Christiana

by Jim Pappas

Great-heart glanced at Christiana and her boys and saw them powerfully moved at such good mention of their father. But they kept still and listened to see what more they might hear.

  "As Tell-true sang," continued Valiant, "he could see that my heart was stirred within me, and he accepted an invitation to come lodge at my castle. While there, he told me the story of the pearl of great price and invited me to buy of him without money and without price."

  "And did you?"

  "Did I! Why, I bought everything he had to sell. I had tried every pleasure and enterprise that flesh or money could buy and found it all vanity. I had him play his song over for my wife and parents, but, alas, they did not hear what I heard."

  "What!"

  "'Tis true. As he sang of Christian's great love and how he forsook all to follow his Lord, I found tears welling up in my eyes. I secretly vowed that I would be as true as he. When he sang of the battle with Apollyon, I prayed that I could someday be so brave. He sang of his triumphal entry into the Celestial City with thousand thousands of angels to welcome him. He sang of how the Lord of the Hill Himself had put a crown upon his brow and served him . . . O, how I wished that I could be so blessed as he. But alas, I was the only one with ears to hear. When I stood to announce that my heart had been lit all aflame with a desire to follow in Christian's steps, my wife, children, and parents rose to withstand me. I was forced then and there to choose between the praises of man and the approval of God."

  "And so here you are!" said Christiana reverently. "Ah, God bless thee, Mr. Valiant-for-truth, for you are a man of an honest heart."

  "Thank you, Ma'am."

  "Was it not difficult to leave your family behind, dear Mr. Valiant?" asked Mercy tenderly.

  "Oh, yes, Ma’am," said he with a tear trickling down his cheek. "But I had no choice. If I had valued family over the Lord who gave me family, I should have become an idolater. Moreover, I would have set my children a cowardly example. As it is, I have put leather to the road and thus shown that I believe in verity."

  "Ah," said she. "Thou has set them a good example."

  "Thank you. I trust that God shall hear my prayers for them. And I hope too that God will hear the prayers of Christian for his wife and boys as well. But alas, I shall not know if she has mended her thinking till I reach the Kingdom."

  Then said Great-heart with an ill-disguised grin, "Would you like to know before that?"

  "How could I, Great-heart?"

  "By meeting the dear woman who dressed your wounds just now. Christiana, let me introduce you to my friend, Mr. Valiant-for-truth."

  "Christiana?" puzzled Valiant as that name flitted about his mind like a butterfly seeking rest upon a flower of memory. "Christiana?"

  "Christiana, dear. Come tell this man how the Lord has answered your dear husband's prayers."

  "Husband's prayers? Christiana? Who . . . " Suddenly the wandering name found its proper niche in the halls of memory. Thereupon Valiant-for-truth exclaimed with a start, "Why, was not Christian's wife named . . . Christiana?"

  "Aye," said she with a smile.

  "But surely you cannot be . . . Are you? Are you Christian's wife?"

  "Aye. He is my husband."

  "And you have come on pilgrimage! Oh! Oh, blessed day! Dear woman, you cannot know! God has laid you upon my heart since the day I first heard tell of you. Oh, blessed are my eyes to behold this day! And where are your young sons? Did they not come with you?"

  "Aye."

  "But where . . . ?"

  "They are not so young anymore, Mr. Valiant. They are grown and have little ones of their own."

  "Ah. But are they pilgrims? Are they pilgrims?"

  "Look for yourself. Boys!"

  At this, four young warriors stepped forward into rank.

  "The one nearest you is Matthew, my eldest."

  "Pleased to meet you, sir."

  "And here are Samuel, Joseph, and James, his brothers. Behind them are their dear wives Mercy, Phoebe, Grace and Martha."

  "And these little ones?"

  "Christian's grandchildren. And, as you can see, Mercy here is nigh on to bearing another any day now. Travel on with us and thou shalt dandle him upon thy knee soon."

  "Oh, Christiana! Christiana! Oh, it is too much for an old heart. Oh, happy, happy day! And what a joyous day it shall be when your husband shall see you enter in through the gates! You who at the first berated and discouraged him!"

  "Aye. 'Twill be a happy day indeed," said Great-heart, "for second only to the joy of being with Jesus is the joy of seeing our loved ones enjoying their walk with the hero of Calvary."

  "Aye," agreed Valiant-for-truth. "Oh, I hope I can be there to see the joy on his face when you enter in. Oh, I do hope so."

  CHAPTER XXVIII

  The Enchanted Ground

  By this time, the pilgrims had come upon that stretch of the way known as the Enchanted Ground. Here the air was hung thick with a mysterious perfume that tended to make one drowsy. The onward path was all overgrown with briars and thorns while the byways and detours had grassy green paths that led smoothly on to pleasant gazebos and arbors. In one of these, named "The Slothful's Friend," were tables set with refreshments, and couches strewn with silken pillows. It would have been an overwhelming temptation to pause for a time, except for the stern warnings of the shepherds. Also Great-heart told them that if ever man or maid were to fall asleep in one of these places, he would nevermore rise in this life.

