coming, then we see him coming on to the gate. (5) One word describes not only his appearance, but also his manner, his walk. Earnest yet mild countenance,”—four words, which not only fail to describe the personal appearance as forcibly as grave, but they put the reader to the trouble of conceiving how two such dissimilar features might consist in one characteristic expression. (6) Goodwill should hardly be a venerable person.

F*

CHRISTIAN IN DOUBTING CASTLE.

Now there was, not far from the place where they lay, a castle, called Doubting Castle, the owner whereof was Giant Despair, and it was in his grounds they now were sleeping; wherefore he, getting up in the morning early, and walking up and down in his fields, caught Christian and Hopeful asleep in his grounds. Then, with a grim and surly voice, he bid them awake, and asked them whence they were, and what they did in his grounds? They told him they were pilgrims, and that they had lost their way. Then said the giant, You have this night trespassed on me, by trampling and lying on my ground, and therefore you must go along with me. So they were forced to go, because he was stronger than they. They also had but little to say, for they knew themselves in fault. The giant, therefore, drove them before him, and put them into his castle, in a very dark dungeon, nasty, and stinking to the spirits of those two

men.

Here they lay from Wednesday morning till Saturday night, without one bit of bread, or drop of drink, or light, or any to ask how they did: they were therefore here in evil case, and were far from friends and acquaintance. Now in this place Christian had double sorrow, because it was through his unadvised counsel that they were brought into this distress.

Now, Giant Despair had a wife, and her name was Diffidence:* so when he was gone

* The first edition of the Pilgrim's Progress came out in 1678. In 1847 the Hansard Knollys Society in England published an edition, which was an exact reprint of the first edition, containing an introduction by George Offer. A copy of this reprint came into the hands of the poet James Montgomery. He observes that the character of Diffidence does not appear in the first edition. Montgomery says, "I am pleased with his (Mr. Offer's) collocation of so many early editions of the work. It is curious enough to find, among the more important additions successively made by Bunyan during the republications of the work in his lifetime, that the character of Mrs. Diffidence, with which every reader now is so familiar, was originally introduced in the second edition, Giant Despair having, it seems, been a bachelor in the first. I recollect often wondering, when a boy, why it was that the giant and his wife always discussed the fate of the Pilgrims in bed. There are several other insertions of importance, as in the instance of Mr. Worldlywise-man, and particularly in the long interview between Byeends and his company, which, excellent as it is in matter, and interesting as an episode, always appeared to me as an afterthought of the author, tending as it does rather to interrupt than advance the progress of the story."

to bed, he told his wife what he had done, to wit, that he had taken a couple of prisoners and cast them into his dungeon, for trespassing on his grounds. Then he asked her also what he had best do further to them. So she asked him what they were, whence they came, and whither they were bound, and he told her. Then she counselled him, that when he arose in the morning, he should beat them without mercy. So when he arose, he getteth him a grievous crab-tree cudgel, and goes down into the dungeon to them, and there first falls to rating of them as if they were dogs, although they gave him never a word of distaste: then he falls upon them, and beats them fearfully, in such sort that they were not able to help themselves, or turn them upon the floor. This done, he withdraws, and leaves them there to condole their misery, and to mourn under their distress: so all that day they spent their time in nothing but sighs and bitter lamentations.

The next night she talked with her husband about them further, and understanding that they were yet alive, did advise him to counsel them to make away with themselves. So when morning was come, he goes to them

in a surly manner, as before, and perceiving them to be very sore with the stripes that he had given them the day before, he told them, that since they were never like to come out of that place, their only way would be forthwith to make an end of themselves, either with knife, halter, or poison: For why, said he, should you choose life, seeing it is attended with so much bitterness? But they desired him to let them go. With that he looked ugly upon them, and rushing to them, had doubtless made an end of them himself, but that he fell into one of his fits (for he sometimes in sunshiny weather fell into fits), and lost for a time the use of his hands: wherefore he withdrew, and left them, as before, to consider what to do. Then did the prisoners consult between themselves whether it was best to take his counsel or no: and thus they began to discourse:

Chr. Brother, said Christian, what shall we do? The life that we now lead is miserable. For my part, I know not whether it is best to live thus, or die out of hand. My soul chooseth strangling rather than life," and the grave is more easy for me than this dungeon! Shall we be ruled by the giant?