Reminiscences; With Memoirs of His Late Father and Friends, [Etc]. Volume 1 (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: - v MR. WESLEY. 337 titter. Singing sacred hymns to the airs of Bacchanalian songs and Scottish reels, is divine mirth indeed! The said Mr. Wesley, as well as Whitfield, notwithstanding their having received an university education, became field-preachers. That the intentions of those celebrated holders-forth weie pious, there is no apparent reason for doubting? that they were learned in the sacred scriptures there can be no doubt at all; and few, perhaps, will be found to dispute what has been asserted, namely, that they were men of good understanding; but there can be no slander in asserting, that however they might boast of grace, they were not abounding in taste. The following to wit: ? " When I was at college," said this rival 'of Whitfield, " when I was at college, I was fond of the devil's pops (cards), and every Saturday I was one at a party at whist?not only of an afternoon, but an evening. After this I became acquainted with the Lord. On my first acquaintance I used to talk with him once a week, then every day, then twice a-day; then, on better acquaintance, as our intimacy increased, he appointed a meeting every four hours. " Now, my dear friends! if you think there is no harm in the devil's pops, play with them. So with other things, hunting the hare, and going to assemblies, there staying till two or three o'clock, Vol. i. z 338 Do As rou List. and dancing," as the pious old gentleman delicately expressed it, " ' belly to belly, and back to back.'?Why?if you think there is no harm, in these things, go?and do as you list. But better to get into conversation with the Lord." It surely cannot surprise, that preaching of this " cast and character" even admitting that the audacious mimic quoted " not always upon oath," exposed such in-door and ou...