Mr. Wesley determined to remove to some place in South America, and, if not there, to Maryland. He hoped, by so doing, to find a quiet home for himself and family. In Maryland, settled and ruled by Catholics, he could enjoy freedom to worship God, but not in oppressive, Protestant England, just rescued from the domination of Rome.

No one can adequately comprehend how such a removal would have affected the religious life of the world. But the good man finally determined to abandon his plan and remain in his native land and do the best he could. God, without doubt, was in that decision. But he felt that God had called him to preach, and preach he would.

In spite of every precaution, he was frequently interrupted, suffering imprisonment for months together, and at four different times within a few years. At last, by frequent imprisonment, poverty, and failing health, the poor man's crushed spirit could stand it no longer, and he died at the early age of forty-two years, leaving wife and children homeless and helpless. All this the grandfather of John Wesley endured for conscience' sake. He was a graduate of Oxford; as a classical scholar he had few equals—a man of deep piety and distinguished talents. His father, Bartholomew Wesley, had early dedicated his son to the Gospel ministry, and God seems to have accepted the dedication. And because he conscientiously objected to conducting public worship strictly according to the Prayer Book, the unchristian laws regarding Conformity were enforced, and the tears, blood, and suffering which befell those godly men lay at the door of the Established Church. Cruel persecution marked this man for its prey even after death. When his inanimate body, followed by weeping wife, little children, and sympathizing neighbors, was borne on a bier to the gates of the consecrated burial place of Preston, the gates were closed against it by order of the minister of the Established Church. So the remains of this good and great man were deposited in an unknown and unmarked grave.

Samuel Wesley was sixteen years old at the time of his father's death. He had been under the careful tuition of his learned father, and under such training his mind had become highly educated for one of his years. He had a genius for poetry, and possessed a highly sensitive nature. His associations with Dissenters were not the most favorable, and what he saw and heard at the meetings of what was known as the "Calf's Head Club" disgusted him. Added to this, he was not pleased with the school of the Dissenters in which he was being educated, and, being not a little impulsive and hasty in his decisions, he concluded that all Dissenters were of the same character. He determined to examine the grounds of Dissent and Conformity, and, as might be expected, being more or less controlled by youthful prejudice, he concluded to renounce his former opinions and the faith of ancestors, and unite with the Established Church. And, as is often the case in such sudden changes, he did not stop until he had become a high churchman. But, notwithstanding his change, he had too much good practical common sense to carry out his theory. While it is true that he became a high Tory, he possessed too much benevolence, and too nice a sense of right, to give countenance to arbitrary power, such as had been exercised toward his ancestors. He could not forget what his honored father had suffered at the hands of churchmen.

Having become a churchman, at the age of sixteen he left his home for Oxford University. He traveled all the distance on foot, with only about thirteen dollars in his pocket and with no hopeful outlook for further supplies. And from that time until he graduated he received from his friends but a single crown ($1.20). But, Yankeelike, he made everything turn to his advantage. Being a bright scholar, he composed college exercises for those students who, it is said, "had more money than brains;" he read over lessons for those who were too lazy to study, and gave instruction to such as were dull of apprehension. He wrote also for the press, and left the university, at the close, with four times as much money as he had when he entered.

After his graduation he went to London and was ordained. He served one year as curate in London, one year as chaplain on shipboard, and two years more as curate in London.

When James II was expelled, and William and Mary were called to the throne, Mr. Wesley was the first man to write in their defense. For this timely support Queen Mary appointed him rector of Epworth, Lincolnshire, which position he held to the end of his life. The village was far from being attractive, and the people were generally hard cases; but he was a faithful pastor there for forty years. He was always poor, but always honest. He was frequently in jail for debt, and as often relieved by donations from the Duke of Buckingham, the Archbishop of York, the queen, and others. "No man," he says, "has worked truer for bread than I have done, and no one has fared harder."

In politics Mr. Wesley was no conservative. Whatever he did, he did with his might. He espoused the cause of William, Prince of Orange, regarding him as a perfect antitype of Job's war horse, and for such heroic support he received the anathemas of his parishioners; they stabbed his cow, cut off his dog's legs, burned his flax, and twice fired his house. But still he had the courage of his convictions. As an example of his moral courage the following story is told of him: Mr. Wesley was in a London coffee house taking refreshments. A colonel of the guards, near by, was uttering fearful oaths. Wesley, a young man, was greatly moved, and felt that a rebuke was demanded. He called the waiter to bring him a glass of water. He did so, and in a loud, clear voice Wesley said, "Carry this to that young man in the red coat, and request him to wash his mouth after his oaths." The colonel heard him, became much enraged, and made a bold attempt to rush upon his reprover. His companion interfered, saying, "Nay, colonel, you gave the first offense. You see, the gentleman is a clergyman." The colonel subsided, but did not forget the reproof. Years after he met Mr. Wesley in St. James Park, and said to him: "Since that time, sir, thank God! I have feared an oath and everything that is offensive to the Divine Majesty. I cannot refrain from expressing my gratitude to God and to you."

Samuel Wesley possessed many virtues, with some faults. He was often impetuous, hasty, and sometimes rash. In the heat of controversy, in which he at times engaged, he was often unsparing in his invectives. But this must be set down, in part, to the spirit of the time. He was a faithful pastor and a fine oriental scholar. Mr. Tyerman says, "He was learned, laborious, and godly." He had the reputation of being a good poet, a fair commentator, and an able miscellaneous writer.

Susannah Wesley, mother of John Wesley, was in most respects the perfect antipode of her husband. She is said by some to have been beautiful, and by all to have been devout, energetic, and intelligent. She had mastered the Greek, Latin, and French languages, and was the mother of nineteen children. And such a mother, for the careful, wise, religious training of her children, modern times has never furnished a superior.

She was the daughter of Dr. Samuel Annesley, one of the many sufferers under the cruel law of Nonconformity; but he does not seem to have suffered as severely as John Wesley, whose fate we have recorded. It must have been that he, for some cause, was more fortunate than his contemporary. Miss Annesley became the wife of Samuel Wesley at the age of nineteen years. It seems quite remarkable that Samuel Wesley and