J. S. Le Fanus Ghostly Tales, Volume 1

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J. S. Le Fanu's Ghostly Tales,
Volume 1, by

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
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Title: J. S. Le Fanu's Ghostly Tales, Volume 1
Author: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Release Date: March 24, 2004 [eBook #11699]
Language: English
Character set encoding: iso-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK J. S. LE
FANU'S GHOSTLY TALES, VOLUME 1***
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J. S. LE FANU'S GHOSTLY TALES, VOLUME 1
Schalken the Painter (1851)
and
An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street (1853)
by
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Schalken the Painter
_"For he is not a man as I am that we should come together; neither is
there any that might lay his hand upon us both. Let him, therefore, take
his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me."_
There exists, at this moment, in good preservation a remarkable work
of Schalken's. The curious management of its lights constitutes, as
usual in his pieces, the chief apparent merit of the picture. I say
apparent, for in its subject, and not in its handling, however exquisite,
consists its real value. The picture represents the interior of what might
be a chamber in some antique religious building; and its foreground is
occupied by a female figure, in a species of white robe, part of which is
arranged so as to form a veil. The dress, however, is not that of any
religious order. In her hand the figure bears a lamp, by which alone her
figure and face are illuminated; and her features wear such an arch
smile, as well becomes a pretty woman when practising some prankish
roguery; in the background, and, excepting where the dim red light of
an expiring fire serves to define the form, in total shadow, stands the
figure of a man dressed in the old Flemish fashion, in an attitude of
alarm, his hand being placed upon the hilt of his sword, which he
appears to be in the act of drawing.
There are some pictures, which impress one, I know not how, with a
conviction that they represent not the mere ideal shapes and

combinations which have floated through the imagination of the artist,
but scenes, faces, and situations which have actually existed. There is
in that strange picture, something that stamps it as the representation of
a reality.
And such in truth it is, for it faithfully records a remarkable and
mysterious occurrence, and perpetuates, in the face of the female figure,
which occupies the most prominent place in the design, an accurate
portrait of Rose Velderkaust, the niece of Gerard Douw, the first, and, I
believe, the only love of Godfrey Schalken. My great grandfather knew
the painter well; and from Schalken himself he learned the fearful story
of the painting, and from him too he ultimately received the picture
itself as a bequest. The story and the picture have become heir-looms in
my family, and having described the latter, I shall, if you please,
attempt to relate the tradition which has descended with the canvas.
There are few forms on which the mantle of romance hangs more
ungracefully than upon that of the uncouth Schalken--the boorish but
most cunning worker in oils, whose pieces delight the critics of our day
almost as much as his manners disgusted the refined of his own; and
yet this man, so rude, so dogged, so slovenly, in the midst of his
celebrity, had in his obscure, but happier days, played the hero in a wild
romance of mystery and passion.
When Schalken studied under the immortal Gerard Douw, he was a
very young man; and in spite of his phlegmatic temperament, he at
once fell over head and ears in love with the beautiful niece of his
wealthy master. Rose Velderkaust was still younger than he, having not
yet attained her seventeenth year, and, if tradition speaks truth,
possessed all the soft and dimpling charms of the fair, light-haired
Flemish maidens. The young painter loved honestly and fervently. His
frank adoration was rewarded. He declared his love, and extracted a
faltering confession in return. He was the happiest and proudest painter
in all Christendom. But there was somewhat to dash his elation; he was
poor and undistinguished. He dared not ask old Gerard for the hand of
his sweet ward. He must first win a reputation and a competence.
There were, therefore, many dread