Hello friends and welcome, to the beginning of part
two in this calm reading of "Little Women". Tonight I shall be reading for
you chapter twenty-four, "Gossip". It would be great if you could click that "like"
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let us begin this chapter. PART 2 In or
der that we may start
afresh and go to Meg’s wedding... CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
GOSSIP In order that we may start afresh and
go to Meg’s wedding with free minds, it will be well to begin with a
little gossip about the Marches. And here let me premise that if any of the elders
think there is too much ‘lovering’ in the story, as I fear they may (I’m not afraid the
young folks will make that objection), I can only say with Mrs. March,
“What can you expect when I have four gay girls in the house,
and a
dashing young neighbor over the way?” The three years that have passed have
brought but few changes to the quiet family. The war is over, and Mr. March safely at home, busy with his books and the small parish which
found in him a minister by nature as by grace, a quiet, studious man, rich in the wisdom that
is better than learning, the charity which calls all mankind ‘brother’, the piety that blossoms
into character, making it august and lovely. These attributes, in spite of poverty a
nd the
strict integrity which shut him out from the more worldly successes, attracted to him many admirable
persons, as naturally as sweet herbs draw bees, and as naturally he gave them the honey into
which fifty years of hard experience had distilled no bitter drop. Earnest young men found
the gray-headed scholar as young at heart as they; thoughtful or troubled women
instinctively brought their doubts to him, sure of finding the gentlest
sympathy, the wisest counsel. Sinners told their s
ins to the pure-hearted old
man and were both rebuked and saved. Gifted men found a companion in him. Ambitious men caught
glimpses of nobler ambitions than their own, and even worldlings confessed that his beliefs were
beautiful and true, although ‘they wouldn’t pay’. To outsiders the five energetic women seemed to
rule the house, and so they did in many things, but the quiet scholar, sitting among his
books, was still the head of the family, the household conscience, anchor, and comforter
,
for to him the busy, anxious women always turned in troublous times, finding him, in the truest
sense of those sacred words, husband and father. The girls gave their hearts into their mother’s
keeping, their souls into their father’s, and to both parents, who lived and
labored so faithfully for them, they gave a love that grew with their growth and bound them tenderly together by the sweetest
tie which blesses life and outlives death. Mrs. March is as brisk and cheery, though
rather gray
er, than when we saw her last, and just now so absorbed in Meg’s affairs that
the hospitals and homes still full of wounded ‘boys’ and soldiers’ widows, decidedly
miss the motherly missionary’s visits. John Brooke did his duty manfully for a year, got
wounded, was sent home, and not allowed to return. He received no stars or bars, but he deserved
them, for he cheerfully risked all he had, and life and love are very precious
when both are in full bloom. Perfectly resigned to his discharge, h
e devoted
himself to getting well, preparing for business, and earning a home for Meg. With the good sense
and sturdy independence that characterized him, he refused Mr. Laurence’s more generous offers, and
accepted the place of bookkeeper, feeling better satisfied to begin with an honestly earned salary
than by running any risks with borrowed money. Meg had spent the time in
working as well as waiting, growing womanly in character, wise in
housewifely arts, and prettier than ever, for lov
e is a great beautifier. She
had her girlish ambitions and hopes, and felt some disappointment at the humble
way in which the new life must begin. Ned Moffat had just married Sallie Gardiner, and
Meg couldn’t help contrasting their fine house and carriage, many gifts, and splendid outfit with her
own, and secretly wishing she could have the same. But somehow envy and discontent soon vanished
when she thought of all the patient love and labor John had put into the little home awaiting
her,
and when they sat together in the twilight, talking over their small plans, the
future always grew so beautiful and bright that she forgot Sallie’s splendor and felt
herself the richest, happiest girl in Christendom. Jo never went back to Aunt March, for
the old lady took such a fancy to Amy that she bribed her with the offer of drawing
lessons from one of the best teachers going, and for the sake of this advantage, Amy would
have served a far harder mistress. So she gave her mornings to du
ty, her afternoons to pleasure,
and prospered finely. Jo meantime devoted herself to literature and Beth, who remained delicate
long after the fever was a thing of the past. Not an invalid exactly, but never again
the rosy, healthy creature she had been, yet always hopeful, happy, and serene, and busy
with the quiet duties she loved, everyone’s friend, and an angel in the house, long before
those who loved her most had learned to know it. As long as The Spread Eagle paid her a dollar a
col
umn for her ‘rubbish’, as she called it, Jo felt herself a woman of means, and spun her little
romances diligently. But great plans fermented in her busy brain and ambitious mind, and the old
tin kitchen in the garret held a slowly increasing pile of blotted manuscript, which was one day to
place the name of March upon the roll of fame. Laurie, having dutifully gone to
college to please his grandfather, was now getting through it in the easiest possible
manner to please himself. A universal
favorite, thanks to money, manners, much talent, and
the kindest heart that ever got its owner into scrapes by trying to get other people out of
them, he stood in great danger of being spoiled, and probably would have been, like many another
