George-Whitefield-Field-Preacher

WESLEY LEARNING OF U'HITEFIELD 85
me an example on the Sunday ; having been all my life (till
very lately) so tenacious of every point relating to decency and
order, that I should have thought the saving of souls almost a
sin, if it had not been done in a church.' The freer and more
impetuous nature of Whitefield stands out in all distinctness
from the statesmanlike nature of the founder of Wesleyan
Methodism, as the two friends begin the work of Sunday.
Whitefield had seen, more by the instinct of his quick emotions
than by the reasoning of his mind, the value of his irregular
work, and already had its fruits approved it to him as accept-
able to God ; and that day he went out confident and joyful,
while Wesley was bewildered and half inclined to turn away.
True to his cautious, practical mind, Wesley adopted field-
preaching only when he had seen its worth, just as he took up
the class-meeting idea from others, and only consented to lay
preaching because it had been started by men more headlong
than himself, and these supported by the wisdom and piety of
his mother, who warned him not to hinder a work of God.
Others moved, he quickly followed ; and, if it was found prac-
ticable, passed on and took the lead.
Whitefield took him the round of his work on April 1st, and
any heart less bold and less devoted than Wesley's must have
quailed when he saw what was expected of him. They began
at the bowling-green with the usual Sunday morning service,
which was attended by a larger audience than ever. They
went to Hannam Mount, where the colliers and others came
in unusually great numbers. They passed on to Rose Green,
and here the congregation was more enlarged than either of
the other two. Twenty-four coaches and many horsemen
mingled with the crowd, and though the wind was not so
favourable as usual, ' I was strengthened,' Whitefield says, ' to
cry aloud, and take my last farewell.' Prayers, blessings, and
good wishes were showered on him as they returned to the