Christiana Read online

Mrs. Bat's-eyes, Mrs. Inconsiderate, Mrs. Light-mind and Mrs. Know-nothing.

  Now Mrs. Know-nothing, seeing Mrs. Timorous to be in an exceptionally lemonish mood, asked airily, "Ah, dear Mrs. Timorous. What choice tidbit of sour news have you to add to our midweek bruncheon?"

  "Pah!" snorted Mrs. T, self-righteously. "Bad news such as you'll never believe!"

  "Try us, dearie," challenged Mrs. Bat's-eyes, peering haughtily through square trifocals thick as bottle bottoms.

  "Well, I didn't have anything special to do this morning . . ." she began, only to be interrupted by Mrs. Inconsiderate who quipped, "Do you ever? Tee-hee-hee!"

  "Same old 'interruptus maximus', ain't ya, Mabel!" snapped Mrs. T.

  "Well! I never!"

  "Now never you mind her, Darnel," said Mrs. Light-mind to Mrs. Inconsiderate. "Do go on with your story, dear Druscilla. Do go on."

  "Thank you. A hem! As I was a-sayin, I had a little bit of free time. So, thinks me to myself, 'I'll give Christiana a little visit.' Don't know why - just felt impressed to do it."

  "Did you now?" asked Mrs. Know-nothing. "Why, we were all just commenting that we all woke up with just the same impression. Isn't that a queer one!"

  "Hmmm, yes. A bit odd, isn't it? Well, anyway, when I came to the door, I knocked (as I sometimes do). And do you know what she answered?"

  "Come in?" ventured Mrs. Light-mind with a titter.

  "No! What she said was, 'If you come in God's name, come in'."

  "What!" exclaimed they all, as one voice. "Has Christiana got religion now?"

  "That's what I wondered. But I goes me on in, see, - thinking that even though it was a bit odd, still all might be well. But when I came in, I found her packing up to depart the town."

  "Christiana!" exclaimed Mrs. Bat's-eyes, with an upward arching of painted eyebrows.

  "Aye. Her and her four brats to boot! Yeah, you heard right. All four of the mutts! Ya should'a seen'm, though. What a sight! One had a scraped knee, another had a bloody nose, and a third had his shirt torn. Couldn't see the runt so who knows what might'a been wrong with him. But anyway, I asked her what was all this packing-up about? So she tells me that she's now of a mind to go on pilgrimage."

  "Pilgrimage!" her companions stammered, stuttered, and muttered.

  "Yes, pilgrimage! Then she off and tells me about some crazy dream and how the King of the Celestial City had sent her a letter inviting her to come join her husband."

  Then said Mrs. Know-nothing with an alarmed look, "Certainly you don't think she's serious, do you?"

  "Serious as the Plague, I'm afraid. I tried to scare her off from it all - but, alas, all I did was make her the more determined."

  Then said Mrs. Bat's-eyes with a wave of her ostrich feather fan, "Oh, the poor blind and foolish woman! Can't she take a warning from all her husband's afflictions? I just know that if he were here today he would never risk everything for nothing the way he did."

  "Oh, this is terrible! Simply terrible," moaned Mrs. Know-nothing.

  "Well, there is worse to hear, ladies, if yer up to it, for I fear that Mercy is inclined to jump ship with her!"

  "No! Why . . . d . . . do you mean our Mercy?" stammered Mrs. Light-mind. "That pretty young thing that goes about caring for the poor?"

  "Aye. The same."

  "Oh, me!" Light-mind continued. "Has dear, simple Mercy flipped her wig as well?"

  "So it seems, girlies. I told you I had bad news!"

  "Bad news, bah!" scoffed Mrs. Inconsiderate. "Away with such fantastical fools from the town - and good riddance, I say! I'm her near neighbor and you can't imagine the misery of living next to someone who screams all night, cries all day, and tells her neighbors to repent of their sins in betwixt? Let her go, I say, and let someone better come in her place. Things just haven't been the same around here since her husband first caught the dread disease."

  Then said Mrs. Light-mind, "Come, girls. Time to change the topic to something more interesting. Have I told you that I visited Madam Wanton's yesterday? No? Well, let me tell you! First of all, Mr. Lechery and his paramour, Mrs. Filth were there. My! Put those two together at Mrs. Wanton's place - along with Mrs. Love-the-flesh and three or four just like her - and you've got the makings of an exciting evening! Out-giggled the milk maids we did! We had music and dancing, drinks aplenty and we rose up to play until the dawn."

  CHAPTER V

  The Journey Begins

  "Meanwhile, dear John, Christiana, along with her four boys and Mercy, were got off on their way. As they traveled, Christiana said,

  "Ah, Mercy. What an unexpected pleasure to have you attend me a short ways on my journey."

  "If the truth be known," said the maid, "I should like to go more than but a little way."

  "What! Might you join me on pilgrimage?"

  Christiana: "What! Might you join me on pilgrimage?"

  "If I thought there was but one chance in ten thousand of reaching the Golden City, I'd go in a heartbeat. And that with never so much as one look back."

