In the Book of Revelations the writer makes the four horses represent the conquering spirits sent forth by God. The white horse is the spirit of knowledge. A star is on the rider's brow, and he tramples the clouds under his feet.
Marken is an island in the Zuyder Zee. The central figure shows how the women combine picturesque costume with hard work. To the right are some children playing with a toy windmill on a small mound, the model of the means which preserve Holland from the sea.
Which face is the prettier, that of the grandmother who has learnt life's lessons, or that of the baby who has not yet forgotten "the palace whence we came?" Our birth is but a sleep and forgetting; The sould that rises with us, our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar: Not in entire forgetfulness And not in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory, do we come From God who is out home: Heaven lies about us in our fancy! --Wordsworth