  Therefore were the pilgrims on guard and ignored the temptations to ease. Mr. Great-heart went on before and slashed a path through the briars and brambles. Mr. Valiant-for-truth stood with his sword at the ready and took up the rear-guard. This was to stop any modern-day Amalekites who might try to smite the elderly and feeble.

  In the thickets of the Enchanted forest

  "What a strange and enchanted place this is," said Christiana, trying hard to stifle a yawn. "The air here makes one feel so drowsy and desirous of rest."

  "Aye, just as I warned you," said Great-heart. "This is the most dangerous part of our journey. Watch and pray, all of you, for truly the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

  "We shall," promised Christiana.

  "Great-heart?" questioned Matthew.

  "Yes?"

  "What is all this litter lying along the pathway?"

  "That you will know all too soon, Matthew."

  "Yes, sir."

  Now to make the time pass more easily, Great-heart began to ask Valiant-for-truth questions about how he came to be a pilgrim. "Valiant?"

  "Sir?" came answer from the rear of the van.

  "Tell us more about your first setting out, if you will. Were your father and mother willing that you should become a pilgrim?"

  "Oh, my, no! They tried all in their power to keep me at home."

  "Like what?"

  "Well, first they claimed that the pilgrim's life was one of idleness. That I was attracted to it because I wanted to become a lazy monk."

  Valiant-for-truth's parents try to keep him from his pilgrimage

  "And how did you answer?"

  "Well, I had to confess that I was indeed a shiftless fellow. But as to the pilgrim way being conducive to such a life; that I had to deny for I had heard just the opposite. As I understood it, the pilgrim life, above all others, required that one take up his cross and deny himself."

  "And what did they say to that?"

  "Then they appealed to my fears, telling me that the path of the pilgrim was a dangerous way - yea, the most dangerous in all the world!"

  "Interesting," said Great-heart. "And did they list off any of the dangers for you?"

  "Oh, aye. And in some great detail too. They told me of the Slough of Despond where Christian was nigh on to be drowned; about the archers in Beelzebub's castle who were ready to pierce any that should dare knock at the wicket gate; of the dark woods and steep crags of the Hill Difficulty; of the lions, and of the giants Bloody-man, Maul, and Slay-good. They spoke also of a f
oul fiend who haunted the Valley of Humiliation and who had nearly pressed Christian down to his death. 'Besides all that,' said they, 'you must pass through the Valley of The Shadow of Death, where the hobgobblins flit about your ears as thick as bats out of hell; where the light is swallowed up by darkness; where the way is full of snares, traps, pits, and gins'."

  "My! They were certainly thorough in their research, weren't they?"

  "Oh, aye. You can believe they were. They told me also of Giant Despair and his Doubting Castle which would be the ruination of any and all pilgrims. 'Furthermore,' said they, 'you must pass over the Enchanted Ground, which is dangerous to all and fatal to most.'"

  "Well, we are in it now," commented Great-heart. "Do you find their words to be true?"

  "Indeed I do! And right glad I am to have this good company. For certainly the resting places are very attractive."

  "Did your family speak to you of any other difficulties?"

  "Yes. They said that at the end of my journey I would find myself stopped by a rushing river that has no bridge."

  "And was this all?"

  "Oh, no. They also told me that the strait and narrow path would be filled with liars, deceivers, cheats, whores and whatnot - all of them doing their best to turn good men out of the right way."

  "Like whom?"

  "Oh, like Mr. Worldly-wiseman, Formality, Hypocrisy, By-ends, Demas and the Flatterer. Also Madam Wanton's daughter and some powerful witch named Bubble. Also Ignorance, who would lead me to the very gates of paradise only to be be bound and thrown into some fiery hole in the side of a hill."

  "Well, they certainly didn't miss much, did they! If you were of a mind to be discouraged, that would have done it! So was that the end?"

  "Surely you jest," said Valiant.

  "There is more? Tell us what?"

  "Oh, they spoke in some detail about Obstinate, Pliable, Mistrust, Timorous, Turn-away, old Atheist and several others who had explored the way as far as they durst and had found it altogether unprofitable. Every one of them had proclaimed himself a fool for ever having set foot in that dangerous way! 'Learn from their experience and be wise!' said my parents and wife."

  "My, Mr. Valiant," said Christiana. "You have certainly come on this journey against great odds, haven't you!"

  "Oh, not so great as all that, Ma'am," answered he. "I only met one obstacle at a time and the Lord of the hill gave me grace sufficient for the need. I'll wager that you met with some of the same objections yourself."

  "Oh, aye. A neighbor named Mrs. Timorous opposed me with nearly the same list. But that only made me flee to my Lord for help. Indeed, I have heard that 'nothing is apparently more helpless, and yet really more invincible than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies wholly upon Jesus'. So the listing of the dangers only made me more determined to go forth in the strength of the Lord. Did it do the same for you?"

