Cain's lamentations over Abel, in six books ... [Two lines from the text] / By Rowland Cotton.

CAIN's LAMENTATIONS OVER ABEL. BOOK THE FIRST.

THUS spake CAIN to creation, 'Be calm, be serene; let an awful silence reign throughout the wounded face of nature! Be reposed in solemn sadness, all ye cheer∣ful inhabitants of the creation! happiness is banished from your peaceful retreats; harmony no longer accompanies your social retirements; for the gloomy horrors of melancholy have found an entrance into the habitations of mortals, and the per∣spective views of felicity are buried in the gulph of infernal temptations. Short and momentary have been the days of hope allotted to the first born of mankind; like the wings of the mounting eagle, have ta∣ken

their rapid course with the velocity of imperception, and doomed the forlorn, the miserable CAIN to years of pensive woe! Resaon, art thou awakened? or do the phantoms of delusive imaginations deceive thee? Have the nocturnal slumbers of darkness taken possession of thy soul, and whirled thy scattered conceptions of things into uncreated wo••••ds? and the fancies of sleep discomposed thy superior powers by a confused mass of horrible ideas, repre∣senting to thy mind a scene that will be shocking to the ears of humanity, for ge∣nerations unborn, and denounce venge∣ance upon the posterity of the first homi∣cide and fratricide in the world?

'See! there he lieth! behold my bro∣ther! he sleepeth! But why this unusual —this motionless slumber?—why cold and liseless his once heaving pulse, that was wont to keep pace with the movements of nature's self; and those vigorous limbs that relaxed not in their activity to obey

their MAKER's dictates; even from the ri∣sing sun till evening shadows evinced ap∣proaching night?— The circling blood of manhood se•••••• retarded in its usual pro∣gress, and a fr••zen chilness closeth up those lively passages, that with progressive rotun∣dity of motion communicated activity from vein to vein! I will again open my lips un∣to him—'ABEL! ABEL! my brother ABEL aw••ke! behold before thee the image of horror! a bare statue of mortality! a man and no man—CAIN, thy brother! thy murderer! Speak, I say, if breath is still within thee!—he is silent!—motionless he rests, regardless of my entreaties.— What can this portend?— What can this change in man predict? Can this cold, this icy state, be the ALMIGHTY'S decree to ADAM and his posterity for the first act of disobedience in Eden's paradise? Or has the GREAT CREATOR, from his unaltera∣ble wisdom, appointed seasons and portions of time for the offspring of ADAM to have a temporary relaxation from the laborious exercises and measures of life? If it possible

that created beings can again return into heir primeval state of non-existence, for hours, days, or years? If so, why not the elder before the younger son of ADAM? Why either of the two before the father of both? Astonishment seizes me! my soul is troubled! I dread the consequences of my deed! Our father never experienced this mysterious change, or never revealed the unfathomable secret to his son, to pre∣pare him to encounter such a wordly revo∣lution.'

Thus was CAIN tossed to and fro by the agitations of his mind; framing such im∣perfect ideas of the nature of death—whe∣ther he had or had not killed ABEL his brother, as we must naturally conclude that ABEL was the first corpse that CAIN ever saw, having no Scripture tradition to give us room to suppose the contrary.

CAIN in this state of perplexity delibe∣rates within himself to go to his father and make known his anxiety—thus said,

he hastens towards ADAM, and thus ad∣dresses him: 'Father, thou first and ori∣ginal of men, speak to thy first born; dis∣dain not an answer to the requests of CAIN thy son; reject not his solicitations, nor turn a deaf ear to his petition—remove the sorrows of his soul, or they will become an increasing evil with his length of days— Declare unto him the mutation that hea∣ven has ordained for mankind—enlighten his ignorance; and let him not continue in the obscurity of fear, and hourly wan∣der in the labyrinth of despairing doubt∣fulness.' ADAM speaks—'Child open thy mind to thy father.' CAIN begins—

'Make known the will of GOD to thy son, that future generations may be ac∣quainted with the decrees of Heaven— Will the Creator of the world condescend to appear to the descendants of ADAM, and with the voice of majesty admonish them for their future obedience, to cleave to good and abhor evil? Are these any of the conditions the Almighty entered into

with ADAM, as renewing covenants for children yet unborn? Will CAIN, will ABEL, have the gracious opportunity of hearing and answering the Eternal One, by declaring his will to regulate their fu∣ture conduct in life? Will new commands, and injunctions of obedience be delivered to them, to guide them in the paths of rec∣titude and truth? Speak, my father, while CAIN thy son is close attention, to procure alleviation to his wounded soul.' ADAM thus begins;

'What alleth my first-born? What tumul∣tuous grief has taken possession of the soul of my eldest child? those questions border upon phrenzy; such interrogatories cannot proceed from deliberation, ripened by per∣fect maturity; Thy father is at a loss—it exceeds the limits of his comprehension, even to conceive the springs from whence thy difficult passages slow; it must be the production of some sudden disaster in na∣ture, for thy soul to be so agitated; origin∣ating in the first great sin of disobedience

in thy father; and those disquietudes and distracted emotions that disorganise the vi∣tal parts of my son, must be the fruits of that first guilt.'

