ilgrimage out of his parts. "Yes,"
said Mr. Honest, "very well. He was a man that had the root of the
matter in him; but he was one of the most troublesome pilgrims that ever
I met with in all my days." "I perceive you knew him," said the guide,
"for you have given a very right character of him." "Knew him!"
exclaimed Honest, "I was a great companion of his; I was with him most an
end. When he first began to think of what would come upon us hereafter,
I was with him." "And I was his guide," said Greatheart, "from my
Master's house to the gates of the Celestial City." "Then," said Mr.
Honest, "it seems he was well at last." "Yes, yes," answered the guide,
"I never had any doubt about him; he was a man of a choice spirit, only
he was always kept very low, and that made his life so burdensome to
himself and so troublesome to others. He was, above many, tender of sin;
he was so afraid of doing injuries to others that he would often deny
himself of that which was lawful because he would not offend." "But
what," asked Honest, "should be the reason that such a good man should be
all his days so much in the dark?" "There are two sorts of reasons for
it," said the guide; "one is, the wise God will have it so: some must
pipe and some must weep. Now, Mr. Fearing was one that played upon this
base. He and his fellows sound the sackbut, whose notes are more doleful
than the notes of other music are. Though, indeed, some say that the
base is the ground of music. And, for my part, I care not at all for
that profession that begins not with heaviness of mind. The first string
that the musician usually touches is the base when he intends to put all
in tune. God also plays upon this string first when He sets the soul in
tune for Himself. Only, here was the imperfection of Mr. Fearing, that
he could play upon no other music but this till toward his latter end."

1. Take Mr. Fearing, then, to begin with, at the Slough of Despond.
Christian and Pliable, they being heedless, did both fall into that bog.
But Mr. Fearing, whatever faults you may think he had--and faults, too,
that you think you could mend in him--at any rate, he was never heedless.
Everybody has his fault to find with poor Mr. Fearing. Everybody blames
poor Mr. Fearing. Everybody can improve upon poor Mr. Fearing. But I
will say again for Mr. Fearing that he was never heedless. Had Peter
been on the road at that period he would have stood up for Mr. Fearing