of us--all but Jacob. Whew! How fat he is!
He'll break down before we're halfway."

Ben, of course, enjoyed skating beside Lambert, who, though a staunch
Hollander, had been educated near London and could speak English as
fluently as Dutch, but he was not sorry when Captain van Holp called
out, "Skates off! There's the museum!"

It was open, and there was no charge on that day for admission. In they
went, shuffling, as boys will when they have a chance, just to hear the
sound of their shoes on the polished floor.

This museum is in fact a picture gallery where some of the finest
works of the Dutch masters are to be seen, besides nearly two hundred
portfolios of rare engravings.

Ben noticed, at once, that some of the pictures were hung on panels
fastened to the wall with hinges. These could be swung forward like a
window shutter, thus enabling the subject to be seen in the best light.
The plan served them well in viewing a small group by Gerard Douw,
called the "Evening School," enabling them to observe its exquisite
finish and the wonderful way in which the picture seemed to be lit
through its own windows. Peter pointed out the beauties of another
picture by Douw, called "The Hermit," and he also told them some
interesting anecdotes of the artist, who was born at Leyden in 1613.

"Three days painting a broom handle!" echoed Carl in astonishment, while
the captain was giving some instances of Douw's extreme slowness of
execution.

"Yes, sir, three days. And it is said that he spent five in finishing
one hand in a lady's portrait. You see how very bright and minute
everything is in this picture. His unfinished works were kept carefully
covered and his painting materials were put away in airtight boxes
as soon as he had finished using them for the day. According to all
accounts, the studio itself must have been as close as a bandbox. The
artist always entered it on tiptoe, besides sitting still, before
he commenced work, until the slight dust caused by his entrance had
settled. I have read somewhere that his paintings are improved by being
viewed through a magnifying glass. He strained his eyes so badly with
the extra finishing, that he was forced to wear spectacles before he was
thirty. At forty he could scarcely see to paint, and he couldn't find a
pair of glasses anywhere that would help his sight. At last, a poor old
German woman asked him to try hers. They suited him exactly, and enabled
him to go on painting