has been leaning over the book. He
raises his head and meets our eyes frankly and cordially. His
companion continues his discourse, gesturing with the right hand. The
older men at one side give more attention to the arrival. One seated
in the armchair smiles good naturedly; the other, rising and
leaning on the table, peers forward with a look of keen inquiry.

[Illustration: THE SYNDICS OF THE CLOTH GUILD
_Ryks Museum, Amsterdam_]

As we examine the faces one by one, we could almost write a character
study of each man, so wonderfully does the portrait reveal the inner
life--the placid amiability of one, the quiet humor of another, the
keen, incisive insight of a third. That they are all men of sound
judgment we may well believe, and they are plainly men to be trusted.
The motto of the guild is a key to their character: "Conform to your
vows in all matters clearly within their jurisdiction; live honestly;
be not influenced in your judgments by favor, hatred, or personal
interest." These principles are at the foundation of the commercial
prosperity for which Holland is noted.

The picture may be taken to illustrate a page in American history. It
was the Dutch, as we all remember, who founded the State of New York,
and the fifty years of their occupation (1614-1664) fell within the
lifetime of Rembrandt. The fifteen thousand settlers, who came during
this time from Holland to America, brought with them the manners and
customs of their home country. The citizens of New Amsterdam were the
counterparts of their contemporaries in the old Amsterdam. We may see,
then, in this picture of the Cloth Merchants of Amsterdam just such
men as were to be seen among our own colonists. In the broad-brimmed
hat and the wide white collar we find the same peculiarities of dress,
and in their honest faces we read the same national traits. It was to
men like these that we owe a debt of gratitude for some of the best
elements in our national life. In the words of a historian,[11] "The
republican Dutchmen gave New York its tolerant and cosmopolitan
character, insured its commercial supremacy, introduced the common
schools, founded the oldest day school and the first Protestant church
in the United States, and were pioneers in most of the ideas and
institutions we boast of as distinctly American."

[Footnote 11: W. E. Griffis, in _Brave Little Holland_, pp. 212-213.]

If you fancy that it was quite accidental that the six figures of this
pi