Things of a greater bulk: yea, with delight,
Say, My lark's leg is better than a kite.

Young ladies, and young gentlewomen too,
Do no small kindness to my Pilgrim show.
Their cabinets, their bosoms, and their hearts,
My Pilgrim has, 'cause he to them imparts
His pretty riddles in such wholesome strains,
As yields them profit double to their pains
Of reading; yea, I think, I may be bold
To say, some prize him far above their gold.

The very children that do walk the street,
If they do but my holy Pilgrim meet,
Salute him will, will wish him well, and say,
He is the only stripling of the day.

They that have never seen him, yet admire
What they have heard of him, and much desire
To have his company, and hear him tell
Those pilgrim stories which he knows so well.

Yea, some who did not love him at the first,
But call'd him fool and noddy, say they must,
Now they have seen and heard him, him commend,
And to those whom they love they do him send."

Wherefore, my Second Part, thou need'st not be
Afraid to show thy head; none can hurt thee,
That wish but well to him that went before,
'Cause thou com'st after with a second store
Of things as good, as rich, as profitable,
For young, for old, for stagg'ring, and for stable.

OBJECTION III.

But some there be that say, He laughs too loud;
And some do say, His head is in a cloud.

This was written within six years of the first publication of the First Part. In that short period it had become so wonderfully popular as to have been circulated in the languages which the author names, and in America. After another four years, namely in 1688, upwards of one hundred thousand copies had been issued in English; and to the present time it has been steadily increasing in popularity, so that, after one hundred and seventy years have elapsed, it is more popular than ever. A fact without parallel in the annals of literature.

Some say, His words and stories are so dark,
They know not how, by them, to find his mark.

ANSWER.

One may, I think, say, Both his laughs and cries,
May well be guess'd at by his watery eyes.
Some things are of that nature, as to make
One's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache.
When Jacob saw his Rachel with the sheep,
He did at the same time both kiss and weep.

Whereas some say, A cloud is in his head,
That doth but show how wisdom's covered
With its own mantles, and to stir the mind
To a search after what it fain would find.
Things that seem to be hid in words obscure,
Do but the godly mind the more allure
To study what those sayings should contain,
That speak to us in such a cloudy strain.

I also know a dark similitude
Will on the fancy more itself intrude,
And will stick faster in the heart and head,
Than things from similes not borrowed.

Wherefore, my book, let no discouragement
Hinder thy travels. Behold, thou art sent
To friends, not foes; to friends that will give place
To thee, thy pilgrims, and thy words embrace.

Besides, what my first Pilgrim left conceal'd,
Thou, my brave second Pilgrim, hast reveal'd;
What CHRISTIAN left lock'd up, and went his way,
Sweet CHRISTIANA opens with her key."

OBJECTION IV.

But some love not the method of your first;
Romance they count it, throw 't away as dust,
If I should meet with such, what should I say?
Must I slight them as they slight me, or nay?

This second narrative is a key explaining many things which appeared dark in Christian's journey.

ANSWER.

My CHRISTIANA, if with such thou meet,
By all means, in all loving-wise, them greet;
Render them not reviling for revile;

But if they frown, I prithee on them smile;
Perhaps 'tis nature, or some ill report,

Has made them thus despise, or thus retort.

Some love no cheese, some love no fish, and some Love not their friends, nor their own house or home; Some start at pig, slight chicken, love not fowl, More than they love a cukoo, or an owl; Leave such, my CHRISTIANA, to their choice, And seek those who to find thee will rejoice; By no means strive, but in humble-wise Present thee to them in thy Pilgrim's guise.

Go, then, my little book, and show to all That entertain, and bid thee welcome shall, What thou shalt keep close, shut up from the rest, And wish what thou shalt show them may be blest To them for good, may make them choose to be Pilgrims better by far than thee or me.

Go, then, I say, tell all men who thou art;
Say, I am CHRISTIANA, and my part
Is now, with my four sons, to tell you what
It is for men to take a Pilgrim's lot.

Go also, tell them who and what they be, That now do go on pilgrimage with thee; Say, Here's my neighbour, Mercy, she is one That has long time with me a Pilgrim gone. Come, see her in her virgin face, and learn 'Twixt idle ones and Pilgrims to discern. Yea, let young damsels learn of her to prize The world which is to come, in any wise. When little tripping maidens follow God, And leave old doting sinners to his rod; "Tis like those days wherein the young ones cried, Hosanna! to whom old ones did deride.

Next, tell them of old Honest, who you found With his white hairs, treading the Pilgrim's ground.

Yea, tell them how plain-hearted this man was,
How after his good Lord he bare his cross;
Perhaps with some gray head this may prevail
With Christ to fall in love, and sin bewail.

Tell them also, how Master Fearing went
On pilgrimage, and how the time he spent
In solitariness, with fears and cries;

And how, at last, he won the joyful prize.
He was a good man, though much down in spirit,
He is a good man, and doth life inherit.

Tell them of Master Feeble-mind also,
Who, not before, but still behind would go.
Show them also, how he had like been slain,
And how one Great-heart did his life regain.
This man was true of heart, though weak in grace,
One might true godliness readin his face.

Then tell them of Master Ready-to-halt,

A man with crutches, but much without fault;
Tell them how Master Feeble-mind and he

Did love, and in opinions much agree.

And let all know, though weakness was their chance, Yet sometimes one could sing, the other dance.

Forget not Master Valiant-for-the-truth,
That man of courage, though a very youth.
Tell every one his spirit was so stout,

No man could ever make him face about;
And how Great-heart and he could not forbear,
But put down Doubting Castle, slay Despair.

Overlook not Master Despondency,

Nor Much-afraid, his daughter, though they lie
Under such mantles, as may make them look
(With some) as if their God had them forsook.
They softly went, but sure, and at the end

Found that the Lord of Pilgrims was their friend.
When thou hast told the world of all these things,
Then turn about, my book, and touch these strings,
Which, if but touch'd, will such music make,
They'll make a cripple dance, a giant quake.

These riddles that lie couch'd within thy breast, Freely propound, expound; and for the rest

Of thy mysterious lines, let them remain
For those whose nimble fancies shall them gain.

Now may this little book a blessing be To those who love this little book and me; And may its buyer have no cause to say, His money is but lost or thrown away; Yea, may this Second Pilgrim yield that fruit, As may with each good Pilgrim's fancy suit; And may it persuade some that go astray, To turn their feet and heart to the right way,

Is the hearty prayer of

The Author,

JOHN BUNYAN.