Oh my! _such_ singing as you never
dreamed about, and we to be the singers, you know; and I couldn't begin
to tell you about it all; and _you_ never heard any of them verses? Well
now, I _am_ beat. Well I always pick 'em all out and read 'em Sunday. I
like to make Sunday a kind of a holiday, you know, so I read 'em and
study 'em, and try to picture it all out; but then you see I can't,
because the Bible says that eyes haven't seen nor ears heard, and we
can't _begin_ to guess at the fine things prepared for us."

"Well now," broke in Tode, his lips hurrying to tell the thought that
had been filling his mind for some minutes, "why don't everybody go
there? I heard about that awful place where some folks go. Mr. Birge
told about it in some of his preaching. Now what's that for? Why don't
they all go to heaven?"

The little old lady heaved a deep sigh.

"Sure enough, why don't they?" she said at last. "And the curious part
of it is, that it's just because they _won't_. They don't have to pay
for it; they don't have to go away off after it; they don't have to die
for it, because they've got to die anyhow; and they know it's dreadful
to die all alone; and they know that every single thing that the Lord
Jesus wants of them is to love him, and give him a chance to help
them--and the long and short of it is, they _won't do it_."

"That's _awful_ silly," ejaculated Tode.

"Silly! Why, there ain't anything else in all this big world that
anywhere near comes up to it for silliness. Why, don't you think," and
here her voice took a lower and more solemn tone, and the wide cap frill
trembled with earnestness. "_Don't_ you think, there's men and women who
believe that every word in that Bible over there is true, and they know
there's such a verse as that we just heard, 'Whatsoever ye shall ask in
my name that _will_ I do;' and there's tired folks who know the Bible
says, 'Come unto me all ye that are weary, and I _will_ give you rest;'
and there's folks full of trouble who know it says, 'Cast thy burden on
the Lord, and he _will_ sustain thee;' and there's folks chasing up and
down the world after a good time who know it says, 'In thy presence is
fullness of joy,' and 'At thy right hand there are pleasures for
evermore;' and there's folks working night and day to be rich who know
it says, 'I am the true riches,' and, 'The silver and the gold are his,'
and just as true as you live they won't kneel down and _ask_ him for
any of th