The Holy War by John Bunyan (page 3)

abominable one, Diabolus?’ And they said, ‘We did more than suffer it, Lord; for we chose it of our own mind.’ The Prince asked further, saying, ‘Could you have been content that your slavery should have continued under his tyranny as long as you had lived?’ Then said the prisoners, ‘Yes, Lord, yes; for his ways were pleasing to our flesh, and we were grown aliens to a better state.’–‘And did you,’ said he, ‘when I came up against this town of Mansoul, heartily wish that I might not have the victory over you?’–‘Yes, Lord, yes,’ said they. Then said the Prince, ‘And what punishment is it, think you, that you deserve at my hand, for these and other your high and mighty sins?’–And they said, ‘Both death and the deep, Lord; for we have deserved no less.’ He asked again if they had aught to say for themselves why the sentence, that they confessed that they had deserved, should not be passed upon them? And they said, ‘We can say nothing, Lord: thou art just, for we have sinned.’ Then said the Prince, ‘And for what are those ropes on your heads?’ The prisoners answered, ‘These ropes are to bind us withal to the place of execution, if mercy be not pleasing in thy sight.’ So he further asked if all the men in the town of Mansoul were in this confession, as they? And they answered, ‘All the natives, Lord; but for the Diabolonians that came into our town when the tyrant got possession of us, we can say nothing for them.’

Then the Prince commanded that a herald should be called, and that he should, in the midst and throughout the camp of Emmanuel, proclaim, and that with sound of trumpet, that the Prince, the Son of Shaddai, had, in his Father’s name, and for his Father’s glory, gotten a perfect conquest and victory over Mansoul; and that the prisoners should follow him, and say Amen. So, this was done as he had commanded. And presently the music that was in the upper region sounded melodiously, the captains that were in the camp shouted, and the soldiers did sing songs of triumph to the Prince; the colours waved in the wind, and great joy was everywhere, only it was wanting as yet in the hearts of the men of Mansoul.

Then the Prince called for the prisoners to come and to stand again before him, and they came and stood trembling. And he said unto them, ‘The sins, trespasses, iniquities, that you, with the whole town of Mansoul, have from time to time committed against my Father and me, I have power and commandment from my Father to forgive to the town of Mansoul, and do forgive you accordingly.’ And having so said, he gave them, written in parchment, and sealed with seven seals, a large and general pardon, commanding my Lord Mayor, my Lord Willbewill, and Mr. Recorder, to proclaim and cause it to be proclaimed to-morrow, by that the sun is up, throughout the whole town of Mansoul.

Moreover, the Prince stripped the prisoners of their mourning weeds, and gave them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

Then he gave to each of the three jewels of gold and precious stones, and took away their ropes, and put chains of gold about their necks, and ear-rings in their ears. Now, the prisoners, when they did hear the gracious words of Prince Emmanuel, and had beheld all that was done unto them, fainted almost quite away; for the grace, the benefit, the pardon, was sudden, glorious, and so big, that they were not able, without staggering, to stand up under it. Yea, my Lord Willbewill swooned outright; but the Prince stepped to him, put his everlasting arms under him, embraced him, kissed him, and bid him be of good cheer, for all should be performed according to his word. He also did kiss, and embrace, and smile upon the other two that were Willbewill’s companions, saying, ‘Take these as further tokens of my love, favour, and compassions to you; and I charge you that you, Mr. Recorder, tell in the town of Mansoul what you have heard and seen.’

Then were their fetters broken to pieces before their faces, and cast into the air, and their steps were enlarged under them. Then they fell down at the feet of the Prince, and kissed his feet, and wetted them with tears: also they cried out with a mighty strong voice, saying, ‘Blessed be the glory of the Lord from this place.’ So they were bid rise up, and go to the town, and tell to Mansoul what the Prince had done. He commanded also that one with a pipe and tabor should go and play before them all the way into the town of Mansoul. Then was fulfilled what they never looked for, and they were made to possess that which they never dreamed of.

The Prince also called for the noble Captain Credence, and commanded that he and some of his officers should march before the noble men of Mansoul with flying colours into the town. He gave also unto Captain Credence a charge, that about that time that the Recorder did read the general pardon in the town of Mansoul, that at that very time he should with flying colours march in at Eye- gate with his ten thousands at his feet and that he should so go until he came by the high street of the town, up to the castle gates, and that himself should take possession thereof against his Lord came thither. He commanded, moreover, that he should bid Captain Judgment and Captain Execution to leave the stronghold to him, and to withdraw from Mansoul, and to return into the camp with speed unto the Prince.

And now was the town of Mansoul also delivered from the terror of the first four captains and their men.

Well, I told you before how the prisoners were entertained by the noble Prince Emmanuel, and how they behaved themselves before him, and how he sent them away to their home with pipe and tabor going before them. And now you must think that those of the town that had all this while waited to hear of their death, could not but be exercised with sadness of mind, and with thoughts that pricked like thorns. Nor could their thoughts be kept to any one point; the wind blew with them all this while at great uncertainties; yea, their hearts were like a balance that had been disquieted with a shaking hand. But at last, as they with many a long look looked over the wall of Mansoul, they thought that they saw some returning to the town; and thought again, Who should they be, too? Who should they be? At last they discerned that they were the prisoners: but can you imagine how their hearts were surprised with wonder, specially when they perceived also in what equipage and with what honour they were sent home. They went down to the camp in black, but they came back to the town in white; they went down to the camp in ropes, they came back in chains of gold; they went down to the camp with their feet in fetters, but came back with their steps enlarged under them; they went also to the camp looking for death, but they came back from thence with assurance of life; they went down to the camp with heavy hearts, but came back again with pipe and tabor playing before them. So as soon as they were come to Eye-gate, the poor and tottering town of Mansoul adventured to give a shout; and they gave such a shout as made the captains in the Prince’s army leap at the sound thereof. Alas! for them, poor hearts! who could blame them? since their dead friends were come to life again; for it was to them as life from the dead to see the ancients of the town of Mansoul shine in such splendour. They looked for nothing but the axe and the block; but, behold, joy and gladness, comfort and consolation, and such melodious notes attending them that was sufficient to make a sick man well.

So, when they came up, they saluted each other with, ‘Welcome, welcome! and blessed be he that has spared you!’ They added also, ‘We see it is well with you; but how must it go with the town of Mansoul? And will it go well with the town of Mansoul?’ said they. Then answered them the Recorder and my Lord Mayor, ‘Oh! tidings! glad tidings! good tidings of good, and of great joy to poor Mansoul!’ Then they gave another shout, that made the earth to ring again. After this, they inquired yet more particularly how things went in the camp, and what message they had from Emmanuel to the town. So they told them all passages that had happened to them at the camp, and everything that the Prince did to them. This made Mansoul wonder at the wisdom and grace of the Prince Emmanuel. Then they told them what they had received at his hands for the whole town of Mansoul, and the Recorder delivered it in these words: ‘ PARDON, PARDON, PARDON for Mansoul! and this shall Mansoul know to-morrow!’ Then he commanded, and they went and summoned Mansoul to meet together in the market-place to-morrow, then to hear their general pardon read.

But who can think what a turn, what a change, what an alteration this hint of things did make in the countenance of the town of Mansoul! No man of Mansoul could sleep that night for joy; in every house there was joy and music, singing and making merry: telling and hearing of Mansoul’s happiness was then all that Mansoul had to do; and this was the burden of all their song: ‘Oh! more of this at the rising of the sun! more of this to-morrow!’ ‘Who thought yesterday,’ would one say, ‘that this day would have been such a day to us? And who thought, that saw our prisoners go down in irons, that they would have returned in chains of gold? Yea, they that judged themselves as they went to be judged of their judge, were by his mouth acquitted, not for that they were innocent, but of the Prince’s mercy, and sent home with pipe and tabor. But is this the common custom of princes? Do they use to show such kind of favours to traitors? No; this is only peculiar to Shaddai, and unto Emmanuel, his Son!’

Now morning drew on apace; wherefore the Lord Mayor, the Lord Willbewill, and Mr. Recorder came down to the market-place at the time that the Prince had appointed, where the townsfolk were waiting for them: and when they came, they came in that attire, and in that glory that the Prince had put them into the day before, and the street was lightened with their glory. So the Mayor, Recorder, and my Lord Willbewill drew down to Mouth-gate, which was at the lower end of the market-place, because that of old time was the place where they used to read public matters. Thither, therefore, they came in their robes, and their tabrets went before them. Now, the eagerness of the people to know the full of the matter was great.

Then the Recorder stood up upon his feet, and, first beckoning with his hand for silence, he read out with a loud voice the pardon. But when he came to these words: ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, pardoning iniquity, transgressions, and sins, and to them all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven,’ etc., they could not forbear leaping for joy. For this you must know, that there was conjoined herewith every man’s name in Mansoul; also the seals of the pardon made a brave show.

When the Recorder had made an end of reading the pardon, the townsmen ran up upon the walls of the town, and leaped and skipped thereon for joy, and bowed themselves seven times with their faces toward Emmanuel’s pavilion, and shouted out aloud for joy, and said, ‘Let Emmanuel live for ever!’ Then order was given to the young men in Mansoul that they should ring the bells for joy. So the bells did ring, and the people sing, and the music go in every house in Mansoul.

When the Prince had sent home the three prisoners of Mansoul with joy, and pipe and tabor, he commanded his captains, with all the field officers and soldiers throughout his army, to be ready in that morning, that the Recorder should read the pardon in Mansoul, to do his further pleasure. So the morning, as I have showed, being come, just as the Recorder had made an end of reading the pardon, Emmanuel commanded that all the trumpets in the camp should sound, that the colours should be displayed, half of them upon Mount Gracious, and half of them upon Mount Justice. He commanded also that all the captains should show themselves in all their harness, and that the soldiers should shout for joy. Nor was Captain Credence, though in the castle, silent in such a day; but he, from the top of the hold, showed himself with sound of trumpet to Mansoul and to the Prince’s camp.

Thus have I showed you the manner and way that Emmanuel took to recover the town of Mansoul from under the hand and power of the tyrant Diabolus.

Now, when the Prince had completed these, the outward ceremonies of his joy, he again commanded that his captains and soldiers should show unto Mansoul some feats of war: so they presently addressed themselves to this work. But oh! with what agility, nimbleness, dexterity, and bravery did these military men discover their skill in feats of war to the now gazing town of Mansoul!

They marched, they counter-marched; they opened to the right and left; they divided and subdivided; they closed, they wheeled, made good their front and rear with their right and left wings, and twenty things more, with that aptness, and then were all as the were again, that they took–yea, ravished, the hearts that were in Mansoul to behold it. But add to this, the handling of their arms, the managing of their weapons of war, were marvellously taking to Mansoul and me.

