242 



THE OPAL SEA 



The omni- 

 present 

 energy 



tainable there nature puts forth an extra effort, 

 launches a hardier life, is more triumphantly 

 dominant than elsewhere. Petrels come and 

 petrels go but the type remains. The dull gray 

 wings flash their reflections in the wave-facets 

 to-day as thousands of years ago. They shall 

 always be as they have been, they shall always 

 beat and hover and gather — fit emblem of that 

 omnipresent energy that throughout creation 

 keeps coming and going, backward and for- 

 ward, weaving new threads into the fabric of 

 life that the splendid tapestry shall not fade 

 but endure and be a joy forever. 



And always with energy, life, and fitness is 

 the gift of beauty. To the sea bird is given not 

 only grace in flight above all others, but also 

 charm of color. These gray wings of the open 

 sea whose neutral tints blend so easily with 

 mist and fog and cloud, the white breasts that 

 match the breaking foam, the black backs that 

 seem to melt at night into the purple sea itself, 

 are they not marvels to the eye though not 

 glittering with all the hues of the rainbow? 

 Their wonderful harmony with their sea back- 

 ground should acclaim their appropriateness, 

 and, consequently, their beauty. 



Blacks and whites and grays in nature's 



Fitness 

 and beauty. 



Coloring of 

 the sea 

 birds. 



m 

 hands are never other than badges of distinction 



