Then Eve looked o'er the swelling wave, and, lo! The lake was overspread with blooming stars, Or snowy golden-centred cups, that rocked And spilled the choicest incense. Adam cried, 'The Lily;' but the sweet voice at his side, Grown tremulous and faint with overjoy, Could only whisper, 'Purity.' Then quick, With restless hands, she culled the floral star-- Queen of the wave--emblem of innocence, And hung it in the lion's matted mane, And twined it round the serpent's glittering neck; Thus humoring her fancy in the play Till half the morning hours had slipped and gone. Then, startled by the voice she loved so well, She left the sport, the creatures, and the flowers, And hastened back with Adam to the trees Where God was walking in the solemn shade. O mother frail, thou hast not known a tear! Thy spirit, clothed in simple innocence, Wears the true garb of bliss. Not yet thy hour Of sorrow and departure; nor the pangs And mystery of motherhood are thine! And yet, weak one! some day, because of thee, God's love shall give a Saviour to the world! WAS HE SUCCESSFUL? 'Do but grasp into the thick of human life! Every one _lives_ it--to not many is it _known_; and seize it where you will, it is interesting.'--GOETHE. 'SUCCESSFUL.--Terminating in accomplishing what is wished or intended.'--WEBSTER's _Dictionary._ _PART SECOND._ 'I have been young and now I am old, and I bear my testimony that I have never found thorough, pervading, enduring morality with any but such as feared God--not in the modern sense, but in the old child-like way. And only with such, too, have I found a rejoicing in life--a hearty, victorious cheerfulness, of so distinguished a kind that no other is to be compared with it.'--JACOBI. CHAPTER I. The first part of this narrative naturally closes with the termination of our hero's career at Burnsville, and his establishing himself as a resident of New York. Up to this period, he has had no great difficulty in making his conduct consistent with his religious professions. He certainly has striven with a species of conscientiousness to do so, and we repeat, he has achieved his object. Now, however, he is embarking on a very different sea from the quiet, placid waters of his village life. Here, Hiram Meeker, you will encounter many and frequent temptations to _do_ wrong. For you are soon to commence on your "own account," and then you must prepare for that mortal struggle, in which none, without the grace of God to aid them, can come off victors. Hiram understands this: that is, he has been educated to believe it. Surely he enjoys saving grace. Who more constant at church and evening meetings; who prays longer and more vigorously than he?