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The time did so lag with poor Mercy while she stood to be let in, that though it was but a short space, yet through fear and doubt did it seem to her like an hour at least; and Christiana could not say more for Mercy to Him who kept the gate for the knocks, which came so fast, and were at last so loud that they made Ch... |
Then He said, Who is there? |
Quoth Christiana: It is my friend. |
So He threw back the gate to look out, but Mercy was in a swoon, from the fear that she should not be let in. |
Then He took her by the hand and said, Fear not; stand firm on thy feet, and tell me whence thou art come, and for what end? |
Mercy: -- I do not come as my friend Christiana does, for I was not sent for by the King, and I fear I am too bold. Yet if there is grace to share, I pray Thee let me share it. |
Then He took her once more by the hand and led her in, and said, All may come in who put their trust in me, let the means be what they may that brought them here. |
Then He told those that stood by to bring her some myrrh, and in a while she got well. |
Now I saw in my dream that he spoke good words to Mercy, Christiana, and her boys, so as to make glad their hearts. And He took them up to the top of the gate, where He left them for a while, and Christiana said: Oh my dear friend, how glad am I that we have all got in! |
Mercy: -- So you may well be; but most of all have I cause for joy. |
Christiana: -- I thought at one time as I stood at the gate, and none came to me, that all our pains had been lost. |
Mercy: -- But my worst fears came when I saw Him who kept the gate grant you your wish, and take no heed of me. And this brought to my mind the two who ground at the same mill, and how I was the one who was left; and I found it hard not to cry out, I am lost! I am lost! |
Christiana: -- I thought you would have come in by rude force. |
Mercy: -- Ah me! You saw that the door was shut on me, and that a fierce hound was not far off. Who, with so faint a heart as mine, would not give loud knocks with all her might? But, pray, what said my Lord at this rude noise? Was He not wroth with me? |
Christiana: -- When He heard your loud thumps at the door He gave a smile; and to my mind, what you did would seem to please Him well. But it is hard to guess why He keeps such a dog. Had I known of it, I fear I should not have had the wish to come. But now we are in, we are safe; and I am glad with all my heart. |
One of Christiana's boys said: Pray ask to have a chain put on the dog, for it will bite us when we go hence. |
Then He who kept the gate came down to them once more, and Mercy fell with her face to the ground, and said, Oh, let me bless and praise the Lord with my lips! |
So He said to her, Peace be to thee; stand up. |
But she would not rise till she had heard from Him why He kept so fierce a dog in the yard. He told her He did not own the dog, but that it was shut up in the grounds of one who dwelt near. In truth, said He, it is kept from no good will to me or mine, but to cause those who come here to turn back from my gate by the s... |
Mercy: -- I spoke of what I knew not; but, Lord, I know that Thou dost all things well. |
Then Christiana rose as if she would go on her way. So He fed them, and set them in the right path, as He had done to Christian. And as they went, Christiana sang a hymn: "We turn our tears to joy, and our fears to faith." |
They had not gone far when they saw some fruit trees, the boughs of which hung from the top of a wall that was built around the grounds of him who kept the fierce hound, and at times those that came that way would eat them to their cost. So as they were ripe, Christiana's boys threw them down and ate some of them; thou... |
Now when they had gone but a bow shot from the place, they saw two men, who with bold looks came fast down the hill to meet them. With that, Christiana and her friend Mercy, drew down their veils, and so kept on their way, and the boys went on first. Then the men came up to them, but Christiana said: Stand back, or go ... |
Christiana, who did not like their looks, said, We are in haste, and can not stay; our work is a work of life and death. With that she and the rest made a fresh move to pass, but the men would not let them. So with one voice they all set up a loud cry. Now, as they were not far from the held gate, they were heard from ... |
Reliever: -- How was it that when you were at the gate you did not ask Him who stood there to take you on your way, and guard you from harm? Had you done so you would not have gone through these frights, for He would have been sure to grant you your wish. |
Christiana: -- Ah, Sir, the joy we felt when we were let in, drove from our thoughts all fears to come. And how could we think that such had men could lurk in such a place as that? True, it would have been well for us if we had thought to ask Him; but since our Lord knew it would be for our good, how came it to pass th... |
Reliever: -- You did not ask. When the want of a thing is felt, that which we wish for is worth all the more. |
Christiana: -- Shall we go back to my Lord and tell Him we wish we had been more wise, and ask for a guard? |
Reliever: -- Go back you need not, for in no place where you go will you find a want at all. |
When he had said this he took his leave, and the rest went on their way. |
Mercy: -- What a blank is here! I made sure we had been past all risk, and that we should see no more care. |
Christiana: -- Your youth may plead for you, my friend, and screen you from blame; but as for me, my fault is so much the worse in so far as I knew what would take place ere I came out of my door. Mercy: -- But how could you know this ere you set out? |
Christiana: -- Why, I will tell you. One night as I lay in bed, I had a dream, in which I saw the whole scene as it took place just now. |
By this time Christiana, Mercy and the four boys had come to the house of Interpreter. Now when they drew near to the door they heard the sound of Christiana's name; for the news of her flight had made a great stir; but they knew not that she stood at the door. At last she gave a knock, as she had done at the gate, whe... |
Innocent: -- With whom would you speak in this place? |
Christiana: -- As we heard that this is a place of rest for those that go by the way, we pray that we may be let in, for the day, as you see, is far spent, and we are loth to go on by night. |
Innocent: -- Pray what is your name, that I may tell it to my Lord? |
Christiana: -- My name is Christiana; I was the wife of Christian, who some time since came by this way, and these are his four sons. |
Innocent then ran in and said to those there, Can you guess who is at the door? There are Christiana, her boys and her friend! |
So they leapt for joy, and went to tell it to their Lord, who came to the door and said, Art thou that Christiana whom Christian left in the town of Destruction, when he set out for The Celestial City? |
Christiana: -- I am she, and my heart was so hard as to slight his woes, and leave him to make his way as he could; and these are his four sons. But I, too, am come, for I feel sure that no way is right but this. |
Interpreter: -- But why do you stand at the door? Come in; it was but just now that we spoke of you, for we heard that you were on your way. Come, my dear boys, come in; come, my sweet maid, come in. So he took them to the house, and bade them sit down and rest. All in the house wore a smile of joy to think that Christ... |
Then said Christiana: I think I know what this means. It is a sketch of a man of this world, is it not, good Sir? |
Interpreter: -- Thou art right, and his prong shows that his mind is of the earth, and that he thinks life in the next world is a mere song; take note that he does not so much as look up; and straws, sticks, and dust, with most, are the great things to live for. |
At that Christiana and Mercy wept, and said, Ah, yes, it is too true! |
Interpreter then took them to a room where were a hen and her chicks, and bade them look well at them for a while. So one of the chicks went to the trough to drink, and each time she drank would she lift up her head and her eyes to the sky. |
See, said he, what this bird does, and learn of her to know whence all good comes, and to give to the Lord who dwells on high, the praise and thanks for it. Look once more, and see all the ways that the hen has with her young brood. There is her call that goes on all day long; and there is her call that comes but now a... |
Christiana: -- Pray let us see some more. |
Interpreter then took them to his field, which was sown with wheat and corn; but when they came to look, the ears were cut off, and there was nought but the straw left. |
Interpreter: -- What shall we do with the crop? |
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