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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Visions of the Sleeping Bard, by Ellis Wynne
+
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+Title: The Visions of the Sleeping Bard
+
+Author: Ellis Wynne
+
+Release Date: May, 2004  [EBook #5671]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on August 6, 2002]
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+Edition: 10
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+Language: English
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+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, VISIONS OF THE SLEEPING BARD ***
+
+
+
+
+Transcribed from the 1897 Welsh National Press Company edition by David
+Price, email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk
+
+
+
+
+THE VISIONS OF THE SLEEPING BARD
+BEING
+ELLIS WYNNE'S
+"Gweledigaetheu y Bardd Cwsc"
+Translated by Robert Gwyneddon Davies
+
+
+
+
+Contents:
+   Preface
+   Introduction
+      Author's Life
+      The Text
+      A Brief Summary
+         Vision of The World
+         The Vision of Death
+         The Vision Of Hell
+   The Visions of the Sleeping Bard
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+
+
+At the National Eisteddfod of 1893, a prize was offered by Mr. Lascelles
+Carr, of the Western Mail, for the best translation of Ellis Wynne's
+Vision of Hell.  The Adjudicators (Dean Howell and the Rev. G. Hartwell
+Jones, M.A.), awarded the prize for the translation which is comprised in
+the present volume.  The remaining Visions were subsequently rendered
+into English, and the complete work is now published in the hope that it
+may prove useful to those readers, who, being unacquainted with the Welsh
+language, yet desire to obtain some knowledge of its literature.
+
+My best thanks are due to the Rev. J. W. Wynne Jones, M.A., Vicar of
+Carnarvon, for much help and valuable criticism; to the Rev. R Jones,
+MA., Rector of Llanfair-juxta-Harlech, through whose courtesy I am
+enabled to produce (from a photograph by Owen, Barmouth) a page of the
+register of that parish, containing entries in Ellis Wynne's handwriting;
+and to Mr. Isaac Foulkes, Liverpool, for the frontispiece, which appeared
+in his last edition of the Bardd Cwsc.
+
+R. GWYNEDDON DAVIES.
+Caernarvon,
+1st July, 1897.
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+
+I.--THE AUTHOR'S LIFE.
+
+
+Ellis Wynne was born in 1671 at Glasynys, near Harlech; his father,
+Edward Wynne, came of the family of Glyn Cywarch (mentioned in the second
+Vision), his mother, whose name is not known, was heiress of Glasynys.
+It will be seen from the accompanying table that he was descended from
+some of the best families in his native county, and through Osborn
+Wyddel, from the Desmonds of Ireland.  His birth-place, which still
+stands, and is shown in the frontispiece hereto, is situate about a mile
+and a half from the town of Harlech, in the beautiful Vale of Ardudwy.
+The natural scenery amidst which he was brought up, cannot have failed to
+leave a deep impression upon his mind; and in the Visions we come across
+unmistakeable descriptions of scenes and places around his home.
+Mountain and sea furnished him with many a graphic picture; the
+precipitous heights and dark ravines of Hell, its caverns and its cliffs,
+are all evidently drawn from nature.  The neighbourhood is also rich in
+romantic lore and historic associations; Harlech Castle, some twenty-five
+years before his birth, had been the scene of many a fray between
+Roundheads and Cavaliers, and of the last stand made by the Welsh for
+King Charles.  These events were fresh in the memory of his elders, whom
+he had, no doubt, often heard speaking of those stirring times; members
+of his own family had, perhaps, fought in the ranks of the rival parties;
+his father's grand-uncle, Col. John Jones, was one of those who erstwhile
+drank of royal blood."
+
+It is not known where he received his early education, and it has been
+generally stated by his biographers that he was not known to have entered
+either of the Universities; but, as the following notice proves, he at
+least matriculated at Oxford:-
+
+
+WYNNE, ELLIS, s. Edw. of Lasypeys, co. Merioneth, pleb. Jesus Coll.
+matric. 1st March 1691-2, aged 21; rector of Llandanwg, 1705, & of
+Llanfair-juxta-Harlech (both) co. Merioneth, 1711.  (Vide Foster's Index
+Eccles.)
+
+
+Probably his stay at the University was brief, and that he left without
+taking his degree, for I have been unable to find anything further
+recorded of his academic career. {0a}  The Rev. Edmund Prys, Vicar of
+Clynnog-Fawr, in a prefatory englyn to Ellis Wynne's translation of the
+"Holy Living" says that "in order to enrich his own, he had ventured upon
+the study of three other tongues."  This fact, together with much that
+appears in the Visions, justifies the conclusion that his scholarly
+attainments were of no mean order.  But how and where he spent the first
+thirty years of his life, with the possible exception of a period at
+Oxford, is quite unknown, the most probable surmise being that they were
+spent in the enjoyment of a simple rural life, and in the pursuit of his
+studies, of whatever nature they may have been.
+
+According to Rowlands's Cambrian Bibliography his first venture into the
+fields of literature was a small volume entitled, Help i ddarllen yr
+Yscrythur Gyssegr-Lan ("Aids to reading Holy Writ"), being a translation
+of the Whole Duty of Man "by E. W., a clergyman of the Church of
+England," published at Shrewsbury in 1700.  But as Ellis Wynne was not
+ordained until 1704, this work must be ascribed to some other author who,
+both as to name and calling, answered to the description on the title-
+page quoted above.  But in 1701 an accredited work of his appeared,
+namely, a translation into Welsh of Jeremy Taylor's Rules and Exercises
+of Holy Living, a 12mo. volume published in London.  It was dedicated to
+the Rev. Humphrey Humphreys, D.D., Bishop of Bangor, who was a native of
+the same district of Merionethshire as Ellis Wynne, and, as is shown in
+the genealogical table hereto {0}, was connected by marriage with his
+family.
+
+In 1702 {0b} he was married to Lowri Llwyd--anglice, Laura Lloyd--of
+Hafod-lwyfog, Beddgelert, and had issue by her, two daughters and three
+sons; one of the daughters, Catherine, died young, and the second son,
+Ellis, predeceased his father by two years. {0c}  His eldest son, Gwilym,
+became rector of Llanaber, near Barmouth, and inherited his ancestral
+home; his youngest son, Edward, also entered the Church and became rector
+of Dolbenmaen and Penmorfa, Carnarvonshire.  Edward Wynne's son was the
+rector of Llanferres, Denbighshire, and his son again was the Rev. John
+Wynne, of Llandrillo in Edeyrnion, who died only a few years ago.
+
+The following year (1703), he published the present work--his magnum
+opus--which has secured him a place among the greatest names in Welsh
+Literature.  It will be noticed that on the title-page to the first
+edition the words "Y Rhann Gyntaf" ("The First Part") appear; the
+explanation given of this is that Ellis Wynne did actually write a second
+part, entitled, The Vision of Heaven, but that on hearing that he was
+charged with plagiarism in respect of his other Visions, he threw the
+manuscript into the fire, and so destroyed what, judging from the title,
+might have proved a greater success than the first part, as affording
+scope for lighter and more pleasing flights of the imagination.
+
+It is said by his biographers that he was induced to abandon the pursuit
+of the law, to which he was educated, and to take holy orders, by Bishop
+Humphreys, who had recognised in his translation of the Holy Living
+marked ability and piety, and that he was ordained deacon and priest the
+same day by the Bishop, at Bangor, in 1701, and presented on the
+following day to the living of Llanfair-juxta-Harlech and subsequently to
+Llandanwg.
+
+All these statements appear to be incorrect.  To deal with them
+categorically:  I find no record at the Diocesan Registry of his having
+been ordained at Bangor at all; the following entry in the parish
+register of Llanfair shows that he was not in holy orders in July, 1704:
+"Gulielmus filius Elizaei Wynne generosi de Las ynys et uxoris suis
+baptizatus fuit quindecimo die Julii, 1704.--W. Wynne Rr., O. Edwards,
+Rector."  His first living was Llandanwg, and not Llanfair, to which he
+was collated on January 1st, 1705.  Moreover, the above-named Owen
+Edwards was the rector of Llanfair until his death which took place in
+1711. {0d}  From that date on to 1734, the entries in the register at
+Llanfair church are all in Ellis Wynne's handwriting; these facts prove
+conclusively that it was in 1711 he became rector of the latter parish.
+
+In 1710 he edited a new and revised edition of the Book of Common Prayer,
+at the request of his patron, the Bishop of Hereford (Dr. Humphreys) and
+the four Welsh bishops,--a clear proof of the confidence reposed in him
+by the dignitaries of his church as a man of learning and undoubted
+piety.  He himself published nothing more, but A Short Commentary on the
+Catechism and a few hymns and carols were written by him and published
+posthumously by his son, Edward, being included in a volume of his own,
+entitled Prif Addysc y Cristion, issued in 1755.
+
+The latter part of his life is as completely obscure as the earlier; he
+lapsed again into the silence from which he had only just emerged with
+such signal success, and confined his efforts as a Christian worker
+within the narrow limits of his own native parts, exercising,
+doubtlessly, an influence for good upon his immediate neighbourhood
+through force of character and noble personality, as upon his fellow-
+countrymen at large by means of his published works.  His wife died in
+1720, and his son, Ellis, in 1732; two years later he himself died and
+was buried under the communion table in Llanfair church, on the 17th day
+of July, 1734. {0e}  There is no marble or "perennial brass" to mark the
+last resting-place of the Bard, nor was there, until recent years, any
+memorial of him in either of his parish churches, when the late Rev. John
+Wynne set up a fine stained-glass window at Llanfair church in memory of
+his illustrious ancestor.
+
+Ellis Wynne appeared at a time when his country had sore need of him,
+when the appointed teachers of the nation were steeped in apathy and
+corruption, when ignorance and immorality overspread the land--the
+darkest hour before the dawn.  He was one of the early precursors of the
+Methodist revival in Wales, a voice crying in the wilderness, calling
+upon his countrymen to repent.  He neither feared nor favored any man or
+class, but delivered his message in unfaltering tone, and performed his
+alloted task honestly and faithfully.  How deeply our country is indebted
+to him who did her such eminent service in the days of adversity and
+gloom will never be known.  And now, in the time of prosperity, Wales
+still remembers her benefactor, and will always keep honored the name of
+Ellis Wynne, the SLEEPING BARD.
+
+
+II.--THE TEXT.
+
+
+The Bardd Cwsc was first published in London in 1703, a small 24mo.
+volume of some 150 pages, with the following title-page
+
+
+"GWELEDIGAETHEU Y BARDD CWSC.  Y Rhann Gyntaf.  Argraphwyd yn Llundain
+gan E. Powell i'r Awdwr, 1703." {0f}
+
+
+A second edition was not called for until about 1742, when it was issued
+at Shrewsbury; but in the thirty years following, as many as five
+editions were published, and in the present century, at least twelve
+editions (including two or three by the Rev. Canon Silvan Evans) have
+appeared.  The text followed in this volume is that of Mr. Isaac Foulkes'
+edition, but recourse has also been had to the original edition for the
+purpose of comparison.  The only translation into English hitherto has
+been that of George Borrow, published in London in 1860, and written in
+that charming and racy style which characterises his other and better
+known works.  He has, however, fallen into many errors, which were only
+natural, seeing that the Visions abound in colloquial words and phrases,
+and in idiomatic forms of expression which it would be most difficult for
+one foreign to our tongue to render correctly.
+
+The author's name is not given in the original nor in any subsequent
+edition previous to the one published at Merthyr Tydfil in 1806, where
+the Gweledigaetheu are said to be by "Ellis Wynne."  But it was well
+known, even before his death, that he was the author; the fact being
+probably deduced from the similarity in style between the Visions and an
+acknowledged work, namely, his translation of the Holy Living.  The most
+likely reason for his preferring anonymity is not far to seek; his
+scathing denunciation of the sins of certain classes and, possibly, even
+of certain individuals, would be almost sure to draw upon the author
+their most bitter attacks.  Many of the characters he depicts would be
+identified, rightly or wrongly, with certain of his contemporaries, and
+many more, whom he never had in his mind at all, would imagine themselves
+the objects of his satire; he had nothing to gain by imperilling himself
+at the hands of such persons, or by coming into open conflict with them;
+he had his message to deliver to his fellow-countrymen, his Visions a
+purpose to fulfil, the successful issue of which could not but be
+frustrated by the introduction of personal hatred and ill-will.  Ellis
+Wynne was only too ready to forego the honor of being the acknowledged
+author of the Visions if thereby he could the better serve his country.
+
+The Bardd Cwsc is not only the most popular of Welsh prose works, but it
+has also retained its place among the best of our classics.  No better
+model exists of the pure idiomatic Welsh of the last century, before
+writers became influenced by English style and method.  Vigorous, fluent,
+crisp, and clear, it shows how well our language is adapted to
+description and narration.  It is written for the people, and in the
+picturesque and poetic strain which is always certain to fascinate the
+Celtic mind.  The introduction to each Vision is evidently written with
+elaborate care, and exquisitely polished--"ne quid possit per leve
+morari," and scene follows scene, painted in words which present them
+most vividly before one's eyes, whilst the force and liveliness of his
+diction sustain unflagging interest throughout.  The reader is carried
+onward as much by the rhythmic flow of language and the perfect balance
+of sentences, as by the vivacity of the narrative and by the reality with
+which Ellis Wynne invests his adventures and the characters he depicts.
+The terrible situations in which we find the Bard, as the drama unfolds,
+betoken not only a powerful imagination, but also an intensity of feeling
+which enabled him to realise the conceptions of such imagination.  We
+follow the Bard and his heavenly guide through all their perils with
+breathless attention; the demons and the damned he so clothes with flesh
+and blood that our hatred or our sympathy is instantly stirred; his World
+is palpitating with life, his Hell, with its gloom and glare, is an
+awful, haunting dream.  But besides being the possessor of a vivid
+imagination, Ellis Wynne was endowed with a capacity for transmitting his
+own experience in a picturesque and life-like manner.  The various
+descriptions of scenes, such as Shrewsbury fair, the parson's revelry and
+the deserted mansions; of natural scenery, as in the beginning of the
+first and last Visions; of personages, such as the portly alderman, and
+the young lord and his retinue, all are evidently drawn from the Author's
+own experience.  He was also gifted with a lively sense of humor, which
+here and there relieves the pervading gloom so naturally associated with
+the subject of his Visions.  The humorous and the severe, the grotesque
+and the sublime, the tender and the terrible, are alike portrayed by a
+master hand.
+
+The leading feature of the Visions, namely the personal element which the
+Author infuses into the recital of his distant travels, brings the reader
+into a closer contact with the tale and gives continuity to the whole
+work, some parts of which would otherwise appear disconnected.  This
+telling of the tale in propria persona with a guide of shadowy or
+celestial nature who points out what the Bard is to see, and explains to
+him the mystery of the things around him, is a method frequently adopted
+by poets of all times.  Dante is the best known instance, perhaps; but we
+find the method employed in Welsh, as in "The Dream of Paul, the
+Apostle," where Paul is led by Michael to view the punishments of Hell
+(vide Iolo MSS.).  Ellis Wynne was probably acquainted with Vergil and
+Dante, and adopted the idea of supernatural guidance from them; in fact,
+apart from this, we meet with several passages which are eminently
+reminiscent of both these great poets.
+
+But now, casting aside mere speculation, we come face to face with the
+indisputable fact that Ellis Wynne is to a considerable degree indebted
+to the Dreams of Gomez de Quevedo y Villegas, a voluminous Spanish author
+who flourished in the early part of the 17th century.  In 1668, Sir Roger
+L'Estrange published his translation into English of the Dreams, which
+immediately became very popular.  Quevedo has his Visions of the World,
+of Death and her (sic) Empire, and of Hell; the same characters are
+delineated in both, the same classes satirized, the same punishments
+meted out.  We read in both works of the catchpoles and wranglers, the
+pompous knights and lying knaves--in fine, we cannot possibly come to any
+other conclusion than that Ellis Wynne has "read, marked and inwardly
+digested" L'Estrange's translation of Quevedo's Dreams.  But admitting so
+much, the Bardd Cwsc still remains a purely Welsh classic; whatever in
+name and incident Ellis Wynne has borrowed from the Spaniard he has
+dressed up in Welsh home-spun, leaving little or nothing indicative of
+foreign influence.  The sins he preached against, the sinners he
+condemned, were, he knew too well, indigenous to Welsh and Spanish soil.
+George Borrow sums up his comments upon the two authors in the following
+words:  "Upon the whole, the Cymric work is superior to the Spanish;
+there is more unity of purpose in it, and it is far less encumbered with
+useless matter."
+
+The implication contained in the foregoing remarks of Borrow--that the
+Bardd Cwsc is encumbered to a certain degree with useless matter, is no
+doubt well founded.  There is a tendency to dwell inordinately upon the
+horrible, more particularly in the Vision of Hell; a tiring sameness in
+the descriptive passages, an occasional lapse from the tragic to the
+ludicrous, and an intrusion of the common-place in the midst of a speech
+or a scene, marring the dignity of the one and the beauty of the other.
+
+The most patent blemish, however, is the unwarranted coarseness of
+expression to which the Author sometimes stoops.  It is true that he must
+be judged according to the times he lived in; his chief object was to
+reach the ignorant masses of his countrymen, and to attain this object it
+was necessary for him to adopt their blunt and unveneered speech.  For
+all that, one cannot help feeling that he has, in several instances,
+descended to a lower level than was demanded of him, with the inevitable
+result that both the literary merit and the good influence of his work in
+some measure suffer.  Many passages which might be considered coarse and
+indecorous according to modern canons of taste, have been omitted from
+this translation.
+
+From the literary point of view THE VISIONS OF THE SLEEPING BARD has from
+the first been regarded as a masterpiece, but from the religious, two
+very different opinions have been held concerning it.  One, probably the
+earlier, was, that it was a book with a good purpose, and fit to stand
+side by side with Vicar Pritchard's Canwyll y Cymry and Llyfr yr
+Homiliau; the other, that it was a pernicious book, "llyfr codi
+cythreuliaid"--a devil-raising book.  A work which in any shape or form
+bore even a distant relationship to fiction, instantly fell under the ban
+of the Puritanism of former days.  To-day neither opinion is held, the
+Bardd Cwsc is simply a classic and nothing more.
+
+The Visions derive considerable value from the light they throw upon the
+moral and social condition of our country two centuries ago.  Wales, at
+the time Ellis Wynne wrote was in a state of transition:  its old-world
+romance was passing away, and ceasing to be the potent influence which,
+in times gone by, had aroused our nation to chivalrous enthusiasm, and
+led it to ennobling aspirations.  Its place and power, it is true, were
+shortly to be taken by religion, simple, puritanic, and intensely
+spiritual; but so far, the country was in a condition of utter disorder,
+morally and socially.  Its national life was at its lowest ebb, its
+religious life was as yet undeveloped and gave little promise of the
+great things to come.  The nation as a whole--people, patrician, and
+priest--had sunk to depths of moral degradation; the people, through
+ignorance and superstition; the patrician, through contact with the
+corruptions of the England of the Restoration; while the priesthood were
+
+
+"Blind mouths, that scarce themselves knew how to hold
+"A sheep-hook, or had learnt aught else the least
+"That to the faithful herdman's art belongs."
+
+
+All the sterner and darker aspects of the period are chronicled with a
+grim fidelity in the Visions, the wrongs and vices of the age are exposed
+with scathing earnestness.  Ellis Wynne set himself the task of
+endeavouring to arouse his fellow-countrymen and bring them to realize
+the sad condition into which the nation had fallen.  He entered upon the
+work endowed with keen powers of perception, a wide knowledge of life,
+and a strong sense of justice.  He was no respecter of person; all orders
+of society, types of every rank and class, in turn, came under
+castigation; no sin, whether in high places or among those of low degree,
+escaped the lash of his biting satire.  On the other hand, it must be
+said that he lacked sympathy with erring nature, and failed to recognize
+in his administration of justice that "to err is human, to forgive,
+divine."  His denunciation of wrong and wrong-doer is equally stern and
+pitiless; mercy and love are rarely, if ever, brought on the stage.  In
+this mood, as in the gloomy pessimism which pervades the whole work, he
+reflects the religious doctrines and beliefs of his times.  In fine, when
+all has been said, favourably and adversely, the Visions, it will readily
+be admitted, present a very faithful picture of Welsh life, manners, and
+ways of thought, in the 17th century, and are, in every sense, a true
+product of the country and the age in which they were written.
+
+
+III.--A BRIEF SUMMARY.
+
+
+I.  VISION OF THE WORLD.
+
+
+One summer's day, the Bard ascends one of the mountains of Wales, and
+gazing a long while at the beautiful scene, falls asleep.  He dreams and
+finds himself among the fairies, whom he approaches and requests
+permission to join.  They snatch him up forthwith and fly off with him
+over cities and realms, lands and seas, until he begins to fear for his
+life.  They come to a huge castle--Castle Delusive, where an Angel of
+light appears and rescues him from their hands.  The Angel, after
+questioning him as to himself, who he was and where he came from, bids
+him go with him, and resting in the empyrean, he beholds the earth far
+away beneath them.  He sees an immense City made up of three streets; at
+the end of which are three gates and upon each gate a tower and in each
+tower a fair woman.  This is the City of Destruction and its streets are
+named after the daughters of Belial--Pride, Lucre and Pleasure.  The
+Angel tells him of the might and craftiness of Belial and the alluring
+witchery of his daughters, and also of another city on higher ground--the
+City of Emmanuel--whereto all may fly from Destruction.  They descend and
+alight in the Street of Pride amidst the ruined and desolate mansions of
+absentee landlords.  They see there kings, princes, and noblemen,
+coquettes and fops; there is a city, too, on seven hills, and another
+opposite, with a crescent on a golden banner above it, and near the gate
+stands the Court of Lewis XIV.  Much traffic is going on between these
+courts, for the Pope, the Sultan and the King of France are rivals for
+the Princesses' hands.
+
+They next come to the Street of Lucre, full of Spaniards, Dutchmen and
+Jews, and here too, are conquerors and their soldiers, justices and their
+bribers, doctors, misers, merchants and userers, shopmen, clippers,
+taverners, drovers, and the like.  An election of Treasurer to the
+Princess is going on--stewards, money-lenders, lawyers and merchants
+being candidates, and whoso was proved the richest should obtain the
+post.  The Bard then comes to the Street of Pleasure, where all manner of
+seductive joys abound.  He passes through scenes of debauchery and
+drunken riot, and comes to a veritable Bedlam, where seven good fellows--
+a tinker, a dyer, a smith and a miner, a chimney-sweep, a bard and a
+parson--are enjoying a carousal.  He beholds the Court of Belial's second
+daughter, Hypocrisy, and sees a funeral go by where all the mourners are
+false.  A noble lord appears, with his lady at his side, and has a talk
+with old Money-bags who has lent him money on his lands--all three being
+apt pupils of Hypocrisy.
+
+The Angel then takes him to the churches of the City; and first they come
+to a pagan temple where the human form, the sun and moon, and various
+other objects are worshipped.  Thence they come to a barn where
+Dissenters imitate preaching, and to an English church where many
+practise all manner of hypocrisy.  The Bard then leaves the City of
+Destruction and makes for the celestial City.  He beholds one man part
+from his friends and, refusing to be persuaded by them, hasten towards
+Emmanuel's City.  The gateway is narrow and mean, while on the walls are
+watchmen urging on those that are fleeing from Destruction.  Groups from
+the various streets arrive and claim admittance, but, being unable to
+leave their sins, have to return.  The Bard and his Guide enter, and
+passing by the Well of Repentance come in view of the Catholic Church,
+the transept of which is the Church of England, with Queen Anne enthroned
+above, holding the Sword of Justice in the left hand, and the Sword of
+the Spirit in the right.  Suddenly there is a call to arms, the sky
+darkens, and Belial himself advances against the Church, with his earthly
+princes and their armies.  The Pope and Lewis of France, the Turks and
+Muscovites fall upon England and her German allies, but, the angels
+assisting, they are vanquished; the infernal hosts, too, give way and are
+hurled headlong from the sky; whereupon the Bard awakes.
+
+
+II.  THE VISION OF DEATH.
+
+
+It is a cold, winter's night and the Bard lies abed meditating upon the
+brevity of life, when Sleep and his sister Nightmare pay him a visit, and
+after a long parley, constrain him to accompany them to the Court of
+their brother Death.  Hieing away through forests and dales, and over
+rivers and rocks, they alight at one of the rear portals of the City of
+Destruction which opens upon a murky region--the chambers of Death.  On
+all hands are myriads of doors leading into the Land of Oblivion, each
+guarded by the particular death-imp, whose name was inscribed above it.
+The Bard passes by the portals of Hunger, where misers, idlers and
+gossips enter, of Cold, where scholars and travellers go through, of
+Fear, Love, Envy and Ambition.
+
+Suddenly he finds himself transported into a bleak and barren land where
+the shades flit to and fro.  He is straightway surrounded by them, and,
+on giving his name as the "Sleeping Bard," a shadowy claimant to that
+name sets upon him and belabours him most unmercifully until Merlin bid
+him desist.  Taliesin then interviews him, and an ancient manikin,
+"Someone" by name, tells him his tale of woe.  After that he is taken
+into the presence of the King of Terrors himself, who, seated on a throne
+with Fate and Time on either hand, deals out their doom to the prisoners
+as they come before him.  Four fiddlers, a King from the neighbourhood of
+Rome with a papal dispensation to pass right through to Paradise, a
+drunkard and a harlot, and lastly seven corrupt recorders, are condemned
+to the land of Despair.
+
+Another group of seven prisoners have just been brought to the bar, when
+a letter comes from Lucifer concerning them; he requests that Death
+should let these seven return to the world or else keep them within his
+own realm--they were far too dangerous to be allowed to enter Hell.
+Death hesitates, but, urged by Fate, he indites his answer, refusing to
+comply with Lucifer's request.  The seven are then called and Death bids
+his hosts hasten to convey them beyond his limits.  The Bard sees them
+hurled over the verge beneath the Court of Justice and his spirit so
+strives within him at the sight that the bonds of Sleep are sundered and
+his soul returns to its wonted functions.
+
+
+III.  THE VISION OF HELL.
+
+
+The Bard is sauntering, one April morning, on the banks of the Severn,
+when his previous visions recur to his mind and he resolves to write them
+as a warning to others, and while at this work he falls asleep, and the
+Angel once more appears and bears him aloft into space.  They reach the
+confines of Eternity and descend through Chaos for myriads of miles.  A
+troop of lost beings are swept past them towards the shores of a death-
+like river--the river of the Evil One.  After passing through its waters,
+the Bard witnesses the tortures the damned suffer at the hands of the
+devils, and visits their various prisons and cells.  Here is the prison
+of Woe-that-I-had-not, of Too-late-a-repentance and of the
+Procrastinators.  There the Slanderers, Backbiters, and other envious
+cowards are tormented in a deep and dark dungeon.  He hears much laughter
+among the devils and turning round finds that the cause of their
+merriment are two noblemen who have just arrived and are claiming the
+respect due to their rank.  Further on is a crowd of harlots calling down
+imprecations upon those that ruined them; and in a huge cavern are
+lawyers, doctors, stewards and other such rogues.  The Princesses of the
+City of Destruction bring batches of their subjects as gifts to their
+sire.
+
+A parliament is summoned and Lucifer addresses his princes, calling upon
+them to do their utmost to destroy the rest of mankind.  Moloch makes his
+reply, reciting all that he has done, when Lucifer in rage starts off to
+do the work himself, but is drawn back by an invisible hand.  He speaks
+again, exhorting them to greater activity and cruelty.  Justice brings
+three prisoners to Hell and returning causes such a rush of fiery
+whirlwinds that all the infernal lords are swept away into the Uttermost
+Hell.
+
+The Bard hears the din of arms and news comes that the Turks, Papists,
+and Roundheads are advancing in three armies.  Lucifer and his hosts
+immediately set out to meet them and after a stubborn contest succeed in
+quelling the rebellion.  More prisoners are brought before the King--
+Catholics, who had missed the way to Paradise, an innkeeper, five kings,
+assize-men and lawyers, gipsies, laborers and scholars.  Scarcely is
+judgment passed on these than war again breaks out--soldiers and doctors,
+lawyers and userers, misers and their own offspring, are fighting each
+other.  The leaders of this revolt having been taken, another parliament
+is called and more prisoners yet brought to trial.
+
+Lucifer asks the advice of his peers as to whom he should appoint his
+viceroy in Britain.  Cerberus, first of all, offers the service of
+Tobacco; then Mammon speaks in praise of Gold and Apolyon tells what
+Pride can do; Asmodai, the demon of Lust, Belphegor. the demon of Sloth,
+and Satan, devil of Delusion, each pleads for his own pet sin; and after
+Beelzebub has spoken in favour of Thoughtlessness, Lucifer sums up,
+weighs their arguments, and finally announces that it is another he has
+chosen as his vicegerent in Britain.  This other is Prosperity, and her
+he bids them follow and obey.  Then the lost Archangel and his
+counsellors are hurled into the Bottomless Pit, and the Angel takes the
+Bard up to the vault of Hell where he has full view of a three-faced
+ogress, Sin, who would make of heaven, a hell, and thence departing, a
+heaven of hell.  The Angel then leaves him, bidding him, as he went, to
+write down what he had seen for the benefit of others.
+
+
+
+TO THE READER.
+
+
+
+   Let whoso reads, consider;
+   Considering, remember,
+   And from remembering, do,
+   And doing, so continue.
+Whoso abides in Virtue's paths,
+And ever strives until the end
+From sinful bondage to be free,
+Ne'er shall possess wherewith to feed
+The direful flame, nor weight of sin
+To sink him in th' infernal mire;
+Nor will he come to that dread realm
+Where Wrong and Retribution meet.
+But, woe to that poor, worthless wight
+Who lives a bitter, stagnant life,
+Who follows after every ill
+And knows not either Faith or Love,
+(For Faith in deeds alone doth live).
+Eternal woe shall be his doom -
+More torments he shall then behold
+Yea, in the twinkling of an eye
+Than any age can e'er conceive.
+
+
+
+
+THE VISIONS OF THE SLEEPING BARD
+
+
+
+
+I.--VISION OF THE WORLD.
+
+
+
+On {1a} the fine evening of a warm and mellow summer I betook me up one
+of the mountains of Wales, {1b} spy-glass in hand, to enable my feeble
+sight to see the distant near, and to make the little to loom large.
+Through the clear, tenuous air and the calm, shimmering heat, I beheld
+far, far away over the Irish Sea many a fair scene.  At last, when mine
+eyes had taken their fill of all the beauty around me, and the sun well
+nigh had reached his western ramparts, I lay down on the sward, musing
+how fair and lovely compared with mine own land were the distant lands of
+whose delightful plains I had just obtained a glimpse; how fine it would
+be to have full view thereof, and how happy withal are they, besides me
+and my sort, who have seen the world's course.  So, from the long
+journeying of mine eye, and afterwards of my mind, came weariness, and
+beneath the cloak of weariness came my good Master Sleep {1c} stealthily
+to bind me, and with his leaden keys safe and sound he locked the windows
+of mine eyes and all mine other senses.  But it was in vain he tried to
+lock up the soul which can exist and travel without the body; for upon
+the wings of fancy my spirit soared free from out the straitened corpse,
+and the first thing I perceived close by was a dancing-knoll and such a
+fantastic rout {4a} in blue petticoats and red caps, briskly footing a
+sprightly dance.  I stood awhile hesitating whether I should approach
+them or not, for in my confusion I feared they were a pack of hungry
+gipsies and that the least they would do, would be to kill me for their
+supper, and devour me saltless.  But gazing steadfastly upon them I
+perceived that they were of better and fairer complexion than that lying,
+tawny crew; so I plucked up courage and drew near them, slowly, like a
+hen treading on hot coals, in order to find out what they might be; and
+at last I addressed them over my shoulder, thus, "Pray you, good friends,
+I understand that ye come from afar, would ye take into your midst a bard
+who wishes to travel?"  Whereupon the din instantly ceased, every eye was
+turned upon me, and in shrill tones "a bard" quoth one, "to travel," said
+another, "into our midst," a third exclaimed.  By then I had recognised
+those who were looking at me most fiercely, and they commenced whispering
+one to another some secret charms, still keeping their gaze upon me; the
+hubbub then broke out again and everyone laying hands upon me, lifted me
+shoulder-high, like a knight of the shire, and off like the wind we go,
+over houses and lands, cities and realms, seas and mountains, unable to
+notice aught so swiftly were they flying.  And to make matters worse, I
+began to have doubts of my companions from the way they frowned and
+scowled when I refused to lampoon my king {4b} at their bidding.
+
+"Well, now," said I to myself, "farewell to life; these accursed, arrant
+sorcerers will bear me to some nobleman's larder or cellar and leave me
+there to pay penalty by my neck for their robbery, or peradventure they
+will leave me stark-naked and benumbed on Chester Marsh or some other
+bleak and remote place."  But on considering that those whose faces I
+knew had long been buried, and that some were thrusting me forward, and
+others upholding me above every ravine, it dawned upon me that they were
+not witches but what are called the Fairies.  Without delay I found
+myself close to a huge castle, the finest I had ever seen, with a deep
+moat surrounding it, and here they began discussing my doom.  "Let us
+take him as a gift to the castle," suggested one.  "Nay, let us throw the
+obstinate gallows-bird into the moat, he is not worth showing to our
+great prince," said another.  "Will he say his prayers before sleeping,"
+asked a third.  At the mention of prayer, I breathed a groaning sigh
+heavenwards asking pardon and aid; and no sooner had I thought the prayer
+than I saw a light, Oh! so beautiful, breaking forth in the distance.  As
+this light approached, my companions grew dark and vanished, and in a
+trice the Shining One made for us straight over the castle:  whereupon
+they let go their hold of me and departing, turned upon me a hellish
+scowl, and had not the Angel supported me I should have been ground fine
+enough to make a pie long before reaching the earth.
+
+"What is thy errand here?" asked the Angel.  "In sooth, my lord," cried
+I, "I wot not what place here is, nor what mine errand, nor what I myself
+am, nor what has made off with mine other part; I had a head and limbs
+and body, but whether I left 'em at home or whether the Fairies, if fair
+their deed, have cast me into some deep pit (for I mind my passing over
+many a rugged gorge) an' I be hanged, Sir, I know not."  "Fairly,
+indeed," said he, "they would have dealt with thee, had I not come in
+time to save thee from the toasting-forks of the brood of hell.  Since
+thou hast such a great desire to see the course of this little world, I
+am commanded to give thee the opportunity to realize thy wish, so that
+thou mayest see the folly of thy discontent with thine own lot and
+country.  Come now!" he bade, and at the word, with the dawn just
+breaking, he snatched me up far away above the castle; and upon a white
+cloudledge we rested in the empyrean to see the sun rising, and to look
+at my heavenly companion, who was far brighter than the sun, save that
+his radiance only shone upwards, being hidden from all beneath by a veil.
+When the sun waxed strong, I beheld in the refulgence of the two our
+great, encircled earth as a tiny ball in the distance below.  "Look
+again," said the Angel, and he gave me a better spy-glass than the one I
+had on the mountain-side.  When I looked through this I saw things in a
+different light and clearer than ever before.
+
+I could see one city of enormous magnitude, with thousands of cities and
+kingdoms within it, the wide ocean like a whirlpool around it, and other
+seas, like rivers, dividing it into parts.  After gazing a longwhile, I
+observed that it was made up of three tremendously long streets, with a
+large and splendid gateway at the lower end of each street; on each
+gateway, a magnificent tower, and on each tower, in sight of all the
+street, a woman of exceeding beauty; and the three towers at the back of
+the ramparts reached to the foot of that great castle.  Of the same
+length as these immense streets, but running in a contrary direction, I
+saw another street which was but narrow and mean compared with them,
+though it was clean and upon higher ground than they, and leading upwards
+to the east, whilst the other three led downwards northerly to the great
+towers.  I could no longer withhold from asking my friend's permission to
+speak.  "What then," said the Angel, "if thou wilt speak, listen
+carefully, so that there be no need of telling thee a thing twice."  "I
+will, my lord, and prithee," asked I, "what castle is that, away yonder
+to the north?"  "That castle aloft in the sky," said he, "belongs to
+Belial, prince of the power of the air, and ruler of all that vast city
+below; it is called Castle Delusive:  for an arch-deluder is Belial, and
+it is through delusion that he is able to keep under his sway all that
+thou see'st with the exception of that little bye-street yonder.  He is a
+powerful prince, with thousands of princes under him.  What was Caesar or
+Alexander the Great compared with him?  What are the Turk and old Lewis
+of France {7a} but his servants?  Great, aye, exceedingly great is the
+might, craftiness and diligence of Prince Belial and of the countless
+hosts he hath in the lower region."  "Why do those women stand there?" I
+asked, "and who are they?"  "Slowly," cried the Angel, "one question at a
+time; they stand there in order to be loved and worshipped."  "No wonder,
+in sooth," said I, "so lovely are they that were I the possessor of hands
+and feet as once I was, I too would go and love or worship them."  "Hush!
+hush!" cried he, "if that is what thou wouldst do with thy members 'tis
+well thou'rt wanting them:  know, foolish spirit, that these three
+princesses are no other than three destroying enchantresses, daughters of
+Prince Belial; and that all the beauty and gentleness which dazzles the
+streets, is nought else but a gloss over ugliness and cruelty; the three
+within are like their sire, full of deadly venom."  "Woe's me, is't
+possible," cried I sorrowfully, "that their love wounds?"  "'Tis true,
+the more the pity," said he, "thou art delighted with the way the three
+beam on their adorers:  well, there is in that ray of light many a
+wondrous charm, it blindens them so that they cannot see the hook; it
+stupifies them so that they pay no heed to their danger, and consumes
+them with an insatiate lust for more, even though it be a deadly poison,
+breeding diseases which no physician, yea, not death itself can ever
+heal, nor aught at all unless a heavenly medicine called Repentance be
+had to purge the evil in good time ere it become too deeply rooted,
+through gazing upon them too long."  "Wherefore will not Belial have this
+adoration to himself?" asked I.  "It is the same thing," said he, "for so
+long as a man adheres to these or to one of them, that man is sure to
+bear the mark of Belial and wear his livery."
+
+"By what names are these three enchantresses called?"  "The furthest away
+is called Pride, the eldest daughter of Belial; the second is Pleasure,
+and the nearest to us is Lucre; these three are the trinity the world
+adores."  "I would fain know the name of this vast, madding city," said
+I, "hath it a better name than great Bedlam?"  "Yea, 'tis called the City
+of Destruction."  "Alas!" I cried, "are all that dwell therein ruined and
+lost?"  "All," said he, "save a few that flee from it into yon upper city
+which is King Emmanuel's."  "Woe is me and mine! how shall they escape
+while ever staring at what makes them more and more blind, and preys upon
+them in their blindness?"  "It would be utterly impossible for any man to
+escape hence were it not that Emmanuel sends his ministers from on high,
+night and morn, to persuade them to leave the rebels and turn to Him,
+their true Sovereign, and sends to some a gift of precious ointment
+called Faith to anoint their eyes, and whoso obtains that genuine
+ointment (for there is an imitation of this as of everything else in the
+City of Destruction) and anoints himself therewith, at once becomes aware
+of his own wounds and madness, and will not tarry here a moment longer,
+even though Belial gave him his three daughters, yea, or his fourth who
+is greatest of all, for staying."
+
+"What are the names of these immense streets?" I enquired.  "They are
+called, each according to the name of the princess who rules therein;
+furthest is the Street of Pride, the middle, the Street of Pleasure, and
+next, the Street of Lucre."  "Who, prithee, dwell in these streets?  What
+tongue is spoken there?  Wherefrom and of what nations are their
+inhabitants?"  "Many people," answered he, "of every language, religion,
+and nation under the sun dwell there; many a one lives in each of the
+three streets at different seasons, and everyone as near the gateway as
+he can; and very often do they change about, being unable to stay long in
+the one because they so greatly love the princess of the other street.
+And the old renard, slyly looking on, lets everyone love whichever he
+prefers, or the three if he will--all the more certain is he of him."
+
+"Come nearer to them," said the Angel, snatching me downwards in the veil
+through the noxious vapours rising from the city.  We alighted in the
+Street of Pride, on the top of a great, roofless mansion with its eyes
+picked out by the dogs and crows, and its owners gone to England or
+France, there to seek what might be gotten with far less trouble at home;
+thus in place of the good old country-family of days gone by, so full of
+charity and benevolence, none keep possession now but the stupid owl, the
+greedy crows, or the proud-pied magpies or the like, to proclaim the
+deeds of the present owners.  There were thousands of such deserted
+palaces, which but for pride might still be the resort of noblemen, a
+refuge for the weak, a school of peace and all goodness, and a blessing
+to the thousands of cottages surrounding them.  From the top of these
+ruins we had plenty of room and quietness to see the whole street on both
+sides.  The houses were very fine, and of wonderful height and grandeur,
+and good reason why, for emperors and kings lived there, princes in
+hundreds, noblemen and gentlemen in thousands, and a great many women of
+all grades.  I could see many a horned coquette, like a full-rigged ship,
+strutting as if set in a frame with a fair store of pedlery about her,
+and pearls in her ears to the value of a good-sized farm:  some were
+singing so as to be praised for their voices, some dancing, to show their
+figures; others coloring, to improve their complexion, others having been
+a good three hours before a mirror trimming themselves, learning to
+smile, pinning and unpinning, making grimaces and striking attitudes.
+Many a coy wench was there who knew not how to open her lips to speak,
+much less to eat, or from very ceremony, how to look under foot; and many
+a ragged shrew who would contend that she was equal to the best lady in
+the street, and many an ambling fop who might winnow beans by the wind of
+his train.
+
+Whilst I was looking from afar at these and a hundred similar things, lo!
+there came by us a gaudy, strapping quean of arrogant mien, and after
+whom a hundred eyes were turned; some made obeisance, as if in worship of
+her, a few put something in her hand.  I could not make out what she was,
+and so I enquired.  "Oh," said my friend, "she is one whose entire dowry
+is on show, and yet thou see'st how many fools there are who seek her,
+and the meanest is received notwithstanding all the demand there is for
+her; whom she will, she cannot have, and whom she can, she will not; she
+will only speak to her betters because her mother told her that a young
+woman can make no greater mistake than to be humble in courtship."
+Thereupon a burly Falstaff, who had been alderman and in many offices,
+came out from beneath us, spreading out his wings as if to fly, when he
+could scarcely limp along like a pack-horse, on account of his huge
+paunch, and the gout, and many other gentlemanly complaints; but for all
+that you could not get a single glance from him except as a great favour,
+remembering the while to address him by all his title and offices.  From
+him I turned my eyes to the other side of the street, and saw a bluff
+young nobleman with a numerous following, smiling graciously and bowing
+low to everyone he met.  "It is strange," said I, "that these two should
+belong to the same street."  "It is the same princess--Pride, who governs
+them both," answered he, "this one's errand is but to speak fair; he is
+now making a bid for fame with the intent thereby to attain the highest
+office in the State; he is most ready to weep with the people, and tell
+them how greatly they are wronged through the oppression of wicked
+ministers; yet it is his own exaltation, and not the common weal that is
+the main object of his pursuit."
+
+After looking for a longwhile I saw close by the Porch of Pride a fair
+city on seven hills, and over its magnificent court the triple crown, the
+swords and cross-keys.  "Well, here is Rome," quoth I, "here lives the
+Pope, is it not?"  "Yes, most often," said the Angel, "but he hath a
+court in each of the other streets."  Over against Rome I could see a
+city with a very fine court, whereon was raised on high a crescent on a
+golden banner, by which I knew the Turk was there.  After these came the
+court of Lewis XIV. of France, as I perceived by his arms--the three
+fleur-de-lys on a silver banner reared high.  Whilst admiring the
+loftiness and magnificence of these palaces, I observed that there was
+much traversing from one court to another, and asked the reason.  "Oh,
+there is many a dark reason," said the Angel, "existing between these
+three potent and crafty monarchs, but though they deem themselves fitting
+peers to the three princesses up yonder, their power and guile is nought
+compared with theirs.  Yea more, great Belial deems the whole city,
+notwithstanding the number of its kings, unsuitable for his daughters.
+Although he offers them in marriage to everybody, he has never actually
+given them to anyone.  Keen rivalry has existed between these three for
+their hands; the Turk, who calls himself the god of earth, would have the
+eldest, Pride, to wife.  "Nay," said the king of France, "she is mine,
+for I keep all my subjects in her street, and bring her many from England
+and many other realms."  Spain would have the Princess of Lucre, spite of
+Holland and all the Jews, and England, the Princess of Pleasure in spite
+of the Pagans.  But the Pope claimed the three, and for better reasons
+than all the others; and Belial admits him next to them in each street."
+"Is that the cause of this commerce?" said I.  "No," said he, "Belial has
+made peace between them upon that matter long ago.  But now he has bid
+the three put their heads together to consider how they can the soonest
+destroy yon bye-street; that is the City of Emmanuel, and especially one
+great mansion therein, out of mere jealousy, perceiving it to be a finer
+edifice than any in all the City of Destruction.  And Belial promises
+half his kingdom during his life, and the whole on his decease, to him
+who succeeds in doing so.  But notwithstanding the magnitude of his
+power, the depth of his wiles, and the number of emperors, kings and
+crafty rulers that are beneath his sceptre in that huge City of
+Destruction, notwithstanding the courage of his countless hosts beyond
+the gates in the lower region, that task will prove too difficult for
+them; however great, powerful and untiring his majesty may be, in yon
+small street is a greater than he."
+
+I was not able to give very close attention to his angelic reasons, being
+occupied in watching the frequent falls people were having on the
+slippery street.  Some I could see with ladders scaling the tower, and
+having reached the highest rung, falling headlong to the bottom.  "Where
+do those fools try to get to?" I asked.  "To a place that is high enough-
+-they are endeavouring to break into the treasury of the princess."  "I
+warrant it be full," quoth I.  "Yes," answered he, "of everything that
+belongs to this street, to be distributed among its denizens:  all kinds
+of weapons for invading and extending territories; all kinds of coats-of-
+arms, banners, escutcheons, books of genealogy, sayings of the ancients,
+and poems, all sorts of gorgeous raiments, boastful tales and flattering
+mirrors; every pigment and lotion to beautify the face; every high office
+and title--in short, everything is there which makes a man think better
+of himself and worse of others than he ought.  The chief officers of this
+treasury are masters of the ceremonies, roysters, heralds, bards,
+orators, flatterers, dancers, tailors, gamblers, seamstresses and the
+like."
+
+From this street we went to the next where the Princess of Lucre rules
+supreme; this street was crowded and enormously wealthy; yet not half so
+magnificent and clean as the Street of Pride, nor its people so foolishly
+haughty, for here they were for the most part skulking and sly.
+Thousands of Spaniards, Dutchmen, Venetians, and Jews were here, and also
+a great many aged people.  "Prithee, sir," said I, "what manner of men
+might these be?"  "They are pinchfists one and all.  In the lower end
+thou shalt see the Pope once more together with conquerors of kingdoms
+and their soldiery, oppressors, foresters, obstructors of public paths,
+justices and their bribers, and all their progeny from the barrister to
+the constable; on the other side, physicians, apothecaries, leeches,
+misers, merchants, extortioners, money lenders, withholders of tithes,
+wages, rents or doles left to schools, almhouses and the like; drovers,
+dealers who regulate the market for their own benefit; shopmen (or
+rather, sharpers) who profit on the need or ignorance of their customers;
+stewards of all grades; clippers {14a} and innkeepers who despoil the
+idlers' family of their goods and the country of its barley, which would
+otherwise be made into bread for the poor.  All these are arrant robbers,
+the others in the upper end of the street are mostly small fry, such as
+highwaymen, tailors, weavers, millers, grocers and so on."
+
+In the midst of this I could hear a terrible commotion towards the far
+end of the street, and a great crowd of people thronging the gate, and
+such pushing and quarelling as made me think that there was a general
+riot afoot, until I asked my friend what was the matter.  "There is very
+valuable treasure in that tower," said the Angel, "and the reason for
+this tumult is that they are about to choose a treasurer for the
+Princess, instead of the Pope, who has been driven from office."  So we
+went to see the election.
+
+The candidates for the post were the stewards, the money-lenders, the
+lawyers, and the merchants, and it was the wealthiest of these that was
+to have it (for the more thou hast, the more wilt thou have and seek for-
+-an insatiate complaint pertaining to this street).  The stewards were
+rejected at the outset, lest they might impoverish the whole street and,
+just as they had erected their mansions upon their masters' ruins, in the
+end dispossess the princess herself.  The contest then lay between the
+other three.  The merchants had more silk, the lawyers more mortgages on
+land, and the money-lenders more bills and bonds and fuller purses.  "Ho,
+they won't agree this night," said the Angel, "come away; the lawyers are
+richer than the merchants, the money-lenders than the lawyers, the
+stewards than the money-lenders, and Belial richer than all; for they and
+all that belongs to them are his."  "Why does the princess keep these
+robbers about her?"  "What more befitting, seeing that she herself is
+arch-robber?"  I was amazed to hear him call the princess by such name,
+and the proudest gentry in the land arrant robbers.  "Why, pray my lord,"
+said I, "do you consider these great noblemen worse thieves than
+highwaymen?"  "Thou art a simpleton--think on that knave who roves the
+wide world over, sword in hand, and with his ravagers at his back,
+slaying and burning, and depriving the true possessors of their states,
+and afterwards expecting to be worshipped as conqueror; is he not worse
+than the petty thief who takes a purse on the highway?  What is a tailor
+who filches a piece of cloth compared to a squire who steals from the
+mountain-side half a parish?  Ought the latter not be called a worse
+robber than the former, who only takes a shred from him, while he
+deprives the poor of pasture for his beast, and consequently of the means
+of livelihood for himself, and those depending upon him?  What is the
+stealing a handful of flour in the mill compared with the storing up of a
+hundred bushels to rot, in order to obtain later on for one bushel the
+price of four?  What is a threadbare soldier who robs thee of thy clothes
+at the swords' point when compared with the lawyer who despoils thee of
+thy whole estate with the stroke of a quill, and against whom thou canst
+claim no recompense or remedy?  What is a pickpocket who steals a five-
+pound in comparison to a dice-sharper who robs thee of a hundred pounds
+in the third part of a night?  And what the swindler that deceives thee
+in a worthless old hack compared with the apothecary who swindles thee of
+thy money and life too, for some effete, medicinal stuff?  And moreover,
+what are all these robbers compared with that great arch-robber who
+deprives them all of everything, yea, of their hearts and souls after the
+fair is over?"
+
+From this foul and disorderly street we proceeded to the street of the
+Princess of Pleasure wherein I saw many English, French, Italians and
+Paynims.  The Princess is very fair to behold, with mixed wine in one
+hand, and a fiddle and a harp in the other; and in her treasury,
+innumerable pleasures and toys to gain the custom of everybody, and
+retain them in her father's service.  Yea, many were wont to escape to
+this pleasant street to drown their grief for losses and debts they had
+incurred in the others.  It was exceedingly crowded, especially with
+young people; whilst the Princess is careful to please everyone, and to
+have an arrow ready for every mark.  If thou art thirsty, here thou will
+find thy favorite beverage; if thou lovest song and dance, here thou
+shalt have thy fill.  If the beauty of the Princess has kindled thy lust,
+thou need'st but beckon one of her sire's officers (who, although
+invisible, always surround her) and they will immediately attend thy
+behest.  There are here fair mansions, fine gardens, full orchards, shady
+groves fit for every secret intrigue, or to trap birds or a white rabbit
+or twain; clear streams, most pleasant to fish in; rich, boundless
+plains, whereon to hunt the hare and fox.  Along the street we could see
+them playing interludes, juggling and conjuring, singing lewd songs to
+the sound of the harp and ballads, and all manner of jesting.  Men and
+women of handsome appearance danced and sang, and many came hither from
+the Street of Pride in order to be praised and worshipped.  Within the
+houses we perceived some on silken beds wallowing in debauchery; some at
+the gaming-table, cursing and swearing, others tossing dice and shuffling
+cards.  Some from the Street of Lucre, having a room here, ran hither to
+count their money, but stayed not long lest aught of the countless
+geegaws that are here should entice them to part with their money without
+interest.  Others I saw at tables feasting with somewhat of every created
+thing before them; and when everyone, mess after mess, had guzzled as
+much of the dainties as would afford a moderate man a feast for a whole
+week, grace followed in the form of blasphemous howling; then the king's
+health was called for, and that of every boon companion, and so on to
+quench the taste of the viands, and drown their cares.  Then came
+tobacco, and then each one began to talk scandal of his neighbour--
+whether true or false it mattered not as long as it was humorous or
+fresh, or, best of all, degrading.  At last, what with a round of
+blasphemy, and the whole crowd with clay pistols belching smoke and fire
+and slander of their neighbours, and the floor already befouled with
+dregs and spittle, I feared lest viler deeds should happen, and craved to
+depart.
+
+Thence we went where we heard a loud noise, beating and clamouring,
+crying and laughing, shouting and singing.  "Well, here's Bedlam and no
+mistake," quoth I.  By the time we got in, the turmoil had ceased; one
+man lay like a log on the ground, another was vomiting, another nodding
+his head over a hearth full of battered flagons, and broken pipes and
+mugs.  On enquiring, what should it be but a carousal of seven thirsty
+neighbours--a tinker, a dyer, a blacksmith, a miner, a chimney-sweep, a
+bard, and a parson who had come to preach sobriety, and to show in his
+own person how repulsive drunkenness is; and the beginning of the recent
+altercation was a discussion and dispute they had as to which of the
+seven callings loved best the pot and pipe; the bard had beaten all but
+the parson and, due regard being observed for the cloth, he was adjudged
+victor and worthy to be leader of his good comrades, and so the bard
+wound up the discussion thus:
+
+
+"Where can ye find such thirsty seven,
+   "Search every clime and land?
+"And quaffing off the ruddy ale,
+   "Bard and parson lead the band."
+
+
+Thoroughly tired of these drunken swine, we drew nearer the gate in order
+to spy out the blemishes in the magnificent court of Love, the purblind
+king, wherein it is easy to enter, but difficult to get out again, and
+where are chambers innumerable.  In the hall opposite the door stood
+giddy Cupid, with two arrows in his bow, darting a languishing venom
+called lust.  Along the floor I saw many fair and comely women walking
+with measured steps, and following them, wretched youths gazing upon
+their beauty, and each one begging a glance from his mistress, fearing a
+frown even more than death; now and then one, bowing to the ground, would
+place a letter in his goddess' hand, and another a sonnet, the while in
+fear expectant, like schoolboys showing their task to the master.  They
+in return would favour their adorers with a simpering smile or two, just
+to keep their desires on edge, but granting nought more lest their lust
+be sated and they depart healed of the disease.  Going on into the
+parlour I saw them having lessons in dancing and singing, with voice and
+hand, in order to make their lovers sevenfold madder than before; on
+again into the dining hall where they were taught coy smartness in
+eating; into the cellar, where potent love philtres were being mixed of
+nail parings and the like; in the upper rooms we could see one in a
+secret chamber twisting himself into all shapes, practising gentlemanly
+behaviour when in his mistress' presence; another before a mirror
+learning how to smile correctly without showing his teeth too prominently
+to his ladylove; another preparing his tale to tell her, repeating the
+same thing an hundred times.  Wearied with this insipid babbling we came
+to another cell:  here a nobleman had sent for a poet from the Street of
+Pride to indite him a sonnet of praise to his angel, and an eulogy of
+himself; the bard was discoursing of his art:  "I can," said he, "liken
+her to everything red and everything white under the sun, and her tresses
+to an hundred things more yellow than gold, and as for your poem, I can
+trace your lineage through many knights and princes, and through the
+water of the deluge right up to Adam."  "Well, here's a poet," quoth I,
+"who is a better genealogist than I."  "Come, come," said the Angel,
+"their intention is to deceive the woman, but, once in her presence, you
+may be sure they will have to meet trick with trick."
+
+Upon leaving these we had a glimpse of cells where fouler deeds were
+being done than modesty permits to mention, and which caused my companion
+to snatch me away in anger from this fatuous court into the princess'
+treasury (for we went where we list notwithstanding doors and locks).
+There we saw myriads of fair women, all kinds of beverages, fruits and
+dainties, stringed instruments and books of songs,--harps, pipes, odes
+and carols, all sorts of games,--backgammon, dice {20a} and cards;
+pictures of various lands, towns and persons, inventions and amusing
+tricks; all kinds of waters, perfumes, pigments and spots to make the
+ugly fair, and the old look young, and the leman's malodorous bones smell
+sweet for the nonce.  In short, the shadow of pleasure and the guise of
+happiness in every conceivable form was to be found there; and sooth to
+say, I almost think I too had been enticed by the place had not my friend
+instantly hurried me away far from the three alluring towers to the top
+end of the streets, and set me down near an immense palatial castle, the
+front view of which seemed fair, but the further side was mean and
+terribly ugly, though it was scarcely to be seen at all.  It had a myriad
+portals--all splendid without but rotten within.  "An't please you, my
+lord," asked I, "what is this wondrous place?"  "This is the court of
+Belials' second daughter whose name is Hypocrisy; here she keeps her
+school, and there is no man or woman throughout the whole city who has
+not been a pupil of hers, and most of them have imbibed their learning
+remarkably well; so that her lessons are discernible as a second nature
+intertwined with all their thoughts, words, and deeds from very childhood
+almost."  I had been looking awhile on the falsity of every part of the
+edifice when a funeral came by with many weeping and sighing, and many
+men and horses in mourning trappings; and shortly the poor widow, veiled
+so as not to see this cruel world any more, came along with piping voice
+and weary sighs, and fainting fits at intervals.  In truth, I could not
+help but weep a little out of pity for her.  "Nay, nay," said the Angel,
+"keep thy tears for a more worthy occasion; these voices are only what
+Hypocrisy has taught, and these mourning weeds were fashioned in her
+great school.  Not one of these weep sincerely; the widow, even before
+the body had left the house, let in another husband to her heart; were
+she rid of the expenses connected with the corpse she would not care a
+straw if his soul were at the bottom of hell; nor do his own kindred care
+any more than she:  for when it went hardest with him, instead of giving
+him good counsel and earnestly praying for mercy upon him, they were
+talking of his property, his will or his pedigree; or what a handsome
+robust man he was, and such talk; and now this wailing {21a} on the part
+of some is for mere ceremony and custom, on the part of others for
+company's sake or for pay."
+
+Scarcely had these gone by than another throng came in sight:  a most
+gallant lord with his lady at his side, slowly advancing in state, to
+whom many men of position doffed, and many were on tiptoe with eagerness
+to show him obeisance and reverence.  "Here is a noble lord," said I,
+"who is worthy such respect from all these!"  "Wert thou to take
+everything to consideration thou wouldst speak differently.  This lord
+comes from the Street of Pleasure, she is of the Street of Pride, and yon
+old man who is conversing with him comes from the Street of Lucre, and
+has a mortgage on almost every acre of my lord's, and is come to-day to
+complete the loan."  We drew nigh to hear the conversation.  "In sooth,
+sir," Old Money-bags was saying, "I would not for all that I possess that
+you should lack anything which lies in my power to enable you to appear
+your own true self this day, especially seeing that you have met so
+beautiful and lovely a lady as madam here" (the wily dog knowing full
+well what she was).  "By the --- by the --- ," said the lord, "next to
+gazing at her beauty, my greatest pleasure was to hearken to your fair
+reasons; I had liefer pay you interest than get money elsewhere free."
