The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1903-06-12
APRIL INSPIRES ARP.
Remembers a Bit of Rhyme He
Learned When a Boy.
Some Interesting Facts About tho
First Month of SprinE-A Little
April Fool INTERPRETATIONS
for Beecher Memorial.

April has come again-a blessed
month, for it is the first that follows
the long and dreary winter. How in
spring is the earliest breath of spring,
when nature, like blushing maid, is
putting on her pantalets and prepar-
ing to bang her silken hair, what har-
monious feelings spring up in our boz
som and gush forth to all mankind.
The chambers of the soul are filled
with music that is not heard and po-
etry that is not expressed. The sweet
south wind is breathing upon the violet
banks. Nearly 1900 years ago Solo
mon felt its genial influence when he
wrote: THE winter has passed-the
rain is over and gone-the flowers APP
pear upon the earth-the time for the
singing of birds has come and the
voice of the turtle is heard in the
land" Now. boys, you must not i'm
agine that the turtle that Solomon
heard was this ugly, crawling hard
shell thing that lives in muddy water
and laws its eggs in the sand. That is
probably a tortoise. The turtle of
Egypt and England is the same as our
dove. 1t has a plaintiye, affectionate
note and is devoted to its mate. In
the Scripture it is sacred bird and an
emblem of the Holy Ghost. / would
not shoot them for sport and yet /
read recently where some hunters in
south Georgia killed 400 in one day.
The English poets always say turtle
when they mean dove. Goldsmith
speaking of love. says it is ION earth
unseen. or only found to warm the tur-
ties nest"
But Solomon couldn't write such pc
etry on spring as used to know
think that mine would suit the boys
better:
| "Hark. hear the bluebird sing.
| And that's a sign of coming spring.
The bull frog boilers in the bitches
| He's throwed away his winter britches.
The lizard is summing himself on rail.
| The lamb is shaking his newborn tail.
| The darby is blowing his stubborn mule
| And gay!y hollers: Gee. you fooi!'
And all the dirty little sinners
Are digging bait and catching minness
And SO fourth and so fifth and s.
on. Solomon didn't write that, but 1t
a fact nevertheless.
But what about April? Two thou
sand years ago it was the secon
month in the year, but Julius Caesa
got proud and vain and stuck anothe
month in and called it July, and hi
adopted son, Augustus. thought h
was as good as Julius, and so he stuc
one in and called it August, and tina
gave us 12 months, or $50 days, whic
lacked five days of making full yea
So they had to give one more day I
, each of several months. April dldn
have but 30 days and they made
30. Later on old Nero, the tyrant an
fiddler, came along and said he Wa
just as great man as any of the Ca
, sars, and so he changed the name
, April 10 Neronius, and it remained fhs
, way for so years. until he died, an
then it was put back to April again.
) April was named from the Lat
, word aperire, which means to ope
: for then the earth begins to open ar
t the grass and the flowers to spring I
. and the little leaves to come fort
I from the buds on the trees. The o
: Anglo-Saxons called it Oester or Ia
. ter month. The Dutch called it gra
Q month. The foolish custom OF Api