some of them began to quack* for the body as well as the soul; and this led to a decision in Conference, that no preacher, who would not relinquish his trade of making and vending pills, drops, balsams, or medicines of any kind, should be considered as a travelling preacher any longer. If their wives sold these things at home, it was said to be well; "but it is not proper for any preacher to hawk them about. It has a bad appearance; it does not well suit the dignity of his calling." They were restricted also from many indulgencies. It was not in Wesley's power, because of the age and country in which he lived, to bind his preachers to a prescribed mode of living by an absolute rule; but he attempted to affect it, as far as circumstances would allow. They were on no account to touch snuff, nor to taste spiritous liquors on any pretence." Do you," said he, "deny yourselves every useless pleasure of sense, imagination, honour? Are you temperate in all things? To take one instance,-in food? Do you use only that kind, and that degree which is best both for the body and soul? Do you see the necessity of this? Do you eat no flesh suppers? no late suppers? these naturally tend to destroy bodily health. Do you eat only three meals a-day? if four, are you not an excellent pattern to the flock? Do you take no more food than is necessary at each meal? you may know if you do, by a load at your stomach; by drowsiness or heaviness; and, in a while, by weak or bad nerves. Do you use only that kind and that degree of drink which is best both for your body and soul? Do you drink water? Why not? Did you ever? Why did you leave it off, if not for health? When will you begin again? to-day? How often do you drink wine or ale? Every day? Do you want, or waste it?" He declared his own purpose, of eating only vegetables on Fridays, and taking only toast The Baptists used to tolerate such quackery in their ministers. Crosby, in his history of that sect, contrived to inform the reader, that he continued to prepare and sell a certain wonderful tincture, and certain sugar-plumbs for children, "which have been found to bring from them many strange and monstrous worms."-Vol. iii. p. 147. and water in the morning; and he expected the preachers to observe the same kind of fast. The course of life which was prescribed for the preachers, left them little opportunity for the enjoyment of domestic life. Home could scarcely be regarded as a resting place by men who were never allowed to be at rest. Wesley insisted upon a frequent and regular change of preachers, because he well knew that the attention of the people was always excited by a new performer in the pulpit. "I know," said he, "were I to preach one whole year in one place, I should preach both myself and my congregation asleep. Nor can I believe it was ever the will of the Lord that any congregation should have one teacher only. We have found, by long and constant experience, that a frequent change of teachers is best. This preacher has one talent, that another. No one whom I ever yet knew has all the talents which are needful for beginning, continuing, and perfecting the work of grace in a whole congregation." The institutions of the Jesuits allowed an itinerant father of the company to remain three months in a place, unless any other term were specified in his instructions: but Wesley went further, and thought it injurious both to the preacher and people, if one of his itinerants should stay six or eight weeks together in one place. "Neither," said he, "can he find matter for preaching every morning and evening; nor will the people come to hear him. Hence he grows cold by lying in bed, and so do the people; whereas, if he never stays more than a fortnight together in one place, he may find matter enough, and the people will gladly hear him." These frequent changes were so gratifying to the people, that the trustees of a meeting-house once expressed an apprehension lest the Conference should impose one preacher on them for many years; and, to guard against this, a provision was inserted in the deed, that "the same preacher should not be sent, ordinarily, above one, never above two years together." There may, perhaps, have been another motive in Wesley's mind a preacher, who found himself comfortably settled, with a congregation to whom he had made himself agreeable, might be induced to take root there, throw off his dependence upon the connexion, and set up a meeting of his own. Instances of such defection were not wanting, and the frequent change * of preachers was the likeliest means of preventing them. No preacher, according to a rule laid down by Conference, was to preach oftener than twice on a week-day, or three times on the Sabbath. One of these sermons was always to be at five in the morning, whenever twenty hearers could be brought together. As the apostolic Eliot used to say to students, Look to it that ye be morning birds! so Wesley continually inculcated the duty of early rising, as equally good for body and soul. "It helps the nerves," he said, "better than a thousand medicines; and especially preserves the sight, and prevents lowness of spirits. Early preaching," he said, "is the glory of the Methodists. Whenever this is dropped, they will dwindle † away into nothing." He advised his preachers to begin and end always precisely at the time appointed; and always to conclude the ser * "The people," says Mr. Crowther, "ought to get great good from the constant change of the preachers; for, to the preachers, it is productive of many inconveniences and painful exercises." be The importance which he attached to this custom appears in his Journal. "I was surprised when I came to Chester, to find that there also morning preaching was quite left off; for this worthy reason, cause the people will not come, or, at least, not in the winter: if so, the Methodists are a fallen people. Here is proof: they have lost their first love; and they never will or can recover it till they do the first works.