'Oh, ADAM! thy memory is now refresh∣ed with the bitter reflections of that un∣garded moment, when the first act of in∣gratitude and evil was committed upon the earth by tasting the forbidden fruit.'

'Nothing, my child, has been withheld from thee or thy brother, that was apper∣taining to your necessary knowledge, that has been manifested unto ADAM your fa∣ther, by the Great Creator; no duties commanded or restrictions enjoined, have been kept from you; for it contributes much to the happiness of my days to wit∣ness the holy and blameless walking of my children before the Lord in purity of heart and uprightness of life; strictly adhering to the commandments of heaven, and in mutual love and concord with each other. But, CAIN, thy disordered looks forbode

some trouble pending, and nearly ripe to fruition; thy dejected appearance strikes a dread upon my mind, beyond the forti∣tude of paternal tenderness to support; the whole frame of nature within thee seems to border upon distraction; the agitating motions of thy soul, and irregular beating of thy pulse, are certain omens of some approaching evil—retire to thy peace∣ful habitation, and partake of the necessary calmness and tranquility—thou indul∣gest some ungovernable passion, some un∣ruly phantom that deprives thee of man∣hood, reduces thee in reason beneath the standard of a child, and bidding defiance to the exalted dignity of a man: restrain all doubtful timidity, and confidence in thy Maker, for all needful revelation for your instruction will be manifested in due time. If new dictates or prohibitions are ordained in heaven for the sons of ADAM to rectify their lives, it will be declared at the Lord's appointed time to CAIN and ABEL; GOD will not permit succeeding children to re∣main in darkness, and unacquainted with

his will. But declare unto me, CAIN, from what hidden motives issues that gloom on thy countenance, and the source of thy inward calamity? Remove my astonish∣ment! Cease not to quell the disturbance thou hast created in my breast, and dispel the anguish thou hast brought on thy fa∣ther, by concealing thy own grief—What moved thy earnest solicitations? wherein is thy soul wounded? Relate thy trouble to EVE thy mother; perhaps her superior knowledge in the virtue of herbs may pro∣cure some balsamic plant, that by her care∣ful preparation, may procure thee relief, restore thy disordered frame to its former calmness, and banish from thy mind all un∣ruly perturbations.'

To this discourse of ADAM, CAIN be∣gins to reply;

'Oh, my father! let me not see my mo∣ther! Parents of the misereble! in the an∣guish of my soul have I spoke thus. Answer me one question, father.' 'Propose it my

child.' 'What is death?' ADAM replies; 'It is the change, CAIN, instituted by hea∣ven to be undergone by all mankind, at GOD's appointed time; it is the Lord's doing; we then cease our mortal existence, and return to GOD that made us.' 'ADAM my father, be thou again attentive to thy son; solve his doubts, remove his fears, and speak for ABEL, thy child; my brother sleepeth! a sleep yet unknown to ADAM or EVE; Those purple streams that were wont to flow through the fibres of nature, and give activity to the vivid arteries of youth, are suddenly relaxed in their daily course, and become motionless, pale, and cold; the crimson hae that adorned and beautified his chearful countenance is, like a blossom of snow, vanished from sight, and an icy stiffness substituted, to fix a permanent chillness on his once bloomy cheeks; thus lies ABEL, the favorite of heaven, extended on the mossy bank, by the side of his staring and hungry flock, bleating for daily food from his tender nurture; he lies inactive, plunged unpre∣paredly

into that dubious state thou speak∣est of, by the hand of CAIN his brother! What have I done? Will he not again resume life, to renew his daily diligence? to present his acceptable sacrifices to his GOD, and his prayers to heaven to pacify offended wrath upon CAIN? I will hasten again unto him. Father follow thou me.

CAIN outran his father, and came first to the horrid spot where ABEL still lay.— 'I will,' said he, 'with tears of lamen∣tation, wipe the clotted blood from his lovely face before my father come, and pour over him the plaintive accents of my wounded soul; and in pensive strains of grievous melancholy, utter with mournful sadness the language of despair and repen∣tance. My brother! my brother! Have these hands produced the direful effects, originating in our parents first fall? is this death? Is the change pronounced up∣on the children of ADAM? Is this the curse denounced for eating the forbidden fruit? Is this the road allotted for all mankind to

travel from earth to heaven? ABEL, thou answerest me not; He continueth solemn∣ly silent! every organ of sense is deprived of its necessary properties; the whole body overhung with gloomy sadness, and re∣gardless of CAIN's bitter reproaches on himself, he peaceably lays at rest.— CAIN, ignominious infamy hast thou en∣tailed upon thy posterity! behold the dire∣ful consequences of thy implacable malice against thy inoffensive brother; where gen∣tleness and meekness were always treasur∣ed up to receive thee into his arms with fra∣ternal and tender embraces. Heaven must be shocked at thy unnatural transformation from a brother to a murderer! detestable must thou be to thy own remembrance, to presume to limit the boundaries of Hea∣ven's will, by destroying a life which thou neither gavest nor can restore! Here com∣eth my father in tears.'

