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THE WELLESLEY FAMILY.

VOL. I.-PAGE 12.

THE following notices concerning the Wellesley family are copied from the Gentleman's Magazine for 1822, pages 325, 326. They prove the antiquity of the family, as well as its great respectability and distinction.

"A gentleman asserted to me the very late and obscure origin of the celebrated house, who now bear the name of Wellesley. I said that they were the descendants and male representatives of Sir Henry Colley, (or Cowley,) a Knight of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, of whom Sir Henry Sydney, Lord Deputy of Ireland, speaks in one of his letters, 1580, addressed to his successor, Arthur Lord Grey, of Wilton, in the following words :

"My good Lord,-I had almost forgotten to recommend to you, among other of my friends, Sir Henry Cowley, a Knight of mine own making; who, whilst he was young, and the ability and strength of his body served, was valiant, fortunate, and a good servant; and having by my appointment the charge of the King's county, kept the country well ordered, and in good obedience. He is as good a borderer as ever I found anywhere. I left him at my coming thence a Councillor; and tried him for his experience and judgment, very sufficient for the room he was called unto. He was a sound and fast friend unto me; and so I doubt not your Lordship shall find, when you shall have occasion to employ him.'

"He died 1584. His second son, another Sir Henry Colley, of Castle-Carberry, was knighted 1576; and was living 1613. He left a third Sir Henry, of Castle-Carberry, who died 1637, leaving a son and heir, Dudley Colley, of Castle-Carberry, Esq., who, dying 1674, has the following epitaph on a monument in the church of Castle-Carberry :

"This monument was erected by Henry Colley, Esq., in memory of his father, Dudley Colley, alias Cowley, Esq., greatgrandson of Sir Henry Colley, alias Cowley, of Castle-Carberry, Knight, who built this chapel and burial-place for his family, who are interred therein with their wives; Anne Warren, daughter of Henry Warren, of Grangeberg, Esq.; Elizabeth, daughter of George Sankey, of Balenrath, in the King's county, Esq.; and Catherine Cussack, daughter of Sir Thomas Cussack, Knight, Lord Justice of Ireland. Sir Henry Colley, alias Cowley, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, in the second year of her reign, and made one of Her

Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council. Henry Colley, now living, son of Dudley Colley, married Mary Ussher, and had issue by her, six sons and six daughters; whereof two sons, Henry and Richard, and six daughters are now living. She was only daughter of Sir William Ussher, of Bridgefoot, Knight, by his Lady Ursula St. Barb, and lieth here interred; for whose memory also this monument was made, 10th of July, A. D. 1705.'

"This Henry Colley, of Castle-Carberry, Esq., died 1700. His eldest son, Henry Colley, of Castle-Carberry, Esq., was M. P. for Strabane, and married Lady Mary Hamilton, third daughter of James Earl of Abercorn, but died 1723, leaving an infant son, who did not survive him a month.

"His younger brother Richard, who succeeded to the estates, and took the name of Wesley, 1727, by the will of his cousin Garret Wesley, Esq., was created Lord Mornington in 1746.

"The gentleman alluded to insisted that all this descent of the first Lord Mornington must be a fiction; for that it was notorious to numerous Irish with whom he had conversed, that the Mr. Colley, to whom the Wesley fortune and name was bequeathed, was a man of most obscure birth and station. Let the reader of the above epitaph judge what value there is in such bold and obstinate assertions!"

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A LETTER TO A CURATE.

VOL. I.-PAGE 37.

THE tract is here reprinted entire, because of its extreme scarceness, the light which it throws upon the character of the venerable Rector of Epworth, and the permanent value of the advice and suggestions which it contains. The person to whom it was addressed was the brother of the Rev. Mr. Hoole, of Haxey. The preface was written by Mr. John Wesley; to whom his father says in one of his letters, "I took some pains a year or two since in drawing up some advices to Mr. Hoole's brother, then to be my Curate at Epworth, before his ordination, which may not be unuseful to you therefore I will send them shortly to your brother Sam for you; but you must return me them again, I having no copy; and pray let none but yourself see them." The notices which the tract contains respecting many eminent persons contemporary with the author are singularly curious and interesting.

This Richard was first Lord Mornington.

ADVICE TO A YOUNG CLERGYMAN, IN A LETTER TO HIM, CONCERNING, 1. HIS INTENTION; 2. CONVERSE AND DEMEANOUR; 3. READING PRAYERS; 4. STUDIES; 5. PREACHING AND CATECHISING; 6. ADMINISTERING THE SACRAMENT; LASTLY, DISCIPLINE. BY A DIVINE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

THE PREFACE.

THE author of the following letter, now with God, designed it only for the use of his own assistant. But as the person with whom the original copy remained, judged it might be of service to many more, it is here presented to all those who desire faithfully to discharge the duties of their most holy function.

To them who sincerely and earnestly desire this, there needs little to be said to recommend it. Let them (after they have seriously implored God to assist them therein) first read, and then judge. They will then find strong sense and deep experience, in plain, clear, unaffected words; and a strain of piety, running through the whole, worthy a soldier of Jesus Christ.

