Chapter XXIV: Part I (24)

When Mr. Loth-to-stoop had heard this answer, he took his leave of Emmanuel and departed, saying, that he would do word to his master concerning this whole affair. So he departed and came to Diabolus to Mansoul, and told him the whole of the matter, and how Emmanuel would not admit, no, not by any means, that he, when he was once gone out, should for ever have anything more to do, either in, or with any that are of, the town of Mansoul. When Mansoul and Diabolus had heard this relation of things, they with one consent concluded to use their best endeavour to keep Emmanuel out of Mansoul, and sent old Ill-pause, of whom you have heard before, to tell the Prince and his captains so. So the old gentleman came up to the top of Ear-gate, and called to the camp for a hearing; who, when they gave audience, he said, 'I have in commandment from my high Lord to bid you tell it to your Prince Emmanuel, that Mansoul and their King are resolved to stand and fall together, and that it is in vain for your Prince to think of ever having of Mansoul in his hand, unless he can take it by force.' So some went and told to Emmanuel what old Ill-pause, a Diabolonian in Mansoul, had said. Then said the Prince, 'I must try the power of my sword, for I will not, for all the rebellions and repulses that Mansoul has made against me, raise my siege and depart, but will assuredly take my Mansoul, and deliver it from the hand of her enemy' (Eph 6:17). And with that he gave out a commandment that Captain Boanerges, Captain Conviction, Captain Judgment, and Captain Execution, should forthwith march up to Ear-gate with trumpets sounding, colours flying, and with shouting for the battle. Also he would that Captain Credence should join himself with them. Emmanuel, moreover, gave order that Captain Good-hope and Captain Charity should draw themselves up before Eye-gate. He bid also that the rest of his Captains, and their men, should place themselves for the best of their advantage against the enemy, round about the town, and all was done as he had commanded. Then he bid that the word should be given forth, and the word was at that time 'EMMANUEL.' Then was an alarm sounded, and the battering-rams were played, and the slings did whirl stones into the town amain, and thus the battle began. Now Diabolus himself did manage the townsmen in the war, and that at every gate; wherefore their resistance was the more forcible, hellish, and offensive to Emmanuel. Thus was the good Prince engaged and entertained by Diabolus and Mansoul for several days together. And a sight worth seeing it was, to behold how the captains of Shaddai behaved themselves in this war.

And first for Captain Boanerges, not to under-value the rest, he made three most fierce assaults, one after another, upon Ear-gate, to the shaking of the posts thereof. Captain Conviction, he also made up as fast with Boanerges as possibly he could, and both discerning that the gate began to yield, they commanded that the rams should still be played against it. Now Captain Conviction going up very near to the gate, was with great force driven back, and received three wounds in the mouth. And those that rode Reformades, they went about to encourage the captains.

For the valour of the two captains made mention of before, the Prince sent for them to his pavilion, and commanded that a while they should rest themselves, and that with somewhat they should be refreshed. Care also was taken for Captain Conviction, that he should be healed of his wounds. The Prince also gave to each of them a chain of gold, and bid them yet be of good courage. Nor did Captain Good-hope nor Captain Charity come behind in this most desperate fight, for they so well did behave themselves at Eye-gate, that they had almost broken it quite open.[159] These also had a reward from their Prince, as also had the rest of the captains, because they did valiantly round about the town.[160]

In this engagement several of the officers of Diabolus were slain, and some of the townsmen wounded. For the officers, there was one Captain Boasting slain. This Boasting thought that nobody could have shaken the posts of Ear-gate, nor have shaken the heart of Diabolus. Next to him there was one Captain Secure slain; this Secure used to say that the blind and lame in Mansoul were able to keep the gates of the town against Emmanuel's army (2 Sam 5:6). This Captain Secure did Captain Conviction cleave down the head with a two-handed sword, when he received himself three wounds in his mouth. Besides these, there was one Captain Bragman, a very desperate fellow, and he was captain over a band of those that threw fire-brands, arrows, and death; he also received, by the hand of Captain Good-hope at Eye-gate, a mortal wound in the breast.

There was, moreover, one Mr. Feeling, but he was no captain, but a great stickler to encourage Mansoul to rebellion, he received a wound in the eye by the hand of one of Boanerges' soldiers, and had by the captain himself been slain, but that he made a sudden retreat.

But I never saw Will-be-will so daunted in all my life: he was not able to do as he was wont; and some say that he also received a wound in the leg, and that some of the men in the Prince's army have certainly seen him limp, as he afterwards walked on the wall.[161]

I shall not give you a particular account of the names of the soldiers that were slain in the town, for many were maimed and wounded, and slain; for when they saw that the posts of Ear-gate did shake, and Eye-gate was well-nigh broken quite open; and also that their captains were slain, this took away the hearts of many of the Diabolonians; they fell also by the force of the shot that were sent by the golden slings into the midst of the town of Mansoul.[162]

Of the townsmen, there was one Love-no-good, he was a townsman, but a Diabolonian, he also received his mortal wound in Mansoul, but he died not very soon. Mr. Ill-pause also, who was the man that came along with Diabolus when at first he attempted the taking of Mansoul, he also received a grievous wound in the head, some say that his brain-pan was cracked; this I have taken notice of, that he was never after this able to do that mischief to Mansoul as he had done in times past. Also old Prejudice and Mr. Anything fled.[163]

Now when the battle was over, the Prince commanded that yet once more the white flag should be set upon Mount Gracious, in sight of the town of Mansoul; to show that yet Emmanuel had grace for the wretched town of Mansoul.

