By Thomas Jackson (1849)

I. RELIGIOUS projects and actions not unfrequently produce results which their authors never contemplated. When the two Wesleys at Oxford became impressed with the supreme importance of Christian piety, as the great end of their being, and regarded it as an absolute conformity to the will of God, they adopted the purest rules of conduct; keeping a constant watch over their minds and hearts, and subjecting themselves at stated periods to the most searching scrutiny; that they might ascertain whether or not they had fulfilled their sacred vows, or had trifled with their engagements and responsibilities. That they might be the better able to discharge the duty of self-examination, each of them commenced the practice of keeping a journal, in which they carefully recorded the events of every day, with their spiritual conflicts, victories, and failures; for the purpose of calling forth increased gratitude, humility, or emotion, as the case might be. Of course these personal and moral histories were, in the first instance, never intended to meet the public eye, but merely to promote the religious benefit of the writers; for, when these simpleminded, but gifted, men began this practice, they intended to spend their lives in comparative retirement and seclusion, not having the most distant thought of the notoriety which was afterwards forced upon them.

In these matters, however, they were overruled, being providentially called from the cloisters of Oxford to preach salvation by faith in the highways and hedges; in consequence of which the world was filled with the report of their names and doings; and their journals, which were designed to be nothing more than a record of their feelings and course of action, the details of which no second person should ever peruse, are, in fact, the most circumstantial and authentic history of a deep and widely-extended revival of religion, such as the world has scarcely witnessed since the apostolic times. Hence it is that these documents, so private and unpretending in their origin, possess a profound interest, which they will possess as long as the English language is understood, and Christianity in its blessedness, activity, and power is duly appreciated.

After the brothers had entered upon their singular career of ministerial labour, so as to be in some quarters highly commended, and in others severely censured,--while multitudes wondered why it was that gentlemen and scholars violated all the rules of ecclesiastical etiquette, and voluntarily endured incredible toils and hardships,--Mr. John Wesley deemed it requisite to publish from time to time large extracts from his private journal, as furnishing, in his estimation, the best explanation and apology that he was able to offer. This practice he continued till the end of his life: and, notwithstanding all that has been subsequently written, it must be confessed that these artless narratives constitute the best history of the origin and progress of Methodism, and its most powerful defence.

For many years Mr. Charles Wesley followed his brother, as an itinerant and field Preacher, with equal steps; but he would never commit his journal to the press. He appears to have written it, from day to day, upon loose sheets of paper, and to have transmitted large portions of it to his wife and friends in the form of letters, some of which have been preserved. Much of it, there is reason to believe, he himself destroyed; and it is probable that much more of it has long since perished, through the carelessness of the persons to whom it was transmitted. That which is now published, and which is all that is known to exist, was transcribed, with great neatness and accuracy, by the venerable author himself, carefully paged, and was bound in a thick octavo volume. This precious relic he bequeathed to his widow, with a request that she would retain it in her own exclusive possession. About three or four years after his death, it was, however, placed in the hands of Dr. Whitehead, who published large extracts from it in the Life of the author, which was prefixed to the Life of the Rev. John Wesley. Extracts from this manuscript, still more copious, were inserted in the "Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley," in two octavo volumes, which appeared in the year 1841; but the entire document is now for the first time presented to the public. It was purchased some years ago of the writer's heir, the late Charles Wesley, Esq., of musical celebrity; having, however, undergone some mutilations, the occasion of which it would perhaps be impossible to ascertain. A little while before it was purchased, it was in great danger of being irrecoverably lost. It was found among some loose straw on the floor of a public warehouse in London, where the furniture of the owner was for a time deposited; several leaves in the volume being cut from the binding, and yet not removed. The intelligent and pious reader, it is presumed, after perusing and weighing its valuable contents, will be thankful that its publication effectually prevents the recurrence of a similar casualty, and will preserve it from oblivion. It is sent forth into the world, not to gratify an idle curiosity, but as an instructive record of a work of God; presenting, in a manner which every one may understand, the omnipotence of divine grace and truth. II.

The published Journal of Mr. John Wesley commences with his embarkation at Gravesend for the North American continent, as a Missionary to the heathen tribes then bordering upon the infant colony of Georgia: Charles's begins with their arrival at the place of their destination. As the mission upon which they then entered was the first event in their lives that called forth their peculiar talents, and exhibited their capacities,--especially with respect to the patient endurance of hardships and privations, and the courage which never yields to difficulties,--it may not be improper to give a brief notice of the nature of that mission, and of the circumstances in which it was undertaken.

The colony of Georgia was projected by James Edward Oglethorpe, who was in many respects one of the most remarkable men of his age; having acquired considerable celebrity both as a soldier and a statesman, but most of all as a philanthropist. He was the fourth and youngest son of Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe, of Godalming, in the county f Surrey, and is said to have been born in the year 1698. In 1714 he entered Corpus Christi College, Oxford; but his destination was quickly changed; for in the same year we find him Captain-Lieutenant in the first troops of Queen's Guards. He afterwards acquired a more perfect acquaintance with the science of war under the famous Prince Eugene, of Savoy, and other eminent Commanders, among whom was the great Duke of Argyle, who was his patron. At the recommendation of John, Duke of Marlborough, Oglethorpe acted as Secretary and Aide-de-camp to the Prince, whom he attended in his campaigns in Germany and Hungary, where he acquired much practical knowledge concerning military affairs. He had flattering prospects with respect to the German service, but sacrificed them all, that he might apply his talents to the benefit of his own country.

On his return to England he was elected member of the House of Commons for the borough of Haslemere, which he represented in five successive Parliaments, from 1722 to 1754. During this period many regulations, which had for their object the enlargement of the national commerce, were proposed by him, and adopted by the Senate; for he was a man of an active mind, of large views, of an enterprising genius, and a zealous patriot. While attending the sittings of Parliament, Oglethorpe, who was well acquainted with the Wesley family, and had generously assisted the venerable Rector of Epworth in his pecuniary difficulties, cultivated the friendship of Samuel Wesley, jun., who was one of the Ushers of Westminster School, and who for intelligence and moral worth was every way worthy of the statesman's confidence and respect. To the honour of Samuel Wesley, it is but just to state that, with a limited income, a subordinate situation, and many calls upon his friendly aid in behalf of his own relations, he was a principal means of establishing a Dispensary for the relief of the sick poor in Westminster: the first institution of the kind that was founded in that important city. In the year 1728, probably during the Parliamentary recess, this upright man, and excellent poet, addressed "An Ode to James Oglethorpe, Esq., in the Country," in which he expresses himself in such a manner as to convey the impression that a confidential familiarity subsisted between them; so that the senator would not be offended to find himself publicly addressed as the poet's "friend." The last five stanzas contain a fine compliment to Oglethorpe, and not less to Oglethorpe's father, who had also distinguished himself in the service of his country, but was favourable to the exiled family of the Stuarts.   "From pole to pole our squadrons go, Excelling ancient fables far, Of Argo, when a ship below, Or when exalted to a star: Preserved from rocks and storms in vain, Laden with wealth and fame they come; Should erring counsellors ordain, They suffer shipwreck here at home. "Them Virtue rises to defend, In spite of numbers bold: See Avarice awhile suspend Its wonted thirst of gold ! What Pride or Fraud may have design'd, See Reason overbear ! And fleets a port of safety find, If OGLETHORPE is there, '" The Pious grateful duty owes To the dear land where he was born; A glorious debt I which Nature knows With fairest interest to return. He merits first his country's praise Who steers her helm through danger on; And he deserves the second place, Who guards her safety with a son. "'Twas thus the father of my friend Wisely secured a lasting fame, Beyond the roach of death to' extend His public and domestic name. 'Tis single, 'tis imperfect light, The world, from worth unwedded, shares; He only shines completely bright, Who leaves his virtues to his heirs. "0 thus too may his offspring haste His glory to improve, And, fired by love to Britain, taste The bliss of private love ! With joy his summons I attend, And fly with speed away; Let but the Patriot condescend To fix his marriage-day !"   When these beautiful lines met the eye of Oglethorpe, he was engaged in an enterprise of mercy, for which he deserves to be ever had in respectful remembrance, and for which he received the blessings of multitudes who were ready to perish. He was the generous friend of the prisoner; and in the order of time took the precedence of Howard, of Sir Samuel Romilly, and of Sir Fowell Buxton, in zealous attempts to alleviate the misery of those outcasts of society,--the debtor and the felon. The mannor in which he was induced to engage in this service, the nature of his efforts, and the results to which they led, are all worthy of special record. Early in the year 1728, an ingenious architect, of the name of Castel, died in the Fleet prison, where he was confined for debt. He was a friend of Oglethorpe, who used to visit him, doubtless for the purpose of relieving his necessities; and here Oglethorpe received information of the hardships which the unfortunate man endured, and which were said to be the cause of his death. Oglethorpe justly concluded that this was not a solitary case, and therefore moved, in the House of Commons, for a Committee to inquire into the state of the jails in England. The proposal was accepted: a large and efficient Committee was appointed, of which Oglethorpe was made the Chairman.

