O, happy pair, Lords of fair Eden’s blooming range, where earth, Benignant parent, from her verdant lap Spontaneous pour’d immortal sweets, and gave Whate’er could minister delight! Too soon, Alas, this scene was closed: behold them now, So lately rich in happiness, and blessed With converse of the Living God, o’erwhelmed In misery, and tortured by the stings Of conscious _guilt_. _Samuel Hayes._ _Guilt_ is a timorous thing, ere perpetration: Despair alone makes _guilty_ men be bold. _Coleridge._ And oh, that pang, where more than madness lies! The worm that will not sleep, and never dies; Thought of the gloomy day, and ghastly night, That dreads the darkness, and yet loathes the light: That winds around, and tears the quivering heart, Ah! wherefore not consume it and depart! _Byron._ Skeptic, whoe’er thou art, tell, if thou knowest, Why every nation, every clime, though all In laws, in rites, in manners disagree, With one consent expect another world Where wickedness shall weep? Why in each breast Is placed a friendly monitor, that prompts, Informs, directs, encourages, forbids? Tell, why on unknown evil grief attends, Or joy on secret good? Why Conscience acts With tenfold force, when sickness, age, or pain Stands tottering on the precipice of death? Or why such horror gnaws the _guilty_ soul Of dying sinners, while the good man sleeps Peaceful and calm, and with a smile expires? _Glynn._ Come and see a sad example! Look on my unquiet shade; Start not, sure ’tis nought uncommon, When the bones in dust are laid, That the lonely restless spirit, Whom a sense of _guilt_ doth fill, Walks the earth with ceaseless labour, Seeking to undo the ill. I was fond of place and power, Grasped the wealth that was not mine, Seized the friendless stranger’s dwelling, Left him in despair to pine. Now, O where are all my riches! Come, the sad reverse behold, For this gain my soul is bartered; Can a spirit’s loss be told? _Lopez de Mendoza_ (_Spanish_). Oppress’d with _guilt_, a painful load, O come, and spread your woes abroad! Divine compassion, mighty love, Will all the painful load remove. Here mercy’s boundless ocean flows To cleanse your _guilt_, and heal your woes; Pardon, and life, and endless peace; How rich the gift! how free the grace! _Steele._ HAPPINESS. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.