must have had the idea of this beautiful portrait. He
catches his friend one day in the corner of his library, standing with
his back to the window to get the light on the book he is reading. He
transfers the picture to a copper plate and hands it down to future
generations.

The slender figure of the young man is clad in the picturesque dress
of a gentleman of his time, with knee-breeches and low shoes, with
wide white collar and cuffs. His abundant wavy blond hair falls to his
shoulders; he has the air of a true poet. In his eagerness to read, he
has flung his cavalier's cloak on the window seat behind him, a part
of it dropping upon a chair beyond. Its voluminous folds make a
cushion for him, as he leans gracefully against the window ledge. His
sword and belt lie on the chair with the cloak. For the moment the pen
is mightier than the sword. The furnishings of the room show the
owner's tastes; a pile of folio volumes fill a low chair, an antique
picture hangs on the wall.

The young man's face is seen by the light reflected from the pages of
his open book. It is a refined, sensitive face, of high intellectual
cast, amiable withal, and full of imagination. He is completely
absorbed in his reading, a smile playing about his mouth. How little
of a fop and how much of a poet he is, we see from his disordered
collar. Breathing quickly as he bends over his book, in his
excitement he cannot endure the restraint of a close collar. He has
unloosed it, as, quite oblivious of any untidiness in his appearance,
he hurries on, ruthlessly crushing the pages of the folio back, as he
grasps it in his hand.

The friendship between Six and Rembrandt seemed to grow apace; for
when the tragedy of Medaea was published, in 1648, it was illustrated
by a magnificent etching by Rembrandt, representing the Marriage of
Jason and Creusa.

The literary work of Jan Six led the way to various public honors. In
1656 he became commissioner of marriages; in 1667, a member of the
Council of the States General of Holland, and in 1691, burgomaster of
Amsterdam. His continued friendship for Rembrandt was shown in his
purchasing a number of the latter's paintings. Rembrandt at length
painted a magnificent portrait of his friend in his old age, which,
with the portrait of his mother and the original plate for this
etching, still remains in the Six family in Amsterdam. Referring to
the portrait of Jan Six, the famous Dutch poet, Vondel, contemporary
of