truly, draped in dirty, ragged
burlap, with face, hands and hair covered with ashes, and smeared from
head to foot with broken eggs and bits of eggshell.

The tramp hid his face in the hay to stifle his chuckles, the minister
covered his twitching lips with his hands, but the little group of
sisters gazed at the apparition with only horror in their eyes.

Then, to everyone's amazement, Peace began to cry. In an instant Gail
had slipped her arms around her, and had drawn the brown head down on
her shoulder, where for a moment the child sobbed heartbrokenly. Then,
with a mighty gulp, she swallowed back her grief and explained, "I heard
Hope reading about the people who put on ash-cloth and sashes--I mean
sackcloth and ashes whenever any one of their family died, so's the
angels would let the soul into heaven. No one did that when papa
died--and we don't know whether he ever got to heaven or not--but he's a
man and could take care of himself, s'posing he didn't get in. With
mother it's different, though. She's a ninvalid, and I couldn't bear to
think of her outside the gates all alone with none of us to take care of
her--so I put on potato sacks--that's sackcloth, ain't it?--and ashes.
The eggs got there by mistake. They were whole when I began to climb
down that ladder."

The picture was so ludicrous, the explanation so piteous, that between
their wild desire to laugh and the stronger desire to cry, it was a
hysterical group who closed in once more about the grotesque little
figure, while the earnest-hearted, sympathetic young preacher swept away
Peace's fears, and gave her the comfort and assurance she sought.

"Sackcloth and ashes were merely outward signs of mourning for nations
in ages past," he told her. "It didn't help anyone get into heaven. It
didn't even show how great were their sorrow and grief; and when people
came to realize that, they ceased to follow the custom. God knows how
sorrowful we are, for He can read our very thoughts. It doesn't need
sackcloth and ashes to carry our loved ones home, dear. They lived good,
noble, true lives in His sight while they were here on earth, and now He
has taken them home--inside the Gates--to live with Him always."

"You are sure?" hiccoughed Peace.

"Perfectly sure! The Bible tells us so."

"Where? I want to see for myself."

He drew a worn Testament from his pocket, turned to the Fourteenth
Chapter of St. John, and slowly, impressively read those beautiful
word