promising boy, if he had not possessed a talisman against evil in the memory of the kind old man who
was bound up in his success, the motherly friend who watched over him as if he were her son, and
last, but not least by any means, the knowledge that f
our innocent girls loved, admired,
and believed in him with all their hearts. Being only ‘a glorious human boy’,
of course he frolicked and flirted, grew dandified, aquatic, sentimental, or
gymnastic, as college fashions ordained, hazed and was hazed, talked slang, and more than once
came perilously near suspension and expulsion. But as high spirits and the love of fun were
the causes of these pranks, he always managed to save himself by frank confession, honorable
atonement, or the irresi
stible power of persuasion which he possessed in perfection. In fact, he
rather prided himself on his narrow escapes, and liked to thrill the girls with graphic
accounts of his triumphs over wrathful tutors, dignified professors, and vanquished enemies.
The ‘men of my class’, were heroes in the eyes of the girls, who never wearied of the exploits of
‘our fellows’, and were frequently allowed to bask in the smiles of these great creatures,
when Laurie brought them home with him. Amy especial
ly enjoyed this high honor, and
became quite a belle among them, for her ladyship early felt and learned to use the gift
of fascination with which she was endowed. Meg was too much absorbed in her private and particular
John to care for any other lords of creation, and Beth too shy to do more than peep at them
and wonder how Amy dared to order them about so, but Jo felt quite in her own element, and found
it very difficult to refrain from imitating the gentlemanly attitudes, phrases, and fe
ats, which
seemed more natural to her than the decorums prescribed for young ladies. They all liked
Jo immensely, but never fell in love with her, though very few escaped without paying the tribute
of a sentimental sigh or two at Amy’s shrine. And speaking of sentiment brings us
very naturally to the ‘Dovecote’. That was the name of the little brown house
Mr. Brooke had prepared for Meg’s first home. Laurie had christened it, saying it was highly
appropriate to the gentle lovers who ‘went
on together like a pair of turtledoves, with first
a bill and then a coo’. It was a tiny house, with a little garden behind and a lawn about
as big as a pocket handkerchief in the front. Here Meg meant to have a fountain, shrubbery,
and a profusion of lovely flowers, though just at present the fountain was represented by a
weather-beaten urn, very like a dilapidated slopbowl, the shrubbery consisted of several
young larches, undecided whether to live or die, and the profusion of flowers was
merely hinted
by regiments of sticks to show where seeds were planted. But inside, it was altogether charming,
and the happy bride saw no fault from garret to cellar. To be sure, the hall was so narrow
it was fortunate that they had no piano, for one never could have been got in whole, the dining room was so small that six people were
a tight fit, and the kitchen stairs seemed built for the express purpose of precipitating both
servants and china pell-mell into the coalbin. But once get us
ed to these slight blemishes and
nothing could be more complete, for good sense and good taste had presided over the furnishing,
and the result was highly satisfactory. There were no marble-topped tables, long mirrors,
or lace curtains in the little parlor, but simple furniture, plenty of books, a fine picture
or two, a stand of flowers in the bay window, and, scattered all about, the pretty
gifts which came from friendly hands and were the fairer for the
loving messages they brought. I do
n’t think the Parian Psyche Laurie gave lost
any of its beauty because John put up the bracket it stood upon, that any upholsterer could have
draped the plain muslin curtains more gracefully than Amy’s artistic hand, or that any store-room
was ever better provided with good wishes, merry words, and happy hopes than that in which
Jo and her mother put away Meg’s few boxes, barrels, and bundles, and I am morally certain
that the spandy new kitchen never could have looked so cozy and neat if H
annah had not
arranged every pot and pan a dozen times over, and laid the fire all ready for lighting
the minute ‘Mis. Brooke came home’. I also doubt if any young matron ever began
life with so rich a supply of dusters, holders, and piece bags, for Beth made enough to
last till the silver wedding came round, and invented three different kinds of dishcloths
for the express service of the bridal china. People who hire all these things done
for them never know what they lose, for the homelie
st tasks get beautified
if loving hands do them, and Meg found so many proofs of this that everything in
her small nest, from the kitchen roller to the silver vase on her parlor table, was
eloquent of home love and tender forethought. What happy times they had planning together, what
solemn shopping excursions, what funny mistakes they made, and what shouts of laughter arose
over Laurie’s ridiculous bargains. In his love of jokes, this young gentleman, though nearly
through college, was a
much of a boy as ever. His last whim had been to bring with him on his
weekly visits some new, useful, and ingenious article for the young housekeeper. Now a bag of
remarkable clothespins, next, a wonderful nutmeg grater which fell to pieces at the first trial,
a knife cleaner that spoiled all the knives, or a sweeper that picked the nap neatly off the
carpet and left the dirt, labor-saving soap that took the skin off one’s hands, infallible cements
which stuck firmly to nothing but the fin
gers of the deluded buyer, and every kind of tinware, from
a toy savings bank for odd pennies, to a wonderful boiler which would wash articles in its own steam
with every prospect of exploding in the process. In vain Meg begged him to stop. John laughed
at him, and Jo called him ‘Mr. Toodles’. He was possessed with a mania
for patronizing Yankee ingenuity, and seeing his friends fitly furnished forth.
