On some occasions the lord ordered his pilgrims from seeing in a distinct manner messengers, of which he has a great variety, what was doing behind it, yet such beams of to batter, injure, deface, and almost demolish brightness now and then darted through the the frail building, even while it seemed new cloud, as enabled those who used a telescope, and strong; this was what the landlord call- provided for that purpose, to see the subed giving warning; but many a tenant stance of things hoped for; but it was not would not take warning, and so fond of stay- every one who could make use of this teleing where he was, even under all these in-scope; no eye indeed was naturally dispoconveniences, that at last he was cast out by sed to it; but an earnest desire of getting a ejectment, not being prevailed on to leave glimpse of the invisible realities, gave such his dwelling in a proper manner, though one would have thought the fear of being turned out would have whetted his diligence in preparing for a better and more enduring inheritance. For though the people were only tenants at will in these crazy tenements, yet, through the goodness of the same lord, they were assured that he never turned them out of these habitations before he had on his part provided for them a better, so that there was not such a landlord in the world; and though their present dwelling was but frail, being only slightly run up to serve the occasion, yet they might hold their future possession by a most certain tenure, the word of the lord himself. This word was entered in a covenant, or title-deed, consisting of many sheets, and because a great many good things were given away in this deed, a book was made of which every soul might get a copy.

a strength and steadiness to the eye which used the telescope, as enabled it to discern many things which could not be seen by the natural sight-Above the cloud was this inscription: The things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Of these last things many glorious descriptions had been given; but as those splendors were at a distance, and as the pilgrims in general did not care to use the telescope, these distant glories made little impression.

The glorious inheritance which lay beyond the cloud, was called, The things above, while a multitude of trifling objects, which appeared contemptibly small when looked at through the telescope, were called the things below. Now, as we know it is nearness which gives size and bulk to any object, it was not wonderful that these illjudging pilgrims were more struck with This indeed had not always been the case; these baubles and trifles, which, by laying because, till a few ages back, there had been close at hand, were visible and tempting to a sort of monopoly in the case, and the wise the naked eye, and which made up the sum and prudent; that is, the cunning and fraud- of the things below, than with the remote ful, had hid these things from the babes glories of the things above; but this was and sucklings; that is, from the low and ig-chiefly owing to their not making use of the norant, and many frauds had been practi- telescope, through which, if you examined sed, and the poor had been cheated of their right; so that not being allowed to read and judge for themselves, they had been sadly imposed upon; but all these tricks had been put an end to more than two hundred years when I passed through the country, and the meanest man who could read might then have a copy; so that he might see himself what he had to trust to; and even those who could not read, might hear it read once or twice every week, at least, without pay, by learned and holy men, whose business it was. But it surprised me to see how few comparatively made use of these vast advantages. Of those who had a copy, many laid it carelessly by, expressed a general belief in the truth of the title deed, a general satisfaction that they should come in for a share of the inheritance, a general good opinion of the lord whose word it was, and a general disposition to take his promise upon trust; always, however, intending, at a convenient season, to inquire farther into the matter; but this convenient season seldom came; and this neglect of theirs was construed by their lord into a forfeiture of the inheritance.

At the end of this country lay the vast gulf mentioned before; it was shadowed over by a broad and thick cloud, which prevented the

thoroughly the things below, they seemed to shrink almost down to nothing, which was indeed their real size; while the things above appeared the more beautiful and vast, the more the telescope was used. But the surprising part of the story was this; not that the pilgrims were captivated at first sight with the things below, for that was natural enough; but that when they had tried them all over and over, and found themselves deceived and disappointed in almost every one of them, it did not at all lessen their fondness, and they grasped at them again with the same eagerness as before. There were some gay fruits which looked alluring, but on being opened, instead of a kernel, they were found to contain rottenness; and those which seemed the fullest, often proved on trial to be quite hollow and empty. Those which were most tempting to the eye, were often found to be wormwood to the taste, or poison to the stomach, and many flowers that seemed most bright and gay had a worm gnawing at the root; and it was observable that on the finest and brightest of them was seen, when looked at through the telescope, the word vanity inscribed in large characters.

