there met him two men, children of
them that brought up an evil report of the good land [Num. 13],
making haste to go back; to whom Christian spake as follows:--

{157} CHR. Whither are you going?

MEN. They said, Back! back! and we would have you to do so too,
if either life or peace is prized by you.

CHR. Why, what's the matter? said Christian.

MEN. Matter! said they; we were going that way as you are going,
and went as far as we durst; and indeed we were almost past coming
back; for had we gone a little further, we had not been here to
bring the news to thee.

CHR. But what have you met with? said Christian.

MEN. Why, we were almost in the Valley of the Shadow of Death; but
that, by good hap, we looked before us, and saw the danger before
we came to it. [Ps. 44:19; 107:10]

CHR. But what have you seen? said Christian.

{158} MEN. Seen! Why, the Valley itself, which is as dark as pitch;
we also saw there the hobgoblins, satyrs, and dragons of the pit;
we heard also in that Valley a continual howling and yelling, as of
a people under unutterable misery, who there sat bound in affliction
and irons; and over that Valley hangs the discouraging clouds of
confusion. Death also doth always spread his wings over it. In
a word, it is every whit dreadful, being utterly without order.
[Job 3:5; 10:22]

CHR. Then, said Christian, I perceive not yet, by what you have
said, but that this is my way to the desired haven. [Jer. 2:6]

MEN. Be it thy way; we will not choose it for ours. So, they parted,
and Christian went on his way, but still with his sword drawn in
his hand, for fear lest he should be assaulted.

{159} I saw then in my dream, so far as this valley reached, there
was on the right hand a very deep ditch; that ditch is it into
which the blind have led the blind in all ages, and have both there
miserably perished. [Ps. 69:14,15] Again, behold, on the left
hand, there was a very dangerous quag, into which, if even a good
man falls, he can find no bottom for his foot to stand on. Into
that quag King David once did fall, and had no doubt therein been
smothered, had not HE that is able plucked him out.

{160} The pathway was here also exceeding narrow, and therefore
good Christian was the more put to it; for when he sought, in the
dark, to shun the ditch on the one hand, he was ready to tip over
into the mire on the other; also when he sought to escape the mire,
without great carefulness he w