CHAPTER VII.

Paper and globe

Charlie goes to Oxford.—Won't have his brother interfere with him.—A change in Charlie.—Somebody's prayers.—Charlie's chums, and how he treated them.—Dividing time.—Nickname.—A nickname honoured.

EFORE I tell you any more about Mr. John, I am sure you would like to know how Charlie has been getting on all this long time. We left him, you remember, captain of the school at Westminster, where his eldest brother Samuel was a teacher. He was so clever and brave, and such a generous, loving-hearted boy, that he was a favourite with everybody. He stayed nine years at Westminster, and then, when he was eighteen, went to one of the colleges at Oxford. It was not the one Mr. John was at, but, being in the same town, the two brothers often saw each other.

Charlie was not a Christian, and made companions of the worldly young students who spent their time in all sorts of wrong-doings. John was very sorry for this, and spoke to him about it; but Charlie became very angry at what he called his brother's interference, and said: "Do you want me to become a saint all at once?"

However, while Mr. John was away at home those two years helping his father, Charlie changed very much. He became steadier and more thoughtful, and even wrote to his brother, and asked for the advice he would not have before. "I don't exactly know how or when I changed," he said in his letter; "but it was soon after you went away. It is owing, I believe, to somebody's prayers (my mother's most likely) that I am come to think as I do."

When boys and girls or grown-up people become Christians, those around them soon find it out. Charlie's giddy companions soon saw something was wrong with him. He used to be lazy and shirk his studies, spending his time with them in pleasure and amusement, now he was diligent and worked hard.

The next thing they noticed was that he went to church regularly and took the Sacrament. And here I must tell you how he behaved towards these friends, and I know it will make you like Charlie more than ever.

I told you before how loving and genial he was,and now he did not at all like to give up his old chums, and yet he knew that if he meant to travel heavenwards he must have companions that were going the same way. He longed for his friends to become Christians, and talked to them so lovingly and so wisely that before very long he got two or three of them to join him in fighting against the evils of their nature, and encouraging and seeking after everything that was good.

You have all read in your English history how good King Alfred the Great divided his time; well, Charles and his companions divided theirs in a similar way. So many hours were spent in study, so many in prayer, and so many in sleeping and eating. They made other strict rules for themselves, and lived so much by what we call "method," that at last they got to be called "Methodists."

Boys and girls are very fond of giving nicknames to their companions; sometimes it is done in fun, and then there is no harm in it,—but often spite and ill-nature suggest the nickname, then it is very wrong and very unkind.

Most of the young men at Oxford thought religion and goodness were only things to make fun of, so Charles and his friends were a butt for their ridicule. Because they read their Bibles a great deal they called them "Bible Bigots," and "Bible Moths," and their meetings they called the "Holy Club."

But "Methodists" was the name that fastened mostfirmly to them, and, as you know, after all these years, this is the name we call ourselves by to-day. Just think; a nickname given to a few young men at Oxford, more than one hundred and fifty years ago, is now held in honour by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.

Bird

The Christian band at Oxford.—How they spent their time.—Mr. John and the little ragged girl.—A very early bird.—Methodist rules, and the Methodist guide-book.

HEN Mr. John came back to Oxford, of course he joined the Christian band, and very soon they made him their leader. He was cleverer and had more experience than the others, and they all looked up to him for help and advice. Others joined the club, and soon there were twenty-five members.

Do you remember a verse in the Bible that, speaking of Jesus, says: "He went about doing good"? Well, these young men who were taking Jesus for their copy, just did the same; all their spare time was spent in "doing good." Some of them tried to rescue their fellow-students from bad companions and get them to become Christians; others visited and helped the poor. Some taught the children in the workhouse, and some got leave to gointo the prison and read to the prisoners. Very few of them were rich, but they denied themselves things they really wanted in order to buy books, and medicine for the poor. Every night they used to have a meeting to talk over what they had done, and settle their work for the next day.

Mr. John started a school for poor little children; he paid a teacher to teach them, and bought clothes for the boys and girls whose parents could not afford to buy them. Once a little girl from the school called to see Mr. John. It was a cold winter's day, and she was very poorly clad.

"You seem half starved, dear," he said; "have you nothing to wear but that cotton frock?"

"No, sir," she answered; "this is the only frock I have."