When this action was over, the whole town of Mansoul came out as one man to the Prince in the camp to thank him, and praise him for his abundant favour, and to beg that it would please his grace to come unto Mansoul with his men, and there to take up their quarters for ever: and this they did in most humble manner, bowing themselves seven times to the ground before him. Then said he, ‘All peace be to you.’ So the town came nigh, and touched with the hand the top of his golden sceptre; and they said, ‘Oh! that the Prince Emmanuel, with his captains and men of war, would dwell in Mansoul for ever; and that his battering-rams and slings might be lodged in her for the use and service of the Prince, and for the help and strength of Mansoul. For,’ said they, ‘we have room for thee, we have room for thy men, we have also room for thy weapons of war, and a place to make a magazine for thy carriages. Do it, Emmanuel, and thou shalt be King and Captain in Mansoul for ever. Yea, govern thou also according to all the desire of thy soul, and make thou governors and princes under thee of thy captains and men of war, and we will become thy servants, and thy laws shall be our direction.’

They added, moreover, and prayed his Majesty to consider thereof; ‘for,’ said they, ‘if now, after all this grace bestowed upon us, thy miserable town of Mansoul, thou shouldest withdraw, thou and thy captains, from us, the town of Mansoul will die. Yea,’ said they, ‘our blessed Emmanuel, if thou shouldest depart from us now, now thou hast done so much good for us, and showed so much mercy unto us, what will follow but that our joy will be as if it had not been, and our enemies will a second time come upon us with more rage than at the first? Wherefore, we beseech thee, O thou, the desire of our eyes, and the strength and life of our poor town, accept of this motion that now we have made unto our Lord, and come and dwell in the midst of us, and let us be thy people. Besides, Lord, we do not know but that to this day many Diabolonians may be yet lurking in the town of Mansoul, and they will betray us, when thou shalt leave us, into the hand of Diabolus again; and who knows what designs, plots, or contrivances have passed betwixt them about these things already? Loath we are to fall again into his horrible hands. Wherefore, let it please thee to accept of our palace for thy place of residence, and of the houses of the best men in our town for the reception of thy soldiers and their furniture.’

Then said the Prince, ‘If I come to your town, will you suffer me further to prosecute that which is in mine heart against mine enemies and yours?–yea, will you help me in such undertakings?’

They answered, ‘We know not what we shall do; we did not think once that we should have been such traitors to Shaddai as we have proved to be. What, then, shall we say to our Lord? Let him put no trust in his saints; let the Prince dwell in our castle, and make of our town a garrison; let him set his noble captains and his warlike soldiers over us; yea, let him conquer us with his love, and overcome us with his grace, and then surely shall he be but with us, and help us, as he was and did that morning that our pardon was read unto us. We shall comply with this our Lord, and with his ways, and fall in with his word against the mighty.

‘One word more, and thy servants have done, and in this will trouble our Lord no more. We know not the depth of the wisdom of thee, our Prince. Who could have thought, that had been ruled by his reason, that so much sweet as we do now enjoy should have come out of those bitter trials wherewith we were tried at the first! But, Lord, let light go before, and let love come after: yea, take us by the hand, and lead us by thy counsels, and let this always abide upon us, that all things shall be the best for thy servants, and come to our Mansoul, and do as it pleaseth thee. Or, Lord, come to our Mansoul, do what thou wilt, so thou keepest us from sinning, and makest us serviceable to thy Majesty.’

Then said the Prince to the town of Mansoul again, ‘Go, return to your houses in peace. I will willingly in this comply with your desires; I will remove my royal pavilion, I will draw up my forces before Eye-gate to-morrow, and so will march forwards into the town of Mansoul. I will possess myself of your castle of Mansoul, and will set my soldiers over you: yea, I will yet do things in Mansoul that cannot be paralleled in any nation, country, or kingdom under heaven.’ Then did the men of Mansoul give a shout, and returned unto their houses in peace; they also told to their kindred and friends the good that Emmanuel had promised to Mansoul. ‘And to-morrow,’ said they, ‘he will march into our town, and take up his dwelling, he and his men, in Mansoul.’

Then went out the inhabitants of the town of Mansoul with haste to the green trees and to the meadows, to gather boughs and flowers, therewith to strew the streets against their Prince, the Son of Shaddai, should come; they also made garlands and other fine works to betoken how joyful they were, and should be to receive their Emmanuel into Mansoul; yea, they strewed the street quite from Eye- gate to the castle-gate, the place where the Prince should be. They also prepared for his coming what music the town of Mansoul would afford, that they might play before him to the palace, his habitation.

So, at the time appointed he makes his approach to Mansoul, and the gates were set open for him; there also the ancients and elders of Mansoul met him to salute him with a thousand welcomes. Then he arose and entered Mansoul, he and all his servants. The elders of Mansoul did also go dancing before him till he came to the castle gates. And this was the manner of his going up thither:- He was clad in his golden armour, he rode in his royal chariot, the trumpets sounded about him, the colours were displayed, his ten thousands went up at his feet, and the elders of Mansoul danced before him. And now were the walls of the famous town of Mansoul filled with the tramplings of the inhabitants thereof, who went up thither to view the approach of the blessed Prince and his royal army. Also the casements, windows, balconies, and tops of the houses, were all now filled with persons of all sorts, to behold how their town was to be filled with good.

Now, when he was come so far into the town as to the Recorder’s house, he commanded that one should go to Captain Credence, to know whether the castle of Mansoul was prepared to entertain his royal presence (for the preparation of that was left to that captain), and word was brought that it was. Then was Captain Credence commanded also to come forth with his power to meet the Prince, the which was, as he had commanded, done; and he conducted him into the castle. This done, the Prince that night did lodge in the castle with his mighty captains and men of war, to the joy of the town of Mansoul.

Now, the next care of the townsfolk was, how the captains and soldiers of the Prince’s army should be quartered among them; and the care was not how they should shut their hands of them, but how they should fill their houses with them; for every man in Mansoul now had that esteem of Emmanuel and his men that nothing grieved them more than because they were not enlarged enough, every one of them to receive the whole army of the Prince; yea, they counted it their glory to be waiting upon them, and would, in those days, run at their bidding like lackeys.

At last they came to this result:-

1. That Captain Innocency should quarter at Mr. Reason’s.

2. That Captain Patience should quarter at Mr. Mind’s. This Mr. Mind was formerly the Lord Willbewill’s clerk in time of the late rebellion.

3. It was ordered that Captain Charity should quarter at Mr. Affection’s house.

4. That Captain Good-Hope should quarter at my Lord Mayor’s. Now, for the house of the Recorder, himself desired, because his house was next to the castle, and because from him it was ordered by the Prince that, if need be, the alarm should be given to Mansoul,–it was, I say, desired by him that Captain Boanerges and Captain Conviction should take up their quarters with him, even they and all their men.

5. As for Captain Judgment and Captain Execution, my Lord Willbewill took them and their men to him, because he was to rule under the Prince for the good of the town of Mansoul now, as he had before under the tyrant Diabolus for the hurt and damage thereof.

6. And throughout the rest of the town were quartered Emmanuel’s forces; but Captain Credence, with his men, abode still in the castle. So the Prince, his captains, and his soldiers, were lodged in the town of Mansoul.

Now, the ancients and elders of the town of Mansoul thought that they never should have enough of the Prince Emmanuel; his person, his actions, his words, and behaviour, were so pleasing, so taking, so desirable to them. Wherefore they prayed him, that though the castle of Mansoul was his place of residence, (and they desired that he might dwell there for ever,) yet that he would often visit the streets, houses, and people of Mansoul. ‘For,’ said they, ‘dread Sovereign, thy presence, thy looks, thy smiles, thy words, are the life, and strength, and sinews of the town of Mansoul.’

Besides this, they craved that they might have, without difficulty or interruption, continual access unto him, (so for that very purpose he commanded that the gates should stand open,) that they might there see the manner of his doings, the fortifications of the place, and the royal mansion-house of the Prince.

When he spake, they all stopped their mouths and gave audience; and when he walked, it was their delight to imitate him in his goings.

Now, upon a time, Emmanuel made a feast for the town of Mansoul; and upon the feasting-day the townsfolk were come to the castle to partake of his banquet; and he feasted them with all manner of outlandish food;–food that grew not in the fields of Mansoul; nor in all the whole Kingdom of Universe; it was food that came from his Father’s court. And so there was dish after dish set before them, and they were commanded freely to eat. But still, when a fresh dish was set before them, they would whisperingly say to each other, ‘What is it?’ for they wist not what to call it. They drank also of the water that was made wine, and were very merry with him. There was music also all the while at the table; and man did eat angels’ food, and had honey given him out of the rock. So Mansoul did eat the food that was peculiar to the court; yea, they had now thereof to the full.

I must not forget to tell you, that as at this table there were musicians, so they were not those of the country, nor yet of the town of Mansoul; but they were the masters of the songs that were sung at the court of Shaddai.

Now, after the feast was over, Emmanuel was for entertaining the town of Mansoul with some curious riddles of secrets drawn up by his Father’s secretary, by the skill and wisdom of Shaddai; the like to these there is not in any kingdom. These riddles were made upon the King Shaddai himself, and upon Emmanuel his Son, and upon his wars and doings with Mansoul.

Emmanuel also expounded unto them some of those riddles himself; but, oh! how they were lightened! They saw what they never saw; they could not have thought that such rarities could have been couched in so few and such ordinary words. I told you before, whom these riddles did concern; and as they were opened, the people did evidently see it was so. Yea, they did gather that the things themselves were a kind of a portraiture, and that of Emmanuel himself; for when they read in the scheme where the riddles were writ, and looked in the face of the Prince, things looked so like the one to the other, that Mansoul could not forbear but say, ‘This is the lamb! this is the sacrifice! this is the rock! this is the red cow! this is the door! and this is the way!’ with a great many other things more.

And thus he dismissed the town of Mansoul. But can you imagine how the people of the corporation were taken with this entertainment! Oh! they were transported with joy, they were drowned with wonderment, while they saw and understood, and considered what their Emmanuel entertained them withal, and what mysteries he opened to them. And when they were at home in their houses, and in their most retired places, they could not but sing of him and of his actions. Yea, so taken were the townsmen now with their Prince, that they would sing of him in their sleep.

Now, it was in the heart of the Prince Emmanuel to new-model the town of Mansoul, and to put it into such a condition as might be most pleasing to him, and that might best stand with the profit and security of the now flourishing town of Mansoul. He provided also against insurrections at home, and invasions from abroad, such love had he for the famous town of Mansoul.

Wherefore he first of all commanded that the great slings that were brought from his Father’s court, when he came to the war of Mansoul, should be mounted, some upon the battlements of the castle, some upon the towers; for there were towers in the town of Mansoul, towers, new-built by Emmanuel since he came hither. There was also an instrument, invented by Emmanuel, that was to throw stones from the castle of Mansoul, out at Mouth-gate; an instrument that could not be resisted, nor that would miss of execution. Wherefore, for the wonderful exploits that it did when used, it went without a name; and it was committed to the care of, and to be managed by the brave captain, the Captain Credence, in case of war.