On entering upon their work, fearful abuses were soon discovered, and appalling scenes of misery were presented to their view. It was found that when insolvent debtors entered the gloomy abodes to which they were destined, keeper after keeper extorted from them sums of money, under the name of fees; that these harpies not unfrequently seized, for their own use, articles of clothing of which they found the prisoners possessed, as well as supplies of food which were provided for them; that the keepers, according to their own caprice, tormented the prisoners by loading them with heavy irons, and inflicting upon them cruel stripes; that in many cases the prisoners had nothing in the shape of a bed to rest upon, but were doomed to sleep, if they could sleep at all, upon the unpaved floors of their several cells; that when any of the prisoners, driven to desperation by hard treatment, committed suicide, their clothes were seized by the keepers, as a perquisite of office; and that some of the most notorious prisoners of the age had effected their escape by means of bribes, which the jailers had accepted as the reward of their infidelity.

The Committee had not long been engaged in their inquiries, before they found occasion to draw up a series of resolutions, which Oglethorpe moved in the House of Commons, where they were unanimously adopted. They embody a specimen of the deeds of darkness which were then brought to light, and are to the following effect :-- "That Thomas Bainbridge, acting Warden of the Fleet prison, hath wilfully permitted several debtors to the Crown in great sums of money, as well as debtors to divers of His Majesty's subjects, to escape; that he hath been guilty of the most notorious breaches of trust, great extortion, and the highest crimes and misdemeanors, in the execution of his office; and hath arbitrarily and unlawfully loaded with irons, put into dungeons, and destroyed, prisoners for debt, treating them in the most barbarous and cruel manner, in high violation and contempt of the laws of this kingdom :--That John Huggins, Esq., late Warden of the Fleet prison, did, during his wardenship, willfully permit many considerable debtors in his custody to escape; and was notoriously guilty of great breaches of trust, extortions, cruelties, and other high crimes and misdemeanors, in the execution of his office, to the great oppression and ruin of many of the subjects of this kingdom

That James Barnes, William Pindar, John Everett, and Thomas King, were agents of and accomplices with the said Thomas Bainbridge, in the commission of the said crimes." It was also agreed to address His Majesty, requesting him to command the Attorney-General to prosecute these offenders; who were ordered to be committed close prisoners to Newgate; and two bills were directed to be brought in: the one, to disable Thomas Barnbridge to hold the office of Warden of the Fleet, or exercise any authority relating thereto: the other, for the better regulating the Fleet prison, and more effectually preventing and punishing arbitrary and illegal practices in connexion with it.*

These achievements of this Parliamentary Committee, in behalf of the oppressed, filled the mind of Oglethorpe's poetic friend with thankfulness and admiration; and hence, one of the finest productions of Samuel Wesley's genius is entitled, "THE PRISONS OPENED: a Poem, occasioned by the GLORIOUS PROCEEDINGS of the Committee of the House of Commons, appointed to inquire into the state of the Jails of this kingdom, in the year 1728." This poem is the more valuable because of the intimacy which subsisted between the author and Oglethorpe; so that the stirring facts which it describes may be fairly assumed to have been derived from that benevolent and energetic man, with whose kind feelings the poet cherished a deep sympathy. The poem is dedicated to Oglethorpe, with the other members of the Committee, and must have produced a thrilling interest at the time of its first appearance; the public mind not being then so familiar with subjects of this kind as it has been since the press was brought into greater requisition. A few brief extracts from this admirable composition, which evidently flowed from the writer's heart, will not be deemed irrelevent; in this place.

