that was as flattering as portraits should be that
are painted for monarchs.

Among his other accomplishments the Fleming was a skilful horseman; he
rode with such grace and dash that the King took him on his drives,
Rubens riding by the side of the carriage, gaily conversing as they rode.

And so with the aid of his many talents he won the confidence of the King
and Court and was initiated into the inner life of Spanish royalty in a
way that Iberta, the Mantuan Resident, never had been. The King liked
Rubens, and so did the Man behind the Throne.

Mortals do not merely like each other because they like each other; such
a bond is tenuous as a spider's thread. I love you because you love the
things that I love. One woman won my heart by her subtle appreciation of
"The Dipsy Chanty." Men meet on a horse basis, a book basis, a religious
basis, or some other mutual leaning; sometimes we find them uniting on a
mutual dislike for something. For instance, I have a friend to whom I am
bound by the tie of oneness because we dislike olives, and have a mutual
indifference to the pretended claims of the unpronounceable Pole who
wrote "Quo Vadis." The discovery was accidentally made in a hotel
dining-room: we clasped hands across the board, and since then have been
as brothers.

The more points at which you touch humanity the more friends you
have--the greater your influence. Rubens was an artist, a horseman, a
musician, a politician and a gourmet. When conceptions in the kitchen
were vague, he would send for the cook and explain to him how to do it.
He possessed a most discriminating palate and a fine appreciation of
things drinkable. These accomplishments secured him a well-defined case
of gout while yet a young man. He taught the Spanish Court how to smoke,
having himself been initiated by an Englishman, who was a companion of
Sir Walter Raleigh, and showed them how to roll a cigarette while engaged
in ardent conversation. And the Spaniards have not yet lost the art, for
once in Cadiz I saw a horse running away, and the driver rolled and
lighted a cigarette before trying to stop the mad flight of the frantic
brute.

In the Royal Gallery at Madrid are several large paintings by Rubens that
were doubtless done at this time. They are religious subjects; but worked
in, after the manner of a true diplomat, are various portraits of brave
men and handsome women. To pose a worthy senator as Saint Paul, and a
dashing lady of the Cour