And in the afternoon they entered a land - but such a land! A land hung in mourning, darkened by gigantic cypresses, submerged; a land of reptiles, silence, shadow, decay.

Everybody knows the Lord loveth a cheerful giver.

It was in the Theatre St. Philippe (they has laid a temporary floor over the parquette seats) in the city we now call New Orleans, in the month of September, and in the year 1803.

For summer there, bear in mind, is a loitering gossip, that only begins to talk of leaving when September rises to go.

And in the afternoon they entered a land - but such a land! A land hung in mourning, darkened by gigantic cypresses, submerged; a land of reptiles, silence, shadow, decay.

Did I say the book of nature is a catechism? Yes, But, after it answers the first question with "God," nothing but questions follow.