man; by him first drawn off from the Socinian heresy, and afterwards confirmed and strengthened by Bishop Bull."* About the year 1700, she made a resolution to spend one hour morning and evening in private devotion, in prayer and meditation; and she religiously kept it ever after, unless sickness hindered, or some absolutely necessary business of her family obliged her to shorten the time. If opportunity offered, she spent some time at noon in this religious and profitable employment. She generally wrote down her thoughts on different subjects at these times; and great numbers of her meditations have been preserved in her own handwriting. I shall select a few, and make some extracts from others; because they show us this excellent woman in her most private retirement, conversing without disguise with Him who knows the heart. "NOON. To know God only as a philosopher; to have the most sublime and curious speculations concerning his essence, attributes, and providence; to be able to demonstrate his Being from all or any of the works of nature, and to discourse with the greatest propriety and eloquence of his existence and operations; will avail us nothing, unless at the same time we know him experimentally; unless the heart know him to be its Supreme Good, its only happiness; unless a man feel and acknowledge that he can find no repose, no peace, no joy, but in loving and being beloved by him, and does accordingly rest in him as the centre of his being, the fountain of his pleasures, the origin of all virtue and goodness, his light, his life, his strength, his all; in a word, his Lord, his God. Thus let me ever know thee, O God!" "EVENING. The mind of man is naturally so corrupted, and all the powers thereof so weakened, that we cannot possibly aspire vigorously towards God, or have any clear perception of spiritual things, without his assistance. Nothing less than the same Almighty power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, can raise our souls from the death of sin to a life of holiness.-To know God experimentally is altogether supernatural, and what we can never attain to, but by the merits and intercession of Jesus Christ. By virtue of what he has done and suffered, and is now doing in heaven for us, we obtain the Holy Spirit, who is the best instructer, the most powerful teacher we can possibly have; without whose agency, all other means of grace would be ineffectual.-How evidently does the Holy Spirit concur with the means of grace! And how certainly does he assist and strengthen the soul, if it be but, sincere and hearty in its endeavours to avoid any evil, or perform any good!-To have a good desire, a fervent aspiration towards God, shall not pass unregarded. I have found by long experience, that it is of great use to accustom one's self to enter into solemn engagements with God against any particular sin; but then I would have them never made for a longer time than from morning till night, and from night till morning, that so the impression they make on the mind may be always fresh and lively. This was many years tried with good success, in the case of Glory be to thee, O Lord!" "MORNING. It is too common with me upon receiving any light, or new supply of grace, to think, Now I have gained my point, and *In the manuscript it stands thus, B. B. which I believe is intended for Bishop Bull. Though this pious woman could write thus clearly, she did not attain this true Christian. faith till many years after. may say, Soul, take thine ease;' by which means I think not of going any farther; or else fall into dejection of spirit, upon a groundless fear, that I shall soon lose what I have gained, and in a little time be never the better for it. Both these are sins. The first proceeds from immoderate love of present ease, and spiritual sloth: the other from want of faith in the all-sufficiency of my Saviour. "EVENING. If to esteem and to have the highest reverence for Thee; if constantly and sincerely to acknowledge Thee, the supreme, the only desirable good, be to love Thee, I do love Thee! "If comparatively to despise and undervalue all the world contains, which is esteemed great, fair, or good; if earnestly and constantly to desire Thee, thy favour, thy acceptance, Thyself, rather than any or all things thou hast created, be to love Thee, I do love Thee! "If to rejoice in thy essential majesty and glory; if to feel a vital joy o'erspread and cheer the heart at each perception of thy blessedness, at every thought that thou art God; that all things are in thy power; that there is none superior or equal to Thee, be to love Thee, I do love Thee !" Though Mrs. Wesley allotted two hours in the day for meditation and prayer in private, no woman was ever more diligent in business, or attentive to family affairs, than she was. Remarkable for method and good arrangement both in her studies and business, she saved much time, and kept her mind free from perplexity. She had nineteen children, ten of whom, at least, grew up to be educated; and this duty fell upon her; and it was almost impossible for the children to have had a better instructer. From several things which appear in her papers, it seems to me that she had acquired some knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages in her youth, though she never makes any pretensions to it. She had studied human nature well, and knew how to adapt her discourse either to youth or age; and without this, no person is properly qualified to instruct others. Her children were very early taught obedience to their parents, and to wait their decision in every thing they were to have or do. As soon as they could speak, they were