[* Salmon's Chronological Historian, vol. it., p. 210, edit. 1747.]   "What various paths unhappy mortals tread, Which down to dungeons and to tortures lead ! In jarl a few secure their ill-got store; By vices many fall, by folly more. The flatter'd heir in short-lived pomp behold, How flush'd with youth, and wine, and love, and gold ! All arts, all baits, unnumber'd tempters try, Friendship's endearing form, and Beauty's eye. Manors are lost, though petty stakes are won, And garter'd sharpers urge his ruin on. By pity some (a glorious fault !) have fail'd, A friend supported, or a father bail'd: Some perish void of error and offence, Cast headlong by resistless Providence: Orphans, who frauds of guardians cannot shun; Clients, by legal labyrinths undone; The trader, strictly just, yet overthrown By others' crimes, and losses not his own. Nor more redress the breaking merchant finds From Spanish seizures, than from adverse winds. Lo I countless swarms the dire abode receives, Thick as in autumn drop the sapless leaves, Whom State deceit and South-Sea plunder drain'd, Which like a general deluge swept the land; Whom public faith could no protection lend, Seeming, and only seeming, to defend. "When wretches, stripp'd of Fortone's gifts, repair To the dark dome of temporal despair, Fast by the prison-gates, with sleepless eyes, Sits griping, never-sated Avarice; To him the' admitted fine for being poor, And ope with gold the' inhospitable door; Compell'd, since laws and jailers so ordain, To pay for misery, and to bribe for pain: To gain the' asylum of the Fleet they strive, The privilege to be entomb'd alive. So, as the Pagan fabling poets tell, Was Charon fee'd for wafting souls to hell: To pass the lake thick-thronging ghosts desire, To torments most condemn'd, and penal fire As if Alecto's snakes they long'd to feel, Or Tityus' vulture, or Ixion's wheel. "The jarl (sad emblem of flagitious times, Revenging virtues, and rewarding crimes,) Sees only villains thrive, by ruin great, Who owe to guilt the splendour of their state; Who, placed by fraud and wealth from justice free, In ease or pomp enjoy captivity; Who sure escape by massy gold can force, While wardens share the wealth of creditors; Or those who basely join to' afflict the good, Comrades of theft, and instruments of blood; Whose well-feign'd worth the merchant's trust deceives, And stocks with monthly spoils the den of thieves; Who, as superiors dictate, witness bear, To riot, murder, nay, to treason, swear; Who aid to worst barbarities afford, Relentless hell-bounds, worthy of their lord Who drink to burning Fever's thirst deny, And see the famish'd swoon with stony eye; Permit not prisoners even on alms to feed, But snatch from starving mouths the scanty bread.   "The Fleet's stern king, circled with guards like these, Each helpless subject robs, and strips, and fleas; Incarnate fiends for torturing shackles call, Except the captive yields them---more than all: In prison within prison staked he lies, And keepers under keepers tyrannize: With weighty fetters gall'd, the sufferers groan, Or close-screw'd rivets crack the solid bone; Their only bed dank earth, unpaved and bare, Their only covering is the chains they wear: Debarr'd from cheerful morn, and human sight, In lonely, restless, and enduring night; The strongest health unsinew'd by disease, And Famine wasting life by slow degrees: Piecemeal alive they rot, long doom'd to bear The pestilential, foul, imprison'd air; Unless the friendly fumes on reason prey, And kind Distraction take their sense away. But each black view of horrible restraint, What verse can number, and what pencil paint Dire scenes ! which Huggins and his Barnbridge know, Where ghastly spectres utter tales of woe; As if the prisoners were condemn'd to dwell With pains, with darkness, and with fiends of hell. No smallest glimpse of distant hope they see; O lowest depth of human misery ! When wish'd for death's approach shows quiet nigh, The soul just fluttering is forbid to fly; Then, seeming kind, the curst tormentors strive To keep departing anguish still alive. So when the long-robed murderers of Rome, Inquisitors, a wretch to tortures doom, They heal the limbs which can no more endure, Less cruel when they rack than when they cure, That nature, spent, recruits of strength may gain. For fresh distortion, and repeated pain. When wild despair, impatient of its woes, By fond self-murder would suborn repose, A life destroy'd unmoved the keeper sees, And only mourns his loss of bribes and fees. Here, though his barbarous rigours find an end, Farther will powerful avarice extend: Like the Grand Turk, he pleases to declare Himself, of all that die, the general heir: What every vassal leaves he speaks his own, But yields no portion to the wife or son.   So Purgatory's realm the Pope obeys, The founder he and warden of the place ! There souls are feign'd fierce flames to undergo, Intense as everlasting burnings glow; Though Christ had clear'd their guilt, they long remain, Parden'd, and prisoners to infernal pain; No charitable Pontiff turns the keys, Till priestly jailers have secured their fees. Is ours the land where peace and freedom smile What wrathful influence cursed our age and isle, Monsters of botmdless avarice to see, Unblushing fraud, unsated cruelty "Yet, Britain, cease thy captives' woes to mourn, To break their chains, see OGLETHORPE was born ! Vernon, whose steady truth no threats can bend ! And Hughes, the sailor's never-falling friend ! Towers, whose rich youth can ease and pleasure fly, And Percival, renown'd for piety ! Cornewall, to aid the friendless never slow, Whose generous breast still melts at others' woe ! These dare the tyrants, long secure, oppose; Thus gracious Heaven its benefits bestows, The antidote is found there where the poison grows. "Soon as the Fleet receives each welcome guest, Joy, long-forgotten, cheers the faintest breast; Pain at their presence stops the rising sigh, And languid Famine opes her hollow eye; Horror flies thence, they once appearing there, And the worst torment of the jail-Despair. So, at the' Almighty's nod, with rapid wings, Forth from the throne a guardian angel springs, Through space immense, quick as the morning ray, To succour earth distress'd he shoots away, Bids Peter rise, from bonds and keepers free, And looks the prisoner into liberty. "Fear'd, honour'd, loved, long may the Patriots stand, Support and honour of their native land ! Warm without rage, without vain-glory brave, Firm to protect, and obstinate to save ! Whom no false scents deceive, no searches tire; Resistless to revenge, as to inquire ! He who for injured right dares strongly plead, The prisoner's counsel, earnest, though unfee'd; To guard the weak, who scorns the mighty's frown, Despising no man's danger but his own; In camps his courage as in senates tried, Daunts with severe rebuff the sons of pride: 0 that his soul with healthier limbs were join'd, A body less unequal to his mind ! "Proceed, disinterested few, proceed, Heal every wound, and succour every need; Let all Britannia's misery be redress'd, Cite every tyrant to the righteous test The test which innocence can never fear, Candid though strict, impartial though severe. No artful guesses there to proofs advance, Help'd by dark, dubious, distant circumstance; Nor bribes, nor threats, nor hinting prompters there Inform the wavering witness how to swear. Go on ! let none your ardent zeal withstand, And shower diffusive mercies o'er the land,- That Heaven by you may bless our happy isle, And even the tradesman and the merchant smile; While crowds unchain'd your fame with shouts declare, Restored to vital light, and vital air. So sudden this deliverance which they meet, Their grief so hopeless, and their joy so great, Scarce to the change they yet can credit give, Scarce are they yet persuaded that they live. So, when the' archangel gives the fated sign, (If human joys we liken to divine,) The summons universal Nature hears, Nor pleads prescription of six thousand years; Not everlasting hills their dead retain, Not deep abysses of the' unfathem'd main; The sleeping saints look up with joyful eyes, And, quickening at the sacred trump, arise; Their pains all past, their transport to succeed, Immortal lives in endless bloom they lead, From death's tyrannic chain, and earth's dark prison, freed."

 

Samuel Wesley was not the only poet who celebrated the generous deeds of Oglethorpe and his associates. The muse of Thomson poured forth the following strains in honour of" the Jail Committee, in the year 1729 :"-- "And here can I forget the generous bend, Who, touch'd with human woe, redressive search'd Into the horrors of the gloomy jail Unpitied and unheard, where misery moans, Where sickness piues, where thirst and hunger burn, And poor Misfortune feels the lash of Vice. While in the land of liberty, the land Whose every street and public meeting glow With open freedom, little tyrants raged, Snatch'd the lean morsel from the starving mouth, Tore from cold wintry limbs the tatter'd weed, Even robb'd them of the last of comforts,--sleep; The freeborn BRITON to the dungeon chain'd, Or, as the lust of cruelty prevail'd, At pleasure mark'd him with inglorious stripes, And crush'd out lives, by secret, barbarous ways, That for their country would have toil'd or bled. 0 great design, if executed well, With patient care, and wisdom-temper'd zeal ! Ye sons of mercy ! yet resume the search, Drag forth the legal monsters into light, Wrench from their hands Oppression's iron rod, And bid the cruel feel the pains they give. Much still untouch'd remains; in this rank age, Much is the patriot's weeding hand required. The toils of law, (what dark, insidious men Have cumbrous added to perplex the truth, And lengthen simple justice into trade, How glorious were the day that saw these broke, And every man within the reach of right !" *

  III.

ONE act of generosity prepares the way for another. Scarcely had Oglethorpe succeeded, with the aid of his associates, in dragging to open view the scandalous abuses which were practised in the public prisons, and in restoring many of their unfortunate inmates to liberty, before we find him engaged in an undertaking of greater magnitude and difficulty, the management of which devolved principally upon himself. This was the establishment of the colony of Georgia; the idea of which, in all probability, was suggested to his mind by the situation of the men whom he had rescued from the fangs of the jailer, and the horrors of imprisonment. Many of them were without character and without property; and to put them into a way of providing for themselves, in their own country, was a hopeless task. Emigration seemed to be their only practicable resource; and their number was such as to require extensive arrangements, in order that their case might be effectually relieved.

Upon this subject the friends of the colony laid great stress when making their appeal to the people of England for help. In an able pamphlet, which was published in a handsome quarto size, and entitled, "Reasons for establishing the Colony of Georgia," the following course of argument is employed, "in respect of those who are thrown into prison for debt :"--" I believe the calculation will not be thought immodest, if I estimate these at four thousand every year; and that above one third part of the debts is never recovered hereby. If one half of these, or only five hundred of them, were to be sent every year into Georgia, to be incorporated with those foreign Protestants who are expelled their own countries for religion, what great improvements might not be expected in our trade, when these, as well as the foreigners, would be so many new subjects gained to England ! for, while they are in prison, they are absolutely lost. The public loses their labour and their knowledge. If they take the benefit of the Act of Parliament, that allows them liberty on the delivery of their all to their creditors, they come naked into the world again; as they have no money, and little credit, they find it almost impossible to get into business, especially when our trades are overstocked; they therefore, by contracting new debts, must return again into prison, or, how honest soever their dispositions may be, by idleness and necessity will be forced into bad courses, such as begging, cheating, or robbing." "The colony of Georgia will be a proper asylum for these. Here they will have the best motive for industry, --a possession of their own, and no possibility of subsisting without it.

"I have heard it said that our prisons are the properest places for those who are thrown into them, by keeping them from being hurtful to others. Surely this way of thinking is too severe. Are these people, with their liberty, to lose our compassion Are they to be shut up from our eyes, and excluded from our hearts . Many of very honest dispositions fall into decay, nay, perhaps because they are so, because they cannot allow themselves that latitude which others take to be successful. The ways that lead to ruin are various. Some are undone by over-trading; others by want of trade; many by being responsible for others. Do all these deserve such hardship If a man sees a friend, a brother, or a father, going to a prison, where felons are to be his society, want and sickness his sure attendants, and death, in all likelihood, his only but quick relief; if he stretches out his hand to save him; if, to rescue him from immediate slavery and ruin, he runs the risk of his own liberty, and at last loses it; is there any one who will say this man is not an object of compassion not only so, but of esteem, and worth preserving for his virtue ! But, supposing that idleness and intemperance are the usual cause of his ruin, are these crimes adequate to such a punishment as confinement for life But even granting that these unhappy people deserve no indulgence, it is certainly imprudent in any state to lose the benefit of the labour of so many thousands.

