The Sleeping Bard Part 2

The next that came to the bar was a certain king, who had lived very near to Rome. "Hold up your hand, prisoner," said one of the officers. "I hope," said he, "that you have some better manners and favour to show to a king." "Sirrah," said Death, "why did you not keep on the other side of the gulf where all are kings? On this side there is none but myself, and another down below, and you will soon see, that neither he nor I will rate you according to the degree of your majesty, but according to the degree of your wickedness, in order to adapt your punishment to your crimes, therefore answer to the interrogation." "Sir," he replied, "I would have you know, that you have no authority to detain me, nor to interrogate me, as I have a pardon for all my sins under the Pope's own hand. On account of my faithful services, he has given me a warrant to go straight to Paradise, without tarrying one moment in Purgatory." At these words the king and all the haggard train gave a ghastly grin, to escape from laughing outright; but the other full of wrath at their ridicule, commanded them aloud to show him the way. "Peace, thou lost fool!" cried Death, "Purgatory lies behind you, on the other side of the wall, for you ought to purify yourself during your life; and on the right hand, on the other side of that gulf is Paradise. But there is no road by which it is possible for you to escape, either through the gulf to Paradise, or through the boundary wall back to the world; and if you were to give your kingdom, (supposing you could give it,) you would not obtain permission from the keepers of those doors, to take one peep through the key hole. It is called the irrepa.s.sable wall, for when once you have come through you may abandon all hope of returning. But since you stand so high on the books of the Pope, you shall go and prepare his bed, beside that of the Pope who was before him, and there you shall kiss his toe for ever, and he the toe of Lucifer."

Immediately thereupon, four little deaths raised the poor king up, who was by this time shivering like the leaf of an aspen, and s.n.a.t.c.hed him out of sight like lightning. Next after him came a young fellow and woman. He had been a jolly companion and she a lady of pleasure, or one free of her person; but they were called here by their naked names, drunkard and harlot. "I hope," said the drunkard, "I shall find some favour with you; I have sent to you many a bloated booty in a torrent of good ale; and when I failed to kill others, I came myself, willingly, to feed you." "With the permission of the court," said the harlot, "you have not sent half as much as I, and my offerings were burning sacrifices, rich roast meat ready for the board." "Hey, hey!" said Death, "all this was done for your own accursed pa.s.sions' sake and not to feed me. Bind the two face to face, as they are old acquaintances, and cast them into the land of Darkness, and let each be a torment to the other, until the day of judgment." They were then s.n.a.t.c.hed away, with their heads downwards.

Next to these there came seven recorders. Having been commanded to raise their hands to the bar, they would by no means obey, as the rails were greasy. One began to wrangle boisterously; "we ought to obtain a fair citation to prepare our answer;" said he, "instead of being rushed upon unawares."

"But are we bound to give you that same specific citation," answered Death, "since you obtain in every place, and at every period of your life, warning of my coming. How many sermons have you not heard upon the mortality of man? How many books have you not seen? How many graves, how many sculls, how many diseases, how many messages and signs have you not had? What is your Sleep, but my own brother? What are sculls, but my visage? What does your daily food consist of but dead creatures? Seek not to cast your neglect upon me. Speak not of summons, when you have obtained it a hundred times." "Pray," said one red recorder, "what have you to advance against us?" "What?" said Death. "Drinking the sweat and blood of the poor, and levying double your wages." "Here is an honest man," replied the recorder, pointing to a pettifogger behind him, "who knows that we have never done any thing but what was fair; and it is not fair of you to detain us here, without a specific crime to prove against us." "Hey, hey!" said Death, "you shall prove against yourselves. Place these people," said he, "on the verge of the _precipice_ before the tribunal of _Justice_, they shall obtain equity there though they never practiced it."

There were still seven other prisoners remaining, and these kept up a prodigious bustle and noise. Some were flattering, others quarrelling, some bl.u.s.tering, some counselling, &c. Scarcely had they been called to the bar, when lo! the entire palace became seven times more horribly dark than before, and there was a shivering and a great agitation about the throne, and Death became paler than ever. Upon enquiring what was the matter, one of the messengers of Lucifer stepped forward with a letter for Death, concerning these seven prisoners, and Fate presently caused the letter to be read publicly, and these were the words, as far as I can remember.

