THE
Young Pilgrim.
A Tale
ILLUSTRATIVE OF “THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS.”
BY
A. L. O. E.,
AUTHOR OF “THE SHEPHERD OF BETHLEHEM,”
“THE SILVER CASKET,” ETC.
With Illustrations.
London:
T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW.
EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK.
1887.
Preface.
It may perhaps be necessary to give a brief explanationof the object of this little work. It hasbeen written as a Child’s Companion to thePilgrim’s Progress. That invaluable work isfrequently put into youthful hands long before the mindcan unravel the deep allegory which it contains; and thusits precious lessons are lost, and it is only perused asan amusing tale.
I would offer my humble work as a kind of translation,the term which was applied to it by a little boyto whom I was reading it in manuscript—a translation ofideas beyond youthful comprehension into the commonlanguage of daily life. I would tell the child, throughthe medium of a simple tale, that Bunyan’s dream is asolemn reality, that the feet of the young may tread thepilgrim’s path, and press on to the pilgrim’s reward.
I earnestly wish that I had been able more completelyto carry out the object set before me; but difficultieshave arisen from the very nature of my work. I havebeen obliged to make mine a very free translation, fullboth of imperfections and omissions. This is moreespecially the case where subjects are treated of in thePilgrim’s Progress which concern the deeper experienceof the soul. Of fearful inward struggles and temptations,such as befell the author of that work, the gloomand horrors of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, thelittle ones who early set out on pilgrimage usually knowbut little. They find the stepping-stones across theSlough of Despond, and are rarely seized by GiantDespair. It would be worse than useless to representthe Christian pilgrimage as more gloomy and painfulthan children are likely to find it.
There are other valuable parts of the Pilgrim’s Progress,such as the sojourn in the House Beautiful, whichis believed by many to represent Christian communion,which could hardly be enlarged upon in a design likemine; while the present altered appearance of VanityFair has compelled me to wander still further from myoriginal, if I would draw a picture that could be recognized[7]at the present day, and be useful to the risinggeneration.
Such as it is, I earnestly pray the Lord of pilgrims tovouchsafe his blessing on my little work. To point outto His dear children the holy guidin