'ADAM, behold thy son; step forward and touch him. Is this death?' ADAM after a few moments recovering from his

shock, exclaimed, 'Cursed art thou in the sight of GOD; and impiously infamous will be the descendants of thy loins.' Curse me not ADAM! the curses of ABEL alone from the ground will sink me! Behold he is putrifying; he is hastening with swift dissolution to corruption, and presently be united in nature with the earth that sup∣ports him; CAIN laments him, CAIN by him unnoticed. What father, must now be done? Lift up thy hand against CAIN, and retaliate with the blood of thy first born, for the death of thy younger son, that CAIN may accompany ABEL through 'the unknown regions of death.' No, CAIN; vengeance belongeth unto GOD.' ADAM now looking upon ABEL cries out 'My child! my child! ABEL my son! he answereth not his father! This must be to die! This must be death! From this hour must ADAM and EVE bid adieu to joy; for the father of men has lived to see before he tasted death. I go and fetch thy mother, to be a witness to the power of death.

'No, father; wound not her tender feel∣ings with the woeful sight.'

O CAIN, this act of thine must exceed the threatened curse? the life of ABEL was the gift of GOD; he alone had autho∣rity to take it away. Woe be unto thee, thou hast involved us all in the guilty scene! The blood of ABEL will pierce the skies, and invoke Almighty vengeance for wrath upon us. Fly with rapidity, if creation can produce a cavern of darkness fit for thee! haste upon the wings of consci∣ous timidity, and hide thee, if possible, from the presence of GOD! But alas! no rock so dark, nor cave so deep, but the eyes of Omnisciency will detect thee! No work of creation, ever so dismal or dreary, that would display such clemeney as to admit thee within the bosoms of their obscurity, or vainly attempt to secure thee from the penetrations of Omnipotence! Humble thyself therefore before him: Let the smarting wounds of encreasing peni∣tence be mingled with the tears of deep

contrition, and unremittingly presented through the bitter channel of painful re∣morse, to the Throne of Heaven. Let humiliating protestations, daily, hourly, nay, every minute of thy existence, accom∣pany fervently thy lamentable supplicati∣ons, that the sacrifice of keen anguish may, in a small measure, be proportion∣able to the magnitude of thy crime. We know not the will of GOD; the wisdom of Infinity is unsearchable; it exceeds our shallow capacities; our ideas are too con∣sined to judge thereof; he can—he may be merciful where mercy is not due, and pardon sins that to us may appear unpar∣donable —Let, therefore, thy sorrow be unfeigned; thy penitence devoutly sin∣cere; and without relaxation or intermis∣sion persevere to the end of thy days; but be not vainly deceived with expectations of comfort or consolation from ADAM, for his riper years are incapable of admi∣nistering it unto thee.

'Behold my child, thy brother! there he lieth! Abel! my son! my child! he lieth extended; he is no more! Silence dwelleth within him: peace abideth with him. O CAIN, my son! I will forbear longer to encrease thy anguish, by exte∣nuating thy guilt. Henceforward, O my soul, be thou patiently silent, and submissive∣ly resigned to the heavy stroke with a hea∣venly firmness. CAIN.' 'Father.' 'Join me to commit his cold corpse to the earth, to its native parent dust; for GOD thus spoke unto thy father; 'For dust thou art and into dust shalt thou return.'

After discharging this last mournful office for my child, I return to EVE thy mother, and communicate unto her the doleful tidings; and hasten thou to ap∣pease thy offended GOD.' This last office of paternal love being with solemnity and tears discharged, the Parent of mankind, with mournful and broken accents, bids adieu to the grave of ABEL, and takes farewell of unhappy CAIN; and with

wringing hands, and eyes overflowing with waters of grief, he hastens through the shady bowers, moistening the grass with the tears of lamentation, in search of EVE his wife. EVE impatiently waiting the result of her husband and son's con∣versation, was eagerly prepared to hear the news from the mouth of ADAM. He attempts to speak; utteranee was denied him; faultering was his half lengthened syllables; and by long and forced expres∣sions, was the melancholy catastrophe an∣nounced to the mother of men; to the mother of ABEL the dead—She no sooner comprehended a sufficiency of ADAM's in∣articulate words, to dispel all doubts in her mind, but her whole nature within her with an unusual shriek, gave way to the unexpected shock; the voice of her ago∣nies reached the very skies! In vain did ADAM apply every effort that tenderness and reason could dictate to reconcile her dejected mind to the weighty intelligence; but anguish had taken too deep root for

conjugal affection to remove; and, extend∣ed on the cold element, she laid in an al∣most state of non-existence; when at last coming to reason, she lift up her eyes to∣wards ADAM with consternation, and cries out;

'Where are my two sons? CAIN, be∣ing now come within hearing of his mo∣ther's voice, with the terrors of guilt and self-cutting reproaches, flies towards the spot, and falling with his face to the ground exclaims:

'Woe is me! on me be the curse! on me be the vengeance that Heaven has re∣served for man's first disobedience; On me, O GOD, display thy wrath! ADAM was speechless; EVE almost senseless; neither capable of giving vent to the emo∣tions of pity or anger. The scene was af∣fecting; it was too distressing for the alrea∣dy wretched fratricide to support; and with the terrors of conviction, inseparable from conscious guilt, and surrounded with

the direful apprehensions of lamenting des∣pair, he quits the mournful spot of his al∣most lifeless parents, and ruminates sor∣rowfully where to fly to procure peace to his soul, and, if possible, to escape the vi∣gilance of his GOD. 'I will again return,' says he, 'to the sacred spot that faithful∣ly encloseth in its bowels the body of ABEL, now compounded with clay, and waiting its portion of time to mingle with its native dust.' Thus said, he hastens towards the habitation of death—when behold, a voice from the clouds, like the ratling of provoked thunder, speaks to him with the Majesty of Omnipotence—

'WHERE IS ABEL THY BROTHER?'

Struck with horror, guilt, and fear, the infernal tempter was at hand, and insinua∣ted into him a quick reply—'I know not: am I my brother's keeper?' Immediately sentence of condign punishment was in∣flicted upon him by the GREAT JEHOVAH; and, to screen him from the dangers of

the many enemies the bloody act had ex∣posed him unto from future generations, the Lord distinguished him from the rest of mankind by a guilty mark. What that mark was Scripture is silent; con∣sequently we can only form conjectures, e∣very one as their imagination leads them: If my opinion may be given, (and which I do not wish to force upon another) it was this—That conscious terror that dis∣plays itself in the countenance of every mur∣derer, when the question is confronted unto him with strong suspicions—with this im∣portant difference—that it was always ma∣nifest in the face of Cain, as the concomi∣tants of guilt to the day of his death.

CAIN having received the chastising ma∣lediction of provoked Heaven, heavily proceeds towards the grave of ABEL: languishing as he walks, he bemoans, with grievous lamentation, the empire that sin had erected within him; and with heart∣rending complaints, on the eve of distrac∣tion, he arrives at the mournful spot! the

sad hillock of death! and, in straims of pen∣sive sadness bedewed the hallowed turf that covered the mangled body of the in∣nocent victim, with tears of inconsolable anguish—After a few minutes sobbing and bewailing his forfeited bliss over ABEL's grave he exclaims to himself—'This is forbidden ground; the sacrifice of unspot∣ted purity rests concealed under this grassy hillock; defile not the ground by thy foot∣steps, consecrated to the relicks of virtue; polluted by thy evil, 'tis now become sa∣cred by admitting into its bosom the re∣mains of perfective innocence; I must withdraw the sharpened darts of piercing remembrance wounds my soul afreth. A∣dieu, thou virtuous spot, adier! The sentence of Heaven's frowns, replete with foreboding gloom, must now be fulfilled, and CAIN be banished into regions un∣known; where penitence may produce peace, aad solitude procure lost tranquili∣ty. O wretched man! miserable CAIN! to meditate death on the endearing foun∣tain of innocence, where it never entered

the heart to cherish a thought tending to thy disquiet, much less thy death! exe∣crable, foul, and black the deed; yet darkness must provide thee a cell to pour out thy complaints and dedicate thy soul to Heaven. Admonition from my father may be now salutary and beneficial to me; I again return and request his advice and benediction; he will not disdain to hear my plea.'

Thus said, he returns to his father and mother. ADAM beheld him advancing, and drawing towards him, perceives the mark of GOD, and says—'CAIN, what is this? thy countenance has the appear∣ance of nature's transmutation! CAIN replies—'Father give ear to the words of the unhappy! CAIN thy son has seen the Lord; the decree of justice is passed; thus spake the GOD of Heaven; A fugitive and vagabond shalt thou be. Earth is for∣bidden to CAIN its encrease; the MARK of Heaven is his security from bloody men; make known unto me the path to steer my

course for calm consolation; distressful as the hour, yet welcome would be the mes∣senger of death. Can forlorn hopes, or humble acquiescence to Divine mandates dispel the turbulency of raving madness? Retaliate ADAM for the blood of ABEL, by solicitation for Heaven's permission to disunite the soul and body of CAIN. He is, he can be no more than an incum∣brance on the earth; the ground whereon his foot resteth will be defiled by the pres∣sure of his image; barrenness will proceed after the footsteps of the cursed delin∣quent. I must die? Help me to die! The sin exceeds the extent of mercy! The a∣bominable crime will not admit of Hea∣ven's favour.'

Thus he importunes ADAM to take a∣way his life; ADAM was silent; he again proceeds—

'My soul wants deliverance from the bondage of a growing sensation that holds it in captivity from the enjoyment of e∣very

domestic and final endearment.'— ADAM speaks—

'No, Cain; the will of GOD must be obeyed.—EVE searcely recovered from her first confused state of mind at ADAM's relating the melancholy event, could barely summon fortitude enough to enter into a renewed discourse with CAIN or her husband; but she thus begins—

"ADAM, my spouse, my other half, let us not anticipate evil; there is an Al∣mighty Providence who ruleth all wordly mutations, and where celestial goodness deigns to protect and provide for the fee∣blest insect and twisting reptile; Comfort CAIN, that he may not plunge us into encreasing troubles by distrusting the cle∣mency of his GOD; dejection sitteth on his brow; his attitude is that of madness! Join thy feeling with mine ADAM, and let us mingle compassion with his flowing agonies—We may associate paternal pity and commiseration, as the same time we

hold in destation the enormity of his crime; let not the curses of the whole crea∣tion conjunctively deprive him of our pa∣rental love.'