"_Lucifer_, _King of the kings of the world_, _prince of h.e.l.l_, _and ruler of the Deep_, _to our natural son_, _the most mighty and terrible king Death_, _greeting_, _pre-eminence_, _and eternal spoil_.

"For as much as we have been informed by some of our nimble messengers, who are constantly abroad to obtain information, that seven prisoners, of the seven most villainous and dangerous species in the world, have arrived lately at your royal palace, and that it is your intention to hurl them over the cliff into my kingdom. I hereby counsel you to try every possible means, to let them loose back again upon the world; they will do you there more service in sending you food, and sending me better company, for I would rather want than have them; we have had but too much plague with their companions for a long time, and my dominion is still disturbed by them. Therefore turn them back, or keep them with you. For, by the infernal crown, if you send them here, I will undermine the foundations of your kingdom, until it falls down into my own immense dominion.

"_From the burning hall of a.s.sembly_, _at our royal palace in the pit of h.e.l.l_, _in the year of our reign_, 5425."

King Death, hereupon, stood for some time with his visage green and pale, in great perplexity of mind. But whilst he was meditating, behold _Fate_, turned upon him such an iron-black scowl, as made him tremble.

"Sirrah," said he, "look to what you do. It is not in my power to send any one back, through the boundary of eternity, the irrepa.s.sable wall, nor in yours to harbour them here; therefore forward them to their destruction, in spite of the Arch Fiend. He has been able hitherto, in a minute to allot his proper place to every individual, in a drove of a thousand, nay, even of ten thousand captured souls; and what difficulty can he have with seven, however dangerous they may be. But though these seven should turn the infernal government topsy-turvy, do you drive them thither instantly, for fear I should receive commands to annihilate you before your time. As for _his_ threats, they are only lies; for although thy end, and that of the old man yonder, (looking at Time,) are nigh at hand, being written only a few pages further on, in my unerring volume, yet you have no cause to be afraid of sinking to Lucifer; though every one in the abyss would be glad to obtain thee, yet they never, never shall. For the rocks of steel and eternal adamant, which form the roof of h.e.l.l, are too strong for anything to crumble them." Whereupon, Death, considerably startled, called to one of his train, to write for him the following answer.

"_Death_, _the king of Terror and Conqueror of conquerors_, _to his revered friend and neighbour Lucifer_, _king of Eternal Night_, _sovereign of the Bottomless Pool_, _sends greeting_.

"After due reflection on your regal desire, it has appeared to us more advantageous, not only to our own dominion, but likewise to your own extensive kingdom, to send these prisoners, as far as possible from the doors of the irrepa.s.sable wall, lest their putrid odour should terrify the whole city of Destruction, so that no man should come to all eternity, to my side of the gate; and neither I obtain any thing to cool my sting, nor you a concourse of customers from earth to h.e.l.l.

Therefore I will leave to you to judge them, and to hurl them into such cells, as you may deem the most proper and secure for them.

"_From my nether palace in the great gate of Perdition_, _over Destruction_. _In the year_, _from the renewal of my kingdom_, 1670."

At hearing all this, I felt a great curiosity to know who these seven people could be, whom the devils themselves held in so much dread. But ere a minute had elapsed, the clerk of the crown called their names, as follows:--Master Meddler, alias _Finger in Every Dish_; but he was so vehement and busy in advising the others, that he could not get a moment's time to answer for himself, until Death threatened to transfix him with his dart.

Then _master Slanderer_ was called, alias _Enemy of Fair Fame_; but there was no answer. "He is too modest to hear his t.i.tles," said the third, "and he never can bear his nicknames." "Do you suppose," said the _Slanderer_, "that you yourself have no _t.i.tles_. Call for," said he, "_master c.o.xcomb_, alias _Smooth Gullet_, alias _Poison Smile_." "Ready,"

