The housekeeper and her husband were both of that decent phlegmatic order of people, to whom one may at any time safely communicate a remarkable piece of news without incurring the danger of having one's ears pierced by some shrill ejaculation, and subsequently stunned by a torrent of wordy wonderment.
La cuoca e il marito appartenevano a quella razza di gente flemmatica e discreta, alla quale si può sempre comunicare una notizia importante senza temere di sentirsi assordare dalle esclamazioni di meraviglia.