When Diabolus saw the white flag hanging out again, and knowing that it was not for him, but Mansoul, he cast in his mind to play another prank, to wit, to see if Emmanuel would raise his siege and begone, upon promise of a reformation.[164] So he comes down to the gate one evening, a good while after the sun was gone down, and calls to speak with Emmanuel, who presently came down to the gate, and Diabolus saith unto him:

'Forasmuch as thou makest it appear by thy white flag, that thou art wholly given to peace and quiet; I thought meet to acquaint thee that we are ready to accept thereof upon terms which thou mayest admit.

'I know that thou art given to devotion, and that holiness pleaseth thee; yea, that thy great end in making a war upon Mansoul is that it may be an holy habitation. Well, draw off thy forces from the town, and I will bend Mansoul to thy bow.

'[Thus] I will lay down all acts of hostility against thee, and will be willing to become thy deputy, and will, as I have formerly been against thee, now serve thee in the town of Mansoul. And more particularly--1. I will persuade Mansoul to receive thee for their Lord, and I know that they will do it the sooner when they shall understand that I am thy deputy. 2. I will show them wherein they have erred, and that transgression stands in the way to life. 3. I will show them the holy law unto which they must conform, even that which they have broken. 4. I will press upon them the necessity of a reformation according to thy law. 5. And, moreover, that none of these things may fail, I myself, at my own proper cost and charge, will set up and maintain a sufficient ministry, besides lectures, in Mansoul.[165] 6. Thou shalt receive, as a token of our subjection to thee continually, year by year, what thou shalt think fit to lay and levy upon us, in token of our subjection to thee.'[166]

Then said Emmanuel to him, 'O full of deceit, how movable are thy ways! How often hast thou changed and rechanged, if so be thou mightest still keep possession of my Mansoul, though, as has been plainly declared before, I am the right heir thereof? Often hast thou made thy proposals already, nor is this last a whit better than they. And failing to deceive when thou showedst thyself in thy black, thou hast now transformed thyself into an angel of light, and wouldest, to deceive, be now as a minister of righteousness (2 Cor 11:14).

'But know thou, O Diabolus, that nothing must be regarded that thou canst propound, for nothing is done by thee but to deceive; thou neither hast conscience to God, nor love to the town of Mansoul; whence then should these thy sayings arise, but from sinful craft and deceit? He that can of list and will propound what he pleases, and that wherewith he may destroy them that believe him, is to be abandoned with all that he shall say. But if righteousness be such a beauty-spot in thine eyes now, how is it that wickedness was so closely stuck to by thee before. But this is by the by. Thou talkest now of a reformation in Mansoul, and that thou thyself, if I will please, will be at the head of that reformation, all the while knowing that the greatest proficiency that man can make in the law, and the righteousness thereof, will amount to no more for the taking away of the curse from Mansoul than just nothing at all; for a law being broken by Mansoul, that had before, upon a supposition of the breach thereof, a curse pronounced against him for it of God, can never, by his obeying of the law, deliver himself therefrom. To say nothing of what a reformation is like to be set up in Mansoul, when the devil is become corrector of vice. Thou knowest that all that thou hast now said in this matter is nothing but guile and deceit; and is, as it was the first, so is it the last card that thou hast to play. Many there be that do soon discern thee when thou showest them thy cloven foot; but in thy white, thy light, and in thy transformation thou art seen but of a few. But thou shalt not do thus with my Mansoul, O Diabolus, for I do still love my Mansoul.

'Besides, I am not come to put Mansoul upon works to live thereby--should I do so, I should be like unto thee--but I am come that by me, and by what I have and shall do for Mansoul, they may to my Father be reconciled, though by their sin they have provoked him to anger, and though by the law they cannot obtain mercy.

'Thou talkest of subjecting of this town to good, when none desireth it at thy hands. I am sent by my Father to possess it myself, and to guide it by the skilfulness of my hands into such a conformity to him as shall be pleasing in his sight. I will therefore possess it myself, I will dispossess and cast thee out: I will set up mine own standard in the midst of them: I will also govern them by new laws, new officers, new motives, and new ways. Yea, I will pull down this town, and build it again, and it shall be as though it had not been, and it shall then be the glory of the whole universe.'[167]

When Diabolus heard this, and perceived that he was discovered in all his deceits, he was confounded and utterly put to a nonplus--; but having in himself the fountain of iniquity, rage and malice against both Shaddai and his Son, and the beloved town of Mansoul, what doth he but strengthen himself what he could, to give fresh battle to the noble Prince Emmanuel? So then, now we must have another fight before the town of Mansoul is taken. Come up then, to the mountains you that love to see military actions, and behold by both sides how the fatal blow is given: while one seeks to hold, and the other seeks to make himself master of the famous town of Mansoul.

