IN the year 1770 the Methodists had grown so numerous that they counted forty-nine different circuits or societies in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. They had one hundred and twenty-two travelling preachers, and twice as many local preachers, who did not travel, and at the covenant service which Mr. Wesley held at the beginning of this year in London, there were eighteen hundred members present.
Mr. Wesley, like our ministers nowadays, was often wanting money for different purposes, and, like our ministers too, he was always glad of the children"s help. Once, when the Foundry wanted repairing, he specially asked for help at an evening service. A little girl named Mary heard him, and thought how much she would like to do something. And this is how she managed it.
Mr. Wesley loved children, and used to keep a number of bright new coins in his pocket to give to the little folks he met at his friends" houses.
Mary had always been a great favourite with Mr. Wesley, and a proud little girl she was when he took her on his knee and gave her a silver penny. He had often done this, and she had treasured up his gifts in a little box. Other friends, too, had sometimes given her money, which, instead of spending she had saved up.
Well, when she got home after that evening service, she counted up her money, and found she had 3. So she went to her mother and asked if she might give it all to Mr. Wesley. Her mother was quite willing; so the next morning little Mary carried her savings to Mr. Wesley"s room. Tears came into his eyes as he thanked his little favourite. Taking her in his arms, he kissed her very tenderly, and prayed that G.o.d"s blessing might always rest upon her. And it did, for Mary grew up to be an earnest, happy Christian.
Here is another story that shows how much Mr. Wesley loved the young folks. He was once staying in a house in Bristol where a little boy and girl were visiting. The little girl had long, beautiful hair hanging in curls down her back. She and her brother were running hand in hand down the stairs one day, when Mr. Wesley ran down after them and caught them on the landing. He jumped the little girl in his arms and kissed her; then putting his hand on the boy"s head, he blessed him. Little Robert did not think much about this at the time, I dare say, but when he grew up, he felt all his life that the blessing of a good man rested upon him, and his eyes glistened with tears when he told the story. That little boy was the poet Southey, of whom you will read when you are older.
When Mr. Wesley wanted recreation or a kind of holiday, he used to go off to Kingswood. A few days among the young folks there always cheered him, and did him good. He loved to hear their lessons and praise their work, and arranged easy grammars and history books for them.
A great many people used to think then, as a few do now, that children could not be converted, and that they ought not to be members of society. Mr. Wesley never thought so. At Weardale he allowed thirty children to become members. At another place quite a number of boys and girls came to him after the preaching, wanting him to show them how they could belong to Jesus. Mr. Wesley had both then and always the words of Jesus Himself, before him, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not;" and so he knelt down with those boys and girls and led them to the Good Shepherd, who had laid down His life for them.
The children of Judea loved Jesus, and were glad to be with Him; and Mr.
Wesley was so like Jesus, so loving and so kind, that the children of England could not help loving him, and were glad to be with him. A whole crowd once waited in the street a long time for him, and when at last he came, they all followed him like so many little lambs after their shepherd, as many as could clinging to him. They went to the meeting-house with him, and after the service was over would not leave until they had all shaken hands with him.
"In Cornwall, Manchester, and Epworth," Mr. Wesley says, "numbers of children were converted."
These verses apply to all my readers:
"G.o.d wants the boys, the merry, merry boys, The noisy boys, the funny boys, The thoughtless boys.
G.o.d wants the boys with all their joys, That He, as gold, may make them pure, And teach them trials to endure; His heroes brave He"d have them be, Fighting for truth and purity, G.o.d wants the boys.
"G.o.d wants the girls, the happy-hearted girls, The loving girls, the best of girls, The worst of girls.
G.o.d wants to make the girls His pearls, And so reflect His holy face, And bring to mind His wondrous grace, That beautiful the world may be, And filled with love and purity.
G.o.d wants the girls."
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CHAPTER x.x.xV.
How Mr. Wesley settled a school-boys"
quarrel.--Dr. Watts and little birds.--Mr. Wesley, loved and honoured.--A holiday for the children.
