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most of them were of red brick, but even these
varied in colour. The Werendonks5 house, built of
red-brown bricks, the window-sills neatly painted
yellow, looked more dignified too, with its broad
blue perron, the two wooden seats outside the front-
door and the railing that separated it from Minke's
door. It looked the cleanest of them all.
He knew all about the different kinds of wickedness
that were concealed or suppressed in most of the
houses. He had heard a good deal of it from
Jansje when she was gossiping with Stien in the
kitchen. ' Every house has its cross/ she often said,
and sometimes Stien answered that you oughtn't
to think the worst of people, but mostly she just
listened. Thus he had come to hear about the
grown-ups ; he had found out for himself all about
the children.
The pastrycook at the corner of the Gracht,
Jansje said, was a busybody and a mischief-maker.
If there was anything under discussion in the street,
he was sure to come along for a chat, and he was
ready with advice if you were in his good books.
But nearly everyone found that when Wouters had
been visiting their shops, they would soon be having
difficulties with the Rate-collector or the Inspector
of Weights and Measures. But Jansje said he was
by no means the worst, for his home was orderly
and he brought his children up to be honest and
respectable. But Floris knew better about the