If seven queens were to have come just then, she would not have been afraid of them, and her crying was at an end. She ate all the crumbs that had fallen into her lap, as if they had some sacred potency. After that she tried a little of the porridge.
"Can't I go somewhere to wash my face and dress my hair?" asked she.
"Of course. Doctor Gunther has given orders that you should."
"I don't need orders for everything I do!" said Walpurga, defiantly.
Mademoiselle Kramer wanted to have her maid dress Walpurga's hair. But Walpurga would not allow it.
"No stranger's hand shall touch my head," said she.
And after a little while she presented a tidy and almost cheerful appearance.
"There, now I'll go to the queen," said she. "How do you address her?"
"'Your majesty,' or, 'most gracious madam.'"
"In the prayers at church they call her the 'country's mother,'" said Walpurga, "and I like that far better. That's a glorious, beautiful name. If it were mine, no one should take it from me. And now I'll go to the queen."