FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D 
 
 BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 
c 
 
/ 
 
 / 
 
 

 
^ OF PB^fSj, 
 'SEP 81 1931 
 
 MEMORIALS OF THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 PETER BOHLER, 
 
 BISHOP OF THE CHURCH OF THE UNITED BRETHREN 
 
 BY THE 
 
 EEV. J. P. LOCKWOOD. 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
 BY THE 
 
 BEV. THOMAS JACKSON. 
 
 LONDON: 
 WESLEYAN CONFERENCE OFFICE, 
 
 2, CASTLE-ST., CITY-ROAD; 
 SOLD AT 66, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 
 1868. 
 
LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BI WILLIAM NICHOLS, 
 
 46, HOXTON SQUARE. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The following " Memorials " of one whose 
 name is inseparably associated with the revival 
 of spiritual religion in the early part of the 
 eighteenth century are the result of careful 
 and lengthened research. The outlines of them 
 appeared several years ago, in a paper in the 
 " Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine/ 5 at which time 
 it was feared that no further authentic informa- 
 tion respecting Peter Bohler could be procured. 
 Having somew^hat unexpectedly obtained access 
 to the official archives of the Church at Herrn- 
 hut and Bethlehem, and other original autho- 
 rities ; and yielding to the wishes of friends 
 whose judgment is entitled to respect ; I have 
 prepared a narrative w T hich may not be wholly 
 unacceptable to the religious public, and parti- 
 cularly to Wesleyan Methodists. I could easily 
 have enlarged the volume from the store of 
 unpublished materials in my possession ; but, 
 desirous to present a truthful and authentic 
 record of such interesting events in a form conve- 
 
 A 2 
 
V PREFACE. 
 
 nient and accessible to all, I have decided on 
 confining the " Memorials " within their pre- 
 sent limits. 
 
 My grateful acknowledgments are due, and 
 are hereby presented, to several gentlemen who 
 have favoured me with their welcome aid : espe- 
 cially to the Eev. Thomas Jackson, for his 
 valuable " Introduction ; " to the Eevs. John 
 Bomer, and Edward von Schweinitz, the Archi- 
 varii at Herrnhut, and Bethlehem ; to the eccle- 
 siastical and municipal authorities of several 
 European cities for their courtesy and diligent 
 researches ; to the Eev. Dr. Stevens, of New 
 York, and the Eev. John Kirk, of Bristol, 
 for important suggestions and other assist- 
 ance; and to the Eev. A. C. Hasse, of 
 London, and Mr. W. Tilburn, of Leeds, 
 for their efficient services in translation and 
 otherwise. Would that the volume, prepared 
 amid engagements by no means light, had been 
 more worthy of the memory of a servant of 
 Christ so greatly to be revered ! It is now sent 
 forth with the prayer that it may tend to pro- 
 mote the glory of our common Lord, and the 
 spiritual interests of His Church. 
 
 Shipley, near Leeds, 
 
 May 26th, 1868. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGFS 
 
 Preface iii 
 
 Introduction concerning Mr. Wesley's early 
 
 Religious Life 1 to 48 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Antiquity of Moravian Church — Council of Constance 
 — Frankfort-on-the-Main — Bohler's birth and 
 parentage — boyhood — a pupil at the Gymnasium — 
 his awakening — a student at the University of 
 Jena — conversion — interview with Zinzendorf — 
 residence at Leipzig — visits Herrnhut — receives 
 a call to Savannah — takes leave of his Jena 
 friends — his ordination 49 to 63 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Scenes of Methodist interest — Aldersgate-street — 
 Little Britain — Fetter-lane — Bohler's first inter- 
 view with John Wesley — Bohler and the Wesleys 
 proceed to Oxford — mental conflicts — important 
 conversations — John Wesley in the London 
 churches — visits his widowed mother — hastens to 
 the sick-bed of Charles — Bohler's conversations 
 and prayers greatly blessed — John Wesley's spi- 
 ritual awakening — Bolder returns to London — 
 revisits Oxford — renews his intercourse with 
 Wesley — earnest conversation — testimony of 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Scripture — four witnesses to the Saviour's grace 
 examined — Wesley and Bohler sing the hymn, 
 " My soul before Thee prostrate lies " — affecting • 
 scene — Wesley's sermon to four thousand hearers 
 — many awakenings — letter to Wesley — Charles 
 Wesley finds peace at Bray's house — commemo- 
 rative stanzas — John Wesley's unwilling visit to 
 Aldersgate-street — obtains the direct witness of 
 the Holy Spirit — the importance and spiritual 
 results of his conversion 64 to 85 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Missionary character of Moravian Church — Refugees 
 from Salzburg, expatriated by Popish persecution 
 — deep sympathy of the Protestant population of 
 England — conveyed to Georgia — found the settle- 
 ment of Ebenezer — welcomed by Oglethorpe — 
 Tomo Chachi visits England — is presented to the 
 King and Queen — Bohler's first visit to America 
 — political excitement — disappointed with Negro 
 population — death of Schulius — interview with 
 Whit efi eld — engages to build at Nazareth — 
 hymn of praise — unexpected difficulties — recall to 
 England — bitter persecution — reaches Bristol — 
 proceeds to Germany — mission to Yorkshire — great 
 revival — disagreement with the Wesleys — revisits 
 Frankfort — marriage — decease of Bohler's widow 
 —letters 86 to 107 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Bohler takes charge of a second company of Mora- 
 vian emigrants — hymn sung on the gallery of St. 
 Paul's— valedictory service — perils at sea — at 
 Madeira — touches at New-Haven — visit to the 
 University and town greatly blessed — reaches 
 
CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 PAGES 
 
 New York and Philadelphia — evils of slavery — 
 is admitted to the Synod of Pennsylvania — 
 accompanies Zinzendorf in his last visit 
 to the Indian tribes — narrowly escapes mas- 
 sacre — returns to Bethlehem — popularity in 
 New York — unprovoked persecution — summoned 
 before the magistrates — letter — leaves the city — 
 returns to Bethlehem — is recalled to Europe — 
 captured by privateers — is made prisoner of 
 war — release — proceeds to Holland — important 
 appointments— is consecrated bishop at Herrn- 
 haag 108 to 125 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Bohler's eminent qualifications for the episcopal office 
 — public ministry — official duties — critical period 
 of the appointment — financial crisis — Bohler's 
 calmness, fortitude, and decision — successful 
 efforts — visits America for third time in charge 
 of a pilgrim-band — difficult and disagreeable 
 passage — reaches New York — revisits Beth- 
 lehem — financial difficulties in America — peculiar 
 mental exercises — happy termination of the 
 struggle — features of his American diocese — 
 heroic death of the wife of Senseman — settle- 
 ments at Nazareth and Bethlehem — adverse 
 events — visits Europe — earthquake at Lisbon — 
 reaches Newcastle — visits Fulneck, Herrnhut, 
 and Berthelsdor — attends an important Synod — 
 last visit to America — death of Zinzendorf — 
 Bohler elected a member of the supreme ruling 
 board — last sermon in Fetter-lane — is struck 
 by paralysis — dies in the presence of his 
 wife and fellow-elders — is interred at Chelsea — 
 inscription on his tomb — funeral sermon — 
 reflections 126 to 142 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 CONCERNING MR. WESLEY'S EARLY RELIGIOUS LIFE. 
 
 It has often pleased God to prepare by a course of 
 severe discipline the men whom He has employed in 
 eminent services, both in the world and the church ; 
 so that, in the midst of their elevation, they might 
 remember their dependence upon Him, and ascribe 
 the glory of their usefulness and exaltation to His 
 unmerited goodness and sovereign will. 
 
 Before Joseph was endowed with the Spirit of 
 prophecy, and was made a means of preserving the 
 lives of thousands, and even ten thousands, of 
 people, in a long time of famine, and thus obtained 
 a popularity of which the world had scarcely seen 
 an example, he was tried by exile, slavery, and 
 imprisonment under a false accusation, and had a 
 narrow escape from a violent and ignominious 
 death. 
 
 Thus also Moses, before he was employed in lead- 
 ing the tribes of Israel out of Egypt, in performing 
 a series of stupendous miracles, and in giving to 
 God's chosen people their laws and ordinances, was 
 
 B 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 compelled to flee for his life ; and spent fortj years 
 in a state of separation from his countrymen and 
 friends, and in the humble employment of a 
 shepherd. 
 
 Before David was raised to the throne of Israel, 
 and was employed in conducting a series of success- 
 ful wars, as well as in making vast arrangements 
 for the public worship of Almighty God, he was 
 subjected to a long course of harassing persecution, 
 during which he was banished from the house of 
 God, and found it difficult to avoid a martyr's death. 
 
 Preparatory to his entrance upon his successful 
 career as the Apostle of the Gentiles, St. Paul was 
 deeply humbled by blindness, and by penitential 
 sorrow and terror, which, although they were not of 
 any long continuance, left an impression of which 
 he could never divest himself during the subsequent 
 years of his eventful life. Never did he forget what 
 he passed through in the three days and nights 
 which he spent at Damascus, when " he did neither 
 eat nor drink," was deprived of sight, and was 
 uncertain whether his final doom would be forgive- 
 ness or condemnation, heaven or hell. 
 
 The case of Luther was somewhat similar. As a 
 preparation for his entrance upon the great work of 
 Reformation, he had most distressing and even 
 agonizing views of * the natural sinfulness of his 
 heart, of his guilt in the sight of God, and of his 
 consequent liability to suffer the vengeance of eter- 
 nal fire. His paroxysms of grief and alarm were at 
 
INTRODUCTION. O 
 
 times so deep and overwhelming, and his strength 
 was so exhausted by fasting, abstinence, and prayer, 
 that speedy death appeared to be inevitable. 
 It was the relief which he obtained by faith in the 
 blood of the Cross, that corrected the theological 
 errors of his education, and nerved him for the 
 difficult and perilous work of assailing the enormous 
 errors and abuses of the Papacy. But for his reli- 
 gious experience, there is no reason to believe that 
 he would ever have assumed the character of a 
 Reformer. He felt that Popery interferes with the 
 salvation of the souls of men ; and hence his heroic 
 and untiring efforts to overthrow its leading tenets. 
 
 The case of the Rev. John Wesley bears a 
 strong resemblance to the cases now mentioned. 
 Few men since the apostolic times have been more 
 successful than he in promoting true spiritual reli- 
 gion in the world ; and, to qualify him for the course 
 of labour to which he was providentially called, he 
 passed through a long preparatory training of a 
 painful and humiliating kind, which left upon his 
 character an indelible impress. His early education 
 devolved mostly upon his gifted mother ; who taught 
 him, in connexion with the elements of literature, to 
 say his prayers at certain specified times ; to believe 
 all the articles of the Christian faith, as they are 
 embodied in the three Creeds ; to keep the command- 
 ments ; to fear God ; and to observe all the rules of 
 morality, and of a strict decorum. These lessons 
 were not lost upon him, but were exemplified in his 
 
 d 2 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 general deportment; so that lie was a diligent 
 student and an obedient son; and when he had 
 passed through his academical course, he was an 
 accomplished scholar, a man of correct morals, and 
 an agreeable companion. He was an acute logician, 
 well read in philosophy, familiar with the Greek and 
 Latin languages ; and he possessed also a knowledge 
 of Hebrew, Arabic, and French. With these accom- 
 plishments he afterwards combined an acquaintance 
 with the German, Italian, and Spanish. 
 
 At the age of twenty-two he was ordained 
 deacon; and then, under the direction of his 
 father, entered upon the study of divinity, with a 
 reference both to his pulpit labours, and the regula- 
 tion of his personal conduct. But, unhappily for 
 him, instead of studying the Bible, in connexion 
 with the writings of the master spirits of Protestant 
 Christendom, he was led into a course of reading 
 which, in his then state of mind, served only to 
 perplex and confound him, and that through a 
 series of anxious years. Four volumes occupied 
 his special attention : Kempis's " Christian's 
 Pattern," Bishop Taylor's "Bules and Exercises of 
 Holy Living and Dying," and "William Law's 
 treatise on " Christian Perfection," and his 
 " Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life." To 
 most of these works he took exceptions in the first 
 instance, and carried on a correspondence respect- 
 ing them with his father and mother, thinking 
 them too strict in their requirements. But as he 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 persevered in the study of them, lie assented to 
 their teaching, and in the name of God resolved to 
 exemplify their principles in his own daily 
 practice. 
 
 From Kempis he learned that true religion 
 consists especially in a right state of the heart, 
 being an exact conformity in spirit and in action to 
 the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, maintained 
 by habitual intercourse with Him. Kempis was 
 a monk, separated from the cares of active and 
 public life ; and his volume bears indubitable marks 
 of an ascetic character. 
 
 From Bishop Taylor Mr. Wesley learned 
 especially that it is the duty of Christians to serve 
 God with constant simplicity of purpose ; so that 
 whether they eat or drink, converse, engage in the 
 ordinary duties of life, are employed in acts of de- 
 votion, or whatever they do, they ought to set the 
 Lord before them, and aim simply to glorify Him 
 by an entire compliance with His will. " In every 
 action," says his Lordship, " reflect upon the end ; 
 and in your undertaking it consider why you do it, 
 and what you propound to yourself for a reward. 
 Begin every action in the name of the Father, of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 William Law was a clergyman of the Church of 
 England; and as he was then living, Mr. Wesley 
 formed a personal acquaintance with him, and re- 
 ceived his instructions with profound deference ; for 
 Law was a man of great gravity, of unquestionable 
 
O INTRODUCTION. 
 
 scholarship and genius, and affected to speak on 
 religious subjects in a tone of even oracular author- 
 ity. Being attached to the Stuart dynasty, and 
 unwilling to take the oath of allegiance to the 
 reigning monarch, he was incapable of holding any 
 living in the Established Church, and was known 
 rather as an author than a preacher. He was a some- 
 what voluminous writer, and in the latter years of 
 his life advocated the mysterious dogmas of Jacob 
 Behmen. But his two volumes just mentioned 
 may be justly ranked among the most powerful and 
 impressive works of the kind that ever appeared in 
 the English language,- and they were extensively 
 read at the time of their publication. They expose, 
 with unsparing severity, the ungodliness of the age. 
 They show that Christianity admits of no com- 
 promise with worldliness and sin. The author 
 insists upon the absolute necessity of entire devoted- 
 ness to God from the beginning of life to the end ; 
 inasmuch as this is the great purpose of human 
 existence, as well as of the manifestation of the Son 
 of God in the flesh, and especially of His death upon 
 the cross, and is the appointed way to happiness in 
 a future state. Considering the shortness and un- 
 certainty of life, and the momentous consequences 
 which depend upon the manner in which it is spent, 
 he shows that nothing can surpass the folly of those 
 ladies who employ their time in dress and in 
 fashionable amusements, to the neglect of personal 
 godliness, offering to the Lord their Maker nothing 
 
INTRODUCTION. / 
 
 more than an occasional and formal worship; and 
 that the men who spend their days in the mere 
 accumulation of wealth, or in such studies as 
 neither tend to the glory of God, nor the benefit of 
 mankind, but only the gratification of a vain 
 curiosity, — never aiming at a resemblance to their 
 Saviour, nor at any kind of worship but that which 
 is merely external, — act a part which is equally vain 
 and sinful. He asks what difference it can make to 
 the immortal spirit of a dying man whether he has 
 accumulated, and is prepared to leave to his heir, 
 a hundred thousand pounds, or a hundred thousand 
 pairs of boots and spurs. Law is a fine writer, in 
 respect both of sentiment and style. His diction is 
 thoroughly English ; and the numerous characters 
 which he has sketched, in illustration of the differ- 
 ent subjects he has introduced, are delineated in a 
 manner consummately beautiful, showing in every 
 touch the hand of a master. " When at Oxford,' ' 
 says Dr. Johnson, " I took up Law's ' Serious Call 
 to a Devout and Holy Life,' expecting to find it a dull 
 book, (as such books generally are,) and perhaps to 
 laugh at it. But I found Law quite an overmatch for 
 me : and this was the first occasion of my thinking in 
 earnest of religion after I became capable of rational 
 inquiry." Law lived some time at Putney, in the 
 neighbourhood of London, where he was visited by 
 the Wesleys, when prosecuting their religious 
 inquiries. The latter years of his life were spent at 
 Thrapston, in Northamptonshire. A short biography 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of him by Mr. Kichard Tiglie was published in the 
 year 1813. 
 
 All the works just mentioned Mr. Wesley not 
 only read, but carefully studied, as his correspond- 
 ence with his parents clearly shows. But Law was 
 evidently his favourite author. He laboured with 
 ceaseless assiduity to exemplify Law's doctrine in 
 every part of his own conduct ; and Law's views of 
 religion formed the staple of his public ministra- 
 tions. It may indeed be questioned, whether the 
 writer of the " Serious Call " had in the entire king- 
 dom another disciple who was equally docile and 
 zealous. 
 
 Every morning he rose at the early hour of four 
 o'clock, and so apportioned his time to his engage- 
 ments, that scarcely a moment was without its 
 appropriate occupation. He reduced his personal 
 expenditure to the smallest possible amount, and 
 applied the remainder of his money to objects of 
 religion and charity, regarding himself simply in 
 the light of a steward. Bemembering that for every 
 idle word that men utter they must give an account 
 in the day of judgment, he resolved to confine his 
 conversation to sacred subjects, and to matters of 
 real utility. He sought for religious companions, 
 and made arrangements with them for regular 
 meetings in order to their mutual improvement, 
 especially in personal godliness. He adopted the 
 fasts of the early Church, abstaining from all food 
 every Wednesday and Friday, till three o'clock in the 
 
INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 afternoon. He spent much time in secret devotion, 
 attended all the ordinances of public worship, and 
 received the Lord's Supper every week. At the 
 same time, he visited the prisoners in the jail, for the 
 purpose of religious instruction and prayer ; and, 
 with the aid of his friends, he supported a school 
 for the education of poor and neglected children; 
 seeking also to promote the spiritual and moral 
 benefit of all the persons with whom he was brought 
 into intercourse, by calling their attention to a future 
 state of retribution, and the importance of a due 
 preparation for it. Being regularly employed as a 
 college tutor, he was especially careful to imbue his 
 pupils with the true fear of God, and a love of Hi3 
 holy Name. 
 
 While his outward conduct was thus regulated by 
 the strictest rules of morality and religion, he was 
 equally attentive to all the movements of the inner 
 man ; subjecting himself, at stated times, to a severe 
 scrutiny as to his thoughts, desires, emotions, and 
 intentions, in every employment, whether religious 
 or secular, and in all the circumstances through 
 which he passed.* His habitual prayer seemed to 
 be, " What I know not, teach Thou me ; " and, 
 " Search me, God, and know my heart : try me, and 
 know my thoughts : and see if there be any wicked 
 way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting/' 
 
 A fact which he has related relative to the 
 expenditure of his money will show his conscientious- 
 * ^Yorks, vol. xi., pp. 51i-51G, edit. 1830. 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ness in this respect. " Many years ago," says lie, 
 "when I was at Oxford, in a cold winter's day, a 
 young maid (one of those we kept at school) called 
 upon me. I said, ' You seem half-starved. Have 
 you nothing to cover you but that thin linen gown ? ' 
 She said, ' Sir, this is all I have.' I put my hand 
 in my pocket ; but I found I had scarce any money 
 left, having just paid away w^hat I had. It imme- 
 diately struck me, ' Will thy Master say, Well done, 
 good and faithful steward ? — Thou hast adorned thy 
 walls with the money which might have screened this 
 poor creature from the cold I O justice ! O mercy ! 
 Are not these pictures the blood of this poor maid ? ' 
 — See thy expensive apparel in the same light ; thy 
 gown, hat, head-dress ! Every thing about thee 
 which cost more than Christian duty required thee 
 to lay out is the blood of the poor ! 7 be wise for 
 the time to come ! Be more merciful, more faithful 
 to God and man, more abundantly adorned (like 
 men and women professing godliness) with good 
 works! " # 
 
 So intent was he, at this period of his life, upon 
 attaining to the highest degrees of personal godliness, 
 that he withstood the importunity of his friends, who 
 urged him to apply for the rectory of Epworth, 
 which was likely soon to become vacant, his father 
 being aged, and in a declining state of health ; 
 alleging that he had greater facilities for the cultiva- 
 
 * Sermons, vol. iii., p. 23, edit. 1865. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 lion of religious habits as a resident Fellow of a 
 college, than he should have in a country parish ; 
 and that the more holy he was in himself, the 
 greater would be his usefulness in his peculiar 
 calling. There is an indication of great sincerity in 
 his reasonings on this subject ; but neither he nor 
 his friends saw the ultimate bearing of his present 
 resolution. He was destined to spend the better 
 part of his life neither in the cloisters of Oxford, nor 
 within the limits of a parochial charge, but as an 
 evangelist of the United Kingdom. As to his con- 
 duct in the meanwhile, he made the following appeal 
 from the pulpit of the University, after he had ceased 
 to reside in one of its colleges. Having described 
 the character of the man who is almost, but not 
 altogether, a Christian, he says : " I did go thus far 
 for many years, as many of this place can testify ; 
 using diligence to eschew all evil, and to have a con- 
 science void of offence ; redeeming the time ; buying 
 up every opportunity of doing all good to all men ; 
 constantly and carefully using all the public and all 
 the private means of grace ;. endeavouring after a 
 steady seriousness of behaviour, at all times and in 
 all places : and, God is my record, before whom I 
 stand, doing all this in sincerity ; having a real 
 design to serve God ; a hearty desire to do His will 
 in all things; to please Him who had called me to 
 1 fight the good fight/ and to ' lay hold .of eternal 
 life.' " * 
 
 * Sermons, vol. i., p. 22, edit. 18G5. 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 While he was thus exerting himself to exemplify 
 the " rules and exercises of holy living " supplied by 
 Bishop Taylor, and cultivating the ascetic piety 
 recommended by William Law, he was requested to 
 go abroad as a missionary to the American Indians 
 bordering upon the colony of Georgia, then recently 
 formed. With this application he complied, believing 
 the call to be providential, and thinking that in the 
 new mode of life upon which it was proposed that he 
 should enter, he would not only serve the cause of 
 Christ among the heathen, but also escape from the 
 temptations by which he was beset in polished 
 society, gratify the yearning that he felt after pious 
 solitude, and minister to an unsophisticated people, 
 who would receive the Gospel as little children. 
 
 In these hopes he was disappointed ; for, on his 
 arrival in the colony, the clergyman in charge of 
 the settlers resigned his office, and Mr. Wesley was 
 requested to supply his place till another appoint- 
 ment should be made. During his stay in Georgia 
 lie repeatedly applied to be released from the office 
 which he sustained among the English, that he 
 might enter upon his mission, but was as often 
 denied by the Governor, who pleaded the claims of 
 the settlement, which in the event of his departure 
 would be left without the ordinances of religion. He 
 therefore remained in the colony, where he was ill- 
 requited for his services in behalf of those whose 
 benefit it was his earnest desire to promote. 
 
 When he went to Georgia he was accompanied by 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 his brother Charles, who had long entertained the 
 same views of religion, and with whom he was one 
 in mind and heart. Charles lived at Frederica, with 
 Oglethorpe, the Governor, to whom he sustained the 
 relation of secretary, officiating, at the same time, as 
 a clergyman among the people who were resident 
 there. John lived at Savannah, where the emi- 
 grants mostly residel. Oglethorpe was generous 
 and enterprising. It was by his means especially 
 that the imprisoned debtors of London were libe- 
 rated, and the colony formed for their accommoda- 
 tion. He highly appreciated the character of the 
 Wesleys, and upon the whole treated them with 
 becoming respect ; but in a few instances he listened 
 to sinister whisperings to their disadvantage, and 
 withdrew from them a confidence to which they 
 were justly entitled. Of these occasional fits of ill- 
 humour he appears to have been afterwards heartily 
 ashamed, and made honourable amends by treating 
 the two brothers to the end of his protracted life 
 with the utmost deference, as men of intelligence, 
 and of unquestionable integrity. 
 
 Mr. Wesley remained upwards of two years in 
 Georgia ; and, during the whole of this time, he 
 laboured with undiminished assiduity to attain to a 
 right state of heart, and to fulfil the obligations 
 under which he lay both to God and man. As a 
 clergvnian, he acted in strict accordance with the 
 rubric contained in the Book of Common Prayer ; 
 baptizing children by immersion, unless their 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 parents declared them to be in delicate health ; and 
 refusing tlie Lord's Supper to all persons, whether 
 rich or poor, men or women, whose conduct was 
 matter of public offence, who had given no signs of 
 repentance, and who neglected to give notice before- 
 hand of their intention to appear at the Lord's 
 table. At the same time, his sermons were charac- 
 terized by a stern morality, and the enforcement of 
 a rigid self-denial, such as Kempis and William 
 Law regarded as essential to Christianity. 
 
