THE FALL OF MAN; OR, THE MYSTERIOUS BOX.
QUESTION XIII. _Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein
they were created?_
ANSWER. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will,
fell from the state wherein they were created, by sinning against God.
——————
VERY many times, during the week following the story of Edward, did the
children discuss the probabilities of his obtaining the prize.
"I do wonder what was in the box," exclaimed Helen.
"I can't think, or even guess," responded Walter; "but I could hold on
for one month, I know. Just think how silly 'twould be to go and look
when he was certain of knowing so soon, and of having such a reward
besides."
"I hope he kept the agreement," said Anna, "because his uncle said if
he opened the box, he would be very much hurt."
"Perhaps it was a spring lock," suggested Walter, "that would catch his
fingers and tear them right off."
On Thursday evening the little ones were punctually in their places,
which, as Mrs. Dermott remarked, was a proof of Walter's great interest
in the lesson, as it was bright moonlight night, and he had been
enjoying a fine skate in front of the house.
Anna repeated the answer in course, and then Mrs. Dermott asked, "Who
were our first parents, my dear?"
"Adam and Eve."
Mr. Dermott having taken his seat, said, "Walter, what is it to be left
to the freedom of one's will?"
"I always thought," replied the boy, "that it meant you might do a
thing or not, just as you chose."
"A very good definition, my boy! When God had placed Adam and Eve in
their beautiful home, he said,—
"'Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree
of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day
that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.'
"Would God have told Adam not to eat of it, and threatened him with
death provided he did, if he was not left free to act in any way he
chose?"
"No, sir. If God knew he would be obliged to eat it, I don't believe he
would have told him not to."
"Do you suppose Edward, about whom I told you, had the freedom of his
will?"
"Yes, sir."
"It would have been foolish for his uncle to tell him to be sure not
to touch the box, and to offer him a reward for not touching it, if he
knew that he could not act according to his own choice. Satan evidently
thought that our first parents could eat of the forbidden fruit, or
abstain from eating, as they chose; for he presented many arguments
to induce them to partake of it. These would have been breath spent
in vain, if he was sure they would eat of it. Poor Eve yielded to his
wicked solicitations; and when—
"'She saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the
fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave unto her husband with her, and he
did eat.'
"By what arguments she prevailed upon him to disobey the only command
of their Maker, the Bible does not inform us. Having eaten the
forbidden fruit, the covenant of life was forfeited; they fell from the
state of purity and holiness, wherein they were created, by sinning
against God."
"We will now return to the history of Edward. One, two, three weeks of
the month had passed away, and Mrs. Rowe had entirely forgotten the
conversation about the box; but she had noticed that for a day or two
her son had not appeared well. She determined to question him upon the
subject.
"She was sitting after dinner with her husband, who had not yet left
the house, when they were startled by a loud scream of distress.
Starting to their feet, they knew not which way to run, when there came
another prolonged, agonizing cry. Rushing up stairs in the direction
in which the sound seemed to proceed, they distinctly heard dreadful
groans from the attic.
"There lay poor Edward upon the floor, his hands pressed convulsively
to his side, from which the blood was oozing through the clothes. The
fatal box was opened, and a pistol, which had been so arranged as to
protect the contents, had gone off when the boy lifted the lid."
[Illustration: Edward opening the fatal box.]
"Mr. Rowe tore open his clothes and tried to stanch the blood, while
the almost distracted mother flew down stairs to send for a physician.
For weeks Edward lay in bed after the ball had been extracted,
suffering the most acute pain, and tortured by bitter remorse for his
conduct. The physician at length told his mother that he feared her
poor boy would never again be perfectly well.
"After two months, he was able to sit bolstered up in a large chair,
when his uncle came to visit him. Upon talking with him for an hour,
the gentleman went to the attic and brought from thence the box which
had occasioned his young nephew so much trouble. He told him that while
he was in India, a young man assisted him in packing his goods for
his return home. He had a quantity of gold which he wished to bring,
and this young man begged his acceptance of this box with the pistol,
which he thought would betray any robbers who might approach it. He,
then, without loading the fire-arms, explained to the boy how it had
been arranged; after which, he took out a false bottom to the box, and
displayed to the gaze of the astonished youth a greater number of gold
pieces than he had ever seen together.
"'Perhaps,' added the gentleman, addressing his sister, 'it would
have been better for me to have told Edward what consequences would
certainly follow if he disobeyed my orders, and persisted in gratifying
his curiosity. I intended to make him a present, and thought it would
be a pleasant and profitable lesson to him. But I calculated too much
upon the strength of his moral principle.'"
"But, father," cried Walter eagerly, "didn't his uncle give him any of
the gold?"
Mr. Dermott smiled as he replied, "You know, my boy, I told you that
this was not a true story, but a parable."
"O, I'm glad," said Anna, with a sigh of relief. "I thought Edward
would have to be sick all his life."
"'Tis fearful building upon any sin;
One mischief entered, brings another in;
The second pulls a third, the third draws more,
And they for all the rest set ope the door:
Till custom take away the judging sense,
That to offend we think it no offence."