  "Indeed. I reasoned that if they were right, then there was no hope for me. 'But,' thought I, 'what if Mr. Tell-true has spoken truth? Then I can hope for the help of angels in this life and the company of God in the next. So what kind of choice is that? I will choose the path of hope and see where it leads me. And if I prove to be in error, I will not be any more dead than if I stay here'. And so, here I am."

  "Then this was your victory that overcame the world - even your faith," said Great-heart.

  "Indeed. I set my heart to seek for proofs of God's existence and lo, I found that He has made the way abundantly clear to any who seek Him with all their heart."

  "Bravo!" exclaimed Matthew. "What an inspiring story!"

  "Hear! Hear!" said his brothers.

  "Let me speak of my experience in a verse," said Valiant. And thus he began:

  "Who would true valor see,

  Let him come hither:

  One here will constant be,

  Come wind, come weather.

  There's no discouragement

  Shall make him once relent

  His first avowed intent

  To be a pilgrim.

  Who so beset him round

  With dismal stories,

  Do but themselves confound -

  His strength the more is.

  No lion can him fright:

  He'll with a giant fight;

  But he will have a right

  To be a pilgrim.

  Hobgobblin nor foul fiend

  Can daunt his spirit:

  He knows he at the end

  Shall life inherit.

  Then, fancies, fly away!

  He'll not fear what men say;

  He'll labor night and day

  To be a pilgrim."

  "Yay! Bravo! Hurrah!" agreed many of the party. Yea, even some of the little ones raised their piping voices in praise.

  Now by this time, a great mist and darkness had fallen upon them all. So thick was it that they could scarce see one another. So for a time, they were forced to find each other by sound and learned what it meant to travel by faith and not by sight. Now you need not strain your brain very hard to imagine how difficult the going was in this dangerous place. There was grunting, and puffing, and sighing from each and every. It was sorry going for the warriors, but oh, how much worse for the women, weak ones, and children!

  "Ah, Christiana!" called Mercy. "Will this gray soup never end?"

  "Aye."

  "But when?"

  "Well, as the Interpreter was fond of saying, 'sooner than you think, and later than you wish'."

  "Oh, that is true enough; for I feel like we will be here forever and I wish we were out now!"

  "As do we all, my daughter."

  "Grandma?" asked little Ellen. "Is there no inn for pilgrims, nor even a resting place here?"

  "Nay, child, none. But rest assured that even this shall pass. Here, come take my hand."

  So they all went on sighing, and grunting and puffing. Mr. Despondency tumbled over many a root. Mr. Ready-to-halt often found his crutches sticking fast in the mud. And Mr. Feeble-mind would cry out time and again, "I am down and shall never more rise!" - whereupon Mr. Great-heart would pluck him up and set him on his feet. Some of the children lost their shoes in the mire while others cried out, "Mama! The bushes have got hold of me and I cannot escape!"

  A bit later, Mr. Feeble-mind once again took a tumble into the mire and called out weakly, "Ah! Help me! I am fallen in the muck and cannot get out!" Hearing this cry of distress, Great-heart turned him back and came once more to the rescue. "Ah," cried the despairing one. "To have come so far only to die such a miserable death. Better to have been eaten by the giant."

  "Nobody is going to die here," encouraged Great-heart. "Here, give me your hand."

  "But I have fallen so many times," said the weak one pitifully. "Shall I not rise only to fall again?"

  "So what if you do?" replied the guide tenderly. "If you rise up one time more than you fall, are you not up? Come on now. Up you go."

  And with that, amid the smoochy, smirchy sounds of mucky mire reluctantly releasing its victim, Great-heart pulled Mr. Feeble-mind out of the muck.

  "There you are, Mr. Feeble-mind. Out!"

  "Ah! Yes, out! Thank you, good sir. But pray tell, dear warrior, how shall I stay out? The mist is nearly as thick as the muck. How shall I know my way?"

  "Tell you what, friend," offered Great-heart. "You lay hold on my coat-tail and follow on tight. No more stumbles for you."

  "Oh! Oh, no!" protested he. "I am like to be smitten by your swinging sword."

  "I shall be cautious."

  "Nay, for in one moment of carelessness you may forget that I am here and take off my head!"

  "Can a mother forget her nursing child? Nay! And no sooner shall I forget thee. Come along now. Lay hold."

  "Ohhhh . . . " mumbled he, standing there wringing his hands in indecision.

  "Lay hold, Feeble-mind!" commanded Great-heart sternly. "Or do I have to put you before me and help you from behind?"

  "Oh, me. Oh, my."

&nbs
p; "Grab hold, Feeble," urged Ready-to-halt. "You can do it!"

  "Oh, me. Oh my," he continued even as Great-heart took his hands and fastened them onto his coat.

  "There!" said the guide. "Simply hang on. Where I end up, you shall be also. Forward!"

  So they continued on through bumbles and stumbles till at last they came to a place where the path (such as it was) split into several branches. Now because of the confusing mists and thick darkness, Mr. Great-heart was put to a stand. "Hmmm," said he. "Which way to go?"