he abounded in labors for the salvation of souls, and 
 vhere his efforts were signally blessed of God. He soon after 
 vent to Nottingham, where he met his brother John, who 
 lad just returned from Wednesbury, where he had been the 
 ubject of abuse from one of the vilest mobs that ever dis- 
 ;raced Christendom. In referring to the meeting of the two 
 irothers, Charles Wesley remarks : " My brother came de- 
 ivered out of the mouth of the lion ! His clothes were torn 
 u tatters ; he looked like a soldier of Christ. The mob of 
 Vednesbury, Darlaston, and Walsal, were permitted to take 
 ,nd carry him about for several hours, with a full intent to 
 lurder him : but his work is not yet finished, or he had been 
 ow with the souls under the altar." Charles, undaunted 
 ly such usage, set out immediately for Wednesbury, that he 
 flight encourage the poor persecuted Societies. 
 
 In 1743, Charles Wesley visited Cornwall, and here he 
 reached amidst mobs and tumults, to the most degraded and 
 eglected portion of the inhabitants of England ; and here 
 30 were his labors and those of his brother rewarded by the 
 3und conversion of hundreds of those semi-savages ; and in 
 bis unpromising soil many precious plants were subsequently 
 eared to the praise of God, so that until the present day, 
 lethodism has had a strong hold on the affections of the in- 
 abitants of Cornwall, and in no part of the kingdom has it 
 
CHARLES WESLEY. 39 
 
 flourished more, or exerted a more benign influence upon the 
 hearts and lives of its votaries ; although at first every effort 
 was put forth by the civil, military, and ecclesiastical author- 
 ities, to stop the flame of reformation. The members of the 
 Society, and even the preachers were seized by the press- 
 gang — the shame of England^and impressed into the army, 
 but, through the abounding grace of God, the fire continued 
 to burn, until at length poor, debased Cornwall has been re- 
 deemed through the influence of Methodism, and a large ma- 
 jority of the people have become identified with the " sect" 
 which was once " everywhere spoken against." 
 
 As a further illustration of the treatment received by Mr. 
 Charles Wesley, in his efibrts to do good, we may be allowed 
 to introduce the following statement. " The year 1745 was 
 chiefly spent by him in London, Bristol, and Wales. In the 
 early part of the next year, he proceeded to Cornwall. * * * 
 On his return to London, through the introduction of Mr. E. 
 Perronet, a pious young man, he visited the Rev. Vincent 
 Perronet, the venerable Vicar of Shoreham in Kent. * * * 
 Being invited to perform service in Shoreham church, ' as 
 soon as I began to preach,' says he, ' the wild beasts began 
 roaring, stamping, blaspheming, ringing the bells, and turn- 
 ing the church into a bear-garden. I spoke on for half an 
 hour, though only the nearest could hear. The rioters fol- 
 lowed us to Mr. Perronet's house, raging, threatening, and 
 throwing stones. Charles Perronet hung over me, to inter- 
 cept the blows. They continued their uproar after we got 
 into the house.' From Shoreham Mr. Wesley and his young 
 friend returned to London, and from thence proceeded to the 
 north of England. On the way they called at Tippen Greeu 
 in Staffordshire. Being in a house, without any design of 
 preaching, and the mob being aware of Mr. Wesley's pres- 
 ence, beset the house, and while beating the door, demanded 
 entrance. ' I sat still,' says Mr. Wesley, ' in the midst of 
 
LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 lem, for half an hour, and was a little concerned for E. Per- 
 met, lest such rough treatment at his first setting out should 
 lunt him. But he abounded in valor, and was for reason- 
 ig with the wild beasts, before they had spent any of their 
 iolence. He got a good deal of abuse thereby, and not a 
 ttle dirt, both of which he took very patiently. I had no 
 ;sign to preach, but being called upon by so unexpected a 
 )ngregation, I rose at last, and read, ' When the Son of man 
 lall come in his glory, and all his holy angels with him, &c.' 
 i'^hile I reasoned with them of judgment to come, they grew 
 ilraer, little by little. I then spoke to them one by one, till 
 le Lord had disarmed them all.' " 
 
 After visiting Newcastle, he went to Hexham, where he 
 reached in the market-place. A multitude stood staring at 
 m, but all remained quiet. None offered to interrupt, but 
 le unfortunate country esquire, who could prevail on no one 
 
 second his attempts at persecution. His servants and the 
 instables hid themselves. One of the latter the squire 
 und, and ordered him to go and take Mr. Wesley down, 
 he constable replied : " Sir, I cannot have the face to do it, 
 r what harm does he ?" After preaching, Mr. Wesley 
 alked through the people, who acknowledged that what he 
 id preached was truth. A constable followed, who told 
 I. Wesley, " Sir Edward Blacket orders you to disperse the 
 wn (' depart, I suppose he meant,' says Mr. Wesley), and 
 )t raise a disturbance here." Mr. Wesley sent his respects 
 
 Sir Edward, and stated that if he would give him leave he 
 ould wait on him, and satisfy him. The man soon returned 
 ith the answer, that Sir Edward would have nothing to say 
 
 him, but that if he preached again and raised a disturb- 
 ice he would put the law in execution against him. Mr. 
 ''esley, however, was not so easily intimidated. He did 
 each again in the cock-pit, where he expected Satan would 
 eet him on his own ground. He took for his text, "Repent, 
 
CHARLES WESLEY. 41 
 
 and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." The 
 justice's son labored hard to raise a mob, for which Mr. Wes- 
 ley was to be held answerable, but the very boys ran away 
 from him. The squire, however, persuaded a few to return 
 and cry " fire," but no further disturbance took place. A 
 good influence was felt in this place, as the result of Mr 
 Wesley's labors. 
 
 Some time after this, Charles Wesley visited Devizes, 
 where, while preaching in a private house, he was assailed 
 by a furious mob, led on by the curate of the parish and two 
 dissenters. They brought a hand-engine, and began to play 
 into the house. A constable came and seized the spout of 
 the engine, and carried it off. They, however, went and got 
 the larger engine, with which they broke the windows, flooded 
 the rooms, and spoiled the goods. The rioters continued 
 their work of destruction until the constable read the procla- 
 mation. The greater part of them then dispersed, but the 
 magistrate refusing to act, they took fresh courage and re- 
 turned, when they made a personal attack on the house. 
 Thinking Mr. Wesley had escaped, they rushed to the tavern 
 where his horses were. They ordered the horses turned out, 
 which the innkeeper did, and sent them to a neighbor's, 
 whither the mob followed with their engine, but the man to 
 whom the horses were sent seized his gun, and threatened tr 
 fire on them, which induced them to retreat. After enduring 
 such treatment for a number of hours, a gentleman came and 
 said, " Sir, if you will promise never to preach here again, I 
 will engage to bring you safe out of town." Mr. Wesley'i 
 reply was, " I shall promise no such thing ; setting aside my 
 office, I will not give up my birthright, as an Englishman, 
 of visiting what place I please of his Majesty's dominions." 
 After intimating that he had no design of preaching there 
 again at present, the gentleman and a constable went out and 
 influenced the mob to allow Mr. Wesley to depart in peace. 
 
42 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Mr. Wesley and his companion at length mounted their 
 horses, the whole multitude pouring down upon them like a 
 torrent, and being ready to swallow them up ; such was their 
 fierceness and malice. Through the good providence of God, 
 these persecuted men finally succeeded in reaching a place 
 of safety, where they raised their hymns of thanksgiving to 
 God. 
 
 From these painful exhibitions of the depravity of the un- 
 renewed heart, we learn the extreme danger to which the 
 early Methodists, and especially the Wesleys, were exposed, 
 while going about doing good ; and it is certainly a matter of 
 astonishment, that men, professed Christians, and professed 
 Christian ministers, should not only lend their aid, but even 
 incite, and personally participate in such disgraceful scenes 
 of persecution ; yet so it was, and these historical events 
 leave a dark and uneffaceable spot upon the annals of that 
 church which claimed, and still claims to be the only pure 
 church of Jesus Christ. Volumes might be filled with ac- 
 counts of such outrages upon the persons and properties of 
 peaceable men, whose only crime was preaching the gospel 
 of the Son of God in what some chose to call an irregular 
 and uncanonical manner. But our space will not allow us to 
 make many reflections of this character. We therefore pass 
 to the subject more properly before us. 
 
 Shortly after the events transpired as above narrated, 
 Charles Wesley visited Ireland, from which place his brother 
 John had recently returned. He was accompanied by his 
 friend Charles Perronet — son of the Vicar of Shoreham — 
 who had become one of Mr. Wesley's preachers. A small 
 Society had been organized in Dublin a short time previously, 
 and the first news which Charles Wesley had when he land 
 ed, was, that a violent storm of persecution had raged against 
 the infant society, ever since the departure of John Wesley. 
 The popish mob had broken open their place of worship, and 
 
CHARLES WESLEY. 43 
 
 destroyed everything before them. Some of the rioters were 
 sent to jail, but the grand jury refused to find a bill against 
 them, and thus the Methodists were given up to the fury of 
 a lawless and bigoted mob. Mr. Charles Wesley found the 
 Society standing fast in the midst of the fiery ordeal, and he be- 
 came so much attached to the members, because of their simpli- 
 city and piety, that he spent the entire winter with them, 
 preaching and visiting daily from house to house. He also made 
 frequent excursions into the country places around Dublin, 
 scattering the precious seed wherever he went. He subse- 
 quently spent a part of the year 1748 in Ireland, and preached 
 in several of the larger towns and cities, and especially in 
 Cork, where his labors were greatly blessed to the good of 
 the people. 
 
 In the year 1749, Charles Wesley was united in marriage 
 to a lady every way worthy of his affection, and suitable in 
 every way to make a useful and agreeable companion. In 
 his marriage relations, he was more fortunate than his brother 
 John, although it must be confessed that the charms of home 
 in the latter part of his life, made him much more domestic 
 in his habits, and consequently far less active, than his less 
 entangled brother ; not that he had ceased to be actively em» 
 ployed in his Master's vineyard, but less of his time was sub- 
 Bequently given to itinerant labors. 
 
 In the year 1750 there was a great earthquake in London. 
 Charles Wesley was preaching in the Foundry at five in the 
 morning, when the second shock occurred. He had just 
 taken his text, when the building shook so violently, that all 
 expected it would fall on their heads and crush them beneath 
 its ruins. A great cry arose from the women and children. 
 While the earth was moving westward and eastward, like an 
 ocean wave, and a loud, jarring noise like thunder was pro- 
 duced, and while expecting every moment to be their last, 
 Mr Wesley rose, and cried out, " Therefore we vrill not fear, 
 
44 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 though the earth be moved, and the hills he carried into the 
 midst of the sea ; for the Lord of hosts is with us ; the God of 
 Jacob is our refuge.'' The effect of this earthquake on the 
 minds of the people of London was so great, that thousands fled 
 from the city, and places of worship were thronged by day and 
 night. Thousands also left their houses and sought safety in 
 the open fields, where they remained all night. To such Mr. 
 Whitefield preached at midnight, while Charles Wesley at- 
 tempted to comfort the affrighted multitudes who remained in 
 their houses, or resorted to the usual place of worship. This 
 unlooked-for event was no doubt improved upon by these and 
 other good men, so that as a result of the fears begotten in the 
 public mind, many were led to feel their want of preparation 
 for death and judgment, and were led to seek for pardon, and 
 a regenerate heart at the hand of their Saviour. 
 
 Shortly after the event above alluded to, Charles Wesley 
 appears to have accepted a commission from his brother John, 
 to travel through the entire connection, and inquire into the 
 character of all the preachers, — who had now become some- 
 what numerous — and also to inform himself in relation to their 
 mode of administering discipline, and to become more particu- 
 larly acquainted with the state of the Societies under their 
 care. In the course of his tour of inspection, Charles saw 
 much to admire, and also a few things which caused deep 
 regret. Among the latter he discerned a growing disposition 
 on the part of both preachers and people to sever themselves 
 in toto from the Church of England. On his return to Lon- 
 don, after having completed his tour, he attempted to prevail 
 on his brother to require of every preacher employed by him 
 a solemn pledge, that they would not make any attempt to 
 sever the Societies from the Church, and to render this course 
 still more successful, he persuaded John to sign an agreement 
 by which no preacher was to be called into the work, except 
 by the joint consent of the two brothers. This proposed plan, 
 
CHARLES WESLEY. 45 
 
 dowever, did not succeed according to the wishes and expec- 
 tations of Charles. The Societies and preachers had so long 
 been accustomed to look up to John as the sole fountain of 
 luthority in such matters, that any division of his power in 
 ;hese respects was not greatly relished, especially as John, in 
 ill his intercourse with the preachers and people, was more 
 jland and lenient than Charles felt disposed to be. The re- 
 ;ult of such attachment to the authority of John rather than 
 that of Charles, very naturally led the latter to suppose that 
 le had perhaps mistaken his true position, and led him more 
 han ever to withdraw himself from public life, thus leaving 
 lis brother to direct solely the afi'airs of the large and grow- 
 ng connection. There was, however, no abatement of affec- 
 ion between the brothers, nor does there appear to have been 
 my degree of jealousy or ill feeling engendered, although it is 
 evident that there did exist a difference of opinion between 
 hem in relation to the attachment of the preachers and people 
 the Church of England. " Church or no Church," said 
 fohn in a letter to Charles, " we must attend to the work of 
 aving souls." " I neither set it up, nor pull it down ; but 
 et you and I build the city of God." 
 
 Subsequently to these events, Charles Wesley became more 
 etired and domesticated, travelling but little, except when sick- 
 less or infirmity on the part of John made it necessary for him 
 o supply his brother's place in preaching in London, Bristol, 
 ind other places ; and it is a pleasing evidence of the con- 
 inued affection of the brothers, and of (Charles's unabated inte- 
 est for the Societies, that he strongly urged his brother to " keep 
 lis authority while he lived, and after death to let it be given 
 the worthiest individuals.'' "You cannot," he says, "settle 
 he succession, you cannot divine how God will settle it." 
 
 In the year 1784 John Wesley resolved on erecting his 
 locieties in North America into an independent Episcopal 
 Jhuroh, and for the purpose of carrying out his intentions, 
 
46 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Bolemnly set apart Dr. Coke, one of his preachers, and a pres- 
 byter of the Church of England, to the important office of 
 Superintendent. Charles Wesley's love for the " Church," 
 awakened opposition to this course of procedure. Some let- 
 ters passed between the brothers on this occasion. At first, 
 Charles was warm, and remonstrative, but on receiving his bro- 
 ther's calm answer, he became mild, and assured his brother 
 of his undying love and affection. He, however, continued to 
 look with some degree of suspicion upon the acts of Dr. Coke, 
 and evidently feared that after his brother's death, the Doc- 
 tor would resolve the English Societies into a separate and 
 independent Methodist Church. Such fears, however, were 
 no doubt premature and uncalled for, as the Doctor knew full 
 well, that what might be demanded by a Society under an 
 independent Civil Government where there is no church es- 
 tablishment, might not be suitable for a Society under differ- 
 ent circumstances ; and the result of the establishment of an 
 independent Church in America, shows that John Wesley's 
 policy in providing for the spiritual wants of his children was 
 by no means a mistaken one, but has been followed by the 
 best of consequences to the Church and to the world ; and 
 had Charles Wesley lived until the present day, he would no 
 doubt have acknowledged that his brother's course was order- 
 ed in wisdom, and that in doing as he did, he was actuated 
 and influenced by the Spirit of God. 
 
 On the 29th of March, 1788, the Rev. Charles Wesley depart- 
 ed this life, in the eightieth year of his age, and fifty-third of 
 his ministry, and was buried on the 5th of April, in Marylebone 
 church-yard, London, the pall being supported by eight cler- 
 gymen of the Church of England. He had for a long 
 time been weak in body, and in his last moments he had 
 the most unshaken confidence in God. Shortly before his 
 death he dictated the following beautiful and expressive 
 lines : — 
 
CHARLES WESLEY. 47 
 
 " In age and feebleness extreme, 
 Who shall a sinful worm redeem ^ 
 Jesus, my only hope thou art, 
 Strength of my failing flesh and heart ; 
 0, could I catch a smile from thee, 
 And drop into eternity !" 
 
 The character of Mr. Charles Wesley has been beautifully 
 drawn by one of his daughters, in a letter to a friend. In 
 speaking of some remarks made by a certain author in refer- 
 ence to her deceased father, she says : " Mr. Moore seems to 
 think that my father preferred rest to going about doing good. 
 He had a rising family, and considered it his duty to confine 
 his labors to Bristol and London, where he labored most sedu- 
 lously in ministerial affairs, and judged that it was incumbent 
 upon him to watch over the youth of his sons, especially in a 
 profession which nature so strongly pointed out, but which 
 was peculiarly dangerous. He always said his brother was 
 formed to lead, and he to follow. No one ever rejoiced more in 
 another's superiority, or was more willing to confess it. Mr. 
 Moore's statement of his absence of mind in his younger days 
 is probably correct, as he was born impetuous, and ardent, and 
 sincere. But what a change must have taken place when we 
 were born ! For his exactness in his accounts, in his manu- 
 scripts, in his bureau, &c., equalled my uncle's. Not in his 
 dress indeed ; for my mother said, if she did not watch over 
 him, he might have put on an old for a new coat, and marched 
 out. Such was his power of abstraction, that he could read 
 and compose with his children in the room, and visitors talk- 
 ing around him. He was near forty when he married, and 
 had eight children, of whom we were the youngest. So kind 
 and amiable a character in domestic life can scarcely be im- 
 agined. The tenderness he showed in every weakness, and 
 the sympathy in every pain, would fill sheets to describe. 
 But I am not writing his eulogy ; only I must add, with so 
 
48 LIVES OK EMINEKT MINISTERS. 
 
 warm a temper, ho never was heard to speak an angry word 
 to a servant, or known to strike a child in anger, — and he knew 
 no guile I" 
 
 Charles Wesley was a scholar of very rcspectahle attain- 
 ments, but what will immortalize his name as long as Chris- 
 tianity endures, is his poetic talent. In this department of 
 hterary labor — if labor it may be called — we venture the as- 
 sertion, that Charles Wesley had no superior. The justly 
 celebrated Isaac Watts was no doubt an equal in many re- 
 spects, and perhaps even a superior in others ; hut even he 
 candidly admitted that Charles Wesley's " Wrestling Jacob" 
 was superior to anything the former had ever written. To 
 both of these clergymen the church of God is largely indebt- 
 ed for the Boul-stirring poetry found in the devotional works 
 of nearly all Protestant denominations. We will close this 
 already extended article by giving, as a specimen of Charles 
 Wesley's poetry, the following beautiful hymn, On the Spread 
 of the Gospel : 
 
 " See how great a flame aspires, 
 Kindled by a spark of grace ! 
 Jesus' love the nations fires, 
 Sets the kingdoms in a blaze. 
 To bring fire on earth he came. 
 Kindled in some hearts it is : 
 0, that all might catch the flame. 
 All partake the glorious bliss ! 
 
 When he first the work begun, 
 Small and feeble was his day : 
 Now the word doth swiftly run. 
 Now it wins its wid'ning way : 
 More and more it spreads and grows, 
 Ever mighty to prevail ; 
 Sin's strong holds it now o'erthrows, 
 Shakes the trembling gates of hell. 
 
CHARLES WESLKT. 49 
 
 Sons of God, your Saviour praise I 
 
 He the door hath opened wide ; 
 
 He hath given the word of grace, 
 
 Jesus' word is glorified ; 
 
 Jesus mighty to redeem, 
 
 He alone the work hath wrought. 
 
 Worthy is the work of him, 
 
 Him who spake a world from naught. 
 
 Saw ye not the cloud arise. 
 Little as a human hand 1 
 Now it spreads along the skies. 
 Hangs o'er all the thirsty land ; 
 Lo ! the promise of a shower 
 Drops already from above ; 
 But the Lord wUl shortly pour 
 All the Spirit of his love !" 
 
CHAPTEE in. 
 
 REV. JOHN W. FLETCHER, A.M. 
 
 John "William De La Flecheee was born in Nyon in 
 Switzerland (near Geneva), on the 12th of September, 1729. 
 His father was an officer in the French army, and intended 
 his son John for the service of the Church. He was accord- 
 ingly placed while yet young at the school in Geneva, where 
 he made great proficiency in his studies, and distanced all his 
 competitors in their efforts to secure the customary prizes. 
 After quitting Geneva, he was sent to a small town to perfect 
 himself in the study of the German language, and on his re- 
 turn home he applied himself to the study of the Hebrew 
 with great diligence and assiduity. In very early life he dis- 
 covered the elements of Christian piety, and his thorough ac- 
 quaintance with the sacred Scriptures preserved him from 
 falling into those sins and follies so common to the young. 
 He in fact abhorred sin from his youth up, and in a becoming 
 manner always reproved it in others. Young Fletcher had 
 several remarkable escapes from death ; so remarkaible indeed 
 that his biographer, Mr. Wesley, hesitates not to avow his 
 belief, that his deliverance in one case was nothing short of 
 miraculous. After haying completed his studies at the Uni- 
 versity of Geneva, contrary to the design of his parents, 
 and contrary to his own design hitherto, he resolved to 
 become a soldier. His reasons for this unexpected step, as 
 afterwards given by himself, were, 1st. His want of quali- 
 
KE7. J. w. FLETCHER. 
 
JOHN W. PLKTCH'EB. 
 
 51 
 
 alion fov the high and holy calling of a minister of the 
 3pi.l ; 2dly. His scruples about subscribing to the doctrine 
 predestination, which he must do if he took orders in Swit- 
 rlaud ; and 3dly. His disapproval of entering the sacred 
 ice for the sake of a livelihood, or to obtain preferment. 
 ;nce he went to Lisbon and accepted a Captain's commis- 
 in in the service of the King of Portugal, designing to go 
 Brazil, hut an accident prevented his sailing. About this 
 riod also his uncle had obtained a commission for him ia 
 e Dutch army, which he resolved to accept, but the decla- 
 tion of peace prevented his being engaged in active service. 
 Being thus thrown out of active employment, he went to 
 igland, but not having made himself acquainted with the 
 iglish language, he labored under serious difficulties in mak- 
 T his wants understood. While in an inn, Mr. Fletcher 
 ard a well-dressed Jew speaking French, and engaged him 
 change his foreign money for English currency. Without 
 e reflection he gave the man ninety pounds to exchange for 
 m, and on making known the fact to his companions, they 
 claimed with one accord, " Your money is gone ; you need 
 t expect to see a crown or doit of it any more !" As it 
 is all the money Mr. Fletcher had, he of course felt uneasy 
 lout it, but in his extremity he commended his cause to God, 
 id in a short time the Jew returned, and brought him the 
 hole of the money. This little incident exhibits not only 
 e piety of Mr. Fletcher, and his constant dependence on 
 )d under all circumstances, but it served to show him the 
 iportance of becoming acquainted with the English Ian- 
 age. Accordingly he soon placed himself at a boarding- 
 aool for this express purpose, where he also pursued the 
 idy of polite literature. His easy and affable manners 
 jn gained him the esteem and respect of the town's people 
 :iere the school was situated, and he was a welcome guest 
 the houses of the first families in the place. 
 
62 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 After remaining a year and a half at this school, and hav- 
 ing perfected himself in the English tongue, he accepted the 
 situation of tutor in the family of a Mr. Hill, in Ternhall, 
 Shropshire. A little incident which transpired here, served 
 to convince Mr. Fletcher that however pious and God-fearing 
 he might have been, he was yet, like all others, a fallen crea- 
 ture, and stood in need of the pardoning mercy of God. Giae 
 Sunday evening, a servant came into his room to make up his 
 fire, while Mr. Fletcher was engaged in writing some music. 
 The servant, seriously and respectfully, said, " Sir, I am sorry to 
 see you so employed on the Lord's day." Although mortified 
 at being reproved by a servant, he felt the reproof to be just, 
 immediately put away his music, and ever after was a strict 
 observer of the Sabbath. 
 
 When Mr. Hill went to London to attend the Parliament, 
 he was accompanied by his family, and Mr. Fletcher. While 
 stopping at a town on the road, Mr. Fletcher walked out, and 
 did not return until the family had started for London. A 
 horse, however, was left for him, and he overtook the family 
 in the evening. On being asked why he stayed behind, he 
 replied : " As I was walking, I met with a poor old woman, 
 who talked so sweetly of Jesus, that I knew not how the time 
 passed away." Mrs. Hill replied : " I shall wonder if our 
 tutor does not turn Methodist, by and bye." " Methodist, 
 madam I pray what is that ?" " Why, the Methodists are a 
 people that do nothing but pray ; they are praying all day 
 and all night." "Are they?" replied Mr. Fletcher, "then 
 by the help of God I will find them out, if they be above 
 ground." He did find them out in London, and at once be- 
 came a member of the Society. Hitherto Mr. Fletcher had 
 feared God, but he had not as yet saving faith. This he soon 
 learned to his grief, after having heard a sermon preached on 
 the subject of faith by a clergyman of the Church. " Is it 
 possible," said he, " that I, who have always been accounted 
 
JOHN W. FLETCHER. 53 
 
 SO religious, who have made divinity my study, and received 
 the premium of piety from my University for my writings on 
 Divine subjects, — is it possible that I should yet be so igno- 
 rant as not to know what faith is?" The more he reflected 
 the more convinced he became that he was in fact a stranger 
 to the love of God, that he was a sinner, and deserved to be 
 damned. He finally resolved, that if sent to hell, he would 
 serve God there, and that if he could not be an instance of 
 his mercy in heaven, he would be a monument of his justice 
 in hell. Soon, however, he ventured to believe in Christ as a 
 universal Redeemer, and as his personal Saviour, and after a 
 hard and prolonged struggle with the powers of darkness, he 
 became a "new man'' in Christ Jesus. Let not the reader 
 think that Mr. Fletcher was beside himself, and that he was 
 superstitious or fanatical in his efforts to obtain the favor of 
 God. Saul of Tarsus, the two Wesleys, and hundreds of the 
 great and good before Mr. Fletcher's time, had felt the bur- 
 den of sin, and although previously moral and virtuous in 
 their lives, and God-fearing in their disposition, were never- 
 theless constrained to exclaim, " 0, wretched man that I am, 
 who shall deliver me from this body of death?" and who, 
 after having exercised faith in Christ, could also exclaim, 
 " There is, therefore, now, no condemnation to them who are 
 in Christ Josus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the 
 Spirit ; for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, hath, 
 made me free from the law of sin and death." And thus 
 Mr. Fletcher attained to the adoption of a " son of God" and 
 an heir of heaven. 
 
 After his conversion, Mr. Fletcher became an eminent in- 
 stance of vital piety ; his hopes, desires, and pursuits became 
 totally changed. He now felt it his duty to call sinners to 
 repentance, and an opening having been made whereby he 
 could obtain a " living" in the Church of England, if he de- 
 sired it, he took counsel of Mr. Wesley in relation to the pro- 
 
54 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 priety of taking orders in that Church, and on the 6th of 
 March, 1757, he received deacon's orders in the Chapel-Royal 
 at St. James, from the Bishop of Bangor, and on the follow- 
 ing Sabbath was admitted to the order of the priesthood by 
 the same Bishop. 
 
 The same day that he was ordained priest, being informed 
 that Mr. Wesley had no one to assist him at West-street 
 Chapel, as soon as the ordination service was over, he hasten- 
 ed to assist him in the administration of the Lord's Supper ; 
 and from this time forward fully identified himself with the 
 Methodists by co-operating, as opportunity offered, with the 
 Wesleys and their preachers, lie soon afterward visited the 
 country places around London, and preached in several of the 
 churches, but his plain manner of telling the truth, and above 
 all, the Divine unction which attended his preaching, offended 
 several of the clergymen, who closed their churches against 
 him. 
 
 In the year 175S there were many French prisoners in 
 London, who desired Mr. Fletcher to preach to them in their 
 own language, which he did. Many of them were deeply 
 affected, and desired him to preach to them every Sabbath. 
 They were, however, advised to present a petition to the 
 Bishop of London for leave, but, strange to say, the Bishop in 
 the most peremptory manner rejected their petition. A few 
 months after, his lordship died with a cancer in his mouth. 
 Mr. Wesley, in reference to this event, says, " I do not 
 think it any breach of charity to suppose, that an action so 
 unworthy of a Christian bishop had its punishment in this 
 world." 
 
 During the sessions of parliament, Mr. Fletcher was gene- 
 rally in London with his kind friends, Mr. and Mrs. Hill, the 
 latter of whom had predicted that Mr. F. would yet be a 
 Methodist, and whose prediction had indeed come to pass. 
 During the recess of Parliament Mr. Fletcher might be found 
 
JOHN W. FLETCHBE. 65 
 
 in his study at Ternhall, improving his mind and heart, and 
 walking closely with his God. 
 
 Ill a letter written by Mr. Charles Wesley to Mr. Fletcher, 
 the former had intimated something in relation to a salary 
 which Mr. Fletcher should have for his labors ; in reply to 
 this the latter observes : " To what a monstrous idea had you 
 well nigh given birth. What ! the labors of my ministry 
 under you deserve salary I Alas ! I have done nothing but 
 dishonor to God hitherto, and am not in a condition to do any- 
 thing else for the future. If, then, I am permitted to stand 
 in the courts of the Lord's house, is it not for me to make an 
 acknowledgment, rather than to receive oi.e ? If I ever re- 
 ceive anything of the Methodist Church, it shall be only as 
 an indigent beggar receives alms, without which he would 
 perish." 
 
 About this time, Mr. Fletcher's friends in Switzerland 
 were pressing him with invitations to return to his own coun 
 try, but supposing their desires to be purely the result of nat 
 ural affection, he preferred staying where his time could be 
 more profitably employed in aiding the Messrs. Wesley in their 
 work of love. About this time also he received a very polite 
 invitation from the Countess of Huntingdon, to become her 
 ladyship's domestic chaplain, but his engagements with the 
 Wesleys prevented his acceptance of the kind offer ; so that 
 until the following autumn his time was mostly employed in 
 rendering them and their Societies all necessary assistance. 
 In the meanwhile he had frequently assisted the Rev. Mr. 
 Chambers, Vicar of Madely — a place about ten miles from 
 Ternhall — and had contracted a strong and growing love for 
 the people of that parish. Mr. Chambers having accepted a 
 living in another parish, the vicarage of Madely, through the 
 interest of his fnend, Mr. Hill, was offered to Mr. Fletcher, 
 and after having taken the advice of the Messrs. Wesley 
 and others, he concluded to accept the offer, and in due form 
 
56 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 was instituted Vioar of Madely, which relation he sustained 
 as long as he lived. 
 
 At Madely, a new field of operation presented itself before 
 him. The town was a place of considerable importance, 
 both on account of its manufactures and population. The 
 greater portion of the inhabitants, however, were very de- 
 graded and vicious. Ignorance, profanity, Sabbath-breaking, 
 and drunkenness, prevailed to an alarming extent, and even 
 the external forms of religion were ridiculed. Young per- 
 sons of both .sexes, at stated times, would meet and spend the 
 entire night in dancing, revelling, drunkenness, and obscenity. 
 These assemblages were truly a disgrace to the Christian name, 
 and frequently did Mr. Fletcher repair to these scenes of dis- 
 order and dissipation, and administer plain, yet affectionate 
 reproof to the thoughtless persons therein congregated, and 
 frequently these reproofs were not in vain, for, although at 
 first there might be a burst of indignation at the bold inter- 
 ference, his tears, his prayers, and exhortations, would gene- 
 rally be crowned with success. The great mass of the peo- 
 ple did not attend public worship, and many gave as an ex- 
 cuse for non-attendance, that they could not wake early enough 
 to get their families ready. To remedy this, Mr. Fletcher, 
 taking a bell in his hand, sallied out every Sunday morning 
 for some months at five o'clock, and went round to the most 
 distant parts of the town, inviting all the inhabitants to the 
 house of worship. 
 
 These facts are stated merely as an evidence of Mr. Fletch- 
 er's ministerial fidelity to the people of his parish. But not- 
 withstanding his fidelity, he saw so little fruit of his labors 
 that he was frequently on the point of leaving Madely, and 
 giving himself wholly to the itinerant work under the direc- 
 tion of the Messrs. Wesley. His greatest discouragement 
 arose from the smallness of his congregations ; but soon this 
 cause of despondency was removed, for not only did his 
 
JOHN W. FLETCHER. 
 
 57 
 
 churoli become full, but many had to stand in the church- 
 yard who could not get into the house. So great indeed was 
 the crowd at times, that Mr. Fletcher's churchwardens spoke 
 of hindering persons of other parishes from attending church 
 in that place ; but their faithful pastor withstood them, and 
 was successful in preventing such a disgraceful proceeding. 
 
 Although Mr. Fletcher was the resident Vicar of a parish, 
 he did not confine his labors to that parish, but wherever a 
 door opened for doing good he was ready to enter in. He fre- 
 quently visited two villages not far distant from Madely, 
 where he formed small societies of Methodists. He also regu- 
 larly preached for many years at places eight, ten, and sixteen 
 miles off. Notwithstanding his devotion to the cause of God, 
 Mr. Fletcher, like his compeers, the Wesleys, was the subject 
 of persecution and reproach. And it is lamentable to know, 
 that, as in the case of the Wesleys, so in Mr. Fletcher's case, 
 the greatest amount of persecution was caused by the unprin- 
 cipled and uncalled-for opposition of church-dignitaries, and 
 civil magistrates, who added threats to their insults, and who, 
 if they did not stir up the unholy passions of the multitude, 
 were perfectly willing to stand by and see a faithful ministei 
 abused and maltreated, for no other reason than that they 
 themsulves " loved darkness rather than light, because their 
 deeds were evil." 
 
 The opposition of the innkeepers, tipplers, gamblers, &c., 
 to Mr. Fletcher was intense, and exhibited itself in various 
 ways. On one occasion, a stout and healthy young man, 
 twenty-four years old, came to the church-yard in Madely 
 with a corpse, which was to be buried, but refused to enter 
 the church. After the burial, Mr. Fletcher expostulated with 
 him, but his answer was, that he had bound himself not to 
 come to church as long as Mr. Fletcher was there, and that 
 he was prepared to take all the consequences of his refusal. 
 As Mr. Fletcher turned away in sorrow, he could not forbear 
 
58 1IVE8 or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 saying to the young man, " I am clear of your blood, hence- 
 forth it is upon your own head ; you will not come to church 
 upon your legs, prepare to come upon your neighbor's shoul- 
 ders." The young man immediately began to waste away, 
 and in three months was buried on the very spot where 
 the above conversation was had. Mr. F. visited hira during 
 his sickness, when "he seemed as tame as a wolf in the trap." 
 Mr. Fletcher not only labored assiduously for the benefit of 
 his parishioners, but he frequently invited Uev's. John and 
 Charles Wesley to visit his parish, and preach in his church. 
 He also invited Mr. Wesley's preachers to visit his parish, 
 and take the charge of the Methodist Societies which he had 
 raised up. He also invited the Rev. George Whitefield to 
 visit his parish, and in his letter of invitation on one occasion 
 he says: "Last Sunday sevennight Captain Scott preached 
 to my congregation a sermon which was more blessed, though 
 preached only upon my horse-block, than a hundred of those 
 I preach in my pulpit. I invited him to come and treat her 
 ladyship (Countess of Huntingdon) next Sunday with another, 
 now the place is consecrated. If you should ever favor 
 Shropshire with your presence, you shall have the Captain's 
 or the parson's pulpit at your option." A distinction is here 
 drawn between the " Captain's and the parson's pulpit." 
 The " Captain" and Mr. Wesley's lay preachers not having 
 been episcopally ordained, could not legally be admitted to the 
 pulpit of the parish church, while Mr. Whitefield and the 
 Wesleys, having received episcopal ordination, could lawfully 
 be invited to preach in the same. Hence if Captain Scott 
 and Mr. Wesley's lay preachers did not occupy Mr. Fletcher's 
 pulpit, it was only because the law would not allow it ; while 
 the horse-block, or the desk of the Society-house, or a room in 
 Mr. Fletcher's parsonage, were always open for the public 
 services of those men of God who were called to the work 
 of the ministry without episcopal authority. 
 
JOHN W. FLETCHER. 69 
 
 In 1765, Mr. Fletcher visited different parts of England, 
 and while spending a few Sabbaths at a place called Breedon, 
 Leicestershire, people flocked to hear him from all the adja- 
 cent parishes. The clerk of the church being offended at the 
 large attendance of people, because it increased his labor in 
 cleaning the church, &c., placed himself at the door, and de- 
 manded a penny of every stranger who entered. Mr. Fletcher 
 having been informed of the fact, at the close of the service, 
 said to the congregation, " I have heard that the clerk of this 
 parish has demanded, and has actually received money from 
 divers strangers, before he would suffer them to enter the 
 church. I desire that all who have paid money in this way 
 for hearing the gospel, will come to me, and I will return 
 what they have paid. And as to this iniquitous clerk, his 
 money perish with him." 
 
 In the year 1770, Mr. Fletcher paid a visit to his native 
 land, and in addition to visiting Switzerland, he and his 
 friend, Mr. Ireland, travelled through the greater part of 
 France and Italy. The five months spent in this tour were 
 not, however, lost, as wherever Mr. Fletcher went, he tried 
 to make himself useful to the souls of his fellow-men. He 
 even visited the Roman Catholic monasteries and convents, 
 and conversed freely and boldly with the most serious of their 
 inmates. So great indeed was his boldness of speech toward 
 many of the priests and others, that his life and that of his 
 friend were frequently in danger. He attended the Popes 
 chapel in Kome, accompanied by Mr. Ireland, who only con- 
 sented to go after having extorted a promise from Mr. Fletcher, 
 that the latter would not speak by way of censure or reproof 
 at what he saw or heard. While travelling in a part of 
 Italy they approached the "Appian Way." Mr. Fletcher 
 directed the driver to stop, and he descendud from th« car- 
 riage, assuring Mr. Ireland that his heart would not suffer him 
 to ride over that ground, upon which the apostle Paul had 
 
60 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ■walked, chained to a soldier, on account of having preached 
 the Gospel. As soon as he alighted, he reverently took oB" 
 his hat, and walked with his eyes upraised to heaven, while 
 he thanked God that England was favored with the gospel 
 in its purity, and prayed that Rome might also share in the 
 same glorious blessing. 
 
 Soon alter his arrival in his native town, the clergy of 
 Nyon vied with each other in doing him distinguished honor. 
 They severally pressed him to honor their pulpits during his 
 stay, and on the Sabbath after his arrival, he preached in one 
 of the churches to a large and attentive congregation, and 
 continued during his sojourn in the place to draw large and 
 crowded audiences, who were charmed with his eloquence, 
 and listened to him as though he was something more than 
 man. 
 
 During his tour, he also made a visit to the Hugonots, or 
 French Protestants, in the south of France. Such was his 
 respect for the people, whose fathers had laid down their lives 
 for the gospel, that he positively refused to ride to the Cevennes 
 Mountain, where these people resided, but persisted in accom- 
 plishing the journey on foot. He accordingly clothed himself 
 in the plainest garb, and with his staff in his hand, made his 
 appearance among them. He was everywhere received as a 
 messenger of God, even the profane and vicious acknowledged 
 that he spoke with authority, and instances were given of his 
 success in winning souls to Christ in his journeys through 
 these mountains. 
 
 After having accomplished the object of their travels, the 
 two friends returned to England, and such was the estimation 
 in which Mr. Ireland hold his friend, who had been his 
 almost constant companion for five months, that had he been 
 an angel in human form, he could have esteemed him no 
 higher. 
 
 About this time, the Countess of Huntingdon erected a 
 
JOHN W. FLETCHBR. 61 
 
 theological seminary at Trevecka, in Wales, for the purpose 
 of educating pious young men for the ministry, either of the 
 establishment, the Wesleyan body, or the dissenting churches. 
 To the superintendency or presidency of this seminary, Mr. 
 Fletcher was called by the Countess ; not that she expected 
 him to leave his charge in Madely, but that he should occa- 
 sionally visit the institution, and give advice m relation to the 
 appointment of teachers, and the admission or rejection of 
 students; to direct in the course of study; and judge of their 
 qualifications for the work of the ministry. Mr, Fletcher 
 willingly accepted the invitation, and undertook the charge 
 without fee or reward, while Rev. Joseph Benson, one of 
 Mr. Wesley's preachers, and Head-Master of the Wesleyan 
 School at Kingswood, was, on Mr. Wesley's recommendation, 
 appointed Second-Master of the Seminary under Mr. Fletcher, 
 The visits of the latter to the Seminary were always seasons 
 of refreshing to the pious students. Instead of haranguing 
 them with long metaphysical disquisitions on some branch of 
 abstruse science or philosophy, he would talk to them about 
 the love of Jesus, and would generally close by saying, " As 
 many of you as are athirst for the fulness of the Spirit, follow 
 me into my room." There they would spend two or three 
 hours in prayer, wrestling Jacob-like for the blessing of per- 
 fect love. On one of these occasions, Mr. Fletcher was so 
 filled with the love of God, that he felt he could contain 
 no more, and cried out, " 0, my God, withhold thy hand 
 or the vessel will burst !" In reference to this expression, 
 Mr. Fletcher afterward told Mr. Benson, he was afraid he had 
 grieved the Holy Spirit, and that he ought rather to have 
 prayed that the Lord would have enlarged the vessel, or suf- 
 fered it to break. 
 
 Thus did this man of God labor to improve the moral 
 and spiritual, as well as the intellectual gifts of his students ; 
 and thus, during his superintendency of the institution, did 
 
62 
 
 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 the latter flourish and grow in utility, and more than met 
 the anticipations of its excellent founder. At length religious 
 dissensions began to he fostered among the patrons of the 
 school. . Her ladyship, through the influence of prejudiced 
 counsellors, dismissed- Mr. Benson from being Head-Master, 
 because he could not endorse the doctrine of predestination. 
 Mr. Benson, as in duty bound, informed Mr. Fletcher of the 
 fact, and the latter in writing to the Countess says : " Mr. 
 Benson made a very just defence, when he said he held with 
 me the possibility of salvation for all men ; that mercy is of- 
 fered to all, and yet may be rejected or received. If this be 
 what your ladyship calls Mr. Wesley's opinion, free will, and 
 Arminianism, and if ' every Arminian must quit the college,' 
 I am actually discharged also. For in my present view 
 of things, I must hold that sentiment, if I believe that the 
 Bible is true, and that God is love. For my part, I am no 
 party man. In the Lord, I am your servant, and that of your 
 every student, but I cannot give up the honor of being con- 
 nected with my old friends. ^^ * * Mr. Wesley shall always 
 be welcome to my pulpit, and I shall gladly bear my testi- 
 mony in his, as well as in Mr. Whitefield's. But if your 
 ladyship forbid your students to preach for the one, and ofler 
 them to preach for the other at every turn ; and if a master 
 is discarded for believing that Christ died for all ; then preju- 
 dice reigns ; charity is cruelly wounded ; and party-spirit 
 shouts, prevails, and triumphs." 
 
 That the reader may understand the true position of the 
 parties in this affair, it is perhaps necessary to remark, that 
 the Countess of Huntingdon was a Methodist of the White- 
 fieldian School ; that her chaplain, the Hon. and Rev. Wal- 
 ter Shirley, her own brother, was a violent predestinarian ; and 
 that about this time there was much controversy between the 
 predestinarians on the one hand, and the Arminians on the 
 other. Besides, Mr. Wesley and his preachers in Conference 
 
JOHN W. FLETCHER. 63 
 
 capacity Imd recently taken strong ground against the pecu- 
 liar doctrines of Calvinism, and Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Ben- 
 son were well known to be advisers of Mr. Wesley's course 
 in this respect. Hence the dismission of Mr. Benson, and as 
 might be expected the subsequent resignation of Mr. Fletcher 
 of the presidency of the College. In the meanwhile, Mr. 
 Shirley, above alluded to, having taken umbrage at the doc- 
 trines promulgated in the Wesleyan " Minutes of Conference," 
 issued a " Circular Letter" to the evangelical Clergymen of 
 England, protesting against the doctrines of Arminianism, 
 and inviting them to meet in Bristol at the next session of the 
 Wesleyan Conference, and go in a body to the Conference, 
 and demand a retraction of the ofTensive doctrines ! which 
 they actually attempted to do, but were very properly refused 
 an audience by Mr. Wesley and his Conference, until they 
 were willing to meet as friends and not as belligerents. 
 
 The occasion, however, called out Mr. Fletcher in a new 
 character, that of a polemic writer. Hitherto he appears as 
 the pious, useful pastor ; as the learned and truly dignified 
 president of a College ; but now buckling on the whole ar- 
 mor of truth, and seizing the sword of the Spirit, he marches 
 out into the field of moral warfare, and bids defiance to the 
 machinations of the prejudiced, and hurls his weapons of war 
 into the camp of error. No sooner had he received Mr. Shir- 
 ley's Circular, than he at once began the preparation of his 
 " Checks to Antinoinianism ;" a work which does immortal 
 honor to the head and heart of the author, and which no doubt 
 will be read and admired as long as error shall demand an 
 antidote. In speaking of these " Checks" Mr. Wesley ob- 
 serves : " How much good has been occasioned by the publi- 
 cation of that Circular Letter ! This was the happy occasion 
 of Mr. Fletcher's wr ting those ' Checks to Autinomiatiism,' in 
 which one kniiws not which to aihnire most, t he ^wriiy of the 
 lano-uage (such as scarce any foreigner ever wrote before) ; 
 
64 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 the Strength and clearness of the argument ; or the mildness 
 and sweetness of the spirit that breathes throughout the 
 whole. Insomuch that 1 wonder not at a serious Clergyman, 
 who being resolved to live and die in his own opinion, when 
 he was pressed to read them replied, ' No, I will never read 
 Mr. Fletcher's Checks : for if I did I should be of his mind.' " 
 Thus was Mr. Fletcher, before he was aware of it, a con- 
 troversial author, and it was because of his peculiar fitness 
 for this particular part of ministerial duty, that ever after his 
 well-pointed pen was employed almost constantly in defence 
 of what he sincerely believed to be truth. His numerous po- 
 lemic works were printed at Mr. Wesley's press in London, 
 and in this way he rendered the latter much more efficient 
 service, than though he had been actively employed in the 
 itinerant field. And in engaging in controversy as much as 
 Mr. Fletcher did, he felt in his own soul, as though he was 
 serving the interests of the bleeding cause of Christ as much, 
 or more than he could do in any other way. To give his 
 views on the subject of controversy and also to show his com- 
 mand of the English language — Swiss though he was — we 
 will favor the reader with an extract from one of his contro- 
 versial works : " Some of our friends will undoubtedly blame 
 us for not dropping the contested point ; but others will can- 
 didly consider that controversy though not desirable in itself, 
 yet properly managed, has a hundred times rescued truth 
 groaning under the lashof triumphant error. We are indebt- 
 ed to our Lord's controversies with the Pharisees and scribes, 
 for a. considerable part of the four gospels. And to the end 
 of the world the Church will bless God for the spirited man- 
 ner in which St. Paul in his Epistles to the Romans, and Ga- 
 latians defended the controverted point of a believer's present 
 justification by faith, as well as for the steadiness with which 
 St. James, St. John, St. Peter, and St. Jude carried on their 
 important controversy with the Nicolaitans, who abused St. 
 
JOHN W. FLETCHER. 65 
 
 Paul's doctrine to antinomian purposes. Had it not been for 
 controversy, Romish priests would to-day, feed us with Latin 
 masses, and a wafer-god. Some bold propositions advanced 
 by Luther, brought on the Reformation. They were so irra- 
 tionally attacked by the infatuated Papists, and so scripturally 
 defended by the resolute Protestants, that these kingdoms 
 opened their eyes, and saw thousands of images and errors fall 
 before the ark of evangelical truth." 
 
 Previous to the year 1773, Mr. Fletcher's health had been 
 somewhat on the decline, in consequence of his exposure to 
 all kinds of weather, at all seasons of the year, which greatly 
 impaired his strength and constitution. He was able however 
 to perform all his clerical duties without much intermission. 
 In the former part of this year, he wrote a long letter to Mr. 
 Wesley, in which he intimated that he had doubts about the 
 propriety of his remaining longer at Madely, and expresses 
 his willingness, if Providence opened the way, to resume his 
 office as Mr. Wesley's " deacon." " And as the little estate 
 I have in my ovra. country," he observes, " is sufficient for 
 my maintenance, I have thought I would one day or other 
 offer you and the Methodists my free services." " I can nev- 
 er believe," says Mr. Wesley in referring to this letter, " that 
 it was the will of God that such a burning and shining light 
 should be hid under a bushel. No, instead of being confined 
 to a country village it ought to have shone in every corner of 
 the land." But the way for his leaving Madely did not seem 
 to open, so that he continued his pastoral relation to that par 
 ish, as before stated, while he lived. His health, however, 
 being poor, he supplied his parish with a curate, and accepted 
 an invitation from Mr. Wesley to accompany him in a tour 
 through different parts of England. Accordingly, he spent 
 the greater part of the year, in travelling with the latter some 
 twelve hundred miles, mostly on horseback, and only stopped 
 in his tour for the purpose of writing an answer to a work 
 
 5 
 
hi LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 which had been lately published by a Mr. Evans and Di 
 Price, and also to supply the pulpit in Madely, as his curate 
 had left the parish. His return to active labor, however, in- 
 creased the violence of his disease, so that his physician for- 
 bade his preaching. He consequently secured the services 
 of another curate, and spent the greater part of the ensuing 
 summer at the Hot Springs, but without any material im- 
 provement of his health. 
 
 In the fall of 1776, he again joined Mr. Wesley in a tour 
 through various parts of England, and at the close of the 
 same accompanied him to London, but in the winter he re- 
 tired to a friend's house in Newington, where he spent the 
 most of the time in writing Christian letters to his parishion- 
 ers and other friends, although his disease (spitting of blood) 
 would not allow him to converse much. In the spring of 
 1777, he went to Bristol, and Bath, and in the latter part of 
 the summer, as his health still continued poor, resolved on 
 making another journey to Switzerland. But he did not leave 
 England until the beginning of December, when in company 
 with Mr. Ireland, and two of his daughters, he sailed for the 
 south of France. His journey appearing to benefit him, he 
 proceeded to Rome and various parts of Italy. While in 
 Rome, as he and Mr. Ireland were one day going through the 
 streets in a coach, they met the Pope in an open carriage ; and 
 as the custom was for all to leave their carriages and kneel 
 when they met the pope, and as a refusal to do so would draw 
 on them the vengeance of the multitude, our friends were 
 placed in somewhat of a strait in reference to how they ought 
 to act. To kneel to a pope they could not ; the coachman 
 was terrified, and knew not what to do ; he finally succeeded 
 in reining his horses into a narrow passage, until his Holiness 
 had passed by. 
 
 After having visited various parts of France and Italy, he 
 proceeded to Nyon, his native place, from which he wrote to 
 
JOHN W. FLETCHER. Ql 
 
 Johti and Chavles Wesley. In Nyon, he was able to preach 
 but three or four times, but he spent much time in instruct- 
 ing and catechizing the children, and in writing epistles as 
 usual to friends in England. His health during his prolonged 
 stay in his native country was so vacillating, that it was not 
 till the summer of 1781 that he ventured to return to Eng- 
 land. After having visited London and preached in the 
 Wesleyan New Chapel, he proceeded to Bristol, near which 
 he had an opportunity of seeing Mr. Rankin, who during his 
 absence had returned from America, and whfle Mr. Rankin 
 was relating the progress of the work of God in that distant 
 portion of the field, Mr. Fletcher would frequently stop him, 
 and pour out his soul to God for the prosperity of the Ameri- 
 can brethren. After a few days he set out for his beloved 
 parish, and was affectionately received by his people, who 
 were warmly endeared to him by a thousand sacred ties. 
 
 Hitherto Mr. Fletcher had led a single life, having never 
 been married. In early life he had formed an acquaintance 
 with a devotedly pious and estimable young lady, but without 
 having seriously entertained thoughts of marriage. After his 
 return from Switzerland the second time, he providentially 
 renewed his acquaintance with the same person, who had 
 suffered much during her life, for her devotion to the cause 
 of Christ. As there appeared to be no impediment to the 
 union, Mr. Fletcher and Miss Bosanquet were united in holy 
 matrimony. This lady was of respectable family, and was 
 possessed of a competent fortune. In early life, she became 
 a subject of saving grace, and soon united with one of Mr. 
 Wesley's Societies. It appeared from subsequent develop- 
 ments that both of these persons while young had formed 
 an attachment for each other, and had concluded in their 
 own minds, that if they ever married it would be to each 
 other. But Mr. Fletcher, who had imbibed adisrehsh for the 
 
68 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 marriage state, solely on the ground that he believed a person 
 could not he as holy and useful in this, as in a single state, 
 prudently and with great sacrifice of feeling no doubt, abstain- 
 ed from making his attachment known to the lady, and she 
 perhaps for similar reasons, had hid her own feelings within 
 her own heart. At the time of their marriage, however, prov- 
 idence seemed to open the way for their union, and the pious 
 and useful Miss Bosanquet became the holy devoted wife of 
 Mr. Fletcher. This union was followed by the best of conse- 
 quences, for instead of drawing their affections in any measure 
 from God, it only served to increase the flame of divine love, 
 and make their united labors more acceptable and efficient to 
 the church of Christ. Like Zacharias and Elizabeth of old, 
 these holy persons " walked in all the ordinances and com- 
 mandments of the Lord blameless." 
 
 In the summer of 1784, Mr. and Mrs Fletcher having been 
 repeatedly urged and invited by several pious people in Dub- 
 lin to visit the Methodist Society in that city, they accepted 
 the invitation, and although they remained there but a short 
 time, they were instrumental in accomplishing much good, 
 and when they returned to England they left behind them a 
 large circle of warm-hearted pious friends, whose attachment 
 to them had become ripened by the influence of Christian love 
 and affection. 
 
 About four years after his marriage Mr. Fletcher was seiz- 
 ed with his last illness, which was only of a week's continu- 
 ance, and on the 14th of August, 1785, he departed this life 
 in hope of a blissful and glorious resurrection. Thus died one 
 of the holiest men that probably had lived from the days of 
 the Apostle John — " a pattern of holiness" — as described by 
 Mr. Wesley in the notice of his death in the Minutes of the 
 Wesleyan Conference, — a man who of all others had an eye 
 single to the glory of God, and one who, next to Wesley, did; 
 
JOHN W. FLETCHBR. 69 
 
 more than any other man of his times to advance the cause 
 of Wesleyan theology and sound Arminian doctrine. He was 
 huried in Madely church-yard, honored and lamented hy all 
 who knew him, and hy none more so, than his friend and broth- 
 er the Rev. John Wesley. — "Peace to ms ashes." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 REV. JOSEPH BENSON, A.M. 
 
 This distinguished Methodist minister was born in Melmer- 
 dy, County of Cumberland, England, on the 25th day of Jan- 
 uary, 1748. His father was a farmer of good character, and 
 in comfortable circumstances ; and who designed his son for 
 the ministry of the English established Church. At a very 
 early age Joseph became the subject of serious religious im- 
 pressions, which never wore off, until he became the happy 
 partaker of the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 While yet young, Joseph was placed at the village school, 
 and afterwards under the care of a Presbyterian -minister 
 named Dean, who was pastor of the Presbyterian Church, in 
 the village where his father resided. He continued under this 
 gentleman's instruction pursuing a course of classical study, 
 until he was sixteen years of age, when he became a teacher 
 in a school in a neighboring town, where he remained for one 
 year. It was while engaged in this school, that Joseph be- 
 came convinced that notwithstanding his morality he must 
 be born again before he could see the kingdom of God. Through 
 the influence of a pious cousin, and the knowledge gained by 
 reading Mr. Wesley's sermons, and hearing Methodist preach- 
 ing he was at length constrained to trust in Jesus Christ as 
 his personal Saviour, and he obtained the witness of his adop- 
 tion into the family of God. 
 
 After his conversion, he united with a Methodist Society. 
 
JOSEPH BENSON. 7l 
 
 This Step gave great offence tc his father, who was a zealous 
 son of "the church,'' and believing that he would take but 
 little comfort at home, on account of his father's opposition, 
 and there being but little opportunity for improving his mind 
 there, Joseph with his father's consent, left the parental man 
 sion, and parted from his father, both being overcome by . 
 flood of tears. The farewell words they spoke were the last 
 they ever spoke to each other, as father and son never met 
 again on earth. 
 
 At this eventful period in the history of his life, Mr. Benson 
 was only seventeen years of age — an age of all others when 
 a young man needs the aid of parental restraint and advice. 
 Besides, he had but a small portion of this world's gear to 
 take with him — so little indeed, that his legs and feet had to 
 answer in the place of horses and carriage while pursuing his 
 outward journey. Before leaving home, Joseph had heard 
 that there was a vacancy in the office of Classical master in 
 Mr. Wesley's school in Kingswood. He accordingly bent his 
 steps towards Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where he hoped to meet 
 Mr. Wesley ; the latter, however, had left for London before 
 he arrived. Being disappointed in securing a passage on board 
 of a vessel to London, Mr. Benson commenced the journey on 
 foot, although, in the depth of winter. He had not proceeded 
 far, however, before he fell in company with a gentleman 
 who was acquainted with Mr. Wesley, and who after learning 
 the particulars of young Benson's case, kindly paid his stage 
 fare to London. On his arrival at the latter city he was again 
 disappointed about meeting Mr. Wesley ; he, however, re- 
 mained in the city about four weeks, and shortly after receiv- 
 ed the appointment of Classical master in Kingswood School. 
 The appointment thus conferred upon him, shows the confi- 
 dence which Mr. Wesley had in the piety and classical at- 
 tainments of one so young ; and this confidence was not mis- 
 placed, as Mr. Benson's subsequent history proves. 
 
t2 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 After his arrival at Kingswood, he entered upon the duties 
 of his office with a degree of zeal and ardor peculiar to him- 
 Belf, and by his knowledge of the classics, and his manner of 
 imparting instruction, soon gained not only the confidence 
 of his pupils, but the further confidence and respect of Mr. 
 Wesley. 
 
 While engaged in Kingswood he made his first attempts at 
 preaching. Being destitute of natural talents for extempora- 
 neous efforts, it was with some difficulty that he could be pre- 
 vailed upon to pray publicly, and preach to the colliers in the 
 neighborhood. But although slow of speech, his labors were 
 greatly blessed to the good of the scholars committed to his 
 care, so much so, that several of them were awakened to a 
 sense of sin, and were led to Christ. He remained at the 
 school in Kingswood for nearly four years, and when he left 
 it, he was followed by the best wishes and respects of all who 
 knew him, or had been benefited by his instructions. 
 
 In 1769 the Countess of Huntingdon founded a college in 
 Wales for the benefit of young men who were candidates for 
 the ministry in the established Church, or in either of the 
 evangelical dissenting churches. To the presidency of this 
 institution, Mr. Fletcher, as stated in the preceding chapter, 
 was duly appointed by her ladyship. On the recommendation 
 of Mr. Wesley, and the advice of Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Benson 
 was appointed Head Master of the College, a situation at once 
 awfully responsible, and the duties of which were complicated 
 and arduous, especially for a young man of twenty-one years 
 of age. 
 
 In the spring of 1770, he took up his residence at Trevecca, 
 the place where the College was located, and became well 
 satisfied with his situation and the flattering prospects of the 
 College. He was also much beloved and respected by the 
 gentlemen students and the patrons of the College. 
 
 Mr. Benson during the succeeding winter vacation was ab- 
 
JOSEPH BENSON. V3 
 
 sent at Oxford "keeping terms," and during his absence, a 
 zealous advocate of the Calviiiistic Creed visited the seat of 
 the College, and propagated the seeds of dissension and disu- 
 nion among the sludeiUs, and others connected with the Col- 
 lege. It should be known to the reader, that at this period, 
 much excitement prevailed in England and Wales, in relation 
 to the doctrines of Calvinism on the one hand, and of Armin- 
 ianisrn on the other. This excitement was mostly felt in the 
 two Melhodistic bodies, known as the Whilcfieldian, and the 
 Wesleyan, and at this particular period, was at its height. 
 Mr. Whitefield, Lady Huntingdon, and ol'ors were disposed 
 to defend the Calvinistic views : while Mr. ^■.'esley, Mr. Fletch- 
 er, and Mr. Benson, arrayed themselves on the opposite side, 
 of free grace, and Gcd's impartial love to all mankind. It 
 was at length determined by the countess, to dismiss all Ar- 
 minians from her College, whether teachers or students, and 
 consequently Mr. Benson had to take his leave after a short 
 but useful term of nine months' duration, as Head Master. On 
 leaving the College, Lady Huntingdon cheerfully gave him a 
 testimonial of her high regard for his character, as a gentle- 
 man and as a teacher. As before stated, Mr. Fletcher on 
 bearing the fact of Mr. Benson's abrupt dismissal on account 
 of his religious views, immediately resigned the Presidency of 
 the College. 
 
 We have stated above that Mr. Benson was at Oxford keep- 
 ing terms. He had in March 1769, entered his name on the 
 books of the University, and from that period he regularly 
 and systematically cultivated every part of a University edu- 
 cation After having been at the University two years, and 
 having pursued all the branches pre-requisite to ordination in 
 the Church of England, he concluded in the fear of God to 
 take upon himself holy orders. It was necessary, however, 
 previously to ordination, that his tutor in the University should . 
 sign his testimonials, but on hearing that Mr. Benson had been 
 
^4 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 a local preacher under Mr. Wesley, and that he had actually 
 dared as such to preach to the poor colliers of Kingswood, he 
 peremptorily, and in the true spirit of higotry refused to sign 
 such testimonials, or even to act longer toward him in the ca- 
 pacity of tutor. Mr. Benson remonstrated in the spirit of 
 kindness against such ill-usage, and although seconded in liis 
 effort to obtain his testimonials by the principal of St. Edmund's 
 Hall, yet the tutor remained inflexible in his refusal, and Mr. 
 Benson left Oxford. 
 
 After leaving Oxford, Mr. Benson obtained testimonials 
 from a respectable clergyman in Wales, and a large and re- 
 spectable parish was obtained for him. His testimonials were 
 countersigned by the bishop of St. David's, but as the parish 
 which had been presented to him, was within the diocess of 
 Worcester, he applied to the Bishop of Worcester for ordina- 
 tion, but the latter refused to ordain him, ostensibly for the 
 reason, that he had not received his Academical degree, but 
 truly, as it is to be feared, for the same reason that his bigoted 
 tutor would not sign his testimonials. 
 
 We have before stated that Mr. Benson did not naturally 
 possess a capacity for extemporizing. For this reason probably 
 he was the more anxious to obtain orders in the Established 
 Church, as in that case the prayers and sermons required, of 
 him would all be written, and extemporizing be unnecessary. 
 But the great Head of the Church had other fields of labor 
 for him to occupy, and more extensive work for him to do than 
 to shut himself up in an obscure country parish ; hence, he 
 ever after considered these obstacles in the way of procuring 
 episcopal ordination, as so many providential hindrances, clos- 
 ing up what to him then appeared to be the path of duty, 
 but in reference to which he was afterwards convinced was 
 a mistake. 
 
 After leaving Oxford, he visited Bristol and preached almost 
 every day, and at the session of the Methodist Confsrence ja 
 
JOSEPH BENSON. YS 
 
 Auofust 1771, he was received on trial as an itinerant preach- 
 er, and was appointed by Mr. "Wesley to labor on the London 
 circuit, where he continued one year with more or less success. 
 At the ensuing Conference, he was received into full connec- 
 tion, and was appointed to Newcastle circuit. In 1773 he 
 was appointed to Edinburgh circuit in Scotland ; and although 
 at first he felt rather opposed to the idea of going into a strango 
 country, and among a people so different in their habits and 
 religious views and practices from the people of England, yet 
 he made up his mind fully to acquiesce cheerfully in the al- 
 lotment of Providence, as indicated by the appointment. 
 
 Mr. Benson labored in Edinburgh for three years, and near 
 the close of the third year he remarks in his diary : " My heart 
 is so united to this people, that I find it very hard to leave 
 this place. I never was among a more kind and loving people 
 than those in our Society at Edinburgh. Many a happy 
 and edifying hour, have I spent among them. Many a time 
 has my soul been blessed in answer to their prayers, both in 
 public and in private. May the Lord continue to favor them 
 with his presence, and reward them for all their kindness to 
 me." After leaving Edinburgh he was again appointed to 
 Newcastle circuit, where he remained for two years with great 
 honor to himself and profit to the cause of God in that place. 
 In 1778, Mr. Benson was stationed in Manchester, and while 
 laboring in this place he was united in marriage to Miss 
 Thompson, a pious and intelligent lady, who resided in Leeds. 
 In company with Mrs. Benson he immediately returned to 
 his circuit, and proved himself to be no less arduous and en- 
 gaged after, than before his marriage. 
 
 At the Conference of 1780, Mr. Benson was appointed to 
 the Leeds circuit, which at this period was large and exten- 
 sive. During the period of his ministry in other places he 
 had in a great measure overcome his want of capacity for ex- 
 temporizing ; he had in fact become not only a forcible but 
 
■76 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 an eloquent extemporaneous speaker. This com'bined with 
 his zeal and literary acquirements .rendered his labors accept- 
 able wherever he was stationed, and being attended with the 
 divine blessing were not only acceptable, but highly useful. 
 After spending two years in Leeds ho was appointed to Brad- 
 ford circuit, and in 1784, was stationed in the Sheffield cir- 
 cuit, where during his pastoral labors among them, the mem- 
 bers of the Society increased three hundred and fifty in num- 
 ber. From Sheffield he removed to Hull, where he spent one 
 year, and from thence he was stationed in Birmingham. It 
 was during his residence in this city that the venerable and 
 apostolic John Wesley departed this life. The intelligence 
 of his death, which he obtained on the day following his de- 
 cease (March 2d, 1791), greatly aflected Mr. Benson. On the 
 13th of March he delivered a discourse on the occasion, his 
 text being 2 Kings ii. 12, " My father I my father 1 the chariot 
 of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!" Many hundreds came 
 to hear the sermon who could not gain admission to the chap- 
 el. The discourse being lengthy he did not finish it at that 
 time, but deferred the remainder until the 15th, when the 
 chapel was again crowded to its utmost capacity. 
 
 Birmingham was the scene of many disgraceful riots of a 
 political character during Mr. Benson's residence in that place. 
 Referring to the same, he says in his journal under date of 
 July 15th, 1791 : " Yesterday, according to appointment, sev- 
 eral gentlemen met at the hotel in this town with a view to 
 commemorate the French revolution. The mob collected and 
 hissed them as they went in ; and in the dusk of the evening 
 gathering in greater numbers they broke all the windows of 
 the hotel. Then hastening to Dr. Priestley's meeting-house, 
 in a little time they burned it to the ground. They then 
 proceeded to what is called the Old Meeting House, and burn- 
 ed it likewise. This morning they set fire to Dr. Priestley's 
 dweUing-house, which is about two miles from town, and 
 
JOSEPH BENSON. 77 
 
 burned it also with all its furniture. The same destructive 
 woik ibey have pursued all day." 
 
 Under date of July IClh, Mr. Benson continues: "This day 
 we have been in continual alarm. The mob reigns without 
 control. The attack made upon them by the constables yes- 
 terday only inflamed them the more ; and to-day, they are 
 continuing their depredations. Hundreds of families are re- 
 moving their property, and tlie whole town is in utter con- 
 sternation. May the Lord be our defence and habitation. On 
 the succeeding day — Sunday — a body of light-horse arrived 
 in town, which efl'ectually put a stop to further rioting." 
 
 Shortly after this, Mr. Benson was in imminent danger of 
 losing his life by being thrown from his horse, which had taken 
 fright and become unmanageable. He was trodden under the 
 horse's feet, and by some means was dragged a considerable 
 distance before he became disengaged from the animal. His 
 under, and over-coats were torn to pieces, but excepting a few 
 slight bruises, himself escaped without further injury. " Sure- 
 ly," said Mr. Benson, " I am laid under fresh obligations to 
 live to the glory of my great deliverer!" 
 
 In May, Mr. Benson removed to Manchester, and while there 
 he volunteered his services in connection with other: ministe- 
 rial brethren to proceed to Liverpool, for the purpose of heal- 
 ing certain dissensions which had arisen in the Methodist So- 
 ciety in that place, growing out of holding service in Church 
 hours, and of the administration of the Lord's Supper in the 
 Chapel of that place. To understand the cause of division it 
 may be necessary to state, that previous to this tinae, the 
 Methodists in England, were considered as an integral portion 
 of the Church of England, and were required by the rules of 
 the Society, to attend the services of the Established Church, 
 as also, to receive the Lord's Supper there, if permitted by the 
 officiating clergyman to do so. The Methodist services were 
 held at such hours as did not interfere with the services of the- 
 
V8 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Church. Ahout this time, however, it was thought proper 
 by the Conference to allow in cities, and large towns, the 
 holding of Methodist services in church hours, and if the 
 preacher stationed among the people in those places was or- 
 dained, they were permitted to receive the sacrament in their 
 own house of worship. This practice at first was considered 
 by many of the Methodists, as a bold and dangerous innova- 
 tion. And as the Society in Liverpool had just had the inno- 
 vation introduced among them, an unhappy division arose 
 among the members in relation thereto. Mr. Benson and his 
 brethren, however, were by the divine blessing, rendered in- 
 strumental in healing the dissensions, and restoring peace be- 
 tween the parties. 
 
 In 1794, by the earnest request of the trustees of the chap- 
 els in Bristol, Mr. Benson was stationed in that city. In this 
 place also, divisions and distractions had existed for several 
 months, which induced Mr. Benson to doubt the propriety of 
 his being stationed there, and which rendered his situation 
 for a portion of the time he there remained, unpleasant in the 
 extreme. But he went to his appointment in the name of the 
 Prince of Peace, and was instrumental in adopting measures 
 which secured not only a lasting peace to the Societies in Bris- 
 tol, but by his "plan of pacification," laid the foundation of 
 that general union, which has since continued with scarcely 
 any abatement throughout the connection. 
 
 While in Bristol, he made a tour of several weeks' con- 
 tinuance to the west of England. It was not, however, a 
 tour of leisure to him, as his journal abundantly proves. Day 
 after day, and week after week, he preached to large congre- 
 gations wherever he went, and such was the power of the 
 word of God, as administered by him, that hundreds trem- 
 bled, and scores were brought to the " knowledge of the 
 truth." After his return to Bristol, he spent the remainder 
 o*" the conference year in strengthening and confirming the 
 
JOSEPH BENSON. TQ 
 
 hearts of the people of his important charge, with the assur- 
 ance that his labors among them had not been " in vain in 
 the Lord." 
 
 In 1795, Mr. Benson was again appointed to Leeds, where 
 he remained for two years, and during this period he labored 
 with his usual diligence to secure the salvation of souls. His 
 talents and zeal were in some measure appreciated by the 
 vast crowds of people that from time to lime went to hear 
 him, and his labors were attended with great success, as God 
 gave him in this place, many seals to his ministry. After 
 leaving Leeds, he went to Hull. At the latter place he again 
 narrowly escaped death by a fall from his horse, which hav- 
 ing fell down upon his knees and face, suddenly pitched Mr. 
 Benson over his head. Mr. Benson, however, escaped with 
 very little injury. 
 
 In 1798, by the partiality of his brethren, Mr. Benson was 
 elected to the responsible station of President of the Confer- 
 ence. This station he filled with acceptability to the Confer- 
 ence, with honor to himself, and with profit to the connection. 
 
 In 1800, Mr. Benson was appointed Superintendent of the 
 London circuit, which was a great and important charge. 
 During his stay here, he records one or two instances of sud- 
 den death, the recital of which may be interesting to the 
 reader. On the 12th of April, while Mr. Benson was pray- 
 ing before sermon in the Glueen-street Chapel, a Mr. Falzhara 
 was taken suddenly ill, and after groaning for a few moments, 
 expired on the spot. " Some of the friends," says Mr. Ben- 
 son, "bore him down into the vestry, where I found him on 
 the table, on his back, much altered, when the service was 
 over. It was an awful and affecting scene to those who 
 were present." Another instance which greatly affected Mr. 
 Benson, was the sudden death of Mr. Pine of Bristol. He 
 was attending a prayer-meeting. After two or three had 
 prayed, Mr. Pine observed that they would no longer meet 
 
80 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 together as they had done ; and the very next morning he 
 died in his bed, with scarcely a moraent's warning. 
 
 After having spent three very pleusant and profitable 
 years as Superintendent of London circuit, Mr. Benson was 
 elected sole editor of the Methodist Magazine, a periodical 
 vi^hioh had been commenced by Mr. Wesley, and which had 
 been continued since his deatli with great and increasing 
 patronage. Mr. Benson was elected to this office by the 
 unanimous vote of the Conlerence, which at once shows the 
 confidence which that body placed in his talents and piety. 
 The office to which he was thus elected, he continued to fill 
 with great acceptabihty, until the time of his death ; his resi- 
 dence, as a matter of course, being thenceforward fixed in 
 London. But although called to labor in another sphere, he 
 continued to exert himself as a minister of Jesus Christ, by 
 preaching frequently as occasion might require, or doors of 
 usefulness open. On one of these occasions, while preaching 
 at Lambeth, he gave an account of the conversion and happy 
 death of a once noted actress of great popularity, by the 
 name of Mrs. Boothe. " After returning home from the 
 theatre on a certain evening, the house in which she lodged 
 was so suddenly consumed by fire, that it was with much 
 difficulty she made her escape from the flames. Her exer- 
 tions on the occasion, together with her mental agitation, 
 brought on a fever, during the continuance of which, she 
 was convinced that her mode of life was opposed to the spirit 
 and practice of religion. She left the stage, and sought for 
 rest and peace; but in vain at first. She felt an aching 
 void ; and nothing she could do, or enjoy, afibrded her the 
 least degree of happiness. 
 
 "She retired to reside in a village in which a Sunday- 
 school was established, and occasionally heard an exhortation 
 from some of the teachers employed in it. By means of these 
 pious men, she soon learned that what she needed in order to 
 
JOSEPH BENSON. 81 
 
 her happiness, was a living faith in the Lord Josus Christ, 
 toi,relher with its concomitants — pardon, peace, and joy. She 
 became a teacher in the school just noticed, and was grateful 
 to God for so far subduing her proud heart, as to make her 
 willing in a sphere so humble, to make some good use of the 
 talents which she had so much abused. 
 
 " After changing her residence to Lambeth, she frequently 
 heard preaching at the Methodist chapel. She soon was en- 
 abled to exercise faith in Christ as her Redeemer, and was 
 filled with peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. She joined the 
 Methodist Society, of which she continued a worthy and ex- 
 emplary member until her decease. For some days before 
 her death, it was evident to herself that her race was nearly 
 run. She spoke frequently, and with great animation, of 
 heaven and its glories. Her death, although sudden, was not 
 so much unexpected as to induce alarm. Though she was 
 rather unwell, she attended preaching as usual, on Thursday 
 evening. On the night of the following Sabbath, she entered 
 the eternal world. Was not this a brand plucked from the 
 fire?" 
 
 In 1808, the Conference, by vote, requested Mr. Benson to 
 write a commentary on the Bible, and in compliance with 
 such request, he in the following year began the onerous 
 task — a task for which he was well qualified, and in the ac- 
 complishment of which he at length succeeded, to the satis- 
 faction of the Church. His " Commentary on the Old and 
 New Testament," is an enduring monument of his piety, and 
 extensive biblical knowledge, as well as of his general eru- 
 dition. 
 
 In the year 1810, Mr. Benson had the misfortune to lose 
 his beloved wife with wliom he had lived and travelled for 
 thirty years. This affliction bore heavily on his stricken mind, 
 but although "cast do-.vn" by the dispensation of divine Prov- 
 idence, he was " not destroyed." Yet it was only by looking 
 
 6 
 
82 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 to the Lord, that he obtained support and consolation. During 
 the same year in which his wife died, he was the second time 
 elected President of the Conference, an evidence that his breth- 
 ren appreciated his services in that capacity during his former 
 term of office. The duties of this office, together with those 
 of editor of the Magazine, and the ta.sk of writing his com- 
 mentary, were duties sufficiently oppressive to break down the 
 constitution of a more healthy man than Mr. Benson. One 
 evening as he kneeled down to offer family prayers, he fell on 
 his face like one dead. Hfs daughters lifted him up, when he 
 gradually recovered his strength and consciousness. Thus did 
 this good man spend his strength, for the good of the Church 
 and the world. 
 
 While Mr. Benson was thus laboring for the good of man- 
 kind, he was frequently made the distributer of the alms of 
 the benevolent. In 1812, an unknown friend sent twenty 
 pounds ($90) to be distributed among the poor, by Mr. Ben- 
 son. One year after, the same friend gave him forty-five 
 pounds for a similar purpose, and in another year he called 
 on Mr. Benson, and left with him seventy pounds (over $300) 
 for the same object, adding as he gave it, " The more I give 
 the Lord, he blesses me the more." Mr. Benson desired to 
 have his name, but he declined making it known, thus prac- 
 tically carrying out the precept of Christ, " When thou doest 
 alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." 
 
 Another instance of benevolence is recorded by Mr. Benson. 
 In 1816 he preached in a neat Methodist chapel which had 
 been lately erected in Cambridge, through the exertions of a 
 Mr. Babcook. This person was a plasterer by trade, and on 
 going to Cambridge to work at his trade, he found a small 
 Methodist Society, having no place of worship. Resolving if 
 possible to build one, he mentioned the subject to several pious 
 friends, some of whom could not encourage the undertaking, 
 and others who were willing to encourage and aid to a limit- 
 
JOSEPH BENSON. 83 
 
 cd extent. Mr. Babcock however purchased a lot of ground, 
 procured the materials, and proceeded with his own hands 
 — frequently without the help of any other laborer — to lay the 
 brick, plaster the inside, and slate the roof. His labor was 
 given gratuitously, besides a handsome donation towards de- 
 fraying the expenses of materials, &c. Such an instance of 
 liberality on the part of a comparatively poor man, deserves 
 to be recorded to his honor. 
 
 In 1818, Mr. Benson completed his Commentary on the 
 Bible, which he had commenced eight years previously, and 
 to finish which, and attend to his editorial, and other duties 
 made it necessary for him to write day after day, from five 
 o'clock in the morning until eleven at night, and this too, at 
 the age of more than seventy years. Besides which, he gen- 
 erally preached twice or thrice on the Sabbath, and walked 
 from eight to twelve miles with a body somewhat enfeebled 
 by disease. 
 
 On the 26th day of November, 1820, Mr. Benson preached 
 his last sermon. He had been growing more and more infirm 
 for some time, although able to attend to his editorial duties. 
 But his work was now nearly done, and the father in Israel 
 was about to take his departure to the land of spirits. During 
 his last sicloiess of ten weeks, he preserved the utmost com- 
 posure of mind and conversed frequently and freely on the 
 subject of death, asserting the utmost confidence in Christ, as 
 an all-sufficient Saviour. A day or two before he died, he was 
 visited by Dr. Clarke, and E,ev. Jabez Bunting. The Doctor 
 was very much aflef.ted at seeing him so much reduced, and 
 said, "You know me, sir?" "0 yes; it is Dr. Clarke." 
 " Well, sir, you are not far from the kingdom of God." " I am 
 not only not far from the kingdom of God, but I am sure of 
 finding God in that kingdom," was the reply. He afterwards 
 said to the Doctor, ' I have no hope of being saved but by 
 grace through faith" and to Mr. Bunting he remarked, " I 
 
84 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 have no sufHoienc)' foi- anything good in myself," and on being 
 asked if he now realized those truths he preached so often to 
 others, he answered, " Yes ! yes 1" 
 
 On the 16th of February, 1821, Mr. Benson bade farewell 
 to earth. He died without a strug^^e, or a groan, in the sev- 
 enty-fourth year of his age, and the fiftieth of his ministry in 
 the Methodist connection. 
 
 His remains were deposited in the burying-ground of City 
 Road Chapel, London, on the 22d day of February, there to 
 remain until the resurrection of the just. The corpse was 
 preceded by four of the senior members of the Conference, 
 and was followed by the relations, and by twenty-four travel- 
 ling preachers, twenty lay gentlemen — personal friends of the 
 deceased — thirty local preachers, twenty stewards, and forty 
 other members of the Society, all of whom appeared in mourn- 
 ing cloaks, as the representatives of the bodies to which they 
 respectively belonged, and who were deputed to honor the re- 
 mains of the faithful but departed Benson. Mr. Bunting, as 
 President of the Conference, conducted the funeral services, 
 while Dr. Clarke delivered a funeral discourse to the thousands 
 who were assembled together on the solemn occasion. 
 
 Thus died, and thus was buried, the Rev. Joseph Benson ; 
 a man who, although inferior to a few more talented minis- 
 ters, was superior to many, yea, to the great mass of ministers, 
 in point of talent, education, piety, usefulness, and diligence. 
 His works still praise him. Not only was he the author of 
 the Commentary on the Bible, but he wrote various works 
 of other kinds, and among these, his excellent life of Mr. 
 Fletcher will not only often be read, but be greatly admired, 
 while his Commentary, as before stated, will be a lasting, 
 living, speaking monument of his piety and erudition. " He 
 
 RESTS FROM HIS LABORS, AND HIS WORKS DO FOLLOW HIM." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 REV. THOMAS COKE, LL.D. 
 
