"But to come to something else, most respected Mr. Tyss, and, as it seems to me, something much more agreeable."-- According to what Swammer now went on to say, both he and Leuwenhock had perceived, with great pleasure, the strong inclination which Dörtje Elverdink had conceived for him. If they had both formerly been of a different opinion, each believing that Dörtje should stay with himself, and not think of love and marriage, yet they had now both come to a better conviction. They fancied that they read in Peregrine's horoscope, he positively must take Dörtje Elverdink for his wife, as the greatest advantage in all the conjunctures of his life, and, as neither doubted for a moment that he was equally enamoured of her, they had looked upon the matter as fully settled. Swammerdamm, moreover, was of opinion that Peregrine was the only one who, without any trouble, could beat his rivals out of the field; and that the most dangerous opponents, namely, the Amateur and the Barber, could avail nothing against him. Peregrine found, from Swammerdamm's thoughts, that both the microscopists actually imagined they had read in his horoscope the inevitable necessity of his marriage with Dörtje. It was to this supposed necessity only they yielded, thinking to draw the greatest gain from the apparent loss of the little-one, namely, by getting possession of Mr. Tyss and his talisman. But it may be easily supposed how little faith he must have in the science of the two microscopists, when neither of them was able to solve the centre-point of the horoscope. He did not, therefore, at all yield to that pretended conjunction, which conditioned the necessity of his marriage with Gamaheh, and found no difficulty whatever in declaring positively, that he renounced her hand in favour of his best friend, George Pepusch, who had older and better claims to the fair one, and that he would not break his word upon any condition. Swammerdamm raised his green eyes, which he had so long cast down, stared vehemently at Peregrine, and grinned with the cunning of a fox, as he said, if the friendship between him and Pepusch were the only scruple which kept him from giving free scope to his feelings, this obstacle existed no longer: Pepusch had perceived, although slightly touched with madness, his marriage with Dörtje was against the stars, and nothing could come from it but misery and destruction. He had therefore resigned all his pretensions, declaring only that, with his life, he would protect Gamaheh,--who could belong to no one but his bosom-friend, Tyss,--against the awkward dolt of an Amateur and the bloodthirsty Barber.