Douw assented, and inwardly thought that fortune had been
extraordinarily kind to his niece. The stranger, he deemed, must be
most wealthy and generous, and such an offer was not to be despised,
though made by a humorist, and one of no very prepossessing presence. Rose had no very high pretensions, for she was almost without dowry;
indeed, altogether so, excepting so far as the deficiency had been
supplied by the generosity of her uncle. Neither had she any right to
raise any scruples against the match on the score of birth, for her own
origin was by no means elevated; and as to other objections, Gerard
resolved, and, indeed, by the usages of the time was warranted in
resolving, not to listen to them for a moment. "Sir," said he, addressing the stranger, "your offer is most liberal,
and whatever hesitation I may feel in closing with it immediately,
arises solely from my not having the honour of knowing anything of your
family or station. Upon these points you can, of course, satisfy me
without difficulty?" "As to my respectability," said the stranger, drily, "you must take that
for granted at present; pester me with no inquiries; you can discover
nothing more about me than I choose to make known. You shall have
sufficient security for my respectability--my word, if you are
honourable; if you are sordid, my gold." "A testy old gentleman," thought Douw; "he must have his own way. But,
all things considered, I am justified in giving my niece to him. Were
she my own daughter, I would do the like by her. I will not pledge
myself unnecessarily, however." "You will not pledge yourself unnecessarily," said Vanderhausen,
strangely uttering the very words which had just floated through the
mind of his companion; "but you will do so if it _is_ necessary, I
presume; and I will show you that I consider it indispensable. If the
gold I mean to leave in your hands satisfies you, and if you desire that
my proposal shall not be at once withdrawn, you must, before I leave
this room, write your name to this engagement." Having thus spoken, he placed a paper in the hands of Gerard, the
contents of which expressed an engagement entered into by Gerard Douw,
to give to Wilken Vanderhausen, of Rotterdam, in marriage, Rose
Velderkaust, and so forth, within one week of the date hereof. While the painter was employed in reading this covenant, Schalken, as we
have stated, entered the studio, and having delivered the box and the
valuation of the Jew into the hands of the stranger, he was about to
retire, when Vanderhausen called to him to wait; and, presenting the
case and the certificate to Gerard Douw, he waited in silence until he
had satisfied himself by an inspection of both as to the value of the
pledge left in his hands. At length he said:

"Are you content?" The painter said "he would fain have another day to consider." "Not an hour," said the suitor, coolly. "Well, then," said Douw, "I am content; it is a bargain." "Then sign at once," said Vanderhausen; "I am weary." At the same time he produced a small case of writing materials, and
Gerard signed the important document. "Let this youth witness the covenant," said the old man; and Godfrey
Schalken unconsciously signed the instrument which bestowed upon another
that hand which he had so long regarded as the object and reward of all
his labours. The compact being thus completed, the strange visitor folded up the
paper, and stowed it safely in an inner pocket. "I will visit you to-morrow night, at nine of the clock, at your house,
Gerard Douw, and will see the subject of our contract. Farewell." And so
saying, Wilken Vanderhausen moved stiffly, but rapidly out of the room. Schalken, eager to resolve his doubts, had placed himself by the window
in order to watch the street entrance; but the experiment served only to
support his suspicions, for the old man did not issue from the door. This was very strange, very odd, very fearful. He and his master
returned together, and talked but little on the way, for each had his
own subjects of reflection, of anxiety, and of hope. Schalken, however, did not know the ruin which threatened his cherished
schemes. Gerard Douw knew nothing of the attachment which had sprung up between
his pupil and his niece; and even if he had, it is doubtful whether he
would have regarded its existence as any serious obstruction to the
wishes of Mynher Vanderhausen. Marriages were then and there matters of traffic and calculation; and
it would have appeared as absurd in the eyes of the guardian to make a
mutual attachment an essential element in a contract of marriage, as it
would have been to draw up his bonds and receipts in the language of
chivalrous romance. The painter, however, did not communicate to his niece the important
step which he had taken in her behalf, and his resolution arose not from
any anticipation of opposition on her part, but solely from a ludicrous
consciousness that if his ward were, as she very naturally might do, to
ask him to describe the appearance of the bridegroom whom he destined
for her, he would be forced to confess that he had not seen his face,
and, if called upon, would find it impossible to identify him. Upon the next day, Gerard Douw having dined, called his niece to him,
and having scanned her person with an air of satisfaction, he took her
hand, and looking upon her pretty, innocent face with a smile of
kindness, he said:

"Rose, my girl, that face of yours will make your fortune." Rose blushed
and smiled. "Such faces and such tempers seldom go together, and, when
they do, the compound is a love-potion which few heads or hearts can
resist. Trust me, thou wilt soon be a bride, girl. But this is trifling,
and I am pressed for time, so make ready the large room by eight
o'clock to-night, and give directions for supper at nine. I expect
a friend to-night; and observe me, child, do thou trick thyself out
handsomely. I would not have him think us poor or sluttish." With these words he left the chamber, and took his way to the room to
which we have already had occasion to introduce our readers--that in
which his pupils worked. When the evening closed in, Gerard called Schalken, who was about to
take his departure to his obscure and comfortless lodgings, and asked
him to come home and sup with Rose and Vanderhausen. The invitation was of course accepted, and Gerard Douw and his pupil
soon found themselves in the handsome and somewhat antique-looking room
which had been prepared for the reception of the stranger. A cheerful wood-fire blazed in the capacious hearth; a little at
one side an old-fashioned table, with richly-carved legs, was
placed--destined, no doubt, to receive the supper, for which
preparations were going forward; and ranged with exact regularity
stood the tall-backed chairs whose ungracefulness was more than
counterbalanced by their comfort.