St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1892-07-02
LOOKING FORWARDS.

t II, to her truant children There seems al
ways to he Il peculiar charm abont THESE Si,o
rioils Autumn days which cannon ian ~ ~ a."
en- a tender, responsive chord in every thonisnIi-
ful heart it was not long before reached tne
forest and strolled i'll neditatlve moou ahro u,
the stately avenues OF giant OAKS anu loity
maruolias mournful cypress ana SfaceIut
min On and on and on-ohliNlous ol inc
Thicker ing shadows and the darkenlnS WOODS,
until al last came upon gentle eleVatl3'n
wiose summit was crowned by single OAK,
majestic in its solitary Sraudeur-0nc OF lhosc
frees concerning which tuskln wrote that even
the rocks themselves look fragile, weak ana III
consistent compared to their dark energy or
delicate life and munOt0uy OF enchanted pride;
alone, but unconquerablc. Seating myself up,
on the long lush grass and reclining against
mass of the gnaricd, cIro"Sy cT n ,enccs Of
the time and place to the enjoyment OF INC
gorgeous feast OF color spread Ill the DrlSnt au
tuinnal leaves of every hue-scallet an' olan ISi
and brown, and those understandable motllcu
Neutrality-suspicious. for which there are no words
in the language and no IDEAS IN inc n'iiiu
which can be conceived only white they are flsi
hr Beneath was he rich green of Inc grass anu
above the soft cool grey of the cllnSlnS lDoSs'
dra ping the sturdy old mouarch as WIN d
heard of patriarchal growth amt dimensions.
A wonderful golden haze was Ill w , ".i,io1
rhcre-s simmer of sunbcamS-ahd through
The branches could be caught Slliilpscs Oh the
far-reachng heavens, 50 intensely bl'le us 10 9c
brilliant and over all DroOded Stialsc; n.'en 4,
ed calm that somehow seemed suggestive ol
iuiinitudc. .,, ,,,
of sunset, and as dreanlly watched Tue chanS
ing panorama of the clouds-purple anu GRILL
son and gold aud pink, and al! those opaieSceht
ijnts that are said to have been different every
evening since that first sunset, countless cons
ayone, a retrospective MOOD came upon me-
Nv thoughts reverted to the many woodland
ralnblcs of my schOOldays, now alas, SO long
and irrevocably past, and by the lhslnualinS
power Of association my thoughts passeu ~" u,
consciously from scenes of fond endearment to
anxious c0njeetures concerning the tate that
the years held in keeping for these my Ielio"
members of the o. f. |. Alumni, Suddenly a
rust of wind came rushing through the forest,
scattering the leaves i'll all directions ana
strewjng upon the ground IL thick and rustllng
carpet, rivalling i'll brilliaDey or hue ana ran,
tasy of design the most beautiful efforts OF ola
Persia-that farotf land of pOesy and song,
sweet scents and lasting beauty.
swiftly and silently fell the leaves, until at
last methought they Wove themselves INTO a
ship and weird design; and as gazed enrap-
turcd upon tho swaylns fabric IT seemed 10
partake of the mysterious attributes belonging
TO that magic mirror whereof we all nave
studied and whereupOn the alcheihlSts OF old
read the scenes and incidents of the future as
clearly and Enthusiastically as tho the charac-
tiers had been craven on the enduring marDic.
AS one under some occult influence, my eyes
rested fascinated upon the wondrOus leafy
curtain, and all at once the intricate araness
Iues resolved themselves into slgantlc roll OF OF
parchment which opened slowly in the form OF
q scroll, at the top of which i'll delicate, lllu-
minated tracery stood revealed our College
motto-NOn N0biS SOtitnt-and beneath IN large
clearcut letters could be seen the Institutes
Roll of Honor-the names of its AllmDR who
had endeavored patiently, pcrsistently and
perseveringly to live up to IFS teaclilnSs-and
were cited as substantial proof that most as
suredly we are Not merely for ourselves"
And what a goodly number it was who had
sworn to love, honor and obey until death us
do part! Fist Upon the list appeared lda's
nanle-which was most natural, for was she
not always first in everything and then fol
lowed the names of Maggie and Fannie Lou,
COrinne and Mary, Dellie and Mag, Beta and
COra-all advocates and eXponents or our most
admirable motto,
While musing little daZed and stunned up
on the extraordinary temerty ana resolution
shown by these girls, the autumn Dreezes caus-
ed new arabesques to form in the fantastic cur
tain and 10! the interior of the Crescent City
far-famed Grard Opera was portrayed and
looked over the vast audience representing the
essence OF the city's grace and culture; all were
looking eagerly towards the sumptuOus stage
whose heavy curtains were rising slowly.