  "Slightest hope! My dear Mercy! There is all the hope in the world! And even if it were nothing but a fool's dream, why what a wonderful hope to die in! But it is more than just a hope. 'Tis real as the creation of the world. And I tell you true, Mercy, my husband would not trade his reward for all the gold in the Spanish mines!"

  "But he was invited; and now so are you!"

  "No matter. You can do as my boys and come along on the strength of my invitation."

  "But might I not be turned away?"

  "Turned away! Dear Mercy! Do you think the King would send His dear Son to redeem us, only to turn us back at the gate? Nay, put away such an evil thought for ' . . . it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom'. Furthermore, '. . . He has a use for us and is well pleased when we make the very highest demands upon Him that we may glorify His name'. You shall not be turned back; but rather welcomed with sound of trumpet and ringing of bells! Mark my word, lass!"

  "Oh, I do want to believe! With all my heart I want to! It's just that, well, that I don't know the rules of pilgrimage very well."

  "Well then, why don't you start out as my hired servant. We will go on together as sisters with all things in common. Only determine now to invest in thy soul and go along with me."

  "Oh, it all sounds so hopeful. If only I, as you, had something official. Then would I brave hell or high water to get me there."

  "Well then do this, dear Mercy. Stay by till we get to the wicket gate. There I shall inquire for you and let you hear an official answer of encouragement. And if you don't, I will pay you for your time and let you return."

  "All right. I shall give it the try. A kingdom so glorious as you describe is certainly worth that much."

  The Pilgrim's set out on their way

  "Aye. And you shall never regret your decision, dear Mercy. Why, even if it were only an empty dream, would it not be better to live a life of eager cheer than one of hopeless despair?"

  Then was Christiana filled with joy, not only because she now had a pleasant companion, but also because she had persuaded this poor maid to fall in love with her own salvation. So the two of them passed over the wide, wide field lost in silent thought.

  Now the boys, as boys are apt to do, turned one mile into three with their constant digressions to catch a lizard here, smell a flower there, or to add another shiny rock to an already bulging pocket.

  Then Christiana thought as if she heard someone quietly weeping. Turning, she saw Mercy with a kerchief to her eye, and asked, "Why is my sister weeping so?"

  "Alas," said Mercy between sniffles. "Who can help but grieve when one considers the lost condition of friends and loved ones who remain behind in the cities round about Destruction? I especially think of my dear friend Marianna, the duchess of the town of Stupidity. Oh, what with her drunken husband and all her deceitful riches, what chance has she got? Especially since there is no honest pastor or teacher in Stupidity to show her what is to come."


  "Ah, Mercy," sympathized Christiana. "Your tears of compassion show you to be a true pilgrim. You shed tears for your loved ones just as my husband did for me."

  "But are such tears of any use?"

  "Oh aye! At least my husband's certainly were. See how I, and these, my sweet babes, are even now reaping the fruit and blessing of them! And I trust that our Lord shall also gather up your tears and put them into His bottle."

  "Oh, what a glorious hope!"

  "I trust, dear Mercy, that these tears of yours will not be shed in vain. Yea, The Truth Himself has said that '. . . they that sow in tears shall reap in joy, in singing.' And that '. . . he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him'."

  Then said Mercy,

  "Let the Most Blessed be my guide,

  If it be His blessed will,

  Unto His gate, into His fold,

  Up to His holy hill.

  And let Him never suffer me

  To swerve or turn aside

  From His free grace and holy ways,

  What e'er shall me betide.

  And let Him gather them of mine

  That I have left behind.

  Lord, make them pray they may be Thine,

  With all their heart and mind."

  CHAPTER VI

  The Slough of Despond

  Now it was not long before Christiana and her band of little soldiers came to the edge of the Slough of Despond. Here was she put to a halt. "Oh, no!" said she, with a groan.

  "What's wrong? What place is this?" inquired Mercy.

  "This be the Slough of Despond, I fear."

  "Is this where Pliable went for his mucky swim, Mama?" asked James.

  "Yes, child. 'Twas in this very place that your dear father was nearly smothered with mud."

  "Sure is a gooky place all right! How did Papa ever get over?"

  "I know not, my son. I know not. Oh, me!"

  "I have heard tell of this miry place," said Mercy. "Is there no way around?"

  "Nay," said Christiana with a discouraged sigh. "None."

  "Have I not heard that the King has commanded that a walkway be built across this slough?" asked Mercy.

  "Aye, so I understand. But so many builders who pretend to be shepherds of the flock bring to their labors sticks and stubble, dirt and dung, rather than solid stones. It looks to me like their false labors have made this place worse, rather than better. Oh, what to do? What to do?"

  James: "We don't gotta go back, do we Mama?" questioned James, uneasily.

  "Oh, I don't know what to do, my son," answered the worried mother. "Oh, me!"

  "Boy, I sure hope not! All my friends will mock me for being like 'ole Pliable."

  "Christiana?" queried Mercy. "Has not the Lord invited you?"

  "Aye."

  "Well," she continued, "if your Master is so good and kind as you have made Him out to be, then all His biddings must be enablings. Therefore, He must have made a way of escape from this mucky place."

