Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1876, by

NELSON & PHILLIPS,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

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PREFACE.

HIS little volume is not designed to be a History of Methodism, but to give the general reader a glance at what Methodism is, and what it has accomplished during the century. The writer refers those who wish to obtain a more detailed account of its rise and progress to such works as Tyerman's "Life of Wesley," and to Stevens's interesting and admirable volumes.

For the statistics of the various branches of the Church, he is indebted to their own historians, or to leading members of those Churches who have kindly furnished them.

The reader is specially requested to note that the Centennial Period is counted from the close of 1775 to that of 1875; the facts and numbers being taken from the respective reports for those years.