said a woman who was there, pointing to the c.o.xcomb. "O," said he, "_madam Bouncer_! Your humble servant, I am overjoyed at seeing you well. I have never seen a woman look handsomer in breeches. But, oh! to think how miserable the country must be behind you, for want of its admirable she-governor; yet your delightful company will make h.e.l.l itself something better." "O son of the arch fiend!" said she. "With you there is no need of another h.e.l.l, you are yourself enough." Then the cryer called _Bouncer_, or _mistress Breeches_. "Ready," said another. But she said not a word, for want of being called madam. Next was called _Contriver of Contrivances_, alias _Jack of all Trades_; but he returned no answer either, for he was busied in devising a way to escape. "Ready, ready," said one behind, "here he is, looking out for an opportunity to break through your palace, and unless you take care, he will have some notable contrivance to baulk you." Said the Contriver, "call him, I beseech you, _master Impeacher of his Brother_, alias _Searcher of Faults_, alias _Framer of Complaints_." "Ready, ready, this is he," said a litigious pettifogger, for every one knew the name of the other, but would not acknowledge his own. "You shall be called," said the Impeacher, "_master Litigious Pettifogger_, alias _the Courts Comprised_." "Bear witness, I pray you all," said the Pettifogger, "as to what the knave called me." "Ho, ho!" said Death, "not by the baptismal font, but by his sins, is every one called in this country; and, with your permission, master Pettifogger, the names of your sins are those which shall stick to you henceforth for ever." "Hey," said the Pettifogger, "I swear by the Devil that I will make you smart for this.

Though you are empowered to kill me, you have no authority to bestow nicknames upon me. I will file a complaint against you for defamation, and another for false imprisonment, against you and your friend Lucifer, in the court of Justice."

By this time, I beheld the legions of Death, formed in order and armed, with their eyes fixed upon the king, awaiting the word. "There," said the king, standing erect upon his regal throne, "my terrible and invincible hosts, spare neither care nor diligence in removing these prisoners from out of my boundaries, lest they prove the ruin of my country; cast them bound, over the precipice of Despair, with their heads downward. But for the seventh, this Courts Comprised, who threatens me, leave him free over the chasm, beneath the court of _Justice_, and let him try whether he can make his complaint good against me." Then Death reseated himself. And lo! all the deadly legions, after surrounding the prisoners and binding them, led them away to their couch. I also went out, and peeped after them. "Come away," said Sleep, and s.n.a.t.c.hed me up to the top of the highest turret of the palace. Thence I could see the prisoners proceeding to their eternal perdition. Presently a whirlwind arose, and dispersed the pitch-black cloud, which was spread universally over the face of the land of Oblivion, and by the light of a thousand candles, which were burning with a blue flame, at a particular place, I obtained a far distant view of the verge of the _Bottomless Gulf_, a sight exceedingly horrible; and also of a spectacle above, still more appalling, namely _Justice_ upon his _supreme seat_, holding the keys of h.e.l.l, at a separate and distinct tribunal over the chasm, to p.r.o.nounce judgment upon the d.a.m.ned as they came. I could see the prisoners cast headlong down the gulf, and Pettifogger rushing to fling himself over the terrific brink, rather than look once on the court of _Justice_. For oh!

there was there a spectacle too severe for a guilty countenance. I merely gazed from _afar_, but I beheld more terrific horror, than I can at present relate, or I could at that time support, for my spirit struggled and fluttered at the awful sight, and wrestled so strenuously, that it burst all the bands of Sleep, and my soul returned to its accustomed functions. And exceedingly overjoyed I was to see myself still amongst the living. I instantly determined upon reforming myself, as a hundred years of affliction in the paths of righteousness, would be less harrowing to me, than another glance on the horrors of this night.

Death the Great.

Leave land and house we must some day, For human sway not long doth bide; Leave pleasures and festivities, And pedigrees, our boast and pride.

Leave strength and loveliness of mien, Wit sharp and keen, experience dear; Leave learning deep, and much lov'd friends, And all that tends our life to cheer.

From Death then is there no relief?

That ruthless thief and murderer fell, Who to his shambles beareth down All, all we own, and us as well.

Ye monied men, ye who would fain Your wealth retain eternally, How brave 'twould be a sum to raise, And the good grace of Death to buy!

How brave! ye who with beauty beam, On rank supreme who fix your mind, Should ye your captivations muster, And with their l.u.s.tre king Death blind.

O ye who are at foot most light, Who are in the height now of your spring, Fly, fly, and ye will make us gape, If ye can scape Death's cruel fling.

The song and dance afford, I ween, Relief from spleen, and sorrows grave; How very strange there is no dance, Nor tune of France, from Death can save!

