and made themselves aprons, to hide their nakedness. And when they heard the voice of God walking in Paradise, in the cool of the day, so conscious were they of their guilt and shame, that they hid themselves from the face of the Lord amongst the trees of the garden. But God called to Adam, and said, "Where art thou?" Finding that he was already discovered, Adam, in great fear and confusion, was forced to answer, "I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself." In confessing his nakedness he acknowledged his guilt. Yet, when God demanded to know who told him that he was naked, and asked him if he had eaten of the forbidden fruit, he owned that he had, but endeavoured to excuse himself by saying, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, gave me of the fruit, and I did eat." God now called the woman to account, by asking her "What is this that thou hast done ?" She did not attempt to deny what Adam had said; yet, wishing to excuse herself as her husband had tried to do, she said, "The serpent beguiled me and I did eat." God having brought this unhappy pair to confess their sin, did not proceed to question the serpent, but instantly passed sentence upon him, saying, "Because

thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field: upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." He then pronounced this sentence on the woman: "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception: in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children : and thy obedience shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Lastly, He pronounced sentence on Adam, in these words :"Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return to the ground out of which thou wast taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Having now received their sentence, they were driven out of the garden of Eden, lest they should eat of the tree of life which God had planted there, and live for

ever and God placed Cherubims to guard the entrance to Paradise with a flaming sword, to preserve the tree of life from their profane hands. Thus did Adam and Eve, our first parents, fall from that state of happiness and innocence in which God had created them, and by so doing they brought into the world, sin, and pain, and sorrow, and death; exchanging fair Eden's garden for an uncultivated world, which produced nothing for their food but what came from their constant toil and labour. How bitter must have been their selfreproach, at their folly! And what would they not have given could they but have undone the evil they had committed! But it was too late, for sin and sorrow were now their portion.

8. It pleased God, however, in the midst of sore judgment, to remember mercy; and to allay their sorrow He gave them a son, to whom Eve gave the name of Cain. They had another son, soon after this, who was named Abel. When they were grown up, Abel followed the peaceful employment of a shepherd, while Cain employed himself in cultivating the fields.

9. According to the command of God, each of them brought an offering to the Lord. Cain, who was of

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a proud and stubborn spirit, brought a portion of the fruit of the ground; while Abel brought the firstlings of his flock, and the fat of them. Lord, who saw and regarded the heart of both, accepted Abel's sacrifice, but was displeased with Cain's, and rejected it. Cain was now very

angry, for he saw that God had accepted Abel's sacrifice, and he was filled with envy and wrath against his brother. God saw this, and told him that it was his own fault that his offering was not accepted; that if he did well he should be accepted as his brother was; and that Abel should come to him as to a refuge, and submit himself to his authority as his elder brother. But this kind reproof made no impression on Cain's hard heart; for, instead of being sensible of his fault, and repenting, he grew more wrathful against Abel; and taking an opportunity, soon after, to talk with him while they were together in the fields, and when he thought no one was near to witness what he did, he cruelly murdered him.

10. But how mistaken he was to think that he could commit so dreadful a crime without being found out; since God, who is every where present, not only sees all that we do, even in secret, but knows every

thought of the heart. And He soon called Cain to an account for what he had done, by asking him, "Where is Abel, thy brother." To this question, Cain falsely answered, "I know not." And, as if greatly affronted at being questioned about him, he insolently asked, "Am I my brother's keeper?" God now plainly charged him with the murder and convicted him of it. "What hast thou done?" He said; "the voice of thy brother's blood cries unto me from the ground:" and He then proceeded to pass sentence upon him in these words: "And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee its strength. Moreover, a wanderer and a vagabond shalt thou be upon the earth." This was a light sentence in comparison with the dreadful crime he had committed. But Cain was amazed when he heard it, and began to be sensible of the heinous nature of his offence, and the misery he had brought upon himself.

"My offence," he said, "is too great to obtain pardon ;" and he appeared, now, to be driven almost to despair, saying, "Behold, thou hast Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall

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I be hid and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me." But God, who fixed the amount of his punishment, secured him from this dread, and declared that whosoever should slay Cain, vengeance should be taken on him sevenfold. And, that none might slay him by mistake, God set a mark or sign upon him that all might know him. Cain then departed from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, which was on the east of Eden.

11. Adam and Eve having thus unhappily lost their son Abel, God was pleased to supply their loss by giving them another, who was named Seth; "for," said Eve, "God hath given me another son instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." One of the descendants of Seth was named Enoch, who lived a good and holy life, and so pleased God that he was taken away from the earth without dying. This Enoch had a son named Methuselah, who was the oldest man that ever lived in the world; his age, at his death, being nine hundred and sixty-nine years. Methuselah had a son, named Lamech, who was the father of Noah. When Noah was born, his father predicted that he should prove a comfort to his family