Panic-stricken, he knew not what to do as he watched his restive horse back away from him, turn, and bolt from his increasingly menacing scent, his belongings torn from their saddle cinchings as the animal sped through the brush.

From early on in his career, Zola's work as a critic revealed just how heavily he was invested in the literary “dream of stone.”

The Grand Question Debated Whether Hamilton's Bawn Should be Turned into a Barrack or a Malt-house − 1729 This Hamilton's bawn, while it sticks in my hand, / I lose by the house what I get by the land; / But how to dispose of it to the best bidder, / For a barrack or malthouse, we now must consider.

[W]ere it good / To ſet the exact wealth of al our ſtates / Al at one caſt? to ſet ſo rich a maine / On the nice hazard of one doubtfull houre? Is it good / To bet all of our wealth / On one throw of the dice? To place so high a stake / On the risky hazard of one doubtful hour?