Richard complied and ascended to the next floor, while the Jew locked his shop-door before following him. Reaching the head of the stairs, the young man was astonished at what met his eyes. He almost thought himself in a royal museum. Three communicating apartments were filled with the costliest articles of luxury,—carved furniture, Japanese and Etruscan vases, rare old china, jewelry of the finest workmanship, ancient armour and weapons, and many masterpieces of painting and sculpture.
"Well, how do you like the looks of things up here?" asked Solomon, when he had rejoined his guest. "It is worth while coming up to look around a little, isn't it?"
Richard could not sate himself with examining all that met his view. Meanwhile the Jew continued his confidential chat.
"The gentlemen and ladies," said he, "even those in the very highest circles, honour me with their patronage and confidence, knowing that I can be as mum as an oyster. I know who sent in each one of these articles,—one from Count So-and-so, another from Prince Blank, a third from Baron X——, and so on; but no secret of that kind ever passes my lips. Solomon knows the history of all these things, and why they were sold, but he never breathes a word to any mortal soul."
"Very commendable on his part, I am sure," assented Richard; "but where is my picture?"
"Why in such a hurry?" asked the other. "Am I likely to run off with it? Have the kindness to look around a bit, and meantime perhaps we can drive a little bargain."
"No, not so far as the painting is concerned," declared the hussar officer. "It is a portrait; and, even though I may be at odds with the original, yet I cannot insult her by selling her likeness."
The old shopkeeper drew his guest with him into the adjoining room, whose walls were covered with portraits of all sorts and sizes, in oil, water-colours, and pastel, mostly representing young men and women, while a pile of unframed pictures stood in one corner.
"How did you ever get hold of so many portraits?" asked the astonished visitor.
"Oh, that is simple enough," replied the Jew; "you see, young people have a way of falling in love and then falling out again. They hang a portrait over their bed, and presently their taste changes and another takes its place. Then when a young gentleman wishes to marry, he finds it inadvisable, to keep a lot of strange portraits in his house."