CAIN was still in a posture of deep hu∣miliation —his grief overballanced the pow∣ers of impressed nature, and his soul heavy laden with the burden of affliction; the flowing drops issue from his swollen eyes, and fall to the ground like globulets of an heavy storm, the sound of which roused ADAM and EVE from their state of deep consideration how to advise him—when suddenly, as if guided by the hand of in∣stinct, they look in the face of CAIN, and without a uttering a word, both fell pros∣trate with their faces on the earth, and moistened the grass with the dumb waters of sympathy.

Thus our first parents lay, deprived of the organs of speech, but with groanings and lamentations that echoed through the whole diversity of nature's delightful space; the utmost boundaries of creation were

smitten with the uncommon sound; all the inhabitants of the forest were disturbed by the unusual echoes: The ravenous beasts of prey, the winged tribe of jocal harmony, the insects that hovered in the airy element and the little unnoticed reptile that twirls under foot, felt the effect of murder; and thrown into an unsual profound silence and terror, neither motion, voice or sound could be perceived on that side EDEN, but the broken, the plaintive accents of ADAM and EVE.

CAIN stood like an engraven statue of raving phrenzy, speechless, and motionless with eyes intensely fixed upon his father and mother. Thus lay the first parents of mankind; thus stands before them the first murderer in the world.

The sun was now declining, and draw∣ing spedily towards the close of it's daily course; The luminous brightness and warmth proceeding from the exhalations

of his radiant beams, was powerfully di∣minished, and the chilling damps from the surface of the earth made their gradual and forcible approaches, so that ADAM and EVE began to experience the sensitive effects of cold and advancing night; reason being a little recovered, they arose; EVE first; she opens her lips to ADAM and speaks thus;

'ADAM, 'tis prudent, 'tis the counsel of discretion for us to put a restraint upon immoderate grief, and not indulge the woes of an irretrievable malady.' Then embracing ADAM as her partner in calam∣ity, she thus begins; 'ADAM my husband, the joy of my soul; see before us our first∣born, sinking under the load of dreadful expectation; although the title of parent∣al softness is forfeited, let us not withhold from him the compassion of pity; Is not that established in the bowels of our affec∣tion? What must be done? Give me les∣sons of instruction, and I will deliver them

with improved admonition to our unfortu∣nate son; I can promise myself success from thy nature and ripened deliberations: be∣hold him before us! 'tis a melting scene; let us be tender towards him, it may re∣duce his soul to serenity, or we know not what a fatal moment of distraction may produce, when all the faculties are in a state of derangement; he may add iniqui∣ty to iniquity, and commit a suicide on himself; if this evil also befal us, unceasing and unavailing sorrow must accompany us all the days of our life; the pleasures of every sacred as well as moral duties will be banished from us; and all private con∣solations in our various circumstances of life will feel its effects, even in the midst of these unforeseen vicissitudes that our Maker has ordained for us to encounter; it will obstruct us in paying obedience to the Divine commands, by a continual prey∣ing upon our vital parts, rendering us in∣capable and unfit for the services required of us: besides, ADAM, thou knowest the Lord is merciful: he tempers judgment

with clemency; there are still beams of hope left for our child; the Lord preserved us from destruction for the first transgressi∣on; we involved our children and their successive generations in sin to the end of time, or CAIN would have been a stranger to jealousy or hatred to his brother; give reflection a seat in thy bosom; May we not justly attribute a portion of CAIN's crime to our first fall? We planted the seeds of sin, he only plucked the fruit; and 'tis impossible for us in this infantile state of nature, to conceive the different kinds and qualities of fruit that will be produced from the tree of sin that we planted; they will differ widely in degrees of magnitude and circumstance; yet all, proportionable to their enormity, destructive of that primeval innocence in which we were created; Let us endeavour to relieve his depression, to administer consolation unto him, and with joyful gratulation, he will return cheer∣ful thankfulness; leave him not sinking under the weight of ingrafted impiety,

transfused into him with his mother's milk; CAIN was not the first sinner; Are not we also banished the presence of the Lord? still we have hope; let us hope also for our child. If the increase of the earth is withheld from the labours of his own til∣lage, still nature itself is abundantly suffi∣cient to supply all his wants. The Lord has rejected his future sacrifices; then CAIN need not Till the ground—Pardon is trea∣sured up in heaven for repentance, or ADAM and EVE would be now as ABEL. Speak, my husband, what words shall I utter to my son? Let me alleviate the pain, if I cannot prevent the growth of grief by sin allotted him, or it will eat deeper into his soul, beyond the penetration of paren∣tal feelings, and beyond the power of com∣passion to moliify."

