right hand was a representation of heaven, and on the
left, of hell. Heaven was made to appear like a bright,
beautiful, and glorious place. A wall of pink color
surrounded it, and in the center was a spring of clear
water. In the midst of this spring stood a tree, bearing
on every limb a lighted candle, and on the top, the image
of Christ and a dove.

Hell was surrounded by a black wall, within which, there
was also a spring; but the water was very black, and
beside it stood a large black image, with horns on its
head, a long tail, and a large cloven foot. The place
where it stood was in deep shadow, made to resemble, as
neatly as possible, clouds and darkness. The priest led
me up to this fearful object, and placed me on one side
of it, while he stood on the other; but it would turn
away from him towards me, roll up its great eyes, open
its mouth and show its long white tusks. The priest said
it turned from him, because he was a good man, and I was
very wicked. He said that it was the devil, come up from
the bottomless pit to devour me; and if I said such wicked
words again, it would carry me off. I was very much
frightened, for I then thought that all he said was true;
that those images, which I now know were strung on wires
were really what they were made to represent.

In fact, until I was fifteen years old, I really believed
that the image I then saw was an evil spirit. But since
that time, I have been made to know that the priests
themselves are the only evil spirits about the place.