THE CATERPILLAR'S PROPHECY 



THE Naturalist had the blues; his diges- 

 tion was working at cross purposes with 

 his ambition, and the European war was get- 

 ting on his nerves. Reading so much of death 

 and destruction filled him with gloom, and 

 raised many questions as to the cause, purpose, 

 and end of life. The agnostic had almost con- 

 vinced him that death was not a door, but a 

 blind wall beyond which one might not pass. 

 On this basis he tried to formulate some satis- 

 factory philosophy on the purpose of life, but 

 there was none. He speculated much on the 

 futility of man's labor in building his houses 

 of sand. All men seemed as children older 

 grown. Instead of games of marbles and ball 

 they played at manufacturing, railroading, 

 and banking, but no more purpose seemed ap- 

 parent than in the childhood games, beyond 

 the amusement of those who played. Some 

 men lived like swine wallowing in the mud, 

 other like horses pulling heavy loads, and still 

 others like vain birds preening their feathers 



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