following, (April 20,) Mr. Clayton meeting me in the street, and giving Mr. Rivington's service, I desired his company to my room, and then commenced our acquaintance. At the first opportunity I acquainted him with our whole design, which he immediately and heartily closed with: and not long after, Mr. M— having then left Oxford, we fixed two evenings in a week to meet on, partly to talk upon that subject, and partly to read something in practical divinity.

The two points whereunto, by the blessing of God and your son's help, we had before attained, we endeavoured to hold fast: I mean, the doing what good we can; and, in order thereto, communicating as often as we have opportunity. To these, by the advice of Mr. Clayton, we have added a third, the observing the fasts of the Church; the general neglect of which we can by no means apprehend to be a lawful excuse for neglecting them. And in the resolution to adhere to these and all things else which we are convinced God requires at our hands, we trus we shall persevere till he calls us to give an account of our stewardship. As for the names of Methodists, Supererogation-men, and so on, with which some of our neighbours are pleased to compliment us, we do not conceive ourselves to be under any obligation to regard them, much less to take them for arguments. "To the law and to the testimony" we appeal, whereby we ought to be judged. If by these it can be proved we are in an error, we will immediately and gladly retract it: if not, we have not so learned Christ," as to renounce any part of his service, though men should "say all manner of evil against us," with more judgment and as little truth as hitherto. We do, indeed, use all the lawful means we know, to prevent "the good which is in us" from being "evil spoken of;" but if the neglect of known duties be the one condition of securing our reputation, why fare it well;—we know whom we have believed, and what we thus lay out He will pay us again. Your son already stands before the judgment seat of Him who judges righteous judgment; at the brightness of whose presence the clouds remove : His eyes are open, and he sees clearly whether it was "blind zeal, and a thorough mistake of true religion, that hurried him on in the error of his way;" or whether he acted like a faithful and wise servant, who, from a just sense that his time was short, made haste to finish his work before his Lord's coming, that " when laid in the balance" he might not "be found wanting."

I have now largely and plainly laid before you the real ground of all the strange outcry you have heard; and am not without hope that by this fairer representation of it than you probably ever received before, both you and the clergyman you formerly mentioned may have a more favourable opinion of a good cause, though under an ill name. Whether you have or no, I shall ever acknowledge my best services to be due to yourself and your family, both for the generous assistance you have given my father, and for the invaluable advantages your son has (under God) bestowed on,

Sir,
Your ever obliged

and most obedient servant

ON THE DEATH OF

MR. MORGAN, OF CHRIST CHURCH.

BY THE REV. MR. SAMUEL WESLEY.

We fools counted his life madness.

Ir aught beneath them happy souls attend, Let Morgan hear the triumph of a friend, And hear well pleased. Let libertines so gay With careless indolence despise the lay; Let critic wits, and fools for laughter born, Their verdict pass with supercilious scorn; Let jovial crowds, by wine their senses drown'd, Stammer out censure in their frantic round; Let yawning sluggards faint dislike display, Who, while they trust to-morrow, lose to-day;— Let such as these the sacred strains condemn ; For 'tis true glory to be hiss'd by them.

Wise in his prime, he waited not for noon;
Convinced, that mortal never lived too soon.
As if foreboding then his little stay,

He made his morning bear the heat of day.
Fix'd, while unfading glory he pursues,
No ill to hazard, and no good to lose :
No fair occasion glides unheeded by ;
Snatching the golden moments as they fly,
He by few fleeting hours ensures eternity.
Friendship's warm beams his artless breast inspire,
And tend'rest reverence for a much-loved sire.
He dared for heaven this flattering world forego,
Ardent to teach, as diligent to know;
Unwarp'd by sensual views, or vulgar aims,
By idle riches, or by idler names;

Fearful of sin in every close disguise;
Unmoved by threatening or by glozing lies.
Seldom indeed the wicked came so far,
Forced by his piety to defensive war;
Whose zeal for other men's salvation shown,
Beyond the reach of hell secured his own.
Gladd'ning the poor, where'er his steps he turn'd;
Where pined the orphan, or the widow mourn'd;
Where prisoners sigh'd beneath guilt's horrid stain
The worst confinement and the heaviest chain;
Where death's sad shade the uninstructed sight
Veil'd with thick darkness in the land of light.

.

Our Saviour thus fulfill'd his great design,

(If human we may liken to divine,)

Heal'd each disease that bodies frail endure,

And preach'd the' unhoped-for Gospel to the poor.

To means of grace the last respect he show'd, Nor sought new paths, as wiser than his God: Their sacred strength preserved him from extremes Of empty outside or enthusiast dreams;

Whims of Molinos, lost in rapture's mist,
Or Quaker, late-reforming quietist.

He knew that works our faith must here employ,
And that 'tis heaven's great business to enjoy.
Fix'd on that heaven, he death's approaches saw,
Nor vainly murmur'd at our nature's law;
Repined not that his youth so soon should go,
Nor grieved for fleeting pleasures here below.
Of sharpest anguish scorning to complain,
He fills with mirth the intervals of pain.
Not only unappall'd, but joyful, sees

The dark, cold passage that must lead to peace,
Strong with immortal bloom secure to rise,
The tears for ever banish'd from his eyes.

