John Wesley’s diary, 1790

I am now an old man, decayed from head to foot. My eyes are dim; my right hand shakes much; my mouth is hot and dry every morning; I have a lingering fever almost…

In the afternoon I preached in Great St. Helen's, to a large congregation. It is, I believe, fifty years since I preached there before. What has God wrought since…

l submitted to importunity and once more sat for my picture. I could scarcely believe myself--the picture of one in his eighty-seventh year!

This day I enter into my eighty-eighth year. For above eighty-six years, I found none of the infirmities of old age; my eyes did not wax dim, neither was my natural…

I went to Lincoln. After dinner we took a walk in and around the Minster which I really think is more elegant than that at York, in various parts of the structure…

l went on to Bath and preached in the evening to a serious but small congregation, for want of notice.

At ten we had a numerous congregation and more communicants than ever I saw before. This day I cut off that vile custom, I know not when or how it began, of…

I went (from London) to Colchester and still found matter of humiliation. The society was lessened and cold enough; preaching again was discontinued, and the spirit…

We set out early, but found no horses at Cobdock; so we were obliged to go round by Ipswich and wait there half an hour. Nevertheless, we got to Norwich between two…

l went to Yarmouth and, at length, found a society in peace and much united together. In the evening the congregation was too large to get into the preaching-house;…

l went to Lowestoft to a steady, loving, well-united society. The more strange it is that they neither increase nor decrease in number.

I preached at London about one; and at six in Norwich.

At seven I administered the Lord's supper to about one hundred and fifty persons, nearly twice as many as we had last year.

No coach going out for Lynn today, I was obliged to take a postchaise. But at Dereham no horses were to be had, so we were obliged to take the same horses to…

In the evening all the clergymen in the town, except one who was lame, were present at the preaching. They are all prejudiced in favor of the Methodists, as indeed…

I had appointed to preach at Diss, a town near Scoleton; but the difficulty was where I could preach. The minister was willing I should preach in the church but…

We returned to London.

l explained, to a numerous congregation in Spitalfields church, "the whole armor of God." St. Paul's, Shadwell, was still more crowded in the afternoon, while I…