Wouldst thou divert thyself from melancholy?
Wouldst thou be pleasant, yet be far from folly?
Wouldst thou read riddles and their explanation?
Or else be drowned in thy contemplation?
Dost thou love picking meat? Or wouldst thou see
A man i' th' clouds, and hear him speak to thee?
Wouldst thou be in a dream, and yet not sleep?
Or, wouldst thou in a moment laugh and weep?
<Or, wouldst thou lose thyself, and catch no harm
And find thyself again without a charm?
Wouldst read thyself, and read thou knowst not what,
And yet know whether thou art blest or not,

By reading the same lines? O then come hither,
And lay my book, thy hand, and heart together.

JOHN BUNYAN.

BLIOTE

THE

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.

PART I.

As I walked through the wilderness of this world I lighted on a certain place, where was a den', and laid me down in that place to sleep; and as I slept I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and, behold, "I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back." I looked, and saw him open the book, and read therein; and, as he read, he wept and trembled; and not being able longer to contain, he broke out with a lamentable cry", saying, "What shall I do?”

the

The jail. Mr. Bunyan was imprisoned twelve years in Bedford jail, for preaching the gospel as a nonconformist, or dissenter. To this he refers, when he speaks of the "den." Our Author, thus prevented from preaching, turned his thoughts to writing; and during his confinement composed The Pilgrim's Progress, and many other useful works. The Lord frequently causes wrath of man to praise him." The servants of Christ, when restrained by penal laws from publishing the word of life from the pulpit, have become more abundantly useful by their writings. How thankful should we be that our ministers are not now hurried from the pulpit to the prison by the arm of secular power; and that by the "Act of Toleration,' as well as other acts of a more recent date, we are permitted to enjoy religious liberty in its fullest extent.

2 The cry of an awakened sinner, who sees his own righteousness to be as filthy as rags, his soul in a state of wrath and wretchedness, exposed to everlasting destruction; feeling the burden of his sins upon his back, he turns his face from his own house, from himself, from all his false hopes and vain confidences, for refuge, and takes his Bible in his hand to direct him where he Isa. lxiv. 6. Luke xiv. 33. Ps. xxxviii. 4. Hab. ii. 2. Acts xvi.

Christian discloses his State to his Family.

In this plight, therefore, he went home and refrained himself as long as he could, that his wife and children should not perceive his distress; but he could not be silent long, because that his trouble increased; wherefore, at length, he broke his mind to his wife and children; and thus he began to talk to them: O my dear wife (said he) and you the children of my bowels, I your dear friend am in myself undone, by reason of a burden that lieth hard upon me: moreover I am certainly informed that this our city will be burned with fire from Heaven; in which fearful overthrow, both myself, with thee my wife, and you my sweet babes, shall miserably come to ruin, except (the which yet I see not) some way of escape may be found, whereby we may be delivered. At this his relations were sore amazed3, not for that they believed what he had said to them was true, but because they thought some frenzy distemper had got into his head; therefore, it drawing towards night, and they

shall flee for mercy and salvation. The more a sinner reads therein the more he is convinced of the wretched state and ruined condition of his precious and immortal soul, and of his necessity of fleeing to Christ for eternal life and salvation. As he reads he weeps and trembles to think what will becòme of him. Reader, was this ever your case? Did you ever see your sins, and feel the burden of them so as to cry out, in the anguish of your soul, What must I do to be saved? If not, you will look upon this precious book as a romance or history which no way concerns you: you can no more understand the meaning of it, than if it were written in an unknown tongue: for you are yet carnal, dead in your sins, lying in the arms of the wicked one in false security. But this book is spiritual: it can only be understood by spiritually-quickened souls, who have experienced that salvation in the heart which begins with a sight of sin, a sense of sin, a fear of destruction, and dread of damnation. Such, and only such, commence pilgrims from the City of Destruction to the heavenly kingdom.

• Conviction of sin in the heart will discover itself to those about us, by the outward conduct and behaviour of the life.

This world.