Rechten der jeugd
Herman van Hogelanden, the only son of the famous painter Gerard van Hogelanden, is in love with Dora, the daughter of a forester. He is afraid that his father will not give his permission for a marriage because the girl is below his station in life. To his surprise, his father has no objections. "I shall tell you my own story," he tells his son, "so that you can avoid the rocks on which my life was almost wrecked." "When I was twenty, I lived only for the art of painting, but my father, who despised artistes, wanted to make a merchant of me.