At this moment the sonorous boom of the Stadhouse clock told,stroke after stroke,the hour of seven;the eyes of both master and student were directed to the door;and it was not until the last peal of the old bell had ceased to vibrate,that Douw exclaimed:
'So,so;we shall have his worship presently--that is,if he means to keep his hour;if not,thou mayst wait for him,Godfrey,if you court the acquaintance of a capricious burgomaster.As for me,Ithink our old Leyden contains a sufficiency of such commodities,without an importation from Rotterdam.'
Schalken laughed,as in duty bound;
and after a pause of some minutes,Douw suddenly exclaimed:
'What if it should all prove a jest,a piece of mummery got up by Vankarp,or some such worthy!I wish you had run all risks,and cudgelled the old burgomaster,stadholder,or whatever else he may be,soundly.I would wager a dozen of Rhenish,his worship would have pleaded old acquaintance before the third application.'
'Here he comes,sir,'said Schalken,in a low admonitory tone;and instantly,upon turning towards the door,Gerard Douw observed the same figure which had,on the day before,so unexpectedly greeted the vision of his pupil Schalken.
There was something in the air and mien of the figure which at once satisfied the painter that there was no mummery in the case,and that he really stood in the presence of a man of worship;and so,without hesitation,he doffed his cap,and courteously saluting the stranger,requested him to be seated.
The visitor waved his hand slightly,as,if in acknowledgment of the courtesy,but remained standing.
'I have the honour to see Mynher Vanderhausen,of Rotterdam?'said Gerard Douw.
'The same,'was the laconic reply of his visitant.
'I understand your worship desires to speak with me,'continued Douw,'and Iam here by appointment to wait your commands.'
'Is that a man of trust?'said Vanderhausen,turning towards Schalken,who stood at a little distance behind his master.
'Certainly,'replied Gerard.
'Then let him take this box and get the nearest jeweller or goldsmith to value its contents,and let him return hither with a certificate of the valuation.'
At the same time he placed a small case,about nine inches square,in the hands of Gerard Douw,who was as much amazed at its weight as at the strange abruptness with which it was handed to him.
In accordance with the wishes of the stranger,he delivered it into the hands of Schalken,and repeating HIS directions,despatched him upon the mission.
Schalken disposed his precious charge securely beneath the folds of his cloak,and rapidly traversing two or three narrow streets,he stopped at a corner house,the lower part of which was then occupied by the shop of a Jewish goldsmith.
Schalken entered the shop,and calling the little Hebrew into the obscurity of its back recesses,he proceeded to lay before him Vanderhausen's packet.
On being examined by the light of a lamp,it appeared entirely cased with lead,the outer surface of which was much scraped and soiled,and nearly white with age.This was with difficulty partially removed,and disclosed beneath a box of some dark and singularly hard wood;this,too,was forced,and after the removal of two or three folds of linen,its contents proved to be a mass of golden ingots,close packed,and,as the Jew declared,of the most perfect quality.
Every ingot underwent the scrutiny of the little Jew,who seemed to feel an epicurean delight in touching and testing these morsels of the glorious metal;and each one of them was replaced in the box with the exclamation:
'Mein Gott,how very perfect!not one grain of alloy--beautiful,beautiful!'
The task was at length finished,and the Jew certified under his hand the value of the ingots submitted to his examination to amount to many thousand rix-dollars.
With the desired document in his bosom,and the rich box of gold carefully pressed under his arm,and concealed by his cloak,he retraced his way,and entering the studio,found his master and the stranger in close conference.
Schalken had no sooner left the room,in order to execute the commission he had taken in charge,than Vanderhausen addressed Gerard Douw in the following terms:
'I may not tarry with you to-night more than a few minutes,and so I shall briefly tell you the matter upon which I come.
You visited the town of Rotterdam some four months ago,and then I saw in the church of St.Lawrence your niece,Rose Velderkaust.I desire to marry her,and if I satisfy you as to the fact that I am very wealthy--more wealthy than any husband you could dream of for her--Iexpect that you will forward my views to the utmost of your authority.If you approve my proposal,you must close with it at once,for I cannot command time enough to wait for calculations and delays.'
Gerard Douw was,perhaps,as much astonished as anyone could be by the very unexpected nature of Mynher Vanderhausen's communication;but he did not give vent to any unseemly expression of surprise,for besides the motives supplied by prudence and politeness,the painter experienced a kind of chill and oppressive sensation,something like that which is supposed to affect a man who is placed unconsciously in immediate contact with something to which he has a natural anti-pathy--an undefined horror and dread while standing in the presence of the eccentric stranger,which made him very unwilling to say anything which might reasonably prove offensive.
'I have no doubt,'said Gerard,after two or three prefatory hems,'that the connection which you propose would prove alike advantageous and honourable to my niece;but you must be aware that she has a will of her own,and may not acquiesce in what WE may design for her advantage.'
'Do not seek to deceive me,Sir Painter,'
said Vanderhausen;'you are her guardian --she is your ward.She is mine if YOU like to make her so.'