Asquickly as if carried by the winged thoughts they were in the greatcity, and from the walls the names of the deadly sins shone in flamingletters: pride, avarice, drunkenness, wantonness- in short, thewhole seven-coloured bow of sin.
  "Yes, therein, as I believed, as I knew it," said the pastor, "areliving those who are abandoned to the eternal fire." And they werestanding before the magnificently illuminated gate; the broad stepswere adorned with carpets and flowers, and dance music was soundingthrough the festive halls. A footman dressed in silk and velvetstood with a large silver-mounted rod near the entrance.
  "Our ball can compare favourably with the king's," he said, andturned with contempt towards the gazing crowd in the street. What hethought was sufficiently expressed in his features and movements:"Miserable beggars, who are looking in, you are nothing incomparison to me."
  "Pride," said the dead woman; "do you see him?"
  "The footman?" asked the pastor. "He is but a poor fool, and notdoomed to be tortured eternally by fire!"
  "Only a fool!" It sounded through the whole house of pride: theywere all fools there.
  Then they flew within the four naked walls of the miser. Lean as askeleton, trembling with cold, and hunger, the old man was clingingwith all his thoughts to his money. They saw him jump up feverishlyfrom his miserable couch and take a loose stone out of the wall; therelay gold coins in an old stocking. They saw him anxiously feeling overan old ragged coat in which pieces of gold were sewn, and his clammyfingers trembled.
  "He is ill! That is madness- a joyless madness- besieged by fearand dreadful dreams!"
  They quickly went away and came before the beds of thecriminals; these unfortunate people slept side by side, in longrows. Like a ferocious animal, one of them rose out of his sleep anduttered a horrible cry, and gave his comrade a violent dig in the ribswith his pointed elbow, and this one turned round in his sleep:
  "Be quiet, monster- sleep! This happens every night!"
  "Every night!" repeated the other. "Yes, every night he comesand tortures me! In my violence I have done this and that. I wasborn with an evil mind, which has brought me hither for the secondtime; but if I have done wrong I suffer punishment for it. Onething, however, I have not yet confessed. When I came out a littlewhile ago, and passed by the yard of my former master, evil thoughtsrose within me when I remembered this and that. I struck a match alittle bit on the wall; probably it came a little too close to thethatched roof. All burnt down- a great heat rose, such as sometimesovercomes me. I myself helped to rescue cattle and things, nothingalive burnt, except a flight of pigeons, which flew into the fire, andthe yard dog, of which I had not thought; one could hear him howlout of the fire, and this howling I still hear when I wish to sleep;and when I have fallen asleep, the great rough dog comes and placeshimself upon me, and howls, presses, and tortures me. Now listen towhat I tell you! You can snore; you are snoring the whole night, and Ihardly a quarter of an hour!" And the blood rose to the head of theexcited criminal; he threw himself upon his comrade, and beat him withhis clenced fist in the face.
  "Wicked Matz has become mad again!" they said amongstthemselves. The other criminals seized him, wrestled with him, andbent him double, so that his head rested between his knees, and theytied him, so that the blood almost came out of his eyes and out of allhis pores.
  "You are killing the unfortunate man," said the pastor, and ashe stretched out his hand to protect him who already suffered toomuch, the scene changed. They flew through rich halls and wretchedhovels; wantonness and envy, all the deadly sins, passed beforethem. An angel of justice read their crimes and their defence; thelatter was not a brilliant one, but it was read before God, Whoreads the heart, Who knows everything, the wickedness that comesfrom within and from without, Who is mercy and love personified. Thepastor's hand trembled; he dared not stretch it out, he did notventure to pull a hair out of the sinner's head. And tears gushed fromhis eyes like a stream of mercy and love, the cooling waters ofwhich extinguished the eternal fire of hell.
  Just then the cock crowed.
  "Father of all mercy, grant Thou to her the peace that I wasunable to procure for her!"