Every good heart must surely exult at so satisfactory
an arrangement of an immemorial difficulty.
"Where is Mr. Great-heart?" inquired I. "Beyond a doubt, the
Directors have engaged that famous old champion to be chief
conductor on the railroad?"
"Why, no," said Mr. Smooth-it-away, with a dry cough. "He was
offered the situation of brake-man; but, to tell you the truth, our
friend Great-heart has grown preposterously stiff and narrow in his
old age. He has so often guided pilgrims over the road, on foot,
that he considers it a sin to travel in any other fashion. Besides,
the old fellow had entered so heartily into the ancient feud with
Prince Beelzebub, that he would have been perpetually at blows or
ill language with some of the Prince's subjects, and thus have
embroiled us anew. So, on the whole, we were not sorry when honest
Great-heart went off to the Celestial City in a huff, and left us at
liberty to choose a more suitable and accommodating man. Yonder
comes the conductor of the train. You will probably recognize him at
once."
The engine at this moment took its station in advance of the
cars, looking, I must confess, much more like a sort of mechanical
demon that would hurry us to the infernal regions, than a laudable
contrivance for smoothing our way to the Celestial City.
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