Mr. John put his hand into his pocket, but, alas! he found no money there, it had all gone. Just then he caught sight of the pictures on the walls of his room, and he thought: "How can I allow these beautiful pictures to hang here while Christ's poor are starving?"

We are not told, but I think we can be quite sure that the pictures were sold, and that the little girl got a warm winter's frock.

Mr. John was just as careful of his time as his money, he never wasted a moment. He believed in the proverb you have often heard: "Early to bed and early to rise." Some people say: "Get up withthe lark," but I think Mr. John was always up before that little bird even awoke. Every morning when the clock struck four he jumped out of bed, and began his work. Wasn't that early? I wonder which of us would like to get up at that time? And he did not do this only when he was young, he did it all his life, even when he was an old, old man.

I told you these "Methodists" made rules for themselves. One of them was to set apart special days for special prayer for their friends and pupils. And another one which we all should copy was:Never to speak unkindly of any one. The Bible was their Guide Book, and it told them, as it will tell us, all they ought to do, and all they ought not to do.

Cherub

A long walk.—More persecutions.—Mr. John's illness.—Not afraid to die.—Mrs. Wesley scolds.—Home again.—A proud father.—Mr. Wesley's opinion about fasting.—At Wroote once more.—Mr. Wesley's "Good-bye."

ILL you look on your map of England and find London? Now find Oxford. The two places are a long way apart, are they not?

Well, do you know Mr. John and Mr. Charles Wesley used often to walk all that long way to see a friend. You know there were no railways in those days, and to go by coach cost a great deal of money. This friend's name was Mr. Law; he was a very good man, and encouraged and helped the two brothers very much. He taught them that "religion is the simplest thing in the world." He said: "It is just this, 'We love Jesus, because Jesus first loved us.'"

At Oxford, the Methodists were still called all sorts of names and made great fun of, not only by the idle, wicked students, but even by clever and learned menwho ought to have known better. Some of their enemies said: "They only make friends with those who are as queer as themselves." But Mr. John showed them this was not true, for in every way he could he helped and showed kindness to those who said the most unkind things.

Hard work, close study, and fasting, at last made Mr. John very ill; one night he thought he was going to die. He was not at all afraid, he just prayed, "O God, prepare me for Thy coming." But God had a great deal of work for His servant to do, and did not let him die. With care and a doctor's skill he got quite better.

Poor Mrs. Wesley was often anxious about her two Oxford sons, and once wrote them quite a scolding letter. "Unless you take more care of yourselves," she said, "you will both be ill. You ought to know better than to do as you are doing." Mrs. Wesley did not agree with them fasting so much; she believed God meant us to take all the food necessary to support our bodies.

Just about this time, Mr. Samuel—the big brother—got an appointment as master of a boys' school somewhere in the West of England; but before he went to his new place he thought he would like to go home, and see his dear father and mother.

When his brothers at Oxford heard this, they thought they would go too, so that they might all be together in the old home once more. And, oh, whata happy time they had! Mr. Wesley was getting very old, and he was so proud to have his "boys" with him again. He talked very seriously to John and Charles, and told them he did not at all approve of their way of living. He said he was sure God never meant us to fast so much as to injure our health, or to shut ourselves up and be so much alone. Jesus said: "Let your light shinebefore men;" our light should be whereeverybodycan see it. I am sure old Mr. Wesley was right.

A few months later, and the brothers were again at Wroote, standing by the bedside of their dying father. "I am very near heaven," he said, as they gathered round him, "Good-bye!" And "father" went Home.

Book

A corner in America.—Wanted a missionary.—Mrs. Wesley gives up her sons to God's work.—At the dock-side.—The good ship "Simmonds."—Life on board.—A terrible storm.—The German Christians who were not afraid.

F you look on your map of the United States, you will see in the south-east, a little corner called Georgia. It was to this place that a number of poor people from England had emigrated; people who had been cruelly treated in prison, and on being released had no work to do and nowhere to go. Some kind Christian gentlemen collected money to help them to get to Georgia, where they could have plenty of work and plenty of food. A number of poor Germans, too, who had been persecuted in their own country because of their religion, also went out to this place where they could worship God as they chose, without fear of cruel treatment.

