Page:Lazarus, a tale of the world's great miracle.djvu/258

246 the angel with the flaming sword which turned each way appeared and cried, as Truth had advertised me: 'Depart, depart, ye sinful.' Then, with deep wailing and moaning and tearing of hair, the crowd of women rushed down the alleys, looking neither to the right nor to the left.

"And I asked: 'How have these women sinned?'—'These are unfaithful, haters of children, envious, loving luxury, driving men to sin and theft by their desire for sumptuous living, backbiters, liars, bearers of false witness against other women, tattlers; and the worst of all are they who marry without love, and they who force their children to barter themselves for gold.'

"Next we came to a freezing lake, which stank of brimstone and other noisome things. And, as we looked, behold blue lights illumed the lake, and over it was ice. And a vast concourse approached from the farther side, making as though they would cross over; but midway, the ice did break and they fell in; and great blue flames burst forth and scorched them as they plunged into the lake.

" 'This,' said the Spirit of Truth, 'is the Lake of Liars. The blue lights are like their words that have misguided men. The ice is like their promises that they have broken; and now they are plunged into the scorching flames of hell.'

"Then Truth came near the lake, and the spirits cried: 'Approach not, come not near, for we hate thee, Truth.'

"And I looked and saw that the lake did stretch farther than the eye could reach, and in it were countless souls, with the appearance of wriggling