Plate 14. The Canal called "Prinsengracht" in Amsterdam. ]

Plate 14. The Canal called "Prinsengracht" in Amsterdam. The tower seen on
the left is the same as seen in the preceding illustration. After an
etching by R. Zeeman, about 1650.

[Plate 15. The St. Anthony-Market in Amsterdam, with the Old Gate
Transformed into a Weighing-House. ]

Plate 15. The St. Anthony-Market in Amsterdam, with the Old Gate
Transformed into a Weighing-House. After an etching by R. Zeeman, about
1650.

[Plate 16. Rembrandt's House In The "St. Anthonie-breestraat" In Amsterdam
]

Plate 16. Rembrandt's House In The "St. Anthonie-breestraat" In Amsterdam
On the left: As it must have looked when Rembrandt occupied it. On the
right: Present state.

This house welcomed Rembrandt in 1639, when he acquired it for 13,000
florins (a good price in those days, showing that it was a desirable
residence) and saw itself adorned with a unique collection of works of art
which its owner, passionate collector that he was, did not cease to
enlarge. That same house saw its illustrious occupant become more and
more retiring, misunderstood by the majority of the public and finally
struck by reverses, till a total bankruptcy necessitated the sale of the
house in 1658. It has often been thought, that his undying mania for
collecting was the principal cause of his misfortune, but a document,
recently discovered, shows that Rembrandt was, like so many of his
fellow-citizens, the victim of the economic reverses caused by the first
Anglo-Dutch war. In 1653 nearly the whole trade was at a standstill, 1500
houses (others speak of double the number) stood empty, and on the 27th of
June even the magistrate decided to leave off one of the two principal
stories from its new magnificent town-hall, then in course of
construction, a resolution which fortunately was revoked two years later.
As a matter of fact trade weakened heavily until 1660, suffering reverses,
not only from England's attitude, but also from France's and Sweden's
fiendish acts. Although the town energetically opposed its enemies, often
against the will of the Netherlands' States, it could not at once redress
its internal depression, and we should not wonder at seeing the artist
Rembrandt among the victims. He avows in the document that he lost
c