she act hurriedly.
She hoped against all hope that mayhap Nicolaes would see his own
treachery in its true light and turn from it before it was too late, or
that God would give her some unmistakable sign of what He willed her to
do.

Perplexed and wretched she stayed long on her knees and left the church
after every one else. The night was dark and though the snow had left
off falling momentarily, the usual frosty mist hung over the city.
Jongejuffrouw Beresteyn wrapped her fur-lined cloak closely round her
shoulders and started on her homeward walk, with Maria by her side and
Jakob and Piet on in front carrying their lanthorns.

Her way took her firstly across the Groote Markt then down the Hout
Straat until she reached the Oude Gracht. Here her two serving men kept
quite close in front of her for the embankment was lonely and a
well-known resort for evil doers who found refuge in the several dark
passages that run at right angles from the canal and have no outlet at
their further end.

Jongejuffrouw Beresteyn followed rapidly in the wake of her lanthorn
bearers and keeping Maria--who was always timorous on dark nights and in
lonely places--quite close to her elbow. Every footstep of the way was
familiar to her. Now the ground was frozen hard and the covering of snow
crisp beneath her feet as she walked, but in the autumn and the spring
the mud here was ankle-deep, save on one or two rare spots in front of
the better houses or public buildings where a few stones formed a piece
of dry pavement. Such a spot was the front of the Oudenvrouwenhuis with
its wide oaken gateway and high brick walls. The unmade road here was
always swept neatly and tidily; during the rainy seasons the mud was
washed carefully away and in the winter it was kept free from snow.

Beyond it was a narrow passage which led to the Chapel of St. Pieter,
now disused since the Remonstrants had fallen into such bad odour after
the death of Olden Barneveld and the treachery of his sons. The corner
of this passage was a favourite haunt for beggars, but only for the
humbler ones--since there is a hierarchy even amongst beggars, and the
more prosperous ones, those known to the town-guard and the
night-watchmen, flocked around the church porches. In this spot where
there were but a few passers-by, only those poor wretches came who
mayhap had something to hide from the watchful eyes of the guardians of
this city, those who had been in prison or had deserted