ing to the best of my skill and wisdom, exhort and counsel them to seek out after the Lord Jesus Christ, for the salvation of their souls.'

"He said that was none of my work: I must follow my calling; and if I would but leave off preaching, and follow my calling, I should have the justice's favour, and be acquitted presently.

"To whom I said, that I could follow my calling, and that too, namely, preaching the word: and I did look upon it as my duty to do them both, as I had an opportunity.'

"He said, to have any such meetings was against the law; and therefore he would have me leave off, and say I would call the people no more together.

To whom I said, that I durst not make any further promise, for my conscience would not suffer me to do it. And again, I did look upon it as my duty to do as much good as I could, not only in my trade, but also in communicating to all people, wheresoever I came, the best knowledge I had in the world.

"He told me that I was the nearest the papists of any, and that he would convince me of immediately. "I asked him wherein.

"He said, in that we understood the Scriptures literally.

"I told him that those which were to be understood literally, we understood them so; but for those that were to be understood otherwise, we endeavoured so to understand them.

"He said, 'Which of the Scriptures do you understand literally ?'

“I said, 'This," He that believes shall be saved.” This was to be understood just as it is spoken; that whosoever believeth in Christ shall, according to the plain and simple words of the text, be saved.'

"He said that I was ignorant, and did not understand the Scriptures; for how, said he, can you understand them, when you know not the original Greek ?' &c.

"To whom I said, that if that were his opinion, that none could understand the Scriptures but those that had the original Greek, &c., then but a very few of the poorer sort would be saved; (this is harsh,) yet the Scripture saith, that God hides these things from the wise and prudent,' that is, from the learned of the world,' and reveals them to babes and sucklings.' "He said there were none that heard me but a comof foolish people.

pany

"I told him that there were the wise as well as the foolish that did hear me; and again, those that were most commonly counted foolish by the world were the wisest before God. Also, that God had rejected the wise, and mighty, and noble, and chosen the foolish and the base.

"He told me that I made people neglect their calling; and that God had commanded people to work six days, and serve him on the seventh.

"I told him that it was the duty of people, both rich and poor, to look out for their souls on those days, as well as for their bodies; and that God would have his people 'exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day.'.

"He said again that there were none but a company of poor, simple, ignorant people that came to hear me. "I told him that the foolish and the ignorant had most need of teaching and information, and therefore it would be profitable for me to go on in that work. Well,' said he, 'to conclude; but will you promise that you will not call the people together any more? and then you may be released, and go home.'

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"I told him that I durst say no more than I had said. For I dare not leave off that work which God had called me to.

"So he withdrew from me, and then came several of the justice's servants to me, and told me, that I stood so much upon a nicety. Their master, they said, was willing to let me go; and if I would but say I would call the people no more together, I might have my liberty, &c.

"I told them there were more ways than one in which a man might be said to call the people together. As, for instance, if a man get upon the market-place, and there read a book, or the like; though he do not say to the people, Sirs, come hither and hear, yet, if they come to him because he reads, he, by his very reading, may be said to call them together; because they would not have been there to hear, if he had not been there to read. And seeing this might be termed a calling the people together, I durst not say I would not call them together; for then, by the same argument, my preaching might be said to call them together.

"Then came the justice and Mr. Foster to me again, and when they saw that I was at a point, and would not be moved nor persuaded, Mr. Foster * told the justice, that then he must send me away to prison. And that he would do well also, if he would present all those that were the cause of my coming among them to meetings. Thus we parted.

"And verily, as I was going forth of the doors I had much ado to forbear saying to them, that I carried the peace of God along with me; but I held my peace, and, blessed be the Lord, went away to prison with God's comfort in my poor soul.

"This is the man that did at the first express so much love to me."

H

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"After I had lain in the jail five or six days, the brethren sought means again to get me out by bondsmen (for so ran my mittimus, that I should lie there till I could find sureties); they went to a justice at Elstow, one Mr. Crompton, to desire him to take bond for my appearing at the quarter-sessions. At the first he told them he would, but afterwards he made a demur at the business, and desired first to see my mittimus, which ran to this purpose: That I went about to several conventicles in the county, to the great disparagement of the government of the Church of England,' &c. When he had seen it, he said there might be something more against me than was expressed in my mittimus; and that he was but a young man, therefore he durst not do it. This my jailer told me. Whereat I was not at all daunted, but rather glad, and saw evidently that the Lord had heard me; for, before I went down to the justice, I begged of God, that if I might do more good by being at liberty than in prison, that then I might be set at liberty: but if not, His will be done; for I was not altogether without hopes but that my imprisonment might be an awakening to the saints in the country, therefore I could not tell well which to choose. Only I in that manner did commit the thing to God. And, verily, at my return, I did meet my God sweetly in the prison again, comforting of me, and satisfying of me that it was His will and mind that I should be there.

'When I came back again to prison, as I was musing at the slender answer of the justice, this word dropped in upon my heart with some life,- For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.'

"Thus have I, in short, declared the manner and occasion of my being in prison, where I lie waiting

the good will of God, to do with me as he pleaseth; knowing that not one hair of my head can fall to the ground without the will of my Father which is in heaven. Let the rage and malice of men be ever so great, they can do no more, nor go any farther, than God permits them: but when they have done their worst, we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,' Rom. viii. 28. Farewell."

HIS EXAMINATION IN JANUARY, 1661.

“After I had laid in prison above seven weeks, the quarter-sessions were to be kept in Bedford, for the county thereof, unto which I was to be brought; and when my jailer had set me before these justices, there was a bill of indictment preferred against me. The extent thereof was as followeth: 'That John Bunyan, of the town of Bedford, labourer, being a person of such and such conditions, he hath, (since such a time,) devilishly and perniciously abstained from coming to church to hear divine service, and is a common upholder of several unlawful meetings and conventicles, to the great disturbance and distraction of the good subjects of this kingdom, contrary to the laws of our sovereign lord the king,' &c.

"When this was read, the clerk of the sessions said unto me, 'What say you to this?'

"I said that, as to the first part of it, I was a common frequenter of the church of God; and was also, by grace, a member with the people, over whom Christ is the Head."

Bunyan then records his conversation with the justices relative to attendance at his parish church, and the prayer-book.

After relating this discussion, Bunyan proceeds :"One of them said, 'Who is your God? Beelzebub?'