The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1863-06-25

t young men-John Wesley and George Whit
E fied-began religious reform which, tol
many years, was thought by Jealous church
men likely to shake if not oyerturn, the Is
tablished Church in England. Both were
young men of great piety, great zeal, anc
great enthusiasm. ..-
Soon after the PRONUNCIATION Of Methodsm
it spread with great rapidity over the coun-
ties Of Devon and Cornwall, and especially
] among the miners and lower orders. Al
! though very few persons viii not dispute its
: beneficial tendency among those classes; yet
! for a long period after the introduction Of
Slethodism, the clergy, and higher orders Of
: society in the west Of England manifested q
degree of dislike to the new doctrines, which
can scarcely be inaginedin these days of mod
ern liberation. 1t was thought by many
young gentlemen good sport to break the
windows and nail up the doors Of Methodist
chapel. The robbery Of Wesleyan preacher
as spree, by two young gentlemen, became
the subject Of judicial investigation, and the
frolicsome young men had to pay dearly fol-
their practical joke.
Il They were able and even eloquent preach
ers among the Metbodists. The works OF
i Wesley, and of Doctors Clarke and Coke, are
even now popular with large religious class.
There were also found among them some very
wild, enthusiastic local preachers, who might
/ vie with "Praise God Barebones," and other
/ fanatics Of the time of Cromwell. Many OF
these could not read at all, and very few were
acquainted with any books besides the Bible,
and the works Of Bunyan, Baxter, and John
| Wesley. But the writings of these authors
| contained many of the most enthusiastic and
energetic discourses, or foundation Of discours-
es i'll the English language, especially adapt
| ed to strike the imagination and captlvate the
attention Of the lower orders. The phraseo-
| logy Of these works was derived from the
Saxon, and was, therefore better understood
| by the humble classes to whom they were adj
dressed, than the language Of polished preach
ers who had finished their educational Oxford
and Cambridge Indeed, some Of the better
informed classes Of society were fully aware
Of the value Of preachers who, from their own
feelings and experience, so well understood
the vices and folies of their auditors.
/ Among these uninstructed preachers was
one known by the name Of ''Ihe Old Garden
er." This old man was no common charac-
Iter--lndeed, he was quite an original, and by
far the most popular preacher among the low
est and least intelligent Of the disciples Of John
Wesley. He kept a small nursery garden
about two miles from the town of st. A,
then and now the centre Of mining district
Frich III its products of tin and copper. When
d mere boy, as servant to a Cornish gentle
man, he went to London lie was there kid
mapped, and sent to the West Indies, where
he worked some years as slave. He then
entered the army, and served in the West,
and afterwards in the East Indies, where he
fought under the great Lord Give. In one Of
| the battles he was wounded, and lay two days
and nights on the field of battle amidst the
dead. AS he lay there he heard during the night
the roars of a lion and tiger, and the howls Of
| the byena, and saw them providing round him.
but they were so gorged that they attacked
nothing living.
llss safcrings were great from excessive
pain, aggravated by burning thirst. He ex-
Ipected to be mangled and eaten by wild
! beasts, and in the extremity OF despair en-
deavored TO pierce himself in some vital part
with a bayonet but was too weak to effect his
purpose. He was at last found alive, uti-
mately recovered his health, and returned to
! England. Being found, on his arrival, unfit
for service, he was discharged and finally set
tied near ST. A, as before mentioned.
! Soon after his return, the ''Old Gardener
became a convert to Methodism, and after
ward as a local preacher, working hard at his
occupation as a gardener by day, and praying
and preaching to his fellow Sinners as he
termed them, in the evening. lie lived III the
poorest manner giving away all the surplus
Of his earnings in charity, distributing Bibles,
and promoting, to the utmost Of his ability,
the extension Of Methodisnl. His exterior
was rough, and his face as strongly marked
as the granite Of his native country. His com
plexion was sort of dirty, dark, iron. grey,
and his whole appearance lean and grotesque.
Nothing could possibly be more honlely than
his preaching; his language was strong and
colloquial. The most awful groans usually
followed his denunciations against hardened
and impenitent sinners and many attributed
their conversion from a wicked life to the
preaching Of the odd Gardener" In the
midst Of apparently extreme ignorance, and if
what | have heard related respecting some in
cidents Of his life be true, no small degree Of
cunning, he possessed great personal courage.
Of this, the following incident affords ample
evidence:
The ''Old Gardener was once subjected to
burglary and attempt at robbery H9lv-
ed with his wife, a counterpart of himself, iii
a small and somewhat dilapidated cottage not
far from the high road Three young Bquires,"
Of large expectations, who had just finished
their studses at the University, and who all
dcspised and hated Methodism, having heard
that the old man had been recently making a
collection to build a Methodist Chapel, thought
it would be good frolc to rob him, tempo
rariIy, of the proceeds of his collection A plan
was Immediately formed, and a time appoint
ed for carrying it into execution 1t is sup
posed that the old man must have had some
information of the plot from a Methodist ser
want in the employment Of the mother Of one
of the young gentlemen. The result OF tie
froiic is related in the words OF one OF the &C
tors
1--WE set out" said he, upon cur expedi-
ton with blackened faces, on dark night
| little between twelve o'clock. The Old Gar
dener was one of my fathers tenants, and /
knew the localities Of the cottage well. We
had dined late, and all Of US had Dutch as
well as Cornish courage; yet, | confess, when
| it came to the point | felt inysefa coward
| | began to reflect that il was but dastardly
| to frighten poor old man and his wife i'll the
dead of the night. | was acquainted with his
history and his simple mode of life, and once
out Of curiosity, had heard him preach. Ills
preaching was utterly indescnbable and his
appearance, in his tub-like pulpit,was at times
IWnen ne was wrought up lhlo a III Oh enlHu-
siasm, truly awful. One Of his frequent ex-
pressions was Il am sure [ am under the pro-
lection of the Almighty, and neither man nor
devil can harm me. Those words rang inmy
ears, and although had determined to form
one of the party who had plotted together to
rob the old man, ultimately compromised
with conscience by resolving to remunerate
him for the fright-if such man could be
| frightened
''The clock struck twelve. Now comes
the witching time of night, exclaimed Tom.
Don't let us frighten the poor couple out
of their wits. said |.
g no, said Ryder; we will be gentle rob
bers-gentle as Robin Hood and little john
Il said that | would rather travel back
Il : ] 80 Il