It was within two years after the restoration of Charles II. that Wesley was arrested and committed to Blandford gaol on such a charge. Sir Gerrard Napper had been his most furious enemy, and the most forward in committing him; but after Wesley had lain in prison for a length of time, Sir Gerrard broke his collar bone, and, perhaps thinking that the disaster had happened as a judgment upon him for his cruelty to the young minister, he requested some of his friends to bail him, and told them, that if they refused, he would give bail himself. At length, by an order of the Privy Council, dated July 24, 1661, it was directed that he should be discharged from his then imprisonment, upon taking the oaths of supremacy and allegiance. He was taken accordingly before a magistrate, who, for some reason, declined administering the oaths, but issued a warrant, dated July 29, 1661, commanding him to appear before the judges of the assizes, to be holden at Dorchester, the 1st of August following. He has recorded in his diary the goodness of God in inclining a solicitor to plead for him, and in restraining the wrath of man, so that even the judge, though a man of sharp temper, spoke not an angry word. The sum of the proceedings, as given in his diary, is as follows:— _Clerk._ Call Mr Wesley of Whitchurch. _Wesley._ Here. _Clerk._ You were indicted for not reading the common prayer. Will you traverse it? _Solicitor._ May it please your lordship, we desire this business may be deferred till next assizes. _Judge._ Why till then? _Solicitor._ Our witnesses are not ready at present. _Judge._ Why not ready now? Why have you not prepared for a trial?[10] ----- Footnote 10: It will be seen, from the above dates, that two days only elapsed between the issuing of the warrant against John Wesley and the commencement of the assizes. No wonder that he was not prepared for trial. ----- _Solicitor._ We thought our prosecutors would not appear. _Judge._ Why so, young man? Why should you think so? Why did you not provide them? _Wesley._ May it please your lordship, I understand not the question. _Judge._ Why will you not read the Book of Common Prayer? _Wesley._ The book was never tendered to me. _Judge._ Must the book be tendered to you? _Wesley._ So I conceive by the act. _Judge._ Are you ordained? _Wesley._ I am ordained to preach the gospel. _Judge._ From whom? _Wesley._ I have given an account thereof already to the bishop. _Judge._ What bishop? _Wesley._ The Bishop of Bristol. _Judge._ I say, by whom were you ordained? How long is it since? _Wesley._ Four or five years since. _Judge._ By whom then? _Wesley._ By those who were then empowered. _Judge._ I thought so. Have you a presentation to your place? _Wesley._ I have. _Judge._ From whom? _Wesley._ May it please your lordship, it is a legal presentation. _Judge._ By whom was it? _Wesley._ By the trustees. _Judge._ Have you brought it? _Wesley._ I have not.