The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1866-02-06
THE PAINTER OF ROTTERDAM.
~ niss AxaLlA a. EDWARDS.


Ny father uss = trader and distiller n
Schedam. % the Mas. Without being
wealthy, ~s enjoyed he mrAas Of procur-
lag every social oomfsrt We gave and
rresi'sd visits iron les old friends, we
wvat occasionally 10 tie theatre. and ny
iStLsE had he tulip-gArdeh and summer.
kocss A. . lIitls distance from Schiedam,
oa The banks u the canal which connects
the town wish The river.
but my father and mother. whose only
child ! asa. chrrished one dream Of Ambi
lioa. Ia ~bIch. iostSnaisiy, my oua tastes
led me - participate they wshed me to
beo,me p~inisr. Let ne kaI zee PIC
tsEe u Frsak LINDEN 10 the gallery of
Rotterdam, sAid my father. and shall
die happy. 30. At fourteen years Of age,
/ ! MAS removed from school, and placed in
the classes u Mss.cr kesler, an artist liv-
ing Delft Here made such progress
that by the time reached my nineteenth
tirlbdAy, | vas transferred 10 the ateiisr
OF Haas van Roos, descendant OF the
/ eel b'aled family Of that time. Van Roos
wss MOI more ihan thirty eight or forty
Jears Of Sse, and had already acquired
Considerable reputation Ms painter ol por-
traits and sacred subjects. There was an
altar-p.eee VI f,s la one OF .our finest
churches. his works had occupied the
place Of honor Tor The past ak years at The
annual exhibition and for portra tur,, he
numbered among his patrons mot Of the
/ wealthy msncha.is aud bursomsslers Of
ihc city. Indeed. there e5uld be no qu.s.
lion that my mssle, Was lapiJly acquiring
n fortune commensurate snh his popular
ny.
Still, he was not cheerful man. 1t
MAS whispered by the pupils that he had
met Sllh disapl ointment early in hfe--
ihai he hid loved, been accepted, and on
ihe eve Of marriage was rejected by The
lady tor u more wealthy suiior. lie came
iron Frie,laDd, ia the north of Holland.
When very young man. lie had always
been the same z oomy, paid. labor.loving
citizen. lie MAS q rig'd Cayinst. He
"as sparlng OF do este expenditure. and
l.beral 10 TIE poor. This ,v,r, one could
Tell o., and 40 une knew more.
Inc hunb ber ot his popis was limited
10 Fix. lie kept Us constantly at work.
and scarcely permitted Us to exchange a
word with each oiher during the day -
Standing there among US SO sileGty. with
Tie lBid from abUve pourins dugn upon
las pald face, aud becoming absorbed in
the % bie folds OF his long black dress
lng-goMn, he looked almost ike some stern
old portrait himself, 10 tell The truth ,wr
were all somewhat AFRAID OF him. Not
aia he assatrcd AM undue authority Oh
lhe conIrary.he Was stately, silent, and
irigidly po,iie; bu, his pol isne.s had in il
sonaIhing oppressive, aud we we're
happier out OF lis presence. Nome OF ns
resided under his roof. | had second
tioor ia a nelghboriug street, and two ot
my fellow students cccuLied d ieoms ia The
same house. We used to meet al night
IN each others chambers and made excur.
slons 10 the exhibitions ahd theatres and
sometimes, on n summers evening. We
would hfrr pleasUre-boat and row for
mile or two down The river. We were
merry enough then, and not quite so 81
lent, ! promise you. as in Ihe gloomy stu
dio Of Hans van Roos.
In the meantime, was anxious to glram
every brnehl IRON my masters instruc-
tons. la'pro, ed rapidly aud my paint
ngs soon exeelled those OF The other five
Ny taste did incline to the sacred subjects,
like that Of Van Roos, hui rather 10 the
familiar rural style Of Berghem and Paul
Potter. II was my great delight 10 wand.
er along the rich pasurc.lands; 10 watch
- somber sunset, the herds going home to
the dairy, the hzy Sind-mlIls, and the
calm, clear waters oi the canals, scarcrly
rutiled by the passage ot the public nrcks.
ehayt.' In depicting scenes oi this ia
lure---
TAs slo- canal. the yellow -blossomed vale,
The willow -taasd eask. the gliding SAIL
! was sIngularly fortunate. Ny master
never praised me by word or look but
when nay isthcr came up one day from
Sch'edam TO visii, he said TO ne, Ia a tone
Inaudible to the rest, that 'Messer Franz
would DO credit to the profession : which
50 delighted tae good disiilIer that he
stra,gm~ay took me out with him Tor the
day, and, having given me fifteen gold
pieces as a testimonial of h's satisfaction.
took me 10 dine With his friend the Lurao
master, Won Gael. Ii ~as an cgenliuI
visit iVr Eie. On lhai evening first fell
ia love.
Few people, | lhink, would al that time
have denied lhs personal ATTRACTIONS OF
Gertrude vun Gael yet do not know
that Il Was 80 much her features as her
soit 'o.ce aud gentle. womsnly grace that
fascinated me. Though so young. she
perturm.d the honors VI her fathers
princelY ,able With seli-po.session and
good breeding. ln the evening .he sang
some sweet German songs IN ber own |
simple accompaniment We tSlked books
AID oi Ioetp. found hsr pslI read IL |
Eagli,h, French and German hleraiurr. |
We SPOKE o. art ai.d che discover, 4 bolh
jadgsmsni AID enthusiasm.
As a. iHok oal leave al night, the bar
gomAs,er n ok me warmly by Ibe hane.
ard tolI me 10 come oIien. liancied thai
Gefirase's blue eyes brishien7d whvn hs
said ii. aud frli lhs eulor rush quickly
10 my brow as | bowed and thanked him.
skranx kaid NV safLrF "A ben ga were /