"My man Dobel shall speak," replied the professor. "De great Heaven forpid I should pe a poaster to de ears of such honourable ladies! Dobel, rehearse de great penefaction of de medicament upon de excellent and discreet and virtuous vrouw of Governor Brockholls--Spreek op eene verstaanbare wijze!" "Hier ben ik," answered Dobel to this summons, stepping at the same time into the middle of the room and erecting his person as stiffly as a grenadier on parade: "Goot beoplish! dish ish de drice renowned und ingomprbl Doctor Closh Tebor----" "Stop, stop, hou stil! halt--volslagen gek!" exclaimed the Doctor, horrified at the nature of the harangue his stupid servitor had commenced, and which for a moment threatened to continue, in spite of the violent remonstrance of the master, Dobel persevering like a thing spoken from rather than a thing that speaks--"Fool, jack-pudding! you pelieve yourself on a bank, up on a stage, before de rabble rout? You would disgrace me before honourable and noble ladies, wid your tavern howlings, and your parkings and your pellowings! Out of de door, pegone!" The imperturbable and stolid trumpeter, having thus unfortunately incurred his patron's ire, slunk from the parlour, utterly at a loss to comprehend wherein he had offended. The Doctor in the mean while, overwhelmed with confusion and mortified vanity, bustled towards the door and there continued to vent imprecations upon the unconscious Dobel, which, as they were uttered in Low Dutch, were altogether incomprehensible to the company, but at the same time were sufficiently ludicrous to produce a hearty laugh from the Lady Maria, and even to excite a partial show of merriment in her companion. Fortunately for the Doctor, in the midst of his embarrassment, a messenger arrived to inform him that his presence was required before the council, in another part of the house, which order, although it deprived the ladies of the present opportunity of learning the great efficacy of the Medicamentum Promethei in the case of the wife of Governor Brockholls, gave the Doctor a chance of recovering his self-possession by a retreat from the apartment. So, after an earnest entreaty to be forgiven for the inexpert address of his man, and a promise to resume his discourse on a future occasion, he betook himself, under the guidance of the messenger, to the chamber in which the council were convened. Here sat the Proprietary, and Philip Calvert, the Chancellor, who were now, with five or six other gentlemen, engaged in the transaction of business of grave import.