+"Indeed, my lord," said one of his chief friends called Flatterer,
+"nuncle pays you not a whit less respect than is due to you, but an it
+please you, he has bestowed upon her ladyship scarce the half her mead of
+praise.  I defy any man," quoth he, "to show a lovelier woman in all the
+Street of Pride, or a nobler than you in all the Street of Pleasure, or a
+kinder than you, good mine uncle, in all the Street of Lucre."  "Ah, that
+is your good opinion," said my lord, "but I cannot believe that any
+couple were ever more united in the bonds of love than we twain."  As
+they went on the crowd increased, and everyone had a pleasant smile and
+low bow for the other, and hastened to salute each other with their noses
+to the ground, like a pair of gamecocks on the point of striking.  "Know
+then," said the Angel, "that thou hast seen naught of civility nor heard
+one word which Hypocrisy has not taught.  There is no one here, after all
+this gentleness, who has a hap'orth of love one to another, yea, many of
+them are sworn foes.  This lord is the butt {23a} of everybody, and all
+have their dig at him.  The lady looks only to his greatness and high
+degree, so that she may thereby ascend a step above many of her
+neighbours.  Old Money-bags has his eye on my lord's lands for his own
+son, and all the others on the money he received as dowry; for they are
+all his dependants, his merchants, tailors, cobblers and other craftsmen,
+who have decked him out and maintained him in this splendor, and have
+never had a brass farthing for it, nor are likely to get aught save
+smooth words and sometimes threats perhaps.  How many layers, how many
+folds had Hypocrisy laid over the face of Truth!  He, promising greatness
+to his love, while his lands were on the point of being sold; she,
+promising him dower and beauty, while her beauty is but artificial, and
+cancer is consuming both her dowry and her body."  "Well, this teaches
+us," said I, "never to judge by appearances."  "Yes verily," said he,
+"but come on and I will show thee more."
+
+At the word he transported me up to where the churches of the City of
+Destruction were; for everyone therein, even the unbelieving, has a
+semblance of religion.  And it was to the temple of the unbelievers that
+we first came, and there I saw some worshipping a human form, others the
+sun, the moon and a countless other like gods down to onions and garlic;
+and a great goddess called Deceit was universally worshipped.  However,
+there were some traces of the influence of Christianity to be found in
+most of these religions.  Thence we came to a congregation of mutes,
+{24a} where there was nothing but sighing and quaking and beating the
+breast.  "Here," said the Angel, "is the appearance of great repentance
+and humility, but which in reality is perversity, stubbornness, pride and
+utter darkness; although they talk much about the light within, they have
+not even the spectacles of nature which the heathen thou erstwhile saw,
+possess."
+
+From these dumb dogs we chanced to turn into an immense, roofless church,
+with thousands of shoes lying at the porch, whereby I learnt it was a
+Turkish mosque.  These had but very dark and misty spectacles called the
+Koran; yet through these they gazed intently from the summit of their
+church for their prophet, who falsely promised to return and visit them
+long ago, but has left his promise unfulfilled.
+
+From thence we entered the Jewish synagogue--these too were unable to
+flee from the City of Destruction, although they had grey-tinted
+spectacles, for when they look a film comes over their eyes from want of
+anointing them with that precious ointment--faith.
+
+Next we came to the Papists.  "Here is the church that beguiles the
+nations," exclaimed the Angel, "it was Hypocrisy that built this church
+at her own cost.  For the Papists encourage, yea, command men to break an
+oath with a heretic even though sworn on the sacraments."  From the
+chancel we went through the keyholes, up to the top of a certain cell
+which was full of candles, though it was broad daylight, and where we
+could see a tonsured priest walking about as if expecting someone to come
+to him; and ere long there comes a buxom matron, with a fair maid in her
+wake, bending their knees before him to confess their sins.  "My
+spiritual father," said the good wife, "I have a burthen too heavy to
+bear unless I obtain your mercy to lighten it:  I married a member of the
+Church of England!"  "What!" cried the shorn-pate, "married a heretic!
+wedded to an enemy? forgiveness can never be obtained!"  At these words
+she fainted, while he kept calling down imprecations upon her head.
+"Woe's me, and what is worse," cried she when come to herself, "I killed
+him!"  "Oh ho! thou hast killed him?  Well, that's something towards
+gaining the reconciliation of the Church; I tell thee now, hadst thou not
+slain him, thou wouldst never have obtained absolution nor purgatory, but
+a straight gate and a leaden weight to the devil.  But where's your
+offering, you jade?" he demanded with a snarl.  "Here," said she, handing
+him a considerable bag of money.  "Well," said he, "now I'll make your
+reconciliation:  your penance is to remain always a widow lest you should
+make another bad bargain."  When she was gone, the maiden also came
+forward to make her confession.  "Your pardon, father confessor," cried
+she, "I conceived a child and slew it."  "A fair deed, i'faith," said the
+confessor, "and who might the father be?"  "Indeed 'twas one of your
+monks."  "Hush, hush," he cried, "speak no ill of churchmen. {25a}  What
+satisfaction have you for the Church?"  "Here it is," said she and handed
+him a gold trinket.  "You must repent, and your penance will be to watch
+at my bedside to-night," he said with a leer.  Hereupon four other
+shavelings entered, dragging before the confessor a poor wretch, who came
+about as willingly as he would to the gallows.  "Here's for you a rogue,"
+cried one of the four, "who must do penance for disclosing the secrets of
+the Catholic Church."  "What!" exclaimed the confessor, looking towards a
+dark cell near at hand:  "but come, villain, confess what thou hast
+said?"  "Indeed," began the poor fellow, "a neighbour asked me whether I
+had seen the souls that were groaning underneath the altar on All-souls'
+day; and I said I had heard the voice, but had seen nothing."  "So,
+sirrah, come now, tell everything."  "I said moreover," he continued,
+"that I had heard that you were playing tricks on us unlettered hinds,
+that, instead of souls, there was nothing but crabs making a row under
+the carpet."  "Oh, thou hell-hound! cursed knave!" cried the confessor,
+"but, proceed, mastiff."  "And that it was a wire that turned the image
+of St. Peter, and that it was along a wire the Holy Ghost descended from
+the roodloft upon the priest."  "Thou heir of hell!" cried the shriver,
+"Ho there, torturers, take him and cast him into that smoky chimney for
+tale-bearing."  "Well, this is the church Hypocrisy insists upon calling
+the Catholic Church, and she avers that these only are saved," said the
+Angel; "they once had the proper spectacles, but they cut the glass into
+a thousand forms; they once had true faith, but they mixed that salve
+with substances of their own, so that they see no better than the
+unbelieving."
+
+Leaving the cell we came to a barn {26a} where someone was delivering a
+mock sermon extempore, sometimes repeating the same thing thrice in
+succession.  "These," said the Angel, "have the right sort of spectacles
+to see 'the things which belong unto their peace,' but there is wanting
+in their ointment one of the most necessary ingredients, namely, perfect
+love.  People come hither for various reasons; some out of respect to
+their elders, some from ignorance, and many for worldly gain.  One would
+think, looking at their faces, that they are on the point of choking, but
+they will swallow frogs sooner than starve; for so does Princess
+Hypocrisy teach those meeting in barns.
+
+"Pray tell," said I, "where may the Church of England be?"  "Oh, it is
+yonder in the upper city, forming a large part of the Catholic Church,
+but there are in this city a few probationary churches belonging to the
+Church of England, where the Welsh and English stay for a time on
+probation, so that they may become fit to have their names enrolled as
+members of the Catholic Church, and ever blessed be he who shall have his
+name so enrolled.  Yet, more's the pity, there are but few who befit
+themselves for its citizenship.  For too many, instead of looking
+thitherwards, allow themselves to be blinded by the three princesses down
+below; Hypocrisy too, keeps many with one eye on the upper city and the
+other on the lower; yea, Hypocrisy is clever enough to beguile many who
+have withstood the other enchantresses.  Enter here, and thou shalt see
+more," he said, and snatched me up into the roodloft in one of the Welsh
+churches, when the people were at service; there we saw some busily
+whispering, some laughing, some staring at pretty women, others prying
+their neighbour's dress from top to toe; others, in eagerness for the
+position due to their rank, keep shoving forward and showing their teeth
+at one another, others dozing, others assiduous at their devotions, and
+many of these too, dissimulating.  "Thou hast not yet seen, nay, not even
+among infidels shamelessness so barefaced and public as this," said the
+Angel, "but so it is, I am sorry to say, there is no worse corruption
+than the corruption of the best." {28a}  Then they went to communion, and
+everybody appeared fairly reverent before the altar; yet through my
+friend's glass I could see one taking unto himself with the bread the
+form of a mastiff, another, that of a mole, another, that of an eagle, a
+pig or a winged serpent, and a few, ah, how few, received a ray of bright
+light with the bread and wine.  "There," he pointed out, "is a Roundhead,
+who is going to be sheriff, and because the law calls upon a man to
+receive the sacrament in the Church before taking office he has come here
+rather than lose it, and although there are some here who rejoice on
+seeing him, we have felt no joy at his conversion, because he has only
+become converted for the occasion.  Thus thou perceivest that Hypocrisy,
+with exceeding boldness, approaches the altar in the presence of the God
+that cannot be deceived.  But though she wields great power in the City
+of Destruction, she is of no avail in the City of Emmanuel beyond those
+ramparts."
+
+Upon that we turned our faces from the great City of Destruction and
+ascended towards the other city, which was considerably less; and on our
+way we met several at the upper end of the streets who had made a move as
+of turning away from the temptations of the gates of Destruction, and
+making for the gate of life.  But they either failed to find it or grew
+weary on the way; very few went through--one man of rueful countenance,
+ran in earnest while crowds on all sides derided him, some mocking, {28b}
+some threatening him, and his kindred clinging to him, begging him not to
+condemn himself to lose the whole world at one stroke.  "I lose but a
+small portion of it, and were I to lose all, what loss, I pray you, would
+it be?  For what is there in the world to be desired, unless it be
+deceit, oppression and squalor, wickedness, folly and madness?
+Contentment and rest is man's supreme happiness--this is not to be found
+in your city.  For who of you is content? {29a}  'Higher, higher,' is the
+aim of all in the Street of Pride, 'More, more' cry all that dwell in the
+Street of Lucre, 'Sweet, sweet, yet more' is the voice of everybody in
+the Street of Pleasure.  And as for rest, where is it, and who hath
+obtained it?  If a man is of high degree, adulation and envy almost kill
+him; if poor, everybody is ready to trample and despise him.  If one
+would prosper, he must set his mind upon being an intriguer; if one would
+gain respect, let him be a boaster or braggart; if one would be godly,
+and attend church and approach the altar, he is dubbed a hypocrite, if he
+abstain from doing so, he becomes at once an antichrist or a heretic; if
+he is light-hearted, he is called a scoffer, if silent, a morose cur; if
+he practises honesty, he is but a good-for-nothing fool; if well dressed,
+he is proud, if not, he is a pig; if gentle of speech, he is double-faced
+and a rogue, whom none can fathom; if rough, he is an arrogant and
+froward devil.  This is the world you make so much of, and pray you take
+my share of it and welcome," and at the word he shook himself free of
+them all, and away he sped boldly to the narrow gate, and spite of all,
+pushing onwards he entered, and we too at his heels.  Upon the
+battlements on either side of the gate were many men dressed in black,
+encouraging the man and applauding him.  "Who are those in black up
+yonder?" I asked.  "They are the watchmen of King Emmanuel," answered he,
+"who in their sovereign's name invite men hither and help them through
+the gate."
+
+By this we were at the gate:  it was very low and narrow, and mean,
+compared with the lower gates; around the door the Ten Commandments were
+graven--the first table on the right hand and above it, "Thou shalt love
+God with all thy heart," and above the other table on the left, "Thou
+shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," and above the whole "Love not the
+world neither the things that are in the world."  I had not been looking
+on long before the watchmen began calling in a loud voice upon the
+condemned men:  "Flee, flee for your lives!"  But it was few that gave
+any heed at all to them, though some enquired, "What are we to flee
+from?"  "From the prince of this world, who ruleth in the children of
+disobedience; from the corruption that is in the world through the lust
+of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; from the
+wrath that is coming upon you."  "What is your beloved city? " cried a
+watchman, "but a huge charred roof over the mouth of hell, and were ye
+here ye should see the conflagration beyond your walls ready to burst in
+and consume you even unto the bottomless pit."  Some mocked, others,
+menacing, bade them have done with their wicked nonsense; yet one here
+and there would ask, "Whither shall we flee?"  "Hither," answered the
+watchmen, "flee hither to your rightful king, who through us still offers
+you reconciliation, if ye return to your allegiance, and leave that rebel
+Belial and his bewitching daughters.  However fair they appear, it is all
+sham; Belial is but a very poor prince at home; he has nought but you as
+faggots for the fire and for food, both roast and boiled, and never will
+ye suffice him; never will his hunger be appeased or your pain cease.
+Who would ever in a moment of madness enter the service of such a
+malignant slaughterer, and suffer eternal torments, when he might live
+well under a king who is merciful and kind to his subjects, and who hath
+never done them aught but good on all sides, and kept them from Belial,
+so that in the end he might give to each one a kingdom in the realm of
+light.  Oh, ye fools, will ye have that terrible foe, whose lips are
+parched with thirst for your blood, and reject the compassionate prince
+who hath given his own blood to save you?"  Yet these reasons which would
+melt the rock seemed to have no good effect upon them, and chiefly
+because few had the time to listen to them, the others were too intently
+gazing at the gates; and of those listening, very few reflected thereon,
+and of these again, many soon forgot them; some would not believe they
+served Belial, others would not have it that this untrodden little hole
+was the gate of Life, and that the other bright portals, and this castle,
+were a delusion to prevent them seeing their doom before coming face to
+face with it.
+
+Just then, behold a troop of people from the Street of Pride, knocking
+boldly enough at the gate; but they were all so stiff-necked that they
+could never enter a place so low without soiling their periwigs and
+horns, so they sulkily retraced their steps.  In their wake there came up
+a group from the Street of Lucre:  "And is this the Gate of Life?" asked
+one; "Yea," said the watchman overhead.  "What must be done to enter?" he
+enquired.  "Read what is inscribed above the doorway and ye shall know."
+The miser read the Ten Commandments through:  "Who will say that I have
+broken one of these?" he exclaimed.  But when he looked up, and saw the
+words, "Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world," he was
+amazed, and could not swallow that hard saying.  There was one, green-
+eyed and envious, who turned back when he read:  "Thou shalt love thy
+neighbour as thyself."  There was a gossip and a slanderer who became
+dazed on reading:  "Thou shalt not bear false witness."  When he read,
+"Thou shalt not kill," "This is not the place for me" quoth the
+physician.  In short, everybody saw something which troubled him, and so
+they all returned together to consider the matter.  I saw no one yet come
+back who had conned his lesson; they had so many bags and scripts tightly
+bound to them, that they could never have got through such a narrow
+needle's eye, even if they had tried to.  After that a drove from the
+Street of Pleasure walked up to the gate.  "Where, pray, does this road
+lead to?" asked one of the watchmen.  "This," answered he, "is the way
+that leads to eternal joy and happiness."  Whereupon all strove to enter,
+but failed, for some were too stout to pass through such a strait
+opening; others too weak to struggle, being enfeebled through debauchery.
+"Oh, ye must not attempt to take your baubles with you," said the
+watchman, observing them; "ye must leave behind your pots and dishes,
+your minions, and all other things, and then hasten on."  "How shall we
+live?" asked the fiddler, who would have been through long since but that
+he feared to smash his fiddle.  "Ye must trust the king's promise to send
+after you as many of these things as will do you good," said the
+watchman.  This made them all prick their ears, "Oh, oh!" said one, "a
+bird in hand is worth two in the bush," and at that they with one accord
+turned back.
+
+"Let us enter then," said the Angel, and drew me in; and there in the
+porch I first of all perceived a large baptismal font, and hard by, a
+well of salt water.  "What is this doing in the middle of the road?" I
+asked.  "Because everybody must wash therein before obtaining citizenship
+in the Court of Emmanuel; it is called the well of repentance."  Overhead
+I could see inscribed "This is the gate of the Lord."  The gateway, and
+street also, widened and became less steep as we went on, and after
+proceeding a short distance I heard a voice behind me slowly saying,
+"That is the way, walk ye in it."  The street trended upwards, but was
+very clean and straight, and though the houses there were not so lofty as
+those in the City of Destruction, they were fairer to behold; if there
+was less wealth, there was also less dissension and care; if the choice
+dishes were fewer, pain was more rare; if there was less turmoil, there
+was less grief and more undoubtedly of true joy.  I wondered at the
+silence and sweet tranquility there, when thinking of what was going on
+below.  Instead of the cursing and swearing, the scoffing, debauchery and
+drunkenness, instead of the pride and vanity, the torpitude of one
+quarter and the violence of another, yea, for all the bustle and the
+pomp, the hurly-burly and the brawl which there unceasingly bewildered
+men, and for the innumerable and unvarying sins, there was nothing to be
+seen here but sobriety, kindness and cheerfulness, peace and
+thankfulness, compassion, innocence and contentment stamped upon the face
+of every man, except where one or two silently wept, grieving that they
+had tarried so long in the enemy's city.  There was no hatred or anger,
+except towards sin, and this was certain to be overcome; no fear, but of
+displeasing their king, who was more ready to be reconciled than to be
+angry with his subjects; no sound, but that of psalms of praise to their
+Saviour.  By this we had come in sight of an exceedingly fine building,
+oh, so magnificent!  No one in the City of Destruction, neither the Turk
+nor the Mogul nor any one else, has anything equal to it.  "This is the
+Catholic Church," said the Angel.  "Is it here Emmanuel holds his court?"
+asked I.  "Yes, this is the only royal court he has on earth."  "Are
+there many crowned heads beneath his sway?"  "A few--thy queen, some of
+the princes of Scandinavia and Germany, and a few other petty princes."
+"What is that compared with those over whom great Belial rules--emperors
+and kings without number?"  "For all that," said the Angel, "not one of
+them can move a finger without Emmanuel's permission--no, not even Belial
+himself.  For Emmanuel is his rightful liege too, only that he rebelled,
+and was in consequence bound in chains to all eternity; although he is
+still allowed for a short period to visit the City of Destruction where
+he entices all he can into like rebellion, and to bear a share of his
+punishment; and though he well knows that by so doing he increases his
+own penalty, {34a} yet malice and envy urge him on whenever he has a
+pretext, and so much does he love evil that he seeks to destroy this city
+and this edifice, although he knows of yore that its Saviour is
+invincible."
+
+"Prithee, my lord," said I, "may we approach so as to obtain a better
+view of this magnificent royal court (for my heart waxed warm towards the
+place since first I had beheld it).  "Oh yes, easily," answered the
+Angel, "for therein is my place, my duty and my work."  The nearer I came
+thereto the more I wondered at the height, strength, splendour, grandeur,
+and beauty of its every part, how skilful the work was, and how apt the
+materials.  Its base was an enormous rock wondrously fashioned, and of
+strength impregnable; upon it were living stones, laid and joined in such
+perfect order that no stone could possibly appear finer elsewhere than in
+its own place.  One part of the church projected in the form of a
+wonderfully handsome cross, and the Angel saw me looking at it, and said,
+"Dost thou recognise that part?"  I knew not what to answer.  "That is
+the Church of England," he said.  I was somewhat startled, and looking up
+beheld Queen Anne on the church-top enthroned, with a sword in each hand-
+-the one in the left called "Justice," to defend her subjects against the
+inhabitants of the City of Destruction, the one in the right, to preserve
+them from Belial and his spiritual evils, and this was called "the sword
+of the Spirit," or the Word of God.  Beneath the left sword lay the
+statute book of England, and beneath the other, a big Bible.  The sword
+of the Spirit was fiery, and of immense length, and would kill further
+away than the other would touch.  I could see the other princes with like
+arms defending their part of the church, but I deemed mine own queen
+fairest of all, and her arms the brightest.  At her right hand I observed
+throngs clad in black--archbishops, bishops, and learned men upholding
+with her the sword of the Spirit, while soldiers and officials, with a
+few lawyers, supported the other sword.  I was allowed to rest awhile, by
+one of the magnificent doors where people came in to obtain membership in
+the Universal Church, and whereat a tall angel was doorkeeper.  The
+interior of the church was lit up so brilliantly that Hypocrisy dared not
+show her face therein, and though sometimes she appeared at the threshold
+she never entered.  Just as I saw, in the space of a quarter of an hour,
+a Papist, who thought that the Catholic Church belonged to the Pope, came
+and claimed its freedom.  "What have you to prove your right?" demanded
+the porter.  "I have plenty of the traditions of the fathers, and of
+councils of the church," he answered, "but what need I more certain than
+the word of the Pope, who sits in the infallible chair?"  Then the
+doorkeeper opened a huge Bible--a load in itself; "This," said he, "is
+our only statute book--prove your right from this or go."  And he
+straightway departed.
+
+Then came a flock of Quakers, who wished to enter with their hats on, but
+were turned away for being so ill-mannered.  After them some of the barn-
+folk, who had been there only a short while, began to speak:  "We have
+the same statute book as ye have," they averred, "and therefore show us
+our privileged place."  "Stay," said the bright porter, steadfastly
+gazing on their foreheads, "I will show you something:  see yon mark of
+the rent ye made in the church when leaving it without cause or reason?
+And would ye now have a place therein?  Get ye back to the narrow gate,
+and wash thoroughly in the well of repentance, to see if ye will reach
+some of the royal blood ye erstwhile drank {36a} and bring some of the
+water of that well to moisten the clay, so as to make up yonder rent and
+then ye are welcome."
+
+Before we had gone a rood westward I heard a noise coming from above,
+from among the princes, and everybody, great and small, was taking up
+arms and donning his armour as if for war, and ere I had time to cast
+about me for a refuge, the whole sky became black, and the city darker
+than when an eclipse befalls; the thunder roared, the lightning flashed
+to and fro, and ceaseless showers of deadly shafts were directed from the
+lower gates against the Catholic Church, and had there not been in each
+man's hand a shield to receive the fiery darts, and had the foundation
+rock not been so strong that nothing could ever harm it, we all would
+have become one burning mass.  But alack, this was but a prologue or
+foretaste of what was to follow; for suddenly the darkness became
+sevenfold more intense, and Belial himself advanced in the densest cloud,
+and around him his chief officers both earthly and infernal, ready to
+receive and accomplish his behest at their several posts.  He had
+entrusted the Pope and his other son of France {37a} with the destruction
+of the Church of England and its queen; the Turks and Muscovites were to
+strike at the other sections of the Church, and slay the people, and
+especially the queen and the other princes, and above all to burn the
+Bible.  The first thing the queen and the other saints did was to bend
+the knee and tell of their wrongs to the King of Kings in these words:
+"The stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, oh
+Emmanuel."  And immediately a voice replied:  "Resist the devil and he
+will flee from you."  And then commenced the greatest and most terrible
+conflict that ever took place on earth.  When the sword of the Spirit
+began to be whirled round, Belial and his infernal hosts began to
+retreat; then the Pope began to waver, while the King of France still
+held out, though he too was almost giving up heart, seeing the queen and
+her subjects so united, while he himself was losing ships and men on the
+one hand, and on the other many of his subjects were in open revolt; and
+the onslaught of the Turk also was becoming less fierce.  Just then,
+woe's me, I saw my beloved companion shooting away from me into the
+welkin to join a myriad other bright princes.  Thereupon the Pope and the
+other earthly commanders began to slink off and become prostrate through
+fear, and the infernal princes to fall by the thousands.  The noise of
+each one falling seemed to me as if a great mountain fell into the depths
+of the sea, and between this noise and the agitation on losing my friend,
+I awoke from sleep, and returned to this oppressive sod, most
+unwillingly, so pleasant and enjoyable it was to be a free spirit, and
+above all to be in such company, notwithstanding the great danger I was
+in.  Now I had no one to comfort me save the Muse, and she was rather
+moody--scarcely could I get her to bray out these lines that follow:-
+
+
+   Behold this wondrous edifice,
+      Both heaven and earth comprising,
+   The universe and all that is
+      At God's command arising -
+This world, with ramparts wide from pole to pole,
+   Down from its starry, brilliant dome,
+E'en to the depths where angry billows roll,
+   And beasts that through the forest roam -
+      All things that sea and sky afford,
+   Thy faithful subjects eke to be;
+   A lesser heaven, a home for thee
+      Oh! man, creation's lord.
+
+   But once that thou desired to know
+      The ways of sin, seductive,
+   The hellish tempter, to our woe,
+      Became a power destructive;
+He cursed our earth and ruin brought on all,
+   Yea, very nature felt the bane -
+Its blighted walls now totter to their fall,
+   And soon disorder rules again.
+      This earthly palace then at last,
+   Unroofed, dismantled and decayed,
+   A hideous, barren waste is laid
+      By desolation's blast.
+
+   Behold oh, man! this glorious place
+      In the empyrean hovering
+   While all is but a treach'rous face
+      Foul swamps and quagmires covering.
+Thy sin, that whelmed this earth in days of yore,
+   Shall draw upon it quenchless fire
+With flaming torrents wildly rushing o'er -
+   A prey to conflagration dire;
+      If thou wouldst 'scape this dreadful fate,
+   I pray thee counsel take from me,
+   To Mercy's city straightway flee
+      For life within its gate.
+
+   Behold that city's peerless might
+      Withstanding all oppression -
+   Then flee thereto in thy sad plight,
+      Be free from sin's possession.
+Behold thy refuge in this dreary land
+   Where all may find true, peaceful rest,
+A rock, impregnable on every hand,
+   Where perfect love reigns ever blest;
+      We sinful men, the way must search,
+   And there in faith for pardon pray,
+   And live a blissful, tranquil day
+      Within the Holy Church.
+
+
+
+II.--THE VISION OF DEATH IN HIS NETHERMOST COURT
+
+
+
+One long, cold, and dark winter's night, when one-eye'd Phoebus well nigh
+had reached his utmost limit in the south and, from afar, lowered upon
+Great Britain and all the Northern land, and when it was much warmer in
+the kitchen of Glyn Cywarch {43a} than at the top of Cader Idris, and
+better in a cosy room with a warm bedfellow than in a shroud in the
+lychgate, I was meditating upon a talk I had had by the fireside with a
+neighbour concerning the brevity of human life, and how certain it was
+that death would come to all, and yet how uncertain its coming.  Thus
+engaged, I had just lain down, and was half-asleep, when I felt a heavy
+weight stealthily creeping over me, from head to heel, so that I could
+not move a finger--my tongue only was unbound.  I perceived, methought, a
+man upon my chest, and above him, a woman.  After eyeing him carefully I
+recognised by his strong odours, dewy locks and blear eyes, that the man
+was no other than my good Master Sleep.  "I pray you, sir," cried I,
+squeaking, "what have I done to you that you bring that witch here to
+torment me?"  "Hush," said he, "it is only my sister Nightmare; we twain
+are going to pay our brother Death {43b} a visit, and want a third to
+accompany us, and lest thou shouldst resist we came upon thee, just as he
+does, unawares.  Consequently come thou must, willy-nilly."  "Alas," I
+cried, "must I die?"  "Nay," said Nightmare, "we will spare thee this
+time."  "But an't please you," said I, "your brother Death has never
+spared anyone yet who came beneath his stroke--he who wrestled with the
+Lord of Life himself, though it was little he gained by that contest."
+Nightmare, at that word, rose up angrily and departed.  "Come along,"
+cried Sleep, "thou wilt never repent of thy journey."  "Well," said I,
+"may there never be night in Sleepton, and may Nightmare never have rest
+save on an awl's point if ye bring me not back where ye found me."
+
+Then away we went over hills and through forests, across seas and
+valleys, over castles and towers, rivers and rocks, and where should we
+alight but at one of the gates of the daughters of Belial, at the rear of
+the City of Destruction, where I noticed that the three gateways of
+Destruction contracted into one at the back, and opened upon the same
+place--a murky, vaporous, pestilent place, full of noisome mists, and
+terrible lowering clouds.  "Prithee, good sir," asked I, "what place be
+this?"  "The chambers of Death," replied Sleep.  And no sooner had I
+asked than I could hear some wailing, groaning, and sighing; some
+deliriously muttering to themselves or feebly moaning, others in great
+travail, and with all the signs of man's departure from life; and, now
+and then, would one give a long-drawn gasp, and lapse into silence.  At
+that moment, I heard a key being turned in a lock, and at the noise I
+looked around for the door, and gazing steadfastly, perceived thousands
+upon thousands of doors, seemingly afar off but really close at hand.
+"Please, Master Sleep, where do these doors open upon?" asked I.  "Upon
+the land of Oblivion," was the answer, "an extensive domain {44a} under
+the sceptre of my brother Death, and this great rampart is the boundary
+of vast Eternity."  By this I could see that there was a little death-imp
+at every door, each one bearing arms, and a name different from that of
+his fellows; though it was evident that they, one and all, were the
+ministers of the same king.  Nevertheless they were continually
+quarrelling about the sick; one would snatch the patient to take him as a
+gift through his own door, while another strove to take him through his.
+
+On our approach, I observed that over each door the name of the Death who
+kept it was written, and also that at each door were an hundred various
+things left all of a heap, showing plainly that those who went through
+were in haste.  Over one door I saw "Hunger," and yet on the floor close
+by were full purses, and bags, and brass-nailed trunks.  "This is the
+Porch of Misers," said Sleep.  "Whom do those rags belong to?"  "To the
+misers, mostly," he replied, "but there are some which belong to idlers,
+gossipmongers and others, who, poor in everything except in spirit,
+preferred to die of hunger rather than ask for help."  Next door was
+Death-by-Cold, and when I came opposite him I could hear much shuddering
+and shivering, and at his door, were many books, pots and flagons, a few
+sticks and bludgeons, compasses, cords and ship's tackle.  "Scholars have
+gone this way," said I.  "Yea, lonely and helpless, far from the succour
+of those who loved them, their very garments stolen from them.  Those,"
+he continued, pointing to the pots, "are relics of the boon companions,
+whose feet were benumbed under the benches, while their heads were
+seething in drink and noise; those things over there belonged to those
+who journeyed amid snow-clad mountains, and to North Sea traders."  The
+next was a lanky skeleton called Fear-Death--so transparent you could see
+he had no heart; at his door, too, there were bags and chests, bars and
+strongholds.  Through this one went userers and traitors, oppressors and
+murderers, though many of these last called at the next door, at which
+was a Death named Gallows, with a rope ready round his neck.  Next to him
+was Love-Death, and at his feet thousands of musical instruments and
+song-books, love-letters, spots and pigments to beautify the face, and
+hundreds of tinselled toys for the same purpose, together with a few
+swords:  "With these rivals have fought duels for their mistresses, and
+some have killed themselves," said Sleep.  I could see that this Death
+was sandblind.  At the next door was a Death whose colour was worst of
+all, and whose liver was entirely gone--his name was Envy.  "This is the
+Death," said Sleep, "which brings hither those who have lost money,
+slanderers, and a rideress or two, who are jealous of the law which
+demands that a wife should submit herself unto her husband."  "Pray, sir,
+what is a rideress?"  "A rideress is a woman who will over-ride her
+husband, her neighbourhood, and the whole country if she can, and by dint
+of long riding, at last, rides a devil from that door down to the
+bottomless pit."  Next was the door of Ambition-Death for those who hold
+their heads high, and break their necks, for want of looking on the
+ground they tread on; at this door lay crowns, sceptres, standards,
+petitions for offices, and all manner of arms of heraldry and war.
+
+But before I had time to notice any more of these innumerable doors, I
+heard a voice bidding me by name to be dissolved, and at the word I felt
+myself beginning to melt like a snowball in the heat of the sun; then my
+master gave me a sleeping draught, so that I slumbered; and when I awoke,
+he had taken me by some road or other far away on the other side of the
+castle.  I perceived myself in a pitch-dark vale of infinite radius,
+methought, and shortly, I saw by a few bluish lights, like the flickering
+flame of a candle, countless, ah! countless shades of men, some afoot and
+some on horseback, rushing back and fro like the wind, in awful silence
+and solemnity; the land was barren, bleak and blasted, without either
+grass or hay, trees or animals, save deadly beasts and poisonous vermin
+of every kind--serpents, snakes, lice, frogs, worms, locusts, gids and
+all such that exist on man's corruption.  Through a myriad shades and
+reptiles, graves, churchyards and tombs, we made our way to view the land
+unmolested, until I happened to see some turning round and looking at me;
+in an instant, notwithstanding the prevailing silence, a whisper passed
+from one to another that there was a man from earth there.  "A man from
+earth!" cried one, "a man from earth," exclaimed another, while they
+crowded round me, like caterpillars, from every quarter.  "Which way came
+you, sirrah?" asked a morkin of a death-imp.  "Indeed, sir," said I, "I
+know not any more than you do."  "What is your name?" he asked.  "Call me
+here in your own country what ye will, but at home I am called the
+Sleeping Bard."
+
+At that word I could see an ancient mannikin, bent double, head to feet,
+like a bramble, straightening himself, and looking at me more malignantly
+than the red devil, and without a word he hurled a big skull at my head,
+but, thanks to a sheltering tombstone, missed me.  "Truce, sir, I pray
+you," cried I, "to a stranger who was never here before, and will never
+come again, could I but once find the way home."  "I'll make you remember
+you've been here," quoth he, and, again setting upon me with a thighbone,
+he beat me most unmercifully, while I dodged about as best as I could.
+"Ho ho!" I cried, "this country is very unmannerly towards strangers; is
+there no justice of the peace here?"  "Peace, indeed," said he, "thou,
+surely, hast no right to sue for peace, who disturbest the dead in their
+graves."  "Pray, sir, might I know your name, for I wot not that I have
+ever molested anyone from this country?"  "Sirrah!" cried he, "know then
+that I, and not you, am the Sleeping Bard, and have been left in peace
+these nine centuries by all but you," and again he set upon me.
+"Withhold, brother," said Merlin {48a} who stood near, "be not too hasty;
+thank him rather for that he hath kept your name in respected memory on
+earth."  "In great respect, forsooth," quoth he, "by such a blockhead as
+this.  Are you, sirrah, versed in the four and twenty metres?  Can you
+trace the line of Gog and Magog and of Brutus son of Silvius {48b} down
+to a century before the destruction of Troy?  Can you prophesy when, and
+how the wars between the lion and the eagle, and between the stag and the
+red deer will end?  Can you?"  "Ho there! let me ask him a question,"
+said another who stood by a huge seething cauldron, {48c} "draw near, and
+tell me the meaning of this:-
+
+
+"Upon the face of earth I'll be
+   "Until the judgment day,
+"And whether I be fish or flesh
+   "No man can ever say."  {48d}
+
+
+"I would know your name, sir," said I, "so that I might the more
+befittingly give answer."  "I am Taliesin, Chief of the Western Bards,
+{48e} and those are lines from my mystery-song."  "I know not what your
+meaning may be, if it be not the yellow plague which destroyed Maelgwn
+Gwynedd, {49a} slew you upon the sea, and divided you between the ravens
+and fishes."  "Tush, you fool," cried he, "I was foretelling of my two
+callings--as lawyer and poet--and which sayest thou now bears greatest
+resemblance, whether a lawyer to a raven, or a poet to a whale?  How many
+will a single lawyer lay bare of flesh to swell his own paunch, and oh!
+so callously doth he shed blood and leave the man half dead!  The poet,
+too, what fish can gulp as much as he?  And though he hath always a sea
+round him, not all the ocean can quench his thirst.  And when a man is
+both a poet and a lawyer, who can tell whether he is fish or flesh, and
+especially if he be a courtier as well, as I was, and had to change his
+taste with every mouth.  But tell me, are there many of these folk now on
+earth?"  "Yes, plenty," answered I, "if a man can patch together any sort
+of metre, straightway he becomes a chaired bard.  And of the others,
+there is such a plague of barristers, petty lawyers, and clerks that the
+locusts of Egypt preyed less heavily on the country than they.  In your
+time, sir, there were only roadside bargains and a hands-breadth of
+writing on the purchase of a hundred pound farm, and a cairn or an
+Arthur's quoit {49b} raised as a memorial of the purchase and boundaries.
+People have not the courage to do so nowadays, but more cunning, knavery,
+and written parchment, wide as a cromlech, is necessary to bind the
+bargain, and for all that it would be strange if no flaw existed or were
+contrived therein."  "Well, well," said Taliesin, "I would not be worth a
+straw there, I may as well be here; truth will never be found where there
+are many bards, nor justice where many lawyers, until health be found
+where there be many doctors."
+
+Upon this a grey-haired, writhled shrimp, who had heard of the presence
+of an earthly man, came and fell at my feet, weeping profusely.  "Alack,
+poor fellow," cried I, "what art thou?"  "One who suffers too much wrong
+on earth day by day," he replied, "and your soul must obtain me justice."
+"What is thy name?" I enquired.  "I am called Someone," was the answer,
+"and there is no love-message, slander, lie, or tale to breed quarrels,
+but that I am blamed for most of them.  'In sooth,' said one, 'she is an
+excellent wench, and has spoken highly of you to Someone, although
+someone great was seeking her.'  'I heard Someone,' said another,
+'reckoning a debt of nine hundred pounds on such and such an estate.'  'I
+saw Someone yesterday,' said the beggar, 'with a mottled neckerchief,
+like a sailor, who had come with a grain vessel to the next port;' and so
+every rag and tag mauls me to suit his own evil purpose.  Some call me
+'Friend.'  'A friend told me,' saith one, 'that so and so does not intend
+leaving a single farthing to his wife, and that there is no love lost
+between them.'  Others further disgrace me and call me a crow:  'a crow
+tell me there is some trickery going on,' they say.  Yea, some call me by
+a more honoured name--Old Man, and yet not a half of the omens,
+prophecies, and cures attributed to me are really mine.  I never
+counselled walking the old way if the new were better, and I never
+intended forbidding men to church by saying:  'Frequent not the place
+where thou art most welcome,' and a hundred such.  But Someone is the
+name generally given me, and most often heard of when anything uncommonly
+bad happens; for if you ask one where that scandalous lie was told and
+who told it.  'Indeed,' he will say, 'I know not, but Someone in the
+company said it,' and if you enquire of all the company concerning the
+story, all have heard it of Someone, but no one knows of whom.  Is it not
+a shameful wrong?" he cried, "I beg of you to inform everybody who names
+me that I uttered nought of such things.  I never invented or repeated a
+lie to disgrace anyone, nor a single tale to cause kinsmen to fly at each
+other's throats; I do not come near them; I know nothing of their
+scandal, or business, or accursed secrets--they must not charge me with
+their evils, but their own corrupt brains."
+
+Hereupon a little Death, one of the King's secretaries, asked me my name,
+and bade Master Sleep carry me at once into the King's presence.  I had
+to go, though most unwilling, by reason of the power that took me up like
+a whirlwind, 'twixt high and low, thousands of miles back on our left,
+till we came, a second time, in sight of the boundary wall, and in an
+enclosed corner we could see a vast palace, roofless and in ruins,
+extending to the wall wherein were the countless doors, all of which led
+to this terrible court.  Its walls were built of human skulls with
+hideous, grinning teeth; the clay was black with mingled tears and sweat,
+the lime ruddy with gore.  On the summit of each tower stood a Deathling,
+with a quivering heart on the point of his shaft.  Around the court were
+a few trees--a poisonous yew or twain, or a deadly cypress, and in these
+owls, ravens, vampires and the like, make their nests, and cry
+unceasingly for flesh, although the whole place is but one vast, putrid
+shamble.  The pillars of the hall were made of thighbones, and those of
+the parlour of shinbones, while the floors were formed of layer upon
+layer of all manner of charnel.
+
+I had not to wait a longwhile ere I came in view of a tremendous altar,
+where we could see the King of Terrors devouring human flesh and blood,
+while a thousand impish deaths, from every hole, were continually feeding
+him with warm, fresh meat.  "Here is a rogue," said the Death that led me
+thither, "whom I found in the midst of the land of Oblivion, having
+approached so light-footed that your majesty never tasted a bite of him,"
+"How can that be?" demanded the king, opening his jaws, wide as a chasm,
+to swallow me.  Whereupon I turned trembling to Sleep.  "It was I who
+brought him hither," said he.  "Well then, for my brother Sleep's sake,"
+said the awful and lanky monarch, "you can retrace your steps for the
+nonce; but beware of me the next time."  Having been for some time
+cramming his gluttonous maw with carrion, he caused his subjects to be
+called together, and moved from the altar to a very lofty and dreadful
+throne, to adjudge newly-arrived prisoners.  In an instant, lo! the dead
+in countless multitudes paid homage to the king, and took their places in
+wonderful array.  King Death was in his regal robe of brilliant scarlet,
+whereon depicted were wives and children weeping and husbands sighing; on
+his head a dark-red, three-cornered cap, a gift his cousin Lucifer had
+sent him, on the corners of which were written Grief, Sorrow, and Woe.
+Above his head were a myriad pictures of battles on land and sea, of
+towns aflame, of the earth yawning, and of the waters of the deluge; the
+ground beneath his feet was nought else than the crowns and sceptres of
+all the kings he had ever conquered.  At his right hand sat Fate with a
+morose and scowling visage, reading an enormous tome that lay before him;
+at his left, was an old man called Time, warping innumerable threads of
+gold, silver, copper, and many of iron--some threads were growing better
+towards the end, a myriad worse; along the threads were marked hours,
+days and years, and Fate, at his book, cut the thread of life and opened
+the doors in the boundary wall between the two worlds.
+
+I had not been looking about me long, when I heard four fiddlers, just
+dead, summoned to the bar.  "How is it," asked the King of Terrors, "that
+ye, who are so found of joy, did not stay on yonder side of the chasm?
+For on this side joy never existed."  "We have done no man ever any
+hurt," said one of the minstrels, "but on the contrary have made them
+merry, and quietly took whatever was given us for our pains."  "Have ye
+caused no one," said Death, "to lose time from his work, or to absent
+himself from church, eh?"  "No," replied another, "unless we were some
+Sundays after service in an inn till the morrow, or in summer time on the
+village green, and indeed we had a better and more beloved congregation
+than the parson."  "Away, with them to the land of Oblivion," cried the
+terrible king, "bind the four, back to back, and pitch them to their
+partners, to dance barefoot on glowing hearths, and scrape their fiddles
+for ever without praise or pay."
+
+The next to come to the bar was a king from near Rome.  "Raise thy hand,
+caitiff," bade one of the officers.  "I hope," said he, "ye have somewhat
+better manners and favor for a king."  "Sirrah, you too," said Death,
+"ought to have kept on the other side of the gulf where everybody is
+king; but know that, on this side, there are none besides myself and
+another, who dwelleth down below, and you shall see that that king and
+myself will set no value upon the degree of your greatness, but rather
+upon the degree of your wickedness, and so make your punishment
+proportionate to your crimes; therefore give answer to the questions."
+"Sir, allow me to tell you that you have no authority to arrest and
+examine me," said he, "I hold a pardon under the Pope's own hand for all
+my sins.  Because I served him faithfully, he gave me a dispensation to
+go straight to Paradise, without a moment's stay in Purgatory."  At that
+the king, and all the lean jaws, gave a dismal grin in imitation of
+laughter, and the other, angered at their laughing, ordered them to show
+him the way.  "Silence, lost fool!" cried Death, "Purgatory lies behind
+thee, on the other side of the wall, for it was in life thou hadst ought
+to have purified thyself, and Paradise is on the right, beyond that
+chasm.  Now there is no way of escape for thee, neither across this abyss
+to Paradise, nor through the boundary wall back to earth; for wert thou
+to give thy kingdom--though thou hast not a ha'penny to give--the warder
+of those doors would not let thee look once, even through the keyhole.
+This is called the irremeable wall, for once it is passed there is no
+hope of return.  But since you are so high in the Pope's favor, {54a} you
+shall go and get his bed ready with his predecessor, and there you may
+kiss his toe for ever, and he, the toe of Lucifer."  At the word, four
+death-imps raised him up, now trembling like an aspen leaf, and snatched
+him away out of sight, with the speed of lightning.
+
+Next after him, came a man and woman; he had been a boon companion, and
+she a kind and lavish maid, but there they were called by their plain,
+unvarnished names, a drunkard and a harlot.  "I hope," said the drunkard,
+"I may obtain some favor in your eyes, for I despatched hither on a flood
+of good ale many a fatted prey, and when I failed to slay others, I
+willingly came myself to feed you."  "By the court's leave," said the
+minion, "not half so many as I have despatched to you as a burnt offering
+ready for table."  "Ha, ha," exclaimed Death, "it was to feed your own
+accursed lusts, and not me, that all this was done.  Let them be bound
+together and hurled into the land of darkness."  And so they too were
+hurried away headlong.
+
+Next to them came seven recorders, who, on being bidden to raise their
+hands {55a} to the bar, pretended not to hear the command, for their
+palms were so thickly greased.  One of them, bolder than the rest, began
+to argue, "We ought to have had fair citation, in order to prepare our
+reply, instead of being attacked unawares."  "Oh, we are not bound to
+give you any particular notice," said Death, "because ye have,
+everywhere, and everywhile throughout your lives, warning of my advent.
+How many sermons on the mortality of man have ye heard?  How many books,
+how many graves, knells and fevers, how many messages and signs, have ye
+seen?  What is your Sleep but my brother?  Your heads but my image?  Your
+daily food but dead creatures?  Seek not to lay the blame of your ill hap
+on my shoulders--ye would not hear of the summons, although ye had it an
+hundred times."  "Pray what have you against us?" asked one ruddy
+recorder.  "What indeed?" exclaimed Death, "the drinking the sweat and
+blood of the poor, and the doubling your fees."  "Here is an honest man,"
+he said, pointing to a wrangler behind them, "who knows I never did aught
+but what was fair, and it is not fair in you to detain us here, seeing
+you have no specific charge to prove against us."  "Ha, ha!" cried Death,
+"ye shall bring proof against yourselves; place them on the verge of the
+precipice before the throne of Justice; there they will obtain justice,
+though they practised it not."
+
+There were yet seven other prisoners, who kept up such commotion and
+clamour--some blandishing, gnashing the teeth and uttering threats,
+others giving advice and so on.  Scarcely had they been summoned to the
+bar than the whole court darkened sevenfold more hideously than before, a
+murmuring and great confusion arose around the throne, and Death became
+more livid than ever.  Upon enquiry it seemed that one of Lucifer's
+envoys had arrived, bearing a letter to Death, concerning these seven
+prisoners; and shortly, Fate called for silence to read the letter which,
+as far as I can recollect, was as follows:-
+
+
+"LUCIFER, King of the Kings of Earth, Prince of Perdition and Archruler
+of the Deep, To our natural son, mightiest and most terrible King Death,
+greeting, wishing you supremacy and booty without end:
+
+
+"Whereas some of our swift messengers, who are always out espying, have
+informed us that there lately came into your royal court seven prisoners
+of the seven most worthless and dangerous species in the world, and that
+you are about to hurl them over the precipice into my realm:  our advice
+is, that you endeavour, by every possible way, to let them return to the
+earth; there they will be more serviceable--to you, in the matter of
+food, to me, for supplying better company.  We had too much trouble with
+their partners in days gone by, and our kingdom is, even now, unsettled.
+Wherefore, turn them back or retain them yourself; for, by the infernal
+crown, if thou cast them hither, I will undermine the foundations of thy
+kingdom, until it fall and become one with mine own great realm.
+
+"From our Court, on the miry Swamp in the glowing Evildom, in the year of
+our reign, 5425."
+
+
+King Death, his visage green and livid, stood for a time undecided.  But
+while he was meditating, Fate turned upon him such a grim frown that he
+trembled.  "Sire," said Fate, "consider well what you are about to do.  I
+dare not allow anyone to repass the bounds of Eternity--the
+insurmountable ramparts, nor deign you harbour any here, wherefore, send
+them on to their doom, spite of the great Evil One.  He has been able to
+array in a moment many a haul of a thousand or ten thousand souls, and
+allot each one his place, and what difficulty will he have with these
+seven now, however dangerous they may be?  Whatever happen, even if they
+overturn the infernal government, send them thither instantly, lest I be
+commanded to crush thee to untimely nothingness.  As for his menaces,
+they are false, and although thy doom, and that of yon ancient (looking
+at Time), are not many pages hence, yet, thou need have no fear of
+sinking down to Lucifer, for however glad everybody there would be to
+have thee, they never will; for the eternal rocks of steel and adamant,
+which roof Hell, are somewhat too firm to be shattered."  Whereupon
+Death, in great agitation, called for someone to indite thus his reply:-
+
+
+"DEATH, King of Terrors, Conqueror of Conquerors, To our most revered
+kinsman and neighbour, Lucifer, Monarch of the Endless Night, and Emperor
+of the Sheer Vortex, Salutation:
+
+
+"After giving earnest thought to this your royal wish, it seemeth to us
+more advantageous, not only to our state, but also to your vast realm,
+that these prisoners be sent to the furthest point possible from the
+portals of the impervious wall, left their putrid odour should so terrify
+the entire City pf Destruction that no one would ever enter Eternity from
+that side of the gulf, and I, in consequence, would be unable to cool my
+sting, and you should have no commerce betwixt earth and hell.  But I
+leave you to judge them, and to cast them into the cells you deem most
+secure and befitting.
+
+"From our Lower Court in the Great Tollgate of Destruction:  from the
+year of the restoration of my Kingdom, 1670."
+
+
+After hearing all this, I was itching to know what manner of folk these
+seven might be, seeing that the devils themselves feared them so much.
+But ere long, the Clerk to the Crown calls them by name, as follows:
+"Mister Busybody, alias Finger-in-every-pie."  This fellow was so fussily
+and busily directing the others, that he had no leisure to answer to his
+name until Death threatened to sunder him with his dart.  Then, "Mr.
+Slanderer, alias Foe-of-Good-Fame," was called, but no response came.
+"He is rather bashful to hear his titles," said the third, "he can't
+abide the nicknames."  "Have you no titles, I wonder?" asked the
+Slanderer, "call Mr. Honey-tongued Swaggerer, alias Smoothgulp, alias
+Venomsmile."  "Here," cried a woman, who was standing near, pointing to
+the Swaggerer.  "Ha, Madam Huntress!" cried he, "your humble servant; I
+am glad to see you well, I never saw a more beautiful woman in breeches,
+but woe's me to think how pitiable is the country, having lost in you
+such an unrivalled ruler; and yet, your pleasant company will make hell
+itself somewhat better."  "Oh, thou scion of evil," cried she, "no one
+need a worse hell than to be with thee--thou art enough."  Then the crier
+called, "Huntress, alias Mistress o' the Breeches."  "Here," answered
+someone else, she herself not saying a word because they did not "madam"
+her.  Next was called the Schemer, alias Jack-of-all-Trades.  But he,
+too, failed to answer, for he was assiduously plotting to escape the Land
+of Despair.  "Here, here," cried someone behind him, "here he is spying
+for a place to break out of your great court, and unless you be on your
+guard, he has a considerable plot against you."  "Then," said the
+Schemer, "Let him also be called, to wit, The Accuser-of-his-Brethren,
+alias Faultfinder, alias Complaint-monger."  "Here, here he is," cried
+the Litigious Wrangler--for each one knew the other's name, but none
+would acknowledge his own.  "You are also called," said the Accuser, "Mr.
+Litigious Wrangler, alias Cumber-of-Courts."  "Witness, witness, all of
+you, what names the knave has given me," cried the Wrangler.  "Ha, ha,
+'tis not according to the font, but according to the fault, that
+everybody is named in this land," said Death, "and with your permission,
+Mr. Wrangler, these names must stick to you for evermore."  "Indeed,"
+quoth the Wrangler, "by the devil, I'll make it hot for you; although you
+may put me to death, you have no right to nickname me.  I shall enter a
+plaint for this and for false imprisonment, against you and your kinsman
+Lucifer, in the Court of Justice."
+
+By this I could see the armies of Death in array and armed, looking to
+the king for the word of command.  Then the king, standing erect on his
+throne, spoke as follows:  "My terrible and invincible hosts, spare
+neither care nor haste to despatch these prisoners out of my territories,
+lest they corrupt my country; throw them in bonds headlong over the
+hopeless precipice.  But as to the eighth, this cumbrous fellow who
+menaces me, let him free on the brink beneath the Court of Justice, so
+that he may make good his charge against me, if he can."  No sooner had
+he sat down than the whole deadly armies surrounded and bound the
+prisoners, and led them towards their appointed dwelling.  And when I,
+having gone out, half-turned to look at them.  "Come hither," cried
+Sleep, and flew with me to the top of the loftiest tower on the court;
+from whence I saw the prisoners going forth to their everlasting doom.
+Before long a sudden whirlwind arose, and drove away the pitch-dark mist
+usually hovering over the Land of Oblivion, and in the wan light, I could
+see myriads of livid candles, and by their gleam, I obtained a far-off
+view of the mouth of the bottomless abyss.  But if that was a horrible
+sight, overhead was one still more horrible--Justice, on her throne,
+guarding the portal of hell, and holding a special tribunal above the
+entrance thereto, to pronounce the doom of the damned as they arrive.  I
+beheld the seven hurled headlong over the terrible verge, and the
+Wrangler, too, rushing to throw himself over, lest he should once look on
+the Court of Justice, for, alas, the sight thereof was intolerable to
+guilty eyes.  I was only gazing from a distance, yet I beheld more
+dreadful horrors than I can now relate, nor then could endure; for my
+spirit so strove and panted through exceeding fear, and struggled so
+violently, that all the bonds of Sleep were burst; my soul returned to
+its wonted functions, and I rejoiced greatly to perceive myself still
+among the living, and resolved to lead a better life, for I would rather
+suffer affliction an hundred years in the paths of holiness than,
+perforce, take another glance at the horrors of that night.
+
+1  Must I leave home and fatherland,
+   And every charm and pleasure?
+Leave honored name and high degree
+   Enjoyed in life's brief measure?
+
+2  Leave beauty, strength, and wisdom, too,
+   All won in hard employment, -
+All I have learnt, and all I've loved,
+   And all this world's enjoyment.
+
+3  Can I evade the stroke of Death
+   That rends all ties asunder?
+Do not his awful shambles gape
+   For me to be his plunder?
+
+4  Ye gilded men would fain enjoy
+   The wealth your souls engrossing,
+But ye must bow to him and go
+   The journey of his choosing.
+
+5  Ye favored fair, whose lightest word
+   Has caused ten thousand errors,
+Think not your garish, tinselled charms
+   Can blind the King of Terrors.
+
+6  Ye who rejoice in heedless youth
+   And follow fleeting pleasures,
+Know that ye cannot conquer Death
+   By valor, arts, or treasures.
+
+7  Ye who exult in madding song
+   The giddy dances treading,
+Think not that all the mirth of France
+   Can thwart the fate you're dreading.
+
+8  Ye who have roamed the wide world o'er,
+   Where have ye found the tower,
+With walls and portals strong enough
+   To check Death's awful power?
+
+9  Statesmen and learned sages, all
+   Of godlike understanding,
+What will your craft and skill avail?
+   'Tis Death who is commanding.
+
+10  The greatest foes of man are now
+   The world, the flesh, the devil;
+And yet, ere long, we'll surely find
+   In Death a greater evil.
+
+11  How little now it seems to die -
+   To gain the suit or lose it?
+But when the doom is of thyself
+   How great thy care to chose it?
+
+12  We care, at present, not a jot
+   Which way our gains may turn us;
+Eternal life, howe'er so great,
+   We think can not concern us.
+
+13  But when thou'rt hedged on every side
+   And Death himself is nearest,
+For one brief, ling'ring space we'll give
+   Whate'er to us is dearest.
+
+14  Think not that thou canst make thy terms
+   For thine eternal dwelling,
+On either side of that dread gulf,
+   With death thy steps compelling.
+
+15  Repentence, faith, and righteousness,
+   Alone are thy Salvation,
+And in the agony of Death
+   Shall be thy consolation.
+
+16  And when the world is passing by,
+   Its joys and pleasures ending,
+Infinite thou wilt deem their worth
+   When to the bourne descending!
+
+
+
+III.--THE VISION OF HELL
+
+
+
+One April morning, bright and mild, when earth was with verdure laden,
+and Britain, like a paradise, had donned its brilliant livery,
+foretelling summer's sunshine, I sauntered along the banks of the Severn,
+while around me, chaunting their sweet carols, the forest's little
+songsters in rivalry poured forth songs of praise to their Maker; and I,
+who was far more bounden than they to give praise, at one while lifted up
+my voice with the gentle winged choristers, and at another read "The
+Practice of Piety." {67a}  For all that, my previous visions would not
+from my mind, but time after time broke in upon every other thought.
+They continued to trouble me until after careful reasoning I concluded
+that every vision is a heaven-sent warning against sin, and that
+therefore it was my duty to write them down as a warning to others also.
+And whilst occupied with this work, and sadly endeavouring to recall some
+of those awful memories, there fell upon me at my task such drowsiness
+that soon opened the way for Master Sleep to glide in perforce.  No
+sooner had sleep taken possession of my senses than there drew nigh unto
+me a glorious apparition upon the form of a young man, tall and exceeding
+fair; his raiments were whiter sevenfold than snow, the brightness of his
+face darkened the sun, his wavy, golden locks rested on his brow in two
+shining coronal wreaths.  "Come with me, thou mortal being," he
+exclaimed, when he had drawn near.  "Who art thou, Lord?" said I.  "I am
+the Angel of the realms of the North," answered he, "guardian of Britain
+and its queen.  I am one of the princes who stand below the throne of the
+Lamb, receiving his commands to protect the Gospel against all its
+enemies in Hell, in Rome and in France, in Constantinople, in Africa and
+in India, and wherever else they may be, devising plans for its
+destruction.  I am the Angel who saved thee beneath the Castle of Belial,
+and who showed thee the vanity and madness of all the earth, the City of
+Destruction and the splendor of Emmanuel's City; and again have I come at
+his bidding to show thee greater things, because thou art seeking to make
+good use of what thou hast seen erstwhile."  "How can it be, Lord," asked
+I, "that your glorious highness, guardian of kings and kingdoms, does
+condescend to associate with carrion such as I?"  "Ah," said he, "in our
+sight a beggar's virtue is more than a king's majesty.  What if I am
+greater than all the kings of earth, and supreme to many of the countless
+lords of heaven?  Yet, since our eternal Sovereign vouchsafed to take
+upon Himself such unutterable humiliation--put on one of your bodies,
+lived in your midst, and died to save you, how dare I deem it otherwise
+than too sublime for my office to serve thee and the meanest of men, who
+are so high in my Master's favor?  Hence, spirit, cast off thine earthy
+mould!" he cried, gazing upwards:  and at the word, I beheld him fall
+free of all bodily form, and snatch me up to the vault of heaven, through
+the region of thunder and lightning, and all the glowing armouries of the
+empyrean; higher, immeasureably higher than I had previously been with
+him, and where the earth appeared scarcely wider than a stack-yard.
