gentlemen. Then he was brought up a
strict Churchman, and had always believed that the ways and rules of
the Church were the only right and proper ways.

Fancy this most particular Church clergyman, wearing his gown and bands,
just as you have seen him in the pictures, and getting upon a table in
the open air, or on the stump of a tree, or climbing into a cart and
preaching to a lot of dirty, ignorant men and women. This was, indeed,
moral courage; he did it because he felt it was the right thing to do,
and that God wanted him to do it.

Mr. Wesley was quite as much liked by the people as Mr. Whitefield had
been, and the sight of him preaching was such a wonderful one, that
ladies and gentlemen came in their carriages to see and to hear.

In his sermons, Mr. Wesley spoke as plainly to the rich as he did to the
poor. He told them how God hated sin, and that it was impossible for a
sinner to get to heaven. Some of the ladies and gentlemen did not like
this at all, and called Mr. Wesley "rude and ill-mannered," but it made
them feel uncomfortable all the same.

You have heard of a place called Bath, and that it is noted for its
mineral waters. It is a fashionable place now, but it was a great deal
more fashionable in Mr. Wesley's time. Not being far from Bristol, Mr.
Wesley used sometimes to go and preach there. Once when he went, some of
his friends said: "Don't preach to-day, for Beau Nash means to come and
oppose you."

Beau Nash was a gambler, and in other ways, too, a very bad man. But,
somehow, he always managed to get enough money to make a great show, and
many of the people looked up to him as a leader of fashion. Indeed, he
was quite popular among most of the visitors to Bath.

Of course when Mr. Wesley heard that this man was coming to oppose him,
instead of being frightened, he was all the more determined to preach.

A great number of people had assembled, many of them Nash's friends, who
had come to see "the fun." By and by Beau Nash himself came, looking
very grand in a big white hat, and riding in a coach drawn by six grey
horses, with footmen and coachmen all complete.

Soon after Mr. Wesley had commenced his sermon, Beau Nash interrupted
him by asking: "Who gave you leave to do what you are doing?"

"Jesus Christ," said Mr. Wesley, "through the Archbishop of Canterbury,
when he laid his hands upon my head, and said: 'Take thou authority to
preach the gospel.'"

This answer rather settled Beau Nas