One morning of the first sad Fall, br Poor Adam and his bride br Sat in the shade of Eden's wall-- br But on the outer side. br br She, blushing in her fig-leaf suit br For the chaste garb of old; br He, sighing o'er his bitter fruit br For Eden's drupes of gold. br br Behind them, smiling in the morn, br Their forfeit garden lay, br Before them, wild with rock and thorn, br The desert stretched away. br br They heard the air above them fanned, br A light step on the sward, br And lo! they saw before them stand br The angel of the Lord! br br 'Arise,' he said, 'why look behind, br When hope is all before, br And patient hand and willing mind, br Your loss may yet restore? br br 'I leave with you a spell whose power br Can make the desert glad, br And call around you fruit and flower br As fair as Eden had. br br 'I clothe your hands with power to lift br The curse from off your soil; br Your very doom shall seem a gift, br Your loss a gain through Toil. br br 'Go, cheerful as yon humming-bees, br To labor as to play.' br White glimmering over Eden's trees br The angel passed away. br br The pilgrims of the world went forth br Obedient to the word, br And found where'er they tilled the earth br A garden of the Lord! br br The thorn-tree cast its evil fruit br And blushed with plum and pear, br And seeded grass and trodden root br Grew sweet beneath their care. br br We share our primal parents' fate, br And, in our turn and day, br Look back on Eden's sworded gate br As sad and lost as they.