taught the Lord's prayer, and made to repeat it at rising and bed-time constantly. As they advanced, they were taught a short prayer for their parents, and some collects; a short catechism; and some portion of Scripture, as their memories could bear. They were early made to distinguish the sabbath from other days; and were soon taught to be still at family prayers, and to ask a blessing immediately after, which they used to do by signs before they could kneel or speak. Her method of teaching them to read was, I think, peculiar to herself, and deserves to be noticed. I shall give it in her own words, in a letter to Mr. John Wesley. "None of them were taught to read till five years old, except Kezzy, in whose case I was overruled; and she was more years in learning, than any of the rest had been months. The way of teaching was this: the day before a child began to learn, the house was set in order, every one's work appointed them, and a charge given that none should come into the room from nine till twelve, or from two till five, which were our school-hours. One day was allowed the child wherein to learn its letters; and each of them did in that time know all its letters, great and small, except Molly and Nancy, who were a day and a half before they knew them perfectly; for which I then thought them very dull but the reason why I thought them so was, because the rest learned them so readily, and your brother Samuel, who was the first child I ever taught, learnt the alphabet in a few hours. He was five years old on the 10th of February; the next day he began to learn, and as soon as he knew the letters, began at the first chapter of Genesis. He was taught to spell the first verse, then to read it over and over till he could read it off hand without any hesitation; so on to the second, &c, till he took ten verses for a lesson, which he quickly did. Easter fell low that year, and by Whitsuntide he could read a chapter very well; for he read continually, and had such a prodigious memory, that I cannot remember ever to have told him the same word twice. What was yet stranger, any word he had learnt in his lesson, he knew wherever he saw it, either in his Bible or any other book, by which means he learnt very soon to read an English author well. "The same method was observed with them all. As soon as they knew the letters, they were first put to spell, and read one line, then a verse, never leaving till perfect in their lesson, were it shorter on longer. So one or other continued reading at school-time without any intermission; and before we left school, each child read what he had learnt that morning; and ere we parted in the afternoon, what they had learned that day." Mr. Wesley observes of his mother, that even she, as well as her father and grandfather, her husband and three sons, had been, in her measure, a Preacher of righteousness. As this is a remarkable circumstance in her life, and shows her zeal and steadiness in doing good, I shall relate it a little more at large than Mr. Wesley has done, the original letters being now before me. Her husband usually attended the sittings of the Convocation; and on these occasions was obliged to reside in London for a length of time that was often injurious to his parish, and at an expense that was inconvenient to himself and family. It was on this business, I apprehend, that he spent so much time in London in the beginning of the year 1712. During his absence, Mrs. Wesley formed a little meeting at her house on a Sunday evening, when she read a. sermon, prayed, and conversed with the people who came for this purpose. She acquainted her husband of their meeting, who on account of the novelty and singularity of the thing, made some objections against it. Her answer is dated the 6th of February, 1712, in which she says, "I heartily thank you for dealing so plainly and faithfully with me in a matter of no common concern. The main of your objections against our Sunday evening meetings, are, first, that it will look particular; secondly, my sex; and, lastly, your being at present in a public station and character; to all which I shall answer briefly. "As to its looking particular, I grant it does; and so does almost every thing that is serious, or that may any way advance the glory of God, or the salvation of souls, if it be performed out of a pulpit, or in the way of common conversation: because, in our corrupt age, the utmost care and diligence have been used to banish all discourse of God or spiritual concerns out of society; as if religion were never to appear out of the closet, and we were to be ashamed of nothing so much as of professing ourselves to be Christians. "To your second, I reply, that, as I am a woman, so I am also mistress of a large family. And though the superior charge of the souls contained in it lies upon you, as head of the family, and as their minister, yet, in your absence, I cannot but look upon every soul you leave under my care, as a talent committed to me under a trust by the great Lord of all the families of heaven and earth; and if I am unfaithful to Him or to you, in neglecting to improve these talents, how shall I answer unto Him, when he shall command me to render an account of my stewardship? "As these, and other such like thoughts, made me at first take a more than ordinary care of the souls of my children and servants; so, knowing that our most holy religion requires a strict observation of the Lord's day, and not thinking that we fully answered the end of the institution by only going to church, but that likewise we were obliged to fill up the intermediate spaces of that sacred time by other acts of piety