UNIL TENDER CONSCIENCE in the valley of the shadow of Death. Published by J. Bennet Flym: 1821. THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. PART III. AFTER the two former dreams concerning Christian and Christiana his wife, with their children and companions' pilgrimage from the City of Destruction to the region of glory; I fell asleep again, and the vision of my head returned upon me. I dreamed another dream, and, behold, there appeared unto me a great multitude of people, in several distinct companies and bands, travelling from the City of Destruction, the town of Carnal-policy, the village of Morality, and from the rest of the cities, towns, villages, and hamlets, that belong to the Valley of Destruction; for so was the whole country called that lay on this side of the Wicket-gate, which the man Evangelist shewed unto Christian; and so was also that country called that was situated wide at the gate, on the right hand and on the left, extending itself along by the walls and borders of that region, wherein lay the way to the Heavenly Country. This was the name of that province, even the valley of Destruction. Now I saw in my dream that all the high way, roads, and lanes, that led from the valley of Destruction towards the Gate of the Way of Life, were full of people, travelling towards the Gate; and some of them walked along very vigorously: others halted and grew very weary through the most violent heat of the season, which then made them even ready to faint; for it was in the hottest time of the year, and the sun burnt up the herb of the field, and scorched the poor travellers so, that Difficulties experienced in passing the slough. many of them were forced to sit down and rest themselves; and in the night-time many of them returned to their old habitations; others, more hardy than the rest, went on till they came to the Slough of Despond, where Pliable forsook Christian, and there falling into the filth and mire of that place, were so disheartened, that they returned in whole droves to their own dwellings again: and very few there were that would venture through the Slough; yet some got very dexterously over the steps, without being in the least bemired, whilst others, through heedlessness and ignorance, missing those steps, were forced to wade through the dirt, which was very deep, and made their passage exceeding painful; but at length with much ado, they weathered the point, and mastered the difficulties of that horrid quagmire, and got safe upon dry ground. Among the rest of these travellers that got over this Slough, I saw a young man of amiable countenance walking by himself, after he had got clear of the Slough; but he was all over bedaubed with the filth of that place, which made him go very heavily on ; for what with struggling to get through, and what with the dismal apprehension he lay under during his passage, he was extremely weakened, and his joints loosened; besides, it was the nature of the dirt of this place to cause a trembling and disorder in the limbs of those that were defiled with it ; and to whatsoever part of their body it stuck, there it would do them some injury. Now the young man being all over clammed with it, he went a very slow pace, his head hanging down, his hands quivering, and his feet tripping at the least uneasiness and ruggedness of the way; and a speck or two of the dirt being spattered near his eyes, made him dim-sighted, so that he groped along like one that is blind, and sometimes stepped out of the path. Tender-conscience is wounded in passing the Wicket-Gate. In this condition he was, when at length I saw in my dream, that he sat down upon the ground to bemoan his sad state, and wept bitterly; and, behold, a bright cloud hovered over his head, which gradually descending, overshadowed him, and out of the cloud a hand was reached forth, which with the tears that ran like rivers from his eyes, washed the dirt off his face, and his whole body, so that in a moment, as it were, his sight and strength were restored agaiu; and a voice came out of the cloud saying, Son of man, go on in the strength of the Lord thy God. So he was mightily comforted and retreshed after this, and began to rouse himself, being more nimble and active, more vigorous and strong, than ever he was before; and his eyes being also healed, he clearly saw the shining light that Evangelist shewed to Christian. Then he tript along over the plain, and made directly up to the shining light, by means of which he quickly found the Wicket-gate, at which he knocked aloud, minding what was written over the Gate, viz. "Knock and it shall be opened." Now I saw in my dream, that as soon as he had knocked at the Wicket-gate, a whole shower of arrows were shot at him from the castle of Beelzebub, so that he was wounded in several places, and extremely frightened at the adventure; which made him knock again and again very hard, for fear those that shot at him should come and kill him outright, before he could get in; but presently, to his great comfort, the Gate was opened to him; and when he that opened the Gate saw the arrows stick in his flesh he bade him haste in, for fear of more danger. So he stepped in, and made obedience to the man that opened the Gate, for he seemed to be a person worthy of reverence, by his grave countenance and composed behaviour; so he spake to the man |