HERE is a story of how Mr. Wesley settled a dispute between two quarrelsome school-boys. When he was an old man, seventy-three, he was staying with one of his local preachers, a Mr. Bush, who had a boarding-school. One day Mrs. Bush brought to him two boys who had been fighting.
"Boys! boys!" said Mr. Wesley:
""Birds in their little nests agree, And "tis a shameful sight, When children of one family Fall out, and chide, and fight!"
You must make it up. Come now, shake hands with each other."
Mr. Wesley, with his long white hair and beautiful face, looked and spoke so lovingly, that the boys did at once what he asked them.
"Now," he said, "put your arms round each other"s necks, and kiss each other."
And the little boys did this too. He was just having his tea when Mrs.
Bush brought in the culprits, and now taking two pieces of bread and b.u.t.ter, he folded them together and told each boy to break a piece off.
Then he gave each of them a drink of tea out of his own cup.
"Now," he added, "you have broken bread together, and you have drunk out of the same cup, now you must be friends." Then he put his hands on the boys" heads and blessed them. The next morning at family prayer he sought out the boys and blessed them again.
The two lads never forgot this meeting with Mr. Wesley. One of them became a magistrate, and when he had children of his own he used to tell them this story of his school-days.
I remember that little verse of Dr. Watts" being recited to my brothers and me when we were in the nursery, and as I wrote it down I wondered if the same thoughts came into the heads of those school-boys that came into mine. My dear mother used to look very serious when she said it, and it sounded very solemn. But I had often seen little birds quarrelling, and I knew that hymn did not tell the truth, and so I felt little birds were hardly a proper example to follow. Now, though Dr.
Watts was not quite correct, still little birds do agree very much better than many children; and if they sometimes quarrel, remember they are only guided by instinct, while you have sense, and know the difference between right and wrong.
You will all be glad to know that before Mr. Wesley died, all the ill-will and hatred of the people had changed to love and reverence. The very towns where he had been treated most unkindly were now the ones to give him the heartiest welcome. Instead of mobs waiting to abuse him, crowds gathered to do him honour. In many places the children had a holiday from school, the tradespeople closed their shops, and everybody tried who could best show their love and respect for the man whom before they had treated so unkindly.
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CHAPTER x.x.xVI.
More peeps into the Magic Mirror.--A special picture for Sheffield readers.--Another for young folks in Oldham.--Little Daniel on the pulpit stairs.--Special for Hull.
I THINK we must have some more peeps into that Magic Mirror? Will my little Sheffield readers take a good look? What do we see? A street in a big town, and oh! such crowds and crowds of people on both sides of the road. The windows of the houses, too, are all crowded with people. What can it all mean? See! there are two men coming along, everybody is turning to look at them, and we can hear more than one voice saying: "G.o.d bless him! G.o.d bless him!" Several of the women are wiping their eyes with the corner of their ap.r.o.ns; there are tears in many eyes. Look at the two men as they come nearer. One is a middle-aged man; the other, who is leaning on his arm, wears a black gown and white bands. He is an old man, but how beautiful he looks. He has a splendid face, a clear skin and rosy cheeks. His eyes are quick and keen, and he has long, shiny hair, white and bright like silver.
See now how the children are crowding round him! He is smiling down upon them and putting his hands upon their heads as he pa.s.ses. Now he is stretching his hands out towards heaven, and blessing all the people, many of whom are weeping aloud. He has pa.s.sed down the street, and the picture has gone. Sheffield readers, that was how your town welcomed and honoured dear John Wesley a short time before his death.
Now peep again into the Magic Mirror. And this time I would like my Oldham readers to step to the front. See, there is a little boy about six years old playing at the door of a house. An old clergyman is pa.s.sing, and stops to speak to the child.
"Where is your father, Daniel?" he says.
"Gone to chapel."
"And your mother?"
"She"s gone too," answers Daniel.
"And you shall go too, my boy. You must not miss seeing this great man, John Wesley," says the clergyman, as he takes the child"s hand and fades away from our picture.