Among the chief attractions of the things below were certain little lumps of yellow

clay, on which almost every eye and every scattered up and down the country all sorts heart was fixed. When I saw the variety of odd inventions, for some or other of which of uses to which this clay could be convert-the vain possessors of the great heaps of ed, and the respect which was shown to those clay had truckled and bartered them away who could scrape together the greatest num- in fewer hours than their ancestors had spent ber of pieces, I did not much wonder at the years in getting them together. O what a general desire to pick up some of them; but strange unaccountable medley it was! and when I beheld the anxiety, the wakefulness, what was ridiculous enough, I observed that the competitions, the contrivances,the tricks, the greatest quantity of the clay was always the frauds, the scuffling, the pushing, the exchanged for things that were of no use turmoiling, the kicking, the shoving, the that I could discover, owing I suppose to my cheating, the circumvention, the envy, the ignorance of the manners of the country. malignity, which was excited by a desire to In one place I saw large heaps exhausted, possess this article; when I saw the general scramble among those who had little to get much, and of those who had much to get more, then I could not help applying to these people a proverb in use among us, that gold may be bought too dear.

in order to set two idle pampered horses a running; but the worst part of the joke was, the horses did not run to fetch or carry any thing, of course were of no kind of use, but merely to let the gazers see which could run fastest. Now, this gift of swiftness, exerThough I saw that there were various cised to no useful purpose, was only one out sorts of baubles which engaged the hearts of many instances, I observed, of talents emof different travellers, such as an ell of red ployed to no end. In another place I saw or blue ribbon, for which some were con- whole piles of the clay spent to maintain tent to forfeit their future inheritance, com- long ranges of buildings full of dogs, on promitting the sin of Esau, without his tempta- visions which would have nicely fattened tion of hunger; yet the yellow clay I found some thousands of pilgrims, who sadly wantwas the grand object for which most hands ed fattening, and whose ragged tenements were scrambling, and most souls were risk- were out at elbows, for want of a little help ed. One thing was extraordinary, that the to repair them. Some of the piles were renearer these people were to being turned gularly pulled down once in seven years, in out of their tenement, the fonder they grew order to corrupt certain needy pilgrims to of these pieces of clay; so that I naturally belie their consciences, by doing that for a concluded they meant to take the clay with bribe which they were bound to do from them to the far country, to assist them in principle. Others were spent in playing their establishment in it; but I soon learnt with white stiff bits of paper, painted over this clay was not current there, the lord with red and black spots, in which I thought having farther declared to these pilgrims there must be some conjuring, because the that as they had brought nothing into this very touch of these painted pasteboards world, they could carry nothing away. made the heaps fly from one to another, and I inquired of the different people who back again to the same, in a way, that natuwere raising the various heaps of clay, some ral causes could not account for. There was of a larger, some of a smaller size, why they aeother proof that there must be some madiscovered such unremitting anxiety, and gic in this business, which was that if a for whom? Some, whose piles were im- pasteboard with red spots fell into a hand mense, told me they were heaping up for which wanted a black one, the person chantheir children; this I thought very right, ged colour, his eyes flashed fire, and he distill, on casting my eyes around, I observed covered other symptoms of madness, which many of the children of these very people showed there was some witchcraft in the had large heaps of their own. Others told case. These clean little pasteboards as me it was for their grand-children; but on harmless as they looked, had the wonderful inquiry I found these were not yet born, and power of pulling down the highest piles in in many cases there was little chance that less time than all the other causes put tothey ever would. The truth, on a close ex-gether. I observed that many small piles amination, proved to be, that the true ge- were given in exchange for an enchanted linuine heapers really heaped for themselves; quor which when the purchaser had drunk that it was in fact neither for friend nor to a little excess, he lost power of managing child, but to gratify an inordinate appetite the rest of his heap without losing the love of their own. Nor was I much surprised of it; and thus the excess of indulgence, by after this to see these yellow hoards at length making him a beggar, deprived him of that canker, and the rust of them become a wit- very gratification on which his heart was ness against the hoarders, and eat their flesh set. as it were fire.

