you down first?"

Then, at last, Dorine realized that she was not fit to be seen, after
trotting and tramming the whole afternoon in the rain. She looked in the
glass: when she had taken off her wet cape, she would be less
presentable than ever. And so she dolefully changed her mind:

"You're right, Karel, I don't look nice; and my boots are wet: I think I
had better go home and change for the evening. So good-bye for the
present, Karel."

"Good-bye, Dorine."

The gong sounded again. Dorine clutched her reticule, hunted all round
the room for her umbrella, until she remembered that it was outside, and
hurried away, while Karel repaired the disorder on his writing-table and
put the paper-weight and paper-knife straight.

In the hall, Dorine met her round-faced sister-in-law staring at her
with startled eyes like an owl's. Cateau asked, in a slow, whining voice
that emphasized every third or fourth word:

"Oh, Do-rine ... are you re-ally ... staying to din-ner?"

"No, thanks, Cateau; it's very kind of you, but I must change my things.
They're all coming this evening, to Mamma's."

"Oh, are they all ... com-ing?"

"Yes.... And I am so glad.... Well, don't let me keep you. Karel will
tell you all about it. So good-bye, till later...."

She hurried away; Sientje let her out, severely.

Karel and Cateau sat down to dinner. They had no children; they were now
living in the Hague, after many years spent in a pretty village in
Utrecht, where Karel had been burgomaster. They had a large and handsome
house in the Oranjestraat; they kept three servants; they kept a
carriage. They loved good fare and took their meals by themselves, just
the two of them; they never entertained: there were no small dinners,
for relations, nor dinner-parties, for friends. They lived according to
the rules of opulent respectability. Everything in their large house,
with its heavy, comfortable furniture, was solid and respectable, in no
wise luxurious. They both looked healthy and opulent and Dutch and
respectable. Cateau was a heavy woman of forty, with a pair of startled
round eyes in a round face, and she always wore a neat, smooth,
well-fitting dress, brown, black or blue. They lived by the clock: in
the morning, Karel took a walk, always the same walk, through the Woods;
after lunch, Cateau did her shopping; once a week, they paid a round of
visits together; and that was the only time when they went out together.
They were always at ho