Ye travellers of sea and land, Who know each strand below the sky; Declare if ye have seen a place, Where Adam's race can Death defy!

Ye scholars, and ye lawyer crowds, Who are as G.o.ds reputed wise; Can ye from all the lore ye know, 'Gainst Death bestow some good advice?

The world, the flesh, and Devil, compose The direst foes of mortals poor; But take good heed of Death the Great, From the Lost Gate, Destruction o'er.

'Tis not worth while of Death to prate, Of his Lost Gate and courts so wide; But O reflect! it much imports, Of the two courts in which ye're tried.

It here can little signify If the street high we cross, or low; Each lofty thought doth rise, be sure, The soul to lure to deepest woe.

But by the wall that's ne'er re-pa.s.s'd, To gripe thee fast when Death prepares, Heed, heed thy steps, for thou mayst mourn The slightest turn for endless years.

When opes the door, and swiftly hence To its residence eternal flies The soul, it matters much, which side Of the gulf wide its journey lies.

Deep penitence, amended life, A bosom rife of zeal and faith, Can help to man alone impart, Against the smart and sting of Death.

These things to thee seem worthless now, But not so low will they appear When thou art come, O thoughtless friend!

Just to the end of thy career.

Thou'lt deem, when thou hast done with earth, These things of worth unspeakable, Beside the gulf so black and drear, The gulf of Fear, 'twixt Heaven and h.e.l.l.

A Vision of h.e.l.l.

One fair morning of genial April, when the earth was green and pregnant, and Britain, like a paradise, was wearing splendid liveries, tokens of the smile of the summer sun, I was walking upon the bank of the Severn, in the midst of the sweet notes of the little songsters of the wood, who appeared to be striving to break through all the measures of music, whilst pouring forth praise to the Creator. I too occasionally raised my voice, and warbled with the feathered choir, though in a manner somewhat more restrained than that in which they sang; and occasionally read a portion of the book of the Practice of G.o.dliness. Nevertheless, my former visions would not depart from my remembrance, but continually troubled me by coming across all other thoughts. And they persisted in doing so, until, by arguing the matter minutely with myself, I reflected that there is no vision but what comes from above, to warn one to be upon one's guard, and that consequently it was my duty to write mine down, that they might serve as a warning to others also. I therefore returned to my home, and whilst overwhelmed with melancholy, I was endeavouring to collect some of my frightful reminiscences, I happened to give a yawn over my paper, and this gave master Sleep an opportunity to glide upon the top of me. Scarcely had Sleep closed my senses, when, behold! a glorious apparition came towards me, in the shape of a young man, tall and exceedingly beautiful; his garments were seven times more white than snow, his countenance was so l.u.s.trous that it rendered the very sun obscure, and his curling locks of gold parted in two lovely wreaths upon his head, in the form of a crown. "Come with me, mortal man," said he on coming up. "Who art thou, my lord?" said I. "I am," he replied, "the angel of the countries of the North, the guardian of Britain and its queen. I am one of the princes who are stationed beneath the throne of the Lamb, who receive commands for the protection of the gospel, against all its enemies in h.e.l.l and in Rome, in France and Constantinople, in Africa and in India, and wheresoever else they are devising artifices for its destruction. I am the angel who conducted thee below to castle Belial, and who showed thee the vanity and madness of the whole world, the city of Destruction, and the excellence of the city of Emmanuel, and I am come once more by his command, to show thee other things, because thou art seeking to turn to account what thou hast seen already." "How, my lord," said I, "will your ill.u.s.trious majesty, which superintends kings and kingdoms, condescend to a.s.sociate with such a poor worm as myself?" "O," said he, "we respect more the virtue of a beggar than the grandeur of a sovereign. What if I be greater than the kings of the earth, and higher than many of the countless potentates of heaven? As my wonderful master deigned to humble himself so inexpressibly as to wear one of your bodies, and to live among you, and to die for your salvation, how should I presume to be dissatisfied with my duty in serving you, and the vilest of the human race, since ye are so high in favour with my master? Come out, spirit, and free thyself from thy clay," said he, with his eyes directed upwards. And with that word, I could feel myself becoming extricated from every part of my body. No sooner was I free, than he s.n.a.t.c.hed me up to the firmament of heaven, through the region of lightning and thunder, and all the glowing armories of the sky, innumerable degrees higher than I had been with him before, whence I could scarcely descry the earth, which looked no wider than a croft.

