Time was not.
I wish that Mr. Bos had been living, that I might have called upon
him and seen his pictures, as M. Havard did. But he is no more, and
I found no one to tell me of the fate of his collection. Possibly it
is still to be seen: certainly other visitors to Harlingen should be
more energetic than I was, and make sure. Here is M. Havard's account
of Mr. Bos and an evening at his house: "Mr. Bos started in life as
a farm-boy--then became an assistant in a shop. Instead of spending
his money at the beer-houses he purchased books. He educated himself,
and being provident, steady, industrious, he soon collected sufficient
capital to start in business on his own account, which he did as a
small cheesemonger; but in time his business prospered, and to such
an extent that one day he awoke to find himself one of the greatest
and richest merchants of Harlingen.
"Many under these circumstances would have considered rest was not
undeserved; but Mr. Bos thought otherwise. He became passionately fond
of the arts. Instead of purchasing stock he bought pictures, then
the books necessary to understand them, and what with picking up an
engraving here and a painting there he soon became possessed of a most
interesting collection, and of an artistic knowledge sufficient for all
purposes.
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