Did the angels glean fragments of sunlight
And tints from the blue of the skies,
Deep shades from the roseate dawning
Starry halos and rich sunset dyes
And tints from the blue of the skies,
Deep shades from the roseate dawning
Starry halos and rich sunset dyes
To wreathe in fantastical splendor
Around the first beautiful morn,
And cut into rubies and diamonds
The bride of the heavens, to adorn?
Around the first beautiful morn,
And cut into rubies and diamonds
The bride of the heavens, to adorn?
The power that subdued the fierce ocean
Created each flower in the dell,
The brooks and the bird's brilliant plumage
And the crags and vast mountains as well;
Created each flower in the dell,
The brooks and the bird's brilliant plumage
And the crags and vast mountains as well;
And placed in the midst of these treasures,
In the Eden of beauty and mirth,
Man, made in His own divine image
And formed from the dust of the earth.
In the Eden of beauty and mirth,
Man, made in His own divine image
And formed from the dust of the earth.
Oh! fair was the first bridal morning
That God in His wisdom ordained;
But alas! the lost charms of its promise
Humanity never regained.
That God in His wisdom ordained;
But alas! the lost charms of its promise
Humanity never regained.
Oh! the matchless perfection of Eden,
The center of beauty and love,
Where the Creator blessed the first union
Recorded by angels above.
The center of beauty and love,
Where the Creator blessed the first union
Recorded by angels above.
And down through the sin-tarnished ages
Comes that record, so stainless and true,
Of the pure and unsullied completeness
That the world in its innocence knew,
Comes that record, so stainless and true,
Of the pure and unsullied completeness
That the world in its innocence knew,
[ 50 ]
