St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-06-22
Turning New Leaves.

THOUGHTS ON NATURES AND MANS WAYS
OF DOING IT.
How many beautiful ideas are framed
into language and feat all about from
somewhere up the stream of time. Why
did some one call the thin lamine of paper
which make up book, leaves Indeed, it
was pretty thought, for how like leaves
they are, thin, fragile, perishable; and
nowadays there are almost as many of one
kind of leaves as of the other. Yes, and
as for kinds and styles there are almost as
many in books as on the trees, but are there
any so witty and wiser If you will make
study of the 1eaves-that is, the book of
nature-you will see they are marvelously
well written upon. And you will not find
one that is not illustrated with finer art
than even adorns the pages of our art
books. See how well cut are the edges
and enameled, which is better than gilded
Some one has said if we could live as long
as Mathuselah we should not be able to
find out all there is to be learned from a
single rose leaf That is more than we
can say of our book leaves, although
know some that seem to be nearly as good
as rose leaves.
LEAVES IN OUR LIVES.
"Well, WE'LL" said John, as we sat
down to the breakfast table this morning,
eve must all turn over new leaves to-
day." ''Tis an old saying, father" | an
swered, "but tell me why we should turn
leaf more TO- day than any other day."
Truly, do not know" said John. 81
suppose If one lives rightly, there is
enough in each day to fill leaf with good
things, and. then one may turn it over in
.he morning. But if it be bad, then one
nad Dette'1 tear it out altogether" Comfy"
SAID 1, "tone cannot do that, and there is
wnere THE likeness fails, for we can pick
OFT sne trees worm eaten leaf, but in the
y !fe book it must stay forever" cit is
furious" said John, ''that one can never
forget. Only last night, in a dream, re
? caIed events to the utmost minutia, that
/ ha,9 not thought of in my waking hours
for twenty years, and cannot now possibly
by force of purpose bring it back SO fully
and clearly. But did it in my sleep, and
shall no doubt do it again. What terri
BILE thing it would be to live forever in
bad dream-never wake up, but never
cease to dream on-recalling and rehears-
ing the evil one has DONE"
But, papa" said Ned, "you have never
done anything bad, you know-so what's
ku0 use Vi dUOut SUW, join,
Jr., has great faith in me, but Ned has
boundless faith in his father. The blessed
innocents but l am glad it is so; for if
not, life would be desert to us who see
and know our faults. So said, "1es,
John, think we will all turn over new
leaves to-day. 1t is the first day of spring
and nature is already at work with her
new leaves. She will not turn them over
only, but will make them outright, and
swing them high, and fill them up as they
grow. And then we must not forget that
as soon as leaves begin to get large enough
for the wind to turn them over, there will
also be blossoms, and with blossoms sweet
ness and wholesomeness." "And there
will be fruit also in due time" added
John, .tif something do not interfere. So
| suppose our new leaves must not be
quite like book leaves, but more like apple
leaves. But there is great difference in
fruits"
OUT IN THE FIELDS AND FOREST.
But do not like moralizing, especially
of the old Hannah More sort, because
there is no end to it any more than there
is to spiders web, so proposed that we
finish our eating and go out and see ma
ture ut her work. What can be finer than
a spring day that is full of promotion
and preliminaries Il was not yet May by
any means, but it was May day-soft
and warm-but above all unutterably
quiet, Did it ever occur to you that on
some days Nature herself is listening
perhaps trying to hear her own pulse
beat2 The elms and soft naples were
shaking out their infinite plenitude of |
blossoms, and the English elms looked as |
If covered with great crop of hops. | |
wish these trees would turn over new |
leaf, for they began the year wrong end
foremost.
They ripen vast crop of seeds and |
f,;nr them down over all the lawns, and
ali summer they are sprouting and spring.
inc in every nook and corner, and outside
~ All the hooks, too. said this to John,
and he only answered that if | could
have nv way there would be q funny
world after awhile. Did we not come out
II tnrn over leaves and amend things To
M sure But wish that men would turn
over new leaf, and get rid of their sar-
cosm and conceit. All, but what splendid
c1eatnres they would be after awhile, if
~ only had the way of it and the making
Of them.
The lilac is the finest shrub in the
world. 1t has every good quality. It
comes so very early, Is loaded with bios
IONS. is not only sweet, but healthy
,weet is as easily grown as asthorn bush
= nettle. like flower that takes to the
,oor people and will grow without extra
.are. That Is the lilac exactly; just what
IA ceranium is i'm pots the Lilac il In our