emotion; "Tell me, Mary, is there a purgatory?"

"No, Florry; I think there is less foundation for that doctrine than
any advanced by your church."

"Mary, you speak truth, and all that you say I can implicitly believe.
Tell me what grounds support the theory?"

"You remember the words of our Saviour. 'All sin shall be forgiven,
save blasphemy of the Holy Ghost; that shall not be forgiven, either
in this world or the next.' Now Papists argue in this way: Then other
sins can be forgiven in another world; there is no sin in heaven, in
hell no forgiveness, consequently, there must exist a middle place,
or, in other words, a purgatory. Florry, you smile, yet I assure you I
have seen this advanced as unanswerable. In the book of Maccabees is a
very remarkable passage authorizing prayers for the dead, and on this
passage they build their theory and sanction their practise. Yet you
know full well it is one of the Apocryphal books rejected by the Jews,
because not originally written in their language. It was never quoted
by our Saviour, nor even received as inspired by your own church
till the Council of Trent, when it was admitted to substantiate the
doctrine of purgatory, and sanction prayers for the dead. I admit that
on this point St. Augustine's practise was in favor of it; though it
was only near the close of his long life that he speaks of the soul
of his mother. Yet already history informs us that the practise of
praying for the dead was gaining ground in the church, along with
image worship. St. Cyprian, who lived long before him, and during
a purer state of the church, leaves no doubt on our minds as to his
sentiments on this subject; his words are these: 'When ye depart
hence, there will be no room for repentance--no method of being
reconciled to God. Here eternal life is either lost or won. Here,
by the worship of God, and the fruit of faith, provision is made for
eternal salvation. And let no man be retarded, either by his sins or
years, from coming to obtain it. No repentance is too late while a man
remains in this world.' Our Saviour nowhere gives any encouragement
for such a doctrine. On the contrary, he said to the dying thief:
'This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.' I know of no other
argument which Papists advance in favor of their darling theory, save
the practise of the latter Fathers of their church."

"Mary, I cannot believe this doctrine, without further proof of Divine
sanction."

"Indeed, F