 Thojias Coke was born at Brecon, in Wales, on the 9th of 
 September, 1747. His father was an eminent surgeon, and 
 magistrate in Brecon, and gave his only child, Thomas, such 
 an education as would qualify him for usefulness in after life. 
 His mother was a Methodist, and died a member of the Wes- 
 leyan Society in Bristol. At a proper age, Thomas was 
 placed under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Griffiths, master of 
 the college school in Brecon, and at the age of sixteen, was 
 entered at the University of Oxford as a gentleman commoner 
 of Jesus College. 
 
 While at the University, his mind was poisoned with the 
 principles of infidelity. These principles were easily instilled 
 into his youthful mind by the artifice and sophistry of his fel- 
 low-students, many of whom were openly avowed infidels. 
 The religious principles of Thomas, being thus tainted, very 
 Boon produced a pernicious influence upon his daily practice. 
 The company into which he was thrown, led him into scenes 
 of dissipation and vice, at which his yet moral feelings often 
 revolted, and had it not been for the loud upbraidings of hia 
 conscience, he would have fallen an easy prey to the natural 
 passions of a depraved heart. But although by the influence 
 of an enlightened mind, he was kept from the commission of 
 the grosser crimes in which his associates greedily indulged, 
 he yielded himself at once to the fashionable vices and follies 
 
66 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 which even the reputed virtue of the age did not hesitate to 
 allow. 
 
 Young Coke, however, was far from being happy. Having 
 sacrificed his religious principles upon the altar of infidelity, 
 and having found the follies and sins of fashionable life insuf- 
 ficient to satisfy the longing desires of an immortal mind, he 
 was illy at ease, and sighed in solitude for that peace of 
 mind, which he had in some measure frequently enjoyed, but 
 to which he was now an entire stranger. In this sorrowful 
 state of mind, he paid a visit to a popular clergyman of the 
 establishment in Wales. On Sunday the minister preached 
 an able sermon on the more important doctrines of the Gospel, 
 which served to convince his guest of the falsity of his skepti- 
 cal principles, and the truthfulness of that system of faith 
 which he had discarded. He began toward the close of the 
 sermon, to resolve on an abandonment of his infidel senti- 
 ments, and on a return to the path of truth and virtue. On 
 returning from church, while the heart of young Coke glowed 
 with gratitude to the clergyman for his able defence of Chris- 
 tianity, and while he was proceeding to state the exercises of 
 his own mind, and his desire to return to the path of duty, 
 what was his astonishment when his reverend friend darkly 
 smiled at his simplicity, and bluntly and frankly informed 
 him that he himself was not a believer in Christianity, and 
 that he did not believe a word of what he had been preach- 
 ing! 
 
 As might have been expected, young Coke was exceeding- 
 ly disgusted at such perfidy of conduct on the part of a pro- 
 fessed minister of Jesus Christ, and yet, who was a frankly 
 avowed infidel. Thomas, however, at this early age, was 
 too much of a logician to lay the blame of his misconduct at 
 the door of Christianity. He saw at once, that it was infi- 
 delity in disguise — a wolf in sheep's clothing' — Satan clothed 
 in garments of light. He returned to Oxford with the fixed 
 
THOMAS COKE. , 87 
 
 determination of either openly avowing the principles of infi' 
 delity, or taking such steps as should convince him of the 
 truth of Christianity. To live " halting between two opin- 
 ions," was to him, as it is <o all others who attempt it, a life 
 of misery. Providentially falling in with Bishop Sherlock's 
 discourses and dissertations in favor of the Christian religion, 
 he read them carefully, and meditated upon them prayerfully, 
 and by the blessing of God was again confirmed in the truths 
 of Christianity. Again was Coke a Christian in theory, and 
 his conversion thus far, resulted in his total abandonment of 
 his infidel associate*', and of their wicked practices. 
 
 At the age of twenty-one, Mr. Coke was chosen common 
 councilman of the borough of Brecon, and at the age of 
 twenty-five, was elected chief magistrate or mayor of the cor- 
 poration, which important office be filled with great accepta- 
 bility. The important station thus filled by him, brought 
 him in contact with those who were possessed of much au- 
 thority, both in civil and ecclesiastical affairs, and as Mr. 
 Coke had now fully made up his mind to enter into orders, he 
 was ffattered by his influential friends to expect preferment 
 in the Church. A prebend in the Cathedral of Worcester 
 was held out to him, and other promises given of an exalted 
 station in the Church, when he should enter into orders. 
 
 In June, 1775, he took his degree of Doctor of Civil Laws 
 at the University, and having received ordination, he obtained 
 a curacy in South Petherton, in Somersetshire. Although 
 still a stranger to vital godliness, he entered on his new field 
 of labor with an intense desire to be useful to his parishion- 
 ers. This desire manifested itself in his animated manner, 
 his burning zeal, and tender expostulations which were con- 
 nected with all his pulpit performances. The result of such 
 a kind of preaching, as they had before been unaccustomed 
 to, served soon to enlarge his congregation to such an extent, 
 that the church became too small for their accommodation. 
 
68 ^LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 He therefore applied to the parish vestry to have a gallery 
 built at the expense of the parish. His application, how- 
 ever, was unsuccessful, and he accordingly employed work- 
 men, and built a, large and handsome gallery at his own 
 expense. This liberality on his part, was a matter of sur- 
 prise to the honest farmers of his parish, who had never before 
 seen things done in " that fashion," while a few of the more 
 knowing ones, suspected him to be tainted with Methodism. 
 
 Up to this time, however, he had had no intercourse what- 
 ever with the Methodists either as individuals or as a society, 
 but shortly after this, Dr. Coke was visited by Mr. Maxfield, 
 one of Mr. Wesley's preachers. The subject of their conver- 
 sation during this first interview was the nature and necessity 
 of the New Birth, the Witness of the Spirit, &c., which doc- 
 trines, although somewhat novel to Dr. Coke, commended 
 themselves to his attention and candid inquiry. By subsequent 
 interviews his mind became more and more enlightened, his 
 doubts began to leave him, and in due season he became a 
 sincere seeker of personal salvation. He accordingly availed 
 himself of the knowledge to be derived from reading books 
 which treated on the subjects of his inquiry. Among other 
 works which fell into his hands, were "Fletcher's Appeal" 
 and his " Checks to Antinomianism," and were the means of 
 bringing him among the despised people called Methodists. 
 
 An incident is related as taking place about this time which 
 is worthy of being noticed. A certain Mr. Hull, a pious Calvin- 
 istic dissenting minister, hearing something of Dr. Coke's state 
 of mind and wishing to assist him in his inquiries after truth, 
 proposed having an interview with the Doctor ; but such were 
 the prejudices of the latter in reference to all who dissented 
 from the Established Church, that he declined receiving a 
 visit from Mr. Hull, neither would he go and visit the latter. 
 A meeting, however, subsequently took place on neutral ground, 
 when the doctor became convinced that piety and intelligence 
 
THOMAS COKE. 89 
 
 could exist out of the establishment. Mr. Hull appears to have 
 been as sincerely desirous of knowing the truth, as was the 
 Doctor himself On one occasion while preaching to his con- 
 gregation from the text, " Of a truth, I perceive G-od is no 
 respecter of persons," &c., he pledged himself to show the har- 
 mony existing between the Scriptures and the system of doc- 
 trine called Calvinism. But before he had advanced far in 
 his discourse, he perceived that instead of there being a har- 
 mony existing between the two, there was in fact a perfect 
 discordancy. He became embarrassed and bewildered, and 
 was at length obliged to dismiss his congregation without 
 having fulfilled his pledge. After due reflection and prayer 
 he saw his error, and on the following Sabbath renounced his 
 Calvinism, and preached the doctrine of God's impartial love 
 to all mankind ; and God set his seal to his ministry, by giv- 
 ing him great success among the people. 
 
 While on a visit to a family in Devonshire, the Doctor 
 learned that there was a poor laborer employed by the family 
 who was a Methodist, and the leader of a small class. Soon 
 the Doctor found him out, and after conversing freely on the 
 subject of experimental religion, they had a season of prayer 
 'tcether. There was such a union of feeling between the 
 learned Doctor of Laws and the poor laboring peasant, that 
 the former ever after wanted to know more of the Methodists. 
 Soon after his return to his parish, while preaching on the 
 greatness of redeeming love, it pleased the God of grace to 
 speak unutterable peace to his soul, so that his heart was 
 " full of glory and of God." 
 
 He soon announced the fact of his conversion from the pul- 
 pit, and laying aside his carefully prepared manuscripts, he 
 began to preach exlcmpore. His exhortations were powerful ; 
 his reproofs were cutting to the conscience of the sinner; and 
 his general earnestness of manner began to give great offence, 
 so much so indeed, that the parish was in a complete uproar — 
 
90 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 an uproar as great as if their minister had committed the 
 crime of murder, and much more so than if he had been found 
 overtaken in drunkenness, or had committed some other ve- 
 nial crime. Not only did the people of his own parish con- 
 spire against him, but the neighboring clergy who were rebuked 
 by his zeal and labors, joined with his parishioners in raising 
 the storm of opposition. At length, charges of irregularity, 
 &c., were formally preferred against him to his bishop, but 
 the bishop took no notice of the affiiir. Another application 
 was made to the Bishop of Bath and Wells, v.'ith no better 
 success. His enemies at length applied to the rector to remove 
 him from the parish ; and on a certain Sabbath, without hav- 
 ing given the Doctor any previous notice whatever of the in- 
 tended dismissal, he was to the great satisfaction of his ene- 
 mies, publicly discliarged from the office of curate ; and to 
 add to his disgrace if possible, his foes caused the parish-bells 
 to chime him out of doors. 
 
 The fact of his dismissal gave the Doctor very little uneasi- 
 ness, but the manner of the same caused him some sorrow, 
 especially as the precipitancy of the measure prevented his 
 preaching a farewell discourse to the people. His friends ad- 
 vised him on the two following Sabbaths, to place himself at 
 the church doors as the congregation was coming out, and 
 preach to those who were willing to hear him. He did so, 
 and was permitted to preach without molestation to both 
 friends and foes. On giving out an appointment for the next 
 Sabbath at the same place, his enemies became perfectly ex- 
 asperated, and threatened to stone him if he made the attempt. 
 The attempt, however, was made with full success, notwith- 
 standing the precaution of his enemies in having collected to- 
 gether a large pile of stones to throw at the Doctor. Among 
 his friends present were a young gentleman and his sister, 
 who, when the Doctor began to preach, placed themselves on 
 either side of him, while others of his friends and the lovers 
 
THOMAS COKK. 91 
 
 of religious liberty rallied round him so closely, that it became 
 a matter of prudent calculation among his foes, who should 
 " cast the first stone." The result was, that he finished his 
 discourse without any interruption whatever. 
 
 As Dr. Coke was now released from his parish on account 
 of his Methodism, he was at liberty to form a connection with 
 Mr. Wesley, which he did in 1776. At the Conference of 
 1778, he was stationed in London, where his popularity was 
 very great, and his congregation was exceedingly large. In 
 1780, the Doctor received no ])arlicular circuit, but travelled 
 from this time forward while in England all over the connec- 
 tion according to the directions of Mr. Wesley. In the course 
 of his travels he visited his former parish, but such in the 
 meantime had been the change of public sentiment in relation 
 to him, that those who a few years before had chimed him 
 out of his church, now rung him in, and thus in part atoned 
 for their former error and prejudice. 
 
 Mr. Wesley's celebrated deed of Declaration was mostly 
 drawn up by Dr. Coke, in 1783, and during the previous year 
 the Doctor had been commissioned by Mr. Wesley to hold the 
 first Irish Conference, which he did greatly to the satisfaction 
 of the preachers over whom he presided. This post of honor, 
 he also filled for nearly thirty years, an evidence of the higb 
 estimation in which he was held by Mr. Wesley, the English 
 Conference, and the Irish brethren. 
 
 In the year 1784, Mr. Wesley with the most parental re- 
 gard for his Societies in America, saw fit to empower Dr. 
 Coke to proceed to that distant field of labor, and organize 
 such Societies into an independent Methodist Church. Meth- 
 odism had been introduced into America, in the year 1766, 
 by the preaching of Thilip Embury, an Irish emigrant. After 
 that period, it had increased to such an extent, as to require 
 many preachers, some of whom were sent from England from 
 time to time as missionaries, by Mr. Wesley. In the year 
 
92 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 1776, American Independence was declared by the Continen- 
 tal Congress, and all connection between Church and State in 
 America ceased, properly speaking, from this period. Hither- 
 to the Societies in the colonies had been considered by the 
 Father of Methodism, and by the preachers generally, as so- 
 cieties simply, and as being merely an appendage, or addition 
 to the Church of England. During the war, however, the 
 most of the Episcopal Clergy, had forsaken their flocks, and 
 on political grounds had returned to England. As the Meth- 
 odist preachers were unordained, themselves and flocks looked 
 exclusively to the Episcopal Clergy, for the sacramental ordi- 
 nances ; and as the most of the Clergy had left as above de- 
 scribed, the consequence was, that the Methodists for seven 
 or eight years, were deprived of these ordinances almost en- 
 tirely. Petitions were frequently sent to Mr. Wesley for re- 
 lief, and at the close of the war, as the ecclesiastical, as well 
 as the civil relation of the colonies was now completely severed 
 between them and Great Britain, it became necessary for Mr. 
 Wesley to provide for his " sheep in the wilderness." 
 
 Accordingly, after due consultation with several eminent 
 livines in England, and being convinced that the high Church 
 jlaim of uninterrupted succession was a mere chimera of the 
 brain, and that he himself was as much a bishop in the proper 
 sense of thai term, as any man in England, Mr. Wesley on 
 the 2d day of September, 1784, set apart by the imposition 
 of hands, and prayer. Dr. Coke as a superintendent or bishop 
 of the Societies in America. He also commissioned him to 
 organize in due form an Episcojial Church, preferring as he 
 did, this form of Church government, to every other. He also 
 instructed him to set apart Francis Asbui-y as joint Superin- 
 tendent of the Church. After receiving ordination, Dr. Coke 
 sailed for America, and arrived in New York, on the 3d of 
 November following. He proceeded with the approbation of 
 the preachers, to call an extraordinary session of the Confer- 
 
THOMAS COKE. 93 
 
 ence to meet in Baltimore on the 25th day of Decemher of 
 the same year. In obedience to this call, a large majority 
 of the preachers met on the day appointed, at which time, 
 the Doctor explained the steps taken by Mr. Wesley for their 
 relief The Conference then resolved itself into the Method- 
 ist Episco2Ml Church of tlie United States of America, and 
 as the Doctor was unwilling to serve as their bishop — although 
 set apart to the office by Mr. Wesley himself— unless the 
 Conference would elect hinr by their own sulTrages to that 
 office, they proceeded to elect him to the said office, and in 
 further accordance with the expressed wishes of Mr. Wesley, 
 to elect Francis Asbury to the same office as joint Superin- 
 tendent, the latter being publicly and solemnly ordained by 
 Bishop Coke. The preachers who were present, and who were 
 eligible, were ordained deacons of the Church, and author- 
 ized to baptize and celebrate marriage, and a few of the senior 
 ones, were ordaiired elders. After these transactions the Con- 
 ference adjourned, the preachers returning to their respective 
 fields of labor, and meeting everywhere with the congratula- 
 tions of the people in view of their new position as a distinct 
 ecclesiastical body. 
 
 The lapse of nearly seventy years since the organization 
 of the church, has proved the far-seeing wisdom of Mr. Wes- 
 ley, and the deep penetration of Dr. Coke, in providing for 
 the future well-being of the infant American Societies, which 
 have since become the most numerous protestant people, both 
 as it respects members and adherents, that exists on the Amer- 
 ican continent. 
 
 Immediately after the adjournment of the General Confer- 
 ence of 1784, Bishop Coke took his leave of Baltimore and 
 ber^an a course of extensive travel through the United States, 
 visiting the Societies and being everywhere received as the 
 messenger of God. He also in connection with Bishop As- 
 bury, collected funds for the establishment of a Methodist 
 
94 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 College near Baltimore. This edifice, however, a few years 
 subsequently fell a prey to the ravages of fire, and although 
 another suitable building was afterwards procured in the city 
 of Baltimore, that, like the former, was consumed by fire. 
 
 Having discharged the duty assigned him by Mr. Wesley, 
 in the organization of the church, and having made proper 
 provision for its government, and believing that his services 
 were not immediately called for in America, on the 3d of 
 June, 1785, he bade a partial farewell to the American 
 church, and returned to England. After having reached the 
 shores of his native land, he commenced travelling through 
 different parts of the kingdom, visiting Scotland, Ireland, and 
 the Isle of Man, and everywhere endeavoring to awaken an 
 interest in hehalf of the American church, as also, in behalf 
 of the Methodists of Nova Scotia. 
 
 On the 24th of September, 1786, he again set sail for 
 America, intending to stop at Halifax by the way, and estab- 
 lish a mission in that place. But his voyage on this occasion 
 was attended by many dangers and disasters, so much so, 
 that he did not reach Halifax at all. For the first five days 
 after his embarkation, the ship made no progress in conse- 
 quence of head winds. On the 28th of September, they were 
 nearly run down by another vessel. On the 30th, they were 
 forced to take shelter in the harbor of St. Helena, where they 
 remained for some days, and it was not until the 14th of Oc- 
 tober that they were able to put out to sea with the prospect 
 of a safe and speedy voyage. After being out three days, 
 they discovered that the vessel had sprung a leak, and to add 
 to the danger, the leak was in a part of the ship where it 
 could not be reached, and to heighten their alarm for the 
 safety of the ship, a violent gale arose, which increased .the 
 leak. They, however, continued on the wide ocean, the sport 
 of the winds and waves, until the 25th of November, when 
 one of the masts gave way, and on the 30th, a storm still 
 
THOMAS COKE. 95 
 
 more fierce and terrible threatened them with seemingly in- 
 evitable destruction. The captain's wife cried out in the most 
 frantic manner, and one of the passengers ran to the Doctor, 
 saying, " Pray for us. Doctor, pray for us ; we are just gone 1" 
 The ship was indeed on her beam-ends, and the crew were 
 cutting away the main-mast, as the only remedy. Dr. Coke 
 and hi-^ companions went to prayer, and soon the ship righted, 
 without having to cut away the mast. 
 
 On the night of the 4th December, they experienced 
 another dreadful gale. The leak in the ship increased, the 
 sails were torn to fragments, and some of the rigging was 
 carried away. On the next day, it was determined by the 
 captain and crew to make one of the West India Islands, if 
 possible. Still the storm raged, and Dr. Coke and his asso- 
 ciates betook themselves to prayer, but the captain, instead 
 of joining in their devotions, became superstitiously agitated, 
 and imagining he must have a Jonah on board, paced the 
 deck in a state bordering on that of phrenzy. At length he 
 entered the Doctor's cabin in a paroxysm of rage, seized his 
 papers and books, and threw them overboard, and then pro- 
 ceeded to the Doctor to bestow upon him like treatment, but 
 after grasping the Doctor's person, and shaking him violently, 
 with oaths and curses and the most bitter language, he con- 
 cluded to let poor "Jonah" escape for this time, but declar- 
 ing, Avith an oath, that if he made another prayer on board, 
 he would throw the Doctor after his papers. After the gale 
 had subsided, however, the captain's good nature returned, 
 and continued during the remainder of the voyage. 
 
 On the 25th of December, the weather-beaten bark reached 
 the island of Antigua, and the Doctor on going on shore, 
 much to his gratification, found a Mr. Baxter, a member of the 
 Society, who was employed as a ship-builder in the Govern- 
 ment dock-yard at Antigua. A Methodist Society had been 
 in existence in this island for a number of years, a Mr. Gil- 
 
96 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 bert, speaker of the House of Assembly, having introduced 
 Methodism about thirty years previously. After his death, 
 Mr. Baxter, above alluded to, on his ari'ival, found the rem- 
 nant of a Society which had been raised by Mv. Gilbert. 
 Being himself a local preacher, he felt it his duty to preach 
 occasionally, and through his instrumentality the Society be- 
 came enlarged to the number of two thousand persons, gnoslly 
 blacks, and a neat chapel had been erected in 1783. 
 
 As the Doctor was obliged to wait lor the saihng of a sliip 
 for the American Continent, he spent his time on this aud 
 other islands, in preaching and visiting both whites and 
 blacks ; and so great was the estimation in which he v.'as 
 held by the former class, that he was offered £500 (two 
 thousand dollars) a year, if he would remain among tliem. 
 He was also cordially received by the higher circles in society, 
 and had the honor of dining on one occasion with the Duke 
 of Clarence, afterward William the Fourth, King of Greav 
 Britain, who happened at that period to be on the island. 
 
 While visiting tlie island of St. Eustatius, Dr. Coke be- 
 came acquainted with the history of a poor negro, named 
 Harry, whose pious labors for the salvation of souls, and his 
 heroic fortitude under persecution, deserve to be long remem- 
 bered. Harry had been a slave on the American Continent, 
 and had been imported from thence to Antigua. He had 
 been a member of the Methodist Society in America, and on 
 his arrival on the island he found himself destitute of pious 
 associates, and of the means of grace. He had, however, a 
 burning zeal for the salvation of souls, which led him, in his 
 way, to bear public testimony for Christ among his fellow- 
 slaves. The novelty of a negro slave's preaching, drew 
 many, both white and black, to hear him, and among the 
 rest, the Governor of the island, who approved of his course. 
 Under the labors of Black Harry, a reformation among the 
 negroes took place. As is characteristic of that people, there 
 
THOMAS COKE. 97 
 
 was muoli entliusiasm, and perhaps some wild fire among the 
 converts, which so discomposed the minds of the planters, 
 and especially of the Governor, that Harry was peremptorily 
 ordered by the latter to stop his preaching. 
 
 Harry was obedient to the mandate for some time, till at 
 length supposing that the storm had blown over, he ventured 
 to pray with his associates. A complaint, however, was 
 lodged against him, and he was sentenced by the governor to 
 be pubicly whipped, imprisoned, and banished from the 
 island. The sentence was executed to the letter, and after 
 his imprisonment he was secretly removed hy the authorities, 
 so that nearly all were ignorant of his fate. Prayer, however, 
 was offered for him, not only in the islaii's, but in England 
 where his history had become known. About ten years after- 
 wards, Dr. Coke had the pleasure of meeting this sable son of 
 affliction in the United States, and learned to his satisfaction 
 that Harry, whom he feared was dead, was still alive, in pos- 
 session of his freedom ; and better than all, still on his way 
 to the Kingdom. 
 
 In February, 1787, Dr. Coke left the West India Islands, 
 after having made arrangements to afford them a partial 
 supply of preachers and missionaries, and in eighteen days 
 arrived in Charleston, S. C. During this second visit to Amer- 
 ica the Doctor was greeted with great affection and esteem, 
 except by a few who were not on very friendly terms with 
 him, on account of his known hostihty to the institution of 
 Amsrican slavery. At that early day, as now, the interests 
 of this institution were watched with a jealous eye ; and the 
 mfiii who dared openly to lift his voice against it, might expect 
 opposition. As Dr. Coke, during his former as well as his 
 present visit, considered it his duty thus to oppose slavery in all 
 its forms, a degree of unreasonable hostility was evinced by 
 some against him. A bill of indictment was found against 
 the doctor by a southern grand jury, and ninety men went in 
 
 7 
 
98 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 pursuit of him to force him hack to the county ■where the bill 
 had been found. They, however, did not proceed far before 
 they grew weary of their journey, and returned without him. 
 From the south the Doctor proceeded northward, and after 
 having spent about three months in travelling from place to 
 place, in the latter part of May he sailed from the port of 
 Philadelphia for Dublin, where he found- the Irish Conference 
 in session with Mr. Wesley presiding. From Ireland he pro- 
 ceeded with Mr. Wesley to England and the Norman Isles, 
 and spent all his time during this year in aiding Mr. Wesley 
 in his arduous work. 
 
 After the English Conference of 1788, Dr. Coke and three 
 missionaries sailed for the West Indies, where he remained 
 visiting from island to island, and establishing missions, until 
 the next February, when he again set sail for the United 
 States. On his arrival at Charleston, S. C, he immediately 
 directed his course northward for the purpose of meeting 
 Bishop Asbury, and attending the Conferences in connection 
 with him. During this, his third visit, he remained from 
 February to June, travelling through nearly all the States, 
 and performing a vast amount of labor: 
 
 On the 5th of June, 1789, he sailed for Liverpool, which he 
 reached on the 17th of July following, and immediately pro- 
 ceeded to the Conference to plead the cause of the poor West 
 India negroes, and beg for missionaries. The Conference ap- 
 pointed him an agent to collect funds to sustain the missiona- 
 ries ; and for the ensuing sixteen months, in this department 
 of the work he was greatly successful, not only in securing 
 pecuniary aid, but in awakening missionary zeal among the 
 Methodists of England, which has not abated to the present 
 day. 
 
 In October, 1790, he again sailed for the West Indies in 
 company with a reinforcement of missionaries. After his ar- 
 rival, he found that the work of God had been spreading in 
 
THOMAS COKE. 99 
 
 the islands during his absence. While preaching in one of 
 the islands on a certain occasion, — the room having been for- 
 merly a theatre, — such was the power of the Doctor's elo- 
 quence that the audience became perfectly enraptured, and 
 strangely forgetting the occasion, if they remembered the 
 place, gave vent to their approbation by crying out, " Encore I 
 encore I" — a French theatrical phrase, which means a repeti- 
 tion of the performance. He was not, however, so popular in 
 some other places, nor were his sermons always so well appre- 
 ciated as by the Shaksperian congregation alluded to above. 
 Some of the newspapers teemed with malicious libels against 
 him. It viTis even asserted that he had been tried in England 
 for horse-stealing, and had come to America to escape the gal- 
 lows. Riots were frequent, and when in one case, the rioters 
 were complained of to the grand jury, the latter dignified body 
 gave it as their opinion, that both the preacher and the 
 chapel ought to be indicted as nuisances. 
 
 In Februarj', 1791, he again landed in Charleston, S. C, 
 for the purpose of making a fourth visit to the United States 
 brethren. He met the Conference which was in session in 
 Charleston, and after its adjournment proceeded on a tour of 
 visitation, which he continued until the fourteenth of May ; 
 when, having heard of the death of Mr. Wesley, he returned 
 to England to join his tears and sorrows with those of his 
 ministerial and lay brethren at home. 
 
 At the ensuing English Conference, Dr. Coke was elected 
 Secretary of the same, an evidence of the high estimation in 
 which he was held by his English brethren. Some time after 
 this he visited France for the purpose of introducing Wesleyan 
 missionaries into that nation, and then returned to London for 
 the purpose of preparing a life of Mr. Wesley for the press, 
 where he remained until after the next Conference, when he 
 a<'ain sailed for the United States. After his arrival he atten- 
 ded the Conferences, and travelled over different States of the 
 
100 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Union until December, when he made another visit to the 
 West Indies, where the fires of persecution had been raging 
 violently against the Methodists since the time of his former 
 visit. But notwithstanding these persecutions, Methodism by 
 the blessing of God continued to spread, so that at this period 
 the number of members in Society was not far from seven 
 thousand, with twelve regular missionaries, and ten mission 
 stations. Having met these missionaries in Conference, he 
 sailed for England, where he arrived in June, 1793. 
 
 On his visit to one of the West India islands, — St. Vincent 
 — he found Rev. Mr. Lamb, the missionary in that island, 
 confined in the common jail, for having dared to preach the 
 Gospel without a license from the legislature of the island, 
 which no one could obtain until they had resided twelve 
 months on the island. Rectors of parishes, were exempt from 
 the requirements of this law. The penalty for violating this 
 law.was, for the first ofl^ence, fine, or imprisonment for from 
 thirty to ninety days ; second offence, whipping, and banish- 
 ment ; and a return from banishment, death ! As Mr. Lamb 
 had preached in the chapel, he as above stated, was under- 
 going the sentence of the law, being confined in the same 
 room with a capitally convicted criminal. An efibrt was 
 made by the Doctor to procure the liberation of Mr. Lamb, 
 but this he could not succeed in doing, unless he would pay 
 an exorbitant fine, which had been imposed in addition to the 
 imprisonment, which fine, neither Dr. Coke, nor Mr. Lamb 
 would consent to pay, as they would thereby seem to acknowl- 
 edge the justice of the law. As soon, therefore, as the Doctor 
 arrived in England, he posted with all speed to the colonial 
 office, and made a proper statement of facts to the Home gov- 
 ernment ; and in a short time he had the satisfaction of being 
 officially informed by one of his majesty's secretaries of state, 
 that the law under which Mr. Lamb was imprisoned had 
 been repealed by the supreme power. The Doctor also visit- 
 
THOMAS COKE. 101 
 
 ed Holland for the purpose, if possible, of obtaining permission 
 of the Dutch Government for Missionaries to be allowed to 
 preach in the Dutch West India islands, but all his effoi'ts, 
 although backed up by the recommendation of the Right Hon. 
 Henry Dundas, one of his British Majesty's secretaries of state, 
 were ineffectual in gaining the desired permission. 
 
 The Doctor next projected the establishment of a Wesleyan 
 mission in the neighborhood of Sierra Leone, Africa ; and for 
 this purpose he travelled extensively for the collection of funds, 
 as also to provide suitable persons to undertake the mission. 
 After a length of time, some five or six respectable and pro- 
 fessedly-pious mechanics, and their wives, were engaged to 
 emigrate for the purpose of teaching the arts of civilization to 
 the African race. But although thus successful in obtaining 
 money and persons for the mission, and these persons actually 
 went to Africa, yet partly through the secular nature of the 
 intended enterprise, and mostly through the unworthiness of 
 some of the persons selected, the mission for that time proved 
 a failure ; but still the Doctor continued his efforts in behalf 
 of various missions, approaching high and low, rich and poor, 
 and not without success. On one occasion he called on the 
 captain of a British frigate, and pleaded the cause of the poor 
 negro, and received from the captain a handsome donation. 
 As the latter was totally unacquainted with Dr. Coke, he 
 afterwards made inquiry of a gentleman in reference to him, 
 "Pray, Sir," said the captain, "do )'ou know anything of a 
 little fellow, who calls himself Dr. Coke, who is going about 
 beo-finT money for missionaries to be sent among the slaves ?" 
 " I know him well," was the reply. " He seems," said the 
 Captain, " to be a heavenly mituled little devil, he coaxed me 
 out of two guineas this morning." 
 
 On the 6tli of August 1796, Dr. Coke again set sail for 
 America. He had paid eighty guineas for his passage, but 
 soon found that the provisions, &c., laid in for the voyage, were 
 
102 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 of the meanest and coarsest quality. To add to the wrong 
 thus practised upon the passengers, the captain was one of the 
 most abandoned wretches, that ever walked the deck of a ship, 
 and who conspired with another captain who was on board, 
 to make the voyage as disagreeable to the Doctor as possible. 
 The treatment received by the latter, brought on a fit of sick- 
 ness, which lasted three weeks. After having been to sea 
 some weeks, they came across the wreck of a ship, with the 
 remainder of the crew in a most wretched situation. These 
 poor fellows were rescued from a watery grave, and from 
 death by starvation, and on the 3d of October came in sight 
 of the American shore. 
 
 Dr Coke immediately on his arrival, proceeded to Balti- 
 more, and subsequently attended the sessions of the Conference, 
 and travelled and preached extensively for four months, when 
 he again returned to Europe. On the passage homeward, an 
 amusing instance of a sailor's simplicity occurred, which is 
 worth recording. When the ship left Charleston, they were 
 wafted by a severe gale across the Atlantic, so that in four 
 weeks they made the Irish Channel. The gale now gave 
 place to a great calm, which lasted for sixteen days. The 
 Captain attributed this calm to Dr. Coke's reading a large 
 folio volume. During the first few days, he hinted his wishes 
 that the perusal of the book was finished. Growing out of pa- 
 tience, he at last told the Doctor, that they never would have 
 a wind, till the reading of that book was finished. The Doc- 
 tor at once offered to lay the book aside ; " No, no," rejoined 
 the Captain, " that will not do ; it must be finished, or we 
 shall have no wind." The Doctor to please him finished the 
 book as rapidly as possible, and just as he had finished the 
 wind sprung up, and in thirty-six hours, they were wafted 
 into harbor. 
 
 Before leaving America the last time, the Doctor had made 
 up his mind to comply with the wishes of the American 
 
THOMAS COKE. 103 
 
 preachers to settle permanently among them, and engaged 
 himself to do so after having made another visit to England. 
 The English Conference, hovvfever, could not consent to his 
 leaving them, and requested the American brethren to cancel 
 the Doctor's engagements in this respect, and allow him to 
 settle in England. Having remained in the latter country 
 about four months, he again embarked for America, where 
 he-remained until the spring of 1798, attending to all his du- 
 ties as a superintendent, or bishop of the Church. The Gen- 
 eral Conference having taken into consideration the urgent 
 request of the British Conference, consented to " lend" the 
 Doctor to the latter for a season only. 
 
 On his return to England, he resumed his labors of preach- 
 ing, and writing, besides soliciting aid for missions. He also 
 projected a plan for the introduction of a protestant ministry 
 among the degraded Romish peasantry of Ireland. He also 
 obtained the rescinding of a municipal law by which the in- 
 habitants of the isles of Jersey, and Guernsey, were required 
 to attend military trainings on the Sabbath, on pain of ban- 
 ishment from the islands. Some correspondence also passed 
 between him and the Bishop of London, and the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury in relation to the propriety of their lordships' 
 making some provision whereby a total separation of the 
 Methodists in England, from the establishment, might be pre- 
 vented. The bishops returned courteous answers, but de- 
 clined making the desired provision by ordaining any of the 
 preachers. 
 
 In 1800, Dr. Coke made his eighth visit to America, where 
 he spent several months in the discharge of the usual duties 
 of his high and holy office. He also visited the West Indies, 
 and near the close of the year returned to England. After 
 his arrival, he formed a plan for the introduction of Wesleyan 
 Methodism into Wales, by which the natives of that princi- 
 pality might hear the doctrines of a free and full salvation 
 
104 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 proclaimed in the Welch tongue. This enterprise, when first 
 mentioned, was thought to be altogether too romantic a one 
 to be seriously engaged in ; but otherwise thought Dr. Coke, 
 and the lapse of ten years proved that the object was not a 
 mere visionary one, as the sixty Wesleyan chapels, the thir- 
 ty-six travelling preachers, and the five thousand members of 
 that period, abundantly proved. 
 
 In the year 1801, Dr. Coke published his Commentary on 
 the Old Testament, a work which nine years previously, at 
 the request of the English Conference, he had began to pre- 
 pare. It was issued in numbers, and met with a ready sale, 
 the delivery of those on the New Testament being completed 
 in 1807. 
 
 In 1803, he made his ninth and last visit to the United 
 States. Here he spent several months, presiding in the Con- 
 ference, and travelling extensively, until his return to Eng- 
 land in 1804. In 180-5, he was united in marriage to a Miss 
 Smith, of Bradford, Wiltshire. This lady, possessed of an in- 
 dependent fortune, was every way worthy of so distinguished 
 a companion as Dr. Coke. His first acquaintance with her, 
 was formed by soliciting aid for missions. On being recom- 
 mended by a friend to apply to the lady for aid, she generous- 
 ly subscribed one hundred guineas, nearly $500. On calling 
 on her at her residence, to receive the above, the lady doubled 
 the amount, and gave him two hundred guineas. The Doc- 
 tor, admiring such acts of benevolence, contracted marriage 
 with the lady. She only lived in his society till 1811, when 
 she died in London, having in the meantime, devoted a large 
 share of her wealth to the cause of spreading scriptural holi- 
 ness through the world. 
 
 After his marriage, the Doctor still continued to devote 
 himself to the good of mankind, by writing, preaching, pray- 
 ing, begging for missions, and keeping a constant lookout for 
 any encroachment upon the rights and privileges of the So- 
 
THOMAS COKE. 105 
 
 cieties at home by the Government, or its officers ; and of 
 those of the preachers and negroes in the West Indies, by the 
 colonial authorities ; and such was his influence with the 
 King and his privy council, that scarcely any remonstrance 
 that he presented to them, was unheeded, or any grievance 
 complained of, unredressed. The Doctor also gave from his 
 own private purse, nearly three thousand dollars, for the es- 
 tablishment of a mission in Sierra Leone. 
 
 After the death of his beloved wife, he married again. The 
 maiden name of the latter lady was Miss Ann Loxdale, of 
 Liverpool, who had for a number of years been an esteemed 
 member of the Methodist Society in that city. But, alas ! 
 for human hopes, she too, died in about a year after her mar- 
 riage, and her remains were deposited beside those of his 
 former companion, in the family vault in Wales. 
 
 In 1813, Dr. Coke conceived the Utopian plan of visiting 
 India, and of personally superintending the establishment of 
 a mission in that distant land. He found seven preachers 
 who were willing to volunteer for that field of labor, whose 
 names he presented to the Conference. The only objection 
 to the establishment of the mission, was the cost of the outfit, 
 nearly $27,000. To remove this objection, the Doctor offered 
 to bear the whole expense himself, and accordingly, with the 
 approbation and prayers of the Conference, the party sailed 
 from England on the 31st of October. The missionaries con- 
 tinued their voyage until the 3d of May following, at which 
 time they were in the Indian Ocean. Nothing special had 
 transpired, except the death of one of the female missionaries. 
 On the 1st of May, Dr. Coke felt somewhat unwell, and took 
 a little medicine. On the 2d, he was still a little indisposed, 
 but was up on deck. On the morning of the 3d, his servant 
 knocked at his cabin-door, when receiving no response, he 
 ventured to open the door, and to his utter astonishment 
 found the Doctor lying on the floor, lifeless and cold. His 
 
106 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 death was no doubt caused by a fit of apoplexy, and it being 
 impossible to preserve the body so as to send it to England, it 
 was enclosed in a heavy coffin, and amidst the tears and 
 prayers of his pious, but now forsaken associates, was com- 
 mitted to the bosom of the great deep. 
 
 Thus died the Reverend Bishop Coke, on the 3d of May, 
 1814, in the 66th year of his age — a man whose time, talents, 
 wealth, ease, honor, and fame, were placed upon the altar of 
 Methodism, for the good of mankind ; a man who had eighteen 
 times crossed the Atlantic Ocean to promote its interests ; a 
 man who had travelled hundreds of thousands of miles, and 
 had endured all manner of contumely and reproach for its 
 sake. Such an event could not transpire, without causing a 
 sensation of deep sorrow through all the ranks of Methodism. 
 Indeed, what portion of the world is there, where Methodism 
 now exists, that has not been benefited directly or indirectly 
 by the good Doctor's labors ? Truly it may be said of him, 
 that " He being dead, yet speaketh," and that when he died, 
 " A great man in Israel had fallen." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ADAM CLARKE, L L . D., F. A. S. 
 
 This extraordinary man was born in the village of Moyljeg, 
 county of Londonderry, Ireland. The precise date of his birth 
 is not known, as no registry of this event or of his baptism 
 could ever be found in the records of the parish church, to 
 which his father belonged. It was probable, however, that 
 he was born in the spring of 1760, as the minister who bap- 
 tized him died shortly after this date. Adam was the second 
 son of John Clarke, M.A. of Trinity College, Dublin, whose 
 hopes of preferment in the Established Church being blasted 
 on account of his marriage, induced him to resolve on emigra- 
 ting to America, which resolution he was only prevented from 
 executing by the remonstrances of friends. After having 
 changed his purpose he retired to the obscure village where 
 Adam was born, and where the father gained a livelihood by 
 teaching school — an employment for which he was no doubt 
 well qualified by inclination, as well as by learning. 
 
 At the age of five years, Adam was attacked severely with 
 the small-pox. His medicine consisted mostly of spirituous 
 liquors given for the purpose of driving out the " pock,'' while 
 the patient was covered over with a large quantity of clothes 
 in a warm bed, and the cnrtains drawn so as to exclude every 
 particle of external air I Against such fond yet foolish treat- 
 ment young Adam rebelled, and as often as opportunity offered 
 ran out of doors entirely naked ; and although forewarned of 
 consequences as dreadful as death itself for so doing, he persist- 
 
108 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ed in exposing himself to the open air ; and although covered 
 with pustules from the crown of his head to the soles of his 
 feet, he mercifully recovered without having a single mark 
 left upon his person. 
 
 At an early age, Adam was sent to the village school to 
 learn the alphahet, &c., but -so slow was he in acquiring a 
 knowledge of the first rudiments of learning, that his teacher 
 pronounced him to be a grievous dunce. Another teacher 
 however, who happened to he present when the last remark 
 was made, placing his hand on Adam's head, encouragingly 
 said, " This lad will make a good scholar yet.'' After having 
 acquired a knowledge of reading, his father put him to the 
 study of the Latin grammar. Some portions of his text-book 
 he committed to memory with great difficulty, hut other por- 
 tions were perfectly incomprehensible to his juvenile mind. 
 In perfect despair he threw by his grammar, and taking up 
 an English testament he went into an English class, deter- 
 mined to study English only. His teacher perceiving his inten- 
 tions, exclaimed in terrific tones, " Sir, what brought you 
 here? Where is your Latin grammar?" Adam began to 
 weep, and said, " Sir, I cannot learn it." " Go sirrah," said 
 the teacher, " and take up your grammar : if you do not 
 speedily get that lesson, I shall pull your ears as long as Jow- 
 ler's (a dog), and you shall be a beggar to the day of your 
 death.'' Poor Adam went to his seat, and was accosted by 
 one of his classmates with the words, " What, have you not 
 learned that lesson yet? 0, what a stupid ass!" This was 
 too much for Adam to endure without making an effort to re- 
 deem his character. His mind was made up to show to the 
 teachers and scholars that he was not a jackass. He seized 
 his grammar, and in a few moments committed his lesson to 
 memory and recited it without missing a word ; and finally 
 wearied his teacher with the frequency of his recitations. 
 Thus, through the taunts and jeers of a school-fellow, was the 
 
ADAM CLARKE. 109 
 
 hidden spark of genius in Adam Clarke suddenly brought to 
 light, and gave tokens of the future greatness of the man. 
 
 Adam now became very fond of reading, and all the money 
 he obtained as presents, he carefully expended for books. At 
 first his means were small, and he was obliged to content 
 himself with penny or two-penny books, such as Tom Thumb, 
 Jack the Griant Killer, Babes in the Wood, &c. &c. By 
 reading such works his mind became somewhat attached to 
 romance ; and he even ventured on the study of magic, but 
 his mind becoming somewhat enlightened on the subject of 
 that art, he, from conscientious scruples, brought his studies 
 in that bewitchitig department abruptly to an end. 
 
 Adam's father, as before intimated, was a member of the 
 Church of England. His mother, however, was a Presbyte- 
 rian of the Puritan stamp, and early inculcated upon the 
 minds of her children the importance of religion ; but Adam 
 was too much engaged in the pursuit of knowledge as well as 
 in the amusements peculiar to youth, to pay much regard to 
 religious counsels any farther than to obey his parents and 
 lead a moral life, until he was about seventeen years of age. 
 At this time, the neighborhood where he lived was visited by 
 certain Methodist preachers. On one occasion, Adam was 
 invited by a young man to attend the Methodist meeting for 
 the purpose, as he expressed it, of having some fun. Such 
 an object was a strange one in the opinion of Clarke. He had 
 attended balls and parties for the sake of the "fun;" but 
 althouo-h he had very little if any acquaintance with the 
 Methodists, he knew that a religious meeting of any kind was 
 no place to seek for amusement. He, however, concluded to 
 attend for the sake of information, and was so much edified 
 with the discourse of Mr. Brettel (the gentleman who 
 preached), that the next week he went to another neighbor- 
 hood to hear him. 
 
 Mr. Brettel was succeeded on the circuit by Mr. Barber, 
 
110 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 and under the labors of the latter gentleman, young Clarke 
 and his mother became deeply interested in the subject of 
 personal salvation ; and having attended class-meeting became 
 still more serious, until at length Mr. Barber enrolled Adam's 
 name as a member of a small class vehich had been formed. 
 He shortly after, for the first time, received the sacrament at 
 the hands of the parish minister, but still he was a stranger 
 to pardoning mercy. He became about this time the subject 
 of strong temptation in relation to the propriety of praying to 
 Jesus Christ, which some of his Socinian friends alleged was 
 an unscriptural and idolatrous practice. Giving way to the 
 temptation, he ceased praying to the Son, and made his peti- 
 tions to the Father without ever mentioning the name of 
 Christ. Being under strong convictions for sin, he was led 
 frequently to call upon God to have mercy upon him, but all 
 his prayers seemed to be in vain. While one day in a field 
 alone praying for pardon, he wrestled with God until his 
 strength was exhausted, and he could no longer speak or 
 pray. In this his hour of extreme agony, the Spirit whispered, 
 " Pratj to Christ.'" He at once complied with the sugges- 
 tion, and soon his whole soul was overwhelmed with a sense 
 of the divine presence and approbation. But still he was ig- 
 norant of the fact that he was converted ; and it was not 
 until some time after, when being at the same spot in company 
 with Mr. Barber, that he obtained the Witness of the Spirit, 
 and became satisfied in regard to the nature of the work 
 wrought in his heart. 
 
 As soon as Adam became convinced that he was a child 
 of God, he returned home to tell what great things the Lord 
 had done for his soul. He also, notwithstanding his youth, 
 erected a family altar in his father's house, and throuifh his 
 pious counsels and fervent prayers in their behalf, the most 
 of the family finally became the subjects of converting grace, 
 as did also some of his school-fellows. 
 
ADAM CLARKE. Ill 
 
 In the above, and other ways, young Clarke began to ren- 
 der himself useful in the vineyard of Christ. He frequently 
 went several miles from home, for the purpose of attending 
 class-meeting, and giving the " word of exhortation." He 
 would even go from village to village, and entering into a 
 house, would say, " Peace be to this house," and request them 
 to call in their neighbors, which if they consented to do, he 
 would pray for, and exhort them, and then repair to the next 
 village for a like purpose. In this way, Adam Clarke, almost 
 un-consciously to himself, became an itinerant preacher, while 
 his extreme youth and interesting deportment, made him a 
 favorite wherever he went. 
 
 As it was now time that Adam should engage in some em- 
 ployment by which he could in subsequent life gain a subsist- 
 ence, and as neither he nor his parents, ever supposed that he 
 would become a Methodist preacher, he was put as an ap- 
 prentice to a linen-draper, in Coleraine, by the name of 
 Bennet, where he remained nearly a year, but without being 
 indentured. While remaining at Mr. Bennet' s, young Clarke's 
 religious friends suggested to him their belief, that God in- 
 tended him for the ministry, and becoming persuaded in his 
 own mind that such indeed was the fact, he parted from his 
 friend Mr. Bennet, with the kindest feelings, having been in- 
 strumental while there, in the conversion of one of his do- 
 mestics. 
 
 After leaving Mr. Bennet, young Clarke not having received 
 what he considered to be a satisfactory call as yet, to the 
 ren-ular work of the ministry, waited patiently for any indica- 
 tions that Providence might give him in relation to duty. 
 Shortly after this, he was invited by Mr. Bredin, the circuit 
 preacher, to visit him for a week or two. Adam accepted 
 the invitation, and being requested by Mr. Bredin to go and 
 fill his place the next evening, and to be sure and take a 
 text, he reluctantly consented to go, and on the 19 th of June, 
 
112 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 1782, he preached his first sermon from 1 John v. 19. In 
 the meantime, Mr. Bredin had written to Mr. Wesley in 
 England, ahout Mr. Clarke, and the former having received 
 an appointment in England, was requested to hring Adam 
 with him, that he might he placed in Kingswood School for 
 the purpose of improving his classical knowledge. Adam 
 having laid the matter hefore his parents, found them to be 
 highly displeased with the proposal. His father was enraged, 
 and his mother threatened him with God's displeasure, and 
 informed him that if he went, he should have a parent's 
 curse, and not her blessing to go with him. Under these 
 circumstances, not daring to leave home with a mother's 
 curse, he had recourse to prayer, and was surprised a few 
 days afterward to find that his mother had changed her mind 
 in relation to the matter, and that both parents were willing 
 to submit to the indications of Providence. 
 
 In the course of a few days, he left the parental mansion, 
 and being disappointed in not having the company of Mr. 
 Bredin, he set sail from the port of Derry for Liverpool, hav- 
 ing purchased, previously to embarking, a loaf of bread and a 
 pound of cheese, as provision for the voyage. In two days, 
 they arrived in Liverpool, but while ascending the river 
 Mersey, they were boarded by a press-gang, who were raising 
 supplies for the navy. Two young men who w.ere on board, 
 hid themselves, but Adam stood his ground, all the while 
 lifting his heart to God in prayer. The press-gang searched 
 the vessel, and finding one of the young men who had hidden 
 himself, took him with them, but for some reason left Adam 
 unmolested, saving the utterance of a horrid oath by the 
 lieutenant of the gang, followed by the words " you'll not do." 
 Mr. Clarke ever after this, had an enduring hatred for the 
 system of impressment as pursued in England ; and well he 
 might, for as he himself remarks in relation to it, " What 
 Briton's bosom does not burn against this infringement of 
 
ADAM CLARKE. H3 
 
 British liberty ? This unconstitutional attack on the liberty 
 of a free-born subject of the Sovereign of the British Isles ? 
 While the impress service is tolerated, in vain do vi'e boast 
 of our constitution. It is an attack upon its vitality ten 
 thousand times worse than any suspension of the Habeas 
 Corpus act. Let Britons knovr, that it is neither any part 
 of the constitution, nor any law of the land, whatever some 
 venal lawyers have said, in order to make it constructively 
 such. Nothing can be a reason for it, but that which justi- 
 fies a levee en masse, of the inhabitants of the nation. It is 
 intolerable to hear those plead for it, who are not exposed to 
 so great a calamity.'' 
 
 On Adam's arrival in Liverpool, he was kindly entertained 
 in the family of the captain of the vessel which had brought 
 him over. The captain's name was Cunningham, a Scotch- 
 man, and he and his excellent lady conspired to make his stay 
 with them as pleasant as possible ; and while enjoying their 
 hospitality, Mr. Clarke endeavored to make himself as useful 
 in a spiritual sense, as he could. When he left them, he ex- 
 pected, as a matter of course, to pay his bill like all other 
 private boarders, but Mrs. C. informed him that he had noth- 
 ing to pay, " You owe nothing here ; Captain C, myself, and 
 all the family, are deeply in your debt. You have been a 
 blessing to our house, and were you to stay longer, you would 
 have no charges." 
 
 The distance from Liverpool to Bristol, near which Kings- 
 wood is situated, is about two hundred miles. This distance, 
 Adam resolved to pursue on foot, as his finances were by no 
 means very abundant. He was, however, persuaded by a 
 friend to relinquish this mode of travelling, and to procure an 
 outside seat on a stage-coach to Birmingham. At the latter 
 place, he met vnth a brother of his friend. Rev. Mr. Brettel, 
 who showed him great kindness, but cautioned him against 
 forming too high an opinion of Kingswood School, as he 
 
 8 
 
114 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 might there bo doomed to suffer pain, and discouragement 
 After remaining here a few days, he took his departure for 
 Bristol, having no other refreshment on the road than a pen- 
 ny loaf, and a half-penny worth of apples, during a journey 
 of seventeen hours. Arriving at a late hour in the evening, 
 he put up at the inn, and in the morning when his bill was 
 paid, he had but three half-pence left to pay his expenses at 
 Kingswood. 
 
 In the morning, he went to Kingswood, and having found 
 Mr. Simpson, the head-master of the school, he presented to 
 him a letter from Mr. Wesley, authorizing his admission as 
 a student. Mr. S. informed him, that there was no room for 
 him in the school, and that he must go back to Bristol, and 
 wait for a fortnight, until Mr. Wesley himself should come. 
 Adam told Mr. S. that he could not go back, as his money 
 was all gone. 
 
 After some farther conversation, Mr. S. gave Adam per- 
 raissiou to remain, provided that he would occupy a small 
 room at the end of the chapel, aad that he would stay in that 
 room, and not come into the house. He was also informed, 
 that his food would be brought to him daily by one of the 
 servants. Adam felt, indeed, as though this was rather un- 
 generous treatment of a stranger in a strange land. He, 
 however, found out during the day, that as he was an Irish- 
 man, he was suspected of having the itch, and that on this 
 account, Mrs. S. could not allow him to mingle with the 
 family. Adam resented the imputation by opening his vest 
 and shirt bosom, and showing Mr. S. as white a skin as ever 
 crossed the Tweed — Mr. S. was a Scotchman — but all to no 
 purpose, the itch might be cleaving somewhere to his person, 
 and nothing would satisfy them until he had rubbed himself 
 from head to foot, with a box of " Jackson's Itch Ointment." 
 
 It is proper here to remark, that Kingswood School at this 
 time, was under the supervision of very improper persons 
 
ADAM CLARKE. 115 
 
 Mr. Simpson and his wife were illiberal, tyrannical, and par- 
 simonious ; and althoun;h frequent complaints had been made 
 to Mr. Wesley, of their treatment of the students, yet as he 
 was in his 80th year, and was disposed to believe evil of no 
 one, he had suffered them to remain at the head of the insti- 
 tution. That the reader may know how to sympathize with 
 the young Irish stranger, we will give a few paragraphs from 
 his life in his own words. " It was only my strong hold of 
 God, that kept me from distraction. But to whom could I 
 make my complaint ? Earthly refuge I had none. It is ut- 
 terly impossible for me to describe the feelings, I may justly 
 say, the agony of my mind. I surveyed my apartment ; there 
 was a wretched old bureau, wainscot-bedstead, not worth ten 
 shillings, and a bed and bed-clothes, not worth much more ; 
 but the worst was, they were very scanty, and the weather 
 was cold and wet. There was one rush-bottomed chair in 
 the place, and besides ihese, neither carpet on the floor, nor 
 at the bedstead, nor any other kind of furniture. There was 
 no book, not even a Bible in the place ; and my own box, with 
 my clothes, and a few books was behind at the Lamb Inn, in 
 Bristol ; and I had not even a change of linen. Of this I in- 
 formed them, and begged them to let the man (as I found he 
 went in with a horse and small cart three times a week) bring 
 out my box to me. To this request often and earnestly repeat- 
 ed, I got no definite answer, but no box was brought. 
 
 " Jackson's Ointment was brought, it is true ; and with this 
 uno^uent, I was obliged to anoint myself, before a large fire 
 (the first and last I saw while I remained there) which they 
 had ordered to be lighted for the purpose. In this state smel- 
 linn- worse than a pole-cat, I tumbled with a heavy heart, and 
 streaming eyes into my worthless bed. The next morning, 
 the sheets had taken from my body as far as they came in 
 contact with it, the unabsorbed parts of this tartareous com- 
 pound : and the smell of them and myself, was almost insup- 
 
116 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 portable. I begged the woman that brought my hread and 
 milk for breakfast, for dinner, and for supper — for generally I 
 had nothing else, and not enough of that — to let nie have a 
 pair of clean sheets. It was in vain : no clean clothes of any 
 kind were afforded me ; I was left to make my own bed, 
 sweep my own room, &c. &c. as I pleased ! For more than 
 three weeks no soul performed any kind act for me. And as 
 they did not give orders to the man to bring out my box, I 
 was left without a change of any kind, till the Thursday of 
 the second week ; when I asked permission to go out of my 
 prison house, to Bristol for my box, which being granted, I 
 walked to Bristol and carried my box on my head more than 
 four miles, without any kind of assistance ! It was then no 
 loss that my wardrobe was not extensive. As for books, I 
 brought none with me but a small 18mo. Bible, a 12mo. 
 edition of Young's Night Thoughts, Prideaux' Connections, and 
 Buck's 8vo. Greek Testament. 
 
 As both the days and nights were very cold, the season then 
 being unnaturally so, I begged to have a little j?re. This was 
 denied me, though coals were very cheap ; and had it been 
 otherwise, they were not at their expense ; they were paid for 
 out of the public collections, made for that school, to which 
 many of my friends made an annual offering. 
 
 One day having seen Mr. Simpson walking in the garden, 
 I went to him and showed him my fingers, then bloodless 
 through cold ! He took me to the hall, showed me a cord 
 which hung from the roof, to the end of which was fixed a 
 cross stick ; and told me to jump up and catch hold of the 
 stick, and swing by my hands, and that would help to restore 
 the circulation. I did so : and had been at the exercise only 
 a fdw minutes, when Mrs. S. came and drove both him and 
 myself away, under the pretence that we should dirty the 
 floor I From this woman I received no kindness. When 
 nearly crippled with cold, and I had stolen in the kitchen to 
 
ADAM CLARKE. 117 
 
 warm myself for a few moments, if I heard her voice in the 
 hall, I have run as a man would who is pursued in the jungles 
 of Bengal, by a royal tiger. 
 
 " This woman was equally saving of the candles, as of the 
 coals ; if my candle was not extinguished by nine o'clock, I 
 was called to account for it. My bed not being comfortable, 
 I did not like to lie much in it, and therefore kept out of it as 
 late, and rose from it as early as possible. To prevent Mrs. 
 S. from seeing the reflection of the light through my window 
 (for my prison house was opposite the school over the way), 
 I was accustomed to set my candle on the floor behind my 
 bureau-bed, take off my coat, and hang it on my chair-back, 
 bring that close on the other angle, and then sit down on the 
 floor and read !" 
 
 We might enlarge these extracts for the purpose of showing 
 the wretched situation in which Adam found himself when 
 he first became an inmate of Kingswood, but these must suf- 
 fice. Should the reader wonder at the tameness of his spirit, 
 and be led to inquire why he submitted to such treatment, 
 the answer is very easy. He was a youth, a stranger, with- 
 out money, and without friends ; he lived in expectation of 
 soon seeing Mr. Wesley, when he expected an improvement 
 in his situation ; and for these and other reasons, he preferred 
 Bufferin"- for awhile, rather than leave the institution and be 
 foiled in his attempts to secure an education. Besides, he soon 
 became acquainted with Mr. Eankin, the Superintendent of 
 the circuit, who became his friend, and invited him to preach 
 in a distant neighborhood, and from this period his condition 
 was somewhat improved. 
 
 For the sake of exercise, Adam sought and obtained per- 
 mission to work in the garden connected with the School. 
 While thus employed, one day he found a half-guinea, em- 
 bedded in a clod, which he was breaking with a spade. He 
 took the piece of money to Mr. Simpson, who stated it might 
 
118 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 be his, but did not recollect Imving lost any, and advised Adam 
 to keep it until an owner was found. Adanvdid so with reluc- 
 tance. The next day learning that a Mr. Bayley had lost a 
 half-guinea, he gave it to him, but in three days after, Mr. 
 Bayley restored to Adam the possession of the piece, saying, 
 " Mr. Clarke, it is true that I lost half a guinea, but I am not 
 sure that this is the half-guinea I lost ; unless I was so, I 
 could not conscientiously keep it ; therefore, you must take it 
 again." Adam replied, " It is not mine; probably it is yours, 
 therefore I cannot take it." Mr. B. replied, " I cannot keep 
 it. I have been uneasy in my mind ever since it came into 
 my possession," and while saying this, he forced the gold into 
 Adam's hand. So the latter was obliged to keep it, and as 
 no ovnier could be found for it, it formed quite an addition to 
 the purse, that contained but three halfpence. 
 
 After having been at Kingswood about five weeks, Mr. 
 Wesley arrived in Bristol, and Adam hastened to pay his 
 respects to him. The old gentleman received him kindly, 
 and asked him if he wished to devote himself to the work of 
 the Lord. His reply was, " Sir, I wish to be, and do, what 
 God pleases." Mr. Wesley accordingly requested him to 
 hold himself in readiness to go to Bradford circuit, where 
 there was a vacancy, after which he laid his hands upon his 
 head, and blessed him in the name of the Lord. 
 
 On the 27th day of September, 1782, Adam Clarke began 
 his labors as an itinerant Methodist preacher. At one place 
 where an appointment had been given out for him, there was 
 a large assemblage of young persons brought together from 
 motives of curiosity, to hear the youthful preacher. After 
 having preached, he gave out the well-known hymn, begin- 
 ning with the words, " Vain delusive world adieu," &c. 
 After singing, in which the audience all joined, Mr. Clarke 
 addressed himself to their consciences, by reminding them of 
 ■what they had sung, and inquiring whether they intended to 
 
ADAM CLARKE. 119 
 
 keep the vows they had verhally made while singing the 
 hymn. Such was the effect of this appeal to them, that dur- 
 ing that evening and next morning, thirteen young persons 
 came to him, desiring to know what they must do to he 
 saved ? A revival of religion immediately took place, and 
 Methodism was thenceforth estahlished in that village. 
 
 A circumstance shortly after this, occurred, which came 
 very near putting an end to Mr. Clarke's classical pursuits. 
 At one appointment where he was in the hahit of preaching, 
 he observed a Latin sentence pencilled on the wall of the 
 room where his lodgings were. Admiring the sentence, he 
 subjoined an appropriate Latin quotation from the ^neid of 
 Virgil. Shortly after this, one of his colleagues on the circuit 
 being in the same place, and also in the same room, observed 
 the quotation, and without being able to read it, he judged it 
 was Latin, and that Mr. Clarke had written it. Not being 
 able to bear an equal, much less a superior in knowledge, he 
 wrote under Mr. Clarke's quotation, the following words : 
 
 " Did you write the above 
 to show us you could write Latin 1 
 For shame ! do send pride 
 to hell, from whence it came. 
 0, youDg man, improve your 
 time, eternity's at hand." 
 
 On Mr. Clarke's return to that place, he noticed the re- 
 proachful efTusion, and in a moment of temptation, he knelt 
 down and solemnly promised his Maker never more to med- 
 dle with Latin or Greek ! The next time he saw the ignorant 
 and conceited author of the reproof, he ventured to inquire 
 why the latter had not reproved him privately, instead of 
 publishing it in a manner whereby many persons might see 
 and read it ! The preacher replied, that he thought he pur- 
 sued the best mode to produce a cure. Mr. Clarke then told 
 
120 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 him of the vow he had made, and was warmly applauded for 
 so doing, by this mistaken man. For nearly four years he 
 abandoned the study of Latin and Greek, and confined his at- 
 tention principally to French and Hebrew. At length he 
 received a letter from Mr. Wesley, in which he was charged 
 to cultivate his mind as far as possible, and not to forget any- 
 thing he had ever learned. This timely advice, broke the 
 spell by which Mr. Clarke had been bound, and he concluded 
 that his vow was not only rash, but wicked, and that it would 
 be more acceptable to God to break the same, however 
 solemnly made, than to persist in keeping it. He according- 
 ly resumed his Greek and Latin, and neither himself nor the 
 Church have had reason to repent his change of purpose in 
 this respect. 
 
 After having travelled as a preacher for nearly a year, he 
 was received into full connection by Mr. Wesley, at the Con- 
 ference in Bristol, in 1783. A circumstance occurred at his 
 examination, which shows his strict regard for truth. One 
 of the questions asked by Mr. Wesley — and indeed by all his 
 successors, whether presidents or bishops — of every preacher 
 eligible to full connection in the Conference, was, " Ave you 
 in debt ?" The day before Mr. Clarke's examination, he had 
 borrowed a half-penny of a brother preacher, for the purpose 
 of bestowing it upon a poor man. During the day, the 
 preacher had left town before Mr. Clarke had an opportunity 
 of paying him back the half-penny. Knowing the question 
 would be asked him as usual, " Are you in debt ?" he was at 
 a loss to know what answer to give. If he should reply 
 negatively, it would not be strictly true ; if he replied that 
 he was, and should be asked the amount, he feared his breth- 
 ren might think him a fool. He, however, relieved himself 
 from the dilemma by replying, " Not one penny." 
 
 During the eleven months he was on Bradford circuit, he 
 preached five hundred and six times, besides delivering a 
 
ADAM CLARKE. 121 
 
 large number of exhortations, &c., which shows to some ex- 
 tent the arduous labors of the early Methodist preachers. At 
 the Bristol Conference, Mr. Clarke was appointed to Norwich 
 circuit, having the venerable Richard Whatcoat, afterwards 
 Bishop WhStcoat, for his colleague. The circuit was poor, 
 and could not afford Mr. Clarke a horse, he consequently was 
 often obliged to walk to his appointments, and carry his own 
 saddle-bags. The next year he was appointed to St. Austell 
 circuit, in Cornwall, a distance of about four hundred miles 
 from Norwich. He had but a guinea and a half-crown, to 
 bear his expenses to that distant field of labor, but he set out 
 trusting in the Lord. Soon after his arri\'al on his circuit, 
 he went to one of his appointments, and a- directed, called at 
 the house of a farmer P. for entertainment. When he en- 
 tered, he found only the good woman within, who gave him 
 for his dinner cold apple-pie and cream, this being the best 
 the house afforded. After satisfying himself, he went to the 
 stable to clean his horse, and waited till the farmer came in 
 from the field. The following dialogue then took place : 
 " Who art thou?" "I am a Methodist preacher; my name 
 is Adam Clarke." " And what is thee coming here for?" 
 " To preach to yourself your family, and your neighbors." 
 " Who sent thee here?" "I received the plan from Mr. 
 W." (the su]ierintendent of the circuit,) " and your place 
 stands for to-night and to-morrow morning." " I expect oth&r 
 friends to-morrow, and thou shalt not stay here." " Why, 
 will you not have the preaching ?" " No, I will have none 
 of fhy p>'eaching, nor any of thy brethren." " But will it 
 not be wrono' to deprive your family and neighbors of what 
 may be profitable to them, though you may not desire it ?" 
 " Thee shalt not stay here, I will have no more Methodist 
 preachiw" " Well, I will inform Mr. W. of it, and I dare 
 say he will not send any more, if you desire it not ; but as I 
 am a stranger in the country, and know not my way, and it 
 
122 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 is now toward evening, I hope you will give me a night's 
 lodging, and I will, please God, set off to-morrow morning." 
 " I tell thee thou shall not stay here." " What, would you 
 turn a stranger out into a strange country, of which he knows 
 nothing, and so late in the evening, too ?" "Where was 
 thee last night ?" " I was at Palperr." " Then go there." 
 " It is out of my reach, hesides I have to preach at Bodmin 
 to-morrow evening." " Then go to Bodrni7i.^' " I have 
 never yet been there ; am not expected there to-night ; and 
 know no person in the place : pray give me the shelter of 
 your roof for the night." " / tell thee thou shalt not stay 
 here." "Are you really in earnest.''' " I ain" "Well, 
 then, if I must go, you can direct me the way to Buthern- 
 bridge; I was there on Thursday, and am sure I shall be 
 welcome again." " Thee must -inquire the road to Bod- 
 min." " How far is Euthernbridge hence ?" " Almost Jifteen 
 or sixteen miles, so thou hadst best be getting ojf." " I will 
 set off immediately." 
 
 On being thus denied a-night's lodging, Mr. Clarke repacked 
 his loose articles and saddled his horse, the farmer all the 
 while looking on, but offering to lend no assistance. Having 
 mounted his horse Mr. Clarke said, " Now sir, I am a stranger, 
 and you have refused me the common rites of hospitality ; I 
 am a messenger of the Lord Jesus, coming to you, your fam- 
 ily and your neighbors with the glad tidings of salvation by 
 Jesus Christ, and you have refused to receive me : for this, 
 you must account at the bar of God. In the meantime, I 
 must act as my Lord has commanded me. Eemember 1 a 
 messenger of peace came to your house with the Gospel, and 
 you have rejected both him and his message !" So saying, 
 he shook off the dust from the soles of both feet as a testimony 
 against the inhospitable farmer. The result off his conduct 
 was the withdrawal of Methodist preaching from the neigh- 
 
ADAM CLARKE, 123 
 
 borhood, ruin came upon the man, his family became corrupt, 
 and he himself soon died. 
 
 Mr. Clarke, while on this circuit, met with a severe acci- 
 dent by the stumbling of his horse which nearly deprived him 
 of life, and the effects of which he felt for several years after ; 
 although, by the goodness of God, he was not prevented there- 
 by from attending to his work. At the Conference of 1785, 
 held in London, Mr. Clarke was appointed to Plymouth Dock 
 circuit, where a secession of some fifty members had taken 
 place from the Society. Such was Mr. Clarke's influence, 
 that most of the seceders returned in the course of the year ; 
 and at the close thereof, the Society was found to have doubled 
 its number. In the meanwhile, Mr. Clarke was improving 
 every leisure moment in pursuing his classical studies. He 
 also through the kindness of friends who appreciated his thirst 
 for knowledge, became the owner of a few valuable classical 
 works, which greatly assisted him in his researches. At this 
 time, his salary as a preacher was only twelve pounds (about 
 $50) per annum, so that he could not from his own resources 
 purchase such books as were necessary ; but Providence fur- 
 nished the means through the liberality of friends, and fre- 
 quently in the most unexpected manner. In consequence of 
 Mr. Clarke's knowledge of the French language, he was, 
 at the Conference of 1786, appointed by Mr. Wesley to the 
 Island of Jersey, one of the Norman Isles, where he was most 
 hospitably received and entertained in the family of Henry 
 De Jersey, Esq. The next year, Mr. Wesley and Dr. Coke 
 visited these islands, and on their return were accompanied by 
 Mr. Clarke. He was, however, reappointed to the same field 
 of labor, and remained there until 1789, when he was appoint- 
 ed to Bristol. In 1788, Mr. Clarke was united in marriage 
 to Miss Mary Cooke, of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, a young lady 
 of fervent piety, a highly intellectual mind, and withal, a 
 strict Methodist. This union was followed by the best possi- 
 
1. t LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ble consequences to both parties ; and was attended with no 
 loss of honor to the lady or her friends, although some of the 
 latter opposed the marriage, and in fact delayed it for a year, 
 because they imagined that she would be degraded by an alli- 
 ance with a poor Methodist preacher. 
 
 In 1790, Mr. Clarke was appointed to Dublin. This was 
 an important appointment, inasmuch as the preacher in Dub- 
 lin was considered Mr. Wesley's representative in Ireland, 
 and had charge of all the circuits and stations in the kingdom. 
 While in Dublin, he heard of the death of his father and 
 friend, Mr. Wesley. The news, though not entirely unexpect- 
 ed, was so affecting to the sensitive mind of Mr. Clarke, that 
 he could scarcely read the account of his death. After re- 
 maining in Dublin one year he was appointed to Manchester 
 circuit, and while in the latter place he formed the well- 
 known Stranger's Friend Society, which as it became known 
 was introduced into many of the cities and large towns of 
 England. 
 
 Mr. Clarke remained in Manchester two years, and in 1793, 
 was appointed to Liverpool. While in this place and while 
 returning from an evening appointment in the country, he 
 was attacked by several Roman Catholic ruffians who had 
 waylaid him. He was in company with his brother and 
 another friend at the time. As they passed the place where 
 the rufRans lay concealed, Mr. Clarke was struck by a large 
 stone on the head which caused a deep wound. He was im- 
 mediately carried to a neighboring house and was left in 
 charge of the friend, while his brother ran back to pursue the 
 assailants. He found them and charged them with the act. 
 He had them arrested, and then returned to attend to his 
 wounded brother. The inhabitants of the house on hearing 
 that Mr. Clarke was a Methodist preacher, and that the men 
 who had assailed him were Roman Catholics, and being Roman 
 Catholics themselves, declared that he was well served, and 
 
ADAM CLARKE. 125 
 
 that it was a pity they had not killed him. His friends see- 
 ing how matters stood, had him carried to his own house in 
 Liverpool, where he was laid up for a month in consequence 
 of his wound. The rufHans were at last released from confine- 
 ment through the merciful disposition of Mr. Clarke, who re- 
 fused to prosecute them for the assault. They both, however, 
 soon came to an untimely and tragical end. 
 
 In 1795, Mr. Clarke was appointed to the London circuit, 
 where he continued three years ; and while here he com- 
 menced taking notes for his Commentary, which may, in fact, 
 he considered as the beginning of that literary career, which 
 afterwards made him so famous as a scholar and as an author. 
 We are not, however, to suppose that Mr. Clarke's literary pur- 
 suits rendered him less diligent as a pastor. It has been 
 computed that during his three years' stay in London, he 
 icalked at least seven thousand miles in attending upon his 
 pastoral duties, After his three years in London had expired 
 he was appointed to Bristol, and while here he had the mis- 
 fortune to lose his beloved father by death. Mr. Clarke se- 
 nior, had remained a few years previously with the younger 
 members of his family from Ireland to Manchester, at which 
 place he died, and where his remains lie interred. As an in- 
 stance of filial affection, it is recorded that ever after when 
 Mr. Adam Clarke was passing the burying ground where his 
 father lay interred, whether riding or walking, he would rever- 
 ently uncover his head, and keep it uncovered while passing by. 
 
 The greatest diiBculty Mr. Clarke had to contend with 
 while writing his Commentary and other valuable works, was 
 the want of books. At this period he was greatly in want of 
 an Arabic Dictionary. There was but one work which he 
 could obtain to supply this deficiency in this respect, but to 
 obtain it he must pay forty pounds sterling (nearly $200). 
 Not having the money he tried to borrow it of a friend, but 
 the latter considering him almost insane to pay so muck 
 
126 LIVES OF EMINBNT MINISTERS. 
 
 money for a single book, refused to lend him the desired sum. 
 He was, however, more successful in another direction, and 
 the book was obtained. 
 
 Mr. Clarke now became an author on an extensive scale 
 In 1800, he translated and published Sturm's Reflections, a 
 very valuable work. In 1802, he published a " Bibliograph- 
 ical Dictionary" in six volumes. About the same time he 
 published "A Succinct Account of Polyglott Bibles," and also 
 " A Succinct Account of the Principal Editions of the Greek 
 Testament." All these works demanded great labor and re- 
 search, and for this no man was better fitted by nature and 
 education than Mr. Clarke. After remaining in Bristol three 
 years, Mr. Clarke was appointed again to Liverpool, and while 
 here he projected the formation of the " Philological Society ;" 
 but his arduous labors were undermining his constitution, 
 hence in 1802, he was obliged to repair to London to seek 
 medical advice. His physician plainly told him that unless 
 he would abstain totally from reading, writing, preaching, &c., 
 in less than a year he would be a dead man. God, however, 
 saw fit to spare him to a good old age. To add to his afflic- 
 tions while in Liverpool, he lost his brother by death ; but God 
 was his supporter and his strength amidst all his troubles and 
 afflictions. 
 
 After leaving Liverpool, Mr. Clarke went to Manchester, 
 where he met his daughter Agnes, and while here in 1804, 
 he published " Memoirs of the Ancient Israelites," and in the 
 following year, he issued a new edition of the same work. 
 On leaving Manchester he was again stationed in London, and 
 in 1806, was elected President of the Conference, contrary to 
 his expressed wishes. The British and Foreign Bible Society 
 also, elected him a member of its executive committee, a sta- 
 tion for which he was well qualified by his extensive knowl- 
 edge of the ancient languages. His duties in this department 
 were principally confined to the printing of the Bible in the 
 
ADAM CLARKE. 127 
 
 Arabic tongue ; and so well were his labors appreciated in 
 this direction, that the committee requested his acceptance of 
 fifty pounds, which they sent to him in the most handsome 
 manner, but which he peremptorily declined to accept, and 
 ■which he immediately returned with great respect. During 
 the year of his Presidency of the connection, he visited his first 
 circuit, and preached in the same chapel where he preached 
 his first sermon, as an itinerant, about twenty-four years pre- 
 viously. Old scenes were of course presented afresh to his 
 memory, and he distinctly remembered hearing a man say 
 when he first presented himself, as the youthful and diffident 
 itinerant, "Tut, tut, what icill Mr. Wesley send us next?" 
 
 On the 31st of January, 1807, Mr. Clarke received in the 
 most flattering manner, the degree of Master of Arts, from the 
 University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and in a year from that 
 time, the same College as a further testimonial of esteem, and 
 appreciation of his merits, bestowed on him the degree of 
 Doctor of Civil Law. The diplomas were sent to him, the 
 College refusing to accept the customary fee given on such 
 occasions. 
 
 In 1808, Dr. Clarke received an invitation from the British 
 government, to undertake the completion of a collection of 
 State Papers, embracing all the leagues, treaties, alliances, 
 capitulations, and confederacies, which had been entered into 
 by the British Crown and other States, or princes. This vo- 
 luminous work had been commenced in 1693, and had been 
 published from time to time, down to the year 1717, since 
 which time, little appears to have been done toward its com- 
 pletion. As this was a work of great importance, it became 
 necessary for the government, to select one of the ablest men 
 in the nation to make the completion. The selection fell on 
 Dr. Clarke, who was requested by the secretary of the Com- 
 mission, to accept the appointment. The Doctor refused on 
 the ground that his researches had always been directed to 
 
128 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 other and totally different subjects. The Secretary smiled, 
 and requested him to have the goodness to try. Before com 
 ing to a conclusion in reference to the matter, he resolved tc 
 ask the advice of the London Wesleyan preachers at their 
 meeting at City Road Chapel. Some objected that it would 
 interfere with his ministerial duties; others, that it was a 
 trick of the devil to prevent his usefulness ; others, that it was 
 a call of Providence to greater usefulness, and advising him 
 to accept the appointment by all means. As the most of his 
 brethren were of the latter opinion, he reluctantly concluded 
 to accept the appointment. He was immediately appointed 
 Sub-commissioner, with authority to employ all the assistants 
 necessary to the completion of the work, and with liberty to 
 examine all the public records necessary to the undertaking. 
 This work in which Doctor Clarke engaged was completed by 
 him in ten years, to the entire satisfaction of the government. 
 
 While thus rendering his valuable services to the govern- 
 ment, he by no means neglected his duties as a Methodist 
 preacher. He attended all his appointments, visited all the 
 classes and proceeded with the preparation of his Commen- 
 tary, as time and circumstances would allow. In 1810, the 
 first part of the work was published, and the receipt of a copy 
 thereof acknowledged in the most flattering terms by the Right 
 Honorable the Speaker of the House of Commons. 
 
 In 1811, Dr. Clarke and son visited Ireland. He went to 
 the house where his father lived, when the Methodists first 
 came into the place, and where Adam lived when he was 
 converted. The house had now become old and dilapidated. 
 Dr. Clarke asked permission of the woman to enter. She re- 
 plied, "It is too mean a place for such a gentleman as you 
 to enter." "Good woman," replied the doctor, " do not say 
 60 ; I have spent several years in this very house." The wo- 
 man was astonished 1 He entered, and before taking his leave 
 gave each of the children a piece of silver. 
 
ADAM CLARKE. 129 
 
 The first part of his Commentary, was generally received 
 by a discerning public according to its real merits. There 
 were, however, a few who took exception to the Doctor's in- 
 terpretations, especially to his rendering of the term serpent 
 in Gen. iii. 1, by another word, which he thought more sig- 
 nificant — a monkey. The objections of these critics, called 
 forth from the Rev. Richard Reece, — who was a great admi- 
 rer of Dr. Clarke, — the following ingenious lines : 
 
 " The Rev. Doctor Adam Clarke asserts. 
 
 It could not be a serpent tempted Eve, 
 But a gay monkey, whose fine mimic arts 
 And fopperies, were most likely to deceive. 
 
 Dogmatic commentators still hold out, 
 A serpent, not a monkey, tempted madam ; 
 
 And which shall we believe 1 Without a doubt 
 None knows so well who tempted Eve as Adam.'' 
 
 In 1813, Dr. Clarke was elected Fellow of the Society of 
 Antiquarians, an honor which was richly deserved, and great- 
 ly appreciated by the Doctor himself In 1815, the state of 
 his health rendered it necessary for him to leave London, 
 and retire into the country in the neighborhood of Liverpool, 
 where he had purchased an estate, and which he called Mill- 
 brook. At this place he built a Methodist chapel at his own 
 expense, and as the winter of 1816 was very severe, hundreds 
 of sailors in Liverpool were without means of support. Dr. 
 Clarke immediately on hearing of the distress of this neglected 
 class of men, prepared some untenanted cottages on his estate, 
 for the reception of twenty of them, and provided them with 
 regular meals in his kitchen every day during the winter. 
 He gave them also some slight employment to keep them from 
 idleness. 
 
 In the summer of 1816, the Doctor made another visit to 
 Ireland, as also to Scotland, and on his return was warmly 
 
 9 
 
130 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 greeted by his family and dependants. In 1817, ho was 
 elected member of the American Antiquarian Society. In 
 1818, he took under his charge and tuition two young hea- 
 then priests, who had just been brought over from the island 
 of Ceylon, for the purpose of being instructed in the theology 
 and science of Christendom. Many anecdotes are related of 
 these youths, while under Dr. Clarke's care. One or two we 
 will give : They had been instructed in the Doctor's family, 
 that in winter the ground would be covered with snow, and 
 that water would be frozen, so that it would bear a person to 
 walk on its surface. They were, however, incredulous about 
 these matters, until one morning in the beginning of winter, 
 they arose from their beds, and to their utter astonishment, 
 the world was white before and around them ! Surprised 
 and fearful, they ran for the Doctor, who soon allayed their 
 fears by going out with them into the garden, and taking 
 some of the snow in his hands, taught them its nature and 
 properties. Soon after, the fish-pond was frozen over, and 
 this also was a matter of astonishment. They could not be 
 prevailed to venture upon it, until the Doctor and the ladies 
 of the family had set the example. These priests remained 
 for two years in the family of Dr. Clarke, and during that 
 period had been soundly converted to the Christian faith, and 
 received at the hands of the Doctor, in Richmond Chapel, 
 Liverpool, the rite of Christian baptism, in the presence of a 
 large congregation. As these youths had been committed to 
 his care by Sir A. Johnstone, Chief Justice of the island of 
 Ceylon, it became necessary on the appointment of his suc- 
 cessor, Sir Richard Ottley, to the same distinguished office, to 
 allow these Cingalese converts to return to their own land, 
 which they did after shedding many tears of sorrow, at being 
 obliged to leave the kind-hearted Doctor and his family. 
 