Now I find it was the opinion of sober pilMany, however, who had set out with a grims, that either hoarding the clay, or high heap of their father's raising, before trucking it for any such purposes as the they had got one third of their journey, had above, was thought exactly the same offence scarcely a single piece left. As I was won-in the eyes of the lord; and it was expectdering what had caused these enormous ed that when they should come under his piles to vanish in so short a time, I spied more immediate jurisdiction in the far coun

gives, and will restore to the purchased inheritance on the easy terms of their being heartily sorry for what they have done, thoroughly desirous of pardon, and convinced that he is able and willing to save to the utmost all them that come unto him.

try, the penalty annexed to hoarding and he still lives; begging and pleading for those squandering would be nearly the same.- unkind people, whom he still loves and forWhile I examined the countenances of the owners of the heaps, I observed that those who I well knew never intended to make any use at all of their heap, were far more terrified at the thought of losing it, or of being torn from it, than those were who were employing it in the most useful manner. Those who best knew what to do with it, set their hearts least upon it, and were always most willing to leave it. But such riddles were common in this odd country. It was indeed a very land of paradoxes. Now I wondered why these pilgrims, who were naturally made erect with an eye formed to look up to the things above, yet had their eyes almost constantly bent in the other direction, riveted to the earth, and fastened on things below, just like those animals who walk on all four. I was told they had not always been subject to this weakness of sight, and proneness to earth that they had originally been upright and beautiful, having been created after the image of the lord, who was himself the perfection of beauty; that he had, at first, placed them in a far superior situation, which he had given them in perpetuity; but that their first ancestors fell from it through pride and carelessness; that upon this the freehold was taken away, they lost their original strength, brightness, and beauty, and were driven out into this strange country, where, however, they had every opportunity given them of recovering their original health, and the lord's favour and likeness; for they were become so disfigured, and were grown so unlike him, that you would hardly believe they were his own children, though, in some, the resemblance was become again visible.

I saw, indeed, that many old offenders appeared to be sorry for what they had done; that is, they did not like to be punished for it. They were willing enough to be delivered from the penalty of their guilt, but they did not heartily wish to be delivered from the power of it. Many declared, in the most public manner, once every week, that they were very sorry they had done amiss; that they had erred and strayed like lost sheep; but it was not enough to declare their sorrow, ever so often, if they gave no other sign of their penitence. For there was so little truth in them, that the lord required other proofs of their sincerity beside their own word, for they often lied with their lips and dissembled with their tongue. But those who professed to be penitents must give some outward proof of it. They were neither allowed to raise heaps of clay, by circumventing their neighbours, or to keep great piles lying by them useless; nor must they barter them for any of those idle vanities which reduced the heaps on a sudden : for I found that among the grand articles of future reckoning, the use they had made of the heaps would be a principal one.

I was sorry to observe many of the fairer part of these pilgrims spend too much of their heaps in adorning and beautifying their tenements of clay, in painting, white-washing, and enamelling them. All those tricks, however, did not preserve them from decay; and when they grew old, they even looked The lord, however, was so merciful, worse for all this cost and varnish. Some, that, instead of giving them up to the dread- however, acted a more sensible part, and ful consequences of their own foily, as he spent no more upon their mouldering tenemight have done without any impeachment ments than just to keep them whole and of his justice, he gave them immediate com-clean, and in good repair, which is what fort, and promised them that, in due time, every tenant ought to do; and I observed his own son should come down and restore that those who were most moderate in the them to the future inheritance which he care of their own tenements, were most atshould purchase for them. And now it was, tentive to repair and warm the ragged tenethat in order to keep up their spirits, after ments of others. But none did this with they had lost their estate through the folly much zeal or acceptance, but those who had of their ancestors, that he began to give them acquired a habit of overlooking the things a part of their former title deed. He conti- below, and who also, by the constant use of nued to send them portions of it from time the telescope had got their natural weak to time by different faithful servants, whom, and dim sight so strengthened, as to be able however, these ungrateful people generally to discern pretty distinctly the nature of the used ill, and some of whom they murdered. things above. The habit of fixing their eyes But for all this, the lord was so very for- on these glories made all the shining trifles, giving, that he at length sent these muti-which compose the mass of things below, at neers a proclamation of full and free pardon last appear in their own diminutive littleby his son. This son, though they used him ness. For it was in this case particularly in a more cruel manner than they had done true, that things are only big or little by any of his servants, yet after having finished comparison; and there was no other way of the work his father gave him to do, went making the things below appear as small as back into the far country to prepare a place they really were, but by comparing them, for all them who believe in him; and there by means ot the telescope, with the things

above. But I observed that the false judg- to declare it was past repairing (a truth they ment of the pilgrims ever kept pace with their wrong practices; for those who kept their eyes fastened on the things below, were reckoned wise in their generation, while the few who looked forward to the future glories, were accounted by the bustlers, or heapers, to be either fools or mad.

