Christiana and her sons
By this time Christiana was got on her way,
and Mercy went along with her:
so as they went, her children being there
also, Christiana began to
discourse. And, Mercy, said Christiana, I
take this as an unexpected favor,
that thou shouldest set forth out of doors
with me to accompany me a little
in the way.
MERCY: Then said young Mercy, (for she was
but young,) If I thought it would
be to purpose to go with you, I would never
go near the town any more.
CHRISTIANA: Well, Mercy, said Christiana,
cast in thy lot with me: I well
know what will be the end of our
pilgrimage: my husband is where he would
not but be for all the gold in the Spanish
mines. Nor shalt thou be
rejected, though thou goest but upon my
invitation. The King, who hath sent
for me and my children, is one that
delighteth in mercy. Besides, if thou
wilt, I will hire thee, and thou shalt go
along with me as my servant. Yet
we will have all things in common betwixt
thee and me: only go along with
me.
MERCY: But how shall I be ascertained that
I also should be entertained? Had
I this hope but from one that can tell, I
would make no stick at all, but
would go, being helped by Him that can
help, though the way was never so
tedious.
CHRISTIANA: Well, loving Mercy, I will tell
thee what thou shalt do: go with
me to the Wicket-gate, and there I will
further inquire for thee; and if
there thou shalt not meet with
encouragement, I will be content that thou
return to thy place: I will also pay thee
for thy kindness which thou
showest to me and my children, in the
accompanying of us in the way that
thou dost.
MERCY: Then will I go thither, and will
take what shall follow; and the Lord
grant that my lot may there fall, even as
the King of heaven shall have his
heart upon me.
Christiana then was glad at heart, not only
that she had a companion, but
also for that she had prevailed with this
poor maid to fall in love with her
own salvation. So they went on together,
and Mercy began to weep. Then said
Christiana, Wherefore weepeth my sister so?
MERCY: Alas! said she, who can but lament,
that shall but rightly consider
what a state and condition my poor
relations are in, that yet remain in our
sinful town? And that which makes my grief
the more heavy is, because they
have no instructor, nor any to tell them
what is to come.
CHRISTIANA: Pity becomes pilgrims; and thou
dost weep for thy friends, as my
good Christian did for me when he left me:
he mourned for that I would not
heed nor regard him; but his Lord and ours
did gather up his tears, and put
them into his bottle; and now both I and
thou, and these my sweet babes, are
reaping the fruit and benefit of them. I
hope, Mercy, that these tears of
thine will not be lost; for the truth hath
said, that “they that sow in
tears shall reap in joy.” And “he that
goeth forth and weepeth, bearing
precious seed, shall doubtless come again
with rejoicing, bringing his
sheaves with him.” Psa. 126:5,6.
Then said Mercy,
“Let the Most Blessed be my guide,
If it be his blessed will,
Unto his gate, into his fold,
Up to his holy hill.
And let him never suffer me
To swerve, or turn aside
From his free-grace and holy ways,
Whate’er shall me betide.
And let him gather them of mine
That I have left behind;
Lord, make them pray they may be thine,
With all their heart and mind.”
Now my old friend proceeded, and said, But
when Christiana came to the
Slough of Despond, she began to be at a
stand; For, said she, this is the
place in which my dear husband had like to
have been smothered with mud. She
perceived, also, that notwithstanding the
command of the King to make this
place for pilgrims good, yet it was rather
worse than formerly. So I asked
if that was true. Yes, said the old
gentleman, too true; for many there be
that pretend to be the King’s laborers, and
that say they are for mending
the King’s highways, who bring dirt and
dung instead of stones, and so mar
instead of mending. Here Christiana therefore,
with her boys, did make a
stand. But said Mercy, Come, let us
venture; only let us be wary. Then they
looked well to their steps, and made a
shift to get staggering over.
Yet Christiana had like to have been in,
and that not once or twice. Now
they had no sooner got over, but they
thought they heard words that said
unto them, “Blessed is she that believeth;
for there shall be a performance
of those things which were told her from
the Lord.” Luke 1:45.
Then they went on again; and said Mercy to
Christiana, had I as good ground
to hope for a loving reception at the
Wicket-gate as you, I think no Slough
of Despond would discourage me.
Well, said the other, you know your sore,
and I know mine; and, good friend,
we shall all have enough evil before we
come to our journey’s end. For can
it be imagined that the people who design
to attain such excellent glories
as we do, and who are so envied that
happiness as we are, but that we shall
meet with what fears and snares, with what
troubles and afflictions they can
possibly assault us with that hate us?
