upon blow, and stroke upon stroke, in such sort, that Samson himself would have been no match for him; since what he wanted in strength was more than made up by his perseverance. They continued struggling therefore for a long while. At length Inbred-Sin, grasping Humble Mind in his arms, and entangling him with his feet, tripped him up and laid him at his full length on the ground: by which unlucky fall the poor boy was so disabled, that he had not power to lift himself up. In that place therefore he lay all the night, moaning and crying; while Inbred-Sin stamped upon him with all his might, triumphantly exulting over him, and whispering in his ears evil words against the King of pilgrims. During this sad interval Humble Mind had no power to pray, being filled with horror at the blasphemous suggestions of his own inbred corruption. Thus he lay all that night; but the Lord of pilgrims would not suffer the evil beasts to come near him. "For the Lord will not cast off for ever: but though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." Lament. iii. 31-33.

CHAPTER V.

Now it was an extraordinary thing, that this same night, towards dawn of day, the shepherd Sincerity (the same who has the care of the little ones of our Lord), dreamed a dream as he lay asleep on his bed. And in his dream there was presented to his view a fair white lamb in the jaws of a dreadful wolf, that was just about to devour him: when lo, a voice from heaven awakened the shepherd, saying, "Save my lamb."

At this he arose in haste, and taking his crook in his hand, he went forth in search of him that was in the power of the wolf. So at break of day he came to the door of the garden into which Humble Mind had strayed; and turning in thither, he soon espied the child lying groaning on the ground. Now the shepherd knew by his white garment and the mark upon his forehead, that he was one of the lambs of his Lord..

Therefore stretching out his staff, and bidding him take hold thereof, he raised him up, and drew him towards himself. Then taking him by the hand, all trembling as he was, he led him through the winding ways of the garden towards the King's high-road.

The shepherd was so well known in these parts, that no one dared to ask him what he did there, or wherefore he meddled with the child. When the shepherd, however, had passed on a little way, I heard that all the inhabitants of the garden broke out into loud hissings and mockings-but Sincerity heeded them not.

Now when the shepherd had brought Humble Mind to the place where he had dropped his book, causing him immediately to cast away all the toys and trifles with which he had loaded himself the day before, he made him take up his book again. So he led the boy on, till he had brought him out upon the King's highway, where he smartly corrected him with his shepherd's crook; agreeably to the words of holy writ-"Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul." Prov. xxix. 17. After this the shepherd addressed him in the following manner.

Shepherd. How has it come to pass, after being so kindly received by the Lord of pilgrims, after being invested with the white garments of salvation, and sealed with your Lord's own signet: how comes it, I say, that you have so speedily turned aside from the right way? Have you so quickly lost the remembrance of your Lord, and how lovely he appeared in your eyes when you were first admitted into his presence? How is it, that you have so soon forgotten your first love?

Then Humble Mind began to weep; and, as he wept, he thus replied:-" It is my wish to do well; I have no desire to have any other king than the Saviour Christ. His ways are ways of pleasantness, and all his paths are peace.' Prov. iii. 17. But though I wish to do well, I find I cannot; 'for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.'" Rom. vii. 18. Shepherd. Can you tell what it is that holds you back from doing that which you wish to do?

Humble Mind. Yes, sir, it is my Inbred-Sin, the sin that was born with me, and which I fear I shall never get quit of, till I go down into the grave. Oh, sir! you know not what a deceitful, dangerous companion this Inbred-Sin is.

Shepherd. Perhaps I know more of him than you think, my child; nevertheless, I should be glad to hear in what way this deceiver has dealt with you.

Humble-Mind. If I were to tell you, sir, all the tricks and contrivances of this Inbred-Sin it would take me till sun-set, ay, and all the night too; but if you please, sir, I will mention some of the chief things, with which I have to charge him. And first, before I was effectually called by the Lord (for the Lord sent several messages to me before I could be persuaded to answer the call), this Inbred-Sin was altogether my master and I am shocked on recollecting to what a state of hardness and sinful desperation he had reduced me at that time, and what crimes he caused me to commit. When I was a very little child, I remember that I loved my father and mother, and that very dearly: but after they were gone, this Inbred-Sin so hardened my heart against them, that I heeded no more the commands they had left with me than if I had never received them neither had I any wish to follow my dear parents, or to be joined to them again; and all this through the instigation of this Inbred-Sin. And more than this (continued Humble Mind), I was persuaded by this same Inbred-Sin to go to Mr. Worldly-Prudence, and to forsake my little sisters, of whom I now know not what has become. But Inbred-Sin, as I before said, exercised an absolute dominion over me in those days.

