It was in one of the quiet corners of the green valley called
Peacefield, where the little brook of Brighthopes runs smoothly down
to join the River of Life, that I saw a company of angels, returned
from various labours on Earth, sitting in friendly converse on the
hill-side, where cyclamens and arbutus and violets and fringed orchids
and pale lady's-tresses, and all the sweet-smelling flowers which are
separated in the lower world by the seasons, were thrown together in
a harmony of fragrance. There were three of the company who seemed
to be leaders, distinguished not only by more radiant and powerful
looks, but by a tone of authority in their speech and by the willing
attention with which the others listened to them, as they talked
of their earthly tasks, of the tangles and troubles, the wars and
miseries that they had seen among men, and of the best way to get rid
of them and bring sorrow to an end.

"The Earth is full of oppression and unrighteousness," said the
tallest and most powerful of the angels. His voice was deep and
strong, and by his shining armour and the long two-handed sword
hanging over his shoulder I knew that he was the archangel Michael,
the mightiest one among the warriors of the King, and the executor
of the divine judgments upon the unjust. "The Earth is tormented with
injustice," he cried, "and the great misery that I have seen among
men is that the evil hand is often stronger than the good hand and can
beat it down.

"The arm of the cruel is heavier than the arm of the kind. The unjust
get the better of the just and tread on them. I have seen tyrant kings
crush their helpless folk. I have seen the fields of the innocent
trampled into bloody ruin by the feet of conquering armies. I have
seen the wicked nation overcome the peoples that loved liberty, and