Nathaniel Gilbert was the inheritor of an estate in Antigua, which had been in the possession of his ancestors for several generations. The Gilbert family were among the earliest settlers in the island, and considered themselves descendants of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, the enterprising English navigator, and half brother of Sir Walter Raleigh.[324] Mr. Nathaniel Gilbert was a man of sound understanding, sharpened by a collegiate education, and the admirable training of an English court of law. He was confessedly an able man; and for some years, he had been the speaker of the House of Assembly in Antigua.[325] What brought him to England? His brother, Francis Gilbert, gay and thoughtless, had been engaged in mercantile pursuits; but was often found in the ballroom when he ought to have been in his place of business, and dancing when he ought to have been balancing accounts. By the fraudulent conduct of his clerk, and his own gay life, he had been reduced to beggary. He sought concealment, first in Jamaica, and then in England. Adversity brought him to repentance. He was introduced to Vincent Perronet, and then to Wesley, of whose society he became a member. He sent to his brother Nathaniel a number of Wesley’s publications, including Wesley’s “Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion.” Nathaniel had always believed Wesley to be an enthusiast, and, for some time, refused to read his books; but, at length, his sister read to him the “Appeal.” This so altered his opinion, that he wished to visit England for the purpose of making Wesley’s personal acquaintance. His wish was realised. He remained two years, and then returned in the autumn of 1759.[326]