(tithe?); and when that's in, to rebuild my house, having at last crowded my family into what's left, and not missing many of my goods." There is a story concerning this part of Mrs. Wesley's life which, though it rests on the authority of her son John, must be either a mistake or an exaggeration; and, as the circumstance related occurred before his birth, he, of course, repeated it only from hearsay, and not of his own personal knowledge. It is to the effect that Mrs. Wesley, never having viewed William of Orange as the rightful Sovereign of England, did not respond to the prayer for the King as read by her husband at their family worship. He asked the reason why, and was favoured with a plain but full exposition of her political views; whereupon he retorted hotly, "Sukey, if that be the case, you and I must part; for if we have two kings we must have two beds," and declared that unless she renounced her opinions he would not continue to live with her. So much, runs the story, did he take her contumacy to heart that he left the room without another word, retired to his study, and in the course of the day rode off to Convocation without taking leave or holding any further communication with her. He remained in London for a year without corresponding, and only returned after Queen Anne's accession. There could be no dispute between the pair as to her right to reign, so the ordinary habits of life were resumed, and John Wesley was the first child born afterwards. So the story goes; but it is manifestly wrong, for in the first place neither the dates given nor the events mentioned fit in; and in the second place, John Wesley was born on the 17th of June Old Style, or the 28th New Style, 1703, when his sister Anne was twelve months old; so that the tale of his father's absence from home for a whole year falls to the ground. The strength and tenacity of Mrs. Wesley's political feelings is shown by passages in her "Occasional Papers," written two or three years later. The country was at war, and the object of Marlborough's campaigns was to break the power of France, though there were some special pleaders who declared that their end and aim was the preservation of Protestantism. "As for the security of our religion," she writes, "I take that to be a still more unjustifiable pretence for war than the other. For, notwithstanding some men of a singular complexion may persuade themselves, I am of opinion that as our Saviour's Kingdom is not of this world, so it is never lawful to take up arms merely in defence of religion. It is like the presumption of Uzzah, who audaciously stretched out his hand to support the tottering ark; which brings to mind those verses of no ill poet : In such a cause 'tis fatal to embark, Like the bold Jew, that propped the falling ark; And, though to save, yet it was death to touch. And truly the success of our arms hitherto has no way justified our attempt; but though God has not much seemed to favour our enemies, yet neither hath He altogether blest our forces. But though there is often many reasons given for an action, yet there is commonly but one true reason that determines our practice, and that, in this case, I take to be the securing those that were the instruments of the Revolution from the resentments of their angry master, and the preventing his return and settling the succession in an T heir. Whether they did well in driving a prince from his hereditary throne, I leave to their own consciences to determine; though I cannot tell how to think that a King of England can ever be accountable to his subjects for any mal-administration or abuse of power. But as he derives his power from God, so to Him only he must answer for his using it. But still, I make great difference between those who entered into a confederacy against their Prince, and those who, knowing nothing of the contrivance, and so consequently not consenting to it, only submitted to the present Government, which seems to me the law of the English nation, and the duty of private Christians, and the case with the generality of this people. But whether the praying for a usurper, and vindicating his usurpations after he has the throne, be not participating his sins, is easily determined." It appears, also, that when a national fast day was proclaimed and observed, Mrs. Wesley stayed at home instead of going to church, and she justifies her action thus: "Since I am not satisfied of the lawfulness of the war, I cannot beg a blessing on our arms till I can have the opinion of one wiser, and a more competent judge than myself, in this point, viz., whether a private person that had no hand in the beginning of the war, but did always disapprove of it, may, notwithstanding, implore God's blessing on it, and pray for the good success of those arms which were taken up, I think, unlawfully. In the meantime I think it my duty, since I cannot join in public worship, to spend the time others take in that in humbling myself before God for my own and the nation's sins; and in beseeching Him to spare that guilty land wherein are many thousands that are, notwithstanding, compara tively innocent, and not to slay the righteous with the wicked; but to put a stop to the effusion of Christian blood, and, in His own good time, to restore us to the blessing of public peace. Since, then, I do not absent myself from Church out of any contempt for authority, or out of any vain presumption of my own goodness, as though I needed no solemn humiliation, and since I endeavour, according to my poor ability, to humble myself before God, and do earnestly desire that he may give this war such an issue as may most effectually conduce to His own glory, I hope it will not be charged upon me as a sin, but that it will please Almighty God, by some way or other, to satisfy my scruples, and to accept of my honest intentions, and to pardon my manifold infirmities.” It was probably a month or two before the birth of John that Samuel, the eldest boy, was placed at the school of Mr. John Holland, at Epworth, that there might be no break or loss of time in his preparation for Westminster School, and he was the only one of the brothers who received any other assistance on entering at a public school than that which could be given by his parents. John was probably a delicate babe, as he was baptized by his father when only a few hours old. He received the names of John Benjamin, after two baby boys (the tenth and eleventh children) who had preceded him and died in infancy. He was the only one of the family who had a second name, and it was never used, as he was simply called Jack, or Jacky, at home, and never signed himself otherwise than plain John. CHAPTER VI. TRIALS AND TROUBLES. THE Rector of Epworth was not remarkably popular in his own parish; perhaps a very poor clergyman never is. He had great difficulty in repairing and rebuilding the part of his house that had been destroyed by fire; and when his son John was about seven or eight months old Mr. Wesley suffered a fresh loss, as his crop of flax was set fire to and demolished under circumstances that looked very much like incendiarism. He was also involved in a controversy that caused a deal of ill-feeling and bad blood in consequence of a letter, or rather pamphlet, which he had written in his youth, before he removed from London to South Ormsby, after attending a meeting of the Calves Head Club, a body of violent political Dissenters. Very much disgusted, Wesley went home, and, while his heart was hot within him, wrote off a long letter, and, after writing it, went to bed about five in the morning. A friend-probably his landlord, Robert Clavel, a bookseller and then Master of the Stationers' Company-came in while he slept, took possession of the MS., and, after reading, dissuaded Wesley from sending it to the person to |