“Oh, there’s something behind that.”

“Yes, Bilderdyk is a patriot.”

“A genuine Hollander!”

“A genuine——”

“He will give those foreigners something to think about.”

“Sh!—— ... not much flattery. No Hollander is going to do that.”

“Sh!”

Everybody stood up. A footman appeared in the royal box, probably to see whether the cushions were straight on the chairs, or not.

“The idea, the very idea of standing up before a lackey!”

It was enough to make them indignant; but they had done it, even those who protested loudest. There were city aldermen in the number, and doctors, and professors, and prominent business men, including, perhaps, the great Kopperlith.