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568 TESTIMONY OF CONTEMPORARIES. [Doc. 268.
received this privilege, namely, that he might be qualified for
a holy office to which he had been called, was true also.
There is, further, the strongest evidence that Mr. Wesley’s
conviction went as far as this. I had heard an anecdote
demonstrating it related in conversation by the reverend and
venerable Mr. Clowes,218 Rector of St. John’s, Manchester, whose
high character for every quality that can adorn a minister of
the gospel and of course for veracity among the rest, is acknow
ledged by all who knew him (and few were known through a
wider circle) by those who differed from him as well as by
those who agreed with him in theological sentiment; I there
fore wrote to him, to request a written statement of the par
ticulars, with leave to publish it with his name ; with which
request he kindly complied. The part of his letter (dated
January 19, 1826) , which relates immediately to this subject,
is as follows :
"My very dear Sir,-In full and free compliance with your
wishes, as expressed in your kind favour of the 16th, I send
you the following memoir of the late Mr. Wesley, as com
municated to me by my late pious and learned friend, Richard
Houghton, Esq., of Liverpool, who was also intimately acquainted
with Mr. Wesley, insomuch that the latter gentleman never
visited Liverpool without passing some time with Mr. Houghton.
As near as I can recollect, it was in the spring of the year 1773
that I received the communication, one morning, when I called
on Mr. Houghton at his house, and at a time, too, when the
writings of the Hon. E. Swedenborg began to excite public
attention. These writings were at that time unknown to
myself, but not so to my friend Mr. Houghton, who was in
the habit of correspondence with the Rev. T. Hartley’ on the
subject, and was very eager to make me acquainted with them.
Accordingly, in the course of our conversation, my friend took
occasion to mention the name of Mr. Wesley, and the manner
in which he, on a late visit to Liverpool, had expressed his
sentiments on those writings. We may now,’ said Mr. Wesley,
burn all our books of Theology. God has sent us a teacher
from heaven; and in the doctrines of Swedenborg we may learn
all that it is necessary for us to know!
’
"The manner in which Mr. Wesley here expressed himself
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