ADAM all this time was soberly attentive to the words of EVE, but could not subdue the rising tumults of passion against CAIN, that did at intervals force itself upon him; but still he strived against the depressions

that human infirmities made upon his mind; he strived in vain to stop the sources that produced sighs and moans for his child; he attempted to unbosom his mind in com∣pliance to EVE, but the power and vivacity of utterance had left him, and like a lifeless image he falls again to the earth. CAIN was no longer able to support himself under the melancholy scene, and began to ex∣claim against himself in the most poignant accents of grief—

'CAIN, CAIN, witness the effects of thy obduracy! consider the baneful consequen∣ces of thy lustful enmity against thy bro∣ther! Behold thy father surrendering up life to the cold mansions of mortality, by the tedious weapons of a soul wounded malady; by slow approaches to his native earth, to accompany ABEL his son in glo∣ry! behold also thy mother, with a heart softened by the melting compassion of plaintive sympathy, unable to keep within their limited bounds the watery drops, or

heart bursting sighs, turn all thy eyes to∣ward yonder spot, where resteth in peace the innocent victim of thy fury.'—He now addresses ADAM; 'My father if thou still re∣tainest life, cast thine eyes upon Cain, ere death removes his soul into the boundless regions of eternity, and banish him thy presence forever; Life is a burthen; exist∣ence is become insupportable; the cruelties of death will be a balm; it will deliver my soul from the bondage of relentless remorse and bitter torture; the execution of Hea∣ven's wrath cannot exceed the torments of a stinging conscience; Father, farewell! I die!—The hand that severed ABEL from thy bosom, shall remove CAIN from thy sight, and leave thee childless:—a similar stroke will produce a similar effect; and consequences must be left to future revela∣tion.'

ADAM, by a sudden emotion proceeding from those terrible words of CAIN, and trembling at the baneful project nourish∣ing in the bosom of his son, looks up, and

in that moment of perturbation, with the trembling of nature upon him, fell upon the neck of CAIN, and embracing him in the ecstacy of charity and love, and thus he begins;

'My first born! my eldest child!—As∣sume the man! be again thyself!—A fro∣zen horror has iced up my intellects in defiance of reason, and raging madness has taken possession of thee—thy irregular conceptions of things deceive thee, and will deprive thee from enjoying those suc∣cours that are reserved in heaven for the unfortunate—GOD ALMIGHTY is inge∣nuous in distributing mercy, and extendeth it as much beyond our comprehensions as beyond our deserts; and turneth not a deaf ear to the returning penitent and re∣claimed sinner.—Drive contemptuously from the recesses of thy soul all those sub∣tle and ensnaring insinuations, that are ob∣truded upon thy disordered senses by the first great revolter from heaven and decei∣ver of men—Thy life is the sole preroga∣tive

of GOD—let him be thy judge—let him be thy executioner—let his will be thy law; and as thy days are prolonged let thy prayer be incessant; embrace gratefully the season of life, that unweari∣ed devotion may atone for thy guilt— steadfastly adhere unto, and perseveringly discharge with close application, the duties thou hast hitherto neglected—sacrifice with grateful pleasure every vain delight that has hitherto been aiding to immerge thee in sin; and with praises devout dedicate thy future days to the shrine of morality and religion—chuse prudence for a direc∣tory in all thy desires, and let temperance be compounded with all thy gratifica∣tions; and forget not the sacred obligations due unto heaven for granting thee space to make thy peace with GOD; Such pi∣ous emotions will inspire thee with zealous fervency, and the beneficence of heaven will be more apparently visible unto thee; Almighty clemency will be more eminent∣ly manifested to thy conceptions, and thy present contracted ideas of Divine inspira∣tion

will shine with more captivating lustre in thy soul; the bright perfection of Om∣nisciency will dispel from thy breast those obscure imaginations that almost reduce thee to an inanimate Being; It is the LORD that punishes; it is the LORD that pardons; therefore let not the extremities of despair drive thee to madness; ABEL thy brother has not forfeited his right to the inheritance of heaven by his untimely dissolution; but thou, by sacrificing thy own life to the passion of terror, excludest thyself from all redemption, and cover, by the veil of suicide, all prospects of future felicity: therefore, my child, be calm; maintain a manly fortitude in thy breast; consider the conspicuity of GOD'S goodness and greatness in all the works of creation; and our chearful obedience to his precepts, is like undefiled virtue that brings with it its own reward; be watchful that thy fu∣ture conduct may not be defiled with sin, to plunge thee inevitably into the dark and horrible labyrinth of endless agony: our sins though numerous, and in magni∣tude

astonishing yet the love of GOD to∣wards us will still be superior in justice and in mercy. 'Tis proper; 'tis needful, that thy mind shall be occasionly check∣ed with the reflection on ABEL'S death, and produce within thee some painful re∣monstrances; yet still rest thou upon thy GOD; establish piety and holiness within thee, and with laborious exertions, culti∣vate a future integrity and uprightness al•• the days of thy life; Be quick, and obey the Divine mandate; seek some remote spot to take up thy dwelling amongst the inoffensive guiltless; those irrational in∣habitants of creation that are untainted with the corrupted principles of man, and by the instinct of pure nature, they may console thy plaintive accents; the luxuri∣ant branches of the grove, the variegated shrubs of the field, may, with the melody of their pliable movements, lull thy soul to repose.—Thy reflections thus encom∣passed on all sides, may, for a season, banish from thy memory the disconsolate situation of thy forsaken parents—With speed be