Here Humble Mind looked very sorrowful; for he remembered his sisters, and his heart was greatly moved for them.

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"This Inbred-Sin, my child," said the shepherd, you have found, offereth such violence to the nature of man, that he often subverts and destroys all natural affection. He produces hatred between husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, parents and children; ay, and such hath been his power, that he has sometimes induced parents to 'sacrifice their sons and their daughters unto devils, shedding innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and daughters.' Psalm cvi. 37, 38. But now go on with your account.

I heard then, that Humble Mind informed the shepherd how Inbred-Sin had led him to neglect the warnings of Evangelist, to despise the remonstrances of Convictionof-Sin, to throw aside his Bible, yea, and to turn his back altogether on the Way of Salvation.

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And, I doubt not," said the shepherd, "but that this same Inbred-Sin would have you to brave hell-fire itself, for the sake of half an hour's pleasure in the present world."

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Oh, sir! the fear of eternal punishment has no power at all over him; he more than once as much as told me, that nothing would satisfy him, but my resolving to lay aside all concern about my soul."

"I could have shown you," said the shepherd," had I then been present with you, what were the views and purposes of this Inbred-Sin: for he is not only the enemy of God, but he is enmity itself, and his nature can never undergo a change."

"But I have not told you, sir," said Humble Mind, "that, troublesome as this Inbred-Sin was before I became a pilgrim, he has been much more so since; nay, from the first hour that I entered upon this course, he has been the very torment of my life. He has occasionally made my very existence a burden to me-sometimes pulling me back; sometimes pinching and rending my very heart; and then hanging upon me like a drag upon a wheel, so that I could scarcely go or stand-at other times whispering evil words in my ears, arguing and contending, lying and pleading, without intermissionand lastly, in a furious onset he brought me to the ground; where he kept me sorely bruised, and not daring to cry out for help; till you, sir, came in to my assistance."

my

The shepherd answered, "Give the glory to God, son, and not unto me; for unto him you owe your present deliverance." He then explained to Humble Mind the reason why Inbred-Sin had appeared more troublesome to him of late than formerly. "You have now," said the shepherd, "by the power of the Holy Ghost, received a new and spiritual nature, which is directly contrary to your old nature; and thus a warfare between flesh and spirit is begun within you, which will continue till your sinful body turns to corruption in the grave. Formerly, you and Inbred-Sin pulled one way, and were of one mind. You were then dead in sin, and had no power to turn to that which is good. But now you are become a new creature; and this has given rise to the contest of which you complain: For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other: so

that ye cannot do the things that ye would.'" Gal.

v. 17.

"I had hoped," said Humble Mind, "that, after obtaining admittance at the gate, and receiving forgiveness of sins, and being clothed in garments made white in the blood of the Lamb, I should be freed for ever from the assaults of this vexatious enemy."

"It is not the will of God," replied the shepherd, "to deliver his children, while they are in the flesh, from the importunities of sin. Although he sets them so far free from the dominion thereof, as to prevent its tyrannizing over them as in former times (Rom. vi. 14.); yet he leaves their inward corruptions as a thorn in the flesh, to humble and mortify them; teaching them, by experience, that they are nothing, and can do nothing, but must look for salvation to Christ alone."

"But, sir," said Humble Mind, "if sin is no longer to have dominion over us, how came I lately to meet with so dreadful an overthrow ?"

"Because," said the shepherd, "you had given this Inbred-Sin a temporary advantage over you, by yielding unto his deceitful arguments, and forsaking the King's highway moreover, you encountered him in your own strength, without seeking assistance from on high.”

I heard then that Humble Mind put several further questions concerning the manner in which Inbred-Sin might be best mortified and kept in subjection: to all of which the shepherd thus concisely answered, "By deep humility and self-abasement, by prayer for the assistance of the Holy Spirit, and by looking to the cross of Christ."

Humble Mind, being still anxious to obtain further information from the shepherd, inquired of him wherein lay the sinfulness of such things as were taught in the garden to which he had turned aside.

"The things in themselves," answered the shepherd, "are not actually sinful; but they are rendered so by their abuse. It is written,' Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God' (1 Cor. x. 31.): therefore all those elegant arts and acquirements which are not directed to this end are, to say the least, dangerous pursuits."

In this manner the shepherd and Humble Mind conversed together as they walked along the Way of Salvation towards the shepherd's abode. In the mean time