“Now, Sir, as I never saw that _acknowledgment_, nor the _softening corrections_ made by Mr. Wesley in my ‘Vindication;’ as I was not informed of some of the above-mentioned particulars when I was so eager to prevent the publication of my Letters; and as I have reason to think that, through the desire of an immediate peace, the festering wound was rather skinned over than probed to the bottom,—all I can say about this publication is, what I wrote to our common friend, namely, that ‘I must look upon it as a _necessary evil_.’ “I am glad, Sir, you do not direct your letter to Mr. Olivers,[240] who was so busy in publishing my ‘Vindication;’ for, by a letter I have just received from Bristol, I am informed he did not hear how desirous I was to call it in, till he had actually given out, before a whole congregation, it would be sold. Besides, he would have pleaded with smartness that he never approved of a patched-up peace,—that he bore his testimony against it at the time it was made,—and that he had a personal right to produce _my_ arguments, since both parties refused to hear _his_ at the Conference. “If your Letter is friendly, Sir, and you print it in the same size as my ‘Vindication,’ I shall gladly buy £10 worth of the copies, and order them to be stitched with my ‘Vindication,’ and given gratis to the purchasers of it; as well to do you justice, as to convince the world that we make a loving war; and also to demonstrate how much I regard your respectable character, and honour your dear person. Mr. Wesley’s heart is, I am persuaded, too full of brotherly love to deny me the pleasure of thus showing you how sincerely I am, Rev. and dear Sir, your obedient servant, “JOHN FLETCHER.” Footnote 235: That there might be no misunderstanding between them, Fletcher, on the same day, sent Wesley “the substance, and almost the very words,” of this letter to Shirley. Footnote 236: The Rev. Tobias Crisp, D.D., a divine of the Church of England, born in London in 1600, and who died in 1643. He was educated at Eton, thence he removed to Cambridge, and afterwards to Oriel College, Oxford. At the age of twenty-seven, he was appointed Rector of Brinkworth, in Wiltshire. Early in life, he was a favourer of the doctrines of Arminianism; afterwards, he became the champion of Antinomianism. His sermons, in three volumes, were printed after his death. It is said that, though the tenets he embraced seem to be a plea for licentiousness, he himself was remarkable for the purity and modesty of his manners. Footnote 237: A few years ago, Shirley had published “Twelve Sermons, preached on several occasions,” 12mo., 189 pp. Footnote 238: Lady Huntingdon. Footnote 239: