The next morning I set out for Kirk-Heaton; and in my way I called to breakfast with a friend in Horborough; but before I had been there half an hour, the house was beset with almost the whole town, men, women, and children. They cried out with one voice, Bring him out, that we may put him into the river. I went out to them, and said, What do you want? They damned me, and said, You, you Methodist dog.' I replied, "What have I done to you? I am not going to preach here now." Then the parson's son swore, You shall never preach more, for we will drown you in the river this day. ~ And I found that almost the whole town had agreed together, that all the journeymen and apprentices should leave work as soon as the next preacher came into the town, and put a halter about his neck, and drag him into the river, and drown him, that the town may be quit of them for ever; and the parson's son was the captain of the mob, who had prepared a crazy man to put the halter about my neck; and he stood with one in his hand, and a butcher with a rope to help to hale me along: but while my voice could be heard, they had not power to touch me. Then they went to the clerk's house, and got six large hand-bells, and came and rung them round me, so that my voice could not be heard; then the madman, who was about six feet high, put the halter to my throat, but I put my hand between my throat and it, and pushed it back, and the man fell to the ground, as if he had been knocked down with an axe: and the butcher stood trembling, and touched me not. The constable then came with his staff in his hand; upon which the mob cried, Here is the constable: let him come, and we will put the rope on him now, for he will help us. came to me, and I said, Are you the constable? he answered, Yes, I am, and that I will let you know. I replied, "I am glad you are come, and I charge you in the king's name to do your office." He asked, What is my office? I answered, "It is to quel this mob, and to deliver me out of their hands: and if I have done any thing contrary to law, to carry me before a Magis

He

trate,

trate, and let me be punished by the law." He turned pale, and said, Where are you going? I answered, "I was going to the stable to get my horse, but was stopped by this mob." He bade them be silent, and said, Follow me. He went to the stable, and let out my horse, and held the stirrup while I got on. He then led me quite through the crowd, and bade me go on in the name of the Lord. Oh, my God! hitherto thou hast helped me.

When I got to my place, we had a comfortable meeting, for the power of the Lord was present to heal; and one that had waited long was set at liberty, and all praised the Lord on my behalf, for his delivering me from the hands of the ungodly.

I went once more to York, in Passion Week; and preached on Good Friday at Hepworth Moor, to a serious, peaceable people; and gave out to preach there on EasterSunday, at eight in the morning. Then I went to a village about three miles from York, where I preached to a very large and well-behaved congregation.

On Easter-Sunday I went to Hepworth Moor at the time appointed, and found two companies of people assembled. The one came to hear the word, and the other to mob. After we had sung a hymn and prayed, I opened my book on these words: "God having raised up his Son Jesus Christ, hath sent him to bless you, in turning every one of you from your iniquities:" and I went on to prove that this was his business in this present evil world, actually to save all true believers from their sins; and that it was neither sect, party, nor opinion, that made a man a real member of Christ's church; but the real Christians are those that are saved from their sins, by Jesus Christ, both from omitting and committing; and every thing short of this, was not Christianity; therefore, I said, "Be not deceived; for whatsoever is defiled, or unclean, cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven, but must be cast into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. And as this day is kept in remembrance of God's raising his Son up to bless us, let every one cry out, "Lord bless me, and turn me from my iniquities.

Then

Then a gentleman, a Papist, that brought the rebels to mob, cried out, "Knock out the brains of that mad dog," and perfectly gnashed with his teeth. Immediately a shower of stones came, and hit many of the people ; and they continued to throw, till not one could stand to hear me ; nevertheless not one stone hit me, though I stood as a mark on the table, when all were fled from me, and I talked to the mob. But, on going away, one struck me with a piece of a brick on the back of my head, and I fell flat on my face, and must have lain for some time, had not two men lifted me up; but I could not stand for some time. The blood ran down my back quite into my shoes, and the mob followed me through the city, swearing that they would kill me when they got me out of it. I said unto the Lord, "Lord, thou wast slain without the gate, and thou canst deliver me from the hands of these bloodthirsty men.' When I was got over the bridge, a gentleman came and took me by the hand, saying, "What is the matter you bleed so?" Some of the mob answered,

"That is but little to what we will do to him." Then the gentleman pulled me into his house, and told the mob, if they did not disperse immediately, some of them should be in the castle before an hour was at an end. Then they fled away; and he sent for a surgeon to dress my head.

I lay down a while; and brother Salton came with my horse, and I rode to Ackham, where I was to have preached at five in the afternoon; but just at that time, there came about ten young gentlemen, some in the coach, some on the box, and behind the coach; who began to sing the songs of the drunkards, and to throw rotten eggs

at the women.

I and two more were walking in a little field by the house, when there came two big men, one of whom swore, "Here he is: I will kill him, if there were not another man alive." I told him that he had not any reason to kill me, for I had done him no wrong, nor any one in that town. Then he pulled off his hat and wig, and gave them to the other man, saying, "If I do not kill him, I will

be

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be damned." Then he came as fiercely to me as he could, with an intent to run his head against the pit of my stomach; but I stepped aside, and he pitched on his head. When he got up, I spoke to him again, and asked, What I had done amiss to him? He gave me no answer, but ran at me again, and caught hold of the collar of my shirt, which rent in pieces, and he fell down at my feet again. Then he got up, and came to me the third time: and, as I made no resistance, he threw me down, and leaped with his knees on my belly, several times, till he had beaten the breath out of me, and set my head to bleeding again. He then went to the gentlemen that hired him and the other man to kill me, and said, "Gentlemen, I have killed the preacher, he lies dead in the croft." And then he took one of our friends, and threw him against the corner of a wall, and broke two of his ribs. The parson's brother said, "Well, we will see ourselves; we will not take your word." Upon which he, and about twenty more, came to me; but my breath was come again, and I was turned on my face, and lay bleeding on the ground. One of them said, "He will get his death if he lies there a while." Then they lifted me up, and said, "We will help you into the house." When I could speak I said, "Your mercy is only to make way for more cruelty; gentlemen, if I have done any thing contrary to the law, let me be punished by the law; I am a subject to king George, and to his law I appeal; and I am willing to go before my lord mayor, as he is the king's magistrate." But they cursed me and the king too, saying he was as bad as we, or he would have hanged us all like dogs before now. One actually damned him, and said, “ If he were here, we would serve him as bad as you."

The parson's brother cursed me, and said, " According to your preaching, you would prove our ministers to be blind guides, and false prophets; but we will kill you as fast as you come." One said, "If Wesley comes on Tuesday, he shall not live another day in this world." When 1 got into the street, they set up a huzza! and a person caught hold of my right hand, and gave me a hasty pluck: at the same

time another struck me on the left side of my head, and knocked me down. As I got up they knocked me down eight times; and when I lay on the ground, not being able to get up, they took me by the hair of my head, and dragged me upon the stones for near twenty yards, some kicking me on my sides and thighs with their feet, as the others dragged me along; and six of them got on my body and thighs, to tread the Holy Spirit out of me, as they said. Then they let me alone a little while, and said one to another, "We cannot kill him." One said, "I have heard that a cat has nine lives, but I think he has nine score.” Another said, "If he has, he shall die this day." A third said, "Where is his horse? for he shall quit the town immediately." And they said to me, “ Order your horse to be brought to you, for you shall go before we leave

you."

I said, "I will not, for you intend to kill me in private, that you may escape justice; but if you do murder me, it shall be in public, and it may be, that the gallows may bring you to repentance, and your souls may be saved from the wrath to come." Then one swore, If I would not go, they would put me into the draw-well, and they lifted up the lid of the well, and dragged me towards it; but a woman, big with child, stood by the well, and pushed several of them down, so that they could not get me to it. Then two gentlewomen, who came out of the city, called the gentlemen by their names, that were striving to put me in, who all let me go, and turning to the gentlewomen, they looked as men confounded. In the mean time, some friends got me up, and helped me into the house. Then all the mob set out for the city, singing debauched songs. This was on Easter-Sunday.

I heard one of them say, as he got into the coach, "It is impossible for him to live; and if John Wesley comes on Tuesday, we will kill him: then we shall be quite rid of the Methodists for ever; for no one will dare to come, if they two be killed.

When they were gone, I sent for something to sweat me ; and I sweat so violently, that in the morning my shirt was as if it had been stained with raw beef. But I was not so

sore