were rather too apt to keep back) did the tenant seriously think it was time to pack up, prepare and begone. Then what sending for the wise men who professed to explain the title deed! And oh ! what remorse that they had neglected to examine it till their senses were too confused for so weighty Most of these pilgrims went on in adorn- a business! What reproaches, or what exing their tenements, adding to their heaps, hortations to others, to look better after their grasping the things below as if they would own affairs than they had done! Even to the never let them go, shutting their eyes, in- wisest of the inhabitants the falling of their stead of using their telescope, and neglecting tenements was a solemn thing; solemn, but their title deed, as if it was the parchment of not surprising; they had long been packing another man's estate, and not of their own; up and preparing; they praised their lord's till one after another each felt his tenement goodness that they had been suffered to stay tumbling about his ears.-Oh! then what a so long; many acknowledged the mercy of busy, bustling, anxious, terrifying, distract- their frequent warnings, and confessed that ing moment was that! What a deal of busi- those very dilapidations which had made the ness was to be done, and what a strange time house uncomfortable had been a blessing, as was this to do it in! Now, to see the con- it had set them on diligent preparation for fusion and dismay occasioned by having left their future inheritance; had made them every thing to the last minute. First, some more earnest in examining their title to it, one was sent for to make over the yellow and had set them on such a frequent appliheaps, to another, which the heaper now cation to the telescope, that the things above found would be of no use to himself in shoot- had seemed every day to approach nearer ing the gulf; a transfer which ought to have and nearer, and the things below to recede been made while the tenement was sound. and vanish in proportion. These desired not Then there was a consultation between two to be unclothed but to be clothed upon, for or three masons at once perhaps, to try to they knew that if their tabernacle was dispatch up the walls, and strengthen the props, solved, they had an house not made with and stop the decays of the tumbling tene- hands, eternal in the heavens.' ment; but not till the masons were forced/

THE VALLEY OF TEARS:

A VISION.

OR, BEAR YE ONE ANOTHER'S BURTHENS.

have made the pilgrimage quite intolerable, had not the lord of the valley, out of his great compassion for these poor pilgrims, provided, among other things, the following means for their relief:

In their full view over the entrance of the valley, there were written, in great letters of gold, the following words:

ONCE upon a time methought I set out upon a long journey, and the place through which I travelled appeared to be a dark valley, which was called the Valley of Tears. It had obtained this name, not only on account of the many sorrowful adventures which poor passengers commonly meet with in their journey through it ; but also because most of these travellers entered it weeping and crying. and left it in very great pain and Bear ye one another's burthens. anguish. This vast valley was full of peo- Now I saw in my vision that many of the ple of all colours, ages, sizes and descrip- travellers hurried on without stopping to tions. But whether white, or black, or taw-read this inscription, and others, though ny, all were travelling the same road; or ra- they had once read it, yet paid little or no ther they were taking different little paths attention to it. A third sort thought it very which all led to the same common end. good advice for other people, but very selNow it was remarkable, that notwith-dom applied it to themselves. They unistanding the different complexions, ages, and tempers of this vast variety of people, yet all resembled each other in this one respect, that each had a burthen on his back which he was destined to carry through the toil and heat of the day, until he should arrive, by a longer or shorter course, at his journey's end. These burthens would in general

formly desired to avail themselves of the assistance which by this injunction others were bound to offer them, but seldom considered that the obligation was mutual, and that reciprocal wants and reciprocal services formed the strong cord in the bond of charity. In short, I saw that too many of these people were of opinion that they had burthens

benefit that she was anxious to cor ceal it. She not only sustained him by her strength, but cheered him by her counsels. She told him, that through much tribulation we must enter into rest;' that he that overcometh shall inherit all things. In short, she so supported his fainting spirit, that he was enabled to run with patience the race which was set before him."