 In July, 1821, Dr. Clarke was elected member of the 
 Royal Irish Academy, an institution on whose list of members 
 
ADAM CLARKE. 131 
 
 were enrolled some of the most honorable and distinguished 
 names in the land. In Jvily of 1822, he was for the third 
 time elected President of the Wesleyan Conference, a mark 
 of honor which he esteemed more highly than all the literary 
 degrees which had been conferred upon him. In 1823, he 
 was elected Member of the Geological Society of London, and 
 during the same year, became an original member of the 
 Royal Asiatic Society. To pass over a portion of Dr. Clarke's 
 history, we find him in 1825, the honored guest of his Royal 
 Highness the Duke of Sussex. This nobleman was ever the 
 patron of sound learning, and a great admirer of Dr. Clarke. 
 On the occasion just referred to, he had been invited by the 
 Duke to meet another distinguished nobleman, the Duke of 
 Hamilton, at the palace of the former, for the purpose of a 
 mutual introduction ; and without entering into details in 
 reference to the honor shown him at this visit, we cannot 
 avoid contrasting his present position in society, flattered and 
 honored by royalty itself, with the condition in which he 
 found himself when he first arrived in England, and especially 
 on his arrival at Kingswood School, where he had literally to 
 beg for a place to stay, and for a bed whereon to rest his 
 wearied limbs. 
 
 Previous to this, he had sold his estate at Millbrook, and 
 had purchased another in the vicinity of London, which he 
 called Haydon Hall ; and at this latter place in 1826, he 
 finished his Commentary on the Old and New Testaments, a 
 work on which he had been engaged iox forty years of his 
 precious life. The last sentence of that work was written 
 upon his knees, and when completed he returned fervent 
 thanks to God, that his life had been spared to see the com- 
 pletion of a work which had cost him so many wearisome 
 hours of labor and research, without aid from any person, not 
 even an amanuensis. On the completion of his Commentary, 
 he was invited by his children to a family dinner, at the 
 
132 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 nouse of one of his sons. After dinner, a splendid silver vase 
 was brought in, and placed at the head of the table. This 
 vase had been prepared by his children, as a solemn offering 
 upon the occasion, without the Doctor's knowledge. The 
 Doctor's eldest son arose, and uncovering the vase, and with 
 an appropriate and affectionate address, he in the name of 
 each child in the family, offered it to their revered parent. 
 The good Doctor was taken by surprise ; for a few moments 
 he sat incapable of utterance ; then regarding them all, he 
 rose, and spreading out his hands, pronounced a father's bless- 
 ing upon them, individually and collectively. Such a scene 
 would be worthy the attention of the artist. 
 
 In June, 1826, the Doctor, accompanied by one of his sons, 
 started on a visit to the Shetland Isles, for the purpose of 
 promoting the good of the Wesleyan Missions in that much 
 neglected portion of the British Isles. On the voyage, they 
 experienced a tremendous storm ; to add to their danger, they 
 were pursued by a royal revenue cutter, who supposed them 
 to be engaged in the smuggling trade. The cutter made a 
 signal, which the other vessel, on account of the derangement 
 of its rigging, was unable to answer. Finding the signal un- 
 answered, the cutter fired a blank cartridge ; still the flag 
 was entangled in the shrouds. The cutter was on the point 
 of firing into her, when discovering the cause of her failure to 
 reply to the signal, and also that she was engaged in the 
 Shetland Island service, suffered her to proceed. After reach- 
 ing the port of his destination, and spending a short time 
 with the simple, yet hospitable inhabitants of those Islands, 
 he relumed again to England, by way of Scotland. Having 
 acquired by his visit to Shetland a much better knowledge of 
 the wants of the people, he exerted himself to awaken an in- 
 terest in the bosoms of Christians at home, for the spiritual 
 welfare of those distant sheep ; and during the next summer, 
 accompanied by several ministers, and other gentlemen, he 
 
ADAM CLARKB. 133 
 
 made a second visit to the islands. During this second visit, 
 he laid the corner-stone of a new Wesleyan chapel, and after 
 remaining nearly a month, returned with his company to 
 England. 
 
 In 1830, Dr. Clarke was elected a Fellow of the Eclec- 
 tic Society of London, an honor conferred only on the most 
 eminent of scientific men. In April of this year, he visited 
 Ireland again, and towards the close of this year we find 
 him exerting himself to estahhsh schools among the peasantry 
 of his native island, which he subsequently succeeded in 
 doing, and which he fostered with a parent's care. 
 
 During the year 1831, and until the close of his life. Dr. 
 Clarke sustained a supernumerary relation to the Conference. 
 This relation was not sought by him ; indeed, it was given 
 him in opposition to his own feelings and judgment in the 
 matter, a circumstance which somewhat afflicted him. It 
 however gave him a little more liberty to travel where he 
 chose. In the latter part of the year, he received an affec- 
 tionate letter from the Board of Managers of the Missionary 
 Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United 
 States, inviting him to visit America. To this invitation he 
 was obliged, through the multiplicity of engagements, to re- 
 turn a negative answer, but assuring the worthy brethren 
 who extended the invitation, that he loved the Church they 
 represented, and respected and wished well to the State of 
 which they were citizens, and asserting his belief that their 
 "nation is destined to be the mightiest and happiest nation of 
 the globe," and their " Church the most extensive and pure 
 in the universe." 
 
 In the spring of 1832, Dr. Clarke again visited Ireland, for 
 the purpose of seeing to his Irish schools, but while here he 
 became seriously indisposed, so much so, as to unfit him for 
 active employment. After a partial recovery from his attack 
 of rheumatism, he proceeded to visit several places, but learn- 
 
134 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ing that his son, who had started from home to attend to the 
 Doctor during his illness and accompany him home, had met 
 with a serious accident on the way, hy the upsetting of the 
 stage-coach, he hastened to Belfast, where he took passage in 
 a steamer for Liverpool ; but such was his weakness that he 
 did not reach his home, until the 2d of July. At this time, 
 the cholera was raging in Liverpool, and the session of the 
 Conference was to be held in that town during this year. Dr. 
 Clarke, notwithstanding his bodily infirmities, had a great de- 
 sire to attend the Conference. Strong objections were inter- 
 posed by his family to his going to Liverpool. Believing, how- 
 ever, that duty required his presence, he went there, and 
 found that many of his dear friends were falling victims to 
 the pestilence. He preached the annual sermon at the re- 
 quest of the Conference, and received as a supernumerary, an 
 appointment to Windsor ■with, a note appended to his name, 
 that he was not bound to that circuit, but was respectfully 
 requested to visit all parts of the Connection, and labor as 
 strength and convenience would permit. 
 
 On the 25th of August, having promised to preach at a place 
 called Bayswater, a few miles from Haydon Hall, on the 
 next day, Sabbath, he rode out in a chaise with his friend 
 Mr. Hobbs, who called for him. On his way to Bayswater, 
 he was quite cheerful, but on his arrival, he appeared quite 
 languid and wearied. During the night, his indisposition in- 
 creased so that he passed a painful night. On Sunday morn- 
 ing he arose early, and at six o'clock sent for Mr. Hobbs, who 
 found him with his great-coat on, and his travelling bag in 
 his hand. Dr. Clarke informed Mr. Hobbs, that he wanted 
 to go home immediately, as he could not possibly preach that 
 day. Mr. Hobbs went to procure an easy carriage, but while 
 absent the Doctor became quite cold and distressed, so that 
 his removal was out of the question. Physicians were called 
 in, who pronounced it a case of cholera. Mrs. Clarke was 
 
ADAM CLARKE. 135 
 
 sent for, and all that love and affection could do to " retain 
 fhe spirit," was done, but all in vain ; a little before midnight 
 he closed his eyes in death. And thus ended the mortal ca- 
 reer of Adam Clarke, on the 26th of August, 1832, in the 
 seventieth year of his age, and fiftieth of his ministry as a 
 Wesleyan preacher. His remains were interred in the hury- 
 ing-ground of City Road Chapel, near those of the Rev. John 
 Wesley. 
 
 Thus fell a man, who from the most obscure and humble 
 station in life, pressed his way onward and upward to a posi- 
 tion in society, where he could literally claim to be the com- 
 panion of princes and nobles ; of the wise, the great and the 
 good among men. His best eulogy may be found in the words 
 of his eldest son, the Rev. J. B. B. Clarke : " My God, I 
 bless thee, that I had such a father ." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 KEY. RICHAED WATSON. 
 
 The eminent man whose name stands at the head of this 
 chapter, was born in Barton, Lincolnshire, England, on the 
 22d of February, 1781. He was the seventh son of a family 
 of eighteen children, all of whom died in early life excepting 
 Richard, and three sisters. While an infant his health was 
 very feeble, but at a proper age he was sent to school, and his 
 aptness to learn caused his instructress to exclaim frequently, 
 " Bless thee I thou wilt be a great man!" 
 
 At the age of six years, he was sent to a school, kept by an 
 Episcopal clergyman, where through the advice of his teacher, 
 he commenced the study of Latin. This study he pursued 
 with great success for one so young, as he did other branches 
 of science and literature. As an evidence of his proficiency, 
 it is said that before he was six years of age, he had read with 
 intense interest, sixteen, or eighteen volumes of the " Univer- 
 sal History," which his father had purchased for him. 
 
 Richard was blessed with an extraordinary memory, so 
 much so, that he could get any lesson in his Latin Grammar 
 without any difficulty. Being confined at home with sick- 
 ness, he would recite his Latin lessons to his eldest sister, so 
 that she became nearly as well acquainted with the language 
 as himself And on one occasion while both were confined 
 by sickness, they committed nearly the whole of " Fenelon's 
 Telemachus" to memory. 
 
REV. RICHARD WATSON. 
 
RICHARD WATSON. 137 
 
 Richard's father was a saddler Toy profession, and at this 
 period, was a Calvinistic dissenter. He was a pious, up- 
 right man, one who feared God, and whose practical motto 
 was : " As for me, and my house, we will serve the Lord ;" 
 hence his family were brought up "in the nurture and ad- 
 monition of the Lord," and as the result of such parental 
 training, his children " remembered their Creator in the days 
 of their youth." Little Richard, at a very early age, mani- 
 fested signs of love to God, and was often found in prayer, and 
 often delighted to sing hymns of praise to God. 
 
 When Richard was eight years of age, Mr. Watson, sen., 
 and his family removed from Barton, to Lincoln. At this 
 place, Richard attended a private seminary for about two 
 years, when he was removed to the grammar-school at the 
 same place. Here he read Csesar, Virgil, Horace, and other 
 classical works. He al??o eagerly perused large volumes of 
 classical history, as also those containing the history of Eng- 
 land. So passionately fond was he of the latter kind of read- 
 ing, that he desired permission to sit up all night to peruse 
 his favorite works, and when his request was denied, he some- 
 times resorted to stratagem to effect his purpose, which 
 practice in more mature years, he did not feel disposed to 
 justify. 
 
 Mr. Watson, sen., had not the means to give his son a 
 University education, so as to fit him for one of the learned 
 professions, consequently Richard, at the age of fourteen, was 
 apprenticed to a respectable carpenter and joiner, for the pur- 
 pose of learning that branch of business. It was agreed, how- 
 ever, that he should, in consequence of feeble health, continue 
 to board and lodge in his father's house. His appearance at 
 this time was quite singular : his height was six feet two 
 inches ; his hair was jet black, and long and lank, while his 
 countenance was that of a mere boy. His morals at this time 
 also, appear to have become more lax, so that he engaged in 
 
188 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 all kinds of mischief with the greatest delight. One of the 
 worst species of mischief in which he seemed to take delight 
 was misbehavior in the house of God, and in ridiculing, and 
 insulting the people of God, especially those who were stig- 
 matized with the name Methodist. So far did this love of 
 frolic lead him, that in defiance of his parents' example and 
 authority, he has frequently been known to pelt with stones, 
 and other missiles, the people with whom his father worship- 
 ped, while on their way to the house of God. Connected with 
 this course of conduct, there was of course a habitual disregard 
 of the ordinances of religion, and the observance of the Sab- 
 bath ; with a love of evil company, and wicked associates. 
 Such a course of conduct was painful in the extreme, to his 
 pious father, who had by this time become a Methodist him- 
 self, and almost led him to doubt the truth of the declaration 
 in reference to those who are trained up in the way they 
 should go, that " when they are old they will not depart 
 from it " But God, M'ho " moves in a mysterious way, his 
 wonders to perform," had thoughts of mercy toward Richard, 
 wicked as he had become, and in a very unexpected manner, 
 brought his "conscience to a stand." 
 
 There lived in Lincoln a gentleman whose wife was a zeal- 
 ous Calvinist, and whose house Richard frequently visited. 
 As Mr. Watson's family had forsaken the Oalvinists, the good 
 woman of the house was extremely anxious to convince Rich- 
 ard of the wrong his parents had committed in joining the 
 Methodists. This led to disputation, and as she advanced ar- 
 guments which Richard could not on account of his ignorance 
 in these matters readily answer, he resolved to attend the 
 Methodist chapel a few times for the purpose of learning some 
 arguments wherewith to confute and silence his opponent. 
 He accordingly attended, and ''uring the first sermon he was 
 deeply convicted of sin, and 1' irned that there were matters 
 of even greater importance U ie attended to, than those which 
 
KICHARD WATSON. 139 
 
 had brought him to the house of God. His great concern now 
 was, how he should escape " the wrath to come ;" and in this 
 state of mind he went to another place of worship, where his 
 convictions of sin were deepened. So heavy was the load 
 which now weighed him down to the earth, that he could 
 not conceal his state of mind from his pious friends ; indeed, 
 he had no desire to conceal his feelings. Such was the in- 
 tolerable anguish of his broken spirit, that he gladly availed 
 himself of the prayers of those whom he had before persecuted 
 and insulted. And such prayers were as gladly offered up in 
 his behalf. Indeed, there is, perhaps, no description of per- 
 sons for whom pious Christians can more devoutly and sin- 
 cerely pray, than for those who " despitefully use and entreat" 
 them. And such was now the case. Fervent prayer was 
 offered with, and for him ; and in answer thereto, peace and 
 pardon, through Jesus' blood, was imparted to the broken- 
 hearted penitent. To the end of his life, Mr. Watson ever 
 retained a vivid recollection of his feelings and the occurrences 
 of that momentous occasion. His transition from " dark- 
 ness to light" was so clear and convincing to his own mind, 
 that he never after could doubt the fact of his conversion to God. 
 The fruits of his conversion immediately followed. He for- 
 sook his ungodly associates ; his passion for folly and mischief 
 was entirely subdued ; his love for the people of God was es- 
 tablished ; he became at once a faithful member of the Meth- 
 odist society ; he submitted to all the contumely and insult 
 bestowed upon the people of his choice ; and his attention to 
 business became serious and constant. In every respect Rich- 
 ard had become a " new creature" in Christ Jesus, " old things 
 having passed away'' with him. His conversion, as might 
 have been expected, excited the ire of his former associates, 
 who became still more outrageous in their conduct towards 
 the Methodists, and who made Richard the butt of their ridi- 
 cule ; but all these things he endured with patience and res- 
 
140 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ignation. He now became a constant attendant of the class 
 and prayer-meetings. So eager was he sometimes to reach 
 the place of worship in proper season after his work was done, 
 that on two several occasions he stumbled and fell, and broke 
 his arm. 
 
 On the 10th of February, 1796, Richard for the first time 
 publicly began to call sinners to repentance on the occasion of 
 the death of his grandmother, whose sudden departure from 
 time constrained Richard on the evening of the same day to 
 arise in the congregation, and exhort his fellow-creatures to 
 be " prepared to meet their God." At this time Richard was 
 only fifteen years of age, and on the 23d of the same month, 
 when he was fifteen years and two days old, he preached his 
 first sermon in a private dwelling near Lincoln. Such was 
 the precocity of his mind, that at this early age he was in 
 more senses than one prepared to become a " teacher in Is- 
 rael." From this period till called into the travelling minis- 
 try, he labored zealously and successfully as a local preacher. 
 At that time on Lincoln circuit, there was but one chapel be- 
 longing to the Methodists, while there were quite a number 
 of villages within its bounds. The travelling preachers with 
 six other local preachers, contrived to supply the most of these 
 villages with preaching ; although for want of a house to 
 preach in, the services were often held in the open air. These 
 out-door services frequently exposed the preachers to the ill- 
 treatment of the rude and profane ; and Richard, notwith- 
 standing his youth, came in for a full share of the abuse usu- 
 ally given on such occasions. On his return home, his clothes 
 often gave evidence of the rough treatment he received at the 
 hands of his persecutors. On one occasion, he was preaching 
 in a village where his uncle, a respectable farmer, resided ; 
 and while there, was attacked with rotten eggs and other 
 missiles. His uncle instead of protecting him, exclaimed, 
 " Pelt him well, lads ; my nephew can stand fire." 
 
RICHARD WATSON. 141 
 
 The labors of young Watson could but excite great atten- 
 tion wherever his name was known, so that numerous invita- 
 tions were sent to him from a distance to come and preach. 
 On one occasion, he complied with a request to preach in the 
 Methodist chapel in Newark, where he was personally unac- 
 quainted. As the youthful preacher ascended the pulpit, his 
 appearance excited irrepressible apprehensions of a failure on 
 the part of the congregation. These apprehensions were in- 
 sreased when he announced as his text, " God is a Spirit," 
 &c., but when he proceeded in his discourse, and unfolded to 
 their minds with a correctness of language, and a fervor 
 scarcely imaginable some of the more important doctrines of 
 Christian theology, their fears subsided, and their apprehen- 
 sions gave place to wonder and admiration. 
 
 As his time and attention were now greatly occupied with 
 his favorite work of preaching, his master, who was desirous 
 of promoting his usefulness, generously offered to release him 
 from his indentures. Being but sixteen years of age he had 
 still five years of apprenticeship to serve, and believing that 
 God had called him to the work of the ministry, he thank- 
 fully received his release. At this juncture the health of one 
 of the preachers on Newark circuit failed, and those who had 
 been so agreeably disappointed at Richard's preaching as above 
 stated, sent for him to supply the vacancy for the time being. 
 He accepted the invitation and went to Newark, but here his 
 feelings overcame him in view of the responsibilities of his 
 callinn- and his own youth and want of experience, and he 
 wept like a child. He was, however, greatly encouraged by 
 Mr. Cooper, the preacher whose place he was expected to fill, 
 and he commenced his labors as an itinerant with redoubled 
 zeal and success. 
 
 On a distant part of Newark circuit where his fame had 
 not preceded him, the family with whom he put up for enter- 
 tainment could not repress their feelings of disappointment at 
 
142 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 the non-appearance of Mr. Cooper, who was indeed highly and 
 deservedly popular, and at the youthfulness and inexperience 
 of his substitute. Their unkind and imprudent expressions of 
 regret were listened to in sorrowful silence by the young itin- 
 erant. He, however, raised his heart to God, and when ser- 
 vice commenced he arose and gave out the beautiful hymn 
 of Charles Wesley, beginning, 
 
 " How liappy is the pilgrim's lot," &c. 
 
 He read it with such seriousness and emphasis, that he imme- 
 diately won the hearts of his hearers ; and as he proceeded 
 with the rest of the service, they became so delighted with 
 him that his host begged pardon for his unkind remarks, and 
 earnestly desired him to visit them again, even if it must be 
 in Mr. Cooper's place. 
 
 About this time, it became necessary for Richard to obtain 
 a certificate of his profession as a preacher, under the " Tolera- 
 tion Act" of Parliament. The magistrates, however, objected 
 to giving him a certificate, on account of his boyish appear- 
 ance, but being reminded by one of their brethren on the 
 bench, that the act specified no particular age, they were 
 forced rather reluctantly to administer the oath, and give him 
 a license. 
 
 Mr. Watson, as we shall now call him, though not yet six- 
 teen years of age, remained on Newark circuit until the next 
 session of the Wesleyan Conference, in 1796. At this Con- 
 ference, Mr. Cooper strongly urged the reception of Mr. Wat- 
 son as a preacher on trial, but his entreaties were urged in 
 vain ; the Conference thought Mr. Watson altogether too 
 young for such an important work. Mr. Cooper, however, 
 on going to his new circuit, called Ashby-de-la-Zouch, found 
 that he could profitably employ Mr. Watson. He therefore 
 ventured to send for him, notwithstanding the decision of the 
 Conference. Mr. Watson at once complied with his request, 
 
RICHARD WATSON. 143 
 
 and labored efEoiently and profitably during the year, so that 
 at the next Conference, not only was Mr. Cooper not censured 
 for employing him, but the year thus spent was reckoned as 
 one year of probation. Although his colleagues, Messrs. 
 Cooper and Birdsall, were men of superior talents, yet Mr. 
 Watson commanded as large congregations as they did, and 
 labored with equal acceptability. 
 
 At the Conference of 1797, he was appointed to Castle 
 Donington circuit. Here he came in contact with the doc- 
 trine of the restoration of all men to final holine.ss and happi- 
 ness, as taught by Mr. Winchester. Against this doctrine, 
 young as he was, he felt it his duty to raise a warning voice. 
 During his stay on this circuit, he had occasion to preach in 
 Leicester, having exchanged pulpits with a preacher for one 
 Sabbath, and such was the gratification of the people of that 
 place at his two sermons, preached from one text, that at the 
 next Conference they sent a request to have him appointed to 
 Leicester circuit the ensuing year. He was accordingly ap- 
 pointed to that place, under the superintendency of Rev. J. 
 Edmondson, who being a man of extensive literary attain- 
 ments, proved himself a valuable friend and instructor to his 
 youthful colleague. In 1799, Mr. Watson was appointed to 
 Derby, a station of some importance. On the first Sunday 
 after his arrival, two persons were converted under his preach- 
 ing. During his stay in Derby, Mr. Watson began his career 
 as an author. An Episcopal clergyman of that city, had 
 volunteered an unprovoked attack upon the Methodists, in 
 the form of a pamphlet, which among other hard sayings con- 
 tained in it, accused the Methodist preachers of preaching 
 enthusiastic doctrines ; of depriving men of innocent gratifica- 
 tions ; and subjecting them to needless alarm, &c. &c. At 
 the request of the friends in Derby, Mr. Watson published a 
 reply, under the title of " An Apology for the People called 
 Methodists,'^ &o. In this reply,^Mr. Watson states, " We 
 
144 LIVES OF KMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 distress the minds of those well-meaning people, who per- 
 haps may be at the same time drunkards, swearers, liars, 
 Sabbath breakers, &c. We distress those well-meaning peo- 
 ple, by telling them that they are sinners, and must come to 
 Jesus Christ for salvation, and that if they obstinately refuse, 
 they must all perish. Is not all this Scriptural ? And will 
 they not have reason to bless God for this distress, if it leads 
 them to believe on ' him who justifieth the ungodly?' And 
 ought not you, sir, instead of reviling, to say with the apostle 
 when some of his poor, ignorant, well-meaning followers were 
 distressed, 'Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but 
 that ye sorrowed to repentance ?' " 
 
 In August, 1800, Mr. Watson having travelled four years 
 on trial, and being in his twentieth year, was received into 
 full connection, and appointed to Hinckley circuit. While on 
 this circuit, he commenced the study of the Hebrew language, 
 in accordance with the advice of Mr. Edmondson, and in a 
 month from the time that he commenced, he was able to 
 read and translate the first Psalm in Hebrew, and account 
 grammatically for every word. He had previously to this time, 
 mastered the Greek language. 
 
 Thus far we have followed Mr. Watson from his entering 
 into the ministry, until the present period, and have dis- 
 covered nothing but the most flattering prospects before him, 
 as a minister and student ; we have seen his success and ac- 
 ceptability as a Methodist preacher, but trials awaited him of 
 a serious nature, which it is now our duty to record. 
 
 After being on Hinckley circuit for some time, and having 
 in the meanwhile been engaged in reading certain authors on 
 the Trinity of the Godhead, he was led casually to make an 
 unguarded remark in relation to the subject of the Trinity, 
 which being misunderstood, brought him under suspicion of 
 being unsound on that point. Reports now began to circulate 
 in reference to his heretical opinions, as they were called ; and 
 
RICHARD WATSON. 145 
 
 such was the influence of such false statements, made in his 
 absence, that on going to an evening appointment, he found 
 the phice of worship closed against him, and he was even de- 
 nied a night's lodging where he had often heen received as 
 the messenger of God. Until this time, he had not been 
 aware of the reports in circulation, and on being informed of 
 the state of the pubhc feeling on this matter, he resented the 
 treatment so highly, that he immediately withdrew from the 
 work as an itinerant minister. This was a hasty and injudi- 
 cious step no doubt, and a step which he afterward sincerely 
 regretted having taken ; but we cannot loo highly condemn 
 the proceedings of those, who without g ving him an oppor- 
 tunity to explain his meaning, defamed his character, and 
 stabbed him in the dark. At the succeeding Conference, the 
 matter came up, and the return ordered to be made on the 
 minutes was, " Richard Watson has desisted from travelling 
 by his own choice." 
 
 After leaving the travelling connection, Mr. Watson did 
 not for some time, unite with any other church. He en» 
 tered into business with a respectable local preacher in Hinck- 
 ley, but he soon changed his mind, and went to live at Castle 
 Douington, where he soon after married Miss Henshaw, a 
 young lady of deep piety, and suitable accomplishments. His 
 father-in-law was a local preacher in the Methodist New 
 Connection, through whose influence, undoubtedly, Mr. Wat- 
 son was induced to unite with that branch of the Methodist 
 Connection. He joined as a simple private member, and his 
 class-leader was a farmer's laborer, of plain manners, and not 
 very lofty capacity, and the other members were mostly of 
 the same humble rank in life ; yet Mr. Watson regularly met 
 in class every week, and being an early attendant, he often 
 had to act the part of sexton, in opening the house, &o. 
 After a painful inlerval of two years as a private member, he 
 was urged to become a local preacher among his new friend*, 
 
^46 
 
 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 and shortly after, he became a regular itinerant amonp; them, 
 and was stationed in Manchester. Here he lived on terms of 
 intimacy with many of his old Wesleyan friends, and was de- 
 servedly popular among his own people. After a stay of two 
 years and a half in Manchester, he was sent to Liverpool in 
 
 1806, and while in this place, many of the Wesleyan preach- 
 ers and members sat with delight under his ministry. In 
 
 1807, he was re-appointed to Liverpool, having in the mean- 
 time been received into full connection in the Methodist New 
 Connection Conference. He was also elected secretary of the 
 Conference. 
 
 While in Liverpool during his second year, he published a 
 history and description of Liverpool, M'hioh was well received. 
 He also wrote a Life of George III., as a continuation of Gold- 
 smith's History of England. He also assisted editorially, in 
 the management of a weekly paper published in Liverpool, 
 all of which duties he attended to with great credit to him- 
 self In 1808, he was appointed for the third year to Liver- 
 pool, having served his Conference the second time as' Secre- 
 tary. In 1809, on account of partial ill health, he was made 
 supernumerary, and re-appointed to Liverpool. His being 
 allowed to desist for a time from preaching, enabled his lungs 
 which had become much diseased, to regain their strength in 
 part, and although at first the blood " oozed from his lungs," 
 he in the course of a few months was able to resume his min- 
 isterial duties. 
 
 At the next Conference of 1810, Mr. Watson was appointed 
 to Manchester, after an absence of four years. While here he 
 first became acquainted with Rev. Jabez Bunting of the Wes- 
 leyan Connection. In the early part of 1811, a bill was in- 
 troduced into the House of Lords, by Lord Sidmoulh, so ar- 1o 
 prevent improper persons from taking the necessary oalhs to 
 obtain the civil license, to preach according to the "Act of 
 Toleration." The wording or verbiage of the bill was such, 
 
EICnARD WATSON. 147 
 
 as in the opinion of many, would malte the proposed amend- 
 ment exceedingly oppressive to all classes of dissenters, espe- 
 cially to the Methodists. Mr. Bunting accordingly, requested 
 Mr. Watson to publish in the Manchester papers, an appeal 
 to the dissenters to oppose the passage of the bill. Mr. Wat- 
 son did so ; the appeal was copied into other papers, and on 
 the day set apart for the second reading of the bill, parliament 
 received six hundred petitions against its passage, so that the 
 bill was rejected. Two hundred and fifty of those petitions, 
 were from Methodist Societies, bearing the names of thirty 
 thousand persons, which names were all obtained in the space 
 of five days. They were presented to the house by Lord Ers- 
 kine, who took occasion to eulogize the Methodists for their 
 loyalty, and especially the founder of Methodism, whose la- 
 bors he declared had not been equalled since the days of the 
 apostles, for usefulness to his fellow-men. 
 
 At the Conference of the New Connection in 1811, Mr. 
 Watson was re-appointed to Manchester, but before the close 
 of the year his health failed, and he removed to Liverpool. 
 Mr. Watson ever since his connection with the body to which 
 he had belonged for several years, had felt unhappy in his 
 now relations. In fact he did not feel at home among that 
 people. His views and theirs, differed much in relation to 
 Church government, and he felt that he did not have that 
 degree of confidence in the system of Church polity adopted 
 by the New Connection Methodists, necessary to render his 
 labors abundantly useful among them. After advising with 
 some of the most intelligent and confidential of his friends 
 amono' them, he resolved quietly to withdraw his connection 
 from them, which he did, a few months after his removal to 
 Liverpool as above described. No feelings of bitterness or 
 hostility were manifested on either side, by his withdrawal. 
 and Mr. Watson ever after retained a strong affection for the 
 people from whom he had received nothing but kindness. 
 
148 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Being laid aside for want of health, he could have entertained 
 BHiall hopes of ever joining the travelling connection again ; 
 he, however, felt that it would be a privilege to belong to the 
 Wesleyans as a private member, in order that he might con- 
 tinue to enjoy the providential means of grace to which he 
 had so long been accustomed. He accordingly offered him- 
 self, and was received as a private member of the Wesleyan 
 Society in Liverpool, and after having done so, he feelingly 
 remarked, that his mind was now fully at rest for the first 
 time in eleven years; 
 
 Having thus retired into the more private walks of life, he 
 began the other duties of an editor in Liverpool, and with so 
 much success that persons in authority in London, offered him 
 every inducement to remove to Londoji, and employ his pen 
 in the service of the government. His health in the mean- 
 time began to improve ; his bleeding of the lungs subsided, 
 and he found himself able to preach occasionally as a local 
 preacher in the Wesleyan pulpits of Liverpool, and other 
 places. The Wesleyan preachers, and especially Mr. Bunt- 
 ing, unwilling that Mr. Watson should confine himself to a 
 local sphere, besought him to allow them to offer his name 
 at the next Conference as a c.mdidate for membership. After 
 due delibi-ration and prayer, he yielded to their entreaties, and 
 at the next Conference was received with great cordiality by 
 his former friends, and reinstated without any probation in the 
 Wesleyan Ministry. Mr. Watson from this time forward, 
 enjoyed uninterrupted friendship and union with his Wesleyan 
 brethren. 
 
 By the Conference, Mr. Watson was stationed in Wake- 
 field, to which he immediately repaired, and shortly after his 
 arrival was invited to preach the opening or dedication ser- 
 mon ol' a new chapel in Halifax. His sermon on this occa- 
 sion, was considered by good judges to be one of the best spe- 
 cimens of pulpit eloquence that they had ever heard. After 
 
RICHARD WATSON. 149 
 
 the lapse of a year from the time of his readmission, Mr. Wat- 
 son was re-appointed to Wakeley circnit, and it was during his 
 second year at this place that the Wesleyan Missionary So- 
 ciety was formed, toward the formation of which Mr. Watsoa 
 exerted himself with all the ability which he possessed. In- 
 deed Mr. Watson had the honor of having delivered the first 
 sermon in behalf of Methodist missions, with the distinct ob- 
 ject of producing a systematic course of action in relation to 
 their support. On the afternoon of the day on which this 
 sermon was preached, the first Missionary meeting was held 
 in the Chapel in Leeds. On this occasion the meeting was 
 addressed by Mr. Warrener, who was one of the first mission- 
 aries to the West India Islands, under the superintendence of 
 Dr. Coke. Mr. W. related several interesting anecdotes in 
 relation to the power of the Gospel in convei'ting the negro. 
 One of these anecdotes, we will give to the reader. " On the 
 estate of a Mr. G. some pious negroes resided, who repaired to 
 the means of grace, whenever they could go without detection. 
 Mr. G. being about to sail for England, his manager was 
 heard to say before his departure, ' Mr. G. is going to Eng- 
 land ; I will then soon put an end to all this praying among 
 the negroes.' One day soon afterward, Mr. G. was walking 
 between two cane pieces, when he saw some ripe peas wast- 
 ing ; on which he said to his watchman who was near, 'Why 
 do you not gather those peas ?' ' 0, massa,' said he, 'they no 
 my peas.' 'Not your peas, you rogue,' said Mr. G., 'do not 
 you all take peas or anything else which you can get V ' 0, 
 massa,' rejoined the watchman, ' we negers who go to prayer 
 never teere.' Mr. G. said, 'What do you say? that you ne- 
 groes who go to praj'er never thieve ?' His reply was, ' no, 
 massa.' Mr. G. as he walked to his house said to himself, 
 ' What have we been doing not to encourage the negroes to 
 attend preaching.' He then called his boy and said, ' Go tell 
 Mr. the manager, — to address a note in my name to the 
 
150 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 missionary, and to inform him that he is welcome to preach 
 on my estate at any time.' Thus was a wicked design frus- 
 trated, and the good hand of God being with us, we erected a 
 thapel on that very estate, worth £400 currency." 
 
 Ai'ter two pleasant and profitable years spent in Wakefield, 
 he was stationed in Hull, where as he informs us he spent 
 " two of the happiest years of his life." There were three 
 chapels in this place, and one in process of erection. The 
 dedication services of the latter, took place in Oct. 1814, at 
 which time sermons were preached by Rev. MessrS. Bunting, 
 Watson, Newton, and Birdsall. Owing principally to the 
 stated ministrations of Mr. Watson, a large and respectable 
 congregation was at once secured ; and as it is the universal 
 practice among the Wesleyan Methodists to rent the pews or 
 slips in their chapels, reserving simply a sufiioient number of 
 free seats for strangers and poor persons, every sitting was let, 
 while eight hundred were reserved for the latter purpose. But 
 better than all, his labors were attended by a gracious out- 
 pouring of the Spirit of God upon the people. 
 
 At the Conference of 1816, Mr, Watson was appointed to 
 the East London circuit. He was also appointed one of the 
 missionary secretaries, an office for which he was eminently 
 qualified, and which he retained during life. In 1817, he 
 was re-appointed to the same circuit, and shortly after Con. 
 ference, he assisted in the opening of Q,uecn-street Wesleyan 
 Chapel, being the largest chapel in London, save the City 
 Road, and also the most elegant and costly. During the next 
 year, 1818, Mr. Watson published a defence of the doctrine 
 of the eternal sonship of Christ, in opposition to the objections 
 of Dr. Adajca Clarke in relation to the commonly received 
 opinion on that subject. This was a masterly production, 
 which called forth the highest commendations, and proved 
 that Dr. Clarke had in Mr. Watson an opponent of no ordi- 
 nary strength of mind. During this year also, he prepared 
 
M:!UARD WATSON. 151 
 
 tlie plan of a General Wesleyan Missionary Society, in ac- 
 cordance with the vote of the previous Conference. This 
 plan proposed the enlistment of lay-members of the Church, 
 as the managing committee of missions, reserving to the min- 
 istiy only the examination and appointment of missionaries, 
 und all cases of discipline, according to the usages of the 
 body. This plan was approved and adopted by the ensuing 
 Conference of 1818. 
 
 At the Conference held the latter year, Mr. Watson was 
 appointed to the West London circuit, and while here, he in 
 company with Mr. Bunting, visited the counties of Cornwall 
 and Norfolk, for the purpose of advocating the missionary 
 cause from the pulpit and platform. In 1819, Mr. Wat- 
 son was re-appointed to West London circuit, and at the 
 Conference of 1820, he drew up that admirable document in 
 reply to the Address of the Greneral Conference of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church in America, which has been esteemed 
 among the latter as a paper of great interest. In 1820, he 
 was returned for the third year, to the West London circuit, 
 and was also continued with his two associates in the office 
 of missionary secretary, and on him devolved the task of cor- 
 responding with all the missionaries, then numbering about 
 one hundred and fifty. 
 
 As the session of the Conference of 1821 was approaching, 
 Mr. Watson was uncertain where his lot in future would be 
 cast. He had spent six years in London, as an itinerant 
 preacher, three years on each of the circuits, and the rules of 
 the Society did not allow of a re-appointment to either of 
 them, until after an absence of seven years. So anxious was 
 the Conference, however, to retain his services as missionary 
 secretary, that they appointed him one of the resident secre- 
 taries, so that his services might be wholly given to the cause 
 of missions, which office he continued to fill with great ac- 
 ceptability for the ensuing six years. Being now freed from 
 
152 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 the cares and labors of a pastorate, he was ahle more fully to 
 give his mind not only to the cause of missions, but lo litoriiry 
 pursuits, his evenings being mostly spent in his study ; but he 
 felt the loss of those frequent social meetings which he had so 
 long enjoyed with his brethren. To make up in part for tlie 
 loss thus sustained, he entered his name as a private member 
 of a class, under the care of a pious and much-esteemed 
 leader. The class consisted mostly of poor laboring peojile, 
 and with them Mr. Watson would meet once a week, and en- 
 joy with them the communion of saints. Mr. Watson did 
 not confine his labors in behalf of missions to the discharge of 
 the duties of the office in London, but frequently made jour- 
 neys of greater or less extent for the purpose of pleading in 
 their behalf, and during such seasons he usually pleaded with 
 Bo much earnestness of feeling, as to draw not only tears from 
 the eye, but generous contributions from the pocket. 
 
 In the winter of 1823, Mr. Watson was under the neces- 
 sity of repairing to Brighton, for the benefit of his enfeebled 
 health; from this place he frequently addressed letters to his 
 friends, and members of his family. As an example of his 
 lively style of corresponding with the latter, we will give an 
 extract from one of his letters to his son Thomas. 
 
 "Brighton, Fob. 18th, 1823. 
 
 "Dear Tom, — After having been cheated in the Angel 
 Coach, in the fare, and squeezed up in a six-inside old Isling- 
 ton stage, we arrived safely here. Through the mercy of 
 God, I feel my health improved ; though the weather is cold, 
 I got out to chapel twice yesterday, and was thankful tliat 
 again I was brought by Providence into the house of God, to 
 worship at his footstool. 
 
 " Thursday was a calm day ; but Friday and Saturday 
 brought us gales and wind, and your mother was all wonder 
 at the waves. The roar of the sea was in our ears night ai^d 
 
RICHARD WATSON. 153 
 
 day, and filled the mind with sublime thoughts of the power 
 of the elements, and the might of their great Ruler. 
 
 " We live in a curious sort of style, having every little 
 thing to provide. Sometimes we are without butter when 
 the meal comes, and we have to send out ; and then we won- 
 der whether our remaining piece of bread will serve us for 
 breakfast, or tea ; so that we need a good deal of contri- 
 vance, and our forgetfulness is often amusing. 
 
 " I hope you are diligent while at study, and that you will 
 leave yourself by application, the leisure for exercise. You 
 are now approaching man's estate, and must 'put away 
 childish things.' Be thoughtful for your future prospects in 
 life ; and above all, give your heart to God. Seek h\ui first, 
 and you will not be without his providence to direct you in 
 life ; and without that, you will be wretched. Make a point 
 of reading a portion of Scripture every day, with prayer that 
 you may obtain pardon and experience that conversion, with- 
 out which, you can never enter the Kingdom of God. Write 
 this upon your heart." 
 
 After Mr. Watson's return to London, he found his health 
 materially improved, so as to continue writing a work on 
 systematic divinity, for the special benefit of theological stu- 
 dents and junior preachers, commenced some time previous. 
 The first part of the work, called " Theological Institutes," 
 accordingly appeared in the spring of 1823, and was so well 
 received, that a second edition was soon called for. In about 
 a year after, the second part was published, and was received 
 with like favor. In the autumn of 1825, he pubhshed the 
 third part, and in a year or more, the fourth part was pub- 
 lished. It is perhaps not too much to say, in the praise of 
 this work, now that the lamented author " bleepeth,'' that 
 there is no work in the English language, the Bible alone ex- 
 cepted, that contains as much sound reasoning and legitimate 
 
154 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 argument, as this one work of Richard Watson. It is, indeed, 
 a complete body of divinity in itself, and the student who will 
 peruse it carefully, so as to make himself acquainted with its 
 contents, will arise from its perusal a much wiser, if not a 
 better man, and will, we venture to say, know more of theolo- 
 gy than was ever taught in Oxford or Cambridge. This one 
 work has made the author's name immortal. As an instance 
 of the author's liberality, it is proper to state, that after un- 
 dergoing the risk and expense of publication, and when it 
 was found that the merits of the work were duly appreciated, 
 that then, and not till then, did he in the most delicate man- 
 ner, present the copyright to the Conference. 
 
 In the early part of Mr. Watson's ministry, he had been 
 very much opposed to instrumental music in churches, so that 
 on one occasion he wrote a humorous pamphlet against the 
 practice. In the latter part of his ministry, however, his 
 views underwent a change in reference to this matter. To- 
 ward the close of the year 1823, a portion of the Society in 
 Wakefield designed erecting an organ in their chapel. An- 
 other portion of the Society were opposed to this innovation, 
 and wrote to Mr. Watson, desiring his views in relation to 
 the matter. These he gave in the following language : 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I am unable to say anything but what is ex- 
 ceedingly obvious in the case of the introduction of organs into 
 our chapels : and I think the only question to be considered 
 is, whether they serve, or obstruct congregational singing. On 
 this, opinions differ ; some affirming, and others denying as 
 positively, that the congregation trusts to the organ and listens, 
 rather than joins in the service. As far as my observation 
 goes, this does not necessarily follow. In churches where the 
 congregation are irreligious it is so ; but it would be the same 
 if there were only a clerk, or an orchestra of singers and fid- 
 dlers. In many churches I know, where the minister is evan- 
 geUoal, and the congregation is devotional, the organ is scarce- 
 
EICHARD WATSON. 155 
 
 ly heard but at the commencement of the tune, its sounds 
 being mingled with the full swell of the voices of the wor- 
 shippers. 
 
 "Among ourselves at Brunswick Chapel, Liverpool, the 
 congregation joins with as much order, as if there were no 
 organ. This also is the case at Bath, in both the chapels ; at 
 Margate, and at Newark. These facts have fixed my opinion 
 in favor of organs in large chapels, and where they are pru- 
 dently and constitutionally introduced. The only exception I 
 know is one in which the tone of the organ is so intolerably 
 harsh, that no sound in heaven or in earth, can commingle 
 with it. I believe, however, that even there, the people sing ; 
 but after all, the tones of the organ like the voice of a fish- 
 woman in a market, keep a lofty distinction above all the 
 others. This exception only proves that it is of importance to 
 have an instrument of full and mellifluous tone. 
 
 " On the other hand, we shall regret the day, when the 
 liberty to introduce organs into our chapels under certain cir- 
 cumstances was granted, if we are to have organists also, who 
 seek to display their talents, and to tell a gaping crowd below, 
 with what elasticity their fingers can vibrate, and how many 
 graces and trills they can add to the composition before them; 
 — men, who could not think the sun shone bright, unless they 
 looked at his beams through a painted transparency of their 
 own, and who would fancy they heightened the sublimity of 
 a peal of thunder, by the ringing of hand-bells during the 
 storm. The attempts of such organists, to embellish and gar- 
 nish the noble compositions of our great masters in psalmody, 
 is distrusting beyond endurance. Voluntaries are equally ob- 
 jectionable for a different reason. If good, they are out of 
 plnce ; if bad they do not deserve a place anywhere." 
 
 We have not room for the whole of his letter, but sufficient 
 has been given to show what Mr. Watson's views in after 
 
156 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 *- 
 
 life were, in regard to organs and congregational singing ; but 
 to pursue our narrative. 
 
 Mr. Watson during the year 1824, continued to labor in 
 behalf of missions, and his heart was cheered by the princely 
 donation made to the cause of Wesleyan Missions during this 
 year, by his friend, and the friend of Wesley, and Coke, the 
 Rev. W. Dodwell, Vicar of Welby, an exemplary and pious 
 clergyman of the Church of England. This excellent man 
 instead of prating about " apostolic succession," and "infatu- 
 ated Methodists," bestowed the sum o^ forty-seven tliovsand, 
 five hundred dollars upon the Wesleyan missionary treasury ! 
 
 In 1826, Mr. Watson was elected President of the Confer- 
 ence, and discharged the duties of that high office, in such a 
 manner, as to secure more and more the esteem and affection 
 of the members. During the year also, notwithstanding his 
 bodily infirmities, he attended faithfully to the general interests 
 of the connection. In the spring of 1827, accompanied by 
 Mr. Bunting he visited Scotland for the purpose of meeting 
 the preachers stationed in that country. Having finished the 
 business, which called him to Edinburgh, he returned to Eng- 
 land, and thence proceeded to Ireland, to preside over the Irish 
 Conference, which during that year was held in Belfast. At 
 the Conference of 1828, having in due form resigned the pres- 
 idency of the Connection, he was appointed to Manchester 
 circuit. He had been a resident of London during eleven 
 years, and as the change of residence would necessarily inter- 
 fere with the duties of resident missionary secretary, ho was 
 under the necessity of resigning that post. Such was the 
 wish, however, to retain him as much as possible in connec- 
 tion with the missionary enterprise, that he was elected hon- 
 orary secretary, and at the ensuing Conference of 1829, after 
 a long debate about where his services were most needed, it 
 w.is resolved that he be returned to London, as the superin- 
 tendent of London North (or city Road) circuit. In 1830, 
 
RICHARD WATSOW. 157 
 
 he published his book called " Conversations for the Young," 
 a small, but extremely valuable work, and at the Conference 
 of 1830, he was requested to write a life of Mr. John Wesley, 
 with which request he complied as soon as his numerous en- 
 gagements would allow ; and while engaged in this work, he 
 was invited to fill the chair of professor of Belles-Lettres and 
 Moral Philosophy, in the Wesleyan University in Middletown, 
 Connecticut, which invitation he respectfully declined accept- 
 ing. When his Life of Wesley was completed, he generous- 
 ly presented the copy-right to the Conference. The Confer- 
 ence of 1831, also requested him to compile a Biblical and 
 Theological Dictionary, the Book Committee urging him to 
 receive a pecuniary consideration for his labor, but although 
 he had been for some length of time collecting materials for 
 such a woi-k, with the intention of appropriating the profits 
 of its sale to the benefit of his family in case of his decease ; 
 yet on the request being made without knowing his previous 
 intention, he refused to appropriate any portion of the profits 
 to himself or family, and again presented, when the work was 
 completed, the copy-right to the Conference. The work was 
 completed in 1832. 
 
 The Conference of 1832 was held in Liverpool, and during 
 the time of its sittings, the cholera prevailed to an alarming 
 extent, yet the preachers and the families by whom they were 
 entertained were all mercifully preserved in answer to prayer. 
 Before the meeting of this Conference, Mr. Watson executed 
 a deed, whereby he conveyed to trustees for the benefit of the 
 Conference, the copy-right of all his works, except the " Con- 
 versations for the Young." This he did in view of the uncer- 
 tainty of life, and his wish that the copy-rights might be fully, 
 and forever secured to the Connection. At this Conference, 
 on account of increasing ill-health, he was elected resident 
 Missionary secretary again ; and during a portion of this year 
 
188 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 his leisure time was mostly occupied in writing "An Exposi' 
 tion of the Gospels." 
 
 The Conference year of 1832-3, will long be remembered 
 in the annals of Methodism, as one of great mortality among 
 the talented and aged members of the Church. Dr. Clarke 
 had been suddenly called to his rest. E,ev. Thomas Stanley 
 had followed even more suddenly ; and before the year ter- 
 minated, Hev. John James, one of Mr. Watson's colleagues in 
 the Missionary department, was summoned suddenly into 
 eternity. And now Mr. Watson himself began to wear away 
 by slow degrees, until at length on the 8th day of January, 
 1833, his happy spirit took its flight to the paradise of God, 
 to mingle with the spirits of Wesley, Fletcher, Coke, Clarke, 
 and others who had preceded him. He died in the fifty-second 
 year of his age, in the most peaceful, and even triumphant 
 manner. His remains were interred in City Road Cemetery, 
 near the tombs of Wesley, Clarke, Benson, &c. 
 
 Thus died one of the brightest ornaments of the Methodist 
 Connection in England : but for him " to live" was " Christ ; 
 to die," was "gain." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 REV. GIDEON U S E L E Y. 
 
 This extraordinary Irish minister and missionary, was born 
 in the town of Dunmore, County of Galway, Ireland, in the 
 year 1762, and was descended from an ancient Irish family 
 of great respectability. 
 
 While a boy, being the eldest son, he was not designed by 
 his father for any profession, but being the heir-apparent to 
 his father's estate, he received such an education as was com- 
 mon for gentlemen of respectability to give their eldest sons ; 
 that is, he received a thorough mathematical and classical 
 education. His younger brother was educated for the army, 
 and was afterward distinguished as Major General, Sir Ralph 
 Ouseley. 
 
 At an early age, G-ideon was the subject of deep religious 
 feelings, and when he attained to man's estate, his serious 
 impressions, instead of wearing off, gradually increased, until 
 at length his seriousness deepened into pungent conviction for 
 sin, and he would often cry out, " Lord, help me ! What shall 
 I do ? Who will teach me ? Priest and minister no better 
 than myself — as great fools as I am. We are all a pack of 
 fools together I" While in this state of mind, bordering on 
 skepticism on the one hand, and despair on the other, his na- 
 tive village was visited in 1789, by certain Methodist preach- 
 ers. From these men of God he received much light in re- 
 gard to spiritual things, but it was not until 1791, that hi» 
 
160 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 convictions assumed a decidedly evangelical character. Dur- 
 ing the latter year, he attended Methodist preaching one 
 evening, and after sermon, the preacher invited the Society to 
 remain, and also other seriously disposed persons. Mr. Ouse- 
 ley having been a sincere inquirer after the right way, felt 
 inclined to stay, but feared there might be some secret pro- 
 ceedings, with which he could not concur, if he did remain. 
 " I'll wait," said he to himself, " until I see what they are 
 about; but if I find any jugghng — any free-mason's tricks, 
 among them, I'll have nothing to do with them." He did 
 stay, and the fact of his having attended again, and again 
 after that, proves that his fears in the first instance were un- 
 called for. This means of grace — class-meeting — for such it 
 was, was rendered a peculiar blessing to Mr. Ouseley, as it 
 led him to examine more closely his own heart, and to learn 
 where absolution of sin must be obtained, if obtained at all ; 
 and so great was his anxiety of mind increased, that he has 
 frequently been afterward heard to say in reference to that 
 period, " I got such a sight of hell, and of going into it, never, 
 never to be released through all eternity, that I cried from my 
 heart, ' 0, Lord, I will submit !' " And when he did thus 
 fully submit, " pardon, and peace, and heaven,'' were infused 
 into his mind. The fruits of justification were immediately 
 manifested by him, by going from house to house, and from 
 neighbor to neighbor, inviting them to come to Christ. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Woodrow was at that time on the circuit where 
 Mr. Ouseley lived, and to that holy and gifted man was he 
 greatly indebted, as an instrument of his conversion to God. 
 At one of the places on the circuit, the Episcopal church was 
 undergoing repairs, and the Church service was held in the 
 Methodist chapel. The late Archdeacon of Tuam, the Hon. 
 and Rev. Dr. Trench, was at that time rector of the parish. 
 Mr. Woodrow would frequently hear the rector at noon, and 
 the rector in turn would hear Mr, Woodrow in the evening. 
 
GIDEON ODSELEY. 161 
 
 After hearing the latter preao.h one evening, on the doctrine 
 of the new birth, he remarked, " If all the Methodist preach- 
 ers can preach like that good man, it is not surprising that 
 the whole world follow them." This same Dr. Trench, when 
 Ai-ohbishop of Tuam, invited the Wesleyan missionaries into 
 his province, and recommended them to some of the leading 
 families in the country, so that Methodism in this part of the 
 country was patronized, and its ministers honored by many 
 of the influential in Church and State. 
 
 But to return to our subject. Mr. Ouseley could not long 
 satisfy his conscience with merely warning his neighbors to 
 flee from the wrath to come. He believed that a dispensa- 
 tion of the Gospel was committed to him ; yet he felt his own 
 weakness and unworthiness so much, that he scarcely dared 
 to venture on errands of mercy to others. He would exclaim, 
 "Lord, I am a poor ignorant creature; how can I go?" 
 Then it would rush into his mind, " Do you know the dis- 
 ease ?" " O yes. Lord, I do .'" " And do you not know the 
 cure ?" "O yes, glory be to thy name, I do.'" " Then go 
 and tell them of the disease and the cure." So that with 
 only these two things, as he sometimes said, the knowledge 
 of the disease and the knowledge of the cure, he went forth 
 to preach the Gospel. Mr. Ouseley's first sermon was preached 
 in a church-yard, at a funeral, which was attended of course 
 by another officiating clergyman, and from this time forth, 
 he preached in the streets and church-yard, at fairs and mar- 
 kets, at wakes and funerals, wherever in fact he could find a 
 conn-ren-ation assembled, whether Protestant or Catholic. 
 
 One day, Mr. Ouseley, while on a missionary tour, rode up 
 to a Catholic chapel, where a priest was celebrating mass; 
 the large congregation were on their knees ; Mr. Ouseley 
 knelt with them, and rendered every Latin word which the 
 priest spoke, into Irish ; and when he wished any particular 
 part of the service which was Scriptural . impressed on the 
 *> 11 
 
162 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 minds of the people, he would emphatically exclaim, "Listen 
 to that." The people became deeply affected, and the priest 
 not knowing who he was, was thunderstvuck. When the 
 service was ended, Mr. Ouseley and the congregation rose on 
 their feet, and before they retired from the house, he delivered 
 a warm-hearted exhortation to them, to repent and forsake 
 their sins, and believe in Christ. When he had finished 
 his exhortation, the people cried out to the priest, " Father, 
 who is that?" "I don't know," he replied; "he is not a 
 man at all, he is an angel ; no man could do what he has 
 done." Mr. Ouseley mounted his horse, amid the prayers 
 and blessings of the people, and rode off to seek another op- 
 portunity of doing good. 
 
 In this way he would go from town to town, and from 
 county to county, preaching and exhorting wherever an op- 
 portunity offered ; and this practice he followed for seven 
 years, prior to his connection with the Irish Methodist Con- 
 ference. But it was not only by pubhc preaching and ex- 
 hortation, that he sought to do good. On one occasion, he 
 met a man who had, by orders of the priest, taken a pilgrim- 
 age of forty Irish miles, as a penance ; " Where have you 
 been?" said Mr. Ouseley: "At the reek," was the reply. 
 "What were you doing there, poor man?" "Looking for 
 God." " Where is God ?" " Every juhere." " Where would 
 you go to look for the day-light when the sun rose this morn- 
 ing ? Would you go forty miles to look for the day-light, 
 when it was shining into your own cabin door?" " O the 
 Lord help us, I would not, sir." "Then would you go on 
 your feet forty miles to look for God, when you could get him 
 at your own door ?" " 0, then may the Lord pity us, gentle- 
 man! It' s true for "you ! If s true for you .'" 
 
 Some time after this, while riding along the road, he over- 
 took a countryman, whom he addressed as follows : " My 
 dear man, would you not like to be reconciled to God, have 
 
 4 
 
GIDKOK OUSELET. 163 
 
 his peace in your heart, and stand clear before the great 
 Judge, when he will come in the clouds of heaven to judge 
 the world ?" The man replied : " O glory be to his holy and 
 blessed name ! Sir, I have his peace in my heart, and the 
 Lord be praised that I ever saio your face!" " You have ! 
 What do you know about this peace ? When did ^'ou see 
 me ?" " Don't you remember the day u'hen you ivere at 
 the biiryijig, when the priest teas saying mass ?" " I do 
 very well, what about that day ?" " 0, gentleman, you 
 told us then how to get that j^eace ; and I ivent, blessed be 
 his holy name, to Jesus Christ my Saviour, and got it in 
 tmj heart ; and liave it ever since." Thus Mr. Ouseley be- 
 gan to see the fruit of his labor among the ignorant and de- 
 based Catholic population of his own country, for whom his 
 soul, like that of Jeremiah, was " in affliction," and who like 
 the same prophet, would frequently exclaim, " 0, that my 
 head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I 
 might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of 
 my people." 
 
 Previously to Mr. Ouseley's conversion, the Lord had raised 
 up in different parts of Ireland, a number of eminent Metho- 
 dist missionaries. Among these, may be named Rev. Thomas 
 Walsh, a young man who was so thoroughly acquainted with 
 the original Scriptures, that if he was questioned concerning 
 any Hebrew word in the Old, or Greek word in the New 
 Testament, he would tell how often the word occurred in the 
 Bible, where it might be found, and what it meant. Mr. 
 Wesley pronounced him the greatest master of biblical knowl- 
 edge that he ever saw, or ever expected to see again. Mr. 
 Walsh was himself the fruit of street preaching, and he, 
 during his short, but useful life, spent much time in preach- 
 ing to the Irish peasantry in their native tongue, and thou- 
 sands of these, through his instrumentality, were converted to 
 <Sod. 
 
164 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Another of those eminent missionaries, was the E.ev 
 Charles Graham, a native of the county of Sligo. Mr. Gra 
 ham had beeen educated in the Church of England, but feel- 
 ing a consciousness of inward depravity, he attempted to find 
 through the instrumentality of the "Church," that peace 
 which his soul panted after. Being disappointed here, he 
 went to a Catholic mass meeting, where there happened to 
 be a funeral service at the time. He learned that the per- 
 son who was about to be buried had been a poor man, had 
 lost all his cattle by disease, and that through the persuasion 
 of his neighbors, the priest had taken up a collection of five 
 pounds, to assist him in his distress ; but asking the priest for 
 the collection next day, the latter said to him, " I made no 
 collection for you ; but for myself" The poor man, enraged 
 at such monstrous injustice, swore solemnly that he never 
 would bow his knee before the priest again. This poor man 
 soon after died, and when dying, the hard-hearted priest re- 
 fused to administer to him the last rites of his religion. He 
 was, however, prevailed upon to attend to the funeral, at 
 which time Mr. Graham was present. The address of the 
 priest on this occasion, was, " This man's soul is in hell, for 
 he did not pay the rent of his soul for the last three years ; 
 and you will all be damned likewise, if you do not pay the 
 rent of your souls regularly." These facts, and this address, 
 convinced Mr. Graham that he must seek for light some- 
 where else, than in the Roman Church. Shortly after, he 
 providentially became acquainted with the preaching and 
 doctrine of the Methodists, and through their instructions, he 
 was soon led to the fountain of salvation. 
 
 Mr. Graham's first sermon was preached in the streets of 
 the village of Milltown, where he was an entire stranger. 
 Not knowing where to find a lodging for the night, he in- 
 quired of a lad if he knew any one in that town who had the 
 Bible, and read it. "0 yes," said the lad, " the clerk of the 
 
GIDEON OUSELEY. 165 
 
 Church." Mr. Graham rode up to the door, and told him he 
 had come to find lodging with one who read the Bible. The 
 man was confounded. '' I read the Bible, sir I no indeed, I 
 never read it, except what I read at Church, on Sundaj'." 
 He, however, invited Mr. Graham to stay with him, and 
 through the advice of the good missionary, he resolved hence- 
 forth to read the Bible, and subsequently became a valuable 
 member of the Methodist Society which was formed in that 
 place. Through the instrumentality of Mr. Graham, many 
 persons of note and respectability were converted to the pure 
 doctrines of the Gospel, from popery and error. 
 
 Another missionary of great usefulness, but of entirely difTer- 
 ent mould from Walsh, Graham, or Ouseley, was Bartholo- 
 mew Campbell, a simple and uncultivated child of nature, 
 who added to his natural simjJicity a degree of strangeness 
 and uncouthness, at once amusing and ludicrous. Campbell 
 had been a Roman Catholic, but becoming burdened on ac- 
 count of sin, and not knowing what to do, he went -to the 
 priest, who enjoined penance and pronounced absolution, but 
 still he found no peace to his mind. His mental distress in- 
 creasing, he went to other priests, but still " hell lay open 
 before him," At length be went a pilgrimage of forty miles, 
 to St. Patrick's Purgatory, at Lough Derg, where he supposed 
 all sin might be remitted, and having gone through with all 
 the prescribed penances, paid all the necessary fees, received 
 absolution fi^om the resident priest, he fondly hoped that peace 
 of mind would be secured ; but alas, all these things were 
 found to be unavailing. He returned to the priest with dis- 
 appointment, and told him of the continued anguish of his 
 spirit. "Did not I give you absolution?" said the priest 
 " You did , father " " And do yon deny the authority of the 
 Church?" " By no means'but my soul is in misery ; what 
 shall J do?" " Do I why go to bed and sleep." "Sleep! 
 no, father, perhaps I might awake in hell:" The priest, 
 
166 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 exasperated at his stubbornness, as he supposed, threatened to 
 horsewhip him ; and poor Campbell went to a retired spot, 
 and despairing to find mercy anywhere else, he with groans 
 and tears, called aloud for Christ to have mercy on him, and 
 He who said, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are 
 heavy laden," gave the poor pilgrim " rest,'' and his soul was 
 filled with joy unspeakable. He at once returned to the 
 priest, and told what great things the Lord had done for his 
 soul. " 0, father,'' said he, "I am happy, I have found the 
 cure." The ghostly " father," thinking him mad, again 
 threatened him with the horsewhip. Campbell ran to a 
 number of his fellow-pilgrims, exhorting them to turn from 
 these vanities, and come directly to Christ, who would give 
 them the cui'e and the jewel. After his return home, he be- 
 came extremely anxious for the salvation of his wife, and 
 believing that there was truly some virtue in a pilgrimage to 
 Lough Derg, he insisted on her going there. His horse was 
 attached to the cart, and a bed placed upon the latter ; and 
 on the bed, Campbell, his wife, and two children took their 
 seats, and started for the Lough. But Mrs. Campbell did not 
 there find the cure and thejewe/, found by her husband, ibr 
 the reason that she had not as yet felt her need of them. 
 Shortly after, Campbell related to a priest in the neighbor- 
 hood, what he had experienced at the Lough. The priest 
 was affected even to tears, but charged Campbell not to say 
 a word to the people on the subject. "Father," said he in 
 reply, "they will all go to hell ; and you will go thither with 
 them, if you hide the cvre from them." The priest, how- 
 ever, reiterated his admonitions. Soon after, the priest was 
 celebrating mass in an old burial ground, and when he had 
 concluded, Campbell stepped up to him and said, " Father, 
 you are to christen a bairn in the village, go, and leave the 
 people to me. The dead souls, you see, are standing over the 
 dead bodies ; and I hope the Lord will awaken the upper- 
 
GIDEON OUSELKY. 167 
 
 most." " Take care," said the priest, "what you do ; make 
 no disturbance, I charge you." After the priest left, Camp- 
 bell began to exhort the people, and with so much effect, 
 that the ignorant multitude wept and fell on their knees, 
 crying for mercy so loudly, that the noise was heard in the 
 village. The priest hearing it, came running back. " You 
 rascal," said the latter, to Campbell, " do you oppose the 
 Church ?" " No, father, I have found the Church." " You 
 villain, begone," said the now infuriated shepherd, at the 
 same time striking Camjibell over the head with a horse- 
 whip. Poor Campbell had yet a portion of the " old Adam" 
 in him, and scarcely knowing what he did, gave the priest a 
 push, who falling over a gi'ave, brought his feet higher than 
 his head. So sudden was the transition from loud lamenta- 
 tion on account of sin, to anger and resentment at seeing 
 God's holy praste sticking his heels up in the air, that a 
 general Irish melee was the result, and Campbell was obliged 
 to fly for his life. This unfortunate affair brought poor 
 Campbell into great darkness, in which he remained until he 
 met with some Methodists, who understood his case, and led 
 him back to the fountain for the removal of guilt. He soon 
 after regained his peace of mind, and became a useful mem- 
 ber and missionary among the Methodists in Ireland. 
 
 Mr. Campbell subsequently became a great admirer of Dr. 
 Coke, and whenever it was announced that the latter was 
 about to pay a visit to the country, Campbell would mount 
 his old white horse and ride off to meet the doctor, and accom- 
 pany him to the various places of worship whither he was go- 
 inc. His appearance on such occasions, was sufficiently 
 ludicrous to create a smile in the countenance of the most 
 taciturn and serious observers, especially when viewed in con- 
 trast with the more grave and respectable appearance of the 
 doctor, who, knowing the man, was not disposed to find fault 
 with his tincouth, yet well-meant attentions. 
 
168 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 We liave thus far allowed ourselves to digress from the 
 chief subject of the chapter, for the purpose of shovi'ing the 
 instruments which God was employing to bring many of the 
 Irish to a knowledge of the truth. 
 
 About the time in which Mr. Ouseley joined the Methodist 
 Conference, a deep and extensive rebellion took place in Ire- 
 land, known as the " Irish Rebellion." It has been supposed 
 by many, that the only object which the rebels had in view, 
 was the deliverance of Ireland from the unjust rule of the 
 British government. The history of the proceedings of the 
 rebels will, no doubt, convince the impartial reader that this 
 was by no means the only object, if indeed it was the chief 
 object. The only rational ground of belief is, that the rebel- 
 lion was designed to exterminate the hated name of Protestant 
 from the island ; and the subsequent cruelties practised upon 
 the unoffending Protestants, by the bigoted and blood-thirsty 
 papists, all prove that their object was popery more than 
 liberty — an alliance with the pope more than liberation from 
 England. The history of that period is one of bloodshed, and 
 the most diabolical cruelties inflicted upon unoffending men, 
 women, and even children, that the historian of any nation 
 has ever been called upon to record. It is true, there were a 
 few Protestants at first leagued with the papists in their 
 efforts to throw off their allegiance to the crown of Great 
 Britain, but these were the dupes of the paid agents of popery, 
 and as soon as they discovered the real intentions of the pa- 
 pists, and especially when they saw their fellow-protestants by 
 thousands, murdered in cold blood before their eyes, they could 
 no longer remain the dupes of designing men, but at once for- 
 sook the ranks of the rebels, and extinguished the flame of re- 
 bellion in the northern portion of the island. 
 
 In the year 1799, Mr. Ouseley's name first appeared on the 
 minutes of the Conference. This, it will be perceived, was at 
 a time when that ill-fated country had just passed through the 
 
GIDEON OUSELET. 169 
 
 scorching ordeal alluded to in the preceding paragraph — a 
 time when the religious and political elements were still in 
 commotion. Tho field of labor assigned to Mr. Ouseley and 
 his associate missionaries, Rev. Messrs. M'Gluigg and Grahara, 
 was not limited by any territorial bounds except the rolling 
 sea around the island. They were emphatically missionaries 
 at large, hut Irish missionaries, appointed under the auspices 
 of the adventurous Coke, to labor for the good, not of a single 
 parish or circuit, but for the good of Ireland. 
 
 The success of these missionaries during the first year of 
 their labors under the authority of the Ciuference was such, 
 that the next Conference added to the nuii.ber, by the appoint- 
 ment of Mr. Bell. Messrs. M'duigg :ind Bell travelled 
 through the provinces of Connaught and Leinster, while the 
 other two travelled and preached more at large. Their favor- 
 ite places for preaching, were the streets and markets ; and the 
 mighty power of God accompanied their word with such unc- 
 tion, that young and old frequently fell prostrate in the most 
 public places of resort. Among the subjects of revival under 
 their instrumentality, were two young men who had met to 
 fight a duel, hut were prevented by means of a wall falling on. 
 one of the spectators, which crushed him to death. A short 
 time after, both these j'oung men were converted, and walked 
 for years together in the ways of religion and virtue. Nor 
 was the success of the missionaries confined to the conversion 
 of nominal Protestants, but hundreds, yea, thousands of the 
 Catholic population were converted, not only to protestantism, 
 but to Christianity — being born from above. But we are not 
 to suppose that Satan could see his kingdom thus falling, 
 without making a strong effort through his agents to stop the 
 proo-ress of the work by persecution and other means of like 
 character. Mobs were resorted to, by persons of the baser 
 sort, as a laudable way of stopping the mouths of God's mes- 
 sentrers. Stones, dirt, &c., were at times freely discharged at 
 
170 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 them, but " none of those things moved them ;" they still went 
 on their way rejoicing. 
 
 At the Conference of 1802, Mr. Ouseley was again appointed 
 in connection with Mr. Graham, to the Irish mission. Their 
 field of labor was the provinces of Leinster, Munster, and 
 Ulster, embracing the districts where the rebellion had raged 
 most fiercely a year or two previously. Even here, their 
 word was attended with power, and many of the rebels were 
 the subjects of converting grace. Many are the pleasing in- 
 cidents related in connection with their labors in this part of 
 the work, but our limits will not allow us to transcribe them. 
 At the Conferences of 1803 and 1804, they were, for the sixth 
 time, appointed to labor together, their field of labor gradually 
 becoming smaller each year, as laborers increased in numbers ; 
 and it is worthy of note, that in Ireland, the only influential 
 opposers to the Methodists were the Roman priests, who saw 
 their crafts were in danger, while the clergy and dignitaries 
 of the Episcopal Church were generally favorable to the la- 
 bors of the missionaries, and while civil oflioers of high repute, 
 afforded them all the protection in their power. How differ- 
 ent from the conduct generally of like classes in England. In 
 1805, Mr. Ouseley was appointed to labor with Rev. Wm. 
 Hamilton, as his colleague. The former while preaching one 
 Sabbath day in the streets of Carlow, where he found hun- 
 dreds of country laborers who were in town looking for em- 
 ployment, with their reaping hooks or sickles over their 
 shoulders, was rushed upon by a number of these persons who 
 were evidently determined to destroy him ; and had it not 
 been for a gentleman who opened his door and dragged Mr. 
 Ouseley into his house, they no doubt would have succeeded 
 in their purpose. 
 
 During the year following the Conference of 1806, Mr. 
 Ouseley appears to have labored mostly in the district of 
 country, round and about Dublin. On one occasion he visit- 
 
GIDEON OUSELET. lYl 
 
 ed the town of Drogheda, which has always been noted for 
 the swarm of beggars, who daily infest its streets. Mr. 
 Ouseley, desirous of doing this neglected class some good, if 
 possible, gave notice that he would preach to them on the 
 morning of his departure from the town. In obedience to the 
 call, a vast multitude of beggars collected together, who stood 
 next the preacher, besides hundreds of others drawn together 
 by the novelty of the occasion. Mr. Ouseley took for his text 
 the history of the rich man and Lazarus, and not only did the 
 beggars weep, but those who came as spectators merely, were 
 greatly affected. Mr. Ouseley retired, bearing with him the 
 blessings of the poor creatures, for wliose special benefit he 
 had labored. 
 
 At the next Conference, Mr. Ouseley directed his attention 
 to the region round about his own native province. In this 
 region of country, he was very successful in his labors. He 
 not only knew how to give " the trumpet a certain sound" 
 when preaching, but he always had a seasonable word of ad- 
 vice for every person, whether high or low, rich or poor. 
 Protestant or Catholic. Coming up one day in summer to 
 where some men were cutting peat, he inquired, "What are 
 you doing, boys?" "We are cutting turf," was the reply. 
 " Sure you don't require them this fine weather 1" " No, sir, 
 we don't want them now ; but we will want them in the cold 
 days of winter out here, and in the long nights." " And, ye 
 fools, won't it be time enough to cut them when ye want them ? 
 Let winter provide for itself" " 0, muisha, sir, it will be too 
 late then." Mr. Ouseley's moral may be inferred from the 
 above. 
 
 While Mr. 0. was in Dublin on one occasion, he had a call 
 from a gentleman of note, to visit a certain noble lord residing 
 there. The gentleman was a pious man, and had a great 
 anxiety for the spiritual welfare of his noble friend. He had 
 made several attempts to prevail on clergymen of the estab- 
 
1'7S LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 lishment to speak with his friend on the subject of salvation, 
 and although he once obtained a promise to that effect from 
 one of the clergy, yet all who had been spoken to, were evi- 
 dently afraid of his lordship. At last he thought of Mr. Ouse- 
 ley's being in town ; " I'll tell you ivhat" said he to himself, 
 " I'll go to Gideon ; he's in town ; he'll go with me." He 
 accordingly went with his carriage after Mr. Ouseley, who 
 willingly consented to go with him to the mansion of his lord- 
 ship. After the usual compliments, Mr. Ouseley in the most 
 plain, yet respectful manner, urged upon his lordship's atten 
 tion the importance of being prepared for eternity. " Mr 
 Ouseley," replied his lordship, " pnbHc business must be at- 
 tended to, and we have no time for these things." Mr. 0. 
 replied, "But, my lord, we must have time to die, and we 
 should be prepared for that inevitable event." "And what 
 am I to do, Mr. Ouseley ?" " There is the New Testament, it 
 contains the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, and tells you what 
 you are to do, my lord." " But, Mr. Ouseley, there are many 
 things in that book which I can understand, and that I ad- 
 mire. I must confess, however, there are other thiftgs I can- 
 not agree with." " Ah 1 my lord, that will never do. What 
 if your lordship had a case submitted to j'ou by an individual, 
 for an opinion ; and after your opinion had been drawn up 
 with the utmost care, and legal accuracy, he would say, ' Why, 
 my lord, there is part of this I like pretty well, but with other 
 parts I cannot agree,' what would you say, my lord ?" " Ah ! 
 I perceive your meaning : we must receive the ivhole as a rev- 
 elation from God." " Exactly so, my lord. Take up that 
 book ; believe what it says ; and do what it commands, and 
 you will, my lord, be prepared by His mercy, for the hour of 
 death, and for that day, when the great Judge shall appear." 
 The nobleman expressed his gratitude to Mr. Ouseley for his 
 kindness and frankness, and invited him and his friend to 
 dinner, which invitation they accepted, but during the repast, 
 
GIDEON OUSELET. lY3 
 
 Mr. 0. would in the most faithful manner, call his lordship's 
 attention to the "one thing needful," and that, too, in a way 
 in which he was not accustomed to listen to gospel truth. 
 
 Great trouhle and agitation prevailed during the years 
 1806-7, throughout the province where Mr. Ouseley was at 
 that period laboring. A "body of men, called " Threshers" 
 infested the country, who organized themselves into a band 
 of freebooters, for the ostensible purpose of putting an end to 
 the tithing system, and to reduce the dues or fees of the 
 Romish priests. They committed many ravages upon the 
 property of the peaceable inhabitants of the country, crying 
 vengeance on the priests and ministers, so that those who had 
 heretofore gladly received the missionaries, and especially 
 Mr. Ouseley, were now afraid to open their houses for their re- 
 ception. Mr. 0. however, was nothing daunted, but urged 
 his way along from place to place, and wherever he met a 
 company of the Threshers, he preached plainly to them, and 
 in return they not only respected him, but even threatened 
 vengeance" against any Roman priest who would molest him. 
 
 In one place, where ten or twelve Roman Catholics had 
 been, converted, and had joined the Methodist Society, the 
 priest, who was a great drunkard, came among them and 
 greatly terrified the people who came to hear Mr. 0. by 
 threatening to curse them, and make the very hair fall off from 
 their head, and when dying would not give them the seal of 
 Christ (the ointment of extreme unction), and then, said he, 
 " what will you do ?" Mr. Ouseley preached them a sermon 
 on false prophets, and one cried out in Irish, " 0, the priest — 
 the priest, why is he hindering us from all this comfort and 
 sweetness ?" The next morning, Mr 0. preached again in. 
 the same place to a large congregation, where a number of 
 conversions took place. First a Romish woman cried for 
 mercy, and soon was praising God aloud ; then a Protestant 
 youno' woman was converted ; then a Romanist ; then a Prot- 
 
11 i LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 sstant again, until half a dozen or more in the course of a few 
 minutes were converted, and praised God from a full heart. 
 •' 0," said one in Irish, " God is dealing finely, and fairly, for 
 he is giving us one about of each sort," " 0," said some of 
 the converted Romanists, " the priest may talk, and that is 
 all he'll have for it." 
 
 In 1808, Mr. Ouseley and Mr. Hamilton visited the county 
 of Clare. The latter, in describing some of the scenes through 
 which they passed, remarks, " Such a year of persecution I 
 never had. Cruel mockings are nothing, and showers of stones 
 and dirt, are but play ; but bloodshed and battery are no 
 joke. Last Christmas we were waylaid, and robbed of our 
 books. Mr. Ouseley was hurt, and lost his hat in the affray, 
 and he had to ride seven miles without one. I thought we 
 should never leave the spot. It happened near Eyre-court on 
 the Shannon. We had preached there that day, and had a 
 battle with the priest and his people. The priest beat my 
 horse greatly, and the people dragged him down on the street, 
 and I on his back, but a soldier got me into the barrack-yard. 
 Ouseley was hurt there too. The soldiers then got to arms, 
 loaded their pieces, fixed their bayonets, marched out before 
 us, and formed a square about us both in the street, until we 
 preached to the market people. They then put us safe out 
 of town ; but never thought that our persecutors had got out 
 before us, and lay concealed until we came up, and then sur- 
 sounded us with horrid shoutings, as if Scullabogue barn had 
 been on fire. At another time a big priest and I were in 
 holds with each other, as he was going to pull Mr. Ouseley 
 down. I could easily have injured him, for he was very 
 drunk." 
 
 During the next year, Mr. 0. preached on the Galway and 
 Clare mission, with Rev. Wm. Rutledge for a colleague. The 
 following incident is related in reference to a village frequent- 
 ly visited by Mr. Ouseley. A class had been formed, but a 
 
GTDEON OUSELET. 175 
 
 gang of desperadoes were determined to break up the meet- 
 ings. One evening they resolved to attend a class-meeting, 
 and to effect their purpose they selected their leader to enter 
 the room before meeting commenced, so that at the proper 
 time, he might open the door for the rest of the gang. The 
 members, knowing the character of the intruder, suspected 
 mischief, but said nothing to him. At length the meeting 
 opened by singing. The intruder said to himself, " This is 
 very purty ; I'll not disturb them." Prayer was offered : " I'll 
 let them alone till they have done their prayers.'' They be- 
 gan to speak ; " I'd like to hear what they have to say," said 
 Pat. The leader of the class went all round, and while they 
 were speaking, God's Spirit began to operate on the heart of 
 the ^^•icked man. At length the class-leader spoke to him, 
 and said : " My good man, have you any knowledge of the 
 things of which we have been speaking ? Did you ever feel 
 yourself a sinner before God, and that you deserved forever to 
 be excluded from his presence ?" The poor man began to 
 weep, and cried out in the bitterness of his soul : " Lord have 
 mercy upon me I What shall I do ? I am a wicked sinner !" 
 The state of poor Pat's mind was unexpected to the members 
 of the little class. Prayer, fervent and effectual, was imme- 
 diately offered in his behalf, and he soon became a subject of 
 the converting grace of God, and afterward was found a zeal- 
 ous advocate of the " truth as it is in Jesus." While the class 
 was praying for the conversion of the weeping penitent, his 
 comrades without were waiting with the utmost impatience 
 for the opening of the door ; and not knowing what was going 
 on within in reference to their companion, they kept walking 
 back and forth, frequently saying : " The devil's among the 
 Swaddlers.''' 
 
 In such a manner was God often pleased to manifest his 
 power in the subjugation of the depraved heart to his will 
 and authority ; thus causing " the wrath of man to praise 
 
1^6 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 him," while " the remainder of wrath" he was pleased to " re 
 strain." 
 
 At the Conference of 1810, Mr. Ouseley was reappointed to 
 the Galway and Clare mission, having two younsj men ap- 
 pointed as his helpers or assistants in the work. One of these 
 descrihes a scene of which he was a witness, which serves to 
 show the ignorance and superstition of the Irish papists, for 
 whose special benefit these missions had been instituted. 
 While passing a place of religious resort, called Kikuacduaph, 
 he saw men and women in the most indecent manner, Avalk- 
 ing on their bare knees over rough gravel and stones, the 
 blood streaming from their lacerated limbs ; while gazing on 
 the scene with horror and pity, he was approached by the 
 spiritual superintendent or guide, who offered to escort liim 
 over the place. After being shown all the curiosities, the 
 missionary inquired why the people were exposing and cutting 
 themselves in that dreadful manner. "0, for penance ; for 
 the benefit of their souls," replied the guide. "What is the 
 cause of so much of that tree yonder, being cut away ?" 
 " I'll tell you : the saint of this place, Macduagh, travelled 
 round the world on his knees till he came to a place below 
 there ; and there a girdle which he had round him, fell off; 
 there was a tree standing there, which reci'ived such virtue, 
 that a piece of it would preserve from sickness and accident, 
 and if thrown into a house on fire, would put it out." " And 
 where is that tree now V " 0, it's all cut away." " Did it 
 then transfer its efficacy to the one which they are now 
 cutting away ?" " When the first was all gone, why, they 
 began at the other. Do, sir, take a piece of it with you ; it 
 will keep you from all harm ; nothing can ever happen to 
 you while you have it about you ; nor can any house be 
 burned where it is." " Thank you, I shall not mind it now. 
 You seem so very well acquainted with these peiformances, I 
 suppose you have frequently engaged in them yourself; have 
 
GIDEON OUSELET. 
 