When people are driven out of their own country like this, they are called "exiles," and though this little band of exiles found work and food, and freedom to worship God in the new land, they had no minister. So the gentlemen who had raised the money, and who knew what brave, good men Mr. John and Mr. Charles Wesley were, asked them if they would go out and minister to these poor people in Georgia. "You are just the men to comfort and teach them," they said.

Then, too, a number of Indians lived in Georgia, and they wanted to be friends with the white strangers, and General Oglethorpe and Dr. Burton, the gentlemen I mentioned, thought it would be a good opportunity to preach the gospel to them.

When Mr. John Wesley was first asked, he said: "No, I cannot go, I cannot leave my mother." Then they said: "Will you go if your mother gives her consent?"

"Yes," said John, feeling quite sure she would never give it.

So he went to Epworth and told his mother all about the matter. Then he waited for her reply. Mrs. Wesley loved her "boy" John very, very dearly, and if he went to America she might never see him again, and yet her answer came: "If I had twenty sons, I would give them all up for such a work."

Even after obtaining this unexpected consent, John did not decide to go until he had askedthe advice of his brother Samuel and his friend Mr. Law, both of whom advised him to undertake the work. Then both he and his brother sent in their decision to General Oglethorpe, and began making preparations for their long journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

Now I want us to imagine ourselves at Gravesend, a place on the river Thames near London. Look at all those ships in the docks! See, there is one that looks just ready to sail! Can you read the name of it? "S i m m o n d s"—"Simmonds." Yes, that is its name. Let us button up our coats, as it is a sharp October day, and watch the passengers go on board.

Look at that little man with the nice face, and a lot of colour in his cheeks! What long hair he has! and how smooth it is! It looks as if he brushed it a great deal. See, he is looking this way, and we can notice his beautiful forehead and his bright eyes. Why that must be Mr. John Wesley! And, of course, that is his brother Charles talking to some gentlemen on the deck. See, he is holding a book close to his eyes—he must be short-sighted. Listen, how the others are laughing! I expect he is making a joke. Now he is walking off arm in arm with one of his companions. He seems to be still loving-hearted and full of fun, the same Charlie he was at Westminster School only grown big.

A number of Germans were also on board the "Simmonds," all bound for Georgia. Before theyhad been many days at sea, John Wesley found out that they were earnest Christians, and he began at once to learn German in order that he might talk to them.

The brothers had not taken their father's advice about fasting; they and some other Methodists who were their fellow-passengers still thought they ought to do with as little food as possible, and with as few comforts. They ate nothing but rice, biscuits, and bread, and John Wesley slept on the floor. He was obliged to do it one night, because the waves got into the ship and wet his bed, and because he slept so well that night, he thought the floor was good enough for him, and continued to sleep on it.

I expect you wonder how they spent their time during the long, long voyage to Georgia. I will tell you. They made the same strict rules for themselves that they did at Oxford. They got up every morning at four o'clock, and spent the time in private prayer until five o'clock. Then they all read the Bible together until seven. After that they had breakfast, and then public prayers for everybody on the ship who would come. Then from nine to twelve—just your school-time, little readers, is it not?—Mr. John studied his German; somebody else studied Greek, another taught the children on board, and Mr. Charles wrote sermons. Then at twelve o'clock they all met and told each other how they had been getting along, and what they had been doing. Atone o'clock they had dinner, and after that they read or preached to those on board until four o'clock. Then they studied and preached and prayed again until nine, when they went to bed. Were not these strict rules? I wonder if they ever had the headache? I am afraid we should, if we studied so hard and so long.

Have you ever been to Liverpool, and seen one of those beautiful vessels that go to America? They are as nice and as comfortable as the best of your own homes, and you can get to the other side of the Atlantic in about ten days. But at the time of which I write, more than one hundred and fifty years ago, travelling was very different. The ships were much smaller, and tossed about a great deal more, and the passengers had to put up with a great many discomforts. Then again, it took weeks, instead of days, to get across to America.

The passengers on board the "Simmonds" met with some terrible storms; often the great waves would dash over their little ship, until it seemed as if it must sink and never rise again.

One of these storms began on a Sunday, about twelve o'clock in the middle of the day. The wind roared round them, and the waves, rising like mountains, kept washing over and over the decks. Every ten minutes came a shock against the side of the boat, that seemed as if it would dash the planks in pieces.