gone; obey the voice of the Lord; aban∣don this spot; because loathsome by de∣jection, and find a seat of meditation more consistent with the unsettled circumstances of thy soul; shun the dwelling of ADAM and EVE, that frequent interviews with the parents of sorrow may neither impede nor restrain thee in the exercises of emu∣lation and penitence: go where contrition, gratitude, and adoration to GOD demands all the pious servitude thy lengthened days can present; relish with pleasure the duties enjoined, and let the task be delight∣ful and pleasing; and this will be a balm to thy calamity, and banish despondency from the door of thy heart, and the powers of grief gradually abate within thee—Prayer and praise will be as bulwarks unto thee to enable thee to conflict with thy oppressive imaginations; and proportionable to thy perseverance will the beatitudes of GOD be displayed. This, CAIN, is the road; these are the footsteps thou must pursue, and thy assiduity herein will be crowned with success; let not thy thoughts delude thee;

for, by attempting to retaliate for ABEL'S death on any other terms, the GOD of all the earth will reject, and it will nip in the bud every appearance of irregularity with∣in thee; guard against thy heart, for know thou, it is desperately wicked, it is outrage∣ous, and requires the chains of unshaken resolution to keep it in subjection, and within the bounds of moderation; thou knowest what is good, and hast already experienced the knowledge of evil; curb all passions, and permit no vice to reign predominant within thee; be watchful that Satan may have no dominion over thee. Cherish these admonitions of thy father, and virtue will still add reverence to thy years; and thy lengthened days will be accompanied with hopes to the grave. CAIN, thy father has discharged his duty, and bids thee farewell—Farewell, my child!'

'My father, farewell! Eve, my mother, farewell! Parents of mankind, farewell!

EVE, unable to sustain herself under the impressive weight of affliction, thus began;

'My child! my first born! and must the sorrows of EVE be her annual consecra∣tion? must tears alone be her daily conso∣lation for the loss of both her sons? ADAM, review thy admonition; let not paternal counsel exceed the limits of needful pre∣caution; hast thou closed up the bowels of compassion? Canst thou reconcile thy parental feelings to thy child's continual absence? Wouldst thou exclude him for∣ever our sight? be not lost to sensation; thou spakest to CAIN, while thy eyes and thy heart was with ABEL; thy affections for the dead divested thee of sympathy for the living son: I doubt not his sincerity; all his vital parts are oppressed with convic∣tion; not a member in his whole frame that has escaped the powerful agitation; he seems inflexible on contrition; the stormy seasons of boisterous mutations are gone and past; he detests his crime, and long∣eth to seek refuge in the bosom of peni∣tence;

his future days will be regulated by the standard of truth; and holiness and righteousness be established within him forever; as thou spakest unto him with se∣renity, he listened to his father with in∣struction, and the sage counsel of years had the desired effect: Can there be danger? May not our child, at the expiration of revolving seasons return again to his dis∣consolate Parents, and chear their droop∣ing spirits, by removing their deep root∣ed grief? We shall then be joyful witnes∣ses of his improving accomplishments; we shall see him growing to perfection in the knowledge and practice of those duties that constitute happiness and peace of mind, and ADAM and EVE be partakers of CAIN'S tranquility; it must gladden the hearts of his parents to behold the happy change; a pleasing confirmation; and en∣livening to our souls and in the midst of solitude create in us a rapturous devotion to celebrate praises to Heaven! those ob∣stacles of gloomy doubtfulness that will at

intervals intrude upon our moments of re∣tirement, will be kept at a reasonable dis∣tance, as is requisite for our more serious performance of religious duties, and ren∣dering our services in obedience to the Al∣mighty will; it will strengthen our forti∣tude to encounter patiently all those afflic∣tive smarts that will occasionally dart into our souls, and occupy the recesses of our hearts, almost unmolested; and thus, from groundless fears, we shall accumulate upon ourselves real evils; we are, as well as CAIN, strangers to the inward workings of heaven; neither know we the secret in∣tentions of the Lord in these things.'

'ADAM, speak again to CAIN—press upon him his zealous obedience to his co∣venanted GOD, and solemnly remind him of his renewed engagements; and when the melodious voice of peace has established its dwelling within him, and he finds his soul purified with calm and holy gladness, and an uninterrupted converse with heav∣en, has procured him a sweet complacency

of mind, he may, thus prepared for our embraces, return to his parents again, and, under the auspices of Heaven's favour, pay the duties of filial gratitude unto us; this will cheer us under hourly depressions, and give us comfort in our acquiescence to Providence—we can be aiding unto him by a cultivation of virtuous seeds in his mind; the beneficence of Providence will become more conspicuous unto him; and his ideas of heaven be more enlarged, and refined, and fitted for the digestion of Di∣vine revelation. Speak thus, ADAM to the child of thy bosom, it will be salutary to the heart of thy wife.'