This done, Emmanuel called the Lord Willbewill to him, and gave him in commandment to take care of the gates, the wall, and towers in Mansoul; also the Prince gave him the militia into his hand, and a special charge to withstand all insurrections and tumults that might be made in Mansoul against the peace of our Lord the King, and the peace and tranquillity of the town of Mansoul. He also gave him in commission, that if he found any of the Diabolonians lurking in any corner of the famous town of Mansoul, he should forthwith apprehend them, and stay them, or commit them to safe custody, that they may be proceeded against according to law.

Then he called unto him the Lord Understanding, who was the old Lord Mayor, he that was put out of place when Diabolus took the town, and put him into his former office again, and it became his place for his lifetime. He bid him also that he should build him a palace near Eye-gate; and that he should build it in fashion like a tower for defence. He bid him also that he should read in the Revelation of Mysteries all the days of his life, that he might know how to perform his office aright.

He also made Mr. Knowledge the Recorder, not of contempt to old Mr. Conscience, who had been Recorder before, but for that it was in his princely mind to confer upon Mr. Conscience another employ, of which he told the old gentleman he should know more hereafter.

Then he commanded that the image of Diabolus should be taken down from the place where it was set up, and that they should destroy it utterly, beating it into powder, and casting it into the wind without the town wall; and that the image of Shaddai, his Father, should be set up again, with his own, upon the castle gates; and that it should be more fairly drawn than ever, forasmuch as both his Father and himself were come to Mansoul in more grace and mercy than heretofore. He would also that his name should be fairly engraven upon the front of the town, and that it should be done in the best of gold, for the honour of the town of Mansoul.

After this was done, Emmanuel gave out a commandment that those three great Diabolonians should be apprehended, namely, the two late Lord Mayors, to wit, Mr. Incredulity, Mr. Lustings, and Mr. Forget-Good, the Recorder. Besides these, there were some of them that Diabolus made burgesses and aldermen in Mansoul, that were committed to ward by the hand of the now valiant and now right noble, the brave Lord Willbewill.

And these were their names: Alderman Atheism, Alderman Hard-Heart, and Alderman False-Peace. The burgesses were, Mr. No-Truth, Mr. Pitiless, Mr. Haughty, with the like. These were committed to close custody, and the gaoler’s name was Mr. True-Man. This True- Man was one of those that Emmanuel brought with him from his Father’s court when at the first he made a war upon Diabolus in the town or Mansoul.

After this, the Prince gave a charge that the three strongholds that, at the command of Diabolus, the Diabolonians built in Mansoul, should be demolished and utterly pulled down; of which holds and their names, with their captains and governors, you read a little before. But this was long in doing, because of the largeness of the places, and because the stones, the timber, the iron, and all rubbish, was to be carried without the town.

When this was done, the Prince gave order that the Lord Mayor and aldermen of Mansoul should call a court of judicature for the trial and execution of the Diabolonians in the corporation now under the charge of Mr. True-Man, the gaoler.

Now, when the time was come, and the court set, commandment was sent to Mr. True-Man, the gaoler, to bring the prisoners down to the bar. Then were the prisoners brought down, pinioned and chained together, as the custom of the town of Mansoul was. So, when they were presented before the Lord Mayor, the Recorder, and the rest of the honourable bench, first, the jury was empannelled, and then the witnesses sworn. The names of the jury were these: Mr. Belief, Mr. True-Heart, Mr. Upright, Mr. Hate-Bad, Mr. Love- God, Mr. See-Truth, Mr. Heavenly-Mind, Mr. Moderate, Mr. Thankful, Mr. Good-Work, Mr. Zeal-for-God, and Mr. Humble.

The names of the witnesses were–Mr. Know-All, Mr. Tell-True, Mr. Hate-Lies, with my Lord Willbewill and his man, if need were.

So the prisoners were set to the bar. Then said Mr. Do-Right, (for he was the Town-Clerk,) ‘Set Atheism to the bar, gaoler.’ So he was set to the bar. Then said the Clerk, ‘Atheism, hold up thy hand. Thou art here indicted by the name of Atheism, (an intruder upon the town of Mansoul,) for that thou hast perniciously and doltishly taught and maintained that there is no God, and so no heed to be taken to religion. This thou hast done against the being, honour, and glory of the King, and against the peace and safety of the town of Mansoul. What sayest thou? Art thou guilty of this indictment, or not?

Atheism. Not guilty.

Crier. Call Mr. Know-All, Mr. Tell-True, and Mr. Hate-Lies into the court.

So they were called, and they appeared.

Then said the Clerk, ‘You, the witnesses for the King, look upon the prisoner at the bar; do you know him?’

Then said Mr. Know-All, ‘Yes, my lord, we know him; his name is Atheism; he has been a very pestilent fellow for many years in the miserable town of Mansoul.’

Clerk. You are sure you know him?

Know. Know him! Yes my lord; I have heretofore too often been in his company to be at this time ignorant of him. He is a Diabolonian, the son of a Diabolonian: I knew his grandfather and his father.

Clerk. Well said. He standeth here indicted by the name of Atheism, etc., and is charged that he hath maintained and taught that there is no God, and so no heed need be taken to any religion. What say you, the King’s witnesses, to this? Is he guilty or not?

Know. My lord, I and he were once in Villain’s Lane together, and he at that time did briskly talk of divers opinions; and then and there I heard him say, that, for his part, he did believe that there was no God. ‘But,’ said he, ‘I can profess one, and be as religious too, if the company I am in, and the circumstances of other things,’ said he, ‘shall put me upon it.’

Clerk. You are sure you heard him say thus?

Know. Upon mine oath, I heard him say thus.

Then said the Clerk, ‘Mr. Tell-True, what say you to the King’s judges touching the prisoner at the bar?’

Tell. My lord, I formerly was a great companion of his, for the which I now repent me, and I have often heard him say, and that with very great stomachfulness, that he believed there was neither God, angel, nor spirit.

Clerk. Where did you hear him say so?

Tell. In Blackmouth Lane and in Blasphemer’s Row, and in many other places besides.

Clerk. Have you much knowledge of him?

Tell. I know him to be a Diabolonian, the son of a Diabolonian, and a horrible man to deny a Deity. His father’s name was Never- be-good, and he had more children than this Atheism. I have no more to say,

Clerk. Mr. Hate-Lies, look upon the prisoner at the bar; do you know him?

Hate. My lord, this Atheism is one of the vilest wretches that ever I came near, or had to do with in my life. I have heard him say that there is no God; I have heard him say that there is no world to come, no sin, nor punishment hereafter, and, moreover, I have heard him say that it was as good to go to a whore-house as to go to hear a sermon.

Clerk. Where did you hear him say these things?

Hate. In Drunkard’s Row, just at Rascal-Lane’s End, at a house in which Mr. Impiety lived.

Clerk. Set him by, gaoler, and set Mr. Lustings to the bar. Mr. Lustings, thou art here indicted by the name of Lustings, (an intruder upon the town of Mansoul,) for that thou hast devilishly and traitorously taught, by practice and filthy words, that it is lawful and profitable to man to give way to his carnal desires; and that thou, for thy part, hast not, nor never wilt, deny thyself of any sinful delight as long as thy name is Lustings. How sayest thou? Art thou guilty of this indictment, or not?

Then said Mr. Lustings, ‘My lord, I am a man of high birth, and have been used to pleasures and pastimes of greatness. I have not been wont to be snubbed for my doings, but have been left to follow my will as if it were law. And it seems strange to me that I should this day be called into question for that, that not only I, but almost all men, do either secretly or openly countenance, love, and approve of.’

Clerk. Sir, we concern not ourselves with your greatness; (though the higher, the better you should have been;) but we are concerned, and so are you now, about an indictment preferred against you. How say you? Are you guilty of it, or not?

Lust. Not guilty.

Clerk. Crier, call upon the witnesses to stand forth and give their evidence.

Crier. Gentlemen, you, the witnesses for the King, come in and give in your evidence for our Lord the King against the prisoner at the bar.

Clerk. Come, Mr. Know-All, look upon the prisoner at the bar; do you know him?

Know. Yes, my lord, I know him.

Clerk. What is his name?

Know. His name is Lustings; he was the son of one Beastly, and his mother bare him in Flesh Street: she was one Evil-Concupiscence’s daughter. I knew all the generation of them.

Clerk. Well said. You have heard his indictment; what say you to it? Is he guilty of the things charged against him, or not?

Know. My lord, he has, as he saith, been a great man indeed, and greater in wickedness than by pedigree more than a thousandfold.

Clerk. But what do you know of his particular actions, and especially with reference to his indictment?

Know. I know him to be a swearer, a liar, a Sabbath-breaker; I know him to be a fornicator and an unclean person; I know him to be guilty of abundance of evils. He has been, to my knowledge, a very filthy man.

Clerk. But where did he use to commit his wickedness? in some private corners, or more open and shamelessly?

Know. All the town over, my lord.

Clerk. Come, Mr. Tell-True, what have you to say for our Lord the King against the prisoner at the bar?

Tell. My lord, all that the first witness has said I know to be true, and a great deal more besides.

Clerk. Mr. Lustings, do you hear what these gentlemen say?

Lust. I was ever of opinion that the happiest life that a man could live on earth was to keep himself back from nothing that he desired in the world; nor have I been false at any time to this opinion of mine, but have lived in the love of my notions all my days. Nor was I ever so churlish, having found such sweetness in them myself, as to keep the commendations of them from others.

Then said the Court, ‘There hath proceeded enough from his own mouth to lay him open to condemnation; wherefore, set him by, gaoler, and set Mr. Incredulity to the bar.’

Incredulity set to the bar.

Clerk. Mr. Incredulity, thou art here indicted by the name of Incredulity, (an intruder upon the town of Mansoul,) for that thou hast feloniously and wickedly, and that when thou wert an officer in the town of Mansoul, made head against the captains of the great King Shaddai when they came and demanded possession of Mansoul; yea, thou didst bid defiance to the name, forces, and cause of the King, and didst also, as did Diabolus thy captain, stir up and encourage the town of Mansoul to make head against and resist the said force of the King. What sayest thou to this indictment? Art thou guilty of it, or not?

Then said Incredulity, ‘I know not Shaddai; I love my old prince; I thought it my duty to be true to my trust, and to do what I could to possess the minds of the men of Mansoul to do their utmost to resist strangers and foreigners, and with might to fight against them. Nor have I, nor shall I, change mine opinion for fear of trouble, though you at present are possessed of place and power.’

Then said the Court, ‘The man, as you see, is incorrigible; he is for maintaining his villainies by stoutness of words, and his rebellion with impudent confidence; and therefore set him by, gaoler, and set Mr. Forget-Good to the bar.

Forget-Good set to the bar.

Clerk. Mr. Forget-Good, thou art here indicted by the name of Forget-Good, (an intruder upon the town of Mansoul,) for that thou, when the whole affairs of the town of Mansoul were in thy hand, didst utterly forget to serve them in what was good, and didst fall in with the tyrant Diabolus against Shaddai the King, against his captains, and all his host, to the dishonour of Shaddai, the breach of his law, and the endangering of the destruction of the famous town of Mansoul. What sayest thou to this indictment? Art thou guilty or not guilty?