Diabolus, therefore, having withdrawn himself from the wall to his force that was in the heart of the town of Mansoul, Emmanuel also returned to the camp; and both of them, after their divers ways, put themselves into a posture fit to bid battle one to another.

Diabolus, as filled with despair of retaining in his hands the famous town of Mansoul, resolved to do what mischief he could, if indeed, he could do any, to the army of the Prince, and to the famous town of Mansoul; for, alas! it was not the happiness of the silly town of Mansoul that was designed by Diabolus, but the utter ruin and overthrow thereof; as now is enough in view. Wherefore he commands his officers that they should then, when they see that they could hold the town no longer, do it what harm and mischief they could; rending and tearing of men, women, and children (Mark 9:26-27). For, said he, we had better quite demolish the place, and leave it like a ruinous heap, than so leave it that it may be an habitation for Emmanuel.[168]

Emmanuel again, knowing that the next battle would issue in his being made master of the place, gave out a royal commandment to all his officers, high captains, and men of war, to be sure to show themselves men of war against Diabolus and all Diabolonians; but favourable, merciful, and meek to all the old inhabitants of Mansoul. Bend, therefore, said the noble Prince, the hottest front of the battle against Diabolus and his men.

So the day being come, the command was given, and the Prince's men did bravely stand to their arms; and did, as before, bend their main force against Ear-gate, and Eye-gate. The word then, 'Mansoul is won,' so they made their assault upon the town. Diabolus also, as fast as he could with the main of his power, made resistance from within, and his high lords and chief captains for a time fought very cruelly against the Prince's army.

But after three or four notable charges by the Prince, and his noble captains, Ear-gate was broken open, and the bars and bolts wherewith it was used to be fast shut up against the Prince, were broken into a thousand pieces. Then did the Prince's trumpets sound, the captains shout, the town shake, and Diabolus retreat to his hold. Well, when the Prince's forces had broken open the gate, himself came up and did set his throne in it; also he set his standard thereby, upon a mount, that before by his men was cast up to place the mighty slings thereon.[169] The mount was called Mount Hear-well; there, therefore, the Prince abode, to wit, hard by the going in at the gate. He commanded also that the golden slings should yet be played upon the town, especially against the castle, because for shelter thither was Diabolus retreated. Now from Ear-gate the street was straight, even to the house of Mr. Recorder that so was before Diabolus took the town, and hard by his house stood the castle, which Diabolus for a long time had made his irksome den. The captains, therefore, did quickly clear that street by the use of their slings, so that way was made up to the heart of the town. Then did the Prince command that Captain Boanerges, Captain Conviction, and Captain Judgment should forthwith march up the town to the old gentleman's gate. Then did the captains in the most warlike manner enter into the town of Mansoul, and marching in with flying colours, they came up to the Recorder's house, and that was almost as strong as was the castle. Battering-rams they took also with them, to plant against the castle-gates. When they were come to the house of Mr. Conscience, they knocked and demanded entrance. Now, the old gentleman, not knowing as yet fully their design, kept his gates shut all the time of this fight. Wherefore Boanerges demanded entrance at his gates, and no man making answer, he gave it one stroke with the head of a ram, and this made the old gentleman shake, and his house to tremble and totter. Then came Mr. Recorder down to the gate, and, as he could, with quivering lips, he asked who was there. Boanerges answered, We are the captains and commanders of the great Shaddai, and of the blessed Emmanuel his Son, and we demand possession of your house for the use of our noble Prince. And with that the battering-ram gave the gate another shake; this made the old gentleman tremble the more, yet durst he not but open the gate. Then the King's forces marched in, namely, the three brave captains mentioned before. Now the Recorder's house was a place of much convenience for Emmanuel, not only because it was near to the castle, and strong, but also because it was large, and fronted the castle, the den where now Diabolus was: for he was now afraid to come out of his hold. As for Mr. Recorder, the captains carried it very reservedly to him; as yet he knew nothing of the great designs of Emmanuel; so that he did not know what judgment to make, nor what would be the end of such thundering beginnings. It was also presently noised in the town, how the Recorder's house was possessed, his rooms taken up, and his palace made the seat of the war; and no sooner was it noised abroad, but they took the alarm as warmly, and gave it out to others of his friends, and you know as a snow-ball loses nothing by rolling, so in little time the whole town was possessed that they must expect nothing from the Prince but destruction; and the ground of the business was this. The Recorder was afraid, the Recorder trembled, and the captains carried it strangely to the Recorder, so many came to see; but when they with their own eyes did behold the captains in the palace, and their battering-rams ever playing at the castle gates to beat them down, they were riveted in their fears, and it made them as in amaze. And, as I said, the man of the house would increase all this, for whoever came to him, or discoursed with him, nothing would he talk of, tell them, or hear, but that death and destruction now attended Mansoul.[170]

'For,' quoth the old gentleman, 'you are all of you sensible that we all have been traitors to that once despised, but now famously victorious and glorious Prince Emmanuel. For he now, as you see, doth not only lie in close siege about us, but hath forced his entrance in at our gates; moreover, Diabolus flees before him, and he hath, as you behold, made of my house a garrison against the castle, where he is. I, for my part, have transgressed greatly, and he that is clean it is well for him. But, I say, I have transgressed greatly in keeping silence when I should have spoken, and in perverting of justice when I should have executed the same. True, I have suffered something at the hand of Diabolus, for taking part with the laws of King Shaddai; but that, alas! what will that do? Will that make compensation for the rebellions and treasons that I have done, and have suffered without gainsaying, to be committed in the town of Mansoul? Oh, I tremble to think what will be the end of this so dreadful and so ireful a beginning!'

Now, while these brave captains were thus busy in the house of the old Recorder, Captain Execution was as busy in other parts of the town, in securing the back streets, and the walls. He also hunted the Lord Will-be-will sorely; he suffered him not to rest in any corner. He pursued him so hard, that he drove his men from him, and made him glad to thrust his head into a hole. Also, this mighty warrior did cut three of the Lord Will-be-will's officers down to the ground; one was old Mr. Prejudice, he that had his crown cracked in the mutiny; this man was made by Lord Will-be-will keeper of Ear-gate, and fell by the hand of Captain Execution. There was also one Mr. Backward-to-all-but-naught, and he also was one of Lord Will-be-will's officers, and was the captain of the two guns that once were mounted on the top of Ear-gate, he also was cut down to the ground by the hands of Captain Execution. Besides these two there was another, a third, and his name was Captain Treacherous, a vile man this was, but one that Will-be-will did put a great deal of confidence in; but him also did this Captain Execution cut down to the ground with the rest.[171]

He also made a very great slaughter among my Lord Will-be-will's soldiers, killing many that were stout and sturdy, and wounding of many that for Diabolus were nimble and active. But all these were Diabolonians; there was not a man, a native of Mansoul, hurt.[172]

Other feats of war were also likewise performed by other of the captains, as at Eye-gate,[173] where Captain Good-hope and Captain Charity had a charge, was great execution done; for the Captain Good-hope, with his own hands, slew one Captain Blindfold, the keeper of that gate; this Blindfold was captain of a thousand men, and they were they that fought with mauls; he also pursued his men, slew many, and wounded more, and made the rest hide their heads in corners.

There was also at that gate Mr. Ill-pause, of whom you have heard before; he was an old man, and had a beard that reached down to his girdle: the same was he that was orator to Diabolus; he did much mischief in the town of Mansoul, and fell by the hand of Captain Good-hope.

What shall I say, the Diabolonians in these days lay dead in every corner, though too many yet were alive in Mansoul.[174]

[CHAPTER VIII.]

[CONTENTS:--The principal inhabitants hold a conference, and agree to petition the Prince for their lives--The castle gates broken open--Emmanuel marches into Mansoul--Diabolus is made prisoner, and bound in chains--The inhabitants, greatly distressed, petition again and again--At length a free pardon is obtained, and universal joy succeeds.]

Now the old Recorder, and my Lord Understanding, with some others of the chief of the town, to wit, such as knew they must stand and fall with the famous town of Mansoul, came together upon a day, and after consultation had, did jointly agree to draw up a petition, and send it to Emmanuel, now while he sat in the gate of Mansoul. So they drew up their petition to Emmanuel, the contents whereof were this, That they, the old inhabitants of the now deplorable town of Mansoul, confessed their sin, and were sorry that they had offended his princely Majesty, and prayed that he would spare their lives.[175]

Upon this petition he gave no answer at all, and that did trouble them yet so much the more. Now all this while the captains that were in the Recorder's house were playing with the battering-rams at the gates of the castle, to beat them down. So after some time, labour, and travail, the gate of the castle that was called Impregnable was beaten open, and broken into several splinters; and so a way made to go up to the hold in which Diabolus had hid himself.[176] Then was tidings sent down to Ear-gate, for Emmanuel still abode there, to let him know that a way was made in at the gates of the castle of Mansoul. But oh! how the trumpets at the tidings sounded throughout the Prince's camp, for that now the war was so near an end, and Mansoul itself of being set free.[177]

Then the Prince arose from the place where he was, and took with him such of his men of war as were fittest for that expedition, and marched up the street of Mansoul to the old Recorder's house.