If any ambassador of Christ, in meditating herein, shall feel the fire kindle in himself also; if he find his own heart burn within him, to promote the glory of his ever-blessed Redeemer, let him, in that acceptable time, beseech Him that he would send forth more such labourers into his harvest: and that, in particular, He would enable the publisher hereof to approve himself as the Minister of God, by spending his life in gathering the poor sheep that are scattered abroad; and, if need be, pouring out his blood for them.

DEAR BROTHER,

THE providence of God having allotted you for my assistant, you will pardon me if I assume so much as to give you a few thoughts on that occasion; because I must, in some measure, answer for you to God and his church; and you are just launching into a world wherein I have learnt some dear-bought and sad experience especially I ought to be pretty well acquainted with my own people, among whom I have resided, with great variety of what we call fortune, for now about twenty-five years; which is longer, I think, than any, except one, has done before me since the Reformation.

I know you will hear complaints of ill enough against me among

my people if true, as I pray God too many of them may not be, avoid my example, and be more careful; for then all my mistakes will be your recommendations: if false, as I hope some of them may be, join with me in praying God to forgive them: (as God best knows whether I do still love them :) if anything has been worthy your imitation, emulate it, and outdo it, for which I shall most sincerely rejoice.

You must not expect a laboured discourse from me on this subject; but be pleased to remember I write a letter, and not a tract; and my simple thoughts, as they occur, with the same freedom and candour as I hope you will read them.

I would not willingly bind any burden upon another, which I would not touch or bear myself. I write this for myself as well as you, as far as our circumstances as Clergymen, and having the cure of souls, do agree. I do not (indeed, my friend and brother, I do not) pretend to dictate; nor shall I require or expect anything from you but what is indispensable in your charge and character. The rest is only cordial and brotherly advice, which you are at liberty to take, or make use of better, as it offers: though I think, if any had given me the same, when I was in your circumstances, and I had followed it, I might have been somewhat more useful in the world, as well as more happy, than I either have been or now am ever like to be. As for any exact method, you must not expect it; and, I believe, have goodness enough to excuse the want of it, which you will observe in several repetitions already all that I shall aim at in these free and familiar hints, being to give you some aim,

I. As to your general end and intention.

II. Your converse and demeanour towards your parishioners, or others.

III. Your reading prayers.

IV. Your studies.

V. Your preaching and catechising.

VI. Your administering the sacraments, &c.

Lastly. Discipline, what we have left of it, in our presentments, excommunications, &c.

I. As to your general aims and intentions, these I well hope you have already fixed in the main, on your entrance into holy orders: and that they are no less than what the Church tells us more than once they ought to be, in her excellent form of ordination, and in her prayers at the Ember-weeks; namely, "the glory of God, the edifying of his church, and the salvation of those immortal souls committed to your charge." I grant a man may lawfully have somewhat of a lower secondary end in doing this; namely, the

attaining an honest maintenance and settlement in the world: as he might have expected it, if he had turned his thoughts and studies to any other way of living. "For the labourer is worthy of his stipend;" and our heavenly Father knoweth "that we have need of these things." But woe to him who makes the attainment of worldly dignity or honour any part of his design herein. For he falls not far short of the iniquity of Simon Magus; nor can he expect a much better end. And how can he answer to that solemn question, "Do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost" (which I cannot tell how we should know, but by the rectitude of our intentions and designs) "to take upon you this office and ministration?"

Now, this end being first set right, must be constantly and regularly pursued, through the whole course of our ministry; which will, through God's blessing, give great vigour, comfort, and success in it as, without this, I should think a Clergyman's life would be one of the most tasteless and wearisome things in the world. For my own part, I had rather be a porter, or even a pettifogger.

With this view you will, I trust, often reflect seriously and deeply on the inestimable worth of those souls which God and his church have, in so solemn a manner, committed to your charge and mine; wherein the neglect of either will not wholly excuse the other. For they are, as we then learned, "the sheep of Christ, which He bought with his death, and for whom He shed his blood: and if it should happen that any of them should take any hurt or hinderance by reason of our negligence, we know the greatness of our fault, and the horrible punishment that will ensue." To prevent which we ought to have a dear love for them; for the sick as well as the healthy, the poor as well as the rich, our enemies as well as our friends; or else, what are we better than publicans and sinners? And wherever we are wanting to this, we are wanting to the main of our office; whereas this love will sweeten all our cares, and make us have the most ardent desire for their well-doing, and delight in it; without which it must be next to impossible that we should do any considerable good amongst them: and this, one would think, could scarce fail of meeting with a suitable return of love from them; for which we can hardly pay too dear, unless we purchase it with the loss of our innocence.

Now, I know of no method more effectual to keep these thoughts warm upon our minds, than to read over quarterly, at all the four tempora, the form of our ordination, especially that of Priests, to which, I hope, you will in due time be promoted, and to which many of these notices refer; and to examine our consciences, strictly and honestly, how we have complied with those sacred and

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