place called Hammond's Marsh, to a numerous but quiet assembly. As there was a report that the Mayor intended to prevent him from preaching at that place again, Wesley, with more deference to authority than he had shown in England, desired two of his friends to wait upon him, and say, that if his preaching there would be offensive, he would give up the intention. The mayor did not receive this concession graciously: he replied, in anger, that there were churches and meetings enough; he would have no more mobs and riots-no more preaching; and if Mr. Wesley attempted to preach, he was prepared for him. Some person had said, in reply to one who observed that the Methodists were tolerated by the king, they should find that the mayor was king of Cork; and Mr. Wesley now found, that there was more meaning in this than he had been disposed to allow. When next he began preaching in the Methodist room, the mayor sent the drummers to drum before the door. A great mob was by this means collected, and when Wesley came out of the house, they closed him in. He appealed to one of the sergeants to protect him; but the man replied, he had no orders to do so; and the rabble began to pelt him: by pushing on, however, and looking them fairly in the face, with his wonted composure, he made way, and they opened to let him pass. But a cry was set up. Hey for the Romans! the congregation did not escape so well as the leader; many of them were roughly handled, and covered with mud; the house was presently gutted, the floors were torn up, and, with the window-frames and doors, carried into the street and burnt; and the next day the mob made a grand procession, and burnt Mr. Wesley in effigy. The house was a second time attacked, and the boards demolished, which had been nailed against the windows; and a fellow posted up a notice at the public exchange, with his name affixed, that he was ready to head any mob, in order to pull down any house that should harbour a Swaddler.

The press also was employed against the Methodists, but with little judgment and less honesty.-One writer accused Mr. Wesley of "robbing and plundering the poor, so as to leave them neither bread to eat, nor raiment to put on. He replied victoriously to this accusation: "A heavy charge," said he, "but without all colour of truth; yea, just the reverse is true. Abundance of those in Cork, Bandon, Limerick, and Dublin, as well as in all parts of England, who, a few years ago, either through sloth or profaneness, had not bread to eat, or raiment to put on, have now, by means of the preachers called Methodists, a sufficiency of both. Since, by hearing these, they have learned to fear God, they have learned also to work with their hands, as well as to cut off every needless expense, and to be good stewards of the mammon of unrighteousness. averred also, that the effect of his preaching bad reconciled disaffected persons to the government; and that they who became Methodists were, at the same time, made loyal subjects. He reminded his antagonists, that when one of the English bishops had been asked what could be done to stop these new preachers, the prelate had replied, "If they preach contrary to Scripture, confute them by Scripture; if contrary to reason, confute them by reason. But beware you use no other weapons than these, either in opposing error,

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or defending the truth." He complained that, instead of fair and honourable argument, he had been assailed at Cork with gross falsehoods, mean abuse, and base scurrility. He challenged any of his antagonists, or any who would come forward, to meet him on even ground, writing as a gentleman to a gentleman, a scholar to a scholar, a clergyman to a clergyman. "Let them," said he, "thus show me wherein I have preached or written amiss, and I will stand reproved before all the world; but let them not continue to put persecution in the place of reason: either private persecution, stirring up husbands to threaten or beat their wives, parents their children, masters their servants; gentlemen to ruin their tenants, labourers, or tradesmen, by turning them out of their favour or cottages; employing, or buying of them no more, because they worship God according to their own conscience or open, barefaced, noonday Cork persecution, breaking open the houses of His Majesty's Protestant subjects, destroying their goods, spoiling or tearing the very clothes from their backs; striking, bruising, wounding, murdering them in the streets; dragging them through the mire, without any regard to age or sex, not sparing even those of tender years; no, nor women, though great with child; but, with more than Pagan or Mahometan barbarity, destroying infants that were yet unborn." He insisted, truly, that this was a common cause; for, if the Methodists were not protected, what protection would any men have? what security for their goods or lives, if a mob were to be both judge, jury, and executioner? “I fear God, and honour the king,” said he.

I earnestly desire to be at peace with all men. I have not, willingly, given any offence, either to the magistrates, the clergy, or any of the inhabitants of the city of Cork; neither do I desire any thing of them, but to be treated (I will not say as a clergyman, a gentleman, or a Christian) with such justice and humanity as are due to a Jew, a Turk, or a Pagan."

