The Young Queens 
the force whence that being draws life? I 
will not say ‘‘it matters but little,” for, on 
the contrary, to know the answer were of 
supreme importance to us. But, in the 
meantime, and till we shall learn whether it 
be the flower that endeavours to maintain 
and perfect the life that Nature has placed 
within it, or whether it be Nature that puts 
forth an effort to maintain and improve the 
degree of existence the flower has assumed, 
or finally, whether it be chance that ulti- 
mately governs chance, a multitude of sem- 
blances invite us to believe that something 
equal to our loftiest thoughts issues at 
times from a common source, that we are 
compelled to admire without knowing where 
it resides. 
There are moments when what seems 
error to us comes forth from this common 
source. But, although we know very few 
things, proofs abound that the seeming error 
was in reality an act of prudence that we 
at first could not grasp. In the little circle, 
even, that our eyes embrace we are constantly 
shown that what we regarded as Nature’s 
blunder close by was due to her deeming 
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