and to mourn under their distress; so all that day they spent their time in nothing but sighs and bitter lamentations. The next night she talking with her husband further about them, and, understanding that they were yet alive, did advise him to counsel them to make away with themselves; so, when morning was come, he goes to them in a surly manner, as before, and perceiving them to be very sore with the stripes that he had given them the day before, he told them, that since they were never like to come out of that place, their only way would be forthwith to make an end of themselves, either with knife, halter, or poison for why, said he, should you choose to live, seeing it is attended with

ON FRIDAY,

GIANT DESPAIR
COUNSELS THEM
TO KILL THEM-
SELVES.

FITS.

so much bitterness? But they desired him to let them go. With that he looked ugly upon them, and, rushing to them, had doubtless made an end of them himself, but that he fell into one of his fits, THE GIANT (for he sometimes, in sunshiny weather, SOMETIMES HAS fell into fits,) and lost for a time the use of his hands; wherefore he withdrew, and left them, as before, to consider what to do. Then did the prisoners consult between themselves, whether it was best to take his counsel or no; and thus they began to discourse :

Brother, said Christian, what shall we do? The life that we now live is

CHRISTIAN

CRUSHED.

miserable. For my part, I know not whether is best, to live thus, or to die out of hand. "My soul chooseth strangling rather than life;" and the grave is more

9 Job vii. 15.

easy for me than this dungeon. Shall we be ruled by the Giant?

HOPEFUL COM-
FORTS HIM.

Hope. Indeed our present condition is dreadful, and death would be far more welcome to me, than thus for ever to abide. But yet let us consider, the Lord of the country to which we are going hath said, "Thou shalt do no murder;" no, not to another man's person: much more, then, are we forbidden to take his counsel to kill ourselves. Besides, he that kills another can but commit murder upon his body; but for one to kill himself, is to kill body and soul at once. And, moreover, my brother, thou talkest of ease in the grave; but hast thou forgotten the Hell whither for certain the murderers go? for "no murderer hath eternal life," &c. And let us consider again, that all the law is not in the hand of Giant Despair; others, so far as I can understand, have been taken by him as well as we, and yet have escaped out of his hands. Who knows but that God, who made the world, may cause that Giant Despair may die; or that, at some time or other, he may forget to lock us in; or but he may, in a short time, have another of his fits before us, and may lose the use of his limbs? and if ever that should come to pass again, for my part, I am resolved to pluck up the heart of a man, and to try my utmost to get from under his hand. I was a fool that I did not try to do it before; but, however, my brother, let's be patient, and endure a while; the time may come that may give us a happy release; but let us not be our own murderers. With these words Hopeful at present did moderate the mind of his brother; so they

continued together, in the dark, that day, in their sad and doleful condition.

Well, towards evening, the Giant goes down into the dungeon again, to see if his prisoners had taken his counsel; but, when he came there, he found them alive; and, truly, alive was all; for now, what for want of bread and water, and by reason of the wounds they received when he beat them, they could do little but breathe. But, I say, he found them alive: at which he fell into a grievous rage, and told them that, seeing they had disobeyed his counsel, it should be worse with them than if they had never been born.

At this they trembled greatly, and I think that Christian fell into a swoon; but, coming a little to himself again, they renewed their discourse about the Giant's counsel, and whether yet they had best take

CHRISTIAN STILL

DEJECTED.

it or no. Now Christian again seemed for doing it; but Hopeful made his

second reply as followeth :

HOPEFUL COM-
FORTS HIM AGAIN

ER THINGS TO RE-
MEMBRANCE.

My brother, said he, rememberest thou not how valiant thou hast been

BY CALLING FORM- heretofore? Apollyon could not crush thee; nor could all that thou didst hear, or see, or feel, in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. What hardship, terror, and amazement hast thou already gone through! and art thou now nothing but fears? Thou seest that I am in the dungeon with thee, a far weaker man by nature than thou art; also this Giant hath wounded me as well as thee, and hath also cut off the bread and water from my mouth, and with thee I mourn without the light. But let us exercise a little more patience. Remember how thou playedst the man at Vanity Fair, and wast neither afraid of the chain nor cage, nor yet of bloody death. Wherefore let us (at least to avoid the shame that becomes not a Christian to be found in) bear up with patience as well as we can.

Now, night being come again, and the Giant and his wife being in bed, she asked him concerning the prisoners, and if they had taken his counsel? To which he replied, They are sturdy rogues; they choose rather to bear all hardships than to make away with themselves. Then said she, Take them into the CastleYard to-morrow, and shew them the bones and skulls of those that thou hast already despatched; and make them believe, ere a week comes to an end, thou wilt tear them in pieces, as thou hast done their fellows before them.

So, when the morning was come, the Giant goes to them again, and takes them into the Castle-Yard, and shews them as his wife had bidden him. These, said he, were Pilgrims as you are once; and they trespassed on my grounds as you have done; and, when I thought fit, I tore them in THE GIANT pieces; and so within ten days I will do you. Go, get you down to

your

ON SATURDAY,

THREATENED

THAT SHORTLY
HE WOULD PULL
THEM IN PIECES.

den again! and with that he beat them all the way thither. They lay, therefore, all day on Saturday, in lamentable case, as before. Now, when night was come, and when Mrs. Diffidence and her husband the Giant were got to bed, they began to renew their discourse of their prisoners; and withal the old Giant wondered that he could neither by his blows nor counsel bring them to an end. And with that his wife replied, I fear, said she, that they live in hopes that some will come to relieve them; or that they have picklocks about them, by the means of which they hope to escape. And sayest thou so, my dear, said the Giant; I will therefore search them in the morning.

Well, on Saturday, about midnight, they began to pray, and continued in prayer till almost break of | day.

Now, a little before it was day, good Christian, as one half amazed, brake out into this passionate speech: What a fool, quoth he, am I, to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key

A KEY IN CHRIS-
TIAN'S BOSOM,
CALLED PROMISE,
OPENS ANY LOCK

in my bosom, called Promise, that IN DOUBTING will, I am persuaded, open any lock

CASTLE.