"Jesus is the way. There is no fear of our getting out of the right path so long as we keep near to Christ. Oh, Mr. Reardon, what a glorious thing it must be to live in those heavenly mansions:
"'For ever with the Lord.'"
And the old clerk paused as with uplifted eyes and quivering lips, he thought of the life of Christ and the unspeakable joy of meeting Him in heaven.
"But it isn't every one who can get admitted there," said Matthew.
"It must be their own fault," was the reply, "if they are even so much as kept waiting at the door, or because they don't know what name to ask for, or have forgotten to put on the wedding garment. Nothing can be plainer than the directions laid down in the Scriptures:
"'Ask, and it shall be given; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.—'
"Only to risk for Jesus' sake, only to knock in Jesus' name, and straightway the golden gates are opened for our admission."
The old clerk spoke with that strange eloquence which proceeds out of a full heart. His companion made no reply, and, after a few minutes' pause, arose slowly, and began buttoning up his coat preparatory to returning home.
"I heard your little ones singing last night," said Marshall.
"Did you? Poor things! They have a dull time of it. Their mother sends them to Sunday school, where they teach them to sing. She thought that it might serve to amuse them."