The Opelousas courier., 1892-08-20
oPELoUsAs, La.
Picturesque Town In A Delightful
Country.

E.- Ea-
STAFF Correspondence of The Times Democrat.
Opel0usas, La, July IA, 1899.
Opelousasi Repeat the word, pro-
nouncing il softly, with the final letter
sileneed and the "an broadened in
the velvety elasticity, the rhythmic
charm Of it's cadencesi 1t is not only d
musical name it is a political and his
toric one. Time-l0ng will it last and
keep its charm. L~ongfellow has en-
balmed it in immortal verse in his
EvRngeline. One may ever suppose he
caught the measure of his Hiawatha
from the music of the 0~pelousas. which
fell with such a Willowy grace of move
ment. As I sit and listen to the link
ed sweetness and winding bontsn of
the knocking bird as he "folds the pill
ant series of his slippery song,n | feel
sure that such was
The same that found q path
Through the sad heart
of Evangeline, when, on her heart-sick
quest for Gabriel, she passed long ago
up the Teehe (near by) in her canoe
Lovely creature !! She hears even sweet
er music now. This witchery of the
past and remote is also outside the ex-
quisite music of name, che pensive
charm of poetry. 1t is in history. Ope-
lOuEas is old in fact, as we'll as endeared
in story. And the imagination is acted
upon by the name like an incarnation.
To it's eye, here is the little village of
long ago. But there the tall grass,
without q break, rises and falls in lush
and billOWy green, breeze-sWept by the
sea-born wind, and the lovely prairie
swept away north, south, west, clear to
the horizons verge, without O single
house TO speak Ola living being. And
from this little village, a hundred years
agOne, q cavalcade is winding, of sol
diers, stately Spanish grantees and
their proud danes, young men and
maidens on their way maybe TO Nat
c~hit0cheG. The name, the story the
hist0rg OF 0pel0usas, all appeal to the
heart, sspnaginatl0n and memory, by a
association and another. And the town
itself is no little spur to these. There
IG q certain air of repOse, a sort of digni-
fed calm, q noble sObriety about the
town itself, that seems to assert its res
probability and consequence. 1t seems
Ted0lent of antiquity. It savors of the
venerable without being senile. It inn
presses yen, much as venerable men of
great worth and high breeding do, who.
have dignity without arrogance or often
sive self-assertion. The deeply shadow
ed streets; the noble. venerable trees;
parkelike laWns-all these speak of age,
durability q taste which time has mel
lowed, aS il were. like it does wine or
painting, and has given a certain indie
Unable grace to il &c different from the
raw. the garieh and the new. Tt lit would
not be offensive, j should say the town
looks aTist0cratic; like q noble, high
born gentlemen, one of Goods gentle
me- y not made by kings patent,
nor by p0cketbook. Let no man
whose
Life IN low estate began
And On . simple village green,
think I mean any fling at him.. I believe
in his rising to be
The pillar OF . peoples hope,
Breaking his births inyidious bar.
And I think that OpeIousas has d very
elegant and cultured society. There is
no mistake an intellectual atmosphere
here. Her professional men give d
great deal of tone to society, and give
Che town q high status with the State at
large. And, I think these very III Just
Ehe best men in the world t o recognize
Burns sentiment that,
The rank il but the guinea's stamp
The mans the gowd for a. that.
4 think the man showing merit and
capacity liz met and welcomed with tru-
IN fraternal~ cordially ; NOT patronizinp-
ly or with Offensive condensation, and
thai air ut shave superiority which net
ties all true Tnen TO whom it is offered.
This pTefatOriness has b purpose iii
more than mere sentiment, and it laws
the foundation for explaining an limos