The Arkansas banner., 1849-03-13
sketches of John Rnmraa and Win. kifin.

sketches of John BunYaa and Win. k film.
 1From Macanley's .is,sy ol England l To the nAtnes of Baxter end Howe must bs a'.
 ded the name of a nan far below them m station
 and ia acquired knowledge Ai; ih virtue their equal
 and in genius their superior--John BHnyan Bnn-
 van had been bred a tinker aAd had served as nri- | va;e soldier in the parliamentary amy. Early in
 his life he had been feartuis tortured by renorse
 for his youthful sins, the wors of which seem how. { ever. 10 have been such the world thinks venal 1 Ills keen senslbiiity and his powerful imagination made his internal conflicts seguiarly terrible He
 iancied iha, be under sentenee of reprobafion ] that he had comoited biaspAemy against the Holy
 Ghost that he had sold Chri,t. that he was actuaiy
 possessed by demon Sometimes Ioud vaicea from ! Heaven cried out to wan him. Sometimes hends | whispered impious suggestions in his est. He saw visions of distant mountain iaps. oa which the srn shone brightly bat from wAich he was separated by aswaste of snow. He felt The devil behind hlm pntiug his clothes. He thought tha; the brand el Cain had been set upon hiss < Jle feared that he
 was about to burst asnndef. like Jsdas. His inen- Ita agony disordeTed his health. One day he shook
 like man im ilss palsy On another day he felt fire within his breast. IL is daEcdi 10 understand how he survived suieriBgs SO lntenSe and so bong
 continued. At length the clouds broke. From the
 depths ol despair the PehItent passed 10 state of | serens felicity.
 An irresistible impulse now urged him to import
 10 others the blessings oi which he Nas himself l possessed. He joined the BspGsts, aad became preacher and writer His educition had been That
 Of mechanic He knew language but the l English, as it was spoken by the coiomon people He had studied great model of composition, with the exception, an important exception undouhted-
 ", of Jour noble transiations oi the BiSie. Ills spelling was bad. H. frequently 1raasgfessed he
 rules of grammar. Yet the native force of genius
 and his experimental knowledge of all the religious passions, from despair 10 ecsacy amply supplied in
 him the want ot learning Ills rude ora,ory toused | and warinci his hearers, who hStened without in-
 tcTest to the. labored dlsroufses of great lolciaps and Hebrasts lis works were widely circulated l among the humbler classes. One of them, the Pii
 griIn's Progress was. n his own lifetime. iIaDsla- ted into several foreign languages. lt was, how
 ever, scarcely known to inc learned aud polite and
 had been. during century the delight ol pious coitsgeTs ald artisans. before it publicly com mended by any man ot high literary emineLce.
 1 Al length critics condeseended ,o inquire where the secret of SO wide and so durable populBiiy ! lay They were compelled io ON D that the igaor- ant multitude had judged correctly than the
 learned. and that the despsed little book really a master piece. Bunysn IS indeed decIdeiiy the ! first oi allegorists, as Demoshenes is the frs, of
 orators, or Shakespeare the first of dfaiaatists. Other allegorisa have shown equal ingenuity; bui
 no other alleeorst has eyer been able 10 tonch he
 heart and to make distractions objects of terror o | pity, and Of love.
 IL may be doubted whether any English Dissen-
 ter had suffered severely uTer iie penal laws | than John Bunyan. or the tyenty-seven years ] which had elapsed since the Restoration, he had | passed twelve in confinement. He sul perslstrd ! m preaching; bu that he tuigh, preach. he was l under the necessity of disguisiHg himself like d ] carter llr Was often introduced into meetings l through back duots, with snock trock on ms back ! and whip n his hand Ii he hsd thought only oi 1 his case and safety, he woald bave hailed the i indulgence with delight. He vas now al cngfh. l free io pray and eShort in open air. Hts CcngTe-
 gation rapidly inersasei: thousands hung upon hia 4 Fff
 money was peufiiuliv contributed to build mee. 1 ing house for him His influence among the com
 mon people snch that the gcvetn6ieat auutd | willingly have besloWrd on htn some muhcipat
 office; bui his vigorous understanding and his sioHt
 Epgiis heart were proof against all drliIsion and | all temptation. He ten assured that the proefed 1 toeration merely bat intended 10 lnre the ! Puritan party to des;ructtod; would he, D,
 cepting place for which he was not legally quail ! fed, recognize the validity of the dispensing power
 One of the last acts ot h vlftnoas life was "a de-
 cline interview to which he was invited by an l agent of lhe government.
 1 Great as was the authority of Bunyan with inc
 Bap;ists, that of William Kifia still greater | Kifin was the frst among them in wealth and 1 station He was in The habit of exercising hls
 spiritual gifts at heir meetings; but he did noi live : by preaching. He traded largely; his credit on i inc Exchange of i.onton stood high; and he had 1 accumulated an ample fortune Perhaps no man
 could, a; that conJuncinIe. have rndered mere val uable services l0 the court. But between hun and ] The court was ihterposcd inc remembrance of
 terrible event. He was the grandfather oi the two | Hewlings those gaiar, youths who, of the victims
 of the Bloody ASslIes, had been the most generally ! latnented. For the sal fate of one ot them James ! was in peculiar manner responsible. JetrcVS had
 rc>pited the younger brother. The poor iads sIsci | had been g,heTed by Churchill uto the royal pre-
 scncc. and bal begged for meIcy; but the king heart had been nbdUrate. The misery ot the whole
 family had heen great; bar kTiiin most io he ] pllea. He Was seventy years oil when he was lo destitute the survivor of those who should have
 survived hi,n. The beartlcss and yenai .ycophants of Whitehall. judging by themselves, thcnght that 1 the old man would be easily proptIated by an al
 derman's gown, and by some compensation in money
 for the property which his grandsnus bad forfeited ! Penn vas employed ln The work ot seduction. but
 io no pn,posr. The king determined To tty wlla
 effect hls ciViIIlies would produce. kiiin Was tsriered to attend al Inc palace. lie lnund hni- 1 liant circle of uobieneu and gentlemen assembled. : James immediately came ,o him, spoke to him yefy 1 graciously, and concluded by saying, have put ! yoa down, Mir. kiiln, for an alderman nt Inndon.' ! The old man looked hNedlY al the klng burst into ! fears, tnd made answer: ' Sir, am worn out, su | ur ht to your maleSiy nF the citV. md. SIT : the deaih of my poor boys broke my heart. That wound IS aS fresh ever shall carry II to uiN ! gave" Tho king stood siicn, for a miuule in ! some conusion and then said: Mir. klitn, 1 w ! Gnd haisam for ths, sore AS,uredy James dh
 not mean io say anything cruel insoeai; the ! contrary, he seems 10 have been ia an unusually i gentle mood Yet no speech that is recorded ot
 him gives unfavorahIe a uotion of his character
 az these few words They are he words o hard hearted anj ow-ninded Iaan, unable o conceive
 any laicer,iop nt the aiiacIetrs fDf which piacc ! peiIS.-.,1 w0ui! uut be a lull compensation. 1 CROMWELL'S PURIT.AN .1RHf. | The army whlch noy became snpreuje in thc
 state was an army very different from any Hat has ! sln,e been among Hs Al present. the pay Of the
 common soldier is uot such to seuce any tul 'hc
 humhlest class of English lahoreTs from ther cslng
 Lll