A WALK TO THE LIME -SINKS. 



The outing had been planned in sun- 

 shiny weather, when the dust was lying 

 an inch deep along the highway. But the 

 August sky, without caring for the pleas- 

 ure of the occasion, had piled up her rain 

 clouds into huge masses, and down came 

 the rain, although the weather flag stood 

 to the breeze white — for fair weather. 



It rained in a soft drizzle, and the an- 

 ticipation of a delightful trip to the Lime- 

 sinks was blighted. The prospect of 

 going, even, seemed foolish to those who 

 cared for their clothes or feared the ef- 

 fects of getting wet, but some who cared 

 not for any discomforts clamored to go 

 when the rain ceased, although the clouds 

 still looked soft and unsettled. 



With umbrellas to ward off the rays 

 of the sun which shone hot upon the wet 

 earth, the party set forth to visit the four 

 Lime-sinks or caves, as many of them 

 may be called, which are nearest San- 

 dersville. 



Heavy clouds, black with the remnant 

 and recoil of tempest, lay banked together 

 in the east; across these a beautiful rain- 

 bow spanned the horizon from north to 

 south, showing its glorious colors against 

 the dark gray sky. Red, orange, yellow, 

 green, blue, indigo and violet — all the 

 colors of beauty and sublimity into which 

 the refraction of light mav be divided. 



The way was short and the party full 

 of gayety and life's sunshine. Many a 

 gay jest and laughing repartee were 

 flung back and forth as the distance was 

 traversed. 



Nature opens her storehouse of charms 

 to the pedestrian alone. She must be 

 wooed by close contact in secret recesses, 

 and then she gives of her best to those 

 who seek her rightly. For him her beau- 

 ties are revealed at every step and the 

 nectar chalice awaits his eager grasp. 

 The dawn inspires him with renewed vig- 

 or, and the dusk leaves him still unsatis- 

 fied, conscious that returning dawn will 

 bring sweeter joys. His blood is quick- 

 ened into healthful pulses, it is "aerated 

 by the air that sings through the pine 



woods and tingles in every fiber. Ting- 

 ling blood makes life joyous, and joy can 

 hardly look without a smile or speak 

 without a laugh." 



Acrossthebrawling Limebranch a stout 

 foot-log was laid and those who loved to 

 watch the rivulets as they speed on their 

 way went down to the water's edge to 

 enjoy the rush and plunge of the stream 

 heightened by the late acquisition of rain- 

 drops. The background of gray clouds 

 was brightened by the remnant of the 

 rosy afterglow of the bow, so lately shin- 

 ing forth in all its loveliness. The slop- 

 ing hills were green with summer brush 

 and brier. The location of the stream 

 could be followed by the trees that sen- 

 tineled and hid away the shouting water. 

 There were maples, pines, oaks, chinca- 

 pins awaiting the kiss of September's sun 

 to open their green burrs, sweetgums al- 

 ready turning red, and the white birches 

 dusting the banks with gold. 



On either side of the Limebranch the 

 land has been cleared, and what had once 

 been a large woods -was now only weed 

 grown hills, with cotton in the valleys. 



Those who came to obtain specimens 

 began to chip the fossils from a deposit 

 of lime near the stream. These lime-bis- 

 cuits are found in ovens, or beds, and ar- 

 ranged as symmetrically as though some 

 housewife had left her pan of biscuits for 

 after generations to puzzle over. They 

 are smooth on the upper side, slightly 

 convex, with a figure in the center which 

 resembles the starfish ; they are round 

 and always rough on the under side. 



Across the foot-log, the way led 

 through a cotton-patch. Adown one row 

 ran the path of soft, white sand, moist 

 and crunching under foot, giving out a 

 fresh smell of new earth when trod upon. 



To the right, a tall, dead tree — killed to 

 make one more row in which to plant 

 King Cotton — stood draped with long 

 festoons of gray Spanish moss. This 

 parasitic growth beautified the naked 

 limbs stretching towards the sky. It was 

 a monarch of the forest, grand still, in its 



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