+Having allowed me to rest awhile, he hurried me upwards a myriad miles,
+until the sun appeared far beneath us; through the milky way, past
+Pleiades, and many other stars of appalling magnitude, catching a distant
+glimpse of other worlds.  And after journeying for a long time, we come
+at last to the confines of the great eternity, in sight of the two courts
+of the vauntful King of Death--one to the right, the other to the left,
+but very far apart from one another as there lay an immense void between
+them.  I asked whether I might go and see the court on my right hand, for
+I observed that this was not at all like the other I had previously seen.
+"Thou shalt perchance," said he, "see, somewhile, more of the difference
+there is between them.  But now we must proceed in another direction."
+At that we turned away from the little world, and across the intervening
+space we let ourselves descend into the Eternal Realm between the two
+courts, into the formless void, a boundless tract, most deep and dark,
+chaotic and uninhabited, at one time cold, at another hot, {69a} now
+silent, now resounding with the roaring of cataracts falling and
+quenching the fires, and anon of the fire bursting out and burning up the
+water.  Thus, there was neither order nor completeness, nor life nor
+form:  nought but this dazing dissonance, this mysterious stupor which
+would have made me for ever blind, had not my friend laid bare once more
+his vesture of heavenly sheen.  By the light he gave I saw before me to
+the left the Land of Oblivion, and the borders of the Wilds of
+Destruction; and to my right, methought, the base of the ramparts of
+Glory.  "This is the great abysm between Abraham and Dives," said he,
+"which is called Chaos:  this is the land of the matter which God did
+first create, and here is the seed of every living thing; of these the
+Almighty Word created your world and all it doth contain--water, fire,
+air, earth, beasts, fishes, insects, birds and the human body; but your
+souls are of a higher and nobler origin and stock."
+
+Through the huge, frightful chaos we at length broke forth to the left;
+and ere we had journey'd far therein where every object grew uglier and
+uglier, I felt my heart in my throat, and my hair erect like a hedgehog's
+bristles, even before perceiving anything; but what I did perceive was a
+sight no tongue can describe nor the mind of a mortal dwell upon.  I
+fainted.  Oh, that limitless abyss, so dire and terrible, opening out
+upon another world!  How those awful flames crackled incessantly as they
+darted upwards above the banks of the accursed ravine, and the shafts of
+impetuous lightning rent the thick, black smoke which the yawning chasm
+belched forth!  When my beloved companion awoke me, he gave me ambrosial
+water to drink, of most excellent flavor and color.  After drinking this
+heavenly water I felt some wonderful power within me,--wit, courage,
+faith, and many other divine virtues.  Thereupon I drew nigh with him
+unfearingly to the edge of the precipice, shrouded in the veil, whilst
+the flames parted asunder around us, and dared not touch denizens of the
+supernal regions.  Then from the edge of that dread gulf, we let
+ourselves descend, like two stars falling from the canopy of heaven,
+down, down for myriad millions of miles, over many sulphurous rocks, and
+many a hideous cataract and fiery precipice, where all things bent
+downwards ever, with impending aspect; yet they all avoided us, except
+when once I poked my nose out of the veil, there struck me such a
+stifling and choking stench as would have ended me had he not saved me
+out of hand with the reviving water.  When I had recovered, I could see
+that we were come to a halt, for in all that stupenduous chasm no sooner
+stay were possible, so sheer and slippery was it.  There my Guide allowed
+me once more to rest; and during that respite it chanced that the thunder
+and the fierce whirlwinds were a little hushed, and above the roar of the
+foaming cataracts, {71a} I could hear from afar, louder than all, the
+noise of such awful shrieks, wails, cries, and loud groans, of swearing,
+cursing and blaspheming, that I would rather have set a bargain upon my
+ears than listen.  And before we had moved an inch, we heard from above
+such hip-drip-drop that had we not straightway stepped aside, there would
+have fallen upon us hundreds of unhappy men whom a host of fiends were
+hurling headlong, and too hurriedly to a woful fate.  "Ho, slowly sir!"
+quoth one sprite, "lest you displace your curly lock;" and to another
+"Madam, will you have your soft cushion?  I fear me you will be much
+disordered before you reach your resting-place."
+
+The strangers were most reluctant to advance, insisting that they were on
+the wrong road; still, onward they went, up to the bank of a wide, dark
+torrent, whilst we followed in their wake and crossed over with them, my
+companion, meanwhile, holding the water to my nostrils to protect me from
+the stench rising out of the river.  When I beheld some of the
+inhabitants (for till now I had not seen a single devil, though I had
+heard their voices) I asked:  "What, pray, my Guide, is the name of this
+death-like stream?"  "The river of the Evil One," answered he, "wherein
+all his subjects are immersed to render them accustomed to the country;
+its cursed waters changed their countenance, washing away every relic of
+goodness, every shadow of hope and happiness."  And on seeing the horde
+pass through, I could perceive no difference in loathsomeness between the
+devils and the damned.  Some wished to crouch at the bottom of the river,
+there to remain in suffocation to all eternity, rather than find further
+on a worse dwelling; but as the proverb says:  "He whom the devil urges
+must run," so these damned beings, thrust on by the demons, were swiftly
+borne along the stream of destruction to their eternal ruin; where I too
+saw at the first glimpse more tortures and torments than man's heart can
+imagine, far less a tongue repeat; to see one of which was enough to
+cause one's hair to stand on an end, his blood to freeze, his flesh to
+melt, his bones to give way, yea and his spirit to swoon within him.  Why
+speak I of such deeds as the impaling or sawing of men alive, the tearing
+of the flesh in pieces with iron pincers or the broiling of it, chop by
+chop, with candles, or the jambing of skulls as flat as a slate, in a
+press, and all the most frightful degradation the earth ever witnessed?
+All such are but pleasures compared with one of these.  Here, a million
+shrieks, harsh groans and deep sighs; there, fierce lamentations and loud
+cries in answer:  the howling of dogs were sweet, delightful music
+compared with these voices.  Before we had gone far from the shores of
+that accursed river into wild Perdition, we could see by the light of
+their own fire, here and there, men and women without number, whom a
+countless host of devils unceasingly and with all their might kept always
+torturing; and as the devils were shrieking from the intensity of their
+own suffering, they made the damned give response to the utmost.  I
+observed the part nearest me more minutely:  there, the devils with
+pitchforks hurled them head foremost upon poisonous hatchels formed of
+terrible, barbed darts, thereon to struggle by their brains; then
+shortly, they threw them together, layer on layer, upon the summit of one
+of the burning crags, there to blaze like a bonfire.  Thence they were
+snatched away up the ravines amidst the eternal ice and snow; {73a} then
+plunged again into an enormous flood of seething brimstone to be parched,
+stifled, and choked by the direful stench; thence to a quagmire of
+vermin, to embrace hellish reptiles far more noxious than serpents or
+vipers.  After that the devils took knotted rods of fiery steel from the
+furnace, wherewith they beat them so that their howls resounded
+throughout all Hell, so inexpressibly excruciating was the pain, and then
+they seized hot irons to sear the bloody wounds.  No swoon or trance is
+there to beguile with a moment's respite, but an unchanging strength to
+suffer and to feel; though one would have thought that after one awful
+wail there never could be the strength to raise another as weirdly-loud;
+yet never will their key be lowered, with the devils ever answering:
+"This is your welcome for aye."  And worse, were it possible, than the
+pain, was the scorn and bitterness of the devils' mockery and derision,
+but worst of all, their own conscience was now thoroughly awakened, and
+devoured them more relentlessly than a thousand infernal lions.
+
+Still down we go, down afar--the further we go the worse the plight; at
+the first view I saw a horrid prison wherein a great many men were
+uttering blasphemous groans beneath the scourges of the devils:  "Who are
+all these?" asked I; "This," answered the Angel, "this is the abode of
+Woe-that-I-had-not."  "Woe that I had not been cleansed of all manner of
+sin in good time," quoth one.  "Woe is me that I had not believed and
+repented before my coming here," quoth another.  Next to the cell of Too-
+late-a-repentance, and of Pleading-after-judgment, was the prison of the
+Procrastinators, who were always promising to mend their ways, but who
+never fulfilled the promise.  "When this trouble is past," saith one, "I
+will turn over a new leaf."  "When this hinderance goes by, I'll be
+another man yet," said another.  But when that comes about, they are no
+nearer; some other obstacle ever and anon occurs to preventing their
+starting towards the gate of holiness; and if sometimes a start is made,
+it takes but little to turn them back again.  Next to these was the
+prison of Presumption, full of those who, whenever they were urged of old
+to be rid of their Wantonness, or drunkenness, or avarice, would say:
+"God is merciful, and better than His word; He will never damn his own
+creature upon a cause so trivial."  But here they yelped blasphemy,
+asking:  "Where is that mercy boasted to be infinite?"  "Silence, ye
+whelps!" said a huge, crabbed devil who heard them, "Silence! would he
+have mercy who did nought to obtain it?  Would ye that Truth should make
+its word a lie, merely to gain the company of dross so vile as ye?  Was
+too much mercy shewn you, a Saviour, a Comforter given you, and the
+angels, books, sermons and good examples?  Will ye not cease plaguing us
+now, prating of mercy where it never was."
+
+While making our exit from this glaring pit, I heard one moaning and
+crying dolefully:  "I knew no better; no pains were ever taken to teach
+me to read my duties, nor could I spare the time to read and pray whereof
+I had need in order to earn bread for myself and my poor family."
+"Indeed," quoth a crookback devil who stood close at hand, "hadst thou no
+leisure to tell merry tales, no idle roasting before thy fire through the
+long winter evenings when I was up the chimney, so that no time might
+have been given to learning to read or pray?  What of thy Sabbaths?  Who
+was it that was wont to accompany me to the alehouse rather than the
+parson to the church?  How many a Sunday afternoon was spent in vain,
+noisy talk of worldly things, or in sleeping, instead of in learning to
+meditate and pray?  Didst thou act according to thy knowledge?  Silence,
+sirrah, with thy lying chatter!"  "Thou raving bloodhound!" exclaimed the
+condemned, "'tis not long since thou wert whispering other words in mine
+ear; hadst thou said this another day, it is not likely I would have come
+hither."  "Ah!" said the devil, "it matters not that we tell you the
+hateful truth here; for there is no fear of your returning hence now to
+carry tales."
+
+Lower down I could see a deep, valley whence arose the bluish glare of
+what seemed to be a countless number of enormous, burning mounds; and
+after drawing nigh, I knew by their howling that they were men piled
+mountains high with terrible flames crackling through them.  "That
+hollow," said the Angel, "is the abode of those who after committing some
+heinous deeds, exclaim:  'Well, I am not the first--I have plenty of
+companions,' and thus thou see'st they have plenty, to verify their words
+and add to their affliction."  Opposite this was a large cellar where I
+saw men tortured just as withes are twisted or wet sheets wrung.  "Who,
+prithee, are these?" asked I.  "They are the Mockers," said he, "and the
+devils from pure derision essay to find whether they can be twisted as
+pliantly as their tales."  A little below, but scarcely visible, was
+another gloomy dungeon-cell, wherein was what had once been men, but now
+with the faces of wolf-hounds, up to their lips in a morass, madly
+howling blasphemy and lies as often as they got their tongues clear of
+the mire.  Just then a legion of devils passed by, and some attempted to
+bite the heels of ten or twelve of the devils that had brought them
+there:  "Woe and ruin take you, ye hell-hounds!" exclaimed one of the
+bitten devils, at the same time stamping upon the quagmire until they
+sank in the reeking depths.  "Who more deserving of hell than ye, who
+gossipped and imagined all manner of tales, who retailed lies from house
+to house so that ye might laugh, after setting the entire neighbourhood
+at war?  What more would one of us have done?"  "This," said the Angel,
+"is the abode of the slanderers, defamers and backbiters, and of all
+envious cowards who always do hurt in word or deed behind one's back."
+
+From thence we went past an enormous lair, the vilest I had yet seen, and
+the fullest of vermin, of soot, and of stench.  "This," said he, "is the
+place of those who hoped for heaven because they were harmless, in other
+words, because they were neither good nor bad."  Next to this foul pit I
+saw a great multitude sitting down, whose groans were more fierce than
+anything I had heard hitherto in hell.  "Save us all!" cried I, "what
+makes these complain more than all others, seeing there be no pain, nor
+demon near them?"  "Ah," answered the Angel, "if the pain without is
+less, that which is within is more,--here are stubborn heretics, the
+godless and unchristian, many of the worldy-wise, of apostates, of the
+persecutors of the church, and millions such as they, who have utterly
+been given over to the more bitterly painful punishment of the
+conscience, which now without let or ceasing has its full sway over them.
+"I will not this time," quoth conscience, "be drowned in beer, or blinded
+by rewards, or deafened by song and good company, or hushed or stupified
+by a thoughtless torpor; now I will be heard, and never shall the truth,
+the stinging truth, cease dinning in your ears."  The will creates a
+desire for the lost paradise, the memory reproaches them with the ease
+wherewith it might have been gained, and the reason shews the greatness
+of the loss, and the certainty that nought awaits them but this
+unspeakable gnawing for ever and ever; so by these three means,
+conscience rends them more terribly than would all the devils in hell.
+
+Coming out of that wondrous defile, I heard much talking, and for every
+word such wild horse-laughter as if some five hundred devils would shed
+their horns with laughing.  But after I had drawn near to behold the very
+rare sight of a smile in hell, what was it but two gentlemen, lately
+arrived, appealing for the respect due to their rank, and the merriment
+was intended only to give affront to them.  A pot-bellied squire stood
+there with an enormous roll of parchment, his genealogical chart,
+declaring from how many of the Fifteen Tribes of Gwynedd he had sprung,
+how many justices of the peace, and how many sheriffs there had been of
+his house.  "Ha ha," cried one of the devils, "we know the merit of most
+of your forebears, were you like your father, or great-great-grandsire,
+we would not have deigned to touch you.  But thou, thou art but the heir
+of utter darkness, vile whelp, thou art hardly worth a night's lodging;
+and yet thou shalt have some nook to await the dawn."  And at the word
+the impetuous monster pierces him with his pitchfork, and after whirling
+him thirty times through the fiery welkin, hurled him into a hole out of
+sight.  "That is right enough for a half-blood squire," said the other,
+"but I hope ye will be better mannered towards a knight who has served
+the king in person; twelve earls and fifty knights can I recount from
+mine own ancient line."  "If thine ancestors, and thy long pedigree are
+all thy plea, thou canst go the same gate," quoth a devil, "for we
+remember scarce one old estate of large extent which some oppressor, some
+murderer or robber has not founded, leaving it to others as arrant as
+they, to idle blockheads or to drunken swine.  To maintain lavish pomp,
+they had to grind their vassals and tenants, and if there be a beautiful
+pony or a fine cow which my lady covets, she will have them, and well it
+happens if the daughters, yea, even the wives, escape the lust of their
+lord.  And the small free-holders around them must either vainly follow
+or give bail for them, resulting in their own ruin, the loss of their
+possessions, and the sale of their patrimony, or expect to be hated and
+despised, and forced to every idle pursuit.  Oh how nobly they swear to
+gain the confidence of their minions or of their tradesmen, and when
+decked out in their finery, how contemptuously they look upon many an
+officer of importance in church and state, as if such were mere worms
+compared with them.  Woe's me, is not all blood of one color?  Was it not
+the same way that ye all entered the world?"  "For all that, craving your
+pardon," said the knight, "there are some births purer than others."
+"For the great doom all your carcases are the same," said the imp,
+"everyone of you is defiled by the sin that took its origin in Adam."
+But, sir," continued he, "if your blood is aught better than another, the
+less scum will there be when shortly it will be bubbling through your
+body, and if there be more, we must examine you, part by part, through
+fire and through water."  Thereupon, a devil in the shape of a fiery
+chariot receives him, and the other mockingly lifts him thereinto, and
+away he goes with the speed of lightning.  Ere long the angel bade me
+look, and I saw the poor knight most horribly sodden in an enormous
+boiling furnace with Cain, Nimrod, Esau, Tarquin, Nero, Caligula, and
+others who first established lineage, and emblazoned family arms.
+
+After wending our way onward a little, my guide bade me peer through a
+riven wall, and within I saw a group of coquetts busily primming up,
+doing and undoing the deeds of folly they were formerly wont to do on
+earth; some puckering their lips, some plucking their eyebrows with
+irons, some anointing themselves, some patching their faces with black
+spots to make the yellow look whiter, and some endeavouring to crack the
+mirror; and after all the pains to color and adorn, upon seeing their
+faces far uglier than the devils', they would tear away with tooth and
+nail all the false coloring, the spots, the skin and the flesh all at
+once, and would shriek most dismally.  "Accursed be my father," said one,
+"it was he who forced me when a girl to wed an old shrivelling, and it
+was his kindling my desires with no power to satiate them, that doomed me
+to this place."  "A thousand curses on my parents," cried another, "for
+sending me to a monastery to be taught to live a life of chastity; they
+might as well have sent me to a Roundhead to learn how to be generous, or
+to a Quaker to be taught good manners, as to a Papist to be taught
+honesty."  "Fell ruin seize my mother," shrieked a third, "whose covetous
+pride refused me a husband at my need, and so drove me to obtain by
+stealth what I might have honestly obtained."  "Hell, a double hell to
+the raging bull of a nobleman who first tempted me," cried another, "had
+he not by fair and foul broken through all bounds, I would not have
+become a common chattel, nor would I have come to this infernal place;"
+and then would they lacerate themselves again.
+
+I made all haste to leave their loathsome kennel, but I had not proceeded
+far before I observed, to my astonishment, another prison full of women,
+still more abominable; some had become frogs; some, dragons; some,
+serpents, and there they swam about, hissing and foaming, and butting one
+another, in a foetid, stagnant pool that was much larger than Bala Lake.
+"Pray, what can these be?" asked I.  "There are here," said he, "four
+chief classes of women, not to mention their minions--Firstly:  Panders,
+who maintained harlots to sell their virginity an hundred times, and the
+worst of these around them.  Secondly:  Mistresses of gossip, surrounded
+by thousands of tale-bearing hags.  Thirdly:  Huntresses followed by a
+pack of cowardly, skulking hounds, for no man ever dared approach them,
+unless in fear of them.  Fourthly:  The scolds, become a hundredfold more
+horrid than snakes, always grinding and gnashing their venomous stings."
+"I would have deemed Lucifer too gracious a monarch to place a noble lady
+of my rank with these vulgar furies," complained one, who much resembled
+the others, but was far more hideous than a winged serpent.  "Oh, that he
+would send hither seven hundred of the basest demons of hell in exchange
+for thee, thou poisonous hellworm," cried another ugly viper.  "Many
+thanks to you," quoth a gigantic devil, overhearing them, "we regard our
+place and worth as something better; though ye would cause everyone as
+much pain as we, yet we do not choose to be deprived of our office in
+your favor."  "And Lucifer hath another reason," whispered the Angel,
+"for keeping strict guard over these, and that is, lest on breaking
+loose, they might send all hell into utter confusion."
+
+Thence we still descended until I saw an immense cavern wherein was such
+fearful clamor that I had never heard the like before--swearing, cursing,
+blaspheming, snarling, groaning and yelling.  "Whom have we here?" I
+asked.  "This," answered he, "is the Den of Thieves; here are myriads of
+foresters, lawyers and stewards, with old Judas in their midst."  And it
+grieved them sorely to behold a pack of tailors and weavers above them in
+a more comfortable chamber.  Hardly had I turned round when a demon, in
+the shape of a steed, bore in a physician, and an apothecary, and hurled
+them into the midst of the pedlars and horse cheats, because they had
+sold worthless drugs.  And they too began murmuring against being
+allotted to such low society.  "Stay, stay," cried one of the devils, "ye
+deserve a better place," and he pitched them down amongst conquerors and
+murderers.  There were vast numbers in here for playing false dice and
+cheating at cards, but before I had time to observe them closely, I could
+hear by the door a huge crowd in wild tumult and shouts--hai, hw, ptrw-
+how-ho-o-o-p--as of cattle being driven along.  I turned round to see the
+cause of it, but could perceive only the horned demons.  I enquired of my
+Guide if there were cuckolds with the devils.  "No," said he, "they are
+in another cell; these are drovers who wished to escape to the prison of
+the Sabbath-breakers, and are sent here against their will."  Thereupon I
+look and saw that they had on their heads the horns of sheep and kine;
+and those that were driving them on, cast them down beneath the feet of
+blood-stained robbers.  "Lie there," said one, "however much ye feared
+footpads on the London road erstwhile, ye yourselves were the very worst
+class of highwaymen, who made your living on the road and on robbery, yea
+and by the perishing of many a poor family whom ye left in hunger, vainly
+hoping for the sustenance of their possessions, while ye were in Ireland
+or in the King's Bench laughing at them, or on the road with your wine
+and lemans."  On leaving the furnace-like cave, I caught a glimpse of a
+haunt, which for loathsome, stinking abomination, went beyond anything
+(with one sole exception) that I had set my eyes upon in hell,--where an
+accursed herd of drunken swine lay weltering in the foulest slime.
+
+The next den was the abode of Gluttony, where Dives and his companions,
+wallowing on their bellies, devoured dirt and fire alternately, with
+never a drop to drink.  A little below this, was a very extensive
+roasting-kitchen, where some were being roasted and boiled, others
+broiling and flaming in a fiery chimney.  "This is the place of the
+merciless and the unfeeling," said the Angel.  Turning a little to the
+left, where there was a cell lighter than any I had so far seen, I asked
+what place it was:  "The abode of the Infernal Dragons," said he, "which
+growl and rage, rush about and rend one another every instant."  I drew
+near and oh! what an indescribable sight they were!  It was the glowing
+fire of their eyes that gave all that light.  "These are the descendants
+of Adam," said my Guide, "scolds and raving, wrathful men; but yonder are
+some of the ancient seed of the great Dragon, Lucifer;" but verily I
+could not perceive any difference in loveliness between them.  In the
+next dungeon dwell the misers in awful torment, being linked by their
+hearts to chests of burning coin, the rust of which was consuming them
+without end, just as they had never thought of an end to the piling of
+them, and now they were tearing themselves to pieces with more than
+madness through grief and remorse.  Below this was a charnel vault where
+some of the apothecaries had been ground down and stuffed into
+earthenware pots with Album graecum, dung, and many a stale ointment.
+
+Ever downward we were journeying through the wilderness of ruin, in the
+midst of untold and eternal tortures, from cell to cell, from dungeon to
+dungeon, the last alway surpassing in monstrous ghastliness, until
+finally we came within view of an enormous entrance hall, most unsightly
+of all that I had previously seen.  It was very spacious and terribly
+steep, running in the direction of a gloomy red corner, full of the most
+inconceivable abominations and horrors:  it was the royal court.  At the
+upper end of the king's accursed hall, amidst thousands of other dread
+sights, by the light my companion shed, I could see in the darkness two
+feet of prodigious size, and so enormous as to overcast the whole
+infernal firmament.  I inquired of my Guide what such immensities might
+be.  "Thou shalt have a fuller view of this monster when returning," said
+he, "but, come now, let us to see the court."  As we were going down that
+awful entrance hall, we heard behind us the noise as of very many people
+advancing; on stepping aside to let them pass I noticed four divers host,
+and upon enquiry I learnt that it was the four princesses of the City of
+Destruction leading their subjects as an offering to their sire.  I
+distinguished the troop of the Princess of Pride, not only because they
+insisted upon the foremost position, but also because they stumbled now
+and then from want of keeping their eyes upon the ground.  She led
+captive kings without number, princes, courtiers, noblemen and braggarts,
+many Quakers, and women innumerable and of all grades.  Next to these
+came the Princess of Lucre with her sly and crafty followers--a great
+many of the brood of Simon Skinflint, money lenders, lawyers, userers,
+stewards, foresters, harlots, and some of the clergy.  Then came the
+gracious Princess of Pleasure and her daughter Folly, leading her
+subjects--players of dice, cards and back-gammon, conjurers, bards,
+minstrels, storytellers, drunkards, bawds, balladmongers and pedlars with
+their trinkets in countless number, to be at length instruments of
+punishment to the damned fools.
+
+When these three had taken their captives into the court to receive
+judgment, Hypocrisy, last of all, brings in a more numerous troop than
+any of the others, of every nation and age, from town and country,
+patrician and plebeian, men and women.  In the rear of this double-faced
+legion we came within sight of the court; passing through the midst of
+many dragons and horned demons, and hell's giants, the dusky porters of
+the devil-hunted fire; I, the while, carefully hiding within the veil, we
+entered that direful edifice:  wonderful, and of amazing roughness was
+every part of it; the walls were cruel rocks of burning adamant; the
+floor was one unendurable extent of sharp-cutting flint, the roof of
+fiery steel, meeting in an arch of greenish and blood-red flames,
+similar, except in its size and heat, to a tremendous circular oven.
+Opposite the door, upon a flame-encompassed throne sat the Evil One with
+the lost archangels around him, seated on benches of terrible fire,
+according to the rank they formerly bore in the region of light--the
+lovely whelps--it would only be a waste of words to attempt to describe
+how atrociously ugly they were, and the longer I gazed upon them,
+sevenfold more frightful did they become.  In the centre above Lucifer's
+head was a huge hand grasping an awful bolt.  The princesses, after
+paying their courtesy, immediately returned to their duties on earth.  No
+sooner had they departed than at the King's bidding, a gigantic devil
+with cavernous jaws set up a roar, louder than the discharge of a hundred
+cannon, and as loud, were it possible, as the last trump, to proclaim the
+infernal Parliament, and behold, without delay, the court and hall are
+filled by the rabble of hell in every shape, each upon the form and image
+of that particular sin he was wont to urge upon men.  After enjoining
+silence, Lucifer, looking steadfastly upon the chieftains nearest him,
+began and spake these gracious words:-
+
+"Ye peers of this profoundest gulf, princes of the hopeless gloom, if we
+have lost the place we erst possessed, when, clothed with brightness, we
+dwelt in those celestial, happy realms; yet, however great our fall,
+'twas glorious, nought less than all did we hazard, nor is all lost--for,
+behold regions wide and deep extending to the utmost bounds of desolate
+Perdition still 'neath our sway.  'Tis true we reign while racked with
+raging torment, yet, for spirits of our majesty, 'tis better to reign in
+hell than serve in heaven. {85a}  And what is more, we have well nigh won
+another world, a greater than a fifth of earth has been for long beneath
+my standard.  And although our Omnipotent Enemy sent his own Son to die
+for them, I, by my pleasing guile, gain ten for every one He gains
+through his crucified Son.  Though we cannot aspire to do hurt to Him on
+high who hurls His all-conquering thunder, yet revenge by whatsoever
+means is sweet. {85b}  Let us then bring ruin on the rest of men who
+adore our Destroyer.  Well do I recollect the time when ye caused them,
+their armies and their cities, to be consumed in horrible combustion, yea
+and caused nigh all the dwellers on the earth to fall through the
+whelming waters into this fire.  But now, although your strength and
+innate cruelty are no whit less, ye have been somewhat listless; were it
+not for this, we would have long ago destroyed the godly few, and brought
+the earth one with this our vast domain.  But know this, ye grim
+ministers of my wrath, if ye henceforth be not up and doing, valiantly
+and with all haste, seeing the brevity of our alloted time, I swear by
+Hell and by Perdition, and by the vast, eternal gloom, that upon you,
+yourselves, my ire first shall fall, with pain the like of which the
+oldest amongst you hath never proved."  Whereupon he frowned until the
+court became sevenfold darker than before.
+
+Next him, Moloch one of the infernal potentates, stood up, and after
+making due obeisance to his king, spake thus:- "Oh Emperor of the Sky,
+great ruler of the darkness, none ever doubted my desire to practice
+utmost bale and cruelty, for that has always been my pleasure; no sound
+was more delightful to mine years than the shrieks of children perishing
+in the flames outside Jerusalem, where in former days they were
+sacrificed to me.  And also after our crucified foe had returned to his
+celestial home, I, during the reigns of ten emperors, continued as long
+as it availed me, slaying and burning his followers in my attempt to
+sweep the Christians off the face of the earth.  And afterwards in Paris,
+in England, and in several other places, did I cause many a massacre of
+them; but what have we gained?  The tree whose branches are lopped off
+grows but the quicker; we snarl without the power of biting."
+
+"Pshaw!" exclaimed Lucifer, "shame! cowardly hosts that ye are!  Never
+more will I place my trust in you.  This work I myself will perform, this
+enterprise none shall partake with me. {87a}  In mine own imperial
+majesty will I descend upon the earth, and alone will I devour all
+therein contained; henceforth no man shall there be found to worship the
+Most High."  Thereon he gave one terrific flying leap to start--a blaze
+of living fire, but the hand overhead whirls the terrible dart so that he
+trembles notwithstanding his rage, and ere he had gone far, an invisible
+hand drags the brute back by the chain for all his struggles; his rage
+becomes sevenfold more vehement, his eyes more fierce than dragons, thick
+black clouds of smoke issue from his nostrils, livid flames from his
+mouth and bowels, while he gnaws his chain in his grief, and mutters
+fearful blasphemy and awful oaths.
+
+At last, finding how futile was his attempt to sunder his bonds and how
+unavailing to contend against the Almighty, he returned to his throne and
+resumed his speech, in words somewhat more calm, but twice as malignant:
+"Though none but the Omnipotent Thunderer could overcome my power and my
+guile, to Him I am unwillingly constrained to submit; but I can pour
+forth the vials of my wrath here below, nearer at hand, and let loose my
+ire upon those who are already under my banner, and within the length of
+my chain.  Arise, ye too, ministers of destruction, lords of the
+unquenchable fires, and as my anger and my venom overflow, and my malice
+rush forth, do ye assiduously scatter all broadcast among the damned, and
+chiefly among the Christians; urge on the engines of torture to their
+uttermost; devise and invent; increase the heat of the fire and the
+ebullition, until the hissing flood of the cauldrons overwhelms them; and
+when their unutterable woes are extremest, then sneer at them and
+mockingly reproach them, and when ye have exhausted all your store of
+scorn and gall, hie to me and ye shall be replenished."
+
+A great stillness had brooded over hell for some time, while the pains
+grew far more unbearable by being given no vent.  But now the silence
+which Lucifer had enjoined was broken, when the fierce butchers, like
+bears maddened by hunger, fell upon their captives; then there arose such
+doleful cries, such dismal howling, from every quarter, louder than the
+roar of rushing torrents, than the rumble of an earthquake, till hell
+itself became ten times more horrible.  I would have died, had not my
+friend saved me.  "Quaff deep this time," said he, "to give thee strength
+to behold things yet more dire."  Hardly were the words from his lips,
+when lo! heavenly Justice, who sits above the abyss, guardian of the
+gates of Hell, advanced scourging three men with rods of fiery scorpions.
+"Ha ha," cried Lucifer, "here are three reverend gentlemen whom Justice
+thought worthy himself to conduct to my kingdom."  "Woe's me," said one
+of the three, "who ever wanted him to take the trouble?"  "That matters
+not," answered he, with a look that made the fiends wax pale, and tremble
+so that they knocked one against the other, "it was the will of the
+Infinite Creator that I myself should lead to their home such accursed
+murderers."  "Sirrah,"--addressing one of the demons,--"open me the fold
+of the assassins, where Cain, Nero, Bradshaw, Bonner, Ignatius and
+innumerable others like them dwell."  "Alack, alack! we have never slain
+any man," cried one.  "No thanks to you that you did not, for time only
+was wanting," said Justice.  When the den was opened, there came out such
+a hideous blast of blood-red flames, and such a shriek as if a thousand
+dragons were uttering their death-wail.  As Justice was passing by on his
+return, in an instant he caused such a tempest of fiery whirlwinds to
+fall upon the Evil One and his princes that Lucifer was swept away, and
+with him Beelzebub, Satan, Moloch, Abadon, Asmodai, Dagon, Apolyon,
+Belphegor, Mephistopheles, and all their compeers, and they were hurled
+headlong into a whirlpool which opened and closed in the centre of the
+court and which, both in aspect and in the execrable stench that arose
+from it, was a hundredfold more foul and horrid than anything I had ever
+seen.  Before I could ask aught, quoth the Angel:  "This is the gulf that
+reaches to another great world."  "What, pray, is that world called?" I
+enquired.  "'Tis called the bottomless pit or the Nethermost Hell, the
+home of the devils, whither they now have gone.  And those vast, dreary
+wilds, parts of which thou hast traversed, are called the Region of
+Despair, ordained for the condemned until the Judgment Day; then it will
+become one with the utmost, bottomless Hell; then will one of us come and
+seal up the devils and the damned together, never more to open upon them,
+never to all eternity.  In the meantime they have leave to come to this
+colder country to torment lost souls.  Yea, often are they suffered to
+wander through the air, and about the earth, to tempt men into the
+pernicious ways that lead to this horrible prison whence no man returns."
+
+While listening to this account, and wondering that the entrance of
+Perdition should differ so from that of the Upper Hell, I heard the
+tremendous clash of arms, and the roar of artillery, from one quarter,
+and what seemed like loud-rumbling thunder answering from another
+quarter, while the deadly rocks resounded.  "This is the turmoil of war!"
+I cried, "if there be war in hell."  "There is," said he, "there cannot
+be but continuous warfare here."  When we were on the point of going out
+to know of the affair, I beheld the jaws of the Pit open and belch forth
+thousands of hideous, greenish candles--for such had Lucifer and his
+chiefs become after surviving the tempest.  But when he heard the din of
+war he turned more livid than Death, and began to call out, and levy
+armies of his proven veterans to suppress the tumult.  While thus
+occupied he came across a little imp, who had escaped between the feet of
+the warriors.  "What is the matter?" demanded the King.  "Such a matter
+as will endanger your crown, an you look not to it."  Close upon this
+one's heels another devilish courier in a harsh voice cries:  "You that
+plan the disquietude of others, look now to your own peace; yonder are
+the Turks, the Papists and the murderous Roundheads in three armies,
+filling the whole plain of Darkness, committing every outrage and turning
+everything topsy-turvey."  "How came they out?" demanded the Evil One,
+frowning more terribly than Demigorgon.  "The Papists," said the
+messenger, "somehow or other broke out of their purgatory, and then, to
+pay off old scores, went to unhinge the portals of Mahomet's paradise,
+and let loose the Turks from their prison, and afterwards in the
+confusion, through some ill chance, Cromwell's crew escaped from their
+cells."  Then Lucifer turned and peered beneath his throne, where every
+damned king lay, and commanded that Cromwell himself should be kept
+secure in his kennel, and that all the sultans should be guarded.
+Accordingly, Lucifer and his host hurried across the sombre wilds of
+darkness, each one's own person furnishing light and heat; guided by the
+tumultuous clangor he marched fearlessly upon them.  Silence was
+proclaimed in the King's name, and Lucifer demanded the cause of such
+uproar in his realm.  "May it please your infernal majesty," said
+Mahomet, "a quarrel arose between myself and Pope Leo as to which had
+done you the better service--my Koran or the Romish religion; and when
+this was going on a pack of Roundheads, who had broken out of their
+prison during the disorder, joined in and clamoured that their Solemn
+League and Covenant deserved more respect at your hands than either; so,
+from striving to striking from words to blows.  But now, since your
+majesty hath returned from hell, I lay the matter for your decision."
+"Stay, we've not done with you yet," cried Pope Julius, and madly they
+engage once more, tooth and nail, until the strokes clashed like
+earthquakes; the three armies of the damned tore each other piecemeal,
+and like snakes became whole again, and spread far and wide over the
+jagged, burning crags, until Lucifer bade his veterans, the giants of
+Hell, separate them, which indeed was no easy task.
+
+When the conflict ceased, Pope Clement spake--"Thou Emperor of Horrors,
+no throne has ever performed more faithful and universal service to the
+infernal crown than have the bishops of Rome, throughout a large portion
+of the world, for eleven centuries, and I hope you will allow none to vie
+with them for your favor."  "Well," said a Scotch-man of Cromwell's gang,
+"however great has been the service of the Koran for these eight hundred
+years, and of popish superstitions for a longer period, yet the Covenant
+has done far more since its appearance, and everyone begins to doubt the
+others and be weary of them, but we are still increasing, the wide world
+over, and have much power in the island of your foes, that is, in Britain
+and in London, the happiest city under the sun."  "Ha ha," exclaimed
+Lucifer, "if I hear rightly ye too are about to suffer disgrace there.
+But whatever ye may have done in other kingdoms, I will have none of your
+rioting in mine.  Wherefore make your peace forthwith under the penalty
+of more woes, bodily and spiritual."  And at the word I could see many of
+the fiends and all the damned, with their tails between their hoofs,
+steal away to their holes in fear of a change for the worse.
+
+Then after ordering all to be locked up in their lairs, and punishing and
+dismissing the officers whose carelessness had allowed them to break
+loose, Lucifer and his counsellors returned to the court, and sat once
+more upon the fiery thrones, according to their rank; and when silence
+had been obtained, and the court cleared, a burly, lob-shouldered devil
+threw down at the bar a fresh load of prisoners.  "Is this the way to
+Paradise?" asked one (for they had no idea where they were).  "Or if this
+be Purgatory," said another, "I have a dispensation under the Pope's own
+signet to pass straight on to Paradise, without a moment's delay
+anywhere; wherefore show us the way, or by the Pope's toe, we will have
+him punish you."  "Ha ha," laughed a thousand demons, and Lucifer himself
+opened his tusked jaws some half a yard in scornful laughter.  At which
+the new comers were sore amazed.  "Look ye," said one, "if we have missed
+our way in the dark, we will pay for guidance."  "Ha ha," cried Lucifer,
+"ye shall not hence till ye have paid the uttermost farthing."  But on
+searching them it was found that they had one and all left their trouser
+behind.  "Ye went past Paradise on the left above those mountains there,"
+said the Evil One, "and although it is easy to descend hither, to return
+is next to impossible, so dark and intricate is the country, so many
+steep ascents of flaming iron are there on the way, and huge imminent
+rocks, overhanging glaciers of insurmountable ice, and here and there, a
+headlong cataract, all too difficult to clamber over, if ye have not
+nails as long as a devil's.  Ho there! convey these blockheads to our
+paradise to their companions."  Just then I heard voices drawing nigh,
+swearing and cursing fearfully.  "Fiends' blood! a myriad devils seize me
+if ever I go!" and immediately the noisy crew were cast down before the
+court.  "There," exclaimed the steed that bore them, "there is fuel with
+the best in hell."  "What are they?" asked Lucifer.  "Past masters in the
+gentle art of swearing and cursing," said he, "who knew the language of
+hell as well as we do."  "A lie to your face, i' the devil's name!" cried
+one.  "Sirrah! wilt take my name in vain?" said the Evil One.  "Ho, seize
+them and hook them by their tongues, to that burning precipice, and be at
+hand to serve them; if on one devil they call, or on a thousand, they
+shall have their fill."
+
+When these had departed, a gigantic fiend calls loudly for clearing the
+bar, and throws down thereat a man who was a load in himself.  "What hast
+thou there?" demanded Lucifer.  "An innkeeper," answered he.  "What?"
+cried the King, "only one innkeeper, when they used to come by the
+thousands.  Hast thou, sirrah, not been out for ten years, and dost bring
+hither but one, and such an one as would serve us in the world better
+than thee, foul lazy hound!"  "You are too just to condemn me before
+hearing me," pleaded he, "he was the only one laid to my charge, and now
+I am rid of him.  But I despatched you from his house many an idler who
+drank his family's maintenance, and now and then a dicer, and card
+player, a fine swearer, an innocent glutton, a negligent tapster and a
+maid, harsh in the kitchen, but never a kinder abed or in the cellar."
+"Although this fellow deserves to be with the flatterers beneath," said
+the Evil One, "natheless take him to his comrades in the cell of the
+liquid-poisoners, among the apothecaries and drugsters who have concocted
+drinks to murder their customers; boil him well for that he did not brew
+better beer."  "By your leave," began the innkeeper tremblingly, "I
+deserve no such treatment, the trade must be carried on."  "Couldst thou
+not have lived," quoth the Evil One, "without allowing rioting and
+gambling, wantonness and drunkenness, oaths and quarrels, slanders and
+lies? and wouldst thou, old hell-hound, now live better than we?
+Prithee, tell what evil have we here which thou hadst not at thine home,
+save the punishment alone?  Indeed, to speak the plain truth here, the
+infernal heat and cold are nothing new to thee.  Hast thou not seen
+sparks of our fire upon the tongues of the cursers and the scolds, whilst
+dragging their husbands home?  Was there not a deal of the undying flame
+on the drunkard's lips or in the eyes of the angry?  And couldst thou not
+perceive a trace of hellish cold in the rake's generosity, and especially
+in thine own kindness towards him as long as he had anything in his
+possession; in the mocker's jest; in the praise of the envious and of the
+defamer, in the promises of the lecherous, or in the limbs of thy boon
+companions, benumbed beneath thy tables?  Is hell strange to thee whose
+very home is a hell?  Aroint thee, flamhound, to thy penance!"
+
+After that ten devils, panting heavily, drop their burdens upon the fiery
+floor.  "What have ye?" asked Lucifer.  "We have what a day or two ago
+were called kings," answered one of the fiendish steeds.  (I sought
+carefully to see whether Lewis of France were among them.)  "Throw them
+here," bade the King; and at that they were thrown amongst the other
+crowned heads that lay beneath Lucifer's feet; and following the monarchs
+came their courtiers and their flatterers to receive sentence.  Before I
+had time to ask any question, I heard the blast of brazen trumpets and
+shouts.  "Make way, make way," and at once there came in view a herd of
+assize-men and devils bearing the train of six justices, and millions of
+their race--barristers, {95a} attorneys, clerks, recorders, bailiffs,
+catchpolls, and the litigous busybody.  I wondered that none of them was
+examined; but in truth, they knew the matter had gone too far against
+them, so none of the learned counsels opened their lips, but the busybody
+threatened that he would bring an action for false imprisonment against
+Lucifer.  "Thou shalt have good cause of complaint now," said the Evil
+One, "and never see a court at all."  Then he donned his red cap, and
+with unbearable, haughty mien, said:  "Go, take the justices to the hall
+of Pontius Pilate, to Master Bradshaw, who condemned King Charles; pack
+the barristers with the assassins of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey, {95b} and
+their other false co-partners who simulate mutual contention, merely in
+order to slay whomsoever might interpose.  Go, greet that prudent lawyer,
+who, when dying offered a thousand pounds for a good conscience, and ask
+whether he is now willing to give more.  Roast the lawyers by the fire of
+their own parchments and papers till their learned bowels burst forth;
+let the litigous busybodies hang above them with their nostrils deepest
+down the roasting chimneys, in order to inhale the noxious vapors arising
+thence, to see if they will ever get their fill of law.  Throw the
+recorders amongst the retailers who prevent or forestall the sale of
+corn, who mix it and sell the mixture at double the price of the pure
+corn:  similarly, they demand for wrong double the fees formerly given
+for right.  As to the catchpolls, let them free to hunt about and lie in
+the ravines and bushes of the earth, to capture those that are debtors to
+the infernal crown; for what devil of you could do the work better than
+they?"
+
+Shortly there appear twenty demons, like Scotch-men, with packs across
+their shoulders, which they cast down before the throne of despair, and
+which turned out to be gipsies.  "Ho there!" cried Lucifer, "how was it
+that ye who knew the fortune of others so well, did not know that your
+own fortune was leading you hither?"  No answer was given, for they were
+amazed at seeing here beings uglier than themselves.  "Throw the tan-
+faced loons to the witches," bade the King, "there are no cats or rush-
+lights here for them, but divide a frog between them every ten thousand
+years, if they will be quiet and not deafen us with their barbarous
+chatter."
+
+After them came, methought, thirty labourers.  Everybody wondered to see
+so many of that honest calling, so seldom did any of them appear; but
+they did not all come from the same parts nor for like faults--some for
+raising prices, many for withholding their tithes, and defrauding the
+parson of his dues, others for leaving their work to follow after the
+gentry, and who in trying to stride along with their masters, strained
+themselves, some for doing work on the Sabbath, some for thinking of
+their sheep and kine in church, instead of giving attention to the
+reading of Holy Writ, and others for wrongful bargains.  When Lucifer
+began to question them, lo! they were all as pure as gold, and not one of
+them found anything amiss in himself so as to deserve such a dwelling
+place.  One can scarcely believe what neat excuses each one had to hide
+his sin, although they were already in hell for it, offering them merely
+out of evil disposition to thwart Lucifer and to accuse the righteous
+Judge, who had condemned them, of injustice.  But it was still more
+astonishing to see how cleverly the Evil One exposed their foul sins, and
+how he answered with a home-thrust their false excuses.  When these were
+about to receive their infernal doom, forty scholars were borne forward
+by porpoise-shaped fiends, uglier, if possible, than Lucifer himself.
+And when they heard the labourers pleading, they too waxed bold to give
+excuses, but what ready answers the old Serpent had for them with all
+their knavery and learning!  As it happened that I heard similar pleas in
+another court of justice I will hereafter recount them together, and now
+proceed with what I saw in the meantime.
+
+Lucifer had barely pronounced their sentence--that they should be driven
+to the great glacier in the land of eternal ice, a doom that set their
+teeth a-gnashing, even before they saw their prison, when suddenly, hell
+again most marvellously resounded with the crash of terrible bolts, with
+loud-rolling thunder, and with every noise of war.  Lucifer loured and
+grew pale; in a moment, there flew in a wry-footed imp, panting and
+trembling.  "What is the matter?" cried Lucifer.  "A matter fraught with
+the greatest peril for you since hell is hell," said the dwarf, "all the
+ends of the kingdom of darkness have risen up against you and against
+each other, especially those between whom there was longstanding enmity,
+who are already locked together fang to fang, so that it is impossible to
+pull them apart.  Soldiers have attacked the doctors for taking away
+their trade of slaughter; a myriad userers have fallen upon the lawyers,
+for claiming a share in the business of robbery; the busybodies and the
+swindlers are tearing the gentlemen, limb-meal, for unnecessary swearing
+and cursing, whereby they gained their living.  Harlots and their
+minions, and a million other old friends and former comrades have fallen
+out with one another irreconcilably.  But worst of all is the fray raging
+between the misers and their own offspring, for wasting the goods and
+money which, the old pinchfists aver, 'cost us much pain on earth, and
+here endless anguish.'  Their sons, on the other hand, cursing and
+rending them outrageously, call for eternal ruin upon their heads for
+leaving overmuch wealth to madden them with pride and riotous living,
+when a little, under the blessing of heaven, would have rendered them
+happy in both worlds."  "Enough, enough," cried Lucifer, "there is more
+need of arms than words.  Return, sirrah, and play the spy in every watch
+to find the where and why of this great negligence, for there's some
+treachery in the air we wot not of as yet."  The imp departed at his
+bidding, and in the meantime Lucifer and his compeers arose in terror and
+exceeding fear, and ordered the levying of the bravest armies of the
+black angels; and having disposed them, he himself started foremost to
+quell the rebellion, his chieftains and their hosts going other ways.
+The royal army, like shafts of lightning across the hideous gloom,
+advanced (and we in their rear); ere long the uproar falls upon their
+ears; a fiendish bellower cries, "Silence, in the King's name!" to no
+purpose, it would be an easier task to hale apart old beavers than one of
+these.  But when Lucifer's veterans dashed into their midst, the growls,
+and blows, and battering lessened.  "Silence in Lucifer's name!" roared
+the devil a second time.  "What is this," demanded the King, "and who are
+these?"  "Nothing, sire, but that in the general confusion, the drovers
+came across the cuckolds, and set a-butting to prove whose horns were the
+harder; it might have turned out seriously, had not your horned giants
+joined in the affray."  "Well," said Lucifer, "since ye are all so ready
+with your arms, come with me to trounce the other rebels."  But when the
+rumour reached these that Lucifer was approaching with three horned
+armies, everyone made for his lair.
+
+So he marched on across the desolate plains unresisted, and seeking in
+vain the cause of the revolt.  After a while, however, one of the King's
+spies returns, quite out of breath:  "Most noble, Lucifer!  Moloch, your
+prince, hath subdued part of the North, and hath cut thousands to pieces
+upon the glaciers, but there are three or four dangerous evils still
+threatening you."  "Whom meanest thou?" asked Lucifer.  "The Slanderer,
+the Busybody, and the Lawmonger, have broken out of their prisons and got
+free."  "No wonder then," said the Evil One, "if further troubles arise."
+Then there comes another spy from the South, informing that matters would
+soon reach a dire pass in that quarter if the three who had already
+thrown the West into utter confusion be not taken, namely, the Huntress,
+the Rogue and the Swaggerer.  "Since the day I tempted Adam from his
+garden," said Satan, who stood next but one to Lucifer, "I have never
+seen so many evils of his race at liberty together.  The Huntress, the
+Swaggerer, the Rogue, on the one hand, and on the other, the Slanderer,
+the Lawmonger and the Busybody--a mixture would make devils reach."
+"Little wonder, verily," said Lucifer, "that they were so much hated by
+all on earth, seeing that they are capable of causing such trouble to us
+here."  Not long after, the Huntress comes to meet the King upon the way.
+"Ho! grandam o' the breeches," cries a shrill-voiced demon, "good night
+to you."  "Thy grandam on which side, prithee?" said she, displeased
+because he did not "madam" her.  "You are a fine king, Lucifer, to keep
+such impudent rascals about you; a thousand pities that such a vast realm
+should be under so impotent a ruler; would that I might be made its
+regent."  Then comes the Swaggerer, nodding in the dark--"Your humble
+servant, sir," saith he to one, over his shoulder; "Are you quite well?"
+to another; "Can I be of any service to you?" addressing a third, with a
+leering smirk, and to the Huntress:  "Your beauty quite fascinates me,
+madam."  "Oh oh," cried she, "away with the hell-hound;" and all join in
+the shout:  "Away with this new tormentor, hell on hell that he is!"
+"Let both be bound together hand and foot," commanded Lucifer.  Soon
+after the Lawmonger comes on the scene between two devils.  "Ho, ho, thou
+angel of peace," exclaimed Lucifer, "hast thou come?  Keep him safe,
+guards, at your peril!"  Before we had gone far, the Rogue and the
+Slanderer appeared, chained between forty devils, and whispering to one
+another.  "Most noble Lucifer," began the Rogue, "I am very sorry there
+is so much disturbance in your kingdom; but if I may be heard, I will
+teach you a better method.  Under the pretence of holding a Parliament,
+you can cite all the damned into the burning Evildom, and then bid the
+devils hurl them headlong to bottomless perdition, and lock them up in
+its vortex, to trouble you no more."  "But the Common Meddler is still
+missing," said Lucifer, frowning most darkly at the Rogue.  When we
+reached once more the entrance of the infernal court, who should come
+straight to meet the King but the Busybody.  "Ah, your majesty, I have a
+word with you."  "And I have one or two with you, peradventure," said the
+Evil One.  "I have been over the half of Hell," said he, "to see how your
+affairs went.  You have many officers in the East who are remiss, and
+take their ease instead of attending to the torturing of their prisoners
+and to their safe keeping; it was this that gave rise to the great
+rebellion.  And moreover many of your fiends, and of the lost whom you
+sent to the world to tempt men, have not returned, although their time is
+up, and others have come, but hide rather than give an account of their
+doings."
+
+Then commanded Lucifer his herald to summon a second Parliament, and in
+the twinkling of an eye all the potentates and their officers were again
+in attendance at their infernal Eisteddfod.  The first thing done was to
+change the officers, and to order a place to be made round the mouth of
+the pit for the Swaggerer and the Huntress, linked face to face, and for
+the other rebels, bound topsy-turvy together; and a law was published
+that whosoever of the demons or of the damned thenceforth transgressed
+his duty should be thrown into their midst till doomsday.  At these words
+all the fiends and even Lucifer himself trembled and were sore perturbed.
+Then next came the trial of the devils and the lost who had been sent to
+earth to find "associates and co-partners of their loss;" the devils gave
+a clear account, but the statement of the damned was so hazy and
+uncertain, that they were driven to the ever-burning school, and there
+scourged with fiery, knotted serpents to teach them their task the
+better.  "Here's a wench that's pretty enough when dressed up," said an
+imp, "she was sent up into the world to gain you new subjects; and whom
+should she first tempt but a weary ploughman, homeward wending his way,
+late from his toils, who, instead of succumbing to her wiles, went on his
+knees praying to be saved from the devil and his angels."  "Ho there!"
+cried Lucifer, "throw her to that worthless losel who long ago loved
+Einion ab Gwalchmai of Mona." {102a}  "Stay, stay," pleaded the fair one,
+"this is but my first offence; there is yet scarcely a year since the day
+when all was over with me, when I was condemned to your cursed state, Oh
+king of woes!"  "No, there is not yet three weeks," said the demon that
+had brought her there.  "How therefore," said she, "would you have me be
+as skilled as those lost beings who have been here three or four
+centuries hunting their prey?  If you desire better service at my hands,
+let me go free into the world once more to roam about uncensured; and if
+I bring you not twenty adulterers for every year I am out, mete me what
+punishment you list."  Nevertheless the verdict went against her, and she
+was doomed to live a hundred long years under chastisement, that she
+might be more careful a second time.  Presently, another devil entered,
+pushing to the front a man.  "Here is a fine messenger," he said, "who
+wandering the other night in his old neighbourhood above, saw a thief
+stealing a stallion, but could not help him even to catch the foal
+without showing himself; and the thief, when he saw him, abandoned that
+career for ever."  "Begging the court's pardon," said the man, "if the
+thief's child was endowed with power from above to see me, could I help
+that?  Moreover, this is only a single case; 't is not a hundred years
+since that day which put an end to all my hopes for ever, and how many of
+my own family and of my neighbours have I enticed here after me in that
+time?  Perdition hold me, if I am not as dutiful to my trade as the best
+of you, but the wisest is sometimes at fault."  Then said Lucifer:
+"Throw him into the school of the fairies, who are still under
+castigation for their mischievous tricks in days gone by, when they were
+wont to strangle and threaten their neighbours, and so awaken them from
+their torpor; for their fear probably had more influence upon them than
+forty sermons."
+
+Then came four constables, an accuser, and fifteen of the damned,
+dragging forward two devils.  "Lest you lay the blame of every wrongful
+service upon the children of Adam," said the accuser, "here are two of
+your old angels who misspent their time above as much as the two who were
+last before the court.  Here is a rogue quite as worthless as that one at
+Shrewsbury the other day, when the Interlude of Doctor Faustus was being
+played, amidst all manner of most wanton and lascivious revelries, and
+where many things were going on conducive to the welfare of your realm;
+when they were busiest, the devil himself appeared to play his part, and
+so drove all away from pleasure to prayers.  Even so this one, in his
+wanderings over the world:  he heard some people talk of walking round
+the church {104a} to see their sweethearts, and what should the fool do
+but show himself to the simpletons in his own natural form, and though
+their fright was great they recovered their senses, and made a vow to
+leave that vanity for ever; whereas had he only assumed the form of some
+vile jades, they would have held themselves bound to accept those; and so
+the foul fiend might have been master of the household with both parties,
+since he himself had mated them.  And here is another, who went, last
+Twelfth Night, to visit two Welsh lasses who were turning their shifts,
+and instead of enticing them to wantonness in the form of a fair youth,
+to one he took a bier, to make her thoughts more serious; to the other,
+he went with the tumult of war in a hellish whirlwind, to make her madder
+than before; and this was quite needless.  Nor was this all; for after he
+had entered the maiden, and had thrown her about, and sorely tormented
+her, some of our learned enemies were sent for to pray for her and to
+cast him out, and instead of tempting her to despair and endeavouring to
+win over the preachers, he began to preach to them, and to disclose the
+mysteries of your kingdom, thus aiding their salvation instead of
+hindering it."  At the word "salvation" I saw some leaping up, a living
+fire of rage.  "Every tale is fair till the other side be told," quoth
+the devil, "I hope Lucifer will not allow one of the earth-born race of
+Adam to contend with me, who am an angel of far superior kind and stock."
+"His punishment is certain," said Lucifer, "but do thou, sirrah, give
+clear and ready answer to these charges; or by hopeless Hell I will--."
+"I have led hither," said he, "many a soul since Satan was in the Garden
+of Eden, and I ought to understand my business, better than this upstart
+accuser."  "Blood of infernal firebrands," cried Lucifer, "did I not bid
+thee answer clearly and readily?"  "By your leave," said the demon, "I
+have preached a hundred times, and have denounced many of the various
+ways that lead to your confines, and yet at the same breath, have quietly
+brought them hither safe and sound by some other delusive path, just as I
+did while preaching recently in the German States, in one of the Faro
+Isles, and in several other places.  In this manner, through my preaching
+have many Papist beliefs, and old traditions come first into the world,
+and all in the guise of goodness.  For who ever would swallow a baitless
+hook?  Who ever gained credence for a tale which had not some truth
+mingled with the false, or some little good overshadowing the bad?  So,
+if whilst preaching I can instil one counsel of mine own among a hundred
+that are good and true, by means of that one, through heedlessness or
+superstition, will more weal betide your kingdom than woe through all the
+others ever."  "Well," said Lucifer, "since thou canst do so much good in
+the pulpit, I bid thee dwell seven years in the mouth of a barndoor
+preacher who always utter what first comes to his mind; there thou wilt
+have an opportunity of putting in a word now and then to thine own
+purpose."
+
+There were many more devils and damned darting to and fro like lightning
+about the awful throne, to count and to receive offices.  But suddenly
+without any warning there came a command for all the messengers and
+prisoners to depart from the court, each one to his den, leaving the King
+and his chief counsellors alone together.  "Is it not better for us also
+to depart, lest they find us?" I asked my friend.  "Thou needest have no
+fear," answered the angel, "no unclean spirit can ever pierce this veil."
+Wherefore we remained there invisible, to see the issue.
+
+Then Lucifer began graciously to address his peers thus:- "Ye mightiest
+spirits of evil, ye archfiends of hellish guile, the utmost of your
+malicious wiles am I now constrained to demand.  All here know that
+Britain and its adjacent isles is the realm most dangerous to my state,
+and fullest of mine enemies; and what is a hundredfold worse, there
+reigns now a queen most dangerous of all, who has never once inclined
+hither, nor along the old way of Rome on the one hand nor yet along the
+way of Geneva on the other:  to think what great good the Pope has for a
+long time done us there and Oliver even to this day!  What therefore
+shall we do?  I fear me we shall entirely lose our ancient possession of
+that mart unless we instantly set-to to pave a new way for them to travel
+over, for they know too well all the old roads that lead hitherwards.
+Since this invincible hand shortens my chain, and prevents me from going
+myself to the earth, your advice I pray.  Whom shall I appoint my viceroy
+to oppose yon hateful queen, Our Enemy's vicegerent?"
+
+"Oh! thou great Emperor of Darkness," said Cerberus, {106a} the demon of
+tobacco, "'tis I that supply the third of that country's maintenance, I
+shall go, and I will despatch you a hundred thousand of your foemen's
+souls through a pipe stem."  "In sooth," said Lucifer, "thou hast done me
+some good service, what with causing the slaughter of the owners in India
+and poisoning those that indulge in it, through the saliva, sending many
+to wander with it idly from house to house, others to steal in order to
+obtain it, and millions to grow that fond of it that they cannot spend a
+single day without it, and be in their right mind.  For all this, go and
+do thy best, but thou art nought to our present purpose."
