Chieppo, and the Minister of State read them, looked upon the handsome
person of the young man, proved for himself he had decided talent as a
painter, put him through a civil-service examination--and took him into
favor. Such a young man as this, so bright, so courtly, so talented, must
be secured. He would give the entire Court a new thrill.

"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