And now Mr. Sagacity left me to dream out
my dream by myself. Wherefore,
methought I saw Christiana, and Mercy, and
the boys, go all of them up to
the gate: to which, when they were come,
they betook themselves to a short
debate about how they must manage their
calling at the gate, and what should
be said unto him that did open to them: so
it was concluded, since
Christiana was the eldest, that she should
knock for entrance, and that she
should speak to him that did open, for the
rest. So Christiana began to
knock, and as her poor husband did, she
knocked and knocked again. But
instead of any that answered, they all
thought they heard as if a dog came
barking upon them; a dog, and a great one
too; and this made the women and
children afraid. Nor durst they for a while
to knock any more, for fear the
mastiff should fly upon them. Now,
therefore, they were greatly tumbled up
and
down in their minds, and knew not what to do: knock they durst not, for
fear of the dog; go back they durst not,
for fear the keeper of that gate
should espy them as they so went, and
should be offended with them; at last
they thought of knocking again, and knocked
more vehemently than they did at
first. Then said the keeper of the gate,
Who is there? So the dog left off
to bark, and he opened unto them.
Then Christiana made low obeisance, and
said, Let not our Lord be offended
with his handmaidens, for that we have
knocked at his princely gate. Then
said the keeper, Whence come ye? And what
is it that you would have?
Christiana answered, We are come from
whence Christian did come, and upon
the same errand as he; to wit, to be, if it
shall please you, graciously
admitted by this gate into the way that
leads unto the Celestial City. And I
answer, my Lord, in the next place, that I
am Christiana, once the wife of
Christian, that now is gotten above.
With that the keeper of the gate did
marvel, saying, What, is she now become
a pilgrim that but a while ago abhorred
that life? Then she bowed her head,
and said, Yea; and so are these my sweet
babes also.
Then he took her by the hand and led her
in, and said also, Suffer little
children to come unto me; and with that he
shut up the gate. This done, he
called to a trumpeter that was above, over
the gate, to entertain Christiana
with shouting, and the sound of trumpet for
joy. So he obeyed, and sounded,
and filled the air with his melodious
notes.
Now all this while poor Mercy did stand
without, trembling and crying, for
fear that she was rejected. But when
Christiana had got admittance for
herself and her boys, then she began to
make intercession for Mercy.
CHRISTIANA: And she said, My Lord, I have a
companion that stands yet
without, that is come hither upon the same
account as myself: one that is
much dejected in her mind, for that she
comes, as she thinks, without
sending for; whereas I was sent for by my
husband’s King to come.
Now Mercy began to be very impatient, and
each minute was as long to her as
an hour; wherefore she prevented Christiana
from a fuller interceding for
her, by knocking at the gate herself. And
she knocked then so loud that she
made Christiana to start. Then said the
keeper of the gate, Who is there?
And Christiana said, It is my friend.
So he opened the gate, and looked out, but
Mercy was fallen down without in
a swoon, for she fainted, and was afraid
that no gate should be opened to
her.
Then he took her by the hand, and said,
Damsel, I bid thee arise.
Oh, sir, said she, I am faint; there is
scarce life left in me. But he
answered, that one once said, “When my soul
fainted within me I remembered
the Lord: and my prayer came unto thee,
into thy holy temple.” Jonah 2:7.
Fear not, but stand upon thy feet, and tell
me wherefore thou art come.
MERCY: I am come for that unto which I was
never invited, as my friend
Christiana was. Hers was from the King, and
mine was but from her. Wherefore
I fear I presume.
KEEP: Did she desire thee to come with her
to this place?
MERCY: Yes; and, as my Lord sees, I am come.
And if there is any grace and
forgiveness of sins to spare, I beseech
that thy poor handmaid may be a
partaker thereof.
Then he took her again by the hand, and led
her gently in, and said, I pray
for all them that believe on me, by what
means soever they come unto me.
Then said he to those that stood by, Fetch
something and give it to Mercy to
smell on, thereby to stay her faintings; so
they fetched her a bundle of
myrrh, and a while after she was revived.
And now were Christiana and her boys, and
Mercy, received of the Lord at the
head of the way, and spoken kindly unto by
him. Then said they yet further
unto him, We are sorry for our sins, and
beg of our Lord his pardon, and
further information what we must do.
