Yea, they all this while took him to be one of that power and force that

by no means could be resisted. Wherefore, while he was thus entreating

that he might have yet his residence there, and that Emmanuel would not

take it from him by force, the inhabitants boasted even of his valour,

saying, ‘Who is able to make war with him?’

Well, when this pretended king had made an end of what he would say,

Emmanuel, the golden Prince, stood up and spake; the contents of whose

words follow:—

‘Thou deceiving one,’ said he, ‘I have, in my Father’s name, in mine own

name, and on the behalf and for the good of this wretched town of

Mansoul, somewhat to say unto thee. Thou pretendest a right, a lawful

right, to the deplorable town of Mansoul, when it is most apparent to all

my Father’s court that the entrance which thou hast obtained in at the

gates of Mansoul was through thy lie and falsehood; thou beliedst my

Father, thou beliedst his law, and so deceivedst the people of Mansoul.

Thou pretendest that the people have accepted thee for their king, their

captain, and right liege lord; but that also was by the exercise of

deceit and guile. Now, if lying, wiliness, sinful craft, and all manner

of horrible hypocrisy, will go in my Father’s court (in which court thou

must be tried) for equity and right, then will I confess unto thee that

thou hast made a lawful conquest. But, alas! what thief, what tyrant,

what devil is there that may not conquer after this sort? But I can make

it appear, O Diabolus, that thou, in all thy pretences to a conquest of

Mansoul, hast nothing of truth to say. Thinkest thou this to be right,

that that didst put the lie upon my Father, and madest him (to Mansoul)

the greatest deluder in the world? And what sayest thou to thy

perverting knowingly the right purport and intent of the law? Was it

good also that thou madest a prey of the innocency and simplicity of the

now miserable town of Mansoul? Yea, thou didst overcome Mansoul by

promising to them happiness in their transgressions against my Father’s

law, when thou knewest, and couldest not but know, hadst thou consulted

nothing but thine own experience, that that was the way to undo them.

Thou hast also thyself, O thou master of enmity, of spite defaced my

Father’s image in Mansoul, and set up thy own in its place, to the great

contempt of my Father, the heightening of thy sin, and to the intolerable

damage of the perishing town of Mansoul.

‘Thou hast, moreover, (as if all these were but little things with thee,)

not only deluded and undone this place, but, by thy lies and fradulent

carriage, hast set them against their own deliverance. How hast thou

stirred them up against my Father’s captains, and made them to fight

against those that were sent of him to deliver them from their bondage!

All these things, and very many more, thou hast done against thy light,

and in contempt of my Father and of his law, yea, and with design to

bring under his displeasure for ever the miserable town of Mansoul. I am

therefore come to avenge the wrong that thou hast done to my Father, and

to deal with thee for the blasphemies wherewith thou hast made poor

Mansoul blaspheme his name. Yea, upon thy head, thou prince of the

infernal cave, will I requite it.

‘As for myself, O Diabolus, I am come against thee by lawful power, and

to take, by strength of hand, this town of Mansoul out of thy burning

fingers; for this town of Mansoul is mine, O Diabolus, and that by

undoubted right, as all shall see that will diligently search the most

ancient and most authentic records, and I will plead my title to it, to

the confusion of thy face.

‘First, for the town of Mansoul, my Father built and did fashion it with

his hand. The palace also that is in the midst of that town, he built it

for his own delight. This town of Mansoul, therefore, is my Father’s,

and that by the best of titles, and he that gainsays the truth of this

must lie against his soul.

‘Secondly, O thou master of the lie, this town of Mansoul is mine.

‘1. For that I am my Father’s heir, his firstborn, and the only delight

of his heart. I am therefore come up against thee in mine own right,

even to recover mine own inheritance out of thine hand.

‘2. But further, as I have a right and title to Mansoul by being my

Father’s heir, so I have also by my Father’s donation. His it was, and

he gave it me; nor have I at any time offended my Father, that he should

take it from me, and give it to thee. Nor have I been forced, by playing

the bankrupt, to sell or set to sale to thee my beloved town of Mansoul.

Mansoul is my desire, my delight, and the joy of my heart. But,

‘3. Mansoul is mine by right of purchase. I have bought it, O Diabolus,

I have bought it to myself. Now, since it was my Father’s and mine, as I

was his heir, and since also I have made it mine by virtue of a great

purchase, it followeth that, by all lawful right, the town of Mansoul is

mine, and that thou art an usurper, a tyrant, and traitor, in thy holding

possession thereof. Now, the cause of my purchasing of it was this:

Mansoul had trespassed against my Father; now my Father had said, that in

the day that they broke his law they should die. Now, it is more

possible for heaven and earth to pass away than for my Father to break

his word. Wherefore when Mansoul had sinned indeed by hearkening to thy

lie, I put in and became a surety to my Father, body for body, and soul

for soul, that I would make amends for Mansoul’s transgressions, and my

Father did accept thereof. So, when the time appointed was come, I gave

body for body, soul for soul, life for life, blood for blood, and so

redeemed my beloved Mansoul.

