“Think you, Jake, that the best way to destroy the vanity of such as he would be by taking notice of what he said and magnifying it into a menace?” said Hartwell. “Believe me, my friend, that Mr. Wesley's way is the true one. Dick Pritchard's vanity got its hugest filip when he heard that Mr. Wesley had come back to preach against him. It will receive its greatest humiliation when he learns that Mr. Wesley made no remark that showed he knew aught of him and his prophecies.” “He will take full credit to himself for what has happened--of that you may be sure,” said Jake, shaking his head. “Ay, and for what did not happen,” he continued as an afterthought. “Be certain that he will claim to have saved the world as Jonah saved the Ninevites. He will cling to Jonah to the end.” “I am glad that I came hither when you called for me, my brethren,” said Wesley. “Let us look at the matter with eyes that look only at the final issue. I would fain banish from my mind every thought save one, and that is spiritual blessing of the people. If they have been soothed by my coming--if even the humblest of them has been led to feel something of what is meant by the words 'the Peace of God,' I give thanks to God for having called me back. I have no more to say.” And that was indeed the last word that was said at that time respecting Pritchard and his utterances. Wesley and his friends felt that, however deeply the people had been impressed by the natural phenomena which had followed hard on his predictions of disaster to the world, he would not now be a source of danger to the work which had been begun in Cornwall. Wesley had, by his preaching, showed that he would give no countenance to the man. Those who thought that it would be consistent with his methods and his Methodism to take advantage of the terror with which the minds of the people had become imbued, in order to bring them into the classes, that had already been formed, were surprised to find him doing his utmost to banish their fears. He had preached the Gospel of Peace, not of Vengeance, the Gospel of Love, not of Anger. Awakening shortly after midnight, Wesley heard the sound of the washing of the waters on the pebbles at the base of the cliffs. There was no noise of breaking waves, only the soft, even lisp and lap of the last ripples that were crushed upon the pebbles--grateful and soothing to his ears. Suddenly there came to him another sound--the monotone of the watchman calling out of the distance: “Repent--repent--repent! The Day of the Lord is at hand. Who shall abide the Day of His Wrath? Repent--repent--repent!” CHAPTER XX