he wound, and nature from her seat,
Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe
That all was lost."

What a rumpus about a trifle! It reminds us of the story of a Jew who
had a sneaking inclination for a certain meat prohibited by his creed.
One day the temptation to partake was too strong; he slipped into a
place of refreshment and ordered some sausages. The weather happened to
be tempestuous, and just as he raised his knife and fork to attack the
savory morsel, a violent clap of thunder nearly frightened him out of
his senses. Gathering courage, he essayed a second time, but another
thunderclap warned him to desist. A third attempt was foiled in the same
way. Whereupon he threw down his knife and fork and made for the door,
exclaiming "What a dreadful fuss about a little bit of pork."

Eve's transgression, according to the learned Lightfoot, occurred "about
_high noone_, the time of eating." The same authority informs us that
she and Adam "did lie comfortlesse, till towards the cool of the day, or
_three o'clock afternoon_." However that may be, it is most certain that
the first woman speedily got the better of the first man. She told him
the apple was nice and he took a bite also. Perhaps he had resolved to
share her fortunes good or bad, and objected to be left alone with his
menagerie. Lightfoot describes the wife as "the weaker vessell," but
a lady friend of ours says that the Devil stormed the citadel first,
knowing well that such a poor outpost as Adam could easily be carried
afterwards.

Having eaten of the fruit, and thus learned to distinguish between good
and evil, Adam and Eve quickly discovered that they were naked. So they
"sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." We are not told
who gave them lessons in sewing. Perhaps they acquired the art through
intuition. But the necessary implements could not have been gained in
that way. Dr. Thomas Burnet, whose mind was greatly exercised by the
astounding wonders of the Bible, very pertinently asked "Whence had
they a needle, whence a thread, on the first day of their creation?"
He, however, could give no answer to the question, nor can we, except we
suppose that some of the female angels had attended a "garden party"
in Eden and carelessly left their needles and thread behind them. Any
reader who is dissatisfied with this explanation must inquire of the
nearest parson, who, as he belongs to a class supposed to know almost
everythi