What though in solemn silence all Move round this dark terrestrial ball! What though no real voice or sound Amidst their radiant orbs be found!-- In reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice; Forever singing as they shine, "The hand that made us is Divine." --_Joseph Addison._ [Illustration: CREATION OF TERRA FIRMA. (_Raphael._)] THE GARDEN OF EDEN. When Adam and Eve looked out upon the world round about them; when they saw the flowers and the grasses; when they heard the splashing of the sun-lit waters, and the rustling of the soft branches,--then their hearts were filled with love for each other, for their home, and for the Father who had made all this joy for them. For a long time they wandered up and down the Garden of Eden, singing songs, and ready always to hear the voice of God when he spoke to them in the soft winds that played among the tree tops. Now, there was a wicked angel, named Satan. He had been cast out from heaven, down, down from the blue sky. And in his own unhappy home he dwelt now, alone, wretched and revengeful. And when he saw this happy man and woman, so good and pure, their hearts bounding with love to God and joy in right doing, his cruel face grew black. "Such happiness shall not last," he said. So he crept into the Garden, took on the form of a serpent and spoke to Eve. "Eat of the fruit of this tree," he said, "and give it to Adam that he may eat too." "But we are forbidden," Eve said. "The fruit is like no other. Eat! Ye shall not die," the serpent answered. [Illustration: THE EXPULSION OF ADAM AND EVE FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN. (_Dore._)] Then Eve gathered the fruit and ate of it. It was sweet, even as the serpent had said. Then she gathered more, and Adam, too, ate of it. Then darkness fell upon the earth. A great wind arose, the thunder rolled, and God drove Adam and Eve out from the Garden of Eden; and at the entrance He placed cherubims and a flaming sword for no one who had sinned could dwell in a land so beautiful and free from sorrow. But God pitied these children of his; and, although they had sinned against him, he saw that, after long years of suffering, One should be born, who would bring back to earth the joy and peace and happiness that had once been theirs, and which would have been to all their children in all the time to come, had not these parents sinned. And so Adam and Eve went out into the world to work and struggle and build homes for themselves. [Illustration: ADAM AND EVE. (_Raphael._)] By and by two baby boys were born to them,--Cain and Abel. Pure and kind and good these children should have been. But now they were born into a world of sin, and of the nature of sin they too partook.