+
+Whereupon Cerberus sat down; then rose Mammon, the devil of money, and
+with surly skulking mien began:  "'T was I who pointed out the first mine
+whence money was to be obtained, and ever since I am praised and
+worshipped more than God, and men lay their pain and peril, all their
+mind, their affection and their trust upon me, yea, there is no man
+content, but all crave more of my favor; the more they obtain, the
+further still are they from rest, until at last, while seeking ease, they
+come to this region of everlasting woes.  How many a crafty old miser
+have I enticed hither over paths that were harder to traverse than those
+that lead to the realm of bliss?  Whenever a fair was held, a market,
+assize or election, or any other concourse, who had more subjects than I
+or greater power and authority?  Cursing, swearing, fighting, litigation,
+falsehood and deceit, beating, clawing, murdering and robbing one
+another, Sabbath-breaking, perjury, cruelty, and what black mark besides,
+which stamps men as of Lucifer's fold, that I have not had a hand in
+placing?  For which reason have I been called 'the root of all evil.'
+Wherefore, an it please your majesty, I will go."
+
+He ceased.  Then Apolyon uprose and spoke:  "I know of nought more
+certain to lead them hither than what brought you here, {107a} and that
+is Pride; once it plants its straight stake in them and puffs them up,
+there is no need to fear that they will condescend to bear the cross or
+go through the narrow gate.  I will go with your daughter Pride, and
+before they can realise where they are, I will drive the Welsh hither
+headlong while admiring the pomp of the English, and the English while
+imitating the vivacity of the French."
+
+After him arose Asmodai, the devil of lust:  "'T is not unknown to you,
+mightiest King of the deep, nor to you, princes of the land of despair,
+how many of the gulfs of hell have I filled through voluptuousness and
+lewdness.  What of the time I kindled such a flame of lust over all the
+world that the deluge had needs be sent to clear the earth of men, and to
+sweep them all into our unquenchable fire?  What of Sodoma and Gomorrah,
+fine and fair cities, which I so consumed with licentiousness that a
+hell-shower blazed in their infernal lusts and beat them down here alive,
+to burn for ages on ages.  And what of the great hosts of the Assyrians,
+who were all slain in one night on my account?  I disappointed Sarah of
+seven husbands' {108a} and Solomon and many a thousand other kings did I
+bring to shame through women.  Wherefore let me and this sweet sin go,
+and I will kindle the hellish spark so generally that it will at length
+become one with this inextinguishable flame, for scarce one will ever
+return from following me to walk in the paths of life."  At that he sat
+down.
+
+Then Belphegor, chief of sloth and idleness, stood up and spake thus:  "I
+am the great prince of listlessness and sloth, who have great influence
+upon millions of all sorts and conditions of men; I am that stagnant pond
+where the spawn of every evil is bred, where the dregs of every
+corruption and baleful slime grows rank.  What good wouldst thou be,
+Asmodai, or ye, chief damned evils, were I not?  I, who keep the windows
+open and unguarded that ye may enter into the man when ye will, through
+his eyes, his ears and his mouth.  I will go and roll them all over the
+precipice unto you in their sleep."
+
+Then Satan, the devil of delusion, who was on Lucifer's left hand, arose,
+and turning his grim visage to the king, began:  "It is unnecessary for
+me to recount my deeds to thee, Oh lost Archangel, or to you, swarthy
+princes of Destruction:  for 'twas I who dealt the first blow to man, and
+mighty was that blow, to be the cause of death from the beginning of the
+world to its end.  Is it likely that I, who erst ravaged all the earth,
+could not now give advice that would serve one little isle?  Could not I,
+who deceived Eve in Paradise, overcome Anne in Britain?  If inborn craft
+and continuous experience for five thousand years profit aught, my advice
+is that you adorn your daughter Hypocrisy to deceive Britain and its
+queen:  you have no other as serviceable as she; her sway extends more
+widely than that of all the rest of your daughters, and her subjects are
+more numerous.  Was it not through her that I beguiled the first woman?
+And ever since she has remained on earth and waxed very great therein, so
+that by now the world is hardly anything but one mass of hypocrisy.  And
+were it not for the craftiness of Hypocrisy how could anyone of us do
+business in any part of the world?  For what man would ever have aught to
+do with sin, did he once behold it in its true color and under its own
+proper name?  He would sooner clasp a devil in his own infernal shape and
+garb.  If it were not that Hypocrisy can disguise the name and nature of
+every evil under the semblance of some good, and give a bad name to every
+goodness, no man at all would put forth his hand to do evil or would lust
+after it.  Walk through the entire city of Destruction and ye will
+perceive her greatness in every quarter.  Go to the street of Pride and
+ask for an arrogant man or for a penny-worth of affectation mixed through
+pride:  'Woe is me,' exclaims Hypocrisy, 'there is no such thing here,'
+no, nor for a devil, anything else in the whole street save proud
+demeanour.  Or walk into the street of Lucre and enquire for the miser's
+house:  pshaw, there is no one of the kind therein; or for the dwelling
+of the murderer among the doctors, or for the abode of highwaymen amongst
+the drovers; thou wouldst sooner be thrown to prison for asking than that
+one should confess to his own name.  Yea, Hypocrisy crawls in between a
+man and his own heart, and so skilfully does she hide every wrong under
+the name and guise of some virtue that she has caused well nigh all to
+lose cognisance of their own selves.  Greed she calls thrift; in her
+tongue riotous living is innocent joy; pride is courtesy; the froward, a
+clever, courageous man; the drunkard, a boon companion; and adultery is a
+mere freak of youth.  On the other hand, if she and her scholars' {110a}
+are to be believed, the godly is a hypocrite or a fool; the gentle, a
+coward; the abstemious, a churl, and so for every other quality.  Send
+her thither in all her adornment, and I warrant you she will deceive
+everyone; she will blinden the counsellors, the soldiers, and all the
+officers of church and state, and will draw them hither in hurrying
+multitudes with the varicolored mask upon their eyes."  Whereupon he too
+sat down.
+
+Then Beelzebub, the devil of thoughtlessness stood up, and in a harsh
+voice said:  "I am the great prince of heedlessness whose duty it is to
+prevent a man taking reflective heed of his state; I am chief of the
+incessant hell-flies who utterly amaze men, ever dinning in their ears
+concerning their possessions or their pleasures, and never willingly
+allowing them a moment's leisure to think of their ways or of their end.
+No one of you must dare enter the lists against me in feats serviceable
+to the realm of darkness.  For what is tobacco, but one of my meanest
+weapons to stupefy the brain?  What is Mammon's kingdom but a part of my
+great dominion?  Yea, were I to loosen the bonds I have upon the subjects
+of Mammon and Pride, and even of Asmodai, Belphegor and Hypocrisy, no man
+would for an instant abide their domination.  Wherefore I will do the
+work and let no one of you ever utter a word."
+
+Then great Lucifer himself arose from his burning seat, and having turned
+his hideous face to both sides, thus began:  "Ye chief spirits of the
+Eternal Night, princes of hopeless guile, although the vasty gloom and
+the wilds of Destruction are more bounden to none for their inhabitants
+than to mine own supreme majesty--for it was I who erewhile wishing to
+usurp the Almighty's throne, drew myriads of you, my swarthy angels, at
+my tail into these deadly horrors, and afterwards drew unto you myriads
+of men to share this region--yet there is no gainsay that ye all have
+done your share in maintaining and extending this great infernal empire."
+Then he began to answer them one by one:  "Considering thy recent origin,
+Cerberus, I will not deny but that thou hast gained for us much prey in
+the island of our foes through tobacco.  For they that carry, mix, and
+weigh it, practise all manner of fraud; and by its indulgence some are
+led on to habitual drinking, some to curse and swear, and some to seek it
+through blandishment, and to lie in denying their use of it--not to speak
+of the injury it inflicts upon many, and its immoderate use upon all,
+body as well as soul.  And better than that, myriads of the poor, whom
+else we never should touch, sink hither through laying the burden of
+their affection upon tobacco, and allowing it to be their master, to
+steal the bread from their children's mouth.  Then, brother Mammon, your
+power is so universal and so well-known on earth that it is a proverb,
+'Everything may be had for money.'  And without doubt," said he, turning
+to Apolyon, "my beloved daughter Pride is most serviceable to us, for
+what can there be more pernicious to a man's estate, to his body and
+soul, than that proud, obdurate opinion which will make him squander a
+hundred pounds rather than yield a crown to secure peace.  She keeps them
+all so stiff-necked and so intent on things on high that it is amusing to
+see them, while gazing upwards, and 'extolling their heads to the stars'
+fall straightway into the depths of hell.  You too, Asmodai, we all
+remember your great services in the past; there is none more resolute
+than you to keep safe his prisoners under lock and key, nor any so
+unimpeachable.  Nowadays a wanton freak provokes only a little laughter,
+but you came near perishing there from famine during the recent years of
+dearth.  And you, my son Belphegor, verminous prince of sloth, no one has
+afforded us more pleasure than you; your influence is exceeding great
+among noblemen and also among the common people, even to the beggar.  And
+were it not for the skill of my daughter Hypocrisy in coloring and
+adorning, who ever would swallow a single one of our hooks?  But after
+all, if it were not for the unwearying courage of my brother Beelzebub in
+keeping men in heedless dazedness, ye all would not be worth a straw.
+Let us once more recapitulate.  What good wouldst thou be, Cerberus, with
+thy foreign whiff, if Mammon did not succour thee?  What merchant would
+ever run such risks to obtain thy paltry leaves from India, except for
+Mammon's sake?  And only for him what king would receive them, especially
+into Britain, and who but for his sake would carry them to every part of
+the kingdom?  Yet how worthless thou too wouldst be, Mammon, if Pride did
+not lavish thee upon fair mansions, fine clothes, needless lawsuits,
+gardens and horses, extravagant relatives, numerous dishes, floods of
+beer and ale, beyond the power and station of their owner; for if money
+were spent within the limit of necessity and of becoming moderation, what
+would Mammon avail us?  Thus thou art nought without Pride; and little
+would Pride profit without Wantonness, for bastards are the most numerous
+and the most fierce of all the subjects of my daughter Pride.  And thou,
+Asmodai, what wouldst thou profit us were it not for Sloth and Idleness?
+Where wouldst thou obtain a night's lodging?  Thou wouldst not dare
+expect it from a laborer or diligent student.  And who, for the dishonor
+and the shame, would ever give thee, Belphegor the Slothful, a moment's
+welcome, if Hypocrisy did not disguise thy foulness under the name of an
+internal disease, or as a good intent or a seeming despisal of wealth or
+the like.  She too--my dear daughter Hypocrisy--what good is or ever
+would she be, notwithstanding her skill as a seamstress, and her
+boldness, without thy aid, my eldest brother, Beelzebub, great chief of
+Distraction:  if he gave people peace and leisure to reflect seriously
+upon the nature of things and their differences, how long would it take
+them to find holes in the folds of Hypocrisy's golden garments, and to
+see the hooks through the bait?  What man in his senses would gather
+together toys and fleeting pleasures, surfeiting, vain and disgraceful,
+and choose them in preference to a calm conscience and the bliss of a
+glorious eternity?  Who would refuse to suffer the pangs of martyrdom for
+his faith for an hour or a day, or affliction for forty or sixty years,
+if he considered that his neighbours suffer here in an hour more than he
+could suffer on earth for ever.  Tobacco is nothing without Money, or
+Money without Pride, and Pride is but a weakling without Wantonness, nor
+is Wantonness aught without Sloth, nor Sloth without Hypocrisy, nor
+Hypocrisy without Thoughtlessness.  Wherefore, now," said Lucifer,
+lifting his infernal hoofs on their claw-ends, "to give my own opinion:
+however excellent all these may be, I have a friend better suited than
+all to our foe of Britain."  Then could I see all the archfiends open
+wide their horrid mouths upon Lucifer in eager expectation as to what
+this could possibly be, while I too was as anxious as they.  "A friend,"
+continued Lucifer, "whose true worth I have too long neglected, just as
+thou, Satan, tempting Job of yore, didst foolishly turn upon him with
+severity.  This, my kinswoman, I now appoint regent in all matters
+appertaining to my kingdom on earth, next to myself.  Her name is
+Prosperity:  she has damned more than all of you together, and little
+would ye avail without her presence.  For who in war or peril, in famine
+or in plague, would lay any value by tobacco, or by money or by the
+sprightliness of pride, or who would deign welcome licentiousness or
+sloth?  And men in such straits are too wide-awake to be distraught by
+Hypocrisy, or even by Thoughtlessness; none of the infernal vermin of
+Distraction dare show himself in one such storm.  Whereas Prosperity,
+with its ease and comfort, is the nurse of all of you; beneath her
+peaceful shadow and upon her tranquil bosom ye all are nourished, and
+every other hellish worm that has its place in the conscience and will be
+for ever here gnawing its possessor.  As long as one is at ease, there is
+no talk but of merriment, of feasts, bargains, genealogies, tales, news
+and the like; the name of God is never mentioned except in profane oaths
+and curses, whereas the poor and the afflicted have His name upon their
+lips and in their hearts always.  Go ye, the seven of you, and follow her
+and be mindful to keep all a-slumbering and in peace, in good fortune, in
+ease and in perfect carelessness; then shall ye see the honest poor
+become an untractable, arrogant knave, once he has quaffed of the
+alluring cup of Prosperity; ye shall behold the diligent laborer become a
+careless babbler and everything else that pleases you.  For all seek and
+love happy Prosperity; she neither hearkens to advice nor fears censure;
+the good she knows not, the bad she nurtures.  But this is the greatest
+mishap:  the man that escapes her sweet charms must be given up in
+despair, we must bid farewell to his company for ever.  Prosperity then
+is my earthly vicegerent; follow her to Britain, and obey her as ye would
+our own royal majesty."
+
+At that instant the huge bolt was whirled, and Lucifer and his chief
+counsellors were swept away into the vortex of Uttermost Perdition; woe's
+me, how terrible it was to behold the jaws of Hell yawning wide to
+receive them!  "Come now," said the Angel, "we will return, but what thou
+hast seen is as nothing compared with all that is within the bounds of
+Hell; and if thou didst see everything therein that again would be as
+nought when compared with the unutterable woe of the Bottomless Pit; for
+it is impossible to have any conception of the life in the Uttermost
+Hell."  Then suddenly the heavenly Eagle caught me up into the vault of
+the accursed gloom by a way I knew not, where, from the court, across the
+entire firmament of dark-burning Perdition, and all the land of oblivion
+up to the ramparts of the City of Destruction, I obtained full view of
+the hideous monster of a giantess whose feet I had previously observed.
+"Words fail me to describe her ways and means; but of herself I can tell
+thee, that she was a three-faced ogress:  one villainous face turned
+towards Heaven, yelping and snarling and belching forth cursed
+abomination against the heavenly King; another face (and this was fair to
+look upon) towards earth, to allure men beneath her baneful shadow; and
+the other direful face towards the infernal abyss, to torture all therein
+for ages without end.  She is greater than the earth in its entirety, and
+still continuously increases; she is a hundredfold more hideous than all
+Hell which she herself created and which she peoples.  If Hell were rid
+of her, the vasty deep would be a Paradise; if she were driven from the
+earth, the little world would become a heaven; and if she ascended into
+Heaven, she would make an uttermost hell of that blissful realm.  There
+is nought in all the worlds which God has not created, save her alone.
+She is the mother of the four deadly enchantresses; she is the mother of
+Death and of all evil and misery, and her terrible grasp is upon every
+living being.  Her name is Sin.  Blessed, ever blessed be he who escapes
+from her clutches," said the Angel.  Thereupon he departed, and I could
+hear the distant echo of his voice saying; "Write down what thou hast
+seen; and whosoever readeth it thoughtfully will never repent."
+
+
+WITH HEAVY HEART.
+
+
+   With heavy heart I sought th' infernal coast
+   And saw the vale of everlasting woes,
+   The awful home of fiends and of the lost
+   Where torments rage and never grant repose -
+   A lake of fire whence horrid flames arose
+   And whither tended every wayward path
+   Its prey to lead 'midst cruel dragon-foes;
+   Yet, though I wandered through withouten scath,
+A world I'd spurn, to view again that scene of wrath.
+
+   With heavy heart oft I recall to mind
+   How many a loving friend unwarned fell
+   To bottomless perdition, there to find
+   A dread abode where he for aye must dwell;
+   Who erst were men are now like hounds of Hell
+   And with unceasing energy entice
+   To dire combustion all with wily spell,
+   And to themselves have ta'en the devils' guise,
+Their power and skill all ill to do in every wise.
+
+   With heavy heart I roamed the dismal land
+   That is ordained the sinner's end to be;
+   What mighty waves surge wild on every hand!
+   What gloomy shadows haunt its canopy!
+   What horrors fall on high and mean degree!
+   How hideous is the mien of its fell lords,
+   What shrieks rise from that boundless glowing sea,
+   How fierce the curses of the damned hordes,
+No mortal ken can e'er conceive or paint in words.
+
+   With heavy heart we mourn true friends or kin
+   And grieve the loss of home, of liberty,
+   Of that good name which all aspire to win
+   Or health and ease and sweet tranquility;
+   When dim, dark clouds enshroud our memory
+   And pass 'tween us and heaven's gracious smiles,
+   'Tis sadder far to wake to misery
+   And feel that Pleasure now no more beguiles,
+That sin has left nought but the wounds of its base wiles.
+
+   With heavy heart the valiantest of men
+   Lays low his head beneath th' impending doom;
+   In terror he descends death's awsome glen;
+   While there appear flashing through the gloom
+   The lurid shades of deeds which in the bloom
+   Of youth he dared; at last the conscience cries
+   With ruthless voice:  "There's life beyond the tomb;"
+   His dying thoughts all vanities despise
+As on the threshold of Eternity he lies.
+
+   The heavy heart that suffers all such grief
+   May, while the breath of life doth still remain,
+   Hope for a joyous peace and blest relief;
+   But if grim Death his fated victim gain,
+   Woe's him that entereth the realm of pain -
+   For e'er on him its frowning portals close,
+   Nor gleam of hope shall he perceive again,
+   For in that vast eternal night he knows
+A woe awaits that far surpasseth earthly woes.
+
+   The heavy heart beneath its weight is crushed,
+   And at its very name--Damnation writ,
+   All men their vain and froward clamors hushed;
+   But when within the fiery gaping pit
+   Whose flaming ramparts none will ever quit,
+   Above the thunder's roar th' accursed host
+   Raise such loud cries, it passeth human wit
+   To dream of aught so dire, for at the most,
+All woes of earth as pleasures seem unto the lost.
+
+   From every vain complaining, cease, my friend,
+   Since thou art yet not numbered with the dead
+   But turn thy thoughts unto thy destined end,
+   Behold thy Fates spin out the vital thread,
+   And often as thy mind to Hell be led,
+   To contemplate the doleful gloom aglow,
+   There will forthwith possess thee such a dread,
+   Which Christ's unbounded mercy doth bestow,
+Lest thou be doomed to that eternal realm of woe.
+
+
+
+Footnotes:
+
+
+
+{0}  The genealogical tables in the book are in graphic form.  They are
+reproduced here in a more textual format--DP.
+
+ELLIS WYNNE'S PEDIGREE
+
+(I am indebted to E. H. Owen, Esqr., F.S.A., Tycoch, Carnarvon, for most
+of the information comprised in the following Tables.)
+
+William Wynne {00a} = Catherine {00b}
+                    |
+             Ellis Wynne {00c} = Lowri {00d}
+                               |
+                         Edward Wynne = . . . heiress of Glasynys
+                                      |
+         +----------------------------+------------------+
+      ELLIS WYNNE = Lowri Llwyd {00e}                  Daughter
+                  |
+                  |
++-----------------------+-----+---------+-------+
+|                       |     |         |       |
+William {00f} = {00v}   |     |         |       |
+              |      Ellis Catherine Edward   Mary = Robert Owen
+              |      {00g}  {00h}    {00i}             {00j}
+              |                         |
+           Daughter=Robert Puw          |
+                   |                +---+--------------+
+          John Wynne Puw {00x}      |                  |
+              |                     |                  |
++----+--------+                    Ellis {00k}     Frances
+|    |                              |
+|  John     +----------+-----+------+-----------+-------------+
+|           |          |     |      |           |             |
+Robert      Elizabeth  Ann  Edward  John {00l}  Francis     Ellis
+
+
+
+THE RELATION BETWEEN ELLIS WYNNE & BISHOP HUMPHREYS.
+
+
+Meredydd ap Evan ap Robert {00m} = Margaret  {00n}
+                                 |
+                       Humphrey Wynne ap     = Catherine {00o}
+                       Meredydd of Gesail-   |
+                       gyfarch.              |
+                                             |
+                                             |
+ +-----------------------------------------------+
+ |                                               |
+John Wynne  = Catherine {00p}           Evan Llwyd {00q}=Catherine {00w}
+ap Humphrey |                                           |
+of Gesail-  |                                           |
+gyfarch     |                                          John
+       Robert Wynne {00r}=Mary{00s}                     |
+                         |                 +------------------+
+                         |               Evan           Griffith
+  +-------------------------+                                 |
+  |                         |                     +-----------+
+John Wynne = Jane {00t} Margaret=Richard{00u}     |           |
+           |                    |              William      LOWRI=ELLIS
+       Robert {00y}             |              Ob. s. p.          WYNNE
+                                |
+    +---------------------------+-------+------------------+
+    |                                   |                  |
+HUMPHREY {00z} = Elizabeth {000a}     John             Catherine
+               |                      Died at Oxford.
+               |
+    +----------+---------------------+
+    |                                |
+   Ann                            Margaret = John Llwyd {000b}
+Ob. s. p. 1698                    Died 1759
+
+{00a}  William Wynne of Glyn [Cywarch].  Sheriff of Merioneth 1618 &
+1637.  D. 1658.  12th in direct male descent from Osborn Wyddel.
+
+{00b}  Catherine, daughter of William Lewis Anwyl of Park.  Died 1638.
+
+{00c}  Ellis Wynne, 3rd son who probably lived at Maes-y-garnedd,
+Llanbedr.
+
+{00d}  Lowri, only daughter and heiress of Ed. Jones of Maes-y-garnedd,
+eldest borther of Col. Jones, Cromwell's brother-in-law who was executed
+in 1660 as a regicide.
+
+{00e}  Lowri Llwyd of Hafod-lwyfog Beddgelert.
+
+{00f}  Rector of Llanaber.
+
+{00g}  Ellis Died 1732.
+
+{00h}  Catherine Died young.
+
+{00i}  Edward Rector of Penmorfa.
+
+{00j}  Robert Owen of Tygwyn Dolgellau.
+
+{00k}  Rector of Llanferres.
+
+{00l}  Rector of Llandrillo.
+
+{00m}  11th in male descent from Owen Gwynedd.  Died 1525.
+
+{00n}  Daughter of Morris ap John ap Meredydd of Clunnenau.
+
+{00o}  Daughter and heiress of Evan ap Griffith of Cwmbowydd.
+
+{00p}  Daughter of William Wynne ap William of Cochwillan.
+
+{00q}  Of Hafod-lwyfog.
+
+{00r}  Died 1637.
+
+{00s}  Daughter of Ellis ap Cadwaladr of Ystumllyn.
+
+{00t}  Daughter of Evan Llwyd of Dylase.
+
+{00u}  Richard Humphreys of Hendref Gwenllian, Penrhyndeudraeth.
+Desceneded in male line from Marchweithian.  An Officer in the Royal Army
+through Civil War.  Died 1699.
+
+{00v}  . . . Lloyd of Trallwyn.
+
+{00w}  Catherine, Daughter of Griffith Wynne of Penyberth.
+
+{00x}  Robert Puw of Garth Maelan.
+
+{00y}  Robert Wynne of Gesail-gyfarch, Barr.-at-law.  Ob. s. p. 1685.
+
+{00z}  Humphrey.  Born 1648.  Dean of Bangor, 1680, Bishop 1689.  Bishop
+of Hereford, 1701.  Died 1712.
+
+{000a}  Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Morgan Bishop of Bangor 1678, son of
+Rd. Morgan, M.P. for Montgomery Boroughs.
+
+{000b}  John Llwyd of Penylan, Barr.-at-law, son of Dr. W. Lloyd, Bishop
+of Norwich, deprived in 1691 as one of the Nonjurors.
+
+{0a}  "A Catalogue of Graduates in the University of Oxford between 1659
+and 1850" contains the following entry: --"Wynne (Ellis) Jes. BA., Oct.
+14, 1718, MA., June 13, 1722."  But one can hardly suppose this to have
+been the Bardd Cwsr, as in 1718 he would be 47 years of age.
+
+{0b}  The following entries are taken from the register at Llanfair-
+juxta-Harlech: --"Elizaeus Wynne Generosus de Lasynys et Lowria Lloyd de
+Havod-lwyfog in agro Arvonensi in matrimonio conjuncti fuere decimo
+quarto die Feb. 1702."
+
+{0c}  "Elizaeus Wynne junr. de Lasynys sepultus est decimo die Octobris
+A.D. 1732."
+
+{0d}  "Owenus Edwards cler. nuper Rector hums ecclesiae sepultus est
+tricesimo die Maii A.D. 1711."  (From the Llanfair parish register.)
+
+{0e}  "Lowria Uxor Elizaei Wynne cler. de Lasynys vigesimo quarto die
+Augti. sepulta est Ano. Dom. 1720."
+
+"Elizaeus Wynne Cler. nuper Rector dignissimus huius ecclesiae sepultus
+est 17mo. die Julii 1734."  (From the parish register at Llanfair.)
+
+{0f}  "The Visions of the Sleeping Bard.  First Part.  Printed in London
+by E. Powell for the Author, 1703,"
+
+{1a}  The opening lines.--Ellis Wynne opens his vision as so many early
+English poets are wont, with a description of the season when, and the
+circumstances under which he fell asleep.  Compare especially Langland's
+Visions, prologus:
+
+In a somer seson whan soft was the sonne
+I went wyde in this world wondres to here,
+Ac on a May mornynge on Malvern hulles
+Me befel a ferly of fairy me thoughte,
+I was wery forwandred and went me to reste
+Under a brode bank bi a bornes side
+And as I lay and leued and loked in the wateres
+I slombred in a slepyng it sweyved so merye.
+
+{1b}  One of the mountains.--The scene these opening lines describe was
+one with which the Bard was perfectly familiar.  He had often climbed the
+slopes of the Vale of Ardudwy to view the glorious panorama around him
+from Bardsey Isle to Strumble Head, the whole length of rock-bound coast
+lay before him, while behind was the Snowdonian range, from Snowdon
+itself to Cader Idris; and often, no doubt, he had watched the sun
+sinking "far away over the Irish Sea, and reaching his western ramparts"
+beyond the Wicklow Hills.
+
+{1c}  Master Sleep.--Cp.:
+
+Such sleepy dulness in that instant weigh'd
+My senses down.
+
+--Dante:  Inf. C.I. (Cary's trans.)
+
+Now leaden slumber with life's strength doth fight.
+
+--Shakespere:  Lucrece, 124.
+
+{4a}  Such a fantastic rout.--Literally "such a battle of Camlan."  This
+was the battle fought between Arthur and his nephew Medrod about the year
+540 on the banks of the Camel between Cornwall and Somerset, where Arthur
+received the wounds of which he died.  The combatants being relatives and
+former friends, it was characterised with unwonted ferocity, and has
+consequently come to be used proverbially for any fray or scene of more
+than usual tumult and confusion.
+
+So all day long the noise of battle roll'd
+Among the mountains by the winter sea,
+Until King Arthur's table, man by man,
+Had fallen in Lyonness about their Lord.
+
+--Tennyson:  Morte d'Arthur.
+
+{4b}  To lampoon my king.--The Bard commenced this Vision in the reign of
+William III. (v. also p. 17, "to drink the King's health") and completed
+it in that of Queen Anne, who is mentioned towards the end of the Vision.
+
+{7a}  The Turk and old Lewis of France.--The Sultan Mustapha and Lewis
+XIV. are thus referred to.
+
+{14a}  Clippers.--The context seems to demand this meaning, that is,
+"those who debase coin of the realm," rather than "beggars" from the
+Welsh "clipan."
+
+{20a}  Backgammon and dice.--These games, together with chess, were
+greatly in vogue in mediaeval Wales, and are frequently alluded to in the
+Mabinogion and other early works.  The four minor games or feats
+(gogampau) among the Welsh were playing the harp, chess, backgammon, and
+dice.  The word "ffristial a disiau" are here rendered by the one word
+"dice"--ffristial meaning either the dice-box, or the game itself, and
+disiau, the dice.
+
+{21a}  This wailing is for pay.--Cp.
+
+Ut qui conducti plorant in funere dicunt
+et faciunt prope plora dolentibus ex animo.
+
+--Horace:  Ars Poetica, 430-1.
+
+{23a}  The butt of everybody.--Whenever a number of bards, in the course
+of their peregrinations from one patron's hall to another, met of a
+night, their invariable custom was to appoint one of the company to be
+the butt of their wit, and he was expected to give ready answer in verse
+and parry the attacks of his brethren.  It is said of Dafydd ap Gwilym
+that he satirized one unfortunate butt of a bard so fiercely that he fell
+dead at his feet.
+
+{24a}  Congregation of mutes.--At the time Ellis Wynne wrote, the Quakers
+were very numerous in Merioneth and Montgomery and especially in his own
+immediate neighbourhood, where they probably had a burying-ground and
+conventicle.  They naturally became the objects of cruel persecution at
+the hands of the dominant church as well as of the state; their meetings
+were broken up, their members imprisoned and maltreated, until at last
+they were forced to leave their fatherland and seek freedom of worship
+across the Atlantic
+
+{25a}  Speak no ill.--A Welsh proverb; v. Myv. Arch.  III. 182.
+
+{26a}  We came to a barn.--The beginning of Nonconformity in Wales.  In
+the Author's time there were already many adherents to the various
+dissenting bodies in North Wales.  Walter Cradoc, Morgan Llwyd and others
+had been preaching the Gospel many years previously throughout the length
+and breadth of Gwynedd; and it was their followers that now fell under
+the Bard's lash.
+
+{28a}  Corruption of the best.--A Welsh adage; v. Myv. Arch. III. 185.
+
+{28b}  Some mocking.--Compare Bunyan's Christian starting from the City
+of Destruction:  "So he looked not behind him, but fled towards the
+middle of the plain.  The neighbours came out to see him run, and as he
+ran, some mocked, others threatened and some cried after him to return."
+
+{29a}  Who is content.--Cp.
+
+Qui fit, Maecenas, ut nemo, quam sibi sortem
+Seu ratio dederit seu fors obiecerit, illa
+Contentus vivat, laudet diversa sequentes?
+
+--Horace:  Sat. I. i.
+
+{34a}  Increases his own penalty.--Cp.
+
+        --the will
+And high permission of all-ruling heaven
+Left him at large to his own dark designs,
+That with reiterated crimes he might
+Heap on himself damnation, while he sought
+Evil to others.
+
+- Par. Lost:  I. 211-6.
+
+{36a}  Royal blood--referring to the execution of Charles I.
+
+{37a}  The Pope and his other son.--The concluding lines of this Vision
+were evidently written amidst the rejoicings of the nation at the
+victories of Marlborough over the French and of Charles XII. over the
+Muscovites
+
+{43a}  Glyn Cywarch.--The ancestral home of the Author's father, situate
+in a lonely glen about three miles from Harlech.
+
+{43b}  Our brother Death.--This idea of the kinship of Death and Sleep is
+common to all poets, ancient and modern; cp. the "Consanguineus Leti
+Sopor" of Vergil (AEneid:  VI. 278); and also:
+
+      Oh thou God of Quiet!
+Look like thy brother, Death, so still,--so stirless -
+For then we are happiest, as it may be, we
+Are happiest of all within the realm
+Of thy stern, silent, and unawakening twin.
+
+- Byron:  Sardanapulus, IV.
+
+{44a}  An extensive domain.--Compare what follows with Vergil's
+description (Dryden's trans.):
+
+Just in the gate and in the jaws of Hell,
+Revengeful cares and sullen sorrows dwell,
+And pale diseases and repining age -
+Want, fear, and famine's unresisted rage;
+Here toils and death, and death's half-brother, Sleep,
+Forms terrible to view, their sentry keep.
+
+--AEneid:  VI. 273-8
+
+{48a}  Merlin.--A bard or seer who is supposed to have flourished about
+the middle of the fifth century, when Arthur was king.  He figures
+largely in early tales and traditions, and many of his prophecies are to
+be found in later Cymric poetry, to one of which Tennyson refers in his
+Morte d'Arthur:
+
+      I think that we
+Shall never more, at any future time,
+Delight our souls with talks of knightly deeds
+Walking about the gardens and the halls
+Of Camelot, as in the days that were.
+I perish by this people which I made -
+Though Merlin sware that I should come again
+To rule once more--but let what will be, be.
+
+{48b}  Brutus, the son of Silvius.--According to the Chronicles of the
+Welsh Kings, Brwth (Brutus) was the son of Selys (Silvius), the son of
+Einion or AEneas who, tradition tells, was the first king of Prydain.  In
+these ancient chronicles we find many tales recorded of Brutus and his
+renowned ancestors down to the fall of Troy and even earlier.
+
+{48c}  A huge, seething cauldron.--This was the mystical cauldron of
+Ceridwen which Taliesin considered to be the source of poetic
+inspiration.  Three drops, he avers, of the seething decoction enabled
+him to forsee all the secrets of the future.
+
+{48d}  Upon the face of earth.--These lines occur in a poem of Taliesin
+where he gives an account of himself as existing in various places, and
+contemporary with various events in the early eras of the world's
+history--an echo of the teachings of Pythagoras:
+
+Morte carent animae; semperque priore relicta
+Sede, novis habitant domibus vivuntque receptae.
+
+--Ovid:  Metam.  XV. 158-9.
+
+{48e}  Taliesin.--Taliesin is one of the earliest Welsh bards whose works
+are still extant.  He lived sometime in the sixth century, and was bard
+of the courts of Urien and King Arthur.
+
+{49a}  Maelgwn Gwynedd.--He became lord over the whole of Wales about the
+year 550 and regained much territory that had once been lost to the
+Saxons.  Indeed Geoffrey of Monmouth asserts that at one time Ireland,
+Scotland, the Orkneys, Norway and Denmark acknowledged his supremacy.
+Whatever truth there be in this assertion, it is quite certain that he
+built a powerful navy whereby his name became a terror to the Vikings of
+the North.  In his reign, however, the country was ravaged by a more
+direful enemy--the Yellow Plague; "whoever witnessed it, became doomed to
+certain death.  Maelgwn himself, through Taliesin's curse, saw the Vad
+Velen through the keyhole in Rhos church and died in consequence."  (Iolo
+MSS.)
+
+{49b}  Arthur's quoit.--The name given to several cromlechau in Wales;
+there is one so named, near the Bard's home, in the parish of Llanddwywe,
+"having the print of a large hand, dexterously carved by man or nature,
+on the side of it, as if sunk in from the weight of holding it."  (v.
+Camb. Register, 1795.)
+
+{54a}  In the Pope's favor.--Clement XI. became Pope in 1700, his
+predecessor being Innocent XII.
+
+{55a}  Their hands to the bar.--Referring to the custom (now practically
+obsolete) whereby a prisoner on his arraignment was required to lift up
+his hands to the bar for the purpose of identification.  Ellis Wynne was
+evidently quite conversant with the practice of the courts, though there
+is no proof of his ever having intended to enter the legal profession or
+taken a degree in law as one author asserts.  (v. Llyfryddiaeth y Cymry,
+sub. tit. Ellis Wynne.)
+
+{67a}  "The Practice of Piety."--Its author was Dr. Bayley, Bishop of
+Bangor; a Welsh translation by Rowland Vaughan, of Caergai, appeared in
+1630, "printed at the signe of the Bear, in Saint Paul's Churchyard,
+London."
+
+{69a}  At one time cold.--Cp.:
+
+      I come
+To take you to the other shore across,
+Into eternal darkness, there to dwell
+In fierce heat and in ice.
+
+- Dante:  Inf. c. III. (Cary's trans.).
+
+{71a}  Above the roar.--Cp.:
+
+   The stormy blast of Hell
+With restless fury drives the spirits on:
+When they arrive before the ruinous sweep
+There shrieks are heard, there lamentations, moans,
+And blasphemies.
+
+- Dante:  Inf. c. V. (Cary's trans.).
+
+{73a}  Amidst eternal ice.--Cp.:
+
+Thither . . . all the damned are brought
+. . . and feel by turns the bitter change
+Of fierce extremes, extremes by change more fierce!
+From beds of raging fire to starve in ice
+Their soft ethereal warmth, and there to pine
+Immoveable, infix'd and frozen round
+Periods of time; thence hurried back to fire.
+
+- Par. Lost, II. 597-603.
+
+{85a}  Better to reign.--This speech of Lucifer is very Miltonic; compare
+especially -
+
+     --in my choice
+To reign is worth ambition, though in hell;
+Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.
+
+- Par. Lost, I. 261-3.
+
+{85b}  Revenge is sweet.--Cp.:
+
+   Revenge, at first though sweet
+Bitter ere long, back on itself recoils.
+
+- Par. Lost, IX. 171-2.
+
+{87a}  This enterprize.--Cp.:
+
+     --this enterprize
+None shall partake with me.
+
+- Par. Lost, II. 465.
+
+{95a}  Barristers.--The word cyfarthwyr, here rendered "barristers,"
+really means "those who bark," which is probably only a pun of the Bard's
+on cyfarchwyr--"those who address (the court)."
+
+{95b}  Sir Edmundbury Godfrey.--A London magistrate who took prominent
+part against the Catholics in the reign of Charles II.  At the time the
+panic which the villainy of Titus Oates had fomented was at its height,
+Sir Edmundbury was found dead on Primrose Hill, with his sword through
+his body; his tragic end was attributed to the Papists, and many innocent
+persons suffered torture and death for their supposed complicity in his
+murder.
+
+{102a}  Einion the son of Gwalchmai.--This is a reference to a fable
+entitled "Einion and the Lady of the Greenwood," where the bard is led
+astray by "a graceful, slender lady of elegant growth and delicate
+feature, her complexion surpassing every red and every white in early
+dawn, the snow-flake on the mountain-side, and every beauteous colour in
+the blossoms of wood, meadow, and hill."  (v.  Iolo MSS.)  Einion was an
+Anglesey bard, flourishing in the twelfth century.
+
+{104a}  Walking round the church.--Referring to a superstitious custom in
+vogue in some parts of Wales as late as the beginning of the present
+century.  On All Souls' Night the women-folk gathered together at the
+parish church, each with a candle in her hand; the sexton then came round
+and lit the candies, and as these burnt brightly or fitfully, so would
+the coming year prove prosperous or adverse.  When the last candle died
+out, they solemnly march round the church twice or thrice, then home in
+silence, and in their dreams that night, their fated husbands would
+appear to them.
+
+{106a}  Cerberus, et seq.--Compare the seven deadly sins in Langland's
+Vision of Piers Plowman, Pride, Luxury (lecherie), Envy, Wrath,
+Covetousness, Gluttony, and Sloth.  See also Chaucer's Persones Tale,
+passim.  A description of these seven sins occurs very frequently in old
+authors.
+
+{107a}  What brought you here.--Pride is the greatest of all the deadly
+sins.  Compare Spenser's Faery Queen I. c. IV, where "proud Lucifera, as
+men did call her," was attended by "her six sage counsellors"--the other
+sins.  Shakespere names this sin Ambition:
+
+Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition,
+For by this sin fell the angels.
+
+{108a}  Sarah.--v. Apocrypha, the book of Tobit, c. VI.
+
+{110a}  If she and her scholars--Cp.:
+
+At nos virtutes ipsas invertimus atque
+sincerum cupimus vas incrustare.  probus quis
+nobiscum vivit multum demissus homo:  illi
+tardo cognomen pingui damus.  his fugit omnes
+insidias nullique malo latus obdit apertum pro bene sano
+at non incauto fictum astutumque vocamus.
+
+- Horace:  Sat. I. iii.
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, VISIONS OF THE SLEEPING BARD ***
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+<title>The Visions of the Sleeping Bard</title>
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+<a href="#startoftext">The Visions of the Sleeping Bard, by Ellis Wynne</a>
+</h2>
+<pre>
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Visions of the Sleeping Bard, by Ellis Wynne
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+Title: The Visions of the Sleeping Bard
+
+Author: Ellis Wynne
+
+Release Date: May, 2004  [EBook #5671]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on August 6, 2002]
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+Edition: 10
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+Language: English
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+Character set encoding: ASCII
+</pre>
+<p>
+<a name="startoftext"></a>
+Transcribed from the 1897 Welsh National Press Company edition by David
+Price, email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+THE VISIONS OF THE SLEEPING BARD<br>
+BEING<br>
+ELLIS WYNNE&rsquo;S<br>
+&ldquo;<i>Gweledigaetheu y Bardd Cwsc</i>&rdquo;<br>
+Translated by Robert Gwyneddon Davies<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+Contents:<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Preface<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Introduction<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Author&rsquo;s Life<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Text<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A Brief Summary<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Vision of The
+World<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Vision of
+Death<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Vision Of
+Hell<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Visions of the Sleeping Bard<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+PREFACE<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+At the National Eisteddfod of 1893, a prize was offered by Mr. Lascelles
+Carr, of the <i>Western Mail</i>, for the best translation of Ellis
+Wynne&rsquo;s <i>Vision of Hell</i>.&nbsp; The Adjudicators (Dean Howell
+and the Rev. G. Hartwell Jones, M.A.), awarded the prize for the translation
+which is comprised in the present volume.&nbsp; The remaining Visions
+were subsequently rendered into English, and the complete work is now
+published in the hope that it may prove useful to those readers, who,
+being unacquainted with the Welsh language, yet desire to obtain some
+knowledge of its literature.<br>
+<br>
+My best thanks are due to the Rev. J. W. Wynne Jones, M.A., Vicar of
+Carnarvon, for much help and valuable criticism; to the Rev. R Jones,
+MA., Rector of Llanfair-juxta-Harlech, through whose courtesy I am enabled
+to produce (from a photograph by Owen, Barmouth) a page of the register
+of that parish, containing entries in Ellis Wynne&rsquo;s handwriting;
+and to Mr. Isaac Foulkes, Liverpool, for the frontispiece, which appeared
+in his last edition of the <i>Bardd Cwsc</i>.<br>
+<br>
+R. GWYNEDDON DAVIES.<br>
+<i>Caernarvon,<br>
+1st July, 1897.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+</i>INTRODUCTION.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+I. - THE AUTHOR&rsquo;S LIFE.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+Ellis Wynne was born in 1671 at Glasynys, near Harlech; his father,
+Edward Wynne, came of the family of Glyn Cywarch (mentioned in the second
+Vision), his mother, whose name is not known, was heiress of Glasynys.&nbsp;
+It will be seen from the accompanying table that he was descended from
+some of the best families in his native county, and through <i>Osborn
+Wyddel</i>, from the Desmonds of Ireland.&nbsp; His birth-place, which
+still stands, and is shown in the frontispiece hereto, is situate about
+a mile and a half from the town of Harlech, in the beautiful Vale of
+Ardudwy.&nbsp; The natural scenery amidst which he was brought up, cannot
+have failed to leave a deep impression upon his mind; and in the Visions
+we come across unmistakeable descriptions of scenes and places around
+his home.&nbsp; Mountain and sea furnished him with many a graphic picture;
+the precipitous heights and dark ravines of Hell, its caverns and its
+cliffs, are all evidently drawn from nature.&nbsp; The neighbourhood
+is also rich in romantic lore and historic associations; Harlech Castle,
+some twenty-five years before his birth, had been the scene of many
+a fray between Roundheads and Cavaliers, and of the last stand made
+by the Welsh for King Charles.&nbsp; These events were fresh in the
+memory of his elders, whom he had, no doubt, often heard speaking of
+those stirring times; members of his own family had, perhaps, fought
+in the ranks of the rival parties; his father&rsquo;s grand-uncle, Col.
+John Jones, was one of those who erstwhile drank of royal blood.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+It is not known where he received his early education, and it has been
+generally stated by his biographers that he was not known to have entered
+either of the Universities; but, as the following notice proves, he
+at least matriculated at Oxford:-<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+WYNNE, ELLIS, s. Edw. of Lasypeys, co. Merioneth, pleb. Jesus Coll.