During this storm as Mr. Wesley was coming out of the cabin-door, a big wave knocked him down. There he lay stunned and bruised, until some one came to his help. When he felt better, he went and comforted the poor English passengers, who were dreadfully afraid, and were screaming and crying in their fear. Then he went among the Germans, but they needed no comfort from him. He heard them singing as he got near, and found them calm and quiet, not the least bit frightened.

"Were you not afraid?" Mr. Wesley asked them when the storm was over.

"No," they answered, "we are not afraid to die."

"But were not the children frightened?" he said.

"No," they said again, "our children are not afraid to die either."

During that terrible storm they had remembered how Jesus stilled the tempest on the Lake of Galilee, and His voice seemed to say to them now: "Peace, be still."

This reminds me of a piece of poetry, which I dare say some of you have read. It is about a little girl whose father was a captain, and once when there was an awful storm, and even the captain himself was frightened:

"——his little daughterTook her father by the hand,And said: 'Is not God upon the waterJust the same as on the land?'"

"The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea:" Psa. xciii. 4.

"He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still:" Psa. cvii. 29.

Child

In the Savannah river.—Landed.—A prayer meeting on the top of a hill.—German Christians.—The Indians.—Tomo Chachi and his squaw.—Their welcome to Mr. Wesley.—A jar of milk and a jar of honey.

T last storms and dangers were over, and the good ship "Simmonds" floated safely in the smooth waters of the Savannah river. You can find this on your map. They cast anchor near a little island called Tybee Island, where beautiful pine trees grew all along the shore.

The first thing they did on landing was to go to the top of a hill, kneel down together, and thank God for bringing them safely across the ocean. You remember Noah's first act after leaving the ship that God put him into when the world was drowned, was to offer a sacrifice of thankfulness for God's care over him. And when Abraham got safely into the strange land to which God sent him, the first thing he didwas to offer sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. In the same way the little missionary band from England showed their reverence and gratitude to the God who rules earth, sky, and sea.

When they got to the town of Savannah they found it a very small place. There were only about forty houses, besides a church, a prison built of logs of wood, and a mill where everybody took their corn to be ground.

I told you, if you remember, that besides the poor English exiles there were a number of German Christians. These were called Moravians, and they were so glad to have a minister that they came to meet Mr. Wesley, and told him how pleased they were to see him. Mr. Wesley and one of his friends lived with them in Savannah for a long time, and they soon found what earnest real Christians they were, true followers of the Lord Jesus. You know it is the people you live with that know you the best, and this is what Mr. Wesley wrote about these Moravians. "We were in the same room with them from morning till night, except when we went out for a walk. They were never idle, were always happy, and always kind to one another. They were true copies in all things of their Saviour Jesus Christ." Was not that a splendid character to have, and would it not be nice if those whom we live with could say the same of us?

There was something near Savannah that you would have liked to see, especially the boys, and thatwas an Indian town. If there was one thing more than another that drew Mr. Wesley to Georgia it was the Indians. I expect, like you, he had loved to read and hear about them; now he had a chance to see them. But what he longed for most of all was to tell them about Jesus, and to get them to become Christians. The Indians lived in tents or tepees as they are called, and a number of these tepees all put up close together was called a town; one of these towns was only about twenty minutes' walk from Savannah.

After Mr. Wesley had been a week or two in America, who should come to see him but the Indian chief. Think how excited Mr. Wesley would be! The chief's name was Tomo Chachi, and he came looking so grand in all his war paint, with his great feather head-dress, and moccasins made of buffalo skin, ornamented with pretty coloured beads, just as you have seen them in pictures.

Mr. Wesley thought he must dress up too, to receive his distinguished visitor, so he put on his gown and cassock, and down he went to see Tomo Chachi. Of course Mr. Wesley did not understand the Indian language, but there was a woman who did, and she acted as interpreter. "I am glad you are come," said Tomo Chachi. "I will go up and speak to the wise men of our nation, and I hope they will come and hear you preach."

Then Tomo Chachi's wife, or squaw as she is called,who had come with her husband, presented the missionaries with a jar of milk. She meant by this that she wanted them to make the story of Jesus Christ very plain and simple so that they could understand it, for she said "we are only like children." Then she gave them a jar of honey, and by this she meant that she hoped the missionaries would be very sweet and nice to them. Then Tomo Chachi and his squaw went back to their tepee.

