there: ‘Not by works of righteousness 
which we have done, but according to 
His mercy He saved us.” 
“Now suppose you were to go to 
heaven in the way you say, because 
you have been good to your family 
and so on. There would be one sinner 
in heaven who had never been washed 
from his sins in the precious blood of 
Christ, and you could not join in their 
songs of praise.” 
His head dropped and he was silent 
for a moment. He was now coming 
face to face with eternal realities, 
and his only reply was: 
“T never thought of that before.” 
“But God has,” I replied, “and He 
has made Pe soe for just suc ce as 
you who believe they can get 
heaven by their goc od 7 Ww WOrks. H 
‘Except a man be born a; 
cannot see the 
John 38 on If hes , ip a Vila 
there is no sin, then no one 
enter there who | 
washed from his sins 
blood of Chyist. Anot 
sing up there is, ‘Thou 





And after a time—I don’t know how long it was— 
lt saw the same angels who brought me bringing an- 
other; and it was my dear, sweet wife. I loved her 
more than ever when they brought her to me there. 
She was fairer than the day we married. We sat 
under the trees of life together, and walked by the 
tiver that flows from the thorne of God. So happy! 
And I saw angels bringing in others—others that | 
love and you love. And so the years of eternity 
rolled, 
“Then, John, all at once it came to me that 1 
hadn’t seen you anywhere. I set out to look for you. 
Il went into every street, looked everywhere, asked 
everybody, but could get no trace of you. I was dis- 
tressed more than you can know; and I went to the 
Lord, my precious Saviour, and asked Him where you 
were. And, O John, that you -ould have seen how 
sorry He was when He told me that you hadn't come! 
‘Not come!’ I said. ‘Why didn’t John come?’ And 
He wept, just as I suppose He often did when He 
was down here, and told me, ‘Nobody ever asked John 
to come.’ Oh, I fell at His feet. J bathed them with 
my tears. I laid mw cheeks upon them, and I cried: 
‘Blessed Lord! Just let me out of here half an hour, 
and I’ll go and ask him to come. I'll give him the 
invitation.’ And right then and there I woke up. It 
was beginning to get light in the east, and I was so 
glad that I was alive. so I could come and ask you 
to go to heaven, and now here I am, and I have told 
you my dream, and I want you to come.’”’ 
With other words the old man urged the royal 
invitation, but the blacksmith stood as one petrified. 
He could not Speak nor move. Father Brown got up, 
and, saying, ‘‘Good-bye, John; remember, you've got 
the invitation; remember you are asked to come,’’ took 
his staff and started home. 
The blacksmith seemed to come to himyelf, and, 
as one recovering from a magician’s charm, he set out 
to pursue the labors of the day. But everything 

, the 
hammers would not strike right, the nails would not 
go in right, the horse would not stand right. ‘“O 
God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’’ he began to sob 
at last, and leaving the shop, he went home. He told 
his wife of Father Brown’s visit. ‘‘Blessed be God!”’ 