+matric. 1st March 1691-2, aged 21; rector of Llandanwg, 1705, &amp;
+of Llanfair-juxta-Harlech (both) co. Merioneth, 1711.&nbsp; (<i>Vide</i>
+Foster&rsquo;s <i>Index Eccles</i>.)<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+Probably his stay at the University was brief, and that he left without
+taking his degree, for I have been unable to find anything further recorded
+of his academic career. <a name="citation0a"></a><a href="#footnote0a">{0a}</a>&nbsp;
+The Rev. Edmund Prys, Vicar of Clynnog-Fawr, in a prefatory <i>englyn</i>
+to Ellis Wynne&rsquo;s translation of the &ldquo;<i>Holy Living</i>&rdquo;
+says that &ldquo;in order to enrich his own, he had ventured upon the
+study of three other tongues.&rdquo;&nbsp; This fact, together with
+much that appears in the Visions, justifies the conclusion that his
+scholarly attainments were of no mean order.&nbsp; But how and where
+he spent the first thirty years of his life, with the possible exception
+of a period at Oxford, is quite unknown, the most probable surmise being
+that they were spent in the enjoyment of a simple rural life, and in
+the pursuit of his studies, of whatever nature they may have been.<br>
+<br>
+According to Rowlands&rsquo;s <i>Cambrian Bibliography</i> his first
+venture into the fields of literature was a small volume entitled, <i>Help
+i ddarllen yr Yscrythur Gyssegr-L&acirc;n</i> (&ldquo;Aids to reading
+Holy Writ&rdquo;), being a translation of the <i>Whole Duty of Man</i>
+&ldquo;by E. W., a clergyman of the Church of England,&rdquo; published
+at Shrewsbury in 1700.&nbsp; But as Ellis Wynne was not ordained until
+1704, this work must be ascribed to some other author who, both as to
+name and calling, answered to the description on the title-page quoted
+above.&nbsp; But in 1701 an accredited work of his appeared, namely,
+a translation into Welsh of Jeremy Taylor&rsquo;s <i>Rules and Exercises
+of Holy Living</i>, a 12mo. volume published in London.&nbsp; It was
+dedicated to the Rev. Humphrey Humphreys, D.D., Bishop of Bangor, who
+was a native of the same district of Merionethshire as Ellis Wynne,
+and, as is shown in the genealogical table hereto <a name="citation0"></a><a href="#footnote0">{0}</a>,
+was connected by marriage with his family.<br>
+<br>
+In 1702 <a name="citation0b"></a><a href="#footnote0b">{0b}</a> he was
+married to Lowri Llwyd - <i>anglic&egrave;</i>, Laura Lloyd - of Hafod-lwyfog,
+Beddgelert, and had issue by her, two daughters and three sons; one
+of the daughters, Catherine, died young, and the second son, Ellis,
+predeceased his father by two years. <a name="citation0c"></a><a href="#footnote0c">{0c}</a>&nbsp;
+His eldest son, Gwilym, became rector of Llanaber, near Barmouth, and
+inherited his ancestral home; his youngest son, Edward, also entered
+the Church and became rector of Dolbenmaen and Penmorfa, Carnarvonshire.&nbsp;
+Edward Wynne&rsquo;s son was the rector of Llanferres, Denbighshire,
+and his son again was the Rev. John Wynne, of Llandrillo in Edeyrnion,
+who died only a few years ago.<br>
+<br>
+The following year (1703), he published the present work - his <i>magnum
+opus</i> - which has secured him a place among the greatest names in
+Welsh Literature.&nbsp; It will be noticed that on the title-page to
+the first edition the words &ldquo;<i>Y Rhann Gyntaf</i>&rdquo; (&ldquo;The
+First Part&rdquo;) appear; the explanation given of this is that Ellis
+Wynne did actually write a second part, entitled, <i>The Vision of Heaven</i>,
+but that on hearing that he was charged with plagiarism in respect of
+his other Visions, he threw the manuscript into the fire, and so destroyed
+what, judging from the title, might have proved a greater success than
+the first part, as affording scope for lighter and more pleasing flights
+of the imagination.<br>
+<br>
+It is said by his biographers that he was induced to abandon the pursuit
+of the law, to which he was educated, and to take holy orders, by Bishop
+Humphreys, who had recognised in his translation of the <i>Holy Living</i>
+marked ability and piety, and that he was ordained deacon and priest
+the same day by the Bishop, at Bangor, in 1701, and presented on the
+following day to the living of Llanfair-juxta-Harlech and subsequently
+to Llandanwg.<br>
+<br>
+All these statements appear to be incorrect.&nbsp; To deal with them
+categorically: I find no record at the Diocesan Registry of his having
+been ordained at Bangor at all; the following entry in the parish register
+of Llanfair shows that he was not in holy orders in July, 1704: &ldquo;<i>Gulielmus
+filius Elizaei Wynne generosi de L&acirc;s ynys et uxoris suis baptizatus
+fuit quindecimo die Julii, 1704</i>. - <i>W. Wynne Rr., O. Edwards,
+Rector</i>.&rdquo;&nbsp; His first living was Llandanwg, and not Llanfair,
+to which he was collated on January 1st, 1705.&nbsp; Moreover, the above-named
+Owen Edwards was the rector of Llanfair until his death which took place
+in 1711. <a name="citation0d"></a><a href="#footnote0d">{0d}</a>&nbsp;
+From that date on to 1734, the entries in the register at Llanfair church
+are all in Ellis Wynne&rsquo;s handwriting; these facts prove conclusively
+that it was in 1711 he became rector of the latter parish.<br>
+<br>
+In 1710 he edited a new and revised edition of the Book of Common Prayer,
+at the request of his patron, the Bishop of Hereford (Dr. Humphreys)
+and the four Welsh bishops, - a clear proof of the confidence reposed
+in him by the dignitaries of his church as a man of learning and undoubted
+piety.&nbsp; He himself published nothing more, but <i>A Short Commentary
+on the Catechism</i> and a few hymns and carols were written by him
+and published posthumously by his son, Edward, being included in a volume
+of his own, entitled <i>Prif Addysc y Cristion</i>, issued in 1755.<br>
+<br>
+The latter part of his life is as completely obscure as the earlier;
+he lapsed again into the silence from which he had only just emerged
+with such signal success, and confined his efforts as a Christian worker
+within the narrow limits of his own native parts, exercising, doubtlessly,
+an influence for good upon his immediate neighbourhood through force
+of character and noble personality, as upon his fellow-countrymen at
+large by means of his published works.&nbsp; His wife died in 1720,
+and his son, Ellis, in 1732; two years later he himself died and was
+buried under the communion table in Llanfair church, on the 17th day
+of July, 1734. <a name="citation0e"></a><a href="#footnote0e">{0e}</a>&nbsp;
+There is no marble or &ldquo;perennial brass&rdquo; to mark the last
+resting-place of the Bard, nor was there, until recent years, any memorial
+of him in either of his parish churches, when the late Rev. John Wynne
+set up a fine stained-glass window at Llanfair church in memory of his
+illustrious ancestor.<br>
+<br>
+Ellis Wynne appeared at a time when his country had sore need of him,
+when the appointed teachers of the nation were steeped in apathy and
+corruption, when ignorance and immorality overspread the land - the
+darkest hour before the dawn.&nbsp; He was one of the early precursors
+of the Methodist revival in Wales, a voice crying in the wilderness,
+calling upon his countrymen to repent.&nbsp; He neither feared nor favored
+any man or class, but delivered his message in unfaltering tone, and
+performed his alloted task honestly and faithfully.&nbsp; How deeply
+our country is indebted to him who did her such eminent service in the
+days of adversity and gloom will never be known.&nbsp; And now, in the
+time of prosperity, Wales still remembers her benefactor, and will always
+keep honored the name of Ellis Wynne, the SLEEPING BARD.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+II. - THE TEXT.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+The <i>Bardd Cwsc</i> was first published in London in 1703, a small
+24mo. volume of some 150 pages, with the following title-page<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;GWELEDIGAETHEU Y BARDD CWSC.<i>&nbsp; Y Rhann Gyntaf.&nbsp; Argraphwyd
+yn Llundain gan E. Powell i&rsquo;r Awdwr, 1703</i>.&rdquo; <a name="citation0f"></a><a href="#footnote0f">{0f}</a><br>
+<br>
+<br>
+A second edition was not called for until about 1742, when it was issued
+at Shrewsbury; but in the thirty years following, as many as five editions
+were published, and in the present century, at least twelve editions
+(including two or three by the Rev. Canon Silvan Evans) have appeared.&nbsp;
+The text followed in this volume is that of Mr. Isaac Foulkes&rsquo;
+edition, but recourse has also been had to the original edition for
+the purpose of comparison.&nbsp; The only translation into English hitherto
+has been that of George Borrow, published in London in 1860, and written
+in that charming and racy style which characterises his other and better
+known works.&nbsp; He has, however, fallen into many errors, which were
+only natural, seeing that the Visions abound in colloquial words and
+phrases, and in idiomatic forms of expression which it would be most
+difficult for one foreign to our tongue to render correctly.<br>
+<br>
+The author&rsquo;s name is not given in the original nor in any subsequent
+edition previous to the one published at Merthyr Tydfil in 1806, where
+the <i>Gweledigaetheu</i> are said to be by &ldquo;Ellis Wynne.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+But it was well known, even before his death, that he was the author;
+the fact being probably deduced from the similarity in style between
+the Visions and an acknowledged work, namely, his translation of the
+<i>Holy Living</i>.&nbsp; The most likely reason for his preferring
+anonymity is not far to seek; his scathing denunciation of the sins
+of certain classes and, possibly, even of certain individuals, would
+be almost sure to draw upon the author their most bitter attacks.&nbsp;
+Many of the characters he depicts would be identified, rightly or wrongly,
+with certain of his contemporaries, and many more, whom he never had
+in his mind at all, would imagine themselves the objects of his satire;
+he had nothing to gain by imperilling himself at the hands of such persons,
+or by coming into open conflict with them; he had his message to deliver
+to his fellow-countrymen, his Visions a purpose to fulfil, the successful
+issue of which could not but be frustrated by the introduction of personal
+hatred and ill-will.&nbsp; Ellis Wynne was only too ready to forego
+the honor of being the acknowledged author of the Visions if thereby
+he could the better serve his country.<br>
+<br>
+The <i>Bardd Cwsc</i> is not only the most popular of Welsh prose works,
+but it has also retained its place among the best of our classics.&nbsp;
+No better model exists of the pure idiomatic Welsh of the last century,
+before writers became influenced by English style and method.&nbsp;
+Vigorous, fluent, crisp, and clear, it shows how well our language is
+adapted to description and narration.&nbsp; It is written for the people,
+and in the picturesque and poetic strain which is always certain to
+fascinate the Celtic mind.&nbsp; The introduction to each Vision is
+evidently written with elaborate care, and exquisitely polished - &ldquo;<i>ne
+quid possit per leve morari</i>,&rdquo; and scene follows scene, painted
+in words which present them most vividly before one&rsquo;s eyes, whilst
+the force and liveliness of his diction sustain unflagging interest
+throughout.&nbsp; The reader is carried onward as much by the rhythmic
+flow of language and the perfect balance of sentences, as by the vivacity
+of the narrative and by the reality with which Ellis Wynne invests his
+adventures and the characters he depicts.&nbsp; The terrible situations
+in which we find the Bard, as the drama unfolds, betoken not only a
+powerful imagination, but also an intensity of feeling which enabled
+him to realise the conceptions of such imagination.&nbsp; We follow
+the Bard and his heavenly guide through all their perils with breathless
+attention; the demons and the damned he so clothes with flesh and blood
+that our hatred or our sympathy is instantly stirred; his World is palpitating
+with life, his Hell, with its gloom and glare, is an awful, haunting
+dream.&nbsp; But besides being the possessor of a vivid imagination,
+Ellis Wynne was endowed with a capacity for transmitting his own experience
+in a picturesque and life-like manner.&nbsp; The various descriptions
+of scenes, such as Shrewsbury fair, the parson&rsquo;s revelry and the
+deserted mansions; of natural scenery, as in the beginning of the first
+and last Visions; of personages, such as the portly alderman, and the
+young lord and his retinue, all are evidently drawn from the Author&rsquo;s
+own experience.&nbsp; He was also gifted with a lively sense of humor,
+which here and there relieves the pervading gloom so naturally associated
+with the subject of his Visions.&nbsp; The humorous and the severe,
+the grotesque and the sublime, the tender and the terrible, are alike
+portrayed by a master hand.<br>
+<br>
+The leading feature of the Visions, namely the personal element which
+the Author infuses into the recital of his distant travels, brings the
+reader into a closer contact with the tale and gives continuity to the
+whole work, some parts of which would otherwise appear disconnected.&nbsp;
+This telling of the tale <i>in propria persona</i> with a guide of shadowy
+or celestial nature who points out what the Bard is to see, and explains
+to him the mystery of the things around him, is a method frequently
+adopted by poets of all times.&nbsp; Dante is the best known instance,
+perhaps; but we find the method employed in Welsh, as in &ldquo;The
+Dream of Paul, the Apostle,&rdquo; where Paul is led by Michael to view
+the punishments of Hell <i>(vide</i> Iolo MSS.).&nbsp; Ellis Wynne was
+probably acquainted with Vergil and Dante, and adopted the idea of supernatural
+guidance from them; in fact, apart from this, we meet with several passages
+which are eminently reminiscent of both these great poets.<br>
+<br>
+But now, casting aside mere speculation, we come face to face with the
+indisputable fact that Ellis Wynne is to a considerable degree indebted
+to the <i>Dreams</i> of Gomez de Quevedo y Villegas, a voluminous Spanish
+author who flourished in the early part of the 17th century.&nbsp; In
+1668, Sir Roger L&rsquo;Estrange published his translation into English
+of the <i>Dreams</i>, which immediately became very popular.&nbsp; Quevedo
+has his Visions of the World, of Death and her <i>(sic</i>) Empire,
+and of Hell; the same characters are delineated in both, the same classes
+satirized, the same punishments meted out.&nbsp; We read in both works
+of the catchpoles and wranglers, the pompous knights and lying knaves
+- in fine, we cannot possibly come to any other conclusion than that
+Ellis Wynne has &ldquo;read, marked and inwardly digested&rdquo; L&rsquo;Estrange&rsquo;s
+translation of Quevedo&rsquo;s <i>Dreams</i>.&nbsp; But admitting so
+much, the <i>Bardd Cwsc</i> still remains a purely Welsh classic; whatever
+in name and incident Ellis Wynne has borrowed from the Spaniard he has
+dressed up in Welsh home-spun, leaving little or nothing indicative
+of foreign influence.&nbsp; The sins he preached against, the sinners
+he condemned, were, he knew too well, indigenous to Welsh and Spanish
+soil.&nbsp; George Borrow sums up his comments upon the two authors
+in the following words: &ldquo;Upon the whole, the Cymric work is superior
+to the Spanish; there is more unity of purpose in it, and it is far
+less encumbered with useless matter.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+The implication contained in the foregoing remarks of Borrow - that
+the <i>Bardd Cwsc</i> is encumbered to a certain degree with useless
+matter, is no doubt well founded.&nbsp; There is a tendency to dwell
+inordinately upon the horrible, more particularly in the Vision of Hell;
+a tiring sameness in the descriptive passages, an occasional lapse from
+the tragic to the ludicrous, and an intrusion of the common-place in
+the midst of a speech or a scene, marring the dignity of the one and
+the beauty of the other.<br>
+<br>
+The most patent blemish, however, is the unwarranted coarseness of expression
+to which the Author sometimes stoops.&nbsp; It is true that he must
+be judged according to the times he lived in; his chief object was to
+reach the ignorant masses of his countrymen, and to attain this object
+it was necessary for him to adopt their blunt and unveneered speech.&nbsp;
+For all that, one cannot help feeling that he has, in several instances,
+descended to a lower level than was demanded of him, with the inevitable
+result that both the literary merit and the good influence of his work
+in some measure suffer.&nbsp; Many passages which might be considered
+coarse and indecorous according to modern canons of taste, have been
+omitted from this translation.<br>
+<br>
+From the literary point of view THE VISIONS OF THE SLEEPING BARD has
+from the first been regarded as a masterpiece, but from the religious,
+two very different opinions have been held concerning it.&nbsp; One,
+probably the earlier, was, that it was a book with a good purpose, and
+fit to stand side by side with Vicar Pritchard&rsquo;s <i>Canwyll y
+Cymry</i> and <i>Llyfr yr Homiliau</i>; the other, that it was a pernicious
+book, &ldquo;<i>llyfr codi cythreuliaid</i>&rdquo; - a devil-raising
+book.&nbsp; A work which in any shape or form bore even a distant relationship
+to fiction, instantly fell under the ban of the Puritanism of former
+days.&nbsp; To-day neither opinion is held, the <i>Bardd Cwsc</i> is
+simply a classic and nothing more.<br>
+<br>
+The Visions derive considerable value from the light they throw upon
+the moral and social condition of our country two centuries ago.&nbsp;
+Wales, at the time Ellis Wynne wrote was in a state of transition: its
+old-world romance was passing away, and ceasing to be the potent influence
+which, in times gone by, had aroused our nation to chivalrous enthusiasm,
+and led it to ennobling aspirations.&nbsp; Its place and power, it is
+true, were shortly to be taken by religion, simple, puritanic, and intensely
+spiritual; but so far, the country was in a condition of utter disorder,
+morally and socially.&nbsp; Its national life was at its lowest ebb,
+its religious life was as yet undeveloped and gave little promise of
+the great things to come.&nbsp; The nation as a whole - people, patrician,
+and priest - had sunk to depths of moral degradation; the people, through
+ignorance and superstition; the patrician, through contact with the
+corruptions of the England of the Restoration; while the priesthood
+were<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Blind mouths, that scarce themselves knew how to hold<br>
+&ldquo;A sheep-hook, or had learnt aught else the least<br>
+&ldquo;That to the faithful herdman&rsquo;s art belongs.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+All the sterner and darker aspects of the period are chronicled with
+a grim fidelity in the Visions, the wrongs and vices of the age are
+exposed with scathing earnestness.&nbsp; Ellis Wynne set himself the
+task of endeavouring to arouse his fellow-countrymen and bring them
+to realize the sad condition into which the nation had fallen.&nbsp;
+He entered upon the work endowed with keen powers of perception, a wide
+knowledge of life, and a strong sense of justice.&nbsp; He was no respecter
+of person; all orders of society, types of every rank and class, in
+turn, came under castigation; no sin, whether in high places or among
+those of low degree, escaped the lash of his biting satire.&nbsp; On
+the other hand, it must be said that he lacked sympathy with erring
+nature, and failed to recognize in his administration of justice that
+&ldquo;to err is human, to forgive, divine.&rdquo;&nbsp; His denunciation
+of wrong and wrong-doer is equally stern and pitiless; mercy and love
+are rarely, if ever, brought on the stage.&nbsp; In this mood, as in
+the gloomy pessimism which pervades the whole work, he reflects the
+religious doctrines and beliefs of his times.&nbsp; In fine, when all
+has been said, favourably and adversely, the Visions, it will readily
+be admitted, present a very faithful picture of Welsh life, manners,
+and ways of thought, in the 17th century, and are, in every sense, a
+true product of the country and the age in which they were written.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+III. - A BRIEF SUMMARY.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+I.&nbsp; VISION OF THE WORLD.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+One summer&rsquo;s day, the Bard ascends one of the mountains of Wales,
+and gazing a long while at the beautiful scene, falls asleep.&nbsp;
+He dreams and finds himself among the fairies, whom he approaches and
+requests permission to join.&nbsp; They snatch him up forthwith and
+fly off with him over cities and realms, lands and seas, until he begins
+to fear for his life.&nbsp; They come to a huge castle - Castle Delusive,
+where an Angel of light appears and rescues him from their hands.&nbsp;
+The Angel, after questioning him as to himself, who he was and where
+he came from, bids him go with him, and resting in the empyrean, he
+beholds the earth far away beneath them.&nbsp; He sees an immense City
+made up of three streets; at the end of which are three gates and upon
+each gate a tower and in each tower a fair woman.&nbsp; This is the
+City of Destruction and its streets are named after the daughters of
+Belial - Pride, Lucre and Pleasure.&nbsp; The Angel tells him of the
+might and craftiness of Belial and the alluring witchery of his daughters,
+and also of another city on higher ground - the City of Emmanuel - whereto
+all may fly from Destruction.&nbsp; They descend and alight in the Street
+of Pride amidst the ruined and desolate mansions of absentee landlords.&nbsp;
+They see there kings, princes, and noblemen, coquettes and fops; there
+is a city, too, on seven hills, and another opposite, with a crescent
+on a golden banner above it, and near the gate stands the Court of Lewis
+XIV.&nbsp; Much traffic is going on between these courts, for the Pope,
+the Sultan and the King of France are rivals for the Princesses&rsquo;
+hands.<br>
+<br>
+They next come to the Street of Lucre, full of Spaniards, Dutchmen and
+Jews, and here too, are conquerors and their soldiers, justices and
+their bribers, doctors, misers, merchants and userers, shopmen, clippers,
+taverners, drovers, and the like.&nbsp; An election of Treasurer to
+the Princess is going on - stewards, money-lenders, lawyers and merchants
+being candidates, and whoso was proved the richest should obtain the
+post.&nbsp; The Bard then comes to the Street of Pleasure, where all
+manner of seductive joys abound.&nbsp; He passes through scenes of debauchery
+and drunken riot, and comes to a veritable Bedlam, where seven good
+fellows - a tinker, a dyer, a smith and a miner, a chimney-sweep, a
+bard and a parson - are enjoying a carousal.&nbsp; He beholds the Court
+of Belial&rsquo;s second daughter, Hypocrisy, and sees a funeral go
+by where all the mourners are false.&nbsp; A noble lord appears, with
+his lady at his side, and has a talk with old Money-bags who has lent
+him money on his lands - all three being apt pupils of Hypocrisy.<br>
+<br>
+The Angel then takes him to the churches of the City; and first they
+come to a pagan temple where the human form, the sun and moon, and various
+other objects are worshipped.&nbsp; Thence they come to a barn where
+Dissenters imitate preaching, and to an English church where many practise
+all manner of hypocrisy.&nbsp; The Bard then leaves the City of Destruction
+and makes for the celestial City.&nbsp; He beholds one man part from
+his friends and, refusing to be persuaded by them, hasten towards Emmanuel&rsquo;s
+City.&nbsp; The gateway is narrow and mean, while on the walls are watchmen
+urging on those that are fleeing from Destruction.&nbsp; Groups from
+the various streets arrive and claim admittance, but, being unable to
+leave their sins, have to return.&nbsp; The Bard and his Guide enter,
+and passing by the Well of Repentance come in view of the Catholic Church,
+the transept of which is the Church of England, with Queen Anne enthroned
+above, holding the Sword of Justice in the left hand, and the Sword
+of the Spirit in the right.&nbsp; Suddenly there is a call to arms,
+the sky darkens, and Belial himself advances against the Church, with
+his earthly princes and their armies.&nbsp; The Pope and Lewis of France,
+the Turks and Muscovites fall upon England and her German allies, but,
+the angels assisting, they are vanquished; the infernal hosts, too,
+give way and are hurled headlong from the sky; whereupon the Bard awakes.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+II.&nbsp; THE VISION OF DEATH.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+It is a cold, winter&rsquo;s night and the Bard lies abed meditating
+upon the brevity of life, when Sleep and his sister Nightmare pay him
+a visit, and after a long parley, constrain him to accompany them to
+the Court of their brother Death.&nbsp; Hieing away through forests
+and dales, and over rivers and rocks, they alight at one of the rear
+portals of the City of Destruction which opens upon a murky region -
+the chambers of Death.&nbsp; On all hands are myriads of doors leading
+into the Land of Oblivion, each guarded by the particular death-imp,
+whose name was inscribed above it.&nbsp; The Bard passes by the portals
+of Hunger, where misers, idlers and gossips enter, of Cold, where scholars
+and travellers go through, of Fear, Love, Envy and Ambition.<br>
+<br>
+Suddenly he finds himself transported into a bleak and barren land where
+the shades flit to and fro.&nbsp; He is straightway surrounded by them,
+and, on giving his name as the &ldquo;Sleeping Bard,&rdquo; a shadowy
+claimant to that name sets upon him and belabours him most unmercifully
+until Merlin bid him desist.&nbsp; Taliesin then interviews him, and
+an ancient manikin, &ldquo;Someone&rdquo; by name, tells him his tale
+of woe.&nbsp; After that he is taken into the presence of the King of
+Terrors himself, who, seated on a throne with Fate and Time on either
+hand, deals out their doom to the prisoners as they come before him.&nbsp;
+Four fiddlers, a King from the neighbourhood of Rome with a papal dispensation
+to pass right through to Paradise, a drunkard and a harlot, and lastly
+seven corrupt recorders, are condemned to the land of Despair.<br>
+<br>
+Another group of seven prisoners have just been brought to the bar,
+when a letter comes from Lucifer concerning them; he requests that Death
+should let these seven return to the world or else keep them within
+his own realm - they were far too dangerous to be allowed to enter Hell.&nbsp;
+Death hesitates, but, urged by Fate, he indites his answer, refusing
+to comply with Lucifer&rsquo;s request.&nbsp; The seven are then called
+and Death bids his hosts hasten to convey them beyond his limits.&nbsp;
+The Bard sees them hurled over the verge beneath the Court of Justice
+and his spirit so strives within him at the sight that the bonds of
+Sleep are sundered and his soul returns to its wonted functions.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+III.&nbsp; THE VISION OF HELL.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+The Bard is sauntering, one April morning, on the banks of the Severn,
+when his previous visions recur to his mind and he resolves to write
+them as a warning to others, and while at this work he falls asleep,
+and the Angel once more appears and bears him aloft into space.&nbsp;
+They reach the confines of Eternity and descend through Chaos for myriads
+of miles.&nbsp; A troop of lost beings are swept past them towards the
+shores of a death-like river - the river of the Evil One.&nbsp; After
+passing through its waters, the Bard witnesses the tortures the damned
+suffer at the hands of the devils, and visits their various prisons
+and cells.&nbsp; Here is the prison of Woe-that-I-had-not, of Too-late-a-repentance
+and of the Procrastinators.&nbsp; There the Slanderers, Backbiters,
+and other envious cowards are tormented in a deep and dark dungeon.&nbsp;
+He hears much laughter among the devils and turning round finds that
+the cause of their merriment are two noblemen who have just arrived
+and are claiming the respect due to their rank.&nbsp; Further on is
+a crowd of harlots calling down imprecations upon those that ruined
+them; and in a huge cavern are lawyers, doctors, stewards and other
+such rogues.&nbsp; The Princesses of the City of Destruction bring batches
+of their subjects as gifts to their sire.<br>
+<br>
+A parliament is summoned and Lucifer addresses his princes, calling
+upon them to do their utmost to destroy the rest of mankind.&nbsp; Moloch
+makes his reply, reciting all that he has done, when Lucifer in rage
+starts off to do the work himself, but is drawn back by an invisible
+hand.&nbsp; He speaks again, exhorting them to greater activity and
+cruelty.&nbsp; Justice brings three prisoners to Hell and returning
+causes such a rush of fiery whirlwinds that all the infernal lords are
+swept away into the Uttermost Hell.<br>
+<br>
+The Bard hears the din of arms and news comes that the Turks, Papists,
+and Roundheads are advancing in three armies.&nbsp; Lucifer and his
+hosts immediately set out to meet them and after a stubborn contest
+succeed in quelling the rebellion.&nbsp; More prisoners are brought
+before the King - Catholics, who had missed the way to Paradise, an
+innkeeper, five kings, assize-men and lawyers, gipsies, laborers and
+scholars.&nbsp; Scarcely is judgment passed on these than war again
+breaks out - soldiers and doctors, lawyers and userers, misers and their
+own offspring, are fighting each other.&nbsp; The leaders of this revolt
+having been taken, another parliament is called and more prisoners yet
+brought to trial.<br>
+<br>
+Lucifer asks the advice of his peers as to whom he should appoint his
+viceroy in Britain.&nbsp; Cerberus, first of all, offers the service
+of Tobacco; then Mammon speaks in praise of Gold and Apolyon tells what
+Pride can do; Asmodai, the demon of Lust, Belphegor. the demon of Sloth,
+and Satan, devil of Delusion, each pleads for his own pet sin; and after
+Beelzebub has spoken in favour of Thoughtlessness, Lucifer sums up,
+weighs their arguments, and finally announces that it is another he
+has chosen as his vicegerent in Britain.&nbsp; This other is Prosperity,
+and her he bids them follow and obey.&nbsp; Then the lost Archangel
+and his counsellors are hurled into the Bottomless Pit, and the Angel
+takes the Bard up to the vault of Hell where he has full view of a three-faced
+ogress, Sin, who would make of heaven, a hell, and thence departing,
+a heaven of hell.&nbsp; The Angel then leaves him, bidding him, as he
+went, to write down what he had seen for the benefit of others.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+TO THE READER.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Let whoso reads, consider;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Considering, remember,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And from remembering, do,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And doing, so continue.<br>
+Whoso abides in Virtue&rsquo;s paths,<br>
+And ever strives until the end<br>
+From sinful bondage to be free,<br>
+Ne&rsquo;er shall possess wherewith to feed<br>
+The direful flame, nor weight of sin<br>
+To sink him in th&rsquo; infernal mire;<br>
+Nor will he come to that dread realm<br>
+Where Wrong and Retribution meet.<br>
+But, woe to that poor, worthless wight<br>
+Who lives a bitter, stagnant life,<br>
+Who follows after every ill<br>
+And knows not either Faith or Love,<br>
+(For Faith in deeds alone doth live).<br>
+Eternal woe shall be his doom -<br>
+More torments he shall then behold<br>
+Yea, in the twinkling of an eye<br>
+Than any age can e&rsquo;er conceive.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+THE VISIONS OF THE SLEEPING BARD<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+I. - VISION OF THE WORLD.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+On <a name="citation1a"></a><a href="#footnote1a">{1a}</a> the fine
+evening of a warm and mellow summer I betook me up one of the mountains
+of Wales, <a name="citation1b"></a><a href="#footnote1b">{1b}</a> spy-glass
+in hand, to enable my feeble sight to see the distant near, and to make
+the little to loom large.&nbsp; Through the clear, tenuous air and the
+calm, shimmering heat, I beheld far, far away over the Irish Sea many
+a fair scene.&nbsp; At last, when mine eyes had taken their fill of
+all the beauty around me, and the sun well nigh had reached his western
+ramparts, I lay down on the sward, musing how fair and lovely compared
+with mine own land were the distant lands of whose delightful plains
+I had just obtained a glimpse; how fine it would be to have full view
+thereof, and how happy withal are they, besides me and my sort, who
+have seen the world&rsquo;s course.&nbsp; So, from the long journeying
+of mine eye, and afterwards of my mind, came weariness, and beneath
+the cloak of weariness came my good Master Sleep <a name="citation1c"></a><a href="#footnote1c">{1c}</a>
+stealthily to bind me, and with his leaden keys safe and sound he locked
+the windows of mine eyes and all mine other senses.&nbsp; But it was
+in vain he tried to lock up the soul which can exist and travel without
+the body; for upon the wings of fancy my spirit soared free from out
+the straitened corpse, and the first thing I perceived close by was
+a dancing-knoll and such a fantastic rout <a name="citation4a"></a><a href="#footnote4a">{4a}</a>
+in blue petticoats and red caps, briskly footing a sprightly dance.&nbsp;
+I stood awhile hesitating whether I should approach them or not, for
+in my confusion I feared they were a pack of hungry gipsies and that
+the least they would do, would be to kill me for their supper, and devour
+me saltless.&nbsp; But gazing steadfastly upon them I perceived that
+they were of better and fairer complexion than that lying, tawny crew;
+so I plucked up courage and drew near them, slowly, like a hen treading
+on hot coals, in order to find out what they might be; and at last I
+addressed them over my shoulder, thus, &ldquo;Pray you, good friends,
+I understand that ye come from afar, would ye take into your midst a
+bard who wishes to travel?&rdquo;&nbsp; Whereupon the din instantly
+ceased, every eye was turned upon me, and in shrill tones &ldquo;a bard&rdquo;
+quoth one, &ldquo;to travel,&rdquo; said another, &ldquo;into our midst,&rdquo;
+a third exclaimed.&nbsp; By then I had recognised those who were looking
+at me most fiercely, and they commenced whispering one to another some
+secret charms, still keeping their gaze upon me; the hubbub then broke
+out again and everyone laying hands upon me, lifted me shoulder-high,
+like a knight of the shire, and off like the wind we go, over houses
+and lands, cities and realms, seas and mountains, unable to notice aught
+so swiftly were they flying.&nbsp; And to make matters worse, I began
+to have doubts of my companions from the way they frowned and scowled
+when I refused to lampoon my king <a name="citation4b"></a><a href="#footnote4b">{4b}</a>
+at their bidding.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Well, now,&rdquo; said I to myself, &ldquo;farewell to life;
+these accursed, arrant sorcerers will bear me to some nobleman&rsquo;s
+larder or cellar and leave me there to pay penalty by my neck for their
+robbery, or peradventure they will leave me stark-naked and benumbed
+on Chester Marsh or some other bleak and remote place.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+But on considering that those whose faces I knew had long been buried,
+and that some were thrusting me forward, and others upholding me above
+every ravine, it dawned upon me that they were not witches but what
+are called the Fairies.&nbsp; Without delay I found myself close to
+a huge castle, the finest I had ever seen, with a deep moat surrounding
+it, and here they began discussing my doom.&nbsp; &ldquo;Let us take
+him as a gift to the castle,&rdquo; suggested one.&nbsp; &ldquo;Nay,
+let us throw the obstinate gallows-bird into the moat, he is not worth
+showing to our great prince,&rdquo; said another.&nbsp; &ldquo;Will
+he say his prayers before sleeping,&rdquo; asked a third.&nbsp; At the
+mention of prayer, I breathed a groaning sigh heavenwards asking pardon
+and aid; and no sooner had I thought the prayer than I saw a light,
+Oh! so beautiful, breaking forth in the distance.&nbsp; As this light
+approached, my companions grew dark and vanished, and in a trice the
+Shining One made for us straight over the castle: whereupon they let
+go their hold of me and departing, turned upon me a hellish scowl, and
+had not the Angel supported me I should have been ground fine enough
+to make a pie long before reaching the earth.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;What is thy errand here?&rdquo; asked the Angel.&nbsp; &ldquo;In
+sooth, my lord,&rdquo; cried I, &ldquo;I wot not what place here is,
+nor what mine errand, nor what I myself am, nor what has made off with
+mine other part; I had a head and limbs and body, but whether I left
+&rsquo;em at home or whether the Fairies, if fair their deed, have cast
+me into some deep pit (for I mind my passing over many a rugged gorge)
+an&rsquo; I be hanged, Sir, I know not.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Fairly,
+indeed,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;they would have dealt with thee, had
+I not come in time to save thee from the toasting-forks of the brood
+of hell.&nbsp; Since thou hast such a great desire to see the course
+of this little world, I am commanded to give thee the opportunity to
+realize thy wish, so that thou mayest see the folly of thy discontent
+with thine own lot and country.&nbsp; Come now!&rdquo; he bade, and
+at the word, with the dawn just breaking, he snatched me up far away
+above the castle; and upon a white cloudledge we rested in the empyrean
+to see the sun rising, and to look at my heavenly companion, who was
+far brighter than the sun, save that his radiance only shone upwards,
+being hidden from all beneath by a veil.&nbsp; When the sun waxed strong,
+I beheld in the refulgence of the two our great, encircled earth as
+a tiny ball in the distance below.&nbsp; &ldquo;Look again,&rdquo; said
+the Angel, and he gave me a better spy-glass than the one I had on the
+mountain-side.&nbsp; When I looked through this I saw things in a different
+light and clearer than ever before.<br>
+<br>
+I could see one city of enormous magnitude, with thousands of cities
+and kingdoms within it, the wide ocean like a whirlpool around it, and
+other seas, like rivers, dividing it into parts.&nbsp; After gazing
+a longwhile, I observed that it was made up of three tremendously long
+streets, with a large and splendid gateway at the lower end of each
+street; on each gateway, a magnificent tower, and on each tower, in
+sight of all the street, a woman of exceeding beauty; and the three
+towers at the back of the ramparts reached to the foot of that great
+castle.&nbsp; Of the same length as these immense streets, but running
+in a contrary direction, I saw another street which was but narrow and
+mean compared with them, though it was clean and upon higher ground
+than they, and leading upwards to the east, whilst the other three led
+downwards northerly to the great towers.&nbsp; I could no longer withhold
+from asking my friend&rsquo;s permission to speak.&nbsp; &ldquo;What
+then,&rdquo; said the Angel, &ldquo;if thou wilt speak, listen carefully,
+so that there be no need of telling thee a thing twice.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I will, my lord, and prithee,&rdquo; asked I, &ldquo;what castle
+is that, away yonder to the north?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;That castle aloft
+in the sky,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;belongs to Belial, prince of the
+power of the air, and ruler of all that vast city below; it is called
+Castle Delusive: for an arch-deluder is Belial, and it is through delusion
+that he is able to keep under his sway all that thou see&rsquo;st with
+the exception of that little bye-street yonder.&nbsp; He is a powerful
+prince, with thousands of princes under him.&nbsp; What was C&aelig;sar
+or Alexander the Great compared with him?&nbsp; What are the Turk and
+old Lewis of France <a name="citation7a"></a><a href="#footnote7a">{7a}</a>
+but his servants?&nbsp; Great, aye, exceedingly great is the might,
+craftiness and diligence of Prince Belial and of the countless hosts
+he hath in the lower region.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Why do those women
+stand there?&rdquo; I asked, &ldquo;and who are they?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Slowly,&rdquo;
+cried the Angel, &ldquo;one question at a time; they stand there in
+order to be loved and worshipped.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;No wonder, in
+sooth,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;so lovely are they that were I the possessor
+of hands and feet as once I was, I too would go and love or worship
+them.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Hush! hush!&rdquo; cried he, &ldquo;if that
+is what thou wouldst do with thy members &rsquo;tis well thou&rsquo;rt
+wanting them: know, foolish spirit, that these three princesses are
+no other than three destroying enchantresses, daughters of Prince Belial;
+and that all the beauty and gentleness which dazzles the streets, is
+nought else but a gloss over ugliness and cruelty; the three within
+are like their sire, full of deadly venom.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Woe&rsquo;s
+me, is&rsquo;t possible,&rdquo; cried I sorrowfully, &ldquo;that their
+love wounds?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis true, the more the pity,&rdquo;
+said he, &ldquo;thou art delighted with the way the three beam on their
+adorers: well, there is in that ray of light many a wondrous charm,
+it blindens them so that they cannot see the hook; it stupifies them
+so that they pay no heed to their danger, and consumes them with an
+insatiate lust for more, even though it be a deadly poison, breeding
+diseases which no physician, yea, not death itself can ever heal, nor
+aught at all unless a heavenly medicine called Repentance be had to
+purge the evil in good time ere it become too deeply rooted, through
+gazing upon them too long.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Wherefore will not Belial
+have this adoration to himself?&rdquo; asked I.&nbsp; &ldquo;It is the
+same thing,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;for so long as a man adheres to these
+or to one of them, that man is sure to bear the mark of Belial and wear
+his livery.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;By what names are these three enchantresses called?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;The furthest away is called Pride, the eldest daughter of Belial;
+the second is Pleasure, and the nearest to us is Lucre; these three
+are the trinity the world adores.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I would fain know
+the name of this vast, madding city,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;hath it a
+better name than great Bedlam?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Yea, &rsquo;tis called
+the City of Destruction.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Alas!&rdquo; I cried, &ldquo;are
+all that dwell therein ruined and lost?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;All,&rdquo;
+said he, &ldquo;save a few that flee from it into yon upper city which
+is King Emmanuel&rsquo;s.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Woe is me and mine! how
+shall they escape while ever staring at what makes them more and more
+blind, and preys upon them in their blindness?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;It
+would be utterly impossible for any man to escape hence were it not
+that Emmanuel sends his ministers from on high, night and morn, to persuade
+them to leave the rebels and turn to Him, their true Sovereign, and
+sends to some a gift of precious ointment called Faith to anoint their
+eyes, and whoso obtains that genuine ointment (for there is an imitation
+of this as of everything else in the City of Destruction) and anoints
+himself therewith, at once becomes aware of his own wounds and madness,
+and will not tarry here a moment longer, even though Belial gave him
+his three daughters, yea, or his fourth who is greatest of all, for
+staying.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;What are the names of these immense streets?&rdquo; I enquired.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;They are called, each according to the name of the princess who
+rules therein; furthest is the Street of Pride, the middle, the Street
+of Pleasure, and next, the Street of Lucre.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Who,
+prithee, dwell in these streets?&nbsp; What tongue is spoken there?&nbsp;
+Wherefrom and of what nations are their inhabitants?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Many
+people,&rdquo; answered he, &ldquo;of every language, religion, and
+nation under the sun dwell there; many a one lives in each of the three
+streets at different seasons, and everyone as near the gateway as he
+can; and very often do they change about, being unable to stay long
+in the one because they so greatly love the princess of the other street.&nbsp;
+And the old renard, slyly looking on, lets everyone love whichever he
+prefers, or the three if he will - all the more certain is he of him.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Come nearer to them,&rdquo; said the Angel, snatching me downwards
+in the veil through the noxious vapours rising from the city.&nbsp;
+We alighted in the Street of Pride, on the top of a great, roofless
+mansion with its eyes picked out by the dogs and crows, and its owners
+gone to England or France, there to seek what might be gotten with far
+less trouble at home; thus in place of the good old country-family of
+days gone by, so full of charity and benevolence, none keep possession
+now but the stupid owl, the greedy crows, or the proud-pied magpies
+or the like, to proclaim the deeds of the present owners.&nbsp; There
+were thousands of such deserted palaces, which but for pride might still
+be the resort of noblemen, a refuge for the weak, a school of peace
+and all goodness, and a blessing to the thousands of cottages surrounding
+them.&nbsp; From the top of these ruins we had plenty of room and quietness
+to see the whole street on both sides.&nbsp; The houses were very fine,
+and of wonderful height and grandeur, and good reason why, for emperors
+and kings lived there, princes in hundreds, noblemen and gentlemen in
+thousands, and a great many women of all grades.&nbsp; I could see many
+a horned coquette, like a full-rigged ship, strutting as if set in a
+frame with a fair store of pedlery about her, and pearls in her ears
+to the value of a good-sized farm: some were singing so as to be praised
+for their voices, some dancing, to show their figures; others coloring,
+to improve their complexion, others having been a good three hours before
+a mirror trimming themselves, learning to smile, pinning and unpinning,
+making grimaces and striking attitudes.&nbsp; Many a coy wench was there
+who knew not how to open her lips to speak, much less to eat, or from
+very ceremony, how to look under foot; and many a ragged shrew who would
+contend that she was equal to the best lady in the street, and many
+an ambling fop who might winnow beans by the wind of his train.<br>
+<br>
+Whilst I was looking from afar at these and a hundred similar things,
+lo! there came by us a gaudy, strapping quean of arrogant mien, and
+after whom a hundred eyes were turned; some made obeisance, as if in
+worship of her, a few put something in her hand.&nbsp; I could not make
+out what she was, and so I enquired.&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said my
+friend, &ldquo;she is one whose entire dowry is on show, and yet thou
+see&rsquo;st how many fools there are who seek her, and the meanest
+is received notwithstanding all the demand there is for her; whom she
+will, she cannot have, and whom she can, she will not; she will only
+speak to her betters because her mother told her that a young woman
+can make no greater mistake than to be humble in courtship.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Thereupon a burly Falstaff, who had been alderman and in many offices,
+came out from beneath us, spreading out his wings as if to fly, when
+he could scarcely limp along like a pack-horse, on account of his huge
+paunch, and the gout, and many other gentlemanly complaints; but for
+all that you could not get a single glance from him except as a great
+favour, remembering the while to address him by all his title and offices.&nbsp;
+From him I turned my eyes to the other side of the street, and saw a
+bluff young nobleman with a numerous following, smiling graciously and
+bowing low to everyone he met.&nbsp; &ldquo;It is strange,&rdquo; said
+I, &ldquo;that these two should belong to the same street.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;It is the same princess - Pride, who governs them both,&rdquo;
+answered he, &ldquo;this one&rsquo;s errand is but to speak fair; he
+is now making a bid for fame with the intent thereby to attain the highest
+office in the State; he is most ready to weep with the people, and tell
+them how greatly they are wronged through the oppression of wicked ministers;
+yet it is his own exaltation, and not the common weal that is the main
+object of his pursuit.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+After looking for a longwhile I saw close by the Porch of Pride a fair
+city on seven hills, and over its magnificent court the triple crown,
+the swords and cross-keys.&nbsp; &ldquo;Well, here is Rome,&rdquo; quoth
+I, &ldquo;here lives the Pope, is it not?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Yes, most
+often,&rdquo; said the Angel, &ldquo;but he hath a court in each of
+the other streets.&rdquo;&nbsp; Over against Rome I could see a city
+with a very fine court, whereon was raised on high a crescent on a golden
+banner, by which I knew the Turk was there.&nbsp; After these came the
+court of Lewis XIV. of France, as I perceived by his arms - the three
+fleur-de-lys on a silver banner reared high.&nbsp; Whilst admiring the
+loftiness and magnificence of these palaces, I observed that there was
+much traversing from one court to another, and asked the reason.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Oh, there is many a dark reason,&rdquo; said the Angel, &ldquo;existing
+between these three potent and crafty monarchs, but though they deem
+themselves fitting peers to the three princesses up yonder, their power
+and guile is nought compared with theirs.&nbsp; Yea more, great Belial
+deems the whole city, notwithstanding the number of its kings, unsuitable
+for his daughters.&nbsp; Although he offers them in marriage to everybody,
+he has never actually given them to anyone.&nbsp; Keen rivalry has existed
+between these three for their hands; the Turk, who calls himself the
+god of earth, would have the eldest, Pride, to wife.&nbsp; &ldquo;Nay,&rdquo;
+said the king of France, &ldquo;she is mine, for I keep all my subjects
+in her street, and bring her many from England and many other realms.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Spain would have the Princess of Lucre, spite of Holland and all the
+Jews, and England, the Princess of Pleasure in spite of the Pagans.&nbsp;
+But the Pope claimed the three, and for better reasons than all the
+others; and Belial admits him next to them in each street.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Is that the cause of this commerce?&rdquo; said I.&nbsp; &ldquo;No,&rdquo;
+said he, &ldquo;Belial has made peace between them upon that matter
+long ago.&nbsp; But now he has bid the three put their heads together
+to consider how they can the soonest destroy yon bye-street; that is
+the City of Emmanuel, and especially one great mansion therein, out
+of mere jealousy, perceiving it to be a finer edifice than any in all
+the City of Destruction.&nbsp; And Belial promises half his kingdom
+during his life, and the whole on his decease, to him who succeeds in
+doing so.&nbsp; But notwithstanding the magnitude of his power, the
+depth of his wiles, and the number of emperors, kings and crafty rulers
+that are beneath his sceptre in that huge City of Destruction, notwithstanding
+the courage of his countless hosts beyond the gates in the lower region,
+that task will prove too difficult for them; however great, powerful
+and untiring his majesty may be, in yon small street is a greater than
+he.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+I was not able to give very close attention to his angelic reasons,
+being occupied in watching the frequent falls people were having on
+the slippery street.&nbsp; Some I could see with ladders scaling the
+tower, and having reached the highest rung, falling headlong to the
+bottom.&nbsp; &ldquo;Where do those fools try to get to?&rdquo; I asked.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;To a place that is high enough - they are endeavouring to break
+into the treasury of the princess.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I warrant it
+be full,&rdquo; quoth I.&nbsp; &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; answered he, &ldquo;of
+everything that belongs to this street, to be distributed among its
+denizens: all kinds of weapons for invading and extending territories;
+all kinds of coats-of-arms, banners, escutcheons, books of genealogy,
+sayings of the ancients, and poems, all sorts of gorgeous raiments,
+boastful tales and flattering mirrors; every pigment and lotion to beautify
+the face; every high office and title - in short, everything is there
+which makes a man think better of himself and worse of others than he
+ought.&nbsp; The chief officers of this treasury are masters of the
+ceremonies, roysters, heralds, bards, orators, flatterers, dancers,
+tailors, gamblers, seamstresses and the like.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+From this street we went to the next where the Princess of Lucre rules
+supreme; this street was crowded and enormously wealthy; yet not half
+so magnificent and clean as the Street of Pride, nor its people so foolishly
+haughty, for here they were for the most part skulking and sly.&nbsp;
+Thousands of Spaniards, Dutchmen, Venetians, and Jews were here, and
+also a great many aged people.&nbsp; &ldquo;Prithee, sir,&rdquo; said
+I, &ldquo;what manner of men might these be?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;They
+are pinchfists one and all.&nbsp; In the lower end thou shalt see the
+Pope once more together with conquerors of kingdoms and their soldiery,
+oppressors, foresters, obstructors of public paths, justices and their
+bribers, and all their progeny from the barrister to the constable;
+on the other side, physicians, apothecaries, leeches, misers, merchants,
+extortioners, money lenders, withholders of tithes, wages, rents or
+doles left to schools, almhouses and the like; drovers, dealers who
+regulate the market for their own benefit; shopmen (or rather, sharpers)
+who profit on the need or ignorance of their customers; stewards of
+all grades; clippers <a name="citation14a"></a><a href="#footnote14a">{14a}</a>
+and innkeepers who despoil the idlers&rsquo; family of their goods and
+the country of its barley, which would otherwise be made into bread
+for the poor.&nbsp; All these are arrant robbers, the others in the
+upper end of the street are mostly small fry, such as highwaymen, tailors,
+weavers, millers, grocers and so on.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+In the midst of this I could hear a terrible commotion towards the far
+end of the street, and a great crowd of people thronging the gate, and
+such pushing and quarelling as made me think that there was a general
+riot afoot, until I asked my friend what was the matter.&nbsp; &ldquo;There
+is very valuable treasure in that tower,&rdquo; said the Angel, &ldquo;and
+the reason for this tumult is that they are about to choose a treasurer
+for the Princess, instead of the Pope, who has been driven from office.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+So we went to see the election.<br>
+<br>
+The candidates for the post were the stewards, the money-lenders, the
+lawyers, and the merchants, and it was the wealthiest of these that
+was to have it (for the more thou hast, the more wilt thou have and
+seek for - an insatiate complaint pertaining to this street).&nbsp;
+The stewards were rejected at the outset, lest they might impoverish
+the whole street and, just as they had erected their mansions upon their
+masters&rsquo; ruins, in the end dispossess the princess herself.&nbsp;
+The contest then lay between the other three.&nbsp; The merchants had
+more silk, the lawyers more mortgages on land, and the money-lenders
+more bills and bonds and fuller purses.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ho, they won&rsquo;t
+agree this night,&rdquo; said the Angel, &ldquo;come away; the lawyers
+are richer than the merchants, the money-lenders than the lawyers, the
+stewards than the money-lenders, and Belial richer than all; for they
+and all that belongs to them are his.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Why does the
+princess keep these robbers about her?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;What more
+befitting, seeing that she herself is arch-robber?&rdquo;&nbsp; I was
+amazed to hear him call the princess by such name, and the proudest
+gentry in the land arrant robbers.&nbsp; &ldquo;Why, pray my lord,&rdquo;
+said I, &ldquo;do you consider these great noblemen worse thieves than
+highwaymen?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Thou art a simpleton - think on that
+knave who roves the wide world over, sword in hand, and with his ravagers
+at his back, slaying and burning, and depriving the true possessors
+of their states, and afterwards expecting to be worshipped as conqueror;
+is he not worse than the petty thief who takes a purse on the highway?&nbsp;
+What is a tailor who filches a piece of cloth compared to a squire who
+steals from the mountain-side half a parish?&nbsp; Ought the latter
+not be called a worse robber than the former, who only takes a shred
+from him, while he deprives the poor of pasture for his beast, and consequently
+of the means of livelihood for himself, and those depending upon him?&nbsp;
+What is the stealing a handful of flour in the mill compared with the
+storing up of a hundred bushels to rot, in order to obtain later on
+for one bushel the price of four?&nbsp; What is a threadbare soldier
+who robs thee of thy clothes at the swords&rsquo; point when compared
+with the lawyer who despoils thee of thy whole estate with the stroke
+of a quill, and against whom thou canst claim no recompense or remedy?&nbsp;
+What is a pickpocket who steals a five-pound in comparison to a dice-sharper
+who robs thee of a hundred pounds in the third part of a night?&nbsp;
+And what the swindler that deceives thee in a worthless old hack compared
+with the apothecary who swindles thee of thy money and life too, for
+some effete, medicinal stuff?&nbsp; And moreover, what are all these
+robbers compared with that great arch-robber who deprives them all of
+everything, yea, of their hearts and souls after the fair is over?&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+From this foul and disorderly street we proceeded to the street of the
+Princess of Pleasure wherein I saw many English, French, Italians and
+Paynims.&nbsp; The Princess is very fair to behold, with mixed wine
+in one hand, and a fiddle and a harp in the other; and in her treasury,
+innumerable pleasures and toys to gain the custom of everybody, and
+retain them in her father&rsquo;s service.&nbsp; Yea, many were wont
+to escape to this pleasant street to drown their grief for losses and
+debts they had incurred in the others.&nbsp; It was exceedingly crowded,
+especially with young people; whilst the Princess is careful to please
+everyone, and to have an arrow ready for every mark.&nbsp; If thou art
+thirsty, here thou will find thy favorite beverage; if thou lovest song
+and dance, here thou shalt have thy fill.&nbsp; If the beauty of the
+Princess has kindled thy lust, thou need&rsquo;st but beckon one of
+her sire&rsquo;s officers (who, although invisible, always surround
+her) and they will immediately attend thy behest.&nbsp; There are here
+fair mansions, fine gardens, full orchards, shady groves fit for every
+secret intrigue, or to trap birds or a white rabbit or twain; clear
+streams, most pleasant to fish in; rich, boundless plains, whereon to
+hunt the hare and fox.&nbsp; Along the street we could see them playing
+interludes, juggling and conjuring, singing lewd songs to the sound
+of the harp and ballads, and all manner of jesting.&nbsp; Men and women
+of handsome appearance danced and sang, and many came hither from the
+Street of Pride in order to be praised and worshipped.&nbsp; Within
+the houses we perceived some on silken beds wallowing in debauchery;
+some at the gaming-table, cursing and swearing, others tossing dice
+and shuffling cards.&nbsp; Some from the Street of Lucre, having a room
+here, ran hither to count their money, but stayed not long lest aught
+of the countless geegaws that are here should entice them to part with
+their money without interest.&nbsp; Others I saw at tables feasting
+with somewhat of every created thing before them; and when everyone,
+mess after mess, had guzzled as much of the dainties as would afford
+a moderate man a feast for a whole week, grace followed in the form
+of blasphemous howling; then the king&rsquo;s health was called for,
+and that of every boon companion, and so on to quench the taste of the
+viands, and drown their cares.&nbsp; Then came tobacco, and then each
+one began to talk scandal of his neighbour - whether true or false it
+mattered not as long as it was humorous or fresh, or, best of all, degrading.&nbsp;
+At last, what with a round of blasphemy, and the whole crowd with clay
+pistols belching smoke and fire and slander of their neighbours, and
+the floor already befouled with dregs and spittle, I feared lest viler
+deeds should happen, and craved to depart.<br>
+<br>
+Thence we went where we heard a loud noise, beating and clamouring,
+crying and laughing, shouting and singing.&nbsp; &ldquo;Well, here&rsquo;s
+Bedlam and no mistake,&rdquo; quoth I.&nbsp; By the time we got in,
+the turmoil had ceased; one man lay like a log on the ground, another
+was vomiting, another nodding his head over a hearth full of battered
+flagons, and broken pipes and mugs.&nbsp; On enquiring, what should
+it be but a carousal of seven thirsty neighbours - a tinker, a dyer,
+a blacksmith, a miner, a chimney-sweep, a bard, and a parson who had
+come to preach sobriety, and to show in his own person how repulsive
+drunkenness is; and the beginning of the recent altercation was a discussion
+and dispute they had as to which of the seven callings loved best the
+pot and pipe; the bard had beaten all but the parson and, due regard
+being observed for the cloth, he was adjudged victor and worthy to be
+leader of his good comrades, and so the bard wound up the discussion
+thus:<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Where can ye find such thirsty seven,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Search every clime and land?<br>
+&ldquo;And quaffing off the ruddy ale,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Bard and parson lead the band.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+Thoroughly tired of these drunken swine, we drew nearer the gate in
+order to spy out the blemishes in the magnificent court of Love, the
+purblind king, wherein it is easy to enter, but difficult to get out
+again, and where are chambers innumerable.&nbsp; In the hall opposite
+the door stood giddy Cupid, with two arrows in his bow, darting a languishing
+venom called lust.&nbsp; Along the floor I saw many fair and comely
+women walking with measured steps, and following them, wretched youths
+gazing upon their beauty, and each one begging a glance from his mistress,
+fearing a frown even more than death; now and then one, bowing to the
+ground, would place a letter in his goddess&rsquo; hand, and another
+a sonnet, the while in fear expectant, like schoolboys showing their
+task to the master.&nbsp; They in return would favour their adorers
+with a simpering smile or two, just to keep their desires on edge, but
+granting nought more lest their lust be sated and they depart healed
+of the disease.&nbsp; Going on into the parlour I saw them having lessons
+in dancing and singing, with voice and hand, in order to make their
+lovers sevenfold madder than before; on again into the dining hall where
+they were taught coy smartness in eating; into the cellar, where potent
+love philtres were being mixed of nail parings and the like; in the
+upper rooms we could see one in a secret chamber twisting himself into
+all shapes, practising gentlemanly behaviour when in his mistress&rsquo;
+presence; another before a mirror learning how to smile correctly without
+showing his teeth too prominently to his ladylove; another preparing
+his tale to tell her, repeating the same thing an hundred times.&nbsp;
+Wearied with this insipid babbling we came to another cell: here a nobleman
+had sent for a poet from the Street of Pride to indite him a sonnet
+of praise to his angel, and an eulogy of himself; the bard was discoursing
+of his art: &ldquo;I can,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;liken her to everything
+red and everything white under the sun, and her tresses to an hundred
+things more yellow than gold, and as for your poem, I can trace your
+lineage through many knights and princes, and through the water of the
+deluge right up to Adam.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Well, here&rsquo;s a poet,&rdquo;
+quoth I, &ldquo;who is a better genealogist than I.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Come,
+come,&rdquo; said the Angel, &ldquo;their intention is to deceive the
+woman, but, once in her presence, you may be sure they will have to
+meet trick with trick.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Upon leaving these we had a glimpse of cells where fouler deeds were
+being done than modesty permits to mention, and which caused my companion
+to snatch me away in anger from this fatuous court into the princess&rsquo;
+treasury (for we went where we list notwithstanding doors and locks).&nbsp;
+There we saw myriads of fair women, all kinds of beverages, fruits and
+dainties, stringed instruments and books of songs, - harps, pipes, odes
+and carols, all sorts of games, - backgammon, dice <a name="citation20a"></a><a href="#footnote20a">{20a}</a>
+and cards; pictures of various lands, towns and persons, inventions
+and amusing tricks; all kinds of waters, perfumes, pigments and spots
+to make the ugly fair, and the old look young, and the leman&rsquo;s
+malodorous bones smell sweet for the nonce.&nbsp; In short, the shadow
+of pleasure and the guise of happiness in every conceivable form was
+to be found there; and sooth to say, I almost think I too had been enticed
+by the place had not my friend instantly hurried me away far from the
+three alluring towers to the top end of the streets, and set me down
+near an immense palatial castle, the front view of which seemed fair,
+but the further side was mean and terribly ugly, though it was scarcely
+to be seen at all.&nbsp; It had a myriad portals - all splendid without
+but rotten within.&nbsp; &ldquo;An&rsquo;t please you, my lord,&rdquo;
+asked I, &ldquo;what is this wondrous place?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;This
+is the court of Belials&rsquo; second daughter whose name is Hypocrisy;
+here she keeps her school, and there is no man or woman throughout the
+whole city who has not been a pupil of hers, and most of them have imbibed
+their learning remarkably well; so that her lessons are discernible
+as a second nature intertwined with all their thoughts, words, and deeds
+from very childhood almost.&rdquo;&nbsp; I had been looking awhile on
+the falsity of every part of the edifice when a funeral came by with
+many weeping and sighing, and many men and horses in mourning trappings;
+and shortly the poor widow, veiled so as not to see this cruel world
+any more, came along with piping voice and weary sighs, and fainting
+fits at intervals.&nbsp; In truth, I could not help but weep a little
+out of pity for her.&nbsp; &ldquo;Nay, nay,&rdquo; said the Angel, &ldquo;keep
+thy tears for a more worthy occasion; these voices are only what Hypocrisy
+has taught, and these mourning weeds were fashioned in her great school.&nbsp;
+Not one of these weep sincerely; the widow, even before the body had
+left the house, let in another husband to her heart; were she rid of
+the expenses connected with the corpse she would not care a straw if
+his soul were at the bottom of hell; nor do his own kindred care any
+more than she: for when it went hardest with him, instead of giving
+him good counsel and earnestly praying for mercy upon him, they were
+talking of his property, his will or his pedigree; or what a handsome
+robust man he was, and such talk; and now this wailing <a name="citation21a"></a><a href="#footnote21a">{21a}</a>
+on the part of some is for mere ceremony and custom, on the part of
+others for company&rsquo;s sake or for pay.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Scarcely had these gone by than another throng came in sight: a most
+gallant lord with his lady at his side, slowly advancing in state, to
+whom many men of position doffed, and many were on tiptoe with eagerness
+to show him obeisance and reverence.&nbsp; &ldquo;Here is a noble lord,&rdquo;
+said I, &ldquo;who is worthy such respect from all these!&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Wert thou to take everything to consideration thou wouldst speak
+differently.&nbsp; This lord comes from the Street of Pleasure, she
+is of the Street of Pride, and yon old man who is conversing with him
+comes from the Street of Lucre, and has a mortgage on almost every acre
+of my lord&rsquo;s, and is come to-day to complete the loan.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+We drew nigh to hear the conversation.&nbsp; &ldquo;In sooth, sir,&rdquo;
+Old Money-bags was saying, &ldquo;I would not for all that I possess
+that you should lack anything which lies in my power to enable you to
+appear your own true self this day, especially seeing that you have
+met so beautiful and lovely a lady as madam here&rdquo; (the wily dog
+knowing full well what she was).&nbsp; &ldquo;By the --- by the ---
+,&rdquo; said the lord, &ldquo;next to gazing at her beauty, my greatest
+pleasure was to hearken to your fair reasons; I had liefer pay you interest
+than get money elsewhere free.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Indeed, my lord,&rdquo;
+said one of his chief friends called Flatterer, &ldquo;nuncle pays you
+not a whit less respect than is due to you, but an it please you, he
+has bestowed upon her ladyship scarce the half her mead of praise.&nbsp;
+I defy any man,&rdquo; quoth he, &ldquo;to show a lovelier woman in
+all the Street of Pride, or a nobler than you in all the Street of Pleasure,
+or a kinder than you, good mine uncle, in all the Street of Lucre.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Ah, that is your good opinion,&rdquo; said my lord, &ldquo;but
+I cannot believe that any couple were ever more united in the bonds
+of love than we twain.&rdquo;&nbsp; As they went on the crowd increased,
+and everyone had a pleasant smile and low bow for the other, and hastened
+to salute each other with their noses to the ground, like a pair of
+gamecocks on the point of striking.&nbsp; &ldquo;Know then,&rdquo; said
+the Angel, &ldquo;that thou hast seen naught of civility nor heard one
+word which Hypocrisy has not taught.&nbsp; There is no one here, after
+all this gentleness, who has a hap&rsquo;orth of love one to another,
+yea, many of them are sworn foes.&nbsp; This lord is the butt <a name="citation23a"></a><a href="#footnote23a">{23a}</a>
+of everybody, and all have their dig at him.&nbsp; The lady looks only
+to his greatness and high degree, so that she may thereby ascend a step
