old him that while he had slept in the Valley of the
Princes another angel, named Lucia, had been sent from Heaven to bear
him in her arms over the rough places where he could not have traveled
unaided, and that he now stood at the real entrance of the path up the
mountain.

"We must pass through that gate which you see in front of you," said
Virgil, "and before you enter it I must tell you that there will be some
very hard climbing for you, and sometimes you will grow weary and
discouraged, but be assured that it will become less painful as you
climb. The hardest part is the first part. It grows easier and easier as
you near the top, until, when you reach the Terrestrial Paradise, there
will be no longer any climbing at all. There you shall see your beloved
Beatrice and she will reveal to you a vision of GOD."

With this they started towards the gate. Now I must tell you about this
gate, children, because it was a very peculiar gate, and some of these
days you may have to go through it yourselves. As they came near, Dante
saw that it had three broad steps leading up to it. The bottom step was
like polished marble, and so shining that you could see your face
reflected in it. Each traveler who approached it saw just how unclean he
was, or how tired, or how cross looking. The next step was a dark
purplish black step. It was cracked lengthwise and crosswise, and had a
sad look about it as if it were sorry for the reflections which it saw
in the bottom step. The third step at the top was red, so red that it
reminded Dante of blood. Above this towered the great gate-way. Upon the
sill of this gate sat another wonderful angel in shining garments which
were brighter than the moon. His feet rested upon the top step.

As Dante and Virgil approached, the angel asked them what they wanted.
They told him that they wished to go through the gate in order that they
might climb the mountain. The angel leaned forward, and with the edge of
the sword which he held in his hand he printed on Dante's forehead seven
letters. Dante knew that the seven letters stood for the seven things
that were wrong inside of his heart. Then the angel took from his side a
silver key and a golden key, and unlocking the gate with each, he let it
swing wide upon its hinges, and our two travelers passed through.

They had no sooner entered than they heard a man singing praises to God.
As they traveled along the path which wound upward, they saw upon the
rocks