of heart, to see what would become of their petition. At laft they faw their meffenger coming back; fo when he was come, they asked him how he fared? His return, and what EMANUEL faid? and what was be- anfwer to them. come of the petition? But he told them, that sent him. that he would be filent till he came to the prifon to my lord-mayor, my lord Will-be-will, and Mr. Recorder. So he went forwards towards the prifon-house, where the men of Manfoul lay bound. But O! what a multitude flocked after, to hear what the meffenger faid. So when he was come, and had fhewed himfelf at the gate of the prifon, my lord-mayor himself looked as white as a clout, the Recorder alfo quaked; but they asked, and faid, Come, good Sir, what did the great Prince fay to you? Then faid Mr. Defires-awake, When I came to my Lord's pavilion, I called, and he came forth; fo I fell proftrate at his feet, and delivered to him my petition (for the greatness of his perfon, and the glory of his countenance, would not fuffer me to ftand upon my legs). Now as he received the petition, I cried, that Manfoul might live before thee! So when for a while he had looked thereon, he turned about, and said to his fervant, Go thy way to thy place again, and I will confider of thy requests. The mellenger added moreover, and faid, The Prince to whom you fent me, is fuch a one for beauty and glory, that whofo fees him, muft love and fear him: (a) I for my part can do no lefs; but I know not what Manfoul conwill be the end of these things. At this an- founded at the fwer they were all at a stand, both they in answer. prison, and they that followed the meffenger thither to

hear

(a) It betokens true converfion, when the foul can, as it were, with one eye behold it's total defilement by fin, and abhor itself in duft and ashes; and, with the other, be ftruck with the glory and excellency of Chrift's perfon and work, and the all-fufficiency of his falvation.

The prifoners' judgment upon the Prince's anfwer.

hear the news; nor knew they what, or what manner of interpretation to put upon what the Prince had faid. Now when the prifon was cleared of the throng, the prifoners began. to, comment among themselves upon EMANUEL'S words. My lord-mayor faid, that the answer did not look with a rugged face; but Will-be-will faid it betokened evil; and the Recorder, that it was a meffenger of death. Now they that were left, and that stood behind, and fo could not fo well hear what the prisoners faid, fome of them catched hold of one piece of a fentence, and fome on a bit of another; fome took hold of what the messenger faid, and fome of the prifoners' judgMifgiving ment thereon, so none had a right underthoughts breed standing of things; but you cannot imagine confufion in what work thefe people made, and what confufion there was in Manfoul now.

Manfoul.

For presently they that had heard what was faid, flew about the town, one crying one thing, and another the quite contrary, and both were fure enough they told true, for they heard, they faid, with their ears what was faid, and therefore could not be deceived. One would fay, "We must all be killed;" another would fay, "We must all be faved;" and a third would fay, "That the Prince would not be concerned with Manfoul;" and a fourth, "That the prifoners must be fuddenly put to death:” («) and, as I faid, every one ftood to it, that he told his tale the righteft, and that all others but he were out. Wherefore Manfoul 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 fure he would

(a) Thoughts difparaging to the grace of God will prevail in the foul, till Chrift be formed in us the hope of glory; which bleffing may the Lord grant to every doubting and defponding finner!

would tell the quite contrary, and both would ftand in it that he told the truth. Nay, fome of them had got this story by the end, That the Prince intended to put Manfoul to the fword.' And now it began to be dark; wherefore poor Man foul was in fad perplexity all that night, until the next morning.

Manfoul in per

plexity.

What will not

But, fo far as I could gather by the beft information I could get, all this hubbub came through the words that the Recorder faid, when he told them, thatin his judgment the Prince's answer was a guilt do? mellenger of death. 'Twas this that fired the town, and that began the fright in Manfoul; for Manfoul in former times used to count that Mr. Recorder was a feer, that his fentence was equal to the belt of oracles; and thus was Manfoul a terror to itself.

And now they began to feel the effects of stubborn rebellion, and unlawful refiftance against their Prince. I fay, now they began to feel the effects thereof by guilt and fear, that now had fwallowed them up, and who more involved in the one, but they that were most in the other, to wit, the chief of the town of Manfoul?

