bereft of their
wits, and therefore rendered incapable of foreseeing the tremendous
consequences of their unjust and ill-judged measures."

Much gratified at the interest the little folks had taken in such dry
matters, and seeing that they had no more questions to put to him, and
that some of the smaller ones were already nodding in their chairs,
Uncle Juvinell, by way of winding up the evening's entertainment,
concluded thus:--

"Some of you, my dear children, have read how good Christian, in his
pilgrimage to the Celestial City, went on sometimes sighingly,
sometimes comfortably, until he came to the foot of a hill called
Difficulty, where he found three roads to choose between. The one to
the right went around the bottom of the hill, and led into a
wilderness of dark woods, out of which no one ever found his way again
after venturing therein. The one to the left went likewise around the
bottom of the hill, and led into a wilderness of dark mountains, which
was even more difficult to escape from than the one to the right. But
the middle road, which was narrow and straight, went right up the
steep and flinty sides of the hill, and was the route that led direct
to Mount Zion. Not being the man to flinch from any difficulty,
however great, good Christian hesitated not a moment to choose the
middle road; and accordingly he fell from running to walking, and from
walking to going, and from going to clambering upon his hands and
knees, till he had made his way to the top. Here, as you must well
remember, there met his view a stately palace called Beautiful, kept
by a company of prim, precise, proper, prudent, and pious maiden
ladies, who gave our weary pilgrim a cordial but well-considered
reception, and, besides admitting him to the hospitalities of the
house gratis, entertained him with a variety of pleasing and edifying
discourse. And you have not forgotten, either, how, when they had a
clear morning, these discreet and well-ordered damsels, to reward him
for the zeal and diligence with which he had heretofore pursued his
journey, as well as to encourage him to still further effort, led him
up to the top of their house, whence he might have a delightful view
of the Delectable Mountains, far, far away. And you also still hear in
mind, how poor Christian must needs pass through the dismal Vale of
Humiliation, and there meet in deadly fight the terrible monster
Apollyon; then through the Valley and Shadow of Death, with a