‘4. Nor did I do this by halves: my Father’s law and justice, that were

both concerned in the threatening upon transgression, are both now

satisfied, and very well content that Mansoul should be delivered.

‘5. Nor am I come out this day against thee, but by commandment of my

Father; it was he that said unto me, “Go down and deliver Mansoul.”

‘Wherefore be it known unto thee, O thou fountain of deceit, and be it

also known to the foolish town of Mansoul, that I am not come against

thee this day without my Father.

‘And now,’ said the golden-headed Prince, ‘I have a word to the town of

Mansoul.’ But so soon as mention was made that he had a word to speak to

the besotted town of Mansoul, the gates were double-guarded, and all men

commanded not to give him audience. So he proceeded and said, ‘O unhappy

town of Mansoul, I cannot but be touched with pity and compassion for

thee. Thou hast accepted of Diabolus for thy king, and art become a

nurse and minister of Diabolonians against thy sovereign Lord. Thy gates

thou hast opened to him, but hast shut them fast against me; thou hast

given him an hearing, but hast stopped thine ears at my cry. He brought

to thee thy destruction, and thou didst receive both him and it: I am

come to thee bringing salvation, but thou regardest me not. Besides,

thou hast, as with sacrilegious hands, taken thyself, with all that was

mine in thee, and hast given all to my foe, and to the greatest enemy my

Father has. You have bowed and subjected yourselves to him, you have

vowed and sworn yourselves to be his. Poor Mansoul! what shall I do unto

thee? Shall I save thee?—shall I destroy thee? What shall I do unto

thee? Shall I fall upon thee, and grind thee to powder, or make thee a

monument of the richest grace? What shall I do unto thee? Hearken,

therefore, thou town of Mansoul, hearken to my word, and thou shalt live.

I am merciful, Mansoul, and thou shalt find me so: shut me not out of thy

gates.

‘O Mansoul, neither is my commission nor inclination at all to do thee

hurt. Why fliest thou so fast from thy friend, and stickest so close to

thine enemy? Indeed, I would have thee, because it becomes thee to be

sorry for thy sin, but do not despair of life; this great force is not to

hurt thee, but to deliver thee from thy bondage, and to reduce thee to

thy obedience.

‘My commission, indeed, is to make a war upon Diabolus thy king, and upon

all Diabolonians with him; for he is the strong man armed that keeps the

house, and I will have him out: his spoils I must divide, his armour I

must take from him, his hold I must cast him out of, and must make it a

habitation for myself. And this, O Mansoul, shall Diabolus know when he

shall be made to follow me in chains, and when Mansoul shall rejoice to

see it so.

‘I could, would I now put forth my might, cause that forthwith he should

leave you and depart; but I have it in my heart so to deal with him, as

that the justice of the war that I shall make upon him may be seen and

acknowledged by all. He hath taken Mansoul by fraud, and keeps it by

violence and deceit, and I will make him bare and naked in the eyes of

all observers.

‘All my words are true. I am mighty to save, and will deliver my Mansoul

out of his hand.’

This speech was intended chiefly for Mansoul, but Mansoul would not have

the hearing of it. They shut up Ear-gate, they barricaded it up, they

kept it locked and bolted, they set a guard thereat, and commanded that

no Mansoulonian should go out to him, nor that any from the camp should

be admitted into the town. All this they did, so horribly had Diabolus

enchanted them to do, and seek to do for him, against their rightful Lord

and Prince; wherefore no man, nor voice, nor sound of man that belonged

to the glorious host, was to come into the town.

So when Emmanuel saw that Mansoul was thus involved in sin, he calls his

army together, (since now also his words were despised,) and gave out a

commandment throughout all his host to be ready against the time

appointed. Now, forasmuch as there was no way lawfully to take the town

of Mansoul but to get in by the gates, and at Ear-gate as the chief,

therefore he commanded his captains and commanders to bring their rams,

their slings and their men, and place them at Eye-gate and Ear-gate, in

order to his taking the town.

When Emmanuel had put all things in a readiness to give Diabolus battle,

he sent again to know of the town of Mansoul, if in peaceable manner they

would yield themselves, or whether they were yet resolved to put him to

try the utmost extremity? They then, together with Diabolus their king,

called a council of war, and resolved upon certain propositions that

should be offered to Emmanuel, if he will accept thereof, so they agreed;

and then the next was, who should be sent on this errand. Now, there was

in the town of Mansoul an old man, a Diabolonian, and his name was Mr.

Loth-to-stoop, a stiff man in his way, and a great doer for Diabolus;

him, therefore, they sent, and put into his mouth what he should say. So

he went and came to the camp to Emmanuel, and when he was come, a time

was appointed to give him audience. So at the time he came, and after a

Diabolonian ceremony or two, he thus began and said, ‘Great sir, that it

may be known unto all men how good-natured a prince my master is, he has

sent me to tell your lordship that he is very willing, rather than go to

war, to deliver up into your hands one half of the town of Mansoul. I am

therefore to know if your Mightiness will accept of this proposition.’

