The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1882-04-29

in fantastic wreaths. I thought of the
Inferno, of Hecate and her crew, and OF
the vast sacrifcial altars upon which the
ancient AIexicans were wont to offer
their hecatomb of victims to the carnage
loving Mexitli. The very peaceful-look-
ing aud industriously inclined firemen
who hovered around the kiln would have
been astonished had theJ guessed that
by strange freak Of fancy they had
suddenly become metamorphosed into
| attendant priests, who awaited with
mystic incantations the coming Of the
destined victims of the funeral pyre.
am glad to say that no victims appeared
to be roasted, although one of the party
was matter-of-fact aud hungry enough
to wish for a goose, that it might be
cooked on that glorious fire.
The silk cocoonery is a private enter
| prise and seems destined to become a
very successful one. During my visits to
| the cocoonery Il became SO interested in
sericulture as to make more than one call
upon the little colony) had good oppor-
tunities to observe the worms in the sue
| cessivc transitions of their almost
ephemeral existence. Naturally I have
all the instructive loathing for reptiles
horrid, creeping, squirming things!-that at
Mother Eve in her early girlhood should
have possessed; and it was some little
| time before / overcame my prejudice
against caterpillars in general sufficiently
to allow me to venture upon nearer ac-
quaintance with the harmless specimens
which to the number of many thousands
were SO intently occupied in eating,
moulting, etc, as to excite a suspicion
that some ycrmcular Goethe had inn
pressed upon them his favorite motto of
No haste, no rest" Never hurrying and
never ceasiug, they live their little span
Of life, hour by hour performing their
allotted tasks, for what ITO give man
one luxury more! Do you not remember
one Of DR.. Watts verses Z:
How proud we are. how fond to show
Our clothes and call them rich and new,
When the poor sheep and silk worm wore
That very clothing long before.
Homely lines, perhaps, but apropos
enough to return to my memory when !
saw the poor silk worms busily engaged
in webbing up" under the supervision
of Miss -, to whom ana indebted
for many interesting facts concerning
her charge.
Although the Reading ROOM" a new
institution in the town, car. not properly
fall under the heading Of lions, still it
merits even more than a passing notice
from me, rs one ns~-.,s. -ee---- ~.
and polite enough, to ssconp paay re there
OH an inspecting 5ons. lie rooms
there are two of ai,en,--a1o n.eeiy Efted
up and present All attractive appearance.
All the leading journals OF s.ta day are
to be found there OH Tile, besides small
library of interesting books, which l
trust is only the nucleus of larger col
lection. Were the average Bayou Sarian
to literary pursuits inclined, I could i'm
agine he would find no pleasanter way
of passing his idle moments (Which from
personal observation must be many than
in the rooms of the Reading Club. The
! town is indebted for the clubs organiza.
ton and successful management to the
energy and disinterested thoughtfulness
of several young gentlemen who felt that
such an institution was much needed.
sincerely trust it may exert a ciyilizing
influence upon the young generation o
| the town. | use the word cicilizing ad
visedly for, to judge from the reports o
guns, drunken cries, etc, which are o
frequent occurrence at night, there art
many young savages in Bayou Sara ant
81. Francisyille, albeit they do not spoc
feathers and paint like their less rcspon
sible brethren of the western plains.
wonder why it is that Young Americ
does not consider himself fit to assum
the toga ritilis until he has learned TO fir
revolver, to drink half a pint Of whisk,
without blancl,ing, and to give utteranc
to /; volley of oaths before the blasphem
of which even "Our army in Flanders
would have recoiled i'll horror! We III
Weigh bitterly against the utter corrupt
ness of our public men who, in the hall
Of Congress and legislation, are intruste
with nations veal, yet take no pain
to rear up in soberness, righteousness
and honor the youth whose present is OF
making, whose future is their country
and whom unborn generations will eithe
bless or curse Is it any wonder that til
Republic is tottering to slecay7 Bette
the iron severity of the Laceiemonia'
and Spartans than our lax rule. Libert,
no doubt, is fine thing to prate about
hut there may be too much of it; the ol
world despotisnfs had no harsher tyr;.n1
r than that freedom which makes a ma
answerable to none but himself and Ii
own perceptions of right aud wrong fe
evil doing. What use i'll appealing
law when the law enforcers are trespa
sers themselves! There was, and still
, l believe, a statute called the "gan
law" the violation of which exacted
penalty; in this parish alone, / ha
heard Of its having been openly brok,
more than once. Since the high waite
!, the deer, poor, harmless refugees, ha'
), fled from the swamps for protection, OF,