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 menaced his dearest projects.

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 Minheer 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 the sort, as it would have been to draw up his bonds and
receipts in the language of romance.

The painter, however, did not communicate to his niece the important
step which he had taken in her behalf, a forebearance caused not by any
anticipated opposition on her part, but solely by a ludicrous
consciousness that if she were to ask him for a description of her
destined bridegroom, he would be forced to confess that he had not once
seen his face, and if called upon, would find it absolutely impossible
to identify him. Upon the next day, Gerard Douw, after dinner, 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 charm, few heads or hearts can resist;
trust me, you will 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; and