sion; to wit, a life of holiness, heart-holiness; family-holiness, if he hath a family; and by conversation-holiness in the world; which, in the general, teacheth him inwardly to abhor his sin, and himself for that, in secret; to suppress it in his family, and to promote holiness in the world, not by talk only, as a hypocrite or talkative person may do, but by a practical subjection in faith and love to the power of the word. † And now, sir, as to this brief description of the work of grace, and also the discovery of it, if you have aught to object, object; if not, then give me leave to propound to you a second question.

Talk. Nay, my part is not now to object, but to hear. Let me therefore have your second question.

of grace.

Faith. It is this: Do you experience this first part of the deAnother good sign scription of it, and doth your life and conversation testify the same? Or standeth your religion in word or tongue, and not in deed and truth? Pray, if you incline to answer me in this, say no more than you know the God above will say Amen to, and also nothing but what your conscience can justify you in: "For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth." Besides, to say I am thus and thus, when my conversation and all my neighbours tell me I lie, is great wickedness.

Then Talkative at first began to blush; but recovering himself, he thus replied: You come now to experience, to conscience, and God; and to appeal to him for justification of what is spoken. Talkative not pleas. This kind of discourse I did not expect; nor am I dised with Faithful's posed to give an answer to such questions, because I count not myself bound thereto, unless you take upon you to be a catechiser: and though you should so do, yet I may refuse to make you my judge. But, I pray, will you tell me why you ask me such questions?

question.

The reason why Faith. Because I saw you forward to talk, and Faithful put him to because I knew not that you had aught else but that question. notion. Besides, to tell you the truth, I have heard of you, that you are a man whose religion lies in talk, and that your conversation gives this your mouth-profession the lie. They say you are a spot among Christians, and that redealing with Talk- ligion fareth the worse for your ungodly conversation; that some have already stumbled at your wicked ways; and that more are in danger of being destroyed thereby. Your religion, and an alehouse, and covetousness, and uncleanness, and swearing, and lying, and vain company-keeping,

Faithful's plain

ative.

"Phil. i. 27.

† Matth. v. 9. Psalm 1. 20. John xiii. 5, 6.

&c., will stand together. The proverb is true of you which is said of a whore, viz.: “That she is a shame to all women!" so are you a shame to all professors.

Talkative flings away from Faith

Talk. Since you are so ready to take up reports, and to judge so rashly as you do, I cannot but conclude you are some peevish or melancholic ful. man, not fit to be discoursed with; and so Adieu!

Then came up Christian, and said to his brother, I told you how it would happen; your words and his lusts could not agree. He had rather leave your company than reform his life. A good riddance. But he is gone, as I said; let him go; the loss is no man's but his own; he has saved us the trouble of going from him; for he continuing (as I suppose he will do) as he is, he would have been but a blot in our company; besides, the Apostle says, "From such withdraw thyself."

Faith. But I am glad we had this little discourse with him; it may happen that he will think of it again: however, I have dealt plainly with him, and so am clear of his blood, if he perisheth.

Chr. You did well to talk so plainly as you did. There is but little of this faithful dealing with men now-a-days, and that makes religion to stink in the nostrils of so many as it doth; for they are these talkative fools whose religion is only in word, and are debauched and vain in their conversation, that (being so much admitted into the fellowship of the godly) do puzzle the world, blemish Christianity, and grieve the sincere. I wish that all men would deal with such as you have done; then should they either be made more conformable to religion, or the company of saints would be too hot for them.

Then did Faithful say:—

How Talkative at first lifts up his plumes!

How bravely doth he speak! How he presumes
To drive down all before him! But so soon
As Faithful talks of heart-work, like the moon
That's past the full, into the wane he goes;
And so will all but he that heart-work knows.

Thus they went on, talking of what they had seen by the way, and so made that way easy, which would otherwise, no doubt, have been tedious to them for now they went through a Wilderness.

Now, when they were almost quite out of this Wilderness, Faithful chanced to cast his eye back, and espied one coming after them; and he knew him. Oh! said Faithful to his brother, who comes yonder? Then Christian looked, and said, It is my good friend

Evangelist takes them.

over

Evangelist. Ay, and my good friend too, sard Faithful; for it was he that set me on the way to the Gate. Now was Evangelist come up unto them, and thus saluted them:—

Evan. Peace be to you, dearly beloved, and peace be to your helpers.

Chr. Welcome, welcome, my good Evangelist; They are glad at the sight of thy countenance brings to my remembrance thy ancient kindness, and unwearied labours

the sight of him.

for thy eternal good.