 IW 
 
 you ?" " Not as often as I ought, for myself; tut I have 
 often to perform penance for other people." " How is that ?" 
 " Why, when any of them are sick, or their children sick, 
 they make a vow to the saint, that if they recover, they will 
 go through so many rounds here ; then, when they don't hke to 
 go through them themselves, they get me to perform their vows 
 for them." " Do they not pay you, for thus performing their 
 vows for them ?'' "0 yes ; if they didn't, there would be no 
 virtue in the thing at all." During this dialogue, the guide 
 uttered several oaths and curses, and on the missionary ex- 
 pressing his want of confidence in such a wretched system of 
 religious penance, "Ah! you are not Irish," said the guide. 
 " Indeed I am," said the missionary ; " I have never been in 
 England." " If you are not Enghsh, you belong to them, so 
 you do," retorted the guide. 
 
 Mr. Ouseley continued his indefatigable labor for the benefit 
 of his benighted and degraded countrymen, penetrating the 
 most remote and lonely districts of country, going frequently 
 without food and shelter ; and exposing himself to the re- 
 proach of the ignorant and degraded Catholics, that he 
 " might win them to Christ ;" and such was his earnestness 
 and zeal, that he never was satisfied, unless during every 
 meeting, and under every sermon, souls were converted to 
 God. Nor did he neglect his studies, amidst his multifarious 
 travels and missionary duties. While riding on horseback, he 
 generally had his Greek testament in his hand, or a Latin, 
 English, or Irish book, from which he would store his mind 
 with an increase of useful knowledge, while going from place 
 to place. Wherever he stopped also, if only for a moment, 
 he had words of instruction and counsel for the imconverted. 
 On one occasion, he stopped at a stream to water his horse, 
 and seeing a young lady standing in the door of a neighboring 
 house, he went toward her, took her by the hand, spoke to her 
 about her soul, and prayed that the blessing of God might 
 
 12 
 
ITS 
 
 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 rest upon her. About two years afterward, being invited to 
 preach in that neighborhood, he was kindly asked by a young 
 man, to go home with hira to his house. Mr. Ouseley did so ; 
 the lady of the house received him in the most affectionate 
 manner, and then related to hira that she was the same per- 
 son whom he had addressed as above stated ; that the few 
 words of counsel and instruction then given, led her to Christ ; 
 that she was now married to the young man who had invited 
 him home, and that her husband was a class-leader. 
 
 In 1811, Mr. Ouseley was again appointed to the Galway 
 and Clare mission, and his labors and those of his colleagues, 
 having been greatly blessed, it became necessary to erect a 
 number of chapels for the accommodation of the societies 
 formed by them. All classes were solicited to aid in the 
 erection of these chapels, and not only the Protestant gentry 
 and clergy contributed freely for the purpose, but strange 
 as it may seem, many of the Roman Catholic priests and 
 gentlemen, greatly aided in the work by donations and 
 recommendations to their people to assist. On one occa- 
 sion, one of Mr. Ouseley's colleagues — Mr. O'Reilly — applied 
 to the Roman parish priest, of Nenagh, for a subscription for 
 the Nenagh Methodist Chapel. Upon being informed of the 
 object of the visit, the kind-hearted priest said, " Indeed, 
 asthore, I will give you a guinea on account of your name." 
 " I could give you the money now, but I want to see you 
 again," continued he. Mr. O'Reilly called again, and the 
 guinea was immediately paid, the priest, at the same time, 
 desiring him to lend him some Methodist books, for, said he, 
 I want to form a judgment for myself of your religion. One 
 of this priest's parishioners, a lady of great respectability, had 
 been awakened under Methodist preaching, which fact gave 
 great offence to the priest's coadjutor. The latter came to 
 the priest, and said, " There now — what will you do ? your 
 whole parish are going after the Swaddlers. There is Mrs. 
 
GIDEON OUSELEY. 179 
 
 K , the most respectable woman in your flock, gone too." 
 
 "And what would you have me to do?" said the priest. 
 "Denounce her from the altar," was the reply. " Muislia, 
 then, I'll not denounce her, or any one else ; let the decent 
 woman go where she likes." 
 
 About this time, a Father Thayer, a Roman priest from 
 America, arrogantly challenged the whole Protestant literati 
 to answer his arguments in favor of Romanism. Mr. Ouseley 
 took up the gauntlet, and in the most masterly manner, drove 
 his antagonist from the ground, which so mortified the Amer- 
 ican champion of popery, that giving way to his disappoint- 
 ment and chagrin, he shortly after died in Limerick, a vic- 
 tim to his own folly, in arousing the most able man in Ireland, 
 to a defence of Protestantism. This controversy gave rise to Mr. 
 Ouseley's great work, entitled "Old Christianity, against Papal 
 Novelties," a work which does honor to the land of his birth. 
 
 As an instance of his controversial powers, we will relate 
 the following incident. Being in company one evening with 
 a Romish priest, named Glin, the latter abruptly attacked 
 Mr. 0. on doctrinal subjects. Mr. Ouseley at once raised ob- 
 jections to the popish doctrines of extreme unction, transub- 
 stantiation, &c. In relation to the former, the priest inquired, 
 " 0, my dear sir, was it not taught by St. James as having 
 been instituted by Jesus Christ ?" Mr. 0. rephed, " No, sir ; 
 you are aware that in order to its being a sacrament, it should 
 have been instituted by Christ ; and so much was the Coun- 
 cil of Trent at a loss, that three hundred bishops, with the 
 pope at their head, could not find a single word of our Lord 
 to sanction its institution. Lest you might suppose me ar- 
 guing unfairly, I'll quote the words of the Trent Council for 
 you." He then quoted verbatim the words of the Council, 
 and proved thereby, that extreme unction is not a sacrament 
 of Jesus Christ. He next spoke on the subject of half-com- 
 munion and the real presence, and so confounded the poor 
 
180 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 priest, who was indeed a man of considerable argumentative 
 powers, that the latter exclaimed, " 0, my dear sir, if you 
 were to see all the books that I saw, when I was at college 
 in France, on that one subject" — the real presence — " you 
 would be afraid to speak a word upon it all the days of your 
 life." Mr. 0. rejoined, " My dear sir, there are some things 
 a child may know as well as an archbishop ; for instance, 
 how many panes of glass there are in that window." " Poh 1" 
 said the priest, " that's a physical fact ; any one can tell 
 that." "Is it not equally a physical fact, that John the 
 Baptist was not the son of the Virgin Mary?" "Very true 
 indeed, sir," replied the priest, " Why is he not her son .'" 
 inquired Mr. 0. " Because John the Baptist was never born 
 of the Virgin Mary," said the priest. " Could any man that 
 had never been born of her, ever become her son ?" " Cer- 
 tainly not," replied the priest. " Could any thing that never 
 was born of her, ever become her son?" " Indeed, I think 
 not," said the unsuspecting priest. "I have you now, my 
 good fellow," exclaimed Mr. Ouseley ; " can the corn which 
 grew last year, ground by the miller, baked by the baker, 
 and consecrated by the priest, by any power of God or man, 
 ever become the son of the Virgin Mary ?" " 0," said Father 
 Glin, "all things are possible to God." "No," retorted Mr. 
 , "all things are not possible to God, for it is impossible for 
 God to lie, or work a self-contradiction, which would be ne- 
 cessarily involved in the doctrine of your Church ; and how 
 can any rational being believe, that the accidents to which 
 the host may be liable, can happen to the Son of God ? It 
 can be carried away by the wind, and totally disappear ; be 
 devoured by an animal, a mouse or a cat ; a spider can be 
 drowned in the cup ; it can be frozen, fall on the ground, be 
 vomited by the priest, piously swallowed up again, licked up 
 with the tongue ; and the wine can, if poisoned, be poured on 
 linen or tow, dried, then be burned, and the ashes buried in 
 
GIDEON OUSELET. 181 
 
 holy grouvKl. Now, sir, permit me to ask, can you believe 
 the doctrine of your owu Church ? Can any man in his senses 
 believe that any of the above occurrences take place in regard 
 to the true Christ?" The priest vyas confounded, and said, 
 " True enough, sir ; a great many people think that all things 
 are possible to God, but he could not make this stick in ray 
 hand without two ends to it, nor make two hills without a 
 valley between them." Thus he acknowledged himself van- 
 quished, and wisely gave up the contest. On a subsequent 
 visit to the gentleman's house where the above conversation 
 took place, the priest said : " These Methodist preachers are 
 queer fellows ; I declare, I did not think they were such 
 men." "But what do you think of your own argument, 
 Father Glin ?" said one to him. " If it were not for the price 
 of bread," he replied, "I would never celebrate mass again 
 as long as I live." 
 
 Mr. Ouseley, however, had worse foes to contend with than 
 the arguments of Romish priests. A Romish Irish mob is 
 the most formidable foe, and the most ferocious enemy that 
 any person can meet, by night or by day. A tribe of North 
 American Indians are not half so much to be dreaded by the 
 unfortunate being who comes in contact with them, as the 
 Irish mob, especially where whiskey is plenty, and shillelahs 
 are numerous. On the next day but one after the above 
 conversation took place, as Mr. 0. was passing through 
 Loughrea, he suddenly stopped his horse, and said to his com- 
 panion, " I feel as if the atmosphere was crowded with devils ; 
 we'll be attacked in town ;" and sure enough, scarcely had 
 they made their appearance in the main street, than the 
 crowd who were in attendance at the market, as soon as they 
 discovered the " swaddlers," set up a most fiendish yell, as 
 though all hell had broken loose, and the inhabitants of the 
 pit of darkness had appeared, to re-act on earth the horrid 
 tragedies of the world of woe. Abuse and execrations of the 
 
182 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 most awful kind were heaped upon them, and all kinds of 
 missiles were flung with the utmost fury at their heads. Mr 
 0., however, was protected by the soldiery of the place, ana 
 after running through the most imminent danger, he provi- 
 dentially with his companion, Mr. O'Reilly, escaped unhurt. 
 But time would fail to relate all the providential escapes of 
 Mr. Ouseley, from the wrath of an ignorant populace, who 
 were generally instigated to their deeds of hostility by the 
 presence and commands of their spiritual advisers. 
 
 At the Irish Conference of 1813, Dr. Coke presided for the 
 last time. He was on the eve of departing for India. Mr. 
 Ouseley volunteered his services to accompany the Doctor, 
 and though the former pleaded with tears in his eyes, for 
 liberty to go, and the latter urged the Conference to grant 
 leave, yet in the opinion of his brethren, his services could not 
 be spared from the Irish missions, and he was reluctantly 
 compelled to remain at home. At this Conference, he was 
 appointed to the counties of Antrim and Londonderry, where 
 he labored for several years with great success. Not being 
 required, however, by the Conference, to confine his labors to 
 those counties, he visited different parts of the kingdom, 
 meeting in some places with respectful treatment, and in 
 others narrowly escaping with his life, from the violence of 
 the popish mobs. In the course of his travels, while on this 
 mission, he was the instrument of the conversion of a very 
 devout Romanist, by the name of Rorke. This man, while 
 under conviction, went to several priests, to inquire what he 
 should do to be saved. One told him to " Go to Lough 
 Derg ;" another,' "Go to Lady's Island ;" and another, "Re- 
 ceive the Lord's body." " Do you think," said Rorke to the 
 latter, "you can make the Lord's body for me ?" " I have 
 that power, Philip ; can you doubt it ?" " Please your rever- 
 ence," said Rorke, " I have two little hens, but no cow ; now 
 if you can turn them into two milch cows for my children, to 
 
GIDEON OUSELET. 183 
 
 givu US milk, I shall believe then that you have the pov?er 
 you say." " Get agoue, get agone," said the priest, and left 
 him to find oonsolalion the best way he could. 
 
 In the farther relation given of the biography of Mr. Ouse- 
 ley, it would be pleasant to relate his frequent conversations 
 with Roman priests, or other champions of popery who fan- 
 cied themselves competent to defend its absurdities ; a few of 
 these only, we can give. On one occasion, a young Roman- 
 ist who had just completed his studies in Maynooth College, 
 and who was in the habit of assailing Protestant gentlemen, 
 manifested a great desire to meet Mr. Ouseley in controversy. 
 An opportunity soon offered at the house of a Protestant, 
 where there was a large company present. After dinner, the 
 Romanist introduced his favorite theme, and soon the conver- 
 sation turned on the subject of transubstantiation, the Ro- 
 manist asserting that Jesus Christ converted the bread into 
 his own body. " Did not our blessed Lord eat of that bread, 
 and drink of that cup, after the consecration?" asked Mr. 
 Ouseley. "Yes," was the reply. "And do you think that 
 he ate himself?" "I believe he did," replied the young 
 man. " Then," retorted Mr. Ouseley, " his oivn head was in 
 his ovjn mouth, as were his feet and his whole body, and so 
 a part is greater than the whole ! And yet his feet were on 
 the ground 1 I" The company present laughed immoderately 
 at the absurd idea, and the young collegian acknowledged 
 himself vanquished. 
 
 On another occasion he fell in with a young woman who 
 was a bigoted Romanist, although otherwise a very interest- 
 ing and intelligent person. She said she would rather be 
 damned than become a Protestant. Mr. Ouseley hearing of 
 her sought her out, and said to her, " Biddy, would you not 
 rather have one half-hour's conversation with Jesus Christ, 
 who is to judge you, than if all the clergy on earth — pope, 
 priests, preachers, &c., were to talk to you till doomsday ?" 
 
184 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 "Surely, I would," she replied. "But had he bo conversed 
 with you, would you not be afraid of forgetting any part of it ; 
 and would you not on your knees beg of him to give it to you 
 in writing ?" " Certainly, I would." " Now if he gave you 
 that writing, would you not put it in your very bosom, and 
 read it night and day, and prefer it to all the teachers on 
 earth, nor part with it on any account whatever ?" " All this 
 is true, sir : I most certainly would not part with it." " Then, 
 Biddy, you have this very thing in this house, — the New Tes- 
 tament. For if Jesus Christ were now to come, having given 
 the Gospel in infinite perfection (and the Protestant and Ro- 
 man Catholic Testaments are in substance the same), he would 
 in no wise alter the Gospel. Hence you have only to read 
 and obey it, and all shall be well. But there is a practice in 
 your religion which Christ never taught : that is private con- 
 fession." He then explained the Scripture in relation to the 
 woman accused of wickedness, and showed that when brought 
 to the Saviour he said, " Neither do I condemn thee ; go and 
 sin no more." "You see, Biddy," said Mr. 0., "Christ did 
 not confess her, nor lay penance on her. Now had he found 
 an apostle confessing the woman, and laying penance on her 
 contrary to his example, what would become of such an apos- 
 tle, unless he promised never to do so again ? Or, if he met 
 you, my child, going to such confession, and should say to you, 
 ' Did I ever teach you the like : and are you going to tell the 
 world I was wrong V What would you answer ? surely you 
 would say, ' Lord, I will never go to confession again.' " The 
 result of this conversation was, that " Biddy" never went to 
 confession again, but became a faithful and worthy member 
 of the Methodist Society, notwithstanding the priest's bitter 
 opposition to her ; and through her means, her parents were 
 both subsequently converted and also united with the Meth- 
 odists. 
 
 While travelling in the county of Wexford, he rode into a 
 
GIDEON OUSELET. 185 
 
 town on the Sabbath for the purpose of preaching, and as is 
 customary in Ireland, after mass large numbers of the Cath- 
 olic congregation were engaged near the Roman Chapel in 
 playing ball, gambling, drinking, &c. Mr. Ouseley with holy 
 indignation, went immediately to the priest, and said : " Are 
 not you, sir, the pastor of Christ's flock?" "Indeed, I am, 
 sir," replied the priest. "Then why do you not turn out the 
 unruly ones, according to the command of Christ our Lord ?" 
 " Lord help me," said the priest, " if I turn out these, I'll have 
 none at all." " Better for you to have none at all, or have only 
 three, and have such a church as Christ and his apostles 
 founded, than have the whole countryside of such fellows.'' 
 " True for you, sir ; but Lord have mercy on us, what shall 
 we do for the bit of bread ?" Mr. 0. then referred to the 
 impious lives of some of the popes, and showed the absurdity 
 of considering them as the head of Christ's true flock. " True 
 enough for you," said the priest, "there's their lives on the 
 table there." After Mr. 0. withdrew, the priest's coadjutor 
 came in and said : " So you have had that heresiarch Ouseley 
 here." The priest replied, "Get you gone, sir; Mr. Ouseley 
 is a gentleman and a scholar, sir ; what you are not. You 
 dare not open your mouth, sir, if he were present." It is wor- 
 thy of record, that when this priest (who evidently loved 
 Ouseley), was breathing his last he cried out : " Mr. Ouse- 
 ley I Mr. Ouseley I" 
 
 We have thus given a few specimens of Mr. Ouseley's con- 
 vers.itional powers, and of the good effects which seemed to 
 follow his personal labors in this direction. We might fill 
 the space allotted to this chapter with various other anecdotes 
 and incidents as connected with his long and useful life. 
 
 From the Conference of 1813, to the close of his life in 
 1839, Mr. Ouseley continued in his work of laboring for the 
 salvation of his countrymen. He not only visited all parts of 
 Ireland repeatedly, but made frequent visits to Eng]ac<> -attd 
 
186 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Scotland for the same purpose, and in each of those kingdoms 
 he preached to overwhelming congregations. Dnring his days 
 and hours of sickness, his mind was always active, and many 
 valuable thoughts dropped from his pen during his seasons of 
 confinement to his room. Letters, strictures, reviews, discus- 
 sions, &c., owed their existence to his leisure hours while sick. 
 After a long and useful life he closed his earthly career in 
 the city of Dublin, on the 14th day of May, in the year 1839. 
 His remains were deposited in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Har- 
 old's Cross. Mr. Ouseley's last sickness was of about three 
 weeks' duration, and during this time he was perfectly resign- 
 ed to the will of heaven. His last words were : " I have no 
 fear of death ; the Spirit of God sustains ; God is my support." 
 May our "last end, be like his." 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 BISHOP ASBURY. 
 
 Fraxcis AsBuny, the subject of the following sketch, was 
 born in the parish of Harrodsworth, about four miles from 
 Birmingham, England, on the 20th or 21st of August, 1745. 
 His parents, though belonging to the humbler class of English 
 society, were honest and industrious, and were able to procure 
 a comfortable maintenance for themselves and family. They 
 had but two children, a son and daughter, and as the latter 
 died while in infancy, Francis was left as the only child of 
 his parents. At an early age, he was sent to school, where 
 he remained till about thirteen years of age. Having receiv- 
 ed rather rough treatment from his teacher, he at the above 
 age, preferred leaving school and learning a trade, at which 
 he continued till he was nearly twenty years of age. 
 
 Soon after his apprenticeship commenced, he was awakened 
 to a sense of his sinfulness by nature, through the conversa- 
 tion and prayers of a pious man, with whom he became asso- 
 ciated. The effect of such awakening, was, that he immedi- 
 ately began to pray morning and evening, and not relishing 
 the cold formal sermons of his own parish minister, he visited 
 other parish churches for the purpose of listening to men who 
 were more evangelical and zealous in the cause of Jesus 
 Christ. Shortly after his awakening, he heard of the Meth- 
 odists, and on inquiring of his mother, who, where, and what 
 they were, she directed him to a person, who would take him 
 
188 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 to Wednesbury to see them. On repairing thither, he found 
 that the Methodists were not " the Church," but to him some- 
 thing better. The people seemed devout, — men and women 
 kneeling down and saying : " Amen !" Then singing hymns! 
 And stranger still the preacher had no prayer-book, and yet 
 prayed wonderfully ! He took his text, and preached, and 
 yet had no sermon-book ! This was all new and wonderful 
 to Francis, who never had seen it in this fashion before. The 
 preacher talked about confidence, assurance, &c. &o., to all 
 of which Francis was a stranger, and led him still further to 
 see his lost condition while out of Christ, and prompted hirn 
 to seek earnestly for pardon at the hand of God. 
 
 Shortly after this, while engaged with a companion in 
 praying, in his father's barn, the Lord pardoned his sins, and 
 justified his soul. He soon felt it to be his duty, young as 
 he was, in age and experience, to hold meetings for reading 
 and prayer. He also ventured occasionally to exhort the peo- 
 ple to repentance, and some professed to find peace in believ- 
 ing through his instrumentality. He subsequently became a 
 local preacher in the Wesleyan connection, which relation ho 
 sustained nearly five years, when, at the age of twenty-one, 
 he gave himself wholly to the work of the ministry under the 
 direction of Mr. Wesley. After officiating about five years 
 more as a travelling preacher in England, when a call having 
 been made by Mr. Wesley, at the Bristol Conference in August, 
 1771, for laborers to volunteer for the American continent, 
 Mr. Asbury at once offered himself for the work, and was ac- 
 cepted. At the close of Conference he hastened home to in- 
 form his parents of his design, and although he had one of 
 the most tender mothers, she interposed no obstacles in his 
 way, but freely gave him up to the cause of God and of uni- 
 versal Methodism. 
 
 Having formed, while a local and travelling preacher, an 
 extensive acquaintance among the good people of Staffordshire, 
 
BISHOP ASBURT. 189 
 
 Warwickshire, and Gloucestershire, had felt it his duty also to 
 visit them before his departure. Many of these friends won- 
 dered at the moral heroism of the young man, who could 
 thus consent to leave his " happy home and happy country, 
 far in distant lands to dwell," hut none opposed him in his 
 undertaking;, no doubt believing that it was a call of Provi- 
 dence. Having thus made a flying visit to different parts of 
 England, he returned to Bristol in the latter part of August, 
 where he found Mr. Richard Wright — who had also been ap- 
 pointed to America — awaiting his arrival, that they might 
 sail together. So very little money had Mr. Asbury laid up 
 during his ministerial labors in England, that when he arrived 
 in Bristol he had not a penny of money in his pocket ; but the 
 Lord soon opened the hearts of his friends, who supplied him 
 with comfortable clothing, and ten pounds in money 
 
 On the 2d day of September, Mr. Asbury and his colleague, 
 Mr. Wright, set sail from a port near Bristol, and after find- 
 ing himself on the wide expansive ocean, the former began 
 strictly to examine his motives in going to America. He in- 
 quires : "Whither am I going ? To the new world. What 
 to do ? To gain honor ? No ; if I know my own heart. To 
 get money ? No, I am going to live to God, and bring others 
 £0 to do. In America, there has been a work of God : some 
 moving first among the Friends, but in time it declined : 
 likewise by the Presbyterians, but among them also it declined. 
 The people God owns in England are the Methodists. The 
 doctrines they preach, and the discipline they enforce are, I 
 believe, the purest of any people now in the world. The 
 Lord has greatly blessed these doctrines and this discipline in 
 the three kingdoms ; they nnjst, therefore, be pleasing to him. 
 If God does not acknowledge me in America, I will soon re- 
 turn to England. I know my views are upright now — may 
 they never be otherwise !" 
 
 After a pleasant voyage of five weeks, the two missionaries 
 
190 LIVES OF EMINENT inNISTERS. 
 
 landed in Philadelphia, and were cordially received by the 
 people, as also by Mr. Pilmor.e, who was then stationed in 
 that city. After spending a few days with them, Mr. Asbury 
 left for the city of New York, where he arrived on the 12th 
 of November, and on the next day preached in John-street 
 church, from the text, " / determined not to Icnoio anything 
 among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." In 
 New York he found Mr. Boardman, the colleague of Mr. Pil- 
 more, and was as kindly received by the former as by the latter. 
 
 Hitherto, the labors of Messrs. Pilmore and Boardman — 
 who, previously to the arrival of Mr. Asbui-y, were the only 
 Methodist missionaries in America — had been confined almost 
 exclusively to the cities of New York and Philadelphia. The 
 number of Methodists in New York at this time, was three 
 hundred ; in Philadelphia, two hundred and fifty ; and a few 
 in Maryland, gathered under the labors of Mr. Robert Straw- 
 bridge, a local preacher, the whole amounting to about six 
 hundred souls. Mr. Asbury resolved, however, not to confine 
 his labors to the city, but to make excursions into the country 
 places, for the purpose of preaching Christ to the inhabitants. 
 Accordingly, he soon after made excursions to West Farms, 
 and Westchester, as also to Rye, New Rochelle, and Staten 
 Island, and in all these places he was hailed as the messenger 
 of God, and had great success among the people, although 
 sometimes called to suffer persecution among the rabble. 
 
 In December, 1772, Mr. Asbury went into Kent County, 
 in Maryland. On one occasion, before preaching, a minister 
 of the English Church came to him, desiring to know who he 
 was, and whether he was licensed. Mr. A. told him his 
 name, and that he was regularly licensed as a Methodist 
 preacher. The minister began to speak great swelling words, 
 and said he had authority over the people, and was charged 
 with the care of their souls. He said also, that Mr. Asbury 
 could not, and should not preach : and if he attempted it, he 
 
BISHOP ASBURY. 191 
 
 should proceed against him according to law. Mr. A. gave 
 him to understand that he had come to Maryland for the ex- 
 press purpose of preaching, and preach he would ; he further 
 asked the reverend gentleman if he had authority to hind the 
 consciences of the people, or if he was a justice of the peace? 
 The clergjfman replied, by accusing him of making a schism. 
 Mr. A. retorted hy saying, that he did not draw people from 
 the church. The minister said that he kept people from their 
 work. Mr. A. inquired if fairs and horse-races did not hinder 
 them from their work ? and informed the gentleman that he 
 had come to help, instead of to hinder him from doing good to 
 the people. '' I did not hire you for an assistant, nor do I 
 want your help," replied the clergyman. Mr. A. rejoined by 
 saying, that if there were no swearers or other sinners, he was 
 sufficient. " But what do you come for ?" asked the minister. 
 "To turn sinners to God," said Mr. A. "But cannot I do 
 that, as well as you ?" Mr. A. replied, by stating that he, 
 Mr. A., had authority from God to preach the gospel. The 
 clergyman laughed him in the face, and said, " You are a fine 
 fellow, indeed I" Mr. Asbury, not to be intimidated by 
 such clerical insolence, began to preach, and call on the peo- 
 ple to repent, and turn from all their transgressions, so that 
 iniquity should not prove their ruin. The poor parson could 
 only give vent to his rage, by cautioning the people against 
 coming to hear Mr. Asbury. But in spite of all such treat- 
 ment, the people came out to hear the word, and many of 
 them received it into good and honest hearts. 
 
 From the above circumstance, the reader can perceive the 
 manner in which Mr. Asbury and his colleagues in the mis- 
 sionary work, were received by those who would monopolize 
 the cure of souls, and who claimed to be, by divine right, in 
 the succession from the apostles ; but all these things moved 
 not Mr. Asbury, who in the midst of opposition kept steadily 
 onward in the pursuance of his great work of saving souls. 
 
192 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 In October, 1772, Mr. Asbury received a letter from Mr. 
 Wesley, appointing him as the General Assistant, or Super- 
 intendeat of all the preachers and Societies in America, and 
 requiring a strict attention to all the rules of the Society, both 
 as it regarded preachers and people. As yet, no annual Con- 
 ference had been held, but the interchange of preachers ap- 
 pears to have been determined upon by mutual consent, at 
 the quarterly meeting conferences, which at that time were 
 but three or four in number. At one of these meetings, held 
 in Maryland, Dec. 23d, 1772, the preachers were regularly 
 assigned their respective fields of labor, by Mr. Asbury, him- 
 self remaining in Baltimore, and occasionally extending his 
 visits to the regions round about, everywhere being received 
 as the messenger of God, and everywhere " making full proof 
 of his ministry." 
 
 In June, 1773, Messrs. Hankin and Shadford arrived in 
 Philadelphia, from England, having been sent over by Mr. 
 Wesley to reinforce the small number of preachers in Ameri- 
 ca. As Mr. Rankin was Mr. Asbury's senior, both in age 
 and ministerial standing, it seemed good to Mr. Wesley to 
 appoint the former in the place of Mr. Asbury, to the ofSce 
 of General Assistant, and giving him power also to call the 
 preachers together in an annual Conference. Accordingly, 
 on the 4th day of July, 1773, the first regular Conference 
 ever held in America, met in the city of Philadelphia. It 
 was composed of ten preachers, and the number in the So- 
 cieties are reported to have been 1160. At this Confer- 
 ence, Mr, Asbury was re-appointed to Baltimore, where he 
 labored eflSoiently, extending as opportunity offered, his 
 travels into other portions of Maryland. During this year, 
 he assisted in the erection of a Methodist church in Balti- 
 naore, since known by the name of Light-street Church. In 
 1774, Mr. Asbury was appointed to New York and Philadel- 
 phia cities, in connection with Mr. Rankin, each of them 
 
BISHOP ASBURT. 193 
 
 being required to change alternately, once in three months. 
 It appears, however, from Mr. Asbury's journal, that he was 
 not confined to those two places during this year, but that he 
 travelled extensively in all the region of country around 
 those cities, preaching the Gospel and raising Societies in dif- 
 ferent parts of the wide field. His labors, in fact, were so 
 extensive, that he seriously injured his health, and was for a 
 length of time confined to his bed. In 1775, he was appointed 
 to Norfolk, Va., where he found about thirty persons only in 
 Society, without any place of worship, except an old shattered 
 playhouse. He, however, persuaded the " feeble few'' to at- 
 tempt the erection of a church, which tLoy finally succeeded 
 in doing. 
 
 It appears by reference to Asbury's journal, that a differ- 
 ence of opinion obtained between him and Mr. Rankin, in 
 relation to the proper administration of discipline. The latter 
 gentleman was not only a strict, but a severe disciplinarian, 
 so much so, that his appointment by Mr. Wesley, as General 
 Superintendent, did not give very great satisfaction to either 
 the preachers or people. Mr. Asbury was also a strict en- 
 forcer of the rules of discipline, but without that severity 
 which characterized the administration of Mr. Rankin. Hence 
 these gentlemen had their particular friends and adherents, 
 and although Mr. Asbury does not appear to have interfered 
 with the proper administration of discipline by Mr. Rankin, 
 the latter could not but perceive that the affections of the 
 preachers and people were placed more fully on Mr. Asbury 
 than on himself The knowledge of this fact led Mr. Rankin 
 to suppose that Mr. A. might have used undue means to sup- 
 plant him in the affections of the people, if not to remove him 
 from his official position as General Assistant. In accordance, 
 therefore, with these surmisings — and they were nothing 
 more, having no other foundation than jealousy to build 
 
 upon Mr. Rankin wrote to Mr. Wesley, and in some raan- 
 
 13 
 
194 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ner not precisely known, misrepresented Mr. Astury's conduct 
 and motives, to the father of Methodism. These misrepre- 
 sentations appear, for the time being, to have had the desired 
 effect on Mr. Wesley's mind ; so much so, as to lead him to 
 desire Mr. Asbury's return to England, and in reference to 
 his expected return, he writes to Mr. H., saying : " I doubt 
 not but brother Asbury and you will part friends. I shall hope 
 to see him at Conference (in England). He is quite an up- 
 right man. I apprehend he will go through his work more 
 cheerfully when he is within a little distance from me." 
 From this, it appears that Mr. A. had been desired to return 
 immediately, as the letter is dated May 19th, 1775, and the 
 English Conference would assemble in about two months 
 thereafter, at which time Mr. Wesley hoped to see him. Mr. 
 Asbury, however, did not return, and we find Mr. Wesley, in 
 a letter dated July 28, 1775, "rejoicing over honest Francis 
 Asbury, and hoping he will no more enter into temptation." 
 
 Shortly after this correspondence, the ever memorable war 
 of the Revolution began, which rendered the situation of some 
 of the leading preachers unpleasant in the extreme. This 
 was particularly the case with Messrs. Rankin and Asbury, 
 the former of whom, soon after the issuing of the Declaration 
 of Independence, July 4, 1776, resolved to return to Eng- 
 land. He, however, deferred his departure until September, 
 1777. Mr. Asbury resolved, however, to remain true to the 
 cause of American Methodism, and " not to depart from the 
 work on any consideration." In thus resolving, Mr. Asbury 
 placed himself in imminent peril, arising from the fact that 
 one of the preachers — an Englishman by the name of Rodda 
 — had so far forgotten his calling as a minister of the Gospel, 
 as to become a warm partisan and friend of royalty, and was 
 even detected in reading the King's proclamation while dis- 
 charging his duties on his circuit. This one circumstance 
 was sufficient to awaken jealousy in regard to the political in- 
 
BISHOP ASBURT. 195 
 
 tegrity of other Methodist preachers, and particularly of those 
 from England : hence they were not even permitted to preach 
 in many places, and Mr. Ashury, who was always exceeding- 
 ly guarded in reference to his expressions of political prefer- 
 ence, was, at the beginning of hostilities, fined five pounds at 
 or near Baltimore, for no other crime than preaching the 
 Gospel. Still, however, he kept on discharging his duty as a 
 minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 At this time, it was enacted by the several State Legisla- 
 tive Assemblies, that the oath of allegiance to the State au- 
 thorities should be taken by all the inhabitants residing within 
 their respective jurisdictions. Mr. Asbury had no objection 
 to the oath of allegiance, but had conscientious scruples about 
 taking the one prescribed by the State of Maryland, in which 
 State he was then residing. In consequence of this refusal, 
 Mr. Asbury was threatened with imprisonment as a "tory," 
 and was obhged to retire into the State of Delaware, where 
 ne found a quiet and pleasant asylum at the residence of 
 Judge White, a man of great influence in that State, and 
 where he remained in a state of partial concealment for near- 
 ly a year, until the height of the political tempest had passed 
 away. But even here, Mr. Asbury did not pass his time in 
 idleness ; for although he could not with propriety address a 
 public congregation on the Sabbath, yet he would visit from 
 house to house, and was probably instrumental in doing as 
 much good as he possibly could have done by more public 
 labors. While in this state of seclusion, the Conference of 
 1779 met at the house of Judge White, and as- Mr. Rankin 
 had left for England, and no successor had been appointed as 
 yet by Mr. Wesley, the Conference, by vote, chose Mr. As- 
 bury as the General Assistant, which station he afterward 
 filled by the appointment of Mr. Wesley himself, in 1782. 
 During the next year (1783), peace was declared between 
 Great Britain and her hitherto rebellious colonies in America ; 
 
196 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 and after a long and severe struggle, the independence of 
 these United States was secured, and acknowledged ; and 
 strange as it may appear to many, the cause of Methodism, 
 instead of having become defunct during the din and confu- 
 sion of war, and by the departure of some of the preachers 
 and the imprisonment of others, the Society had increased 
 during the struggle, from 3,148 members, to 14,986. The 
 number of preachers had also increased, so that in 1783, there 
 were no less than eighty-three appointed by Mr. Asbury, to 
 different fields of labor. 
 
 The year 1784, forms a new era in the history of Ameri- 
 can Methodism. Hitherto the Methodists had been regarded 
 as members of the Church of England, but now it became 
 necessary to acquire an organization of their own, especially 
 as the Church of England had lost its ecclesiastical jurisdic- 
 tion over its churches in America, and these latter had not as 
 yet acquired an independent existence. The consequence 
 was, that there were very few ordained Episcopal clergymen 
 in America, and the majority of those who were ordained, 
 were by no means qualified, either by grace or morality, to 
 administer the ordinances of the Church — even if they had 
 been willing to do so — to the Methodists. Besides, not a sin- 
 gle Methodist preacher in America had been ordained, and 
 thus the fifteen thousand members, and the fifty or sixty 
 thousand adherents of Methodism, with their families, were 
 deprived of the administration of the ordinances of the Church, 
 particularly Christian baptism. True, a few of the preachers 
 in the more southern portions of the United States had, with- 
 out ordination, ventured in view of the seeming necessities of 
 the case, to administer the ordinances of baptism and the 
 Lord's Supper ; hut these administrations, by Mr. Asbury, 
 Mr. Wesley, and the great body of the American preachers, 
 were held to be irregular, and were consequently abandoned. 
 Meanwhile, constant applications were being made for relief, 
 
BISHOP ASBURT. 197 
 
 to Mr. Wesley, as the acknowledged father of Methodism ; 
 and he, after due deliberation and prayer, set apart Dr. Coke 
 as a Bishop, and gave him authority to proceed to America 
 and organize the Societies in that country into an Episcopal 
 Church, and also to ordain Mr. Asbury as Joint Superintend- 
 ent, or Bishop of the same. Accordingly, Dr. Coke, in com- 
 pliance with his instructions, proceeded at once to America, 
 and on the 25th day of December, 1784, organized the Metho- 
 dist Societies into the Methodist Episcopal Church in the 
 United States, and ordained Mr. Asbury first as deacon, then 
 as elder or presbyter, and finally as a superintendent, or 
 bishop. 
 
 Does the bigot, or the stickler for the exploded dogma of 
 apostolic succession, inquire if Mr. Wesley had authority to 
 confer Episcopal consecration on Dr. Coke ? We answer, he 
 had ; first, because he was as truly a scriptural bishop as any 
 man in England ; and secondly, because he was viore than a 
 bishop — he was in a high sense an apostle, and gave greater 
 evidence of his call to the apostleship, than the Bishop of 
 London ever gave of his call to the Episcopacy. Wherein, 
 we ask, did John Wesley fail to show the true signs of an 
 apostle ? Was an apostle sent and commissioned by Jesus 
 Christ to teach all nations, baptizing them, &c. ? And did not 
 Mr. Wesley receive such a commission? Did an apostle 
 give evidence of the divinity of his call by the success attend- 
 ing his labors ? And did not Wesley the same ? Let the 
 seventy thousand Methodists in Great Britain, besides the 
 thousands in America, and in other portions of the earth, at 
 the time of his decease, answer this question. If success is to 
 be considered as an element in the evidence of a divine call 
 to the apostleship, surely Mr. Wesley, more than any one 
 man since the apostles' time, has furnished such proof of an 
 extraordinary call ; and had he never been ordained by the 
 English Episcopacy, yet had the same success attended his 
 
198 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 labors, we should not have hesitated to acknowledge his au- 
 thority as a divinely commissioned legate of the skies. But 
 aside from these considerations, Mr. Wesley was in duty 
 bound to provide the word of life and the ordinances of the 
 Gospel for these poor sheep in the wilderness, for whose souls 
 none of the ecclesiastical dignitaries of the Church of England 
 seemed to care. 
 
 It was under these circumstances, that Mr. Asbury was set 
 apart to the episcopacy, — an event which more than any other 
 conspired to the permanent establishment and success of 
 Methodism in America. Before we proceed in our narrative 
 of events as'connected with the biography of Bishop Asbury, 
 it may be proper to observe that, although Mr. Wesley or- 
 dained Dr. Coke to the episcopacy, and ordered the ordina- 
 tion of Mr. Asbury to the same office, yet he did not design 
 the application of the term bishop, to these newly created 
 episcopoi. The term preferred, and employed by Mr. Wes- 
 ley, was the simple one of supei'iniendent. This term was 
 selected in preference to the other, because of the enormous 
 abuses which had existed in the Church, in connection with 
 the title bishop. Besides, the name itself was associated in 
 Mr. Wesley's mind with all the grandeur and pomposity of 
 modern prelates, and for this latter reason he strongly ob- 
 jected to its use among his preachers, as applied to any one 
 of their brethren ; and for the same reason he disapproved of 
 the employment of the term priest or presbyter, as applied to 
 an ordained elder in the Methodist Church ; as also of the 
 use of the term college, when applied to a literary institution 
 of the highest grade, preferring as he did, the more modest 
 and unassuming appellation oi school. 
 
 We deem it necessary to make these remarks preparatory 
 to the introduction of a letter, written by Mr. Wesley, to Bishop 
 Asbury, in the year 1788, after the title. bishop began to be 
 Tenerally employed by the preachers, in their addresses to the 
 
BISHOP ASBURT. 199 
 
 bishops. The letter referred to, was dated London, Sept. 20, 
 1788, and contains the following words, which we give as an 
 extract : — " But in one point, my dear brother, I am a little 
 afraid both you and the doctor difler from me. I study to be 
 little ; you study to be great : I creejj ; you strut along. I 
 found a school; you a college.' Nay, and call it after your 
 own names. 0, beware I Do not seek to be something. 
 Let me be nothing, and Christ be all in all. 
 
 ' ' One instance of this, your greai7iess, has given me graat 
 concern. How can you, how dare you suiTer yourself to be 
 called a bishop ? I shudder and start at the very thought ! 
 Men may call me a knave or a fool, a rascal, a scoundrel, and 
 I am content ; but they shall never, by my consent, call 
 me a bishop. For my sake, for God's sake, for Christ's sake, 
 put a full end to this." 
 
 We have thus given, in Mr. Wesley's own words, his ob- 
 jection to the use of the title bishop, by Mr. Asbury, or Dr. 
 Coke ; and these words alFord sufficient evidence that Mr. 
 Wesley, while he disapproved of the name bishop, was not 
 opposed to the office itself. Whatever fears may have dis- 
 posed Mr. Wesley to oppose the assumption of the title, yet 
 the history of the Church since that period, and especially the 
 histor)' of the worthy men who have since then filled the 
 episcopal chair, prove the falsity of these fears, and the pro- 
 priety of adopting the title. 
 
 After his consecration to the episcopacy. Bishop Asbury be- 
 gan a series of labors and travels which have rendered his 
 name immortal, and which have fully entitled him to the ap- 
 pellation of Apostle of Americaii Methodism. He first direct- 
 ed his attention to the founding of a Methodist College. Be- 
 ing joined, in this important enterprise, by Dr. Coke, they 
 soon succeeded in collecting a sufficient amount by subscrip- 
 tions and donations, to warrant the erection of a noble brick 
 edifice, one hundred and eight feet long by forty wide, in the 
 
200 LIVES OF BMINEKT MINISTERS. 
 
 town of Abingdon, Va., about twenty-five miles from Balti- 
 more. In December, 1787, the college was solemnly dedica 
 ted by Bishop Asbury, to the service of God, and of religious 
 knowledge. In ten years afterward, the college was destroy- 
 ed by fire. A second college was secured in the city of Bal- 
 timore, but like the former, it soon perished in the flames. 
 Mr. Asbury, although the friend of sound education, appears 
 to have become discouraged about making any further at- 
 tempts to secure the erection of collegiate edifices. 
 
 In 1788, Bishop Asbury crossed the Alleghany Mountains, 
 and as an illustration of the mode in which this modern bishop 
 " strutted" through the world, we will give his own account 
 of his journey : '■ We had to cross the Alleghany Mountains 
 again, at a bad passage. Our course lay over mountains, and 
 through valleys, and the mud and mire was such as might 
 scarcely be expected in December. We came to an old for- 
 saken habitation in Tygers Valley : here our horses grazed 
 while we boiled our meat : midnight brought us up at Jones', 
 after riding forty, or perhaps fifty miles. The old man, our 
 host, was kind enough to wake us up at four o'clock in the 
 morning. We journeyed on, through devious, lonely wilds, 
 where no food might be found except what grew in the 
 woods, or was carried with us. We met with two women, 
 who were going to see their friends, and to attend the quar- 
 terly meeting at Clarksburgh. Near midnight we stopped 
 
 at A 's, who hissed his dogs at us : but the women were 
 
 determined to go to quarterly meeting, so we went in. Our 
 supper was wasted. Brothers Phoebus and Cook took to the 
 
 woods ; old gave up his bed to the women. I lay along 
 
 the floor on a few deer-skins, with the fleas. That night our 
 poor horses got no corn ; and the next morning they had to 
 swim across the Monongahela ; after a twenty miles' ride, we 
 came to Clarksburgh, and man and beast were so outiione, 
 that it took us ten hours to accomplish it. * * * My 
 
BISHOP ASBURT. 201 
 
 mind has been severely tried under the great fatigue endured 
 both by myself and horse. 0, how glad I should be of a 
 plain, clean plank to lie on, as preferable to most of the beds ; 
 and where the beds are in a bad state, the floors are worse." 
 
 In 1789, George Washington was elected the first President 
 of the United States of America, and while Congress was in 
 session, in the city of New York, a congratulatory address 
 was prepared by order of the New York Conference, for pres- 
 entation to President Washington. The duty of its presenta- 
 tion, and the reception of the President's reply, devolved on 
 Bishop Asbury, who was very politely received by the Presi- 
 dent, and to whom a complimentary reply was given. The 
 estimation in which the Father and savior of his country was 
 held by Bishop Asbury, may be inferred from the following 
 language, which he used on hearing of Washington's death, 
 in 1799 : " I am disposed to lose sight of all but Washington. 
 Matchless man I At all times he acknowledged the provi- 
 dence of God ; and never was he ashamed of his Redeemer. 
 We believe he died not fearing death," &c. 
 
 In 1791, Bishop Asbury visited New England, for the first 
 time, and opened his mis-^iion in the city of New Haven, Conn. 
 His appointment to preach was published in the city papers, 
 and although many of the literati came to hear him, yet no 
 one invited him to their homes ; and although he attended 
 the chapel of Yale College, in time of prayers, no one invited 
 him to visit the interior of the college, although some of the 
 faculty were present who had heard him preach. This cold 
 treatment induced him to say that if the opportunity ever 
 should occur, he would " requite their behavior, by treating 
 them as friends, brethren, and gentlemen." " The difficulty," 
 he adds, " I met with in New Haven, for lodging, and for a 
 place to hold meeting, made me feel and know the worth of 
 Methodists more than ever.'' Bishop Asbury subsequently 
 visited Boston, where his reception was as cold as at New 
 
202 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Haven, and he remarks, in reference to it, " I have done vi^ith 
 Boston until -we can obtain a lodging, a house to preach in, 
 and some to join us." Such was the cold-hearted Christian- 
 ity of New England Calvinism, in those days of tithes and 
 state support. Were Bishop Asbury now alive, and were he 
 to visit either New Haven or Boston, he would find that a 
 mighty change had taken place since his first visit to New 
 England, not only in the localities named, but in all the towns 
 and villages through which he passed. He would find that 
 the seed then sown by him and his fellow-laborers in the vine- 
 yard of Christ, had indeed taken deep root, and germinated, 
 and fructified, so that not only "thirty" or " sixty," but even 
 " an hundred fold" has been brought forth in that cold and 
 sterile soil. The following remarkable passage occurs in his 
 Journal after having made the ahove visit. In reference to 
 the " standing order," as they were then called, he says : " I 
 am inclined to think the eastern church will find this saying 
 hold true in regard to the Methodists, ' I will provoke you to 
 jealousy hy a people that loere no people : and by a foolish 
 nation I %vill anger you.' They have trodden upon the 
 Q,uakers, the Episcopalians, the Baptists, — see now, if the 
 Methodists do not work their way." This almost prophetic 
 language has heen literally fulfilled ; the Methodists have 
 " worked their way" in spite of all opposition. 
 
 It would be pleasing no doubt to the reader, to follow Bish- 
 op Asbury in his various journeys o\'er the American conti- 
 nent, but our limits will only allow us to state in reference to 
 this point, that he was constantly active, always on the move 
 from place to place ; like the apocalyptic angel he flew 
 " through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel 
 to preach," to the inhabitants of earth. As a further illustra- 
 tion of his peculiar trials and privations, however, we may be 
 allowed to give a few incidents. While travelling in the 
 south, he relates as follows : " Having rode in pain twenty- 
 
BISHOP ASBDKT. 203 
 
 four miles, we came to O.'s tavern, and were glad to take what 
 came to hand. Four miles forward we came to Home's Ford, 
 upon Catawba River, where we could neither get a canoe, nor 
 guide. We entered the water in an improper place, and were 
 soon among the rocks and the whirlpools. My head swam, 
 and my horse was aflrighted. Tlie water was up to my knees, 
 and it was with difficulty we retreated to the same shore. 
 We then called to a man on the other side, who came and 
 piloted us across, for which I paid him well. My horse being 
 afraid to take the water a second time, brother Gibson cross- 
 ed, and sent me his, and our guide took mine across. We 
 went on, but our troubles were not at an end ; night came 
 on, and it was very dark. It rained heavily, with powerful 
 lightning and thunder. We could not find the pa'.h that 
 turned out to Connell's. In this situation we continued till 
 midnight or past. At last we found a path which we followed 
 until we came to dear old father Harper's plantation ; we 
 made for the house and called ; he answered, but wondered 
 who it could be ; he inquired whence we came ; I told him 
 we would tell him when we came in ; for it was raining so 
 powerfully that we had not much time to talk. When I 
 came dripping into the house, he cried, ' God bless your soul, 
 is it brother Asbiinj ? Wife, get vp.' " 
 
 As a further illustration of the extent of his travels on 
 horseback, he remarks on one occasion: "From the best 
 judgment I can form, the distance I have travelled is as fol- 
 lows : — from Baltimore to Charleston, S.O., one thousand 
 miles ; thence up the State of South Carolina, two hundred 
 miles ; from the centre to the west of Georgia, two hundred 
 miles ; through North Carolina, one hundred miles ; through 
 the State of Tennessee, one hundred miles ; through the west 
 of Virginia, three hundred miles ; through Pennsylvania, and 
 the west of Maryland, and down to Baltimore, four hundred 
 miles," Thus making in a single tour on horseback, through 
 
204 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 rivers and swamps, over hills and mountains, preaching al- 
 most every day, lodging in log-cabins, or on the cold ground 
 a journey of two thousand three hundred miles, in a few 
 months' time ! On another occasion he writes, that he trav- 
 elled " six hundred miles with an inflammatory fever and a 
 fixed pain in" his " breast." These facts are sufficient to 
 show the self-sacrificing spirit of the apostolic Asbury, while 
 they should put to blush the assertions of those who have ac- 
 cused him of being a man greedy of honor. 
 
 In consequence of Bishop Asbury's severe labors, his health 
 became so seriously affected that at the General Conference 
 of 1800, he meditated a resignation of the office of bishop, 
 and with this design, actually wrote a letter to that effect to 
 be laid before the Conference. The Conference, however, 
 after the matter was presented, passed resolutions approbatory 
 of his course as a bishop, and earnestly entreating him to con- 
 tinue his services to the Church in that capacity, as far as 
 his strength would permit. The entreaty of the Conference 
 thus made, had the effect of inducing him to relinquish his 
 design of resigning his office for the present, and as Dr. Coke 
 was under the necessity of spending the greater portion of his 
 time in Europe, and consequently could render but partial 
 assistance in the episcopal work, the Conference elected the 
 Rev. Richard Whatcoat as the colleague of Bishop Asbury. 
 Mr. Whatcoat had been selected for this office by Mr. Wes- 
 ley himself, at the same time that Dr. Coke and Mr. Asbury 
 were appointed, but as the state of the work did not demand 
 three bishops, his election to the office was deferred until the 
 time above referred to. 
 
 After the adjournment of the General Conference of 1800, 
 Mr. Asbury continued, through much bodily affliction, to travel 
 far and near, presiding in the Conference, and visiting all 
 portions of the work, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom to 
 the poor on the frontiers of the country, as well as to the rich 
 
BISHOP ASBtTRT. 205 
 
 in the populous cities of the land. In referring to these la- 
 bors he remarks in his journal : " Why should a living man 
 complain ? But to he three months together on the frontiers 
 when generally you have but one room and fire-place, and 
 half a dozen of folks about you, strangers perhaps, and their 
 families, certainly (and they are not usually small in these 
 plentiful new countries) making a crowd, — and this is not all 
 — for here you may meditate if you can ; and here you must 
 preach, read, write, pray, sing, talk, eat, drink, and sleep, or 
 fly into the woods. Well ! I have pains in my body — which 
 are very afflictive when I ride, but I cheer myself with songs 
 in the night." During the year 1802, he rode about four 
 thousand miles, mostly on horseback, through snow and rain, 
 but God was always present to cheer and comfort him. 
 
 At the General Conference of 1804, Bishops Coke, Ashury, 
 and Whatcoat were all present, and presided alternately over 
 the deliberations of the Conference. Two years subsequently, 
 Bishop Whatcoat died at the residence of Governor Bassett, 
 in the State of Delaware, in the seventy-first year of his age. 
 The decease of Bishop Whatcoat left Bishop Ashury virtually 
 alone in the episcopal work, Dr. Coke's presence in Europe 
 being still requested by the English Conference ; so that dur- 
 ing the year 1807, Bishop Ashury was under the necessity 
 of presiding in the seven Conferences of the Church, and of 
 travelling six thousand miles in ten months, in order to do it. 
 During these travels, he was frequently under the necessity 
 of lodging, and eating in taverns, but it is worthy of record, 
 that whatever might be the character of the house where he 
 stopped, if only to eat a meal, or feed his weary beast, he 
 made it a point always to ask the privilege of praying with 
 the family before he left them ; which permission was seldom 
 if ever refused. 
 
 At the General Conference of 1808, Bishop Ashury was the 
 only bishop present. The Conference, however, elected the 
 
206 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Rev. Wm. M'Kendree as an episcopal colleague to fill the 
 place vacated by the death of Bishop Whatcoat. Bishop 
 M'Kendree being comparatively young and robust, rendered 
 valuable assistance to his aged colleague, which the latter 
 appreciated, and in proper terms acknowledged from time to 
 time. The two bishops generally rode during the first year 
 of M'Kendree's episcopate together, that the senior might 
 introduce the junior member of the episcopacy, to the respec- 
 tive Conferences, as also to the people in every part of their 
 extended diocese. In reference to their travels together, Mr. 
 Asbury remarks on one occasion, " My flesh sinks under la- 
 bor. We are riding in a poor thirty-dollar chaise in partner- 
 ship, two bishops of us, but it must be confessed it tallies well 
 with the weight of our purses. What bishops ! Well — but 
 we have great news, and we have great times, and each 
 Western, Southern, and Virginia Conference will have one 
 thousand souls truly converted to God. Is not this an equiv- 
 alent for a light purse ? And are we not well paid for starv- 
 ing and toil ? Yes, glory to God !" That the purses of these 
 bishops were " light," may be inferred from the fact, that their 
 salary was eighty dollars a year, and their travelling expenses 
 eleven, or a trifle over twenty cents a day ! Whatever might 
 have been their motives for enduring the hardships incident 
 to the discharge of their episcopal functions, no one we think 
 can justly accuse them of being prompted by a desire to grow 
 rich. 
 
 In the year 1811, Bishop Asbury visited Upper Canada, 
 which at that period, and until 1828, was embraced within 
 the jurisdiction of the American General Conference, and was 
 consequently under the supervision of the Bishops of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. Passing through the Indian village 
 of St. Regis, he crossed the St. Lawrence to ConiwaJl, and 
 for the first time in forty years, stood again under the flag 
 of his native country. In reference to his feelings on this in- 
 
BISHOP ASBURT. 207 
 
 teresting occasion, he remarks : "My strong affection for the 
 people of the "United Slates, came with strange power upon 
 me, when I was crossing the line. Why should I have such 
 new feelings in Canada?" These "feelings," were no doubt 
 occasioned by the operations of his memory, bringing vividly 
 before the mind, the days of his youth, his country, his parents, 
 his early associates, his troubles during the war of the Revolu- 
 tion, and especially the mighty changes which had been 
 wrought since his emigration to America, not only in the civil 
 condition of his adopted country, but in the condition of that 
 branch of the Church of Christ, of which he was the acknowl- 
 edged head, and of which, in an important sense, he had been 
 the apostle. The good bishop passed along up the northern 
 shore of the St. Lawrence, stopping frequently and preaching 
 to the people on his way. After visiting Kingston, and other 
 important places in Canada, he recrossed to Sackett's Harbor 
 in an open boat, having a "tremendous passage," as he in- 
 forms us in his journal. After landing in the United States, 
 he proceeded to meet the Genesee Annual Conference, in 
 Paris, Oneida County, New York, from which place in com- 
 pany with Bishop M'Kendree, he proceeded on a tour through 
 New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and oth- 
 er southern states of the Union, travelling some sixteen hun- 
 dred miles, over rough roads, and through other hindrances 
 in about two months. 
 
 In 1812, the first Delegated General Conference, assembled 
 in the city of New York, Bishops Asbury and M'Kendree 
 being present. Soon after the adjournment of the Conference, 
 war was declared against Great Britain by the United States, 
 and although this war was exceedingly detrimental to the 
 interests of pure religion, it did not prevent Bishop Asbury 
 from pursuing his customary labor for the benefit of souls. It 
 is true, when he heard of war being declared, his soul was 
 cast down within him, while he reflected on the miseries that 
 
208 
 
 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 must necessarily ensue ; he, however, felt it his duty as an 
 American citizen and bishop, to pray earnestly for the success 
 of the arms of his adopted country, — declaring publicly on the 
 floor of an Annual Conference, that he who at such a time 
 refused to pray for his country, deserved not the name of a 
 Christian, or Christian minister. This last remark was made 
 with reference to the fact, that there was a faction in the 
 Eastern States, who not only opposed the war, but even re- 
 fused to pray for their rulers on that account. Bishop As- 
 bury, during the year 1812, presided over nine Conferences, 
 was present at ten camp-meetings, and travelled six thousand 
 miles ; but although his labors were severe, so much so, as 
 almost entirely to prostrate his physical system, and render it 
 necessary for his friends to lift him into his carriage, he ex- 
 claims, " 0, let us not complain, when we think of the suffer- 
 ing wounded, and dying of the hostile armies ! If we suffer, 
 what shall comfort us ? Let us see, — Ohio will give us six 
 thousand for her increase of members in one new district." 
 So that amid the ravages of war, the bishop's heart was con- 
 soled with the reflection that God was reviving his work. 
 
 In 1814, Bishop Asbury was seized with a severe attack of 
 inflammatory fever, in New Jersey, so that his life for some time 
 was despaired of by his friends and physicians. He, however, 
 suddenly recovered .strength sufficient to goout. In reference to 
 his partial recovery of strength, he says : " I would not be 
 loved to death, and so came down from my sick room, and 
 took to the road, weak enough. Attentions constant, and 
 kindness unceasing, have pursued me to this place. I look 
 baclv iipon a martyr's life of toil and privation, and pain ; and 
 I am ready for a martyr's death. The purity of my inten- 
 tions — my diligence in the labors to which God has been 
 pleased to call me — the unknown sufferings I have endured 
 — What are all these ? The merit, atonement, and righteous- 
 ness of Christ alone, make my plea." 
 
BISHOP ASBURT. 209 
 
 The friends in Philadelphia, in consequence of the bishop's 
 infirmity, made him a present of a light four-wheeled car- 
 riage, and in four days after, we find this extraordinary man 
 in Pittsburgh, across the Alleghany Mountains, having urged 
 his way through swamps, rough roads, mountainous passes, 
 &o., in order to get there. From this time until 1816, Bish- 
 op Asbury continued to discharge his episcopal duties as much 
 as his wasted strength would allow, flying from place to 
 place, with almost rail-road speed, until at length the wheels 
 of life began to move more slowly, and the veteran bishop 
 was admonished that his work on earth was nearly finished. 
 
 On the 24th of March, 1816, he reached the city of Rich- 
 mond, Virginia, at which place he preached his last sermon, 
 from these words : " For he will finish his work, and cut it 
 short in righteousness : because a short work will the Lord 
 make upon the earth." This sermon was preached by the 
 venerable and apostolic man while seated upon a table in the 
 pulpit, having been carried from his carriage to the sacred 
 desk. After sermon, he was assisted to his carriage, and 
 pursued his way to Spottsylvania, Va., where he put up at 
 the house of his old and valued friend, Mr. George Arnold, 
 where he finally died on the 31st day of March, 1816, in the 
 71st year of his age, and the 55th of his ministry. He died 
 in great peace, and raised both his hands in token that Jesus 
 Christ was precious to him in the hour and moment of dis- 
 solving nature. 
 
 His remains were interred in the family burying ground of 
 Mr. Arnold, but by order of the next General Conference, 
 which assembled in Baltimore on the first day of May follow- 
 ing, they were disinterred, and removed to Baltimore, where 
 they were finally deposited under the recess of the pulpit of 
 the Eutaw-street Church, in a vault prepared for the purpose. 
 
 Thus died Francis Asbury, and thus was a weeping Church 
 left to mourn the departure from earth of their father and be- 
 14 
 
210 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 loved senior Bishop. It is scarcely necessary, after what has 
 been said, to attempt a description of Bishop Ashury's char- 
 acter. Let it suffice to say, that he was emphatically a 
 Christian — a man of deep religious experience ; that he was 
 also a divinely appointed Christian minister, giving the 
 most indubitahle evidence of this fact, by the success attend- 
 ing his labors. He was also an example of benevolence and 
 true Christian charity. His entire effects, after his decease, 
 were found to be worth only about two thousand dollars, 
 which he left to the Book Concern, for the benefit of the worn- 
 out preachers, widows, and orphans. He was temperate in 
 all things, and remarkably plain and modest in his apparel. 
 His arduous labors have been referred to ; during the forty-five 
 years of his ministry in America, it has been estimated that he 
 preached no less than sixteen thousand five hundi-ed sermons, 
 besides his lectures, exhortations, &"c. &c. He also must have 
 travelled not less than two hundred and seventy thousand 
 miles, or about eleven times the circumference of the earth I He 
 probably also presided in not less than two hundred and 
 twenty amiual Conferences, and ordained not less than four 
 thousand persons to the office of the ministry, besides tens of 
 thousands who were admitted by him to the Church, by the 
 rite of baptism. 
 
 Bishop Asbury was a good preacher ; but perhaps his 
 greatness never appeared to better advantage than when pre- 
 siding in the annual or general Conferences of the Church ; 
 and yet with all his excellencies, it is not to be taken for 
 granted that Bishop Asbury had no defects. He probably had 
 many, but they were defects arising solely from the weakness 
 of human judgment, and not from any moral deficiency, or 
 badness of heart. He was never married, assigning as a 
 reason, that before his elevation to the episcopacy his time 
 was so much occupied in regard to the duties of his sacred 
 calling as to aflbrd no opportunity to attend to matrimonial 
 
BISHOP ASBURY. 211 
 
 affairs ; and after being elected Superintendent, he thought 
 it would be nothing less than wicked to eater into a matri- 
 monial alliance with any lady, from whom he must be sepa- 
 rated eleven months in every year. Hence he chose to remain 
 single, and like Paul the apostle, give all his time and talents 
 to the Church of God, which indeed were freely given and 
 abundantly blessed to the good of God's Israel. Bishop As- 
 bury " rests from his labors, and his ivories do follow him." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 BISHOP WHATCOAT. 
 
 Comparatively little is known of this holy man, as no ex- 
 tended account of his life and labors has ever been written ; a 
 circumstance that is deeply to he regretted, the more especial- 
 ly as the subject of this chapter was so intimately connected 
 with the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
 the United States. It is, however, less surprising that the 
 life of Bishop Whatcoat has not been given to the Methodist 
 public, when we consider that the same is true of his venera- 
 ble colleague. Bishop Asbury, who, were it not for the public 
 documents of an ecclesiastical nature, in relation to which he 
 bore so conspicuous a position, and which have been happily 
 preserved from oblivion and destruction ; and more especially 
 for his journal, which has been providentially preserved, but 
 little would have been known of that great man. The fault, 
 however — if fault there is — of not having a written history 
 of these early fathers of Methodism, does not rest on the 
 shoulders of their sons in the gospel, some of whom have done 
 what they could to rescue their names and memory from ob- 
 livion. To no person more than to Dr. Nathan Bangs, is the 
 Church indebted for an attempt of this character, and it is 
 justly due to this voluminous writer and ecclesiastical histo- 
 rian to say, that had it not been for his unwearied efforts to 
 bring to light facts which otherwise would have been entirely 
 forgotten among the transactions of the past, the little that 
 
BISHOP WHATCOAT. 213 
 
 we now know in reference to some of the burning and shin- 
 ing lio:hts of Methodism, would be entirely unknown to the 
 present or succeeding generations. In the preparation of this 
 short chapter, therefore, we are obliged to acknowledge our 
 indebtedness to the "History of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church,'' for the principal facts found therein. 
 
 Richard Whatcoat was born in England, in the year 1736, 
 and being brought up in the " nurture and admonition of the 
 Lord," was saved from those habits of vice and sin, into which 
 many of the youth plunge thoughtlessly and heedlessly. At 
 the age of twenty-two years, he was converted to God, and 
 received the witness of his adoption into the family of God ; 
 and as the result of such conversion, he began immediately to 
 bring forth the " fruits of the Spirit,'' and to live, not only " a 
 sober and righteous," but a " godly life." He appears to have 
 connected himself with the Methodists soon after his conver- 
 sion, and labored for some time as one of Mr. Wesley's local 
 preachers. In 1769, he joined the travelling connection in 
 England, and labored for a period of fifteen years, as a faith- 
 ful minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, under the direction of 
 Mr. Wesley. During this period, he made full proof of his 
 ministry, and by his zeal and fidelity rendered himself useful 
 and acceptable as a preacher, wherever he was known. 
 
 In the year 1784, the Macedonian cry was heard from the 
 western shore of the Atlantic, saying, " Come over and help 
 us." This cry was made by the thousands of Methodists in 
 America, who were like sheep without a shepherd, having, 
 indeed, to some extent, the preaching of the Gospel among 
 them, but from various causes alluded to in a preceding chap- 
 ter, were deprived of the ordinances of baptism, and the Lord's 
 Supper. The request was made to Mr. Wesley, that he 
 would adopt some measures for the relief of his American 
 children. After proper consultation, Mr. Wesley resolved on 
 sending a partial supply of ministers, and Mr. Whatcoat, who, 
 
214 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 although he was past the meridian of life, had all the zeal 
 and missionary fire of youth, at once volunteered his services 
 for that distant field of labor ; and dear to him as was his 
 own native land, and thrice dear as were the thousands of 
 friends he must leave behind him, he nobly resolved to forsake 
 all for the sake of preaching the gospel to the poor. 
 
 As before stated, Mr. Whatcoat, previous to his emharka- 
 tion for America, was solemnly set apart by presbyterial ordi- 
 nation, performed by Messrs. Wesley, Coke, and Creighton, 
 presbyters of the Church of England, to the office of an elder 
 in the Church of God, and in the month of September, 1784, 
 left the shores of England, and landed in the City of New 
 York, in company with Dr. Coke, on the 3d of November, in 
 the same year. After landing in New York, Mr. Whatcoat, 
 accompanied by the doctor, pri;ceeded to Philadelphia, and 
 from thence to the State of Delaware, and on the 15th of the 
 same month, they met Mr. Ashury, at Barratt's Chapel, in 
 that State, where Dr. Coke apprized the latter of the provision 
 made by Mr. Wesley, for the organization of an independent 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. In reference to this meeting, 
 Mr. Asbury says, in his Journal, "Sunday, 15. I came to 
 Barratt's Chapel. Here, to my great joy, I met those dear 
 men of God, Dr. Coke and Richard Whatcoat. We were 
 greatly comforted together. The doctor preached on Christ 
 our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. 
 Having had no opportunity of conversing with them before 
 public worship, I was greatly surprised to see Brother What- 
 coat assist, by taking the cup, in the administration of the 
 Sacrament. I was shocked when first informed of the inten- 
 tion of these, my brethren, in coming to this country ; it may 
 be of God. My answer then was, " If the preachers unani- 
 mously choose me, I shall not act in the capacity I have 
 hitherto done, by Mr. Wesley's appointment. The design of 
 organizing the Methodists into an independent Episcopal 
 
BISHOP WHATCOAT. 215 
 
 Church, was opened to the preachers present, and it was 
 agreed to call a General Conference, to meet at Baltimore the 
 ensuing Christmas ; as also that Brother Garrettson go off to 
 Virginia to give notice thereof to the hrethren in the South." 
 The surprise manifested by Mr. Asbury, at seeing Mr. What- 
 coat assist in administering the Lord's Supper, by " taking the 
 cup'' and passing it, arose from the fact that he (Mr. Asbury) 
 had not as yet been informed that Mr. Wesley had ordained 
 any of his preachers, and knowing that Mr. Whatcoat had 
 always been considered simply as a pixachcr, without ordina- 
 tion, he wondered greatly why he should assist in a work 
 which belonged to ordained ministers alone ; but when in- 
 formed of what Mr. Wesley had done, and of what he intend- 
 ed to be done for his Societies in America, Mr. Asbury's "sur- 
 prise'' no doubt quickly fled, and he heartily acquiesced in 
 what appeared to be the indications of divine providence in 
 relation to his church in America. The extraordinary Con- 
 ference, called as above, met in Baltimore, at the time ap- 
 pointed. There were at this period, eighty-three preachers in 
 the travelling connection in America, and out of this number 
 sixty were present, which, considering the brief notice given 
 of the Galling of the same, shows the unanimity with which 
 Mr. Wesley's proposition was received, and the relief sent ac- 
 cepted. 
 
 At this Conference, Mr. Whatcoat was present, and al- 
 though we know but little of his acts during the session of 
 the same, he no doubt cheerfully acquiesced in the proceedings 
 of his American brethren, with the utmost cordiality and 
 pleasure, and after the session had closed, he went to the field 
 of labor assigned him by his superiors in office, and continued 
 to labor for many years, as a faithful servant of the Church, 
 and as a devoted ininister of Christ. During the most of the 
 time intervening between the organization of the church and 
 that of his being elected bishop, Mr. Whatcoat labored as a 
 
216 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 presiding elder, or assistant to the bishops of the church ; ar 
 as in these days, the field of a presiding elder's labors wi 
 very extensive, embracing entire States, we may well imagir 
 that Mr. Whatcoat's office was no sinecure, v.'halever tl 
 honor might be, and that the salary, sixty-four dolhirs per ai 
 num, was not sufficiently great to be tempting. To thoi 
 who live at the present day, it may be a matter of wondi 
 how such men as Asbury, Whatcoat, and M'Keadree could 1 
 satisfied with the paltry sura of sixty-four dollars, as an annui 
 salary ; and the only reason we can assign for the fact i 
 that the Societies being weak, and the members few, and poo 
 it was thought by the preachers themselves, to be as much i 
 could be raised for their support ; another reason might I 
 found in the fact that expenses were not as great in the; 
 days as at the present. Then preachers and people wei 
 contented to be clothed in the coarsest garb ; while at th 
 present day, the peo])le not only array themselve.s in olothin 
 of better materials, but expect the preachers to do so likewis( 
 In fact, were a minister of the present day to clothe himself; 
 our forefathers did, he would be considered quite eccentrii 
 and his usefulness would no doubt be greatly impaired. 
 
 Besides, the necessary expenses and outlays in the earl 
 days of Methodism, were not equal by one half what the 
 now are, for example : in the article of books alone ; then, i 
 a Methodist preacher had a Bible, hymn-book, and disciplin( 
 with a copy of Wesley's sermons, and a few other books, h 
 was fully equipped for the moral warfare ; but at the presen 
 a minister of the Methodist Church who would confine birr 
 self to these, would be considered as a perfect ignoramus. ] 
 is expected and required of him, that he keep pace with th 
 improvements of the age in which he lives, and not only mus 
 he avail himself of the knowledge afforded by reading an 
 studying the Word of God, and the discipline of the Churcl: 
 but he must as a matter of necessity, keep pace with hi 
 
BISHOP 'WHATCOAT. 2l7 
 
 hearers in regard to literature and science of every desci-iption. 
 But to do so, lie must have books and periodicals, and these 
 cannot be obtained without money.* Another consideration 
 is, that the most of the early preachers, including the bishops, 
 were unmarried. Such was the demand for their continual 
 services at different points of the work, that they were con- 
 stantly on the move, and as in the case of Bishop Asbury, 
 they did not think it morally right to win the affections of 
 any lady, knowing that they could enjoy her society but a few 
 weeks in the course of the year. Besides, they felt that they 
 could more exclusively devote themselves (o the work of the 
 ministry, if they remained free from the burdens and cares of 
 a family : hence, their expenses were ruraparatively small, 
 and as they had no board bill to pay, tlu-y could as well af- 
 ford to live on sixty-four dollars a year, as their successors can 
 on five times that amount. Still it is evident, that no men pos- 
 sessed of as much enterprise and knowledge as they, would have 
 for the sake of the paltry sum alluded to, forsaken home and 
 kindred, and consented to become strangers and pilgrims in the 
 most emphatic sense. Neither could they have been desirous 
 of securing the applause of men ; for a very short experience 
 must have taught the most of them that worldly honor and 
 esteem was not to be found by serving in the ranks of the 
 Methodist itinerancy of those days. Still they were actuated 
 by motives, and these motives were begotten in the heart by 
 the spirit of grace ; they were impelled to act, and this im- 
 pulsion was the effect of God's love shed abroad in their 
 hearts : they had an anibition, but it was the ambition of 
 doiiio- good — a desire to save men from the wrath to come; 
 
 * During the first year of the author's itinerancy, in 1836, his en- 
 tire ri'cripts for the year were si.xty-seven dollars; and out of this, he 
 had to clothe himself provide travelling equipage, and pay more than 
 twenty dollars for text books, whereby he might gain the necessary 
 amount of knowledge required by his Conference during that year. 
 
218 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 and to secure the salvation of their fellow-men, they " c( d 
 not their lives dear, so that they might finish their course 
 ■with joy, and the ministry which they had received of the 
 Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." But 
 let us return to the suhject of the chapter. 
 
 At the General Conference of 1800, it became necessary to 
 release Dr. Coke partially from his engagements to the Ameri- 
 can Church, at the urgent solicitation of the British Confer- 
 ence, who earnestly desired his services as the superintendent 
 of various missions, and as the President of the Irish Confer- 
 ence. In consenting to the partial release of the Doctor, it 
 became necessary in view of Bishop Asbury's infirm health, 
 to elect an additional bishop. Much discussion was had pre- 
 vious to the election, in relation to the powers of the new 
 bishop, some contending that he should be considered only as 
 the assistant of Bishop Asbury. It was, however, resolved by 
 the majority, that the bishop to be elected and consecrated, 
 should be equal in power and authority with the senior 
 bishop already in office. 
 
 After the above point was settled to the satisfaction of all 
 parties, the next important question to be settled was in rela- 
 tion to the person who should be selected for the office. 
 There were two candidates in the field — Mr. Whatcoat and 
 Rev. Jesse Lee, each of whom had his friends, and both of 
 whom had peculiar qualifications for the office of a bisho]) in 
 the Church of God. Mr. Whafeoat was an Englishman, an 
 old and valued minister ; one too, who had been designated 
 three years previously, by Mr. Wesfey himself, as a proper 
 person to be selected as a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and who had even requested his election to that 
 office. On the other hand, Mr. Lee was an American by 
 birth, and a favorite among the preachers ; his talents also 
 were of a more popular character, and commanded for him 
 the respect and esteem of all who were acquainted with him. 
 
BISHOP WHATCOAT. 219 
 
 Oa balloting for a bishop, it was found on the first count, 
 that there was a tie between them, each having received an 
 equal number of votes. On the second ballot being counted, 
 there were found fifty -nine votes for Mr. Whatcoat, and fifty- 
 five for Mr. Lee, whereupon the former was declared to be 
 duly elected. On the 18th of May, be was publicly conse- 
 crated to the episcopal office by the imposition of the hands 
 of Bishops Coke and Asbury, assisted by some of the elders 
 present. 
 
 After the adjournment of the General Conference of 1800, 
 Bishop Whatcoat labored efficiently and successfully as a 
 bishop of the Church, and made full proof of his ministry in 
 this new and important relation. He greatly assisted the 
 senior bishop in the discharge of his onerous and responsible 
 duties, and as long as his health would allow him to do so, 
 he travelled extensively over the continent. At the General 
 Conference of 1804, he was present, and assisted Bishops 
 Coke and Asbury in presiding over the dehberations of the 
 body, but his health was greatly impaired, and in 1806, it 
 was thought necessary by Bishop Asbury 1o recommend the 
 calling of a special General Conference in May, 1807, for the 
 purpose of strengthening the episcopacy, as Bishop Whatcoat 
 was supposed to be near his end. Each of the Annual Con- 
 ferences promptly recommended the same, except the Vir- 
 ginia Conference, of which Rev. Jesse Lee was an influential 
 member, which refused to concur in the recommendation ; 
 and in consequence of this refusal, the special session could 
 not be called, as the plan proposed required the concurrence 
 oi all the Annual Conferences, in order to call a special ses- 
 sion. 
 
 While the proposal to call a special General Conference, 
 was being presented to each of the annual Conferences, Bish- 
 op Whatcoat departed this life at the residence of ex-governor 
 Bassett, in the State of Delaware, on the 5th day of July, 
 
220 IIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 1806, after an illness of thirteen weeks, durins: whioli time 
 his bodily sufferings were of the most excruciating character. 
 But in the midst of them all, he possessed his soul in perfect pa- 
 tience, and expressed from time to time his firm trust and con- 
 fidence in Jesus Christ his Saviour, and even amidst the agonies 
 of dissolving human nature, became a " conqueror ; yea, more 
 than conqueror, through Him that loved him." Thus died 
 the venerable Bishop Whatcoat in the seventy-first year of 
 his age, and in the thirty-seventh year of his ministry, and 
 sixth of his episcopate. 
 
 Shortly after his death, Bishop Ashury visited the place of 
 his sepulture, at the Wesleyan Chapel, in Dover, Del., and 
 preached his funeral sermon from the words : " But thou hast 
 fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long- 
 suffering, charity, patience." 2 Tim. iii. 10. In the course 
 of this sermon. Bishop Asbury remarked as follows : " I have 
 known Richard Whatcoat, from the time I was fourteen 
 years of age to sixty-two years most intimately, and have tried 
 him most accurately in respect to the soundness of his faith. 
 On the doctrines of human depravity, the complete and general 
 atonement of Jesus Christ, the insufficiency of either moral or 
 ceremonial righteousness for justification in opposition to faith 
 alone in the merit and righteousness of Christ, and the doc- 
 trine of regeneration and sanctification. I have also known 
 his manner of life at all times and places, before the people 
 as a Christian, and a minister; his long-suffering, for he was 
 a man of great affliction, both of body and mind, having been 
 exercised with severe diseases, and great labors." Bishop As- 
 bury declared that such was his unabated charity, his ardent 
 love to God and man, his patience and resignation amid the 
 unavoidable ills of life, that he always exemplified the tem- 
 pers and conduct of a most devoted servant of God, and of an 
 exemplary Christian minister. 
 
 The following remarks are from Dr. ^angs : " As he lived 
 
BISHOP WHATCOAT. 221 
 
 for God alone, and had assiduously consecrated all his time 
 and powers to the service of his Church, so he had neither 
 time nor inclination to 'lay up treasures upon eartli,' — hence 
 it is stated that he died with less propertj' than was sufRcient 
 to defray the expenses of his funeral. He could therefore say, 
 more in truth than most of the pretended successors of St. Pe- 
 ter, who is claimed by some as the first link in the episcopal 
 succession, ' Silver and gold have I none, but such us I have' 
 — ' my soul and body's powers,' I cheerfully consecrate to the 
 service of God and man. These remarks of themselves suf- 
 ficiently indicate the character of the deceased, without saying 
 anything more ; yet it may he proper to add, that though 
 we do not claim for him deep erudition, nor extensive science, 
 he was profoundly learned in the sacred Scriptures, thoroughly 
 acquainted with Wesleyan theology, and well versed in all 
 the varying systems of divinity with which the Christian 
 world has been loaded, and could therefore ' rightly divide 
 the word of truth, giving to every one his portion of meat in 
 due season.' For gravity of deportment, meekness of spirit, 
 deadness to the world, and deep devotion to God, perhaps he 
 was not excelled, if indeed equalled by any of his contempo- 
 raries or successors. ' Sober without sadness, and cheerful 
 without levity,' says the record of his death, he was equally 
 removed from the severe austerity of the gloomy monk, and 
 the lightness of the facetious and empty-brained witling. His 
 words were weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, and 
 when uttered either in the way of rebuke, admonition, or 
 instruction, they were calculated to ' minister grace to the 
 hearer.' It is said, that on a particular occasion, when in 
 company with Bishop Asbury, the latter was complaining 
 loudly of the perpetual annoyance of so much useless company, 
 — Bishop Whatcoat with great modesty and meekness, mild- 
 ly remarked, ' bishop, how much worse should we feel, 
 were we entirely neglected.' The former bowed an acqui- 
 
222 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 escence to the remark, and acknowledged his obligations to his 
 amiable colleague, for the seasonableness of the reproof, but 
 much more for the manner in which it was administered,— 
 an occurrence alike creditable to them both. 
 
 " His preaching is said to have been generally attended 
 with a remarkable unction from the Holy One. Hence those 
 who sat under his word, if they were believers in Christ, felt 
 it good to be there, for his doctrine distilled as the dew upon 
 the tender herb, and as the rain upon the mown grass. One 
 who had heard him, remarked, that though he could not fol- 
 low him in all his researches — intimating that he went be- 
 yond his depth in some of his thoughts — yet he felt that he 
 was listening to a messenger of God, not only from the so- 
 lemnity of his manner, but also from the ' refreshing, from the 
 presence of the Lord,' which so manifestly accompanied his 
 word. The softness of his persuasions, won upon the affec- 
 tions of tlie heart, while the rich flow of gospel truth which 
 dropped from his lips enlightened the understanding. 
 