Now the Prince himself was clad all in armour of gold, and so he marched up the town with his standard borne before him; but he kept his countenance much reserved all the way as he went, so that the people could not tell how to gather to themselves love or hatred by his looks. Now as he marched up the street, the townsfolk came out at every door to see, and could not but be taken with his person, and the glory thereof, but wondered at the reservedness of his countenance; for as yet he spake more to them by his actions and works, than he did by words or smiles. But also poor Mansoul, as in such cases all are apt to do, they interpreted the carriages of Emmanuel to them, as did Joseph's brethren his to them, even all the quite contrary way. For, thought they, if Emmanuel loved us, he would show it to us by word or carriage; but none of these he doth, therefore Emmanuel hates us. Now if Emmanuel hates us, then Mansoul shall be slain, then Mansoul shall become a dunghill. They knew that they had transgressed his Father's law, and that against him they had been in with Diabolus his enemy. They also knew that the Prince Emmanuel knew all this; for they were convinced that he was as an Angel of God, to know all things that are done in the earth. And this made them think that their condition was miserable, and that the good Prince would make them desolate.

And, thought they, what time so fit to do this in as now, when he has the bridle of Mansoul in his hand. And this I took special notice of, that the inhabitants, notwithstanding all this, could not; no, they could not, when they see him march through the town, but cringe, bow, bend, and were ready to lick the dust of his feet. They also wished a thousand times over, that he would become their Prince and Captain, and would become their protection. They would also one to another talk of the comeliness of his person, and how much for glory and valour he outstripped the great ones of the world. But, poor hearts, as to themselves their thoughts would chance, and go upon all manner of extremes; yea, through the working of them backward and forward, Mansoul became as a ball tossed, and as a rolling thing before the whirlwind[178] (Isa 18:13, 23:18).

Now when he was come to the castle gates, he commanded Diabolus to appear, and to surrender himself into his hands. But oh! how loath was the beast to appear! How he stuck at it! How he shrunk! aye, how he cringed! Yet out he came to the Prince. Then Emmanuel commanded, and they took Diabolus and bound him fast in chains, the better to reserve him to the judgment that he had appointed for him. But Diabolus stood up to entreat for himself, that Emmanuel would not send him into the deep, but suffer him to depart out of Mansoul in peace.

When Emmanuel had taken him and bound him in chains, he led him into the marketplace, and there, before Mansoul, stripped him of his armour in which he boasted so much before. This now was one of the acts of triumph of Emmanuel over his enemy; and all the while that the giant was stripping, the trumpets of the golden Prince did sound amain; the captains also shouted, and the soldiers did sing for joy. Then was Mansoul called upon to behold the beginning of Emmanuel's triumph over him in whom they so much had trusted, and of whom they so much had boasted in the days when he flattered them.

Thus having made Diabolus naked in the eyes of Mansoul, and before the commanders of the Prince, in the next place he commands that Diabolus should be bound with chains to his chariot wheels. Then leaving some of his forces, to wit, Captain Boanerges, and Captain Conviction, as a guard for the castle-gates, that resistance might be made on his behalf, if any that heretofore followed Diabolus should make an attempt to possess it, he did ride in triumph over him quite through the town of Mansoul, and so out at, and before the gate called Eye-gate, to the plain where his camp did lie (Eph 4).

But you cannot think unless you had been there, as I was, what a shout there was in Emmanuel's camp when they saw the tyrant bound by the hand of their noble Prince, and tied to his chariot wheels! And they said, He hath led captivity captive; he hath spoiled principalities and powers; Diabolus is subjected to the power of his sword, and made the object of all derision![179]

Those also that rode Reformades, and that came down to see the battle, they shouted with that greatness of voice, and sung with such melodious notes, that they caused them that dwell in the highest orbs to open their windows, put out their heads, and look down to see the cause of that glory (Luke 15:7-10).[180]

The townsmen also, so many of them as saw this sight, were as it were, while they looked, betwixt the earth and the heavens. True, they could not tell what would be the issue of things as to them, but all things were done in such excellent methods; and I cannot tell how, but things in the management of them seemed to cast a smile towards the town, so that their eyes, their heads, their hearts, and their minds, and all that they had, were taken and held, while they observed Emmanuel's order.[181]

So when the brave Prince had finished this part of his triumph over Diabolus his foe, he turned him up in the midst of his contempt and shame, having given him a charge no more to be a possessor of Mansoul. Then went he from Emmanuel, and out of the midst of his camp to inherit the parched places in a salt land, seeking rest but finding none (Matt 12:43).

Now Captain Boanerges and Captain Conviction were both of them men of very great majesty, their faces were like the faces of lions (1 Chron 12:8), and their words like the roaring of the sea; (Isa 5:29-30) and they still quartered in Mr. Conscience's house, of whom mention was made before. When therefore, the high and mighty Prince had thus far finished his triumph over Diabolus, the townsmen had more leisure to view and to behold the actions of these noble captains. But the captains carried it with that terror and dread in all that they did, and you may be sure that they had private instructions so to do, that they kept the town under continual heart-aching, and caused, in their apprehension, the well-being of Mansoul for the future, to hang in doubt before them, so that, for some considerable time, they neither knew what rest, or ease, or peace, or hope meant.[182]