And a thousand times welcome, said good Faithful; thy company, O sweet Evangelist, how desirable is it to us poor pilgrims! Then said Evangelist, How hath it fared with you, my friends, since the time of our last parting? What have you met with, and how have you behaved yourselves?

Then Christian and Faithful told him of all things that had hap pened to them on the way, and how, and with what difficulty, they had arrived to that place.

His exhortation to them.

Right glad am I, said Evangelist, not that you have met with trials, but that you have been victors; and for that you have, notwithstanding many. weaknesses, continued in the way to this very day.

ye

I say, right glad am I of this thing, and that for mine own sake and yours. I have sowed, and you have reaped; and the day is coming, when both he that sowed and they that reaped shall rejoice together; that is, if you hold out: for in due time shall reap, if ye faint not. The crown is before you, and it is an incorruptible one: so run, that you may obtain it! Some there be that set out for this crown, and, after they have gone far for it, another comes in and takes it from them. Hold fast, therefore, that you have; let no man take your crown. You are not yet out of the gunshot of the devil; you have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. Let the kingdom be always before you, and believe steadfastly concerning things that are invisible. Let nothing that is on this side the other world get within you; and, above all, look well to your own hearts, and to the lusts thereof; for they are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Set your faces like a flint; you have all power in heaven and earth on your side.*

tions.

Then Christian thanked him for his exhortation They do thank him for his exhorta- but told him withal, that they would have him speak farther to them for their help the rest of the way; and the rather, for that they well knew that he was a Prophet, · John iv. 36. Gal. vi. 9. 1 Cor. ix. 24, 27. Rev. iii. 11.

troubles they shall meet with in Vanity-Fair, and

He predicteth what

en

courageth them to steadfastness.

and could tell them of things that might happen unto them, and also how they might resist and overcome them to which request Faithful also consented. So Evangelist began as followeth :My sons, you have heard in the words of the truth of the gospel that you must, through many tribulations, enter into the kingdom of Heaven. And again, that, in every city, bonds and afflictions abide you; and therefore you cannot expect that you should long go on your pilgrimage without them, in some sort or other. You have found something of te truth of these testimonies upon you already, and more will immediately follow; for now, as you see, you are almost out of this wilderness, and therefore you will soon come into a Town that you will by-and-by see before you; and in that Town you will be hardly beset with Enemies, who will strain hard but they will kill you; and be you sure that one or both of you must seal the testimony which you hold, with blood; but be you faithful unto death, and the King will give you a Crown of Life. that shall die there, although his death will be unnatural, and his pain perhaps great, will yet have the better of his fellow; not only because he will be arrived at the Celestial City soonest, but because he will escape many miseries that the other will meet with in the rest of his journey. But when you are come to the Town, and shall find fulfilled what I have here related, then remember your friend, and quit yourselves like men, and commit the keeping of your souls to God in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

He

He whose lot it will

be there to suffer, will have the better of his brother.

Then I saw in my dream that, when they were got out of the Wilderness, they presently saw a Town before them, and the name of that Town is Vanity; and at the Town there is a fair kept, called Vanity-fair; it is kept all the year long; it beareth the name of Vanity-fair, because the Town where it is kept is lighter than vanity; and also because all that is there sold, or that cometh thither, is vanity: as is the saying of the wise, "All that cometh is vanity."*

you

the

The antiquity of this Fair.

This Fair is no new-erected business, but a thing of ancient standing. I will show original of it. Almost five thousand years ago, there were pilgrims walking to the Celestial City, as these two honest persons are; and Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion, with their companions, perceiving by the path that the Pilgrims made, that their way to the City lay through this Town of Vanity, they

Isaiah xl. 17. Eccl i. 2.-ii. 11 17.

The merchandise of this Fair.

contrived here to set up a Fair; a Fair wherein should be sold all sorts of vanity, and that it should last all the year long. Therefore, at this fair, are all such merchandise sold, as houses, lands, trades, places, honours, preferments, titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, and delights of all sorts; as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not.

And, moreover, at this Fair, there is at all times to be seen, Jugglings, cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, and rogues, and that of every kind.

Here are to be seen too, and that for nothing, thefts, murders, adulteries, false swearers, and that of a blood-red colour.

The streets of this
Fair.

And as, in other Fairs of less moment, there are several rows and streets, under their proper names, where such and such wares are vended, so here likewise you have the proper places, rows, streets, (viz. countries and kingdoms,) where the wares of this Fair are soonest to be found. Here is the Britain Row, the French Row, the Italian Row, the Spanish Row, the German Row, where several sorts of Vanities are to be sold. But as, in other Fairs, some one commodity is the chief of all the fair, so the ware of Rome, and her