t their whole lives in
sin, and who were saved, like the thief on the cross, by the grace of
a death-bed repentance. Evidently, neither these, nor others who
practised scarcely any virtue, are crowned with the high honors of
heaven, which are the reward of a virtuous life. They are,
nevertheless, perfectly happy, in their own degree, and sing the
mercies of God, who saved many of them almost in spite of themselves.
Theirs may be called a crown of mercy, rather than one of justice.

The other class is composed of baptized infants, and of children who
died before they were responsible for their deeds. These form by far
the most numerous class in heaven, if it be true that one-half of all
the children that are born die before the age of seven. But in heaven
they are no longer children; for their elevation to glory has
developed them into men and women. They therefore enjoy the full
perfection of human nature, as well as those who died adults. They
are, moreover, admitted to the Beatific Vision, and, consequently,
they see, love, and enjoy God, and partake of the additional
pleasures of heaven, as well as they who lived longer on earth. They,
and they alone, enjoy the happiness of heaven entirely as a free gift
of God, without any co-operation of their own. They are in heaven in
virtue of their adoption as children of God, and through the merits
of Jesus Christ.

Whatever may be their degree of glory, we certainly can never place
them on a level with the Apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins,
religious, and pious people who have fought a good fight against the
world, the devil, and the flesh. They never sinned, it is true, but
neither did they ever make an act of faith, of hope, of charity, or
perform any other act of virtue. Hence, theirs may be called a crown
of liberality; for they enjoy their beatitude as a free gift of
God's unspeakable liberality. Their never-ending song is, therefore,
one of gratitude to God for taking them out of the world before their
souls could be defiled by sin, or their little hearts turned away
from virtue by the fascinations of the world.

Here, then, kind reader, we have the whole multitude that we saw
standing around the throne of God. Though we have divided them into
different classes, and considered their glory separately, you must
not infer from this that the blessed are really separated from each
other in heaven. For how greatly soever the glory of the highest may
differ from that