Nor did the Prince himself, as yet, abide in the town of Mansoul, but in his royal pavilion in the camp, and in the midst of his Father's forces. So at a time convenient, he sent special orders to Captain Boanerges to summons Mansoul, the whole of the townsmen, into the castle-yard, and then and there, before their faces, to take my Lord Understanding, Mr. Conscience, and that notable one, the Lord Will-be-will, and put them all three in ward, and that they should set a strong guard upon them there, until his pleasure concerning them were further known. The which orders, when the captains had put them in execution, made no small addition to the fears of the town of Mansoul; for now, to their thinking, were their former fears of the ruin of Mansoul confirmed. Now, what death they should die, and how long they should be in dying, was that which most perplexed their heads and hearts. Yea, they were afraid that Emmanuel would command them all into the deep, the place that the prince Diabolus was afraid of; for they knew that they had deserved it. Also to die by the sword in the face of the town, and in the open way of disgrace, from the hand of so good and so holy a prince, that, too, troubled them sore. The town was also greatly troubled for the men that were committed to ward, for that they were their stay and their guide, and for that they believed that if those men were cut off, their execution would be but the beginning of the ruin of the town of Mansoul.[183] Wherefore what do they, but together with the men in prison, draw up a petition to the Prince, and sent it to Emmanuel by the hand of Mr. Would-live. So he went and came to the Prince's quarters, and presented the petition; the sum of which was this:--

'Great and wonderful Potentate, victor over Diabolus, and conqueror of the town of Mansoul, We, the miserable inhabitants of that most woful corporation, do humbly beg that we may find favour in thy sight, and remember not against us former transgressions, nor yet the sins of the chief of our town, but spare us according to the greatness of thy mercy, and let us not die, but live in thy sight; so shall we be willing to be thy servants, and if thou shalt think fit, to gather our meat under thy table.[184] Amen.'

So the petitioner went as was said with his petition to the Prince, and the Prince took it at his hand, but sent him away with silence. This still afflicted the town of Mansoul, but yet considering that now they must either petition, or die--for now they could not do anything else--therefore they consulted again, and sent another petition, and this petition was much after the form and method of the former.

But when the petition was drawn up, by whom should they send it was the next question; for they would not send this by him by whom they sent the first, for they thought that the Prince had taken some offence at the manner of his deportment before him; so they attempted to make Captain Conviction their messenger with it, but he said that he neither durst, nor would petition Emmanuel for traitors; nor be to the Prince an advocate for rebels. Yet withal, said he, our Prince is good, and you may adventure to send it by the hand of one of your town, provided he went with a rope about his head, and pleaded nothing but mercy.[185]

Well, they made, through fear, their delays as long as they could, and longer than delays were good; but fearing at last the dangerousness of them, they thought, but with many a fainting in their minds, to send their petition by Mr. Desires-awake; so they sent for Mr. Desires-awake. Now he dwelt in a very mean cottage in Mansoul, and he came at his neighbour's request. So they told him what they had done, and what they would do concerning petitioning, and that they did desire of him that he would go therewith to the Prince.

Then said Mr. Desires-awake, why should not I do the best I can to save so famous a town as Mansoul from deserved destruction? They therefore delivered the petition to him, and told him how he must address himself to the Prince, and wished him ten thousand good speeds. So he comes to the Prince's pavilion, as the first, and asked to speak with his Majesty; so word was carried to Emmanuel, and the Prince came out to the man. When Mr. Desires-awake saw the Prince, he fell flat with his face to the ground, and cried out, oh that Mansoul might live before thee! and with that he presented the petition. The which when the Prince had read, he turned away for a while and wept, but, refraining himself, he turned again to the man, who all this while lay crying at his feet as at the first, and said to him, Go thy way to thy place, and I will consider of thy requests.

Now you may think that they of Mansoul that had sent him, what with guilt, and what with fear, lest their petition should be rejected, could not but look with many a long look, and that too with strange workings of heart, to see what would become of their petition. At last, they saw their messenger coming back; so when he was come, they asked him how he fared, what Emmanuel said, and what was become of the petition. But he told them that he would be silent till he came to the prison to my Lord Mayor, my Lord Will-be-will, and Mr. Recorder. So he went forwards towards the prison-house, where the men of Mansoul lay bound. But oh! what a multitude flocked after to hear what the messenger said. So when he was come and had shown himself at the grate of the prison, my Lord Mayor himself looked as white as a clout, the Recorder also did quake; but they asked and said, Come, good sir, what did the great Prince say to you? Then said Mr. Desires-awake, when I came to my Lord's pavilion, I called, and he came forth; so I fell prostrate at his feet, and delivered to him my petition, for the greatness of his person, and the glory of his countenance would not suffer me to stand upon my legs. Now as he received the petition, I cried, oh that Mansoul might live before thee! So, when for a while he had looked thereon, he turned him about, and said to his servant, Go thy way to thy place again, and I will consider of thy requests. The messenger added, moreover, and said, The Prince to whom you sent me is such a one for beauty and glory, that whoso sees him must both love and fear him; I, for my part, can do no less; but I know not what will be the end of these things.[186] At this answer they were all at a stand; both they in prison, and they that followed the messenger thither to hear the news; nor knew they what or what manner of interpretation to put upon what the Prince had said. Now, when the prison was cleared of the throng, the prisoners among themselves began to comment upon Emmanuel's words. My Lord Mayor said that the answer did not look with a rugged face; but Will-be-will said that it betokened evil; and the Recorder, that it was a messenger of death. Now, they that were left, and that stood behind, and so could not so well hear what the prisoners said, some of them catched hold of one piece of a sentence, and some on a bit of another; some took hold of what the messenger said, and some of the prisoners' judgment thereon; so none had the right understanding of things; but you cannot imagine what work these people made, and what a confusion there was in Mansoul now.[187]

