"You must, Ka-rel: You are the eld-est bro-ther.... Of course, Van Na-ghel"—and she pronounced the name with a certain reverence—"is the hus-band of your eld-est sist-er; but if he, if Van"—reverentially—"Van Na-a-ghel refuses to inter-fere, then it's your duty, Ka-rel, as the eld-est bro-ther, to stop that du-el."
"It won't come off!" said Toetie, good-humouredly.
"Massa,[28] brothers-in-law don't fight!" said Auntie Lot. "But Adolphine shouldn't have behaved like that.... Very wrong of Adolphine."
"But it's sa-ad, all the same, very sa-ad, for Adolph-ine, all those art-ides," whined Cateau. "They up-set her. She's cry-ing, And it's anything but plea-sant for Van Na-ghel, don't you think, Un-cle?"
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!"[29]
"Nothing but korek in tempo doeloe in Holland," said Auntie, crossly.