To be brief; when the fame of the fright was out of the town, and the prifoners had a little recovered themselves, they take to themselves fome heart, and think to petition again for life. (a) So they drew up a third petition, the contents whereof were these :

They refolve to petition again.

the Prince

Their petition.

Prince EMANUEL the Great, Lord of all worlds, and Master of mercy, we thy poor, wretched, miferable, dying town of Manfoul, do confefs unto thy great and glorious Majefty, that we have finned against thy Father

and

(a) Under the alarmings of confcience, or in any fore affliction, the effectual fervent prayer of faith availeth much, James v. 16. May we pray without ceafing, and in every thing give thanks!

and Thee; and are no more worthy to be called thy Manfoul, but rather to be caft into the pit. If thou wilt flay us, we have deferved it. If thou wilt condemn us to the deep, we cannot but fay thou art righteous. We cannot complain, whatever thou doft, or however thou carriest it towards us. But Oh! let mercy reign, and let it be extended to us! O let mercy take hold upon us, and free us from our tranfgreffions, and we will fing of thy mercy, and of thy judginents! Amen.'

Prayer attended

This petition, when drawn up, was defigned to be fent to the Prince as the first; with difficulty. but who fhould carry it, that was the queftion. Some faid, let him do it that went with the first; but others thought good not to do that, and that because he Old Good-deed fped no better. Now there was an old man propounded as a in the town, and his name was Mr. Goodfit perfon to deed; a man that bare only the name, but carry the petidion. had nothing of the nature of the thing. Some were for fending him; but the Recorder was by no means for that: for, faid he, we now stand in need of, and are pleading for mercy, wherefore to fend our petition by a man of his name, will feem to cross the petition itself, fhould we make Mr. Good-deed our meffenger, when our petition cries for mercy. (a)

The old Recorder oppofes it, and he is rejected.

Befides, quoth the old gentleman, fhould the Prince now, as he receives the petition, ask him, and say, What is thy name? (and nobody knows but he will) and he fhould fay, Old Good-deed; what think you would EMANUEL fay but this, Ay, is old Good-deed yet alive in Manfoul? then let old Good-deed fave you from your diftreffes. And if he fays fo, I am fure we

are

(a) We must addrefs the throne of grace not through our righteoufnefs, but that of the God-man mediator; for, not by our works (which we cannot perform acceptably), but by his mercy in Chrift Jefus he faveth us, Jer. xxii. 6. Tit. iii. 3.

are loft, nor can a thoufand of old Good-deeds fave Manfoul.

After the Recorder had given in his reafons, why old Good-deed fhould not go with this petition to EMANUEL, the rest of the prifoners and chiefs of Manfoul oppofed it alfo; and fo old Good-deed was laid afide, and they agreed to fend Mr. Defires-awake again. Accordingly they fent for him, and defired that he would a fecond time go with their petition to the Prince; and he readily told them he would but they bid him, that in any wife he fhould take heed that in no word or carriage he gave offence to the Prince; for by doing fo, for aught we can tell, faid they, you may bring Mansoul into utter deftruction.

Mr. Defires

awake goes again, and takes one Wet-eyes with him.

Now Mr. Defires-awake, when he faw that he must go on this errand, befought that they would grant that Mr. Wet-eyes might go with him. (a) Now this Wet-eyes was a near neighbour of Mr. Defires, a poor man, a man of broken fpirit, yet one that could fpeak well to a petition. So they granted that he fhould go with him. Wherefore they address themselves to their business: Mr. Defires put a rope upon his head, and Mr. Wet-eyes went with his hands wringing together. 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 Their apology first made their apology for themselves, and for their coming for their coming to trouble EMANUEL fo again. often; and they faid, that they came not hither to-day for that they delighted to hear themselves talk, but for that neceffity

(a) Pride and felf-righteoufnefs God abhors; but the humble and contrite fpirit he will not contemn or reject. Pf. xxxiv, 18. li. 17. Ifa. lvii, 15.