+above many of her neighbours.&nbsp; Old Money-bags has his eye on my
+lord&rsquo;s lands for his own son, and all the others on the money
+he received as dowry; for they are all his dependants, his merchants,
+tailors, cobblers and other craftsmen, who have decked him out and maintained
+him in this splendor, and have never had a brass farthing for it, nor
+are likely to get aught save smooth words and sometimes threats perhaps.&nbsp;
+How many layers, how many folds had Hypocrisy laid over the face of
+Truth!&nbsp; He, promising greatness to his love, while his lands were
+on the point of being sold; she, promising him dower and beauty, while
+her beauty is but artificial, and cancer is consuming both her dowry
+and her body.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Well, this teaches us,&rdquo; said
+I, &ldquo;never to judge by appearances.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Yes verily,&rdquo;
+said he, &ldquo;but come on and I will show thee more.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+At the word he transported me up to where the churches of the City of
+Destruction were; for everyone therein, even the unbelieving, has a
+semblance of religion.&nbsp; And it was to the temple of the unbelievers
+that we first came, and there I saw some worshipping a human form, others
+the sun, the moon and a countless other like gods down to onions and
+garlic; and a great goddess called Deceit was universally worshipped.&nbsp;
+However, there were some traces of the influence of Christianity to
+be found in most of these religions.&nbsp; Thence we came to a congregation
+of mutes, <a name="citation24a"></a><a href="#footnote24a">{24a}</a>
+where there was nothing but sighing and quaking and beating the breast.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Here,&rdquo; said the Angel, &ldquo;is the appearance of great
+repentance and humility, but which in reality is perversity, stubbornness,
+pride and utter darkness; although they talk much about the light within,
+they have not even the spectacles of nature which the heathen thou erstwhile
+saw, possess.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+From these dumb dogs we chanced to turn into an immense, roofless church,
+with thousands of shoes lying at the porch, whereby I learnt it was
+a Turkish mosque.&nbsp; These had but very dark and misty spectacles
+called the Koran; yet through these they gazed intently from the summit
+of their church for their prophet, who falsely promised to return and
+visit them long ago, but has left his promise unfulfilled.<br>
+<br>
+From thence we entered the Jewish synagogue - these too were unable
+to flee from the City of Destruction, although they had grey-tinted
+spectacles, for when they look a film comes over their eyes from want
+of anointing them with that precious ointment - faith.<br>
+<br>
+Next we came to the Papists.&nbsp; &ldquo;Here is the church that beguiles
+the nations,&rdquo; exclaimed the Angel, &ldquo;it was Hypocrisy that
+built this church at her own cost.&nbsp; For the Papists encourage,
+yea, command men to break an oath with a heretic even though sworn on
+the sacraments.&rdquo;&nbsp; From the chancel we went through the keyholes,
+up to the top of a certain cell which was full of candles, though it
+was broad daylight, and where we could see a tonsured priest walking
+about as if expecting someone to come to him; and ere long there comes
+a buxom matron, with a fair maid in her wake, bending their knees before
+him to confess their sins.&nbsp; &ldquo;My spiritual father,&rdquo;
+said the good wife, &ldquo;I have a burthen too heavy to bear unless
+I obtain your mercy to lighten it: I married a member of the Church
+of England!&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;What!&rdquo; cried the shorn-pate, &ldquo;married
+a heretic! wedded to an enemy? forgiveness can never be obtained!&rdquo;&nbsp;
+At these words she fainted, while he kept calling down imprecations
+upon her head.&nbsp; &ldquo;Woe&rsquo;s me, and what is worse,&rdquo;
+cried she when come to herself, &ldquo;I killed him!&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh
+ho! thou hast killed him?&nbsp; Well, that&rsquo;s something towards
+gaining the reconciliation of the Church; I tell thee now, hadst thou
+not slain him, thou wouldst never have obtained absolution nor purgatory,
+but a straight gate and a leaden weight to the devil.&nbsp; But where&rsquo;s
+your offering, you jade?&rdquo; he demanded with a snarl.&nbsp; &ldquo;Here,&rdquo;
+said she, handing him a considerable bag of money.&nbsp; &ldquo;Well,&rdquo;
+said he, &ldquo;now I&rsquo;ll make your reconciliation: your penance
+is to remain always a widow lest you should make another bad bargain.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+When she was gone, the maiden also came forward to make her confession.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Your pardon, father confessor,&rdquo; cried she, &ldquo;I conceived
+a child and slew it.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;A fair deed, i&rsquo;faith,&rdquo;
+said the confessor, &ldquo;and who might the father be?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Indeed &rsquo;twas one of your monks.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Hush,
+hush,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;speak no ill of churchmen. <a name="citation25a"></a><a href="#footnote25a">{25a}</a>&nbsp;
+What satisfaction have you for the Church?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Here
+it is,&rdquo; said she and handed him a gold trinket.&nbsp; &ldquo;You
+must repent, and your penance will be to watch at my bedside to-night,&rdquo;
+he said with a leer.&nbsp; Hereupon four other shavelings entered, dragging
+before the confessor a poor wretch, who came about as willingly as he
+would to the gallows.&nbsp; &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s for you a rogue,&rdquo;
+cried one of the four, &ldquo;who must do penance for disclosing the
+secrets of the Catholic Church.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;What!&rdquo; exclaimed
+the confessor, looking towards a dark cell near at hand: &ldquo;but
+come, villain, confess what thou hast said?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Indeed,&rdquo;
+began the poor fellow, &ldquo;a neighbour asked me whether I had seen
+the souls that were groaning underneath the altar on All-souls&rsquo;
+day; and I said I had heard the voice, but had seen nothing.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;So, sirrah, come now, tell everything.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I
+said moreover,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;that I had heard that you
+were playing tricks on us unlettered hinds, that, instead of souls,
+there was nothing but crabs making a row under the carpet.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Oh, thou hell-hound! cursed knave!&rdquo; cried the confessor,
+&ldquo;but, proceed, mastiff.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;And that it was a
+wire that turned the image of St. Peter, and that it was along a wire
+the Holy Ghost descended from the roodloft upon the priest.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Thou heir of hell!&rdquo; cried the shriver, &ldquo;Ho there,
+torturers, take him and cast him into that smoky chimney for tale-bearing.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Well, this is the church Hypocrisy insists upon calling the Catholic
+Church, and she avers that these only are saved,&rdquo; said the Angel;
+&ldquo;they once had the proper spectacles, but they cut the glass into
+a thousand forms; they once had true faith, but they mixed that salve
+with substances of their own, so that they see no better than the unbelieving.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Leaving the cell we came to a barn <a name="citation26a"></a><a href="#footnote26a">{26a}</a>
+where someone was delivering a mock sermon extempore, sometimes repeating
+the same thing thrice in succession.&nbsp; &ldquo;These,&rdquo; said
+the Angel, &ldquo;have the right sort of spectacles to see &lsquo;the
+things which belong unto their peace,&rsquo; but there is wanting in
+their ointment one of the most necessary ingredients, namely, perfect
+love.&nbsp; People come hither for various reasons; some out of respect
+to their elders, some from ignorance, and many for worldly gain.&nbsp;
+One would think, looking at their faces, that they are on the point
+of choking, but they will swallow frogs sooner than starve; for so does
+Princess Hypocrisy teach those meeting in barns.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Pray tell,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;where may the Church of England
+be?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh, it is yonder in the upper city, forming
+a large part of the Catholic Church, but there are in this city a few
+probationary churches belonging to the Church of England, where the
+Welsh and English stay for a time on probation, so that they may become
+fit to have their names enrolled as members of the Catholic Church,
+and ever blessed be he who shall have his name so enrolled.&nbsp; Yet,
+more&rsquo;s the pity, there are but few who befit themselves for its
+citizenship.&nbsp; For too many, instead of looking thitherwards, allow
+themselves to be blinded by the three princesses down below; Hypocrisy
+too, keeps many with one eye on the upper city and the other on the
+lower; yea, Hypocrisy is clever enough to beguile many who have withstood
+the other enchantresses.&nbsp; Enter here, and thou shalt see more,&rdquo;
+he said, and snatched me up into the roodloft in one of the Welsh churches,
+when the people were at service; there we saw some busily whispering,
+some laughing, some staring at pretty women, others prying their neighbour&rsquo;s
+dress from top to toe; others, in eagerness for the position due to
+their rank, keep shoving forward and showing their teeth at one another,
+others dozing, others assiduous at their devotions, and many of these
+too, dissimulating.&nbsp; &ldquo;Thou hast not yet seen, nay, not even
+among infidels shamelessness so barefaced and public as this,&rdquo;
+said the Angel, &ldquo;but so it is, I am sorry to say, there is no
+worse corruption than the corruption of the best.&rdquo; <a name="citation28a"></a><a href="#footnote28a">{28a}</a>&nbsp;
+Then they went to communion, and everybody appeared fairly reverent
+before the altar; yet through my friend&rsquo;s glass I could see one
+taking unto himself with the bread the form of a mastiff, another, that
+of a mole, another, that of an eagle, a pig or a winged serpent, and
+a few, ah, how few, received a ray of bright light with the bread and
+wine.&nbsp; &ldquo;There,&rdquo; he pointed out, &ldquo;is a Roundhead,
+who is going to be sheriff, and because the law calls upon a man to
+receive the sacrament in the Church before taking office he has come
+here rather than lose it, and although there are some here who rejoice
+on seeing him, we have felt no joy at his conversion, because he has
+only become converted for the occasion.&nbsp; Thus thou perceivest that
+Hypocrisy, with exceeding boldness, approaches the altar in the presence
+of the God that cannot be deceived.&nbsp; But though she wields great
+power in the City of Destruction, she is of no avail in the City of
+Emmanuel beyond those ramparts.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Upon that we turned our faces from the great City of Destruction and
+ascended towards the other city, which was considerably less; and on
+our way we met several at the upper end of the streets who had made
+a move as of turning away from the temptations of the gates of Destruction,
+and making for the gate of life.&nbsp; But they either failed to find
+it or grew weary on the way; very few went through - one man of rueful
+countenance, ran in earnest while crowds on all sides derided him, some
+mocking, <a name="citation28b"></a><a href="#footnote28b">{28b}</a>
+some threatening him, and his kindred clinging to him, begging him not
+to condemn himself to lose the whole world at one stroke.&nbsp; &ldquo;I
+lose but a small portion of it, and were I to lose all, what loss, I
+pray you, would it be?&nbsp; For what is there in the world to be desired,
+unless it be deceit, oppression and squalor, wickedness, folly and madness?&nbsp;
+Contentment and rest is man&rsquo;s supreme happiness - this is not
+to be found in your city.&nbsp; For who of you is content? <a name="citation29a"></a><a href="#footnote29a">{29a}</a>&nbsp;
+&lsquo;Higher, higher,&rsquo; is the aim of all in the Street of Pride,
+&lsquo;More, more&rsquo; cry all that dwell in the Street of Lucre,
+&lsquo;Sweet, sweet, yet more&rsquo; is the voice of everybody in the
+Street of Pleasure.&nbsp; And as for rest, where is it, and who hath
+obtained it?&nbsp; If a man is of high degree, adulation and envy almost
+kill him; if poor, everybody is ready to trample and despise him.&nbsp;
+If one would prosper, he must set his mind upon being an intriguer;
+if one would gain respect, let him be a boaster or braggart; if one
+would be godly, and attend church and approach the altar, he is dubbed
+a hypocrite, if he abstain from doing so, he becomes at once an antichrist
+or a heretic; if he is light-hearted, he is called a scoffer, if silent,
+a morose cur; if he practises honesty, he is but a good-for-nothing
+fool; if well dressed, he is proud, if not, he is a pig; if gentle of
+speech, he is double-faced and a rogue, whom none can fathom; if rough,
+he is an arrogant and froward devil.&nbsp; This is the world you make
+so much of, and pray you take my share of it and welcome,&rdquo; and
+at the word he shook himself free of them all, and away he sped boldly
+to the narrow gate, and spite of all, pushing onwards he entered, and
+we too at his heels.&nbsp; Upon the battlements on either side of the
+gate were many men dressed in black, encouraging the man and applauding
+him.&nbsp; &ldquo;Who are those in black up yonder?&rdquo; I asked.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;They are the watchmen of King Emmanuel,&rdquo; answered he, &ldquo;who
+in their sovereign&rsquo;s name invite men hither and help them through
+the gate.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+By this we were at the gate: it was very low and narrow, and mean, compared
+with the lower gates; around the door the Ten Commandments were graven
+- the first table on the right hand and above it, &ldquo;Thou shalt
+love God with all thy heart,&rdquo; and above the other table on the
+left, &ldquo;Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,&rdquo; and above
+the whole &ldquo;Love not the world neither the things that are in the
+world.&rdquo;&nbsp; I had not been looking on long before the watchmen
+began calling in a loud voice upon the condemned men: &ldquo;Flee, flee
+for your lives!&rdquo;&nbsp; But it was few that gave any heed at all
+to them, though some enquired, &ldquo;What are we to flee from?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;From the prince of this world, who ruleth in the children of
+disobedience; from the corruption that is in the world through the lust
+of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; from
+the wrath that is coming upon you.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;What is your
+beloved city? &ldquo; cried a watchman, &ldquo;but a huge charred roof
+over the mouth of hell, and were ye here ye should see the conflagration
+beyond your walls ready to burst in and consume you even unto the bottomless
+pit.&rdquo;&nbsp; Some mocked, others, menacing, bade them have done
+with their wicked nonsense; yet one here and there would ask, &ldquo;Whither
+shall we flee?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Hither,&rdquo; answered the watchmen,
+&ldquo;flee hither to your rightful king, who through us still offers
+you reconciliation, if ye return to your allegiance, and leave that
+rebel Belial and his bewitching daughters.&nbsp; However fair they appear,
+it is all sham; Belial is but a very poor prince at home; he has nought
+but you as faggots for the fire and for food, both roast and boiled,
+and never will ye suffice him; never will his hunger be appeased or
+your pain cease.&nbsp; Who would ever in a moment of madness enter the
+service of such a malignant slaughterer, and suffer eternal torments,
+when he might live well under a king who is merciful and kind to his
+subjects, and who hath never done them aught but good on all sides,
+and kept them from Belial, so that in the end he might give to each
+one a kingdom in the realm of light.&nbsp; Oh, ye fools, will ye have
+that terrible foe, whose lips are parched with thirst for your blood,
+and reject the compassionate prince who hath given his own blood to
+save you?&rdquo;&nbsp; Yet these reasons which would melt the rock seemed
+to have no good effect upon them, and chiefly because few had the time
+to listen to them, the others were too intently gazing at the gates;
+and of those listening, very few reflected thereon, and of these again,
+many soon forgot them; some would not believe they served Belial, others
+would not have it that this untrodden little hole was the gate of Life,
+and that the other bright portals, and this castle, were a delusion
+to prevent them seeing their doom before coming face to face with it.<br>
+<br>
+Just then, behold a troop of people from the Street of Pride, knocking
+boldly enough at the gate; but they were all so stiff-necked that they
+could never enter a place so low without soiling their periwigs and
+horns, so they sulkily retraced their steps.&nbsp; In their wake there
+came up a group from the Street of Lucre: &ldquo;And is this the Gate
+of Life?&rdquo; asked one; &ldquo;Yea,&rdquo; said the watchman overhead.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;What must be done to enter?&rdquo; he enquired.&nbsp; &ldquo;Read
+what is inscribed above the doorway and ye shall know.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+The miser read the Ten Commandments through: &ldquo;Who will say that
+I have broken one of these?&rdquo; he exclaimed.&nbsp; But when he looked
+up, and saw the words, &ldquo;Love not the world, nor the things that
+are in the world,&rdquo; he was amazed, and could not swallow that hard
+saying.&nbsp; There was one, green-eyed and envious, who turned back
+when he read: &ldquo;Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+There was a gossip and a slanderer who became dazed on reading: &ldquo;Thou
+shalt not bear false witness.&rdquo;&nbsp; When he read, &ldquo;Thou
+shalt not kill,&rdquo; &ldquo;This is not the place for me&rdquo; quoth
+the physician.&nbsp; In short, everybody saw something which troubled
+him, and so they all returned together to consider the matter.&nbsp;
+I saw no one yet come back who had conned his lesson; they had so many
+bags and scripts tightly bound to them, that they could never have got
+through such a narrow needle&rsquo;s eye, even if they had tried to.&nbsp;
+After that a drove from the Street of Pleasure walked up to the gate.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Where, pray, does this road lead to?&rdquo; asked one of the
+watchmen.&nbsp; &ldquo;This,&rdquo; answered he, &ldquo;is the way that
+leads to eternal joy and happiness.&rdquo;&nbsp; Whereupon all strove
+to enter, but failed, for some were too stout to pass through such a
+strait opening; others too weak to struggle, being enfeebled through
+debauchery.&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh, ye must not attempt to take your baubles
+with you,&rdquo; said the watchman, observing them; &ldquo;ye must leave
+behind your pots and dishes, your minions, and all other things, and
+then hasten on.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;How shall we live?&rdquo; asked
+the fiddler, who would have been through long since but that he feared
+to smash his fiddle.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ye must trust the king&rsquo;s promise
+to send after you as many of these things as will do you good,&rdquo;
+said the watchman.&nbsp; This made them all prick their ears, &ldquo;Oh,
+oh!&rdquo; said one, &ldquo;a bird in hand is worth two in the bush,&rdquo;
+and at that they with one accord turned back.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Let us enter then,&rdquo; said the Angel, and drew me in; and
+there in the porch I first of all perceived a large baptismal font,
+and hard by, a well of salt water.&nbsp; &ldquo;What is this doing in
+the middle of the road?&rdquo; I asked.&nbsp; &ldquo;Because everybody
+must wash therein before obtaining citizenship in the Court of Emmanuel;
+it is called the well of repentance.&rdquo;&nbsp; Overhead I could see
+inscribed &ldquo;This is the gate of the Lord.&rdquo;&nbsp; The gateway,
+and street also, widened and became less steep as we went on, and after
+proceeding a short distance I heard a voice behind me slowly saying,
+&ldquo;That is the way, walk ye in it.&rdquo;&nbsp; The street trended
+upwards, but was very clean and straight, and though the houses there
+were not so lofty as those in the City of Destruction, they were fairer
+to behold; if there was less wealth, there was also less dissension
+and care; if the choice dishes were fewer, pain was more rare; if there
+was less turmoil, there was less grief and more undoubtedly of true
+joy.&nbsp; I wondered at the silence and sweet tranquility there, when
+thinking of what was going on below.&nbsp; Instead of the cursing and
+swearing, the scoffing, debauchery and drunkenness, instead of the pride
+and vanity, the torpitude of one quarter and the violence of another,
+yea, for all the bustle and the pomp, the hurly-burly and the brawl
+which there unceasingly bewildered men, and for the innumerable and
+unvarying sins, there was nothing to be seen here but sobriety, kindness
+and cheerfulness, peace and thankfulness, compassion, innocence and
+contentment stamped upon the face of every man, except where one or
+two silently wept, grieving that they had tarried so long in the enemy&rsquo;s
+city.&nbsp; There was no hatred or anger, except towards sin, and this
+was certain to be overcome; no fear, but of displeasing their king,
+who was more ready to be reconciled than to be angry with his subjects;
+no sound, but that of psalms of praise to their Saviour.&nbsp; By this
+we had come in sight of an exceedingly fine building, oh, so magnificent!&nbsp;
+No one in the City of Destruction, neither the Turk nor the Mogul nor
+any one else, has anything equal to it.&nbsp; &ldquo;This is the Catholic
+Church,&rdquo; said the Angel.&nbsp; &ldquo;Is it here Emmanuel holds
+his court?&rdquo; asked I.&nbsp; &ldquo;Yes, this is the only royal
+court he has on earth.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Are there many crowned heads
+beneath his sway?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;A few - thy queen, some of the
+princes of Scandinavia and Germany, and a few other petty princes.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;What is that compared with those over whom great Belial rules
+- emperors and kings without number?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;For all that,&rdquo;
+said the Angel, &ldquo;not one of them can move a finger without Emmanuel&rsquo;s
+permission - no, not even Belial himself.&nbsp; For Emmanuel is his
+rightful liege too, only that he rebelled, and was in consequence bound
+in chains to all eternity; although he is still allowed for a short
+period to visit the City of Destruction where he entices all he can
+into like rebellion, and to bear a share of his punishment; and though
+he well knows that by so doing he increases his own penalty, <a name="citation34a"></a><a href="#footnote34a">{34a}</a>
+yet malice and envy urge him on whenever he has a pretext, and so much
+does he love evil that he seeks to destroy this city and this edifice,
+although he knows of yore that its Saviour is invincible.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Prithee, my lord,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;may we approach so as
+to obtain a better view of this magnificent royal court (for my heart
+waxed warm towards the place since first I had beheld it).&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh
+yes, easily,&rdquo; answered the Angel, &ldquo;for therein is my place,
+my duty and my work.&rdquo;&nbsp; The nearer I came thereto the more
+I wondered at the height, strength, splendour, grandeur, and beauty
+of its every part, how skilful the work was, and how apt the materials.&nbsp;
+Its base was an enormous rock wondrously fashioned, and of strength
+impregnable; upon it were living stones, laid and joined in such perfect
+order that no stone could possibly appear finer elsewhere than in its
+own place.&nbsp; One part of the church projected in the form of a wonderfully
+handsome cross, and the Angel saw me looking at it, and said, &ldquo;Dost
+thou recognise that part?&rdquo;&nbsp; I knew not what to answer.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;That is the Church of England,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; I was somewhat
+startled, and looking up beheld Queen Anne on the church-top enthroned,
+with a sword in each hand - the one in the left called &ldquo;Justice,&rdquo;
+to defend her subjects against the inhabitants of the City of Destruction,
+the one in the right, to preserve them from Belial and his spiritual
+evils, and this was called &ldquo;the sword of the Spirit,&rdquo; or
+the Word of God.&nbsp; Beneath the left sword lay the statute book of
+England, and beneath the other, a big Bible.&nbsp; The sword of the
+Spirit was fiery, and of immense length, and would kill further away
+than the other would touch.&nbsp; I could see the other princes with
+like arms defending their part of the church, but I deemed mine own
+queen fairest of all, and her arms the brightest.&nbsp; At her right
+hand I observed throngs clad in black - archbishops, bishops, and learned
+men upholding with her the sword of the Spirit, while soldiers and officials,
+with a few lawyers, supported the other sword.&nbsp; I was allowed to
+rest awhile, by one of the magnificent doors where people came in to
+obtain membership in the Universal Church, and whereat a tall angel
+was doorkeeper.&nbsp; The interior of the church was lit up so brilliantly
+that Hypocrisy dared not show her face therein, and though sometimes
+she appeared at the threshold she never entered.&nbsp; Just as I saw,
+in the space of a quarter of an hour, a Papist, who thought that the
+Catholic Church belonged to the Pope, came and claimed its freedom.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;What have you to prove your right?&rdquo; demanded the porter.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I have plenty of the traditions of the fathers, and of councils
+of the church,&rdquo; he answered, &ldquo;but what need I more certain
+than the word of the Pope, who sits in the infallible chair?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Then the doorkeeper opened a huge Bible - a load in itself; &ldquo;This,&rdquo;
+said he, &ldquo;is our only statute book - prove your right from this
+or go.&rdquo;&nbsp; And he straightway departed.<br>
+<br>
+Then came a flock of Quakers, who wished to enter with their hats on,
+but were turned away for being so ill-mannered.&nbsp; After them some
+of the barn-folk, who had been there only a short while, began to speak:
+&ldquo;We have the same statute book as ye have,&rdquo; they averred,
+&ldquo;and therefore show us our privileged place.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Stay,&rdquo;
+said the bright porter, steadfastly gazing on their foreheads, &ldquo;I
+will show you something: see yon mark of the rent ye made in the church
+when leaving it without cause or reason?&nbsp; And would ye now have
+a place therein?&nbsp; Get ye back to the narrow gate, and wash thoroughly
+in the well of repentance, to see if ye will reach some of the royal
+blood ye erstwhile drank <a name="citation36a"></a><a href="#footnote36a">{36a}</a>
+and bring some of the water of that well to moisten the clay, so as
+to make up yonder rent and then ye are welcome.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Before we had gone a rood westward I heard a noise coming from above,
+from among the princes, and everybody, great and small, was taking up
+arms and donning his armour as if for war, and ere I had time to cast
+about me for a refuge, the whole sky became black, and the city darker
+than when an eclipse befalls; the thunder roared, the lightning flashed
+to and fro, and ceaseless showers of deadly shafts were directed from
+the lower gates against the Catholic Church, and had there not been
+in each man&rsquo;s hand a shield to receive the fiery darts, and had
+the foundation rock not been so strong that nothing could ever harm
+it, we all would have become one burning mass.&nbsp; But alack, this
+was but a prologue or foretaste of what was to follow; for suddenly
+the darkness became sevenfold more intense, and Belial himself advanced
+in the densest cloud, and around him his chief officers both earthly
+and infernal, ready to receive and accomplish his behest at their several
+posts.&nbsp; He had entrusted the Pope and his other son of France <a name="citation37a"></a><a href="#footnote37a">{37a}</a>
+with the destruction of the Church of England and its queen; the Turks
+and Muscovites were to strike at the other sections of the Church, and
+slay the people, and especially the queen and the other princes, and
+above all to burn the Bible.&nbsp; The first thing the queen and the
+other saints did was to bend the knee and tell of their wrongs to the
+King of Kings in these words: &ldquo;The stretching out of his wings
+shall fill the breadth of thy land, oh Emmanuel.&rdquo;&nbsp; And immediately
+a voice replied: &ldquo;Resist the devil and he will flee from you.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+And then commenced the greatest and most terrible conflict that ever
+took place on earth.&nbsp; When the sword of the Spirit began to be
+whirled round, Belial and his infernal hosts began to retreat; then
+the Pope began to waver, while the King of France still held out, though
+he too was almost giving up heart, seeing the queen and her subjects
+so united, while he himself was losing ships and men on the one hand,
+and on the other many of his subjects were in open revolt; and the onslaught
+of the Turk also was becoming less fierce.&nbsp; Just then, woe&rsquo;s
+me, I saw my beloved companion shooting away from me into the welkin
+to join a myriad other bright princes.&nbsp; Thereupon the Pope and
+the other earthly commanders began to slink off and become prostrate
+through fear, and the infernal princes to fall by the thousands.&nbsp;
+The noise of each one falling seemed to me as if a great mountain fell
+into the depths of the sea, and between this noise and the agitation
+on losing my friend, I awoke from sleep, and returned to this oppressive
+sod, most unwillingly, so pleasant and enjoyable it was to be a free
+spirit, and above all to be in such company, notwithstanding the great
+danger I was in.&nbsp; Now I had no one to comfort me save the Muse,
+and she was rather moody - scarcely could I get her to bray out these
+lines that follow:-<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Behold this wondrous edifice,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Both heaven and earth comprising,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The universe and all that is<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At God&rsquo;s command arising -<br>
+This world, with ramparts wide from pole to pole,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Down from its starry, brilliant dome,<br>
+E&rsquo;en to the depths where angry billows roll,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And beasts that through the forest roam -<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All things that sea and sky afford,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thy faithful subjects eke to be;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A lesser heaven, a home for thee<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh! man, creation&rsquo;s lord.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But once that thou desired to know<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The ways of sin, seductive,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The hellish tempter, to our woe,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Became a power destructive;<br>
+He cursed our earth and ruin brought on all,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yea, very nature felt the bane -<br>
+Its blighted walls now totter to their fall,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And soon disorder rules again.<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This earthly palace then at last,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Unroofed, dismantled and decayed,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A hideous, barren waste is laid<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;By desolation&rsquo;s blast.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Behold oh, man! this glorious place<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the empyrean hovering<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;While all is but a treach&rsquo;rous face<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Foul swamps and quagmires covering.<br>
+Thy sin, that whelmed this earth in days of yore,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Shall draw upon it quenchless fire<br>
+With flaming torrents wildly rushing o&rsquo;er -<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A prey to conflagration dire;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If thou wouldst &rsquo;scape this
+dreadful fate,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I pray thee counsel take from me,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To Mercy&rsquo;s city straightway flee<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For life within its gate.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Behold that city&rsquo;s peerless might<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Withstanding all oppression -<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then flee thereto in thy sad plight,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Be free from sin&rsquo;s possession.<br>
+Behold thy refuge in this dreary land<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Where all may find true, peaceful rest,<br>
+A rock, impregnable on every hand,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Where perfect love reigns ever blest;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We sinful men, the way must search,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And there in faith for pardon pray,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And live a blissful, tranquil day<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Within the Holy Church.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+II. - THE VISION OF DEATH IN HIS NETHERMOST COURT<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+One long, cold, and dark winter&rsquo;s night, when one-eye&rsquo;d
+Ph&oelig;bus well nigh had reached his utmost limit in the south and,
+from afar, lowered upon Great Britain and all the Northern land, and
+when it was much warmer in the kitchen of Glyn Cywarch <a name="citation43a"></a><a href="#footnote43a">{43a}</a>
+than at the top of Cader Idris, and better in a cosy room with a warm
+bedfellow than in a shroud in the lychgate, I was meditating upon a
+talk I had had by the fireside with a neighbour concerning the brevity
+of human life, and how certain it was that death would come to all,
+and yet how uncertain its coming.&nbsp; Thus engaged, I had just lain
+down, and was half-asleep, when I felt a heavy weight stealthily creeping
+over me, from head to heel, so that I could not move a finger - my tongue
+only was unbound.&nbsp; I perceived, methought, a man upon my chest,
+and above him, a woman.&nbsp; After eyeing him carefully I recognised
+by his strong odours, dewy locks and blear eyes, that the man was no
+other than my good Master Sleep.&nbsp; &ldquo;I pray you, sir,&rdquo;
+cried I, squeaking, &ldquo;what have I done to you that you bring that
+witch here to torment me?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Hush,&rdquo; said he,
+&ldquo;it is only my sister Nightmare; we twain are going to pay our
+brother Death <a name="citation43b"></a><a href="#footnote43b">{43b}</a>
+a visit, and want a third to accompany us, and lest thou shouldst resist
+we came upon thee, just as he does, unawares.&nbsp; Consequently come
+thou must, willy-nilly.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Alas,&rdquo; I cried, &ldquo;must
+I die?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Nay,&rdquo; said Nightmare, &ldquo;we will
+spare thee this time.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;But an&rsquo;t please you,&rdquo;
+said I, &ldquo;your brother Death has never spared anyone yet who came
+beneath his stroke - he who wrestled with the Lord of Life himself,
+though it was little he gained by that contest.&rdquo;&nbsp; Nightmare,
+at that word, rose up angrily and departed.&nbsp; &ldquo;Come along,&rdquo;
+cried Sleep, &ldquo;thou wilt never repent of thy journey.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;may there never be night in Sleepton,
+and may Nightmare never have rest save on an awl&rsquo;s point if ye
+bring me not back where ye found me.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Then away we went over hills and through forests, across seas and valleys,
+over castles and towers, rivers and rocks, and where should we alight
+but at one of the gates of the daughters of Belial, at the rear of the
+City of Destruction, where I noticed that the three gateways of Destruction
+contracted into one at the back, and opened upon the same place - a
+murky, vaporous, pestilent place, full of noisome mists, and terrible
+lowering clouds.&nbsp; &ldquo;Prithee, good sir,&rdquo; asked I, &ldquo;what
+place be this?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;The chambers of Death,&rdquo; replied
+Sleep.&nbsp; And no sooner had I asked than I could hear some wailing,
+groaning, and sighing; some deliriously muttering to themselves or feebly
+moaning, others in great travail, and with all the signs of man&rsquo;s
+departure from life; and, now and then, would one give a long-drawn
+gasp, and lapse into silence.&nbsp; At that moment, I heard a key being
+turned in a lock, and at the noise I looked around for the door, and
+gazing steadfastly, perceived thousands upon thousands of doors, seemingly
+afar off but really close at hand.&nbsp; &ldquo;Please, Master Sleep,
+where do these doors open upon?&rdquo; asked I.&nbsp; &ldquo;Upon the
+land of Oblivion,&rdquo; was the answer, &ldquo;an extensive domain
+<a name="citation44a"></a><a href="#footnote44a">{44a}</a> under the
+sceptre of my brother Death, and this great rampart is the boundary
+of vast Eternity.&rdquo;&nbsp; By this I could see that there was a
+little death-imp at every door, each one bearing arms, and a name different
+from that of his fellows; though it was evident that they, one and all,
+were the ministers of the same king.&nbsp; Nevertheless they were continually
+quarrelling about the sick; one would snatch the patient to take him
+as a gift through his own door, while another strove to take him through
+his.<br>
+<br>
+On our approach, I observed that over each door the name of the Death
+who kept it was written, and also that at each door were an hundred
+various things left all of a heap, showing plainly that those who went
+through were in haste.&nbsp; Over one door I saw &ldquo;Hunger,&rdquo;
+and yet on the floor close by were full purses, and bags, and brass-nailed
+trunks.&nbsp; &ldquo;This is the Porch of Misers,&rdquo; said Sleep.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Whom do those rags belong to?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;To the misers,
+mostly,&rdquo; he replied, &ldquo;but there are some which belong to
+idlers, gossipmongers and others, who, poor in everything except in
+spirit, preferred to die of hunger rather than ask for help.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Next door was Death-by-Cold, and when I came opposite him I could hear
+much shuddering and shivering, and at his door, were many books, pots
+and flagons, a few sticks and bludgeons, compasses, cords and ship&rsquo;s
+tackle.&nbsp; &ldquo;Scholars have gone this way,&rdquo; said I.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Yea, lonely and helpless, far from the succour of those who loved
+them, their very garments stolen from them.&nbsp; Those,&rdquo; he continued,
+pointing to the pots, &ldquo;are relics of the boon companions, whose
+feet were benumbed under the benches, while their heads were seething
+in drink and noise; those things over there belonged to those who journeyed
+amid snow-clad mountains, and to North Sea traders.&rdquo;&nbsp; The
+next was a lanky skeleton called Fear-Death - so transparent you could
+see he had no heart; at his door, too, there were bags and chests, bars
+and strongholds.&nbsp; Through this one went userers and traitors, oppressors
+and murderers, though many of these last called at the next door, at
+which was a Death named Gallows, with a rope ready round his neck.&nbsp;
+Next to him was Love-Death, and at his feet thousands of musical instruments
+and song-books, love-letters, spots and pigments to beautify the face,
+and hundreds of tinselled toys for the same purpose, together with a
+few swords: &ldquo;With these rivals have fought duels for their mistresses,
+and some have killed themselves,&rdquo; said Sleep.&nbsp; I could see
+that this Death was sandblind.&nbsp; At the next door was a Death whose
+colour was worst of all, and whose liver was entirely gone - his name
+was Envy.&nbsp; &ldquo;This is the Death,&rdquo; said Sleep, &ldquo;which
+brings hither those who have lost money, slanderers, and a rideress
+or two, who are jealous of the law which demands that a wife should
+submit herself unto her husband.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Pray, sir, what
+is a rideress?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;A rideress is a woman who will over-ride
+her husband, her neighbourhood, and the whole country if she can, and
+by dint of long riding, at last, rides a devil from that door down to
+the bottomless pit.&rdquo;&nbsp; Next was the door of Ambition-Death
+for those who hold their heads high, and break their necks, for want
+of looking on the ground they tread on; at this door lay crowns, sceptres,
+standards, petitions for offices, and all manner of arms of heraldry
+and war.<br>
+<br>
+But before I had time to notice any more of these innumerable doors,
+I heard a voice bidding me by name to be dissolved, and at the word
+I felt myself beginning to melt like a snowball in the heat of the sun;
+then my master gave me a sleeping draught, so that I slumbered; and
+when I awoke, he had taken me by some road or other far away on the
+other side of the castle.&nbsp; I perceived myself in a pitch-dark vale
+of infinite radius, methought, and shortly, I saw by a few bluish lights,
+like the flickering flame of a candle, countless, ah! countless shades
+of men, some afoot and some on horseback, rushing back and fro like
+the wind, in awful silence and solemnity; the land was barren, bleak
+and blasted, without either grass or hay, trees or animals, save deadly
+beasts and poisonous vermin of every kind - serpents, snakes, lice,
+frogs, worms, locusts, gids and all such that exist on man&rsquo;s corruption.&nbsp;
+Through a myriad shades and reptiles, graves, churchyards and tombs,
+we made our way to view the land unmolested, until I happened to see
+some turning round and looking at me; in an instant, notwithstanding
+the prevailing silence, a whisper passed from one to another that there
+was a man from earth there.&nbsp; &ldquo;A man from earth!&rdquo; cried
+one, &ldquo;a man from earth,&rdquo; exclaimed another, while they crowded
+round me, like caterpillars, from every quarter.&nbsp; &ldquo;Which
+way came you, sirrah?&rdquo; asked a morkin of a death-imp.&nbsp; &ldquo;Indeed,
+sir,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;I know not any more than you do.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;What is your name?&rdquo; he asked.&nbsp; &ldquo;Call me here
+in your own country what ye will, but at home I am called the Sleeping
+Bard.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+At that word I could see an ancient mannikin, bent double, head to feet,
+like a bramble, straightening himself, and looking at me more malignantly
+than the red devil, and without a word he hurled a big skull at my head,
+but, thanks to a sheltering tombstone, missed me.&nbsp; &ldquo;Truce,
+sir, I pray you,&rdquo; cried I, &ldquo;to a stranger who was never
+here before, and will never come again, could I but once find the way
+home.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll make you remember you&rsquo;ve
+been here,&rdquo; quoth he, and, again setting upon me with a thighbone,
+he beat me most unmercifully, while I dodged about as best as I could.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Ho ho!&rdquo; I cried, &ldquo;this country is very unmannerly
+towards strangers; is there no justice of the peace here?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Peace, indeed,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;thou, surely, hast no right
+to sue for peace, who disturbest the dead in their graves.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Pray, sir, might I know your name, for I wot not that I have
+ever molested anyone from this country?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Sirrah!&rdquo;
+cried he, &ldquo;know then that I, and not you, am the Sleeping Bard,
+and have been left in peace these nine centuries by all but you,&rdquo;
+and again he set upon me.&nbsp; &ldquo;Withhold, brother,&rdquo; said
+Merlin <a name="citation48a"></a><a href="#footnote48a">{48a}</a> who
+stood near, &ldquo;be not too hasty; thank him rather for that he hath
+kept your name in respected memory on earth.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;In
+great respect, forsooth,&rdquo; quoth he, &ldquo;by such a blockhead
+as this.&nbsp; Are you, sirrah, versed in the four and twenty metres?&nbsp;
+Can you trace the line of Gog and Magog and of Brutus son of Silvius
+<a name="citation48b"></a><a href="#footnote48b">{48b}</a> down to a
+century before the destruction of Troy?&nbsp; Can you prophesy when,
+and how the wars between the lion and the eagle, and between the stag
+and the red deer will end?&nbsp; Can you?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Ho there!
+let me ask him a question,&rdquo; said another who stood by a huge seething
+cauldron, <a name="citation48c"></a><a href="#footnote48c">{48c}</a>
+&ldquo;draw near, and tell me the meaning of this:-<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Upon the face of earth I&rsquo;ll be<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Until the judgment day,<br>
+&ldquo;And whether I be fish or flesh<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;No man can ever say.&rdquo;&nbsp; <a name="citation48d"></a><a href="#footnote48d">{48d}</a><br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;I would know your name, sir,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;so that I
+might the more befittingly give answer.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I am Taliesin,
+Chief of the Western Bards, <a name="citation48e"></a><a href="#footnote48e">{48e}</a>
+and those are lines from my mystery-song.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I know
+not what your meaning may be, if it be not the yellow plague which destroyed
+Maelgwn Gwynedd, <a name="citation49a"></a><a href="#footnote49a">{49a}</a>
+slew you upon the sea, and divided you between the ravens and fishes.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Tush, you fool,&rdquo; cried he, &ldquo;I was foretelling of
+my two callings - as lawyer and poet - and which sayest thou now bears
+greatest resemblance, whether a lawyer to a raven, or a poet to a whale?&nbsp;
+How many will a single lawyer lay bare of flesh to swell his own paunch,
+and oh! so callously doth he shed blood and leave the man half dead!&nbsp;
+The poet, too, what fish can gulp as much as he?&nbsp; And though he
+hath always a sea round him, not all the ocean can quench his thirst.&nbsp;
+And when a man is both a poet and a lawyer, who can tell whether he
+is fish or flesh, and especially if he be a courtier as well, as I was,
+and had to change his taste with every mouth.&nbsp; But tell me, are
+there many of these folk now on earth?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Yes, plenty,&rdquo;
+answered I, &ldquo;if a man can patch together any sort of metre, straightway
+he becomes a chaired bard.&nbsp; And of the others, there is such a
+plague of barristers, petty lawyers, and clerks that the locusts of
+Egypt preyed less heavily on the country than they.&nbsp; In your time,
+sir, there were only roadside bargains and a hands-breadth of writing
+on the purchase of a hundred pound farm, and a cairn or an Arthur&rsquo;s
+quoit <a name="citation49b"></a><a href="#footnote49b">{49b}</a> raised
+as a memorial of the purchase and boundaries.&nbsp; People have not
+the courage to do so nowadays, but more cunning, knavery, and written
+parchment, wide as a cromlech, is necessary to bind the bargain, and
+for all that it would be strange if no flaw existed or were contrived
+therein.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Well, well,&rdquo; said Taliesin, &ldquo;I
+would not be worth a straw there, I may as well be here; truth will
+never be found where there are many bards, nor justice where many lawyers,
+until health be found where there be many doctors.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Upon this a grey-haired, writhled shrimp, who had heard of the presence
+of an earthly man, came and fell at my feet, weeping profusely.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Alack, poor fellow,&rdquo; cried I, &ldquo;what art thou?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;One who suffers too much wrong on earth day by day,&rdquo; he
+replied, &ldquo;and your soul must obtain me justice.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;What
+is thy name?&rdquo; I enquired.&nbsp; &ldquo;I am called Someone,&rdquo;
+was the answer, &ldquo;and there is no love-message, slander, lie, or
+tale to breed quarrels, but that I am blamed for most of them.&nbsp;
+&lsquo;In sooth,&rsquo; said one, &lsquo;she is an excellent wench,
+and has spoken highly of you to Someone, although someone great was
+seeking her.&rsquo;&nbsp; &lsquo;I heard Someone,&rsquo; said another,
+&lsquo;reckoning a debt of nine hundred pounds on such and such an estate.&rsquo;&nbsp;
+&lsquo;I saw Someone yesterday,&rsquo; said the beggar, &lsquo;with
+a mottled neckerchief, like a sailor, who had come with a grain vessel
+to the next port;&rsquo; and so every rag and tag mauls me to suit his
+own evil purpose.&nbsp; Some call me &lsquo;Friend.&rsquo;&nbsp; &lsquo;A
+friend told me,&rsquo; saith one, &lsquo;that so and so does not intend
+leaving a single farthing to his wife, and that there is no love lost
+between them.&rsquo;&nbsp; Others further disgrace me and call me a
+crow: &lsquo;a crow tell me there is some trickery going on,&rsquo;
+they say.&nbsp; Yea, some call me by a more honoured name - Old Man,
+and yet not a half of the omens, prophecies, and cures attributed to
+me are really mine.&nbsp; I never counselled walking the old way if
+the new were better, and I never intended forbidding men to church by
+saying: &lsquo;Frequent not the place where thou art most welcome,&rsquo;
+and a hundred such.&nbsp; But Someone is the name generally given me,
+and most often heard of when anything uncommonly bad happens; for if
+you ask one where that scandalous lie was told and who told it.&nbsp;
+&lsquo;Indeed,&rsquo; he will say, &lsquo;I know not, but Someone in
+the company said it,&rsquo; and if you enquire of all the company concerning
+the story, all have heard it of Someone, but no one knows of whom.&nbsp;
+Is it not a shameful wrong?&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;I beg of you to
+inform everybody who names me that I uttered nought of such things.&nbsp;
+I never invented or repeated a lie to disgrace anyone, nor a single
+tale to cause kinsmen to fly at each other&rsquo;s throats; I do not
+come near them; I know nothing of their scandal, or business, or accursed
+secrets - they must not charge me with their evils, but their own corrupt
+brains.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Hereupon a little Death, one of the King&rsquo;s secretaries, asked
+me my name, and bade Master Sleep carry me at once into the King&rsquo;s
+presence.&nbsp; I had to go, though most unwilling, by reason of the
+power that took me up like a whirlwind, &rsquo;twixt high and low, thousands
+of miles back on our left, till we came, a second time, in sight of
+the boundary wall, and in an enclosed corner we could see a vast palace,
+roofless and in ruins, extending to the wall wherein were the countless
+doors, all of which led to this terrible court.&nbsp; Its walls were
+built of human skulls with hideous, grinning teeth; the clay was black
+with mingled tears and sweat, the lime ruddy with gore.&nbsp; On the
+summit of each tower stood a Deathling, with a quivering heart on the
+point of his shaft.&nbsp; Around the court were a few trees - a poisonous
+yew or twain, or a deadly cypress, and in these owls, ravens, vampires
+and the like, make their nests, and cry unceasingly for flesh, although
+the whole place is but one vast, putrid shamble.&nbsp; The pillars of
+the hall were made of thighbones, and those of the parlour of shinbones,
+while the floors were formed of layer upon layer of all manner of charnel.<br>
+<br>
+I had not to wait a longwhile ere I came in view of a tremendous altar,
+where we could see the King of Terrors devouring human flesh and blood,
+while a thousand impish deaths, from every hole, were continually feeding
+him with warm, fresh meat.&nbsp; &ldquo;Here is a rogue,&rdquo; said
+the Death that led me thither, &ldquo;whom I found in the midst of the
+land of Oblivion, having approached so light-footed that your majesty
+never tasted a bite of him,&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;How can that be?&rdquo;
+demanded the king, opening his jaws, wide as a chasm, to swallow me.&nbsp;
+Whereupon I turned trembling to Sleep.&nbsp; &ldquo;It was I who brought
+him hither,&rdquo; said he.&nbsp; &ldquo;Well then, for my brother Sleep&rsquo;s
+sake,&rdquo; said the awful and lanky monarch, &ldquo;you can retrace
+your steps for the nonce; but beware of me the next time.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Having been for some time cramming his gluttonous maw with carrion,
+he caused his subjects to be called together, and moved from the altar
+to a very lofty and dreadful throne, to adjudge newly-arrived prisoners.&nbsp;
+In an instant, lo! the dead in countless multitudes paid homage to the
+king, and took their places in wonderful array.&nbsp; King Death was
+in his regal robe of brilliant scarlet, whereon depicted were wives
+and children weeping and husbands sighing; on his head a dark-red, three-cornered
+cap, a gift his cousin Lucifer had sent him, on the corners of which
+were written Grief, Sorrow, and Woe.&nbsp; Above his head were a myriad
+pictures of battles on land and sea, of towns aflame, of the earth yawning,
+and of the waters of the deluge; the ground beneath his feet was nought
+else than the crowns and sceptres of all the kings he had ever conquered.&nbsp;
+At his right hand sat Fate with a morose and scowling visage, reading
+an enormous tome that lay before him; at his left, was an old man called
+Time, warping innumerable threads of gold, silver, copper, and many
+of iron - some threads were growing better towards the end, a myriad
+worse; along the threads were marked hours, days and years, and Fate,
+at his book, cut the thread of life and opened the doors in the boundary
+wall between the two worlds.<br>
+<br>
+I had not been looking about me long, when I heard four fiddlers, just
+dead, summoned to the bar.&nbsp; &ldquo;How is it,&rdquo; asked the
+King of Terrors, &ldquo;that ye, who are so found of joy, did not stay
+on yonder side of the chasm?&nbsp; For on this side joy never existed.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;We have done no man ever any hurt,&rdquo; said one of the minstrels,
+&ldquo;but on the contrary have made them merry, and quietly took whatever
+was given us for our pains.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Have ye caused no one,&rdquo;
+said Death, &ldquo;to lose time from his work, or to absent himself
+from church, eh?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied another, &ldquo;unless
+we were some Sundays after service in an inn till the morrow, or in
+summer time on the village green, and indeed we had a better and more
+beloved congregation than the parson.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Away, with
+them to the land of Oblivion,&rdquo; cried the terrible king, &ldquo;bind
+the four, back to back, and pitch them to their partners, to dance barefoot
+on glowing hearths, and scrape their fiddles for ever without praise
+or pay.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+The next to come to the bar was a king from near Rome.&nbsp; &ldquo;Raise
+thy hand, caitiff,&rdquo; bade one of the officers.&nbsp; &ldquo;I hope,&rdquo;
+said he, &ldquo;ye have somewhat better manners and favor for a king.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Sirrah, you too,&rdquo; said Death, &ldquo;ought to have kept
+on the other side of the gulf where everybody is king; but know that,
+on this side, there are none besides myself and another, who dwelleth
+down below, and you shall see that that king and myself will set no
+value upon the degree of your greatness, but rather upon the degree
+of your wickedness, and so make your punishment proportionate to your
+crimes; therefore give answer to the questions.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Sir,
+allow me to tell you that you have no authority to arrest and examine
+me,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I hold a pardon under the Pope&rsquo;s own
+hand for all my sins.&nbsp; Because I served him faithfully, he gave
+me a dispensation to go straight to Paradise, without a moment&rsquo;s
+stay in Purgatory.&rdquo;&nbsp; At that the king, and all the lean jaws,
+gave a dismal grin in imitation of laughter, and the other, angered
+at their laughing, ordered them to show him the way.&nbsp; &ldquo;Silence,
+lost fool!&rdquo; cried Death, &ldquo;Purgatory lies behind thee, on
+the other side of the wall, for it was in life thou hadst ought to have
+purified thyself, and Paradise is on the right, beyond that chasm.&nbsp;
+Now there is no way of escape for thee, neither across this abyss to
+Paradise, nor through the boundary wall back to earth; for wert thou
+to give thy kingdom - though thou hast not a ha&rsquo;penny to give
+- the warder of those doors would not let thee look once, even through
+the keyhole.&nbsp; This is called the irremeable wall, for once it is
+passed there is no hope of return.&nbsp; But since you are so high in
+the Pope&rsquo;s favor, <a name="citation54a"></a><a href="#footnote54a">{54a}</a>
+you shall go and get his bed ready with his predecessor, and there you
+may kiss his toe for ever, and he, the toe of Lucifer.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+At the word, four death-imps raised him up, now trembling like an aspen
+leaf, and snatched him away out of sight, with the speed of lightning.<br>
+<br>
+Next after him, came a man and woman; he had been a boon companion,
+and she a kind and lavish maid, but there they were called by their
+plain, unvarnished names, a drunkard and a harlot.&nbsp; &ldquo;I hope,&rdquo;
+said the drunkard, &ldquo;I may obtain some favor in your eyes, for
+I despatched hither on a flood of good ale many a fatted prey, and when
+I failed to slay others, I willingly came myself to feed you.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;By the court&rsquo;s leave,&rdquo; said the minion, &ldquo;not
+half so many as I have despatched to you as a burnt offering ready for
+table.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Ha, ha,&rdquo; exclaimed Death, &ldquo;it
+was to feed your own accursed lusts, and not me, that all this was done.&nbsp;
+Let them be bound together and hurled into the land of darkness.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+And so they too were hurried away headlong.<br>
+<br>
+Next to them came seven recorders, who, on being bidden to raise their
+hands <a name="citation55a"></a><a href="#footnote55a">{55a}</a> to
+the bar, pretended not to hear the command, for their palms were so
+thickly greased.&nbsp; One of them, bolder than the rest, began to argue,
+&ldquo;We ought to have had fair citation, in order to prepare our reply,
+instead of being attacked unawares.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh, we are not
+bound to give you any particular notice,&rdquo; said Death, &ldquo;because
+ye have, everywhere, and everywhile throughout your lives, warning of
+my advent.&nbsp; How many sermons on the mortality of man have ye heard?&nbsp;
+How many books, how many graves, knells and fevers, how many messages
+and signs, have ye seen?&nbsp; What is your Sleep but my brother?&nbsp;
+Your heads but my image?&nbsp; Your daily food but dead creatures?&nbsp;
+Seek not to lay the blame of your ill hap on my shoulders - ye would
+not hear of the summons, although ye had it an hundred times.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Pray what have you against us?&rdquo; asked one ruddy recorder.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;What indeed?&rdquo; exclaimed Death, &ldquo;the drinking the
+sweat and blood of the poor, and the doubling your fees.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Here is an honest man,&rdquo; he said, pointing to a wrangler
+behind them, &ldquo;who knows I never did aught but what was fair, and
+it is not fair in you to detain us here, seeing you have no specific
+charge to prove against us.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Ha, ha!&rdquo; cried
+Death, &ldquo;ye shall bring proof against yourselves; place them on
+the verge of the precipice before the throne of Justice; there they
+will obtain justice, though they practised it not.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+There were yet seven other prisoners, who kept up such commotion and
+clamour - some blandishing, gnashing the teeth and uttering threats,
+others giving advice and so on.&nbsp; Scarcely had they been summoned
+to the bar than the whole court darkened sevenfold more hideously than
+before, a murmuring and great confusion arose around the throne, and
+Death became more livid than ever.&nbsp; Upon enquiry it seemed that
+one of Lucifer&rsquo;s envoys had arrived, bearing a letter to Death,
+concerning these seven prisoners; and shortly, Fate called for silence
+to read the letter which, as far as I can recollect, was as follows:-<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;LUCIFER, <i>King of the Kings of Earth, Prince of Perdition and
+Archruler of the Deep, To our natural son, mightiest and most terrible
+King Death, greeting, wishing you supremacy and booty without end</i>:<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Whereas some of our swift messengers, who are always out espying,
+have informed us that there lately came into your royal court seven
+prisoners of the seven most worthless and dangerous species in the world,
+and that you are about to hurl them over the precipice into my realm:
+our advice is, that you endeavour, by every possible way, to let them
+return to the earth; there they will be more serviceable - to you, in
+the matter of food, to me, for supplying better company.&nbsp; We had
+too much trouble with their partners in days gone by, and our kingdom
+is, even now, unsettled.&nbsp; Wherefore, turn them back or retain them
+yourself; for, by the infernal crown, if thou cast them hither, I will
+undermine the foundations of thy kingdom, until it fall and become one
+with mine own great realm.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;<i>From our Court, on the miry Swamp in the glowing Evildom,
+in the year of our reign, 5425</i>.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+King Death, his visage green and livid, stood for a time undecided.&nbsp;
+But while he was meditating, Fate turned upon him such a grim frown
+that he trembled.&nbsp; &ldquo;Sire,&rdquo; said Fate, &ldquo;consider
+well what you are about to do.&nbsp; I dare not allow anyone to repass
+the bounds of Eternity - the insurmountable ramparts, nor deign you
+harbour any here, wherefore, send them on to their doom, spite of the
+great Evil One.&nbsp; He has been able to array in a moment many a haul
+of a thousand or ten thousand souls, and allot each one his place, and
+what difficulty will he have with these seven now, however dangerous
+they may be?&nbsp; Whatever happen, even if they overturn the infernal
+government, send them thither instantly, lest I be commanded to crush
+thee to untimely nothingness.&nbsp; As for his menaces, they are false,
+and although thy doom, and that of yon ancient (looking at Time), are
+not many pages hence, yet, thou need have no fear of sinking down to
+Lucifer, for however glad everybody there would be to have thee, they
+never will; for the eternal rocks of steel and adamant, which roof Hell,
+are somewhat too firm to be shattered.&rdquo;&nbsp; Whereupon Death,
+in great agitation, called for someone to indite thus his reply:-<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;DEATH, <i>King of Terrors, Conqueror of Conquerors, To our most
+revered kinsman and neighbour, Lucifer, Monarch of the Endless Night,
+and Emperor of the Sheer Vortex, Salutation</i>:<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;After giving earnest thought to this your royal wish, it seemeth
+to us more advantageous, not only to our state, but also to your vast
+realm, that these prisoners be sent to the furthest point possible from
+the portals of the impervious wall, left their putrid odour should so
+terrify the entire City pf Destruction that no one would ever enter
+Eternity from that side of the gulf, and I, in consequence, would be
+unable to cool my sting, and you should have no commerce betwixt earth
+and hell.&nbsp; But I leave you to judge them, and to cast them into
+the cells you deem most secure and befitting.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;<i>From our Lower Court in the Great Tollgate of Destruction:
+from the year of the restoration of my Kingdom, 1670</i>.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+After hearing all this, I was itching to know what manner of folk these
+seven might be, seeing that the devils themselves feared them so much.&nbsp;
+But ere long, the Clerk to the Crown calls them by name, as follows:
+&ldquo;Mister Busybody, alias Finger-in-every-pie.&rdquo;&nbsp; This
+fellow was so fussily and busily directing the others, that he had no
+leisure to answer to his name until Death threatened to sunder him with
+his dart.&nbsp; Then, &ldquo;Mr. Slanderer, alias Foe-of-Good-Fame,&rdquo;
+was called, but no response came.&nbsp; &ldquo;He is rather bashful
+to hear his titles,&rdquo; said the third, &ldquo;he can&rsquo;t abide
+the nicknames.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Have you no titles, I wonder?&rdquo;
+asked the Slanderer, &ldquo;call Mr. Honey-tongued Swaggerer, alias
+Smoothgulp, alias Venomsmile.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Here,&rdquo; cried
+a woman, who was standing near, pointing to the Swaggerer.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ha,
+Madam Huntress!&rdquo; cried he, &ldquo;your humble servant; I am glad
+to see you well, I never saw a more beautiful woman in breeches, but
+woe&rsquo;s me to think how pitiable is the country, having lost in
+you such an unrivalled ruler; and yet, your pleasant company will make
+hell itself somewhat better.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh, thou scion of evil,&rdquo;
+cried she, &ldquo;no one need a worse hell than to be with thee - thou
+art enough.&rdquo;&nbsp; Then the crier called, &ldquo;Huntress, alias
+Mistress o&rsquo; the Breeches.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Here,&rdquo; answered
+someone else, she herself not saying a word because they did not &ldquo;madam&rdquo;
+her.&nbsp; Next was called the Schemer, alias Jack-of-all-Trades.&nbsp;
+But he, too, failed to answer, for he was assiduously plotting to escape
+the Land of Despair.&nbsp; &ldquo;Here, here,&rdquo; cried someone behind
+him, &ldquo;here he is spying for a place to break out of your great
+court, and unless you be on your guard, he has a considerable plot against
+you.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Then,&rdquo; said the Schemer, &ldquo;Let him
+also be called, to wit, The Accuser-of-his-Brethren, alias Faultfinder,
+alias Complaint-monger.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Here, here he is,&rdquo;
+cried the Litigious Wrangler - for each one knew the other&rsquo;s name,
+but none would acknowledge his own.&nbsp; &ldquo;You are also called,&rdquo;
+said the Accuser, &ldquo;Mr. Litigious Wrangler, alias Cumber-of-Courts.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Witness, witness, all of you, what names the knave has given
+me,&rdquo; cried the Wrangler.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ha, ha, &rsquo;tis not according
+to the font, but according to the fault, that everybody is named in
+this land,&rdquo; said Death, &ldquo;and with your permission, Mr. Wrangler,
+these names must stick to you for evermore.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Indeed,&rdquo;
+quoth the Wrangler, &ldquo;by the devil, I&rsquo;ll make it hot for
+you; although you may put me to death, you have no right to nickname
+me.&nbsp; I shall enter a plaint for this and for false imprisonment,
+against you and your kinsman Lucifer, in the Court of Justice.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+By this I could see the armies of Death in array and armed, looking
+to the king for the word of command.&nbsp; Then the king, standing erect
+on his throne, spoke as follows: &ldquo;My terrible and invincible hosts,
+spare neither care nor haste to despatch these prisoners out of my territories,
+lest they corrupt my country; throw them in bonds headlong over the
+hopeless precipice.&nbsp; But as to the eighth, this cumbrous fellow
+who menaces me, let him free on the brink beneath the Court of Justice,
+so that he may make good his charge against me, if he can.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+No sooner had he sat down than the whole deadly armies surrounded and
+bound the prisoners, and led them towards their appointed dwelling.&nbsp;
+And when I, having gone out, half-turned to look at them.&nbsp; &ldquo;Come
+hither,&rdquo; cried Sleep, and flew with me to the top of the loftiest
+tower on the court; from whence I saw the prisoners going forth to their
+everlasting doom.&nbsp; Before long a sudden whirlwind arose, and drove
+away the pitch-dark mist usually hovering over the Land of Oblivion,
+and in the wan light, I could see myriads of livid candles, and by their
+gleam, I obtained a far-off view of the mouth of the bottomless abyss.&nbsp;
+But if that was a horrible sight, overhead was one still more horrible
+- Justice, on her throne, guarding the portal of hell, and holding a
+special tribunal above the entrance thereto, to pronounce the doom of
+the damned as they arrive.&nbsp; I beheld the seven hurled headlong
+over the terrible verge, and the Wrangler, too, rushing to throw himself
+over, lest he should once look on the Court of Justice, for, alas, the
+sight thereof was intolerable to guilty eyes.&nbsp; I was only gazing
+from a distance, yet I beheld more dreadful horrors than I can now relate,
+nor then could endure; for my spirit so strove and panted through exceeding
+fear, and struggled so violently, that all the bonds of Sleep were burst;
