"Our ball can compare with favorably with the King's," he said, and turned with contempt
towards the gazing crowd in the street. What he thought was sufficiently expressed in his
features and movements: "Miserable beggars, who are looking in, you are nothing in comparison
to me."
"Pride." said the dead woman, "do you see him?"
"The footman?" said the pastor, "he is but a poor fool, and not doomed to be torture
eternally by fire."
"Only a fool!" It sounded through the whole house of pride: they were all fools there.
Then they flew within the four naked walls of miser. Lean as a skeleton, trembling with cold,
and hunger, the old man was clinging with all his thoughts to his money. They saw him jump
up feverishly from his miserable couch and take a loose stone out of the wall; there lay gold
coins in an old stocking. They saw him anxiously feeling over an old ragged coat in which pieces
of gold were sewn, and his clammy fingers trembled.
"He is ill! That is madness- a joyless madness- besieged by fear and dredaful dreams!"
They quickly went away and came before the beds of the criminals; these unfortunate people slept
side by side, in long rows. Like a ferocious animal, one of them rose out of his sleep and
uttered a horrible cry, and gave his comrade a violent dig in the ribs with 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 comes and tortures me! In my violence
I have done this and that. I was born with an evil mind, which has brought me hither for the
second times; but if I have done wrong I suffer punishment for it. One thing, however, I have
not yet confessed. When I came out a little while ago, and passed by the yard of my former
master, evil thoughts rose within me when I remembered this and that. I struck a match a little
bit on the wall; probably it came a little too close to the thatched roof. All burnt down- a
great heat rose, such as sometimes overcomes me. I myself helped to rescue cattle and things,
nothing alive burnt, except a flight of pigeons, which flew into the fire, and the yard dog, of
which I had not thought; one could hear him howl out 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 places
himself upon me, and howls, presses, and tortures me. Now listen to what I tell you! You can
snore; you are snoring the whole night, and I hadly a quarter of an hour!" And the blood rose
to the head of the excited criminal; he threw himself upon his comrade, and beat him with his
clenched fist in the face.
"Wicked Mats has became mad again!" they said amongst themselves. The other criminals seized
him, wrestled him, and bent him double, so that his head rested between his kness, they tied
him, so that the blood almost came out of his eyes and out of all his pores.
"You are killing the unfortunate man," said the pastor, and as he stretched out his hand to
protect him who already suffered too much, the scene changed. They flew through rich halls and
wretched hovels; wantonness and envy, all the deadly sins, passed before them. An angel of
justice read their crimes and their defense; the latter was not a brilliant one, but it was read
before God, who reads the heart, who knows everything, the wickedness that comes from within
and from without, who is mercy and love personified. The pastor's hand trembled; he dared not
strech it out, he did not venture to pull a hair out of the sinner's head, and tears gushed
from his eyes like a stream of mercy and love, the cooling waters of which extinguished the
eternal fire of hell.
Just then the cock crowed.
"Father of all mercy, grant Thou to her the place that I was unable to procure for her!"
"I have it now!" said the dead woman, "It was your hard words, your despair of mankind, your
gloomy belief in God and creation, which drove me to you. Learn to know mankind! Even in the
wicked one lives a part of God- and this extinguishes and conquers the flame of hell!"
The pastor felt a kiss on his lip's a gleam of light surrounded him- God's bright sun shone
into the room, and his wife, alive, sweet and full of love, awoke him from a dream which God
had sent him!