Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1859-12-09

iStoiy' beeP RTOaHS anu lOuu Knock
were heard through the house; a hand
mill in the garret fell to work with nc
enc near it; crash was heard under he
stairway as if rock had crushed scor,
of bottles. Once while the rector and
his wife were searching the house. a rat
ting sound was heard. as if basket oil
silver had been poured at her feet. The
girls and serving-men were frightened
and even the dog shtwed every sign Of
alarm. The angry rector scolded hi.
wife and children for their superstitious
fears, until one night loud knocks on thc
head. board Of his bed satisfied hi.
doubts. After this he was three times
roughly handled BY an invisible power
that pushed him against his writing desk
and the door post.
No account that excludes supernatu.
raj agency has been given of the mat,
ter until this day. DR.. Priesty pub.
lshcd. from original documents. Il
full statement of the affair; and dismiss.
ed the whole with the remark that it is
the best authenticated story Of the kind
in the world. but that thee could have
been no spiritual agent concerned in it.
as no good end was answered by it.
Southey took the most obvious view
OF the case, and was candid enough to
avow the unpopular opinion that Ep.
worth parsonage was haunted. Isaac
Taylor is Of the same mind, but thinks
the invisible agent was a low ragmuffin
spirit, with no more intellect than ba.
boon. Whatever may oe the philosophy
Of the case, one thing is clear-W Wesley,
mind was so intensely affected by these
phenomena that an invisible world be.
came, in hi, belief. thing not less real
than the pal pable globe on which he
trod; and that keen, clear realization o
future state he was the predestlned in
5 strument of impartiug to every class OF
! English society.
: HIS education was begun by the most
+ judicious OF mothers. and completed at
Oxford. Shortly after he took the de.
. gree OF Master of Arts he was chose,
Greek Lecturer to the University. an 4
for his skill in tha, lansuaga was called
thS oiSSitu 10 dtlu. oltth. anu
Hebrew he afterwards added German.
French. Spanish. ard Italian. L,gic
was Il tlvorite with him, and essential to
l. lite OF controversy. Mathematics h.
ahhGrred. hs tending to atheism; such
was his idio-yneracy. Natural Philo>o-
ply, anl whatever else could be forced
into the service OF mauhiud. were his
If long stuly.
Before he lett Oxford his naturally re
,islous mind took the d epast ealorin .
'r'm Laws ">erious Gail" Taylor',
III ly Living and DYING" aud thr
"Chr'>'an Pattern of Thomas A. Kcm-
Eis. No maa ever set out with a firmer
purpose to work his wy to hctvcn. II"
i med himself down to the point Of ma
tIre's absolute n ,ccssitlcs. and give the
savings away. Ii. visited the prisons
for the pi'u> puppse of preparing m lc-
factors for the g.lows. III. WIS seldom
free from the peculiar olor o; the hor.l
and ;he jail. Every w4k.n; hoar had
IT'S duty. and tho ty tiIel the holr 20
the | st minute. lis bcnevolencc va,
not tn. mer overl,v Of inllN ma.
tune, but allied TO his CO. science, AMI
! directed by it into a thousand dry and
dusty channels - shiverin5 girl one
day stood the door OF his apartment
and asked for clothes. He had nothing
TO give her: and when she left he look
ed on shlllin. picture that hung
against the wall. and tormcntcd himself
with the fancy ihatit was the price OF
her blood. Such WIS the mnn: Cow
per senslbllity penetrated with an al
most morbid conscience. A zeal like
his, when Joined to extraordinary ablli-
ties, never fails to opaIatc Itself. The
city on the hill could not be hid. lie
soon became the ruling spirit of COM
pany Of young men who caught the con-
tagion OF his example. Hcrvey, OF the
"fombs,' was one Of them. TIE strict
ness of the band invited attention S4r-
castle students stiyma,ized 1t by the ii,
tie Of the Holy Club. and atterwarl by
the name of Methodism- namc that
Wesley oaght to have spurned at once.
10 say nothing Of good taste, |. was the
worst policy in the world to adopt it. Ii
was term of contempt, meant to d.s-
grace the religious zeal Of those to whom
t was applied,a no one can deny t at
it has answered its purpose. Names
have an influence for good or i'll. If
the Christians at Antioch had been call
ed Swaddlers, as the NJ thodis,s were in
Ireland, the odious term would hlrily
have found place in Luke's history -
Methodist. with all its outlandish dcrl
vatives. has been drag on the Wesley
an reformation since the day it Was CIV
en-. 1t is conceding too much to the
Devil to allow him TO name a great re-
Iligious movement.
Not long after Wesley was ordained
he sailed for Georgia. to preach to the
Indians. More than hundred passen-
gers crowded the ship. Twenty four Of
them were German Moravi,ns. as devout
as himself. His mode Of life on ship
boar; was as strictly time.saving as it
had been on land. His rule--"Never
be unemployed''-was observed to the
letter. He rose ut four. prayed, stud.
ieu, and labored in his vocation until
four at mig t: living, meanwhile, on sea-
biscuit and rice, a. matter Of sei-denl.
al. Alter Il rough passi Of hundred
and twelve days he laaded on the bank
OF TIE Savannah river. 10 all human