 These things, it is easy to imagine, were very dis- 
 tasteful to the people, among whom were Dissenters, 
 who liked neither the Prayer-Book nor its rubrics. 
 Many others had just escaped from the London 
 prisons, having little or no sense of religion, and 
 whose spirits were chafed by the hard labour to 
 which they were compelled to submit, in a climate 
 much warmer than that of England. The mystical 
 philosophy of Law which they heard from the pulpit 
 they did not understand ; and the earnest enforce- 
 ment of moral duties they felt to be a censure upon 
 their vices. Hardly any one of them formed a 
 right estimate of the man who thus laboured among 
 them. They had no just apprehension of his sin- 
 cerity, and of his intense desire to promote their best 
 interests. He was upright and single-minded, but 
 mistaken, and " working in chain s," which he knew 
 not how to break : yet who can forbear to admire 
 the honesty of the man who, from conscientious 
 motives, had resigned the pleasures of polite society, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 and the learned leisure of a college, to live in a 
 wilderness, in the midst of spies, friendless, except 
 when he had a casual interview with his brother, or 
 visited the godly Moravians in the neighbourhood ; 
 being sometimes for months together without a shil- 
 ling in his pocket, wasting his strength among a 
 thankless and gainsaying people ? 
 
 In the midst of these grave discouragements 
 he steadily persevered in the fulfilment of his 
 clerical duties ; the onerous nature of which may be 
 judged of from the bare mention of his Sabbath 
 services, of which he gives the following record in 
 his Journal, under the date of October 30th, 1737 : — 
 " The first English prayers lasted from five till half- 
 an-hour past six. The Italian (which I read to a few 
 Yaudois) began at nine. The second service for the 
 English (including the sermon and the Holy Com- 
 munion) continued from half-an-hour past ten, till 
 about half-an-hour past twelve. The French service 
 began at one. At two I catechized the children. 
 About three began the English service. After this 
 was ended, I had the happiness of joining with as 
 many as my largest room would hold, in reading, 
 prayer, and singing praise. And about six the 
 service of the Moravians, so called, began ; at 
 which I was glad to be present, not as a teacher, 
 but a learner." 
 
 On the week-days he read prayers and expounded 
 the second lesson every morning at five o'clock, 
 dismissing the people to their work before six. 
 
16 IXTKODUCTION. 
 
 Every evening he had a similar service at seven 
 o'clock, when the worldly labours of the day were 
 ended. 
 
 Among his adversaries at Savannah two men 
 were specially distinguished, — Mr. Causton, the 
 storekeeper, and Mr. Williamson, who had married 
 Causton's niece. They commenced a suit against 
 him in the civil court ; but, when he attended to 
 meet the charges and to defend himself, the matter 
 was deferred. Seeing that their object was annoy- 
 ance, and not the redress of any real grievance, he 
 gave public notice that he should return to England, 
 no one offering any opposition, except by words. 
 The real character of the men who had begun this 
 suit soon after appeared. Causton was prosecuted 
 for an embezzlement of public money ; and William- 
 son fled clandestinely from the colony, to avoid 
 the consequences of more grave offences. Men of 
 their character, it will be at once perceived, had 
 sufficient reasons for wishing to get rid of such a 
 man as Mr. Wesley, whose preaching and example 
 were a perpetual reproof to all workers of iniquity. 
 With such men complaints against him on account 
 of his high and intolerant Churchmanship were a 
 mere pretence. 
 
 The state of mind most of all to be dreaded by a 
 professed Christian is that of assuming that he is 
 "rich and increased" in spiritual and moral 
 " goods," so that he has " need of nothing ; " when 
 the truth is, that he is " wretched, and miserable, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 and poor, and blind, and naked." Happily for Mr. 
 Wesley, lie was preserved from this dangerous delu- 
 sion. During his voyage home he instituted a strict 
 inquiry into his state in respect of religion, and 
 came to the conclusion that his heart was not right 
 in the sight of God. However blameless his conduct 
 might appear in the sight of men, and whatever 
 might be his zeal and activity in the service of God, he 
 had neither the happiness nor the inward purity of 
 a true believer in Christ. His mind was restless 
 and uneasy ; he was afraid to die ; and he was 
 under the dominion of inward sin, especially the sin 
 of unbelief, of pride, of irrecollection, and of levity. 
 His mind wandered from God ; " vain thoughts 
 lodged within" him; he was led into airy and 
 useless speculations ; and, sometimes, he not only 
 doubted whether there is a future state, and whether 
 the Bible is true, but whether there really is a God, or 
 not. Eeferring to his state at this period of his 
 life, he says, in one of his sermons, " After heaping 
 up the strongest arguments which I could find, 
 either in ancient or modern authors, for the very 
 being of a God, and (which is nearly connected 
 with it) the existence of an invisible world, I have 
 wandered up and down, musing with myself: ' What, 
 if all these things which I see around me, this earth 
 and heaven, this universal frame, have existed from 
 eternity ? What, if the generation of men be 
 exactly parallel with the generation of leaves ? — if 
 the earth drops its successive inhabitants, just as 
 
 G 
 
18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the tree drops its leaves ? What, if that saying of a 
 great man be really true, — 
 
 Death is nothing, and nothing is after death ? 
 How am I sure that this is not the case ; that I have 
 not followed cunningly-devised fables ? ' And I have 
 pursued the thought, till there was no spirit in me, 
 and I was ready to choose strangling rather than 
 life." * 
 
 He was equally unsuccessful in his attempts to 
 obtain the lively and joyous hope of a blessed im- 
 mortality, to which believers in Christ are "begotten 
 again. " " How often have I laboured," says he, 
 " and that with my might, to beget this hope in 
 myself ! But it was lost labour : I could no more 
 acquire this hope of heaven, than I could touch 
 heaven with my hand. And whoever makes the 
 same attempt, will find it attended with the same 
 success. I do not deny, that a self-deceiving enthu- 
 siast may work in himself a kind of hope ; he may 
 work himself up into a lively imagination, into a 
 sort of pleasing dream ; he may ' compass himself 
 about,' as the prophet speaks, ' with sparks of his 
 own kindling : ' but this cannot be of long continu- 
 ance ; in a little while the bubble will surely break. 
 And what will follow ? ' This shall ye have at My 
 hand, saith the Lord, ye shall lie down in sorrow.' " f 
 
 He was no less disappointed in his efforts to 
 produce in himself that love to God and man, which 
 
 * Sermons, vol. ii., pp. 405, 406, edition of 1865. 
 t Ibid., p. 407. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 is the end of the commandment, and therefore the 
 principle of all holiness. " But what," says he, " can 
 cold reason do in this matter? It may present us 
 with fair ideas ; it can draw a fine picture of 1< 
 but this is only a painted fire. And farther than 
 this reason cannot go. I made the trial for m 
 years. I collected the finest hymns, prayers, and 
 meditations which I could find in any language ; 
 and I said, sung, or read them over and over, with 
 all possible seriousness and attention. But still I was 
 like the bones in Ezekiel's vision : ' the skin covered 
 them above ; but there was no breath in them. 1 " ;;;i 
 
 When returning to England, upon the bosom of 
 the great deep, his " mind was full of thought," and, 
 in the fulness of his heart, he made the following 
 entry in his private journal : — " I went to America 
 to convert the Indians ; but ! who shall convert 
 me ? who, what is he that will deliver me from this 
 evil heart of unbelief ? I have a fair summer 
 religion. I can talk well ; nay, and believe myself, 
 while no danger is near : but let death look me in 
 the face, and my spirit is troubled. Nor can I say, 
 6 To die is gain.' 
 
 ' I have a sin of fear, that when I've spun 
 My last thread, I shall perish on the shore.' 
 
 " I think, verily, if the Gospel be true, I am safe : 
 
 for I not only have given, and do give, all my goods 
 
 to feed the poor ; I not only give my body to be 
 
 burned, drowned, or whatever God shall appoint for 
 
 * Sermons, vol. ii., p. 409. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 me ; but I follow after charity, (though not as I 
 ought, yet as I can,) if haply I may attain it. 1 
 now believe the Gospel is true. I show my faith by 
 my works, by staking my all upon it. I would do 
 so again and again a thousand times, if the choice 
 were still to make. Whoever sees me, sees I would 
 be a Christian. Therefore are my ways not like 
 other men's ways. Therefore I have been, I am, I 
 am content to be, ' a by-word, a proverb of reproach.' 
 But in a storm I think, ' What, if the Gospel be not 
 true ? Then thou art of all men most foolish. For 
 what hast thou given thy goods, thy ease, thy 
 friends, thy reputation, thy country, thy life ? For 
 what art thou wandering over the face of the earth ? 
 ■ — A dream, a cunningly- devised fable ! ' ! who 
 will deliver me from this fear of death ? What 
 shall I do ? Where shall I fly from it ! " 
 
 A few days after making this record, he landed in 
 England, and said, " It is now two years and almost 
 four months since I left my native country, in order 
 to teach the Georgian Indians the nature of Chris- 
 tianity : but what have I learned myself in the mean 
 time ? Why, (what I least of all suspected,) that 
 I, who went to America to convert others, was 
 never myself converted to God. * I am not mad/ 
 though I thus speak ; but ' I speak the words of 
 truth and soberness ; ' if haply some of those who 
 still dream may awake, and see, that as I am, so 
 are they. 
 
 " Are they read in philosophy r So was I. In 
 
INTRODUCTION. *2l 
 
 ancient or in modern tongues ? So was I also. Are 
 they versed in the science of divinity ? I too have 
 studied it many years. Can they talk fluently upon 
 spiritual things ? The very same could I do. Are 
 they plenteous in alms ? Behold, I gave all my 
 goods to feed the poor. Do they give of their 
 labour, as well as of their substance ? I have 
 laboured more abundantly than they all. Are they 
 willing to suffer for their brethren ? I have thrown 
 up my friends, reputation, ease, country ; I have 
 put my life in my hand, wandering into strange 
 lands ; I have given my body to be devoured by 
 the deep, parched up with heat, consumed by toil 
 and weariness, or whatsoever God should please to 
 bring upon me. But does all this (be it more or 
 less, it matters not) make me acceptable to God ? 
 Does all I ever did or can know, say, give, do, or 
 suffer, justify me in His sight ? Yea, or the constant 
 use of all the means of grace? (Which, nevertheless, 
 is meet, right, and our bounden duty.) Or that I 
 know nothing of myself; that I am as touching 
 outward moral righteousness blameless ? Or (to 
 come closer yet) the having a rational conviction of 
 all the truths of Christianity? Does all this give 
 me a claim to the holy, heavenly, divine character 
 of a Christian ? By no means. If the oracles of 
 God are true, if we are still to abide by ' the law 
 and the testimony ; ' all these things, though, when 
 ennobled by faith in Christ, they are holy and just 
 and good, yet, without it, are as 'dung and dross,' 
 
22 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 meet only to be purged away by ' the fire that never 
 shall be quenched.' 
 
 " This, then, I have learned in the end3 of the 
 earth, That I am fallen short of the glory of God ; 
 that my whole heart is altogether corrupt and 
 abominable ; and consequently my whole life ; (see- 
 ing it cannot be, that an evil tree should bring forth 
 good fruit ;) that, alienated as I am from the life of 
 God, I am a child of wrath, an heir of hell ; that 
 my own works, my own sufferings, my own righteous- 
 ness, are so far from reconciling me to an offended 
 God, so far from making any atonement for the 
 least of those sins, which are more in number than 
 the hairs of my head, that the most specious of 
 them need an atonement themselves, or they cannot 
 abide His righteous judgment ; that, having the 
 sentence of death in my heart, and having nothing 
 in or of myself to plead, I have no hope but that of 
 being justified freely ' through the redemption that is 
 in Jesus.' I have no hope, but that if I seek I shall 
 find Christ, and ' be found in Him, not having my 
 own righteousness, but that which is through the 
 faith of Christ ; the righteousness which is of God 
 by faith.'"* 
 
 When Mr. Wesley returned from America, in the 
 year 1788, he had been in the Christian ministry 
 some twelve or thirteen years ; and during the whole 
 of this time he was an example of diligence in the 
 
 Journal. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 discharge of his clerical duties, and used every 
 means that he could devise to attain to a state of 
 sincere and confirmed piety. He fasted, he prayed 
 in secret, he attended all the public means of grace, 
 and endeavoured to promote the spiritual benefit of 
 all who were brought within the range of his influ- 
 ence. It is therefore natural to inquire why it is 
 that, after all he had done and suffered, he should 
 so far fail short of the Christian character, as we 
 find it described in the New Testament. According 
 to the apostolical Epistles, believers in Christ are a 
 happy people ; they exhibit in their daily walk "the 
 fruit of tne Spirit ; " they are free from the domi- 
 nion of sin ; they are delivered from the fear of 
 death, and they rejoice in hope of the glory of 
 God. How is it then that Mr. Wesley, after the 
 incessant labour of more than twelve years, should 
 be in the lamentable state he has described in terms 
 of such deep pathos ? lYe believe the true reason is to 
 be found in the words of the apostle : " Israel, which 
 followed after the law of righteousness, hath not 
 attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore ? 
 Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were 
 by the works of the law." (Rom. ix. 31, 32.) 
 
 According to the teaching of Holy Scripture, the 
 state of all mankind, both by nature and practice, is 
 a state of guilt and depravity ; of condemnation and 
 of utter sinfulness. Their sinfulness renders them 
 unfit for heaven, and their guilt exposes them to the 
 endless miseries of hell. Every man, therefore, 
 
24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 stands in absolute need of the double blessing of 
 justification and sanetification ; understanding by 
 these terms the full and free forgiveness of all past 
 sin, and the renewal of the heart in righteousness 
 and true holiness. These blessings constitute the 
 " great salvation " provided for mankind by the 
 mediation of Christ, revealed in the Gospel, and 
 offered to men in the present world. These most 
 gracious gifts of God are distinct in their nature, but 
 inseparably connected ; so that every justified man is 
 in part sanctified, and every sanctified man is justi- 
 fied. Yet, in the order of nature and of thought, 
 justification precedes sanetification : for until a man 
 is justified, he is under the sentence of death ; he is 
 " condemned already," and " the wrath of God 
 abideth on him." (John iii. 18, 36.) "While he 
 remains in this state, we cannot conceive of the 
 Holy Spirit as sanctifying him, so as to make him a 
 partaker of the Divine nature. But when the act 
 of justification takes place, so that the man is 
 no longer under condemnation, there is no legal bar 
 in the way of the Holy Spirit's operation ; and 
 hence the new creation immediately follows, and the 
 man in a two-fold sense " passes from death unto life." 
 Personal justification, therefore, lies at the founda- 
 tion of all sound Christian experience; it is the 
 basis and commencement of the Christian life. It 
 formed one of the principal subjects of the apostolic 
 ministry, and was realized in every Christian con- 
 vert, both Jew and Greek, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 Our blessed Saviour taught the doctrine of present 
 justification by faith in the course of His personal 
 ministry. The publican whom He describes as 
 going in a state of conscious guilt to the temple, and 
 there smiting upon his breast, in an agony of peniten- 
 tial grief, and praying, " God be merciful to me a 
 sinner/' "went down to his house justified'' having 
 actually obtained the blessing of pardoning mercy 
 upon which his heart was set. (Luke xviii. 13, 14.) 
 To the woman that was a sinner, who washed 
 His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the 
 hairs of her head, He said, " Thy sins are forgiven. 
 Thy faith hath saved thee: go in peace." (Luke vii. 
 48, 50.) 
 
 After His resurrection our Lord directed His 
 apostles to preach " repentance and remission of sins 
 in His name among all nations, beginning at Jeru- 
 salem." (Luke xxiv. 47.) Accordingly, St. Peter, in 
 opening his commission on the day of Pentecost, 
 cried to the assembled multitudes, " Repent, and be 
 baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus 
 Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive 
 the giit of the Holy Ghost." (Acts ii. 38.) Aware 
 of the importance of this doctrine, he added, a few 
 days afterwards, " Eepent ye therefore, and be con- 
 verted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts iii. 
 19.) Still true to his calling, the same apostle, 
 addressing Cornelius and his friends, said in refer- 
 ence to Christ, "To Him give all the prophets 
 witness, that through His Name whosoever bdieveth 
 
26 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in Him sliall receive remission of sins" (Acts x. 43.) 
 To the Jews at Antioch, in Pisidia, St. Paul said, 
 " Be it known unto you,... that through this Man is 
 preached unto you the forgiveness of sins : and by Him 
 all that believe are justified from all things, from 
 which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." 
 (Acts xiii. 38, 39.) St. Paul also states that the 
 purpose of his mission to the Gentiles was, that he 
 might " turn them from darkness to light,... that 
 they might receive tlie forgiveness of sins." (Acts 
 xxvi. 18.) 
 
 The converted people who formed the various 
 churches to whom the apostles addressed their 
 Epistles are all spoken of as having received this 
 great blessing at the hands of God, and as living in 
 the enjoyment of it, unless they had drawn back 
 from their allegiance to Christ, and their faith in 
 Him. To the Romans St. Paul said, " Being justi- 
 fied by faith, we have peace with God through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom. v. 1.) To the Corinthi- 
 ans : "Ye are justified in the name of the Lord 
 Jesus." (1 Cor. vi. 11.) To the Galatians : "We 
 have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be 
 justified by the faith of Christ" (Gal. ii. 16.) To the 
 Ephesians : " We have redemption through His blood, 
 the forgiveness of sins" (Eph. i. 7.) The Philip- 
 pians he assumes to be living in a state of conscious 
 reconciliation with God through the mediation of 
 Christ ; and therefore says to them, " Rejoice in the 
 Lord alway : and again I say, Rejoice" (Phil. iv. 4.) 
 
INTRODUCTION. 27 
 
 To the Colossians he writes. " We have redemption 
 through Ills blood, even the forgiveness of sins." 
 (Col. i. 14.) The Thessalonians he exhorts to 
 "rejoice evermore;" (1 Thess. v. 16 ;) which it was 
 impossible for them to do, unless they had an assu- 
 rance of their acceptance with God through the 
 atonement of His Son. The Hebrews he addresses 
 as " partakers of the heavenly calling ; " and 
 declares that God, in accordance with the provisions 
 of the Christian covenant, has said, " I will be mer- 
 ciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their 
 iniquities will I remember no more." (Keb. viii. 12.) 
 St. Peter addresses the Christians of his day. who 
 were widely dispersed through different countries, as 
 a people who had " obtained mercy" and who. believ- 
 ing in Christ, rejoiced in Him " with joy unspeakable 
 and full of glory ." (1 Peter i. 8; ii. 10.) St. John 
 divides the Christians whom he addresses into three 
 classes: "little children,'' "young men," and 
 u fathers ; " and to the lowest of these divisions he 
 says, " I write unto you, little children, because your 
 sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." (1 John 
 ii. 12.) 
 
 The great doctrine of present justification, through 
 faith in the blood of Christ, which is thus prominent 
 in the Christian Scriptures, was one of the leading 
 doctrines of the Protestant Reformers, and is expli- 
 citly asserted in the formularies of the Church of 
 England ; which declares in her eleventh Article, 
 u We are accounted righteous before God, only for the 
 
28 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, 
 and not for our own works or deservings : Wherefore, 
 that we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome 
 dostrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is 
 expressed in the Homily on Justification. " Yet 
 it has too often happened that doctrines which are 
 prominent in Creeds and Confessions of "Faith are 
 seldom or never heard from the pulpit. So it has been 
 in the Church of England with respect to the vital 
 doctrine of justification by faith. It was so modi- 
 fied, and explained away, by such writers as Dr. 
 Hammond, Bishop Taylor, Bishop Bull, and Dr. 
 Waterland, that scarcely any trace of it was to be 
 found in the popular teaching of the English clergy 
 at the time of Mr. Wesley's ordination. It may be 
 fairly doubted, whether in any parish-church in 
 England, at that time, this doctrine was statedly, 
 and of set purpose, expounded and enforced. The 
 attention of the writer of these remarks has long 
 been directed to this subject ; and he confesses his 
 inability to specify a single example of the kind. It 
 is not, therefore, surprising that this momentous 
 truth escaped Mr. Wesley's attention when he 
 entered upon his ministry. He might, however, 
 have found it both in the Frayer-Book and the ISTew 
 Testament, had he been duly attentive to the 
 subject. The doctrine might also have been found 
 in volumes published by Nonconformist ministers ; 
 but these the prejudices of his education would not 
 allow him to read ; and, had he read them, he would 
 
INTRODUCTION. 29 
 
 have been justly offended to find the doctrine in 
 question placed in direct connexion with the theory 
 of partial redemption, and of absolute election 
 and reprobation. 
 
 Mr. Wesley, as we have already observed, studied 
 theology with a reference not merely to his public 
 ministry, but to the regulation of his personal 
 conduct ; and it was his misfortune that his attention 
 was specially directed to Kempis, Taylor, and Law : 
 men w T hose worts maybe read with great advantage by 
 spiritually-minded persons of evangelical views ; but 
 are most misleading to those who know not the way of 
 life, and are prosecuting the inquiry, "What must I 
 do to be saved P" All the works of these eminent 
 men have one capital defect. They entirely ignore 
 the Christian doctrine of free justification from 
 the guilt of all past sin through faith in the sacri- 
 ficial blood of Christ. They all undertake the hope- 
 less task of grafting the various graces of the 
 Christian character upon the corrupt stock of 
 human nature, and make no provision whatever for 
 removing the stains of guilt from the conscience. 
 Kempis, of course, as a Romish monk, held that 
 men are justified by their personal conformity to the 
 moral law of God. Bishop Taylor held substantially 
 the same view. He was a man of a devout spirit ; 
 the most eloquent divine that England ever bred ; 
 a man of profound and varied scholarship ; a high 
 Churchman ; but an unsound theologian. On the 
 subject of original sin he embraced the semi-Pela- 
 
30 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 gian theory ; and his sermon entitled Fides Formata 
 is an elaborate attempt to refute the doctrine of 
 justification by faith only : a doctrine to which, as a 
 clergyman and a prelate, he had oftener than once 
 declared his assent and consent. 
 
 William Law, on the subject of a sinner's justifi- 
 cation before God, departed still further from the 
 truth. It does not, indeed, appear from any part of 
 his writings that he had a distinct apprehension of 
 justification, in the forensic sense, and especially of 
 the justification of " the ungodly." He acknowledged 
 that the death of Christ was a sacrifice for sin, but not 
 a propitiatory sacrifice ; for as he denied that there is 
 any wrath or anger in God on account of sin, there 
 could be no need of a propitiation. There was no 
 wrath to appease, no anger to avert. His principles, 
 when pushed to their logical consequences, lead to a 
 denial of future punishment in the case of those 
 who die in their sins, as Mr. Wesley proved at a sub- 
 sequent period of his life. Christ as a Teacher, and 
 as an Example, Law distinctly acknowledges, but is 
 silent on the subject of our Lord's priesthood. In 
 his writings, beautiful as they often are, we look in 
 vain for just and scriptural views of Christ as the 
 Mediator between God and men, and as a Saviour 
 from sin. Whether Mr. Wesley ever entertained 
 Law's entire theories is uncertain ; but we have his 
 own acknowledgment, that when he went to Georgia, 
 and during his residence there, he confounded justi- 
 fication with sanctification ; and gave himself no 
 
INTRODUCTION. 31 
 
 serious concern about the forgiveness of Lis sins ; 
 thinking that this blessing would in an unknown 
 manner come upon him in the hour of death or in 
 the day of judgment. # It is indeed strange that so 
 sensible and thoughtful a man should have expected 
 forgiveness only at the close of life, or even at the 
 end of time, inasmuch as all believers are described 
 in the New Testament as living in the present 
 enjoyment of that inestimable blessing. 
 
 While he remained in this state of mind, his 
 views of faith were not only defective, but even 
 erroneous. f lie thought that faith is nothing more 
 than simple belief; the assent of the mind to the 
 truths of the Gospel ; not adverting to the fact, 
 that thus far the devils believe, and that millions of 
 mankind yield such an assent, and yet live and die 
 in their sins. Whereas true faith, " the faith of 
 God's elect," is inseparably connected with salvation 
 both from sin and its penalty. Justifying faith is 
 the gift of God. He reveals Christ as the object of 
 faith ; He gives the authority and warrant to trust 
 in Christ for salvation ; He imparts the power to 
 believe in Him ; He stimulates and urges men to 
 the exercise of that power. Faith is a coming to 
 Christ, a looking unto Jesus ; a trust, a confidence 
 in Him, a reliance upon Him ; and the man who 
 thus comes, believes, and trusts, does so for the 
 express purpose of obtaining forgiveness. " We 
 have believed in Christ, that we might be justified 
 * Wesley's Works, vol. viii., p. 111. f Ibid. 
 
32 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 by the faith of Christ,' ' is the declaration of an 
 apostle. (Gal. ii. 16.) In other words, justification 
 is the benefit which the believer desires and 
 expects to receive, when he conies to the Saviour. 
 Nor must it be forgotten, that where faith is, there 
 is union with Christ. Christ dwells in the believer, 
 and the believer is in Christ. As the members are 
 one with the head in the human body, and as the 
 branches are one with the vine, so are believers one 
 with Christ ; and faith is the bond of their union. 
 Faith is not a mere mental assent, but an appropri- 
 ating act. Christ hath " loved me," says the apostle, 
 and " gave Himself for me." (Gal. ii. 20.) 
 
