Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress: In Words of One Syllable

  CHAPTER XV.

  DOUBTING CASTLE AND GIANT DESPAIR.

  I SAW then, that they went on their way to a fair stream. Here thenChristian and his friend did walk with great joy. They drank, too, ofthe stream, which was sweet to taste, and like balm to their fainthearts. More than this, on the banks of this stream, on each side, weregreen trees with all kinds of fruit: and the leaves they ate to wardoff ills that come of too much food and heat of blood, while on theway. On each side of the stream was a mead, bright with white plants;and it was green all the year long. In this mead they lay down andslept. When they did wake they felt a wish to go on, and set out. Nowthe way from the stream was rough, and their feet soft, for that theycame a long road so the souls of the men were sad, from the state ofthe way. Now, not far in front of them, there was on the left hand ofthe road a mead, and a stile to get right to it: and that mead isknown as By-path Meadow. Then said Christian to his friend, "If thismead doth lie close by the side of our way, let us go straight to it."Then said Christian to his friends, "If this mead doth lie close by theside of our way, let us go straight to it." Then he went to the stileto see, and lo, a path lay close by the way on the far off side of thefence. "It is just as I wish," said Christian; "come, good Hopeful, andlet us cross to it."

  _Hope._--"But how if this path should lead us out of the way?"

  "That is not like to be," said the next. "Look, doth it not go straighton by the side of the way?" So Hopeful, when he thought on what hisfriend said, went in his steps, and did cross the stile; and at thesame time, while they cast their eyes in front of them, they saw a manthat did walk as they did, and his name was Vain-Confidence: so theydid call to him, and ask him to what place that way led. He said, "Tothe Celestial Gate." "Look," said Christian, "did not I tell you so? bythis you may see we are right." So they went in his wake, and he wentin front of them. But, lo, the night came on, and it grew quite dark;so that they that were in the rear lost the sight of him that went infront.

  He then that went in front, as he did not see the way clear, fell in adeep pit, which was there made by the prince of those grounds to catchsuch vain fools with the rest, and was torn in bits by his fall.

  Now Christian and his friend heard him fall: so they did call to knowthe cause: but there was none to speak.

  Then Hopeful gave a deep groan, and said, "Oh, that I had kept on myway!"

  This is Vain-Confidence whom Christian and Hopeful sawin the way as they did walk.--Page 70.

  _Pilgrim's Progress._]

  _Chr._--"Good friend, do not feel hurt. I grieve I have brought theeout of the way, and that I have put thee in no slight strait; pray, myfriend, let this pass; I did not do it of a bad will."

  _Hope._--"Be of good cheer, my friend, for I give thee shrift; andtrust, too, this shall be for our good."

  Then, so as to cheer them, they heard the voice of one that said, "Letthine heart be set on the high road; and the way that thou didst goturn once more." But by this time the way that they should go back wasrife with risk. Then I thought that we get more quick out of the waywhen we are in it, than in it when we are out.

  Nor could they, with all the skill they had, get once more to the stilethat night. For which cause, as they at last did light neath a slightshed, they sat down there till day broke: but as they did tire theyfell to sleep. Now there was not far from the place where they lay afort, known as Doubting Castle, and he who kept it was Giant Despair:and it was on his grounds that they now slept. Hence, as he got up atdawn, and did walk up and down in his fields, he caught Christian andHopeful in sound sleep on his grounds. They told him they were poorwights, and that they had lost their way. Then said the Giant, "Youhave this night come where you should not; you did tramp in, and lieon, my grounds, and so you must go hence with me." So they were madeto go, for that he had more strength than they. They, too, had butfew words to say, for they knew they were in a fault. The Giant hencedrove them in front of him, and put them in his fort, in a dank, darkcell, that was foul and stunk to the souls of these two men. Here thenthey lay for full four days, and had not one bit of bread, or drop ofdrink, or light, or one to ask how they did: they were, hence, herein bad case, and were far from friends and all who knew them. Now inthis place Christian had more than his own share of grief, for it wasthrough his bad words that they were brought to such dire bale.

  Now Giant Despair had a wife, and her name was Diffidence: so when hewas gone to bed he told his wife what he had done. Then he did ask her,too, what he had best do more to them. Then she said to him that whenhe got up in the morn he should beat them, and show no ruth. So whenhe rose he gets him a huge stick of crab, and goes down to the cell tothem, and falls on them and beats them in such sort that they could donaught to ward off his blows, or to turn them on the floor. This done,he goes off and leaves them there to soothe each one his friend, and tomourn their grief. The next night, she spoke with her lord more as totheir case, and when she found that they were not dead, did urge him totell them to take their own lives. So when morn was come he told themthat since they were not like to come out of that place, their best waywould be at once to put an end to their lives, with knife, rope, ordrug. But they did pray him to let them go; with that he gave a frownon them, ran at them, and had no doubt made an end of them with his ownhand, but that he fell in one of his fits. From which cause he wentoff, and left them to think what to do. Then did the men talk of thebest course to take; and thus they spoke:

  "Friend," said Christian, "what shall we do? The life that we now liveis fraught with ill: for my part, I know not if it be best to livethus, or die out of hand: the grave has more ease for me than thiscell."

