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their own eyes beheld the captains in the palace, and their battering-rams ever played at the castlegates to beat them down, they were rivetted in their fears, and it made them as in amaze.

The office of Consciencé, when he is awakened.

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.

"For (quoth the old gentleman) you are all of you sensible that we have all been traitors to that once despised, but now famously victorious and glorious Prince Immanuel; 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 flies 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 justice, when I should have executed the same. True, I have suffered something at the hands 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? OI tremble to think what will be the end of this so dreadful and so ireful a beginning9!

9 Conscience, when awakened, will open his mouth in humble confession of past offences, of rebellion against God, lamenting especially his having "kept silence when he ought to have spoken."

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Now while these brave captains were thus busy The brave ex- in the house of the old recorder, ploits of Captain Captain Execution was as busy in Execution. other parts of the town, in securing the back streets and the walls. He also hunted the Lord Will-be-will sorely, and suffered him not to rest in any corner. He pursued so hard, that he drove his men from him, and made him glad to thrust his head into a hole. Also this mighty warrior cut three of Lord Will-be-will's officers down to the ground; one was old Mr. Prejudice,

Old Prejudice slain.

he that had his crown cracked 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 also 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 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 put a great deal of confidence in; but him also did this Captain Execution cut down to the ground with the rest. He also made a very great slaughter among my Lord Will-be-will's soldiers, killing many that were stout and sturdy, and wounding many that for Diabolus were nimble and active. But all these were Diabolonians; there was not a man, a native of Mansoul, hurt.

Other feats of war were likewise performed by Captain Good- other of the captains, as at Eye-gate, hope slays Cap- where Captain Good-hope and Captain Blindfold; tain Charity had a charge, was great execution done; for 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 DiAnd old Ill- abolus: he did much mischief in the town of Mansoul, and fell by the hands of Captain Good-hope.

pause.

What shall I say? The Diabolonians in these days lay dead in every corner, though too many were yet alive in Mansoul 10.

10 The work of conversion proceeds. The carnal will is pursued, and gets no rest. Prejudice, who once kept Eargate barred against Christ, and who was wounded before, is now utterly slain. Aversion to good, Treachery, Blindness, and especially old Ill-pause, who was for deferring every thing good to an hereafter-all these were destroyed; but remember, all these were Diabolonians, not one native power of the sour was injured.

CHAP. VIII.

A Conference of the principal Inhabitants, who agree to petition the Prince for their Lives....The Castle Gate broke open.... Immanuel 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.

Nov

consult.

WOW the old recorder, and my Lord Understanding, with some others of the chief of the town, to wit, such as knew they must stand or fall with the famous town of Mansoul, came togeThe old towns. ther upon a day, and, after consultamen meet and tion had, jointly agreed to draw up a petition, and send it to Immanuel, now while he sat in the gate of Mansoul. So they drew up their petition to Immanuel, the contents The town petiwhereof were these: "That they, tion, and are an- the old inhabitants of the 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'."

swered with

silence.

Unto this petition he gave no answer at all, and that troubled them yet so much the more. Now all this while the captains that were in the record

1 No sooner does Christ come to a person by converting grace, than he begins to pray. "Behold he prayeth!" was Christ's own remark concerning converted Saul, Acts ix. But the praying soul may fear for a time that the Lord does not hear. He may defer his answer, but the christian cannot pray in vain.

The castle gate

broke open.

er'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 was made to go into the hold in which Diabolus had hid himself. Then were tidings sent down to Ear-gate, for Immanuel still abode there, to let him know that a way was made in at the gates of the castle of Mansoul. But O 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?!

Immanuel

Mansoul.

Immanuel marches

through Man

Then the prince arose from the place where he was, and took with him such of his marches into men of war, as were fittest for the expedition, and marched up the streets 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

soul,

2 At length the Castle of the heart is taken. That heart yields to God which was before deemed impregnable, and indeed was so to any other power than that of invincible grace. Then indeed there is joy in heaven.

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