Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. LINCOLN COLLEGE, OXFORD. On March 17, 1726, John Wesley was elected Fellow of Lincoln College, on the Lincolnshire foundation. He owed his success chiefly to the interest made by his father and others with Dr. Morley, rector of the college, to whom he always acknowledged a deep debt of gratitude; but he certainly might have been elected on his merits, if such had been the custom of those days. There was, however, an examination of some kind; for his father writes to him in the preceding summer—" Study hard, lest your opponents beat you." These opponents or their friends tried to make capital out of his serious behaviour, but in vain. His election threw a gleam of light upon the somewhat gloomy life of his worthy father, who addressed him exultingly on March 21st, as " Dear Mr. Fellow-elect of Lincoln " (the expression " Fellow-elect" refers to the fact that at first a man is only elected probationary 'Fellow); and on. April 1st wrote—"What will be my own fate before the summer be over, God only knows—sed passi graciora. Wherever I am, my Jack is Fellow of Lincoln." John Wesley's connection with Lincoln College lasted for more than a quarter of a century. " Sometime Fellow of Lincoln College" is the designation by which hedescribes himself in the title-page of all his works. He frequently refers to the college with pleasure and gratitude, and he was deeply and permanently influenced in more respects than one by his connection with it. " Lincoln" is only the popular name, its proper designation being " Collegium Beatse Virginis Marise et Omnium Sanctorum Lincolniense." The last epithet was added because it was founded by a Bishop of Lincoln, Richard Fleming, in 1427, and its resources greatly augmented by another Bishop of Lincoln, Thomas Rotheram, who was a...