For presently they that had heard what was said, flew about the town; one crying one thing, and another the quite contrary, and both were sure enough they told the truth, for they did hear, they said, with their ears what was said, and therefore could not be deceived. One would say, We must all be killed; another would say, We must all be saved; and a third would say that the Prince would not be concerned with Mansoul; and a fourth that the prisoners must be suddenly put to death. And as I said, every one stood to it that he told his tale the rightest, and that all others but he were out. Wherefore Mansoul had now molestation upon molestation, nor could any man know on what to rest the sole of his foot; for one would go by now, and as he went, if he heard his neighbour tell his tale, to be sure he would tell the quite contrary, and both would stand in it that he told the truth. Nay, some of them had got this story by the end, that the Prince did intend to put Mansoul to the sword. And now it began to be dark; wherefore poor Mansoul was in sad perplexity all that night until the morning.[188]

But, so far as I could gather, by the best information that I could get, all this hubbub came through the words that the Recorder said, when he told them that in his judgment the Prince's answer was a messenger of death. It was this that fired the town, and that began the fright in Mansoul, for Mansoul, in former times, did use to count that Mr. Recorder was a seer, and that his sentence was equal to the best of oracles, and thus was Mansoul a terror to itself.

And now did they begin to feel what was the effects of stubborn rebellion, and unlawful resistance against their Prince. I say they now began to feel the effects thereof by guilt and fear, that now had swallowed them up, and who more involved in the one, but they who were most in the other; to wit, the chief of the town of Mansoul.

To be brief, when the fame[189] of the fright was out of the town, and the prisoners had a little recovered themselves, they take to themselves some heart, and think to petition the Prince for life again. So they did draw up a third petition, the contents whereof were this:--

'Prince Emmanuel the Great, Lord of all worlds, and Master of mercy, We, thy poor, wretched, miserable, dying town of Mansoul, do confess unto thy great and glorious Majesty that we have sinned against thy Father and thee, and are no more worthy to be called thy Mansoul, but rather to be cast into the pit. If thou wilt slay us, we have deserved it. If thou wilt condemn us to the deep, we cannot but say thou art righteous. We cannot complain, whatever thou dost, or however thou carriest it towards us. But oh! let mercy reign; and let it be extended to us! Oh let mercy take hold upon us, and free us from our transgressions, and we will sing of thy mercy and of thy judgment. Amen.'

This petition, when drawn up, was designed to be sent to the Prince as the first, but who should carry it, that was the question. Some said, Let him do it that went with the first; but others thought not good to do that, and that because he sped no better. Now there was an old man in the town, and his name was Mr. Good-deed; a man that bare only the name, but had nothing of the nature of the thing. Now some were for sending of him, but the Recorder was by no means for that, for, said he, we now stand in need of, and are pleading for mercy, wherefore to send our petition by a man of this name will seem to cross the petition itself. Should we make Mr. Good-deed our messenger when our petition cries for mercy?

'Besides,' quoth the old gentleman, 'should the Prince now, as he receives the petition, ask him and say, What is thy name? as nobody knows but he will, and he should say, Old Good-deed, what, think you, would Emmanuel say but this, Aye! is old Good-deed yet alive in Mansoul? then let old Good-deed save you from your distresses? And if he says so, I am sure we are lost; nor can a thousand of old Good-deeds save Mansoul.'[190]

After the Recorder had given in his reasons why old Good-deed should not go with this petition to Emmanuel, the rest of the prisoners and chief of Mansoul opposed it also, and so old Good-deed was laid aside, and they agreed to send Mr. Desires-awake again; so they sent for him, and desired him that he would a second time go with their petition to the Prince, and he readily told them he would. But they bid him that in anywise he would take heed that in no word or carriage he gave offence to the Prince, for by doing so, for ought we can tell, you may bring Mansoul into utter destruction, said they.

Now Mr. Desires-awake, when he saw that he must go of this errand, besought that they would grant that Mr. Wet-eyes might go with him. Now this Mr. Wet-eyes was a near neighbour of Mr. Desires, a poor man, a man of a broken spirit, yet one that could speak well to a petition. So they granted that he should go with him. Wherefore they address themselves to their business. Mr. Desires put a rope upon his head, and Mr. Wet-eyes went with hands wringing together.[191] Thus they went to the Prince's pavilion.

