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 being which I showed you in the earliest ages of life. What is it now?—phosphate of lime. Reducing it to dust, people make manure of it for land that is too flinty. You see, Man is beginning to understand one thing—that the master to study is Nature."

She crumbled the shell into powder, and scattered it on the cultivated soil, saying:

"This will come back to my kitchen. I spread destruction to make the germ spring. It is so of all dusts, whether they be plants, animals, or persons. They are death, after having been life, and there is nothing sad in it, since, thanks to me, they always begin again to live after having been dead. Farewell! You greatly admired my ball dress: here is a piece of it, which you may examine at your leisure."

All disappeared, and, when I opened my eyes, I found myself in my bed. The sun had risen, and sent a bright ray towards me. I looked for the piece of stuff which the Fairy had put into my hand: it was nothing but a little heap of dust; but my mind was still under the charm of the dream, and it gave to my senses the power of distinguishing the smallest atom of this dust.

I was filled with wonderment. There was everything in it: air, water, sun, gold, diamonds, ashes, the pollen of flowers, shells, pearls, the dust of butterflies' wings, of thread, of wax, of iron, of wood, and of many microscopic bodies; but in the midst of this mixture of imperceptible refuse, I saw fermenting I know not what life of undistinguishable beings, that appeared to be trying to fix themselves to something, to hatch or to transform themselves, all confounded in a golden mist, or in the roseate rays of the rising sun.