But who can think what a turn, what a change, what an alteration this hint of things did make in the countenance of the town of Mansoul!  No man of Mansoul could sleep that night for joy; in every house there was joy and music, singing and making merry:  telling and hearing of Mansoul’s happiness was then all that Mansoul had to do; and this was the burden of all their song:  ’Oh! more of this at the rising of the sun! more of this to-morrow!’ ‘Who thought yesterday,’ would one say, ’that this day would have been such a day to us?  And who thought, that saw our prisoners go down in irons, that they would have returned in chains of gold?  Yea, they that judged themselves as they went to be judged of their judge, were by his mouth acquitted, not for that they were innocent, but of the Prince’s mercy, and sent home with pipe and tabor.  But is this the common custom of princes?  Do they use to show such kind of favours to traitors?  No; this is only peculiar to Shaddai, and unto Emmanuel, his Son!’

Now morning drew on apace; wherefore the Lord Mayor, the Lord Willbewill, and Mr. Recorder came down to the market-place at the time that the Prince had appointed, where the townsfolk were waiting for them:  and when they came, they came in that attire, and in that glory that the Prince had put them into the day before, and the street was lightened with their glory.  So the Mayor, Recorder, and my Lord Willbewill drew down to Mouth-gate, which was at the lower end of the market-place, because that of old time was the place where they used to read public matters.  Thither, therefore, they came in their robes, and their tabrets went before them.  Now, the eagerness of the people to know the full of the matter was great.

Then the Recorder stood up upon his feet, and, first beckoning with his hand for silence, he read out with a loud voice the pardon.  But when he came to these words:  ’The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, pardoning iniquity, transgressions, and sins, and to them all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven,’ etc., they could not forbear leaping for joy.  For this you must know, that there was conjoined herewith every man’s name in Mansoul; also the seals of the pardon made a brave show.

When the Recorder had made an end of reading the pardon, the townsmen ran up upon the walls of the town, and leaped and skipped thereon for joy, and bowed themselves seven times with their faces toward Emmanuel’s pavilion, and shouted out aloud for joy, and said, ‘Let Emmanuel live for ever!’ Then order was given to the young men in Mansoul that they should ring the bells for joy.  So the bells did ring, and the people sing, and the music go in every house in Mansoul.