The King's Comedians, performing on a temporary stage that had been erected in Neville's Court, had decided to plow onwards in spite of the fact that no one could hear a word they were saying. 'Lord Brimstone' seemed to be upbraiding his wife about something – presumably, her reference to 'French gunpowder,' as opposed to 'English,' which, on some other planet, might have been a rhetorical figure, but here seemed very much like a stab at John Comstock. Meanwhile, most of the audience – who, if they had the good fortune to be seated, were seated on chairs and benches arranged in the corner of Neville's Court, beneath the windows of King and Court – were trying to break out into the opening stanza of 'Pikes on the Dikes,' the most widely plagiarized song in England: a rousing ditty about why it was an excellent idea to invade Holland. But the King held out one hand to silence them. Not that he was lacking in belligerence – but down on the stage, 'Lydia van Underdevater' was delivering a line that looked like it was meant to be funny. And the King didn't like it when the buzz of Intrigue drowned out his Mistress.