"It would be a pity," said Frau de Haes. "I shall go home now, and if I find my husband, he'll learn what sensible people think of the Englishmen."
"Gently, my friend, gently," said Burgomaster Van Swieten's wife, who had hitherto been playing quietly with the cat. "Believe me, it will be just the same on the whole, whether we admit the auxiliaries or not, for before the gooseberries in our gardens are ripe, all resistance will be over."
Maria, who was passing cakes and hippocras, set her waiter on the table and asked:
"Do you wish that, Frau Magtelt?"
"I do," replied the latter positively, "and many sensible people wish it too. No resistance is possible against such superior force, and the sooner we appeal to the King's mercy, the more surely it will be granted."
The other women listened to the bold speaker in silence, but Maria approached and answered indignantly:
"Whoever says that, can go to the Spaniards at once; whoever says that, desires the disgrace of the city and country; whoever says that—"
Frau Magtelt interrupted Maria with a forced laugh, saying:
"Do you want to school experienced women, Madam Early-Wise? Is it customary to attack a visitor?"
"Customary or not," replied the other, "I will never permit such words in our house, and if they crossed the lips of my own sister I would say to her Go, you are my friend no longer!"