So each week beheld some fresh absurdity. Everything was done at last, even to Amy’s
arra
nging different colored soaps to match the different colored rooms, and Beth’s
setting the table for the first meal. “Are you satisfied? Does it seem like home, and
do you feel as if you should be happy here?” asked Mrs. March, as she and her daughter
went through the new kingdom arm in arm, for just then they seemed to cling
together more tenderly than ever. “Yes, Mother, perfectly satisfied, thanks to you
all, and so happy that I can’t talk about it,” with a look that was far better than
words. “If she only had a servant or two it would be
all right,” said Amy, coming out of the parlor, where she had been trying to decide whether the bronze Mercury looked best on
the whatnot or the mantlepiece. “Mother and I have talked that over, and I
have made up my mind to try her way first. There will be so little to do that with Lotty to
run my errands and help me here and there, I shall only have enough work to keep me from getting
lazy or homesick,” answered Meg tranquilly. “Sallie
Moffat has four,” began Amy. “If Meg had four, the house wouldn’t hold them, and master and
missis would have to camp in the garden,” broke in Jo, who, enveloped in a big blue pinafore,
was giving the last polish to the door handles. “Sallie isn’t a poor man’s wife, and many maids are in keeping with her fine
establishment. Meg and John begin humbly, but I have a feeling that there will be quite as much
happiness in the little house as in the big one. It’s a great mistake for young girls lik
e Meg
to leave themselves nothing to do but dress, give orders, and gossip. When I was
first married, I used to long for my new clothes to wear out or get torn, so that
I might have the pleasure of mending them, for I got heartily sick of doing fancywork
and tending my pocket handkerchief.” “Why didn’t you go into the kitchen and make
messes, as Sallie says she does to amuse herself, though they never turn out well and
the servants laugh at her,” said Meg. “I did after a while, not to ‘mes
s’ but to
learn of Hannah how things should be done, that my servants need not laugh at me. It was play then, but there came a time when I was
truly grateful that I not only possessed the will but the power to cook wholesome food for my little
girls, and help myself when I could no longer afford to hire help. You begin at the other end,
Meg, dear, but the lessons you learn now will be of use to you by-and-by when John is a richer man,
for the mistress of a house, however splendid, should kn
ow how work ought to be done, if
she wishes to be well and honestly served.” “Yes, Mother, I’m sure of that,” said Meg,
listening respectfully to the little lecture, for the best of women will hold forth upon
the all absorbing subject of house keeping. “Do you know I like this room most of all in
my baby house,” added Meg, a minute after, as they went upstairs and she looked
into her well-stored linen closet. Beth was there, laying the snowy piles smoothly
on the shelves and exulting over
the goodly array. All three laughed as Meg spoke,
for that linen closet was a joke. You see, having said that if Meg married ‘that
Brooke’ she shouldn’t have a cent of her money, Aunt March was rather in a quandary when time had
appeased her wrath and made her repent her vow. She never broke her word, and was much
exercised in her mind how to get round it, and at last devised a plan whereby she could
satisfy herself. Mrs. Carrol, Florence’s mamma, was ordered to buy, have made, and marked
a generous supply of house and table linen, and send it as her present, all of which was
faithfully done, but the secret leaked out, and was greatly enjoyed by the family, for Aunt March
tried to look utterly unconscious, and insisted that she could give nothing but the old-fashioned
pearls long promised to the first bride. “That’s a housewifely taste which I am glad to
see. I had a young friend who set up housekeeping with six sheets, but she had finger bowls for
company and that satisfied
