THE LIFE OF THE REV. CHARLES WESLEY, M. A. CHAPTER I. CHARLES WESLEY was the youngest son of the Rev. Samuel Wesley, Rector of Epworth, in Lincolnshire, and of his estimable wife Susanna. He was born December 18th, 1708; being about sixteen years younger than his brother Samuel, and about five younger than John. His birth was premature; so that at first he appeared rather dead than alive. He neither cried, nor opened his eyes, and was kept wrapped up in soft wool until the time at which he should have been born according to the course of nature, when he opened his eyes, and caused his voice to be heard.* were The income of the Rector of Epworth was comparatively small, and his children were very numerous. Twice the parsonage house was unfortunately burned down, and rebuilt at his own expense. His circumstances, therefore, painfully embarrassed; and the children were far from having any superfluity of either diet or clothing. The hardy manner in which they were necessarily trained prepared them to contend with the trials of life; and, in the arrangements of a wise providence, fitted John and Charles for the privations and labours which they were destined to endure as itinerant teachers of religion. Their venerable mother, in a letter, dated January 20th, 1722, and addressed to her brother, Mr. Samuel Annesley, says, "Mr. Wesley rebuilt his Dr. Whitehead's Life of the Rev. John Wesley, vol. i., p. 97. F B house in less than one year; but nearly thirteen years are elapsed since it was burned; yet it is not half furnished, nor are his wife and children half clothed, to this day."* Perhaps no family in the kingdom was placed under better regulations than the Wesley family at Epworth. The father was a man of great learning, and of studious habits. He. also spent much of his time from home, attending the sittings of the Convocation in London: so that the care of the children devolved principally upon their excellent mother; a woman of sincere piety, and of a strong and well-cultivated understanding. They were all placed under her tuition; and the laws by which she governed them reflect the highest honour upon her character. They are thus stated by herself: "The children were always put into a regular method of living, in such things as they were capable of, from their birth; as in dressing, undressing, changing their linen, &c. The first quarter commonly passes in sleep. After that, they were, if possible, laid in their cradles awake, and rocked to sleep; and so they were kept rocking, till it was time for them to awake. This was done to bring them to a regular course of sleeping; which at first was three hours in the morning, and three in the afternoon; afterward two hours, till they needed none at all. "When turned a year old, (and some before,) they were taught to fear the rod, and to cry softly; by which means they escaped abundance of correction they might otherwise have had; and that most odious noise of the crying of children was rarely heard in the house; but the family usually lived in as much quietness, as if there had not been a child among them. "As soon as they were grown pretty strong, they were confined to three meals a day. At dinner their little tables and chairs were set by ours, where they could be overlooked; and they were suffered to eat and drink (small beer) as much as they would; but not to call for anything. If they wanted aught, they used to whisper to the maid which attended them, who came and spake to me; and as soon as they could handle a knife and fork, they were set to our table. They were never suffered to choose their meat, but • Moore's Life of Mr. Wesley, vol. i., p. 565. always made to eat such things as were provided for the family. "Mornings they had always spoon-meat; sometimes at nights. But, whatever they had, they were never permitted to eat, at those meals, of more than one thing; and of that sparingly enough. Drinking or eating between meals was never allowed, unless in case of sickness; which seldom happened. Nor were they suffered to go into the kitchen to ask anything of the servants, when they were at meat. If it was known they did, they were certainly beat, and the servants severely reprimanded. "At six, as soon as family prayers were over, they had their supper; at seven, the maid washed them; and, beginning at the youngest, she undressed and got them all to bed by eight at which time she left them in their several rooms awake; for there was no such thing allowed of in our house, as sitting by a child till it fell asleep. "They were so constantly used to eat and drink what was given them, that when any of them was ill, there was no difficulty in making them take the most unpleasant medicine for they durst not refuse it, though some of them would presently throw it up. This I mention, to show that a person may be taught to take anything, though it be never so much against his stomach. "In order to form the minds of children, the first thing to be done is to conquer their will, and bring them to an obedient temper. To inform the understanding is a work of time, and must with children proceed by slow degrees, as they are able to bear it; but the subjecting the will is a thing which must be done at once; and the sooner the