“Norman looked, and no wonder, for Mrs. Meadow’s eyes were running over full, and he did not know what to make of the dropping tears; but he shook his head.
“‘It’s all told about in God’s book, dear. Little Norman Finch, like everybody else, hasn’t loved God, nor minded his commandments as he ought to do; and God would have punished us all, if Jesus Christ hadn’t come down from heaven on purpose to take our punishment on himself, so that we might be saved.’
“‘How would he have punished us?’ said Norman.
“‘He would have sent us away from him, for ever, to be in a miserable place, with devils and bad people, where we should see nothing good nor happy, and we shouldn’t be good nor happy ourselves; it’s a place so dreadful, it is called in the Bible the lake that burns with fire; and he would never let us come into his heaven, where God is, and Jesus Christ is, and the good angels, and all God’s people are, and are all as good and happy as they can be.’
“‘And would I have been punished so?’ said Norman.
“‘Yes,—the Bible says so; and every one will now, who won’t believe and love Jesus Christ.’
“‘And did he go there?’
“‘Where?’
“‘To that place—that bad place—did he go there?’
“‘What, the Lord Jesus?’