J. S. Le Fanus Ghostly Tales, Volume 1 | Page 7

the devil, and yet, if his heart
and actions are good, he is worth all the pretty-faced perfumed puppies

that walk the Mall. Rose, my girl, it is very true he has not thy pretty
face, but I know him to be wealthy and liberal; and were he ten times
more ugly, these two virtues would be enough to counter balance all his
deformity, and if not sufficient actually to alter the shape and hue of his
features, at least enough to prevent one thinking them so much amiss."
"Do you know, uncle," said Rose, "when I saw him standing at the door,
I could not get it out of my head that I saw the old painted wooden
figure that used to frighten me so much in the Church of St. Laurence
at Rotterdam."
Gerard laughed, though he could not help inwardly acknowledging the
justness of the comparison. He was resolved, however, as far as he
could, to check his niece's disposition to dilate upon the ugliness of her
intended bridegroom, although he was not a little pleased, as well as
puzzled, to observe that she appeared totally exempt from that
mysterious dread of the stranger which, he could not disguise it from
himself, considerably affected him, as also his pupil Godfrey Schalken.
Early on the next day there arrived, from various quarters of the town,
rich presents of silks, velvets, jewellery, and so forth, for Rose; and
also a packet directed to Gerard Douw, which on being opened, was
found to contain a contract of marriage, formally drawn up, between
Wilken Vanderhausen of the _Boom-quay_, in Rotterdam, and Rose
Velderkaust of Leyden, niece to Gerard Douw, master in the art of
painting, also of the same city; and containing engagements on the part
of Vanderhausen to make settlements upon his bride, far more splendid
than he had before led her guardian to believe likely, and which were to
be secured to her use in the most unexceptionable manner possible--the
money being placed in the hand of Gerard Douw himself.
I have no sentimental scenes to describe, no cruelty of guardians, no
magnanimity of wards, no agonies, or transport of lovers. The record I
have to make is one of sordidness, levity, and heartlessness. In less than
a week after the first interview which we have just described, the
contract of marriage was fulfilled, and Schalken saw the prize which he
would have risked existence to secure, carried off in solemn pomp by
his repulsive rival. For two or three days he absented himself from the

school; he then returned and worked, if with less cheerfulness, with far
more dogged resolution than before; the stimulus of love had given
place to that of ambition. Months passed away, and, contrary to his
expectation, and, indeed, to the direct promise of the parties, Gerard
Douw heard nothing of his niece or her worshipful spouse. The interest
of the money, which was to have been demanded in quarterly sums, lay
unclaimed in his hands.
He began to grow extremely uneasy. Minheer Vanderhausen's direction
in Rotterdam he was fully possessed of; after some irresolution he
finally determined to journey thither--a trifling undertaking, and easily
accomplished--and thus to satisfy himself of the safety and comfort of
his ward, for whom he entertained an honest and strong affection. His
search was in vain, however; no one in Rotterdam had ever heard of
Minheer Vanderhausen. Gerard Douw left not a house in the
_Boom-quay_ untried, but all in vain. No one could give him any
information whatever touching the object of his inquiry, and he was
obliged to return to Leyden nothing wiser and far more anxious, than
when he had left it.
On his arrival he hastened to the establishment from which
Vanderhausen had hired the lumbering, though, considering the times,
most luxurious vehicle, which the bridal party had employed to convey
them to Rotterdam. From the driver of this machine he learned, that
having proceeded by slow stages, they had late in the evening
approached Rotterdam; but that before they entered the city, and while
yet nearly a mile from it, a small party of men, soberly clad, and after
the old fashion, with peaked beards and moustaches, standing in the
centre of the road, obstructed the further progress of the carriage. The
driver reined in his horses, much fearing, from the obscurity of the hour,
and the loneliness, of the road, that some mischief was intended. His
fears were, however, somewhat allayed by his observing that these
strange men carried a large litter, of an antique shape, and which they
immediately set down upon the pavement, whereupon the bridegroom,
having opened the coach-door from within, descended, and having
assisted his bride to do likewise, led her, weeping bitterly, and wringing
her hands, to the litter,