“It is almost incredible,” said Mrs. Wesley, “what a child may be taught in a quarter of a year.”  To this period belongs the well-known incident—­when one day Mr. Wesley said to his wife while engaged in repeating a lesson to a dull child, “I wonder at your patience:  you have told that child twenty times that same thing,” and the mother replied—­“Had I satisfied myself by mentioning the matter only nineteen times, I should have lost all my labour; you see, it was the twentieth time that crowned the whole.”

VI.

THE CHURCH IN THE HOME.

The children at Epworth were well grounded in the observance of Divine worship.  We may look in vain in the records of many families for anything so deep and so beautiful as that one thing which is told of them—­that before they could kneel or speak the little ones were taught to ask a blessing on their food by appropriate, signs.  Repeating, as soon as they were able to articulate, the Lord’s Prayer morning and evening, they were encouraged to add sentences of prayers of their own conceiving, petitions for their parents, and requests for things of their own earnest desire.  From this period, in each case, the parental eye was already carefully looking forward, to the time when the mind should begin to think for itself; and to help them in this important matter, Mrs. Wesley, remembering her own mental struggles, prepared for her children a book of Divinity, written for their special edification.

In due time, as the children grew a little older, days of the week were allotted to each of them, for special opportunity of conversation with their mother, as distinct from being catechised by her.  This was for the purpose of dealing with “doubts and difficulties.”  Of the well-recorded list of days and names the “Thursday with Jacky,” and “Saturday with Charles,” will mostly arrest the reader now.  These days came to be fondly treasured in the memory of all the children.

Twenty years after John Wesley had left home, it is touching to hear him say—–­“In many things you have interceded for me and prevailed.  Who knows but in this too—­a complete renunciation of the world—­you may be successful?” “If you can spare me only that little part of Thursday evening which you formerly bestowed upon me in another manner, I doubt not it would be as useful now for correcting my heart, as it was then for forming my judgment.”

Yet one more feature of Mrs. Wesley’s plan of education was that of the children’s appointed conversations with one another, the eldest with the youngest, the second eldest with the next in age, and so on.  To this good purpose was devoted the better space available in the rooms of the “New Rectory,” built after the fire.

VII.

STRUGGLES WITH POVERTY.

All this work of education, intellectual and spiritual, was conducted under severe pressure of poverty.  When Mr. Wesley received the living of Epworth, it cost him fifty pounds to have the great seal affixed to his title, and to remove his family to the place.  This unfortunately was but a specimen of the hard conditions under which he held his cure.