f Llan yn Mowddwy (14 m. from Bala), but was not allowed to
continue there more than three months. Three influential people, among
them the rector of Bala, agitated some of the parishioners against him,
and persuaded his rector to dismiss him. His preaching, his catechizing
of the children after evensong, and his connexion with the Bala
Methodists--his wife's step-father being a Methodist preacher--gave
great offence. After a fortnight more at Shawbury, he wrote to John
Newton and another clergyman friend in London for advice. The Church of
England denied him employment, and the Methodists desired his services.
His friends advised him to return to England, but it was too late. By
September he had crossed the Rubicon, Henry Newman (his rector at
Shepton Beauchamp and Sparkford) accompanying him on a tour in
Carnarvonshire. In December, he was preaching at the Bont Uchel
Association; so that he joined the Methodists (see CALVINISTIC
METHODISTS) in 1784.

Before taking this step, he had been wont in his enforced leisure to
gather the poor children of Bala into his house for instruction, and so
thickly did they come that he had to adjourn with them to the chapel.
This was the origin of the Welsh Circulating Schools, which he developed
on the lines adopted by Griffith Jones (d. 1761), formerly vicar of
Llanddowror. First one man was trained for the work by himself, then he
was sent to a district for six months, where, (for L8 a year) he taught
gratis the children and young people (in fact, all comers) reading and
Christian principles. Writing was added later. The expenses were met by
collections made in the Calvinistic Methodist Societies, and as the
funds increased masters were multiplied, until in 1786 Charles had
seven masters to whom he paid L10 per annum; in 1787, twelve; in 1789,
fifteen; in 1794, twenty. By this time the salary had been increased to
L12; in 1801 it was L14. He had learnt of Raikes's Sunday Schools before
he left the Establishment, but he rightly considered the system set on
foot by himself far superior; the work and object being the same, he
gave six days' tuition for every one given by them, and many people not
only objected to working as teachers on Sunday, but thought the children
forgot in the six days what they learnt on the one. But Sunday Schools
were first adopted by Charles to meet the case of young people in
service who could not attend during the week, and even in that form much
opposition