But the languidness and indifference were only masks which he
chose to assume when too great interest would have thwarted his own
schemes. In reality there was not a jewel or ornament which he did not
notice and appraise at the correct value. The immensity of the
palace's dimensions and its intricate plan made it impossible to
obtain a complete survey in so short a time, but at the end of half an
hour Travers' original theory was confirmed. Here was a power of
wealth lying idle, waiting, as it seemed to his natural egoism, for
his hands to put it into action.
In his imagination he saw the jeweled pillars dismantled and the
inlaid gold and silver changed into the hard money necessary for his
campaign--not without regret. The man of taste suffered not a little
at the changed picture, and since there was no immediate call upon his
activities, he allowed the man of taste to predominate over the
speculator. But the punishment for those who serve God and mammon is
inevitable. There comes the moment when the worshiper of mammon hears
the voice of God calling him, be it through a beautiful woman, a
beautiful poem, a beautiful sculpture, or a simple child, and the
soul, God-given, struggles against the bonds that have been laid upon
it.
So it was with Travers as he stood there in the Throne Room, gazing
thoughtfully out over the gardens to the ornate towers of the temple.
He was fully conscious of the dual nature in him, and it gave him a
sort of painful pleasure to allow the idealistic side a moment's
supremacy, to imagine himself throwing up his plans, and leaving so
much loveliness and peace undisturbed.
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