for she used such alluring arts, and fawning tricks, as
had almost conquered him; but, at length, calling to
mind the terrible thundering and lightning, with the
voice which followed them, he suddenly sprang out of her
arms, and ran away as fast as he could; neither did he
stop till he came out of the outermost gate of the palace,
and till he got into the highway again, where Carnal-
security first seduced him, and then he went on singing—
My soul, like to a bird from fowler's snare,
Escaped is, while after me they stare;

Their ways are pleasant, but they sting at last;
Woe be to them that in their nets are cast.
They spread their gins on every side for men,
Seducing souls to their enchanted den:
All's fair without, but rotten is within;
Fair is the form, but black the guilt of sin.

CHAP. V.

Tender-conscience passes the Lions, and arrives at the palace Beautiful.-His discourse with the religious virgins, by whom he is kindly entertained.

A

T length he came to the place where the lions lay, who began to roar at the sight of him, which put him into a great fright, so that he stood still at first; but calling to mind what he had seen in the cave of Good. resolution, concerning the dangers that those brave worthies had encountered and overcome, he took courage, and went boldly on his way, brandishing his crutch towards the lions, at which they immediately ceased their roaring, and lay still whilst he passed by, aud came up to the gate of the palace called Beautiful, where the porter stood ready to receive him; but first he examined from whence he came, and whither he was going?

Tender.-con. Sir, I am come from the valley of Destruction, and am going towards the holy Zion, or heavenly Jerusalem.

Porter. Did you come in by the wicket-gate, which is at the head of the way of life?

Tend. Yes, sir, and was directed by one Goodwill, who kept that gate, to call at the house of the Interpreter. Porter. Let me see your pass, that I may shew it to one of the virgins, who, if she be satisfied of the truth,

will receive you hospitably, and shew you the civilities of this house.

So Tender-conscience pulled out his pass, and gave it to Watchful the porter, who immediately rung a little bell; at which the virgin Discretion came out, and the porter told her what Tender-conscience was, and whither he was going, withal giving her the Interpreter's pass to read, which, when she had perused, and marked the seal, she desired him to walk in. So she had him to the hall, and there came to him Prudence, Piety, and Charity, and welcomed him to the house, and brought him a little wine and a few figs to refresh him at present till dinner should be ready, for they supposed him to be weary and spent with getting up the hill Difficulty, not knowing that he had taken a long rest and sleep in the house of Carnal-security. But he voluntarily told them how he met with an old man, as soon as he was past the stage on the top of the hill, who invited him into his house, which, said he, is a stately palace, on the left hand side of the high-road; so he told them all that had happened to him in that place, and how he was at last obliged to take to his heels, and run away from Mrs. Wantonness.

Then Piety desired to know his name, and he told her saying, 'My name is Tender-conscience.

:

Well, says she, Tender-conscience, you have escaped one of the greatest dangers upon the road for the old man who enticed you into his house is called Carnal-security, and his wife is the lady Intemperance, who is always to be seen with a golden cup in her hand, full of enchantments, whereby she intoxicates those who drink out of it.

Aye, says Tender-conscience, I believe that is the lady who gave me the juice the grapes to drink out of a golden cup, when we were entering the second court.

Piety. And did you not see her two daughters, Mrs. Wantonness and Mrs. Forgetfulness?

Tend. There were two beautiful young damsels waiting upon the lady Intemperance; and I, being overcome with the strength of the wine, fell to dallying with one of them, till at length I fell asleep in the other's arms.

Piety. These are the same that I mean, and they use to bewitch men to destruction, if once they come within their arms, especially if they fall asleep therein. But how could you get away from them again? for they use to have so many tricks and artifices to entangle those that come once within their doors, that not one of ten gets out of their clutches, without suffering some great damage.

Tend. Oh, said he, I tarried talking and arguing the case with the old man so long, that I had almost lost the day: Now as we were discoursing together, his daughter came out of a fountain and embraced me, using all the enticing words imaginable, to stay me from going away? but I, not finding myself able to struggle or resist so powerful a temptation, all of a sudden gave a spring out of her arms, and ran away as hard as I could drive.

