saying--

"I now see
Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, myself
Before me; Woman is her name, of man
Extracted: for this cause he shall forego
Father and mother, and to his wife adhere;
And they shall be one flesh, one heart, one soul."

The imagination paints this scene. In fancy we behold Adam winning
Eve, "for she would be wooed, and not unsought be won." Won she was,
and Adam was brought to the sum of earthly bliss. They dwell together
in sweet accord, Adam fears for her safety when apart from him. Evil
threatens them. Together they would be strong, he thinks, apart they
would be weak, and so in fear he speaks of the enemy lurking in the
garden, and seeking to find them asunder.

"Hopeless to circumvent us joined, where each
To other speedy aid might lend at need;
Whether his first design be to withdraw
Our fealty from God, or to disturb
Conjugal love, than which, perhaps, no bliss
Enjoyed by us excites his envy more;
Or this or worse, leave not the faithful side
That gave thee being, still shades thee and protects.
The wife, where danger or dishonor lurks,
Safest and seemliest by her husband stays,
Who guards her, or with her the worst endures."

Eve resents the imputation of weakness, and insists on being left
forever fancy free to roam at will. In self-confidence she goes forth
and falls, and in falling introduces sin into the world.

Let us review the past, and recall a few facts which, deserve
consideration, before we enter upon the contemplation of Woman's Work
and Woman's Mission. It will not be denied that Eve was created to be
a helpmeet. That Satan tempted her, and converted the helpmeet into a
tempter. In that light we have considered her power. We have seen that
Eve, in bringing ruin to man, turned her back upon the Creator and
Preserver of mankind, and paved the way for the introduction of
idolatry, the shadows of whose multiplying altars shrouded the old
world in the gloom of night. From the ruin of Eve to the restoration
in Mary, the history of this world resembles a deep valley filled with
death and sorrow and gloom. In Adam all died, in Christ all shall be
made alive. Bethlehem with its manger is set over against Eden with
its bower. During that old dispensation, manly qualities were honored
and womanly qualities were ignored. The effects of sin are seen. God
doth not hold guiltless the sinner. The consequences of sin run on.
They made woman's life wretc