faid, the men of the house would increase all this; for whoever came to him, or difcourfed with him, nothing would he talk of, tell them, or hear, but that death and deftruction now attended, Manfoul.

For (quoth the old gentleman) you are all of you fenfible that we have all been traitors to that once defpifed, but now famoufly victorious and glorious prince EMANUEL; for he now, as you fee, doth not only lie in clofe' siege about us, but hath forced his entrance in at our gates: moreover, Diabolus flies before him; and he hath, as you behold, made of my houfe a garrifon against the castle, where he is. I for my part have tranfgreffed greatly; and he that is clean, it is well for him. But, I fay, I have tranfgreffed greatly, in keeping filence, when I fhould have spoken; and in perverting juftice, when I fhould have executed the fame. (a) True, I have fuffered fomething at the hands of Diabolus, for taking part with the laws of king SHADDAI; but that, alas! what will that do! Will that make compenfation for the rebellions and treasons that I have done, and have fuffered, without gainfaying, to be committed in the town of Manfoul? O tremble to think what will be the end of this fo dreadful and fo ireful a beginning!

Now while thefe brave captains were thus The brave exbufy in the house of the old recorder, cap- ploits of captain tain Execution was as bufy in other parts of Execution. the town, in fecuring the back ftreets and the walls. He alfo hunted the lord Will-be-will forely, and fuffered him not to rest in any corner. He purfued fo hard, that he drove his men from him, and made him glad to thrust his head into a hole. Alfo this mighty warrior cut three of lord Will-be-will's officers down to the ground; one

was

(a) Conviction precedes, tho' it does not always end in converfion; but the confcience must first be ftruck with a fenfe of guilt and deferved wrath, before it will fue for mercy. When thus affected, Chrift pours the oil of forgiveness, and the wine of his grace, into the wounded spirit

flain.

was old Mr. Prejudice, he that had his crown. Old Prejudice, crack'd in the mutiny: this man was made, by my lord Will-be-will, keeper of Ear-gate, and fell by the hand of captain' Execution. There was alfo one Mr. Backward-to-all-but-naught, and he also was one of the lord Will-be-will's officers, and was the captain of the two guns that once were mounted on the top of Eargate; he also was cut down to the ground by the hands of captain Execution. Befides these two, there was another, a third, and his name was captain Treacherous, a vile man this was, but one that Will-be-will put a great deal of confidence in; but him alfo did this captain Execution cut down to the ground with the reft. He also made a very great flaughter among my lord Will-be-will's foldiers, killing many that were ftout and sturdy, and wounding many that for Diabolus were nimble and active. But all thefe were Diabolonians; there was not a man, a native of Manfoul, hurt.

Other feats of war were likewife performed by Captain Goodhope flays cap- other of the captains, as at Eye-gate, where tain Blindfold; captains Good-hope and captain Charity had a charge, was great execution done; for captain Goodhope, with his own hands, flew one captain Blindfold, (a) 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, flew many, and wounded more, and made the reft hide their heads in corners.

There was alfo at that gate Mr. Ill-paufe, of whom you have heard before; he was an old man, and had a beard that reached down to his girdle; the fame was he that was orator to Diabolus; he did much mifchief And old Ill in the town of Manfoul, and fell by the paule. hands of captain Good-hope.

What

(a) Awfully blind are the minds of carnal men to the things that belong to their peace: till the Lord the Spirit enlighten them, grofs darkness covers the people, amidst the blaze of gofpel day.

3

What fhall I fay? The Diabolonians in these days lay dead in every corner, though too many were yet alive in Manfoul.

Now the old recorder, and my lord Un- The old townfderstanding, with fome others of the chief men meet and confult, of the town, to wit, fuch as knew they muft ftand or fall with the famous town of Manfoul, came together upon a day, and, after confultation had, jointly agreed to draw up a petition, and fend it to EMANUEL, now while he fat in the gate of Manfoul. So they drew up their petition to EMANUEL, the contents whereof were thefe: "That they, the old inhabitants of The town petithe deplorable town of Manfoul, confeffed tion, and are an their fin, and were forry that they had of- fwered with fended his princely Majefty, and prayed that he would fpare their lives."

filence.

all, and that

Unto this petition he gave no answer at troubled them yet fo much the more. (a) Now all this while the captains that were in the recorder's house were playing with the battering-rams at the gates The caftle gate of the caftle, to beat them down. So after broke open. fome time, labour and travail, the gate of

the caftle that was called Impregnable was beaten open, and broken into feveral fplinters, and fo a way was made to go into the hold in which Diabolus had hid himself. Then were tidings fent down to Ear-gate, for EMANUEL ftill abode there, to let him know that a way was made in at the gates of the caftle of Manfoul. But O how the trumpets at the tidings founded throughout the Prince's camp, for that now the war was fo near an end, and Manfoul itself of being set free!