Then said Emmanuel, ‘The whole is mine by gift and purchase, wherefore I

will never lose one half.’

Then said Mr. Loth-to-stoop, ‘Sir, my master hath said that he will be

content that you shall be the nominal and titular Lord of all, if he may

possess but a part.’

Then Emmanuel answered, ‘The whole is mine really, not in name and word

only; wherefore I will be the sole lord and possessor of all, or of none

at all, of Mansoul.’

Then Mr. Loth-to-stoop said again, ‘Sir, behold the condescension of my

master! He says, that he will be content, if he may but have assigned to

him some place in Mansoul as a place to live privately in, and you shall

be Lord of all the rest.’

Then said the golden Prince, ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to

me; and of all that he giveth me I will lose nothing—no, not a hoof nor a

hair. I will not, therefore, grant him, no, not the least corner of

Mansoul to dwell in; I will have all to myself.’

Then Loth-to-stoop said again, ‘But, sir, suppose that my Lord should

resign the whole town to you, only with this proviso, that he sometimes,

when he comes into this country, may, for old acquaintance’ sake, be

entertained as a wayfaring man for two days, or ten days or a month, or

so. May not this small matter be granted?’

Then said Emmanuel, ‘No. He came as a wayfaring man to David, nor did he

stay long with him, and yet it had like to have cost David his soul. I

will not consent that he ever should have any harbour more there.’

Then said Mr. Loth-to-stoop, ‘Sir, you seem to be very hard. Suppose my

master should yield to all that your lordship hath said, provided that

his friends and kindred in Mansoul may have liberty to trade in the town,

and to enjoy their present dwellings. May not that be granted, sir?’

Then said Emmanuel, ‘No; that is contrary to my Father’s will; for all,

and all manner of Diabolonians that now are, or that at any time shall be

found in Mansoul, shall not only lose their lands and liberties, but also

their lives.’

Then said Mr. Loth-to-stoop again, ‘But, sir, may not my master and great

lord, by letters, by passengers, by accidental opportunities, and the

like, maintain, if he shall deliver up all unto thee, some kind of old

friendship with Mansoul?’

Emmanuel answered, ‘No, by no means; forasmuch as any such fellowship,

friendship, intimacy, or acquaintance, in what way, sort, or mode soever

maintained, will tend to the corrupting of Mansoul, the alienating of

their affections from me, and the endangering of their peace with my

Father.’

Mr. Loth-to-stoop yet added further, saying, ‘But, great sir, since my

master hath many friends, and those that are dear to him, in Mansoul, may

he not, if he shall depart from them, even of his bounty and good-nature,

bestow upon them, as he sees fit, some tokens of his love and kindness

that he had for them, to the end that Mansoul, when he is gone, may look

upon such tokens of kindness once received from their old friend, and

remember him who was once their king, and the merry times that they

sometimes enjoyed one with another, while he and they lived in peace

together?’

Then said Emmanuel, ‘No; for if Mansoul come to be mine, I shall not

admit of nor consent that there should be the least scrap, shred, or dust

of Diabolus left behind, as tokens of gifts bestowed upon any in Mansoul,

thereby to call to remembrance the horrible communion that was betwixt

them and him.’

‘Well, sir,’ said Mr. Loth-to-stoop, ‘I have one thing more to propound,

and then I am got to the end of my commission. Suppose that, when my

master is gone from Mansoul, any that shall yet live in the town should

have such business of high concerns to do, that if they be neglected the

party shall be undone; and suppose, sir, that nobody can help in that

case so well as my master and lord, may not now my master be sent for

upon so urgent an occasion as this? Or if he may not be admitted into

the town, may not he and the person concerned meet in some of the

villages near Mansoul, and there lay their heads together, and there

consult of matters?’

This was the last of those ensnaring propositions that Mr. Loth-to-stoop

had to propound to Emmanuel on behalf of his master Diabolus; but

Emmanuel would not grant it; for he said, ‘There can be no case, or

thing, or matter fall out in Mansoul, when thy master shall be gone, that

may not be solved by my Father; besides, it will be a great disparagement

to my Father’s wisdom and skill to admit any from Mansoul to go out to

Diabolus for advice, when they are bid before, in everything, by prayer

and supplication to let their requests be made known to my Father.

Further, this, should it be granted, would be to grant that a door should

be set open for Diabolus, and the Diabolonians in Mansoul, to hatch, and

plot, and bring to pass treasonable designs, to the grief of my Father

and me, and to the utter destruction of Mansoul.’

When Mr. Loth-to-stoop had heard this answer, he took his leave of

Emmanuel, and departed, saying that he would carry 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 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.’ 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. These also had a reward from their

Prince, as also had the rest of the captains, because they did valiantly

round about the town.

