court life, and so at the early age of twelve, at a
plunge, he began that career in polite diplomacy that was to continue for
half a century.

The Countess called herself his "other mother," and lavished upon him all
the attention that a childless woman had to bestow. The mornings were
sacred to his lessons, which were looked after by a Jesuit priest; and in
the afternoon, another priest came to give the ladies lessons in the
languages, and at these circles young Peter Paul was always present as
one of the class.

Indeed, the earliest accomplishment of Peter Paul was his polyglot
ability. When he arrived at Antwerp, a mere child, he spoke German,
Flemish and French.

Such a favorite did little Peter Paul become with his "other mother," and
her ladies of the court, that his sure-enough mother grew a bit jealous,
and feared they would make a hothouse plant of her boy, and so she took
him away.

The question was, for what profession should he be educated? That he
should serve the Church and State was already a settled fact in the
mother's mind: to get on in the world you must cultivate and wisely serve
those who are in power--that is, those who have power to bestow. Priests
were plentiful as blackberries, and politicians were on every corner, and
many of the priests and officeseekers had no special talent to recommend
them. They were simply timeservers. Maria knew this: To get on you must
have several talents, otherwise people will tire of you.

In Cologne, Maria Rubens had met returned pilgrims from Rome and they had
told her of that trinity of giants, Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo;
and how these men had been the peers of prince and pope, because they had
the ability to execute marvelous works of beauty.

This extraordinary talent called attention to themselves, so they were
summoned out of the crowd and became the companions and friends of the
greatest names of their time.

And then, how better can one glorify his Maker than by covering the
sacred walls of temples with rich ornament!

The boy entered into the project, and the mother's ambition that he
should retrieve his father's fortune fired his heart. Thus does the
failure in life of a parent often give incentive to the genius of a son.

Tobias Verhaecht was the man who taught Rubens the elements of drawing,
and inculcated in him that love of Nature which was to be his lifelong
heritage. The word "landscape" is Flemish, and it was the Dutch who
carrie