  "Well, it would certainly seem so," answered Christiana, showing herself to be a teachable teacher.

  Mercy: Then let us venture forth.

  "Then let us venture forth," urged Mercy. "This may be like the flooding Jordan which will not open for us till we step into the waters."

  "You are right, Mercy," said Christiana, with renewed faith. "Surely God has sent you to be my teacher."

  "Did the Lord's messenger give you any special directions about such places?"

  "No, not that I can remember," said she unsurely - and yet vaguely aware of a submerged memory struggling to work its way to the surface of her mind. Suddenly it burst into the sunlight of conscious thought and Christiana exclaimed, "Wait! I know! He said that I must always keep my eye on the light and that I must not take any detours."

  "Well," said Mercy, "that seems easy enough. Shall we venture forward?"

  "Aye, let's," agreed Matthew. "If God said it, we can do it! I think we can see the light best from over here."

  "You're right, Matthew," agreed Christiana, upon reaching his side. "Come over here, everyone. Hand me the "staff of faith", Matthew. I shall use it to feel for the steps."

  So Christiana reached into the muck with her staff and lo! Sure enough, just below the surface was a stepping stone, sure and substantial. So, keeping their eyes on the light they went forward with the utmost caution; Christiana using the staff of faith to feel ahead for the next step and all her little band following carefully behind. "Matthew," Christiana called back, "hold little James' hand and guide his feet onto the stepping stones."

  "Yes, Mother," answered he with a willing heart. "Here, Jamie. You just put your feet right where I put mine. The steps are hidden just a squidge under the oozey muck."

  "My! "exclaimed Christiana, looking off to one side. "Look at the size of those leeches and water snakes!"

  "Don't take your eyes off of the Light, Christiana," cautioned Mercy. "If you do . . ."

  But her warning was a prime example of too little - too late, for Christiana had slipped one foot part way off the steps and was flailing her arms in a desperate attempt to overcome the laws of physics. "Help!" she cried as she teetered helplessly on the brink of disaster. Now while the rest of the band watched helplessly, Samuel, who was right behind her, leaped to her side shouting, "I've got you, Mother!" He deftly caught her by the arm and pulled with all his might. But by then she was dangerously over-tipped. While Samuel could arrest her fall, he could not pull her back to safety. So it was that there were now two pilgrims hanging in the balance. Then, just when it seemed that both must tumble into the miry muck Matthew caught hold of Samuel's coattail and managed to pull them both back onto the solid steps.

  "Whew! Thanks bunches, Mattie," said Samuel, as he and Matthew steadied their mother.

  "There you go, Mother," added Matthew.

  "Ah, thank you, my sons."

  "Boy, O boy, Mammy! You 'bout took a mucky swim with the muskrats," quipped James.

  "I know," she confessed. "'Twas because I took my eyes off of the Light. Learn by my mistake, everyone! That Light is truly a lamp unto our feet. And now, forward!"

  "Mother, wait!" wailed little Joseph from the rear. "I was watching your rescue and now I've got me behind and cannot see the next step!"

  "Oh, dear," groaned his mother.

  "Just follow in our footsteps," suggested Matthew.

  "I can't, Mattie," he cried. "While I wasn't looking, the muck swallowed them up. It all looks the same."

  "Oh, me! It's all my fault," moaned Christiana. "Now what to do?"

  "Joseph!" called Mercy.

  "Y . . . yes?" answered he with quivering lip.

  "Can you see the Light?"

  "Uh . . . yeah. Sort a."

  "Carefully move to where you see the Light best."

  "All right." So the lad edged cautiously to the left until he felt the drop-off with his toe. "Whoa!" said he. "Better go to the right." So he moved ever so carefully towards the right. And as he did, the Light grew brighter. He continued edging right until his toe detected another drop-off. "Oh, oh! Too far right. Can't see the Light as good either." So the lad moved back to the middle and declared, "I can see the Light best from here."

  "Keep your eye fast upon it," commanded Mercy.

  "All right."

  "Now step ahead."

  "But I can't see the next step! Which way?"

  "The next step will always be towards the Light."

  "But how do I know where to put my feet?"

  "The Lord shall direct your feet. You just step towards the Light."

  For a brief moment Joseph gazed fearfully upon what, to his youthful eyes, appeared to be a vast expanse of clingy, viscous goop eager to swallow him up. He saw yellow bullfrog eyes staring with hungry greed. He noticed that large water snakes had stopped their weaving meanderings to watch him with green, snakish eyes. "My," thought he, "if there be so many uglies as
these on the top, what toothy monsters might not lie just beneath the surface?" So was it any wonder that the lad blanched a bit, hesitated, and began to tremble?

  "No, Joseph!" commanded Mercy. "Don't look down! Look at the Light!"

  So the lad obeyed and looked full face into the Light. As he peered into it, why, it almost seemed that he could feel his angel nudging his foot toward the next step. So, eyes full on the Light, he committed his young soul to the Lord and bravely took that first long, irreversible step. "Ah!" he cried in triumphant relief as his foot lighted on a solid stepping stone waiting less than a quarter of an inch below the mire.