"Yes, I too," said Van der Welcke, drily.

"Van der Welcke," said Karel. "Did you get that card of mine?"

"What card?"

"Why, when you were expected in town, I called and left a card on you."

"So did I, you know, Van der Welcke," interrupted Van Saetzema.

"Oh, yes," said Van der Welcke. "It was very civil of you fellows. Well,
I'll leave a card on you one of these days."

"Oh, I didn't mention it for that!" said Van Saetzema.

"I didn't mention it on that account!" echoed Karel, swelling with
geniality. "Only I should have thought it a bore if it had been
mislaid."

"Ye-es," whimpered Cateau. "Because then it would have looked as if we
weren't friend-ly.... How red the _bride_ looks, Saet-ze-ma! That white
makes Em-ilie look so _very_ red."

"Yellow, rather," said Van Saetzema.

"Ye-es," droned Cateau. "Now your Floortje, Saet-ze-ma, looks so _sweet_
in white. And what a _nice_ fellow Dij-kerhof is! Such a thorough _man_.
But how pale Ber-tha looks!"

"Green, rather," said Van der Welcke, very seriously.

Cateau looked up, with her owl's eyes:

"Green?" she repeated, cautiously. "Do you re-ally think Ber-tha looks
_green_, Van der Wel-cke? Yes, she is tired, no doubt."

"To-morrow," thought Van der Welcke, "all the Hague will know that I
thought Bertha looked green...."

A tableau was discovered in the distance. The idea was Paul's and he
explained it to Constance:

"You see, it represents Luxury. The great wheel crushing down upon
Marietje and Carolientje is Industry; and Floortje is Luxury, standing
in a dancing attitude on Industry and scattering gold and ropes of
pearls at twopence a rope. It's not quite clear, perhaps, Luxury
standing upon Industry and crushing Marianne and Carolientje. Floortje
is fidgeting and giggling. Oh, I must tell you, Adolphine was delighted
when she heard that Floortje, her Floortje, was to be Luxury and to
crush Bertha's Marianne!"

Constance, surrounded by all her family, was in a gentle, happy mood:

"Oh, Paul, it's a very nice, motherly feeling on Adolphine's part, to
like to see her child happy before another...."

Paul spluttered with laughter:

"So you think that Floortje is happy as Luxury, on the top of Marianne
and that Marianne suffers badly underneath! Connie, how sentimental you
are to-night and what silly things you say!... But you're looking very
nice. Come, let's go and sit down here. Your hair is turning grey, but I
have an idea that you leave i