{189} Faith.  Now did Faithful begin to wonder; and stepping to Christian, (for he walked all this while by himself), he said to him, (but softly), What a brave companion have we got!  Surely this man will make a very excellent pilgrim.

Chr.  At this Christian modestly smiled, and said, This man, with whom you are so taken, will beguile, with that tongue of his, twenty of them that know him not.

Faith.  Do you know him, then?

{190} Chr.  Know him!  Yes, better than he knows himself.

Faith.  Pray, what is he?

Chr.  His name is Talkative; he dwelleth in our town.  I wonder that you should be a stranger to him, only I consider that our town is large.

Faith.  Whose son is he?  And whereabout does he dwell?

Chr.  He is the son of one Say-well; he dwelt in Prating Row; and is known of all that are acquainted with him, by the name of Talkative in Prating Row; and notwithstanding his fine tongue, he is but a sorry fellow.

{191} Faith.  Well, he seems to be a very pretty man.

Chr.  That is, to them who have not thorough acquaintance with him; for he is best abroad; near home, he is ugly enough.  Your saying that he is a pretty man, brings to my mind what I have observed in the work of the painter, whose pictures show best at a distance, but, very near, more unpleasing.

{192} Faith.  But I am ready to think you do but jest, because you smiled.

Chr.  God forbid that I should jest (although I smiled) in this matter, or that I should accuse any falsely!  I will give you a further discovery of him.  This man is for any company, and for any talk; as he talketh now with you, so will he talk when he is on the ale-bench; and the more drink he hath in his crown, the more of these things he hath in his mouth; religion hath no place in his heart, or house, or conversation; all he hath lieth in his tongue, and his religion is, to make a noise therewith.

{193} Faith.  Say you so! then am I in this man greatly deceived.

Chr.  Deceived! you may be sure of it; remember the proverb, “They say and do not.” [Matt. 23:3] But the kingdom of God is not in word, but in Power. [1 Cor 4:20] He talketh of prayer, of repentance, of faith, and of the new birth; but he knows but only to talk of them.  I have been in his family, and have observed him both at home and abroad; and I know what I say of him is the truth.  His house is as empty of religion as the white of an egg is of savour.  There is there neither prayer nor sign of repentance for sin; yea, the brute in his kind serves God far better than he.  He is the very stain, reproach, and shame of religion, to all that know him; it can hardly have a good word in all that end of the town where he dwells, through him. [Rom. 2:24,25] Thus say the common people that know him,