Little Men: Life at Plumfield With Jo's Boys
spite of every thing Teddy was her boy still.
“If it hadn't been for you, there never would have been a Plumfield. It
was my success with you, sir, that gave me courage to try my pet plan.
So the boys may thank you for it, and name the new institution 'The
Laurence Museum,' in honor of its founder, won't we, boys?” she added,
looking very like the lively Jo of old times.
“We will! we will!” shouted the boys, throwing up their hats, for though
they had taken them off on entering the house, according to rule, they
had been in too much of a hurry to hang them up.
“I'm as hungry as a bear, can't I have a cookie?” asked Mr. Laurie, when
the shout subsided and he had expressed his thanks by a splendid bow.
“Trot out and ask Asia for the gingerbread-box, Demi. It isn't in order
to eat between meals, but, on this joyful occasion, we won't mind, and
have a cookie all round,” said Mrs. Jo; and when the box came she
dealt them out with a liberal hand, every one munching away in a social
circle.
Suddenly, in the midst of a bite, Mr. Laurie cried out, “Bless my heart,
I forgot grandma's bundle!” and running out to the carriage, returned
with an interesting white parcel, which, being opened, disclosed a
choice collection of beasts, birds, and pretty things cut out of crisp
sugary cake, and baked a lovely brown.
“There's one for each, and a letter to tell which is whose. Grandma and
Hannah made them, and I tremble to think what would have happened to me
if I had forgotten to leave them.”
Then, amid much laughing and fun, the cakes were distributed. A fish for
Dan, a fiddle for Nat, a book for Demi, a monkey for Tommy, a flower for
Daisy, a hoop for Nan, who had driven twice round the triangle without
stopping, a star for Emil, who put on airs because he studied astronomy,
and, best of all, an omnibus for Franz, whose great delight was to drive
the family bus. Stuffy got a fat pig, and the little folks had birds,
and cats, and rabbits, with black currant eyes.
“Now I must go. Where is my Goldilocks? Mamma will come flying out to
get her if I'm not back early,” said Uncle Teddy, when the last crumb
had vanished, which it speedily did, you may be sure.
The young ladies had gone into the garden, and while they waited till
Franz looked them up, Jo and Laurie stood at the door talking together.
“How does little Giddy-gaddy come on?” he asked, for Nan's pranks amused
him very much, and he was never tired of teasing Jo about her.
“Nicely; she is getting quite mannerly, and begins to see the error of
her wild ways.”
“Don't the boys encourage her in them?”
“Yes; but I keep talking, and lately she has improved much. You saw how
prettily she shook hands with you, and how gentle she was with Bess.
Daisy's example has its effect upon her, and I'm quite sure that a few
months will work wonders.”
Here Mrs. Jo's remarks were cut short by the appearance of Nan tearing
round the corner at a break-neck pace, driving a mettlesome team of four
boys, and followed by Daisy trundling Bess in a wheelbarrow. Hat off,
hair flying, whip cracking, and barrow bumping, up they came in a cloud
of dust, looking as wild a set of little hoydens as one would wish to
see.
“So, these are the model children, are they? It's lucky I didn't bring
Mrs. Curtis out to see your school for the cultivation of morals
and manners; she would never have recovered from the shock of this
spectacle,” said Mr. Laurie, laughing at Mrs. Jo's premature rejoicing
over Nan's improvement.
“Laugh away; I'll succeed yet. As you used to say at College, quoting
some professor, 'Though the experiment has failed, the principle remains
the same,'” said Mrs. Bhaer, joining in the merriment.
“I'm afraid Nan's example is taking effect upon Daisy, instead of the
other way. Look at my little princess! she has utterly forgotten her
dignity, and is screaming like the rest. Young ladies, what does
this mean?” and Mr. Laurie rescued his small daughter from impending
destruction, for the four horses were champing their bits and curvetting
madly all about her, as she sat brandishing a great whip in both hands.
“We're having a race, and I beat,” shouted Nan.
“I could have run faster, only I was afraid of spilling Bess,” screamed
Daisy.
“Hi! go long!” cried the princess, giving such a flourish with her whip
that the horses ran away, and were seen no more.
“My precious child! come away from this ill-mannered crew before you are
quite spoilt. Good-by, Jo! Next time I come, I shall expect to find the
boys making patchwork.”
“It wouldn't hurt them a bit. I don't give in, mind you; for my
experiments always fail a few times before they succeed. Love to Amy and
my blessed Marmee,” called Mrs. Jo, as the carriage drove away; and the
last Mr. Laurie saw of her, she was consoling Daisy for her failure by a
ride in the wheelbarrow, and looking as if she liked it.
Great was the excitement all the week about the repairs in the
carriage-house, which went briskly on in spite of the incessant
questions, advice, and meddling of the boys. Old Gibbs was nearly driven
wild with it all, but managed to do his work nevertheless; and by
Friday night the place was all in order roof mended, shelves up, walls
whitewashed, a great window cut at the back, which let in a flood of
sunshine, and gave them a fine view of the brook, the meadows, and the
distant hills; and over the great door, painted in red letters, was “The
Laurence Museum.”
All Saturday morning the boys were planning how it should be furnished
with their spoils, and when Mr. Laurie arrived, bringing an aquarium
which Mrs. Amy said she was tired of, their rapture was great.
The afternoon was spent in arranging things, and when the running and
lugging and hammering was over, the ladies were invited to behold the
institution.
