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 should 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 on this errand, besought that they would grant that Mr. Wet-Eyes might go with him.  Now this Mr. Wet-Eyes 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 his hands wringing together.  Thus they went to the Prince’s pavilion.

Now, when they went to petition this third time, they were not without thoughts that, by often coming, they might be a burden to the Prince.  Wherefore, when they were come to the door of his pavilion, they first made their apology for themselves, and for their coming to trouble Emmanuel so often; and they said, that they came not hither to-day for that they delighted in being troublesome, or for that they delighted to hear themselves talk, but for that necessity caused them to come to his Majesty.  They could, they said, have no rest day nor night because of their transgressions against Shaddai and against Emmanuel, his Son.  They also thought that some misbehaviour of Mr. Desires-awake the last time might give distaste to his Highness, and so cause that he returned from so merciful a Prince empty, and without countenance.  So, when they had made this apology, Mr. Desires-awake cast himself prostrate upon the ground, as at the first, at the feet of the mighty Prince, saying, ‘Oh! that Mansoul might live before thee!’ and so he delivered his petition.  The Prince then, having read the petition, turned aside awhile as before, and coming again to the place where the petitioner lay on the ground, he demanded what his name was, and of what esteem in the account of Mansoul, for that he, above all the multitude in Mansoul, should be sent to him upon such an errand.  Then said the man to the Prince, ’Oh let not my Lord be angry; and why inquirest thou after the name of such a dead do—­as I am?  Pass by, I pray thee, and take not notice of who I am, because there is, as thou very well knowest, so great a disproportion between me and thee.  Why the townsmen chose to send me on this errand to my Lord is best known to themselves, but it could not be for that they thought that I had favour with my Lord.  For my part, I am out of charity with myself; who, then, should be in love with me?  Yet live I would, and so would I that my townsmen should; and because both they and myself are guilty of great transgressions, therefore they have sent me, and I am come in their names to beg of my Lord for mercy.  Let it please thee, therefore, to incline to mercy; but ask not what thy servants are.’