 It was not only in respect of justification, and of 
 the faith by which that blessing is received by indi- 
 vidual men, that Mr. Wesley's judgment was at 
 fault in the early years of his ministry. His views 
 concerning the operations of the Holy Spirit were 
 also defective. To attain to a state of entire 
 sanctification was with him the great business of 
 life ; he aimed at a high standard of personal 
 holiness ; but in the process of this work his 
 references to the grace of the Holy Spirit were 
 rather casual and indirect, than indicative of an 
 entire dependence upon His presence and agency. 
 He rather regarded the mortification of sin in his 
 nature as the result of personal effort and self- 
 denial, than as the direct effect of the Holy Spirit's 
 power. He expected to possess the mind that was 
 in Christ, not as an immediate communication from 
 
INTRODUCTION. o3 
 
 above, but rather as the consequence of fasting, of 
 prayer, of self-denial, and the constant repression 
 within him of every unholy feeling. Yet, alter all, 
 he made little or no progress ; inward sin still held 
 him in bondage ; and hence his subsequent solution 
 of his case : — 
 
 " Too strong I was to conquer sin, 
 
 When 'gainst it first I turn'd my face ; 
 Nor felt my want of power within, 
 Nor knew the' omnipotence of Grace. 
 
 " In nature's strength I sought in vain 
 For what my God refused to give : 
 I could not then the mastery gain, 
 Xor lord of all my passions live." 
 
 He apprehended not the proper import of the 
 prayer which his lips daily uttered, " Make clean 
 our hearts within us ; " and knew not that he 
 could never be made free from " the law of sin 
 and death," but by " the law of the Spirit of life 
 which is in Christ Jesus." He did not rightly 
 apprehend the promise, " A new heart also will I 
 give you ; " nor the declaration of John respecting 
 Christ, " He shall baptize you with the Holy 
 Ghost, and with fire." 
 
 The truth is, the men whom he had chosen as 
 his guides caused him to err. He was orthodox. 
 He believed every article of the three Creeds as sin- 
 cerely as did St. Athanasius himself; but he was far 
 from rightly apprehending the office of Christ as 
 
 D 
 
34 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Redeemer and Saviour of men, and the office of 
 the Holy Ghost as their Comforter and Sanctifier. 
 A writer in the " London Quarterly Review " for 
 January, 1868, says, " We have before us a number 
 of unpublished sermons written by John Wesley, at 
 Oxford, during the ten years which followed his 
 ordination.... In not one of them is there any view 
 whatever, any glimpse, afforded of Christ in any of 
 His offices. His name occurs in the benediction. 
 That is about all. Frequent communion is insisted 
 on as a source of spiritual quickening ; regeneration 
 by baptism is assumed as the true doctrine of the 
 Church ; but Christ is nowhere, either in His life, 
 His death, or His intercession. Church formalism 
 and strict morality, ceremonies and ethics, are all 
 in all." A brighter day, however, at length dawned 
 upon him. 
 
 The history of the Church presents many 
 examples of providential arrangement and interpo- 
 sition, which ought to be observed and devoutly 
 acknowledged ; and the meeting of two men at the 
 period of which we are now speaking was far from 
 being casual, or a matter of mere chance. One of 
 them was an anxious inquirer after truth, and the 
 other was eminently qualified to impart it. At the 
 very time when Mr. Wesley in America, harassed 
 by persecution, and perplexed as to the state of his 
 mind and heart, resolved to return to his native 
 land, the heads of the Moravian Church in Germany 
 were making arrangements for sending one of their 
 
INTRODUCTION. 35 
 
 pious and gifted evangelists to America, resolving 
 that he should pass through England, and pay 
 special visits to London and Oxford ; little imagin- 
 ing what momentous consequences would arise 
 from the fulfilment of their plans. The hand of 
 God was in the whole affair. The man selected for 
 this service was Peter Bohler, who arrived in 
 London just in time to impart the evangelical 
 instruction which Mr. Wesley and his brother 
 Charles so greatly needed, and were prepared to 
 receive. 
 
 Mr. Charles Wesley had returned to England a 
 few months before his brother, with whose religious 
 opinions and feelings he had an entire sympathy. 
 Both of them being in the same state of mind and 
 heart, Bohler' s counsel was as applicable to the 011 e 
 as to the other. He was introduced to them both, 
 not together, but successively ; and we may safely 
 say that when they met, little time was spent on 
 either side in observations concerning the weather, 
 European politics, or unimportant disputes among 
 literary men. The Wesley s, long perplexed and 
 anxious, wanted to know T what they must do to be 
 saved from sin, to be made holy, and permanently 
 happy in God. The devout German, full of holy zeal, 
 at once saw their condition, and administered appro- 
 priate counsel, not deduced from any school of 
 philosophy, but from the Scriptures of truth. We 
 can easily conceive of John Wesley as saying in the 
 fulness of his heart, " I have spent twelve or thirteen 
 
 d 2 
 
uO INTRODUCTION", 
 
 years in attempts to attain to a state of inward 
 purity, and, after all, have made no progress ; being 
 yet carnal, and sold under sin. 
 
 " ' Where Is the way? Ah, show me where, 
 That I Thy mercy may declare, 
 
 The power that sets me free : 
 How can I my destruction shim ? 
 How can I from my nature run ? 
 Answer, God, for me ! '" 
 
 The language appropriate to Bdhler was,— 
 
 " My heart is full of Christ, and longs 
 Its glorious matter to declare." 
 
 The substance of what he advanced was this : — 
 Man is a sinner, depraved and guilty. Christ died 
 as a propitiatory sacrifice for sin, and is a Saviour 
 from it. The salvation of which He is the Author 
 is a free gift. It is bestowed without money and 
 without price, and is received by faith on the part 
 of sinners. Faith is a simple trust in Christ ; a 
 trust of the heart ; connected with repentance, in 
 which sin is lamented, confessed, and forsaken ; a 
 trust connected also with an entire renunciation of 
 all self-confidence. Directly consequent upon the 
 exercise of faith on the part of a penitent sinner is 
 an application of the Saviour's blood, purging the 
 conscience from dead works ; so that guilty terrors 
 cease ; peace and joy spring up in. the heart; for the 
 Holy Spirit bears " witness " to the spirit of the 
 believer that he is an adopted child of God, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. 37 
 
 therefore an heir of glory. " The fruit of the 
 Spirit " directly follows His witness : and that fruit 
 is " love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, good- 
 ness, faith, meekness, temperance." (Gal. v. 22, 23.) 
 The believer in Christ, therefore, being made free 
 from the guilt and curse of sin, is invested by the 
 Holy Spirit with the Christian character, and is 
 prepared to serve the Lord in " newness of life/' 
 being at once both happy and holy. 
 
 This doctrine appeared strange to the Wesleys, 
 who had previously entertained no distinct appre- 
 hension of a sinner's justification before God, and 
 who had considered mental and bodily suffering as 
 the grand means of mortifying inward sin, from 
 which they only expected complete freedom by 
 death. To the doctrine of which they now heard 
 for the first time they offered many objections, 
 chiefly derived from the mystical philosophy in the 
 meshes of which they had long been entangled. In 
 reply, Bohler appealed to the Holy Scriptures, the 
 teaching of which every man is bound to receive in 
 the spirit of a little child ; reminding them that 
 their vain philosophy must be purged away, so as 
 to give place to " the truth as it is in Jesus." After 
 consulting the oracles of God, the brothers yielded 
 their assent to the teaching of Bohler, especially 
 when they heard it confirmed by the testimony of 
 other persons; for the Wesley^ were not the only 
 men to whom the pious German offered present 
 freedom from the guilt and misery of sin through 
 
38 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 faith in the blood of the cross. Others heard, 
 believed, and found rest unto their souls. 
 
 Having fulfilled his brief mission in England, 
 Bohler embarked for America, leaving the Wesley 3 
 hungering and thirsting for the righteousness of 
 faith. In a very short time Charles found peace 
 with God, as he lay on the bed of sickness in the 
 house of a brazier in Little Britain, near Smithfield ; 
 and, a few days after, John obtained the same 
 blessing at a religious meeting close by in Alders- 
 gate-street, while listening to Luther's Preface to 
 the Epistle to the Romans, containing a description 
 of the change which takes place in a man's state 
 and feeling; when he believes in Christ with the 
 heart unto righteousness. 
 
 Being now possessed of the true key to all sound 
 religious experience, and of a power in their 
 ministry which they had never wielded before, the 
 brothers immediately entered upon an energetic 
 course of evangelical labour, calling sinners to 
 repentance, and proclaiming to rich and poor, old 
 and young, men and women of moral habits, and 
 profligate transgressors, including convicts under 
 sentence of death, pardon and peace, as " the 
 common salvation," to be obtained, by all alike, 
 through faith in the blood of Christ. Others caught 
 the theme, and carried on the work, which has been 
 successfully prosecuted to the present day. But for 
 " the wormwood and the gall" of which the Wesley s 
 so bitterly tasted during the dreary years of their 
 
INTRODUCTION. 39 
 
 novitiate, they never would have fulfilled their 
 evangelical mission with the energy and strength 
 of resolution which characterized their subsequent 
 labours. To the end of his life Charles Wesley used 
 to say that William Law was their John the Baptist ; 
 and much did they suffer while they knew nothing 
 beyond his baptism. Mighty was their deliverance 
 and their joy when Peter Bohler " taught them the 
 way of God more perfectly. " 
 
 It is worthy of special observation, that St. Paul, 
 who declares the Gospel to be " the power of God 
 unto salvation," declares it to be such especially 
 because it embodies the doctrine of present justifica- 
 tion through faith in Christ crucified. Bis words 
 are, " I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ : 
 for it is the power of God unto salvation to every 
 one that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to the 
 Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God 
 revealed from faith to faith." (Bom. i. 16, 17.) The 
 attempt to relieve the consciences of guilty men by 
 any other means is perfectly useless and unavailing; 
 and the attempt to subdue their evil propensities 
 and habits by their own efforts, without the sanc- 
 tifying Spirit, is as useless as to tell " the Ethiopian 
 to change his skin, and the leopard his spots." 
 But when the guilt of sin is taken away, and the 
 Holy Spirit assumes the possession of the heart, 
 11 old things are passed away, and all things become 
 new." If any man could by himself attain to 
 happiness, and to purity of heart, John Wesley 
 
40 INTRODUCTION". 
 
 would have succeeded ; but even he, after the labour 
 of thirteen years, found that he was still the slave 
 of sin, and made this humiliating confession : — 
 
 " My mouth was stopp'd, and shame 
 Cover'd my guilty face ; 
 I fell on the atoning Lamb, 
 And I was saved by grace. " 
 
 No scheme of religion meets the wants of a 
 sinful world, unless it contains a provision for the 
 forgiveness of all past sin, and the investiture of 
 sinners with the privileges of righteousness. This 
 the Gospel does; and hence its " power'' in restor- 
 ing men to happiness and to moral purity. 
 
 To be taught the nature and the appointed method 
 of justification before God was not the only benefit 
 received by Mr. Wesley from his interviews with 
 Peter Bolder. His attention was then effectually 
 called from such speculatists in religion as William 
 Law, to the oracles of God ; and from that time 
 he became " a man of one book/' subjecting every 
 doctrine to the test of Holy Scripture. Hence his 
 abandonment of everything in the form of philoso- 
 phical speculation in matters of religion, and the 
 thoroughly evangelical character of his future 
 labours both in the pulpit and in the use of the 
 press. Up to this period he had published little ; 
 but from this time, as he generally occupied the 
 pulpit daily, so he kept the press continually 
 employed to the end of his life. In addition to a 
 
INTRODUCTION. 41 
 
 large number of cheap volumes and pamphlets 
 which he published, he gave the world his views of 
 religion, experimental and practical, in a series of 
 sermons, which for clearness of exposition and force 
 of argument have never been surpassed by any 
 other writer in the English language; declaring, at 
 the same time, his absolute deference to the 
 authority of the Bible, and the spirit in which he 
 studied it. 
 
 " I have thought," says he, " I am a creature of a 
 day, passing through life as an arrow through the 
 air. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to 
 God : just hovering over the great gulf; till, a few 
 moments hence, I am no more seen ; I drop into an 
 unchangeable eternity ! I want to know one thing, — 
 the way to heaven ; how to land safe on that happy 
 shore. God Himself has condescended to teach 
 the way ; for this very end He came from heaven. 
 He hath written it down in a book. 0, give me that 
 book ! At any price, give me the Book of God ! I 
 have it. Here is knowledge enough for me. Let me 
 be homo unius libri* Here, then, I am, far from the 
 busy ways of men. I sit down alone. Only God is 
 here. In His presence I open, I read His Book ; for 
 this end, to find the way to heaven. Is there a doubt 
 concerning the meaning of what I read ? Does any- 
 thing appear dark or intricate? I lift up my heart 
 to the Father of Lights : Lord, is it net Thy word, 
 
 * " A man of one book." 
 
42 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 1 If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God ? ' 
 Thou ' givest liberally, and upbraidest not.' Thou 
 hast said, ' If any be willing to do Thy will, he 
 shall know.' I am willing to do, let me know. Thy 
 will. I then search after and consider parallel pas- 
 sages of Scripture, ' comparing spiritual things with 
 spiritual.' I meditate thereon with all the attention 
 and earnestness of which my mind is capable. If 
 any doubt still remains, I consult those who are 
 experienced in the things of God ; and then the 
 writings whereby, being dead, they yet speak. And 
 what I thus learn, that I teach." * 
 
 After Mr. Wesley had received the truth, and 
 found rest to his soul, he addressed a letter of 
 remonstrance to William Law, complaining that he 
 had never directed his attention to the Gospel 
 method of justification before God. We conceive 
 that it was right in him to make this complaint, con- 
 sidering the authority which Mr. Law had invariably 
 assumed on religious subjects ; yet the blame did 
 not rest exclusively with the mystic philosopher. 
 Mr. Wesley was also a clergyman, and ought to 
 have been a more diligent student of the New Testa- 
 ment, and of the formularies of his own Church. He 
 would not then have leaned so entirely upon the 
 broken reed which pierced his hand, and left him to 
 be healed by a man of greater skill, with a more 
 tender heart. 
 
 * Preface to his Sermons. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 43 
 
 The change in Mr. Charles Wesley was as strongly 
 marked as that in his brother. As the pensive 
 cli ciple of William Law, he could claim no assured 
 interest in the benefits of the Saviour's sacrifice, and 
 therefore only muttered in a low and subdued tone, — 
 
 " Doubtful arid insecure of bliss, 
 Since death alone confirms me His : 
 Till then to sorrow born, I sigh. " 
 
 But after he had received the truth in the love of 
 it, he thus poured forth the joyous feelings of his 
 soul : — 
 
 " My God, I am thine, What a comfort Divine, 
 What a blessing to know that my Jesus is mine ! 
 In the heavenly Lamb Thrice happy I am, 
 And my heart it doth dance at the sound of His name. " 
 
 In the same triumphant strain he poured forth his 
 feelings in glorious hymns, till his spirit returned 
 to God. 
 
 " Behold, how great a matter alii tl 3 fire kindleth !" 
 The announcement of the simple element of Gospel 
 truth, present justification by faith in Christ, — not 
 as a theory, but as matter of personal experience, 
 with other concomitant doctrines, — led to the forma- 
 tion of the Wesleyan-Methodist Connexion, with its 
 numerous offshoots both at home and abroad ; to 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church in America ; and to 
 a large number of foreign Missions in every quarter 
 of the globe; to say nothing of the Episcopal clergy- 
 men and the Dissenting ministers whom Methodism 
 
44 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 has supplied within the last hundred years. Such 
 are the results of the few brief and godly interviews 
 which took place between a Moravian Missionary and 
 the two Wesleys in the year 1738. "Who hath 
 despised the day of small things ?" How many thou- 
 sands and tens of thousands of people, in England 
 and in far-distant lands, since the time of Bohler's 
 visit to London and Oxford, have obtained the faith 
 and salvation which he recommended to the Wesleys, 
 and have died in the joyful hope of being for ever 
 with the Lord ! To G-od be all the glory ! 
 
 A modern writer has asserted, with an air of 
 authority, that the mission of the Wesleys differed 
 from the mission of Luther ; that of Luther being 
 the revival of the doctrine of justification by faith, 
 and that of the Wesleys the revival of the doctrine 
 of the new birth. We enter our protest against this 
 idle distinction. The mission of the two parties was 
 identical. The Wesleys acknowledged no new 
 birth but that which is consequent upon justifica- 
 tion, and is inseparably connected with it ; and they 
 acknowledged no justification from the guilt of past 
 transgression but that which is obtained by faith in 
 the blood of Christ. They did preach the new birth 
 with earnestness and fidelity ; but their first con- 
 cern was to make their hearers sensible of their 
 guilt, and bring them in a penitent state of heart to 
 Christ, that through His death and intercession 
 they might receive the blessing of full and free for- 
 giveness. The Wesleys were impressively taught by 
 
INTRODUCTION. 45 
 
 their own experience, that until men are personally 
 justified, there is no hope that they will be either 
 regenerated, or built up in holiness. The justifying 
 faith which they taught is effectually guarded against 
 antinomian abuses by the fact that it is always 
 preceded and accompanied by true repentance, and 
 is followed by purity of heart and a holy life. 
 Where these adjuncts are wanting, there is neither 
 true faith, nor justification, nor the new birth. 
 Hitherto the men who have entered into the labours 
 of the Wesleys have " walked according to the same 
 rule ; " and to the end of the world it is hoped they 
 will " mind the same thing. " 
 
 Within the last few years certain periodical 
 works, conducted by Ritualistic clergymen, have 
 expressed great respect for Mr. Wesley, and the 
 writers have claimed him as belonging to their 
 brotherhood, chiefly on the ground of his sayings 
 and doings in Georgia, and before he entered upon 
 his mission there. He then held the theory of 
 apostolical succession ; refused to administer the 
 Lord's Supper to a Dissenter, unless he would sub- 
 mit to be rebaptized; and turned his face to the 
 east when he repeated the Creed. He most pro- 
 bably mixed the sacramental wine with water ; 
 prayed standing on Whit-Sunday; and certainly 
 deemed himself a sacrificing priest. We would 
 suggest to the gentlemen who admire John Wesley 
 on account of these things, that a distinction should 
 be drawn between John Wesley the Ritualist, the 
 
46 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ascetic disciple of William Law, and John Wesley 
 the converted evangelist; just as a distinction 
 should be made between Saul of Tarsus, and " Paul 
 an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.'* As 
 a Ritualist and a disciple of William Law, Mr. 
 Wesley was unhappy ; his preaching was powerless, 
 and of very little use to mankind. When he had 
 " put off the old man," and was invested with a 
 truly evangelical character, he was heartily ashamed 
 of his former deeds ; he possessed a " peace which 
 passeth all understanding," and was one of the 
 most useful men that ever lived. In reference to 
 his ritualistic and ascetic follies, he was ever ready 
 to say, " When I was a child, I spake as a child, I 
 understood as a child, I thought (reasoned) as a 
 child : but when I became a man, I put away child- 
 ish things." The sooner his ritualistic admirers 
 follow his example, the better it will be for them- 
 selves, their congregations, and the country at 
 large. 
 
 Of late years much has been said on the subject 
 of " succession " in the Christian Church. One of 
 the ablest men among the Episcopal divines of the 
 seventeenth century (George Lawson) said that per- 
 sonal succession was of very little moment, unless it 
 were connected with a succession of sound evan- 
 gelical doctrine. From the facts which are now 
 before the reader of these pages, it appears that the 
 Wesleyan Methodists are in a succession of which 
 they have no reason to be ashamed. They have 
 
INTRODUCTION. 47 
 
 received tlieir general orthodoxy from the Church of 
 England, through the medium of Mr. Wesley, as 
 the founder of their Societies. They received their 
 doctrine of justification by faith, as matter of per- 
 sonal experience, from the Moravian Church, an 
 honoured and venerable community, which claims 
 descent from the Bohemian Brethren, including the 
 noble confessors, John Huss and Jerome of Prague.* 
 Nor should it be forgotten, that it was while listen- 
 ing to the words of Martin Luther that John 
 Wesley himself obtained the faith and salvation of 
 the Gospel. These are interesting facts, and will 
 be matter of gratifying thought to persons belonging 
 to the Wesleyan body. Yet every one will do well 
 to remember, whatever may be his ecclesiastical rela- 
 tionships, that there will be no admission into the 
 society of the blessed above without personal repent- 
 ance ; personal faith in Christ crucified ; personal 
 justification through the shedding of His blood ; 
 personal sanctifieation to God in body, soul, and 
 spirit ; personal subjection to Christ's authority and 
 will ; and perseverance in ail to the end of life. 
 
 * See " Eeport from the Committee [of the House of Com- 
 mons] to whom the Petition of the Deputies of the United 
 Moravian Churches in behalf of themselves and their United 
 Brethren was referred : together with Extracts of the most 
 material Vouchers and Papers contained in the Appendix to 
 the said Report. 1749." This is a folio volume of one hundred 
 and fifty-six pages, and contains a very interesting record of 
 the history, tenets, and economy of the Moravian Brethren. 
 
43 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The body of Wesley an Methodists, and Christians 
 in general who take an interest in the spread of 
 true religion, are greatly obliged to Mr. Lockwood 
 for the pains he has taken in collecting information 
 concerning the personal history of Peter Bohler, and 
 arranging it in the narrative which is now before 
 the reader. He has supplied intelligence which 
 many persons have desired to possess, but knew not 
 where to find it. Respecting Mary of Bethany our 
 Saviour said, that wherever His Gospel should be 
 preached, her pious act in anointing His feet 
 should " be told for a memorial of her ; " and we 
 may now say that whenever the origin of genuine Me- 
 thodism is investigated, the character and services 
 of the man from whom the two Wesley s received the 
 counsel which led to their spiritual emancipation, 
 and to the truly evangelical character of their min- 
 istry, will not be forgotten. " The memory of the 
 just is blessed.' ' 
 
MEMORIALS OE PETER BOIILER. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 The following Memorials present the religious 
 character of a minister and bishop of the Moravian 
 Church, or the Church of the United Brethren, 
 which claims to be regarded as the oldest Protestant 
 organization ; and whose members refer with honest 
 pride to their descent from the Church founded in 
 the mountains of Bohemia in 1457, — a Church which 
 has recorded in its martyrology the names of Jerome 
 of Prague and John Huss, and which has recently 
 celebrated its fourth centenary. 
 
 The Council of Constance, which was opened on 
 November 5th, 1414, and continued until April 22d, 
 1418, possessed no common significance. How 
 intense must have been the excitement of the 
 age which assembled twenty-nine cardinals, three 
 patriarchs, thirty-three archbishops, one hundred 
 and fifty bishops, more than one hundred abbots, a 
 still larger number of theological professors and 
 doctors, more than five hundred monks, and a mis 
 
 E 
 
50 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 cellaneous gathering of more than fifty thousand 
 persons, from the Emperor downwards ! Pope John 
 XIII., who entered with a splendid retinue, in which 
 one thousand six hundred horses were counted, was 
 deposed, and escaped in the disguise of a groom; 
 Gregory XII. and Benedict XIII. were also super- 
 seded. How exciting must have been the discussions 
 of that stirring period ! And how eventful the four 
 centuries which have elapsed since Huss and Jerome 
 were burnt at the stake, and their ashes thrown into 
 the Ehine ! 
 
 The renewed Church of the Brethren dates from 
 the foundation of Herrnhut on June 17th, 1722 ; 
 and in August, 1732, the infant community, then 
 numbering about six hundred members, first 
 essayed to fulfil the final charge of our ascending 
 Lord by sending out its messengers to the distant 
 nations of the earth. 
 
 A host of honoured names cluster about the 
 events of 1722, of which Zinzendorf forms the 
 central figure. Zinzendorf and Bohler are inse- 
 parably associated : between the two a most sacred 
 vow was made, that they would be true to the cause 
 and service of their common Lord even to the death. 
 
 From Zinzendorf Bohler received episcopal ordi- 
 nation ; and, under his direction, he shortly after- 
 wards undertook a mission to America, his official 
 instructions comprising a visit to Oxford. It was 
 this visit which, under God, led to the conversion of 
 John and Charles Wesley, and to the commencement 
 
CHAPTER I. 51 
 
 of the great revival which, having exerted an ever- 
 growing influence for a century and a quarter, is, we 
 devoutly trust, intended to bless all evangelical 
 churches, and to hasten the final triumph of the 
 Saviour's kingdom. 
 
 With interest akin to that with which we trace a 
 noble river to its source, or revisit a scene rendered 
 classic by patriotic or religious associations, we would 
 recall names which will never die, and review events 
 whose importance it is difficult to exaggerate. 
 
