Part 204

Among the uninstructed local preachers was one known by the name of “The Old Gardener.” This old man was no common character—indeed he was quite original, and by far the most popular preacher among the disciples of John Wesley in the vicinity.

He kept a small nursery garden about two miles from the town of St. A——, working hard at his occupation of gardener by day, and praying and preaching to his fellow-sinners, as he called them, in the evening. He lived in the poorest manner, giving away all the surplus of his earnings in charity, distributing Bibles, and promoting to the utmost of his ability the extension of Methodism. His complexion was a sort of dirty, dark, iron grey, and his whole appearance lean and grotesque. Although extremely ignorant, he possessed no small degree of cunning; of this the following incident affords ample evidence:—

“The Old Gardener” was once subjected to a burglary and attempt at robbery. He lived with his wife in a small and somewhat dilapidated cottage, not far from the high road. Three young “squires,” who all despised and hated Methodism, having heard that the old man had been recently making a collection to build a Methodist chapel, thought it would be a good frolic to rob him temporarily of the proceeds of this collection. The result of the frolic is best related in the words of one of the actors:—

“We set out,” said he, “upon our expedition with blackened faces, upon a dark night, a little before twelve o’clock. We had dined late, and all of us had Dutch as well as Cornish courage; yet I confess, when it came to the point, I felt myself a coward. I began to reflect that it was but a dastardly frolic to frighten the poor old man and his wife in the dead of night.”

“The clock struck twelve. ‘Now comes the watching time of the night,’ exclaimed Tom.”

“‘Don’t let us frighten the poor couple out of their wits,’ said I.”

“‘No,’ said Ryder, ‘we will be gentle robbers—gentle as Robin Hood and Little John.’”

“I said that I would rather return than proceed. ‘Recollect,’ said I, ‘the old fellow is an old soldier, as well as a saint, and fears nothing human.’”

“‘Nonsense,’ exclaimed Ryder, ‘here goes.’ He pressed the feeble door of the cottage in which the old man resided; it immediately gave way and flew open. We entered and found ourselves in a sort of kitchen. To our great surprise there was a light shining from an inner room. This made us all hesitate.”

Nom. +die Lehre der Methodisten+.

of a — chapel, +einer den Methodisten gehörenden Kapelle+.

+eines wesleyischen Predigers.+

+als es wirklich ernst wurde.+

+komm nur!+

Section 249.

A STORY WORTH READING.

II.

“‘Who is out there at this time of the night?’ exclaimed a hoarse voice from within. I knew it to be the unmistakable voice of ‘The Old Gardener.’”

“‘Give us your money, and no harm shall befal you,’ said Tom, ‘but we must have your money.’”

“‘The Lord will be my defence,’ rejoined ‘The Old Gardener.’ ‘You shall have no money from me; all in the house is the Lord’s—take it if you dare.’”

“‘We must and will have it,’ said we, as we entered the inner room, after taking the precaution of fastening the chamber-door as we entered.”

“We soon wished we had suffered it to remain open, as you will see.”

“Now, consider us face to face with ‘The Old Gardener,’ and a pretty sight was presented. Three ruffians (ourselves) with white waggoners’ frocks and blackened faces; before us ‘The Old Gardener,’ sitting on the side of his bed. He wore a red worsted nightcap, a checked shirt, and a flannel jacket; his iron grey face, fringed with a grizzly beard, looking as cool and undismayed as if he had been in the pulpit preaching.”

“A table was by the side of the bed, and immediately in front of him, on a large deal table, was an open Bible, close to which we observed, to our horror, a heap of gunpowder, large enough to blow up a castle. A candle was burning on the table, and the old fellow had a steel in one hand and a large flint in the other. We were all three paralysed. The wild, iron-faced, determined look of ‘The Old Gardener,’ the candle, flint and steel, and the great heap of powder, absolutely froze our blood, and made cowards of us all. The gardener saw the impression he had made.”

“‘What! do you want to rob and murder?’ exclaimed he; ‘I think you had better join with me in prayer, miserable sinners that you all are! Repent, and you may be saved. You will soon be in another world.’”

“Ryder first recovered his speech.”

“‘Please to hear me, Mr. Gardener. I feel that we have been wrong, and if we may depart we will make reparation, and give you all the money we have in our pockets.’”

“We laid our purses on the table before him.”