ays proud of his art, "the
painter occasionally amuses himself by trying to be a courtier."

The influence of Rubens' visit to London must be counted rather as
artistic than political. It really was the beginning of that desire
for collecting pictures and other things of the sort which has ever
since distinguished the English nobility. On the Continent the price
of pictures rose on account of England's demand. For Charles I.,
Rubens bought the entire collection of the Duke of Mantua which he
knew so well.

[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD WITH ST. FRANCIS _Rubens_]

Rubens was tired of the almost fruitless mission at various courts and
was glad to give up the business of an ambassador and return to
Antwerp and to the life of a private gentleman. We must not forget
that all these years Rubens was painting a great number of pictures in
his ripest style. There was hardly a class of subjects or size of
canvas which he could not skillfully use, although he always
maintained that he could do his best work on large surfaces. There
were religious pictures of Madonnas and saints all crowded with
numerous figures and filled with vigorous human action. There were
portraits such as those of his wives, of Elizabeth of France, or "_The
Girl with a Straw Hat_," which rank among the best of the world. There
were wonderful animal pictures--hunting scenes, the excitement of
which even to-day makes the cheek glow. There were historical scenes
mingled with allegory. There were most beautiful children whose fat
and agile bodies and whose laughing faces make us want to hug them.
There were enchanting angels, and there were huge fauns and satyrs.
There were placid landscapes where, it may be, the artist's soul,
teeming with the life of all time, took its rest and recreation
sporting with the nymphs of the woodland streams or with the frisky
dryads of the trees.

In 1630, at the age of fifty-three, he married his second wife, Helen
Fourmont, only sixteen years old. Like his first wife she was very
beautiful, as his numerous portraits indicate. Five children came to
them and the felicity of his early years with Isabella Brandt
continued with his second wife.

The health of our painter gradually gave way. For many years he had
suffered intensely from repeated attacks of gout. As he aged, these
became more and more frequent and severe. Often the disease, working
in his fingers, kept him from painting. "_The Death of St. Peter_" was