Once More I Stood At the Gate of Heaven, I And Another. We Held Fast By

one another; we were very tired. We looked up at the great gates; the

angels opened them, and we went in. The mud was on our garments. We

walked across the marble floor, and up to the great throne. Then the

angels divided us. Her, they set upon the top step, but me, upon the

bottom; for, they said, “Last time this woman came here she left red

foot-marks on the floor; we had to wash them out with our tears. Let her

not go up.”

Then she, with whom I came, looked back, and stretched out her hand to

me; and I went and stood beside her. And the angels, they, the shining

ones who never sinned and never suffered, walked by us to and fro and

up and down; I think we should have felt a little lonely there if it had

not been for one another, the angels were so bright.

God asked me what I had come for; and I drew my sister forward a little

that he might see her.

God said, “How is it you are here together today?”

I said, “She was upon the ground in the street, and they passed over

her; I lay down by her, and she put her arms around my neck, and so I

lifted her, and we two rose together.”

God said, “Whom are you now come to accuse before me?”

I said, “We are come to accuse no man.”

And God bent, and said, “My children--what is it that ye seek?”

And she beside me drew my hand that I should speak for both.

I said, “We have come to ask that thou shouldst speak to Man, our

brother, and give us a message for him that he might understand, and

that he might--”

God said, “Go, take the message down to him!”

I said, “But what is the message?”

God said, “Upon your hearts it is written; take it down to him.”

And we turned to go; the angels went with us to the door. They looked at

us.

And one said--“Ai! but their dresses are beautiful!”

And the other said, “I thought it was mire when they came in, but see,

it is all golden!”

But another said, “Hush, it is the light from their faces!”

And we went down to him.

Alassio, Italy.