Then said Forget-Good: ‘Gentlemen, and at this time my judges, as to the indictment by which I stand of several crimes accused before you, pray attribute my forgetfulness to mine age, and not to my wilfulness; to the craziness of my brain, and not to the carelessness of my mind; and then I hope I may be by your charity excused from great punishment, though I be guilty.’

Then said the Court, ‘Forget-Good, Forget-Good, thy forgetfulness of good was not simply of frailty, but of purpose, and for that thou didst loathe to keep virtuous things in thy mind. What was bad thou couldst retain, but what was good thou couldst not abide to think of; thy age, therefore, and thy pretended craziness, thou makest use of to blind the court withal, and as a cloak to cover thy knavery. But let us hear what the witnesses have to say for the King against the prisoner at the bar. Is he guilty of this indictment, or not?’

Hate. My lord, I have heard this Forget-Good say, that he could never abide to think of goodness, no, not for a quarter of an hour.

Clerk. Where did you hear him say so?

Hate. In All-base Lane, at a house next door to the sign of the Conscience seared with a hot iron.

Clerk. Mr. Know-All, what can you say for our Lord the King against the prisoner at the bar?

Know. My lord, I know this man well. He is a Diabolonian, the son of a Diabolonian: his father’s name was Love-Naught; and for him, I have often heard him say, that he counted the very thoughts of goodness the most burdensome thing in the world.

Clerk. Where have you heard him say these words?

Know. In Flesh Lane, right opposite to the church.

Then said the Clerk, ‘Come, Mr. Tell-True, give in your evidence concerning the prisoner at the bar, about that for which he stands here, as you see, indicted by this honourable Court.’

Tell. My lord, I have heard him often say he had rather think of the vilest thing than of what is contained in the Holy Scriptures.

Clerk. Where did you hear him say such grievous words?

Tell. Where?–in a great many places, particularly in Nauseous Street, in the house of one Shameless, and in Filth Lane, at the sign of the Reprobate, next door to the Descent into the Pit.

Court. Gentlemen, you have heard the indictment, his plea, and the testimony of the witnesses. Gaoler, set Mr. Hard-Heart to the bar.

He is set to the bar.

Clerk. Mr. Hard-Heart, thou art here indicted by the name of Hard- Heart, (an intruder upon the town of Mansoul,) for that thou didst most desperately and wickedly possess the town of Mansoul with impenitency and obdurateness; and didst keep them from remorse and sorrow for their evils, all the time of their apostacy from and rebellion against the blessed King Shaddai. What sayest thou to this indictment? Art thou guilty, or not guilty?

Hard. My lord, I never knew what remorse or sorrow meant in all my life. I am impenetrable. I care for no man; nor can I be pierced with men’s griefs; their groans will not enter into my heart. Whomsoever I mischief, whomsoever I wrong, to me it is music, when to others mourning.

Court. You see the man is a right Diabolonian, and has convicted himself. Set him by, gaoler, and set Mr. False-Peace to the bar.

False-Peace set to the bar.

“Mr. False-Peace, thou art here indicted by the name of False- Peace, (an intruder upon the town of Mansoul,) for that thou didst most wickedly and satanically bring, hold, and keep the town of Mansoul, both in her apostacy and in her hellish rebellion, in a false, groundless, and dangerous peace, and damnable security, to the dishonour of the King, the transgression of his law, and the great damage of the town of Mansoul. What sayest thou? Art thou guilty of this indictment, or not?

Then said Mr. False-Peace: ‘Gentlemen, and you now appointed to be my judges, I acknowledge that my name is Mr. Peace; but that my name is False-Peace I utterly deny. If your honours shall please to send for any that do intimately know me, or for the midwife that laid my mother of me, or for the gossips that were at my christening, they will, any or all of them, prove that my name is not False-Peace, but Peace. Wherefore I cannot plead to this indictment, forasmuch as my name is not inserted therein; and as is my true name, so are also my conditions. I was always a man that loved to live at quiet, and what I loved myself, that I thought others might love also. Wherefore, when I saw any of my neighbours to labour under a disquieted mind, I endeavoured to help them what I could; and instances of this good temper of mine many I could give; as,

‘1. When, at the beginning, our town of Mansoul did decline the ways of Shaddai, they, some of them, afterwards began to have disquieting reflections upon themselves for what they had done; but I, as one troubled to see them disquieted, presently sought out means to get them quiet again.

‘2. When the ways of the old world, and of Sodom, were in fashion, if anything happened to molest those that were for the customs of the present times, I laboured to make them quiet again, and to cause them to act without molestation.

‘3. To come nearer home: when the wars fell out between Shaddai and Diabolus, if at any time I saw any of the town of Mansoul afraid of destruction, I often used, by some way, device, invention, or other, to labour to bring them to peace again. Wherefore, since I have been always a man of so virtuous a temper as some say a peace-maker is, and if a peace-maker be so deserving a man as some have been bold to attest he is, then let me, gentlemen, be accounted by you, who have a great name for justice and equity in Mansoul, for a man that deserveth not this inhuman way of treatment, but liberty, and also a license to seek damage of those that have been my accusers.’

Then said the clerk, ‘Crier, make a proclamation.’

Crier. Oyes! Forasmuch as the prisoner at the bar hath denied his name to be that which is mentioned in the indictment, the Court requireth that if there be any in this place that can give information to the Court of the original and right name of the prisoner, they would come forth and give in their evidence; for the prisoner stands upon his own innocency.

Then came two into the court, and desired that they might have leave to speak what they knew concerning the prisoner at the bar: the name of the one was Search-Truth, and the name of the other Vouch-Truth. So the Court demanded of these men if they knew the prisoner, and what they could say concerning him, ‘for he stands,’ said they, ‘upon his own vindication.’

Then said Mr. Search-Truth, ‘My Lord, I–‘

Court. Hold! give him his oath.

Then they sware him. So he proceeded.

Search. My lord, I know and have known this man from a child, and can attest that his name is False-Peace. I know his father; his name was Mr. Flatter: and his mother, before she was married, was called by the name of Mrs. Sooth-Up: and these two, when they came together, lived not long without this son; and when he was born, they called his name False-Peace. I was his play-fellow, only I was somewhat older than he; and when his mother did use to call him home from his play, she used to say, ‘False-Peace, False-Peace, come home quick, or I’ll fetch you.’ Yea, I knew him when he sucked; and though I was then but little, yet I can remember that when his mother did use to sit at the door with him, or did play with him in her arms, she would call him, twenty times together, ‘My little False-Peace! my pretty False-Peace!’ and, ‘Oh! my sweet rogue, False-Peace!’ and again, ‘Oh! my little bird, False-Peace!’ and ‘How do I love my child!’ The gossips also know it is thus, though he has had the face to deny it in open court.

Then Mr. Vouch-Truth was called upon to speak what he knew of him. So they sware him.

Then said Mr. Vouch-Truth, ‘My lord, all that the former witness hath said is true. His name is False-Peace, the son of Mr. Flatter, and of Mrs. Sooth-Up, his mother: and I have in former times seen him angry with those that have called him anything else but False-Peace, for he would say that all such did mock and nickname him; but this was in the time when Mr. False-Peace was a great man, and when the Diabolonians were the brave men in Mansoul.

Court. Gentlemen, you have heard what these two men have sworn against the prisoner at the bar. And now, Mr. False-Peace, to you: you have denied your name to be False-Peace, yet you see that these honest men have sworn that that is your name. As to your plea, in that you are quite besides the matter of your indictment, you are not by it charged for evil-doing because you are a man of peace, or a peace-maker among your neighbours; but for that you did wickedly and satanically bring, keep, and hold the town of Mansoul, both under its apostasy from, and in its rebellion against its King, in a false, lying, and damnable peace, contrary to the law of Shaddai, and to the hazard of the destruction of the then miserable town of Mansoul. All that you have pleaded for yourself is, that you have denied your name, etc.; but here, you see, we have witnesses to prove that you are the man. For the peace that you so much boast of making among your neighbours, know that peace that is not a companion of truth and holiness, but that which is without this foundation, is grounded upon a lie, and is both deceitful and damnable, as also the great Shaddai hath said. Thy plea, therefore, has not delivered thee from what by the indictment thou art charged with, but rather it doth fasten all upon thee. But thou shalt have very fair play. Let us call the witnesses that are to testify as to matter of fact, and see what they have to say for our Lord the King against the prisoner at the bar.

Clerk. Mr. Know-All, what say you for our Lord the King against the prisoner at the bar?

Know. My lord, this man hath of a long time made it, to my knowledge, his business to keep the town of Mansoul in a sinful quietness in the midst of all her lewdness, filthiness, and turmoils, and hath said, and that in my hearing, Come, come, let us fly from all trouble, on what ground soever it comes, and let us be for a quiet and peaceable life, though it wanteth a good foundation.

Clerk. Come, Mr. Hate-Lies, what have you to say?

Hate. My lord, I have heard him say, that peace, though in a way of unrighteousness, is better than trouble with truth.

Clerk. Where did you hear him say this?

Hate. I heard him say it in Folly-yard, at the house of one Mr. Simple, next door to the sign of the Self-deceiver. Yea, he hath said this to my knowledge twenty times in that place.

Clerk. We may spare further witness; this evidence is plain and full. Set him by, gaoler, and set Mr. No-Truth to the bar. Mr. No-Truth, thou art here indicted by the name of No-Truth, (an intruder upon the town of Mansoul,) for that thou hast always, to the dishonour of Shaddai, and the endangering of the utter ruin of the famous town of Mansoul, set thyself to deface, and utterly to spoil, all the remainders of the law and image of Shaddai that have been found in Mansoul after her deep apostasy from her king to Diabolus, the envious tyrant. What sayest thou, art thou guilty of this indictment, or not?

No. Not guilty, my lord.

Then the witnesses were called, and Mr. Know-All did first give in his evidence against him.

Know. My lord, this man was at the pulling down of the image of Shaddai; yea, this is he that did it with his own hands. I myself stood by and saw him do it, and he did it at the commandment of Diabolus. Yea, this Mr. No-Truth did more than this, he did also set up the horned image of the beast Diabolus in the same place. This also is he that, at the bidding of Diabolus, did rend and tear, and cause to be consumed, all that he could of the remainders of the law of the King, even whatever he could lay his hands on in Mansoul.

Clerk. Who saw him do this besides yourself?

Hate. I did, my lord, and so did many more besides; for this was not done by stealth, or in a corner, but in the open view of all; yea, he chose himself to do it publicly, for he delighted in the doing of it.

Clerk. Mr. No-Truth, how could you have the face to plead not guilty, when you were so manifestly the doer of all this wickedness?

No. Sir, I thought I must say something, and as my name is, so I speak. I have been advantaged thereby before now, and did not know but by speaking no truth, I might have reaped the same benefit now.

