"Tomorrow," said the Minister of State, "tomorrow you shall be received
by the Duke of Mantua and his court!"

* * * * *

The ducal party remained at Venice for several weeks, and when it
returned to Mantua, Rubens went along quite as a matter of course. From
letters that he wrote to his brother Philip, as well as from many other
sources, we know that the art collection belonging to the Duke of Mantua
was very rich. It included works by the Bellinis, Correggio, Leonardo da
Vinci, Andrea del Sarto, Tintoretto, Titian, Paoli Veronese, and various
others whose names have faded away like their colors.

Rubens had long been accustomed to the ways of polite society. The
magnificence of his manner, and the fine egotism he showed in his work,
captivated the Court. The Duke was proud of his ward and paraded him
before his artistic friends as the coming man, incidentally explaining
that it was the Duke of Mantua who had made him and not he himself.

It was then the custom of those who owned masterpieces to have copies
made and present them to various other lovers of the beautiful. If an
honored guest was looking through your gallery, and expressed great
pleasure in a certain canvas, the correct thing was to say, "I'll have my
best painter make a copy of it, and send it to you"--and a memorandum was
made on an ivory tablet. This gracious custom seems to have come down
from the time when the owners of precious books constantly employed
scribes and expert illuminators in making copies for distribution. The
work done in the scriptoriums of the monasteries, we know, was sent away
as presents, or in exchange for other volumes.

Rubens set diligently to work copying in the galleries of Mantua; and
whether the Duke was happier because he had discovered Rubens than Rubens
was because he had found the Duke, we do not know. Anyway, all that the
young painter had hoped and prayed for had been sent him.

Here was work from the very hands of the masters he had long worshiped
from afar. His ambition was high and his strong animal spirits and
tireless energy were a surprise to the easy-going Italians. The galleries
were his without let or hindrance, save that he allow the ladies of the
Court to come every afternoon and watch him work. This probably did not
disturb him; but we find the experienced Duke giving the young Fleming
some good advice, thus: "You must admire all these ladies in equal
portion. Should