better. For by neglecting timely correction, they will contract a stubbornness and obstinacy, which is hardly ever after conquered; and never, without using such severity as would be as painful to me as to the child. In the esteem of the world, they pass for kind and indulgent, whom I call cruel parents, who permit their children to get habits which they know must be afterwards broken. Nay, some are so stupidly fond, as in sport to teach their children to do things which, in a while after, they have severely beaten them for doing. Whenever a child is corrected, it must be conquered; and this will be no hard matter to do, if it be not grown head 十 十 strong by too much indulgence. And when the will of a child is totally subdued, and it is brought to revere and stand in awe of the parents, then a great many childish follies and inadvertencies may be passed by. Some should be overlooked, and taken no notice of, and others mildly reproved; but no wilful transgression ought ever to be forgiven children, without chastisement, less or more, as the nature and circumstances of the offence require. "I insist upon conquering the will of children betimes, because this is the only strong and rational foundation of a religious education; without which both precept and example will be ineffectual. But when this is thoroughly done, then a child is capable of being governed by the reason and piety of its parents, till its own understanding comes to maturity, and the principles of religion have taken root in the mind. "I cannot yet dismiss this subject. As self-will is the root of all sin and misery, so whatever cherishes this in children insures their after-wretchedness and irreligion. Whatever checks and mortifies it, promotes their future happiness and piety. This is still more evident, if we farther consider, that religion is nothing else than the doing the will of God, and not our own: that the one grand impediment to our temporal and eternal happiness being this self-will, no indulgencies of it can be trivial, no denial unprofitable. Heaven or hell depends on this alone. So that the parent who studies to subdue it in his child works together with God in the renewing and saving a soul. The parent who indulges it does the devil's work, makes religion impracticable, salvation unattainable; and does all that in him lies to damn his child, soul and body, for ever. "The children of this family were taught, as soon as they could speak, the Lord's Prayer, which they were made to say at rising and bed-time constantly; to which, as they grew bigger, were added a short prayer for their parents, and some collects, a short catechism, and some portion of Scripture, as their memories could bear. They were very early made to distinguish the Sabbath from other days, before they could well speak or go. They were as soon taught to be still at family prayers, and to ask a blessing immediately after, which they used to do by signs, before they could kneel or speak. ર 'They were quickly made to understand, they might have nothing they cried for, and instructed to speak handsomely for what they wanted. They were not suffered to ask even the lowest servant for aught without saying, 'Pray give me such a thing;' and the servant was chid, if she ever let them omit that word. Taking God's name in vain, cursing and swearing, profaneness, obscenity, rude, ill-bred names, were never heard among them. Nor were they ever permitted to call each other by their proper names, without the addition of brother or sister. "None of them were taught to read till five years old, except Kezzy, in whose case I was overruled; and she was more years learning than any of the rest had been months. The way of teaching was this:-The day before a child began to learn, the house was set in order, every one's work was appointed them, and a charge given, that none should come into the room from nine till twelve, or from two till five; which were our school hours. One day was allowed the child wherein to learn its letters; and each of them did in that time know all its letters, great and small, except Molly and Nancy, who were a day and a half before they knew them perfectly; for which I then thought them very dull; but since I have observed how long many children are learning the horn-book, I have changed my opinion. But the reason why I thought them so then was, because the rest learned so readily; and Samuel, who was the first child I ever taught, learned the alphabet in a few hours. He was five years old on the 10th of February; the next day he began to learn; and as soon as he knew the letters, began the first chapter of Genesis. He was taught to spell the first verse, then to read it over and over, till he could read it off-hand without any f hesitation; so on the second, &c., till he took ten verses for a lesson, which he quickly did. Easter fell low that year; and by Whitsuntide he could read a chapter very well; for he read continually, and had such a prodigious memory, that I cannot remember ever to have told him the same word twice. "What was yet stranger, any word he had learned in his lesson, he knew, wherever he saw it, either in his Bible, or any other book; by which means he very soon learned to read an English author well, |