Enchanted Palaces With Fiery Dragons

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
(1780-1867)

Man does not appear to me to be intended to enjoy felicity so unmixed; happiness is like the enchanted palaces we read of in our childhood, where fierce, fiery dragons defend the entrance and approach; and monsters of all shapes and kinds, requiring to be overcome ere victory is ours. I own that I am lost in wonder to find myself promoted to an honor of which I feel myself unworthy—that of being the husband of Mercedes.

—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo