THE PORTRAIT
When Beresteyn returned to the studio in the company of Frans Hals they
found Diogenes once more clad in his own well-fitting and serviceable
doublet.
The artist looked bitterly disappointed at the sight, but naturally
forbore to give vent to his feelings in the presence of his exalted
patron.
Apparently he had been told what was required, for he went straight up
to a large canvas which stood at the further end of the room with its
face to the wall, and this he brought out now and placed upon the easel.
"It is an excellent likeness of my sister," said Nicolaes with his usual
gracious condescension to the artist, "and does your powers of faithful
portraiture vast credit, my good Hals. I pray you, sir," he added
calling to Diogenes, "come and look at it."
The latter came and stood in front of the easel and looked on the
picture which was there exhibited for his gaze.
Among the hard lessons which varying Fortune teaches to those whom she
most neglects, there is none so useful as self-control. Diogenes had
learned that lesson early in his life, and his own good humour often had
to act as a mask for deeper emotions. Now, when in the picture he
recognized the woman who had spoken to him last night after the affray,
in the Dam Straat, his face in no sense expressed surprise, it still
smiled and mocked and twinkled, and neither of the two men who stood by
guessed that he had seen the original of this dainty picture under
peculiar circumstances not many hours before.
That portrait of Jongejuffrouw Beresteyn is one of the finest ever
painted by Frans Hals, the intense naturalness of the pose is perfect,
the sweet yet imperious expression of the face is most faithfully
portrayed. Diogenes saw her now very much as he had seen her last night,
for the artist had painted the young head against a dark background and
it stood out delicate as a flower, right out of the canvas and in full
light.
The mouth smiled as it had done last night when first she caught sight
of the ludicrous apparition of one philosopher astride on the shoulders
of the other, the eyes looked grave as they had done when she humbly,
yet gracefully begged pardon for her levity. The chin was uplifted as it
had been last night, when she made with haughty condescension her offers
of patronage to the penniless adventurer, and there was the little hand
soft and smooth as the petal of a rose which had rested for one moment
against his lips.
And looking on the picture of this young girl, Diogenes remembered the
words which her own brother had spoken to him only a few moments ago;
"her honour and her safety are forfeit to me. I would kill you if you
cheated me, but I would not even then regret what I had done."
The daughter of the rich city burgher was, of course, less than nothing
to the nameless carver of his own fortunes; she was as far removed from
his sphere of life as were the stars from the Zuyder Zee, nor did women
as a sex play any serious part in his schemes for the future, but at the
recollection of those callous and selfish words, Diogenes felt a wave of
fury rushing through his blood; the same rage seized his temper now as
when he saw a lout once plucking out the feathers of a song bird, and he
fell on him with fists and stick and left him lying bruised and
half-dead in a ditch.
But the hard lesson learned early in life stood him in good stead. He
crossed his arms over his broad chest and anon his well-shaped hand
went up to his moustache and it almost seemed as if the slender fingers
smoothed away the traces of that wave of wrath which had swept over him
so unaccountably just now, and only left upon his face those lines of
mockery and of good-humour which a nature redolent of sunshine had
rendered indelible.
"What think you of it, sir?" asked Beresteyn impatiently, seeing that
Diogenes seemed inclined to linger over long in his contemplation of the
picture.
"I think, sir," replied the other, "that the picture once seen would for
ever be imprinted on the memory."
"Ah! it pleases me to hear you say that. I think too that it does our
friend Hals here infinite credit. You must finish that picture soon, my
good Frans. My father I know is prepared to pay you well for it."
Then he turned once more to Diogenes.
"I'll take my leave now, sir," he said, "and must thank you for so
kindly listening to my proposals. Hals, I thank you for the hospitality
of your house. We meet again soon I hope."
He took up his hat and almost in spite of himself he acknowledged
Diogenes' parting bow with one equally courteous. Patron and employé
stood henceforth on equal terms.
"An you desire to see me again to-day, sir," he said before finally
taking his leave, "I shall be in the tapperij of the 'Lame Cow' between
the hours of four and five and entirely at your service."
After that he walked out of the room escorted by Frans Hals, and
Diogenes who had remained alone in the big, bare studio, stood in front
of Jongejuffrouw Beresteyn's portrait and had another long look at it.
A whimsical smile sat round his lips even as they apostrophized the
image that looked so gravely on him out of the canvas.
"You poor, young, delicate creature!" he murmured, "what of your
imperious little ways now? your offers of condescension, your gracious
wiping of your dainty shoes on the commoner herd of humanity? Your own
brother has thrown you at the mercy of a rogue, eh? A rogue whose valour
must needs be rewarded by money and patronage!... Will you recognise him
to-night I wonder, as the rogue he really is? the rogue paid to do work
that is too dirty for exalted gentlemen's hands to touch? How you will
loathe him after to-night!"
He drew in his breath with a quaint little sigh that had a thought of
sadness in it, and turned away from the picture just as Frans Hals
re-entered the room.
"When this picture is finished," he said at once to his friend, "your
name, my dear Hals, will ring throughout Europe."
"'Tis your picture I want to finish," said the other reproachfully, "I
have such a fine chance of selling it the day after to-morrow."
"Why the day after to-morrow?"
"The Burgomaster, Mynheer van der Meer, comes to visit my studio. He
liked the beginnings of the picture very much when he saw it, and told
me then that he would come to look at it again and would probably buy
it."
"I can be back here in less than a week. You can finish the picture
then. The Burgomaster will wait."
The artist sighed a plaintive, uncomplaining little sigh and shrugged
his shoulders with an air of hopelessness.
"You don't know what these people are," he said, "they will buy a
picture when the fancy seizes them. A week later they will mayhap not
even look at it. Besides which the Burgomaster goes to Amsterdam next
week. He will visit Rembrandt's studio, and probably buy a picture
there...."
His speech meandered on, dully and tonelessly, losing itself finally in
incoherent mutterings. Diogenes looked on him with good-natured
contempt.
"And you would lick the boots of such rabble," he said.
"I have a wife and a growing family," rejoined the artist, "we must all
live."
"I don't see the necessity," quoth Diogenes lightly, "not at that price
in any case. You must live of course, my dear Hals," he continued,
"because you are a genius and help to fill this ugly grey world with
your magnificent works, but why should your wife and family live at the
expense of your manhood."
Then seeing the look of horror which his tirade had called forth in the
face of his friend, he said with more seriousness:
"Would the price of that picture be of such vital importance then?"
"It is not the money so much," rejoined Frans Hals, "though God knows
that that too would be acceptable, but 'tis the glory of it to which I
had aspired. This picture to hang in the Stanhuis, mayhap in the
reception hall, has been my dream these weeks past; not only would all
the wealthy burghers of Haarlem see it there, but all the civic
dignitaries of other cities when they come here on a visit, aye! and the
foreign ambassadors too, who often come to Haarlem. My fame then would
indeed ring throughout Europe.... It is very hard that you should
disappoint me so."
While he went on mumbling in his feeble querulous voice, Diogenes had
been pacing up and down the floor apparently struggling with insistent
thoughts. There was quite a suspicion of a frown upon his smooth brow,
but he said nothing until his friend had finished speaking. Then he
ceased his restless pacing and placed a hand upon Hals' shoulder.
"Look here, old friend," he said, "this will never do. It seems as if I,
by leaving you in the lurch to-day, stood in the way of your
advancement and of your fortune. That of course will never do," he
reiterated earnestly. "You the friend, who, like last night, are always
ready to give me food and shelter when I have been without a grote in my
pocket. You who picked me up ten years ago a shoeless ragamuffin
wandering homeless in the streets, and gave me a hot supper and a bed,
knowing nothing about me save that I was starving ... for that was the
beginning of our friendship was it not, old Frans?"
"Of course it was," assented the other, "but that was long ago. You have
more than repaid me since then ... when you had the means ... and now
there is the picture...."
"To repay a debt is not always to be rid of an obligation. How can I
then leave you in the lurch now?"
"Why cannot you stay and sit for me to-day.... The light is fairly
good...."
"I cannot stay now, dear old friend," said the other earnestly, "on my
honour I would do my duty by you now if I only could. I have business of
the utmost importance to transact to-day and must see to it forthwith."
"Then why not to-morrow?... I could work on the doublet and the lace
collar to-day, by putting them on a dummy model.... All I want is a good
long sitting from you for the head.... I could almost finish the picture
to-morrow," he pleaded in his peevish, melancholy voice, "and the
Burgomaster comes on the next day."
Diogenes was silent for awhile. Again that puzzled frown appeared
between his brows. To-morrow he should be leaving Leyden on his way to
Rotterdam; 1,000 guilders would be in his pocket, and 3,000 more would
be waiting for him at the end of his journey.... To-morrow!...
Frans Hals' keen, restless eyes followed every varying expression in the
face he knew so well.
"Why should you not give up your day to me to-morrow?" he murmured
peevishly. "You have nothing to do."
"Why indeed not?" said the other with a sudden recrudescence of his
usual gaiety. "I can do it, old compeer! Dondersteen, but I should be a
smeerlap if I did not. Wait one moment.... Let me just think.... Yes! I
have the way clear in my mind now.... I will be here as early as I was
to-day."
"By half-past seven o'clock the light is tolerable," said the artist.
"By half-past seven then I shall have donned the doublet, and will not
move off that platform unless you bid me, until the shadows have
gathered in, in the wake of the setting sun. After that," he added with
his accustomed merry laugh, "let Mynheer, the Burgomaster come, your
picture shall not hang fire because of me."
"That's brave!" said Frans Hals more cheerily. "If you will come I can
do it. You will see how advanced that sleeve and collar will be by
half-past seven to-morrow."
His voice had quite a ring in it now; he fussed about in his studio,
re-arranged the picture on the easel, and put aside the portrait of
Jongejuffrouw Beresteyn; Diogenes watched him with amusement, but the
frown had not quite disappeared from his brow. He had made two promises
to-day, both of which he would have to fulfil at all costs. Just now, it
was in a flash, that the thought came to him how he could help his
friend and yet keep his word to Beresteyn. A quick plan had formed
itself in his mind for accomplishing this--he saw in a mental vision the
forced run on the ice back to Haarlem and back again in the wake of the
sleigh. It could be done with much pluck and endurance and a small
modicum of good luck, and already his mind was made up to it, whatever
the cost in fatigue or privations might be.
But time was pressing now. After a renewed and most solemn promise he
took leave of Frans Hals, who already was too deeply absorbed in work
to take much notice of his friend. The glorious, self-centred
selfishness of genius was in him. He cared absolutely nothing for any
worry or trouble he might cause to the other man by his demand for that
sitting on the morrow. The picture mattered--nothing else--and the
artist never even asked his friend if he would suffer inconvenience or
worse by sacrificing his day to it to-morrow.