[riddellI navy island EPISODE, 1837 59 



which was pretty frequent. The little coterie assembled was more 

 like a quiet Methodist meeting than a feast, there being some 20 or 

 30 generally present. Among these seekers of truth was an old man 

 who knew the Bible by heart. His name was Samuel Best, who went 

 under the cognomen of 'Poor Help,' as an innocent-minded man. 

 The tea and evening passed pleasantly enough, all edified with Mr. 

 Wesley's account of his voyage across the Atlantic. When the hour of 

 ten announced the time of his departure, he being an early man and 

 an early riser, his coat was brought and as was his custom he went 

 round the room and shook hands with all present. On accosting 

 'Poor Help,' he remarked: 'Why Samuel, thee have been unusually 

 silent this evening. I have not heard thee speak a word. There must 

 be something remarkable on thy mind.' To which Sam replied: 'Yes, 

 John, there is, and I cannot refrain from telling thee what it is, "Set 

 thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live." ' My father 

 said the affair was taken in good part; but whether it operated on a 

 mind at all times inclined to be superstitious, it is a singular fact that 

 Wesley died in less than a fortnight, March, 1791. At this period my 

 father was a- bachelor, not being then of age. 



"When I paid a visit to England in 1838 to see my father for the 

 last time, I was one morning strolling around the Bricklayers' Arms, 

 Kent Road, waiting for the Brighton stage, when I was arrested by a 

 railing around an old church yard, and on peeping through, the first 

 tombstone that caught my eye was the following ! 



'Here lies 



Samuel Best, 



Commonly called 



Poor Help. 



Aged 93. 



"This was the identical man who gave John Wesley his warning 

 to prepare for death. There are many remarkable circumstances 

 connected with Sam Best which can be found in the magazines of 

 the day; but Southey, in his life of Wesley, has not mentioned this, 

 and perhaps never heard of it, although perfectly true. 



"My father still continued to visit at this conference where he 

 formed an intimacy with Sam Best, who gave him several texts of 

 scripture applicable to his future movements in life. Strange to say 

 he would never show them to any one, but he told me in after years 

 that every one came true. He had great faith in Best's discrimin- 

 ation of character and looked upon him as a prophet. 



"The King went one day in disguise with Lord Sandwich and two 

 or three other eminent men. Best looked hard at the monarch, whom 



