Excerpt from Fort Comme La Mort, or the Ruling Passion, Vol. 11 His gaze was lost in the distant sky; he was seeking the subject of a new picture. Of what he Should do next he knew nothing. He was not an absolute artist, certain of himself, but a vacillating dreamer, one whose wavering inspiration was ever hesitating among all the manifestations of art. He was rich, illustrious, had gained innumerable honors, and yet, toward the end of his life, continued to be a man who is not sure what ideal he has been pursu ing. He had Obtained the Prix de Rome, had been the defender of accepted traditions, conjurer, after so many others, of the great scenes of history; then, modernizing his tendencies, he had - still influenced by classic memories - painted living men. Intelligent, enthusiastic, an indefatigable worker, with ever-changing dreams, a nature of fastidious. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.