After permitting me to rest a short s.p.a.ce, he again lifted me up a million of miles, until I could see the sun far below us; we rushed through the milky way and past the Pleiades, and many other exceedingly large stars, till we caught a distant view of other worlds. At length, by dint of journeying, we reached the confines of the awful eternity, and were in sight of the two palaces of the mighty king Death, which stand one on the right hand and the other on the left, and are at a great distance from each other, as there is an immense void between them. I enquired whether we should go to see the right hand palace, because it did not appear to me to resemble the other which I had seen before. "You will probably see," he replied, "sometime, still more of the difference which is between the one palace and the other; but at present it is necessary for us to sail another course." Whereupon we turned away from the little world, and having arrived over the intervening gap, we let ourselves down to the country of Eternity, between the two palaces, into the horrible void; an enormous country it was, exceedingly deep and dark--without order and without inhabitants--now hot, now cold--sometimes silent, sometimes noisy, with the sound caused by cataracts of water tumbling upon the flames and extinguishing them; which cataracts, however, did not long continue, for presently might be seen a puff of fire bursting out and consuming the water. There was here no course, nor whole, nothing living, nothing shapely; but a giddy discord and an amazing darkness which would have blinded me for ever, if my companion had not again displayed his heavenly garment of splendour. By the light which it cast I could see the country of Oblivion, and the edges of the wilds of Destruction in front, on the left hand; and on the right the lowest skirts apparently of the walls of Glory. "Behold the great gulf between Abraham and Dives," said my guide, "which is termed the place of Chaos. It is the region of the elements which G.o.d created first; it is the place wherein are the seeds of every living thing, from which the Almighty word made your world and all that therein is--water, fire, air, earth, animals, fishes and creeping things, winged birds, and human bodies, but not your souls, for they are of an origin and generation higher and more exalted." Through the vast, frightful place of Chaos we at length broke out to the left hand, and before travelling any distance there, where every thing was ever becoming more frightful, I could feel my heart at the top of my throat, and my hair standing like the p.r.i.c.kles of the hedge-hog, even before seeing any thing; but when I _did_ see--oh!

spectacle too much for tongue to relate, or for the spirit of man to behold. I fainted. Oh, the amazing and monstrous abyss, opening in a horrible manner into the other world! Oh, the continual crackling of the terrible flames, darting over the sides of the accursed precipice, and the flashes of linked lightning rending the black, thick smoke, which the unsightly orifice was casting up! My dear companion, having brought me to myself again, gave me some spiritual water to drink; O how excellent it was in its taste and color! After drinking of the heavenly water, I could feel a wonderful strength diffusing itself through me, bringing with it sense, heart, faith, and various other heavenly virtues. By this time I had approached with him unterrified to the edge of the steep, enveloped in the veil, the flames parting on both sides and avoiding us, not daring to come in contact with the inhabitants of the supreme abodes.

Then from the summit of the terrific precipice we darted down, like two stars falling from the firmament of heaven, a thousand million of miles, over many a brimstone crag, and many a furious, ugly cataract and glowing precipice, every thing that we pa.s.sed looking always frowningly downward; yet every thing noxious avoided us, except once, when having thrust my nose out of the veil, I was struck by such a suffocating, strangling exhalation as would have put an end to me, if my guide had not instantly a.s.sisted me with the water of life. By the time that I had recovered, I perceived that we had arrived at a kind of standing place; for in all this loathsome chasm it was impossible to obtain any rest before, owing to the steepness and slipperiness of its sides. There my guide permitted me to take some further rest; and during this respite, it happened that the thunders and the hoa.r.s.e whirlwinds became silent for a little while, and in spite of the din of the raging cataracts, I heard from afar a sound louder than the whole--a sound of horrible harsh voices, of shouting, bellowing, and strong groans, swearing, cursing, and blaspheming, till I would have consented to part with mine ears, that I might not hear. Ere we moved a foot farther, we could hear a terrible tumbling sound, and if we had not suddenly slipped aside, hundreds of unfortunate men would have fallen upon us, who were coming headlong, in excessive hurry, to take possession of their bad purchase, with a host of devils driving them. "O, sir," said one devil, "take it easy, lest you should ruffle your curling locks. Madam, do you wish for an easy cushion? I am afraid that you will be out of all order by the time you come to your couch," said he to another.

