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THE THEOLOGICAL LIFE OF A CALIFORNIA CHILD. 767 
simply an improved earth. More than five hundred children locate it “in 
she sky,” ““in the clouds,” or ¢¢ up.” The next most common location is 
*“ where the good go” or ‘where God is;” while a few say it is ““in the 
sarth,” “all about us,” “on some star,” or “in the east,” ‘“and no one 
n a balloon could reach it, it is so far away.” More arguments are pro- 
duced to prove the location of heaven than to prove any other one point. 
Christ, they say, ascended ; Elijah went up; and several close the argu- 
ment for locating it in the sky by saying : ¢“ Besides, where else could 
it be 27 
Among those who are in heaven, four hundred and eighty-two 
mention angels ; three hundred and sixty-seven, God ; four hundred and 
twelve, the redeemed ; and sixty-four, Christ. A few mention dead rela- 
ives, the saints, Santa Claus, and unborn babies. 
Heaven is most commonly described as ‘“a beautiful place ;” but large 
numbers describe it as ‘“ a city,” ‘“a mansion,” “a palace,” <‘a fine 
house,” “a garden,” or ‘‘a park.” It has streets and gates, plants, 
flowers, birds, and trees. The concrete particular most commonly men- 
tioned is gold. The streets are of gold, the walks are of gold, the houses 
are of gold, and one boy has the angels eat gold bread. Several say there 
is no night, and opinion is about equally divided as to whether there are 
animals in heaven. 
The redeemed and the angels are generally the same. Three hundred 
and forty-six children mention their wings ; nearly the same number 
speak of them as looking like people dressed in white. A considerable 
aumber say they are women, because they never heard of any men being 
angels, while a few say they are fairies, birds, ghosts, or little babies. 
Several think of them as always small, others as having ¢¢ just babies’ heads 
and wings,” 
The appearance is sometimes carefully described, as when a girl of 
thirteen says : I think they wear white gowns shirred around the neck 7s 
and she adds: “I should think the boys and girls would wear their hair 
alike.” Another says : “I thought angels were all the same size : that 
even if before they died they were fat, they grew thin.” 
The activities of the redeemed, or the angels, furnish the most difficult 
detail in the children’s theology. Several say they do not know what the 
angels do ; but most of the papers represent them as flying around, play- 
ing on harps, and singing praises to God. Sometimes they are said to 
help God, and a very few have them help the people on earth. Children 
of twelve or thirteen often mention the monotony of the life. 
Several mention the angels as carrying the souls of the dead to heaven, 
and bringing babies to the earth. Some of the children declare that the 
angels work, while an equal number say no one works in heaven. To some 
of the children this freedom from work is the chief attraction. 
The evil spirit and his abode are pictured far less often and with less