"But the public loss, by throwing men into prison, is not confined to them only. They have, many of them, wives and children. These are also involved in their ruin. Being destitute of support, they must perish, or become a burden to their parishes by their inability to work, or a nuisance by their thefts."

The subject and the earnestness of this appeal clearly connect the origin of the colony of Georgia with the Pariamentary inquiry into the state of the English prisons, the conducting of which had been confided to Oglethorpe; especially when we find that some of the men who were associated with him in redressing the wrongs of the prisoner, were his fellow-Trustees for the new colony. Among these we may particularly mention Thomas Towers and James Vernon, Esqrs., and Lord Viscount Percival.

But Englishmen of desperate fortunes were not the only parties whose interests it was intended to secure by the transatlantic colony. Protestant exiles from various continental nations, the victims of Papal intolerance and cruelty, were invited to share in the benefits which were provided in this promising settlement. Of this class of persons who availed themselves of the invitation, the Salzburghers, as they were called, were the first and the most numerous. A few notices concerning these interesting people will serve at once to show the generosity of Oglethorpe, and of the men who were associated with him; the importance of the colony at that particular juncture; the execrable intolerance of Popery; and the spirit of meekness, resignation, and fidelity, with which Christianity inspires those who are under its power.

Salzburg is a city of Bavaria, the Archbishop of which was a temporal Prince, as well as an ecclesiastical dignitary. In his dominions were several Protestants, some of whom held the tenets of the Lutherans, and others those of the Reformed. True to the principles of his Church, he declared that he "should be inexcusable if, as an ecclesiastical Prince, he should tolerate the exercise of a religion in his Archbishopric contrary to the Roman Catholic religion; which," added he, "by the grace of God, is of more than twelve hundred years' standing." He therefore prohibited all public worship and preaching among his Protestant subjects; forbidding more than three persons ever to meet together on a religious account. Finding that even this severe measure was not sufficient to arrest the progress of alleged heresy, he issued an edict requiring all his Protestant subjects to leave his dominions; claiming for himself the credit of "clemency," for granting them permission to leave their homes and country. "Workmen, valets, or domestics of both sexes," were to depart, with all their effects, in eight days." A month's time was granted to such Protestants as were worth one hundred and fifty florins, and two months to such as were possessed of property to a greater amount, that they "might sell their effects in the best manner they could;" and in the mean while, all Protestants who were engaged in the public service were dismissed, and their wages discontinued. This merciless edict bears the date of October 31st, 1731; it was sent forth in the name of "Leopold, by the grace of God, Archbishop of Salzburg, Legate of the Holy See Apostolical, and Primate of Germany," and addressed "to all our ViceDeans, Bailiffs, Provosts, Governors, their substitutes, Judges, and to all our other officers, greeting ;" and was therefore brought into general operation in the middle of winter. At this inclement season, therefore, TWENTY THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-EIG T PERSONS, men, women, and children, the aged, the sick, new-born infants, with their mothers, were driven from the land of their fathers, and sent forth through fields of snow, in quest of a people who were not hardened into fiends by Papal superstition, and among whom they might dwell in safety and peace.

These persecuted exiles divided themselves into different companies, and went forth in various directions, as circumstances might dictate, obtaining sympathy and aid from the pious and humane, but often cruelly insulted by the sons of Rome. Letters from Germany, detailing the hardships and wrongs which these people endured, with the meek and devout spirit by which the sufferers were actuated, were sent to England; and some of these narrations were presented in translations to the public, producing deep emotion in many an English heart; for the Protestant monarchy of this country was then comparatively weak, so that many British subjects trembled for their own liberties and rights. We select a few paragraphs from a scarce and interesting pamphlet, entitled, "An Account of the Sufferings of the persecuted Protestants of Salzburg, with their Reception in several Imperial Cities in Germany: together with their Confession of Faith: taken from Authentic Papera To which is added, the Archbishop's Decree and Passport, and two Letters relating thereto, from the Evangelic Body at Ratisbon. 1732."

"KAUFFBEYERN. On St. John's day, after Christmas, 1731, late at night, when the city gates were shut, about eight hundred Protestant exiles of Salzburg, of both sexes, arrived here, under the guidance of a Bavarian messenger. They had been driven out of their native country for the sake of their religion, and forced to leave their all behind them. A report was spread that they had themselves desired to be conducted hither; but, upon inquiry, they solemnly protested that they had not known whither they were to go; and that all they desired was, to be admitted into some Protestant town, for the spiritual comfort of their souls. After the arrival of these poor people, (who were very meanly clothed, and were for the most part labouring people and servants, and had brought a few children with them,) they patiently waited without the city-gates for admission, (which they had earnestly solicited by about forty of their deputies, who arrived just before the gates were shut,) singing, with great devotion, Luther's hymn, ' God is our Refuge in distress,' &c.

"Orders were soon given for their reception; and some of them had lodgings assigned them in the Protestant inns, whilst many were received into private houses, not without many tears. They were as hospitably entertained as the smallness of the place would admit of, and provided with spiritual and temporal food till the 30th of December. On Innocents' day they heard, for the first time, the morning sermon; and at noon they attended a sermon suited to their present circumstances, at which they expressed an uncommon desire and zeal for the word of God. Their behaviour among us was as became true Christians. They were modest, humble, peaceable, contented with, and thankful for, whatever was given them; and expressed the greatest delight in praying, singing psalms, and reading good books.

"As they had been expelled their country on a sudden, and not permitted to furnish themselves with necessaries for their journey, our Protestant citizens have testified their charity to them, by furnishing them with useful books, and better clothing for this cold season, and with food and money. Several of them have been taken into service in the town; some of the children put out apprentices, and to school; and their sick and weak provided for in the hospital. "When the Roman Catholic members of our Magistracy had complained in form of the stay of these poor people, and other circumstances had intervened which rendered their further entertainment here very difficult, (especially since nineteen thousand more were to make their pilgrimage through these parts,) we came to this resolution, that all who could not be provided for here, should be sent through three different roads to Memmingen, Augsburg, and Kempten, under the conduct of some of our Protestant citizens. The necessary passports, with the money collected at the church-door towards defraylng the expenses of their journey, were delivered to the deputies that went to conduct them; and four waggons were provided for carrying the old weak people and the children, with the few things they had brought with them.

"On the day of their departure, after they had heard the morning sermon, and had taken necessary refreshment, they repaired to our Trinity church, at noon, where they heard a farewell discourse, with many tears, and a hearty affection for the word of God, and concluded with the hymn, ' God is our Refuge in distress,'

which was sung only by themselves. After this, the deputies led them, two by two, between the Mayor and Aldermen, on one side of the church door, and the reverend Ministry on the other. Being dismissed by the citizens with innumerable blessings, they took their several roads in God's name, like so many flocks of sheep, with great patience and humility.

"Although we could not imagine that the quiet march of these poor exiles would be anywhere obstructed, yet they that were ordered to go to Kempten found that not one of their number could be permitted to pass that way. The deputy went to lodge them in Ober Beuern, a village belonging to this city, till further orders. But the Roman Catholics of that place opposed their entrance in so violent a manner, that all their lives had been in danger if they had not retired. They therefore came back to this city, and were lodged at the Golden Crown. The next day, being the 31st of December, they were sent to Memmingen, where they met with a joyful reception."

