Volume 4 Events

TRIALS AND BLESSINGS

JANUARY 24, 1760, TO DECEMBER 15, 1763

PRINCIPLE EVENTS

This was one of the most trying periods of Wesley's life. On December 31, 1762, he writes in his Journal: 'I now stood and looked back on the past year, a year of uncommon trials and uncommon blessings.'

Thomas Maxfield, one of his first lay preachers, deserted him in April 1763, under circumstances described in the letter of November 2, 1762. George Bell crowned his fanaticism by a prophecy that the world would be brought to an end on February 28, 1763 . London was convulsed by the earthquake panic of March.

Wesley had now to bear the burden of administration alone: his chief lay counselor was Ebenezer Blackwell. He lived in the public eye, as his frequent letters to the press show; and how careful he was to give account of his stewardship appears by what he wrote on February 18, 1760. The letter of January 2, 1761, describing Newgate in London as one of the chief 'seats of woe on this side hell,' and Newgate in Bristol as even worse, makes one thankful indeed for the reformation he had seen. His letters to his brother reveal that his hand and eye were everywhere.

The set of thirty‑seven letters to 'A Member of the Society' begin on March 4, 1760; and on August 23, 1763, the first of twenty‑seven to Mrs. Bennis of Limerick. On April 25, 1761, Thomas Olivers is put through his catechism. The counsels to young friends are as wise and helpful as ever: and the letters to Lord and Lady Rawdon and Lady Gardiner give us a glimpse of his growing influence in higher circles.

Wesley's chief controversy was with Bishop Warburton, whom he does not flatter in the private letter to Charles on January 5, 1763. The anxieties of the time were increased by his brother standing so much aloof and his friends among the clergy failing to give him their sympathy. He deeply felt this desertion. Yet through evil retort and good he held on his way; with the result that, when the period closed, Methodism had 'found itself,' and Wesley's influence and usefulness moved on a rising tide to the end of his life.

PEACEFUL AND STEADY PROGRESS

JANUARY 14, 1764, TO DECEMBER 30, 1766

PRINCIPLE EVENTS

These three years were marked by peaceful and steady progress. The anxiety and loss caused by the fanaticism of George Bell and the disloyalty of Thomas Maxfield were left behind, and Wesley put his whole strength into his work as an evangelist. It is the more surprising that he, found time to discuss the treatment of texts and style with his pertinacious young friend Samuel Furly. Still more interesting is his correspondence with John Valton, who was to become one of the finest figures among his itinerants. Charles Wesley was holding somewhat aloof; and his brother writes, 'Then I must do the best I can.'

Wesley's correspondence with Methodist ladies is the chief feature of this period. No one can read his letters to Mrs. Freeman in Dublin and to Mrs. Bennis of Limerick without feeling what a part they played in the spiritual life of his Societies and how much they depended on his counsel and inspiration. He felt that no labor spent in strengthening their hands was without its influence on the work of God. The letters to Mrs. Woodhouse of Epworth and to Lady Maxwell bear witness to his lively interest in all that concerned them. His correspondence with young Christians like Peggy Dale of Newcastle and Ann Foard of London is beautiful. He grew young in their company, and rejoiced in their early consecration. The aftermath of the Bell controversy is seen in letters to Mrs. Ryan and others, who were disposed to criticize Wesley's conduct at certain points.

How anxious he was to promote Christian union is seen by his letter of April 19, 1764, to about fifty clergymen. It met with scanty response, but it relieved Wesley's mind and heart. Other letters show how the care of all the circuits and preachers rested on his shoulders, and how he relied on such Assistants as Thomas Rankin and Christopher Hopper. His powerful appeal to a gentleman to join the Society is noteworthy. Lord Dartmouth, the Countess of Huntingdon, and Ebenezer Blackwell are among the honored correspondents of the period.

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