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. 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 firebrands, 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 Willbewill 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.

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.

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.

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 hung 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

reformation. 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 a

holy habitation. Well, draw off thy forces from the town, and I will

bend Mansoul to thy bow.

‘First, 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.

‘6. Thou shalt receive, as a token of our subjection to thee, year by

year, what thou shalt think fit to lay and levy upon us in token of our

subjection to thee.’

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 wouldst, to deceive, be

now as a minister of righteousness.

‘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-bye.

‘Thou talkest now of a reformation in Mansoul, and that thou thyself, if

I will please, wilt 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.’

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 give 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, rendering and tearing men, women, and

children. ‘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.’

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 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 was 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. 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

gates, 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 snowball 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 all 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.

‘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 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

Willbewill 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

Willbewill’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

Willbewill keeper of the 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 Willbewill’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 Willbewill did 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 Willbewill’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 also likewise performed by other of the captains,

as at Eye-gate, 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.

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 to 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 these: 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.

Unto 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. Then were 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.

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 carriage 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 of 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 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.

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 shrank! 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.

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.’

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 to see the cause of that glory.

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.

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.

Now, Captain Boanerges and Captain Conviction were, both of them, men of

very great majesty; their faces were like the faces of lions, and their

words like the roaring of the sea; 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.

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 Willbewill, and put them all

three in ward, and that they should set a strong guard upon them there,

until his pleasure concerning them was 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. 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. 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.’

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 Willbewill, 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 gate 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.’

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 Willbewill 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.

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 true; 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.

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 orators; and

thus was Mansoul a terror to itself.

And now did they begin to feel what were 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 that were

most in the other, to wit, the chief of the town of Mansoul?

To be brief: when the fame 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 these:—

‘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 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? “Ay! 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.’

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 should 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 on 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 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 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 do—as

I am? Pass by, I pray thee, and take not 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. 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.’

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, 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 that were his companions, he

offered himself to you, and you have received him.

‘Now this is, and for a long time hath been, a high affront to my Father;

wherefore my Father sent to you a powerful army to reduce you to your

obedience. But you know how these 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? 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 shall hear

further from me.”’ And with that he turned himself from them, and went

into his royal pavilion again.

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.

But they came at length to the gates of the town, (now the townsmen with

earnestness were waiting for their return,) where many met them, to know

what answer was made to the petition. Then they cried out to those that

were sent, ‘What news from the Prince? and what hath Emmanuel said?’ But

they said that they must, as afore, go up to the prison, and there

deliver their message. So away they went to the prison, with a multitude

at their heels. Now, when they were come to the gates of the prison,

they told the first part of Emmanuel’s speech to the prisoners, to wit,

how he reflected upon their disloyalty to his Father and himself, and how

they had chosen and closed with Diabolus, had fought for him, hearkened

to him, and been ruled by him; but had despised him and his men. This

made the prisoners look pale; but the messengers proceeded and said, ‘He,

the Prince, said, moreover, that yet he would consider your petition, and

give such answer thereto as would stand with his glory.’ And as these

words were spoken, Mr. Wet-Eyes gave a great sigh. At this they were all

of them struck into their dumps, and could not tell what to say: fear

also possessed them in a marvellous manner, and death seemed to sit upon

some of their eyebrows. Now, there was in the company a notable,

sharp-witted fellow, a mean man of estate, and his name was old

Inquisitive. This man asked the petitioners if they had told out every

whit of what Emmanuel said, and they answered, ‘Verily, no.’ Then said

Inquisitive, ‘I thought so, indeed. Pray, what was it more that he said

unto you?’ Then they paused awhile; but at last they brought out all,

saying, ‘The Prince bade us bid Captain Boanerges and Captain Conviction

bring the prisoners down to him to-morrow; and that Captain Judgment and

Captain Execution should take charge of the castle and town till they

should hear further from him. They said also that when the Prince had

commanded them thus to do, he immediately turned his back upon them, and

went into his royal pavilion.

But, oh! how this return, and specially this last clause of it, that the

prisoners must go out to the Prince into the camp, brake all their loins

in pieces! Wherefore, with one voice they set up a cry that reached up

to the heavens. This done, each of the three prepared himself to die;

(and the Recorder said unto them, ‘This was the thing that I feared;’)

for they concluded that to-morrow, by that the sun went down, they should

be tumbled out of the world. The whole town also counted of no other,

but that, in their time and order, they must all drink of the same cup.

Wherefore the town of Mansoul spent that night in mourning, and sackcloth

and ashes. The prisoners also, when the time was come for them to go

down before the Prince, dressed themselves in mourning attire, with ropes

upon their heads. The whole town of Mansoul also showed themselves upon

the wall, all clad in mourning weeds, if, perhaps, the Prince with the

sight thereof might be moved with compassion. But, oh! how the

busy-bodies that were in the town of Mansoul did now concern themselves!