 " Such was Bishop Whatcoat. And while we justly attrib- 
 ute to him those qualities which constitute an ' able minister 
 of the New Testament,' we present as the distinguishing trait 
 of his character, a meekness and modesty of spirit which, uni- 
 ted with a simplicity of intention, and gravity of deportment, 
 commended him to all as a pattern worthy of their imitation. 
 So dear is he in the recollection of those who from personal 
 intercourse, best know and appreciate his worth, that I have 
 heard many say, that they would give much, could they pos- 
 sess themselves of a correct resemblance of him upon canvass. 
 But as he has left no such likeness of himself behind, we must 
 be content with offering this feeble tribute of respect to his 
 memory, and then strive to imitate his virtues, that we may 
 at last see him as he is, and unite with him in ascribing 
 ' honor and dominion to him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
 to the Lamb forever.' " 
 
BISHOP ■WIIATCOAT. 223 
 
 It is probably owing to Bishop Whatcoat's extreme meek- 
 ness and modesty, that so little is now known of the peculiar 
 and interesting incidents of his life. Had he kept u. journal, 
 as did his friend and colleague. Bishop Asbury, many inter- 
 esting items might have been preserved for the benefit of fu- 
 ture generations. Still sufficient is known of him to immor- 
 talize his memory, and to impress the mind of every Methodist 
 at least, who reads this feeble sketch, with a sense of the true 
 greatness of the man. 
 
 " The righteous shall be held in everlasting remem- 
 brance." 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 REV. JESSE LEE. 
 
 The subject of this chapter, sometimes denominated the 
 apostle of New England Methodism, was born in Prince 
 George County, Virginia, in the year 1768. His forefathers 
 came from England soon after the first settlement of Virginia, 
 and his parents were respectable members of the Church of 
 England, and they dedicated their children to God in baptism, 
 while in a state of infancy, according to the rites and ceremo- 
 nies of the Church of which they were members. 
 
 At a proper age, Jesse was sent to school under the instruc- 
 tion of a God-fearing teacher, who took pains to improve his 
 pupils, morally as well as intellectually ; hence the morning 
 service of the Church was performed regularly on the Wednes- 
 day and Friday of every week. Besides, the scholars were 
 taught the Catechism of the Church, which was attended 
 with good results, especially in Jesse's case, who, when he 
 felt an inclination to do something wrong, would stop at the 
 recollection of the lessons taught in his Catechism, and refrain 
 from the commission of the act. His father also seconded 
 the efforts of the teacher in the enforcement of moralily, and 
 their united labors were not in "Vain, as young Lee was never 
 known to indulge in those degrading vices which many of his 
 associates delighted to indulge in. He never uttered a pro- 
 fane expression but once, for which he afterward felt heartily 
 Borry. 
 
JESSE LEE. 225 
 
 But althougli young Lee was moral and circumspect in hia 
 outward walk like all other men, he had "an evil heart of 
 unbelief';" a heart opposed to the requirements of God and 
 the spirituality of the Gospel. When he was fourteen years 
 of age, his father, who had hitherto trusted in external ordi- 
 nances for salvation, was led to see the necessity of " being 
 born from above" before he became fit for the " Kingdom of 
 God :" he accordingly sought, and obtained the forgiveness of 
 sins, and having, in the fulness of his heart, declared to his 
 wife " what the Lord had done for his soul," she too was led 
 to embrace the Saviour, and become a spiritual " worshipper 
 of the Father." The conversion of his parents produced a 
 powerful effect on the mind of Jesse ; his conviction for sin 
 became pungent, and fearing one morning, that he would drop 
 into hell, he was constrained to cry aloud for mercy, and soon 
 the Lord appeared for his relief so that young Lee could ex- 
 claim with the Prophet, " Lord, I will praise thee ; though 
 thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou 
 comfortest me." 
 
 In the year 1774, when Jesse was about sixteen years of 
 age, Mr. Robert Williams, a Wesleyan preacher, visited that 
 part of Virginia where Jesse's parents resided. They soon be- 
 came attached to the first Methodist Society formed in that 
 vicinity, and Jesse, stimulated by their example, united also 
 with the Society. From this time forward, Mr. Lee's house 
 became a regular preaching place, and a home for the weary 
 itinerant, and like Obed-edom of old, the Lord blessed him 
 abundantly in basket and in store, because the " ark of the 
 Lord rested there." The year 1775 was distinguished by a 
 great revival of religion in Virginia, and during this revival 
 Jesse Lee, although but seventeen years of age, felt an im- 
 pression that it was his duty to labor personally for the salva- 
 tion of souls, and he had an ample field for the improvement 
 of his talents and the exercise of his Christian graces. 
 15 
 
226 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 About this period he left his father's house, for the purpose 
 of residing with a bereaved relative in North Carolina. Here 
 he was appointed a class-leader by the preacher in charge 
 of the circuit, and from this time forward, he frequently ex- 
 horted at class-meetings, prayer-meetings, &c., and would 
 sometimes hold meetings for the purpose of giving the " word 
 of exhortation," and on the 17th of November, 1779, he 
 preached his first sermon at a place called the " Old Barn," 
 his text being, " Behold what manner of love the Father hath 
 bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of 
 God !" &c. 
 
 Mr. Lee served the Church for some time, in the capacity 
 of a local preacher, while he pursued the task of cultivating, 
 the soil, as the means of gaining a livelihood, hut while pur- 
 suing his peaceful avocations, and spending all his spare time 
 in preaching the Gospel of the Prince of Peace, he was draft- 
 ed to serve in the army, the United States being then engaged 
 in the war of the Revolution. Mr. Lee, though a friend to his 
 country, and a well-wisher to the cause of liberty, had im- 
 bibed the idea that it was wrong for him, as a Christian, to 
 bear arms or to kill any of his fellow-creatures. He deter- 
 mined however to join the army, and to trust in the Lord for 
 deliverance from the necessity of taking life. On the 29th of 
 July, 1780, he arrived at the encampment, and shortly after 
 was called on parade. The sergeant soon went round with 
 the muskets, and offered one to Mr. Lee, but he refused to 
 take it ; the lieutenant then brought him one, but he still re- 
 fused to take it. The lieutenant threatened him with the 
 guard-house, and went to see the colonel, and coming back set 
 the gun down against him. Mr. Lee told him he might as 
 well take the gun away, or it would fall, the oiEcer then 
 placed him under guard. After a while the colonel came, 
 and taking Mr. Lee aside, began to converse with him in re- 
 lation to the propriety of bearing arms, but his reasons were 
 
JESSE LEE. 227 
 
 not sufficiently cogent to make any change in Mr. Lee's mind 
 so that he left him in the care of the guard. After dark, Mr. 
 Lee told the guard that they must have praj^ers before they 
 "went to rest, and finding a Baptist under guard, he asked him 
 to pray. After prayer, Mr. Lee told the soldiers and others, 
 that if they would attend in the morning, he would pray with 
 them. The soldiers brought straw for him to lie on, and offer- 
 ed him their blankets and great-coats for covering, so that he 
 slept quite soundly. The next morning being Sabbath, some 
 hundreds of people flocked together at the sound of Mr. Lee's 
 singing, and they joining with him, the surrounding planta- 
 tion echoed with-the songs of Zion. After singing they had a 
 season of praj^er, and many of the poor soldiers wept. 
 
 After prayer, a tavern-keeper came out and talked with Mr. 
 Lee, and informed him, that while in bed he heard him pray- 
 ing, that he could not refrain from tears, and had come to see 
 if he would be willing to preach to the people. Mr. Lee con- 
 sented, provided the Colonel's permission could be obtained. 
 This was granted, but before preaching, the Colonel came 
 and took Mr. Lee out to talk with him again, on the subject 
 of bearing arms. The latter informed the Colonel that he 
 was a friend to his country, but that he could not kill a man 
 and preserve a good conscience, and that he was willing to do 
 anything while in the army, hut fight. Whereupon the 
 Colonel kindly gave him the charge of a baggage-wagon, so 
 that he might be relieved from the necessity of fighting, and 
 then released him from confinement, telling him that he 
 might stand on a bench by the Colonel's tout, and preach. 
 While preaching, many of the officers and soldiers were very 
 much affected, and at the close of the preaching, some of the 
 D-entlemen present went about with their hats for the purpose 
 of making a collection of money for the preacher, which Mr. 
 Lee no sooner saw, than he peremptorily requested them to 
 desist, thinking that if the people could afford to sit and hear 
 
228 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 him, he could afford to stand and preach to them. It was 
 not customary in those days for local preachers to receive any 
 remuneration for their services. 
 
 Mr. Lee moved with the army from place to place, improv- 
 ing every opportunity of preaching to the soldiers. After 
 being some months with the army, the Colonel appointed Mr. 
 Lee sergeant of the pioneers, a birth with which he was well 
 suited. After remaining a few weeks longer in the army, the 
 Commanding General gave him an honorable discharge from 
 further serv.ice, and he, with a glad heart, took his journey 
 homeward, and soon had the satisfaction of meeting with his 
 friends, from whom he had been separated for three months 
 and a half. 
 
 In 1782, Mr. Lee, having attended the Virginia Conference, 
 was appointed in connection with Mr. Drumgoole to form a 
 new circuit. On their way to their appointed field of labor, 
 they stopped at the house of a Gluaker, and asked permission 
 to tarry for the night. " If you choose to get down," said 
 the honest Friend, " I will not turn thee away.'' This bluut 
 reply rather confounded the young itinerant, as not knowing 
 whether he would be welcome or not, but as it was night 
 and no time for ceremony, they dismounted and tried to make 
 themselves as much at home as possible, and they soon found 
 that the duaker, blunt as he was, was by no means lacking 
 in true benevolence and charity. Before retiring to rest, the 
 guests begged the privilege of attending family prayers. " If 
 you have a mind to pray, I will leave the room," and suiting 
 the action to the words, he retired, and left them to attend to 
 their devotions in their own way. Mr. Lee labored as a 
 travelling preacher during a part of this year, and at the next 
 session of the Conference, was received on trial, and was ap- 
 pointed to Caswell circuit. North Carolina. 
 
 The following year (1784), Mr. Lee was appointed to Salis 
 bury circuit, where his labors were greatly blessed to the 
 
JESSE LEE. 229 
 
 good of the people. In the month of December, he received 
 an official note, informing him of the arrival of Dr. Coke, and 
 Messrs. Whatcoat and Vasey, and requesting his attendance 
 at Baltimore on the 25th of the same month ; hut as lie was 
 five hundred miles from the seat of Conference, and had only 
 twelve days' notice, he considered it impossible with his poor 
 state of health, and the unfavorable state of the roads at that 
 Reason of the year, to attend, so that he remained on his cir- 
 cuit. Soon after the organization of the Church, and the 
 election and consecration of Mr. Asbury to the Superintend- 
 ency of the Church, Mr. Lee had the privilege of meeting the 
 latter at one of his appointments. Just before the commence- 
 ment of the service. Bishop Asbury appeared with his black 
 robe, Cossack, and band, and as it was a novel sight to see a 
 Methodist arrayed in canonicals, Mr. Lee felt deeply grieved 
 at what he considered an innovation upon the plainness and 
 simplicity of Methodism, and he stoutly opposed the practice. 
 He did not allow his zeal for plainness to destroy his affection 
 for the bishop, but at the request of the latter, became for a 
 time his travelling companion, and accompanied him as far 
 south as Charleston, S. C. 
 
 In 1787, Mr. Lee was appointed to Baltimore City circuit, 
 an appointment of great importance, and which he filled with 
 great acceptability and success, preaching not only in the 
 churches and school-houses, but on the commons, in the mar- 
 kets, and wherever he could find a congregation. In the 
 spring of 1788, he visited his native place in Virginia, where 
 a remarkable revival of religion had been in progress for some 
 time. Respecting this revival, Mr. Lee says in his journal ■ 
 " I surely have cause to bless and praise God, that I came tc 
 Virginia this spring to see my old friends. But such a change 
 in any people I never saw. — They told me instances of per- 
 sons, who were quite careless in the morning, and perhaps 
 laughing at religion, but going to meeting they were cut to 
 
230 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 the heart, and dropped down as if dead ; and after lying 
 awhile, some perhaps for hours, and others not so long, have 
 leaped up and praised God from a sense of his forgiving love ; 
 and it has been quite common for Christians, when they have 
 been much comforted, to praise God aloud ; and while in an 
 ecstacy of joy, have gone to the wicked and taken hold of 
 them, and exhorted them with tears to seek the Lord. Others 
 have gone to their wicked relations — parents to their children, 
 children to their parents, the husband to the wife, and the 
 wife to the husband, and wept over them and prayed for 
 them till the power of God has laid hold of them, and 
 they have been made subjects of converting grace. So 
 mightily has the Lord blessed the labors of his people in this 
 place." 
 
 At the Conference of 1788, Mr. Lee was strongly solicited 
 by Bishop Asbury and others, to receive ordination, but such 
 was his humility and his view of the sacredness and awful- 
 ness of the holy office, that he refused to take the same upon 
 him, at least for the time being. He, however, received an 
 appointment to Flanders circuit, where he labored with 
 untiring perseverance for the upbuilding of Messiah's king- 
 dom. 
 
 But we must now introduce Mr. Lee to a new field of la- 
 bor, where he is destined to plant the banners of Methodism 
 on the soil of the pilgrims, and to carry, what appeared to 
 many in that day to be a new gospel, among the staid inhabi- 
 tants of New England ; a work which has gained for Jesse 
 Lee the by no means inappropriate appellation of ApQStle of 
 New England Methodism. In 1789, Mr. Lee attended the 
 Conference in New York city, and received an appointment 
 to Stamford circuit, in the State of Connecticut. The cir- 
 cumstances which led to his appointment as a Methodist 
 preacher among the New Englanders, appear to have been 
 providential. As early as 1785, Mr. Lee, while travelling 
 
JESSE LEE. 231 
 
 with Bishop Asbury to Charleston, S. C.,* had occasion to 
 call on a merchant by the way, whose clerk was a native 
 of New England. Mr. Lee learned much from this young 
 man in relation to the religious condition of his native land, 
 and instantly entertained a desire to go and preach the doc- 
 trines of a free and full salvation to that people, and the de- 
 sire thus begotten in his mind continued for the term of four 
 years, until at length he was gratified by an appointment 
 among them. 
 
 At the period now referred to, there were no less than two 
 hundred Methodist travelling preachers, and forty-three 
 thousand Methodist members in the United States ; and yet 
 strange to tell, there was not a single Methodist preacher, 
 nor a single Methodist Society in all New England ! It is 
 true, that Rev. Mr. Black, a Wesleyan preacher, and Rev. 
 Cornelius Cook, had preached in different parts of New Eng- 
 land, but without having been stationed there by the authori- 
 ty of the Conference. The reason for this apparent neglect 
 of the Methodists to cultivate this ground hitherto, may be 
 found in the fact that New England was well supplied with 
 preaching, and with preachers. Indeed, Congregationalism 
 was both established and supported by law, although at the 
 time of which we speak, it is an admitted fact, that the 
 Churches of New England had in a great measure lost the 
 life and power of godliness, and many of them had fallen into 
 the meshes of cold-hearted Socinianism, with an evident 
 leaning toward Rationalism. Another reason may be found 
 in the fact, that the religious sentiments of the people of New 
 En"-land were so perfectly antagonistic to the principles and 
 doctrines of Methodism, that the advocates and promulgators 
 of the latter were looked upon as the worst kind of heretics ; 
 
 * Mr. Stevens, in his " Memorials of Methodism," says this trans- 
 pired in 1775 ; hut this is evidently an error, as Mr. Asbury was not 
 ordained till 1784, 
 
232 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 and hence, notwithstanding the acknowledged lukewarmness 
 and heterodoxy of Kiany of the New England Churches, no 
 friendly voice was ever heard saying to the followers of Wes- 
 ley, " Gome over and help us." 
 
 It was under these circumstances that Jesse Lee was com- 
 missioned to unfurl the banners of Methodism within the 
 strongholds of bigotry and dead formality ; and on the 1 1th 
 of June, he set foot upon the soil of Connecticut. His first 
 sermon was preached in the town of Norwalk, where he 
 found a few who were willing to inquire, " whether these 
 things were so,'' of which he had spoken. As the circum- 
 stances connected with this, his first sermon in New England 
 are interesting, we will quote his own words: "June 17th, 
 at 4 o'clock, I arrived in Norwalk, and went to one Mr. 
 Rogers, where one of our friends had asked the liberty for me 
 to preach. When I came, Mrs. R. told me her husband wag 
 from home, and was not willing for me to preach in his 
 house. I told her we would hold meeting in the road, rather 
 than give any uneasiness. We proposed speaking in an old 
 house that stood just by, but she was not willing. I then 
 spoke to an old lady about speaking in her orchard, but she 
 would not consent, but said we would tread the grass down. 
 So the other friend went and gave notice to some of the peo- 
 ple, and they soon began to collect, and we went to the road 
 where we had an apple-tree to shade us. When the woman 
 saw that I was determined to preach, she said I might 
 preach in the old house, but I told her it would be better to 
 remain where we were. So I began on the side of the road, 
 with about twenty hearers. After singing and prayer, I 
 preached on John iii. 7, ' Ye must heiorn again.' I felt hap- 
 py that we were favored with so comfortable a place. Most 
 part of the congregation paid particular attention to what I 
 said, and two or three women seemed to hang down their 
 heads as if they understood something of the New Birth 
 
JESSE LEE. 233 
 
 After preaching, I told the people that I intended to be with 
 them again in two weeks, and if any of thcra would open 
 their houses to receive me, I should be glad, and if they were 
 not willing, we would meet at the same place ; some of them 
 came and desired that I should meet at the town-house the 
 next time ; so I gave consent. Who knows but I shall yet 
 have a place in this town where I may lay my head ? 
 
 " Thursday, 18th, I rode about sixteen miles to Fairfield, 
 and put up at Mr. Penfield's tavern, near the court-house, and 
 soon told who I was, and what was my errand ; the woman 
 of the house asked me a few questions, and in a little time 
 M'ished to know if I had a liberal education. I told her I had 
 just education enough to carry me through the country. I 
 got a man to go with me to see the two principal men of the 
 town, in order to get permission to preach in the court-house; 
 the first said he had no objection, the other said he was very 
 willing. However, he asked me if I had a liberal education. 
 I told him I had nothing to boast of, though I had education 
 enough to carry me through the country ; then I went to the 
 court-house, and desired the schoolmaster to send word by his 
 scholars that I was to preach at six o'clock ; he said he would, 
 but did not think that many would attend. I waited till after 
 the time, and no one came ; at last I went and opened the 
 door and sat down. At length the schoolmaster and three or 
 four women came ; I began to sing, and in a little time thirty 
 or forty collected ; then I preached on Eom. vi. 23. I felt a 
 good deal of satisfaction in speaking. My soul was happy in 
 the Lord ; and I could not but bless God that he gave me to 
 feel for the souls of those that heard me. The people were 
 very solemn toward the end of the sermon, and several of 
 them afterward expres.sed, in my hearing, their great satisfao 
 tion in hearing the discourse. After Mrs. Penfield came back 
 to the tavern, she pressed me much to call the next day, and 
 preach at her sister's, who, she said, was much engaged in re- 
 
234 
 
 LIVES OF EMINEKT MINISTERS. 
 
 ligion, and would te much pleased with my manner of preach- 
 ing. This appeared to me to be an opening of the Lord : so 
 I told her I would. I stayed all night, and prayed with the 
 family, who were very kind, and would not charge me any- 
 thing, but asked me to call again." 
 
 Mr. Lee had now fully opened his mission in New England, 
 and he continued going from place to place, preaching the 
 gospel of peace to the inhabitants of those lands. On the 4th 
 of July we find him at Stratford, Conn., where he put up at 
 a tavern, and then went to the man who kept the key of the 
 town-house, and obtained his consent to preach therein. The 
 man told him he did not know much about the Methodists, 
 they might be like the New-Lights. Mr. Lee in reply, said 
 he did not know much about the New-Lights, but some peo- 
 ple thought that the Methodists resembled them in their 
 preaching. " Well," said the man, " if you are like them, I 
 would not wish to have anything to do with you.'' Mr. Lee 
 inquired what objections he had to the New-Lights. " Why," 
 replied the man, " they went on like madmen ; there was one 
 Davenport that would preach, and hollo, and beat the pul- 
 pit with both hands, and cry out ' Come away, come away to 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. Why don't you come to the Lord?' 
 till he would foam at the mouth, and sometimes continued it, 
 till the congregation would be praying in companies about the 
 house." " For my part," said Mr. Lee, " I wished that the 
 like work was among the people again.'" Mr. Lee according- 
 ly preached in the town-house, and was hospitably entertain- 
 ed by the people. 
 
 During the summer and autumn of 1789, Mr. Lee visited 
 a large number of places in Connecticut and Khode Island, 
 and the snows and frosts of a New England winter did not 
 deter him from discharging the duties of his mission. Under 
 date of February 6th, 1790, Mr. Lee states: "I rode to 
 Putney. After meeting, an old man came and spoke to nie, 
 
JESSE LEE. 285 
 
 and asked me why I did not go into the back settlements and 
 preach to the people that were not favored with the Gospel 
 as they were in Putney ; I told him my call was to sinners, 
 and that I found many of them wherever I went. I then 
 asked him if all the people in the neighborhood were convert- 
 ed ? He said they had the means ; I asked him if any of 
 them (the standing order I suppose is meant) preached in Put- 
 ney ? He said no ; but they preached near enough for all to 
 go and hear. I told him he put me in mind of the dog in the 
 manger, who would not eat the hay himself, nor suffer the ox 
 to eat it ; they would not come to the place to preach, and 
 were not willing that I should ; at which many present could 
 not refrain from laughing heartily. He said, ' a busybody 
 about other men's matters,' according to the original, was one 
 that preached in another's parish without his consent. I told 
 him the words might be well applied to him in meddling 
 himself with my preaching. He still insisted on the necessity 
 of my going where there was no regular preaching, and where 
 the people were suffering for want of it. I told him if he 
 thought that some one ought to go to the new settled parts of 
 the country, that he was the very man to go. He said he 
 was too old ; I replied, that a person was never too old to do 
 good. We then parted, and he bid me adieu. When I 
 came away, I asked what old gentleman that was ; they told 
 me that it was Mr. Birdseye — a worn-out priest, that preaches 
 once in a while, and was but little admired among the people. 
 I wist not that he was a priest, and no wonder that the peo- 
 ple laughed when I compared him to the dog in the man- 
 ger." 
 
 During the spring of 1790, Mr. Lee visited different parts 
 of Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire ; and in the 
 following summer directed his course to the city of Boston, 
 praying that in this place he might have some fruit also. 
 The following account of his introducing the Gospel as 
 
236 LIVES or eminent ministers. 
 
 preached by him and his co-laborers, taken from " Steven's 
 Memorials," will, no doubt, be interesting to the reader. , "In. 
 the centre of Boston Common still stands a gigantic elm — the 
 crowning ornament of its beautiful scenery. On a fine summer 
 afternoon in July, 1790, a man of middle age, of a serene but 
 shrewd countenance, and dressed in a style of simplicity which 
 might have been taken for the guise of a Gtuaker, took his 
 stand upon a table beneath the branches of that venerable 
 tree. Four persons approached, and gazed upon him "with 
 surprise, while he sung a hymn. It w^as sung by his solitary 
 vuice ; at its conclusion he knelt down upon the table, and 
 stretching forth his hands, prayed with a fervor and unction, 
 so unwonted in the cool and minute petitions of the Puritan 
 pulpits, that it attracted the groups of promenaders who had 
 come to spend an evening hour in the shady walks, and by 
 the time he rose from his knees, they were streaming in pro- 
 cessions from the different points of the Common toward him. 
 While he opened his small Bible and preached to them with- 
 out ' notes,' but with the demonstration of the Spirit and of 
 power, the multitude grew into a dense mass, three thousand 
 strong, eagerly catching every utterance of the singular 
 stranger, and some of them receiving his message into ' hon- 
 est and good hearts.' One who heard him at, or about this 
 time, says : ' When he stood up in the open air and began to 
 sing, I knew not what it meant. I drew near, however, to 
 listen, and thought the prayer was the best I had ever heard. 
 He then read his text, and began, in a sententious manner, to 
 address his remarks to the understanding and consciences of 
 the people ; and I thought all who were present must he con- 
 strained to say, 'It is good for us to be here.' All the while 
 the people were gathering, he continued this mode of address, 
 and presented us with such a variety of beautiful images, that 
 I thought he must have been at infinite pains to crowd so 
 many pretty things into his memory. But when he entered 
 
JESSE LEE. 
 
 237 
 
 apnn the subject matter of his text, it was with such an easy, 
 natural flow of expression, and in such a tone of voice, that I 
 could not refrain from weeping ; and many others were affect- 
 ed in the same way. When he was done, and we had an 
 opportunity of expressing our views to each other, it was 
 agreed that such a man had not visited New England since 
 the days of Whitefield. I heard him again, and thought I 
 could follow him to the ends of the earth.' " 
 
 It is proper to remark, that before preaching on the Com- 
 mon, he had endeavored to find some house where he might 
 deliver his message, but he conld get none to encourage him 
 in his endeavors to do so ; none would put themselves to the 
 trouble of finding a place for him, and knowing that the Com- 
 mon was the only spot where he could find a pulpit, he re- 
 paired there, as above graphically described. On the follow- 
 ing day he left Boston, and passing through Salem where he 
 preached, he went to Newbury-port, and called on Mr. Mur- 
 ray, the Presbyterian minister of the place. When Mr. Mur- 
 ray found that he belonged to Mr. Wesley's party — in distinc- 
 tion from the Whitefieldian Methodists — he very politely 
 offered to treat Mr. Lee as a gentleman, and as a Christian, 
 but not as a preacher, assigning as a reason that he had re- 
 cently been informed by letter that a preacher of the Wesley- 
 an party, had lately been up the Connecticut River, and had 
 held meetings in four different places in one day. Mr. Lee 
 candidly acknowledged that he was the guilty man ; and as 
 he could not secure Mr. Murray's pulpit, he was thankful at 
 having the privilege of preachivjg in the court-house. 
 
 After making a short tour to New Hampshire and other 
 places, he returned to Boston, where he not only preached on 
 the Common, but in a private house, and also in a Baptist 
 Church, and on the next Sabbath preached again on the 
 Common, to a congregation of five thousand people. He thus 
 pursued his way from place to place, preaching day and night 
 
238 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ■wherever he found an opening, so that during this Conference 
 year he travelled several thousand miles, visited six States, 
 and the greater part of the large towns, and villages of New 
 England. In reference to these labors he says : " In most 
 places I have met with a much kinder reception than I could 
 have expected, among persons holdmg principles so different 
 from mine : but yet I have been much opposed and have been, 
 under the disagreeable necessity of spending much of my time 
 in talking on controverted points, sometimes in public and oft- 
 times in private. When I was opposed, if I discovered an 
 inclination to wave the discourse, they would immediately 
 conclude that my principles were so bad, that I was afraid to 
 let them be known ; and if I were silent, it would all go for 
 truth. For these reasons I have been led to debate the mat- 
 ter with the principal part of those who have spoken to me 
 with a calm spirit." 
 
 Mr. Lee attended the Conference of 1790, in New York, 
 and was appointed to Boston, as his field of labor for the en- 
 suing year. He also consented to receive ordina'tion, and was 
 privately ordained deacon, by Bishop Asbury, and on the day 
 following, was publicly ordained elder. After the adjourn- 
 ment of Conference, he proceeded immediately to his appoint- 
 ed field of labor, and arrived on Saturday the 13th of Novem- 
 ber. Not being able to secure a place wherein to preach the 
 next day, he went to hear a Universalist but was not much 
 edified. During the next week he had great and heavy tri- 
 als. He took much pains to get a house to preach in, but all 
 in vain. A few friends also tried, but with no better success. 
 As the weather was cold and wet, the Common was out of 
 the question ; but Sabbath after Sabbath, and week after 
 week passed away, and Mr. Lee found no pla.ce wherein to 
 invite a congregation. On the 30th of November, a gentle- 
 man went with him to the High Sheriff, for the purpose of 
 obtaining the use of the court-house. The latter informed 
 
JESSE LEE. 239 
 
 him, that the clerk of the Court had the disposing of the house, 
 and that he must apply to him. So they went to the clerk, 
 but he very abruptly refused, and after hearing him talk 
 awhile, Mr. Lee left him, more discouraged than ever. On 
 the following Thursday, a friend went to, and told him that 
 he had used every possible means to get a particular school- 
 house for him to preach in, but had at last received a positive 
 denial. Being thus shut out of the metropolis of New Eng- 
 land, he on the 13th of December, left the city and went to 
 Lynn, about twelve miles distant, where he was hospitably 
 received, and where he spent about a week in preaching, vis- 
 iting, &c., and where he felt greatly encouraged. He then 
 returned to Boston, where everything appeared as dark and 
 forbidding as before. He was obliged to get a new boarding- 
 place, and when he had settled his bill for former board, he 
 had but two shillings and a penny (34 cents) left, and this he 
 would not have had, if a person a few days previously, had 
 not purchased a pamphlet that he kept for his own use, and 
 in this manner enabled him to discharge his bill. As it was, 
 Mr. Lee felt thankful that he had the means to discharge his 
 pecuniary obligations, and said, " If I can always have two 
 shillings by me, beside paying all I owe, I think I shall be 
 satisfied." 
 
 Notwithstanding all these discouragements, Mr. Lee linger- 
 ed around Boston until he had an opportunity of delivering 
 his message in a private house, and his word took effect on 
 the hearts of some, who were brought to feel the force of di- 
 vine truth. From the relation of the above facts, the reader 
 may judge of the impediments and obstacles that were placed 
 in the way of the introduction of Methodism into New Eng- 
 land, and especially into the city of Boston, which has since 
 become so famous for its Methodist Churches and congrega- 
 tions, and where in the year 1852, the General Conference 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church is destined to hold its 
 
240 LIVES OF EMINEKT MINISTERS. 
 
 quadrennial session. What a change has thus been wrought 
 by the mighty power of God I The remainder of this Confer- 
 ence year Mr. Lee spent in Boston, Lynn, Marblehead, and 
 various other piaces. 
 
 At the Conference of 1791, Mr. Lee was appointed presid- 
 ing elder of the New England district, and that the reader 
 may judge of the success of his former labors in this rather 
 unpromising field, it is proper to observe that his district em- 
 braced six circuits, witli eleven circuit preachers, all raised 
 principally through the labors of this indomitable pioneer. 
 During this year he travelled many- hundreds of miles, preach- 
 ed three hundred and twenty-one sermons, gave twenty-four 
 public exhortations, and read twenty-one authors, comprising 
 over five thousand pages, besides his daily Bible reading I 
 
 At the Conference of 1792, he was appointed presiding 
 elder over a small district, comprising only four circuits, 
 another elder having been appointed to a portion of his former 
 extensive cbarge ; and such had been the growth of Method- 
 ism in New England since the time of Mr. Lee's first visit, 
 that in 1793, an annual Conference was held in Lynn on the 
 first of August. At this latter Conference, the subject of this 
 chapter was appointed to the Province of Maine, a place at 
 that period very far removed from the influences of Method- 
 ism, there being no circuit formed nearer to it than two hun- 
 dred miles distant. It was also nearly destitute of the min- 
 istry of other churches, the country being new and very 
 sparsely populated, and the most of the inhabitants being com- 
 paratively poor. This appointment would no doubt have 
 been somewhat trying to the faith and patience of some ex- 
 presiding elders, but Jesse Lee had a willing heart to go to 
 any place where souls stood in need of salvation. So bidding 
 adieu to his warm-hearted Methodist brethren in Lynn, he 
 commenced his lonely journey for that distant field. The 
 people generally refceived him gladly, and he was instrumen- 
 
JESSE lEB. 241 
 
 tal during the year, in doing much good in different portions 
 of the province. At the next Conference, he was appointed 
 to New Hampshire district, where he also labored efficiently 
 and successfully, and on the 21st of June, 1794, had the sat- 
 isfaction of preaching a dedication sermon in a new church, 
 in Eeadfield, being the first Methodist Church in the Province 
 of Maine. 
 
 A few weeks later, Mr. Lee had the still greater satisfac- 
 tion of laying the corner-stone of the first Methodist Church 
 in the city of Boston. A small Society had been formed here 
 in 1790, and for five years Mr. Lee had l.iien endeavoring to 
 promote its interests and to erect, if possiule, a place of wor- 
 ship ; at length, on the 8th of August, the few brethren ven- 
 tured to begin the important enterprise, and the corner-stone 
 was laid by Mr. Lee with all due solemnities. Mr. Lee at 
 this time remained several weeks in the city, and although 
 the Methodists were now in possession of a "hired house," 
 wherein to worship, yet as it would accommodate compara- 
 tively but few hearers, resorted again to the Common. Having 
 thus " set things in order" in Boston, he again set out to su- 
 perintend the interests of hi-s extensive district. In Province- 
 town, he stopped and preached twice for the encouragement 
 of the Society. In this place, the little band of Methodists 
 had resolved to build a church, to prevent which, a town- 
 meeting had been called, which voted that the Methodists 
 should not be allowed to have a house of worship in that 
 town ! Notwithstanding the decree of the town, the Society 
 resolved to proceed in the erection of the building. Accord- 
 mgly, the materials were collected, but a company of daring 
 spirits, led on by the chief men in the town, went one night 
 and removed the materials to another place, constructed the 
 effigy of a Methodist, and tarred and feathered it. Mr. Lee 
 went to see the ruins, and felt confident that God would yet 
 " cause the wrath of man to praise him'' in that toinrn. 
 16 
 
242 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 For several years Mr. Lee filled the important office of 
 presiding elder in the Eastern States, and in 1797 was ap- 
 pointed by Bishop Asbury to preside over the deliberations of 
 the New England Conference, at its session in Wilbraham, 
 Mass., the latter being unable to attend on account of indis- 
 position. The bishop also required him, after Conference, to 
 proceed on a tour to Georgia, Kentucky, and other southern 
 States, for the purpose of assisting him in his episcopal duties, 
 which directions Mr. Lee cheerfully obeyed ; and at the Gen- 
 eral Conference of 1797, was requested by that body to fill 
 Bishop Asbury's appointments until the next spring. After 
 completing this tour, he returned again to the north, attended 
 several Conferences with Bishop Asbury, and then proceeded 
 southward again, and thus he continued for several years to 
 be the travelling companion and assistant of the venerable 
 bishop. 
 
 At the General Conference of 1800, it became necessary to 
 elect an additional bishop, especially as Dr. Coke would be 
 absent from Europe but a short time, at any given period, 
 and as Bishop Asbury had become quite infirm by age and 
 severe trial. When the election was made, there were but 
 two candidates in the field, Messrs. Whatcoat and Lee (see 
 life of Bishop "Whatcoat), and although all other circumstan- 
 ces being equal, Mr. Lee would no doubt have been the 
 choice of a large majority of the preachers, yet in obedience 
 to the formerly expressed wishes of Mr. Wesley, and in defer- 
 ence to the age and experience of Mr. Whatcoat, the latter 
 by a few votes in the majority was duly elected Bishop of the 
 Church. From intimations given by Bishop Asbury to Mr. 
 Lee, the latter inferred that the preachers would generally 
 vote for him, in case an additional bishop was made ; and as 
 there appeared to be considerable spirit among Mr. What- 
 coat's friends in relation to the matter, and a few words 
 dropped prejudicial to the claims and qualifications of Mr. 
 
JESSE LEE. 243 
 
 Lee, the latter felt deeply disappointed at the result, and no 
 doubt was wounded somewhat in his feelings. What added 
 to this honest grief, was a report which had been circulated 
 by some person unknown, to prevent his election, to the effect 
 that Bishop Asbury had said that brother Lee had imposed 
 on him and on the connection for a length of time, and that 
 the bishop " would have got rid of him long ago, if he could." 
 When this report reached Mr. Lee's ears, he went directly to 
 Bishop Asbury, who, according to the expectation of Mr. Lee, 
 at once contradixsted the false statement, and expressed an 
 earnest desire that Mr. Lee should continue to act as his as- 
 sistant, and as soon as possible, the worthy bishop made the 
 same statement in open Conference. Thus it is, that the best 
 of men are made the subjects of calumny and reproach, and 
 thus Mr. Lee lost an election to the highest office in the 
 Church, to which he was justly entitled, and which no doubt 
 would have been awarded him, had it not been for the above 
 false report. We are not, however, to infer that Mr. Lee 
 " desired the office of a bishop" merely for the sake of the 
 honor which such an office would confer upon him. From 
 the known humility of the man, and his perfect antipathy to 
 everything like worldly display, such a conclusion would at 
 once be unreasonable and absurd. If he was ambitious in 
 this respect, it was such an ambition as aimed solely at the 
 good of the Church, and the salvation of mankind ; and if 
 disappointed in his expectations, it was a disappointment 
 arising from a mistaken view of the feelings of the preachers 
 towards him. Mr. Lee had many warm friends among the 
 preachers ; he knew not that he had any enemies ; nor had 
 he just reason to conclude that those who voted for the suc- 
 cessful candidate were such, nor that in preferring another can- 
 didate, they lacked confidence in his piety, integrity, or ability. 
 Although disappointed, however, for the moment, he did 
 not allow his personal feelings to dampen his ardor in tho 
 
244 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 cause of his Divine Master. Indeed we may infer that his 
 chagrin was but momentary, as in his journal he states, "We 
 never had as good a General Conference before ; we had the 
 greatest speaking, and the greatest union of affections that we 
 had ever had on a like occasion." A few days after the ad- 
 journment of the General Conference, Bishops Asbuiy and 
 Whatcoat appointed Mr. Lee to act as an assistant to the 
 bishops at the yearly Conferences, and informing him that he 
 was at liberty to make his own appointments, South or East, 
 as might suit his convenience. He, however, preferred taking 
 a single circuit, and after having made a tour through the 
 New England States, he went to New York city, where he 
 labored and preached until the next spring, when he returned 
 to Virginia, and was appointed presiding elder of the South 
 District, and for several years in succession, he filled several 
 important places in the southern section of the work. 
 
 In 1808, he once more visited the northern Conferences, 
 and while in Newport, Rhode Island, ho, for the first time in 
 his life, heard the bell in a Methodist Church ring to call the 
 people to meeting ; he took no exceptions to the bell, but he 
 warmly protests against the square pews in the church, by 
 which a portion of the congregation were obliged to sit with 
 their backs toward the preacher. He also objected to the sale 
 of the pews, and the promiscuous sitting of men and women 
 together, but notwithstanding these prejudices, he preached 
 and found that God could bless his word, even in a pewed 
 church I He then went to Boston, where the Methodists had 
 erected a large church in addition to the old one. He preached 
 in both, but felt the most freedom in the " old meeting-house," 
 and although the new one was large and elegant, he did not 
 like it because it was pewed. After having visited his old 
 friends in New England, in different places, and having re- 
 joiced, wept, and prayed with them, and preached to them, 
 he again turned his course toward the South. 
 
JESSB tEE. ' 245 
 
 In 1809, Mr. Lee published a History of the Methodists in 
 America, and thus had the honor of being the first Methodist 
 historian on this side of the Atlantic. Being in the vicinity 
 of Washington, D. C, superintending the publication of this 
 work, he was elected Chaplain of the House of Representa- 
 tives, a post which he filled with credit to himself and the 
 Church of which he was a minister, and with great accepta- 
 bility to the members of Congress, as may be inferred from the 
 fact of his re-election to the same office at the next session of 
 that honorable body, and also at the sessions of 1811, 1812, 
 and 1813. In 1814 he was chosen Chaplain of the Senate, 
 which post he also filled with distinguished honor. But, al- 
 though thus repeatedly called to officiate to the nation's repre- 
 sentatives, Mr. Lee never forgot that he was a Methodist preach- 
 er, and hence in the interims of the sessions of Congress, he 
 filled such places as were assigned him by the authorities of 
 the Church, his last appointment being at Annapolis, the cap- 
 ital of Maryland. 
 
 In August, 1816, Mr. Lee attended a camp-meeting on the 
 eastern shore of Maryland, where he preached twice, the text 
 for the latter sermon being 2 Peter iii. 18, "But grow in 
 grace." He preached a most fervid and glowing discourse, 
 which proved to be his last one, as in the evening of the same 
 day he was seized with a severe chill, which gave place to 
 fever. On the following day he was removed to Hillsboro', 
 where he was received into the house of a Mr. Sellers, where 
 he lingered until the 12th of the following month. On the 
 day before his death, his soul was so overwhelmed with the 
 love of God, that he was constrained to cry out, " Glory ! 
 glory! glory I hallelujah! Jesus reigns!" Almost his last 
 words were, " Give my respects to Bishop M'Kendree, and tell 
 him that I die in love with all the preachers ; that I love him, 
 and that he lives in my heart," and on the 12th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1816, Jesse Lee's triumphant spirit 
 
246 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 "Passed through the crystal ports of light, 
 And seized eternal youth." 
 
 He died in the fifty-ninth year of his age, and thirty-sixth of 
 his itinerant ministry, beloved and regretted by a large circle 
 of friends in all parts of the American continent. 
 
 A few observations on the character of Mr. Lee, will close 
 this chapter. From the incidents already related in the life 
 and labors of Mr. Lee, none can doubt his piety, or the deep 
 and fervent desire which he possessed to glorify God, and 
 benefit his fellow-men. On no other principle can we ac- 
 count for his multifarious labors, and self-denying efibrts to do 
 good. As we have seen, he obtained a clear evidence of his 
 acceptance with God, and the love of God and of man was 
 the ruling passion of his after-life. 
 
 As a preacher, Mr. Lee was far above mediocrity ; for fer- 
 vency and zeal in his pulpit efibrts, he probably had no supe- 
 rior in those days of primitive simplicity and fervor ; and in 
 addition to his zeal, he possessed the happy art of clothing his 
 thoughts in rich and appropriate language. But what gave 
 him the greatest success as a preacher was the manifest sin- 
 cerity of the man, combined with a soul full of pathos and ten- 
 derness which frequently displayed itself through flowing tears, 
 which by the sympathy of our nature would as frequently 
 produce an impression on the hearts, and draw tears from the 
 eyes of others. In this respect if in no other, he was one of 
 nature's orators, a preacher whose chief characteristic was the 
 power of eloquence which pleased not so much the ear, as it 
 afiected and subdued the heart. 
 
 To profound learning, Mr. Lee never laid any claim ; as he 
 frequently said, he had just education enough to carry him 
 through the world. We are not, however, to understand 
 that he was an ignorant man in the common acceptation of 
 the term. A person who was familiar with the doctrines 
 
JESSE LEE. 247 
 
 and precepts of the word of God, as was the subject of our 
 sketch, cannot be an ignorant man. One who has travelled 
 as much, preached as frequently, and observed men and ac- 
 tions as long as did Jesse Lee, cannot in the nature of things 
 be a mere ignoramus ; true, he might not have had that 
 knowledge of the classics which would no doubt have made 
 him still more extensively useful and brilliant as a minister 
 of the Gospel, but he did possess that knowledge, without 
 which all other acquirements are vain — a knowledge of sin 
 forgiven, and of the way and plan of salvation. But in ad- 
 dition to this, he had a respectable amount of knowledge as 
 it relates to the more common branches of science. Of this 
 fact liis published works afford abundant evidence ; and the 
 fact also that he was chosen for six successive sessions of Con- 
 gress to the important and dignified station of Chaplain, proves 
 that he was not a mere novice, or destitute of the necessary 
 qualifications for a minister of Jesus Christ. 
 
 It is proper to look at him also, in another aspect — as the 
 pioneer of New England Methodism — and it is in this rela- 
 tion, that he sustained to the revival of religion in the East- 
 ern States, under the instrumentality of Methodist doctrines, 
 and Methodist preachers, that Jesse Lee appears in all his 
 moral grandeur and true greatness. In these northern regions, 
 far from friends and home, he single-handed wages war vidth 
 the rtdigious formality and bigotry of the New England 
 Churches, and it is greatly owing to his indefatigable labors 
 and indomitable perseverance, that the Eastern States are 
 indebted, not only for what of Methodism they now possess, 
 but in a great measure for that spiritual Christianity which 
 now dv/ells so largely in the bosom of other evangelical 
 Churches in New England ; and we cannot repress the ut- 
 terance of our thoughts when we say it is our candid belief, 
 that had Jesse Lee visited those States a half-century sooner 
 than he did, there would at the time of his actual labors 
 
648 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 among that people, have been less formality, less Unitai-ianism, 
 less latent infidelity ; and had his labors been bestowed a half- 
 century later, instead of what we now find of genuine piety, 
 and orthodoxy of sentiment, a dark cloud of skepticism, and 
 Unitarian rationalism, with a much larger quantum of Uni- 
 versalism, would have brooded over the rocky shores of New 
 England. Jesse Lee, like the apocalyptic angel, flying from 
 town to tovra, and from State to State, preaching the doc- 
 trines of repentance and faith, was in an important sense the 
 apostle of New England. But here our reflections must end. 
 
CHAPTER XIL 
 
 REV. BENJAMIN ABBOTT. 
 
 Benjamn Abbott was born on. Long Island, N. Y., in the 
 year 1732. But little is known in regard to his early life, as 
 he did not embrace the religion of the Saviour, until he was 
 forty years of age. His father dying while Benjamin was a 
 lad, and having made provision in his will, that his sons 
 should be put out to learn trades, the subject of this chapter 
 was indented as an apprentice to a hatter, in Philadelphia, 
 where he soon fell into bad company, and became addicted to 
 card-playing, cock-fighting, and many other evil practices. 
 Leaving his master before the expiration of his apprenticeship, 
 he went to New Jersey, and labored on a farm with one of 
 his brothers. Soon after this he married, but the domestic 
 relation, instead of having the effect of drawing him into the 
 paths of virtue, only seemed to rekindle the desire for vicious 
 indulgence. So that he continued to live in rebellion against 
 God, drinking, fighting, swearing, gambling, and attending 
 fairs and other places of public resort, for the purpose of meet- 
 ing with those of his own disposition, and sinful habits. In a 
 word, he was what even the world would call, a very wicked 
 man, and the only redeeming trait in his character at that 
 time, appears to have been a disposition to treat his family 
 kindly, and provide for them comfortably, a trait not often 
 found in the case of the hardened inebriate. 
 
 Yet during this wild career of wickedness and sin, Abbott 
 
230 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTBBS. 
 
 was not without a respect for religion. He even attended 
 church, and professed to be a Presbyterian in sentiment, and 
 was often convicted of his sins and wickedness, by the Spirit 
 of God which spoke in thunder tones to his guilty conscience, 
 and alarmed him of his danger and his doom. Often did he 
 make promises of amendment, and as often did he forget to 
 fulfil them. When he was about thirty-three years of age, 
 he had a dream of being carried to hell, where the devils put 
 him into a vice, and tormented him till his body was all cov- 
 ered with blood : he was then hurried into another apartment, 
 where he was pierced by the stings of scorpions, and as fast 
 as he would pull one out, another would strike him ; he was 
 next introduced to a lake of fire, into which the devils were 
 throwing the souls of men and women. Two regiments of 
 devils were moving through the chambers of the damned, 
 blowing up the flames, and when it came his turn to be 
 thrown in, one devil took him by the head, another by the 
 feet, and while in the act of throwing him in, he awoke, and 
 found it was a dream. We make mention of this dream not 
 because of its singularity, but as a specimen of the horrors 
 which haunt the pillow of the wretched inebriate. The ef- 
 fect of such terrible and awful visions of the night, — which 
 appeared as realities to him, — was such, that he would prom- 
 ise solemnly to amend his ways ; but, alas, poor man, he had 
 not as yet learned the necessity of seeking divine aid in so do- 
 ing ; thus he lived until he was forty years of age, a misera- 
 ble sinner, being " without hope, and without God in the 
 world," tormented by day and by night, and yet in his igno- 
 rance, not knowing precisely how to escape from his apparent- 
 ly hopeless condition. 
 
 One Sabbatff-day his wife attended a Methodist meeting, a 
 few miles distant from their place of residence. On her re- 
 turn, Abbott asked her how she liked the preacher. She 
 answered that he was as great a preacher as she ever heard 
 
BENJAMIN ABBOTT. 251 
 
 in her life, and persuaded her husband to go and hear for 
 himself. Accordingly, on the next Sabbath, Mr. Abbott went 
 and heard a sermon from the text, " Come unto me all ye 
 that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 
 Says Mr. Abbott in relation to the services, " The preacher 
 was much engaged, and the people were crying all through 
 the house ; this greatly surprised me, for I never had seen the 
 like before. The sermon made no impression on me ; but 
 when he came to the application, he said, ' It may be, that 
 some of you may think that there is neither God, nor devils, 
 nor hell, only a guilty conscience ; and indeed, my friends, 
 that is bad enough. But I assure you that there is both 
 heaven and hell, God and devils.' " Mr. Abbott now re- 
 membered his dreams, and his misspent life, and all his sins 
 were brought vividly before his mind, and he returned home 
 under the influence of deep conviction, but still was ignorant 
 of the way of salvation. 
 
 Soon after this, the preacher went to preach in the neigh- 
 borhood where J.Ir. Abbott resided, and as Methodist preach- 
 ing was a new thing, many went out to hear him ; he 
 preached with power, and the word took such hold of Mr. 
 Abbott, that it " shook every joint in his body," and he cried 
 aloud for mercy. When the sermon was ended, the people 
 flocked around the preacher and began to dispute on doc- 
 trines ; as for Abbott, they said he was going mad. He re- 
 turned home in great distress of mind, and having been 
 brought up under the teachings of Calvinism, and believing 
 in the doctrines of election and reprobation, he concluded that 
 he was a reprobate, and that he must be damned, do what he 
 would. From this time onward, his burden of sin increased, 
 and he was tempted to commit suicide, and no doubt would 
 have done so, had it not been for the reflection that the tor- 
 ment of the damned is still more insupportable than the up- 
 braiding of a guilty conscience ; at length, after suffering the 
 
252 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 most intense anguish of spirit, and having been properly in- 
 structed in relation to the way of salvation by faith, he ven- 
 tured his all on Jesus Christ, and found rest to his soul on the 
 12th day of October, 1772. " My heart," he says, " felt as 
 light as a bird, being relieved of that load of guilt -which be- 
 fore had bowed down my spirits, and my body felt as active 
 as when I was eighteen, so that the outward and inward 
 man were both animated." " I arose and called up the 
 family, and took down the Testament, and the first place I 
 opened to, was the ninth chapter of Acts, where Saul breathed 
 out threatenings and slaughter against the Church or disciples 
 of the Lord, and if I had had a congregation I could have 
 preached, but having none but my own family, I expounded 
 the chapter and exhorted them, and then sang and prayed. 
 After breakfast, I told my wife that I must go and tell the 
 neighbors what the Lord had done for my soul. The first 
 place I went to, the man and his wife were both profes- 
 sors of religion and members of the Baptist Church ; I expect- 
 ed they knew what these things were, and would rejoice 
 with me ; but to my great surprise, when I related my ex- 
 perience, and told what God had done for my soul, it ap- 
 peared as strange to them as if I had claimed possession of 
 Old England, and called it all my own. I then set out to 
 Jacob Elwell's mill, about two miles off, where I expected 
 to meet with divers persons, and to have an opportunity to 
 exhort them, and tell them what I had found. On my way 
 there, I exhorted all I met with to turn to God. When I got 
 to the mill, while I was telling them my experience, and ex- 
 horting them to flee from the wrrath to come, some laughed, 
 and others cried, and some thought I had gone distracted. 
 Before night, a report was spread all through the neighbor 
 hood that I was raving mad ; at evening I returned home, 
 and asked my wife about her conviction and conversion, ex- 
 pecting, as she professed religion, that she knew what heart 
 
BENJAMIN ABBOIT. 253 
 
 religion was ; but to my astonishment, I found she never had 
 experienced a change of heart. She had been awakened 
 when young, under a sermon of Mr. Hunter, a Presbyterian 
 minister, which brought her to prayer, but in progress of time 
 it wore off again. About seven years after that, as a brother 
 of hers was sitting under a fence, watching for deer, another 
 man who was also hunting, about sunset, seeing his head 
 through the fence, and taking it to be a fox, shot and killed 
 him ; this unfortunate affair gave her another alarm, which 
 brought her again to prayer ; but this also wore off in a short 
 time, and she lived in neglect of that duty until after we 
 were married and had three children ; at which time the 
 measles came into the family, and under her afflictions and 
 distress, she covenanted with God to be more religious : from 
 which time she became a praying woman, and joined the 
 Presbyterian Church, and was looked upon as a very religious 
 person, although she rested short of conversion, and remained 
 a stranger to the new birth. I told her that she had no re- 
 ligion, and was nothing more than a strict Pharisee ; this 
 gave her displeasure, and she asked me if none had re- 
 ligion but those who knew it ? I told her no, not one ; for all 
 who had it, must know it.* Next day she went to her min- 
 ister, to know what he thought of it. He told her she was 
 right, for people might be good Christians and know nothing 
 about what I insisted on ; and advised her not to mind me, 
 for I was expecting to be saved by my works. This gave her 
 a momentary satisfaction, and home she came quite strong, 
 and attacked me, and related what her minister had said ; 
 
 "^ The author feels it his duty to dissent from the doctrine here 
 tau^t. He believes that every child of God may know that his sins 
 are forgiven ; but he is also convinced that some may be the children 
 of God, and through the influence of improper religious instruction, 
 may not have so " full an assurance of faith" as to be able conscien- 
 tiously to say, that they know they are converted. 
 
254 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 she also brought a book which he had sent me, entitled Bel- 
 lamey's New Divinity, in which he insisted upon conversion 
 before conviction, and faith before repentance. I read it about 
 half through, and found him a rigid predestinarian. His doc- 
 trine of decrees, and unconditional election, and reprobation, 
 so confused my mind, that I threw it by, determined to read 
 no more in it, as my own experience clearly proved to me 
 that the doctrines it contained were false. Next day, my 
 wife carried the book back. I desired her to tell the minister 
 from me, that it was full of lies, which Scripture and experience 
 both proved. He sent for me to come and see him ; accord- 
 ingly, the day following I went and dined with him ; after 
 dinner, he requested all the family to withdraw from tlie 
 dining-room ; they did so, and he and I were left alone. He 
 then told me he understood that God had done great things for 
 me ; whereupon, I related my conviction and my conversion ; 
 he paid a strict attention until I had done, and then told me 
 that I was under strong delusions of the devil. He got a 
 book out of his library for me to read ; as he handed it to me, 
 the Lord showed me by the voice of his Spirit that the book 
 was not fit for me. However, I disobeyed the Divine impres- 
 sion, and took it at the minister's request ; I returned home 
 and felt a temptation to doubt, and called to mind my various 
 sins, but none of them condemned me. I then thought upon 
 a particular sin, which I concluded would condemn me ; but 
 in a moment I felt an evidence that that sin was forgiven as 
 though separate from all the rest that ever I had committed ; 
 but recollecting the minister had told me ' I was under strong 
 delusions of the devil,' it was suggested to my mind, it may 
 be he is right ; I went a little out of the road and kneeled 
 down, and prayed to God if I was deceived to undeceive me, 
 and the Lord said to me, ' Why do you doubt ? Is not Christ 
 all-sufficient ? Is he not able ? Have you not felt his blood 
 apphed ?' I then sprang upon my feet and cried out, Not all 
 
BENJAMIN ABBOTT. 255 
 
 the devils in hell, nor all the predestinarians on earth, shall 
 make me doubt ; for I knew that I was converted : at that 
 instant I was filled with unspeakable raptures of joy." 
 
 We have given these lengthy extracts for the purpose of 
 showing the exercises of Mr. Abbott's mind, after having ob- 
 tained the " adoption of a son," and for the purpose of show- 
 ing the power of grace in " converting such a sinner from the 
 errors of his ways." Having at length gained the victory 
 over his doubts and temptations, in reference to his being 
 truly converted, the next important question to be decided by 
 him, was in relation to the Church he should join. He ac- 
 cordingly commenced reading the different Confessions of 
 Faith, Articles of Religion, &c., of the various Churches, and 
 then read the Bible from beginning to end, with reference to 
 the same subject. His natural feelings would have prompted 
 him to join some other Church than the Methodists, but after 
 delaying the matter for some six months after his conversion, 
 and while one day meditating prayerfully upon the subject, 
 he exclaimed, " I am a Methodist .' lam a MetJwdist .'" 
 He then returned home resolving to be such, although he 
 knew that persecution and reproach would be poured upon, 
 him from every quarter. In a few days after, he joined the 
 Methodists, and his wife being happily converted to God, she 
 united with them also, and in the course of three months 
 after his wife's conversion, six of their children were also con- 
 verted to God ; a small class was formed in the neighborhood, 
 and Mr. Abbott was appointed Leader. 
 
 One day being invited to dine at the house of a friend, Mr. 
 Abbott on sitting down to the table proposed aslcing a blessing 
 upon the food ; as soon as he began, two workmen present 
 began to laugh. This was too much for Abbott to endure in 
 silence ; he consequently rose and began to exhort them in a 
 very rough manner, thundering out hell and damnation 
 
256 
 
 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 against them, with tears in his eyes. This broke up the din- 
 ner, and neither of them ate anything at that time. 
 
 Mr. Abbott soon became a man "full of faith and the Holy 
 Ghost," and his neighbors when sick, would send for " Old 
 Abbott," to pray with them ; and soon he received an impres- 
 sion, that it was his duty to preach the Gospel ; and as in 
 those days, there was not that degree of formality observed, as 
 at the present day, in reference to allowing men to preach 
 who thought themselves called to the work, he appears to 
 have begun preaching before he was called by the voice of 
 the Church, but evidently not before he had received a call 
 from God. His first effort at preaching was on the occasion 
 of a funeral which he had been requested to attend. As soon 
 as it became noised abroad that Mr. Abbott had become a 
 preacher, he received frequent invitations to hold meetings in 
 different neighborhoods. While at one of his appointments 
 the following occurrence took place : Mr. Abbott was preach- 
 ing with great zeal and power, and in the course of his re- 
 marks, said, " 'For aught I know, there may be a murderer in 
 this congregation I Immediately a lasty man attempted to go 
 out, but when he got to the door he bawled out, and stretched 
 out both his arms and ran backward, as though some one had 
 been pressing on him to take his life, and he endeavoring to 
 defend himself from the attack, until he got to the far side of 
 the room, and then fell backward against the wall, crying out 
 bitterly, that he was the murderer, for he had killed a man 
 about fifteen years before !" The man lay in great anguish 
 of soul, while Mr. Abbott having recovered himself from his 
 surprise and astonishment, resumed his discourse. The man 
 finally recovered himself, and went away into parts unknown, 
 and was never seen, nor heard from afterwards. 
 
 Shortly after the above occurrence, the war of the Eevolu- 
 tion commenced, and in some parts of the country, the name 
 Methodist, was considered as synonymous with Tory. This 
 
BENJAMIN ABBOTT. 25 7 
 
 arose from the imprudence of a few of the English Wesleyan 
 Missionaries, who believing it to be their duty to " fear God 
 and honor the king," were not sufficiently guarded in their 
 expressions in reference to the politics of the day ; hence, many 
 of the Methodist preachers and members were looked upon 
 with suspicion, and became the subjects of bitter persecution 
 and reproach. This was the case with Mr. Abbott, who be- 
 cause he was a Methodist, became exposed to the sneers and 
 scoffs of the wicked and profane, who under the pretence of 
 patriotism, aimed a blow at vital Christianity, and godly 
 sincerity ; but Mr. Abbott frequently called to mind the 
 words of the Saviour, " The servant is not greater than his 
 Lord," and he resolved to preach and labor for his divine 
 Master even though he should die for it. 
 
 On a certain evening after having preached, Mr. Abbott 
 was accosted by a minister who was present, who asked him 
 if he was a Wesleyan. Mr. Abbott replied in the affirma- 
 tive Then said the minister, " You deny the perseverance 
 of the saints." "God forbid," replied Mr. Abbott, "for none 
 can be saved unless they persevere to the end." " But 
 you believe in the possibility of falling from grace ?" Mr. 
 Abbott said yes ; on which the minister abruptly gave him 
 the lie ; but Mr. Abbott appealed to the testimony of Scrip- 
 ture on this point, and requested the minister to explain a 
 passage in Ezek. iii. 20, 21, but the minister refused. His 
 elder being present, said he ought to explain the passage, but 
 instead of doing so, he became passionate, and said he was 
 brought up at college, and certainly knew about these things, 
 but that Abbott was a fool, and that he could cut such a fel- 
 low's throat ; then turning to his elder, he said, " If there was 
 a dog's head on your shoulders, I would cut it off: Do not 
 you know the articles of your own church ? I will teach you 
 better.'' Mr. Abbott told him that the curse of God was upon 
 all such watchmen as he was, who did not warn the peopk 
 
 17 
 
B58 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 against sin. The minister replied, that he could cut such a 
 fellow's throat, and that it made his blood boil to hear the 
 perseverance of the saints denied. Mr. Abbott desired him 
 to explain the passage ; but all the reply he received, was : 
 " You are a fool, you know nothing at all. I was brought up 
 at college, and I will have you before your betters." 
 
 At another time, in the same town, while he was preach- 
 ing to a crowded house, a mob of soldiers came rushing in 
 with guns and fixed bayonets, and while the rest surrounded 
 the door, one went up to him and presented his gun, as though 
 he would run him through. While the soldier was piercing 
 with his bayonet, Mr. Abbott kept wielding the " sword of 
 the Spirit" — the word of God, proclaiming the terrors of the 
 law in a loud voice, which finally made the assailant quail 
 before him, and retreat to the door. His comrades tried to 
 urge him back, but he refused to cope any longer with a man 
 who was so evidently armed with the " whole armor of God." 
 Mr. Abbott was then allowed to finish his discourse in peace. 
 At his next appointment there, he found one hundred men 
 under arms. When he began to preach they grounded their 
 arms and listened to him in a quiet and orderly manner. Mr. 
 Abbott, about this time, also was drafted to serve in the mili- 
 tia, but as he could not make it appear right for him to fight 
 with, and kill his fellow-men, he was excused by paying a 
 sum. of money sufiicient to furnish a substitute. 
 
 At one of his appointments, the Lord made bare his arm so 
 that many fell to the floor ; their cries were great, and sinners 
 sprang to the doois and windows, and fell one upon another 
 in getting out : five jumped out at a window, one person called 
 out to Mr. Abbott that he was a devil. A young man cried 
 to a magistrate present to command the peace, but the magis- 
 trate answered that it was the power of God. Another per- 
 son, with tears in his eyes, entreated the people to hold their 
 peace, to which an old woman replied, " They cannot hold 
 
BENJAMIN ABBOTT. 259 
 
 their peace, unless you cut out their tongues." At another 
 place, shortly after, while he was preaching, a lady fell to the 
 floor ; Mr. Abhott asked the people what they thought of it, 
 and if they did not think it was of the devil. " If it is," said 
 he, " when she comes to, she will curse and swear, but ifit is 
 of God, she will praise him." When she "came to" she 
 praised the Lord with a loud voice. 
 
 Mr. Abbott had the happy art of always being able to give 
 a word of advice in season, which frequently like bread cast 
 upon the waters, was found after many days ; an instance of 
 this kind he relates in his autobiography. 
 
 " I set out for quarterly meeting, and on my way I stopped 
 to get my horse shod, and went to a house where I found an 
 old woman spinning, and asked her for a drink of water ; she 
 gave it to me, I said to her. You have given me drink to re- 
 fresh my body, I will strive to give you the waters of life, by 
 persuading you to make application to Jesus Christ. After 
 telling her the terrors of the law, and the promises of the 
 Gospel, I asked leave to pray, which she granted. Three 
 years after, as I was on my way to a quarterly meeting, I met 
 with about twenty persons who were on their way to the 
 same meeting. As soon as they saw me, a woman from 
 among them ran to me and said, ' How do you do, my father V 
 I asked her how she came to know me ? She answered, ' I 
 will soon convince you, I have cause to know you : do you 
 not remember asking me for a drink of water, and that you 
 set before me the plan of salvation, and went to prayer with 
 me ? You had not been gone half an hour before I expected 
 to be in hell every moment. I cried to God mightily without 
 any intermission, until he set my soul at liberty : therefore, I 
 will call you my spiritual father.' " 
 
 While Mr. Abbott was thus instrumental as a Christian of 
 doing ffood to individuals, he by no means neglected the spir- 
 itual welfare of communities; hence we find him urging, the 
 
260 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 people where he occasionally labored to the work of building 
 a house for the Lord. In a place called Penns-Neck, he had 
 for four years tried to prevail upon the inhabitants to erect a 
 church, during which period they were obliged to meet in a 
 grove, when the weather permitted ; at length growing 
 weary of their tardiness, he agreed with a carpenter to build 
 one, who went on to the spot at the time appointed. Mr. 
 Abbott told him he had no timber for the building, and there- 
 fore he must go begging. He accordingly went to a neighbor 
 and said, " We are going to build a house for God, what will 
 you give towards it ?" " Two sticks of timber for sills." He 
 then went to a duaker widow, and obtained two sticks more. 
 He went to another person, who gave him timber enough to 
 complete the house. He then told others that they must 
 draw the materials, and in four days the latter were all 
 on the spot. In a week more the frame was raised, and in 
 six weeks the job was completed, and Mr. Abbott begged the 
 money to pay the carpenter. The consequence of the erection, 
 of this house was the " moralizing and Christianizing" of the 
 whole neighborhood. 
 
 The following extracts will no doubt be found interesting 
 by the reader : — " Next day I set out for my appointment, but 
 being a stranger, I stopped at a house to inquire the way, and 
 the man told me he was just going to that place, for there 
 was to be a Methodist preacher there that day ; and our 
 preacher, said he, is to be there to trap him in his discourse, 
 and if you will wait a few minutes until a neighbor of mine 
 comes, I will go with you. In a few minutes the man came, 
 who, it seems, was a constable. So we set off, and they soon 
 fell into conversation about the preacher, having no idea of 
 my being the man, as I never wore black, or any kind of garb 
 that indicated my being a preacher, and so I rode unsuspected. 
 The constable being a very profane man, he swore by all the 
 gods he had, good and bad, that he would lose his right arm 
 
BENJAMIN ABBOTT. 261 
 
 from his body if the Methodist preacher did not go to jail that 
 day. When we arrived at the place appointed, I saw about 
 two hundred horses hitched. I also hitched mine, and retired 
 into the woods, where I prayed, and covenanted with God, 
 upon my knees, that if he stood by me in this emergency, I 
 would be more for him through grace than ever I had been. 
 I then arose and went to my horse with a perfect resignation 
 to the will of God, whether to death or to jail. I took my 
 saddle-bags and went to the house ; the man took me into a 
 private room, and desired I would preach in favor of the war, 
 as I was in a Presbyterian settlement. I replied I should 
 preach as God should direct me. He appeared very uneasy, 
 and left me, and just before preaching he came in again, and 
 renewed his request, that I would preach up for war ; I re 
 plied as before, and then followed him out among the people, 
 where he made proclamation as follows : — Gentlemen, this 
 house is my own, and no gentleman shall be interrupted in 
 my house in time of his discourse, but after he has done you 
 may do as you please. Thank God, said I, softly, that I have 
 liberty once more to warn sinners before I die. I then took 
 my stand, and the house was so crowded no one could sit 
 down. Some hundreds were round about the door. I stood 
 about two or three feet from the constable who had sworn so 
 bitterly. When he saw that I was the man that he had so 
 abused on the way, with so many threats and oaths, his coun- 
 tenance fell, and he turned pale. I gave out a hymn, but no 
 one offered to sing ; I sung four lines, and kneeled down and 
 prayed. When I arose I preached with great liberty. I felt 
 such power from God rest upon me that I was above the fear 
 of either men or devils', not regarding whether death or jail 
 should be my lot. Looking forward, I saw a decent-looking 
 man trembling, and tears flowed in abundance, which I soon 
 discovered was the case with many others. After preaching, 
 I told them I expected they wanted to know by what author- 
 
262 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ity I had come into that country to preach. I then told them 
 my conviction and conversion, the place of my nativity and 
 place of residence ; also my call to the ministry, and that 
 seven years I had labored in (lod's vineyard ; that I spent my 
 own money, and found and vv'ore my ovi'n clothes, and that it 
 was the love that I had for their precious souls for whom 
 Christ died, that had induced me to come among them at the 
 risk of my life ; and then exhorted them to fly to Jesus, the 
 ark of safety — that all things were ready — to seek, and they 
 should find, to knock, and it should be opened unto them. 
 By this time the people were generally melted into tears. I 
 then concluded, and told them on that day two weeks they 
 might expect preaching again. I mounted my horse and set 
 out with a friendly duakev for a pilot. We had not rode 
 above fifty yards when I heard one hallooing after us. I look- 
 ed back and saw about fifty running after us. I then conclu- 
 ded that to jail I must go. We stopped, and when they 
 came up, I crave your name, said one — I told him, and so we 
 parted. He was a justice of the peace, and was the person 
 that I had taken notice of in time of preaching, and observed 
 him to be in great anxiety of mind. No one ofiered me any 
 violence ; but they committed the next preacher on that day 
 two weeks, to the common jail." 
 
 The following extract, though somewhat lengthy, is both 
 instructing and amusing : " Next day we went to our appoint- 
 ment, where the congregation was chiefly Germans, and a 
 well-behaved people. Here the Lord wrought wonders, di- 
 vers fell to the floor, and several found peace. I lost both the 
 power of my body and use of my speech, and cried out in a 
 strange manner. The people also cried aloud ; here I thought 
 I should frighten them, being in a strange country and among 
 a people of a strange language ; but glory to God, it had a 
 contrary effect, for they continued all night in prayer. 
 
 " Next morning, I set out with about twenty others for my 
 
BENJAMIN ABBOTT. 2C3 
 
 appointment, where we found a large congregation. When. 
 I came to my apphoation, the power of the Lord came in 
 such a manner, that the people fell all ahout the house, and 
 their cries might be heard afar off. This alarmed the wicked, 
 who sprang for the doors in such haste, that they fell one 
 over another in heaps. The cry of mourners was so great, I 
 thought to give out a hymn to drown the noise, and desired 
 one of our English friends to raise it, hut as soon as he began 
 to sing, the power of the Lord struck him and he pitched un- 
 der the table, and there lay like a dead man. I gave it out 
 again, and asked another to raise it : as soon as he attempted, 
 he fell also. I then made the third attempt, and the power 
 of God came upon me in such a manner, that I cried out, and 
 was amazed. I theii saw that I was fighting against God, 
 and did not attempt to sing again. Mr. Boehm, the owner 
 of the house, and a preacher among the Germans, cried out, 
 ' I never saw God in this way before.' I replied, this is a 
 Pentecost, father. ' Yes, be sure,' said he, clapping his hands, 
 ' a Pentecost, be sure !' Prayer was all through the house, 
 up stairs and down. I desired Mr. Boehm to go to prayer ; 
 he did so, and five or six of us did the same. A watchnight 
 having been appointed for that evening, and seeing no pros- 
 pect of this meeting being over, although it had begun at 
 eleven o'clock, I told Boehm that we had best quietly with- 
 draw from the meeting-house. When we had got out of the 
 door, a young man came out and laid hold on the fence to 
 support himself from falling, and then cried amain for God 
 to have mercy on him. ' To be sure,' said Mr. B., ' I never 
 saw God in this way before.' We exhorted him to look to 
 God and not to give up the struggle, and God would bless 
 him before he left the place. I took the old gentleman by 
 the arm, and we walked quietly to the house to get some din- 
 ner. About five o'clock, a person came from the preaching 
 house, requesting that I would go there immediately, for 
 
264 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 there was a person dying. We went without delay. I went 
 up stairs, and there lay several about the floor, some crying 
 for mercy, and others praising God. I then went into the 
 preaching-room, and there they lay about the floor in like 
 manner. I then went to see the person said to be dying ; she 
 lay gasping. I kneeled down to pray, but it was instantly 
 given me that God had converted her soul, and therefore in- 
 stead of praying for deliverance, I gave God thanks that he 
 had delivered her, and immediately she arose and praised 
 God for what he had done for her soul." 
 
 " We set out with about forty friends, to the next appoint- 
 ment. The people being gathered, after singing and prayer, 
 I began to preach, and God laid to his helping hand ; many 
 cried aloud for mercy. One young man being powerfully 
 wrought upon, retired up stairs, and there thumped about 
 upon the floor, so that Mr. B. was afraid that he would be 
 injured in body. ' To he sure,' said he, ' I never saw God in 
 this way before.' I told him there was no danger, he was in 
 ths hands of a merciful God. In a few minutes after, attempt- 
 ing to come down stairs, he fell from the top to the bottom, 
 and hallooed aloud, ' The devil is in the chamber ! the devil 
 is in the chamber I' which greatly alarmed all the people. 
 This brought a great damp over my spirits, for I thought if 
 I had raised the devil, I might as well go home again. How- 
 ever, after a little space, I bid some of the dear people go up 
 stairs and see if the devil was there : several went up to see 
 what the matter was, and there they found a man rolling, 
 groaning, and crying to God for mercy ; they returned, and 
 told us how matters stood." 
 
 " Next day, at my appointment, we had a crowded house, 
 and the Lord laid to his helping hand ; divers fell to the floor, 
 and several cried aloud for mercy. After preaching, an old 
 Presbyterian gentleman attacked me, and told me it was all 
 the work of the devil — that God was a God of order and this 
 
BENJAMIN ABBOrr. 265 
 
 was perfect confusion. Well, said I, if this be the work of 
 the devil, the people, many of whom then lay on the floor as 
 dead men, when they come to, they will curse and swear and 
 rage like devils ; but if it be of God, their notes will be 
 changed. Soon after, one of them came to, and he began to 
 praise God with a loud voice ; and soon another, and so on, 
 until divers of them bore testimony for Jesus. Hark I hark ! 
 said I to my old opponent — brother, do you hear them ? this 
 is not the language of hell, but the language of Canaan. I 
 then appointed prayer-meeting at a friend's house, in the 
 neighborhood. After the people had gati.ered, I saw my old 
 opponent among them. I gave out a hy in, and brother S. 
 went to prayer, and after him myself J had spoken but a. 
 few words, before brother S. fell to the iloor, and soon after 
 him every soul in the house, except myself and my old Pres- 
 byterian opponent and two others. I arose, and gave an 
 exhortation, and the two men fell — one as if he had been 
 shot ; and then there was every soul down in the house, ex- 
 cept myself and my old opponent. He began immediately to 
 dispute the point, telling me it was all delusion and the work 
 of the devil. I told him to stand still and see the salvation, 
 of the Lord. As they came to, they all praised God, and not 
 one soul but what professed either to have received justifica- 
 tion or sanctification, eight of whom professed the latter. I 
 then replied, hark ! is this the language of hell ? Here your 
 eyes have seen the salvation of the Lord. — Time called us 
 away to our next appointment, which was about seven miles 
 distant. Here we met with my old Presbyterian opponent 
 ao'ain ; on seeing him, I was sorry, for I concluded that we 
 should have some disputing again. I fixed my eyes on him, 
 and cried mightily to God that if one man fell that day, it 
 might be him. As I was preaching, I heard several cry out, 
 ' Water I water I the man is fainting I' I looked round, and 
 saw it was my old opponent, trembling like Belshazzar : I 
 
266 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 told them to let hirn alone, and look to themselves, for that it 
 was the power of God that had arrested him. They let hira 
 go, and down he fell on the floor, struggled awhile, and then 
 lay as one dead. When I finished my discourse, and dis- 
 missed the people, in order to meet the class, I desired sora^ 
 of our friends to carry him out, as he was in our way : they 
 did so, and laid him on a bed ia a hack room. After class, 
 I went in to see my old opponent ; he had just come to, and 
 was sitting on the bed. Now, thought I, is this the work of 
 the devil, or not 1 but said nothing to him, nor he to me. 
 
 " Next morning we went to our appointment, where we 
 had a large congregation. Looking round, I saw my old 
 Presbyterian friend again. This was nine miles distant from 
 my former appointment. I felt great freedom in speaking : 
 a woman began to shake in a powerful manner, and three or 
 four cried out ' Water I water !' I told them that it was the 
 power of God that had fallen on her, so they let her go, and 
 down she fell on the floor. I bid them to look to themselves, 
 and went on with my discourse ; some wept, some sighed, 
 and some groaned. When I dismissed the people, not one 
 offered to go. I then desired some one to speak to them, and 
 brother C. arose and said, ' You stand amazed at the power 
 of God, and well you may,' and gave a smart exhortation. 
 By this time I had gathered a little strength, and gave them 
 an exhortation ; they wept all through the house. I then 
 said, For God's sake, if any can speak for God, say on ; for I 
 can speak no more. Who should arise but my old Presby- 
 terian opponent, and began with informing them that he was 
 not one of this sect, that he had been with me four days, and 
 that he never had seen the power of God in this way before ; 
 and added, It is the power of God I and gave a warm exhor- 
 tation for about three quarters of an hour. I then dismissed 
 the people. 
 
 It would no doubt be interesting, to multiply extracts as 
 
BENJAMIN ABBOTT. 261 
 
 found in the life of this " Son of thunder," but our limits 
 oblige us to hasten with the narrative of his labors in a more 
 summary manner. After laboring as a local preacher for up- 
 ward of sixteen years, he felt it his duty to join the travelling 
 connection, which he did in 1789, at the Conference held in 
 Trenton, New Jersey, in April of that year, and was appoint- 
 ed to Dutchess circuit, in the State of New York. The cir 
 cuit was new, and he found but a few converted souls on it 
 He, however, began to preach the doctrine of Bible holiness, 
 and although the people mostly belonged to other churches, 
 yet the Lord graciously owned his word, and rendered his la- 
 bors a blessing to the people. In 1790, Mr. Abbott was 
 elected to the oiSce of a deacon, and in 1793 was admitted 
 to the oiEce of an elder, and he labored in his holy vocation 
 until the year 1795, when on account of ill health, he was 
 obliged to retire from the itinerant field, and was never able 
 to resume his duties as a travelling minister. 
 
 Mr. Abbott's last appointment was Cecil circuit, in the 
 State of Maryland, where he proved himself to be the same 
 holy man that he had been for the previous twenty years. On 
 the 3d of February, 1795, he was seized with a violent ague, 
 which was followed by scorching fever, and pain in his side. 
 The doctor being called, pronounced his case hopeless, and 
 gave him up as a dead man. He, however, revived, and vras 
 able to walk and ride out, and even to attend Church, and 
 visit his friends. The winter of 1795-6, was spent by him 
 in Philadelphia. An instance of his fidelity in reproving sin 
 occurred in the spring of this year. At a funeral sermon 
 which was preached on the occasion of the death of a pious 
 lady, Mr. Abbott was able to be present, and at the close of 
 the sermon, he rose and gave an exhortation. Seeing a gen- 
 tleman present who had once been a fellow-laborer with him 
 in the gospel, but who had wickedly departed from his God, 
 Mr. Abbott felt it his duty to address his exhortation particu- 
 
268 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 larly to him, and called to mind the many happy hours they 
 had spent together in the service of God. The gentleman re- 
 ceived the advice given, as an afTront, and thought himself 
 ill-used. On Mr. Abbott's being informed of the manner in 
 which his vi'ell-meaning effort had been received, he simply 
 said, " Why if I were able to take my horse and go and see 
 him, I should not have made use of that opportunity ; but as 
 I am not able to go and see him, I vi'as convinced that if I 
 let that opportunity pass, I should never have another ; and 
 I thought it was my duty to speak as I did : therefore I leave 
 the event with God. I am sure that it cannot hurt him, or 
 do him any injury ; for a man that is posting in the broad 
 way to damnation, cannot be easily worsted. I I have seen 
 the time that we have rejoiced together as fellow-laborers in 
 Christ, and it grieves my soul to see that the devil has got 
 the advantage of him I" The final result of Mr. Abbott's 
 plainness was, that at the next quarterly meeting after his 
 death, the gentleman alluded to rose in the love-feast, and 
 declared that God had healed all his backslidings, and that he 
 had made Father Abbott the instrument of his restoration to 
 the favor of God. 
 
 About the first of June, Mr. Abbott was able to attend an- 
 other funeral, at which the officiating clergyman in the course 
 of his remarks said, that, " Death is the king of terrors, and 
 that he makes cowards of us all." After sermon, Mr. Abbott 
 took occasion to converse with the minister, and dissent from 
 the doctrine taught in the above quotation. " For," said he, 
 " perfect love casteth out fear ;" " and for my part," said he, 
 " I can call God to witness that death is no terror to me ! I 
 am ready to meet my God, if it were now !" 
 
 On the 12th of August, he being very feeble, said to a 
 brother who came to see him, " Brother F. I am going to die, 
 and to-morrow you must go to Philadelphia for Brother 
 M'Gluskey, to come and preach my funeral sermon :" to which 
 
BENJAMIN ABBOTT. 269 
 
 the brother replied, " Father Abbott, you may continue some 
 time yet, as the time of your death is uncertain." " No," said 
 Mr. Abbott, " I shall die before you would get back from 
 Philadelphia, unless you travel in the night." The brother 
 replied, "It will not answer to go before your decease." 
 " Why," rejoined Mr. Abbott, " I shall die, and I do not wish 
 my body kept until it is offensive : you know the weather is 
 warm, and the distance is considerable." "That is tjue," re- 
 plied the brother, " but if I were to go to Philadelphia for 
 brother M'Cluskey to preach your funeral sermon and you 
 not dead, the friends would laugh at me, and he would not 
 come." "Ah !" said he, "it may be so ; I never thought of 
 that ; perhaps it will be best to stay till I am dead." 
 
