The farmer and mechanic., 1907-03-19

Dr. T. B kingsDury.
Christ AT seventeen ne went into The
army and served for a year He men
tons how he was to go with his COM
mand 10 hesiege a place. one OF the
company asked To go in his place, and
he went and was killed. 4 eighteen
ne left the army after doing some
fighting and soon married 4 very poor
young woman fortunately Of a true re-
ligious character, Who brought with
her Il very small library consisting oI
two genuinely religious books tnat had
belonged To her father. They We're
The Plain Mans Way 10 Heaven
and The Practice of Piety.' The titles
indicate their value 1t would be well
To print them now. Through his young
Wite's influence and reading these
books Bunyan was awakened to a
genuine desire and purpose TO aban-
don sinful ways, seek his Heavenly
Father and become Il faithful Chris
tan. In his Grace Astounding he
tells OF his sorrows, striVings and sad
experiences. He read the Bible and
abandoned his evil WAYS including
games, dancing and profanity. He tells
US Of a most marvellous Wis
iration he had and how it
Influenced his future life, but
ne had many very dark days after
that Finally, he made q profession of
at Bedford. In 1866 he was appointed
to preach and soon became earnest,
Jealous, useful, very popular and
blest. In 1860. he was put in prison
1 by the tYrant then on the throne Of
Great Britain. He remained in the
Bedford jail for twelve years. He was
prosecuted, threatened with banish-
ii ment, but he remained Steadfast and
declared that he would not cease TO
preach, SAYING If / am out Of prison
today, | viii preach the gospel again
tomorrow by the help Of God. /" He
learned while in jail to make laces.
in order to help to provide for his
family His wife and children were
allowed to visit him. One little daugh-
ter was blind. He wrote most touch
ingly of his oV sutferings and sor-
rows and his anxiety and sadness over
his family and his separation from
them through 50 many years OF the
dear little blind one he wrote: Poor
child, what sorrow art thou like to
have for thy portion in this world.
Thou must be beaten, suffer from
hunger, cold nakedness. and q thou
sand calamities, though | cannot now
endure the wind should blow. on thee.
Before Bunyan's Imprisonment he
had begun to write, and several tracts
upon theology We're the outcome. He
wrote "Grace AbOunding,' which was
first printed in 1866 when he was
-
wrote a great deal for he was u prolific
writer after he had cultivated the gift
He wrote, we are told, against close
communion in his own sect, and
against various errors in other sects. :
Much thought and practice With the
pen followed when the great subject
cf the "Pilgrim's Progress came &c
HIm. His brain teemed with reflec-
tons and conceptions, and profound
thoughts began to stimulate and crowo
upon him while still within the un-
friendly walls of the oppressOrs vile
: prison. His genius was aroused, his
imagination began to flower, and the
first part of the marvellous story OF
salvation was written His friends, Oh
scme of them, advised against print
: ing it, but he wished to do good, SC
: he resolved to print it. Only one copy
of the edition is known to exist, bu
=. 1888 it had reached its ninth edi-
| tiCn, and today IS read all around the
: world, and more copies are multiplied
[ yearly than of any other work in al
the world the blessed Bible of Coo
: alone excepted. 1t has been translated
; into many languages and the ablest
/ most scholarly and rarely endowed o1
| men read it. enjoy 1t, praise it. I1
: 1672. he was at last restored to hi:
. liberty. He was forty-four years O1
l age then. and became installed as pas
tor of the Bedford Baptist church
! He had great authority among
2 the Baptists and went annu-
ally 10 London to preach il
various Baptist churches He was
: offered places Of Importance but hl
J stood by his old home church at Bed
I ford. and was active With tongue anC
: pen in doing good and honoring. God
Ii was in 1854, when he completed
and published the second part of The
: Pilgrims Progress. Tt is inferior t.
the first part. He published alsC
o IGly
, Macaulay thinks most highly. saving
l after The Pilgrims Progress it i.
the first of allegories. He wrote
+, also The Life of Mr.. Badman," {
: tale or dialogue between Mr.. Wisemar
! and Mr.. Attentive 1t has the reputa-
I tion of being a work of interest ant
real ability Bunyan lost his life by az
t act Of charity. He went to Reading or
horseback in 1858. to reconcile q faith
:, er TO his son. whom he had disinheIit-
ed. He was successful in his efforts
| but he was made sick from exposure
5 and died in London of fever ten days
, later. His last words We're: Take me
for ! come to Thee He was buried a
| BaGhill Fields. near London. where
T ether famous men have been laid ir
their graves SO far as the perishine
bodies were concerned
. Bunyan's liberation from prison was
$ accomplished by the generous inter
ference of the Bishop of Lincoln, Bar
low by name. 1t was in the reign OF
I the Roman Catholic James II. who
issued his proclamation allowing the
!. Dlssenters TO enjoy liberty of consci-
5 ence and of worship once more.
4 There is no mistaking the concen-
. Sus OF opinion among critics of distin
: ton as to the great merits of the frs
e part of Pilgrims Progress. Professor
GOsse. of Cambridge University. En-
glands says that the style of it sis the
+ very perfection of what the style OF
5 such book should be-home1y ano
:. vet distinguished, exquisitely simple
I yet tuned to music at all it's fine1
d moments. The allegory is successful
e above all other allegories in litera
S ture. Andrew Lang, the learned
: able. accomplished Scotch critic, think.
: most highly of Bunyan. and says h,
|. will be vet unusually popular-tha
S ''he will be among the class whom h,