"I hope he kept the agreement," said Anna, "because his uncle said if he opened the box, he would be very much hurt."
"Perhaps it was a spring lock," suggested Walter, "that would catch his fingers and tear them right off."
On Thursday evening the little ones were punctually in their places, which, as Mrs. Dermott remarked, was a proof of Walter's great interest in the lesson, as it was bright moonlight night, and he had been enjoying a fine skate in front of the house.
Anna repeated the answer in course, and then Mrs. Dermott asked, "Who were our first parents, my dear?"
"Adam and Eve."
Mr. Dermott having taken his seat, said, "Walter, what is it to be left to the freedom of one's will?"
"I always thought," replied the boy, "that it meant you might do a thing or not, just as you chose."
"A very good definition, my boy! When God had placed Adam and Eve in their beautiful home, he said,—
"'Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.'
"Would God have told Adam not to eat of it, and threatened him with death provided he did, if he was not left free to act in any way he chose?"