There was a hush of expectation and then a
perfect storm of applause as low, graceful,
strikngly handsome woman came forward,
smiling. She was q brilliant brunette, ana
somehow her large sparkling eyes seemed
strangely familiar. All coljectures were soon
forgotten, however, i'll listening to the superb
voice which burst forth i'll a glorious strain of
liquid beauty; and when the spell was broken
the song ended, she was greeted by most en-
thusiastic applause. Acknowledging the tri-
butte, she again appeared and gratitied them
by singing that charming ballad" Moonlight,
Music, Love and FloWers"; and as the rich
voice swayed the hearts OF her hearers as tho
baby leaves of spring are swayed by the South
Grn zcphyrs, the mystery was solved for me,
and | knew that she who had so cntranccd by
that ssng on our commencement night STOOD
once more before mt-Estelle, the celebrated
prinn d0nnd who having reaped rich harvests
of praise from European CRITICS, had returned
to her native state-plucking eagerly at that
home appreciation which is dearer than all
other.
moonlight, Music, Love and Flowers'-is
there anything tcndcrer, swceter-could ausht
he wished or desired Moonlight to soften
and tone down the harsher angles OF life mu-
sic to spOthe and brighten; lOve-ah, love the
immutable-t0 slel glamor amt glory over
all things, making OF life 2 poem, melody sub
twofold 1nanner-by their intricate construc
ton and exquisite shades of color, and thell
delicate perfume and fragrance. Munlfcently
indeed had the productions OF her friends and
| fond old vocal teacher been verified and as
reflected thereon the swaying curtain OF fall
ing leaves presented another scene to view
and this time tie stately dimensions Of the O.
Wonan's Southern Uniyersty,' having ali
the facilities for advanced culture and educa
! ton long enjoyed exclusively by the finely
equipped Northern colleges. III the busy
chapel as its presiding genius appeared q
slender figure with q charming adnlixture OF
seriousness and aniabi ty; the face of this grave
sweet woman was the face of one who could
which it was pcrtOrp:cd-the face Of Stella.
Throughout the length aud breadth of the
tniverslty's vast work she is acknowledged to
be the pilot at the helm; and associated with
her in this noble field Of endeavor were seen
Maude and Irene, all striving together both by
example and precept--that subtle lnsistence
which allows no doubt because of it's own beau.
tiful faith and paticnce-to impress upon those
| under their charge that they were entering OIL
new era~~were living i'll the age that demands
| Individuality, and that the culture which pro
4 fv,fr <f,,n
That girl was no longer to be educated in an
atmosphere OF sef-cJnsciOusness as being,
specifically, woman but rather to forget her
self in the larger consciousness of being an in.
| dividual with a life to live, a work to accom-
plsh, Il responsibility to meet, and to be edu
Gated to meet it as a thoughtful. earnest, har.
monious being, full of readiness to respond to
| needs wherever met, and not hampered by any
special consciousness of herself in any way
| A feeling approaching reverence crept over
me, and while ponlered the grandeur OF the
| life work OF these three, the panorama chang
ed, and there appeared before my bewildered
| vision the broad avenues and stately buildings
| of a prosperous city. Evidently the part pre-
sented was the business portion, AID seated
at q desk in q neatly appointed office was q
woman whose calm, business-like air and the
matter-Of-fact way i'll which she was arranging
| the details OF some real estate sale with the
gentlemen present proved her to be one Of that
| class we so seldom sea successful business
woman. The earnest, serene face looked scarce
| ly older than W hen she had stood up to receive
the guerdon of her years of study. Yes, it was
Vivian-she who had gained the secret Of the
| best success in all activities by mastering the
magic Of accomplishment without visible eff
fort and who, as the years sped by, had grad
| ually become her fathers shield and comfort
assuming charge of his immense correspon
| dence and transacting much of his business in
| connection with his large landed interests
| Yet once again the leaves shifted in kaleidos
copic fashion and slittering ball room scene
| was visible-a scene of almost tropical brill
| ance, with the fragrant masses Of rare plants
and flowers and the swaying thrDng OF ele
| gantly attircd guests Silks rustled and jew
| els flashed, and SO charming i'll every way did
| the view appear that it seemed a dream OF
beauty, harmonious and replete with exquisite
| taste A group of three Ladies, sparkling and
| FIJI StppI1 nua oft he windows