Page:Gesta Romanorum - Swan - Wright - 2.djvu/76

64 second, joy without sorrow: and the third, light without darkness." "Take this staff," said the old man, "and go thy way. Before you is a high mountain, and at its foot a ladder with six steps. Go up it, and when you have attained the sixth, you will be at the top of the mountain. There you will discover a magnificent palace; strike three times at the gate, and the porter will answer you. Shew him the staff, and say, The master of the staff commands you to admit me. When you have gained admittance, you will find the three things which you seek." Ganter did as the old man desired; and the porter, seeing the staff, permitted him to enter. He found what he had sought, and much more; and there he continued during the residue of his life.

My beloved, Ganter is any good Christian, who seeks eternal life. The first bed is human life, with its various attendant evils; do not rest there: the second, is hell, with its