 On the day but one, following the above conversation, this 
 eminently useful servant of God breathed his last. The last 
 sentence which he intelligibly articulated was, " Glory to 
 God ! I see heaven sweetly opened before me !" After this, 
 he frequently repeated single words as " See ! — See .' — Glory! 
 — Glory P' &c., in the meanwhile clapping his emaciated 
 hands together, until nature became exhausted, and he ceased 
 at once to work and live. He died in Salem, New Jersey, on 
 the 14th of Avigust, 1796, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, 
 and twenty-third of his ministry. He was buried according 
 to his oft-repeated desire, in the Methodist burial-ground in 
 Salem. His funeral being attended by a large concourse of 
 his fellow-citizens, and by Christian ministers of different de- 
 nominations. 
 
 Thus lived, and thus died, Benjamin Abbott, " a brand 
 plucked from the burning — a man who had wasted forty 
 years of his life in sin and vice, and yet, who, thraugh the 
 mercy of God in Christ Jesus, became as eminent for piety 
 and usefulness in the Church of God, as he before had been 
 notorious for wickedness and folly. It is scarcely necessary to 
 add many remarks in relation to the character of Mr. Abbott 
 
270 
 
 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 as a preacher of the Gospel, after having given the lengthy 
 extracts which are found in this chapter. Suffice it to say 
 that for burning, zeal and power in the pulpit, he probably 
 never had a superior in the Methodist Church. In regard to 
 education, Mr. Abbott was probably behind the most of the 
 preachers of that day, but what he lacked in knowledge he 
 made up in power, and the influence he exerted over the 
 minds of a congregation was truly wonderful, and the more 
 so in view of his want of education. The great secret of his 
 success, however, may be traced to his depth of piety ; for being 
 one of those persons to whom " the Lord had forgiven much," 
 he felt it his duty to " love much" in return, and hence his 
 burning desire for the salvation of souls. It is barely possible 
 that Mr. Abbott was too much of a zealot — that he suffered 
 things to be carried too far in some of his meetings, although 
 we would by no means affirm this ; for who can limit the 
 power of God, or who place bounds to the operations of his 
 grace ? It is much easier to cry " confusion" and " disorder," 
 than to define the precise limit at which confusion begins and 
 order ends. Were our modern lovers of order to undertake 
 the task of stating how far the apostles and disciples were or- 
 derly or otherwise on the day of Pentecost ; they would find 
 it a more onerous task than simply to find fault with the ex- 
 hibitions of God's power in latter days, especially under the 
 labors of Abbott : 
 
 " Peace to his ashes." 
 
CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 BISHOP M'KENDREE. 
 
 William M'Kendree was born in King William County, 
 State of Virginia, on the sixth day of July, 1757. His parents 
 were reputable, and appear to have been communicants of 
 the English Church, in which William was educated. Of 
 his early life we know but little, as no biography of this emi- 
 nent man has as yet been given to the Church. Of one 
 thing, however, we are assured : that he lived to the age of 
 thirty years before he became the subject of converting grace. 
 At the latter age, under the ministry of the E,ev. John Easter, 
 who travelled on the circuit near where he lived, he was 
 awakened to a sense of his lost condition as a sinner, and was 
 led to seek for pardon and reconciliation through the atoning 
 blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Nor did he seek in vain ; 
 peace and pardon were granted him in answer to the prayer 
 of faith, and his soul became unspeakably happy while "filled 
 with the fulness of God." 
 
 This happy change took place in the year 1787, and being 
 possessed of an ardent love for souls, he was led almost imme- 
 diately after his conversion to sigh for the salvation of his un- 
 converted neighbors and friends. His desire for their salvation 
 led him to improve upon the talents committed to his care by 
 the " master of the vineyard," and soon he became a preacher 
 of that faith which had so recently changed his " darkness 
 into light." The year after his conversion he offered himself 
 
272 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 to the Virginia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 as a travelling preacher, and was hy that body received on 
 trial, and appointed to a circuit. He had not been long 
 engaged in the ministry before he manifested talents of a very 
 high order. In the year 1792, some opposition was manifested 
 by a few of the preachers, to the power of the bishops in sta- 
 tioning them without an appeal to the Conference. The 
 opposition was led by a highly popular preacher, by the name 
 of James O'Kelly, who served as a presiding elder in the State 
 of Virginia. Mr. O'Kelly introduced a resolution to the Con- 
 ference of 1792, the design of which was to secure to every 
 preacher who thought himself injured, an appeal to the Con- 
 ference with liberty to state his objections, and if the Confer- 
 ence approved of his objections, require the bishop to appoint 
 him to another circuit. The resolution thus presented elicited 
 very strong debate, which lasted three days, but which was 
 finally lost by a large majority. The failure of the effort to 
 secure the passage of the resolution so operated upon the 
 mind of the mover, that he, with some others, withdrew from 
 the Church, and organized a separate organization, with the 
 name of " Republican Methodists." 
 
 Mr. M'Kendree participated more or less in the discussion, 
 and favored the views of Mr. O'Kelly and his party ; and al- 
 though he did not, like the leader of the movement, withdraw 
 from the Church, he nevertheless was so much disappointed 
 at the failure of the proposed measure, that he refused to take 
 an appointment at that Conference. After the adjournment, 
 however, he took pains to examine more critically, the true 
 nature of the measure which had been proposed with so much 
 warmth, and defeated by so large a majority of his brethren, 
 and became convinced of his error, and of the propriety of 
 the course pursued by the Conference. Accordingly, at the 
 request of Bishop Asbury, he again entered the travelling 
 field, and took an appointment, and was stationed in Norfolk, 
 
BISHOP m'kekdrse. 273 
 
 Va. The examination, of the subject alluded to above, con- 
 vinced him that the only way to preserve the itinerancy of 
 Methodism unimpaired, was to continue in the hands of the 
 bishop the sole power of appointment, and in these views he 
 continued till the end of his life. 
 
 In 1796, Mr. M'Kendree was appointed to the charge of 
 an important district in the Virginia Conference as a presiding 
 elder, and at the expiration of three years of faithful and suc- 
 cessful service, was removed to the Baltimore district, where 
 he presided one year with equal fidelity and success. In 1800 
 he was selected by Bishops Asbury and Whatcoat to take 
 charge of a Western district, which required fifteen hundred 
 miles travel quarterly, to go around it. He entered upon this 
 field of labor with great zeal, and had the satisfaction of know- 
 ing that his labors were not in vain in the Lord. 
 
 It was while Mr. M'Kendree was stationed on this district, 
 that camp-meetings were instituted, and no sooner did he be- 
 come acquainted with their utility, than he at once with all 
 the vigor of a deeply anxious mind, and an ever-burning de- 
 sire for the salvation of souls, labored heartily in these pre- 
 cious means of grace ; and through his instrumentality thou- 
 sands in that particular part of the work were no doubt con- 
 verted to God. Such was his success as a preacher, that his 
 fame became known all over the land, and his " praise was 
 in all the Churches." 
 
 At the General Conference of 1808, it became necessary to 
 elect a bishop to fill the vacancy occcasioned by the decease 
 of Bishop Whatcoat. To most of the senior members of the 
 Conference Mr. M'Kendree was personally known, and to 
 them he appeared as the most fitting person to fill that im- 
 portant office. Many of the younger members, however, were 
 entirely unacquainted with him, except by reputation. Be- 
 ing called upon to preach before the Conference on Sabbath 
 mornino', his sermon was so powerful, that both old and young 
 
 18 
 
2T4 
 
 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 looked upon him as the man for the office. Accordingly ou 
 the next day, when a balloting for a new hishop was ordered, 
 it was found that out of one hundred and twenty-eight votes 
 cast, ninety-five were for Mr. M'Kendree, who was therefore 
 declared to be duly elected, and on the 17th of May was con- 
 secrated by Bishop Asbury and other elders of the Church. 
 
 A new field was now opened before Bishop M'Kendree, 
 and after the adjournment of the Conference, as already sta- 
 ted in the Life of Bishop Asbury, the latter took him with 
 him for the purpose of introducing him to all the Conferences, 
 and also to the brethren in different parts of the land. It 
 will, however, be unnecessary to repeat the history given in 
 the preceding chapter, where the labors of the two men of 
 God are spoken of in connection: we will therefore pass to the 
 General Conference of 1812. This was the first delegated 
 General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 is remarkable also, as the first Conference at which either of 
 the bishops had presented a written address. After the open- 
 ing of this venerable body in due form, Bishop M'Kendree 
 over his own signature, presented to the Confejence the fol- 
 lowing document. 
 
 " To the General Conference of the Methodist, Episcoiml 
 Church, now assembled in the city of Neiv York. 
 
 " Dear Brethren : My relation to you and the Connection 
 in general, seems in my opinion to make it necessary, that I 
 should address you in some way, by which you may get pos- 
 session of some information, perhaps not otherwise to be ob- 
 tained by many of you. 
 
 "It is now four years since by your appointment, it became 
 my duty jointly to superintend our extensive and very impor- 
 tant charge. With anxious solicitude and good wishes, I have 
 looked forward to this General Conference. The appointed 
 time is come, and the Lord has graciously permitted us to 
 
BISHOP m'kendrke. 275 
 
 meet according to appointment, for which I hope we are pre- 
 pared jointly, to praise and adore his goodness. 
 
 " Upon examination, you will find the work of the Lord 
 is prospering in our hands. Our important charge has great- 
 ly increased since the last General Conference : we have had 
 an increase of nearly forty thousand members. At present 
 we have about one hundred and ninety thousand members, 
 upward of two thousand local, and about seven hundred trav- 
 elling preachers in our Connection, and these widely scattered 
 over seventeen States, besides the Canadas, and several terri- 
 torial settlements. 
 
 " Thus situated, it must be expected in the present state 
 of things, that the counsel and direction of your united wis- 
 dom, will be necessary to preserve the harmony and peace of 
 the body, as well as co-operation of the travelling and local 
 ministry, in carrying on the blessed work of reformation, which 
 the Lord has been pleased to effect through our instrumen- 
 tality. To deserve the confidence of the local ministry and 
 membership, as well as to retain confidence in ourselves, and 
 in ea<;h other, is undoubtedly our duty ; and if we consider 
 that those who are to confide in us are a collection from all 
 classes and descriptions, from all countries of which the na- 
 tion is composed; promiscuously scattered over this vast conti- 
 nent — men who were originally of different education, man- 
 ners, habits, and opinions, we shall see the difficulty, as well 
 as the importance of this part of our charge. 
 
 " In order to enjoy the comforts of peace and union among 
 us, we must ' love one another ;' but this cannot abide where 
 confidence does not exist ; and purity of intention, manifested 
 by proper actions, is the very foundation and support of con- 
 fidence ; thus ' united, we stand :' each member is a support 
 to the body, and the body supports each member ; but if con- 
 .fidence fails, love win ^row cold, peace will be broken, and 
 ' divided we fall.' It therefore becomes this body, which by 
 
276 
 
 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 its example is to move the passions and direct the course of 
 thousands of ministers, and tens of thousands of members, to 
 pay strict attention to the simplicity of gospel manners, and 
 to do everything as in the immediate presence of God. If we 
 consider the nature of our business, and the influence of civil 
 governments and political measures, it will hardly be expect- 
 ed that every individual in so large a body as you form, will 
 continually be suiEciently and strictly evangelical in all 
 cases ; it is therefore hoped in cases of failure, that the wis- 
 dom and firmness of your united prudence as a body, will coun- 
 teract evil effects, by a well-ordered and prudent disappro- 
 bation and better example. Church and State should never 
 be assimilated. 
 
 " Connected as I am, with you and the Connection in 
 general, I feel it my duty to submit to your consideration the 
 appointment of the Genesee Conference ; and perhaps it may 
 be for the general good, if in your wisdom you should think 
 proper to take into consideration a division of the work in the 
 western country, and a proper arrangement of the work in 
 general ; and the magnitude and extent of the work which 
 the Lord has graciously pleased to prosper in our hands, may 
 make it proper for you to inquire if the work is sufficiently 
 within the oversight of the Superintendency, and to make 
 such arrangement and provision as your wisdom may approve. 
 I would also suggest the necessity of keeping in view, not only 
 the travelling, but the relation and situation of our local 
 brethren ; and to pursue that plan which may render the 
 whole most useful ; and it may also be proper to bring into 
 view any unfinished business (if any) which we had under 
 consideration at our last General Conference. Hitherto, as a 
 body, we have been preserved by our well-digested system of 
 rules, which are as sinews to the body, and form the bonds of 
 our union. But it is evident both from Scripture and ex- 
 perience that men, even good men, may depart from first 
 
BISHOP m'kendree. 2YY 
 
 principles, and the best of rules ; it may therefore be proper 
 for you to pay some attention to the administration, to know 
 the state both of the travelling and local ministry, as it relates 
 to doctrine, discipline, and practice. 
 
 " Before I conclude, permit me, my dear brother, to express 
 a few thoughts concerning the view I have of the relation in 
 which I stand connected with this body. It is only by virtue 
 of a delegated power from the General Conference, that I 
 hold the reins of government. I consider myself bound by 
 virtue of the same authority, to exercise discipline in perfect 
 conformity to the rules of the Church, to the best of my 
 ability and judgment. I consider myself justly accountable, 
 not for the system of government, but for my administration ; 
 and ought therefore to be ready to answer to the General 
 Conference for past conduct, and be willing to receive infor- 
 mation and advice to perfect future operations ; and I wish 
 my brethren to feel themselves perfectly easy and at liberty. 
 ( — To give advice, &c.) 
 
 " I shall take the liberty here, to present my grateful ac- 
 knowledgments for the high degree of confidence which my 
 beloved brethren have placed in me, and especially the able 
 counsel and seasonable support afforded by many, which has, 
 I believe, with the divine aid, preserved and supported me. 
 Dear brethren, such are the effects of our high responsibility, 
 connected with a consciousness of the insufficiency of my 
 talents for so great a work, that I move with trembling. Your 
 eyes, and the eyes of the Lord are upon me for good. We 
 shall rejoice together to see the armies of Israel wisely con- 
 ducted in all their ranks, carrying the triumphs of the Re- 
 deemer's kingdom to the ends of the earth ; and the Lord 
 will rejoice to make his ministers a flame of fire. In you I 
 have all confidence, and on you I depend for aid, and above 
 all I trust in divine aid. Influenced by these considerations, 
 and with ray situation in full view, I cannot entertain a 
 
*18 
 
 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 thought of bearing such awful accountability longer than I 
 am persuaded my services are useful to the Church of God, 
 and feel a confidence of being aided by your counsel and sup- 
 port, which is with you to give in any way or form you may 
 judge proper. And while I join with you, my dear brethren, 
 in pure gospel simplicity to commit and recommend ourselves, 
 and our several charges to the special care of the Great Head 
 of the Church, I remain with sentiments of love and confi- 
 dence, your servant in the Gospel of Christ, 
 
 " William M'Kendreb. 
 " New York, May 5th, 1812." 
 
 We have thus given at full length the first episcopal mes- 
 sage, or opening address, made by a bishop of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, to the General Conference of that Church. 
 Why Bishop Asbury did not unite in the presentation of the 
 address, we have not the means of knowing. It was evident- 
 ly, however, not because he dissented from the doctrines con- 
 tained, or the views expressed in the same ; for after the 
 address had been read and referred to appropriate committees 
 Bishop Asbury rose and addressed the Conference extempora- 
 neously, through Bishop M'Kendree, who occupied the chair, 
 and recommended a consideration of the same, or similar 
 points, alluded to in the written address. 
 
 The address thus quoted, serves to throw light upon the 
 character of good Bishop M'Kendree ; and to understand 
 some portions of it, it is necessary to observe that the ground 
 which the bishop found it necessary to take on the presiding 
 elder question — alluded to on a previous page — after he had 
 become convinced of his former errors in that respect, sub- 
 jected him to no small amount of prejudice during some 
 periods of his episcopal administration. Because he had 
 changed his opinions on the subject, and found it necessary 
 as an honest man, to act in accordance with those opinions. 
 
BISHOP m'ekndree. 219 
 
 it was thought hy some, that he was ambitious, and was 
 actuated by a love of power. These suspicions and prejudices 
 rendered it rather a hard task, especially in some of the 
 northern Conferences, where the O'Kelly doctrines were more 
 generally embraced, to please some of the preachers in rela- 
 tion to the appointments they received from the bishop ; but 
 he, conscious of his integrity in the matter, and being satisfied 
 that the existing policy was the only safe one for the Church 
 to pursue, continued to discharge the duties imposed upon 
 him by the General Conference, while he held himself respon- 
 sible for the manner of their performance to the body from 
 which he had received the authority to discharge the same. 
 Hence the bishop in this address states that he holds himself 
 "justly accountable, not for the system of government, but for 
 his administration," and that he was " ready to answer to the 
 General Conference for past conduct, &o." It should, how- 
 ever, be recorded to the honor of the bishop's memory, that 
 whatever asperities ftiay have existed in relation to the mat- 
 ter alluded to, time has removed any prejudices that may 
 have arisen from the subject ; while the history of the Church 
 since that period, has proved the correctness of the bishop's 
 views, and of the policy advocated by him and endorsed by 
 the General Conference. 
 
 It may be proper in this connection to speak somewhat 
 more at large of the ministerial character of Bishop M'Ken- 
 dree, and in doing so, would avail ourselves of the remarks 
 found in Bangs's " History of the Methodist Episcopal Church," 
 to which work we are mainly indebted for all that is written 
 in regard to the biography of Bishop M'Kendree. On page 
 197, Dr. Bangs, in speaking of the bishop's character, says: 
 
 " I. Bishop M'Kendree gave unequivocal evidence of deep 
 piety, and of a mind and heart thoroughly imbued with gos- 
 pel truth. This evidence is found in his entire life, in his 
 words, and actions. 
 
280 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 " 2. Having devoted the early days of his ministry chiefly 
 to the new countries west of the Alleghanies, he had neither 
 the time nor the means of acquiring much information from 
 the study of hooks, though it was evident that he had stored 
 his understanding with a variety of the most useful hranches 
 of knowledge for a minister of Jesus Christ. Had he been 
 favored with the opportunity of a thorough education in his 
 youth, and pursued the path of science in after years, he 
 might have shone in the galaxy of literature and science ; 
 for he had an understanding sufBcieatly strong and acute to 
 enable him to grapple with any subject within the range of 
 human intellect, and equal to the acquirement of any branch 
 of human knowledge. 
 
 " This was evident to all who were intimate with him, and 
 could duly appreciate his worth. His mind indeed was capa- 
 ble of the nicest distinctions of the most critical researches 
 and of the widest expansion. How often did he, by a well- 
 timed and pointed remark, unravel the sophistry of the sciplist 
 and confound the pedantic pretender to wisdom and science ! 
 As if by a sudden inspiration of thought, he would make a 
 ray of light flash upon a subject, and thereby render that clear 
 and intelligible which before was obscure and perplexed. It 
 was once remarked by a preacher of no mean attainments, 
 who was on intimate terms with the bishop, that he had often 
 felt himself mortified and chagrined when endeavoring to let 
 him into the secret of something of importance, he found that 
 the bishop was already in possession of the facts in the case, 
 and could therefore give more information than the other 
 could impart. 
 
 " His constant intercourse with all sorts of company in his 
 various peregrinations through the country, enabled him to 
 treasure up much useful knowledge from actual observation, 
 and to suit himself with an admirable adaptation to the variety 
 of classes and circumstances of the people with whom he 
 
BISHOP m'kendree. 281 
 
 came in contact. This also gave him a clear insight into the 
 human character, and a comprehensive vievvf of that character 
 in all its variety of shades and distinctions. And though he 
 did not ' affect the gentleman' by an apish imitation of the 
 fopperies of fashion, he was easy and polite in his manners, 
 while he at all times maintained the dignity and gravity of 
 the Christian minister. His perfect Imovi'ledge of the human 
 character enabled him to wield with good effect the weapon 
 of truth, and to apply it with admirable facility and exactness 
 to the various cases which came up for consideration. 
 
 " 3. As a preacher of the Gospel, he was plain and pointed, 
 and his sermons consisted chiefly in explaining and enforcing 
 experimental and practical godliness. Though possessed of a 
 mind extremely acute, which, had he been trained to meta- 
 physical researches, would have been competent to the most 
 abstruse subjects, yet he seldom entertained an audience with 
 dry and monotonous disquisitions, but entered directly into the 
 heart, laid open the secret springs of human action, and 
 applied the truths of God's Word to the understanding and 
 conscience with powerful effect. 
 
 " There was indeed a great variety in the character of his 
 sermons. Though he seldom failed to ' make out what he took 
 in hand,' yet he sometimes sunk rather below mediocrity, 
 while at other times he soared and expanded, and astonished 
 you with irradiations of light, and with the power and elo- 
 quence with which he delivered the tremendous truths of 
 God. On these occasions, assisted, as he most evidently was, 
 by the Holy Spirit, he would carry you away with him on the 
 ean-le wings of truth, and then having gently seated you on its 
 firm foundation, melt you into the tenderest emotions by the 
 sweet and gentle accents of affectionate entreaty, which 
 poured from his lips in the most pathetic streams of gospel 
 simplicity, truth, and love. 
 
 " It was a sermon o!" this character which he preached be- 
 
282 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 fore the General Conference m 1808, a few days previous to 
 his election to the episcopal office, and which no douht con- 
 tributed much to his elevation to that station, more especially 
 by securing the votes of those who were not personally ac- 
 quainted with him. To give . as fair a representation of this 
 sermon and its effects as I am able, I will simply relate what 
 passed in my own mind on that occasioik 
 
 " It was the first General Conference I had ever attended, 
 and the name of William M'Kendree was unknown to me, 
 and I believe also to many other junior members of the Con- 
 ference. He was appointed to preach in the Light-street 
 Church on Sabbath morning. The house was crowded with 
 people in every part, above and below, eager to hear the 
 stranger, and among others, most of the members of the Gen- 
 eral Conference were present, besides a number of colored peo- 
 ple who occupied a second gallery in the front end of the 
 church. Bishop M'Kendree entered the pulpit at the hour for 
 commencing the services, clothed in very coarse and homely 
 garments, which he had worn in the woods of the west ; and 
 afler singing, he kneeled in prayer. As was often the case 
 with him when he commenced his prayer, he seemed to falter 
 in his speech, clipping some of his words at the end, and hang- 
 ing upon a syllable as if it were difficult for him to pronounce 
 the word. I looked at him, not without some feelings of dis- 
 trust, thinking to myself, ' I wonder wliat awkward back- 
 woodsman they have put into the pulpit this morning, to dis- 
 grace us with his mawkish manners and uncouth phraseology ?' 
 This feeling of distrust did not forsake me until some minutes 
 after he had commenced his text, which contained the follow- 
 ing words : — ' For the hurt of the daughter of my people am 
 I hurt ; I am black ; astonishment hath taken hold on me. 
 Is there no balm in Gilead ; is there no physician there ? 
 Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people 
 recovered?' — Jer. viii. 21, 22. 
 
BISHOP M'KKNDREB. 283 
 
 " His introduction appeared tame, his sentences broken and 
 disjointed, and his elocution very defective. He at length in- 
 troduced his main subject, which was to shovir the spiritual 
 disease of the JewishChurch, and of the human family gene- 
 rally; and then he entered upon his second proposition, which 
 was to analyze the feelings which such a state of things 
 awakened in the souls of God's faithful ambassadors ; but 
 when he came to speak of the blessed effects upon the heart, 
 of the balm which God had provided for the ' healing of the 
 nations,' he seemed to enter fully into the element in which 
 his soul delighted to move and have its being, and he soon car- 
 ried the whole congregation away with him into the regions 
 of experimental religion. 
 
 " Remarking upon the objections which some would make 
 to the expression of the feeling realized by a person fully 
 restored to health by an application of the ' sovereign balm 
 for every wound,' he referred to the shouts of applause so often 
 heard upon our national jubilee in commemoration of our 
 emancipation from political thraldom, and then said, ' How 
 much more cause has an immortal soul to rejoice and give 
 glory to God for its spiritual deliverance from the bondage of 
 sin !' This was spoken with such emphasis, with a soul over- 
 flowing with the most hallowed and exalted feelings, that it 
 was like the sudden bursting of a cloud surcharged with wa- 
 ter, and the congregation was instantly overwhelmed with a 
 shower of divine grace from the upper world. At first, sud- 
 den shrieks, as of persons in distress, were heard in different 
 parts of the house ; then shouts of praise, and in every direc- 
 tion sobs, and groans, and eyes overflowing with tears, while 
 many were prostrated upon the floor, or lay helpless on the 
 seats. A very large athletic-looking preacher who was sitting 
 by my side, suddenly fell upon his seat, as if pierced by a 
 bullet ; and I felt my heart melting under sensations which I 
 could not well resist. 
 
284 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 " After this sudden shower, the clouds were disparted, and 
 the sun of righteousness shone out most serenely and delight- 
 fully, producing upon all present a consciousness of the divine 
 approbation ; and when the preacher" descended from the 
 pulpit, all were filled with admiration of his talents, and were 
 ready to magnify the grace of God in him, as a chosen mes- 
 senger of good tidings to the lost, saying in their hearts, ' This 
 is the man whom God delights to honor.' 'This sermon,' 
 Bishop Asbury was heard to exclaim, ' will make him a 
 bishop.' 
 
 " This was a mighty effort, without any effort at all — for 
 all seemed artless, simple, plain, and energetic, without any 
 attempt at display or studied design to produce effect. An at- 
 tempt, therefore, to imitate it would be a greater failure than 
 has been my essay to describe it ; and it would unquestionably 
 lower the man's character who should hazard the attempt, 
 unless when under the influence of corresponding feelings and 
 circumstances. 
 
 " It has been already remarked, that he sometimes fell 
 below himself, when his mind appeared to be barren and un- 
 fruitful. Though this was the case, yet he always exhibited 
 the powers of a ' master- workman,' even when those powers 
 seemed to be cramped apparently for want of some internal 
 energy to put them in vigorous motion, and make them play 
 with ease and effect. But what added much to the force of 
 the truths which he uttered was his commanding appearance, 
 the gravity of his demeanor, the sprightliness of his manners, 
 the fire which shot from an eye which bespoke kindness and 
 intelligence, and the natural gracefulness of his action in the 
 pulpit. His voice was clear and musical, and the words 
 which dropped from his lips fell upon the ear with delight, 
 producing a harmony between the outward voice and the in- 
 ward sensation. 
 
 " His rhetoric was faulty. Either from an impediment in- 
 
BISHOP m'kendreb. 285 
 
 his speech, or from a habit induced from early usage as before 
 hinted, he would sometiaies hang upon an unaccented sylla- 
 ble, as in the use of tho word continually, on the penultima 
 he would rest thus, al-ly, as if unable to add the final sylla- 
 ble to the word. At other times he would clip a word in the 
 middle, or end, and leave it half enounced, probably from 
 some imperfection in the organs of speech. These, however, 
 are little things, like black specks in a diamond, which set ■ 
 off its beauties by contrast, and were lost sight of, whenever 
 he entered into his subject as he generally did, as to make 
 you forget everything but the truth he uttered, and the God 
 he proclaimed. 
 
 " There was also, at times, the appearance of affectation in 
 his manner, and the modulation of his voice, which detracted 
 so far as was apparent, from the reverence one wishes to feel 
 for an ambassador of the Most High. Those, however, who 
 may have observed this defect— and it certainly is a great de- 
 fect, wherever it is discovered — may have misjudged, and 
 taken, that for art, which arose mostly from the variety of 
 emotions produced by the ebbings and flowings of a full heart, 
 and the several aspects of the subjects occupying the speaker's 
 mind and tongue. 
 
 " But whatever defects, the eye of candid criticism might 
 detect in Bishop M'Kendree as a public speaker, or as a ser- 
 monizer, judging from the rules of strict propriety, take him 
 all in all, as a preacher of righteousness, sent of God to instruct 
 mankind in the pure and sublime doctrines of the Gospel, he 
 was a star of the first magnitude, and as such he diffused the 
 hallowing and mellowing light of divine truth all around him, 
 wherever he went, and whenever he preached. In the West 
 especially, whence he returned surrounded with a halo of 
 glory, which had been gathering around his character for 
 several years, in the midst of the shakings and tremblings 
 produced by the camp and other meetings, thousands could 
 
285 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 say, that his preaching was not with the enticing words of 
 man's wisdom, ' but in power and in much assurance, and in 
 the Holy Ghost.' Nor were his labors in the pulpit unappre- 
 ciated in the Atlantic States, after he had passed through 
 them, in the character of a general superintendent, and had 
 an opportunity to show himself to hi-s brethren, ' as a work- 
 man that needed not to be ashamed.' His zeal rose with the 
 ■ dignity of his subject, and his mind expanded as he ranged 
 through the spacious and prolific field of theological truth, 
 while he chained and charmed his hearers with the melody 
 of his voice, and penetrated their hearts by the energy with 
 which he spoke in the name of God, and the directness of his 
 appeals to the understanding and conscience. Such was Bish- 
 op M'Kendree in the pulpit. 
 
 " 4. Tie was an ardent friend and active promoter of all 
 the institutions of the Church. When the Missionary Soci- 
 ety was formed, he entered immediately into its spirit and de- 
 sign, gave it his hearty support, and defended its objects both 
 by word of mouth, and by his pen, as well as by liberal con- 
 tributions. And after our aboriginal missions were begun, 
 with so much success, he visited them personally, preached 
 to the nations, and held interviews with the chiefs and coun- 
 sellors with a view to obviate difficulties, and promote their 
 welfare in every way within his power. 
 
 " 5. Let us now view him as a ruler in the Church. As 
 has been already seen, he constantly set an example to his 
 brethren in the ministry of unreserved devotion to the cause 
 in which he was engaged, and of indefatigable labor so long 
 as his strength would sustain him in the pursuit of good. This 
 enabled him to silence the clamors of such as might be tempt- 
 ed to believe that in the exercise of the executive powers as 
 the president of a Conference, he was guilty of laying burdens 
 upon others, which he was unvnlling to bear himself; and 
 the writer of this axticle had frequent opportunities during the 
 
BISHOP m'kendree. 28Y 
 
 five years in which he held the office of presiding elder un- 
 der Bishop M'Kendree's administration, as well as at other 
 times, to watch his proceedings, and though sometimes so 
 placed, as to have strong temptations to find just cause of 
 censure, yet truth compels me to say, that I believe he was 
 always actuated by the purest motives and an enlightened 
 desire, to act impartially in all cases which came before him 
 for decision. Whatever partialities he might feel for one, in 
 preference to another, arising out of personal friendship or 
 otherwise, there is good reason to believe, that he never will- 
 ingly allowed these things to bias his judgment in the execu- 
 tion of his trust, or in the distribution of the preachers to their 
 several stations and tasks. And who that understands any- 
 thing of the complicated machinery of Methodism, but must 
 know the extreme delicacy and perplexing difficulty of fixing 
 so many men, some old and infirm, some young and inexperi- 
 enced, others of mature age, judgment, knowledge, and influ- 
 ence in their several stations, so as to meet as nearly and 
 justly as may be the claims of all, and not disappoint the ex- 
 pectations of any either among preachers or people ! Such a 
 man must be more than mortal. And hence the assiduity 
 with which a conscientious bishop, must needs apply himself 
 to the difficult task, even to satisfy the dictates of his own 
 judgment. 
 
 "As a general superintendent, therefore. Bishop M'Kendree 
 was wise and discreet, pure and energetic, infusing into the 
 general system of the itinerancy life and activity, and setting 
 such an example to all, both preachers and people, as to ac- 
 quire and maintain their affection and confidence. 
 
 " 6. Viewed as a man of God, he had many excellencies, 
 and but few defects. He was naturally, as all men of genius 
 are, of a warm temperament, his passions were easily moved, 
 and he sometimes manifested a severity in his disposition and 
 expressions, which detracted from the general amiablenesa 
 
288 LIVES or eminent ministers. 
 
 and dignity of his character, and sometimes wounded the 
 feelings of his friends. Yet with these strong feelings to grap- 
 gle with, self-knowledge was so deep, and grace predominated 
 so powerfully, that he generally possessed his soul in patience, 
 and even in the midst of conflicting sentiments and argu- 
 ments, he had that perfect command of himself, or control 
 over bis feelings, that he seldom betrayed anything inconsist- 
 ent with the Christian hishop, evincing a philosophic gravity 
 which indicated a soul calm and serene, while the storm 
 might he raging around him." 
 
 " 7. When compared with Bishop Ashury, in the perform- 
 ance of his official duties in consecrating men to the ministry, 
 the contrast was obvious. Though equally fervent and at 
 times manifesting much more of the ' unction of the Holy 
 One,' yet he fell much below his venerahle predecessor in the 
 dignity and solemnity of his manners, and in the authorita- 
 tive manner in which he administered the holy ordinance. 
 Equally impressed, however, with the imposing ohligations 
 of the sacred office and of its mighty responsihilities, he neg- 
 lected no convenient opportunity to impress both the one and 
 the other, upon all who took upon themselves the vows of 
 their God. And sometimes under the impulse of a sudden 
 inspiration, he would offer up to God a fervent intercession 
 for blessings to rest upon them and their labors, and conclude 
 with a short and pithy admonition or exhortation suited to the 
 occasion. 
 
 " 8. In presiding in the Conferences, impartiality guided 
 his decisions, and he introduced a more orderly manner of 
 doing business, than had heretofore characterized their pro- 
 ceedings. Bishop Ashury used to say, as an apology for the 
 desultory manner in which he sometimes allowed the affairs 
 of a Conference to be conducted, ' I was with you in weak- 
 ness, and at first I had to be president, secretary, and almost 
 everything ; but now the days of your childhood are passed, 
 
BISHOP MKENDREE. 289 
 
 you have a president who has grown up in the midst of you, 
 and who therefore understands your wants; let him, there' 
 fore, lead you forth as men of mature age, under the dictation 
 of those rules of order you may mutually devise for your 
 regulation.' In conformity with this patriarchal counsel, 
 under the advisement of Bishop M'Kendree, a set of by-laws 
 were introduced and adopted, for the more orderly manner of 
 conducting the business of an annual Conference. This wise 
 arrangement prevented the appearance of arbitrary power on 
 the one hand, and the irregularities of indi-pendent action on 
 the other, 
 
 "In the exercise of his prerogatives rs president of the 
 Conferences, he was sometimes called u;.' a to check the for- 
 wardness of some, to correct the wanderings of others, as well 
 as to encourage all to a just and dihgent performance of their 
 respective duties. In administering admonition or rebuke, he 
 sometimes did it with the keenness of a razor, and yet seem- 
 ingly with the mildness of a dove. I remember on a certain 
 occasion, a. young preacher of more confidence than prudence, 
 who had left some small business to become an itinerant, was 
 boasting of the great sacrifices he had made for the cause, 
 when Bishop M'Kendree checked him by asking in his pecu- 
 liarly soft and mild manner, 'Brother, have you made greater 
 sacrifices than St. Paul resolved to do, when he said, If meat 
 inake my brother to offend, I will eat no more m,eat while 
 the ivorlcl standeth ? Or than those who said. We have left 
 all for thy sake?' I need not say that a sense of shame sat 
 on the countenance of this vain boaster. 
 
 "But however mild and yielding he might appear in his 
 general administration, there were times in which he thought 
 the circumstances called for it, when he could show all the 
 firmness of a despot, without any of his haughty and domi- 
 neering feelings. A debate once arose in the New York Con- 
 ference, respecting electing a man to elder's orders, who had 
 19 
 
290 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 been a travelling deacon only one year, because he had trav- 
 elled for several years in connection with the Wesleyan Con- 
 ference in England, and he was finally elected. In the course 
 of the debate, one of the speakers averse to the proposed 
 election, pleaded that if elected, the presiding bishop would 
 be compelled to assume the character of a pope, and refuse to 
 ordain him. After the question was decided, the bishop arose 
 and informed the Conference in mild, but firm tones, that 
 with all his respect for the decision of the Conference, he 
 must decline to ordain the brother ; ' but,' said he, ' in doing 
 this, I deny the imputation that I assume the character of the 
 pope, for I act according to your laws, by which I am forbid- 
 den to consecrate a person to the office of an elder, until he 
 shall have travelled two years as a deacon, unless in case of 
 missionaries, and this brother does not appear in the charac- 
 ter of a missionary. Were I, therefore, to ordain him accord- 
 ing to your vote, I might be impeached at the next General 
 Conference for an unconstitutional act, for which I could offer 
 no reasonable excuse. Hence, it is not an assumption of un- 
 authorized power in imitation of the pope of Rome, in defi- 
 ance of law and order, by which I refuse to comply with your 
 request, but it is a deference I feel for constitutional law, 
 made and sanctioned by yourselves, and from the infraction 
 of which, I am bound by my office alike to protect both you 
 and myself Repeal j'our law, and make a different regula- 
 tion, and I will bow to it with all readiness ; but while the 
 law exists, I am bound to obey it, and see that it is obeyed 
 by others.' 
 
 " This sensible appeal induced the Conference to reconsider 
 its vote, and the motion to elect was withdrawn. Thus the 
 good sense of the bishop, united with such a commendable 
 firmness, saved both him and the Conference from perpetrat- 
 ing an unconstitutional act." 
 
 Having thus given a description of Bishop M'Kendree'j 
 
BISHOP m'kendrek. 291 
 
 character in these lengthy extracts, we will proceed to trace 
 his history in brief terms, from the Conference of 1812 until 
 the close of his useful life. 
 
 During the interim of the General Conference of 1812- 
 1816, the duties and labors of the episcopacy devolved chiefly 
 on Bishop M'Kendree, on account of the infirm health of his 
 beloved and venerable colleague, and who, before the time 
 had arrived for the session of 1816, had quietly left this world 
 of cares. At the request of the General Conference, and at 
 the re-interment of the senior bishop. Bishop M'Kendree de- 
 livered a funeral oration, in which he did ample justice to 
 the memory of that great man. The death of the latter, left 
 the Church with but one bishop, until the election of Bishops 
 George and Roberts, on the 14th of May, 1816. The addi- 
 tion of these two vigorous ministers to the episcopacy, was a 
 great relief to Bishop M'Kendree, whose health was becoming 
 quite enfeebled by his multifarious labors. But notwithstand- 
 ing his weakness of body, he continued to travel over the con- 
 tinent, and preside in the Conferences as usual. 
 
 At the General Conference of 1820, the three bishops were 
 present, two of whom presided alternately. Bishop M'Kendree 
 having informed the Conference that the state of his health 
 was such, that he could not preside. The Conference deeply 
 sympathized with the venerable bishop in his bodily afflic- 
 tions, and passed the following resolutions : 
 
 " 1. Resolved, That it is the wish and desire of this Gene- 
 ral Conference that Bishop M'Kendree, during his afflictions 
 and debility, should travel in such directions, or remain in 
 such places, as he may judge most conducive to his own 
 health and comfort ; and that he be accordingly, at the close 
 of the Conference, respectfully and affectionately requested so 
 to do. 
 
 " 2. That whenever Bishop M'Kendree shall think him- 
 self able, it is the desire of this Conference . that he. should 
 
292 HVKS OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 continue, so far as health will permit, the exercise of his 
 episcopal functions and superintending care. 
 
 "3. That the committee appointed by the last General 
 Conference, to make provision for the families of the bishops, 
 are hereby continued, and that the same committee be di- 
 rected to take into coiisideriitioii Bishop M'Keiidree's health, 
 and to provide for defrayiuj^ any extra expenses, which in 
 their judgment, his afflictions may make requisite." 
 
 The sympathy of the Conference thus expressed, afforded 
 great consolation to the afflicted bishop, and drew from him 
 acknowledgments of the warmest gratitude, for the kindness 
 manifested toward liim. Notwithstanding his release from 
 active labor, the bishop attended as many of t'ne Conferences 
 as he possibly could, and rendered himself especially useful in 
 the missionary department of the work. At the General 
 Conference of 1824, Bishop M'Kendree was present, and 
 opened the session by religious services, a duty which always 
 devolves on the senior Superintendent, if present. His health 
 was so far improved as to enable him to preside in connection 
 with the other bishops during the session, but in view of his 
 age and infirmities, the resolutions of the former General 
 Conference in relation to liim, were substantially re-adopted, 
 while for the same reason, and the continued extension of the 
 work and the increase of Conferences, two other bishops — 
 Soule and Hedding — were added to the episcopacy, and were 
 consecrated by Bishop M'Kendree to their high and holy 
 office. At the General Conference of 1 828, Bishop M'Ken- 
 dree was also present, and likewise at the Conference of 
 1832, which was the last ever attended by him, as previous 
 to the session of 1836, he was called to his reward. 
 
 Bishop M'Kendree never fully recovered his health, so as 
 to do effective service, after the General Conference of 1816 ; 
 but he lingered along in this vale of tears, travelling, preach- 
 ing, presiding, &c., as much as his health and strength would 
 
BISHOP MKENDREE. 293 
 
 allow him to do, until the year 1835, when he was released 
 by the " Great Shepherd and Bishop of Souls," from his la- 
 bors on earth. At the session of 1832, just alluded to, being 
 in great feebleness of body, and being sensible that he never 
 would meet in General Conference again, he, on the day be- 
 fore the final adjournment of that body, arose from his seat, 
 and, with his head silvered over and bleached by age, and a 
 countenance full of love, and his hands leaning upon the top 
 of his staff like the patriarch of old, he with faltering lips, 
 and his eyes full of tears, gave his last address to them, and 
 said like the apostle John, " My brethren and children, love 
 one another. Let all things be done without slril'e or vain 
 glory, and strive to keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds 
 of peace ;" and, then spreading forth his trembling hands, and 
 lifting his still weeping eyes toward heaven, he pronounced 
 upon them the apostolic benediction, and took his final fare- 
 well. Bishop M'Kendree's last sermon was preached in. 
 Nashville, Tennessee, on the 23d of November, 1834. On 
 the 5th of March following, this truly apostolic bishop breathed 
 his last. His dying words were : " All is well for time or for 
 eternity. I live by faith in the So?i of God. For me to 
 live is Christ, to die is gain." 
 
 " Not a cloud doth arise to darken my skies, 
 Or hide for a moment my Lord from my eyes." 
 
 In this peaceful and triumphant state, the weary pilgrim 
 closed his eyes on all things terrestial, after a toilsome journey 
 of seventy-eight years through this vale of tears. 
 
 " Farewell, my friends, adieu, adieu, 
 I can no longer stay with you ; 
 My glittering crown appears In view. 
 All is well 1 All is well ! 
 
 " Bright angels are from glory come. 
 They're round my bed, they're in my room ; 
 They wait to waft my spirit home. 
 All is well ! AU is well !" 
 
CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 BISHOP GEORGE. 
 
 Enoch George was born in Lancaster county. State of 
 Virginia, in the year 1767 or '68. It appears that his mother 
 died while he was quite young, thus leaving him at an age 
 when he mostly needed a mother's care and a mother's in- 
 structions. Young Enoch, however, realized the truth of the 
 declaration of the holy psalmist, at least in part, when he 
 says, " When father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take 
 me up." While he was thus deprived of a mother, it fell to 
 the lot of an elder sister to act the parts both of sister and 
 mother, to the youthful orphan. During the minority of 
 Enoch, his father removed from Virginia to the State of North 
 Carolina, and it was while residing in this State, that he was 
 awakened to a sense of his lost and ruined condition as a sin- 
 ner before God. These convictions of sin came upon him 
 through the instrumentality of the Methodist ministry, when 
 he was in his eighteenth or nineteenth year. Young as he 
 was, he felt that he was not too young to be a sinner against 
 God, that he was not too young to die, and that if he died 
 without being converted to God, he must be damned forever. 
 This conviction led him to seek for the remission of sins, 
 through the blood of the atonement : and after having strug- 
 gled for liberty, he at length obtained forgiveness at the hand 
 of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. The forgiveness 
 
BISHOP GEORGE. 295 
 
 thus extended to him, was not of that nature which some 
 teach it to be — a visitation, or infliction of the whole penalty 
 of the law on the head of the offender, and then an overlook- 
 ing of the guilt, without reference to the sacrifice upon the 
 cross — to the atonement made by Jesus Christ — but a remis- 
 sion of the penal consequences of transgression, so that the 
 hitherto condemned culprit could exclaim, " Lord ! I am 
 damned; but thou hast died," or more appropriately in the 
 Words of Scripture, " Therefore being justified by faith (not 
 by punishment), we have peace with God through our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 After Enoch's conversion, he was soon called upon, to 
 
 " Tell to sinners round, 
 
 What a dear Saviour he had found," 
 
 and not only to tell what the Lord had done for his soul, but 
 to pray for those who were still out of the ark of safety, and 
 to exhort them publicly to be reconciled to God. It is true, 
 he did not rush thoughtlessly and heedlessly into the vineyard 
 of the Lord, without waiting for a call from the Master of the 
 vineyard, and it was after a great sacrifice of feeling, that he 
 consented to become a preacher of the gospel. He had re- 
 ceived at diflierent times, impressions that it was his duty to 
 go out and devote his entire time and talents to the service 
 of the Church ; he had listened to the voice of the Spirit say- 
 ing, " Go preach," and after laboring in vain to suppress these 
 impressions in regard to duty, and feeling that a " woe" would 
 be pronounced against him, if he " preached not the gospel ;" 
 he at length said, " Here I am. Lord ; send me," and he en- 
 tered at once upon the work, but with much diffidence and 
 distrust of his own abilities, yet looking to the "Master of the 
 vineyard," for grace and strength to enable him to discharge 
 the duties of his holy vocation, in a manner acceptable to God 
 and profitable to his fellow-creatures. 
 
296 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 After having accepted the call of God and of his Church, 
 to lahor as a herald of salvation, and having received a -" li- 
 cense" or certificate of his call hy the latter, he travelled for 
 a short time on a circuit in connection with the E,ev. Philip 
 Cox, and vi'as then sent by Bishop Asbury to assist the Rev. 
 Daniel Asbury in forming a circuit, on the head-waters of 
 Catawba, and Broad Kivers. Having made " full proof of 
 his call to the ministry," while laboring upon these circuits, 
 he was at the next session of the Conference, received on trial, 
 and appointed to labor on the Pamlico circuit, where he re- 
 mained for a single year, and at the next session of the Con- 
 ference in 1791, was appointed to the Caswell circuit, where 
 he also remained one year. After having thus travelled two 
 years, and having given further proof of the divinity of hia 
 call, he was admitted into full connection with the Confer- 
 ence, and was ordained a deacon in the Church of God, in 
 1792, by Bishop Asbury. He then received an appointment 
 to Guilford circuit, and the following year, 1793, was ap- 
 pointed to Broad River where he had previously labored. At 
 the close of the latter year, he was ordained elder in the 
 Church, and stationed on the Great Pee Dee circuit. In 
 1795, he was stationed in Edisto circuit, with instructions to 
 labor three months in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1796, 
 and '97, he filled the office of presiding elder, and gave gen- 
 eral satisfaction to both preachers and people, as also to the 
 appointing power of the Church, by the manner in which he 
 discharged the important and laborious duties of the presiding 
 eldership. 
 
 In 1798, Mr. George's health partially failed, and supposing 
 the northern climate would best agree with his constitution, 
 he travelled as far north as New York. After two years 
 spent in a northern locality, his health was measurably re- 
 gtored, and he resumed his labors in the southern section of 
 the work. In 1800, he was appointed presiding elder of Po 
 
BISHOP QEORGE. 297 
 
 tomac district in the Baltimore Conference, but before the 
 close of the year, on account of his arduous labors, his health 
 again failed, and becoming somewhat discouraged about the 
 probability of being able to render himself useful as a travel- 
 ling minister, he thought best to apply for a location in 1801, 
 which the Conference granted, and he again entered the local 
 ranks. After a partial respite of two years, from the toils 
 and cares of the itinerancy, his health again rallied, so that 
 he ventured in 1803, to re-enter the travelling connection, 
 and was appointed to Frederick circuit. In 1804, he was 
 appointed to the presiding eldership of Baltimore district, and 
 in 1805, to that of the Alexandria district, in the District of 
 Columbia. In 1807, he received an appointment to George- 
 town, D. C. ; in the following year to Frederick circuit ; in 
 1809, to Montgomery circuit, and in 1810, to Baltimore cir- 
 cuit. In 1811, he was re-appointed presiding elder of the 
 Potomac district, where he labored most efficiently during the 
 constitutional term of office — four years — and at the expira- 
 tion of that term, was further honored with the charge of 
 Georgetown district. 
 
 It is a matter of regret that so little is known of the labors 
 and history of Mr, George, previous to the year 1816, and it 
 is also to be deplored, that subsequent to that time no authen- 
 tic records have been kept, so that the Church might now be 
 favored with incidents connected with the private life and 
 public labors of this truly great man. Such has been the 
 paucity of materials from which to furnish even a brief his- 
 tory of the life and labors of Bishops M'Kendree and George, 
 that the author, after surveying them, concluded to let them 
 pass without any attempt to write a separate chapter for these 
 worthy men, but knowing that in a work of this character, 
 the reader might expect at least a brief account of all the de- 
 ceased bishops of the Church ; and that the virtues and sac- 
 rifices of these men of God demanded that their names should 
 
298 LIVES or eminent ministers. 
 
 be perpetuated ; and believing that the reader will readily 
 forgive the comparative brevity of these articles, in view of 
 the impossibility of furnishing a correct account to any con- 
 siderable length, without the aid of materiel, the author has 
 concluded to give the reader the benefit of all the light he can 
 find on the subject, hoping that the day is not far distant when 
 an extended biography of the bishops of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, will be given to the Methodist public* 
 
 Mr. George was elected a delegate by the Baltimore Annual 
 Conference, to the General Conference of 1816, which latter 
 body assembled on the first of May, in the city of Baltimore. 
 The first thing which seemed to arrest the attention of the 
 delegates on their meeting together, was the absence of their 
 beloved senior bishop Asbury — who had a short time previous- 
 ly departed this life. His absence, and the knowledge of 
 his death, and that the Conference would never again see his 
 face on earth, and have the advantage of his long experience 
 in conducting the affairs of the Church, and in presiding over 
 their deliberations, spread a melancholy gloom over the house, 
 and caused the members to feel that there was a vacancy in 
 the episcopacy which no man could possibly fill with all that 
 acceptability and talent which had characterized the episco- 
 pal labors of the now-sainted Asbury. As Bishop M'Kendree 
 was the only surviving bishop, it became necessary at an early 
 stage of the session, to fill the episcopal bench by the election 
 and consecration of two additional bishops. Accordingly the 
 Committee on the episcopacy reported that in their opinion 
 " the superintendency in consequence of the ever to be lament- 
 ed death of our venerable father. Bishop Asbury, and the im- 
 
 * Since this chapter was commenced, the author has seen an adver- 
 tisement in the Christian Advocate and Journal, New York, calling for 
 materials of the above description, to aid in the compilation of the 
 Lives of Bishops' M'Kendree and George. The author sincerely hopes 
 the call will be a successful one. 
 
BISHOP GEORGE. 299 
 
 paired state of the health of Bishop M'Kendree, and the in- 
 creasing extent of the work, is such as to require immediate 
 and adequate strengthening," and they further recommended 
 the appointment of " two additional hishops." 
 
 After the adoption of the report of the Committee, the Con- 
 ference proceeded on the 14th day of May, to the serious and 
 awfully responsihle duty of electing two persons to the episco- 
 pacy ; and notwithstanding the many brilhant names that 
 might have been presented as candidates for the honors of the 
 episcopate, the choice of the Conference fell on Enoch George, 
 and on Robert E,. Roberts, the former having fifty-seven, and 
 the latter fifty-five votes, out of one hundred and six that were 
 cast on the occasion — fifty-four votes in either case being 
 necessary to a choice. After their election, they were solemnly 
 set apart to their sacred ofiice by the imposition of the hands 
 of Bishop M'Kendree, who was assisted in the service by a 
 few of the elders present. 
 
 After his election and consecration to the episcopacy, 
 Bishop George began to discharge all the duties devolving on 
 him as a servant of the Church, with that diligence and zeal 
 which has always been characteristic of the Methodist episco- 
 pacy in America. The entire work was so laid out by the 
 three bishops, that each one during the intervals of the Gen- 
 eral Conference, might visit once, or oftener, every Conference 
 in the Connection, thus preventing the possibility of a resem- 
 blance in their fields of labor, to a diocesan episcopacy. 
 They considered themselves as bishops of the whole Church, 
 and not of any particular portion thereof; hence their diocess, 
 if it might be called such, comprehended the whole of the 
 United States and its territory, and rendered it necessary for 
 them to travel the whole length and breadth of the land. 
 Wherever Bishop George went, he diffused the spirit of piety 
 among the people, and of ministerial zeal and fidelity among 
 the preachers, and in his hands, as well as in those of his col- 
 
300 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 leagues, the government of the Church was administered with 
 all due faithfulness, the Conferences being punctually attend 
 ed, and the union, peace, stability and prosperity of the 
 Church being very generally promoted in all its borders. 
 
 At the General Conference of 1820, the three bishops were 
 present, but on account of the feeble health of the senior 
 bishop — M'Kendree, the labor of presiding over the delibera- 
 tions of the Conference, devolved mostly on Bishops George 
 and Roberts, both of whom in a verbal address, called the at- 
 tention of the Conference to various subjects of public interest, 
 and especially to the state of our Church in Canada, which 
 had suffered very materially from the war of 1 8 1 2-' 1 5. As all 
 intercourse between the States and the Canadas was suspend- 
 ed during the continuance of the war, the Methodists in those 
 Provinces were but partially supplied with preachers from the 
 American Conferences ; and the British Conference, anxious 
 to supply the Methodists who were subject to the British gov 
 ernment, with preaching and the ordinances, sent various mis- 
 sionaries to Upper and Lower Canada. Many of the Metho- 
 dists in these provinces, however, were ardently attached to 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States, and 
 were not at all pleased with the appointment of English mis- 
 sionaries among them ; while others of the Canadian Metho- 
 dists, not only preferred the English missionaries, but insisted 
 on their remaining to the exclusion of the American ministers. 
 This state of things begat mutual jealousies and mistrust 
 among the members in Canada, and at the General Conference 
 of 1820, the subject came formally before that body, by the 
 address of the bishops just adverted to, and then by means of 
 memorials, petitions, remonstrances, &c., from the adherents 
 of the American preachers. After a long and patient consid- 
 eration of the whole matter, the Conference solemnly, and 
 with great unanimity, resolved that it was "the duty of the 
 bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church to continue their 
 
BISHOP GEORan. 301 
 
 episcopal charge over our Societies in the Canadas, all except 
 duebec." The Conference also ordered an address to be sent 
 to the brethren in Canada, in which mention is made of a 
 " letter sent by Bishop George to the British Conference, con- 
 taining a full development of the aflairs of Canada." 
 
 It would appear from this address, that Bishop George had 
 been corresponding with the British Conference on the sub- 
 ject of the existing Canadian difficulties during the interim 
 of the General Conference, but as no direct and conclusive re- 
 ply had been received, he thought it necessary to present the 
 matter, as before stated, to the consideration of the latter body. 
 It may be proper to state in this connection, that the Rev. 
 John, afterward Bishop Emory, was at the Conference of 
 1820, appointed a delegate or representative to the British 
 Conference in England, with full power to adjust all existing 
 difficulties between the two bodies, arising out of the Cana- 
 dian affairs, and that he happily succeeded in so doing to the 
 perfect and lasting satisfaction of all parties interested in the 
 matter. 
 
 Nothing worthy of special notice appears to have taken 
 place in the life or history of Bishop George during the inter- 
 val between the General Conferences of 1820-4. His time 
 was wholly occupied in attending to the duties of his station 
 and the interests of the Church. At the session of 1824, he was 
 present in connection with Bishops M'Kendree and Roberts, 
 and as during the preceding four years the work had gradually 
 extended itself, so as to require additional strength in the 
 episcopal board, it was at this General Conference, resolved, 
 that two additional bishops be elected and consecrated, and 
 the choice fell on the Rev. Joshua Soule and Rev. Elijah 
 Heading, who, on the 27th of May, 1824, at 12 o'clock M., 
 were solemnly consecrated to the office of bishops, by the 
 bishops then present, the senior bishop officiating. 
 
 After the adjournment of the General Conference, Bishop 
 
302 tlVES 01' EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 George, accompanied by Bishop Hedding, paid a visit to the 
 brethren in Canada, and presided over the deliberations of the 
 Canada Annual Conference, which helcf its session in Hallowell, 
 U. C. A desire had been growing, for a few of the past years, 
 on the part of some of the Canadian preachers, headed by a 
 member of the Canada Conference, named Ryan, for the 
 establishment of an independent Church organization in Can- 
 ada, with power to appoint a bishop of their own selection, 
 who should reside among them. A petition to this effect had 
 been presented to the General Conference of 1824, signed by 
 a portion of the Canadian preachers ; but as the General 
 Conference did not consider that it had constitutional power 
 to grant the prayer of the petitioners, a resolution was passed 
 whereby a separate Conference was erected in Canada, to 
 continue under the superintendence of the bishops of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. This decision of the General 
 Conference by no means suited the ambitious views of Ryan 
 and his associates, by whom a Conference, consisting mostly 
 of local preachers, was organized previous to the assembling 
 of the Canada Conference, which had recently been formed 
 by the action of the General Conference. It was under these 
 circumstances, that Bishops George and Hedding met the 
 Canada Conference at its first session, and through their laud- 
 able endeavors and explanations, peace was measurably re- 
 stored among the brethren, and things continued as they had 
 been, until the next session of the General Conference in 1828, 
 when the Canada brethren were authorized, if they preferred 
 it, to constitute themselves into an independent body, which 
 act was consummated by them at their ensuing session. 
 
 At the General Conference of 1828, a long and affectionate 
 address to the Wesleyan Conference in England, signed by 
 Bishop George, as the President of the body, was adopted, and 
 subsequently sent by the Rev. Wm. Capers, who was appoint- 
 ed delegate to the British Conference. As this address con- 
 
BISHOP GEORGE. 303 
 
 tains much information in relation to the state of the Church 
 at that time, we will copy it for the benefit of the reader. 
 
 " Address of the General Conference of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, to the Wesleyan MetJwdist Con- 
 ference. 
 
 " Beloved Fathers and Brethren : Having by the mercy of 
 our God brought the present session of our General Conference 
 near to a close, we avail ourselves of this opportunity, to con- 
 vey to you our Christian salutations. Our beloved brother, 
 the Rev. William Capers, whom we have elected as our rep- 
 resentative to your Conference, will more fully explain to j'ou 
 the state of our affairs, the strong affection we have to you as 
 our elder brethren, and our fervent desire to preserve with you 
 the bond of peace and the unity of the spirit. 
 
 " Our present session, though laborious, and involving va- 
 rious and important points vitally connected with the interests 
 of our Church, and of Christianity generally, has been marked 
 with general harmony of feeling, and mutual good- will ; and 
 we humbly trust it will tend to strengthen the bond of union 
 among ourselves, more fully to combine our strength, to 
 concentrate and harmonize our views and affections, and to 
 give a new impulse to the great work in which we are en- 
 gaged. 
 
 " To stimulate us to diligence in this most sacred of all 
 causes, the bright example of your persevering efforts in the 
 cause of God, is placed before us. Deriving our doctrines 
 from the same great fountain of truth, the Holy Scriptures, 
 and admitting the same medium of interpretation, the vener- 
 able Wesley and his coadjutors, and we humbly hope, pursu- 
 ing the same great objects, the present and future salvation 
 of souls, we desire ever to cultivate with you the closest bond 
 of union and Christian fellowship. Under the influence of 
 these views and feelings, we have rejoiced in your prosperity 
 
804 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 and witnessed with unmingled pleasure, the extension of your 
 work, particularly in your missionary department. 
 
 " With you also, we have our portion of afHiolions. Through 
 the disaffection of some, and the honest, though as we think, 
 mistaken zeal of others, in some parts of our extended work, 
 the harmony of our people has been disturbed, and principles 
 to us novel in their character, and deleterious in their in- 
 fluence on the excellent system we have received from our 
 fathers, have been industriously circulated. Though we may 
 not flatter ourselves that these unhappy excitements are fully 
 terminated, yet we presume to hope that the decided and al- 
 most unanimous expression of disapprobation to such proceed- 
 ings by this General Conference, and among our preachers 
 and people generally, will greatly weaken the disaffection, 
 and tend to correct the errors of the wandering, as well as to 
 confirm and strengthen the hand of all who desire to cleave 
 to the Lord, ' in one faith, one baptism, and one hope of our 
 calling.' 
 
 " Since our last session we have witnessed with joy and 
 gratitude an unusual effusion of the Holy Spirit. Uevivals 
 of religion have been numerous and extensive in almost" every 
 part of our continent. Upward of sixty-nine thousand have 
 been added to our Church during the past four years, and the 
 work is still extending. Stretching our lines over so large a 
 continent, many parts of our work, particularly in the new 
 settlements, require great personal sacrifices to carry to them 
 the blessings of our ministry, and much diligence and patient 
 perseverance to preserve our beloved people in the unity of 
 the faith. For these great objects we are not sufficient — 'our 
 sufficiency is of God ! But having devoted ourselves exclu- 
 sively to this work, and confiding in the strength and goodness 
 of Him, whose we are, and whom we profess to serve in the 
 fellowship of the Gospel, we hope not to faint in the day of 
 trial, but to persevere in conveying the glad tidings of peace 
 
BISHOP GEORGE. 305 
 
 to the destitute inhabitants of our land, until every part of it 
 shall break forth into singing, and hail with joy the coming 
 of the Lord. 
 
 " Cheered with this prospect, we are endeavoring to 
 strengthen each other in the Lord. And the happy results of 
 our missionary labors, both among the frontier settlements of 
 our white population and the Indian tribes, particularly the 
 latter, are pleasing indications of the Divine approbation. It 
 does indeed seem as if the set time had come to favor these 
 lost tribes of our wildernesses, and to bring them into the fold 
 of Christ. These natives, hitherto ' peeled and scattered' in 
 the United States and territories, as well as in Upper Canada, 
 are bowing to the yoke of Christ with astonishing alacrity, 
 and thus giving evidence that his grace is sufficient to con- 
 vert even the heart of a savage, and to transform him to the 
 gentleness of Christ. On this subject, however, we need not 
 enlarge, but refer you to our periodical works — the extensive 
 circulation of which, among our people, gives increased im- 
 pulse to the work, carrying information cheering and delight- 
 ful to many thousands, of the efficacy and triumph of redeemi- 
 ing mercy, — and to our beloved brother and representative, 
 the bearer of this address, who will more particularly tell you, 
 ' face to face,' how much we rejoice to be co-workers with 
 you in the extensive field of labor, and to witness such evident 
 tokens of the Divine goodness to our fallen world. 
 
 " Recollecting the Christian deportment, the ministerial 
 gravity and dignity, and what is more endearing to us, the 
 brotherly affection of your late delegate to our Conference, 
 the Rev. Richard Reece, and his amiable companion, the 
 Rev. John Hannah, both of whom have left a sweet savor 
 behind them, we take much pleasure in giving to you this 
 renewed assurance of our unabated attachment to those doc- 
 trines and that discipline, by which both you and we are dis- 
 tinguished ; to set our seal to the maxim that ' the Wesleyan 
 20 
 
306 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Methodists are one throughout the world ;' and also our desire 
 that the intercourse between us, by the mutual exchange of 
 delegates, may be kept up and continued ; and that as a 
 means of our edification and comfort, we shall be happy to 
 receive whomsoever you may appoint to visit us at our next 
 session. 
 
 " With sentiments of unfeigned respect and Christian af- 
 fection, we are, dear brethren, one with you in the fellowship 
 of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " Signed in behalf of the General Conference of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church, held at Pittsburgh, (Pa.,) May, 1828. 
 
 " Enoch George, President. 
 
 " Martin E-uter, Secretary." 
 
 At the General Conference of 1828, at which the above 
 document was prepared, Bishop George was present, and as- 
 sisted his episcopal colleagues in the discharge of their official 
 duties. Nothing calling for special remarlc, otherwise oc- 
 curred, at this session of the body, if we may except the im- 
 portant fact, that it was the last session of the General Con- 
 ference that Bishop George ever attended ; he having on the 
 23d of the ensuing August, died at Staunton, Virginia, in the 
 sixty-first year of his age, and in the thirty-eighth year of his 
 ministry. His last words were : " Glory to God !" 
 
 Bishop George was a man greatly and deservedly beloved 
 by all who knew him, and as might be supposed, his death 
 was severely felt and deeply lamented, throughout the length 
 and breadth of our Zion Much might be said relative to his 
 character and conduct as a Christian and Christian minister. 
 A few words, however, on this point, must suffice. Dr. Bangs, 
 who was personally acquainted with him, thus describes him : 
 
 " That which distinguished Bishop George among his fel- 
 lows, was the warmth of his zeal and the quickness of his 
 movements. This, no doubt, arose from the depth of his 
 
BISHOP GEORGE. 307 
 
 piety. He seemed, indeed, to live and walk with God, This 
 was evident from the uniformity of his devotions, as well as 
 from his general deportment, both before the public, and in 
 his more private intercourse with his friends. He always 
 rose early in the morning, and if circumstances permitted, 
 would spend the morning before breakfast in a solitary walk 
 in the field, for meditation and private devotion ; and in these 
 lonely rambles, he delighted in the contemplation of the Deity 
 as he is seen in his works and ways, and in holding commu- 
 nion with him in praise and prayer. 
 
 " He was naturally eloquent, and his eloquence was all nat- 
 ural. He never sought to embellish his subjects with arti- 
 ficial tinsels of pulpit oratory, substituted by some, for those 
 overflowings of the heart, which proceed from being filled and 
 fired with the truth which the lips utter. Hence his ' preach- 
 ing was not with the enticing words of mans' wisdom,' but it 
 was in ' demonstration and power,' and ' with much assurance 
 in the Holy Ghost.' He was more distinguished, however, for 
 afiecting the heart and moving the passions, than for enlight- 
 ening the understanding and informing the judgment. When- 
 ever, therefore, you saw him begin to rnb his eyes with his 
 fingers, as if wiping thence the gushing tear, you might expect 
 a pouring forth of those streams of gospel truth, generally of 
 that declamatory or hortatory character which were calcu- 
 lated to move the hearer to weep or shout, according to his 
 predominant feeling- And he seldom concluded a sermon 
 without greatly moving his audience in either of these ways, 
 because he was first moved himself by those sacred and 
 heavenly emotions which were evidently produced by the en- 
 ergetic workings of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 " Viewing him, therefore, simply as an ambassador of God, 
 sent peculiarly to awaken the conscience of the sinner, and to 
 alarm or strengthen the faith of the believer, and quicken 
 him in the divine life, he was most eminently qualified for 
 
308 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 his great work. In addition to the holy pathos with which 
 he hreathed out the ' words of truth and soherness,' his voice 
 was exceedingly musical, shrill, and clear, his action natural 
 and expressive of the feelings of his heart, and all calculated 
 to impress the hearer with the solemn truths which fell from 
 his lips. If, however, we may judge him hy other tests of a 
 pulpit orator, we should detect some defects. In education 
 he was quite deficient, and his general reading was very 
 limited. For this lack of acquired knowledge, he might be 
 considered as furnishing more than a substitute, in the point- 
 edness of his appeals, and the manner in which he fortified 
 all his positions by direct appeals to the sacred Scriptures. 
 And if he dealt in detached sentences, instead of following a 
 consecutive order and arrangement of argumentation, he was 
 abundantly compensated in the blessed effects which he saw 
 produced in the hearts of those who heard him, and knew 
 how to appreciate the value of a sermon more from its unction 
 than its argument. His premises were found where every 
 minister of Christ should find them — in the Bible ; and his 
 conclusions were then drawn without much regard to logical 
 arrangement, and certainly without any circumlocution, direct 
 and with a force it was hardly possible to resist. And from 
 the earnestness of his manner, some have entirely mistaken 
 his object and his motives. Beholding the emotions which 
 were very generally produced in the pious part of his hearers, 
 sometimes expressed in loud shouts of praise, those who were 
 mere outward court worshippers, or uninterested hearers, have 
 retired from the sanctuary under a conviction that Bishop 
 George was acting the part of a mountebank, speaking for the 
 purpose of gaining shouts of applause. A sad mistake this. 
 He ascended the pulpit, not as a stage player mounts the 
 stage, but as an ambassador of Christ, commissioned to de- 
 clare his counsel unto the people, and to negotiate a 
 
BISHOP GEORGE. 309 
 
 ' Peace 'twixt earth and heaven.' 
 
 And in the fulfilment of this commission, he did not trifle with 
 the awful realities of time and eternity, hut poured forth from 
 a full heart the solemn truths of God, in a manner which 
 penetrated the conscience and drew forth the confession, by 
 sobs and shouts, that God was with him of a truth. 
 
 " Such was Bishop George in the pulpit. In the chair of 
 the Conference he was less acceptable. Though he was al- 
 ways intent on accomplishing the greatest amount of good, by 
 the best possible means, he often defeated his purpose by the 
 haste with which he endeavored to despatch the business.. 
 His manner, also, was sometimes ablupt and undignified, and 
 of course did not always command that respect which every 
 conscientious mind would wish to feel, and pay to a superior. 
 Nor were his decisions always made with that wisdom and 
 deliberation, needful to produce a conviction of their correct- 
 ness in all cases. He appeared, therefore, to much greater 
 advantage in the pulpit, than in the chair of the Conference ; 
 and had he lived and died simply as an itinerant Methodist 
 preacher, he had commanded more respect, than was felt for 
 him as a general superintendent of the Church. These de- 
 fects, however, detract nothing from his natural worth, nor 
 render him less worthy of affection as a Christian bishop, or 
 as a man deeply and seriously devoted to the best interests of 
 the human family ; — for who is perfect in every respect ? 
 
 " But in whatever light we view him, he will long be re- 
 membered with affection, as one of the early pioneers, in the 
 ranks of the itinerancy, as an indefatigable laborer in the 
 Lord's vineyard, who won many sinners to Christ, and was 
 always a sun of consolation to God's believing people. 
 
 " The warmth of his affections won him many friends, and 
 the affability of his manners endeared him to them as a 
 brother beloved, who might be approached at all times, with 
 a cheerful confidence. 
 
310 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS, 
 
 " His death was sudden and unexpected. Its announce- 
 ment, therefore, spread a temporary gloom over the Method- 
 ist community. But death did not find him unprepared. He 
 met this ' last enemy' not only with meek submission, but 
 with a holy triumph, and a well-grounded hope of eternal 
 life. As the words, ' Glory to God !' had often fell from his 
 lips in the pulpit, so in his last moments, in full view of the 
 invisible world, he shouted forth the praise of God, and no 
 doubt went to the shades of bliss and immortality." 
 
 Thus far the historiographer of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, in relation to the character of Bishop George ; and 
 from the account thus candidly, and as we have no doubt, 
 impartially given, we learn that the most eminent men are 
 not above criticism, and that, however perfect a man may be 
 in many respects, yet absolute perfection cannot be predicated 
 of any mortal even in his " best estate." Bishop George, how- 
 ever, with all his imperfections, was undeniably a great man, 
 and what is of still more importance, he was a holy man. 
 Let his name and memory, therefore, be honored by succeed- 
 ing generations ; for " the memory of the just is blessed." 
 
 We cannot close this brief account of the life and death of 
 Bishop George, without giving the following tribute of respect 
 to his memory, written by the late lamented Dr. Fisk, presi- 
 dent of the Wesleyan University at Middletown, Conn. It 
 was originally written in a lady's Album, and was afterward 
 inserted in the Christian Advocate and Journal. 
 
 "bishop GEORGE. 
 
 " Bishop George has gone to heaven. He left this world 
 for glory on the 23d of August last ; and from the known 
 tendency of his soul heavenward, and his joyous haste to bs 
 gone, there can be little doubt but his chariot of fire reached 
 the place of its destination speedily ; and the . triumphant 
 
BISHOP GEORGE. 311 
 
 saint has long ere this, taken his seat with the heavenly com- 
 pany. And since he is gone, the owner of this, to whom I 
 am a stranger, will pardon me if, upon one of her pages, I 
 register my affectionate rememhrance of a man, whom I hoth 
 loved and admired, and at the report of whose death, my 
 heart has heen made sick. I loved him, for he was a man 
 of God, devoted to the Church with all his soul and strength ; 
 I loved him, for his was an affectionate heart, and he was my 
 friend. But the servant of God, the servant of the Church, 
 and my friend, is dead. I admired him — not for his learn- 
 ing, for he was not a learned man ; but Nature had done 
 much for him. She had fashioned his soul after an enlarged 
 model, and had given it an original cast and an independent 
 bearing ; into the heart she had instilled the sweetening in- 
 fluences of a tender sympathy, and infused into the soul, the 
 fire of a spirit-stirring zeal, sustained by a vigorous and un- 
 tiring energy ; but to finish his character, grace came in, and 
 renewed the whole man ; and the Spirit anointed him to 
 preach the gospel ; and the Church consecrated him to be one 
 of her bishops. He superintended with dignity and faithful- 
 ness ; he preached the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down, 
 from heaven. The unction that attended his word, was not 
 merely like the consecrating oil that ran down Aaron's beard, 
 but it was like the anointing of the Spirit that penetrates the 
 heart. He preached with his soul full of glory ; no wonder 
 then, that his dying words were, ' I am going .' and thafs 
 enough! glory! glory!' Yes, thou triumphant Spirit, that 
 is enough. ' May I die the death of the righteous, and may 
 my last end be like his.' " 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 REV. BISHOP ROBERTS. 
 
 HoBERT UioHFORD RoBERTS was bom August 2d, 1778, in 
 Frederick County, Maryland. His father was a respectable 
 farmer, and was a zealous member of the Church of England, 
 and a soldier of the Revolution. Robert R. was put to school 
 when between four and five years of age, and before he was 
 seven years old, he was able to read the Bible quite intelligi- 
 bly. He was baptized in infancy according to the usages of 
 the Church of England, and when older was taught the Cat- 
 echism of the Church, and was while but a boy, the subject 
 of deep religious impressions, although his parents were not 
 at that time experimentally pious, but rested in the outward 
 form of religion. 
 
 When young Roberts was about seven years of age, his fa- 
 ther removed to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, where 
 the inhabitants were mostly Presbyterians, and as the elder 
 Roberts entertained a dislike for any kind of worship, that 
 was not of " the Church',*^ he seldom worshipped with them. 
 Three years after his removal to Pennsylvania, the neighbor- 
 hood where he resided was visited by Methodist preachers, 
 but he would not hear them, believing them to be false proph- 
 ets. At length Mrs. Roberts was constrained 'to go, and took 
 young Robert R. with her. She was powerfully convicted 
 under the sermon, but on account of the wishes of her hus- 
 band, she refrained from going to hear them again for a length 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. 313 
 
 of time. The otlier members of the family, however, contin- 
 ued to attend from time to time, and a quarterly-meeting be- 
 ing held in the neighborhood, the elder son, John, was pre- 
 vailed upon by his sisters to attend the love-feast, and bring 
 back an account of what might transpire there. On his re- 
 turn, they were all curiosity to know what he had seen and 
 heard, and to their astonishment he told them, he believed 
 the Methodists were a good people. This reply was strange 
 to young Robert R., who had heretofore heard his brother say 
 very severe things against that people. 
 
 Soon after this, one of his sisters beinc- under conviction, 
 retired to the woods to pray ; young R< l)ert overheard her 
 asking God to pardon her sins, and he \^""iidered very much, 
 what enormous sin she could have committed, to affect her 
 thus deeply. Soon after this, he learned, that three of his 
 sisters had united with the Methodist Church, and that his 
 elder sister, Sarah, had actually prayed in public ! Such was 
 the effect of this young lady's prayers and zeal, in the cause 
 of Christ, that shortly, others of the children, together with 
 the father and mother, joined the " sect everywhere spoken 
 against," and the house of the elder Roberts became a regular 
 preaching place, and a home for the preachers. When Rob- 
 ert R. was about fourteen years of age, he obtained the evi- 
 dence of his acceptance with God, and soon after joined the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. He also commenced attending 
 school again, a privilege he had not enjoyed since he left 
 Maryland. 
 
 In the spring of 1796, j'oung Roberts being nearly eighteen 
 years of age, in company with four other young men, left his 
 father's house and went to Shenango, now Mercer County, 
 Pa. The Legislature of Pennsylvania had passed an act 
 granting four hundred acres of land to actual- settlers under 
 certain conditions. Robert R. and one of his brothers think- 
 ino- this to be a good offer, concluded to comply with the coa- 
 
314 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ditions prescribed, and thus secure a home and independence. 
 They travelled on foot, and carried their provisions in knap- 
 sacks upon their backs. They, however, caught plenty of 
 wild game by the vifay, which added greatly to their necessa- 
 rily scanty store. In the meantime, his brother and another 
 of his associates becoming discouraged with the prospect be- 
 fore them, returned home, but Hobert and two others kept 
 on their way, until they arrived at a place where the land 
 suited them, and where they resolved to make a location. 
 Here they fell in with two other young men, who were also 
 looking for land, and the five resolved to keep together, and 
 form a settlement in the wilderness. They cut logs, built a 
 cabin, covering it with chestnut bark, and deadened a few 
 trees. Soon, however, their provisions ran out, and Mr. Rob- 
 erts had- no money to purchase any more ; one of his asso- 
 ciates, however, lent him some, and they had to go twenty 
 miles to obtain a supply, and when obtained were obliged to 
 carry it on their backs the same distance. The price which 
 they paid for provisions and seed for their ground, was high 
 compared with present prices ; corn was two dollars per bush- 
 el, and potatoes three dollars ! The crops of the succeeding 
 summer came in very scantily, the corn being mostly destroy- 
 ed by squirrels. Mr. Roberts, accordingly, made up his 
 mind to return home, and assist in harvesting. When he 
 arrived at the paternal mansion, his parents and friends were 
 greatly rejoiced to see him, fearing before his arrival that he 
 was dead. 
 
 In the spring of 1797, Mr. Roberts in company with two 
 of his brothers, and six other persons, started once more for 
 Shenango. Here they remained for so.me time, clearing land, 
 planting corn, &c. His brothers, however, soon returned 
 home, designing ultimately to settle on the lands near Rob- 
 ert's location. After their departure, so greatly was our 
 young pipneer distressed for provisions, that he actually sub- 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. 315 
 
 sisted for three weeks on squirrels and salt ! until his brothers 
 returned again, in company with his father and one of his 
 sisters, who brought with them four horses laden with pro- 
 visions, and four cows. Robert E,. and his sister determined 
 to spend the winter in the settlement, which they acoordinply 
 did very comfortably, he spending his time mi/Stly in hunting, 
 and meeting with some providential escapes from the fury of 
 wild beasts, that he wounded without instantly killing, and 
 she being in more or less dread of the Indians, who wandered 
 through the forest. In the spring of 1798, Mr. Roberts was 
 joined by his father, brothers, and another sister, all of whom 
 had come to settle permanently in the new country. 
 
 About this time, Mr. Roberts having gone to procure more 
 provisions, was on the way entertained at the house of a local 
 preacher, and in the neighborhood a meeting was held. After 
 a sermon by the local preacher — Mr. Gurwell — the latter 
 called on Mr. Roberts to say something by way of exhorta- 
 tion, to the people. He accordingly made the attempt, and 
 delivered a brief address fraught with pathos and good sense, 
 which betokened the future greatness of the young backwoods- 
 man. This was his first elTort at public speaking. 
 
 About the middle of April, Mr. Roberts and his younger 
 brother started for their old place of residence, for the purpose 
 of conveying to Shenango a part of the family, which had 
 been left behind. AiBong these last, was his maternal grand- 
 father, Mr. Richford, an old gentleman ninety-three years of 
 age. As the only mode of conveyance was by horseback, it 
 was extremely difficult for the old man to pursue the journey, 
 as streams of considerable width and depth had to be forded. 
 To add to the difficulty of the undertaking, the old grand- 
 father being in his dotage, was somewhat peevish and fretful, 
 and not a little stubborn, as well as fearful. However, by 
 dint of stratagem and perseverance, they succeeded in getting 
 the old man along, at the expense of au occasional wetting. 
 
316 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Our emigrants were ten days on the journey, and lay out 
 every night, there being no taverns or dwelling-houses the 
 whole distance. Robert R. carried bags of flour and other 
 provisions, over streams, by walking on the trunks of fallen 
 trees. Nancy Roberts drove three cows and two pigs, carry- 
 ing an axe on her shoulder, and walking all the way. Sarah 
 walked also the entire distance, carrying a spinning-wheel on 
 her shoulder. Another sister, Sophia, sometimes rode behind 
 the pack, on one of the horses, and sometimes walked. 
 