"AGSBURG. On the 30th of December, 1731, the Protestant Magistracy of Augsburg, having had notice given them, by the Magistracy and Ministry of Kauffbeyern, that eight hundred exiles of Salzburg had arrived there, and intended to march thither, earnestly desiring, for the sake of Christ, that they would receive them; the same was immediately communicated by the reverend Ministry of this city to the congregation at the cathedral church of St.Anne. As soon as the sermon was ended, the Protestant Senate met, with our head Almoner and Recorder; and, having resolved to make a collection on New-Year's day, for the benefit of these poor people, they desired the senior Rectors to draw up an account of them, to be read after the noon and evening sermons. But When the Protestant part of the Senate acquainted the Roman Catholic part, that many Salzburg exiles were expected, and should be divided among the Protestants, without the least molestation to the Roman Catholics, the Roman Catholics opposed their admission, under several pretexts, insomuch that nothing could be effected; but we were obliged to quarter them among the Protestants of the suburbs, some in inns, others in silver and copper mills, in sawing mills, the hospital, and garden-houses. To all this the inhabitants expressed so great a readiness, that they who were not able to 'receive any, lamented it as their misfortune. So great was the charity of all ranks of people, that they had not patience to wait for their coming; but, some on foot, some on horseback, and some in coaches, went to meet them several miles out of the town. Two hundred of them, with their deputed Commissary of Kauffbeyern, arrived that evening, and marched two by two over the fields, amidst some thousands of people, both Papists and Protestants, some of whom distributed money among them. Every Protestant was desirous to comfort and relieve these distressed brethren. Several tradesmen and merchants were not ashamed to call them brethren and sisters in the fields. They were ordered into their assigned quarters; and there they lifted up their hands to heaven, and gave thanks to God.

"On New-Year's day, after the morning service, the Protestant Senate ordered the two senior Rectors of the Augustan Confession to preach to these poor exiles, in two different places without the city. This was done accordingly, in the presence of a great multitude of people, in Mr. Schawer's garden. The service began with singing the hymn, 'Commit thy ways and doings'

Then followed a prayer, suited to the circumstances of the exiles: then a discourse on the name of Jesus, with a particular application to the occasion; showing how this holy Name ought to influence the conduct both of the Augsburgers and the exiles.

"They are generally of good courage, and, notwithstanding all the misery they have gone through, of a cheerful temper. There appears so much honesty and fidelity in their countenances, that one may almost affirm they are without guile. They are, for the most part, of a robust constitution, and from twenty to thirty-six years of age; though some few of them are from forty to sixty.

"These people behave themselves not only very thankfully, contentedly, meekly, and patiently, but, when they have an occasion of mentioning their afflictions, they do it without the least bitterness or murmuring against their former superiors: and they incessantly pray, with many tears, for their relations whom they have left behind, not knowing what sufferings they may have to undergo.

"As to those who were sent to Memmingen, they have been received as brethren and sisters, and carefully provided for. The greatest part of those who are yet come are poor labouring people and servants; but some of those who are to follow are of better condition. Some are still in prison, where they content themselves with bread and water, praying, and singing psalms or hymns.

"The third part of these exiles, who went to Ulm, found their way prepared by God. They were conducted, amidst a great concourse of people, from the Danube-gate to the Town-House, singing all the way the hymns which begin thus :- God is our Refuge in distress,'

and, ' He that confides in his Creator.'   Many thousands of people were excited by these exiles to join with them in praising God. They were immediately ordered out of the cold, into a warm room, every one being desirous to give them some refreshment. After the Magistrate had taken an account of them, they were quartered in the several inns of the town, which were hardly large enough to contain the great concourse of other Protestants who flocked thither, who all joined with one accord in praises and thanksgivings to God, and continued till late at night.

"The next day the Rev. Rector Frick preached a sermon upon Gen. xii. 1, 2. As this discourse was chiefly applied to the Salzburgers, it is impossible to express with what attention they heard the word of God. They stood like people who have had no food for a great while, and therefore wait with greater eagerness to receive some to satisfy their hunger.

"Being averse to nothing more than idleness, and ready to undertake the hardest labour, many have already found a subsistence, as we hope the rest very shortly will."

In their own country, "at first, all pains were taken to dissuade them from the Protestant religion, by arguments from worldly interest; and when that would not do, their books, which they had been many years in collecting, were seized in several places; and it is reported of the Dean of Werffen, that he burned them. After they were thus deprived of the word of God, their enemies proceeded to more violent means. Many were apprehended, particuarly those who were suspected to be leaders, and sent in fetters, dressed in derision with white caps, which hung down to their breasts, into the deepest dungeons in Salzburg; and others have been sent away, their relations not knowing whither. When this would not do, the Papists threatened them with beheading, drowning, the galleys, and the like. To all this these poor people made only the following reply: ' In God's name; in God's name.' When it was found that they could not be brought by any of these means to love their lives and fortunes more than God and His truth, they were on a sudden ordered to leave the country; and these orders were immediately executed with all imaginable rigour. Some were taken from the field; others were dragged naked out of their beds. All had a sudden summons to depart; and very few were permitted to sell their goods, or take anything necessary with them. Many have been obliged to leave their wives and substance behind them, and to go away deprived of all they had in the world. And what increased their calamity was, that they were forced to begin their journey in the depth of winter, when the cold is most severe. The first eight hundred spent five whole weeks in their journey, and that in the most bitter cold and stormy weather; and were a fortnight in wandering over mountains and hills, not knowing whither they went. This fatigued and emacerated them so much, that they were almost starved, having been in want of bread for three days together. This is the case of these poor exiles, whose number will be considerably augmented by those that are yet to come."

"AUGSBURG. Jan. 26th, 1732, there arrived in our neighbourhood five hundred more exiles of Salzburg, besides their women and children. One of our Protestant Aldermen was immediately sent to meet them, who read their passports, registered them, and provided a dinner for the whole company. After which they were divided into parties; so that one hundred in one place, eighty in another, sixty in a third, and fifty in a fourth, might be quartered for this first day without the city; and, when they were arrived in their lodgings, they sang hymns and prayed with great devotion. There were with them three waggons full of women, new-born children, and old people, who were taken to the hospital. It was a signal mercy that they did not all perish with cold; considering that they came in a severe frost, being poor, and many of them very bare. Indeed, some did fall sick by the hardships they endured; among whom was an old man, since dead, who, being asked whether he was not sorry for having left his native country, answered, ' No: I die with joy, and in a hope of a better life.'"

The publication in England of details like these could not fail to make a deep impression upon the public mind. Several persons of known probity and honour engaged to receive contributions for the relief of these suffering people; and British charity placed in their hands the noble sum of f33,000 for that purpose.* Oglethorpe not only mentioned their case in Parliament, but also proposed to his brother Trustees of the projected colony, that they should give a general invitation to these pious strangers to accept of a settlement and asylum there. To this they readily assented; so that the invitation was given; and by many of the expatriated Salzburgers it was gratefully accepted.

[ * The following persons offered their services as treasurers of the Salzburgers' fund :--the Rev. Mr. Archdeacon Denne, Rector of Lambeth; Benjamin Hoare, Esq., Banker, Fleet-street; Sir John Philips, Bart., Bartlett's Buildings; William Tillard, Esq., Spital-square, Bishopsgate-street James Vernon, Esq., Grosvenor-street;the Rev. Mr. Ziegenhagen, Chaplain to His Majesty, and Preacher in the German chapel, St. James's, at Me house in St. James's Place.]

In the mean while arrangements were made with all practicable expedition for the commencement of this great undertaking. The House of Commons voted f10,000 in behalf of the colony; congreg ational collections were extensively made for the same object; and the general fund was greatly augmented by private liberality. A ship was engaged, of about two hundred tons' burden; the emigrants, consisting of thirty-five families, including one hundred and sixteen settlers, among whom were farmers, carpenters, bricklayers, &e., embarked at Deptford, November 16th, 1782; Oglethorpe accompanying them at his own expense, and being debarred by the charter from receiving any pecuniary benefit from the scheme which he had originated, and engaged to carry into effect. On the 13th of January following they arrived at Charlestown, in Carolina, where they were kindly received; and from thence Oglethorpe proceeded, with his fellow-voyagers, and such help as he could obtain, to the tract of country which was assigned them, and which is situated between Florida and the province of Carolina. Here they formed the plan of a town, to which they gave the name of Savannah, from the river with which it is connected. Portions of land were also allotted to the settlers.

