222 



THE OPAL SEA 



All (he tea 

 life, ts 

 destroyed. 



Endurance 

 of the type. 



What lies 

 beyond. 



parts of a plan. And once again the apparent 

 inconsistency of beauty being given to creatures 

 that are sent to destruction by the millions. 

 Why the effort since it is to be so soon nullified ? 

 Why the beauty since it must so soon perish? 

 Is there naught coming out of sea travail that 

 shall live and be glad forever? 



Ah yes ! the species endures, the type con- 

 tinues though the individual is lost. It is the 

 come and go of countless individuals, each one 

 having its day and passing on, that preserves 

 the type, keeps the species active, virile, youth- 

 ful, beautiful. The sea renews itself by change 

 in every part. Life and death are but the pro- 

 cesses of renewal. The units matter not, though 

 they are not given over wholly to misery. 

 There is a joy in life, an exaltation in being 

 and living. The very struggle to maintain life 

 proves it. There may be an even greater joy 

 in death. Who shall say what lies beyond, 

 what rests in store, for the humble dweller in 

 the deep? The eye of gold, the scale of pearl, 

 may appear again in newer splendor; the ex- 

 uberant life may be renewed with even greater 

 vitality. Who shall say? 