+my soul returned to its wonted functions, and I rejoiced greatly to
+perceive myself still among the living, and resolved to lead a better
+life, for I would rather suffer affliction an hundred years in the paths
+of holiness than, perforce, take another glance at the horrors of that
+night.<br>
+<br>
+1&nbsp; Must I leave home and fatherland,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And every charm and pleasure?<br>
+Leave honored name and high degree<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Enjoyed in life&rsquo;s brief measure?<br>
+<br>
+2&nbsp; Leave beauty, strength, and wisdom, too,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All won in hard employment, -<br>
+All I have learnt, and all I&rsquo;ve loved,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And all this world&rsquo;s enjoyment.<br>
+<br>
+3&nbsp; Can I evade the stroke of Death<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That rends all ties asunder?<br>
+Do not his awful shambles gape<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For me to be his plunder?<br>
+<br>
+4&nbsp; Ye gilded men would fain enjoy<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The wealth your souls engrossing,<br>
+But ye must bow to him and go<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The journey of his choosing.<br>
+<br>
+5&nbsp; Ye favored fair, whose lightest word<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Has caused ten thousand errors,<br>
+Think not your garish, tinselled charms<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Can blind the King of Terrors.<br>
+<br>
+6&nbsp; Ye who rejoice in heedless youth<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And follow fleeting pleasures,<br>
+Know that ye cannot conquer Death<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;By valor, arts, or treasures.<br>
+<br>
+7&nbsp; Ye who exult in madding song<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The giddy dances treading,<br>
+Think not that all the mirth of France<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Can thwart the fate you&rsquo;re dreading.<br>
+<br>
+8&nbsp; Ye who have roamed the wide world o&rsquo;er,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Where have ye found the tower,<br>
+With walls and portals strong enough<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To check Death&rsquo;s awful power?<br>
+<br>
+9&nbsp; Statesmen and learned sages, all<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of godlike understanding,<br>
+What will your craft and skill avail?<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&rsquo;Tis Death who is commanding.<br>
+<br>
+10&nbsp; The greatest foes of man are now<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The world, the flesh, the devil;<br>
+And yet, ere long, we&rsquo;ll surely find<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In Death a greater evil.<br>
+<br>
+11&nbsp; How little now it seems to die -<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To gain the suit or lose it?<br>
+But when the doom is of thyself<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How great thy care to chose it?<br>
+<br>
+12&nbsp; We care, at present, not a jot<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Which way our gains may turn us;<br>
+Eternal life, howe&rsquo;er so great,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We think can not concern us.<br>
+<br>
+13&nbsp; But when thou&rsquo;rt hedged on every side<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And Death himself is nearest,<br>
+For one brief, ling&rsquo;ring space we&rsquo;ll give<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Whate&rsquo;er to us is dearest.<br>
+<br>
+14&nbsp; Think not that thou canst make thy terms<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For thine eternal dwelling,<br>
+On either side of that dread gulf,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With death thy steps compelling.<br>
+<br>
+15&nbsp; Repentence, faith, and righteousness,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Alone are thy Salvation,<br>
+And in the agony of Death<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Shall be thy consolation.<br>
+<br>
+16&nbsp; And when the world is passing by,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Its joys and pleasures ending,<br>
+Infinite thou wilt deem their worth<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When to the bourne descending!<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+III. - THE VISION OF HELL<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+One April morning, bright and mild, when earth was with verdure laden,
+and Britain, like a paradise, had donned its brilliant livery, foretelling
+summer&rsquo;s sunshine, I sauntered along the banks of the Severn,
+while around me, chaunting their sweet carols, the forest&rsquo;s little
+songsters in rivalry poured forth songs of praise to their Maker; and
+I, who was far more bounden than they to give praise, at one while lifted
+up my voice with the gentle winged choristers, and at another read &ldquo;<i>The
+Practice of Piety</i>.&rdquo; <a name="citation67a"></a><a href="#footnote67a">{67a}</a>&nbsp;
+For all that, my previous visions would not from my mind, but time after
+time broke in upon every other thought.&nbsp; They continued to trouble
+me until after careful reasoning I concluded that every vision is a
+heaven-sent warning against sin, and that therefore it was my duty to
+write them down as a warning to others also.&nbsp; And whilst occupied
+with this work, and sadly endeavouring to recall some of those awful
+memories, there fell upon me at my task such drowsiness that soon opened
+the way for Master Sleep to glide in perforce.&nbsp; No sooner had sleep
+taken possession of my senses than there drew nigh unto me a glorious
+apparition upon the form of a young man, tall and exceeding fair; his
+raiments were whiter sevenfold than snow, the brightness of his face
+darkened the sun, his wavy, golden locks rested on his brow in two shining
+coronal wreaths.&nbsp; &ldquo;Come with me, thou mortal being,&rdquo;
+he exclaimed, when he had drawn near.&nbsp; &ldquo;Who art thou, Lord?&rdquo;
+said I.&nbsp; &ldquo;I am the Angel of the realms of the North,&rdquo;
+answered he, &ldquo;guardian of Britain and its queen.&nbsp; I am one
+of the princes who stand below the throne of the Lamb, receiving his
+commands to protect the Gospel against all its enemies in Hell, in Rome
+and in France, in Constantinople, in Africa and in India, and wherever
+else they may be, devising plans for its destruction.&nbsp; I am the
+Angel who saved thee beneath the Castle of Belial, and who showed thee
+the vanity and madness of all the earth, the City of Destruction and
+the splendor of Emmanuel&rsquo;s City; and again have I come at his
+bidding to show thee greater things, because thou art seeking to make
+good use of what thou hast seen erstwhile.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;How can
+it be, Lord,&rdquo; asked I, &ldquo;that your glorious highness, guardian
+of kings and kingdoms, does condescend to associate with carrion such
+as I?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;in our sight a
+beggar&rsquo;s virtue is more than a king&rsquo;s majesty.&nbsp; What
+if I am greater than all the kings of earth, and supreme to many of
+the countless lords of heaven?&nbsp; Yet, since our eternal Sovereign
+vouchsafed to take upon Himself such unutterable humiliation - put on
+one of your bodies, lived in your midst, and died to save you, how dare
+I deem it otherwise than too sublime for my office to serve thee and
+the meanest of men, who are so high in my Master&rsquo;s favor?&nbsp;
+Hence, spirit, cast off thine earthy mould!&rdquo; he cried, gazing
+upwards: and at the word, I beheld him fall free of all bodily form,
+and snatch me up to the vault of heaven, through the region of thunder
+and lightning, and all the glowing armouries of the empyrean; higher,
+immeasureably higher than I had previously been with him, and where
+the earth appeared scarcely wider than a stack-yard.&nbsp; Having allowed
+me to rest awhile, he hurried me upwards a myriad miles, until the sun
+appeared far beneath us; through the milky way, past Pleiades, and many
+other stars of appalling magnitude, catching a distant glimpse of other
+worlds.&nbsp; And after journeying for a long time, we come at last
+to the confines of the great eternity, in sight of the two courts of
+the vauntful King of Death - one to the right, the other to the left,
+but very far apart from one another as there lay an immense void between
+them.&nbsp; I asked whether I might go and see the court on my right
+hand, for I observed that this was not at all like the other I had previously
+seen.&nbsp; &ldquo;Thou shalt perchance,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;see,
+somewhile, more of the difference there is between them.&nbsp; But now
+we must proceed in another direction.&rdquo;&nbsp; At that we turned
+away from the little world, and across the intervening space we let
+ourselves descend into the Eternal Realm between the two courts, into
+the formless void, a boundless tract, most deep and dark, chaotic and
+uninhabited, at one time cold, at another hot, <a name="citation69a"></a><a href="#footnote69a">{69a}</a>
+now silent, now resounding with the roaring of cataracts falling and
+quenching the fires, and anon of the fire bursting out and burning up
+the water.&nbsp; Thus, there was neither order nor completeness, nor
+life nor form: nought but this dazing dissonance, this mysterious stupor
+which would have made me for ever blind, had not my friend laid bare
+once more his vesture of heavenly sheen.&nbsp; By the light he gave
+I saw before me to the left the Land of Oblivion, and the borders of
+the Wilds of Destruction; and to my right, methought, the base of the
+ramparts of Glory.&nbsp; &ldquo;This is the great abysm between Abraham
+and Dives,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;which is called Chaos: this is the
+land of the matter which God did first create, and here is the seed
+of every living thing; of these the Almighty Word created your world
+and all it doth contain - water, fire, air, earth, beasts, fishes, insects,
+birds and the human body; but your souls are of a higher and nobler
+origin and stock.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Through the huge, frightful chaos we at length broke forth to the left;
+and ere we had journey&rsquo;d far therein where every object grew uglier
+and uglier, I felt my heart in my throat, and my hair erect like a hedgehog&rsquo;s
+bristles, even before perceiving anything; but what I did perceive was
+a sight no tongue can describe nor the mind of a mortal dwell upon.&nbsp;
+I fainted.&nbsp; Oh, that limitless abyss, so dire and terrible, opening
+out upon another world!&nbsp; How those awful flames crackled incessantly
+as they darted upwards above the banks of the accursed ravine, and the
+shafts of impetuous lightning rent the thick, black smoke which the
+yawning chasm belched forth!&nbsp; When my beloved companion awoke me,
+he gave me ambrosial water to drink, of most excellent flavor and color.&nbsp;
+After drinking this heavenly water I felt some wonderful power within
+me, - wit, courage, faith, and many other divine virtues.&nbsp; Thereupon
+I drew nigh with him unfearingly to the edge of the precipice, shrouded
+in the veil, whilst the flames parted asunder around us, and dared not
+touch denizens of the supernal regions.&nbsp; Then from the edge of
+that dread gulf, we let ourselves descend, like two stars falling from
+the canopy of heaven, down, down for myriad millions of miles, over
+many sulphurous rocks, and many a hideous cataract and fiery precipice,
+where all things bent downwards ever, with impending aspect; yet they
+all avoided us, except when once I poked my nose out of the veil, there
+struck me such a stifling and choking stench as would have ended me
+had he not saved me out of hand with the reviving water.&nbsp; When
+I had recovered, I could see that we were come to a halt, for in all
+that stupenduous chasm no sooner stay were possible, so sheer and slippery
+was it.&nbsp; There my Guide allowed me once more to rest; and during
+that respite it chanced that the thunder and the fierce whirlwinds were
+a little hushed, and above the roar of the foaming cataracts, <a name="citation71a"></a><a href="#footnote71a">{71a}</a>
+I could hear from afar, louder than all, the noise of such awful shrieks,
+wails, cries, and loud groans, of swearing, cursing and blaspheming,
+that I would rather have set a bargain upon my ears than listen.&nbsp;
+And before we had moved an inch, we heard from above such <i>hip-drip-drop</i>
+that had we not straightway stepped aside, there would have fallen upon
+us hundreds of unhappy men whom a host of fiends were hurling headlong,
+and too hurriedly to a woful fate.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ho, slowly sir!&rdquo;
+quoth one sprite, &ldquo;lest you displace your curly lock;&rdquo; and
+to another &ldquo;Madam, will you have your soft cushion?&nbsp; I fear
+me you will be much disordered before you reach your resting-place.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+The strangers were most reluctant to advance, insisting that they were
+on the wrong road; still, onward they went, up to the bank of a wide,
+dark torrent, whilst we followed in their wake and crossed over with
+them, my companion, meanwhile, holding the water to my nostrils to protect
+me from the stench rising out of the river.&nbsp; When I beheld some
+of the inhabitants (for till now I had not seen a single devil, though
+I had heard their voices) I asked: &ldquo;What, pray, my Guide, is the
+name of this death-like stream?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;The river of the
+Evil One,&rdquo; answered he, &ldquo;wherein all his subjects are immersed
+to render them accustomed to the country; its cursed waters changed
+their countenance, washing away every relic of goodness, every shadow
+of hope and happiness.&rdquo;&nbsp; And on seeing the horde pass through,
+I could perceive no difference in loathsomeness between the devils and
+the damned.&nbsp; Some wished to crouch at the bottom of the river,
+there to remain in suffocation to all eternity, rather than find further
+on a worse dwelling; but as the proverb says: &ldquo;He whom the devil
+urges must run,&rdquo; so these damned beings, thrust on by the demons,
+were swiftly borne along the stream of destruction to their eternal
+ruin; where I too saw at the first glimpse more tortures and torments
+than man&rsquo;s heart can imagine, far less a tongue repeat; to see
+one of which was enough to cause one&rsquo;s hair to stand on an end,
+his blood to freeze, his flesh to melt, his bones to give way, yea and
+his spirit to swoon within him.&nbsp; Why speak I of such deeds as the
+impaling or sawing of men alive, the tearing of the flesh in pieces
+with iron pincers or the broiling of it, chop by chop, with candles,
+or the jambing of skulls as flat as a slate, in a press, and all the
+most frightful degradation the earth ever witnessed?&nbsp; All such
+are but pleasures compared with one of these.&nbsp; Here, a million
+shrieks, harsh groans and deep sighs; there, fierce lamentations and
+loud cries in answer: the howling of dogs were sweet, delightful music
+compared with these voices.&nbsp; Before we had gone far from the shores
+of that accursed river into wild Perdition, we could see by the light
+of their own fire, here and there, men and women without number, whom
+a countless host of devils unceasingly and with all their might kept
+always torturing; and as the devils were shrieking from the intensity
+of their own suffering, they made the damned give response to the utmost.&nbsp;
+I observed the part nearest me more minutely: there, the devils with
+pitchforks hurled them head foremost upon poisonous hatchels formed
+of terrible, barbed darts, thereon to struggle by their brains; then
+shortly, they threw them together, layer on layer, upon the summit of
+one of the burning crags, there to blaze like a bonfire.&nbsp; Thence
+they were snatched away up the ravines amidst the eternal ice and snow;
+<a name="citation73a"></a><a href="#footnote73a">{73a}</a> then plunged
+again into an enormous flood of seething brimstone to be parched, stifled,
+and choked by the direful stench; thence to a quagmire of vermin, to
+embrace hellish reptiles far more noxious than serpents or vipers.&nbsp;
+After that the devils took knotted rods of fiery steel from the furnace,
+wherewith they beat them so that their howls resounded throughout all
+Hell, so inexpressibly excruciating was the pain, and then they seized
+hot irons to sear the bloody wounds.&nbsp; No swoon or trance is there
+to beguile with a moment&rsquo;s respite, but an unchanging strength
+to suffer and to feel; though one would have thought that after one
+awful wail there never could be the strength to raise another as weirdly-loud;
+yet never will their key be lowered, with the devils ever answering:
+&ldquo;This is your welcome for aye.&rdquo;&nbsp; And worse, were it
+possible, than the pain, was the scorn and bitterness of the devils&rsquo;
+mockery and derision, but worst of all, their own conscience was now
+thoroughly awakened, and devoured them more relentlessly than a thousand
+infernal lions.<br>
+<br>
+Still down we go, down afar - the further we go the worse the plight;
+at the first view I saw a horrid prison wherein a great many men were
+uttering blasphemous groans beneath the scourges of the devils: &ldquo;Who
+are all these?&rdquo; asked I; &ldquo;This,&rdquo; answered the Angel,
+&ldquo;this is the abode of Woe-that-I-had-not.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Woe
+that I had not been cleansed of all manner of sin in good time,&rdquo;
+quoth one.&nbsp; &ldquo;Woe is me that I had not believed and repented
+before my coming here,&rdquo; quoth another.&nbsp; Next to the cell
+of Too-late-a-repentance, and of Pleading-after-judgment, was the prison
+of the Procrastinators, who were always promising to mend their ways,
+but who never fulfilled the promise.&nbsp; &ldquo;When this trouble
+is past,&rdquo; saith one, &ldquo;I will turn over a new leaf.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;When this hinderance goes by, I&rsquo;ll be another man yet,&rdquo;
+said another.&nbsp; But when that comes about, they are no nearer; some
+other obstacle ever and anon occurs to preventing their starting towards
+the gate of holiness; and if sometimes a start is made, it takes but
+little to turn them back again.&nbsp; Next to these was the prison of
+Presumption, full of those who, whenever they were urged of old to be
+rid of their Wantonness, or drunkenness, or avarice, would say: &ldquo;God
+is merciful, and better than His word; He will never damn his own creature
+upon a cause so trivial.&rdquo;&nbsp; But here they yelped blasphemy,
+asking: &ldquo;Where is that mercy boasted to be infinite?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Silence, ye whelps!&rdquo; said a huge, crabbed devil who heard
+them, &ldquo;Silence! would he have mercy who did nought to obtain it?&nbsp;
+Would ye that Truth should make its word a lie, merely to gain the company
+of dross so vile as ye?&nbsp; Was too much mercy shewn you, a Saviour,
+a Comforter given you, and the angels, books, sermons and good examples?&nbsp;
+Will ye not cease plaguing us now, prating of mercy where it never was.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+While making our exit from this glaring pit, I heard one moaning and
+crying dolefully: &ldquo;I knew no better; no pains were ever taken
+to teach me to read my duties, nor could I spare the time to read and
+pray whereof I had need in order to earn bread for myself and my poor
+family.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Indeed,&rdquo; quoth a crookback devil who
+stood close at hand, &ldquo;hadst thou no leisure to tell merry tales,
+no idle roasting before thy fire through the long winter evenings when
+I was up the chimney, so that no time might have been given to learning
+to read or pray?&nbsp; What of thy Sabbaths?&nbsp; Who was it that was
+wont to accompany me to the alehouse rather than the parson to the church?&nbsp;
+How many a Sunday afternoon was spent in vain, noisy talk of worldly
+things, or in sleeping, instead of in learning to meditate and pray?&nbsp;
+Didst thou act according to thy knowledge?&nbsp; Silence, sirrah, with
+thy lying chatter!&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Thou raving bloodhound!&rdquo;
+exclaimed the condemned, &ldquo;&rsquo;tis not long since thou wert
+whispering other words in mine ear; hadst thou said this another day,
+it is not likely I would have come hither.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo;
+said the devil, &ldquo;it matters not that we tell you the hateful truth
+here; for there is no fear of your returning hence now to carry tales.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Lower down I could see a deep, valley whence arose the bluish glare
+of what seemed to be a countless number of enormous, burning mounds;
+and after drawing nigh, I knew by their howling that they were men piled
+mountains high with terrible flames crackling through them.&nbsp; &ldquo;That
+hollow,&rdquo; said the Angel, &ldquo;is the abode of those who after
+committing some heinous deeds, exclaim: &lsquo;Well, I am not the first
+- I have plenty of companions,&rsquo; and thus thou see&rsquo;st they
+have plenty, to verify their words and add to their affliction.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Opposite this was a large cellar where I saw men tortured just as withes
+are twisted or wet sheets wrung.&nbsp; &ldquo;Who, prithee, are these?&rdquo;
+asked I.&nbsp; &ldquo;They are the Mockers,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;and
+the devils from pure derision essay to find whether they can be twisted
+as pliantly as their tales.&rdquo;&nbsp; A little below, but scarcely
+visible, was another gloomy dungeon-cell, wherein was what had once
+been men, but now with the faces of wolf-hounds, up to their lips in
+a morass, madly howling blasphemy and lies as often as they got their
+tongues clear of the mire.&nbsp; Just then a legion of devils passed
+by, and some attempted to bite the heels of ten or twelve of the devils
+that had brought them there: &ldquo;Woe and ruin take you, ye hell-hounds!&rdquo;
+exclaimed one of the bitten devils, at the same time stamping upon the
+quagmire until they sank in the reeking depths.&nbsp; &ldquo;Who more
+deserving of hell than ye, who gossipped and imagined all manner of
+tales, who retailed lies from house to house so that ye might laugh,
+after setting the entire neighbourhood at war?&nbsp; What more would
+one of us have done?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;This,&rdquo; said the Angel,
+&ldquo;is the abode of the slanderers, defamers and backbiters, and
+of all envious cowards who always do hurt in word or deed behind one&rsquo;s
+back.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+From thence we went past an enormous lair, the vilest I had yet seen,
+and the fullest of vermin, of soot, and of stench.&nbsp; &ldquo;This,&rdquo;
+said he, &ldquo;is the place of those who hoped for heaven because they
+were harmless, in other words, because they were neither good nor bad.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Next to this foul pit I saw a great multitude sitting down, whose groans
+were more fierce than anything I had heard hitherto in hell.&nbsp; &ldquo;Save
+us all!&rdquo; cried I, &ldquo;what makes these complain more than all
+others, seeing there be no pain, nor demon near them?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo;
+answered the Angel, &ldquo;if the pain without is less, that which is
+within is more, - here are stubborn heretics, the godless and unchristian,
+many of the worldy-wise, of apostates, of the persecutors of the church,
+and millions such as they, who have utterly been given over to the more
+bitterly painful punishment of the conscience, which now without let
+or ceasing has its full sway over them.&nbsp; &ldquo;I will not this
+time,&rdquo; quoth conscience, &ldquo;be drowned in beer, or blinded
+by rewards, or deafened by song and good company, or hushed or stupified
+by a thoughtless torpor; now I will be heard, and never shall the truth,
+the stinging truth, cease dinning in your ears.&rdquo;&nbsp; The will
+creates a desire for the lost paradise, the memory reproaches them with
+the ease wherewith it might have been gained, and the reason shews the
+greatness of the loss, and the certainty that nought awaits them but
+this unspeakable gnawing for ever and ever; so by these three means,
+conscience rends them more terribly than would all the devils in hell.<br>
+<br>
+Coming out of that wondrous defile, I heard much talking, and for every
+word such wild horse-laughter as if some five hundred devils would shed
+their horns with laughing.&nbsp; But after I had drawn near to behold
+the very rare sight of a smile in hell, what was it but two gentlemen,
+lately arrived, appealing for the respect due to their rank, and the
+merriment was intended only to give affront to them.&nbsp; A pot-bellied
+squire stood there with an enormous roll of parchment, his genealogical
+chart, declaring from how many of the Fifteen Tribes of Gwynedd he had
+sprung, how many justices of the peace, and how many sheriffs there
+had been of his house.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ha ha,&rdquo; cried one of the devils,
+&ldquo;we know the merit of most of your forebears, were you like your
+father, or great-great-grandsire, we would not have deigned to touch
+you.&nbsp; But thou, thou art but the heir of utter darkness, vile whelp,
+thou art hardly worth a night&rsquo;s lodging; and yet thou shalt have
+some nook to await the dawn.&rdquo;&nbsp; And at the word the impetuous
+monster pierces him with his pitchfork, and after whirling him thirty
+times through the fiery welkin, hurled him into a hole out of sight.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;That is right enough for a half-blood squire,&rdquo; said the
+other, &ldquo;but I hope ye will be better mannered towards a knight
+who has served the king in person; twelve earls and fifty knights can
+I recount from mine own ancient line.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;If thine ancestors,
+and thy long pedigree are all thy plea, thou canst go the same gate,&rdquo;
+quoth a devil, &ldquo;for we remember scarce one old estate of large
+extent which some oppressor, some murderer or robber has not founded,
+leaving it to others as arrant as they, to idle blockheads or to drunken
+swine.&nbsp; To maintain lavish pomp, they had to grind their vassals
+and tenants, and if there be a beautiful pony or a fine cow which my
+lady covets, she will have them, and well it happens if the daughters,
+yea, even the wives, escape the lust of their lord.&nbsp; And the small
+free-holders around them must either vainly follow or give bail for
+them, resulting in their own ruin, the loss of their possessions, and
+the sale of their patrimony, or expect to be hated and despised, and
+forced to every idle pursuit.&nbsp; Oh how nobly they swear to gain
+the confidence of their minions or of their tradesmen, and when decked
+out in their finery, how contemptuously they look upon many an officer
+of importance in church and state, as if such were mere worms compared
+with them.&nbsp; Woe&rsquo;s me, is not all blood of one color?&nbsp;
+Was it not the same way that ye all entered the world?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;For all that, craving your pardon,&rdquo; said the knight, &ldquo;there
+are some births purer than others.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;For the great
+doom all your carcases are the same,&rdquo; said the imp, &ldquo;everyone
+of you is defiled by the sin that took its origin in Adam.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+But, sir,&rdquo; continued he, &ldquo;if your blood is aught better
+than another, the less scum will there be when shortly it will be bubbling
+through your body, and if there be more, we must examine you, part by
+part, through fire and through water.&rdquo;&nbsp; Thereupon, a devil
+in the shape of a fiery chariot receives him, and the other mockingly
+lifts him thereinto, and away he goes with the speed of lightning.&nbsp;
+Ere long the angel bade me look, and I saw the poor knight most horribly
+sodden in an enormous boiling furnace with Cain, Nimrod, Esau, Tarquin,
+Nero, Caligula, and others who first established lineage, and emblazoned
+family arms.<br>
+<br>
+After wending our way onward a little, my guide bade me peer through
+a riven wall, and within I saw a group of coquetts busily primming up,
+doing and undoing the deeds of folly they were formerly wont to do on
+earth; some puckering their lips, some plucking their eyebrows with
+irons, some anointing themselves, some patching their faces with black
+spots to make the yellow look whiter, and some endeavouring to crack
+the mirror; and after all the pains to color and adorn, upon seeing
+their faces far uglier than the devils&rsquo;, they would tear away
+with tooth and nail all the false coloring, the spots, the skin and
+the flesh all at once, and would shriek most dismally.&nbsp; &ldquo;Accursed
+be my father,&rdquo; said one, &ldquo;it was he who forced me when a
+girl to wed an old shrivelling, and it was his kindling my desires with
+no power to satiate them, that doomed me to this place.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;A thousand curses on my parents,&rdquo; cried another, &ldquo;for
+sending me to a monastery to be taught to live a life of chastity; they
+might as well have sent me to a Roundhead to learn how to be generous,
+or to a Quaker to be taught good manners, as to a Papist to be taught
+honesty.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Fell ruin seize my mother,&rdquo; shrieked
+a third, &ldquo;whose covetous pride refused me a husband at my need,
+and so drove me to obtain by stealth what I might have honestly obtained.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Hell, a double hell to the raging bull of a nobleman who first
+tempted me,&rdquo; cried another, &ldquo;had he not by fair and foul
+broken through all bounds, I would not have become a common chattel,
+nor would I have come to this infernal place;&rdquo; and then would
+they lacerate themselves again.<br>
+<br>
+I made all haste to leave their loathsome kennel, but I had not proceeded
+far before I observed, to my astonishment, another prison full of women,
+still more abominable; some had become frogs; some, dragons; some, serpents,
+and there they swam about, hissing and foaming, and butting one another,
+in a f&oelig;tid, stagnant pool that was much larger than Bala Lake.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Pray, what can these be?&rdquo; asked I.&nbsp; &ldquo;There are
+here,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;four chief classes of women, not to mention
+their minions - <i>Firstly</i>: Panders, who maintained harlots to sell
+their virginity an hundred times, and the worst of these around them.&nbsp;
+<i>Secondly</i>: Mistresses of gossip, surrounded by thousands of tale-bearing
+hags.&nbsp; <i>Thirdly</i>: Huntresses followed by a pack of cowardly,
+skulking hounds, for no man ever dared approach them, unless in fear
+of them.&nbsp; <i>Fourthly</i>: The scolds, become a hundredfold more
+horrid than snakes, always grinding and gnashing their venomous stings.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I would have deemed Lucifer too gracious a monarch to place a
+noble lady of my rank with these vulgar furies,&rdquo; complained one,
+who much resembled the others, but was far more hideous than a winged
+serpent.&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh, that he would send hither seven hundred of
+the basest demons of hell in exchange for thee, thou poisonous hellworm,&rdquo;
+cried another ugly viper.&nbsp; &ldquo;Many thanks to you,&rdquo; quoth
+a gigantic devil, overhearing them, &ldquo;we regard our place and worth
+as something better; though ye would cause everyone as much pain as
+we, yet we do not choose to be deprived of our office in your favor.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;And Lucifer hath another reason,&rdquo; whispered the Angel,
+&ldquo;for keeping strict guard over these, and that is, lest on breaking
+loose, they might send all hell into utter confusion.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Thence we still descended until I saw an immense cavern wherein was
+such fearful clamor that I had never heard the like before - swearing,
+cursing, blaspheming, snarling, groaning and yelling.&nbsp; &ldquo;Whom
+have we here?&rdquo; I asked.&nbsp; &ldquo;This,&rdquo; answered he,
+&ldquo;is the Den of Thieves; here are myriads of foresters, lawyers
+and stewards, with old Judas in their midst.&rdquo;&nbsp; And it grieved
+them sorely to behold a pack of tailors and weavers above them in a
+more comfortable chamber.&nbsp; Hardly had I turned round when a demon,
+in the shape of a steed, bore in a physician, and an apothecary, and
+hurled them into the midst of the pedlars and horse cheats, because
+they had sold worthless drugs.&nbsp; And they too began murmuring against
+being allotted to such low society.&nbsp; &ldquo;Stay, stay,&rdquo;
+cried one of the devils, &ldquo;ye deserve a better place,&rdquo; and
+he pitched them down amongst conquerors and murderers.&nbsp; There were
+vast numbers in here for playing false dice and cheating at cards, but
+before I had time to observe them closely, I could hear by the door
+a huge crowd in wild tumult and shouts - <i>hai</i>, <i>hw, ptrw-how-ho-o-o-p</i>
+- as of cattle being driven along.&nbsp; I turned round to see the cause
+of it, but could perceive only the horn&egrave;d demons.&nbsp; I enquired
+of my Guide if there were cuckolds with the devils.&nbsp; &ldquo;No,&rdquo;
+said he, &ldquo;they are in another cell; these are drovers who wished
+to escape to the prison of the Sabbath-breakers, and are sent here against
+their will.&rdquo;&nbsp; Thereupon I look and saw that they had on their
+heads the horns of sheep and kine; and those that were driving them
+on, cast them down beneath the feet of blood-stained robbers.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Lie there,&rdquo; said one, &ldquo;however much ye feared footpads
+on the London road erstwhile, ye yourselves were the very worst class
+of highwaymen, who made your living on the road and on robbery, yea
+and by the perishing of many a poor family whom ye left in hunger, vainly
+hoping for the sustenance of their possessions, while ye were in Ireland
+or in the King&rsquo;s Bench laughing at them, or on the road with your
+wine and lemans.&rdquo;&nbsp; On leaving the furnace-like cave, I caught
+a glimpse of a haunt, which for loathsome, stinking abomination, went
+beyond anything (with one sole exception) that I had set my eyes upon
+in hell, - where an accursed herd of drunken swine lay weltering in
+the foulest slime.<br>
+<br>
+The next den was the abode of Gluttony, where Dives and his companions,
+wallowing on their bellies, devoured dirt and fire alternately, with
+never a drop to drink.&nbsp; A little below this, was a very extensive
+roasting-kitchen, where some were being roasted and boiled, others broiling
+and flaming in a fiery chimney.&nbsp; &ldquo;This is the place of the
+merciless and the unfeeling,&rdquo; said the Angel.&nbsp; Turning a
+little to the left, where there was a cell lighter than any I had so
+far seen, I asked what place it was: &ldquo;The abode of the Infernal
+Dragons,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;which growl and rage, rush about and
+rend one another every instant.&rdquo;&nbsp; I drew near and oh! what
+an indescribable sight they were!&nbsp; It was the glowing fire of their
+eyes that gave all that light.&nbsp; &ldquo;These are the descendants
+of Adam,&rdquo; said my Guide, &ldquo;scolds and raving, wrathful men;
+but yonder are some of the ancient seed of the great Dragon, Lucifer;&rdquo;
+but verily I could not perceive any difference in loveliness between
+them.&nbsp; In the next dungeon dwell the misers in awful torment, being
+linked by their hearts to chests of burning coin, the rust of which
+was consuming them without end, just as they had never thought of an
+end to the piling of them, and now they were tearing themselves to pieces
+with more than madness through grief and remorse.&nbsp; Below this was
+a charnel vault where some of the apothecaries had been ground down
+and stuffed into earthenware pots with <i>Album graecum</i>, dung, and
+many a stale ointment.<br>
+<br>
+Ever downward we were journeying through the wilderness of ruin, in
+the midst of untold and eternal tortures, from cell to cell, from dungeon
+to dungeon, the last alway surpassing in monstrous ghastliness, until
+finally we came within view of an enormous entrance hall, most unsightly
+of all that I had previously seen.&nbsp; It was very spacious and terribly
+steep, running in the direction of a gloomy red corner, full of the
+most inconceivable abominations and horrors: it was the royal court.&nbsp;
+At the upper end of the king&rsquo;s accursed hall, amidst thousands
+of other dread sights, by the light my companion shed, I could see in
+the darkness two feet of prodigious size, and so enormous as to overcast
+the whole infernal firmament.&nbsp; I inquired of my Guide what such
+immensities might be.&nbsp; &ldquo;Thou shalt have a fuller view of
+this monster when returning,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;but, come now, let
+us to see the court.&rdquo;&nbsp; As we were going down that awful entrance
+hall, we heard behind us the noise as of very many people advancing;
+on stepping aside to let them pass I noticed four divers host, and upon
+enquiry I learnt that it was the four princesses of the City of Destruction
+leading their subjects as an offering to their sire.&nbsp; I distinguished
+the troop of the Princess of Pride, not only because they insisted upon
+the foremost position, but also because they stumbled now and then from
+want of keeping their eyes upon the ground.&nbsp; She led captive kings
+without number, princes, courtiers, noblemen and braggarts, many Quakers,
+and women innumerable and of all grades.&nbsp; Next to these came the
+Princess of Lucre with her sly and crafty followers - a great many of
+the brood of Simon Skinflint, money lenders, lawyers, userers, stewards,
+foresters, harlots, and some of the clergy.&nbsp; Then came the gracious
+Princess of Pleasure and her daughter Folly, leading her subjects -
+players of dice, cards and back-gammon, conjurers, bards, minstrels,
+storytellers, drunkards, bawds, balladmongers and pedlars with their
+trinkets in countless number, to be at length instruments of punishment
+to the damned fools.<br>
+<br>
+When these three had taken their captives into the court to receive
+judgment, Hypocrisy, last of all, brings in a more numerous troop than
+any of the others, of every nation and age, from town and country, patrician
+and plebeian, men and women.&nbsp; In the rear of this double-faced
+legion we came within sight of the court; passing through the midst
+of many dragons and horn&egrave;d demons, and hell&rsquo;s giants, the
+dusky porters of the devil-hunted fire; I, the while, carefully hiding
+within the veil, we entered that direful edifice: wonderful, and of
+amazing roughness was every part of it; the walls were cruel rocks of
+burning adamant; the floor was one unendurable extent of sharp-cutting
+flint, the roof of fiery steel, meeting in an arch of greenish and blood-red
+flames, similar, except in its size and heat, to a tremendous circular
+oven.&nbsp; Opposite the door, upon a flame-encompassed throne sat the
+Evil One with the lost archangels around him, seated on benches of terrible
+fire, according to the rank they formerly bore in the region of light
+- the lovely whelps - it would only be a waste of words to attempt to
+describe how atrociously ugly they were, and the longer I gazed upon
+them, sevenfold more frightful did they become.&nbsp; In the centre
+above Lucifer&rsquo;s head was a huge hand grasping an awful bolt.&nbsp;
+The princesses, after paying their courtesy, immediately returned to
+their duties on earth.&nbsp; No sooner had they departed than at the
+King&rsquo;s bidding, a gigantic devil with cavernous jaws set up a
+roar, louder than the discharge of a hundred cannon, and as loud, were
+it possible, as the last trump, to proclaim the infernal Parliament,
+and behold, without delay, the court and hall are filled by the rabble
+of hell in every shape, each upon the form and image of that particular
+sin he was wont to urge upon men.&nbsp; After enjoining silence, Lucifer,
+looking steadfastly upon the chieftains nearest him, began and spake
+these gracious words:-<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Ye peers of this profoundest gulf, princes of the hopeless gloom,
+if we have lost the place we erst possessed, when, clothed with brightness,
+we dwelt in those celestial, happy realms; yet, however great our fall,
+&rsquo;twas glorious, nought less than all did we hazard, nor is all
+lost - for, behold regions wide and deep extending to the utmost bounds
+of desolate Perdition still &rsquo;neath our sway.&nbsp; &rsquo;Tis
+true we reign while racked with raging torment, yet, for spirits of
+our majesty, &rsquo;tis better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.
+<a name="citation85a"></a><a href="#footnote85a">{85a}</a>&nbsp; And
+what is more, we have well nigh won another world, a greater than a
+fifth of earth has been for long beneath my standard.&nbsp; And although
+our Omnipotent Enemy sent his own Son to die for them, I, by my pleasing
+guile, gain ten for every one He gains through his crucified Son.&nbsp;
+Though we cannot aspire to do hurt to Him on high who hurls His all-conquering
+thunder, yet revenge by whatsoever means is sweet. <a name="citation85b"></a><a href="#footnote85b">{85b}</a>&nbsp;
+Let us then bring ruin on the rest of men who adore our Destroyer.&nbsp;
+Well do I recollect the time when ye caused them, their armies and their
+cities, to be consumed in horrible combustion, yea and caused nigh all
+the dwellers on the earth to fall through the whelming waters into this
+fire.&nbsp; But now, although your strength and innate cruelty are no
+whit less, ye have been somewhat listless; were it not for this, we
+would have long ago destroyed the godly few, and brought the earth one
+with this our vast domain.&nbsp; But know this, ye grim ministers of
+my wrath, if ye henceforth be not up and doing, valiantly and with all
+haste, seeing the brevity of our alloted time, I swear by Hell and by
+Perdition, and by the vast, eternal gloom, that upon you, yourselves,
+my ire first shall fall, with pain the like of which the oldest amongst
+you hath never proved.&rdquo;&nbsp; Whereupon he frowned until the court
+became sevenfold darker than before.<br>
+<br>
+Next him, Moloch one of the infernal potentates, stood up, and after
+making due obeisance to his king, spake thus:- &ldquo;Oh Emperor of
+the Sky, great ruler of the darkness, none ever doubted my desire to
+practice utmost bale and cruelty, for that has always been my pleasure;
+no sound was more delightful to mine years than the shrieks of children
+perishing in the flames outside Jerusalem, where in former days they
+were sacrificed to me.&nbsp; And also after our crucified foe had returned
+to his celestial home, I, during the reigns of ten emperors, continued
+as long as it availed me, slaying and burning his followers in my attempt
+to sweep the Christians off the face of the earth.&nbsp; And afterwards
+in Paris, in England, and in several other places, did I cause many
+a massacre of them; but what have we gained?&nbsp; The tree whose branches
+are lopped off grows but the quicker; we snarl without the power of
+biting.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Pshaw!&rdquo; exclaimed Lucifer, &ldquo;shame! cowardly hosts
+that ye are!&nbsp; Never more will I place my trust in you.&nbsp; This
+work I myself will perform, this enterprise none shall partake with
+me. <a name="citation87a"></a><a href="#footnote87a">{87a}</a>&nbsp;
+In mine own imperial majesty will I descend upon the earth, and alone
+will I devour all therein contained; henceforth no man shall there be
+found to worship the Most High.&rdquo;&nbsp; Thereon he gave one terrific
+flying leap to start - a blaze of living fire, but the hand overhead
+whirls the terrible dart so that he trembles notwithstanding his rage,
+and ere he had gone far, an invisible hand drags the brute back by the
+chain for all his struggles; his rage becomes sevenfold more vehement,
+his eyes more fierce than dragons, thick black clouds of smoke issue
+from his nostrils, livid flames from his mouth and bowels, while he
+gnaws his chain in his grief, and mutters fearful blasphemy and awful
+oaths.<br>
+<br>
+At last, finding how futile was his attempt to sunder his bonds and
+how unavailing to contend against the Almighty, he returned to his throne
+and resumed his speech, in words somewhat more calm, but twice as malignant:
+&ldquo;Though none but the Omnipotent Thunderer could overcome my power
+and my guile, to Him I am unwillingly constrained to submit; but I can
+pour forth the vials of my wrath here below, nearer at hand, and let
+loose my ire upon those who are already under my banner, and within
+the length of my chain.&nbsp; Arise, ye too, ministers of destruction,
+lords of the unquenchable fires, and as my anger and my venom overflow,
+and my malice rush forth, do ye assiduously scatter all broadcast among
+the damned, and chiefly among the Christians; urge on the engines of
+torture to their uttermost; devise and invent; increase the heat of
+the fire and the ebullition, until the hissing flood of the cauldrons
+overwhelms them; and when their unutterable woes are extremest, then
+sneer at them and mockingly reproach them, and when ye have exhausted
+all your store of scorn and gall, hie to me and ye shall be replenished.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+A great stillness had brooded over hell for some time, while the pains
+grew far more unbearable by being given no vent.&nbsp; But now the silence
+which Lucifer had enjoined was broken, when the fierce butchers, like
+bears maddened by hunger, fell upon their captives; then there arose
+such doleful cries, such dismal howling, from every quarter, louder
+than the roar of rushing torrents, than the rumble of an earthquake,
+till hell itself became ten times more horrible.&nbsp; I would have
+died, had not my friend saved me.&nbsp; &ldquo;Quaff deep this time,&rdquo;
+said he, &ldquo;to give thee strength to behold things yet more dire.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Hardly were the words from his lips, when lo! heavenly Justice, who
+sits above the abyss, guardian of the gates of Hell, advanced scourging
+three men with rods of fiery scorpions.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ha ha,&rdquo; cried
+Lucifer, &ldquo;here are three reverend gentlemen whom Justice thought
+worthy himself to conduct to my kingdom.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Woe&rsquo;s
+me,&rdquo; said one of the three, &ldquo;who ever wanted him to take
+the trouble?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;That matters not,&rdquo; answered he,
+with a look that made the fiends wax pale, and tremble so that they
+knocked one against the other, &ldquo;it was the will of the Infinite
+Creator that I myself should lead to their home such accursed murderers.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Sirrah,&rdquo; - addressing one of the demons, - &ldquo;open
+me the fold of the assassins, where Cain, Nero, Bradshaw, Bonner, Ignatius
+and innumerable others like them dwell.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Alack, alack!
+we have never slain any man,&rdquo; cried one.&nbsp; &ldquo;No thanks
+to you that you did not, for time only was wanting,&rdquo; said Justice.&nbsp;
+When the den was opened, there came out such a hideous blast of blood-red
+flames, and such a shriek as if a thousand dragons were uttering their
+death-wail.&nbsp; As Justice was passing by on his return, in an instant
+he caused such a tempest of fiery whirlwinds to fall upon the Evil One
+and his princes that Lucifer was swept away, and with him Beelzebub,
+Satan, Moloch, Abadon, Asmodai, Dagon, Apolyon, Belphegor, Mephistopheles,
+and all their compeers, and they were hurled headlong into a whirlpool
+which opened and closed in the centre of the court and which, both in
+aspect and in the execrable stench that arose from it, was a hundredfold
+more foul and horrid than anything I had ever seen.&nbsp; Before I could
+ask aught, quoth the Angel: &ldquo;This is the gulf that reaches to
+another great world.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;What, pray, is that world called?&rdquo;
+I enquired.&nbsp; &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis called the bottomless pit or the
+Nethermost Hell, the home of the devils, whither they now have gone.&nbsp;
+And those vast, dreary wilds, parts of which thou hast traversed, are
+called the Region of Despair, ordained for the condemned until the Judgment
+Day; then it will become one with the utmost, bottomless Hell; then
+will one of us come and seal up the devils and the damned together,
+never more to open upon them, never to all eternity.&nbsp; In the meantime
+they have leave to come to this colder country to torment lost souls.&nbsp;
+Yea, often are they suffered to wander through the air, and about the
+earth, to tempt men into the pernicious ways that lead to this horrible
+prison whence no man returns.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+While listening to this account, and wondering that the entrance of
+Perdition should differ so from that of the Upper Hell, I heard the
+tremendous clash of arms, and the roar of artillery, from one quarter,
+and what seemed like loud-rumbling thunder answering from another quarter,
+while the deadly rocks resounded.&nbsp; &ldquo;This is the turmoil of
+war!&rdquo; I cried, &ldquo;if there be war in hell.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;There
+is,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;there cannot be but continuous warfare here.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+When we were on the point of going out to know of the affair, I beheld
+the jaws of the Pit open and belch forth thousands of hideous, greenish
+candles - for such had Lucifer and his chiefs become after surviving
+the tempest.&nbsp; But when he heard the din of war he turned more livid
+than Death, and began to call out, and levy armies of his proven veterans
+to suppress the tumult.&nbsp; While thus occupied he came across a little
+imp, who had escaped between the feet of the warriors.&nbsp; &ldquo;What
+is the matter?&rdquo; demanded the King.&nbsp; &ldquo;Such a matter
+as will endanger your crown, an you look not to it.&rdquo;&nbsp; Close
+upon this one&rsquo;s heels another devilish courier in a harsh voice
+cries: &ldquo;You that plan the disquietude of others, look now to your
+own peace; yonder are the Turks, the Papists and the murderous Roundheads
+in three armies, filling the whole plain of Darkness, committing every
+outrage and turning everything topsy-turvey.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;How
+came they out?&rdquo; demanded the Evil One, frowning more terribly
+than Demigorgon.&nbsp; &ldquo;The Papists,&rdquo; said the messenger,
+&ldquo;somehow or other broke out of their purgatory, and then, to pay
+off old scores, went to unhinge the portals of Mahomet&rsquo;s paradise,
+and let loose the Turks from their prison, and afterwards in the confusion,
+through some ill chance, Cromwell&rsquo;s crew escaped from their cells.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Then Lucifer turned and peered beneath his throne, where every damned
+king lay, and commanded that Cromwell himself should be kept secure
+in his kennel, and that all the sultans should be guarded.&nbsp; Accordingly,
+Lucifer and his host hurried across the sombre wilds of darkness, each
+one&rsquo;s own person furnishing light and heat; guided by the tumultuous
+clangor he marched fearlessly upon them.&nbsp; Silence was proclaimed
+in the King&rsquo;s name, and Lucifer demanded the cause of such uproar
+in his realm.&nbsp; &ldquo;May it please your infernal majesty,&rdquo;
+said Mahomet, &ldquo;a quarrel arose between myself and Pope Leo as
+to which had done you the better service - my Koran or the Romish religion;
+and when this was going on a pack of Roundheads, who had broken out
+of their prison during the disorder, joined in and clamoured that their
+Solemn League and Covenant deserved more respect at your hands than
+either; so, from striving to striking from words to blows.&nbsp; But
+now, since your majesty hath returned from hell, I lay the matter for
+your decision.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Stay, we&rsquo;ve not done with you
+yet,&rdquo; cried Pope Julius, and madly they engage once more, tooth
+and nail, until the strokes clashed like earthquakes; the three armies
+of the damned tore each other piecemeal, and like snakes became whole
+again, and spread far and wide over the jagged, burning crags, until
+Lucifer bade his veterans, the giants of Hell, separate them, which
+indeed was no easy task.<br>
+<br>
+When the conflict ceased, Pope Clement spake - &ldquo;Thou Emperor of
+Horrors, no throne has ever performed more faithful and universal service
+to the infernal crown than have the bishops of Rome, throughout a large
+portion of the world, for eleven centuries, and I hope you will allow
+none to vie with them for your favor.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Well,&rdquo;
+said a Scotch-man of Cromwell&rsquo;s gang, &ldquo;however great has
+been the service of the Koran for these eight hundred years, and of
+popish superstitions for a longer period, yet the Covenant has done
+far more since its appearance, and everyone begins to doubt the others
+and be weary of them, but we are still increasing, the wide world over,
+and have much power in the island of your foes, that is, in Britain
+and in London, the happiest city under the sun.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Ha
+ha,&rdquo; exclaimed Lucifer, &ldquo;if I hear rightly ye too are about
+to suffer disgrace there.&nbsp; But whatever ye may have done in other
+kingdoms, I will have none of your rioting in mine.&nbsp; Wherefore
+make your peace forthwith under the penalty of more woes, bodily and
+spiritual.&rdquo;&nbsp; And at the word I could see many of the fiends
+and all the damned, with their tails between their hoofs, steal away
+to their holes in fear of a change for the worse.<br>
+<br>
+Then after ordering all to be locked up in their lairs, and punishing
+and dismissing the officers whose carelessness had allowed them to break
+loose, Lucifer and his counsellors returned to the court, and sat once
+more upon the fiery thrones, according to their rank; and when silence
+had been obtained, and the court cleared, a burly, lob-shouldered devil
+threw down at the bar a fresh load of prisoners.&nbsp; &ldquo;Is this
+the way to Paradise?&rdquo; asked one (for they had no idea where they
+were).&nbsp; &ldquo;Or if this be Purgatory,&rdquo; said another, &ldquo;I
+have a dispensation under the Pope&rsquo;s own signet to pass straight
+on to Paradise, without a moment&rsquo;s delay anywhere; wherefore show
+us the way, or by the Pope&rsquo;s toe, we will have him punish you.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Ha ha,&rdquo; laughed a thousand demons, and Lucifer himself
+opened his tusked jaws some half a yard in scornful laughter.&nbsp;
+At which the new comers were sore amazed.&nbsp; &ldquo;Look ye,&rdquo;
+said one, &ldquo;if we have missed our way in the dark, we will pay
+for guidance.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Ha ha,&rdquo; cried Lucifer, &ldquo;ye
+shall not hence till ye have paid the uttermost farthing.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+But on searching them it was found that they had one and all left their
+trouser behind.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ye went past Paradise on the left above
+those mountains there,&rdquo; said the Evil One, &ldquo;and although
+it is easy to descend hither, to return is next to impossible, so dark
+and intricate is the country, so many steep ascents of flaming iron
+are there on the way, and huge imminent rocks, overhanging glaciers
+of insurmountable ice, and here and there, a headlong cataract, all
+too difficult to clamber over, if ye have not nails as long as a devil&rsquo;s.&nbsp;
+Ho there! convey these blockheads to our paradise to their companions.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Just then I heard voices drawing nigh, swearing and cursing fearfully.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Fiends&rsquo; blood! a myriad devils seize me if ever I go!&rdquo;
+and immediately the noisy crew were cast down before the court.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;There,&rdquo; exclaimed the steed that bore them, &ldquo;there
+is fuel with the best in hell.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;What are they?&rdquo;
+asked Lucifer.&nbsp; &ldquo;Past masters in the gentle art of swearing
+and cursing,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;who knew the language of hell as
+well as we do.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;A lie to your face, i&rsquo; the
+devil&rsquo;s name!&rdquo; cried one.&nbsp; &ldquo;Sirrah! wilt take
+my name in vain?&rdquo; said the Evil One.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ho, seize them
+and hook them by their tongues, to that burning precipice, and be at
+hand to serve them; if on one devil they call, or on a thousand, they
+shall have their fill.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+When these had departed, a gigantic fiend calls loudly for clearing
+the bar, and throws down thereat a man who was a load in himself.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;What hast thou there?&rdquo; demanded Lucifer.&nbsp; &ldquo;An
+innkeeper,&rdquo; answered he.&nbsp; &ldquo;What?&rdquo; cried the King,
+&ldquo;only one innkeeper, when they used to come by the thousands.&nbsp;
+Hast thou, sirrah, not been out for ten years, and dost bring hither
+but one, and such an one as would serve us in the world better than
+thee, foul lazy hound!&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;You are too just to condemn
+me before hearing me,&rdquo; pleaded he, &ldquo;he was the only one
+laid to my charge, and now I am rid of him.&nbsp; But I despatched you
+from his house many an idler who drank his family&rsquo;s maintenance,
+and now and then a dicer, and card player, a fine swearer, an innocent
+glutton, a negligent tapster and a maid, harsh in the kitchen, but never
+a kinder abed or in the cellar.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Although this fellow
+deserves to be with the flatterers beneath,&rdquo; said the Evil One,
+&ldquo;natheless take him to his comrades in the cell of the liquid-poisoners,
+among the apothecaries and drugsters who have concocted drinks to murder
+their customers; boil him well for that he did not brew better beer.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;By your leave,&rdquo; began the innkeeper tremblingly, &ldquo;I
+deserve no such treatment, the trade must be carried on.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Couldst thou not have lived,&rdquo; quoth the Evil One, &ldquo;without
+allowing rioting and gambling, wantonness and drunkenness, oaths and
+quarrels, slanders and lies? and wouldst thou, old hell-hound, now live
+better than we?&nbsp; Prithee, tell what evil have we here which thou
+hadst not at thine home, save the punishment alone?&nbsp; Indeed, to
+speak the plain truth here, the infernal heat and cold are nothing new
+to thee.&nbsp; Hast thou not seen sparks of our fire upon the tongues
+of the cursers and the scolds, whilst dragging their husbands home?&nbsp;
+Was there not a deal of the undying flame on the drunkard&rsquo;s lips
+or in the eyes of the angry?&nbsp; And couldst thou not perceive a trace
+of hellish cold in the rake&rsquo;s generosity, and especially in thine
+own kindness towards him as long as he had anything in his possession;
+in the mocker&rsquo;s jest; in the praise of the envious and of the
+defamer, in the promises of the lecherous, or in the limbs of thy boon
+companions, benumbed beneath thy tables?&nbsp; Is hell strange to thee
+whose very home is a hell?&nbsp; Aroint thee, flamhound, to thy penance!&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+After that ten devils, panting heavily, drop their burdens upon the
+fiery floor.&nbsp; &ldquo;What have ye?&rdquo; asked Lucifer.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;We have what a day or two ago were called kings,&rdquo; answered
+one of the fiendish steeds.&nbsp; (I sought carefully to see whether
+Lewis of France were among them.)&nbsp; &ldquo;Throw them here,&rdquo;
+bade the King; and at that they were thrown amongst the other crowned
+heads that lay beneath Lucifer&rsquo;s feet; and following the monarchs
+came their courtiers and their flatterers to receive sentence.&nbsp;
+Before I had time to ask any question, I heard the blast of brazen trumpets
+and shouts.&nbsp; &ldquo;Make way, make way,&rdquo; and at once there
+came in view a herd of assize-men and devils bearing the train of six
+justices, and millions of their race - barristers, <a name="citation95a"></a><a href="#footnote95a">{95a}</a>
+attorneys, clerks, recorders, bailiffs, catchpolls, and the litigous
+busybody.&nbsp; I wondered that none of them was examined; but in truth,
+they knew the matter had gone too far against them, so none of the learned
+counsels opened their lips, but the busybody threatened that he would
+bring an action for false imprisonment against Lucifer.&nbsp; &ldquo;Thou
+shalt have good cause of complaint now,&rdquo; said the Evil One, &ldquo;and
+never see a court at all.&rdquo;&nbsp; Then he donned his red cap, and
+with unbearable, haughty mien, said: &ldquo;Go, take the justices to
+the hall of Pontius Pilate, to Master Bradshaw, who condemned King Charles;
+pack the barristers with the assassins of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey, <a name="citation95b"></a><a href="#footnote95b">{95b}</a>
+and their other false co-partners who simulate mutual contention, merely
+in order to slay whomsoever might interpose.&nbsp; Go, greet that prudent
+lawyer, who, when dying offered a thousand pounds for a good conscience,
+and ask whether he is now willing to give more.&nbsp; Roast the lawyers
+by the fire of their own parchments and papers till their learned bowels
+burst forth; let the litigous busybodies hang above them with their
+nostrils deepest down the roasting chimneys, in order to inhale the
+noxious vapors arising thence, to see if they will ever get their fill
+of law.&nbsp; Throw the recorders amongst the retailers who prevent
+or forestall the sale of corn, who mix it and sell the mixture at double
+the price of the pure corn: similarly, they demand for wrong double
+the fees formerly given for right.&nbsp; As to the catchpolls, let them
+free to hunt about and lie in the ravines and bushes of the earth, to
+capture those that are debtors to the infernal crown; for what devil
+of you could do the work better than they?&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Shortly there appear twenty demons, like Scotch-men, with packs across
+their shoulders, which they cast down before the throne of despair,
+and which turned out to be gipsies.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ho there!&rdquo; cried
+Lucifer, &ldquo;how was it that ye who knew the fortune of others so
+well, did not know that your own fortune was leading you hither?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+No answer was given, for they were amazed at seeing here beings uglier
+than themselves.&nbsp; &ldquo;Throw the tan-faced loons to the witches,&rdquo;
+bade the King, &ldquo;there are no cats or rush-lights here for them,
+but divide a frog between them every ten thousand years, if they will
+be quiet and not deafen us with their barbarous chatter.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+After them came, methought, thirty labourers.&nbsp; Everybody wondered
+to see so many of that honest calling, so seldom did any of them appear;
+but they did not all come from the same parts nor for like faults -
+some for raising prices, many for withholding their tithes, and defrauding
+the parson of his dues, others for leaving their work to follow after
+the gentry, and who in trying to stride along with their masters, strained
+themselves, some for doing work on the Sabbath, some for thinking of
+their sheep and kine in church, instead of giving attention to the reading
+of Holy Writ, and others for wrongful bargains.&nbsp; When Lucifer began
+to question them, lo! they were all as pure as gold, and not one of
+them found anything amiss in himself so as to deserve such a dwelling
+place.&nbsp; One can scarcely believe what neat excuses each one had
+to hide his sin, although they were already in hell for it, offering
+them merely out of evil disposition to thwart Lucifer and to accuse
+the righteous Judge, who had condemned them, of injustice.&nbsp; But
+it was still more astonishing to see how cleverly the Evil One exposed
+their foul sins, and how he answered with a home-thrust their false
+excuses.&nbsp; When these were about to receive their infernal doom,
+forty scholars were borne forward by porpoise-shaped fiends, uglier,
+if possible, than Lucifer himself.&nbsp; And when they heard the labourers
+pleading, they too waxed bold to give excuses, but what ready answers
+the old Serpent had for them with all their knavery and learning!&nbsp;
+As it happened that I heard similar pleas in another court of justice
+I will hereafter recount them together, and now proceed with what I
+saw in the meantime.<br>
+<br>
+Lucifer had barely pronounced their sentence - that they should be driven
+to the great glacier in the land of eternal ice, a doom that set their
+teeth a-gnashing, even before they saw their prison, when suddenly,
+hell again most marvellously resounded with the crash of terrible bolts,
+with loud-rolling thunder, and with every noise of war.&nbsp; Lucifer
+loured and grew pale; in a moment, there flew in a wry-footed imp, panting
+and trembling.&nbsp; &ldquo;What is the matter?&rdquo; cried Lucifer.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;A matter fraught with the greatest peril for you since hell is
+hell,&rdquo; said the dwarf, &ldquo;all the ends of the kingdom of darkness
+have risen up against you and against each other, especially those between
+whom there was longstanding enmity, who are already locked together
+fang to fang, so that it is impossible to pull them apart.&nbsp; Soldiers
+have attacked the doctors for taking away their trade of slaughter;
+a myriad userers have fallen upon the lawyers, for claiming a share
+in the business of robbery; the busybodies and the swindlers are tearing
+the gentlemen, limb-meal, for unnecessary swearing and cursing, whereby
+they gained their living.&nbsp; Harlots and their minions, and a million
+other old friends and former comrades have fallen out with one another
+irreconcilably.&nbsp; But worst of all is the fray raging between the
+misers and their own offspring, for wasting the goods and money which,
+the old pinchfists aver, &lsquo;cost us much pain on earth, and here
+endless anguish.&rsquo;&nbsp; Their sons, on the other hand, cursing
+and rending them outrageously, call for eternal ruin upon their heads
+for leaving overmuch wealth to madden them with pride and riotous living,
+when a little, under the blessing of heaven, would have rendered them
+happy in both worlds.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Enough, enough,&rdquo; cried
+Lucifer, &ldquo;there is more need of arms than words.&nbsp; Return,
+sirrah, and play the spy in every watch to find the where and why of
+this great negligence, for there&rsquo;s some treachery in the air we
+wot not of as yet.&rdquo;&nbsp; The imp departed at his bidding, and
+in the meantime Lucifer and his compeers arose in terror and exceeding
+fear, and ordered the levying of the bravest armies of the black angels;
+and having disposed them, he himself started foremost to quell the rebellion,
+his chieftains and their hosts going other ways.&nbsp; The royal army,
+like shafts of lightning across the hideous gloom, advanced (and we
+in their rear); ere long the uproar falls upon their ears; a fiendish
+bellower cries, &ldquo;Silence, in the King&rsquo;s name!&rdquo; to
+no purpose, it would be an easier task to hale apart old beavers than
+one of these.&nbsp; But when Lucifer&rsquo;s veterans dashed into their
+midst, the growls, and blows, and battering lessened.&nbsp; &ldquo;Silence
+in Lucifer&rsquo;s name!&rdquo; roared the devil a second time.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;What is this,&rdquo; demanded the King, &ldquo;and who are these?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Nothing, sire, but that in the general confusion, the drovers
+came across the cuckolds, and set a-butting to prove whose horns were
+the harder; it might have turned out seriously, had not your horned
+giants joined in the affray.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Lucifer,
+&ldquo;since ye are all so ready with your arms, come with me to trounce
+the other rebels.&rdquo;&nbsp; But when the rumour reached these that
+Lucifer was approaching with three horned armies, everyone made for
+his lair.<br>
+<br>
+So he marched on across the desolate plains unresisted, and seeking
+in vain the cause of the revolt.&nbsp; After a while, however, one of
+the King&rsquo;s spies returns, quite out of breath: &ldquo;Most noble,
+Lucifer!&nbsp; Moloch, your prince, hath subdued part of the North,
+and hath cut thousands to pieces upon the glaciers, but there are three
+or four dangerous evils still threatening you.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Whom
+meanest thou?&rdquo; asked Lucifer.&nbsp; &ldquo;The Slanderer, the
+Busybody, and the Lawmonger, have broken out of their prisons and got
+free.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;No wonder then,&rdquo; said the Evil One,
+&ldquo;if further troubles arise.&rdquo;&nbsp; Then there comes another
+spy from the South, informing that matters would soon reach a dire pass
+in that quarter if the three who had already thrown the West into utter
+confusion be not taken, namely, the Huntress, the Rogue and the Swaggerer.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Since the day I tempted Adam from his garden,&rdquo; said Satan,
+who stood next but one to Lucifer, &ldquo;I have never seen so many
+evils of his race at liberty together.&nbsp; The Huntress, the Swaggerer,
+the Rogue, on the one hand, and on the other, the Slanderer, the Lawmonger
+and the Busybody - a mixture would make devils reach.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Little
+wonder, verily,&rdquo; said Lucifer, &ldquo;that they were so much hated
+by all on earth, seeing that they are capable of causing such trouble
+to us here.&rdquo;&nbsp; Not long after, the Huntress comes to meet
+the King upon the way.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ho! grandam o&rsquo; the breeches,&rdquo;
+cries a shrill-voiced demon, &ldquo;good night to you.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Thy grandam on which side, prithee?&rdquo; said she, displeased
+because he did not &ldquo;madam&rdquo; her.&nbsp; &ldquo;You are a fine
+king, Lucifer, to keep such impudent rascals about you; a thousand pities
+that such a vast realm should be under so impotent a ruler; would that
+I might be made its regent.&rdquo;&nbsp; Then comes the Swaggerer, nodding
+in the dark - &ldquo;Your humble servant, sir,&rdquo; saith he to one,
+over his shoulder; &ldquo;Are you quite well?&rdquo; to another; &ldquo;Can
+I be of any service to you?&rdquo; addressing a third, with a leering
+smirk, and to the Huntress: &ldquo;Your beauty quite fascinates me,
+madam.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh oh,&rdquo; cried she, &ldquo;away with
