JOHN WESLEY AND HIS WIFE. A Remonstrance from a Relative.

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 126, 31 October 1885, Page 5

JOHN WESLEY AND HIS WIFE. A Remonstrance from a Relative.

Mr Edward Vazbillb Stocks, referring to the letter of John Wesley to his wife, whioh we published a short time ago, objeots that though it bears " many internal evidences of authenticity,'" yet the "remarks thereon cast an unfair, not to say false, colouring on the character of the lady — a direct maternal ancestor of my own-— whose memory is held in reverential respect by her descendants." Here is a portion of Mr Stocks's explanation:— There can be no doubt that, the Union of Mr Wesley with Mrs Vazeille wns ill-assorted and unhappy. That Mrs Vazeille was the widow of a gentle man whOBedevotionto, and love for, her were very warm, is made evident by the tone of an original letter from him to her in my possession, and now before me, in which he addresses her thus—" My dearest," and says . . . "I desire thee to make thyself easy " (during his tempo rary and unexpected absence), "and live well and keep thyself well," and, after giving her some general directions, concludes with these words, " I am, with eincerest and hearthy [sic) affection, thy husband, Anthony Vazeillo," being in strong contrast with the hard epistle published by you. Her first marriage had been full of happiness from the simple cause that it was a union of two loving, sympathetic hearts, whereas there is abundant evidence to show that her subsequent weiding was the outcome of motives which, under the circumstances and peculiar conditions in which they both lived, could hardly have resulted otherwise than it did. Mr Wtsley had scarcely re covered from the pangs of disappointed love. In a letter to Mr Thomas Bigg, of Newcastle, dated October 7, 1749, he writes :— " For ten years God has been preparing a fellow labourer for me; by a wonderful train of Providence last year 1 wus convinced of it. ... But we soon after were torn asunder by a whirl wind. . . . The whol© world fought against me. . . . Yesterday I saw my friend (that was), and him to whom she was sacrificed" (see "The Orphan .House of Wesley," by W. W. Stamp, late President of the Conference ; John Mason Fins- [ bury, p. 51)— yet in February, 1751, he i was married to Mrs Vazeille. Absorbed hy the work he had in hand, ho failed to offer to his second love those demonstrations oi affection to which she had been accustomed, and which alone make matrimony desiiable. She, on the other hand, a highly educated and sensitive lady, endowed with a considerable fortune, accustomed as she had been to the most devoted attentions of an affectionate hußband, feeling the neglect of hie successor (whether that neglect was unavoidable or not), and witnessing the honour and warm expressions of friendship laviehed upon him by his admirers of both sexes, otten riding with him in the carriage pur chased with her money while she was left alone, could hardly fail to feel neglected by him who had vowed to " love and comfort, to honour and keep her in sickness and in health," one does not wonder that marriage under such circumstances should turn out unhappily. What I wish to point out to your readers is that the fault was not solely on the side of the lady, as has been and still is, I fear, the fashion to affirm in this case — at any rate, the letter which you have published does not evidence much of that "softness" which Mr Wesley says is the only influence by which "love can be won " I am not aware that man's greatness tends to develop marital affection. Perhaps John Wesley was too great a man to cultivate such insignificant qualifications. There can be no doubt that the marriage turned out unfortunately ; in fact, it was an instance of " marrying in haste and repenting at leisure." Further, there is much better ground forbelievingthat Mr Wesley's estrangement from his brother Charles was duo rather to the intended marriage with his first love than his consummated union with Mrs Vazeille.— •• Pall Mall Gazette.''