The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1878-01-30


eral years journey AtIronah9 the Valley of
Humiliation, of which he afterward gave so
vivid a pictnrer Alter crossing the raging
pillows he found hope and peace Ia the haven
Of rest. In 1855 he became . member of the
Baptist church in Bedford, and attended to it's
duties for several years. Soon after becoming
a member he was chosen its pastor. He was
q popular preacher, and great throngs as
sembled tohear him. But the prsncfplss of
religious freedom were not understood IN that
age. The sword and the Gospel were kept IN
too close companionship, and when argument
failed might was summoned to prove the
right. The Episcepalians were in power and
thought it right to enforce their tenets BY the
terrors Of tho civil law. The Baptists and
other dissentersa fell under the ban of the
/" Act against Conventicles.'' Under this law
| Bunyan was convicted and sentenced to per-
/ petual Punishment. But instead of being
| transported, we find him confined in Bedford
Jail. Here twelve years of the prime of his
| life were passed. Abortion of his time was
spent in providing support for his wife and
children by making tagged laces, and the rest
devoted to study, meditation and the compo-
sition of those works which have made his
name immortal. By the int.rpositon of the
High Church Bishop of Lincoln, DR.. Barlow,
Bunyan was at length released from Jail. He
became an intinerant preacher, and finally a
gain became pastor in Bedford, taking
charge of the congregation in Mill Lane
This position he continued to occupy through
the remainder of his life. He died Of fever
in London, in 1888. Thus his life covered A
period of sixty years twenty-five on more of
these were passed in the obscurity of private
! life, some twenty-five or twenty-three as a
preacher, a twelve as a prisoner He served
his own age well as preacher, but his prison
walls rather than his church walk have prov
ed a blessing to the church at large.
WRITINGS.
| The events of Bunyan's life Would never
have made him famous ON the other hand
they obscured his fame. The common peo-
pie learned the beauties of his writings long
before the critics thought him worthy of
their attention. 1t was only the constant de-
mand for and the repeated editions of the
"Pilgrim's Progress" that attracted the no
tice of scholars, but when once his excellen-
cies were known he Immediately took rank as
one of the greatest writers IN the language,
The best of Bunyan's works is the Pilgrims
Progress. This, as before said, was composed
in Bedford Jail j; it was the fruit of Bible
study and religious experience, for the only
books in his possession Mt that time were the
Bible and g Fox's Book of Martyrs" It is
supposed that no Other book but the Bible has
passed through SO many editons--not only in
English but also in foreign languages. 1t is
an extended allegory, describing the course Of
the Christian through life under the disguise
of pilgrim journeying from the City of De-
struction, through the Wicket Gate, over tho
Hill Difficulty, through the Valleys Of Humil-
iation and the Shadow Of Death, Doubling
Castle, Vanity Fair, &C., to the Heavenly
City. 1t is universally acknowledged to be
the best specimen of this most difficult style
of composition extant in any language, and
Bunyan is we'll styled the Prince of Dream
ers." In his power Of description and the
purity of diction he has no superior But in
stead of expressing my own conviction of his
excellence, will borrow the eulogy of two
of England's most noted authors. The sweet
singing poet Coleridge shall first speak -
"This wonderful book is one of the few
books which may be read repeatedly, at diff
ferent times, and each time with a new and q
different pleasure. l read it once as a theo-
Logan, and let me assure you there is great
theological acumen in the work once, with
devotional feelings and once as a poet. l
would not have believed beforehand that Cal
vanism could be painted in such delightful
colors." 81
The prince of historians Macaulay, shall
next be placed in our witness box (" He bad
no suspicion that lie was producing a master
piece. lie could not guess wha place his al
legory wonld occupy in English literature,
for of English literature he knew nothing
The style is delightful to every reader, and
Invaluable as study to every person who
wishes to obtain quick command over the
English language. The vocabulary is the vo-
cabulary of the common people, There is not
an expression, IL we except a few technical
terms in theology, which would puzzle the
pages which do not contain single word OF
more than two syllabes. Yet no writer has
said more exactly what he meant to say
For magnifcence for pathos, for vehement
exhortation, subtle disquisition, for every pur-
pose of the poet, the orator, and the divine,
this homely dialect, the dialect Of plain work
ingmen, was perfectly sufficient. There ia
no book in our literature on which we could
so easily stake the fame of the old unpolluted
English language no book which shows so
well how rich that language is in its own prop
4 err wealth, and how little it has been improv-
ed by all that it has borrowed = Though
there were many clever men in England dur
ing the latter half Of the Seventeenth Cen
fury, there were only two groat creative
minds. One OF these minds produced the Par
adise Lost, the other, the Pilgrims Progress.
;M The other works that Bunyan wrote have
never attained the celebrity Of his MASTER
piece. There is another allegory, " The Holy
War" In1 Grace Astounding" he presents
100