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Rh This to Uncle Ruyvenaer, who was standing behind her.

“It’s beastly, it’s beastly!” said Uncle. “They ought never to have come and lived here. It was very wrong of Marie to encourage them.”

“Oh, well, Herman,” said Auntie, “you must remember she’s the mother!”

“Just for that reason. . .”

“Oh, Papa!” said Toetie, wearily. “That old perkara!”

“Nothing but korek in tempo doeloe in Holland,” said Auntie, crossly.

“Well, Aunt-ie,” said Cateau, taking offence, “they’re not al-ways so mor-al in the Ea-east!”

“But there’s not so much talk in Java as here,” said Auntie, angrily.

“Oh, I daresay they do some talk-ing there too!”

“But not so spitefully!” said Auntie, very angrily and finding her Dutch words with great difficulty. “Not. . . not so cruelly, so cruelly.”

“They ought never to have come and lived here,” Uncle Ruyvenaer repeated.

And he fussed off to Van Saetzema, whose eyes were still filled with terror at the possible duel.

“Look, Mamma,” said Toetie, winking towards Auntie Tine and Auntie Rine, who were sitting side by side in a corner of the big drawing-room, each with her knitting in her lap. “Those two are quite happy! They don’t bother about all these matters! They don’t know anything.”