 The removal of the Roberts family to Shenango, was the 
 means of inti-oducing Methodism into that hitherto wilderness 
 country, so that in the summer of 1798, a Society was formed 
 by local preachers who had also emigrated to that region. 
 Robert R. was appointed leader of the class, and made him- 
 self useful in holding prayer-meetings, &c. In the meantime, 
 the country was becoming rapidly inhabited by emigrants 
 from older places, so that there were religious meetings fre- 
 quently held among them by local preachers, who were some- 
 times assisted by Mr. Roberts. In the winter of 1799, Robert 
 R. went to his former place of residence, with a large quanti- 
 ty of furs, amounting in value to about one hundred and fifty 
 dollars, the proceeds of his hunting during the former part of 
 the winter. Before his return home, he was married to Miss 
 Elizabeth Oldham, of York County, Pa., and shortly after 
 their marriage, they took up their line of march for Shenango ; 
 Mrs. Roberts, the new-made bride, riding on a paek-horse, 
 and with the bridegroom being obliged to remain out all 
 night in the woods, with snow on the ground, and the weather 
 being severely cold, it being the beginning of February. To 
 add to the dreariness of their situation, Lewis Roberts, who 
 had charge of the horses carrying the provision for the journey, 
 had proceeded somewhat in the advance, and Robert and his 
 bride having been overtaken by the darkness of the evening 
 before coming up with him, were corapeUed to lie down on 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS, 317 
 
 their snowy bed dinnerless and supperless, having eaten noth- 
 ing since early in the morning. Sleep was of course out of 
 the question, especially as a pack of hungry wolves began to 
 howl around most lustily. " Robert," exclaiuied the bride, 
 " they will certainly eat us up before morning." " No, Betsy," 
 replied the courageous bridegroom, " they will be afraid to 
 approach us; and if they do, this half burned stick, with its 
 red blaze, will terrify them, so that they will never face it to 
 assault us." In the morning, they resumed their journey, 
 and overtook Lewis, who had founil shelter in an inhabited 
 hut during the night, and through the good providence of 
 God, they in due time all arrived home in safety ; and the 
 new-married couple took up their residence in a small log 
 hut, without a window to let in the light and keep out the 
 cold, without a chair, or bedstead, or table, except those 
 made in the rudest possible manner, but where they found 
 that contentment and true happiness, which are so frequently 
 found wanting in the splendid mansion.? of the great. 
 
 In the summer of 1800, Robert R. received a license to 
 exhort. Previously to this time, his mind had been greatly 
 exercised in regard to his being called of God to preach the 
 Gospel, but determining, if possible, to disobey the call, he 
 had thus far lived without any attempt to discharge the du- 
 ties which he felt were imposed upon him, and tried to per- 
 suade himself that God would release him from the discharge 
 of ministerial duties, because he viewed himself to be totally 
 unqualified for the work ; but so thought not his friends and 
 neighbors, who, knowing his talents, and being acquainted 
 with his consistent daily deportment as a Christian, were per- 
 suaded that there was ai work for him to do. He, however, 
 continued to stifle his convictions, and the warm and earnest 
 entreaties of his friends, until at length he became very un- 
 happy and uneasy in his mind, so much so, that he was 
 obliged for the sake of recovering his lost peace, to make an 
 
318 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 attempt to preach, let the consequences be what they might, 
 although he was almost certain that he would utterly fail in 
 the attempt. He accordingly preached from the text, " 0, 
 Lord, revive thy work," and the Society were so much pleased 
 with his first efibrt, that they immediately recommended him 
 to the Gluarterly Conference as a suitable person to preach 
 the Gospel. As the quarterly meeting for his own circuit 
 was passed, he was advised by the preacher in charge, to re- 
 pair to another quarterly meeting on an adjacent circuit, with 
 his recommendation. Having now fully resolved to oiler his 
 services to the Church, not only as a preacher, but as an 
 itinerant, he complied with the advice, and being furnished 
 with a letter from the preacher in charge, to the (Quarterly 
 Conference of Ohio circuit, he rather reluctantly, because of 
 his being a stranger, attended the quarterly meeting of the 
 above circuit, and received a license to preach, and a recom- 
 mendation to join the Baltimore Annual Conference. 
 
 After receiving his license and recommendation, he returned 
 home to make preparation for the itinerant field, although he 
 was quite doubtful whether the Annual Conference would re- 
 ceive him, especially as he was a married man, and as but 
 few married men in those days, were received into the travel- 
 ling connection. He was, however, received, and appointed 
 to Carlisle circuit. Pa. As soon as he received information 
 of his appointment, he distributed the most of his household 
 utensils among his neighbors and relatives, and with two 
 horses, one for himself, and the other for his wife, with their 
 clothes, and bedclothes packed on the saddles, tbey started 
 for their field of labor. Carlisle circuit, at that period, em- 
 braced about thirty appointments, to be filled once in four 
 weeks. Before he had completed his third round on the cir-- 
 cuit, he lost both his horses, and was also attacked with small- 
 pox and measles. While undur the influence of the latter 
 disease, the family, in whose house he happened to be taken 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. 319 
 
 sick, were very kind to him, and kept him warm, and gave 
 him nothing but warm drinks. One night, however, while 
 the family were all asleep, lie went to the pump, and took a 
 copious draught of cold water, being very thirsty. He return- 
 ed to bed, fell asleep, awoke in a perspiration, and found 
 himself materially better, and soon recovered so as to resume 
 his labors on the circuit. 
 
 Mr. Roberts soon gave evidence of more than ordinary abil- 
 ities as a preacher, so that his congregations, especially in 
 York, Pa., were composed of the elite of the village, but such 
 was his diffidence that this circumstance only seemed to em- 
 barrass him. On one occasion, seeing the large number of 
 fashionable people who were flocking to the Church, he hesi- 
 tated about entering, and actually withdrew to a private 
 place, where he remained until such time as he supposed the 
 congregation would have grown impatient, and many of them 
 have left the house. In thi^, however, he was disappointed, 
 as they all remained till he made his appearance. He made 
 no apology, but trusting in God, went on with his discourse, 
 and bis effort, on that occasion, was spoken of with so much 
 admiration, that it only served to increase the size of his coa- 
 gregation in future. 
 
 By the kindness of friends, a horse was purchased for him, 
 and at the. Conference of 1803, he was appointed to Mont- 
 gomery circuit, Maryland, where he labored with great suc- 
 cess, as the junior preacher, during a part of the year, and as 
 the preacher in charge during the latter portion of the same. 
 At the Conference of 1 604, Mr. Roberts was admitted into 
 full connection, and ordained deacon by Bishop Asbury. He 
 was appointed to Frederick circuit, as the field for his labors 
 during the ensuing Conference year, and being in the vicinity 
 of Baltimore during the session of the General Conference, he 
 attended the latter body as a sptctator, but after being per- 
 mitted to be present for two days, the Conference ordered 
 
320 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 close doors, by which means he and other spectators were 
 shut out, a circumstance which disappointed him not a httlo ; 
 he consequently returned to the circuit, of which he had the 
 charge, and pursued his accustomed rounds, his wife, the 
 meanwhile, living in an upper room, and supporting herself 
 by her own industry. The circuit embraced the place of his 
 birth, and on his first going to the spot he visited an aged 
 aunt, who, like his father, before his conversion, was a high- 
 toned Episcopalian. She at first warmly received her nephew, 
 but on learning that he was a Methodist preacher, she changed 
 her demeanor towards him, and gave him to understand that 
 she did not like " turncoats." He replied, good-naturedly, 
 that he never had a coat, until he got among the Methodists. 
 She soon allowed natural affection to overcome her denomina- 
 tional bigotry, and extended to him a cordial welcome. 
 
 Harper's Ferry was included in the list of his appointments, 
 but for the first two or three times of visiting the place, he 
 found no congregation to preach to, and was about giving up 
 the place in despair. At length, the lady, at whose house he 
 stopped, resorted to a novel expedient to collect a congrega- 
 tion for the young preacher : She appointed a quilting party 
 at her house, and invited a large number of the ladies to at- 
 tend. Mr. Roberts, without knowing anything of the expe- 
 dient, happened there on his regular round, and found the 
 house full of ladies, busily engaged in making two bed-quilts. 
 Soon after he made his appearance, the lady of the house pro- 
 posed preaching, which was assented to by him and the com- 
 pany. He accordingly preached to them, and they were so 
 well pleased with the discourse, that ever after, there was no 
 want of a congregation in that place. In the fall of the year 
 1804, Mr. Roberts made a visit to his friends in Shenango, 
 and leaving his wife among them to spend the winter, he re- 
 turned to his circuit, where he spent the remainder of the 
 year with profit to himself and others. 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. 321 
 
 At the Con/erence of 1805, he was appointed to Shenango 
 circuit, an appointment which, though it did not embrace the 
 neighborhood where his friends lived, brought him much 
 nearer to them. While on this circuit, he called one day on 
 a Presbyterian family, to get his horse fed ; the ladies of the 
 house supposing him to be a minister, were very desirous to 
 know whether he was a Presbyterian or a Seceder, but with- 
 out giving them any direct answer, they took it for granted, 
 that he was a Presbyterian. The lady and her daughter took 
 occasion to say some bitter things against the Methodists, but 
 he let them pass without any opposing remarks. Being invi- 
 ted to stay to dinner, he did so, and after dinner, when about 
 to leave, the lady requested him to stay over the Sabbath, 
 and attend Church, as the minister would be very glad to see 
 him, He informed her that he could not stay, as he had an 
 appointment himself She then wished to know if he was 
 seeking a call from a congregation. Pie replied that he al- 
 ready had congregations ; to which she answered, that she had 
 never heard of any one by the name of Roberts having a con- 
 gregation in that part of the country. She wished to know 
 where his congregation was, and he, in reply, gave her a list 
 of his appointments on his extensive charge, at which the 
 good lady expressed great surprise. He then remarked, that 
 he was one of those people of whom she had spoken so re- 
 proachfully, a short time before. " Not a Methodist 1" she 
 exclaimed, with astonishment. " Yes," he replied. "Well, 
 no person could have taken you for one," said the good lady. 
 She, however, invited him to call again, and ever after, treated 
 him with the greatest respect and attention. 
 
 Through the kindness of his presiding elder, Mr. Roberts 
 at the second quarterly meeting, received an appointment 
 which embraced his former place of residence, and where his 
 land was situated. Having a little spare time, he superin- 
 tended. the erection of a mill, on a stream near his residence, 
 
 21 
 
322 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 the object of which was to supply the wants ^f his family 
 from its proceeds, as his receipts from the circuits did not pay 
 his expenses. This, however, proved a detriment to his use- 
 fulness, so much so, that he ever after regretted having had 
 anything to do'with the mill, and strongly advised all preach- 
 ers never to leave the word of God, to serve tables, as they 
 would be losers in the end. 
 
 At the next Conference of 1806, Mr. Roberts was ordained 
 elder, by Bishop Asbury, and was returned to Erie circuit, 
 the field of his former labors near home. It, however, em- 
 braced all that territory now included in the Erie Conference, 
 except that part which lies in the State of New York, and 
 required six weeks to go round it. While going to an ap- 
 pointment one evening, he was by an accident on the road, 
 unavoidably belated and overtaken by the darkness of night, 
 and as there was no road, or even path to guide him, he was 
 forced to seek shelter in a log-cabin, where he found the chil- 
 dren and furniture all besmeared with bear's grease, so that 
 he hesitated about stopping. He, however, felt obliged to 
 take shelter somewhere, and as he was cordially welcomed to 
 the best the house afforded, he concluded, notwithstanding 
 the filthiness of the place, to tarry for the night. He was in- 
 formed by his hostess, that she had no bread in the house, nor 
 anything to make any of; she, however, cooked a large sup- 
 ply of fat bear's meat and potatoes, which she hospitably 
 placed before him, on a slab table. Though extremely hungry, 
 Mr. Eoberts did not relish his supper, and ate but little. As 
 there was no regular bed in the house, they furnished him 
 with a small quantity of straw, which was spread on the floor 
 before the fire. On this he lay, his feet toward the fire, hav- 
 ing his saddle-bags for a pillow, and his great-coat for his 
 covering. As the night was cold, he slept but little, and 
 after having taken his breakfast of bear's meat in the morn- 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. 823 
 
 ing, and havipg baptized several of the children, he proceeded 
 joyfully on his way. 
 
 While on Erie circuit, Mr. Roberts was invited to attend a 
 meeting to be held in a Methodist house, where a Seceder 
 minister was to deliver a sermon, for the purpose of convin- 
 cing the Methodists of their error in maintaining that Jesus 
 Christ died for the whole human family. The text was, 
 " Contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints," 
 and the propositions advanced, were : 1. That Christ did not 
 die for all the sins of all men ; for then all men must be 
 saved. 2. That he did not die for some of the sins of all 
 men ; for none could be saved. 3. That he died for all the 
 sins of some men ; for some only would be saved. When he 
 had concluded his discourse of four hours' length, Mr. Roberts 
 begged the privilege of replying, which was granted. Ha 
 took hold of the arguments advanced with such masterly 
 powers for a few minutes, that the Seceder, seeing himself 
 likely to be worsted in the contest, withdrew from the house, 
 leaving Mr. Roberts the master of the field. The effect pro- 
 duced was such, that many of the seceders were ever after 
 among his most attentive hearers, notwithstanding the avowed 
 wishes of their minister to the contrary. 
 
 At the Conference of 1807, Mr. Roberts was appointed to 
 Pittsburg (Pa.) circuit, and at the succeeding Conference of 
 1808, was stationed at the West Wheeling circuit. As the 
 General Conference sat this year, and as all travelling elders 
 were at that period ex-offido members of that body, he felt it 
 to be his duty to attend, although after having paid his mov- 
 in" expenses to his new circuit, he had but a single half- 
 dollar left, wherewith to bear his expenses on the journey of 
 thi'ee hundred miles. He, however, borrowed a half-dollas 
 of his colleague, but such was his economy, and the kindness 
 of friends on the road, that when he arrived in Baltimore, he 
 had five cents of the dollar left. While at the Conference, 
 
324 LIVBS OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 Mr. Roberts was appointed to preach in the Light-street 
 Church, and supposing that the members of that Church 
 were somewhat tinctured with pride, he dehvered a severe 
 sermon on the subject. His own clothing was coarse, and had 
 been much worn. A few days after having preached the ser- 
 mon, he was waited on at his room by a tailor, who took his 
 measurement for some new articles of apparel, which were 
 soon finished, and presented to him by some friend unknown. 
 So much was his sermon liked by the members of the Light- 
 street Church, that they petitioned Bishop Asbury to station 
 Mr. Roberts over them as their pastor ; accordingly in the 
 latter part of the summer, he was oiRcially requested by the 
 bishop to leave West Wheeling, and proceed immediately to 
 Baltimore, but such was his difiidence, that he hesitated to 
 comply, nor was it until he had received a second peremptory 
 letter, and had been strongly advised by his faithful wife to 
 a compliance with the bishop's request, that he consented to 
 go. He accordingly, with a few dollars in his pocket, and 
 with a couple of horses for himself and wife' to ride on the 
 journey, started for his new appointment, having recourse 
 during the day to his saddle-bags, for supplies of bread and 
 cheese, and stopping with their acquaintances over-night. He 
 spent the remainder of the Conference year very pleasantly, 
 and at the next Conference of 1809, was re-appointed to the 
 Baltimore station. In 1810, he was stationed at Fells Point, 
 and in 1811, in Alexandria, D. C, where he was so greatly 
 esteemed by people of different denominations, that he fre- 
 quently exchanged pulpits with the resident clergymen of the 
 place, especially the Protestant Episcopal minister In 1812, 
 he was stationed in Georgetown, D. C, and while here, had 
 an introduction, in a formal manner, to Mr. Madison, Presi- 
 dent of the United States. His reserve, and dignified mien, 
 60 far attracted the attention of the President, that the latter 
 expressed a desire to form an acquaintance with him in a 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. 325 
 
 more private and informal manner. He accordingly, some 
 time after, made the President and his lady a private visit, 
 and after a delightful and profitable interview, it was termi- 
 nated by a solemn season of prayer. 
 
 During the years 1813 and '14, Mr. Roberts was stationed 
 in the city of Philadelphia, a place which has always secured 
 the services of the most able ministers of the Church. While 
 a resident of Philadelphia, he made a visit to Indiana, to 
 which State his brother Lewis had removed. On his journey, 
 he stopped at Orleans, where was a company of United 
 States soldiers stationed. He found the latter engaged in 
 target-shooting, and as Mr. Roberts appeared to take some 
 interest in the exercise, they invited him to try his skill at the 
 rifle, which he did, and fairly surpassed the whole company 
 in the correctness of his aim, which proved, as might be ex- 
 pected, a matter of astonishment to the soldiers, who acknowl- 
 edged themselves beaten in the use of their own favorite 
 weapon, by a Philadelphia clergyman. We mention this cir- 
 cumstance, to show that Mr. Roberts, although elevated to a 
 dignified position in society, and whose acquaintance was 
 sought for by the great and honorable of the land, did not 
 feel himself so far above his more humble fellows, as to re- 
 fuse to take an interest in their innocent diversions and use- 
 ful pastimes. In 1815, Mr. Roberts was appointed presiding 
 elder of Schuylkill district, which then embraced within its 
 bounds Philadelphia and vicinity. At the Philadelphia Con- 
 ference of 1816, in consequence of the recent death of Bishop 
 Asbury, and the indisposition of Bishop M'Kendree, it became 
 necessary to elect a president of the body, from among the 
 presiding elders, and although Mr. Roberts was the youngest 
 presiding elder in the Conference, yet he was chosen presi- 
 dent by a large majority of votes, an evidence of the confi- 
 dence placed in him by his brethren who knew him best. 
 
 As the Philadelphia Conference sat in the latter part of 
 
826 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 April, and the General Conference was to sit on the 1st of 
 May following, there happened to be present at the session 
 of the former, a large number of delegates from the north, 
 and east, on their way to Baltimore. Those delegates could 
 not fail to discover the ease and dignity, with which Mr. 
 Roberts discharged the duties of President ; and as it would 
 be necessary to elect one or two additional bishops, at the 
 General Conference, their minds appear to have unanimously 
 centred on him as one of the candidates ; accordingly, on the 
 14th of May, when the votes for bishops were counted, it was 
 found that Enoch George, and Robert R. Roberts, had each 
 a majority of all the votes, and they were, consequently, de- 
 clared to be duly elected Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. After his election, and previously to his consecra- 
 tion, he had serious misgivings about the propriety of accept- 
 ing the important office, to which he had been elected, hon- 
 estly supposing that his brethren had overrated his abilities. 
 He even proposed to some of his confidential friends, a desire 
 to resign the office by declining consecration ; these friends, 
 however, who were no doubt better judges of his qualifications 
 for the office of a bishop, than he was himself, persuaded him 
 to be obedient to the call of God and his Church, to which 
 he finally consented, and on the 17th of May, 1816, he was 
 duly consecrated by the only surviving bishop, — M'Kendree 
 — the latter being assisted by some of the senior elders 
 present. 
 
 On Bishop Roberts' return to Philadelphia, from General 
 Conference, his wife inquired what he designed to do with 
 her, in regard to a place of residence, &o. He replied, that 
 she might remain "in Philadelphia, or anywhere east of the 
 Alleghany Mountains, or she might reside on their land in 
 Shenango, or tra^•el with him as she chose. The former course 
 she thought would be too expensive, the latter, too inconve- 
 nient ; she accordingly elected, to reside in the small cabin 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. S27 
 
 ■which he had erected with his own hands, twenty years pre- 
 viously. She even sighed for that independence incident to 
 a western life. They accordingly started for their old home, 
 the friends in Baltimore having in the meantime, in the kind- 
 est manner, procured for him the carriage and travelling 
 trunk of the deceased Bishop Asbury. In crossing the moun- 
 tains, they found a piece of new-made road, where the mud 
 was very deep. Mrs. Roberts, and their little nephew — 
 George Roberts, who was with them — had to alight and walk 
 to the summit of a hill. Meanwhile, the horses and carriage 
 got fast in the mud, and the bishop literally was obliged to 
 " put side and shoulder to the wheel," in order to extricate him- 
 self. The clerical fashion in those times, was long-boots, long- 
 stockings, and breeches. His attempts to relieve the caniage 
 from the mud, had besmeai'ed him from head to foot, the mud 
 running over the tops of his boots. As he gained the ascent 
 his wife who had turned round awaiting his arrival, when 
 she saw his he-srnattered appearance, could not repress a laugh, 
 while she exclaimed, " You are a pretty-looking bishop now." 
 At length they arrived at their journey's end, and leaving his 
 beloved wife among his friends, he proceeded to the discharge 
 of his episcopal duties in attending the Conferences, &c. 
 
 After completing his visitation of the Annual Conferences, 
 he repaired to Shenango, where he spent the greater part of 
 the wihter, not forgetting, occasionally, to spend a day in hunt- 
 ing. In the fall of 1817, he again visited Indiana, in com- 
 pany with his wife. It was while on a journey to visit one 
 of the Southern Conferences, that the occurrence took place 
 which gave rise to the widely circulated story, of " Bishop 
 George, and the young Preacher," — a story which has been 
 published in most of the periodicals in the United States. The 
 accounts concerning the incident, are very contradictory, and 
 grossly exaggerated. The true hero of the tale was Bishop 
 Roberts, and not Bishop George, as currently reported ; and 
 
328 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 although the former frequently spoke of the occurrence, he 
 never vifould reveal the name of the young man vi^ho figured 
 so largely in the affair. As the story is of some leiigth, and 
 is probably remembered by most of our readers, and as no 
 authentic written version is now in existence, we will not 
 transcribe it to our pages. Suffice it to say, that such an oc- 
 currence did talte place, and that the thovightless young 
 preacher, who unknowingly slighted his bishop, and permitted 
 him to go to bed supperless, was afterwards heartily ashamed 
 of his conduct, and became a useful and eminent man among 
 his brethren. 
 
 Sometimes, when Bishop Roberts was on his way to visit 
 the Conferences, he was obliged to take his lodgings on the 
 cold ground. One night he thus slept on the ground, holding 
 while asleep, his horse by the bridle, to prevent his straying ; 
 and at another time while pursuing a new route through the 
 Genesee Flats, he subsisted for three days on strawberries. 
 The reasons for such exposure and want, was not because he 
 had no friends, or because the country could not have afford- 
 ed him food and shelter, but because of his extreme diffidence 
 and natural independence of spirit, which induced him rather 
 to suffer, than to ask a favor of any person. In this regard, 
 we think the good bishop was blameworthy, for he should 
 have remembered, that there is a blessing in giving, as well 
 as in receiving, and that in depriving his friends of the oppor- 
 tunity of giving, he was in fact injuring them, more than he 
 would have done by an opposite course. 
 
 In 1819, Bishop Roberts removed his residence from She- 
 nango, to Lawrence* County, Indiana ; his object in doing so, 
 was to be near his brother Lewis, to whom he was ardently 
 attached ; and as he liked the country better than he did 
 that of his former location, and was obliged to support him- 
 self in part by agriculture, his salary being only the meagre 
 Bum of two hundred dollars per annum, — he thought he could 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. 329 
 
 spend a portion of his time' in laboring with his hands, and 
 thus administer to his own necessities. In his removal, he 
 was accompanied by three of his nephews, and a niece. In 
 his journey, which took several weeks, he scarely ever put up 
 at a private house, but at a tavern, and it was scarcely ever 
 known, who, or what he was, till after his departure. When 
 Sunday arrived, he would attend some place of worship near, 
 taking a retired seat in some part of the house, without in- 
 forming any person who he was. At length they arrived at 
 the new episcopal residence, in Indiana, consisting at first of 
 a cabin or hut, made of unhewn logs, clapboard roof, and be- 
 ing without chimney, door, window, floor, or loft. Their pro- 
 visions, which they carried with them, were by this time ex- 
 hausted, and they had to make their supper on roasted pota- 
 toes. These were placed in a, row on one of the sleejjers of 
 the cabin, and the good bishop devoutly asked a blessing on 
 the meal, and after having partaken of the same, retui-ned 
 thanks to the Giver of all good. After supper, his young 
 niece retired to one corner of the cabin, in rather a disconso- 
 late mood, and stated to her cousins, that she did not see why 
 uncle should ask a blessing, and return thanks for a supper 
 of nothing else in the world, but roasted potatoes. For bed- 
 steads, they placed some unhewed sticks across the sleepers 
 and on them made their beds. After retiring, the wolves be- 
 gan to howl, and as there was no door to prevent their en- 
 trance, the young niece became exceedingly terrified ; but the 
 tender-hearted uncle assured her, that the large fire would 
 sufficiently intimidate the ravenous animals, to prevent a very 
 near approach, and being thus assured she 'finally fell asleep, 
 while the wolves thought it best to keep at a respectful distance. 
 After a good night's rest, the bishop and his nephews went 
 to work to make their rude dwelling as comfortable as possi- 
 ble. For this purpose, the logs were smoothed with an adze, 
 a floor was laid, chimney raised, and hearth laid, so that it 
 
330 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 became quite a respectable dwelling for one of its kind. After 
 having completed the house, the bishop, with his nephews, 
 cleared three acres of land, eating their breakfast before day, 
 and in the evening their time was spent in making rude arti- 
 cles of furniture for the dwelUng. During the winter, ten 
 acres of land were cleared and fenced, so that it was ready for 
 sowing and planting in the spring. As they needed a cow, 
 the bishop had to borrow twenty dollars, wherewith to pur- 
 chase one ; and to procure wheat and corn, he had to sell one 
 of his four horses. As the nearest mill was eighteen miles 
 distant, and it required a great loss of time to get grinding 
 done, they pounded their corn in a trough made for the pur- 
 pose, and used it in the form of hominy. 
 
 In the spring. Bishop Roberts lel't home to attend the 
 Annual Conferences. The following interesting anecdote is 
 related of him in one of his journeys : 
 
 "Early in the year 1819, Bishop Roberts, on his way from 
 Pennsylvania to tlie Couference in the South, arrived on Sab- 
 bath moining, in Fincastle, the county seat of Botetourt 
 County, Va. Having no acquaintance in the place, he called 
 at a public house, and took breakfast. On making inquiry in 
 relation to the arrangements for the Sabbath, he was told that 
 there was but one meeting-house in tlie town, and that the 
 Kev. Wm. Cravens, a Methodist minister, had to preach 
 there at 10 o'clock, and also the Rev. Mr. Logan, a Presbyte- 
 rian minister, at 11 of the same day. At the sound of the 
 bell, the bishop went to the church, and took his seat among 
 the hearers. According to arrangement, Mr. Cravens preach- 
 ed, and Mr. Logan followed. The Rev. Edv/ard Mitchell, a 
 Methodist minister, who lived a few miles south-west of the 
 place, was called upon to close. When the congregation was 
 dismissed, Mr. Roberts inquired of Mr. Mitchell, how far he 
 lived from the town, and in what direction. Being politely 
 answered, he then said to Mr. Mitchell, if he would wait until 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. 331 
 
 he could get his horse from the house at which he had put up, he 
 ■would go along with him To this, Mr. Mitchell readily cou- 
 seiited. As they left the town, Mr. Mitchell, who was fond 
 of convei'sation, and always desirous of giving it a religious 
 turn, commenced talking about the preaching they had heard. 
 Mr. Cravens having insisted on the doctrine of restitution, he 
 wished to know of the stranger, what was his opinion of it. 
 Mr. Roberts stated that he did not object to the doctrine in 
 the least. Mr. Mitchell still wishing to turn the subject to 
 the hest advantage with the stranger, said, very pointedly, it 
 was one thing to consent to the truth, and another to practise 
 upon it. Mr. Roberts discovering that he was not suspected, 
 was willing that Mr. Mitchell should give what direction to 
 the conversation he might think proper, and modestly replied, 
 with his usual peculiarity to such questions as were proposed 
 to him. When they arrived at Mr. Mitchell's residence, Mr. 
 M. said to him, 'There is the stable, and the hay, and corn, 
 and my rule is, that all who come to see me, must wait on 
 themselves.' To this, the stranger raised no objections, and 
 put up his horse. When he had done, the dinner was ready. 
 Mr. Mitchell, as was his custom, asked a blessing, and when 
 seated, resumed the conversation, and took the liberty of in- 
 quiring of the stranger where he was from, and to what place 
 he was going. On these questions being answered, he was 
 next asked what was his name. To which the bishop replied, 
 ' My name is Roberts.' ' Any relation to Robert R. Roberts, 
 one of our bishops?' asked Mr. Mitchell. 'My name is 
 Robert R. Roberts,' said the stranger. At this, Mr. Mitchell 
 involuntarily dropped his knife and fork, and gazed a moment 
 speechless at his visitor, and all at once the thought struck 
 him, that his appearance, conversation, and general deport- 
 ment, were those of a minister of the Gospel, and it was a 
 matter of astonishment to him, that he had not thought of his 
 being a clergyman before. 
 
332 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 " Mr. Mitchell, after having composed himself a little, asked 
 the bishop why he had not made himself known to them 
 when he first entered the town, and preached for them. To 
 which the bishop replied, that it was his intention so to have 
 done : he had travelled rapidly, the day before, in order to 
 enjoy the holy day of rest among them, but on learning the 
 arrangements that had been made, and also that Mr. Cravens, 
 like himself, was a stranger, and had only stopped to spend 
 the Sabbath day there, he thought it best to attend the house 
 of God as an humble hearer of the word of life, and thus have 
 the privilege of worshipping with the people of that strange 
 land, in the capacity of a private Christian." 
 
 From the above, it will be seen that the bishop was always 
 averse to the act of proclaiming who he was, on his arrival at 
 any place. The following extract, being the substance of a 
 narration given by Bishop Roberts to Bishop Morris, will 
 serve further to illustrate his course in this respect. 
 
 " Bishop Roberts, once travelling on horseback, along a road 
 with which he was unacquainted, inquired for a quiet house 
 of entertainment, where he might spend the night, and on 
 recommendation, went to one without knowing the character 
 of the man that kept it, but who he subsequently learned was 
 a local preacher of his own denomination. He obtained leave 
 to stay all night, and supper was provided for him. Shortly 
 after which, the landlord lit a candle, placed it in the lantern, 
 and when about going out of the house, said to the bishop, 
 ' If you wish to retire before we return, you can take a bed in 
 the adjoining room ; we are going to a meeting.' 
 
 " Bishop. — ' What sort of a meeting is it ?' 
 
 " Landlord. — ' It is what we Methodists call a class-meet- 
 ing.' 
 
 " B. — ' I should like to go along, if it would not be intru- 
 ding.' 
 
 " L. — ' No intrusion at all. We allow serious persons to 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. 333 
 
 attend class-meetings a few times without becoming members, 
 if they wish.' 
 
 " Tlity proceeded together to the meeting, which was well 
 attended. The class-leader was a young man of much zeal, 
 and little experience. After speaking to all the members, he 
 came to the bishop, when the following conversation ensued : 
 
 "Leader. 'Well, stranger, have you any desire to serve 
 the Lord, and get to heaven ?' 
 
 " B. 'I have such a desire.' 
 
 " L. ' How long have you had this desire ?' 
 
 " B. 'I cannot say precisely how long now, but for many 
 years.' 
 
 " B. 'Well, do you think, old gentleman, that you know 
 anything about the enjoyment of experimental religion ?' 
 
 " B. 'Yes, brother, I trust I do know, and have known a 
 long time what experimental religion is, though I acknowl- 
 edge I have not been as faithful as I should have been, and 
 consequently have not made that progress in religion which 
 it was my privilege to have made. Still, I have a good hope 
 in the mercy of Lrod, through Christ, that I shall be saved in 
 heaven at last.' 
 
 " The leader closed the exercise himself, in the usual way, 
 and the bishop returned witli his host in silence. After they 
 had been seated a short time, a small table was placed in the 
 room, with a Bible and hymn-book. The landlord, after deep 
 study, looked at the Bible, then at the bishop, and again 
 seemed to be in a deep study.. After a few more side glances, 
 he rose and started towards the table, then stopped, cleared 
 his tiiroat, and went to the door and spit ; then turned again 
 toward the table, but finally stopped and said to the bishop, 
 ' Old gentleman, you appear to be a man that knows some- 
 thing of religion ; it is our practit-e here to have family wor- 
 ship ; perhaps you would be willing to read and pray with us V 
 
 " B. 'I have no objection, brother, if you wish it.' 
 
334 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 " He proceeded to read, sing:, and pray in his own impressive 
 manner. The landlord then took a, candle, and showed him 
 his room ; and started out, got to the door, and stopped, 
 turned round, hesitated, and finally remarked, ' Old gentle- 
 man, if it would be no ofl'ence, I would like to know your 
 name.' 
 
 " B. ' No offence at all, brother, my name is Robert E,. 
 Roberts.' 
 
 " When the bishop related this anecdote to the writer, he 
 added, 'And they paid me well for telling my name; for 
 they detained me two days, and made me preach several 
 times.' I wished him to tell me how the young class-leader 
 looked about the close of his first sermon, but he declined 
 making any comments.'' 
 
 In 1825, several ministers on their way to Conference, 
 called at Bishop Roberts' residence. One of them — Mr. Ran- 
 dall — being an Englishman, and recently from that country, 
 had a great desire to see a bishop of the Methodist Church, 
 as also his residence ; no doubt expecting to behold some of 
 the splendor attached to the prelacy of England, but he found 
 only a dwelling of the most humble pretensions. The bishop 
 was not in the house when they arrived, but the visitors were 
 told that he was out in the grass lot. The Englishman, im- 
 patient to see him, could not wait until he came in, but went 
 out to catch a glimpse of him, if possible. One of the preach- 
 ers pointed to the bishop in the lot, but the Englishman re- 
 marked that he saw no bishop there. " Look in the grass lot," 
 said the other. He looked again, and said, "I see a man 
 there, but no bishop." "But that is certainly the bishop," 
 replied his companion. " No ! no I" rejoined he, "that can- 
 not be, for the man is in his shirt sleeves.'' Soon the bishop 
 came up, and the remarks which had been made were rela- 
 ted to him, which he seemed to relish with great pleasure. 
 
 From the time of his election to the episcopacy, to that of 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. 835 
 
 his death, Bishop Roherts made his annual visits to the Con- 
 ferences with punctuality, and always presided with dignity, 
 and to the entire satisfaotion of the preachers. Nor was it 
 alone in the Conferences, and by the preachers, that he was 
 beloved and respected. The people in every place where he 
 appeared, admired the slmplicily of bis manners, and the hu- 
 mility of his deportment. In a certain town, a violent op- 
 poser of the Methodist Episcopal Church once thought it his 
 duty to declaim publicly against the Methodist bishops, and 
 represented them as going about the country in a style of 
 magnificence and splendor. As his remarks were generally 
 believed, a corresponding degree of prejudice was created in 
 the minds of the people against the bishops and the Church, 
 and a seceding church was formed in the place, which was 
 likely to eat up the old one. A few weeks after. Bishop 
 Roberts providentially passed through the place, and when it 
 was announced that he would preach, a general curiosity was 
 excited to see and hear the pompous prelate, as they supposed 
 him to be. The house was filled to overflowing, and at the 
 appointed hour, the •prelate appeared, arrayed in an old faded 
 calico robe, or loose gown, and all his other apparel of the 
 coarsest kind ; and when the good old bishop preached in his 
 artless, winning way, he won the hearts of the entire congre- 
 gation, so that the current immediately set in, in an opposite 
 direction, and the seceders soon gave up their new Church, 
 and returned in a body to their old home. 
 
 Bishop. Roberts' labors during the last years of his life, were 
 arduous and unremitting. In the spring of 1842, he set out 
 to visit the Indian Missions, west of the Arkansas and Mis- 
 souri, purposing also to visit those on the Upper Mississippi ; 
 and this, too, when his health was very feeble. The hard- 
 ships endured by the old man and his travelling companion, 
 had we space to notice them, would prove that the office of a 
 Methodist bishop is by no means a sinecure, but we must for- 
 
SSft LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 bear. One little incident connected with this visit to the 
 wilds of the West, we will notice. While in the neighhor- 
 hood of Fort Leavenworth, the bishop and his companion 
 stopped at an Indian trading house, and requested accommo- 
 dations for the night. The trader was unwilling to accom- 
 modate them, not knowing who they were. They offered to 
 take up with fire and shelter merely, but all entreaty was 
 unavailing. At last, the bishop's companion turned to him 
 and said, " Bishop, what is to be done ?" " Why, we must 
 get some fire and camp out," replied the latter. The word 
 bishop, had a powerful effect on the Frenchman's ears, for he 
 immediately said, " 0, by no means, gentlemen, you shall be 
 very welcome to stay ;'' and stay they did, and found comfort- 
 able entertainment for the night. The gentleman who ac- 
 companied the bishop, after finding out the value of the title 
 bishop, never failed to use it in every case of subsequent 
 emergency, and found it always paid all expenses. 
 
 In compensation for these laborious services, the bishop, as 
 we have seen elsewhere, received the annual allowance of 
 two hundred dollars ! In addition, however, to the above, 
 the General Conference, in view of the necessary family ex- 
 penses of the married bishops, authorized the book agents at 
 New York, to make them an annual allowance for table ex- 
 penses. From 1816 to 1819, no such allowance was received, 
 for some cause, by Bishop Roberts ; so that for the first three 
 years of his episcopate, two hundred dollars was the sum total 
 of his receipts. From 1819 to 1832, he received two hun- 
 dred dollars additional, for table expenses, making his annual 
 receipts four hundred dollars ; and at no time during his life, 
 did they exceed six hundred, all told. Now, when it is known 
 that bishops are expected to be examples of hospitality and 
 benevolence, and that the occasions for the exercise of these 
 traits of character are very frequent, it is truly a matter of 
 astonishment, how on the one hand, they could give liberally, 
 
BISHOP ROBERTS. S3Y 
 
 and on the other, find means to do so. The true secret is to 
 he found in the rigid economy of those self-denying men, and 
 their companions in life. 
 
 Bishop Roberts for many years, was subject to an asthmatic 
 complaint, which hecome increased by the cold weather of 
 the winter of 1842-3. He was finally prostrated upon the 
 bed of disease, and on the 26th of March, 1843, he closed his 
 eyes in death, at his residence in Indiana. His remains were 
 interred within the precincts and solitude of his own farm, 
 where they remained for several months, but at length, by 
 vote of the Indiana Conference, they were disinterred, and 
 conveyed to Greencastle, la., for final interment, where they 
 were deposited in a beautiful spot near the buildings of the 
 Indiana University. Baltimore, Louisville, and Cincinnati, all 
 begged the privilege of removing his remains to their respec- 
 tive localities, but it was, perhaps, more fitting that they 
 should remain in the State where he had so long resided, and 
 that the University to which he had bequeathed all his dis- 
 posable property, should have the honor of receiving his re- 
 mains, and giving to them a place of sepulture. His end was 
 peaceful, and his last breathings were those of prayer. Thus 
 died Robert R, Roberts, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, the 
 forty-first of his travelling ministry, and the twenty-seventh of 
 his episcopate. 
 
 A brief description of his person and character will close 
 this chapter. Physically, Bishop Roberts was comely in his 
 person ; his height, five feet ten inches ; his frame, heavy and 
 inclined to corpulency ; his features, large, but not gross ; his 
 eye blue, and noticeable for its calmness ; his manners totally 
 unaffected, and the very pattern of true simplicity. Mentally 
 considered. Bishop Roberts was a man of more than ordinary 
 talents ; his mind was penetrating, his judgment sound, and 
 his memory wonderfully retentive. As a preacher, he may 
 have had his superiors for power, and what is usually called 
 
 22 
 
338 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 eloquence ; but for clearness of thought, simplicity of style, 
 and above all, the divine unction which attended the word, 
 he had few, if any, equals. In regard to piety, which embraces 
 all the elements of Christian duty and feeling, he was above 
 suspicion. No greater eulogy need be given him, than that 
 he was emphatically a good man, a good minister, and a 
 good Bishop. "For" him " to live,'' was "Christ; to die" 
 was " gain." 
 
«¥^ 
 
 EEV. JOHN EMORY. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 BISHOP EMORY. 
 
 In the Christian ministry have always been found men of 
 diversified talents and acquirements. So:;ie have possessed a 
 gigantic intellect, with a refined and polished education, which 
 having smoothed the natural unevenness of their character, has 
 left nothing hut the pure diamond to glitter and enlighten the 
 world. Others, with the same strength of mind, the same 
 vigor of understanding, the same capacity for knowledge, are, 
 for lack of opportunity, left like the diamond in its rough and 
 unpolished state, which although it may not dazzle so much, 
 is nevertheless as purely a diamond as the other. It must be 
 admitted also, that men, and especially ministers, differ very 
 much in their natural, as well as acquired abilities ; while 
 some are persons of only moderate strength of mind, others, 
 are perfect intellectual giants ; but each one is necessary to 
 the progress of truth, and each is requisite to fill the important 
 station designed for him in the arrangements of divine provi- 
 dence. The apostles of our Lord differed in strength of un- 
 derstanding, as well as in acquired abilities; one had the 
 learning and refinement of Paul, another the zeal and ardor of 
 Peter, while a third had the love and superior piety of John ; 
 and all these " diversities of gifts" were bestowed for the ex- 
 press purpose of meeting the diversified views and feelings of 
 men, that the whole body of Christ might be edified, not only 
 
340 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 by a " diversity of operations'' but by a " difference of admin- 
 istrations.'' 
 
 In a preceding chapter, we have seen Bishop George as a 
 diamond dug from the earth, but retaining in part, its unpol- 
 ished surface, arising from obscurity, and becoming an ac- 
 knowledged leader j.nd superintendent of the largest protestant 
 denomination of Christians in the United States. As the sub- 
 ject of the present chapter, we are called to the contempla- 
 tion of a man filling the same important office, and yet entirely 
 dissimilar in many respects, from the subject of the former ; 
 a man, who to strength of understanding, added the advan- 
 tages of education and the polished refinement of the Christian 
 gentleman. 
 
 John Emory was a native of the State of Maryland, and 
 was born in the year 1788. He was, at an early age, care- 
 fully instructed in the rudiments of education, and as he was 
 designed by his parents for the profession of law, they directed 
 his course of study with direct reference to their design ; and 
 young John was by no means backward in applying his mind 
 to the pursuit of knowledge, intending, no doubt, at some fu- 
 ture day, to act a conspicuous part at the bar, as Well as in 
 the councils of the nation. Up to the age of seventeen, he 
 lived, as the majority of youths do, " without God, and with- 
 out hope in the world," but at the latter age, through the in- 
 strumentality of the Methodists, he was powerfully convinced 
 of sin, and led to consecrate himself, with all his talents and 
 acquirements, to the service of God. As the result of such 
 unreserved consecration, he soon obtained the forgiveness of 
 sin, as also the "witness of the Spirit," to bear witness with 
 his spirit, that he was a child of God and an heir of heaven. 
 
 Shortly after young Emory's conversion, he felt himself 
 called to cast in his lot with the Methodists, and after having 
 taken this important step, he felt an impression that it was 
 his duty to forsake the study of law, and devote himself to the 
 
BISHOP BMORT. 341 
 
 work of the ministry. Young Emory was not the only one 
 who received an impression of his duty in that respect ; for as 
 the Spirit of God in its operations upon the mind of the can- 
 didate, and upon the minds of the members of his Church 
 harmonizes in pointing out the way of duty, so in Mr. Emory's 
 case, the Church with which he had connected himself, soon 
 discovered that God had a work for him to do ; consequently, 
 he soon received license to exhort, and preach ; and in the 
 year 1810, when in his twenty-second year, h« entered the 
 travelling ministry, hy being received on trial in the Philadel- 
 phia Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 It is comparatively unimportant what particular circuits he 
 travelled during his novitiate ; sufEce it to say, that he made 
 full proof of his call to the ministry, and in due course of time 
 was honorably received into full connection with the Confer- 
 ence, and ordained first a deacon, and subsequently an elder 
 in the Church of God, having, in the meanwhile, filled the 
 various stations assigned him by his senior brethren, with 
 great credit to himself, and honor to the Church. 
 
 In the year 1816, although but an elder for two years, and 
 consequently one of the younger members of the Conference, 
 and being but twenty-eight years of age, such was the confi- 
 dence, reposed in him by his brethren, that they elected him 
 as a delegate to the General Conference, which assembled 
 that year in the city of Baltimore. While met with his 
 brethren in the highest council of the Church, he displayed 
 talents of no ordinary kind, and it was a knowledge of the 
 possession of these talents combined with an elevated tone of 
 piety, which induced the General Conference itself to bestow 
 upon him some of the highest honors, and invest him with 
 some of the gravest responsibilities which it had power to 
 confer upon the ministers of the Church. 
 
 In the year 1820, he was by the Baltimore Conference, of 
 which he had become a member, again elected to a seat in 
 
342 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 the General Conference, and a further mark of honor was 
 conferred upon him, by the General Conference, in selecting 
 him as its representative to the British Wesleyan Conference 
 in England. At this period, important questions relating to^ 
 the Methodists in the Provinces of Canada, were being agi- 
 tated between the British and American Methodists. Meth- 
 odism was planted in Canada, principally by the labors of 
 ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United 
 States, and the Societies raised up in different parts of the two 
 provinces, had been supplied with preachers from the latter 
 Church, until the war of 1812-15, during the existence of 
 which, it was both inconvenient and unsafe for American 
 ministers to cross the boundary line. Hence, the British Con- 
 ference considered it a duty to send missionaries to different 
 parts of the provinces, who occupied the various fields of la- 
 bor assigned them, until the cessation of hostilities. When 
 peace ensued, and all barriers to passing and repassing were 
 removed, a large portion of the Societies desired to be supplied 
 again with the word of life, and the ordinances of religion 
 from their former pastors and ministers ; while another por- 
 tion desired a continuance of the labors of the English Mis- 
 sionaries among them. And as the bishops of the American 
 Church did not possess sufScient authority to withdraw their 
 jurisdiction from the Societies in Canada, it became necessary 
 for them to appoint preachers to places hitherto occupied by 
 them, but now occupied by the preachers of the EngUsh Con- 
 nection. This state of things led to considerable confusion 
 and agitation, in the localities alluded to, and a correspond- 
 ence ensued, in relation to existing difEcuUies, between the 
 bishops of the American Church, and the missionary commit- 
 tee of the English Conference. 
 
 The Rev. Messrs. Black and Bennett were appointed by 
 the Wesleyan Conference, as delegates to the General Con- 
 ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to adjust if possi- 
 
BISHOP EMORY. 343 
 
 ble the existing difficulties between the two bodies, and along 
 and friendly letter was received from the former body, an 
 extract of which relating to these difficulties, we will give to 
 the reader: "To preserve. a good mutual understanding and 
 the unity of the Spirit, and as far as possible, a co-operation 
 in promoting the good work of the Lord, we feel it our duty 
 to state to you, a subject of local difference which to us has 
 been painful, and which we feel a delicacy in stating, hut to 
 which we are compelled -from the necessity of the case, that 
 the word of the Lord be not hindered. In consequence of ap- 
 plication being made to the British Conference, from the So- 
 ciety at Montreal, a missionary was sent to that place, and 
 received as the messenger of the gospel of peace ; but we are 
 sorry to learn, that some misunderstanding has taken place 
 between brothers Strong and Williams, our missionaries, and 
 brother Ryan, your presiding elder for Lower Canada. From 
 the former, we have received a statement of their proceedings, 
 and from the latter, a letter of complaint. We have also re- 
 ceived a letter from Brother Bennett, the chairman of the 
 Nova Scotia district, who has visited Montreal, &c., and re- 
 ported to us his proceedings. Upon a review of the whole, 
 and from the most serious and deliberate consideration, we are 
 led to conclude that considering the relative situation of the 
 inhabitants of Montreal, and of Canada to this country, and 
 particularly, as a principal part of the people appear to be in 
 favor of our missionaries, it would be for their peace and com- 
 fort, and the furtherance of the Gospel, for our brethren to oc- 
 cupy, those stations, especially the former, and to which we 
 conceive we have a claim, as a considerable part of the mo- 
 ney for building the Chapel and house, was raised in this 
 country. We trust our American brethren will see the pro- 
 priety of complying with our wishes in respect to these places ; 
 not to mention their political relation to this country, which 
 however is not of little importance, for we are conscious that 
 
344 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 their general habits and preferences, are in favor of English 
 preachers, being more congenial to their views and feelingSj 
 which should certainly be consulted, and will tend to facilitate 
 the success of the Gospel, and their spiritual prosperity. As 
 your, and our object is, mutually to diffuse the knowledge of 
 Him whose kingdom is not of this world, and by every possi- 
 ble means to promote the immortal interests of men, let us 
 not contend, — we have one Master, even Christ — but give 
 place to each other, that the word of the Lord may have free 
 course, run and be glorified. We cannot but hope that from 
 the contiguity of the labors of the brethren belonging to the 
 two Conferences, the spirit of lenity and love will be promo- 
 ted, and by this measure a more perfect reciprocal intercourse 
 established. As you have kindly invited our esteemed breth- 
 ren Messrs. Black and Bennett, to take a seat in your Confer- 
 ence, we have directed them to pay you a visit at Baltimore, 
 for this purpose, and to amicably arrange and settle this busi- 
 ness, whom we trust you will receive as our representatives 
 and as brethren." 
 
 The document from which the above extract is taken, was 
 signed in behalf of the Wesleyan Mission Committee, in Lon- 
 don, by Rev. Messrs. Wood, Benson, and Buckley, and after 
 having been read to the General Conference was referred to 
 a special committee, who presented a report which was adopt- 
 ed. As this report will serve to throw additional light on the 
 subject of Mr. Emory's visit to England, we beg leave to 
 transfer it to our pages. 
 
 " The Committee appointed by the General Conference to 
 confer with Messrs. Black and Bennett, delegates appointed 
 by the London Methodist Missionary Society, to represent the 
 British Connection in this Conference, and if possible to make 
 an amicable adjustment of certain differences between our 
 Church, and the British Connection, relative to Upper and 
 Lower Canada, beg leave to submit the following report, viz. — 
 
BISHOP EMORY. 845 
 
 " 1. Your Committee have had several friendly interviews 
 ■with the above-mentioned delegates on those subjects, and 
 they are happy to state, that there appears to be an earnest 
 desire to have all existing difficulties terminated, to the peace 
 and mutual satisfaction of both parties, and to perpetuate the 
 Christian union and good understanding which have hitherto 
 existed. 
 
 " 2. It appears from written communications, as well as 
 from verbal testimony, that unhappy dissensions have taken, 
 place in Montreal, between certain missionaries, sent (at the 
 request of a few official members of the Society in that place, 
 in time of the last war) by the London Missionary Society, 
 and some American preachers, which have terminated in the 
 division of that Society. 
 
 "3. Although the late hostilities between the two coun- 
 tries, separated for some time those provinces from the imme- 
 diate superintendency of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
 America, yet all the circuits (except Gluebec) were as regu- 
 larly supplied as circumstances would admit of, with Ameri- 
 can preachers. 
 
 " 4. It furthermore appears, from written and verbal 
 communications, that it is the desire of the great majority of 
 the people in Upper and Lower Canada, to be supplied as 
 heretofore, with preachers from the United States. 
 
 " 5. In the two provinces, there are twelve circuits, and 
 one station (Montreal), which have eleven meeting-houses, 
 which have been hitherto supplied by American preachers. 
 
 " These things being duly considered, together with the 
 contiguity of those provinces to the western and northern 
 parts of the United States, your committee respectfully sub- 
 mit the following resolutions : — 
 
 " Hesolved, By the delegates of the Annual Conference of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, in General Conference as- 
 sembled, 
 
346 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTBKS. 
 
 " 1. That we cannot consistently with our duty to the 
 Societies of our charge in the Canadas, give up any part of 
 them, or any of our chapels in those provinces, to the super- 
 intendence of the British Connection. 
 
 " 2. That a respectful letter he addressed to the London 
 Methodist Missionary Society, explaining the reasons for the 
 ahove resolution." 
 
 In. accordance with the second resolution, a respectful and 
 friendly letter was sent to the Wesleyan Missionary Commit- 
 tee, giving the reasons which led to the adoption of the first 
 resolution, and requesting that the preachers in each Connec- 
 tion in Canada, might be permitted to occupy and labor in 
 their respective fields, without molestation from each other. 
 Whatever disposition might have existed on the part of the 
 General Conference, or the Wesleyan Missionary Committee, 
 to heal existing difficulties, it was found much easier to rec- 
 ommend peace and mutual forbearance, than it was to heal 
 the breach which had been made in certain localities, par- 
 ticularly in Montreal and Kingston; hence, for a number of 
 years subsequent to the General Conference of 1816, two par- 
 ties were found in those localities, and in Montreal, both 
 British and American preachers were regularly stationed over 
 the Society (or more properly Societies) in that city, until the 
 loc.il feeling became so excited, as to be intolerable ; and the 
 same state oi' things existed to a greater or less extent in 
 several parts of Upper Canada. 
 
 At the General Conference of 1820, the subject again came 
 before that body, by numerous memorials and complaints, 
 from the several Societies in Upper Canada, protesting in the 
 strongest terms against the interference of the British mis- 
 sionaries, and praying for a continued supply of the word of 
 life and the ordinances of the Gospel, from the United States. 
 Whereupon, the General Conference adopted a resolution, in- 
 structing the bishops to continue their superinl>^iidence over 
 
BISHOP EMORY. 347 
 
 all the Societies in the Canadas, excepting Q,uebec. They 
 then made provision for the appointment of a delegate to the 
 British Conference, to negotiate in regard to the existing diffi- 
 culties, and effect if possible an amicable arrangement. Mr. 
 Emory, as before stated, was the person selected to proceed to 
 England on this important mission. He accordingly sailed 
 for Europe in the month of July following, and was cordially 
 received by the British Conference, as the messenger of peace. 
 After having opened his commission, an arrangement was 
 happily effected in relation to hitherto existing difficulties. A 
 series of resolutions was accordingly adopted by the Confer- 
 ence, to which Mr. Emory, as the representative of the 
 American Connection, cheerfully assented. The substance 
 of these resolutions is as follows : — 
 
 1. That as American and British Methodists are but one 
 body, it is inconsistent with such unity, to have different So- 
 cieties and congregations in the same towns and villages. 
 
 2. That this principle govern the two Conferences in their 
 adjustment of disputes. 
 
 3. That the most effectual mode of carrying this rule into 
 effect, is for the American brethren exclusively to occupy 
 Upper Canada, and the British missionaries Lower Canada. 
 
 4. That should any place on either side of the boundary 
 line, be destitute of religious help, then either body, with the 
 consent of the General Conference, or Canada District Meet- 
 ing, may appoint preachers to such destitute settlements. 
 
 5. That each party be bound to supply all places left va- 
 cant by the other, under the agreement made, with preach- 
 ers, &c. 
 
 6. That the English Mission Committee address a letter 
 to all the members in Upper Canada, informing them of the 
 arrangement, and requesting them to transfer their member- 
 ship to the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 7. That the bishops of the American Church direct a simi 
 
348 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 lar letter to the members in Lower Canada, making a similar 
 request, to place themselves under the care of the British 
 missionaries. 
 
 In addition to the plan of agreement entered into between 
 the British Conference and Mr. Emory, as the representative 
 of the American Church, for the settlement of difficulties, 
 several other resolutions were adopted by the former, as ex- 
 pressive of their good feeling toward, and desire for a closer 
 union with their transatlantic brethren. In these resolutions, 
 they commend the American Church for its zeal and effi- 
 ciency, and expressed a desire for a continued interchange of 
 delegates ; they strongly express their high approbation of the 
 selection of Mr. Emory as the representative to their body ; 
 that there should be a regular exchange of ministers, maga- 
 zines, missionary reports, and notices, and all new original 
 works published by the European and American Methodists, 
 from their respective book-rooms. 
 
 Mr. Emory, having discharged the duties assigned him by 
 his brethren, soon after returned home, and having made his 
 report of the success of his mission, returned to his appropriate 
 work of preaching the Gospel, and was cordially welcomed 
 back to his former field of labor. 
 
 In accordance with the resolutions adopted in England, the 
 Wesleyan Missionary Committee in London on the 20th of 
 August, 1820, addressed a letter of instructions to their mis- 
 sionaries in Upper and Lower Canada, replete with senti- 
 ments of kindness and affection, and in which honorable men- 
 tion is made of Mr. Emory, and exhorting them to carry out 
 the provisions of the resolutions in the same temper and spirit, 
 with which they were mutually agreed upon. A letter re- 
 ferring to the same matter, was also addressed on the 20th 
 of October following, by Bishop M'Kendree to the members, 
 official members, and trustees, in Lower Canada, in which 
 they are advised to place themselves and their chapels, under 
 
BISHOP KMORT. 349 
 
 the care of the EngHsh missionaries. " This communieation 
 to you," says the venerahle hishop, " we confess is not made 
 without pain ; not from any want of affection for our British 
 brethren, hut from the recollection of those tender and endear- 
 ing ties, which have bound us to you. But a necessity is laid 
 upon us. — It is a peace-offering — No other consideration could 
 have induced us to consent to the measure. Forgive, there- 
 fore, our seeming to give you up. We do not give you up in 
 heart, in affection, in kind regards, in prayers." 
 
 The result of these pacific measures, was that all matters 
 of an unpleasant nature as existing between the two bodies, 
 were at once removed, and ever since that period, nothing but 
 friendship and good-feeling have existed between the British 
 and American Methodists, a state of things, for which both 
 parties are greatly indebted to the Christian urbanity and 
 dignity of Mr, Emory. 
 
 In 1824, Mr. Emory was elected assistant-agent of the 
 Book Concern in New York, an office which he filled to the 
 entire satisfaction of the General Conference, and, indeed, of 
 the whole Church, and one which demands more than ordi- 
 nary business qualifications, on the part of the person filling 
 it. After having served the Church in the above capacity 
 for four years, he was elected by the General Conference, as 
 the principal agent of the Concern, and although his physical 
 strength during this period, would not allow him to perform 
 all that active service in the department, which he would 
 have been glad to have rendered, yet by his judicious coun- 
 sels, and wise arrangements, he continued to manage its in- 
 terests, and promote its prosperity in a manner truly praise- 
 worthy. 
 
 It was during the period in which he sustained the office 
 of assistant-agent, that Mr. Emory found it necessary to enter 
 the lists of controversy, and do battle for the cause of truth 
 and righteousness. The occasion which called for the use of 
 
850 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 his pen as a polemic writer, was one in which the well-heing 
 of the Church was at stake, and in which a comhined effort 
 was being made to subvert the constitution of the Church ; 
 and as a necessary result, to destroy its efficiency and success : 
 we allude to the efforts of the "Reformers," who commenced 
 their operations as early as the year 1824, by the presenta- 
 tion of memorials and petitions, from lay members and local 
 preachers to the General Conference, praying that body to 
 grant them " the right," as they termed it, of a voice in the 
 legislative department of the Church ; in other words to ad- 
 mit of lay representation in the General Conference. The 
 General Conference knowing, that however proper a system 
 of lay delegation might be for otiier branches of the Christian 
 Church, yet it must effectually destroy the itinerancy of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church if permitted, saw fit to declare 
 against the expediency of the measure proposed. This refusal 
 to grant the prayers of the memorialists, at once awakened 
 the deadliest hostility not only to the government of the 
 Church, but to its chief officers, and leading men. A paper 
 was accordingly established in the city of Baltimore, which 
 had now become the head-quarters of the malcontents, — bear- 
 ing the imposing title of " Mutual Rights," and advocating 
 in the strongest and most belligerent manner possible, the 
 necessity of lay representation. Not content with the publi- 
 cation of this periodical, the disaffected formed themselves 
 into what they called " Union Societies," for the express pur- 
 pose of overthrowing the government of the. Church. 
 
 In this work, the " Reformers" were led on by Rev. Nich- 
 olas Suethen, who had formerly been an influential travelling 
 preacher, but who having located, had taken up his residence 
 near Baltimore, and who by personal addresses, and by arti- 
 cles in the " Mutual Rights," and " Wesleyan Repository," — 
 another reform paper, — had in the grossest terms, condemned 
 the existing policy of the Church. In the meanwhile, the 
 
BISHOP EMORY. 351 
 
 Rev. Alexander M'Gaine, a popular travelling tniniater, vol- 
 unteered his services in aid of the cause of reform, and pub- 
 lished a pamphlet entitled the " History and Mystery of Meth- 
 odist Episcopacy," in which he attempted to prove, that un- 
 fair and dishonorable measures had been pursued in the or- 
 ganization of the Methodist Episcopal Church; that Mr. 
 "Wesley never designed the establishment of a Methodist 
 Episcopacy in America ; and as a matter of consequence, the 
 episcopacy of Methodism is spurious; and Coke, Asbury, and 
 other fathers of the Church, who assisted in its organization, 
 were designing and corrupt men. 
 
 As the most of these worthy men were in their graves, such 
 an outrageous attack upon their memory, aroused the spirits 
 of their sons in the gospel, many of whom had stood aloof 
 from the controversy, but who could not remain at rest, and 
 see the well-earned fame of the fathers of Methodism, sacri- 
 ficed on the altar of reform. As already intimated, Mr. Em- 
 ory stepped forth in honor of the memory of the dead, and in 
 the year 1827, published '" A Defence of ' Our Fathers ;' and 
 of the original organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 against the Rev. Alexander M'Caine and others ; with his- 
 torical and critical notices of early American Methodism." 
 As a brief analysis of a portion of the contents of this work, 
 may be both interesting and profitable to the reader, we will 
 invite attention to a few sections. 
 
 In the preface, Mr. Emory says : " The work here present- 
 ed to the reader, is not a party work. It is an attempt to 
 wipe off the 'foul stains, whicli have been cast on us by the 
 aspersion of our founders. If Mr. M'Caine's book be true, 
 it is impossible that any Method :St who is a real friend of the 
 Cliurch, and of our fathers, can otherwise than feel himself 
 disgraced. To such, a satisfactory refutation of it, cannot fail 
 to be acceptable. Whatever may be the claims of the re- 
 spective questions of ecclesiastical polity agitated among us, 
 
352 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 let them stand on their own basis. To attempt to promote 
 any of them by personal attacks on the dead, is an unworthy 
 resort ; and with the judicious and reflecting, can only be re- 
 garded as indicating a deficiency of better arguments." 
 
 The body of the work contains nineteen sections. In the 
 first section, Mr. Emory treats of the true nature of episcopacy, 
 and shows, that many of the most celebrated archbishops and 
 bishops of the Church of England taught the doctrine, that 
 episcopacy is by no means necessary to the existence and per- 
 petuity of the Church of Christ, and that nineteen twentieths 
 of all the episcopalians in Great Britain and the United 
 States, agree with the above in sentiment. He quotes largely 
 from Stillingfleet's " Irenicum" to prove that Christ establish- 
 ed no particular form of Church government, but that each 
 individual branch of the Church of Christ, may select such 
 form as is best designed to promote its interests. In the 
 second section, Mr. Emory proves that Bishop White, the 
 father of American Episcopalianism, and bishop of the Prot- 
 estant Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania, held the same 
 opinions precisely as did Bishop Stillingfleet. Section third, 
 embraces Mr. Wesley's opinion, which coincides with the 
 foregoing. 
 
 Section fourth is occupied with a consideration of the origin 
 and nature of ministerial ordination, and he herein shows, that 
 Mr. Wesley discarded the idea of episcopal ordination as un- 
 derstood by high Churchmen. In section fifth, Mr. Emory 
 takes up the ordination of Dr. Coke by Mr. Wesley, and 
 >j-uotes some objections from Mr. M'Caine's book, thus : " If," 
 tays Mr. M'Caine, " Mr. Wesley ordained Dr. Coke a bishop 
 in the common acceptation of the term, then did he create a 
 Church officer greater than himself, and of consequence he 
 brought himself into subjection to Dr. Coke, by making the 
 doctor his superior." Again, " If the doctor was constituted 
 a bishop, he was raised to a rank above a presbyter, and in- 
 
BISHOP EMORT. 353 
 
 vested with superior powers. In that case, he that was sent, 
 was greater than he that sent him," — " then Mr. Wesley, 
 who was only a preshyter, and consequently inferior to a bishop, 
 assumed the prerogative to send his superior to do a work in 
 his name, which he himself could not do ;" and again, — " If 
 the doctor, by the imposition of Mr. Wesley's hands, is created 
 a bishop, then the objection of the Bishop of Norwich lies in 
 full force in ' the greater is blessed of the less.' " 
 
 In reply to these objections, Mr. Emory says : " We have 
 already seen what Mr. M'Caine represents to be the ' common 
 acceptation, of the term bishop (which by the way we have 
 shown, is not the common acceptation), viz. : an order of min- 
 isters distinct from presbyters by divine appmntment, to 
 whom the power of ordination is reserved by the iame appoint- 
 ment, and is the chief mark of their distinction ; — and in 
 whom, as successors of the apostles, is vested the exclusive 
 right of granting the divine commission to execute the minis- 
 terial office. — Now, if Mr. Wesley ordained Dr. Coke in no 
 such sense ; — if he pretended to no such thing ; — if neither 
 our bishops, nor the Methodist Episcopal Church have ever 
 pretended to any such thing ; — what then ? Why then it 
 follows, that all the smart sayings on this transaction, which 
 have been repeated, and copied from my Lord Bishop of Nor- 
 wich, down to Mr. M'Caine, are wholly wide of the mark, 
 and are shaken both from Mr. Wesley and us, as the lion 
 shakes to air, the mists shed on his mane. — If Mr. Wesley's 
 position be true, that bishops and presbyters are the same or- 
 der, the Bishop of Norwich should have first overthrown this 
 position, if he could, to have established his own. 
 
 "But," says Mr. M'Caine, "as Mr. Wesley and Dr. Coke 
 were of the same order, — the doctor had the same clerical 
 rio-ht to ordain Mr. Wesley a bishop, as Mr. Wesley had to 
 ordain the doctor." — As good a clerical right; — Mr. M'Caine 
 seems to have felt here, that his argument was lame. He 
 
 23 
 
354 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 knows well that the true question is not as to the mere cleri- 
 cal power of ordination abstractly ; but whether in the cir- 
 cumstances then existing, as to acknowledged jurisdiction, and 
 the exigency of the times, Dr. Coke had as good a right to 
 ordain, and send Mr. Wesley to superintend the American 
 Methodists, as Mr. Wesley had to summon a council and to 
 ordain and send him." 
 
 Mr. Emory then proceeds to give a brief but comprehensive 
 account of the history of the organization of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and proves, most conclusively, that the 
 fathers of Episcopal Methodism went no farther than they 
 were fully authorized to do by the exigences of the case, and 
 the express authority of Mr. Wesley; and triumphantly vindi- 
 cates their memory from the slanderous charges preferred 
 against them by their sons in the ministry. 
 
 The sixth section is occupied with a consideration of Dr. 
 Coke's letter to Bishop White, in which the former proposed 
 a plan of union for the Methodists and Episcopalians in 
 America, and to secure which he expresses his belief, that the 
 generality of the preachers would not refuse to receive reordi- 
 nation at the hands of an Episcopalian bishop. From this 
 expression of belief, on the part of the doctor, Mr. M'Caine 
 inferred, that the doctor had doubts about the validity of his 
 own consecration, and of the ordination of those preachers ad- 
 mitted by him to holy orders. But Mr. Emory shows that 
 such an inference is perfectly irrational, and completely dis- 
 arms his antagonist at that point. 
 
 In section seventh, Mr. Emory proves from the " Prayer 
 Book" prepared by Mr. Wesley, for the American Methodists, 
 in 1784, and in which a form of ordination for three distinct 
 officers is found, that such form of ordination would not have 
 been recommended by Mr. Wesley, unless he had designed 
 the organization of an Episcopal Church. Section eighth is 
 in reference to the '■' Prayer Book of 1786 ;" and in this sec- 
 
BISHOP EMonr. 355 
 
 tion, Mr. Emory asks the following important questions ; — 
 the reader hearing in mind the fact, that Mr. M'Caine claim- 
 ed that Dr. Coke had violated, or at least superseded his in- 
 structions in organizing the Methodist Societies into an Epis- 
 copal Church. 
 
 "1. If Dr. Coke and Mr. Ashury were conscious that they 
 had heen guilty of duplicity, imposition, and fraud, or of vio- 
 lating Mr. Wesley's instructions in the organization of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, is it prohahle that they would 
 immediately after, have printed and puhlished the Minutes 
 with this title, and with an explicit statement of what had 
 been done, and thus have exposed their acts in the face of 
 Mr. Wesley, and of the world ? Is it prohahle that Dr. Coke, 
 particularly, who had the Minutes printed, would have done 
 this, knowing that he was so soon to return to England ? 
 
 " 2. Is it not rationally presumable, that a copy of these Min- 
 utes had reached Mr. Wesley in the interval between their 
 publication in the middle of January, and the last of July of 
 that year, before the close of the British Conference ? 
 
 " 3. Is it not at least certain, that Mr. Wesley must have 
 felt sufficient interest in this matter, to have required from 
 Dr. Coke a particular account of what had been done in 
 A.merica ? 
 
 " 4. Is it not presumable, that Dr. Coke carried with him 
 a copy of the- printed Minutes ? 
 
 " 6. Is it not presumable, that Mr. Wesley would have in- 
 quired of iim whether minutes were not taken, knowing our 
 custom to take minutes at all our Conferences, and also have 
 requested to see them ? 
 
 "6. Could Dr. Coke-have declined to show them, or have 
 concealed from Mr. Wesley what had been done, without the 
 grossest duplicity and positive falsehood ? 
 
 " 7. Is it probable that Dr. Coke was not only so knavish, 
 but so stupid as to hazard his reputation, character, standing, 
 
356 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 and even his salvation, thus cheaply and foolishly, when he 
 must have anticipated with certainty that Mr. Wesley would, 
 at some future time, obtain a knowledge of what had been 
 done, if he did not then ? 
 
 " 8. If Dr. Coke could have been guilty of such baseness, is it 
 not probable that Mr. Wesley would have received informa- 
 tion of it from some quarter ; at least before his death ; which 
 did not take place till nearly six years afterwards ? 
 
 " 9. If Mr. Wesley had ever discovered that Dr. Coke had 
 so grossly betrayed his trust, and imposed both on him and on 
 us, could he have continued afterwards so highly to esteem 
 and honor him as he notoriou.sly did, even to the day of his 
 death ?" 
 
 Mr. Emory then proceeds to show that from 1785 to 1791, 
 Dr. Coke was regularly employed by Mr. Wesley, in places 
 of the greatest trust and responsibility, such as being appoint- 
 ed to the London circuit, to the presidency of the Irish Con- 
 ference, &c., and at his death, appointed him the chairman, 
 or first member of four important trusteeships. After making 
 these statements, and asking a few more important questions, 
 Mr. Emory again inquires, " Where is the evidence, that he 
 ever objected to the title of the Church, or to the terms ' epis- 
 copal,' or ' episcopacy V" " Where is the evidence, that he 
 ever protested or remonstrated against either of these, or 
 against our adoption of the ' episcopal' form of Church govern- 
 ment, under the direction of superintendents, elders, and dea- 
 cons ?" 
 
 In the above manner, Mr. Emory triumphantly refutes the 
 flimsy objection that Mr. Wesley did not design an episcopal 
 form of government for the Methodists in America, and in the 
 next (ninth) section of his book, he notices the oft-quoted let- 
 ler of Mr. Wesley to Bishop Asbury, and as completely over- 
 comes his opponent at this point, as at any previous one. Did 
 our limits allow, we would be glad to give the substance of 
 
BISHOP EMOET. 357 
 
 the greater part of the admirable work which we have no- 
 ticed thus far. Suffice it to say, that the arguments advanced 
 were deemed conclusive by the great body of the Methodists, 
 and that the work rapidly passed through various editions, 
 and procured lasting honor for the author, as a man of deep 
 critical acumen, and laborious research. 
 
 At the close of Mr. Emory's constitutional term of office in 
 the Book Concern, he was elected bishop of the Church by 
 the General Conference of 1832, and was consecrated by the 
 laying on of the hands of Bishops M'Kendree, Roberts, Soule, 
 and Hedding. After his elevation to the episcopacy, Bishop 
 Emory entered at once upon the discharge of his important 
 duties with such a degree of zeal, and yet with all that de- 
 liberation which might have been expected from a man of 
 his eminent abilities ; and thus during his earthly stay, he 
 continued to give proof of his fitness for the highest, and most 
 awfully responsible office that exists in the Church of God. 
 Although but a young man, comparatively, and many years of 
 usefulness and efficiency were expected from him, yet his career 
 was suddenly cut short, by a sudden and unexpected accident. 
 
 On the morning of the 16th of December, 1835, he arose 
 from his bed in the enjoyment of usual health. After attend- 
 ing to his religious duties, he left his home, which was near 
 the city of Baltimore, for the purpose of attending to some 
 episcopal duties in the latter place. While pursuing his jour- 
 ney leisurely, his horse, which was attached to a light carriage, 
 became frightened and unmanageable. The bishop was 
 thrown with violent force from his carriage, and received a 
 severe wound on his head. He was immediately deprived of 
 his senses, and although all the aid which could be derived 
 from medical attendance was speedily secured, yet death had 
 marked him for its prey, and at seven o'clock on the evening 
 of the same day, he breathed his last, 
 
 " And ceased at once, to work and live." 
 
358 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 The only word uttered by him between the moment of his 
 fall and that of his death, was, " Amen !" in answer to one 
 of the many prayers offered up in his behalf. 
 
 Thus died Bishop John Emory, D.D., in the forty-eighth 
 year of his age, the twenty-sixth of his ministry, and fourth 
 of his episcopate, leaving not only a large circle of friends to 
 mourn their loss, but a Church to bewail the sudden depart- 
 ure of one of her beloved bishops. Never in the history of 
 that Church, of which the deceased was so bright an orna- 
 ment, had one of her chief pastors been called so suddenly 
 and unexpectedly away ; and never before, was such un- 
 feigned sorrow felt at the removal of one of the leading spirits 
 of the age, than on the occasion of this good man's death. 
 
 We have, perhaps, sufficiently sketched the leading traits 
 in Bishop Emory's character, to show what manner of man 
 he was ; but little, therefore, need be said in reference to the 
 same. A few general remarks will close this chapter. 
 
 1. Bishop , Emory was emphatically a good man. From 
 the hour of his conversion to God, until the time of his death, 
 he invariably gave evidence that his heart was renewed by 
 divine grace, and the evidence thus furnished arose from his 
 consistent holy life, — a blameless conversation, and a deport- 
 ment which seemed to say, " follow me as I follow Christ." 
 
 2. His qualifications for a minister and a bishop, were of a 
 high order. He possessed a sound judgment, and a discrim- 
 inating mind, with a thorough education ; all these qualifica- 
 tions, rendered him peculiarly fitted for the duties of the sa- 
 cred office. We have seen specimens of his logical acumen, 
 and controversial tact in the extracts given from his " Defence 
 of our Fathers ;" and his business tact may be inferred from 
 the manner in which he acquitted himself as the representa- 
 tive of the Church to the British Conference, as also while 
 agent of the Book Concern. His writings display great clear- 
 ness and force, as well as great originality. 
 
BISHOP EMORY. 359 
 
 3. As a preacher, he was far ahove mediocrity. He al- 
 ways evinced a correctness of taste in the selection of his 
 subjects, and in his manner of treating them ; and although 
 he was a careful, and. critical analyzer of the several points 
 which might be under consideration, yet his pulpit efforts 
 were far from being dry, or uninteresting to the less informed 
 hearer. All, whether learned or unlearned, listened with deep 
 interest to whatever proceeded from his mouth. 
 
 4. Bishop Emory was a man of great humihty. Although 
 elevated at different times by the suffrages of his brethren, to 
 the most honorable positions in the Church, yet he had very 
 little confidence in his own powers of mind, and as a matter 
 of consequence, he never felt himself above his more humble 
 brethren, but on all occasions of importance, was in the habit 
 of consulting his friends in reference to the propriety of any 
 measure which he thought- best to pursue ; and he was al- 
 ways ready to listen to everything which might be urged 
 against any favorite project, before he finally ipade up his 
 mind in relation thereto. 
 
 5. Bishop Emory was a useful man. True, he had not 
 preached as many sermons, or travelled as many thousands 
 of miles as his worthy colleagues in the Episcopacy, nor of 
 many of his less noted brethren in the ministry, but his life, 
 from the time of his entering into the ministry, was spent in 
 doing good. Eternity alone will disclose the actual amount 
 of good performed by him, and although he died under cir- 
 cumstances which rendered it impossible for him to bear tes- 
 timony in the dying hour, to the power and efficacy of that 
 gospel which he preached to others, no doubt can exist, but 
 he has received from the Master of the vineyard, the welcome 
 plaudit, " Well done, good and faithful servant — enter into 
 the joys of thy Lord." 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 KEV. WILLBUR FISK, D.D. 
 
 WiLLBUE. FiSK was born at Brattleborough, Vermont, Au- 
 gust 31st, 1792. He was a descendant of the New England 
 puritans, and his parents, who were decidedly pious, gave their 
 son a religious education, which no doubt prepared him in a 
 measure, for the important stations he was afterwards called 
 in the providence of God to fill. 
 
 His father. Judge Fisk, was a man of sterling integrity, and 
 after having removed to the county of Caledonia, in the north- 
 ern section of the State of Vermont, he was called to fill 
 various important offices. For seventeen years at intervals, 
 he was a member of the State legislature. He also filled the 
 office of Chief-justice of the County, for many years. 
 
 Notwithstanding Willbur's early religious education, and 
 his freedom from the grossest sins, yet he manifested at an 
 early age, the natural corruption of the human heart, which 
 frequently displayed itself in fits of anger and passion. At 
 the age of eleven years, however, he became the subject of 
 powerful religious impressions, and from the force of convic- 
 tion was led to look to Jesus Christ as the sinner's friend, and 
 by the exercise of faith in Him, as his redeemer and personal 
 Saviour, he soon obtained the forgiveness of sin, and the pos- 
 session of a renewed heart. His conversion to God was clear 
 and convincing, not only to himself, but to his friends ; and 
 
WILLBUE FISK. 361 
 
 he shortly afterward united with the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church as a probationer. 
 
 In consequence of his father's removal into a part of the 
 State of Vermont, where educational advantages were not at 
 that time as extensive as they are now, Willbur was not fa- 
 vored with the early training at school, which would have 
 been desirable. From the age of seven to that of sixteen, he 
 only attended school two or three years, a circumstance which 
 he ever after regretted. But although deprived of the advan- 
 tages of a public school, his time was by no means entirely 
 wasted, as he was very fond of reading ; and while at his 
 ■work, assisting his father in the cultival; a of his farm, he 
 employed many a spare moment in perus; :g works of science. 
 His thirst for knowledge, at length, became so intense, as to 
 unfit him for his usual employment, and to render him dis- 
 satisfied with his situation as a cultivator of the soil. In the 
 winter of 1808-9, when he was about sixteen years of age, 
 his father sent him for three months to the county grammar- 
 school at Peach am, where he applied himself closely to the 
 elementary principles of language, and the mathematics. At 
 the end of the quarter, he returned to assist his father, where 
 he remained until the autumn of 1810, when he again spent 
 six weeks in the grammar-school, and then took charge of a 
 district school for the winter. 
 
 His advantages at the grammar-school, only served to in- 
 crease his thirst for knowledge ; and although his father's cir- 
 cumstances, through the reverses of fortune, would not allow 
 him ranch aid, yet he nobly, and resolutely resolved, that with 
 his own unaided efforts, he would acquire a collegiate educa- 
 tion. Accordingly, in May 1811, he commenced the study 
 of Latin grammar, and in a. little over a year, he fitted him- 
 self for admission to the University of Vermont, located in 
 Burlington, which he entered as a Sophomore in August, 1812, 
 where he pursued his studies with unwearied diligence, until 
 
362 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 the University course of instruction was suspended by the 
 •war of 1812-15, a division of the northern army having ta- 
 ken possession of the University buildings as a barracks ! But 
 although driven from the halls ef science in Burlington, he 
 was grateful that there existed other literary institutions, 
 where he might complete his course. He, accordingly, went 
 to Middlebury for the purpose of entering the College, hut 
 while conversing with the president of the institution, the lat- 
 ter spoke somewhat derogatorily of the University from which 
 Fisk came, which so wounded the feelings of our young stu- 
 dent, that with indignation he turned away, and entered 
 Brown University, at Providence, Rhode Island, in the sum- 
 mer of 1814, and where he graduated with distinguished 
 honor in August, 1815. 
 
 Mr. Fisk was now in his twenty-third year, and it became 
 necessary for him to choose a profession. In early life, his 
 parents had hoped that he might be a minister of the Gospel, 
 and his own thoughts were evidently in that direction when 
 he first attended the grammar-school ; but during his stay at 
 Peacham, he lost a sense of the divine favor, and knowing 
 that God would not select a backslider to preach the gospel to 
 others, he, after many severe conflicts with his conscience, in- 
 stead of resolving to return to his " father's house" like the 
 prodigal of old, and then await further developments and 
 providential indications, entered upon the study of law, in the 
 office of the Hon. Isaac Fletcher, in Lyndon, the place of his 
 father's residence. While in this ofiice, he applied himself 
 most assiduously to his legal studies, and gave promise of 
 attaining singular eminence as a lawyer and a statesman. 
 But while aiming after worldly honors and emoluments, his 
 pious parents were weeping in secret over his religious declen- 
 sion ; and his father, on one occasion, said to him, that he had 
 a secret hope, that Willbur's religious emotions would be en- 
 kindled \new, vtA ■• ''H he would feel that woe, spoken of by 
 
WILLBUK FISK. 363 
 
 St. Paul, if he preached not the GosikI ; and his pious mother 
 afterward said, " While Willbur was aiming at becoming a 
 distinguished statesman, I was all the time praying, that he 
 might he made a minister." Thus Mr. Fisk, for a while 
 pursued his thorny path, vexed on the one hand, by the clamors 
 of his judgment, and the prayeis and entreaties of his parents, 
 and on the other, hy the flattering allurements of wealth and 
 fame. 
 