Clerk. Set him by, gaoler, and set Mr. Pitiless to the bar. Mr. Pitiless, thou art here indicted by the name of Pitiless, (an intruder upon the town of Mansoul,) for that thou didst most traitorously and wickedly shut up all bowels of compassion, and wouldest not suffer poor Mansoul to condole her own misery when she had apostatised from her rightful King, but didst evade, and at all times turn her mind awry from those thoughts that had in them a tendency to lead her to repentance. What sayest thou to this indictment? Guilty or not guilty?

‘Not guilty of pitilessness: all I did was to cheer up, according to my name, for my name is not Pitiless, but Cheer-up; and I could not abide to see Mansoul inclined to melancholy.’

Clerk. How! do you deny your name, and say it is not Pitiless, but Cheer-up? Call for the witnesses. What say you, the witnesses, to this plea?

Know. My lord, his name is Pitiless; so he hath written himself in all papers of concern wherein he has had to do. But these Diabolonians love to counterfeit their names: Mr. Covetousness covers himself with the name of Good-Husbandry, or the like; Mr. Pride can, when need is, call himself Mr. Neat, Mr. Handsome, or the like; and so of all the rest of them.

Clerk. Mr. Tell-True, what say you?

Tell. His name is Pitiless, my lord. I have known him from a child, and he hath done all that wickedness whereof he stands charged in the indictment; but there is a company of them that are not acquainted with the danger of damning, therefore they call all those melancholy that have serious thoughts how that state should be shunned by them.

Clerk. Set Mr. Haughty to the bar, gaoler. Mr. Haughty, thou art here indicted by the name of Haughty, (an intruder upon the town of Mansoul,) for that thou didst most traitorously and devilishly teach the town of Mansoul to carry it loftily and stoutly against the summons that was given them by the captains of the King Shaddai. Thou didst also teach the town of Mansoul to speak contemptuously and vilifyingly of their great King Shaddai; and didst moreover encourage, both by words and examples, Mansoul, to take up arms both against the King and his son Emmanuel. How sayest thou, art thou guilty of this indictment, or not?

Haughty. Gentlemen, I have always been a man of courage and valour, and have not used, when under the greatest clouds, to sneak or hang down the head like a bulrush; nor did it at all at any time please me to see men veil their bonnets to those that have opposed them; yea, though their adversaries seemed to have ten times the advantage of them. I did not use to consider who was my foe, nor what the cause was in which I was engaged. It was enough to me if I carried it bravely, fought like a man, and came off a victor.

Court. Mr. Haughty, you are not here indicted for that you have been a valiant man, nor for your courage and stoutness in times of distress, but for that you have made use of this your pretended valour to draw the town of Mansoul into acts of rebellion both against the great King, and Emmanuel his Son. This is the crime and the thing wherewith thou art charged in and by the indictment.

But he made no answer to that.

Now when the Court had thus far proceeded against the prisoners at the bar, then they put them over to the verdict of their jury, to whom they did apply themselves after this manner:

‘Gentlemen of the jury, you have been here, and have seen these men; you have heard their indictments, their pleas, and what the witnesses have testified against them: now what remains, is, that you do forthwith withdraw yourselves to some place, where without confusion you may consider of what verdict, in a way of truth and righteousness, you ought to bring in for the King against them, and so bring it in accordingly.’

Then the jury, to wit, Mr. Belief, Mr. True-Heart, Mr. Upright, Mr. Hate-bad, Mr. Love-God, Mr. See-Truth, Mr. Heavenly-Mind, Mr. Moderate, Mr. Thankful, Mr. Humble, Mr. Good-Work, and Mr. Zeal- for-God, withdrew themselves in order to their work. Now when they were shut up by themselves, they fell to discourse among themselves in order to the drawing up of their verdict.

And thus Mr. Belief (for he was the foreman) began: ‘Gentlemen,’ quoth he, ‘for the men, the prisoners at the bar, for my part I believe that they all deserve death.’ ‘Very right,’ said Mr. True- Heart; ‘I am wholly of your opinion.’ ‘Oh what a mercy is it,’ said Mr. Hate-Bad, ‘that such villains as these are apprehended!’ ‘Ay! ay!’ said Mr. Love-God, ‘this is one of the joyfullest days that ever I saw in my life.’ Then said Mr. See-Truth, ‘I know that if we judge them to death, our verdict shall stand before Shaddai himself’ ‘Nor do I at all question it,’ said Mr. Heavenly-Mind; he said, moreover, ‘When all such beasts as these are cast out of Mansoul, what a goodly town will it be then!’ ‘Then,’ said Mr. Moderate, ‘it is not my manner to pass my judgment with rashness; but for these their crimes are so notorious, and the witness so palpable, that that man must be wilfully blind who saith the prisoners ought not to die.’ ‘Blessed be God,’ said Mr. Thankful, ‘that the traitors are in safe custody.’ ‘And I join with you in this upon my bare knees,’ said Mr. Humble. ‘I am glad also,’ said Mr. Good-Work. Then said the warm man, and true-hearted Mr. Zeal- for-God, ‘Cut them off; they have been the plague, and have sought the destruction of Mansoul.’

Thus, therefore, being all agreed in their verdict, they come instantly into the Court.

Clerk. Gentlemen of the jury, answer all to your names: Mr. Belief, one; Mr. True-Heart, two; Mr. Upright, three; Mr. Hate-Bad, four; Mr. Love-God, five; Mr. See-Truth, six; Mr. Heavenly-mind, seven; Mr. Moderate, eight; Mr. Thankful, nine; Mr. Humble, ten; Mr. Good-Work, eleven; and Mr. Zeal-for-God, twelve. Good men and true, stand together in your verdict: are you all agreed?

Jury. Yes, my lord.

Clerk. Who shall speak for you?

Jury. Our foreman.

Clerk. You, the gentlemen of the jury, being empannelled for our Lord the King, to serve here in a matter of life and death, have heard the trials of each of these men, the prisoners at the bar: what say you? are they guilty of that, and those crimes for which they stand here indicted, or are they not guilty?

Foreman. Guilty, my lord.

Clerk. Look to your prisoners, gaoler.

This was done in the morning, and in the afternoon they received the sentence of death according to the law.

The gaoler, therefore, having received such a charge, put them all in the inward prison, to preserve them there till the day of execution, which was to be the next day in the morning.

But now to see how it happened, one of the prisoners, Incredulity by name, in the interim betwixt the sentence and the time of execution, brake prison and made his escape, and gets him away quite out of the town of Mansoul, and lay lurking in such places and holes as he might, until he should again have opportunity to do the town of Mansoul a mischief for their thus handling of him as they did.

Now when Mr. Trueman, the gaoler, perceived that he had lost his prisoner, he was in a heavy taking, because that prisoner was, to speak on, the very worst of all the gang: wherefore first he goes and acquaints my Lord Mayor, Mr. Recorder, and my Lord Willbewill, with the matter, and to get of them an order to make search for him throughout the town of Mansoul. So an order he got, and search was made, but no such man could now be found in all the town of Mansoul.

All that could be gathered was, that he had lurked a while about the outside of the town, and that here and there one or other had a glimpse of him as he did make his escape out of Mansoul; one or two also did affirm that they saw him without the town, going apace quite over the plain. Now when he was quite gone, it was affirmed by one Mr. Did-see, that he ranged all over dry places, till he met with Diabolus, his friend, and where should they meet one another but just upon Hell-gate hill.

But oh! what a lamentable story did the old gentleman tell to Diabolus concerning what sad alteration Emmanuel had made in Mansoul!

As, first, how Mansoul had, after some delays, received a general pardon at the hands of Emmanuel, and that they had invited him into the town, and that they had given him the castle for his possession. He said, moreover, that they had called his soldiers into the town, coveted who should quarter the most of them; they also entertained him with the timbrel, song, and dance. ‘But that,’ said Incredulity, ‘which is the sorest vexation to me is, that he hath pulled down, O father, thy image, and set up his own; pulled down thy officers and set up his own. Yea, and Willbewill, that rebel, who, one would have thought, should never have turned from us, he is now in as great favour with Emmanuel as ever he was with thee. But, besides all this, this Willbewill has received a special commission from his master to search for, to apprehend, and to put to death all, and all manner of Diabolonians that he shall find in Mansoul: yea, and this Willbewill has taken and committed to prison already eight of my Lord’s most trusty friends in Mansoul. Nay, further, my Lord, with grief I speak it, they have been all arraigned, condemned, and, I doubt, before this executed in Mansoul. I told my Lord of eight, and myself was the ninth, who should assuredly have drunk of the same cup, but that through craft, I, as thou seest, have made mine escape from them.’

When Diabolus had heard this lamentable story, he yelled and snuffed up the wind like a dragon, and made the sky to look dark with his roaring; he also sware that he would try to be revenged on Mansoul for this. So they, both he and his old friend Incredulity, concluded to enter into great consultation, how they might get the town of Mansoul again.

Now, before this time, the day was come in which the prisoners in Mansoul were to be executed. So they were brought to the cross, and that by Mansoul, in most solemn manner; for the Prince said that this should be done by the hand of the town of Mansoul, ‘that I may see,’ said he, ‘the forwardness of my now redeemed Mansoul to keep my word, and to do my commandments; and that I may bless Mansoul in doing this deed. Proof of sincerity pleases me well; let Mansoul therefore first lay their hands upon these Diabolonians to destroy them.’

So the town of Mansoul slew them, according to the word of their Prince; but when the prisoners were brought to the cross to die, you can hardly believe what troublesome work Mansoul had of it to put the Diabolonians to death; for the men, knowing that they must die, and every of them having implacable enmity in their hearts to Mansoul, what did they but took courage at the cross, and there resisted the men of the town of Mansoul? Wherefore the men of Mansoul were forced to cry out for help to the captains and men of war. Now the great Shaddai had a secretary in the town, and he was a great lover of the men of Mansoul, and he was at the place of execution also; so he, hearing the men of Mansoul cry out against the strugglings and unruliness of the prisoners, rose up from his place, and came and put his hands upon the hands of the men of Mansoul. So they crucified the Diabolonians that had been a plague, a grief, and an offence to the town of Mansoul.

Now, when this good work was done, the Prince came down to see, to visit, and to speak comfortably to the men of Mansoul, and to strengthen their hands in such work. And he said to them that, by this act of theirs he had proved them, and found them to be lovers of his person, observers of his laws, and such as had also respect to his honour. He said, moreover, (to show them that they by this should not be losers, nor their town weakened by the loss of them,) that he would make them another captain, and that of one of themselves. And that this captain should be the ruler of a thousand, for the good and benefit of the now flourishing town of Mansoul.

