When these children were grown men, Cain hated his brother. He grew sullen and revengeful towards him. The serpent that had tempted Adam and Eve now tempted him. He listened; and one day, when they were at work together in the field, Cain slew Abel and hid him in the earth. Then a great storm gathered across the sky; and a voice said, "Cain, where is thy brother?" Cain trembled with fear; for he knew it was the voice of God. But he raised his wicked face towards the heavens and cried, "Why should I know? Am I my brother's keeper?" And the voice said, "Thou art thy brother's keeper." Then God put a brand upon the brow of Cain, and drove him forth into the wilderness, to be a fugitive and a vagabond. [Illustration: STATUE OF CAIN. (_Giovanni Dupre._)] THE CURSE OF CAIN. O, the wrath of the Lord is a terrible thing!-- Like the tempest that withers the blossoms of spring, Like the thunder that bursts on the summer's domain, It fell on the head of the homicide Cain. And, lo! like a deer in the fright of the chase, With a fire in his heart, and a brand on his face, He speeds him afar to the desert of Nod,-- A vagabond, smote by the vengeance of God! All nature, to him, has been blasted and banned, And the blood of a brother yet reeks on his hand; And no vintage has grown, and no fountain has sprung, For cheering his heart, or for cooling his tongue. The groans of a father his slumber shall start, And the tears of a mother shall pierce to his heart, And the kiss of his children shall scorch him like flame, When he thinks of the curse that hangs over his name. --_Knox._ [Illustration: THE DOVE SENT FORTH FROM THE ARK.] THE FLOOD. Earth shall be ocean! and no breath, Save of the winds be on the unbounded wave! Angels shall tire their wings, but find no spot: Not even a rock from out the liquid grave Shall lift its point to save, Or show the place where strong despair hath died, After long looking o'er the ocean wide For the expected ebb which cometh not; All shall be void, destroyed. --_Byron._ It was many, many years after Adam and Eve were driven out from the Garden of Eden that the flood came. There were thousands of people in the world now, and they were scattered here and there through the fertile valleys and along the rivers of the country far and wide. There were rich farms everywhere, and shepherds watched their flocks on the hillsides. There were towns and cities; many of them where people dwelt together and made their laws and appointed their law-givers. But in all these years the people had been growing more and more away from the simple, honest life that God had first shown Adam and Eve.