While Oglethorpe was thus employed, the Trustees of the colony, whom he had left behind, were not unmindful of the persecuted Salzburgers. A ship was sent to Rotterdam, for the purpose of receiving such of them as were willing to embark under the British banner for the American wilderness. They were first conveyed to Dover, and doubtless received there the requisite supplies for their voyage and ultimate destination. From thence they sailed, January 8th, 1784, for the far west, accompanied by two of their own Ministers, and by Baron Von Reck, as Commissary. They were cordially received at Chariestown, where they met with Oglethorpe, and afterwards at Savannah, where the English settlers saluted them with a hearty cheer, to which they gave an equally hearty response. The choice of a situation was offered to them; and they selected one, the scenery of which bore some resemblance to that of their own country. Here they knelt down before God, in grateful acknowledgment of all His mercies to them in their extensive and perilous wanderings; with the Bible in their hands, they then marched up to the place which they deemed the most suitable as the site of a town; they then sang a hymn, and one of the Pastors pronounced the usual benediction. To the town which they intended forthwith to build they gave the name of EBENEZER.*

Having made these arrangements, and provided for the maintenance of order during his absence, Oglethorpe left the colony, May 7th, 1734, and arrived at St. Helen's, in the Isle of Wight, on the 16th of June; bringing with him several Indians of distinction, who declared their desire that both they and their people should be instructed in the Christian religion, and also stand in a friendly relation to the British subjects who had recently become their neighbours. He was received in England with the greatest respect; and was everywhere met with congratulations on the success of his benevolent enterprise. Among other persons who addressed him in this strain was the venerable Rector of Epworth, who, though labouring under the infirmities of age and disease, had still a heart to feel for the welfare of mankind. The following letter, which was written by him, has never before appeared in any work that has issued from the British press :--

[* A very interesting pamphlet, bearing the following title, was published in London in the year 1734 :~" An Extract from the Journals of Mr. Commissary Von Reck, who conducted the first Transport of Salzburgers to Georgia; and of the Reverend Mr. Bolzius, one of their Ministers: giving an Account of their Voyage to, and happy Settlement in, that Province. Published by the Direction of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge." 12mo]

"Epworth, July 6th, 1734.

"HONOURED SIR,--May I be admitted, while such crowds of our nobility and gentry are pouring in their congratulations, to press with my poor mite of thanks into the presence of one who so well deserves the title of UNIVERSAL BENEFACTOR OF MANKIND! It is not only your valuable layouts on many accounts to my son, late of Westminster, and myself, when I was not a little pressed in the world, nor your more extensive charity to the poor prisoners; it is not these only that so much demand my warmest acknowledgments, as your disinterested and immovable attachment to your country, and your raising a new colony, or rather a little world of your own, in the midst of wild woods and uncultivated deserts, where men may live free and happy, if they are not hindered by their own stupidity and folly, in spite of the unkindness of their brother mortals.

"I owe you, Sir, besides this, some account of my little affairs since the beginning of your expedition. Notwithstanding my own and my softs violent illness, which held me half a year, and him above twelve months, I have made a shift to get more than three parts in four of my Dissertations on Job printed off, and both the paper, printing, and maps, hitherto, paid for. My son John at Oxford, now that his elder brother is gone to Tiverton, takes care of the remainder of the impression at London; and I have an ingenious artist here with me in my house at Epworth, who is graying and working off the remaining maps and figures for me; so that I hope, if the printer does not hinder me, I shall have the whole ready by next spring; and: by God's leave, I shall be in London myself, to deliver the books perfect. I print five hundred copies, as in my proposals; hereof I have about three hundred already subscribed for; and among my subscribers, fifteen or sixteen English Bishops, with some in Ireland.

[* These Dissertations are comprised in a large folio volume, in Latin, which was published by subscription. Oglethorpe subscribed for NINE copies, two of them large paper: a greater number than was subscribed for by any other man.]

"If you will please herewith to accept the tender of my most sincere respect and gratitude, you will thereby confer one further obligation, honoured Sir, on "Your most obedient and humble servant,

SAMUEL WESLEY.*

"To James Oglethorpe, Esq." The learned writer of this beautiful epistle was disappointed in his plans. Instead of going to London the following spring, to deliver with his own hands to the subscribers the elaborate volume upon which he had expended much time and thought, he passed to his final reward; dying on the 25th of April, 1735, in the seventy-second year of his age. After his death it was proposed to his sons John and Charles, to accompany Oglethorpe to Georgia; John as a Missionary to the Indians, and Charles as Oglethorpe's Secretary. To this proposal they demurred for some time, particularly on account of the situation of their mother; but when the matter was proposed to her, she at once gave her free consent. Notwithstanding her widowhood, and the straitened circumstances in which she was placed, this noble-minded woman said, "Had I twenty sons, I should rejoice that they were all so employed, though I should never see them more."+

[* This letter is copied from c, Biographical Memorials of James Oglethorpe, Founder of the Colony of Georgia, in North America. By Thaddeus Mason Harris, D.D. Boston, 1841." This production of the American press is characterized by extensive research, and the facts which it embodies are extremely interesting. + Moore's Life of the Rev. John Wesley, vol. i., p. 234.]

The brothers were considered to be eminently qualified for the work which they were requested to undertake, by the zeal and earnestness with which they applied themselves to the duties of religion and benevolence, and by their habits of strict self-denial; each of them possessing what they afterwards so appropriately expressed,-   "A soul inured to pain, To hardship, grief, and loss, Bold to take up, firm to sustain, The consecrated cross."

It is not generally known that Mr. John Wesley went to Georgia under the sanction of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. He was well known to Dr. Burton, the estimable President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, who was one of the Trustees of the colony. Dr. Burton introduced him to Oglethorpe, who pressed him to undertake the mission; and, having gained his consent, the Trustees recommended him to the Society, by whom he was readily accepted; and it was resolved that he should receive f50 a year from the Society's funds. He was to take the place of a Clergyman of the name of Quincy, who was already in Georgia, but wished to return; and Mr. Wesley's salary was to commence from the time of Quincy's departure.*

During Oglethorpe's stay in England, several other emigrants found their way to Georgia. The Indian Chiefs, after an introduction to royalty, and a sight of the most interesting objects in London and its vicinity, returned to their native land, laden with rich presents, accompanied by many more of the Salzburg exiles. A considerable number of hardy Scotchmen also removed, with their families, to this genial soil and climate, where they had every reason to believe that their labour would be rewarded by plenty. Oglethorpe himself prepared to return, accompanied by a large number of additional emigrants; and greater caution was used in the selection of them than was deemed necessary in the first instance; for some of the men, who had formerly been taken from the streets and jails of London, being unaccustomed to hard labour, were rather a burden than a benefit to the new settlement; their habits being indolent and litigious. Two ships having been engaged, the "London Merchant" and the "Simmons," and all things being in readiness for the voyage, on the 13th of October, 1735, fifty-six men, women, and children, Salzburgers, accompanied by Von Reck, who had attended the transport of 1733, and Captain Hermsdorf, went on board the "London Merchant." The charge of their subsistence and journey from Ratisbon and Augsburg to Rotterdam, and from thence to London, was defrayed by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, out of the collections which were committed to them for that purpose. These interesting strangers were accompanied by some members of the Moravian Church, who, being persecuted by the Papists in Bohemia, sought an asylum in this new colony, where religious liberty was offered as a common boon. The next day the two Wesleys, the Rev. Benjamin Ingham, who was one of the Oxford Methodists, and Charles Delamotte, the son of a London merchant, who voluntarily offered his services as the friend and assistant of Mr. John Wesley, went by water to Gravesend, for the purpose of taking their places on board the "Simmons ;" where they were joined by Oglethorpe, and by a great number of poor English families, who were sent out at the expense of the Trustees. The two ships soon after sailed for their destination.

[* Historical Notices of the Missions of the Church of England in the North American Colonies, previous to the Independence of the United States. By Ernest Hawkins, B.D. Pp. 92--95.]