and devotion, I thought it my duty to spend some part of the day in reading to, and instructing my family; especially in your absence, when, having no afternoon service, we have so much leisure for such exercises; and such time I esteemed spent in a way more acceptable to God, than if I had retired to my own private devotions. "This was the beginning of my present practice: other people's coming in and joining with us, was purely accidental. Our lad told his parents; they first desired to be admitted; then others who heard of it, begged leave also; so our company increased to about thirty, and seldom exceeded forty last winter; and why it increased since, I leave you to judge, after you have read what follows. "Soon after you went to London, Emily found in your study the account of the Danish Missionaries; which, having never seen, I ordered her to read to me. I was never, I think, more affected with any thing than with the relation of their travels; and was exceedingly pleased with the noble design they were engaged in. Their labours refreshed my soul beyond measure, and I could not forbear spending a good part of that evening in praising and adoring the Divine Goodness for inspiring those good men with such an ardent zeal for his glory; that they were willing to hazard their lives, and all that is esteemed dear to men in this world, to advance the honour of their Master Jesus! For several days, I could think or speak of little else. At last, it came into my mind: Though I am not a man, nor a minister of the Gospel, and so cannot be engaged in such a worthy employment as they were; yet, if my heart were sincerely devoted to God, and if I were inspired with a true zeal for his glory, and did really desire the salvation of souls, I might do somewhat more than I do. I thought I might live in a more exemplary manner in some things; I might pray more for the people, and speak with more warmth to those with whom I have an opportunity of conversing. However, I resolved to begin with my own children; and accordingly I proposed and observed the following method: I take such a proportion of time as I can best spare every night, to discourse with each child by itself, on something that relates to its principal concerns. On Monday, I talk with Molly; on Tuesday, with Hetty; Wednesday, with Nancy; Thursday, with Jacky; Friday, with Patty; Saturday, with Charles; and with Emily and Suky together on Sunday. "With those few neighbours who then came to me, I discoursed more freely and affectionately than before; I chose the best and most awakening sermons we had; and I spent more time with them in such exercises. Since this, our company has increased every night; for I dare deny none who ask admittance. Last Sunday, I believe we had above Two Hundred, and yet many went away for want of room. "But I never durst positively presume to hope, that God would make use of me as an instrument of doing good: The farthest I ever durst go was, It may be; who can tell? With God all things are possible. I will resign myself to Him; or, as Herbert better expresses it, Only, since God doth often make Of lowly matter, for high uses meet, I throw me at his feet; There will I lie, until my Maker seek For some mean stuff, whereon to show his skill, And thus I rested, without passing any reflection on myself, or forming any judgment about the success or event of this undertaking. "Your third objection I leave to be answered by your own judgment. We meet not upon any worldly design. We banish all temporal concerns from our society; none is suffered to mingle any discourse about them with our reading or singing. We keep close to the business of the day; and as soon as it is over, they all go home. And where is the harm of this? If I and my children went a visiting on Sunday nights, or if we admitted of impertinent visits, as too many do who think themselves good Christians, perhaps it would be thought no scandalous practice, though in truth it would be so; therefore, why should any reflect upon you, let your station be what it will, because your wife endeavours to draw people to church, and to restrain them, by reading and other persuasions, from their profanation of God's most holy day, I cannot conceive. But if any should be so mad as to do it, I wish you would not regard it. For my part, I value no censure on this account: I have long since shook hands with the world, and I heartily wish I had never given them more reason to speak against me. "As for your proposal of letting some other person read, alas! you do not consider what a people these are. I do not think one man among them could read a sermon without spelling a good part of it; and how would that edify the rest? Nor has any of our family a voice strong enough to be heard by such a number of people. "But there is one thing, about which I am much dissatisfied; that is, their being present at family prayers. I do not speak of any concern I am under, barely because so many are present,-for those who have the honour of speaking to the great and holy God, need not be ashamed to speak before the whole world, but because of my sex. I doubt, if it be proper for me to present the prayers of the people to God. Last Sunday I would fain have dismissed them before prayers; but they begged so earnestly to stay, I durst not deny them." In this, as in every other part of her conduct, Mrs. Wesley acted upon principle, and from mature deliberation. No person, perhaps, ever had a greater regard for the established order of the Church of England than she had; but she considered her conduct in this instance as coinciding with the spirit and intention of that order-to reform the |