So he called one to him whose name was Waiting, and bid him, ‘Go quickly up to the castle gate, and inquire there for one Mr. Experience, that waiteth upon that noble captain, the Captain Credence, and bid him come hither to me.’ So the messenger that waited upon the good Prince Emmanuel went and said as he was commanded. Now the young gentleman was waiting to see the captain train and muster his men in the castle yard. Then said Mr. Waiting to him, ‘Sir, the Prince would that you should come down to his highness forthwith.’ So he brought him down to Emmanuel, and he came and made obeisance before him. Now the men of the town knew Mr. Experience well, for he was born and bred in Mansoul; they also knew him to be a man of conduct, of valour, and a person prudent in matters; he was also a comely person, well-spoken, and very successful in his undertakings.

Wherefore the hearts of the townsmen were transported with joy when they saw that the Prince himself was so taken with Mr. Experience, that he would needs make him a captain over a band of men.

So with one consent they bowed the knee before Emmanuel, and with a shout said, ‘Let Emmanuel live for ever!’ Then said the Prince to the young gentleman, whose name was Mr. Experience, ‘I have thought good to confer upon thee a place of trust and honour in this my town of Mansoul.’ Then the young man bowed his head and worshipped. ‘It is,’ said Emmanuel, ‘that thou shouldest be a captain, a captain over a thousand men in my beloved town of Mansoul.’ Then said the captain, ‘Let the King live!’ So the Prince gave out orders forthwith to the King’s secretary, that he should draw up for Mr. Experience a commission to make him a captain over a thousand men. ‘And let it be brought to me,’ said he, ‘that I may set to my seal.’ So it was done as it was commanded. The commission was drawn up, brought to Emmanuel, and he set his seal thereto. Then, by the hand of Mr. Waiting, he sent it away to the captain.

Now as soon as the captain had received his commission, he sounded his trumpet for volunteers, and young men came to him apace; yea, the greatest and chief men in the town sent their sons, to be listed under his command. Thus Captain Experience came under command to Emmanuel, for the good of the town of Mansoul. He had for his lieutenant one Mr. Skilful, and for his cornet one Mr. Memory. His under officers I need not name. His colours were the white colours for the town of Mansoul; and his scutcheon was the dead lion and dead bear. So the Prince returned to his royal palace again.

Now when he was returned thither, the elders of the town of Mansoul, to wit, the Lord Mayor, the Recorder, and the Lord Willbewill, went to congratulate him, and in special way to thank him for his love, care, and the tender compassion which he showed to his ever-obliged town of Mansoul. So after a while, and some sweet communion between them, the townsmen having solemnly ended their ceremony, returned to their place again.

Emmanuel also at this time appointed them a day wherein he would renew their charter, yea, wherein he would renew and enlarge it, mending several faults therein, that Mansoul’s yoke might be yet more easy. And this he did without any desire of theirs, even of his own frankness and noble mind. So when he had sent for and seen their old one, he laid it by, and said, ‘Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.’ He said, moreover, ‘The town of Mansoul shall have another, a better, a new one, more steady and firm by far.’ An epitome hereof take as follows:-

‘Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, and a great lover of the town of Mansoul, I do in the name of my Father, and of mine own clemency, give, grant, and bequeath to my beloved town of Mansoul.

‘First. Free, full, and everlasting forgiveness of all wrongs, injuries, and offences done by them against my Father, me, their neighbour, or themselves.

‘Second. I do give them the holy law and my testament, with all that therein is contained, for their everlasting comfort and consolation.

‘Third. I do also give them a portion of the self-same grace and goodness that dwells in my Father’s heart and mine.

‘Fourth. I do give, grant, and bestow upon them freely, the world and what is therein, for their good; and they shall have that power over them, as shall stand with the honour of my Father, my glory, and their comfort: yea, I grant them the benefits of life and death, and of things present, and things to come. This privilege no other city, town, or corporation, shall have, but my Mansoul only.

‘Fifth. I do give and grant them leave, and free access to me in my palace at all seasons–to my palace above or below–there to make known their wants to me, and I give them, moreover, a promise that I will hear and redress all their grievances.

‘Sixth. I do give, grant to, and invest the town of Mansoul with full power and authority to seek out, take, enslave, and destroy all, and all manner of Diabolonians that at any time, from whencesoever, shall be found straggling in or about the town of Mansoul.

‘Seventh. I do further grant to my beloved town of Mansoul, that they shall have authority not to suffer any foreigner, or stranger, or their seed, to be free in, and of the blessed town of Mansoul, nor to share in the excellent privileges thereof. But that all the grants, privileges, and immunities that I bestow upon the famous town of Mansoul, shall be for those the old natives, and true inhabitants thereof; to them, I say, and to their right seed after them.

‘But all Diabolonians, of what sort, birth, country, or kingdom soever, shall be debarred a share therein.’

So when the town of Mansoul had received at the hand of Emmanuel their gracious charter, (which in itself is infinitely more large than by this lean epitome is set before you,) they carried it to audience, that is, to the market place, and there Mr. Recorder read it in the presence of all the people. This being done, it was had back to the castle gates, and there fairly engraven upon the doors thereof, and laid in letters of gold, to the end that the town of Mansoul, with all the people thereof, might have it always in their view, or might go where they might see what a blessed freedom their Prince had bestowed upon them, that their joy might be increased in themselves, and their love renewed to their great and good Emmanuel.

But what joy, what comfort, what consolation, think you, did now possess the hearts of the men of Mansoul! The bells rung, the minstrels played, the people danced, the captains shouted, the colours waved in the wind, and the silver trumpets sounded; and the Diabolonians now were glad to hide their heads, for they looked like them that had been long dead.

When this was over, the Prince sent again for the elders of the town of Mansoul, and communed with them about a ministry that he intended to establish among them; such a ministry that might open unto them, and that might instruct them in the things that did concern their present and future state.

‘For,’ said he, ‘you, of yourselves, unless you have teachers and guides, will not be able to know, and, if not to know, to be sure not to do the will of my Father.’

At this news, when the elders of Mansoul brought it to the people, the whole town came running together, (for it pleased them well, as whatever the Prince now did pleased the people,) and all with one consent implored his Majesty that he would forthwith establish such a ministry among them as might teach them both law and judgment, statute and commandment; that they might be documented in all good and wholesome things. So he told them that he would grant them their requests, and would establish two among them; one that was of his Father’s court, and one that was a native of Mansoul.

‘He that is from the court,’ said he, ‘is a person of no less quality and dignity than my Father and I; and he is the Lord Chief Secretary of my Father’s house: for he is, and always has been, the chief dictator of all my Father’s laws, a person altogether well skilled in all mysteries, and knowledge of mysteries, as is my Father, or as myself is. Indeed he is one with us in nature, and also as to loving of, and being faithful to, and in the eternal concerns of the town of Mansoul.

‘And this is he,’ said the Prince, ‘that must be your chief teacher; for it is he, and he only, that can teach you clearly in all high and supernatural things. He, and he only, it is that knows the ways and methods of my Father at court, nor can any like him show how the heart of my Father is at all times, in all things, upon all occasions, towards Mansoul; for as no man knows the things of a man but that spirit of a man which is in him, so the things of my Father knows no man but this his high and mighty Secretary. Nor can any, as he, tell Mansoul how and what they shall do to keep themselves in the love of my Father. He also it is that can bring lost things to your remembrance, and that can tell you things to come. This teacher, therefore, must of necessity have the pre- eminence, both in your affections and judgment, before your other teacher; his personal dignity, the excellency of his teaching, also the great dexterity that he hath to help you to make and draw up petitions to my Father for your help, and to his pleasing, must lay obligations upon you to love him, fear him, and to take heed that you grieve him not.

‘This person can put life and vigour into all he says; yea, and can also put it into your heart. This person can make seers of you, and can make you tell what shall be hereafter. By this person you must frame all your petitions to my Father and me; and without his advice and counsel first obtained, let nothing enter into the town or castle of Mansoul, for that may disgust and grieve this noble person.

‘Take heed, I say, that you do not grieve this minister; for if you do, he may fight against you; and should he once be moved by you to set himself against you in battle array, that will distress you more than if twelve legions should from my Father’s court be sent to make war upon you.

‘But, as I said, if you shall hearken unto him, and shall love him; if you shall devote yourselves to his teaching, and shall seek to have converse, and to maintain communion with him, you shall find him ten times better than is the whole world to any; yea, he will shed abroad the love of my Father in your hearts, and Mansoul will be the wisest, and most blessed of all people.’

Then did the Prince call unto him the old gentleman, who before had been the Recorder of Mansoul, Mr. Conscience by name, and told him, That, forasmuch as he was well skilled in the law and government of the town of Mansoul, and was also well-spoken, and could pertinently deliver to them his Master’s will in all terrene and domestic matters, therefore he would also make him a minister for, in, and to the goodly town of Mansoul, in all the laws, statutes, and judgments of the famous town of Mansoul. ‘And thou must,’ said the Prince, ‘confine thyself to the teaching of moral virtues, to civil and natural duties; but thou must not attempt to presume to be a revealer of those high and supernatural mysteries that are kept close in the bosom of Shaddai, my Father: for those things knows no man, nor can any reveal them but my Father’s Secretary only.

‘Thou art a native of the town of Mansoul, but the Lord Secretary is a native with my Father; wherefore, as thou hast knowledge of the laws and customs of the corporation, so he of the things and will of my Father.

‘Wherefore, O Mr. Conscience, although I have made thee a minister and a preacher to the town of Mansoul, yet as to the things which the Lord Secretary knoweth, and shall teach to this people, there thou must be his scholar and a learner, even as the rest of Mansoul are.

‘Thou must therefore, in all high and supernatural things, go to him for information and knowledge; for though there be a spirit in man, this person’s inspiration must give him understanding. Wherefore, O thou Mr. Recorder, keep low and be humble, and remember that the Diabolonians that kept not their first charge, but left their own standing, are now made prisoners in the pit. Be therefore content with thy station.

‘I have made thee my Father’s vicegerent on earth, in such things of which I have made mention before: and thou, take thou power to teach them to Mansoul, yea, and to impose them with whips and chastisements, if they shall not willingly hearken to do thy commandments.

‘And, Mr. Recorder, because thou art old, and through many abuses made feeble; therefore I give thee leave and license to go when thou wilt to my fountain, my conduit, and there to drink freely of the blood of my grape, for my conduit doth always run wine. Thus doing, thou shalt drive from thine heart and stomach all foul, gross, and hurtful humours. It will also lighten thine eyes, and will strengthen thy memory for the reception and keeping of all that the King’s most noble Secretary teacheth.’

When the Prince had thus put Mr. Recorder (that once so was) into the place and office of a minister to Mansoul, and the man had thankfully accepted thereof, then did Emmanuel address himself in a particular speech to the townsmen themselves.

‘Behold,’ said the Prince to Mansoul, ‘my love and care towards you; I have added to all that is past, this mercy, to appoint you preachers; the most noble Secretary to teach you in all high and sublime mysteries; and this gentleman,’ pointing to Mr. Conscience, ‘is to teach you in all things human and domestic, for therein lieth his work. He is not, by what I have said, debarred of telling to Mansoul anything that he hath heard and received at the mouth of the lord high Secretary; only he shall not attempt to presume to pretend to be a revealer of those high mysteries himself; for the breaking of them up, and the discovery of them to Mansoul lieth only in the power, authority, and skill of the lord high Secretary himself. Talk of them he may, and so may the rest of the town of Mansoul; yea, and may, as occasion gives them opportunity, press them upon each other for the benefit of the whole. These things, therefore, I would have you observe and do, for it is for your life, and the lengthening of your days.