They did run here and there through the streets of the town by companies,

crying out as they ran in tumultuous wise, one after one manner, and

another the quite contrary, to the almost utter distraction of Mansoul.

Well, the time is come that the prisoners must go down to the camp, and

appear before the Prince. And thus was the manner of their going down:

Captain Boanerges went with a guard before them, and Captain Conviction

came behind, and the prisoners went down, bound in chains, in the midst.

So I say, the prisoners went in the midst, and the guard went with flying

colours behind and before, but the prisoners went with drooping spirits.

Or, more particularly, thus: The prisoners went down all in mourning:

they put ropes upon themselves; they went on, smiting themselves on the

breasts, but durst not lift up their eyes to heaven. Thus they went out

at the gate of Mansoul, till they came into the midst of the Prince’s

army, the sight and glory of which did greatly heighten their affliction.

Nor could they now longer forbear, but cry out aloud, ‘O unhappy men! O

wretched men of Mansoul!’ Their chains, still mixing their dolorous

notes with the cries of the prisoners, made the noise more lamentable.

So, when they were come to the door of the Prince’s pavilion, they cast

themselves prostrate upon the place; then one went in and told his Lord

that the prisoners were come down. The Prince then ascended a throne of

state, and sent for the prisoners in; who, when they came, did tremble

before him, also they covered their faces with shame. Now, as they drew

near to the place where he sat, they threw themselves down before him.

Then said the Prince to the Captain Boanerges, ‘Bid the prisoners stand

upon their feet.’ Then they stood trembling before him, and he said,

‘Are you the men that heretofore were the servants of Shaddai?’ And they

said, ‘Yes, Lord, yes.’ Then said the Prince again, ‘Are you the men

that did suffer yourselves to be corrupted and defiled by that abominable

one, Diabolus?’ And they said, ‘We did more than suffer it, Lord; for we

chose it of our own mind.’ The Prince asked further, saying, ‘Could you

have been content that your slavery should have continued under his

tyranny as long as you had lived?’ Then said the prisoners, ‘Yes, Lord,

yes; for his ways were pleasing to our flesh, and we were grown aliens to

a better state.’—‘And did you,’ said he, ‘when I came up against this

town of Mansoul, heartily wish that I might not have the victory over

you?’—‘Yes, Lord, yes,’ said they. Then said the Prince, ‘And what

punishment is it, think you, that you deserve at my hand, for these and

other your high and mighty sins?’—And they said, ‘Both death and the

deep, Lord; for we have deserved no less.’ He asked again if they had

aught to say for themselves why the sentence, that they confessed that

they had deserved, should not be passed upon them? And they said, ‘We

can say nothing, Lord: thou art just, for we have sinned.’ Then said the

Prince, ‘And for what are those ropes on your heads?’ The prisoners

answered, ‘These ropes are to bind us withal to the place of execution,

if mercy be not pleasing in thy sight.’ So he further asked if all the

men in the town of Mansoul were in this confession, as they? And they

answered, ‘All the natives, Lord; but for the Diabolonians that came into

our town when the tyrant got possession of us, we can say nothing for

them.’

Then the Prince commanded that a herald should be called, and that he

should, in the midst and throughout the camp of Emmanuel, proclaim, and

that with sound of trumpet, that the Prince, the Son of Shaddai, had, in

his Father’s name, and for his Father’s glory, gotten a perfect conquest

and victory over Mansoul; and that the prisoners should follow him, and

say Amen. So, this was done as he had commanded. And presently the

music that was in the upper region sounded melodiously, the captains that

were in the camp shouted, and the soldiers did sing songs of triumph to

the Prince; the colours waved in the wind, and great joy was everywhere,

only it was wanting as yet in the hearts of the men of Mansoul.

Then the Prince called for the prisoners to come and to stand again

before him, and they came and stood trembling. And he said unto them,

‘The sins, trespasses, iniquities, that you, with the whole town of

Mansoul, have from time to time committed against my Father and me, I

have power and commandment from my Father to forgive to the town of

Mansoul, and do forgive you accordingly.’ And having so said, he gave

them, written in parchment, and sealed with seven seals, a large and

general pardon, commanding my Lord Mayor, my Lord Willbewill, and Mr.

Recorder, to proclaim and cause it to be proclaimed to-morrow, by that

the sun is up, throughout the whole town of Mansoul.

Moreover, the Prince stripped the prisoners of their mourning weeds, and

gave them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment

of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

Then he gave to each of the three jewels of gold and precious stones, and

took away their ropes, and put chains of gold about their necks, and

ear-rings in their ears. Now, the prisoners, when they did hear the

gracious words of Prince Emmanuel, and had beheld all that was done unto

them, fainted almost quite away; for the grace, the benefit, the pardon,

was sudden, glorious, and so big, that they were not able, without

staggering, to stand up under it. Yea, my Lord Willbewill swooned

outright; but the Prince stepped to him, put his everlasting arms under

him, embraced him, kissed him, and bid him be of good cheer, for all

should be performed according to his word. He also did kiss, and

embrace, and smile upon the other two that were Willbewill’s companions,

saying, ‘Take these as further tokens of my love, favour, and compassions

to you; and I charge you that you, Mr. Recorder, tell in the town of

Mansoul what you have heard and seen.’

