lavished upon him. But not all the gorgeous splendor of oriental scenes with which he was surrounded; not the song of birds rejoicing in the gladness of their new creation; not the forms of beauty wooing him on every side; not his imperial dignity, though gifted with supremacy over every living thing; not even the companionship of angels, could fill the void in his heart, and make him fully blessed. He needed communion with a kindred soul, with one whose wants and joys were like his own, and who should be bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.

"The earth was sad, the garden was a wild,

And man the hermit sighed, till woman smiled."

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It is not good for man to be alone," was the word of unerring wisdom, and then, as the crowning work of creation, woman was made and brought to her lord, that last best gift, which doubled the value of every other.

Milton's exquisite picture of our common mother as she appeared to her enraptured companion, though skilfully painted, undoubtedly fails to do full justice to the matchless original:

"So lovely fair,

That what seemed fair in all the world, seemed now Mean, or in her contained and in her looks." "Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, In every gesture dignity and love."

With what delight must Adam have gazed on this beautiful being, who was henceforth to be his own, the partner of his joys, the sharer of his earthly destinies and his heavenly inheritance. He says of her to the angel Raphael:

"What she wills to do or say

Seems wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best;
All higher knowledge in her presence falls
Degraded; wisdom in discourse with her
Loses discountenanced, and like folly shows;
Authority and reason on her wait,

As one intended first, not after made
Occasionally; and to consummate all,

Greatness of mind and nobleness their scat

Build in her loveliest, and create an awe
About her, as a guard angelic placed."

The imagination loves to linger about the bowers of Eden after this bridal morn, and endeavor to picture the bliss of the newly formed pair, as hand in hand they explore the wonders of their delightful abode, and talk of the goodness of their heavenly Benefactor; while the shining way from earth to heaven,

still open to them, was radiant with celestial forms coming down to gaze with delight and admiration on this latest work of the almighty hand.

Surely one might suppose such happiness was beyond the power of chance or change. Surely nothing evil could find entrance into the garden of the Lord, hallowed by his frequent presence, and guarded by his omniscient eye.

Alas, from the hour in which Lucifer, "sou of the morning," fell from his estate among the angels of light, he has been continually roaming through the universe of God, seeking whom he might seduce from their allegiance to the Most High. The garden of Eden with its innocent and happy inhabitants was not likely to escape his observation; and assuming a convenient disguise, he awaited the opportunity of making his grand experiment on the firmness and integrity of our first parents. With that sagacity which for thousands of years has given Satan his "bold, bad eminence" over the fallen angels, he carefully avoided meeting Adam and Eve when in com

pany; but selecting the woman as the one who might be most easily wrought upon, he no sooner found her alone than he ventured to address her.

Stimulated by wonder and curiosity, for before the fall the serpent had none of the repulsive attributes with which he has since been invested, Eve listened eagerly, thus giving the tempter an advantage of which he was not slow to avail himself. Skilfully mingling delicate flattery with insinuations against the benevolence of the Creator, he endeavored to awaken in her breast vanity and ambition, by informing her of the glorious effects which would result from disobedience to the divine. command. Incredible as it may scem, that a being so favored and blessed should for a moment listen to any reflection on the glorious Giver of all her enjoyments, Eve suffered the poison of the serpent to enter her ear, and thus gain access to her heart. Could it be that she and her beloved Adam might at one step become like the glorious spirits who often visited them, simply by eating of the fruit of that wonderful tree which had been so strictly

prohibited by God? Why this strange prohibition?

Listening for a moment was Eve's first step in the downward course; daring to question the goodness of God the second; and from these to the third, actual disobedience, the transition was easy and natural.

"She plucked, she ate;

Earth felt the wound, and nature from her seat,
Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe,
That all was lost."

With a thrill of fiendish exultation the tempter retired, leaving to his victim the task of rendering the victory complete, by persuading Adam to join in her transgression. Hapless pair! but lately so innocent and joyous, now so lost and miserable. When the glory of the Shechinah announced the presence of the Lord God in the garden, instead of running to welcome the divine Guest, Adam fled, and vainly hoped to hide himself, ashamed to meet his injured Maker. Compelled at length to appear and answer to the question, "Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I told thee thou shalt not eat of it?" he