The Holy War – John Bunyan

But, so far as I could gather, by the best information that I could get, all
this hubbub came through the words that the Recorder said, when he told
them that in his judgment the Prince's answer was a messenger of death. It
was this that fired the town, and that began the fright in Mansoul, for
Mansoul, in former times, did use to count that Mr. Recorder was a seer, and
that his sentence was equal to the best of oracles, and thus was Mansoul a
terror to itself.
And now did they begin to feel what was the effects of stubborn
rebellion, and unlawful resistance against their Prince. I say they now began
to feel the effects thereof by guilt and fear, that now had swallowed them up,
and who more involved in the one, but they who were most in the other; to
wit, the chief of the town of Mansoul.
To be brief, when the fame[15] of the fright was out of the town, and the
prisoners had a little recovered themselves, they take to themselves some
heart, and think to petition the Prince for life again. So they did draw up a
third petition, the contents whereof were this:--
'Prince Emmanuel the Great, Lord of all worlds, and Master of mercy,
We, thy poor, wretched, miserable, dying town of Mansoul, do confess unto
thy great and glorious Majesty that we have sinned against thy Father and
thee, and are no more worthy to be called thy Mansoul, but rather to be cast
into the pit. If thou wilt slay us, we have deserved it. If thou wilt condemn us
to the deep, we cannot but say thou art righteous. We cannot complain,
whatever thou dost, or however thou carriest it towards us. But oh! let mercy
reign; and let it be extended to us! Oh let mercy take hold upon us, and free
us from our transgressions, and we will sing of thy mercy and of thy
judgment. Amen.'
This petition, when drawn up, was designed to be sent to the Prince as
the first, but who should carry it, that was the question. Some said, Let him
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