 After having pursued the study of law for some time, a 
 highly flattering offer was made him, by a gentleman near 
 Baltimore, Maryland, of the situation of private tutor, which 
 ofier he gladly embraced, as the most ready and honorable 
 way of replenishing his scanty purse, which had become well- 
 nigh exhausted hy the expenses incurred in securing his edu- 
 cation. While engaged in his office of tutor, he received all 
 the attention and respect which he could have desired, and in 
 return, gave all due diligence to the work of instructing his 
 pupils ; hut while in the midst of usefulness, he was prostra- 
 ted by a severe attack of hemorrhage of the lungs, and by the 
 advice of his physicians, he hurried home to the paternal 
 mansion. While at Burlington, Vermont, on his way home, 
 he was seized with another severe attack, and the benevolent 
 inn-keeper, at whose house he lay sick, was distressed at the 
 thought of a young gentleman dying at his house, away from 
 his friends, without ascertaining before he died, whether he 
 felt himself prepared for the solemn event. The tavern-keeper 
 was not a professor of religion, and the unusual circumstance 
 of being asked about his spiritual state by a man whose busi- 
 ness would naturally lead him to think of anything else but 
 the preparation of the soul for death, led Mr. Fisk to search 
 his heart ; and he felt doubly reproved by the fact, that one 
 who ought to have been his pupil, had become his spiritual 
 adviser. 
 
 God, who is rich in mercy, did not suffer Mr. Fisk to die 
 
364 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 at that time, but raised him up, and enabled him to return 
 home, in company with his affectionate father, who, hearing 
 of his son's dangerous iUness, hastened to Burhngton, and had 
 the pleasure of seeing him partially restored to health. In 
 the meanwhile, Lyndon, the place of his father's residence, 
 was being favored with a glorious outpouring of the Spirit, 
 and several of Mr. Fisk's personal friends were the subjects of 
 the work. Under these circumstances, and those just related 
 it is not wonderful that his former impressions returned ; but 
 before he could regain the favor of God, he was ohhged to 
 seek it " carefully, and with tears," nor did he long seek in 
 vain. Soon, the love of God was shed abroad in his heart, 
 and to the surprise and delight of the pious portion of com 
 munity, he arose one Sabbalh evening, and declared what 
 God had done for his soul. He' also confessed his derelictions 
 from the path of duty, and stated his resolution henceforth to 
 be wholly on the " Lord's side." The effect on the assembly 
 was electric, as he spoke with intense emotion, and all felt an 
 interest in him as a young gentleman of prepossessing appear- 
 ance, and of highly gifted powers of mind. 
 
 As soon as Mr. Fisk was restored to his heavenly Father's 
 favor, he began to exert himself for the spiritual good of 
 others, by attending religious meetings, and leading the in- 
 quiring mind into the path of duty and safety, and he soon 
 began to feel a renewal of his convictions in relation to his 
 duty of preaching the gospel. But here, a question of impor- 
 tance had to be settled, viz. — the branch of the Church, to 
 whose service he should especially devote his time and talents. 
 His judgment and theological views inclined him to the min- 
 istry of the Church, in whose bosom he had been reared, and 
 through whose instrumentality he had been reclaimed from 
 his wanderings ; but on the other hand, his tempoi-al advan- 
 tage, his ease and emoluments, his honor and reputation, all 
 pointed to some other Church. Nor were these all ; his old 
 
WILLBUE FISK. 365 
 
 College friends, when tliey heard of his inclination to be a 
 Methodist preacher, were perfectly astounded, and raised a 
 violent outcry against it, and one of them, in writing to Mr. 
 Fisk, accounts for this inclination, on the principle that the 
 latter would "rather rule in hell, than serve in heaven." 
 But another, and still more serious obstacle, was found in the 
 circumstance, that while at College, he had formed the ac- 
 quaintance of Miss Peck, a young lady of superior intelligence, 
 who was a. member of the Protestant Epi-copal Church. 
 This acquaintance ripened into mutual attachment, and even 
 to a promise of marriage at some future time. But neither 
 party, at this period, anticipated the fact of his ever becoming 
 a Methodist preacher. Under these circumstances, Mr. Fisk 
 had too much honor, and too much respect for the cherished 
 object of his affeclions to involve her in embarrassment on 
 account of his course, without consulting her feelings on the 
 subject. Hence, in a letter to her, he says : " When you 
 gave me an undivided heart, you knew not to whom you gave 
 it. If my health is restored, I expect I shall try, by the as- 
 sistance of Heaven, to preach the Gospel. I know not what 
 denomination I shall commence preaching among, but think, 
 most probably, among the Methodists. If I am convinced 
 that among this people I shall be most in the way of my duty, 
 with them I shall continue ; for though I could have a much 
 better living with almost any other denomination, yet I am 
 determined to do my duty, at the loss of all things." In 
 another letter, in which he alludes to Miss Peck's denomina- 
 tional scruples as a barrier to their union, he says : " I should 
 love you less if you felt differently. You must certainly act 
 conscientiously. Those who come together from interest or 
 passion, make out to get along, I know not how, without being 
 united in principle. But we must act differently. My friend 
 may differ from me in principle and in form ; yet if his heart 
 is right, I can still love him. I can give the right hand of 
 
366 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 fellowship to my Christian neighlDor, though we belong to dif- 
 feri'iit Churches ; but I wish the partner of my bosom, not 
 only to worship the same God with me, but to kneel at the 
 same altar." In further corresponding with this lady, he 
 learned that she had three prominent objections to Methodist 
 theology. These related to the doctrines of final perseverance. 
 Christian perfection, and human depravity ; and in reply, he 
 says : " I must frankly tell you, that with my present views, 
 if I am a minister of the Gospel, I must preach the doctrines 
 of holiness of heart, and the danger of falling from grace prop- 
 erly explained and understood." 
 
 From these extracts, it will be seen that Mr. Fisk had a 
 number of inducements of a worldly and selfish character, to 
 incline him to the ministry of some other Church than that 
 of the Methodists. Besides, a college-bred Methodist minis- 
 ter, was a thing unknown in America, since the days of Dr. 
 Coke, and if he cast in his lot with the Methodist preachers 
 of the age, he must expect to bear his share of reproach on 
 account of the ignorance — so called — of the Methodist min- 
 istry. 
 
 After weighing these, and other considerations, in his own 
 mind, his judgment and piety led him to make the necessary 
 sacrifices, and devote himself to the work of a Methodiht itin- 
 erant preacher. His health having in the meantime greatly 
 improved, he began, as all Methodist preachers do at their 
 setting out in the ministry, to "exhort;" that is, to hold 
 meetings for prayer and exhortations ; and after having given 
 suitable evidence during a few months' trial as an exhorter, 
 he was, on the 14th of March, 1818, licensed to preach as a 
 local preacher. His first sermon was delivered in the town 
 where he had been reared, and his text on that occasion was, 
 " Who is sufficient for these things?" and the congregation 
 were greatly surprised at the clear and important views which 
 he presented. With his splendid qualifications as a pulpit 
 
WILLBUB FISK. 367 
 
 orator, Mr. Fisk rose still higher in the estimation of the pub- 
 lic, and as a matter which might have been expected undeJ 
 the circumstances, received from time to time many flattering 
 encomiums upon his talents and success. His parents, al- 
 though highly gratified, were fearful of the result which so 
 much praise would have on the mind of their son. Hence 
 his good old mother, for the purpose of preventing self-adula- 
 tion as much as possible, would name some defect in his dis- 
 courses ; and so repeatedly and incessantly did she do so, that 
 there was positive danger of her believing that her Willbur, 
 after all, was but a slender preacher. This danger, however, 
 was averted by the following .amusing circumstance. One 
 day she received a letter from one of her sisters, informing her 
 that a son of the latter had become a preacher, and express- 
 ing a wish that Mrs. Fisk could hear him, as she thought he 
 was an excellent preacher. When Mrs. Fisk had read this 
 paragraph, she placed the letter in her lap, aiyi while she 
 raised her spectacles from her eyes, she exclaimed : " Sister 
 
 B has never heard my son I" 
 
 Soon after having received license to preach, Mr. Fisk was 
 employed by the presiding elder to labor on Craftsbury circuit, 
 a place about twenty-five miles from home. His preaching 
 in the village of Craftsbury, was at first in a private house, 
 and then in the court-house. While here, his labors were 
 greatly blessed ; so much so, that one of the bigoted disciples 
 of Calvin was led to exclaim in view of his success : " That 
 Fisk has been about here, and has undone in a few months, 
 all that our minister has done in twelve years." While here, 
 he narrowly escaped death by the hand of an insane person. 
 A lady, at whose house he often stayed, was subject to fre- 
 quent fits of derangement. During one of these fits, she 
 rushed upon him with a large sharp-pointed knife in her 
 hand, and tearing open his vest, she placed the sharp point 
 to his breast, exclaiming, " You must die. You talk so much 
 
368 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 of heaven, I am going to send you there ; for j'ou are too 
 good to live." Mr. Fisk, without quailing, looked her steadi- 
 ly in the eye, vifhen, after pausing for a moment, she removed 
 the knife and said, "You are fit to live, or die. We want 
 such men on earth, so I will let you live a little longer." 
 
 In the summer of 1818, Mr. Fisk joined the Annual Con- 
 ference, as a probationer, and was sent back to Oraftsbury 
 circuit, where he endured sufferings of various kinds, from 
 the rigor of the climate, and his necessary exposure to all 
 kinds of weather ; but he labored for God and for souls, and 
 he was cheered with the reflection that his reward was in 
 heaven. At the New England Conference of 1819, Mr. Fisk 
 was sent to Charlestown, Mass. This appointment was a 
 trying one to him, as the Society was small, and embarrassed 
 with debt ; but he trusted in the Lord, and his labors were 
 greatly successful, and his congregations large and respectable. 
 While stationed in Charlestown, he attended a camp-meeting 
 on Cape Cod, where he experienced the blessing of " perfect 
 love," which more fully prepared him for the work of the 
 ministry. 
 
 At the Conference of 1820, Mr. Fisk was admitted into 
 full connection and ordained a deacon, and by the appointing 
 jiower was re-appointed to Charlestown ; and during the sum- 
 mer, he attended the Commencement of Brown University, 
 and took his degree of Master of Arts. During his second 
 year in Charlestown, Mr. Fisk was the subject of bitter per- 
 secution, which he endured with hardiness, as a good soldier. 
 He also suffered much from his old complaint, hemorrhage of 
 the lungs, which so entirely prostrated bira, that his physi- 
 cians gave him up ; but his brethren of different denomina- 
 tions of Christians in Charlestown and Boston, believing that 
 " the prayer of faith shall save the sick," cried mightily to 
 God for his recovery, and the disease was graciously rebuked, 
 so that he partially recovered his health, and was able by 
 
WILLBUR FISK. 369 
 
 easy stages to roach his father's house in a fen <.jks, where 
 he was obhged to remain partially inactive, xud to refrain 
 from preaching altogether, for more than a year. He spent 
 much of his time, however, in riding on horseback, and visit- 
 ing different places, and in holding correspondence with his 
 long list of friends. 
 
 At the New England Conference of 1822, Mr. Fisk was 
 ordained elder, and placed upon the superannuated list, but 
 was requested by the Conference, as far as his health would 
 allow, to act as agent for the Newmarket Academy, the only 
 Methodist institution, at that time, in New England. For 
 the purpose of ascertaining whether anything could he done to 
 renovate the institution, which had been dragging out a feeble 
 existence for a few years past, he visited the place of its lo- 
 cation, and learning from its leading supporters and managers 
 that the same policy was designed to be pursued which had 
 kept it in its feeble state, he declined having anything to do 
 as an agent for the institution. In a conversation with Miss 
 Peck, subsequently, in relation to the matter, he said, " But 
 if the Lord spare my life, and will give me influence, with 
 his blessing, the Methodist Church shall not want academies 
 nor colleges." After making this remark, and having left the 
 room, a gentleman who heard the remark, said, " Mr. Fisk, 
 if he live, will be a president or a bishop ; and with his hu- 
 mility, how bright will be his example 1" 
 
 During his excursions this year, taken for the benefit of his 
 health, he visited his relatives in Brattleborough, his native 
 town, and was invited to preach on the Sabbath in the Con- 
 gregational Church. As yet, no Methodists had preached in 
 town, but the inhabitants with one consent considered Meth- 
 odism as heretical in the extreme. Mr. Fisk preached with 
 his usual felicity of manner, and as few of the congregation 
 knew the stranger, or that he was a Methodist preacher, his 
 sermon was greatly admired. One old lady who thought the 
 
 24 
 
3Y0 
 
 LIVES or EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 " doctrines" of Methodism to be those " of devils," was par 
 ticularly loud in her expressions of admiration, when her son 
 informed her of her mistake, by saying, "Well, mother, you 
 have heard a Methodist preacher at last, and you have lived 
 through it." The old lady was thunderstruck I but had been 
 too loud in her professions of admiration, to retract anything 
 she had said in favor of the sermon. A gentleman who was 
 similarly caught, backed out by saying, " Well, well, well, if 
 that be Methodism, I wish we had more of it." 
 
 Toward the close of the Conference year, Mr. Fisk was 
 united in marriage to Miss Peck, after a courtship of seven 
 years. The union of these two highly gifted and intelligent 
 persons, was followed by the most happy consequences to both 
 parties. At the session of the Conference, Mr. Fisk was pres- 
 ent, and took an effective relation. When the subject of 
 the Newmarket Academy came up for consideration, the pre- 
 siding bishop said to Mr. Fisk, " Why have you not solicited 
 funds for the academy ?" " Because, sir, my conscience would 
 not let me," replied Mr. Fisk. " Must the Conference then 
 be governed by your conscience ?" inquired the bishop. "No, 
 sir," rejoined Mr. Fisk, " I do not wish the Conference to be 
 governed by my conscience, but I must be ; neither do I wish 
 to control the Conference in any way ; but if after examining 
 the school for themselves, the Conference see fit to place it on 
 a different footing, it shall have my utmost exertion." 
 
 At the preceding Conference, Mr. Fisk had been requested 
 to preach a sermon on the doctrine of Future Punishment, 
 which request he complied with at the present session. Such 
 was the estimation in which this discourse was held, that the 
 students of Brown University, many of whom were present; 
 — the Conference session being held in Providence — requested 
 a copy for publication. The Conference also passed a resolu 
 tion unanimously requesting its publication, and it has since 
 passed through numerous editions in this country and in Eng- 
 
WILLBUR FISK. 371 
 
 land, and is considered an unanswerable argument against 
 the no-futuve-punishment theory. 
 
 At this Conference, Mr. Fisk was appointed presiding elder 
 of the Vermont district, which comprised at that time the 
 whole of Vermont, east of the Green Mountains. He went 
 to his field of labor in the spirit of his divine Master, and 
 faithfully and successfully discharged the duties of his office, 
 and in a short time the flame of revival began to burn in 
 various parts of his extensive district. In the fall of this year, 
 he brought his lady home to his father's house, and on their 
 journey homeward, they stopped after nightfall at a comfort- 
 able-looking farm-house, in the State of New Hampshire, and 
 Mr. Fisk inquired of the old lady who opened the door, if they 
 would entertain strangers. "Yes," replied she, "if you have 
 any religion." " If we have not," said Mr. Fisk, "perhaps 
 you can help us to some." " 0, then, come in, come in, with 
 all my heart," replied the hospitable dame. In the morning 
 before parting, Mr. Fisk led the devotions of the family, and 
 when her guests left, the lady of the house followed them to 
 the door exclaiming, " God bless thee, thou blessed of the 
 Lord, continue faithful, and God will hold thee in his right 
 hand." 
 
 Mr. Fisk was a delegate to the General Conference of 
 1824, which assembled in Baltimore, but such was the tire- 
 some and perplexing nature of the business, which occupied 
 his attention while here, that in writing to a friend in Ver- 
 mont (Hon. B. F. Deming), he says, " I am tired oi this busi- 
 ness, and long to be back again to my work. A camp-meet- 
 ing is a Heaven compared with a General Conference," Such 
 was his ardor of mind and desire to be constantly employed 
 in the work of winning souls to Christ. 
 
 During the two succeeding years of 1824 and 1825, Mr. 
 Fisk was re-appointed presiding elder of Vermont district, and 
 ■while here it fell to his lot, by the choice of his fellow-citizens 
 
372 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTEKS. 
 
 in Randolph, where he now resided, to welcome the celebra- 
 ted General Lafayette — who was then making his northern 
 tour — ^to the hospitalities of the village, which he did in a 
 short, but appropriate speech, which drew tears from the eyes 
 of the old veteran, especially when Mr. Fisk in the most 
 beautiful language alluded to the " glorious triumph of the 
 Church of the First-born in Heaven." 
 
 But we must now introduce Mr. Fisk to the reader in his 
 connection with the literary institutions of the Church. Thus 
 far, since the calamities which befell the Cokesbury College 
 by its repeated destruction by fire, but little had been done to 
 establish literary institutions under the auspices of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. As before stated, an academy had 
 been opened at Newmarket, New Hampshire, but such was 
 its state, that the noble-minded Fisk refused to have anything 
 to do with it, unless means were taken to establish it on a 
 different foundation. Accordingly, a committee consisting of 
 E.ev. Messrs. Hedding, Lindsey, and Fisk, was appointed at 
 the New England Conference of 1823, to examine into its 
 state, and adopt such measures in reference to it, as they judg- 
 ed most proper. About this time the good people of Wilbra- 
 ham, Mass., offered the Committee to erect suitable buildings 
 for the purpose of an academy, and pledged themselves to 
 sustain it, if located at that place. The offer was accepted, 
 and one gentleman of Boston, Amos Binney, Esq., generously 
 gave ten thousand dollars for the object. — A charter was ob- 
 tained from the legislature of Massachusetts, and in November 
 of 1825, the institution was opened by an address from Mr. 
 Fisk, who at the next meeting of the trustees, was elected 
 principal of the academy. As he was still presiding elder on 
 Vermont district, it was not until May, 1826, that he remov- 
 ed to Wilbraham and commenced the active duties of princi- 
 pal. The institution opened with only seven scholars, the 
 number, however, increased to thirty during the term, and 
 
WILLEUK FISK. 373 
 
 the next year, seventy-five vcere in attendance, wnile a few 
 j'ears afterwards, several hundreds w^re found frequenting its 
 halls. The institution shared during the year 1826, in a glo- 
 rious revival of religion, in Avhich many of the students were 
 hrought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. Such 
 revivals were frequent during Mr. Fisk's connection with the 
 institution, and resulted in the conversion of many precious 
 souls. 
 
 At the session of the legislature of Vermont in 1825, Mr. 
 Fisk was selected to preach the Election sermon at its next 
 session, which he did on the 12th of Ocfoher, 1826. The 
 sermon, as is usual, vcsls puhlisbed by the act of the legisla- 
 ture, and although a larger number of copies than usual were 
 ordered to be printed, a second edition was speedily called 
 for. After the delivery of the se.rmon, Mr. Fisk was elected 
 Chaplain to the legislature, a post which he filled with dis- 
 tinguished honor and acceptability, and when the legislature 
 adjourned he returned to his duties at Wilbraham. 
 
 Mr. Fisk was chosen delegate to the General Conference 
 of 1828, which assembled in Pittsburgh, Pa. On his way 
 thither, he visited that wonder of nature, the falls of Niagara. 
 Mr. Fisk gazed upon the stupendous scene, with feelings of awe 
 and devotion. " It seemed to me," he subsequently remark- 
 ed, " like an image of eternity, and in its rolling, tumbling, 
 foaming, sparkling billows, its resistless currents, its eddying 
 whirlpools, its all-engulfing, all-overwhelming torrents, it 
 appeared a striking image of those fiery steeps, and rolling 
 billows, and noisy caverns, where the spirits of the lost are 
 tossed in ceaseless terror." A utilitarian gentleman, who 
 formed one of the company, taking another view of the sub- 
 ject, exclaimed, " I .suppose, if all the worlds that compose 
 this vast universe,- were so united by cogs, as to turn each 
 other, here is water-power enough to move the whole I" 
 What an idea I At the opening of the Conference, Mr. Fisk 
 
374 
 
 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 •was appointed Chairman of the committee on Education. He 
 prepared a very able report on the fuhject, and recommended 
 the establishment of several institutions of a collegiate char- 
 acter. The report and resolutions were adopted, and their 
 publication served to give additional impulse to the cause of 
 education in the Methodist Church. On the adjournment 
 of the Conference, he returned to Wilbraham, and resumed 
 his duties as principal. 
 
 An amusing incident occurred in the latter part of 1828, 
 arising out of his connection with the academy, which is 
 worth relating. A clergyman in a town adjoining Wilbra- 
 ham, sent a letter to Mr. Fisk, in which he bitterly com 
 plained that a certain student in the academy — a licensed 
 exhorter — had been endeavoring to proselyte two young per- 
 sons of his charge ; and assigns as a reason for addressing Mr. 
 Fisk on the subject, the supposition that the students were 
 sent out to the villages round about, at the discretion, and 
 under the direction of Mr. Fisk. To this rather singular com- 
 plaint from such a respectable source, Mr. Fisk replied, that 
 he was both pained and grieved at such proceedings on the 
 pait of the youiig student, and that he had preferred charges 
 against such student for his conduct, and stating that he 
 should expect the clergyman to appear at the time and place 
 of trial, and substantiate the charge preferred. This course 
 of procedure was entirely unexpected by the latter, who forth- 
 with sent a letter of apology, and stating that he had been a 
 trifle too positive, that the facts were only reported to him by 
 others, &c. &c., and informing Mr. Fisk that it would be 
 "quite inconvenient to attend." In this manner the clergy- 
 man was glad to back out of the dilemma, in which he found 
 himself so unexpectedly, yet somewhat ceremoniously placed. 
 
 In January, 1829, Mr. Fisk was chosen to preach the 
 "Election Sermon," before the Senate of Massachusetts. He 
 also received many flattering proposals for honorable situa- 
 
WILLBUR FISK. 375 
 
 tions in different parts of the country. He was strongly so- 
 licituil to allow liimself to be a candidate for the presidency 
 of thti Vermont University, as also to hecome agent of the 
 American Bible Society. In 1829, he was appointed agent 
 of the Society for the Observance of the Sabbath, with a 
 salary of one thousand dollars per annum, and travelling ex- 
 penses. He was also, during the same year, elected president 
 of La Grange College, Ala., and about the same time, was 
 elected to a professorship in the University of Alabama, with 
 a salary of two thousand dollars. He was also at the pre- 
 ceding Canada Conference, elected bishop of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church in Canada. But to all these tempting 
 offers, Mr. Fisk was obliged to return answers of declinature, 
 not because he thought himself insufficient to fill the offices 
 alluded to, nor because he could not render himself useful, as 
 well as honorable, in those situations, but because to accept, 
 to use his own words, " Would build up Willbur Fisk, but it 
 would not build up Methodism." The fact is, his interests 
 had now become so closely identified with the educational in- 
 terests of New England Methodism, that to forsake his pres- 
 ent situation, he felt would be doing the Church an injury, 
 while he well knew that to retain the same, it must be at the 
 sacrifice of ease, honor, and emoluments ; for it should be re- 
 membered, that at the time of his connection with the Wil- 
 braham Academy, he had only the scanty support of a Metho- 
 dist travelling preacher, a salary not greater than that secured 
 by many a common laborer, while at the same time he was 
 doing the work of three men .' Such was Willbur Fisk, in 
 his early connection with the literary institutions of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and such were the sacrifices 
 which he made to secure their prosperity. 
 
 In 1829, Mr. Fisk received from Augusta College, in Ken- 
 tucky, the title of D.D. At first he resolved not to accept it, 
 but before he could make a formal refusal of the honor, his 
 
376 
 
 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 friends having immediately and so geiieniUy applied the title 
 to him, it WAS beyond his power to prevent its future appli- 
 cation. 
 
 About this period, many noble minds in the nation were 
 becoming aroused to the ravages of intemperance, and its 
 consequent evils. Societies had been organized in different 
 places for the promotion of temperance. Mr., now Dr. Fisk, 
 entered heart and soul into the work of reform, and although 
 many of his brethren in the Church and the ministry, stood 
 aloof from the enterprise, on the ground that the Church was 
 all the temperance society that was necessary, and although 
 the Christian Advocate and Journal, the official organ of the 
 Church, took a decided stand against him, yet he continued 
 to battle for the good cause ; and perhaps it is not saying too 
 much, to ascribe to him the honor of having elevated the 
 cause to its present high and commanding position in the 
 Church, more than any other single person ever connected 
 with it. 
 
 Through the persevering efforts of Dr. Fisk and others, the 
 cause of education in the Methodist Church was swiftly on 
 the advance. Already had two Methodist Colleges been es- 
 tabhshed, one in Kentucky, and another in Pennsylvania. In 
 1829, the New York Conference took measures to establish a 
 college of high grade, somewhere in the north. The New 
 England Conference was invited to join in the enterprise, and 
 after having received several flattering offers from different 
 localities, the joint committee of these two Conferences se- 
 lected Middletown, Conn., as the site for the establishment of 
 the Wesleyan University, the inhabitants of that place hav- 
 ing generously presented the committee with thirty thousand 
 dollars worth of property, besides an additional local subscrip- 
 tion of eighteen thousand dollars. 
 
 In 1830, Dr. Fisk was elected the first president of the 
 Wesleyan University, a situation which he filled with great 
 
WILLBUR FISK. 377 
 
 honor to himself and the Church, as long as he lived. As the 
 institution did not open for the reception of students until Sep- 
 tember, 1831, Dr. Fisk spent a portion of his time, in the 
 meanwhile, in soliciting funds for the University, and in 
 awaking a general interest in its favor, both among preachers 
 and people. His inaugural address delivered at the opening, 
 was a splendid production, and so greatly was it admired by 
 some of the leading men in the nation, that it at once raised 
 the literary character of the institution ; and many young 
 gentlemen souy-ht admission to its classic halls, knowing that 
 under the presidency of such a man as Fisk, the University 
 must flourish and become justly popular. 
 
 In 1832, Dr. Fisk was again a member of the General 
 Conference, and during its session he served as chairman of 
 several important committees, and bore a conspicuous part in 
 the numerous important discussions which arose in that rev- 
 erend and venerable body. After his return to Middletown, 
 he devoted himself as usual, to the interests of the University, 
 but not to these alone, for we find him zealously engaged in the 
 promotion of every good work, and especially that of temper- 
 ance, having become one of its ablest defenders, and one of its 
 acknowledged champions. He also took a deep interest in the 
 cause of nussions, and was, in fact, one of the originators of the 
 Liberia and Oregon missions of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 Dr. Fisk found it necessary also, about these times, to do 
 battle for the truth in opposition to the various phases and 
 dogmas of New England Calvinism. He had some time pre- 
 viously, at the request of certain distinguished civilians, 
 preached a sermon on the subject of predestination. The 
 sermon being published, and being confessedly an able refuta- 
 tion of the doctrine as generally held, and preached by Cal- 
 vinistic divines, awakened a host of able opponents among the 
 doctors of divinity, and other less-noted ministers. Hence, for 
 
378 
 
 UVE8 OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 several years, in pamphlets, periodicals, &c., the controversy 
 was carried on with spirit, yet with Christian courtesy, so far 
 as Dr. Fisk was concerned, and various publications left as the 
 result of this controversy, stamp the doctor as a man of gigan- 
 tic intellect, and superior power of mind. 
 
 In 1835, the great abolitionist excitement began to rage 
 with intensity in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and al- 
 though Dr. Fisk, from the beginning, designed to have little 
 or nothing to do in the matter, yet he was by force of circum- 
 stances, drawn into the heated controversies of the day, on 
 that exciting subject. He disapproved strongly of the pro- 
 ceedings of the ultraisls, as they were called, and espoused the 
 conservative side of the question. In this position he was for- 
 tunate enough to have the principal leading men of the 
 Church agree with him in his views, but unfortunate in 
 having a large majority of his own Conference — the New 
 England — opposed to his particular views in this respect. 
 However, a difference of views in regard to the best means to 
 promote the abolition of slavery, did not detract from the gen- 
 eral respect and esteem entertained for him by his brethren, 
 as is evident from the fact that at the very height of the anti- 
 slavery storm, they elected him in 1835, to a seat in the next 
 General Conference ; but as the entire delegation, save himself, 
 were obviously elected with reference to their views on this 
 subject, he felt himself under the necessity of declining the 
 honor conferred, by resigning his seat in the General Confer- 
 ence. 
 
 In September, 1835, he received the degree of doctor of 
 divinity from his Alma Mater, the Brown University, an hon- 
 or, which he no doubt appreciated more than the one from 
 another University previously bestowed, because of his former 
 connection with the first-named institution. 
 
 On account of Dr. Fisk's numerous labors, his health be- 
 came seriously impaired, and in the fall of 1835, having re- 
 
WILLBUR FISK. 379 
 
 ceived a commission from the Joint Board of the Wesleyan 
 TJniversity, to visit Europe for his health, and the advance- 
 ment of the interests of the institution, he set sail on the 8th 
 oi September, accompanied by Mrs. Fisk, and a young gentle- 
 man connected with the University, for Liverpool, where they, 
 in due season arrived, and proceeding from thence to London, 
 were afiectionately received by the Rev. Richard Reeve, 
 President of the British Conference. Dr. Fisk and party re- 
 mained in London until November, when they proceeded to 
 Paris, where he formed an agreeable acquaintance with many 
 pious friends. From Paris they proceeded slowly to Rome, 
 where they spent the Passion Week, and witnessed all the 
 absurdities and fooleries of the Romish Church. Our travel- 
 lers remained in Italy during the winter, visiting different 
 places, and although Dr. Fisk lay dangerously ill for awhile, 
 j'et the Lord spared his valuable life, and enabled him to re- 
 turn to London in the early part of the summer of 1836. 
 
 After his return to London, he found an agreeable home in 
 the family of Rev. Dr. Alder, and he spent a number of 
 weeks in visiting the different places of note, and also the 
 Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In the meanwhile 
 the American General Conference had held its session in May, 
 1836, in Cincinnati, 0., and had appointed Dr. Fisk as their 
 delegate to the British Wesleyan Conference, in Birmingham, 
 which held its session in July and August of the same year. 
 Dr. risk had also, at the same G-eneral Conference, been 
 elected to the responsible ofEoe of bishop, thus receiving the 
 highest ecclesiastical honors which the Church could confer 
 on him, during his absence in a foreign land. 
 
 About the time of his arrival at the seat of the Birming- 
 ham Conference, a strong effort was made, by some of the 
 leading English abolitionists, to prejudice the public mind 
 against him, on account of his former position on the subject 
 of American slavery ; and a document had even been sent to 
 
380 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 the British Conference, signed by a number of the ultraists in 
 New England, which was well adapted to create a prejudice 
 against the doctor. The British Conference, however, had too 
 much magnanimity to pay much attention to these outbursts 
 of party feeling, and they extended to the doctor a very cor- 
 dial welcome as the representative of American Methodism. 
 
 After the Conference adjourned. Dr. Fisk and lady visited 
 the principal cities of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and in 
 the month of October following, took passage ia the same 
 ship which carried them to Europe, and which safely landed 
 them in New York, on the 23d of November, and soon after 
 he made his way to Middletown, where he was joyously re- 
 ceived by the faculty and students of the University, as well 
 as by the citizens generally. It may be proper in this connec- 
 tion to state, that at the request of many persons. Dr. Fisk 
 published an account of his travels in Europe, a work which 
 has been well received, and generally appreciated. 
 
 After Dr. Fisk's return to America, he was strongly solicit- 
 ed, by many of his friends, to take upon him the office and 
 work of a bishop, by consenting to be consecrated in due form ; 
 but with his usual modesty, he declined the honor, assigning, 
 among other reasons, his want of physical strength to endure 
 the labors of the office, and pleading his engagements to the 
 University. He accordingly remained at the head of that in- 
 stitution, using all his powers to promote its prosperity, until 
 the time of his last sickness. 
 
 During the fall and winter of 1838, Dr. Fisk's health began 
 to decline rapidly, so that it became evident to himself and 
 other,?, that his days on earth were rapidly numbering. Yet 
 during his long and painful illness, he preserved the utmost 
 composure of mind, and maintained to the very last, his anx- 
 iety for the welfare of the University. When informed by 
 the council of physicians, that he could not tarry much longer, 
 he said to the senior Professor, " There are a few thines I 
 
WtLLBUR FISK. 381 
 
 should like to see done before taken from this world ; hut 
 what am I, that I should have a hand in those things ? 
 There is the poor University ; hut I hope you will stand by 
 it, and that God will bless it." His conversation from this 
 time, till he died, was heavenly and divine. His sick cham- 
 ber was a perfect paradise. The next to the last sentence he 
 uttered, was, " Yes ; glorious hope I" and his last words were 
 addressed to his affectionate wife, who took his hand and in- 
 quired if he knew her, he replying, " Yes, love ; yes.' 
 
 At ten o'clock in the forenoon of the 22d day of February, 
 1839, the pure and lovely spirit of the dying Fisk, took its de- 
 parture for the heaven of purity and loveliness ; and as he 
 was lovely in life, so in death, his appearance was singularly 
 lovely, too much so seemingly, to be consigned to the coldness 
 and dampness of the grave ; but the grave is no respecter of 
 persons, and the earthly remains of Willbur Fisk now repose 
 under the green sod of the college cemetery at Middletown. 
 
 Thus lived and thus died Willbur Fisk, a man of sterling 
 honor, of strict integrity, of fervent piety, and genuine humili- 
 ty. As a man of learning, he was more than respectable ; 
 as a preacher, he had few equals, and still fewer superiors ; 
 as a gentleman, his society was courted by the intelligent of 
 every land ; and as a literary teacher and president of a col- 
 lege, he probably had not a superior. His personal appear- 
 ance was much in his favor. With a beautifully formed 
 head, and a pleasing countenance ; a spare, but erect and 
 well-proportioned frame ; an easy manner and a benign dis- 
 position, he was in all respects the perfect model of a Man, 
 whether physically, mentally, or morally considered. But he 
 has gone, and left a Church in tears ; yet not without the 
 hopj of meeting him again in that land of beauty and delight, 
 " where the weary are at rest." 
 
 A plain monumental shaft marks the spot where Fisk was 
 laid, bearing on one side the simple inscription, 
 
382 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 " WiLLBua FisK, S.T.D., 
 First President of the Wesleyan University." 
 
 And on the reverse side, the simple dates of his birth and 
 death. Lately, however, a more suitable and imposing monu- 
 ment has been erected at Wilbraham, Mass., the scene of his 
 early literary labors. A splendid building has been erected 
 near the site of the old Wilbraham Academy, at an expense 
 of some tgn or tvi^elve thousand dollars, bearing on its noble 
 front the impressive inscription, 
 
 "FisK Hall." 
 
 This edifice is designed as a suitable appendage to the 
 buildings of Wilbraham Academy, and was solemnly dedi- 
 cated to the service of religion and education, on the 12th of 
 November, 1851. The portrait of the deceased Fisk, adorned 
 the walls of the audience-room, and what added greatly to 
 the interest of the occasion, was the presence of his intelligent 
 and pious widow, who had repaired from Middletown, in 
 company of some of the professors of the University, to the 
 scene of her early days, as the companion of her deeply la- 
 mented husband. Several appropriate addresses were de- 
 livered on the occasion, and the virtues and talents of the 
 deceased Fisk were descanted upon in appropriate terms. 
 Let "Fisk Hall" stand, therefore, as a monument not only in 
 memory of him whose honored name it bears, but as a feeble 
 testimony of the respect with which his name is still remem 
 bered in the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
REV. STEPHEN OlIN, D. D. 
 
CHAPTEE XVIli. 
 
 STEPHEN OLIN, D.D. L.L. D. 
 
 As the subject of this chapter has hut recently deceased, 
 and as no written life has as yet appeared, it will be impos- 
 sible for the writer of these chapters to give more than a 
 meagre account of this truly great, and in some respects, won- 
 derful man. Yet a man who was so well known, and so de- 
 servedly esteemed as was President Olin, has no doubt left 
 a memorial of his greatenss on the minds and hearts of all 
 who were so fortunate as to cultivate his friendship, or to 
 form even his acquaintance. It is the latter circumstance, 
 which impels the author to attempt a sketch of his life and 
 character, more especially as the subject of the chapter was 
 in a most emphatic sense, an eminent Methodist minister, as 
 well as one of nature's noblemen. 
 
 Stephen Olin was born in the town of Leicester, Addison 
 County, State of Vermont, on the 2d day of March, 1797. 
 His father, Judge Olin, was a man of great respectability, and 
 filled for a length of time, the office of Lieutenant Governor 
 of the State of Vermont. Stephen, at a very early age, mani- 
 fested a love for study, and after having undergone the re- 
 quisite training in the district school of his native town, he 
 was in due time initiated into the higher grade of schools, so 
 plentifully found in his native State ; and after having com- 
 pleted his academic course of study, he entered Middlebury 
 Cirvllpo-f. which is located but a few miles from the plaf 
 
384 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 his birth. His room-mate, and conlidential friend during his 
 stay at College, was Mr., now Hon. Myron Lawrence, of Mas- 
 sachusetts. These young men were competitors for the high- 
 est graduating honors, and so equally balanced were each of 
 their claims, that the faculty of the institution had the mat- 
 ter under deliberation for two weeks, after having disposed of 
 the other appointments to the students ; and in the final ar- 
 rangement of parts, both were allowed to share in the lauvf Is. 
 The valedictory, however, was given to Olin, but being con- 
 fined to his room by sickness, Mr. Lawrence had the honor of 
 its delivery. The President of the College, however, was free 
 to acknowledge, that Olin displayed the greatest amount of 
 talent of any young man who had ever passed before him in 
 examination. 
 
 After having graduated, Mr. Olin's health being frail, and 
 his resources limited, he concluded that a residence at the 
 South would be a benefit to both the one and the other. He 
 accordingly bade farewell to his native hills, and went to 
 South Carolina, and providentially found an opening for the 
 use of his talents, as Principal of Tabernacle Academy, in the 
 Abbeville District. 
 
 Up to this time, Mr. Olin was designed by his father for 
 the bar, and as yet he had made no profession of religion. In- 
 deed, so far as he had any definitely formed views of religion, 
 he was inclined to skepticism and infidelity. As the academy* 
 
 * The following relation, Dr. Olin, while he was in Augusta, Ga., 
 gave of his introduction to the Tabernacle Academy : " On leaving col- 
 lege, I came to this State (Georgia), with tlio view of teaching, and 
 expected to be employed in Putnam County, hut was disappointed in 
 obtaining a situation there, I was stopping, without any employment, 
 at a public house in this city ; and on taking up a paper, my eye lit 
 upon an advertisement for a teacher, in Tabernacle Academy, in Abbe- 
 ville District, South Carolina, which lies up the river from this place. 
 Guided by the light of that advertisement, I made my way up the 
 river, and arrived at the place of the location of the Academy ; a place 
 
STEPHEN OUST. 385 
 
 of which he had been chosen principal, was situated in the 
 midst of a Methodist community, and was patronized by that 
 denomination of Christians, he was required by the standing 
 rules of the institution, to open and close the exercises of the 
 school each day with prayer. He hesitated at this point, 
 doubting in his own mind whether he could make an intelligi- 
 ble prayer. After having tried his skill, however (probably 
 in secret at first), he consented to the requirement of the trus- 
 tees ; but now his conscience began loudly to accuse him of 
 mocking God, by going through a daily round of devotional 
 exercises in the presence of his pupils, whiuh in his case was 
 the result of stipulation — of bargain with C e managers of the 
 school, without any religious convictions or i Jelings on his part. 
 As a sense of the impropriety of this cuurse pressed more 
 and more heavily upon him, he was k'd to examine in the 
 most serious manner, the evidences of Christianity. This se- 
 rious investigation, resulted in the full and clear conviction 
 of the truth of revealed religion, and of the importance and 
 
 which I found to my astoniahment, to be almost bare of houses, it 
 being a mere country place. I inquired for some suitable one to whom 
 I might make known my business, and was directed to the frame of a 
 new building, partly covered, where I should find one of the trustees 
 of the Academy. I there found a man at work on the building, with 
 his coat off, and shirt sleeves rolled up, whom I found to be the trus- 
 tee to whom I was directed — a Rev. Mr. Glenn, whom I afterwards 
 found, whatever may have been my first impressions, to be an excel- 
 lent man. On inquiring where the Academy was, I was pointed to a 
 log-cabin, as being the building; but said Mr. Glenn: 'Our new 
 Academy.' meaning the building then in process of erection, 'will be 
 finished this fall. You will teach in that till the new one is finished.' 
 I t-ngagfd for fTOO per year. I began in the log-cabin. The door 
 was hnng on a couple of sticks, and the windows were miserable; I 
 drew my table to the wall, where I was supplied with light that came 
 in between two logs. In a few weeks, the school was removed to the 
 new building. I had a, large number of scholars, and continued in 
 that Academy three years." 
 
386 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 necessity of conforming to her requirements. TJpon further 
 examination, he discovered himself to be a poor lost sinner by 
 nature, and that unless he found deliverance through the 
 blood of the Redeemer of mankind, he must be lost eternally. 
 He, aceor^ngly, resolved in the strengh of God, to become a 
 Christian, ?,t the hazard of the loss of fame, honor, and wealth. 
 One morning, he went out to a spot in the vicinity of the 
 academy, and kneeling down beforjfe his Maker and Judge, he . 
 sought his favor, he sued for pardon, he invoked the blessing 
 of a clean heart ; and in answer to the prayer of faith that 
 would take no denial, soon he found peace in believing, and 
 Stephen Olin became a "new creature," "old things having 
 passed away, and all things having become new." The sur- 
 render of his soul and body had been complete ; his pride of 
 intellect and of education had been subdued ; his powers were 
 forever consecrated to the service of Cod ; and as a result, his 
 sense of the divine favor was clear, and his conversion con- 
 vincing to himself and others. 
 
 As soon as Mr. Olin became a Christian, he saw the im- 
 portance of openly professing his faith in Christ, and as the 
 only consistent way for him to do so, was to identify himself 
 with the visible body of Christ, he soon united with the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church as a probationer, — a step which all 
 whether learned, or unlearned, rich or poor, must take before 
 they can gain admission to membership in the Methodist 
 Church. After a probation of six months, Mr. Olin was re- 
 ceived into full communion, having given evidence in the 
 meantime, of his conversion and upright walk. Shortly after 
 his connection with the Church, he felt that he was called 
 of God to preach the Gospel. Among his friends in Abbeville 
 "who took a deep interest in his spiritual welfare, was the late 
 Rev. James E. Glenn, at that time the stationed minister in 
 the place, and a man of some celebrity as a preacHer, who 
 perceiving in young Olin the elements of future greatness, at 
 
STEPHEN OLIN 387 
 
 once encouraged him to make a proper use of his talents as a 
 public speaker, and for the purpose of affording him an oppor- 
 tunity for so doing, frequently took him with him, to his 
 preaching appointments on the Sabhath, where he would fol- 
 low the preacher with an exhortation to the congregation, and 
 then close the exercises by singing and prayer. Soon the ex- 
 hortations of Mr. Olin, became the most interesting part of 
 the services, so that the preacher was completely eclipsed by 
 the glowing, burning eloquence of the exhorter. 
 
 As soon as his engagements with the trustees of the acad- 
 emy, would allow — he, having in the meantime, obtained li- 
 cense to preach — he offered himself, by the persuasions of his 
 friends, to the South Carolina Annual Conference of 1824, as 
 a Methodist travelling preacher, and was received, and sta- 
 tioned in the city of Charleston, S. C, His first sermon in 
 that city was delivered while the Conference was still in ses- 
 sion, and in the presence of most of the preachers. His sub- 
 ject was the conversion of St. Paul, — a most appropriate one 
 for the occasion. — One who heard him at that time, says in 
 reference to the sermon : — 
 
 " It was night, and at the old Trinity Church. He rose in 
 the pulpit, tall and ungraceful ; went through the introduc- 
 tory exercises, particularly the prayer, with a simplicity of 
 manner, and an earnestness of tone and style of supplication, 
 very different from the ordinary style of such a service ; read 
 out his text, closed the Bible and turned it round ; laid his 
 hands upon its corners, and began preaching. He had no di- 
 visions in his sermon, and yet it was the very soul of method, 
 so clear that you saw through all its connections at a glance, 
 as he went along. — He struck at once into an original track 
 of thought — profound, searching, brilliant) chaining the atten- 
 tion. His sea-line took all the soundings of the human heart; 
 his analysis was master of the deepest intricacies of human 
 motive and passion ; his imagination soared into the heaven 
 
588 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 of invention; his action at going off, awkward, and his long 
 arms thrown about without the slightest reference to rhetor- 
 ical canons, presently seemed the fittest in the world to ac- 
 company an intellectual handling of the subject, perfectly sui 
 generis, the like of which had never before been known. Soon 
 his mind was glowing at a white heat ; the mass of thought 
 ran like molten gold, poured from inexhaustible sources ; and 
 his intellect seemed to have a range wide as the compass of 
 heaven and earth. He commenced preaching at seven o'clock, 
 and the bells of the city were ringing for nine as he closed ; 
 and there we were utterly unconscious that even twenty 
 minutes had elapsed, .all tremulous with excitement; the tall, 
 awkward man, with his singular gesticulations, unique man- 
 ner, everything — literally everything — lost sight of forgotten, 
 in the grand, glorious, majestic truths of the gospel, which 
 flashed like chain-lightning around that old, high, ungainly 
 pulpit, for the nonce a throne of thunders." 
 
 The description thus given of Mr. Olin's first sermon, by 
 the graphic pen of Rev. Dr. Wightman, of South Carolina, 
 throws considerable light upon his early efforts in the pulpit, 
 and it is no wonder that the same vi'riter observes, that, 
 " Never in the memory of the oldest Methodists, had so pow- 
 erful a preacher burst with so sudden a splendor, and tremen- 
 dous an eflect upon the Church." 
 
 Mr. Olin remained in Charleston but six months, when he 
 was compelled on the approach of hot weather, such was his 
 state of health, to seek a few months' relaxation, in a more 
 northern clime. He returned, however, to Charleston on the 
 setting in of winter, and at the next session of the Conference, 
 was re-appointed to the same field of labor, with the hope 
 that if his health was not sufficient to endure the labors of 
 the. pulpit, he might be able to edit a religious paper — the 
 Wesleyan Journal, — which had been projected, and the pros- 
 pectus drawn up by Mr. Olin's hand had been issued, — ^but 
 
STEPHEN OLIN. 389 
 
 these hopes were not realized, as hefore the time of publica- 
 tion had arrived, he was again compelled to leave the city. 
 But although disappoiuted in becoming the editor of the Jour- 
 nal, he furnished from time to time some very able papers for 
 the same, which vi-ere greatly admired. 
 
 In 1826, Mr. Oiin having passed through his two years, 
 probationary course, preparatory to his admission to the Con- 
 ference, was, notwithstanding his feeble health, received into 
 full connection, and ordained deacon, but was left without an 
 appointment. The next year he sustained a supernumerary 
 relation to the Conference, and was stationed in Athens, Ga., 
 during which time he endeavored to render himself as useful 
 as his health and strength would allow ; but at last despairing 
 of ever being able to do effective labor as a travelling minis- 
 ter, he located in 1628, much against his own inclination, 
 and that of the Conference. Shortly after his location, he 
 became united in marriage to Miss Bostwick of Milledgeville, 
 Ga., -" young lady of ardent piety, of lovely appearance, and 
 of some wealth. He re-entered the travelling connection in 
 1832, by joining the Georgia Conference. 
 
 In the year 1830, Mr. Oiin was elected Professor of English 
 Literature in the University of Georgia, although his health 
 still continued very poor, and he was barely able to attend to 
 the daily recitations of his students. His popularity as a 
 teacher was so great, that during the year 1833, he was elect- 
 ed President of Randolph Macon College, Virginia, and in 
 the following year, he_ entered upon the responsible duties of 
 his presidency ; and although his fame had preceded him in 
 taking charge of the institution, yet he more than met the 
 expectation of his warmest admirers. In the spring of 1837, 
 his health again failed, and in company with his beloved wife 
 he set sail from America, for an extensive tour in Europe 
 and Asia. 
 
 Having arrived at Paris, by way of Havre, he remained 
 
390 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 upward of a year in that city ; and while there, the late cele- 
 brated Dr. Chalmers, of Scotland, visited the place, and Mr., 
 now Dr. Olin, although in rather a precarious state of health, 
 could not deny himself the privilege of hearing that great man 
 preach, especially, as the two men were, in fact, very much 
 alike in many particulars, as it relates to physical appearance 
 and zeal in the pulpit. Although cautioned against making 
 the attempt, he ventured, and such was the effect of the ser- 
 mon upon his exceedingly nervous system, that he immediate- 
 ly took to his bed, and had a severe illness of six weeks' con- 
 tinuance, which all but carried him to the grave. Through 
 the good providence of God, however, his health was so far 
 restored, that 'he ventured to make a tour of England, Bel- 
 gium, and Italy. While in the latter country, he had the 
 misfortune to lose his beloved wife,* an affliction doubly 
 severe, as he was thus left alone in a land of strangers. After 
 spending three months in Rome, he turned his face to the 
 East. He has left two volumes of " Travels in the East" of 
 surpassing interest, and although it might be pleasant to the 
 reader to quote largely from his work, our limits will only al- 
 low us to trace his course from one place to another, and refer 
 to a few interesting incidents occurring during his travels. 
 
 Dr. Olin sailed from Athens for Alexandria, in Egypt, on 
 the 19th day of December, 1839, on board the French war- 
 steamer Lycurgus, and after a pleasant voyage of about a 
 week, he found himself in the city of the Ptolemies. " We 
 
 * Mrs. Olin died in the south of Italy, being seized with a wasting 
 disease, in the end of IMarch, and wliicli proved fatal on the eighth da; 
 of May, 1839. She was buried in a small Protestant cemetery, in the 
 environs of Naples, about a mile from the city. In reference to this 
 lady, the doctor says, " Rarely endowed with the talent of doing good, 
 and communicating happine.ss. and a bright example of the conjugal 
 virtues — patient, indefatigable, inventive; full of cheerfulness and hope, 
 and courage and faith, she was the angel of my sick-room, who watch- 
 ed by my restless pillow night and day." 
 
STEPHEN OLIN. 391 
 
 had no sooner reached the land," says the doctor, " than a 
 ' score of donkeys, and their drivers rushed towards us from all 
 quarters, and we were nearly trampled under their feet, as 
 well as stunned with loud vociferations, hefore we were able, 
 with the help of a young Irishman connected with one of the 
 hotels, to engage as many of these indispensable animals as 
 were necessary to carry us through the narrow, dirty streets, 
 to the quarter of the city inhabited by the Franks. Walking 
 is quite out of the question with all who have any objection 
 to being covered with mud, and jostled and trodden upon by 
 loaded camels. One of these huge animals kneeled down upon 
 the beach, alonside our boat, and waited patiently till our 
 baggage was piled upon his back, and bound with ropes. 
 
 " We then set off for our hotel, urging our way through 
 dense crowds, whose strange looks and costumes, assured us 
 that we were at length among a race of men unlike anything 
 we had seen before. We passed through the bazar, which I 
 perambulated twice more in the course of the day. The streets 
 are very narrow, and appear much more so, from projecting 
 casements on either side, which nearly meet. The gloom is 
 increased by awnings of boards, and sometimes of palm leaves, 
 extending across the street, and forming a kind of reof, which 
 excludes the rays of the sun, without, however, being so well 
 constructed as to shed rain. The goods are exhibited in stalls 
 of very inconsiderable dimensions, open in front, and even with 
 the street. The seller commonly sits cross-legged within upon 
 a mat or carpet. The customer does not enter the stall, for 
 which there is not sufEcient room, but stands in the street 
 while he examines the article which he wishes to purchase, 
 and negotiates the price. When not engaged, the merchant 
 commonly has a long pipe in his mouth, with the bowl resting 
 on the ground. Clad in a long flowing robe, which is con- 
 fined just above the hips with a broad, silken girdle, of the 
 most showy colors, his head adorned with a huge white or 
 
392 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 scarlet turban, his legs uncovered almost to the knee, his feet 
 also bare, or in red or yellow slippers, he sits listless and at 
 ease. He maltes no demonstrations of eagerness to sell his 
 wares : he eyes you coldly — you are apt to think contempt- 
 uously, as you pass. He smokes deliberately and incessantly, 
 and now and then strokes his long beard, which falls down 
 upon his bosom. 
 
 " An endless train of camels, laden with immense leathern 
 bags full of water, building materials, sacks of flour, barrels 
 of sugar, and everything, which in other regions is transported 
 in carts, fills the narrow street, threatening to overturn you 
 and your diminutive steed. A host of donkeys and their dri- 
 Ters ; women, their legs bare to the knee, but with their faces 
 carefully veiled ; a promiscuous crowd of men of all colors, 
 and all costumes — gorgeous, fantastic, wretched, many of 
 them nearly naked — with their loud confused din of outcries 
 and vociferations, form a scene that is quite indescribable. 
 One's head soon grows dizzy with the strange sights and 
 strange sounds." 
 
 We must leave the doctor's description of the city, and ac- 
 company him on his visit to the Catacombs. " On our way, 
 we encowntered two funeral processions. The first was that 
 of a small child. The body, in this instance, was deposited 
 in a basket, and carried upon the shoulders by a man who 
 preceded the rest of the company. A number of persons, per- 
 haps a dozen, men and women, followed in rather a disorder- 
 ly manner, looking about with the utmost unconcern, but 
 chanting in mournful strains. The other funeral was much 
 more numerously attended. The body, which was tliat of an 
 adult person, was carried by four bearers upon a bier. There 
 was no coffin, none being used in burying the dead in this 
 country ; instead of which, the corpse was dressed in grave- 
 clothes, and covered with a large shawl. It was -borne head 
 foremost. A number of shabby-looking men went before the 
 
STEPHEN OLIN. 393 
 
 bier in a sort of straggling procession, chanting as they ad- 
 vanced. It was followed by a train of perhaps twenty or 
 thirty women, who were veiled and clothed in white. Their 
 dress and whole appearance were poor and mean, leaving one 
 to conclude that the profession of mourner, to which they be- 
 longed, is not lucrative. They are said to get not more than 
 one piaster — less than five cents per day. They sang a dirge 
 in very melancholy and piercing tones, and their attitudes 
 and gesticulations were those of vehement and overpowering 
 grief They tore their loose disordered hair, and smote their 
 breasts with frantic violence, carefully avoiding, however, the 
 infliction of serious injury, by staying their convulsive hands 
 before they quite reached the head or bosom. The rending 
 of the garments was done with similar violence, but with the 
 same harmless results. A number of them carried in their 
 hands blue handkerchiefs, or strips of cloth, which they alter- 
 nately stretched across the shoulders or back of the neck, and 
 then raised with both hands high above the head, jerking 
 them with much apparent violence, though the worthless rags 
 resisted their efforts, and received no damage. 
 
 " This was all ludicrous enough. Another exhibition, 
 equally characteristic of the manners of the country, which 
 we met with in the same excursion, was much more serious. 
 We were stopped by a large crowd, which quite filled the 
 street near one of the public warehouses. I heard heavy 
 blows, followed by piercing cries, in the midst of the throng 
 of rather shabby-looking people. Urging on my donkey to the 
 spot, I saw an athletic man inflicting merciless blows upon a 
 female, with a heavy stick. She cried out piteously, but 
 without any effect. The crowd looked on with interest, and 
 apparent satisfaction, and no one attempted to interfere. I 
 inquired of the young Arab whom we had employed as a 
 dragoman, what was the meaning of this outrage. He an- 
 swered with an air of great inditterence, in his bad English : 
 
394 LIVES OV EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ' It is an Arab man licking his woman.' I asked him if this 
 was a common practice. He answered, ' Yes ; the wife do 
 bad, and the Arab lick 'em.' I afterward learned that this 
 sort of domestic discipline, is universal in this country. No 
 one supposes it is wrong, or that the conjugal relation can ex- 
 ist on better terms. A European lady, resident in Alexandria, 
 who happened to be with us at the time, informed us that she 
 had lately inquired of a favorite servant, after the health of 
 his wife : ' Very well,' he said, ' better than common the last 
 two days,' since he had given her a good flogging. She told 
 him that Englishmen did not whip their wives. He replied 
 that it was ' indispensable to whip Arab women, otherwise 
 their husbands could not live with them.' " 
 
 After a visit to Mohammed Ali, Dr. Olin began to make 
 preparations for a visit to Cairo ; and after a rather unpleas- 
 ant voyage on the Nile, he arrived at the point of debaroation 
 on the 1st of January, 1840. In this city he remained three 
 weeks, busily employed in visiting the various objects inter- 
 esting to the traveller, in and around the city. On the 7th, 
 he visited the celebrated Pyramids of G-hizeh. The largest 
 of these, the doctor describes as being 732 feet square, 474 
 feet in height, and covering nearly thirteen acres of ground, 
 and being composed of 202 tiers of square blocks of limestone, 
 each tier varying in thickness from two to four feet, and form- 
 ing one of a series of steps from the bottom to the top, by 
 which persons may safely ascend to the area of about thirty 
 feet square on the summit of the pyramid. This pyramid, 
 tailed the Pyramid of Cheops, is supposed to have been built 
 2123 B.C. 
 
 Dr. Olin one day met with a wedding party, in the streets 
 of Cairo, which he thus describes : It was " composed of 
 many persons mounted on donkeys and camels, with one or 
 two elephants in the cavalcade, some fantastically dressed in 
 many colors, some singing or playing on rustic musical instru- 
 
STEPHEN OLIN. 895 
 
 ments, some seated with their faces towards the tails of their 
 animals, all boisterous and reckless, and using all sorts of 
 waggish and comic arts to amuse the rabble. They were 
 followed through the principal streets by a vast multitude, 
 that completely closed up the way, and put a stop to all pass- 
 ing and business. Nobody interfered with them, and they 
 were allowed to keep up, as long as they pleased, a scene of 
 uproar and confusion which in any other part of the world, 
 would have been put down at once by the police. This for- 
 bearance on the part of the public authorities from interrupt- 
 ing the people in their humble enjoyments, is a pleasing 
 evidence that sentiments of kindness may be felt by the most 
 tyrannical rulers, and that long-established customs may se- 
 cure some trifling immunities, where political institutions 
 afford no protection." 
 
 Having visited all the curiosities in, and around Cairo, the 
 doctor and his company prepared themselves for a voyage up 
 the Nile, and after spending some ten or twelve days in as- 
 cending this noted stream, and observing everything worthy 
 of attention, the doctor soon found himself in view of the 
 monuments of ancient Thebes, at which place he spent a 
 number of weeks, visiting in the meanwhile, the Cataracts of 
 the Nile in Upper Egypt, with numerous other curiosities of 
 nature and art. When he had completed his observations in 
 Upper Egypt, he descended the Nile to Cairo again, and soon 
 becan to make preparations for a journey across the desert, 
 to Jerusalem, which he commenced on the 2d day of March, 
 in company with a Mr. and Mrs. Cooly, and an English gen- 
 tleman by the name of Carrington, together with four other 
 gentlemen, who afterward joined the company. The cara- 
 van consisted of about thirty camels, and nearly as many 
 Bedouins to guide and take care of them, together with eight 
 or ten servants — in all nearly fifty persons, and all armed to 
 the teeth with guns, pistols, swords, knives, &c., with the ex- 
 
396 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 ception of the doctor, who thought it full as safe to leave all 
 " carnal weapons" behind. He had three camels for his own 
 personal use, and the conveyance of his baggage and food in 
 the desert. As an indispensable article, he was obliged to 
 carry from twenty-five to thirty gallons of water, besides a 
 tent and other articles of convenience. 
 
 On the 6th of March, our travellers reached Suez, a town 
 of fifteen hundred, or two thousand inhabitants. This place 
 was peculiarly interesting to the doctor, on account of its 
 being in the neighborhood of the locality where God displayed 
 his miraculous power in opening a way through the Red Sea, 
 for the passage of the children of Israel, in their flight from 
 the land of Egypt. After stopping a short time at this place, 
 the caravan took up its line of march for Mount Sinai, in the 
 neighborhood of which; the travellers arrived on the 13th. 
 When they arrived in sight of the mountain, the doctor ob- 
 serves : " It was a time of profound, overwhelming emotion. 
 I was on holy ground, and for the time seemed one of the 
 living mass of naillions who, three thousand years ago, stood 
 upon this plain full of trembling and awe, with their faces 
 turned towards the frowning, flaming battlements, where 
 their captain had gone up to talk with the Lord. I could not 
 withdraw my full eyes from the ' Mount of God' — the holy 
 place where the Almighty had dwelt, and shown his glory ; 
 nor when I thought of the circumstances of terror and majes- 
 ty with which he was pleased to invest his transient dwelling 
 place, could I fix them steadily there." 
 
 After resting in the convent during the night, Dr. Olin and 
 a companion ascended the mountain, described by the resi- 
 dent monks as the true Mount Sinai of, the Scriptures. The 
 doctor felt convinced that the monks were in error in this par- 
 ticular, and on the 16th, he ascended the northern summit, 
 which is no doubt the true " Mount of God ;" and when on 
 this summit of Sinai, he reverentially read the Decalogue, 
 
STEPHEN OLIN. 397 
 
 which was tirst promulgated by the Almighty on that spot, 
 amidst the thunderings and lightnings of that solemn and aw- 
 ful occasion. After his ascent to Mount Sinai, the doctor 
 visited the " Rock of Horeb,'' and which he fully believed to 
 be the one smitten by Moses, as described in the book of 
 Exodus. 
 
 On the 18th of March, Dr. Olin resumed his journey to- 
 ward Palestine. On his route he passed " Mount Hor," and 
 arriving at the ruins of Petra on the 30th, he remained for 
 some time to examine the ancient remains of temples, tombs, 
 &c. &c. While here, he was greatly annoyed by a set of 
 savage Bedouins, whose sole business appeared to be to tease 
 and annoy the traveller by attempting to extort money under 
 the pretence of acting as guides, guards, &c. As a portion 
 of the account is interesting and somewhat amusing, we will 
 give it in the doctor's words. 
 
 " The morning after my arrival, I succeeded in reaching 
 the north extreme of the valley, before my absence was dis- 
 covered, but I soon perceived a most villainous robber-looking 
 man approaching, armed with a long knife and matchlock. 
 As I was quite out of sight of the camp, I reconnoitred the 
 savage with some attention. He soon attempted to make his 
 benevolent object known, though I did not at first understand 
 him, nor feel very sure of his intentions and character, as 
 he came from an opposite direction to that of our camp. In 
 order to aid me in comprehending the import of his commu- 
 nication, which I afterwards learned was to inform me that I 
 was in imminent danger without a guide, he drew his knife, 
 and went through all the forms of cutting his own throat, and 
 then raised his crazy old gun to his face, pointing it directly 
 at me, to signify that I was as likely to be shot as butchered. 
 I made him comprehend as well as I could, that I had no 
 fears, and should break the head of any Arab, who might 
 render such an act expedient. He continued to accompany 
 
398 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 me, a measure to which, as I could not possibly prevent it, I 
 at last consented. — I took care for some time to keep him in 
 advance, and always in my eye. 
 
 " I had hardly become reconciled to such company, before 
 a second man made his appearance with similar objects and 
 claims. I insisted on his leaving me with so much earnest- 
 ness, that he at last stopped, but stood for some minutes as if 
 doubtful whether to go away, or stay by me. I made him 
 understand, that I would give him no bucksheesh though he 
 • followed me all day ; and the other man fearing that his own 
 pay might be diminished, aided me so effectually, that the 
 warrior at length left us. A little before sunset of the same 
 day, I had walked from the camp, to examine the theatre 
 not far distant in the mouth of Wady Syke ; and having paid 
 my guide for the day and dismissed him, was alone. Soon I 
 perceived the discarded applicant for my patronage in the 
 morning, coming towards me accompanied by two other arm- 
 ed Arabs. He at first urged me to go farther into the gorge, 
 which I of course declined. He then demanded bucksheesh 
 for having guarded me through the northern part of the val- 
 ley in the morning. I told him he had not served me, and I 
 would give him nothing. He spoke to his companions, and 
 then turned again to me, repeated his demand with much 
 violence of language and gesture, all three at the same time 
 advancing towards me with a threatening aspect. I had not 
 so much as a stick for defence ; but I answered sternly and 
 loudly, at the same time walking quickly towards them, and 
 raising my hand with an air, from which they might infer 
 that my bosom was full of deadly weapons. These fellows 
 take it for granted, that all Franks are well armed, and they 
 reverence nothing so much as percussion locks, which, indeed, 
 are dangerous antagonists to their crazy matchlocks. They 
 retreated precipitately at this bravado, and left me to my oc- 
 cupation." 
 
STEPHEN OLIN. 399 
 
 On tbe 2d of April, the doctor left Petra. Passing Mount 
 Hor, where Aaron the brother of Moses died, he proceeded to 
 the site of ancient Carmel, and on the 7th reached Hebron, 
 where after making a short stay, he proceeded to Bethlehem, 
 the birth-place of the Saviour of the world, and on the 9th 
 entered the city of Jerusalem. A day or two previously, the 
 doctor had received a severe injury in his back by a fall from 
 his camel, and when he arrived at Jerusalem, he was scarce- 
 ly able to support himself He proceeded directly to the 
 house of one of the American missionaries, where he was cor- 
 dially received by the Rev. Mr. Lannean, who at once recog- 
 nized the doctor, and called him by name. Here the doctor 
 was confined to his bed for eight days, receiving in the mean- 
 time, all the care and attention possible, from the kind-heart- 
 ed missionaries of the Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches, 
 and on Good Friday, he had the unspeakable privilege of par- 
 taking of the Lord's Supper, on Mount Zion, there being a 
 large number of strangers present from Great Britain, Ger- 
 many, and the United States, together with the resident 
 Protestants and missionaries. The services were conducted 
 principally by clergymen of the English Church, Dr. Olin as- 
 sisting in the same. 
 
 After gaining sufficient strength. Dr. Olin began his work 
 of examining all that is interesting in, and around Jerusalem, 
 and on the 20th made an excursion to Jericho, on the occa- 
 sion of an annual festival which is held for the purpose of 
 commemorating the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan. 
 The number of persons encamped before Jericho on the occa- 
 sion, was estimated by him at 2500, including a singular va- 
 riety of languages and costumes. There were Copts, Greeks, 
 Armenians, Catholics, and Protestants, from almost every 
 Christian nation under heaven, the most of them pilgrims, 
 who had assembled for the purpose of engaging in the cere- 
 monies and bathing in the sacred stream. Having visited 
 
400 LIVES OP EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 the Jordan, our traveller turned his oourse to the Dead Sea, 
 where he tested, as nearly all travellers do, the buoyancy of 
 its waters. Having satisfied his curiosity thus far, he return- 
 ed again to Jerusalem. 
 
 On the 27th of April, Dr. Olin and company bade farewell 
 to the Holy City, on their return to the Mediterranean ; and 
 after passing through different places of interest and note, 
 worthy the attention of the Christian traveller, they arrived 
 at Beyrout in Syria. After leaving the latter place, they 
 sailed for Smyrna, where they arrived safely on the 25th of 
 May, but where before landing, they were condemned to a 
 fifteen days, quarantine, which expiring on the 9th of June, 
 they immediately took passage for Constantinople. Here Dr. 
 Olin was seized with a fever, which confined him for eight 
 days,' part of the time in a miserable filthy hotel, until he re- 
 moved to the residence of the E,ev. Mr. Hamlin, the Ameri- 
 can missionary, where he experienced all possible kindness 
 and attention, and where he unexpectedly met as the wife 
 of Mr. Hamlin, a young lady, with whom he had been for- 
 merly acquainted in Dorset, Vermont, a few miles from his own 
 native town. After his recovery, he spent about a week in 
 Constantinople, when he sailed for Vienna, in Austria, passing 
 through the Black Sea, and up the river Danube. He arriv- 
 ed in the capital of the Austrian dominions on the 13th of 
 August where he was again seized with a raging fever. Here, 
 too, he experienced unremitting attention, from the mission- 
 aries of the American Board, and after a month's confinement 
 he took his departure for Switzerland ; from thence to Paris ; 
 and crossing the Channel, he found himself in London ; and 
 after spending a week in that city, he was again prostrated 
 by sickness, but his strength again rallied, and on the 4th 
 of October he sailed for Boston in the steamer Acadia, when 
 after a rough, but otlierwise pleasant and short passage, he 
 once more set foot on the shores of his native land. 
 
STEPHEN OLIN. 401 
 
 We have thus followed Dr. Olin on his Eastern tour, and 
 after papsing through many dangers, he is again restored to 
 the hosom of the Cliuroh of his choice, and by that Church is 
 received with open arms and affectionate sympathy, after an 
 absence of over three years. We shall now lose sight of him 
 as a tourist and traveller, and trace his subsequent career as a 
 minister and teacher. 
 
 As his health was still poor, he thought it inadvisable to take 
 up his residence in the South ; consequently, in 1842, he ac- 
 cepted the Presidency of the Wesleyan University, in Middle- 
 town, Conn., which important relation he retained for nine 
 j'ears, until the close of life. He entered upon his duties with 
 an enlightened zeal, and well supplied the place of the lament- 
 ed Fisk, in that important institution. Feeling lonely in his 
 widowhood, he was, in 1843, united in marriage to Miss 
 Lynch, the daughter of the Hon. Judge Lynch, of New York 
 city, with whom he spent the remainder of his life pleasantly 
 and happily. While employed as President of the University, 
 he did not content himself merely with going through the 
 routine of duties peculiar to his station, although these were 
 sufficiently onerous and burdensome, but he was in the habit 
 of travelling extensively, especially in the Northern and Eas- 
 tern States, in waking up the minds of both preachers and 
 people, in behalf of the cause of education. The ministers of 
 the various Annual Conferences, patronizing the Middletown 
 University, will long remember with pleasure and gratitude, 
 his pious efforts in this direction. One occasion the author 
 especially remembers, when the doctor, addressing the Black 
 River Conference, in reference to the importance of the Metho- 
 dist Church providing the means of education for the young, 
 exclaimed in substance, " Must our children suffer, because 
 they are the children of Methodist parents ? Shall our son, 
 doomed to ignorance for want of proper facilities to acquire 
 knowledge, rise up, at some future day, and exqlaim, with 
 26 
 
i02 
 
 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 sorrow, ' I too might have been educated, but, — my father 
 was a Methodist !' " 
 
 It was not only in the cause of education that Dr. Olin, 
 during his presidency, exerted himself, but the Bible cause, the 
 missionary cause, and all other benevolent enterprises are 
 greatly indebted to his tongue and pen, for an advocacy of 
 their respective objects and claims. Since his return from the 
 East also, he has been in the habit of using his pen. His 
 " Travels in the East" have been greatly admired, and have 
 met with extensive circulation. His written addresses to the 
 students and graduates of the University, are unequalled in 
 power of thought ; and no doubt many a young man has been 
 saved to the Church and the ministry, by a perusal of the 
 same. It is understood also, that he has left a large number 
 of manuscripts of various kinds, which will no doubt, before 
 long, be given to the Christian public. 
 
 During Dr. Olin's connection with the University, he was 
 subject to occasional attacks of disease, and while the exer- 
 cises of the commencement in 1861 were being held, he was 
 suddenly prostrated upon the bed of sickness. During his ill- 
 ness, a, promising son was torn away from the embrace of his 
 parents by death, and in a few days after, the noble form of 
 the father became cold and lifeless, and was borne away to the 
 silence of the tomb. He died at his residence in Middletown, 
 Conn., of typhoid fever, on the 16th day of August, 1851, in 
 the fifty-fourth year of his age, and twenty-seventh of his min- 
 istry. His remains were interred in the College cemetery, 
 near those of the lamented Dr. Fisk 
 
 Dr. Olin's death produced a degree of sadness throughout 
 the length and breadth of the land, not only in the bosom of 
 the Methodist Church, where he was best known, and per- 
 haps best loved, but all evangelical Christians seemed to feel 
 that the universal Chiftch had sufTered a serious and irrepara- 
 ble loss in the death of this truly great man ; and even the 
 
STEPHEN OLIN. 403 
 
 citizens of the nation, as may be inferred from the tone of the 
 secular press, felt that one of nature's choicest specimens of 
 manhood had been cut down in the midst of his usefulness. 
 
 We have called Dr. Olin a great man. This is emphati- 
 cally true of bim in every respect, whether we view him as a 
 man, a citizen, a scholar, a Christian, or a Christian minister. 
 He was a self-made man ; for although born of honorable pa- 
 rents, he was obliged to depend upon his own resources, prin- 
 cipally, for all the knowledge which he ever acquired ; and 
 when we take into consideration his continued ill-health, and 
 his frequent attacks of disease, is it not wonderful that such a 
 man should have accomplished so much in so short a space of 
 time ? Dr. Olin's " physical and mental proportions were 
 alike gigantic. His intellect was of that imperial rank to 
 which but few of the sons of men can lay claim. At once 
 acute, penetrating, and profound, it lacked none of the ele- 
 ments oftrue mental greatness. We have known many men 
 far superior to him in acquired learning ; but for breadth and 
 comprehensiveness of range, for vigor and richness of thought, 
 for fertility and abundance of invention, we have never met 
 his equal. The great things that he did in preaching, in talk- 
 ing, in writing for the last thirty years of his life, were ac- 
 complished rather by observation and thought, than by read- 
 ing or study ; of these his uncertain health made him incapa- 
 ble. Yet his acquisitions were of no mean order ; a broad 
 and deep foundation had been laid in the severe studies of his 
 youth and earlier manhood ; and he had a wonderful sort of 
 intuition, if such it may be called, into all forms of human 
 thought and knowledge. His judgment was so profound that 
 on all subjects of an ethical, political, or religious character, 
 his a priori judgments were of more value than most other 
 men's conclusions on the largest collection of facts would be. 
 
 " But grand as was Dr. Olin's intellectual being, his moral 
 life was still grander. So overshadowing, indeed, was its ma- 
 
^04 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 jesty, that we can havdly contemplate any portion of his na- 
 ture apart from it. The whole truth, were we to set it down 
 as our eyes see it, would perhaps be judged by those who did 
 not know Dr. Olin, to be but another addition to the fond ex- 
 aggerations of friendship. We see so much earthliness in 
 men — even in men of deservedly high name and station, that 
 it is hard to believe in a life free from this base alloy. If man 
 can be free from it, he was. He walked on in the daily path 
 of life, spending his great mind in the service of the humblest 
 of his fellows, more cheerfully than if he had been serving 
 kings — in the world, working for the world, but not of it. 
 Presenting in himself an embodiment of the loftiest ideal of 
 human purity and love, it was the effort of his life to raise 
 others to breathe in his own celestial heights. 
 
 "Not that he felt himself to be thus elevated. The crown- 
 ing beauty of his whole nature was its humility. Severe as 
 was his virtue, he knew too well, that after all, irwas not 
 his ever to know or think himself more virtuous than others. 
 And so, charity, the meek attendant of humility, was ever by 
 his side. In all things else but intellectual and moral pride, 
 he would have been a fit companion for those great spirits 
 that taught of old in the Stoa, or discoursed of virtue and 
 beauty in the groves of the Academy. He had their supreme 
 love of truth — he had their profound contempt for all that is 
 low, grovelling, and earthly, — but he had, too, what they had 
 not : a clear apprehension of the relation between man and 
 his Creator, and a deep sense of the corruption and debase- 
 ment of humanity, as estranged from God. And the basis of 
 his high morality was laid in pure religion — in an humble 
 and total self-consecration to the service of God his Creator, 
 and in a most ardent love of Christ his Redeemer. He had 
 but one aim in life — to realize a high degree of Christian ho- 
 liness, and so to promote Christ's kingdom upon earth. To 
 this point all his studies tended, — for this, all his intellectual 
 
'STEPHEN OLIN. 405 
 
 treasures were lavished, — for this, he freely spent his worldly 
 goods, — to this, he devoted health, and strength, and life. 
 
 " The highest style of man, is that which comhines a lov- 
 ing heart with high intellectual and moral power. A more 
 genial and aflectionate nature than Stephen Olin's, we never 
 knew. His religious affections overflowed in the broadest 
 Christian sympathy for the race ; while upon his family and 
 friends, he lavished a wealth of love which few men are en- 
 dowed with. His social life was all affection and tenderness. 
 His friendship ! how pure, and deep, and ardent it was ! 
 Could we unveil the inner sanctuary in which the sacred 
 things of love and friendship are, and must be, guarded, we 
 could show many a treasure — all the fruit of his overflowing 
 heart. With his friends there was no restraint or reserve 
 His whole heart was poured forth in the gushing flow of sym 
 pathy. He delighted, too, in all the manifestations of affec- 
 tion — ' in the detail of feeling — in the outward and visible 
 signs of the sacrament within — to count, as it were, the very 
 pulses of the life of love.' 
 
 " With such qualities of mind and heart, it is not wonder- 
 ful that he was pre-eminent as a preacher. In over-master- 
 ing power in the pulpit, we doubt whether living, he had a 
 rival, or dying, has left his like among men. Nor did his 
 power consist in any single quality — in force of reasoning, or 
 fire of imagination, or heat of declamation — but in all com- 
 bined. His course of argument was always clear and strong, 
 yet interfused throughout with a fervent and glowing passion 
 — the two inseparably united in a torrent that overwhelmed 
 all that listened to him. His was indeed, the 
 
 ' Seraphic intellect and force. 
 To seize and throw the doubts of man; 
 Impassioned logic which outran 
 The hearer, in its fiery course.' "* 
 
 * Methodist Quarterly Review. 
 
406 LIVES OF EMINENT MINISTERS. 
 
 As a pulpit orator, Dr. Olin had indeed few, if any equals ; 
 the few sermons, addresses, speeches, &c., which the author 
 has had the privilege of listening to, as falling from the 
 doctor's hallowed lips, have left an irresistible impression 
 upon his mind, that as the like he never heard before, so the 
 like he will never hear again from the lips of mortal man. 
 Nor is the author alone, in forming this estimation of Dr. 
 Olin as a preacher — the Rev. Dr. Wightman, of South Caro- 
 lina, in speaking of a number of sermons which he had heard 
 Dr. Olin preach, remarks that they were the grandest exhi- 
 bitions of intellectual power and gracious unction which were 
 ever witnessed in this, or any other country. " The like," 
 says the doctor, " we despair of ever hearing again on earth. 
 Even then, the working of his mighty intellect reminded you 
 of a steam-engine, of vast power, set up in a frail frame-work, 
 which trembled with ever)' stroke of the piston, and revolu- 
 tion of the wheels. The whole of this prodigious movement 
 was pervaded with so remarkable a simplicity of spirit, and 
 so utter an absence of the least appearance of self-glorifica- 
 tion ; — the preacher was so evidently, so thoroughly absorbed 
 in his subject, so swept onward by a resistless desire to have 
 the Gospel made the power of God to the salvation of his 
 hearers, that no lingering suspicion ever darkened the rftind 
 that he was playing the orator. You would as soon have 
 looked to see the waters of the Niagara pause to dally with 
 the wild flowers on the margin, as have entertained the re- 
 motest suspicion that Dr. Olin was paying the least attention 
 to the rhetorical fringes of his sentences, or putting himself, 
 or the elaborate composition of the sermon forward as an oh- 
 jeet of admiration. Indeed, you had time for riothing but to 
 tremble, while he unlocked the mysterious chambers of the 
 heart, and let in daylight upon your dim moral perceptions ; 
 or to lay hold upon Christ, as he made the way of justifica- 
 
STEPHEN OLIlf. 407 
 
 tion by faith plain, and led you on to Jesiis the Mediator of 
 the new Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, in a path 
 all luminous with the light of life ; or to exult with a 
 believer's k)unding joy, while he pointed out the massy struc- 
 ture of your Christianity — its base, durable as eternity — its 
 capital, high as heaven, and lost in the splendors of God's 
 throne. Astonishing was the effect occasionally produced by 
 his preaching. We have known instances of clear and hap- 
 py conversion, while he was delivering a sermon. A memo- 
 rable instance of the power he wielded, occurred in one of the 
 towns of Georgia. His text was, ' If when we were enemies, 
 we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much 
 more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life.' An in- 
 describable awe seized the congregation while he unfolded the 
 glorious peculiarities of the Christian scheme of salvation, and 
 scores literally rushed to the altar, when he finished the dis- 
 course." 
 
 As the head of a College or University, President Olin was 
 probably unsurpassed by any living teacher. He was a man 
 of whom his students and fellow-professors felt justly proud, 
 not so much because of his greatness, as the goodness of his 
 heart, and the undying interest he felt in their welfare, both 
 temporal and spiritual ; and so greatly was he beloved, that 
 rery few cases occurred during his presidency, either South 
 or North, requiring the exercise of severe discipline. He was, 
 in fact, a father to his students, for he acted a father's part 
 in counselling, advising, expostulating with a degree of pathos 
 and fervency, which he only could exhibit, and which proved 
 his deep anxiety for the well-being of his pupils. During his 
 Presidency of the Wesleyan University, a glorious revival of 
 religion occurred among the students, which spread into the 
 town, and extended to different denominations and churches ; 
 and although confined a portion of the time to his bed of 
 
408 LIVES OP EMINENT MINI8TKRS. 
 
 sickness, he was frequently present at the students' class- 
 meetings, and other seasons of social worship But we must 
 leave the subject, praying that Stephen Oliii's mantle may 
 fall on the shoulders of some of his surviving brethren or sons 
 in the Church and ministry.