ADAM at this last and earnest solicitati∣on of EVE, seemed to be wrought upon by her arguments, and inclined to charity to∣wards CAIN—he drew such conclusions from her words as had weighty influence upon his own judgment, and thus began again to discourse with CAIN—

'My son, is there yet a branch of vir∣tue left within thee? or one grain of seed centered within thee, not yet burried in the bowels of evil, whereon thy father may place a shadow of hope? is there yet a va∣cuity unoccupied by the flames or ashes of sin, that a virtuous deed may take possessi∣on?' CAIN answereth—

What sayest thou my father!' ADAM replies—

'What are the emotions of thy heart? is there a stability in thy vows to Heaven? Do unshaken resolutions and firmness of mind unite together to oppose the en∣croachments of thy soul, that have hither∣to put all mortality to defiance?' CAIN, with broken acccents and words scarce in∣telligible, replies to ADAM;

'Father, suspect me not: a second evil cannot be produced from a first that is final∣ly eradicated, root and branch; the malig∣nancy

of sin is apparent unto CAIN in all its odious deformities, and the rebellious fiend is subdued by all the arrows of convic∣tion; his former insinuations are abolished and beome annihilated in CAIN; religion shall reign as sovereign over the empire of his soul and supplications to Heaven shall never cease: reason beginneth to abound and stedfastness of thought remain∣eth with him: CAIN knoweth that to as∣spire towards Heaven is to be humble at the footstool of its throne; Sin has been compounded with all CAIN'S actions; but is not mercy tempered with God's justice? shame is visible in my countenance, and the mark of conscious guilt condemns me; so shall my repentance be demonstra∣ted by simplicity; to GOD I will apply; by GOD will the necessary succours be admi∣nistered; persecutions from men shall not sink me, nor tribulations of conviction weigh me down; to shameful actions I will be estranged, that creation may not again blush at my guilt; moderation shall be the regulator of my desires; and my petitions

justifiable, that they may be accepted, and return unto me bountiful, and the bles∣sings impressed on me with grateful joy; CAIN can defy Satan; the helmet of Hea∣ven is proof against his assaults, and cou∣rageously can he combat the tempter; seduc∣tion shall no more invite him, nor perfidy any more harrass him; discontent shall no longer abide with him, nor sadness damp his chearfulness.' Here CAIN ended, and again addressed his father with a fare∣well; Parent, farewel! again I bid adieu to this spot of rural innocence, and fly to regions unknown".

CAIN, my child! my blessing! and may the presence and munificence of Almighty benediction await thee, and accompany thee to the retirements of solitude! Fare∣well! farewell.!

EVE now approached towards CAIN, with the sinking steps of paternal affections and maternal feelings, and almost drowned in tears of sympathetic tenderness, drop∣ping

almost imperceptibly from her over∣flown eyes, not able to contain the heart-feeling moisture, while she took a fainting embrace from her child.

'EVE,' says ADAM, 'our son is now taking his leave of this beautiful spot; let us hope the remembrance of it will be en∣graved on his bosom, and chear him in his moments of devotion.'

'My child!' my child!' said EVE, and down she dropped, unable to proceed; ADAM raised her on her knees.

'What says the wife of my bosom? Speak to thy son.' Heaven accompany him, said she, and down she fell. ADAM again raised her, and she faintsin his arms. CAIN ran to a murmuring brook and bro't water, and sprinkled on the face of his mo∣ther; she came to herself, and began;

'May thy resolutions be strengthened with thy days, and the glorious brightness

of heavenly splendor surround thee with benign consolation in the gloomy mansions of thy different retirements; improve thy mental powers with the attentive cares of prudence, and let thy daily adorations be presented with unremitting dilligence; and remember that the Lord thy GOD is privy to all thy thoughts, thy words, and thy ac∣tions; treasure up in thy soul the words of thy parents, and bid them adieu! Fare∣well, my child! farewell! ADAM again embraces him; and with the language of sorrow, scarcely articulate, speaks unto him:

'My son darkness is approaching— in a few hours night will becloud the at∣mosphere, and all creation be dressed in sable melancholy; we must 〈◊〉〈◊〉 to the mournful separation—be gone; 〈◊〉〈◊〉 more than frail nature can support to look upon thee. Behold EVE thy mother, she is sinking under the pressure of weeping grief —thy father trembles like the approach∣ing dissolution of mortality; embrace the present inanimate moment, and fly our sight;

be gone! I sink! EVE is swooning! life is almost obsc••••ed—speak no more.'

'Farew•••• my parents; I go; adieu! I am gone! ••••••ewell! farewell!—Look not behind yo•••• ••omeet the languishing eyes of CAIN, that without the emotion of addi∣tional unquiet he may to the utmost bounds of sight have a glimmering perspective of his beloved parents, and escape the poig∣nant wound that their distorted features would make upon his soul—Now I go, I go, my parents I go; farewell! I am gone! My father and mother farewell!'

ADAM and EVF, both together, at this instant, like the voice of one soul, without looking at CAIN, cried out—'Adieu, our child! adieu!