spoken to them.  God had, in His mercy, chosen him to go on the forlorn hope; to be the first to be opposed for the gospel; what a discouragement it must be to the whole body if he were to fly.  No, he would never by any cowardliness of his give occasion to the enemy to blaspheme the gospel.”  So back to the house he came with his mind made up.  He had come to hold the meeting, and hold the meeting he would.  He was not conscious of saying or doing any evil.  If he had to suffer it was the Lord’s will, and he was prepared for it.  He had a full hour before him to escape if he had been so minded, but he was resolved “not to go away.”  He calmly waited for the time fixed for the brethren to assemble, and then, without hurry or any show of alarm, he opened the meeting in the usual manner, with prayer for God’s blessing.  He had given out his text, the brethren had just opened their Bibles and Bunyan was beginning to preach, when the arrival of the constable with the warrant put an end to the exercise.  Bunyan requested to be allowed to say a few parting words of encouragement to the terrified flock.  This was granted, and he comforted the little company with the reflection that it was a mercy to suffer in so good a cause; and that it was better to be the persecuted than the persecutors; better to suffer as Christians than as thieves or murderers.  The constable and the justice’s servant soon growing weary of listening to Bunyan’s exhortations, interrupted him and “would not be quiet till they had him away” from the house.

The justice who had issued the warrant, Mr. Wingate, not being at home that day, a friend of Bunyan’s residing on the spot offered to house him for the night, undertaking that he should be forthcoming the next day.  The following morning this friend took him to the constable’s house, and they then proceeded together to Mr. Wingate’s.  A few inquiries showed the magistrate that he had entirely mistaken the character of the Samsell meeting and its object.  Instead of a gathering of “Fifth Monarchy men,” or other turbulent fanatics as he had supposed, for the disturbance of the public peace, he learnt from the constable that they were only a few peaceable, harmless people, met together “to preach and hear the word,” without any political meaning.  Wingate was now at a nonplus, and “could not well tell what to say.”  For the credit of his magisterial character, however, he must do something to show that he had not made a mistake in issuing the warrant.  So he asked Bunyan what business he had there, and why it was not enough for him to follow his own calling instead of breaking the law by preaching.  Bunyan replied that his only object in coming there was to exhort his hearers for their souls’ sake to forsake their sinful courses and close in with Christ, and this he could do and follow his calling as well.  Wingate, now feeling himself in the wrong, lost his temper, and declared angrily that he would “break