Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

confcience went along, an old man met him on the way, whofe name was Garnal-fecurity, and he spoke to Tender-confcience in this manner, Friend, whence comeft thou, and whither art thou going?

Tender-confcience replied, Sir, I am come from the valley of Deftruction, and am travelling toward the heavenly country.

Carnal-fecurity. Truly you have undertaken a great and hazardous journey, and the perils you have gone through are many; but now the worft of your way is paft, the reft being pleafant, fafe and eafy: it is convenient for you to reft you a while after your toils, and the weari- fone steps you have trodden fince you first fet forth from your native country; and efpecially fince you must needs be tired and quite out of breath, through the extreme fleepness of the hill Difficulty, which you laft afcended. Therefore, if you please to take up your quarters with me, you fhall be heartily welcome, and you will b better ftrengthened and enabled to go forward on your journey; my houfe ftands not far off from this place, and if you will accept my offer, I will be your guide to my habitation.

Tender-con. Sir, I must confefs your civility is very acceptable to me, and very feasonable at this time; for indeed I am pretty well beat out with travel, and befides it grows towards night; there fore, if you please, I will go along with you.

So they went along together, and the old man had him throngh a lane on the left hand of the high road, which brought him to a stately palace, whofe gate stood wide open; and they

cam

Part III. came into the first court, which was all green and full of flowers, having feveral delightful arbours artificially built round it, and a chrystal fountain in the middle of the court; there were also beautiful trees planted round it, on whofe boughs innumerable birds of several kinds fat chirping and finging with admirable har mony. So as they walked together cross the court, there met him an ancient lady, accompanied by two beautiful young damfels, on whom the leaned the name of the lady was Intemperance, and fhe was the wife of Carnal fectrity. Now it seems these two had built this palace to inveigle pilgrims, and feduce them out of their way, to the heavenly country: as the palace called Boutiful was built for the relief, comfort, and direction of pilgrims in their jour ney. But poor Tender-confcience knew nothing of all this. He that had fo lately efcap ed the fnare that Spiritual-pride had laid for him, was now caught in the gins of Carnal-fecurity.

Now I faw in my dream, that the Lady Intemperance bid Tender-confcience welcome to her houfe, and fo did the two young damfels that attended her, who were her daughters, the name of the one was Wantonness, and the name of the other was Forgetfulness. Then the defired him to approach nearer the house; fo they all walked together thro' the first court, and

came to the entrance of the fecond. There the

Lady Intemperance defired them all to fit down whilst the reached forth feveral branches of grapes

ch hung down from a vine that covered the

place

[ocr errors]

place where they fat, and fhe fqueezed them into a golden cup which he held in her hand, and having tafted thereof, prefented it to Tender-confcience, bidding him drink it off. So he did accordingly; and presently he was intoxicated therewith, and began to dally with Mrs. Wantonnefs; at which the Lady Intemperance, and her husband Carnal-security, feemed not to be displeased, but rather to encourage him, by giving him another cup-full of the juice of the grapes, which worked fo mightily in his weak head, that having tumbled and dallied a while with Mrs. Wanton:fs, on a bank of sweet flowers, at length he fel afleep in the arms of Mrs. Forgetfulness. Then they caufed him to be carried into the palace by two of their fervants, and laid on a foft bed in the beft chamber of the whole house, refolving, if poffible, to win him by all means to tarry with them, and not to go forward in his journey: to this end they prepared an excellent concert of mufic, who were planted out of fight of the bed whereon Tenderconfcience lay, yet fo as they might be heard as plain as though they had been by his bed-fide, but could not be feen by him, if he should awake out of his fleep. And they were ordered to play the sweetest airs, and moft melodious tunes, their art could furnish them with, all the while he was afleep, and likewife to keep on playing, if he should chance to awake. For it was the na ture of these grapes, of whofe liquor he had drunk fo plentifully, to make fome people fleep many years together, others to fleep all the life-time, and very few had the power to awak

D d

efpecially in any fiort time; and it was the nature of the mufic to create dreams in them that flept, pleasant, delightful, and enchanting dreams. And those who died fleeping were hurried out of the palace to a certain place, where they tumbled into the lake of Deftruction; which lake is at the end of that path which led to the left hand, at the bottom of the bill Difficulty. It is a burn. ing lake, and has burned from the beginning of the world, and will do fo for ever and ever. Now this was the end of those poor wretches who being feduced into the house of Carnal-fecurity, and having drunk of the wine of Intemperance, and committed folly with Wantonnefs, at length fell asleep with Forgetfulness, who if they die fleeping, are forthwith caft into the burning lake, which is the fecond death.

Now it came to pafs, that though Tenderconfcience flept a great while, being lulled by found of fuch incomparable melody, yet they having not taken notice of his ftrong crutch which he had in his hand, not knowing its feeret and wonderful virtues, did not remove it from him; by which means he at length awoke from his fleep, rouzing himself up, and wondering from whence all this delicious harmony might come: for his crutch being in his hand all the while he flept, at length, as he went to tura himself in his fleep, he hit himself a blow in the eyes with the crutch, which awaked him. Then he began to wonder (as I faid) where he was, and how he came there, and what mufic that was; at length he called to mind, how an old

[ocr errors]

had invited him into his houfe very kindly,

and

and how this lady had given him of her wine to drink, and how he had dallied with Mrs. Wantonnefs, but could not call to mind how he came = upon this bed, but concluded that he had been drunk, and fo brought into the palace: And with this thought, and the pleasant harmony of the mufic, he was juft ready to fall asleep again; but at the fame inftant there came fuch a terrible clap of thunder as was almost enough to have Iawaked the very dead. At this his heart quaked within him, and the mufic ceafed playing; fo che rofe from his bed, and looked out at the windows, and he faw the air extremely darkened, faving only fome intervals of lightning, which, accompanied with thunder, feemed to threaten the deftruction of the world. Poor Tender-conscience wept bitterly when he perceived fuch a #dreadful tempeft hanging over his head, and he in a ftrange place, not half way his journey: This made him very melancholy and penfive, and he burst out into thefe mournful expreffions by himself:

Wretch that I am! what will become of me? 1 where fhall I hide myself from the fierce anger of the Lord? or how fhall I efcape his heavy difpleafure? I doubt I have done amifs in coming into this place, and fleeping away my precious time, which is the reason that God is angry, and thunders in the ears of my foul. Horror and confufion flash through my confcience like lightning: I know not what to do, nor where to turn my face for comfort.

Then he looked for his crutch, and could r find it at first, which made him lament grievou

Ddo

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »