awful. Picture it to yourself as you will! When I recovered from the
horror that fell upon me, I recognized many men and women whom I had
known on earth. Among them were many whom I had been accustomed to
consider pious and virtuous, and whom I had expected to find in a high
place in Heaven, rather than there below, and yet of those very persons
the Elect could recall the fewest deeds that had been done from purely
generous motives. An act was mentioned of this one or that, which on the
surface seemed good, sometimes even great,--but there on high the springs
of human actions are open to view, as well as the real end, which the
author had in mind, and these were always such that those who had
performed the best deeds could be accredited with the least charitable
intention. Their pious works had always been executed in order to make
them conspicuous in the eyes of men, or to attain for themselves some
distinction, or to flatter their vanity, or to arouse the envy of their
neighbours, or to contribute in some indirect way to the increase of
their riches. Perhaps you may not altogether understand what I mean; but
no matter, your mother may explain as much as she thinks good for you.

"The poor things who were disappointed, as well as the unfortunate ones
for whom no voice was raised, made me very unhappy; but I could do
nothing for them.

"Among the latter I noticed a woman whom I had known well on earth, and
who deserved to be among the lost, I thought. I had never anticipated
any other sentence for her. You do not understand, children, what a cold
heart is; but hers had been either ice or stone. Although she had
possessed more than was needed to gratify her own wants, she could never
be moved by the most touching appeals of the poorest to relieve their
distress. She had used other people to satisfy her selfish desires and
then discarded them ruthlessly. She had gone through life without loving