‘And one thing more to my beloved Mr. Recorder, and to all the town of Mansoul: You must not dwell in, nor stay upon, anything of that which he hath in commission to teach you, as to your trust and expectation of the next world; (of the next world, I say, for I purpose to give another to Mansoul, when this with them is worn out;) but for that you must wholly and solely have recourse to, and make stay upon his doctrine that is your Teacher after the first order. Yea, Mr. Recorder himself must not look for life from that which he himself revealeth; his dependence for that must be founded in the doctrine of the other preacher. Let Mr. Recorder also take heed that he receive not any doctrine, or point of doctrine, that is not communicated to him by his Superior Teacher, nor yet within the precincts of his own formal knowledge.’

Now, after the Prince had thus settled things in the famous town of Mansoul, he proceeded to give to the elders of the corporation a necessary caution, to wit, how they should carry it to the high and noble captains that he had, from his Father’s court, sent or brought with him, to the famous town of Mansoul.

‘These captains,’ said he, ‘do love the town of Mansoul, and they are picked men, picked out of abundance, as men that best suit, and that will most faithfully serve in the wars of Shaddai against the Diabolonians, for the preservation of the town of Mansoul. ‘I charge you therefore,’ said he, ‘O ye inhabitants of the now flourishing town of Mansoul, that you carry it not ruggedly or untowardly to my captains, or their men; since, as I said, they are picked and choice men–men chosen out of many for the good of the town of Mansoul. I say, I charge you, that you carry it not untowardly to them: for though they have the hearts and faces of lions, when at any time they shall be called forth to engage and fight with the King’s foes, and the enemies of the town of Mansoul; yet a little discountenance cast upon them from the town of Mansoul will deject and cast down their faces, will weaken and take away their courage. Do not, therefore, O my beloved, carry it unkindly to my valiant captains and courageous men of war, but love them, nourish them, succour them, and lay them in your bosoms; and they will not only fight for you, but cause to fly from you all those the Diabolonians that seek, and will, if possible, be, your utter destruction.

‘If, therefore, any of them should at any time be sick or weak, and so not able to perform that office of love, which, with all their hearts, they are willing to do (and will do also when well and in health), slight them not, nor despise them, but rather strengthen them and encourage them, though weak and ready to die, for they are your fence, and your guard, your wall, your gates, your locks, and your bars. And although, when they are weak, they can do but little, but rather need to be helped by you, than that you should then expect great things from them, yet, when well, you know what exploits, what feats and warlike achievements they are able to do, and will perform for you.

‘Besides, if they be weak, the town of Mansoul cannot be strong; if they be strong, then Mansoul cannot be weak; your safety, therefore, doth lie in their health, and in your countenancing them. Remember, also, that if they be sick, they catch that disease of the town of Mansoul itself.

‘These things I have said unto you because I love your welfare and your honour: observe, therefore, O my Mansoul, to be punctual in all things that I have given in charge unto you, and that not only as a town corporate, and so to your officers and guard, and guides in chief, but to you as you are a people whose well-being, as single persons, depends on the observation of the orders and commandments of their Lord.

‘Next, O my Mansoul, I do warn you of that, of which, notwithstanding that reformation that at present is wrought among you, you have need to be warned about: wherefore hearken diligently unto me. I am now sure, and you will know hereafter, that there are yet of the Diabolonians remaining in the town of Mansoul, Diabolonians that are sturdy and implacable, and that do already while I am with you, and that will yet more when I am from you, study, plot, contrive, invent, and jointly attempt to bring you to desolation, and so to a state far worse than that of the Egyptian bondage; they are the avowed friends of Diabolus, therefore look about you. They used heretofore to lodge with their Prince in the Castle, when Incredulity was the Lord Mayor of this town; but since my coming hither, they lie more in the outsides and walls, and have made themselves dens, and caves, and holes, and strongholds therein. Wherefore, O Mansoul! thy work, as to this, will be so much the more difficult and hard; that is, to take, mortify, and put them to death according to the will of my Father. Nor can you utterly rid yourselves of them, unless you should pull down the walls of your town, the which I am by no means willing you should. Do you ask me, What shall we do then? Why, be you diligent, and quit you like men; observe their holes; find out their haunts; assault them, and make no peace with them. Wherever they haunt, lurk, or abide, and what terms of peace soever they offer you, abhor, and all shall be well betwixt you and me. And that you may the better know them from those that are the natives of Mansoul, I will give you this brief schedule of the names of the chief of them; and they are these that follow:- The Lord Fornication, the Lord Adultery, the Lord Murder, the Lord Anger, the Lord Lasciviousness, the Lord Deceit, the Lord Evil-Eye, Mr. Drunkenness, Mr. Revelling, Mr. Idolatry, Mr. Witch-craft, Mr. Variance, Mr. Emulation, Mr. Wrath, Mr. Strife, Mr. Sedition, and Mr. Heresy. These are some of the chief, O Mansoul! of those that will seek to overthrow thee for ever. These, I say, are the skulkers in Mansoul; but look thou well into the law of thy King, and there thou shalt find their physiognomy, and such other characteristical notes of them, by which they certainly may be known.

‘These, O my Mansoul, (and I would gladly that you should certainly know it,) if they be suffered to run and range about the town as they would, will quickly, like vipers, eat out your bowels; yea, poison your captains, cut the sinews of your soldiers, break the bars and bolts of your gates, and turn your now most flourishing Mansoul into a barren and desolate wilderness, and ruinous heap. Wherefore, that you may take courage to yourselves to apprehend these villains wherever you find them, I give to you, my Lord Mayor, my Lord Willbewill, and Mr. Recorder, with all the inhabitants of the town of Mansoul, full power and commission to seek out, to take, and to cause to be put to death by the cross, all, and all manner of Diabolonians, when and wherever you shall find them to lurk within, or to range without the walls of the town of Mansoul.

‘I told you before that I had placed a standing ministry among you; not that you have but these with you, for my first four captains who came against the master and lord of the Diabolonians that was in Mansoul, they can, and if need be, and if they be required, will not only privately inform, but publicly preach to the corporation both good and wholesome doctrine, and such as shall lead you in the way. Yea, they will set up a weekly, yea, if need be, a daily lecture in thee, O Mansoul! and will instruct thee in such profitable lessons, that, if heeded, will do thee good at the end. And take good heed that you spare not the men that you have a commission to take and crucify.

‘Now, as I have set before your eyes the vagrants and runagates by name, so I will tell you, that among yourselves, some of them shall creep in to beguile you, even such as would seem, and that in appearance are, very rife and hot for religion. And they, if you watch not, will do you a mischief, such an one as at present you cannot think of.

‘These, as I said, will show themselves to you in another hue than those under description before. Wherefore, Mansoul, watch and be sober, and suffer not thyself to be betrayed.’

When the Prince had thus far new modelled the town of Mansoul, and had instructed them in such matters as were profitable for them to know, then he appointed another day in which he intended, when the townsfolk came together, to bestow a further badge of honour upon the town of Mansoul,–a badge that should distinguish them from all the people, kindreds, and tongues that dwell in the kingdom of Universe. Now it was not long before the day appointed was come, and the Prince and his people met in the King’s palace, where first Emmanuel made a short speech unto them, and then did for them as he had said, and unto them as he had promised.

‘My Mansoul,’ said he, ‘that which I now am about to do, is to make you known to the world to be mine, and to distinguish you also in your own eyes, from all false traitors that may creep in among you.’

Then he commanded that those that waited upon him should go and bring forth out of his treasury those white and glistening robes ‘that I,’ said he, ‘have provided and laid up in store for my Mansoul.’ So the white garments were fetched out of his treasury, and laid forth to the eyes of the people. Moreover, it was granted to them that they should take them and put them on, ‘according,’ said he, ‘to your size and stature.’ So the people were put into white, into fine linen, white and clean.

Then said the Prince unto them, ‘This, O Mansoul, is my livery, and the badge by which mine are known from the servants of others. Yea, it is that which I grant to all that are mine, and without which no man is permitted to see my face. Wear them, therefore, for my sake, who gave them unto you; and also if you would be known by the world to be mine.’

But now! can you think how Mansoul shone? It was fair as the sun, clear as the moon, and terrible as an army with banners.

The Prince added further, and said, ‘No prince, potentate, or mighty one of Universe, giveth this livery but myself: behold, therefore, as I said before, you shall be known by it to be mine.

‘And now,’ said he, ‘I have given you my livery, let me give you also in commandment concerning them; and be sure that you take good heed to my words.

‘First. Wear them daily, day by day, lest you should at sometimes appear to others as if you were none of mine.

‘Second. Keep them always white; for if they be soiled, it is dishonour to me.

‘Third. Wherefore gird them up from the ground, and let them not lag with dust and dirt.

‘Fourth. Take heed that you lose them not, lest you walk naked, and they see your shame.

‘Fifth. But if you should sully them, if you should defile them, the which I am greatly unwilling you should, and the prince Diabolus will be glad if you would, then speed you to do that which is written in my law, that yet you may stand, and befall before me, and before my throne. Also, this is the way to cause that I may not leave you, nor forsake you while here, but may dwell in this town of Mansoul for ever.’

And now was Mansoul, and the inhabitants of it, as the signet upon Emmanuel’s right hand. Where was there now a town, a city, a corporation, that could compare with Mansoul! a town redeemed from the hand, and from the power of Diabolus! a town that the King Shaddai loved, and that he sent Emmanuel to regain from the Prince of the infernal cave; yea, a town that Emmanuel loved to dwell in, and that he chose for his royal habitation; a town that he fortified for himself, and made strong by the force of his army. What shall I say, Mansoul has now a most excellent Prince, golden captains and men of war, weapons proved, and garments as white as snow. Nor are these benefits to be counted little, but great; can the town of Mansoul esteem them so, and improve them to that end and purpose for which they are bestowed upon them?

When the Prince had thus completed the modelling of the town, to show that he had great delight in the work of his hands and took pleasure in the good that he had wrought for the famous and flourishing Mansoul, he commanded, and they set his standard upon the battlements of the castle. And then,

First. He gave them frequent visits; not a day now but the elders of Mansoul must come to him, or he to them, into his palace. Now they must walk and talk together of all the great things that he had done, and yet further promised to do, for the town of Mansoul. Thus would he often do with the Lord Mayor, my Lord Willbewill, and the honest subordinate preacher Mr. Conscience, and Mr. Recorder. But oh, how graciously, how lovingly, how courteously, and tenderly did this blessed Prince now carry it towards the town of Mansoul! In all the streets, gardens, orchards, and other places where he came, to be sure the poor should have his blessing and benediction; yea, he would kiss them, and if they were ill he would lay hands on them, and make them well. The captains, also, he would daily, yea, sometimes hourly, encourage with his presence and goodly words. For you must know that a smile from him upon them would put more vigour, more life, and stoutness into them, than would anything else under heaven.

