The times., 1897-03-28
JOHN WESLEY BAREFOOTED.
The Way That Great Teacher Re-
buked Vanity and Pride.

By MARGARET HOLMES BATES.
A trifle more than 1 80 years since John
Wesley, the founder Of Methodisn, organ
lied a Sunda V school in the town OF Sa-
vannah, Ga. The rules of that Sunday
school We're different from those that
prevail nowadays. The children were
compelled to attend excepting they were
i'll, A lack Of fine clothing was no ex-
cuse, and so it happened that many of the
boys and girls presented themselves in
their classes without shoes or stockings
There are many stories told OF the mothers
Of those days putting the children to bed
early ON Saturday nights and then wash
ing Their clothes, so as 10 be clean on
Sunday.
The colGnistS were, many Of them, too
poor to buy shoes, or very much clothing
Of any kind But the climate in Georgia
is mild. and it is no hardship to go
sCantily clad.
Human nature, however, as it showed
itself in John Wesley's Sunda y chool
was the same as it is now. The children
who could afford shoes fen into the habit
Of saying dsagreeable things to the bare
footed girls and boys. When Mr.. Wesley
heard Of this from the parents of the chill
dren whose feet We're bare and whose pride
was sensitive, he pondered for while as
to what course il would be wiscst TO pur
sue. First he thought he ought to insist
on all the children coming to the Sunday
school barefooted
Then he considered lecturing the Of
tenders soundly on the sin of vanity. He
did neither: but the next Sunday what
was the surprise OF teachers and pupils
to see Preacher Wesley walk softly into
their midst with bare, clean, white feet
One can fancy that those who Wore
shoes drew their feet far back under the
benches, and the barefooted ones, con-
sCious of being in good company, sat
very straight, and looked satisfied and
happy
In the course of the session Mr. Wesley
took occasion TO speak OF the fearfully
and wonderfully made human body, and,
placing his foot on a convenient chair, he
gave list of the bones, tendons, and
Joints, with much other anatomical knowl-
edge He told the school that no human
being could possibly make piece of ma
chinery as marvellous as the human foot
He remarked further that all the cloth
ing we had to wear was a hindrance to
the clumsiness and ugliness Of shoes and
stockings as compared with the natural
foot, with it's white and pink COlOring,
the blue veins showing through. and each
toe protected by beautiful, transparent
she'll which we called nails.
Even the tan on the feet Of children or
grown people who ran baTefOoted all the
time spoke of the goodness and kindness
Of the Creator. This tan was made by
the great sun and the soft, odOrous winds.
The school thought this little lecture
very interesting, and 1t had much better
effect than sColding. The children learn
cd lesson in physiology, while being kind
ly rebuked for the folly OF vanity. Ii may
be supposed, too, that later in life these
boys and girls. when finding themselves
at disadvantage, tried to find out If
there was not some compensation, even
in what seemed to be real rnSfortunes. d
In the regions where John Wesley first
Iabored there used to he many old stories
afloat, all proving how full of resources
he was. and what a great, generous,
simple minded scholar and Christian he
was, too.