The Oxford Methodists, however, had no desire to aggrandize themselves. They had not the slightest wish to be considered superior to their fellow mortals. They were sincere, and earnest inquirers after truth, and, in the study of the Holy Bible, in prayer to God, and in other devotional exercises, were an example worthy of imitation. God rarely leaves such inquirers in the dark. Wesley, and most of his Oxford friends were brought to a knowledge of “the truth as it is in _Jesus_;” and, being so, their faith, their energy, their prayers, their toils, and their cheerfully endured sufferings resulted in one of the most glorious revivals of the work of God, recorded in the history of the Christian Church. May we not indulge the hope, that, what God did for the Oxford Methodists, He will do for those at the present day, who, in most respects, resemble them? Ought we not to pray for this? Indeed, has it not, to some extent, been realized? Though the _leaders_ of the Oxford Tractarian movement have unquestionably served the interests of the Church of Rome, far more than the interests of the Church which nurtured them; yet, is it not a fact, that some of the hard-working evangelical clergy of the Church of England, now so successfully employed in the spread of truth, began their Christian life as the Oxford Methodists began theirs? And is it wrong to prayerfully cherish the expectation, that, in mercy to mankind, others will be brought to the same convictions? The Church, the Nation, and the World need their energy, earnestness, diligence, self-denial, and devotion. Let them lay aside their popish follies and proud pretensions and embrace the truth of Christ in its simplicity and its purity, and, at least, some of them may, under God, accomplish a work as great and as blessed as was accomplished by Wesley and his “Holy Club.” I have nothing more to add, except to express my obligations to the descendants of the Oxford Methodists, for their courteous kindness in responding to my requests for information; and to other clergymen and gentlemen with whom I have been in correspondence. The book is not a series of written portraits. I make no pretensions to artistic skill. I have simply done my best in collecting facts, from every source within my reach; and have narrated them as truly and as lucidly as I could. L. TYERMAN. STANHOPE HOUSE, CLAPHAM PARK, _April 2nd, 1873_. THE OXFORD METHODISTS. THE FIRST OF THE OXFORD METHODISTS. ROBERT KIRKHAM. Wesley writes:—“In November, 1729, four young gentlemen of Oxford,—Mr. John Wesley, Fellow of Lincoln College; Mr. Charles Wesley, Student of Christ Church; Mr. Morgan, Commoner of Christ Church; and Mr. Kirkham, of Merton College,—began to spend some evenings in a week together in reading, chiefly, the Greek Testament.”[1]