led simply
"Grace Abounding," is a record of his own religious
experiences. (Bunyan, biography: see FICTION.)

_I.--To the Chief of Sinners_

In this relation of the merciful working of God upon my soul I do in the
first place give you a hint of my pedigree and manner of bringing up. My
descent was, as is well-known to many, of a low and inconsiderable
generation, my father's house being of that rank that is meanest and
most despised of all the families in the land. Though my parents put me
to school, to my shame I confess I did soon lose that little I learnt.
As for my own natural life, for the time that I was without God in the
world, it was indeed according to the course of this world, and the
spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience, for from a child I
had but few equals for cursing, lying, and blaspheming. In these days
the thoughts of religion were very grievous to me. I could neither
endure it myself, nor that any other should. But God did not utterly
leave me, but followed me with judgements, yet such as were mixed with
mercy.

Once I fell into a creek of the sea and hardly escaped drowning; and
another time I fell out of a boat into Bedford river, but mercy yet
preserved me alive. When I was a soldier, I and others were drawn to
such a place to besiege it; but when I was ready to go, one of the
company desired to go in my place, to which I consented. Coming to the
siege, as he stood sentinel, he was shot in the head with a musket
bullet, and died. Here were judgement and mercy, but neither of them did
awaken my soul to righteousness.

Presently, after this I changed my condition into a married state, and
my mercy was to light upon a wife whose father was counted godly. Though
we came together so poor that we had not so much household stuff as a
dish or a spoon betwixt us both, yet she had two books which her father
left her when he died: "The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven," and "The
Practice of Piety." In these I sometimes read with her, and in them
found some things that were pleasing to me, but met with no conviction.
Yet through these books I fell in very eagerly with the religion of the
times, to wit, to go to church twice a day, though yet retaining my
wicked life. But one day, as I was standing at a neighbour's
shop-window, cursing after my wonted manner, the woman of the house
protested that she was made to tremble to hear me, and told me I by thus
doing was able to spoil al