Then the Prince arofe from the place EMANUEL where he was, and took with him fuch of marches into his men of war as were fittest for the expedi.

Manfoul.

tion,

(a) Tho' the Lord seems for a season not to harken to the prayers of his dear people, yet, because his love to them is ever the fame, they muft continue to wait on him, who will in due time send an answer of peace, and not forsake them,

tion, and marched up the streets of Manfoul to the old recorder's house.

EMANUEL marches

Now the Prince himself was clad all in armour of gold, and fo he marched up the through Man- town, with his ftandard borne before him; foul. but he kept his countenance much referved all the way as he went, fo 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 fee, and could not but be taken with his perfon, and the glory thereof, but wondered at the reservedness of his countenance; (a) for as yet he fpake more to them by his actions and works, than he did by words or fmiles. But alfo How they inpoor Manfoul (as in fuch cafes all terpreted are apt to do) interpreted the carriage of EMANUEL'S EMANUEL to them, as did Jofeph's brethren carriage. his to them, even all the quite contrary way; for, thought they, if EMANUEL loved us, he would fhew it to us by word or carriage; but none of these he does, therefore EMANUEL hates us. Now if EMANUEL hates us, Manfoul fhall be flain, then Mansoul shall become a dunghill. They knew that they had tranfgreffed his law, and that against him they had been in league with Diabolus his enemy. They alfo knew that prince EMANUEL knew all this; for they were convinced that he was an angel of God, to know all things that are done in the earth. And this made them think that their condition was miferable, and that the good Prince would make them desolate.

And, thought they, what time fo fit to do this in, as now, when he has the bridle of Manfoul in his hand? And this I took special notice of, that the inhabitants,

not

(a) There is fin enough in us to provoke the Lord to hide his face from us for ever; but his compaffions fail out. God hates fin, but loves the contrite finner, with whom, viewed in Chrift, and for his righteoufnefs fake, the Father is well pleafed. See Lam. iii. 22. Ifa. xlii. 21.

notwithstanding all this, could not, no, they could not, when they faw him march thro' the town, but cringe, bow, bend, and were ready to lick the dust off his feet: they also wifhed a thousand times over, that he would become their prince and captain, and would become their protector. They would alfo talk one to another of the comeliness of his perfon, and how much for glory and valour he outstript the great ones of the world. But, poor hearts! as to themselves, their thoughts would change, and go upon all manner of extremes. Yea, thro' the working of them backward and forward, Manfoul became as a ball toffed, and as a rolling thing before a whirlwind, Now when he was come to the cattle

He comes to

gates, he commanded Diabolus to appear, the caftle, and

bolus to furren

der himself.

and to furrender himself into his hands. commands Dia-
But Oh how loth was the beaft to appear!
How he ftuck at it! how he fhrunk! how
he cringed! Yet now he came to the Prince. Then
EMANUEL Commanded, and they took Diabolus, and
bound him faft in chains, (a) the better to reserve him to
the judgment that he had appointed for him. But Diabo-
lus ftood up to intreat for himself, that EMANUEL would
not fend him into the deep, but suffer him to depart out of
Manfoul in peace.

bound in chains.

When EMANUEL had taken him and bound him in chains, he led him into the He is taken and market-place, and there before Manfoul ftript him of his armour which he boasted so much of before. This now was one of the acts of triumph of EMANUEL over his enemy and all the while the giant was ftripping, the trumpets of the Golden Prince founded amain; the captains also shouted, and the foldiers fang

for

(a) Tho' God's people often write bitter things against themselves (and, confidering what they are by nature, they can never be enough abased); yet they fhould never dif honour the Lord's faithfulness by defpair, but credit his word of promife, which faith, "The God of peace fhall bruife Satan under your feet fhortly," Rom, xvi, 20.