thou talkest of ease in the grave; but hast thou forgotten the hell, for certain the murderers go?  “For no murderer hath eternal life,” &c.  And let us consider, again, that all the law is not in the hand of Giant Despair.  Others, so far as I can understand, have been taken by him, as well as we; and yet have escaped out of his hand.  Who knows, but the God that made the world may cause that Giant Despair may die? or that, at some time or other, he may forget to lock us in? or that he may, in a short time, have another of his fits before us, and may lose the use of his limbs? and if ever that should come to pass again, for my part, I am resolved to pluck up the heart of a man, and to try my utmost to get from under his hand.  I was a fool that I did not try to do it before; but, however, my brother, let us be patient, and endure a while.  The time may come that may give us a happy release; but let us not be our own murderers.  With these words Hopeful at present did moderate the mind of his brother; so they continued together (in the dark) that day, in their sad and doleful condition.

{287} Well, towards evening, the Giant goes down into the dungeon again, to see if his prisoners had taken his counsel; but when he came there he found them alive; and truly, alive was all; for now, what for want of bread and water, and by reason of the wounds they received when he beat them, they could do little but breathe.  But, I say, he found them alive; at which he fell into a grievous rage, and told them that, seeing they had disobeyed his counsel, it should be worse with them than if they had never been born.

{288} At this they trembled greatly, and I think that Christian fell into a swoon; but, coming a little to himself again, they renewed their discourse about the Giant’s counsel; and whether yet they had best to take it or no.  Now Christian again seemed to be for doing it, but Hopeful made his second reply as followeth:  —­

{289} Hope.  My brother, said he, rememberest thou not how valiant thou hast been heretofore?  Apollyon could not crush thee, nor could all that thou didst hear, or see, or feel, in the Valley of the Shadow of Death.  What hardship, terror, and amazement hast thou already gone through!  And art thou now nothing but fear!  Thou seest that I am in the dungeon with thee, a far weaker man by nature than thou art; also, this Giant has wounded me as well as thee, and hath also cut off the bread and water from my mouth; and with thee I mourn without the light.  But let us exercise a little more patience; remember how thou playedst the man at Vanity Fair, and wast neither afraid of the chain, nor cage, nor yet of bloody death.  Wherefore let us (at least to avoid the shame, that becomes not a Christian to be found in) bear up with patience as well as we can.

{290} Now, night being come again, and the Giant and his wife being in bed, she asked him concerning the prisoners, and if they had taken his counsel.  To which he replied, They are sturdy rogues, they choose rather to bear all hardship, than to make away themselves.  Then said she, Take them into the castle-yard to-morrow, and show them the bones and skulls of those that thou hast already despatched, and make them believe, ere a week comes to an end, thou also wilt tear them in pieces, as thou hast done their fellows before them.