So Incredulity, at Diabolus's command, began, and said, " Gentlemen, you have here, as we do behold, to the disturbance of our prince, and molestation of the town of Mansoul, encamped against it; but from whence you come we will not know; and what you are we will not believe. Indeed, you tell us in your terrible speech, that you have this authority from Shaddai; but by what right he commands you to do it, of that we shall be ignorant.

"You have, also, by the authority aforesaid, summoned this town to desert her lord, and, for protection, to yield up herself to the great Shaddai, your King; flatteringly telling her, that if she will do it, he will pass by, and not charge her with, past offences.

"Further, you have also, to the terror of the town of Mansoul, threatened with great and sore destruction to punish this corporation, if she consents not to do as your wills would have her.

of unbelief.

"Now, captains, from whencesoever you come, and though The true picture your designs be ever so right, yet know ye, that neither my Lord Diabolus, nor I, his servant, Incredulity, nor yet our brave Mansoul, doth regard either your persons, message, or the King that you say hath sent you: his power, his greatness, his vengeance we fear not; nor will we yield at all to your summons.

As for the war that you threaten to make upon us, we must therein defend ourselves as well as we can: and, know ye, that we are not without wherewithal to bid defiance to you. And, in short, (for I will not be tedious,) I tell you that we take you to be some vagabond runagate crew, who, having shaken off all obedience to your king, have gotten together in a tumultuous manner, and are ranging from place to place, to see if, through those flatteries you are skilled to make on the one side, and threats wherewith you think to fright on the other, you can make some silly town, city, or country, to desert their place, and leave it to you: but Mansoul is none of them.

"To conclude: We dread you not, we fear you not, nor will we obey your summons: our gates we will keep shut against you, our place we will keep you out of; nor will we long thus suffer you to sit down before us. Our people must live in quiet: your appearance doth disturb them; wherefore, arise, with bag and baggage, and begone, or we will let fly Flesh. from the walls against you."

This oration made by old Incredulity, was seconded by desperate Willbe-will, in words to this effect.*

"Gentlemen, we have heard your demand, and the noise of your threats,

WILL-BE-WILL S
ORATION.

and heard the sound of your summons; but we fear not your force, we regard not your threats, but we will abide as you found us. And we command you, that in three days' time you cease to appear in these parts, or you shall know what it is once to dare to offer to rouse the lion, Diabolus, when asleep in the town of Mansoul."

The Recorder, whose name was Forget-Good, he also added as followeth :

"Gentlemen, my lords, as you see, have with mild and gentle words answered your rough and angry speeches; they have, moreover, in my hearing, given you leave quietly to depart as you came: wherefore take their kindness and begone. We might have come out with force upon you, and have caused you to feel the dint of our swords: but as we love ease and quiet ourselves, so we love not to hurt or molest others."

Then did the town of Mansoul shout for joy; as if by Diabolus and his crew some great advantage had been obtained over the captains. They also rang the bells, and made merry, and danced upon the walls.

Diabolus also returned to the castle, and the Lord Mayor and Recorder to their places: but the Lord Will-be-will took special care that the gates should be secured with double guards, double bolts, and double locks and bars. And that Ear-gate especially might be the better looked to, (for that was the gate in at which the King's forces sought most to enter,) the • When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace. Luke xi. 21.

Lord Will-be-will made one old Mr. Prejudice, an angry and ill-conditioned fellow, captain of the ward at that gate; and put under his power sixty men, called deaf men; men advantageous for that service, forasmuch as they mattered no words of the captains or of the soldiers.

Now when the captains heard the answer of the great ones, and they could not get a hearing from the old natives of the town, and that Mansoul was resolved to give the King's army battle; they prepared themselves to receive them, and to try it out by the power of the arm. And, first, they made their force more formidable against Ear-gate; for they knew that unless they could penetrate that, no good could be done upon the town. This done, they put the rest of their men in their places. After which they gave out the word, which was, Ye must be born again. Then they sounded the trumpet: then they in the town made answer, with shout against shout, charge against charge, and so the battle began. Now they in the town. had planted upon Mansoul, over Ear-gate, two great guns, the one called High-mind, and the other Heady. Unto these two guns they trusted much; they were cast in the castle by Diabolus's founder, whose name was Mr. Puff-up and mischievous pieces they were. But so vigilant and watchful were the captains when they saw them, that though sometimes their shot would go by their ears with a whiz, yet they did them no harm. By these two guns, the townsfolk made no question but greatly to annoy the camp of Shaddai, and well enough to secure the gate; but they had not much cause to boast of what execution they did, as from what follows will be gathered.

:

The famous town of Mansoul had also some other small pieces in it, of the which they made use against the camp of Shaddai.

They from the camp also did as stoutly, and with as much of that as may in truth be called valour, let fly as fast at the town, and at Ear-gate: for they saw, that unless they could break open Ear-gate, it would be but in vain to batter the wall. Now the King's captains had brought with them several slings, and two or three battering-rams: with their slings, The sentence therefore, they battered the houses and people of the town, and and power of with their rams they sought to break Ear-gate open.

the word.

The camp and town had several skirmishes and brisk encounters; while the captains, with their engines, made many brave attempts to break open and beat down the tower that was over Ear-gate, and at the said gate to

.

make their entrance: but Mansoul stood it out so lustily, through the rage of Diabolus, the valour of the Lord Will-be-will, and the conduct of old Incredulity, the Mayor, and Mr. Forget-good, the Recorder, that the charge and expense of that summer's wars (on the King's side) seemed to be almost entirely lost, and the advantage to return to Mansoul: but when the captains saw how it was, they made a fair retreat, and entrenched themselves in their winter quarters. Now in this war you must needs think there was much loss on both sides, of which be pleased to take this brief account following: The King's captains, when they marched from the court to come against Mansoul to war, as they came crossing over the country, they happened to light upon three young men that had a mind to go for soldiers; proper men they were, and men of courage (and skill) to appearance. Their names were Mr. Tradition, Mr. Human-wisdom, and Mr. Man's-invention. So they came up to the captains, and proffered their service to Shaddai. The captains then told them of their design, and bid them not to be rash in their offers; but the young men told them that they had considered the thing before, and that hearing they were upon their march for such a design, came hither on purpose to meet them, that they might be listed under their excellencies. Then Captain Boanerges, for that they were men of courage, listed them into his company, and so away they went to the war.

Now, when the war was begun, in one of the briskest skirmishes, so it was that a company of the Lord Will-be-will's men sallied out of the sally-. ports, or posterns of the town, and fell in upon the rear of Captain Boanerges' men where these three fellows happened to be; so he took them prisoners, and away they carried them into the town, where they had not lain long in durance, but it began to be noised about the streets of the town, what three notable prisoners the Lord Will-be-will's men had taken, and brought in prisoners out of the camp of Shaddai. At length, tidings thereof were carried to Diabolus to the castle, to wit, what my Lord Willbe-will's men had done, and whom they had taken prisoners.

Then Diabolus called for Will-be-will, to know the certainty of this matter. So he asked him, and he told him. Then did the giant send for the prisoners, and when they were come, he demanded of them who they were, whence they came, and what they did in the camp of Shaddai? and they told him. Then he sent them into ward again. Not many days after he sent for them to him again, and then asked them, if they would be

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