Whitefield visited Ireland, for the first time, in the ensuing year, and found himself the safer for the late transactions. Such outrages had compelled the higher powers to interfere; and, when he arrived at Cork, the populace was in a state of due subordination. He seems to have regarded the conduct of Wesley and his lay preachers with no favourable eye: some dreadful offences, he said, had been given ; and he condemned all politics as below the children of God; alluding, apparently, to the decided manner in which Wesley always inculcated obedience to government as one of the duties of a Christian; making it his boast, that, whoever became a Methodist, became at the same time a good subject. Though his success was not so brilliant as in Scotland, it was still sufficient to encourage and cheer him. "Providence," says he, " has wonderfully prepared my way, and overruled every thing for my greater acceptance.. Every where there seems to be a stirring among the dry bones; and the trembling lamps of God's people have been supplied with fresh oil. The word ran, and was glorified." Hundreds prayed for him when he left Cork; and many of the Catholics said, that, if he would stay, they would leave their priests: but, on a second expedition to Ireland, Whitefield narrowly escaped with his life. He had been well received, and had preached once or twice, on week days, in Ox

minton Green; a place which he describes as the Moorfields of Dublin. The Ormond Boys, and the Liberty Boys, (these were the current denominations of the mob factions at that time,) generally assembled there every Sunday-to fight; and Whitefield, mindful, no doubt, of his success in a former enterprise, under like circumstances, determined to take the field on that day, relying upon the interference of the officers and soldiers, whose barracks were close by, if he should stand in need of protection. The singing, praying, and preaching went on without much interruption; only now and then a few stones, and a few clods of dirt, were thrown. After the sermon, he prayed for success to the Prussian arms, it being in time of war. Whether this prayer offended the party-spirit of his hearers, or whether the mere fact of his being a heretic, who went about seeking to make proselytes, had excited, in the catholic part of the mob, a determined spirit of vengeance; or whether, without any principle of hatred or personal dislike, they considered him as a bear, bull, or badger, whom they had an opportunity of tormenting, the barracks, through which he intended to return as he had come, were closed against him; and when he endeavoured to make his way across the green, the rabble assailed him. "Many attacks," says he, "have I had from Satan's children, but now you would have thought he had been permitted to have given me an effectual parting blow," Volleys of stones came from all quarters, while he reeled to and fro under the blows, till he was almost breathless, and covered with blood. A strong beaver hat, which served him for a while as a skull-cap, was knocked off at last, and he then received many blows and wounds on the head, and one large one near the temple. "I thought of Stephen," says he," and was in great hopes that, like him, I should be despatched, and go off, in this bloody triumph, to the immediate presence of my Master." The door of a minister's house was opened for him in time, and he staggered in, and was sheltered there, till a coach could be brought, and he was conveyed safely away.

The bitter spirit of the more ignorant Catholics was often exemplified. The itinerants were frequently told, that it would be doing both God and the Church service to burn all such as them in one fire; and one of them, when he first went into the county of Kerry, was received with the threat that they would kill him, and make whistles of his bones. Another was nearly murdered by a ferocious mob, one of whom set his foot upon his face, swearing that he would tread the Holy Ghost out of him. At Kilkenny, where the Catholics were not strong enough to make a riot with much hope of success, they gnashed at Wesley with their teeth, after he had been preaching in an old bowling-green, near the Castle; and one of them cried, Och! what is Kilkenny come to!" But it was from among the Irish Catholics that Wesley obtained one of the most interesting of his coadjutors, and one of the most efficient also during his short life.

Thomas Walsh, whom the Methodists justly reckon among their most distinguished members, was the son of a carpenter at Bally Lynn, in the county of Limerick. His parents were strong Romanists; they taught him the Lord's Prayer and the Ave Maria, in Irish, which was his mother tongue, and the hundred and thirtieth

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psalm in Latin and he was taught also, that all who differ from the Church of Rome are in a state of damnation. At eight years old he went to school to learn English; and was afterwards placed, with one of his brothers, who was a schoolmaster, to learn Latin and mathematics. At nineteen he opened a school for himself. The brother, by whom he was instructed, had been intended for the priesthood: he was a man of tolerable learning, and of an inquiring mind, and seeing the errors of the Romish church, he renounced it. This occasioned frequent disputes with Thomas Walsh, who was a strict Catholic; the one alleging the traditions and canons of the church, the other appealing to the law and to the testimony. My brother, why do you not read God's word ?" the elder would say, lay aside prejudice, and let us reason together." After many struggles between the misgivings of his mind, and the attachment to the opinions, in which he had been bred up, and the thought of his parents, and shame, and the fear of man, this state of suspense became intolerable, and he prayed to God in his trouble. "All things are known to Thee," he said, in his prayer, "and Thou seest that I want to worship Thee aright! Show me the way wherein I ought to go, nor suffer me to be deceived by men !"