Then were their fetters broken to pieces before their faces, and cast

into the air, and their steps were enlarged under them. Then they fell

down at the feet of the Prince, and kissed his feet, and wetted them with

tears: also they cried out with a mighty strong voice, saying, ‘Blessed

be the glory of the Lord from this place.’ So they were bid rise up, and

go to the town, and tell to Mansoul what the Prince had done. He

commanded also that one with a pipe and tabor should go and play before

them all the way into the town of Mansoul. Then was fulfilled what they

never looked for, and they were made to possess that which they never

dreamed of.

The Prince also called for the noble Captain Credence, and commanded that

he and some of his officers should march before the noble men of Mansoul

with flying colours into the town. He gave also unto Captain Credence a

charge, that about that time that the Recorder did read the general

pardon in the town of Mansoul, that at that very time he should with

flying colours march in at Eye-gate with his ten thousands at his feet

and that he should so go until he came by the high street of the town, up

to the castle gates, and that himself should take possession thereof

against his Lord came thither. He commanded, moreover, that he should

bid Captain Judgment and Captain Execution to leave the stronghold to

him, and to withdraw from Mansoul, and to return into the camp with speed

unto the Prince.

And now was the town of Mansoul also delivered from the terror of the

first four captains and their men.

Well, I told you before how the prisoners were entertained by the noble

Prince Emmanuel, and how they behaved themselves before him, and how he

sent them away to their home with pipe and tabor going before them. And

now you must think that those of the town that had all this while waited

to hear of their death, could not but be exercised with sadness of mind,

and with thoughts that pricked like thorns. Nor could their thoughts be

kept to any one point; the wind blew with them all this while at great

uncertainties; yea, their hearts were like a balance that had been

disquieted with a shaking hand. But at last, as they with many a long

look looked over the wall of Mansoul, they thought that they saw some

returning to the town; and thought again, Who should they be, too? Who

should they be? At last they discerned that they were the prisoners: but

can you imagine how their hearts were surprised with wonder, specially

when they perceived also in what equipage and with what honour they were

sent home. They went down to the camp in black, but they came back to

the town in white; they went down to the camp in ropes, they came back in

chains of gold; they went down to the camp with their feet in fetters,

but came back with their steps enlarged under them; they went also to the

camp looking for death, but they came back from thence with assurance of

life; they went down to the camp with heavy hearts, but came back again

with pipe and tabor playing before them. So as soon as they were come to

Eye-gate, the poor and tottering town of Mansoul adventured to give a

shout; and they gave such a shout as made the captains in the Prince’s

army leap at the sound thereof. Alas! for them, poor hearts! who could

blame them? since their dead friends were come to life again; for it was

to them as life from the dead to see the ancients of the town of Mansoul

shine in such splendour. They looked for nothing but the axe and the

block; but, behold, joy and gladness, comfort and consolation, and such

melodious notes attending them that was sufficient to make a sick man

well.

So, when they came up, they saluted each other with, ‘Welcome, welcome!

and blessed be he that has spared you!’ They added also, ‘We see it is

well with you; but how must it go with the town of Mansoul? And will it

go well with the town of Mansoul?’ said they. Then answered them the

Recorder and my Lord Mayor, ‘Oh! tidings! glad tidings! good tidings of

good, and of great joy to poor Mansoul!’ Then they gave another shout,

that made the earth to ring again. After this, they inquired yet more

particularly how things went in the camp, and what message they had from

Emmanuel to the town. So they told them all passages that had happened

to them at the camp, and everything that the Prince did to them. This

made Mansoul wonder at the wisdom and grace of the Prince Emmanuel. Then

they told them what they had received at his hands for the whole town of

Mansoul, and the Recorder delivered it in these words: ‘PARDON, PARDON,

PARDON for Mansoul! and this shall Mansoul know to-morrow!’ Then he

commanded, and they went and summoned Mansoul to meet together in the

market-place to-morrow, then to hear their general pardon read.

But who can think what a turn, what a change, what an alteration this

hint of things did make in the countenance of the town of Mansoul! No

man of Mansoul could sleep that night for joy; in every house there was

joy and music, singing and making merry: telling and hearing of Mansoul’s

happiness was then all that Mansoul had to do; and this was the burden of

all their song: ‘Oh! more of this at the rising of the sun! more of this

to-morrow!’ ‘Who thought yesterday,’ would one say, ‘that this day would

have been such a day to us? And who thought, that saw our prisoners go

down in irons, that they would have returned in chains of gold? Yea,

they that judged themselves as they went to be judged of their judge,

were by his mouth acquitted, not for that they were innocent, but of the

Prince’s mercy, and sent home with pipe and tabor. But is this the

common custom of princes? Do they use to show such kind of favours to

traitors? No; this is only peculiar to Shaddai, and unto Emmanuel, his

Son!’