  _Hope._--"Of a truth, our state is most dread, and death would bemore of a boon to me than thus hence to stay: but let us not take ourown lives." With these words Hopeful then did soothe the mind of hisfriend: so they did stay each with each in the dark that day, in theirsad and drear plight.

  Well, as dusk came on the Giant goes down to the cell once more, to seeif those he held bound there had done as he had bid them: but when hecame there he found they still did live, at which he fell in a greatrage, and told them that, as he saw they had lent a deaf ear to what hesaid, it should be worse for them than if they had not been born.

  At this they shook with dread, and I think that Christian fell in aswoon; but as he came round once more, they took up the same strain ofspeech as to the Giant's words, and if it were best give heed to themor no. Now Christian once more did seem to wish to yield, but Hopefulmade his next speech in this wise:

  "My friend," said he, "dost thou not know how brave thou hast been intimes past? The foul fiend could not crush thee; nor could all thatthou didst hear, or see, or feel in the Vale of the Shade of Death;what wear and tear, grief and fright, hast thou erst gone through, andart thou naught but fears? Thou dost see that I am in the cell withthee, and I am a far more weak man to look at than thou art: in likeway, this Giant did wound me as well as thee, and hath, too, cut offthe bread and drink from my mouth, and with thee I mourn void of thelight. But let us try and grow more strong: call to mind how thou didstplay the man at Vanity Fair, and wast not made blench at the chain orcage, nor yet at fierce death; for which cause let us, at least to shunthe shame that looks not well for a child of God to be found in, bearup with calm strength as well as we can."

  Now night had come once more, and his wife spoke to him of the men, andsought to know if they had done as he had told them. To which he said,"They are stout rogues; they choose the more to bear all hard thingsthan to put an end to their lives." Then said she, "Take them to thegarth next day, and show them the bones and skulls of those that thouhast put to death, and make them think thou wilt tear them in shreds,as thou hast done to folk like to them."

  So when the morn was come the Giant takes them to the garth, and showsthem as his wife had bade him: "These," said he, "were wights, as youare, once, and they trod on my ground, as you have done; and when Ithought fit I tore them in bits, and so in the space
of ten days I willdo you: go, get you down to your den once more." And with that he beatthem all the way to the place. They lay for this cause all day in a sadstate, just as they had done. Now, when night was come, and when Mrs.Diffidence and her spouse the Giant were got to bed, they once morespoke of the men; and, with this, the Giant thought it strange that hecould not by his blows or words bring them to an end. And with that hiswife said, "I fear that they live in hopes that some will come to setthem free, or that they have things to pick locks with them, by themeans of which they hope to scape." "And dost thou say so, my dear?"said the Giant; "I will hence search them in the morn."

  Well, in the depth of night they strove hard to pray, and held it uptill just break of day.

  CHRISTIAN & HOPEFUL escape from DOUBTING CASTLE]

  Now, not long ere it was day, good Christian, as one half wild, brakeout in this hot speech: "What a fool," quoth he, "am I, thus to lie ina foul den when I may as well walk in the free air: I have a key inmy breast known as Promise, that will, I feel sure, pick each lock inDoubting Castle." Then said Hopeful, "That is good news, my friend;pluck it out of thy breast and try."

  Then Christian took it out of his breast, and did try at the cell door,whose bolt as he did turn the key gave back, and the door flew backwith ease, and Christian and Hopeful both came out. Then he went to thefront door that leads to the yard of the fort, and with this key didope that door in like way. Then he went to the brass gate (for that hemust ope too), but that lock he had hard work to move; yet did the keypick it. Then they thrust wide the gate to make their scape with speed.But that gate as it went back did creak so, that it woke Giant Despair,who, as he rose in haste to go in search of the men, felt his limbs tofail, for his fits took him once more, so that he could by no means goin their track. Then they went on, and came to the King's high roadonce more, and so were safe, for that they were out of his grounds.

  Now, when they had got clear of the stile, they thought in their mindswhat they should do at that stile, to keep those that should come intheir wake from the fell hands of Giant Despair. So they built there apile and wrote on the side of it these words: "To cross this stile isthe way to Doubting Castle, which is kept by Giant Despair, who spurnsthe King of the good land, and seeks to kill such as serve him."