I grant pardon, said he, by word and deed;
by word in the promise of
forgiveness, by deed in the way I obtained
it. Take the first from my lips
with a kiss, and the other as it shall be
revealed. Song 1:2; John 20:20.
Now I saw in my dream, that he spake many
good words unto them, whereby they
were greatly gladdened. He also had them up
to the top of the gate, and
showed them by what deed they were saved;
and told them withal, that that
sight they would have again as they went
along in the way, to their comfort.
So he left them awhile in a summer parlor
below, where they entered into
talk by themselves; and thus Christiana
began. O how glad am I that we are
got in hither.
MERCY: So you well may; but I, of all, have
cause to leap for joy.
CHRISTIANA: I thought one time, as I stood
at the gate, because I had
knocked and none did answer, that all our
labor had been lost, especially
when that ugly cur made such a heavy
barking against us.
MERCY: But my worst fear was after I saw
that you was taken into his favor,
and that I was left behind. Now, thought I,
it is fulfilled which is
written, “Two women shall be grinding at
the mill; the one shall be taken,
and the other left.” Matt. 24:41. I had
much ado to forbear crying out,
Undone! And afraid I was to knock any more;
but when I looked up to what was
written over the gate, I took courage. I
also thought that I must either
knock again, or die; so I knocked, but I
cannot tell how, for my spirit now
struggled between life and death.
CHRISTIANA: Can you not tell how you
knocked? I am sure your knocks were so
earnest that the very sound of them made me
start; I thought I never heard
such knocking in all my life; I thought you
would come in by a violent hand,
or take the kingdom by storm. Matt. 11:12.
MERCY: Alas! to be in my case, who that so
was could but have done so? You
saw that the door was shut upon me, and
there was a most cruel dog
thereabout. Who, I say, that was so
faint-hearted as I, would not have
knocked with all their might? But pray,
what said my Lord to my rudeness?
Was he not angry with me?
CHRISTIANA: When he heard your lumbering
noise, he gave a wonderful innocent
smile; I believe what you did pleased him
well, for he showed no sign to the
contrary. But I marvel in my heart why he
keeps such a dog: had I known that
before, I should not have had heart enough
to have ventured myself in this
manner. But now we are in, we are in, and I
am glad with all my heart.
MERCY: I will ask, if you please, next time
he comes down, why he keeps such
a filthy cur in his yard; I hope he will
not take it amiss.
Do so, said the children, and persuade him
to hang him; for we are afraid he
will bite us when we go hence.
So at last he came down to them again, and
Mercy fell to the ground on her
face before him, and worshiped, and said,
“Let my Lord accept the sacrifice
of praise which I now offer unto him with
the calves of my lips.”
So he said unto her, Peace be to thee;
stand up. But she continued upon her
face, and said, “Righteous art thou, O
Lord, when I plead with thee; yet let
me talk with thee of thy judgments.” Jer.
12:1. Wherefore dost thou keep so
cruel a dog in thy yard, at the sight of
which such women and children as we
are ready to fly from thy gate for fear?
He answered and said, That dog has another
owner; he also is kept close in
another man’s ground, only my pilgrims hear
his barking; he belongs to the
castle which you see there at a distance,
but can come up to the walls of
this place. He has frighted many an honest
pilgrim from worse to better, by
the great voice of his roaring. Indeed, he
that owneth him doth not keep him
out of any good-will to me or mine, but
with intent to keep the pilgrims
from coming to me, and that they may be
afraid to come and knock at this
gate for entrance. Sometimes also he has
broken out, and has worried some
that I loved; but I take all at present
patiently. I also give my pilgrims
timely help, so that they are not delivered
to his power, to do with them
what his doggish nature would prompt him
to. But what my purchased one, I
trow, hadst thou known never so much
beforehand, thou wouldest not have been
afraid of a dog. The beggars that go from
door to door, will, rather than
lose a supposed alms, run the hazard of the
bawling, barking, and biting too
of a dog; and shall a dog, a dog in another
man’s yard, a dog whose barking
I turn to the profit of pilgrims, keep any
from coming to me? I deliver them
from the lions, and my darling from the
power of the dog. Psa. 22:21,22.
MERCY: Then said Mercy, I confess my
ignorance; I spake what I understood
not; I acknowledge that thou doest all
things well.
CHRISTIANA: Then Christiana began to talk
of their journey, and to inquire
after the way. So he fed them and washed
their feet, and set them in the way
of his steps, according as he had dealt
with her husband before.