His indefatigable zeal had long been witnessed by all classes; but his motives had been variously estimated. Some attributed it to love of popularity, others to ambition, and others to love of wealth; but it now appeared that he was actuated by a pure regard for the immortal interests of mankind. Many ministers, both of the Establishment and among Dissenters, spoke with great respect of his long, laborious, devoted, and useful life, and earnestly exhorted their hearers to follow him as he followed Christ. "He was a man," says Lord Macaulay, "whose eloquence and logical acuteness might have rendered him eminent in literature; whose genius for government was not inferior to that of Richelieu; and who devoted all his powers, in defiance of obloquy and derision, to what he sincerely considered the highest good of his species." The ardor of his spirit was never dampened by difficulties nor subdued by age. The world ascribed this to enthusiasm, but he ascribed it to the grace of God. Whatever it was, it has commanded the respect of the present generation. He who was expelled from all the churches as a madman and a fanatic is now deemed worthy of a most eligible niche in England's grandest cathedral. Dr. Watts's admirable elegy on Thomas Gouge has been applied to the death of Wesley: "The muse that mourns a nation's fall Should wait at Wesley's funeral; Should mingle majesty and groans, Such as she sings to sinking thrones; And in deep-sounding numbers tell How Zion trembled when this pillar fell; Zion grows weak, and England poor, Nature herself, with all her store, Can furnish such a pomp for death no more." On the monument in Westminster Abbey is the simple inscription: JOHN WESLEY, M.A. BORN JUNE 17, 1703; DIED MARCH 2, 1791. CHARLES WESLEY, M.A. BORN DECEMBER 17, 1707; DIED MARCH 29, 1788. This is engraved upon the tablet: "I look upon all the world as my parish." "The best of all is, God is with us." "God buries his workmen, but carries on his work." The first two were the utterances of John, and the last of Charles, Wesley. The following poem was written by the "Bard of Sheffield," Hon. James Montgomery, on the first centennial of Wesleyan Methodism, 1836. It is a beautiful tribute: A HUNDRED YEARS AGO. One song of praise, one voice of prayer, Around, above, below; Ye winds and waves the burden bear, A hundred years ago! A hundred years ago! What then? There rose the world to bless A little band of faithful men-- A cloud of witnesses. It looked but like a human hand; Few welcomed it, more feared. But as it opened o'er the land The hand of God appeared. The Lord made bare his holy arm In sight of earth and hell; Fiends fled before it with alarm, And alien armies fell.