At Wednesbury, in Staffordshire, the Methodists were most cruelly treated. One of the rioters used to blow a horn, and then all the mob gathered together. They went to every house where there was a Methodist, smashed the windows, dragged the furniture out and broke it up, and burnt the beds. If the men or women interfered, they just knocked them down; even the little children they used to beat. But I think I will leave the exciting scenes at Wednesbury for another chapter. [Illustration] [Illustration] CHAPTER XXVI. Brave as a lion.--A protecting angel.--God's magic.--Foes become friends.--An unpleasant walk in rain and darkness.--What the mayor said.--A free fight.--"Knock the parson down! Kill him at once!"--Magic again.--A butcher to the rescue.--Safe back in Wednesbury. WHEN Mr. Wesley heard how his followers were being treated in Wednesbury, he went off at once to their help. Though he was only a little man, he was as brave as a lion; he knew he had God at his back, and like David before Goliath, like Daniel before Darius, and like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before Nebuchadnezzar, he did not fear what man could do unto him. God sent His angel to close the lions' mouths so they would not harm Daniel; and the same messenger walked in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrew youths. So, when Mr. Wesley went straight into the market-place in Wednesbury, and fearlessly preached to the hundreds assembled there, God's protecting angel breathed silence and calm; not a sound of disturbance was heard. In the evening the mob surrounded the house where Mr. Wesley was staying, shouting out fiercely: "Bring out the minister! We will have the minister!" Mr. Wesley, neither frightened nor excited, quietly asked one of his friends to bring in the ringleader of the mob. The man came in, anger and fierceness in his eyes. But, somehow, as soon as he stood in the presence of that calm, Christ-like man, all his passion went out of him. Mr. Wesley then asked him to bring in two or three of his roughest companions. The angry men came in. They had wanted to get at the minister, now they had the chance. But once inside that room, they found they could not touch him. They felt the presence of God's protecting angel, and peace took the place of passion, and friendliness the place of hatred. Getting Mr. Wesley between them, these strange, new friends made a way for him through the mob outside the house. Then, standing on a chair, Mr. Wesley spoke to the crowd. "You wanted me," he said. "Here I am. Now what do you want me for?" "We want you to go with us to the magistrate," they cried. "I will go with you with all my heart," he replied. So away went the brave ambassador for Christ, accompanied by hundreds of the roughest men and women in Wednesbury.