2S3 History of Methodism 



a long journey, I rested that evening, but was after- 

 ward yery much grieved when I was informed that 

 the people expected to be called together, and have a 

 sermon in the parlor of the tavern, and that they had 

 not had divine service for twelve years! O what a 

 blessing it is to enjoy the sound of the gospel! How 

 little value do too many fix on the privileges they en- 

 joy! From the Corner, we set off for Charleston, and 

 in the evening arrived among our dear friends in that 

 city. Brother Asbury came in the same day (January 

 2, 1797) from his route by the sea-side; and we mutu- 

 ally rejoiced to see each other's face. On this day's 

 journey we saw a noble eagle, standing on the top of a 

 tree and looking calmly at us. This whole journey 

 was very pleasing. The weather was continually mild, 

 a few days only excepted. The lofty pine-trees, through 

 which we rode for a considerable part of the way, cast 

 such a pleasing gloom over the country that I felt my- 

 self perfectly shut up from the busy world, at the same 

 time that I was ranging through immeasurable forests. 

 How many blessings of a temporal kind does our good 

 God mix in our cup, besides that crowning blessing — 

 the consciousness of his favor! How inexcusable, 

 therefore, would it be to murmur when enjoying so 

 many comforts, even in a state of probation ! O what 

 must the rivers of pleasure be which flow at his right- 

 hand forevermore! While I continued at Charleston, 

 we had our Annual Conference for the States of South 

 Carolina and Georgia, and for a part of North Caroli- 

 na, in which every thing was settled with the utmost 

 harmony and concord. In the Virginia Conference 

 there was a great deficiency of preachers, which was 

 nearly made up by the surplus in the present. Here 

 we received a pressing invitation to send missionaries 



