Children of Charles I
When at last they were all ready, the boats were waiting for them. Several ladies went with the queen, so it was quite a party. It was a beautiful ride down the river to Sir Anthony Van Dyck's house. When at last the boats came to the landing place, very likely Prince Charles was the first to jump on shore.
The great Sir Anthony Van Dyck himself came out to meet them. He was glad to have three such lovely children to paint. He was very fond of children and then, too, he always liked to have a great many people about him. When the party entered his studio,—the room where Van Dyck painted,—they found many people already there. The ladies wore beautiful dresses and the men, too, were dressed in velvets and silks, and carried shining swords. Sir Anthony Van Dyck had a very large, fine dog, and as soon as the dog saw the children he came right up to them. He seemed to like Prince Charles best, and sat beside him all the time his picture was being painted. He liked to feel the soft stroke of Prince Charles's kind hand.
Baby Stuart stands upon a raised platform and his head is almost as high as his sister's. He looks a little shy as he stands there, holding his apple tight in his chubby little hands. His sister Mary must have held some roses in her hand and dropped them. Can you see them on the rug, in front of her? If Baby Stuart should drop his apple, perhaps the dog would bring it to him.
Sir Anthony Van Dyck was very fond of music, and always had some musicians playing while he painted. The children liked the music, too, and it made them forget they were standing still so long. The ladies and gentlemen talked together in another part of the room, but this did not disturb the artist. He was so absorbed in his work that he did not hear them, and no one would have thought of interrupting him.
The children stood still almost half an hour that day before the artist said, "That will do"; and they came several times before Sir Anthony Van Dyck could finish painting their faces. Then he told their mother to send him the three little dresses the children were wearing, and he would paint them without the children. You may be sure the children were glad they did not need to stand while the dresses were being painted.
Sir Anthony Van Dyck painted a curtain just back of the children, and through the window we see a rosebush which may be the one from which the little Princess Mary picked her roses. The great artist painted many pictures of these three children, but the king and queen liked this one best of all.
A long time after this picture was painted the father, King Charles I, was beheaded by some of his people who did not like him. Prince Charles grew up to be King Charles II. He did not like to do anything but have a good time, so people called him the "Merry Monarch." He nearly always took a dog with him wherever he went, even to church. He seemed to like a certain very small dog best, and people named these dogs after him. They called them "King Charles spaniels." Have you ever seen a King Charles spaniel?
When Princess Mary was only ten years old she was married to the Prince of Orange, who was then only fifteen years of age. But she lived in her own home until she grew up. When at last she did go to live in her husband's country every one was glad to see her, for she was such a good and wise princess. She often helped her brothers, too, for it seemed as if they were always in trouble.