New Orleans Republican., 1875-11-07
CHURCH. TROUBLES IN ENGLAND.
BY NJ. d, CONWAY.

CHURCH TROUBLES IN ENGLAND.
BYM. D. CONWAY.
The villager in little Epworth. Lincoln
shire, will show you on graves,One in the
parish churchyard the footprints of John
Wesley. The great preacher, who to his
dying day regarded himself as still in orders
in the Church of England, and wore gown
and surplice whenever he preached, once a
week went back to that. his native place,
hoping to tell the congregation in which his
childhood had been passed, and which had
heard the simple and honest sermons of his
father until his lips were sealed in death,
what were his real thoughts and feelings
which the Church was caricaturing, but
which were stirring the heart of the people
to its depth. On the fair Sunday morning
he approached the door of the little parish
church SO sacred in its associations only to
find the door barred by Episcopal COM
mand, and large crowd gathered outside
The people wished to break in the door;
but NO" said Wesley, II will speak to you
in the graveyard" Followed by the crowd
he went into the graveyard, and, taking
his stand on the marble slab over his dead
father, he preached such sermon as had
never before been heard in England. The
traditions of it still linger in EpwOrtb, and,
as have said, the peasantry still point to
two hollows in the marble slab-worn there
by the rain of many years-as the foot
prints OF the holy man. 1t would. no doubt,
surprise the hax-dressed Epworthies were
they told that their superstition linked
them across the centuries with those who
first wOrshiped the footprints near Rome,
said to have been left by Christ when he
appeared there to Peter, and told him he
was going to Rome '.to be crucitied afresh;"
as these we're linked to those who builded
church on Mount Olivet over two
footprints said to have been left there at
the moment of ascension; and they again
we're linked on to those who, q thousand
years before, had worn away with their
kisses-while as yet there was no Pope to
hold out his foot to pilgrims-the footprints
Of Buddha, krishna, Vishnu in Ceylon,
Siam and India. Probably, too, it would
have surprised John Wesley had he fore
known what footprints he was to leave on
his native land. Footprints he has indeed
left, visible and invisible. Not altogether
beautiful is that which is visible, and it is
pret y we'll typitied by those at Epworth, to
which rustics pay homage; reminding one
unpleasantly of the holy footprint of the
monk Augustine which the Isle of Manet
received when he came to bring Christian
ity to Britain, and which were visible to
the eye of faith until the downfall of Roman
l6n IN CnlS country.
Wesley has been the means of sanction
ing the belief in ghOats, and he gave new
lease of lite to sundry other superstitions.
The weight Of his grand character went to
the side of dogma, which has always found
it easy to suppress his protest against the
dogmatic spirit-which he carried even to
the extent of editing the biography of Uni
tartan. But the really deep and potent
footprint of Wesley was that which he left
upon the Church of England when he
showed that nobler lite and character
could be builded up outside of it than in it.
When, barred out Of the parish church, he
preached in the churchyard with an inspira-
tion which all the pulpits in the kingdom
put together could not gain, he proved that
the Church could shut out the light, but
could not shut it in. The power to make
any sacred impress on heart or stone
was outside there with Wesley, and the
blue sky above him, the silent graves be-
meath him. He broke the old priestly mon
opoly of virtue forever. The keys of
heaven fell from the hand Of the Church
never to be recovered. There is not one soul
of man, woman or child in this nation which
feels that 1t is less safe outside the Church
than in it. The frantic efforts of the clergy
to recover the old charm by the mash-in-
masquerade process, by fine affairs and can
dies and Orientation, excite amusement, but
make no serious impression. The clergy
feel instinctivtly who the man is whose
soul goes marching on, making all such ef-
forts ridiculous-who the man was, and is,
whose life represents the solemnity and
success of "sehism." A few years ago the
bishops seemed to have resolved upon q
policy of wheedling the soul of John Wes-
ley ont of the land. Making the mistake of
thinking that soul was embodied in the
Wesleyan denomination, they began to
tempt and bribe that sect to re enter the
church. They were too late for that.
MethOdism had grown strong and wealthy
enough to prefer its own organization and
first fiddle to the Establishment with sec.
0nd fiddle. So the leaders of the denomins-
tion had the inexpressible pleasure of snub-
bing bench of bishops.
hundred years had brought round
times revenge, and bishop was seen un-
barring the door Of the parish church and
On ter, and be sure to bring the body of bis
society. The snubbed church has now
found its opportunity to return the indig.
nifty, but their blow back falls upon the
Wesleyans of the visible, not him of the
invisible, footprint. 1t has fallen upon
those who wish to make the Methodist de-
nomination feeble copy of the establish
ment. This class is apparently represented
BY Mr.. Keet, who took care to have his
child buried in enthusiastically "consecrated
ground" and to Haunt his title Of irev-
erend" on the gravestone The clergyman
says no; Mr.. Keet 10 not . reverend, n,'but o
mere Wesleyan, whose orders the clergy can
not respect; and the Dean OF Arches (fresh
from deciding that disbeliever in the
devil 10 notorious evil-liver"j maintains
the clergyman IN his position. AZ for this
matter Of consecrated ground I recall
story which heard from the lips of Dean
He tthe deanJ visited the grays Of
Wesley behind the Oldest Methodist chapel
In the city, and after reading its touchipR
inscription he asked the old sexton, who
stood by with uncovered head whether it
was .'consecrsted ground" Tho sexton re-
piled, Yes The dean, who was speak
rs In the technical sense, further asked,
!. By whom n meaning by what biehop.
The sexton said: 1T Il consecratel 81
TIE dspesition of the dust Of the servant
g 0eds John wcslsy" The dean
~ brethsrs We1ley. H. WESTMINSTER
Abpsl q his oys expsnSs = ncasy, e1d
leaInsd u0fe iSiIEltu1ed IL ~ SaxScsa.s -.