 Frankfort-on-the-Main is a pleasant city, remark- 
 able for its literary institutions and its his- 
 toric interest. At the close of the eighth century 
 Charlemagne built a palace in which a Council of the 
 Church was held. Beneath its " Bonier " the election 
 of the Emperors of Germany was partly conducted ; 
 and in its vicinity they afterwards received the homage 
 and acclamations of their subjects. Its archives 
 contain many valuable manuscripts ; and, among 
 others, the celebrated Golden Bull, promulgated by 
 Charles IV., in 1356, and written on forty-five skins 
 of parchment. Fine specimens of mediaeval architec- 
 ture still linger in its principal buildings. Here the 
 Eothschilds commenced their financial operations ; 
 and though its half-yearly fairs are not what they 
 were in the sixteenth century, when forty thousand 
 persons were wont to assemble within its walls, they 
 still present a scene of great interest and extensive 
 business. 
 
 e 2 
 
52 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLEK. 
 
 Here, a few hours before the bells of its cathedral 
 rang the funeral-knell of 1712, our future bishop, 
 Petrus Bohler, # was born. He was the fourth 
 child of John Conrad Bohler and his wife Antonetta 
 Elizabetha Hanf, who were married April 26th, 
 1706. The sacrament of baptism being almost 
 invariably administered on the third day after birth, 
 young Peter was baptized January 3d, 1713. 
 
 Of the elder Bohler few records are preserved. 
 In the municipal archives of Frankfort we find that 
 " John Conrad Bohler, brewer, son of a burgher, 
 took the oath December 22d, 1705, and paid burgher- 
 money six florins ; " and in the protocol of the Town- 
 Council of 1736 (folio 89, b) the following entry 
 occurs : — " John Conrad Bohler, burgher, comp- 
 troller at the Corn-Office." Dr. Konig, who has 
 kindly conducted extensive inquiries, adds, " The 
 office of comptroller to the Government bureau was 
 often given to persons who, though unsuccessful in 
 business, were otherwise well qualified for a trust so 
 important.' ' His position was respectable ; and at 
 his house the Founder of Methodism found a hos- 
 pitable reception, when a pilgrim bent on no com- 
 mon errand. 
 
 "On Monday, July 3d, 1738," writes Wesley, 
 " at half an hour past ten, we came to Frankfort. 
 Faint and weary as we were, we could have no 
 admittance here, having brought no passes with us ; 
 
 * Pronounced Bayler. 
 
CHAPTER I. 53 
 
 which, indeed, we never imagined would have been 
 required in a time of settled, general peace. After 
 waiting an hour at the gates, we procured a messen- 
 ger, whom we sent to Mr. Bohler ; (Peter Bohler's 
 father ;) who immediately came, procured us en- 
 trance into the city, and entertained us in the most 
 friendly manner." For the details of Wesley's con- 
 versations at Herrnhut, we must refer to his Journals, 
 as they are too voluminous and important to admit 
 of condensation. In the return-journey he remarks : 
 u Monday," (August) " 28th, I took my leave of the 
 Countess ; (the Count being gone to Jena ;) and, 
 setting out early the next morning, came about 
 three in the afternoon to Frankfort. From Mr. 
 Bohler's we went to the Society, where one of the 
 brethren from Marienborn offered free redemption 
 through the blood of Christ to sixty or seventy 
 persons." 
 
 Of the other branches of the burgher's family 
 our notices are very scanty. Several of the three 
 sons and six daughters with which their union was 
 blessed died in their youth. The oldest child was 
 baptized May 22d, 1707 ; and the youngest, Octo- 
 ber 15th, 1726. We find the name of Francis Bohler, 
 who was born in 1722, went to Bethlehem in 1753, 
 and, after serving as minister in several of the Bre- 
 thren's churches, died January 4th, 1806, at Lititz, in 
 Pennsylvania. Bohler's letters speak of a sister, 
 most probably Salome Bohler, who came from 
 Ebersdorf to reside at Gnadenthal ; and was, we 
 
54 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 imagine, the lady who married Brother Gerner, and 
 died December 9th, 1764. The name of William 
 Bohler also appears in the diary of the Church. 
 
 Young Peter early exhibited great aptitude in the 
 acquisition of knowledge. Beginning to attend 
 school at four years of age, he commenced the study 
 of the Latin tongue at eight, and entered the follow- 
 ing year the Gymnasium of his native city, then 
 under the rectorship of John Thomas Klump. The 
 following entry in its Album thus notes his admis- 
 sion :— " No. 55, 1722, d. 28 (September), Peter 
 Bohler, of Frankfort-on-the-Main, aged nine years. 
 Placed in class VI." 
 
 The worthy burgher had intended his son for the 
 medical profession, in which he might, doubtless, 
 have won renown and acquired wealth ; but his rapid 
 advances in learning, and his eminent abilities, led 
 to the selection of a theological training, — a decision 
 fraught with the most important results. 
 
 Bohler's boyhood, though not unchecked by the 
 monitions of conscience, nor destitute of vigorous 
 efforts after a purer morality, was wild and wicked ; 
 but, at this most critical period of life, an event 
 occurred which, by the good providence of God, led 
 him to religious decision, and proved the commence- 
 ment of a career of eminent spirituality and useful- 
 ness. He accompanied a clergyman of the city 
 to visit a woman under sentence of death for an 
 attempted murder, who expressed in most touching 
 terms her deep abhorrence of the fearful crime she 
 
CHAPTER I. 55 
 
 had contemplated ; but also affirmed her full convic- 
 tion that her sins were pardoned by an application 
 of the Saviour's blood. The truth thus presented 
 in strains so impressive, and under circumstances so 
 solemn, found a prompt response in the breast of 
 young Bohler. Restraining his emotion while 
 within the condemned cell, he retired hastily to his 
 own room, and sought relief to his feelings in fer- 
 vent prayer and abundance of tears. He now entered 
 on the hopeless task of self-reformaiion, and his 
 experience amply sustains the teaching of Divine 
 truth, that, until the fountain is made pure, the 
 streams will be turbid and polluting. " Can the 
 Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots ? 
 then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do 
 evil." Bohler's experience proves most conclusively, 
 that evangelical obedience can only spring from a 
 regenerate heart. His intense solicitude for the 
 Divine favour became almost overwhelming, and his 
 mental anguish bordered upon despair. In this 
 frame of mind, after delivering a valedictory address 
 in Latin, he bade adieu to the beautiful city of his 
 birth, and proceeded to the University of Jena. 
 
 This celebrated University was founded by the 
 Elector John Frederick, who, in passing through the 
 Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, as a prisoner of the 
 Emperor Charles V., advised his three sons to make 
 Jena the nurse of the sciences, and the preserver of 
 the true Protestant faith, instead of Wittenberg, of 
 which he had been deprived. 
 
56 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 Bohler's associates at Frankfort were not helpful 
 to him, either in intellectual pursuits, or the disci- 
 pline of the heart. He speaks of them as " his gor- 
 mandizing, tippling, and fighting countrymen," — 
 terms which reveal the perils by which his path had 
 been beset, and show how narrow was his escape 
 from a complete wreck of character, and from 
 utter ruin. 
 
 Several members of the roystering band having 
 been recently transferred to Jena, his spiritual 
 danger was extreme. Happily, Baumeister, a pious 
 student, afterwards a bishop, who had come to Jena 
 a few days before the arrival of his friend, was so 
 disgusted with the state of morals, that he had 
 sought refuge with the "Brethren;" and when 
 Bohler reached the post-house, at one in the morn- 
 ing, he found Baumeister in attendance, to conduct 
 him to the house of Mr. Walch, where their religious 
 meetings were held. Bohler, without any definite 
 purpose, followed him to the place ; and when in the 
 early morning he was assailed by the importunities 
 of the godless party, who besought him to leave the 
 persecuted pietists, he was deaf to their entreaties 
 and their taunts, and felt as though restrained by an 
 invisible band. 
 
 The following day he was formally entered on the 
 "University Album in the following terms: — ■" Petrus 
 Boehler, Mseno-Francofurtiensis, d„ 21 mensis 
 Aprilis, ami. 1731, in numerum civium academi- 
 corum Jense receptus." The very first week of his 
 
CHAPTER I. 57 
 
 residence at Jena was memorable, not only as the 
 commencement of his University curriculum, but 
 especially as the beginning of a new spiritual life. 
 
 On April 25th he attended a meeting held by 
 Spangenberg, then a professor in the University, in 
 the lecture-hall of Dr. "Walch, (successively professor 
 of elocution, poetry, and theology, and the author 
 of many valuable works, and who died in 1775,) in 
 which he commented on a pamphlet of Spener's. A 
 sentence expressive of the Saviour's power to free from 
 all sin caught the ear of Bohler. The effect was in- 
 stantaneous. " I have tried everything in the world 
 excepting this," exclaimed the conscience-stricken 
 student ; " but this I will try ! " Eetiring to the 
 house of the pious Deacon Brumhardt, where he 
 had secured lodgings, and found a welcome retreat 
 from the scoffs and profanity of the witlings and 
 sceptics who unhappily abounded, he resolved 
 to seek the blessing of forgiveness in the evangelical 
 mode of which Spangenberg had been the faithful 
 expositor. After combating a perilous temptation 
 to procrastinate, he. on the following Saturday, cast 
 himself, in the spirit of genuine penitence, at the 
 Saviour's feet ; and, while engaged in secret prayer, 
 he was enabled to believe upon the Son of God, and 
 immediately realized the peace and joy he had so 
 long and so earnestly desired. Most fitly might his 
 feelings have found expression in the inspiring strains 
 of his English tutor : — 
 
58 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 " We who in Christ believe, 
 
 That He for us hath died, 
 We all His unknown peace receive, 
 
 And feel His blood applied ; 
 Exults our rising soul, 
 
 Disburdened of her load, 
 And swells unutterably full 
 
 Of glory and of God. 1 ' 
 
 The witness of the Holy Spirit to his personal 
 adoption, thus distinctly realized, was well-nigh lost 
 through the indiscretion of his Jena friends, who 
 plied him with pamphlets and treatises ; but, select- 
 ing the Holy Scriptures, and especially the New 
 Testament, as the staple of his reading, and culti- 
 vating a devout and humble spirit, he was 
 preserved amidst numerous temptations, and, being 
 established in the faith, became " valiant for the 
 truth." 
 
 Bohler's conversion produced its legitimate 
 results. He now regarded the Christian ministry, 
 not as an honourable profession, or an arena for the 
 exhibition of literary eminence or rhetorical skill, 
 but as a sacred charge, for which each candidate 
 should possess the special call of the Head of the 
 Church, and the peculiar mental and spiritual fitness 
 which the Lord the Spirit can alone supply. He 
 prosecuted his studies with the zeal of a " soul in 
 its earliest love." Intensely desirous to spread the 
 sweet savour of Christ, he became an occasional 
 teacher in the primary school at Jena, where his 
 labours were greatly blessed ; several of his pupils 
 
CHAPTER I. 59 
 
 subsequently obtaining a " good degree n in the 
 Moravian Church. Meanwhile, good Deacon Brum- 
 hardt had exchanged the militant for the triumphant 
 church, and the devoted Spangenberg had been 
 transferred to the University at Halle. From 
 various causes the number of the associated stu- 
 dents had been reduced to nine ; and at their 
 request Zinzendorf appeared, to re-organize the 
 little band. 
 
 It was during the visit of the Count to Jena in 1732, 
 that the life-long attachment between him and Bohler 
 was formed. Their intercourse was greatly blessed, 
 and passages like the following might be freely quoted 
 from the manuscripts of the youthful student : — 
 " The year 1733 was an increasingly happy one for 
 me, and was spent in constant intercourse with the 
 Saviour : the foundation of my future usefulness was 
 then laid." 
 
 During the Christmas celebration of the preceding 
 year he had preached his first sermon, and at a 
 small village near Jena he commenced the ministry 
 which was so eminently and extensively blessed of 
 the Lord. 
 
 At the request of his parents, he revisited the 
 city of his birth. The three years which had 
 elapsed since he left it, like the stricken deer to weep 
 apart, had been eventful ones ; and he now returned 
 an established and devoted Christian, " filled with 
 all joy and peace in believing. " His conversation, 
 counsels, and prayers were so greatly blessed, that 
 
60 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 his father, mother, and, it is believed, every mem- 
 ber of the family, became fully decided for G-od. 
 While we regret that no record of their spiritual 
 career can be discovered, we trust that they have 
 met as an unbroken household before the heavenly 
 throne. 
 
 By the direction of his father he now entered 
 the University of Leipzig, where the official record, 
 as certified by Dr. Boettger, states that " Peter 
 Bohler, from Frankfort-on-the-Main, matriculated at 
 Leipzig on June 16th, 1734, under the rectorship of 
 Professor John Erhard Kapp, had already been 
 entered at Jena in the year 1731." His residence at 
 Leipzig was but brief, as, from causes which do not 
 appear, he shortly returned to Jena. Here his in- 
 fluence in promoting spiritual good was extensive and 
 powerful. The little band of nine increased to one 
 hundred ; of whom more than half joined the 
 Moravian Church. Many of these reappear as evange- 
 lists and pastors in distant lands, and are doubtless 
 sharing with him in the honours and rewards of the 
 heavenly state. 
 
 On recovering from an attack of low fever, he 
 paid his first visit to Herrnhut ; and, while preaching 
 "with a warm and melted heart," Schulius, with 
 whom we shall meet in South Carolina, was led to 
 the Saviour. When the "banished Count " had to 
 bow to an unrighteous sentence, Bohler procured 
 lodgings for his suite in Frankfort, and the Bonne- 
 burg was ultimately purchased as their residence. 
 
CHAPTER I. 61 
 
 Having been released from liability to military ser- 
 vice, he now became " Magister legens," and thus 
 obtained the right to lecture as a junior professor. 
 His appointment by Count Zinzendorf to be the 
 English tutor to his son occasioned great excite- 
 ment in the academic senate, and in the courts of 
 the reigning princes of the Grand Duchies ; but he 
 passed through the searching inquiries instituted 
 by the literary and national authorities with 
 unstained honour and perfect success. 
 
 He was doubtless anticipating the future with the 
 buoyant hopes of an enthusiastic student, and the 
 chastened sjririt of one who had placed himself en- 
 tirely at the disposal of his covenant Lord, when, on 
 September 4th, the young Count and John Nitsch- 
 man appeared as the bearers to him of a call to become 
 the pastor of the infant church at Savannah, and an 
 evangelist to the Negro population of the district. 
 " A man's heart deviseth his way ; but the Lord 
 directeth his steps." Great must have been the con- 
 trast between the academic groves of Jena and the 
 inhospitable climate of Georgia ; between an attached 
 circle of alumni at the University, and the sable sons 
 of Ham, or the aborigines of North America, proverbi- 
 ally treacherous, malevolent, and cruel. But Bohler 
 11 conferred not with flesh and blood ; " the vows of 
 Jehovah were upon him : regarding the call of the 
 Head of the Church as altogether irrespective of coun- 
 try, or race, or dialect, he accepted it in its full extent ; 
 for the solemn covenant into which he had entered con- 
 
62 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 tained the clause, " even to the death. ,? He would 
 not, indeed, hare shrunk from the sacrifice, even 
 though it had been certain that he would be num- 
 bered among the multitude beheld by the disciple 
 whom Jesus loved, as he saw " under the altar the 
 souls of them that were slain for the word of God, 
 and for the testimony which they held : and they 
 cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, Lord, 
 holy and true, dost thou not avenge our blood on 
 them that dwell upon the earth ? " To that " noble 
 army " how many faithful witnesses have since been 
 added! To the call of Christ and His Church 
 Bolder promptly responded. Taking leave of his 
 Jena friends in a lovefeast held on the 13th, and 
 attended by many to whom he had been the instru- 
 ment of salvation, and followed by their prayers 
 and tears, he commenced on the following day the 
 journey to Herrnhut, where, on the 23d, he was 
 formally received into the Brethren's Church. Hav- 
 ing officiated as a Lutheran minister in the parish 
 of Berthelsdorf until relieved by the arrival of 
 Mucke, he proceeded to the Eonneburg ; and in the 
 private chapel of the old feudal fortress, where the 
 robbers of the Middle Ages had planned their ma- 
 rauding expeditions, and divided their ill-gotten 
 spoil, and where nobles had held their court with 
 princely splendour, he was solemnly ordained on 
 December 16th, by Zinzendorf and Bishop Nitsch- 
 man, as a minister of the Moravian Church. He then 
 received his official instructions, which included 
 
CHAPTER I. 63 
 
 directions to visit Oxford on the way to his distant 
 sphere of toil. 
 
 Thus He who " led His people like a flock by the 
 hand of Moses and Aaron," and Himself preceded 
 them in the pillar of a cloud by day, and the pillar 
 of fire by night, conducted His servant to those 
 scenes of usefulness which we purpose to review, and 
 prepared him for labours which terminated only with 
 his life. 
 
64 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Amid the stirring scenes of the metropolis) few 
 localities are more suggestive to a Methodist minis- 
 ter than the vicinity of St. Paul's. Almost beneath 
 the shadow of that venerable cathedral are Alders- 
 gate- street, where, as the burden dropped from his 
 weary spirit, John Wesley found his heart " strangely 
 warmed ; " Little Britain, where, at the house of 
 Bray, the brazier, Charles Wesley found the pearl of 
 great price ; and the old, dingy chapel in Fetter- 
 lane, which is supposed to date its erection from the 
 days of Charles II., and, after being sacked and 
 gutted in the Sacheverell riots, and narrowly escaping 
 a similar fate in the "No Popery' ' riots of Lord George 
 Gordon, became the centre of Moravian operations. 
 This chapel was also the scene of the remarkable 
 lovefeast held on the first day of the year 1739, and 
 attended by both the Wesleys, together with Hall, 
 Kinchin, Whitefield, Hutchins, and some sixty other 
 brethren, when, " about three in the morning," says 
 Wesley, " as we were continuing instant in prayer, 
 the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch 
 that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell 
 to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a 
 
CHAPTER II. G5 
 
 little from that awe and amazement at the presence 
 of His majesty, we broke out with one voice, ' We 
 praise Thee, God : we acknowledge Thee to be the 
 Lord.' " 
 
 Not very distant is the place where the first inter- 
 view between Bolder and Wesley occurred. Bohler 
 had proceeded to the house of Mr. Weynanz, (or 
 Weinantz,) a Dutch merchant ; and on the day of 
 his arrival John Wesley delivered to him a letter 
 addressed to Zinzendorf, from John Toltschig, a 
 Moravian minister, whose acquaintance Wesley had 
 formed in Georgia. Between Bohler and Wesley an 
 ardent attachment at once sprang up ; and the latter 
 hastened to procure lodgings for his friend at West- 
 minster, near to Mr. Hutton's, where he was himself 
 residing. 
 
 Wesley had just returned from his Georgian 
 mission, — a mission which, after being the occasion 
 of much personal discomfort, had proved a mourn- 
 ful failure. Its story, as related by himself, would 
 furnish a " Tract for the Times " now passing over the 
 Christian Church, and be suggestive of truths of 
 deepest significance and permanent value. It would 
 show how a clergyman of blameless morality and 
 high principle, an accomplished classical scholar, 
 a skilful logician, and a strict observer of the rubrics 
 and canons of the Established Church, had failed to 
 apprehend the spiritual nature of evangelical reli- 
 gion, and was a stranger to its saving power. His 
 sincerity was unquestionable ; his devotion to duty 
 
 F 
 
66 MEMORIALS OF PETER, BOHLER. 
 
 was beyond all praise ; but lie bad not yet come, as 
 undone and belpless, to rest on Cbrist alone for sal- 
 vation, and to seek a gratuitous justification tbrough 
 His perfect sacrifice. In some most striking pas- 
 sages, quoted in the " Introduction " to this nar- 
 rative, he tells us how the melancholy conviction now 
 forced itself upon his mind, that he who had gone 
 to America to convert others was himself destitute 
 of that great spiritual change which the New Testa- 
 ment describes as essential to Christ's people. 
 
 But, having reached this conclusion, the mind of 
 Wesley was graciously prepared for juster views of 
 the Christian salvation than those presented by the 
 writers who had hitherto been his religious guides. 
 
 That the instructions of Bohler should include a 
 visit to Oxford must be ascribed to a higher source 
 than mere human sagacity ; and we gratefully recog- 
 nise the guidance of " Hini who holdeth the seven 
 stars in His right hand," who has made the spiritual 
 interests of His church the object of His ceaseless 
 care, and whose prerogative it is to select, prepare, 
 and bless the agents employed for its revival and 
 prosperity. 
 
 The history of the conversion of the Wesleys is 
 before the world ; but as the connexion of Bohler with 
 that event is not so extensively known, a few notices 
 from his private papers may not be unacceptable ; 
 while brief extracts from the Journals of the two 
 brothers may help to present a consecutive narrative 
 of that important event. 
 
CHAPTER II. 67 
 
 'What transpired between the 6th and 17th of 
 February, 1738, is at best matter of conjecture ; but 
 on the latter day the two brothers and their German 
 friend proceeded by coach to Oxford, (a journey not so 
 expeditiously performed as in the present day, since 
 Antony a Wood was two days in accomplishing it 
 by the mail-coach,) and were entertained by Mr. 
 Sarney, an old friend of the Wesleys. 
 
 Here their character and engagements soon pro- 
 voked the mirth of the godless students then col- 
 lected on the banks of the Isis. The reproach which 
 they had formerly endured now revived ; and even 
 as they walked through the squares of the colleges, 
 they became the occasion of derisive laughter. Upon 
 one of these occasions, Bohler, perceiving that Wesley 
 was troubled chiefly for his sake, said, with a smile, 
 " Mi f rater, non adhceret vestibus:" "My brother, 
 it does not even stick to our clothes." 
 
 During the journey Eohler's mind had been pain- 
 fully exercised. That he, a foreigner, who could 
 only speak in broken English, should presume to 
 become the instructer of the members of colleges 
 venerable as the abodes of learning, and favoured 
 with the prelections of some of the most accom- 
 plished professors of the age, became the occasion of 
 severe mental conflict ; but the tokens of the Divine 
 favour were so abundant, and the disposition of the 
 more serious students to profit by his private 
 counsels became so marked and encouraging, that his 
 
 f 2 
 
68 MEMORIALS OF PETEE BOHLER. 
 
 Journal of that period breathes the spirit of gratitude 
 and joy. 
 
 " February 17," writes Charles Wesley, " I came 
 in the Oxford coach to my old lodgings at Mr. 
 Sarney's." " All this time," observes John Wesley, 
 " I conversed much with Peter Bohler ; but I under- 
 stood him not, and least of all when he said, ' Mi 
 f rater, mi j rater, excoquenda est ista tua jpliilosojpliia : 9 
 1 My brother, my brother, that philosophy of yours 
 must be purged away.' " On the 20th he began to 
 receive English lessons from Charles Wesley ; and on 
 the 22d he pressed on the students the necessity of 
 more intimate union in meetings analogous to the 
 Methodist class-meeting. 
 
 Bohler's impressions shall be given in his own 
 words : — " I travelled with the two brothers, John 
 and Charles Wesley, from London to Oxford. # 
 The elder, John, is a good-natured man. He knew 
 that he did not properly believe in the Saviour, and 
 was willing to be taught. His brother, with whom 
 you [Zinzendorf] often conversed a year ago in 
 London, is at present very much distressed in his 
 mind, but does not know how he shall begin to be 
 acquainted with the Saviour. Our mode of believing 
 in the Saviour is so easy to Englishmen that they 
 
 * Some apparent discrepancies in dates are reconciled by 
 the fact that Bohler employed the new style, and Wesley the 
 old. The reader must pardon the rugged paragraphs, as, even 
 at the sacrifice of elegance, the idioms of Bohler are scrupu- 
 lously preserved. 
 
CHAPTER II. 69 
 
 cannot reconcile themselves to it : if it were a little 
 more artful, they would sooner find their way into 
 
 it Of faith in Jesus they have no other idea than 
 
 men generally entertain. They justify themselves ; 
 therefore they always take it for granted that they 
 believe already, and would prove their faith by their 
 works ; and thus so plague and torment themselves 
 that they are at heart very miserable. " 
 
 How gladly would we reproduce their earnest 
 conversation, as they threaded the quadrangles of the 
 colleges, or enjoyed their quiet evening walk in 
 their vicinity ! But regrets are unavailing. Doubt- 
 less, the nature of true faith, the faith by means of 
 which the penitent sinner receives justification, and 
 which is followed by the assurance of the Divine 
 favour, — that faith which Bohler had exercised in his 
 private room at Jena, but which the Wesleys had yet 
 to put forth, — formed the central topic of discourse, 
 and furnished the absorbing, if not the exclusive, 
 theme of earnest intercourse. 
 
 How attractive Bohler' s conversation proved we 
 may infer from the extensive influence he acquired, 
 not only at Jena, but also at Oxford. One illustration 
 of this — by no means a solitary one — may suffice. 
 Escorted by a graduate, he proceeded to examine the 
 University library, probably the splendid Bodleian 
 collection ; and after spending half-an-hour amidst 
 its literary treasures, he addressed his learned com- 
 panion in the Latin tongue, and kept him spell- 
 bound for two hours, as he discoursed on " the 
 
70 MEMORIALS OF PETES BOHLEK. 
 
 Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the 
 world." 
 
