nown not to be immediately pointed out to him, and in ten minutes he
found himself, with the sailors at his heels who had been ordered to
carry up his baggage, at a handsomely-carved door painted in bright
green, and with knockers of massive brass which glittered in the sun.

Ramsay, as he waited a few seconds, looked up at the house, which was
large, and with a noble front to the wide street in face of it, not, as
usual with most of the others, divided in the centre by a canal running
the whole length of it. The door was opened, and led into a large paved
yard, the sides of which were lined with evergreens in large tubs,
painted of the same bright-green colour; adjoining to the yard was a
small garden enclosed with high walls, which was laid out with great
precision, and in small beds full of tulips, ranunculuses, and other
bulbs now just appearing above the ground. The sailors waited outside
while the old grey-headed servitor who had opened the gate ushered
Ramsay through the court to a second door which led into the house. The
hall into which he entered was paved with marble, and the staircase bold
and handsome which led to the first floor, but on each side of the hall
there were wooden partitions and half-glass doors, through which Ramsay
could see that the rest of the basement was appropriated to warehouses,
and that in the warehouse at the back of the building there were people
busily employed hoisting out merchandise from the vessels in the canal,
the water of which adjoined the very walls. Ramsay followed the man
upstairs, who showed him into a very splendidly-furnished apartment, and
then went to summon his master, who, he said, was below in the
warehouse. Ramsay had but a minute or two to examine the various
objects which decorated the room, particularly some very fine pictures,
when Mynheer Van Krause made his appearance, with some open tablets in
his hand and his pen across his mouth. He was a very short man, with a
respectable paunch, a very small head, quite bald, a keen blue eye,
reddish but straight nose, and a very florid complexion. There was
nothing vulgar about his appearance, although his figure was against
him. His countenance was one of extreme frankness, mixed with
considerable intelligence, and his whole manner gave you the idea of
precision and calculation.

"You would--tyfel--I forgot my pen," said the syndic, catching it as it
fell out of his mouth. "You would speak with me, mynheer?