Now morning drew on apace; wherefore the Lord Mayor, the Lord Willbewill,

and Mr. Recorder came down to the market-place at the time that the

Prince had appointed, where the townsfolk were waiting for them: and when

they came, they came in that attire, and in that glory that the Prince

had put them into the day before, and the street was lightened with their

glory. So the Mayor, Recorder, and my Lord Willbewill drew down to

Mouth-gate, which was at the lower end of the market-place, because that

of old time was the place where they used to read public matters.

Thither, therefore, they came in their robes, and their tabrets went

before them. Now, the eagerness of the people to know the full of the

matter was great.

Then the Recorder stood up upon his feet, and, first beckoning with his

hand for silence, he read out with a loud voice the pardon. But when he

came to these words: ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious,

pardoning iniquity, transgressions, and sins, and to them all manner of

sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven,’ etc., they could not forbear

leaping for joy. For this you must know, that there was conjoined

herewith every man’s name in Mansoul; also the seals of the pardon made a

brave show.

When the Recorder had made an end of reading the pardon, the townsmen ran

up upon the walls of the town, and leaped and skipped thereon for joy,

and bowed themselves seven times with their faces toward Emmanuel’s

pavilion, and shouted out aloud for joy, and said, ‘Let Emmanuel live for

ever!’ Then order was given to the young men in Mansoul that they should

ring the bells for joy. So the bells did ring, and the people sing, and

the music go in every house in Mansoul.

When the Prince had sent home the three prisoners of Mansoul with joy,

and pipe and tabor, he commanded his captains, with all the field

officers and soldiers throughout his army, to be ready in that morning,

that the Recorder should read the pardon in Mansoul, to do his further

pleasure. So the morning, as I have showed, being come, just as the

Recorder had made an end of reading the pardon, Emmanuel commanded that

all the trumpets in the camp should sound, that the colours should be

displayed, half of them upon Mount Gracious, and half of them upon Mount

Justice. He commanded also that all the captains should show themselves

in all their harness, and that the soldiers should shout for joy. Nor

was Captain Credence, though in the castle, silent in such a day; but he,

from the top of the hold, showed himself with sound of trumpet to Mansoul

and to the Prince’s camp.

Thus have I showed you the manner and way that Emmanuel took to recover

the town of Mansoul from under the hand and power of the tyrant Diabolus.

Now, when the Prince had completed these, the outward ceremonies of his

joy, he again commanded that his captains and soldiers should show unto

Mansoul some feats of war: so they presently addressed themselves to this

work. But oh! with what agility, nimbleness, dexterity, and bravery did

these military men discover their skill in feats of war to the now gazing

town of Mansoul!

They marched, they counter-marched; they opened to the right and left;

they divided and subdivided; they closed, they wheeled, made good their

front and rear with their right and left wings, and twenty things more,

with that aptness, and then were all as the were again, that they

took—yea, ravished, the hearts that were in Mansoul to behold it. But

add to this, the handling of their arms, the managing of their weapons of

war, were marvellously taking to Mansoul and me.

When this action was over, the whole town of Mansoul came out as one man

to the Prince in the camp to thank him, and praise him for his abundant

favour, and to beg that it would please his grace to come unto Mansoul

with his men, and there to take up their quarters for ever: and this they

did in most humble manner, bowing themselves seven times to the ground

before him. Then said he, ‘All peace be to you.’ So the town came nigh,

and touched with the hand the top of his golden sceptre; and they said,

‘Oh! that the Prince Emmanuel, with his captains and men of war, would

dwell in Mansoul for ever; and that his battering-rams and slings might

be lodged in her for the use and service of the Prince, and for the help

and strength of Mansoul. For,’ said they, ‘we have room for thee, we

have room for thy men, we have also room for thy weapons of war, and a

place to make a magazine for thy carriages. Do it, Emmanuel, and thou

shalt be King and Captain in Mansoul for ever. Yea, govern thou also

according to all the desire of thy soul, and make thou governors and

princes under thee of thy captains and men of war, and we will become thy

servants, and thy laws shall be our direction.’