 John Wesley's visit to Oxford was brief. Beturn- 
 ing to London on the 20th, he preached the following 
 day at Great St. Helen's ; and, after an audience with 
 the Georgia trustees, he preached on the following 
 Sabbath in three of the London churches ; observing 
 characteristically, " I believe it pleased God to bless 
 the first sermon most, because it gave most ofPence ; 
 being indeed an open defiance of that mystery of 
 iniquity which the world calls -prudence,' grounded 
 on those words of St. Paul to the Galatians, ' As many 
 as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they con- 
 strain you to be circumcised ; only lest they should 
 suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.' " 
 
 On the following day he took the coach for Salis- 
 bury, saw his widowed mother, and probably Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hall, with whom she now resided ; and was pre- 
 paring for a visit to his brother Samuel at Tiverton, 
 when intelligence of the expected death of Charles 
 at Oxford led him to hasten to his room. John 
 Wesley was a rigid economist of time ; and amid 
 the anxieties of such a journey he found opportunity 
 to renew and transcribe his former resolutions. " 1. 
 To use absolute openness and unreserve with all I 
 should converse with. 2. To labour after continual 
 seriousness, not willingly indulging myself in any the 
 least levity of behaviour, or in laughter ; no, not for 
 a moment. 3. To speak no word which does not 
 tend to the glory of God ; in particular, not to talk 
 
CHAPTER II. 71 
 
 of worldly things. Others may, nay, must. But 
 what is that to thee? 4. To lake no pleasure 
 which does not tend to the glory of God ; thanking 
 God every moment for all I do take, and therefore 
 rejecting every sort and degree of it which I feel I 
 cannot so thank Him in and for." 
 
 Ere we enter the sick-chamber of Charles, we 
 must recall an incident or two. He was doubtless a 
 fellow-passenger with John in the Oxford coach on 
 February 17th ; and on the following Lord's day 
 received the sacrament once more at Christ Church. 
 How suggestive and affecting must have been the 
 associations of that clay ! Charles's Journal records the 
 fact of close conversation with his German pupil, who 
 enforced the necessity of more intimate union among 
 the awakened, by referring to the case of many who 
 had fallen asleep again for the want of it : — a moni- 
 tory circumstance which may well awaken solemn 
 thought in the minds of all whom it may concern. 
 Bohler was hastily summoned to his presence, and 
 promptly responded to the call. " Charles Wesley," 
 he remarks, " has been very ill during the last 
 night ; therefore he sent for me at break of day, and 
 begged I would pray for him, for the health of his 
 soul and body. Soon after he fell asleep the pain 
 became less severe. He acknowledges that these 
 sufferings came from God, as well as the relief 
 which he now experiences." 
 
 The interview is recorded in the Journal of 
 Bohler's friend. " At eleven," writes Charles, " I 
 
72 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 waked in extreme pain, which I thought would 
 quickly separate soul and body. Soon after, Peter 
 Bohler came to my bedside. I asked him to pray 
 for me : he seemed unwilling at first, but, beginning 
 very faintly, he raised his voice by degrees, and 
 prayed for my recovery with strange confidence. 
 Then he took me by the hand, and calmly said, 
 ' You will not die now/ I thought within myself, 
 ' I cannot hold out in this pain until morning. If it 
 abates before, I believe I may recover.' He asked me, 
 1 Do you hope to be saved ? ' ' Yes ! ' • For what 
 reason do you hope it ? ' ' Because I have used my 
 best endeavours to serve God.' He shook his head, 
 and said no more. I thought him very uncharitable, 
 saying in my heart, ' What, are not my endeavours 
 a sufficient ground of hope? Would he rob me 
 of my endeavours ? 1 have nothing else to trust to.' " 
 
 The following night was spent by Bohler in Wes- 
 ley's room, where the nature of their intercourse can 
 only be inferred, as no memoranda have been pre- 
 served. How earnest must have been the conversa- 
 tion, and how fervent the supplications presented 
 under circumstances so critical ! At Charles Wes- 
 ley's request, Bohler communicated with him when, 
 on the following day, the sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper was administered by Gambold ; and Bohler 
 again kept vigil by his friend, who was not considered 
 out of danger. 
 
 This illness of the future bard of Methodism was 
 very severe, and had well-nigh proved fatal. He 
 
CHAPTER II. 73 
 
 was thrice bled ; and they poured down draughts, 
 oils, and apozems without end : but the balance now 
 inclined towards recovery ; his invaluable life was 
 spared ; and the prayer of Bohler was destined to 
 receive a more signal accomplishment. 
 
 Events of deep significance now follow each other 
 in rapid succession. John Wesley had reached the 
 lodgings of his afflicted brother on Saturday, March 
 4th. " I found my brother," he writes, " at Oxford, 
 recovering from his pleurisy ; and with him Peter 
 Bohler ; by whom, in the hands of the great God, I 
 was on Sunday, the 5th, clearly convinced of unbe- 
 lief, of the want of that faith whereby alone we can 
 be saved." 
 
 From Bokler's manuscripts we learn that the 
 event so fraught with future blessings occurred 
 during a quiet evening walk. " I took a walk with 
 the elder Wesley, and asked him about his spiritual 
 state. He told me that he sometimes felt certain 
 of his salvation, but sometimes he had many doubts ; 
 that he could only say this, ' If what stands in the 
 Bible be true, then I am saved/ Thereupon I spoke 
 with him very fully ; and earnestly besought him to 
 go to the opened fountain, and not to mar the effi- 
 cacy of free grace by his unbelief. I also consulted 
 with him about the inquirers at Oxford, and made 
 several proposals having in view their growth in 
 knowledge and grace. Later in the evening Wes- 
 ley and other students met, and we had a religious 
 conversation. The case of a prisoner who had been 
 
74 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 condemned to death gave me occasion to speak of 
 the duty of seeking souls for the Saviour." " Imme- 
 diately," adds Wesley, " it struck into my mind, 
 1 Leave off preaching. How can you preach to others, 
 who have not faith yourself?' I asked Bohler 
 whether he thought I should leave it off or not. He 
 answered, ' By no means !* I asked, ' But w T hat can 
 I preach .? * He said, ' Preach faith till you have it ; 
 and then, because you have it, you will preach 
 faith,' " 
 
 Bohler's visit had extended to three weeks, 
 and most unsparingly had he scattered the seed of 
 which the harvest was to he so rich and abundant. 
 He gratefully records the fact, that, in addition to 
 his success in the University, more than a hundred 
 citizens of that ancient city were under religious 
 awakening. He now returned to London, John 
 Wesley contributing six shillings towards his 
 travelling expenses. 
 
 Another journey to Oxford becoming necessary, 
 he had the opportunity of renewing his unostenta- 
 tious labours, of which " the most remarkable 
 feature," observes Bohler, " was a very full conver- 
 sation which I had with the two Wesleys, in order 
 to impress upon their minds the Gospel, and in 
 order to entreat them to proclaim the same to 
 others, as they had opportunity, at Oxford and 
 elsewhere. Thereupon they confessed their doubts 
 respecting the truth of the doctrine of free grace, 
 through the merits of Jesus, whereby poor sinners 
 
CHAPTER II. 75 
 
 receive forgiveness, and are set free from the domi- 
 nion of sin. The Saviour, however, granted me grace 
 to convince them from the Scriptures ; and they had 
 no way of escape, except to ask to see and converse 
 with persons who had made the experiences of 
 which I spoke, I told them that in London I hoped 
 to be able to show them such Christians/' 
 
 John Wesley remarks, " I met Peter Bohler again, 
 who amazed me more and more by the account he 
 gave of the fruits of living faith, — the holiness and 
 happiness which he affirmed to attend it. The next 
 morning I began the Greek Testament again, re- 
 solving to abide by l the law and the testimony,' and 
 being confident that God would thereby show me 
 whether this doctrine was of God." 
 
 On Saturday, April 22 d, another interview 
 occurred ; and the Journals of Wesley and the 
 Bohler manuscripts are again mutually illustrative 
 and suggestive. " I met Peter Bohler once more," 
 writes Wesley. " I had now no objection to what he 
 said of the nature of faith ; namely, that it is (to use 
 the words of our Church) ' a sure trust and confi- 
 dence which a man hath, that through the merits of 
 Christ his sins are forgiven, and he reconciled to 
 the favour of God.' Neither could I deny either 
 the happiness or holiness which he described as 
 fruits of this living faith. ' The Spirit itself beareth 
 witness with our spirit that we are the children of 
 God,' and, ' He that believeth hath the witness in 
 himself,' fully convinced me of the former ; as, 'Who- 
 
76 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 soever is born of God doth not commit sin,' and, 
 ' Whosoever believeth is born of God, 5 did of the 
 latter. But I could not comprehend what he spoke 
 of an instantaneous work. I could not understand 
 how this faith should be given in a moment ; how a 
 man could at once be thus turned from darkness to 
 light, from sin and misery to righteousness and joy- 
 in the Holy Ghost. I searched the Scriptures 
 again, touching this very thing, particularly the 
 Acts of the Apostles ; but, to my utter astonishment, 
 found scarce any instances there of other than 
 instantaneous conversions ; scarce any so slow as that 
 of St. Paul, who was three days in the pangs of the 
 new birth. I had but one retreat left; namely, 
 1 Thus, I grant, God wrought in the first ages of 
 Christianity ; but the times are changed. What 
 reason have I to believe He works in the same man- 
 ner now ? ' But on Sunday, the 23d, I was beat out 
 of this retreat too, by the concurring evidence of 
 several living witnesses ; who testified God had 
 thus wrought in themselves ; giving them in a 
 moment such a faith in the blood of His Son, as 
 translated them out of darkness id to light, out of 
 sin and fear into holiness and happiness. Here 
 ended my disputing. I could only cry out, ' Lord, 
 help Thou my unbelief I ' " 
 
 "I took," says Bohler, "four of my English 
 
 brethren to John Wesley, that they might relate 
 
 their experience to him, how the Saviour so soon 
 and so mightily u has compassion, and accepts the 
 
CHAPTER II. 77 
 
 sinner. They told, one after another, what had been 
 wrought in them ; Wolff, especially, in whom the 
 change was quite recent, spoke very heartily, mightily, 
 and in confidence of his faith. John Wesley and those 
 that were with him were as if thunderstruck at these 
 narrations. I asked John Wesley what he then be- 
 lieved. He said, four examples were not enough to 
 prove the thing. To satisfy his objections, I replied, 
 I would brim? eicrht more here in London. After a 
 short time he stood up, and said, ' We will sing that 
 Hymn, Hicr lecjt mein Sinn sich vor dir nieder.' " # 
 
 " My soul before Thee prostrate lies, 
 To Thee, her Source, my spirit flies, 
 My wants I mourn, my chains I see : 
 0, let Thy presence set me free ! 
 
 " Lost and undone, for aid I cry ; 
 In Thy death, Saviour, let me die ! 
 Grieved with Thy grief, pain'd with Thy pain, 
 Ne'er may I feel self-love again. 
 
 " Jesu, vouchsafe my heart and will 
 With Thy meek lowliness to fill ; 
 No more her power let Nature boast, 
 But in Thy will let mine be lost. 
 
 * " The original was composed by Dr. Christian Frederick 
 Eichter, a pious physician, well read in theology, and con- 
 nected with the Orphan-House at Halle at the time of the 
 celebrated A. H. Francke. He, along with his brother, prepared 
 the drugs which were known as the ' medicines of Halle," 
 and, being in great repute, tended not a little to defray the 
 expenses of the institution." The above version is that of 
 Wesley, 1739. 
 
78 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 " In life's short day let me yet more 
 Of Thy enlivening power implore : 
 My mind must deeper sink in Thee, 
 My foot stand firm, from wandering free. 
 
 " Ye sons of men, here nought avails 
 Your strength ; here all your wisdom fails 
 Who bids a sinful heart be clean ? 
 Thou only, Lord, Supreme of men. 
 
 " And well I know Thy tender love ; 
 Thou never didst unfaithful prove : 
 And well I know Thou stand'st by me, 
 Pleased from myself to set me free. 
 
 " Still will I watch, and labour still 
 To banish every thought of ill ; 
 Till Thou in Thy good time appear, 
 And sav'st me from the fowler's snare. 
 
 " Already springing hope I feel ; 
 God will destroy the power of hell ; 
 God from the land of wars and pain 
 Leads me where peace and safety reign. 
 
 " One only care my soul shall know, — 
 Father, all Thy commands to do : 
 Ah ! deep engrave it on my breast, 
 That I in Thee even now am blest. 
 
 " When my warm'd thoughts I fix on Thee, 
 And plunge me in Thy mercy's sea, 
 Then even on me Thy face shall shine, 
 And quicken this dead heart of mine. 
 
 " So even in storms my zeal shall grow ; 
 So shall I Thy hid sweetness know ; 
 And feel (what endless age shall prove) 
 That Thou, my Lord, my God, art love." 
 
CHAPTER II. /b> 
 
 "During the singing of the Moravian version," 
 Bohler continues, " he often wiped his eyes. Imme- 
 diately after he took me alone into his own room, 
 and declared, * that he was now satisfied of what I 
 said of faith, and he would not question any 
 more about it ; that he was clearly convinced of the 
 want of it : hut how could he help himself, and how 
 could he obtain such faith ? He was a man that had 
 not sinned so grossly as other people.' I replied 
 that it was sin enough that he did not believe on the 
 Saviour : he should not depart from the door of the 
 Saviour until He helped him. I w r as very much 
 pressed to pray with him : therefore I called upon 
 the bleeding name of the Saviour to have compas- 
 sion on this sinner Afterwards he told me what 
 
 contradictions he had met with from the pious 
 clergy with whom he had taken counsel, because he 
 had by opportunity told them what he knew, and 
 what he still wanted ; but he was not concerned at 
 it. He asked me, moreover, what he should do at 
 this time, whether he should tell all the people his 
 present state or not ? I replied that in this I could 
 give him no rule; that he might do what the 
 Saviour would teach him ; that he must not set the 
 faith as it is in Jesus so far from him, but believe 
 that it might be nearer ; that Jesus' s heart still 
 stands open, and that His mercy towards him is 
 great. He wept heartily and bitterly, as I spoke to 
 him on this matter, and (insisted that) I must pray 
 with him. I can say of him, he is truly a poor 
 
80 MEMORIALS OF PETEB, BOHLER. 
 
 sinner, and has a contrite heart, hungering after a 
 better righteousness than that which he has till 
 now possessed, even the righteousness of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Ci In the evening he preached from 1 Cor. i. 23 : 
 1 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a 
 stumbling-block/ &c. He had above four thousand 
 hearers, and spoke upon this subject until the con- 
 gregation was astonished, because no one had ever 
 heard such things from him. His first words were, 
 ' I hold myself from my very heart unworthy to 
 preach the crucified Jesus.' All poor sinners can 
 describe it ; yes, all who remain convinced of their 
 wretchedness. There have been many awakened by 
 it." 
 
 The most persevering researches have hitherto 
 failed to discover contemporary notices of an event 
 so unusual. Imagination must call up the associa- 
 tions of that hour: — the deep emotions of the clergy- 
 man now for the first time proclaiming truths so 
 novel, yet so solemn ; the tender pathos of his 
 earliest attempt to stir the human heart to its utmost 
 depths ; the varied impressions produced on more 
 than four thousand hearers; and the "many 
 awakenings " which furnished an appropriate sequel, 
 and proved the first-fruits of a glorious harvest, to be 
 gathered from every land, and through all succeeding 
 periods of time. What suggestive subjects for 
 devout meditation! What a scene for the pencil 
 of the artist ! 
 
CHAPTER II. 81 
 
 Wesley returned to Oxford on the 26tl\, Bohler 
 walking with him a few miles ; but he was hastily 
 
 recalled by tidings of his brother's relapse, 
 
 which had led to great searchings of heart. 
 " Having disappointed God in His last visitation," 
 observes Charles, " He has now again brought me to 
 the bed of sickness. Towards midnight I received 
 some relief by bleeding. In the morning Dr. 
 Cockburn came to me, and a better physician, 
 Peter Bohler, whom God had detained in England 
 for my good. He stood by my bedside, and prayed 
 over me, that now, at least, I might see the Divine 
 intention in this and my late illness. I immediately 
 thought it might be that I should again consider 
 Bohler's doctrine of faith ; examine mvself whether 
 I was in the faith ; and, if I was not, never cease 
 seeking and longing after it till I attained it." 
 
 On Thursday, May 4th, Bohler left London, in 
 order to embark for Carolina. From Southampton 
 
 he wrote to John Weslev as follows : — 
 
 %/ 
 
 " In Ageis Sottthamptonianis, 
 
 " Die 8vo Maii, 1738. 
 " I love you greatly, and think much of you in 
 my journey, wishing and praying that the tender 
 mercies of Jesus Christ the crucified, whose bowels 
 were moved towards vou more than six thousand 
 years ago, may be manifested to your soul ; that you 
 may taste and then see how exceedingly the Son of 
 God loved you, and loves you still ; and that so you 
 
 G 
 
82 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 may continually trust in Him, and feel His life in 
 yourself. Beware of the sin of unbelief ; and if you 
 have not conquered it yet, see that you conquer it 
 this very day, through the blood of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " Delay not, I beseech you, to believe in your 
 Jesus Christ ; but so put Him in mind of His pro- 
 mises to poor sinners, that He may not be able to 
 refrain from doing for you what He hath done for 
 so many others. O, how great, how inexpressible, 
 how unexhausted is His love ! Surely He is now 
 ready to help ; and nothing can offend Him but our 
 unbelief. 
 
 " Believe, therefore. Greet in my name your 
 brother Charles and Hall ; and admonish one an- 
 other to believe, and then walk circumspectly in the 
 sight of God, to fight lawfully against the devil and 
 the world, and to crucify and to tread all sin under 
 your feet, as far as you are permitted, through the 
 grace of the Second Adam, whose life exceeds the 
 death of the first Adam, and whose grace far sur- 
 passes the corruption and damnation of the first 
 Adam. 
 
 " The Lord bless you ! Abide in faith, love, 
 teaching, the communion of saints ; and, briefly ? 
 in all which we have in the New Testament. 
 "lam 
 
 " Your unworthy brother, 
 
 " Peter Bohler." 
 
 Charles's recovery was gratefully commemorated 
 
CHAPTER II. 83 
 
 in a hymn which presents a graphic portrait of his 
 spiritual position. The original poem has seventeen 
 stanzas. Among those not in the Hymn-Book are 
 the following : — 
 
 11 My feeble flesh refused to bear 
 Its strong redoubled agonies; 
 When Mercy heard my speechless prayer, 
 And saw me faintly gasp for ease. 
 
 *' Jesus to my deliverance flew, 
 
 When sunk in mortal pangs I lay; 
 Pale Death his ancient Conqueror knew. 
 And trembled, and ungrasp'd his prey, 
 
 " The fever tunrd its backward course, 
 Arrested by almighty Power ; 
 Sudden expired its fiery force, 
 And anguish gnaw'd my side no more." 
 
 Charles was now an inmate in the house of Brav, 
 the brazier in Little Britain, whom he regarded as 
 specially sent of God to supply the place of Bohler. 
 His enfeebled health occasioned much solicitude, and 
 on the eve of Whit- Sunday John spent the night 
 with him. The day of deliverance was at hand. 
 His brother went to one of the London churches to 
 hear Dr. John Heylin preach ; and, the curate having 
 been taken ill during the service, he afterwards 
 assisted the Doctor in the administration of the 
 Lord's Supper. " On leaving the church," he adds, 
 " I received the surprising news that my brother 
 had found rest to his soul. His bodily strength 
 
 g 2 
 
84 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 returned also from that hour. ' Who is so great a 
 God as our God r ' " 
 
 The mode of his deliverance shows that the feeblest 
 instruments, when employed by God, can accomplish 
 the most important results. " A plain, illiterate 
 woman had a deep and solemn conviction that she 
 ought to address the weeping and afflicted penitent ; 
 but, remembering that he was a scholar and a clergy- 
 man, she felt afraid to do it ; and with difficulty 
 prevailed upon herself to stand upon the stairs and 
 say, c In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise and 
 believe, and thou shalt be healed of all thine infir- 
 mities.' He mentally replied, * that Christ would 
 but thus speak to me ! ' and shortly afterwards was 
 enabled to believe with the heart unto righteousness." 
 On the following Wednesday John Wesley " went, 
 very unwillingly, to a society in Aldersgate-street, 
 where one was reading Luther's Preface to the 
 Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter to nine," 
 lie says, " while he was describing the change which 
 God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I 
 felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust 
 in Christ, in Christ alone, for salvation; and an 
 assurance was given me that He had taken away my 
 sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin 
 and death." " Towards ten," observes Charles, 
 " my brother was brought in in triumph by a troop 
 of our friends, and declared, ' I believe ! ' We sang 
 the hymn with great joy." * 
 * " The hymn " was, doubtless, the one composed by Charles 
 
CHAPTER II. 85 
 
 Both the brothers had now obtained the direct 
 witness of the Holy Spirit, attesting their adoption 
 into the family of God ; and their views of Divine 
 truth began to acquire that definite form which is 
 embodied in the doctrinal standards and the 
 psalmody of the Church which bears their name. 
 If apostolic purity, fidelity, and love ; if disinter- 
 ested philanthropy and untiring zeal ; if churches 
 founded by their labours, and nurtured by their care, 
 until they now form one of the largest Protestant com- 
 munities in the world, may be regarded as furnishing 
 any criteria of the reality of the change which the Wes- 
 leys then experienced, and the extent of the mission to 
 which they were called ; surely we must acknowledge 
 in these events the working of Divine grace. While 
 we gratefully recognise the honoured names we now 
 recall, we devoutly say, " To God alone be immortal 
 praise!" Well might Wesley exclaim, "0 what a 
 work hath God begun since his [Bohler's] coming 
 into England ! such an one as shall never come to an 
 end, till heaven and earth pass away ! " 
 
 two days before, on the occasion of his own deliverance, being 
 probably either the thirtieth or the two-hundred-and-first of 
 the Wesleyan Collection. 
 
86 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLEB. 
 
 CHAPTEE in. 
 
 The parting charge of the ascending Saviour, as 
 He addressed His disciples on the grassy slopes of 
 Mount Olivet, " Ye shall be witnesses unto Me both 
 in Jerusalem, and in all Judsea, and in Samaria, and 
 unto the uttermost part of the earth" — an injunction 
 which will retain its unimpaired authority until the 
 final consummation of all things, — was not unheeded 
 by the Church of the " United Brethren." 
 
 When numbering about six hundred persons, 
 most of them poor and destitute exiles, this feeble 
 band of heroic men sent out, during the short period 
 of nine or ten years, missionaries to Greenland, to 
 St. Thomas, to St. Croix, to Surinam, to Berbice, to 
 the Indians of North America, to the Negroes of 
 South Carolina, to Lapland, to Tartary, to Algiers, 
 to Guinea, to the Cape of Good Hope, and to the 
 island of Ceylon. 
 
 The settlements they formed were not intended 
 for personal gain, nor for the acquisition of cor- 
 porate wealth and possessions, but to enable them 
 to prosecute with increased efficiency the spiritual 
 work in which they were so zealously engaged. They 
 
CHAPTER III. 87 
 
 thus furnished a refuge for the persecuted converts, 
 and a training-school for the infant churches ; while, 
 in their physical beauty, their civilizing ten- 
 dency, and especially in their spiritual results, they 
 became as " a fruitful field, and a place which the 
 Lord hath blessed.' ' 
 
 Georgia, to which Bohler's steps were now 
 directed, was a colony founded by royal charter in 
 ] 732. It was intended as an outlet for a redundant 
 population, and a refuge for the Protestants who 
 were compelled to flee from the unrighteous persecu- 
 tion of Papal governments. 
 
 Of these the city of Salzburg, and the adjacent 
 valley, in South Germany, furnished no inconsider- 
 able number ; and it is computed, on careful estimate, 
 that from the different European countries "not fewer 
 than twenty-six thousand six hundred and seventy- 
 eight persons, men, women, and children, — the aged, 
 the sick, new-born infants with their mothers, — were 
 driven in mid-winter from the land of their fathers, 
 and sent forth, through fields of snow, in quest of 
 a people who were not hardened into fiends by Papal 
 superstition, and among whom they might live in 
 safety and peace." * 
 
 * The merciless edict, dated October 31st, 1731, was sent 
 forth in the name of Leopold, by the grace of God, Archbishop 
 of Salzburg, and Legate of the Holy See Apostolical, and 
 Primate of Germany, and addressed to " all our Vice-Deans, 
 Bailiffs, Provosts, Governors, their substitutes, Judges, and to 
 all our other officers." 
 
