Now there was, not far from the place where they lay, a castle, called
Doubting Castle, the owner whereof was Giant Despair, and it was in his
grounds they now were sleeping; wherefore he, getting up in the morning
early, and walking up and down in his fields, caught Christian and
Hopeful asleep in his grounds. Then with a grim and surly voice he bid
them awake, and asked them whence they were, and what they did in his
grounds. They told him that they were pilgrims, and that they had lost
their way. Then said the giant. You have this night trespassed on me by
trampling in and lying on my grounds, and therefore you must go along
with me. So they were forced to go, because he was stronger than they.
They also had but little to say, for they knew themselves in a fault.
The giant, therefore, drove them before him, and put them into his
castle, into a very dark dungeon, nasty, and loathsome to the spirits of
these two men. Here, then, they lay from Wednesday morning till Saturday
night, without one bit of bread or drop of drink, or light, or any to
ask how they did; they were, therefore, here in evil case, and were far
from friends and acquaintance. Now, in this place Christian had double
sorrow, because it was through his unadvised haste that they were
brought into this distress.
Now Giant Despair had a wife, and her name was Diffidence; so when he
was gone to bed, he told his wife what he had done, to wit, that he
had taken a couple of prisoners, and cast them into his dungeon for
trespassing on his grounds. Then he asked her also what he had best to
do further to them. So she asked him what they were, whence they came,
and whither they were bound, and he told her. Then she counselled him,
that when he arose in the morning he should beat them without mercy. So
when he arose, he getteth him a grievous crabtree cudgel, and goes down
into the dungeon to them, and there first falls to rating of them as if
they were dogs, although they never gave him a word of distaste. Then he
falls upon them, and beats them fearfully, in such sort that they were
not able to help themselves, or to turn them upon the floor. This done,
he withdraws, and leaves them there to condole their misery, and to
mourn under their distress: so all that day they spent their time in
nothing but sighs and bitter lamentations. The next night, she, talking
with her husband further about them, and understanding that they were
yet alive, did advise him to counsel them to make away with themselves.
So when morning was come, he goes to them in a surly manner, as before,
and perceiving them to be very sore with the stripes that he had given
them the day before, he told them, that since they were never like to
come out of that place, their only way would be forthwith to make an end
of themselves, either with knife, halter, or poison; for why, said
he, should you choose to live, seeing it is attended with so much
bitterness? But they desired him to let them go. With that he looked