This renewed and enlarged expedition of philanthropy was regarded by religious and benevolent people with entire satisfaction; and the energy, patriotism, and disinterested generosity of Oglethorpe commanded universal admiration. One of the King's sloops was ordered to convey him across the Atlantic; but he chose rather to sail with the Missionaries and the poor emigrants. Amidst the general excitement the poets celebrated his deeds of valour and benevolence. Samuel Wesley, who had sung the praises of his friend on the occasion of his interference in behalf of oppressed prisoners, now published, a handsome folio pamphlet, under the title of, "Georgia, a Poem; Tomo Chichi, an Ode; and a Copy of Verses on Mr. Oglethorpe's Second Voyage to Georgia." He thus addresses the former settlers :--   "See once again, see on your shores descend Your generous leader, your unwearied friend ! No storm of chance his vessel thither drives; No ! to secure and bless you, he arrives. To Heaven the praise,--and thanks to him repay, And let remotest times respect the day. He comes, whose life, while absent from your view, Was one continued ministry for you; For you he laid out all his pains and art, Won every will, and soften'd every heart. With what paternal joy shall he relate How views the mother Isle your little state; How aids the Senate, how the nation loves, How GEORGE protects, and CAROLINE approves ! A thousand pleasures crowd into his breast; But one, one mighty thought absorbs the rest: And 'Give me, Heaven, to see' (the patriot cries) ' Another Britain in the desert rise ! '"  

With reference to the same occasion Thomson poured forth the following laudatory strains :-

  "Lo ! swarming southward on rejoicing suns, Gay colonies extend; the calm retreat Of undeserved distress, the better home Of those whom bigots chase from foreign lands. Nor built on Rapine, Servitude, and Woe, And in their turn some petty tyrant's prey; But, bound by social Freedom, firm they rise: Such as, of late, an Oglethorpe has form'd, And, crowding round, the charm'd Savannah sees."*

[* Liberty, Part Fifth, line 638--646.]

Even Pope, who was far more inclined to satirize than commend, could not withhold his meed of praise front the founder of Georgia :- "Or, driven by strong benevolence of soul, Will fly, like OGLETHORPE, from pole to pole."

The labours of the two Wesleys in Georgia, the defectiveness of their religious views at this period, the failure of their mission, their return to England, the manner in which they were more perfectly instructed in the way of the Lord, their subsequent labours and success, are all matters of history, and are generally known; but, upon all these interesting subjects, further light will be thrown by the two volumes which are now before the reader.

The particulars of Oglethorpe's life which have just been related possess a more than common interest; inasmuch as they present a striking illustration of the fact, which is continned by the entire history of the church, that it pleases Almighty God often to accomplish the most important objects of His wisdom and mercy by means the most simple and unpromising. An insolvent debtor dies in one of the prisons of London, in circumstances which awaken suspicion in the mind of his friend, Who obtains a Parliamentary commission to inquire into the state of prisons generally. The inquiry leads to the emancipation of large numbers of poor men, the victims of oppression, with damaged character, who are thrown upon society in a state of destitution and helplessness. A new colony is projected with a special reference to their relief; and pious foreigners, suffering persecution from Papal governments, are invited to share in the benefit. The two Wesleys, impressed with the supreme importance of spiritual religion, But still "carnal and sold under sin," their consciences sorely lacerated by their daily failures, meet with these devout strangers, who teach them the all-important doctrine of present salvation from sin by faith in Christ crucified; the truth of which becomes to them matter of personal experience. They are thus qualified for the work that is assigned them in the divine purpose, and are a means of promoting a revival of religion, the benefits of which are at this day felt in all evangelical churches throughout the world. "Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth !" "Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord."

This is not the proper place for any extended details respecting Oglethorpe. It will appear, from the Journal of Mr. Charles Wesley, that this great and generous man had the weakness, for a short time, to yield to the influence of some females of doubtful character, and to listen to the tales of parasites, so as to treat his secretary with a harshness which was nearly fatal to his life. But his unworthy treatment of one who was every way entitled to his confidence and affection was of short continuance, and was succeeded by substantial and permanent kindness. Oglethorpe, who was afterwards raised to the rank of a General, having achieved the establishment of the colony, and defended it against a formidable attack which was made upon it by the Spaniards, returned to England, where he lived to a very protracted period, perhaps as much respected as any man of his age. He was intelligent, frank, and gentlemanly in his demeanour, and enjoyed the friendship of statesmen, and of the first literary characters of the times. Dr. Johnson proposed to write his Life, if the General would supply the requisite facts; and Burke said, that "he looked upon him as a more extraordinary person than any he had ever read of; for he had founded the province of Georgia; had absolutely called it into existence; and had lived to see it severed from the empire which created it, and become an independent state." * Oglethorpe was a subscriber to the concerts of the musical sons of Charles Wesley, which were held in their father's house in London; so that he and his former secretary, in all probability, had frequent interviews when they were both very aged men. General Oglethorpe died of fever at his seat at Crantmm,

[* Mrs. Hannah More's Life and Letters, vol. i., p. 204.]

June 30th, 1785. The following epitaph is inscribed upon white marble, in the chancel of Cranham church. It was written by Capel Lofft, and is far more copious than such compositions usually are :--

"Near this place lie the remains of James Edward Oglethorpe, Esq., who served under Prince Eugene, and, in 1714, was Captain Lieutenant in the first troop of the Queen's Guards. In 1740 he was appointed Colonel of a Regiment to be raised in Georgia. In 1745 he was appointed Major-General, and in 1747 Lieutenant-General, and in 1760 General, of His Majesty's forces. In his civil station he was equally conspicuous. He was chosen Member of Parliament for Haslemere, in Surrey, in 1722, and continued to represent it till 1754. In the Committee of Parliament for inquiring into the state of the jails, formed 25th of February, 1728, and of which he was Chairman, the active and persevering zeal of his benevolence found a truly suitable employment, by visiting, with his colleagues of that generous body, the dark and pestilential dungeons of the prisons which at that time dishonoured the metropolis; detecting the most enormous oppressions, obtaining exemplary punishment on those who had been guilty of such outrage against humanity and justice, and redressing multitudes from extreme misery to light and freedom. Of these, about eleven hundred, rendered, by long confinement for debt, strangers and helpless in the country of their birth, and desirous of seeking an asylum in the wilds of America, were by him conducted thither in 1732. He willingly encountered, in their behalf, a variety of fatigue and danger; and thus became the founder of the colony of Georgia; a colony which afterwards set the noble example of prohibiting the importation of slaves. This new establishment he strenuously and successfully defended against a powerful attack of the Spaniards. In the year in which he quitted England to found this settlement, he nobly strove to secure our true national defence by sea and land,---a free navy, without impressing,--a constitutional militia. But his social affections were more enlarged than even the term patriotism can express: he was the friend of the oppressed Negro; no part of the globe was too remote, no interest too unconnected, or too much opposed to his own, to prevent the immediate succour of suffering humanity. For such qualities he received, from the ever-memorable John Duke of Argyle, a full testimony, in the British Senate, to his military character, his natural generosity, his contempt of danger, and regard for the public. A similar encomium is perpetuated in a foreign language ;* and, by one of our most celebrated poets, his remembrance is transmitted to posterity in lines justly expressive of the purity, the ardour, and the extent of his benevolence. He lived till the 1st of July, 1785; a venerable instance of what a duration a life of temperance and virtuous labour is capable of being protracted. His widow, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Nathan Wright, of Cranham Hall, Bart., and only sister of Sir Samuel Wright, of the same place, surviving, with regret, but with due submission to divine Providence, an affectionate husband, after an union of more than forty years, hath inscribed to his memory these faint traces of his excellent character.   Religion watches o'er his urn, And all the Virtues bending mourn: Humanity, with languid eye, Melting for others' misery; Prudence, whose hands a measure hold, And Temperance, with a chain of gold Fidelity's triumphant vest, And Fortitude, in armour dress'd; Wisdom's grey locks, and Freedom, join The moral train to bless his shrine; And pensive all, around his ashes holy, Their last sad honours pay in order melancholy.'" +  

[* Referring to the encomium of the Abbe Raynal, in his Histoire Philosophique et Politique. + These verses are said to have been written by an old friend of the General,--the Rev. Moses Browne.]

Such was the man who drew the Wesleys from an ascetic and retired state of life, in which they intended to spend their days, into a course of active service for the good of mankind, and whose name is therefore associated with theirs in the imperishable records of the church. IV.

 FEW brief observations concerning the contents of the ensuing volumes must suffice, considering the unexpected length to which this introduction has been extended.