It certainly was a pleasant place, airy, clean, and bright. A hop-vine
shook its green bells round the open window, the pretty aquarium stood
in the middle of the room, with some delicate water plants rising above
the water, and gold-fish showing their brightness as they floated to and
fro below. On either side of the window were rows of shelves ready to
receive the curiosities yet to be found. Dan's tall cabinet stood before
the great door which was fastened up, while the small door was to be
used. On the cabinet stood a queer Indian idol, very ugly, but very
interesting; old Mr. Laurence sent it, as well as a fine Chinese junk in
full sail, which had a conspicuous place on the long table in the middle
of the room. Above, swinging in a loop, and looking as if she was alive,
hung Polly, who died at an advanced age, had been carefully stuffed, and
was now presented by Mrs. Jo. The walls were decorated with all sorts of
things. A snake's skin, a big wasp's nest, a birch-bark canoe, a string
of birds' eggs, wreaths of gray moss from the South, and a bunch of
cotton-pods. The dead bats had a place, also a large turtle-shell, and
an ostrich-egg proudly presented by Demi, who volunteered to explain
these rare curiosities to guests whenever they liked. There were so many
stones that it was impossible to accept them all, so only a few of the
best were arranged among the shells on the shelves, the rest were piled
up in corners, to be examined by Dan at his leisure.
Every one was eager to give something, even Silas, who sent home for
a stuffed wild-cat killed in his youth. It was rather moth-eaten and
shabby, but on a high bracket and best side foremost the effect was
fine, for the yellow glass eyes glared, and the mouth snarled so
naturally, that Teddy shook in his little shoes at sight of it, when he
came bringing his most cherished treasure, one cocoon, to lay upon the
shrine of science.
“Isn't it beautiful? I'd no idea we had so many curious things. I gave
that; don't it look well? We might make a lot by charging something for
letting folks see it.”
Jack added that last suggestion to the general chatter that went on as
the family viewed the room.
“This is a free museum and if there is any speculating on it I'll paint
out the name over the door,” said Mr. Laurie, turning so quickly that
Jack wished he had held his tongue.
“Hear! hear!” cried Mr. Bhaer.
“Speech! speech!” added Mrs. Jo.
“Can't, I'm too bashful. You give them a lecture yourself you are used
to it,” Mr. Laurie answered, retreating towards the window, meaning to
escape. But she held him fast, and said, laughing as she looked at the
dozen pairs of dirty hands about her,
“If I did lecture, it would on the chemical and cleansing properties of
soap. Come now, as the founder of the institution, you really ought to
give us a few moral remarks, and we will applaud tremendously.”
Seeing that there was no way of escaping, Mr. Laurie looked up at Polly
hanging overhead, seemed to find inspiration in the brilliant old bird,
and sitting down upon the table, said, in his pleasant way,
“There is one thing I'd like to suggest, boys, and that is, I want you
to get some good as well as much pleasure out of this. Just putting
curious or pretty things here won't do it; so suppose you read up about
them, so that when anybody asks questions you can answer them, and
understand the matter. I used to like these things myself, and should
enjoy hearing about them now, for I've forgotten all I once knew. It
wasn't much, was it, Jo? Here's Dan now, full of stories about birds,
and bugs, and so on; let him take care of the museum, and once a week
the rest of you take turns to read a composition, or tell about some
animal, mineral, or vegetable. We should all like that, and I think it
would put considerable useful knowledge into our heads. What do you say,
Professor?”
“I like it much, and will give the lads all the help I can. But they
will need books to read up these new subjects, and we have not many,
I fear,” began Mr. Bhaer, looking much pleased, planning many fine
lectures on geology, which he liked. “We should have a library for the
special purpose.”
“Is that a useful sort of book, Dan?” asked Mr. Laurie, pointing to the
volume that lay open by the cabinet.
“Oh, yes! it tells all I want to know about insects. I had it here to
see how to fix the butterflies right. I covered it, so it is not hurt;”
and Dan caught it up, fearing the lender might think him careless.
“Give it here a minute;” and, pulling out his pencil, Mr. Laurie wrote
Dan's name in it, saying, as he set the book up on one of the corner
shelves, where nothing stood but a stuffed bird without a tail, “There,
that is the beginning of the museum library. I'll hunt up some more
books, and Demi shall keep them in order. Where are those jolly little
books we used to read, Jo? 'Insect Architecture' or some such name, all
about ants having battles, and bees having queens, and crickets eating
holes in our clothes and stealing milk, and larks of that sort.”
“In the garret at home. I'll have them sent out, and we will plunge into
Natural History with a will,” said Mrs. Jo, ready for any thing.
“Won't it be hard to write about such things?” asked Nat, who hated
compositions.
“At first, perhaps; but you will soon like it. If you think that hard,
how would you like to have this subject given to you, as it was to a
girl of thirteen: A conversation between Themistocles, Aristides, and
Pericles on the proposed appropriation of funds of the confederacy of
Delos for the ornamentation of Athens?” said Mrs. Jo.
The boys groaned at the mere sound of the long names, and the gentlemen
laughed at the absurdity of the lesson.
“Did she write it?” asked Demi, in an awe-stricken tone.
“Yes, but you can imagine what a piece of work she made of it, though
she was rather a bright child.”
“I'd like to have seen it,” said Mr. Bhaer.