9.  The ninth captain was Captain Past-Hope; he was captain of those that are called the felicity doubters; his standard-bearer was Mr. Despair; his also were the red colours, and his scutcheon was a hot iron and the hard heart.

These were his captains, and these were their forces, these were their standards, these were their colours, and these were their scutcheons.  Now, over these did the great Diabolus make superior captains, and they were in number seven:  as, namely, the Lord Beelzebub, the Lord Lucifer, the Lord Legion, the Lord Apollyon, the Lord Python, the Lord Cerberus, and the Lord Belial; these seven he set over the captains, and Incredulity was lord-general, and, Diabolus was king.  The reformades also, such as were like themselves, were made some of them captains of hundreds, and some of them captains of more.  And thus was the army of Incredulity completed.

So they set out at Hell-Gate Hill, for there they had their rendezvous, from whence they came with a straight course upon their march toward the town of Mansoul.  Now, as was hinted before, the town had, as Shaddai would have it, received from the mouth of Mr. Prywell the alarm of their coming before.  Wherefore they set a strong watch at the gates, and had also doubled their guards:  they also mounted their slings in good places, where they might conveniently cast out their great stones to the annoyance of their furious enemy.

Nor could those Diabolonians that were in the town do that hurt as was designed they should; for Mansoul was now awake.  But alas! poor people, they were sorely affrighted at the first appearance of their foes, and at their sitting down before the town, especially when they heard the roaring of their drum.  This, to speak truth, was amazingly hideous to hear; it frighted all men seven miles round, if they were but awake and heard it.  The streaming of their colours was also terrible and dejecting to behold.

When Diabolus was come up against the town, first he made his approach to Ear-gate, and gave it a furious assault, supposing, as it seems, that his friends in Mansoul had been ready to do the work within; but care was taken of that before, by the vigilance of the captains.  Wherefore, missing of the help that he expected from them, and finding his army warmly attended with the stones that the slingers did sling, (for that I will say for the captains, that considering the weakness that yet was upon them by reason of the long sickness that had annoyed the town of Mansoul, they did gallantly behave themselves,) he was forced to make some retreat from Mansoul, and to entrench himself and his men in the field without the reach of the slings of the town.

Now having entrenched himself, he did cast up four mounts against the town:  the first he called Mount Diabolus, putting his own name thereon, the more to affright the town of Mansoul; the other three he called thus—­Mount Alecto, Mount Megara, and Mount Tisiphone; for these are the names of the dreadful furies of hell.  Thus he began to play his game with Mansoul, and to serve it as doth the lion his prey, even to make it fall before his terror.  But, as I said, the captains and soldiers resisted so stoutly, and did do such execution with their stones, that they made him, though against stomach, to retreat, wherefore Mansoul began to take courage.