months with Lastman he returned to Leyden, "to practise painting alone and
in his own way." So much for his schooling. At the age of twenty-one he
produced a picture called _St. Paul in Prison_, and Gerard Dou became his
pupil. In 1631 he left Leyden and settled in Amsterdam. In 1634 he married
Saskia van Uylenborch, who bore him three children, and Titus was the
youngest. Some years later he had two daughters by his servant, Hendrickje
Stoffels. Perhaps he married her. She was a kind, good soul, faithful and
loyal to her master. His friends do not seem to have disapproved of this
irregular union, but the Consistory of her church summoned Hendrickje
before them and forbade her to communicate. At the age of fifty Rembrandt
was declared bankrupt. From that date until his death troubles encompassed
him; but he was happy so long as he could paint undisturbed. His son Titus
died when he was sixty-two, and the following year Rembrandt died, and
was buried at a cost of thirteen florins.

Our enthusiast did not find it easy to manipulate these facts, and he
elected to slur over the Hendrickje episode; but he was able to interest
the ladies of the Dorcas meeting by showing them some of Rembrandt's
pictures. He collected a series of photographs of the portraits and
paintings, including his favourite pictures, such as _The Jewish Rabbi_ in
the National Gallery, _Titus_ and _The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant_
in the Wallace collection, _Rembrandt's Mother_ and _The Singing Boy_ at
Vienna; and he invested sixpence in a little manual recently published,
called _The Masterpieces of Rembrandt_, containing sixty excellent
reproductions of his portraits and pictures.

He also displayed photographs of the remarkable series in the Hermitage
Gallery at St. Petersburg: _The Descent from the Cross_, with the brilliant
light focussed on the body and winding sheet, and fading away into the
darkness of the background; that radiant portrait of Saskia painted just