A few months after, Mr. Wesley had a long talk with another tribe of Indians, a very wicked tribe called the Chicasaws; but they would not allow him to preach to them. They said: "We don't want to be Christians, and we won't hear about Christ." So Mr. Wesley had to leave them and go back disappointed to Savannah.

Cherub

Proud children.—Edie.—Boys in Georgia.—John and Charles Wesley in the wrong.—Signal failure.—Disappointment.—Return to England.—Mr. Wesley finds out something on the voyage home.—An acrostic.

WONDER if my readers know any boys or girls who sneer and look down upon their school companions because they are not so well dressed as themselves? It is a cruel, unkind, un-Christ-like thing to do.

I remember seeing a little girl, and it was in a Sunday School too, who had on a new summer frock and a new summer hat; and oh! Edie did think she looked nice. She kept smoothing her frock down and looking at it, and then tossing her head. By her side sat a sweet-faced little girl about a year younger than Edie. Annie's dress was of print and quite plainly made, but very clean and tidy. After admiring herself a little while, Edie turned to Annie and thinking, I suppose, that she might be wearinga pinafore, and have a frock underneath, she rudely lifted it up, and finding it really was her dress, she turned away with a very ugly, disgusted look on her face, and said, scornfully "What a frock!" Proud, thoughtless boys and girls never know the hurts they give, and the harm they do.

The boys in Georgia were no better than some boys in England. At a school where one of the Methodists taught there were some poor boys who wore neither shoes nor stockings, and their companions who were better off taunted them and made their lives miserable. Their teacher did not know what to do, and asked Mr. Wesley for advice. "I'll tell you what we'll do," he said; "we'll change schools"—Mr. Wesley taught a school too—"and I'll see if I can cure them."

So the two gentlemen changed schools, and when the boys came the next morning they found they had a new teacher, and this new teacher, to their astonishment, wore neither shoes nor stockings. You can imagine how the boys stared; but Mr. Wesley said nothing, just kept them to their lessons. This went on for a week, and at the end of that time the boys were cured of their pride and vanity.

Though Mr. John and Mr. Charles Wesley were so good, they were not perfect. They said and did many unwise things, and only saw their mistake when it was too late. One thing was they expected the people to lead the same strict lives they did, andto believe everything they believed. This, of course, the people of Georgia would not do, they thought their ways were just as good as Mr. Wesley's, and I dare say in some things they were. Instead of trying to persuade them and explaining why one way was better than another, Mr. Wesley told them theymustdo this, and they mustn't do that, until at last they got to dislike him very much. One woman got so angry that she knocked him down.

I am sure you will all feel very sorry when you read this, for Mr. Wesley was working very hard amongst them, and thought he was doing what was right. Mr. Charles did not get on any better at Frederica, where he had gone to work and preach. Like his brother, he was very strict and expected too much from the people. He tried and tried, not seeing where he was to blame, and at last wearied and disappointed he returned to England.

After he had gone, Mr. John took his place at Frederica, hoping to get on better than he had done at Savannah. It was of no use; he stayed for twelve weeks, but things only seemed to get worse and worse. At last he had to give up and go back to Savannah. Things, however, were no better there, and before long he too began to see that his mission had been a failure, and he returned to England a sadder and a wiser man.

In spite of all their mistakes Mr. John and his brother must have done some good in Georgia, forthe missionary who went after them wrote and said: "Mr. Wesley has done much good here, his name is very dear to many of the people." It must have made the brothers glad to read this, for it is hard when you have been doing what you thought was right, and then find it was all wrong.

On his return voyage to England Mr. Wesley had time to think about all the things that happened in Georgia. He was feeling dreadfully disappointed and discouraged; he had given up everything at home on purpose to do good to the people out there. He had meant to convert the Indians and comfort and help the Christian exiles, and he was coming back not having done either. Poor Mr. Wesley! And the worst of it was, the more he thought about it all, the more he began to see that the fault was his own.

There was another thing he discovered about himself on that voyage home. They encountered a fearful storm, when every one expected to be drowned. During those awful hours Mr. Wesley found out, almost to his own surprise, that the very thought of death was a terror to him. He knew then that there was something wrong, for no Christian ought to fear to die. So Mr. Wesley went down on his knees and told God how wrong he had been, that he had thought too much of his own opinions and trusted too much in himself. He asked God to give him more faith, more peace, more love.

