Mrs. Wesley was distinguished, from childhood, for rare mental ability;
and, even at so early an age as thirteen, had made theology a favorite
study. Arrived at mature years, she made practical use of the knowledge
so carefully acquired in youth, and manifested unusual judgment and
skill in the early training and general management of her very large
family. She did not confine herself to the management of her domestic
concerns alone, as many good mothers would have done, though she
carefully superintended them, but also overlooked the studies of her
children; and it was really her thorough training, and her subsequent
counsels to John and Charles while at Oxford, which produced in them the
bent of mind that finally resulted in the great Methodist movement.
Accustomed all her life to read with care the productions of the most
eminent writers of her own and preceding times, and to reflect upon what
she read, she was able to arrive at correct conclusions concerning
questions of importance, whether they related to private matters or to
the public well-being. She had no more dread of Mrs. Grundy than her
sons had. Once she knew she was right, "Society" might either blame or
praise, as it saw fit; she remained firm in the carrying out of the
measure--true to her principles.
When her sons, John and Charles, collected the common and poorer people
about them, and began preaching to them in the open fields, there was a
fearful outcry.
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