The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1865-12-01

the last summer he had received sAcrn.
ment week. y, and had prevailed on Two o,
three young men IT, do the same, aud thai
these gentlemen bad occasionally met to.
gciber for the purpose of assisting aud en-
couraglng each other in their duties, and
regu!a'ing their employment by certain
rules. The regular method of arranging
their suiies and other empoymenrs, pro.
cured them the distinguishing epi,het OF
"Nlethodists,' which, according to Mr.
Charles, was given them before his brother
came t" Oxi"rd, in November, 1729.)-
This Is pr'hably the most accurate account;
for when Mr.. Wesley speaks of this appel
latl"n, he men'ious it only in very gen
eral terms, without attempting to state NJ
what period OF the society it was first Civ.
en-, "The exact regularity of their lives
as we'll as studies" says he, "occasioned Il
young gentleman O. Christs Church IL
say, here is new set of Melhodst>
sprung ups abiding 10 some ancient
physicians who were 50 called. The name
was new amt quaint; so it took mmedi-
aleIy, aud the hletnodists were known all
over the Uuivcr>iry.' (See Wniteheud's
Life Of the c,l.ys-pagcs 258. 259.)
The tenn methodist" was not. then.
as your corresp ndcmt asserts, of "uulgnr
ana P(cbeian origin but was an appa. la
ldti"m given to an ancient School OF PHYS
ic'anS, who sought "to find out more
easy method OF teaching and practicing the
ART "t phJslc"-and was revived ia 1929,
AZ Oxt"d, England, and among the stu
drnls # that renowned seat of learning.
1t was not used AS a "sneer," or .'term
Ut rid'cule,' but as an appropriate aud
eommendatory designation of society of
pluus young men, students Of the Univer-
sl'y, who lived in all things according 10
"Crr'au rules" adopted for their own row.
eminent 1t was not given them "from
the mefhodtca( hummer Vt their dress' -
Tor those to whom it was first applied at
OXIOrj, III his aspect, so far rs we know,
differed III no wise from their frllow-stn.
den's-but from ''ihe exact regularity uf
Their Ices as well as their Studtes." 1t
was not first applied to Chose who left
tie 4 p"sfoljc March for one Of modern
manufactured but to young genllemep--
students at Oxford, in full communion in
the Es'abli,hrd Church of Enslpud, aud
who never htt that Church And even
tneir religious adhcrents, t" whom it VIA,
applied after them, though multiplied by
tens of Thousands, were members of the
English Church for more than sixty years
attrrward
So much, Mr.. Editor, for the accuracy
of your correspondent in regard to tho
orig" and application of the word "Meth-
odlst.' Maybe in his next chapter on
Words he will cnligh,en US as to the
origin aud application Of the Ligh-sound-
ln4 phrase, "Aposrolic Church" aa dis
ti"ct've and pecuIi'r designation of the
English Establishment under Henry VIII.
aud lis "tf.>hoot, the Protestant Episcopal
Church III this country? In conclusion,
would suggest to your corr espondent,
whether it would not be well, in addition
to tie study Of "Woyds," to study, also,
tDosc nice Christian courtrSies, wiich
should ever be observed by one Christian
denomination toward another, whether in
speaking or wri'iug?'
November ISL IL. PHILoTEs.