The Journal of Mr. Charles Wesley, which is placed the first in order, contains an artless but spirited account of his labours and sufferings in Georgia, accompanied by many interesting notices respecting the colony; his return to England, as the bearer of dispatches from the Governor, with a description of some singular characters that came under his observation during the voyage; the manner in which he was led to a practical reception of the doctrine of present salvation from sin by faith in the Lord Jesus. From this time, it will be found that his character was entirely changed. He was no longer the anxious, perplexed, and disappointed inquirer after peace and holiness; wishing to die, because, while he earnestly sought these blessings, he found them not; supposing that a joyous certainty of acceptance with God, and of conformity to His will, is unattainable in this life. Instead of singing, in a tone of pensiveness and despair, as he had formerly done, "Doubtful and insecure of bliss, Since Death alone confirms me His,"  

he now possessed the inward and abiding witness of his personal adoption, and exclaimed, with holy thankfulness,

  "No condemnation now I dread, Jesus, and all in Him, is mine ! Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine, Bold I approach the' eternal throne, And claim the crown through Christ my own."  

Instead of being "carnal, and sold under sin," he felt that, "to be spiritually minded is life and peace." This great salvation from the guilt, the misery, and the power of sin, the faith by which it is obtained, the penitence by which it is preceded, and the practical holiness which is invariably consequent upon it, formed the chief subjects of his effective ministry, which ended only with his life.

His laborious zeal and his success, as an Itinerant Evangelist, which may be gathered from the subsequent parts of his Journal, have seldom been equalled, and perhaps in no instance surpassed, at least since the apostolic times. They place him on a level with his honoured brother, and their common friend Mr. Whitefield. In London, Bristol, Bath, Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Wales,--among the miners of Cornwall, Kingswood, Staffordshlre, Yorkshire, and the north,-- among the Romanists of Dublin, and of the south and west of Ireland,--his labours were abundant, his persecutions and privations severe, and his success was most encouraging. Many of the Wesleyan societies in those places were formed by him at the hazard of his llfe; and his Journal, with that of his brother, will supply ample materials for a history of Methodism, which is greatly needed, and which it is hoped some person of competent abilltles and leisure will at no distant period undertake.

There is one subject of painful interest in the Journal, upon which it is requisite to offer a remark,--the separation of the two Wesleys from the Moravian Brethren, to whom they were both indebted, under God, for correct views concerning the nature and method of salvation, and therefore for their religious enjoyments. It cannot be denied that some persons of leading influence among the Moravians, then in England, held and propagated grievous errors respecting the ordinances of religion, by means of which not a few persons lost the fervent piety by which they had been distinguished. The abettors of these errors the Wesleys felt it their duty, in all faithfulness, to withstand, and to warn their children in the Lord against them. On this subject the testimonies of the brothers are in perfect agreement. It is, however, due to the Moravian body to state, that the men who propagated these errors departed from the recognised creed of the Church to which they belonged; so that the Church should not be held responsible for their peculiar tenets; except in this, that the offending parties were silently tolerated, and not subjected to the rebuke and correction which they merited, and which every church is bound to administer in cases of this kind. The doctrine of the Moravian Church, in respect of Christian ordinances, as it is expounded by Spangenberg and La Trobe,* does not appear at all to differ from the doctrine of other Protestant communities; so that the "stillness" which Molther and some of his associates inculcated, and which consisted in abstinence from prayer, from reading the Scriptures, and from attending the public preaching of the Gospel, was not less opposed to the tenets of their own Church, than it was to the judgment of the Wesleys. The evils which resulted from it were great; so that strong and decisive measures in opposition to it were indispensable.

The Correspondence of Mr. Chexles Wesley, which immediately follows the Journal, consists mostly of letters which were addressed to his wife in Bristol, when he was fulfilling his ministerial duties in London. These artless epistles, which were written without the slightest apprehension that they would ever be published, and which express the undisguised sentiments of his heart, are conceived to be of inestimable value. To a great extent they supply the deficiencies of the Journal; for they record the writer's feelings and labours when the Journal was discontinued. They prove that when he had become the head of a family, and ceased to travel through England and Ireland as he had formerly done, his zeal still burned with an ardent and steady flame; conversions under his word were numerous; he freely sacrificed the pleasures of domestic life for considerable periods of time, when the necessities of the people required his absence from home; the unction of God still rested upon him; and the effusions of divine influence which came upon him and his congregations, especially when they were engaged in their sacramental services, were powerful, frequent, and refreshing; so that the people knew not how to separate. The Pastor entered fully into the spirit of devotion, so as to have power with God; the communicants sympathized with him in his pleading importunity; and all felt that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Of these seasons of special visitation and blessing, Mrs. Wesley was often apprized by her absent lord.

[* An Exposition of Christian Doctrine, as taught in the Protestant Church of the United Brethren. Written in German, by August Gottlieb Spangenberg; with a Preface, by Benjamin La Trobe. 8 vo. 1796.]

These domestic letters bespeak the hand and heart of the husband and of the father, and convey a favourable impression of the writer in both these sacred relations. They manifest his uninterrupted concern for the health and comfort of his wife, and above all for her spiritual welfare. His pious inquiries concerning her religious progress, the encouragements which he suggests to stimulate her faith, his kind and delicate promptings of her to prayer, and especially secret prayer, his tender questionings respecting his infant children, and his suggestions concerning the Christian management of them as their mental faculties expanded, are honourable to him, and contain many lessons of great practical importance to all who sustain the same relations. His wife and children he regarded as a trust committed to him by God; and he was anxious to resign his trust with acceptance and joy.

His letters also show, in an incidental manner, something of the esteem and affection with which he was regarded by an extensive circle of intelligent Christians, among whom were several of the most eminent Ministers of the age, especially the evangelical Clergy; such as Venn of Clapham, Romaine of St. Ann's, Jones of Southwark, and Madan of the Lock chapel, before he had ruined his reputation and usefulness by his speculations on polygamy.

The selections from the author's poetry, which follow next in order, reflect great honour upon his genius. Notwithstanding the sameness of the subjects which they embrace, and the occasions upon which they were written, they present a beautiful variety both of sentiment and expression. They exhibit, with no less distinctness, the tenderness and piety of his personal friendships, and the spirit of the people whose characters were formed under his ministry and that of his fellow-labourers. Happy the men whose preaching was followed by such results ! who saw among their own spiritual children persons who adorned the doctrine of God our Saviour, by their spirit and deportment, in all the relations of social and domestic life, and then passed to the companionship of angels and of glorified saints with the very language of heaven upon their lips.

Some of these poetical compositions were never before printed; and the rest have been hitherto known by only a very limited number of readers; most of them having been out of print more than half a century, and others of them for twice that period. They show how the Methodist Christians, who were in religious fellowship with the Wesleys, lived and died a century ago. In the beautiful and expressive lines of the venerable Charles Wesley, these devout people still speak, reminding the members of the living church of their high privilege and calling, and beckoning them to the heaven which is provided for them.

The second series of poetical selections mostly refer to facts which are recorded in the Journal and Correspondence, and therefore serve to illustrate the author's personal history. They express, in his own inimitable manner, the spirit of faith, of patience, and of holy zeal, in which he laboured and suffered as a Christian Evangelist and Pastor, who was intrusted with the Gospel message and the care of souls.

The Editor of these volumes cherishes a feeling of lively satisfaction in sending them forth into the world, persuaded as he is of their tendency to promote true spiritual religion; "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." They exhibit the power of evangelical truth, and the signs which follow, when it is preached by men of faith and prayer. Why should not conversions be as numerous in the congregations of the present age, as they were in the days of the Wesleys Gospel truth is the same; the mercy and power of Christ have suffered no diminution; the grace of the Holy Spirit is as omnipotent as it ever was; the ordinances of day and night shall cease sooner than the word of the living God shall fail; the gracious covenant of God still remains in force, so that fervent and believing prayer is as prevalent as it was even in the apostolic times. 0 for a return of those days when in every religious assembly the power of the Lord was signally present, to wound the consciences of the impenitent, to heal the broken in heart, to comfort and sanctify those who had through grace believed ! Let all who are interested in the cause of Christianity remember, that the irrevocable word which secures the future enlargement of the church has passed the lips of Him who cannot lie. Faith, mighty faith the promise sees, And looks to that alone, Laughs at impossibilities, And cries IT SHALL BE DONE ! "

THOMAS JACKSON.

RICHMOND, March 7th, 1849.