The life and times of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A., founder of the Methodists. Vol. 2 (of 3)Tyerman, L. (Luke)
History
The life and times of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A., founder of the Methodists. Vol. 2 (of 3)
Tyerman, L. (Luke)
Methodism; Wesley, John, 1703-1791
“I fear God, and honour the king. I earnestly desire to be at peace
with all men. I have not willingly given any offence, either to the
magistrates, the clergy, or any of the inhabitants of the city of Cork;
neither do I desire anything of them, but to be treated (I will not say
as a clergyman, a gentleman, or a Christian, but) with such justice and
humanity as are due to a Jew, a Turk, or a pagan.”
Wesley now turned towards Dublin. One day, he was on horseback, with
but an hour or two’s intermission, from five o’clock in the morning
till nearly eleven o’clock at night; and yet only five hours after
this, he again set out, and made the longest day’s journey that he ever
rode—about ninety miles. At midnight, he came to Aymo, where he wished
to sleep; but the woman who kept the inn refused him admittance, and,
moreover, let loose four dogs to worry him.
He spent only two days in Dublin, when he began a second visit to the
provincial societies. He writes: “June 21.—I returned to Closeland, and
preached in the evening to a little, earnest company. Oh who should
drag me into a great city, if I did not know there is another world!
How gladly could I spend the remainder of a busy life in solitude and
retirement.”
At Portarlington, he had the unthankful task of reconciling the
differences of two termagant women, who talked for three hours, and
grew warmer and warmer, till they were almost distracted. Wesley says:
“I perceived there was no remedy but prayer; so a few of us wrestled
with God for above two hours.” The result was, after three hours of
cavilling and two hours of prayer, anger gave place to love, and the
quarrelsome ladies fell upon each other’s neck. Here also, there being
no English service, he attended the French church service, and writes:
“I have sometimes thought Mr. Whitefield’s action was violent; but he
is a mere post to Mr. Calliard.”
Wesley then proceeded to Mountmellick, Montrath, Roscrea, Birr,
Tullamore, Athlone, Aghrim, Ahaskra, Longford, Kenagh, and Tyrrell’s
Pass. On the 14th of July he got back to Dublin, where he spent the
next eight days, and then embarked for England. The day before he
sailed, he wrote as follows to his friend, Mr. Ebenezer Blackwell:—
“DUBLIN, _July 21, 1750_.
“DEAR SIR,—I have had so hurrying a time for two or three months, as I
scarce ever had before; such a mixture of storms and clear sunshine,
of huge applause and huge opposition. Indeed, the Irish, in general,
keep no bounds. I think there is not such another nation in Europe, so
‘Impetuous in their love and in their hate.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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