[Illustration: Relic of John Bunyan.]
The cut represents the vessel from which John Bunyan, the author of
that popular allegory, "the Pilgrim's Progress," was accustomed to
drink syllabub, during his incarceration in Bedford County Gaol. The
original is in the possession of the correspondent who has furnished
us with the sketch for the engraver. It is of common earthen-ware,
7-1/2 inches in height, and will contain 3-1/2 pints; one of the
handles is partly broken off; the glaze is of a light flesh tint; and
the vessel is a fair specimen of pottery in the early part of the
seventeenth century.
Bunyan, it will be recollected, was born in 1628, at Elstow, near
Bedford, where the cottage stood in its original state till within
these few years. It has latterly been new fronted, but the interior
remains nearly as in Bunyan's time. He was the son of a tinker, and
followed his father's trade; and at Elstow are the remains of a closet
in which, in early life, he carried on business. During the civil war
he served as a soldier in the parliament army; and subsequently joined
a society of Anabaptists at Bedford, and became their public teacher.
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