what was
the boast of man, and the dowry of a woman, did not consider himself as
a thief. He had so intently watched this tulip, followed it so
eagerly from the drawer in Cornelius's dry-room to the scaffold of the
Buytenhof, and from the scaffold to the fortress of Loewestein; he had
seen it bud and grow in Rosa's window, and so often warmed the air round
it with his breath, that he felt as if no one had a better right to call
himself its producer than he had; and any one who would now take the
black tulip from him would have appeared to him as a thief.

Yet he did not perceive Rosa; his joy therefore was not spoiled.

In the centre of a circle of magnificent trees, which were decorated
with garlands and inscriptions, the procession halted, amidst the sounds
of lively music, and the young damsels of Haarlem made their appearance
to escort the tulip to the raised seat which it was to occupy on
the platform, by the side of the gilded chair of his Highness the
Stadtholder.

And the proud tulip, raised on its pedestal, soon overlooked the
assembled crowd of people, who clapped their hands, and made the old
town of Haarlem re-echo with their tremendous cheers.

Chapter 32. A Last Request

At this solemn moment, and whilst the cheers still resounded, a carriage
was driving along the road on the outskirts of the green on which the
scene occurred; it pursued its way slowly, on account of the flocks
of children who were pushed out of the avenue by the crowd of men and
women.

This carriage, covered with dust, and creaking on its axles, the result
of a long journey, enclosed the unfortunate Van Baerle, who was just
beginning to get a glimpse through the open window of the scene which we
have tried--with poor success, no doubt--to present to the eyes of the
reader.

The crowd and the noise and the display of artificial and natural
magnificence were as dazzling to the prisoner as a ray of light flashing
suddenly into his dungeon.

Notwithstanding the little readiness which his companion had shown in
answering his questions concerning his fate, he ventured once more to
ask the meaning of all this bustle, which at first sight seemed to be
utterly disconnected with his own affairs.

"What is all this, pray, Mynheer Lieutenant?" he asked of his conductor.

"As you may see, sir," replied the officer, "it is a feast."

"Ah, a feast," said Cornelius, in the sad tone of indifference of a man
to whom no joy remains i