The strangers were exceedingly averse to going forward, insisting that they were out of their road; but notwithstanding all they could say, go they did, and we behind them, to a black flood of great magnitude, and through it they went, and we across it, my companion holding the celestial water continually to my nostrils, to strengthen me against the stench of the river, and against the time when I should see some of the inhabitants of the place, for hitherto I had not beheld so much as one devil, though I had heard the voices of many. "Pray, my lord," said I, "what is the name of this putrid river?" "The river of the Fiend," said he, "in which all his subjects are bathed, in order that they may be rendered fit for the country. For this accursed water changes their countenance, and washes away from them every relic of goodness, every semblance of hope and of comfort." And, indeed, on gazing upon the host after it had come through, I could distinguish no difference in deformity between the devils and the d.a.m.ned. Some of the latter would fain have sculked at the bottom of the river, and have lain there to all eternity, in a state of strangulation, lest they should get a worse bed father on; but here the proverb was verified, that "he must needs run whom the Devil drives," for with the devils behind, the d.a.m.ned were compelled to go forward unto the beach, to their eternal d.a.m.nation; where I at the first glance saw more pains and torments than the heart of man can imagine or the tongue relate; a single one of which was sufficient to make the hair stand erect, the blood to freeze, the flesh to melt, the bones to drop from their places--yea, the spirit to faint. What is empaling or sawing men alive, tearing off the flesh piecemeal with iron pincers, or broiling the flesh with candles, collop fashion, or squeezing heads flat in a vice, and all the most shocking devices which ever were upon earth, compared with one of these? Mere pastime! Here were a hundred thousand shoutings, hoa.r.s.e sighs, and strong groans; yonder a boisterous wailing and horrible outcry answering them, and the howling of a dog is sweet, delicious music, when compared with these sounds. When we had proceeded a little way onward from the accursed beach, towards the wild place of d.a.m.nation, I perceived, by their own light, innumerable men and women here and there; and devils without number and without rest, incessantly employing their strength in tormenting. Yes, there they were, devils and d.a.m.ned, the devils roaring with their own torments, and making the d.a.m.ned roar, by means of the torments which they inflicted upon them. I paid particular observation to the corner which was nearest me. There I beheld the devils with pitch-forks, tossing the d.a.m.ned up into the air, that they might fall headlong on poisoned hatchels or barbed pikes, there to wriggle their bowels out. After a time the wretches would crawl in mult.i.tudes, one upon another, to the top of one of the burning crags, there to be broiled like mutton; from there they would be s.n.a.t.c.hed afar, to the top of one of the mountains of eternal frost and snow, where they would be allowed to shiver for a time; thence they would be precipitated into a loathsome pool of boiling brimstone, to wallow there in conflagration, smoke, and the suffocation of horrible stench; from the pool they would be driven to the marsh of h.e.l.l that they might embrace and be embraced by its reptiles many times worse than serpents and vipers; after allowing them half an hour's dalliance with these creatures, the devils would seize a bundle of rods of steel, fiery hot from the furnace, and would scourge them till their howlings, caused by the horrible inexpressible pain which they endured, would fill the vast abode of darkness, and when the fiends deemed that they had scourged them enough, they would take hot irons and sear their b.l.o.o.d.y wounds.

There was here no fainting, nor swooning to evade a moment of suffering, but a continual strength to suffer and to feel, though you would have imagined after one horrible cry, that it would be utterly impossible there should be strength remaining to give another cry so frightfully loud; the d.a.m.ned never lowered their key, and the devils kept replying, "behold your welcome for ever and ever." And it almost seemed that the sauciness and bitterness of the devils, in jeering and mocking their victims, were worse to bear than the pain itself. What was worst of all, their conscience was at present utterly aroused, and was tearing them worse than a thousand of the infernal lions. We proceeded farther and farther downward, and the farther we proceeded, the more horrible was the work which was going on; the first place we came to in our progress was a frightful prison, in which were many human beings under the scourge of the devils, shrieking most shockingly. "What place is this?" said I.