Who now regrets his early youth would spend
The life so nobly that so soon should end?
Who blames the stripling for performing more
Than Doctors grave, and Prelates of threescore?
Who now esteems his fervour indiscreet,
His prayers too frequent, or his alms too great?
Who thinks, where blest he reigns beyond the sky
His crown too radiant, or his throne too high?
Who but the Fiend, who once his course withstood,
And whisper'd," Stay till fifty to be good?"
Sure, if believed to' obtain his hellish aim,
Adjourning to the time that never came.

JOURNAL.

TUESDAY, October 14, 1735.—Mr. Benjamin Ingham, of Queen's College, Oxford, Mr. Charles Delamotte, son of a merchant in London, who had offered himself some days before, my brother Charles Wesley, and myself, took boat for Gravesend, in order to embark for Georgia. Our end in leaving our native country was not to avoid want, (God having given us plenty of temporal blessings,) nor to gain the dung or dross of riches or honour; but singly this,-to save our souls; to live wholly to the glory of God. In the afternoon we found the Simmonds off Gravesend, and immediately went on board.

Wednesday and Thursday we spent with one or two of our friends, partly on board and partly on shore, in exhorting one another "to shake off every weight, and to run with patience the race set before us."

Fri. 17.-I began to learn German, in order to converse with the Germans, six and twenty of whom we had on board. On Sunday, the weather being fair and calm, we had the Morning Service, on quarterdeck. I now first preached extempore, and then administered the Lord's Supper to six or seven communicants. A little flock. May God increase it!

Mon. 20.-Believing the denying ourselves, even in the smallest instances, might, by the blessing of God, be helpful to us, we wholly left off the use of flesh and wine, and confined ourselves to vegetable food, chiefly rice and biscuit. In the afternoon, David Nitschman, Bishop of the Germans, and two others, began to learn English. O may we be, not only of one tongue, but of one mind and of one heart! Tues. 21.-We sailed from Gravesend. When we were past about half the Goodwin Sands, the wind suddenly failed. Had the calm continued till ebb, the ship had probably been lost. But the gale sprung up again in an hour, and carried us into the Downs.

We now began to be a little regular. Our common way of living was this:-From four in the morning till five, each of us used private. prayer. From five to seven we read the Bible together, carefully comparing it (that we might not lean to our own understandings) with the writings of the earliest ages. At seven we breakfasted. At eight were the public prayers. From nine to twelve I usually learned German, and Mr. Delamotte, Greek. My brother writ sermons, and Mr. Ingham instructed the children. At twelve we met to give an account to one another what we had done since our last meeting, and what we designed to do before our next. About one we dined. The time from dinner to four, we spent in reading to those whom each of us had taken in charge, or in speaking to them severally, as need required. At four were the Evening Prayers; when either the Second Lesson was explained, (as it always was in the morning,) or the children were catechised, and instructed before the congregation. From five

to six we again used private prayer. From six to seven I read in our cabin to two or three of the passengers, (of whom there were about eighty English on board,) and each of my brethren to a few more in theirs. At seven I joined with the Germans in their public service; while Mr. Ingham was reading between the decks, to as many as desired to hear. At eight we met again, to exhort and instruct one another. Between nine and ten we went to bed, where neither the roaring of the sea, nor the motion of the ship, could take away the refreshing sleep which God gave us.

Fri. 24.—Having a rolling sea, most of the passengers found the effects of it. Mr. Delamotte was exceeding sick for several days: Mr. Ingham, for about half an hour. My brother's head ached much. Hitherto it has pleased God, the sea has not disordered me at all; nor have I been hindered one quarter of an hour from reading, writing, composing, or doing any business I could have done on shore.

During our stay in the Downs, some or other of us went, as often as we had opportunity, on board the ship that sailed in company with us, where also many were glad to join in prayer and hearing the word. Fri. 31.-We sailed out of the Downs. At eleven at night I was waked by a great noise. I soon found there was no danger. But the bare apprehension of it gave me a lively conviction what manner of men those ought to be, who are every moment on the brink of eternity. Sat. Nov. 1.-We came to St. Helen's harbour, and the next day into Cowes road. The wind was fair, but we waited for the man-ofwar which was to sail with us. This was a happy opportunity of instructing our fellow travellers. May He whose seed we sow, give it the increase!

Sun. 16.-Thomas Hird, and Grace his wife, with their children, Mark, aged twenty one, and Phebe, about seventeen, late Quakers, were, at their often-repeated desire, and after careful instruction, admitted to baptism.

Thur. 20.-We fell down into Yarmouth road, but the next day were forced back into Cowes. During our stay here there were several storms: in one of which two ships in Yarmouth road were lost.

The continuance of the contrary winds gave my brother an opportunity of complying with the desire of the minister of Cowes, and preaching there three or four times. The poor people flocked together in great numbers. We distributed a few little books among the more serious of them, which they received with all possible expressions of thankfulness.

Fri. 21.-One recovering from a dangerous illness, desired to be instructed in the nature of the Lord's Supper. I thought it concerned her to be first instructed in the nature of Christianity; and, accordingly, fixed an hour a day to read with her in Mr. Law's Treatise on Christian Perfection.

Sun. 23. At night I was waked by the tossing of the ship and roaring of the wind, and plainly showed I was unfit, for I was unwilling to die. Tues. Dec. 2.-I had much satisfaction in conversing with one that was very ill and very serious. But in a few days she recovered from her sickness and from her seriousness together.