her,” said Mrs. March, patting the damask tablecloths, with a truly
feminine appreciation of their fineness. “I haven’t a single finger bowl, but this
is a setout that will last me all my days, Hannah says.” And Meg looked quite
contented, as well she might. A tall, broad-shouldered young fellow,
with a cropped head, a felt basin of a hat, and a flyaway coat, came tramping down the
road at a great pace, walked over the low fence without stopping to open the gate, straight up to
Mrs. March
, with both hands out and a hearty... “Here I am, Mother! Yes, it’s all right.” The last words were in answer to
the look the elder lady gave him, a kindly questioning look which
the handsome eyes met so frankly that the little ceremony closed,
as usual, with a motherly kiss. “For Mrs. John Brooke, with the maker’s
congratulations and compliments. Bless you, Beth! What a refreshing spectacle you are, Jo. Amy, you are getting altogether
too handsome for a single lady.” As Laurie spoke, he de
livered a brown paper
parcel to Meg, pulled Beth’s hair ribbon, stared at Jo’s big pinafore, and fell into
an attitude of mock rapture before Amy, then shook hands all round,
and everyone began to talk. “Where is John?” asked Meg anxiously. “Stopped to get the license for tomorrow, ma’am.” “Which side won the last
match, Teddy?” inquired Jo, who persisted in feeling an interest in
manly sports despite her nineteen years. “Ours, of course. Wish you’d been there to see.” “How is the lovely Mi
ss Randal?”
asked Amy with a significant smile. “More cruel than ever. Don’t
you see how I’m pining away?” and Laurie gave his broad chest a sounding
slap and heaved a melodramatic sigh. “What’s the last joke? Undo the bundle and see, Meg,” said Beth, eying the
knobby parcel with curiosity. “It’s a useful thing to have in the house in
case of fire or thieves,” observed Laurie, as a watchman’s rattle appeared,
amid the laughter of the girls. “Any time when John is away and you get
frighten
ed, Mrs. Meg, just swing that out of the front window, and it will rouse the
neighborhood in a jiffy. Nice thing, isn’t it?” and Laurie gave them a sample of its
powers that made them cover up their ears. “There’s gratitude for you! And
speaking of gratitude reminds me to mention that you may thank Hannah for
saving your wedding cake from destruction. I saw it going into your house as I
came by, and if she hadn’t defended it manfully I’d have had a pick at it, for
it looked like a remarkab
ly plummy one.” “I wonder if you will ever grow up,
Laurie,” said Meg in a matronly tone. “I’m doing my best, ma’am, but
can’t get much higher, I’m afraid, as six feet is about all men can
do in these degenerate days,” responded the young gentleman, whose head
was about level with the little chandelier. “I suppose it would be profanation to eat
anything in this spick-and-span bower, so as I’m tremendously hungry, I propose
an adjournment,” he added presently. “Mother and I are going to wai
t for John.
There are some last things to settle,” said Meg, bustling away. “Beth and I are going over to Kitty Bryant’s
to get more flowers for tomorrow,” added Amy, tying a picturesque hat over her picturesque
curls, and enjoying the effect as much as anybody. “Come, Jo, don’t desert a fellow. I’m in such a
state of exhaustion I can’t get home without help. Don’t take off your apron, whatever you do, it’s
peculiarly becoming,” said Laurie, as Jo bestowed his especial aversion in her capac
ious pocket
and offered her arm to support his feeble steps. “Now, Teddy, I want to talk seriously to you
about tomorrow,” began Jo, as they strolled away together. “You must promise to behave well,
and not cut up any pranks, and spoil our plans.” “Not a prank.” “And don’t say funny things
when we ought to be sober.” “I never do. You are the one for that.” “And I implore you not to look at me during the
ceremony. I shall certainly laugh if you do.” “You won’t see me, you’ll
be crying so ha
rd that the thick fog round you will obscure the prospect.” “I never cry unless for some great affliction.” “Such as fellows going to college, hey?”