88 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 Their migrations called forth, in the various 
 countries through which they passed, the deepest 
 sympathy with their sufferings, and the most pro- 
 found admiration of their moral courage and fidelity ; 
 while their meek and patient demeanour under their 
 cruel wrongs was beyond all praise. The Protestant 
 spirit of England was stirred to its very depths, and 
 for their relief British charity raised the noble sum 
 of thirty-three thousand pounds. 
 
 A detachment of this noble band, of whom the 
 world was not worthy, under the charge of Baron 
 yon Beck, and their pastors, John Martin Bolzius, 
 and Israel Christian Gronau, were welcomed by 
 Oglethorpe on the American strand with generous 
 sympathy and timely aid* 
 
 The site of their first settlement was promptly 
 selected. With their Bibles in their hands, they 
 marked out the place, and sang a hymn, after which 
 the pastor pronounced a benediction, and the name 
 "Ebenezer" was. given to it. No pompous proces- 
 sion or martial display marked the events of that 
 interesting day. Kneeling down by the river-side, 
 they thanked God for having brought them through 
 so many dangers to a land of rivers and fountains 
 of water, a land of valleys and hills. The scene 
 ^imost unconsciously recalls the faith of the patri- 
 arch, who, " when he was called to go out Into a 
 place which he should after receive for an inherit- 
 ance, obeyed ; and he went out, not knowing whither 
 he went;" and associates them with the ancient 
 
CHAPTER III. 89 
 
 worthies who " confessed that they were strangers 
 and pilgrims oh the earth." 
 
 The earlier interviews of the native chiefs with 
 Oglethorpe gave auguries of pacific and happy 
 intercourse ; and their national councils, where the 
 questions arising from the appearance of " the 
 pale-faced strangers " in their midst were discussed, 
 presented specimens of effective native eloquence. 
 
 Tomo Chachi, in his first set speech, presented 
 Oglethorpe with a buffalo's skin, bearing the painted 
 head and feathers of an eagle. " The eagle," he 
 said, " signified swiftness, and the buffalo strength . " 
 — the one represented the force of flight with which 
 the English came over the waters, and the other their 
 might on the shore, which nothing could withstand : — 
 " the soft feathers were a sign of love, and the warm 
 fur was an emblem of protection ; and these he hoped 
 the English would always extend to his small and 
 helpless people." The bearing of tne native chiefs 
 was manly and dignified. When, on one of them pre- 
 senting himself to the Governor, he was told that he 
 might speak freely and without fear, he answered, 
 " I always speak freely ; why should I fear ? I am 
 now in the presence of my friends ; and I have never 
 feared, even among my enemies." 
 
 Several chiefs accompanied Oglethorpe subse- 
 quently to England, and were presented to the King, 
 George II., and the Queen. " This day, Thursday, 
 the first of August, 1734," says a contemporary 
 serial, " at one o'clock, Sir Clement Cotterel, 
 
90 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER, 
 
 attended by three of His Majesty's coaches, with six 
 horses each, came to the Trustees' office for Georgia, 
 in Old Palace-yard, and proceeded from thence, with 
 the Indian king, queen, and chiefs, and the inter- 
 preter, to Kensington Palace, where His Majesty 
 received them on his throne, in the presence- 
 chamber ; and Tomo Chachi, Mico or King of 
 Yamacraw, made the following speech : — 
 
 " ' This day I see the majesty of your face, the 
 greatness of your house, and the number of your 
 people. I am come for the good of the whole nation 
 called the Creeks, to renew the peace which long ago 
 they had with the English. I am come over in my 
 old days ; though I cannot live to see any advantage 
 to myself, I am come for the good of the children of 
 all the nations of the Upper and Lower Creeks, that 
 they may be instructed in the knowledge of the 
 English. These are the feathers of the eagle, which 
 is the swiftest of the birds, and who flieth all round 
 our nations. These feathers are a sign of peace in our 
 land, and have been carried from town to town 
 there ; and we have brought them over to leave with 
 you, O great King, as a sign of everlasting peace. O 
 great King, whatsoever words you shall say unto me, 
 I will tell them faithfully to all the kings of the Creek 
 nations.' 
 
 " To which His Majesty gave this answer : ' I am 
 glad of this opportunity of assuring you of my 
 regard for the people from whom you come, and am 
 extremely well pleased with the assurances you have 
 
CHAPTER III. 91 
 
 brought me from them, and accept very graciously 
 this present as an indication of their good disposi- 
 tion to me and my people. I shall always be ready 
 to cultivate a good correspondence between them 
 and my own subjects, and shall be glad of any occa- 
 sion to show you a mark of my peculiar friendship 
 and esteem.' 
 
 " To the Queen, Tomo Chachi made the following 
 speech : — ' I am glad to see this day, and to have the 
 opportunity of seeing the mother of this great 
 people. As our people are joined with Your 
 Majesty's, we do humbly hope to find you the 
 common mother and protectress of us and all our 
 children,' To which Her Majesty returned a gra- 
 cious answer. 
 
 "On August 17th they waited upon His Grace 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth ; who 
 received them with the utmost kindness, and 
 expressed his fatherly concern for the ignorance they 
 were in with respect to Christianity, his strong 
 desire for their instruction, and great satisfaction at 
 the door being now opened towards it. His Grace, 
 notwithstanding his present weakness, would stand 
 up : the Mico, perceiving it to be uneasy to him, 
 insisted upon his sitting down, which His Grace 
 excusing, the Mico omitted speaking what he 
 intended, and only desired his blessing ; acquainting 
 him, that what he had further to say he would 
 speak to the Rev. Dr. Lynch, the archbishop's son- 
 in-law ; and then withdrew. 
 
92 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 " He liad a conference with the Rev. I>r. Lynch, 
 and expressed his satisfaction at the venerable 
 appearance of His Grace, and the tenderness he 
 expressed towards him. After the Mico returned, 
 he showed great joy, believing some good persons 
 would be sent to instruct their youth." 
 
 Oglethorpe had some difficulty in preventing the 
 Indian warriors appearing at court in the undress 
 of an American savage, and ornamented with bar- 
 baric art. Tomo Chachi and his Queen were, however, 
 presented in scarlet robes, trimmed with gold ; and 
 he doubtless esteemed himself as every inch a king. 
 
 They visited the churches, palaces, dockyards ; 
 witnessed the civic display of barges on the Lord 
 Mayor's day ; and were deeply impressed with the 
 novelty and .grandeur of the great metropolis. The 
 I£ing allowed them £20 a month for their personal 
 expenditure, and on their return they received 
 presents to the extent of about £400. Prince William 
 presented the young Mico with a gold w T atch, the 
 latter promising to call on Jesus Christ every 
 morning as he examined it. 
 
 A parting glance may be permitted, ere we take 
 leave of Tomo Chachi, whose name appears in the 
 Journal of Wesley, who evidently regarded him with 
 considerable interest. His last affliction was pro- 
 tracted ; and he expired at his Indian town, near 
 Savannah, on October 5th, 1739. In accordance with 
 his request he was interred among the English : the 
 body was met at the bluff by General Oglethorpe, 
 
CHAPTER III. 93 
 
 who, accompanied by the civil authorities, accom- 
 panied it into Percival-square. Oglethorpe and 
 Colonel Stevens were among the pall-bearers. 
 Minute-guns were fired during the funeral proces- 
 sion ; and at the close of the service three volleys 
 fired over the grave by the militia, who were present 
 on duty, announced that the Mico of Yamacraw 
 was gathered to his fathers. 
 
 Amidst Border's numerous engagements in London 
 the mission to Georgia was not forgotten. His memo- 
 randa mention an hour's confidential conversation 
 with Oglethorpe, its benevolent founder, who, 
 delighted to find him acquainted with the Arabic 
 language, furnished him with a letter to " Squire 
 Vernon," # at whose expense the Arabic version of 
 the New Testament had been printed ; with two 
 guineas to purchase forty copies for presentation to 
 the Negroes ; as also ten English Bibles, and an 
 allowance of one shilling per day during his deten- 
 tion in England. 
 
 A voyage to America was not so expeditiously 
 accomplished in 1739 as by the fleet of splendid 
 steamers which now conduct the traffic between the 
 elder and the younger country. For several weeks, 
 
 * James Vernon, Esq., son of James Vernon, Secretary of 
 State to William III. He was appointed envoy to the King 
 of Denmark ; and was spoken of, when not twenty-five years 
 old, "as a young gentleman who hath a fine education, is 
 master of abundance of learning, is very modest and sober." 
 He was one of the Commissioners of Excise, and died in 1756. 
 
94 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 even until the middle of July, the vessel beat about 
 the English coast ; and when fairly under way, 
 she was obliged to make for the Madeiras, where 
 she anchored for ten tedious days : at length, after 
 a voyage of one hundred and thirty-four days, not 
 unprofitably spent, they reached St. Simon's, in 
 Georgia, when contrary winds again delayed the 
 passage of the sloop, as they coasted northwards 
 towards Savannah, which they did not reach until 
 October 15th. 
 
 How frequently would Bohler's thoughts, as the 
 ship lay becalmed on the Atlantic, or ploughed its 
 waves amid furious tempests, revert to the two Wes- 
 leys ! Since " the secret of the Lord is with them that 
 fear Him," would he be unconscious of the blessed 
 change which they had already experienced ? or 
 would he have an impression that they were fulfil- 
 ling his prediction, that their salvation would prove 
 the life of many ? And how great would be his 
 interest, as he traversed the scenes of their earnest 
 but unsuccessful labours, and heard from other lips 
 the story of their persecutions and perils ! 
 
 The animus displayed towards the Wesley s 
 by persons whose names need not appear, was 
 bitterly hostile. Their letters were intercepted, and 
 the espionage was so complete that the brothers 
 found it necessary to correspond in Greek and con- 
 verse in Latin ; but from persecution so malevolent 
 they escaped with unspotted reputation. 
 
 It may not be irrelevant to note, that the lady 
 
CHAPTER III. 95 
 
 whose name appears most conspicuous was married 
 in eight days to another person, whose name 
 re-appears as a patron of horse-races, and who was 
 the member of a club of unenviable reputa- 
 tion ; while the principal persecutor, who de- 
 clared, " I have drawn the sword, and I will not 
 sheathe it until I have satisfaction," was himself 
 the subject of a presentment from the grand jury ; 
 was dismissed from office on a charge of fraud 
 and embezzlement ; was obliged to make an 
 assignment of his beautiful residence at Oak- 
 stead; was summoned to England to appear 
 before the Georgia Trustees, who required him to 
 return for the purpose of obtaining the needful 
 vouchers ; and on the return-voyage found a watery 
 grave. Who can forbear the involuntary exclama- 
 tion, "Yerily there is a God that judgeth in the 
 earth ! " 
 
 Seiffart, the Moravian elder at Savannah, had 
 been the personal friend of John Wesley, and had 
 dissuaded him from his intention of joining the 
 Moravian Church ; assuring him that God had given 
 him another calling, in which he might be more 
 extensively useful. When they met, old and grey- 
 headed, on Wesley's eightieth birthday, at Zeist, in 
 ' Holland, Wesley reminded his episcopal friend of the 
 advice he had given him in Georgia, and declared 
 that its soundness had been proved by the experience 
 of each succeeding day. 
 
 Bohler found Georgia in a tumult of political 
 
96 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 excitement. The quarrel between England and 
 Spain was rapidly tending to an open rupture. In 
 the spirited debates which ensued in the British 
 Parliament, young Pitt, who was designated by 
 Walpole as " that terrible cornet of horse," gave 
 promise of his future greatness. Many of the 
 colonists, whose fears of personal safety were not 
 groundless, had fled to Pennsylvania; and Bohler 
 found a mere handful of brethren, and no slaves. 
 Bent on the accomplishment of his mission to the 
 sable sons of Ham, he, accomjDanied by Schulius, 
 hasted to Purisburg, and was again disappointed to 
 find scarce three Negroes in the town, and not a 
 hundred within a circle of twelve miles. After 
 conferring with Oglethorpe, they resolved to make 
 Purisburg the centre of their operations, and 
 entered on the work with the solemn purpose to 
 " make full proof of their ministry. " During the 
 summer, Bohler was thoroughly prostrated by "a 
 violent ague, a tumour, and a terrible cough ; " and 
 his friends feared that his ministerial career was 
 closed. As he was slowly recovering, his beloved 
 Schulius, his first-born in the Gospel, and his inse- 
 parable friend, was seized with violent fever ; and he 
 had the mournful task of conducting the funeral 
 solemnities, — himself but the shadow of his former 
 self. 
 
 War was now formally declared with Spain ; and, 
 other complications ensuing, Bohler and SeifFart led, 
 with sad and bleeding hearts, the remnant of their 
 
CHAPTER III. 97 
 
 flock, comprising but five men, one woman, and a boy, 
 to Savannah. Meanwhile, the Kev. George White- 
 field, who had reached Savannah on January 
 1st, 1740, sought the acquaintance of Bohler. 
 Though the latter spoke freely of " his unedifying 
 housekeeping " at the Orphan-House, and some 
 smart doctrinal encounters took place between 
 them, their mutual affection was conspicuous ; and 
 Bohler took part with the zealous evangelist in a 
 service " attended by a multitude of people, who 
 were addressed in the English and German tongues." 
 Whitefield, who had purchased five thousand 
 acres of land on the forks of the Delaware for 
 <£2,200, now proposed that the Brethren should 
 erect the Negro school on the Nazareth settlement ; 
 and, after an exploratory tour, the offer was formally 
 accepted, — the Brethren regarding the proposal as a 
 singularly opportune and providential one. Thus 
 Bohler was the first messenger of the Church who 
 penetrated the dense wilderness. Under his care 
 the pilgrim-band commenced their journey on foot ; 
 and, despite the toils of travelling through forests 
 where the white man had never trod, and amid con- 
 tinued peril of their lives from the native tribes, on 
 May 30th they reached their future home. Assem- 
 bling under the shadow of a broad black oak, on the 
 bark of which the initials of Bohler and Seiffart were 
 visible . so lately as 1 799, they returned thanks in 
 the fine hymns of their native land to the God of 
 all grace for the continued tokens of His care and 
 
 H 
 
98 MEMORIALS OF PETLE. J30HLEB, 
 
 blessing. For the first time the solitudes of that 
 vast forest were awoke by the song of praise, 
 which, accompanied by the carols of countless birds, 
 arose from grateful hearts, and ascended as incense 
 before the throne of Him who is 
 
 " In the void waste as in the city full.'* 
 
 Severe as was the labour required for the erection 
 of a building of massive stone, in a country where 
 the Red Indian trapped his game, they addressed 
 themselves hopefully to the task, and toiled amid 
 tbeir many difficulties with exemplary courage. 
 Bdhler adapted himself to his new position- with his 
 usual tact. He superintended the carpenters, and 
 wielded the axe. He handled the saw with hearty 
 good-will. He encouraged the workmen by his 
 counsels and example ; and conducted their daily 
 services with great unction and power. He walked 
 also to a distant mill to procure the necessaries of 
 life, preached with his accustomed fervour on the 
 Sabbath, and performed all the duties of a Christian 
 pastor with rare fidelity. The spiritual life of 
 the community was thus sustained ; and Bohler 
 refers to the period as a season peculiarly blessed of 
 the Lord. 
 
 Amidst visitations so gracious, an unexpected 
 order was received from Whitefield, requiring the 
 Brethren to abandon the building, and leave the 
 district where they had been so laboriously employed. 
 Great was their perplexity on the arrival of a docu- 
 ment so peremptory; but "they gave themselves 
 
CHAPTER III. 09 
 
 unto prayer ; " and, at the most critical period, 
 Bishop Nitschman appeared, to request Bohler's 
 return to Europe, where his valued services were 
 urgently required. 
 
 After affectionate adieus to his true-hearted asso- 
 ciates, and commendations of them to the providence 
 and grace of God, he proceeded by the Great Falkner 
 Bog to Philadelphia and New York, where he was 
 called to encounter the most unrelenting hostility. 
 The Presbyterian ministers not only preached against 
 him, and went from house to house to warn their 
 hearers against attending his ministry, but the 
 Dutch pastors sent out their deacons to lay violent 
 hands upon him ; and threats of civil commotion, 
 the pulling down of churches, and other outrages, 
 were not wanting. For this bitter feeling no reason 
 can be assigned. His career had been an eminently 
 pacific one, his ministry was not controversial ; but 
 " prejudice has neither eyes nor ears," and these were 
 not the times for the inauguration of the " Evangelical 
 Alliauce," or the cultivation of brotherly love. 
 
 He sailed in an old leaky vessel bound for Bristol, 
 on January 29th, 17-11 ; and, though the voyage was 
 prosecuted in great peril, he reached the British 
 shore in safety, after a passage of twenty-seven 
 days. Here he found the aspect of spiritual affairs 
 sufficiently discouraging. Calling hastily at Oxford 
 and other towns, he reached the metropolis, where 
 tidings of religious inquiry and awakening were 
 specially welcome and reassuring. 
 
 h 2 
 
100 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 After a brief sojourn lie proceeded to join the 
 Pilgrim Congregation in Germany ; and, arriving at 
 Herrndyke, in Holland, on the same day with Span- 
 genberg, he was pressed by the latter to return with 
 him to England. For Spangenberg's judgment he 
 entertained the most profound respect : deferring to 
 his high position, he accompanied him to London, 
 whence he was soon sent on a mission to Yorkshire. 
 Great was the contrast between the wilds of Penn- 
 sylvania and the busy, enterprising population of the 
 West Riding, where Bonder's ministry was exceedingly 
 popular, and where he usually preached twenty times 
 or oftener each week. His congregations were large, 
 amounting, on some occasions, to three or four thou- 
 sand persons. The public mind had been thoroughly 
 aroused by the labours of the Wesleys, Whitefield, 
 Grimshaw, Ingham, John Nelson, and other evange- 
 lists, whose trumpet-tones had effectually disturbed 
 the spiritual slumbers of multitudes. Most exciting 
 must have been the scenes presented in the vales of 
 the Calder and the Aire, where the interest culmi- 
 nated, as he ascended their lofty hills, or occupied 
 their picturesque ravines, and proclaimed to listen- 
 ing and anxious crowds, " Behold the Lamb of God, 
 which taketh away the sin of the world." Visita- 
 tions so gracious called forth his most vigorous 
 efforts, and the impression produced was extensive 
 and permanent. 
 
 How repeatedly have the faithful servants of Christ 
 had to mourn over the successful efforts of the 
 
CHAPTER III. 101 
 
 " enemy " to " sow tares among the wheat," while 
 seasons of special revival have sometimes been fol- 
 lowed by events peculiarly trying to their faith and 
 love ! To these observations Bohler's case presents 
 no exception. His return from Holland was the 
 subject of inquiry by Zinzendorf; and at this critical 
 juncture the unhappy rupture with the Wesleys 
 occurred. Into the merits of the controversies of 
 that period it is not the writer's province to enter, 
 nor would he attempt to adjust the balance of blame. 
 A careful review of the whole question shows that 
 considerable misapprehension existed, while the best 
 Moravian authorities now admit that the strictures 
 employed were not wholly uncalled for. B-egrets 
 are now unavailing. It is due to Bohler to say, that 
 no unkind allusion to events of that period occurs in 
 his manuscripts, nor are materials furnished to 
 account for the temporary estrangement of the 
 Count. Bohler doubtless secured the " blessedness " 
 of the " peacemaker," and proved that " the fruit of 
 righteousness is sown in peace of them that make 
 peace." 
 
 The estrangement alluded to was exceedingly 
 brief,* and in November of the same year he accepted 
 the charge of a large body of German emigrants 
 who were expected to arrive in the early months of 
 1742. A little greatly-needed leisure enabled him to 
 
 * We append to this chapter two letters, which many years 
 subsequent to this date passed between Bohler and Mr. 
 
 Wesley. 
 
102 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 revisit his native city, and recall, in the midst of an 
 attached family-circle, the events of a life singularly 
 rich in incident, and fruitful in spiritual results. 
 
 A hint having been given that his usefulness 
 would be promoted, and the interests of the Church 
 advanced, by the selection of a suitable partner ; and 
 the object of his choice having been approved by the 
 Count, and also by the members of his family ; he 
 was married, on February 20th, to Miss Elizabeth 
 Iiobson, who proved a faithful wife and fellow- 
 helper in the faith, To his married life we can but 
 briefly refer ; — suffice it to say, that it was in the 
 highest sen«e a happy one. Devotedly attached to 
 her husband, and accompanying him in some of his 
 most perilous enterprises, she also rendered invalu- 
 able services as a deaconess or eldress ; and after 
 he had been subsequently consecrated a bishop, the 
 records of his episcopal visitations frequently refer to 
 the wisdom, discretion, and piety which appeared in 
 her intercourse with the female choirs of the church. 
 Her letters breathe the spirit of ardent devotion, 
 .and her whole life was indicative of unreserved 
 dedication to the service of Christ and His church. 
 Among other memoranda we find the names of the 
 following children : — Anthony Peter, born 1743 ; 
 Christian, born 1746 ; Benigna, born 1748 ; and 
 Louis, born 1751. It is believed that more than one 
 died in infancy or youth ; but it is probable that 
 Louis Frederic Bohler, who was received into the 
 Brethren's Church in 1763. and came to reside at 
 
CHAPTER III. 103 
 
 Bethlehem in 1784, where he died in 1815, was the j 
 son of the worthy bishop. Mrs. Bohler survived her 
 husband nearly six years, residing in the " Widows' 
 House " at Fulneck, where, as " a widow indeed," 
 and a venerated " mother in Israel," she calmly 
 waited for the final call ; and on March 20th, 1781, 
 she rejoined her glorified husband in " the metro- 
 polis of souls," as heaven is aptly termed in 
 Moravian phraseology. The writer visited her 
 grave (No. 629) in the quiet resting-place of the 
 Moravian Church at Fulneck, in the summer of 
 I860, and found the inscription on her humble 
 memorial perfectly distinct. 
 
 " The soul hath o'ertaken her mate, 
 
 And caught him again in the sky ; 
 Advanced to her happy estate, 
 
 Aud pleasures that never shall die ; 
 Where glorified spirits, by sight, 
 
 Converse in their holy abode, 
 As stars in the firmament bright, 
 
 And pure as the angels of God." 
 
 The following are the two letters referred to, 
 p. 101:— 
 
 " To the Eev. Mr. John- Wesley. 
 u Reverend Brother, 
 
 u Your kind letter of the 5th instant came duly 
 to hand, and T cannot forbear to acknowledge with 
 these lines the receipt thereof in the most friendly 
 manner. At the same time I will take notice I 
 
104 
 
 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER, 
 
 jour last paragraph, and beg an answer to my 
 question. 
 
 " You write, — 
 
 (U As to what is to come : I have no desire or 
 design to speak of them ' (the Brethren) * at all.' 
 
 " This I very much approve ; and I heartily wish, 
 also, it may neither happen without a previous 
 design. You add, ' Unless in their favour. 5 For 
 my part, I would heartily dispense even with this. 
 You conclude, ' I hope I shall never be constrained 
 to do otherwise.' This is, properly, the sentence 
 which startles me. For I cannot imagine what 
 could constrain you to pass strictures on us, or to 
 speak against us. For, dear brother, you have 
 really lost sight of us for these thirty years past. 
 You know us since that time only by hearsay, and 
 mostly by what this or that person in his confusion 
 has been pleased to say. Yet, perhaps, there may 
 be some things in your mind which do not occur to 
 me ; and if they should be of such a nature as to be 
 removable on our part, I beg you to mention them 
 to me, and I will do all in my power to prevent 
 them. 
 
 " Our brethren, and I also particularly, in my 
 small sphere of acting, have all along been concerned 
 to promote a universal love among all the children 
 of God, and a universal esteem of all the servants of 
 God towards one another, in all denominations who 
 heartily co-operate to promote the knowledge of our 
 crucified Saviour as the propitiation for our sins. 
 
CHAPTER III. 105 
 
 Indeed, it is one of the most grievous points for our 
 mourning about the breaches in Zion, that we find so 
 few heartily inclined for it. I must own that, ever 
 since my last coming to England, this consideration 
 has been a heart-breaking subject to me. For our 
 dear Saviour's last will in John xv. is set aside : 
 His command to love one another is neglected : and, 
 consequently, the impression which the world should 
 receive of knowing His true disciples, by their un- 
 feigned love towards one another, is absolutely lost. 
 And a great loss it is, which all real children of God 
 should heartily bewail ; at the same time standing 
 by one another, through His grace, to remedy this 
 essential defect. If this point was at any time abso- 
 lutely necessary to insist upon, it is in the period 
 wherein we now live. For we see that the wicked 
 world, and even the infidel ecclesiastics as well as 
 laymen in all denominations, rise in open defiance 
 and rebellion against the Lord who has bought 
 them with His most precious blood. Ah ! how 
 much more, then, should all who truly love our cru- 
 cified Lord Jesus, and who indeed want to promote 
 His glory, stand up in mutual support of each 
 other, comfort, strengthen, and, where need is, set 
 each other to rights, in love, meekness, humility, 
 forbearance, friendliness, &c, as the Head of our 
 most holy religion has set us a spotless example ! 
 
