haracter were never clothed in more substantial
flesh and blood than these jurymen. Spenser's knights in the 'Fairy
Queen' are mere shadows to them. Faithful was, of course, condemned,
scourged, buffeted, lanced in his feet with knives, stoned, stabbed,
at last burned, and spared the pain of travelling further on the
narrow road. A chariot and horses were waiting to bear him through the
clouds, the nearest way to the Celestial Gate. Christian, who it seems
had been remanded, contrives to escape. He is joined by Hopeful, a
convert whom he has made in the town, and they pursue their journey in
company. A second person is useful dramatically, and Hopeful takes
Faithful's place. Leaving Vanity Fair, they are again on the Pilgrim's
road. There they encounter Mr. Bye-ends. Bye-ends comes from the town
of Plain-Speech, where he has a large kindred, My Lord Turnabout, my
Lord Timeserver, Mr. Facing-both-ways, Mr. Two Tongues, the parson of
the parish. Bye-ends himself was married to a daughter of Lady
Feignings. Bunyan's invention in such things was inexhaustible.
They have more trials of the old kind with which Bunyan himself was so
familiar. They cross the River of Life and even drink at it, yet for
all this and directly after, they stray into Bye Path Meadow. They
lose themselves in the grounds of Doubting Castle, and are seized upon
by Giant Despair--still a prey to doubt--still uncertain whether
religion be not a dream, even after they have fought with wild beasts
in Vanity Fair and have drunk of the water of life. Nowhere does
Bunyan show better how well he knew the heart of man. Christian even
thinks of killing himself in the dungeons of Doubting Castle. Hopeful
cheers him up, they break their prison, recover the road again, and
arrive at the Delectable Mountains in Emmanuel's own land. There it
might be thought the danger would be over, but it is not so. Even in
Emmanuel's Land there is a door in the side of a hill which is a
byeway to hell, and beyond Emmanuel's Land is the country of conceit,
a new and special temptation for those who think that they are near
salvation. Here they encounter 'a brisk lad of the neighbourhood,'
needed soon after for a particular purpose, who is a good liver, prays
devoutly, fasts regularly, pays tithes punctually, and hopes that
everyone will get to heaven by the religion which he professes,
provided he fears God and tries to do his duty. The name of this brisk
lad is Ignorance. Leaving
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