well as clothed himself with its Rainbows, has evinced no familiarity with the unvisionary forms of the Great Truths embodied in the Pilgrim's Progress. He has evidently quoted, at second-hand, except from Bunyan's poetry. This is much to be regretted, in reference to England. Such an American as Dr Cheever, was just the man to make Englishmen aware of the peculiarities and beauties of Bunyan's prose. They would have struck him more than they do English readers, and thus have struck sparks from his own spirit, which would have set our curiosity on fire, as well as consumed the dross of our familiarity with our own idioms. For, just as American travellers make us look as with new eyes upon our own scenery and architecture, because they bring both to a standard that we never judged of them by, so they discern more readily than ourselves the force of the mother-tongue, because they have less of it in familiar use, or in its original forms. America has a vernacular of its own, and thus it is as much alive to the peculiarities of our idiom, as we are to those of the New World. But although I should be glad to see American discernment applied to Bunyan's Works at large, I deprecate the bare idea of England leaving to any nation-even to Scotland-the honour of analyzing and illustrating the works of her own Son, now that all nations who have a literature, class him with Shakespeare or Milton, as a man of genius; and now that he has won the homage of her own best Critics. England has living sons who can command universal attention, and confer everlasting fame, in various ways, if they would unite to do for Bunyan, what has been so often and well done for all Genius of his order; and, in doing so, they will identify themselves with the immortality of our old English, by restoring to it idioms which will annihilate both the latinized and frenchified formalities that have been grafted upon the parent stock, as

well as wither the parasitical Germanisms that have crept around it, and are inflicting an "injury" without "lending a grace" to the language.

This may seem extravagant to those who have only dipt into Bunyan's works at large, and even to those who may study the Treatises in this volume in order to test the truth of the assertion; but it is quite capable of ample proof, if my limits were not narrow. Indeed, narrow as they are, I do not despair of proving that Bunyan was himself, whenever his subject allowed him to be so, or called for his graphic touch. Even in the very first treatise he wrote,

Gospel Truths Opened," he is alternately logical and imaginative. Dr Southey said of it-“It is a calm, wellarranged, and well-supported statement of the Scriptural doctrines on momentous points." It is so much so, that it has been compared, as an argument, apart from learning, to Dr Pye Smith's "Scripture Testimony." This fact renders any specimen of its induction unnecessary here, wonderful as that is, in the case of a man who had never before tried his hand at composition. What it is, in point of vivacity, will be seen from the following specimens. On the Angelic Testimony to the truth of the Saviour's resurrection, Bunyan says- "Here is the Angel of the Lord ready to satisfy the disciples that Jesus was risen from the dead. And lest they should think it was not the right Jesus he spoke of, 'Yes,' saith he, it is the same Jesus that you mean. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, do you not?' Why, 'He is not here, he is risen.' 'But do you speak seriously?' Yea, surely. If you will not believe me, behold the place where they laid him!' See how plainly this Scripture doth testify of Christ's resurrection. Yea,' saith the angel, Lo it is as I have told you. You seek a Saviour, and none will content you but he that was crucified. Well, you shall have him. But he is not here.' 'But

where shall we find him ?' 'Why, he goeth before you into Galilee, where he used to be in his life-time before he was crucified.' Thus Bunyan's vein appears the moment we break ground. And how obvious it is, when he applies to himself the ascertained facts of the gospel! "Here, indeed, is my life; namely, the birth of this Man, the righteousness of this Man, the blood of this Man, the death and resurrection of this Man!-the Son of Mary-the Son of Man-the Son of God-the true God! I say, here is my life, if I see this by faith without me, through the operation of the Spirit within me. I am safe, I am at peace, I am comforted, I am encouraged; and I know that my comfort, peace, and encouragement is true, and given me from heaven by the Father of mercies." Thus also he applies this test to others. "Thou thinkest that thou art a Christian. Thou wouldest be sorry else. Well, but when did God shew thee that thou wert no Christian? When did the Spirit of the Lord shew thee that hadst no faith in thee by nature? Dost thou not say in thine heart, that thou never hadst thy faith to seek, but always believed with as good a faith as any one alive? If so, know for certain that thou hast no faith of the operation of God. If thy guilt of sin goes off, and convictions go off, in any way but by the blood and righteousness of Christ, thy guilt goes off, not right, but wrong, and thy latter end will be a very bitter end."

