And the holy apostles, standing in the gateway of Paradise, said: "Who are you?"
"I am the soldier who hung Death in a sack, and I have brought two hundred and fifty sinful souls from hell in hope that God will pardon my sins and let me into Paradise."
And the apostles went to the Lord, and told him that the soldier had come, and brought with him two hundred and fifty sinful souls.
And God said: "Let in the sinful souls, but do not let in the soldier."
The apostles went back to the gateway, and opened the gates and told the souls they might come in. But when the soldier tried to march in at the head of his company they stopped him, and said: "No, soldier! There's no place for you here."
So the soldier took one of the sinful souls aside and gave that soul his sack, and told him: "As soon as you are through the gates of Paradise, open the sack and shout out "Into the sack, soldier!" You will do this because I brought you here from hell."
And the sinful soul promised to do this for the soldier.
But when that sinful soul went through the gates into Paradise, for very joy it forgot about the soldier, and threw away the sack somewhere in Paradise, where it may be lying to this day.
And so the soldier, after waiting a long time, went slowly back to earth. Death would not take him. There was no place for him in Paradise and no place for him in Hell. For all I know he may be living yet.
Printed for the Author at The
Westminster Press, London
W. and published by
John G. Wilson at
77 Queen Street
Cheapside
E.C.