George-Whitefield-Field-Preacher

BREACH WITH WESLEY 163
availing effort, against a tide which they felt was hurrying
them into trouble and sorrow. Four months before Whitefield
wrote his reply to the sermon on ' Free-Grace,' Charles, just
recovering from a severe illness, sent him a letter, ' labouring
for peace,' in which he used the strongest and most affectionate
language ; he declared that he would rather Whitefield saw
him dead at his feet than opposing him ; that his soul was
set upon peace, and drawn after Whitefield by love stronger
than death. When Whitefield reached England, the meeting
between them was most touching. ' It would have melted
any heart,' says Whitefield, ' to have heard us weeping, after
prayer, that, if possible, the breach might be prevented
Soon afterwards, however, he submitted his letter, which 1
had had printed before leaving America, to the judgment .
his friend, who returned it endorsed with these words :
^
up thy sword into its place.' But not so. That evil fortune
which made Wesley preach and print a sermon on one of the
profoundest subjects, under the provocation of an anonymous
letter, and at the dictation of a lot ; which prevailed over
Charles' loving letter, and tempted Whitefield to pen and
print his reply, still hovered near, and soon triumphed over
the counsel of love and wisdom which was heeded only for
awhile. At first he said that he would never preach against
the brothers, whatever his private opinion might be. Then
his doctrines seemed to him to be too important to be held
back ; and when he went to the Foundry, at the invitation of
Charles, to preach there, he so far forgot himself, though
Charles was sitting by him, as to preach them, according to
the testimony of John, ' in the most peremptory and offensive
manner.' When John, who had been summoned to London,
met him, he was so far from listening to compromise as to
say, that ' Wesley and he preached two different gospels, and
therefore he not only would not join with him, or give him