They added, moreover, and prayed his Majesty to consider thereof; ‘for,’

said they, ‘if now, after all this grace bestowed upon us, thy miserable

town of Mansoul, thou shouldest withdraw, thou and thy captains, from us,

the town of Mansoul will die. Yea,’ said they, ‘our blessed Emmanuel, if

thou shouldest depart from us now, now thou hast done so much good for

us, and showed so much mercy unto us, what will follow but that our joy

will be as if it had not been, and our enemies will a second time come

upon us with more rage than at the first? Wherefore, we beseech thee, O

thou, the desire of our eyes, and the strength and life of our poor town,

accept of this motion that now we have made unto our Lord, and come and

dwell in the midst of us, and let us be thy people. Besides, Lord, we do

not know but that to this day many Diabolonians may be yet lurking in the

town of Mansoul, and they will betray us, when thou shalt leave us, into

the hand of Diabolus again; and who knows what designs, plots, or

contrivances have passed betwixt them about these things already? Loath

we are to fall again into his horrible hands. Wherefore, let it please

thee to accept of our palace for thy place of residence, and of the

houses of the best men in our town for the reception of thy soldiers and

their furniture.’

Then said the Prince, ‘If I come to your town, will you suffer me further

to prosecute that which is in mine heart against mine enemies and

yours?—yea, will you help me in such undertakings?’

They answered, ‘We know not what we shall do; we did not think once that

we should have been such traitors to Shaddai as we have proved to be.

What, then, shall we say to our Lord? Let him put no trust in his

saints; let the Prince dwell in our castle, and make of our town a

garrison; let him set his noble captains and his warlike soldiers over

us; yea, let him conquer us with his love, and overcome us with his

grace, and then surely shall he be but with us, and help us, as he was

and did that morning that our pardon was read unto us. We shall comply

with this our Lord, and with his ways, and fall in with his word against

the mighty.

‘One word more, and thy servants have done, and in this will trouble our

Lord no more. We know not the depth of the wisdom of thee, our Prince.

Who could have thought, that had been ruled by his reason, that so much

sweet as we do now enjoy should have come out of those bitter trials

wherewith we were tried at the first! But, Lord, let light go before,

and let love come after: yea, take us by the hand, and lead us by thy

counsels, and let this always abide upon us, that all things shall be the

best for thy servants, and come to our Mansoul, and do as it pleaseth

thee. Or, Lord, come to our Mansoul, do what thou wilt, so thou keepest

us from sinning, and makest us serviceable to thy Majesty.’

Then said the Prince to the town of Mansoul again, ‘Go, return to your

houses in peace. I will willingly in this comply with your desires; I

will remove my royal pavilion, I will draw up my forces before Eye-gate

to-morrow, and so will march forwards into the town of Mansoul. I will

possess myself of your castle of Mansoul, and will set my soldiers over

you: yea, I will yet do things in Mansoul that cannot be paralleled in

any nation, country, or kingdom under heaven.’ Then did the men of

Mansoul give a shout, and returned unto their houses in peace; they also

told to their kindred and friends the good that Emmanuel had promised to

Mansoul. ‘And to-morrow,’ said they, ‘he will march into our town, and

take up his dwelling, he and his men, in Mansoul.’

Then went out the inhabitants of the town of Mansoul with haste to the

green trees and to the meadows, to gather boughs and flowers, therewith

to strew the streets against their Prince, the Son of Shaddai, should

come; they also made garlands and other fine works to betoken how joyful

they were, and should be to receive their Emmanuel into Mansoul; yea,

they strewed the street quite from Eye-gate to the castle-gate, the place

where the Prince should be. They also prepared for his coming what music

the town of Mansoul would afford, that they might play before him to the

palace, his habitation.

So, at the time appointed he makes his approach to Mansoul, and the gates

were set open for him; there also the ancients and elders of Mansoul met

him to salute him with a thousand welcomes. Then he arose and entered

Mansoul, he and all his servants. The elders of Mansoul did also go

dancing before him till he came to the castle gates. And this was the

manner of his going up thither:—He was clad in his golden armour, he rode

in his royal chariot, the trumpets sounded about him, the colours were

displayed, his ten thousands went up at his feet, and the elders of

Mansoul danced before him. And now were the walls of the famous town of

Mansoul filled with the tramplings of the inhabitants thereof, who went

up thither to view the approach of the blessed Prince and his royal army.

Also the casements, windows, balconies, and tops of the houses, were all

now filled with persons of all sorts, to behold how their town was to be

filled with good.

Now, when he was come so far into the town as to the Recorder’s house, he

commanded that one should go to Captain Credence, to know whether the

castle of Mansoul was prepared to entertain his royal presence (for the

preparation of that was left to that captain), and word was brought that

it was. Then was Captain Credence commanded also to come forth with his

power to meet the Prince, the which was, as he had commanded, done; and

he conducted him into the castle. This done, the Prince that night did

lodge in the castle with his mighty captains and men of war, to the joy

of the town of Mansoul.

Now, the next care of the townsfolk was, how the captains and soldiers of

the Prince’s army should be quartered among them; and the care was not

how they should shut their hands of them, but how they should fill their

houses with them; for every man in Mansoul now had that esteem of

Emmanuel and his men that nothing grieved them more than because they

were not enlarged enough, every one of them to receive the whole army of

the Prince; yea, they counted it their glory to be waiting upon them, and

would, in those days, run at their bidding like lackeys.