+the hell-hound;&rdquo; and all join in the shout: &ldquo;Away with this
+new tormentor, hell on hell that he is!&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Let both
+be bound together hand and foot,&rdquo; commanded Lucifer.&nbsp; Soon
+after the Lawmonger comes on the scene between two devils.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ho,
+ho, thou angel of peace,&rdquo; exclaimed Lucifer, &ldquo;hast thou
+come?&nbsp; Keep him safe, guards, at your peril!&rdquo;&nbsp; Before
+we had gone far, the Rogue and the Slanderer appeared, chained between
+forty devils, and whispering to one another.&nbsp; &ldquo;Most noble
+Lucifer,&rdquo; began the Rogue, &ldquo;I am very sorry there is so
+much disturbance in your kingdom; but if I may be heard, I will teach
+you a better method.&nbsp; Under the pretence of holding a Parliament,
+you can cite all the damned into the burning Evildom, and then bid the
+devils hurl them headlong to bottomless perdition, and lock them up
+in its vortex, to trouble you no more.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;But the Common
+Meddler is still missing,&rdquo; said Lucifer, frowning most darkly
+at the Rogue.&nbsp; When we reached once more the entrance of the infernal
+court, who should come straight to meet the King but the Busybody.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Ah, your majesty, I have a word with you.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;And
+I have one or two with you, peradventure,&rdquo; said the Evil One.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I have been over the half of Hell,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;to
+see how your affairs went.&nbsp; You have many officers in the East
+who are remiss, and take their ease instead of attending to the torturing
+of their prisoners and to their safe keeping; it was this that gave
+rise to the great rebellion.&nbsp; And moreover many of your fiends,
+and of the lost whom you sent to the world to tempt men, have not returned,
+although their time is up, and others have come, but hide rather than
+give an account of their doings.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Then commanded Lucifer his herald to summon a second Parliament, and
+in the twinkling of an eye all the potentates and their officers were
+again in attendance at their infernal <i>Eisteddfod</i>.&nbsp; The first
+thing done was to change the officers, and to order a place to be made
+round the mouth of the pit for the Swaggerer and the Huntress, linked
+face to face, and for the other rebels, bound topsy-turvy together;
+and a law was published that whosoever of the demons or of the damned
+thenceforth transgressed his duty should be thrown into their midst
+till doomsday.&nbsp; At these words all the fiends and even Lucifer
+himself trembled and were sore perturbed.&nbsp; Then next came the trial
+of the devils and the lost who had been sent to earth to find &ldquo;associates
+and co-partners of their loss;&rdquo; the devils gave a clear account,
+but the statement of the damned was so hazy and uncertain, that they
+were driven to the ever-burning school, and there scourged with fiery,
+knotted serpents to teach them their task the better.&nbsp; &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s
+a wench that&rsquo;s pretty enough when dressed up,&rdquo; said an imp,
+&ldquo;she was sent up into the world to gain you new subjects; and
+whom should she first tempt but a weary ploughman, homeward wending
+his way, late from his toils, who, instead of succumbing to her wiles,
+went on his knees praying to be saved from the devil and his angels.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Ho there!&rdquo; cried Lucifer, &ldquo;throw her to that worthless
+losel who long ago loved Einion ab Gwalchmai of Mona.&rdquo; <a name="citation102a"></a><a href="#footnote102a">{102a}</a>&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Stay, stay,&rdquo; pleaded the fair one, &ldquo;this is but my
+first offence; there is yet scarcely a year since the day when all was
+over with me, when I was condemned to your cursed state, Oh king of
+woes!&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;No, there is not yet three weeks,&rdquo; said
+the demon that had brought her there.&nbsp; &ldquo;How therefore,&rdquo;
+said she, &ldquo;would you have me be as skilled as those lost beings
+who have been here three or four centuries hunting their prey?&nbsp;
+If you desire better service at my hands, let me go free into the world
+once more to roam about uncensured; and if I bring you not twenty adulterers
+for every year I am out, mete me what punishment you list.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Nevertheless the verdict went against her, and she was doomed to live
+a hundred long years under chastisement, that she might be more careful
+a second time.&nbsp; Presently, another devil entered, pushing to the
+front a man.&nbsp; &ldquo;Here is a fine messenger,&rdquo; he said,
+&ldquo;who wandering the other night in his old neighbourhood above,
+saw a thief stealing a stallion, but could not help him even to catch
+the foal without showing himself; and the thief, when he saw him, abandoned
+that career for ever.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Begging the court&rsquo;s
+pardon,&rdquo; said the man, &ldquo;if the thief&rsquo;s child was endowed
+with power from above to see me, could I help that?&nbsp; Moreover,
+this is only a single case; &rsquo;t is not a hundred years since that
+day which put an end to all my hopes for ever, and how many of my own
+family and of my neighbours have I enticed here after me in that time?&nbsp;
+Perdition hold me, if I am not as dutiful to my trade as the best of
+you, but the wisest is sometimes at fault.&rdquo;&nbsp; Then said Lucifer:
+&ldquo;Throw him into the school of the fairies, who are still under
+castigation for their mischievous tricks in days gone by, when they
+were wont to strangle and threaten their neighbours, and so awaken them
+from their torpor; for their fear probably had more influence upon them
+than forty sermons.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Then came four constables, an accuser, and fifteen of the damned, dragging
+forward two devils.&nbsp; &ldquo;Lest you lay the blame of every wrongful
+service upon the children of Adam,&rdquo; said the accuser, &ldquo;here
+are two of your old angels who misspent their time above as much as
+the two who were last before the court.&nbsp; Here is a rogue quite
+as worthless as that one at Shrewsbury the other day, when the Interlude
+of <i>Doctor Faustus</i> was being played, amidst all manner of most
+wanton and lascivious revelries, and where many things were going on
+conducive to the welfare of your realm; when they were busiest, the
+devil himself appeared to play his part, and so drove all away from
+pleasure to prayers.&nbsp; Even so this one, in his wanderings over
+the world: he heard some people talk of walking round the church <a name="citation104a"></a><a href="#footnote104a">{104a}</a>
+to see their sweethearts, and what should the fool do but show himself
+to the simpletons in his own natural form, and though their fright was
+great they recovered their senses, and made a vow to leave that vanity
+for ever; whereas had he only assumed the form of some vile jades, they
+would have held themselves bound to accept those; and so the foul fiend
+might have been master of the household with both parties, since he
+himself had mated them.&nbsp; And here is another, who went, last Twelfth
+Night, to visit two Welsh lasses who were turning their shifts, and
+instead of enticing them to wantonness in the form of a fair youth,
+to one he took a bier, to make her thoughts more serious; to the other,
+he went with the tumult of war in a hellish whirlwind, to make her madder
+than before; and this was quite needless.&nbsp; Nor was this all; for
+after he had entered the maiden, and had thrown her about, and sorely
+tormented her, some of our learned enemies were sent for to pray for
+her and to cast him out, and instead of tempting her to despair and
+endeavouring to win over the preachers, he began to preach to them,
+and to disclose the mysteries of your kingdom, thus aiding their salvation
+instead of hindering it.&rdquo;&nbsp; At the word &ldquo;salvation&rdquo;
+I saw some leaping up, a living fire of rage.&nbsp; &ldquo;Every tale
+is fair till the other side be told,&rdquo; quoth the devil, &ldquo;I
+hope Lucifer will not allow one of the earth-born race of Adam to contend
+with me, who am an angel of far superior kind and stock.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;His punishment is certain,&rdquo; said Lucifer, &ldquo;but do
+thou, sirrah, give clear and ready answer to these charges; or by hopeless
+Hell I will - .&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I have led hither,&rdquo; said he,
+&ldquo;many a soul since Satan was in the Garden of Eden, and I ought
+to understand my business, better than this upstart accuser.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Blood of infernal firebrands,&rdquo; cried Lucifer, &ldquo;did
+I not bid thee answer clearly and readily?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;By your
+leave,&rdquo; said the demon, &ldquo;I have preached a hundred times,
+and have denounced many of the various ways that lead to your confines,
+and yet at the same breath, have quietly brought them hither safe and
+sound by some other delusive path, just as I did while preaching recently
+in the German States, in one of the Faro Isles, and in several other
+places.&nbsp; In this manner, through my preaching have many Papist
+beliefs, and old traditions come first into the world, and all in the
+guise of goodness.&nbsp; For who ever would swallow a baitless hook?&nbsp;
+Who ever gained credence for a tale which had not some truth mingled
+with the false, or some little good overshadowing the bad?&nbsp; So,
+if whilst preaching I can instil one counsel of mine own among a hundred
+that are good and true, by means of that one, through heedlessness or
+superstition, will more weal betide your kingdom than woe through all
+the others ever.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Lucifer, &ldquo;since
+thou canst do so much good in the pulpit, I bid thee dwell seven years
+in the mouth of a barndoor preacher who always utter what first comes
+to his mind; there thou wilt have an opportunity of putting in a word
+now and then to thine own purpose.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+There were many more devils and damned darting to and fro like lightning
+about the awful throne, to count and to receive offices.&nbsp; But suddenly
+without any warning there came a command for all the messengers and
+prisoners to depart from the court, each one to his den, leaving the
+King and his chief counsellors alone together.&nbsp; &ldquo;Is it not
+better for us also to depart, lest they find us?&rdquo; I asked my friend.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Thou needest have no fear,&rdquo; answered the angel, &ldquo;no
+unclean spirit can ever pierce this veil.&rdquo;&nbsp; Wherefore we
+remained there invisible, to see the issue.<br>
+<br>
+Then Lucifer began graciously to address his peers thus:- &ldquo;Ye
+mightiest spirits of evil, ye archfiends of hellish guile, the utmost
+of your malicious wiles am I now constrained to demand.&nbsp; All here
+know that Britain and its adjacent isles is the realm most dangerous
+to my state, and fullest of mine enemies; and what is a hundredfold
+worse, there reigns now a queen most dangerous of all, who has never
+once inclined hither, nor along the old way of Rome on the one hand
+nor yet along the way of Geneva on the other: to think what great good
+the Pope has for a long time done us there and Oliver even to this day!&nbsp;
+What therefore shall we do?&nbsp; I fear me we shall entirely lose our
+ancient possession of that mart unless we instantly set-to to pave a
+new way for them to travel over, for they know too well all the old
+roads that lead hitherwards.&nbsp; Since this invincible hand shortens
+my chain, and prevents me from going myself to the earth, your advice
+I pray.&nbsp; Whom shall I appoint my viceroy to oppose yon hateful
+queen, Our Enemy&rsquo;s vicegerent?&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Oh! thou great Emperor of Darkness,&rdquo; said Cerberus, <a name="citation106a"></a><a href="#footnote106a">{106a}</a>
+the demon of tobacco, &ldquo;&rsquo;tis I that supply the third of that
+country&rsquo;s maintenance, I shall go, and I will despatch you a hundred
+thousand of your foemen&rsquo;s souls through a pipe stem.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;In sooth,&rdquo; said Lucifer, &ldquo;thou hast done me some
+good service, what with causing the slaughter of the owners in India
+and poisoning those that indulge in it, through the saliva, sending
+many to wander with it idly from house to house, others to steal in
+order to obtain it, and millions to grow that fond of it that they cannot
+spend a single day without it, and be in their right mind.&nbsp; For
+all this, go and do thy best, but thou art nought to our present purpose.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Whereupon Cerberus sat down; then rose Mammon, the devil of money, and
+with surly skulking mien began: &ldquo;&rsquo;T was I who pointed out
+the first mine whence money was to be obtained, and ever since I am
+praised and worshipped more than God, and men lay their pain and peril,
+all their mind, their affection and their trust upon me, yea, there
+is no man content, but all crave more of my favor; the more they obtain,
+the further still are they from rest, until at last, while seeking ease,
+they come to this region of everlasting woes.&nbsp; How many a crafty
+old miser have I enticed hither over paths that were harder to traverse
+than those that lead to the realm of bliss?&nbsp; Whenever a fair was
+held, a market, assize or election, or any other concourse, who had
+more subjects than I or greater power and authority?&nbsp; Cursing,
+swearing, fighting, litigation, falsehood and deceit, beating, clawing,
+murdering and robbing one another, Sabbath-breaking, perjury, cruelty,
+and what black mark besides, which stamps men as of Lucifer&rsquo;s
+fold, that I have not had a hand in placing?&nbsp; For which reason
+have I been called &lsquo;the root of all evil.&rsquo;&nbsp; Wherefore,
+an it please your majesty, I will go.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+He ceased.&nbsp; Then Apolyon uprose and spoke: &ldquo;I know of nought
+more certain to lead them hither than what brought you here, <a name="citation107a"></a><a href="#footnote107a">{107a}</a>
+and that is Pride; once it plants its straight stake in them and puffs
+them up, there is no need to fear that they will condescend to bear
+the cross or go through the narrow gate.&nbsp; I will go with your daughter
+Pride, and before they can realise where they are, I will drive the
+Welsh hither headlong while admiring the pomp of the English, and the
+English while imitating the vivacity of the French.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+After him arose Asmodai, the devil of lust: &ldquo;&rsquo;T is not unknown
+to you, mightiest King of the deep, nor to you, princes of the land
+of despair, how many of the gulfs of hell have I filled through voluptuousness
+and lewdness.&nbsp; What of the time I kindled such a flame of lust
+over all the world that the deluge had needs be sent to clear the earth
+of men, and to sweep them all into our unquenchable fire?&nbsp; What
+of Sodoma and Gomorrah, fine and fair cities, which I so consumed with
+licentiousness that a hell-shower blazed in their infernal lusts and
+beat them down here alive, to burn for ages on ages.&nbsp; And what
+of the great hosts of the Assyrians, who were all slain in one night
+on my account?&nbsp; I disappointed Sarah of seven husbands&rsquo; <a name="citation108a"></a><a href="#footnote108a">{108a}</a>
+and Solomon and many a thousand other kings did I bring to shame through
+women.&nbsp; Wherefore let me and this sweet sin go, and I will kindle
+the hellish spark so generally that it will at length become one with
+this inextinguishable flame, for scarce one will ever return from following
+me to walk in the paths of life.&rdquo;&nbsp; At that he sat down.<br>
+<br>
+Then Belphegor, chief of sloth and idleness, stood up and spake thus:
+&ldquo;I am the great prince of listlessness and sloth, who have great
+influence upon millions of all sorts and conditions of men; I am that
+stagnant pond where the spawn of every evil is bred, where the dregs
+of every corruption and baleful slime grows rank.&nbsp; What good wouldst
+thou be, Asmodai, or ye, chief damned evils, were I not?&nbsp; I, who
+keep the windows open and unguarded that ye may enter into the man when
+ye will, through his eyes, his ears and his mouth.&nbsp; I will go and
+roll them all over the precipice unto you in their sleep.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Then Satan, the devil of delusion, who was on Lucifer&rsquo;s left hand,
+arose, and turning his grim visage to the king, began: &ldquo;It is
+unnecessary for me to recount my deeds to thee, Oh lost Archangel, or
+to you, swarthy princes of Destruction: for &rsquo;twas I who dealt
+the first blow to man, and mighty was that blow, to be the cause of
+death from the beginning of the world to its end.&nbsp; Is it likely
+that I, who erst ravaged all the earth, could not now give advice that
+would serve one little isle?&nbsp; Could not I, who deceived Eve in
+Paradise, overcome Anne in Britain?&nbsp; If inborn craft and continuous
+experience for five thousand years profit aught, my advice is that you
+adorn your daughter Hypocrisy to deceive Britain and its queen: you
+have no other as serviceable as she; her sway extends more widely than
+that of all the rest of your daughters, and her subjects are more numerous.&nbsp;
+Was it not through her that I beguiled the first woman?&nbsp; And ever
+since she has remained on earth and waxed very great therein, so that
+by now the world is hardly anything but one mass of hypocrisy.&nbsp;
+And were it not for the craftiness of Hypocrisy how could anyone of
+us do business in any part of the world?&nbsp; For what man would ever
+have aught to do with sin, did he once behold it in its true color and
+under its own proper name?&nbsp; He would sooner clasp a devil in his
+own infernal shape and garb.&nbsp; If it were not that Hypocrisy can
+disguise the name and nature of every evil under the semblance of some
+good, and give a bad name to every goodness, no man at all would put
+forth his hand to do evil or would lust after it.&nbsp; Walk through
+the entire city of Destruction and ye will perceive her greatness in
+every quarter.&nbsp; Go to the street of Pride and ask for an arrogant
+man or for a penny-worth of affectation mixed through pride: &lsquo;Woe
+is me,&rsquo; exclaims Hypocrisy, &lsquo;there is no such thing here,&rsquo;
+no, nor for a devil, anything else in the whole street save proud demeanour.&nbsp;
+Or walk into the street of Lucre and enquire for the miser&rsquo;s house:
+pshaw, there is no one of the kind therein; or for the dwelling of the
+murderer among the doctors, or for the abode of highwaymen amongst the
+drovers; thou wouldst sooner be thrown to prison for asking than that
+one should confess to his own name.&nbsp; Yea, Hypocrisy crawls in between
+a man and his own heart, and so skilfully does she hide every wrong
+under the name and guise of some virtue that she has caused well nigh
+all to lose cognisance of their own selves.&nbsp; Greed she calls thrift;
+in her tongue riotous living is innocent joy; pride is courtesy; the
+froward, a clever, courageous man; the drunkard, a boon companion; and
+adultery is a mere freak of youth.&nbsp; On the other hand, if she and
+her scholars&rsquo; <a name="citation110a"></a><a href="#footnote110a">{110a}</a>
+are to be believed, the godly is a hypocrite or a fool; the gentle,
+a coward; the abstemious, a churl, and so for every other quality.&nbsp;
+Send her thither in all her adornment, and I warrant you she will deceive
+everyone; she will blinden the counsellors, the soldiers, and all the
+officers of church and state, and will draw them hither in hurrying
+multitudes with the varicolored mask upon their eyes.&rdquo;&nbsp; Whereupon
+he too sat down.<br>
+<br>
+Then Beelzebub, the devil of thoughtlessness stood up, and in a harsh
+voice said: &ldquo;I am the great prince of heedlessness whose duty
+it is to prevent a man taking reflective heed of his state; I am chief
+of the incessant hell-flies who utterly amaze men, ever dinning in their
+ears concerning their possessions or their pleasures, and never willingly
+allowing them a moment&rsquo;s leisure to think of their ways or of
+their end.&nbsp; No one of you must dare enter the lists against me
+in feats serviceable to the realm of darkness.&nbsp; For what is tobacco,
+but one of my meanest weapons to stupefy the brain?&nbsp; What is Mammon&rsquo;s
+kingdom but a part of my great dominion?&nbsp; Yea, were I to loosen
+the bonds I have upon the subjects of Mammon and Pride, and even of
+Asmodai, Belphegor and Hypocrisy, no man would for an instant abide
+their domination.&nbsp; Wherefore I will do the work and let no one
+of you ever utter a word.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Then great Lucifer himself arose from his burning seat, and having turned
+his hideous face to both sides, thus began: &ldquo;Ye chief spirits
+of the Eternal Night, princes of hopeless guile, although the vasty
+gloom and the wilds of Destruction are more bounden to none for their
+inhabitants than to mine own supreme majesty - for it was I who erewhile
+wishing to usurp the Almighty&rsquo;s throne, drew myriads of you, my
+swarthy angels, at my tail into these deadly horrors, and afterwards
+drew unto you myriads of men to share this region - yet there is no
+gainsay that ye all have done your share in maintaining and extending
+this great infernal empire.&rdquo;&nbsp; Then he began to answer them
+one by one: &ldquo;Considering thy recent origin, Cerberus, I will not
+deny but that thou hast gained for us much prey in the island of our
+foes through tobacco.&nbsp; For they that carry, mix, and weigh it,
+practise all manner of fraud; and by its indulgence some are led on
+to habitual drinking, some to curse and swear, and some to seek it through
+blandishment, and to lie in denying their use of it - not to speak of
+the injury it inflicts upon many, and its immoderate use upon all, body
+as well as soul.&nbsp; And better than that, myriads of the poor, whom
+else we never should touch, sink hither through laying the burden of
+their affection upon tobacco, and allowing it to be their master, to
+steal the bread from their children&rsquo;s mouth.&nbsp; Then, brother
+Mammon, your power is so universal and so well-known on earth that it
+is a proverb, &lsquo;Everything may be had for money.&rsquo;&nbsp; And
+without doubt,&rdquo; said he, turning to Apolyon, &ldquo;my beloved
+daughter Pride is most serviceable to us, for what can there be more
+pernicious to a man&rsquo;s estate, to his body and soul, than that
+proud, obdurate opinion which will make him squander a hundred pounds
+rather than yield a crown to secure peace.&nbsp; She keeps them all
+so stiff-necked and so intent on things on high that it is amusing to
+see them, while gazing upwards, and &lsquo;extolling their heads to
+the stars&rsquo; fall straightway into the depths of hell.&nbsp; You
+too, Asmodai, we all remember your great services in the past; there
+is none more resolute than you to keep safe his prisoners under lock
+and key, nor any so unimpeachable.&nbsp; Nowadays a wanton freak provokes
+only a little laughter, but you came near perishing there from famine
+during the recent years of dearth.&nbsp; And you, my son Belphegor,
+verminous prince of sloth, no one has afforded us more pleasure than
+you; your influence is exceeding great among noblemen and also among
+the common people, even to the beggar.&nbsp; And were it not for the
+skill of my daughter Hypocrisy in coloring and adorning, who ever would
+swallow a single one of our hooks?&nbsp; But after all, if it were not
+for the unwearying courage of my brother Beelzebub in keeping men in
+heedless dazedness, ye all would not be worth a straw.&nbsp; Let us
+once more recapitulate.&nbsp; What good wouldst thou be, Cerberus, with
+thy foreign whiff, if Mammon did not succour thee?&nbsp; What merchant
+would ever run such risks to obtain thy paltry leaves from India, except
+for Mammon&rsquo;s sake?&nbsp; And only for him what king would receive
+them, especially into Britain, and who but for his sake would carry
+them to every part of the kingdom?&nbsp; Yet how worthless thou too
+wouldst be, Mammon, if Pride did not lavish thee upon fair mansions,
+fine clothes, needless lawsuits, gardens and horses, extravagant relatives,
+numerous dishes, floods of beer and ale, beyond the power and station
+of their owner; for if money were spent within the limit of necessity
+and of becoming moderation, what would Mammon avail us?&nbsp; Thus thou
+art nought without Pride; and little would Pride profit without Wantonness,
+for bastards are the most numerous and the most fierce of all the subjects
+of my daughter Pride.&nbsp; And thou, Asmodai, what wouldst thou profit
+us were it not for Sloth and Idleness?&nbsp; Where wouldst thou obtain
+a night&rsquo;s lodging?&nbsp; Thou wouldst not dare expect it from
+a laborer or diligent student.&nbsp; And who, for the dishonor and the
+shame, would ever give thee, Belphegor the Slothful, a moment&rsquo;s
+welcome, if Hypocrisy did not disguise thy foulness under the name of
+an internal disease, or as a good intent or a seeming despisal of wealth
+or the like.&nbsp; She too - my dear daughter Hypocrisy - what good
+is or ever would she be, notwithstanding her skill as a seamstress,
+and her boldness, without thy aid, my eldest brother, Beelzebub, great
+chief of Distraction: if he gave people peace and leisure to reflect
+seriously upon the nature of things and their differences, how long
+would it take them to find holes in the folds of Hypocrisy&rsquo;s golden
+garments, and to see the hooks through the bait?&nbsp; What man in his
+senses would gather together toys and fleeting pleasures, surfeiting,
+vain and disgraceful, and choose them in preference to a calm conscience
+and the bliss of a glorious eternity?&nbsp; Who would refuse to suffer
+the pangs of martyrdom for his faith for an hour or a day, or affliction
+for forty or sixty years, if he considered that his neighbours suffer
+here in an hour more than he could suffer on earth for ever.&nbsp; Tobacco
+is nothing without Money, or Money without Pride, and Pride is but a
+weakling without Wantonness, nor is Wantonness aught without Sloth,
+nor Sloth without Hypocrisy, nor Hypocrisy without Thoughtlessness.&nbsp;
+Wherefore, now,&rdquo; said Lucifer, lifting his infernal hoofs on their
+claw-ends, &ldquo;to give my own opinion: however excellent all these
+may be, I have a friend better suited than all to our foe of Britain.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Then could I see all the archfiends open wide their horrid mouths upon
+Lucifer in eager expectation as to what this could possibly be, while
+I too was as anxious as they.&nbsp; &ldquo;A friend,&rdquo; continued
+Lucifer, &ldquo;whose true worth I have too long neglected, just as
+thou, Satan, tempting Job of yore, didst foolishly turn upon him with
+severity.&nbsp; This, my kinswoman, I now appoint regent in all matters
+appertaining to my kingdom on earth, next to myself.&nbsp; Her name
+is Prosperity: she has damned more than all of you together, and little
+would ye avail without her presence.&nbsp; For who in war or peril,
+in famine or in plague, would lay any value by tobacco, or by money
+or by the sprightliness of pride, or who would deign welcome licentiousness
+or sloth?&nbsp; And men in such straits are too wide-awake to be distraught
+by Hypocrisy, or even by Thoughtlessness; none of the infernal vermin
+of Distraction dare show himself in one such storm.&nbsp; Whereas Prosperity,
+with its ease and comfort, is the nurse of all of you; beneath her peaceful
+shadow and upon her tranquil bosom ye all are nourished, and every other
+hellish worm that has its place in the conscience and will be for ever
+here gnawing its possessor.&nbsp; As long as one is at ease, there is
+no talk but of merriment, of feasts, bargains, genealogies, tales, news
+and the like; the name of God is never mentioned except in profane oaths
+and curses, whereas the poor and the afflicted have His name upon their
+lips and in their hearts always.&nbsp; Go ye, the seven of you, and
+follow her and be mindful to keep all a-slumbering and in peace, in
+good fortune, in ease and in perfect carelessness; then shall ye see
+the honest poor become an untractable, arrogant knave, once he has quaffed
+of the alluring cup of Prosperity; ye shall behold the diligent laborer
+become a careless babbler and everything else that pleases you.&nbsp;
+For all seek and love happy Prosperity; she neither hearkens to advice
+nor fears censure; the good she knows not, the bad she nurtures.&nbsp;
+But this is the greatest mishap: the man that escapes her sweet charms
+must be given up in despair, we must bid farewell to his company for
+ever.&nbsp; Prosperity then is my earthly vicegerent; follow her to
+Britain, and obey her as ye would our own royal majesty.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+At that instant the huge bolt was whirled, and Lucifer and his chief
+counsellors were swept away into the vortex of Uttermost Perdition;
+woe&rsquo;s me, how terrible it was to behold the jaws of Hell yawning
+wide to receive them!&nbsp; &ldquo;Come now,&rdquo; said the Angel,
+&ldquo;we will return, but what thou hast seen is as nothing compared
+with all that is within the bounds of Hell; and if thou didst see everything
+therein that again would be as nought when compared with the unutterable
+woe of the Bottomless Pit; for it is impossible to have any conception
+of the life in the Uttermost Hell.&rdquo;&nbsp; Then suddenly the heavenly
+Eagle caught me up into the vault of the accursed gloom by a way I knew
+not, where, from the court, across the entire firmament of dark-burning
+Perdition, and all the land of oblivion up to the ramparts of the City
+of Destruction, I obtained full view of the hideous monster of a giantess
+whose feet I had previously observed.&nbsp; &ldquo;Words fail me to
+describe her ways and means; but of herself I can tell thee, that she
+was a three-faced ogress: one villainous face turned towards Heaven,
+yelping and snarling and belching forth curs&egrave;d abomination against
+the heavenly King; another face (and this was fair to look upon) towards
+earth, to allure men beneath her baneful shadow; and the other direful
+face towards the infernal abyss, to torture all therein for ages without
+end.&nbsp; She is greater than the earth in its entirety, and still
+continuously increases; she is a hundredfold more hideous than all Hell
+which she herself created and which she peoples.&nbsp; If Hell were
+rid of her, the vasty deep would be a Paradise; if she were driven from
+the earth, the little world would become a heaven; and if she ascended
+into Heaven, she would make an uttermost hell of that blissful realm.&nbsp;
+There is nought in all the worlds which God has not created, save her
+alone.&nbsp; She is the mother of the four deadly enchantresses; she
+is the mother of Death and of all evil and misery, and her terrible
+grasp is upon every living being.&nbsp; Her name is Sin.&nbsp; Blessed,
+ever blessed be he who escapes from her clutches,&rdquo; said the Angel.&nbsp;
+Thereupon he departed, and I could hear the distant echo of his voice
+saying; &ldquo;Write down what thou hast seen; and whosoever readeth
+it thoughtfully will never repent.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+WITH HEAVY HEART.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With heavy heart I sought th&rsquo; infernal coast<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And saw the vale of everlasting woes,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The awful home of fiends and of the lost<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Where torments rage and never grant repose -<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A lake of fire whence horrid flames arose<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And whither tended every wayward path<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Its prey to lead &rsquo;midst cruel dragon-foes;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yet, though I wandered through withouten scath,<br>
+A world I&rsquo;d spurn, to view again that scene of wrath.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With heavy heart oft I recall to mind<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How many a loving friend unwarn&egrave;d fell<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To bottomless perdition, there to find<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A dread abode where he for aye must dwell;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Who erst were men are now like hounds of Hell<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And with unceasing energy entice<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To dire combustion all with wily spell,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And to themselves have ta&rsquo;en the devils&rsquo;
+guise,<br>
+Their power and skill all ill to do in every wise.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With heavy heart I roamed the dismal land<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That is ordained the sinner&rsquo;s end to be;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What mighty waves surge wild on every hand!<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What gloomy shadows haunt its canopy!<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What horrors fall on high and mean degree!<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How hideous is the mien of its fell lords,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What shrieks rise from that boundless glowing sea,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How fierce the curses of the damn&egrave;d hordes,<br>
+No mortal ken can e&rsquo;er conceive or paint in words.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With heavy heart we mourn true friends or kin<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And grieve the loss of home, of liberty,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of that good name which all aspire to win<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Or health and ease and sweet tranquility;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When dim, dark clouds enshroud our memory<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And pass &rsquo;tween us and heaven&rsquo;s gracious
+smiles,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&rsquo;Tis sadder far to wake to misery<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And feel that Pleasure now no more beguiles,<br>
+That sin has left nought but the wounds of its base wiles.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With heavy heart the valiantest of men<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lays low his head beneath th&rsquo; impending doom;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In terror he descends death&rsquo;s awsome glen;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;While there appear flashing through the gloom<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The lurid shades of deeds which in the bloom<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of youth he dared; at last the conscience cries<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With ruthless voice: &ldquo;There&rsquo;s life beyond
+the tomb;&rdquo;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;His dying thoughts all vanities despise<br>
+As on the threshold of Eternity he lies.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The heavy heart that suffers all such grief<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;May, while the breath of life doth still remain,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hope for a joyous peace and blest relief;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But if grim Death his fated victim gain,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Woe&rsquo;s him that entereth the realm of pain -<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For e&rsquo;er on him its frowning portals close,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nor gleam of hope shall he perceive again,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For in that vast eternal night he knows<br>
+A woe awaits that far surpasseth earthly woes.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The heavy heart beneath its weight is crushed,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And at its very name - Damnation writ,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All men their vain and froward clamors hushed;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But when within the fiery gaping pit<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Whose flaming ramparts none will ever quit,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Above the thunder&rsquo;s roar th&rsquo; accursed
+host<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Raise such loud cries, it passeth human wit<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To dream of aught so dire, for at the most,<br>
+All woes of earth as pleasures seem unto the lost.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;From every vain complaining, cease, my friend,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Since thou art yet not numbered with the dead<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But turn thy thoughts unto thy destined end,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Behold thy Fates spin out the vital thread,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And oft&egrave;n as thy mind to Hell be led,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To contemplate the doleful gloom aglow,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There will forthwith possess thee such a dread,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Which Christ&rsquo;s unbounded mercy doth bestow,<br>
+Lest thou be doomed to that eternal realm of woe.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+Footnotes:<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote0"></a><a href="#citation0">{0}</a>&nbsp; The genealogical
+tables in the book are in graphic form.&nbsp; They are reproduced here
+in a more textual format - DP.<br>
+<br>
+ELLIS WYNNE&rsquo;S PEDIGREE<br>
+<br>
+(I am indebted to E. H. Owen, Esqr., F.S.A., Tycoch, Carnarvon, for
+most of the information comprised in the following Tables.)<br>
+<br>
+<pre>William Wynne <a name="citation00a"></a><a href="#footnote00a">{00a}</a> = Catherine <a name="citation00b"></a><a href="#footnote00b">{00b}</a>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ellis Wynne <a name="citation00c"></a><a href="#footnote00c">{00c}</a> = Lowri <a name="citation00d"></a><a href="#footnote00d">{00d}</a>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Edward Wynne = . . . heiress of Glasynys
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;+----------------------------+------------------+
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ELLIS WYNNE = Lowri Llwyd <a name="citation00e"></a><a href="#footnote00e">{00e}</a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Daughter
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|
++-----------------------+-----+---------+-------+
+|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |
+William <a name="citation00f"></a><a href="#footnote00f">{00f}</a> = <a name="citation00v"></a><a href="#footnote00v">{00v}</a>&nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Ellis Catherine Edward&nbsp;  Mary = Robert Owen
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <a name="citation00g"></a><a href="#footnote00g">{00g}</a>&nbsp; <a name="citation00h"></a><a href="#footnote00h">{00h}</a>&nbsp; &nbsp; <a name="citation00i"></a><a href="#footnote00i">{00i}</a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  <a name="citation00j"></a><a href="#footnote00j">{00j}</a>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Daughter=Robert Puw&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; +---+--------------+
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;John Wynne Puw <a name="citation00x"></a><a href="#footnote00x">{00x}</a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |
++----+--------+&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Ellis <a name="citation00k"></a><a href="#footnote00k">{00k}</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;  Frances
+|&nbsp; &nbsp; |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |
+|&nbsp; John&nbsp; &nbsp;  +----------+-----+------+-----------+-------------+
+|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |&nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |
+Robert&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Elizabeth&nbsp; Ann&nbsp; Edward&nbsp; John <a name="citation00l"></a><a href="#footnote00l">{00l}</a>&nbsp; Francis&nbsp; &nbsp;  Ellis
+
+
+
+</pre><p>THE RELATION BETWEEN ELLIS WYNNE &amp; BISHOP HUMPHREYS.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<pre>Meredydd ap Evan ap Robert <a name="citation00m"></a><a href="#footnote00m">{00m}</a> = Margaret&nbsp; <a name="citation00n"></a><a href="#footnote00n">{00n}</a>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Humphrey Wynne ap&nbsp; &nbsp;  = Catherine <a name="citation00o"></a><a href="#footnote00o">{00o}</a>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Meredydd of Gesail-&nbsp;  |
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;gyfarch.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|
+&nbsp;+-----------------------------------------------+
+&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |
+John Wynne&nbsp; = Catherine <a name="citation00p"></a><a href="#footnote00p">{00p}</a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  Evan Llwyd <a name="citation00q"></a><a href="#footnote00q">{00q}</a>=Catherine <a name="citation00w"></a><a href="#footnote00w">{00w}</a>
+ap Humphrey |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |
+of Gesail-&nbsp; |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |
+gyfarch&nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; John
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Robert Wynne <a name="citation00r"></a><a href="#footnote00r">{00r}</a>=Mary<a name="citation00s"></a><a href="#footnote00s">{00s}</a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  +------------------+
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  Evan&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  Griffith
+&nbsp;&nbsp;+-------------------------+&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |
+&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  +-----------+
+John Wynne = Jane <a name="citation00t"></a><a href="#footnote00t">{00t}</a> Margaret=Richard<a name="citation00u"></a><a href="#footnote00u">{00u}</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; William&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; LOWRI=ELLIS
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Robert <a name="citation00y"></a><a href="#footnote00y">{00y}</a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Ob. s. p.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; WYNNE
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;+---------------------------+-------+------------------+
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  |&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |
+HUMPHREY <a name="citation00z"></a><a href="#footnote00z">{00z}</a> = Elizabeth <a name="citation000a"></a><a href="#footnote000a">{000a}</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;  John&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  Catherine
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Died at Oxford.
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;+----------+---------------------+
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ann&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Margaret = John Llwyd <a name="citation000b"></a><a href="#footnote000b">{000b}</a>
+Ob. s. p. 1698&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Died 1759
+
+</pre><p><a name="footnote00a"></a><a href="#citation00a">{00a}</a>&nbsp;
+William Wynne of Glyn [Cywarch].&nbsp; Sheriff of Merioneth 1618 &amp;
+1637.&nbsp; D. 1658.&nbsp; 12th in direct male descent from Osborn Wyddel.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00b"></a><a href="#citation00b">{00b}</a>&nbsp; Catherine,
+daughter of William Lewis Anwyl of Park.&nbsp; Died 1638.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00c"></a><a href="#citation00c">{00c}</a>&nbsp; Ellis
+Wynne, 3rd son who probably lived at Maes-y-garnedd, Llanbedr.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00d"></a><a href="#citation00d">{00d}</a>&nbsp; Lowri,
+only daughter and heiress of Ed. Jones of Maes-y-garnedd, eldest borther
+of Col. Jones, Cromwell&rsquo;s brother-in-law who was executed in 1660
+as a regicide.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00e"></a><a href="#citation00e">{00e}</a>&nbsp; Lowri
+Llwyd of Hafod-lwyfog Beddgelert.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00f"></a><a href="#citation00f">{00f}</a>&nbsp; Rector
+of Llanaber.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00g"></a><a href="#citation00g">{00g}</a>&nbsp; Ellis
+Died 1732.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00h"></a><a href="#citation00h">{00h}</a>&nbsp; Catherine
+Died young.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00i"></a><a href="#citation00i">{00i}</a>&nbsp; Edward
+Rector of Penmorfa.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00j"></a><a href="#citation00j">{00j}</a>&nbsp; Robert
+Owen of Tygwyn Dolgellau.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00k"></a><a href="#citation00k">{00k}</a>&nbsp; Rector
+of Llanferres.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00l"></a><a href="#citation00l">{00l}</a>&nbsp; Rector
+of Llandrillo.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00m"></a><a href="#citation00m">{00m}</a>&nbsp; 11th
+in male descent from Owen Gwynedd.&nbsp; Died 1525.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00n"></a><a href="#citation00n">{00n}</a>&nbsp; Daughter
+of Morris ap John ap Meredydd of Clunnenau.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00o"></a><a href="#citation00o">{00o}</a>&nbsp; Daughter
+and heiress of Evan ap Griffith of Cwmbowydd.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00p"></a><a href="#citation00p">{00p}</a>&nbsp; Daughter
+of William Wynne ap William of Cochwillan.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00q"></a><a href="#citation00q">{00q}</a>&nbsp; Of
+Hafod-lwyfog.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00r"></a><a href="#citation00r">{00r}</a>&nbsp; Died
+1637.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00s"></a><a href="#citation00s">{00s}</a>&nbsp; Daughter
+of Ellis ap Cadwaladr of Ystumllyn.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00t"></a><a href="#citation00t">{00t}</a>&nbsp; Daughter
+of Evan Llwyd of Dylase.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00u"></a><a href="#citation00u">{00u}</a>&nbsp; Richard
+Humphreys of Hendref Gwenllian, Penrhyndeudraeth.&nbsp; Desceneded in
+male line from Marchweithian.&nbsp; An Officer in the Royal Army through
+Civil War.&nbsp; Died 1699.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00v"></a><a href="#citation00v">{00v}</a>&nbsp; . .
+. Lloyd of Trallwyn.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00w"></a><a href="#citation00w">{00w}</a>&nbsp; Catherine,
+Daughter of Griffith Wynne of Penyberth.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00x"></a><a href="#citation00x">{00x}</a>&nbsp; Robert
+Puw of Garth Maelan.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00y"></a><a href="#citation00y">{00y}</a>&nbsp; Robert
+Wynne of Gesail-gyfarch, Barr.-at-law.&nbsp; Ob. s. p. 1685.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote00z"></a><a href="#citation00z">{00z}</a>&nbsp; Humphrey.&nbsp;
+Born 1648.&nbsp; Dean of Bangor, 1680, Bishop 1689.&nbsp; Bishop of
+Hereford, 1701.&nbsp; Died 1712.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote000a"></a><a href="#citation000a">{000a}</a>&nbsp;
+Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Morgan Bishop of Bangor 1678, son of Rd.
+Morgan, M.P. for Montgomery Boroughs.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote000b"></a><a href="#citation000b">{000b}</a>&nbsp;
+John Llwyd of Penylan, Barr.-at-law, son of Dr. W. Lloyd, Bishop of
+Norwich, deprived in 1691 as one of the Nonjurors.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote0a"></a><a href="#citation0a">{0a}</a>&nbsp; &ldquo;A
+Catalogue of Graduates in the University of Oxford between 1659 and
+1850&rdquo; contains the following entry: - &ldquo;Wynne (Ellis) Jes.
+BA., Oct. 14, 1718, MA., June 13, 1722.&rdquo;&nbsp; But one can hardly
+suppose this to have been the <i>Bardd Cwsr</i>, as in 1718 he would
+be 47 years of age.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote0b"></a><a href="#citation0b">{0b}</a>&nbsp; The following
+entries are taken from the register at Llanfair-juxta-Harlech: - &ldquo;<i>Elizaeus
+Wynne Generosus de L&acirc;synys et Lowria Lloyd de Havod-lwyfog in
+agro Arvonensi in matrimonio conjuncti fuere decimo quarto die Feb.
+1702</i>.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote0c"></a><a href="#citation0c">{0c}</a>&nbsp; &ldquo;<i>Elizaeus
+Wynne junr. de L&acirc;synys sepultus est decimo die Octobris A.D. 1732</i>.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote0d"></a><a href="#citation0d">{0d}</a>&nbsp; &ldquo;<i>Owenus
+Edwards cler. nuper Rector hums ecclesiae sepultus est tricesimo die
+Maii A.D. 1711</i>.&rdquo;&nbsp; (From the Llanfair parish register.)<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote0e"></a><a href="#citation0e">{0e}</a>&nbsp; &ldquo;<i>Lowria
+Uxor Elizaei Wynne cler. de Lasynys vigesimo quarto die Augti. sepulta
+est Ano. Dom. 1720</i>.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;<i>Elizaeus Wynne Cler. nuper Rector dignissimus huius ecclesiae
+sepultus est 17mo. die Julii 1734</i>.&rdquo;&nbsp; (From the parish
+register at Llanfair.)<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote0f"></a><a href="#citation0f">{0f}</a>&nbsp; &ldquo;<i>The
+Visions of the Sleeping Bard</i>.&nbsp; First Part.&nbsp; Printed in
+London by E. Powell for the Author, 1703,&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote1a"></a><a href="#citation1a">{1a}</a>&nbsp; <i>The
+opening lines</i>. - Ellis Wynne opens his vision as so many early English
+poets are wont, with a description of the season when, and the circumstances
+under which he fell asleep.&nbsp; Compare especially Langland&rsquo;s
+Visions, <i>prologus</i>:<br>
+<br>
+In a somer seson whan soft was the sonne<br>
+I went wyde in this world wondres to here,<br>
+Ac on a May mornynge on Malvern hulles<br>
+Me befel a ferly of fairy me thoughte,<br>
+I was wery forwandred and went me to reste<br>
+Under a brode bank bi a bornes side<br>
+And as I lay and leued and loked in the wateres<br>
+I slombred in a slepyng it sweyved so merye.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote1b"></a><a href="#citation1b">{1b}</a>&nbsp; <i>One
+of the mountains</i>. - The scene these opening lines describe was one
+with which the Bard was perfectly familiar.&nbsp; He had often climbed
+the slopes of the Vale of Ardudwy to view the glorious panorama around
+him from Bardsey Isle to Strumble Head, the whole length of rock-bound
+coast lay before him, while behind was the Snowdonian range, from Snowdon
+itself to Cader Idris; and often, no doubt, he had watched the sun sinking
+&ldquo;far away over the Irish Sea, and reaching his western ramparts&rdquo;
+beyond the Wicklow Hills.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote1c"></a><a href="#citation1c">{1c}</a>&nbsp; <i>Master
+Sleep</i>. - Cp.:<br>
+<br>
+Such sleepy dulness in that instant weigh&rsquo;d<br>
+My senses down.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;- <i>Dante: Inf. C.I</i>. (<i>Cary&rsquo;s trans</i>.)<br>
+<br>
+Now leaden slumber with life&rsquo;s strength doth fight.<br>
+<br>
+<i>&nbsp;- Shakespere: Lucrece, 124.<br>
+<br>
+</i><a name="footnote4a"></a><a href="#citation4a">{4a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Such
+a fantastic rout</i>. - Literally &ldquo;such a battle of Camlan.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+This was the battle fought between Arthur and his nephew Medrod about
+the year 540 on the banks of the Camel between Cornwall and Somerset,
+where Arthur received the wounds of which he died.&nbsp; The combatants
+being relatives and former friends, it was characterised with unwonted
+ferocity, and has consequently come to be used proverbially for any
+fray or scene of more than usual tumult and confusion.<br>
+<br>
+So all day long the noise of battle roll&rsquo;d<br>
+Among the mountains by the winter sea,<br>
+Until King Arthur&rsquo;s table, man by man,<br>
+Had fallen in Lyonness about their Lord.<br>
+<br>
+<i>&nbsp;- Tennyson: Morte d&rsquo;Arthur.<br>
+<br>
+</i><a name="footnote4b"></a><a href="#citation4b">{4b}</a>&nbsp; <i>To
+lampoon my king</i>. - The Bard commenced this Vision in the reign of
+William III. (v. also p. 17, &ldquo;to drink the King&rsquo;s health&rdquo;)
+and completed it in that of Queen Anne, who is mentioned towards the
+end of the Vision.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote7a"></a><a href="#citation7a">{7a}</a>&nbsp; <i>The
+Turk and old Lewis of France</i>. - The Sultan Mustapha and Lewis XIV.
+are thus referred to.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote14a"></a><a href="#citation14a">{14a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Clippers</i>.
+- The context seems to demand this meaning, that is, &ldquo;those who
+debase coin of the realm,&rdquo; rather than &ldquo;beggars&rdquo; from
+the Welsh &ldquo;<i>clipan</i>.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote20a"></a><a href="#citation20a">{20a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Backgammon
+and dice</i>. - These games, together with chess, were greatly in vogue
+in medi&aelig;val Wales, and are frequently alluded to in the Mabinogion
+and other early works.&nbsp; The four minor games or feats (<i>gogampau</i>)
+among the Welsh were playing the harp, chess, backgammon, and dice.&nbsp;
+The word &ldquo;<i>ffristial a disiau</i>&rdquo; are here rendered by
+the one word &ldquo;dice&rdquo; <i>- ffristial</i> meaning either the
+dice-box, or the game itself, and <i>disiau</i>, the dice.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote21a"></a><a href="#citation21a">{21a}</a>&nbsp; <i>This
+wailing is for pay</i>. - Cp.<br>
+<br>
+Ut qui conducti plorant in funere dicunt<br>
+et faciunt prope plora dolentibus ex animo.<br>
+<br>
+<i>&nbsp;- Horace: Ars Poetica, 430-1.<br>
+<br>
+</i><a name="footnote23a"></a><a href="#citation23a">{23a}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>The butt of everybody</i>. - Whenever a number of bards, in the course
+of their peregrinations from one patron&rsquo;s hall to another, met
+of a night, their invariable custom was to appoint one of the company
+to be the butt of their wit, and he was expected to give ready answer
+in verse and parry the attacks of his brethren.&nbsp; It is said of
+Dafydd ap Gwilym that he satirized one unfortunate butt of a bard so
+fiercely that he fell dead at his feet.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote24a"></a><a href="#citation24a">{24a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Congregation
+of mutes</i>. - At the time Ellis Wynne wrote, the Quakers were very
+numerous in Merioneth and Montgomery and especially in his own immediate
+neighbourhood, where they probably had a burying-ground and conventicle.&nbsp;
+They naturally became the objects of cruel persecution at the hands
+of the dominant church as well as of the state; their meetings were
+broken up, their members imprisoned and maltreated, until at last they
+were forced to leave their fatherland and seek freedom of worship across
+the Atlantic<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote25a"></a><a href="#citation25a">{25a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Speak
+no ill</i>. - A Welsh proverb; <i>v. Myv. Arch.&nbsp; III. 182.<br>
+<br>
+</i><a name="footnote26a"></a><a href="#citation26a">{26a}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>We came to a barn</i>. - The beginning of Nonconformity in Wales.&nbsp;
+In the Author&rsquo;s time there were already many adherents to the
+various dissenting bodies in North Wales.&nbsp; Walter Cradoc, Morgan
+Llwyd and others had been preaching the Gospel many years previously
+throughout the length and breadth of Gwynedd; and it was their followers
+that now fell under the Bard&rsquo;s lash.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote28a"></a><a href="#citation28a">{28a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Corruption
+of the best</i>. - A Welsh adage; <i>v. Myv. Arch. III. 185.<br>
+<br>
+</i><a name="footnote28b"></a><a href="#citation28b">{28b}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>Some mocking</i>. - Compare Bunyan&rsquo;s Christian starting from
+the City of Destruction: &ldquo;So he looked not behind him, but fled
+towards the middle of the plain.&nbsp; The neighbours came out to see
+him run, and as he ran, some mocked, others threatened and some cried
+after him to return.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote29a"></a><a href="#citation29a">{29a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Who
+is content</i>. - Cp.<br>
+<br>
+Qui fit, Maecenas, ut nemo, quam sibi sortem<br>
+Seu ratio dederit seu fors obiecerit, illa<br>
+Contentus vivat, laudet diversa sequentes?<br>
+<br>
+<i>&nbsp;- Horace: Sat. I</i>. i.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote34a"></a><a href="#citation34a">{34a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Increases
+his own penalty</i>. - Cp.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- the will<br>
+And high permission of all-ruling heaven<br>
+Left him at large to his own dark designs,<br>
+That with reiterated crimes he might<br>
+Heap on himself damnation, while he sought<br>
+Evil to others.<br>
+<br>
+<i>- Par. Lost: I. 211-6.<br>
+<br>
+</i><a name="footnote36a"></a><a href="#citation36a">{36a}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>Royal blood</i> - referring to the execution of Charles I.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote37a"></a><a href="#citation37a">{37a}</a>&nbsp; <i>The
+Pope and his other son</i>. - The concluding lines of this Vision were
+evidently written amidst the rejoicings of the nation at the victories
+of Marlborough over the French and of Charles XII. over the Muscovites<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote43a"></a><a href="#citation43a">{43a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Glyn
+Cywarch</i>. - The ancestral home of the Author&rsquo;s father, situate
+in a lonely glen about three miles from Harlech.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote43b"></a><a href="#citation43b">{43b}</a>&nbsp; <i>Our
+brother Death</i>. - This idea of the kinship of Death and Sleep is
+common to all poets, ancient and modern; cp. the &ldquo;<i>Consanguineus
+Leti Sopor</i>&rdquo; of Vergil (&AElig;neid: VI. 278); and also:<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh thou God of Quiet!<br>
+Look like thy brother, Death, so still, - so stirless -<br>
+For then we are happiest, as it may be, we<br>
+Are happiest of all within the realm<br>
+Of thy stern, silent, and unawakening twin.<br>
+<br>
+- Byron: Sardanapulus, IV.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote44a"></a><a href="#citation44a">{44a}</a>&nbsp; <i>An
+extensive domain</i>. - Compare what follows with Vergil&rsquo;s description
+(Dryden&rsquo;s trans.):<br>
+<br>
+Just in the gate and in the jaws of Hell,<br>
+Revengeful cares and sullen sorrows dwell,<br>
+And pale diseases and repining age -<br>
+Want, fear, and famine&rsquo;s unresisted rage;<br>
+Here toils and death, and death&rsquo;s half-brother, Sleep,<br>
+Forms terrible to view, their sentry keep.<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;- &AElig;neid: VI. 273-8<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote48a"></a><a href="#citation48a">{48a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Merlin</i>.
+- A bard or seer who is supposed to have flourished about the middle
+of the fifth century, when Arthur was king.&nbsp; He figures largely
+in early tales and traditions, and many of his prophecies are to be
+found in later Cymric poetry, to one of which Tennyson refers in his
+<i>Morte d&rsquo;Arthur</i>:<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I think that we<br>
+Shall never more, at any future time,<br>
+Delight our souls with talks of knightly deeds<br>
+Walking about the gardens and the halls<br>
+Of Camelot, as in the days that were.<br>
+I perish by this people which I made -<br>
+Though Merlin sware that I should come again<br>
+To rule once more - but let what will be, be.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote48b"></a><a href="#citation48b">{48b}</a>&nbsp; <i>Brutus,
+the son of Silvius</i>. - According to the Chronicles of the Welsh Kings,
+Brwth (Brutus) was the son of Selys (Silvius), the son of Einion or
+&AElig;neas who, tradition tells, was the first king of Prydain.&nbsp;
+In these ancient chronicles we find many tales recorded of Brutus and
+his renowned ancestors down to the fall of Troy and even earlier.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote48c"></a><a href="#citation48c">{48c}</a>&nbsp; <i>A
+huge, seething cauldron</i>. - This was the mystical cauldron of Ceridwen
+which Taliesin considered to be the source of poetic inspiration.&nbsp;
+Three drops, he avers, of the seething decoction enabled him to forsee
+all the secrets of the future.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote48d"></a><a href="#citation48d">{48d}</a>&nbsp; <i>Upon
+the face of earth</i>. - These lines occur in a poem of Taliesin where
+he gives an account of himself as existing in various places, and contemporary
+with various events in the early eras of the world&rsquo;s history -
+an echo of the teachings of Pythagoras:<br>
+<br>
+Morte carent animae; semperque priore relicta<br>
+Sede, novis habitant domibus vivuntque receptae.<br>
+<br>
+<i>&nbsp;- Ovid: Metam.&nbsp; XV. 158-9.<br>
+<br>
+</i><a name="footnote48e"></a><a href="#citation48e">{48e}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>Taliesin</i>. - Taliesin is one of the earliest Welsh bards whose
+works are still extant.&nbsp; He lived sometime in the sixth century,
+and was bard of the courts of Urien and King Arthur.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote49a"></a><a href="#citation49a">{49a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Maelgwn
+Gwynedd</i>. - He became lord over the whole of Wales about the year
+550 and regained much territory that had once been lost to the Saxons.&nbsp;
+Indeed Geoffrey of Monmouth asserts that at one time Ireland, Scotland,
+the Orkneys, Norway and Denmark acknowledged his supremacy.&nbsp; Whatever
+truth there be in this assertion, it is quite certain that he built
+a powerful navy whereby his name became a terror to the Vikings of the
+North.&nbsp; In his reign, however, the country was ravaged by a more
+direful enemy - the Yellow Plague; &ldquo;whoever witnessed it, became
+doomed to certain death.&nbsp; Maelgwn himself, through Taliesin&rsquo;s
+curse, saw the <i>Vad Velen</i> through the keyhole in Rhos church and
+died in consequence.&rdquo;&nbsp; (<i>Iolo MSS</i>.)<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote49b"></a><a href="#citation49b">{49b}</a>&nbsp; <i>Arthur&rsquo;s
+quoit</i>. - The name given to several <i>cromlechau</i> in Wales; there
+is one so named, near the Bard&rsquo;s home, in the parish of Llanddwywe,
+&ldquo;having the print of a large hand, dexterously carved by man or
+nature, on the side of it, as if sunk in from the weight of holding
+it.&rdquo;&nbsp; (<i>v. Camb. Register, 1795</i>.)<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote54a"></a><a href="#citation54a">{54a}</a>&nbsp; <i>In
+the Pope&rsquo;s favor</i>. - Clement XI. became Pope in 1700, his predecessor
+being Innocent XII.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote55a"></a><a href="#citation55a">{55a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Their
+hands to the bar</i>. - Referring to the custom (now practically obsolete)
+whereby a prisoner on his arraignment was required to lift up his hands
+to the bar for the purpose of identification.&nbsp; Ellis Wynne was
+evidently quite conversant with the practice of the courts, though there
+is no proof of his ever having intended to enter the legal profession
+or taken a degree in law as one author asserts.&nbsp; (<i>v. Llyfryddiaeth
+y Cymry</i>, sub. tit. Ellis Wynne.)<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote67a"></a><a href="#citation67a">{67a}</a>&nbsp; &ldquo;<i>The
+Practice of Piety</i>.&rdquo; - Its author was Dr. Bayley, Bishop of
+Bangor; a Welsh translation by Rowland Vaughan, of Caergai, appeared
+in 1630, &ldquo;printed at the signe of the Bear, in Saint Paul&rsquo;s
+Churchyard, London.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote69a"></a><a href="#citation69a">{69a}</a>&nbsp; <i>At
+one time cold</i>. - Cp.:<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I come<br>
+To take you to the other shore across,<br>
+Into eternal darkness, there to dwell<br>
+In fierce heat and in ice.<br>
+<br>
+<i>- Dante</i>: Inf. <i>c. III</i>. (<i>Cary&rsquo;s trans</i>.).<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote71a"></a><a href="#citation71a">{71a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Above
+the roar</i>. - Cp.:<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The stormy blast of Hell<br>
+With restless fury drives the spirits on:<br>
+When they arrive before the ruinous sweep<br>
+There shrieks are heard, there lamentations, moans,<br>
+And blasphemies.<br>
+<br>
+<i>- Dante: Inf. c. V</i>. (<i>Cary&rsquo;s trans</i>.).<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote73a"></a><a href="#citation73a">{73a}</a>&nbsp; <i>Amidst
+eternal ice</i>. - Cp.:<br>
+<br>
+Thither . . . all the damned are brought<br>
+. . . and feel by turns the bitter change<br>
+Of fierce extremes, extremes by change more fierce!<br>
+From beds of raging fire to starve in ice<br>
+Their soft ethereal warmth, and there to pine<br>
+Immoveable, infix&rsquo;d and frozen round<br>
+Periods of time; thence hurried back to fire.<br>
+<br>
+<i>- Par. Lost, II. 597-603.<br>
+<br>
+</i><a name="footnote85a"></a><a href="#citation85a">{85a}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>Better to reign</i>. - This speech of Lucifer is very Miltonic; compare
+especially -<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- in my choice<br>
+To reign is worth ambition, though in hell;<br>
+Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.<br>
+<br>
+<i>- Par. Lost, I. 261-3.<br>
+<br>
+</i><a name="footnote85b"></a><a href="#citation85b">{85b}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>Revenge is sweet</i>. - Cp.:<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Revenge, at first though sweet<br>
+Bitter ere long, back on itself recoils.<br>
+<br>
+<i>- Par. Lost, IX. 171-2.<br>
+<br>
+</i><a name="footnote87a"></a><a href="#citation87a">{87a}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>This enterprize</i>. - Cp.:<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- this enterprize<br>
+None shall partake with me.<br>
+<br>
+<i>- Par. Lost, II. 465.<br>
+<br>
+</i><a name="footnote95a"></a><a href="#citation95a">{95a}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>Barristers</i>. - The word <i>cyfarthwyr</i>, here rendered &ldquo;barristers,&rdquo;
+really means &ldquo;those who bark,&rdquo; which is probably only a
+pun of the Bard&rsquo;s on <i>cyfarchwyr</i> - &ldquo;those who address
+(the court).&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote95b"></a><a href="#citation95b">{95b}</a>&nbsp; <i>Sir
+Edmundbury Godfrey</i>. - A London magistrate who took prominent part
+against the Catholics in the reign of Charles II.&nbsp; At the time
+the panic which the villainy of Titus Oates had fomented was at its
+height, Sir Edmundbury was found dead on Primrose Hill, with his sword
+through his body; his tragic end was attributed to the Papists, and
+many innocent persons suffered torture and death for their supposed
+complicity in his murder.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote102a"></a><a href="#citation102a">{102a}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>Einion the son of Gwalchmai</i>. - This is a reference to a fable
+entitled &ldquo;Einion and the Lady of the Greenwood,&rdquo; where the
+bard is led astray by &ldquo;a graceful, slender lady of elegant growth
+and delicate feature, her complexion surpassing every red and every
+white in early dawn, the snow-flake on the mountain-side, and every
+beauteous colour in the blossoms of wood, meadow, and hill.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+(<i>v.&nbsp; Iolo MSS</i>.)&nbsp; Einion was an Anglesey bard, flourishing
+in the twelfth century.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote104a"></a><a href="#citation104a">{104a}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>Walking round the church</i>. - Referring to a superstitious custom
+in vogue in some parts of Wales as late as the beginning of the present
+century.&nbsp; On All Souls&rsquo; Night the women-folk gathered together
+at the parish church, each with a candle in her hand; the sexton then
+came round and lit the candies, and as these burnt brightly or fitfully,
+so would the coming year prove prosperous or adverse.&nbsp; When the
+last candle died out, they solemnly march round the church twice or
+thrice, then home in silence, and in their dreams that night, their
+fated husbands would appear to them.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote106a"></a><a href="#citation106a">{106a}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>Cerberus, et seq</i>. - Compare the seven deadly sins in Langland&rsquo;s
+<i>Vision of Piers Plowman</i>, Pride, Luxury (<i>lecherie</i>), Envy,
+Wrath, Covetousness, Gluttony, and Sloth.&nbsp; See also Chaucer&rsquo;s
+Persones Tale, <i>passim</i>.&nbsp; A description of these seven sins
+occurs very frequently in old authors.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote107a"></a><a href="#citation107a">{107a}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>What brought you here</i>. - Pride is the greatest of all the deadly
+sins.&nbsp; Compare Spenser&rsquo;s <i>Faery Queen I. c. IV</i>, where
+&ldquo;proud Lucifera, as men did call her,&rdquo; was attended by &ldquo;her
+six sage counsellors&rdquo; - the other sins.&nbsp; Shakespere names
+this sin Ambition:<br>
+<br>
+Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition,<br>
+For by this sin fell the angels.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote108a"></a><a href="#citation108a">{108a}</a>&nbsp;
+<i>Sarah</i>. - v. Apocrypha, the book of Tobit, c. VI.<br>
+<br>
+<a name="footnote110a"></a><a href="#citation110a">{110a}</a>&nbsp;
+If she and her scholars - Cp.:<br>
+<br>
+At nos virtutes ipsas invertimus atque<br>
+sincerum cupimus vas incrustare.&nbsp; probus quis<br>
+nobiscum vivit multum demissus homo: illi<br>
+tardo cognomen pingui damus.&nbsp; his fugit omnes<br>
+insidias nullique malo latus obdit apertum pro bene sano<br>
+at non incauto fictum astutumque vocamus.<br>
+<br>
+- Horace: Sat. I. iii.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, VISIONS OF THE SLEEPING BARD ***<br>
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+</pre></body>
+</html>
diff --git a/old/spbd10h.zip b/old/spbd10h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c82155
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/spbd10h.zip