"And did they open the golden gates when the man knocked?" asked Matthew.
"It does not say anything about golden gates, father, in the book."
"But Peter Marshall said so!"
"I think he must have meant farther on," replied Polly, "when Christian comes at last to the Celestial City."
"But there's a great deal before that," interrupted Bessie. "All about his falling into the pit."
"The Slough of Despond," interposed Polly.
"It was a pit all the same," said Bessie.
"I know it!" exclaimed their father. "I've fallen in myself many a time—I was nearly in to-night—eh, wife!"
The children looked bewildered.
"I think your father had better hear the rest of this wonderful story to-morrow," said Mrs. Reardon, as she folded up her work. "He is tired. You can sing to him if you like, and perhaps he will be able to fall asleep. I am going now to take home my burden."