Elles roulaient dans l'espace, telles des feux,
Gravissaient la montagne, illuminaient la fleuve
Et jetaient leur parure universelle et neuve
De mer en mer, sur les pays silencieux."

Le Monde, EMILE VERHAEREN




CHAPTER I


Man is his own star; and the soul that can
Render an honest and a perfect man
Commands all light, all influence, all fate,
Nothing to him falls early, or too late.
Our acts our angels are, or good or ill,

Our fatal shadows that walk by us still.
BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER.

Minks--Herbert Montmorency--was now something more than secretary,
even than private secretary: he was confidential-private-secretary,
adviser, friend; and this, more because he was a safe receptacle for
his employer's enthusiasms than because his advice or judgment had any
exceptional value. So many men need an audience. Herbert Minks was a
fine audience, attentive, delicately responsive, sympathetic,
understanding, and above all--silent. He did not leak. Also, his
applause was wise without being noisy. Another rare quality he