He

Piety. In this I commend your conduct; for though it be said, "Resist the devil, and he will fly from you," yet it is not to be understood of other temptations. For when any one is tempted to unchaste or lascivious actions, there is no time for disputing; a resolution and speedy flight is the only way to secure the victory.→ The soul may stand the battle against adversities, persecutions, crosses, and the like; but the pleasures of the flesh must be subdued by retreating from them. that touches pitch shall be defiled, says the wise man; and he that stands capitulating with the temptations of uncleanness is in danger to fall. The soul, like wax, is hardened by cold and stormy weather; but in the sunshine of prosperity, and the heat of lust, she melts and becomes effeminate and yielding. Therefore, well said one of old, "Fly youthful lusts, which war against the soul:" he does not say, stand and face them, and resist them, but run away from them. It is in some degree the same in that common vice which this age does so shamefully abound in, I mean, excessive drinking. Men think they may safely venture into company, without being obliged to drink; and when they are in company, they think they may drink a little without doing themselves any harm; not considering that that little does but embolden them to venture on more, every glass they

pour down depriving them of so much of their resolution and strength to resist.; and when they come to be doubtful whether they shall let this one glass more go down, they throw down the fence of their soul (their reason), and expose her to be polluted by the height of debauchery and folly, letting into their unguarded breasts a flood of vain passions, with their superfluity of drink: thus, by little and little, the poor soul suffers shipwreck. In such a case, the only remedy is, to fly the first occasions and temptations, to stop the avenues of the soul, to set a guard upon the senses, to restrain the imagination within its proper limits. A man ought not so much as to fancy that company pleasant or delightful, by keeping of which he runs the hazard of his soul's health; much less ought he to follow them, and court them, nay, rather let him refuse when courted by them. It is much better to be thought ill-natured and unpleasant to others, than to be really so to one's self, and to ruin ourselves to oblige our acquaintance.

Charity. There are some souls that are naturally so affable and courteous, so soft and pliant, that they comply oftentimes with company, more through the flexibleness and sweetness of their own disposition, than out of any real inclination to debauchery; nay, while they loathe the drink, they cannot forbear obliging their unreasonable companions. This is a great weakness; and though it may be capable of admitting some excuse, on the account of that sweetness of temper from whence it flows, yet it is nevertheless dangerous, and therefore must not be palliated, lest, in so doing, we turn advocates for vice.

Prudence. If you please, let us break off our discourse for the present, and go to dinner, which is now ready, for the bell rings. So they all arose, and went into the refectory or dining-room, where were more virgins of that society waiting for their coming, who all welcomed Tender-conscience to the house, every one saluting him with a particular congratulation, and then they sat down in exquisite order and silence. After the divine blessing was invoked, one of the virgins, whose name was Temperance, carved out for the rest (for that was her office),

while another of them, named Decency, waited at the table. Here was no loud laughter to be heard, no offensive nor unseemly jests broached, but a modest cheerfulness crowned the entertainment. They had plenty without riot, variety without extravagance, and frugality and bounty seemed to hand in the dishes together.— They ate to nourish nature, not to prompt lust, or cloy the appetite, and they rose from the table, lightsome and well refreshed; having returned thanks to the giver 'of all good gifts, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, for refreshing them with his good creatures.

Then one of the virgins, named Health, proposed to the company, that it would be convenient and pleasant to take the air of the garden after dinner, to which they all readily consented; and Discretion, Prudence, Piety, Charity, and Temperance, took Tender-conscience along with them unto a mount, which gave him a lovely prospect of the country round about; and there they sat down under the shade of a broad-spreading sycamore, and fell afresh into discourse. Tender-conscience being desirous to learn the reason of their living thus in a society together, and to know the rule and manner of their life, Piety thus replied:

Piety. When we were young and lively at home with our friends, we were daily exposed to the innumerable vanities and follies, and were carried away by the flood of custom; yet being religiously inclined from our childhood, we by degrees, as we grew up, began to grow sick of our carnal education, and to despise the vanities and fooleries of the world, and sought for a place where we might be free of them, and where we might serve the Lord both night and day in all holiness and purity of life; so after much enquiry and diligent search, at length we were informed that a certain holy woman, named Religion, had built her house in this place; and she being an especial favourite of the king of this country, was permitted to gather together a certain number of virgins, who were willing to renounce the world and live in this retirement with her, having a particular charter granted them, whereby they should for ever be free from certain taxes, imposts, and ho