cut in Laurie, with suggestive laugh. “Don’t be a peacock. I only moaned
a trifle to keep the girls company.” “Exactly. I say, Jo, how is
Grandpa this week? Pretty amiable?” “Very. Why, have you got into a scrape and want to
know how he’ll take it?” asked Jo rather sharply. “Now, Jo, do you think I’d look your
mother in the face and say ‘All ri
ght’, if it wasn’t?” and Laurie stopped
short, with an injured air. “No, I don’t.” “Then don’t go and be suspicious. I
only want some money,” said Laurie, walking on again, appeased by her hearty tone. “You spend a great deal, Teddy.” “Bless you, I don’t spend it, it spends
itself somehow, and is gone before I know it.” “You are so generous and kind-hearted that you
let people borrow, and can’t say ‘No’ to anyone. We heard about Henshaw and all you did for him. If you always spent money in t
hat way,
no one would blame you,” said Jo warmly. “Oh, he made a mountain out of a molehill. You
wouldn’t have me let that fine fellow work himself to death just for want of a little help, when he
is worth a dozen of us lazy chaps, would you?” “Of course not, but I don’t see the use of your
having seventeen waistcoats, endless neckties, and a new hat every time you come home. I
thought you’d got over the dandy period, but every now and then it
breaks out in a new spot. Just now it’s the fa
shion to be hideous, to
make your head look like a scrubbing brush, wear a strait jacket, orange gloves, and clumping
square-toed boots. If it was cheap ugliness, I’d say nothing, but it costs as much as the other,
and I don’t get any satisfaction out of it.” Laurie threw back his head, and
laughed so heartily at this attack, that the felt hat fell off, and Jo walked on it, which insult only afforded him an opportunity for
expatiating on the advantages of a rough-and-ready costume, as he fo
lded up the maltreated
hat, and stuffed it into his pocket. “Don’t lecture any more, there’s a good soul! I have enough all through the week,
and like to enjoy myself when I come home. I’ll get myself up regardless of expense
tomorrow and be a satisfaction to my friends.” “I’ll leave you in peace if you’ll only let your
hair grow. I’m not aristocratic, but I do object to being seen with a person who looks like a
young prize fighter,” observed Jo severely. “This unassuming style promotes stu
dy,
that’s why we adopt it,” returned Laurie, who certainly could not be accused of vanity, having voluntarily sacrificed a handsome curly
crop to the demand for quarter-inch-long stubble. “By the way, Jo, I think that little Parker
is really getting desperate about Amy. He talks of her constantly, writes poetry,
and moons about in a most suspicious manner. He’d better nip his little
passion in the bud, hadn’t he?” added Laurie, in a confidential, elder
brotherly tone, after a minute’s sil
ence. “Of course he had. We don’t want any more
marrying in this family for years to come. Mercy on us, what are the children thinking of?” and Jo looked as much scandalized as if Amy
and little Parker were not yet in their teens. “It’s a fast age, and I don’t know what we
are coming to, ma’am. You are a mere infant, but you’ll go next, Jo, and we’ll
be left lamenting,” said Laurie, shaking his head over the degeneracy of the times. “Don’t be alarmed. I’m not one of the agreeable
sort. Nobo
dy will want me, and it’s a mercy, for there should always be
one old maid in a family.” “You won’t give anyone a chance,” said Laurie, with a sidelong glance and a little more
color than before in his sunburned face. “You won’t show the soft side of your character,
and if a fellow gets a peep at it by accident and can’t help showing that he likes it, you
treat him as Mrs. Gummidge did her sweetheart, throw cold water over him, and get so
thorny no one dares touch or look at you.” “I don’t
like that sort of thing. I’m
too busy to be worried with nonsense, and I think it’s dreadful to break up families
so. Now don’t say any more about it. Meg’s wedding has turned all our heads, and we talk
of nothing but lovers and such absurdities. I don’t wish to get cross,
so let’s change the subject;” and Jo looked quite ready to fling cold
water on the slightest provocation. Whatever his feelings might have been, Laurie
found a vent for them in a long low whistle and the fearful predicti
on as they parted at
the gate, “Mark my words, Jo, you’ll go next.”
Comments
Hello friends! Here is the continuation of "Little Women", diving into part 2 of the story. The video backdrop today is a Hosta plant that we have in a pot in our yard. I had no isea they had such beautiful flowers. As always, I am wishing you mental peace and hope that you get to unwind. Till soon, Marcus
Finally I’m up to this one. Beautiful music Marcus. I’m so partial to guitar music 😊thank you 😊
It looks like Louisa May Alcott was a prolific writer too. No shortage of stories from her either. I look forward to your future projects.😊