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Christian and Hopeful in the Cave of Giant Despair.-PAGE 103.

that place, their only way would be forthwith to make an end of themselves, either with knife, halter, or poison: for why, said he, should you choose life, seeing it is attended with so much bitterness? But they desired him to let them go. With that he looked ugly upon them, and rushing to them, had doubtless made an end of them himself, but that he fell into one of his fits, (for he sometimes in sun-shiny weather fell into fits) and lost for a time the use of his hand. Wherefore he withdrew, and left them, as before, to consider what to do. Then did the prisoners consult between themselves whether it were best to take his counsel or no; and thus they began to discourse :

Brother, said Christian, what shall we do? The life that we now live is miserable: for my part I know not whether it is best to live thus, or die out of hand; "my soul chooseth strangling rather than life," and the grave is more easy for me than this dungeon. Shall we be

ruled by the giant ?

Hope. Indeed our present condition is dreadful, and death would be far more welcome to me, than thus for ever to abide but yet let us consider; the Lord of the country to which we are going hath said, "Thou shalt do no murder ;" no, not to another man's person; much more then are we forbidden to take the giant's counsel to kill ourselves. Besides, he that kills another, can but commit murder upon his body: but, for one to kill himself, is to kill body and soul at once. And moreover, my brother, thou talkest of ease in the grave, but hast thou forgotten the hell whither for certain the murderers go for " no murderer hath eternal life," &c. And let us consider again, that all the law is not in the hand of Giant Despair: others, so far as I can understand, have been taken by him as well as we, and yet have escaped out of his hands. Who knows but that God who made the world, may cause that Giant Despair may die, or that, at some time or other, he may forget to lock us in; or that he may in a short time have another of his fits before us, and may lose the use of his limbs ? and if ever that should come to pass again, for my part, I am

1 Job vii. 15.

resolved to pluck up the heart of a man, and to try my utmost to get from under his hand. I was a fool that I did not try to do it before; but however, my brother, let us be patient, and endure awhile; the time may come that may give us a happy release: but let us not be our own murderers. With these words Hopeful at present did moderate the mind of his brother; so they continued together, in the dark, that day in their sad and doleful condition.

Well, towards evening, the giant goes down into the dungeon again, to see if his prisoners had taken his counsel: but when he came there he found them alive; and, truly, alive was all; for now, what for want of bread and water, and by reason of the wounds they received when he beat them, they could do little but breathe. But, I say, he found them alive; at which he fell into a grievous rage, and told them, that seeing they had disobeyed his counsel, it should be worse with them than if they had never been born.

At this they trembled greatly, and I think that Christian fell into a swoon: but, coming a little to himself again, they renewed their discourse about the giant's counsel, and whither yet they had best take it or no. Now Christian again seemed to be for doing it, but Hopeful made his second reply as followeth :

My brother, said he, rememberest thou not how valiant thou hath been heretofore? Apollyon could not crush thee, cor could all that thou didst hear, or see, or feel, in the valley of the Shadow of Death? what hardship, terror, and amazement, hast thou already gone through, and art thou now nothing but fears? Thou seest that I am in the dungeon with thee, a far weaker man by nature than thou art; also the giant has wounded me as well as thee, and hath also cut off the bread and water from my mouth, and with that I mourn without the light. But let us exercise a little more patience: remember how thou playedst the man at Vanity Fair, and wast neither afraid of the chain or cage, nor yet of bloody death: wherefore, let us at least to avoid the shame that becomes not a christian to be found in, bear up with patience as well as we can.

Now night being come again, and the giant and his wife being in bed, she asked him concerning the prisoners, and if they had taken his counsel :-to which he replied, They are sturdy rogues, they choose rather to bear all hardship than to make away themselves. Then said she, Take them into the castle-yard to-morrow, and show them the bones and sculls of those thou hast already dispatched, and make them believe, ere a week comes to an end, thou also wilt tear them in pieces, as thou hast done their fellows before them.

So when the morning was come, the giant goes to them again, and takes them into the castle-yard, and shows them as his wife had bidden him: These, said he, were pilgrims, as you are, once, and they trespassed in my grounds, as you have done; and when I thought fit, I tore them in pieces, and so within ten days I will do you: get you down into your den again:—and with that he beat them all the way thither. They lay therefore all day on Saturday in a lamentable case, as before. Now, when night was come, and when Mrs. Diffidence and her husband the giant were got to bed, they began to renew their discourse of their prisoners; and, withal, the old giant wondered that he could neither by his blows nor counsel bring them to an end. And with that his

wife replied, I fear, said she, that they live in hopes that some will come to relieve them, or that they have picklocks about them, by the means of which they hope to escape. And sayest thou so, my dear? said the giant ; I will therefore search them in the morning.

Well, on Saturday, about midnight, they began to pray, and continued in prayer till almost break of day. Now a little before it was day, good Christian, as one half amazed, brake out into this passionate speech :What a fool, quoth he, am I thus to lie in a stinking dungeon when I may as well walk at liberty? I have a key in my bosom, called Promise,* that will, I am per

A key in my bosom called Promise.] The surest remedy against despair, is for the believer to meditate on the promises of scripture. They will raise the sinking soul, and make light shine out of darkness. How precious are those promises! When thou walkest through the

suaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle. Then said Hopeful, That's good news, good brother, pluck it out of thy bosom, and try.

Then Christian pulled it out of his bosom, and began to try at the dungeon door; whose bolt, as he turned the key, gave back, and the door flew open with ease, and Christian and Hopeful both came out. Then he went to the outward door that leads into the castle-yard, and with this key opened that door also. After he went to the iron gate, for that must be opened too, but that lock went very hard; yet the key did open it. Then they thrust open the gate to make their escape with speed; but that gate as it opened made such a cracking, that it waked Giant Despair, who hastily rising to pursue his prisoners, felt his limbs to fail, for his fits took him again, so that he could by no means go after them.— Then they went on, and came to the king's highway, and so were safe, because they were out of his jurisdiction.

Now, when they were gone over the stile, they began to contrive with themselves what they should do at that stile, to prevent those that shall come after from falling into the hands of Giant Despair. So they consented to erect there a pillar, and to engrave upon the side thereof this sentence: Over this stile is the way to Doubting Castle, which is kept by Giant Despair, who despiseth the king of the celestial country, and seeks to destroy the holy pilgrims.' Many therefore that followed after read what was written, and escaped the danger.-This done, they sang as follows:

Out of the way we went, and then we found
What 'twas to tread upon forbidden ground;
And let them that come after have a care
Lest they for trespassing his prisoners are,

Whose castle's Doubting and whose name's Despair.

valley of the shadow of death, I will be with thee-I will never, never, never leave thee, nor forsake thee. As thy day is, so shall thy strength be. Fear not, little flock, it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

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