—As soon as I set foot in Georgia, I began preaching at five in the morning; and every communicant, that is, every serious person in the town, constantly attended throughout the year: I mean, came every morning winter and summer, unless in the case of sickness. They did so till I left the province. In the year 1738, when God began his great work in England, I began preaching at the same hour, winter and summer, and never wanted a congregation. If they will not attend now, they have lost their zeal, and then, it cannot be denied, they are a fallen people; and, in the mean time, we are labouring to secure the preaching-houses to the next generation! In the name of God, let us, if possible. secure the present generation from drawing back to perdition. Let all the preachers that are still alive to God, join together as one man, fast and pray, lift up their voice as a trumpet, be instant in season, and out of season, to convince them they are fallen, and exhort them instantly to repent and do the first works: this in particular, rising in the morning, without which neither their souls nor bodies can long remain in health.” vice in about an hour: to suit their subject to the audience, to choose the plainest texts, and keep close to the text; neither rambling from it, nor allegorizing, nor spiritualizing too much. More than once in his Journal he has recorded the death of men who were martyrs to long and loud preaching, and he frequently cautioned his followers against it. To one of them he says, in a curious letter of advice, which he desired might be taken as the surest mark of love, "Scream no more, at the peril of your soul. God now warns you by me, whom he has set over you.— Speak as earnestly as you can, but do not scream. Speak with all your heart, but with a moderate voice. It was said of our Lord, He shall not cry:' the word properly means, He shall not scream.' Herein be a follower of me, as I am of Christ. I often speak loud, often vehemently; but I never scream. I never strain myself: I dare not. I know it would be a sin against God and my own soul." They were instructed also not to pray above eight or ten minutes at most, without intermission, unless for some pressing reason. 6 Before an aspirant was admitted upon trial as an itinerant, he was exercised as a local preacher; and many persons remained contentedly in this humbler office, which neither took them from their families, nor interfered with their worldly concerns. They carried on their business, whatever that might be, six days in the week, and preached on the seventh: but no person was admitted to this rank, unless he were thought competent by the preachers of the circuit. The places which they were to visit were determined by the assistant, and their conduct underwent an inquiry every quarter. Without their aid, Methodism could not have been kept up over the whole country, widely as it was diffused; and all that they received from the society was a little refreshment, at the cost of the people to whom they preached, and perhaps the hire of a horse for the day. A still more important part was performed by the leaders, who are to Methodism what the non-com missioned officers are in an army. The leader was appointed by the assistant: it was his business regularly to meet his class, question them, in order, as to their religious affections and practice, and advise, caution, or reprove, as the case might require. If any members absented themselves from the class-meeting, he was to visit them, and inquire into the cause; and he was to render an account to the officiating preacher of those whose conduct appeared suspicious, or was in any way reprehensible. By this means, and by the class-paper for every week, which the leaders were required to keep, and regularly produce, the preachers obtained a knowledge of every individual member within their circuit; and, by the class-tickets, which were renewed every quarter, a regular census of the society was effected.The leaders not only performed the office of drilling the young recruits, they acted also as the tax-gatherers, and received the weekly contributions of their class, which they paid to the local stewards, and the local stewards to the steward of the circuit. Thus far the discipline of the Methodists was well devised if the system itself had been unexceptionable, the spiritual police was perfect. But they were divided into bands as well as classes; and this subdivision, while it answered no one end of possible utility, led to something worse than the worst practice of the Romish church. The men and the women, and the married and the single, met separately in these bands, for the purpose of confessing to each other. They engaged to meet once a-week at least, and to speak, each in order, freely and plainly, the true state of their souls, with the faults they had committed in thought, word, or deed, and the temptations they had felt during the week. They were to be asked" as many, and as searching questions as may be, concerning their state, sins, and temptations:”— These four, in particular, at every meeting: What known sin have you committed since our last meeting? What temptations have you met with? How was you delivered? What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt whether it be sin or |