"Art not too severe?" asked Mina lowering her eyes and puckering her rosy lips into a little pout. "I thought the knight of Arneck had something of talent; that thou thyself saidst the day he modelled the great St. Michael."
"In good truth, he might have talent, were he more pious, more humble, and were he not a noble. Thinkest thou, Mina, that inspiration will come in the midst of the clamors of a passage-at arms, the charms of a concert of lutes, or of a circle of great ladies listening to the words of a handsome cavalier, or the lays of a minnesinger? No; who would consecrate his labors to the honor of God and the saints must seek his inspiration, looking upward to heaven, studying the mountains and the fields, or praying in the churches. Then let him return and work and adore, lest the holy vision fly or the sweet fervor grow cold."
"Nevertheless, my father, the Chevalier Otho, is very assiduous, and I have more than once heard thee marvel at his zeal."
"Assuredly, he has been zealous. But can he really bear that zeal in his heart, wherein he bears the pride of his high lineage, the gallantry of a courteous knight, and all the cares of his seigneury? No; his ardor is but the flame of burning straw, which quickly dies. I cannot even understand why the knight of Arneck should take up the chisel—he who should content himself with the sword."
"Yes, yes, father, he wields it marvellously!" cried Mina, in a burst of enthusiasm.
"And therefore should be content with it. But Sir Otho knows not what he wants. To day he practises a new thrust, and to-morrow he cuts stone or models a statue. See, he has not finished the fine armor of his archangel, and yet he could not keep from the tournament. And nevertheless, he promised to be here before evening."
Mina did not reply to these last words, but threw a vague, sorrowful glance toward the sun, which yet shone, but was fast sinking.
Sebald, yet touching up various parts of his bas-relief, did not turn his head, and for some moments silence reigned in the atelier.
Soon the fall of a light and vigorous step was heard on the little pointed black stones which formed the pavement of the street.