the preacher meets all the members of the society who stay behind after the general congregation is dismissed. To this society the preacher gave such advice as he deemed better suited to a godly few than to a promiscuous multitude of "outward-court worshippers."

Their Love-feast is also a private meeting of as many members of the community as please to attend ; and they generally come from all parts, within several miles of the place where love-feasts are held.

When all are met they alternately sing and pray; and such amongst them as think that their experience (as they call it) is remarkable, stand up in their place and relate all the transactions between God, the devil, and their souls.

"Discussing evils, which begin
In every soul that tastes of sin!
As head of chosen doth foreknow,
How far the devil means to go."

PIOUS INCENDIARY.

At such seasons as this, I have heard many of them aeclare that they had just received the pardon of all their sins while brother such-a-one was in prayer; another would then get up and assert that he was just at that instant made perfectly free from sin.

At these times the Spirit is supposed to be very powerfully at work amongst them; and such an unison of sighing and groaning succeeds, that you would think they had all lost their senses. In this frantic state, many apply to themselves such texts of scripture as happen to come into their heads.

In the love-feasts they have buns to eat, which are mutually broken between each brother and sister, and they have also water to drink, which they hand from one to another. These meetings begin about seven o'clock, and last till nine or ten.

In London, Bristol, and other large places, they have some private meetings, unknown to the com

munity at large. These meetings consist of all married men at one time, young and unmarried men at another time: the married women by themselves, and the single women by themselves: and to each of these classes Mr Wesley went, and gave such advice or exhortations as he thought suitable to their situation in life, seldom failing to speak much in praise of celibacy to the maids and bachelors under his pastoral care. I will in my next give you an account of their watch-nights, class-meetings, bands, and other parti-culars.

I am, dear friend, yours.

Here Gamaliel sage

Trains up his babes of grace, instructed well
In all the
discipline of prayer;
To point the holy leer: by just degrees

To close the twinkling eye; expand the palms,
To expose the whites, and with the sightless balls
To glare upon the crowd: to rise, to sink
The docile voice, now murm'ring soft and slow,
With inward accent calm, and then again,
In foaming floods of rapt'rous eloquence

Let loose the storm, and thunder through the nose
The threatened vengeance."

DEAR FRIEND,

SOMERVILLE.

THE watch-night begins about seven o'clock. They sing hymns, pray, preach, sing, and pray again; then exhort, sing and pray alternately, until twelve o'clock. The hymns which they sing on those nights are written for such occasions, and abound with gloomy ideas, which are increased by the time of night; and it must be remarked, that the major part of those

who attend these nocturnal meetings, having fasted the whole of the day, (according to Mr Wesley's orders,) are in a very proper state of mind to entertain the most extravagant whims or enthusiastic notions that can possibly enter the heads of any visionaries. So that such nights are often very prolific, as numbers are said to be born again, and become the temples of the Holy Ghost on watch-nights, which makes those nights esteemed by them.

Mr Wesley, in every place where his people were numerous, had divided them into classes, consisting of twelve or fourteen brothers or sisters. Sometimes men and women met together in the same class (as they called it), and other classes consisted of all men or all women. Each of these classes had one in it who was called the leader. In such classes where men and women met together, the leader was always a brother; and so of course when the class consisted of men alone. But in the women's classes a sister was always the leader.

When they met together, the leader first gave out a hymn, which they all sang; after the hymn they all knelt, and their leader made an extempore prayer; after which they were seated, and when the leader had informed them of the state of his own mind, he enquired of all present, one after another, how they found the state of their souls. Some he found were full of faith and assurance, others had dreadful doubts and fears; some hard horrid temptations.

"It doth affect my inward man,
To think of Satan's wicked plan;
Ah, me! how doth that fiend conspire,
To drag each saint to lasting fire!"

FANATICISM DISPLAYED.

Others complained of a lukewarm state, &c. In these meetings some of the members spoke of themselves as though they were as pure as angels are in heaven; but with the generality of them it was far

otherwise; and nothing was more common among them than to hear the major part exclaiming against themselves, and declaring that they were the most vile abandoned wretches on this side hell, that they wondered why the earth did not open and swallow them up alive. But they generally added, that "the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin," and that "where sin abounded there would grace much more abound." Indeed it was easy to remark, that the reason why they painted themselves in such odious colours, was only to boast of an astonishing quantity of grace that God had bestowed on them, in thus pardoning all their abominations, and numbering them with the household of faith who ought to have been shut up in the nethermost hell. The greater the sinner (say they) the greater the saint. To each of these the leader gave a word of comfort, or of correction, in the best manner he was able. They then sang and prayed again. This lasted about one hour. And every one in Mr Wesley's connection did or was expected to meet, each in his own class once in a week. In these classes each made a weekly contribution towards the general support of the preachers, &c. Such as were very poor contributed a penny per week, others twopence, and some who could afford it six-pence. This money was entered in a book kept for that purpose, and one in every class, called the steward, had the care of the cash.

I now come to speak of the bands, which consisted only of justified persons; that is, such as had received the assurance of their sins being pardoned. In the classes, both the awakened (as they call them) and the justified, and even those that were made perfect, met all together, as did the married and the single, and often men and women. But none were admitted into any band but such as were at least in a justified state, and the married of each sex met by themselves, and the single by themselves. About ten was the number generally put in one band; all these must belong to

and meet in some class once a week, when not hindered by sickness, &c., and they were also to meet weekly in their band. When met, they first sang, then made a short prayer; that done, the band-leader informed them of the state of his mind during the last week, &c. He then made inquiry into the state of all present, and each related what had passed since they last met; as what visitations they had received from God, what temptations from the devil, the flesh, &c. And it is a maxim amongst them that exposing to one another what the devil has particularly tempted them to commit, will make the old fellow more careful how he tempts, when he knows that all his secrets will be told the next meeting. This they call shaming the devil. In the classes they only confessed in general terms, that they have been tempted by the world, the flesh, and the devil. But in the bands they con. fessed the particular sins which they had been tempted to commit, or had actually committed.

The last time I met in band was in London, where an old man (near seventy years of age) informed us that he had for several weeks together laboured under a very grievous temptation of the devil, who all this time had been constantly tempting him to commit adultery; he farther informed us, that having let too much of his house to lodgers, they were obliged to put the maid's bed in the room where he and his wife slept; and that one morning he had seen the maid lying asleep, nearly or quite uncovered, and he again assured us, that ever since that time the devil had been tempting him to do that which was naught with the maid. I could not help thinking that the old gentleman was right in charging it on the devil, as there was little reason to think it was any temptation of the flesh. Permit me to add, that this old buck had a wife about half his own age. I have been informed, that some young men of the brotherhood have at times disguised themselves in women's clothes, and have so got into the women's bands; it may be very