rrow little bed built in the
panelling of the room. From under her quaint winged cap of starched lace
a pair of very round eyes, blue as the Ryn, peeped in naive undisguised
admiration on the intruder, whilst from beneath her disordered coif
Maria threw glances of deadly fury upon him.

Could looks but kill, Maria certes would have annihilated the low rascal
who had dared to lay hands upon the noble jongejuffrouw. But our friend
Diogenes was not a man to be perturbed either by admiring or condemning
looks. He picked up a footstool from under the table and put it under
the jongejuffrouw's feet; then he looked about him for a pillow, and
with scant ceremony took one straight out of the hands of the serving
wench who was just shaking it up ready for the bed. His obvious
intention was to place it behind the jongejuffrouw's head, but at this
act of unforgivable presumption Maria's wrath cast aside all restraint.
Like a veritable fury she strode up to the insolent rascal, and snatched
the pillow from him, throwing on him such a look of angry contempt as
should have sent him grovelling on his knees.

"Keep thy blood cool, mevrouw," he said with the best of humour, "thy
looks have already made a weak-kneed coward of me."

With the dignity of an offended turkey hen, Maria arranged the pillow
herself under her mistress's head, having previously shaken it and
carefully dusted off the blemish caused upon its surface by contact with
an unclean hand. As for the footstool, she would not even allow it to
remain there where that same unclean hand had placed it; she kicked it
aside with her foot and drew up her small, round stature in a
comprehensive gesture of outraged pride.

Diogenes made her a low bow, sweeping the floor with his plumed hat. The
serving wench had much ado to keep a serious countenance, so comical did
the mevrouw look in her wrath, and so mirth-provoking the gentleman with
his graceful airs and unruffled temper. Anon laughter tickled her so
that she had to run quickly out of the room, in order to indulge in a
fit of uncontrolled mirth, away from the reproving glances of mevrouw.

It was the pleasant sound of that merry laughter outside the door that
caused the jongejuffrouw to come to herself and to open wide, wondering
eyes. She looked around her, vaguely puzzled, taking in the details of
the cosy room, the crackling fire, the polished table, the inviting bed
that exhaled an odour of dried rosemary.

Then her g