St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1905-03-11

Sa5P the guilty pair cas-
@JFE forth! Death in
I'm laS 45sl the home-Deatt
" IN the elimination Of
~ I1@NNa sin! For "sir
A%A ! 1 when it is finished
~ 92W1J bringeth fortt
~ DEATH"
What strange
mysterious inf1u.
enceisit which steals upon the soul some
times, bringing vague dread and fear Ct
some impending trouble or tragedy
while yet the coming tragedy or trouble
Is unforeseen and unknown? Why the
unexplained depression Of spirits while
yet all is sunshine about and no cloud
Of the coming storm is visible upon life 5
horizon? Like the ominous calm that
comes as the silent prelude to the angry
tempest in the tropics, SO in human ex-
perience the storm of distress and sor-
row which sometimes sweeps in upon
the life is preceded by an ominous calm
leading to inner forebodings.
So it was with Mother Eve on the
morning of our story. The day was
filed with the beauty and gladness Of
nature. The song of birds was heard
inviting glad response from her heart,
and the sunlight bursting in through
the doorway, sought by it's brightness to
turn her thoughts upward. But the
happy mother Of that happy home could
not dispel the cloud that brooded like an
ill-omen over her heart. Not since
those blissful days in the garden when,
ere the temptation and fall, mysteri-
GUS dread had touched her heart while
yet unknown to her Satan was plot
ting her ruin, had such feeling come
upon her. She was conscious of the de-
preston almost with her first waking
thoughts, and the dark look on the brow
of her son Cain as he left the house on
his way to the fields drove the arrows of
apprehension more sharply into her
soul
Once, long before, she recalled hav-
ing seen such look upon Gains face.
It was upon the occasion of one of their
days of worship and sacrifice. Father
Adam had made the offering of the lamb
as God had instructed him to do, and
for the first time hewas telling to the two
boys-for they were then old enough to
hear the story-of the first lamb God
had slain in order that he might pro-
vide garments to clothe himself and
their mother.
Abel listened with reverent. earnest
attention, but his elder twin brother,
with apparent Indifference, played with
the pebbles at his feet, and when his
father paused in his story, blurted out:
81 don't see why the skins were any
better clothing than the garments you
made for yourselves.
Before Adam could reply to the irrev-
erent taunt, Abel, whose heart was stirred
by the story of God and Gods care, in
quired:
But, father, If such garments were
needed, why did not God provide them
when He created you"
A painful silence followed. Could he
tell the sad. dark side to his life? Could
he reveal the tragic secret Of his life
and the life of Mother Eve? 1t was a
subject which had not been referred to
since the expulsion from the garden.
But the question Of Abel came as rev.
elation to the fathers heart, and he saw
that he must make plain to his boys how
God had created man in His own image,
sinless and pure, and how, by disobedi-
ence, man had fallen from that state
into one of sin. At last he looked up
with tear-dimmed eyes, and with fall
tering voice he went on and told all the
long, sad story.
Cain. impressed momentarily by the
solemnity of the occasion, even though
The story itself did not seem to affect
him, kept silent for time after his
father ceased speaking, and then impa-
tiently exclaimed:
THAT was a small thing for God to
make 50 much fuss about, and don't see
how it concerns me, anyway"
Father Adam turned in sharp re-
buke upon Cain for his irreverence and
villful refusal to receive and under
stand Gods dealings with man.
Meanwhile, Mother Eve and Abel
we're holding earnest converse, Abel
asking questions and his mother ex-
planning these strange mysteries inso-
ar as she could. The father noted this
"a he was speaking, and he concluded
lis rebuke by pointing to Abel, and say
ng:
.Well, might you follow the example
r YOUR brother there, and seek with
i'm to understand these mysteries!"
At that moment Mother Eve looked
N and her quick eye noted the dark,
,vfnl frown which for a moment
.asted on the face Of Cain as he shot
IN angry glance towards his brother.
9ut It was quickly gone, and the
mother thought no more of it. In fact
"a had quite forgotten it until that
morning when she noted the same evil
ines distorting his face. She watched
tn disappear in the distance while
- anxious dread and underlined ter
nr clutched at her heart. She tried
! mink what it could mean.
The day before Abel had left with
!. aocks for pasturage at some dis
u. 80. rom home, and had remained
.,th them all night, as was often his
80. LOW Before starting he mentioned
= fact that'it was the purpose OF MS
y 80 ~ make an offering to the Lord
go : u. nrstlings OF his flock and both
a |, and father had commended