Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1895-01-17

on ships the aroma of the cinnamon is
dispelled if placed near a rival bark.
OF such great value is the cinnamon
shrub that years ago those who injured
it in Ceylon were put to death. But
that which once was a jungle of CHINA
mon is now park of gentlemen's resi-
! dences. The long, white dwelling
houses are bounded with this shrub
and all other styles of growth congre'
gated there, make a botanical 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 overpowered all with their
Gus dapples the scene with its scarlet
| clusters. All shades of brown and
emerald. and saffron. and brilliance;
melons, lines magnosteens .!custard
apples, guavas, pine apples, jessamine
so laden with aroma they have to hold
| fast to the wall, and begonias, gloriosas
on fire, and orchids so delicate other
lands must keep them under conserv-
atory, but here defiant of all weather,
and flowers more or less akin to aza-
leas, and honeysuckles, and foxes, and
fuchias and chrysanthemums 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 but
terflies 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 to which sense shall open the
door to the most enchantment. A
struggle between music. and perfume,
and irideScence. Oleanders reeling in
intoXication of color. Great banyan
trees that have been changing their
mind for centuries, each century car
rying out a new plan of growth, at
tracted our attention, and saw us
pass the generations of 1894, and 1894.
Colombo is so thoroughly uncovered
in foliage that if you go into one of it's
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 be-
hold the morning climbing down
through their branches, or the
evening tipping their leaves with
amber and gold l 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
sacred. | wonder not that before one
of them they burn camphor flowers,
and hang lamps around its branches,
and a hundred thousand people each
year make pilgrimage to this tree.
Worship something man must, and I'M
til he hear of the only being worthy
of worship, what so elevating as a
tree! What glory enthroned amid it's
foliage! What a majestic doxologv
spreads out in its branches. What q
voice when the tempests pass through
it! How it looks down upon the era
die and the grave of centuries! AS
the fruit of the tree unlawfully eaten
struck the race with woe and the up
lifting 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! How
consolatory that when we no more
walk under the tree branches on
earth, we may see the Tree of life
and yields her fruit every month, and
the leaves of the tree are for the heal
ing of the nations!''
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
decorations, and his unwashed fol-
lowers beating as many discords from
what are supposed to be musical in
struments, as at one time. can be in
duced to enter the human ear. The
procession halted at the door of the
huts. The occupants came out and
made obeisance and presented small
contributions. In return thereof the
priest sprinkled ashes upon the chill
dren who came forward, this evidently
a form of benediction. Then the pro-
cession led on by the priest started
again; more noise, more ashes, more
genutlection. However keen one senses
of the ludicrous, he could find nothing
to excite a smile in the movements of
such procession. Meaningless, OPP
pressive, squalid, filthy, sad.
Returning to our carriage, we rode
on for few moments, and we came on
another procession, kindly lady lead,
ing groups of native children all clean,
bright, happy, laughing. They were
Christian school out for exercise.
There seemed as much intelligence, re-
tinement and happiness in that regi.
ment OF young Cingalese as you would
find in the ranks of any young ladies
seminary being chaperoned on theil
afternoon walk through Central park,
New York; or Hyde park, London.
The Hindoo procession illustrated on a
small scale something of what
| J;-Ioo;ey, oon Il fn,. ba would