 11 Ah ! if this were the case with the children of 
 God and servants of Christ in all denominations, 
 how would the glory, saving knowledge, and king- 
 
106 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 dom of our Lord Jesus Christ increase all over the 
 world ! Yea, thousands who are now stumbled at 
 the controversies, backbitings, sly and satirical 
 strictures on each other, &c, &c, would be linked 
 into this bond of love and peace in our crucified 
 Lord. 
 
 " Excuse this digression, my dear brother. It 
 comes from a full heart, that is ready to overflow as 
 soon as this subject is touched upon. I feel an in- 
 expressible tenderness when I take a view all over 
 the so-called Christian world. Towards the end of 
 this or beginning of next month, I hope to go on a 
 journey of about four or five weeks. After my 
 return to London, not many weeks will elapse before 
 I, God willing, shall set out for Germany ; which, of 
 course, reminds me of taking leave of you and all 
 my friends and brethren in England, — which is not 
 so easy a thing for me, as my heart is in the strictest 
 union with them. 
 
 " You, nry dear brother, may firmly assure your- 
 self that my prayers for you and your Societies will 
 continue for your prosperity in the crucified Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who died for us, that we might be deli- 
 vered from the hands of all our spiritual enemies, 
 and serve Him all the days of our life in holiness 
 and righteousness before Him: In whom I also am, 
 " Dear and reverend brother, 
 
 " Yours affectionately, 
 
 "Peter Bohler. 
 
 " NeviVs-Court, February 13th, 1775." 
 
CHAPTER III. 107 
 
 "February 18th, 1775. 
 " My dear Brother, 
 
 "When I say, 'I hope I shall never be con- 
 strained to speak otherwise of them/ I do not mean 
 that I have any expectation this will ever happen. 
 Probably it never will. I never did speak but when I 
 believed it was my duty to do so. And if they would 
 calmly consider what 1 have spoken from March 10th, 
 1736, and were open to conviction, they might be 
 such Christians as are hardly in the world besides. 
 1 have not lost sight of you yet. Indeed, I cannot, 
 if you are ' a city set upon a hill.' 
 
 " Perhaps no one living is a greater lover of peace, 
 or has laboured more for it, than me ; particularly 
 among the children of God. I set out near fifty 
 years ago with this principle, ' Whosoever doeth the 
 will of My Father who is in heaven, the same is my 
 brother, and sister, and mother.' But there is no 
 one living that has been more abused for his pains, 
 even to this day. But it is all well. By the grace 
 of God I shall go on, following peace with all men, 
 and loving your Brethren beyond any body of men 
 upon earth, except the Methodists. 
 
 " Wishing you every Gospel blessing, I remain 
 " Your very affectionate brother, 
 
 "J. Wesley." 
 
108 MEMORIALS OF PETER B03LER, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Moravian emigrants reached England on the 
 24th of February, 1742. They were temporarily 
 accommodated in Little Wild-street, and promptly 
 organized as a u sea congregation," with Bohler as 
 their pastor. In the presence of three hundred 
 persons an impressive charge was delivered by Span- 
 genberg, in which the peculiar duties and responsi- 
 bilities of their new vocation were affectionately and 
 solemnly enforced. 
 
 Ere they left London, eight of the Brethren 
 ascended the gallery of St. Paul's, and, in view of 
 the extended panorama of the city, sang a hymn of 
 intercession for its teeming population ; they then 
 proceeded to the vessel, formerly the " Catherine 
 Snow," now the "Irene"* ("Peace"). Bohler 
 shortly arrived, and commenced his pastoral duties by 
 holding a lovefeast with his interesting charge. 
 
 Before their departure from Gravesend, Spangen- 
 berg conducted a valedictory service on deck. 
 Exhorting them to remember " that all their days, 
 
 * Was the name of the tune " Irene " suggested to Wesley 
 by this incident ? 
 
CHAPTER IV. 109 
 
 and times, and stops were numbered, that nothing 
 could happen without the Lord's will," 
 " though storms, and winds, and waves awaited 
 them," as also the resistance of Satan and his host, 
 he encouraged them by the assurance " that in 
 their sorest trials God's help and blessing would be 
 abundantly vouchsafed. " Friendly salutations and 
 affectionate adieus were freely interchanged, and 
 with many tears and earnest prayers they were com- 
 mended to the providence and grace of God. 
 
 The " sea congregation " now commenced their 
 voyage, the perils of which were greatly enhanced by 
 the war then violently raging. The Spanish privateers 
 swept the ocean ; and exciting scenes of chase, and 
 all but miraculous deliverance, are recorded in the 
 diary of the pilgrim-band. One of them had been 
 impressed for service on board a man-of-war, but 
 was promptly released. Their religious services 
 were seasons of especial grace, and their influence on 
 the captain and sailors was soon perceptible. " The 
 Lord bestows great peace," writes Bohler ; "nay, it 
 is inexpressible." 
 
 Losing sight of the Kentish coast, they soon 
 encountered a storm so severe, that they were obliged 
 to lash the helm, and let the vessel drive before the 
 gale. On the morning of Easter- Sunday the Bre- 
 thren assembled in the early dusk, and, according to 
 the custom of the Moravian Church, celebrated the 
 occasion with hymns of triumphant praise. In their 
 settlements this service is supplemented by the 
 
110 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 Easter Litany, in which they recall the decease of 
 the members of the Church who have departed dur- 
 ing the year, and unite in expressions of gratitude 
 and joy on their removal from the militant to the 
 triumphant Church. 
 
 Touching at Madeira to replenish their supplies, 
 they learnt with sorrow that any attempt to con- 
 verse with the inhabitants on religious subjects 
 would expose them to the horrors of the Inquisition, 
 then in full operation ; but they embraced the 
 opportunity of addressing the priests who called 
 upon them, to whom, and to the inhabitants gene- 
 rally, their enterprise appeared a perfect riddle. 
 
 Madeira was left during a period of intense excite- 
 ment, occasioned by the appearance of two sus- 
 picious foreign vessels. Amidst the beating of 
 drums, the discharge of musketry, and the respon- 
 sive shouts of the crews on board of the men- 
 of-war, they sailed through the anchored fleet, 
 and with a prosperous breeze resumed their 
 voyage. 
 
 Ere long their fears were aroused by the appear- 
 ance of a privateer, lightly built, to insure rapid 
 sailing. She was supposed to carry from twenty to 
 thirty cannon, and to be manned by a crew so cruel 
 and barbarous, that death was considered a happier 
 fate than capture. The privateer hoisted all sail, 
 and bore down with appalling swiftness upon the 
 defenceless "Irene," which had "neither powder, 
 nor ball, nor sword on board." 
 
CHAPTER IY. Ill 
 
 The captain, regarding seizure as inevitable, 
 shortened sail, and calmly awaited his fate ; while 
 the Brethren, showing no fear, felt assured of the 
 special interposition of Him to whose service they 
 were devoted, and whose glory only they sought to 
 promote. When they were apparently in the jaws 
 of death, a sudden fear seemed to seize the hostile 
 captain, who, though surrounded by his bloodthirsty 
 crew, allowed them to pass without hindrance or 
 molestation ; — a deliverance so signal as to call 
 forth grateful songs of praise. 
 
 Storms and tempests, thunder and lightning, 
 mist and fog, now rendered progress all but imprac- 
 ticable, and often threatened the destruction of the 
 entire party. But amidst all, their diary speaks of 
 peculiarly blessed visitations in their religious ser- 
 vices. In a lovefeast, held on the anniversary of 
 Bohler's awakening, he largely referred to the cir- 
 cumstances of his own conversion. How valuable 
 would have been notes of that address ! 
 
 At length the western continent appeared in sight. 
 They touched at New-Haven, where their arrival 
 awakened great excitement among the students, who 
 insisted on their payingavisit to the University; when 
 they were called to reply to a pamphlet containing 
 twenty-two points of polemic divinity. This unwelcome 
 task being briefly closed, they preached to the stu- 
 dents. The inhabitants listened with delight to the 
 discourse of the Brethren who were able to speak 
 
112 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 English. Crowds followed them on board their 
 vessel, and remained until midnight ; while the 
 slightest intimation of a service on shore, either in a 
 dwelling or in the open air, attracted an eager 
 group of listeners, who " appeared to pull the word 
 out of their mouths." 
 
 Tearing themselves away from New-Haven, they 
 reached New- Greenwich, where they were regarded 
 as marauders intent on plunder. But their addresses 
 speedily disarmed hostility ; and the inhabitants fol- 
 lowed them in great numbers through the streets, 
 to listen to their edifying converse. The party left 
 behind at Little London were also engaged in 
 the same pleasing task, and the Negroes were 
 delighted to unite with them in their religious 
 exercises ; for the distinctions of colour and race 
 have no place in the Church of our common Lord. 
 The extent of their recent perils now became more 
 fully apparent. They learned that at the place of 
 their detention, not fewer than fifteen English ships 
 had been captured by the Spaniards, while other 
 disasters were also reported. 
 
 Their own providential preservation called forth 
 songs of thanksgiving in unison with the inspiring 
 stanzas of Wesley, — 
 
 " Thine arm hath safely brought us 
 A way no more expected, 
 Than when Thy sheep Pass'd through the deep, 
 By crystal walls protected. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 1 13 
 
 Thy glory was our rear-ward, 
 
 Thine hand our lives did cover, 
 And we, even we, Have pass'd the sea, 
 
 And rnarch'd triumphant over." 
 
 Proceeding to New York, where Bohler spent a 
 day with his friends, they again put out to sea. 
 Rounding the Cape of Delaware, they reached, after 
 repeated dangers from lightning, tempest, and other 
 incidents, the city of Philadelphia in safety on Jim? 
 7th, 1742, while Zinzendorf (it being Ascension- 
 Day) was preaching in one of the Lutheran churches. 
 As soon as Divine service was closed, he hastened 
 to the vessel, and great was their mutual joy. 
 
 The evils of slavery, then so prevalent, and which 
 continued to fester like a gangrene on the great 
 Republic, until it perished in the recent national con- 
 vulsion, receive fresh illustration from the following 
 extract : — " When Brother Ranch and Biittner 
 came on board, many others came too, who thought 
 we had been brought to be sold ; for there is a great 
 trade carried on in this manner with white people 
 brought for this purpose from Europe. So there 
 was also a ship at anchor close by us full of so- 
 called * transports ' from Ireland, who were to be 
 sold, and who looked pitiful enough." What Chris- 
 tian heart does not bound with gratitude to God as 
 he remembers that these are among the former 
 things which have passed away ? And who would 
 not devoutly anticipate the time, 
 
 i 
 
114 MEMORIALS OP PETER BOHLER. 
 
 " When the wind, as it blows o'er the ocean's bright wave, 
 Shall never waft with it the sighs of a slave ?" 
 
 America, not yet severed from the mother-coun- 
 try, was a colony of the British Crown. Official 
 notice of their arrival having been given to the 
 Governor, they were not allowed finally to leave the 
 vessel until they had been presented before the 
 magistrates, who required them to swear that " they 
 would acknowledge the King of England as their 
 lawful sovereign, and would not oppose him ; " that 
 they would "conduct themselves as faithful subjects 
 in this country, and not take up their abode in any 
 other land but their own ; " and that they would 
 " renounce the Pope and his religion." To this the 
 Brethren replied that they had scruples respecting 
 the taking of an oath, but would give any satisfaction 
 that was required ; which they did by affirming in a 
 loud voice, sentence by sentence, as dictated by the 
 magistrate, the purport of the oath. The necessary 
 papers were then signed in duplicate, one for the 
 Imperial Crown, and the other for the authorities of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Having thus fulfilled all the requirements of " the 
 powers that be," they were dismissed with best 
 wishes for their prosperity in the land of their adop- 
 tion. The expenses of their voyage, amounting to 
 six hundred pounds, were gladly defrayed by the 
 Moravian Church. 
 
 The seventh Union Synod of Pennsylvania having 
 
CHAPTER IV. 115 
 
 commenced its session shortly after their arrival, 
 they presented a memorial for formal recognition 
 and admission to its spiritual privileges. Bohler and 
 three of his feliow-elders were examined on doctrinal 
 and other questions, and their claims for admission 
 were then endorsed. 
 
 The German emigrants proceeded at once to 
 Bethlehem, while Bohler remained for some time 
 with the English Brethren ; and in the discharge of 
 his duties visited the settlements at Nazareth, 
 Bethlehem, and other places. In the fall of the 
 year he joined Zinzendorf at Oley, and accompanied 
 that zealous servant of Christ in his last and most 
 perilous mission to the Indian tribes. The toils of 
 this journey, through primeval forests, where the 
 sound of an axe had not been heard, and through 
 morasses requiring careful exploration, were very 
 great. They had to cross the Susquehanna by 
 swimming, and had no path but the circuitous 
 and intricate hunting-track of the aborigines ; thus 
 passing through scenes of hardship and priva- 
 tion which it is difficult to realize. During a resi- 
 dence of twenty days with the Shawanhose, a mur- 
 derous plot was formed for the massacre of the 
 entire party, which was only discovered and defeated 
 by the special providence of Him whose sleepless 
 eye rests with peculiar tenderness on the faithful 
 herald of the Cross. Often were they called to 
 " sow in tears ; " but rich and abundant has been the 
 spiritual harvest. 
 
 i 2 
 
116 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 Bohler shortly afterwards returned to his beloved 
 flock at Bethlehem ; and their first celebration of the 
 holy Communion was long and gratefully remem- 
 bered as a season of inexpressible blessing. His posi- 
 tion and talents were now fully appreciated ; and at 
 the eighth Pennsylvanian Synod he w T as chosen 
 Moderator, an office for which he was eminently 
 qualified. He now spent some time in Philadelphia, 
 where several Quakers had been recently baptized, 
 and had become members of the Church. In Janu- 
 ary, 1743, he accompanied Zinzendorf to New York, 
 and doubtless took part in the valedictory services, — 
 services which were worthy of the closing labours of 
 the Count on the American continent. 
 
 Bohler remained in New York several weeks. 
 His ministry was highly popular and greatly blessed : 
 even the Jews attended in numbers, to hear the 
 spirit-stirring addresses of the Moravian evangelist. 
 But bigotry and exclusiveness were in the ascendant, 
 and much persecution ensued. Incited by others, 
 the mob proceeded to acts of violence. Bohler, 
 being accused of being a Papist, was summoned 
 before the magistrates of New York, but was sen- 
 tenced without the opportunity of defence. His 
 letter to a magistrate shows that, while submitting 
 to an unrighteous decision, he fully understood, and 
 could maintain with spirit, his position as a subject 
 of the British Crown. That letter we subjoin : — 
 
CHAPTER IV. 117 
 
 11 January 25th, 1743. 
 
 11 May it please your Honour : Whereas sentence 
 has been pronounced against me, under your Hon- 
 our's authority, to the effect that I should remove 
 from here this morning, I think myself obliged to 
 inform you, in the first place, that I intend humbly 
 to submit to this sentence, and to leave the city of 
 New York before dinner-time, because I and my 
 brethren do not choose to do anything contrary to 
 the magistrates of any place, except the Lord of hea- 
 ven and earth require it of us, in which case we fear 
 neither death nor banishment, as we have learned to 
 suffer persecution for Christ's sake ; and then we 
 pray that the Lord may not lay it to their charge. 
 
 " In the second place, I think I must earnestly 
 complain of the proceedings of the magistrates 
 towards me ; for I have not been tried, yea, not so 
 much as heard. No law has been alleged against 
 me, nor any reason given for the sentence. I pre- 
 sented myself for trial, but was refused ; security 
 was promised, yet all in vain. I am a minister of 
 Jesus Christ, and a presbyter of the Moravian 
 Church, which, according to the judgment of the 
 present Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. John Potter, 
 is an apostolical, episcopal, orthodox Church. It 
 was on this account that his Grace the Archbishop 
 recommended the whole Moravian Church to the 
 associates of the late Rev. Dr. Bray, to commit to 
 the said Moravian Church the conversion of the 
 Negroes in Carolina. Thereupon I was ordained 
 
118 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 and sent by the bishops of the Moravian Church to 
 England, and presented to his Grace the Arch- 
 bishop, who gave me his approval, and bestowed his 
 blessing on my undertaking. General Oglethorpe 
 took me over in one of His Majesty's transports, 
 and recommended me [to go] to Carolina, where I 
 stayed eighteen months, till I received a call to go 
 to Pennsylvania. After remaining nine months 
 there, I returned to England at the desire of my 
 superiors. I sojourned somewhat more than a 
 year in Europe, and then returned to these parts 
 again. All this I can prove, and I can give security 
 for the correctness of what I say. 
 
 " Ever since I came into the dominions of the King 
 of Great Britain, which took place in 1738, I have 
 proved myself a loyal subject of His Majesty King 
 George II. and the royal family ; and this holds 
 good not only with regard to myself, but to all my 
 Moravian brethren. I have preached here at the 
 request of well-known freeholders of this city, and 
 my preaching has been exercised here publicly. I 
 have not spoken a word whereby the Government 
 could be offended, or any person in town. I have 
 spoken nothing against our most holy religion, nor 
 against good manners, as all those who have heard 
 and understood me must own and bear witness to. 
 My only subject has been Christ crucified for the 
 sins of the whole world. 
 
 " Upon these premises I address myself to your 
 Honour, hoping you will let me enjoy the same 
 
CHAPTER IV. 119 
 
 liberty which others of my profession enjoy. Honour- 
 able Sir, I desire nothing but justice ; and, in the 
 expectation that justice will be done me, I assure 
 you that I am, with submission, 
 
 " Your humble servant and unfeigned well-wisher 
 
 in Christ, 
 " Peter Bohler, Vicar of the 
 Protestant Congregation of Brethren at Bethlehem.' 1 
 
 The cause of this hostility cannot now be fully 
 explained. We do not affirm that the Moravians 
 were altogether blameless, or that their mode of 
 presenting Christian doctrine was invariably dis- 
 creet and wise ; but there is reason to believe that 
 the principal cause of offence was the ancient one, 
 — the enmity of the carnal mind to the pure religion 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Banished from the populous city of New York, 
 he once more returned to his friends at Beth- 
 lehem, and found solace and refreshment in the 
 discharge of his pastoral duties. In 1743 and 1744 
 he presided at six Union Synods, where his wis- 
 dom and piety were alike apparent. The annual 
 lovefeast at Philadelphia, attended by Moravians, 
 Germans, Swedes, Americans, Englishmen, and the 
 representatives of other nations, and by the mem- 
 bers of the different evangelical churches, furnished 
 a pleasing contrast to scenes over which we would 
 gladly draw the veil of charity, and tended to the 
 cultivation of brotherly love. In that hallowed and 
 
120 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 delightful service the objects of the Evangelical 
 Alliance of the present age were anticipated ; and 
 the prayer of our Lord, that all His people " might 
 be one," was, to a large extent, blessedly realized. 
 
 The arrival of Spangenberg, in November, 1744, 
 released Eohler from his engagements in Pennsyl- 
 vania. After visiting all the stations, he sailed from 
 New York, at early daybreak, on April 8th, in " The 
 Queen of Hungary." The early part of the voyage 
 was, on the whole, expeditious and pleasant, though 
 a careful examination of the vessel after a heavy gale 
 revealed considerable cause for solicitude, if not alarm. 
 As they approached so near the European continent 
 that the colour of the water was perceptibly changed, 
 and the lead sounded seventy-five fathoms, while 
 meditating on a text for the next day, " There- 
 fore I will look unto the Lord ; I will wait for the 
 God of my salvation ; my God will hear me," (Micah 
 vii. 7,) they communicated to each other their 
 fears that danger was impending, At early dawn 
 a suspicious sail was espied in the distance. She 
 was shortly joined in hot pursuit by two other 
 vessels which acted in concert ; and, desi>ite their 
 utmost skill in lightening their vessel, and crowd- 
 ing sail, until " The Queen of Hungary " was 
 greatly endangered by the rapidity of her flight, 
 the hostile ships bore down upon them, amidst the 
 whistling of bullets, with such fury that the captain, 
 finding escape impracticable, at length surren- 
 dered. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 121 
 
 The hostile crews now boarded " The Queen of 
 Hungary," and " plundered as for a wager, quar- 
 relling so greatly about the division of the spoil, 
 that one party was pursued with drawn swords by 
 the other." The Brethren bore the loss of all 
 things, except the clothes upon their backs, with 
 much composure, but felt concerned for the official 
 papers and legal documents placed under their care, 
 which were rudely trampled upon by their reckless 
 visiters. 
 
 It was decided that the passengers should be 
 divided among the different vessels ; and seeing them 
 hesitate to comply with this decision, the brutalized 
 crew rushed upon them with naked swords, and drove 
 them on deck ; but, while they were bidding each 
 other adieu with many tears and prayers, the former 
 instructions were countermanded, and they were 
 allowed to share each other's society. " O, how 
 fervently," remarks the writer of the Diary, 
 " we thanked the Lord Jesus for His great 
 mercy ! " 
 
 As they sailed under their unwelcome escort, 
 they caught sight of the Scilly Isles, awakening 
 longing desires to touch the shores of dear old Eng- 
 land; and they ultimately reached St. Malo on the 
 5th of Mav. Soon after their arrival, the owner oW 
 two of the privateers, an Irishman, came on board ; 
 expressed his sincere sympathy with their misfor- 
 tunes, and offered them wise counsels for their 
 future guidance. He also secured their immunity 
 
122 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 from rigorous search, and placed their papers in the 
 charge of a trustworthy officer. 
 
 They were now marched, two and two, through a 
 gazing crowd, and were frequently obliged to halt 
 from the excessive pressure. The people manifested 
 great kindness^ kissing the children, and presenting 
 them with fruit and other things. The commissary, 
 on learning that they were Germans, travelling to 
 Frankfort, a neutral city, assured them of their 
 personal liberty. Accompanied by an excited multi- 
 tude, they were now conducted to the Castle, where 
 the Governor resided, who confirmed the declaration 
 of the commissary. 
 
 Repeated attempts to pass over to England by a 
 flag of truce having failed, they resolved to travel 
 by Havre~de- Grace to Holland. Friends were 
 found who not only defrayed all present expenses, 
 but also furnished a sufficient amount for the 
 remaining journey. 
 
 Leaving St. Malo on May 15th, they reached 
 Granville, where their arrival occasioned much 
 excitement. They were requested to wait upon the 
 Governor, whose wife, an Irish lady, sincerely pitied 
 their condition, and promised to help them to Cou- 
 tance. The sisters and children, one of them only 
 eight months of age, being on horseback, and the 
 brethren on foot, they advanced to St. Lo, and on 
 the 19th entered the important town of Caen : 
 thence they travelled near a whole day amid the 
 shingle and stone, in the vicinity of " old ocean's 
 
CHAPTER IV. 123 
 
 everlasting roar/' in whose briny waters they were 
 sometimes called to waoV. 
 
 Crossing the Seine to Havre-de-Grace, they again 
 experienced vexatious delays, and fell into the hands 
 of a most unreasonable and extortionary captain. 
 " As for the rest, it was a poor affair ; there were no 
 accommodations whatever. At night we were packed 
 together like herrings in a barrel. The cabin was 
 so narrow that we were obliged to lie with bended 
 knees, besides suffering other inconveniences 3 " 
 which, however, were gladly borne in the pro- 
 spect of a speedy arrival in their beloved " Vater- 
 land." The remainder of the journey was quickly 
 performed; and, after passing the Texel, the 
 towers of Rotterdam appeared in sight, and the 
 welcome home of Brother Leonard, whose devoted 
 wife, having received intimation of their approach, 
 had been, like our great mother, 
 
 " On hospitable thoughts intent," 
 
 furnished a fitting reception for the weary pilgrims, 
 of whom the diarist quaintly remarks, that " they 
 had many things to tell and to be told." 
 
 From Holland Eohler proceeded to Germany, 
 where he resided for some time not far from the 
 scene of his earliest toils. Having attended the 
 Synod of Marienborn, from which, during its session, 
 his wife received her appointment as a deaconess, he 
 was directed in the autumn of the same year to 
 visit the English churches. He was also ap- 
 
124 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 pointed the Decanus, or Dean, of the University of 
 the Brethren at Lindheim in Wetteravia. This 
 appointment was opportune, and the value of his 
 services was fully apparent. On the removal of the 
 Pilgrim Church to Zeist, and afterwards to England 9 
 Bohler took charge of the public services at the 
 " Castle Church/' # and in September was again 
 recalled to take the oversight of the English 
 churches. A second sojourn at the University 
 was terminated by an event long expected by the 
 Church ; and Bohler was summoned to Herrnhaag, 
 where, on January 10th, 1748, he was solemnly con- 
 secrated a Bishop of the Moravian Church. The 
 impressive service employed in the Moravian con- 
 secrations is simple, and unattended by any impos- 
 ing ceremony. It is opened by the singing of a 
 version of. Veni Creator, a sublime hymn which 
 forms a fitting introduction to the sacred act. An 
 appropriate .discourse is delivered by the presiding 
 bishop, with whom one or two other bishops are 
 usually associated. He also delivers a charge to the 
 candidate, and engages in earnest intercession for 
 the endowments which the Lord the Spirit can 
 alone supply ; and then proceeds to the act of 
 consecration by the imposition of hands, saying, " I 
 consecrate thee to be a Bishop of the Church of the 
 United Brethren, in the name of the Father, and 
 of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The Lord bless 
 thee, and keep thee ; the Lord make His face to 
 * Query, at Marienborn or Lindheiin ? 
 
