Mr. Bunyan was tall and broad set, though not corpulent; he had a ruddy complexion, with sparkling eyes, and hair inclined to red, but, in his old age, sprinkled with gray. His whole appearance was plain, and his dress always simple and unaffected. He published sixty tracts, which equalled the number of years he lived. The Pilgrim's Progress had passed through more than fifty editions. in 1784.

His character seems to have been uniformly good, from the time when he was brought acquainted with the blessed Gospel of Christ; and though his countenance was rather stern, and his manner rough, yet he was very mild, modest, and affable, in his behaviour. He was backward to speak much, except on particular occasions, and remarkably averse to boasting; ready to submit to the judgment of others, and disposed to forgive injuries, to follow peace with all men, and to employ himself as a peace-maker: yet he was steady to his principles, and bold in reproving sin without respect of persons. Many slanders were spread concerning him during the course of his ministry, some of which he refuted; they have however all died away, and no one now pretends to say any thing to his disadvantage, except as his firm attachment to his creed, and his practice as a Calvinist, a dissenter, and an Antipædobaptist, has been called bigotry; and as the account given of his own experience has been misunderstood, or misrepresented.

Even

He was undoubtedly endued with extraur dinary natural talents; his understanding, discernment, memory, invention, and imagination, were remarkably sound and vigorous. so that he made very great proficiency in the knowledge of scriptural divinity, though brought up in ignorance; but he never made much progress in human learning. such persons, as did not favour his religious principles, have done ample justice to his mental powers. The celebrated Dr. Johnson ranks the Pilgrim's Progress among a very few books indeed, of which the reader, when he comes to the conclusion, wishes they had been longer; and allows it to rank high among the works of original genius. (Piozzi's Anecdotes of Johnson, Boswell's life o. Johnson, vol. ii. p. 97, 2d edit.) But it is above all things wonderful, that Bunyan's imagination, fertile and vigorous in a very great degree, and wholly untutored by the rules of learning, should in this instance have been so disciplined by sound judgment, and deep ac quaintance with the Scripture, as to produce, in the form of an allegory, one of the fairest and most unexceptionable treatises on the system of Calvinism, that can be found in the English language. In several of his other publications his imagination sometimes carried him beyond just bounds: but here he avoids all extremes, and seems not to deviate either to the right hand or to the left. Perhaps, as he was himself liable to depression of spirit, and had passed through deep distresses, the view he

gives of the pilgrim's temptation may be too gloomy; but he has shown in the course of the work, that this arose principally from inadequate views of evangelical truth, and the want of Christian communion, with the benefits to be derived from the counsels of a Lithful minister T. SCOTT.

3*

THE

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.

PART I.

As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a den, and laid me down in that place to sleep; and as I slept I dreamed a dream. I dreamed and behold, I saw † a man clothed

* Mr. Bunyan was confined, at different times, about twelve years in Bedford jul, for exercising his ministry contrary to the statutes then in force. This was the den, in which he slept and dreamed here he penned this instructive allegory, and many other useful works, which evince that he was neither soured nor disheartened by persecution. The Christian, who understands what usage he ought to expect in this evil world, comparing our present measure of religious liberty with the rigours of that age, will see abundant canse for grati tude; but they, who are disposed to complain, can never be at a loss for topics, while so much is amiss among all ranks and orders of men, and in the conduct of every individual.

I saw The allegory opens with a description of the principal character to which it relates. The view, which the author in his dream had of him, as clothed in rags,' implies that all men are sinners, in their dispositions, affections and con last; that their supposed virtues are radically defective, and worthless in the sight of God; that the pilgrim has discovered this in his own case, so that he perceives his own righteousnesses to be insuflicient for justification, even as sor did tags would be unsuitable raiment for those who stand be