" Trains up his babes of grace, inftructed well

"To close the twinkling eye; expand the palms,
"To expofe the whites, and with the fightless balls
"To glare upon the crowd: to rise, to sink
"The docile voice; now murm'ring foft and flow,
"With inward accent calm, and then again,.
"In foaming floods of rapt'rous eloquence
"Let loofe the ftorm, and thunder thro' the nofe
"The threatened vengeance."

SOMERVILLE.

DEAR FRIEND,

THE Watch-night begins

about feven o'clock. They fing hymns, pray, preach, fing, and pray again; then exhort, fing and pray alternately, until twelve o'clock. The hymns which they fing on those nights, were wrote for fuch occafions, 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

who attend these nocturnal meetings having fafted the whole of the day (according to Mr. Wesley's orders) are in a very proper ftate of mind to entertain the moft extravagant whims or enthufiaftic notions that can poffibly enter the heads of any vifionaries. So that fuch nights are often very prolific, as numbers are faid to be born again, and become the temples of the Holy Ghost on watch-nights, which makes those nights efteemed by them.

Mr. Welley, in every place where his people were numerous, had divided them into claffes, confifting of twelve or fourteen brothers or fifters. Sometimes men and women met together in the fame class (as they called it) and other claffes confifted of all men or all women. Each of thefe claffes had one in it who was called the leader. In fuch claffes where men and women meet together, the leader was always a brother: and so of course when the clafs confifted of men alone. But

in

in the women's claffes a fifter was always the leader.

When they met together, the leader first gave out an hymn, which they all fang; after the hymn they all knelt, and their leader made an extemporary prayer; after which they were feated, and when the leader had informed them of the state of his own mind, he enquired of all prefent, one after another, how they found the state of their fouls. Some he found were full of faith and affurance, others had dreadful doubts and fears; fome had horrid temptations; others complained of a lukewarm ftate, &c. In these meetings, fome of the members fpoke 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 and abandoned wretches on this fide hell, that they wondered why the earth did not open

and

and fwallow them alive. But they gene

up.

"

rally added, that "the blood of Chrift cleanses from all fin," and that "where fin abounded there would grace much more abound.' Indeed it was easy to remark that the reason why they painted themselves in fuch 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 nethermoft hell. To each of these the leader gave a word of comfort, or of correction in the best manner he was able. They then fang and prayed again. This lafted about one hour. And every one in Mr. Wefley's connexion did, or was expected to meet, each in his own clafs once in a week. In these claffes each made a weekly contribution towards the general fupport of the preachers, &c. Such as were very poor contributed a penny per week, others two-pence, and fome who could afford it fixpence. This money was entered in a book kept for that

purpose,

purpose, and one in every clafs called the steward, had the care of the cash.

I now come to speak of the Bands, which confifted only of juftified perfons; that is fuch as had received the affurance of their fins being pardoned. In the claffes, both the awakened (as they call them) and the juftified, and even thofe that were made perfect met all together, as did the married and the fingle, and often men and women. But none were admitted into any band but such as were at least in a juftified ftate, and the married. of each fex met by themselves, and the fingle 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 fickness, &c. and they were also to meet weekly in their band. When met, they first fung, then made a fhort prayer; that done, the bandleader informed them of the ftate of his mind during the last week, &c. He then made inquiry into the state of all prefent, and each related

G