Page:Susanna Wesley (Clarke 1886).djvu/27

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CHAPTER III.

EARLY MARRIED LIFE.

Susanna Wesley must have been an economical woman and a good housekeeper, for she and her husband lived for two years in London lodgings, during which time their eldest son Samuel was born, and managed to pay their way and keep perfectly free from debt on their small income. The young husband now entered into a literary project, which he hoped would add considerably to his resources. He joined Mr. Dunton and a few others in establishing the Athenian Gazette, a weekly publication, that lived for some years. The meetings of the coadjutors were held at stated periods at Smith's Coffee-house in George Yard, now George Street, near the Mansion House. It is calculated that during the existence of this periodical Mr. Wesley contributed about two hun- dred articles to its pages, and it is from the pen of one of his fellow- workers, Charles Gildon who afterwards wrote a history of the "Athenian Society"-that we have the best sketch of what manner of man Susanna's husband was in his early prime.

"He was a man of profound knowledge, not only of the Holy Scriptures, of the Councils, and of the