The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1895-02-28

bananas to pile all the worlds fruit
baskets; 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 q
cinnamon grove, l first tasted the
leaves and bark of that condiment so
valuable and delicate that transported
on ships the aroma of the cinnamon is
dispeled if placed near rival bark. OF
such great value is the cinnamon shrub
that years ago those who injured it in
Ceylon We're put to death. But that
which once was jungle of cinnamon
is now park of gentlemen's resi-
dences. The long, white dwelling
houses are bounded with this
shrub, and all other styles of growth
congregated there make a botani-
cal 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 overpower all with their grand
march of the tropics. The hibiscus
dapples the scenes with its scarlet clus-
ters. All shades of brown aud emer-
aid, and saffron, and brilliance;
melons, lines, magnosteens, GUS
tard-apples, gunvas, pineapples,
jessamine SO laden with aroma they
have to hold fast to the wall, and be-
gonias, 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 fuchias, and chrysan-
themums, and rhododendrons, and fox
gloves, and pansies, which dye the
plains and mountains of Ceylon
with Heaven. The evening hour
burns incense of all styles of
aromatics. The convolvulus, blue
as if the sky had fallen, and
butterflies spangling the air, and arms
of trees sleeved with blossoms, and
rocks upholstered of moss, commin-
Cling sounds, and sights, and odors,
until eye, and ear. and nostril vie with
each other as to which sense shall open
the door to the most enchantment.
A struggle between music, and per-
fume. and irridescence. Oleanders
reeling in intoxication of color. Great
banyan trees that have been changing
their mind for centuries. each century
carrying out new plan of growth,
attracted our attention, and saw us pass
in the year of 1894, as they saw
pass the generations of 1894 and 1904.
Colombo is so thoroughly embowered
in foliage that if you go into one of
its towers and look down upon the city
of one hundred and thirty thousand
people you can not see a house. Oh,
the trees of Ceylon! May you live to
behold the morning climbing down
through your branches. or the evening
tipping their leaves with amber and
gold! 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
called sacred. To me all trees are sa-
cred. | wonder not that before one Of
them they burn camphor flowers, and
hang lamps around its branches, and
one hundred thousand people each
year make pilgrimage to that tree.
Worship something man must, and un-
til he hear of the only Being worthy
Of worship, what SO elevating as a tree!
What a majestic doxology speads ont
in its branches! What voice when
the tempests pass through it! 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 uplift-
ing 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
Ceylonesc, worshipit How consolatory
that when we no more walk under the
tree branches on earth, we may see the
''tree of life which bears twelve man
ner of fruit, and yields her fruit every
month, and the leaves of the tree are
for the healing of the nationsr.
Two professions / saw in Ceylon
Slellill oLC lAcuA3 thS III ou lCst Wy lIlA-
doc priest. a huge pot Of flowers on his
head, his face disfgurcd with holy
iacerations, and his unwashed fol-
lowers beating as many discords from
what are supposed to be musical instru-
ments, as at one time can be induced to
enter the human ear. The procession
halted at the door of the huts. The occu-
pants came out and made obeisance and
presented small contributions. In re-
turn therefor the priest tsprinkled ashes
upon the children who came forward,
this evidently form of benedietion.
Then the procession, led by the priest,
started again; more noise, more ashes,
more genufiection. However keen
ones sense Of the ludicrons, he could
find nothing to excite even smile in
the movements of such procession.
Meaningless, oppressive, squalld, filthy,
sad.
Among the first places visited was
a buddhist college about one hundred
men studying to become priests gath.
cred around the teachers. Stepping
into the building where the high prizes,
was instructing the class, we were
apologetic and told him we were
Americans, and would like to see his