The Holy War – John Bunyan

do it that went with the first; but others thought not good to do that, and that
because he sped no better. Now there was an old man in the town, and his
name was Mr. Good-deed; a man that bare only the name, but had nothing of
the nature of the thing. Now some were for sending of him, but the Recorder
was by no means for that, for, said he, we now stand in need of, and are
pleading for mercy, wherefore to send our petition by a man of this name
will seem to cross the petition itself. Should we make Mr. Gooddeed our
messenger when our petition cries for mercy?
'Besides,' quoth the old gentleman, 'should the Prince now, as he
receives the petition, ask him and say, What is thy name? as nobody knows
but he will, and he should say, Old Good-deed, what, think you, would
Emmanuel say but this, Aye! is old Good-deed yet alive in Mansoul? then let
old Good-deed save you from your distresses? And if he says so, I am sure
we are lost; nor can a thousand of old Good-deeds save Mansoul.'[16]
After the Recorder had given in his reasons why old Good-deed should
not go with this petition to Emmanuel, the rest of the prisoners and chief of
Mansoul opposed it also, and so old Good-deed was laid aside, and they
agreed to send Mr. Desires-awake again; so they sent for him, and desired
him that he would a second time go with their petition to the Prince, and he
readily told them he would. But they bid him that in anywise he would take
heed that in no word or carriage he gave offence to the Prince, for by doing
so, for ought we can tell, you may bring Mansoul into utter destruction, said
they.
Now Mr. Desires-awake, when he saw that he must go of this errand,
besought that they would grant that Mr. Wet-eyes might go with him. Now
this Mr. Weteyes was a near neighbour of Mr. Desires, a poor man, a man of
a broken spirit, yet one that could speak well to a petition. So they granted
that he should go with him. Wherefore they address themselves to their
business. Mr. Desires put a rope upon his head, and Mr. Wet-eyes went with
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