The old man stroked his beard and looked into the fire silently; he seemed so humble, so serene, so insignificant, that Rénèe wondered why he was so eager for gold and power. Then she thought that perhaps he cared for neither, and that he had pitted himself against this secret as William had pitted himself against Philip, and that in both it was not the thought of the reward that urged them on to undertake tasks seemingly impossible, but the glory of the struggle, the mighty pleasure of overcoming, the ultimate hope of attainment.
"And my sons?" asked Juliana of Stolberg; "what disastrous prophecies have you made against the House of Nassau?"
Vanderlinden came from his dreams with a sigh.
"They might all be safe if they would be warned," he said. "Your Excellency heard that an astrologer warned Count Hoorne not to go to Brussels? And yet he went and died."
"A brave man cannot take these warnings," said the Countess stoutly. "It is not for Princes and leaders to count the cost of the steps they make, nor to think of their own lives."
"Then my charts and tables are useless," replied the alchemist.
"They please the Elector," said Juliana.
The alchemist was silent; he knew himself that his prophecies did little more than amuse his master.
"You shall speak to Count John, as the Elector bade you," resumed the Countess, "but you will not suppose that any one can turn back the Count nor his brothers from what they have set their hands to."
She spoke with pride and courage, but sorrowfully, as one who sees clearly and unfalteringly ahead and sees nothing but grief and trouble.