descants

My Lord Then stood up my Lord Mayor, whose name was Under- my Lord Understanding, and he began to pick and standing pick, until he had pickt comfort out of that seemingly upon the bitter saying of the Lord Secretary's; for thus he words descanted upon it: "First," said he, "this unavoidably follows upon the saying of our Lord, 'that we must yet suffer for our sins. Secondly, But," quoth he, "the words yet sound as if at last we should be saved from our enemies; and that after a few more sorrows, Emmanuel will come and be our help.”

Now, the Lord Mayor was the more critical in his dealing with the Secretary's words, because my lord was more than a prophet, and because none of his words were such but that at all times they were most exactly significant; and the townsmen were allowed to pry into them, and to expound them to their best advantage.

So they took their leaves of my lord, and returned, and went, and came to the captains, to whom they did tell what my Lord High Secretary had said; who, when they had heard it, were all of the same opinion as was my Lord Mayor himself. The captains, therefore, began to take some courage unto them, and to prepare to make some brave attempt upon the camp of the enemy, and to destroy all that were Diabolonians, with the roving Doubters that the tyrant had brought with him to destroy the poor town of Mansoul.

So all betook themselves forthwith to their places the captains to theirs, the Lord Mayor to his, the subordinate preacher to his, and my Lord Will-be-will to his. The captains longed to be at some work for their Prince; for they delighted in warlike achievements. The next day, therefore,

answer

they came together and consulted; and after con- They sultation had, they resolved to give an answer to give the captain of Diabolus with slings; and so they with did at the rising of the sun on the morrow; for slings Diabolus had adventured to come nearer again, but the sling-stones were to him and his like hornets. For as there is nothing to the town of Mansoul so terrible as the roaring of Diabolus's drum, so there is nothing to Diabolus so terrible as the well playing of Emmanuel's slings. Wherefore Diabolus was forced to make another retreat, yet farther off from the famous town of Mansoul. Then did the Lord Mayor of Mansoul cause the bells to be rung, "and that thanks should be sent to the Lord High Secretary by the mouth of the subordinate preacher; for that by his words the captains and elders of Mansoul had been strengthened against Diabolus.'

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When Diabolus saw that his captains and soldiers, high lords and renowned, were frightened and beaten down by the stones that came from the golden slings of the Prince of the town of Mansoul, he bethought himself, and said, "I will try to catch them by fawning; I will try to flatter them into my net.

Wherefore, after a while he came down again to the wall, not now with his drum, nor with Captain Sepulchre; but having all to-besugared his lips, he seemed to be a very sweet-mouthed, peaceable prince, designing nothing for humour's sake, nor to be revenged on Mansoul for injuries by them done to him; but the welfare and good and advantage of the town and people therein was now, as he said, his only design. Wherefore, after he had called for audience, and desired that the towns1 Zech. ix. 15.

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Asugared folk would give it to him, he proceeded in his speech oration, and said:

"Oh, the desire of my heart, the famous town of Mansoul! how many nights have I watched, and how many weary steps have I taken, if perhaps I might do thee good!1 Far be it, far be it from me to desire to make a war upon you, if ye will but willingly and quietly deliver up yourselves unto me. You know that you were mine of old.2 Remember also that so long as you enjoyed me for your lord, and that I enjoyed you for my subjects, you wanted for nothimg of all the delights of the earth that I, your lord and prince, could get for you, or that I could invent to make you bonny and blithe withal. Consider you never had so many hard, dark, troublesome and heart-afflicting hours while you were mine as you have had since you revolted from me, nor shall you ever have peace again until you and I become one as before. be but prevailed with to embrace me again, and I will grant, yea, enlarge your old charter with abundance of privileges, so that your licence and liberty shall be to take, hold, enjoy, and make your own all that is pleasant from the east to the west. Nor shall any of those incivilities wherewith you have offended me be ever charged upon you by me so long as the sun and moon endure. Nor shall any of those dear friends of mine that now, for the fear of you, lie lurking in dens, and holes, and caves in Mansoul, be hurtful to you any more; yea, they shall be your servants, and shall minister unto you of their substance, and of whatever shall come to hand. I need speak no more. You know

But

them, and have some time since been much de- The Lord lighted in their company. Why, then, should we Mayor's abide at such odds? Let us renew our old ac- answer

quaintance and friendship again.

"Bear with your friend; I take the liberty at this time to speak thus freely unto you. The love that I have to you presses me to do it, as also does the zeal of my heart for my friends with you. Put me not, therefore, to further trouble, nor yourselves to further fears and frights. Have you I will, in a way of peace or war. Nor do you flatter yourselves with the power and force of your captains, or that your Emmanuel will shortly come in to your help, for such strength will do you no pleasure.

"I am come against you with a stout and valiant army, and all the chief princes of the den are even at the head of it. Besides, my captains are swifter than eagles, stronger than lions, and more greedy of prey than are the evening wolves. What is Og of Bashan? what's Goliath of Gath? and what's an hundred more of them to one of the least of my captains? How, then, shall Mansoul think to escape my hand and force?"

Diabolus having thus ended his flattering, fawning, deceitful, and lying speech to the famous town of Mansoul, the Lord Mayor replied to him as follows:

"O Diabolus, prince of darkness, and master of all deceit, thy lying flatteries we have had and made sufficient probation of, and have tasted too deeply of that destructive cup already. Should we therefore again hearken unto thee, and so break the commandments of our great Shaddai to join in affinity with thee, would not our Prince

The host reject us, and cast us off for ever? And, being in array cast off by him, can the place that he has pre

pared for thee be a place of rest for us? Besides, O thou that art empty and void of all truth, we are rather ready to die by thy hand than to fall in with thy flattering and lying deceits."

When the tyrant saw that there was little to be got by parleying with my Lord Mayor, he fell into a hellish rage, and resolved that again, with his army of Doubters, he would another time assault the town of Mansoul.

So he called for his drummer, who beat up for his men (and while he did beat, Mansoul did shake) to be in a readiness to give battle to the corporation: then Diabolus drew near with his army, and thus disposed of his men. Captain Cruel and Captain Torment, these he drew up and placed against Feel-gate, and commanded them to sit down there for the war. And he also appointed that, if need were, Captain No-Ease should come in to their relief. At Nose-gate he placed the Captain Brimstone and Captain Sepulchre, and bid them look well to their ward, on that side of the town of Mansoul. But at Eye-gate he placed that grim-faced one, the Captain PastHope, and there also now did he set up his terrible standard.

Now Captain Insatiable, he was to look to the carriage of Diabolus, and was also appointed to take into custody that, or those persons and things, that should at any time as prey be taken from the enemy.

Now Mouth-gate the inhabitants kept for a sally-port; wherefore that they kept strong; for that was it by and out at which the townsfolk