"That," said the angel, "is the couch of those who cry 'woe is me that I did not--!' Hark to them for a moment!" "Woe is me that I did not purify myself in time from every kind of sin!" says one. "Woe is me that I did not believe and repent before coming here!" says the other.

Next to the cell of too late repentance, and of debate after judgment had been pa.s.sed, was the prison of the procrastinators, who would be every time promising amendment, without ever fulfilling their promise. "When this business is over," says one, "I will turn over another leaf." "When this obstacle is removed, I will become a new man yet," says the other.

But when the obstacle is removed, they are not a bit the nearer to reformation, for some other obstacle is always found to prevent them from moving towards the gate of Righteousness, and if they do sometimes move a little, they are sure to turn back. Next to this was the prison of vain confidence, full of those who, on being commanded to abstain from their luxuriousness, drunkenness, or avarice, would say, "G.o.d is merciful, and better than his word, and will not d.a.m.n his creature for ever for so small a matter." But here they were yelping forth blasphemy, and asking where is that mercy, which was boasted to be immeasurable. "Peace, h.e.l.l- dogs," at length said a great lobster of a devil who was hearing them, "peace! would you have mercy without doing any thing to obtain it? Would you have the Truth render his word false, for the sake of obtaining the company of such filthy dross as you? Too much mercy has been shown to you already. You were given a Saviour, a comforter, and the apostles, with books, sermons, and good examples, and will you never cease to deafen us with bawling about mercy, where mercy has never been?" On going out from this fiery gulf, I could hear one puffing and shouting terribly, "I knew no better, nothing was ever expended in teaching me my duty, and I could never find time to read or pray, because I was obliged to earn bread for myself and my poor family." "Aye," said a little crooked devil who stood by, "and did you never find time to tell pleasant stories?--no leisure for self vaunting during long winter evenings when I was in the chimney corner? Now, why did you not devote some of that time to learning to read and pray? Who on Sundays used to come with me to the tavern, instead of going with the parson to church? Who devoted many a Sunday afternoon to vain prating about worldly things, or to sleep, instead of meditation and prayer? And have ye merely acted according to your knowledge and your opportunities? Peace, sirrah, with your lying nonsense!" "O thou blood of a mad dog!" said the lost man, "it is not long since you were whispering something very different into my ear, if you had said that the other day, I should scarcely have come here." "O,"

said the devil, "we do not mind telling you the bitter truth here, since we need not fear that you will go back to tell tales."

Below this cell I saw a kind of vast pit, and in it what looked like an infinite quant.i.ty of loathsome ordure, burning with a green flame, and on drawing near, I was aware, from the horrid howling that proceeded from it, that it was composed of men piled one upon another, the horrible flames crackling meanwhile through them. "This hollow," said the angel, "is the couch of those who say after committing some great sin, 'pooh! I am not the first, I have plenty of companions;' and thus you see, they _do_ get plenty of companions, to verify their words and to increase their agony." Opposite to this horrible place was a large cellar, where I could see men twisted, as tow is twisted, or hemp is spun. "Pray,"

said I "who are these?" "Panegyrists," said he, "and out of sheer mockery to them, the devils are trying whether it is possible to twist them as flexibly as they twisted their own discourse." A little way below that cell, I could but just descry a sort of prison-pool, very dark, and in it things which had been men, having faces like the heads of wolf-dogs, and up to their jaws in bog, barking blasphemy and lies most furiously, as long as they could get their sting above the mud. At this moment a troop of devils happening to pa.s.s by, some of these creatures contrived to bite in the heels, ten or twelve of the devils who had brought them thither. "Woe and destruction to you h.e.l.l-dogs!" said one of the devils who had been bit, "you shall pay for this;" and forthwith commenced beating the bog, till the wretches were drowned in the stinking abysses. "Who," he then added, "have deserved h.e.l.l better than you, who have been hunting up and devising gossip, and buzzing lies about from house to house, in order that you might laugh, after having set a whole country at loggerheads. What more could one of ourselves have done?"

"That," said the angel, "is the bed of the tale-bearers, the slanderers, and the whisperers, and of all other envious curs, who are continually wounding people behind their backs with their hands or their tongues."