MANSOUL MISSIONARY MEETING. 73 fear (at whose united and particular request, on the suggestion of the Lord-Secretary, the meeting had been called); and with them my lord Understanding, my lord Will-be-will, Mr. Knowledge, the new Recorder, Mr. Repentance, and his twin brother, Mr. Wet-eyes, Mr. Love-to-Christ, Mr. Love-to-souls, Mr. Spirit-of-prayer, Mr. Self-denial, Mr. Devise-liberalthings, Mr. Godly-jealousy; besides many more whom I cannot now name; for you must know that it was a very great meeting. The Lord-Secretary-whose presence had been earnestly desired and solicited, by those who first, under his counsel, moved for the meeting→ was also pleased, in his infinite mercy and condescension, to be present; making it sure that "the name of that place [should] be, the Lord is there.'"* Also, the Lord-Secretary was graciously pleased to take the direction of the meeting. And indeed for whom was it more suitable, inasmuch as it was held in his own residence, the castle of the famous town of Mansoul? He called upon Mr. Conscience to state the object of the meeting; which he did in a very pertinent and solemn manner, and with evident deep feeling. I should have told you before, when I was at the Castle, a few days previous to this solemn meeting, I had observed the Lord-Secretary speaking to Mr. Conscience in "a still small voice," but evidently saying to him something to him which went to his very soul. For I never saw Mr. Conscience appear to be so heavily burdened with something that made him feel, as was indicated in his countenance, while the Lord-Secretary was speaking to him with that " still small voice." Mr. Conscience, after having stated the object of the meeting-to wit, to consider the obligations of this * Ezekiel xlviii. 85. town of Mansoul, which had tasted the grace of the Prince Immanuel, to do what in it lies to promote the deliverance of other like corporations in the kingdom of Universe from the slavery of Diabolus, the terrible king of the black den;—I say he then proceeded to prepare the way, by first "plucking the beam out of his own eye," to speak to his associates of the corporation, of what he humbly conceived to be their faults in the matter. He made full, tender, and particular confession, that he himself had for some time been halfasleep over the subject of Christian Missions; aye, and some of the time wholly asleep; and that he had but seldom spoken to any of the townsfolk on the subject; and when he did, had done it, as he now saw, in a way so indolent and forceless, that he was ashamed to think of it. He moreover said, that he had had a great many sleepless nights, for some weeks past, in thinking of his own unfaithfulness; and that he knew, if the good Prince Immanuel were to send him a letter, beginning "Thou wicked and slothful servant," and turning him out of his office, it would be but what he most richly and solemnly deserved. And he honestly confessed, in the presence of the Lord-Secretary, and all the lords and townsmen of Mansoul assembled, that he could not forgive himself for his wicked inac tivity and dumbness on this great subject; so deeply involving the honour of the great King Shaddai and his Son Immanuel. Having thus "made a clean breast of it" with himself, Mr. Conscience proceeded to speak of what be had observed in most of the leading men of the corporation, for a long time; as matter of recollection now, but of strange and sleepy indifference in himself at the time, as he also now recollected and deeply bewailed. E MANSOUL MISSIONARY MEETING. 75 He took it upon him to say, first to my lord Understanding, that he had been so long and so much occupied with the study of new systems of philosophy, with speculations in philosophical theology, and with various other like matters, that he had entered with very little spirit, such as became him, into any plans relating to the great cause of Missions for the benefit of other corporations yet under the power of the terrible Diabolus. He told him also, that he read more in the newspapers and popular monthlies, and learned quarterlies and new books, than he did in the laws of their good King Shaddai and the Gospel of His Son Immanuel; and that as for his reading THE MISSIONARY HERALD, or the JUVENILE, he had so seldom seen such publications in his hands, that he doubted whether he could tell, one month, what news from their Lord's servants, the Missionaries, had been published in any of them, the next previous month. Many other things he laid to the charge of my lord Understanding, which I cannot now stop to mention; and in which Mr. Conscience showed his lordship, that he had been busying himself about a great many things "unprofitable and vain;" to the neglect of his duty to the cause of their good and great Prince Immanuel. I never saw my lord Understanding look more like a man in a nonplus than he did while Mr. Conscience stood thus speaking, and with his keen eye resting upon him,for you know he has a terribly sharp eye. "His countenance fell;" and I thought he must have wished his newspapers and new books, and his monthlies and quarterlies, all boxed up and sent to "Tadmor-in-thewilderness," or to the "Land of darkness," or some other like region, before they had so tempted him to neglect his duty. Mr. Conscience next turned and addressed himself to my lord Will-be-will, who, seeing how my lord Understanding had fared at the hands of Mr. Conscience, had begun to be anxious how things would go with himself. Mr. Conscience made him realize all his fears, and more too, of some tremendous rebukes. For he charged him boldly and solemnly, with such habits of inefficiency and irresolution, that sometimes it could hardly be determined whether he had any will at all, either for or against the great cause of the Prince Immanuel in the kingdom of Universe. He told him that such was the present influence of his indecision and indetermination in the town of Mansoul, that he kept the rest of the inhabitants in the same condition of mind with himself; and every man, according to his pleasure, did little or nothing at all, for the spread of Immanuel's Gospel. So thoroughly did Mr. Conscience do his work of rebuke upon my lord Will-bewill, that he also, like my lord Understanding, began to look very blank, and as though he felt the shame of having almost forfeited his name and his place in the corporation. Mr. Conscience, gaining power and solemnity of manner with every sentence he uttered, next addressed himself to Mr. Self-denial. Now this Mr. Self-denial, you must know, in former times, and in the days of the "first love" of the town of Mansoul to the good Prince Immanuel, had lived up to the meaning of his name, in a very exemplary manner; so that everyone took notice of him that he seemed to be much in intimacy with the Lord-Secretary, and also to receive frequent tokens of the love of Prince Immanuel; yea, so did he live up to his name and profession, that it seemed, "if it were possible, he would have plucked MANSOUL MISSIONARY MEETING. 77 out his own eyes and given them" to any good servant of his prince. But even this man had so sadly declined from his professions, that some of the townsfolk had begun to whisper it to one another, that they thought Mr. Self-denial ought to exchange his name for that of Mr. Walking-in-a-vain-show. Mr. Conscience told him to his face of several things he had been doing for a length of time past, which did very poorly become him and his name. As, for example, that he had been very often at the office of a certain Diabolonian, whose name was His-god-is-his-belly; and that he had been occasionally among an outlandish clique of men known as "riotous-eaters-of-flesh," and "they-drink-winein-bowls-and-anoint-themselves-with-the-chief-oint ments, - but - are - not-grieved-for-the-afflictions-of-Joseph." Mr. Conscience also charged Mr. Self-denial with having several times taken journeys to VanityFair; and taken along with him his wife and his sons and daughters; and that he and they brought home with them abundance of the wares of Vanity-Fair: among them a great many articles of " gay clothing," and rich, splendid, and costly furniture of all kinds, together with other things of great "bravery” in appearance; but which used up money to no good purpose, and filled their thoughts, and what was worse, did set on work the envious and vain thoughts of many others in Mansoul; so that Mr. Self-denial's family were become the medium for an inlet of Vanity-Fair influence, and love of festivity and amusements, into the good town of Mansoul, which was very much to be deplored. He told Mr. Self-denial that he had seen, for some time, that the influence of his inconsistent example had led quite a number of the other inhabi * See Phil. iii. 19; Prov. xxiii. 20; Amos vi. 6. |