confusing question had no reason in it, as he very well knew;
for if he was dreaming, then it was all a dream; but if his
companions
were real, then he also was with them in reality, and if they had
died
then he must have died too. Yet he could not rid his mind of
the sense that there was a difference between them and him,
and it made him afraid to go on. But, as he paused and turned,
the Keeper of the Gate looked straight and deep into his eyes,
and beckoned to him. Then he knew that it was not only right but

necessary that he should enter.

They passed from street to street among fair and spacious
dwellings,
set in amaranthine gardens, and adorned with an infinitely varied
beauty of
divine simplicity. The mansions differed in size, in shape, in
charm:
each one seemed to have its own personal look of loveliness;
yet all were alike in fitness to their place, in harmony with one
another,
in the addition which each made to the singular and tranquil
splendor of
the city.

As the little company came, one by one, to the mansions which
were
prepared for them, and their Guide beckoned to the happy
inhabitant