Mr. Jennings on Southey's Life of Wesley. 



1821.1 



may be quite sure tliat unless Mr. 

 Wesley's couduct bad beeu very im- 

 proper iu^leed, no such a separation 

 would have talcen place, as Mr. R. was 

 no respecter of persons, but of conduct, 

 living upon the most amicalde terms 

 with bath churchmen and dissenters. 

 He was however a zealous friend and 

 advocate of botli civil and religious li- 

 berty, and not at all disposed to truckle 

 to power either for honour or emolu- 

 ment. It may be menticnieil that Mr. 

 Burke owed his seat in Parliament for 

 Bristol to the zeal of this gentleman. 

 What lie would have thought- and said 

 had he lived to witness Mr. Burke's 

 tergiversation I do not know; but can- 

 not suppose it difficult to divine. 



It is to be regretted tiiat party spirit 

 then, as now, seems to make us too 

 often forget thecliarities and decencies 

 which belong to us as men. Surely 

 violence and reproach can never amend 

 those who happen to differ from us 

 either religiously or politically; and if 

 ever there existed a time when it be- 

 hoved the wise of every party and of 

 every opinion to lay aside their animo- 

 sities, tiiat time seems to be tiie present. 



The Life of JFe.sleij by Mr. South ey 

 appeai-s to be compiled, according to 

 Mr. Southey's own account, from docu- 

 ments wliich have been, for the most 

 part, long before the public: of course 

 a biographer can only >elect fiom such 

 documents what appears, in his judg- 

 ment, the best adapted to set the cha- 

 racter of the person concerning whom 

 he writes in the truest light. We can- 

 not therefore entertain a doubt but that, 

 in a second edition, Mr. Southey will 

 take care, as it is his duty, that this 

 mistatemenl shall be corrected. 



Tile biograjdier of sucJi a person as 

 John Wesl."y has, it must be admitted, 

 a difficult task to perform. He is sur- 

 rounded by those who are zealous for 

 the head of their sect; such zeal too 

 often prevents their seeing clearly or 

 judging correctly ; and if we are to 

 judge fi'om what has ali-eady appeared 

 of animadversion on tliLs work, Mr. 

 Southey is not very likely to give great 

 satisfaction to the followers of the 

 founder of methodism. In truth it is a 

 work in which it is impossible to please 

 every body, but which is veiy likely to 

 displease a great many persons. John 

 Wesley was no Pope, how highly soever 

 his followers may esteem him. Of his 

 zeal no one I believe entertains a doubt ; 

 and fliat he has done much good by 

 directing the mind into difTeieut chan- 



21 



nels of employment, and engaging it 

 strongly on certain subjects, is equally 

 clear; whether the means which lie 

 took for accomplisliiug these objects 

 were the best that could be adopted 

 will be a question long, I think, un- 

 solved . 



VFhilst uiwu the subject of the L>fe 

 of tresley, I would add, that Mr. 

 Southey (note 25 page 59/ '• Trerecca.'" 

 An account of a society jiartly in imita- 

 tion of Lady Huntingdou"s college, is 

 taken from a Tract eiidtled Pre-exisf- 

 ence of Sntds and Univers'tl Rest ilnt Ion 

 considered as Scripfnre Doctrines. — ■ 

 Extracted from the Minutes and Corres- 

 pondence of the Burnhnm Society. 

 Taunton, 179S,) observes, " the Editor 

 of this work was a singular person 

 whose name was Locke;" and asks, 

 " does this allude to the Burnham So- 

 ciety?" In answer to tills, 1 beg leave 

 to say that I knew Mr. Locke Avell. 

 TJie Buruliam Society consisted chiefly 

 of Mr. Richard Locke himself, and a 

 few neighbours. It might have been 

 an important society in the estimation 

 of Mr. Locke, but its original organi- 

 zation continued only for a short pe- 

 riod ; it ultimately iiecame a common 

 benefit club, and was lately, and is still, 

 I believe, in existence. To have men- 

 tioned the Burnham Society " as an 

 imitation" ofLady Huntingdon's college 

 at Trevecca, is one of those singular 

 lu'perboles which now and then enter 

 the heads of projectors. I ought how- 

 ever to mention that Mr. Wesley, did 

 occasionally preach in a small meeting- 

 house which Mr. Locke either built or 

 opened at Burnham. 



The Mr. Richard Locke above-men- 

 tioned, was a collateral descendant of 

 the celebrated John Locke, the author 

 of the Essay on Human Understanding, 

 &c. He was an occasional contributor 

 to the. perio<lical publications, but in 

 his " Pre-existence of Souls" he got 

 out of his depth and lost himself, as 

 most ha^e who preceded him on the 

 same road. He was however a respect- 

 able antiquarian, and left in manuscript 

 a sort of " Gazetteer of the County of 

 Somerset," now I believe in the hands 

 of his son, Mr. R. Lm-ke, of East Brent, 

 whose classical attainments fully quali- 

 fy him for superintending the publica- 

 tion of the work lef( by his father; 

 and wliich, as an addition to county 

 Jiistory, and pai ticularly to the iuJiabi- 

 tants of Somerset, must be invaluable. 

 Jas. Jennings. 

 London, Dec. 14, 1820. 



For 