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He then went to his brother, determined either to convince him, or to be convinced. Some other persons of the Protestant persuasion were present: they brought a Bible, and with it Nelson's Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England; and, with these books before them, they discussed the subject till midnight. It ended in his fair and complete conversion. "I was constrained," said he, "to give place to the light of truth: it was so convincing, that I had nothing more to say: I was judged of all; and at length confessed the weakness of my former reasonings, and the strength of those which were opposed to me. About one o'clock in the morning I retired to my lodging, and, according to my usual custom, went to prayer; but now only to the God of heaven. I no longer prayed to any angel or spirit; for I was deeply persuaded, that there is but one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.' Therefore I resolved no longer to suffer any man to beguile me into a voluntary humility, in worshipping either saints or angels. These latter I considered as ministering spirits, sent to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation.' But with regard to any wership being paid them, one of themselves said,See thou do it not; worship God, God only. All my sophisms on this head were entirely overthrown by a few hours candid reading the Holy Scriptures, which were become as a lanthorn to my feet, and a lamp to my paths, directing me in the way wherein I should go." Soon afterwards he publicly abjured the errors of the Church of Rome.*

* His disposition would have made him a saint in that church, but his principles were truly catholic in the proper sense of that abused word. "I bear them witness," says he, speaking of the Romanists, "that they have a zeal for God, though not according unto knowledge. Many of them love justice, mercy, and truth; and may, notwithstanding many errors in sentiment, and therefore in practice, (since, as is God's majesty, so is his mercy,) be dealt with accordingly. There have been, doubtless, and still are amongst them, some burning and shining lights; persons who (whatever their particular sentiments may be) are devoted to the service of Jesus Christ, according as their light and opportunities admit. And, in reality, whatever opinions people may hold, they are most approved of God, whose temper and behaviour correspond with the model of his holy word. This, however, can be no justification of general and public unscriptural tenets, such as are many of those of the Church of Rome. It may be asked, then, why did I leave their communion, since I thought so favourably of them? I answer, because I was abundantly convinced that, as a church,

This had been a sore struggle: a more painful part of his progress was yet to come. He read the Scriptures diligently, and the works of some of the most eminent Protestant divines; his conviction was confirmed by this course of study; and, from perceiving clearly the fallacious nature and evil consequences of the doctrine of merits, as held by the Romanists, a dismal view of human nature opened upon him. His soul was not at rest it was no longer harassed by doubts, but the peace of God was wanting. In this state of mind, he happened one evening to be passing along the main street in Limerick, when he saw a great crowd on the parade, and turning aside to know for what they were assembled, found that Robert Swindells, one of the first itinerants in Ireland, was then delivering a sermon in the open air. The preacher was earnestly enforcing the words of our Redeemer,-words which are worth more than all the volumes of philosophy: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest! Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls! For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Walsh was precisely in that state which rendered him a fit recipient for the doctrines which he now first heard. He caught the fever of Methodism, and it went through its regular course with all the accustomed symptoms. Some weeks he remained in a miserable condition; he could find no rest, either by night or day. "When I prayed," says he, I was troubled; when I heard a sermon, I was pierced as with darts and arrows." He could neither sleep nor eat; his body gave way under this mental suffering, and at length he took to his bed. After a while the re-action began fear and wretchedness gradually gave place to the love of God, and the strong desire for salvation and the crisis was brought on at a meeting, where, he says, "the power of the Lord came down in the midst of them; the windows of heaven were opened, and the skies poured down righteousness, and his heart melted like wax before the fire." To the psychologist it may be interesting to know, by what words this. state of mind was induced. It was by the exclamation of the prophet, "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with died garments from Bozrah; this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?" a passage which, with that that follows, is in

they have erred from the right way, and adulterated the truths of God with the inventions and traditions of men; which the Scriptures, and even celebrated writers of themselves, abundantly testify. God is my witness, that the sole motive which induced me to leave them, was an unfeigned desire to know the way of God more perfectly, in order to the salvation of my soul. For, although I then felt, and do yet feel my heart to be, as the prophet speaks, deceitful and desperately wicked with regard to God; yet I was sincere in my reformation, having, from the Holy Spirit, an earnest desire to save my soul. If it should still be asked, But could I not be saved? I answer, if I had never known the truth of the Scriptures concerning the way of salvation, nor been convinced that their principles were anti-scriptural, then I might possibly have been saved in her communion, the merciful God making allowance for my invincible ignorance. But I freely profess, that now, since God hath enlightened my mind, and given me to see the truth, as it is in Jesus, if I had still continued a member of the Church of Rome, I could not have been saved. With regard to others, I say nothing; I know that every man must bear his own burden, and give an account of himself to God. To our own Master both they and I must stand or fall for ever. But love, however, and tender compassion for their souls, constrained me to pour out a prayer to God in their behalf:-All souls are Thine, O Lord God, and Thou willest all to come to the knowledge of the truth, and be saved. For this end Thou didst give thy only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life. I beseech thee, O eternal God, show thy tender mercies upon those poor souls who have been long deluded by the god of this world, the Pope, and his clergy. Jesus, thou lover of souls and friend of sinners, send to them thy light and thy truth, that they may lead them. Oh let thy bowels yearn over them, and call those straying sheep, now perishing for the lack of knowledge, to the light of thy word, which is able to make them wise to salvation, through faith which is in Thee."