Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-06-22


zoology and ornith-
ology and ichthyol-
ogy he has noticed that the robins ny
the air in twos, and that the fish SWIM
the water in twos. and that the lions
walk the fields in twos, and IN the
warm redolence of that Saturday after
noon he falls off into slumber; and as
if by allegory 10 teach all ages that
the greatest of earthly blessings Is
sound sleep, this paradisaical somno-
lence ends with the discovery on the
part of Adam of a corresponding intel
ligence just landed on new planet.
OF the mother of all the living | speak
Eve, the first, the fairest, and the
best.
l make me a garden. l inlay the
paths with mountain moss, and l bor-
der them with pearls from Ceylon and
diamonds from Golconda. Here and
there are fountains tossing in the sun
light and ponds that ripple under the
padding of the swans. l gather me
lilies from the Amazon, and orange
groves from the tropics, and tamarinds
from Goyaz. There are woodbine and
honeysuckle climbing over the wall.
and starred spaniels sprawling them
selves on the grass. / invite amid these
trees the larks. and the brown thrushes
and the robins, and all the brightest
birds of heaven, and they stir the air
with infinite chirp and carol. And yet
the place is a desert filled with dark
ness and death as compared with the
residence of the woman of my text, the
subject of my story Never since have
such skies looked down through such
leaves into such waters! Never has
river wave had such curve and sheen
and bank as adorned the Pison, the
Havilah, the Gihon, and the Hiddekel
even the pebbles being bdellium and
onyx stone, What fruits, with no
curculio to sting the rind. What flow
ers, with no slug to gnaw the root.
What atmosphere, with no frost to chill
and with no heat to consume! Bright
colors tangled in the grass. Perfume
in the air. Music in the sky. Great
scene of gladness and love and joy.
Right there under bower of leaf
and vine and shrub occurred the first
marriage. Adam took the hand of this
immaculate daughter of God and pro-
nounced the ceremony when he said:
Bone of my bone, and flesh of my
flesh" A forbidden tree stood in the
midst of that exquisite park. Eve
sauntering out one day alone looks up
at the tree and sees the beautiful fruit,
and wonders il it is sweet, and Won
ders if it is sour, and standing there.
says: II think l will just put my hand
upon the fruit; ii will do no damage to
the tree; / will not take the fruit to
eat, but l will just take it down to
examine it," She examined the fruit.
She said: al do not think there can
be any harm in my just breaking the
rind of it," She put the fruit to her
teeth, she tasted. she allowed Adam
also TO taste the fruit. the door of the
world opened, and the monster Sin en-
tered. Let the heavens gather black
ness, and the winds sigh on the bosom
of the hills, and cavern, and desert, and
earth, and sky join in one long, deep,
hell-rending howl-"The world is
LOST"
Beasts that before were harmless
sling, and tooth, and tusk. Birds whet
their beak for prey. Clouds troop in
the sky. Sharp thorns shoot up through
the soft grass. Blastings on the leaves.
All the chords of that great harmony
are snapped. Upon the brightest home
turned their back and led forth on
path Of sorrow the hearted my
riads of ruined race.
Do you not see, in the first place,
the danger of a poorly regulated in
ouisitiveness? She wanted to know
how the fruit tasted. She found out.
but six thousand years have deplored
that unhealthfui curiosity Heaithful
curiosity has done great deal for let
tiers, for art, for science, AMI for reIi-
gion. 1t has gone down into the
depths of the earth with the geologist
and seen the first chapter OF Genesis
written in the book OF nature illus
trated with engraving on rock. and il
stood with the antiquarian while he
blew the trumpet OF resurrection over
buried Herculaneum and Pompeii, UNI
Ill from their sepulchre there came up
shaft and terrace and amphitheater.
Healthful curiosity has enlarged the
telescope vision OF the astronomer I'M
iii worlds hidden in the distant heavens
have trooped forth and have Joined the
choir praising the Lord. Planet
weighed against planet and widest
comet lassooed with Respondent law.
Healthful curiosity has gone down and
found the tracks of the eternal God in
the polypi and the starfish under the
sea and the majesty of the great Je-
hovah encamped under the gorgeous
curtains Of the dahlia. 1t has studied
the spots on the sun, and the larva in
beach leaf, and the light under fire.
fiy's wing, and the terrible eye-glance
of condor pitching from Chimborazo.
Ii has studied the myriads of animal
culae that make up the phosphores-
cence in a ships wake, and the mighty
maze OF suns, and spheres, and con-
stellations, and galayies that blaze on
In the march Of God. Healthful Gu