Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-01-18


face on which to print your books. Take
my 80, 600, 900 trees covering 500, 600
acres and with the expectation enrich
the world. will wave in your fans
and spread abroad in Your umbrellas
will vibrate in your musical instru-
ments / will oe the scrubbing brushes
on your floors.
Miracles OF Nature.
Here also stands the palm tree saying:
Il am at your disposal With these arms
/ fed your ancestors 100 years ago, and
with these same arms will feed your
descendants $50 years from now. Idefy
the centuriesP'
Here also stands the nutmeg tree say
ing, IL am ready to spice your bever-
ages and enrich your puddings and with
my sweet dust make insipid things pal
atable.
Here also stands the coffee plant say
ing with the liquid boiled from my
berry stimulate the nations morning
by morning
Here stands the tea plant saying,
with the liquid boiled from my leaf
] soothe the worlds nerves and stimu-
late the world rs conversation evening by
evening.
Here stands the cinchona saying: 81
am the foe of malaria. In all climates
my bitterness is the slaughter Of fevers.
What miracles of productiveness on
these islands, Enough sugar to sweeten
all the worlds beverages, enough ba-
nanas to pile all the worlds fruit bas-
kets, enough rice to mix all the worlds
puddings, enough cocoanut to powder
all the worlds cakes enough flowers to
garland all the worlds beauty
But in the evening, riding through a
cinnamon grove, first tasted the leaves
and bark Of that condiment so valuable
and delicate that transported on ships
the aroma Of the cinnamon is dispelled
if placed near rival bark. Of s1ch
great value is the cinnamon shrub that
years ago those who injured it in Cey-
lon were put to death. But that which
once was a jungle of cinnamon is now
q park of gentlemen's residences. The
long, white dwelling houses are bounded
with this shrub, and all other styles Of
growth congregated there make a bo-
tanical garden. Doves called cinnamon
doves hop among the branches, and
crows, more POLITICALLY styled ravens,
which never could sing but think they
can, fly across the road giving full test
of their vocables. Birds which learned
their chanting under the very caves OF
heaven oyerpower all with their grand
march of the tropics. The hibiscus dap
pies the sceEe with its scarlet clusters
All shades Of brown and emerald and
saffron and brilliance; melons, lines,
magnosteens, custard apples, guavas,
pineapples, jasmine so laden with aro-
ma they have to hold fast to the wall,
and begonias, gloriosas on fire and
orchids so delicate other lands must
keep them under conservatory, but here
defiant of all weather, and flowers more
or less akin to azaleas and honeysuckles
and foxes and fuchsias and chrysanthe-
NUNS and rhododendrons and foxgloves
and pansies which dye the plains and
mountains of Ceylon with heaven.
Wonderful Trees of Ceylon.
The evening hour burns incense Of all
STYLES of aromatics. The conyolvulus,
blue as if the sky had fallen, and but
terhies spangling the air, and arms Of
trees sleeved with blossoms, and rocks
upholstered of moss, ,commingling sounds
and sights and odors until eye and ear
and nostril vie with each other as tc
which sense shall open the door to the
most enchantment. a struggle between
music and perfume and iridescence. OLE
anders reeling in intoxication Of color.
Great banyan trees that have been chang
ing their mind for centuries, each CEN
tury carrying out new plan Of growth,
attracted our attention and saw rs pass
in the year of 1894 as they saw pass the
generations of 1894 and 1894 Colon
bo is so thoroughly embowered in foli'
age that If you 60 into one Of its towers
and look down upon the city Of 1870, OO0
people you cannot see a house. Oh, the
trees of Ceylonl May you live to be-
hold the morning climbing down
through their branches or the evening
tipping their leaves with amber and
goldl | forgive the Buddhist for the
worship of trees until they know of the
God who made the trees. | wonder not
that there are some trees in Ceylon call
ed sacred. To me all trees are sacred.
| | wonder not that before one Of them
they burn camphor flowers and hang
lamps around its branches and 100, 600
people each year make pilgrimage to
that tree. Worship something man
must and, until he hear of the only
Being worthy of worship what so
elevating as a tree What glory en-
throned amid its foliagel What a
majestic doxology spreads out in
its branches What voice when
the tempests pass through It'll How it
looks down upon the cradle and the
grave Of centuries AS the fruit of one
tree unlawfully eaten struck the race
with woe and the uplifting Of another
tree brings peace to the soul, let the
woodman spare the tree and all nations
honor it, if, through higher teaching,
we do not like the Ceylonese, worship
it'll How consolatory that when we no
more walk under the tree branches on
earth we may see the tree Of life which
bears 12 manner of fruit and yields her
fruit every mouth, and the leaves Of the
tree are for the healing of the nationsP'
A Strange Procession.
Two professions | saw in Ceylon
within one hour, the first led by Hin
doc priest, huge pot of flowers on his
head, his face disfgured with holy lacer-
ations and his unwashed followers beat.
ing as many discords from what are sup
posed to be musical instruments as at
one time can be induced to enter the
human ear. The procession halted at the
door of the huts The occupants came
ont and made obeisance and presented
small contributions. In return there
for the priest sprinkled ashes upon the
children who came forward, this evil
IDENTIFY a form Of benediction. Then the
procession, led on by the priest, started
-. aalan MOI