The Prince would now also feast them, and be with them continually: hardly a week would pass but a banquet must be had betwixt him and them. You may remember that, some pages before, we make mention of one feast that they had together; but now to feast them was a thing more common: every day with Mansoul was a feast-day now. Nor did he, when they returned to their places, send them empty away, either they must have a ring, a gold chain, a bracelet, a white stone, or something; so dear was Mansoul to him now; so lovely was Mansoul in his eyes.

Second. When the elders and townsmen did not come to him, he would send in much plenty of provision unto them; meat that came from court, wine and bread that were prepared for his Father’s table; yea, such delicates would he send unto them, and therewith would so cover their table, that whoever saw it confessed that the like could not be seen in any kingdom.

Third. If Mansoul did not frequently visit him as he desired they should, he would walk out to them, knock at their doors, and desire entrance, that amity might be maintained betwixt them and him; if they did hear and open to him, as commonly they would, if they were at home, then would he renew his former love, and confirm it too with some new tokens, and signs of continued favour.

And was it not now amazing to behold, that in that very place where sometimes Diabolus had his abode, and entertained his Diabolonians to the almost utter destruction of Mansoul, the Prince of princes should sit eating and drinking with them, while all his mighty captains, men of war, trumpeters, with the singing-men and singing- women of his Father, stood round about to wait upon them! Now did Mansoul’s cup run over, now did her conduits run sweet wine, now did she eat the finest of the wheat, and drink milk and honey out of the rock! Now, she said, How great is his goodness! for since I found favour in his eyes, how honourable have I been!

The blessed Prince did also ordain a new officer in the town, and a goodly person he was; his name was Mr. God’s-Peace: this man was set over my Lord Willbewill, my Lord Mayor, Mr. Recorder, the subordinate preacher, Mr. Mind, and over all the natives of the town of Mansoul. Himself was not a native of it, but came with the Prince Emmanuel from the court. He was a great acquaintance of Captain Credence and Captain Good-Hope; some say they were kin, and I am of that opinion too. This man, as I said, was made governor of the town in general, especially over the castle, and Captain Credence was to help him there. And I made great observation of it, that so long as all things went in Mansoul as this sweet- natured gentleman would, the town was in most happy condition. Now there were no jars, no chiding, no interferings, no unfaithful doings in all the town of Mansoul; every man in Mansoul kept close to his own employment. The gentry, the officers, the soldiers, and all in place observed their order. And as for the women and children of the town, they followed their business joyfully; they would work and sing, work and sing, from morning till night: so that quite through the town of Mansoul now nothing was to be found but harmony, quietness, joy, and health. And this lasted all that summer.

But there was a man in the town of Mansoul, and his name was Mr. Carnal-Security; this man did, after all this mercy bestowed on this corporation, bring the town of Mansoul into great and grievous slavery and bondage. A brief account of him and of his doings take as followeth:-

When Diabolus at first took possession of the town of Mansoul, he brought thither, with himself, a great number of Diabolonians, men of his own conditions. Now among these there was one whose name was Mr. Self-Conceit, and a notable brisk man he was, as any that in those days did possess the town of Mansoul. Diabolus, then, perceiving this man to be active and bold, sent him upon many desperate designs, the which he managed better, and more to the pleasing of his lord, than most that came with him from the dens could do. Wherefore, finding him so fit for his purpose, he preferred him, and made him next to the great Lord Willbewill, of whom we have written so much before. Now the Lord Willbewill being in those days very well pleased with him, and with his achievements, gave him his daughter, the Lady Fear-Nothing, to wife. Now, of my Lady Fear-nothing, did this Mr. Self-Conceit beget this gentleman, Mr. Carnal-Security. Wherefore, there being then in Mansoul those strange kinds of mixtures, it was hard for them, in some cases, to find out who were natives, who not, for Mr. Carnal-Security sprang from my Lord Willbewill by mother’s side, though he had for his father a Diabolonian by nature.

Well, this Carnal-Security took much after his father and mother; he was self-conceited, he feared nothing, he was also a very busy man: nothing of news, nothing of doctrine, nothing of alteration, or talk of alteration, could at any time be on foot in Mansoul, but be sure Mr. Carnal-Security would be at the head or tail of it: but, to be sure, he would decline those that he deemed the weakest, and stood always with them in his way of standing, that he supposed was the strongest side.

Now, when Shaddai the mighty, and Emmanuel his Son, made war upon Mansoul, to take it, this Mr. Carnal-Security was then in town, and was a great doer among the people, encouraging them in their rebellion, putting them upon hardening themselves in their resisting the King’s forces: but when he saw that the town of Mansoul was taken, and converted to the use of the glorious Prince Emmanuel; and when he also saw what was become of Diabolus, and how he was unroosted, and made to quit the castle in the greatest contempt and scorn; and that the town of Mansoul was well lined with captains, engines of war, and men, and also provision; what doth he but slyly wheel about also; and as he had served Diabolus against the good Prince, so he feigned that he would serve the Prince against his foes.

And having got some little smattering of Emmanuel’s things by the end, being bold, he ventures himself into the company of the townsmen, any attempts also to chat among them. Now he knew that the power and strength of the town of Mansoul was great, and that it could not but be pleasing to the people, if he cried up their might and their glory. Wherefore he beginneth his tale with the power and strength of Mansoul, and affirmed that it was impregnable; now magnifying their captains and their slings, and their rams; then crying up their fortifications and strongholds; and, lastly, the assurances that they had from their Prince, that Mansoul should be happy for ever. But when he saw that some of the men of the town were tickled and taken with his discourse, he makes it his business, and walking from street to street, house to house, and man to man, he at last brought Mansoul to dance after his pipe, and to grow almost as carnally secure as himself; so from talking they went to feasting, and from feasting to sporting; and so to some other matters. Now Emmanuel was yet in the town of Mansoul, and he wisely observed their doings. My Lord Mayor, my Lord Willbewill, and Mr. Recorder were also all taken with the words of this tattling Diabolonian gentleman, forgetting that their Prince had given them warning before to take heed that they were not beguiled with any Diabolonian sleight; he had further told them that the security of the now flourishing town of Mansoul did not so much lie in her present fortifications and force, as in her so using of what she had, as might oblige her Emmanuel to abide within her castle. For the right doctrine of Emmanuel was, that the town of Mansoul should take heed that they forgot not his Father’s love and his; also, that they should so demean themselves as to continue to keep themselves therein. Now this was not the way to do it, namely, to fall in love with one of the Diabolonians, and with such an one too as Mr. Carnal-Security was, and to be led up and down by the nose by him; they should have heard their Prince, feared their Prince, loved their Prince, and have stoned this naughty pack to death, and took care to have walked in the ways of their Prince’s prescribing: for then should their peace have been as a river, when their righteousness had been like the waves of the sea.

Now when Emmanuel perceived that through the policy of Mr. Carnal- Security the hearts of the men of Mansoul were chilled and abated in their practical love to him,

First. He bemoans them, and, condoles their state with the Secretary, saying, ‘Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and that Mansoul had walked in my ways! I would have fed them with the finest of the wheat; and with honey out of the rock would I have sustained them.’ This done, he said in his heart, ‘I will return to the court, and go to my place, till Mansoul shall consider and acknowledge their offence.’ And he did so, and the cause and manner of his going away from them was, that Mansoul declined him, as is manifest in these particulars.

‘1. They left off their former way of visiting him, they came not to his royal palace as afore.

‘2. They did not regard, nor yet take notice, that he came or came not to visit them.

‘3. The love-feasts that had wont to be between their Prince and them, though he made them still, and called them to them, yet they neglected to come to them, or to be delighted with them.

‘4. They waited not for his counsels, but began to be headstrong and confident in themselves, concluding that now they were strong and invincible, and that Mansoul was secure, and beyond all reach of the foe, and that her state must needs be unalterable for ever.’

Now, as was said, Emmanuel perceiving that by the craft of Mr. Carnal-Security, the town of Mansoul was taken off from their dependence upon him, and upon his Father by him, and set upon what by them was bestowed upon it; he first, as I said, bemoaned their state, then he used means to make them understand that the way that they went on in was dangerous: for he sent my Lord High Secretary to them, to forbid them such ways; but twice when he came to them, he found them at dinner in Mr. Carnal-Security’s parlour; and perceiving also that they were not willing to reason about matters concerning their good, he took grief and went his way; the which when he had told to the Prince Emmanuel, he took offence, and was grieved also, and so made provision to return to his Father’s court.

Now, the methods of his withdrawing, as I was saying before, were thus:-

‘1. Even while he was yet with them in Mansoul, he kept himself close, and more retired than formerly.

‘2. His speech was not now, if he came in their company, so pleasant and familiar as formerly.

‘3. Nor did he, as in times past, send to Mansoul, from his table, those dainty bits which he was wont to do.

‘4. Nor when they came to visit him, as now and then they would, would he be so easily spoken with as they found him to be in times past. They might now knock once, yea, twice, but he would seem not at all to regard them; whereas formerly at the sound of their feet he would up and run, and meet them halfway, and take them too, and lay them in his bosom.’

But thus Emmanuel carried it now, and by this his carriage he sought to make them bethink themselves, and return to him. But, alas! they did not consider, they did not know his ways, they regarded not, they were not touched with these, nor with the true remembrance of former favours. Wherefore what does he but in private manner withdraw himself, first from his palace, then to the gate of the town, and so away from Mansoul he goes, till they should acknowledge their offence, and more earnestly seek his face. Mr. God’s-Peace also laid down his commission, and would for the present act no longer in the town of Mansoul.

Thus they walked contrary to him, and he again, by way of retaliation, walked contrary to them. But, alas! by this time they were so hardened in their way, and had so drunk in the doctrine of Mr. Carnal-Security, that the departing of their Prince touched them not, nor was he remembered by them when gone; and so, of consequence, his absence not condoled by them.

Now, there was a day wherein this old gentleman, Mr. Carnal- Security, did again make a feast for the town of Mansoul; and there was at that time in the town one Mr. Godly-Fear, one now but little set by, though formerly one of great request. This man, old Carnal-Security, had a mind, if possible, to gull, and debauch, and abuse, as he did the rest, and therefore he now bids him to the feast with his neighbours. So the day being come, they prepare, and he goes and appears with the rest of the guests; and being all set at the table, they did eat and drink, and were merry, even all but this one man: for Mr. Godly-Fear sat like a stranger, and did neither eat nor was merry. The which, when Mr. Carnal-Security perceived, he presently addressed himself in a speech thus to him:-

‘Mr. Godly-Fear, are you not well? You seem to be ill of body or mind, or both. I have a cordial of Mr. Forget-Good’s making, the which, sir, if you will take a dram of, I hope it may make you