polishing the bell. As he approached she turned
her face towards him ; blushing, she began to wipe
her hands on her apron. He addressed her as
though he were her superior, and she replied, c Yes,
sir.' He stood still; he looked at the little leaves
protruding from the shiny bracts ; her lips were
parted in a smile. When she asked him if he was
waiting for an answer, he saw that there were already
flower clusters on the chestnut-trees ; he asked her
what she had said, and then replied that he would
call back for it in the afternoon. He noticed that
the blood rushed to her cheeks, but he didn't know
that it was because he had raised his hat. Still he
didn't go immediately ; he looked at the branches
again ; he said : * It's pretty here,' nodding, and
she nodded too. The gate closed softly behind him.
He walked slowly and he had to open his coat. And
so a new life was born in his heart.
At the office he said he had to return for the
answer. He heard what he had said, and followed
it immediately with : * Not that madam said I was
to, but I offered to myself.5 While he was copying,
he could see that smile and that brightness, he had
nearly told a lie for its sake, but had put it right in
time. She had a broad face, a wide brow, that
shone, but the brightness was not only because her
face was so fresh, it was a radiance.
At home, in the passage, he asked Jansje why she
was looking at him so fixedly. She smiled and said :