He was always glad afterwards that he had gone to Georgia, and thanked God for taking him into that strange land, for his failure there had humbled him and shown him his weakness and his failings.

It is a grand thing when we get to know ourselves. Let us be always on the look-out for our own faults, and when we see them, fight them.

I would like to close this chapter with an acrostic I once heard on the word "Faith." It is a thing little folks, yes, and big folks often find hard to understand, perhaps this may help you.

What is Faith?

FullAssurance (confidence, having no doubt)InTrustingHim (Jesus).

Book and globe

George Whitefield, the "boy parson."—The Wesleys back in England.—Long walks.—Preaching by the way-side.—A talk in a stable.—Sermon in Manchester.—Mr. Charles in London.—Wants something he has not got.—Gets it.—Mr. John wants it too.—A top place in the class.

OU remember the Holy Club which the Methodists started at Oxford? Well, one of the youngest members was named George Whitefield; he was a pupil of Mr. John Wesley's, and when he left Oxford he became a preacher. While the two Wesleys were in Georgia, he carried on their work in England. He had learnt to love Jesus very dearly, had felt how wicked and sinful he was, and had gone to the Saviour and told Him all, asking Him to "Create in him a clean heart, and to renew within him a right spirit." Then he was so happy in knowing he was forgiven, that he wanted every one else to be happy and forgiven too. He was so young when he commenced to preach that every one called him the "boy parson;" but he talked so earnestly and kindlyto the people that crowds everywhere flocked to hear him.

When he heard that the two Wesleys were leaving Georgia he determined to go and take their place, and see what he could do for the poor exiles. Before he left England he preached a good-bye sermon, and told the people that he was going this long and dangerous voyage, and perhaps they might never see his face again. When they heard this, the children and the grown-up people, rich and poor, burst into tears, they loved him so much. But as this book is to be about Mr. John Wesley, we must not follow Mr. Whitefield across the Atlantic. Try to remember his name though, for he and the Wesleys were life-long friends, and you will hear about him again further on.

When Mr. John and Mr. Charles got back to England they took up George Whitefield's work, going from town to town telling the people about Jesus Christ. As there were no railways they had to walk a great deal, and they used to speak to the people they met on the roads and in the villages through which they passed. Once, when Mr. Wesley and a friend were on their way to Manchester, they stayed one night in an inn at Stafford. Before they went to bed, Mr. Wesley asked the mistress of the house if they might have family prayer. She was quite willing, and so all the servants were called in. Next morning, after breakfast,Mr. Wesley had a talk with them all again, and even went into the stables and spoke to the men there about their sins and about the love of Jesus Christ.

He preached in Manchester the next Sunday, and this was his text: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" (2 Cor. v. 17). He explained to them that when any one begins to love Jesus, and tries to copy His life, they grow more and more like what He was. Then everything becomes different; the things they loved to do before cease to be a pleasure to them, and the places they liked to go to they no longer care to visit; they are "new creaturesin Christ Jesus."

The next morning (Monday) Mr. Wesley, and the friend who was with him, left Manchester and went on to Knutsford. Here, too, the people listened attentively, while they preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. They visited other towns, and then Mr. Wesley returned to Oxford.

He had not been long there when he heard that his brother Charles was very ill in London, and went at once to see him. Charles Wesley had been living and working there with some German Christians, or Moravians, as they were called, and before long he found that these people had something in their lives that he did not possess. Like the Germans he met in Georgia, their religion gave them peace and joy on week-days as well as on Sundays.

When he was ill, one of these Moravians, named Peter Böhler, came to see him. During the little talk they had, the visitor said:

"What makes you hope you are saved?"

"Because I have done my best to serve God," answered Mr. Charles.

You see, he was trusting in all the good deeds he had done, and not on Jesus Christ's suffering and death for him.

Mr. Böhler shook his head, and did not say any more then. But he left Charles Wesley longing for the something he had not got.

When he was a little better, he was carried to the house of a poor working-man named Bray. He was not clever, indeed, he hardly knew how to read, but he was a happy believer in Jesus; and he explained to Mr. Charles thatdoingwas not enough, that we must believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for us, and that it is only through Him that we can pray to God, and only by His death that we can hope to go to heaven.

Then a poor woman came in, and she made him understand better than any one; and at last Mr. Charles saw where he had been in the wrong, and instead of trusting in his own goodness and in all the kind things he had done, he just gave up his faith in these, and trusted alone in the dying love of his Saviour, and ours.

