the
present time of writing.) He had not a long time to wonder at the
phenomenon, for he himself soon began to soar, dangling in mid sky at the
skirt of the cassock of his sainted guide. Earth, and all that appertains
thereto, speedily passed from his eyes, and they were alone in the midst
of circumfused ether, glowing with a sunless light. Above, in immense
distance, was fixed the firmament, fastened up with bright stars, fencing
around the world with its azure wall. They fled far, before any
distinguishable object met their eyes. At length a long, white streak,
shining like silver in the moonbeam, was visible to their sight. "That,"
said St. Colman, "is the Limbo which adjoins the earth, and is the
highway for ghosts departing the world. It is called in Milton, a book
which I suppose, Larry, you never have read"--"And how could I, plase
your worship," said Larry, "seein' I don't know a B from a bull's foot!"
"Well, it is called in Milton the Paradise of Fools: and if it were indeed
peopled by all of that tribe who leave the world, it would contain the
best company that ever figured on the earth. To the north, you see a
bright speck?" "I do." "That marks the upward path,--narrow and hard to
find. To the south you may see a darksome road--broad, smooth, and easy
of descent; that is the lower way. It is thronged with the great ones of
the world; you may see their figures in the gloom. Those who are soaring
upwards are wrapt in the flood of light flowing perpetually from that
single spot, and you cannot see them. The silver path on which we enter
is the Limbo. Here I part with you. You are to give your letter to the
first person you meet. Do your best;--be courageous, but observe
particularly that you profane no holy name, or I will not answer for the
consequences."

His guide had scarcely vanished, when Larry heard the tinkling of a bell
in the distance, and turning his eyes in the quarter whence it proceeded,
he saw a grave-looking man in black, with eyes of fire, driving before
him a flock of ghosts with a switch, as you see turkeys driven on the
western road, at the approach of Christmas. They were on the highway to
Purgatory. The ghosts were shivering in the thin air, which pinched them
severely, now that they had lost the covering of their bodies. Among the
group, Larry recognised his old master, by the same means that Ulysses,
Aeneas, and others, recognised the bodiless forms of their friends in the
regions of Ach