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the time a single minute. She concealed the matter from her friends, till at leaft fourteen of the weeks were elapfed, locking herself up in a room, and throwing herself upon the bed till the fit went off; but after that time they became fo violent, that she durft not venture herfelf alone any longer, but communicated the matter to fome of her friends, who kept it private for two or three days; when fhe grew fo ill that it could no longer be kept a fecret. What was very ftrange, not one of the fits refembled another, during the laft fix weeks. Every joint of her body was feverely twifted, and furprisingly contracted; her right fide frequently fwelled, nearly as large as one's head, in half a minute, and fell away as quickly her bowels were then drawn up together to her breaft, and her heart rofe feemingly to the lower end of her neck, so that one might have put in his hand where her bowels used to lie and felt her back bone.

The most noted Surgeons could not form the leaft judg ment of her difeafe, and they declined giving her any medicines. Six weeks before her deliverance, fhe was fitting alone in a room sewing, and being rather wearied, having put on a large coal fire and extinguished the candle, threw herself back on the bed for a fhort time; and when the arofe, the faw a person in the appearance of a man ftanding before the fire; fhe thought it had been a lad who had come in softly, and first named one and then another: fhe was surprised when nothing anfwered, and recollecting that the door was hard bolted, cried out, "Lord preferve me! do you intend to affright me out of my wits!" The perfon inftantly vanilhed out of her fight. In time of the fits the fhrieked most exceedingly, and cried moft bitterly on her tormentor: fhe thought that the faw her often in the room, and to convince those about her of the truth of her affertion, fhe defired them to liften, and they would hear the latch of the door lift up when she came in; and at another time, that they would bear a knock; both which were really heard, but no perfon feen,

except by herself. When she was able to fpeak, fhe could tell what o'clock it was, though both blind and deaf. When the was at the very wort, fhe faid, that her tormentor promifed if he would follow her advice, fhe would inftantly relieve her out of her trouble, and that he would never want for gold; but at the fame time fhe thought fhe heard a voice which faid, "Put truft in Christ, and all the powers of hell fhall never prevail against thee."

[To be continued.]

LETTER S.

LETTER

CCLXXXIV.

[From the Rev. Mr. Wesley, to Lady —

My Lady,

IT

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T was impoffible to fee the diftrefs, into which your Ladyfhip was thrown, by the late unhappy affair, without bearing a part of it, without fympathizing with you. But may we not fee God therein? May we not both hear and underftand his voice? We must allow it is generally "fmall and ftill:" yet fometimes he speaks in the whirlwind. Permit me to fpeak to your Ladyfhip with all freedom; not as to a person of quality, but as to a creature whom the Almighty made for himself, and one that is in a few days to appear before him.

You

You were not only a nominal, but a real Christian. tafted of the powers of the world to come. You knew, God the Father had accepted you, through his eternal Son. And God the Spirit bore witness with your spirit, that you were a Child of God.

But

But you fell among thieves, and fuch as were peculiarly qualified to rob you of your God. Two of thefe in particu lar were fenfible, learned, well-bred, well-natured, moral men. Thefe did not affault you in a rough, abrupt, offenfive manner. No; you would then have armed yourself against them, and have repelled all their attacks. But by foft, delicate, unobserved touches, by pleasing strokes of raillery, by infinuations, rather than furly arguments, they by little and little fapped the foundation of your Faith: perhaps, not only of your living Faith, your "Evidence of things not feen;" but even of your notional. It is well if they left you fo much as an Affent to the Bible, or a Belief, That Chrift is God over all! And what was the confequence of this? Did not your love of God grow cold? Did not you "measure back your steps to earth again?" Did not your love of the world revive? Even of those poor, low trifles, which in your very childhood you utterly defpifed?

Where are you now? Full of Faith? Looking into the Holieft, and feeing Him that is invifible? Does your heart now glow with love to Him, who is daily pouring his benefits upon you? Do you now even defire it?

now fay (as you did almost twenty years ago)

Keep me dead to all below,
Only Chrift refolved to know!

Firm, and difengaged, and free,
Seeking all my blifs in Thee?

Do you

Is your tafte now for heavenly things? Are not you a lover of pleasure, more than a lover of God? And O! what pleasure? What is the pleasure of Vifiting? Of modern Conversation? Is there any more Reason than Religion in it? I wonder, what rational appetite does it gratify? Setting Religion quite out of the question, I cannot conceive, how a woman of sense can-relish, should I fay? No, but suffer fo infipid an entertainment.

O that

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O that the time paft may fuffice! Is it not now high time, that you should awake out of fleep? Now God calls aloud! My dear Lady, now hear the voice of the Son of God and live! The trouble in which your tender parent is now involved may restore all that reverence for her, which could not but be a little impaired, while you fuppofed she was righteous over-much." O how admirably does God lay hold of, and "flrengthen the things that remain in you?" Your gratitude, your humane temper; your generosity; your filial tenderness? And why is this, but to improve every right temper, to free you from all that is irrational or unholy, to make you all that you were, yea all that you should be; to reffore you to the whole image of God!

I am, my Lady, yours, &c.

J. WESLEY.

I

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[From the Rev. Mr. Wesley, to Mr. Hofmer.]

My dear Brother,

Apprehend, if

Newcastle upon Tyne, June 7, 1761.

you will give another careful reading to those four pages, 244-247, you will find all your objections anticipated or anfwered. However, I do not think much of anfwering them over again. Your words are,

You fay, "A Miftake is not a Sin, if Love is the fole principle of action. Yet it is a Tranfgreffion of the Perfect Law." Therefore Perfect Love is not the Perfect Law! Most fure. For by the Perfect Law I mean, That given to Adam at his creation. But "The loving God with all his heart" was not the whole of that Law: it implied abundantly more: even thinking, Speaking, and acting right in every inftance,

which he was then able, and therefore obliged to do. But none of his defcendants are able to do this. Therefore Love, is the fulfilling of their Law.

Perhaps you had not adverted to this. The Law of Love, which is the whole Law given to us, is only one branch of that perfect Law, which was given to Adam in the beginning. His Law, was far wider than ours, as his faculties were more extenfive. Confequently, many things might be tranfgreffions of the latter, which were not of the former.

"But if Ignorance be a tranfgreffion of the Perfect Law" -Whoever said or thought fo? Ignorance is not: but Miftake is. And this Adam was able to avoid: that kind of Ignorance which was in him not constraining him to mistake, as ours frequently does.

"But is A voluntary Tranfgreffion of a known Law,' a proper definition of fin?" I think it is, of all fuch fin as is imputed to our condemnation. And it is a definition which has paft uncenfured in the Church, for at least fifteen hundred years.

To propose any objections that naturally arife, is right: but beware you do not feek objections. If you once begin this, you will never have done. Indeed this whole affair is a frife of words. The thing is plain. All in the body are liable to Mistakes, practical as well as fpeculative. Shall we call them Sins or no? I answer again and again, Call them juft what you please.

JOHN WESLEY.

LETTER

CCLXXXVI.

[From the Rev. Mr. Welley, to Mr. Alexander Coats.] My dear Brother, Otley, July 7, 1761.

THE

HE Perfection I teach, is Perfect Love; loving God with all the heart: receiving Chrift as Prophet, Priest, and King, to reign alone over all our thoughts, words, and VOL. VI.

actions.

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