I expect all my readers have classes in the schoolsthey go to. Some of you are at the top of your class, some of you are in the middle, and some of you are—well—near the bottom. I think this is very much the way in Christ's school, the only difference is that in your class at school there can only beoneat the top. In Christ's school there can be any number at the top. There are a great number of Christians who are only half-way up in the class, and I am afraid there are a still greater number at the bottom. That is a place none of us like to be in at school; then don't let us be content to keep that place in Christ's school; let us all seek and obtain top places.

When Mr. John Wesley visited his brother, he found he had got above him in Christ's school; he had taken a top place in the class, and John could not rest until he had got a top place too. So he prayed very earnestly, and got the people that had helped his brother to talk to him, but still he did not seem to understand. Four days after he went to a little service, and while the preacher was explaining the change that comes in us, when we trust in Jesus alone, John Wesley saw it all, took a top place in Christ's school, and joyfully went and told his brother.

Methodist rules.—Pulpits closed against Mr. Wesley.—A visit to Germany.—A walk in Holland.—Christian David, the German carpenter.—The Fellow of Lincoln College takes lessons in a cottage.

DARE say many of my readers go to Wesleyan Chapels, and understand some of the Methodist rules. Most of these rules were made by the two Mr. Wesleys and their friends more than one hundred and fifty years ago, and they have been kept by their followers ever since. I want to tell you about a few of them.

The people who attended the Methodist meetings were divided into little bands or companies, no band to have fewer than five persons in it, and none more than ten. They were to meet every week, and each one in turn was to tell the rest what troubles and temptations they had had, and how God, through Jesus Christ, had helped them since the last meeting.

Every Wednesday evening, at eight o'clock, all the bands joined together in one large meeting, whichbegan and ended with hymns and prayer. There were many other rules, some of which I will tell you later on, others you can read about when you are older.

All this time you must remember that Mr. Wesley was a church clergyman. He loved the Church of England very dearly, though there were a great many things in it with which he did not agree.

Wherever he preached he told the people just what he believed, and as very few clergymen thought as he did, they did not like him speaking his opinions so freely. At last, first one and then another said he should never preach in their churches again. Yet the message Mr. Wesley gave to the people, was the very same message that Christ spoke long before on the shores of Galilee.

Mr. Wesley still longed to understand his Bible better, and to learn more of Jesus Christ, so he determined to go and visit the Moravians at a place called Herrnhuth in Germany, and see if he could get some help from them. So one June day, he said good-bye to his mother, and with eight of his friends set off. One of these friends was an old member of the Holy Club at Oxford. On their way to Herrnhuth, they had to pass through Holland. This is what Mr. Wesley says about a walk they had in that country:

I never saw such a beautiful road. Walnut trees grow in rows on each side, so that it is like walkingin a gentleman's garden. We were surprised to find that in this country the people at the inns will not always take in travellers who ask for food and bed. They refused to receive us at several inns. At one of the towns we were asked to go and see their church, and when we went in we took off our hats in reverence, as we do in England, but the people were not pleased, they said: "You must not do so, it is not the custom in this country."

After a long, long journey through Germany, the little party at last reached Herrnhuth.

Mr. Wesley had only been a few days there, when he wrote to his brother Samuel: "God has given me my wish, I am with those who follow Christ in all things, and who walk as He walked."

I must just tell you about one of these Moravians, because he helped Mr. Wesley more than any of the others. His name was Christian David. He was only an ignorant working-man, and when not preaching was always to be found working at his carpenter's bench. But David was Christian in life as well as in name; he "walked with God," and whether he preached and prayed, or worked with chisel and plane, he did all "in the name of the Lord Jesus." He was never tired of telling people about the Saviour he loved, and trying to get them to love Him too. He was a man who often made mistakes, but as some one has said, "the man who never makes mistakes never makes anything;" and Christian David wasalways ready to own his faults when they were pointed out to him.

You remember to what a high position Mr. Wesley had risen at Oxford, and how clever he was? Yet Christian David knew more than he did about Jesus Christ and His love; and the Fellow of Lincoln College was not too proud to go and sit in a cottage and be taught by this humble carpenter, who so closely followed the Holy Carpenter of Nazareth.

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