whom he will restore to me again in the last great day: Such a loss is a real gain.

I sincerely rejoice in the health of Mrs. Wesley. Present my compliments to her-not those of the children of this world, but those of the servants of Christ; and do not forget to give your little Charles a kiss of peace and prayer for me. Adieu.

J. FLETCHER.

LETTER V.

To the Rev. Charles Wesley.

MY DEAR SIR,

LONDON, March 22, 1759.

You left me without permitting me to say, farewell; but that shall not hinder me from wishing you a good journey, and I flatter myself, that you are in the habit of returning my prayers. I have even shared the joy of Mrs. Wesley in seeing you again. Happier than the afflicted Jesus, you leave your own, and they regret your absence; you return to your own, and they receive you with joy. You cannot yet be rendered perfect by suffering; your father and mother have never forsaken you: But no matter, you have no doubt your afflic tions! And probably, the Lord puts you secretly in a crucible, that you may go forth as gold seven times tried in the fire. May he lay his hand upon you, and fill you with his strength! He will not forget, Mrs. Wesley: I have had some assurances that he will not, when I have been enabled to lay, at the feet Jesus, the delightful burden you put upon me, by interesting me in her present critical circumstances. If I were more humble, I would beg you to present her my humble respects; and if I were strong in faith, like Elizabeth, I could say, like her, with that fulness of the Spirit which should go

to her heart, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!' But it becomes not me to presume so far: I shall be happy if my good wishes may be found sincere before God.

The adversary avails himself mightily of the enthu. siasm of Miss Ad to prevent the success of my preaching in French; but I believe that my own unworthiness does more for the devil, than ten Miss A's. However, I have thought it my duty to endeavour to stem the torrent of discouragement, praying the Lord to provide for this poor people a pastor after his own heart, whom the wandering sheep may be willing to hear, and who may bring them to himself.

Give me some account of Mrs. Wesley, and of the god-father she designs for your little Charles: And, that she may not labour under a deception, tell her how greatly I want wisdom, and add, that I have no more grace than wisdom. If, after all, she will not reject so unworthy a sponsor, remember that I have taken you father and adviser, and that the charge will, in the end, devolve upon you. Adieu. May the plenitude of Christ fill you, and may some drops of that precious oil run from you to me!

for

J. FLETCHER.

LETTER VI.

To the Rev. Mr. Charles Wesley.

TERN, October 24, 1759.

MY DEAR SIR,

FOR Some days past, the hope of hearing from you has been balanced by the fear that you were not in a condition to write. This last idea prevails so much, that I take my pen to entreat you, to deliver me from the in

If the gout

quietude which I suffer from your silence. prevents you from writing, employ the hand of a friend: If you are in the third heaven of contemplation and love, let brotherly love, for a moment, bring you down; if you wander in the desert of temptation, let sympathy unite you to a miserable man, who feels himself undone.

Since my last, I have taken some steps towards the knowledge of myself. If you inquire, what I have learned? I answer, that I am naked of every thing, but pride and unbelief. Yesterday I was seized with the desire of making rhymes, and I versified my thoughts on the present state of my soul in a hymn, the first part of which I now send you. If the poetry does not deserve reading, the language will recal to mind your French.

How does Mrs. Wesley and your little family do? The rumour here is, that the French are at Liverpool. I am glad they do not think of Bristol. Salute the trembling Half of yourself from me, and tell her, how much I rejoice that her quarters have been in safety hitherto; and that my hope is, they will continue so to the end of the war.

May the care you take of your health have the success I wish: And while I wait the event, may He who enabled St. Paul to say, 'When I am weak, then am I strong,' sustain you in all your infirmities, and fill your inward man with his mighty power! At the moment I was going to seal mine, I received your dear letter. You will see by the hymn, in which I have attempted to paint my heart, that I have at present far other things to do, than to think of going on to perfection, even laying the foundation of the spiritual house; much less, then, can I help forward those who seek it.

I am, &c.

J. FLETCHER.

LETTER VII.'

To the Rev. Charles Wesley.

MY DEAR SIR,

LONDON, Nov. 15, 1759.

I

YOUR letter was not put into my hand till eight days after my arrival in London. I carried the enclosed agreeably to its address, and passed three hours with a modern prodigy-an humble and pious Countess. went with trembling, and in obedience to your orders; but I soon perceived a little of what the disciples felt, when Christ said to them, It is I, be not afraid.' She proposed to me something of what you hinted to me in your garden; namely, to celebrate the communion sometimes at her house in a morning, and to preach when occasion offered; in such a manner, however, as not to restrain my liberty, nor prevent my assisting you, or preaching to the French Refugees; and that, only till Providence should clearly point out the path in which I should go.

You ask, "Whether I can, with confidence, give you up to the mercy of God?" Yes, I can; and I feel that for you, which I do not for myself; I am so assured of your s. Ivation, that I ask no other place in heaven, than that I may have at your feet. I doubt even if Paradise would be a Paradise to me, unless it were shared with you; and the single idea which your question excited, that we might one day be separated, pierced my heart, and bathed my eyes with tears. They were sweet tears, which seemed to water and confirm my hope, or rather the certainty I have, that He, who hath begun a good work in us, will also finish it; and unite me to you in Christ, by the bonds of an everlasting love! And not only to you, but to your children and your wife, I salute in Christ. Adieu.

I am, &c.,

whom

J. FLETCHER.

LETTER VIII.

To the Hon. Mrs.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

To a believer, Jesus is alone the desirable, the everlasting distinction and honour of men. All other advantages, though now so proudly extolled, so vehemently coveted, are, like the down on the thistle, blown away in a moment, and never secure to the possessor. Riches are incapable of satisfying, friends are changeable and precarious, the dear relations, who are the delight of our hearts, are taken away at a stroke ;-pain and sickness follow ease and health in quick succession; but, amidst all the possible changes of life, Christ is a rock. To see him by faith, to lay hold, to rely upon him, this is the refuge from the storm, the shadow from the heat.-May it be given to you abundantly! And in order to obtain it, nothing more or less is required of you, than a full and frequent confession of your own abominable nature and heart, then kneeling as a true beggar at the door of mercy, declaring you came there expecting notice and relief only because Christ our Saviour came to redeem incarnate devils, and, for the glory of his grace, to convert them into saints and servants of the living God, into the children of God, and heirs of glory.

I think you take a sure method to perplex yourself, if you want to see your own faith, or look for one moment at yourself for the proof of your faith; others must see it in your works, but you must feel it in your heart. The glory of Jesus is now, by faith, realized to the mind, in some such manner, as an infinitely grand and beautiful object, which appears in the firmament of heaven: It arrests and fixes the attention of the specta.