THE PINE PROCESSIONARY 137 



mains unbroken. Lastly, the breaking of the circle, the 

 one stroke of luck, is the result of a chaotic halt, caused 

 principally by excess of fatigue or cold. 



The liberating accident, especially that of fatigue, 

 occurs fairly often. In the course of the same day, the 

 moving circumference is cut up several times into two or 

 three sections ; but continuity soon returns and no change 

 takes place. Things go on just the same. The bold in- 

 novator who is to save the situation has not yet had his 

 inspiration. 



There is nothing new on the fourth day, after an icy 

 night like the previous one; nothing to tell except the 

 following detail. Yesterday I did not remove the trace 

 left by the few caterpillars who made their way to the 

 inside of the vase. This trace, together with a junction 

 connecting it with the circular road, is discovered in the 

 course of the morning. Half the troop takes advantage 

 of it to visit the earth in the pot and climb the palm ; the 

 other half remains on the ledge and continues to walk 

 along the old rail. In the afternoon the band of emi- 

 grants rejoins the others, the circuit is completed and 

 things return to their original condition. 



We come to the fifth day. The night frost becomes 

 more intense, without however as yet reaching the green- 

 house. It is followed by bright sunshine in a calm and 

 limpid sky. As soon as the sun's rays have warmed the 

 panes a little, the caterpillars, lying in heaps, wake up 

 and resume their evolutions on the ledge of the vase. 

 This time the fine order of the beginning is disturbed 

 and a certain disorder becomes manifest, apparently an 