Now when they went to petition this third time, they were not without thoughts that by often coming they might be a burden to the Prince. Wherefore, when they were come to the door of his pavilion, they first made their apology for themselves, and for their coming to trouble Emmanuel so often; and they said that they came not hither to-day for that they delighted in being troublesome, or for that they delighted to hear themselves talk, but for that necessity caused them to come to his Majesty: they could, they said, have no rest day nor night, because of their transgressions against Shaddai, and against Emmanuel, his Son. They also thought that some misbehaviour of Mr. Desires-awake the last time, might give distaste to his Highness, and so cause that he returned from so merciful a Prince empty, and without countenance. So when they had made this apology, Mr. Desires-awake cast himself prostrate upon the ground as at the first, at the feet of the mighty Prince, saying, Oh that Mansoul might live before thee! and so he delivered his petition. The Prince then having read the petition, turned aside awhile, as before, and, coming again to the place where the petitioner lay on the ground, he demanded what his name was, and of what esteem in the account of Mansoul; for that he, above all the multitude in Mansoul, should be sent to him upon such an errand. Then said the man to the Prince, 'Oh let not my Lord be angry; and why inquirest thou after the name of such a dead dog as I am? Pass by, I pray thee, and take no notice of who I am, because there is, as thou very well knowest, so great a disproportion between me and thee. Why the townsmen chose to send me on this errand to my Lord, is best known to themselves, but it could not be for that they thought that I had favour with my Lord. For my part, I am out of charity with myself; who then should be in love with me? Yet live I would, and so would I that my townsmen should, and because both they and myself are guilty of great transgressions, therefore they have sent me, and I am come in their names to beg of my Lord for mercy. Let it please thee therefore to incline to mercy, but ask not what thy servants are.'

Then said the Prince, 'And what is he that is become thy companion in this so weighty a matter?' So Mr. Desires told Emmanuel that he was a poor neighbour of his, and one of his most intimate associates, and his name, said he, may it please your most excellent Majesty, is Wet-eyes, of the town of Mansoul. I know that there are many of that name that are naught, but I hope it will be no offence to my Lord that I have brought my poor neighbour with me.

Then Mr. Wet-eyes fell on his face to the ground, and made this apology for his coming with his neighbour to his Lord:--

'O my Lord,' quoth he, 'what I am I know not myself, nor whether my name be feigned or true, especially when I begin to think what some have said, namely, that this name was given me because Mr. Repentance was my father. Good men have bad children, and the sincere do oftentimes beget hypocrites. My mother also called me by this name from the cradle, but whether because of the moistness of my brain, or because of the softness of my heart, I cannot tell. I see dirt in mine own tears, and filthiness in the bottom of my prayers.[192] But I pray thee'--and all this while the gentleman wept--'that thou wouldest not remember against us our transgressions, nor take offence at the unqualifiedness of thy servants, but mercifully pass by the sin of Mansoul, and refrain from the glorifying of thy grace no longer.'[193]

So at his bidding they arose, and both stood trembling before him, and he spake to them to this purpose:--

'The town of Mansoul hath grievously rebelled against my Father, in that they have rejected him from being their King, and did choose to themselves for their captain a liar, a murderer, and a runagate slave. For this Diabolus, and your pretended prince, though once so highly accounted of by you, made rebellion against my Father and me, even in our palace and highest court there, thinking to become a prince and king. But being there timely discovered and apprehended, and for his wickedness bound in chains, and separated to the pit with those who were his companions, he offered himself to you, and you have received him.

'Now this is, and for a long time hath been an high affront to my Father, wherefore my Father sent to you a powerful army to reduce you to your obedience. But you know how those men, their captains, and their counsels, were esteemed of you, and what they received at your hand. You rebelled against them, you shut your gates upon them, you bid them battle, you fought them, and fought for Diabolus against them. So they sent to my Father for more power, and I with my men are come to subdue you. But as you treated the servants, so you treated their Lord. You stood up in hostile manner against me, you shut up your gates against me, you turned the deaf ear to me, and resisted as long as you could; but now I have made a conquest of you. Did you cry me mercy so long as you had hopes that you might prevail against me?[194] But now I have taken the town, you cry. But why did you not cry before, when the white flag of my mercy, the red flag of justice, and the black flag that threatened execution, were set up to cite you to it? Now I have conquered your Diabolus, you come to me for favour, but why did you not help me against the mighty? Yet I will consider your petition, and will answer it so as will be for my glory.

'Go, bid Captain Boanerges and Captain Conviction bring the prisoners out to me into the camp to-morrow, and say you to Captain Judgment and Captain Execution, Stay you in the castle, and take good heed to yourselves that you keep all quiet in Mansoul until you hear further from me.' And with that he turned himself from them, and went into his royal pavilion again.[195]

So the petitioners having received this answer from the Prince, returned as at the first to go to their companions again. But they had not gone far, but thoughts began to work in their minds that no mercy as yet was intended by the Prince to Mansoul; so they went to the place where the prisoners lay bound; but these workings of mind about what would become of Mansoul, had such strong power over them, that by that they were come unto them that sent them, they were scarce able to deliver their message.