-day, and who could not on that account come to the Lord's
Table. Let him still struggle out at the side of the slough farthest
from his own house, and to-night, who can tell, Help may come and give
that man his hand. When the Slough of Despond is drained, and its bottom
laid bare, what a find of all kinds of precious treasures shall be laid
bare! Will you be able to lay claim to any of it when the long-lost
treasure-trove is distributed by command of the King to its rightful
owners?

'What are you doing there?' the man whose name was Help demanded of
Christian, as he still wallowed and plunged to the hither side of the
slough, 'and why did you not look for the steps?' And so saying he set
Christian's feet upon sound ground again, and showed him the nearest way
to the gate. Help is one of the King's officers who are planted all
along the way to the Celestial City, in order to assist and counsel all
pilgrims. Evangelist was one of those officers; this Help is another;
Goodwill will be another, unless, indeed, he is more than a mere officer;
Interpreter will be another, and Greatheart, and so on. All these are
preachers and pastors and evangelists who correspond to all those names
and all their offices. Only some unhappy preachers are better at pushing
poor pilgrims into the slough, and pushing them down to the bottom of it,
than they are at helping a sinking pilgrim out; while some other more
happy preachers and pastors have their manses built at the hither side of
the slough and do nothing else all their days but help pilgrims out of
their slough and direct them to the gate. And then there are multitudes
of so-called ministers who eat the King's bread who can neither push a
proud sinner into the slough nor help a prostrate sinner out of it; no,
nor point him the way when he has himself wallowed out. And then, there
are men called ministers, too, who also eat the King's bread, whose voice
you never hear in connection with such matters, unless it be to revile
both the pilgrims and their helpers, and all who run with fear and
trembling up the heavenly road. But our pilgrim was happy enough to meet
with a minister to whom he could look back all his remaining pilgrimage
and say: 'He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry
clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he
hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God.'

Now, as might have been expected, there is a gr