The Kind Neighbour.

enough of their own, and that there was therefore no occasion to take upon them those of others; so each tried to make his own load as light, and his own journey as pleasant as he could, without so much as once casting a thought on a poor overloaded neighbour. Here, however, I have to make a rather singular remark, by which I shall plainly show the folly of these selfish people. It was so ordered and contrived by the lord of this valley, that if any one stretched out his hand to lighten a neighAn infirm blind woman was creeping for bour's burthen, in fact he never failed to find ward with a very heavy burthen, in which that he at that moment also lightened his were packed sickness and want, with numown. Besides the benefit of helping each berless other of those raw materials, out of other, was as mutual as the obligation. If a which human misery is worked up. She man helped his neighbour, it commonly hap- was so weak that she could not have got on pened that some other neighbour came by- at all, had it not been for the kind assistance and-by and helped him in his turn; for there of another woman almost as poor as herself; was no such thing as what we cailed inde- who, though she had no light burthen of her pendence in the whole valley. Not one of own, cheerfully lent an helping hand to a all these travellers, however stout and fellow traveller who was still more heavily strong, could move on comfortably without laden. This friend had indeed little or noassistance, for so the lord of the valley,thing to give, but the very voice of kindness whose laws were all of them kind and good, is soothing to the weary. And I remarked had expressly ordained. other cases, many that it was not so much I stood still to watch the progress of these the degree of the help afforded, as the manpoor way-faring people, who moved slowly ner of helping that lightened the burthens. on, like so many ticket-porters, with bur-Some had a coarse, rough, clumsy way of thens of various kinds on their backs; of assisting a neighbour, which, though in fact which some were heavier, and some were it might be of real use, yet seemed, by galllighter, but from a burthen of one kind oring the traveller, to add to the load it was other, not one traveller was entirely free. There might be some difference in the degree, and some distinction in the nature, but exemption there was none,

The Widow.

in

intended to lighten; while I observed in others that so cheap a kindness as a mild word, or even an affectionate look made a poor burthened wretch move on cheerily.The bare feeling that some human being cared for him, seemed to lighten the load. A sorrowful widow, oppressed with the But to return to this kind neighbour. She burthen of grief for the loss of an affection-had a little old book in her hand, the covers ate husband, moved heavily on; and would of which were torn out by much use. When have been bowed down by her heavy load, she saw the blind woman ready to faint, she had not the surviving children with great would read her a few words out of this book, alacrity stepped forward and supported her. such as the following-Blessed are the Their kindness after a while, so much light-poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of ened the load which threatened at first to heaven.'-Blessed are they that mourn, for be intolerable, that she even went on her they shall be comforted, I will never way with cheerfulness, and more than re-leave thee nor forsake thee.'-For our light paid their help, by applying the strength affliction, which is but for a moment, workshe derived from it to their future assist-eth out for us a far more exceeding and eter

ance.

The Husband.

nal weight of glory.' These quickened the pace, and sustained the spirits of the blind traveller: and the kind neighbour by thus directing the attention of the poor sufferer to the blessings of a better world, helped to enable her to sustain the afflictions of this, more effectually than if she had had gold and silver to bestow on her.

The Clergyman.

I next saw a poor old man tottering under a burthen so heavy, that I expected him every moment to sink under it. I peeped into his pack, and saw it was made up of many sad articles; there were poverty, oppression, sickness, debt, and, what made by far the heaviest part, undutiful children. I was wondering how it was that he got on A pious minister, sinking under the even so well as he did, till I spied his wife, weight of a distressed parish, whose worlda kind, meek, christian woman, who was ly wants he was totally unable to bear, was doing her utmost to assist him. She quietly suddenly relieved by a charitable widow, got behind, gently laid her shoulder to the who came up and took all the sick and hunburthen, and carried a much larger portion gry on her own shoulders as her part of the of it than appeared to me when I was at a load. The burthen of the parish thus didistance. It was not the smallest part of the vided became tolerable. The minister be

VOL. I.

26