These passages are outbreaks from the continuous stream of Bunyan's main Argument, and thus they are but loose as composition. Besides, he was writing for the first time. But still, in the Argument itself, his power of condensation, as a theologian, was never surpassed by himself afterwards. He "picked words" better in his next treatise; but he never packed" them better, even when he understood his own power.

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It has been said already, that the real secret of Bunyan's eloquence was his intense solicitude to win souls to Christ. Accordingly, his first "Call to the Unconverted" was entitled, "Sighs from Hell, or The Groans of a Damned Soul." That work shews that the Pilgrim's Progress was germinating in his spirit at an early period. Hence it opens thus: Friend, because it is a dangerous thing to be walking towards the place of Darkness and Anguish, and because, notwithstanding, the journey that most of the poor souls in the world are taking, I have thought it my duty, for preventing thee, to tell thee what sad success those souls have had, that have persevered therein. Why, friend, it may be-nay, twenty to one-thou hast had thy back to Heaven, and thy face towards Hell, ever since thou didst come into the world. Why, I beseech thee, put a little stop to thy earnest race, and take a view of what entertainment thou art like to have, if thou do in deed and in truth persist in thy course. Thy ways lead down to Death, and thy steps to Hell.' It may be, indeed, the path is pleasant to the flesh; but the end thereof will be bitter to thy soul. Hark! dost thou not hear the bitter cries of them that are newly gone before thee, saying, 'Let him dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, that is so tormented in this flame.' Dost thou not hear them say, 6 Send one from the dead, to prevent my father, my brother, my father's house, from coming to this place of torment?' Shall not these mournful groans pierce thy flinty heart? Wilt thou stop thine ears, and shut thine eyes? And wilt thou not regard? Take warning, and stop thy journey before it be too late. Wilt thou be like the silly fly, that is not quiet, unless she be either entangled in the spider's web, or burnt in the candle? O sinner, sinner, there are better things than Hell to be had! There is Heaven, there is God, there is Christ, there is communion with

an innumerable assembly of saints and angels! Consider; would it not wound thee to the heart, to come to thy deathbed, having thy sins flying in thy face-thy conscience uttering, of itself, thunder-claps against thee—the thoughts of God terrifying thee-Death, with his merciless paw, seizing upon thee-Devils standing ready to scramble for thy soul, and Hell enlarging itself to swallow thee up ? For, mark, Death doth not come alone to an Unconverted Soul; but with such company as, wast thou sensible of it, would make thee tremble. Hell cometh with Death to the Ungodly. Here comes Death, and Hell, unto thee! Death goeth into thy body, and separates soul and body asunder. Hell stands without, to crush thy soul with its everlasting grinders. Lo, it will come to this! Blessed are those that through Christ's mercies, by faith, do escape these soulmurdering companions!"

In his Treatise on the Parable of Dives and Lazarus, Bunyan represents Dives as objecting thus to Abraham, when he says, "They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them;"-"This is the thing (to be short), my brethren are unbelievers, and do not regard the Word of God. I know it, by myself; for when I was in the world, it was so with me. The Scriptures, thought I then, what are they? A dead letter; a little ink and paper, of three or four shillings price. Alack! what is Scripture? Give me a ballad, a news-book, George on horseback, or Bevis of Southampton. Give me some book that teaches curious Arts, that tells old Fables. And, as it was with me then, so it is with my brethren now! They are so hardened in their own ways, and so bent on following sin, that, let the Messengers of Christ preach until their hearts ache, till they fall down dead with preaching, they will trample it under foot, and swine-like rend them, rather than close in with those gentle and blessed proffers of the Gospel."