CHAPTEH IV. 125 
 
 shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee ; the 
 Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give 
 thee peace. In the name of Jesus. Amen." The 
 bishop and the congregation engage in silent 
 prayer, and the following Doxology is sung : — 
 
 " Glory be to the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, 
 The great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the 
 
 everlasting covenant ; 
 Glory and obedience be unto God the Holy Ghost, our 
 
 Guide and Comforter ; 
 Glory and adoration be to the Father of our Lord Jc»w> 
 
 Christ, 
 Who is the Father of all vho are called children on earth 
 and in heaven. 
 
 might each pulse thanksgiving beat, 
 And every breath His praise repeat ! 
 Amen. Hallelujah ! Hallelujah ! 
 Amen. Hallelujah ! " 
 
 Wesley, who witnessed the consecration of a 
 bishop, (probably that of good Mr. Seiffart,) at 
 Savannah, in '1736, observes, " The great simplicity 
 as well as solemnity of the whole almost made me 
 forget the seventeen hundred years between, and 
 imagine myself in one of those assemblies where 
 form and state were not ; but Paul the tent- maker, 
 or Peter the fisherman, presided ; yet with the 
 demonstration of the Spirit and of power." 
 
 At the consecration of Bohler, Zinzendorf, John 
 de Watteville, and John Nitschman were the 
 officiating elders. 
 
126 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER, 
 
 CHAPTER ■ V. 
 
 Bokler had now received the highest honours of 
 the Church, and efficiently and meekly did he dis- 
 charge the duties of the sacred trust confided to 
 his care. His eminent piety and fervent zeal were 
 universally acknowledged; and are abundantly 
 evinced by his private diary and correspondence. 
 His attainments were more than respectable. He 
 could expound the Psalms in Hebrew, to the delight 
 of the sons of Abraham ; he wrote a good Latin 
 style, and conversed with ease in that language. 
 We have seen that he was acquainted with the more 
 difficult Arabic ; and presume that he was not igno- 
 rant of Greek, as he was certainly conversant with 
 the other languages then used by scholars, and was 
 known at the University as " the learned Peter 
 Bohler." His well-knit frame and robust health 
 gave him great power of physical endurance ; and, 
 possessing a voice of great compass and melody, he 
 often led the " service of song " in the congregations 
 which he addressed. He was congratulated, in a short 
 poem of fourteen verses, composed by Zinzendorf, 
 on the forty -eighth anniversary of his birthday. 
 
CHAPTER V. 127 
 
 Bohler also essayed the sacred muse, but an appro- 
 priate translation of his verses is required. 
 
 His public ministry was popular and effective, and 
 his discourses were frequently based upon the Mora- 
 vian " watchword " for the day. Of these sermonic 
 addresses copious notes have been preserved by his 
 friends and admirers. Bishop Gambold, who was 
 an official coadjutor, and well able to form a judi- 
 cious estimate of his pulpit-abilities, remarks that 
 " he testified searchingly ; " " he delivered a very 
 important discourse ; " "he delivered a very 
 lively address;" " he roused and moved many 
 hearts." 
 
 As bishop, his duties were of the most oneroid 
 and varied character. Nearly all the baptisms 
 were administered by him, evidently with great 
 solemnity ; and at the monthly administration of the 
 Lord's Supper he presided in person, or took a 
 prominent part in conducting that sacred service. 
 His episcopal powers were extensive, but were exer- 
 cised with admirable wisdom and discretion. They 
 involved a visitation of the churches, including per- 
 sonal and minute conversation with the members, 
 the inspection of the church property and archives, 
 and the general supervision of its material and 
 spiritual interests. 
 
 Bohler's appointment occurred at a most critical 
 period. Negotiations were then in progress with the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, and with the Govern- 
 ment of the day, and the parliamentary discussions 
 
128 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 were going on, which resulted in the Moravians 
 obtaining a legal and ecclesiastical status ; while the 
 great pecuniary embarrassments which had been 
 induced, together with the spiritual dangers which 
 threatened, required that so long as the vessel was 
 among the foaming breakers, its helm should be held 
 by a firm and steady hand. Bohler' s counsels were 
 wise and Christian. The crisis was severe, and 
 Bohler intimates that he could not have survived five 
 additional days of similar anxiety and grief. But 
 the hour of deliverance was at hand. A spirit less 
 trustful might have been overwhelmed, but his 
 mind was kept in peace ; prompt and effectual aid 
 was afforded, and the Church emerged the better 
 and the stronger from the conflict. 
 
 On the arrival of Spangenberg, in May, 1753, 
 Bohler consented to visit the Western Continent for 
 the third time. After hearing from Zinzendorf an 
 appropriate sermon on "Ye are the salt of the 
 earth," they went on board the " Irene.' ' The pas- 
 sengers, seventy-one in number, having assembled, 
 they weighed anchor. As Plymouth, the Eddystone 
 Lighthouse, the Lizard-Point, and the Land's-End 
 successively disappeared, they felt that they had 
 fairly entered upon their voyage of three thousand 
 miles. The passage is described by Bohler as most 
 wretched. Their supply of provisions was insuffi- 
 cient, and the captain and crew were by no means 
 courteous. Before the conclusion of the voyage 
 they were content to have a quarter of a pound of 
 
CHAPTER V. 129 
 
 bread per day, while their water-casks were quite 
 exhausted. The passengers responded nobly to an 
 appeal to their private resources, and seasonable 
 supplies of fish were also procured. 
 
 Among other nautical memorabilia they de- 
 scribe a splendid rainbow in a cloudless sky, — a 
 perfect cloud of beautiful flying fishes, — and a 
 waterspout of most extraordinary dimensions. The 
 tedium of the voyage was beguiled by the rich and 
 varied psalmody of the German Church, in which 
 the pilgrims greatly delighted, accompanied by 
 trombones, on which they were accomplished per- 
 formers ; while their devotions were observed with 
 exemplary regularity, and proved to be seasons of 
 great unction and power. 
 
 Yery welcome was the cry of " Land a-head ! " and 
 great was their joy when they united with Bohler in 
 appropriate thanksgivings in the chapel of the 
 Brethren in New York. Within four days of their 
 arrival we find Bohler at Bethlehem, where his appear- 
 ance was so unexpected that he entered the room 
 without being perceived by any one. The mutual joy 
 of the Bishop and his former flock may be more 
 easily conceived than described. Their hearts clave 
 unto each other ; and it requires no extraordinary 
 discernment to perceive that around that lovely 
 spot his best affections clustered in their richest 
 growth. 
 
 Bohler's episcopate in America was commenced 
 under circumstances similar to those which had 
 
 K 
 
130 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 existed in England. He found the estates of the 
 settlement much embarrassed. Heavy mortgages 
 had been contracted under pressure, or in fear of 
 imaginary dangers, and their foreclosure appeared 
 inevitable. The zeal of the Brethren had outrun 
 their prudence ; or, what is more probable, the 
 management had been inefficient and unwise. The 
 peril was extreme ; and the results of many years of 
 self-denying toil might have been swept away in a 
 moment by the remorseless creditors. The case 
 required extraordinary efforts, while the conduct of 
 the delicate negotiations needed much of the wisdom 
 which cometh from above, and the help which Omni- 
 potence alone can supply. Many sleepless nights 
 were passed by the devoted Bishop ; but his calm 
 and unfaltering trust in God was in this, as in other 
 instances, honoured by the great Master, and the 
 property of the Church was preserved in the pos- 
 session of the Brethren. 
 
 Here we may briefly glance at the prominent 
 features of his extensive diocese. He had to take 
 charge of institutions requiring a vigilant eye, a 
 wise discretion, and the union of uncompromising 
 fidelity and great tenderness in the administrator. 
 The Churches placed beneath his care had been 
 gathered from many tribes; and their shades of 
 colour and varieties of physical character must have 
 been remarkable. 
 
 Among the members of these Churches were 
 chiefs who had kindled the big fire of the council- 
 
CHAPTER V. 131 
 
 chamber ; prepared or handled the black wampum ; 
 brandished the tomahawk, or " lifted the hatchet ; " 
 sounded the key-note of the war-whoop, so terrific 
 to the ear of a foe ; or led the dance which pre- 
 ceded scenes of savage warfare, the mere allusion to 
 which awakens the shudder of humanity. 
 
 The candidates for baptism comprised persons 
 adorned with the tails of foxes, or with the skins of 
 serpents intertwined in their hair; who were deco- 
 rated with magnificent plumes of feathers, their 
 cheeks tattooed with the forms of birds, animals, 
 and reptiles, and their faces covered with black and 
 vermilion. 
 
 The labours of the evangelists had been conducted 
 amid privations and toils of the most exhausting 
 nature. The howling wolves had to be driven from 
 their encampment with blazing torches ; occasion- 
 ally scenes like those portrayed in " The Prairie 
 on Fire " were witnessed ; and on one occasion the 
 flame of their burning property was distinctly seen 
 across the Blue Mountains, at a distance of more 
 than thirty miles. 
 
 They had to satisfy the pangs of hunger on bil- 
 berries, chestnuts, and wild honey. Their animal 
 food was procured by the chase, — as they shot a bird, 
 or brought down the deer ; and, in one instance, 
 they made a meal of poor Bruin, who had fallen 
 into their hands. In one of their journeys the 
 hungry cries of the children were appeased by 
 peeling the chestnut-trees of their bark, and allow - 
 
 x 2 
 
132 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 ing them to suck the saccharine juice concealed 
 beneath the rind. 
 
 They were in continual perils from the treacher- 
 ous tribes, for whose temporal and spiritual welfare 
 they were unceasingly solicitous. They had to cross 
 the rapid rivers, to ascend the lofty mountains ; and, 
 passing by the remains of villages once populous, 
 whose desolation told of tribal strife so fierce that 
 probably no survivor had been spared to tell the tale, 
 they had to thread their weary way among the 
 lengthening forests, where no European had ever 
 trod. 
 
 Seldom have the records of the Church displayed a 
 nobler specimen of heroic courage or calm submission 
 than that witnessed in the death of the devoted wife of 
 Senseman, who perished by burning, in a murderous 
 assault by the Indians. Her husband witnessed the 
 horrid sight, but was unable to render any aid, 
 as standing with folded arms amid the raging 
 flames, she exclaimed, " 'Tis all well, dear Saviour." 
 
 Amid scenes so exciting, and surrounded by 
 events which taxed his mental and physical powers 
 to the utmost, Bohler pursued his holy mission. 
 He could adopt the language of the great apostle : 
 " In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in 
 perils of robbers, in perils by the heathen, in 
 perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in 
 perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 
 in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in 
 hunger and thirst, in cold," — perhaps we might also 
 
CHAPTER V. 133 
 
 add, " and nakedness ; " — " beside those things that 
 are without, that which eometh upon me daily, the 
 care of all the churches. " 
 
 Nor need he have felt any misgiving in appropri- 
 ating the apostolical declaration, " Giving no offence 
 in anything, that the ministry be not blamed : but 
 in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of 
 God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, 
 
 in distresses, in imprisonments, in tumults, in 
 
 labours, in watchings, in fastings ; by pureness, by 
 knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the 
 Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, 
 by the power of God, by the armour of righteous- 
 ness on the right hand and on the left, by honour 
 and dishonour, by evil report and good report : as 
 deceivers, and yet true ; as unknown, and yet well 
 known ; as dying, and, behold, we live ; as chas- 
 tened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway 
 rejoicing ; as poor, yet making many rich ; as 
 having nothing, and yet possessing all things." 
 
 But rich and abundant has been the spiritual 
 harvest gathered from the precious seed which 
 the Moravian evangelists oft watered with their 
 tears ; and the beautiful vale of Wyoming, rendered 
 classic by the muse of Campbell, is still more 
 distinguished by the Christian temples and insti- 
 tutions which adorn the banks of the Susquehanna, 
 as it rulls along, 
 
 " Wearing its robe of silver like a bride." 
 
134 MEMORIALS OP PETES, BOHLER., 
 
 The impressions of Mrs. Sigourney are thus 
 recorded : " The settlements of Bethlehem and Naza- 
 reth in Pennsylvania, inhabited by the Moravians, 
 are truly interesting to strangers. They exhibit 
 peculiar indications of order, industry, and comfort ; 
 and the expanse of ten miles which divides them is 
 marked by neat and careful cultivation. The beauty 
 of the groves was particularly obvious ; kept free 
 from underwood, and carpeted with fresh green turf, 
 scarcely defaced by a scattered leaf or spray. The 
 banks of the Lehigh, at Bethlehem, are oversha- 
 dowed by large, lofty, umbrageous trees, which add 
 much to the romantic character of the landscape. 
 We visited the school for girls, which enjoyed a high 
 reputation in early times, when our country could 
 boast but few institutions for the education of 
 females. The different classes seemed in perfect 
 order, and the countenances of the pupils evinced 
 
 contentment and happiness The spacious church 
 
 at Bethlehem is adorned with the portraits of many 
 missionaries, the sect of the Moravians having very 
 early entered the field of Missionary labour, and 
 wrought there with tireless and self-denying zeal. 
 
 " Our approach to Nazareth, which was from the 
 beautiful region of Wyoming, through Bear-Creek, 
 Stoddartsville, &c, was rendered striking by passing, 
 at the hour of sunset, the base of a lofty mountain, 
 from whose empurpled summit rays of crimson and 
 gold went streaming up the horizon in prolonged 
 and magnificent coruscations. Nazareth has a 
 
CHAPTER V. 135 
 
 school for boys, which was well filled, and maintained 
 a good reputation. Its members seemed to enjoy 
 that health of body, and those salubrious moral 
 influences, without which the intellectual gains of the 
 young are but a mockery.' ' 
 
 The honourable career of Bohler was not unche- 
 quered by adverse events ; as when, owing to some 
 unexplained cause, his return to Europe was delayed 
 after the return of Spa.ngenberg to America, which 
 produced a state of mental depression so deep as mate- 
 rially to affect his health. But, regaining his wonted 
 elasticity, he visited the infant settlement at Betha- 
 bara, North Carolina, and organized a church there. 
 
 Itinerating through several parts of the province, 
 he returned to Bethlehem, and in a few days was on 
 his way to New York. There he remained until 
 March, 1755, having the pastoral charge of that 
 important church. 
 
 Now, as ever, " in labours more abundant," his 
 lengthened journeys recall the honest boast of the 
 apostle, that " from Jerusalem round about unto 
 Illyricum " he " had fully preached the Gospel of 
 Christ." Nor were these evangelistic toils unblessed 
 to the conversion of many. He was an eminently 
 awakening preacher, and the spoils of his spiritual 
 warfare were extensive and valuable. 
 
 At the conclusion of a Synod held at Warwick, 
 the arrival of the " Irene " was announced, and 
 Bohler gladly responded to the call to attend a 
 General Synod at Berthelsdorf, in Saxony. His last 
 
136 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 visit to America liad occasioned much mental per- 
 turbation, and it is to be feared he was exposed to 
 vexatious annoyances. The allusions to these events 
 in his letters are cautious and guarded; but it is 
 evident that his spirit was deeply wounded. Might 
 the wise counsels of Dr. Cotton Mather have been 
 inappropriate ? " If calumnious quills have pub- 
 licly scratched you, — an respondendum semper 
 calumniis ? ISTo. Look as far back as two thousand 
 years ago, and you will find even a Plato giving a 
 pattern to a Christian in his declining to take any 
 notice of the invectives which a Xenophon had used 
 towards him. It may be, the scribblers are such 
 sorry scoundrels, and such vile children of Sheth, 
 that it is beneath you to let them know that you 
 have so much as read their follies. Or be they what 
 they will, for the most part the best way will be to 
 shine on regardless of what the bats and owls may 
 mutter against you. Or if that metaphor be too 
 sublime, let me say, at least, as the moon among 
 the lesser fires, keep a steady face, walking in 
 your brightness, notwithstanding the unregardable 
 allatrations of your adversaries." 
 
 He was accompanied to New York by his wife, 
 who, as she bade him adieu on board the " Mesopo- 
 tamia," obtained this well-earned tribute to her 
 memory in his diary, " Here we bade each other 
 farewell ; and this leave-taking, and especially the 
 noble bearing of my Elizabeth, will remain impressed 
 upon my heart as long as I live. ,, The passage to 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 137 
 
 Europe was stormy and dangerous. They reached 
 the Orkneys on the day of the great earthquake at 
 Lisbon. It is not improbable that the terrible con- 
 vulsion which laid that noble city in ruins was exten- 
 sively felt, as terrific storms ensued which drove them 
 through the. passage into the North Sea. Very 
 perilous and exciting were the seven successive days, 
 when, passing by the beautiful ruins of Tvnemouth 
 Priory, where many a gallant vessel has perished, 
 they proceeded along the " coaly Tyne " to Newcastle, 
 and then with all convenient speed to the settlement 
 at Fulneck. 
 
 Welcome indeed must have been the retirement of 
 that lovely spot, with its noble terrace and inviting 
 grounds ; and very pleasant the society of the vene- 
 rable elders and their devoted flock. But other 
 duties forbade Border's lengthened stay to enjoy the 
 rest and relaxation needed to repair the exhausting 
 effects of unceasing toils and cares. He reached 
 Herrnhut on the 20th of December, and proceeded 
 at once to Zinzendorf's mansion at Berthelsdorf, 
 where he had a lengthened interview with the 
 Count. 
 
 The Synod which was held in June, 1756, 
 was of no ordinary importance. A review of the 
 propositions established and enforced reminds us, 
 very forcibly, of the terse and graphic paragraphs 
 contained in the Minutes of the early Conferences 
 between the Wesleys and others at the Foundery in 
 London. 
 
138 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 This was Bohler's final interview with. Zinzendorf ; 
 and the last entry in his autobiography bears the 
 date of June 1st, 1756. Authentic records of the 
 rest of his life are at present meagre ; so that our 
 remaining notices are brief. He remained in Germany 
 six months. Then, undeterred by former disasters and 
 sorrows, and " not counting his life dear unto hini," 
 he crossed the Atlantic for the seventh time, and 
 was for eight years the efficient coadjutor and 
 assistant of Spangenberg. 
 
 In 1764 Bohler bade a final adieu to America, a 
 country where he had prosecuted his sacred duties with 
 a zeal worthy of apostolic times ; where, also, some of 
 his severest trials had been endured, and his noblest 
 conquests achieved. He had the pleasure of seeing 
 the settlements which he had founded multiplying 
 their converts, exerting an influence of the most 
 hallowed character over extensive districts, and pre- 
 senting abundant hope of continued growth and 
 prosperity. The proud and haughty savage had been 
 subdued by the omnipotent power of Divine grace ; 
 and chiefs, whose names had been the terror of the 
 nation, had been seen to bow in deep humility and 
 grateful love as they commemorated the sacrificial 
 death of the Son of God. Had he a presentiment 
 of his approaching dissolution? If so, the last 
 glance at his beloved Bethlehem and Nazareth, and 
 the parting address to the converts whom he had 
 begotten in the Lord, would have furnished a fitting 
 counterpart to the scene recorded at Miletus, 
 
CHAPTER V. 139 
 
 and not unworthy of the purest ages of the 
 Church. 
 
 The Marienborn Synod assembled under circum- 
 stances of deep solemnity. Zinzendorf had been 
 removed to the "general assembly " of the 
 redeemed ; but, while deeply mourning his depart- 
 ure, the brethren addressed themselves hopefully 
 to their new and responsible duties. Eohler was 
 now elected as one of the " Directors," to whom the 
 executive administration of the Church was intrust- 
 ed ; and was subsequently a member of the " Unity's 
 Elders' Conference," the supreme ruling power and 
 court of appeal in the " TJnitas Fratnim ; " and in 
 this important office he nobly earned the " double 
 honour" awarded to those who "rule well " in the 
 Lord's house. 
 
 It was during one of his official visits to England 
 that he was removed to the purer society and holier 
 worship of the heavenly state. He was anticipating 
 an early return to Germany, and the arrangements 
 for the journey were completed. He preached on 
 April 19th, 1775, in the Fetter-lane chapel, on 2 
 Tim. ii. 8 : " Eemember that Jesus Christ of the 
 seed of David was raised from the dead according 
 to my Gos2)el; " and then the end drew near. On 
 the 2Gth he paid an edifying visit to a member 
 of his Church, and returned to his room in 
 time to prepare for the evening service. Sitting 
 down in his arm-chair, he adjusted his spectacles, 
 and began to concentrate his thoughts upon the 
 
140 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 " watchword,' ' # which was to form the theme of his 
 address. Suddenly a new sensation pervaded one 
 half of his entire frame ; and in a moment more his 
 right hand forgot its cunning, his right side became 
 utterly helpless, and his left eye no longer shot for- 
 ward its wonted glances of intelligence. Paralysis 
 had done its work. The power of speech, which he 
 had used so well through a long and laborious life, 
 in preaching " the glorious Gospel of the blessed 
 God," had fled. His mental faculties were over- 
 cast by a cloud, which was not to be removed until he 
 should reach a brighter and serener world than ours. 
 Surrounded by the members of the Elders' Con- 
 ference, and other devoted friends, whose presence 
 he now and then acknowledged by a look of recog- 
 nition slightly beaming in his right eye, or the 
 gentle pressure of the left hand, the tide of life 
 calmly and painlessly ebbed away. To those assem- 
 bled in the chamber of death the Saviour's presence 
 was graciously and eminently manifested. They filled 
 the room with the sound of solemn melody, as they 
 sang appropriate hymns. Then they adored in 
 solemn silence the goodness of Him who had safely 
 brought their departing brother to the bourn of life ; 
 and anon they offered fervent prayers for the special 
 support and final triumph of one whom they 
 tenderly regarded as a " father " in Israel. 
 
 * The Moravian " watchword " is prepared by the autho- 
 rities, and, being published in advance, engages the attention 
 of each member of the Church throughout the world. 
 
CHAPTER V. 141 
 
 At length, at half-past five on the morning 
 of the 27th, in the presence of many of his 
 brethren, and attended by the gentle ministry of her 
 whose life-long affection and fidelity he so much 
 prized, the last breath was drawn. The passage of 
 the dark-flowing river was neither difficult nor pro- 
 tracted, and, escorted by the shining ones, the spirit 
 entered the world of the holy. And now the weary 
 pilgrim is at rest! The faithful warrior has more 
 than gained the victory ! His wise counsels, his 
 evangelistic toils and countless anxieties, are at an 
 end ; and he waits for the day when, from the lips 
 of the Saviour revealed in glory, he will receive 
 the welcome plaudit, " Well done, good and faithful 
 servant ; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 
 
 Four days more, and his body, which had been the 
 temple of the Holy Ghost, was removed to the 
 cemetery attached to Lindsey House, Chelsea. 
 A congregation of nearly eight hundred per- 
 sons, including the officers and members of the 
 Fetter-lane congregation, as well as many strangers, 
 witnessed the funeral obsequies. The Eev. Ben- 
 jamin La Trobe read the impressive service of the 
 Moravian Church. The triumphant chorales, 
 accompanied by instrumental music, by which the 
 Brethren celebrate the addition of another member 
 to the glorified church, were sung. A solemn dis- 
 course, founded upon Luke xii. 40, " Be ye there- 
 fore ready also : for the Son of man cometh at an 
 hour when ye think not," and interspersed with 
 
142 MEMORIALS OF PETER BOHLER. 
 
 many tender recollections of the departed, closed 
 the solemn service ; and the remains of this man 
 of God were deposited in their final resting-place, 
 until the resurrection morning. 
 
 The associations of that quiet spot where he slum- 
 bers are deeply affecting, recalling many honoured 
 names, and imparting to it a melancholy charm. 
 Surrounded by the dust of some of his companions 
 in study at Jena, and many of the associates of his 
 hallowed toil in this and other lands, his grave is 
 only distinguished by a lowly stone, bearing the 
 following inscription : — 
 
 PETEUS BOHLEE, 
 
 A BISHOP OF THE TJNITAS FRATRUM, 
 
 DEPARTED, APRIL 27tH, 1775, 
 
 IN THE SIXTY-THIRD YEAR OF HIS AGE. 
 
 But let us rise from the contemplation of the 
 tomb, and its mournful surroundings, and fix 
 our thoughts on that holier region where, far from 
 the imperfections and sorrows of the earthly church, 
 Bohler and Zinzendorf, the Wesleys and Fletcher, 
 and a countless host who have trod in the steps of 
 their faith, shall unite, without one dissonant note, 
 in ascriptions of " blessing, and honour, and glory, 
 and power, unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, 
 and unto the Lamb for ever ! " 
 
LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM NICHOLS, 
 
 i6, HOXTON SQUAEE. 
 

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